Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development and evaluation of model-based operational yield forecasts in the South African sugar industry.

South Africa is the largest producer of sugar in Africa and one of the ten largest sugarcane producers in the world. Sugarcane in South Africa is grown under a wide range of agro-climatic conditions. Climate has been identified as the single most important factor influencing sugarcane production in South Africa. Traditionally, sugarcane mill committees have issued forecasts of anticipated production for a region. However, owing to several limitations of such committee forecasts, more advanced technologies have had to be considered. The aim of this study has been to develop, evaluate and implement a pertinent and technologically advanced operational sugarcane yield forecasting system for South Africa. Specific objectives have included literature and technology reviews, surveys of stakeholder requirements, the development and evaluation of a forecasting system and the assessment of information transfer and user adoption. A crop yield model-based system has been developed to simulate representative crops for derived Homogeneous Climate Zones (HCZ). The system has integrated climate data and crop management, soil, irrigation and seasonal rainfall outlook information. Simulations of yields were aggregated from HCZs to mill supply area and industry scales and were compared with actual production. The value of climate information (including climate station networks) and seasonal rainfall outlook information were quantified independently. It was concluded that the system was capable of forecasting yields with acceptable accuracy over a wide range of agro-climatic conditions in South Africa. At an industry scale, the system captured up to 58% of the climatically driven variability in mean annual sugarcane yields. Forecast accuracies differed widely between different mill supply areas, and several factors were identified that may explain some inconsistencies. Seasonal rainfall outlook information generally enhanced forecasts of sugarcane production. Rainfall outlooks issued during the summer months seemed more valuable than those issued in early spring. Operationally, model-based forecasts can be expected to be valuable prior to the commencement of the milling season in April. Current limitations of forecasts include system calibration, the expression of production relative to that of the previous season and the omission of incorporating near real-time production and climate information. Several refinements to the forecast system are proposed and a strong collaborative approach between modellers, climatologists, mill committees and other decision makers is encouraged.
High-resolution organic carbon isotope record across the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary in south-central Alberta: implications for the post-impact recovery rate of terrestrial ecosystems and use of δ13C as a boundary marker

A high-resolution study identified a δ 13 C excursion of -1.8‰ to -2.3‰ in terrestrial organic matter across the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary at two localities in the Scollard Formation of south-central Alberta, one of the northernmost occurrences of the K-T boundary in terrestrial settings. δ 13 C values are at their lowest within 6 cm above the K-T boundary claystone and return to pre-boundary levels within 10 cm above the boundary claystone. Statistical analyses reveal that the K-T isotopic shift in Alberta is related to the nature of floral changes that occurred across the K-T boundary. A radiometrically dated bentonite resting on the boundary-hosting Nevis coal at one of the localities permits us to estimate that the terrestrial carbon cycle recovered 100 000 years after the K-T boundary event, a value that supports an existing hypothesis that terrestrial ecosystems recovered more rapidly than marine ecosystems. The organic carbon isotope record of the entire Scollard Formation demonstrates that the δ 13 C excursion across the K-T boundary did not reach anomalously low values by late Maastrichtian standards in Alberta. Furthermore, the occurrence of the K-T carbon isotope shift within a restricted stratigraphic interval (<10 cm) greatly limits the probability of its preservation in the context of terrestrial sedimentary environments. These observations suggest that, on their own, δ 13 C profiles may be unreliable for locating the K-T boundary (and possibly other geologically instantaneous events) and that they should be used in combination with other approaches (e.g., palynology) to identify the K-T boundary in sections lacking the boundary claystone and iridium anomaly. Resume : Une etude de haute resolution a identifie une excursion isotopique δ 13 C varient entre -1.8‰ et -2.3‰ dans
The photochemical role of tropospheric nitrogen oxides

The role of nitrogen oxides in the tropospheric photochemical system is re-evaluated in the light of recent measurements of the rate constants for two key reactions. A model for nitrogen oxides is discussed which yields surface NO x (NO+NO 2 ) levels approaching 1 ppb in NO x source regions but less than 0.1 ppb outside source regions. Applying the new rate coefficients implies increased radical concentrations and a more intense O 3 and CO photochemistry. Even for densities of 0.1 ppb or less, NO x still leads to significant local O 3 production and conversion of HO 2 to OH. Unrealistic O 3 profiles are obtained with the new rate coefficients for surface NO x densities of about 1 ppb, while reasonable agreement with observation is obtained with lower NO x densities. Feedback processes between CO, NO x , OH, and CH 4 are also discussed.
Use of Monte Carlo uncertainty analyses to evaluate differences in observed and predicted ozone concentrations

It is now possible to carry out Monte Carlo uncertainty studies with large photochemical grid models such as UAM-IV. The current study uses information on the effects of uncertainties in 109 input variables on UAM-IV model predictions of maximum daily one-hour averaged ozone concentrations at 29 monitoring sites in the New York City UAM domain for the 8 July 1988 ozone episode. Fifty Monte Carlo runs were made with the UAM-IV model making use of simple random sampling from assumed distributions for each input variable. The resulting sets of 50 predicted values of ozone concentration allowed Cumulative Distribution Functions (CDFs) to be determined for each site. These CDFs were typically log-normal with a standard deviation of about -10% or -20%. Note that these uncertainties are due only to uncertainties in input variables and do not include contributions due to errors in model physics or stochastic fluctuations. The Lewellen-Sykes-Parker (LSP) model evaluation methodology has been applied to the predictions of maximum daily one-hour averaged ozone concentrations at the 29 monitoring sites using the CDFs from the Monte Carlo study. The assumption is tested that the model prediction is correct, in the sense that the observations are not significantly different from the predictions. The hypothesis is tested that the Monte Carlo CDFs of predicted concentrations represent a set of 50 realisations from the population of observed concentrations. Therefore the Monte Carlo results were used to generate many possible realisations of CDFs of model residuals, i.e. observed minus predicted concentration, which were then compared with the actual CDF of model residuals at the 29 sites. It was found, as expected, that the single actual CDF line for the model residuals covered a slightly broader range (a standard deviation of about 20% compared to about 10%) than the 95% confidence intervals for the CDFs from the 50 Monte Carlo runs.
The Koloa Volcanic Suite of Kauai, Hawaii

The Koloa lavas of the post-erosional volcanic suite of Kauai vary in composition from melilitite to alkali olivine basalt. 87Sr/86Sr varies from ˜0.7030 to 0.7033, the range being similar to that of other Hawaiian post-erosional suites. The chemical composition within single lava flows is variable and forms major-element trends that are different from the main Koloa trend. The main trend can be related to increased degrees of partial melting during decreasing pressure. The combined evidence from Sr and Nd isotopes and rare earth elements (REEs) could suggest that an ocean island basalt (OIB) plume was infiltrated by a carbonate-rich melt with a high concentration of Sr and REEs derived from the mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) source. However, the Pb-isotope systematics of the Hawaiian islands do not suggest that a MORB source was involved during the generation of the posterosional lavas. Instead, we suggest that the Hawaiian tholeiitic and nephelinitic magma suites are derived from a zoned plume with a low 87Sr/86Sr core and a high 87Sr/86Sr concentric margin. The trends of the single flows and their variation in isotope ratios suggest that they formed from magmas accumulated mainly from the central core of the zoned plume.
Re-Os isotopic compositions of Midcontinent rift system picrites: implications for plume – lithosphere interaction and enriched mantle sources

Picrites and tholeiites from the Mamainse Point Formation, a 5.3 km thick section of Keweenawan (1100 Ma) volcanic and sedimentary fill on the eastern flank of the central portion of the Midcontinent rift system, contain a nearly continuous record of rift magmatic activity. Picrites occur primarily in the lowermost two units of the formation. In this study, they are compared to rarely exposed, slightly older Keweenawan basalts from the North Shore Volcanic Group and the Powder Mill Group to constrain mantle source compositions during early phases of rift magmatic activity. The most primitive picrites analyzed have low Re content (0.069–0.18 ppb), high Os content (0.8–2.1 ppb), and low 187Re/188Os (0.28–1.18). A Re–Os isochron with an age of 1128 ± 54 Ma and an initial 187Os/188Os of 0.1267 ± 0.0013 (γOs = +5.7) was obtained from a 24-point isochron on all but two analyzed samples. The Re–Os data, regressed separately for the older basalts, and the groups 1 and 2 samples from the Mamainse Point Formation, .
The effect of 3D geometry complexity on simulating radiative, conductive and convective fluxes in an urban canyon.

The Geomatics Synthesis Project (GSP) was an eight-week culminating group project by seven second-year MSc. Geomatics students. The objective was to undertake group and fieldwork through a real-world project with an external organization. In association with Laboratoire des Sciences de L'Image Informatique et Teledetection (LSIIT) at the University of Strasbourg, the 2012 GSP explored the impact of 3D geometry complexity on the accuracy of simulating radiative, convective and conductive fluxes in an urban canyon. The research involved the collection of meteorological data near the urban canyon in Strasbourg, France, for input into a model called LAtent, SEnsible, Radiation Fluxes (LASER/F), which simulates the aforementioned fluxes. The preparation of seven geometry scenarios with different complexities was completed and test run in LASER/F. The results were validated with thermal images of two facades collected during the field campaign in Strasbourg. The results show that LASER/F systematically underestimates facade surface temperatures due to various model assumptions. One of those is the oversimplified 1D parametrization of the wind and was demonstrated by comparing it with a vertical wind profile extracted from a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model. Nevertheless, it was concluded that the most complex 3D geometry does not necessarily improve simulation accuracy, especially during warming periods of the day. The inclusion of balconies on the facades is influential and should be used for future simulation experiments when it is a signifcant feature of the facade. Further research is required to better understand canyon geometry effects such as canyon orientation, aspect ratio and the volumetric influence on internal heat storage in buildings.
The solubility of calcite and aragonite in seawater at various salinities

An electrophotographic printing machine in which successive colored filtered light images expose a photoconductive member recording successive charge patterns thereon. Each charge pattern is developed with single color magnetic particles forming successive single color powder images on the photoconductive member. These single color powder images are transferred, in superimposed registration, to a sheet of support material. The superimposed powder images are permanently affixed to the sheet of support material producing a colored copy of the original document being reproduced by the electrophotographic printing machine.
Clear water, blue skies : China's environment in the new century

Since 1978 China's economy has produced economic growth rates making it one of the fastest growing economies. In the same period, China's environment has deteriorated significantly. Rapid urbanization and industrialization have generated enormous volumes of air and water pollutants, lowering air and water quality. China's urban population soared, moving more Chinese closer to industrial smokestacks and residential emissions and increasing the number of people exposed to polluted urban air and water. This report focuses on two of China's most pressing environmental concerns -air and water pollution- and their relation to economic growth. Specifically, it addresses three questions: What are the costs of pollution in China today? Will future economic growth impair or improve air and water quality? And what policies are needed now to ensure that rising incomes translate into a higher environmental standard of living for current and future generations? Chapter one estimates the costs of pollution -urban air pollution, indoor air pollution, water pollution, and lead pollution- on health (premature deaths and sicknesses); and assesses the damage to productive resources and urban infrastructure. Chapter two examines the economic reforms and environmental policies that can hold pollution costs in check. Various scenarios are presented: the business-as-usual scenario and alternative scenarios that increase fuel substitutions, improve energy efficiency and conservation and diversify energy supplies, invest in air pollution control, develop public transportation systems and discourage vehicle use, raise the abatement rate for industrial water pollution, and increase the coverage and level of municipal wastewater treatment. Chapter three concentrates on improving efficiency and developing coal alternatives, and controlling emissions by industrial, power, commercial, and household sources. Chapter four focuses on China's need to revamp its regulatory system to harness market forces and reorient new investment to safeguard the environment. Chapter five argues that China should shape its urban environmental destiny by both using the conventional pollution control policies and harnessing its own considerable administrative and coordinating capacity in transportation management and municipal planning. Water shortages and water pollution, two main water-related constraints to China's socioeconomic development, are the focus of Chapter six. Finally, Chapter seven encourages China to turn its assets into advantages for preserving and improving its environment and securing higher environmental living standards.
Melt segregation under compaction and shear channeling: Application to granitic magma segregation in a continental crust

[1] We present a model of melt segregation in a mush submitted to both compaction and shear. It applies to a granitic melt imbedded within a partially molten continental crust, able to sustain large stress values. The mathematical derivation starts with the equations for melt and plastic flow in a mush. They are manipulated to obtain equations for the mean flow field and for the separation velocity. Assuming that the mean flow field is simple shear, a specific set of equations for the melt flow in a shear field is obtained. After simplifying the equations, they finally reduce to two systems of coupled equations. One is the well-known equation for compaction. The other is new and describes melt channelling during shear in a mush with a constant viscosity plastic matrix. Three free parameters are observed. One is the usual compaction length, and the other two are functions of the stress and strain amplitude during shear. Compaction instabilities lead to the development of spherical pockets rich in melt while shear channelling instability segregates melt in parallel veins. The size of the pockets and the distance between veins remain close to the compaction length. Actually, the viscosity ratio between the matrix and its melt controls the compaction length L, which is found metric or submetric. The two types of instability segregate melt. However, the compaction process is generally so sluggish that it cannot compete with the channelling one. The channelling time is controlled by the amount of intergranular melt present in the system and of the amplitude of the shear stresses. During each channelling cycle, lasting for about 30 to 300 kyr, the intergranular melt is completely squeezed out from the volume in between veins. As melting progresses, the successive batches of melt, as well as the residual solid matrix, are increasingly more dehydrated. As a result, both phases progressively stiffen without changing their viscosity contrast and the associated compaction length. The segregation process stops when the dehydration process clamps the deformation of the solid matrix.
Insights into the ubiquitin transfer cascade catalyzed by the Legionella effector SidC

The causative agent of Legionnaires’ disease, Legionella pneumophila, delivers more than 330 virulent effectors to its host to establish an intracellular membrane-bound organelle called the Legionella containing vacuole. Among the army of Legionella effectors, SidC and its paralog SdcA have been identified as novel bacterial ubiquitin (Ub) E3 ligases. To gain insight into the molecular mechanism of SidC/SdcA as Ub ligases, we determined the crystal structures of a binary complex of the N-terminal catalytic SNL domain of SdcA with its cognate E2 UbcH5C and a ternary complex consisting of the SNL domain of SidC with the Ub-linked E2 UbcH7. These two structures reveal the molecular determinants governing the Ub transfer cascade catalyzed by SidC. Together, our data support a common mechanism in the Ub transfer cascade in which the donor Ub is immobilized with its C-terminal tail locked in an extended conformation, priming the donor Ub for catalysis.
Temporal change in P‐wave scatterer distribution associated with the M6.1 earthquake near Iwate volcano, northeastern Japan

Summary Temporal variation of the scatterer distribution has been detected around the focal area of an M6.1 earthquake, northeastern Japan, by applying semblance analysis to seismic array data. The variation was found in slant-stacked waveforms of two explosions detonated just above the focal area one month before and two months after the M6.1 earthquake. According to geodetic observations, a pressure source that might be a magma reservoir exists beneath this region and its location changed during the observation period. Slant-stacked waveforms are slightly different for the two explosions. The difference suggests that a scatterer contributing to the coda part is shifted towards the east and to greater depths only after three months. In this region, seismic and volcanic activity was very active during the interval between the two explosions. The volcanic activity of Mt Iwate just north of the M6.1 earthquake, which started several months beforehand, continued during this period. It may be considered that scatterer change relates to seismic and/or volcanic activity in the studied area.
Microdrilling in thin section: a useful method for the identification of clay minerals in situ

Optical identification of clay minerals in thin sections is often difficult because of the small size of the crystallites (<10 /lm). Microprobe analyses may sometimes provide a reasonable characterization of some species which have simple chemical compositions, such as kaolinite or talc, but in most cases even these minerals are not identifiable because they are intimately associated with other crystals. For clays of more complex chemistry, e.g. interstratified species, the microprobe is clearly unsuited for identifications. X-ray methods remain the most diagnostic but the problem lies in obtaining diffraction data from the material in the microsites observed in thin sections. Analyses of <2/~m fractions are not useful because these represent the sum of the clay minerals crystallizing in different sites in the rock. Thus old and new phases are often mixed together. It is evident that X-ray diffraction patterns obtained from micro-quantities of fine-grained material would be a useful technique for identifying clay minerals in their sites of crystallization. Attempts have been made to obtain these data directly from selected areas in thin section (Carrigy & Mellon, 1964; Wicks & Zussman, 1975; Wilson & Clark, 1978). These methods, although well-suited to specific identification problems, are not applicable to altered materials for two reasons. First, the narrowest irradiated area is ~ 1 mm 2, which is too large for microsite examination (100 • 100/~m). Second, it is necessary to extract clay minerals in order to make oriented preparations and saturate with ions and glycol.
Confirmation of Active Geologic Faults in Lake Pontchartrain in Southeast Louisiana

ABSTRACT Active geologic faults in Lake Pontchartrain have been previously described in 1991. These faults have apparent surface expression which strongly suggests that at least some of these faults are active. The en-echelon fault system in northern Lake Pontchartrain are the southeastward continuation of the active Baton Rouge - Denham Springs faults system in the Baton Rouge area. New documentation of faulting includes: 1) Global Positioning System was used to locate bridge offsets, 2) acquisition of US Geological Survey high resolution seismic, 3) more complete mapping of faults in Lake Pontchartrain and, 4) new quantification of Railroad and bridge offset at fault traces. Three U. S. Geological Survey high-resolution seismic profiles demonstrate two geologic faults with offset within the Holocene within three meters (10 ft) of the Lake bottom in the eastern portion of the Lake. In contrast, one high resolution seismic profile positioned parallel to the Causeway does not detect a fault at the offset in the Causeway bridge. The fault along the Causeway is either inactive, or the offset is too small to be detected by the high resolution seismic. Recent observations suggest possibly higher rates of fault movement than previously recognized in Lake Pontchartrain. In particular, the Norfolk-Southern Railroad bridge has shown 8-10 cm (3-4 inches) offset at the southern fault position where the bridge was re-built in 1986 and 1987. The northern fault trace shows a similar new offset of the Southern railroad bridge. This suggests a rate of fault displacement two-three times greater than suggested in 1991 by previous observations. However the greater movement rate is consistent with other reported rates of modern fault movement in the Houston, Texas area of the Gulf Coast.