Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High-resolution body wave tomography beneath the SVEKALAPKO array: I. A priori three-dimensional crustal model and associated traveltime effects on teleseismic wave fronts

SUMMARY Assessment of contributions from shallow lithosphere to teleseismic wave front distortion is a prerequisite for high-resolution regional teleseismic tomography. Several methods have been proposed in the past for the correction of these effects, e.g. application of station correction terms. We propose an approach that is independent of the subsequent inversion and uses the available a priori knowledge of the crustal structure to calculate crustal traveltime effects of teleseismic wave fronts. Our approach involves the construction of a 3-D crustal model based on controlled source seismology data and calculation of the associated traveltime anomalies for incoming teleseismic wave fronts. The model for central Fennoscandia shows a maximum crustal thickness of 64 km and includes a high-velocity lower crust as derived for parts of the study area by previous authors. Traveltimes calculated using finite differences for teleseismic waves travelling through this crustal model are compared with those from the standard reference model IASP91 and the residuals are used to correct observed teleseismic arrival times at the SVEKALAPKO array. To test the performance of this approach, in a second part of the study a synthetic traveltime data set is obtained by tracing wave fronts through a mantle structure with known velocity anomalies and the 3-D crustal model. This data set is inverted with and without correction for crustal effects. The 3-D crustal effects alone with a homogeneous mantle are also inverted and the results show that the crustal effects propagate down to 450 km. The comparison of the inversion results demonstrates the need to apply appropriate 3-D crustal corrections in high-resolution regional tomography for upper-mantle structure beneath the Baltic Shield.
Sensitivity of soil parameters in unsaturated zone modelling and the relation between effective, laboratory and in situ estimates

Simulation of soil moisture content requires effective soil hydraulic parameters that are valid at the modelling scale. This study investigates how these parameters can be estimated by inverse modelling using soil moisture measurements at 25 locations at three different depths (at the surface, at 30 and 60 cm depth) on an 80 by 20 m hillslope. The study presents two global sensitivity analyses to investigate the sensitivity in simulated soil moisture content of the different hydraulic parameters used in a one‐dimensional unsaturated zone model based on Richards' equation. For estimation of the effective parameters the shuffled complex evolution algorithm is applied. These estimated parameters are compared to their measured laboratory and in situ equivalents. Soil hydraulic functions were estimated in the laboratory on 100 cm3 undisturbed soil cores collected at 115 locations situated in two horizons in three profile pits along the hillslope. Furthermore, in situ field saturated hydraulic conductivity was estimated at 120 locations using single‐ring pressure infiltrometer measurements. The sensitivity analysis of 13 soil physical parameters (saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), saturated moisture content (θs), residual moisture content (θr), inverse of the air‐entry value (α), van Genuchten shape parameter (n), Averjanov shape parameter (N) for both horizons, and depth (d) from surface to B horizon) in a two‐layer single column model showed that the parameter N is the least sensitive parameter. Ks of both horizons, θs of the A horizon and d were found to be the most sensitive parameters. Distributions over all locations of the effective parameters and the distributions of the estimated soil physical parameters from the undisturbed soil samples and the single‐ring pressure infiltrometer estimates were found significantly different at a 5% level for all parameters except for α of the A horizon and Ks and θs of the B horizon. Different reasons are discussed to explain these large differences. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Chemical signatures of aged Pacific marine air: Mixed layer and free troposphere as measured during PEM‐West A

The Pacific Ocean is one of the few remaining regions of the northern hemisphere that is relatively free of direct anthropogenic emissions. However, long-range transport of air pollutants is beginning to have a significant impact on the atmosphere over the Pacific. In September and October 1991, NASA conducted the Pacific Exploratory Mission-West A expedition to study the atmospheric chemistry and background budgets of key atmospheric trace species. Aircraft sampling centered on the northern Pacific, 0° to 40°N and 115° to 180°E. The paper summarizes the chemical signature of relatively well-aged Pacific marine air (residence time ≥10 days over the ocean). The chemical signatures show that marine air is not always devoid of continental influences. Aged marine air which circulates around the semipermanent subtropical anticyclone located off the Asian continent is influenced by infusion of continental air with anthropogenic emissions. The infusion occurs as the result of Asian outflow swept off the continent behind eastward moving cold fronts. When compared to aged marine air with a more southerly pathway, this infusion results in enhancements in the mixing ratio of many anthropogenic/continental species and typically those with lifetimes of weeks in the free troposphere. Less enhancement is seen for the short-lived species with lifetimes of a few days as infused continental emissions are depleted during transport (about a week) around the semipermanent subtropical high.
AVHRR remote sensing of aerosol optical properties in the Persian Gulf region, summer 1991

Satellite remote sensing is studied in this paper for retrieving aerosol parameters, i.e., aerosol optical thickness at 0.5 μm τ0.5, size exponent p, and absorption index κ, from channel 1 and 2 radiances of the NOAA 11 advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) in the Persian Gulf region in the summer of 1991. Results of the remote sensing are compared with ground-based values obtained from solar radiation measurements with a sunphotometer and a pyranometer in Bushehr, Iran. It is found that tuning the calibration coefficients of AVHRR and introduction of a suitable aerosol absorption are needed for a good agreement between satellite-derived and ground-based values of τ0.5. The aerosol absorption index is also retrieved with two methods, i.e., simultaneous analyses with ground-based τ0.5 and p, and the Fraser-Kaufman method. Retrieved values of the aerosol single-scattering albedo are ω≈0.75 and 0.70 from the two methods, respectively, for the Kuwait oil-fire smoke layer. The single scattering albedo of another case, which is regarded as a sand-dust layer, is estimated to be ω≈0.76 with the Fraser-Kaufman method.
A New Environmental Ethics: The Next Millennium for Life on Earth

@contexts: Preface Acknowledgements Chapter 1: The Environmental Turn Chapter 2: Humans: People on Their Landscapes Chapter 3: Animals: Beasts in Flesh and Blood Chapter 4: Organisms: Respect for Life Chapter 5: Species and Biodiversity: Lifelines in Jeopardy Chapter 6: Ecosystems: The Land Ethic Chapter 7: Earth: Ethics on the Home Planet Index
It is not always about gains: utilities and disutilities associated with treatment features in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis

Background Patient-centered care has been proposed as a strategy for improving treatment outcomes in the management of psoriasis and other chronic diseases. A more detailed understanding of patients’ utilities and disutilities associated with treatment features may facilitate shared decision-making in the clinical encounter. The purpose of this study was to examine the features of psoriasis treatment that are most and least preferred by patients and to identify correlates of these preferences. Methods A cross-sectional survey of 163 patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis was conducted in a German academic medical center. We assessed patients’ characteristics, elicited their preferences for a range of potential treatment features, and quantified preference scores (utilities) associated with each treatment feature using hierarchical Bayes estimation. After identifying the most and least preferred treatment features, we explored correlates of these preferences using multivariate regression models. Results Mean preference scores (MPS) for the least preferred treatment features were consistently greater than those for the most preferred treatment features. Patients generally expressed strong preferences against prolonged treatments in the inpatient setting (MPS = −13.48) and those with a lower probability of benefit (MPS = −12.28), while treatments with a high probability of benefit (MPS = 10.51) were generally preferred. Younger patients and women were more concerned with treatment benefit as compared with older patients and men. Conclusion Both negative and positive preferences appear important for shared decision-making. Recognition of characteristics associated with strong negative preferences may be particularly useful in promoting patient-centered environments.
Periodic Unobserved Cycles in Seasonal Time Series with an Application to Us Unemployment

This paper discusses identification, specification, estimation and forecasting for a general class of periodic unobserved components time series models with stochastic trend, seasonal and cycle components. Convenient state space formulations are introduced for exact maximum likelihood estimation, component estimation and forecasting. Identification issues are considered and a novel periodic version of the stochastic cycle component is presented. In the empirical illustration, the model is applied to postwar monthly US unemployment series and we discover a significantly periodic cycle. Furthermore, a comparison is made between the performance of the periodic unobserved components time series model and a periodic seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average model. Moreover, we introduce a new method to estimate the latter model.
Origin and early diversification of the phylum Cnidaria Verrill: major developments in the analysis of the taxon's Proterozoic–Cambrian history

Diploblastic eumetazoans of the phylum Cnidaria originated during the Neoproterozoic Era, possibly during the Cryogenian Period. The oldest known fossil cnidarians occur in strata of Ediacaran age and consist of polypoid forms that were either nonbiomineralizing or weakly so. The oldest possible anthozoans, including the genus Ramitubus, may be related to tabulate corals and occur in the Doushantuo Lagerstätte (upper Doushantuo Formation, South China), the age of which is poorly constrained (approximately 585 Ma? ). Conulariid scyphozoans may first appear as early as 635–577 Ma (Lantian Formation, South China). A definite conulariid, most similar to Palaeozoic species assigned to the genus Paraconularia, occurs in association with the possible scyphozoan, Corumbella werneri, in the latest Ediacaran (c. 543 Ma) Tamengo Formation of Brazil. Basal Cambrian (c. 540 Ma) phosphorites in the upper Kuanchuanpu Formation (South China) yield solitary polyps of the oldest probable anthozoan (Eolympia pediculata), which appears to have been a stem hexacorallian. This same formation contains fossils interpreted by some authors as pentaradial cubozoan polyps; however, both the oldest known cubozoans and the oldest hydrozoans, all medusae, may actually occur in the Cambrian (Series 3, c. 505 Ma) Marjum Formation (Utah, USA). Although these recently published palaeontological data tend to corroborate the hypothesis that Cnidaria has a relatively deep Neoproterozoic history, the timing of major internal branching events remains poorly constrained, with, for example, the results of some molecular clock analyses indicating that the two cnidarian subphyla (Anthozoaria and Medusozoa) may have originated as many as one billion years ago. Further progress towards elucidating the evolution and early fossil record of cnidarians may accrue from: (1) an intensive search for phosphatized soft parts in possible anthozoans from the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation; (2) an expanded search for Ediacaran conulariids; and (3) additional detailed analyses of the taphonomy and preservation of Ediacaran and Cambrian cnidarians, including possible pentaradial cubozoan polyps from the Fortunian upper Kuanchuanpu Formation.
The paradox of tropical karst morphology in the coral reefs of the arid Middle East

Despite differences in reef growth between the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea, a common distinctive pattern of polygonal sills surrounding ponded depressions consistently occurs in shallow water. Viewed from a satellite, these seafloors are reticulated and maze like. Despite little current rainfall, this patterning is best explained by karst dissolution of limestone during periods of lower sea level. This is a paradox since such fine-scale karstification is confined to areas with considerably more precipitation than currently observed in Arabia. We resolve this apparent contradiction by developing a Pleistocene–Holocene chronology of sea level and climate for the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf, and through the use of pattern analysis and computer simulation, reveal the mechanism of formation for these structures. We demonstrate that this patterning can be taken as a Quaternary signature of paleohumidity in the now hyperarid Red Sea and Arabian Gulf.
The 2014 Kefalonia Doublet (MW6.1 and MW6.0), Central Ionian Islands, Greece: Seismotectonic Implications along the Kefalonia Transform Fault Zone

The 2014 Kefalonia earthquake sequence started on 26 January with the first main shock (MW6.1) and aftershock activity extending over 35 km, much longer than expected from the causative fault segment. The second main shock (MW6.0) occurred on 3 February on an adjacent fault segment, where the aftershock distribution was remarkably sparse, evidently encouraged by stress transfer of the first main shock. The aftershocks from the regional catalog were relocated using a 7-layer velocity model and station residuals, and their distribution evidenced two adjacent fault segments striking almost N-S and dipping to the east, in full agreement with the centroid moment tensor solutions, constituting segments of the Kefalonia Transform Fault (KTF). The KTF is bounded to the north by oblique parallel smaller fault segments, linking KTF with its northward continuation, the Lefkada Fault.
A paleomagnetic analysis of the Patagonian orocline

The dramatic change in the structural trend of the Andean orogen in southernmost Patagonia has long been considered a possible example of a true orocline. Paleomagnetism has proved a powerful tool to determine whether a curved orogen acquired its shape as a secondary feature. Paleomagnetic data obtained so far in the southern Patagonian and Fuegian Andes are reviewed in order to test the origin of the Patagonian orocline. Systematic counterclockwise (ccw) rotations along the arc are suggested by widespread ccw deflections of paleomagnetic declinations, which may be compatible with some secondary curvature of the orogen. Larger values of declination anomalies in the outer arc are consistent with some oroclinal bending related to mid-Cretaceous closure of the Late Jurassic – Early Cretaceous Rocas Verdes marginal basin. However, a thorough paleomagnetic test of the origin of the Patagonian Orocline is hampered by several problems that affect most results. These include scarce and unevenly distributed studied localities, low quality paleomagnetic data, lack of paleohorizontal control and uncertainty in magnetization ages. The fact that most data obtained so far is still scarce and questionable precludes a reliable answer to whether the southern Patagonian Fuegian Andes are a true orocline
An efficient algorithm for double‐difference tomography and location in heterogeneous media, with an application to the Kilauea volcano

[1] Improving our understanding of crustal processes requires a better knowledge of the geometry and the position of geological bodies. In this study we have designed a method based upon double-difference relocation and tomography to image, as accurately as possible, a heterogeneous medium containing seismogenic objects. Our approach consisted not only of incorporating double difference in tomography but also partly in revisiting tomographic schemes for choosing accurate and stable numerical strategies, adapted to the use of cross-spectral time delays. We used a finite difference solution to the eikonal equation for travel time computation and a Tarantola-Valette approach for both the classical and double-difference three-dimensional tomographic inversion to find accurate earthquake locations and seismic velocity estimates. We estimated efficiently the square root of the inverse model's covariance matrix in the case of a Gaussian correlation function. It allows the use of correlation length and a priori model variance criteria to determine the optimal solution. Double-difference relocation of similar earthquakes is performed in the optimal velocity model, making absolute and relative locations less biased by the velocity model. Double-difference tomography is achieved by using high-accuracy time delay measurements. These algorithms have been applied to earthquake data recorded in the vicinity of Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes for imaging the volcanic structures. Stable and detailed velocity models are obtained: the regional tomography unambiguously highlights the structure of the island of Hawaii and the double-difference tomography shows a detailed image of the southern Kilauea caldera–upper east rift zone magmatic complex.
On the Uncertainties of Flash Flood Guidance: Toward Probabilistic Forecasting of Flash Floods

Abstract Quantifying uncertainty associated with flash flood warning or forecast systems is required to enable informed decision making by those responsible for operation and management of natural hazard protection systems. The current system used by the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) to issue flash-flood warnings and watches over the Unites States is a purely deterministic system. The authors propose a simple approach to augment the Flash Flood Guidance System (FFGS) with uncertainty propagation components. The authors briefly discuss the main components of the system, propose changes to improve it, and allow accounting for several sources of uncertainty. They illustrate their discussion with examples of uncertainty quantification procedures for several small basins of the Illinois River basin in Oklahoma. As the current FFGS is tightly coupled with two technologies, that is, threshold-runoff mapping and the Sacramento Soil Moisture Accounting Hydrologic Model, the authors discuss both as sources of.
F-x Noise Attenuation by Empirical Mode Decomposition

SUMMARY This paper proposes a new frequency-offset (f-x) domain filtering technique for noise attenuation. The novelty is in the use of a nonlinear decomposition (EMD), instead of linear autoregressive prediction filtering. The motivation is to properly account for the nonlinear and nonstationary spatial properties of real data, and to handle irregular trace spacing. The so-called FX-EMD is equivalent to an adaptive, datadriven frequency-wavenumber (f-k) filter with a frequency-dependent, high-cut wavenumber filtering property. It is effective in removing both random and dipping noise, and displays good performance for irregularly spaced land data. It is also a parameter-free filtering technique in its simplest implementation.
A study of surface heat fluxes in the Ross Sea (Antarctica)

In the polar regions, dynamical and thermodynamical interactions between atmosphere and ocean are strongly influenced by the presence or absence of the ice cover, which forms an insulating layer over the ocean, hindering sensible heat fluxes and forming an effective barrier to evaporation and thus preventing latent heat loss. In the framework of the CLIMA (Climatic Long-term Interactions for the Mass-balance in Antarctica) project of the Italian PNRA (National Program for Antarctic Research) we focused our attention on the evaluation of the heat fluxes between the ocean and the atmosphere in the Ross Sea, where the ice covers the sea for many months of the year. Wherever the ice cover is absent all year round, such as in leads or polynyas, the air-sea fluxes can be very large, especially in winter when the air-sea temperature differences are strong. In this work heat exchanges between sea and atmosphere, whether ice cover was present or not, were calculated from climatological data obtained from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts, while sea ice data were collected from the US National Ice Center and National Climatic Data Center. Each of the terms in the sea surface heat budget were computed for 1994 with a temporal resolution of six hours and a spatial resolution of 0.5° using bulk formulae and obtaining monthly averaged horizontal distributions. The surface heat budget is dominated in November, December, January and February by shortwave radiation, while for the other months the turbulent and conductive heat fluxes dominate the heat exchange between the atmosphere and the sea surface. The annual total heat loss at the surface in 1994 has been estimated at about −90 W m−2 with the highest heat loss occurring close to the coast; the maximum heat loss occurred in May (−217 W m−2) while in January the heat gain by the ocean was 196 W m−2. In addition, weekly averaged values over the whole Ross Sea from 1994 to 1997 were calculated with the same parameterisation in order to study the temporal variability in this basin of each individual component and of the total surface heat budget. For this purpose only the data inside the continental shelf of the Ross Sea were considered in calculating the averaged fluxes. The 1994–97 total heat budget ranges from −87 to −107 W m−2with an average of −96 W m−2; this amount of heat loss was supposed to be compensated for by the heat advected by the Circumpolar Deep Water and its transport was estimated at about 2.9 Sv.
Seasonal and Interannual Dietary Variation During Winter in Female Svalbard Reindeer (Rangifer Tarandus Platyrhynchus)

Abstract We investigated dietary variation during three winters in female Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) on the basis of rumen samples from animals culled in early and late winter during 2000–2002. The winter diet was compared to a late summer diet on the basis of samples from 1999, with variations in dietary composition in early and late winter among years also investigated. We conducted our assessment by identifying plant fragments in rumen samples using a point identification method. The effects of season and year on dietary composition of females were tested using non-parametric multifactorial MANOVA. During early winter, the diet seemed to be a function of both plant availability and plant quality, with the latter also highly important for the summer diet. During late winter, restricted forage availability due to snow cover seemed to have influenced dietary composition. We also found dietary variation among years both in early and late winter. We hypothesize that climatic effects previously found on the growth rate of Svalbard reindeer populations may be mediated through interannual variation in their diet where increased summer precipitation and winter rain may affect the dietary composition through decreased availability of forage biomass.