Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The level concentration of lead, cadmium, copper, zinc and phenols in the water river of Sitnica.

The Sitnica River is surrounded by agricultural land and settlements with unresolved wastewater discharge positioned downstream from the significant industrial plants. The purpose of this work was to determine the amount of lead, cadmium, copper, zinc and phenols in the water of River Sitnica and to identify potential pollutants in the flow of this River. For this reason four sample places were chosen: Fushe Kosova (A1), Obiliq (A2), Vragolia (A3) and Mitrovica (A4). Managing and water protection from pollution have a strategic importance for our country. Experimental results show that quality of this water is endangered from heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn) and phenols. The concentration level of phenols in A2 and A3 ample places and heavy metal concentration in all sample places exceeded allowed values of the fourth category of the quality of surfaced waters. Supporting these values we can conclude that water of this river is polluted in such level so that it can't be used for supply, irrigation, recreation, etc. To this condition contributed considerably industrial water from Kosovo power plants in Obiliq and urban central water which with no pretreatment flow into the river Sitnica. To prevent the pollution and to begin the revitalization of the bed of this river it is the last moment for the adequate measures to be undertaken.
Status of the black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) breeding population in Greenland, 2008

Based on the intensified survey efforts (since 2003) of Greenlandic breeding colonies of black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), the total Greenland breeding population was estimated at roughly 110 000 breeding pairs, constituting about 4% of the total North Atlantic breeding population. This population estimate of black-legged kittiwake is the most reliable and updated estimate hitherto reported for Greenland. The results confirm considerable population declines in many areas of West Greenland. The breeding population of blacklegged kittiwakes in the Qaanaaq area appears healthy, whereas the rest of the west coast has experienced declines, especially the north-western region (in the area from Upernavik to Kangaatsiaq). Exactly when these reductions have occurred is uncertain because of the limited survey effort in the past, but some colonies declined as far back as the mid-1900s, whereas declines of other colonies have occurred since the 1970–80s. East Greenland data from the past are few, but recent aerial surveys confirm that the abundance of breeding kittiwakes on this inaccessible coast is low. The reasons for the West Greenland declines are not documented. Poor feeding conditions and a high hunting pressure, particularly prior to 2002 when the open season was shortened considerably, are possible explanations.
Simulations of cosmogenic 14CO using the three-dimensional atmospheric model MATCH: Effects of 14C production distribution and the solar cycle

Most atmospheric 14 CO is produced by cosmic rays in the lowermost stratosphere and upper troposphere. The main removal process for 14 CO is oxidation by OH radicals. Assuming that the spatial distribution of OH is well known, 14 CO can be useful as a test-tracer for the transport properties of a three-dimensional chemical model. Conversely, if the transport schemes of the model are sufficiently realistic, in particular with respect to stratosphere-troposphere exchange, the OH distribution can be evaluated. In either case, it has to be assumed that the source of 14 CO is known in sufficient detail. Two presently available distributions of cosmogenic 14 C production are implemented into the Model of Atmospheric Transport and Chemistry (MATCH). The tropospheric 14 CO concentrations that are obtained are relatively insensitive to the source differences. The calculations for one source distribution are performed for solar minimum and solar maximum conditions. The spatial distribution of 14 CO is almost unaffected by the solar activity, and the absolute concentration levels can be scaled to the actual solar cycle conditions.
Measurements of 220Rn and 222Rn and CO2 emissions in soil and fumarole gases on Mt. Etna volcano (Italy): Implications for gas transport and shallow ground fracture

Measurements of 220Rn and 222Rn activity and of CO2 flux in soil and fumaroles were carried out on Mount Etna volcano in 2005–2006, both in its summit area and along active faults on its flanks. We observe an empirical relationship between (220Rn/222Rn) and CO2 efflux. The higher the flux of CO2, the lower the ratio between 220Rn and 222Rn. Deep sources of gas are characterized by high 222Rn activity and high CO2 efflux, whereas shallow sources are indicated by high 220Rn activity and relatively low CO2 efflux. Excess 220Rn highlights sites of ongoing shallow rock fracturing that could be affected by collapse, as in the case of the rim of an active vent. Depletion both in 220Rn and in CO2 seems to be representative of residual degassing along recently active eruptive vents.
Improving edge detection and watershed segmentation with anisotropic diffusion and morphological levellings

Edge preserving smoothing and image simplification is of fundamental importance in a variety of remote sensing applications during feature extraction and object detection procedures. The construction of a pre‐processing filtering tool for edge detection and segmentation tasks is still an open matter. Towards this end, this paper brings together two advanced nonlinear scale space representations, anisotropic diffusion filtering and morphological levellings, forming a processing scheme by their combination. The proposed scheme was applied to edge detection and watershed segmentation tasks. The experimental results showed that the developed scheme generated an effective pre‐processing tool for automatic olive tree detection and solving watershed over‐segmentation problems.
The balloon Melange, northwest Nelson: Origin, structure, and emplacement

Abstract New work on the Balloon Melange, a regional scale body of disrupted sandstone and mudstone that encloses a number of exotic blocks, suggests that the characteristic fabric has a two‐stage origin. The first stage is dominated by layer parallel extension in weakly lithified rocks, and the second by further strain and cleavage development in lithified rock. Location of intrusive contacts between melange and arc assemblage rocks suggests that initial disruption was followed by a diapiric intrusion into a Cambrian volcanic arc plus arc‐derived sediment host, probably in the latest Cambrian. Mesoscopic and microscopic structural examination shows the fabric was extensively modified during the development of S 1 slaty cleavage. Cleavage formation postdates diagenesis in both melange and host and probably developed in the mid Paleozoic. Petrology, geochronology, and geochemistry confirm that quartzofeldpathic sediments similar to the Junction Formation were the dominant contributors to the melange. The quartzofeldspathic suite (Junction Formation and Balloon Melange protolith) has an Australian‐Antarctic provenance and is thought to be part of a submarine fan that may have been incorporated into an accretionary complex developed near the trench at a convergent plate boundary. Further crustal shortening is required to place the volcanic arc assemblage above the accretionary complex prior to diapiric injection of the melange. Subcretion of water‐rich sediments above a subduction zone would create an environment predisposed to diapiric intrusion. Scale, and the juxtaposition of rocks of backarc, arc, and accretionary complex origin, points to significant shortening after arc volcanism ceased. The architecture of the Southwest Pacific sector of the Cambrian Gondwana margin and plate boundary is not well understood. Crustal shortening and thrusting are widely developed in the Late Cambrian to Early Ordovician Ross‐Delamerian orogen, and the events leading to the emplacement of the Balloon Melange suggest that the Ross‐Delamerian orogeny affected northwest Nelson.
Thermoluminescence, Electron Spin Resonance and14C-dating of the Late Middle and Early Upper Palaeolithic Site of Geißenklösterle Cave in Southern Germany

Abstract Thermoluminescence (TL) dating of burnt silex (flint, chert), electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of teeth and 14 C-accelerator-mass-spectrometry (AMS) dating of bones has been carried out on samples from the Late Middle Palaeolithic and Early Upper Palaeolithic levels of the Geisenklosterle Cave, South Germany. ESR dating on tooth enamel from the upper part of level IV, which contains a very small undefined Middle Palaeolithic assemblage, yields a mean age of 43·3±4 ka. The overlying Early Aurignacian (level III) is placed in the Hengelo Interstadial by palaeoecological analysis. 14 C-AMS results give a mean age of 38·4±0·85 ka, whereas a mean age of 40·2±1·5 ka is obtained by TL of burnt silex, confirming the correlation of the Early Aurignacian level with the Hengelo Interstadial in Oxygen Isotope Stage (OIS) 3. 14 C-AMS of bone samples from the Aurignacian (level II) resulted in a mean age of 33·5±0·35 ka, whereas the TL ages on burnt silex are again older at c . 37 ka. These TL results can be taken as an indication of the age underestimation by 14 C caused by the lack of calibration. The Aurignacian level contains some of the most elaborate symbolic representations from the Upper Palaeolithic. Artwork of comparable quality is radiocarbon dated to 31,000 ka at the Grotte Chauvet, thus being significantly younger. Furthermore, the Geisenklosterle Cave provides evidence of the existence of early rock art in Central Europe, although only small pieces survived erosion. The Gravettian assemblage of the Geisenklosterle Cave yielded a mean 14 C-AMS age of 29·0±0·25 ka.
Network User Action Detection based on PSD Signature through Encrypted Traffic Analysis

User action detection through network traffic analysis plays an important role in information security and network management. In previous studies, we proposed a rule-based user behavior detection system, and it showed high detection performance. However, due to the problem of high dependence on SNI information, detection performance was lowered in certain applications. This can significantly degrade detection performance when the SNI signature cannot be defined. In this paper, we additionally use the PSD signatures to solve the problem of high SNI dependence in previous studies. To verify the proposed method, a detection performance comparison experiment is performed for each signature, and the highest detection performance is shown when PSD is applied together.
Geomorphic and climatic implications of relict openwork block accumulations near thabana‐ntlenyana, lesotho

Abstract Conflicting reports appear in the literature from geomorphic studies describing the colder Late Pleistocene environmental conditions of the Lesotho Highlands in southern Africa. Evidence is given for limited glaciation and/or periglacial conditions, with or without permafrost. An investigation of the distribution, morphometric attributes and surface weathering characteristics of relict openwork block accumulations in the area around Thabana‐Ntlenyana, the highest summit in the range, supports the contention for a relatively arid periglacial environment during the Last Glacial period. A phase of enhanced block production is evident from the concentration of blocks in the upper layer of colluvium. Slope mobility on south‐facing slopes is shown in the blockfield fabrics and the increase in downslope relative age of block surfaces. Block production and slope creep are attributed to depressed temperature conditions and seasonal freeze. Colluvium, within which blocks have been incorporated and superimposed, indicates that slope mantles predate the onset of the colder period and evidence militates against either deep snow cover or localised glaciation of south‐facing slopes.
A new view on the petrogenesis of the Oman ophiolite chromitites from microanalyses of chromite-hosted inclusions

To decipher the petrogenesis of chromitites from the Moho Transition Zone of the Cretaceous Oman ophiolite, we carried out detailed scanning electron microscope and electron microprobe investigations of ∼500 silicate and chromite inclusions and their chromite hosts, and oxygen isotope measurements of seven chromite and olivine fractions from nodular, disseminated, and stratiform ore bodies and associated host dunites of the Maqsad area, Southern Oman. The results, coupled with laboratory homogenization experiments, allow several multiphase and microcrystal types of the chromite-hosted inclusions to be distinguished. The multiphase inclusions are composed of micron-size (1–50 μm) silicates (with rare sulphides) entrapped in high cr-number [100Cr/(Cr + Al) up to 80] chromite. The high cr-number chromite coronas and inclusions are reduced (oxygen fugacity, fO2, of ∼3 log units below the quartz–fayalite–magnetite buffer, QFM). The reduced chromites, which crystallized between 600 and 950°C at subsolidus conditions, were overgrown by more oxidized host chromite (fO2 ≈ QFM) in association with microcrystal inclusions of silicates (plagioclase An86, clinopyroxene, and pargasite) that were formed between 950 and 1050°C at 200 MPa from a hydrous hybrid mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) melt. Chromium concentration profiles through the chromite coronas, inclusions, and host chromites indicate non-equilibrium fractional crystallization of the chromitite system at fast cooling rates (up to ∼0·1°C a−1). Oxygen isotope compositions of the chromite grains imply involvement of a mantle protolith (e.g. serpentinite and serpentinized peridotite) altered by seawater-derived hydrothermal fluids in an oceanic setting. Our findings are consistent with a three-stage model of chromite formation involving (1) mantle protolith alteration by seawater-derived hydrothermal fluids yielding serpentinites and serpentinized harzburgites, which were probably the initial source of chromium, (2) subsolidus crystallization owing to prograde metamorphism, followed by (3) assimilation and fractional crystallization of chromite from water-saturated MORB. This study suggests that the metamorphic protolith assimilation occurring at the Moho level may dramatically affect MORB magma chemistry and lead to the formation of economic chromium deposits.
Skill and economic benefits of dynamical downscaling of ECMWF ENSEMBLE seasonal forecast over southern Africa with RegCM4

This study presents an assessment of the skill and economic benefits of a seasonal forecast carried out by nine‐member ensembles of regional and global models over southern Africa for the period of 1991–2002. The regional ensemble seasonal hindcasts were conducted at a resolution of 25 km by driving RegCM4 with the corresponding ensembles of the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) seasonal hindcasts. Skill and cost/loss ratio analysis were carried out on the probabilistic hindcasts to assess how much added value a regional model would bring over the driving ECMWF forecasts. RegCM4 shows an added value over most areas of southeastern Africa where the skill of the global circulation model (GCM) is already positive. In terms of economic benefits, RegCM4 brings additional benefits for southeastern Africa either by benefiting more users with interest in larger cost/loss ratio or by providing a higher economic value for users with small cost/loss ratio. Additional RegCM4 simulations with the same resolution were performed using a near ‘perfect’ boundary conditions with ‘continuous (climate)’ and ‘reinitialized’ modes to test the impact of land surface initialization/ spin up time on the seasonal mean precipitation simulation. Evaluation of the ‘perfect’ boundary forced simulations reveals that the regional model not only generates finer spatial‐scale features that are missing in the ECMWF GCM, in terms of the December to April (DJFMA) climatology, but also reduced the wet bias of the driving GCM. Land surface initialization is found to have less impact on the DJFMA seasonal mean rainfall for forecasts initialized on 1 November, suggesting that 1 month is enough to recover from the shock of poor soil moisture initialization.
Granular flow and viscous fluctuations in low Bagnold number granitic magmas

Recent thermal and fluid dynamical models have shown that density-driven ascent of isoviscous granitic melt through the crust in narrow dykes is geologically instantaneous, provided the role of suspended crystals is ignored. However, it is well known that solids in suspension can aVect significantly the rheology and hence flow properties of magmas, leading to the subjective criticism that granite ascent and emplacement rates based on simple dyke transport models may be unrealistic. By estimating the magnitude of shear stresses developed during continuous flow in a 6 m wide granitic dyke, we show yield strengths in excess of 104 pascals are required to stop flow entirely if the pressure gradient driving the flow is high. Using granular flow theory, we show how fluctuations in particle velocity in the shear field can be used to predict the rheological behaviour of magmas with crystal contents (solidosity) in the range 0.1<Φ<0.25. Specimen calculations for the solidosity and fluctuation on particle velocity for ascending granitic magmas show that the energy associated with these irregular movements is much greater than that expected on purely Brownian grounds. We find no clear correlation between viscosity ì and the yield strength, and while it is possible that magma has curious, unexpected bonding properties, magmatic suspensions where the grain size is on the scale of centimetres (e.g. some coarsely porphyritic magmas), low estimated Bagnold numbers (c. 10"8) render Bingham flow models inappropriate. Self-organization of the flow into a crystal-poor margin and crystal-rich core (flow differentiation) by diffusion of particles towards the region of minimal shear results in the familiar plug-type flow profiles traditionally associated with an inherent yield strength. Shear-enhanced diffusion is an inevitable consequence of granular flow that leads to flow differentiation, providing a simple mechanistic explanation for high concentrations of pheoncrysts in the cores of porphyritic dykes (Bagnold effect). Deviation from simple Newtonian flow is unlikely to be significant until the magma has stopped ascending and emplacement begins.
Intense Precipitation Events Associated with Landfalling Tropical Cyclones in Response to a Warmer Climate and Increased CO2

AbstractIn this work the authors investigate possible changes in the intensity of rainfall events associated with tropical cyclones (TCs) under idealized forcing scenarios, including a uniformly warmer climate, with a special focus on landfalling storms. A new set of experiments designed within the U.S. Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR) Hurricane Working Group allows disentangling the relative role of changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide from that played by sea surface temperature (SST) in changing the amount of precipitation associated with TCs in a warmer world. Compared to the present-day simulation, an increase in TC precipitation was found under the scenarios involving SST increases. On the other hand, in a CO2-doubling-only scenario, the changes in TC rainfall are small and it was found that, on average, TC rainfall tends to decrease compared to the present-day climate. The results of this study highlight the contribution of landfalling TCs to the projected increase in the precipitati.
Inferring Amazon leaf demography from satellite observations of leaf area index

Abstract. Seasonal and year-to-year variations in leaf cover imprint significant spatial and temporal variability on biogeochemical cycles, and affect land-surface properties related to climate. We develop a demographic model of leaf phenology based on the hypothesis that trees seek an optimal leaf area index (LAI) as a function of available light and soil water, and fit it to spaceborne observations of LAI over the Amazon basin, 2001–2005. We find the model reproduces the spatial and temporal LAI distribution whilst also predicting geographic variation in leaf age from the basin centre (2.1 ± 0.2 years), through to the lowest values over the deciduous eastern and southern Amazon (6 ± 2 months). The model explains the observed increase in LAI during the dry season as a net addition of leaves in response to increased solar radiation. We anticipate our work to be a starting point from which to develop better descriptions of leaf phenology to incorporate into more sophisticated earth system models.
Earth's Magnetism in the Age of Sail

Contents:List of Figures and Tables Acknowledgments Note on Spelling and Other Conventions List of AbbreviationsIntroduction: Merging Geomagnetism and HistoryPART I: Earth's Magnetism 1 The Earth's Magnetic Field 2 The Age of Diversity: Geomagnetism before 1600 3 The Age of Discord: Geomagnetism in the Seventeenth Century 4 The Age of Data: Geomagnetism in the Eighteenth CenturyPART II: In the Age of Sail 5 Traversing the Trackless Oceans 6 Following in Iron Arrow 7 Plotting the Third CoordinateConclusion: Quantifying Geomagnetic NavigationAppendix Chronology of Geomagnetic Hypotheses Notes Essay on Sources Index
Radar signatures of the urban effect on precipitation distribution: A case study for Atlanta, Georgia

Ground‐based weather radar from Peachtree City, GA, is used to examine the distribution of summer precipitation in northern Georgia, including metropolitan Atlanta, during June–August of 2002–2006. The study included 194 “synoptically benign” days with a maritime tropical air mass type. Areas in eastern metropolitan Atlanta are shown to have 30% more rainfall during these days than areas west of the city. Both precipitation amount and frequency were enhanced up to 80 km to the east of the urban core of Atlanta. A precipitation maxima northeast of Atlanta occurs near a precipitation anomaly and lightning flash density anomaly identified in previous studies. An hourly analysis of precipitation data demonstrates that the enhanced precipitation on the periphery of the urban core is most evident from 00–05 UTC (19‐00 LST). This study is the first to use ground‐based radar precipitation estimates in an attempt to quantify the impact of urbanization on precipitation.
FARMERS AND THE INTERNET, SIX YEARS ON

During 1996, a study was initiated at the University of Plymouth of the potential of internet technologies for use in the management of farm businesses. This involved surveys in contrasting areas of England, focus groups of potential users, and monitoring a group of farmers who, as an experiment, were given the opportunity to use the technology for the first time. The survey was repeated three years later with the same sample, in an attempt to identify trends. This article reports on a further extension of the investigation. Part of this involves a further iteration of the survey, in order to establish a third point on the trend lines, six years on from the first. Discussion on this longitudinal data, illustrated by extracts from interviews with selected farmers, is used to identify research issues outstanding in the field of internet adoption in agriculture , including the development of human capital, the key role of farm family members, and the understanding of the complexity underlying the adoption process.