Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radiowave scintillation in the presence of ionospheric disturbances has the potential to disrupt numerous transionospheric radio and radar systems. This report describes development of a model characterizing the plasma density irregularities that produce scintillation in the naturally disturbed mid-latitude F layer. The model will be incorporated into Program WBMOD, which includes subroutines for computing both link geometry and scintillation indices, the latter by means of phase screen diffraction theory. Earlier versions of WBMOD, were based on extensive analysis of scintillation data collected in the auroral and equatorial zones in Wideband Satellite Mission. The model described herein is based on similarly extensive analysis of Wideband data from one mid latitude station and of data collected from HiLat satellite at another mid latitude station. The model describes irregularities at an effective height of 350 km that ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In order to illustrate morphological features and variations of temperature in the upper thermosphere, we performed numerical simulations with a whole atmosphere general circulation model (GCM) for the solar minimum and geomagnetically quiet conditions in March, June, September, and December. In previous GCMs, tidal effects were imposed at the lower boundaries assuming dominant diurnal and semi-diurnal tidal modes. Since the GCM used in the present study covers all the atmospheric regions, the atmospheric tides with various modes are generated within the GCM. The global temperature distributions obtained from the GCM are in agreement with ones obtained from NRLMSISE-00. In addition, the GCM also represents localised temperature structures which are superimposed on the global day-night distributions. These localised structures, which vary from hour to hour, would be observed as variations with periods of about 2-3 h at a single site. The amplitudes of the 2-3 h variations are ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

During the past few years, the dual role that ozone plays in climate change has been becoming increasingly obvious. First, continuous thinning of the ozone layer has been evident, even in the high and middle latitudes in the northern hemisphere. Secondly, ozone is also a greenhouse gas, affecting radiative transfer. Increases in tropospheric ozone have a positive forcing, whereas decreases in stratospheric ozone cause a negative forcing. During the last six years, measurements on total ozone and the vertical distribution of ozone have been performed at the Sodankylae Observatory. At Jokioinen Observatory, measurements on total ozone have been performed since 1990 and measurements on the vertical distribution of ozone since 1993. The overall project has focused on extending the national data series on total ozone and the vertical distribution of ozone. At the same time, the study has contributed to the study of interannual variability of the ozone layer. This SILMU ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

OBJECTIVES. In this study we tested the association between occupational stress--as measured by job demands, decision latitude, and job strain--and hypertension in a population of 1396 Black and White...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

Features: CHUQUICAMATA, LARGE OPEN PIT MINING OPERATIONS, ROADS, HILLS Center Point Latitude: -22.3 Center Point Longitude: -68.9 (Negative numbers indicate ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pollen from four temperate-latitude taxa were treated with UV radiation in a portion of the UV-B (280-320 nm) waveband during in vitro germination. Inhibition of germination was noted in this pollen compared to samples treated identically except for the exclusion of the UV-B portion of the spectrum. Levels similar to maximum solar UV-B found in temperate-latitude areas failed to inhibit pollen germination significantly, while levels similar to maximum solar UV-B found in equatorial alpine locations caused partial inhibition of germination in three of the four taxa examined.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The DNA Wideband satellite experiment provided extensive data on scintillation produced in high-altitude structured plasmas. A computer program, WBMOD, is being developed to summarize those data in an applications-oriented way. The program contains the phase-screen scattering theory of Rino and a morphological description of ionospheric irregularities (thus far only at auroral latitudes) based on Wideband observations. It permits a user to compute scintillation indices for both phase and intensity as a function of system operating parameters and solar-ionospheric disturbance level. Correction is made for multiple scatter, and the user may choose either one-way (communication) or two-way (radar) propagation.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Many modern military systems used for communications, command and control, navigation, and surveillance depend on reliable and relatively noise-free transmission of radiowave signals through the earth's ionosphere. Small-scale irregularities in the ionospheric density can cause severe distortion, known as radiowave scintillation, of both the amplitude and phase of these signals. The WBMOD computer program can be used to estimate these effects on a wide range of systems. The objective of this study is to investigate improvements to the WBMOD model based on extensive data sets covering both the equatorial and high-latitude regimes. This report summarizes the work completed during the second year, which include completion of the new models for the equatorial region and initial development of models for the high latitude (auroral and polar cap) region.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

There are two major water currents off the coast of Peru in South America. The Humboldt or Peru current travels northwest across latitudes 35/sup 0/S to 6/sup 0/S. To the north, a branch of the equatorial current flows southward down to latitudes 6-7/sup 0/S in normal years. Its warm, less salty water is poor in nutrients and cannot support fishery. In some years, this warm current extends much more southward, down to 12/sup 0/S. This has a catastrophic effect leading to a mass mortality of the anchovies and, in turn, of the guano birds and less production of farm crops. This phenomenon occurs around Christmas (summer in the southern hemisphere) and is, therefore, called El Nino. The main feature of El Nino is to change the sea surface temperature. An abnormal rise in sea surface temperature can give rise to odd air movements which can change the monsoons pattern, even at distant places, profoundly. In the past 26 years, when El Ninos have ...

CERN Document Server

We explore a possibility that the daily sea-level pressure (SLP) over South Korea responds to the high-speed solar wind event. This is of interest in two aspects: First, if there is a statistical association this can be another piece of evidence showing that various meteorological observables indeed respond to variations in the interplanetary environment. Second, this can be a very crucial observational constraint since most models proposed so far are expected to preferentially work in higher latitude regions than the low latitude region studied here. We have examined daily solar wind speed ${\\rm V}$, daily SLP difference ${\\rm \\Delta SLP}$, and daily ${\\rm \\log(BV^{2})}$ using the superposed epoch analysis in which the key date is set such that the daily solar wind speed exceeds 800 ${\\rm kms^{-1}}$. We find that the daily ${\\rm \\Delta SLP}$ averaged out of 12 events reaches its peak at day +1 and gradually decreases back to its normal ...

Wastenet

... For example, one study used aerial photographs and on-ground observation to determine that Kenai Peninsula in Alaska has been losing wetlands to a dryer, wooded landscape since at least 1950, which has also meant a reduction in habitat for migratory birds, many of which are favorites for birdwatchers (National Research Council of Canada, 2005). In the Arctic, important breeding and nesting areas for migratory birds may be lost, affecting bird watching opportunities at various latitudes in the U.S. (Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, ...

CERN Document Server

Many sunspot cycles are double peaked. In 1967 Gnevyshev suggested that actually all cycles have two peaks generated by different physical mechanisms, but sometimes the gap between them is too short for the maxima to be distinguished in indices of the total sunspot activity. Here we show that indeed all cycles have two peaks easily identified in sunspot activity in different latitudinal bands. We study the double peaks in the last 12 sunspot cycles and show that they are manifestation of the two surges of toroidal field - the one generated from the poloidal field advected all the way on the surface to the poles, down to the tachocline and equatorward to sunspot latitudes, and another one generated from the poloidal field diffused at midlatitudes from the surface to the tachocline and transformed there into toroidal field. The existence of these two surges of toroidal field is due to the relative magnitudes of the speed of the large-scale solar meridional ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Climex climate-matching and inferential-modelling was used to examine the naturalisation potential of genetically modified and non-transgenic Upland Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum variety hirsutum) in Australia north of latitude 22degreeS. The Climate-Match (CM) function was used to identify locations in north-east Australia where climate matches (CM Index>0.7) the experimental sites of Eastick [Eastick, R., 2002. The Potential Weediness of Transgenic Cotton in Northern Australia. Northern Territory Department of Business, Industry and Resource Development Technical Bulletin No. 305 (Internet resource: http://cotton.pi.csiro.au/Assets/PDFFiles/TB3051.pdf)] in north-west Australia. Most of Australia north of 22degreeS had climate matching one or more of the sites of Eastick (2002), locations wh...

Science.gov (United States)

To quantify the opportunities for natural gas and identify technological advances needed to capture such opportunities, the mineral-wool industry was analyzed with respect to the principal companies, their capabilities, and markets. The mineral-wool industry is stable with a slightly declining market. Of its market segments, only commercial acoustic insulation (which is currently dominant) is likely to be affected by growth in the next ten years. The principal process is based on treatment of blast-furnace slags in a cupola furnace using coke as the fuel and reducing agent. Expanded use of gas, as a substitute for coke, would eliminate environmental problems and expand the latitude of suitable raw materials. The study provides insights into the mineral-wool industry and identifies factors that may constitute bases for future usage of natural gas.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Satellite measurements and numerical forecast model reanalysis data are used to compute an updated estimate of the cloud radiative effect on the global multi-annual mean radiative energy budget of the atmosphere and surface. The cloud radiative cooling effect through reflection of short wave radiation dominates over the long wave heating effect, resulting in a net cooling of the climate system of - 21 Wm-2. The short wave radiative effect of cloud is primarily manifest as a reduction in the solar radiation absorbed at the surface of - 53 Wm-2. Clouds impact long wave radiation by heating the moist tropical atmosphere (up to around 40 Wm-2 for global annual means) while enhancing the radiative cooling of the atmosphere over other regions, in particular higher latitudes and sub-trop...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Multi-millennial climate changes were relatively minor over the mid-late Holocene in the British Isles, because orbitally forced insolation changes were smaller than those at higher latitudes. Centennial climate variability is thus likely to have exerted a greater influence on the environment and human society of the region. Proxy-climate records from the British Isles covering the last 4500years are assembled and re-evaluated with the aim of identifying centennial climate variability reflected by multi-proxy indicators. The proxies include bog oak populations, peatland surface wetness, flooding episodes from fluvial deposits, speleothem annual band width and oxygen isotopes, chironomids from lake sediments and sand and dune deposition. Most proxies reflect water balance rather than temper...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A fast multipole transformation is adapted to the evaluation of summations that occur in global climate calculations when transforming between spatial and spherical harmonic representations. For each summation, the timing of the fast multipole transformation scales linearly with the number of latitude gridpoints, but the timing for direct evaluations scales quadratically. In spite of a larger computational overhead, this scaling advantage renders the fast multipole method faster than direct evaluation for transformations involving greater than approximately 300 to 500 gridpoints. Convergence of the fast multipole transformation is accurate to machine precision. As the resolution in global climate calculations continues to increase, an increasingly large fraction of the computational work involves the transformation between spatial and spherical harmonic representations. The fast multipole transformation offers a significant reduction in computational time for these ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This study explores the effects of atmospheric CO2 enrichment and climate change on soil moisture (W{sub r} ) and biome-level water limitation (L{sub TA}), using a dynamic global vegetation and water balance model forced by five different scenarios of change in temperature, precipitation, radiation, and atmospheric CO2 concentration, all based on the same IS92a emission scenario. L{sub TA} is defined as an index that quantifies the degree to which transpiration and photosynthesis are co-limited by soil water shortage (high values indicate low water limitation). Soil moisture decreases in many regions by 2071-2100 compared to 1961-1990, though the regional pattern of change differs substantially among the scenarios due primarily to differences in GCM-specific precipitation changes. In terms of L{sub TA}, ecosystems in northern temperate latitudes are at greatest risk of increasing water limitation, while in most other latitudes L{sub TA} tends ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Present and potential future changes to the global environment have important implications for marine pollution and for the air-sea exchange of both anthropogenic and natural substances. This report addresses three issues related to the potential impact of global change on the air-sea exchange of chemicals: Global change and the air-sea transfer of the nutrients nitrogen and iron. Global change and the air-sea exchange of gases. Oceanic responses to radiative and oxidative changes in the atmosphere. The deposition of atmospheric anthropogenic nitrogen has probably increased biological productivity in coastal regions along many continental margins. Atmospheric deposition of new nitrogen may also have increased productivity somewhat in mid-ocean regions. The projected future increases of nitrogen oxide emissions from Asia, Africa and South America will provide significant increases in the rate of deposition of oxidized nitrogen to the central North Pacific, the equatorial Atlantic, and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) started a new phase in August 2008, with new instrumentation and new surveys focused on Galactic structure and chemical evolution, measurements of the baryon oscillation feature in the clustering of galaxies and the quasar Ly{alpha} forest, and a radial velocity search for planets around {approx}8000 stars. This paper describes the first data release of SDSS-III (and the eighth counting from the beginning of the SDSS). The release includes 5-band imaging of roughly 5200 deg{sup 2} in the Southern Galactic Cap, bringing the total footprint of the SDSS imaging to 14,555 deg{sup 2}, or over a third of the Celestial Sphere. All the imaging data have been reprocessed with an improved sky-subtraction algorithm and a final, self-consistent recalibration and flat-field determination. This release also includes all data from the second phase of the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Evolution (SEGUE-2), consisting of spectroscopy of approximately ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Selection of suitable species, which will survive the severe environment of low light, cool temperatures, and high winds, poses serious problems to revegetation programs in the Aleutian Islands. Selection must be based on adaptability of plants to the extremes of the Aleutian climate and, as realized more recently, on lack of disruption of the natural ecosystem. This places the emphasis on use of native species in revegetation. Elymus mollis Trin., American dunegrass, a dominant of the Aleutian dune community, was studied to better understand its potential for use in reclamation work. As the species occupies both beach and inland sites, an emphasis was placed on documenting its wide latitude of habitat occurrence. Community composition, dispersal, growth response, ecotypic variation, and nutrient relations were studied at two beach sites and two inland sites on Adak Island in the central Aleutian Islands in the 1977 and 1978 growing seasons. Test plantings of ...

CERN Document Server

We study the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect potentially generated by relativistic electrons injected from dark matter (DM) annihilation or decay in the Galaxy, and check whether it could be observed by Planck or ALMA, or even imprint the current CMB data as e.g. the specific fluctuation excess claimed from an recent re-analysis of the WMAP-5 data. We focus on high-latitude regions to avoid contamination of the Galactic astrophysical electron foreground, and consider the annihilation or decay coming from the smooth DM halo as well as from subhalos, further extending our analysis to a generic modeling of spikes arising around intermediate-mass-black-holes (IMBHs). We show that all these dark Galactic components are unlikely to produce any observable SZ effect. For a self-annihilating DM particle of 10 GeV with canonical properties, the largest optical depth we find is $\\tau_e \\lesssim 10^{-7}$ for massive isolated subhalos hosting IMBHs. We conclude that dark ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In Canada, the cost of heating is a major expense in the operation of greenhouses in the winter season, inhibiting greenhouse production in winter months in most part of the country. Alternative energy sources, such as solar energy and biomass energy may offer an economically feasible heating alternative. A solar energy greenhouse technology developed in northern China for winter vegetable production has demonstrated good potential for Manitoba winter conditions. The design and performance of solar energy greenhouses depend on the geographical location. Therefore, in order to optimize the design of solar greenhouses with respect to the latitude of the location for maximum solar radiation gain, a theoretical analysis was performed that analyzed parameters such as greenhouse length and the roof slope. This paper described the methodology of the study, including a description of solar energy greenhouses; the energy of solar radiation; shading of the north roof; ...

CERN Document Server

We present results from an investigation of the dynamical behavior of buoyant magnetic flux rings in the radiative interior of a uniformly rotating early-type star. Our physical model describes a thin, axisymmetric, toroidal flux tube that is released from the outer boundary of the convective core, and is acted upon by buoyant, centrifugal, Coriolis, magnetic tension, and aerodynamic drag forces. We find that rings emitted in the equatorial plane can attain a stationary equilibrium state that is stable with respect to small displacements in radius, but is unstable when perturbed in the meridional direction. Rings emitted at other latitudes travel toward the surface along trajectories that largely parallel the rotation axis of the star. Over much of the ascent, the instantaneous rise speed is determined by the rate of heating by the absorption of radiation that diffuses into the tube from the external medium. Since the time scale for this heating varies like the ...

CERN Document Server

In this work we develop a new propagation model for the Galactic cosmic rays based on the GALPROP code, including contributions from dark matter annihilation. The model predicts compatible Galactic diffuse $\\gamma$ ray spectra with EGRET data in all sky regions. It also gives consistent results of the diffuse $\\gamma$ ray longitude and latitude distributions. Further the results for B/C, $^{10}$Be/$^9$Be, proton, electron and antiproton spectra are also consistent with cosmic ray measurements. In the model we have taken a universal proton spectrum throughout the Galaxy without introducing large fluctuation for the proton energy loss is negligible. The dark matter annihilation signals are `boosted' after taking the contribution from subhalos into account. Another interesting feature of the model is that it gives better description of the diffuse $\\gamma$ rays when taking the source distribution compatible with supernova remnants data, which is different from ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In an effort to evaluate the feasibility of introducing computed radiography (FCR) into mass screening for lung cancer, the ability of FCR to detect nodules one cm in diameter was examined using a humanoid chest phantom. Based on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, the detectability of FCR was compared with that of conventional radiography and photofluorography. The values of area under ROC curves were higher for FCR (0.963 for image similar to that with conventional film-intensifying screen system, image A; and 0.952 for processed image, image B) than the other two methods (0.774 for radiography and 0.789 for photofluorography). Degradation of image quality in FCR could be avoided by a wide latitude even if proper exposure techniques might not be employed. Images A and B in FCR yielded excellent delineation for nodules in the lung field and in the retrocardiac and subdiaphragmatic regions, respectively. This may have implications for the value of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This document describes the contents of a digital climatological data set that may be used by raster or vector geographic information systems (GISs). The primary focus of the data set is the quantification of the occurrence of synoptic storms and other climatological factors that affect coastlines. However, recent demands for new and/or improved climatologies of storm events as well as an increase in the availability of source data have made it useful to extend the domain of most of the data variables to that of regional and/or global coverage. The expansion of the data makes the data set applicable in several areas of climatic research. The data set contains eight data groups. Spatial coverage of data varies by data group. All data groups except one are referred to 1{degree} {times} 1{degree} or 5{degree} {times} 5{degree} grid cells of latitude and longitude. (Data group (3) is referenced by state.) 19 refs., 12 figs., 26 tabs.

Science.gov (United States)

A unified Nonhydrostatic Multiscale Model on the Arakawa B grid (NMMB) designed for a broad range of spatial and temporal scales has been under development within the Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF) at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) as a part of the new National Environmental Modeling System (NEMS). The model follows the general modeling philosophy of the NCEP's WRF NMM grid-point regional dynamical core. The model uses the regular latitude-longitude grid for the global domain, and a rotated latitude-longitude grid in regional applications. The nonhydrostatic component of the model dynamics is introduced through an add-on module that can be turned on or off depending on resolution. The "isotropic" quadratic conservative finite-volume horizontal differencing employed in the model conserves a variety of basic and derived dynamical and quadratic quantities and preserves some important properties of differential ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The purpose of this study was to clarify the benefits of digital lateral chest radiogram. In the basic study, the modulation transfer factor (MTF) and the wiener spectra (WS) of conventional screen film (CSF) and Fuji computed radiography (FCR) were measured. The visibility of the simulated nodules on FCR using 3 human bodies was subjectively compared with that on CSF by 13 observers. In the clinical study, the visibility of the normal structures on FCR was subjectively compared with that on CSF using 50 lateral chest radiograms by 10 observers. The diagnostic performance to detect pulmonary nodules on FCR was also compared with that on CSF using each 30 positive and negative cases by 8 observers. In the basic study, the MTF of FCR was superior to that of CSF, and the WS of FCR displayed in half size was superior to that of CSF. In all exposure conditions, the visibility of the nodules on FCR in the pulmonary apex was inferior to that on CSF, while FCR was superior to CSF in the other ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Interactions beween a high latitude, continental shelf, spring phytoplankton bloom and water column physics and chemistry were studied using /sup 15/N measured rates of nitrogen uptake. Peak bloom conditions commenced when the mixed layer shallowed and minimized respirational losses. Integrative light-mixing growth models were accurate during early bloom stages. An advection-diffusion model associated peak bloom nitrate uptake with pycnocline mixing rates of 2.1 m d/sup -1/ in an 18 m mixed layer. Maximum nitrogen specific uptake rates (hr/sup -1/), unlike those of carbon, coincided with peak bloom conditions. Although species compositions among peak bloom periods were similar, particulate C/N ratios were not. Apparently, both intercellular factors and prevailing mixing conditions influence specific uptake rates and cell composition. A large proportion of new (nitrate) to total productivity was associated with the dominance of the early bloom forming diatoms in the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Total mercury (THg), methylmercury (MeHg) and 22 other trace elements were measured in ice algae, three species of zooplankton, mixed zooplankton samples, Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida), ringed seals (Phoca hispida) and eight species of seabirds to examine the trophodynamics of these metals in an Arctic marine food web. All samples were collected in 1998 in the Northwater Polynya (NOW) located between Ellesmere Island and Greenland in Baffin Bay. THg and MeHg were found to biomagnify through the NOW food web, based on significant positive relationships between log THg and log MeHg concentrations vs. #delta# "1"5N muscle and liver . The slope of these relationships for muscle THg and MeHg concentrations (slope = 0.197 and 0.223, respectively) were similar to those reported for other aquatic food webs. The food web behavior of THg and #delta# "1"5N appears constant, regardless of trophic state (eutrophic vs. oligotrophic), latitude (Arctic vs. tropical) or salinity ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radiowave scintillation in the presence of natural and/or high-altitude nuclear disturbances has the potential to disrupt numerous transionospheric radio and radar systems. This report develops a model characterizing the plasma-density irregularities that produce scintillation in the naturally disturbed equatorial F layer. The model is incorporated into Program WBMOD along with subroutines for computing both link geometry and scintillation indices, the latter by means of phase screen diffraction theory. The model is based on similarly extensive analysis of wideband data from two equatorial stations. It describes irregularities at an effective height of 350 km that are isotropic across the geomagnetic field and elongated by a factor of 50 along the field and whose one-dimensional spatial power spectrum obeys a single-regime power law with a (negative) spectral index of 1.5. The height-integrated spectral strength of the irregularities is modeled as a function of solar epoch (sunspot ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Selected case studies of auroral structure/activity observed at different local times on the dayside are presented and discussed in the context of electrodynamic coupling between the different magnetospheric boundary regions and the ionosphere. The first case addresses the question of the auroral signatures of the two boundary regions referred to as cusp and cleft/LLBL. Combined ground-based and satellite data reveal the different latitudinal zones of auroral forms/particle precipitation/field-aligned current and the relationship with the respective magnetospheric plasma populations, i.e. CPS, BPS, LLBL, and the plasma mantle. Midday auroral breakup events and the related ionospheric ion drift and magnetic observations show many of the features that have been predicted to be ionospheric signatures of flux transfer events. An alternative explanation that has been proposed by others, i.e. ionospheric effect of magnetopause perturbations excited by dynamic pressure pulses in the ...