Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Grid Points (grid + point)
Selected AbstractsChanges of air temperature and precipitation in Poland in the period 1951,2000 and their relationship to atmospheric circulationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2004Jan Degirmend Abstract An analysis of trends of mean monthly temperature and precipitation totals in Poland in the period 1951,2000 was carried out. Areal means of temperature and precipitation were used, averaged for 51 meteorological stations evenly distributed within Poland's borders. Sensitivity of air temperature and precipitation variations towards circulation was assessed. Circulation variations were expressed by sea-level pressure in the 52.5°N, 20°E grid point and geostrophic wind calculated from meridional (45,60°N) and latitudinal (10,30°E) pressure gradients. It was shown that the circulation factor explains up to 77% and 44% of temperature and precipitation variance respectively. Significant upward trends of temperature in March and May were detected. Also, the precipitation total in March was on the increase. The last decade of the 20th century was slightly ,too warm' in comparison with the circulation-induced temperature level, as well as with the temperature change scenario according to HadCM2 GS model. An attempt was made to evaluate the contribution of the frequency of snow cover occurrence to the temperature increase in winter, i.e. the temperature,albedo feedback. Copyright © 2004 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Statistical prediction of global sea-surface temperature anomaliesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 14 2003A. W. Colman Abstract Sea-surface temperature (SST) is one of the principal factors that influence seasonal climate variability, and most seasonal prediction schemes make use of information regarding SST anomalies. In particular, dynamical atmospheric prediction models require global gridded SST data prescribed through the target season. The simplest way of providing those data is to persist the SST anomalies observed at the start of the forecast at each grid point, with some damping, and this strategy has proved to be quite effective in practice. In this paper we present a statistical scheme that aims to improve that basic strategy by combining three individual methods together: simple persistence, canonical correlation analysis (CCA), and nearest-neighbour regression. Several weighting schemes were tested: the best of these is one that uses equal weight in all areas except the east tropical Pacific, where CCA is preferred. The overall performance of the combined scheme is better than the individual schemes. The results show improvements in tropical ocean regions for lead times beyond 1 or 2 months, but the skill of simple persistence is difficult to beat in the extratropics at all lead times. Aspects such as averaging periods and grid size were also investigated: results showed little sensitivity to these factors. The combined statistical SST prediction scheme can also be used to improve statistical regional rainfall forecasts that use SST anomaly patterns as predictors. Copyright © Crown Copyright 2003. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Performance of statistical downscaling models in GCM validation and regional climate change estimates: application for Swedish precipitationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2001Aristita Busuioc Abstract This study deals with an analysis of the performance of a general circulation model (GCM) (HadCM2) in reproducing the large-scale circulation mechanisms controlling Swedish precipitation variability, and in estimating regional climate changes owing to increased CO2 concentration by using canonical correlation analysis (CCA). Seasonal precipitation amounts at 33 stations in Sweden over the period 1899,1990 are used. The large-scale circulation is represented by sea level pressure (SLP) over the Atlantic,European region. The link between seasonal Swedish precipitation and large-scale SLP variability is strong in all seasons, but especially in winter and autumn. For these two seasons, the link is a consequence of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) pattern. In winter, another important mechanism is related to a cyclonic/anticyclonic structure centred over southern Scandinavia. In the past century, this connection has remained almost unchanged in time for all seasons except spring. The downscaling model that is built on the basis of this link is skilful in all seasons, but especially so in winter and autumn. This observed link is only partially reproduced by the HadCM2 model, while large-scale SLP variability is fairly well reproduced in all seasons. A concept about optimum statistical downscaling models for climate change purposes is proposed. The idea is related to the capability of the statistical downscaling model to reproduce low frequency variability, rather than having the highest skill in terms of explained variance. By using these downscaling models, it was found that grid point and downscaled climate signals are similar (increasing precipitation) in summer and autumn, while in winter, the amplitudes of the two signals are different. In spring, both signals show a slight increase in the northern and southern parts of Sweden. Copyright © 2001 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Reactive scattering within a time-dependent discrete variable representationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF QUANTUM CHEMISTRY, Issue 5 2001G. D. Billing Abstract We have formulated a theory in which the quantum corrections to classical mechanics are easy to introduce. The method is based upon a time-dependent discrete variable representation (DVR) of the wavefunction with grid points defined by the Hermite part of a basis set, the so-called Gauss,Hermite basis set. The formulation introduces a set of grid points which follow the classical trajectory in space. With enough trajectories (DVR points), the method approaches the exact quantum formulation. With just a single grid point in a given degree of freedom, we have a classical mechanical description. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem, 2001 [source] Probabilistic temperature forecast by using ground station measurements and ECMWF ensemble prediction systemMETEOROLOGICAL APPLICATIONS, Issue 4 2004P. Boi The ECMWF Ensemble Prediction System 2-metre temperature forecasts are affected by systematic errors due mainly to resolution inadequacies. Moreover, other errors sources are present: differences in height above sea level between the station and the corresponding grid point, boundary layer parameterisation, and description of the land surface. These errors are more marked in regions of complex orography. A recursive statistical procedure to adapt ECMWF EPS-2metre temperature fields to 58 meteorological stations on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia is presented. The correction has been made in three steps: (1) bias correction of systematic errors; (2) calibration to adapt the EPS temperature distribution to the station temperature distribution; and (3) doubling the ensemble size with the aim of taking into account the analysis errors. Two years of probabilistic forecasts of freezing are tested by Brier Score, reliability diagram, rank histogram and Brier Skill Score with respect to the climatological forecast. The score analysis shows much better performance in comparison with the climatological forecast and direct model output, for all forecast timse, even after the first step (bias correction). Further gains in skill are obtained by calibration and by doubling the ensemble size. Copyright © 2004 Royal Meteorological Society. [source] Medium-range multimodel ensemble combination and calibrationTHE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, Issue 640 2009Christine Johnson Abstract As part of its contribution to The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment (THORPEX), the Met Office has developed a global, 15 day multimodel ensemble. The multimodel ensemble combines ensembles from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), Met Office and National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and is calibrated to give further improvements. The ensemble post-processing includes bias correction, model-dependent weights and variance adjustment, all of which are based on linear-filter estimates using past forecast-verification pairs, calculated separately for each grid point and forecast lead time. Verification shows that the multimodel ensemble gives an improvement in comparison with a calibrated single-model ensemble, particularly for surface temperature. However, the benefits are smaller for mean-sea-level pressure (mslp) and 500 hPa height. This is attributed to the higher degree of forecast-error similarity between the component ensembles for mslp and 500 hPa height than for temperature. The results also show only small improvements from the use of the model-dependent weights and the variance adjustment. This is because the component ensembles have similar levels of skill, and the multimodel ensemble variance is already generally well calibrated. In conclusion, we demonstrate that the multimodel ensemble does give benefit over a single-model ensemble. However, as expected, the benefits are small if the ensembles are similar to each other and further post-processing gives only relatively small improvements. © Crown Copyright 2009. Reproduced with the permission of HMSO. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [source] Fibonacci grids: A novel approach to global modellingTHE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, Issue 619 2006Richard Swinbank Abstract Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in a variety of non-standard computational grids for global numerical prediction. The motivation has been to reduce problems associated with the converging meridians and the polar singularities of conventional regular latitude,longitude grids. A further impetus has come from the adoption of massively parallel computers, for which it is necessary to distribute work equitably across the processors; this is more practicable for some non-standard grids. Desirable attributes of a grid for high-order spatial finite differencing are: (i) geometrical regularity; (ii) a homogeneous and approximately isotropic spatial resolution; (iii) a low proportion of the grid points where the numerical procedures require special customization (such as near coordinate singularities or grid edges); (iv) ease of parallelization. One family of grid arrangements which, to our knowledge, has never before been applied to numerical weather prediction, but which appears to offer several technical advantages, are what we shall refer to as ,Fibonacci grids'. These grids possess virtually uniform and isotropic resolution, with an equal area for each grid point. There are only two compact singular regions on a sphere that require customized numerics. We demonstrate the practicality of this type of grid in shallow-water simulations, and discuss the prospects for efficiently using these frameworks in three-dimensional weather prediction or climate models. © Crown copyright, 2006. Royal Meteorological Society [source] A Fast Simulation Method Using Overlapping Grids for Interactions between Smoke and Rigid ObjectsCOMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 2 2008Yoshinori Dobashi Abstract Recently, many techniques using computational fluid dynamics have been proposed for the simulation of natural phenomena such as smoke and fire. Traditionally, a single grid is used for computing the motion of fluids. When an object interacts with a fluid, the resolution of the grid must be sufficiently high because the shape of the object is represented by a shape sampled at the grid points. This increases the number of grid points that are required, and hence the computational cost is increased. To address this problem, we propose a method using multiple grids that overlap with each other. In addition to a large single grid (a global grid) that covers the whole of the simulation space, separate grids (local grids) are generated that surround each object. The resolution of a local grid is higher than that of the global grid. The local grids move according to the motion of the objects. Therefore, the process of resampling the shape of the object is unnecessary when the object moves. To accelerate the computation, appropriate resolutions are adaptively-determined for the local grids according to their distance from the viewpoint. Furthermore, since we use regular (orthogonal) lattices for the grids, the method is suitable for GPU implementation. This realizes the real-time simulation of interactions between objects and smoke. [source] Hemodynamic analysis of intracranial aneurysms with moving parent arteries: Basilar tip aneurysmsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 10 2010Daniel M. Sforza Abstract The effects of parent artery motion on the hemodynamics of basilar tip saccular aneurysms and its potential effect on aneurysm rupture were studied. The aneurysm and parent artery motions in two patients were determined from cine loops of dynamic angiographies. The oscillatory motion amplitude was quantified by registering the frames. Patient-specific computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models of both aneurysms were constructed from 3D rotational angiography images. Two CFD calculations were performed for each patient, corresponding to static and moving models. The motion estimated from the dynamic images was used to move the surface grid points in the moving model. Visualizations from the simulations were compared for wall shear stress (WSS), velocity profiles, and streamlines. In both patients, a rigid oscillation of the aneurysm and basilar artery in the anterio-posterior direction was observed and measured. The distribution of WSS was nearly identical between the models of each patient, as well as major intra-aneurysmal flow structures, inflow jets, and regions of impingement. The motion observed in pulsating intracranial vasculature does not have a major impact on intra-aneurysmal hemodynamic variables. Parent artery motion is unlikely to be a risk factor for increased risk of aneurysmal rupture. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Application of the additive Schwarz method to large scale Poisson problemsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 3 2004K. M. Singh Abstract This paper presents an application of the additive Schwarz method to large scale Poisson problems on parallel computers. Domain decomposition in rectangular blocks with matching grids on a structured rectangular mesh has been used together with a stepwise approximation to approximate sloping sides and complicated geometric features. A seven-point stencil based on central difference scheme has been used for the discretization of the Laplacian for both interior and boundary grid points, and this results in a symmetric linear algebraic system for any type of boundary conditions. The preconditioned conjugate gradient method has been used as an accelerator for the additive Schwarz method, and three different methods have been assessed for the solution of subdomain problems. Numerical experiments have been performed to determine the most suitable set of subdomain solvers and the optimal accuracy of subdomain solutions; to assess the effect of different decompositions of the problem domain; and to evaluate the parallel performance of the additive Schwarz preconditioner. Application to a practical problem involving complicated geometry is presented which establishes the efficiency and robustness of the method. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] DSC-Ritz method for high-mode frequency analysis of thick shallow shellsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 2 2005C. W. Lim Abstract This paper addresses a challenging problem in computational mechanics,the analysis of thick shallow shells vibrating at high modes. Existing methods encounter significant difficulties for such a problem due to numerical instability. A new numerical approach, DSC-Ritz method, is developed by taking the advantages of both the discrete singular convolution (DSC) wavelet kernels of the Dirichlet type and the Ritz method for the numerical solution of thick shells with all possible combinations of commonly occurred boundary conditions. As wavelets are localized in both frequency and co-ordinate domains, they give rise to numerical schemes with optimal accurate, stability and flexibility. Numerical examples are considered for Mindlin plates and shells with various edge supports. Benchmark solutions are obtained and analyzed in detail. Experimental results validate the convergence, stability, accuracy and reliability of the proposed approach. In particular, with a reasonable number of grid points, the new DSC-Ritz method is capable of producing highly accurate numerical results for high-mode vibration frequencies, which are hitherto unavailable to engineers. Moreover, the capability of predicting high modes endows us the privilege to reveal a discrepancy between natural higher-order vibration modes of a Mindlin plate and those calculated via an analytical relationship linking Kirchhoff and Mindlin plates. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Adaptive moving mesh methods for simulating one-dimensional groundwater problems with sharp moving frontsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 11 2002Weizhang Huang Abstract Accurate modelling of groundwater flow and transport with sharp moving fronts often involves high computational cost, when a fixed/uniform mesh is used. In this paper, we investigate the modelling of groundwater problems using a particular adaptive mesh method called the moving mesh partial differential equation approach. With this approach, the mesh is dynamically relocated through a partial differential equation to capture the evolving sharp fronts with a relatively small number of grid points. The mesh movement and physical system modelling are realized by solving the mesh movement and physical partial differential equations alternately. The method is applied to the modelling of a range of groundwater problems, including advection dominated chemical transport and reaction, non-linear infiltration in soil, and the coupling of density dependent flow and transport. Numerical results demonstrate that sharp moving fronts can be accurately and efficiently captured by the moving mesh approach. Also addressed are important implementation strategies, e.g. the construction of the monitor function based on the interpolation error, control of mesh concentration, and two-layer mesh movement. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Aerodynamic shape optimization on overset grids using the adjoint methodINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 12 2010Wei Liao Abstract This paper deals with the use of the continuous adjoint equation for aerodynamic shape optimization of complex configurations with overset grids methods. While the use of overset grid eases the grid generation process, the non-trivial task of ensuring communication between overlapping grids needs careful attention. This need is effectively addressed by using a practically useful technique known as the implicit hole cutting (IHC) method. The method depends on a simple cell selection process based on the criterion of cell size, and all grid points including interior points and fringe points are treated indiscriminately in the computation of the flow field. This paper demonstrates the simplicity of the IHC method for the adjoint equation. Similar to the flow solver, the adjoint equations are solved on conventional point-matched and overlapped grids within a multi-block framework. Parallel computing with message passing interface is also used to improve the overall efficiency of the optimization process. The method is successfully demonstrated in several two- and a three-dimensional shape optimization cases for both external and internal flow problems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A hybrid immersed boundary and material point method for simulating 3D fluid,structure interaction problemsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 12 2008Anvar Gilmanov Abstract A numerical method is developed for solving the 3D, unsteady, incompressible Navier,Stokes equations in curvilinear coordinates containing immersed boundaries (IBs) of arbitrary geometrical complexity moving and deforming under forces acting on the body. Since simulations of flow in complex geometries with deformable surfaces require special treatment, the present approach combines a hybrid immersed boundary method (HIBM) for handling complex moving boundaries and a material point method (MPM) for resolving structural stresses and movement. This combined HIBM & MPM approach is presented as an effective approach for solving fluid,structure interaction (FSI) problems. In the HIBM, a curvilinear grid is defined and the variable values at grid points adjacent to a boundary are forced or interpolated to satisfy the boundary conditions. The MPM is used for solving the equations of solid structure and communicates with the fluid through appropriate interface-boundary conditions. The governing flow equations are discretized on a non-staggered grid layout using second-order accurate finite-difference formulas. The discrete equations are integrated in time via a second-order accurate dual time stepping, artificial compressibility scheme. Unstructured, triangular meshes are employed to discretize the complex surface of the IBs. The nodes of the surface mesh constitute a set of Lagrangian control points used for tracking the motion of the flexible body. The equations of the solid body are integrated in time via the MPM. At every instant in time, the influence of the body on the flow is accounted for by applying boundary conditions at stationary curvilinear grid nodes located in the exterior but in the immediate vicinity of the body by reconstructing the solution along the local normal to the body surface. The influence of the fluid on the body is defined through pressure and shear stresses acting on the surface of the body. The HIBM & MPM approach is validated for FSI problems by solving for a falling rigid and flexible sphere in a fluid-filled channel. The behavior of a capsule in a shear flow was also examined. Agreement with the published results is excellent. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Modelling of wetting and drying of shallow water using artificial porosityINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 11 2005B. van't Hof Abstract A new method for wetting and drying in two-dimensional shallow water flow models is proposed. The method is closely related to the artificial porosity method used by different authors in Boussinesq-type models, but is further extended for use in a semi-implicit (ADI-type) time integration scheme. The method is implemented in the simulation model WAQUA using general boundary fitted coordinates and is applied to realistic schematization for a portion of the river Meuse in the Netherlands. A large advantage of the artificial porosity method over traditionally used methods on the basis of ,screens' is a strongly reduced sensitivity of model results. Instead of blocking all water transport in grid points where the water level becomes small, as in screen-based methods, the flow is gradually closed off. Small changes in parameters such as the initial conditions or bottom topography therefore no longer lead to large changes in the model results. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Accuracy analysis of super compact scheme in non-uniform grid with application to parabolized stability equationsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 5 2004V. Esfahanian Abstract A brief derivation of the super compact finite difference method (SCFDM) in non-uniform grid points is presented. To investigate the accuracy of the SCFDM in non-uniform grid points the Fourier analysis is performed. The Fourier analysis shows that the grid aspect ratio plays a crucial role in the accuracy of the SCFDM in a non-uniform grid. It is also found that the accuracy of the higher order relations of the SCFDM is more sensitive to grid aspect ratio than the lower order relations. In addition, to obtain a mathematical representation of the accuracy and making clear the role of the aspect ratio in the accuracy of the SCFDM in non-uniform grids, the modified equation approach is used. For the sake of demonstrating the analytical results obtained from the Fourier analysis and the modified equation approach, the super compact finite difference method is applied to solve the Blasius boundary layer and the non-linear parabolized stability equations as numerical examples indicating the difficulty with non-uniform grid spacing using the super compact scheme. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] On the influence of numerical schemes and subgrid,stress models on large eddy simulation of turbulent flow past a square cylinderINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 3 2002A. Nakayama Abstract Influence of finite difference schemes and subgrid-stress models on the large eddy simulation calculation of turbulent flow around a bluff body of square cylinder at a laboratory Reynolds number, has been examined. It is found that the type and the order of accuracy of finite-difference schemes and the subgrid-stress model for satisfactory results are dependent on each other, and the grid resolution and the Reynolds number. Using computational grids manageable by workstation-level computers, with which the near-wall region of the separating boundary layer cannot be resolved, central-difference schemes of realistic orders of accuracy, either fully conservative or non-conservative, suffer stability problems. The upwind-biased schemes of third order and the Smagorinsky eddy-viscosity subgrid model can give reasonable results resolving much of the energy-containing turbulent eddies in the boundary layers and in the wake and representing the subgrid stresses in most parts of the flow. Noticeable improvements can be obtained by either using higher order difference schemes, increasing the grid resolution and/or by implementing a dynamic subgrid stress model, but each at a cost of increased computational time. For further improvements, the very small-scale eddies near the upstream corners and in the laminar sublayers need to be resolved but would require a substantially larger number of grid points that are out of the range of easily accessible computers. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Mesoscale precipitation variability in the region of the European Alps during the 20th centuryINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 9 2002Jürg Schmidli Abstract The purpose of this study is to construct and evaluate a new gridded analysis of precipitation that covers the entire region of the European Alps (43.2,48.8 ° N, 3.2,16.2 ° E), resolves the most prominent mesoscale variations (grid spacing 25 km) and extends with a monthly time-resolution over most of the 20th century (1901,90). The analysis is based on a reconstruction using the reduced-space optimal interpolation technique. It combines data from a high-resolution network over a restricted time period (1971,90) with homogeneous centennial records from a sparse sample of stations. The reconstructed fields account for 78% of the total variance in a cross-validation with independent data. The explained variance for individual grid points varies between 60 and 95%, with lower skills over the southern and western parts of the domain. For averages over 100 × 100 km2 subdomains, the explained variance increases to 90,99%. Comparison of the reconstruction with the CRU05 global analysis reveals good agreement with respect to the interannual variations of large subdomain averages (10 000,50 000 km2), some differences in decadal variations, especially for recent decades, and physically more plausible spatial patterns in the present analysis. The new dataset is exploited to depict 20th century precipitation variations and their correlations with the North Atlantic oscillation (NAO). A linear trend analysis (1901,90) reveals an increase of winter precipitation by 20,30% per 100 years in the western part of the Alps, and a decrease of autumn precipitation by 20,40% to the south of the main ridge. Correlations with the NAO index (NAOI) are weak and highly intermittent to the north and weak and more robust to the south of the main Alpine crest, indicating that changes in the NAOI in recent decades are not of primary importance in explaining observed precipitation changes. Copyright © 2002 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Spatial and temporal 850 hPa air temperature and sea-surface temperature covariances in the Mediterranean region and their connection to atmospheric circulationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 6 2002C. J. Lolis Abstract The spatial and temporal covariability between the lower troposphere and sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are studied in the Mediterranean basin for the period 1958,98. Monthly air temperature anomalies for the 850 hPa pressure level (T-850hPa) at 2.5° × 2.5° grid points and SST anomalies in 5° × 5° grid boxes are utilized. As a first step, factor analysis is applied on both sets of data in order to reduce their dimensionality. Then, canonical correlation analysis is applied and this leads to one statistically significant pair of canonical variates for winter and to two pairs for summer. In winter, a teleconnection (see-saw) between western Europe and the eastern Mediterranean at the 850 hPa level is revealed, and a corresponding weaker one between the areas of central-west and eastern Mediterranean for SST. The correlation between T-850hPa and SST appears higher over the eastern Mediterranean. In summer, the first pair of canonical variates reveals a covariability between T-850hPa and SST in the western Mediterranean, and the second one shows a covariability in the eastern Mediterranean, without the existence of any strong spatial teleconnection. The analysis is repeated, using time lags of 1 month, or longer, in order to detect any possible non-synchronous relation. Statistically significant results are found only when T-850hPa leads SST with a time lag of 1 month. In particular, the results are statistically significant for winter only, and the findings are similar to those of the first analysis. Therefore, the existence of a 1 month time scale SST persistence is detected for winter months. Copyright © 2002 Royal Meteorological Society. [source] The spatial and temporal behaviour of the lower stratospheric temperature over the Southern Hemisphere: the MSU view.INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 4 2001Part I: data, methodology, temporal behaviour Abstract The lower stratosphere monthly temperature anomalies over the Southern Hemisphere derived from soundings made by the Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU) between 1979 and 1997 are analysed. Specifically MSU channel 4 temperature retrievals are considered. Principal component (PC) analysis with the S-mode approach is used in order to isolate grid points that covary in a similar manner and to determine the main features of their temporal behaviour. The first six PCs explain 81.3% of the variance and represent the different time variability patterns observed over the Southern Hemisphere for the ten area clusters determined by the method. The most important feature is common to all the PC score pattern,time series and corresponds to a negative linear trend present in almost all the Southern Hemisphere except over New Zealand and surrounding areas. The negative trend is largest over Antarctica. The remaining features of the temporal variability are different for each PC score and therefore for each cluster region over the Southern Hemisphere. The first PC score pattern shows the impact of the Chichón and Mt Pinatubo eruptions that each produced a 2-year warming over the tropical and sub-tropical lower stratosphere. This variability is orthogonal with the behaviour present over Antarctica. There are different anomalies between 1987 (El Niño) and 1988 (La Niña). This second PC does not show any evidence whatsoever of the volcanic eruptions. The semi-annual wave is present in the anomaly recurrence at mid to high latitudes. Over very low latitudes, close to the Equator, the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) band of frequency is also present. Copyright © 2001 Royal Meteorological Society [source] The spatial and temporal behaviour of the lower stratospheric temperature over the Southern Hemisphere: the MSU view.INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 4 2001Part II: spatial behaviour Abstract Monthly lower stratosphere temperature anomalies in a layer centred about 70 hPa, from the MSU data set are analysed for the period 1979,1997. T-mode approach principal component analysis (PCA) is used in order to obtain the leading spatial anomaly patterns and their sequences of occurrence throughout the period under study. Five principal components (PCs) are significantly different from the spatial distribution of noisy data. The patterns given by the PC scores represent ten typical spatial anomaly patterns: five correspond to the direct mode, that is to say anomaly fields with the same sign as the PC score patterns, and five have the opposite sign. The first three PCs represent simple spatial temperature anomaly distributions, with zonal wave 0 to wave 2 wave structures. The following significant PCs, orders four and five, display a more complex spatial behaviour, with wave 3 wave structures. The first two PC's frequency distribution in time, given by the PC loadings time series, do not show noticeable changes throughout the period analysed. The remaining three PCs show changes in their frequency of occurrence that might be associated with the negative trends in the lower stratosphere temperature, as well as to the other different features observed in the real temperature anomaly time series for the grid points in the Southern Hemisphere. The latter are studied with the PCA in the S-mode approach in the companion paper (Compagnucci et al., 2001. International Journal of Climatology21: 419,437). Copyright © 2001 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Quantum wave packet dynamics on multidimensional adaptive grids: Applications of the moving boundary truncation methodINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF QUANTUM CHEMISTRY, Issue 7 2007Lucas R. Pettey Abstract Recently, we reported a novel method for integrating the time dependent Schrödinger equation which used hydrodynamic quantum trajectories to adapt the boundaries of a fixed spatial grid. The moving boundary truncation (MBT) method significantly reduced the number of grid points needed to perform accurate calculations while maintaining stability during the time propagation. In this work, the method is extended to multidimensional examples. The application of MBT to scattering on 2D and 3D potential energy surfaces shows a greater decrease in the number of grid points needed compared with full fixed grids while maintaining excellent accuracy and stability, even for very long propagation times. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007 [source] Distributed Gaussian discrete variable representationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF QUANTUM CHEMISTRY, Issue 1 2005Hasan Karabulut Abstract A discrete variable representation (DVR) made from distributed Gaussians gn(x) = e, (n = ,,, ,, ,) and its infinite grid limit is described. The infinite grid limit of the distributed Gaussian DVR (DGDVR) reduces to the sinc function DVR of Colbert and Miller in the limit c , 0. The numerical performance of both finite and infinite grid DGDVRs and the sinc function DVR is compared. If a small number of quadrature points are taken, the finite grid DGDVR performs much better than both infinite grid DGDVR and sinc function DVR. The infinite grid DVRs lose accuracy due to the truncation error. In contrast, the sinc function DVR is found to be superior to both finite and infinite grid DGDVRs if enough grid points are taken to eliminate the truncation error. In particular, the accuracy of DGDVRs does not get better than some limit when the distance between Gaussians d goes to zero with fixed c, whereas the accuracy of the sinc function DVR improves very quickly as d becomes smaller, and the results are exact in the limit d , 0. An analysis of the performance of distributed basis functions to represent a given function is presented in a recent publication. With this analysis, we explain why the sinc function DVR performs better than the infinite grid DGDVR. The analysis also traces the inability of Gaussians to yield exact results in the limit d , 0 to the incompleteness of this basis in this limit. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2005 [source] Reactive scattering within a time-dependent discrete variable representationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF QUANTUM CHEMISTRY, Issue 5 2001G. D. Billing Abstract We have formulated a theory in which the quantum corrections to classical mechanics are easy to introduce. The method is based upon a time-dependent discrete variable representation (DVR) of the wavefunction with grid points defined by the Hermite part of a basis set, the so-called Gauss,Hermite basis set. The formulation introduces a set of grid points which follow the classical trajectory in space. With enough trajectories (DVR points), the method approaches the exact quantum formulation. With just a single grid point in a given degree of freedom, we have a classical mechanical description. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem, 2001 [source] Graph-theoretical identification of dissociation pathways on free energy landscapes of biomolecular interactionJOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, Issue 4 2010Ling Wang Abstract Biomolecular association and dissociation reactions take place on complicated interaction free energy landscapes that are still very hard to characterize computationally. For large enough distances, though, it often suffices to consider the six relative translational and rotational degrees of freedom of the two particles treated as rigid bodies. Here, we computed the six-dimensional free energy surface of a dimer of water-soluble alpha-helices by scanning these six degrees of freedom in about one million grid points. In each point, the relative free energy difference was computed as the sum of the polar and nonpolar solvation free energies of the helix dimer and of the intermolecular coulombic interaction energy. The Dijkstra graph algorithm was then applied to search for the lowest cost dissociation pathways based on a weighted, directed graph, where the vertices represent the grid points, the edges connect the grid points and their neighbors, and the weights are the reaction costs between adjacent pairs of grid points. As an example, the configuration of the bound state was chosen as the source node, and the eight corners of the translational cube were chosen as the destination nodes. With the strong electrostatic interaction of the two helices giving rise to a clearly funnel-shaped energy landscape, the eight lowest-energy cost pathways coming from different orientations converge into a well-defined pathway for association. We believe that the methodology presented here will prove useful for identifying low-energy association and dissociation pathways in future studies of complicated free energy landscapes for biomolecular interaction. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010 [source] An efficient grid-based scheme to compute QTAIM atomic properties without explicit calculation of zero-flux surfacesJOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, Issue 7 2009Juan I. Rodríguez Abstract We introduce a method to compute atomic properties according to the "quantum theory of atoms in molecules." An integration grid in real space is partitioned into subsets, ,i. The subset, ,i, is composed of all grid points contained in the atomic basin, ,i, so that integration over ,i is reduced to simple quadrature over the points in ,i. The partition is constructed from deMon2k's atomic center grids by following the steepest ascent path of the density starting from each point in the grid. We also introduce a technique that exploits the cellular nature of the grid to make the algorithm faster. The performance of the method is tested by computing properties of atoms and nonnuclear attractors (energies, charges, dipole, and quadrupole moments) for a set of representative molecules. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2009 [source] Piecewise linear relaxation of bilinear programs using bivariate partitioningAICHE JOURNAL, Issue 7 2010M. M. Faruque Hasan Abstract Several operational and synthesis problems of practical interest involve bilinear terms. Commercial global solvers such as BARON appear ineffective at solving some of these problems. Although recent literature has shown the potential of piecewise linear relaxation via ab initio partitioning of variables for such problems, several issues such as how many and which variables to partition, which partitioning scheme(s) and relaxation model(s) to use, placement of grid points, etc., need detailed investigation. To this end, we present a detailed numerical comparison of univariate and bivariate partitioning schemes. We compare several models for the two schemes based on different formulations such as incremental cost (IC), convex combination (CC), and special ordered sets (SOS). Our evaluation using four process synthesis problems shows a formulation using SOS1 variables to perform the best for both partitioning schemes. It also points to the potential usefulness of a 2-segment bivariate partitioning scheme for the global optimization of bilinear programs. We also prove some simple results on the number and selection of partitioned variables and the advantage of uniform placement of grid points (identical segment lengths for partitioning). © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2010 [source] A spatial model for the needle losses of pine-trees in the forests of Baden-Württemberg: an application of Bayesian structured additive regressionJOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES C (APPLIED STATISTICS), Issue 1 2007Nicole H. Augustin Summary., The data that are analysed are from a monitoring survey which was carried out in 1994 in the forests of Baden-Württemberg, a federal state in the south-western region of Germany. The survey is part of a large monitoring scheme that has been carried out since the 1980s at different spatial and temporal resolutions to observe the increase in forest damage. One indicator for tree vitality is tree defoliation, which is mainly caused by intrinsic factors, age and stand conditions, but also by biotic (e.g. insects) and abiotic stresses (e.g. industrial emissions). In the survey, needle loss of pine-trees and many potential covariates are recorded at about 580 grid points of a 4 km × 4 km grid. The aim is to identify a set of predictors for needle loss and to investigate the relationships between the needle loss and the predictors. The response variable needle loss is recorded as a percentage in 5% steps estimated by eye using binoculars and categorized into healthy trees (10% or less), intermediate trees (10,25%) and damaged trees (25% or more). We use a Bayesian cumulative threshold model with non-linear functions of continuous variables and a random effect for spatial heterogeneity. For both the non-linear functions and the spatial random effect we use Bayesian versions of P -splines as priors. Our method is novel in that it deals with several non-standard data requirements: the ordinal response variable (the categorized version of needle loss), non-linear effects of covariates, spatial heterogeneity and prediction with missing covariates. The model is a special case of models with a geoadditive or more generally structured additive predictor. Inference can be based on Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques or mixed model technology. [source] Prediction of the Bivariate Molecular Weight-Long Chain Branching Distribution in High-Pressure Low-Density Polyethylene AutoclavesMACROMOLECULAR THEORY AND SIMULATIONS, Issue 6 2007Apostolos Krallis Abstract In the present study a population balance approach is described to follow the time evolution of bivariate molecular weight-long chain branching (MW-LCB) distributions in high pressure low density polyethylene autoclaves. The model formulation is based on a sectional grid method, the so-called fixed pivot technique (FPT). According to this method, the ,live' and ,dead' polymer chain populations are assigned to a selected number of discrete points. Then, the resulting dynamic discrete-continuous molar species equations for ,live' and ,dead' polymer chains are solved at the specified grid points. It is shown that a very good agreement exists between theoretical results and experimental data which proves the capability of the FPT method in calculating the joint MW-LCB distribution for branched polymers. [source] A direct method for solving an anisotropic mean curvature flow of plane curves with an external forceMATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE APPLIED SCIENCES, Issue 13 2004Karol Mikula Abstract A new method for solution of the evolution of plane curves satisfying the geometric equation v=,(x,k,,), where v is the normal velocity, k and , are the curvature and tangential angle of a plane curve , , ,2 at the point x,,, is proposed. We derive a governing system of partial differential equations for the curvature, tangential angle, local length and position vector of an evolving family of plane curves and prove local in time existence of a classical solution. These equations include a non-trivial tangential velocity functional governing a uniform redistribution of grid points and thus preventing numerically computed solutions from forming various instabilities. We discretize the governing system of equations in order to find a numerical solution for 2D anisotropic interface motions and image segmentation problems. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||