Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alkali Granites with Pan-African Affinities from Kerala, S. India

In the Kerala region of the south Indian shield alkali-granite plutons ranging in age from 550 to 740 Ma intrude Precambrian charnockites and migmatites. All of them are spatially related to regional fault-lineaments. Their geochemistry is similar to Pan-African post-kinematic plutons from the Afro-Arabian shield. They are of granitic to adamellitic composition, with high $SiO_{2}, K_{2}O$ (up to 12%), and $Na_{2}O$, and low CaO, FeO, and MgO. Their major element composition, together with a low $^{87}Sr/^{86}Sr_{I}$ (0.703) from one pluton, denote A-type affinities. However, local charnockites have such low Rb and radiogenic $^{87}Sr$ that the granites could have formed by crustal melting. Their overall trace element characteristics are typical of alkaline granites in general, but the details show that most resemble more recent volcanic-arc granites, and one pluton is typical of a within-plate setting. The presence of $CO_{2}$-rich fluid inclusions supports the notion that the enrichment of rare-earth and high field strength elements is related to high fluxes of carbonic fluids during the magma evolution. The situation of the plutons along rift-related faults suggests that the magma-tism manifests an extensional phase associated with the pre-rift tectonics of the Indian continent and the supercontinent of which it was a part during the Pan-African.
Heavy Metal Contamination Of Soils Around Municipal Solid Wastes Dump In Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Levels of some heavy metals in soils around designated municipal solid waste dumpsite and a control site within Port Harcourt and its environs were determined. The soil samples were randomly collected and analyzed for As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni and Pb. Levels from the waste dumpsite were higher than those from the control site. Soils around the waste dump were also contaminated as a result of continuous dispersion of heavy metals from the waste dump by run-off water, wind and scavengers. The difference in the mean concentrations of metals between the main dump and outside the dump were not significant (P>0.05) in the wet season but were found to be significant (P 0.05 Pb) while the seasonal variations in the concentrations of As, Cr, and Ni show signification difference (P KEY WORDS: Dumpsite, solid waste, soil, heavy metals Global Journal of Environmental Sciences Vol.4(1) 2005: 1-4
Radar, lidar, and optical observations in the polar summer mesosphere shortly after a space shuttle launch

[1] In the summer of 2007, a noctilucent cloud (NLC) campaign was organized in Alaska. Radar, lidar, and photographic methods were used. Due to lighting conditions, the campaign was carried out near the end of the NLC season. Sporadic radar and lidar echoes were obtained until the very end of the campaign, when an exceptionally intense event occurred on the local time night of 10–11 August. This late-season event followed the launch of the space shuttle on 8 August. At least twice before, solstice launches of the shuttle have been followed by unique observations of NLC and sporadic iron layers in the polar regions. This was the case here as well. The iron layer increased in altitude and density, the latter by a factor of 20, compared to the previous night. And, for the first time, (1) polar mesospheric summer echoes (PMSE) were recorded by a radar in an event of this nature and (2) an intense sporadic E layer was collocated with the iron atom layer. At the UHF radar frequency used, very large Schmidt numbers are required for PMSE. Indeed, the PMSE was found at and just above the particles responsible for Mie scatter. Such large particles are likely needed to yield large Schmidt numbers. Additionally, similar lidar and sporadic E layers were detected over Greenland on the previous night. Here we consider the ion chemistry that could lead to the collocated atom and iron layers and conclude that considerably enhanced water vapor content was required.
A Comparison of Spectral Mixture Analysis and Ten Vegetation Indices for Estimating Boreal Forest Biophysical Information from Airborne Data

RÉSUMÉ L'analyse des spectres mixtes (ASM) permet de dériver le pourcentage de couronnes ensoleillées, de fond et d'ombre à l'intérieur d'un pixel d'une image de télédétection. Il a été démontré que l'information à l'échelle du sous-pixel peut fournir de façon continue des estimations significativement améliorées d'information biophysique sur la forêt comme la biomasse, l'indice de surface foliaire (LAI) et la production primaire nette (NPP) comparativement aux estimations de NDVI (Normalised Difference Vegetation Index) utilisant des images aéroportées ou satellitales. Toutefois, un certain nombre d'indices de végétation ont été proposés à titre d'amélioration au NDVI. Dans cet article, dix indices de végétation différents ont été utilisés pour prédire les paramètres biophysiques de la forêt et les résultats ont été comparés avec les résultats obtenus par analyse des spectres mixtes utilisant les données multispectrales aéroportées du projet COVER de la NASA, dans la Superior National Forest du Minnesota, aux États-Unis. Cet ensemble de données a été acquis à travers une gamme d'angles solaires zénithaux à la limite de résolution spatiale et dans les bandes spectrales du capteur Thematic Mapper de Landsat. Les indices de végétation suivants ont été dérivés des données de télédétection: NDVI, SR, MSR, RDVI, WDVI, GEMI, NLI et trois autres indices de végétation ajustés en fonction du sol (SAVI, SAVI-1, SAVI-2). Des résultats ont été obtenus à des angles solaires zénithaux de 30°, 45° et 60° pour la biomasse, LAI, NPP, DBH, la densité de tiges et la fraction de surface terrière. Dans tous les cas, les fractions d'ombre dérivées de l'analyse des spectres mixtes ont fourni des résultats significativement meilleurs que tout autre indice de végétation, avec une amélioration de l'ordre de 20% comparativement aux meilleurs résultats obtenus par les indices de végétation. Dans la plupart des cas, un ou plusieurs des nouveaux indices de végétation ont apporté une amélioration variant de faible à modérée comparativement au NDVI, WDVI et SAVI-1 ayant la meilleure performance parmi les indices de végétation grâce probablement à l'inclusion de la réflectance de fond. En conclusion, quoique les différents indices de végétation puissent apporter une amélioration par rapport au NDVI, ceux-ci apparaissent comme fonctionnellement équivalents et fondamentalement semblables en termes de statistiques de premier ordre quant à leur potentiel à prédire les paramètres biophysiques de la forêt, potentiel qui est surpassé par les approches basées sur la décomposition des images à l'échelle du sous-pixel comme l'analyse des spectres mixtes et la modélisation de la réflectance optique du couvert.
Chemistry and stratification of Antarctic meltwater ponds II: Inland ponds in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Victoria Land

Meltwater ponds in the Victoria Valley and in the Labyrinth at the head of the Wright Valley of Victoria Land were sampled in January (summer) and October (late winter) of 2004 to establish their geochemistry and stratification, and to compare this with that of coastal meltwater ponds at a similar latitude near Bratina Island. In summer, vertical profiles were measured in 14 ponds; 10 were thermally stratified (maximum ΔT = 11.5°C) and 12 demonstrated a conductivity increase (∼25x) in the lowest 10–20 cm of the water column. When 11 of these ponds were resampled in October, the ice columns were stratified with respect to conductivity and five ponds had highly saline (up to 148 mS cm−1), oxygenated basal brines present under the ice. Basal brines and summer melt waters were Na-Cl dominated, and Victoria Valley pond meltwaters were enriched in Ca relative to the Labyrinth ponds. Early gypsum precipitation directs the chemical evolution of residual brine during freezing. These ponds were enriched in NO3 relative to the coastal ponds at Bratina Island, due to dissolution of nitrate-bearing soil salts, and the reduced influence of marine aerosols and biological productivity on pond chemistry.
Field study and simulation of diurnal temperature effects on infiltration and variably saturated flow beneath an ephemeral stream

Two experiments were performed to investigate flow beneath an ephemeral stream and to estimate streambed infiltration rates. Discharge and stream‐area measurements were used to determine infiltration rates. Stream and subsurface temperatures were used to interpret subsurface flow through variably saturated sediments beneath the stream. Spatial variations in subsurface temperatures suggest that flow beneath the streambed is dependent on the orientation of the stream in the canyon and the layering of the sediments. Streamflow and infiltration rates vary diurnally: Streamflow is lowest in late afternoon when stream temperature is greatest and highest in early morning when stream temperature is least. The lower afternoon Streamflow is attributed to increased infiltration rates; evapotranspiration is insufficient to account for the decreased Streamflow. The increased infiltration rates are attributed to viscosity effects on hydraulic conductivity from increased stream temperatures. The first set of field data was used to calibrate a two‐dimensional variably saturated flow model that includes heat transport. The model was calibrated to (1) temperature fluctuations in the subsurface and (2) infiltration rates determined from measured Streamflow losses. The second set of field data was to evaluate the ability to predict infiltration rates on the basis of temperature measurements alone. Results indicate that the variably saturated subsurface flow depends on downcanyon layering of the sediments. They also support the field observations in indicating that diurnal changes in infiltration can be explained by temperature dependence of hydraulic conductivity. Over the range of temperatures and flows monitored, diurnal stream temperature changes can be used to estimate streambed infiltration rates. It is often impractical to maintain equipment for determining infiltration rates by traditional means; however, once a model is calibrated using both infiltration and temperature data, only relatively inexpensive temperature monitoring can later yield infiltration rates that are within the correct order of magnitude.
Palaeoenvironmental significance of carbon- and oxygen-isotope stratigraphy of marine Triassic–Jurassic boundary sections in SW Britain

Abstract: Carbon-isotope stratigraphy is a useful tool for stratigraphic correlation, especially for strata deposited during major perturbations of the carbon cycle that affected the marine, terrestrial and atmospheric reservoirs. For the Triassic–Jurassic boundary, effectively defined by a first-order mass extinction, major fluctuations in carbon-isotope values have been well documented, but these datasets have generally been derived from bulk-rock samples. Hence, the extent to which features of the isotopic curve reflect diagenetic alteration or changing proportions of constituent materials is unconstrained. Here, carbon- and oxygen-isotope data are presented from well-preserved oyster shells (Liostrea) comprising low-magnesium calcite, a mineral species relatively resistant to diagenetic alteration. Samples were obtained from Lavernock Point, Glamorgan, Wales, a coastal section close to a candidate stratotype for the base of the Jurassic at St Audrie's Bay, Somerset, England. The carbon-isotope signature from St Audrie's Bay, previously defined on the basis of analysis of bulk organic matter, is confirmed by our new data. Major features are (1) the upper part of an ’initial' negative isotope excursion in the lowest part of the section, followed by (2) a pronounced positive excursion, and (3) an extended ’main' negative isotope excursion in the highest part of the section. The data confirm that the carbon-isotope stratigraphy previously documented from bulk organic matter in SW England records the chemical composition of the contemporaneous seawater. Bulk carbonates sampled over the same interval near Lyme Regis, England, show similar trends to those from oyster calcite in the lower part of the study section, but there are more 13C-depleted values up-section. These lower values probably result from an admixture of primary and diagenetic carbonate. Palaeotemperatures calculated from oxygen-isotope values from Lavernock Point oyster shells are relatively cool at the beginning of the positive carbon-isotope excursion, and increased by up to 10 °C during the main negative carbon-isotope excursion. The new results are compatible with the view that positive carbon-isotope excursions correspond to times of low atmospheric carbon dioxide content, whereas negative carbon-isotope excursions correspond to times of high atmospheric carbon dioxide content, as is also found to be the case during the Early Jurassic (Toarcian) Oceanic Anoxic Event. The Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios and δ18O of investigated Liostrea hisingeri show no correlation, supporting data from modern bivalves that indicate that incorporation of Mg and Sr is controlled mainly by factors other than temperature.
Stratigraphy and structure of the Purbeck inliers of Sussex (England)

The Purbeck Beds exposed in Sussex are redescribed together with new sections exposed in gypsum mines workings and boreholes. Comparisons are made with Purbeck Beds elsewhere in southern England in boreholes and at outcrop. A new map of the Purbeck inliers is presented and the structure is discussed. Conditions of sedimentation are illustrated by isopachyte maps.
Coupling between Large-Scale Atmospheric Processes and Mesoscale Land–Atmosphere Interactions in the U.S. Southern Great Plains during Summer. Part I: Case Studies

Abstract This paper is Part I of a two-part study that uses high-resolution Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) simulations to investigate mesoscale land–atmosphere interactions in the summertime U.S. Southern Great Plains. The focus is on the atmospheric dynamics associated with mesoscale heterogeneity in the underlying surface fluxes: how shifts in meteorological regimes modulate these diurnal, mesoscale processes, and their overall impact at larger scales and over multiple diurnal cycles. Part I examines individual case study time periods drawn from the simulations that illustrate general points about the key land–atmosphere interactions. The main findings are as follows: The mesoscale processes are embedded within a synoptic-scale organization that controls the background meteorological regime at a given location. During the clear, dry days in the simulated months, heterogeneity in the surface fluxes forces strong, lower-tropospheric, mesoscale circulations that exhibit a characteristic dynami.
Fram Strait Ice Export during the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries Reconstructed from a Multiyear Sea Ice Index from Southwestern Greenland

Abstract Historical observations of multiyear ice, called “storis,” in the southwest Greenland waters exist from the period 1820–2000, obtained from ship logbooks and ice charts. It is argued that this ice originates in the Arctic Ocean and has traveled via the Fram Strait, southward along the Greenland coast in the East Greenland Current, and around the southern tip of Greenland. Therefore, it is hypothesized that these observations can be used as “proxies” for reconstructing the Fram Strait ice export on an annual basis. An index describing the storis extent is extracted from the observations and a linear statistical model formulated relating this index to the Fram Strait ice export. The model is calibrated using ice export values from a hindcast study with a coupled ocean–ice model over the period 1949–98. Subsequently, the model is used to reconstruct the Fram Strait annual ice export in the period 1820–2000. The model has significant skill, calculated on independent data. Based on this reconstruction.
Forests, marketization, livelihoods and the poor in the Lao PDR

The Lao PDR is making the transition from subsistence to cash, and command to market. Rural communities are being drawn ever more tightly into the embrace of the market economy and of the central state. The construction of roads, schools and health centres, the provision of credit and new crops and technologies, and the arrival of traders and the panoply of the consumer economy are all, in their different ways, remoulding rural economy and society. This paper looks at one aspect of this multi‐stranded process of agrarian transformation: the role and place of forests and, in particular, non‐timber forest products, in rural people's lives and livelihoods. The paper highlights the contradictory and uneven livelihood‐eroding/enhancing effects of these transformations. In many upland areas of Laos livelihoods are being squeezed from ‘below’ by environmental degradation and from ‘above’ by the operation of government policies and, more generally, by evolving market relations. While market pessimists see market integration as a largely destructive process, the paper highlights the opportunities that market integration can provide through diversification and livelihood reorientation. The challenge is that these opportunities are unequally available and are likely to promote social differentiation. Some households find themselves in a position to embrace new opportunities while others are forced to continue to rely on a declining and degrading forest resource. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Occurrence and significance of blueschist in the southern Lachlan Orogen

Serpentinite/talc‐matrix mélanges, bearing blocks of blueschist metavolcanics, occur within the Heathcote and Governor Fault Zones of the southern Lachlan Orogen. In the Heathcote Fault Zone, serpentinite‐matrix mélange consists of blocks or small pods of boninite, andesite, ultramafic rocks, chert and volcanogenic sandstone variably metamorphosed to prehnite‐pumpellyite, greenschist, or greenschist to blueschist facies. In the Governor Fault Zone, blueschist metavolcanics occur as blocks within serpentinite/talc matrix that is interleaved with prehnite‐pumpellyite to greenschist facies, intermediate pressure slate and phyllite. Ar/Ar dating of white mica from slaty mud‐matrix (broken formation) indicates that the main fabric development occurred at 446 ± 2 Ma. U–Pb (SHRIMP) dating of titanite from blueschists in the Governor Fault Zone indicates that metamorphism occurred at approximately 450 Ma, close to the time of mélange formation. Previously published, Ar/Ar dating of white mica from phyllite and biotite from metadiorite in the Heathcote Fault Zone suggest that blueschist metamorphism occurred at a similar time. These ages are supported by field relationships. Illite crystallinity and b0 data from white mica, and the preservation of blueschist blocks indicate that these fault zones maintained low temperatures both during and after intermediate‐ to high‐pressure metamorphism. Occurrences of blueschists in the Arthur Lineament of the Tyennan (Delamerian) Orogen in Tasmania, and in the New England Orogen, have different ages, and in conjunction with the occurrences described here, suggest that subduction‐accretion processes contributed significantly to the development of the Tasmanides from Cambrian through to Carboniferous times.
An Experimental Study of Tsunami Amplification by a Coastal Cliff

ABSTRACT Sim, S.Y. and Huang, Z. , 2016. An experimental study of tsunami amplification by a coastal cliff. There is a general lack of understanding of the effects of coastal cliffs or other complex topography features on tsunami run-ups and tsunami heights onshore. We experimentally investigated several factors that might influence the amplification of onshore tsunami heights in the presence of a coastal cliff through a set of wave flume tests. The cross-shore bed profile used in the experiment was modeled using a composite slope made of three sections, with the gentlest section onshore to replicate the beach. A structure with an adjustable foreslope was mounted onto the beach section to model a coastal cliff. From our experimental results, a critical angle of about 45° was identified: the amplification factor increased with the cliff slope for cliffs gentler than 45°, and cliffs steeper than 45° gave more or less constant amplification factors for a given wave condition. The largest amplification factor found in this study is about 2.8; if water splashing was considered, the amplification factor would be even larger.
Assessment of the use of current climate patterns to evaluate regional enhanced greenhouse response patterns of climate models

The reliability of the enhanced greenhouse regional response of global climate models is often assessed by comparing their current climate simulation against observations. To evaluate this approach, we investigate the relationship between inter‐model similarity in patterns of current regional climate and inter‐model similarity in patterns of regional enhanced greenhouse response using data from a multi‐model database. Correlations of moderate magnitude are common, indicating the value of testing the current regional climate simulation of models. Notably, relationships vary significantly regionally (e.g., are weakest in the tropics), cross variables (e.g., current climate mean sea level pressure is related to temperature and precipitation change in some extra‐tropical regions) and can be insensitive to whether the current climate is assessed in the region concerned or globally. The concept demonstrated here can provide a basis for evaluating and weighting models for use in preparing projections of regional climate change.
A NEW SPECIMEN OF SAURIPTERUS TAYLORI (SARCOPTERYGII, OSTEICHTHYES) FROM THE FAMENNIAN CATSKILL FORMATION OF NORTH AMERICA

Abstract A new specimen of the rhizodontid sarcopterygian, Sauripterus taylori (Sarcopterygii, Osteichthyes), from the Late Devonian (Famennian) Catskill Formation of Pennsylvania consists of a well-preserved right pectoral fin, girdle, and associated scales. Rhizodontid affinity is supported by the unique pattern of overlap between the clavicle and cleithrum, the robustness of the pectoral girdle, the presence of elongate and unjointed lepidotrichia in the pectoral fin, and the pattern of connectivity between the endochondral bones of the pectoral fin. The new specimen of Sauripterus provides a three-dimensional and articulated view of basal rhizodontid pectoral girdle and fin anatomy and preserves the first known scapulocoracoid for a Devonian rhizodontid. The glenoid fossa faces posteroventrally, in contrast to the more posterolaterally facing glenoids of other tetrapodomorph fish. The humerus is short proximodistally and possesses an expansive ventral flange for the attachment of the adductor, flexor, and rotatory musculature of the fin. Together, these data suggest that the pectoral fins of Sauripterus were optimized for adduction and flexion against the water column or a solid substrate. To maximize the propulsive force of these motions the distal fin was stiffened by the presence of eight radials, similar in position to the autopodials of tetrapods. However, unlike the digits of tetrapods, the unit that interacts with the environment in rhizodontids is a combined structure consisting of both dermal and endochondral fin skeletons. As recent phylogenetic hypotheses do not support a sister-group relationship between rhizodontids and tetrapods, the similarities between the endoskeletal radials of Sauripterus and the autopodium of tetrapods are independently derived.