SHORT COMMUNICATION COMMENTS ON THE RESIDUAL BILINEARIZATION METHOD

Through theoretical analysis and computer simulation,this short communication comments on theresidual bilinearization(RBL)method and compares it with non-bilinear rank annihilation(NBRA)forthe treatment of second-order calibration with non-bilinear data.It is found that these two methods aremathematically equivalent but have different noise propagation properties.The second-order advantage,namely quantitation in the presence of unknown interferences,can be carried over to non-bilinear dataonly if there exists a net analyte rank(NAR)for the analyte of interest.     

World Data Center-A for Paleoclimatology at the NOAA Paleoclimatology Program,Boulder, CO

Conclusion The World Data Center-A for Paleoclimatology, located in the NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program, is committed to providing the scientific community with easy access to all paleoenvironmental data. Efforts to make archived data readily available include international coordination of data acquisition, management, and distribution, sponsoring workshops and data cooperatives to facilitate the compilation of important data sets, development of a browse and visualization software package (PaleoVu), and dispersal of archived data on magnetic media or over ANONYMOUS FTP/INTERNET. The program publishes a semi-annual newsletter that highlights latest developments and accomplishments in the area of paleoenvironmental data for global change research. Contributions to the newsletter are welcome from researchers describing their efforts to coordinate the free flow of paleoclimate data throughout the international scientific community.For information on the program or to be added to the mailing list contact Mrs Mildred England (phone: 303-497-6227; Fax: 303 497-6513; e-mail: MKE@mail.ngdc.noaa.gov), NOAA National Geophysical Data Center, Paleoclimatology Program/World Data Center-A for Paleoclimatology, 325 Broadway, E/GC Boulder, CO 80303 USA     

STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENTS IN THE SOUTHERN MANUFACTURING SECTOR

The diversity of manufacturing in the United States South has shown a substantial increase during the post-World War II period. The basis for this changing industrial structure is found in the expansion of food processing and apparel industries but particularly since 1967 in a variety of higher-pay and higher-technology industries. The traditional textile states remain the least diversified and the slowest to change.     

FINDING CAUSES OF OUTLIERS IN MULTIVARIATE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA

Multivariate outliers in environmental data sets are often caused by atypical measurement error in a singlevariable.From a quality assurance perspective it is important to identify these variables efficiently so thatcorrective actions may be performed.We demonstrate a procedure for using two multivariate tests toidentify which variable‘caused’each outlier.The procedure is tested with simulated data sets that havethe same correlation structure as selected water chemistry variables from a survey of lakes in the WesternUnited States.The success rates are evaluated for three of the variables for sample sizes of 50 and 100,significance levels of 0.01 and 0.05 and various amounts of mean shift.The procedure works best forhighly correlated variables.     

Wind velocity and sand transport on a barchan dune

We present measurements of wind velocity and sand flux performed on the windward side of a large barchan dune in Jericoacoara, northeastern Brazil. From the measured profile, we calculate the air shear stress using an analytical approximation and treat the problem of flow separation by an heuristic model. We find that the results from this approach agree well with our field data. Moreover, using the calculated shear velocity, we predict the sand flux according to well-known equilibrium relations and with a phenomenological continuum saltation model that includes saturation transients and thus allows for nonequilibrium conditions. Based on the field data and theoretical predicted results, we indicate the principal differences between saturated and nonsaturated sand flux models. Finally, we show that the measured dune moves with invariant shape and predict its velocity from our data and calculations.     

Rotation of the geomagnetic field about an optimum pole

Since 1693, when Halley proposed that secular change was the result of the westward drift of the main field, his simple model has undergone many refinements. These include different drift rates for dipole and non-dipole parts; separation into drifting and standing parts; latitudinal dependence of drift rate; northward drift of the dipole; and non-longitudinal rotations of the individual harmonics of the geomagnetic field. Here we re-examine the model of Malin and Saunders, in which the main field is rotated about an optimum pole which does not necessarily coincide with the geographical pole. The optimum pole and rotation angle are those that bring the main field for epoch T ₁ closest to that for T ₂ , as indicated by the coefficients of correlation between the spherical harmonic coefficients for the two epochs, after rotation. Malin and Saunders examined the pole positions and rates of rotation using data from 1910 to 1965, and noticed a number of trends. We show that these trends are confirmed by recent IGRF models, spanning the interval 1900–2000 and to degree and order 10. We also show that the effect of the level of truncation is small.     

A comparison of archaeointensity results from Chinese ceramics using microwave and conventional Thellier's and Shaw's methods

Palaeo- and archaeointensity determinations of the geomagnetic field are limited by mineralogical alteration that may occur when samples are heated in the laboratory to produce a TRM ( Thellier & Thellier 1959 ; Shaw 1974 ). By using microwave excitation of the magnetic grains we have been able to create a TRM without significantly heating the bulk samples, thereby avoiding thermal alteration ( Walton et al . 1993 ; Shaw et al . 1996 ). When applied to Peruvian ceramics in a manner analogous to the standard Thellier method, the microwave technique was found to reduce the scatter dramatically in the archaeointensity results ( Shaw et al . 1996 ). In the present study we apply this microwave technique to a collection of Chinese ceramics covering the time interval 2700–7500  yr BP. These ceramics have already been investigated using adaptations of both Thellier's ( Coe 1967 ) and Shaw's ( Rolph & Shaw 1985 ) palaeointensity methods ( Yang et al . 1993a ). Although an acceptable agreement was found between those two methods, the equivalent virtual axial dipole moments (VADMs) were significantly lower than for the global model of McElhinny & Senanayake (1982 ). The present study, using the microwave technique with cooling-rate correction, has provided more consistent VADMs, and is much closer to the global model.