Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Implication of Heat and Water Balance Changes in a Lake Basin on the Tibetan Plateau

The numerous lakes found throughout the Tibetan Plateau have a large effect on evaporation from the plateau. We analyzed variation in the water cycle in Yamdrok Yumtso Lake basin under the temperature increase of 1.13°C during the 45 years from 1961�2005. Both vapor pressure and relative humidity increased by approximately 17%, resulting in a 13.7% increase in longwave radiation flux and a smaller daily range of surface air temperature. A 5.7% decrease in sunshine duration caused solar radiation flux to decrease by 3%. Heat and water balances were simulated over land and the lake. The lake covers 10% of the total basin area. Evaporation from the lake was larger than that from land, with lake evaporation making up 26% of the basin total. Evaporation from the lake decreased 7% (May� September) over the study period, and observed small pan evaporation also decreased. This trend was not found in the evaporation from land and from precipitation. With water vapor in the air increasing and evaporation from the ground surface (lake and land) decreasing, the water vapor may have come from areas outside the basin and possibly even beyond the plateau.
Acoustic Force Spectroscopy (AFS): From single molecules to single cells

Force spectroscopy has become an indispensable tool to unravel the structural and mechanochemical properties of biomolecules. Here we extend the force spectroscopy toolbox with an acoustic manipulation device that can exert forces from subpiconewtons to hundreds of piconewtons on thousands of biomolecules in parallel, with submillisecond response time and inherent stability. This method can be readily integrated in lab-on-a-chip devices, allowing for cost-effective and massively parallel applications. Based on: Douwe Kamsma*, Gerrit Sitter*, Gregor Thalhammer, Monika Ritsch-Marte, Erwin J.G. Peterman† & Gijs J.L. Wuite†, Nature Methods 12, 47-50 (2015). *, † These authors contributed equally. Chapter 2 | Acoustic Force Spectroscopy 13 2 2.
Lisbon 1755: A Case of Triggered Onshore Rupture?

It has been widely recognized, both in classical and in modern studies, that the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 was a multiple event, composed of three shocks separated by a few minutes (see, e.g., Reid, 1914). Attempts to constrain the location of the source have led to a diversity of proposals, reflecting apparent contradictions in the data. The tsunami and damage along the south and southwest Iberian coast and in Morocco favor an offshore source, whereas the presence of an additional zone of strong shaking in the Lower Tagus Valley (LTV), near Lisbon, favors a more northerly location. By combining the contemporary accounts with intensity data from other earthquakes, we favor a compound source with a large distance between the faults. We propose that, although the mainshock was offshore, the resulting stress changes induced the rupture of the LTV fault, at a distance on the order of 350 km (but subject to large uncertainty in the offshore location), a few minutes after the mainshock. We favor this model, rather than site effects causing high intensities in the Lisbon area, because the highest intensities show a negative correlation to soft soil. Several other phenomena described in the eyewitness accounts can also be explained by the local rupture now proposed, such as a tsunamilike wave in the Tagus River, ground deformation affecting the course of the Tagus River, and the spatial pattern of damaging aftershocks. Recognition of this “missing” episode of rupture on the LTV fault significantly changes the hazard estimate for the Lisbon area.
EM anomalies before the Kozani earthquake: A study of their behavior through laboratory experiments

Strong electromagnetic (EM) anomalies have been detected, from MHz to kHz, prior to the three destructive earthquakes occurred during 1995–1999 in Greece. The observed sequence of EM anomalies before the Kozani‐Grevena earthquake (K‐G) of Ms = 6.6 on May 13, 1995 showed some important characteristics: (i) an increasing electromagnetic emission rate; (ii) an emergence of lower kHz frequencies with large amplitudes at the tail of the MHz electromagnetic anomaly; (iii) an electromagnetic quiescence approximately a few hours before the earthquake and (iv) a total absence of EM anomalies during the aftershock period. All these features are compatible with those reported by other authors. This sequence of the field observed EM signals revealed, in terms of emission pattern, similarities to the laboratory acoustic (AE) emissions during different stages of failure preparation process in rocks.
Observations and trends of clouds based on GOES sounder data

A 26 month (November 1997 through December 1999) data set of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) sounder-derived cloud parameters has been analyzed to discern annual and monthly trends. An important outcome of this study is the identification of diurnal trends made possible by the geostationary satellite frequent observations over specific locations. The area of coverage is 20°N to 50°N and 60°W to 160°W, which corresponds to the continental United States and the surrounding waters. The satellite cloud observations were compared to manually observed Pilot Reports (PIREPs) and were found to be, on average, 35 hPa lower. Comparing the frequency of GOES sounder observations of high cloudiness with observations from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) series of polar orbiting weather satellites reveals a correlation coefficient of 0.79 and a bias of 3.4% for the frequency of occurrence (GOES with a mean higher height). The frequency of occurrence and distribution of clouds, cloud top pressure (CTOP), and effective cloud amount are based on a spatial resolution of ∼40 km (3×3 field of view box) and are shown for eight regions. High clouds (CTOP ≤300 hPa) are found to be more prevalent during the Northern Hemisphere summer than winter for all regions. High clouds for 1998 comprise 8.5% of all observations. Also, in 1998 clear conditions are observed ∼34% of the time. Focusing on the strength of the hourly GOES sounder data, it is found that thin high clouds are most prevalent during the summer and fall seasons, occurring most frequently in the late morning and early afternoon.
Nontidal oceanic contributions to gravitational field changes: Predictions of the Parallel Ocean Climate Model

This study examines the nontidal contributions of the oceans to the Earth's gravitational field variations as predicted by a global ocean general circulation model: the Parallel Ocean Climate Model. Such variations in the gravitational field Stokes coefficient are determined up to spherical harmonic degree and order 20 and compared with satellite laser ranging (SLR) data from LAGEOS I and LAGEOS II. For most Stokes coefficients except the lowest-degree ones, this investigation indicates that the application of sea level adjustment to reduce the effects of the model's lack of mass conservation due to the Boussinesq approximation has a negligible effect on timescales less than a few years. Predicted gravitational changes show strong seasonal variability and account for a portion of the variations estimated from SLR. We conclude that, in addition to the atmosphere, the oceans are an important contributor to the temporal variations in the Earth's gravitational field. The Stokes coefficients are useful in examining oceanic mass transport between hemispheres and ocean basins. The estimated oceanic power spectrum has a spectral shape similar to the atmosphere and is well above the noise level of planned satellite missions like the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE).
Reflected solar wind ions and downward accelerated ionospheric ions during the January 1997 magnetic cloud event

On January 11, 1997, at 03:40:00 UT, while Polar was traveling up the dusk flank toward apogee, two ion instruments, TIDE and TIMAS, detected upflowing H+ with an energy/pitch‐angle dispersion resembling an ionospheric reflection of freshly injected solar wind ions. In the same region of space, TIDE and TIMAS observed cold beams of O+ and H+ traveling down the field line with equal bulk velocities. We interpret these ion signatures as concurrent observations of mirrored solar wind ions and downward accelerated ionospheric ions. By 03:42:00, an energy/pitch‐angle dispersion of downward moving ions at very low energies was clearly evident in the TIDE data. This additional signature is interpreted as an indication of reconnection on the same field line in the southern hemisphere. We explain this unique combination of plasma distributions in terms of high‐latitude reconnection and magnetic field line convection during northward‐IMF conditions associated with the January 1997 magnetic cloud event.
Correlation of multiple path-properties simultaneously measured on the Internet

We have started a long-term experiment of end-to-end active measurements along a number of Internet paths, while such kinds of distributed measurement infrastructures have been developed on the Internet and a number of experiments on them have already been reported. Our objective is to explore correlations among various properties of an individual path measured within a period in which the path state does not change, which have not yet been clearly covered. A PC-based measurement system has been developed to measure a set of path properties in sequence or in parallel for this purpose. In our preliminary experiment over several Internet paths in Japan, loss (rate and pattern) and delay (RTT and queuing delay) statistics; bottleneck bandwidths (the capacity and available bandwidth); and TCP throughput as well as the end-to-end route (to validate no changes of itself) are measured. Some interesting correlations (and no-correlation) among those properties are shown, which indicate the potential of efficient and/or reliable measurement of some path property utilizing the multiple properties measured on the path.
Size‐dependent microearthquake initiation inferred from high‐gain and low‐noise observations at Nikko district, Japan

We deployed a temporary seismic station at a low-noise site in the Nikko district, Japan, in November 1993, and analyzed velocity waveforms of 17 microearthquakes (0.3 ≤ M ≤ 2.1) with small focal distances (<11 km). We compared the initial parts of the P wave velocity seismograms on the same absolute scale, after correcting for the effects of geometrical spreading and radiation pattern. We find that the P wave radiated from an earthquake of a larger final magnitude has a greater amplitude than that from a smaller earthquake, even at a very early stage when the P wave from the smallest event is still rising with an increasing slope. This observation does not necessarily mean that the initiation of the rupture is dependent on the eventual size because anelastically attenuated waveforms of earthquakes with short time duration could show such an apparent trend. Hence we computed synthetic seismograms to test a group of source scaling models in which source time function grows independently of its eventual size, taking into account anelastic attenuation and instrument response. We find that such scaling models do not easily reproduce simultaneously the size dependence of the initial rise and the pulse duration of the observed waveforms, though poor data coverage above M1.5 prevents us from deriving a firm conclusion. A model with size-dependent growth rate is able to match our observations.
Fixed link, fixed effects? Housing market outcomes of new infrastructure development in the Dutch Delta Area

This paper assesses the relationship between infrastructure development and housing market development, thereby focusing on major new infrastructure linking previously separate housing markets. This is often the case when bridges or tunnels provide for new connections in island regions or delta areas. Empirical evidence is presented for a case in the Netherlands: the construction of the Westerschelde Tunnel. This tunnel resulted in rather dramatic changes in accessibility and centrality. The tunnel connects the previously separate central and peripheral housing markets of southern Zeeland, and turns out to have a different impact on both areas. On the basis of the hedonic regression method, we found – quite unexpectedly and in marked contrast with the literature – that the increased accessibility in the more central region led to an increase in house prices, whereas increased accessibility in the more peripheral region subdued the house prices, all other things being equal. This was not due to less demand for houses in the periphery compared to the centre, but rather due to qualitative differences in demand. Households which moved to the centre were comparatively younger, more active in the labour market and more often included children.
Stagnation of Ice Stream C, West Antarctica by water piracy

The dynamic behavior of the West Antarctic ice sheet is of interest because of the possibility that it may change and cause rapid sea‐level rise. Attention is focused on the fast‐moving and rapidly responding ice streams that drain the ice sheet. One of these, ice stream C, largely stopped about a century ago, and some models for this shutdown postulate negative feedbacks that would tend to stabilize the ice‐sheet. Here, new data are presented indicating that the slowdown of the ice stream is restricted to its lower part, and occurred because of loss of lubrication on localized “sticky spots” at the bed of the ice stream. The increased friction probably arises from a topographic accident of the glacier bed that has directed lubricating water to the neighboring ice stream B, together with slow drawdown of the ice sheet, rather than from any general stabilizing feedbacks.
Frictional characteristics of granite under high confining pressure

At high confining pressure the coefficient of friction, μ, for granite depends on the relative displacement of the surfaces. For ground surfaces, μ reaches a maximum after about 0.1 cm and then decreases to nearly a constant value after 0.5 cm of sliding has occurred. Features on the surfaces after sliding suggest that the maximum is reached when intimate contact is first established. Also, this maximum value is the same as the initial μ for perfectly mated rough surfaces. The decrease in μ from the maximum is probably caused by rolling on wear particles between the surfaces, μ decreases with an increase in normal stress, owing to a finite shear strength at zero pressure of interlocking irregularities on the surfaces. Water reduces the frictional shear strength of granite by about 400 bars, independent of the normal stress across the sliding surfaces. Brittle fracture of surface asperities may be the controlling mechanism during the frictional sliding of brittle materials such as granite. Up to the highest pressures investigated, sliding movement between the surfaces occurred with violent stick-slip. Stick-slip along a pre-existing fault may be a source of crustal earthquakes. The ‘brittle-ductile’ transition pressure in silicate rocks may simply be the pressure at which the frictional shear strength is equal to the fracture shear strength. In the Coulomb theory it is assumed that the strength of a rock is determined by μ and the cohesive strength. The theory does not hold for westerly granite. According to the effective stress theory, the stress required for one block of rock to slide on another in the presence of pore fluid of pressure p is given by τ = μ(σn - p). The theory holds for granite if μ is the coefficient of friction for sliding on water-saturated surfaces and if allowances are made for the fact that μ may be a function of the effective stress across the surfaces.
Heritage as an Alternative Tourist Product: The Case of the Spinaloga Islet in Crete

Crete is an established tourist destination. Tourism has become a basic sector of the island’s economy, contributing significantly to its Gross Regional Product and Employment. At the same time it has produced significant social and economic problems. The island’s current tourist product, with respect to its lifecycle, is in the stage of consolidation and in some overdeveloped regions, of the northern axis, in the stage of stagnation. At the same time it is extremely vulnerable being in intense competition with neighbouring regions. Authorities and the island’s business community are considering alternative tourist products to maintain Crete’s niche in the tourist market. In this paper after a literature review on the problems that the development of mass-tourism has caused, in particular to island regions or states, the emergence and potential of heritage tourism is reviewed. Subsequently, the results of a study designed to investigate the attitudes of foreign visitors towards the islet of Spinaloga, a Venetian fortress which for half a century was used as a lepers’ asylum, are presented and the main conclusions are discussed.
On the Arctic climate paradox and the continuing role of atmospheric circulation in affecting sea ice conditions

The reduction in ice cover observed in the late 1980s and early 1990s has been attributed to the strongly positive Arctic Oscillation (AO) phase during that time. However, despite a change in the AO to more neutral conditions since then, ice extent and the fraction of old ice have continued to decrease. This mismatch between the AO index and loss of ice can be explained by the frequency of three main sea level pressure (SLP) patterns that yield overall variability in SLP, rather than the presence of a single, coherent physical pattern of SLP reduction associated with the positive mode of the AO. These three patterns were in phase during the peak AO period but their frequency has varied differently since then, with two of the patterns continuing to contribute to reduced ice cover in the western Arctic. Hence, regional atmospheric circulation remains a significant factor in recent reductions in ice cover.
Observations of increased wind‐driven coastal upwelling off central California

[1] Alongshore wind speed and sea surface temperature (SST) from coastal National Data Buoy Center buoys are used to study the variability of wind-driven coastal upwelling from 1982 to 2008. A long-term increase in upwelling is observed in central California (35°N–39°N) with stronger upwelling-favorable winds, colder water, and more frequent occurrences of upwelling days during the upwelling season (March–July). Further, a longer upwelling season is observed in the same region, starting earlier in the spring and persisting later in the fall. These interannual changes in upwelling strength and seasonal duration are investigated in this study. Changes in alongshore wind (forcing of upwelling) are poorly correlated with the El Nino–Southern Oscillation or the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, but the Northern Oscillation and the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation correlate with the geostrophic upwelling-favorable winds in the region. However, changes in SST (an upwelling response) are correlated with both changes in wind (upwelling forcing) and the climate indices. Although this short record cannot differentiate between multidecadal cycles and persistent trends, this data-based result does corroborate model-based projections of increased upwelling in this region due to global climate change. This increase in upwelling is understood to be a response to the strengthening of large-scale pressure gradient fields partially due to global-scale climate change. Farther north and farther south in California, other processes also have a significant influence on coastal conditions, such that the tendency for increased upwelling is not evident in the same way.
A modified objective mapping technique for scatterometer wind data

An objective method to generate high resolution wind maps from the irregularly spaced scatterometer data was developed and tested on synthetic data for the northeast Pacific Ocean. Current assimilation methods for atmospheric global circulation models (GCMs) reproduce only the large-scale features (>600 km) of the wind field. In contrast, this method attempts to retain the high spatial resolution of the scatterometer where there are adequate measurements. To estimate the covariance function and to compute realistic error estimates for the method, a synthetic data set was constructed using wind fields from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts. The wave number spectrum of the synthetic data was based on an analysis of Seasat scatterometer data. The patchiness of the scatterometer data caused discontinuities in the objective estimates, which would give unacceptable wind stress curl fields; thus the initial estimates were selectively smoothed using overdetermined biharmonic splines. A constraint on the horizontal divergence of the wind, applied only in regions of large estimated errors, improved the estimates. For the NASA scatterometer this method would produce a wind map every 12 hours with spatial resolution that preserves the small-scale features of the original data over about half the mapped region and with somewhat decreased resolution and accuracy over the rest of the region.
Subtidal Water level variations in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana

Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, has two major tidal passes connecting it to the Mississippi Sound and thence to the Gulf of Mexico. The subtidal variability in this system and its relation to wind forcing over a 7-month period were examined. The coherence of water level fluctuations in the lake and passes with those of the sound was high at all time scales, and the water level in all data sets responded to the east-west wind at time scales shorter than 15 days. Since the local coastline is approximately in the east-west direction, the results suggest a coupled coastal ocean-lake response. A linear friction model was developed, and it accounted for most of the observed features.
Isoxanthohumol, a hop-derived flavonoid, alters the metabolomics profile of mouse feces

The aim of this study was to verify the effect of treatment with isoxanthohumol (IX) on the metabolomics profile of mouse feces to explore the host-intestinal bacterial interactions at the molecular level. The fecal contents of several amino acids in the high-fat diet (HFD) + 0.1% IX group (treated with IX mixed in diets for 12 weeks) were significantly lower than in the HFD group. The fecal contents of the secondary bile acid deoxycholic acid (DCA) in the HFD + 180 mg/kg IX group (orally treated with IX for 8 weeks) were significantly lower than in the HFD group; the values in the HFD group were higher than those in the normal diet (ND) group. Administration of IX changed the fecal metabolomics profile. For some metabolites, IX normalized HFD-induced fluctuations.