Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sediment Transport and Bedrock Erosion by Wet Snow Avalanches in the Guggigraben, Matter Valley, Switzerland

Abstract Wet snow avalanches breaking through to the base of the snowpack or overriding snowfree surfaces can entrain basal material and act as important agents of sediment transport in steep alpine catchments. Here we present results from 4 years of measurements at the Guggigraben catchment (Matter Valley, Canton Valais), quantifying the volume of sediment transported by avalanches each winter season. Sediment load was estimated by measuring the debris content within representative areas and then extrapolating the cumulative volume. Results reveal a total transported sediment volume of 70 m3 in 2009, 23 m3 in 2010, 15 m3 in 2011, and 35 m3 in 2012, which correspond to catchment-wide erosion rates of approximately 0.05, 0.02, 0.01, and 0.03 mm/a, respectively. Sediment appears to be sourced predominantly from within the main channel or one its tributaries, originating first from rockfall or landslides. Avalanches thus play an important role at the Guggigraben in transporting loose sediment from temporary storage sites to the fan and main river system. Within the bedrock gully and in the avalanche source region above, signs of abrasive wear were evident on exposed bedrock surfaces. These included rounded and scoured bedrock, fresh boulder impacts, and scratch marks on the gully walls.
Estimation of forest structure and canopy fuel parameters from small-footprint full-waveform LiDAR data

Precise knowledge of fuel conditions is important for predicting fire hazards and simulating fire growth and intensity across the landscape. We present a methodology to retrieve and map forest canopy fuel and other forest structural parameters using small-footprint full-waveform airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data. Full-waveform LiDAR sensors register the complete returned backscattered signal through time and can describe physical properties of the intercepted objects. This study was undertaken in a mixed forest dominated by Douglas-fir, occasionally mixed with other conifers, in north-west Oregon (United States). We extracted two sets of LiDAR metrics using pulse detection and waveform modelling and then constructed several predictive models using forward stepwise multiple linear regression. The resulting models explained ~80% of the variability for many of the canopy fuel and forest structure parameters: aboveground biomass (R2=0.84), quadratic mean diameter (R2=0.82), canopy height (R2=0.79), canopy base height (R2=0.78) and canopy fuel load (R2=0.79). The lowest performing models included basal area (R2=0.76), stand volume (R2=0.73), canopy bulk density (R2=0.67) and stand density index (R2=0.66). Our results indicate that full-waveform LiDAR systems show promise in systematically characterising the structure and canopy fuel loads of forests, which may enable accurate fire behaviour forecasting that in turn supports the development of prevention and planning policies.
Moho-mapping in the Dabie ultrahigh-pressure collisional orogen, central China

Eight wide angle reflection/refraction seismic profiles (with a total length of ∼1700 km) and near-vertical reflection seismic profiles (with a total length of ∼340 km) across the Dabie Orogen, eastern China have been completed in recent years, and allow the Moho depth and uppermost-mantle velocity to be mapped across ∼40,000 km2. These data reveal the detailed structure of the crust and upper mantle of this orogen that resulted from collision of the North China craton (NCC) with the Yangtze Craton (YC). The Dabie Orogen is an asymmetric orogen, with a thin crustal root (∼6 km) preserved in its northern part, highlighted by a north-dipping Moho. Compared to the nearly seismically-transparent lower crust, the Moho crust-mantle transition zone under the Dabie Orogen is a prominent north-dipping, strongly layered reflection, which is inferred to reflect the remnants of subduction of YC under the edge of the NCC or post-collisional exhumation of ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) rocks, and indicates the northward polarity of subduction of the YC. The Moho of the YC and NCC meet beneath the northern part of the Dabie Mountains, and the NCC Moho (north) is uplifted by ∼4 to 5 km (Offset 1) over the YC Moho (south), marking the NCC-YC collision zone. Along the southern margin of the Dabie Mountains, the Moho below the Yangtze foreland is underthrust beneath the Moho of the Dabie Mountains, forming another Moho overlap (Offset 2) with a depth difference of 5 to 6 km. The two Moho overlaps (offsets) at both flanks of the Dabie Mountains formed two crustal-scale boundaries at depth between the NCC and the Dabie Orogen, and the Dabie Orogen and the YC respectively. Offset 1 is considered to be the Triassic suture between the YC and NCC as supported by the metamorphic ages of UHP rocks. This displays a wedge-shaped offset zone opening towards the east that acted as a channel for exhumation of UHP rocks. Offset 2 under the southern margin of the Dabie Orogen is connected to the Xiangfan-Guangji fault that gave rise to a large-scale thrust detachment that propagated towards the foreland of the Dabie Orogen during the Jurassic. Thus our Moho mapping confirms that there are structural remnants of the Triassic deep continental subduction preserved, despite the superimposed Jurassic deformation.
Design of a Hum Filter for Suppressing Power-line Noise in Seismic Data

A unique filtering approach designed to eliminate power-line noise on shallow seismic data without affecting the frequency content of signal provides a powerful harmonic noise suppression tool for data acquired with modern large dynamic range recording systems. The filter is determined by the Levenberg-Marquardt (L-M) method using records present before the first arrivals. Initial amplitudes of sinusoids (functions of power-line noise) are determined in the frequency domain using fast Fourier transform methods while initial phases are obtained by time domain correlation. Modeling results suggest the relative error of these initial estimates is less than 50 percent. Well-defined initial values guarantee convergence of the L-M method. Calculation efficiency is achieved by simplifying the L-M solution using the singular value decomposition technique. The approach can handle cases where power-line noise with frequencies of 60Hz and∕or its multiples (120Hz, 180Hz, and 240Hz, etc.) exist simultaneously. Once de.
Isochrones and isotherms beneath migrating ice divides

Abstract We use simple numerical and analytical models of ice flow and heat flow to characterize the shape of isochrones and isotherms beneath moving ice divides. Both nonlinear ice flow and reduced accumulation (wind scouring) at a divide can cause reduced downward flow in a region about one ice thickness wide under a divide. Greater downward velocities on the flanks cause isochrones and isotherms to become arched at depth. The magnitudes and shapes of these arches depend on the history of divide position. Arch amplitudes decrease by approximately e−1 for each increase in migration rate of 3–5 times the accumulation rate, the arches become asymmetric, with steeper leading edges and more gentle trailing edges, and the arch apex lags behind the divide. Isochrone and isotherm shapes can be used to infer past divide motions. In advection-dominated ice sheets, isochrone shapes record a longer history of divide position than do isotherm shapes. The opposite is true for diffusion-dominated ice sheets, in which a spatial array of ice-temperature measurements might extend the recorded history of divide position.
Dielectric properties of ice at millimeter wavelengths

The use of radars to study the geophysical features in a polar environment requires reliable information about the relative complex dielectric permittivity, ε = ε′ + iε″, of ice at microwave and millimeter‐wave frequencies. To address this requirement, ε of ice at millimeter wavelengths was obtained using an interference technique. The interference pattern was produced by measuring the transmittance through bubble‐free ice slabs at normal incident angle as the frequency was swept from 75 to 110 GHz. From the resulting interference patterns, ε′ was determined to be 3.17±0.05 and virtually independent of frequency. Frequency‐dependent absorption loss was observed such that ε″ increased from approximately 2.4 ± 0.2 × 10−3 to 4.0 ± 0.2 × 10−3 over the swept frequencies.
Persistent Atmospheric and Oceanic Anomalies in the North Atlantic from Summer 2009 to Summer 2010

AbstractIn this work, the authors analyze the air–sea interaction processes associated with the persistent atmospheric and oceanic anomalies in the North Atlantic Ocean during summer 2009–summer 2010 with a record-breaking positive sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) in the hurricane Main Development Region (MDR) in the spring and summer of 2010. Contributions to the anomalies from the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and a long-term trend are identified. The warming in the tropical North Atlantic during summer 2009–summer 2010 represented a typical response to ENSO, preconditioned and amplified by the influence of a strong and persistent negative phase of the NAO. The long-term trends enhanced the warming in the high and low latitudes and weakened the cooling in the midlatitudes. The persistent negative phase of the NAO was associated with active thermodynamic air–sea interaction in the North Atlantic basin. Surface wind anomalies associated with the NAO alter.
Quantitative earthquake forecasts resulting from static stress triggering

[1] In recent years, the triggering of earthquakes has been discussed controversially with respect to the underlying mechanisms and the capability to evaluate the resulting seismic hazard. Apart from static stress interactions, other mechanisms including dynamic stress transfer have been proposed to be part of a complex triggering process. Exploiting the theoretical relation between long-term earthquake rates and stressing rate, we demonstrate that static stress changes resulting from an earthquake rupture allow us to predict quantitatively the aftershock activity without tuning specific model parameters. These forecasts are found to be in excellent agreement with all first-order characteristics of aftershocks, in particular, (1) the total number, (2) the power law distance decay, (3) the scaling of the productivity with the main shock magnitude, (4) the foreshock probability, and (5) the empirical Bath law providing the maximum aftershock magnitude, which supports the conclusion that static stress transfer is the major mechanism of earthquake triggering.
The dynamics of explosive volcanic eruptions

Explosive volcanic eruptions involve the ejection of dense mixtures of ash and gas from a volcanic vent at high speed and pressure. This mixture is generated as liquid magma rises from a crustal magma chamber and decompresses, exsolving water vapor. As gas is exsolved, the mixture inflates, accelerates, and becomes foam-like. Once the liquid films around the bubbles are unable to spread as rapidly as the bubbles are expanding through decompression, the films rupture, and a fragmented mixture of ash and volatiles ascends to the volcanic vent. On eruption from the vent, the material decompresses, either into a volcanic crater or directly into the atmosphere. In the case of free decompression, the mixture typically has a high speed, while decompression in a crater can lead to either very low or very high eruption speeds. After decompression, the hot, dense mixture begins to entrain and heat ambient air, thereby lowering the mixture density, but it also decelerates under gravity. If the eruption velocity is sufficiently high, then the material can become buoyant and will generate a buoyant ash plume, called a Plinian eruption column, which rises above the vent. In contrast, if the eruption velocity is small or the mass flux is very large, then the material will typically collapse back toward the Earth and form a dense, laterally spreading flow. Buoyant eruption columns are able to transport the material high into the atmosphere, since they provide an efficient means of converting the initial thermal energy of the mixture into potential energy through entrainment and heating of ambient air. The height of rise of such eruption columns depends upon the eruption rate, the stratification of the atmosphere, the degree of thermal disequilibrium between the particles and the air, and the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. Dense, hot ash flows, generated by collapsing fountains, transport ash and clasts laterally from the vent, sedimenting many of the larger clasts and entraining air en route. As a result, the density of the mixture may fall below that of the atmosphere, and the finer-grained solid material may thereby become buoyant and rise from the flow. The distance it travels increases with both the cloud mass and the mean particle size. The ensuing buoyant ash plume, called a coignimbrite eruption column, may have a source several kilometers from the original volcanic vent. Once the thermal energy of an eruption column has become exhausted, the ash intrudes laterally into the atmosphere. Ultimately, the cloud is swept downwind, where sedimentation of ash leads to fall deposits over hundreds of kilometers from the volcano.
Mesospheric clouds and the neutral atmosphere during the 1999 DROPPS/MIDAS Campaign

Inflatable passive falling spheres launched in conjunction with the DROPPS/MIDAS campaign during July 1999 are used to infer thermal advection and its relationship to Polar Mesospheric Summer Echoes (PMSE) and Noctilucent Cloud (NLC) events. Hodograph analysis, although not new, is used at mesospheric altitudes where non‐hydrostatic conditions may possibly inhibit useful results. Nonetheless, the concept of applying thermal advection to PMSE and NLC events is tried here with a possibility of interpreting neutral atmosphere measurements and their relationship with the electrodynamic environment. Although the material presented represents only results from the DROPPS/MIDAS campaign, it shows changes in the temperature structure within a few hours at the time of the PMSE event that indicate thermal advection may be connected to temperature changes of a few degrees. The warm advection between 80 and 86 km may be significantly related to the height of the PMSE, i.e., 85 km.
Dissociation of oceanic methane hydrate as a cause of the carbon isotope excursion at the end of the Paleocene

Isotopic records across the “Latest Paleocene Thermal Maximum“ (LPTM) indicate that bottom water temperature increased by more than 4°C during a brief time interval (<104 years) of the latest Paleocene (∼55.6 Ma). There also was a coeval −2 to −3‰ excursion in the δ13C of the ocean/atmosphere inorganic carbon reservoir. Given the large mass of this reservoir, a rapid δ13C shift of this magnitude is difficult to explain within the context of conventional hypotheses for changing the mean carbon isotope composition of the ocean and atmosphere. However, a direct consequence of warming bottom water temperature from 11 to 15°C over 104 years would be a significant change in sediment thermal gradients and dissociation of oceanic CH4 hydrate at locations with intermediate water depths. In terms of the present-day oceanic CH4 hydrate reservoir, thermal dissociation of oceanic CH4 hydrate during the LPTM could have released greater than 1.1 to 2.1 × 1018 g of carbon with a δ13C of approximately −60‰. The release and subsequent oxidation of this amount of carbon is sufficient to explain a −2 to −3‰ excursion in δ13C across the LPTM. Fate of CH4 in oceanic hydrates must be considered in developing models of the climatic and paleoceanographic regimes that operated during the LPTM.
Advances in satellite oceanography

Progress has been made in the past four years by U.S. scientists in the development and application of active and passive satellite remote sensing techniques to the study of oceanic processes. This report summarizes technical advances and recent applications. Major advances have been made in developing and applying quantitative measurements from active and passive satellite based sensor systems launched in the late 1970's and that proven methodologies now exist to observe sea surface temperature, ocean elevation, ocean color, surface wind stress and waves, and to locate free drifting buoy data collection platforms. Many of the advances in technique and application have occurred using sensors which were experimental, i.e., not part of an operational satellite observing system. Consequently future geophysical application and development of advanced techniques to enhance our understanding of the ocean will probably be limited in the next five years by data availability rather than our knowledge of how to apply given satellite observations.
Validation of Satellite-Based Precipitation Products over Sparsely Gauged African River Basins

AbstractSix satellite-based rainfall estimates (SRFE)—namely, Climate Prediction Center (CPC) morphing technique (CMORPH), the Rainfall Estimation Algorithm, version 2 (RFE2.0), Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) 3B42, Goddard profiling algorithm, version 6 (GPROF 6.0), Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks (PERSIANN), Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation moving vector with Kalman filter (GSMap MVK), and one reanalysis product [the interim ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim)]—were validated against 205 rain gauge stations over four African river basins (Zambezi, Volta, Juba–Shabelle, and Baro–Akobo). Validation focused on rainfall characteristics relevant to hydrological applications, such as annual catchment totals, spatial distribution patterns, seasonality, number of rainy days per year, and timing and volume of heavy rainfall events. Validation was done at three spatially aggregated levels: point-to-pixel, subcatchment, and river basin for .
Some Characteristic Soil Profiles in the North Central States

Comparing the two extremes; we find a range in rainfall from a mean annual of about 45 inches in southern Indiana to a mean annual of about 25 inches over much of Minnesota and in considerable areas of Michigan and Wisconsin. There is a general progressive diminution in the total precipitation from south to north. But this decrease is compensated to a great degree by the lower temperatures of the more northern region and by the fact that so much more of the precipitation is in the form of snow. Given similar textures end topographic positions. , the soil climate is most likely wetter in northern Minnesota than in southern Indiana.
A Trace Cache Microarchitecture and Evaluation

As the instruction issue width of superscalar processors increases, instruction fetch bandwidth requirements will also increase. It will eventually become necessary to fetch multiple basic blocks per clock cycle. Conventional instruction caches hinder this effort because long instruction sequences are not always in contiguous cache locations. Trace caches overcome this limitation by caching traces of the dynamic instruction stream, so instructions that are otherwise noncontiguous appear contiguous. In this paper, we present and evaluate a microarchitecture incorporating a trace cache. The microarchitecture provides high instruction fetch bandwidth with low latency by explicitly sequencing through the program at the higher level of traces, both in terms of (1) control flow prediction acid (2) instruction supply. For the SPEC95 integer benchmarks, trace-level sequencing improves performance from 15 percent to 35 percent over an otherwise equally sophisticated, but contiguous, multiple-block fetch mechanism. Most of this performance improvement is due to the trace cache. However, for one benchmark whose performance is limited by branch mispredictions, the performance gain is almost entirely due to improved prediction accuracy.
The place of evolved cognition in scientific thinking

The question of the naturalness of science and religion is aptly specified by McCauley in the following terms: how do the thoughts or cognitive processes that are characteristic of a cultural domain (science and religion in McCauley’s book) relate to evolved cognition? Evolution endowed humans with specific cognitive abilities that increased the fitness of their bearers by solving problems they faced in their evolutionary environment. These evolved abilities process inputs from specific domains and produce inferentially enriched representations at very little cognitive cost.
Syrtis major: A low‐relief volcanic shield

Viking orbiter images and earth-based radar elevation data have been used to document the volcanic geology of Syrtis Major and to reevaluate its physiographic setting. These data indicate that Syrtis Major is actually a very low relief, simple shield with a central caldera complex; arcuate segments of concentric grabens at the shield summit define the limits of a 280-km-diameter depression that is thought to have been created by foundering of a magma chamber. Lava flows with well-defined scarps are associated with two summit calderas; fissures and lava tubes are recognized on the shield flanks. The lava flows were deposited on volcanic ridged plains that do not display flow scarps. Compressional stresses acting on the shield were apparently greatest following the deposition of the ridged-plains unit but continued at a somewhat reduced rate after deposition of the younger lavas. The extremely low-relief shield of the Syrtis Major as well as other volcanic plains of intermediate age in the eastern hemisphere of Mars is in striking contrast to the giant shields of Tharsis Montes. Such different types of volcanic landforms may result from changes with times in the composition, differentiation history, eruption rates, and eruption temperatures of surface igneous rocks, thus, directly reflecting the thermal and chemical evolution of the interior. The low relief on the shields may also reflect a substantially thinner crust in these regions relative to Tharsis. The physiographic evidence and radar elevation data confirm the fact that Syrtis Major is a ‘planum’ (plateau) rather than a ‘planitia’ (low plain), as published maps of Mars now portray the feature. In addition, present evidence does not support an earlier suggestion that an impact basin predated volcanism at Syrtis Major.
Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics in Preferential Flow Paths and Matrix of a Forest Soil

Natural abundance (δ) of the stable isotopes 13 C and 15 N has gained acceptance for studying C and N cycling in forests. In most studies, bulk soil samples are collected to determine isotope abundance. Such sampling overlooks the potential impact of preferential flow on isolope distribution. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of preferential flow on the distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC), total N, δ 13 C, and δ 15 N in a forest soil in Central Switzerland. Preferential flow paths in the soil were identified with a dye tracer, Brilliant Blue (Pluss-Staufer AG, Oftringen, Switzerland), that was homogeneously applied to the soil surface. In the stained preferential flow paths, concentrations of SOC and total N were 15 to 75% higher than in the soil matrix. The total increase of SOC in preferential flow paths ranged from 740 to 960 g C m -2 in four individual soil plots. Values of δ 13 C and δ 15 N were lowest in tree leaves and in the forest floor, and inereased with soil depth, thus with the degree of decomposition of SOC. In the mineral soil, preferential flow paths were significantly depleted in 13 C by 0.15 to 0.4‰ as compared with the soil matrix. The δ 15 N values increased with soil depth from 0.9 to 4.7‰ in the preferential flow paths and from 0.5 to 6‰ in the soil matrix. Adding a highly enriched 15 N-tracer homogeneously to the soil surface showed a higher recovery of 15 N in the soil and in the fine roots sampled from preferential flow paths than in those sampled from the soil matrix. Our results suggest that in preferential flow paths, SOC is younger and N cycling is more rapid than in the soil matrix.