Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The double tropopause and its dynamical relationship to the tropopause inversion layer in storm track regions

Using High Resolution Dynamic Limb Sounder observations and ERA‐Interim reanalysis this study demonstrates that the warm conveyor belt (WCB) is a mechanism responsible for the relationship between the double tropopause (DT) and the tropopause inversion layer (TIL), a relationship recently suggested in the literature based on idealized model simulations of baroclinic disturbances. Using these data sets, spatial and temporal characteristics of the DT‐TIL relationship are examined over a 3 year period, 2005–2008. In the extratropics, results from satellite data show that as the TIL increases in strength, so does the frequency of the DT, regardless of season or hemisphere. The inverse relationship is found in the tropics. Using only DT profiles, zonal composites of wind, relative vorticity, and temperature from reanalysis data show that as the TIL increases in strength, the upper tropospheric circulation switches from cyclonic to anticyclonic, and the upward vertical motion increases. This result suggests the WCB as a mechanism since it is on the anticyclonic side of the jet and is characterized by the movement of tropical air poleward and upward from the surface. To verify this relationship, the vertical and horizontal development of a synoptic‐scale baroclinic system is analyzed over a 4 day period. Results show the equatorward extension of the polar tropopause, and thus the formation of the DT, due to the strengthening of the TIL in the region of vertical motion associated with the WCB. Moreover, this result suggests that air movement within the DT could originate from high latitudes when associated with a baroclinic disturbance.
Framework for participatory assessments and implementation of global environmental conventions at the community level

Participation by local communities in the assessment and monitoring of efforts to implement global environmental conventions (GECs), such as Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), is a topic of growing interest worldwide. Previous implementation efforts were constrained by the lack of a methodological framework that integrates local knowledge and ecological methods. This study, conducted with assistance from Maasai herders in northern Tanzania, evaluated a socio‐economic and ecological framework for integrating local communities into assessments of the GECs. To reach decisions related to CBD, herders used livestock grazing suitability (GS) and proxy indicators of biodiversity, while to reach decisions related to CCD herders used potential grazing capacity (PGC) related to the risk of degradation. We proposed criteria for indicator selection and developed step‐wise research methods to assess performance of the indicators at spatial scales. The ecological and anthropogenic indicators were then analysed using a correlation matrix to evaluate management decisions. We showed that changes in ecological indicators influenced herder decisions. The anthropogenic indicators for potential were more sensitive to changes in soil degradation, range conditions and trends; while the decisions related to GS were more sensitive to the majority of the proxy indicators of biodiversity. The decisions reflected the potential responses to management, which had implications for CBD and CCD. Because decisions constitute a multiplicity of activities, the responses by local communities could be related to the potential role played by each indicator in the implementation of the convention at the local level. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reinterpretation of palaeomagnetic results from the Bird's Head, Irian Jaya: new constraints on the drift history of the Kemum Terrane

Palaeomagnetism has a useful role to play in constraining models of the drift history of terranes along Australia's active northern margin, in the collision zone between the Australian plate, and the Pacific and Southeast Asian plates. This is demonstrated in a study of the Kemurn Terrane of the Bird's Head, lrian Jaya. The results demonstrate that large-scale clockwise rotation in the Neogene and fixed position models can be ruled out, and support derivation of the Kemum Terrane from the northeastern margin of the Australian craton. The study also highlights that palaeomagnetic input is a two-way process: a well-defined reference Apparent Polar Wander Path (APWP) is as equally important as well-determined results.
Retrospective validation of renewal-based, medium-term earthquake forecasts

This erratum corrects an error introduced into Rotondi (2013) by the exchange between the full six panels of Fig. 4 and the full six panels of Fig. 5, leaving the original captions unchanged. Thus Fig. 5 shows the normalized probabilities, according to the color scale from 0 to 1, as indicated in the caption to Fig. 5. The correct complete figures are provided here as Figs 4 and 5, with the correct sets of panels. R E F E R E N C E
Texture classification using a spatial-point process model

A Bayesian statistical classifier for the segmentation of texture is presented, which models the quantised image data as a set of independent spatial Poisson processes. Two data sets are examined, namely Gaussian white noise textures, and textures contained in a sidescan sonar image of the seabed. The Poisson model is demonstrated to be applicable in both these cases, and a maximum likelihood discriminant function is developed. Finally, results are presented for the classification of both data sets. < >
Lightning electromagnetic fields at very close distances associated with lightning strikes to the Gaisberg tower

In this paper we present and discuss measurements of electric (vertical and radial) and magnetic fields from leaders and return strokes associated with lightning strikes to the 100 m tall Gaisberg tower in Austria obtained in 2007 and 2008. The fields were measured at a distance of about 20 m from the tower. Simultaneously, return stroke currents were also measured at the top of the tower. The data include, for the first time at such close distances, simultaneous records of vertical and horizontal electric fields. The vertical electric field waveforms appeared as asymmetrical V-shaped pulses. The initial, relatively slow, negative electric field change is due to the downward leader, and the following, fast, positive electric field change is due to the upward return stroke phase of the lightning discharge. The horizontal (radial) electric field due to the leader phase has a waveshape similar to that of the vertical electric field. However, the horizontal field due to the return stroke is characterized by a short negative pulse of the order of 1 mu s or so, starting with a fast negative excursion followed by a positive one. The return stroke vertical electric field changes appear to be significantly smaller than similar measurements obtained using triggered lightning. This finding confirms the shadowing effect of the tower, which results in a significant decrease of the electric field at distances of about the height of the tower or less. The vertical and horizontal E field changes due to the return stroke were also found to be larger on average than the leader electric field changes. In a significant number of cases (33%), the vertical electric field waveforms due to the return stroke were characterized by a first peak exceeding the typical late-time flattening due to the electrostatic term. This is in contrast with similar measurements related to triggered lightning which do not exhibit such a first peak. About one quarter of the measured vertical electric field waveforms (18 pulses out of 76) featured an unusual waveform characterized by a positive leader field change followed by a bipolar return stroke field change with a zero crossing time of about 60 mu s.
Hydraulic conductivity of compacted bentonite–sand mixtures

In the absence of impervious natural soils, compacted mixtures of bentonite and sand have been used to form barriers to fluids, and the focus of this paper is on the hydraulic conductivity behaviour of these compacted mixtures. Results of laboratory investigations are presented to show the influences of bentonite–sand content, compaction water content, system chemistry, and changes of system chemistry. Some of the findings are as follows: (i) low hydraulic conductivity requires continuity of the bentonite matrix within the mixture, and this in turn requires both adequate bentonite content and adequate bentonite distribution (i.e., mixing); (ii) in well-compacted mixtures containing up to 20% bentonite in dry mass, sand forms the load-supporting framework and gives the mixtures dimensional stability at the macro level (crack resistance); and (iii) the hydraulic conductivity of mixtures containing freshwater, high-swell bentonite, when permeated with a strong saline solution, increased by only small amounts.
NITROGEN CYCLING IN A SOIL-TREE SYSTEM IN A SAHELIAN SAVANNA. EXAMPLE OF ACACIA SENEGAL

The cycling of N in the soil-tree system was studied in a Sahelian Savanna where Acacia senegal is largely represented as isolated trees or in clumps of a few trees. The herbaceous stratum is scarce and irregular in the open but it is dense under the trees. The return of organic matter and N from vegetation to soil by the litter was calculated and the herbaceous litter was found to be an important component under the trees, compared to the tree litter. The decay of organic matter seems to be fast, as only the first centimeters of soil show a greater accumulation of organic matter and N than in the open. The accumulation of N and its repartition was measured. The mineralization of organic N in the top soil was studied, and was found to be relatively important under the trees. Most of it occurred in the beginning of the rainy season and a short period of accumulation of mineral N took place at this time; the mineral N content of soil decreases afterwards during the growth of the herbaceous stratum. Mineral N produced was mainly in the form of NOs-N, and the possibility of N losses during periods of heavy rainfall is discussed. I
Origin of Recent alkaline lavas by lithospheric thinning beneath the northern Canadian Cordillera

Recent alkaline lavas that have erupted across the disparate terranes of the northern Canadian Cordillera provide natural probes with which to interrogate the underlying lithosphere. The lavas range between two compositional end members, olivine nephelinite (NEPH) and hypersthene-normative olivine (Hy-NORM) basalt. The chemical signature of amphibole in the incompatible element enriched NEPH end member indicates that it is derived in the lithospheric mantle. The Hy-NORM end member is characterized by lower incompatible trace element contents but is still relatively enriched relative to primitive mantle. Although the Hy-NORM end member is always more radiogenic in Pb and Sr isotopes and less radiogenic in Nd isotopes than the NEPH end member, its isotopic signature varies with tectonic belt. In particular, Hy-NORM basalts in the Omineca Belt are strikingly more radiogenic in Sr and Pb isotopes and less radiogenic in Nd isotopes than otherwise equivalent Hy-NORM basalts in the adjacent Intermontane Belt, in.
Development of Arctic sea-ice organisms under graded snow cover

In 1988, the short-term response of sea-ice organisms to manipulated changes in snow cover (no snow cover, natural snow cover, natural snow cover + black foil) was investigated in one ice floe located in the East Greenland Current northwest of Svalbard over a period of three weeks. Autotrophic organisms (flagellates and diatoms) were concentrated in the lowermost 30 cm of the floe. In the field without snow cover, the highest diatom concentrations were observed, consisting nearly entirely of pennate forms, together with a maximum bacterial abundance. The community of larger protozoa and smaller metazoa was dominated by ciliates. Under natural conditions the flora consisted of both flagellates and diatoms, while turbellaria were the dominating animals. In the darkened field, the organism concentrations decreased with time. The results indicate that brine drainage, induced by changes in ice temperature, can reduce concentrations of ice organisms over short time scales.
Ammonia emissions from seabird colonies

Ammonia emissions were measured from two entire seabird colonies with contrasting species assemblages, to ascertain the ammonia volatilisation potentials among seabird species in relation to their nesting behaviour. Emissions were calculated from downwind plume measurements of ammonia concentration using both inverse dispersion and tracer ratio methods. Measured colony emissions ranged 1–90 kg NH3 hour−1, and equated to 16 and 36% volatilization of excreted nitrogen for colonies dominated by ground/burrow nesting and bare rock nesting birds, respectively. The results were applied in a bioenergetics model with a global seabird database. Seabird colonies are found to represent the largest point sources of ammonia globally (up to ∼6 Gg NH3 colony−1 year−1). Moreover the largest emissions occur mainly in remote environments with otherwise low NH3 emissions. These ammonia “hot spots” explain significant perturbations of the nitrogen cycle in these regions and add ∼20% to oceanic ammonia emissions south of latitude 45°S.
Cenozoic inversion of the East China Sea Shelf Basin: implications for reconstructing Cenozoic tectonics of eastern China

The structural styles of the East China Sea Shelf Basin are described based on the interpretation of seismic profiles. The basin is divided into West and East Rift regions. It has undergone four phases of compressive structural inversions during the late Palaeocene Oujiang Event, the late Eocene Yuquan Event, the early Miocene Huagang Event, and the latest Miocene Longjing Event. Structural inversions have superimposed on the Cenozoic extensional rift basin during these compression events, forming regional unconformity reflectors (T4°, T3°, T2°, and T1°). The Changjiang Depression located in the north of the West Rift Region is characterized by a number of NW-, EW-, to NE-trending faults. However, the other depressions in the East China Sea Shelf Basin are dominated by NNE- to NEE-trending faults. During the Palaeocene, the Taibei Depression was in a marine environment, whereas the Changjiang Depression was terrestrial, although both depressions are located in the West Rift Region. The Hongzhouwan–Okinawa Fault separates the East China Sea Shelf Basin into south and north. The structural styles and the sedimentary environment change longitudinally and transversely, which are controlled by basement structures. The depocentre of the East China Sea Shelf Basin has gradually migrated and became younger from west to east. The structural inversion also becomes younger from west to east, but the intensity of inversion increases from south to north. These structural inversion events reveal a periodic compression and imply that the compressive uplift of eastern China resulted from subduction of the Pacific Plate as well as collision of the Luzon arc and the Asian continent rather than the remote effect of India–Asian collision.
Basin-scale performance of a locally optimized marine ecosystem model

A marine ecosystem model, that had previously been calibrated in a one-dimensional (1D) mode against observations at three time-series and process-study sites simultaneously, is coupled to a three-dimensional (3D) circulation model of the North and Equatorial Atlantic. Compared to an experiment with a previously employed subjectively tuned ecosystem model, the new 3D-model does not only reduce the model-data misfit at those locations at which observations entered the 1D optimization procedure, but also at an oligotrophic site in the subtropics that had not been considered in the 1D calibration. Basin-scale gridded climatological data sets of nitrate, surface chlorophyll, and satellite-derived primary production also reveal a generally lower model-data misfit for the optimized model. The most significant improvement is found in terms of simulated primary production: on average, primary production is about 2.5 times higher in the optimized model which primarily results from the inclusion of a phytoplankton recycling pathway back to dissolved inorganic nitrogen. This recycling pathway also allows for a successful reproduction of nonvanishing surface nitrate concentrations over large parts of the subpolar North Atlantic. Apart from primary production, the parameter optimization reduces root-mean-square misfits by merely 10–25% and remaining misfits are still much larger than observational error estimates. These residual misfits can be attributed both to errors in the physical model component and to errors in the structure of the ecosystem model, which an objective estimation of ecosystem model parameters by data assimilation alone cannot resolve.
Underground Vendobionta From Namibia

The late Precambrian fossils from Namibia have generally been regarded as soft‐bodied organisms whose three‐dimensional preservation resulted from smothering in fluidized sand. The sedimentological context of Pteridinium and Namalia within a sandstone bed, however, allows us to distinguish between two taphocoenoses: (1) winnowed, laterally collapsed, current‐transported specimens accumulated as a lag deposit of turbidite‐like flows, and (2) specimens ‘floating’ in the top part of an event bed with their vanes extending upwards to the upper bedding surface. The second taphocoenosis is interpreted as an in situ preserved ‘infaunal’ community. The immobile underground life habit and the bizarre modes of growth of Pteridinium and Namalia do not fit any extinct or modern group of multicellular organisms. Similar statements can be made for Ernietta and Rangea, thus reviving the Vendobionta hypothesis.
Optimization of a large-scale microseismic monitoring network in northern Switzerland

SUMMARY Wehavedevelopedanetworkoptimizationmethodforregional-scalemicroseismicmonitoring networks and applied it to optimize the densification of the existing seismic network in northeastern Switzerland. The new network will build the backbone of a 10-yr study on the neotectonic activity of this area that will help to better constrain the seismic hazard imposed on nuclear power plants and waste repository sites. This task defined the requirements regarding location precision (0.5km in epicentre and 2km in source depth) and detection capability [magnitude of completeness Mc = 1.0 (ML)]. The goal of the optimization was to find the geometry andsizeofthenetworkthatmettheserequirements.ExistingstationsinSwitzerland, Germany and Austria were considered in the optimization procedure. We based the optimization on the simulated annealing approach proposed by Hardt & Scherbaum, which aims to minimize the volume of the error ellipsoid of the linearized earthquake location problem (D-criterion). We have extended their algorithm to:
Lithospheric delamination in the core of Pangea: Sm-Nd insights from the Iberian mantle

Delamination of continental lithosphere in the core of active collisional orogens is a wellestablished process; however, evidence for its occurrence in ancient orogenic belts is less obvious. The contrasting Sm-Nd isotopic signature between pre– and post–Middle Permian mantle-derived mafi c rocks from under the Iberian Massif suggests that most, but not all, of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) was replaced in latest Carboniferous to Permian time. Mantle replacement happened during and after the bending of the Variscan orogenic belt into the horseshoe-shaped Iberian-Armorican orocline. Delamination of thickened continental lithosphere in the core of the orocline triggered replacement of the ancient SCLM, thereby providing an explanation for the contrasting Sm-Nd isotopic characteristics of pre– and post–Middle Permian mafi c rocks.
Low-frequency variability of total ozone mapping spectrometer and general circulation model total ozone stationary waves associated with the El Niño/Southern Oscillation for the period 1979–1988

Low-frequency stationary wave variability, having periods of greater than 8 months, has been studied in the total ozone column measured by the Nimbus 7 total ozone mapping spectrometer (TOMS) over the period 1979–1988. This has been compared with the total ozone column variability obtained from a general circulation model (GCM) having prescribed observed sea surface temperatures (SSTs) for the same period. The GCM results demonstrate that the total ozone stationary waves are strongly anticorrelated with the 200-hPa eddy geopotential height, suggesting that total ozone can be used to study upper level geopotential height stationary waves and their low-frequency variability. The response to El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events is clearly seen in both the TOMS and the GCM total ozone stationary waves. In the tropics, there is a tropical dipole pattern response to ENSO similar to the negative of the dipole response seen in the upper level geopotential height, attributable to the east-west ENSO see-saw in tropical convecton. The model total ozone response is about a half of that of the TOMS response consistent with the model geopotential height response being too weak in comparison with analyses from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). South of 25°S, the TOMS data show a zonal wave 1 ENSO response in antiphase with the response in the tropics and the response is such that during El Nino (La Nina) events the southern hemisphere stationary waves are weaker (stronger) than normal. No such response is evident in the GCM results or ECMWF analyses, which instead have a zonal wave 3 ENSO response in the southern hemisphere. A zonal wave 1 analysis reveals that the model and analyses have quite different time-mean zonal wave 1 structures in the tropics and in the southern hemisphere compared with those from the TOMS data reflecting possible model errors.
The role of deep sea heat storage in the secular response to climatic forcing

The influence of the world oceans on climatic response is considered here with emphasis on the heat transferred to waters beneath the well-mixed surface layer and to polar bottom water forming zones. An upwelling-diffusing model is formulated to treat this problem whose effective transport properties are calibrated from the steady state vertical profiles of radiocarbon, potential temperature and other tracers measured by chemical oceanographers. The key issue with regard to the question of atmospheric temperature response to external climatic forcing is whether heat is exchanged between the surface mixed layer and deep sea at rates comparable to heat transfer rates between the planetary radiation field and the atmosphere-mixed layer system. An important model parameter appearing in the analysis is the polar sea warming coefficient ∏ equal to the rate of change of polar sea temperature relative to changes in areally averaged mixed layer temperature. For ∏ values in the range of 0 to 2 the models predicts response times in the range of 8 to 20 years to attain 63% of the equilibrium temperature change for a step function climatic forcing, and 50 to 1000 years to get 90% of the equilibrium response. These may be compared with the roughly 4 year response time one gets with an oceanic mixed layer only model. To study the carbon dioxide climate problem, a more realistic time-dependent forcing function is used based on the historical growth of fossil fuel CO2 and a logarithmic scaling law for the temperature increment which would obtain at any instant if the system were in radiative-convective equilibrium. Our results suggest the influence of deep sea thermal storage could delay the full value of temperature increment predicted by equilibrium models by 10 to 20 years in 1980 to 2000 A.D. time frame. Also considered is the model response to periodic forcing, the sensitivity of the results, and the implications of the model results with regard to climatic changes on a decadal to millenial timescale.