Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evolution of weathering patterns in the Indo‐Burman Ranges over the last 280 kyr: Effects of sediment provenance on 87Sr/86Sr ratios tracer

A high‐resolution study of mineralogy and major element geochemistry combined with Sr and Nd isotopes has been conducted on high sedimentation rate cores collected off the Irrawaddy River mouth in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to reconstruct the erosional and weathering history of the Irrawaddy River basin. In both cores, ɛNd(0) values imply that both glacial and interglacial sediments share a common crustal source: the Irrawaddy River. Strong glacial/interglacial cycles are recorded by 87Sr/86Sr: interglacial periods yield values between 0.713 and 0.717, whereas glacial periods show higher values between 0.717 and 0.719. Variations of the pedogenic clays (smectite and kaolinite) to primary mineral (feldspar, quartz, illite, and chlorite) ratios show strong precessional cycles, suggesting a control by past changes in the summer monsoon intensity. Each increase in pedogenic clays content is also associated with a net loss of labile elements (Na, K, and Ca) from the detrital minerals under chemical weathering. Wet periods of summer monsoon reinforcement correspond to an increase in weathering of the Irrawaddy plain soils and a decrease of 87Sr/86Sr ratio. Plotting 87Sr/86Sr versus 87Rb/86Sr gives a pseudo‐isochrons interpreted as a mixing line representing the strength of chemical weathering. During glacial stages, enhanced physical erosion induced by glacier scour and frost action in the highland of the Irrawaddy River basins produced high volumes of unaltered, Rb‐rich minerals. The low sea level of glacial times constricted the river to the main channel in the lower reaches and permitted an efficient transport of unaltered Rb‐rich minerals with high radiogenic Sr composition from the high relief of the Indo‐Burman Ranges and the Tibetan plateau to the Indian Ocean.
Spatial Analysis of Shoreline Erosion, Delaware Bay, New Jersey

Abstract Controls of process-response relationships in physical geography vary with scale. Two approaches to this problem are identified. The fixed-scale approach studies process-response relationships within particular scale contexts. The spatial-analytic approach seeks first to determine the spatial structure of the pattern of variability of a process (such as shore erosion) to discover the important scale(s) of variation. Controls operating at this scale have the greatest relative importance at the broadest scale considered. This approach is applied to shoreline erosion along the New Jersey shore of Delaware Bay. Geostatistical and fractal analysis indicates that variability of erosion rates is high, the alongshore pattern complex, and the scale of variability local. This indicates that despite significant long-range differences in erosion rates, short-range, local factors are more important in determining differences in erosion rates than are long-range factors such as the shape of the estuary. A numb.
The context of REDD+ in Brazil: Drivers, agents, and institutions

This report provides an overview of the contextual conditions that affect the REDD+ policy environment in the Brazilian Amazon. Based on reviews of existing literature, national and international data, legal opinions and selected expert interviews, it provides the background and the preliminary analysis of the context in which national REDD+ strategies are being developed. This document is organized into 5 main sections. First, it reviews the main forest and land use trends, investigating the main country-specific drivers of deforestation and degradation. The second section reviews major institutional factors linked to governance and rights, with particular emphasis on access rights to forestland and forest resources, as well as on decentralization of governance, which has a crucial role in Brazil's REDD+ strategy. The third section encompasses political-economic factors, depicting the broader context in which drivers of deforestation and degradation operate. The fourth section moves more specifically to the development of national REDD+ policy strategies. The final section then draws on the implications of the preceding sections for prospective REDD+ outcomes by conducting an assessment of the efficiency, efficacy and equity (3Es) of execution of REDD+ strategies
Characterization and Palaeoecological Significance of Archaeological Charcoal Assemblages during Late and Post-Glacial Phases in Southern France

Archaeological sites at Abeurador and Font-Juvénal have produced extensive charcoal-rich horizons. The results of the charcoal analysis, based on the identification of woody species from anatomical features, contribute to the elaboration of plain phases within the development of vegetation in southern France. They are presented here in a new diagram and are interpreted as four major vegetation phases from 11,00014C yr B.P. to the recent past. In order to interpret the palaeoecological significance of the charcoal assemblages we have used multivariate analysis. The data base consists of 42 taxa and 48 archaeological levels. The division into four vegetation phases based on analytical interpretation is complemented by the more synthetic interpretation based on correspondence factor analysis (CFA). The results reveal the patterns of the vegetation history over the last 11 millennia, each being characterized by a key plant species.
On Ratio Correlation in Petrography

The same ratio correlation may be generated by many different combinations of relationships between absolute measures, but a single set of absolute-measure statistics leads to one, and only one, correlation between any particular set of ratios formed from these absolute measures. The passage from ratio correlation to inference about relations between absolute measures is ambiguous at best and often misleading. Algebraic statements exhibiting ratio correlation as a function of absolute-measure statistics are offered for types of ratios commonly used in petrography. These statements are all derived from Pearson's general formula for index correlation. They yield good approximations only if the fraction s/x for each absolute measure is suitably small. Several practical examples drawn from petrographic literature are described. In most of these cases the ratios seem to have been used either to order the data or in the hope that they would throw some light on relationships between absolute measures. The results are shown to be on the whole indecisive and ambiguous and in a few cases decidedly misleading. The formation of ratios should be confined to those problems in which hypotheses being tested deal with ratios. Absolute measures are always preferable when large numbers of observations must be recorded without benefit of satisfactory hypothesis. Ratios can always be drawn from tables of absolute measures; frequently, absolute measures cannot be reclaimed from tables of ratios.
Debris entrainment by basal freeze‐on and thrusting during the 1995–1998 surge of Kuannersuit Glacier on Disko Island, west Greenland

Kuannersuit Glacier, a valley glacier on Disko Island in west Greenland, experienced a major surge from 1995 to 1998 where the glacier advanced 10·5 km and produced a ∼65 m thick stacked sequence of debris‐rich basal ice and meteoric glacier ice. The aim of this study is to describe the tectonic evolution of large englacial thrusts and the processes of basal ice formation using a multiproxy approach including structural glaciology, stable isotope composition (δ18O and δD), sedimentology and ground‐penetrating radar. We argue that the major debris layers that can be traced in the terminal zone represent englacial thrusts that were formed early during the surge. Thrust overthrow was at least 200–300 m and this lead to a 30 m thick repetition of basal ice at the ice margin. It is assumed that the englacial thrusting was initiated at the transition between warm ice from the interior and the cold snout. The basal debris‐rich ice was mainly formed after the thrusting phase. Two sub‐facies of stratified basal ice have been identified; a lower massive ice facies (SM) composed of frozen diamict enriched with heavy stable isotopes overlain by laminated ice facies (SL) consisting of millimetre thick lamina of alternating debris‐poor and debris‐rich ice. We interpret the stratified basal ice as a continuum formed mainly by freeze‐on processes and localized regelation. First laminated basal ice is formed and as meltwater is depleted more sediment is entrained and finally the glacier freezes to the base and massive diamict is frozen‐on. The increased ability to entrain sediments may partly be associated with higher basal freezing rates enhanced by loss of frictional heat from cessation of fast flow and conductive cooling through a thin heavily crevassed ice during the final phase of the glacier surge. The dispersed basal ice facies (D) was mainly formed by secondary processes where fine‐grained sediment is mobilized in the vein system of ice. Our results have important implications for understanding the significance of basal ice formation and englacial thrusting beneath fast‐flowing glaciers and it provides new information about the development of landforms during a glacier surge. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Polyphase deformation of diapiric areas in models and in the eastern Prebetics (Spain)

Fingerlike bodies of evaporite rocks have been observed in many regions affected by multiple tectonic phases, such as the Atlas, the Pyrenees, or the Zagros Mountains, where they have been interpreted as fault-plane diapiric injections or collapse-related salt welds. In this article, we suggest a new interpretation of these structures as squeezed diapirs based on detailed structural and sedimentological field data of the Bicorb–Quesa diapir (eastern Prebetics) and offer five analog models, which simulate the polyphase deformation of the eastern Prebetics. In this area, diapirs formed from the Oligocene to Langhian during an extensional phase related to the opening of the Valencia Trough. These diapirs were later affected by a Serravallian contractional phase, which inverted the preexisting grabens and created new folds and thrusts. The preexisting diapirs were necked and/or squeezed, forming secondary welds with a fingerlike geometry that isolated the diapir bulbs from their source layer. Extrusion of diapiric material was also accelerated during this phase, but no new diapirs formed. Finally, the area was again affected by an extensional phase during the Tortonian, which reactivated the normal faults and created a new set of diapirs. The new diapirs formed where the overburden was thinner, that is, at the toe of the major reactivated faults. Commonly, these faults coincide with the bounding faults of the major grabens formed during the first extensional phase, and therefore, the new diapirs grow close to the location of the squeezed diapirs. The models also show that the faults created during the initial extension prevailed as the main focus for deformation during the polyphase history. Deformation in the overburden and the viscous layer was mainly accommodated along the major grabens formed during the first extensional stage. During shortening, the initial major grabens deformed as complex anticlines, and during the subsequent extensional phase, most deformation occurred by the collapse of these anticlines along preexisting faults, fault welds, and the flank of the squeezed diapirs. The source layer is compartmentalized, accumulating and withdrawing material in the same locations (the initial grabens and horst). As a result, the source layer is easily depleted beneath the initial horst, forming primary welds.
Nitrous oxide emission controls and inorganic nitrogen dynamics in fertilized tropical agricultural soils

Use of N fertilizers in tropical regions has recently surpassed use in temperate regions, but understanding of N 2 O emissions from fertilized soils is based largely on experience from temperate regions. We studied N 2 O emissions from a sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum L.) plantation on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Young cane fields that were routinely fertilized had >15 mg NH 4 + -N and NO 3 - -N kg -1 soil, whereas mature cane fields not being fertilized had <2 mg NH 4 + -N and NO 3 - -N kg -1 soil. Emissions of N 2 O were also 10 times higher in the young cane fields than in the mature cane. The highest nitrification potentials and N2O emissions occurred near buried irrigation lines and lowest values between plant rows. Added 15 NH 4 + was nitrified within 48 h in both young and mature cane fields. Hence, microbial populations exist in both young and mature cane fields that can rapidly produce NO 3 - , and production of N 2 O is controlled primarily by when and where fertilizer N is applied. In contrast to many temperate agricultural soils where mineralization-immobilization-turnover processes contribute significantly to the supply of crop N, rates of gross N mineralization were low, indicating that the cane crop N came primarily from applied fertilizer. In the mature cane, soil inorganic-N remains low because of high plant and microbial demand, but in the young cane, fertilizer applications exceed the plant and microbial sinks, and N2O emissions are large. Better fertilizer management in this early stage of the cane crop cycle might significantly reduce N 2 O emissions.
Illite crystallinity, b0 and Si content of K‐white mica as indicators of metamorphic conditions in low‐grade metamorphic rocks at Cobar, New South Wales

Illite crystallinity (IC), b0 values and Si contents of K‐white mica are reported from Early Devonian metapelites at Cobar. The IC studies indicate metamorphic conditions near Cobar to have been transitional between the anchizone and epizone; farther north at the Elura mine they are anchizonal. The b0 values vary from x=0.8995 nm at Elura to 0.9032 nm at the Peak mine south of Cobar, with most in the range 9.011–0.9021 nm, suggesting a change from low‐ to intermediate‐pressure metamorphism from north to south. Si contents of the K‐white micas at the CSA mine near Cobar suggest a pressure of 3 kbar.
Efecto de dos sistemas de labranza sobre la abundancia de artrópodos que habitan en el suelo

Effect of two tillage systems on the abundance of soil-dwelling arthropods: Crop production by conservation tillage was readily adopted by farmers during the 1990's in Argentina. The type and degree of tillage cause modifications in the soil environment that affect the behavior, development and survival of soil-dwelling arthropods. The effect of conventional tillage (CT) and no tillage (NT) on density and activity of soil-inhabiting arthropods was evaluated on different dates, on two soybean crops (vegetative and reproductive stages), one maize crop (reproductive
Carbon‐isotope analyses of fossil plants as a chemostratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental tool

A review of carbon-isotope analysis (δ13C) of terrestrial organic matter indicates that this has become a valuable tool for stratigraphic correlation between marine and non-marine sequences as well as providing palaeoenvironmental information. Early Cretaceous fossil wood was collected over a 64 cm section from Flat Rocks, southeastern Australia, and analysed for carbon-isotope ratios. Three positive δ13Cplant shifts were recorded, and a similar pattern was found in the carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio of the plant fragments. Comparisons of δ13Cplant values and C/N ratios with sedimentology indicate that positive shifts occur in sand-rich horizons, while negative shifts occur in mud-rich horizons. This trend most likely represents diagenetic-taphonomic changes caused by changes in the oxidation state and/or bacterial activity during deposition and fossilization of the plant matter. The application of carbon-isotope analyses on fossil plants can provide invaluable information with respect to the environment on a local, regional or global scale; however, caution must be exercised in interpreting these data accurately.
Multi‐model forecast skill for mid‐summer rainfall over southern Africa

Southern African December‐January‐February (DJF) probabilistic rainfall forecast skill is assessed over a 22‐year retroactive test period (1980/1981 to 2001/2002) by considering multi‐model ensembles consisting of downscaled forecasts from three of the DEMETER models, the ECMWF, Météo‐France and UKMO coupled ocean‐atmosphere general circulation models. These models are initialized in such a way that DJF forecasts are produced at an approximate 1‐month lead time, i.e. forecasts made in early November. Multi‐model forecasts are obtained by: i) downscaling each model's 850 hPa geopotential height field forecast using canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and then simply averaging the rainfall forecasts; and ii) by combining the three models' 850 hPa forecasts, and then downscaling them using CCA. Downscaling is performed onto the 0.5° × 0.5° resolution of the CRU rainfall data set south of 10° south over Africa. Forecast verification is performed using the relative operating characteristic (ROC) and the reliability diagram. The performance of the two multi‐model combinations approaches are compared with the single‐model downscaled forecasts and also with each other. It is shown that the multi‐model forecasts outperform the single model forecasts, that the two multi‐model schemes produce about equally skilful forecasts, and that the forecasts perform better during El Niño and La Niña seasons than during neutral years. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society
Use of gait parameters of persons in video surveillance systems

The gait parameters of eleven subjects were evaluated to provide data for recognition purposes of subjects. Video images of these subjects were acquired in frontal, transversal, and sagittal (a plane parallel to the median of the body) view. The subjects walked by at their usual walking speed. The measured parameters were hip, knee and ankle joint angle and their time averaged values, thigh, foot and trunk angle, step length and width, cycle time and walking speed. Correlation coefficients within and between subjects for the hip, knee and ankle rotation pattern in the sagittal aspect and for the trunk rotation pattern in the transversal aspect were almost similar. (were similar or were almost identical) This implies that the intra and inter individual variance were equal. Therefore, these gait parameters could not distinguish between subjects. A simple ANOVA with a follow-up test was used to detect significant differences for the mean hip, knee and ankle joint angle, thigh angle, step length, step width, walking speed, cycle time and foot angle. The number of significant differences between subjects defined the usefulness of the gait parameter. The parameter with the most significant difference between subjects was the foot angle (64 % - 73 % of the maximal attainable significant differences), followed by the time average hip joint angle (58 %) and the step length (45 %). The other parameters scored less than 25 %, which is poor for recognition purposes. The use of gait for identification purposes it not yet possible based on this research.
Sediment suspension under waves and currents: time scales and vertical structure

Field measurements of the vertical structure of near-bed suspended sediment concentrations were obtained from arrays of fast response optical backscatter suspended solids sensors to examine the time-dependent response of sediment resuspension to waves and currents and the constraints imposed by bedforms. Data were recorded from both a nonbarred, marine shoreface and a barred lacustrine shoreface, under both shoaling and breaking waves (significant heights of 0·25–1·50m; peak periods of 3 and 8 s) and in water depths of 0·5–5·0 m. Sediment concentrations are positively correlated with increasing elevation above the bed, but lagged in time. The time lag varies directly with separation distance between measurement locations and inversely with the horizontal component of the near-bed oscillatory velocity. Both the presence of wave groups and the settling velocities of the sediment particules in suspension influence the temporal changes in concentration at a given elevation. Sediment concentrations appear to respond more slowly to the incident wind-wave forcing with distance away from the bed as a result of two factors: (1) the sequential increase in concentration induced by a succession of large waves in a group; and (ii) the relative increase in finer sediments with smaller settling velocities. Bedforms interact with the near-bed horizontal currents to impose a distinct constraint upon the timing of suspension events relative to the phase of the fluid motion, and, therefore, the vertical structure of the suspended sediment concentration at a range of time scales. The near-bed concentrations appear to be strongly dependent upon the vertical convection of sediment associated with the ejection from the wave boundary layer of separation vortices generated in the lee of ripple crests. Concentration gradients in the presence of vortex ripples are large, as are the correlation between concentrations measured at different elevations within the fluid.
On the usefulness of remote sensing input data for spatially distributed hydrological modelling: case of the Tarim River basin in China

The ecological situation of the Tarim River basin in China seriously declined since the early 1950s, mainly due to a strong increase in water abstraction for irrigation purposes. To restore the ecological system and support sustainable development of the Tarim River basin region in China, more hydrological studies are demanded to properly understand the processes of the watershed and efficiently manage the water resources. Such studies are, however, complicated due to the limited data availability, especially in the mountainous headwater regions of the Tarim River basin. This study investigated the usefulness of remote sensing (RS) data to overcome that lack of data in the spatially distributed hydrological modelling of the basin. Complementary to the conventional station‐based (SB) data, the RS products that are directly used in this study include precipitation, evapotranspiration and leaf area index. They are derived from raw image data of the Chinese Fengyun meteorological satellite and from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The MODIS land surface temperature was used to calculate the atmospheric temperature lapse rate to describe the temperature dependency on topographical variations. Moreover, MODIS‐based snow cover images were used to obtain model initial conditions and as validation reference for the snow model component. Comparison of model results based on RS input versus conventional SB input exhibited similar results in terms of high and low river runoff extremes, cumulative runoff volumes in both runoff and snow melting seasons and spatial and temporal variability of snow cover. During summer time, when the snow cover shrinks in the permanent glacier region, it was found that the model resolution influences the model results dramatically, hence, showing the importance of detailed (RS based) spatially distributed input data. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.