Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Soil ecosystem services in different land use types in coastal Ecuador

Soils provide ecosystem services which are natural functions of an ecosystem that can also be used for the benefits of humans. In recent years there is an increasing awareness that ecosystem services are important for human well being, however the ecosystem services that soils provide are not well quantified. In the present thesis some ecosystem services provided by soils are quantified in several study areas of coastal Ecuador. Furthermore the impact of different land uses on these ecosystem services is investigated. The different chapters of this thesis are the result of two different projects that focused on the implementation of payment for ecosystem services for soil C sequestration and biodiversity, which is illustrated by the contents of the different chapters: (1) stabilization mechanisms of soil carbon, which can help to predict the soil C sink function under different land use change scenarios; (2) the influence of soil and landscape characteristics on plant biodiversity; and (3) the effects of soil and land use on soil erosion and sedimentation and how this in turn affects soil C sequestration. The results show that soil C sequestration, biodiversity and soil conservation are important soil ecosystem services which strongly depend on land use and soil type. In future, quantitative information of the monetary value of these and other ecosystem services should form the basis for decision making processes involving conservation measures.
Kinetics of Carbon Dioxide Evolution in Relation to Microbial Biomass and Temperature

Intensification of agricultural practices on calcareous soils leads to drastic changes in biogeochemical processes due to modifications of CO₂ partial pressure in soil pores. For this reason, CO₂ evolution was measured in vitro from Typic Rendoll soils of the Champagne Crayeuse at four temperatures. Microbial biomass was also estimated by a plate-count technique that had been calibrated by two independent methods: chloroform fumigation and bioluminescence. Carbon dioxide evolution curves fit an equation consisting of a zero- and first-order reaction. The three parameters of this equation were interpreted as: (i) the amount of easily decomposable organic matter generated by the disturbance, (ii) the time constant for the disappearance of that disturbance, and (iii) the sustained respiration of the native microflora. This model implies that the rate of CO₂ evolution is maximum at the start of the incubation, while the observed maximum in bacterial biomass occurred about 5 d later. Comparison of the results presented here with data from the literature shows that there is an almost continuous spectrum of values for the amounts of easily decomposable organic matter generated by any disturbance, and that the time constant for its mineralization is of the order of a very few days. Therefore, the use of the double exponential model is superfluous unless the duration of the incubation experiments exceeds 100 d.
Evidence for Incipient Rifting in Southern Africa

Summary A study of microearthquakes in northern Botswana, September to December 1974 indicates that this region is tectonically active. Microearthquakes were found to occur primarily in a zone striking north-east from Lake Ngami through the Okavango delta to the Zambezi River. These events are associated with an en echelon set of north-easterly striking normal faults of Quaternary to Recent age, and appear to be continuous with the activity at Lake Kariba and continuing further north along the Luangwa valley to the main rift zone south-east of Lake Tanganyika. Focal mechanisms indicate normal faulting on NE striking planes. The tectonic setting of the Okavango delta thus appears to be that of a developing graben some 150 km wide. The delta is at the tip of a proposed incipient zone of rifting that follows an old post-Karroo, pre-Cretaceous rift zone. The African rifts are viewed as an incomplete, growing plate margin which is propagating to the south along at least two arms that bifurcate south of Lake Tanganyika.
Geometric cycles, arithmetic groups and their cohomology

It is the aim of this article to give a reasonably detailed account of a specific bundle of geometric investigations and results pertaining to arithmetic groups, the geometry of the corresponding locally symmetric space X/Γ attached to a given arithmetic subgroup Γ ⊂ G of a reductive algebraic group G and its cohomology groups H∗(X/Γ,C). We focus on constructing totally geodesic cycles in X/Γ which originate with reductive subgroups H ⊂ G. In many cases, it can be shown that these cycles, to be called geometric cycles, yield non-vanishing (co)homology classes. Since the cohomology of an arithmetic group Γ is strongly related to the automorphic spectrum of Γ, this geometric construction of non-vanishing classes leads to results concerning, for example, the existence of specific automorphic forms.
Radial diffusion of starfish electrons.

A study of the change in electron intensities in the Starfish electron belt from January 1, 1963, to November 3, 1965, indicates that radial diffusion, both inward and outward from L of 1.40, was a significant loss mechanism for these electrons during this period. For L values of 1.20 and below, the indicated steepening of the pitch-angle distributions during this period has been interpreted as the result of a radial diffusion source for each L shell concentrated near the geomagnetic equator. Since pitch-angle diffusion lifetimes are not well known for 1.20 < L < 1.65, a definitive radial diffusion coefficient cannot be computed from these data. A maximum reasonable diffusion coefficient (mean square displacement per unit time) computed for this range of L for this period has a minimum at L of 1.31, and a value of 4.4 × 10−5 RE²/day at that point. This maximum coefficient, representing an average over a 3-year period, is more than an order of magnitude too small to account for the apparent radial diffusion of natural electrons into this region that took place in September 1966. The results are, however, consistent with population of the inner zone by radial electron diffusion occurring during relatively short periods during which the diffusion coefficient is enhanced by two or three orders of magnitude.
The first species of Sinopa (Hyaenodontida, Mammalia) from outside of North America: implications for the history of the genus in the Eocene of Asia and North America

The first Sinopa species, S. jilinia sp. nov., from outside of North America is described. It comes from the Huadian Formation, locality Gonglangtou, Jilin Province, north‐east China. The new species represents the northernmost and one of the latest and most complete Asian Prototomus‐like hyaenodontidans known. It also represents one of the youngest specimens of Sinopa, because the age of the Huadian Formation is correlated to the later Uintan and only one doubtful citation of North American Sinopa younger than the early Uintan exists. S. jilinia sp. nov. is characterized by having m3 clearly smaller than m1, very strong and extended labial molar cingulids, backward leaning protoconids in all molars and its m3 cristid obliquum joining the postvallid very labially. With S. jilina, Sinopa is the first hyaenodontidan genus known to be present on two continents during the time interval between the earliest Eocene (c. 55.0 Ma) and latest middle Eocene (40 Ma). Its occurrence in the Huadian Formation supports the idea of a faunal exchange between North America and Asia in the early middle Eocene, a hypothesis formerly based mainly on the presence of the omomyid primate Asiomomys in the Huadian Formation, on a small radiation of East Asian trogosine tillodonts and on a couple of perissodactyl genera shared between the middle Eocene of North America and the Irdinmanhan of East Asia. As with the new Sinopa species, these Asian taxa had their closest relatives in North America.
On Dipolelike Variability of Sea Surface Temperature in the Tropical Indian Ocean

Abstract The interannual variability of the tropical Indian Ocean sea surface temperature (SST) is studied with observational data and a hierarchy of coupled general circulation models (CGCMs). Special attention is given to the question of whether an oscillatory dipole mode exists in the tropical Indian Ocean region with centers east and west of 80°E. These results indicate that dipolelike variability can be explained as an oscillatory mode only in the context of El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). A dipolelike structure in the SST anomalies independent of ENSO was found also. This series of coupled model experiments shows that ocean dynamics is not necessary to this type of dipolelike SST variability. It is forced by surface heat flux anomalies that are integrated by the thermal inertia of the oceanic mixed layer, which reddens the SST spectrum.
Sedimentation in a fluvially infilling, barrier‐bound estuary on a wave‐dominated, microtidal coast: the Ouémé River estuary, Benin, west Africa

The Ouémé River estuary is located on the seasonally humid tropical coast of Benin, west Africa. A striking feature of this microtidal estuary is the presence of a large sand barrier bounding a 120 km2 circular central basin, Lake Nokoué, that is being infilled by heterogeneous fluvial deposits supplied by a relatively large catchment (50 000 km2). Borehole cores from the lower estuary show basal Pleistocene lowstand alluvial sediments overlain by Holocene transgressive–highstand lagoonal mud and by transgressive to probably early highstand tidal inlet and flood‐tidal delta sand deposited in association with non‐preserved transgressive sand barriers. The change in estuary‐mouth sedimentation from a transgressive barrier‐inlet system to a regressive highstand barrier reflects regional modifications in marine sand supply and in the cross‐barrier tidal flux associated with barrier‐inlet systems. As barrier formation west of the Ouémé River led to an increasingly rectilinear shoreline, the longshore drift cell matured, ensuring voluminous eastward transport of sand from the Volta Delta in Ghana, the major purveyor of sand, to the Ouémé embayment, 200 km east. Concomitantly, the number of tidal inlets, and the tidal flux associated with a hitherto interlinked lagoonal system on this coast, diminished. Complete sealing of Lake Nokoué has produced a large, permanently closed estuary, where tidal intrusion is assured through the interconnected coastal lagoon via an inlet located 60 km east. Since 1885, tides have entered the estuary directly through an artificial outlet cut across the sand barrier. Although precluding the seaward loss of fluvial sediments, permanent estuary‐mouth closure has especially deprived the highstand estuary of marine sand, a potentially important component in estuarine infill on wave‐dominated coasts. In spite of a significant fluvial sediment supply, estuarine infill has been moderate, because of the size of the central basin. Estuarine closure has resulted in two co‐existing highstand sediment suites, with limited admixture, the marine‐derived, estuary‐mouth barrier and upland‐derived back‐barrier sediments. This situation differs from that of mature barrier estuaries characterized by active fluvial‐marine sediment mixing and facies interfingering.
Solar cycle and geomagnetic N+1/O+1 variation in outer dayside magnetosphere: Possible relation to topside ionosphere

O+1 and N+1 are important ring current ions in great magnetic storms. We study ∼10–210 keV/e O+1 and N+1 in dayside outer ring current (ORC) at ∼9–15 RE using Geotail's EPIC/STICS ion spectrometer. We find: average N+1/O+1 (ΓN/O) varies by ∼2 over a solar cycle, ∼40% (∼20%) at solar minimum (maximum); individual ΓN/O values range from ∼0.15 (moderate solar maximum storm) to ∼1 (18‐hr solar minimum superquiet interval); and N+1 is third in importance after H+ and O+1 during two moderate storms (Dstmin ∼ −80 nT, ∼25% great storm intensity), one at minimum, one maximum. High‐latitude topside ionospheric AE‐D/MIMS ion composition data form a baseline reference used to argue that ORC ΓN/O variations generally reflect and may be partially explained by topside ionospheric density ΓN/O spatial variations.
Lagrangian perspectives of deep water export from the subpolar North Atlantic

Direct observations at the Grand Banks have raised a quandary concerning the pathways of the lower branch of the meridional overturning circulation: In contrast to moored current meters that depict an intense, narrow Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC), observations using different float types failed to show this continuous export path. Here, this issue is addressed by a Lagrangian analysis of synthetic particles in an eddy‐resolving circulation model. Due to intense eddy activity around the Grand Banks, about 40% of the deep water in the DWBC is diverted into the interior, spreading southward along the western flank of the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge or with the eddying flow field in the basin interior. Imposing constraints on the vertical displacements of particles similar to those experienced by observational floats further reduces their adherence to the DWBC, particularly near the southern tip of the Grand Banks.
Central European Journal of Mathematics Weighted entropies

We present an axiomatic characterization of entropies with properties of branching, continuity, and weighted additivity. We deliberately do not assume that the entropies are symmetric. The resulting entropies are generalizations of the entropies of degree α, including the Shannon entropy as the case α = 1. Such ”weighted” entropies have potential applications to the ”utility of gambling” problem. MSC: 39B72, 91B16, 94A17, 39B22
Halokinetic deformation adjacent to the deepwater Auger diapir, Garden Banks 470, northern Gulf of Mexico: Testing the applicability of an outcrop-based model using subsurface data

Composite halokinetic sequences (CHS) are unconformity-bounded successions of upturned and thinned strata that form due to drape folding of diapir roofs during passive salt rise. Tabular and tapered CHS have narrow (50–200 m) and broad (300–1000 m) zones of folding, respectively. CHS are originally defined as exposed diapirs bounded by shallow-water strata in La Popa Basin, Mexico. This paper tests the concepts of CHS development at the subsurface, deepwater Auger diapir in the northern Gulf of Mexico. We used 3D wide-azimuth seismic data, well and biostratigraphic data, and structural restorations to interpret and analyzed 11 well-imaged Pleistocene CHS that correlate around the diapir. The lower and uppermost flanks are characterized exclusively by tapered CHS, with wide zones of thinning (240–660 m) and broad taper angles (41°–75°). In between are four discrete CHS with mixed tapered and tabular geometries, with the latter displaying narrow zones of thinning (! [Formula][1] ) and negligible taper. Three of the intervals switch geometry around the diapir. The CHS-bounding unconformities typically intersect the salt at cusps and are continuous with bright amplitudes in the minibasins that tie to biostratigraphically defined condensed sections. CHS represent 50–500 kyr time spans and correlate well with fourth-order sea-level cycles. We corroborated many aspects of the published model of CHS development, showed that the formation of CHS due to drape folding was independent of depositional environment and related to fluctuations in sea level and sediment input. The style of CHS is generally determined by the interplay between salt-rise and sediment-accumulation rates, but variable CHS geometries around the diapir within the same interval suggested that the ultimate control is the roof thickness. Our results are critical to understanding and predicting aspects of hydrocarbon traps against salt, including trap geometry, and reservoir distribution. [1]: /embed/mml-math-1.gif
Drying front in a sloping aquifer: Nonlinear effects

The profiles for the water table height h(x, t) in a shallow sloping aquifer are reexamined with a solution of the nonlinear Boussinesq equation. We demonstrate that the previous anomaly first reported by Brutsaert [1994] that the point at which the water table h first becomes zero at x = L at time t = tc remains fixed at this point for all times t > tc is actually a result of the linearization of the Boussinesq equation and not, as previously suggested [ Brutsaert, 1994 ; Verhoest and Troch, 2000 ], a result of the Dupuit assumption. Rather, by examination of the nonlinear Boussinesq equation the drying front, i.e., the point xf at which h is zero for times t ≥ tc, actually recedes downslope as physically expected. This points out that the linear Boussinesq equation should be used carefully when a zero depth is obtained as the concept of an “average” depth loses meaning at that time.
CLASSIFICATION OF URBAN FORESTS IN THREE U.S. CITIES: A TEST OF MOLL'S URBAN FOREST ZONE MODEL

Summary Cluster analysis, using urban forest configuration variables, was used to classify census tracts in three U.S. cities: Waterbury, Connecticut; Pueblo, Colorado; and Eugene, Oregon. The resulting classification indicates that tracts in each city can be grouped into four categories: inner city tracts characterized by small average tract size and small amounts of space for growing vegetation; transitional tracts with increased amounts of growing space; residential tracts with large amounts of herbaceous cover and growing space; and suburban tracts characterized by large average tract size and large amounts of growing space. Differences within these groups among the cities can be attributed to different patterns of development and differences in potential natural vegetation. Broad similarities among the three cities with very different development histories, indicate that simplified models of urban spatial structure correspond to general urban forest types. These urban forest types can be used to deve.
Effects of Reinforcement type and Loading History on the Deformation of Reinforced Sand in Plane Strain Compression

ABSTRACT To evaluate the effects of reinforcement type in terms of stiffness, viscous property, rupture strength, shape and loading history on the stress-strain behaviour during primary, sustained and cyclic loading of reinforced sand, a series of drained plane strain compression tests were performed on Toyoura sand. The sand specimens were reinforced with two types of polymer geogrid as well as two types of metal grid, having largely different stiffness values and surface conditions. Despite that the effects of reinforcement type on the overall stress-strain characteristics of reinforced sand and their rate-dependency are significant during primary loading, the effects are much smaller than the difference in the stiffness of reinforcement. The effects of reinforcement type on the global unloading behaviour and the residual strain by cyclic loading during otherwise global unloading are generally insignificant or negligible. The residual strains by cyclic loading of reinforced sand became substantially small by preloading as well as pre-sustained loading and pre-cyclic loading at higher load levels. With this procedure, polymer geosynthetic reinforcement, which is much more extensible and viscous than metal reinforcement, can be used to reinforce soil structures allowing very limited residual deformation.
Prevalencia de Fasciola hepatica en ganadería de altura en Bailadores Mérida, Venezuela

Bovine fasciolosis is one of the most important parasitic diseases on Venezuela. Attending to the claim of farmers in the Andean zone about the high levels of infected livers detected at the slaughterhouse and milk production decrease, the aim of this work was to determine prevalence of Fasciola hepatica in dairy cattle of Bailadores, State of Merida, Venezuela. The study was carried out in May 2006 (at the rainy season,), using 101 animals coming from five different farms, named F1 to F5, using 50 % of the total population of adult female animals in production in each farm as follow: F1 n=22; F2 n= 19; F3 n= 20; F4 n=20 ; F5 n=20. Farms were located in the surroundings of Bailadores Town, at an altitude between 1500 and 3000 meters over sea level.
Impact of Global Ocean Surface Warming on Seasonal-to-Interannual Climate Prediction

Abstract Surface air temperature (SAT) over the globe, particularly the Northern Hemisphere continents, has rapidly risen over the last 2–3 decades, leading to an abrupt shift toward a warmer climate state after 1997/98. Whether the terrestrial warming might be caused by local response to increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations or by sea surface temperature (SST) rise is recently in dispute. The SST warming itself may be driven by both the increasing GHG forcing and slowly varying natural processes. Besides, whether the recent global warming might affect seasonal-to-interannual climate predictability is an important issue to be explored. Based on the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) climate prediction system in which only observed SSTs are assimilated for coupled model initialization, the present study shows that the historical SST rise plays a key role in driving the intensified terrestrial warming over the globe. The SST warming trend, while negligible for short lead.
Coastal Plain Soils of Southeastern Nigeria: I. Morphology, Classification, and Genetic Relationships

Fourteen pedons developed within the Coastal Plain Sands of southeastern Nigeria were investigated. Laboratory studies included particle size distributions on all pedons plus <0.2-µm clay, pH, organic C, total N, cation exchange capacity, exchangeable bases, and extractable Al on nine of them. X-ray analyses of selected clay samples and micromorphologic studies of thin sections of some horizons were also made. Exchangeable bases and base saturation percentages were low for these deeply weathered soils and they had low cation exchange capacities. X-ray diffraction analyses of clay indicated the predominance of kaolinite. In most of the selected soils isotic and undulic plasmic fabrics characterized the micromorphology, indicating relatively advanced weathering stages. Ferri-argillans were occasionally observed in the deeper horizons in accord with their higher clay and Fe₂O₃-d contents (see part II, this issue). Litho-, topo-, climo- and possible chronosequences of soils were proposed. Biosequences were not clearly evident. Classification according to the U. S. Soil Taxonomy system indicated that most of the pedons were Ultisols (fine-loamy or coarse-loamy) with one Dystropept (coarse-loamy) and one Tropaquod (sandy). Typic Paleustults (fine-loamy) represented most soils on the higher (older? ) physiographic surfaces. Three Typic Paleudults (fine-loamy), an Arenic Paleudult (coarse-loamy), a Typic Paleaquult (coarse-loamy), and a Typic Tropaquult (fine-loamy) were found on lower land surfaces nearer the coastline. All pedons are in siliceous, isohyperthermic families. Most of the well-drained soils were found to be Dystric Nitosols according to the FAO/UNESCO World Soil Map legend. Gleyic Acrisols were proposed for the more poorly-drained associates of Nitosols. A Gleyic Podzol (with a spodic B) and a Dystric Cambisol (with a cambic horizon) were also represented.