Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of strong heterogeneity on the onset of convection in a porous medium: Importance of spatial dimensionality and geologic controls

The effect of strong heterogeneity on the onset of convection induced by a vertical density gradient in a saturated heterogeneous porous medium governed by Darcy's law is investigated. A computer package has been developed to study the applicability of an average Rayleigh number as a criterion for the onset of convection in strongly heterogeneous geologic media. The heterogeneous geologic media have been described using random spatial functions for the permeability field which are lognormally distributed and spatially correlated. Both isotropic and anisotropic correlation lengths within the geologic structure are considered. This paper presents the first 3D theoretical treatment of the conditions for the onset of convection (Rayleigh stability criteria) in strongly heterogeneous porous media. We elucidate the critical role that spatial dimensionality (2D versus 3D flow) plays in controlling convection processes and stability criteria. Our results quantitatively demonstrate for the first time that spatial dimensionality is a dominant control on the onset of convection in a strongly heterogeneous geologic medium. Unbounded Rayleigh number behavior is observed in 3D. This leads to the important new conclusion that a Rayleigh number (based on mean quantities) is unlikely to be a valid predictor for the onset of convection in 3D strongly heterogeneous porous media. Furthermore, we systematically and quantitatively demonstrate that the onset of convection in a heterogeneous geologic medium is highly sensitive to changes in the standard deviation of the lognormal permeability field, moderately sensitive to changes in the level of correlation length, and relatively insensitive to the anisotropy of correlation length.
Determination of Shallow Groundwater Aquifer Geometry using Geo-Electrical Techniques in the Atankwidi Sub-Basin of the White Volta Basin, Ghana

This paper presents the research findings on the delineation of shallow groundwater aquifer geometry in Atankwidi sub-basin of the White Volta Basin. The potential use of shallow groundwater for small-scale dry season irrigation is a key issue for irrigation development in the arid zone of Ghana. Farmers within the Atankwidi sub-basin of the White Volta Basin are increasingly adopting groundwater as a source of irrigation water due to the unavailability of surface water during the dry season. There is therefore the need to determine the shallow groundwater aquifer geometry in order to ensure sustainability in the application and possible expansion of groundwater irrigation in the area. The geometry of aquifer system in the Atankwidi sub-basin has therefore been delineated using geophysical (VES and EM) techniques. The depth to water table in the sub-basin ranged from 0.4 - 7.8 m with a mean of 1.7 m whiles the depth to bedrock varied from 2 - 38.3 m with a mean depth of 8.4 m. The mean saturation thickness of the aquifer system is 6.3 m with a minimum and maximum thickness of 0.1 m and 35.0 m respectively. The estimated potential volume of groundwater storage of the aquifer system in the sub-basin is 370,777,191.2 m 3 . Keywords: Shallow Groundwater Irrigation; Aquifer geometry; Shallow well
Towards system level modeling of functional modules and regulatory pathways using genome-scale data

Understanding complex biological processes such as development and pathology of multicellular organisms at a system level requires the study of dynamic networks of interacting molecules. High-throughput methods have generated large-scale, static networks of physical interactions which may occur or not depending on spatial, temporal or context-specific variation, while genome-wide microarray datasets measure the functional state of a cell precisely under such varying conditions. Here we present recent results towards integrative, system level modeling of functional modules and regulatory pathways using diverse genome-scale data.
Surge Tank Stability by Phase Plane Method

Using the phase plane method, the stability of oscillations in a simple surge tank is studied for the following cases: constant discharge, constant gate opening, constant power, and constant power combined with constant gate opening. Several quantitative results are obtained from the analysis of singular points. A number of phase portraits are presented to show the effect of changes in different parameters on the qualitative behavior of the system.
NEW OR LITTLE KNOWN BEES OF JAPAN (HYMENOPTERA, APOIDEA) IV. SUPPLEMENTS TO ANDRENA (SIMANDRENA)

Japanese species of the subgenus Simandrena of the genus Andrena are revised. Two new species, Andrena (Simandrena) yamato and A. (Simandrena) nippon, and a new subspecies, A. (Simandrena) opacifovea austroinsularis, are described. T h e male of A. (Simandrena) kerriae Hirashima is described for the first time. A key is presented for the Japanese species of S i m a n d r e n a . Japanese species of the subgenus Simandrena of the genus Andrena are revised primarily based on the material recently collected by Tadauchi. Our results reveal that four species of Simandrena are known to occur in Japan. Descriptions of two new species, Andrena (Simandrena) yamato and A. (Simandrena) nippon and a new subspecies A. (Sivnandrena) opacifovea austroinsularis are given in this paper. We are grateful to Mr. H. Makihara of Forestry & Forest Products Res. Institute, Mr. Y. Haneda of Ohno City, Fukui Pref. , Dr. I. Togashi of Ishikawa Pref. College of Agriculture, Dr. R. Ishikawa of Tokyo Metropolitan Univ., Dr. Y, Maeta of Shimane Univ., Mr. K. 6hara and Assoc. Prof. A. Nakanishi of Kyushu Univ., Dr. K. Nohara of Kyushu Tokai Univ., and Mr. S. Ikudome of Kagoshima Women’s Junior College for their gift and loan of valuable specimens. KEY TO JAPANESE SPECIES OF Simandrena
The Devonian-Carboniferous boundary in South Africa

La limite Devonien-Carbonifere en Afrique du Sud. En Afrique du Sud, les depots glaciaires de la fin du Paleozoique (Dwyka Group) reposent en discordance sur une surface glacigene constituee de la partie la plus superieure du Cape Supergroup (Witteberg Group), au sud de la latitude 32°50'S. La duree de l'hiatus entre les couches de Witteberg et celles de Dwyka est incertaine et variable et les evidences des fossiles ont ete jusqu'ici contradictoires. Les donnees disponibles les plus recentes sont discutees et une limite Devonien-Carbonifere facilement reconnaissable et etendue lateralement, qui rends compte largement de tous les faits, est suggeree au, ou pres du, contact entre les Formations Witpoort et Kweekvlei.
Global multi-resolution terrain elevation data 2010 (GMTED2010)

For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs. gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. 10. Diagram showing the GMTED2010 layer extents (minimum and maximum latitude and longitude) are a result of the coordinate system inherited from the 1-arc-second SRTM
Quantifying Sensitivities of PSHA for France to Earthquake Catalog Uncertainties, Truncation of Ground-Motion Variability, and Magnitude Limits

The results of this study clearly identify four key parameters controlling the estimation of probabilistic seismic hazard assessment (PSHA) in France in the framework of the Cornell-McGuire method. Results in terms of peak ground acceleration demonstrate the equally high impact, at all return periods, of the choice of truncation of the predicted ground-motion distribution (at + 2σ) and of the choice between two different magnitude-intensity correlations. The choice of minimum magnitude (3.5/4.5) on hazard estimates can have an important impact at small return periods (<1000 years), whereas the maximum magnitude (6.5/7.0), on the other hand, is not a key parameter even at large return periods (10,000 years). This hierarchy of impacts is maintained at lower frequencies down to 5 Hz. Below 5 Hz, the choice of the maximum magnitude has a much greater impact, whereas the impact due to the choice of the minimum magnitude disappears. Moreover, variability due to catalog uncertainties is also quantified; these uncertainties that underly all hazard results can engender as high a variability as the controlling parameters. Parameter impacts, calculated at the centers of each source zone, show a linear trend with the seismicity models of the zone, demonstrating the lack of contributions coming from neighboring zones. Indeed, the region of influence that contributes to the PSHA estimate at a given site decreases with increasing return periods. The resulting overall variability in hazard estimates due to input uncertainties is quantified through a logic tree, obtained coefficients of variation vary between 10% and 20%. Until better physical models are obtained, the uncertainty on hazard estimates may be reduced by working on an appropriate magnitude-intensity correlation. Manuscript received 8 December 2003.
Coupling of coastal zone color scanner data to a physical‐biological model of the southeastern U.S. continental shelf ecosystem: 1. CZCS data description and Lagrangian particle tracing experiments

Nine Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) images from the southeastern U.S. continental shelf area during April 1980 were processed, and the resulting chlorophyll distributions were analyzed in conjunction with concurrent flow and temperature fields which were obtained from an optimal interpolation of current meter measurements from 17m. The chlorophyll distributions obtained from the CZCS showed high chlorophyll concentrations over the shelf and low chlorophyll concentrations over the offshore shelf region. The variance of the CZCS-derived chlorophyll distributions was highest at the shelf break region. The chlorophyll patterns at the shelf break varied with time and space and showed shapes characteristic of typical Gulf Stream frontal eddies, high-chlorophyll bands that were oriented along-shelf, isolated high-chlorophyll patches, and simple waveforms. Each event observed in the chlorophyll patterns corresponded with a Gulf Stream frontal eddy event that could be identified in the optimally interpolated flow and temperature fields. Lagrangian particle tracing experiments were also conducted to track the movement of the features observed in the CZCS images. The particles traced in these experiments showed movement that was consistent with the evolution of the patterns observed in the CZCS chlorophyll distributions. Results of the Lagrangian experiments indicate that the optimal interpolation of the current meter measurements reproduced the flow between successive CZCS images. These experiments provide evidence that the high-chlorophyll bands seen in the CZCS chlorophyll distributions were produced by the passing of Gulf Stream frontal eddy events.
Prestack time imaging algorithm with simultaneous velocity estimation in hard rock environments

Reflection seismic imaging faces several difficulties in hard rock environments. One of them is the estimation of the propagation velocity of seismic waves. Therefore, imaging algorithms that do not require prior construction of a velocity model seem promising for such environments. In this paper we illustrate an application of prestack time migration, which does not require an input velocity model, to hard rock conditions, and we demonstrate its effectiveness on synthetic data. This approach is based on an estimation of local event slopes (horizontal slownesses) in common-shot and common-receiver gathers and a subsequent calculation of the migration attributes (migration velocity, vertical traveltime and horizontal coordinates of the migrated reflection point). These attributes allow us to derive all the information needed to construct a time-migrated image. We also use the obtained migration velocities as an input velocity model for Kirchhoff prestack time migration (PSTM) and compare the results of the proposed approach with a conventional Kirchhoff migration using as an input the picked NMO velocity model. This application to a hard rock synthetic model illustrates the potential of the presented migration algorithm for imaging in hard rock seismic exploration. We believe that this approach can be used in hard rock seismic processing workflows as an automatic tool to obtain an input velocity model for the Kirchhoff PSTM. This paper describes prestack time migration with simultaneous velocity estimation. The approach is based on an estimation of horizontal slownesses and a subsequent calculation of the migration attributes to obtain a migrated image. The potential application of the method to hard rock seismic exploration is demonstrated on synthetic models.
Parametric calibration of the Hargreaves–Samani equation for use at new locations

The Hargreaves–Samani (HS) evapotranspiration equation is very useful for the on‐site irrigation management in data‐short situations such as small and midsize farms and landscaped areas. Although much work has been performed to improve the precision of the evapotranspiration (ETo) estimates for use at new locations, the results have not been consistent and many have not been confirmed by other works. The purpose of this study was to review and to evaluate the seven most promising parameters used for the calibration of the HS evapotranspiration equation, using two different regions: California and Bolivia. The results of this study show that annual correlations between HS and Penman–Monteith can be misleading because the correlation is poor in the humid months and improves progressively along the dry season until the first rains. The average monthly wind speed can be used for both spatial and seasonal calibration of the HS equation, especially during the irrigation season. Elevation and precipitation can be used to calibrate the HS equation when no reference ETo values are available at nearby stations. The monthly value of KT calculated from solar radiation follows a parabolic function along the year and should not be used for improving the estimates of the HS equation because the clearness index produces better results than actual solar radiation measurements. The results also indicate that the use of distance to coast, temperature range and temperature parameter does not improve the precision of the HS equation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Symbiont 'bleaching' in planktic foraminifera during the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum

Many genera of modern planktic foraminifera are adapted to nutrient-poor (oligotrophic) surface waters by hosting photosynthetic symbionts, but it is unknown how they will respond to future changes in ocean temperature and acidity. Here we show that ca. 40 Ma, some fossil photosymbiont-bearing planktic foraminifera were temporarily 'bleached' of their symbionts coincident with transient global warming during the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO). At Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 748 and 1051 (Southern Ocean and mid-latitude North Atlantic, respectively), the typically positive relationship between the size of photosymbiont-bearing planktic foraminifer tests and their carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) was temporarily reduced for ∼100 k.y. during the peak of the MECO. At the same time, the typically photosymbiont-bearing planktic foraminifera Acarinina suffered transient reductions in test size and relative abundance, indicating ecological stress. The coincidence of minimum δ18O values and reduction in test size–δ13C gradients suggests a link between increased sea-surface temperatures and bleaching during the MECO, although changes in pH and nutrient availability may also have played a role. Our findings show that host-photosymbiont interactions are not constant through geological time, with implications for both the evolution of trophic strategies in marine plankton and the reliability of geochemical proxy records generated from symbiont-bearing planktic foraminifera.
Environmental Reviews and Case Studies: Biological Effects–Based Tools for Monitoring Impacted Surface Waters in the Great Lakes: A Multiagency Program in Support of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

There is increasing demand for the implementation of effects-based monitoring and surveillance (EBMS) approaches in the Great Lakes Basin to complement traditional chemical monitoring. Herein, we describe an ongoing multiagency effort to develop and implement EBMS tools, particularly with regard to monitoring potentially toxic chemicals and assessing Areas of Concern (AOCs), as envisioned by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). Our strategy includes use of both targeted and open-ended/discovery techniques, as appropriate to the amount of information available, to guide a priori end point and/or assay selection. Specifically, a combination of in vivo and in vitro tools is employed by using both wild and caged fish (in vivo), and a variety of receptor- and cell-based assays (in vitro). We employ a work flow that progressively emphasizes in vitro tools for long-term or high-intensity monitoring because of their greater practicality (e.g., lower cost, labor) and relying on in vivo assays for initial surveillance and verification. Our strategy takes advantage of the strengths of a diversity of tools, balancing the depth, breadth, and specificity of information they provide against their costs, transferability, and practicality. Finally, a series of illustrative scenarios is examined that align EBMS options with management goals to illustrate the adaptability and scaling of EBMS approaches and how they can be used in management decisions.
Upscaling transport with mass transfer models: Mean behavior and propagation of uncertainty

The choice of an adequate large‐scale conceptual transport model constitutes a major challenge associated with the upscaling of solute transport. Among the different alternatives to the classical advection‐dispersion model, the (multirate) mass transfer model has been proposed as a valuable and convenient alternative to model the large‐scale behavior of solute transport. This paper evaluates the use of mass transfer models as a constitutive equation for upscaling solute transport. To achieve this, we compare Monte Carlo simulations of solute transport at two different support scales. Transport simulations performed at the smallest scale represent a set of reference transport solutions described at a high resolution, which are contrasted against transport simulations obtained using an upscaled model (low resolution). Several formulations of the multirate mass transfer model, which differ in the type of memory function (single rate, double rate, and truncated power law), are used as a constitutive transport equation. The large‐scale scenario represents a simplified model obtained by partially homogenizing the reference solution. Results show that the double‐rate and the truncated power law mass transfer models are capable of properly describing the ensemble average behavior of the main features associated with the integrated breakthrough curves. However, the uncertainty associated with the upscaled mass transfer models was substantially smaller than that attributed to the reference solution. Importantly, the cumulative distribution function of concentrations associated with the upscaled model follows a distribution similar to the reference solution but with smaller statistical dispersion. The reason is that while appropriate memory functions can be used to preserve the residence time distribution of mass particles during upscaling, the lack of memory in space prevents the model from reproducing mass fluxes in all directions. Specifically, the reproduction of mass fluxes taking place at the interface between two homogenized blocks of the upscaled model is not satisfied, thus providing a poor description of the spatial distribution of mass particles in a given realization.
A Probabilistic Framework to Learn Auction Mechanisms via Gradient Descent

The online advertising industry heavily relies on auction mechanisms to allocate impression opportunities to advertisers, and price them. In real-world auctions, we want to maximise welfare for auction participants while being incentive-compatible (allowing bidders to bid truthfully), but we may also wish to include other constraints such as improving revenue for the seller, or mitigating externalities on non-bidding third-parties. Whilst the first two goals can be attained by drawing on auction theory, more general constraints lead to objectives that cannot be optimised exactly. In this work, we propose a general framework to learn incentive-compatible auction mechanisms via gradient descent. Following related work on “neural auctions”, we resort to approximate continuous relaxations of the discrete sorting operation that render our objectives differentiable and thus amenable to optimisation in modern Deep Learning frameworks. We inject Gumbel-noise into the allocation rule, leading to a smoother loss surface and a stochastic auction mechanism under the Plackett-Luce model. Additionally, we derive a pricing rule that preserves incentive compatibility in this probabilistic setting. We present experiments for a known difficult case for exact optimisation: that of maximising revenue while maintaining optimal welfare and incentive compatible pricing. Results show we are able to improve on classical mechanisms, even under non-deterministic allocation.
Prácticas de consumo electrónico: los lectores ante los nuevos soportes

Cordon-Garcia, J.-A. , Alonso-Arevalo, J., Gomez-Diaz, R. , and Fernandez Gomez, M. J. . "Practicas De Consumo Electronico: Los Lectores Ante Los Nuevos Soportes. "I Seminario E-Lectra: "Documentos electronicos y textualidades digitales: nuevos lectores, nuevas lecturas, nuevos generos". Salamanca, E-Lectra 2012.
Earthquake Characteristics as Imaged by the Back-Projection Method

This dissertation explores the capability of dense seismic array data for imaging the rupture properties of earthquake sources using a method known as back-projection. Only within the past 10 or 15 years has implementation of the method become feasible through the development of large aperture seismic arrays such as the High Sensitivity Seismograph Network in Japan and the Transportable Array in the United States. Coincidentally, this buildup in data coverage has also been accompanied by a global cluster of giant earthquakes (Mw>8.0). Much of the material in this thesis is devoted to imaging the source complexity of these large events. In particular, evidence for rupture segmentation, dynamic triggering, and frequency dependent energy release is presented. These observations have substantial implications for evaluating the seismic and tsunami hazards of future large earthquakes. In many cases, the details of the large ruptures can only be imaged by the backprojection method through the addition of different data sets and incorporating additional processing steps that enhance low-amplitude signals. These improvements to resolution can also be utilized to study much smaller events. This approach is taken for studying two very different types of earthquakes. First, a global study of the enigmatic intermediate-depth (100-300 km) earthquakes is performed. The results show that these events commonly have sub-horizontal rupture planes and suggest