TreePM: A code for cosmological N-body simulations

We describe the TreePM method for carrying out large N-Body simulations to study formation and evolution of the large scale structure in the Universe. This method is a combination of Barnes and Hut tree code and Particle-Mesh code. It combines the automatic inclusion of periodic boundary conditions of PM simulations with the high resolution of tree codes. This is done by splitting the gravitational force into a short range and a long range component. We describe the splitting of force between these two parts. We outline the key differences between TreePM and some other N-Body methods.     

Incorporating topographic variability into a simple regional snowmelt model

General circulation models (GCMs), or stand‐alone models that are forced by the output from GCMs, are increasingly being used to simulate the interactions between snow cover, snowmelt, climate and water resources. The variation in snowpack extent, and hence albedo, through time in a cell is likely to be substantial, especially in mid‐latitude mountainous regions. As a consequence, the energy budget simulation by a GCM relies on a realistic representation of snowpack extent. Similarly, from a water resource perspective, the spatial extent of the pack is key in predicting meltwater discharges into rivers. In this paper a simple computationally efficient regional snow model has been developed, which is based on a degree‐day approach and simulates the fraction of the model domain covered by snow, the spatially averaged melt rate and the mean snowpack depth. Computational efficiency is achieved through a novel spatial averaging procedure, which relies on the assumptions that precipitation and temperature scale linearly with elevation and that the distribution of elevations in the domain can be modelled by a continuous function. The resulting spatially averaged model is compared with both observations of the duration of snow cover throughout Austria and with results from a distributed model based on the same underlying assumptions but applied at a fine spatial resolution. The new spatially averaged model successfully simulated the seasonal snow duration observations and reproduced the daily dynamics of snow cover extent, the spatially averaged melt rate and mean pack depth simulated by the distributed model. It, therefore, offers a computationally efficient and easily applied alternative to the current crop of regional snow models. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A robust method for measuring the Hubble parameter

We obtain a robust, non-parametric, estimate of the Hubble constant from the linear diameters and rotation velocities of galaxies in the recent KLUN sample, calibrated using Cepheid distances to Hubble Space Telescope Key Project galaxies. There are two key features that make our analysis considerably more robust than previous work. First, the method is independent of the spatial distribution of galaxies and is insensitive to Malmquist bias. It may, therefore, be applied to more distant samples than so-called 'plateau' methods – making it much less vulnerable to the impact of peculiar motions in the Local Supercluster. Secondly, we include information on the galaxy rotation velocities in a fully non-parametric manner: unlike the conventional Tully–Fisher relation we reconstruct a robust estimate of the cumulative distribution function of galaxy diameter at given rotation velocity, without requiring the assumption of, for example, a linear Tully–Fisher relation with symmetric Gaussian residuals.
Using this robust method we find H ₀=65±6 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹ from our analysis – in excellent agreement with many recent determinations of the Hubble parameter, although somewhat larger than previous results using galaxy diameters.     

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF HYDROPOLITICS: THE GEOGRAPHICAL SCALES OF WATER AND SECURITY IN THE INDUS BASIN*

ABSTRACT. The article identifies important themes and future research directions for analyzing water and conflict dynamics at the subnational scale in the Indus Basin. A historical overview of water development in the Indus Basin suggests that the water‐security nexus was always a salient theme in the minds of water developers, even in the nineteenth century. Conflicts over contemporary large‐scale water‐development projects in the Indian and Pakistani parts of the Indus Basin are reviewed. Engineers' single‐minded focus on megaprojects, to the neglect of the wider set of values that societies attach to water resources in the eastern and western Indus Basin are largely to blame for continuing low‐grade conflict in the basin. A review of local‐level conflicts over water supply and sanitation in Karachi and the distribution of irrigation water in Pakistani Punjab illustrates the critical role of governance and differential social power relations in accentuating conflict. The article argues against neo‐Malthusian assumptions about the inevitability of conflict over water because of its future absolute scarcity. Instead, the article seeks to demonstrate that, despite evidence suggesting that international armed conflict over water does not exist, the potential for political instability over domestic water distribution and development issues is real. The question of whether conflict at the subnational scale will culminate in violence will depend on how water‐resources institutions in the basin behave.     

非局部本构的一种改造形式及内尺度分析

在Lagrange运动学描述的基础上,提出了一个普遍意义上的非局部效应本构关系的改造形式,它对每一个经过验证的本构都适用。这样处理既可以利用本构模型的研究成果,又计入了应变梯度对应力的贡献。以截面为单位尺寸正方形、无限长、小变形描述为例,讨论了理想弹塑性柱体内的P波行进特征,分析了梯度项、黏滞阻尼和滞变阻尼等效的材料内部尺寸效应。     

The geopotential value <Emphasis Type="Italic">W</Emphasis><Subscript>0</Subscript> for specifying the relativistic atomic time scale and a global vertical reference system

The TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) satellite alti- meter mission marked a new era in determining the geopotential constant W ₀. On the basis of T/P data during 1993–2003 (cycles 11–414), long-term variations in W ₀ have been investigated. The rounded value W ₀ = 62636856.0 ± 0.5) m ² s ⁻² has already been adopted by the International Astronomical Union for the definition of the constant L _G = W ₀/c ² = 6.969290134 × 10⁻¹⁰ (where c is the speed of light), which is required for the realization of the relativistic atomic time scale. The constant L _G , based on the above value of W ₀, is also included in the 2003 International Earth Rotation and Reference Frames Service conventions. It has also been suggested that W ₀ is used to specify a global vertical reference system (GVRS). W ₀ ensures the consistency with the International Terrestrial Reference System, i.e. after adopting W ₀, along with the geocentric gravitational constant (GM), the Earth’s rotational velocity (ω) and the second zonal geopotential coefficient (J ₂) as primary constants (parameters), then the ellipsoidal parameters (a,α) can be computed and adopted as derived parameters. The scale of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame 2000 (ITRF2000) has also been specified with the use of W ₀ to be consistent with the geocentric coordinate time. As an example of using W ₀ for a GVRS realization, the geopotential difference between the adopted W ₀ and the geopotential at the Rimouski tide-gauge point, specifying the North American Vertical Datum 1988 (NAVD88), has been estimated.     

Mapping the spatial variation of soil water content at the field scale with different ground penetrating radar techniques

Two ground penetrating radar (GPR) techniques were used to estimate the shallow soil water content at the field scale. The first technique is based on the ground wave velocity measured with a bistatic impulse radar connected to 450 MHz ground-coupled antennas. The second technique is based on inverse modeling of an off-ground monostatic TEM horn antenna in the 0.8–1.6 GHz frequency range. Data were collected on a 8 by 9 m partially irrigated intensive research plot and along four 148.5 m transects. Time domain reflectometry, capacitance sensors, and volumetric soil samples were used as reference measurements. The aim of the study was to test the applicability of the ground wave method and the off-ground inverse modeling approach at the field scale for a soil with a silt loam texture. The results for the ground wave technique were difficult to interpret due to the strong attenuation of the GPR signal, which is related to the silt loam texture at the test site. The root mean square error of the ground wave technique was 0.076 m³ m⁻³ when compared to the TDR measurements and 0.102 m³ m⁻³ when compared with the volumetric soil samples. The off-ground monostatic GPR measured less within-field soil water content variability than the reference measurements, resulting in a root mean square error of 0.053 m³ m⁻³ when compared with the TDR measurements and an error of 0.051 m³ m⁻³ when compared with the volumetric soil samples. The variability between the two GPR measurements was even larger with a RSME of 0.115 m³ m⁻³. In summary, both GPR methods did not provide adequate spatial information on soil water content variation at the field scale. The main reason for the deviating results of the ground wave method was the poor data quality due to high silt and clay content at the test site. Additional reasons were shallow reflections and the dry upper soil layer that cannot be detected by the ground wave method. In the case of off-ground GPR, the high sensitivity to the dry surface layer is the most likely reason for the observed deviations. The off-ground GPR results might be improved by using a different antenna that allows data acquisition in a lower frequency range.     

Suitable scale of Weigan River plain oasis

Desert coexists with oasis in long time, and the existence and development of oasis system demand better oasis vegetation ecological system. Oasis scale of arid zone plain encircling water should be determined in case of desertification caused by land over-reclamation under the circumstance of water resources shortage. Steady oasis with virtuous circle must have appropriate land use structure for agriculture, forestry and graziery. The study on the suitable scale and developmental space of oasis will provide theoretical and applicable foundation for effective construction of oases. By analyzing the hydrothermal, water and soil balance, an optimal mathematical model has been established. Based on hydrometeorology data collected for years in Weigan River plain, and by the principle of water balance, a calculation has been made of the water resources for evapotranspiration and the optimal acreage of oasis and cultivated land, which shows that the water resources for evapotranspiration in the Weigan River plain oasis is 22.32×108 m3 and the optimal oasis acreage under the condition of conventional irrigation mode is 3716.06 km2, in which the suitable cultivated land acreage is 1564.79 km2. Under the condition of water-saving irrigation, the suitable oasis acreage is 5515.49 km2, in which the suitable cultivated land acreage is 2322.31 km2. The oasis area had reached 4123 km2, and the cultivated land acreage had reached 1507 km2 after the Agriculture Irrigation Drainage Water Project of World Bank Loan in Weigan River basin was finished in 1997. The oasis and cultivated land acreage will be more suitable, and the oasis scale can be enlarged moderately by means of water saving irrigation.