On the practice of estimating fractal dimension

Coastlines epitomize deterministic fractals and fractal (Hausdorff-Besicovitch) dimensions; a divider [compass] method can be used to calculate fractal dimensions for these features. Noise models are used to develop another notion of fractals, a stochastic one. Spectral and variogram methods are used to estimate fractal dimensions for stochastic fractals. When estimating fractal dimension, the objective of the analysis must be consistent with the method chosen for fractal dimension calculation. Spectal and variogram methods yield fractal dimensions which indicate the similarity of the feature under study to noise (e.g., Brownian noise). A divider measurement method yields a fractal dimension which is a measure of complexity of shape.     

Interaction of S- and L-bursts in Jupiter's decametric radio spectra

Dynamic spectra of Jupiter's decametric emission are observed with a high-resolution radio spectrograph. Certain events observed in region Io-B display interaction effects between the S- and L-emissions. The effect appears as a gap in the L-emission after a passage of an S-burst. In a typical case the L-emission has a relatively narrow bandwidth, the S-burst appears as a sloping line crossing it, and the duration of the emission gap is a substantial fraction of a second. The gap has sharp, sloped edges; its leading edge has anf-t slope which is the same as that of the S-burst while the slope of the trailing edge is lower. A kind of tilted V-pattern is thus formed. It is suggested that some more complicated spectral patterns may also be produced this way. It seems that an emission model consisting of S-bursts from bunches of gyrofrequency-emitting electrons ascending a flux tube and interacting with L-emitting bunches of electrons having more stationary guiding centers is inadequate to explain the complex S-L interactions.Contribution of No. 36 of the Department of Astronomy, University of Florida, U.S.A.     

Observations of Jupiter at 26.3 MHz using a large array

A 640 element phase-steerable dipole array has been used to make highly sensitive observations of the planet Jupiter during the 1973 apparition. The satellite Io is found to have very little influence at the low flux levels, whereas the definition of sources A and B appears to be relatively flux independent. A two-dimensional analysis of the data in the Jupiter-Io plane has revealed considerable source B activity at low intensities which is not influenced by Io.     

Spatial Modeling of Geometallurgical Properties: Techniques and a Case Study

High-resolution spatial numerical models of metallurgical properties constrained by geological controls and more extensively by measured grade and geomechanical properties constitute an important part of geometallurgy. Geostatistical and other numerical techniques are adapted and developed to construct these high-resolution models accounting for all available data. Important issues that must be addressed include unequal sampling of the metallurgical properties versus grade assays, measurements at different scale, and complex nonlinear averaging of many metallurgical parameters. This paper establishes techniques to address each of these issues with the required implementation details and also demonstrates geometallurgical mineral deposit characterization for a copper–molybdenum deposit in South America. High-resolution models of grades and comminution indices are constructed, checked, and are rigorously validated. The workflow demonstrated in this case study is applicable to many other deposit types.     

Do sedentary behavior and physical activity spatially cluster? Analysis of a population-based sample of Boston adolescents

Sedentary behavior and lack of physical activity are key modifiable behavioral risk factors for chronic health problems, such as obesity and diabetes. Little is known about how sedentary behavior and physical activity among adolescents spatially cluster. The objective was to detect spatial clustering of sedentary behavior and physical activity among Boston adolescents. Data were used from the 2008 Boston Youth Survey Geospatial Dataset, a sample of public high school students who responded to a sedentary behavior and physical activity questionnaire. Four binary variables were created: (1) TV watching (>2 h/day), (2) video games (>2 h/day), (3) total screen time (>2 h/day); and (4) 20 min/day of physical activity (≥5 days/week). A spatial scan statistic was utilized to detect clustering of sedentary behavior and physical activity. One statistically significant cluster of TV watching emerged among Boston adolescents in the unadjusted model. Students inside the cluster were more than twice as likely to report >2 h/day of TV watching compared to respondents outside the cluster. No significant clusters of sedentary behavior and physical activity emerged. Findings suggest that TV watching is spatially clustered among Boston adolescents. Such findings may serve to inform public health policy-makers by identifying specific locations in Boston that could provide opportunities for policy intervention. Future research should examine what is linked to the clusters, such as neighborhood environments and network effects.     

Geographies of energy transition: the case of high-performing commercial office space in the central business districts of Sydney and Melbourne,Australia

As a signatory to the Paris Climate Agreement, Australia committed to reduce emissions significantly by 2030. In a country highly urbanised and dependent on fossil fuels as its primary energy source, one key avenue for meeting these commitments is energy transition in the built environment. Australia has emerged as a leader in the design and construction of high-performance buildings in the premium commercial office sector. In this paper, we address a significant gap in understanding the diverse mechanisms through which building energy transition is being constituted in this sector, focusing on Sydney and Melbourne. In the absence of substantive publicly available data, we draw on mixed methods comprising a database developed around high-performing CBD office buildings and qualitative interviews with a range of sectoral stakeholders. We characterise the building stock in each city, and document five trends constituting energy transitions. We demonstrate that building energy transitions are not only shaped purposefully by dominant governance regimes but also by opportunistic responses to specific material and commercial conditions and legacies in each city. Thus the urban built environment affords significant opportunity for energy transitions, but pathways towards such transitions are necessarily multiple and ultimately shaped by material as well as institutional geographies.     

Guiding ecological principles for marine spatial planning

The declining health of marine ecosystems around the world is evidence that current piecemeal governance is inadequate to successfully support healthy coastal and ocean ecosystems and sustain human uses of the ocean. One proposed solution to this problem is ecosystem-based marine spatial planning (MSP), which is a process that informs the spatial distribution of activities in the ocean so that existing and emerging uses can be maintained, use conflicts reduced, and ecosystem health and services protected and sustained for future generations. Because a key goal of ecosystem-based MSP is to maintain the delivery of ecosystem services that humans want and need, it must be based on ecological principles that articulate the scientifically recognized attributes of healthy, functioning ecosystems. These principles should be incorporated into a decision-making framework with clearly defined targets for these ecological attributes. This paper identifies ecological principles for MSP based on a synthesis of previously suggested and/or operationalized principles, along with recommendations generated by a group of twenty ecologists and marine scientists with diverse backgrounds and perspectives on MSP. The proposed four main ecological principles to guide MSP—maintaining or restoring: native species diversity, habitat diversity and heterogeneity, key species, and connectivity—and two additional guidelines, the need to account for context and uncertainty, must be explicitly taken into account in the planning process. When applied in concert with social, economic, and governance principles, these ecological principles can inform the designation and siting of ocean uses and the management of activities in the ocean to maintain or restore healthy ecosystems, allow delivery of marine ecosystem services, and ensure sustainable economic and social benefits.     

The case for planetary sample return missions. 2. History of Mars

Principal science goals for exploration of Mars are to establish the chemical, isotopic, and physical state of Martian material, the nature of major surface-forming processes and their time scales, and the past and present biological potential of the planet. Many of those goals can only be met by detailed analyses of atmospheric gases and carefully selected samples of fresh rocks, weathered rocks, soils, sediments, and ices. The high-fidelity mineral separations, complex chemical treatments, and ultrasensitive instrument systems required for key measurements, as well as the need to adapt analytical strategies to unanticipated results, point to Earth-based laboratory analyses on returned Martian samples as the best means for meeting the stated objectives.