On the Development of a Second-Order Bistatic Radar Cross Section of the Ocean Surface: A High-Frequency Result for a Finite Scattering Patch

The development of a model for the second-order bistatic high-frequency (HF) radar cross section on an ocean surface patch remote from the transmitter and receiver is addressed. A new approach is taken that allows a direct comparison with existing monostatic cross sections for finite regions of the ocean surface. The derivation starts with a general expression for the bistatically received second-order electric field in which the scattering surface is assumed to be of small height and slope. The source field is taken to be that of a vertically polarized dipole, and it is assumed that the ocean surface can be described, as is usually done, by a Fourier series in which the coefficients are zero-mean Gaussian random variables. Subsequently, a bistatic cross section of the surface, normalized to patch area, is derived. The result is verified by the following two means: 1) the complete form of the bistatic HF radar cross section in backscattering case is shown to contain an earlier monostatic result that has, itself, been used extensively in radio oceanography applications; and 2) the bistatic electromagnetic coupling coefficient is shown to reduce exactly to the monostatic result when backscattering geometry is imposed. The model is also depicted and discussed based on simulated data     

Much ado about nothing: urbanization,predictions and censuses in Papua New Guinea

Urbanization trends in Papua New Guinea are analyzed using official data from the 1971 and 1980 censuses. The author suggests that the massive urban population growth rate for 1966-1971 was a figment of post-enumeration miscalculation. However, the data indicate that the annual urban growth rate for the period 1971-1980 was nearly four times higher than the growth rate for the population as a whole.     

Hurricane Overwash and Decadal-Scale Evolution of a Narrowing Barrier Island,Ocracoke Island,NC

Barrier islands are found around the world and are important environmentally and economically. With accelerated sea level rise and relentless storms, their evolution is complex but important to understand, especially from a coastal planning and managing perspective. In this study, shoreline change estimates from aerial photography (1949, 1974, 2006), sedimentological and stratigraphic investigation, and analysis of geomorphic character were used to evaluate the hurricane response and decadal evolution of Ocracoke Island, NC. Between 1949 and 2006, the majority (>?65% of transects) of the entire island eroded at an average rate of ??0.54 m/year. Cross-island width decreased by as much as 40% (180 m) over the period. Hurricane Isabel (2003) represented up to 23% of the long-term net change in some regions of the island. The rate of narrowing of Ocracoke Island appears to have increased in the last half century and is due to a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors. Isabel overwashed a total of 9% of the island based on aerial photographic analysis with an average deposit thickness of 0.24 m based on trench investigation. Assessment with the Storm Impact Scale showed a direct relationship between overwash and the pre-existing dune conditions, which had been affected by long-term erosion. Sedimentological signatures interpreted from cores show up to four distinct stacked overwash deposits, potentially dating back as far as 1944. This multi-pronged analysis shows the complexity of barrier island evolution and highlights the necessity to examine and model a system response in four dimensions (i.e., spatially and with time).     

Late Cretaceous tectono-sedimentary events in NW Europe

Late Cretaceous sedimentary history has been strongly influenced by both sea-level fluctuations and inversion tectonics. Evidence for tectonic movements, originally identified in German Late Cretaceous basins, is applied to the UK successions. Two periods of movement are conspicuous: a Middle Turonian episode involving huge loss of section along anticlinal axes in southern England and a Late Santonian-Early Campanian episode also involving section loss on structure and section gain off structure. This pattern is repeated where folds or blocks are underlain by inversion thrust faults (e.g. the Purbeck Fault in Dorset, the Falmer Fault in Sussex, the Portsdown Fault in Hampshire and the Bray Fault in Upper Normandy). Other episodes of inversion in the Late Turonian to Middle Coniacian and the late Early Campanian are investigated and are a probable cause of slump beds and slides. These tecto-sedimentary episodes can be applied to structures in Northern Ireland, Inner Hebrides, North Sea and Yorkshire as well as southern Britain. Beyond NW Europe the Late Santonian – Early Campanian event is widely recognised in the Carpathians, southern Europe, Africa and the Levant and coincides with the end of the Long Cretaceous Quiet Zone (Chron 34N to 33R) perhaps representing a major change in Earth dynamics related to Mid-Ocean Ridge crustal production and intra-continental crust tectonism.     

Late Cretaceous to Miocene and Quaternary deformation history of the Chalk: Channels,slumps, faults,folds and glacitectonics

Late Cretaceous Chalk sedimentation history across the British Isles included (i) fault controlled uplift and subsidence in Northern Ireland and the Inner Hebrides and (ii) uplift along the lines of en echelon folds in Southern Britain and northern France. Synsedimentary slump folds and downslope displacement structures are compared with penecontemporaneous interbed slides and later tectonic folds and faults. Compressional strike-slip tectonic processes at Flamborough Head, Yorkshire, illustrate intra-Chalk slump beds in a half-graben setting. Progressive ‘growth’ of structures characterises early downslope slump folding, interbed sliding and some listric faulting. Sheet-flints replacing slide shear planes and early fractures provide evidence for early movements. Availability of open-slopes or the depth of burial under which the range of structures developed is reflected in the degree of disruption and fragmentation of chalk and flint. Fragmentation provides clues to the timing of events and origin of the Late Campanian Altachuile Breccia (Northern Ireland) and the Coniacian Hope Gap slides (Sussex). Fragmentation and formation of sheet flints together help distinguish intra-Chalk tectonics from Quaternary glacitectonic structures.The role of marl seams, high porosity chalk beds and hardgrounds on bed-sliding, décollement zones and disruption of chalk blocks from bedrock in glacitectonics is discussed. Chalk formations with marl seams develop a special style of fracturing related to early interbed sliding and pore-fluid escape structures. Marl-seams are shown to be primary sedimentary features and not the products of post depositional pressure-solution. More than any other formation the Late Santonian – Early Campanian Newhaven Chalk contains extensive sheet-flints and shows great lateral variation in thickness and lithology across the fold belts of southern England and northern France.     

Habitat utilization by small flatfishes in a North Carolina estuary

Distribution and abundance of flatfish species (<150 mm standard length) were related to habitat characteristics in the Newport River and Back Sound estuaries in North Carolina. Salinity, turbidity, depth, distance from marsh edge, benthic composition, and grain size were used to describe the different shallow water habitats from April through October 1994. One Scophthalmidae, seven Paralichthyidae, one Achiridae, and one Cynoglossidae species were collected during the study including juvenileParalichthys albigutta (gulf flounder),P. dentatus (summer flounder), andP. lethostigma (southern flounder) along with multiple age classes ofCitharichthys spilopterus (bay whiff),Etropus crossotus (fringed flounder),Symphurus plagiusa (blackcheek tonguefish), andTrinetes maculatus (hogchoker). Incidental catches ofAncylopsetta quadrocellata (ocellated flounder),C. macrops (spotted whiff), andScopthalmus aquosus (windowpane) were also made. Flatfish distributions among habitats varied by species, size within species, and season. Regardless of season, the highest densities of flatfishes were found in the upper estuary. All habitats were used by one or more species and most species occurred at several habitats. Some species were significantly more abundant at specific habitat types. Ontogenetic shifts in habitat utilization were found for several species. High densities of smallP. lethostigma, C. spilopterus, S. plagiusa, andT. maculatus occurred in the upper estuary on muddy substrates. LargeP. dentatus, C. spilopterus, S. plagiusa, andT. maculatus utilized sand flats and channels in the lower estuary.     

Saharan dust and phosphatic fidelity: A three-dimensional biogeochemical model of Trichodesmium as a nutrient source for red tides on the West Florida Shelf

The availability of iron within the surface waters of the broad, oligotrophic West Florida Shelf (WFS) controls periodic blooms of the pelagic marine cyanobacterium Trichodesmium. Summer delivery of Saharan dust provided adequate iron (Fe) to shift limitation of growth to the availability of phosphorus (P). Florida's rivers drain Miocene phosphorus deposits to provide the WFS with freshwater nutrient supplies at molar dissolved inorganic nitrogen/phosphate (DIN/PO₄) ratios of <6. These diazotrophs draw upon ubiquitous stocks of dissolved nitrogen gas, once stimulated by Fe-deposition within P-replete waters of the WFS.     

A multivariate assessment of the coral ecosystem health of two embayments on the lee of the island of Hawai'i

Four coral-dominated coastal sites within two embayments (Kealakekua Bay and Honokōhau Bay) on the lee of the island of Hawai'i were studied to assess evidence of anthropogenic impacts in these relatively pristine locales. Nutrient-loading parameters were analyzed in relation to benthic composition data. Statistically, there were significant positive relationships between nitrate+nitrite, silicate, and ammonium with the abundance of macroalgae, coralline algae, and dead coral, and between delta(15)N and dead coral abundance. The north outside site of Kealakekua Bay and the south outside site of Honokōhau Bay appear to be most impacted by nutrient-loading factors in each bay, respectively. Comparisons with past nutrient data indicate that nutrient inputs have increased to the two bays, and that early impacts of these increased loadings are evident. It is predicted that at current nutrient-loading rates, the north sites of Kealakekua Bay and the south sites of Honokōhau Bay will exhibit evidence of further degradation in future years.