Quantifying Organization of Atmospheric Turbulent Eddy Motion Using Nonlinear Time Series Analysis

Using three methods from nonlinear dynamics, we contrast the level of organization inthe vertical wind velocity (w) time series collected in the atmospheric surface layer(ASL) and the canopy sublayer (CSL) for a wide range of atmospheric stability ()conditions. The nonlinear methods applied include a modified Shannon entropy, waveletthresholding, and mutual information content. Time series measurements collected overa pine forest, a hardwood forest, a grass-covered forest clearing, and a bare soil, desertsurface were used for this purpose. The results from applying all three nonlinear timeseries measures suggest that w in the CSL is more organized than that in the ASL, and that as the flows in both layers evolve from near-neutral to near-convective conditions, the level of organization increases. Furthermore, we found that the degree of organization in w associated with changes in is more significant than the transition from CSL to ASL.     

Improved spatial delineation of streambed properties and water fluxes using distributed temperature sensing

A new method was developed for analysing and delineating streambed water fluxes, flow conditions and hydraulic properties using coiled fibre‐optic distributed temperature sensing or closely spaced discrete temperature sensors. This method allows for a thorough treatment of the spatial information embedded in temperature data by creating a matrix visualization of all possible sensor pairs. Application of the method to a 5‐day field dataset reveals the complexity of shallow streambed thermal regimes. To understand how velocity estimates are affected by violations of assumptions of one‐dimensional, saturated, homogeneous flow and to aid in the interpretation of field observations, the method was also applied to temperature data generated by numerical models of common field conditions: horizontal layering, presence of lateral flow and variable streambed saturation. The results show that each condition creates a distinct signature visible in the triangular matrices. The matrices are used to perform a comparison of the behaviour of one‐dimensional analytical heat‐tracing models. The results show that the amplitude ratio‐based method of velocity calculation leads to the most reliable estimates. The minimum sensor spacing required to obtain reliable velocity estimates with discrete sensors is also investigated using field data. The developed method will aid future heat‐tracing studies by providing a technique for visualizing and comparing results from fibre‐optic distributed temperature sensing installations and testing the robustness of analytical heat‐tracing models. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dense collection areas and terrestrial alteration of meteorites in the Atacama Desert

In the last 15 years, more than 2700 meteorites have been recovered and officially classified from the Atacama Desert. Although the number of meteorites collected in the Atacama has risen, the physical and climatic properties of the dense collection areas (DCAs) have not been fully characterized. In this article, we compiled the published data of all classified meteorites found in the Atacama Desert to (i) describe the distribution by meteorite groups, (ii) compare the weathering degree of chondrites among different Atacama DCAs and other hot and cold deserts, and (iii) determine the preservation conditions of chondrites in the main Atacama DCAs in relation with the local climatic conditions. The 35 DCAs so far identified in the Atacama Desert are located in three main morphotectonic units: The Coastal Range (CR), Central Depression (CD), and Pre-Andean Range/Basement. A comparison with reported weathering data from other cold and hot deserts indicates that the mean terrestrial weathering of Atacama chondrites (W1–2), displays less alteration than other hot deserts (W2–3) and resembles the weathering distribution of the Antarctic meteorites (W1–2). The highest abundance of Atacama chondrites with low weathering (≤W2) is localized in the CD (78.8%, N = 1435), which is protected from the coastal fog influence and seasonal rainfalls and displays the oldest surfaces in the Atacama Desert. The morphogenetic classification based on present-day temperatures and precipitations of the main Atacama DCAs reveals similar regional/subregional climatic conditions in the most productive areas and a truly productive surface for meteorite recovery between 5% and 58% of the quadrangles formally defined for each Atacama DCA. Our morphogenetic classification lacks consideration of some meteorological parameters such as the coastal fog, so it cannot fully explain the differences in weathering patterns among CR chondrites. Future studies of chondrite preservation in the Atacama DCAs should consider other meteorological variables such as relative humidity, specific humidity, or dew point, in combination with exposure ages of meteorites and its surfaces.     

Centaurus A: VLT Views of the Nearest Giant Elliptical Galaxy

VLT images in BVI are used to identify globular clusters in the central region of NGC5128. Based on the sizes, optical magnitudes and colors, a hundred candidate globular clusters are identified with projected galactocentric distances 1 kpc < R _G < 5 kpc. These clusters have magnitudes 18 < V < 20.5 or ?10.3 < M _V < ?7.8 at the distance of this galaxy, and colors 0.8 < V?I < 1.5 and 0.5 < B?V < 1.5. These identifications allow us to compare the properties of the X-ray globular cluster population discovered recently in this galaxy.     

Cost-effective infrastructure in a multi-antenna telescope layout

The future Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope is an interferometer array that will use a variety of collector types, including approximately 2500 dishes distributed with separations up to a few thousand kilometres, and about 250 aperture array (AA) stations located within 200 km of the core. The data rates associated with each individual collector are vast: around 10 GBytes/s for each dish and 2 TBytes/s for an AA station. As each of these must be connected directly to a central correlator, designing a cost-effective cabling and trenching infrastructure presents a great engineering challenge. In this paper we discuss approaches to performing this optimisation. In graph theory, the concept of a minimum spanning tree (MST) is equivalent to finding the minimum total trench length joining a set of n arbitrary points in the plane. We have developed a set of algorithms which optimise the infrastructure of any given telescope layout iteratively, taking into consideration not only trenching but also cabling and jointing costs as well. Solutions for few example configurations of telescope layout are presented. We have found that these solutions depend significantly on the collectors’ output data rates. When compared to a “traditional” MST-based approach which minimises trenching costs only, our algorithms can further reduce total costs by up to 15–20%. This can influence greatly the SKA infrastructure related costs.     

Temporal features in thunder days in the United States

1901–80 data for the contiguous U.S. show that secular variability of thunder days was very much less than that of precipitation or of frequency of extra tropical cyclones. Overall, there may have been a slight decline, but more evident was an increase to the thirties followed by a falling off, broken only by a peak in the seventies. These up-and-down movements were evident in most months of the year and regions of the U.S. The general decrease, however, was clear only in the South East and replaced by an increase in the Upper Great Lakes region. Secular variation in thunder day frequency was slightly correlated positively with that of extra tropical cyclone frequency and negatively with sea level pressure. The analysis also confirmed well known seasonal and regional patterns of thunder activity.     

Turbulent Intensities and Velocity Spectra for Bare and Forested Gentle Hills: Flume Experiments

To investigate how velocity variances and spectra are modified by the simultaneous action of topography and canopy, two flume experiments were carried out on a train of gentle cosine hills differing in surface cover. The first experiment was conducted above a bare surface while the second experiment was conducted within and above a densely arrayed rod canopy. The velocity variances and spectra from these two experiments were compared in the middle, inner, and near-surface layers. In the middle layer, and for the canopy surface, longitudinal and vertical velocity variances () were in phase with the hill-induced spatial mean velocity perturbation (Δu) around the so-called background state (taken here as the longitudinal mean at a given height) as predicted by rapid distortion theory (RDT). However, for the bare surface case, and remained out of phase with Δu by about L/2, where L is the hill half-length. In the canopy layer, wake production was a significant source of turbulent energy for , and its action was to re-align velocity variances with Δu in those layers, a mechanism completely absent for the bare surface case. Such a lower ‘boundary condition’ resulted in longitudinal variations of to be nearly in phase with Δu above the canopy surface. In the inner and middle layers, the spectral distortions by the hill remained significant for the background state of the bare surface case but not for the canopy surface case. In particular, in the inner and middle layers of the bare surface case, the effective exponents derived from the locally measured power spectra diverged from their expected  − 5/3 value for inertial subrange scales. These departures spatially correlated with the hill surface. However, for the canopy surface case, the spectral exponents were near  − 5/3 above the canopy though the minor differences from  − 5/3 were also correlated with the hill surface. Inside the canopy, wake production and energy short-circuiting resulted in significant departures from  − 5/3. These departures from  − 5/3 also appeared correlated with the hill surface through the wake production contribution and its alignment with Δu. Moreover, scales commensurate with Von Karman street vorticies well described wake production scales inside the canopy, confirming the important role of the mean flow in producing wakes. The spectra inside the canopy on the lee side of the hill, where a negative mean flow delineated a recirculation zone, suggested that the wake production scales there were ‘broader’ when compared to their counterpart outside the recirculation zone. Inside the recirculation zone, there was significantly more energy at higher frequencies when compared to regions outside the recirculation zone.