Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Israeli/Palestinian transboundary stream restoration and management: lessons for the future

A 3 year study between a joint Palestinian and Israeli research team monitored two of their major shared watersheds: the Zomar/Alexander and the Hebron/Besor basins. The extremely degraded water quality conditions were traced to a variety of point and non-point pollution sources. This article summarizes the team's recommendations for future management activities if a coordinated rehabilitation effort is to be successful. A common restoration strategy should include transboundary planning that encompasses the entire watershed, with reduction in phosphorus loadings being a top shared priority. The sides should agree on common ‘in-stream’ standards and pollution reduction goals. Pollution reduction strategies must focus on eliminating contaminants at the source, rather than continuing present interventions that attempt to mitigate or treat pollutants after they are already in the stream. Non-point source controls, especially for agricultural runoff, have not been a priority until now, but must be adopted for water quality objectives to be met. Only through a joint rehabilitation strategy will progress be made in restoring the quality of these important natural resources.
On the density of the dust halo around Mars

This paper provides an estimate of the average number density of dust particles accumulated around Mars. As investigated earlier, submicron-sized grains (a < 1 μm) are perturbed by electromagnetic forces and solar radiation pressure so that they do not stay close to the Keplerian orbit of the ejecting satellite. The lifetime of these particles in the vicinity of Mars ranges from a few days to a few hundred days. Their trajectories are contained in an approximately spherical volume. For larger grains (1 μm < a ≲ 7 μm), solar radiation pressure is the major loss mechanism and these particles fill a disklike volume. The corresponding lifetime due to this perturbation ranges from a few tens of days to half a Martian year. Dust grains with a ≳ 7 μm have relatively stable orbit forming a disk/torus around Mars, and their lifetime is determined by collisions with the satellite since they stay close to its orbit. Despite the short lifetime of submicron-sized particles and the relatively large volume which contains their trajectories, their number density is comparable with that of particles whose size is between 7 and 50 μm. This is due to the fact that submicron-sized grains are thought to dominate the number of escaping particles. We conclude that particles with sizes a < 0.5 μm and 7 μm ≲ a ≲ 50 μm will be the most abundant in the Martian dust environment.
Trends in total precipitation and magnitude–frequency of extreme precipitation in Iran, 1969–2009

Spatiotemporal changes in total precipitation as well as the magnitude and frequency of extreme precipitation events in Iran are assessed using 187 gauging stations with at least 41 years of records until 2009. The spatial distribution of extreme precipitation is evaluated based on the generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution fitted to the annual/seasonal maximum daily series at each location. Temporal trends of the magnitude of extreme precipitation events are also analysed using the annual/seasonal maximum daily series, while temporal trends of the frequency of extremes are assessed based on records exceeding the 99th percentile threshold. Results show an overall declining trend of the annual precipitation in particular in regions located on the north, west and northwest of Iran. Seasonal analysis shows the largest contribution of winter to this declining trend. In addition, precipitation has significantly decreased in the northwest during spring. Although the changes in the magnitudes of extreme precipitation events are insignificant, with increasing trends in 50% of the stations, the overall frequencies show significant declines in particular during winter. The magnitude and frequency of extreme precipitation have also significantly declined in the northwest region during spring.
Evolution of Modern Deepwater Circulation: Evidence from the Late Miocene Southern Ocean

Deepwater circulation plays an important role in climate modulation through its redistribution of heat and salt and its control of atmospheric CO2. Oppo and Fairbanks (1987) showed that the Southern Ocean is an excellent monitor of deepwater circulation changes for two reasons: (1) the Southern Ocean is a mixing reservoir for incoming North Atlantic Deep Water and recirculated water from the Pacific and Indian oceans; and (2) the nutrient/δ13C tracers of deepwater are not significantly changed by surficial processes within the Southern Ocean. We can extend these principles to the late Miocene because tectonic changes in the Oligocene and early and middle Miocene developed near-modern basinal configurations. However, on these time scales, changes in the oceanic carbon reservoir and mean ocean nutrient levels also affect the δ13C differences between ocean basins. From 9.8 to 9.3 Ma, Southern Ocean δ13C values oscillated between high North Atlantic values and low Pacific values. The Southern Ocean recorded δ13C values similar to Pacific values from 9.2 to 8.9 Ma, reflecting a low contribution of Northern Component Water (NCW). The δ13C differences between the NCW and Pacific Outflow Water (POW) end-members were low from 8.9 to 8.0 Ma, making it difficult to discern circulation patterns. NCW production may have completely shutdown at 8.6 Ma, allowing Southern Component Water (SCW) to fill the North Atlantic and causing the δ13C values in the North Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern oceans to converge. Deepwater δ13C patterns resembling the modern distributions evolved by 7.0 Ma: δ13C values were near 1.0‰ in the North Atlantic; 0.0‰ in the Pacific; and 0.5‰ in the Southern Ocean. Development of near-modern δ13C distributions by 7.0 Ma resulted not only from an increase in NCW flux but also from an increase in deepwater nutrient levels. Both of these processes increased the δ13C difference between the North Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Deepwater circulation patterns similar to today's operated as early as 9.8 Ma, but were masked by the lower nutrient/δ13C differences. During the late Miocene, “interglacial” intervals prevailed during intervals of NCW production, while “glacial” intervals occurred during low NCW production.
Bubbly-ice densification in ice sheets: II. Applications

Abstract A mathematical model for simulating the densification of bubbly glacier ice is used to interpret the following experimental data from the Vostok (central Antarctica) ice core: two ice-porosity profiles obtained by independent methods and a bubble-pressure profile obtained by direct measurements of air pressure within individual bubbles. The rheological properties of pure polycrystalline ice are deduced from the solution of the inverse problem. The model and the inferred ice-flow law are then validated, using porosity profiles from seven other ice cores drilled in Antarctica and Greenland, in the temperature range from -55° to -20° C. The following expression is adopted for the constitutive law: where ė and τ are the effective strain rate and stress, respectively, α is the creep exponent taken as 3.5, Rs is the gas constant and T(Ts) is the temperature (standard temperature). The numerical values obtained for the “linear” and “non-linear” viscosities are: μ1 = 2.9 ± 1.3 M Pa year and μ2 = 0.051 ± 0.019 M Paα year, and the apparent activation energy Q is confirmed to be 60 k J mole−1. The corresponding flow law is in good agreement with results of both mechanical tests and independent estimations based on the analysis of different natural phenomena associated with glacier-ice deformation. When the model is constrained by the porosity and bubble-pressure profiles from Vostok, the mean air content in Holocene ice is inferred to be about 0.088 cm3g−1. The corresponding mean air pressure in bubbles at the end of pore closure is about 0.083 M Pa, whereas the atmospheric pressure at this depth level would be 0.063 M Pa. The influence of the climatic change on the ice-porosity profile is discussed. It resulted in an increased air content in ice at Vostok during the Last Glacial Maximum: 0.096 cm3 g−1.
Mafic magma recharge supplies high CO2 and SO2 gas fluxes from Popocatépetl volcano, Mexico

Since late 1994, open-vent eruptive activity and degassing at Popocatepetl volcano, Mexico, have released large masses of CO2 and SO2. Tephra and lava produced by these eruptions show evidence for mixing of mafic and silicic magmas shortly before eruption. We present the first measurements of dissolved CO2 in the mafic magma end member based on analyses of olivine-hosted melt inclusions that were trapped at pressures as high as ~400 MPa (~15 km depth) beneath the volcano. We combine our data with thermodynamic models to show that degassing of mafic magma at ~150–350 MPa pressure can explain the CO2/SO2 mass ratios (1–8) of volcanic gases released from the volcano during 1995–1997. Our results demonstrate that mafic magma recharge was responsible for the high measured fluxes of CO2 and SO2 from 1995 to 1997. The total SO2 emission of 9 Mt during this period requires intrusion and degassing of a minimum of 0.8 km3 of mafic magma. Only ~0.3% of this new mafic magma has been erupted in the form of mixed (hybrid) lava and tephra. Our results suggest that the ongoing eruption of Popocatepetl is essentially an intrusive event. More generally, we suggest that intrusion and deep degassing may explain the high gas fluxes at some other open-vent volcanoes rather than convection of magma in the uppermost parts of subvolcanic conduits.
Direct decorrelation stretch technique for RGB colour composition

Abstract Abstract. This paper introduces a very simple method to achieve a saturation (decorrelation) stretch without coordinate transformation, the Direct Decorrelation Stretch (DDS) technique. In RGB (red, green and blu) colour coordinate space, a colour vector can be expressed in terms of an achromatic component and a chromatic (pure colour) component. A direct decorrelation stretch of a RGB colour image is achieved by decreasing the magnitude of the achromatic component of the colour vector for the pixel being processed. Initially, the R, G, and B digital numbers (DNs) for each colour pixel are examined and the lowest value (it could be the red, green or blue) is selected. A fixed ( user controlled) proportion of the selected lowest DN is then subtracted from each of the original R, G and B DNs of this pixel. The result of the subtraction, based on RGB pixel minimum values, is an image with reduced achromaeity. This corresponds to increased saturation. The DDS method consists of simple arithmetical op.
Flora and phytogeography of the volcanic dome of Monte Amiata (Central Italy)

Summary The most peculiar features of Monte Amiata are its orographic isolation and its recent volcanic origin. Accordingly, the vascular flora was investigated in order to shed light on its main ecological, chorogenetic and historical components. The flora includes 624 entities over about 74 Km2 and is poorer than others of Apenninic areas with comparable altitude and latitude. The largest part of the nemoral component is restricted to mesic chestnut and beech forests of the lower belt, whereas in chestnut groves the elio-xerotolerant plants are prevalent. In the oceanic beech forests of the higher belt, the flora is still poorer and largely composed of hygro-sciaphilous species linked to a elevated atmospheric and edaphic moisture. Therophytes are on the whole less represented than in near Apenninic mountains, whereas geophytes are slightly more abundant; they tend to increase from the lower to the higher beech belt. The boreal component is largely dominant over the tethyan one, and it increases along w.
Community study programmes for integrated production and pest management: farmer field schools.

This article provides a brief overview of Farmer Field Schools (FFS), which are designed to provide farmers with on-the-job training in environmentally friendly plant protection and soil fertility management methods through integrated production and pest management (IPPM). IPPM methods can increase both production and profits and play a major role in poverty alleviation. FFS activities aim to bring together a group of farmers regularly in a field. Courses are hands-on and practical. They provide structured learning exercises that allow farmers to combine local knowledge with scientific ecological approaches, using the field itself as a teacher. IPPM-FFS programmes have been established in more than 40 countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America.
An Exploratory Multisensor Technique for Quantitative Estimation of Stratiform Rainfall

Abstract Implementation of the National Weather Service Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) radar network provides the potential to monitor rainfall and snowfall accumulations at fine spatial and temporal resolutions. An automated, operational algorithm called the Precipitation Processing System (PPS) uses reflectivity data to estimate precipitation accumulations. The utility of these estimates has yet to be quantified in the Intermountain West during winter months. The accuracy of precipitation estimates from the operational PPS during cool-season, stratiform-precipitation events in Arizona is examined. In addition, a method, with the potential for automation, is developed to improve estimates of precipitation by calibrating infrared data (10.7-μm band) from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-9 using reflectivity-derived rainfall rates from WSR-88D radar. The “multisensor” approach provides more accurate estimates of rainfall across lower elevations during cool-season extratr.
Reliably estimating the noise in AVIRIS hyperspectral images

Abstract A new method is presented for computing the noise affecting each band of an AVIRIS hyperspectral image. Between-band (spectral) and within-band (spatial) correlations are used to decorrelate the image data via linear regression. Each band of the image is divided into small blocks, each of which is independently decorrelated. The decorrelation leaves noise-like residuals whose variance estimates the noise. A homogeneous set of these variances is selected and their values are combined to provide the best estimate of that band's noise. This method provides consistent noise estimates from images with very different land cover types. Its performance is validated by comparing its noise estimates with noise measures provided with two AVIRIS images. The method works well with inhomogeneous images (e.g., of a vegetated area such as Jasper Ridge) unlike a method described recently by Gao. The method is automatic and does not require the intervention of a human operator. Noise estimates are presented for 10.
S USTAINABILITY R EPORT

There is no guarantee investment strategies will be successful. Investment risks include loss of principal and fluctuating value. Environmental and social screens may limit investment opportunities for the fund. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP is an investment advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of the Dimensional funds carefully before investing. For this and other information about the Dimensional funds, please read the prospectus carefully before investing. Prospectuses are available by calling Dimensional Fund Advisors collect at (512) 306-7400 or at us.dimensional. com. Dimensional funds are distributed by DFA Securities LLC.
High chloride concentrations in the soil and groundwater under an oak hedge in the West of France: an indicator of evapotranspiration and water movement

Chloride is a major anion in soil water and its concentration rises essentially as a function of evapotranspiration. Compared to herbaceous vegetation, high transpiration rates are measured for isolated trees, shelterbelts or hedgerows. This article deals with the influence of a tree hedge on the soil and groundwater Cl− concentrations and the possibility of using Cl− as an indicator of transpiration and water movements near the tree rows. Cl− concentrations were measured over 1 year at different depths in the unsaturated zone and in the groundwater along a transect intersecting a bottomland oak hedge. We observed a strong spatial heterogeneity of Cl− concentrations, with very high values up to 2 g l−1 in the unsaturated zone and 1·2 g l−1 in the upper part of the groundwater. This contrasts with the low and homogeneous concentrations (60–70 mg l−1) in the deeper part of the groundwater. Cl− accumulation in the unsaturated zone at the end of the vegetation season allows us to identify the active root zone extension of trees. In winter, upslope of the tree row, downwards leaching partly renews the soil solution in the root zone, while the slow water movement under the trees or farther downslope results in Cl− accumulation and leads to a salinization of the soil and groundwater. This salinization is of the same order as experimental conditions produce negative effects on oak seedlings. The measurement of Cl− concentrations in the unsaturated zone under tree rows at the end of the vegetation season would indicate whether certain topographic, pedological or climatic conditions are likely to favour a strong salinization of the soil, as observed in the present study. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Improved estimations of gross primary production using satellite‐derived photosynthetically active radiation

Terrestrial vegetation gross primary production (GPP) is an important variable in determining the global carbon cycle as well as the interannual variability of the atmospheric CO2 concentration. The accuracy of GPP simulation is substantially affected by several critical model drivers, one of the most important of which is photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) which directly determines the photosynthesis processes of plants. In this study, we examined the impacts of uncertainties in radiation products on GPP estimates in China. Two satellite‐based radiation products (GLASS and ISCCP), three reanalysis products (MERRA, ECMWF, and NCEP), and a blended product of reanalysis and observations (Princeton) were evaluated based on observations at hundreds of sites. The results revealed the highest accuracy for two satellite‐based products over various temporal and spatial scales. The three reanalysis products and the Princeton product tended to overestimate radiation. The GPP simulation driven by the GLASS product exhibited the highest consistency with those derived from site observations. Model validation at 11 eddy covariance sites suggested the highest model performance when utilizing the GLASS product. Annual GPP in China driven by GLASS was 5.55 Pg C yr−1, which was 68.85%–94.87% of those derived from the other products. The results implied that the high spatial resolution, satellite‐derived GLASS PAR significantly decreased the uncertainty of the GPP estimates at the regional scale.
Fluid‐dependent shear‐wave splitting in a poroelastic medium with conjugate fracture sets

The dependence of shear‐wave splitting in fractured reservoirs on the properties of the filling fluid may provide a useful attribute for identifying reservoir fluids. If the direction of wave propagation is not perpendicular or parallel to the plane of fracturing, the wave polarized in the plane perpendicular to the fractures is a quasi‐shear mode, and therefore the shear‐wave splitting will be sensitive to the fluid bulk modulus. The magnitude of this sensitivity depends upon the extent to which fluid pressure can equilibrate between pores and fractures during the period of the deformation. In this paper, we use the anisotropic Gassmann equations and existing formulations for the excess compliance due to fracturing to estimate the splitting of vertically propagating shear waves as a function of the fluid modulus for a porous medium with a single set of dipping fractures and with two conjugate fracture sets, dipping with opposite dips to the vertical. This is achieved using two alternative approaches. In the first approach, it is assumed that the deformation taking place is quasi‐static: that is, the frequency of the elastic disturbance is low enough to allow enough time for fluid to flow between both the fractures and the pore space throughout the medium. In the second approach, we assume that the frequency is low enough to allow fluid flow between a fracture set and the surrounding pore space, but high enough so that there is not enough time during the period of the elastic disturbance for fluid flow between different fracture sets to occur. It is found that the second approach yields a much stronger dependence of shear‐wave splitting on the fluid modulus than the first approach. This is a consequence of the fact that at higher wave frequencies there is not enough time for fluid pressure to equilibrate and therefore the elastic properties of the fluid have a greater effect on the magnitude of the shear‐wave splitting.
THE ROLE OF GIS AND REMOTE SENSING IN MAPPING THE DISTRIBUTION OF GREENHOUSE GASES

Technology offers a means to assess, plan, and implement sustainable programmes that can affect us into the future. A GIS-based framework helps gain a scientific understanding of the earth at a truly global scale. GIS with updated data helps people to know what happens in our planet, how climate takes place and where impacts of climate change affect people. Remote sensing was also identified as a foundational technology. Tying in remote sensing technologies and data with GIS is a powerful combination of understanding spatial patterns in the earth’s ever changing surface. Combining Remote sensing information in a GIS allows us to track, model, and observe climate trends across the planet’s surface. (Jack Dangermond, 2010).
Removing barriers to freedom of movement - A study of border regional actors pushing for change in state dominated environments

Increasing cross-border interaction in the border regions combined with the largely state-centric legislative processes of the nation states, have unfolded a demand for border regional actors to attempt to influence the state level to change legislation, as barriers are identified for individuals and companies. Adapting a border regional perspective, the actors and organisational methods to remove barriers to freedom of movement in three selected border regions are analysed. Using an inductive approach, the primary material consisting of interviews with key border regional actors is analysed through the lenses of transgovernmental network theory. The conclusion is that the border regions have developed largely similar sets of organisational methods, resting heavily on key border regional actors (organisations and individuals) and the various transnational networks they establish. The transgovernmental border regional networks are characterised (i) by being dominated by public actors; (ii) by actors stretching their authority and developing transnational perspectives; (iii) by consisting of a number of key individuals, but at the same time flexibly integrating new actors when demanded; (iv) by having strong horizontal links on the border regional and regional level, but relatively weak vertical links; (v) by being built informal relations and using informal tools to influence.
Estimate of the alpha parameter in an oat crop under rain‐fed conditions

In this article, we estimated the alpha parameter of the Priestley–Taylor model under rain‐fed conditions. This study was conducted in an oat crop, from 7 September to 22 October 2009, in a region of subhumid plains (Tandil, Argentina). An energy balance station was installed within the experimental field to monitor its development. The alpha parameter value obtained was 1.41 ± 0.01, which led to an overestimation of the evapotranspiration of just 2% and a relative error in estimating evapotranspiration of 8%. The results suggest that the alpha parameter obtained is adequate in estimating the evapotranspiration of oat crops or similar crops in subhumid plains of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.