Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Activated Sludge and Other Aerobic Suspended Culture Processes

This is a literature review for the year 2008 and contains information specifically related to suspended growth processes including activated sludge and sequencing batch reactors. This review is a subsection of the Treatment Systems section of the annual literature review. The review encompasses modeling, nutrient removal, system design and operation, oxygen transfer and solids separation. Two topics that have seen an increase in activity compared to historical reviews are membrane bioreactors and fate and occurrence of hormones and pharmaceuticals, which are referred to as microconstituents review, while membrane bioreactors are reviewed in another section in this journal. Other subsections from the Treatment Systems section that might also be related to this section include: Wastewater Collection Systems; Biological Fixed Film Systems; and Modeling, Instrumentation, Automation, and Optimization of Wastewater Treatment Facilities. Many of the subsections in the Industrial Wastes, Hazardous Wastes, and Fate and Effects of Pollutants sections could also have some overlap with this section.
Remote Sensing Spatiotemporal Assessment of Nitrogen Concentrations in Tampa Bay, Florida due to a Drought

A long-term low nitrogen to phosphorus (N:P) ratio in the Tampa Bay, Florida, estuary system suggests that nitrogen is more limiting than phosphorus. However, south Florida suffered from a drought around 2007, and the reduction in runoff flowing into the bay affected local ecosystem dynamics. This study presents a remote sensing study to retrieve spatiotemporal patterns of total nitrogen (TN) concentrations in Tampa Bay under drought impacts through the integration of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images and a genetic programming (GP) model. Research findings show that the drought impact on TN in Tampa Bay is both a seasonal and yearly phenomenon. Without the presence of ocean water intrusion, the whole bay would show a relatively uniform TN distribution during the drought period until the flow input from rivers returned to normal. Based on yearly comparisons, temperature could be the limiting factor on the plankton growth in Tampa Bay. To further substantiate the credibility of a nutrient estimation algorithm, a k-means clustering analysis was conducted to demonstrate sea-bay-land interactions among ebbs, tides, and river discharges. The seasonal cluster distribution in 2007 is generally consistent with the conventional segments division of Tampa Bay.
Full‐scale observations of wave‐induced vortex generation over a rippled bed

[1] Our understanding of vortex generation over rippled beds is largely based on small-scale laboratory studies. The insight provided by such studies has been considerable, although questions remain regarding the applicability to the field. This paper presents observations from a full-scale investigation of wave-induced vortex generation events over a movable sediment bed. Observations of the two-dimensional time varying velocity field were obtained with a submersible Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system in a field-scale, experimental environment at the O. H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory. The observations were obtained over an irregularly rippled bed with ripple height and wavelength of roughly 0.01 m and 0.1 m, respectively. The vortices generated during offshore directed flow over the steeper bed form slope were regularly ejected into the water column and were consistent with conceptual models of the oscillatory flow over a backward facing step. The observations allowed for an examination of the generation and subsequent ejection of individual vortical structures. Vortical structures are identified with a measure of the flow field that estimates the time for a complete revolution of a vortex called swirling strength. An analysis of these structures reveals that the swirling strength nondimensionalized by the wave period is correlated to the Keulegan-Carpenter. These results offer new insight into fluid sediment interaction over rippled beds.
Half-quadratic variational regularization methods for speckle-suppression and edge-enhancement in SAR complex image

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is an active remote sensing sensor. It is a coherent imaging system, the speckle is its inherent default, which affects badly the interpretation and recognition of the SAR targets. Conventional methods of removing the speckle is studied usually in real SAR image, which reduce the edges of the images at the same time as depressing the speckle. Morever, Conventional methods lost the information about images phase. Removing the speckle and enhancing the target and edge simultaneously are still a puzzle. To suppress the spckle and enhance the targets and the edges simultaneously, a half-quadratic variational regularization method in complex SAR image is presented, which is based on the prior knowledge of the targets and the edge. Due to the non-quadratic and non- convex quality and the complexity of the cost function, a half-quadratic variational regularization variation is used to construct a new cost function,which is solved by alternate optimization. In the proposed scheme, the construction of the model, the solution of the model and the selection of the model peremeters are studied carefully. In the end, we validate the method using the real SAR data.Theoretic analysis and the experimental results illustrate the the feasibility of the proposed method. Further more, the proposed method can preserve the information about images phase.
Cloud heights from TOVS Path‐B: Evaluation using LITE observations and distributions of highest cloud layers

[1] Cloud height from the TIROS-N Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) Path-B climate data set has been evaluated by using vertical profiles of the backscattered radiation at 532 nm from quasi-simultaneous Lidar In-space Technology Experiment (LITE) observations. Two averaging methods for the LITE inversion have been studied. Because of the LITE noise level and the difficulty in determining the vertical structure of thick clouds, we have chosen to apply the inversion on the average backscatter signal of the LITE spots over regions of 1° latitude × 1° longitude, which is also the spatial resolution of the TOVS Path-B data set. The cloud height determined by TOVS corresponds well in general to the height of the “apparent middle” of the cloud system with coincidences for 53% of TOVS Path-B low-level clouds within 1 km and for 49% of TOVS Path-B high-level clouds within 1.5 km. In addition, 22.5% of TOVS Path-B low-level clouds are covered by a very thin high cloud layer not detectable by TOVS. Comparing for these cases the TOVS cloud height with the second LITE cloud layer increases the overall agreement for low-level clouds to about 64%. High-level clouds appear more often in multilayer systems (about 75%) and are also vertically more extended. Differences in average cloud height of high-level clouds appear only to be significant (13.3 km from LITE compared to 11.3 km from TOVS Path-B) in the tropics with a large extent of laminar cirrus situated near the tropopause. The height of maximum backscatter of most thick clouds is several hundred meters above “apparent cloud midlevel,” whereas thin high-level clouds with underlying lower clouds provide a backscatter signal nearer to apparent cloud midlevel. In the latter case, the retrieved TOVS Path-B cloud height is on average 280 m underestimated. Pressure distributions of the highest cloud layer weighted by effective cloud amount confirmed that high clouds have the lowest pressure in the tropics because of a higher tropopause, and in these regions there are nearly no cloud systems with the highest cloud layer in the middle troposphere. The Southern Hemisphere midlatitudes are mostly covered by low-level clouds. Seasonal differences in the Northern Hemisphere (midlatitudes, with more equally distributed cloud altitudes in winter) are mostly caused by changes over land.
Crustal shortening, root spreading, isostasy, and the growth of orogenic belts: A dimensional analysis

Scaling laws that describe the growth of mountain belts and the change in their regional topographic profiles with time (t) are obtained by physical arguments that account for crustal shortening, isostasy, and creeping flow at the mountain roots. An average power law rheology characterized by an exponent n is assumed, and different values of n are considered. The model predicts the formation of a localized range characterized by a height (h) and a width (a). As crust on the sides of a range is compressed, the root broadens due to buoyancy-driven creep. This process in conjunction with isostasy causes h to increase with time as t1/4–t1/3, and a as t3/4–t2/3, as n is varied from 1 (Newtonian rheology) to ∞ (plastic rheology). Accordingly, the aspect ratio a/h increases as t1/2–t1/3. The scaling laws depend on the rheology, but rather weakly; the aspect ratio increases with age but is nearly independent of the rate of shortening. The deformation extends gradually inland with increasing time, so that the age of tectonic deformation decreases with distance from the continental border. Uplift takes place inland from the crest while subsidence occurs at the opposite side. The ratio a/h of the Andes and Tibet is consistent with this model.
Estuarine deposition of a mid-Viséan tetrapod unit, Ducabrook Formation, central Queensland: implications for tetrapod dispersal

At Ducabrook property, central Queensland, the mid-Viséan Ducabrook Formation has yielded a diverse vertebrate fauna (fish and one tetrapod taxon) from a thin unit among siltstone interbedded with sandstone, minor oolitic limestone and conglomerate. Five lithofacies can be distinguished: the Oolitic Facies, distinguished by oolitic limestone and straight parallel ripple crests; the Sandy Facies, composed of plane-laminated and current-rippled sandstones; the Conglomeratic Facies, represented by pebble conglomerate displaying planar cross-bedded megaripples; the Silty Facies of siltstone with abundant calcrete nodules or sand/silt/clay interlaminations; and the Lime-Flake Facies, characterised by abundant locally derived lime flakes. The last includes the fossiliferous tetrapod unit. The Oolitic Facies was deposited in the inner (proximal) and outer (distal) zones of an estuary, based on identification of tidal sedimentary structures (e.g. mud drapes) and estuarine oolitic fabrics; the Lime-Flake Facies and Silty Facies were deposited in the estuary and lower reaches of a river and its surrounds; and the Sandy and Conglomeratic Facies represent braid-river deposits. Overall, the sequence represents intermittent deposition throughout an estuary, both within the tidal channel and the surrounding tidal flats, with additional deposition from the feeder river. The tetrapod unit, from the Lime-Flake Facies, represents a twin-peaked storm-induced flood event onto the tidal channel floor. The vertebrate bones have a shared taphonomic history and have undergone only local transport. The tetrapod and fish were spatially and temporally concurrent, probably in a shallow tidally influenced proximal estuarine habitat experiencing monsoonal conditions. Estuarine adaptations of these vertebrate taxa can explain migration along shallow-water continental shelves between the supercontinents during the Late Devonian and Early Carboniferous.
Radar imaging of binary near-Earth Asteroid 1998 ST 27

A magnetizable powder applicator arrangement in a printing or display apparatus employing for example a magnetizable drum. The powder is attracted to the outer surface of a nonmagnetizable tube which contains therein a rotatable row of bar magnets having like poles adjacent. The divergent flux field set up by the rotating magnets causes the powder to creep along the surface of the tube in a direction opposite the magnet rotation, and onto a ledge of nonmagnetizable material. The ledge is sufficiently close to the drum, yet sufficiently far from the flux field, for the powder to be attracted to the drum surface without disturbing the selective magnetization thereon.
Ice-wedge casts and relict polygonal patterned ground in North-East Iowa, USA

Sediment-filled wedges and associated polygonal patterned ground occur in pre-Illinoian sediments in north-east Iowa. A total of 183 vertical to near-vertical wedge-shaped bodies of sand have been observed at 12 sites in Black Hawk County, Iowa, and 80 of them were examined in detail. The wedges average 105cm in width at their tops and about 190cm in depth. Infilling material is mostly sand, with pockets of silt, silty sand, and gravelly sand. Slump and subsidence features were also noted in some wedges. Loamy sediment about 1 m thick, with a stone line at its base, overlies the sediment-filled wedges and usually descends slightly into their upper parts. Based on their characteristics, these sediment-filled wedges are interpreted as ice-wedge casts. Supportive palaeoenvironmental studies in Iowa and adjacent states indicate that tundra conditions probably existed in places between 21,000 and 16,500 years BP, the coldest part of late Wisconsinan time. Mean annual air temperatures at this time may have been at least 14°C colder than at present. The degradation of permafrost and formation of ice-wedge casts must have occurred near the end of this episode of cold climate, which also promoted extreme erosion of the landscape in north-east Iowa. Aeolian and slopewash deposits later buried the erosion surface and the ice-wedge casts. Des structures en forme de coin disposees selon un reseau polygonal et remplies de sediments existent dans des formations pre-Illinois du nord-est de l'etat d'Iowa. Au total, 183 formes en coin verticales ou presque verticales ont ete observees dans 12 sites de la region de Black Hawk County et parmi celles-ci, 80 ont ete examinees en detail. Elles mesurent en moyenne 105cm de largeur a leur sommet et environ 190cm de profondeur. Les materiaux qui remplissent ces structures sont pour la plupart des sables avec des poches de silts, de sables silteux et de sables graveleux. On a remarque aussi des affaissements et des effondrements dans certaines structures. Des sediments limoneux d'environ 1 m d'epaisseur, avec a leur base un lit de cailloux, couvrent ces structures et le plus souvent descendent legerement dans les parties superieures de celles-ci. D'apres leurs caracteristiques, ces coins remplis de sediments apparaissent comme des fentes en coin fossiles. Des etudes paleoenvironmentales faites en Iowa et dans les etats voisins indiquent que les conditions de la toundra ont existe dans certains endroits entre 21,000 et 16,500 ans BP qui correspond a la periode la plus froide de la fin de l'epoque Wisconsinienne. Les temperatures moyennes de l'air a cette epoque etaient probablement au moins 14°C plus froides qu'a present. La degradation du pergelisol et la formation des formes en coin se sont produites presqu'a la fin de cet episode de climat froid, qui a contribue a l'erosion extreme de NE de l'Iowa. Des depots eoliens et des depots de pente ont enterre plus tard cette surface d'erosion et les fentes en coin fossiles qui s'y etaient developpees.
Hyperspectral monitoring of physiological parameters of wheat during a vegetation period using AVIS data

Information on the quantity and spatial distribution of canopy physiological and biochemical components is of importance for the study of nutrient cycles, productivity, vegetation stress and, more recently, in driving ecosystem models. In this context, remote sensing can play a unique and essential role because of its ability to acquire synoptic information at different time and space scales. This paper presents parts of a two-year field and laboratory study with the new airborne hyperspectral sensor, the Airborne Visible near Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIS), over a test site in the Bavarian Alpine foothills, Germany (48° 8′ N, 11° 17′ E). The 80-band AVIS was developed at the Department for Earth and Environmental Sciences of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and records the 550–1000 nm spectral range. Using this system, 18 hyperspectral datasets were collected between April and September of 1999 and 2000. Weekly measurements of several plant parameters (height, biomass, leaf chlorophyll content, leaf nitrogen content) were carried out during these time periods on three (1999) and six (2000) fields of winter wheat, whereby two different cultivars were investigated in 2000. After system correction and calibration, the hyperspectral data were atmospherically corrected and calibrated to reflectance. The resulting spectra were analysed for their chemical compounds. The statistical analysis was carried out using the Chlorophyll Absorption Integral (CAI) in comparison to established indices: Optimized Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (OSAVI) and hyperspectral Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (hNDVI). Both the chlorophyll and nitrogen content of the leaves showed good correlations with CAI on a field mean basis. These results as well as two-dimensional information on these parameters are presented to provide information about the spatial heterogeneity within a field.
Variabilidad climática y la acumulación de carbono orgánico en el sector sur de la Corriente de California durante las etapas isotópicas marinas 1, 2 y 3

The biological pump of the ocean plays a very important role in the global carbon cycle. The burial rates of organic carbon (C org ) south of latitude 40° N in the eastern North Pacific suggest a better preservation of export productivity during the last glacial cycle. The data compiled for the C org burial rate allowed us to extend the record of marine isotope stages 1, 2 and 3 (MIS 1,2,3) in the eastern North Pacific to the southern sector of the California Current, which corresponds to the Mexican Pacific. The results of the burial rates of C org show an increase in the export productivity during the MIS-2, excepting for the Mazatlan margin. This evidence suggests there is better nutrient utilization at mid-latitudes during the MIS-2. The increase of nutrient availability to the photic zone, which favored marine and export productivity, was caused by an increase in upwelling intensity.
Cretaceous and Paleocene Stratigraphy and Paleontology of the Shawmut Anticline and the Crazy Mountains Basin, Montana: Road Log and Overview of Recent Investigations

ABSTRACT A continuous and relatively well-exposed section of about 14,000 ft (4,300 m) extends from the Lower Cretaceous strata of the Middle and West Domes through Upper Cretaceous rocks on the south flank of the Shawmut Anticline and on through the Paleocene strata of the north rim of the Crazy Mountains Basin. The following road log encompasses portions of our present study area in the Lower Cretaceous of Middle Dome and the uppermost Cretaceous and Paleocene of the northeastern portion of the Crazy Mountains Basin. One of the primary goals of our mammalian and molluscan research is to provide a biostratigraphic reference section for significant portions of the Paleocene in the northern Great Plains. To accomplish this objective, large sample sizes were obtained from a number of stratigraphically documented localities spanning the Bear, Lebo, and Melville Formations. Through the joint collecting efforts of the authors' field crews from 1985 through 1991, the number of molluscan localities increased from 90 (collected from 1890 to 1984) to 374. Of these, the vast majority lie within strata of the upper Lebo and lower Melville Formations, which span the transition from the middle Paleocene (Torrejonian Land-Mammal Age) to the late Paleocene (Tiffanian Land-Mammal Age). In addition, 83 Paleocene mammalian localities are now known from the basin, including significant quarries in the early (Simpson Quarry), middle (Azzara, Hartman, Gidley, and Silberling Quarries), and early late (Bingo, Glennie, Douglass, and Scarritt Quarries) Paleocene.
DIETA ESTACIONAL DEL COYOTE CANIS LATRANS DURANTE EL PERIODO 1996-1997 EN EL DESIERTO DE VIZCAÍNO, BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR, MÉXICO

We studied the diet of the coyote (Canis latrans) in the Vizcaino desert, Baja California Sur, Mexico. The studied was carried out in the summer and winter seasons of 1996 and 1997, respectively. We analized 302 feces and determined 8963 prey items, for 64 animal taxa and 10 of plants. Arthropods were the most frequent prey, representing 95% of identified items in the winter. Prey weight 0 to 20 g was the most consumed prey size category although ingested biomass was greater from the 1280 to 2560 g prey category. The B values indicate that the coyote in the Vizcaino desert showed a trend to be a relatively specialist predator on arthropods.
Carbon Dynamics In Eutrophic, Temperate Lakes

This book contains papers dealing with pools, pathways, fluxes and transformation of organic matter in the pelagic zone of eutrophic, temperate lakes. It is a direct result of the work of a research group during the period 1981-85, whose aim was to summarize current understanding and specify gas in pelagic carbon metabolism.
CARACTERIZAC ¸ ˜ AO DE ECOF ´ ACIES NA MARGEM CONTINENTAL NORTE BRASILEIRA - ESTADO DO CONHECIMENTO

The present work describes the results from the compilation of geological and geophysical data, associated to the acquisition of new high-resolution seismic data, in order to identify the actual knowledge about the geology of the northern Brazilian continental margin. The results show that the known superficial distribution of sediments does not reflect the diversity of echo-characters observed on sub-bottom profiler data, suggesting that these are also sensitive to the geological processes acting during sedimentation.
An improved O2 A band absorption model and its consequences for retrievals of photon paths and surface pressures

[1] Deviations from Voigt line profiles in the O2 A band were pointed out in several laboratory and atmospheric studies. In a recent paper, we proposed a model accounting for line mixing and collision-induced absorption processes for the calculation of absorption by oxygen in this region. The latter was validated by comparison with high-pressure laboratory spectra, but recent tests using atmospheric measurements evidence inadequacies in that model. We now present some improvements of the approach which are validated by comparisons between predictions and both high-pressure laboratory absorption spectra and atmospheric spectra. We also study the consequences for retrievals of atmospheric photon path escape factors and pressures from ground-based Fourier transform solar absorptions. It is shown that this model leads to very satisfactory results, significantly reducing the observed-fitted spectral residuals and the zenith angle dependence of the photon path escape factor observed previously. It also enables accurate determinations of surface pressure from the inversion of atmospheric spectra.