Analytical solutions of one‐dimensional infiltration before and after ponding

This paper is a continuation of previous research, which obtained a convenient solution for arbitrary surface fluxes before ponding. By means of Fourier Transformation this has been extended to derive analytical solutions of a linearized Richards' equation for arbitrary input fluxes after surface saturation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The distribution of QSO absorption lines and its implications

The distribution of L absorption lines has been investigated in the fractal scheme. It is found that (1) the L absorption clouds distribute completely different from that of galaxies; (2) the L absorption clouds are anti-associated with galaxies and quasars. These results may imply that there are two kinds of objects formed by different processes of clustering. This is favourable for the cosmic-string theory on the formation of large-scale structure of the Universe. In the string model, the objects can be divided into two kinds according to their clustering with or without string loops as their initial density perturbation.On leave from the Center of Astrophysics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, P.R. China. Y. Chu is a research fellow of Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation.     

FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC science mission update

The FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC mission is a microsatellite mission for weather forecast, climate monitoring, and atmospheric, ionospheric and geodesy research. This mission is a collaborative Taiwan-USA science experiment to deploy a constellation of six microsatellites in low Earth orbits. The mission life is 2 years with a goal of 5 years. The final mission orbit has an altitude of 750–800 km. Each satellite consists of three science payloads: global positioning system (GPS) occultation experiment (GOX) payload, tiny ionospheric photometer (TIP) and tri-band beacon (TBB). The GOX will collect the GPS signals for the study on atmosphere, ionosphere, and geodesy. The TIP and TBB can provide the electron distribution information for ionospheric research. The deployment of the FORMOSAT-3 constellation and the resulting influence on the occultation sounding distributions are reported. Details are also given on GOX, TIP, and TBB payload operations and the contributions of the Taiwan Science Team.     

Efficacy of Annual Bacteria Monitoring and Shock Chlorination in Wells Finished in a Floodplain Aquifer

Public health authorities generally recommend annual water-quality monitoring of rural water wells and shock chlorination if coliforms are detected. It is implicitly assumed that shock chlorination is effective in ridding most wells of bacteriological pathogens for months to years. Neither annual monitoring nor shock chlorination was effective in addressing coliform contamination of selected water wells in a small town developed on an alluvial aquifer where septic system effluents are impacting well water quality. Considerable temporal variation in total and fecal coliforms was observed in water wells monitored for a six-month period. Individual wells intermittently met and exceeded the drinking water criteria, indicating annual sampling was insufficient. Shock chlorination of three contaminated wells and their associated distribution systems proved ineffective because colonies apparently originated from outside the wells and reappeared over relatively short time periods (ranging from less than one week up to 21 weeks). The relatively fast and similar rate of recovery of total heterotrophic bacteria suggested they are related to biofilm formation in the wells and not to ground water contamination.     

面向多区域高效搜索的UUV集群任务分配

UUV 集群在执行大范围搜索任务时分配方案的优劣对于提高任务执行效率至关重要。研究解决 UUV 集群同时进行多区域搜索中的任务分配问题,使得全部区域搜索完成时长最小。针对传统匈牙利算法无法高效解决不平衡任务分配的问题,提出一种改进匈牙利多轮分配算法。该算法通过多轮任务分配,实现空闲 UUV 高效利用和目标区域合理分配,通过在代价函数中引入边际代价和保守估计时长,大大减小了全部区域搜索完成时长。仿真实验结果表明：提出的算法相比传统匈牙利算法能够合理分配空闲 UUV,提高分配效率。此外,相较于仅采用搜索时长为代价函数,在代价函数中引入边际代价和保守估计时长能够针对耗时长的区域最大限度缩短搜索时长,保证随着 UUV 数量的增加,全部区域搜索完成时长单调递减。     

Broader pattern of tandem repeats in the mitochondrial control region of Perciformes

Perciformes, the largest order of vertebrates with 20 suborders, is the most diverse fish order that dominates vertebrate ocean life. The complete mitochondrial control region (CR) of Trichiurus japonicus (Trichiuridae, Scombroidei) and Pampus sp. (Stromateidae, Stromateoidei) were amplified and sequenced. Together with data from GenBank, the tandem repeats in the mitochondrial CR from 48 species, which covered nine suborders of Perciformes, are reported in this study. The tandem repeats tend to be long in the suborder Percoidei and Stromateoidei. The identical repeats in 21 species of Cichlidae suggest a common origin and have existed before species divergence. Larimichthys crocea shows tandem repeats instead of the typical structure of the central conserved sequence blocks, which was first reported in Perciformes and vertebrates. This might have resulted from interruption of the polymerase activity during the H-strand synthesis. The four broader patterns presented here for the tandem repeats, including those in both the 5′ and 3′ ends, only in the either 5′ or 3′ end, and in the central conserved domain of the control region, will be useful for understanding the evolution of species.     

Ab initio prediction of 29Si-NMR chemical shifts

The ability of several ab initio models to predict experimental ²⁹Si-NMR chemical shift is examined. The shielding values of trimethylsilyl chloride (A), t-butyldimethylsilyl chloride (B) and allytrimethylsilane (C) are calculated by GIAO, CSGT and IGAIM methods, using HF/6–31G^*, B3LYP/6-31G^*, HF/6–311+G^**, B3LYP/6–311+G^** and MPW1PW91/6–311+G^** models respectively. The ²⁹Si chemical shifts calculated by GIAO method using HF/6–311+G^** model are highly in agreement with those obtained experimentally. All of the models above reproduce the trends of chemical shifts in all cases studied, suggesting that the models are of practical value.     

Effects of convection instability due to incompatibility between ocean dynamics and surface forcings

The study demonstrates that an incompatibility between a surface temperature climatology and a given ocean model, into which the climatology is assimilated via Haney restoration, can cause model ocean climate drift and interdecadal oscillations when the ocean is switched to a weaker restoration. This is made using an idealized Atlantic Ocean model driven by thermal and wind forcing only. Initially, the temperature climatology is forcefully assimilated into the model, and an implied heat flux field is diagnosed. During this stage any incompatibility is suppressed. The restoring boundary condition is then switched to a new forcing consisting of a part of the diagnosed flux and a part of the restoring forcing in such a way that at the moment of the switching the heat flux is identical to that prior to the switching. Under this new forcing condition, the incompatibility becomes manifest, causing changes in convection patterns, and producing drift and interdecadal oscillations. The mechanisms are described.