Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of tenure in the management of trees at the community level: theoretical and empirical analyses from Uganda and Malawi

This paper examines the effects of tenure on tree management at a community level. First, several important conceptual issues arising from this particular meso-level focus are discussed. Second, a description of the key tenure and tree management issues in Uganda and Malawi is presented. In each case, data representing changes in land use and tree cover between the 1960-70s and 1990s are analyzed. In both countries, there has been significant conversion of land from woodlands to agriculture. Tree cover has been more or less maintained over time in Uganda but has decreased in Malawi. Lastly, the paper explores the relationships between tenure and tree management using econometric techniques. Tenure is found to be linked to land-use and tree-cover change in both countries, though it is not necessarily the most important factor (e.g., population pressure is the key driving force for land-use change). In Uganda, conversion of land was more rapid under the customary tenure system and tree cover on nonagricultural land better maintained under the mailo system. In Malawi there was more rapid land-use conversion and tree cover depletion where there were more changes to traditional tenure systems taking place.
Growth mechanism and additional constraints on FeNi metal condensation in the solar nebula

Chemically zoned FeNi metal grains in the metal-rich chondrites QUE 94411 and Hammadah al Hamra 237 formed by gas-solid condensation in the temperature range from similar to1500 to 1400 K during highly energetic thermal events in the solar nebula. We observe a linear correlation between the apparent diameter of the zoned FeNi metal grains and their inferred condensation temperature interval, which indicates that the grain growth rate was essentially constant. This lends strong support for a kinetic "hit-and-stick" growth model that yields growth timescales of similar to20-85 hours and gas cooling rates of similar to1-2 K h(-1) for six representative zoned metal grains studied in QUE 94411. In the core regions of the zoned metal grains the Ni concentration is systematically lower than the thermodynamically predicted values, suggesting that solid-state diffusion played an important role in shaping the zoning profiles. Combined with existing data, our observations provide a set of constraints on the physics and chemistry of large-scale, high-temperature processes in the earliest solar nebula, which present astrophysicists with profound challenges.
Fractionation of 14N15N16O and 15N14N16O during photolysis at 213 nm

Motivated by Yung and Miller's [1997] suggestion that N2O is isotopically fractionated during UV photolysis in the stratosphere, we have studied the photolysis rates of the 14N15N16O and 15N14N16O structural isotopomers. In this study, we follow the concentrations of these compounds with FTIR spectroscopy during photolysis at 213 nm. When fitted to a Rayleigh fractionation model, the observations yield single‐stage enrichment factors of ϵ(14N15N16O / 14N14N16O) = −73 ± 5 per mil and ϵ(15N14N16O / 14N14N16O) = −41 ± 10 per mil. As predicted by Yung and Miller [1997], the photolysis rate of 15N14N16O is faster than 14N15N16O at this wavelength. The magnitude of the observed fractionation, however, is significantly larger than predicted.
Transport of low-concentration contaminants in saturated earthen barriers.

Laboratory tests indicate that a one-dimensional advective-dispersive transport model for reactive solutes provides reasonable estimates of the breakthrough of low-concentration organic contaminants in saturated fine-grained earthen barriers. Based upon this transport model, a design/analysis methodology and respective guidelines are developed for earthen barriers used in waste disposal applications. The limitations and restrictions of the model are discussed and fundamental variables affecting the transport are parametrically analyzed. Transport of low-concentration trichloroethylene at a selected study site was selected for illustrating the presented procedure.
Effects of sand supply on the morphodynamics and stratigraphy of active parabolic dunes, Bigstick Sand Hills, southwestern Saskatchewan

Sand supply is a major controlling factor on parabolic dune form and stratigraphy in inland settings. In this study, aerial photographs, ground-penetrating radar (GPR), and stratigraphic analysis document the morphodynamics of an individual and compound parabolic dune in the Bigstick Sand Hills, southwestern Saskatchewan. Migration rates for the last 60 years are comparable, although the profile morphologies differ, with the individual dune having a more aerodynamic form. Stratigraphic facies are also similar in both dune types, but the overall internal architecture imaged by GPR differs considerably. Configurations of cross-strata parallel to the downwind axis represent dominant foreset development and lee-slope slipface advance of the individual dune, and impeded slipface development of the compound dune. Stratigraphy transverse to the downwind axis represents radial deposition and foreset development at the individual dune, and vertical accumulation at the compound dune. The overall difference in parab.
Estimation of the penetration angle of a man-made tunnel using time of arrival measured by short-pulse cross-borehole radar

The relatively fast propagation of electromagnetic signals through empty man-made tunnels has played a key role in detecting deep underground tunnels using a short-pulse cross-borehole radar system. Our cross-borehole radar system measured the pulse signatures of an obliquely penetrating tunnel using eight different borehole pairs at a test site in Korea. Compared to the arrival times of the first peaks, the arrival times of the first received signals at an appropriate amplitude level provided an increasingly clear indication of the empty tunnel as its penetration angle became more oblique. A quadratic relationship between the arrival time of the first received signal and the oblique angle of the empty tunnel was obtained in pure granite.
Lithostratigraphy of Nigeria — An Overview

Nigeria lies very close to the equator (hot country) West coast Africa between latitude 4° N and 14° N degree and longitude 2° E and 15° E degree. The country is located at the Northern end of Eastern branch of west coast of Africa rift system. Nigeria geological set up comprises broadly sedimentary formation and crystalline basement complex, which occur more or less in equal proportion all over the country. The sediment is mainly Upper Cretaceous to recent in age while the basement complex rocks are thought to be Precambrian. The studied area lies between latitude 12.4° and 11.11°W and longitude 13.81° and 14.13° S. The studied area is underlain by Precambrian basement complex of southern western Nigeria . The major rock in the area is charnokite and granite rock. The granite rock which is member of the older granite suite occupies about 65% of the total area . The principal granite is petrographic variety are recognized . The fine grained biotite-granite medium-coarse, non porphyritic biotite -hornblende granite and coarse-porphyritic biotite -hornblende granite. Also three main textural type of Charnokitic rock are also distinguished are coarse grained, massive fine grained and gneissic fine grained . The mode of occurrence of rock is three (1) core of the granite rock as exemplified by study area and few smaller bodies (2) Margin of the granite bodies as seen in Ijare and Uro edemo-idemo Charnokitic bodies and (3) Discrete bodies of the gneissic fine grained Charnokitic rock within the country gneisses as seen in Ilaro and Iju and Emirin village. All the charnokite in the region are dark-greenish to greenish-gray rocks with bluish quartz and greenish feldspar.
From Boundary Observations 1

We consider the problem of recovering the coeecient q(x) in the equation u t = u ? qu from boundary observations. Uniqueness of q based on knowledge of thèNeumann 7 ! Dirichlet response operator' is shown as an implication of (known) corresponding results concerning the inverse problem for the corresponding hyperbolic equation w tt = w ? qw. This is then reduced to use of the response to a single input with some consideration of computational approximation.
Comparing Aircraft-Based Remotely Sensed Energy Balance Fluxes with Eddy Covariance Tower Data Using Heat Flux Source Area Functions

Abstract In an effort to better evaluate distributed airborne remotely sensed sensible and latent heat flux estimates, two heat flux source area (footprint) models were applied to the imagery, and their pixel weighting/integrating functionality was investigated through statistical analysis. Soil heat flux and sensible heat flux models were calibrated. The latent heat flux was determined as a residual from the energy balance equation. The resulting raster images were integrated using the 2D footprints and were compared to eddy covariance energy balance flux measurements. The results show latent heat flux estimates (adjusted for closure) with errors of (mean ± std dev) −9.2 ± 39.4 W m−2, sensible heat flux estimate errors of 9.4 ± 28.3 W m−2, net radiation error of −4.8 ± 20.7 W m−2, and soil heat flux error of −0.5 ± 24.5 W m−2. This good agreement with measured values indicates that the adopted methodology for estimating the energy balance components, using high-resolution airborne multispectral imagery, .
Subglacial water flow inferred from stream measurements at South Cascade Glacier, Washington, U.S.A.

Abstract The subglacial drainage system of South Cascade Glacier is inferred by examining how discharges of water, solutes and artificial tracers in streams draining the glacier respond to meltwater and precipitation on the glacier surface. Results indicate that the glacier is divided into three (two large and one small) drainage basins, each drained by a single stream. The positions of drainage divides on the glacier surface do not always lie directly over those at the base of the glacier. Comparisons of water discharge and cation load in each of the two main streams indicate that subglacial hydraulic processes differ between drainage basins. One stream drains from a conduit that is isolated in its lower reach from the surrounding subglacial region and receives water routed englacially from the surface. The upper reach of the conduit also receives water routed englacially from the surface as well as from a distributed subglacial flow system. The other main stream drains from a conduit coupled to a debris layer beneath the glacier. Observations of the layer in natural ice tunnels indicate that the water may flow within a thin layer of debris. A one-dimensional model of flow through the debris layer can explain both the base-flow and diurnal variations of the second main stream.
Last Glacial Maximum and the Gschnitz stadial in the Maritime Alps according to 10Be cosmogenic dating

Two glacial deposits in the Gesso valley (Maritime, Alps) have been 10Be‐dated at 20 140±1080 (weighted mean±SD) and 16 590±970 years, respectively, thus constraining the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and Gschnitz stadials in the southwestern part of the Alps. The LGM age is chronologically coherent with MIS 2 and synchronous with most other LGM moraines in the Alps. The Gschnitz stadial also appears to be in agreement with the ages obtained from other Alpine sites and with Heinrich Event I. This suggests that the Alpine glaciers reacted simultaneously and essentially synchronously with the climate change associated with Heinrich Event 1. The Equilibrium Line Altitudes (ELAs) of the LGM and Gschnitz reconstructed palaeoglaciers are 1850 and 1910 m a.s. l. , respectively. The ELA comparison across the Alps indicates that the palaeoclimate of the Maritime Alps during the LGM was rather different from that of other Alpine sectors. However, the similar Gschnitz ELA value between the Gesso valley and other sites across the mountain chain indicates that Alpine glaciers responded with the same intensity to the climate change associated with Heinrich Event I. Overall, these results suggest that the interaction between the atmospheric circulation of air masses and local Alpine orography was more complex than has previously been argued.
Spatiotemporal variations of reference evapotranspiration in recent five decades in the arid land of Northwestern China

Spatial and temporal variations of reference evapotranspiration (ET0) are useful for regional agricultural and water resources management as well as required in most distributed hydrological modelling. In the current study, the Penman–Monteith estimated ET0 in the arid land of Northwestern China has been explicitly explored using the Mann–Kendall test. Most stations in the study region exhibited significant decreasing trend of ET0 (P < 0.05) with only few occasions showing significant increasing trend (P < 0.05), despite the increase of temperature in the entire region. Analysis results revealed that the overall decreasing wind speed contributed most to the decreasing trend of ET0, whereas the contributions of relative humidity and sunshine duration were limited. Temperature played the second important role on determining ET0 trend, but its effect was opposite to that of wind speed and was largely offset by the decreasing wind speed. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis suggested the impact of temperature to ET0 was much larger than formerly reported if its effect on saturated vapour deficit was taken into account. The results obtained in the current study will help for better understanding of the effects of climate changes to water resource management in the arid land of northwest China. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Stratigraphy and tectonic setting of the host rocks to the Tjårrojåkka Fe-oxide Cu-Au deposits, Kiruna area, northern Sweden

Abstract The Tjårrojåkka area is located about 50 km WSW of Kiruna, northern Sweden, and hosts one of the best examples of spatially and possibly genetically related Fe-oxide and Cu-Au occurrences in the area. The bedrock is dominated by intermediate and basic extrusive and intrusive rocks. An andesite constrains the ages of these rocks with a U-Pb LA-ICPMS age of 1878±7 Ma. They are cut by dolerites, which acted as feeder dykes for the overlying basalts. Based on geochemistry and the obtained age the andesites and basaltic andesites can be correlated with the 1.9 Ga intermediate volcanic rocks of the Svecofennian Porphyrite Group in northern Sweden. They formed during subduction-related magmatism in a volcanic arc environment on the Archaean continental margin above the Kiruna Greenstone Group. Chemically the basalts and associated dolerites have the same signature, but cannot directly be related to any known basaltic unit in northern Sweden. The basalts show only minor contamination of continental crust and may represent a local extensional event in a subaquatic back arc setting with extrusion of mantle derived magma. The intrusive rocks range from gabbro to quartz-monzodiorite in composition. The area is metamorphosed at epidote-amphibolite facies and has been affected by scapolite, K-feldspar, epidote, and albite alteration that is more intense in the vicinity of deformation zones and mineral deposits. Three events of deformation have been distinguished in the area. D1 brittle-ductile deformation created NE-SW-striking steep foliation corresponding with the strike of the Tjårrojåkka-Fe and Cu deposits and was followed by the development of an E-W deformation zone (D2). A compressional event (D3), possible involving thrusting from the SW, produced folds in the central part of the area and a NNW-SSE striking deformation zone in NE.
Correlating Estrogen Levels and Cognitive Functions in Regularly Menstruating Females of Reproductive Age Group and Post Menopausal Women of North India

Objective: To correlate serum estrogen levels with cognitive functions calculated objectively as per Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) in the females in reproductive age group and those attaining menopause. Materials and methods: This study was conducted in Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India. 150 subjects (100 postmenopausal females and 50 regularly menstruating females of the reproductive age group) were included. The cognitive functions of all the females and serum estrogen levels (i.e Estradiol E2) were assessed. Results: The E2 levels in normal menstruating females were found to be higher (mean = 188.062 pg/ml) as compared to the menopausal females and the difference in E2 levels was found to be significant (p < 0.001). However, the difference in serum estrogen levels of subjects in the two menopausal groups was insignificant. MMSE, showed that scores of normal menstruating females were higher (mean score = 29.92) as compared to post menopausal females for 1-5 years (mean score = 26.72) and post menopausal females for last 6-10 years (mean score = 26.30). Conclusion: We observed that the cognition functions declined in post menopausal women, whereas the scores were higher in the women of reproductive age group, meaning thereby, that it is the serum estrogen level that is bringing about this difference. Another finding was that the decline in cognition following menopause was not progressive. Therefore, this correlation would open up the gates for the use of estrogen therapy for various neuropsychological disorders pertaining to cognition in the postmenopausal females.
Lower Palaeozoic stratigraphy and palaeontology, Karadere–Zirze area, Pontus Mountains, northern Turkey

Lower Palaeozoic rocks in the Karadere-Zirze area, east of Safranbolu (Pontides, northern Turkey), range from Early Ordovician to Silurian. Overlying the probably Tremadoc Bakacak Formation are Aydos Formation quartzites, followed conformably by the Karadere Formation, dated as Early Arenig to Early Llanvirn by means of graptolites which are assigned to seventeen genera and include three new forms: Eoglyptograptus bouceki, Prolasiograptus haplus praecursor and Undulograptus? mui. Late Arenig trilobites from the Karadere Formation include Bergamia, Cyclopyge, Dionidella? , Leioshumardia and Seleneceme. In the Limestone Member of the overlying Ketencikdere Formation, uncommon trilobites suggest only a mid- to late Ordovician age, but conodonts with Colour Alteration Index 5–6 indicate the Amorphognathus tvaerensis Biozone (early Caradoc). Macrofossils are rare in the Siltstone Member, but conodonts from the middle of the unit suggest the highest subzone of the A. tvaerensis Biozone; the youngest visible strata are, on acritarch evidence, at least as high as Caradoc, but the Ashgill is not confirmed and the contact with overlying Silurian rocks is unexposed. The Findikli Formation comprises: a Lower Member, black argillites with Llandovery graptolites and acritarchs; and an Upper Member, grey shales with late Wenlock graptolites, overlain unconformably by Devonian rocks. The succession differs significantly from contemporaneous deposits in southern Turkey and its affinities lie with western Europe, including the Welsh Basin.
Spatial Variation of Sea Level Trend Along the Bangladesh Coast

The Bangladesh coast is threatened by rising sea level due to various factors. The results based on the analysis of past 22 years of tidal data of the Bangladesh coast reveal that the annual mean tidal level in the eastern Bangladesh coast is rising at an alarmingly high rate of 7.8 mm/year, which is almost twice the observed rate in the western region. This type of sea level trend seems to be the result of changing local conditions like increased precipitation and land subsidence during the recent decades. It seems that the higher rate of land subsidence in the eastern Bangladesh coast is the main causative factor for the steeper sea level trends there. The differential sea level trends show that the subsidence component in the sea level rise may be as high as 4 mm/year in the eastern Bangladesh coast. However, this needs to be verified with actual geological observations.
The source motion of 2003 Bam (Iran) earthquake constrained by satellite and ground‐based geodetic data

SUMMARY The interpretation of coseismic surface deformation measurements through inversion techniques is of major importance to understand the mechanical behaviour of a seismic fault. Dense geodetic data sets in the vicinity of the ruptured fault provide unique constraints on detailed fault geometry and slip distribution at depth, making them complementary to seismological data. Bam earthquake (Mw 6.6, 2003 December 26) induced surface deformation has been precisely mapped by Envisat ASAR interferometry and by subpixel correlation techniques applied to Spot-5 and ASAR amplitude images. These oblique and horizontal estimations of deformation have been completed with one levelling profile along the main road crossing the rupture from west to east. We process these data (separately and jointly) in a two-step inversion technique, within the elastic half-space theory framework. Our objective is to determine the dislocation model at depth that satisfies simultaneously all the geodetic constraints. Also, we estimate the relative contribution of each geodetic data set to this inversion process. We first use a stochastic direct approach called neighbourhood algorithm in order to estimate the average characteristics of the rupture, and their relative uncertainty. Constraining in this way the geometry of the ruptured fault, we then linearize the inverse problem and compute the slip distribution on the fault using a standard weighted least-square technique, assuming the solution is smooth to some degree. At each step, we discuss the optimal models, their stability as well as the relative influence of each data set on the derived models parameters. Our preferred model reveals a shallow dislocation on a quasi-vertical fault, slightly dipping towards east. The slip vector has a strike-slip component as high as 2 m, while the dip-slip component seems negligible. However, the estimation of the resolution matrices emphasizes the fact that the details of deep fault slip distribution remain out of the scope of this ill-conditioned inverse problem. Yet, our preferred model suggests a main dislocation limited at depth between 1 and 6 km. By contrast, the aftershocks observed in the months following the earthquake are located just beneath the estimated main shock.
Retrievals of precipitable water vapor using star photometry: Assessment with Raman lidar and link to sun photometry

[1] This work deals with the applicability of a star photometer to retrieve precipitable water vapor (W) at nighttime by means of direct irradiance from stars using a 940 nm narrowband filter. Retrievals are assessed with simultaneous data from a Raman lidar system and linked with daytime values from a sun photometer using measurements taken from March to May 2007 at an urban site. Calibration of both the star and sun photometers was performed by the Modified Astronomical Langley Method. The retrieval of W from photometers is based on a look up table using a simplified expression for the water vapor transmittance and the relative optical water vapor air mass. This methodology presents a systematic uncertainty in W below 3% and 6% for sun and star photometry, respectively. Retrievals of W from star photometry were 9% above those obtained from the Raman lidar technique, but with a great agreement in the temporal evolution from both instruments. The link of daytime and nighttime values of W using sun and star photometers for a more extended database showed a smooth continuity between consecutive periods.