A geostatistically based approach to the identification of aquifer transmissivities in Yolo Basin, California

A geostatistically based approach is developed for the identification of aquifer transmissivities in Yolo Basin, California. The approach combines weighted least-squares with universal kriging and cokriging techniques in an overall scheme that (1)considers a prioriknown information on aquifer transmissivity and specific capacities of wells, (2)considers uncertainties in water level and transmissivity data, and (3)estimates the reliability of the generated transmissivity values. Minimization of a global least-squares function that incorporates calibration and plausibility criteria leads to a transmissivity map that shows a good agreement with pumping-test results.     

Growth of the marsh elder<Emphasis Type="Italic">Iva frutescens</Emphasis> in relation to duration of tidal flooding

Iva frutescens is a common shrub at the upland fringe of salt marshes throughout the East and Gulf Coasts of North America. Within a marsh, its location and relative size are governed largely by the degree of flooding by seawater.Iva’s wide distribution and restricted location within salt marshes may make it a useful indicator of overall conditions of the marshes. This work was designed to provide basic information on the age and growth ofI. frutescens, especially as they relate to the degree of flooding that is needed in order to investigateIva’s potential as an indicator. Cross-sections of older stems (living and standing dead) from salt marshes in Rhode Island, United States, were examined in order to age stems and estimate their growth rate from cumulative increase in woody tissue. Most stems were six yr old or less, suggesting that aboveground structures live for only a few years. Stem diameter correlated with growth rate and aboveground biomass. Elevation at the root zone was used to estimate the duration that plants were flooded, which was negatively correlated with stem diameter. The most robust plants came from sites that were flooded only up to 6–7% of the total time during the growing season. No plants were found in areas flooded more than 30% of the time.     

Événements panafricains dans l'Adrar Souttouf (Sahara marocain)

The Adrar Souttouf belt (Western Sahara) lies in the northern part of the Mauritanide belt and was considered as a part of the Hercynian Mauritanian-Appalachian belt. Recently the presence of a Panafrican protolith (595 Ma) was evidenced by the age of inherited zircons from an eclogitic unit and led to consider complex Panafrican events included in the Hercynian belt, as in the central and southern Mauritanide belt. Our new field survey completed by ten KAr dating (whole rocks and separate minerals) confirmed that multiphased Panafrican formations outcrop within the center of the Adrar Souttouf massif. Diverse events ranged from ca. 1000 to 500 Ma, some of them being indicative of an oceanic type environment and metamorphism. The 1000 Ma metamorphic event is recorded for the first time in the West African craton. A large Hercynian remobilisation is also evidenced. To cite this article: M. Villeneuve et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Interpreting rural change in Malaysia

Relatively little in the literature on rural change in Southeast Asia engages with Malaysia, where the population is becoming urban‐based more rapidly than in many countries in the region. The literature on change in rural Malaysia during the past 40 years, supplemented by our own research, is used to identify key features of such change, which are considered in the context of existing interpretations to arrive at deeper understandings of rural change. Existing conceptualizations of rural change, it is suggested, must account for the diversity of roles taken by individuals daily, seasonally and at different life stages, as well as in multiple locations. Further attention needs to be paid to gender, generation and class among those experiencing change. Processes of rural (and urban) changes will continue and their complexity will reflect cultural and technological evolutions that affect individuals, households and communities throughout the world.     

Fitting optimum order of Markov chain models for daily rainfall occurrences in Peninsular Malaysia

The analysis of the daily rainfall occurrence behavior is becoming more important, particularly in water-related sectors. Many studies have identified a more comprehensive pattern of the daily rainfall behavior based on the Markov chain models. One of the aims in fitting the Markov chain models of various orders to the daily rainfall occurrence is to determine the optimum order. In this study, the optimum order of the Markov chain models for a 5-day sequence will be examined in each of the 18 rainfall stations in Peninsular Malaysia, which have been selected based on the availability of the data, using the Akaike’s (AIC) and Bayesian information criteria (BIC). The identification of the most appropriate order in describing the distribution of the wet (dry) spells for each of the rainfall stations is obtained using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov goodness-of-fit test. It is found that the optimum order varies according to the levels of threshold used (e.g., either 0.1 or 10.0 mm), the locations of the region and the types of monsoon seasons. At most stations, the Markov chain models of a higher order are found to be optimum for rainfall occurrence during the northeast monsoon season for both levels of threshold. However, it is generally found that regardless of the monsoon seasons, the first-order model is optimum for the northwestern and eastern regions of the peninsula when the level of thresholds of 10.0 mm is considered. The analysis indicates that the first order of the Markov chain model is found to be most appropriate for describing the distribution of wet spells, whereas the higher-order models are found to be adequate for the dry spells in most of the rainfall stations for both threshold levels and monsoon seasons.     

Numerical study of flow and gas diffusion in the near-wake behind an isolated building

To assist validation of the experimental data of urban pollution dispersion, the effect of an isolated building on the flow and gaseous diffusion in the wake region have been investigated numerically in the neutrally stratified rough-walled turbulent boundary layer. Numerical studies were carried out using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models. The CFD models used for the simulation were based on the steady-state Reynolds-Average Navier-Stoke equations (RANS) with κ-ε turbulence models; standard κ-ε and RNG κ-ε models. Inlet conditions and boundary conditions were specified numerically to the best information available for each fluid modeling simulation. A gas pollutant was emitted from a point source within the recirculation cavity behind the building model. The accuracy of these simulations was examined by comparing the predicted results with wind tunnel experimental data. It was confirmed that simulation using the model accurately reproduces the velocity and concentration diffusion fields with a fine-mish resolution in the near wake region. Results indicated that there is a good agreement between the numerical simulation and the wind tunnel experiment for both wind flow and concentration diffusion. The results of this work can help to improve the understanding of mechanisms of and simulation of pollutant transport in an urban environment.     

Evaporation estimates from Nasser Lake, Egypt, based on three floating station data and Bowen ratio energy budget

Nasser Lake is located in a hyper-arid region in the south of Egypt. Evaporation is by far the most important factor in explaining the water losses from the lake. To obtain better management scenarios for Nasser Lake, an accurate estimation of the lake evaporation losses thus is essential. This paper presents an update of previous evaporation estimates, making use of local meteorological and hydrological data collected from instrumented platforms (floating weather stations) at three locations on the lake: at Raft, Allaqi, and Abusembel (respectively at 2, 75, and 280 km upstream of the Aswan High Dam). Results from six conventional evaporation quantification methods were compared with the values obtained by the Bowen ratio energy budget method (BREB). The results of the BREB method showed that there is no significant difference between the evaporation rates at Allaqi and Abusembel. At Raft, higher evaporation rates were obtained, which were assumed to be overestimated due to the high uncertainty of the Bowen ratio (BR) parameter. The average BR value at Allaqi and Abusembel was used to eliminate this overestimates evaporation. Variance-based sensitivity and uncertainty analyses on the BREB results were conducted based on quasi-Monte Carlo sequences (Latin Hypercube sampling). The standard deviation of the total uncertainty on the BREB evaporation rate was found to be 0.62 mm day^?1. The parameter controlling the change in stored energy, followed by the BR parameter, was found to be the most sensitive parameters. Several of the six conventional methods showed substantial bias when compared with the BREB method. These were modified to eliminate the bias. When compared to the BREB-based values, the Penman method showed most favorably for the daily time scale, while for the monthly scale, the Priestley–Taylor and the deBruin–Keijman methods showed best agreement. Differences in mean evaporation estimates of these methods (against the BREB method) were found to be in the range 0.14 and 0.36 mm day^?1. All estimates were based calculations at the daily time scale covering a 10-year period (1995–2004).     

Asteroids 1 ceres and 4 vesta: Objects of the Dawn space mission

The Dawn spacecraft of the NASA space mission to asteroids 1 Ceres and 4 Vesta was launched in September 2007. The choice of these two asteroids is deeply grounded: they are the largest and most massive objects of the main belt that are completely different in material composition, evolution history, and internal structure. Recently, the results of observations and numerical modeling have shown their amazing uniqueness: they both have experienced the complex process of thermal evolution and differentiation of their internal mineral resources, but have a completely different internal structure. Being the largest bodies, have they managed to resist the process of collisional evolution in the asteroid belt and have survived in their “primitive form.” Because of this, their study is very important from the point of view of cosmogonic problems regarding the asteroid belt and the Solar System as a whole. The present paper shortly reviews the recent progress in the study of Ceres and Vesta achieved due to observations performed on the Earth (including the polarimetric observations made by the authors) and from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) before the long-term orbital investigations performed by the Dawn spacecraft.