Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
De-shadowing of airborne imagery using at-sensor downwelling irradiance data

Cast shadows caused by sparse clouds usually degrade spaceborne and airborne imagery. They result from the decrease of the direct solar beam due to the presence of a non-transparent cloud. The reduction of the downwelling solar flux density can be quantified during an air campaign, if the aircraft flies beneath the cloud and is equipped with an add-on instrument that measures the total downwelling solar irradiance. The objective of this work is to exploit such data for the de-shadowing of airborne hyperspectral imagery. Initially, the specific illumination and viewing conditions during the image acquisition, which allow the use of at-sensor downwelling irradiance data for the de-shadowing of airborne hyperspectral imagery, are outlined. Then a methodology is proposed that estimates the radiometric enhancement coefficients from the at-sensor irradiance data and correlates them with the image data using a shadow map. Improvements of the quality of the shadow maps are suggested. Performance assessment showed that at-sensor irradiance data could be satisfactorily utilized for compensating the cast shadow effects on remotely sensed imagery. It also highlighted the importance of generating and using an accurate shadow map and the particular difficulties for the air campaign planning raised by the requirement of exploitable at-sensor irradiance data.
Observations on fractography with laboratory experiments for geologists

Abstract Brittle fracture growth proceeds through unique stages, each marked by distinct fractographic features that can only develop during Mode I loading at the propagating crack tip. Fractographic features in any substance can be interpreted in terms of the location of the failure origin, as well as changes in propagation velocities, stress directions and stress magnitudes at the crack tip during failure. Joints in granular pervious rock, however, do not contain fractographic features, commonly formed in glass, that develop at unstable propagation rates under the influence of appreciable amounts of stored strain energy. Yet, features that develop at lower stable rates of propagation are present on fractures in glass and rock implying that the absence of certain fractographic features provides useful information. Simple laboratory experiments, primarily on glass, are discussed to provide geologists an opportunity to recognize and qualitatively interpret fractographic features diagnostic of brittle failure. The exercises demonstrate the changing propagation dynamics that control the morphological evolution of artificially-induced fractures and natural joints in rock.
Nutrient compositions and potential greenhouse gas production in penguin guano, ornithogenic soils and seal colony soils in coastal Antarctica

Abstract We investigated nutrient composition and the potential for greenhouse gas production in Antarctic penguin guano, ornithogenic soils and seal colony soils through a laboratory incubation experiment. Total organic carbon contents ranged from 0.2–14.7% and total nitrogen contents ranged from 0.05–3.60% across all the samples. Penguin guano and the soils had the δ13Corg values of -28.4‰ to -22.8‰ and highly enriched δ15N values (8.28–35.51‰), indicating a rapid N cycling in local ecosystems. The mean CO2 and CH4 emission rates from penguin guano were significantly higher than those from the soils under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. The CO2-C/TOC rate indicated that the bioavailability of TOC was markedly higher in penguin guano than in the soils. These soils showed higher N2O emission rates under anaerobic conditions, indicating that denitrification may be the major process in N2O emission. The CO2 and CH4 emissions have a significant correlation with TOC in both penguin guano and the soils. Our results show that marine animal excreta are an important factor determining storage and composition of nutrients in coastal Antarctica, and that they may considerably affect current and future net fluxes of greenhouse gases in this region.
Thick plate flexure

Summary. We derive analytical expressions for the displacements and stresses due to loading of a floating, uniform, elastic plate of arbitrary thickness by a plane or axisymmetric harmonic load. The solution is exact except for assumptions of small strains and linear boundary conditions, and gravitation within the plate is neglected. For typical Earth parameters its predictions are comparable to those of the usual thin plate theory frequently assumed in studies of lithospheric flexure, gravity and regional isostasy. Even for a very thick lithosphere, which may exist in some regions of Mars, the thin plate theory is a better approximation to the thick plate solution than the elastic half-space limit, except for short-wavelength loads.
Effect of temporal rainfall distribution and soil type on soil moisture and runoff generation in semi-arid Zimbabwe

This paper examines the effect of temporal rainfall distribution on soil moisture and runoff generation in the 5.9km 2 Mutangi catchment in semi-arid Zimbabwe. Rainfall, soil moisture and runoff were measured during the 1999/00 and 2000/01 rainy seasons during which periods 755mm and 615mm of rainfall were received, respectively. The percentage of rainfall totals in these periods were 58% and 69%, respectively, in February. The total catchment runoff was 102mm and 63mm, of which 52% and 49% were recorded over 6 and 4d in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Baseflow was negligible. Rainfall intensities were generally low. In the 1999/00 season there were 2 and 8h with intensities . 20mm h 21 and 10mm h 21 , respectively. Some runoff appears to be generated by Hortonian overland flow (HOF), mainly in the early wet season before ploughing creates a rougher soil surface. The dominant process of runoff in this catchment was saturated overland flow (SOF), which occurs when the soils become saturated from below. The sodic soils along the stream channels appear to generate most of the runoff because of their small capacity to store water before saturation. The ridge soils are coarse sands, with a large capacity to store rainfall. The transitional (slope) soils have an intermediate capacity to store water. If there is a sequence of daily events that completely fills the storage available in both the sodic and transitional soils, and which begins to saturate the ridge soils, there could be very large amounts of runoff (.50% of the daily rainfall). The occurrence of such runoff events depends very heavily on the distribution of rainfall. Dry spells between rain events create storage, thereby reducing the risk of runoff from the next events.
Unexplained pulmonary embolism post SARS-CoV2 pneumonia in a patient with MYH9-related disease: a case report

This report describes the case of a man affected by Myosin Heavy Chain 9 (MYH9)-related platelet disorder, with a recent history of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, who developed pulmonary embolism (PE). At the admittance the patient presented a marked thrombocytopenia. The rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) showed a reduction in maximum clot firmness. The CT scan showed a lobar PE while and no sign of superficial or deep venous thrombosis was found. Given the contraindication of anticoagulant therapy due to severe thrombocytopenia, after collegial evaluation of the case, an inferior vena cava filter was applied. The patient was discharged after 5 days of hospitalization, and fondaparinux 2.5 mg subcutaneously was prescribed for two months. Could MYH9 mutation contribute to thrombotic predisposition? Or rather the endothelial dysfunction induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection? The report presents a dissertation on the possible causes for the PE and describes the therapeutic strategy adopted. (www.actabiomedica.it)
Species composition, relative abundance and habitat association of the bird fauna of the montane forest of Zegie Peninsula and nearby islands, Lake Tana, Ethiopia

The present study was carried out in Zegie Peninsula and Kibran Gebriel and Entos Iyesus Islands of Lake Tana from August 2006 to March 2007. Sampling sites were stratified based on the vegetation type and area cover. Point count technique and chi-square test were employed to see the association of birds with the different vegetation strata. A total of 101 bird species were recorded, out of which 91 were residents (three endemics) and 10 were Palaearctic migrants. The Zegie Peninsula had high species diversity and evenness (0.96 and 0.86, respectively). The relative abundance of birds during the wet and dry seasons was variable. A total of 54 and 68 species were recorded during the wet and dry seasons in the Zegie Peninsula, respectively. The islands possessed 24 species each season. Habitat association of birds within the vegetation strata of Zegie Peninsula during the wet season was: highest at the shore (4.50), followed by gardens (4.00), bushes and shrubs (3.33) and trees (2.17). During the dry season, the highest mean number of birds occurred in the garden vegetation (4.86), followed by trees (3.23), fringe type of vegetation (3.22), and bush and shrub vegetation (2.60). During the wet season, the association of birds with the vegetation stratum was not statistically significant (p > 0.05, chi-square =13, df =7, n = 32). However, this was significant during the dry season (p < 0.05, chi-square = 66.238, df =9, n = 84). Conservation action to minimize the anthropogenic effect at Zegie should be the order of the day.
Determination of E region effective recombination coefficient using impulsive precipitation events

A set of sudden increases followed by slow decay has been observed in E region electron density on December 17, 1990 using the EISCAT UHF-radar. Simultaneous photometer observations indicate that the density enhancements are caused by impulsive particle precipitation with short duration (4 ± 1 s). Effective recombination coefficient profiles in the E region are calculated from decaying electron densities using the continuity equation, and the results are compared with previous observations. It is pointed out that short-lived particle precipitation affects the ion composition in the E region and therefore the effective recombination coefficient in this situation is different from the steady-state value.
On the occurrence of high‐velocity E‐region echoes in SuperDARN observations

[1] A comprehensive data set comprising 3 years of E‐region backscatter observations by the entire Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) of coherent high‐frequency (HF) radars is analyzed statistically. The average spectral characteristics are examined for both morning and evening short‐range echoes to develop a simple criterion for separating E‐ and F‐region HF backscatter. Different E‐region echo populations are considered for all 16 auroral radars with half of the radars detecting substantial numbers of echoes with Doppler velocities above the nominal value of the ion‐acoustic speed Cs of 350–450 ms −1 . The high‐velocity echoes with Doppler velocity distributions that are asymmetric about zero velocity are examined separately for velocities near and well above the nominal Cs. Indicators of the total numbers of echoes near the Cs are shown to decrease from radar to radar as the radar’s boresite direction approaches an L‐shell angle of 90°. The very high‐velocity echoes, on the other hand, are predominantly seen by the two most zonally looking radars. These echoes are typically observed at greater slant ranges than echoes both below and near the Cs and both their occurrence and velocity are independent of the direction of observation. Moreover, their velocity polarity is inconsistent with that of the plasma convection component. The observations provide further support for the idea that the auroral decameter‐scale irregularities with unusually high phase velocities independent of the flow angle are generated through nonlinear mode coupling processes.
Textural, mineralogical and geochemical variation in the zoned Timbarra Tablelands pluton, New South Wales

The Timbarra Tablelands pluton is an extensive (∼550 km2) complexly zoned intrusion forming one of many predominantly monzogranite I‐type plutons, which constitute the Moonbi Supersuite in northern New South Wales, Australia. It comprises an outer rim of Rocky River monzogranite (Zones 1–3), an intermediate zone of Sandy Creek syenogranite (Zones 4A–4C), surrounding a core of Surface Hill syenogranite (Zones 5–7). The suite is calc‐alkaline, high‐K, and varies from mildly metaluminous to weakly peraluminous with increasing fractionation. Average Rb/Sr ratios range from 0.4 in the least evolved very coarse‐grained monzogranite (Zone 3) to 46 in the most evolved very fine‐grained biotite microgranite (Zone 6). Trace‐element modelling indicates that the observed compositional variation could have been produced by crystal fractionation. New bulk rock major‐ and trace‐element data for 71 samples are presented, and indicate that a compositional continuum exists that varies between 63 and 78 wt% SiO2. Importantly, there is no systematic chemical variation with spatial distribution of samples from the core of the pluton to its margin, requiring multiple separate pulses of an evolving magma to explain compositional discontinuities. The pluton is interpreted to have been emplaced at mesozonal levels (∼180 ± 60 MPa, 5–10 km depth) and crystallised at temperatures between 620 and 820°C under moderately oxidising conditions (log fO2 = ‐11.5 to ‐19). The association of gold‐molybdenite mineralisation at Timbarra with moderately oxidised I‐type magmas is consistent with fractionation‐redox controls on ore‐element behaviour in magmatic systems in other studies.
Changes in the Thermal Climate in Northwestern Europe during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3, Estimated from Fossil Insect assemblages 1

Abstract More than 30 fossil coleopteran (beetle) assemblages have been recorded from oxygen isotope stage 3 in northern Europe, comprising several hundred identified species. Using the mutual climatic range method for quantifying palaeotemperatures, these assemblages show that the climates of the times can be divided into two distinct interstadial types. One, a short phase of temperate/oceanic climate occurred between 43,000 and 42,000 14C yr B.P. when conditions were not much different from those of the present day. In spite of the temperate climate, trees did not colonize northwestern Europe at this time. Two, both before and after this temperate interlude there were phases of cold/continental climate during which summers were too cold for trees to grow and winters were of Siberian intensity. It is possible that periods of even colder conditions intervened from time to time between the interstadial but, because of the intensity of the cold, biological systems were so inhibited that no fossil evidence for them can be found in northern Europe. Evidence for them must be sought in the fossil records from the warmer parts of southern Europe or in the physical evidence in the Greenland ice cores.
EXCEPTIONAL FOSSIL PRESERVATION IN THE CONASAUGA FORMATION, CAMBRIAN, NORTHWESTERN GEORGIA, USA

Abstract Mudstones and siliceous concretions in the middle Cambrian Conasauga Formation, northwestern Georgia, contain body and trace fossils showing nonmineralized preservation and represent two temporally and spatially different marine environments. Identifiable, nonbiomineralized taxa include components of a Burgess Shale–type biota with red and green algae, primitive sponges, and the arachnomorph arthropod Naraoia compacta. Also exceptionally preserved are the filamentous appendages of a large ptychopariid trilobite and assemblages of oriented hyolithid tests we interpret as priapulid coprolites and cololites. Exceptional preservation in the Conasauga Formation has multiple causes. The Conasauga contains superabundant siliceous concretions, many with skeletal, trace, and some nonbiomineralized fossils. Shale specimens, especially sponges with preserved details, and whole-body trilobite preservations, often have iron (Fe) oxide halos that resulted from a biochemical cascade including bioimmuration, decomposition gas anoxia, Fe-sulfide crystallization, and Fe oxidation. Preservation of soft tissue is also partly attributable to the well-sorted clay matrix of inner shelf Conasauga shales, which allowed mechanical imprinting of body fossils. Several nonbiomineralized fossils show algal overgrowths, suggesting an additional form of bioimmuration. Exceptional preservation in the Conasauga Formation is relatively poor compared with such better-known Cambrian Lagerstätten as the Burgess and Wheeler Shales; nevertheless, it is significant for three reasons. The siliceous concretions are a rare vehicle for exceptional preservation and feature three-dimensional fossils rather than the more common compressed specimens. The older Conasauga biota occupied a shallow-shelf environment, a setting in which exceptional preservation is poorly understood. The Conasauga Formation extends the geographic range of a Burgess Shale–type biota to the extreme southeastern USA.
Monitoring technical managers: theory, evidence, and prescriptions

Agency relationships--where one party (the principal) delegates authority to another (the agent)--are well studied in financial settings but less so in technical settings. The asymmetry of information between the general manager and the technical manager is likely to create the possibility of misdirected effort, an overuse of the agent's human capital, whether the agent is opportunistic or not. Analyzing a dataset of information technology hardware and staff spending by larger multidivisional firms during a growth phase of US IT spending, 1989-1993, results suggest that technical managers significantly overspent on hardware, with deleterious consequences for performance. Chief executive experience significantly altered the effects of overspending. Analysis of the results suggest a solution, a model termed "staged commitment," that can be used to monitor technical agents in many areas of business.
Carbon isotope evidence of last glacial climate variations in the tropical NW Leizhou Peninsula, South China

Zhong, W. , Cao, J., Xue, J., Ouyang, J., Wang, H. , Tang, X. & Gao, X. 2012 (January): Carbon isotope evidence of last glacial climate variations in the tropical NW Leizhou Peninsula, South China. Boreas, Vol. 41, pp. 102–112. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2011. 00224.x. ISSN 0300‐9483.
Combination of ScaRaB‐2 and CERES with Meteosat‐5 to remove time sampling bias and improve radiation budget estimations in the INDOEX region

[1] Using data available over the INDOEX area, Meteosat-5 visible and infrared data have been combined with ScaRaB/Resurs and CERES/TRMM broadband data for March 1999, and with CERES/TRMM and CERES/Terra data for March 2000. The study proceeds by collocation of the data sets, comparison of narrowband Meteosat radiances to broadband ScaRaB radiances, and conversion of radiances to fluxes. In the longwave (LW) domain, a multiple regression is found between ScaRaB and CERES fluxes, the two Meteosat infrared channels (infrared window and water vapor) and the viewing zenith angle. In the shortwave (SW) domain, narrowband-to-broadband (NB-BB) and ERBE-like radiance-to-flux conversions are applied. The RMS differences between the ScaRaB/CERES and Meteosat instantaneous flux retrievals are about 10 Wm−2 and 40 Wm−2 respectively in the LW and SW domains. A large part of these differences comes from the residual coregistration and narrow-band-to-broadband conversion errors. On the contrary, the mean difference or bias between all data sets is very small, consistent at the 1% (LW) and 4% (SW) level. The LW and SW conversion equations have been used to convert Meteosat observations at each half hour into instantaneous broadband flux estimates consistent with the instantaneous CERES flux estimates for the same day. New monthly means are computed in this way: the changes are small in the LW but significant in the SW domain (regional means: ∼20 Wm−2, 20°S–20°N means: ∼4 Wm−2), especially for studies of long-term changes.
Development of the Mississippi Irrigation Scheduling Tool - MIST

Abstract. Increasingly variable and uncertain rainfall patterns together with higher production input costs have led farmers to rely on supplemental irrigation to enhance production. While many irrigation methods have been developed for dry climates, few tools are available for humid, high rainfall areas. Moreover, most scheduling tools require extensive data collection, entry and simulation runs, limiting their practical utility during the production season. The Mississippi Irrigation Scheduling Tool (MIST) has been designed as a web-based, easy to use management tool for crop producers. An estimate of crop water use is made using the modified Penman Monteith equation to calculate daily evapotranspiration. The â€œcheckbookâ€ water balance method sums the water balance of the soil, plus water from rainfall or irrigation, minus water used by the crop or evaporated from the soil. This method indicates the need for irrigation when the soil water available to the plant falls below that which is readily available for crop growth. To enhance utility, the MIST has been implemented in a web interface, allowing producers to access the information from anywhere through tablet computers or smart phones. To reduce the data entry requirements, the system relies on national databases for automated integration with a water balance model. The system was tested at multiple production sites during the 2011, 2012 and 2013 growing seasons. Here, we give details on the development of input parameters for the water balance calculation, including crop water use and soil moisture, and compare the calculated water balance during the growing season for corn and soybeans with measured soil moisture measurements. The MIST will provide producers, consultants and other professional colleagues with a reliable, accurate, and easy to use tool for improved water management. Because this tool is designed for use by producers, primary units of measure are in English units, with metric equivalents reported parenthetically.
An examination of spectral band ratioing to reduce the topographic effect on remotely sensed data

Abstract Spectral hand ratioing in the form of radiance,/radiance, was examined as a proposed means for reducing the topographic effect from muitispectral data. The topographic effect is defined as the variation in radiances from inclined surfaces compared with radiance from a horizontal surface as a function of the orientation of the surfaces relative to the light source and sensor position (Holben and Justice 1980). A ground based nadir pointing two channel radiometer filtered for the red and photographic infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum was used to measure the topographic effect from a uniform surface inclined from horizontal to 60°, at 16 compass points, for several solar elevations. Spectral band ratioing reduced the topographic effect by more than a factor of 6 (i.e. 83 per cent) on the radiance data sets obtained in this study. The greatest proportional reduction of the topographic effect due to ratioing occurred where the topographic effect in the radiance was most pronounced, i.e.