Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determination of microwave vegetation optical depth and single scattering albedo from large scale soil moisture and Nimbus/SMMR satellite observations

Abstract The single scattering albedo and optical depth of typical savanna vegetation in Botswana (Africa) have been determined by inverse modelling using satellite observed microwave signatures and surface soil moisture. Soil emissivity was modelled using a multi-layer radiative transfer model. The study is based on large scale surface moisture data and Nimbus/SMMR 6·6 GHz and 37 GHz dual polarized brightness temperatures over a 3-year period. As compared to the optical depths, the derived single scattering albedos displayed only minor seasonal variations, whereas the values fit well within the range reported in the literature from laboratory and field experiments. Both 6·6 and 37 GHz optical depths were found to be significantly related to NDVI-values derived from NOAA/AVHRR.
Increased Expression of Escherichia coliPolynucleotide Phosphorylase at Low Temperatures Is Linked to a Decrease in the Efficiency of Autocontrol

ABSTRACT Polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase) synthesis is translationally autocontrolled via an RNase III-dependent mechanism, which results in a tight correlation between protein level and messenger stability. In cells grown at 18°C, the amount of PNPase is twice that found in cells grown at 30°C. To investigate whether this effect was transcriptional or posttranscriptional, the expression of a set ofpnp-lacZ transcriptional and translational fusions was analyzed in cells grown at different temperatures. In the absence of PNPase, there was no increase in pnp-lacZ expression, indicating that the increase in pnp expression occurs at a posttranscriptional level. Other experiments clearly show that increased pnp expression at low temperature is only observed under conditions in which the autocontrol mechanism of PNPase is functional. At low temperature, the destabilizing effect of PNPase on its own mRNA is less efficient, leading to a decrease in repression and an increase in the expression level.
Forecasting sizes and repose times of future extreme volcanic events

By using rank-order statistics, it is possible to predict the likely scale of future “extreme” volcanic events (eruptions larger than a given threshold size, or repose periods longer than a given time) on both a local and global scale. When ranked by diminishing size, the largest and most devastating volcanic eruptions in terms of volume, or consequent fatalities, can be described by power-law functions. In turn, this approach permits projection of, for example, (1) the likely size of the next volcanic eruption larger than the A.D. 1815 eruption of Tambora (∼90 km3 of magma); (2) the size of the next eruption of the Taupo volcano, New Zealand, that is larger than the eruption of A.D. 186 (∼82 km3 of tephra); and (3) the likely duration of the current repose period of the Taupo volcano (4000 ± 1200 years). This approach can also be employed on shorter time scales, for example to provide quantitative criteria to assess when a period of activity has ceased. With the establishment of procedures for making projections such as these, volcano hazard assessment may be placed onto a more rigorous and quantitative basis.
Fluid Phase Separation Processes in Submarine Hydrothermal Systems

Mineral-fluid equilibria play a key role in governing the chemical evolution of modern submarine hydrothermal systems (Seyfried et al. 1999, 2004; Foustoukos and Seyfried 2005). Seawater circulating through high permeability zones of the upper oceanic crust, reaches areas close to the brittle-ductile boundary, where high temperature and pressure conditions enhance water/rock interactions, characterized by formation of hydrous alteration minerals and compositional changes in seawater chemistry, particularly enrichment of dissolved volatiles and transition metals (Fig. 1⇓) (Kelley et al. 2002; German and Von Damm 2003). The buoyant hydrothermal fluids ultimately vent at the seafloor with exit temperatures reaching values higher than 350 °C. Mixing between ambient seawater and hydrothermal vent fluid induces metal sulfide precipitation, accounting for the common reference to the vent fluids as “black smokers. ” The large spatial compositional variability observed even between adjacent black smoker vent fluids, however, is mainly the result of phase separation and boiling processes intrinsic to the NaCl-H2O system at elevated temperature and pressure conditions (Bischoff and Pitzer 1985; Bischoff and Rosenbauer 1987; Butterfield et al. 1994; Von Damm 1995, 2000; Berndt and Seyfried 1997; Lilley et al. 2003). Although this compositional variability is best indicated by the wide range of dissolved chloride concentrations of vent fluids that greatly deviate from seawater values (Von Damm et al. 1997; Von Damm 2000, 2004; Seyfried et al. 2003), confirming evidence of phase separation processes can also be traced to the distribution and abundance of dissolved volatiles and other aqueous species known to fractionate between vapor and liquid when seawater phase separation and segregation occurs (Oosting and Von Damm 1996; Berndt and Seyfried 1997; Fornari et al. 1998; Butterfield et al. 1999; Lilley et al. 2003; Von …
Surface-Level Ozone Exposures and Their Effects on Vegetation

Introduction (A.S. Lefohn, A.S.L. & Associates, Helena, MT). Tropospheric Ozone: Formation and Fate (W.L. Chameides, School of Geophysical Sciences, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA J.P. Lodge, Boulder, CO). The Characterization of Ambient Ozone Exposures (A.S. Lefohn, A.S.L. & Associates, Helena, MT). Experimental Methodology for Studying the Effects of Ozone on Crops and Trees (W.J. Manning, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA S.V. Krupa, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN). Uptake of Ozone by Vegetation (V.C. Runeckles, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C.). Crop Responses to Ozone (V.C. Runeckles, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. B.I. Chevone, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA). Tree Responses to Ozone (A.H. Chappelka, Auburn University, Auburn, AL B.I. Chevone, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA). Ozone Standards and Their Relevance for Protecting Vegetation (A.S. Lefohn, A.S.L. & Associates, Helena, MT).
Evolution of the cloudy boundary layer during the autumnal freezing of the Beaufort Sea

The Beaufort and Arctic Seas Experiment (BASE) occurred during September and October 1994, off the Canadian Beaufort coast. In this paper, we provide a description of the characteristics of the the cloudy boundary layer that were observed from a research aircraft during BASE and provide an interpretation for the coevolution of the atmospheric boundary layer and sea ice characteristics during the autumnal freezing of the Beaufort Sea. Observations from a total of 12 research flights are presented. During the course of the experiment the underlying surface made a transition from late summer melt conditions to full-fledged winter conditions. All of the observed boundary layer cloud decks are associated with stable temperature profiles, with temperature inversions occurring either above or within each of the cloud decks. Unlike observations of summertime boundary layer clouds, no multiple-layered clouds in the boundary layer were observed. Examination of the cloud phase indicates a transition from predominantly liquid phase clouds at the beginning of the experiment to predominantly crystalline clouds at the end of the experiment. Local interactions between the clouds and underlying surface were examined in several case studies, including the effects of leads. Using a time series of soundings over a period of 5 days in conjunction with the the National Center for Environmental Prediction analyses, an air mass modification event was examined that began after the intrusion of warm air from the Pacific Ocean. The evolution of the air mass is apparent in decreasing temperatures in the lower atmosphere and formation of a low-level mixed phase cloud that evolves with time into a deeper cloud layer that is crystalline.
Intrusion detection and tolerance: A global scheme

Protecting implemented security mechanisms and trusting their output (e.g. log files) when the host, under which they are deployed, is compromised, is among the major challenges that have to be faced. To fulfil this need, recent advances in security have considered the design of storage‐based intrusion detection system, which detect intrusions by looking at the low‐level disk requests patterns. However, these systems neither tolerate intrusions, nor do they distinguish whether the disk requests are generated by legitimate or malicious processes; and consequently, they generate a lot of false negative and positive alerts. In this paper, we present a Cooperative Intrusion Detection and Tolerance System, called CIDTS, which takes advantage of the information that are available at the network, host operating system, and storage level to better detect intrusion attempts in their early stages, even when the host is compromised. To allow cooperation, the disk communication interface that transports requests between the storage level and the host level is extended to forward information about the processes that generate the request. The paper also provides intrusion tolerance capabilities and provides techniques to support investigation activities. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
First Y-Short Tandem Repeat Categorical Dataset for Clustering Applications

The Y-chromosome short tandem repeat (Y-STR) data are mainly collected for a performance benchmarking result in clustering methods. There are six Y-STR dataset items, divided into two categories: Y-STR surname and Y-haplogroup data presented here. The Y-STR data are categorical, unique, and different from the other categorical data. They are composed of a lot of similar and almost similar objects. This characteristic of the Y-STR data has caused certain problems of the existing clustering algorithms in clustering them.
Relationship between the sea ice cover in the retreat and advance seasons in the Antarctic Ocean

Relationship between ice concentrations in the retreat (December) and advance (April) seasons is investigated in the Antarctic Ocean using SMMR and SSM/I data. For most years, the negative (positive) anomalies in ice concentration in the retreat season lead to the negative (positive) anomalies in the next advance season with strong correlation. This positive feedback can be regarded as ice‐albedo feedback in a coupled ice‐ocean system. In the retreat season, net heat input into the upper ocean from the atmosphere becomes maximum and is mostly determined by ice concentration. Because of large interannual variation of ice concentration in the retreat season, the anomaly in the heat input becomes tremendous. It is inferred that this anomaly is memorized in the ocean, and then affects the next advance of sea ice, skipping over the open ocean period (February–March). This process can partly explain the interannual variation of the sea ice cover.
Toba Ash on the Indian Subcontinent and Its Implications for Correlation of Late Pleistocene Alluvium

Abstract The Toba ash occurs extensively in the Indian subcontinent and marks a ca. 74,000-yr-old event. In the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean it is about 10 cm thick, whereas in several alluvial basins, it is usually 1-3 m thick. The latter occurs in a partly reworked state but as nearly chemically pure first-cycle sediments, The ash has a broad northwesterly dispersal pattern. Samples of ash from the Indian subcontinent compare closely with the youngest (74,000 yr B.P.) Toba Tuff and the deep-sea Toba ash in bulk chemical composition, REE signature, and bubble-wall shard morphology. However, a more proximally located and thicker (2-5 m) ash-bed, from the alluvial basins in the gneissic area and close to east coast, has a lower magnitude negative Eu anomaly, possibly because of minor contamination by feldspathic silt. Quaternary sediments in the central Narmada and middle Son basins contain rich late and middle Pleistocene mammalian and cultural records. Based on the presence of the ash layer marker and stratigraphic relations, late Pleistocene sediments within the subcontinent can be correlated with those from central India and the deep sea.
ADONIS: daylight imaging through atmospheric turbulence

The AMOS daylight optical near-infrared imaging system, acronym ADONIS, is a sensor system designed for collecting satellite images under daylight conditions and employing speckle post-processing for enhancement of the resulting images. This paper presents our solution (the ADONIS system) to the daylight observation problem by first establishing the issues related to radiometry, daylight detection, and incoherent speckle imaging. System design resolution optimization results are presented. ADONIS imaging results and conclusions based on these results also are presented.
Deriving point and parametric pedotransfer functions of some gypsiferous soils

Parametric description of the soil water retention curve as well as the hydraulic conductivity curve is needed for modelling water movement and solute transport in the vadose zone. The objective of this study was to derive pedotransfer functions (PTFs) to predict the water retention curve and the van Genuchten and the van Genuchten–Mualem parameters of some gypsiferous soils. Consequently, 185 gypsiferous soil samples were collected and their physical properties were measured. The particle size distribution was determined in 2 steps: (i) with gypsum, by covering the particles with barium sulphate; (ii) without gypsum, using the hydrometry method. The easily obtainable variables were grouped as (1) particle size distribution, bulk density, and gypsum content; and (2) bulk density, gypsum content, geometric mean, and geometric standard deviation of the particle diameter. Stepwise multiple linear regression method was used to derive the PTFs. Two types of parametric and point functions were derived using these variables. The first group of variables predicted water retention and the van Genuchten and van Genuchten–Mualem parameters better than the second group. The gypsum content appeared to be the second dominant parameter for predicting water retention at 0, −330, −1000, −3000, −5000, and −15 000 cm. The derived PTFs were compared with the Rosetta database as independent dataset. The validity test indicated that in order to predict the hydraulic properties of gypsiferous soils the derived PTFs are more accurate than what can be obtained from the Rosetta database. Removal of gypsum increased the water retention at pressure heads of 0, –100, –330, –1000, –3000, –5000, and –15 000 cm (P < 0.01). The results also indicated that hydraulic parameters were different for the same soil with and without gypsum.
Relative Roles of Different Components of the Basic State in the Phase Locking of El Niño Mature Phases

Abstract The mature phases of El Nino events show a strong tendency of locking to the end of the calendar year. The roles of seasonal variations of the basic state and the relative contributions of individual components of the basic state in this phase locking are investigated using the Zebiak–Cane model. It is shown that seasonal variations of the mean state from July to November have a positive contribution and those from December to June have a negative contribution to preexisting warm SST anomalies. Among the basic-state parameters, the sea surface temperature (SST) is a major factor for the locking of the El Nino mature phase through the anomalous advection of the mean SST gradient. This result differs from previous studies that attribute the El Nino phase locking mainly to seasonal changes in the mean wind divergence. The present result indicates the importance of a proper simulation of mean SST and its seasonal evolution for the simulation of El Nino phase locking in coupled models. Further experim.
Modeling ice dynamics of coastal seas

A coupled sea ice, barotropic ocean model with a 1-km resolution and a seaward domain of 200 km quantifies three coastal processes: coupling of ice motion to wind-driven coastal currents, ice thickness redistribution under compaction at the coast, and formation of coastal shear zones. The model consists of an ice momentum balance, mass concentration and two-parameter ice thickness distribution, and equations for horizontal water motion and continuity using vertical structure functions. An appropriate constitutive law appears to be a hardening plastic based on qualitative observations from Alaskan continental shelves. For first-year sea ice, strength is taken to be proportional to the square of ice thickness. A north wind example of 10 m/s with the coastline to the west shows the depth dependence of rotational shear in the sea ice/ocean boundary layer and sea surface tilt which contributes an alongshore slope current. There is slight convergence of sea ice over the shelf, a coastal shear zone of 4 km, and an alongshore ice speed seaward of the shear zone of 6% of the wind speed caused by the combination of an under-ice shear layer and an alongshore slope current. For an onshore wind, ice is near free drift at 3% of the wind seaward of a ridging front, which propagates seaward. A square dependence of ice strength on thickness is required for the rubble field to approach a limiting thickness, consistent with observations. The hardening plastic interpretation of the rubble field has the stress state at the yield limit in contrast with a rigid plastic of high constant strength that yields only at the coast. We conclude that (1) ice thickness/motion feedback is important on scales less than 10 km, (2) the observational base to discriminate between mesoscale constitutive laws is not yet available, and (3) the relation of ice velocity to wind stress is variable because the ocean slope current responds only to the alongshore component of the wind.
Ice-melt rates in liquid-filled cavities during explosive subglacial eruptions

Subglacial eruptions are often associated with rapid penetration of overlying ice and release of large flow rates of water as jokulhlaups. Observations of recent subglacial eruptions indicate rapid syn-eruptive ice melting within liquid-filled subglacial cavities, but quantitative descriptions of possible heat transfer processes need to be developed. Calculations of heat flux from the ice cavity fluid to the melting ice surface indicate that up to 0.6 MW m−2 may be obtained for fluids undergoing single-phase free convection, similar to minimum estimates of heat flux inferred from observations of recent eruptions. Our model of boiling two-phase free convection in subglacial cavities indicates that much greater heat fluxes, in the range 3–5 MW m−2, can be obtained in the vent region of the cavity and may be increased further by momentum transfer from the eruption jet. Rapid magma-water heat transfer from fragmented magma is needed to sustain these heat fluxes. Similar heat fluxes are anticipated for forced convection of subcooled cavity water induced by momentum transfer from an eruption jet. These heat fluxes approach those required to explain jokulhlaup flow rates and rapid ice penetration rates by melting in some, but not all recent eruptions.
Mixing zone regulation for effluent discharges into EU waters

Environmental standards and their implementation in different countries are reviewed for point source discharges into surface waters. The paper focuses on the analysis of existing mixing zone regulations and recommends procedures to develop and manage mixing zone definitions as required by recent amendments of the ‘combined approach' of the European Community water framework directive. The review shows that only a few mixing zone regulations exist in the European Union member countries, and that some effluent types, such as desalination brine discharges, and some discharge technologies, such as river diffusers, are not yet considered. The paper discusses those two issues in detail. First, by analysing desalination plant discharge characteristics and recommending mixing zone regulations for such multi-component and multi-process discharges. Second, by presenting river diffuser discharge technologies and procedures for demonstrating compliance of discharges that employ these technologies.
A methodology for regional flood frequency estimation based on scaling properties

There is a persisting need for extreme value assessments of discharge for ungauged catchments for design purposes, flood protection and flood risk analysis. A methodology is put forward for estimating flood quantiles in ungauged catchments, taking into account the scaling behaviour of discharge in a homogeneous region. From an assumption that the spatial distribution of specific discharge generation is a shifted exponential distribution, theoretical expressions of the maximum specific discharge values relative to catchment size are developed and a regional scaling equation is presented. The homogeneity constraint refers to climatic conditions, whereas catchment heterogeneity due to physiographic features of catchments is incorporated in the models using multiple regression analysis. The methodology is tested for a region in Southern Norway with homogeneous climatic conditions but with varying physiographic catchment characteristics. It is investigated if the extreme discharge values estimated with traditional methods are adequately reproduced with the proposed methodology. For the tested region, the agreement between flood quantiles estimated with the proposed methodology and flood quantiles estimated from observed data is good. The effective lake percentage and the river gradient proved to be significant descriptors of the deviation from the scaling procedure. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Local vertical motions and kinetic temperature from AE‐C as evidence for aurora‐induced gravity waves

In situ measurements of local vertical neutral particle motions have been made using the Neutral Atmosphere Temperature Instrument (NATE) on Atmosphere Explorer-C from observations of the direction of flow of neutral particles into the antechamber of the sensor (mass spectrometer). Values ranging from a few to more than 80 meters per second have been observed. The data show vertical motions greater than a few meters per second to be present most of the time, the magnitude being a function of many factors including magnetic activity, location, and magnetic storm history. In a specific case, it is concluded that the observed vertical motions and kinetic temperature are evidence of a travelling disturbance originating as a gravity wave in the auroral zone.
Evidence of magmatic hybridization related with feeding zones: the synkinematic Guitiriz granitoid, NW Iberian Massif

Abstract The hybridization zone of Guitiriz (NW Iberian Massif) displays numerous features resulted from the interaction of two contemporaneously emplaced felsic and intermediate magmas. A combined study, including field geology, petrography, chemistry and Sr isotopic data, reveals a simple two-component mixing between a mantle-derived magma with an initial 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ratio <0.7042 and a crustal-derived component with an initial Sr isotopic ratio > 0.7104. Both magmas rose through a common feeding zone developed in an extensional regime in which favourable conditions for magma mixing occurred. Calculated emplacement temperature and pressure for the Guitiriz hybridization zone are 700 °C and 2.5 kbar, respectively, and are comparable with those estimated from regional metamorphism. Magmatic epidote occurrence, exhibiting textural and compositional characteristics suggestive of magmatic origin, does not require high-pressure granite solidification. Its presence may be related to a rapid magma transport through the feeding zone that favoured the preservation of epidote.