Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Apparent increase in Mn and As accumulation in the surface of sediments in Lake Biwa, Japan, from 1977 to 2009

L, G, T and E) investigated in 1976–1977 (Fig. 1), and in five of these, a clear increase in Mn was observed in the surface sediments; an increase in As was observed in all stations (Fig. 2). The thickness of the enriched layer was 2–6 cm. As both this study and a previous study by Takamatsu (1985) expressed concentrations on a dry weight basis, comparison of these data is meaningful. Given the magnitude of the apparent increase in Mn and As since 1977, it is important to clarify the source of these elements. Unlike other trace elements, Mn and As in cored sediments are strongly affected by diagenetic remobilization. Hence, various factors have to be considered when comparing depth profiles between years. In this study, we first clarified various methodological concerns to compare the results between 1977 and 2009. Following this validation, we made some assumptions on the sources of these elements using available geochemical data.
On entropy and clustering in earthquake hypocentre distributions

Summary The degree of clustering or disorder within earthquake distributions may be measured using the concept of entropy. A method for calculating the entropy of any 3-D point set (e.g. earthquake foci) is presented. This makes use of Voronoi cells (convex polyhedra representing nearest neighbour regions) to measure point density in three dimensions. An estimate of event density can be determined directly from the size of Voronoi cells. Normalizations are introduced to the definition of entropy that allow data sets containing different numbers of events and occupying different volumes to be compared quantitatively, for example, earthquake catalogues from different tectonic regimes. Our results show a clear correlation between earthquake entropy and tectonic regime. The most ordered are the mid-ocean ridges, followed by the subduction zones and finally intraplate seismicity. We show how entropy may be used to quantify the simplification of earthquake distributions, for example, due to relocation procedures. A recently published algorithm called the collapsing method is used as an example of a technique that reduces entropy while respecting data fit. Modifications to this method are made that reduce artefacts and use additional temporal information in the earthquake distribution. These methods are applied to a global catalogue of 85 000 events, and a local catalogue from the SIL network in Iceland containing 43 300 events. The entropy of both catalogues is reduced. Results from the Hengill region within the SIL network show lineations whose orientations agree with independent studies using relative location techniques and surface faulting.
Procedure to Calibrate and Verify Numerical Models of Estuarine Hydrodynamics

In most hydrodynamic models, friction and turbulent diffusion/dispersion coefficients are the important calibration parameters affecting the calculation of surface elevation, velocity, and salinity distribution. This paper presents a rational approach to calibrate and verify a hydrodynamic model of partially stratified estuaries. The calibration procedures and verification requirements are demonstrated with the application of a vertical (laterally averaged) two-dimensional model to a branched estuarine river system. The friction coefficient is calibrated and verified with model simulation of barotropic flow, and the turbulent diffusion and dispersion coefficients are calibrated through comparison of salinity distributions. The overall model verification is suggested to be achieved with comparisons of Eulerian residual circulation and salinity distribution. In the case of the Tanshui River system in Taiwan, the available prototype current records are too short to calculate slowly varying residual currents. The snapshots of the model-computed and field-measured residual currents are provided to qualitatively agree with theoretical analysis. The overall performance of the model is verified with an additional set of salinity data.
NORMALIZED RELATIONSHIPS FOR DEPTH OF EMBEDMENT OF SHEET PILE WALLS AND SOLDIER PILE WALLS IN COHESIONLESS SOILS

Normalized, non-dimensional relationships for calculating the depths of embedment of sheet pile walls and soldier pile walls embedded in cohesionless soils are presented. Rankine theory for lateral earth pressures in active and passive conditions are used in the analyses. Relationships are presented for cantilever walls and walls propped at crest. The proposed relationships can be used in dry soil conditions and as well as in saturated soil conditions with steady state seepage. The embedment depth relationships are presented in terms of non-dimensional parameters and can be used for a variety of soil conditions, dimensions and spacing of the walls, and depths of excavation. The presented relationships are simple, easy to use, and do not require tedious calculations.
Entropy budget of the ocean system

An entropy balance equation including the transfers of heat and mass, work of external force of the ocean is presented and discussed. Entropy flux through the sea surface are calculated, and the results show that entropy flux due to heat transfer is about −555.6 mWm−2K−1, entropy flux connected with the work of wind stress is relatively smaller at about −0.09 mWm−2K−1, entropy flux due to mass transfer is −0.02 mWm−2K−1, the sum of all the entropy flux is −555.7 mWm−2K−1, the mean rate of generation of entropy inside the ocean must be 555.7 mWm−2K−1 when the ocean is in a climatic steady condition.
High-resolution records of rainfall events from clay bands in tufa

Individual rainfall events are recorded as thin clay bands in annually laminated, freshwater-carbonate tufa. Runoff from rainfall events entrains clay that then adheres to the tufa surface. A specimen collected from southwest Japan exhibits >100 clay bands formed during a 15 yr period from 1988 to 2002. The chronology of the clay bands was determined by using the temperature-dependent cycle of oxygen isotope ratios in the carbonate, and the clay content was quantified by electron-probe microanalysis Si X-ray strength. The obtained Si X-ray strength curve and actual rainfall record follow a nearly identical pattern. The clay content of each band correlates with rainfall amount. Rainfall of >50 mm/week produced sufficient amounts of suspended cave clay to produce clay bands in the tufa. Because the clay bands survive postdepositional alteration, this new method can be applied to ancient tufa deposits and has great potential as a high-resolution rainfall record for use in climate studies.
Noble gases in enstatite chondrites I: Exposure ages, pairing, and weathering effects

Abstract— Cosmic‐ray exposure ages calculated from cosmogenic noble gas nuclides are reported for 57 enstatite (E) chondrites, 43 of them were measured for the first time. With a total of 62 individual E chondrites (literature and this data, corrected for pairing) the observed spectrum of ages ranges between 0.07 and 66 Ma. Three clusters seem to develop at about 3.5, 8, and 25 Ma, respectively. Since the uncertainty of ages is estimated to be ∼20% (in contrast to 10 to 15% for ordinary chondrites) and the number of examined samples is still comparatively small, these peaks have to be confirmed by more measurements. Regarding the two subgroups, EH and EL chondrites, no systematic trend is apparent in the distribution of cosmic‐ray exposure ages.
Modelling basin effects on earthquake ground motion in the Santiago de Chile basin by a spectral element code

SUMMARY Simulations of strong ground motion within the Santiago de Chile Metropolitan area were carried out by means of 3-D deterministic wave propagation tool based on the spectral element method. The simulated events take into account the pronounced interface between the low-velocity sedimentary basin and the bedrock as well as topography of the area. To verify our model we simulated a regional earthquake recorded by a dense network installed in the city of Santiago for recording aftershock activity after the 2010 February 27 Maule main shock. The results proof the alluvial basin amplification effects and show a strong dependence of spectral amplification in the basin on the local site conditions. Moreover, we studied the seismic response due to a hypothetical Mw= 6.0 event occurring along the active San Ramon Fault, which is crossing the eastern edge of the city. The scenario earthquakes exhibit that an unfavourable interaction between fault rupture, radiation mechanism and complex geological and topographic conditions in the near-field region may give rise to large values of peak ground velocity in the basin. Finally, 3-D numerical predictions of ground motion are compared with the one computed according to ground motion prediction equations selected among the next generation attenuation relationships, in terms of ground motion peak values and spectral acceleration. The comparison underlines that the 3-D scenario simulations predict a significantly higher level of ground motion in the Santiago basin, especially over deep alluvial deposits. Moreover, also the location of the rupture nucleation largely influences the observed shaking pattern.
A search in a marine sediment core for 10Be concentration variations during a geomagnetic field reversal

A search has been made for variations in the 10Be concentration in a North Pacific marine sediment core during the period of a geomagnetic reversal. The 10Be was counted directly using an accelerator techniquethus permitting an order of magnitude improvement in time resolution compared to earlier 10Be measurements. No significant 10Be variations were seenand several possible reasons are discussed. The measured 10Be deposition rate is substantially larger than in any previously studied sediment.
Systematic variation of soil infiltration rates within and between the components of the vegetation mosaic in an Australian desert landscape

Vegetation mosaics have commonly been thought to include two principal zones with distinctly different hydrology: relatively bare and impermeable runoff source zones (intergroves) and more strongly absorbing vegetated runon zones (groves). However, the data required to verify the internal uniformity of hydrologic response within these components of mosaic landscapes have been lacking, as have data on the nature (abrupt or gradational) of the boundaries between them. This study examines the degree of internal uniformity of key soil properties in the intergroves and groves of an Australian vegetation mosaic.
Causal link between Quaternary paleoclimatic changes and volcanic islands evolution

Giant landslides and resulting tsunamis represent the main geologic hazards linked to volcanic island evolution. From offshore and onland studies, flank failures have been identified around numerous islands, in most geodynamic contexts. However, the triggering conditions are still poorly understood and several causes may act simultaneously to reach a critical threshold. Here we show that most large volume (>10 km3) landslides occur at glacial stages termination and we propose that a causal relationship between flank collapse of volcanic islands and global climatic changes has existed at least since 900 kyr. Moreover, ages reported here favour the hypothesis that major collapses occurred during the onset of glacial to interglacial transitions when sudden influx of melt water from polar ice caps causes rapid sea level rise. We propose that rapid sea level rise induces enhanced coastal erosion and sudden changes of pore pressure conditions within basal layers, which favour edifice failure.
Reliability-Based Analysis and Design of Strip Footings against Bearing Capacity Failure

This paper presents a reliability-based approach for the analysis and design of a shallow strip footing subjected to a vertical load with or without pseudostatic seismic loading. Only the punching failure mode of the ultimate limit state is studied. The deterministic models are based on the upper-bound method of the limit analysis theory. The random variables used are the soil shear strength parameters and the horizontal seismic coefficient. The Hasofer-Lind reliability index and the failure probability are determined. A sensitivity analysis is also performed. The influence of the applied footing load on the reliability index and the corresponding design point is presented and discussed. It was shown that the negative correlation between the soil shear strength parameters highly increases the reliability of the foundation and that the failure probability is highly influenced by the coefficient of variation of the angle of internal friction of the soil and the horizontal seismic coefficient. For design, an iterative procedure is performed to determine the breadth of the footing for a target failure probability.
Late Quaternary Vegetation History of the Eastern Highland Rim and Adjacent Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee

Vegetation change during the past 25 000 years in and near the present Mixed Mesophytic Forest Region is inferred from pollen and plant macrofossil analyses of sediment cores from two sites on the eastern Highland Rim of Middle Tennessee, USA. Anderson Pond, in White County, dates from 25 000 radiocarbon years BP to present. During the Farmdalian Interstadial, 25 000 yr BP, northern Diploxylon pines, spruce, and deciduous trees were present at Anderson Pond, indicating a cool, moist climate. From 19 000 to 16 300 yr BP, during the Late Wisconsin glacial maximum, boreal taxa of jack pine, spruce, and fir were dominant. Late—glacial climatic amelioration began in Middle Tennessee at about 16 300 yr BP, with replacement of jack pine—spruce—fir forest by deciduous forest. Ash, ironwood, hickory, birch, butternut, willow, and elm increased in importance first, followed by beech and sugar maple. Mixed mesophytic forest taxa were most abundant during the early Holocene, between 12 500 and 8000 yr BP. A warming and drying trend between 8000 and 5000 yr BP is reflected by high influx values for pollen of oak, ash, hickory, swamp alder, and buttonbush, and by diminishing importance of mixed mesophytic forest taxa. Mingo Pond, Franklin County, Tennessee, contains a pollen record estimated to extend back to 14 000 yr BP. Mixed mesophytic forest taxa were abundantly represented at Mingo Pond during the late glacial and early Holocene, along with pollen representing prairie vegetation. Oak and sweetgum dominated the mid— and late Holocene record from Mingo Pond. Stratigraphic sites from the Missouri Ozarks to the Atlantic Coastal Plain date the full glacial in the southeastern United States between 23 000 and 16 500 yr BP. During the glacial maximum, boreal—like coniferous forests of spruce, jack pine, and fir extended southward to 34°N latitude. Mesic deciduous forest persisted through the full glacial at 35°N at Nonconnah Creek near Memphis. Full—glacial refuges for deciduous forest species may have also existed in south—facing gorges of the Cumberland Plateau and southern Appalachian Mountains in addition to bluffs along major streams in the southeastern United States. During the late glacial, beginning about 16 500 yr BP, boreal—like coniferous forest was replaced in midlatitudes (34° to 37°N) by cool—temperate coniferous—deciduous forest. In the early Holocene, between 12 500 and 8000 yr BP, cool—temperate mixed mesophytic forest prevailed between 34° and 37°N. The Mixed Mesophytic Forest Region assumed its present distribution in the mid—Holocene.
Monthly distribution of cloud‐to‐ground lightning flashes as observed by lightning location systems

This paper presents a comparison among the mean monthly distributions of the number of cloud‐to‐ground (CG) flashes, the percentage of positive CG flashes and the peak current of negative and positive CG flashes obtained in Brazil for the period from 1999 to 2004, with the same distributions observed by similar networks for long time periods in other countries. From a correlation analysis, it was found that the mean monthly distributions of the number of CG flashes are very similar, even though the period of larger lightning activity along the year in Brazil, a tropical country, is longer than in the other temperate countries. The mean monthly distributions of the percentage and the peak current of positive CG flashes are also very similar, while the mean monthly distribution of the peak current of negative CG flashes in Brazil differs from the other countries. This difference is related to a significant decrease in the mean negative peak current in Brazil in the months of August and September. Apparently, the decrease is related to the injection in the atmosphere of large amounts of smoke from fires in these months, since the results also show a significant correlation between the monthly distribution of the number of fires and the negative peak current.
Late Paleozoic tectonic evolution of the northern West Chinese Tianshan Belt

The northern West Chinese Tianshan is divided into three subunits: Carboniferous turbidite, ophiolitic mélange and Yili magmatic arc. Stratigraphical and petrological studies suggest that the turbidite and ophiolitic mélange form a subduction complex. The ophiolitic mélange that forms the North Tianshan suture was a result of intra-oceanic tectonism and subsequent redeposition and deformation during the subduction of the North Tianshan oceanic basin. The Yili arc-type granitoids are constained by single zircon U-Pb radiochronology between 361 and 309 Ma. The first-hand kinematic results on the deformed turbidite suggest that this suture zone was reworked by a Permian ductile dextral strike-slip fault. An evolutionary model of the study area allows three events to be distinguished: 1) Late Devonian to Carboniferous subduction of the oceanic basin below the Yili Block producing Yili magmatic rocks and subduction complex, 2) Late Carboniferous complete closure of this basin, 3) Permian right-lateral strike-slip faulting generating pull-apart basins and alkaline magmatism. A prominent reactivation during the Indo-Eurasia collision provoked the northward thrusting of the Paleozoic units upon the Cenozoic sediments of the Junggar Basin, consequently, hiding the bulk of this Late Paleozoic suture.
Fertility transition : the social dynamics of population change

Population changes - impact and patterns an overview lifestyles and family fertility behaviour economic modelling of fertility economic constraints upon family size - a survey of parental attitudes fertility patters of the transition onset - insights of the living standard model a lifestyle-norm/time constraint model for analysis of long-run changes in fertility a test of the living standard model policy implications of lifestyle approach agenda for further research.
Integrated analysis of Aster and Landsat data to map land cover change using vegetation indices

The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential for monitoring forest change using Landsat ETM data and Aster data for two periods (2000 - 2003 and 2003 - 2006). This was accomplished by performing three widely used vegetation indices: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), and Transformed Difference Vegetation Index (TDVI). An RGB-NDVI change detection strategy to detect major decreases or increases in forest vegetation was developed as well. These indices were applied to a case study in El Rawashda forest reserve, Gedaref State, Sudan, and their results and accuracy were discussed. Results showed that the vegetation index maps obtained by NDVI and SAVI transformations within each computational group were similar in terms of spatial distribution pattern and statistical characteristics. As far as the degree of greenness of vegetation was concerned, the TDVI appeared to be the most sensitive. For the first period, the highest accuracy was obtained by SAVI (62.5%); however, the poorest accuracy was achieved by TDVI (59.5%). For the second period, TDVI revealed the highest accuracy (60.1%), whereas both NDVI and SAVI counted accuracy of 59.2%. Generally, the study proved that all vegetation indices produced reasonable approaches to map land cover changes over time and help to pinpoint deforestation and regrowth in the study area.
Scaling of pores in 3D images of Latosols (Oxisols) with contrasting mineralogy under a conservation management system

The aim of this study was to evaluate the spatial and morphological configuration of the pore space in 3D images of Latosols with different mineralogy under a conservation tillage system in a coffee crop area. The visualisation and quantification of pore size distribution by data mining and spatial variability by semi-variogams were investigated in 3D images with 60-µm spatial resolution generated by X-ray CT scan (EVS/GE MS8x-130) in soil core samples collected at different depths of a kaolinitic Red-Yellow Latosol (RYL) and a gibbsitic Red Latosol (RL) from Brazil. Greater spatial variability occurred in the horizontal direction of the 3D image, a novel finding in this area of research. The pores detected were different between the Latosols studied, mainly at 0.20–0.34 m depth. The largest number (>4000) and volume (±30 mm3) of pores was found in the RL. The soil classes differed in 3D pore characteristics, and this aspect may be important in the characterisation of causes of pore variability. Sphericity was similar for both soils, with greater emphasis on pore classes with a diameter 15%).
Integration of COCORP deep reflection and magnetic anomaly analysis in the Southeastern United States; implications for origin of the Brunswick and East Coast magnetic anomalies

Integration of magnetic anomaly analysis with COCORP deep reflection data from the southeastern United States provides three new constraints on the interpretation of the Brunswick and East Coast magnetic anomalies, as well as on the reflection data. These are as follows. (1) The source of the Brunswick anomaly lies within the deep crust. This anomaly is not caused by a Mesozoic rift basin, as proposed by some workers. (2) A simple, seaward-dipping, high- susceptibility slab model can explain both the Brunswick and East Coast magnetic anomalies. The along-strike change in character of the two anomalies results largely from a change in azimuth of the source body. (3) Beneath the southeastern United States, this source body dips south, lies immediately on the south flank of the prominent southward-dipping reflective zone revealed on COCORP surveys, and was previously associated with the Alleghanian suture between North America and Africa. These results imply that a dipping, highly magnetized zone in the upper plate of the Alleghanian suture is responsible for both the Brunswick and East Coast magnetic anomalies. The high- susceptibility material responsible for these anomalies might be mafic lower continental or oceanic crust thrust upward during Alleghanian continental collision, or mafic igneous material intruded into the upper plate of the suture zone during subsequent Mesozoic rifting, or both. The latter hypothesis implies that the Alleghanian suture acted, as a zone of weakness (a repository ? ) which was reactivated to control the site of ultimate Atlantic rifting and possibly initial sea-floor spreading.
Analysis of the Kuwait city urban heat island

Twenty-three years of maximum and minimum air temperature data are analysed for selected stations in and near Kuwait City, Kuwait. The results of a series of statistical analyses reveal the general lack of a well-developed heat island in this rapidly expanding urban area. This finding is in stark contrast to the identification of large heat islands in the growing arid-land cities of North America. The similarities in the urban-rural landscape of the Kuwait City environment and its close proximity to a large water body are suggested as explanations for the observed temporal and spatial temperature patterns.