Advances in the Effects of Wind on Plants

Wind is a important factor. It can strongly affect development, growth and reproduction of terrestrial plants. The plant in wind environment can adapt to wind by special mechanism to decrease damage. This paper reviews the effects of wind on plant in phenotype, anatomy and root archetecture. Some plant species show a resistance strategy, but other species show an avoidance strategy. After the analysis of the restriction of current research in this area, the authors suggest that studies in the area should be extended to taking the whole plant as an integrated system rather than focusing on specific tissue level. Furthermore to understand the general mechanism across species, it is required to study different species from different environmental conditions. Advances in bioinformatics, molecular and physiological research will facilitate cross disciplinary studies to understand the complicated responses of plants to wind.     

CONDITION NUMBERS, ITERATIVE REFINEMENT AND ERROR BOUNDS

Concentration estimates of components present in a sample mixture can be obtained using matrixmathematics. In the past, the condition number of the calibration matrix has been used to give anamplification factor by which uncertainties in data can work through to errors in the concentrationestimates. This paper explores an additional interpretation of condition numbers with regards tosignificant figures and rounding errors. A procedure is suggested which will always give the most accurateconcentration estimates provided the calibration matrix is not too ill-conditioned. Condition numbershave also been used by analytical chemists to discuss the error bounds for concentration estimates.Unfortunately, only one representative error bound can be approximated for all the components. Thispaper will show how to compute bounds for individual concentration estimates obtained as solutions to asystem of m equations and n unknowns. The procedure is appropriate when calibration data and sampleresponses are inaccurate.     

Keck adaptive optics images of Jupiter’s north polar cap and Northern Red Oval

We present observations at near-infrared wavelengths (1-5 μm) of Jupiter’s north polar region and Northern Red Oval (NN-LRS-1). The observations were taken with the near-infrared camera NIRC2 coupled to the adaptive optics system on the 10-m W.M. Keck Telescope on UT 21 August 2010. At 5-μm Jupiter’s disk reveals considerable structure, including small bright rings which appear to surround all small vortices. It is striking, though, that no such ring is seen around the Northern Red Oval. In de Pater et al. [2010a. Icarus 210, 742-762], we showed that such rings also exist around all small vortices in Jupiter’s southern hemisphere, and are absent around the Great Red Spot and Red Oval BA. We show here that the vertical structure and extent of the Northern Red Oval is very similar to that of Jupiter’s Red Oval BA. These new observations of the Northern Red Oval, therefore, support the idea of a dichotomy between small and large anticyclones, in which ovals larger than about two Rossby deformation radii do not have 5-μm bright rings. In de Pater et al. [2010a. Icarus 210, 742-762], we explained this difference in terms of the secondary circulations within the vortices. We further compare the brightness distribution of our new 5-μm images with previously published radio observations of Jupiter, highlighting the depletion of NH₃ gas over areas that are bright at 5 μm.     

Quantification of mass transfers and mineralogical transformations in a thrust fault (Monte Perdido thrust unit,southern Pyrenees,Spain)

In fold-and-thrust belts, shortening is mainly accommodated by thrust faults which are preferential zones for recrystallisation and mass transfer. This study focuses on a detachment fault related to the emplacement of the Monte Perdido thrust unit in the southern Pyrenees. The studied fault zone consists of a 10 m thick intensively foliated phyllonite developed within the Millaris marls, of Eocene age. The lithological homogeneity of the hanging wall and footwall allows us to compare the Millaris marls outside the fault zone with the highly deformed marls located in the fault zone and to quantify the chemical, mineralogical and volumetric changes related to deformation processes along the fault.The Millaris marls are composed of detrital quartz, illite, chlorite, minor albite and pyrite, in a micritic calcite matrix. In the fault zone, the cleavage planes are marked by clay minerals and calcite ± chlorite veins attest to fluid–mineral interactions during deformation.The mineral proportions in all samples from both the fault zone and Millaris marls have been quantified by two methods: (1) X-ray diffraction and Rietveld refinement, and (2) bulk chemical analyses as well as microprobe analyses to calculate modal composition. The excellent agreement between the results of these two methods allows us to estimate mineralogical variations using a modification of the Gresens' equation. During fault activation, up to 45 wt% of calcite was lost while the amounts of quartz and chlorite remained unchanged. Illite content remained constant to slightly enriched. The mineralogical variations were coupled with a significant volume loss (up to 45%) mostly due to the dissolution of micritic calcite grains. Deformation was accompanied by pressure solution and phyllosilicates recrystallisation. These processes accommodated slip along the fault. They required fluids as catalyst, but they did not necessitate major chemical transfers.     

MPA regulations should incorporate adaptive management—The case of Gilbert Bay Labrador Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)

Although an important conservation tool, Marine Protected Areas sometimes fall short of intended goals; however, adaptive management can potentially improve their effectiveness. Efforts to develop an MPA in Gilbert Bay, Labrador, Canada, began in 1998 to protect the genetically distinct population of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and its habitat. Population monitoring and research conducted in Gilbert Bay during 26 research trips over 14 years have documented significant population declines. The biomass declined by as much as 83% and research catch rates by 54% since Gilbert Bay became a MPA in 2005. Commercial fishing in adjacent waters was strongly correlated (Pearson correlation r=−0.87, p=0.002), with the declining trend in research catch rates. Tag recaptures from the commercial fishery (n=105) confirmed that fishing removed large adult Gilbert Bay cod that seasonally move outside the MPA. Evidence of the production of strong year classes even at low adult population levels indicate that the Gilbert Bay cod population has the potential to increase rapidly under appropriate adaptive management; thus improving MPA effectiveness. A relatively small change in the timing of commercial fishing in waters adjacent to the MPA would likely produce this result; however, inflexible MPA regulations, and poor co-ordination and agreement among differing fishery management processes and stakeholders has delayed the implementation of such a change.     

Adaptive mesh refinement for storm surge

An approach to utilizing adaptive mesh refinement algorithms for storm surge modeling is proposed. Currently numerical models exist that can resolve the details of coastal regions but are often too costly to be run in an ensemble forecasting framework without significant computing resources. The application of adaptive mesh refinement algorithms substantially lowers the computational cost of a storm surge model run while retaining much of the desired coastal resolution. The approach presented is implemented in the GeoClaw framework and compared to ADCIRC for Hurricane Ike along with observed tide gauge data and the computational cost of each model run.     

Cultivating resilience by empirically revealing response diversity

Intensified climate and market turbulence requires resilience to a multitude of changes. Diversity reduces the sensitivity to disturbance and fosters the capacity to adapt to various future scenarios. What really matters is diversity of responses. Despite appeals to manage resilience, conceptual developments have not yet yielded a break-through in empirical applications. Here, we present an approach to empirically reveal the ‘response diversity’: the factors of change that are critical to a system are identified, and the response diversity is determined based on the documented component responses to these factors. We illustrate this approach and its added value using an example of securing food supply in the face of climate variability and change. This example demonstrates that quantifying response diversity allows for a new perspective: despite continued increase in cultivar diversity of barley, the diversity in responses to weather declined during the last decade in the regions where most of the barley is grown in Finland. This was due to greater homogeneity in responses among new cultivars than among older ones. Such a decline in the response diversity indicates increased vulnerability and reduced resilience. The assessment serves adaptive management in the face of both ecological and socio-economic drivers. Supplier diversity in the food retail industry in order to secure affordable food in spite of global price volatility could represent another application. The approach is, indeed, applicable to any system for which it is possible to adopt empirical information regarding the response by its components to the critical factors of variability and change. Targeting diversification in response to critical change brings efficiency into diversity. We propose the generic procedure that is demonstrated in this study as a means to efficiently enhance resilience at multiple levels of agrifood systems and beyond.     

Smallholder farmer cropping decisions related to climate variability across multiple regions

A long history of household-level research has provided important local-level insights into climate adaptation strategies in the agricultural sector. It remains unclear to what extent these strategies are generalizable or vary across regions. In this study we ask about three potential key factors influencing farming households’ ability to adapt: access to weather information, household and agricultural production-related assets, and participation in local social institutions. We use a 12-country data set from sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia to explore the links between these three potential drivers of agricultural change and the likelihood that farmers made farm-associated changes, such as adopting improved crop varieties, increasing fertilizer use, investing in improved land management practices, and changing the timing of agricultural activities. We find evidence that access to weather information, assets, and participation in social institutions are associated with households that have reported making farming changes in recent years, although these results vary across countries and types of practices. Understanding these drivers and outcomes of farm-associated changes across different socio-economic and environmental conditions is critical for ongoing dialogues for climate-resilient strategies and policies for increasing the adaptive capacity of smallholders under climate change.     

Energy prices and seafood security

Fish resources are critical to the food security of many nations. Similar to most contemporary food systems, many fisheries and aquaculture resource supply chains are heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Energy price increases and volatility may hence undermine food security in some contexts. Here, we explore the relationships between energy price changes, fish resource supply chain viability, seafood availability and food security outcomes – both for producers and consumers of fish resources. We begin by characterizing the energy intensities of fish resource supply chains, which are shown to be highly variable. We subsequently assess the comparative magnitude and distribution of potential food security impacts of energy price increases for nation states by scoring and ranking countries against a set of vulnerability criteria including metrics of national exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Considerable variability in the vulnerability of populations and high levels of exposure for already food-insecure populations are apparent. Developed countries are likely to be most exposed to the effects of energy price increases due to their high rates of fleet motorization and preference for energy-intensive seafood products. However, heavy reliance on seafood as a source of food and income, as well as limited national adaptive capacity, translates into greater overall vulnerability in developing countries. At the level of individual producers, a variety of adaptation options are available that may serve to reduce vulnerability to energy price changes and hence contribute to increased food security for producers and consumers, but uptake capacity depends on numerous situational factors.     

基于自适应模糊神经网络预测金属——EDTA配合物稳定常数

采用自适应模糊神经网络的方法,以金属离子外层主量子数(n)、电荷(Z)、半径(r)、适配价轨道数因子(w)及价电子结构因子(S)等为参数,关联金属—EDTA配合物稳定常数。利用减法聚类算法确定模糊神经网络的结构,并结合模糊推理系统进行该网络参数的调整,网络仿真的结果是满意的。在此基础上,预测了13种金属—EDTA配合物稳定常数。