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Forcing
Kinds of Forcing Terms modified by Forcing Selected AbstractsSemantic Forcing in Disjunctive Logic ProgramsCOMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, Issue 4 2001Marina De Vos We propose a semantics for disjunctive logic programs, based on the single notion of forcing. We show that the semantics properly extends, in a natural way, previous approaches. A fixpoint characterization is also provided. We also take a closer look at the relationship between disjunctive logic programs and disjunctive-free logic programs. We present certain criteria under which a disjunctive program is semantically equivalent with its disjunctive-free (shifted) version. [source] Spatial Forcing of Self-Organized Microwrinkles by Periodic Nanopatterns,ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 20 2007T. Ohzono Spatially forced self-organized microwrinkles using a substrate with periodic nanopatterns are fabricated by nanolithography. The hard (metal, organic or inorganic/organic) film formed on the patterned substrate forms precisely directed wrinkles under lateral compression. The wavelength is resonantly forced to the integral multiples of the periodicity of nanopatterns. [source] A Change of Climate Provokes a Change of Paradigm: Taking Leave of Two Tacit Assumptions about Physical Lake ForcingINTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF HYDROBIOLOGY, Issue 4-5 2008David M. Livingstone Abstract Physically, lakes have traditionally been viewed as individual systems forced by statistically stationary local weather. This view implies that the physical response of a lake to external physical forcing is unique and stationary. Recent recognition of the importance of large-scale climatic forcing in driving physical lake processes, combined with the realisation that this forcing is undergoing a long-term trend as a result of climate change, has led to a shift in this paradigm. The new physical paradigm views lakes more in terms of a local response to large-scale climatic forcing modulated by the addition of local noise. A strong climate signal leads to large-scale spatial coherence in the physical lake response, while the existence of trends in large-scale climatic forcing associated with climate change means that both the forcing and the physical lake response are statistically non-stationary. Thus increasing realisation of the importance of climate and climate change is invalidating the tacit assumptions of individuality and stationarity that underlie the old conceptual framework, resulting in its gradual abandonment in favour of a new paradigm based on the concepts of spatial coherence and temporal non-stationarity. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Forcing highly connected subgraphsJOURNAL OF GRAPH THEORY, Issue 4 2007Maya Jakobine Stein Abstract A theorem of Mader states that highly connected subgraphs can be forced in finite graphs by assuming a high minimum degree. We extend this result to infinite graphs. Here, it is necessary to require not only high degree for the vertices but also high vertex-degree (or multiplicity) for the ends of the graph, that is, a large number of disjoint rays in each end. We give a lower bound on the degree of vertices and the vertex-degree of the ends which is quadratic in k, the connectedness of the desired subgraph. In fact, this is not far from best possible: we exhibit a family of graphs with a degree of order 2k at the vertices and a vertex-degree of order k log k at the ends which have no k -connected subgraphs. Furthermore, if in addition to the high degrees at the vertices, we only require high edge-degree for the ends (which is defined as the maximum number of edge-disjoint rays in an end), Mader's theorem does not extend to infinite graphs, not even to locally finite ones. We give a counterexample in this respect. But, assuming a lower bound of at least 2k for the edge-degree at the ends and the degree at the vertices does suffice to ensure the existence (k + 1)- edge -connected subgraphs in arbitrary graphs. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 54: 331,349, 2007 [source] Local forcing of a nonlinear surface reaction: CO oxidation on Pt(100)AICHE JOURNAL, Issue 1 2009Daniel Bilbao Abstract A novel spatiotemporal perturbation method for nonlinear surface reactions is reported, thus allowing the creation of new spatially localized structures. Forcing was achieved by dosing reactant gases through a capillary positioned near the catalyst surface, providing control over the local surface coverage and reaction rate. The emergence of localized concentration patterns and oscillations in an otherwise stable system is attributed to a local modification of the catalytic properties of the surface due to external forcing. Based on the spatial orientation, the temporal and thermal stability of the modified surface, as well as the affinity of CO toward the perturbed surface, subsurface O is proposed as a possible source of the observed localized patterning and surface memory effect. © 2008 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2009 [source] Lithological and fluvial controls on the geomorphology of tropical montane stream channels in Puerto RicoEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 12 2010Andrew S. Pike Abstract An extensive survey and topographic analysis of five watersheds draining the Luquillo Mountains in north-eastern Puerto Rico was conducted to decouple the relative influences of lithologic and hydraulic forces in shaping the morphology of tropical montane stream channels. The Luquillo Mountains are a steep landscape composed of volcaniclastic and igneous rocks that exert a localized lithologic influence on the stream channels. However, the stream channels also experience strong hydraulic forcing due to high unit discharge in the humid rainforest environment. GIS-based topographic analysis was used to examine channel profiles, and survey data were used to analyze downstream changes in channel geometry, grain sizes, stream power, and shear stresses. Results indicate that the longitudinal profiles are generally well graded but have concavities that reflect the influence of multiple rock types and colluvial-alluvial transitions. Non-fluvial processes, such as landslides, deliver coarse boulder-sized sediment to the channels and may locally determine channel gradient and geometry. Median grain size is strongly related to drainage area and slope, and coarsens in the headwaters before fining in the downstream reaches; a pattern associated with a mid-basin transition between colluvial and fluvial processes. Downstream hydraulic geometry relationships between discharge, width and velocity (although not depth) are well developed for all watersheds. Stream power displays a mid-basin maximum in all basins, although the ratio of stream power to coarse grain size (indicative of hydraulic forcing) increases downstream. Excess dimensionless shear stress at bankfull flow wavers around the threshold for sediment mobility of the median grain size, and does not vary systematically with bankfull discharge; a common characteristic in self-forming ,threshold' alluvial channels. The results suggest that although there is apparent bedrock and lithologic control on local reach-scale channel morphology, strong fluvial forces acting over time have been sufficient to override boundary resistance and give rise to systematic basin-scale patterns. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd. [source] Climatic influence on the inter-annual variability of late-Holocene minerogenic sediment supply in a boreal forest catchmentEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 4 2010Gunilla Petterson Abstract Processes controlling sediment yield vary over a range of timescales, although most process-based observations are extremely short. Lake sediments, however, can be used to extend the observational timescale and are particularly useful when annually laminated (varved) sediment is present. The sediment record at Kassjön (N. Sweden) consists of ,6400 varves, each 0·5,1 mm thick. Image analysis was used to determine grey-scale variation and varve thickness from which annual minerogenic accumulation rate (MinAR) (mg cm,2 year,1) was inferred for the period 4486 BC , AD 1900. MinAR varies on annual to centennial scales and mainly reflects channel bank erosion by the inflow streams. The mineral input reflects the intensity of the spring run-off, which is dependent on the amount of snow accumulated during the winter, and hence MinAR is a long-term record of variability in past winter climate; other factors will be a variable response to catchment uplift, vegetation succession and pedogenesis. A major shift from low to high MinAR occurred ,250 BC, and peaks occurred around AD 250, 600, 1000, 1350 and 1650. Wavelet power spectrum analysis (confirmed by Fourier analyses) indicated significantly different periodicities throughout the period 4000 BC , AD 1700, including 275 years for the period 4000 BC , 2900 BC, 567 years for the period 2901 BC , 1201 BC, and 350 and 725 years for the period 1200 BC , AD 1700. The long-term, centennial scale variability (,350 years) may reflect solar forcing (cf the 385-year peak in tree-ring calibrated 14C activity) but interestingly, there is no obvious link to high frequency forcing, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation. The high resolution component of the record highlights the relevance of varved lake sediment records for understanding erosion dynamics in undisturbed forested catchments and their link to long-term climate dynamics and future climate change. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Amount and controls of the quaternary denudation in the Ardennes massif (western Europe)EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 11 2009A. Demoulin Abstract It is still debated whether the primary control on the middle Pleistocene denudation of the uplifted Ardennes massif (western Europe) is tectonic or climatic. Here, based on geomorphological observations, we calculate the amount of river incision and interfluve denudation in the Meuse basin upstream of Maastricht since 0·7 Ma and we show that the main response to tectonic forcing was incision. This allows us to provide first-order estimates of the tectonic and climatic contributions to the denudation of the Ardennes. From a dataset of 71 remnants of a terrace level dated ,0·7 Ma, we first derive a basin-scale functional relationship linking incision with distances to the regional base level (Lc) and to the source (Ls) in the Ourthe basin (pertaining to the Ardennian part of the Meuse basin). Expressed as I = I0*(1 , a*Lcb/Lsc), I0 being the incision measured at the basin outlet, this relationship calculates that river incision has removed 84 km3 of rock in the Meuse basin upstream of Maastricht since 0·7 Ma. In the same time, 292 km3 were eroded from the interfluves. A comparison of these volumes shows that the tectonically forced river incision accounts for ,22% of the total post-0·7 Ma denudation. Furthermore, the mean denudation rate corresponding to our geomorphological estimate of the overall denudation in the Meuse basin since 0·7 Ma amounts to 27 mm/ky, a figure significantly lower than the ,40 mm/ky mean rate derived from 10Be studies of terrace deposits of the Meuse (Schaller et al., 2004). This suggests that, taken as a basin average, the 10Be-derived rate is overestimated, probably due to an overrepresentation of the erosion products of the rapidly incising valleys in the alluvial deposits. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Weathering the escarpment: chemical and physical rates and processes, south-eastern AustraliaEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 6 2009Benjamin C. Burke Abstract Differences in chemical weathering extent and character are expected to exist across topographic escarpments due to spatial gradients of climatic and/or tectonic forcing. The passive margin escarpment of south-eastern Australia has a debated but generally accepted model of propagation in which it retreated (within 40 Ma) to near its current position following rifting between Australia and New Zealand 85,100 Ma before present. We focus on this escarpment to quantify chemical weathering rates and processes and how they may provide insight into scarp evolution and retreat. We compare chemical weathering extents and rates above and below the escarpment using a mass balance approach coupling major and trace element analyses with previous measurements of denudation rates using cosmogenic nuclides (10Be and 26Al). We find a slight gradient in saprolite chemical weathering rate as a percentage of total weathering rate across the escarpment. The lowlands area, encompassing the region extending from the base of the escarpment to the coast, experiences a greater extent of chemical weathering than the highland region above the escarpment. Percents of denudation attributable to saprolite weathering average 57 ± 6% and 47 ± 7% at low and high sites respectively. Furthermore, the chemical index of alteration (CIA), a ratio of immobile to mobile oxides in granitic material that increases with weathering extent, have corresponding average values of 73·7 ± 3·9 and 65·5 ± 3·4, indicating lower extents of weathering above the escarpment. Finally, we quantify variations in the rates and extent of chemical weathering at the hillslope scale across the escarpment to suggest new insight into how climate differences and hillslope topography help drive landscape evolution, potentially overprinting longer term tectonic forcing. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Geological constraints on Antarctic palaeo-ice-stream retreatEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 4 2008Colm Ó Cofaigh Abstract Submarine landforms preserved in bathymetric troughs on the Antarctic continental shelf show that the style of ice stream retreat across the shelf following the last glacial maximum varied between different troughs. Three styles of retreat are inferred from the geological evidence: rapid, episodic and slow. Rapid retreat by ice stream floatation and calving is recorded by the preservation of a landform assemblage of unmodified streamlined subglacial bedforms including mega-scale glacial lineations (MSGLs) that record streaming flow along these troughs. These elongate bedforms are not overprinted by recessional glacial landforms formed transverse to ice flow such as moraines or grounding-zone wedges, and overlying deglacial sediments are thin. A second type of landform assemblage consists of MSGLs overprinted or interrupted by transverse grounding-zone wedges. This assemblage implies episodic retreat between successive grounding-zone positions. The third type of landform assemblage is that of numerous, closely spaced, recessional moraines and intermittent grounding-zone wedges that overlie and interrupt MSGLs. This assemblage records the slow retreat of grounded ice across the shelf. Variation in the style of ice stream retreat between the different bathymetric troughs indicates that Antarctic palaeo-ice-streams did not respond uniformly to external forcing at the end of the last glacial cycle. Rather, their diachronous retreat reflects the dominance of local controls in the form of bathymetry and drainage basin size. More broadly, these data show that retreat of marine-based ice sheets in areas of reverse bed slope is not necessarily catastrophic, and they provide important constraints for numerical models that attempt to predict the dynamics of large polar ice sheets. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Hydrology and dynamics of a polythermal (mostly cold) High Arctic glacierEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 12 2006Robert G. Bingham Abstract To improve our understanding of the interactions between hydrology and dynamics in mostly cold glaciers (in which water flow is limited by thermal regime), we analyse short-term (every two days) variations in glacier flow in the ablation zone of polythermal John Evans Glacier, High Arctic Canada. We monitor the spatial and temporal propagation of high-velocity events, and examine their impacts upon supraglacial drainage processes and evolving subglacial drainage system structure. Each year, in response to the rapid establishment of supraglacial,subglacial drainage connections in the mid-ablation zone, a ,spring event' of high horizontal surface velocities and high residual vertical motion propagates downglacier over two to four days from the mid-ablation zone to the terminus. Subsequently, horizontal velocities fall relative to the spring event but remain higher than over winter, reflecting channelization of subglacial drainage but continued supraglacial meltwater forcing. Further transient high-velocity events occur later in each melt season in response to melt-induced rising supraglacial meltwater inputs to the glacier bed, but the dynamic response of the glacier contrasts with that recorded during the spring event, with the degree of spatial propagation a function of the degree to which the subglacial drainage system has become channelized. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Factors driving pathogenicity vs. prevalence of amphibian panzootic chytridiomycosis in IberiaECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 3 2010Susan F. Walker Ecology Letters (2010) 13: 372,382 Abstract Amphibian chytridiomycosis is a disease caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Whether Bd is a new emerging pathogen (the novel pathogen hypothesis; NPH) or whether environmental changes are exacerbating the host-pathogen dynamic (the endemic pathogen hypothesis; EPH) is debated. To disentangle these hypotheses we map the distribution of Bd and chytridiomycosis across the Iberian Peninsula centred on the first European outbreak site. We find that the infection-free state is the norm across both sample sites and individuals. To analyse this dataset, we use Bayesian zero-inflated binomial models to test whether environmental variables can account for heterogeneity in both the presence and prevalence of Bd, and heterogeneity in the occurrence of the disease, chytridiomycosis. We also search for signatures of Bd -spread within Iberia using genotyping. We show (1) no evidence for any relationship between the presence of Bd and environmental variables, (2) a weak relationship between environmental variables and the conditional prevalence of infection, (3) stage-dependent heterogeneity in the infection risk, (4) a strong association between altitude and chytridiomycosis, (5) multiple Iberian genotypes and (6) recent introduction and spread of a single genotype of Bd in the Pyrenees. We conclude that the NPH is consistent with the emergence of Bd in Iberia. However, epizootic forcing of infection is tied to location and shaped by both biotic and abiotic variables. Therefore, the population-level consequences of disease introduction are explained by EPH-like processes. This study demonstrates the power of combining surveillance and molecular data to ascertain the drivers of new emerging infections diseases. [source] Reconciling differences in trophic control in mid-latitude marine ecosystemsECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 10 2006Kenneth T. Frank Abstract The dependence of long-term fishery yields on primary productivity, largely based on cross-system comparisons and without reference to the potential dynamic character of this relationship, has long been considered strong evidence for bottom-up control in marine systems. We examined time series of intensive empirical observations from nine heavily exploited regions in the western North Atlantic and find evidence of spatial variance of trophic control. Top-down control dominated in northern areas, the dynamics evolved from bottom-up to top-down in an intermediate region, and bottom-up control governed the southern areas. A simplified, trophic control diagram was developed accounting for top-down and bottom-up forcing within a larger region whose base state dynamics are bottom-up and can accommodate time-varying dynamics. Species diversity and ocean temperature co-varied, being relatively high in southern areas and lower in the north, mirroring the shifting pattern of trophic control. A combination of compensatory population dynamics and accelerated demographic rates in southern areas seems to account for the greater stability of the predator species complex in this region. [source] Abrupt community change on a rocky shore , biological mechanisms contributing to the potential formation of an alternative stateECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 6 2004Robert T. Paine Abstract The 1997/1998 El Niño initiated a major shift in the intertidal assemblage on the Washington State outer coast. A 25 year time series (1978,2003) shows stands of dominant canopy algae replaced by mussel beds. A prior experiment had indicated that mussels can become too large to be eaten by starfish; newly initiated starfish removals predict mussel attainment of a size refuge. Such escapes inhibit recovery towards prior community composition and enhance development of alternative community states which may persist long after the originating forcing has lessened or disappeared. [source] Global statistical analysis of MISR aerosol data: a massive data product from NASA's Terra satelliteENVIRONMETRICS, Issue 7 2007Tao Shi Abstract In climate models, aerosol forcing is the major source of uncertainty in climate forcing, over the industrial period. To reduce this uncertainty, instruments on satellites have been put in place to collect global data. However, missing and noisy observations impose considerable difficulties for scientists researching the global distribution of aerosols, aerosol transportation, and comparisons between satellite observations and global-climate-model outputs. In this paper, we fit a Spatial Mixed Effects (SME) statistical model to predict the missing values, denoise the observed values, and quantify the spatial-prediction uncertainties. The computations associated with the SME model are linear scalable to the number of data points, which makes it feasible to process massive global satellite data. We apply the methodology, which is called Fixed Rank Kriging (FRK), to the level-3 Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) dataset collected by NASA's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument flying on the Terra satellite. Overall, our results were superior to those from non-statistical methods and, importantly, FRK has an uncertainty measure associated with it that can be used for comparisons over different regions or at different time points. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Kalman filter for the pedologist's tool kitEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 6 2006R. Webster Summary The Kalman filter is a tool designed primarily to estimate the values of the ,state' of a dynamic system in time. There are two main equations. These are the state equation, which describes the behaviour of the state over time, and the measurement equation, which describes at what times and in what manner the state is observed. For the discrete Kalman filter, discussed in this paper, the state equation is a stochastic difference equation that incorporates a random component for noise in the system and that may include external forcing. The measurement equation is defined such that it can handle indirect measurements, gaps in the sequence of measurements and measurement errors. The Kalman filter operates recursively to predict forwards one step at a time the state of the system from the previously predicted state and the next measurement. Its predictions are optimal in the sense that they have minimum variance among all unbiased predictors, and in this respect the filter behaves like kriging. The equations can also be applied in reverse order to estimate the state variable at all time points from a complete series of measurements, including past, present and future measurements. This process is known as smoothing. This paper describes the ,predictor,corrector' algorithm for the Kalman filter and smoother with all the equations in full, and it illustrates the method with examples on the dynamics of groundwater level in the soil. The height of the water table at any one time depends partly on the height at previous times and partly on the precipitation excess. Measurements of the height of water table and their errors are incorporated into the measurement equation to improve prediction. Results show how diminishing the measurement error increases the accuracy of the predictions, and estimates achieved with the Kalman smoother are even more accurate. Le filtre de Kalman comme outil pour le pédologue Résumé Le filtre de Kalman est un outil conçu essentiellement pour estimer les valeurs de l'état d'un système dynamique dans le temps. Il comprend deux équations principales. Celles-ci sont l'équation d'état, qui décrit l'évolution de l'état pendant le temps, et l'équation de mesure qui decrit à quel instants et de quelle façon on observe l'état. Pour le filtre discret de Kalman, décrit dans cet article, l'équation d'état est une équation stochastique différentielle qui comprend une composante aléatoire pour le bruit dans le système et qui peut inclure une force extérieure. On définit l'équation de mesure de façon à ce qu'elle puisse traiter des mesures indirectes, des vides dans des séquences de mesures et des erreurs de mesure. Le filtre de Kalman fonctionne récursivement pour prédire en avance une démarche à temps l'état du système de la démarche prédite antérieure plus l'observation prochaine. Ses prédictions sont optimales dans le sens qu'elles minimisent la variance parmi toutes les prédictions non-biasées, et à cet égard le filtre se comporte comme le krigeage. On peut appliquer, aussi, les équations dans l'ordre inverse pour estimer la variable d'état à toutes pointes à toutes les instants d'une série complète d'observations, y compris les observations du passé, du présent et du futur. Ce processus est connu comme ,smoothing'. Cet article décrit l'algorithme ,predictor,corrector' du filtre de Kalman et le ,smoother' avec toutes les équations entières. Il illustre cette méthode avec des exemples de la dynamique du niveau de la nappe phréatique dans le sol. Le niveau de la nappe à un instant particulier dépend en partie du niveau aux instants précédents et en partie de l'excès de la précipitation. L'équation d'état fournit la relation générale entre les deux variables et les prédictions. On incorpore les mesures du niveau de la nappe et leurs erreurs pour améliorer les prédictions. Les résultats mettent en évidence que lorsqu'on diminue l'erreur de mesure la précision des prédictions augmente, et aussi que les estimations avec le ,smoother' de Kalman sont encore plus précises. [source] Ecological effects of regime shifts in the Bering Sea and eastern North Pacific OceanFISH AND FISHERIES, Issue 2 2002Ashleen J Benson Abstract Large-scale shifts occurred in climatic and oceanic conditions in 1925, 1947, 1977, 1989 and possibly 1998. These shifts affected the mix and abundance of suites of coexisting species during each period of relative environmental stability,from primary producers to apex predators. However, the 1989 regime shift was not a simple reversal of the 1977 shift. The regime shifts occurred abruptly and were neither random variations nor simple reversals to the previous conditions. Timing of these anomalous environmental events in the North Pacific Ocean appears to be linked to physical and biological responses in other oceanic regions of the world. Changes in the atmospheric pressure can alter wind patterns that affect oceanic circulation and physical properties such as salinity and depth of the thermocline. This, in turn, affects primary and secondary production. Data from the North Pacific indicate that regime shifts can have opposite effects on species living in different domains, or can affect similar species living within a single domain in opposite ways. Climatic forcing appears to indirectly affect fish and marine mammal populations through changes in the distribution and abundance of their predators and prey. Effects of regime shifts on marine ecosystems are also manifested faster at lower trophic levels. Natural variability in the productivity of fish stocks in association with regime shifts indicates that new approaches to managing fisheries should incorporate climatic as well as fisheries effects. [source] Simulating larval supply to estuarine nursery areas: how important are physical processes to the supply of larvae to the Aransas Pass Inlet?FISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2004C. A. Brown Abstract Factors controlling the movement of fish larvae from coastal spawning environments to estuarine nursery areas are important to fish recruitment. In this paper, the role of physical processes in larval transport to estuarine nursery areas in the Aransas Pass region, Texas, is examined using a circulation model coupled with a fixed-depth particle transport model. Two phases of transport are examined: transport on the shelf to the tidal inlet and transport through the inlet to estuarine nursery areas. Observed pulsing in the supply of red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) larvae to the tidal inlet is significantly correlated with modeled particle supply. This pulsing is not correlated with a specific physical process, but results from the interaction of several factors affecting water movement, including low-frequency variations in water level and wind forcing. Simulations suggest that the primary spawning region for red drum larvae that utilize nursery habitat in the Aransas Pass region is located north of the inlet. Patterns in the trajectories of particles that successfully enter the inlet reveal that they move alongshelf in the nearshore region and then move into the inlet, rather than moving directly across the shelf to the inlet. The approach path of particles outside the inlet determines the spatial transport patterns for inlets with branched channels and multiple bays. This study demonstrates that physical processes play an important role in determining larval supply to a tidal inlet. [source] A simple model of the eco-hydrodynamics of the epilimnion of Lake TanganyikaFRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 11 2007JAYA NAITHANI Summary 1. The ecosystem response of Lake Tanganyika was studied using a four-component, nutrient,phytoplankton,zooplankton,detritus, phosphorus-based ecosystem model coupled to a nonlinear, reduced-gravity, circulation model. The ecosystem model, an improved version of the earlier eco-hydrodynamics model developed for Lake Tanganyika, was used to estimate the annual primary production of Lake Tanganyika and its spatial and temporal variability. The simulations were driven with the National Centres for Environmental Protection (NCEP) records for winds and solar radiation forcing. 2. The simulated annual cycles of the four ecosystem variables and the daily net primary production were compared with the observations. The comparison showed that simulations reproduced realistically the general features of the annual cycles of epilimnial phosphate, net primary production and plankton dynamics. 3. The climatic simulations for the years 1970,2006 yielded a daily averaged integrated upper layer net production ranging from 0.11 to 1.78 g C m,2 day,1 and daily averaged chlorophyll- a (chl- a) from 0.16 to 4.3 mg m,3. Although the nutrient concentrations in the epilimnion during the strong wind years were high, the net production was low, which is partly because of the greater vertical mixing, produced by strong winds, exposing the phytoplankton to low light conditions in deeper waters. The simulated annual net production and chl- a agreed quite well with observed production available in the literature. 4. We envisage using this model to predict the future scenarios of primary productivity in the lake. [source] Interaction between wind-induced seiches and convective cooling governs algal distribution in a canyon-shaped reservoirFRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 7 2007RAFAEL MARCÉ Summary 1. Wind is considered the dominant factor controlling phytoplankton distribution in lentic environments. In canyon-shaped reservoirs, wind tends to blow along the main axis generating internal seiches and advective water movements that jointly with biological features of algae can produce a heterogeneous phytoplankton distribution. Turbulence generated by wind stress and convection will also affect the vertical distribution of algae, depending on their sinking properties. 2. We investigated the vertical and horizontal distribution of phytoplankton during the stratification period in Sau Reservoir (NE Spain). Sites along the main reservoir axis were sampled every 4 h for 3 days, and profiles of chlorophyll- a and temperature were made using a fluorescent FluoroProbe, which can discriminate among the main algal groups. Convective and wind shear velocity scales, and energy dissipation were calculated from meteorological data, and simulation experiments were performed to describe non-measured processes, like vertical advection and sinking velocity of phytoplankton. 3. Wind direction changed from day to night, producing a diel thermocline oscillation and an internal seiche. Energy dissipation was moderate during the night, and mainly attributed to convective cooling. During the day the energy dissipation was entirely attributed to wind shear, but values indicated low turbulence intensity. 4. The epilimnetic algal community was mainly composed of diatoms and chlorophytes. Chlorophytes showed a homogeneous distribution on the horizontal and vertical planes. Diatom horizontal pattern was also homogeneous, because the horizontal advective velocities generated by wind forcing were not high enough to develop phytoplankton gradients along the reservoir. 5. Diatom vertical distribution was heterogeneous in space and time. Different processes dominated in different regions of the reservoir, due to the interaction between seiching and the daily cycle of convective-mediated turbulence. As the meteorological forcing followed a clear daily pattern, we found very different diatom sedimentation dynamics between day and night. Remarkably, these dynamics were asynchronous in the extremes of the seiche, implying that under the same meteorological forcing a diatom population can show contrasting sedimentation dynamics at small spatial scales (approximately 103 m). This finding should be taken into account when interpreting paleolimnological records from different locations in a lake. 6. Vertical distribution of non-motile algae is a complex process including turbulence, vertical and horizontal advection, variations in the depth of the mixing layer and the intrinsic sinking properties of the organisms. Thus, simplistic interpretations considering only one of these factors should be regarded with caution. The results of this work also suggest that diatoms can persist in stratified water because of a synergistic effect between seiching and convective turbulence. [source] Short-term variability in physical forcing in temperate reservoirs: effects on phytoplankton dynamics and sedimentary fluxesFRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2007ALEXANDRINE PANNARD Summary 1. The effects of wind events on phytoplankton dynamics were investigated in two temperate reservoirs. 2. Meteorological forcing, change in physical and chemical structure of the water column and biological responses of phytoplankton communities were followed for 3 weeks in three seasons. 3. Depending on the season, the phytoplankton response differed in response to nutrient and light conditions, and to the intensity of stratification and mixing. 4. We demonstrated that, on a time scale of a few days, wind events can modify phytoplankton dynamics, in terms of size structure and exported biomass. An increase of mixing favoured the largest size class and disadvantaged the smallest size class, while an increase in stratification had the opposite effects. The short-term change in size structure was reflected in the sedimentary fluxes but with a time lag. [source] Allometric relationships between lamina area, lamina mass and petiole mass of 93 temperate woody species vary with leaf habit, leaf form and altitudeFUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2008Guoyong Li Summary 1The allometric scaling relationship between lamina and lamina support has rarely been examined, such that its significance to plant life-history strategies has not been fully explored and understood so far. We investigated the sizes of leaf lamina and petiole for 93 temperate broad-leaved woody species at two altitudes of a southwestern mountain, and analysed the scaling relationship in relation to leaf habit (evergreen vs. deciduous), leaf form (simple- vs. compound-leaved species), and habitat type (low vs. high altitude). 2Significant allometric scaling relationships were found between petiole mass and lamina mass, and between petiole mass and lamina area, with common slopes of 0·872 and 0·742, respectively, both significantly departed from the value of 1·0. The results of phylogenetic comparative analyses were in accordance with the observed positive scaling relationships. 3The evergreen species were found to have a greater petiole mass than the deciduous at a given lamina area; whilst a contrasting pattern was observed between lamina mass and petiole mass, in which the evergreens had a greater biomass allocation to lamina for the same petiole mass relative to the deciduous. 4The compound-leaved species were observed to be significantly greater in both lamina area and lamina support (including petioles, rachis and petiolules) than the simple-leaved species, whereas the former had a smaller lamina area or lamina mass at a given petiole mass than the latter. 5The plants from the high altitude had less lamina area at a given petiole investment compared to those from the lower altitude, likely due to the large mechanic and transporting requirements of petioles in the species at high altitude. 6Our results indicate that petioles serve as an adverse forcing on the maximization of lamina area and lamina biomass and that the allometric relationship between lamina and lamina support varies with leaf habit, leaf form and habitat. [source] Allometry, growth and population regulation of the desert shrub Larrea tridentataFUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2008A. P. Allen Summary 1Quantifying the effects of individual- and population-level processes on plant-community structure is of fundamental importance for understanding how biota contribute to the flux, storage and turnover of matter and energy in ecosystems. 2Here we synthesize plant-allometry theory with empirical data to evaluate the roles of individual metabolism and competition in structuring populations of the creosote Larrea tridentata, a dominant shrub in deserts of southwestern North America. 3At the individual level, creosote data support theoretical predictions with regard to the size dependence of total leaf mass, short-term growth rates of leaves and long-term growth rates of entire plants. Data also support the prediction that root,shoot biomass allocation is independent of plant size. 4At the population level, size,abundance relationships within creosote stands deviate strongly from patterns observed for steady-state closed-canopy forests due to episodic recruitment events. This finding highlights that carbon storage and turnover in water-limited ecosystems can be inherently less predictable than in mesic environments due to pronounced environmental forcing on demographic variables. 5Nevertheless, broad-scale comparative analyses across ecosystems indicate that the relationship of total abundance to average size for creosote populations adhere to the thinning rule observed and predicted by allometry theory. This finding indicates that primary production in water-limited ecosystems can be independent of standing biomass due to competition among plants for resources. 6Our synthesis of theory with empirical data quantifies the primary roles of individual-level metabolism and competition in controlling the dynamics of matter and energy in water-limited ecosystems. [source] Wave and sediment dynamics along a shallow subtidal sandy beach inhabited by modern stromatolitesGEOBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2008J. E. ECKMAN ABSTRACT To help define the habitat of modern marine stromatolites, wave-dominated flow and sediment transport were studied in the shallow subtidal region (1,2 m depth) along the slightly concave, windward face of Highborne Cay, Exuma, Bahamas , the only face of the cay that includes a population of stromatolites concentrated near the region of highest curvature of the beach. Wave energy impacting this island's most exposed beach was driven by local wind forcing which increases largely in response to the passage of atmospheric disturbances that typically affect the region for periods of a few days. Although some wave energy is almost always noted (maximum horizontal orbital speeds at the bottom are rarely <10 cm s,1), wave conditions remain comparatively calm until local winds increase above speeds of ,3,4 m s,1 at which point maximum wave speeds rapidly increase to 50,80 cm s,1. Stromatolites, which are largely restricted to the shoreward side of a shallow platform reef, are sheltered by the reef beyond which wave speeds are one to four times higher (depending on tidal stage). Moreover, stromatolite populations are predominantly found along a region of this wave-exposed beach that experiences comparatively reduced wave energy because of the curved morphology of the island's face. Maximum wave speeds are 1.4 to 2 times higher along more northern sections of the beach just beyond the locus of stromatolite populations. A quantitative model of sediment transport was developed that accurately predicted accumulation of suspended sediment in sediment traps deployed in the shallow subtidal zone along this beach. This model, coupled with in situ wave records, indicates that gross rates of suspended sediment deposition should be two to three times higher northward of the main stromatolite populations. Regions of the beach containing stromatolites nevertheless should experience significant rates of gross suspended sediment deposition averaging 7,10 g cm,2 day,1 (,4,6 cm day,1). Results suggest that one axis of the habitat of modern marine stromatolites may be defined by a comparatively narrow range of flow energy and sediment transport conditions. [source] CLIMATIC VARIABILITY ALONG A NORTH,SOUTH TRANSECT OF FINLAND OVER THE LAST 500 YEARS: SIGNATURE OF SOLAR INFLUENCE OR INTERNAL CLIMATE OSCILLATIONS?GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES A: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2008MAXIM G. OGURTSOV ABSTRACT. Statistical analysis of a multi-centennial dendrochronological proxy dataset of regional climate, constructed across the latitudinal gradient of 1000 km, was performed. It was shown that centennial (c. 100 year), tri-decadal (27-32 year), bi-decadal (17-23 year) and decadal (9-13 year) periodicities governed the climate variability in Finland over the last five centuries. Despite the fact that many of the climatic periodicities bore great resemblance to periodicities of solar cycles, little evidence of actual solar influence on Finnish climate was found when the climate proxy records were subjected to linear correlation analysis with sunspot numbers. Highly non-linear response of Northern Fennoscandian climate to solar forcing might be a cause of this result, as well as influence of terrestrial climatic processes (e.g. effect of other forcing factors and internal dynamics of regional climate). Our results show that the presence of internal climate variability at time-scales of solar activity might distort the solar signature in climatic data and complicate its detection. [source] A geochronological approach to understanding the role of solar activity on Holocene glacier length variability in the Swiss AlpsGEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES A: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2006Anne Hormes ABSTRACT. We present a radiocarbon data set of 71 samples of wood and peat material that melted out or sheared out from underneath eight presentday mid-latitude glaciers in the Central Swiss Alps. Results indicated that in the past several glaciers have been repeatedly less extensive than they were in the 1990s. The periods when glaciers had a smaller volume and shorter length persisted between 320 and 2500 years. This data set provides greater insight into glacier variability than previously possible, especially for the early and middle Holocene. The radiocarbon-dated periods defined with less extensive glaciers coincide with periods of reduced radio-production, pointing to a connection between solar activity and glacier melting processes. Measured long-term series of glacier length variations show significant correlation with the total solar irradiance. Incoming solar irradiance and changing albedo can account for a direct forcing of the glacier mass balances. Long-term investigations of atmospheric processes that are in interaction with changing solar activity are needed in order to understand the feedback mechanisms with glacier mass balances. [source] Pan Evaporation Trends and the Terrestrial Water Balance.GEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2009Pan evaporation is just that , it is the evaporation rate of water from a small dish located at the ground-surface. Pan evaporation is a measure of the evaporative demand over terrestrial surfaces. Declines in pan evaporation have now been reported in many regions of the world. The trends vary from one pan to the next, but when averaged over many pans, they are typically in the range of ,1 to ,4 mm a,2 (mm per annum per annum). In energetic terms, a trend of ,2 mm a,2 is equivalent to ,0.16 W m,2 a,1 and over 30 years this is a change of ,4.8 W m,2. For comparison, the top-of-atmosphere forcing due to doubled CO2 is estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to be ~3.7 W m,2. Hence, the magnitude of the pan evaporation trend is large. What is of even greater interest is the direction , a decline , given the well-established warming of the last 30,50 years. In this article, the first in a two part series, we describe the underlying principles in using and interpreting pan evaporation data and then summarise the reported observations from different countries. In the second article, we describe the interpretation of the trends in terms of changes in the terrestrial water balance. [source] Pan Evaporation Trends and the Terrestrial Water Balance.GEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2009Declines in pan evaporation have been reported across the USA, former Soviet Union, India, China, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, among other places. The trend is large , approximately an order of magnitude larger than model-based estimates of top of the atmosphere radiative forcing. The pan evaporation trend also has a different sign (i.e. decline) from commonly held conceptions. These are a remarkably interesting set of observations. In the first article of this two-part series, we discussed the measurements themselves and then presented summaries of the worldwide observations. In this, the second article, we outline the use of energy balance methods to attribute the observed changes in pan evaporation to changes in the underlying physical variables, namely, radiation, temperature, vapour pressure deficit and wind speed. We find that much of the decline in pan evaporation can be attributed to declines in radiation (i.e. dimming) and/or wind speed (i.e. stilling). We then discuss the interpretation of changes in the terrestrial water balance. This has been an area of much misunderstanding and confusion, most of which can be rectified through use of the familiar and longstanding supply/demand framework. The key in using the pan evaporation data to make inferences about changes in the terrestrial water balance is to distinguish between water- and energy-limited conditions where different interpretations apply. [source] Dealing with Landscape Heterogeneity in Watershed Hydrology: A Review of Recent Progress toward New Hydrological TheoryGEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2009Peter A. Troch Predictions of hydrologic system response to natural and anthropogenic forcing are highly uncertain due to the heterogeneity of the land surface and subsurface. Landscape heterogeneity results in spatiotemporal variability of hydrological states and fluxes, scale-dependent flow and transport properties, and incomplete process understanding. Recent community activities, such as Prediction in Ungauged Basins of International Association of Hydrological Sciences, have recognized the impasse current catchment hydrology is facing and have called for a focused research agenda toward new hydrological theory at the watershed scale. This new hydrological theory should recognize the dominant control of landscape heterogeneity on hydrological processes, should explore novel ways to account for its effect at the watershed scale, and should build on an interdisciplinary understanding of how feedback mechanisms between hydrology, biogeochemistry, pedology, geomorphology, and ecology affect catchment evolution and functioning. [source] Quantitative tests for stratigraphic cyclicityGEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2008R. J. Bailey Abstract Periodic Milankovitch (M-) orbital forcing provides an explanation for subjectively recognized short-term repetition of lithofacies-,cycles'-in the stratigraphic record. Tests of this explanation often find no order in the lithofacies and/or no regularity in the recurrence of lithofacies. This does not disprove the influence of M-forcing, but a sedimentary response in terms of irregular M-forced ,cycles' is indistinguishable from one in which repetition of facies is not M-forced. Use of such cycles in time calibration is correspondingly suspect. Stricter, dimensional cyclicity invokes Sander's Rule, which suggests periodicity in sedimentation, for which M-forcing provides an obvious explanation. Time calibration on the basis of strict cyclicity thus appears more dependable. Objective tests for regular M-forced stratigraphic cyclicity commonly depend upon spectral analyses. Such tests are not unambiguous. Bilogarithmic thickness/frequency plots derived from objective layer thickness inventories (LTI) provide an alternative. Commonly, such plots show power-law relationships that preclude dimensional M-cyclicities. By contrast, a model data series that perfectly encodes the M-cyclic fluctuations in terrestrial insolation generates a strongly inflected, non-power-law LTI plot. Power-law plots result where the model data series is decimated by random hiatuses, with numbers and durations tuned to M-cycle frequencies. It seems improbable that natural data series record such tuning. The general absence of strict cyclicity in the M-frequency range is more likely to reflect the nonlinear response of sedimentary systems to cyclic M-forcing of insolation. Interestingly, when applied to the classically cyclic lacustrine Triassic sediments of the Newark Basin, USA, the LTI test suggests a decimated record, preserving some evidence of M-cyclicity. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||