Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of regional-scale anthropogenic activity in northeast Asia on seasonal variations of surface ozone and carbon monoxide observed at Oki, Japan

Surface O3 and CO measurements were carried out at Oki, Japan during March 1994 to February 1996 in order to elucidate the processes determining temporal variations of O3 and CO in the northeast Asian Pacific rim region. The isentropic trajectory analysis was applied to sort out the influences of the air mass exchange under the Asian monsoon system and the regional-scale photochemical buildup of O3. The trajectories were categorized into five groups which cover background and regionally polluted air masses. The seasonal cycles of O3 and CO in the background continental air mass revealed spring maximum-summer minimum with averaged concentrations ranging from 32 and 120 ppb to 45 and 208 ppb, respectively. In contrast, O3 concentrations in the regionally polluted continental air mass ranged from 44 to 57 ppb and showed a winter minimum and a spring-summer-autumn broad maximum, which was characterized by photochemical O3 production due to anthropogenic activities in northeast Asia. CO concentrations in the same air mass showed a spring maximum of 271 ppb and a summer-autumn minimum of 180 ppb. The photochemical buildup of O3 resulting from anthropogenic activities in this region was estimated to be 21 ppb in summer, while its production was insignificant, an average 3 ppb, in winter. A comparison between data in northeast Asia and in Europe shows many similarities, supporting the contention that photochemical buildup of O3 from large-scale precursor emissions in both regions is very significant.
Simultaneous ground-satellite optical observations of postnoon shock aurora in the Southern Hemisphere

[1] On 14 June 2005, a transient postnoon shock aurora, induced by an interplanetary (IP) shock, was observed simultaneously with the FUV imager onboard the IMAGE satellite and the all-sky imager (ASI) at the South Pole Station (−74.3° magnetic latitude (MLAT), ∼15 magnetic local time). The global evolution of the shock aurora was identified by the FUV, whereas the detailed spatial-temporal structure was identified by the ASI. Both optical emissions for the shock aurora showed a reasonable agreement in a common field of view. During the transient auroral brightenings in the dayside oval detected by the FUV, a two-step development of the shock aurora was identified by the ASI in the afternoon sector of the oval. Just after the IP shock, the ASI first observed a diffuse 557.7 nm aurora expanding duskward at the equatorward edge of the oval (−70° to −73° MLAT). About 5 min later, new discrete auroral forms (arcs) were detected in the middle of the oval (−73° to −76° MLAT) by both 557.7 nm and 630.0 nm ASI images. The discrete arcs developed with relatively brighter emissions, and had a lifetime of the order of 10 min, during the main impulse (MI) of geomagnetic sudden commencement. The spectrographic auroral imagers onboard the IMAGE satellite indicated that proton precipitation played an effective role in the first shock auroral emission observed with the ASI, while intense electron precipitation played an effective role in the second one. Mechanisms of the first and second postnoon shock auroras presented here are speculated to be associated with the wave-particle interaction process, and the field-aligned acceleration process in the region of the MI-related upward field-aligned currents, respectively.
Allogenic forcing of the late Quaternary Rhine–Meuse fluvial record: the interplay of sea‐level change, climate change and crustal movements

The Rhine–Meuse system in the west‐central Netherlands is a continental‐scale fluvial system bordered by an extremely wide continental shelf. Consequently, late Quaternary eustatic sea‐level changes have resulted in dramatic shoreline displacements, by as much as 800 km. In addition, changes in climate have been severe, given the latitudinal and palaeogeographic setting of the Rhine–Meuse system. We investigated the relative importance of these allogenic controls on fluvial aggradation and incision during the last two glacial–interglacial cycles. We used optical dating of quartz from ∼30 samples in a cross‐section perpendicular to the palaeoflow direction, allowing us to correlate periods of aggradation and incision with independent records of sea‐level change, climate change and glacio‐isostatic crustal movements. We found the long‐term aggradation rate to be ∼8 cm kyr−1, a value similar to previous estimates of tectonic subsidence rates in the study area. Several excursions from this long‐term aggradation trend could be identified for the last glacial–interglacial cycle. Dry climatic conditions with relatively high sediment supply induced aggradation during oxygen‐isotope stages (OIS) 4 and 3. Build‐up of a glacio‐isostatic forebulge during OIS 2 is a likely cause of incision around the Last Glacial Maximum, followed by an aggradation phase during forebulge collapse. Sea‐level highstands during OIS 5 have likely resulted in the aggradation of coastal prisms, but only minor, basal estuarine deposits have been preserved because these coastal prisms were prone to erosion during ensuing sea‐level falls. Overall, the sedimentary record is dominated by strata formed during time intervals when the study area was completely unaffected by sea‐level control, and our evidence shows that the falling‐stage systems tract has the highest preservation potential. Our study highlights the importance of considering the complex interplay of both upstream and downstream controls to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of basin‐margin successions.
Improved Low-Cloud Simulation from the Community Atmosphere Model with an Advanced Third-Order Turbulence Closure

AbstractIn this study, a simplified intermediately prognostic higher-order turbulence closure (IPHOC) is implemented in the Community Atmosphere Model, version 5 (CAM5), to provide a consistent treatment of subgrid-scale cloud processes, except for deep convection. The planetary boundary layer (PBL) height is prognosticated to better resolve the discontinuity of temperature and moisture above the PBL top. Single-column model tests show that fluxes of liquid water potential temperature and total water, cloud fraction, and liquid water content are improved with this approach. The simplified IPHOC package replaces the boundary layer dry and moist turbulence parameterizations, the shallow convection parameterization, and the liquid-phase part of the cloud macrophysics parameterization in CAM5. CAM5-IPHOC improves the simulation of the low-level clouds off the west coasts of continents and the storm track region in the Southern Hemisphere (SH). The transition from stratocumulus to cumulus clouds is more gradua.
Rock failure under the confined Brazilian test

The Brazilian, or indirect tensile, test, in which a disk is loaded in a diametral plane by forces applied at opposite ends of a diameter, is extended by jacketing the specimen and applying an additional confining pressure. In this way failure may be studied over a range of conditions in which the least principal stress varies from tensile to compressive. The fracture is always an extension fracture in the loaded diametral plane, even if all principal stresses are compressive. The stress analysis is based on elastic strain theory. Experiments were made on three rock types, and they suggest that the value of the intermediate principal stress affects the conditions for failure. This effect is of the same order of magnitude as that shown by experiments on hollow cylinders with axial loading and external confining pressure.
Geology of the Faroe-Shetland Basin and adjacent areas

The Faroe–Shetland Regional Geological Report produced jointly by the BGS and Jarðfeingi provides an illustrated descriptive summary of diverse topics of geoscience organised into twelve separate chapters (see contents) within the offshore area to the north and north-west of Scotland, Orkney and Shetland Isles, and around the Faroe Islands (Figure 1). Although the UK/Faroese median line effectively separates the area into north-west and south-east portions, this national boundary has little relevance with regard to the geoscientific description of the Faroe–Shetland report area. In terms of geographical area and geoscientific content, this report partially supersedes a previous version entitled ‘The geology of the Hebrides and West Shetland shelves, and adjacent deep-water area’ by Stoker et al. (1993). The eastern and southern margins of the report area utilise the same boundary as that of Stoker et al. (1993), whereas the south-west limit marked by the Wyville Thomson Ridge (Figure 1) is specifically adopted to align with the north-east boundary of a sister report prepared concurrently and focused on the Rockall Basin.
Diurnal cycle of precipitable water vapor over Spain

Knowledge of the diurnal cycle of precipitable water vapor (PWV) is very limited owing to the lack of data with sufficient temporal resolution. Currently, GPS receivers have proven to be a suitable technique to determine PWV diurnal variations. In this study, the annual and seasonal diurnal cycles of PWV have been obtained from GPS data for 10 locations over Spain. The minimum value of PWV is reached approximately at the same time at all the stations, ∼0430–0530 UTC, whereas the maximum is reached in the second half of the day, but with a larger dispersion of its occurrence between stations. The annual sub‐daily variability ranges from 0.41 to 1.35 mm (3–7%). The highest values are recorded at the stations on the Mediterranean coast, with a doubling of the values of the stations on the Atlantic coast or inland. The winter cycle is quite similar at all locations, whereas in summer local effects are felt strongly, making the diurnal cycle quite different between stations. The PWV mean diurnal cycle is strongest in summer and weakest in spring, with a sub‐daily variability of 1.34 and 0.66 mm respectively. Harmonic analysis shows that the first two harmonics can explain 97% of the variance. The diurnal (24 h) harmonic explains 85% of the variance, has mean amplitude of 0.40 mm, and the peak time is from early afternoon to evening. The semi‐diurnal (12 h) harmonic is weaker, with an amplitude of 0.13 mm, and peak time between 0400 and 1000 UTC. The diurnal cycle of temperature alone would be a proxy for PWV cycle during the night, but not during the daytime. The breeze regime is the main factor responsible for the phase lag between PWV and temperature cycles during daytime. No clear correlation between the daily cycle of precipitation and PWV has been found. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society
Observed features of the Halmahera and Mindanao Eddies

[1] The structure and variability of the Halmahera and Mindanao Eddies (HE and ME), which are thought to be quasi-stationary eddies, are described based on onboard and time-series observations in the gateway region of the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF). The HE was found to have a clear anticyclonic eddy structure during all cruises. It tilted northward and/or westward with increasing depth. The HE mixes waters from the northern and southern hemispheres and transfers this mixed water to the eastern route of the ITF. The HE shifted northwestward in the boreal summer and the cold phase of ENSO (El Nino and Southern Oscillation) and southeastward in the boreal winter and the warm phase of ENSO. In contrast, the ME, with its cyclonic eddy structure, was observed only once and seems not to be a quasi-stationary eddy. It appears in the mean field and is confined above the thermocline. The stationary northward undercurrent, the Mindanao Undercurrent, was also not found at 7°N east of Mindanao, but the northern tip of the HE was found at this latitude.
A reevaluation of the position of the Baie Verte – Brompton Line in the Quebec Appalachians: the influence of Middle Devonian strike-slip faulting in Gaspé Peninsula

The Baie Verte – Brompton Line (BBL), the surface expression of the Taconian suture in the Canadian Appalachian Orogen, extends from southern Quebec to the northeast end of Newfoundland. In the Quebec Appalachians, the BBL was previously located under the post-Taconian cover rocks between the Eastern Townships and Gaspe Peninsula. New geological data and reinterpretation of gravimetric and aeromagnetic data suggest that the BBL follows the southern edge of the Cambrian–Ordovician rocks of northern Gaspe Peninsula and is displaced by Middle Devonian strike-slip faults on the southern part of the peninsula. On a pre-Middle Devonian palinspastic map, the BBL is parallel to the Quebec Reentrant – St. Lawrence Promontory and the Appalachian structural front.
A model relating laboratory measurements of rates of nitric oxide production and field measurements of nitric oxide emission from soils

An explanatory model that relates laboratory measurements of nitric oxide (NO) production in soil to field measurements of the diffusive flux of NO from the same soil to the atmosphere is presented. Microbial NO production in soils is represented by a production term independent of, and an uptake term with first-order dependence on, NO concentration. These production and first-order uptake terms can be measured in flow-through soil columns. Within the model, representing a field soil, the divergence in vertical diffusive flux of NO is represented by the production minus uptake and so a flux to the atmosphere is calculated. At Kjettslinge, Sweden, a field flux of NO of 2 − 17 × 10−9 g N m−2 s−1 was observed under aerobic conditions, while laboratory measurements and the model give a calculated flux of NO for the same soil under the same environmental conditions of 3 − 11 × 10−9 g N m−2 s−1. Thus the results suggest that laboratory measurements on a specific soil may be used to determine the field flux from the same soil under certain well specified conditions.
Locked and creeping patches along the Hayward Fault, California

The results of mapping locked and unlocked patches on the Hayward fault using the local recurrence time method are compared with models derived from surface creep and geodetic measurements. The data used were the M > 1.0 earthquakes in the USGS catalog since 1981.0, located within 5 km of the fault trace. Along the central and southern segments, agreement with the other methods is satisfactory. The 1868 rupture, except for its two ends, is classified as a locked segment by our method. In the northern part of the Hayward fault, the data are poor and the results of the three methods differ. Short local recurrence times in the northern part suggest that an asperity exists there, which is capable of an M6.5 class event.
Late Cenozoic vertebrates from Honduras and El Salvador

ABSTRACT The subhumid Pacific slopes of El Salvador and Honduras contain a valuable record of late Cenozoic terrestrial vertebrates. Vast ignimbrite flows, mainly of mid-Miocene age, and subsequent block-faulting and basin-filling provide a substantial sequence of late Cenozoic tuffaceous sediments. This paper discusses the geological setting and faunal content of six local faunas ranging from the late Miocene through the late Pleistocene. Many other more limited late Pleistocene sites are known throughout Honduras and El Salvador. The late Miocene fauna includes no families not already known from North America at temperate latitudes, but does indicate an endemic turtle genus, Rhinoclemmys, and endemic mammal species Pliohippus hondurensis and Rhynchotherium blicki, and a much earlier record of brevirostrine proboscideans than in temperate North America. Although no Pliocene faunas are known, substantial numbers of previously South American taxa appear in the early Pleistocene. By the late Pleistocene, in.
Fishes in Estuaries

Introduction. Description Of Habitats. Recruitment Processes Of Commercial Spp. To Estuaries And Associated Habitats. Feeding And Trophic Interactions. Rare And Endangered Species. Estuarine Development/Habitat Loss. Environmental Quality Of Estuaries. Field Methods. Data Analysis And Interpretation. Summary
Managing knowledge: a North American perspective

Knowledge has always been one of the most important assets of any business, not least in civil engineering. Effective management of knowledge can thus be vital to an organisation's development, performance and competitiveness—but how formal does the process need to be? This paper looks at how two major North American engineering, procurement and construction businesses manage their technical knowledge and then examines the merits of the different approaches for UK civil engineering organisations, from strategy and implementation to people aspects and performance metrics.
Nitrous oxide emissions from intensive agricultural systems: Variations between crops and seasons, key driving variables, and mean emission factors

Emissions of nitrous oxide from intensively managed agricultural fields were measured over 3 years. Exponential increases in flux occurred with increasing soil water-filled pore space (WFPS) and temperature; increases in soil mineral N content due to fertilizer application also stimulated emissions. Fluxes were low when any of these variables was below a critical value. The largest fluxes occurred when WFPS values were very high (70-90%), indicating that denitrification was the major process responsible. The relationships with the driving variables showed strong similarities to those reported for very different environments: irrigated sugar cane crops, pastures, and forest in the tropics. Annual emissions varied widely (0.3-18.4 kg N 2 O-N ha -1 ). These variations were principally due to the degree of coincidence of fertilizer application and major rainfall events. It is concluded therefore that several years' data are required from any agricultural ecosystem in a variable climate to obtain a robust estimate of mean N 2 O fluxes. The emissions from small-grain cereals (winter wheat and spring barley) were consistently lower (0.2-0.7 kg N 2 O-N per 100 kg N applied) than from cut grassland (0.3-5.8 kg N 2 O-N per 100 kg N). Crops such as broccoli and potatoes gave emissions of the same order as those from the grassland. Although these differences between crop types are not apparent in general data comparisons, there may well be distinct regional differences in the relative and absolute emissions from different crops, due to local factors relating to soil type, weather patterns, and agricultural management practices. This will only be determined by more detailed comparative studies.
Assessing the microped size distributions of desert soils erodible by wind

The microped size distribution of erodible soils is one of the main factors controlling the emissions of mineral aerosol. To date, the microped size distributions of desert soils in natural field conditions are not well known and thus the existing dust source models cannot be applied to natural sites. Based on dry sieving and elemental analysis of 26 soil samples collected in arid and semiarid regions, it is shown that the microped size distributions of these desert soil samples involve a combination of four major mass size populations. These four size populations correspond to salty soils, fine quartz sand, coarse dune sand and aluminosilicate silt. We show that the microped size distributions of the various desert soils, according to their mineralogical characteristics, can be calculated by a mixture involving two or three of these four populations. The main field of application for this scheme is the characterization of the erodible soil size distributions for modelling the atmospheric dust cycle.
Characteristics of upstream energetic (E≥50 keV) ion events during intense geomagnetic activity

In this work we examine the statistical presence of some important features of upstream energetic (≥50 keV) ion events under some special conditions in the upstream region and the magnetosphere. The 125 ion events considered in the statistic were observed by the IMP 7 and IMP 8 spacecraft, at ∼35 R E from the Earth, during nine long time intervals of a total of 153 hours. The time intervals analyzed were selected under the following restrictions: existence of high proton flux (i.e., ≥900 p cm -2 s -1 sr -1 ) and of a great number of events (an occurrence frequency of ∼10 events per 12 hours in the whole statistics) in the energy range 50-220 keV. The most striking findings are the following: (1) The upstream events were observed during times with high values of the geomagnetic activity index Kp (≥3-); (2) all of the upstream events (100%) have energy spectra extending up to energies E ≥ 290 keV; (3) 86% of these events are accompanied by relativistic (E ≥ 220 keV) electrons; and (4) the majority of the upstream ion events (82%) showed noninverse velocity dispersion during their onset phase (22% of the events showed forward velocity dispersion, and 60% showed no velocity dispersion at all when 5.5-min averaged observations were analyzed). Further statistical analysis of this sample of upstream particle events shows that the 50- to 220-keV proton flux shows a positive correlation with the following parameters: the Kp index of geomagnetic activity and the flux of the high-energy (290-500 keV) protons and (2220 keV) electrons. More specific findings are the following: (1) The spectral index y for a power law distribution of ions detected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Energetic Particle Experiment (EPE) instrument (50 ≥ E ≥ 220 keV) and The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Charged Particle Measurement Experiment (CPME) instrument (290 ≤ E≤ 500 keV) ranges between 2 and 6, with maximum probability between 4 and 5 and (2) the peak-to-background flux ratio of the 290- to 500-keV protons and ≥220-kev electrons increases with the time duration of upstream events. We infer that the vast majority of the upstream ion events considered in this study (under conditions of intense particle activity in the upstream region and enhanced geomagnetic activity within the magnetosphere) can be consistently explained in terms of particle leakage from the magnetosphere.
Measuring the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of growing media with a tension disc

In greenhouse and nursery production, there is an increasing interest in water conservation and environmental quality. The use of closed and semi-closed subirrigation systems to grow plants potted in organic growing media is an important step in this direction. However, the design of efficient subirrigation systems requires a detailed characterization of the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of the organic substrates on rewetting. In many cases, organic substrates have extremely high-saturated hydraulic conductivities and also exhibit a dual porosity. Given the lack of a suitable technique for measuring the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of these substrates near saturation, as well as at saturation in pots (the equivalent of field conditions in nursery and greenhouse production), a new in situ procedure has been developed. It is based on an analytical solution to steady state upward flow and assumes a single (SEA) or piecewise exponential (PEA) relationship between the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and the soil water potential. The proposed method was tested for a sand and an organic growing medium. The results indicate that the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity curve may be obtained from water flux measurements using a specifically designed tension disc placed on top of the substrate, and that the estimates on rewetting are much more accurate, particularly at water contents close to saturation, than those obtained using the instantaneous profile method. Moreover, the proposed procedure is easy to carry out, requires only an inexpensive tension disc and is based on a sound physical representation of the rewetting process. Results indicated that the PEA is appropriate for most substrates and that the SEA can be considered as a special case of the PEA if only one exponential piece is required for the entire range (e.g., the sand).