Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ferro-andesites in the Grande Ronde Basalt: their composition and significance in studies of the origin of the Columbia River Basalt Group

Flows from the Grande Ronde Basalt of the Columbia River Basalt Group include several with the chemical composition of ferro-andesites. These flows have SiO2 > 55%, MgO < 4%, and also have higher Fe/Mg than the average value for Grande Ronde Basalt. They are also distinctly richer in Cs, Rb, K, Ba, La, Ce, Th, and U than the remainder of the Grande Ronde Basalt flows, and possess small negative Eu anomalies. Their Pb isotopic compositions define a mixing line with a negative slope on a 206Pb/204Pb versus 207Pb/204Pb plot. Their Nd isotopic compositions lie between 143Nd/144Nd = 0.51252 and 0.51264, and their Sr isotopic compositions lie between 87Sr/86Sr = 0.7055 and 0.7060. These values define the enriched end of the Columbia River Basalt Group spectrum on a Sr–Nd epsilon diagram (excluding the Saddle Mountains Basalt). These ferro-andesite flows also form a compositional end member of the Columbia River Basalt Group and are sufficiently distinctive to warrant special consideration. We compare them with .
High-resolution Crop Surface Models (CSM) and Crop Volume Models (CVM) on field level by terrestrial laser scanning

The interdisciplinary Transregional Collaborative Research Center 32 (CRC/TR 32) works on exchange processes between soil, vegetation, and the adjacent atmospheric boundary layer (SVA). Within this research project a terrestrial laser scanning sensor is used in a multitemporal approach for determining agricultural plant parameters. In contrast to other studies with phase-change or optical probe sensors, time-of-flight measurements are used. On three dates in the year 2008 a sugar beet field (4.3 ha) in Western Germany was surveyed by a terrestrial laser scanner (Riegl LMS-Z420i). Point clouds are georeferenced, trimmed, and compared with official elevation data. The estimated plant parameters are (i) surface model comparison between different crop surfaces and (ii) crop volumes as well as (iii) soil roughness parameters for SVA-Modelling. The results show, that the estimation of these parameters is possible and the method should be validated and extended.
Immunomodulatory and Antitumor Activity of Polysaccharide Isolated From Tea Plant Flower

Tea plant flower is a product of the tea plant during its growing. Polysaccharide are abundant in tea flower. However, the components in tea flower are underutilized at present. The study aimed at evaluating the antitumor activity and immunomodulatory effect of tea plant flower polysaccharide (TFP) via various in vivo assay systems. The inhibition effect of TFP on sarcoma 180 tumor (S180)-bearing mice was observed at dosages of 75, 150 and 300 mg/kg by systematically to measure the S180 tumor inhibition rate, mice survival rate and cellular immunity. The result showed that continuous administration of TFP for 10 day continuously was found to inhibit the growth of transplanted S180, prolong the mice survival days, promote the plasma interleukin-2, interferon-γ levels and improve the T-lymphocyte subsets CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+ percentages after treatment with TFP. In addition, TFP was found to increase the delayed-type hypersensitivity response and macrophage phagocytosis significantly. These results strongly suggest that TFP enhances the host defense response to tumor due in part to the immunomodulatory activity.
Duplex Wave Migration – A Practical and Effective Tool for Imaging Vertical Boundaries

P283 Duplex Wave Migration – A Practical and Effective Tool for Imaging Vertical Boundaries N. Marmalevskyi* (Ukrainian State Geological Prospecting Institute) B.H. Link (Kelman Technologies Inc.) Y. Roganov (Ukrainian State Geological Prospecting Institute) A. Kostyukevych (Tetra Seis Inc.) & Z. Gornyak (Ukrainian State Geological Prospecting Institute) SUMMARY Reverse time migration (RTM) has recently become available on a commercial basis. This two-way wave equation method is theoretically capable of imaging vertical boundaries by virtue of the fact that it can use reflection energy that has undergone two bounces (duplex wave energy (DWE)) to image vertical boundaries. However RTM has a number
Environmental controls on soil respiration in the Eurasian

Arctic regions contain large amounts of stored soil carbon and comprise huge areas of discontinuous vegetation. The potential for feedback effects on possible changing climatic conditions through altered source/sink action for atmospheric CO 2 is therefore an important issue in tundra regions. In this study we investigate environmental controls on CO 2 evolution rates in Arctic soils through observations along a Eurasian transect of tundra sites and comparative experiments in northern Sweden and northeast Greenland. Among factors potentially controlling decomposition rates in Eurasian wet and mesic tundra temperature and depth of the water table significantly influenced the CO 2 efflux, while thaw depth, soil nitrogen, and organic matter concentrations explained very little of the variation in fluxes. The minor importance of the soil N status in controlling decomposition rates was confirmed in experiments in which N and P was added in a factorial manner at a subarctic heath and a high-Arctic drained fen. Phosphorus decreased the CO 2 emissions, while the combined N and P treatment increased the emissions in the subarctic. These effects were not reproduced in the high Arctic. The results support most assumptions in current decomposition models on the soil climatic controls on decomposition rates in the Arctic.
The perspective from Asia concerning the Impact of Compass/Beidou-2 on future GNSS

Abstract The next decade promises drastic improvements to global navigation satellite systems. The USA is modernizing GPS, Russia is refreshing GLONASS, Europe is moving ahead with its own Galileo system, and The People's Republic of China is expanding its Beidou-1 system from a regional navigation system to a full constellation global navigation satellite system known as Compass/BeiDou-2, which consists of thirty five satellites including geostationary satellites, MEO satellites, and geosynchronous satellites in the coming year. Extra satellites will improve performance for all applications, and especially where satellite signals can be obscured, such as in urban canyons, under tree canopies, or in open-cut mines. The benefits of the expected extra satellites and their signals are increased availability, accuracy, continuity, and reliability. The advent of hybrid GNSS constellation has made the study of compatibility and interoperability increasingly important. A number of performance analyses have been conducted on a global scale with respect to availability, reliability, accuracy, and integrity in different simulated scenarios (such as open sky and urban canyons) for each system individually as well as for all possible combinations. Since the Compass/BeiDou-2 has received increasing attention from GNSS communities, the main objective of this study is to investigate the performance of Compass/BeiDou-2 in comparison with GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo in the greater Asia region; and also to explore whether combining Compass/BeiDou-2 with another GNSS would yield performance improvements in the region. Performance analysis can be conducted using either signals or geometrical conditions. However, the scope of this study is limited to the impact of current and future GNSS based on geometrical conditions. Therefore, the satellite visibility and DOP values of each system or their possible combinations are used as the major indices for the performance evaluation with an emphasis on the addition of Compass. In addition, those indices are analyzed in terms of their spatial and temporal distributions with an emphasis on the greater Asia region. Moreover, the spatial performance analyses are conducted as both global and regional scales to provide more insightful comparisons to illustrate the importance of Compass for users in the greater Asia region.
A GREEN RIVER (EOCENE) POLYCHROTID (SQUAMATA: REPTILIA) AND A RE-EXAMINATION OF IGUANIAN SYSTEMATICS

Abstract A pleurodontan iguanian from the Green River Formation (Eocene) is described in detail and named. The new taxon is known only from a single specimen preserving all areas of the body. Although many of the bone surfaces are eroded, almost all of the skeleton is present and some cartilaginous elements are preserved. The new taxon shares important characteristics with the extant anisolepines and leiosaurines, including the morphology and placement of the caudal autotomy planes, the postxiphisternal inscriptional ribs, and notched or fenestrated clavicles that are expanded proximally. This is the earliest complete iguanian known from the Americas and the earliest known iguanian that may be confidently referred to an extant “family. ” A phylogenetic analysis including this taxon and other fossil and extant iguanians offers some support for the monophyly of Polychrotidae sensu lato, Tropiduridae sensu lato, and non-acrodont iguanians (Pleurodonta).
A three‐dimensional fluid‐controlled earthquake model: Behavior and implications

We describe the behavior of a three-dimensional, fluid-controlled fault model that couples the dominant mechanical effects of fluid within a cellular fault zone with shear stress accumulation from constant plate motion applied at the downward continuation of the fault. Improvements from a previous model include long-term plate motion loading and porosity creation through dilatant slip, which allow the model to evolve to its steady state dynamic equilibrium. The examined results include slip and slip-deficit accumulation, pore pressure buildup and release, stress states, the emergence of seismic scaling relationships, and frequency-size statistics of model earthquakes. We find that asperities develop naturally within the model, reflecting the disorganization of the evolving stress state in Mohr space. The dynamical interaction of shear stress and effective normal stress perturbs the initial uniform stress state to a complex state that produces transient asperity development along the fault. These “Mohr-space” asperities spontaneously evolve, disintegrate, reemerge, and migrate along the fault plane. The general model behavior is independent of the state of the fluid pressure. In four examined cases, which span the range of possible fault zone overpressures, the equilibrium condition is that which occupies all of the available Mohr space. Maximum slip deficits along the fault depend on the degree of fault weakness, ranging from about 3 m for a weak fault to over 30 m for a strong fault after 4000 years of model evolution. For events that breach the surface the seismic moment scales with the cube of the source dimension Mo ∼L3, which reflects the slipped area times the depth extent of the rupture. This scaling crosses isolines of stress drop. For confined events, Mo ∼L2 along isolines of stress drop, but no general scaling emerges. Clusters emerge between stress drop versus seismic moment and stress drop versus source dimension, with large events converging to average stress drops of about 8 MPa for a weak fault and about 20 MPa for a strong fault.
Self‐similar random fields and rainfall simulation

The theory of self-similar random fields is applied to the statistical description and simulation of rainfall. Fluctuations in rainfields measured by a high resolution weather radar covering a 15 km square are shown to satisfy the condition of self-similarity. The probability density function of the logarithm of the breakdown coefficients (defined as the ratio of two field means, each computed at different resolutions) of the rainfall fluctuation field generally belongs to the class of infinitely divisible distributions. The theoretical framework for scaling self-similar fields is presented and related to results from alternate frameworks, presented in the literature. A simple procedure for the parameterization and modeling of the experimentally measured probability density function is presented. The obtained generator is then used for rainfall simulation by multiplicative cascades. Simulated results exhibit a good statistical and visual agreement with the measured data.
Faunal analysis of Neogene planktonic foraminifera from forearc sediments of the Japan Trench, ODP Site 1151, Leg 186

Abstract The present paper describes the general outline of Neogene paleoceanographic changes in the northwestern Pacific by means of planktonic foraminiferal assemblages. Planktonic foraminiferal fossils occur commonly in the upper Miocene to lower Pleistocene sediments of Hole 1151A, Ocean Drilling Program Leg 186 in the forearc basin off northeast Japan, with the exception of 11 barren intervals. These barren intervals are explained as a result of dissolution under organic decomposing processes. Three assemblages of planktonic foraminifers were identified by Q‐mode cluster analysis. The succession of the assemblages can be divided into four paleoceanographic stages: (i) warm‐temperate Tortonian; (ii) cold‐temperate Messinian to lower Pliocene; (iii) warm climatic optimum in the middle part of the Pliocene; and (iv) strong glacial–interglacial oscillation of the upper Pliocene to the lower Pleistocene. Three short warming events—namely, the late Miocene climatic optimum 3, the Miocene–Pliocene boundary and the middle Pliocene events—and a short cooling event of the late Miocene could be determined in the studied section of Site 1151.
Auckland's green volcanic heart: groundcover vegetation and soils of the Auckland volcanic cone reserve network

The volcanic cones of Auckland are distinctive landmarks of that city, currently realized as an ‘archipelago’ of grassy reserved hills. Most of these cones were modified as hill forts during former occupation by Māori. Here, we review the Auckland volcanic reserve network and survey the current groundcover vegetation and soils of four large representative examples. Forty-eight reserves currently occur on remnant volcanic features. As well as two inshore island reserves (2372 ha), the other 46 reserves total 1241 ha. Most of the volcanic reserves support exotic grassland with rare forest patches. Groundcover vegetation follows a topographic sequence from flatter, fertile sites dominated by Lolium perenne, Trifolium repens and Pennisetum clandestinum, to moderately steep sites dominated by a diverse range of exotic grasses, to steep, lower fertility sites dominated by Microlaena stipoides. Pennisetum clandestinum is a major component of groundcover vegetation on many sites across all slope classes, its abundance varying in relation to soil N levels rather than to changes in slope. Soil analyses indicate that soils are nutrient-rich with high soil carbon and phosphorus. Future management should restore some native forest and introduce more herbaceous native species where low groundcover vegetation is desirable. Decreasing soil nutrient levels through strategies such as cessation of fertilizer application may assist these processes.
Equilibrium analysis of groundwater–vadose zone interactions and the resulting spatial distribution of hydrologic fluxes across a Canadian Prairie

The spatial distribution and magnitude of time‐averaged surface runoff, evapotranspiration, net recharge, and groundwater divergence are constrained by mutual dependence on the shape and position of the water table. The water table position impacts the partitioning of rainfall by bounding the moisture profile at depth and creating a potential source of capillary rise to the root zone. By coupling a water table dependent vadose zone model that time averages over event‐scale surface fluxes to a regional groundwater model (MODFLOW‐96), we are able (1) to estimate the unique shape and position of the water table for which net recharge (percolation additions or capillary rise losses) is balanced by the divergence of the underlying groundwater flow field, (2) to estimate the distribution of recharge and discharge to and from an aquifer, and (3) to estimate the spatial distribution of the long‐term mean partitioning of rainfall into evapotranspiration, runoff, and infiltration. Parameters of the coupled model include soil physical properties (permeability, porosity, tension‐saturated matric potential, and Brooks and Corey pore size distribution index), basin topography, aquifer hydraulic conductivity, and statistical moments of the probability distributions of meteorological variables (storm intensity, storm duration, time between storms, and potential evaporation). The recharge and discharge areas predicted by the equilibrium model (without specifying a priori the water table shape) are in good agreement with field estimates by Toth [1966] for a Canadian prairie, indicating the importance of accounting for groundwater–vadose zone interactions and lateral groundwater redistribution in watershed modeling.
Numerical Modeling of Attenuation And Dispersion of P-waves In Porous Rocks With Planar Fractures

Presence of open fractures in a fluid-saturated porous rock causes significant attenuation and dispersion of seismic waves due to wave induced fluid flow between pores and fractures. Recently Brajanovski et al. (2003) developed a model for attenuation and dispersion of compressional waves in a porous rock with a periodic system of aligned fractures using the theory of wave propagation in layered porous media.
A level set method for oil slick segmentation in SAR images

Despite much effort and significant progress in recent years, image segmentation remains a challenging problem in image processing, especially for the low contrast, noisy synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. This paper explores the segmentation of oil slicks using a partial differential equation (PDE)‐based level set method, which represents the slick surface as an implicit propagation interface. Starting from an initial estimation with priori information, the level set method creates a set of speed functions to detect the position of the propagation interface. Specifically, the image intensity gradient and the curvature flow are utilized together to determine the speed and direction of the propagation. This allows the front interface to propagate naturally with topological changes, significant protrusions and narrow regions, giving rise to stable and smooth boundaries that discriminate oil slicks from the surrounding water. As the speckles are removed concurrently while the front interface propagates, the pre‐filtering of noise is saved. The proposed method has been illustrated by experiments on oil slick segmentation using the ERS‐2 SAR images. Its advantages over the traditional image segmentation approaches have also been demonstrated.
Measurement of the ocean wave-radar modulation transfer function at 35 GHz from a sea-based platform in the North Sea

The ocean wave-radar modulation transfer function (MTF) at 35 GHz (Ka band) was measured with a coherent pulsed Doppler scatterometer from a research platform in the North Sea. The Bragg waves corresponding to this radar freqency at intermediate incidence angles are capillary waves with a wavelength of about 0.5 cm. During the experiment the air-sea temperature varied between −1°C and −5°C, which implies that the boundary layer at the air-sea interface was unstable. The measurements at 35 GHz yield the following results: The modulus of the dimensionless MTF decreases with increasing wind speed and is larger for horizontal (HH) than for vertical (VV) polarization. The value of the dimensionless MTF for HH polarization varies between 3.5 and 9.5 in the frequency range between 0.11 and 0.14 Hz, and that for VV polarization varies between 2.5 and 7.5 depending on wind speed. The phase of the MTF for HH polarization is such that the maximum of the radar return originates from the leeward (forward) face of the long ocean waves between 0° and 15° away from the wave crests. The phase of MTF for VV polarization lies between −75° and −30°, which means that the maximum of the radar return originates from the windward (rear) face of the long ocean waves. We conclude that the phase dependence of the Ka band MTF implies that the maximum of the hydrodynamic modulation for these capillary waves occurs at the windward face of the long ocean waves. The nonuniform distribution of the 0.5-cm waves with respect to the long ocean wave profile is probably caused by a wave-induced spatially variable air flow.
Measuring the Net Economic Value of Recreational Boating as Water Levels Fluctuate 1

Abstract: The purpose of this article was to show how the value of recreational boating can be assessed and how that value can be linked to water levels. Data were gathered via a survey of recreational boaters to determine days boated and willingness‐to‐pay (net economic value) for boating on Lake Ontario and on the St. Lawrence River in 2002. Depth measurements were taken at marinas and yacht clubs, boat launch ramps, and private docks. Stage‐damage curves were used to pinpoint at what water levels and to what extent boaters would be impacted. Boaters recreated an estimated 1.3 million days in 2002 and spent an estimated US$178 million in New York counties bordering Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. The mean net economic value per day per boat (above current expenditures) was $69.36, with an estimated total net economic value of US$90 million. Using Lake Ontario as an example, the stage‐damage curves show that the overall negative impact would be small, between 245 and 248 ft. Maintaining water levels within that range for the entire boating season would be ideal for Lake Ontario boaters and associated businesses.
Bayesian linear regression for Hidden Markov Model based on optimizing variational bounds

Linear regression for Hidden Markov Model (HMM) parameters is widely used for the adaptive training of time series pattern analysis especially for speech processing. This paper realizes a fully Bayesian treatment of linear regression for HMMs by using variational techniques. This paper analytically derives the variational lower bound of the marginalized log-likelihood of the linear regression. By using the variational lower bound as an objective function, we can optimize the model topology and hyper-parameters of the linear regression without controlling them as tuning parameters; thus, we realize linear regression for HMM parameters in a non-parametric Bayes manner. Experiments on large vocabulary continuous speech recognition confirm the generalizability of the proposed approach, especially for small quantities of adaptation data.