Analysis of spatial and temporal extreme monsoonal rainfall over South Asia using complex networks

We present a detailed analysis of summer monsoon rainfall over the Indian peninsular using nonlinear spatial correlations. This analysis is carried out employing the tools of complex networks and a measure of nonlinear correlation for point processes such as rainfall, called event synchronization. This study provides valuable insights into the spatial organization, scales, and structure of the 90th and 94th percentile rainfall events during the Indian summer monsoon (June–September). We furthermore analyse the influence of different critical synoptic atmospheric systems and the impact of the steep Himalayan topography on rainfall patterns. The presented method not only helps us in visualising the structure of the extreme-event rainfall fields, but also identifies the water vapor pathways and decadal-scale moisture sinks over the region. Furthermore a simple scheme based on complex networks is presented to decipher the spatial intricacies and temporal evolution of monsoonal rainfall patterns over the last 6 decades.     

Ageing effect on the mineral and chemical composition of Opalinus Clays (Mont Terri,Switzerland) after excavation and surface storage

Samples of Opalinus Clays from Mont Terri Underground Research Laboratory in the Swiss Jura were analyzed repetitively relative to the duration of their exposure to atmosphere. The objective was the evaluation of such a progressive exposure on the chemical composition of whole-rock samples, and on the chemical and Sr isotopic compositions of leachates obtained by leaching the rock powders with dilute acetic acid. This chemical study was complemented by scanning electron microscope observations to identify the related mineral alterations. The chemical data for the rock powders remained quite constant whatever the duration of the storage, whereas significant changes were observed for the leachates. Similar changes were observed in the leachates of samples collected progressively closer to the walls of a previously excavated niche. When storage time or distance to gallery wall increases, the main variations are: (1) a progressive decrease of the element contents and of the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio in the leachates, (2) an alteration of pyrite followed by precipitation of Ca-sulfate in the rocks, both observed by SEM, and (3) a probable precipitation of new mineral phases in the rocks, such as Fe-oxyhydroxides and/or jarosite that could not be visualized by electron microscopic observation because of their very limited amount and very small grain size. The modifications call for an oxidation of pyrite that probably induced also an oxidation of the organic matter. It could also be shown that the reactions were enhanced by temperature increase, and that they were less pronounced in the samples behind the gallery wall than in the cores stored in laboratory conditions.     

Verification of the TSMP-assisted digisonde topside profiling technique

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the performance of the TSMP-assisted Digisonde (TaD) topside profiling technique. We present systematic comparisons between electron density profiles and TEC parameters extracted from TaD model with (a) CHAMP-derived TEC parameters, (b) CHAMP reconstructed profiles, (c) ground based GPSderived TEC parameters, and (d) profiles reconstructed from RPI/IMAGE plasmagrams. In all cases, TaD follows the general trend of plasmaspheric observations derived from the above datasets. Especially during storm cases, TaD shows remarkable agreement with the variations of the ground based GPS-derived TEC parameters. Overall, the comparison results shows that TaD method can be adopted by EURIPOS to provide the electron density distribution up to plasmaspheric heights in real-time.     

Effective Photoinactivation of Alpha‐Amylase,Catalase and Urease at 222 nm Emitted by an KrCl‐Excimer Lamp

The inactivation of enzymes is of great interest for many industrial applications. The effectiveness of photoinactivation of alpha‐amylase, catalase, and urease with 222 nm radiation was investigated in comparison to that at 254 nm. The enzymes were irradiated with different fluence rates of 222 nm radiation emitted by a KrCl‐excimer lamp and with 254 nm radiation produced by a low‐pressure mercury lamp. The relative activities were calculated before and after irradiation. Degradation caused by UV‐radiation was assessed by SDS‐PAGE analysis. The results clearly demonstrated that inactivation of the proteins is much more effective with the 222 nm excimer lamp compared to the 254 nm mercury lamp. Irradiation with the excimer lamp and a UV‐fluence rate of 1000 J/m² was sufficient to reduce the relative activities of amylase and urease to 15% and that of catalase to 60%. After irradiation with 4000 J/m², the enzyme activity was almost completely inhibited. In contrast, after irradiation with the mercury lamp with an UV‐fluence rate of 4000 J/m², the relative activity was still above 85%. The gel patterns showed no visible degradation after irradiation at 254 nm, but a strong and unspecific degradation was obvious after treatment at 222 nm, presumably caused by cleavage of the peptide bonds.     

Sr and Ar isotope studies of detrital smectites from the Atlantic Ocean (D.S.D.P., Legs 43, 48 and 50)

Mineralogical, morphological and isotopic (RbSr and KAr) determinations were made on some detrital smectites of Palaeocene and Cenomanian ages from D.S.D.P. drillings in the Atlantic Ocean. These minerals are not inert in their depositional environment; authigenic laths grow on detrital sheets with sharp borders. This authigenesis could occur slightly after deposition in a closed system, for some of these smectites. It has been tentatively quantified by the RbSr and KAr isotopic methods, which seem also well suited to evaluate the chemical extent of this authigenesis. At least, no preferential loss of ⁴⁰Ar vs. ⁸⁷Sr could be detected in the minerals, even in those which are smaller than 0.2 μm.     

Soil detachment and transport on field‐ and laboratory‐scale interrill areas: erosion processes and the size‐selectivity of eroded sediment

Field‐ and laboratory‐scale rainfall simulation experiments were carried out in an investigation of the temporal variability of erosion processes on interrill areas, and the effects of such variation upon sediment size characteristics. Poorly aggregated sandy soils from the semi‐arid environment of Senegal, West Africa, were used on both a 40 m² field plot and a 0·25 m² laboratory plot; rainfall intensity for all experiments was 70 mm h^?1 with a duration of 1 to 2 hours. Time‐series measurements were made of the quantity and the size distribution of eroded material: these permitted an estimate of the changing temporal balance between the main erosion processes (splash and wash). Results from both spatial scales showed a similar temporal pattern of runoff generation and sediment concentration. For both spatial scales, the dominant erosional process was detachment by raindrops; this resulted in a dynamic evolution of the soil surface under raindrop impact, with the rapid formation of a sieving crust followed by an erosion crust. However, a clear difference was observed between the two scales regarding the size of particles detached by both splash and wash. While all measured values were lower than the mean weight diameter (MWD) value of the original soil (mean 0·32 mm), demonstrating the size‐selective nature of wash and splash processes, the MWD values of washed and splashed particles at the field scale ranged from 0·08 to 0·16 mm and from 0·12 to 0·30 mm respectively, whereas the MWD values of washed and splashed particles at the laboratory scale ranged from 0·13 to 0·29 mm and from 0·21 to 0·32 mm respectively. Thus only at the field scale were the soil particles detached by splash notably coarser than those transported by wash. This suggests a transport‐limited erosion process at the field scale. Differences were also observed between the dynamics of the soil loss by wash at the two scales, since results showed wider scatter in the field compared to the laboratory experiments. This scatter is probably related to the change in soil surface characteristics due to the size‐selectivity of the erosion processes at this spatial scale. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Longitudinal velocities in a clay during plastic compression

Summary During uniaxial compression of clay cylinders it was observed that the longitudinal velocity decreased as each load increment was applied and then increased under constant stress. It is suggested that the load increment induces an increase in pore water pressure thereby reducing the effective stress. The velocity is dependent upon the effective stress and it decreases accordingly. The velocity then increases due to the dissipation of the pore pressure.     

Composition isotopique du strontium d'eaux interstitielles extraites de sédiments récents: un argument en faveur de l'homogénéisation isotopique des minéraux argileux

The ${}^{87}\text{Sr}{}^{86}\text{Sr}$ ratio of interstitial waters squeezed from recent sediments of the Pacific Ocean increases from 0.70920 ± 0.00017 (2σ) to 0.70960 ± 0.0023 and 0.70984 ± 0.00040 at 1.50 and 1.60 m depth—reference value for sea water: 0.70910 ± 0.00035. This variation underlines the likely existence of exchanges between the clays and the interstitial environment. The isotopic homogenization of strontium between the clays and their environment, result of these changes, becomes thus a credible phenomenon. This is a new argument for the dating of clays by the $\text{Rb}\text{Sr}$ method.     

Water surface mapping from airborne laser scanning using signal intensity and elevation data

In recent years airborne laser scanning (ALS) evolved into a state‐of‐the‐art technology for topographic data acquisition. We present a novel, automatic method for water surface classification and delineation by combining the geometrical and signal intensity information provided by ALS. The reflection characteristics of water surfaces in the near‐infrared wavelength (1064 nm) of the ALS system along with the surface roughness information provide the basis for the differentiation between water and land areas. Water areas are characterized by a high number of laser shot dropouts and predominant low backscatter energy. In a preprocessing step, the recorded intensities are corrected for spherical loss and atmospheric attenuation, and the locations of laser shot dropouts are modeled. A seeded region growing segmentation, applied to the point cloud and the modeled dropouts, is used to detect potential water regions. Object‐based classification of the resulting segments determines the final separation of water and non‐water points. The water‐land‐boundary is defined by the central contour line of the transition zone between water and land points. We demonstrate that the proposed workflow succeeds for a regulated river (Inn, Austria) with smooth water surface as well as for a pro‐glacial braided river (Hintereisfernerbach, Austria). A multi‐temporal analysis over five years of the pro‐glacial river channel emphasizes the applicability of the developed method for different ALS systems and acquisition settings (e.g. point density). The validation, based on real time kinematic (RTK) global positioning system (GPS) field survey and a terrestrial orthophoto, indicate point cloud classification accuracy above 97% with 0·45 m planimetric accuracy (root mean square error) of the water–land boundary. This article shows the capability of ALS data for water surface mapping with a high degree of automation and accuracy. This provides valuable datasets for a number of applications in geomorphology, hydrology and hydraulics, such as monitoring of braided rivers, flood modeling and mapping. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.