Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II and ROCOZ‐A ozone profiles at Natal, Brazil: A basis for comparison with other satellite instruments

We present the results of comparisons of satellite measurements of ozone from the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II (SAGE II) with in situ measurements from ROCOZ-A and electrochemical concentration cell (ECC) ozonesondes at Natal, Brazil (5.9°S, 35.2°W), during the southern hemisphere autumn of 1985. Since data were collected over a region of low ozone variability, comparisons were made of the mean values of 14 SAGE II profiles with the mean values of 7 ROCOZ-A and 7 ECC profiles, rather than of a more limited set of paired comparisons. The basic comparison presented here is ozone number density versus geometric altitude, the fundamental ozone measurement from SAGE II. Over the altitude region from 20 to 52 km SAGE II ozone densities averaged 0.4% lower than ROCOZ-A. The average of the absolute values of the ozone density differences for the two instruments was 2.4% over these altitudes. Owing in large part to the number of profiles in the data sets, the 95% confidence limits for the ozone density differences in these comparisons averaged 3.5% from 20 to 52 km, a significant improvement over previous results. In terms of ozone mixing ratio versus geometric altitude from 20 to 52 km, SAGE II values had a difference of 3.4% from ROCOZ-A (SAGE II higher), an average absolute difference of 3.8%, and an average of 4.7% for the 95% confidence limits. Differences between the ozone density and mixing ratio results are due to the auxiliary temperature and pressure values for the satellite and in situ instruments. The effects of pressure differences on the vertical positioning of the ozone profiles are not important for the altitude-based comparisons of SAGE II and ROCOZ-A. However, they become an important consideration in the comparisons of SAGE II with pressure-based ozone measurements from other satellite instruments. The composite sets of ozone, temperature, and pressure values presented here form an excellent basis for comparisons with other satellite ozone measurements.
The Trace Fossil Diplopodichnus from the Lower Jurassic Lacustrine Sediments of Central China and the Isopod Armadillidium vulgare (Pillbug) Lebensspuren as its Recent Analogue

The trace fossil Diplopodichnus isp. was identified in lacustrine siliciclastics of the Lower Jurassic Anyao Formation in the Henan Province, central China. This is the youngest occurrence of this ichnogenus. It is similar to some variants of recent surface traces of the isopod Armadillidium vulgare (pillbug) crawling on soft mud in temporal puddles. Therefore, isopods are suggested to be producers of the described Diplopodichnus isp. It seems that isopods should be taken into account as important component of deep lacustrine ecosystems by the Early Jurassic.
Generation of Mean Flows and Jets on a Beta Plane and over Topography

Abstract This paper proposes and discusses mechanisms whereby mean flows and jets are produced by differential rotation and by topographic effects. It is shown that, in general, a mean gradient of potential vorticity not only inhibits the cascade of energy to large scales but directly produces anisotropic structures. Scalings for this are examined on the β plane using ideas from classical phenomenology. The scalings are naturally anisotropic and predict the formation of zonal flows directly through a turbulent cascade. Numerical simulations and two-point closure calculations qualitatively confirm the predictions. Also, simulations of barotropic flow on the β plane can produce zonal jet structures of exceptional persistence over many eddy turnover times. Unsteady flow over topography generally produces a mean flow with a correlation between streamfunction and topography, with anticyclonic motion over humps. If the topography is shallow (or the flow sufficiently energetic) the mean streamfunction will be of.
Space‐time optimization of groundwater quality sampling networks

A method is herein proposed and demonstrated for the space‐time optimization of monitoring networks for groundwater quality. The objective is to provide a minimum cost design algorithm that will assist in determining where and when to sample existing wells dedicated to defining, through periodic sampling, the behavior of groundwater contaminants. The method has three characteristics: (1) The combined spatial and temporal redundancy of the sampling network is considered by using a Kalman filter coupled with a stochastic transport model in which velocity and dispersion are spatially correlated random fields. (2) The sampling network is optimized using an enumerative method that minimizes a function of the estimate variance. (3) A real‐time update of the estimate is obtained using again the Kalman filter. The synthetic examples presented show that for a contaminant plume in motion this method can obtain cost‐effective sampling networks.
Badger Resource Selection in the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia

Conservation of species at risk requires an understanding of resource-selection patterns and habitat distribution. We used 1,795 radio-telemetry locations from 55 study animals to model resource selection for an endangered population of American badger (Taxidea taxus jeffersonii, eastern population) in the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The badgers were associated with low elevations, shallow slopes, high solar radiation, and low crown closure. They selected higher elevations only on sites with shallow slopes or high solar radiation. Compared to mesic low-elevation forests, badgers selected locations where the climax ecoclass was riparian forest or very open low-elevation forest. In comparison to Douglas-fir stands, badgers selected clearings, moist forest, and open range. They avoided lodgepole pine stands, western larch stands, and wet areas. Relative to the Brunisol soil order, they avoided Podzolic – Luvisolic and Regosolic-Gleysolic orders. Compared to Morainal soil parent material, the badgers avoided colluvial, rock, aeolian, and anthropogenic and selected for glaciolacustrine parent material. Results were consistent both with expectations from other provincial studies and with cover types used by Columbian ground squirrels (Spermophilus columbianus), which are their main prey. Our model provides a spatially explicit tool to prioritize areas for restoration or critical habitat designation. Reduction of crown closure would benefit badgers, and would probably be the most advantageous on Brunisolic or Chernozemic soils and glaciolacustrine parent material.
Prospects for decadal prediction of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)

For certain, but realizable, states of the thermohaline and wind driven circulation of the North Atlantic Ocean, we demonstrate the possibility of making statements regarding the likely range of values to be taken by the annual average of the NAO‐index on time scales out to a decade. Given that the North Atlantic is currently in such a predictable state, a simple surrogate model yields a prediction that the NAO index is more likely to be positive than negative for the next couple of years, followed by several years in which the NAO index is more likely to be negative.
The detailed palaeoecology of a mid‐Wisconsinan interstadial (ca. 32 000 14C a BP) vegetation surface from interior Alaska

We present a multi‐proxy reconstruction from a well‐preserved vegetation surface (ca. 32 000 14C a BP) from the Fox Permafrost tunnel near Fairbanks, Alaska. A thick litter layer of plant material on the vegetation surface is consistent with the vegetation lacking evidence of disturbance. Plant macrofossils and graminoid cuticle analysis show the presence of a graminoid assemblage consistent with phytolith data. The pollen data indicate that trees were not local to the site and that Artemisia sp. was present in the region. The insect and bryophyte reconstructions are consistent with the vascular plant reconstruction, indicating the site was at least periodically wet. δ13C values from the graminoids present show a large range encompassing both the wet and dry range displayed by modern graminoids in Alaska. Sequential δ13C analyses conducted along the length of leaves attached to the vegetation surface indicate a seasonal shift towards relatively higher water use efficiency. The lower water use efficiency earlier in the growing season may have stemmed from the use of winter season meltwater by plants at the site – a scenario consistent with the site's cryostratigraphy. Our multi‐proxy reconstruction contributes to the limited palaeoecological data available for graminoid‐dominated vegetation present in Eastern Beringia and particularly the interior of Alaska during the mid‐Wisconsinan interstadial. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Tropical mesopause: Is it always close to 100 km?

[1] Global distribution of mesopause using observations of Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) aboard the Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics satellite is studied with special emphasis on tropical latitudes. Temperature structure of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere over Gadanki (13.5°N, 79.2°E), a tropical latitude location in India, has been studied in detail. The mesopause altitude at Gadanki is observed to be in the range of 87–105 km with a mean of ∼98 km, and the temperature is in the range of 160–205 K with a mean of ∼170 K. A secondary temperature minimum is observed in the height region of 75–80 km with temperature in the range of 175–195 K. Although the mesopause temperature and altitude show pronounced short-term variability, on a seasonal mean basis, the variation in these two parameters is rather small. There is no significant long-term variation in mesopause altitude. The height of the secondary minimum, however, is found to show semiannual variation with a maximum in solstices and a minimum in equinoxes. Thus, the variabilities in the height and temperature of the mesopause and the secondary minimum reported here are different from the two-level mesopause reported previously for middle and high latitudes. Another significant result that comes from the time series analysis of mesopause temperature is a decreasing trend with a rate of ∼0.72 ± 0.05 K/yr. Furthermore, the long-term mean profile of temperature does not show the secondary minimum, providing strong support that it could be due to shorter scale tides and gravity waves. The possible implications of the mesopause temperature structure on various physical processes occurring in the mesosphere and the lower thermosphere are discussed.
Atmospheric photochemical reactivity and ozone production at two sites in Hong Kong: Application of a Master Chemical Mechanism–photochemical box model

A photochemical box model incorporating the Master Chemical Mechanism (v3.2), constrained with a full suite of measurements, was developed to investigate the photochemical reactivity of volatile organic compounds at a semirural site (Mount Tai Mo Shan (TMS)) and an urban site (Tsuen Wan (TW)) in Hong Kong. The levels of ozone (O3) and its precursors, and the magnitudes of the reactivity of O3 precursors, revealed significant differences in the photochemistry at the two sites. Simulated peak hydroperoxyl radical (HO2) mixing ratios were similar at TW and TMS (p = 0.05), while the simulated hydroxyl radical (OH) mixing ratios were much higher at TW (p < 0.05), suggesting different cycling processes between OH and HO2 at the two sites. The higher OH at TW was due to high‐NO mixing ratios, which shifted the HOx (OH + HO2) balance toward OH by the propagation of HO2 and alkyl peroxy radicals (RO2) with NO. HOx production was dominated by O3 photolysis at TMS, but at TW, both HCHO and O3 photolyses were found to be major contributors. By contrast, radical‐radical reactions governed HOx radical losses at TMS, while at TW, the OH + NO2 reaction was found to dominate in the morning and the radical‐radical reactions at noon. Overall, the conversion of NO to NO2 by HO2 dictated the O3 production at the two sites, while O3 destruction was dominated by the OH + NO2 reaction at TW, and at TMS, O3 photolysis and the O3 + HO2 reaction were the major mechanisms. The longer OH chain length at TMS indicated that more O3 was produced for each radical that was generated at this site.
The hot summers and rice in Japan

In 2007, we had a very hot summer across Japan, and the maximum air temperature hit a new high of 40.9°C in August. In 2010, we experienced another record hot summer, and the mean air temperature across the three months from June to August was the highest on record since 1898. In northern Japan in particular, the 3-months mean air temperature was by more than 2°C higher than the normal. Similar anomaly was also observed in other part of the northern hemisphere (http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/csi/events/2010/russianheatwave/prelim.html). No matter what the causes of the heat anomalies are, we should learn how the agriculture have responded to the heat, and be better prepared for the future when the current anomalies become the norm. This issue of Journal of Agricultural Meteorology focuses on the impacts of high temperature on rice production in Japan. Most of the articles are based on or prompted by the findings in the hot summers of 2007 and 2010.
ppGalNAc-T13: a new molecular marker of bone marrow involvement in neuroblastoma.

BACKGROUND To identify new molecular markers of bone marrow dissemination in human neuroblastoma (NB), we studied the transcriptome profiles of malignant neuroblasts established from the human MYCN-amplified IGR-N-91 model. METHODS This experimental model includes human neuroblastoma cells derived from a subcutaneous stage 4 disease, myocardium (Myoc) and bone marrow (BM) metastatic cells. RESULTS Gene expression profiles obtained with Agilent oligo microarrays revealed a set of 107 differentially expressed genes in the metastatic neuroblasts. This set included up-regulated genes involved in chemoresistance, cell motility, neuronal structure/signaling, and the recently characterized GALNT13 gene encoding a glycosyltransferase that initiates mucin-type O-glycosylation. Because the glycosylation process is involved in the progression of primary tumor to metastatic disease, we investigated whether the most strongly up-regulated gene, GALNT13, might be a marker of bone marrow involvement in stage 4 NB patients. Importantly, in the BM of healthy adults no GALNT13 transcript was detected with analysis by quantitative (n = 3) and nested reverse transcription-PCR (n = 4) assays. In contrast, GALNT13 transcripts were detected in 23/23 cytologically involved BM samples obtained at diagnosis of stage 4 NB patients and in 5/27 cytologically noninvolved BM samples obtained from patients with stage 1-4 and 4S and treated stage 4 NB. The quantitative measurements of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), ganglioside D2 synthase, dopa decarboxylase, and GALNT13 transcript values were compared in the same NB patients, and the results showed that GALNT13 expression was most highly correlated to poor clinical outcome at diagnosis. CONCLUSION We propose ppGalNAc-T13 as a new informative marker for the molecular diagnosis of BM involvement and the follow-up of minimal residual disease in NB patients.
A parameterization of snowpack and frozen ground intended for NCEP weather and climate models

Extensions to the land surface scheme (LSS) in the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, regional, coupled, land-atmosphere weather prediction model, known as the mesoscale Eta model, are proposed and tested off-line in uncoupled mode to account for seasonal freezing and thawing of soils and snow-accumulation-ablation processes. An original model assumption that there is no significant heat transfer during redistribution of liquid water was relaxed by including a source/sink term in the heat transfer equation to account for latent heat during phase transitions of soil moisture. The parameterization uses the layer-integrated form of heat and water diffusion equations adopted by the original Eta-LSS. Therefore it simulates the total ice content of each selected soil layer. Infiltration reduction under frozen ground conditions was estimated by probabilistic averaging of spatially variable ice content of the soil profile. Off-line uncoupled tests of the new and original Eta-LSS were performed using experimental data from Rosemount, Minnesota. Simulated soil temperature and unfrozen water content matched observed data reasonably well. Neglecting frozen ground processes leads to significant underestimation/overestimation of soil temperature during soil freezing/thawing periods and underestimates total soil moisture content after extensive periods of soil freezing.
Influence of benthic boundary layer dynamics on wind‐induced currents in the Ebro delta inner shelf

Measurements taken by two instrumented tripods deployed on the Ebro delta inner shelf at 8.5- and 12.5-m depth were used to characterize low-frequency currents under the action of a moderate eastern storm. Results show that inner shelf currents respond very rapidly to wind action with along-shelf currents dominating over the across-shelf ones. Mean along-shelf velocities of 0.35 and 0.24 m s -1 at the inner and outer position, respectively, were recorded during the event, and they were highly correlated with the along-shelf wind stress. The measured current profiles were used to derive wind drag coefficients, assuming a balance between the along-shelf components of the wind and current bottom stresses. Since under eastern wind events, wave action in the Ebro inner shelf is significantly enhanced, wave-current interaction processes controlling the current bottom stress and sediment mobilization can affect the current structure. During the event, depth-averaged concentrations in the lower meter of the water column larger than 1 g L -1 were recorded that were also accompanied by the generation of vertical concentration gradients larger than 1 g L -1 m -1 . When the bottom drag coefficient was obtained from velocity profiles without considering the presence of these gradients, the required wind drag coefficients to fulfil the along-shelf balance were much higher than the ones derived from wind data, and they vary across the inner shelf. However, when bottom drag coefficients are obtained including stratification effects, the wind drag coefficients fulfilling the along-shelf balance were of the same order of magnitude as the ones derived from wind data and without any difference at both locations.
Evolution of hierarchical self-similar geometry of experimental fault zones: Implications for seismic nucleation and earthquake size

[1] The geometry of fault zones and its evolutionary trend were experimentally investigated for samples of calcareous siltstone nodule through a repetitive procedure of axial loading to grow faults a little, close-up photographing of faults that appeared on the side surface of the samples, and axial loading again. Irrespective of their size, fault zones are composed of three or four fault segments and compression-type fault jogs. Smaller segment-jog structures are nested in larger segments, forming a hierarchical fault zone structure as a whole, and they show self-similarities. Fault zones grow keeping this self-similar hierarchical structure. On the basis of this fault zone geometry, we successfully derived the Gutenberg-Richter's law as well as the previously known relationship of seismic nucleation sizes to seismic moments. These results suggest that fundamentally any seismic rupture nucleates at a smaller jog (asperity) of a lower hierarchical rank and terminates eventually at a larger jog (barrier) of a higher rank, mimicking the hierarchical fault zone geometry.
Cluster electron observations of the separatrix layer during traveling compression regions

We present Cluster 4‐point observations of electrons during traveling compression regions (TCRs) on 19 September 2001. The electron and ∣B∣ signatures vary with distance from the plasma sheet, confirming that transient plasma sheet bulges propagate past Cluster. TCRs with ∣B∣ increases have either no electron signature, or unidirectional ∼1 keV electrons at the plasma sheet edge. However, spacecraft initially near the plasma sheet edge are engulfed within the bulge and observe a diamagnetic reduction in ∣B∣. In cases where the underlying plasma sheet bulge moves earthward, electrons at the plasma sheet edge stream tailward. We suggest this represents either a remote observation of electrons closing the Hall current system in an ion diffusion region located farther tailward, or the outflow jets along the separatrix formed by a second neutral line located farther earthward of the spacecraft. The latter case implies the simultaneous action of multiple X‐lines in the near‐Earth tail.
The response of the Southern Annular Mode, the East Australian Current, and the southern mid‐latitude ocean circulation to global warming

Climate models predict an upward trend of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) in response to increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration, however the consequential impact of this change on oceanic circulation has not been explored. Here we analyse the outputs of a series of global warming experiments from the CSIRO Mark 3 climate model. We show that although for the zonal wind stress change the maximum is located at approximately 60°S, in terms of the change in surface wind stress curl, the maximum is situated at approximately 48°S. This change in the wind stress curl causes a spin‐up of the entire southern midlatitude ocean circulation including a southward strengthening of the subtropical gyres, particularly the East Australia Current (EAC). The intensified EAC generates a warming rate in the Tasman Sea that is the greatest in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) with significant implications for sea level rise. The pan‐Southern Ocean scale suggests a broad impact on the marine ecosystem of the entire southern midlatitude ocean.
Observed Changes in One-in-20 Year Extremes of Canadian Surface Air Temperatures

Weather and climate extremes are often associated with substantial adverse impacts on society and the environment. Assessment of changes in extremes is of great and broad interest. This study first homogenizes daily minimum and maximum surface air temperatures recorded at 146 stations in Canada. In order to assess changes in one-in-20 year extremes (i.e., extremes with a 20-year return period) in temperature, annual maxima and minima of both daily minimum temperatures and daily maximum temperatures are derived from the homogenized daily temperature series and analyzed with a recently developed extreme value analysis approach based on a tree of generalized extreme value distributions (including stationary and non-stationary cases). The procedure is applied to estimate the changes over the period 1911 to 2010 at 115 stations, located mainly in southern Canada, and over the period 1961 to 2010 at 146 stations across Canada (including 37 stations in the North). The results show that warming is strongest for extreme low temperature and weakest for extreme high temperature and is much stronger in the Canadian Arctic than in southern Canada. Warming is stronger in winter than in summer and stronger during nighttime than daytime of the same season.
Chemistry of streams of Signy Island, maritime Antarctic: sources of major ions

A general study of the streams of Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, was undertaken to identify the effects of catchment, distance from source, and time on concentrations of dissolved ions. In the majority of cases catchment did not affect the chemistry of streams, although marine-derived ions were affected by distance from the sea. Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl− and NH4+were derived from the thawing of the winter snowpack. NO3− was derived from areas of permanent ice. SiO44−, Ca2+, Mg2+ and CO2−3 were derived from crustal weathering. Although PO43− was also derived from crustal weathering, it was released as a pulse related to the thawing of the soil.