No iron fertilization in the equatorial Pacific Ocean during the last ice age.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, K M; McManus, J F; Anderson, R F; Ren, H; Sigman, D M; Winckler, G; Fleisher, M Q; Marcantonio, F; Ravelo, A C

2016-01-28

The equatorial Pacific Ocean is one of the major high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll regions in the global ocean. In such regions, the consumption of the available macro-nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate is thought to be limited in part by the low abundance of the critical micro-nutrient iron. Greater atmospheric dust deposition could have fertilized the equatorial Pacific with iron during the last ice age--the Last Glacial Period (LGP)--but the effect of increased ice-age dust fluxes on primary productivity in the equatorial Pacific remains uncertain. Here we present meridional transects of dust (derived from the (232)Th proxy), phytoplankton productivity (using opal, (231)Pa/(230)Th and excess Ba), and the degree of nitrate consumption (using foraminifera-bound δ(15)N) from six cores in the central equatorial Pacific for the Holocene (0-10,000 years ago) and the LGP (17,000-27,000 years ago). We find that, although dust deposition in the central equatorial Pacific was two to three times greater in the LGP than in the Holocene, productivity was the same or lower, and the degree of nitrate consumption was the same. These biogeochemical findings suggest that the relatively greater ice-age dust fluxes were not large enough to provide substantial iron fertilization to the central equatorial Pacific. This may have been because the absolute rate of dust deposition in the LGP (although greater than the Holocene rate) was very low. The lower productivity coupled with unchanged nitrate consumption suggests that the subsurface major nutrient concentrations were lower in the central equatorial Pacific during the LGP. As these nutrients are today dominantly sourced from the Subantarctic Zone of the Southern Ocean, we propose that the central equatorial Pacific data are consistent with more nutrient consumption in the Subantarctic Zone, possibly owing to iron fertilization as a result of higher absolute dust fluxes in this region. Thus, ice-age iron fertilization in the

Children with low birth weight and low gestational age in Oslo, Norway: immigration is not the cause of increasing proportions.

OpenAIRE

Stoltenberg, C; Magnus, P

1995-01-01

STUDY OBJECTIVE--To determine the influence of children born to immigrant mothers on the total proportions of low birth weight and preterm deliveries in Oslo and to explain the increases in the proportions of children with low birth weight and low gestational age since 1980-1982. DESIGN--This was a cross sectional study based on Norwegian Medical Birth Registry data and information on mothers' country of birth from the Central Bureau of Statistics. SETTING--Oslo, Norway 1968-91. POPULATION--A...

Uranium-lead isotopic ages of the Samail ophiolite, Oman, with applicatons to Tethyan ocean ridge tectonics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tilton, G.R.; Hopson, C.A.; Wright, J.E.

1981-01-01

Plagiogranites are a minor but widespread component of the Samail ophiolite plutonic member. They crystallized from the most fractionated melts generated by magmatic crystallization and differentiation of a steady state magma chamber beneath the Tethyan spreading ocean ridge, and their ages are thought to mark the time of ocean crust formation. Isotopic U--Pb ages of zircons from 13 plagiogranites collected along a 270-km segment of the Samail ophiolite subparallel to the regional trend of the sheeted dike complex (the former spreading ridge axis direction) define a narrow time interval of 93.5--97.9 m.y., with a pronounced clustering about 95 m.y. The zircon ages of the plagiogranites agree remarkably well with the early Cenomanian to early Turonian biostratigraphic ages of sediments that are intercalated within the ophiolite pillow lavas and that lie just above them (Tippit et al., 1981). The agreement of radiometric and biostratigraphic ages provides strong support for the conclusion that the plagiogranite U--Pb ages closely date the time span of ocean crust formation. No step changes in age patterns are observed along the ridge axis (sheeted dike) direction, suggesting that there are no major internal offsets of the ophiolite by transform or other faults along most of the traverse. One possible exception occurs at the southeastern end of the sampled interval (Ibra area), where a 3 m.y. discontinuity might be caused by an unmapped fault. Assuming that the regional trend of the sheeted dikes (N10 0 --25 0 W) marks the direction of the former spreading ridge axis, the present array of sample localities spans a distance of 130 to 195 km normal to that axis (i.e., in the spreading direction). The data as a whole do not define a clear-cut age trend normal to the spreading axis, but by eliminating samples that may be aberrant due to faulting, the data array suggests a pattern of increasing ages from east to west

Body physique and proportionality of Brazilian female artistic gymnasts.

Science.gov (United States)

Bacciotti, Sarita; Baxter-Jones, Adam; Gaya, Adroaldo; Maia, José

2018-04-01

This study aimed to identify physique characteristics (anthropometry, somatotype, body proportionality) of Brazilian female artistic gymnasts, and to compare them across competitive levels (sub-elite versus non-elite) within competitive age-categories. Two hundred forty-nine female gymnasts (68 sub-elite; 181 non-elite) from 26 Brazilian gymnastics clubs, aged 9-20 years and split into four age-categories, were sampled. Gymnasts were assessed for 16 anthropometric traits (height, weight, lengths, widths, girths, and skinfolds); somatotype was determined according to Heath-Carter method, body fat was estimated by bioimpedance, and proportionality was computed based on the z-phantom strategy. Non-elite and sub-elite gymnasts had similar values in anthropometric characteristics, however non-elite had higher fat folds in all age-categories (P < 0.01). In general, mesomorphy was the salient somatotype component in all age-categories, and an increase in endomorphy, followed by a decrease in ectomorphy across age was observed. Regarding proportionality, profile similarity was found between sub-elite and non-elite within age-categories. In conclusion results suggest the presence of a typical gymnast's physical prototype across age and competitive level, which can be useful to coaches during their selection processes in clubs and regional/national teams.

Greenhouse gas emissions from concrete can be reduced by using mix proportions, geometric aspects, and age as design factors

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Sabbie A.; Horvath, Arpad; Monteiro, Paulo J. M.; Ostertag, Claudia P.

2015-11-01

With increased awareness of the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and the significant contribution from the cement industry, research efforts are being advanced to reduce the impacts associated with concrete production and consumption. A variety of methods have been proposed, one of the most common being the replacement of cement as a binder in concrete with supplementary cementitious materials, such as fly ash (FA), which can have lower environmental effects. The use of FA can change the kinetics of the hydration reactions and, consequently, modify the evolution of the concrete strength over time. Yet the influence of designing structural elements to obtain the required strength at later ages has not been examined in terms of their influence on global warming potential (GWP) of concrete. This research investigates the influence of design age, in addition to mix proportions and geometric aspects, on the GWP associated with making beams, columns, and a concrete building frame. Findings suggest that while the GWP for beams is not highly dependent on concrete mixture strength, the GWP for columns is dependent on strength, thus the influence of required strength at later ages influences GWP of making columns more so than beams. For the concrete frame analyzed, a potential 45% reduction in GWP, depending on mix proportions and design age, was found. Using the findings from this research, the GWP associated with production of concrete in California could be reduced by approximately 1.8 million metric tons of CO2-eq emissions, equivalent to approximately 2% of all industrial GHG emissions in California.

Greenhouse gas emissions from concrete can be reduced by using mix proportions, geometric aspects, and age as design factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, Sabbie A; Horvath, Arpad; Monteiro, Paulo J M; Ostertag, Claudia P

2015-01-01

With increased awareness of the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and the significant contribution from the cement industry, research efforts are being advanced to reduce the impacts associated with concrete production and consumption. A variety of methods have been proposed, one of the most common being the replacement of cement as a binder in concrete with supplementary cementitious materials, such as fly ash (FA), which can have lower environmental effects. The use of FA can change the kinetics of the hydration reactions and, consequently, modify the evolution of the concrete strength over time. Yet the influence of designing structural elements to obtain the required strength at later ages has not been examined in terms of their influence on global warming potential (GWP) of concrete. This research investigates the influence of design age, in addition to mix proportions and geometric aspects, on the GWP associated with making beams, columns, and a concrete building frame. Findings suggest that while the GWP for beams is not highly dependent on concrete mixture strength, the GWP for columns is dependent on strength, thus the influence of required strength at later ages influences GWP of making columns more so than beams. For the concrete frame analyzed, a potential 45% reduction in GWP, depending on mix proportions and design age, was found. Using the findings from this research, the GWP associated with production of concrete in California could be reduced by approximately 1.8 million metric tons of CO 2 -eq emissions, equivalent to approximately 2% of all industrial GHG emissions in California. (letter)

Positive geothermal anomalies in oceanic crust of Cretaceous age offshore Kamchatka

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Delisle

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Heat flow measurements were carried out in 2009 offshore Kamchatka during the German-Russian joint-expedition KALMAR. An area with elevated heat flow in oceanic crust of Cretaceous age – detected ~30 yr ago in the course of several Russian heat flow surveys – was revisited. One previous interpretation postulated anomalous lithospheric conditions or a connection between a postulated mantle plume at great depth (>200 km as the source for the observed high heat flow. However, the positive heat flow anomaly – as our bathymetric data show – is closely associated with the fragmentation of the western flank of the Meiji Seamount into a horst and graben structure initiated during descent of the oceanic crust into the subduction zone offshore Kamchatka. This paper offers an alternative interpretation, which connects high heat flow primarily with natural convection of fluids in the fragmented rock mass and, as a potential additional factor, high rates of erosion, for which evidence is available from our collected bathymetric image. Given high erosion rates, warm rock material at depth rises to nearer the sea floor, where it cools and causes temporary elevated heat flow.

Age and area predict patterns of species richness in pumice rafts contingent on oceanic climatic zone encountered.

Science.gov (United States)

Velasquez, Eleanor; Bryan, Scott E; Ekins, Merrick; Cook, Alex G; Hurrey, Lucy; Firn, Jennifer

2018-05-01

The theory of island biogeography predicts that area and age explain species richness patterns (or alpha diversity) in insular habitats. Using a unique natural phenomenon, pumice rafting, we measured the influence of area, age, and oceanic climate on patterns of species richness. Pumice rafts are formed simultaneously when submarine volcanoes erupt, the pumice clasts breakup irregularly, forming irregularly shaped pumice stones which while floating through the ocean are colonized by marine biota. We analyze two eruption events and more than 5,000 pumice clasts collected from 29 sites and three climatic zones. Overall, the older and larger pumice clasts held more species. Pumice clasts arriving in tropical and subtropical climates showed this same trend, where in temperate locations species richness (alpha diversity) increased with area but decreased with age. Beta diversity analysis of the communities forming on pumice clasts that arrived in different climatic zones showed that tropical and subtropical clasts transported similar communities, while species composition on temperate clasts differed significantly from both tropical and subtropical arrivals. Using these thousands of insular habitats, we find strong evidence that area and age but also climatic conditions predict the fundamental dynamics of species richness colonizing pumice clasts.

Seafloor age dependence of Rayleigh wave phase velocities in the Indian Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Godfrey, Karen E.; Dalton, Colleen A.; Ritsema, Jeroen

2017-05-01

Variations in the phase velocity of fundamental-mode Rayleigh waves across the Indian Ocean are determined using two inversion approaches. First, variations in phase velocity as a function of seafloor age are estimated using a pure-path age-dependent inversion method. Second, a two-dimensional parameterization is used to solve for phase velocity within 1.25° × 1.25° grid cells. Rayleigh wave travel time delays have been measured between periods of 38 and 200 s. The number of measurements in the study area ranges between 4139 paths at a period of 200 s and 22,272 paths at a period of 40 s. At periods Rodriguez Triple Junction and the Australian-Antarctic Discordance and anomalously low velocities immediately to the west of the Central Indian Ridge.

Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic seafloor and oceanic basement roughness: Spreading rate, crustal age and sediment thickness correlations

Science.gov (United States)

Bird, Robert T.; Pockalny, Robert A.

1994-05-01

Single-channel seismic data from the South Australian Basin and Argentine Basin, and bathymetry data from the flanks of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, East Pacific Rise and Southwest Indian Ridge are analysed to determine the root-mean-square (RMS) roughness of the seafloor and oceanic basement created at seafloor spreading rates ranging from 3 to 80 km/Ma (half-rate). For these data, crustal ages range from near zero to 85 Ma and sediment thicknesses range from near zero to over 2 km. Our results are consistent with a negative correlation of basement roughness and spreading rate where roughness decreases dramatically through the slow-spreading regime (oceanic basement roughness and spreading rate appears to have existed since the late Cretaceous for slow and intermediate spreading rates, suggesting that the fundamental processes creating abyssal hill topography may have remained the same for this time period. Basement roughness does not appear to decrease (smooth) with increasing crustal age, and therefore off-ridge degradation of abyssal hill topography by mass wasting is not detected by our data. Seismic data reveal that sediment thickness increases with increasing crustal age in the South Australian Basin and Argentine Basin, but not monotonically and with significant regional variation. We show that minor accumulations of sediment can affect roughness significantly. Average sediment accumulations of less that 50 m (for our 100 km long sample seismic profiles and half-spreading rates ocean ridges.

Modelling the spatio-temporal distribution of age-1 bay of biscay anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) at spawning time [Distribución espacio-temporal de la edad 1 de anchoa del golfo de Bizkaia (Engraulis Encrasicolus) en el momento de puesta

KAUST Repository

Ibaibarriaga, Leire

2013-09-13

To efficiently manage and maintain fish stock abundance and age structure, it is necessary to understand variability in its spatial distribution. The main objective of this study was to describe the demographic structure of the Bay of Biscay anchovy during the main spawning period based on adult samples from 15 daily egg production method surveys. The proportion of age-1 individuals was modelled using generalized additive models with a binomial distribution and a logit link in relation to geographical and environmental covariates. The possibility of obtaining different models depending on the average age-1 proportion (low or high) was also explored. In general, age-1 individuals were found in shallow waters close to the coast, especially associated with the Gironde and Adour river plumes, whereas older individuals were prevalent on the shelf break and in oceanic waters. However, in years with a high age-1 proportion the younger individuals were also dominant in oceanic waters. These results could be used for management purposes, such as defining protected areas for particular age groups.

Icon arrays help younger children's proportional reasoning.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruggeri, Azzurra; Vagharchakian, Laurianne; Xu, Fei

2018-06-01

We investigated the effects of two context variables, presentation format (icon arrays or numerical frequencies) and time limitation (limited or unlimited time), on the proportional reasoning abilities of children aged 7 and 10 years, as well as adults. Participants had to select, between two sets of tokens, the one that offered the highest likelihood of drawing a gold token, that is, the set of elements with the greater proportion of gold tokens. Results show that participants performed better in the unlimited time condition. Moreover, besides a general developmental improvement in accuracy, our results show that younger children performed better when proportions were presented as icon arrays, whereas older children and adults were similarly accurate in the two presentation format conditions. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? There is a developmental improvement in proportional reasoning accuracy. Icon arrays facilitate reasoning in adults with low numeracy. What does this study add? Participants were more accurate when they were given more time to make the proportional judgement. Younger children's proportional reasoning was more accurate when they were presented with icon arrays. Proportional reasoning abilities correlate with working memory, approximate number system, and subitizing skills. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

Verbal and perceptual analogical reasoning and proportional metaphor comprehension in young children.

Science.gov (United States)

Nippold, M A; Sullivan, M P

1987-09-01

In contrast to the common assumption that young children have little or no ability to reason by analogy or to comprehend proportional metaphors, the present study demonstrated that children as young as age 5 years have an emerging ability to solve both verbal and perceptual proportional analogy problems and to detect the meanings of proportional metaphoric sentences. These results were largely because the experimental tasks were designed to minimize the number of factors that would restrict the performance of young children. The results indicated that the years between 5 and 7 mark a steady improvement in analogical reasoning and proportional metaphor comprehension, but that children ages 5, 6, and 7 display a wide-ranging ability in these areas. It was also found that perceptual analogical reasoning was statistically related to verbal analogical reasoning and to proportional metaphor comprehension, and that perceptual analogical reasoning and proportional metaphor comprehension were both statistically related to receptive vocabulary development.

Accounting for age uncertainty in growth modeling, the case study of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares of the Indian Ocean.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emmanuelle Dortel

Full Text Available Age estimates, typically determined by counting periodic growth increments in calcified structures of vertebrates, are the basis of population dynamics models used for managing exploited or threatened species. In fisheries research, the use of otolith growth rings as an indicator of fish age has increased considerably in recent decades. However, otolith readings include various sources of uncertainty. Current ageing methods, which converts an average count of rings into age, only provide periodic age estimates in which the range of uncertainty is fully ignored. In this study, we describe a hierarchical model for estimating individual ages from repeated otolith readings. The model was developed within a Bayesian framework to explicitly represent the sources of uncertainty associated with age estimation, to allow for individual variations and to include knowledge on parameters from expertise. The performance of the proposed model was examined through simulations, and then it was coupled to a two-stanza somatic growth model to evaluate the impact of the age estimation method on the age composition of commercial fisheries catches. We illustrate our approach using the sagittal otoliths of yellowfin tuna of the Indian Ocean collected through large-scale mark-recapture experiments. The simulation performance suggested that the ageing error model was able to estimate the ageing biases and provide accurate age estimates, regardless of the age of the fish. Coupled with the growth model, this approach appeared suitable for modeling the growth of Indian Ocean yellowfin and is consistent with findings of previous studies. The simulations showed that the choice of the ageing method can strongly affect growth estimates with subsequent implications for age-structured data used as inputs for population models. Finally, our modeling approach revealed particularly useful to reflect uncertainty around age estimates into the process of growth estimation and it can

Multistate cohort models with proportional transfer rates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schoen, Robert; Canudas-Romo, Vladimir

2006-01-01

of transfer rates. The two living state case and hierarchical multistate models with any number of living states are analyzed in detail. Applying our approach to 1997 U.S. fertility data, we find that observed rates of parity progression are roughly proportional over age. Our proportional transfer rate...... approach provides trajectories by parity state and facilitates analyses of the implications of changes in parity rate levels and patterns. More women complete childbearing at parity 2 than at any other parity, and parity 2 would be the modal parity in models with total fertility rates (TFRs) of 1.40 to 2......We present a new, broadly applicable approach to summarizing the behavior of a cohort as it moves through a variety of statuses (or states). The approach is based on the assumption that all rates of transfer maintain a constant ratio to one another over age. We present closed-form expressions...

Proportionality lost - proportionality regained?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Werlauff, Erik

2010-01-01

In recent years, the European Court of Justice (the ECJ) seems to have accepted restrictions on the freedom of establishment and other basic freedoms, despite the fact that a more thorough proportionality test would have revealed that the restriction in question did not pass the 'rule of reason' ...

Cooling rates and the depth of detachment faulting at oceanic core complexes: Evidence from zircon Pb/U and (U-Th)/He ages

Science.gov (United States)

Grimes, Craig B.; Cheadle, Michael J.; John, Barbara E.; Reiners, P.W.; Wooden, J.L.

2011-01-01

Oceanic detachment faulting represents a distinct mode of seafloor spreading at slow spreading mid-ocean ridges, but many questions persist about the thermal evolution and depth of faulting. We present new Pb/U and (U-Th)/He zircon ages and combine them with magnetic anomaly ages to define the cooling histories of gabbroic crust exposed by oceanic detachment faults at three sites along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) holes 1270D and 1275D near the 15??20???N Transform, and Atlantis Massif at 30??N). Closure temperatures for the Pb/U (???800??C-850??C) and (U-Th)/He (???210??C) isotopic systems in zircon bracket acquisition of magnetic remanence, collectively providing a temperature-time history during faulting. Results indicate cooling to ???200??C in 0.3-0.5 Myr after zircon crystallization, recording time-averaged cooling rates of ???1000??C- 2000??C/Myr. Assuming the footwalls were denuded along single continuous faults, differences in Pb/U and (U-Th)/He zircon ages together with independently determined slip rates allow the distance between the ???850??C and ???200??C isotherms along the fault plane to be estimated. Calculated distances are 8.4 ?? 4.2 km and 5.0 2.1 km from holes 1275D and 1270D and 8.4 ?? 1.4 km at Atlantis Massif. Estimating an initial subsurface fault dip of 50 and a depth of 1.5 km to the 200??C isotherm leads to the prediction that the ???850??C isotherm lies ???5-7 km below seafloor at the time of faulting. These depth estimates for active fault systems are consistent with depths of microseismicity observed beneath the hypothesized detachment fault at the TAG hydrothermal field and high-temperature fault rocks recovered from many oceanic detachment faults. Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.

Global Ocean Sedimentation Patterns: Plate Tectonic History Versus Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Goswami, A.; Reynolds, E.; Olson, P.; Hinnov, L. A.; Gnanadesikan, A.

2014-12-01

Global sediment data (Whittaker et al., 2013) and carbonate content data (Archer, 1996) allows examination of ocean sedimentation evolution with respect to age of the underlying ocean crust (Müller et al., 2008). From these data, we construct time series of ocean sediment thickness and carbonate deposition rate for the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian ocean basins for the past 120 Ma. These time series are unique to each basin and reflect an integrated response to plate tectonics and climate change. The goal is to parameterize ocean sedimentation tied to crustal age for paleoclimate studies. For each basin, total sediment thickness and carbonate deposition rate from 0.1 x 0.1 degree cells are binned according to basement crustal age; area-corrected moments (mean, variance, etc.) are calculated for each bin. Segmented linear fits identify trends in present-day carbonate deposition rates and changes in ocean sedimentation from 0 to 120 Ma. In the North and South Atlantic and Indian oceans, mean sediment thickness versus crustal age is well represented by three linear segments, with the slope of each segment increasing with increasing crustal age. However, the transition age between linear segments varies among the three basins. In contrast, mean sediment thickness in the North and South Pacific oceans are numerically smaller and well represented by two linear segments with slopes that decrease with increasing crustal age. These opposing trends are more consistent with the plate tectonic history of each basin being the controlling factor in sedimentation rates, rather than climate change. Unlike total sediment thickness, carbonate deposition rates decrease smoothly with crustal age in all basins, with the primary controls being ocean chemistry and water column depth.References: Archer, D., 1996, Global Biogeochem. Cycles 10, 159-174.Müller, R.D., et al., 2008, Science, 319, 1357-1362.Whittaker, J., et al., 2013, Geochem., Geophys., Geosyst. DOI: 10.1002/ggge.20181

Anoxygenic photosynthesis modulated Proterozoic oxygen and sustained Earth's middle age

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, D. T.; Wolfe-Simon, F.; Pearson, A.; Knoll, A. H.

2009-01-01

Molecular oxygen (O2) began to accumulate in the atmosphere and surface ocean ca. 2,400 million years ago (Ma), but the persistent oxygenation of water masses throughout the oceans developed much later, perhaps beginning as recently as 580–550 Ma. For much of the intervening interval, moderately oxic surface waters lay above an oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) that tended toward euxinia (anoxic and sulfidic). Here we illustrate how contributions to primary production by anoxygenic photoautotrophs (including physiologically versatile cyanobacteria) influenced biogeochemical cycling during Earth's middle age, helping to perpetuate our planet's intermediate redox state by tempering O2 production. Specifically, the ability to generate organic matter (OM) using sulfide as an electron donor enabled a positive biogeochemical feedback that sustained euxinia in the OMZ. On a geologic time scale, pyrite precipitation and burial governed a second feedback that moderated sulfide availability and water column oxygenation. Thus, we argue that the proportional contribution of anoxygenic photosynthesis to overall primary production would have influenced oceanic redox and the Proterozoic O2 budget. Later Neoproterozoic collapse of widespread euxinia and a concomitant return to ferruginous (anoxic and Fe2+ rich) subsurface waters set in motion Earth's transition from its prokaryote-dominated middle age, removing a physiological barrier to eukaryotic diversification (sulfide) and establishing, for the first time in Earth's history, complete dominance of oxygenic photosynthesis in the oceans. This paved the way for the further oxygenation of the oceans and atmosphere and, ultimately, the evolution of complex multicellular organisms. PMID:19805080

Uranium isotopic compositions of the crust and ocean: Age corrections, U budget and global extent of modern anoxia

Science.gov (United States)

Tissot, François L. H.; Dauphas, Nicolas

2015-10-01

the variability of the 238U/235U ratio on Pb-Pb and U-Pb ages and provide analytical formulas to calculate age corrections as a function of the age and isotopic composition of the sample. The crustal ratio may be used in calculation of Pb-Pb and U-Pb ages of continental crust rocks and minerals when the U isotopic composition is unknown. In cosmochemistry, the search for 247Cm (t1/2 = 15.6 Myr), an extinct short-lived radionuclide that decays into 235U, is important for understanding how r-process nuclides were synthesized in stars and learning about the astrophysical context of solar system formation (Chen and Wasserburg, 1981; Wasserburg et al., 1996; Nittler and Dauphas, 2006; Brennecka et al., 2010b; Tissot et al., 2015). In both terrestrial and extraterrestrial samples, variations in the 238U/235U ratio affect Pb-Pb ages (and depending on the analytical protocols, U-Pb ages). Therefore, samples dated by these techniques need to have their U isotopic compositions measured (Stirling et al., 2005, 2006; Weyer et al., 2008; Amelin et al., 2010; Brennecka et al., 2010b; Brennecka and Wadhwa, 2012; Connelly et al., 2012; Goldmann et al., 2015) or uncertainties on the U isotopic composition should be propagated into age calculations. In low temperature aqueous geochemistry, U isotopic fractionation between U4+ and U6+ (driven in part by nuclear field shift effects; Bigeleisen, 1996; Schauble, 2007; Abe et al., 2008), makes U isotopes potential tracers of paleoredox conditions (Montoya-Pino et al., 2010; Brennecka et al., 2011a; Kendall et al., 2013, 2015; Asael et al., 2013; Andersen et al., 2014; Dahl et al., 2014; Goto et al., 2014; Noordmann et al., 2015). The present paper aims at constraining some aspects of the global budget of uranium in the modern oceans using 238U/235U isotope variations, which involves characterizing the U isotopic composition of seawater and several reservoirs involved in the uranium oceanic budget. Uranium can exist in two oxidation states

Turbines in the ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, F. G. W.; Charlier, R. H.

1981-10-01

It is noted that the relatively high-speed ocean currents flowing northward along the east coast of the U.S. may be able to supply a significant proportion of the future electric power requirements of urban areas. The Gulf Stream core lies only about 20 miles east of Miami; here its near-surface water reaches velocities of 4.3 miles per hour. Attention is called to the estimate that the energy available in the current of the Gulf Stream adjacent to Florida is approximately equivalent to that generated by 25 1,000-megawatt power plants. It is also contended that this power could be produced at competitive prices during the 1980s using large turbines moored below the ocean surface near the center of the Stream. Assuming an average ocean-current speed between 4 and 5 knots at the current core, the power density of a hydroturbine could reach 410 watts per square foot, about 100 times that of a wind-driven device of similar scale operating in an airflow of approximately 11 knots.

Proportional and functional analogical reasoning in normal and language-impaired children.

Science.gov (United States)

Nippold, M A; Erskine, B J; Freed, D B

1988-11-01

Teachers often use analogies in classroom settings to clarify new concepts for their students. However, analogies may inadvertently confuse the youngster who has difficulty identifying the one-to-one comparisons underlying them. Although analogical reasoning has been studied extensively in normal children, no information was available concerning this construct in children having a specific language impairment. Thus, it was unknown to what extent they might be deficient in analogical reasoning. Therefore, in the present study, 20 children ages 6-8 years (mean age = 7:6) having normal nonverbal intelligence but deficits in language comprehension were administered tasks of verbal and perceptual proportional analogical reasoning and a problem-solving task of functional analogical reasoning. Compared to a normal-language control group matched on the basis of chronological age and sex, the language-impaired group was deficient in all three tasks of analogical reasoning. However, when the factor of nonverbal intelligence was controlled statistically, the differences between the groups on each of the tasks were removed. Additional findings were that verbal proportional analogical reasoning was significantly correlated to perceptual proportional analogical reasoning and to functional analogical reasoning. Implications for assessment and intervention with young school-age language-impaired children are discussed.

Individual and population-level responses to ocean acidification.

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, Ben P; McKeown, Niall J; Rastrick, Samuel P S; Bertolini, Camilla; Foggo, Andy; Graham, Helen; Hall-Spencer, Jason M; Milazzo, Marco; Shaw, Paul W; Small, Daniel P; Moore, Pippa J

2016-01-29

Ocean acidification is predicted to have detrimental effects on many marine organisms and ecological processes. Despite growing evidence for direct impacts on specific species, few studies have simultaneously considered the effects of ocean acidification on individuals (e.g. consequences for energy budgets and resource partitioning) and population level demographic processes. Here we show that ocean acidification increases energetic demands on gastropods resulting in altered energy allocation, i.e. reduced shell size but increased body mass. When scaled up to the population level, long-term exposure to ocean acidification altered population demography, with evidence of a reduction in the proportion of females in the population and genetic signatures of increased variance in reproductive success among individuals. Such increased variance enhances levels of short-term genetic drift which is predicted to inhibit adaptation. Our study indicates that even against a background of high gene flow, ocean acidification is driving individual- and population-level changes that will impact eco-evolutionary trajectories.

Ethnic variability in body size, proportions and composition in children aged 5 to 11 years: is ethnic-specific calibration of bioelectrical impedance required?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon Lee

Full Text Available Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA has the potential to be used widely as a method of assessing body fatness and composition, both in clinical and community settings. BIA provides bioelectrical properties, such as whole-body impedance which ideally needs to be calibrated against a gold-standard method in order to provide accurate estimates of fat-free mass. UK studies in older children and adolescents have shown that, when used in multi-ethnic populations, calibration equations need to include ethnic-specific terms, but whether this holds true for younger children remains to be elucidated. The aims of this study were to examine ethnic differences in body size, proportions and composition in children aged 5 to 11 years, and to establish the extent to which such differences could influence BIA calibration.In a multi-ethnic population of 2171 London primary school-children (47% boys; 34% White, 29% Black African/Caribbean, 25% South Asian, 12% Other detailed anthropometric measurements were performed and ethnic differences in body size and proportion were assessed. Ethnic differences in fat-free mass, derived by deuterium dilution, were further evaluated in a subsample of the population (n = 698. Multiple linear regression models were used to calibrate BIA against deuterium dilution.In children < 11 years of age, Black African/Caribbean children were significantly taller, heavier and had larger body size than children of other ethnicities. They also had larger waist and limb girths and relatively longer legs. Despite these differences, ethnic-specific terms did not contribute significantly to the BIA calibration equation (Fat-free mass = 1.12+0.71*(height2/impedance+0.18*weight.Although clear ethnic differences in body size, proportions and composition were evident in this population of young children aged 5 to 11 years, an ethnic-specific BIA calibration equation was not required.

Depth of origin of ocean-circulation-induced magnetic signals

Science.gov (United States)

Irrgang, Christopher; Saynisch-Wagner, Jan; Thomas, Maik

2018-01-01

As the world ocean moves through the ambient geomagnetic core field, electric currents are generated in the entire ocean basin. These oceanic electric currents induce weak magnetic signals that are principally observable outside of the ocean and allow inferences about large-scale oceanic transports of water, heat, and salinity. The ocean-induced magnetic field is an integral quantity and, to first order, it is proportional to depth-integrated and conductivity-weighted ocean currents. However, the specific contribution of oceanic transports at different depths to the motional induction process remains unclear and is examined in this study. We show that large-scale motional induction due to the general ocean circulation is dominantly generated by ocean currents in the upper 2000 m of the ocean basin. In particular, our findings allow relating regional patterns of the oceanic magnetic field to corresponding oceanic transports at different depths. Ocean currents below 3000 m, in contrast, only contribute a small fraction to the ocean-induced magnetic signal strength with values up to 0.2 nT at sea surface and less than 0.1 nT at the Swarm satellite altitude. Thereby, potential satellite observations of ocean-circulation-induced magnetic signals are found to be likely insensitive to deep ocean currents. Furthermore, it is shown that annual temporal variations of the ocean-induced magnetic field in the region of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current contain information about sub-surface ocean currents below 1000 m with intra-annual periods. Specifically, ocean currents with sub-monthly periods dominate the annual temporal variability of the ocean-induced magnetic field.

Atmosphere and ocean dynamics: contributors to the European Little Ice Age?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Palastanga, V.; Schrier, G. van der; Weber, S.L. [Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), P.O. Box 201, De Bilt (Netherlands); Kleinen, T. [University of East Anglia, Climatic Research Unit, School of Environmental Sciences, Norwich (United Kingdom); Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg (Germany); Briffa, K.R.; Osborn, T.J. [University of East Anglia, Climatic Research Unit, School of Environmental Sciences, Norwich (United Kingdom)

2011-03-15

The role of a reduction in the Atlantic meridional overturning and that of a persistently negative North Atlantic Oscillation in explaining the coldness of the European Little Ice Age (LIA) has been assessed in two sets of numerical experiments. These experiments are performed using an intermediate complexity climate model and a full complexity GCM. The reduction in the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) of ca. 25% is triggered by a conventional fresh-water hosing set-up. A persistently negative NAO winter circulation, at NAO-index value -0.5, is imposed using recently developed data-assimilation techniques applicable on paleoclimatic timescales. The hosing experiments lead to a reduction in oceanic meridional heat transport and cooler sea-surface temperatures. Next to a direct cooling effect on European climate, the change in ocean surface temperatures feedback on the atmospheric circulation modifying European climate significantly. The data-assimilation experiments showed a reduction of winter temperatures over parts of Europe, but there is little persistence into the summer season. The output of all model experiments are compared to reconstructions of winter and summer temperature based on the available temperature data for the LIA period. This demonstrates that the hypothesis of a persistently negative NAO as an explanation for the European LIA does not hold. The hosing experiments do not clearly support the hypothesis that a reduction in the MOC is the primary driver of LIA climate change. However, a reduction in the Atlantic overturning might have been a cause of the European LIA climate, depending on whether there is a strong enough feedback on the atmospheric circulation. (orig.)

Attending to relations: Proportional reasoning in 3- to 6-year-old children.

Science.gov (United States)

Hurst, Michelle A; Cordes, Sara

2018-03-01

When proportional information is pit against whole number numerical information, children often attend to the whole number information at the expense of proportional information (e.g., indicating 4/9 is greater than 3/5 because 4 > 3). In the current study, we presented younger (3- to 4-year-olds) and older (5- to 6-year-olds) children a task in which the proportional information was presented either continuously (units cannot be counted) or discretely (countable units; numerical information available). In the discrete conditions, older children showed numerical interference-responding based on the number of pieces instead of the proportion of pieces. However, older children easily overcame this poor strategy selection on discrete trials if they first had some experience with continuous, proportional strategies, suggesting this prevalent reliance on numerical information may be malleable. Younger children, on the other hand, showed difficulty with the proportion task, but showed evidence of proportional reasoning in a simplified estimation-style task, suggesting that younger children may still be developing their proportional and numerical skills in task-dependent ways. Lastly, across both age groups, performance on the proportional reasoning task in continuous contexts, but not discrete contexts, was related to more general analogical reasoning skills. Findings suggest that children's proportional reasoning abilities are actively developing between the ages of 3 and 6 and may depend on domain general reasoning skills. We discuss the implications for this work for both cognitive development and education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Surface Ocean Radiocarbon Reservoir Ages From Land-Sea Tephra Correlation Constrains Deglacial Chronology and Ocean Circulation in the Southeast Bering Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, M. S.; Miller, R.; White-Nockleby, C.; Chapman, A.; Mix, A. C.

2017-12-01

Radiocarbon estimates of the past ocean are valuable because unlike passive tracers, radiocarbon has the potential to trace both the distribution and rate of transport of water masses. Most studies using paired radiocarbon measurements on planktonic and benthic foraminifera assume that the surface reservoir age was constant at the preindustrial value, which if incorrect, can strongly bias radiocarbon reconstructions. The subarctic Pacific is ringed by volcanic arcs, and there is great potential to use tephrochronology as a stratigraphic tool in sediments from the last glacial and deglaciation, and assign calendar ages to the marine sediment without relying on calibrated planktonic radiocarbon ages. In this study, we use major and trace element analysis of volcanic glass to match tephras between radiocarbon-dated lake cores from Sanak Island in the eastern Aleutians to marine cores from Umnak Plateau in the southeast Bering Sea. There are numerous thin tephras preserved in laminated sediments from the Bolling-Allerod and early Holocene in marine cores from depths (1000-1500 m) within the modern oxygen minimum zone. We find that trace elements are crucial in distinguishing tephras from individual eruptions. Our preliminary radiocarbon measurements suggest that the benthic-atmosphere radiocarbon differences and marine surface reservoir ages in the Bolling-Allerod are similar to pre-industrial values, supporting previously published radiocarbon reconstructions from the region.

Modelling the chemically aged and mixed aerosols over the eastern central Atlantic Ocean – potential impacts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Astitha

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Detailed information on the chemical and physical properties of aerosols is important for assessing their role in air quality and climate. This work explores the origin and fate of continental aerosols transported over the Central Atlantic Ocean, in terms of chemical composition, number and size distribution, using chemistry-transport models, satellite data and in situ measurements. We focus on August 2005, a period with intense hurricane and tropical storm activity over the Atlantic Ocean. A mixture of anthropogenic (sulphates, nitrates, natural (desert dust, sea salt and chemically aged (sulphate and nitrate on dust aerosols is found entering the hurricane genesis region, most likely interacting with clouds in the area. Results from our modelling study suggest rather small amounts of accumulation mode desert dust, sea salt and chemically aged dust aerosols in this Atlantic Ocean region. Aerosols of smaller size (Aitken mode are more abundant in the area and in some occasions sulphates of anthropogenic origin and desert dust are of the same magnitude in terms of number concentrations. Typical aerosol number concentrations are derived for the vertical layers near shallow cloud formation regimes, indicating that the aerosol number concentration can reach several thousand particles per cubic centimetre. The vertical distribution of the aerosols shows that the desert dust particles are often transported near the top of the marine cloud layer as they enter into the region where deep convection is initiated. The anthropogenic sulphate aerosol can be transported within a thick layer and enter the cloud deck through multiple ways (from the top, the base of the cloud, and by entrainment. The sodium (sea salt related aerosol is mostly found below the cloud base. The results of this work may provide insights relevant for studies that consider aerosol influences on cloud processes and storm development in the Central Atlantic region.

The influence of craniofacial to standing height proportion on perceived attractiveness.

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Naini, F B; Cobourne, M T; McDonald, F; Donaldson, A N A

2008-10-01

An idealised male image, based on Vitruvian Man, was created. The craniofacial height was altered from a proportion of 1/6 to 1/10 of standing height, creating 10 images shown in random order to 89 observers (74 lay people; 15 clinicians), who ranked the images from the most to the least attractive. The main outcome was the preference ranks of image attractiveness given by the observers. Linear regressions were used to assess what influences the choice for the most and the least attractive images, followed by a multivariate rank ordinal logistic regression to test the influence of age, gender, ethnicity and professional status of the observer. A craniofacial height to standing height proportion of 1/7.5 was perceived as the most attractive (36%), followed by a proportion of 1/8 (26%). The images chosen as most attractive by more than 10% of observers had a mean proportion of 1/7.8(min=1/7; max=1/8.5). The images perceived as most unattractive had a proportion of 1/6 and 1/10. The choice of images was not influenced by the age, gender, ethnicity or professional status of the observers. The ideal craniofacial height to standing height proportion is in the range 1/7 to 1/8.5. This finding should be considered when planning treatment to alter craniofacial or facial height.

Parcels v0.9: prototyping a Lagrangian ocean analysis framework for the petascale age

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Lange, Michael; van Sebille, Erik

2017-11-01

As ocean general circulation models (OGCMs) move into the petascale age, where the output of single simulations exceeds petabytes of storage space, tools to analyse the output of these models will need to scale up too. Lagrangian ocean analysis, where virtual particles are tracked through hydrodynamic fields, is an increasingly popular way to analyse OGCM output, by mapping pathways and connectivity of biotic and abiotic particulates. However, the current software stack of Lagrangian ocean analysis codes is not dynamic enough to cope with the increasing complexity, scale and need for customization of use-cases. Furthermore, most community codes are developed for stand-alone use, making it a nontrivial task to integrate virtual particles at runtime of the OGCM. Here, we introduce the new Parcels code, which was designed from the ground up to be sufficiently scalable to cope with petascale computing. We highlight its API design that combines flexibility and customization with the ability to optimize for HPC workflows, following the paradigm of domain-specific languages. Parcels is primarily written in Python, utilizing the wide range of tools available in the scientific Python ecosystem, while generating low-level C code and using just-in-time compilation for performance-critical computation. We show a worked-out example of its API, and validate the accuracy of the code against seven idealized test cases. This version 0.9 of Parcels is focused on laying out the API, with future work concentrating on support for curvilinear grids, optimization, efficiency and at-runtime coupling with OGCMs.

Parcels v0.9: prototyping a Lagrangian ocean analysis framework for the petascale age

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Lange

2017-11-01

Full Text Available As ocean general circulation models (OGCMs move into the petascale age, where the output of single simulations exceeds petabytes of storage space, tools to analyse the output of these models will need to scale up too. Lagrangian ocean analysis, where virtual particles are tracked through hydrodynamic fields, is an increasingly popular way to analyse OGCM output, by mapping pathways and connectivity of biotic and abiotic particulates. However, the current software stack of Lagrangian ocean analysis codes is not dynamic enough to cope with the increasing complexity, scale and need for customization of use-cases. Furthermore, most community codes are developed for stand-alone use, making it a nontrivial task to integrate virtual particles at runtime of the OGCM. Here, we introduce the new Parcels code, which was designed from the ground up to be sufficiently scalable to cope with petascale computing. We highlight its API design that combines flexibility and customization with the ability to optimize for HPC workflows, following the paradigm of domain-specific languages. Parcels is primarily written in Python, utilizing the wide range of tools available in the scientific Python ecosystem, while generating low-level C code and using just-in-time compilation for performance-critical computation. We show a worked-out example of its API, and validate the accuracy of the code against seven idealized test cases. This version 0.9 of Parcels is focused on laying out the API, with future work concentrating on support for curvilinear grids, optimization, efficiency and at-runtime coupling with OGCMs.

Proportional reasoning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dole, Shelley; Hilton, Annette; Hilton, Geoff

2015-01-01

Proportional reasoning is widely acknowledged as a key to success in school mathematics, yet students’ continual difficulties with proportion-related tasks are well documented. This paper draws on a large research study that aimed to support 4th to 9th grade teachers to design and implement tasks...

Inputs from Indian rivers to the ocean: A synthesis

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

DileepKumar, M.; George, M.D.; SenGupta, R.

). Fluxes of chemical substances to the Indian Ocean from these rivers are computed to a first approximation. The major ion contents are inversely proportional to the river runoff especially for the rivers entering the Arabian Sea. On an average Indian...

The mediation proportion: a structural equation approach for estimating the proportion of exposure effect on outcome explained by an intermediate variable

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ditlevsen, Susanne; Christensen, Ulla; Lynch, John

2005-01-01

It is often of interest to assess how much of the effect of an exposure on a response is mediated through an intermediate variable. However, systematic approaches are lacking, other than assessment of a surrogate marker for the endpoint of a clinical trial. We review a measure of "proportion...... of several intermediate variables. Binary or categorical variables can be included directly through threshold models. We call this measure the mediation proportion, that is, the part of an exposure effect on outcome explained by a third, intermediate variable. Two examples illustrate the approach. The first...... example is a randomized clinical trial of the effects of interferon-alpha on visual acuity in patients with age-related macular degeneration. In this example, the exposure, mediator and response are all binary. The second example is a common problem in social epidemiology-to find the proportion...

39Ar/Ar measurements using ultra-low background proportional counters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, Jeter; Aalseth, Craig E.; Bonicalzi, Ricco M.; Brandenberger, Jill M.; Day, Anthony R.; Humble, Paul H.; Mace, Emily K.; Panisko, Mark E.; Seifert, Allen

2016-01-01

Age-dating groundwater and seawater using the 39 Ar/Ar ratio is an important tool to understand water mass-flow rates and mean residence time. Low-background proportional counters developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory use mixtures of argon and methane as counting gas. We demonstrate sensitivity to 39 Ar by comparing geological (ancient) argon recovered from a carbon dioxide gas well and commercial argon. The demonstrated sensitivity to the 39 Ar/Ar ratio is sufficient to date water masses as old as 1000 years. - Highlights: • 39 Ar/Ar age dating is important for understanding environmental water migration. • Ultra low background proportional counters have been developed. • 39 Ar is detected in atmospheric argon at a rate of 70.3 counts per day. The demonstrated background is 166 counts per day. • Age dating is possible for water with underground residence time of up to 1000 years.

Indian Ocean experiments with a coupled model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wainer, I. [Sao Paulo, Univ. (Brazil). Dept. of Oceanography

1997-03-01

A coupled ocean-atmosphere model is used to investigate the equatorial Indian Ocean response to the seasonally varying monsoon winds. Special attention is given to the oceanic response to the spatial distribution and changes in direction of the zonal winds. The Indian Ocean is surrounded by an Asian land mass to the North and an African land mass to the West. The model extends latitudinally between 41 N and 41 S. The asymmetric atmospheric model is driven by a mass source/sink term that is proportional to the sea surface temperature (SST) over the oceans and the heat balance over the land. The ocean is modeled using the Anderson and McCreary reduced-gravity transport model that includes a prognostic equation for the SST. The coupled system is driven by the annual cycle as manifested by zonally symmetric and asymmetric land and ocean heating. They explored the different nature of the equatorial ocean response to various patterns of zonal wind stress forcing in order to isolate the impact of the remote response on the Somali current. The major conclusions are : i) the equatorial response is fundamentally different for easterlies and westerlies, ii) the impact of the remote forcing on the Somali current is a function of the annual cycle, iii) the size of the basin sets the phase of the interference of the remote forcing on the Somali current relative to the local forcing.

Assessment of body fat proportion by means of bioelectrical impedance in athletic boys aged 7 to 18 years with respect to specific types of instruments

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Sigmund Martin

2015-07-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Bioelectrical impedance (BIA seems an appropriate method for basic diagnostics of body composition in a practical environment. This is a non-time consuming non-invasive method that provides a high degree of response relevance. However, the values identifi ed by the BIA method are susceptible to a number of factors, which need to be taken into account during the investigation stage and interpretation of the results. One of the signifi cant factors infl uencing the outcomes of measurement is the instrument factor.OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present comparative survey was to analyse the proportions of body fat by means of the BIA hand-to-leg method and BIA leg-to-leg method in a sample of athletic individuals aged 7 to 18 years.METHODS: The survey included a total of 178 ice-hockey players aged 7 to 18 years. The proportion of body fat analysed by means of the BIA hand-to-leg method was measured by the Tanita BC-418 MA instrument. For the purposes of the BIA leg-to-leg method the Tanita BF-350 instrument was used (Tanita, Japan. Both instruments work at a frequency of 50 kHz.RESULTS: The percentage of body fat established by the BIA leg-to-leg method (M = 13.5%; SD = 4.8 indicated signifi cantly lower values of fat percentage than the values measured by the BIA hand-to-leg method (M = 17.1%; SD = 4.3. The overall diff erence represents an average value of 3.6% (standard mode; p < .001; d = 0.8. Regarding the monitored age categories the observed diff erences are in the range of 3.1–4.7% (p < .001; d = 0.7–1.2.CONCLUSION: The present study compares the proportions of body fat by means of the BIA leg-to-leg method and BIA hand-to-leg method in athletic boys aged 7 to 18 years. The results measured by the BIA leg-to-leg method signifi cantly undervalue the proportion of body fat in comparison with the BIA hand-to-leg method. The instrument factor and age factor represented signifi - cant variables infl uencing the results of the

Deep Ocean Mineral Supplementation Enhances the Cerebral Hemodynamic Response during Exercise and Decreases Inflammation Postexercise in Men at Two Age Levels

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Ching-Yin Wei

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Previous studies have consistently shown that oral supplementation of deep ocean minerals (DOM improves vascular function in animals and enhances muscle power output in exercising humans.Purpose: To examine the effects of DOM supplementation on the cerebral hemodynamic response during physical exertion in young and middle-aged men.Design: Double-blind placebo-controlled crossover studies were conducted in young (N = 12, aged 21.2 ± 0.4 years and middle-aged men (N = 9, aged 46.8 ± 1.4 years. The counter-balanced trials of DOM and Placebo were separated by a 2-week washout period. DOM and Placebo were orally supplemented in drinks before, during, and after cycling exercise. DOM comprises desalinated minerals and trace elements from seawater collected ~618 m below the earth's surface.Methods: Cerebral hemodynamic response (tissue hemoglobin was measured during cycling at 75% VO2max using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS.Results: Cycling time to exhaustion at 75% VO2max and the associated plasma lactate response were similar between the Placebo and DOM trials for both age groups. In contrast, DOM significantly elevated cerebral hemoglobin levels in young men and, to a greater extent, in middle-aged men compared with Placebo. An increased neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR was observed in middle-aged men, 2 h after exhaustive cycling, but was attenuated by DOM.Conclusion: Our data suggest that minerals and trace elements from deep oceans possess great promise in developing supplements to increase the cerebral hemodynamic response against a physical challenge and during post-exercise recovery for middle-aged men.

Southern Ocean biogeochemical control of glacial/interglacial carbon dioxide change

Science.gov (United States)

Sigman, D. M.

2014-12-01

In the effort to explain the lower atmospheric CO2 concentrations observed during ice ages, two of the first hypotheses involved redistributing dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) within the ocean. Broecker (1982) proposed a strengthening of the ocean's biological pump during ice ages, which increased the dissolved inorganic carbon gradient between the dark, voluminous ocean interior and the surface ocean's sun-lit, wind-mixed layer. Boyle (1988) proposed a deepening in the ocean interior's pool of DIC associated with organic carbon regeneration, with its concentration maximum shifting from intermediate to abyssal depths. While not irrefutable, evidence has arisen that these mechanisms can explain much of the ice age CO2 reduction and that both were activated by changes in the Southern Ocean. In the Antarctic Zone, reduced exchange of water between the surface and the underlying ocean sequestered more DIC in the ocean interior (the biological pump mechanism). Dust-borne iron fertilization of the Subantarctic surface lowered CO2 partly by the biological pump mechanism and partly by Boyle's carbon deepening. Each mechanism owes a part of its CO2 effect to a transient increase in seafloor calcium carbonate dissolution, which raised the ice age ocean's alkalinity, causing it to absorb more CO2. However, calcium carbonate cycling also sets limits on these mechanisms and their CO2 effects, such that the combination of Antarctic and Subantarctic changes is needed to achieve the full (80-100 ppm) ice age CO2 decline. Data suggest that these changes began at different phases in the development of the last ice age, 110 and 70 ka, respectively, explaining a 40 ppm CO2 drop at each time. We lack a robust understanding of the potential causes for both the implied reduction in Antarctic surface/deep exchange and the increase in Subantarctic dust supply during ice ages. Thus, even if the evidence for these Southern Ocean changes were to become incontrovertible, conceptual gaps stand

The pole tide in deep oceans

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Dickman, S. R.

1990-01-01

The fluid-dynamical theory of the pole tide is examined by describing the oceanic response to the Chandler wobble and assessing its implications for mantle anelasticity and low-frequency ocean dynamics. The Laplace tide equations accounting for bottom friction are given, and a spherical harmonic approach is delineated in which the time-independent portion of the tide height is expanded. Pole-tide height and related inertia products are linearly proportional to wobble amplitude, and the final equations are modified to account for mantle elasticity and oceanic loading. Results for pole tide effects are given for various earth models with attention to the role of boundary constraints. A dynamic effect is identified which lengthens the Chandler period by about 1 day more than static lengthening, a contribution that suggests a vigorous low-frequency response. The values derived are shown to agree with previous models that do not incorporate the effects of the pole tide.

Statistical averaging of marine magnetic anomalies and the aging of oceanic crust.

Science.gov (United States)

Blakely, R.J.

1983-01-01

Visual comparison of Mesozoic and Cenozoic magnetic anomalies in the North Pacific suggests that older anomalies contain less short-wavelength information than younger anomalies in this area. To test this observation, magnetic profiles from the North Pacific are examined from crust of three ages: 0-2.1, 29.3-33.1, and 64.9-70.3Ma. For each time period, at least nine profiles were analyzed by 1) calculating the power density spectrum of each profile, 2) averaging the spectra together, and 3) computing a 'recording filter' for each time period by assuming a hypothetical seafloor model. The model assumes that the top of the source is acoustic basement, the source thickness is 0.5km, and the time scale of geomagnetic reversals is according to Ness et al. (1980). The calculated power density spectra of the three recording filters are complex in shape but show an increase of attenuation of short-wavelength information as the crust ages. These results are interpreted using a multilayer model for marine magnetic anomalies in which the upper layer, corresponding to pillow basalt of seismic layer 2A, acts as a source of noise to the magnetic anomalies. As the ocean crust ages, this noisy contribution by the pillow basalts becomes less significant to the anomalies. Consequently, magnetic sources below layer 2A must be faithful recorders of geomagnetic reversals.-AuthorPacific power density spectrum

Moving beyond the age-depth model paradigm in deep-sea palaeoclimate archives: dual radiocarbon and stable isotope analysis on single foraminifera

Science.gov (United States)

Lougheed, Bryan C.; Metcalfe, Brett; Ninnemann, Ulysses S.; Wacker, Lukas

2018-04-01

Late-glacial palaeoclimate reconstructions from deep-sea sediment archives provide valuable insight into past rapid changes in ocean chemistry. Unfortunately, only a small proportion of the ocean floor with sufficiently high sediment accumulation rate (SAR) is suitable for such reconstructions using the long-standing age-depth model approach. We employ ultra-small radiocarbon (14C) dating on single microscopic foraminifera to demonstrate that the long-standing age-depth model method conceals large age uncertainties caused by post-depositional sediment mixing, meaning that existing studies may underestimate total geochronological error. We find that the age-depth distribution of our 14C-dated single foraminifera is in good agreement with existing bioturbation models only after one takes the possibility of Zoophycos burrowing into account. To overcome the problems associated with the age-depth paradigm, we use the first ever dual 14C and stable isotope (δ18O and δ13C) analysis on single microscopic foraminifera to produce a palaeoclimate time series independent of the age-depth paradigm. This new state of the art essentially decouples single foraminifera from the age-depth paradigm to provide multiple floating, temporal snapshots of ocean chemistry, thus allowing for the successful extraction of temporally accurate palaeoclimate data from low-SAR deep-sea archives. This new method can address large geographical gaps in late-glacial benthic palaeoceanographic reconstructions by opening up vast areas of previously disregarded, low-SAR deep-sea archives to research, which will lead to an improved understanding of the global interaction between oceans and climate.

Response of a comprehensive climate model to a broad range of external forcings: relevance for deep ocean ventilation and the development of late Cenozoic ice ages

Science.gov (United States)

Galbraith, Eric; de Lavergne, Casimir

2018-03-01

Over the past few million years, the Earth descended from the relatively warm and stable climate of the Pliocene into the increasingly dramatic ice age cycles of the Pleistocene. The influences of orbital forcing and atmospheric CO2 on land-based ice sheets have long been considered as the key drivers of the ice ages, but less attention has been paid to their direct influences on the circulation of the deep ocean. Here we provide a broad view on the influences of CO2, orbital forcing and ice sheet size according to a comprehensive Earth system model, by integrating the model to equilibrium under 40 different combinations of the three external forcings. We find that the volume contribution of Antarctic (AABW) vs. North Atlantic (NADW) waters to the deep ocean varies widely among the simulations, and can be predicted from the difference between the surface densities at AABW and NADW deep water formation sites. Minima of both the AABW-NADW density difference and the AABW volume occur near interglacial CO2 (270-400 ppm). At low CO2, abundant formation and northward export of sea ice in the Southern Ocean contributes to very salty and dense Antarctic waters that dominate the global deep ocean. Furthermore, when the Earth is cold, low obliquity (i.e. a reduced tilt of Earth's rotational axis) enhances the Antarctic water volume by expanding sea ice further. At high CO2, AABW dominance is favoured due to relatively warm subpolar North Atlantic waters, with more dependence on precession. Meanwhile, a large Laurentide ice sheet steers atmospheric circulation as to strengthen the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, but cools the Southern Ocean remotely, enhancing Antarctic sea ice export and leading to very salty and expanded AABW. Together, these results suggest that a `sweet spot' of low CO2, low obliquity and relatively small ice sheets would have poised the AMOC for interruption, promoting Dansgaard-Oeschger-type abrupt change. The deep ocean temperature and

Proportionality in enterprise development of South African towns

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Maitland T. Seaman

2012-05-01

Full Text Available We investigated proportionalities in the enterprise structures of 125 South African towns through examining four hypotheses, (1 the magnitude of enterprise development in a town is a function of the population size of the town; (2 the size of an enterprise assemblage of a town is a function of the town’s age; (3 there are statistically significant relationships, and hence proportionalities, between the total number of enterprises in towns and some, if not all, of the enterprise numbers of different business sectors in towns; and (4 the implications of proportionalities have far-reaching implications for rural development and job creation. All hypotheses were accepted on the basis of statistically significant (p < 0.05 correlations, except for the second hypothesis – the age of a town does not determine the size of its enterprise assemblage. Analysis for the fourth hypothesis suggested that there are two broad entrepreneurial types in South African towns: ‘run-of-the-mill’ entrepreneurs and ‘special’ entrepreneurs, which give rise to different enterprise development dynamics. ‘Run-of-the-mill’ enterprises are dependent on, and limited by, local demand and if there is only a small demand, the entrepreneurial space is small. By comparison, ‘special’ enterprises have much larger markets because their products and/or services are exportable. We propose that the fostering of ‘special’ entrepreneurs is an imperative for local economic development in South African towns.

The role of social networks and media receptivity in predicting age of smoking initiation: a proportional hazards model of risk and protective factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Unger, J B; Chen, X

1999-01-01

The increasing prevalence of adolescent smoking demonstrates the need to identify factors associated with early smoking initiation. Previous studies have shown that smoking by social network members and receptivity to pro-tobacco marketing are associated with smoking among adolescents. It is not clear, however, whether these variables also are associated with the age of smoking initiation. Using data from 10,030 California adolescents, this study identified significant correlates of age of smoking initiation using bivariate methods and a multivariate proportional hazards model. Age of smoking initiation was earlier among those adolescents whose friends, siblings, or parents were smokers, and among those adolescents who had a favorite tobacco advertisement, had received tobacco promotional items, or would be willing to use tobacco promotional items. Results suggest that the smoking behavior of social network members and pro-tobacco media influences are important determinants of age of smoking initiation. Because early smoking initiation is associated with higher levels of addiction in adulthood, tobacco control programs should attempt to counter these influences.

Ocean Fertilization for Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide from the Atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Boyd, Philip W.

The ocean is a major sink for both preindustrial and anthropogenic carbon dioxide. Both physically and biogeochemically driven pumps, termed the solubility and biological pump, respectively Fig.5.1) are responsible for the majority of carbon sequestration in the ocean's interior [1]. The solubility pump relies on ocean circulation - specifically the impact of cooling of the upper ocean at high latitudes both enhances the solubility of carbon dioxide and the density of the waters which sink to great depth (the so-called deepwater formation) and thereby sequester carbon in the form of dissolved inorganic carbon (Fig.5.1). The biological pump is driven by the availability of preformed plant macronutrients such as nitrate or phosphate which are taken up by phytoplankton during photosynthetic carbon fixation. A small but significant proportion of this fixed carbon sinks into the ocean's interior in the form of settling particles, and in order to maintain equilibrium carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is transferred across the air-sea interface into the ocean (the so-called carbon drawdown) thereby decreasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (Fig.5.1).Fig.5.1

Cox proportional hazards models have more statistical power than logistic regression models in cross-sectional genetic association studies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Net, Jeroen B.; Janssens, A. Cecile J. W.; Eijkemans, Marinus J. C.; Kastelein, John J. P.; Sijbrands, Eric J. G.; Steyerberg, Ewout W.

2008-01-01

Cross-sectional genetic association studies can be analyzed using Cox proportional hazards models with age as time scale, if age at onset of disease is known for the cases and age at data collection is known for the controls. We assessed to what degree and under what conditions Cox proportional

Effects of age, adipose percent, and reproduction on PCB concentrations and profiles in an extreme fasting North Pacific marine mammal.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah H Peterson

Full Text Available Persistent organic pollutants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs, are widely distributed and detectable far from anthropogenic sources. Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris biannually travel thousands of kilometers to forage in coastal and open-ocean regions of the northeast Pacific Ocean and then return to land where they fast while breeding and molting. Our study examined potential effects of age, adipose percent, and the difference between the breeding and molting fasts on PCB concentrations and congener profiles in blubber and serum of northern elephant seal females. Between 2005 and 2007, we sampled blubber and blood from 58 seals before and after a foraging trip, which were then analyzed for PCBs. Age did not significantly affect total PCB concentrations; however, the proportion of PCB congeners with different numbers of chlorine atoms was significantly affected by age, especially in the outer blubber. Younger adult females had a significantly greater proportion of low-chlorinated PCBs (tri-, tetra-, and penta-CBs than older females, with the opposite trend observed for hepta-CBs, indicating that an age-associated process such as parity (birth may significantly affect congener profiles. The percent of adipose tissue had a significant relationship with inner blubber PCB concentrations, with the highest mean concentrations observed at the end of the molting fast. These results highlight the importance of sampling across the entire blubber layer when assessing contaminant levels in phocid seals and taking into account the adipose stores and reproductive status of an animal when conducting contaminant research.

Estimating a child's age from an image using whole body proportions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lucas, Teghan; Henneberg, Maciej

2017-09-01

The use and distribution of child pornography is an increasing problem. Forensic anthropologists are often asked to estimate a child's age from a photograph. Previous studies have attempted to estimate the age of children from photographs using ratios of the face. Here, we propose to include body measurement ratios into age estimates. A total of 1603 boys and 1833 girls aged 5-16 years were measured over a 10-year period. They are 'Cape Coloured' children from South Africa. Their age was regressed on ratios derived from anthropometric measurements of the head as well as the body. Multiple regression equations including four ratios for each sex (head height to shoulder and hip width, knee width, leg length and trunk length) have a standard error of 1.6-1.7 years. The error is of the same order as variation of differences between biological and chronological ages of the children. Thus, the error cannot be minimised any further as it is a direct reflection of a naturally occurring phenomenon.

Recent changes in the ventilation of the southern oceans.

Science.gov (United States)

Waugh, Darryn W; Primeau, Francois; Devries, Tim; Holzer, Mark

2013-02-01

Surface westerly winds in the Southern Hemisphere have intensified over the past few decades, primarily in response to the formation of the Antarctic ozone hole, and there is intense debate on the impact of this on the ocean's circulation and uptake and redistribution of atmospheric gases. We used measurements of chlorofluorocarbon-12 (CFC-12) made in the southern oceans in the early 1990s and mid- to late 2000s to examine changes in ocean ventilation. Our analysis of the CFC-12 data reveals a decrease in the age of subtropical subantarctic mode waters and an increase in the age of circumpolar deep waters, suggesting that the formation of the Antarctic ozone hole has caused large-scale coherent changes in the ventilation of the southern oceans.

Past and future ice age initiation: the role of an intrinsic deep-ocean millennial oscillation

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, R. G.

2014-05-01

This paper offers three interdependent contributions to studies of climate variation: (1) the recognition and analysis of an intrinsic millennial oceanic oscillation that affects both Northern and Southern high latitude climates, (2) The recognition of an oceanographic switch to ice-free seas west of Greenland that explains the initiation of the Last Ice Age, and (3) an analysis of the effect of increasing salinity in the seas east of Greenland that suggests the possibility of the initiation of an ice age threshold climate in the near future. In the first contribution the millennial oscillation in the flow of the North Atlantic Drift reported by Bond et al. (1997) is proposed to be part of a 1500 yr intrinsic deep ocean oscillation. This oscillation involves the exchange of North Atlantic intermediate-level deep water (NADW) formed in the seas east of Greenland with Antarctic Bottom Water formed in a shallow-water zone at the edge of the Antarctic continent. The concept of NADW formation is already well known, with details of the sinking water flowing out of the Greenland Sea observed by Smethie et al. (2000) using chlorofluorocarbon tracers. The concept of Antarctic Bottom Water formation is also already well established. However, its modulation by the changing fraction of NADW in the Southern Ocean, which I infer from the analysis of Weyl (1968), has not been previously discussed. The modulated lower-salinity Antarctic Bottom Water that reaches the northern North Atlantic then provides negative feedback for the cyclic variation of NADW formation as proposed here. This causes the 1500 yr bipolar oscillation. The feedback suggests the possible sinusoidal character of the proposed oscillation model. The model is consistent with the cooling of the Little Ice Age (Lamb, 1972, 1995), and it also correctly predicts NASA's observation of today's record maximum area of winter sea ice on the Southern Ocean and the present observed record low rate of Antarctic Bottom Water

Global variations in gravity-derived oceanic crustal thickness: Implications on oceanic crustal accretion and hotspot-lithosphere interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, J.; Zhu, J.

2012-12-01

We present a new global model of oceanic crustal thickness based on inversion of global oceanic gravity anomaly with constrains from seismic crustal thickness profiles. We first removed from the observed marine free-air gravity anomaly all gravitational effects that can be estimated and removed using independent constraints, including the effects of seafloor topography, marine sediment thickness, and the age-dependent thermal structure of the oceanic lithosphere. We then calculated models of gravity-derived crustal thickness through inversion of the residual mantle Bouguer anomaly using best-fitting gravity-modeling parameters obtained from comparison with seismically determined crustal thickness profiles. Modeling results show that about 5% of the global crustal volume (or 9% of the global oceanic surface area) is associated with model crustal thickness 8.6 km and is interpreted to have been affected by excess magmatism. The percentage of oceanic crustal volume that is associated with thick crustal thickness (>8.6 km) varies greatly among tectonic plates: Pacific (33%), Africa (50%), Antarctic (33%), Australia (30%), South America (34%), Nazca (23%), North America (47%), India (74%), Eurasia (68%), Cocos (20%), Philippine (26%), Scotia (41%), Caribbean (89%), Arabian (82%), and Juan de Fuca (21%). We also found that distribution of thickened oceanic crust (>8.6 km) seems to depend on spreading rate and lithospheric age: (1) On ocean basins younger than 5 Ma, regions of thickened crust are predominantly associated with slow and ultraslow spreading ridges. The relatively strong lithospheric plate at slow and ultraslow ridges might facilitate the loading of large magmatic emplacements on the plate. (2) In contrast, crustal thickness near fast and intermediately fast spreading ridges typically does not exceed 7-8 km. The relatively weak lithosphere at fast and intermediately fast ridges might make it harder for excess magmatism to accrete. We further speculate that

Tsunami Speed Variations in Density-stratified Compressible Global Oceans

Science.gov (United States)

Watada, S.

2013-12-01

Recent tsunami observations in the deep ocean have accumulated unequivocal evidence that tsunami traveltime delays compared with the linear long-wave tsunami simulations occur during tsunami propagation in the deep ocean. The delay is up to 2% of the tsunami traveltime. Watada et al. [2013] investigated the cause of the delay using the normal mode theory of tsunamis and attributed the delay to the compressibility of seawater, the elasticity of the solid earth, and the gravitational potential change associated with mass motion during the passage of tsunamis. Tsunami speed variations in the deep ocean caused by seawater density stratification is investigated using a newly developed propagator matrix method that is applicable to seawater with depth-variable sound speeds and density gradients. For a 4-km deep ocean, the total tsunami speed reduction is 0.45% compared with incompressible homogeneous seawater; two thirds of the reduction is due to elastic energy stored in the water and one third is due to water density stratification mainly by hydrostatic compression. Tsunami speeds are computed for global ocean density and sound speed profiles and characteristic structures are discussed. Tsunami speed reductions are proportional to ocean depth with small variations, except for in warm Mediterranean seas. The impacts of seawater compressibility and the elasticity effect of the solid earth on tsunami traveltime should be included for precise modeling of trans-oceanic tsunamis. Data locations where a vertical ocean profile deeper than 2500 m is available in World Ocean Atlas 2009. The dark gray area indicates the Pacific Ocean defined in WOA09. a) Tsunami speed variations. Red, gray and black bars represent global, Pacific, and Mediterranean Sea, respectively. b) Regression lines of the tsunami velocity reduction for all oceans. c)Vertical ocean profiles at grid points indicated by the stars in Figure 1.

Microbial decomposition of marine dissolved organic matter in cool oceanic crust

Science.gov (United States)

Shah Walter, Sunita R.; Jaekel, Ulrike; Osterholz, Helena; Fisher, Andrew T.; Huber, Julie A.; Pearson, Ann; Dittmar, Thorsten; Girguis, Peter R.

2018-05-01

Marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is one of the largest active reservoirs of reduced carbon on Earth. In the deep ocean, DOC has been described as biologically recalcitrant and has a radiocarbon age of 4,000 to 6,000 years, which far exceeds the timescale of ocean overturning. However, abiotic removal mechanisms cannot account for the full magnitude of deep-ocean DOC loss. Deep-ocean water circulates at low temperatures through volcanic crust on ridge flanks, but little is known about the associated biogeochemical processes and carbon cycling. Here we present analyses of DOC in fluids from two borehole observatories installed in crustal rocks west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and show that deep-ocean DOC is removed from these cool circulating fluids. The removal mechanism is isotopically selective and causes a shift in specific features of molecular composition, consistent with microbe-mediated oxidation. We suggest organic molecules with an average radiocarbon age of 3,200 years are bioavailable to crustal microbes, and that this removal mechanism may account for at least 5% of the global loss of DOC in the deep ocean. Cool crustal circulation probably contributes to maintaining the deep ocean as a reservoir of `aged' and refractory DOC by discharging the surviving organic carbon constituents that are molecularly degraded and depleted in 14C and 13C into the deep ocean.

Constraints on oceanic N balance/imbalance from sedimentary 15N records

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. A. Altabet

2007-01-01

Full Text Available According to current best estimates, the modern ocean's N cycle is in severe deficit. N isotope budgeting provides an independent geochemical constraint in this regard as well as the only means for past reconstruction. Overall, it is the relative proportion of N2 fixation consumed by water column denitrification that sets average oceanic δ15N under steady-state conditions. Several factors (conversion of organic N to N2, Rayleigh closed and open system effects likely reduce the effective fractionation factor (ε for water column denitrification to about half the inherent microbial value for εden. If so, the average oceanic δ15N of ~5‰ is consistent with a canonical contribution from water column denitrification of 50% of the source flux from N2 fixation. If an imbalance in oceanic N sources and sinks changes this proportion then a transient in average oceanic δ15N would occur. Using a simple model, changing water column denitrification by ±30% or N2 fixation by ±15% produces detectable (>1‰ changes in average oceanic δ15N over one residence time period or more with corresponding changes in oceanic N inventory. Changing sedimentary denitrification produces no change in δ15N but does change N inventory. Sediment δ15N records from sites thought to be sensitive to oceanic average δ15N all show no detectible change over the last 3 kyr or so implying a balanced marine N budget over the latest Holocene. A mismatch in time scales is the most likely meaningful interpretation of the apparent conflict with modern flux estimates. Decadal to centennial scale oscillations between net N deficit and net surplus may occur but on the N residence timescale of several thousand years, net balance is achieved in sum. However, sediment δ15N records from the literature covering the period since the last glacial maximum show excursions of up to several ‰ that are consistent with sustained N deficit during the deglaciation followed by readjustment

Proportion of preschool-aged children meeting the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines and associations with adiposity: results from the Canadian Health Measures Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Philippe Chaput

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background New Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years have been released in 2017. According to the guidelines, within a 24-h period, preschoolers should accumulate at least 180 min of physical activity (of which at least 60 min is moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, engage in no more than 1 h of screen time, and obtain between 10 and 13 h of sleep. This study examined the proportions of preschool-aged (3 to 4 years Canadian children who met these new guidelines and different recommendations within the guidelines, and the associations with adiposity indicators. Methods Participants were 803 children (mean age: 3.5 years from cycles 2–4 of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS, a nationally representative cross-sectional sample of Canadians. Physical activity was accelerometer-derived, and screen time and sleep duration were parent-reported. Participants were classified as meeting the overall 24-Hour Movement Guidelines if they met all three specific time recommendations for physical activity, screen time, and sleep. The adiposity indicators in this study were body mass index (BMI z-scores and BMI status (World Health Organization Growth Standards. Results A total of 12.7% of preschool-aged children met the overall 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, and 3.3% met none of the three recommendations. A high proportion of children met the sleep duration (83.9% and physical activity (61.8% recommendations, while 24.4% met the screen time recommendation. No associations were found between meeting individual or combined recommendations and adiposity. Conclusions Very few preschool-aged children in Canada (~13% met all three recommendations contained within the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines. None of the combinations of recommendations were associated with adiposity in this sample. Future work should focus on identifying innovative ways to reduce screen time in this population, and should examine the associations of

Polar oceans in a changing climate.

Science.gov (United States)

Barnes, David K A; Tarling, Geraint A

2017-06-05

Most of Earth's surface is blue or white, but how much of each would depend on the time of observation. Our planet has been through phases of snowball (all frozen), greenhouse (all liquid seas) and icehouse (frozen and liquid). Even during current icehouse conditions, the extent of ice versus water has changed considerably between ice ages and interglacial periods. Water has been vital for life on Earth and has driven and been influenced by transitions between greenhouse and icehouse. However, neither the possession of water nor having liquid and frozen seas are unique to Earth (Figure 1). Frozen water oceans on the moons Enceladus and Europa (and possibly others) and the liquid and frozen hydrocarbon oceans on Titan probably represent the most likely areas to find extraterrestrial life. We know very little about life in Earth's polar oceans, yet they are the engine of the thermohaline 'conveyor-belt', driving global circulation of heat, oxygen, carbon and nutrients as well as setting sea level through change in ice-mass balance. In regions of polar seas, where surface water is particularly cold and dense, it sinks to generate a tropic-ward flow on the ocean floor of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Cold water holds more gas, so this sinking water exports O 2 and nutrients, thereby supporting life in the deep sea, as well as soaking up CO 2 from the atmosphere. Water from mid-depths at lower latitudes flows in to replace the sinking polar surface water. This brings heat. The poles are cold because they receive the least energy from the sun, and this extreme light climate varies on many different time scales. To us, the current warm, interglacial conditions seem normal, yet such phases have represented only ∼10% of Homo sapiens' existence. Variations in Earth's orbit (so called 'Milankovitch cycles') have driven cyclical alternation of glaciations (ice ages) and warmer interglacials. Despite this, Earth's polar regions have been our planet's most

Analysis of the global ocean sampling (GOS) project for trends in iron uptake by surface ocean microbes.

Science.gov (United States)

Toulza, Eve; Tagliabue, Alessandro; Blain, Stéphane; Piganeau, Gwenael

2012-01-01

Microbial metagenomes are DNA samples of the most abundant, and therefore most successful organisms at the sampling time and location for a given cell size range. The study of microbial communities via their DNA content has revolutionized our understanding of microbial ecology and evolution. Iron availability is a critical resource that limits microbial communities' growth in many oceanic areas. Here, we built a database of 2319 sequences, corresponding to 140 gene families of iron metabolism with a large phylogenetic spread, to explore the microbial strategies of iron acquisition in the ocean's bacterial community. We estimate iron metabolism strategies from metagenome gene content and investigate whether their prevalence varies with dissolved iron concentrations obtained from a biogeochemical model. We show significant quantitative and qualitative variations in iron metabolism pathways, with a higher proportion of iron metabolism genes in low iron environments. We found a striking difference between coastal and open ocean sites regarding Fe(2+) versus Fe(3+) uptake gene prevalence. We also show that non-specific siderophore uptake increases in low iron open ocean environments, suggesting bacteria may acquire iron from natural siderophore-like organic complexes. Despite the lack of knowledge of iron uptake mechanisms in most marine microorganisms, our approach provides insights into how the iron metabolic pathways of microbial communities may vary with seawater iron concentrations.

Processes of 30-90 days sea surface temperature variability in the northern Indian Ocean during boreal summer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vialard, J. [Univerite P. et M. Curie, Laboratoire d' Oceanographie Experimentation et Approches Numeriques (LOCEAN), Case 100, CNRS, IRD, Paris Cedex 05 (France); Jayakumar, A.; Gnanaseelan, C.; Goswami, B.N. [Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune (India); Lengaigne, M. [Univerite P. et M. Curie, Laboratoire d' Oceanographie Experimentation et Approches Numeriques (LOCEAN), Case 100, CNRS, IRD, Paris Cedex 05 (France); CSIR, National Institute of Oceanography, Goa (India); Sengupta, D. [Indian Institute of Sciences, Centre of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Bangalore (India)

2012-05-15

During summer, the northern Indian Ocean exhibits significant atmospheric intraseasonal variability associated with active and break phases of the monsoon in the 30-90 days band. In this paper, we investigate mechanisms of the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) signature of this atmospheric variability, using a combination of observational datasets and Ocean General Circulation Model sensitivity experiments. In addition to the previously-reported intraseasonal SST signature in the Bay of Bengal, observations show clear SST signals in the Arabian Sea related to the active/break cycle of the monsoon. As the atmospheric intraseasonal oscillation moves northward, SST variations appear first at the southern tip of India (day 0), then in the Somali upwelling region (day 10), northern Bay of Bengal (day 19) and finally in the Oman upwelling region (day 23). The Bay of Bengal and Oman signals are most clearly associated with the monsoon active/break index, whereas the relationship with signals near Somali upwelling and the southern tip of India is weaker. In agreement with previous studies, we find that heat flux variations drive most of the intraseasonal SST variability in the Bay of Bengal, both in our model (regression coefficient, 0.9, against {proportional_to}0.25 for wind stress) and in observations (0.8 regression coefficient); {proportional_to}60% of the heat flux variation is due do shortwave radiation and {proportional_to}40% due to latent heat flux. On the other hand, both observations and model results indicate a prominent role of dynamical oceanic processes in the Arabian Sea. Wind-stress variations force about 70-100% of SST intraseasonal variations in the Arabian Sea, through modulation of oceanic processes (entrainment, mixing, Ekman pumping, lateral advection). Our {proportional_to}100 km resolution model suggests that internal oceanic variability (i.e. eddies) contributes substantially to intraseasonal variability at small-scale in the Somali upwelling region

Proportionality for Military Leaders

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Brown, Gary D

2000-01-01

.... Especially lacking is a realization that there are four distinct types of proportionality. In determining whether a particular resort to war is just, national leaders must consider the proportionality of the conflict (i.e...

Ocean wave-radar modulation transfer functions from the West Coast experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, J. W.; Plant, W. J.; Keller, W. C.; Jones, W. L.

1980-01-01

Short gravity-capillary waves, the equilibrium, or the steady state excitations of the ocean surface are modulated by longer ocean waves. These short waves are the predominant microwave scatterers on the ocean surface under many viewing conditions so that the modulation is readily measured with CW Doppler radar used as a two-scale wave probe. Modulation transfer functions (the ratio of the cross spectrum of the line-of-sight orbital speed and backscattered microwave power to the autospectrum of the line-of-sight orbital speed) were measured at 9.375 and 1.5 GHz (Bragg wavelengths of 2.3 and 13 cm) for winds up to 10 m/s and ocean wave periods from 2-18 s. The measurements were compared with the relaxation-time model; the principal result is that a source of modulation other than straining by the horizontal component of orbital speed, possibly the wave-induced airflow, is responsible for most of the modulation by waves of typical ocean wave period (10 s). The modulations are large; for unit coherence, spectra of radar images of deep-water waves should be proportional to the quotient of the slope spectra of the ocean waves by the ocean wave frequency.

Ocean Acidification | Smithsonian Ocean Portal

Science.gov (United States)

Natural History Blog For Educators At The Museum Media Archive Ocean Life & Ecosystems Mammals Sharks Mangroves Poles Census of Marine Life Planet Ocean Tides & Currents Waves & Storms The Seafloor ocean is affected. Such a relatively quick change in ocean chemistry doesn't give marine life, which

Ocean Ridges and Oxygen

Science.gov (United States)

Langmuir, C. H.

2014-12-01

The history of oxygen and the fluxes and feedbacks that lead to its evolution through time remain poorly constrained. It is not clear whether oxygen has had discrete steady state levels at different times in Earth's history, or whether oxygen evolution is more progressive, with trigger points that lead to discrete changes in markers such as mass independent sulfur isotopes. Whatever this history may have been, ocean ridges play an important and poorly recognized part in the overall mass balance of oxidants and reductants that contribute to electron mass balance and the oxygen budget. One example is the current steady state O2 in the atmosphere. The carbon isotope data suggest that the fraction of carbon has increased in the Phanerozoic, and CO2 outgassing followed by organic matter burial should continually supply more O2 to the surface reservoirs. Why is O2 not then increasing? A traditional answer to this question would relate to variations in the fraction of burial of organic matter, but this fraction appears to have been relatively high throughout the Phanerozoic. Furthermore, subduction of carbon in the 1/5 organic/carbonate proportions would contribute further to an increasingly oxidized surface. What is needed is a flux of oxidized material out of the system. One solution would be a modern oxidized flux to the mantle. The current outgassing flux of CO2 is ~3.4*1012 moles per year. If 20% of that becomes stored organic carbon, that is a flux of .68*1012 moles per year of reduced carbon. The current flux of oxidized iron in subducting ocean crust is ~2*1012 moles per year of O2 equivalents, based on the Fe3+/Fe2+ ratios in old ocean crust compared to fresh basalts at the ridge axis. This flux more than accounts for the incremental oxidizing power produced by modern life. It also suggests a possible feedback through oxygenation of the ocean. A reduced deep ocean would inhibit oxidation of ocean crust, in which case there would be no subduction flux of oxidized

Femoral neck-shaft angle and climate-induced body proportions.

Science.gov (United States)

Child, Stephanie L; Cowgill, Libby W

2017-12-01

Declination in femoral neck-shaft angle (NSA) is commonly linked to an increased level of physical activity during life. More recently, however, research suggests that lower NSA might also be explained, in part, as the mechanical consequence of differences in ecogeographic body proportions. This study tests the proposed link between NSA and climatic-induced body proportions, using relative body mass (RBM), throughout the course of development. NSA and RBM were collected for 445 immature remains from five geographic locations. NSA and RBM were standardized for age-effects. ANOVA was used to examine when population differences emerged in both NSA and RBM. Regression analyses were used to examine the pattern of relationship between NSA and RBM. Populations differ significantly in NSA and RBM before skeletal maturity, and these differences occur early in life. While both NSA and RBM change over the course of development, no significant relationship was found between NSA and RBM for any sample, or any age category (p = .244). Individuals who have relatively greater relative body mass do not necessarily have lower NSA. Population differences in NSA were found to be variable, while differences in RBM remained consistent across the developmental span. Taken together, these results suggest that regardless of body proportions, the degree of declination of NSA is presumed to be similar among individuals with similar gait and ambulatory behaviors. Conversely, populations differ in RBM from birth, and these differences are consistent throughout development. These two measures likely are responsive to diffing stimuli, and any potential relationship is likely complex and multifactorial. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Depth Dependent Relationships between Temperature and Ocean Heterotrophic Prokaryotic Production

KAUST Repository

Lønborg, Christian

2016-06-07

Marine prokaryotes play a key role in cycling of organic matter and nutrients in the ocean. Using a unique dataset (>14,500 samples), we applied a space-for-time substitution analysis to assess the temperature dependence of prokaryotic heterotrophic production (PHP) in epi- (0-200 m), meso- (201-1000 m) and bathypelagic waters (1001-4000 m) of the global ocean. Here, we show that the temperature dependence of PHP is fundamentally different between these major oceanic depth layers, with an estimated ecosystem-level activation energy (E) of 36 ± 7 kJ mol for the epipelagic, 72 ± 15 kJ mol for the mesopelagic and 274 ± 65 kJ mol for the bathypelagic realm. We suggest that the increasing temperature dependence with depth is related to the parallel vertical gradient in the proportion of recalcitrant organic compounds. These Ea predict an increased PHP of about 5, 12, and 55% in the epi-, meso-, and bathypelagic ocean, respectively, in response to a water temperature increase by 1°C. Hence, there is indication that a major thus far underestimated feedback mechanism exists between future bathypelagic ocean warming and heterotrophic prokaryotic activity.

Depth Dependent Relationships between Temperature and Ocean Heterotrophic Prokaryotic Production

KAUST Repository

Lø nborg, Christian; Cuevas, L. Antonio; Reinthaler, Thomas; Herndl, Gerhard J.; Gasol, Josep M.; Moran, Xose Anxelu G.; Bates, Nicholas R.; á lvarez-Salgado, Xosé A.

2016-01-01

Marine prokaryotes play a key role in cycling of organic matter and nutrients in the ocean. Using a unique dataset (>14,500 samples), we applied a space-for-time substitution analysis to assess the temperature dependence of prokaryotic heterotrophic production (PHP) in epi- (0-200 m), meso- (201-1000 m) and bathypelagic waters (1001-4000 m) of the global ocean. Here, we show that the temperature dependence of PHP is fundamentally different between these major oceanic depth layers, with an estimated ecosystem-level activation energy (E) of 36 ± 7 kJ mol for the epipelagic, 72 ± 15 kJ mol for the mesopelagic and 274 ± 65 kJ mol for the bathypelagic realm. We suggest that the increasing temperature dependence with depth is related to the parallel vertical gradient in the proportion of recalcitrant organic compounds. These Ea predict an increased PHP of about 5, 12, and 55% in the epi-, meso-, and bathypelagic ocean, respectively, in response to a water temperature increase by 1°C. Hence, there is indication that a major thus far underestimated feedback mechanism exists between future bathypelagic ocean warming and heterotrophic prokaryotic activity.

Structural styles and zircon ages of the South Tianshan accretionary complex, Atbashi Ridge, Kyrgyzstan: Insights for the anatomy of ocean plate stratigraphy and accretionary processes

Science.gov (United States)

Sang, Miao; Xiao, Wenjiao; Orozbaev, Rustam; Bakirov, Apas; Sakiev, Kadyrbek; Pak, Nikolay; Ivleva, Elena; Zhou, Kefa; Ao, Songjian; Qiao, Qingqing; Zhang, Zhixin

2018-03-01

The anatomy of an ancient accretionary complex has a significance for a better understanding of the tectonic processes of accretionary orogens and complex because of its complicated compositions and strong deformation. With a thorough structural and geochronological study of a fossil accretionary complex in the Atbashi Ridge, South Tianshan (Kyrgyzstan), we analyze the structure and architecture of ocean plate stratigraphy in the western Central Asian Orogenic Belt. The architecture of the Atbashi accretionary complex is subdivisible into four lithotectonic assemblages, some of which are mélanges with "block-in-matrix" structure: (1) North Ophiolitic Mélange; (2) High-pressure (HP)/Ultra-high-pressure (UHP) Metamorphic Assemblage; (3) Coherent & Mélange Assemblage; and (4) South Ophiolitic Mélange. Relationships between main units are tectonic contacts presented by faults. The major structures and lithostratigraphy of these units are thrust-fold nappes, thrusted duplexes, and imbricated ocean plate stratigraphy. All these rock units are complicatedly stacked in 3-D with the HP/UHP rocks being obliquely southwestward extruded. Detrital zircon ages of meta-sediments provide robust constraints on their provenance from the Ili-Central Tianshan Arc. The isotopic ages of the youngest components of the four units are Late Permian, Early-Middle Triassic, Early Carboniferous, and Early Triassic, respectively. We present a new tectonic model of the South Tianshan; a general northward subduction polarity led to final closure of the South Tianshan Ocean in the End-Permian to Late Triassic. These results help to resolve the long-standing controversy regarding the subduction polarity and the timing of the final closure of the South Tianshan Ocean. Finally, our work sheds lights on the use of ocean plate stratigraphy in the analysis of the tectonic evolution of accretionary orogens.

Ocean basin volume constraints on global sea level since the Jurassic

Science.gov (United States)

Seton, M.; Müller, R. D.

2011-12-01

Changes in the volume of the ocean basins, predominately via changes in the age-area distribution of oceanic lithosphere, have been suggested as the main driver for long-term eustatic sea-level change. As ocean lithosphere cools and thickens, ocean depth increases. The balance between the abundance of hot and buoyant crust along mid ocean ridges relative to abyssal plains is the primary driving force of long-term sea level changes. The emplacement of volcanic plateaus and chains as well as sedimentation contribute to raising eustatic sea level. Quantifying the average ocean basin depth through time primarily relies on the present day preserved seafloor spreading record, an analysis of the spatio-temporal record of plate boundary processes recorded on the continental margins adjacent to ocean basins as well as a consideration of the rules of plate tectonics, to reconstruct the history of seafloor spreading in the oceanic basins through time. This approach has been successfully applied to predict the magnitude and pattern of eustatic sea-level change since the Cretaceous (Müller et. al. 2008) but uncertainties in reconstructing mid ocean ridges and flanks increase back through time, given that we mainly depend on information preserved in preserved ocean crust. We have reconstructed the age-area distribution of oceanic lithosphere and the plate boundary configurations back to the Jurassic (200 Ma) in order to assess long-term sea-level change from amalgamation to dispersal of Pangaea. We follow the methodology presented in Müller et. al. (2008) but incorporate a new absolute plate motion model derived from Steinberger and Torsvik (2008) prior to 100 Ma, a merged Wessel et. al. (2006) and Wessel and Kroenke (2008) fixed Pacific hotspot reference frame, and a revised model for the formation of Panthalassa and the Cretaceous Pacific. Importantly, we incorporate a model for the break-up of the Ontong Java-Manihiki-Hikurangi plateaus between 120-86 Ma. We extend a

Hydrographic processing considerations in the “Big Data” age: An overview of technology trends in ocean and coastal surveys

Science.gov (United States)

Holland, M.; Hoggarth, A.; Nicholson, J.

2016-04-01

The quantity of information generated by survey sensors for ocean and coastal zone mapping has reached the “Big Data” age. This is influenced by the number of survey sensors available to conduct a survey, high data resolution, commercial availability, as well as an increased use of autonomous platforms. The number of users of sophisticated survey information is also growing with the increase in data volume. This is leading to a greater demand and broader use of the processed results, which includes marine archeology, disaster response, and many other applications. Data processing and exchange techniques are evolving to ensure this increased accuracy in acquired data meets the user demand, and leads to an improved understanding of the ocean environment. This includes the use of automated processing, models that maintain the best possible representation of varying resolution data to reduce duplication, as well as data plug-ins and interoperability standards. Through the adoption of interoperable standards, data can be exchanged between stakeholders and used many times in any GIS to support an even wider range of activities. The growing importance of Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure (MSDI) is also contributing to the increased access of marine information to support sustainable use of ocean and coastal environments. This paper offers an industry perspective on trends in hydrographic surveying and processing, and the increased use of marine spatial data.

Geothermal influences on the abyssal ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Emile-Geay, J.; Madec, G.

2017-12-01

Long considered a negligible contribution to ocean dynamics, geothermal heat flow (GHF) is now increasingly recognized as an important contributor to the large scale ocean's deep structure and circulation. This presentation will review the history of theories regarding geothermal influences on the abyssal ocean. Though the contribution to the thermal structure was recognized early on, its potential in driving a circulation [Worthington, 1968] was largely ignored on the grounds that it could not materially affect potential vorticity. Huang [JPO, 1999] proposed that GHF may provide 30-50% of the energy available for deep mixing, a calculation that later proved too optimistic [Wunsch & Ferrari ARFM 2004]. Model simulations suggested that a uniform GHF of 50 mW/m2 could drive an abyssal of a few Sverdrups (1 Sv = 106 m3.s-1) [Adcroft et al, GRL 2001], but it was not until Emile-Geay & Madec [OS, 2009] (EM09) that GHF began to be taken seriously [Mashayek et al, GRL 2013; Voldoire et al. Clim. Dyn. 2013; Dufresnes et al., Clim. Dyn. 2013]. Using analytical and numerical approaches, the study made 3 main points: GHF brings as much energy to the deep ocean as intense diapycnal mixing (1 cm2/s). GHF consumes the densest water masses, inducing a deep circulation of 5 Sv even without mixing. This circulation varies in inverse proportion to abyssal stratification. The spatial structure of GHF, highest at mid-ocean ridges and lowest in abyssal plains, matters far less than the fact that it bathes vast fractions of the ocean floor in a relatively low, constant flux. EM09 concluded that GHF "is an important actor of abyssal dynamics, and should no longer be neglected in oceanographic studies". Recent work has confirmed that geothermal heat flow is of comparable importance to ocean circulation as bottom-intensified mixing induced by internal wave breaking [De Lavergne et al, JPO 2016a,b]. Thus, including GHF in ocean general circulation models improves abyssal structure and

Photometric study of divine proportion and its correlation with facial attractiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Paula Lazzari Marques Peron

2012-04-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate if there is correlation between perception of facial esthetic and divine proportion, verifying if most attractive faces are closer to and less attractive faces are more distant to this proportion. METHODS: Standard facial photographs (frontal and lateral in natural head position were taken of a sample of 85 Brazilian Caucasian women, with mean age of 23 years and 9 months. The photographs were evaluated by 5 orthodontists, 5 artists and 5 laymen and were classified, according to their subjective analysis of facial esthetic, in pleasant, acceptable and not pleasant. Frontal photographs were evaluated by divine proportion analysis using the computerized method. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: According to subjective analysis the sample consisted 18.8% of pleasant, 70.6% of acceptable and 10.6% of not pleasant faces. After statistical analysis, a lack of agreement was verified in esthetic facial preferences among the three groups of observers. It was also possible to verify that in this research there was no correlation between perception of facial beauty and divine proportion.

Validity of mathematical proportions in maxillary anterior teeth among Bangladeshi population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monwarul Aziz

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To investigate the existence and suitability of mathematical proportions between the widths of maxillary anterior teeth in Bangladeshi population having an esthetic smile, with the aid of digital photographs and computer analysis. Place of Study: The study was conducted at the Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics of Dhaka Dental College and Hospital, Dhaka. Period of Study: The study was conducted from April 2016 to September 2016. Sample Selection: The study samples collected from Students of Dhaka Dental College, Mirpur-14, Dhaka, Bangladesh, with age limit 18–35 years. Materials and Methods: Standardized frontal images of 100 dental students of Dhaka Dental College were captured. All the images were downloaded to a personal computer, and width of each tooth was measured by the scale tool of Photoshop CS version 8.0. All the data were analyzed (through standard statistical method using Statistical Package for Social Science Software version 20 (IBM Corp., USA. Results: The golden proportion existed in 17% of the perceived width ratios of lateral incisor to central incisor and 4% of the width ratios of canine to lateral incisor in natural dentition. Sixty-six percent lateral incisors are following the golden percentage, but only 7% central incisors and 21% canines are following the golden percentage. The recurring esthetic dental (RED proportion existed in only 4% of participants. Conclusions: The golden proportion, golden percentage, and the RED proportion cannot be used as constant proportions to create a harmonious proportion throughout the width of maxillary anterior teeth. The adjusted golden percentage might serve as a guideline to create harmonious proportions in maxillary anterior teeth for Bangladeshi population.

Coupled Hf-Nd-Pb isotope co-variations of HIMU oceanic island basalts from Mangaia, Cook-Austral islands, suggest an Archean source component in the mantle transition zone

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Nebel, Oliver; Arculus, Richard J.; van Westrenen, Wim; Woodhead, Jon D.; Jenner, Frances E.; Nebel-Jacobsen, Yona J.; Wille, Martin; Eggins, Stephen M.

2013-07-01

Although it is widely accepted that oceanic island basalts (OIB) sample geochemically distinct mantle reservoirs including recycled oceanic crust, the composition, age, and locus of these reservoirs remain uncertain. OIB with highly radiogenic Pb isotope signatures are grouped as HIMU (high-μ, with μ = 238U/204Pb), and exhibit unique Hf-Nd isotopic characteristics, defined as ΔɛHf, deviant from a terrestrial igneous rock array that includes all other OIB types. Here we combine new Hf isotope data with previous Nd-Pb isotope measurements to assess the coupled, time-integrated Hf-Nd-Pb isotope evolution of the most extreme HIMU location (Mangaia, French Polynesia). In comparison with global MORB and other OIB types, Mangaia samples define a unique trend in coupled Hf-Nd-Pb isotope co-variations (expressed in 207Pb/206Pb vs. ΔɛHf). In a model employing subducted, dehydrated oceanic crust, mixing between present-day depleted MORB mantle (DMM) and small proportions (˜5%) of a HIMU mantle endmember can re-produce the Hf-Nd-Pb isotope systematics of global HIMU basalts (sensu stricto; i.e., without EM-1/EM-2/FOZO components). An age range of 3.5 to 3 Gyr and implies that OIB chemistry can be used to test geodynamic models.

The golden proportion in facial soft-tissues of Vietnamese females.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Minh Son; Saag, Mare; Le, Van Nho; Nguyen, Thuy Trang; Nguyen, Bui Bao Tien; Jagomägi, Triin

2016-01-01

Objective of the current study was to evaluate proportions of frontal facial soft-tissues of Vietnamese females correspond to the golden proportion (GP). Sixty frontal facial photographs of Vietnamese female students aged 19 years were selected. The selected participants had symmetrical face, a Class I relationship occlusion, complete lip closure, and no history of trauma and orthodontic treatment. The photographic record was set-up with a white backdrop, fill light, a reflector, a camera Canon 650D and subjects were asked to sit in a standard position. Trichion (TR), Temporal soft tissue (TS), Lateral canthus (LC), Lateral nasal (LN), Chilion (CH), and Menton (ME) point were used for photometric measurements on CorelDRAW Graphic X3 software. The vertical facial proportions (mean, percentage compared with GP) were significantly higher than the GP including: LC-CH:CH-ME (1.661, 102%), LN-ME:LC-LN (1.729, 106%), TR-ME:LC-ME (1.739, 107%), TR-LN:LN-ME (1.759, 108%). Whereas TR-ME:LN-ME; CH-ME:LN-CH; LC-LN:LN-CH had ratios of 84% - 92% and were significantly smaller in comparison with GP. The horizontal facial proportions of CHR-L:LNR-L, LCR-L:CHR-L and TSR-L:LCR-L deviated from the GP with mean values of 1.221, 1.922 and 1.229, respectively. The new mean values of TR-ME:LC-ME (1.733), TR-LN:LN-ME (1.732), LC-ME:TR-LC (1.374), CH-ME:LN-CH (1.524), which were predictable changes in proportions, can be significantly converged to the GP if LC-CH:CH-ME is equal to the GP. Soft-tissue facial proportions of Vietnamese females did not correspond to the GP. Changing the lower third face may create harmony vertical facial proportions.

Ocean FEST and TECH: Inspiring Hawaii's Students to Pursue Ocean, Earth and Environmental Science Careers

Science.gov (United States)

Bruno, B. C.; Wren, J. L.; Ayau, J. F.

2013-12-01

undergraduates from diverse backgrounds serve as teaching assistants. Pre-college and community college students can more easily relate to these young role models, which can make pursuing an ocean or earth science career seem more attainable. (7) Organizing career fairs and informal career mixers, to promote one-on-one interactions between students of all ages and diverse career professionals in a range of ocean, earth and environmental science occupations. (8) Forming relationships with minority-serving recruiting organizations and programs to ensure we reach our intended audience. Through such partnerships, we have reached students from underrepresented communities in Hawai';i and throughout the Pacific.

Oceanic magmatic evolution during ocean opening under influence of mantle plume

Science.gov (United States)

Sushchevskaya, Nadezhda; Melanholina, Elena; Belyatsky, Boris; Krymsky, Robert; Migdisova, Natalya

2015-04-01

Petrology, geochemistry and geophysics as well as numerical simulation of spreading processes in plume impact environments on examples of Atlantic Ocean Iceland and the Central Atlantic plumes and Kerguelen plume in the Indian Ocean reveal: - under interaction of large plume and continental landmass the plume can contribute to splitting off individual lithosphere blocks, and their subsequent movement into the emergent ocean. At the same time enriched plume components often have geochemical characteristics of the intact continental lithosphere by early plume exposure. This is typical for trap magmatism in Antarctica, and for magmatism of North and Central Atlantic margins; - in the course of the geodynamic reconstruction under the whole region of the South Atlantic was formed (not in one step) metasomatized enriched sub-oceanic mantle with pyroxenite mantle geochemical characteristics and isotopic composition of enriched HIMU and EM-2 sources. That is typical for most of the islands in the West Antarctic. This mantle through spreading axes jumping involved in different proportions in the melting under the influence of higher-temperature rising asthenospheric lherzolite mantle; - CAP activity was brief enough (200 ± 2 Ma), but Karoo-Maud plume worked for a longer time and continued from 180 to 170 Ma ago in the main phase. Plume impact within Antarctica distributed to the South and to the East, leading to the formation of extended igneous provinces along the Transantarctic Mountains and along the east coast (Queen Maud Land province and Schirmacher Oasis). Moreover, this plume activity may be continued later on, after about 40 million years cessation, as Kerguelen plume within the newly-formed Indian Ocean, significantly affects the nature of the rift magmatism; - a large extended uplift in the eastern part of the Indian Ocean - Southeastern Indian Ridge (SEIR) was formed on the ancient spreading Wharton ridge near active Kerguelen plume. The strongest plume

Building a Global Ocean Science Education Network

Science.gov (United States)

Scowcroft, G. A.; Tuddenham, P. T.; Pizziconi, R.

2016-02-01

It is imperative for ocean science education to be closely linked to ocean science research. This is especially important for research that addresses global concerns that cross national boundaries, including climate related issues. The results of research on these critical topics must find its way to the public, educators, and students of all ages around the globe. To facilitate this, opportunities are needed for ocean scientists and educators to convene and identify priorities and strategies for ocean science education. On June 26 and 27, 2015 the first Global Ocean Science Education (GOSE) Workshop was convened in the United States at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. The workshop, sponsored by the Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE) and the College of Exploration, had over 75 participants representing 15 nations. The workshop addressed critical global ocean science topics, current ocean science research and education priorities, advanced communication technologies, and leveraging international ocean research technologies. In addition, panels discussed elementary, secondary, undergraduate, graduate, and public education across the ocean basins with emphasis on opportunities for international collaboration. Special presentation topics included advancements in tropical cyclone forecasting, collaborations among Pacific Islands, ocean science for coastal resiliency, and trans-Atlantic collaboration. This presentation will focus on workshop outcomes as well as activities for growing a global ocean science education network. A summary of the workshop report will also be provided. The dates and location for the 2016 GOES Workshop will be announced. See http://www.coexploration.net/gose/index.html

Analogical proportions: another logical view

Science.gov (United States)

Prade, Henri; Richard, Gilles

This paper investigates the logical formalization of a restricted form of analogical reasoning based on analogical proportions, i.e. statements of the form a is to b as c is to d. Starting from a naive set theoretic interpretation, we highlight the existence of two noticeable companion proportions: one states that a is to b the converse of what c is to d (reverse analogy), while the other called paralogical proportion expresses that what a and b have in common, c and d have it also. We identify the characteristic postulates of the three types of proportions and examine their consequences from an abstract viewpoint. We further study the properties of the set theoretic interpretation and of the Boolean logic interpretation, and we provide another light on the understanding of the role of permutations in the modeling of the three types of proportions. Finally, we address the use of these proportions as a basis for inference in a propositional setting, and relate it to more general schemes of analogical reasoning. The differences between analogy, reverse-analogy, and paralogy is still emphasized in a three-valued setting, which is also briefly presented.

Golden proportion assessment between maxillary and mandibular teeth on Indian population

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Vaikunth Vijay; Rangarajan, Vedantham

2012-01-01

PURPOSE This study evaluated the existence of golden proportion between the widths of the maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth in Indian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS The clinical tooth width measurements were recorded with the digital vernier calipers on 576 patients of both sexes in the age group of 21 - 30 years. Flexible ruler was used to determine the width of maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth on the patients by the same operator. The data obtained was statistically analyzed using paired student t-test (α=.05). RESULTS The golden proportion was not found between the width of the right central and lateral incisors in 53% of women and 47% of men. The results revealed the golden percentage was rather inconstant in terms of relative tooth width. CONCLUSION The golden proportion is an inappropriate method to relate the successive widths of the maxillary anterior teeth in Indian population. PMID:22737310

A phenomenological SMA model for combined axial–torsional proportional/non-proportional loading conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bodaghi, M.; Damanpack, A.R.; Aghdam, M.M.; Shakeri, M.

2013-01-01

In this paper, a simple and robust phenomenological model for shape memory alloys (SMAs) is proposed to simulate main features of SMAs under uniaxial as well as biaxial combined axial–torsional proportional/non-proportional loadings. The constitutive model for polycrystalline SMAs is developed within the framework of continuum thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The model nominates the volume fractions of self-accommodated and oriented martensite as scalar internal variables and the preferred direction of oriented martensitic variants as directional internal variable. An algorithm is introduced to develop explicit relationships for the thermo-mechanical behavior of SMAs under uniaxial and biaxial combined axial–torsional proportional/non-proportional loading conditions and also thermal loading. It is shown that the model is able to simulate main aspects of SMAs including self-accommodation, martensitic transformation, orientation and reorientation of martensite, shape memory effect, ferro-elasticity and pseudo-elasticity. A description of the time-discrete counterpart of the proposed SMA model is presented. Experimental results of uniaxial tension and biaxial combined tension–torsion non-proportional tests are simulated and a good qualitative correlation between numerical and experimental responses is achieved. Due to simplicity and accuracy, the model is expected to be used in the future studies dealing with the analysis of SMA devices in which two stress components including one normal and one shear stress are dominant

Radiocarbon age of the recent deposits of the Indian Ocean western part (Seychelles)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Svitoch, A.A.; Parunin, O.B.

1988-01-01

Mass radiocarbon dating according to Pleistocene precipitations of the islands of the Western Part of the Indian ocean is carried out. Time of formation of black-rock precipitations, low benches and island sandstones of low islands - middle-late Holocene - is established. Rocks of a reef complex are late Pleistocene. Relative concentration of dates according to various types of deposits points to the trustworthness and testifies about usefulness of radiocarbon analysis for stratigraphic and chronological separation of carbonate precipitations of islands of the equatorial zone of the ocean

How does ocean ventilation change under global warming?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Gnanadesikan

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Since the upper ocean takes up much of the heat added to the earth system by anthropogenic global warming, one would expect that global warming would lead to an increase in stratification and a decrease in the ventilation of the ocean interior. However, multiple simulations in global coupled climate models using an ideal age tracer which is set to zero in the mixed layer and ages at 1 yr/yr outside this layer show that the intermediate depths in the low latitudes, Northwest Atlantic, and parts of the Arctic Ocean become younger under global warming. This paper reconciles these apparently contradictory trends, showing that the decreases result from changes in the relative contributions of old deep waters and younger surface waters. Implications for the tropical oxygen minimum zones, which play a critical role in global biogeochemical cycling are considered in detail.

Causes of strong ocean heating during glacial periods

Science.gov (United States)

Zimov, N.; Zimov, S. A.

2013-12-01

During the last deglaciation period, the strongest climate changes occurred across the North Atlantic regions. Analyses of borehole temperatures from the Greenland ice sheet have yielded air temperature change estimates of 25°C over the deglaciation period (Dahl-Jensen et al. 1998). Such huge temperature changes cannot currently be explained in the frames of modern knowledge about climate. We propose that glacial-interglacial cycles are connected with gradual warming of ocean interior waters over the course of glaciations and quick transport of accumulated heat from ocean to the atmosphere during the deglaciation periods. Modern day ocean circulation is dominated by thermal convection with cold waters subsiding in the Northern Atlantic and filling up the ocean interior with cold and heavy water. However during the glaciation thermal circulation stopped and ocean circulation was driven by 'haline pumps' -Red and Mediterranean seas connected with ocean with only narrow but deep straights acts as evaporative basins, separating ocean water into fresh water which returns to the ocean surface (precipitation) and warm but salty, and therefore heavy, water which flows down to the ocean floor. This haline pump is stratifying the ocean, allowing warmer water locate under the colder water and thus stopping thermal convection in the ocean. Additional ocean interior warming is driven by geothermal heat flux and decomposition of organic rain. To test the hypothesis we present simple ocean box model that describes thermohaline circulation in the World Ocean. The first box is the Red and Mediterranean sea, the second is united high-latitude seas, the third is the ocean surface, and the fourth the ocean interior. The volume of these water masses and straight cross-sections are taken to be close to real values. We have accepted that the exchange of water between boxes is proportional to the difference in water density in these boxes, Sun energy inputs to the ocean and sea surface

75 FR 18778 - Safety Zone; Ocean City Air Show 2010, Atlantic Ocean, Ocean City, MD

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-13

...-AA00 Safety Zone; Ocean City Air Show 2010, Atlantic Ocean, Ocean City, MD AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS... zone on the Atlantic Ocean in the vicinity of Ocean City, Maryland to support the Ocean City Air Show. This action is intended to restrict vessel traffic movement on the Atlantic Ocean to protect mariners...

"The Oceans" not Withstanding: Scripps Geological-Geophysical Expeditions of the Golden Age

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, R. L.

2002-12-01

"The Oceans: Their Physics, Chemistry, and General Biology," fully recognized and promoted the inherent unity of oceanography, the field itself, and of all components of the oceanic world. It covered well the wet pieces. However, except for sedimentary studies of the California borderland and reconnaissances of the Arctic, Mediterranean, and the South Atlantic, little was presented that could be parent to today's portrayals of marine geology and geophysics. The advances in those areas in the 1950's, 1960's, and early 1970's, by SIO scientists and those of several other institutions resulted from extended expeditionary studies, essential on-the-job field training of confident very young chief scientists, dogged pushing of traditional rough sampling methods to their limits, and the invention and lateral prompt application of precise electronic timing and sensing devices to shipboard observation of deep ocean seafloor/crustal elements. SIO's multifaceted expeditions of those years were conceived, planned and often lead by graduate students making thesis observations, assisted by their fellows as "warm bodies," perhaps with more senior staff scientists making specific collections at key localities. Education was real-time: discovering--reflection--discussion, and mutual tutoring. The principal factor that made such operation scientifically and educationally successful was SIO's then Director, Roger Revelle, a benevolent and trusting, but very perceptive, godfather.

Effect of Ocean Acidification on the Food Quality of the Coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi

Science.gov (United States)

Maine, J. E.; White, M. M.; Balch, W. M.; Milke, L. M.

2016-02-01

The anthropogenic burning of fossil fuels has doubled atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels over the last 200 years. Atmospheric CO2 diffuses into the ocean, changing the chemistry and decreasing the pH of seawater in a process called Ocean Acidification (OA). Calcifying marine phytoplankton, coccolithophores, are vulnerable to OA. Emiliania huxleyi is a lipid-dense and globally-abundant species of coccolithophore, therefore it is a vital food source for higher marine trophic levels. The objective of this project was to determine how OA affects the lipid profile and calcification of E. huxleyi CCMP #371. Gas chromatography was used to determine how the proportions of saturated (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in E. huxleyi varied with increasing pCO2. Flow cytometry was used to measure how the distribution of highly calcified cells, partially calcified cells, and un-calcified cells changed with increasing pCO2. The proportion of MUFA increased with pCO2. The proportion of un-calcified and partially calcified cells increased with increasing pCO2, however, the results varied across two experimental runs. In conclusion, the lipid-profile and calcification properties of E. huxleyi, and likely its food quality to predators, are affected by OA.

The Pacific Equatorial Age Transect, IODP Expeditions 320 and 321: Building a 50-Million-Year-Long Environmental Record of the Equatorial Pacific Ocean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kusali Gamage

2010-04-01

Full Text Available In March 2009, the R/V JOIDES Resolution returned to operations after its extended refit and began with a drilling program ideally suited to its drilling strengths, the Pacific Equatorial Age Transect (PEAT, IODP Exp 320/321; Fig. 1A. The PEAT drilling program was developed to understand how a major oceanic region evolved over the Cenozoic Era(65–0 Ma and how it interacted with global climate. It specifically targeted the interval between 52 Ma and 0 Ma and drilled a series of sites that originated on the paleoequator. These sites have since been moved to the northwest by plate tectonics.The equatorial Pacific is an important target for paleocean ographic study because it is a significant ‘cog’ in the Earth’s climate machine, representing roughly half of the total tropical oceans that in turn represent roughly half of the total global ocean area. Prior drilling in both the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP and the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP outlined the changes that have occurred through the Cenozoic (e.g., van Andel et al., 1975; Pisias et al., 1995. Not only did the earlier work fail to cover sufficient timeintervals but also many of the sites were cored with ‘first-generation’ scientific drilling technology with incomplete and disturbed sediment recovery and thus cannot be used for detailed studies.

Sexually dimorphic proportions of the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) skeleton

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Galatius, Anders

2005-01-01

Sexual differences in growth, allometric growth patterns and skeletal proportions were investigated by linear measurements of skeletal parts on 225 harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from the inner Danish and adjacent waters. Females show larger asymptotic sizes and extended period of growth...... to females is also found in the vertebral epiphyses that mature later in males than females, although the males finish growth at a younger age....

Lagrangian ocean analysis: Fundamentals and practices

Science.gov (United States)

van Sebille, Erik; Griffies, Stephen M.; Abernathey, Ryan; Adams, Thomas P.; Berloff, Pavel; Biastoch, Arne; Blanke, Bruno; Chassignet, Eric P.; Cheng, Yu; Cotter, Colin J.; Deleersnijder, Eric; Döös, Kristofer; Drake, Henri F.; Drijfhout, Sybren; Gary, Stefan F.; Heemink, Arnold W.; Kjellsson, Joakim; Koszalka, Inga Monika; Lange, Michael; Lique, Camille; MacGilchrist, Graeme A.; Marsh, Robert; Mayorga Adame, C. Gabriela; McAdam, Ronan; Nencioli, Francesco; Paris, Claire B.; Piggott, Matthew D.; Polton, Jeff A.; Rühs, Siren; Shah, Syed H. A. M.; Thomas, Matthew D.; Wang, Jinbo; Wolfram, Phillip J.; Zanna, Laure; Zika, Jan D.

2018-01-01

Lagrangian analysis is a powerful way to analyse the output of ocean circulation models and other ocean velocity data such as from altimetry. In the Lagrangian approach, large sets of virtual particles are integrated within the three-dimensional, time-evolving velocity fields. Over several decades, a variety of tools and methods for this purpose have emerged. Here, we review the state of the art in the field of Lagrangian analysis of ocean velocity data, starting from a fundamental kinematic framework and with a focus on large-scale open ocean applications. Beyond the use of explicit velocity fields, we consider the influence of unresolved physics and dynamics on particle trajectories. We comprehensively list and discuss the tools currently available for tracking virtual particles. We then showcase some of the innovative applications of trajectory data, and conclude with some open questions and an outlook. The overall goal of this review paper is to reconcile some of the different techniques and methods in Lagrangian ocean analysis, while recognising the rich diversity of codes that have and continue to emerge, and the challenges of the coming age of petascale computing.

The Principle of Proportionality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bennedsen, Morten; Meisner Nielsen, Kasper

2005-01-01

Recent policy initiatives within the harmonization of European company laws have promoted a so-called "principle of proportionality" through proposals that regulate mechanisms opposing a proportional distribution of ownership and control. We scrutinize the foundation for these initiatives...... in relationship to the process of harmonization of the European capital markets.JEL classifications: G30, G32, G34 and G38Keywords: Ownership Structure, Dual Class Shares, Pyramids, EU companylaws....

Optimization of maintenance policy using the proportional hazard model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Samrout, M. [Information Sciences and Technologies Institute, University of Technology of Troyes, 10000 Troyes (France)], E-mail: mohamad.el_samrout@utt.fr; Chatelet, E. [Information Sciences and Technologies Institute, University of Technology of Troyes, 10000 Troyes (France)], E-mail: chatelt@utt.fr; Kouta, R. [M3M Laboratory, University of Technology of Belfort Montbeliard (France); Chebbo, N. [Industrial Systems Laboratory, IUT, Lebanese University (Lebanon)

2009-01-15

The evolution of system reliability depends on its structure as well as on the evolution of its components reliability. The latter is a function of component age during a system's operating life. Component aging is strongly affected by maintenance activities performed on the system. In this work, we consider two categories of maintenance activities: corrective maintenance (CM) and preventive maintenance (PM). Maintenance actions are characterized by their ability to reduce this age. PM consists of actions applied on components while they are operating, whereas CM actions occur when the component breaks down. In this paper, we expound a new method to integrate the effect of CM while planning for the PM policy. The proportional hazard function was used as a modeling tool for that purpose. Interesting results were obtained when comparison between policies that take into consideration the CM effect and those that do not is established.

Predicting Sediment Thickness on Vanished Ocean Crust Since 200 Ma

Science.gov (United States)

Dutkiewicz, A.; Müller, R. D.; Wang, X.; O'Callaghan, S.; Cannon, J.; Wright, N. M.

2017-12-01

Tracing sedimentation through time on existing and vanished seafloor is imperative for constraining long-term eustasy and for calculating volumes of subducted deep-sea sediments that contribute to global geochemical cycles. We present regression algorithms that incorporate the age of the ocean crust and the mean distance to the nearest passive margin to predict sediment thicknesses and long-term decompacted sedimentation rates since 200 Ma. The mean sediment thickness decreases from ˜220 m at 200 Ma to a minimum of ˜140 m at 130 Ma, reflecting the replacement of old Panthalassic ocean floor with young sediment-poor mid-ocean ridges, followed by an increase to ˜365 m at present-day. This increase reflects the accumulation of sediments on ageing abyssal plains proximal to passive margins, coupled with a decrease in the mean distance of any parcel of ocean crust to the nearest passive margin by over 700 km, and a doubling of the total passive margin length at present-day. Mean long-term sedimentation rates increase from ˜0.5 cm/ky at 160 Ma to over 0.8 cm/ky today, caused by enhanced terrigenous sediment influx along lengthened passive margins, superimposed by the onset of ocean-wide carbonate sedimentation. Our predictive algorithms, coupled to a plate tectonic model, provide a framework for constraining the seafloor sediment-driven eustatic sea-level component, which has grown from ˜80 to 210 m since 120 Ma. This implies a long-term sea-level rise component of 130 m, partly counteracting the contemporaneous increase in ocean basin depth due to progressive crustal ageing.

Contrasting effects of climate change in continental vs. oceanic environments on population persistence and microevolution of Atlantic salmon.

Science.gov (United States)

Piou, Cyril; Prévost, Etienne

2013-03-01

Facing climate change (CC), species are prone to multiple modifications in their environment that can lead to extinction, migration or adaptation. Identifying the role and interplay of different potential stressors becomes a key question. Anadromous fishes will be exposed to both river and oceanic habitat changes. For Atlantic salmon, the river water temperature, river flow and oceanic growth conditions appear as three main stressing factors. They could act on population dynamics or as selective forces on life-history pathways. Using an individual-based demo-genetic model, we assessed the effects of these factors (1) to compare risks of extinction resulting from CC in river and ocean, and (2) to assess CC effects on life-history pathways including the evolution of underlying genetic control of phenotypic plasticity. We focused on Atlantic salmon populations from Southern Europe for a time horizon of three decades. We showed that CC in river alone should not lead to extinction of Southern European salmon populations. In contrast, the reduced oceanic growth appeared as a significant threat for population persistence. An increase in river flow amplitude increased the risk of local extinction in synergy with the oceanic effects, but river temperature rise reduced this risk. In terms of life-history modifications, the reduced oceanic growth increased the age of return of individuals through plastic and genetic responses. The river temperature rise increased the proportion of sexually mature parr, but the genetic evolution of the maturation threshold lowered the maturation rate of male parr. This was identified as a case of environmentally driven plastic response that masked an underlying evolutionary response of plasticity going in the opposite direction. We concluded that to counteract oceanic effects, river flow management represented the sole potential force to reduce the extinction probability of Atlantic salmon populations in Southern Europe, although this might

The critical proportion of immune individuals needed to control hepatitis B

Science.gov (United States)

Ospina, Juan; Hincapié-Palacio, Doracelly

2016-05-01

We estimate the critical proportion of immunity (Pc) to control hepatitis B in Medellin - Colombia, based on a random population survey of 2077 individuals of 6-64 years of age. The force of infection (Fi) was estimated according to empirical data of susceptibility by age S(a), assuming a quadratic expression. Parameters were estimated by adjusting data to a nonlinear regression. Fi was defined by -(ds(a)/da)/s(a) and according to the form of the empirical curve S(a) we assume a quadratic expression given by S(a)= Ea2+Ba+C. Then we have the explicit expression for the accumulated Fi by age given by F(a) = -a(Ea+B)/c. The expression of average infection age A is obtained as A = L + EL3/(3C)+BL2/(2C) and the basic reproductive number R0 is obtained as R0 = 1 + 6C/(6C+2EL2+3BL). From the las result we obtain the Pc given by Pc= 6C/(12C+2EL2+3BL). Numerical simulations were performed with the age-susceptibility proportion and initial values (a=0.02, b=20, c=100), obtaining an adjusted coefficient of multiple determination of 64.83%. According to the best estimate, the algebraic expressions for S(a) and the Fi were derived. Using the result of Fi, we obtain A = 30, L =85; R0 CI 95%: 1.42 - 1.64 and Pc: 0-0.29. These results indicate that at the worst case, to maintain control of the disease should be immunes at least 30% of susceptible individuals. Similar results were obtained by sex and residential area.

Enhanced learning of proportional math through music training and spatial-temporal training.

Science.gov (United States)

Graziano, A B; Peterson, M; Shaw, G L

1999-03-01

It was predicted, based on a mathematical model of the cortex, that early music training would enhance spatial-temporal reasoning. We have demonstrated that preschool children given six months of piano keyboard lessons improved dramatically on spatial-temporal reasoning while children in appropriate control groups did not improve. It was then predicted that the enhanced spatial-temporal reasoning from piano keyboard training could lead to enhanced learning of specific math concepts, in particular proportional math, which is notoriously difficult to teach using the usual language-analytic methods. We report here the development of Spatial-Temporal Math Video Game software designed to teach fractions and proportional math, and its strikingly successful use in a study involving 237 second-grade children (age range six years eight months-eight years five months). Furthermore, as predicted, children given piano keyboard training along with the Math Video Game training scored significantly higher on proportional math and fractions than children given a control training along with the Math Video Game. These results were readily measured using the companion Math Video Game Evaluation Program. The training time necessary for children on the Math Video Game is very short, and they rapidly reach a high level of performance. This suggests that, as predicted, we are tapping into fundamental cortical processes of spatial-temporal reasoning. This spatial-temporal approach is easily generalized to teach other math and science concepts in a complementary manner to traditional language-analytic methods, and at a younger age. The neural mechanisms involved in thinking through fractions and proportional math during training with the Math Video Game might be investigated in EEG coherence studies along with priming by specific music.

Global Models of Ridge-Push Force, Geoid, and Lithospheric Strength of Oceanic plates

Science.gov (United States)

Mahatsente, Rezene

2017-12-01

An understanding of the transmission of ridge-push related stresses in the interior of oceanic plates is important because ridge-push force is one of the principal forces driving plate motion. Here, I assess the transmission of ridge-push related stresses in oceanic plates by comparing the magnitude of the ridge-push force to the integrated strength of oceanic plates. The strength is determined based on plate cooling and rheological models. The strength analysis includes low-temperature plasticity (LTP) in the upper mantle and assumes a range of possible tectonic conditions and rheology in the plates. The ridge-push force has been derived from the thermal state of oceanic lithosphere, seafloor depth and crustal age data. The results of modeling show that the transmission of ridge-push related stresses in oceanic plates mainly depends on rheology and predominant tectonic conditions. If a lithosphere has dry rheology, the estimated strength is higher than the ridge-push force at all ages for compressional tectonics and at old ages (>75 Ma) for extension. Therefore, under such conditions, oceanic plates may not respond to ridge-push force by intraplate deformation. Instead, the plates may transmit the ridge-push related stress in their interior. For a wet rheology, however, the strength of young lithosphere (stress may dissipate in the interior of oceanic plates and diffuses by intraplate deformation. The state of stress within a plate depends on the balance of far-field and intraplate forces.

Evaluating Middle Years Students' Proportional Reasoning

Science.gov (United States)

Hilton, Annette; Dole, Shelley; Hilton, Geoff; Goos, Merrilyn; O'Brien, Mia

2012-01-01

Proportional reasoning is a key aspect of numeracy that is not always developed naturally by students. Understanding the types of proportional reasoning that students apply to different problem types is a useful first step to identifying ways to support teachers and students to develop proportional reasoning in the classroom. This paper describes…

Effects of Sea-Surface Waves and Ocean Spray on Air-Sea Momentum Fluxes

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ting; Song, Jinbao

2018-04-01

The effects of sea-surface waves and ocean spray on the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) at different wind speeds and wave ages were investigated. An MABL model was developed that introduces a wave-induced component and spray force to the total surface stress. The theoretical model solution was determined assuming the eddy viscosity coefficient varied linearly with height above the sea surface. The wave-induced component was evaluated using a directional wave spectrum and growth rate. Spray force was described using interactions between ocean-spray droplets and wind-velocity shear. Wind profiles and sea-surface drag coefficients were calculated for low to high wind speeds for wind-generated sea at different wave ages to examine surface-wave and ocean-spray effects on MABL momentum distribution. The theoretical solutions were compared with model solutions neglecting wave-induced stress and/or spray stress. Surface waves strongly affected near-surface wind profiles and sea-surface drag coefficients at low to moderate wind speeds. Drag coefficients and near-surface wind speeds were lower for young than for old waves. At high wind speeds, ocean-spray droplets produced by wind-tearing breaking-wave crests affected the MABL strongly in comparison with surface waves, implying that wave age affects the MABL only negligibly. Low drag coefficients at high wind caused by ocean-spray production increased turbulent stress in the sea-spray generation layer, accelerating near-sea-surface wind. Comparing the analytical drag coefficient values with laboratory measurements and field observations indicated that surface waves and ocean spray significantly affect the MABL at different wind speeds and wave ages.

Optical fusions and proportional syntheses

Science.gov (United States)

Albert-Vanel, Michel

2002-06-01

A tragic error is being made in the literature concerning matters of color when dealing with optical fusions. They are still considered to be of additive nature, whereas experience shows us somewhat different results. The goal of this presentation is to show that fusions are, in fact, of 'proportional' nature, tending to be additive or subtractive, depending on each individual case. Using the pointillist paintings done in the manner of Seurat, or the spinning discs experiment could highlight this intermediate sector of the proportional. So, let us try to examine more closely what occurs in fact, by reviewing additive, subtractive and proportional syntheses.

Impact of intrauterine growth retardation and body proportionality on fetal and neonatal outcome.

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, M S; Olivier, M; McLean, F H; Willis, D M; Usher, R H

1990-11-01

Previous prognostic studies of infants with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) have not adequately considered the heterogeneity of IUGR in terms of cause, severity, and body proportionality and have been prone to misclassification of IUGR because of errors in estimation of gestational age. Based on a cohort of 8719 infants with early-ultrasound-validated gestational ages and indexes of body proportionality standardized for birth weight, the consequences of severity and cause-specific IUGR and proportionality for fetal and neonatal morbidity and mortality were assessed. With progressive severity of IUGR, there were significant (all P less than .001) linear trends for increasing risks of stillbirth, fetal distress (abnormal electronic fetal heart tracings)O during parturition, neonatal hypoglycemia (minimum plasma glucose less than 40 mg/dL), hypocalcemia (minimum Ca less than 7 mg/dL), polycythemia (maximum capillary hemoglobin greater than or equal to 21 g/dL), severe depression at birth (manual ventilation greater than 3 minutes), 1-minute and 5-minute Apgar scores less than or equal to 6, 1-minute Apgar score less than or equal to 3, and in-hospital death. These trends persisted for the more common outcomes even after restriction to term (37 to 42 weeks) births. There was no convincing evidence that outcome among infants with a given degree of growth retardation varied as a function of cause of that growth retardation. Among infants with IUGR, increased length-for-weight had significant crude associations with hypoglycemia and polycythemia, but these associations disappeared after adjustment for severity of growth retardation and gestational age.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Proportioning of U3O8 powder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cermak, V.; Markvart, M.; Novy, P.; Vanka, M.

1989-01-01

The tests are briefly described or proportioning U 3 O 8 powder of a granulometric grain size range of 0-160 μm using a vertical screw, a horizontal dual screw and a vibration dispenser with a view to proportioning very fine U 3 O 8 powder fractions produced in the oxidation of UO 2 fuel pellets. In the tests, the evenness of proportioning was assessed by the percentage value of the proportioning rate spread measured at one-minute intervals at a proportioning rate of 1-3 kg/h. In feeding the U 3 O 3 in a flame fluorator, it is advantageous to monitor the continuity of the powder column being proportioned and to assess it radiometrically by the value of the proportioning rate spread at very short intervals (0.1 s). (author). 10 figs., 1 tab., 12 refs

Laboratory studies of galvanic corrosion. III. Effect of velocity in NaCl and substitute ocean water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mansfeld, F.; Kenkel, J.V.

1977-01-01

The galvanic corrosion behavior of 4340 steel coupled to Type 304 stainless steel, Cu, Ti-6Al-4V, Al 2024, Al 6061, and zinc has been studied in 3.5 percent NaCl and ASTM substitute ocean water as a function of velocity using a rotating galvanic couple electrode holder. For steel coupled to Type 304 stainless steel, Cu or Ti, the galvanic current generally increases proportional to the square root of the rotation speed in both media. The increase is, however, smaller in the substitute ocean water. For couples involving Al alloys and Zn, the galvanic current has a more complicated dependence on velocity in substitute ocean water than in 3.5 percent NaCl

Enhanced deep ocean ventilation and oxygenation with global warming

Science.gov (United States)

Froelicher, T. L.; Jaccard, S.; Dunne, J. P.; Paynter, D.; Gruber, N.

2014-12-01

Twenty-first century coupled climate model simulations, observations from the recent past, and theoretical arguments suggest a consistent trend towards warmer ocean temperatures and fresher polar surface oceans in response to increased radiative forcing resulting in increased upper ocean stratification and reduced ventilation and oxygenation of the deep ocean. Paleo-proxy records of the warming at the end of the last ice age, however, suggests a different outcome, namely a better ventilated and oxygenated deep ocean with global warming. Here we use a four thousand year global warming simulation from a comprehensive Earth System Model (GFDL ESM2M) to show that this conundrum is a consequence of different rates of warming and that the deep ocean is actually better ventilated and oxygenated in a future warmer equilibrated climate consistent with paleo-proxy records. The enhanced deep ocean ventilation in the Southern Ocean occurs in spite of increased positive surface buoyancy fluxes and a constancy of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds - circumstances that would otherwise be expected to lead to a reduction in deep ocean ventilation. This ventilation recovery occurs through a global scale interaction of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation undergoing a multi-centennial recovery after an initial century of transient decrease and transports salinity-rich waters inform the subtropical surface ocean to the Southern Ocean interior on multi-century timescales. The subsequent upwelling of salinity-rich waters in the Southern Ocean strips away the freshwater cap that maintains vertical stability and increases open ocean convection and the formation of Antarctic Bottom Waters. As a result, the global ocean oxygen content and the nutrient supply from the deep ocean to the surface are higher in a warmer ocean. The implications for past and future changes in ocean heat and carbon storage will be discussed.

Rb-Sr mantle isochrons from oceanic regions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brooks, C; Hart, S R; Hofmann, A; James, D E [Carnegie Institution of Washington, D.C. (USA). Dept. of Terrestrial Magnetism

1976-09-01

Existing data for /sup 87/Sr//sup 86/Sr and Rb/Sr ratios of basalts from oceanic islands and mid-ocean spreading ridges show significant positive correlations on a Rb-Sr isochron diagram (when data are averaged by island group). Furthermore, tholeiites and alkali basalts occupy distinct non-overlapping fields on this plot. The tholeiite correlation is interpreted as a mantle isochron, and the agreement of this age (1.6+-0.2 b.y.) with that reported for Pb-Pb isochrons from oceanic basalts lends strong support to the use of such isochrons for tracing mantle evolution. Oceanic basalts are apparently sampling a mantle in which chemical heterogeneities have persisted for at least 1.5-2.0 b.y. The data support a kinematic model for the mantle in which a relatively uniform and non-radiogenic asthenosphere is penetrated by, and mixed with, blobs or plumes derived from an isolated (1.5-2 b.y.) and chemically heterogeneous mesosphere.

Proportional Symbol Mapping in R

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susumu Tanimura

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Visualization of spatial data on a map aids not only in data exploration but also in communication to impart spatial conception or ideas to others. Although recent carto-graphic functions in R are rapidly becoming richer, proportional symbol mapping, which is one of the common mapping approaches, has not been packaged thus far. Based on the theories of proportional symbol mapping developed in cartography, the authors developed some functions for proportional symbol mapping using R, including mathematical and perceptual scaling. An example of these functions demonstrated the new expressive power and options available in R, particularly for the visualization of conceptual point data.

Chapter 1. Impacts of the oceans on climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Reid, Philip C; Fischer, Astrid C; Lewis-Brown, Emily; Meredith, Michael P; Sparrow, Mike; Andersson, Andreas J; Antia, Avan; Bates, Nicholas R; Bathmann, Ulrich; Beaugrand, Gregory; Brix, Holger; Dye, Stephen; Edwards, Martin; Furevik, Tore; Gangstø, Reidun; Hátún, Hjálmar; Hopcroft, Russell R; Kendall, Mike; Kasten, Sabine; Keeling, Ralph; Le Quéré, Corinne; Mackenzie, Fred T; Malin, Gill; Mauritzen, Cecilie; Olafsson, Jón; Paull, Charlie; Rignot, Eric; Shimada, Koji; Vogt, Meike; Wallace, Craig; Wang, Zhaomin; Washington, Richard

2009-01-01

The oceans play a key role in climate regulation especially in part buffering (neutralising) the effects of increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and rising global temperatures. This chapter examines how the regulatory processes performed by the oceans alter as a response to climate change and assesses the extent to which positive feedbacks from the ocean may exacerbate climate change. There is clear evidence for rapid change in the oceans. As the main heat store for the world there has been an accelerating change in sea temperatures over the last few decades, which has contributed to rising sea-level. The oceans are also the main store of carbon dioxide (CO2), and are estimated to have taken up approximately 40% of anthropogenic-sourced CO2 from the atmosphere since the beginning of the industrial revolution. A proportion of the carbon uptake is exported via the four ocean 'carbon pumps' (Solubility, Biological, Continental Shelf and Carbonate Counter) to the deep ocean reservoir. Increases in sea temperature and changing planktonic systems and ocean currents may lead to a reduction in the uptake of CO2 by the ocean; some evidence suggests a suppression of parts of the marine carbon sink is already underway. While the oceans have buffered climate change through the uptake of CO2 produced by fossil fuel burning this has already had an impact on ocean chemistry through ocean acidification and will continue to do so. Feedbacks to climate change from acidification may result from expected impacts on marine organisms (especially corals and calcareous plankton), ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles. The polar regions of the world are showing the most rapid responses to climate change. As a result of a strong ice-ocean influence, small changes in temperature, salinity and ice cover may trigger large and sudden changes in regional climate with potential downstream feedbacks to the climate of the rest of the world. A warming Arctic Ocean may lead to

Impossibility Theorem in Proportional Representation Problem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karpov, Alexander

2010-01-01

The study examines general axiomatics of Balinski and Young and analyzes existed proportional representation methods using this approach. The second part of the paper provides new axiomatics based on rational choice models. New system of axioms is applied to study known proportional representation systems. It is shown that there is no proportional representation method satisfying a minimal set of the axioms (monotonicity and neutrality).

Are oceanic plateaus sites of komatiite formation?

Science.gov (United States)

Storey, M.; Mahoney, J. J.; Kroenke, L. W.; Saunders, A. D.

1991-04-01

During Cretaceous and Tertiary time a series of oceanic terranes were accreted onto the Pacific continental margin of Colombia. The island of Gorgona is thought to represent part of the most recent, early Eocene, terrane-forming event. Gorgona is remarkable for the occurrence of komatiites of middle Cretaceous age, having MgO contents up to 24%. The geochemistry of spatially and temporally associated tholeiites suggests that Gorgona is an obducted fragment of the oceanic Caribbean Plateau, postulated by Duncan and Hargraves (1984) to have formed at 100 to 75 Ma over the Galapagos hotspot. Further examples of high-MgO oceanic lavas that may represent fragments of the Caribbean Plateau occur in allochthonous terranes on the island of Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles and in the Romeral zone ophiolites in the southwestern Colombian Andes. These and other examples suggest that the formation of high-MgO liquids may be a feature of oceanic-plateau settings. The association of Phanerozoic komatiites with oceanic plateaus, coupled with thermal considerations, provides a plausible analogue for the origin of some komatiite-tholeiite sequences in Archean greenstone belts.

Changes in the C, N, and P cycles by the predicted salps-krill shift in the southern ocean

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alcaraz, Miquel; Almeda, Rodrigo; Duarte, Carlos M.

2014-01-01

zooplankton biomass and their metabolic rates, each metabolic process showing a particular response that lead to different metabolic N:P ratios. The predicted change from krill to salps in the Southern Ocean would encompass not only the substitution of a pivotal group for Antarctic food webs (krill) by one...... and proportion of N and P in the nutrient pool, inducing quantitative and qualitative changes on primary producers that will translate to the whole Southern Ocean ecosystem....

Timing of Crystallisation of the Lunar Magma Ocean Constrained by the Oldest Zircon

Science.gov (United States)

Nemchin, A.; Timms, N.; Pidgeon, R.; Geisler, T.; Reddy, S.; Meyer, C.

2009-01-01

The presently favoured concept for the early evolution of the Moon involves consolidation of debris from a giant impact of a Mars sized body with Earth forming a primitive Moon with a thick global layer of melt referred to as the Lunar Magma Ocean1 . It is widely accepted that many significant features observed on the Moon today are the result of crystallisation of this magma ocean. However, controversy exists over the precise timing and duration of the crystallisation process. Resolution of this problem depends on the establishment of precise and robust key crystallisation time points. We report a 4417 6 Myr old zircon in lunar breccia sample 72215,195, which provides a precisely determined younger limit for the solidification of the Lunar Magma Ocean. A model based on these data, together with the age of the Moon forming giant impact, defines an exponential time frame for crystallisation and suggests formation of anorthositic crust after about 80-85% of the magma ocean was solidified. In combination with other zircon ages the 4417 +/- 6 Myr age also suggests that the very small (less than a few per cent) residual portion of the magma ocean continued to solidify during the following 300-500 m.y.

Proportioning of light weight concrete

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Palmus, Lars

1996-01-01

Development of a method to determine the proportions of the raw materials in light weight concrete made with leight expanded clay aggregate. The method is based on composite theory......Development of a method to determine the proportions of the raw materials in light weight concrete made with leight expanded clay aggregate. The method is based on composite theory...

Chemically aged and mixed aerosols over the Central Atlantic Ocean - Potential impacts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Astitha, M.; Kallos, G.; Spyrou, C.; O'Hirok, W.; Lelieveld, J.; Denier Gon, H.A.C. van der

2010-01-01

Detailed information on the chemical and physical properties of aerosols is important for assessing their role in air quality and climate. This work explores the origin and fate of continental aerosols transported over the Central Atlantic Ocean, in terms of chemical composition, number and size

Social Markers of Mild Cognitive Impairment: Proportion of Word Counts in Free Conversational Speech.

Science.gov (United States)

Dodge, Hiroko H; Mattek, Nora; Gregor, Mattie; Bowman, Molly; Seelye, Adriana; Ybarra, Oscar; Asgari, Meysam; Kaye, Jeffrey A

2015-01-01

Detecting early signs of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) during the pre-symptomatic phase is becoming increasingly important for costeffective clinical trials and also for deriving maximum benefit from currently available treatment strategies. However, distinguishing early signs of MCI from normal cognitive aging is difficult. Biomarkers have been extensively examined as early indicators of the pathological process for AD, but assessing these biomarkers is expensive and challenging to apply widely among pre-symptomatic community dwelling older adults. Here we propose assessment of social markers, which could provide an alternative or complementary and ecologically valid strategy for identifying the pre-symptomatic phase leading to MCI and AD. The data came from a larger randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT), where we examined whether daily conversational interactions using remote video telecommunications software could improve cognitive functions of older adult participants. We assessed the proportion of words generated by participants out of total words produced by both participants and staff interviewers using transcribed conversations during the intervention trial as an indicator of how two people (participants and interviewers) interact with each other in one-on-one conversations. We examined whether the proportion differed between those with intact cognition and MCI, using first, generalized estimating equations with the proportion as outcome, and second, logistic regression models with cognitive status as outcome in order to estimate the area under ROC curve (ROC AUC). Compared to those with normal cognitive function, MCI participants generated a greater proportion of words out of the total number of words during the timed conversation sessions (p=0.01). This difference remained after controlling for participant age, gender, interviewer and time of assessment (p=0.03). The logistic regression models showed the ROC AUC of

Development of multiwire proportional chambers

CERN Multimedia

Charpak, G

1969-01-01

It has happened quite often in the history of science that theoreticians, confronted with some major difficulty, have successfully gone back thirty years to look at ideas that had then been thrown overboard. But it is rare that experimentalists go back thirty years to look again at equipment which had become out-dated. This is what Charpak and his colleagues did to emerge with the 'multiwire proportional chamber' which has several new features making it a very useful addition to the armoury of particle detectors. In the 1930s, ion-chambers, Geiger- Muller counters and proportional counters, were vital pieces of equipment in nuclear physics research. Other types of detectors have since largely replaced them but now the proportional counter, in new array, is making a comeback.

The Volvo Ocean Adventure

Science.gov (United States)

Boxall, S. R.; Flechter, S.; Byfield, Y.

2003-04-01

The Volvo Ocean Adventure is a web-based international programme for schools and young scientists in the 10-16 age range which was established in June 2001 (www.volvooceanadventure.org). Using the Volvo Ocean Race as its focus it made use of environmental data colletced from the yachts in the round the World race to introduce the public to a wide range of marine environmental topics including pollution, global climate change and fisheries. As well as web-based activities for the class room a variety of "road" shows were established with the race along with an international competition to encourage active participation by young people. The Adventure involved input from over 50 scientists form around the World with the first phase finishing in September 2002. The successes and lessons learned will be presented by the science co-ordinators of the project.

OESbathy version 1.0: a method for reconstructing ocean bathymetry with realistic continental shelf-slope-rise structures

OpenAIRE

A. Goswami; P. L. Olson; L. A. Hinnov; A. Gnanadesikan

2015-01-01

We present a method for reconstructing global ocean bathymetry that uses a plate cooling model for the oceanic lithosphere, the age distribution of the oceanic crust, global oceanic sediment thicknesses, plus shelf-slope-rise structures calibrated at modern active and passive continental margins. Our motivation is to reconstruct realistic ocean bathymetry based on parameterized relationships of present-day variables that can be applied to global oceans in th...

Millennial-scale variability in dust deposition, marine export production, and nutrient consumption in the glacial subantarctic ocean (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez-Garcia, A.; Sigman, D. M.; Anderson, R. F.; Ren, H. A.; Hodell, D. A.; Straub, M.; Jaccard, S.; Eglinton, T. I.; Haug, G. H.

2013-12-01

Based on the limitation of modern Southern Ocean phytoplankton by iron and the evidence of higher iron-bearing dust fluxes to the ocean during ice ages, it has been proposed that iron fertilization of Southern Ocean phytoplankton contributed to the reduction in atmospheric CO2 during ice ages. In the Subantarctic zone of the Atlantic Southern Ocean, glacial increases in dust flux and export production have been documented, supporting the iron fertilization hypothesis. However, these observations could be interpreted alternatively as resulting from the equatorward migration of Southern Ocean fronts during ice ages if the observed productivity rise was not accompanied by an increase in major nutrient consumption. Here, new 230Th-normalized lithogenic and opal fluxes are combined with high-resolution biomarker measurements to reconstruct millennial-scale changes in dust deposition and marine export production in the subantarctic Atlantic over the last glacial cycle. In the same record foraminifera-bound nitrogen isotopes are used to reconstruct ice age changes in surface nitrate utilization, providing a comprehensive test of the iron fertilization hypothesis. Elevation in foraminifera-bound δ15N, indicating more complete nitrate consumption, coincides with times of surface cooling and greater dust flux and export production. These observations indicate that the ice age Subantarctic was characterized by iron fertilized phytoplankton growth. The resulting strengthening of the Southern Ocean's biological pump can explain the ~40 ppm lowering of CO2 that characterizes the transitions from mid-climate states to full ice age conditions as well as the millennial-scale atmospheric CO2 fluctuations observed within the last ice age

Precambrian U-Pb zircon ages in eclogites and garnet pyroxenites from South Brittany (France): an old oceanic crust in the West European Hercynian belt?

Science.gov (United States)

Peucat, J. J.; Vidal, Ph.; Godard, G.; Postaire, B.

1982-08-01

U-Pb zircon ages have been determined for two eclogites from the Vendée and for two garnet pyroxenites from the Baie d'Audierne. In an episodic Pb loss model, the two discordia would give upper intercept ages around 1300-1250 Ma and lower intercepts ages of 436-384 Ma. Two interpretations are proposed: (1) The 1250-1300 Ma ages may reflect an unspecified upper mantle event or process; the Paleozoic ages correspond to the tectonic emplacement of an eclogitic mantle fragment into the continental crust. (2) The protolith may have been extracted from the upper mantle 1250-1300 Ma ago and stored in a crustal environment until it was metamorphosed under high-pressure conditions around 400 Ma ago. This latter model is favoured by available geologic and isotopic data. Consequently, we propose that a 1300 Ma old oceanic crust was tectonicly incorporated into a sialic basement during the Proterozoic. This mixture was subsequently subducted during the Paleozoic.

Seafloor 2030 - Building a Global Ocean Map through International Collaboration

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrini, V. L.; Wigley, R. A.; Falconer, R. K. H.; Jakobsson, M.; Allen, G.; Mayer, L. A.; Schmitt, T.; Rovere, M.; Weatherall, P.; Marks, K. M.

2016-12-01

With more than 85% of the ocean floor unmapped, a huge proportion of our planet remains unexplored. Creating a comprehensive map of seafloor bathymetry remains a true global challenge that can only be accomplished through collaboration and partnership between governments, industry, academia, research organizations and non-government organizations. The objective of Seafloor 2030 is to comprehensively map the global ocean floor to resolutions that enable exploration and improved understanding of ocean processes, while informing maritime policy and supporting the management of natural marine resources for a sustainable Blue Economy. Seafloor 2030 is the outcome of the Forum for Future of Ocean Floor Mapping held in Monaco in June 2016, which was held under the auspices of GEBCO and the Nippon Foundation of Japan. GEBCO is the only international organization mandated to map the global ocean floor and is guided by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. The task of completely mapping the ocean floor will require new global coordination to ensure that both existing data are identified and that new mapping efforts are coordinated to help efficiently "map the gaps." Fundamental to achieving Seafloor 2030 will be greater access to data, tools and technology, particularly for developing and coastal nations. This includes bathymetric post-processing and analysis software, database technology, computing infrastructure and gridding techniques as well as the latest developments in seafloor mapping methods and emerging crowd-sourced bathymetry initiatives. The key to achieving this global bathymetric map is capacity building and education - including greater coordination between scientific research and industry and the effective engagement of international organizations such as the United Nations.

Pharmacokinetics of marbofloxacin in pigs after intravenous and intramuscular administration of a single dose of 8 mg/kg: dose proportionality, influence of the age of the animals and urinary elimination.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, M; Paulin, A; Dron, F; Woehrlé, F

2014-12-01

The pharmacokinetics of marbofloxacin in pigs were evaluated as a function of dose and animal age following intravenous and intramuscular administration of a 16% solution (Forcyl(®) ). The absolute bioavailability of marbofloxacin as well as the dose proportionality was evaluated in 27-week-old fattening pigs. Blood PK and urinary excretion of marbofloxacin were evaluated after a single intramuscular dose of 8 mg/kg in 16-week-old male pigs. An additional group of 12-week-old weaned piglets was used for the evaluation of age-related kinetics. The plasma and urine concentration of marbofloxacin was determined using a HPLC method. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using noncompartmental methods. After intravenous administration in 27-week-old fattening pigs, the total body clearance was 0.065 L/h·kg. After intramuscular administration to the same animals, the mean observed Cmax was 6.30 μg/mL, and the AUCINF was 115 μg·h/mL. The absolute bioavailability was 91.5%, and dose proportionality was shown within the dose range of 4-16 mg/kg. The renal clearance was about half of the value of the total clearance. The total systemic clearance values significantly decreased as a function of age, being 0.092 L/h·kg and 0.079 L/h·kg in pigs aged 12 and 16 weeks, respectively. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Measuring Ocean Literacy: What teens understand about the ocean using the Survey of Ocean Literacy and Engagement (SOLE)

Science.gov (United States)

Greely, T. M.; Lodge, A.

2009-12-01

Ocean issues with conceptual ties to science and global society have captured the attention, imagination, and concern of an international audience. Climate change, over fishing, marine pollution, freshwater shortages and alternative energy sources are a few ocean issues highlighted in our media and casual conversations. The ocean plays a role in our life in some way everyday, however, disconnect exists between what scientists know and the public understands about the ocean as revealed by numerous ocean and coastal literacy surveys. While the public exhibits emotive responses through care, concern and connection with the ocean, there remains a critical need for a baseline of ocean knowledge. However, knowledge about the ocean must be balanced with understanding about how to apply ocean information to daily decisions and actions. The present study analyzed underlying factors and patterns contributing to ocean literacy and reasoning within the context of an ocean education program, the Oceanography Camp for Girls. The OCG is designed to advance ocean conceptual understanding and decision making by engagement in a series of experiential learning and stewardship activities from authentic research settings in the field and lab. The present study measured a) what understanding teens currently hold about the ocean (content), b) how teens feel toward the ocean environment (environmental attitudes and morality), and c) how understanding and feelings are organized when reasoning about ocean socioscientific issues (e.g. climate change, over fishing, energy). The Survey of Ocean Literacy and Engagement (SOLE), was used to measure teens understanding about the ocean. SOLE is a 57-item survey instrument aligned with the Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts of Ocean Literacy (NGS, 2007). Rasch analysis was used to refine and validate SOLE as a reasonable measure of ocean content knowledge (reliability, 0.91). Results revealed that content knowledge and environmental

Aging changes of body composition in the trunk using computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komuro, Yoshikazu

1989-01-01

Computed tomography (CT) scans of the trunk were reviewed from 100 healthy adults (50 males and 50 females). According to the level of Erdheim lattice, CT scans were available in the following planes: midpoint of the sternum (E5), xiphoid (E6), upper abdomen (E7), umbilicus (E8), and lower abdomen (E10). The body composition was divided into subcutaneous fatty layer (SF), bone and muscle layer (BM), and body cavity (BC). The total area was the largest at the level of E5 and smallest at the level of E8, irrespective of sex. It decreased with age in men. It became largest in women in their fifties, and rapidly decreased in their sixties. The SF proportion tended to decrease in men over the age of 30; and for women, it was constant between the ages of 30 and 50 and decreased in the sixth decade of life. This was marked at the level of E8, and was more predominant in women than men. The BM proportion began to decrease in man in their sixties and was the lowest in their seventies; however, it was independent of aging in women. The BC proportion increased in both men and women in their forties. At the levels of E5, E6, and E7, the BC proportion was the largest, followed by the BM proportion. This was independent of age and sex. At the level of E8, the BM proportion was the largest, and the SF proportion was smallest for men; in women, the SF proportion was the largest between the ages of 30 and 50, and the BM proportion became larger over the age of 60. At the level of E10, the BM proportion was the largest in every age group, followed by the SF proportion in men in their thirties and in women below the age of 70. The SF proportion at every level was larger in women than men, irrespective of age. The BM proportion was more predominant for men than women, especially at the levels of E5, E8, and E10. The BC proportion was larger in men than women at the level of E5, irrespective of age, and at the levels of E6 and E7 over the age of 40. (N.K.)

Impact of glacial/interglacial sea level change on the ocean nitrogen cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Haojia; Sigman, Daniel M.; Martínez-García, Alfredo; Anderson, Robert F.; Chen, Min-Te; Ravelo, Ana Christina; Straub, Marietta; Wong, George T. F.; Haug, Gerald H.

2017-08-01

The continental shelves are the most biologically dynamic regions of the ocean, and they are extensive worldwide, especially in the western North Pacific. Their area has varied dramatically over the glacial/interglacial cycles of the last million years, but the effects of this variation on ocean biological and chemical processes remain poorly understood. Conversion of nitrate to N2 by denitrification in sediments accounts for half or more of the removal of biologically available nitrogen (“fixed N”) from the ocean. The emergence of continental shelves during ice ages and their flooding during interglacials have been hypothesized to drive changes in sedimentary denitrification. Denitrification leads to the occurrence of phosphorus-bearing, N-depleted surface waters, which encourages N2 fixation, the dominant N input to the ocean. An 860,000-y record of foraminifera shell-bound N isotopes from the South China Sea indicates that N2 fixation covaried with sea level. The N2 fixation changes are best explained as a response to changes in regional excess phosphorus supply due to sea level-driven variations in shallow sediment denitrification associated with the cyclic drowning and emergence of the continental shelves. This hypothesis is consistent with a glacial ocean that hosted globally lower rates of fixed N input and loss and a longer residence time for oceanic fixed N—a “sluggish” ocean N budget during ice ages. In addition, this work provides a clear sign of sea level-driven glacial/interglacial oscillations in biogeochemical fluxes at and near the ocean margins, with implications for coastal organisms and ecosystems.

Cretaceous oceanic anoxic events: causes and consequences

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schlanger, S.O.; Jenkyns, H.C.

2007-01-01

Organic carbon-rich sediments are globally developed in pelagic sedimentary sequences of Aptian-Albian and Cenomanian-Turonian age. They formed in a variety of paleo-bathymetric settings including oceanic plateaus and basins, continental margins and shelf seas. The widespread nature of these

Implementasi Strategi Blue Ocean Untuk Mencapai Kinerja Perusahaan Yang Kompetitif

OpenAIRE

Chadhiq, Umar

2009-01-01

Since the dawn of the industrial age, companies have engaged in head-to-head competition. They are using red ocean strategy and have fought for competitive advantage, battled over market share, and struggled for differentiation. Now imagine instead the prospects for growth if companies could operate with no competitors at all. Because they operate blue ocean strategy, and they are will create uncontested performance.

Decrease in oceanic crustal thickness since the breakup of Pangaea

Science.gov (United States)

van Avendonk, Harm J. A.; Davis, Joshua K.; Harding, Jennifer L.; Lawver, Lawrence A.

2017-01-01

Earth's mantle has cooled by 6-11 °C every 100 million years since the Archaean, 2.5 billion years ago. In more recent times, the surface heat loss that led to this temperature drop may have been enhanced by plate-tectonic processes, such as continental breakup, the continuous creation of oceanic lithosphere at mid-ocean ridges and subduction at deep-sea trenches. Here we use a compilation of marine seismic refraction data from ocean basins globally to analyse changes in the thickness of oceanic crust over time. We find that oceanic crust formed in the mid-Jurassic, about 170 million years ago, is 1.7 km thicker on average than crust produced along the present-day mid-ocean ridge system. If a higher mantle temperature is the cause of thicker Jurassic ocean crust, the upper mantle may have cooled by 15-20 °C per 100 million years over this time period. The difference between this and the long-term mantle cooling rate indeed suggests that modern plate tectonics coincide with greater mantle heat loss. We also find that the increase of ocean crustal thickness with plate age is stronger in the Indian and Atlantic oceans compared with the Pacific Ocean. This observation supports the idea that upper mantle temperature in the Jurassic was higher in the wake of the fragmented supercontinent Pangaea due to the effect of continental insulation.

Redox speciation of particulate iron and manganese during river/ocean mixing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zaw, M.; Szymczak, R.; Payne, T.

2000-01-01

Full text: A synchrotron radiation experiment was performed at the Australian National Beamline Facility (Photon Factory, Tsukuba, Japan) to investigate changes in the physico-chemical nature of particles during estuarine mixing. X-ray absorption near edge structure spectra (XANES) analysis was used to determine solid-state redox speciation of iron and manganese throughout the river/ocean salinity transects. Particles (>0.4μm) collected using clean techniques were stored under nitrogen during TROPICS Project expeditions to the Fly and Sepik Rivers, PNG. Results indicated that initially, particulate manganese was mostly present as Mn(IV) and Mn(III) compounds with some surface-adsorbed Mn(II). Similarly, iron was present as particulate Fe(III) and Fe(II/III) compounds with some adsorbed Fe(II). During river-ocean mixing, the proportions of both Mn(II) and Fe(III) significantly increased. These observations maybe due to increasing photochemical activity in the river plume, surface-sorption of reduced species related to the estuarine residence time of particles, or enhanced scavenging of ocean-sourced elements. Copyright (2000) American Chemical Society

An Optimal Control Method for Maximizing the Efficiency of Direct Drive Ocean Wave Energy Extraction System

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zhongxian; Yu, Haitao; Wen, Cheng

2014-01-01

The goal of direct drive ocean wave energy extraction system is to convert ocean wave energy into electricity. The problem explored in this paper is the design and optimal control for the direct drive ocean wave energy extraction system. An optimal control method based on internal model proportion integration differentiation (IM-PID) is proposed in this paper though most of ocean wave energy extraction systems are optimized by the structure, weight, and material. With this control method, the heavy speed of outer heavy buoy of the energy extraction system is in resonance with incident wave, and the system efficiency is largely improved. Validity of the proposed optimal control method is verified in both regular and irregular ocean waves, and it is shown that IM-PID control method is optimal in that it maximizes the energy conversion efficiency. In addition, the anti-interference ability of IM-PID control method has been assessed, and the results show that the IM-PID control method has good robustness, high precision, and strong anti-interference ability. PMID:25152913

An optimal control method for maximizing the efficiency of direct drive ocean wave energy extraction system.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zhongxian; Yu, Haitao; Wen, Cheng

2014-01-01

The goal of direct drive ocean wave energy extraction system is to convert ocean wave energy into electricity. The problem explored in this paper is the design and optimal control for the direct drive ocean wave energy extraction system. An optimal control method based on internal model proportion integration differentiation (IM-PID) is proposed in this paper though most of ocean wave energy extraction systems are optimized by the structure, weight, and material. With this control method, the heavy speed of outer heavy buoy of the energy extraction system is in resonance with incident wave, and the system efficiency is largely improved. Validity of the proposed optimal control method is verified in both regular and irregular ocean waves, and it is shown that IM-PID control method is optimal in that it maximizes the energy conversion efficiency. In addition, the anti-interference ability of IM-PID control method has been assessed, and the results show that the IM-PID control method has good robustness, high precision, and strong anti-interference ability.

129I in the oceans. Origins and applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raisbeck, G.M.; Yiou, F.

1999-01-01

The quantity of the long lived (half-life 15.7 million years) radioactive isotope 129I in the pre-nuclear age ocean was =100 kg. Various nuclear related activities, including weapons testing, nuclear fuel reprocessing, Chernobyl and other authorized or non-authorized dumping of radioactive waste have increased the ocean inventory of 129I by more than one order of magnitude. The most important of these sources are the direct marine discharges from the commercial reprocessing facilities at La Hague (France) and Sellafield (UK) which have discharged -1640 kg in the English Channel, and =720 kg in the Irish Sea, respectively. We discuss how this 129I can be used as both a 'pathway' and 'transit time' tracer in the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, as well as a parameter for distinguishing between reprocessed and non-reprocessed nuclear waste in the ocean, and as a proxy for the transport and dilution of other soluble pollutants input to the North Sea

129I in the oceans: origins and applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Raisbeck, G M; Yiou, F

1999-09-30

The quantity of the long lived (half-life 15.7 million years) radioactive isotope 129I in the pre-nuclear age ocean was approximately 100 kg. Various nuclear related activities, including weapons testing, nuclear fuel reprocessing, Chernobyl and other authorized or non-authorized dumping of radioactive waste have increased the ocean inventory of 129I by more than one order of magnitude. The most important of these sources are the direct marine discharges from the commercial reprocessing facilities at La Hague (France) and Sellafield (UK) which have discharged approximately 1640 kg in the English Channel, and approximately 720 kg in the Irish Sea, respectively. We discuss how this 129I can be used as both a 'pathway' and 'transit time' tracer in the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, as well as a parameter for distinguishing between reprocessed and non-reprocessed nuclear waste in the ocean, and as a proxy for the transport and dilution of other soluble pollutants input to the North Sea.

Adaptive bayesian analysis for binomial proportions

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Das, Sonali

2008-10-01

Full Text Available of testing the proportion of some trait. For example, say, we are interested to infer about the effectiveness of a certain intervention teaching strategy, by comparing proportion of ‘proficient’ teachers, before and after an intervention. The number...

Electronics for proportional drift tubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fremont, G.; Friend, B.; Mess, K.H.; Schmidt-Parzefall, W.; Tarle, J.C.; Verweij, H.; CERN-Hamburg-Amsterdam-Rome-Moscow Collaboration); Geske, K.; Riege, H.; Schuett, J.; CERN-Hamburg-Amsterdam-Rome-Moscow Collaboration); Semenov, Y.; CERN-Hamburg-Amsterdam-Rome-Moscow Collaboration)

1980-01-01

An electronic system for the read-out of a large number of proportional drift tubes (16,000) has been designed. This system measures deposited charge and drift-time of the charge of a particle traversing a proportional drift tube. A second event can be accepted during the read-out of the system. Up to 40 typical events can be collected and buffered before a data transfer to a computer is necessary. (orig.)

Semantic Approaches Applied to Scientific Ocean Drilling Data

Science.gov (United States)

Fils, D.; Jenkins, C. J.; Arko, R. A.

2012-12-01

The application of Linked Open Data methods to 40 years of data from scientific ocean drilling is providing users with several new methods for rich-content data search and discovery. Data from the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP), Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) and Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) have been translated and placed in RDF triple stores to provide access via SPARQL, linked open data patterns, and by embedded structured data through schema.org / RDFa. Existing search services have been re-encoded in this environment which allows the new and established architectures to be contrasted. Vocabularies including computed semantic relations between concepts, allow separate but related data sets to be connected on their concepts and resources even when they are expressed somewhat differently. Scientific ocean drilling produces a wide range of data types and data sets: borehole logging file-based data, images, measurements, visual observations and the physical sample data. The steps involved in connecting these data to concepts using vocabularies will be presented, including the connection of data sets through Vocabulary of Interlinked Datasets (VoID) and open entity collections such as Freebase and dbPedia. Demonstrated examples will include: (i) using RDF Schema for inferencing and in federated searches across NGDC and IODP data, (ii) using structured data in the data.oceandrilling.org web site, (iii) association through semantic methods of age models and depth recorded data to facilitate age based searches for data recorded by depth only.

Turbulence Scaling Comparisons in the Ocean Surface Boundary Layer

Science.gov (United States)

Esters, L.; Breivik, Ø.; Landwehr, S.; ten Doeschate, A.; Sutherland, G.; Christensen, K. H.; Bidlot, J.-R.; Ward, B.

2018-03-01

Direct observations of the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy, ɛ, under open ocean conditions are limited. Consequently, our understanding of what chiefly controls dissipation in the open ocean, and its functional form with depth, is poorly constrained. In this study, we report direct open ocean measurements of ɛ from the Air-Sea Interaction Profiler (ASIP) collected during five different cruises in the Atlantic Ocean. We then combine these data with ocean-atmosphere flux measurements and wave information in order to evaluate existing turbulence scaling theories under a diverse set of open ocean conditions. Our results do not support the presence of a "breaking" or a "transition layer," which has been previously suggested. Instead, ɛ decays as |z|-1.29 over the depth interval, which was previously defined as "transition layer," and as |z|-1.15 over the mixing layer. This depth dependency does not significantly vary between nonbreaking or breaking wave conditions. A scaling relationship based on the friction velocity, the wave age, and the significant wave height describes the observations best for daytime conditions. For conditions during which convection is important, it is necessary to take buoyancy forcing into account.

Cognitive and Metacognitive Aspects of Proportional Reasoning

Science.gov (United States)

Modestou, Modestina; Gagatsis, Athanasios

2010-01-01

In this study we attempt to propose a new model of proportional reasoning based both on bibliographical and research data. This is impelled with the help of three written tests involving analogical, proportional, and non-proportional situations that were administered to pupils from grade 7 to 9. The results suggest the existence of a…

Ice Ages

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

that the precession of the earth's orbit caused ice ages. The precession of the earth's orbit leads to changes in the time of the year at which ... than in the southern hemisphere. ..... small increase in ocean temperature implies a large increase in.

Oceans and continents: Similarities and differences in the mechanisms of heat loss

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sclater, J.G.; Parsons, B.; Jaupart, C.

1981-01-01

The principal objective of this paper is to present a simple and self-consistent review of the basic physical processes controlling heat loss from the earth. To accomplish this objective, we give a short summary of the oceanic and continental data and compare and contrast the respective mechanisms of heat loss . In the oceans we concentrate on the effect of hydrothermal circulation, and on the continents we consider in some detail a model relating surface heat flow to varying depth scales for the distribution of potassium, thorium, and uranium. From this comparison we conclude that the range in possible geotherms at depths below 100 to 150 km under continents and oceans overlaps and the thermal structure beneath an old stable continent is indistinguishable from that beneath an ocean were it at equilibrium. Oceans and continents are part of the same thermal system. Both have an upper rigid mechanical layer where heat loss is by conduction and a lower thermal boundary layer where convection is dominant. The simple conductive definition of the plate thickness is an oversimplification. The observed distribution of area versus age in the ocean allows us to investigate the dominant mechanism of heat loss which is plate creation. This distribution and an understanding of the heat flow through oceans and continents can be used to calculate the heat loss of the earth. This heat loss is 10 13 cal/s (4.2 x 10 13 W) of which more than 60% results from the creation of oceanic plate. The relation between area and age of the oceans is coupled to the ridge and subducting slab forces that contribute to the driving mechanism for plate motions. These forces are self-regulating and maintain the rate of plate generation required to achieve a balance between heat loss and heat generation

Age and microfacies of oceanic Upper Triassic radiolarite components from the Middle Jurassic ophiolitic mélange in the Zlatibor Mountains (Inner Dinarides, Serbia and their provenance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gawlick Hans-Jürgen

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Oceanic radiolarite components from the Middle Jurassic ophiolitic mélange between Trnava and Rožanstvo in the Zlatibor Mountains (Dinaridic Ophiolite Belt west of the Drina–Ivanjica unit yield Late Triassic radiolarian ages. The microfacies characteristics of the radiolarites show pure ribbon radiolarites without crinoids or thin-shelled bivalves. Beside their age and the preservation of the radiolarians this points to a deposition of the radiolarites on top of the oceanic crust of the Neo-Tethys, which started to open in the Late Anisian. South of the study area the ophiolitic mélange (Gostilje–Ljubiš–Visoka–Radoševo mélange contains a mixture of blocks of 1 oceanic crust, 2 Middle and Upper Triassic ribbon radiolarites, and 3 open marine limestones from the continental slope. On the basis of this composition we can conclude that the Upper Triassic radiolarite clasts derive either from 1 the younger parts of the sedimentary succession above the oceanic crust near the continental slope or, more convincingly 2 the sedimentary cover of ophiolites in a higher nappe position, because Upper Triassic ribbon radiolarites are only expected in more distal oceanic areas. The ophiolitic mélange in the study area overlies different carbonate blocks of an underlying carbonate-clastic mélange (Sirogojno mélange. We date and describe three localities with different Upper Triassic radiolarite clasts in a mélange, which occurs A on top of Upper Triassic fore-reef to reefal limestones (Dachstein reef, B between an Upper Triassic reefal limestone block and a Lower Carnian reef limestone (Wetterstein reef, and C in fissures of an Upper Triassic lagoonal to back-reef limestone (Dachstein lagoon. The sedimentary features point to a sedimentary and not to a tectonic emplacement of the ophiolitic mélange (= sedimentary mélange filling the rough topography of the topmost carbonate-clastic mélange below. The block spectrum of the underlying and

Age and microfacies of oceanic Upper Triassic radiolarite components from the Middle Jurassic ophiolitic mélange in the Zlatibor Mountains (Inner Dinarides, Serbia) and their provenance

Science.gov (United States)

Gawlick, Hans-Jürgen; Djerić, Nevenka; Missoni, Sigrid; Bragin, Nikita Yu.; Lein, Richard; Sudar, Milan; Jovanović, Divna

2017-08-01

Oceanic radiolarite components from the Middle Jurassic ophiolitic mélange between Trnava and Rožanstvo in the Zlatibor Mountains (Dinaridic Ophiolite Belt) west of the Drina-Ivanjica unit yield Late Triassic radiolarian ages. The microfacies characteristics of the radiolarites show pure ribbon radiolarites without crinoids or thin-shelled bivalves. Beside their age and the preservation of the radiolarians this points to a deposition of the radiolarites on top of the oceanic crust of the Neo-Tethys, which started to open in the Late Anisian. South of the study area the ophiolitic mélange (Gostilje-Ljubiš-Visoka-Radoševo mélange) contains a mixture of blocks of 1) oceanic crust, 2) Middle and Upper Triassic ribbon radiolarites, and 3) open marine limestones from the continental slope. On the basis of this composition we can conclude that the Upper Triassic radiolarite clasts derive either from 1) the younger parts of the sedimentary succession above the oceanic crust near the continental slope or, more convincingly 2) the sedimentary cover of ophiolites in a higher nappe position, because Upper Triassic ribbon radiolarites are only expected in more distal oceanic areas. The ophiolitic mélange in the study area overlies different carbonate blocks of an underlying carbonate-clastic mélange (Sirogojno mélange). We date and describe three localities with different Upper Triassic radiolarite clasts in a mélange, which occurs A) on top of Upper Triassic fore-reef to reefal limestones (Dachstein reef), B) between an Upper Triassic reefal limestone block and a Lower Carnian reef limestone (Wetterstein reef), and C) in fissures of an Upper Triassic lagoonal to back-reef limestone (Dachstein lagoon). The sedimentary features point to a sedimentary and not to a tectonic emplacement of the ophiolitic mélange (= sedimentary mélange) filling the rough topography of the topmost carbonate-clastic mélange below. The block spectrum of the underlying and slightly older

Relating arithmetical techniques of proportion to geometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wijayanti, Dyana

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate how textbooks introduce and treat the theme of proportion in geometry (similarity) and arithmetic (ratio and proportion), and how these themes are linked to each other in the books. To pursue this aim, we use the anthropological theory of the didactic....... Considering 6 common Indonesian textbooks in use, we describe how proportion is explained and appears in examples and exercises, using an explicit reference model of the mathematical organizations of both themes. We also identify how the proportion themes of the geometry and arithmetic domains are linked. Our...

Maxillary anterior tooth dimensions and proportions in an Irish young adult population.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Condon, M

2011-07-01

This study was undertaken in a young Irish population to determine the dimensions and ratios of the six maxillary anterior teeth. One hundred and nine Irish subjects (age 18-25 inclusive) had irreversible hydrocolloid impressions made of their maxillary dentition poured in type V stone. Clinical crown dimensions were measured with a digital calliper. The stone casts were digitally photographed in a standardised manner enabling calculation of various ratios between the maxillary anterior teeth. Sexual dimorphism existed for various tooth dimensions; most notably canine teeth were in the region of 0·8 mm longer and 0·6 mm wider in males. Central and lateral incisors were found to be 0·5 mm wider in males. It is, therefore, recommended that dimensional tooth guidelines should be given for each of the sexes and not on a population basis. With regard to tooth proportion ratios, no significant differences were found between genders or the left and right sides for any of the measurements or ratios measured. The digitally recorded tooth proportions were similar for both sexes, and the Golden Proportion guidelines could only be applied to the lateral incisor\\/central incisor widths (0·618). Identified width proportions for the canine\\/central incisor were 0·58 and for canine\\/lateral incisor 0·89.

Proportional Reasoning and the Visually Impaired

Science.gov (United States)

Hilton, Geoff; Hilton, Annette; Dole, Shelley L.; Goos, Merrilyn; O'Brien, Mia

2012-01-01

Proportional reasoning is an important aspect of formal thinking that is acquired during the developmental years that approximate the middle years of schooling. Students who fail to acquire sound proportional reasoning often experience difficulties in subjects that require quantitative thinking, such as science, technology, engineering, and…

Ocean-atmosphere dynamics during Hurricane Ida and Nor'Ida: An application of the coupled ocean-;atmosphere–wave–sediment transport (COAWST) modeling system

Science.gov (United States)

Olabarrieta, Maitane; Warner, John C.; Armstrong, Brandy N.; Zambon, Joseph B.; He, Ruoying

2012-01-01

The coupled ocean–atmosphere–wave–sediment transport (COAWST) modeling system was used to investigate atmosphere–ocean–wave interactions in November 2009 during Hurricane Ida and its subsequent evolution to Nor'Ida, which was one of the most costly storm systems of the past two decades. One interesting aspect of this event is that it included two unique atmospheric extreme conditions, a hurricane and a nor'easter storm, which developed in regions with different oceanographic characteristics. Our modeled results were compared with several data sources, including GOES satellite infrared data, JASON-1 and JASON-2 altimeter data, CODAR measurements, and wave and tidal information from the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) and the National Tidal Database. By performing a series of numerical runs, we were able to isolate the effect of the interaction terms between the atmosphere (modeled with Weather Research and Forecasting, the WRF model), the ocean (modeled with Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS)), and the wave propagation and generation model (modeled with Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN)). Special attention was given to the role of the ocean surface roughness. Three different ocean roughness closure models were analyzed: DGHQ (which is based on wave age), TY2001 (which is based on wave steepness), and OOST (which considers both the effects of wave age and steepness). Including the ocean roughness in the atmospheric module improved the wind intensity estimation and therefore also the wind waves, surface currents, and storm surge amplitude. For example, during the passage of Hurricane Ida through the Gulf of Mexico, the wind speeds were reduced due to wave-induced ocean roughness, resulting in better agreement with the measured winds. During Nor'Ida, including the wave-induced surface roughness changed the form and dimension of the main low pressure cell, affecting the intensity and direction of the winds. The combined wave age- and wave steepness

Ocean-atmosphere dynamics during Hurricane Ida and Nor'Ida: An application of the coupled ocean-atmosphere-wave-sediment transport (COAWST) modeling system

Science.gov (United States)

Olabarrieta, Maitane; Warner, John C.; Armstrong, Brandy N.; Zambon, Joseph B.; He, Ruoying

2012-01-01

The coupled ocean–atmosphere–wave–sediment transport (COAWST) modeling system was used to investigate atmosphere–ocean–wave interactions in November 2009 during Hurricane Ida and its subsequent evolution to Nor’Ida, which was one of the most costly storm systems of the past two decades. One interesting aspect of this event is that it included two unique atmospheric extreme conditions, a hurricane and a nor’easter storm, which developed in regions with different oceanographic characteristics. Our modeled results were compared with several data sources, including GOES satellite infrared data, JASON-1 and JASON-2 altimeter data, CODAR measurements, and wave and tidal information from the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) and the National Tidal Database. By performing a series of numerical runs, we were able to isolate the effect of the interaction terms between the atmosphere (modeled with Weather Research and Forecasting, the WRF model), the ocean (modeled with Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS)), and the wave propagation and generation model (modeled with Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN)). Special attention was given to the role of the ocean surface roughness. Three different ocean roughness closure models were analyzed: DGHQ (which is based on wave age), TY2001 (which is based on wave steepness), and OOST (which considers both the effects of wave age and steepness). Including the ocean roughness in the atmospheric module improved the wind intensity estimation and therefore also the wind waves, surface currents, and storm surge amplitude. For example, during the passage of Hurricane Ida through the Gulf of Mexico, the wind speeds were reduced due to wave-induced ocean roughness, resulting in better agreement with the measured winds. During Nor’Ida, including the wave-induced surface roughness changed the form and dimension of the main low pressure cell, affecting the intensity and direction of the winds. The combined wave age- and wave steepness

Mauritius since the last ice age: paleoecology and climate of an oceanic island

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Boer, E.J.

2014-01-01

Four centuries of human occupation has left Mauritius with <5% of its original vegetation cover. Consequently, little is known about floral and faunal distribution patterns and long-term ecological processes of this oceanic island. By using paleoecological techniques we record the impact of

Global equivalent magnetization of the oceanic lithosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Dyment, J.; Choi, Y.; Hamoudi, M.; Lesur, V.; Thebault, E.

2015-11-01

As a by-product of the construction of a new World Digital Magnetic Anomaly Map over oceanic areas, we use an original approach based on the global forward modeling of seafloor spreading magnetic anomalies and their comparison to the available marine magnetic data to derive the first map of the equivalent magnetization over the World's ocean. This map reveals consistent patterns related to the age of the oceanic lithosphere, the spreading rate at which it was formed, and the presence of mantle thermal anomalies which affects seafloor spreading and the resulting lithosphere. As for the age, the equivalent magnetization decreases significantly during the first 10-15 Myr after its formation, probably due to the alteration of crustal magnetic minerals under pervasive hydrothermal alteration, then increases regularly between 20 and 70 Ma, reflecting variations in the field strength or source effects such as the acquisition of a secondary magnetization. As for the spreading rate, the equivalent magnetization is twice as strong in areas formed at fast rate than in those formed at slow rate, with a threshold at ∼40 km/Myr, in agreement with an independent global analysis of the amplitude of Anomaly 25. This result, combined with those from the study of the anomalous skewness of marine magnetic anomalies, allows building a unified model for the magnetic structure of normal oceanic lithosphere as a function of spreading rate. Finally, specific areas affected by thermal mantle anomalies at the time of their formation exhibit peculiar equivalent magnetization signatures, such as the cold Australian-Antarctic Discordance, marked by a lower magnetization, and several hotspots, marked by a high magnetization.

Proportional gas scintillation detectors and their applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petr, I.

1978-01-01

The principle is described of a gas proportional scintillation detector and its function. Dependence of Si(Li) and xenon proportional detectors energy resolution on the input window size is given. A typical design is shown of a xenon detector used for X-ray spetrometry at an energy of 277 eV to 5.898 keV and at a gas pressure of 98 to 270 kPa. Gas proportional scintillation detectors show considerable better energy resolution than common proportional counters and even better resolution than semiconductor Si(Li) detectors for low X radiation energies. For detection areas smaller than 25 mm 2 Si(Li) detectors show better resolution, especially for higher X radiation energies. For window areas 25 to 190 mm 2 both types of detectors are equal, for a window area exceeding 190 mm 2 the proportional scintillation detector has higher energy resolution. (B.S.)

Studying ocean acidification in the Arctic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Robbins, Lisa

2012-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard Ice Breaker Healey and its United Nations Convention Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) cruises has produced new synoptic data from samples collected in the Arctic Ocean and insights into the patterns and extent of ocean acidification. This framework of foundational geochemical information will help inform our understanding of potential risks to Arctic resources due to ocean acidification.

Changes in wood product proportions in the Douglas-fir region with respect to size, age, and time.

Science.gov (United States)

R.A. Monserud; X. Zhou

2007-01-01

We examine both the variation and the changing proportions of different wood products obtained from trees and logs in the Douglas-fir region of the Northwestern United States. Analyses are based on a large product recovery database covering over 40 years of recovery studies; 13 studies are available for Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.)...

Bayesian inference on proportional elections.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel Hideki Vatanabe Brunello

Full Text Available Polls for majoritarian voting systems usually show estimates of the percentage of votes for each candidate. However, proportional vote systems do not necessarily guarantee the candidate with the most percentage of votes will be elected. Thus, traditional methods used in majoritarian elections cannot be applied on proportional elections. In this context, the purpose of this paper was to perform a Bayesian inference on proportional elections considering the Brazilian system of seats distribution. More specifically, a methodology to answer the probability that a given party will have representation on the chamber of deputies was developed. Inferences were made on a Bayesian scenario using the Monte Carlo simulation technique, and the developed methodology was applied on data from the Brazilian elections for Members of the Legislative Assembly and Federal Chamber of Deputies in 2010. A performance rate was also presented to evaluate the efficiency of the methodology. Calculations and simulations were carried out using the free R statistical software.

Zooplankton excretion metabolites stimulate Southern Ocean phytoplankton growth

KAUST Repository

Coello-Camba, A.; Llabré s, M.; Duarte, Carlos M.; Agusti, Susana

2017-01-01

Warming over Antarctica is leading to changes in the zooplankton communities inhabiting the Southern Ocean. It has been observed that zooplankton not only regulates phytoplankton through grazing, but also through the recycling of nutrients that are essential for phytoplankton growth. In this way, the effects of warming on zooplankton populations will change the amount or proportion at which recycled nutrients are restored. To estimate how the recycled nutrients released by zooplankton populations, dominated by krill (Euphausia superba), amphipods or copepods, affect the phytoplankton uptake and communities, we performed four incubation experiments: two close to the Antarctic Peninsula and two at the Southern Atlantic Ocean. Our results showed a stimulating effect of the addition of metabolites on ammonia removal rates and on the net growth of phytoplankton communities, with different responses amongst the different phytoplankton groups. According to our results, phytoplankton net growth and community composition may be altered if this relevant source of nutrients is lost due to projected changes in the abundance or distribution of these zooplankton populations.

Zooplankton excretion metabolites stimulate Southern Ocean phytoplankton growth

KAUST Repository

Coello-Camba, A.

2017-04-24

Warming over Antarctica is leading to changes in the zooplankton communities inhabiting the Southern Ocean. It has been observed that zooplankton not only regulates phytoplankton through grazing, but also through the recycling of nutrients that are essential for phytoplankton growth. In this way, the effects of warming on zooplankton populations will change the amount or proportion at which recycled nutrients are restored. To estimate how the recycled nutrients released by zooplankton populations, dominated by krill (Euphausia superba), amphipods or copepods, affect the phytoplankton uptake and communities, we performed four incubation experiments: two close to the Antarctic Peninsula and two at the Southern Atlantic Ocean. Our results showed a stimulating effect of the addition of metabolites on ammonia removal rates and on the net growth of phytoplankton communities, with different responses amongst the different phytoplankton groups. According to our results, phytoplankton net growth and community composition may be altered if this relevant source of nutrients is lost due to projected changes in the abundance or distribution of these zooplankton populations.

PROPORTIONS AND HUMAN SCALE IN DAMASCENE COURTYARD HOUSES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Salim Ferwati

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Interior designers, architects, landscape architects, and even urban designers, agree that environment, as a form of non-verbal communication means, has a symbolic dimension to it. As for its aesthetic dimension, it seems that beauty is related to a certain proportion, partially and as a whole. Suitable proportion leaves a good impression upon the beholders, especially when it matches human proportion. That in fact was the underlining belief of LeCorbusier, according to which he developed his Modular concept. The study searches for a modular, or proportion, system that governs the design of Damascene traditional house. By geometrical and mathematical examinations of 28 traditional houses, it was found that a certain proportional relationship existed; however, these proportional relationships were not fixed ones. The study relied on analyzing the Iwan elevation as well as the inner courtyard proportion in relation to the building area. Charts, diagrams and tables were produced to summarize the results.

Molecular transformation and degradation of refractory dissolved organic matter in the Atlantic and Southern Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Lechtenfeld, Oliver J.; Kattner, Gerhard; Flerus, Ruth; McCallister, S. Leigh; Schmitt-Kopplin, Philippe; Koch, Boris P.

2014-02-01

More than 90% of the global ocean dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is refractory, has an average age of 4000-6000 years and a lifespan from months to millennia. The fraction of dissolved organic matter (DOM) that is resistant to degradation is a long-term buffer in the global carbon cycle but its chemical composition, structure, and biochemical formation and degradation mechanisms are still unresolved. We have compiled the most comprehensive molecular dataset of 197 Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) analyses from solid-phase extracted marine DOM covering two major oceans, the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean and the East Atlantic Ocean (ranging from 50° N to 70° S). Molecular trends and radiocarbon dating of 34 DOM samples (comprising Δ14C values from -229‰ to -495‰) were combined to model an integrated degradation rate for bulk DOC resulting in a predicted age of >24 ka for the most persistent DOM fraction. First order kinetic degradation rates for 1557 mass peaks indicate that numerous DOM molecules cycle on timescales much longer than the turnover of the bulk DOC pool (estimated residence times of up to ~100 ka) and the range of validity of radiocarbon dating. Changes in elemental composition were determined by assigning molecular formulae to the detected mass peaks. The combination of residence times with molecular information enabled modelling of the average elemental composition of the slowest degrading fraction of the DOM pool. In our dataset, a group of 361 molecular formulae represented the most stable composition in the oceanic environment (“island of stability”). These most persistent compounds encompass only a narrow range of the molecular elemental ratios H/C (average of 1.17 ± 0.13), and O/C (average of 0.52 ± 0.10) and molecular masses (360 ± 28 and 497 ± 51 Da). In the Weddell Sea DOC concentrations in the surface waters were low (46.3 ± 3.3 μM) while the organic radiocarbon was significantly

Ocean tides

Science.gov (United States)

Hendershott, M. C.

1975-01-01

A review of recent developments in the study of ocean tides and related phenomena is presented. Topics briefly discussed include: the mechanism by which tidal dissipation occurs; continental shelf, marginal sea, and baroclinic tides; estimation of the amount of energy stored in the tide; the distribution of energy over the ocean; the resonant frequencies and Q factors of oceanic normal modes; the relationship of earth tides and ocean tides; and numerical global tidal models.

Population aging and the extended family in Taiwan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2004-05-01

Full Text Available Population aging produces changes in the availability of kin with uncertain implications for extended living arrangements. We propose a highly stylized model that can be used to analyze and project age-specific proportions of adults living in extended and nuclear households. The model is applied to Taiwan using annual data from 1978-1998. We estimate cohort and age effects showing that more recently born cohorts of seniors are less likely to live in extended households, but that as seniors age the proportion living in extended households increases. The effect of individual aging has diminished over time, however. The proportion of non-senior adults living in extended households has increased steadily because changes in the age structure have increased the availability of older kin. The model is used to project living arrangements and we conclude that the proportion living in extended households will begin to decline gradually for both seniors and non-seniors. The extended family is becoming less important in Taiwan, but it is not on the way out.

Modeling study on nuclide transport in ocean - an ocean compartment method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Youn Myoung; Suh, Kyung Suk; Han, Kyoung Won

1991-01-01

An ocean compartment model simulating transport of nuclides by advection due to ocean circulation and interaction with suspended sediments is developed, by which concentration breakthrough curves of nuclides can be calculated as a function of time. Dividing ocean into arbitrary number of characteristic compartments and performing a balance of mass of nuclides in each ocean compartment, the governing equation for the concentration in the ocean is obtained and a solution by the numerical integration is obtained. The integration method is specially useful for general stiff systems. For transfer coefficients describing advective transport between adjacent compartments by ocean circulation, the ocean turnover time is calculated by a two-dimensional numerical ocean method. To exemplify the compartment model, a reference case calculation for breakthrough curves of three nuclides in low-level radioactive wastes, Tc-99, Cs-137, and Pu-238 released from hypothetical repository under the seabed is carried out with five ocean compartments. Sensitivity analysis studies for some parameters to the concentration breakthrough curves are also made, which indicates that parameters such as ocean turnover time and ocean water volume of compartments have an important effect on the breakthrough curves. (Author)

Oceanic mantle rocks reveal evidence for an ancient, 1.2-1.3 Ga global melting event

Science.gov (United States)

Dijkstra, A. H.; Sergeev, D.; McTaminey, L.; Dale, C. W.; Meisel, T. C.

2011-12-01

It is now increasingly being recognized that many oceanic peridotites are refertilized harzburgites, and that the refertilization often masks an extremely refractory character of the original mantle rock 'protolith'. Oceanic peridotites are, when the effects of melt refertilization are undone, often too refractory to be simple mantle melting residues after the extraction of mid-ocean ridge basalts at a spreading center. Rhenium-osmium isotope analysis is a powerful method to look through the effects of refertilization and to obtain constraints on the age of the melting that produced the refractory mantle protolith. Rhenium-depletion model ages of such anomalously refractory oceanic mantle rocks - found as abyssal peridotites or as mantle xenoliths on ocean islands - are typically >1 Ga, i.e., much older than the ridge system at which they were emplaced. In my contribution I will show results from two case studies of refertilized anciently depleted mantle rocks (Macquarie Island 'abyssal' peridotites and Lanzarote mantle xenoliths). Interestingly, very refractory oceanic mantle rocks from sites all around the world show recurring evidence for a Mesoproterozoic (~1.2-1.3 Ga) melting event [1]. Therefore, oceanic mantle rocks seem to preserve evidence for ancient melting events of global significance. Alternatively, such mantle rocks may be samples of rafts of ancient continental lithospheric mantle. Laser-ablation osmium isotope 'dating' of large populations of individual osmium-bearing alloys from mantle rocks is the key to better constrain the nature and significance of these ancient depletion events. Osmium-bearing alloys form when mantle rocks are melted to high-degrees. We have now extracted over >250 detrital osmium alloys from placer gold occurrences in the river Rhine. These alloys are derived from outcrops of ophiolitic mantle rocks in the Alps, which include blocks of mantle rocks emplaced within the Tethys Ocean, and ultramafic lenses of unknown

Investigating bomb radiocarbon transport in the southern Pacific Ocean with otolith radiocarbon

Science.gov (United States)

Grammer, G. L.; Fallon, S. J.; Izzo, C.; Wood, R.; Gillanders, B. M.

2015-08-01

To explore the transport of carbon into water masses from the surface ocean to depths of ∼ 1000 m in the southwest Pacific Ocean, we generated time series of radiocarbon (Δ14C) from fish otoliths. Otoliths (carbonate earstones) from long-lived fish provide an indirect method to examine the "bomb pulse" of radiocarbon that originated in the 1950s and 1960s, allowing identification of changes to distributions of 14C that has entered and mixed within the ocean. We micro-sampled ocean perch (Helicolenus barathri) otoliths, collected at ∼ 400- 500 m in the Tasman Sea, to obtain measurements of Δ14C for those depths. We compared our ocean perch Δ14C series to published otolith-based marine surface water Δ14C values (Australasian snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) and nannygai (Centroberyx affinis)) and to published deep-water values (800-1000 m; orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus)) from the southwest Pacific to establish a mid-water Δ14C series. The otolith bomb 14C results from these different depths were consistent with previous water mass results in the upper 1500 m of the southwest Pacific Ocean (e.g. World Ocean Circulation Experiment and Geochemical Ocean Sections Study). A comparison between the initial Δ14C bomb pulse rise at 400-500 m suggested a ventilation lag of 5 to 10 yr, whereas a comparison of the surface and depths of 800-1000 m detailed a 10 to 20 yr lag in the time history of radiocarbon invasion at this depth. Pre-bomb reservoir ages derived from otolith 14C located in Tasman Sea thermocline waters were ∼ 530 yr, while reservoir ages estimated for Tasman Antarctic intermediate water were ∼ 730 yr.

Mix Proportion Design of Asphalt Concrete

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Xianhu; Gao, Lingling; Du, Shoujun

2017-12-01

Based on the gradation of AC and SMA, this paper designs a new type of anti slide mixture with two types of advantages. Chapter introduces the material selection, ratio of ore mixture ratio design calculation, and determine the optimal asphalt content test and proportioning design of asphalt concrete mix. This paper introduces the new technology of mix proportion.

Multicentury changes in ocean and land contributions to the climate-carbon feedback

Science.gov (United States)

Randerson, J. T.; Lindsay, K.; Munoz, E.; Fu, W.; Moore, J. K.; Hoffman, F. M.; Mahowald, N. M.; Doney, S. C.

2015-06-01

Improved constraints on carbon cycle responses to climate change are needed to inform mitigation policy, yet our understanding of how these responses may evolve after 2100 remains highly uncertain. Using the Community Earth System Model (v1.0), we quantified climate-carbon feedbacks from 1850 to 2300 for the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 and its extension. In three simulations, land and ocean biogeochemical processes experienced the same trajectory of increasing atmospheric CO2. Each simulation had a different degree of radiative coupling for CO2 and other greenhouse gases and aerosols, enabling diagnosis of feedbacks. In a fully coupled simulation, global mean surface air temperature increased by 9.3 K from 1850 to 2300, with 4.4 K of this warming occurring after 2100. Excluding CO2, warming from other greenhouse gases and aerosols was 1.6 K by 2300, near a 2 K target needed to avoid dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Ocean contributions to the climate-carbon feedback increased considerably over time and exceeded contributions from land after 2100. The sensitivity of ocean carbon to climate change was found to be proportional to changes in ocean heat content, as a consequence of this heat modifying transport pathways for anthropogenic CO2 inflow and solubility of dissolved inorganic carbon. By 2300, climate change reduced cumulative ocean uptake by 330 Pg C, from 1410 Pg C to 1080 Pg C. Land fluxes similarly diverged over time, with climate change reducing stocks by 232 Pg C. Regional influence of climate change on carbon stocks was largest in the North Atlantic Ocean and tropical forests of South America. Our analysis suggests that after 2100, oceans may become as important as terrestrial ecosystems in regulating the magnitude of the climate-carbon feedback.

Proportion and clinical features of never-smokers with non-small cell lung cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Jaeyoung; Choi, Sun Mi; Lee, Jinwoo; Lee, Chang-Hoon; Lee, Sang-Min; Kim, Dong-Wan; Yim, Jae-Joon; Kim, Young Tae; Yoo, Chul-Gyu; Kim, Young Whan; Han, Sung Koo; Park, Young Sik

2017-02-08

The proportion of never-smokers with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is increasing, but that in Korea has not been well addressed in a large population. We aimed to evaluate the proportion and clinical features of never-smokers with NSCLC in a large single institution. We analyzed clinical data of 1860 consecutive patients who were newly diagnosed with NSCLC between June 2011 and December 2014. Of the 1860 NSCLC patients, 707 (38.0%) were never-smokers. The proportions of women (83.7% vs. 5.6%) and adenocarcinoma (89.8% vs. 44.9%) were higher among never-smokers than among ever-smokers. Significantly more never-smokers were diagnosed at a younger median age (65 vs. 68 years, P smokers. Epidermal growth factor receptor mutations (57.8% vs. 24.4%, P never-smokers, whereas Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog mutations (5.8% vs. 9.6%, P = 0.021) were less frequently encountered in never-smokers than in ever-smokers. Never-smokers showed longer survival after adjusting for the favorable effects of younger age, female sex, adenocarcinoma histology, better performance status, early stage disease, being asymptomatic at diagnosis, received antitumor treatment, and the presence of driver mutations (hazard ratio, 0.624; 95% confidence interval, 0.460-0.848; P = 0.003). More than one-third of the Korean patients with NSCLC were never-smokers. NSCLC in never-smokers had different clinical characteristics and major driver mutations and resulted in longer overall survival compared with NSCLC in ever-smokers.

Improved Access To Aging Ocean Basement Biosphere For Microbial Geochemical Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Cowen, J. P.; Glazer, B.; Rappe, M.; Kenig, F.; Fisher, A.; Copson, D.; Harris, D.; Jolly, J.; Nuzzio, D.

2005-12-01

CORK observatories affixed to Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) boreholes offer an unprecedented opportunity to study biogeochemical properties and microbial diversity in circulating fluids from sediment-buried ocean basement. Preliminary 16S rRNA gene sequence data from 65 degrees C fluids escaping from the top of the over-pressured ODP borehole 1026B, on the flanks of the Juan de Fuca Ridge indicated the presence of diverse Bacteria and Archaea, including gene clones with varying degrees of relatedness to known dissimilatory nitrate reducers (with ammonia production), thermophilic sulfate reducers, and thermophilic fermentative heterotrophs, consistent with fluid chemistry measurements. However, questions remain regarding microbial community structure, key metabolic pathways and rates, and redox chemistry of the basement fluids, along with concerns for contamination issues. We describe ongoing developments intended to address key in situ analytical and sampling challenges including: 1) The new generation CORKs' dedicated microbiological/geochemical fluid delivery system specifically designed to minimize chemical contamination and surface biofouling; and 2) Development of a seafloor instrument sled for coupling to the CORK's bio-fluid delivery system for acquisition of real-time, in situ electrochemical (voltammetry) redox chemistry data on basement fluids, in addition to in situ particle filtration of basement fluids for molecular genetics, culturing and biogeochemical studies. Results of the first deployment of this instrument sled to new CORK observatory 1301A in Cascadia Basin, on the flanks of the Juan de Fuca Ridge, will be described.

NOAA Ocean Exploration: Science, Education and Ocean Literacy Online and in Social Media

Science.gov (United States)

Keener-Chavis, P.

2012-12-01

through the OER Digital Atlas, a Google map application that displays expedition locations searchable by year, expedition theme or by a text-entry. Information on expedition-specific collection data, education and outreach is also provided. Educators have access to online interactive courses; entitled Why Do We Explore? and How Do We Explore?; that convey the exploration science, capabilities, and assets of the Okeanos Explorer. Hundreds of online lessons, multimedia learning tools, OceanAGE Career Connections and other resources assist educators with bringing authentic ocean exploration and the scientists behind it into classrooms. Live webcasts by San Francisco's Exploratorium and the use of social media; including Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, the Apple iTunes Channel, and conversations with ITunes University have had immediate and profound impacts on OER's ability to successfully engage diverse partners with a ride range of ocean exploration science and education needs. This presentation will highlight several OER's approaches to engaging scientists, educators and others in ocean exploration, including efforts associated with the upcoming Fall 2012 Submarine Ring of Fire: Lau Basin Expedition onboard the Scripps Institution of Oceanography R/V Roger Revelle.

Why do card issuers charge proportional fees?

OpenAIRE

Oz Shy; Zhu Wang

2008-01-01

This paper explains why payment card companies charge consumers and merchants fees which are proportional to the transaction values instead of charging a fixed per-transaction fee. Our theory shows that, even in the absence of any cost considerations, card companies earn much higher profit when they charge proportional fees. It is also shown that competition among merchants reduces card companies' gains from using proportional fees relative to a fixed per-transaction fee. Merchants are found ...

The 3.6 ka Aniakchak tephra in the Arctic Ocean: a constraint on the Holocene radiocarbon reservoir age in the Chukchi Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Pearce, Christof; Varhelyi, Aron; Wastegård, Stefan; Muschitiello, Francesco; Barrientos, Natalia; O'Regan, Matt; Cronin, Thomas M.; Gemery, Laura; Semiletov, Igor; Backman, Jan; Jakobsson, Martin

2017-04-01

The caldera-forming eruption of the Aniakchak volcano in the Aleutian Range on the Alaskan Peninsula at 3.6 cal kyr BP was one of the largest Holocene eruptions worldwide. The resulting ash is found as a visible sediment layer in several Alaskan sites and as a cryptotephra on Newfoundland and Greenland. This large geographic distribution, combined with the fact that the eruption is relatively well constrained in time using radiocarbon dating of lake sediments and annual layer counts in ice cores, makes it an excellent stratigraphic marker for dating and correlating mid-late Holocene sediment and paleoclimate records. This study presents the outcome of a targeted search for the Aniakchak tephra in a marine sediment core from the Arctic Ocean, namely Core SWERUS-L2-2-PC1 (2PC), raised from 57 m water depth in Herald Canyon, western Chukchi Sea. High concentrations of tephra shards, with a geochemical signature matching that of Aniakchak ash, were observed across a more than 1.5 m long sediment sequence. Since the primary input of volcanic ash is through atmospheric transport, and assuming that bioturbation can account for mixing up to ca. 10 cm of the marine sediment deposited at the coring site, the broad signal is interpreted as sustained reworking at the sediment source input. The isochron is therefore placed at the base of the sudden increase in tephra concentrations rather than at the maximum concentration. This interpretation of major reworking is strengthened by analysis of grain size distribution which points to ice rafting as an important secondary transport mechanism of volcanic ash. Combined with radiocarbon dates on mollusks in the same sediment core, the volcanic marker is used to calculate a marine radiocarbon reservoir age offset ΔR = 477 ± 60 years. This relatively high value may be explained by the major influence of typically carbon-old Pacific waters, and it agrees well with recent estimates of ΔR along the northwest Alaskan coast, possibly

Ocean Prediction Center

Science.gov (United States)

Social Media Facebook Twitter YouTube Search Search For Go NWS All NOAA Weather Analysis & Forecasts of Commerce Ocean Prediction Center National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Analysis & Unified Surface Analysis Ocean Ocean Products Ice & Icebergs NIC Ice Products NAIS Iceberg Analysis

Numerical model of the transition from continental rifting to oceanization: the case study of the Ligure-Piemontese ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Roda, M.; Marotta, A. M.; Conte, K.; Spalla, M. I.

2015-12-01

The transition from continental rifting to oceanization has been investigated by mean of a 2D thermo-mechanical numerical model in which the formation of oceanic crust by mantle serpentinization, due to the hydration of the uprising peridotite, as been implemented. Model predictions have been compared with natural data related to the Permian-Triassic thinning affecting the continental lithosphere of the Alpine domain, in order to identify which portions of the present Alpine-Apennine system, preserving the imprints of Permian-Triassic high temperature (HT) metamorphism, is compatible, in terms of lithostratigraphy and tectono-metamorphic evolution, with a lithospheric extension preceding the opening of the Ligure-Piemontese oceanic basin. At this purpose age, petrological and structural data from the Alpine and Apennine ophiolite complexes are compared with model predictions from the oceanization stage. Our comparative analysis supports the thesis that the lithospheric extension preceding the opening of the Alpine Tethys did not start on a stable continental lithosphere, but developed by recycling part of the old Variscan collisional suture. The HT Permian-Triassic metamorphic re-equilibration overprints an inherited tectonic and metamorphic setting consequent to the Variscan subduction and collision, making the Alps a key case history to explore mechanisms responsible for the re-activation of orogenic scars.

Ocean Robotic Networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schofield, Oscar [Rutgers University

2012-05-23

We live on an ocean planet which is central to regulating the Earth’s climate and human society. Despite the importance of understanding the processes operating in the ocean, it remains chronically undersampled due to the harsh operating conditions. This is problematic given the limited long term information available about how the ocean is changing. The changes include rising sea level, declining sea ice, ocean acidification, and the decline of mega fauna. While the changes are daunting, oceanography is in the midst of a technical revolution with the expansion of numerical modeling techniques, combined with ocean robotics. Operating together, these systems represent a new generation of ocean observatories. I will review the evolution of these ocean observatories and provide a few case examples of the science that they enable, spanning from the waters offshore New Jersey to the remote waters of the Southern Ocean.

Southern Ocean Circulation: a High Resolution Examination of the Last Deglaciation from Deep-Sea Corals

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, L. F.; Li, T.; Chen, T.; Burke, A.; Pegrum Haram, A.; Stewart, J.; Rae, J. W. B.; van de Flierdt, T.; Struve, T.; Wilson, D. J.

2017-12-01

Two decades ago it was first noted that the skeletal remains of deep-sea corals had the potential to provide absolutely dated archives of past ocean conditions. In the intervening twenty years this field has developed to the point where strategic collections and high throughput dating techniques now allow high resolution, well dated records of past deep sea behaviour to be produced. Likewise, efforts to improve understanding of biomineralisation and growth rates are leading to refinements in proxy tools useful for examining circulation, nutrient and carbon cycling, temperature and weathering processes. Deep-sea corals are particularly valuable archives in high latitude regions where radiocarbon-based age models are susceptible to large changes in surface reservoir ages. In this presentation we show new high resolution multiproxy records of the Southern Ocean (Drake Passage) made on U-Th dated corals spanning the last glacial cycle. With more than seventeen hundred reconnaissance ages, and around 200 precise isotope dilution U-Th ages, subtle changes in ocean behaviour can be identified during times of abrupt climate change. The geochemical signature of corals from the deepest sites, closest to modern day Lower Circumpolar Deep Waters, typically show a gradual shift from glacial to Holocene values during deglaciation, likely related to ventilation of the deep ocean. By contrast for the samples collected shallower in the water column (within sites currently bathed by Upper Circumpolar Deep Waters and Antarctic Intermediate and Mode Waters) the evidence points to a more complicated picture. Vertical zonation in the geochemical data suggests that periods of stratification are interspersed with mixing events within the upper 1500m of the water column. At the same time comparison to U-Th dated records from the low latitude Pacific and Atlantic points to an important role for the Southern Ocean in feeding the intermediate waters of both ocean basins throughout the

OESbathy version 1.0: a method for reconstructing ocean bathymetry with realistic continental shelf-slope-rise structures

Science.gov (United States)

Goswami, A.; Olson, P. L.; Hinnov, L. A.; Gnanadesikan, A.

2015-04-01

We present a method for reconstructing global ocean bathymetry that uses a plate cooling model for the oceanic lithosphere, the age distribution of the oceanic crust, global oceanic sediment thicknesses, plus shelf-slope-rise structures calibrated at modern active and passive continental margins. Our motivation is to reconstruct realistic ocean bathymetry based on parameterized relationships of present-day variables that can be applied to global oceans in the geologic past, and to isolate locations where anomalous processes such as mantle convection may affect bathymetry. Parameters of the plate cooling model are combined with ocean crustal age to calculate depth-to-basement. To the depth-to-basement we add an isostatically adjusted, multicomponent sediment layer, constrained by sediment thickness in the modern oceans and marginal seas. A continental shelf-slope-rise structure completes the bathymetry reconstruction, extending from the ocean crust to the coastlines. Shelf-slope-rise structures at active and passive margins are parameterized using modern ocean bathymetry at locations where a complete history of seafloor spreading is preserved. This includes the coastal regions of the North, South, and Central Atlantic Ocean, the Southern Ocean between Australia and Antarctica, and the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of South America. The final products are global maps at 0.1° × 0.1° resolution of depth-to-basement, ocean bathymetry with an isostatically adjusted, multicomponent sediment layer, and ocean bathymetry with reconstructed continental shelf-slope-rise structures. Our reconstructed bathymetry agrees with the measured ETOPO1 bathymetry at most passive margins, including the east coast of North America, north coast of the Arabian Sea, and northeast and southeast coasts of South America. There is disagreement at margins with anomalous continental shelf-slope-rise structures, such as around the Arctic Ocean, the Falkland Islands, and Indonesia.

Global Drought Proportional Economic Loss Risk Deciles

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Global Drought Proportional Economic Loss Risk Deciles is a 2.5 minute grid of drought hazard economic loss as proportions of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per...

The Ocean deserts:salt budgets of northern subtropical oceans and their

KAUST Repository

Carton, Jim

2011-04-09

The Ocean deserts: salt budgets of northern subtropical oceans and their relationship to climate variability The high salinity near surface pools of the subtropical oceans are the oceanic deserts, with high levels of evaporation and low levels of precip

Water cycling between ocean and mantle: Super-earths need not be waterworlds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cowan, Nicolas B.; Abbot, Dorian S.

2014-01-01

Large terrestrial planets are expected to have muted topography and deep oceans, implying that most super-Earths should be entirely covered in water, so-called waterworlds. This is important because waterworlds lack a silicate weathering thermostat so their climate is predicted to be less stable than that of planets with exposed continents. In other words, the continuously habitable zone for waterworlds is much narrower than for Earth-like planets. A planet's water is partitioned, however, between a surface reservoir, the ocean, and an interior reservoir, the mantle. Plate tectonics transports water between these reservoirs on geological timescales. Degassing of melt at mid-ocean ridges and serpentinization of oceanic crust depend negatively and positively on seafloor pressure, respectively, providing a stabilizing feedback on long-term ocean volume. Motivated by Earth's approximately steady-state deep water cycle, we develop a two-box model of the hydrosphere and derive steady-state solutions to the water partitioning on terrestrial planets. Critically, hydrostatic seafloor pressure is proportional to surface gravity, so super-Earths with a deep water cycle will tend to store more water in the mantle. We conclude that a tectonically active terrestrial planet of any mass can maintain exposed continents if its water mass fraction is less than ∼0.2%, dramatically increasing the odds that super-Earths are habitable. The greatest source of uncertainty in our study is Earth's current mantle water inventory: the greater its value, the more robust planets are to inundation. Lastly, we discuss how future missions can test our hypothesis by mapping the oceans and continents of massive terrestrial planets.

Water cycling between ocean and mantle: Super-earths need not be waterworlds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cowan, Nicolas B. [Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA), Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208 (United States); Abbot, Dorian S., E-mail: n-cowan@northwestern.edu [Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, 5734 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States)

2014-01-20

Large terrestrial planets are expected to have muted topography and deep oceans, implying that most super-Earths should be entirely covered in water, so-called waterworlds. This is important because waterworlds lack a silicate weathering thermostat so their climate is predicted to be less stable than that of planets with exposed continents. In other words, the continuously habitable zone for waterworlds is much narrower than for Earth-like planets. A planet's water is partitioned, however, between a surface reservoir, the ocean, and an interior reservoir, the mantle. Plate tectonics transports water between these reservoirs on geological timescales. Degassing of melt at mid-ocean ridges and serpentinization of oceanic crust depend negatively and positively on seafloor pressure, respectively, providing a stabilizing feedback on long-term ocean volume. Motivated by Earth's approximately steady-state deep water cycle, we develop a two-box model of the hydrosphere and derive steady-state solutions to the water partitioning on terrestrial planets. Critically, hydrostatic seafloor pressure is proportional to surface gravity, so super-Earths with a deep water cycle will tend to store more water in the mantle. We conclude that a tectonically active terrestrial planet of any mass can maintain exposed continents if its water mass fraction is less than ∼0.2%, dramatically increasing the odds that super-Earths are habitable. The greatest source of uncertainty in our study is Earth's current mantle water inventory: the greater its value, the more robust planets are to inundation. Lastly, we discuss how future missions can test our hypothesis by mapping the oceans and continents of massive terrestrial planets.

Which Mixed-Member Proportional Electoral Formula Fits You Best? Assessing the Proportionality Principle of Positive Vote Transfer Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bochsler, Daniel

2014-01-01

Mixed-member proportional systems (MMP) are a family of electoral systems which combine district-based elections with a proportional seat allocation. Positive vote transfer systems belong to this family. This article explains why they might be better than their siblings, and examines under which ...

Realistic Paleobathymetry of the Cenomanian–Turonian (94 Ma Boundary Global Ocean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arghya Goswami

2018-01-01

Full Text Available At present, global paleoclimate simulations are prepared with bathtub-like, flat, featureless and steep walled ocean bathymetry, which is neither realistic nor suitable. In this article, we present the first enhanced version of a reconstructed paleobathymetry for Cenomanian–Turonian (94 Ma time in a 0.1° × 0.1° resolution, that is both realistic and suitable for use in paleo-climate studies. This reconstruction is an extrapolation of a parameterized modern ocean bathymetry that combines simple geophysical models (standard plate cooling model for the oceanic lithosphere based on ocean crustal age, global modern oceanic sediment thicknesses, and generalized shelf-slope-rise structures calibrated from a published global relief model of the modern world (ETOPO1 at active and passive continental margins. The base version of this Cenomanian–Turonian paleobathymetry reconstruction is then updated with known submarine large igneous provinces, plateaus, and seamounts to minimize the difference between the reconstructed paleobathymetry and the real bathymetry that once existed.

OESbathy version 1.0: a method for reconstructing ocean bathymetry with generalized continental shelf-slope-rise structures

Science.gov (United States)

Goswami, A.; Olson, P. L.; Hinnov, L. A.; Gnanadesikan, A.

2015-09-01

We present a method for reconstructing global ocean bathymetry that combines a standard plate cooling model for the oceanic lithosphere based on the age of the oceanic crust, global oceanic sediment thicknesses, plus generalized shelf-slope-rise structures calibrated at modern active and passive continental margins. Our motivation is to develop a methodology for reconstructing ocean bathymetry in the geologic past that includes heterogeneous continental margins in addition to abyssal ocean floor. First, the plate cooling model is applied to maps of ocean crustal age to calculate depth to basement. To the depth to basement we add an isostatically adjusted, multicomponent sediment layer constrained by sediment thickness in the modern oceans and marginal seas. A three-parameter continental shelf-slope-rise structure completes the bathymetry reconstruction, extending from the ocean crust to the coastlines. Parameters of the shelf-slope-rise structures at active and passive margins are determined from modern ocean bathymetry at locations where a complete history of seafloor spreading is preserved. This includes the coastal regions of the North, South, and central Atlantic, the Southern Ocean between Australia and Antarctica, and the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of South America. The final products are global maps at 0.1° × 0.1° resolution of depth to basement, ocean bathymetry with an isostatically adjusted multicomponent sediment layer, and ocean bathymetry with reconstructed continental shelf-slope-rise structures. Our reconstructed bathymetry agrees with the measured ETOPO1 bathymetry at most passive margins, including the east coast of North America, north coast of the Arabian Sea, and northeast and southeast coasts of South America. There is disagreement at margins with anomalous continental shelf-slope-rise structures, such as around the Arctic Ocean, the Falkland Islands, and Indonesia.

Pb-Sr-Nd isotopic data of Indian Ocean ridges: New evidence of large-scale mapping of mantle heterogeneities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamelin, B.; Dupre, B.; Allegre, C.J.

1986-01-01

A Pb-Sr-Nd isotope study of South West and East Indian Ridges confirms that the Indian Ocean belongs to a specific regional isotopic domain, as previously suggested by the results from islands of this ocean. The isotopic domain defined by the Indian MORB is indeed different from that of the North Atlantic and East Pacific Oceans. This demonstrates that the convective circulation of the upper mantle does not allow a rapid homogenization from one region to the other. The isotopic data of the Indian ridges can be interpreted by a contamination model, in which the depleted upper mantle (identical to that under the North Atlantic) is contaminated by two different types of contaminant, one corresponding to the source of the ''central Indian Ocean'' islands (Amsterdam, St. Paul, Marion, Prince Edward, Reunion, Rodriguez, Mauritius), and the other to a source similar to that of Walvis or Ninety East aseismic ridges. These two contaminants would have contributed to the ridge volcanism in different proportion over time. (orig.)

The effect of ocean acidification on carbon storage and sequestration in seagrass beds; a global and UK context.

Science.gov (United States)

Garrard, Samantha L; Beaumont, Nicola J

2014-09-15

Ocean acidification will have many negative consequences for marine organisms and ecosystems, leading to a decline in many ecosystem services provided by the marine environment. This study reviews the effect of ocean acidification (OA) on seagrasses, assessing how this may affect their capacity to sequester carbon in the future and providing an economic valuation of these changes. If ocean acidification leads to a significant increase in above- and below-ground biomass, the capacity of seagrass to sequester carbon will be significantly increased. The associated value of this increase in sequestration capacity is approximately £500 and 600 billion globally between 2010 and 2100. A proportionally similar increase in carbon sequestration value was found for the UK. This study highlights one of the few positive stories for ocean acidification and underlines that sustainable management of seagrasses is critical to avoid their continued degradation and loss of carbon sequestration capacity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ocean One: A Robotic Avatar for Oceanic Discovery

KAUST Repository

Khatib, Oussama; Yeh, Xiyang; Brantner, Gerald; Soe, Brian; Kim, Boyeon; Ganguly, Shameek; Stuart, Hannah; Wang, Shiquan; Cutkosky, Mark; Edsinger, Aaron; Mullins, Phillip; Barham, Mitchell; Voolstra, Christian R.; Salama, Khaled N.; L'Hour, Michel; Creuze, Vincent

2016-01-01

The promise of oceanic discovery has long intrigued scientists and explorers, whether with the idea of studying underwater ecology and climate change or with the hope of uncovering natural resources and historic secrets buried deep in archaeological sites. This quest to explore the oceans requires skilled human access, yet much of the oceans are inaccessible to human divers; nearly ninetenths of the ocean floor is at 1 km or deeper [1]. Accessing these depths is imperative since factors such as pollution and deep-sea trawling threaten ecology and archaeological sites. While remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are inadequate for the task, a robotic avatar could go where humans cannot and still embody human intelligence and intentions through immersive interfaces.

Ocean One: A Robotic Avatar for Oceanic Discovery

KAUST Repository

Khatib, Oussama

2016-11-11

The promise of oceanic discovery has long intrigued scientists and explorers, whether with the idea of studying underwater ecology and climate change or with the hope of uncovering natural resources and historic secrets buried deep in archaeological sites. This quest to explore the oceans requires skilled human access, yet much of the oceans are inaccessible to human divers; nearly ninetenths of the ocean floor is at 1 km or deeper [1]. Accessing these depths is imperative since factors such as pollution and deep-sea trawling threaten ecology and archaeological sites. While remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are inadequate for the task, a robotic avatar could go where humans cannot and still embody human intelligence and intentions through immersive interfaces.

Proportion congruency effects: Instructions may be enough

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga eEntel

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Learning takes time, namely, one needs to be exposed to contingency relations between stimulus dimensions in order to learn, whereas intentional control can be recruited through task demands. Therefore showing that control can be recruited as a function of experimental instructions alone, that is, adapting the processing according to the instructions before the exposure to the task, can be taken as evidence for existence of control recruitment in the absence of learning. This was done by manipulating the information given at the outset of the experiment. In the first experiment, we manipulated list-level congruency proportion. Half of the participants were informed that most of the stimuli would be congruent, whereas the other half were informed that most of the stimuli would be incongruent. This held true for the stimuli in the second part of each experiment. In the first part, however, the proportion of the two stimulus types was equal. A proportion congruent effect was found in both parts of the experiment, but it was larger in the second part. In our second experiment, we manipulated the proportion of the stimuli within participants by applying an item-specific design. This was done by presenting some color words most often in their congruent color, and other color words in incongruent colors. Participants were informed about the exact word-color pairings in advance. Similar to Experiment 1, this held true only for the second experimental part. In contrast to our first experiment, informing participants in advance did not result in an item-specific proportion effect, which was observed only in the second part. Thus our results support the hypothesis that instructions may be enough to trigger list-level control, yet learning does contribute to the proportion congruent effect under such conditions. The item-level proportion effect is apparently caused by learning or at least it is moderated by it.

West Nile virus infection in horses, Indian ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardinale, E; Bernard, C; Lecollinet, S; Rakotoharinome, V M; Ravaomanana, J; Roger, M; Olive, M M; Meenowa, D; Jaumally, M R; Melanie, J; Héraud, J M; Zientara, S; Cêtre-Sossah, C

2017-08-01

The circulation of West Nile virus (WNV) in horses was investigated in the Southwest Indian ocean. In 2010, blood samples were collected from a total of 303 horses originating from Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion and the Seychelles and tested for WNV-specific antibodies. An overall seroprevalence of 27.39% was detected in the Indian Ocean with the highest WNV antibody prevalence of 46.22% (95% CI: [37.4-55.2%]) in Madagascar. The age and origin of the horses were found to be associated with the WNV infection risk. This paper presents the first seroprevalence study investigating WN fever in horses in the Southwest Indian Ocean area and indicates a potential risk of infection for humans and animals. In order to gain a better understanding of WN transmission cycles, WNV surveillance needs to be implemented in each of the countries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aging and radiation induced alternations in liver histones

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozurkova, M.; Misurova, E.; Kropacova, K.

1994-01-01

Age-related changes in histones in the liver of normal rats and in rats irradiated with 5.7 Gy gamma rays were examined. Quantitative histone changes in growing and aging rats (from 1 to 28 months of age) were found to be mild only. As they paralleled the DNA changes, the histone /DNA ratio remained stable with age. In total extracted histones there was a decrease in the H1 proportion in older groups with preceding increase in the H1 grad proportion. Thirty minutes after irradiation the amount of histones was reduced with age, probably due to an impaired extractability of histones. As the quantitative DNA changes were milder, the histone?DNA ratio decreased in aging liver after irradiation. Similar patterns of changes in proportion of the H1 fraction and H1 grad sub-fraction were observed in irradiated and nonirradiated animals in the former with an earlier onset. Irradiation, therefore, accelerated spontaneous age-related alternations. (author)

Spatially Resolving Ocean Color and Sediment Dispersion in River Plumes, Coastal Systems, and Continental Shelf Waters

Science.gov (United States)

Aurin, Dirk Alexander; Mannino, Antonio; Franz, Bryan

2013-01-01

Satellite remote sensing of ocean color in dynamic coastal, inland, and nearshorewaters is impeded by high variability in optical constituents, demands specialized atmospheric correction, and is limited by instrument sensitivity. To accurately detect dispersion of bio-optical properties, remote sensors require ample signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to sense small variations in ocean color without saturating over bright pixels, an atmospheric correction that can accommodate significantwater-leaving radiance in the near infrared (NIR), and spatial and temporal resolution that coincides with the scales of variability in the environment. Several current and historic space-borne sensors have met these requirements with success in the open ocean, but are not optimized for highly red-reflective and heterogeneous waters such as those found near river outflows or in the presence of sediment resuspension. Here we apply analytical approaches for determining optimal spatial resolution, dominant spatial scales of variability ("patches"), and proportions of patch variability that can be resolved from four river plumes around the world between 2008 and 2011. An offshore region in the Sargasso Sea is analyzed for comparison. A method is presented for processing Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Aqua and Terra imagery including cloud detection, stray lightmasking, faulty detector avoidance, and dynamic aerosol correction using short-wave- and near-infrared wavebands in extremely turbid regions which pose distinct optical and technical challenges. Results showthat a pixel size of approx. 520 mor smaller is generally required to resolve spatial heterogeneity in ocean color and total suspended materials in river plumes. Optimal pixel size increases with distance from shore to approx. 630 m in nearshore regions, approx 750 m on the continental shelf, and approx. 1350 m in the open ocean. Greater than 90% of the optical variability within plume regions is resolvable with

Multiwire proportional chamber development

Science.gov (United States)

Doolittle, R. F.; Pollvogt, U.; Eskovitz, A. J.

1973-01-01

The development of large area multiwire proportional chambers, to be used as high resolution spatial detectors in cosmic ray experiments is described. A readout system was developed which uses a directly coupled, lumped element delay-line whose characteristics are independent of the MWPC design. A complete analysis of the delay-line and the readout electronic system shows that a spatial resolution of about 0.1 mm can be reached with the MWPC operating in the strictly proportional region. This was confirmed by measurements with a small MWPC and Fe-55 X-rays. A simplified analysis was carried out to estimate the theoretical limit of spatial resolution due to delta-rays, spread of the discharge along the anode wire, and inclined trajectories. To calculate the gas gain of MWPC's of different geometrical configurations a method was developed which is based on the knowledge of the first Townsend coefficient of the chamber gas.

OceanSITES format and Ocean Observatory Output harmonisation: past, present and future

Science.gov (United States)

Pagnani, Maureen; Galbraith, Nan; Diggs, Stephen; Lankhorst, Matthias; Hidas, Marton; Lampitt, Richard

2015-04-01

The Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) initiative was launched in 1991, and was the first step in creating a global view of ocean observations. In 1999 oceanographers at the OceanObs conference envisioned a 'global system of eulerian observatories' which evolved into the OceanSITES project. OceanSITES has been generously supported by individual oceanographic institutes and agencies across the globe, as well as by the WMO-IOC Joint Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (under JCOMMOPS). The project is directed by the needs of research scientists, but has a strong data management component, with an international team developing content standards, metadata specifications, and NetCDF templates for many types of in situ oceanographic data. The OceanSITES NetCDF format specification is intended as a robust data exchange and archive format specifically for time-series observatory data from the deep ocean. First released in February 2006, it has evolved to build on and extend internationally recognised standards such as the Climate and Forecast (CF) standard, BODC vocabularies, ISO formats and vocabularies, and in version 1.3, released in 2014, ACDD (Attribute Convention for Dataset Discovery). The success of the OceanSITES format has inspired other observational groups, such as autonomous vehicles and ships of opportunity, to also use the format and today it is fulfilling the original concept of providing a coherent set of data from eurerian observatories. Data in the OceanSITES format is served by 2 Global Data Assembly Centres (GDACs), one at Coriolis, in France, at ftp://ftp.ifremer.fr/ifremer/oceansites/ and one at the US NDBC, at ftp://data.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/oceansites/. These two centres serve over 26,800 OceanSITES format data files from 93 moorings. The use of standardised and controlled features enables the files held at the OceanSITES GDACs to be electronically discoverable and ensures the widest access to the data. The Ocean

Ocean acidification increases fatty acids levels of larval fish.

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz-Gil, Carlos; Catalán, Ignacio A; Palmer, Miquel; Faulk, Cynthia K; Fuiman, Lee A

2015-07-01

Rising levels of anthropogenic carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are acidifying the oceans and producing diverse and important effects on marine ecosystems, including the production of fatty acids (FAs) by primary producers and their transfer through food webs. FAs, particularly essential FAs, are necessary for normal structure and function in animals and influence composition and trophic structure of marine food webs. To test the effect of ocean acidification (OA) on the FA composition of fish, we conducted a replicated experiment in which larvae of the marine fish red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) were reared under a climate change scenario of elevated CO2 levels (2100 µatm) and under current control levels (400 µatm). We found significantly higher whole-body levels of FAs, including nine of the 11 essential FAs, and altered relative proportions of FAs in the larvae reared under higher levels of CO2. Consequences of this effect of OA could include alterations in performance and survival of fish larvae and transfer of FAs through food webs. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Chemical magnetization when determining Thellier paleointensity experiments in oceanic basalts

Science.gov (United States)

Tselebrovskiy, Alexey; Maksimochkin, Valery

2017-04-01

The natural remanent magnetization (NRM) of oceanic basalts selected in the rift zones of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) and the Red Sea has been explored. Laboratory simulation shows that the thermoremanent magnetization and chemical remanent magnetization (CRM) in oceanic basalts may be separated by using Tellier-Coe experiment. It was found that the rate of CRM destruction is about four times lower than the rate of the partial thermoremanent magnetization formation in Thellier cycles. The blocking temperatures spectrum of chemical component shifted toward higher temperatures in comparison with the spectrum of primary thermoremanent magnetization. It was revealed that the contribution of the chemical components in the NRM increases with the age of oceanic basalts determined with the analysis of the anomalous geomagnetic field (AGF) and spreading theory. CRM is less than 10% at the basalts aged 0.2 million years, less than 50% at basalts aged 0.35 million years, from 60 to 80% at basalts aged 1 million years [1]. Geomagnetic field paleointensity (Hpl) has been determined through the remanent magnetization of basalt samples of different ages related to Brunhes, Matuyama and Gauss periods of the geomagnetic field polarity. The value of the Hpl determined by basalts of the southern segment of MAR is ranged from 17.5 to 42.5 A/m, by the Reykjanes Ridge basalts — from 20.3 to 44 A/m, by the Bouvet Ridge basalts — from 21.7 to 34.1 A/m. VADM values calculated from these data are in good agreement with the international paleointensity database [2] and PISO-1500 model [3]. Literature 1. Maksimochkin V., Tselebrovskiy A., (2015) The influence of the chemical magnetization of oceanic basalts on determining the geomagnetic field paleointensity by the thellier method, moscow university physics bulletin, 70(6):566-576, 2. Perrin, M., E. Schnepp, and V. Shcherbakov (1998), Update of the paleointensity database, Eos Trans. AGU, 79, 198. 3. Channell JET, Xuan C, Hodell DA (2009

The Ocean Literacy Campaign

Science.gov (United States)

Schoedinger, S. E.; Strang, C.

2008-12-01

"Ocean Literacy is an understanding of the ocean's influence on you and your influence on the ocean." This simple statement captures the spirit of a conceptual framework supporting ocean literacy (COSEE et al., 2005). The framework comprises 7 essential principles and 44 fundamental concepts an ocean literate person would know (COSEE et al., 2005). The framework is the result of an extensive grassroots effort to reach consensus on (1) a definition for ocean literacy and (2) an articulation of the most important concepts to be understood by ocean-literate citizen (Cava et al., 2005). In the process of reaching consensus on these "big ideas" about the ocean, what began as a series of workshops has emerged as a campaign "owned" by an ever-expanding community of individuals, organizations and networks involved in developing and promoting the framework. The Ocean Literacy Framework has provided a common language for scientists and educators working together and serves as key guidance for the ocean science education efforts. This presentation will focus on the impact this Ocean Literacy Campaign has had to date as well as efforts underway to provide additional tools to enable educators and educational policy makers to further integrate teaching and learning about the ocean and our coasts into formal K-12 education and informal education. COSEE, National Geographic Society, NOAA, College of Exploration (2005). Ocean Literacy: The Essential Principles of Ocean Sciences Grades K-12, a jointly published brochure, URL: http://www.coexploration.org/oceanliteracy/documents/OceanLitChart.pdf Cava, F., S. Schoedinger , C. Strang, and P. Tuddenham (2005). Science Content and Standards for Ocean Literacy: A Report on Ocean Literacy, URL: http://www.coexploration.org/oceanliteracy/documents/OLit2004-05_Final_Report.pdf.

Computational Ocean Acoustics

CERN Document Server

Jensen, Finn B; Porter, Michael B; Schmidt, Henrik

2011-01-01

Since the mid-1970s, the computer has played an increasingly pivotal role in the field of ocean acoustics. Faster and less expensive than actual ocean experiments, and capable of accommodating the full complexity of the acoustic problem, numerical models are now standard research tools in ocean laboratories. The progress made in computational ocean acoustics over the last thirty years is summed up in this authoritative and innovatively illustrated new text. Written by some of the field's pioneers, all Fellows of the Acoustical Society of America, Computational Ocean Acoustics presents the latest numerical techniques for solving the wave equation in heterogeneous fluid–solid media. The authors discuss various computational schemes in detail, emphasizing the importance of theoretical foundations that lead directly to numerical implementations for real ocean environments. To further clarify the presentation, the fundamental propagation features of the techniques are illustrated in color. Computational Ocean A...

Blue ocean strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, W Chan; Mauborgne, Renée

2004-10-01

Despite a long-term decline in the circus industry, Cirque du Soleil profitably increased revenue 22-fold over the last ten years by reinventing the circus. Rather than competing within the confines of the existing industry or trying to steal customers from rivals, Cirque developed uncontested market space that made the competition irrelevant. Cirque created what the authors call a blue ocean, a previously unknown market space. In blue oceans, demand is created rather than fought over. There is ample opportunity for growth that is both profitable and rapid. In red oceans--that is, in all the industries already existing--companies compete by grabbing for a greater share of limited demand. As the market space gets more crowded, prospects for profits and growth decline. Products turn into commodities, and increasing competition turns the water bloody. There are two ways to create blue oceans. One is to launch completely new industries, as eBay did with online auctions. But it's much more common for a blue ocean to be created from within a red ocean when a company expands the boundaries of an existing industry. In studying more than 150 blue ocean creations in over 30 industries, the authors observed that the traditional units of strategic analysis--company and industry--are of limited use in explaining how and why blue oceans are created. The most appropriate unit of analysis is the strategic move, the set of managerial actions and decisions involved in making a major market-creating business offering. Creating blue oceans builds brands. So powerful is blue ocean strategy, in fact, that a blue ocean strategic move can create brand equity that lasts for decades.

A Trip Through the Virtual Ocean: Understanding Basic Oceanic Process Using Real Data and Collaborative Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Hastings, D. W.

2012-12-01

How can we effectively teach undergraduates the fundamentals of physical, chemical and biological processes in the ocean? Understanding physical circulation and biogeochemical processes is essential, yet it can be difficult for an undergraduate to easily grasp important concepts such as using temperature and salinity as conservative tracers, nutrient distribution, ageing of water masses, and thermocline variability. Like many other topics, it is best learned not in a lecture setting, but working with real data: plotting values, making predictions, and making mistakes. Part I: Using temperature and salinity values from any location in the world ocean (World Ocean Atlas), combined with an excellent user interface (http://ferret.pmel.noaa.gov), students are asked to answer a series of specific questions related to ocean circulation. Using established temperature and salinity values to characterize different water masses, students are able to identify various water masses and gain insight to physical circulation processes. Questions related to ocean circulation include: How far south and at what depth does NADW extend into the S. Atlantic? Is deep water formed in the North Pacific? How and why does the depth of the thermocline vary with latitude in the Atlantic Ocean? How deep does the Mediterranean Water descend as it leaves the Straits of Gibraltar? How far into the Atlantic can you see the influence of the Amazon River? Is there any Antarctic Bottom Water in the North Pacific? Collaborating with another student typically leads to increased engagement. Especially in large lecture settings, where one teacher is not able to address student questions or concerns, working in pairs or in groups of three is best. Part II: Using the same web-based viewer and data set students are subsequently assigned one oceanic property (phosphate, nitrate, silicate, O2, or AOU) and asked to construct three different plots: 1) vertical depth profile at one location; 2) latitude vs. depth

The Origins of Scintillator Non-Proportionality

Science.gov (United States)

Moses, W. W.; Bizarri, G. A.; Williams, R. T.; Payne, S. A.; Vasil'ev, A. N.; Singh, J.; Li, Q.; Grim, J. Q.; Choong, W.-S.

2012-10-01

Recent years have seen significant advances in both theoretically understanding and mathematically modeling the underlying causes of scintillator non-proportionality. The core cause is that the interaction of radiation with matter invariably leads to a non-uniform ionization density in the scintillator, coupled with the fact that the light yield depends on the ionization density. The mechanisms that lead to the luminescence dependence on ionization density are incompletely understood, but several important features have been identified, notably Auger-like processes (where two carriers of excitation interact with each other, causing one to de-excite non-radiatively), the inability of excitation carriers to recombine (caused either by trapping or physical separation), and the carrier mobility. This paper reviews the present understanding of the fundamental origins of scintillator non-proportionality, specifically the various theories that have been used to explain non-proportionality.

Glacial ocean circulation and stratification explained by reduced atmospheric temperature.

Science.gov (United States)

Jansen, Malte F

2017-01-03

Earth's climate has undergone dramatic shifts between glacial and interglacial time periods, with high-latitude temperature changes on the order of 5-10 °C. These climatic shifts have been associated with major rearrangements in the deep ocean circulation and stratification, which have likely played an important role in the observed atmospheric carbon dioxide swings by affecting the partitioning of carbon between the atmosphere and the ocean. The mechanisms by which the deep ocean circulation changed, however, are still unclear and represent a major challenge to our understanding of glacial climates. This study shows that various inferred changes in the deep ocean circulation and stratification between glacial and interglacial climates can be interpreted as a direct consequence of atmospheric temperature differences. Colder atmospheric temperatures lead to increased sea ice cover and formation rate around Antarctica. The associated enhanced brine rejection leads to a strongly increased deep ocean stratification, consistent with high abyssal salinities inferred for the last glacial maximum. The increased stratification goes together with a weakening and shoaling of the interhemispheric overturning circulation, again consistent with proxy evidence for the last glacial. The shallower interhemispheric overturning circulation makes room for slowly moving water of Antarctic origin, which explains the observed middepth radiocarbon age maximum and may play an important role in ocean carbon storage.

Organophosphorus esters in the oceans and possible relation with ocean gyres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, Wenhan; Xie, Zhouqing; Blais, Jules M.; Zhang, Pengfei; Li, Ming; Yang, Chengyun; Huang, Wen; Ding, Rui; Sun, Liguang

2013-01-01

Four organophosphorus esters (OPEs) were detected in aerosol samples collected in the West Pacific, the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean from 2009 to 2010, suggesting their circumpolar and global distribution. In general, the highest concentrations were detected near populated regions in China, Australia and New Zealand. OPE concentrations in the Southern Ocean were about two orders of magnitude lower than those near major continents. Additionally, relatively high OPE concentrations were detected at the Antarctic Peninsula, where several scientific survey stations are located. The four OPEs investigated here are significantly correlated with each other, suggesting they may derive from the same source. In the circumpolar transect, OPE concentrations were associated with ocean gyres in the open ocean. Their concentrations were positively related with average vorticity in the sampling area suggesting that a major source of OPEs may be found in ocean gyres where plastic debris is known to accumulate. -- Highlights: •We provide OPE concentrations in aerosols in a circumpolar expedition. •We find strong anthropogenic source of OPE pollution. •We suggest potential relationship between ocean gyres and OPE pollution. -- Our work provides a circumpolar investigation on OPEs in the Southern Ocean and we suggest a possibility that ocean currents and gyres may act as important roles in global transport of OPEs

AFSC/REFM: Bomb-produced age validation study

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Fish age validation with bomb-produced radiocarbon (14C) requires a known-age Delta14C reference chronology spanning the era of a marine increase in bomb-produced...

Calibration of an ultra-low-background proportional counter for measuring 37Ar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seifert, A.; Aalseth, C. E.; Bonicalzi, R. M.; Bowyer, T. W.; Day, A. R.; Fuller, E. S.; Haas, D. A.; Hayes, J. C.; Hoppe, E. W.; Humble, P. H.; Keillor, M. E.; LaFerriere, B. D.; Mace, E. K.; McIntyre, J. I.; Merriman, J. H.; Miley, H. S.; Myers, A. W.; Orrell, J. L.; Overman, C. T.; Panisko, M. E.

2013-01-01

An ultra-low-background proportional counter design has been developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) using clean materials, primarily electro-chemically-purified copper. This detector, along with an ultra-low-background counting system (ULBCS), was developed to complement a new shallow underground laboratory (30 meters water-equivalent) at PNNL. The ULBCS design includes passive neutron and gamma shielding, along with an active cosmic-veto system. This system provides a capability for making ultra-sensitive measurements to support applications like age-dating soil hydrocarbons with 14 C/ 3 H, age-dating of groundwater with 39 Ar, and soil-gas assay for 37 Ar to support On-Site Inspection (OSI). On-Site Inspection is a key component of the verification regime for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Measurements of radionuclides created by an underground nuclear explosion are valuable signatures of a Treaty violation. For OSI, the 35-day half-life of 37 Ar, produced from neutron interactions with calcium in soil, provides both high specific activity and sufficient time for inspection before decay limits sensitivity. This work describes the calibration techniques and analysis methods developed to enable quantitative measurements of 37 Ar samples over a broad range of proportional counter operating pressures. These efforts, along with parallel work in progress on gas chemistry separation, are expected to provide a significant new capability for 37 Ar soil gas background studies

16 CFR 240.9 - Proportionally equal terms.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Proportionally equal terms. 240.9 Section 240.9 Commercial Practices FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION GUIDES AND TRADE PRACTICE RULES GUIDES FOR ADVERTISING ALLOWANCES AND OTHER MERCHANDISING PAYMENTS AND SERVICES § 240.9 Proportionally equal terms. (a...

Hidden cycle of dissolved organic carbon in the deep ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Follett, Christopher L; Repeta, Daniel J; Rothman, Daniel H; Xu, Li; Santinelli, Chiara

2014-11-25

Marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is a large (660 Pg C) reactive carbon reservoir that mediates the oceanic microbial food web and interacts with climate on both short and long timescales. Carbon isotopic content provides information on the DOC source via δ(13)C and age via Δ(14)C. Bulk isotope measurements suggest a microbially sourced DOC reservoir with two distinct components of differing radiocarbon age. However, such measurements cannot determine internal dynamics and fluxes. Here we analyze serial oxidation experiments to quantify the isotopic diversity of DOC at an oligotrophic site in the central Pacific Ocean. Our results show diversity in both stable and radio isotopes at all depths, confirming DOC cycling hidden within bulk analyses. We confirm the presence of isotopically enriched, modern DOC cocycling with an isotopically depleted older fraction in the upper ocean. However, our results show that up to 30% of the deep DOC reservoir is modern and supported by a 1 Pg/y carbon flux, which is 10 times higher than inferred from bulk isotope measurements. Isotopically depleted material turns over at an apparent time scale of 30,000 y, which is far slower than indicated by bulk isotope measurements. These results are consistent with global DOC measurements and explain both the fluctuations in deep DOC concentration and the anomalous radiocarbon values of DOC in the Southern Ocean. Collectively these results provide an unprecedented view of the ways in which DOC moves through the marine carbon cycle.

Structural context and variation of ocean plate stratigraphy, Franciscan Complex, California: insight into mélange origins and subduction-accretion processes

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Wakabayashi, John

2017-12-01

The transfer (accretion) of materials from a subducting oceanic plate to a subduction-accretionary complex has produced rock assemblages recording the history of the subducted oceanic plate from formation to arrival at the trench. These rock assemblages, comprising oceanic igneous rocks progressively overlain by pelagic sedimentary rocks (chert and/or limestone) and trench-fill clastic sedimentary rocks (mostly sandstone, shale/mudstone), have been called ocean plate stratigraphy (OPS). During accretion of OPS, megathrust slip is accommodated by imbricate faults and penetrative strain, shortening the unit and leading to tectonic repetition of the OPS sequence, whereas OPS accreted at different times are separated by non-accretionary megathrust horizons. The Franciscan subduction complex of California accreted episodically over a period of over 150 million years and incorporated OPS units with a variety of characteristics separated by non-accretionary megathrust horizons. Most Franciscan OPS comprises MORB (mid-ocean-ridge basalt) progressively overlain by chert and trench-fill clastic sedimentary rocks that are composed of variable proportions of turbidites and siliciclastic and serpentinite-matrix olistostromes (sedimentary mélanges). Volumetrically, the trench-fill component predominates in most Franciscan OPS, but some units have a significant component of igneous and pelagic rocks. Ocean island basalt (OIB) overlain by limestone is less common than MORB-chert assemblages, as are abyssal serpentinized peridotite slabs. The earliest accreted OPS comprises metabasite of supra-subduction zone affinity imbricated with smaller amounts of metaultramafic rocks and metachert, but lacking a clastic component. Most deformation of Franciscan OPS is localized along discrete faults rather than being distributed in the form of penetrative strain. This deformation locally results in block-in-matrix tectonic mélanges, in contrast to the sedimentary mélanges making up part of

Ocean acidification genetics - Genetics and genomics of response to ocean acidification

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — We are applying a variety of genetic tools to assess the response of our ocean resources to ocean acidification, including gene expression techniques, identification...

Large variability of bathypelagic microbial eukaryotic communities across the world's oceans.

Science.gov (United States)

Pernice, Massimo C; Giner, Caterina R; Logares, Ramiro; Perera-Bel, Júlia; Acinas, Silvia G; Duarte, Carlos M; Gasol, Josep M; Massana, Ramon

2016-04-01

In this work, we study the diversity of bathypelagic microbial eukaryotes (0.8-20 μm) in the global ocean. Seawater samples from 3000 to 4000 m depth from 27 stations in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans were analyzed by pyrosequencing the V4 region of the 18S ribosomal DNA. The relative abundance of the most abundant operational taxonomic units agreed with the results of a parallel metagenomic analysis, suggesting limited PCR biases in the tag approach. Although rarefaction curves for single stations were seldom saturated, the global analysis of all sequences together suggested an adequate recovery of bathypelagic diversity. Community composition presented a large variability among samples, which was poorly explained by linear geographic distance. In fact, the similarity between communities was better explained by water mass composition (26% of the variability) and the ratio in cell abundance between prokaryotes and microbial eukaryotes (21%). Deep diversity appeared dominated by four taxonomic groups (Collodaria, Chrysophytes, Basidiomycota and MALV-II) appearing in different proportions in each sample. Novel diversity amounted to 1% of the pyrotags and was lower than expected. Our study represents an essential step in the investigation of bathypelagic microbial eukaryotes, indicating dominating taxonomic groups and suggesting idiosyncratic assemblages in distinct oceanic regions.

Ocean currents modify the coupling between climate change and biogeographical shifts.

Science.gov (United States)

García Molinos, J; Burrows, M T; Poloczanska, E S

2017-05-02

Biogeographical shifts are a ubiquitous global response to climate change. However, observed shifts across taxa and geographical locations are highly variable and only partially attributable to climatic conditions. Such variable outcomes result from the interaction between local climatic changes and other abiotic and biotic factors operating across species ranges. Among them, external directional forces such as ocean and air currents influence the dispersal of nearly all marine and many terrestrial organisms. Here, using a global meta-dataset of observed range shifts of marine species, we show that incorporating directional agreement between flow and climate significantly increases the proportion of explained variance. We propose a simple metric that measures the degrees of directional agreement of ocean (or air) currents with thermal gradients and considers the effects of directional forces in predictions of climate-driven range shifts. Ocean flows are found to both facilitate and hinder shifts depending on their directional agreement with spatial gradients of temperature. Further, effects are shaped by the locations of shifts in the range (trailing, leading or centroid) and taxonomic identity of species. These results support the global effects of climatic changes on distribution shifts and stress the importance of framing climate expectations in reference to other non-climatic interacting factors.

Assessment of divine proportion in the cranial structure of individuals with Angle Class II malocclusion on lateral cephalograms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcos André dos Santos da Silva

2012-06-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: The study of the Divine Proportion (Φ = 1.618 began with the Greeks, having as main researchers the mathematician Pythagoras and the sculptor Phidias. In Dentistry, Ricketts (1981-82 was an early to study this issue. OBJECTIVE: This study proposed to evaluate how some cephalometric measures are presented in relation to the Divine Proportion, with the total of 52 proportions, formed by 28 cephalometric landmarks. METHODS: Lateral cephalograms of 40 Class II adults patients aging from 17 to 45 years (13 male and 27 female were evaluated. The linear distances between the landmarks were measured using Radiocef Studio software. RESULTS: After statistical analysis, the data shown an average of 65,48% in the Divine Proportion, 17,5% in the relation Ans-Op/V1S-DM16 and 97,5% in the relations Na-Me/Na-PoNa e Na-PoNa/Na-Gn. CONCLUSION: Among all cephalometric measurements investigated, the lower facial third and the dental arches showed the smallest percentages of Divine Proportion.

78 FR 32556 - Safety Zone; 2013 Ocean City Air Show, Atlantic Ocean; Ocean City, MD

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-31

... FR Federal Register NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking A. Regulatory History and Information The... Atlantic Ocean in Ocean City, MD. In recent years, there have been unfortunate instances of jets and planes...

An Improved Method for Estimating Water-Mass Ventilation Age from Radiocarbon Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Devries, T. J.; Primeau, F. W.

2009-12-01

Paleoceanographic data can help to constrain the state of the past ocean circulation. One critical quantity that can be constrained by paleoceanographic data is the ventilation age, which measures the vigor of the ocean circulation. Paleoceanographers often use radiocarbon data to estimate paleo-ventilation ages by calculating either the benthic-planktonic (B-P) age difference, or the so-called “projection” age. However, recent studies have shown that neither of these calculations yield correct estimates of ventilation age, due to fluctuations in atmospheric radiocarbon content and mixing processes in the ocean. Here we propose a new method for more accurately inferring paleo-ventilation ages based on radiocarbon data. Our method makes use of a model that uses parameterized transfer functions to simulate the effects of circulation and mixing in the ocean. We show how this model can be used in a Bayesian framework to infer a ventilation age from a paired radiocarbon- and calendar-age measurement. The Bayesian framework allows us to quantify the uncertainty in the inferred ventilation age due to uncertainty in the data, as well as uncertainty in the assumptions made in the model itself. We applied this framework to previously published radiocarbon data from the deep North Pacific spanning 10 000 to 20 000 years before present. Ventilation ages inferred using our method are significantly different from the B-P ages or projection ages calculated from the same data. Furthermore, our analysis suggests that the uncertainty of the ventilation ages is on the order of 400-500 years, and that the main sources of uncertainty are uncertainty in the age of surface source waters and in the true calendar age of the radiocarbon data. Our results do not show a clear change in the ventilation age of deep North Pacific waters during the last deglaciation.

How Two Sides of the Atlantic Contributed to Understanding of the Global Oceans: Charles Yentsch and Andre Morel

Science.gov (United States)

Acker, James G.

2013-01-01

In a few short days in September of this year, the ocean color/ocean optics community lost two of the founding members of its Hall of FameCharles Yentsch and Andre Morel. Yentsch passed away at the age of 85 on September 19, and Morel passed away on September 23 at the age of 79. It might sound clich to say that someone was instrumental to the advance of science in a particular field, but in the case of Yentsch and Morel and ocean color instrumentation, such an assessment would likely be accurate. Each mans career complimented that of the other Yentsch was one of the first to make measurements of the light field of the ocean from altitude and to advocate an instrument in space that could observe the spectrum of ocean radiance Morels theoretical underpinnings established a firm foundation for the measurements such an instrument could make, allowing their successful interpretation.

The relationship between the statistics of open ocean currents and the temporal correlations of the wind stress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bel, Golan; Ashkenazy, Yosef

2013-01-01

We study the statistics of wind-driven open ocean currents. Using the Ekman layer model for the integrated currents, we investigate analytically and numerically the relationship between the wind-stress distribution and its temporal correlations and the statistics of the open ocean currents. We found that temporally long-range correlated winds result in currents whose statistics is proportional to the wind-stress statistics. On the other hand, short-range correlated winds lead to Gaussian distributions of the current components, regardless of the stationary distribution of the winds, and therefore to a Rayleigh distribution of the current amplitude, if the wind stress is isotropic. We found that the second moment of the current speed exhibits a maximum as a function of the correlation time of the wind stress for a non-zero Coriolis parameter. The results were validated using an oceanic general circulation model. (paper)

Age of Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc basement

Science.gov (United States)

Ishizuka, Osamu; Hickey-Vargas, Rosemary; Arculus, Richard J.; Yogodzinski, Gene M.; Savov, Ivan P.; Kusano, Yuki; McCarthy, Anders; Brandl, Philipp A.; Sudo, Masafumi

2018-01-01

Documenting the early tectonic and magmatic evolution of the Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) arc system in the Western Pacific is critical for understanding the process and cause of subduction initiation along the current convergent margin between the Pacific and Philippine Sea plates. Forearc igneous sections provide firm evidence for seafloor spreading at the time of subduction initiation (52 Ma) and production of "forearc basalt". Ocean floor drilling (International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 351) recovered basement-forming, low-Ti tholeiitic basalt crust formed shortly after subduction initiation but distal from the convergent margin (nominally reararc) of the future IBM arc (Amami Sankaku Basin: ASB). Radiometric dating of this basement gives an age range (49.3-46.8 Ma with a weighted average of 48.7 Ma) that overlaps that of basalt in the present-day IBM forearc, but up to 3.3 m.y. younger than the onset of forearc basalt activity. Similarity in age range and geochemical character between the reararc and forearc basalts implies that the ocean crust newly formed by seafloor spreading during subduction initiation extends from fore- to reararc of the present-day IBM arc. Given the age difference between the oldest forearc basalt and the ASB crust, asymmetric spreading caused by ridge migration might have taken place. This scenario for the formation of the ASB implies that the Mesozoic remnant arc terrane of the Daito Ridges comprised the overriding plate at subduction initiation. The juxtaposition of a relatively buoyant remnant arc terrane adjacent to an oceanic plate was more favourable for subduction initiation than would have been the case if both downgoing and overriding plates had been oceanic.

Photo-lability of deep ocean dissolved black carbon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Stubbins

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Dissolved black carbon (DBC, defined here as condensed aromatics isolated from seawater via PPL solid phase extraction and quantified as benzenepolycarboxylic acid (BPCA oxidation products, is a significant component of the oceanic dissolved organic carbon (DOC pool. These condensed aromatics are widely distributed in the open ocean and appear to be tens of thousands of years old. As such DBC is regarded as highly refractory. In the current study, the photo-lability of DBC, DOC and coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM; ultraviolet-visible absorbance were determined over the course of a 28 day irradiation of North Atlantic Deep Water under a solar simulator. During the irradiation DBC fell from 1044 ± 164 nM-C to 55 ± 15 nM-C, a 20-fold decrease in concentration. Dissolved black carbon photo-degradation was more rapid and more extensive than for bulk CDOM and DOC. The concentration of DBC correlated with CDOM absorbance and the quality of DBC indicated by the ratios of different BPCAs correlated with CDOM absorbance spectral slope, suggesting the optical properties of CDOM may provide a proxy for both DBC concentrations and quality in natural waters. Further, the photo-lability of components of the DBC pool increased with their degree of aromatic condensation. These trends indicate that a continuum of compounds of varying photo-lability exists within the marine DOC pool. In this continuum, photo-lability scales with aromatic character, specifically the degree of condensation. Scaling the rapid photo-degradation of DBC to rates of DOC photo-mineralisation for the global ocean leads to an estimated photo-chemical half-life for oceanic DBC of less than 800 years. This is more than an order of magnitude shorter than the apparent age of DBC in the ocean. Consequently, photo-degradation is posited as the primary sink for oceanic DBC and the apparent survival of DBC molecules in the oceans for millennia appears to be facilitated not by their

Contingency proportion systematically influences contingency learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Forrin, Noah D; MacLeod, Colin M

2018-01-01

In the color-word contingency learning paradigm, each word appears more often in one color (high contingency) than in the other colors (low contingency). Shortly after beginning the task, color identification responses become faster on the high-contingency trials than on the low-contingency trials-the contingency learning effect. Across five groups, we varied the high-contingency proportion in 10% steps, from 80% to 40%. The size of the contingency learning effect was positively related to high-contingency proportion, with the effect disappearing when high contingency was reduced to 40%. At the two highest contingency proportions, the magnitude of the effect increased over trials, the pattern suggesting that there was an increasing cost for the low-contingency trials rather than an increasing benefit for the high-contingency trials. Overall, the results fit a modified version of Schmidt's (2013, Acta Psychologica, 142, 119-126) parallel episodic processing account in which prior trial instances are routinely retrieved from memory and influence current trial performance.

Age, origins and extinctions of the avifauna of Macaronesia: a synthesis of phylogenetic and fossil information

Science.gov (United States)

Illera, Juan Carlos; Rando, Juan Carlos; Richardson, David S.; Emerson, Brent C.

2012-09-01

Understanding the age, origins and extinction of oceanic island biota has captivated the interest of evolutionary biologists since Darwin and Wallace. Because oceanic islands are discrete entities of small geographical size but with considerable habitat diversity, they provide ideal templates within which to study evolutionary processes. The peripheral North Atlantic islands, collectively referred to as Macaronesia, are considered a hot spot of biodiversity due to the fact that they contain a large proportion of endemic taxa (ca 25%). Recent molecular studies are providing insight into the patterns of colonization and radiation within the extant avifauna, while paleontological studies have described many extinct avian species, sometimes identifying the causes and chronology of extinction. The aim of this review is to develop an understanding of the evolutionary and biogeographic history of the macaronesian avifauna, combining information from phylogenetic and paleontological studies. We then compare patterns for Macaronesia with those of other oceanic archipelagos to evaluate to what extent patterns may be generalised across regions. Phylogenetic analyses have confirmed the close relationships between endemic macaronesian avifauna and the closest mainland areas (Europe and Africa), however, in contrast to other archipelagos of a similar age, we show that most extant birds appear to have colonized macaronesian archipelagos relatively recently, within the last four million years, despite some islands being approximately 30 million years old. Fossil records support the idea that higher species richness previously existed, with recent dating on bone collagen of selected extinct species suggesting that their extinction coincided with the arrival of aboriginal people ca 2500 years ago in the Canary Islands, or the arrival of Europeans across all the macaronesian islands in the 14th century. It is plausible that these human mediated extinctions may have selectively acted

Proceedings of oceans '91

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1991-01-01

This volume contains the proceedings of the Oceans '91 Conference. Topics addressed include: ocean energy conversion, marine communications and navigation, ocean wave energy conversion, environmental modeling, global climate change, ocean minerals technology, oil spill technology, and submersible vehicles

An inventory of Arctic Ocean data in the World Ocean Database

Science.gov (United States)

Zweng, Melissa M.; Boyer, Tim P.; Baranova, Olga K.; Reagan, James R.; Seidov, Dan; Smolyar, Igor V.

2018-03-01

The World Ocean Database (WOD) contains over 1.3 million oceanographic casts (where cast refers to an oceanographic profile or set of profiles collected concurrently at more than one depth between the ocean surface and ocean bottom) collected in the Arctic Ocean basin and its surrounding marginal seas. The data, collected from 1849 to the present, come from many submitters and countries, and were collected using a variety of instruments and platforms. These data, along with the derived products World Ocean Atlas (WOA) and the Arctic Regional Climatologies, are exceptionally useful - the data are presented in a standardized, easy to use format and include metadata and quality control information. Collecting data in the Arctic Ocean is challenging, and coverage in space and time ranges from excellent to nearly non-existent. WOD continues to compile a comprehensive collection of Arctic Ocean profile data, ideal for oceanographic, environmental and climatic analyses (https://doi.org/10.7289/V54Q7S16" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.7289/V54Q7S16).

Against proportional shortfall as a priority-setting principle.

Science.gov (United States)

Altmann, Samuel

2018-05-01

As the demand for healthcare rises, so does the need for priority setting in healthcare. In this paper, I consider a prominent priority-setting principle: proportional shortfall. My purpose is to argue that proportional shortfall, as a principle, should not be adopted. My key criticism is that proportional shortfall fails to consider past health.Proportional shortfall is justified as it supposedly balances concern for prospective health while still accounting for lifetime health, even though past health is deemed irrelevant. Accounting for this lifetime perspective means that the principle may indirectly consider past health by accounting for how far an individual is from achieving a complete, healthy life. I argue that proportional shortfall does not account for this lifetime perspective as it fails to incorporate the fair innings argument as originally claimed, undermining its purported justification.I go on to demonstrate that the case for ignoring past health is weak, and argue that past health is at least sometimes relevant for priority-setting decisions. Specifically, when an individual's past health has a direct impact on current or future health, and when one individual has enjoyed significantly more healthy life years than another.Finally, I demonstrate that by ignoring past illnesses, even those entirely unrelated to their current illness, proportional shortfall can lead to instances of double jeopardy, a highly problematic implication. These arguments give us reason to reject proportional shortfall. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Oceans Melting Greenland: Early Results from NASA's Ocean-Ice Mission in Greenland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fenty, Ian; Willis, Josh K.; Khazendar, Ala

2016-01-01

the continental shelf, and about the extent to which the ocean interacts with glaciers. Early results from NASA's five-year Oceans Melting Greenland (OMG) mission, based on extensive hydrographic and bathymetric surveys, suggest that many glaciers terminate in deep water and are hence vulnerable to increased...... melting due to ocean-ice interaction. OMG will track ocean conditions and ice loss at glaciers around Greenland through the year 2020, providing critical information about ocean-driven Greenland ice mass loss in a warming climate....

The divine proportion

CERN Document Server

Huntley, H E

1970-01-01

Using simple mathematical formulas, most as basic as Pythagoras's theorem and requiring only a very limited knowledge of mathematics, Professor Huntley explores the fascinating relationship between geometry and aesthetics. Poetry, patterns like Pascal's triangle, philosophy, psychology, music, and dozens of simple mathematical figures are enlisted to show that the ""divine proportion"" or ""golden ratio"" is a feature of geometry and analysis which awakes answering echoes in the human psyche. When we judge a work of art aesthetically satisfying, according to his formulation, we are making it c

Pressure control valve using proportional electro-magnetic solenoid actuator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yun, So Nam; Ham, Young Bog; Park, Pyoung Won

2006-01-01

This paper presents an experimental characteristics of electro-hydraulic proportional pressure control valve. In this study, poppet and valve body which are assembled into the proportional solenoid were designed and manufactured. The constant force characteristics of proportional solenoid actuator in the control region should be independent of the plunger position in order to be used to control the valve position in the fluid flow control system. The stroke-force characteristics of the proportional solenoid actuator is determined by the shape (or parameters) of the control cone. In this paper, steady state and transient characteristics of the solenoid actuator for electro-hydraulic proportional valve are analyzed using finite element method and it is confirmed that the proportional solenoid actuator has a constant attraction force in the control region independently on the stroke position. The effects of the parameters such as control cone length, thickness and taper length are also discussed

Evidence for major input of riverine organic matter into the ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Xiaoyan; Aiken, George R.; Butler, Kenna D.; Huntington, Thomas G.; Balch, William M.; Mao, Jingdong; Schmidt-Rohr, Klaus

2018-01-01

The changes in the structure of XAD-8 isolated dissolved organic matter (DOM) samples along a river (Penobscot River) to estuary (Penobscot Bay) to ocean (across the Gulf of Maine) transect and from the Pacific Ocean were investigated using selective and two dimensional (2D) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy coupled with elemental and carbon isotope analysis. The results provide important insights into the nature of relatively stable structures in the river-to-ocean continuum and the enigma of the fate of terrestrial DOM in the marine system. First, lignin and carboxyl-rich alicyclic molecules (CRAMs), which are indistinguishable from mass spectrometry, were clearly differentiated with NMR spectroscopy. NMR unambiguously showed that CRAMs persisted along the river-to-ocean transect and in the Pacific Ocean, while lignin residues dramatically decreased in abundance from the river to the coastal ocean and the Pacific Ocean. The results challenge a previous conclusion that lignin-derived compounds are refractory and can accumulate in the coastal ocean. The loss of terrestrial plant-derived aromatic compounds such as lignin and tannin residues throughout the sequence of riverine, coastal, and open ocean DOM extracts could also partially explain the decreasing organic carbon recovery by XAD-8 isolation and the change in carbon stable isotope composition from riverine DOM (δ13C −27.6‰) to ocean DOM (δ13C −23.0‰) extracts. The observation, from advanced NMR, of similar CRAM molecules in XAD-8 isolated DOM samples from the Penobscot River to the Penobscot Bay and from the ocean refutes a previous conclusion that XAD-isolated DOM samples from seawater and river are distinctly different. The alicyclic structural features of CRAMs and their presence as the major structural units in DOM extracts from the Penobscot River to Gulf of Maine transect, together with the deduced old 14C age of CRAMs in the ocean, imply that terrestrial CRAMs may persist on

Solubility of iron and other trace elements in rainwater collected on the Kerguelen Islands (South Indian Ocean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Heimburger

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The soluble fraction of aerosols that is deposited on the open ocean is vital for phytoplankton growth. It is believed that a large proportion of this dissolved fraction is bioavailable for marine biota and thus plays an important role in primary production, especially in HNLC oceanic areas where this production is limited by micronutrient supply. There is still much uncertainty surrounding the solubility of atmospheric particles in global biogeochemical cycles and it is not well understood. In this study, we present the solubilities of seven elements (Al, Ce, Fe, La, Mn, Nd, Ti in rainwater on the Kerguelen Islands, in the middle of the Southern Indian Ocean. The solubilities of elements exhibit high values, generally greater than 70%, and Ti remains the least soluble element. Because the Southern Indian Ocean is remote from its dust sources, only a fraction of smaller aerosols reaches the Kerguelen Islands after undergoing several cloud and chemical processes during their transport, resulting in a drastic increase in solubility. Finally, we deduced an average soluble iron deposition flux of 27 ± 6 μg m−2 d−1 (~0.5 μmol m−2 d−1 for the studied oceanic area, taking into account a median iron solubility of 82% ± 18%.

A model study of the first ventilated regime of the Arctic Ocean during the early Miocene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bijoy Thompson

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The tectonic opening of Fram Strait during the Neogene was a significant geological event that transferred the Arctic Ocean from a poorly ventilated enclosed basin, with weak exchange with the North Atlantic, to a fully ventilated “ocean stage”. Previous tectonic and physical oceanographic analyses suggest that the early Miocene Fram Strait was likely several times narrower and less than half as deep as the present-day 400 km wide and 2550 m deep strait. Here we use an ocean general circulation model with a passive age tracer included to further address the effect of the Fram Strait opening on the early Miocene Arctic Ocean circulation. The model tracer age exhibits strong spatial gradient between the two major Arctic Ocean deep basins: the Eurasian and Amerasian basins. There is a two-layer stratification and the exchange flow through Fram Strait shows a bi-layer structure with a low salinity outflow from the Arctic confined to a relatively thin upper layer and a saline inflow from the North Atlantic below. Our study suggests that although Fram Strait was significantly narrower and shallower during early Miocene, and the ventilation mechanism quite different in our model, the estimated ventilation rates are comparable to the chemical tracer estimates in the present-day Arctic Ocean. Since we achieved ventilation of the Arctic Ocean with a prescribed Fram Strait width of 100 km and sill depth of 1000 m, ventilation may have preceded the timing of a full ocean depth connection between the Arctic Ocean and North Atlantic established through seafloor spreading and the development of the Lena Trough.

PEP quark search proportional chambers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parker, S I; Harris, F; Karliner, I; Yount, D [Hawaii Univ., Honolulu (USA); Ely, R; Hamilton, R; Pun, T [California Univ., Berkeley (USA). Lawrence Berkeley Lab.; Guryn, W; Miller, D; Fries, R [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (USA)

1981-04-01

Proportional chambers are used in the PEP Free Quark Search to identify and remove possible background sources such as particles traversing the edges of counters, to permit geometric corrections to the dE/dx and TOF information from the scintillator and Cerenkov counters, and to look for possible high cross section quarks. The present beam pipe has a thickness of 0.007 interaction lengths (lambdasub(i)) and is followed in both arms each with 45/sup 0/ <= theta <= 135/sup 0/, ..delta..phi=90/sup 0/ by 5 proportional chambers, each 0.0008 lambdasub(i) thick with 32 channels of pulse height readout, and by 3 thin scintillator planes, each 0.003 lambdasub(i) thick. Following this thin front end, each arm of the detector has 8 layers of scintillator (one with scintillating light pipes) interspersed with 4 proportional chambers and a layer of lucite Cerenkov counters. Both the calculated ion statistics and measurements using He-CH/sub 4/ gas in a test chamber indicate that the chamber efficiencies should be >98% for q=1/3. The Landau spread measured in the test was equal to that observed for normal q=1 traversals. One scintillator plane and thin chamber in each arm will have an extra set of ADC's with a wide gate bracketing the normal one so timing errors and tails of earlier pulses should not produce fake quarks.

The contribution of the young Cretaceous Caribbean Oceanic Plateau to the genesis of late Cretaceous arc magmatism in the Cordillera Occidental of Ecuador

Science.gov (United States)

Allibon, J.; Monjoie, P.; Lapierre, H.; Jaillard, E.; Bussy, F.; Bosch, D.; Senebier, F.

2008-12-01

-basalt sequences that form part of the Caribbean-Colombian Oceanic Plateau are radiogenically enriched in 206Pb/ 204Pb and 207Pb/ 204Pb and contain a HIMU component similar to that observed in the Gorgona basalts and Galápagos lavas. The subduction zone that generated the Late Cretaceous arcs occurred far from the continental margin, in an oceanic environment. This implies that no terrigenous detrital sediments interacted with the source at this period. Thus, the enriched component can only result from the melting of subducted pelagic sediments. We have thus defined the East-Pacific MORB, enriched (cherts, pelagic sediments) and HIMU components in an attempt to constrain and model the genesis of the studied island-arc magmatism, using a compilation of carefully selected isotopic data from literature according to rock age and paleogeographic location at the time of arc edification. Tripolar mixing models reveal that proportions of 12-15 wt.% of the HIMU component, 7-15 wt.% of the pelagic sediment end-member and 70-75 wt.% of an East-pacific MORB end-member are needed to explain the measured isotope ratios. These surprisingly high proportions of the HIMU/CCOP component could be explained by the young age of the oceanic plateau (5-15 Ma) during the Late Cretaceous arc emplacement. The CCOP, basement of these arc sequences, was probably still hot and easily assimilated at the island-arc lava source.

Magnetization of the oceanic crust: TRM or CRM?

Science.gov (United States)

Raymond, C. A.; Labrecque, J. L.

1987-01-01

A model was proposed in which chemical remanent magnetization (CRM) acquired within the first 20 Ma of crustal evolution may account for 80% of the bulk natural remanent magnetization (NRM) of older basalts. The CRM of the crust is acquired as the original thermoremanent magnetization (TRM) is lost through low temperature alteration. The CRM intensity and direction are controlled by the post-emplacement polarity history. This model explains several independent observations concerning the magnetization of the oceanic crust. The model accounts for amplitude and skewness discrepancies observed in both the intermediate wavelength satellite field and the short wavelength sea surface magnetic anomaly pattern. It also explains the decay of magnetization away from the spreading axis, and the enhanced magnetization of the Cretaceous Quiet Zones while predicting other systematic variations with age in the bulk magnetization of the oceanic crust. The model also explains discrepancies in the anomaly skewness parameter observed for anomalies of Cretaceous age. Further studies indicate varying rates of TRM decay in very young crust which depicts the advance of low temperature alteration through the magnetized layer.

Oceanic archipelagos

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Triantis, Kostas A.; Whittaker, Robert James; Fernández-Palacios, José María

2016-01-01

Since the contributions of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, oceanic archipelagos have played a central role in the development of biogeography. However, despite the critical influence of oceanic islands on ecological and evolutionary theory, our focus has remained limited to either the i...... of the archipelagic geological dynamics that can affect diversity at both the island and the archipelagic level. We also reaffirm that oceanic archipelagos are appropriate spatiotemporal units to frame analyses in order to understand large scale patterns of biodiversity....

The Proportion of Anemia Associated with Iron Deficiency in Low, Medium, and High Human Development Index Countries: A Systematic Analysis of National Surveys

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolai Petry

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Iron deficiency is commonly assumed to cause half of all cases of anemias, with hereditary blood disorders and infections such as hookworm and malaria being the other major causes. In countries ranked as low, medium, and high by the Human Development Index, we conducted a systematic review of nationally representative surveys that reported the prevalence of iron deficiency, iron deficiency anemia, and anemia among pre-school children and non-pregnant women of reproductive age. Using random effects meta-analyses techniques, data from 23 countries for pre-school children and non-pregnant women of reproductive age was pooled, and the proportion of anemia attributable to iron deficiency was estimated by region, inflammation exposure, anemia prevalence, and urban/rural setting. For pre-school children and non-pregnant women of reproductive age, the proportion of anemia associated with iron deficiency was 25.0% (95% CI: 18.0, 32.0 and 37.0% (95% CI: 28.0, 46.0, respectively. The proportion of anemia associated with iron deficiency was lower in countries where anemia prevalence was >40%, especially in rural populations (14% for pre-school children; 16% for non-pregnant women of reproductive age, and in countries with very high inflammation exposure (20% for pre-school children; 25% for non-pregnant women of reproductive age. Despite large heterogeneity, our analyses suggest that the proportion of anemia associated with iron deficiency is lower than the previously assumed 50% in countries with low, medium, or high Human Development Index ranking. Anemia-reduction strategies and programs should be based on an analysis of country-specific data, as iron deficiency may not always be the key determinant of anemia.

The Proportion of Anemia Associated with Iron Deficiency in Low, Medium, and High Human Development Index Countries: A Systematic Analysis of National Surveys

Science.gov (United States)

Petry, Nicolai; Olofin, Ibironke; Hurrell, Richard F.; Boy, Erick; Wirth, James P.; Moursi, Mourad; Donahue Angel, Moira; Rohner, Fabian

2016-01-01

Iron deficiency is commonly assumed to cause half of all cases of anemias, with hereditary blood disorders and infections such as hookworm and malaria being the other major causes. In countries ranked as low, medium, and high by the Human Development Index, we conducted a systematic review of nationally representative surveys that reported the prevalence of iron deficiency, iron deficiency anemia, and anemia among pre-school children and non-pregnant women of reproductive age. Using random effects meta-analyses techniques, data from 23 countries for pre-school children and non-pregnant women of reproductive age was pooled, and the proportion of anemia attributable to iron deficiency was estimated by region, inflammation exposure, anemia prevalence, and urban/rural setting. For pre-school children and non-pregnant women of reproductive age, the proportion of anemia associated with iron deficiency was 25.0% (95% CI: 18.0, 32.0) and 37.0% (95% CI: 28.0, 46.0), respectively. The proportion of anemia associated with iron deficiency was lower in countries where anemia prevalence was >40%, especially in rural populations (14% for pre-school children; 16% for non-pregnant women of reproductive age), and in countries with very high inflammation exposure (20% for pre-school children; 25% for non-pregnant women of reproductive age). Despite large heterogeneity, our analyses suggest that the proportion of anemia associated with iron deficiency is lower than the previously assumed 50% in countries with low, medium, or high Human Development Index ranking. Anemia-reduction strategies and programs should be based on an analysis of country-specific data, as iron deficiency may not always be the key determinant of anemia. PMID:27827838

The Proportion of Anemia Associated with Iron Deficiency in Low, Medium, and High Human Development Index Countries: A Systematic Analysis of National Surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

Petry, Nicolai; Olofin, Ibironke; Hurrell, Richard F; Boy, Erick; Wirth, James P; Moursi, Mourad; Donahue Angel, Moira; Rohner, Fabian

2016-11-02

Iron deficiency is commonly assumed to cause half of all cases of anemias, with hereditary blood disorders and infections such as hookworm and malaria being the other major causes. In countries ranked as low, medium, and high by the Human Development Index, we conducted a systematic review of nationally representative surveys that reported the prevalence of iron deficiency, iron deficiency anemia, and anemia among pre-school children and non-pregnant women of reproductive age. Using random effects meta-analyses techniques, data from 23 countries for pre-school children and non-pregnant women of reproductive age was pooled, and the proportion of anemia attributable to iron deficiency was estimated by region, inflammation exposure, anemia prevalence, and urban/rural setting. For pre-school children and non-pregnant women of reproductive age, the proportion of anemia associated with iron deficiency was 25.0% (95% CI: 18.0, 32.0) and 37.0% (95% CI: 28.0, 46.0), respectively. The proportion of anemia associated with iron deficiency was lower in countries where anemia prevalence was >40%, especially in rural populations (14% for pre-school children; 16% for non-pregnant women of reproductive age), and in countries with very high inflammation exposure (20% for pre-school children; 25% for non-pregnant women of reproductive age). Despite large heterogeneity, our analyses suggest that the proportion of anemia associated with iron deficiency is lower than the previously assumed 50% in countries with low, medium, or high Human Development Index ranking. Anemia-reduction strategies and programs should be based on an analysis of country-specific data, as iron deficiency may not always be the key determinant of anemia.

Ocean water cycle: its recent amplification and impact on ocean circulation

Science.gov (United States)

Vinogradova, Nadya

2016-04-01

Oceans are the largest reservoir of the world's water supply, accounting for 97% of the Earth's water and supplying more than 75% of the evaporated and precipitated water in the global water cycle. Therefore, in order to predict the future of the global hydrological cycle, it is essential to understand the changes in its largest component, which is the flux of freshwater over the oceans. Here we examine the change in the ocean water cycle and the ocean's response to such changes that were happening during the last two decades. The analysis is based on a data-constrained ocean state estimate that synthesizes all of the information available in the surface fluxes, winds, observations of sea level, temperature, salinity, geoid, etc., as well as in the physical constraints, dynamics, and conservation statements that are embedded in the equations of the MIT general circulation model. Closeness to observations and dynamical consistency of the solution ensures a physically realistic correspondence between the atmospheric forcing and oceanic fluxes, including the ocean's response to freshwater input. The results show a robust pattern of change in the ocean water cycle in the last twenty years. The pattern of changes indicates a general tendency of drying of the subtropics, and wetting in the tropics and mid-to-high latitudes, following the "rich get richer and the poor get poorer" paradigm in many ocean regions. Using a closed property budget analysis, we then investigate the changes in the oceanic state (salinity, temperature, sea level) during the same twenty-year period. The results are discussed in terms of the origin of surface signatures, and differentiated between those that are attributed to short-term natural variability and those that result from an intensified hydrological cycle due to warming climate.

Large-Scale Analysis of Art Proportions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Karl Kristoffer

2014-01-01

While literature often tries to impute mathematical constants into art, this large-scale study (11 databases of paintings and photos, around 200.000 items) shows a different truth. The analysis, consisting of the width/height proportions, shows a value of rarely if ever one (square) and with majo......While literature often tries to impute mathematical constants into art, this large-scale study (11 databases of paintings and photos, around 200.000 items) shows a different truth. The analysis, consisting of the width/height proportions, shows a value of rarely if ever one (square...

Pb, Nd and Sr isotopes in oceanic ferromanganese deposits and ocean floor basalts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Nions, R.K.; Carter, S.R.; Cohen, R.S.; Evensen, N.M.; Hamilton, P.J.

1978-01-01

The Pb-, Nd-, and Sr-isotope compositions of oceanic ferromanganese deposits, together with the Nd- and Sr-isotope compositions of altered ocean-floor basalts, are here reported. These data are used to evaluate these metals as sources in both the oceans and ocean ferromanganese deposits and the extent to which ocean-floor basalts may be a source of, or a sink for, these metals. (author)

Chronological evidence that the Moon is either young or did not have a global magma ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Borg, Lars E; Connelly, James N; Boyet, Maud; Carlson, Richard W

2011-08-17

Chemical evolution of planetary bodies, ranging from asteroids to the large rocky planets, is thought to begin with differentiation through solidification of magma oceans many hundreds of kilometres in depth. The Earth's Moon is the archetypical example of this type of differentiation. Evidence for a lunar magma ocean is derived largely from the widespread distribution, compositional and mineralogical characteristics, and ancient ages inferred for the ferroan anorthosite (FAN) suite of lunar crustal rocks. The FANs are considered to be primary lunar flotation-cumulate crust that crystallized in the latter stages of magma ocean solidification. According to this theory, FANs represent the oldest lunar crustal rock type. Attempts to date this rock suite have yielded ambiguous results, however, because individual isochron measurements are typically incompatible with the geochemical make-up of the samples, and have not been confirmed by additional isotopic systems. By making improvements to the standard isotopic techniques, we report here the age of crystallization of FAN 60025 using the (207)Pb-(206)Pb, (147)Sm-(143)Nd and (146)Sm-(142)Nd isotopic systems to be 4,360 ± 3 million years. This extraordinarily young age requires that either the Moon solidified significantly later than most previous estimates or the long-held assumption that FANs are flotation cumulates of a primordial magma ocean is incorrect. If the latter is correct, then much of the lunar crust may have been produced by non-magma-ocean processes, such as serial magmatism.

Ethane ocean on Titan

Science.gov (United States)

Lunine, J. I.; Stevenson, D. J.; Yung, Y.L.

1983-01-01

Voyager I radio occultation data is employed to develop a qualitative model of an ethane ocean on Titan. It is suggested that the ocean contains 25 percent CH4 and that the ocean is in dynamic equilibrium with an N2 atmosphere. Previous models of a CH4 ocean are discounted due to photolysis rates of CH4 gas. Tidal damping of Titan's orbital eccentricity is taken as evidence for an ocean layer approximately 1 km deep, with the ocean floor being covered with a solid C2H2 layer 100 to 200 m thick. The photolytic process disrupting the CH4, if the estimates of the oceanic content of CH4 are correct, could continue for at least one billion years. Verification of the model is dependent on detecting CH4 clouds in the lower atmosphere, finding C2H6 saturation in the lower troposphere, or obtaining evidence of a global ocean.

Restrictions and Proportionality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Werlauff, Erik

2009-01-01

The article discusses three central aspects of the freedoms under European Community law, namely 1) the prohibition against restrictions as an important extension of the prohibition against discrimination, 2) a prohibition against exit restrictions which is just as important as the prohibition...... against host country restrictions, but which is often not recognised to the same extent by national law, and 3) the importance of also identifying and recognising an exit restriction, so that it is possible to achieve the required test of appropriateness and proportionality in relation to the rule...

Disease proportions attributable to environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vineis Paolo

2007-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Population disease proportions attributable to various causal agents are popular as they present a simplified view of the contribution of each agent to the disease load. However they are only summary figures that may be easily misinterpreted or over-interpreted even when the causal link between an exposure and an effect is well established. This commentary discusses several issues surrounding the estimation of attributable proportions, particularly with reference to environmental causes of cancers, and critically examines two recently published papers. These issues encompass potential biases as well as the very definition of environment and of environmental agent. The latter aspect is not just a semantic question but carries implications for the focus of preventive actions, whether centred on the material and social environment or on single individuals.

Southern hemisphere ocean CO2 uptake: reconciling atmospheric and oceanic estimates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, T.; Matear, R.; Rayner, P.; Francey, R.

2003-01-01

Using an atmospheric inversion model we investigate the southern hemisphere ocean CO 2 uptake. From sensitivity studies that varied both the initial ocean flux distribution and the atmospheric data used in the inversion, our inversion predicted a total (ocean and land) uptake of 1.65-1.90 Gt C/yr. We assess the consistency between the mean southern hemisphere ocean uptake predicted by an atmospheric inversion model for the 1991-1997 period and the T99 ocean flux estimate based on observed pCO 2 in Takahashi et al. (2002; Deep-Sea Res II, 49, 1601-1622). The inversion can not match the large 1.8 Gt C/yr southern extratropical (20-90 deg S) uptake of the T99 ocean flux estimate without producing either unreasonable land fluxes in the southern mid-latitudes or by increasing the mismatches between observed and simulated atmospheric CO 2 data. The southern extratropical uptake is redistributed between the mid and high latitudes. Our results suggest that the T99 estimate of the Southern Ocean uptake south of 50 deg S is too large, and that the discrepancy reflects the inadequate representation of wintertime conditions in the T99 estimate

Interhemispheric gradient of atmospheric radiocarbon reveals natural variability of Southern Ocean winds

Science.gov (United States)

Rodgers, K. B.; Mikaloff-Fletcher, S. E.; Bianchi, D.; Beaulieu, C.; Galbraith, E. D.; Gnanadesikan, A.; Hogg, A. G.; Iudicone, D.; Lintner, B. R.; Naegler, T.; Reimer, P. J.; Sarmiento, J. L.; Slater, R. D.

2011-10-01

Tree ring Δ14C data (Reimer et al., 2004; McCormac et al., 2004) indicate that atmospheric Δ14C varied on multi-decadal to centennial timescales, in both hemispheres, over the period between AD 950 and 1830. The Northern and Southern Hemispheric Δ14C records display similar variability, but from the data alone is it not clear whether these variations are driven by the production of 14C in the stratosphere (Stuiver and Quay, 1980) or by perturbations to exchanges between carbon reservoirs (Siegenthaler et al., 1980). As the sea-air flux of 14CO2 has a clear maximum in the open ocean regions of the Southern Ocean, relatively modest perturbations to the winds over this region drive significant perturbations to the interhemispheric gradient. In this study, model simulations are used to show that Southern Ocean winds are likely a main driver of the observed variability in the interhemispheric gradient over AD 950-1830, and further, that this variability may be larger than the Southern Ocean wind trends that have been reported for recent decades (notably 1980-2004). This interpretation also implies that there may have been a significant weakening of the winds over the Southern Ocean within a few decades of AD 1375, associated with the transition between the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age. The driving forces that could have produced such a shift in the winds at the Medieval Climate Anomaly to Little Ice Age transition remain unknown. Our process-focused suite of perturbation experiments with models raises the possibility that the current generation of coupled climate and earth system models may underestimate the natural background multi-decadal- to centennial-timescale variations in the winds over the Southern Ocean.

Interhemispheric gradient of atmospheric radiocarbon reveals natural variability of Southern Ocean winds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. B. Rodgers

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Tree ring Δ¹⁴C data (Reimer et al., 2004; McCormac et al., 2004 indicate that atmospheric Δ¹⁴C varied on multi-decadal to centennial timescales, in both hemispheres, over the period between AD 950 and 1830. The Northern and Southern Hemispheric Δ¹⁴C records display similar variability, but from the data alone is it not clear whether these variations are driven by the production of ¹⁴C in the stratosphere (Stuiver and Quay, 1980 or by perturbations to exchanges between carbon reservoirs (Siegenthaler et al., 1980. As the sea-air flux of ¹⁴CO₂ has a clear maximum in the open ocean regions of the Southern Ocean, relatively modest perturbations to the winds over this region drive significant perturbations to the interhemispheric gradient. In this study, model simulations are used to show that Southern Ocean winds are likely a main driver of the observed variability in the interhemispheric gradient over AD 950–1830, and further, that this variability may be larger than the Southern Ocean wind trends that have been reported for recent decades (notably 1980–2004. This interpretation also implies that there may have been a significant weakening of the winds over the Southern Ocean within a few decades of AD 1375, associated with the transition between the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age. The driving forces that could have produced such a shift in the winds at the Medieval Climate Anomaly to Little Ice Age transition remain unknown. Our process-focused suite of perturbation experiments with models raises the possibility that the current generation of coupled climate and earth system models may underestimate the natural background multi-decadal- to centennial-timescale variations in the winds over the Southern Ocean.

Proton-recoil proportional counter tests at TREAT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fink, C.L.; Eichholz, J.J.; Burrows, D.R.; DeVolpi, A.

1979-01-01

A methane filled proton-recoil proportional counter will be used as a fission neutron detector in the fast-neutron hodoscope. To provide meaningful fuel-motion information the proportional counter should have: a linear response over a wide range of reactor powers background ratio (the number of high energy neutrons detected must be maximized relative to low energy neutrons, and gamma ray sensitivity must be kept small); and a detector efficiency for fission neutrons above 1 MeV of approximately 1%. In addition, it is desirable that the detector and the associated amplifier/discriminator be capable of operating at counting rates in excess of 500 kHz. This paper reports on tests that were conducted on several proportional counters at the TREAT reactor

Global Ocean Phytoplankton

Science.gov (United States)

Franz, B. A.; Behrenfeld, M. J.; Siegel, D. A.; Werdell, P. J.

2014-01-01

Marine phytoplankton are responsible for roughly half the net primary production (NPP) on Earth, fixing atmospheric CO2 into food that fuels global ocean ecosystems and drives the ocean's biogeochemical cycles. Phytoplankton growth is highly sensitive to variations in ocean physical properties, such as upper ocean stratification and light availability within this mixed layer. Satellite ocean color sensors, such as the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS; McClain 2009) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS; Esaias 1998), provide observations of sufficient frequency and geographic coverage to globally monitor physically-driven changes in phytoplankton distributions. In practice, ocean color sensors retrieve the spectral distribution of visible solar radiation reflected upward from beneath the ocean surface, which can then be related to changes in the photosynthetic phytoplankton pigment, chlorophyll- a (Chla; measured in mg m-3). Here, global Chla data for 2013 are evaluated within the context of the 16-year continuous record provided through the combined observations of SeaWiFS (1997-2010) and MODIS on Aqua (MODISA; 2002-present). Ocean color measurements from the recently launched Visible and Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS; 2011-present) are also considered, but results suggest that the temporal calibration of the VIIRS sensor is not yet sufficiently stable for quantitative global change studies. All MODISA (version 2013.1), SeaWiFS (version 2010.0), and VIIRS (version 2013.1) data presented here were produced by NASA using consistent Chla algorithms.

First evaluation of MyOcean altimetric data in the Arctic Ocean

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cheng, Yongcun; Andersen, Ole Baltazar; Knudsen, Per

2012-01-01

The MyOcean V2 preliminary (V2p) data set of weekly gridded sea level anomaly (SLA) maps from 1993 to 2009 over the Arctic region is evaluated against existing altimetric data sets and tide gauge data. Compared with DUACS V3.0.0 (Data Unification and Altimeter Combination System) data set, MyOcean...... V2p data set improves spatial coverage and quality as well as maximum temporal correlation coefficient between altimetry and tide gauge data. The estimated amplitude of sea level annual signal and linear sea level trend from MyOcean data set are evaluated against altimetry from DUACS and RADS (Radar...... Altimeter Database System), the SODA (Simple Ocean Data Assimilation) ocean reanalysis and tide gauge data sets from PSMSL (Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level). The results show that the MyOcean data set fits in-situ measurements better than DUACS data set with respect to amplitude of annual signal...

The Southern Ocean Observing System

OpenAIRE

Rintoul, Stephen R.; Meredith, Michael P.; Schofield, Oscar; Newman, Louise

2012-01-01

The Southern Ocean includes the only latitude band where the ocean circles the earth unobstructed by continental boundaries. This accident of geography has profound consequences for global ocean circulation, biogeochemical cycles, and climate. The Southern Ocean connects the ocean basins and links the shallow and deep limbs of the overturning circulation (Rintoul et al., 2001). The ocean's capacity to moderate the pace of climate change is therefore influenced strongly by the Southern Ocean's...

The Design and Analysis of Salmonid Tagging Studies in the Columbia Basin : Volume XVII : Effects of Ocean Covariates and Release Timing on First Ocean-Year Survival of Fall Chinook Salmon from Oregon and Washington Coastal Hatcheries.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burgess, Caitlin; Skalski, John R.

2001-05-01

Effects of oceanographic conditions, as well as effects of release-timing and release-size, on first ocean-year survival of subyearling fall chinook salmon were investigated by analyzing CWT release and recovery data from Oregon and Washington coastal hatcheries. Age-class strength was estimated using a multinomial probability likelihood which estimated first-year survival as a proportional hazards regression against ocean and release covariates. Weight-at-release and release-month were found to significantly effect first year survival (p < 0.05) and ocean effects were therefore estimated after adjusting for weight-at-release. Negative survival trend was modeled for sea surface temperature (SST) during 11 months of the year over the study period (1970-1992). Statistically significant negative survival trends (p < 0.05) were found for SST during April, June, November and December. Strong pairwise correlations (r > 0.6) between SST in April/June, April/November and April/December suggest the significant relationships were due to one underlying process. At higher latitudes (45{sup o} and 48{sup o}N), summer upwelling (June-August) showed positive survival trend with survival and fall (September-November) downwelling showed positive trend with survival, indicating early fall transition improved survival. At 45{sup o} and 48{sup o}, during spring, alternating survival trends with upwelling were observed between March and May, with negative trend occurring in March and May, and positive trend with survival occurring in April. In January, two distinct scenarios of improved survival were linked to upwelling conditions, indicated by (1) a significant linear model effect (p < 0.05) showing improved survival with increasing upwelling, and (2) significant bowl-shaped curvature (p < 0.05) of survival with upwelling. The interpretation of the effects is that there was (1) significantly improved survival when downwelling conditions shifted to upwelling conditions in January (i

Proportional counter end effects eliminator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meekins, J.F.

1976-01-01

An improved gas-filled proportional counter which includes a resistor network connected between the anode and cathode at the ends of the counter in order to eliminate ''end effects'' is described. 3 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures

Ship Track for The Hidden Ocean Arctic 2005 - Office of Ocean Exploration

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Ship track of the US Coast Guard icebreaker Healy during the "Hidden Ocean Arctic 2005" expedition sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration...

Mid-ocean ridges produced thicker crust in the Jurassic than in Recent times

Science.gov (United States)

Van Avendonk, H. J.; Harding, J.; Davis, J. K.; Lawver, L. A.

2016-12-01

We present a compilation of published marine seismic refraction data to show that oceanic crust was 1.7 km thicker on average in the mid-Jurassic (170 Ma) than along the present-day mid-ocean ridge system. Plate reconstructions in a fixed hotspot framework show that the thickness of oceanic crust does not correlate with proximity to mantle hotspots, so it is likely that mid-plate volcanism is not the cause of this global trend. We propose that more melt was extracted from the upper mantle beneath mid-ocean ridges in the Jurassic than in recent times. Numerical studies show that temperature increase of 1 degree C in the mantle can lead to approximately 50-70 m thicker crust, so the upper mantle may have cooled 15-20 degrees C/100 Myr since 170 Ma. This average temperature decrease is larger than the secular cooling rate of the Earth's mantle, which is roughly 10 degrees C/100 Myr since the Archean. Apparently, the present-day configuration and dynamics of continental and oceanic plates removes heat more efficiently from the Earth's mantle than in its earlier history. The increase of ocean crustal thickness with plate age is also stronger in the Indian and Atlantic oceans than in the Pacific Ocean basin. This confirms that thermal insulation by the supercontinent Pangaea raised the temperature of the underlying asthenospheric mantle, which in turn led to more magmatic output at the Jurassic mid-ocean ridges of the Indian and Atlantic oceans.

Ocean technology

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Peshwe, V.B.

stream_size 2 stream_content_type text/plain stream_name Voices_Oceans_1996_113.pdf.txt stream_source_info Voices_Oceans_1996_113.pdf.txt Content-Encoding ISO-8859-1 Content-Type text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 ...

Ocean surface partitioning strategies using ocean colour remote Sensing: A review

Science.gov (United States)

Krug, Lilian Anne; Platt, Trevor; Sathyendranath, Shubha; Barbosa, Ana B.

2017-06-01

The ocean surface is organized into regions with distinct properties reflecting the complexity of interactions between environmental forcing and biological responses. The delineation of these functional units, each with unique, homogeneous properties and underlying ecosystem structure and dynamics, can be defined as ocean surface partitioning. The main purposes and applications of ocean partitioning include the evaluation of particular marine environments; generation of more accurate satellite ocean colour products; assimilation of data into biogeochemical and climate models; and establishment of ecosystem-based management practices. This paper reviews the diverse approaches implemented for ocean surface partition into functional units, using ocean colour remote sensing (OCRS) data, including their purposes, criteria, methods and scales. OCRS offers a synoptic, high spatial-temporal resolution, multi-decadal coverage of bio-optical properties, relevant to the applications and value of ocean surface partitioning. In combination with other biotic and/or abiotic data, OCRS-derived data (e.g., chlorophyll-a, optical properties) provide a broad and varied source of information that can be analysed using different delineation methods derived from subjective, expert-based to unsupervised learning approaches (e.g., cluster, fuzzy and empirical orthogonal function analyses). Partition schemes are applied at global to mesoscale spatial coverage, with static (time-invariant) or dynamic (time-varying) representations. A case study, the highly heterogeneous area off SW Iberian Peninsula (NE Atlantic), illustrates how the selection of spatial coverage and temporal representation affects the discrimination of distinct environmental drivers of phytoplankton variability. Advances in operational oceanography and in the subject area of satellite ocean colour, including development of new sensors, algorithms and products, are among the potential benefits from extended use, scope and

Absolute and proportional measures of potential markers of rehearsal, and their implications for accounts of its development

Science.gov (United States)

Jarrold, Christopher; Danielsson, Henrik; Wang, Xiaoli

2015-01-01

Previous studies of the development of phonological similarity and word length effects in children have shown that these effects are small or absent in young children, particularly when measured using visual presentation of the memoranda. This has often been taken as support for the view that young children do not rehearse. The current paper builds on recent evidence that instead suggests that absent phonological similarity and word length effects in young children reflects the same proportional cost of these effects in children of all ages. Our aims are to explore the conditions under which this proportional scaling account can reproduce existing developmental data, and in turn suggest ways that future studies might measure and model phonological similarity and word length effects in children. To that end, we first fit a single mathematical function through previously reported data that simultaneously captures absent and negative proportional effects of phonological similarity in young children plus constant proportional similarity effects in older children. This developmental function therefore provides the benchmark that we seek to re-produce in a series of subsequent simulations that test the proportional scaling account. These simulations reproduce the developmental function well, provided that they take into account the influence of floor effects and of measurement error. Our simulations suggest that future empirical studies examining these effects in the context of the development of rehearsal need to take into account proportional scaling. They also provide a demonstration of how proportional costs can be explored, and of the possible developmental functions associated with such an analysis. PMID:25852615

Ocean acidification postcards

Science.gov (United States)

Schreppel, Heather A.; Cimitile, Matthew J.

2011-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting research on ocean acidification in polar, temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions including the Arctic, West Florida Shelf, and the Caribbean. Project activities include field assessment, experimental laboratory studies, and evaluation of existing data. The USGS is participating in international and interagency working groups to develop research strategies to increase understanding of the global implications of ocean acidification. Research strategies include new approaches for seawater chemistry observation and modeling, assessment of physiological effects on organisms, changes in marine ecosystem structure, new technologies, and information resources. These postcards highlight ongoing USGS research efforts in ocean acidification and carbon cycling in marine and coastal ecosystems in three different regions: polar, temperate, and tropical. To learn more about ocean acidification visit: http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/ocean-acidification/.

Oceanic, Latitudinal, and Sex-Specific Variation in Demography of a Tropical Deepwater Snapper across the Indo-Pacific Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashley J. Williams

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Deepwater tropical fisheries provide an important source of income and protein to Pacific and Indian Ocean coastal communities who are highly dependent on fish for food security. The development of quantitative assessments and management strategies for these deepwater fisheries has been hindered by insufficient biological and fisheries data. We examine the age-specific demography of the pygmy ruby snapper Etelis carbunculus, an important target species in tropical deepwater fisheries, across 90° of longitude and 20° of latitude in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Our results show that growth of E. carbunculus varies significantly between oceans and sexes and across latitudes in both oceans. Estimates of natural and fishing mortality were similar between oceans, but higher for females than males in both oceans. Evidence of greater fishing pressure on females than males is likely due to the larger size-at-age of females compared to males, assuming that selectivity of the fishing gear is related directly to fish size. Sex ratios were significantly female biased in both oceans despite this species being gonochoristic, and maturity schedules were similar between sexes in the Pacific Ocean. This species exhibits a protracted spawning season from mid-spring to autumn (i.e., October to May in the Pacific Ocean. These results represent the first estimates of age-specific demographic parameters for E. carbunculus, and provide the foundation for the development of the first species-specific assessment models and harvest strategies for the species. Future stock assessment models for E. carbunculus should consider sex-specific demographic parameters and spatial variation in demography. Our results reveal substantial differences in biology between E. carbunculus and the giant ruby snapper E. sp., a cryptic congeneric species, and thus contribute to greater clarity in managing fisheries that are dependent on these two species. Furthermore, the improved

The proportionate value of proportionality in palliative sedation.

Science.gov (United States)

Berger, Jeffrey T

2014-01-01

Proportionality, as it pertains to palliative sedation, is the notion that sedation should be induced at the lowest degree effective for symptom control, so that the patient's consciousness may be preserved. The pursuit of proportionality in palliative sedation is a widely accepted imperative advocated in position statements and guidelines on this treatment. The priority assigned to the pursuit of proportionality, and the extent to which it is relevant for patients who qualify for palliative sedation, have been overstated. Copyright 2014 The Journal of Clinical Ethics. All rights reserved.

Proportional hazards models of infrastructure system recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barker, Kash; Baroud, Hiba

2014-01-01

As emphasis is being placed on a system's ability to withstand and to recover from a disruptive event, collectively referred to as dynamic resilience, there exists a need to quantify a system's ability to bounce back after a disruptive event. This work applies a statistical technique from biostatistics, the proportional hazards model, to describe (i) the instantaneous rate of recovery of an infrastructure system and (ii) the likelihood that recovery occurs prior to a given point in time. A major benefit of the proportional hazards model is its ability to describe a recovery event as a function of time as well as covariates describing the infrastructure system or disruptive event, among others, which can also vary with time. The proportional hazards approach is illustrated with a publicly available electric power outage data set

Pronounced centennial-scale Atlantic Ocean climate variability correlated with Western Hemisphere hydroclimate

Science.gov (United States)

Thirumalai, Kaustubh; Quinn, Terrence M.; Okumura, Yuko; Richey, Julie; Partin, Judson W.; Poore, Richard Z.; Moreno-Chamarro, Eduardo

2018-01-01

Surface-ocean circulation in the northern Atlantic Ocean influences Northern Hemisphere climate. Century-scale circulation variability in the Atlantic Ocean, however, is poorly constrained due to insufficiently-resolved paleoceanographic records. Here we present a replicated reconstruction of sea-surface temperature and salinity from a site sensitive to North Atlantic circulation in the Gulf of Mexico which reveals pronounced centennial-scale variability over the late Holocene. We find significant correlations on these timescales between salinity changes in the Atlantic, a diagnostic parameter of circulation, and widespread precipitation anomalies using three approaches: multiproxy synthesis, observational datasets, and a transient simulation. Our results demonstrate links between centennial changes in northern Atlantic surface-circulation and hydroclimate changes in the adjacent continents over the late Holocene. Notably, our findings reveal that weakened surface-circulation in the Atlantic Ocean was concomitant with well-documented rainfall anomalies in the Western Hemisphere during the Little Ice Age.

Pronounced centennial-scale Atlantic Ocean climate variability correlated with Western Hemisphere hydroclimate.

Science.gov (United States)

Thirumalai, Kaustubh; Quinn, Terrence M; Okumura, Yuko; Richey, Julie N; Partin, Judson W; Poore, Richard Z; Moreno-Chamarro, Eduardo

2018-01-26

Surface-ocean circulation in the northern Atlantic Ocean influences Northern Hemisphere climate. Century-scale circulation variability in the Atlantic Ocean, however, is poorly constrained due to insufficiently-resolved paleoceanographic records. Here we present a replicated reconstruction of sea-surface temperature and salinity from a site sensitive to North Atlantic circulation in the Gulf of Mexico which reveals pronounced centennial-scale variability over the late Holocene. We find significant correlations on these timescales between salinity changes in the Atlantic, a diagnostic parameter of circulation, and widespread precipitation anomalies using three approaches: multiproxy synthesis, observational datasets, and a transient simulation. Our results demonstrate links between centennial changes in northern Atlantic surface-circulation and hydroclimate changes in the adjacent continents over the late Holocene. Notably, our findings reveal that weakened surface-circulation in the Atlantic Ocean was concomitant with well-documented rainfall anomalies in the Western Hemisphere during the Little Ice Age.

Ejecta from Ocean Impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Kyte, Frank T.

2003-01-01

Numerical simulations of deep-ocean impact provide some limits on the size of a projectile that will not mix with the ocean floor during a deep-ocean impact. For a vertical impact at asteroidal velocities (approx. 20 km/s), mixing is only likely when the projectile diameter is greater than 112 of the water depth. For oblique impacts, even larger projectiles will not mix with ocean floor silicates. Given the typical water depths of 4 to 5 km in deep-ocean basins, asteroidal projectiles with diameters as large as 2 or 3 km may commonly produce silicate ejecta that is composed only of meteoritic materials and seawater salts. However, the compressed water column beneath the projectile can still disrupt and shock metamorphose the ocean floor. Therefore, production of a separate, terrestrial ejecta component is not ruled out in the most extreme case. With increasing projectile size (or energy) relative to water depths, there must be a gradation between oceanic impacts and more conventional continental impacts. Given that 60% of the Earth's surface is covered by oceanic lithosphere and 500 m projectiles impact the Earth on 10(exp 5) y timescales, there must be hundreds of oceanic impact deposits in the sediment record awaiting discovery.

Ocean acidification

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Gattuso, J.P; Hansson, L

2011-01-01

The fate of much of the CO 2 we produce will be to enter the ocean. In a sense, we are fortunate that ocean water is endowed with the capacity to absorb far more CO 2 per litre than were it salt free...

Modelling of oceanic gas hydrate instability and methane release in response to climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reagan, M.T.; Moridis, G.J.

2008-01-01

Methane releases from oceanic hydrates are thought to have played a significant role in climatic changes that have occurred in the past. In this study, gas hydrate accumulations subjected to temperature changes were modelled in order to assess their potential for future methane releases into the ocean. Recent ocean and atmospheric chemistry studies were used to model 2 climate scenarios. Two types of hydrate accumulations were used to represent dispersed, low-saturation deposits. The 1-D multiphase thermodynamic-hydrological model considered the properties of benthic sediments; ocean depth; sea floor temperature; the saturation and distribution of the hydrates; and the effect of benthic biogeochemical activity. Results of the simulations showed that shallow deposits undergo rapid dissociation and are capable of producing methane fluxes of 2 to 13 mol m 3 per year over a period of decades. The fluxes exceed the ability of the anaerobic sea floor environment to sequester or consume the methane. A large proportion of the methane released in the scenarios emerged in the gas phase. Arctic hydrates may pose a threat to regional and global ecological systems. It was concluded that results of the study will be coupled with global climate models in order to assess the impact of the methane releases in relation to global climatic change. 39 refs., 5 figs

Oceanic Precondition and Evolution of the Indian Ocean Dipole Events

Science.gov (United States)

Horii, T.; Masumoto, Y.; Ueki, I.; Hase, H.; Mizuno, K.

2008-12-01

Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is one of the interannual climate variability in the Indian Ocean, associated with the negative (positive) SST anomaly in the eastern (western) equatorial region developing during boreal summer/autumn seasons. Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) has been deploying TRITON buoys in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean since October 2001. Details of subsurface ocean conditions associated with IOD events were observed by the mooring buoys in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean in 2006, 2007, and 2008. In the 2006 IOD event, large-scale sea surface signals in the tropical Indian Ocean associated with the positive IOD started in August 2006, and the anomalous conditions continued until December 2006. Data from the mooring buoys, however, captured the first appearance of the negative temperature anomaly at the thermocline depth with strong westward current anomalies in May 2006, about three months earlier than the development of the surface signatures. Similar appearance of negative temperature anomalies in the subsurface were also observed in 2007 and 2008, while the amplitude, the timing, and the relation to the surface layer were different among the events. The implications of the subsurface conditions for the occurrences of these IOD events are discussed.

Saildrone fleet could help replace aging buoys

Science.gov (United States)

Voosen, Paul

2018-03-01

In April, two semiautonomous drones, developed by Saildrone, a marine tech startup based in Alameda, California, in close collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington, D.C., are set to return from an 8-month tour of the Pacific Ocean. This the first scientific test for the drones, which are powered only by the wind and sun, in the Pacific Ocean. The voyage is an important step in showing that such drones, carrying 15 different sensors, could help replace an aging and expensive array of buoys that are the main way scientists sniff out signs of climate-disrupting El Niño events. If successful, scientists envision fleets of similar drones spreading across the ocean, inviting thoughts of what it could be like to do oceanography without a ship.

Modelling the chemically aged and mixed aerosols over the eastern central Atlantic Ocean-potential impacts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Astitha, M.; Kallos, G.; Spyrou, C.; O'Hirok, W.; Lelieveld, J.; Denier Gon, H.A.C. van der

2010-01-01

Detailed information on the chemical and physical properties of aerosols is important for assessing their role in air quality and climate. This work explores the origin and fate of continental aerosols transported over the Central Atlantic Ocean, in terms of chemical composition, number and size

Estimating the proportion of persons with diabetes developing diabetic retinopathy in India: A systematic review and meta-analysis

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A T Jotheeswaran

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Available evidence from India shows that the control of diabetes is poor in majority of the population. This escalates the risk of complications. There is no systematic review to estimate the magnitude of diabetic retinopathy (DR in India. Materials and Methods: A systematic literature search was carried out in Ovid Medline and EMBASE databases using Mesh and key search terms. Studies which reported the proportion of people with diabetes with DR in a representative community population were included. Two independent reviewers reviewed all the retrieved publications. Data were extracted using a predefined form. Review Manager software was used to perform meta-analysis to provide a pooled estimate. Studies included were assessed for methodological quality using selected items from the STROBE checklist. Results: Seven studies (1999–2014; n = 8315 persons with diabetes were included in the review. In the meta-analysis, 14.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 10.7–19.0% of known diabetics aged ≥30 years and 18.1% (95% CI 14.8–21.4 among those aged ≥50 years had DR. Heterogeneity around this estimate ranged from I2= 79–87%. No linear trend was observed between age and the proportion with DR. The overall methodological quality of included studies was moderate. Conclusions: Early detection of DR is currently not prioritized in public health policies for noncommunicable diseases and blindness programs. Methodological issues in studies suggest that the proportion of diabetics with DR is underestimated in the Indian population. Future research should emphasize more robust methodology for assessing diabetes and DR status.

First results of a simultaneous measurement of tritium and 14C in an ultra-low-background proportional counter for environmental sources of methane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mace, Emily K.; Aalseth, Craig E.; Day, Anthony R.; Hoppe, Eric W.; Keillor, Martin E.; Moran, James J.; Panisko, Mark E.; Seifert, Allen; Tatishvili, Gocha; Williams, Richard M.

2016-02-01

Abstract Simultaneous measurement of tritium and 14C would provide an added tool for tracing organic compounds through environmental systems and is possible via beta energy spectroscopy of sample-derived methane in internal-source gas proportional counters. Since the mid-1960’s atmospheric tritium and 14C have fallen dramatically as the isotopic injections from above-ground nuclear testing have been diluted into the ocean and biosphere. In this work, the feasibility of simultaneous tritium and 14C measurements via proportional counters is revisited in light of significant changes in both the atmospheric and biosphere isotopics and the development of new ultra-low-background gas proportional counting capabilities for small samples (roughly 50 cc methane). A Geant4 Monte Carlo model of a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) proportional counter response to tritium and 14C is used to analyze small samples of two different methane sources to illustrate the range of applicability of contemporary simultaneous measurements and their limitations. Because the two methane sources examined were not sample size limited, we could compare the small-sample measurements performed at PNNL with analysis of larger samples performed at a commercial laboratory. The dual-isotope simultaneous measurement is well matched for methane samples that are atmospheric or have an elevated source of tritium (i.e. landfill gas). For samples with low/modern tritium isotopics (rainwater), commercial separation and counting is a better fit.

The Medieval Climate Anomaly and Little Ice Age in Chesapeake Bay and the North Atlantic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Cronin, T. M.; Hayo, K.; Thunell, R.C.; Dwyer, G.S.; Saenger, C.; Willard, D.A.

2010-01-01

A new 2400-year paleoclimate reconstruction from Chesapeake Bay (CB) (eastern US) was compared to other paleoclimate records in the North Atlantic region to evaluate climate variability during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and Little Ice Age (LIA). Using Mg/Ca ratios from ostracodes and oxygen isotopes from benthic foraminifera as proxies for temperature and precipitation-driven estuarine hydrography, results show that warmest temperatures in CB reached 16-17. ??C between 600 and 950. CE (Common Era), centuries before the classic European Medieval Warm Period (950-1100. CE) and peak warming in the Nordic Seas (1000-1400. CE). A series of centennial warm/cool cycles began about 1000. CE with temperature minima of ~. 8 to 9. ??C about 1150, 1350, and 1650-1800. CE, and intervening warm periods (14-15. ??C) centered at 1200, 1400, 1500 and 1600. CE. Precipitation variability in the eastern US included multiple dry intervals from 600 to 1200. CE, which contrasts with wet medieval conditions in the Caribbean. The eastern US experienced a wet LIA between 1650 and 1800. CE when the Caribbean was relatively dry. Comparison of the CB record with other records shows that the MCA and LIA were characterized by regionally asynchronous warming and complex spatial patterns of precipitation, possibly related to ocean-atmosphere processes. ?? 2010.

Putative golden proportions as predictors of facial esthetics in adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiekens, Rosemie M A; Kuijpers-Jagtman, Anne Marie; van 't Hof, Martin A; van 't Hof, Bep E; Maltha, Jaap C

2008-10-01

In orthodontics, facial esthetics is assumed to be related to golden proportions apparent in the ideal human face. The aim of the study was to analyze the putative relationship between facial esthetics and golden proportions in white adolescents. Seventy-six adult laypeople evaluated sets of photographs of 64 adolescents on a visual analog scale (VAS) from 0 to 100. The facial esthetic value of each subject was calculated as a mean VAS score. Three observers recorded the position of 13 facial landmarks included in 19 putative golden proportions, based on the golden proportions as defined by Ricketts. The proportions and each proportion's deviation from the golden target (1.618) were calculated. This deviation was then related to the VAS scores. Only 4 of the 19 proportions had a significant negative correlation with the VAS scores, indicating that beautiful faces showed less deviation from the golden standard than less beautiful faces. Together, these variables explained only 16% of the variance. Few golden proportions have a significant relationship with facial esthetics in adolescents. The explained variance of these variables is too small to be of clinical importance.

Subjective Proportions: 18th-Century Interpretations of Paestum’s ‘Disproportion’

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Sigrid de Jong

2016-02-01

Full Text Available When 18th-century travellers saw the Doric temples of Paestum in Southern Italy with their own eyes, they observed for the first time true examples of the proportions of archaic Greek architecture. Contrary to the Roman proportional systems, the Greek ones had been largely unavailable to architects until then. With the rediscovery of Paestum, conveniently located south of Naples and not in far away Greece, the secret of Greek proportions was no more. Architects were able to precisely measure the temples and wrote many accounts about their primitive forms and proportions. But what did architects mean exactly when describing the proportions as primitive? What kinds of reflections did these proportions provoke? This article treats proportions as aesthetics, or as visible proportions, not as a numerical system. The discourse on proportions changed in this period, giving more weight to their cultural and historical meaning. The writings by such architects as Soane, Wilkins, and Labrouste demonstrate how Paestum functioned as a laboratory to unveil the secret of primitive proportions, and how, with the different meanings architects attached to them, it enlarged and renewed the debate on proportions.

Sensitivity of modelled sulfate aerosol and its radiative effect on climate to ocean DMS concentration and air–sea flux

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J.-E. Tesdal

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Dimethylsulfide (DMS is a well-known marine trace gas that is emitted from the ocean and subsequently oxidizes to sulfate in the atmosphere. Sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere have direct and indirect effects on the amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface. Thus, as a potential source of sulfate, ocean efflux of DMS needs to be accounted for in climate studies. Seawater concentration of DMS is highly variable in space and time, which in turn leads to high spatial and temporal variability in ocean DMS emissions. Because of sparse sampling (in both space and time, large uncertainties remain regarding ocean DMS concentration. In this study, we use an atmospheric general circulation model with explicit aerosol chemistry (CanAM4.1 and several climatologies of surface ocean DMS concentration to assess uncertainties about the climate impact of ocean DMS efflux. Despite substantial variation in the spatial pattern and seasonal evolution of simulated DMS fluxes, the global-mean radiative effect of sulfate is approximately linearly proportional to the global-mean surface flux of DMS; the spatial and temporal distribution of ocean DMS efflux has only a minor effect on the global radiation budget. The effect of the spatial structure, however, generates statistically significant changes in the global-mean concentrations of some aerosol species. The effect of seasonality on the net radiative effect is larger than that of spatial distribution and is significant at global scale.

Consensuses and discrepancies of basin-scale ocean heat content changes in different ocean analyses

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Gongjie; Cheng, Lijing; Abraham, John; Li, Chongyin

2018-04-01

Inconsistent global/basin ocean heat content (OHC) changes were found in different ocean subsurface temperature analyses, especially in recent studies related to the slowdown in global surface temperature rise. This finding challenges the reliability of the ocean subsurface temperature analyses and motivates a more comprehensive inter-comparison between the analyses. Here we compare the OHC changes in three ocean analyses (Ishii, EN4 and IAP) to investigate the uncertainty in OHC in four major ocean basins from decadal to multi-decadal scales. First, all products show an increase of OHC since 1970 in each ocean basin revealing a robust warming, although the warming rates are not identical. The geographical patterns, the key modes and the vertical structure of OHC changes are consistent among the three datasets, implying that the main OHC variabilities can be robustly represented. However, large discrepancies are found in the percentage of basinal ocean heating related to the global ocean, with the largest differences in the Pacific and Southern Ocean. Meanwhile, we find a large discrepancy of ocean heat storage in different layers, especially within 300-700 m in the Pacific and Southern Oceans. Furthermore, the near surface analysis of Ishii and IAP are consistent with sea surface temperature (SST) products, but EN4 is found to underestimate the long-term trend. Compared with ocean heat storage derived from the atmospheric budget equation, all products show consistent seasonal cycles of OHC in the upper 1500 m especially during 2008 to 2012. Overall, our analyses further the understanding of the observed OHC variations, and we recommend a careful quantification of errors in the ocean analyses.

Ocean Observations of Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Chambers, Don

2016-01-01

The ocean influences climate by storing and transporting large amounts of heat, freshwater, and carbon, and exchanging these properties with the atmosphere. About 93% of the excess heat energy stored by the earth over the last 50 years is found in the ocean. More than three quarters of the total exchange of water between the atmosphere and the earth's surface through evaporation and precipitation takes place over the oceans. The ocean contains 50 times more carbon than the atmosphere and is at present acting to slow the rate of climate change by absorbing one quarter of human emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning, cement production, deforestation and other land use change.Here I summarize the observational evidence of change in the ocean, with an emphasis on basin- and global-scale changes relevant to climate. These include: changes in subsurface ocean temperature and heat content, evidence for regional changes in ocean salinity and their link to changes in evaporation and precipitation over the oceans, evidence of variability and change of ocean current patterns relevant to climate, observations of sea level change and predictions over the next century, and biogeochemical changes in the ocean, including ocean acidification.

Multiwire proportional chamber for Moessbauer spectroscopy: development and results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, M.S. da.

1985-12-01

A new Multiwere proportional Chamber designed for Moessbauer Spectroscopy is presented. This detector allows transmission backscattering experiments using either photons or electrons. The Moessbauer data acquisition system, partially developed for this work is described. A simple method for determining the frontier between true proportional and semi-proportional regions of operation in gaseous detectors is proposed. The study of the tertiary gas mixture He-Ar-CH 4 leads to a straight forward way of energy calibration of the electron spectra. Moessbauer spectra using Fe-57 source are presented. In particular those obtained with backsattered electrons show the feasibility of depth selective analysis with gaseous proportional counters. (author) [pt

Ocean Uses: Hawaii (PROUA)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This Pacific Regional Ocean Uses Atlas (PROUA) Project is an innovative partnership between NOAA and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) designed to...

The principle of proportionality and European contract law

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cauffman, C.; Rutgers, J.; Sirena, P.

2015-01-01

The paper investigates the role of the principle of proportionality within contract law, in balancing the rights and obligations of the contracting parties. It illustrates that the principle of proportionality is one of the general principles which govern contractual relations, and as such it is an

Oceanic Emissions and Atmospheric Depositions of Volatile Organic Compounds

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, M.; Blomquist, B.; Beale, R.; Nightingale, P. D.; Liss, P. S.

2015-12-01

Atmospheric volatile organic compounds (VOCs) affect the tropospheric oxidative capacity due to their ubiquitous abundance and relatively high reactivity towards the hydroxyal radical. Over the ocean and away from terrestrial emission sources, oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) make up a large fraction of VOCs as airmasses age and become more oxidized. In addition to being produced or destroyed in the marine atmosphere, OVOCs can also be emitted from or deposited to the surface ocean. Here we first present direct air-sea flux measurements of three of the most abundant OVOCs - methanol, acetone, and acetaldehyde, by the eddy covariance technique from two cruises in the Atlantic: the Atlantic Meridional Transect in 2012 and the High Wind Gas Exchange Study in 2013. The OVOC mixing ratios were quantified by a high resolution proton-reaction-transfer mass spectrometer with isotopically labeled standards and their air-sea (net) fluxes were derived from the eddy covariance technique. Net methanol flux was consistently from the atmosphere to the surface ocean, while acetone varied from supersaturation (emission) in the subtropics to undersaturation (deposition) in the higher latitudes of the North Atlantic. The net air-sea flux of acetaldehyde is near zero through out the Atlantic despite the apparent supersaturation of this compound in the surface ocean. Knowing the dissolved concentrations and in situ production rates of these compounds in seawater, we then estimate their bulk atmospheric depositions and oceanic emissions. Lastly, we summarize the state of knowledge on the air-sea transport of a number of organic gasses, and postulate the magnitude and environmental impact of total organic carbon transfer between the ocean and the atmosphere.

New concept of age(ing: Prospective age

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Devedžić Mirjana

2012-01-01

indicators was constructed, redefined more precisely, based on prospective age: (prospective share of the elderly, (prospective median age and (prospective old age dependency ratio. With respect to the remaining years of life in the calculation of demographic aging, world’s population will be in rejuvenation process by 2035, longer and more intense than defined by proportion of the elderly. Prospective approach found that longer life expectancy in developing countries is not only a result of the decrease in infant and child mortality, but also the decrease of the old population mortality. Data used in this paper are from period life tables and censuses, for period 1953-2010. Prospective age threshold in Serbia was always higher than retrospective age (60,17 in 1953 .and 63,15 in 2010. for total population , or the proportion of people with a life expectancy less than 15 years has consistently been higher than the share of people older than 65 years (17.86% vs. 16.92% in 2010. According to prospective criteria, differences between men and women almost do not existent, so that it calls into question the widely accepted feminization of the elderly. The same conclusion stands when we discuss (prospective median age, population is older using prospective (47,15 years than traditional (41.41 indicator in 2010, also, compared with rest of the region or with more developed countries, prospective median age is higher in Serbia. Also, prospective old-age dependency ratio is higher than conventional one during analyzed period. Prospective concept and amendments are necessary in public policy, especially pension and health care system, because in combination with traditional approaches can create more justified distribution for older and younger generations.

OceanNOMADS: Real-time and retrospective access to operational U.S. ocean prediction products

Science.gov (United States)

Harding, J. M.; Cross, S. L.; Bub, F.; Ji, M.

2011-12-01

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Operational Model Archive and Distribution System (NOMADS) provides both real-time and archived atmospheric model output from servers at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) respectively (http://nomads.ncep.noaa.gov/txt_descriptions/marRutledge-1.pdf). The NOAA National Ocean Data Center (NODC) with NCEP is developing a complementary capability called OceanNOMADS for operational ocean prediction models. An NCEP ftp server currently provides real-time ocean forecast output (http://www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/newNCOM/NCOM_currents.shtml) with retrospective access through NODC. A joint effort between the Northern Gulf Institute (NGI; a NOAA Cooperative Institute) and the NOAA National Coastal Data Development Center (NCDDC; a division of NODC) created the developmental version of the retrospective OceanNOMADS capability (http://www.northerngulfinstitute.org/edac/ocean_nomads.php) under the NGI Ecosystem Data Assembly Center (EDAC) project (http://www.northerngulfinstitute.org/edac/). Complementary funding support for the developmental OceanNOMADS from U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) through the Southeastern University Research Association (SURA) Model Testbed (http://testbed.sura.org/) this past year provided NODC the analogue that facilitated the creation of an NCDDC production version of OceanNOMADS (http://www.ncddc.noaa.gov/ocean-nomads/). Access tool development and storage of initial archival data sets occur on the NGI/NCDDC developmental servers with transition to NODC/NCCDC production servers as the model archives mature and operational space and distribution capability grow. Navy operational global ocean forecast subsets for U.S waters comprise the initial ocean prediction fields resident on the NCDDC production server. The NGI/NCDDC developmental server currently includes the Naval Research Laboratory Inter-America Seas

75 FR 54497 - Ocean Dumping; Guam Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site Designation

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-08

.... SUMMARY: The EPA is designating the Guam Deep Ocean Disposal Site (G- DODS) as a permanent ocean dredged... administration of ocean disposal permits; (2) development and maintenance of a site monitoring program; (3... include: (1) Regulating quantities and types of material to be disposed, including the time, rates, and...

Increasing cardiac interventions among the aged.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Groarke, J D

2010-11-01

Ireland\\'s over 65 year population is growing. As incidence of coronary events rises with age, there is a growing population of elderly patients with cardiac disease. The changing age profile of patients treated by a tertiary hospital\\'s Cardiology service was quantified using Hospital Inpatient Enquiry data. 53% of CCU admissions were aged > or = 65 years, with admissions aged > or = 85 years in 2008 four times greater than in 2002. Percentages of patients undergoing diagnostic coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary interventions in 1997 aged > or = 70 years were 19% and 18% respectively. By 2007, these percentages had risen to 31% and 34% respectively--greatest increases were in the very elderly age categories. The proportion of ICD recipients aged > 70 years increased from 8% in 2003 to 25% by 2008. The proportion of elderly patients receiving advanced cardiac care is increasing. This trend will continue and has clear resource implications. Outcomes of interventions in the very old need further investigation, since the \\'old old\\' are under-represented in clinical trials.

Pb sbnd Sr sbnd Nd isotopic data of Indian Ocean ridges: new evidence of large-scale mapping of mantle heterogeneities

Science.gov (United States)

Hamelin, Bruno; Dupré, Bernard; Allègre, Claude J.

1986-01-01

A Pb sbnd Sr sbnd Nd isotope study of South West and East Indian Ridges confirms that the Indian Ocean belongs to a specific regional isotopic domain, as previously suggested by the results from islands of this ocean. The isotopic domain defined by the Indian MORB is indeed different from that of the North Atlantic and East Pacific Oceans. This demonstrates that the convective circulation of the upper mantle does not allow a rapid homogenization from one region to the other. The isotopic data of the Indian ridges can be interpreted by a contamination model, in which the depleted upper mantle (identical to that under the North Atlantic) is contaminated by two different types of contaminant, one corresponding to the source of the "central Indian Ocean" islands (Amsterdam, St. Paul, Marion, Prince Edward, Réunion, Rodriguez, Mauritius), and the other to a source similar to that of Walvis or Ninety East aseismic ridges. These two contaminants would have contributed to the ridge volcanism in different proportions over time.

Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands: an ocean testbed for ocean energy converters

Science.gov (United States)

González, Javier; Hernández-Brito, Joaquín.; Llinás, Octavio

2010-05-01

The Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN) is a Governmental Consortium aimed to build and operate an off-shore infrastructure to facilitate the deep sea research and speed up the technology associated. This Consortium is overseen by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Canarian Agency for Research and Innovation. The infrastructure consists of an oceanic platform located in an area with depths between 50-100 meters, close to the continental slope and four kilometers off the coast of Gran Canaria, in the archipelago of the Canary Islands. The process of construction will start during the first months of 2010 and is expected to be finished in mid-year 2011. PLOCAN serves five strategic lines: an integral observatory able to explore from the deep ocean to the atmosphere, an ocean technology testbed, a base for underwater vehicles, an innovation platform and a highly specialized training centre. Ocean energy is a suitable source to contribute the limited mix-energy conformed in the archipelago of the Canary Islands with a total population around 2 million people unequally distributed in seven islands. Islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife support the 80% of the total population with 800.000 people each. PLOCAN will contribute to develop the ocean energy sector establishing a marine testbed allowing prototypes testing at sea under a meticulous monitoring network provided by the integral observatory, generating valuable information to developers. Reducing costs throughout an integral project management is an essential objective to be reach, providing services such as transportation, customs and administrative permits. Ocean surface for testing activities is around 8 km2 with a depth going from 50 to 100 meters, 4km off the coast. Selected areas for testing have off-shore wind power conditions around 500-600 W/m2 and wave power conditions around 6 kW/m in the East coast and 10 kW/m in the North coast. Marine currents in the Canary Islands are

Nasal biometrics and nasofacial proportion in Hausas and Yorubas using Akinlolu-Raji image-processing algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akinlolu Abdulazeez Adelaja

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Nasal biometrics is vital to facial analyses. This study evaluated nasal biometrics in Hausas and Yorubas of Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Hausas (150 males and 150 females, aged 18-36 years and Yorubas (150 males and 150 females, aged 15-33 years were selected as subjects with informed consents and when established as Hausas or Yorubas by parents and grandparents. Height, body weight and cephalometric parameters (evaluated on three-dimensional facial photographs were measured on subjects. The novel Akinlolu-Raji image-processing algorithm was developed using modified row method of computer programming. Nasal root width, nose height, nose width, nasal bridge length, nasal tip protrusion, nasal index, facial width and nasofacial proportion computed from readings of Akinlolu-Raji image-processing algorithm were analyzed using Z-test (P ≤ 0.05 of 2010 Microsoft Excel statistical software. Results: Computed nasal biometrics showed statistically nonsignificant higher values (P > 0.05 in males of Hausas (100% and Yorubas (80% compared to their female counterparts. In addition, results showed nonsignificant higher values (P > 0.05 in 80% of nasal biometrics in Hausas compared to Yorubas in both sexes. Based on classifications of nose types from nasal index, Hausas have the platyrrhine nose type while Yorubas have the mesorrhine nose type. Nasofacial proportion was lower in Hausa males compared to females, but of same values in Yoruba males and females. In addition, nasofacial proportions were lower in Hausas compared to Yorubas in both sexes. Conclusions: Sexual dimorphism of nasal biometrics exists between sexes of Hausas and Yorubas. Furthermore, Hausas and Yorubas are of similar nasal sizes.

Regional Ocean Data Assimilation

KAUST Repository

Edwards, Christopher A.

2015-01-03

This article reviews the past 15 years of developments in regional ocean data assimilation. A variety of scientific, management, and safety-related objectives motivate marine scientists to characterize many ocean environments, including coastal regions. As in weather prediction, the accurate representation of physical, chemical, and/or biological properties in the ocean is challenging. Models and observations alone provide imperfect representations of the ocean state, but together they can offer improved estimates. Variational and sequential methods are among the most widely used in regional ocean systems, and there have been exciting recent advances in ensemble and four-dimensional variational approaches. These techniques are increasingly being tested and adapted for biogeochemical applications.

The principle of proportionality revisited: interpretations and applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Hermerén, Göran

2012-11-01

The principle of proportionality is used in many different contexts. Some of these uses and contexts are first briefly indicated. This paper focusses on the use of this principle as a moral principle. I argue that under certain conditions the principle of proportionality is helpful as a guide in decision-making. But it needs to be clarified and to be used with some flexibility as a context-dependent principle. Several interpretations of the principle are distinguished, using three conditions as a starting point: importance of objective, relevance of means, and most favourable option. The principle is then tested against an example, which suggests that a fourth condition, focusing on non-excessiveness, needs to be added. I will distinguish between three main interpretations of the principle, some primarily with uses in research ethics, others with uses in other areas of bioethics, for instance in comparisons of therapeutic means and ends. The relations between the principle of proportionality and the precautionary principle are explored in the following section. It is concluded that the principles are different and may even clash. In the next section the principle of proportionality is applied to some medical examples drawn from research ethics and bioethics. In concluding, the status of the principle of proportionality as a moral principle is discussed. What has been achieved so far and what remains to be done is finally summarized.

Global patterns of organic carbon export and sequestration in the ocean (Arne Richter Award for Outstanding Young Scientists)

Science.gov (United States)

Henson, S.; Sanders, R.; Madsen, E.; Le Moigne, F.; Quartly, G.

2012-04-01

A major term in the global carbon cycle is the ocean's biological carbon pump which is dominated by sinking of small organic particles from the surface ocean to its interior. Here we examine global patterns in particle export efficiency (PEeff), the proportion of primary production that is exported from the surface ocean, and transfer efficiency (Teff), the fraction of exported organic matter that reaches the deep ocean. This is achieved through extrapolating from in situ estimates of particulate organic carbon export to the global scale using satellite-derived data. Global scale estimates derived from satellite data show, in keeping with earlier studies, that PEeff is high at high latitudes and low at low latitudes, but that Teff is low at high latitudes and high at low latitudes. However, in contrast to the relationship observed for deep biomineral fluxes in previous studies, we find that Teff is strongly negatively correlated with opal export flux from the upper ocean, but uncorrelated with calcium carbonate export flux. We hypothesise that the underlying factor governing the spatial patterns observed in Teff is ecosystem function, specifically the degree of recycling occurring in the upper ocean, rather than the availability of calcium carbonate for ballasting. Finally, our estimate of global integrated carbon export is only 50% of previous estimates. The lack of consensus amongst different methodologies on the strength of the biological carbon pump emphasises that our knowledge of a major planetary carbon flux remains incomplete.

Determination of deep water circulation in the East Atlantic Ocean by means of a box-model based evaluation of C-14 measurements and other tracer data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schlitzer, R.

1984-01-01

Radiocarbon (C-14) measurements proved to be an efficient means of determining the average, large-area deep water circulation in the Atlantic Ocean. The thesis under review explains and discusses measurements carried out in the equatorial West Atlantic and North Atlantic Ocean. The samples have been taken during mission 56 of the RS 'meteor' in spring 1981. The gas has been obtained by vacuum extraction and the measurements have been performed in proportional counter tubes, the error to be accounted for amounting to 2per mille. These measured data, together with measurements of the potential temperatures, the silicate and CO 2 concentrations, and measured data from the South-East Atlantic Ocean, have been used to calculate on the basis of a box model of the Atlantic Ocean the deep water flow from the West to the East Atlantic Ocean, the deep water circulation between the various East Atlantic basins, and the turbulent diffusion coefficients required to parameterize the deep water mixing processes. (orig./HP) [de

Springer handbook of ocean engineering

CERN Document Server

Xiros, Nikolaos

2016-01-01

The handbook is the definitive reference for the interdisciplinary field that is ocean engineering. It integrates the coverage of fundamental and applied material and encompasses a diverse spectrum of systems, concepts and operations in the maritime environment, as well as providing a comprehensive update on contemporary, leading-edge ocean technologies. Coverage includes but is not limited to; an overview of ocean science, ocean signals and instrumentation, coastal structures, developments in ocean energy technologies, and ocean vehicles and automation. The handbook will be of interest to practitioners in a range of offshore industries and naval establishments as well as academic researchers and graduate students in ocean, coastal, offshore, and marine engineering and naval architecture.

The relative proportion of preterm births complicated by premature rupture of membranes in multifetal gestations: a population-based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pakrashi, Tarita; Defranco, Emily A

2013-01-01

To compare the relative contribution of premature rupture of membranes (PROM) to preterm births in singleton compared with multifetal gestations. A population-based retrospective cohort study of 291,782 nonanomalous live births in the state of Ohio from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2007, identified through birth certificate data. Frequency of PROM was compared between singleton and multifetal gestations and then stratified by gestational age at birth. Multivariate regression analysis estimated the risk of PROM by plurality in each gestational age group, accounting for influential risk factors. The frequency of PROM increased with increasing plurality of gestation. The relative proportion of preterm birth < 37 weeks complicated by PROM increased with gestational plurality 13.2% singletons, 16.8% twins, 20.0% triplets, 19.6% quadruplets, and 100% for higher-order multiples (p < 0.001). The frequency of PROM increased with earlier gestational age at birth, regardless of plurality. The increased risk of PROM in multifetal gestation persisted even after adjustment for influential concomitant risk factors. The proportion of preterm birth attributable to PROM increases by plurality of gestation, with its most significant contribution in higher-order multiples and at earliest gestational ages when outcomes are the poorest. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Far-field tsunami magnitude determined from ocean-bottom pressure gauge data around Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Baba, T.; Hirata, K.; Kaneda, Y.

2003-12-01

\\hspace*{3mm}Tsunami magnitude is the most fundamental parameter to scale tsunamigenic earthquakes. According to Abe (1979), the tsunami magnitude, Mt, is empirically related to the crest to trough amplitude, H, of the far-field tsunami wave in meters (Mt = logH + 9.1). Here we investigate the far-field tsunami magnitude using ocean-bottom pressure gauge data. The recent ocean-bottom pressure measurements provide more precise tsunami data with a high signal-to-noise ratio. \\hspace*{3mm}Japan Marine Science and Technology Center is monitoring ocean bottom pressure fluctuations using two submarine cables of depths of 1500 - 2400 m. These geophysical observatory systems are located off Cape Muroto, Southwest Japan, and off Hokkaido, Northern Japan. The ocean-bottom pressure data recorded with the Muroto and Hokkaido systems have been collected continuously since March, 1997 and October, 1999, respectively. \\hspace*{3mm}Over the period from March 1997 to June 2003, we have observed four far-field tsunami signals, generated by earthquakes, on ocean-bottom pressure records. These far-field tsunamis were generated by the 1998 Papua New Guinea eq. (Mw 7.0), 1999 Vanuatu eq. (Mw 7.2), 2001 Peru eq. (Mw 8.4) and 2002 Papua New Guinea eq. (Mw 7.6). Maximum amplitude of about 30 mm was recorded by the tsunami from the 2001 Peru earthquake. \\hspace*{3mm}Direct application of the Abe's empirical relation to ocean-bottom pressure gauge data underestimates tsunami magnitudes by about an order of magnitude. This is because the Abe's empirical relation was derived only from tsunami amplitudes with coastal tide gauges where tsunami is amplified by the shoaling of topography and the reflection at the coastline. However, these effects do not work for offshore tsunami in deep oceans. In general, amplification due to shoaling near the coastline is governed by the Green's Law, in which the tsunami amplitude is proportional to h-1/4, where h is the water depth. Wave amplitude also is

The Blue Planet: Seas & Oceans. Young Discovery Library Series.

Science.gov (United States)

de Beauregard, Diane Costa

This book is written for children ages 5 through 10. Part of a series designed to develop their curiosity, facinate them and educate them, this volume explores the physical and environmental characteristics of the world's oceans. Topics are: (1) human exploration; (2) the food chain; (3) coral reefs; (4) currents and tides; (5) waves; (6)…

EPOCA/EUR-OCEANS data compilation on the biological and biogeochemical responses to ocean acidification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nisumaa, A.-M.; Pesant, S.; Bellerby, R.G.J.; Delille, B.; Middelburg, J.J.; Orr, J.C.; Riebesell, U.; Tyrrell, T.; Wolf-Gladrow, D.; Gattuso, J.P.

2010-01-01

The uptake of anthropogenic CO2 by the oceans has led to a rise in the oceanic partial pressure of CO2, and to a decrease in pH and carbonate ion concentration. This modification of the marine carbonate system is referred to as ocean acidification. Numerous papers report the effects of ocean

Remote Sensing of Ocean Color

Science.gov (United States)

Dierssen, Heidi M.; Randolph, Kaylan

The oceans cover over 70% of the earth's surface and the life inhabiting the oceans play an important role in shaping the earth's climate. Phytoplankton, the microscopic organisms in the surface ocean, are responsible for half of the photosynthesis on the planet. These organisms at the base of the food web take up light and carbon dioxide and fix carbon into biological structures releasing oxygen. Estimating the amount of microscopic phytoplankton and their associated primary productivity over the vast expanses of the ocean is extremely challenging from ships. However, as phytoplankton take up light for photosynthesis, they change the color of the surface ocean from blue to green. Such shifts in ocean color can be measured from sensors placed high above the sea on satellites or aircraft and is called "ocean color remote sensing." In open ocean waters, the ocean color is predominantly driven by the phytoplankton concentration and ocean color remote sensing has been used to estimate the amount of chlorophyll a, the primary light-absorbing pigment in all phytoplankton. For the last few decades, satellite data have been used to estimate large-scale patterns of chlorophyll and to model primary productivity across the global ocean from daily to interannual timescales. Such global estimates of chlorophyll and primary productivity have been integrated into climate models and illustrate the important feedbacks between ocean life and global climate processes. In coastal and estuarine systems, ocean color is significantly influenced by other light-absorbing and light-scattering components besides phytoplankton. New approaches have been developed to evaluate the ocean color in relationship to colored dissolved organic matter, suspended sediments, and even to characterize the bathymetry and composition of the seafloor in optically shallow waters. Ocean color measurements are increasingly being used for environmental monitoring of harmful algal blooms, critical coastal habitats

Low Proportion of Dietary Plant Protein among Athletes with Premenstrual Syndrome-Related Performance Impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamada, Keiko; Takeda, Takashi

2018-02-01

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is psychosomatic disorder that are limited to the late luteal phase in the menstrual cycle. PMS could impair athletic performance. To investigate associations between proportions of dietary plant and animal protein and PMS-related impairment of athletic performance, we surveyed 135 female athletes aged 18-23 years attending Kindai University. Participants belonged to authorized university clubs, all of which have high rankings in Japanese university sports. Participants completed self-administered questionnaires on diet history, demographics, and PMS-related impairment of athletic performance. Total protein, animal protein, and plant protein intake were examined, and the proportion of dietary plant protein was calculated for each participant. We divided athletes into two groups: those without PMS-related impairment of athletic performance (n = 117) and those with PMS-related performance impairment (n = 18). A t-test was used to compare mean values and multivariable adjusted mean values between groups; adjustment variables were energy intake, body mass index, and daily training duration. Total protein intake was not significantly different between the groups. However, athletes whose performance was affected by PMS reported higher intake of animal protein (mean 50.6 g) than athletes whose performance was unaffected by PMS (mean 34.9 g). Plant protein intake was lower among athletes with PMS-related impairment (mean 25.4 g) than among athletes without impairment (mean 26.9 g). The proportion of dietary plant protein was lower among athletes with PMS-related impairment (39.3%) than those without impairment (45.9%). A low proportion of dietary plant protein may cause PMS-related athletic impairment among athletes.

Limitations of Cox Proportional Hazards Analysis in Mortality Prediction of Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Babińska Magdalena

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of incorrect assessment of mortality risk factors in a group of patients affected by acute coronary syndrome, due to the lack of hazard proportionality in the Cox regression model. One hundred and fifty consecutive patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS and no age limit were enrolled. Univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazard analyses were performed. The proportional hazard assumptions were verified using Schoenfeld residuals, χ2 test and rank correlation coefficient t between residuals and time. In the total group of 150 patients, 33 (22.0% deaths from any cause were registered in the follow-up time period of 64 months. The non-survivors were significantly older and had increased prevalence of diabetes and erythrocyturia, longer history of coronary artery disease, higher concentrations of serum creatinine, cystatin C, uric acid, glucose, C-reactive protein (CRP, homocysteine and B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP, and lower concentrations of serum sodium. No significant differences in echocardiography parameters were observed between groups. The following factors were risk of death factors and fulfilled the proportional hazard assumption in the univariable model: smoking, occurrence of diabetes and anaemia, duration of coronary artery disease, and abnormal serum concentrations of uric acid, sodium, homocysteine, cystatin C and NT-proBNP, while in the multivariable model, the risk of death factors were: smoking and elevated concentrations of homocysteine and NT-proBNP. The study has demonstrated that violation of the proportional hazard assumption in the Cox regression model may lead to creating a false model that does not include only time-independent predictive factors.

Global assessment of oceanic lead pollution using sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) as an indicator species.

Science.gov (United States)

Savery, Laura C; Wise, Sandra S; Falank, Carolyne; Wise, James; Gianios, Christy; Douglas Thompson, W; Perkins, Christopher; Zheng, Tongzhang; Zhu, Cairong; Wise, John Pierce

2014-02-15

Lead (Pb) is an oceanic pollutant of global concern. Anthropogenic activities are increasing oceanic levels, but to an unknown extent. The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) has a global distribution and high trophic level. The aim of this study was to establish a global baseline of oceanic Pb concentrations using free-ranging sperm whales as an indicator species. Skin biopsies (n=337) were collected during the voyage of the Odyssey (2000-2005) from 17 regions considering gender and age. Pb was detectable in 315 samples with a global mean of 1.6 ug/gww ranging from 0.1 to 129.6 ug/gww. Papua New Guinea, Bahamas and Australia had the highest regional mean with 6.1, 3.4, and 3.1 ug/gww, respectively. Pb concentrations were not significantly different between sex and age in males. This is the first global toxicological dataset for Pb in a marine mammal and confirms Pb is widely distributed with hotspots in some regions. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Effects of aging on renal function and regenerative capacity.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdel-Rahman, Emaad M; Okusa, Mark D

2014-01-01

Along with the increase in aging of our population, the proportion of older patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is on the rise as a result of the accumulation of comorbidities as well as biological processes associated with aging. Older patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) comprise an increasing proportion of patients with CKD/ESRD as well. In this review, we will discuss biological processes of aging that predispose patients to AKI and CKD. 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Position sensitive proportional counters as focal plane detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ford, J.L.C. Jr.

1979-01-01

The rise time and charge division techniques for position decoding with RC-line proportional counters are reviewed. The advantages that these detectors offer as focal plane counters for nuclear spectroscopy performed with magnetic spectrographs are discussed. The theory of operation of proportional counters as position sensing devices is summarized, as well as practical aspects affecting their application. Factors limiting the position and energy resolutions obtainable with a focal plane proportional counter are evaluated and measured position and energy loss values are presented for comparison. Detector systems capable of the multiparameter measurements required for particle identification, background suppression and ray-tracing are described in order to illustrate the wide applicability of proportional counters within complex focal plane systems. Examples of the use of these counters other than with magnetic spectrographs are given in order to demonstrate their usefulness in not only nuclear physics but also in fields such as solid state physics, biology, and medicine. The influence of the new focal plane detector systems on future magnetic spectrograph designs is discussed. (Auth.)

Monitoring of ocean storage projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caldeira, K. [Energy and Environment Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA (United States)

2003-02-01

It has been proposed that atmospheric CO2 accumulation could be slowed by capture of CO2 from point sources and subsequent storage of that CO2 in the ocean. If applied, such sequestration efforts would need to be monitored for compliance, effectiveness, and unintended consequences. Aboveground inspection and monitoring of facilities and practices, combined with ocean observations, could assure compliance with ocean sequestration guidelines and regulations. Ocean observations could be made using a variety of sensors mounted on moorings or underwater gliders. Long-term effectiveness and leakage to the atmosphere must be estimated from models, since on large spatial scales it will be impossible to observationally distinguish carbon stored by a project from variable concentrations of background carbon. Furthermore, the ocean naturally would absorb roughly 80% of fossil fuel CO2 released to the atmosphere within a millennium. This means that most of the CO2 sequestered in the ocean that leaks out to the atmosphere will be reabsorbed by the ocean. However, there is no observational way to distinguish remaining carbon from reabsorbed carbon. The science of monitoring unintended consequences in the deep ocean interior is at a primitive state. Little is understood about ecosystems of the deep ocean interior; and even less is understood about how those ecosystems would respond to added CO2. High priority research objectives should be (1) to improve our understanding of the natural ecosystems of the deep ocean, and (2) to improve our understanding of the response of these ecosystems to increased oceanic CO2 concentrations and decreased ocean pH.

Ocean energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

This annual evaluation is a synthesis of works published in 2006. Comparisons are presented between the wind power performances and European Commission White Paper and Biomass action plan objectives. The sector covers the energy exploitation of all energy flows specifically supplied by the seas and oceans. At present, most efforts in both research and development and in experimental implementation are concentrated on tidal currents and wave power. 90% of today worldwide ocean energy production is represented by a single site: the Rance Tidal Power Plant. Ocean energies must face up two challenges: progress has to be made in finalizing and perfecting technologies and costs must be brought under control. (A.L.B.)

Record of the Cretaceous magnetic quiet zone in the distal Bengal fan and its significance in understanding the evolutionary history of the northeastern Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ramana, M.V.; Subrahmanyam, V.; Sarma, K.V.L.N.S.; Desa, M.; Rao, M.M.M.; Subrahmanyam, C.

was collected during the International Indian Ocean Expedition Programme and subsequent expeditions to unravel the evolutionary history of Indian Ocean, not much was known about the age and nature of the ocean floor of the Bengal Fan but for few speculations...

Count rate effect in proportional counters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bednarek, B.

1980-01-01

A critical evaluaton is presented of the actual state of investigations and explanations of the resolution and pulse height changes resulted in proportional counters from radiation intensity variations. (author)

Methyl bromide: ocean sources, ocean sinks, and climate sensitivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Anbar, A D; Yung, Y L; Chavez, F P

1996-03-01

The oceans play an important role in the geochemical cycle of methyl bromide (CH3Br), the major carrier of O3-destroying bromine to the stratosphere. The quantity of CH3Br produced annually in seawater is comparable to the amount entering the atmosphere each year from natural and anthropogenic sources. The production mechanism is unknown but may be biological. Most of this CH3Br is consumed in situ by hydrolysis or reaction with chloride. The size of the fraction which escapes to the atmosphere is poorly constrained; measurements in seawater and the atmosphere have been used to justify both a large oceanic CH3Br flux to the atmosphere and a small net ocean sink. Since the consumption reactions are extremely temperature-sensitive, small temperature variations have large effects on the CH3Br concentration in seawater, and therefore on the exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean. The net CH3Br flux is also sensitive to variations in the rate of CH3Br production. We have quantified these effects using a simple steady state mass balance model. When CH3Br production rates are linearly scaled with seawater chlorophyll content, this model reproduces the latitudinal variations in marine CH3Br concentrations observed in the east Pacific Ocean by Singh et al. [1983] and by Lobert et al. [1995]. The apparent correlation of CH3Br production with primary production explains the discrepancies between the two observational studies, strengthening recent suggestions that the open ocean is a small net sink for atmospheric CH3Br, rather than a large net source. The Southern Ocean is implicated as a possible large net source of CH3Br to the atmosphere. Since our model indicates that both the direction and magnitude of CH3Br exchange between the atmosphere and ocean are extremely sensitive to temperature and marine productivity, and since the rate of CH3Br production in the oceans is comparable to the rate at which this compound is introduced to the atmosphere, even small

Proceedings of international workshop on utilization of nuclear power in oceans (N'ocean 2000)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamaji, A.; Nariyama, N.; Sawada, K.

2000-03-01

Human beings and the ocean have maintained close relations for a long time. The ocean produced the life at very old time and human beings have been benefited by ocean, particularly in Japan that is surrounded by the ocean. In the utilization of nuclear power in ocean, Japan has been very active from the beginning of the development of nuclear power. The nuclear powered ship MUTSU has been developed and completed the experimental voyage. Besides the nuclear powered ship, we are using the ocean for the transportation of radioactive materials. This International Workshop aimed at offering further information about nuclear utilization in oceans such as icebreakers, deep-sea submarines, high speed carriers, floating plant, desalination and heating plants, radioactive materials transport ships, and so on. The discussions on the economical, environmental and scientific effects are included. The 36 of the present papers are indexed individually. (J.P.N.)

X-ray proportional counter for the Viking Lander

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glesius, F.L.; Kroon, J.C.; Castro, A.J.; Clark, B.C.

1978-01-01

A set of four sealed proportional counters with optimized energy response is employed in the X-ray fluorescence spectrometer units aboard the two Viking Landers. The instruments have provided quantitative elemental analyses of soil samples taken from the Martian surface. This paper discusses the design and development of these miniature proportional counters, and describes their performance on Mars

Ocean Uses: California

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This Ocean Uses Atlas Project is an innovative partnership between NOAA's National Marine Protected Areas Center and Marine Conservation Biology Institute. The...

Our Changing Oceans: All about Ocean Acidification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rickwood, Peter

2013-01-01

The consequences of ocean acidification are global in scale. More research into ocean acidification and its consequences is needed. It is already known, for example, that there are regional differences in the vulnerability of fisheries to acidification. The combination of other factors, such as global warming, the destruction of habitats, overfishing and pollution, need to be taken into account when developing strategies to increase the marine environment’s resilience. Among steps that can be taken to reduce the impact is better protection of marine coastal ecosystems, such as mangrove swamps and seagrass meadows, which will help protect fisheries. This recommendation was one of the conclusions of a three-day workshop attended by economists and scientists and organized by the IAEA and the Centre Scientifique de Monaco in November 2012. In their recommendations the workshop also stressed that the impact of increasing ocean acidity must be taken into account in the management of fisheries, particularly where seafood is a main dietary source

Large variability of bathypelagic microbial eukaryotic communities across the world’s oceans

KAUST Repository

Pernice, Massimo C.

2015-10-09

In this work, we study the diversity of bathypelagic microbial eukaryotes (0.8–20 μm) in the global ocean. Seawater samples from 3000 to 4000 m depth from 27 stations in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans were analyzed by pyrosequencing the V4 region of the 18S ribosomal DNA. The relative abundance of the most abundant operational taxonomic units agreed with the results of a parallel metagenomic analysis, suggesting limited PCR biases in the tag approach. Although rarefaction curves for single stations were seldom saturated, the global analysis of all sequences together suggested an adequate recovery of bathypelagic diversity. Community composition presented a large variability among samples, which was poorly explained by linear geographic distance. In fact, the similarity between communities was better explained by water mass composition (26% of the variability) and the ratio in cell abundance between prokaryotes and microbial eukaryotes (21%). Deep diversity appeared dominated by four taxonomic groups (Collodaria, Chrysophytes, Basidiomycota and MALV-II) appearing in different proportions in each sample. Novel diversity amounted to 1% of the pyrotags and was lower than expected. Our study represents an essential step in the investigation of bathypelagic microbial eukaryotes, indicating dominating taxonomic groups and suggesting idiosyncratic assemblages in distinct oceanic regions.

Age-related macular degeneration is associated with increased proportion of CD56(+) T cells in peripheral blood

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Faber, Carsten; Singh, Amardeep; Krüger Falk, Mads

2013-01-01

PURPOSE: To examine the association between age-related changes in the T-cell compartment and prevalence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). DESIGN: Case-control study. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 117 AMD cases and 106 controls were included prospectively. METHODS: Fresh-drawn peripheral blood...... samples were processed for flow cytometric analysis of T-cell populations. Plasma samples were analyzed for anti-cytomegalovirus (CMV) immunoglobulin (Ig)G and complement factor H (CFH) Y402H genotype. The diagnosis of AMD was made according to the Clinical Age-Related Maculopathy Staging System. MAIN...... OUTCOME MEASURES: Association between frequency of aged T cells and prevalence of AMD. RESULTS: The prevalence of AMD was associated with distinct age-related changes in the T-cell compartment. Specifically, the patients with AMD had an increased frequency of CD28(-) T cells that expressed the CD56...

Ocean transport and variability studies of the South Pacific, Southern, and Indian Oceans

Science.gov (United States)

Church, John A.; Cresswell, G. R.; Nilsson, C. S.; Mcdougall, T. J.; Coleman, R.; Rizos, C.; Penrose, J.; Hunter, J. R.; Lynch, M. J.

1991-01-01

The objectives of this study are to analyze ocean dynamics in the western South Pacific and the adjacent Southern Ocean and the eastern Indian Ocean. Specifically, our objectives for these three regions are, for the South Pacific Ocean: (1) To estimate the volume transport of the east Australian Current (EAC) along the Australian coast and in the Tasman Front, and to estimate the time variability (on seasonal and interannual time scales) of this transport. (2) To contribute to estimating the meridional heat and freshwater fluxes (and their variability) at about 30 deg S. Good estimates of the transport in the western boundary current are essential for accurate estimates of these fluxes. (3) To determine how the EAC transport (and its extension, the Tasman Front and the East Auckland Current) closes the subtropical gyre of the South Pacific and to better determine the structure at the confluence of this current and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. (4) To examine the structure and time variability of the circulation in the western South Pacific and the adjacent Southern Ocean, particularly at the Tasman Front. For the Indian Ocean: (5) To study the seasonal interannual variations in the strength of the Leeuwin Current. (6) To monitor the Pacific-Indian Ocean throughflow and the South Equatorial and the South Java Currents between northwest Australia and Indonesia. (7) To study the processes that form the water of the permanent oceanic thermocline and, in particular, the way in which new thermocline water enters the permanent thermocline in late winter and early spring as the mixed layer restratifies. For the Southern Ocean: (8) To study the mesoscale and meridional structure of the Southern Ocean between 150 deg E and 170 deg E; in particular, to describe the Antarctic frontal system south of Tasmania and determine its interannual variability; to estimate the exchanges of heat, salt, and other properties between the Indian and Pacific Oceans; and to investigate the

A highly oxidized atmosphere-ocean system and oceanic molybdenum drawdown during the Paleoproterozoic

Science.gov (United States)

Goto, K. T.; Ito, T.; Suzuki, K.; Anbar, A. D.; Gordon, G. W.; Kashiwabara, T.; Takaya, Y.; Shimoda, G.; Nozaki, T.; Kiyokawa, S.; Tetteh, G. M.; Nyame, F. K.

2014-12-01

Multiple lines of evidence suggest that the first major oxidation of the atmosphere-ocean system occurred during the Paleoproterozoic. However, the course of this redox transition remains elusive. A number of large Mn deposits are distributed in Paleoproterozoic sedimentary successions. As Mn is a redox-sensitive element characterized by high redox potential, knowledge of the Mn cycle in Paleoproterozoic seawater may provide insight into redox evolution during this period. Here, we investigate the Mn cycle in Paleoproterozoic seawater based on the Re-Os and Mo isotope compositions, and the abundance of major and trace elements, in Mn-rich sedimentary rocks from the Nsuta deposit of the Birimian Supergroup, Ghana. The Mn ore is composed mainly of rhodochrosite and is distributed at the boundaries between sedimentary rocks and tholeiitic volcanic rocks. The Re-Os isochron age (2217 ± 100 Ma) we obtained was consistent with U-Pb zircon ages of the volcanic rocks. The manganophile elements, except for Mo, show no enrichment, which is similar to modern hydrothermal Mn oxides. The PAAS-normalized REE compositions show positive Ce anomaly, indicative of Ce enrichment due to the oxidation of Ce(III) by Mn(IV). These findings suggest that Mn ore formed from primary precipitation of Mn oxides from hydrothermal fluids as they were mixed with bottom seawater at ~2.2 Ga. Thus, the bottom seawater would have been sufficiently oxygenated for the precipitation of Mn oxides at ~2.2 Ga. The Nsuta ore samples exhibit slight Mo enrichment, but Mo/Mn ratios are orders of magnitude lower than those in modern hydrothermal Mn oxides. We also found that the Mo isotopes in the Nsuta ore are ~0.7‰ heavier than those in modern hydrothermal and hydrogenous Mn oxides. As Mo in hydrothermal Mn oxides is sourced primarily from seawater (Goto et al., in prep), these results may reflect smaller oceanic Mo inventory and heavier seawater Mo isotope composition at 2.2 Ga than those of present

Validation and Inter-comparison Against Observations of GODAE Ocean View Ocean Prediction Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, J.; Davidson, F. J. M.; Smith, G. C.; Lu, Y.; Hernandez, F.; Regnier, C.; Drevillon, M.; Ryan, A.; Martin, M.; Spindler, T. D.; Brassington, G. B.; Oke, P. R.

2016-02-01

For weather forecasts, validation of forecast performance is done at the end user level as well as by the meteorological forecast centers. In the development of Ocean Prediction Capacity, the same level of care for ocean forecast performance and validation is needed. Herein we present results from a validation against observations of 6 Global Ocean Forecast Systems under the GODAE OceanView International Collaboration Network. These systems include the Global Ocean Ice Forecast System (GIOPS) developed by the Government of Canada, two systems PSY3 and PSY4 from the French Mercator-Ocean Ocean Forecasting Group, the FOAM system from UK met office, HYCOM-RTOFS from NOAA/NCEP/NWA of USA, and the Australian Bluelink-OceanMAPS system from the CSIRO, the Australian Meteorological Bureau and the Australian Navy.The observation data used in the comparison are sea surface temperature, sub-surface temperature, sub-surface salinity, sea level anomaly, and sea ice total concentration data. Results of the inter-comparison demonstrate forecast performance limits, strengths and weaknesses of each of the six systems. This work establishes validation protocols and routines by which all new prediction systems developed under the CONCEPTS Collaborative Network will be benchmarked prior to approval for operations. This includes anticipated delivery of CONCEPTS regional prediction systems over the next two years including a pan Canadian 1/12th degree resolution ice ocean prediction system and limited area 1/36th degree resolution prediction systems. The validation approach of comparing forecasts to observations at the time and location of the observation is called Class 4 metrics. It has been adopted by major international ocean prediction centers, and will be recommended to JCOMM-WMO as routine validation approach for operational oceanography worldwide.

Atmospheric radiocarbon as a Southern Ocean wind proxy over the last 1000 years

Science.gov (United States)

Rodgers, K. B.; Mikaloff Fletcher, S.; Galbraith, E.; Sarmiento, J. L.; Gnanadesikan, A.; Slater, R. D.; Naegler, T.

2009-04-01

Measurements of radiocarbon in tree rings over the last 1000 years indicate that there was a pre-industrial latitudinal gradient of atmospheric radiocarbon of 3.9-4.5 per mail and that this gradient had temporal variability of order 6 per mil. Here we test the idea that the mean gradient as well as variability in he gradient is dominated by the strength of the winds over the Southern Ocean. This is done using an ocean model and an atmospheric transport model. The ocean model is used to derive fluxes of 12CO2 and 14CO2 at the sea surface, and these fluxes are used as a lower boundary condition for the transport model. For the mean state, strong winds in the Southern Ocean drive significant upwelling of radiocarbon-depleted Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW), leading to a net flux of 14CO2 relative to 12CO2 into the ocean. This serves to maintain a hemispheric gradient in pre-anthropogenic atmospheric delta-c14. For perturbations, increased/decreased Southern Ocean winds drive increased/decreased uptake of 14CO2 relative to 12CO2, thus increasing/decreasing the hemispheric gradient in atmospheric delta-c14. The tree ring data is interpreted to reveal a decrease in the strength of the Southern Ocean winds at the transition between the Little Ice Age and the Medieval Warm Period.

Ocean Station Vessel

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Ocean Station Vessels (OSV) or Weather Ships captured atmospheric conditions while being stationed continuously in a single location. While While most of the...

PCDDs, PCDFs, and coplanar PCBs in albatross from the North Pacific and Southern Oceans: levels, patterns, and toxicological implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanabe, Shinsuke; Watanabe, Mafumi; Minh, Tu Binh; Kunisue, Tatsuya; Nakanishi, Shigeyuki; Ono, Hitoshi; Tanaka, Hiroyuki

2004-01-15

Concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (coplanar PCBs) were determined in five albatross species collected from the North Pacific and Southern Oceans to assess the north-south differences in residue levels, accumulation patterns, and toxic potential. Black-footed and Laysan albatrosses from the North Pacific Ocean contained higher levels of PCDD/Fs and coplanar PCBs than albatrosses from the Southern Ocean, indicating that emission sources of these contaminants were predominant in the northern hemisphere. Residue levels in albatrosses from the remote North Pacific Ocean far from the point source of pollution were comparable to or higher than those in terrestrial and coastal birds from contaminated areas in developed nations, suggesting the specific exposure and accumulation of PCDD/Fs and coplanar PCBs in albatross. The long life span and ingestion of plastic resin pellets by albatrosses could be the plausible explanations for the elevated accumulation of persistent and lipophilic contaminants including PCDD/Fs and coplanar PCBs in these birds. Relative proportions of PCDFs and coplanar PCBs in albatross were higher than those observed in birds inhabiting terrestrial and coastal areas, suggesting that these toxic chemicals may have higher transportability by air and water than PCDDs. Congener patterns of PCDD/Fs in albatross showed less variability as compared to those in terrestrial species, indicating that contamination patterns of PCDD/Fs were similar within the open ocean environment. Contributions of PCDD/Fs to total TEQs in albatrosses from the open ocean were generally lower than those in terrestrial birds, suggesting different toxic potency of PCDD/Fs and coplanar PCBs on animals inhabiting open ocean and terrestrial environment. Whereas albatrosses from southern oceans retained lower TEQ concentrations, possible adverse effects of PCDD/Fs and coplanar PCBs

Ocean circulation generated magnetic signals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Manoj, C.; Kuvshinov, A.; Maus, S.

2006-01-01

Conducting ocean water, as it flows through the Earth's magnetic field, generates secondary electric and magnetic fields. An assessment of the ocean-generated magnetic fields and their detectability may be of importance for geomagnetism and oceanography. Motivated by the clear identification...... of ocean tidal signatures in the CHAMP magnetic field data we estimate the ocean magnetic signals of steady flow using a global 3-D EM numerical solution. The required velocity data are from the ECCO ocean circulation experiment and alternatively from the OCCAM model for higher resolution. We assume...... of the magnetic field, as compared to the ECCO simulation. Besides the expected signatures of the global circulation patterns, we find significant seasonal variability of ocean magnetic signals in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans. Compared to seasonal variation, interannual variations produce weaker signals....

Role of North Indian Ocean Air-Sea Interaction in Summer Monsoon Intraseasonal Oscillation

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, L.; Han, W.; Li, Y.

2017-12-01

Air-sea coupling processes over the North Indian Ocean associated with Indian summer monsoon intraseasonal oscillation (MISO) are analyzed. Observations show that MISO convection anomalies affect underlying sea surface temperature (SST) through changes in surface shortwave radiation (via cloud cover change) and surface latent heat flux (associated with surface wind speed change). In turn, SST anomalies determine the changing rate of MISO precipitation (dP/dt): warm (cold) SST anomalies cause increasing (decreasing) precipitation rate through increasing (decreasing) surface convergence. Air-sea interaction gives rise to a quadrature relationship between MISO precipitation and SST anomalies. A local air-sea coupling model (LACM) is established based on these observed physical processes, which is a damped oscillatory system with no external forcing. The period of LACM is proportional to the square root of mean state mixed layer depth , assuming other physical parameters remain unchanged. Hence, LACM predicts a relatively short (long) MISO period over the North Indian Ocean during the May-June monsoon developing (July-August mature) phase when is shallow (deep). This result is consistent with observed MISO statistics. An oscillatory external forcing of a typical 30-day period is added to LACM, representing intraseasonal oscillations originated from the equatorial Indian Ocean and propagate into the North Indian Ocean. The period of LACM is then determined by both the inherent period associated with local air-sea coupling and the period of external forcing. It is found that resonance occurs when , amplifying the MISO in situ. This result explains the larger MISO amplitude during the monsoon developing phase compared to the mature phase, which is associated with seasonal cycle of . LACM, however, fails to predict the observed small MISO amplitude during the September-October monsoon decaying phase, when is also shallow. This deficiency might be associated with the

Revisiting the Ceara Rise, equatorial Atlantic Ocean: isotope stratigraphy of ODP Leg 154

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkens, Roy; Drury, Anna Joy; Westerhold, Thomas; Lyle, Mitchell; Gorgas, Thomas; Tian, Jun

2017-04-01

Isotope stratigraphy has become the method of choice for investigating both past ocean temperatures and global ice volume. Lisiecki and Raymo (2005) published a stacked record of 57 globally distributed benthic δ18O records versus age (LR04 stack). In this study LR04 is compared to high resolution records collected at all of the sites drilled during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 154 on the Ceara Rise, in the western equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Newly developed software - the Code for Ocean Drilling Data (CODD) - is used to check data splices of the Ceara sites and better align out-of-splice data with in-splice data. CODD allows to depth and age scaled core images recovered from core table photos enormously facilitating data analysis. The entire splices of ODP Sites 925, 926, 927, 928 and 929 were reviewed. Most changes were minor although several large enough to affect age models based on orbital tuning. We revised the astronomically tuned age model for the Ceara Rise by tuning darker, more clay rich layers to Northern Hemisphere insolation minima. Then we assembled a regional composite benthic stable isotope record from published data. This new Ceara Rise stack provides a new regional reference section for the equatorial Atlantic covering the last 5 million years with an independent age model compared to the non-linear ice volume models of the LR04 stack. Comparison shows that the benthic δ18O composite is consistent with the LR04 stack from 0 - 4 Ma despite a short interval between 1.80 and 1.90 Ma, where LR04 exhibits 2 maxima but where Ceara Rise contains only 1. The interval between 4.0 and 4.5 Ma in the Ceara Rise compilation is decidedly different from LR04, reflecting both the low amplitude of the signal over this interval and the limited amount of data available for the LR04 stack. Our results also point out that precession cycles have been misinterpreted as obliquity in the LR04 stack as suggested by the Ceara Rise composite at 4.2 Ma.

Proportional feedback control of laminar flow over a hemisphere

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Jung Il [Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon (Korea, Republic of); Son, Dong Gun [Severe Accident and PHWR Safety Research Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-08-15

In the present study, we perform a proportional feedback control of laminar flow over a hemisphere at Re = 300 to reduce its lift fluctuations by attenuating the strength of the vortex shedding. As a control input, blowing/suction is distributed on the surface of hemisphere before the separation, and its strength is linearly proportional to the transverse velocity at a sensing location in the centerline of the wake. The sensing location is determined based on a correlation function between the lift force and the time derivative of sensing velocity. The optimal proportional gains for the proportional control are obtained for the sensing locations considered. The present control successfully attenuates the velocity fluctuations at the sensing location and three dimensional vertical structures in the wake, resulting in the reduction of lift fluctuations of hemisphere.

Aging and sexuality.

OpenAIRE

Holzapfel, S.

1994-01-01

Recent research suggesting that a high proportion of men and women remain sexually active well into later life refutes the prevailing myth that aging and sexual dysfunction are inexorably linked. Age-related physiological changes do not render a meaningful sexual relationship impossible or even necessarily difficult. In men, greater physical stimulation is required to attain and maintain erections, and orgasms are less intense. In women, menopause terminates fertility and produces changes ste...

Ocean Physicochemistry versus Climate Change

OpenAIRE

Góralski, Bogdan

2014-01-01

It is the dwindling ocean productivity which leaves dissolved carbon dioxide in the seawater. Its solubility is diminished by the rise in ocean water temperature (by one degree Celsius since 1910, according to IPCC). Excess carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere, while its growing concentration in seawater leads to ocean acidification. Ocean acidification leading to lowering pH of surface ocean water remains an unsolved problem of science. My today’s lecture will mark an attempt at ...

Impacts of Interannual Ocean Circulation Variability on Japanese Eel Larval Migration in the Western North Pacific Ocean.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Lin Chang

Full Text Available The Japanese eel larvae hatch near the West Mariana Ridge seamount chain and travel through the North Equatorial Current (NEC, the Kuroshio, and the Subtropical Countercurrent (STCC region during their shoreward migration toward East Asia. The interannual variability of circulation over the subtropical and tropical regions of the western North Pacific Ocean is affected by the Philippines-Taiwan Oscillation (PTO. This study examines the effect of the PTO on the Japanese eel larval migration routes using a three-dimensional (3D particle tracking method, including vertical and horizontal swimming behavior. The 3D circulation and hydrography used for particle tracking are from the ocean circulation reanalysis produced by the Japan Coastal Ocean Predictability Experiment 2 (JCOPE2. Our results demonstrate that bifurcation of the NEC and the strength and spatial variation of the Kuroshio affect the distribution and migration of eel larvae. During the positive phase of PTO, more virtual eels ("v-eels" can enter the Kuroshio to reach the south coast of Japan and more v-eels reach the South China Sea through the Luzon Strait; the stronger and more offshore swing of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea leads to fewer eels entering the East China Sea and the onshore movement of the Kuroshio to the south of Japan brings the eels closer to the Japanese coast. Significant differences in eel migration routes and distributions regulated by ocean circulation in different PTO phases can also affect the otolith increment. The estimated otolith increment suggests that eel age tends to be underestimated after six months of simulation due to the cooler lower layer temperature. Underestimation is more significant in the positive PTO years due to the wide distribution in higher latitudes than in the negative PTO years.

Impacts of Interannual Ocean Circulation Variability on Japanese Eel Larval Migration in the Western North Pacific Ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Yu-Lin; Sheng, Jinyu; Ohashi, Kyoko; Béguer-Pon, Mélanie; Miyazawa, Yasumasa

2015-01-01

The Japanese eel larvae hatch near the West Mariana Ridge seamount chain and travel through the North Equatorial Current (NEC), the Kuroshio, and the Subtropical Countercurrent (STCC) region during their shoreward migration toward East Asia. The interannual variability of circulation over the subtropical and tropical regions of the western North Pacific Ocean is affected by the Philippines-Taiwan Oscillation (PTO). This study examines the effect of the PTO on the Japanese eel larval migration routes using a three-dimensional (3D) particle tracking method, including vertical and horizontal swimming behavior. The 3D circulation and hydrography used for particle tracking are from the ocean circulation reanalysis produced by the Japan Coastal Ocean Predictability Experiment 2 (JCOPE2). Our results demonstrate that bifurcation of the NEC and the strength and spatial variation of the Kuroshio affect the distribution and migration of eel larvae. During the positive phase of PTO, more virtual eels ("v-eels") can enter the Kuroshio to reach the south coast of Japan and more v-eels reach the South China Sea through the Luzon Strait; the stronger and more offshore swing of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea leads to fewer eels entering the East China Sea and the onshore movement of the Kuroshio to the south of Japan brings the eels closer to the Japanese coast. Significant differences in eel migration routes and distributions regulated by ocean circulation in different PTO phases can also affect the otolith increment. The estimated otolith increment suggests that eel age tends to be underestimated after six months of simulation due to the cooler lower layer temperature. Underestimation is more significant in the positive PTO years due to the wide distribution in higher latitudes than in the negative PTO years.

Application of random survival forests in understanding the determinants of under-five child mortality in Uganda in the presence of covariates that satisfy the proportional and non-proportional hazards assumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Nasejje, Justine B; Mwambi, Henry

2017-09-07

Uganda just like any other Sub-Saharan African country, has a high under-five child mortality rate. To inform policy on intervention strategies, sound statistical methods are required to critically identify factors strongly associated with under-five child mortality rates. The Cox proportional hazards model has been a common choice in analysing data to understand factors strongly associated with high child mortality rates taking age as the time-to-event variable. However, due to its restrictive proportional hazards (PH) assumption, some covariates of interest which do not satisfy the assumption are often excluded in the analysis to avoid mis-specifying the model. Otherwise using covariates that clearly violate the assumption would mean invalid results. Survival trees and random survival forests are increasingly becoming popular in analysing survival data particularly in the case of large survey data and could be attractive alternatives to models with the restrictive PH assumption. In this article, we adopt random survival forests which have never been used in understanding factors affecting under-five child mortality rates in Uganda using Demographic and Health Survey data. Thus the first part of the analysis is based on the use of the classical Cox PH model and the second part of the analysis is based on the use of random survival forests in the presence of covariates that do not necessarily satisfy the PH assumption. Random survival forests and the Cox proportional hazards model agree that the sex of the household head, sex of the child, number of births in the past 1 year are strongly associated to under-five child mortality in Uganda given all the three covariates satisfy the PH assumption. Random survival forests further demonstrated that covariates that were originally excluded from the earlier analysis due to violation of the PH assumption were important in explaining under-five child mortality rates. These covariates include the number of children under the

People and Oceans.

Science.gov (United States)

NatureScope, 1988

1988-01-01

Discusses people's relationship with oceans, focusing on ocean pollution, use, and protective measures of the sea and its wildlife. Activities included are "Mythical Monsters"; "Globetrotters"; "Plastic in the Sea"; and "Sea of Many Uses." (RT)

Ocean Disposal Sites

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — In 1972, Congress enacted the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA, also known as the Ocean Dumping Act) to prohibit the dumping of material into...

Meta-analyses of the proportion of Japanese encephalitis virus infection in vectors and vertebrate hosts.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Ana R S; Cohnstaedt, Lee W; Strathe, Erin; Hernández, Luciana Etcheverry; McVey, D Scott; Piaggio, José; Cernicchiaro, Natalia

2017-09-07

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a zoonosis in Southeast Asia vectored by mosquitoes infected with the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). Japanese encephalitis is considered an emerging exotic infectious disease with potential for introduction in currently JEV-free countries. Pigs and ardeid birds are reservoir hosts and play a major role on the transmission dynamics of the disease. The objective of the study was to quantitatively summarize the proportion of JEV infection in vectors and vertebrate hosts from data pertaining to observational studies obtained in a systematic review of the literature on vector and host competence for JEV, using meta-analyses. Data gathered in this study pertained to three outcomes: proportion of JEV infection in vectors, proportion of JEV infection in vertebrate hosts, and minimum infection rate (MIR) in vectors. Random-effects subgroup meta-analysis models were fitted by species (mosquito or vertebrate host species) to estimate pooled summary measures, as well as to compute the variance between studies. Meta-regression models were fitted to assess the association between different predictors and the outcomes of interest and to identify sources of heterogeneity among studies. Predictors included in all models were mosquito/vertebrate host species, diagnostic methods, mosquito capture methods, season, country/region, age category, and number of mosquitos per pool. Mosquito species, diagnostic method, country, and capture method represented important sources of heterogeneity associated with the proportion of JEV infection; host species and region were considered sources of heterogeneity associated with the proportion of JEV infection in hosts; and diagnostic and mosquito capture methods were deemed important contributors of heterogeneity for the MIR outcome. Our findings provide reference pooled summary estimates of vector competence for JEV for some mosquito species, as well as of sources of variability for these outcomes. Moreover, this

Saving Money Using Proportional Reasoning

Science.gov (United States)

de la Cruz, Jessica A.; Garney, Sandra

2016-01-01

It is beneficial for students to discover intuitive strategies, as opposed to the teacher presenting strategies to them. Certain proportional reasoning tasks are more likely to elicit intuitive strategies than other tasks. The strategies that students are apt to use when approaching a task, as well as the likelihood of a student's success or…

Age discrimination in the workplace: validation of the Nordic Age Discrimination Scale (NADS).

Science.gov (United States)

Furunes, Trude; Mykletun, Reidar J

2010-02-01

Due to population ageing, older workers will make up a larger proportion of the workforce. However, recent reports show an increase in perceived age discrimination among older employees. Previous research found that age discrimination may result in negative feelings, such as uselessness, powerlessness and lower self-esteem. This study develops and validates a scale for monitoring age discrimination in the workplace. The validation study draws on three datasets, from Norway, Sweden and Finland respectively. The study provides a psychometric contribution to the study of the behavioral component of ageism.

Production of fluorescent dissolved organic matter in Arctic Ocean sediments

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Meilian; Kim, Ji-Hoon; Nam, Seung-Il; Niessen, Frank; Hong, Wei-Li; Kang, Moo-Hee; Hur, Jin

2016-12-01

Little is known about the production of fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) in the anoxic oceanic sediments. In this study, sediment pore waters were sampled from four different sites in the Chukchi-East Siberian Seas area to examine the bulk dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and their optical properties. The production of FDOM, coupled with the increase of nutrients, was observed above the sulfate-methane-transition-zone (SMTZ). The presence of FDOM was concurrent with sulfate reduction and increased alkalinity (R2 > 0.96, p  0.95, p CDOM and FDOM to the overlying water column, unearthing a channel of generally bio-refractory and pre-aged DOM to the oceans.

Global Climate Change and Ocean Education

Science.gov (United States)

Spitzer, W.; Anderson, J.

2011-12-01

The New England Aquarium, collaborating with other aquariums across the country, is leading a national effort to enable aquariums and related informal science education institutions to effectively communicate the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on marine animals, habitats and ecosystems. Our goal is to build on visitors' emotional connection with ocean animals, connect to their deeply held values, help them understand causes and effects of climate change and motivate them to embrace effective solutions. Our objectives are to: (1) Build a national coalition of aquariums and related informal education institutions collaborating on climate change education; (2) Develop an interpretive framework for climate change and the ocean that is scientifically sound, research-based, field tested and evaluated; and (3) Build capacity of aquariums to interpret climate change via training for interpreters, interactive exhibits and activities and communities of practice for ongoing support. Centers of informal learning have the potential to bring important environmental issues to the public by presenting the facts, explaining the science, connecting with existing values and interests, and motivating concern and action. Centers that work with live animals (including aquariums, zoos, nature centers, national parks, national marine sanctuaries, etc.) are unique in that they attract large numbers of people of all ages (over 140 million in the US), have strong connections to the natural, and engage many visitors who may not come with a primary interest in science. Recent research indicates that that the public expects and trusts aquariums, zoos, and museums to communicate solutions to environmental and ocean issues, and to advance ocean conservation, and that climate change is the environmental issue of most concern to the public; Ironically, however, most people do not associate climate change with ocean health, or understand the critical role that the ocean plays in

Green sea turtle age, growth, population characteristics

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Morphology, sex ratio, body condition, disease status, age structure, and growth patterns were characterized for 448 green sea turtles cold stunned in St. Joseph...

Floating Classroom Outreach as an Introduction to Ocean Studies

Science.gov (United States)

McFadden, M.

2016-02-01

Many children and young adults living within only one hour of the coast never have the opportunity to explore a beach or go out on a boat because of financial challenges or lack of transportation.These types of experiences are the spark that helped many ocean scientists become fascinated with the ocean and later pursue a career related to the ocean. This presentation will discuss a variety of outreach projects and the efficacy of each. Projects vary in age, complexity and cost. These projects include a Beach Clean-Up open to students and their families at a community college organized by a campus volunteer group with a focus on social issues, a Marine Biology and Physical Oceanography class joint floating classroom trip open to college students to introduce non-STEM students to marine science in an exciting setting, and an education outreach trip for 8-12 years old children from the Boys and Girls Club in Newport, RI in collaboration with The International SeaKeepers Society, a non-profit that facilitates ocean research and education by working closely with the yachting community. Emphasis on environmental education in the U.S. has grown considerably over recent years, and the development of unique and innovative approaches to hands-on marine science education are needed to excite students to explore the marine environment and care about environmental stewardship.

The Ocean: Our Future

Science.gov (United States)

Independent World Commission On The Oceans; Soares, Mario

1998-09-01

The Ocean, Our Future is the official report of the Independent World Commission on the Oceans, chaired by Mário Soares, former President of Portugal. Its aim is to summarize the very real problems affecting the ocean and its future management, and to provide imaginative solutions to these various and interlocking problems. The oceans have traditionally been taken for granted as a source of wealth, opportunity and abundance. Our growing understanding of the oceans has fundamentally changed this perception. We now know that in some areas, abundance is giving way to real scarcity, resulting in severe conflicts. Territorial disputes that threaten peace and security, disruptions to global climate, overfishing, habitat destruction, species extinction, indiscriminate trawling, pollution, the dumping of hazardous and toxic wastes, piracy, terrorism, illegal trafficking and the destruction of coastal communities are among the problems that today form an integral part of the unfolding drama of the oceans. Based on the deliberations, experience and input of more than 100 specialists from around the world, this timely volume provides a powerful overview of the state of our water world.

The Role of Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal in Supporting Ocean Planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard G. Lathrop

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO was established in 2009 to enhance the vitality of the region's ocean ecosystem and economy. One of MARCO's first action items was the development of the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal to serve as an on-line platform to engage stakeholders across the region with the objective of improving their understanding of how ocean resources and places are being used, managed, and conserved. A key component is the Marine Planner, an interactive map-based visualization and decision support tool. These types of on-line tools are becoming increasingly popular means of putting essential data and state-of-the-art visualization technology into the hands of the agencies, industry, community leaders, and stakeholders engaged in ocean planning. However, to be effective, the underlying geospatial data has to be seen as objective, comprehensive, up-to-date and regionally consistent. To meet this challenge, the portal utilizes a distributed network of web map services from credible and authoritative sources. Website analytics and feedback received during the review and comment period of the 2016 release of the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Action Plan confirm that the Data Portal is viewed as integral to this ocean planning process by the MidAtlantic Regional Planning Body and key stakeholders. While not all stakeholders may agree with specific planning decisions, there is broad based agreement on the need for better data and making access to that data widely available.

Ocean heat content variability and change in an ensemble of ocean reanalyses

Science.gov (United States)

Palmer, M. D.; Roberts, C. D.; Balmaseda, M.; Chang, Y.-S.; Chepurin, G.; Ferry, N.; Fujii, Y.; Good, S. A.; Guinehut, S.; Haines, K.; Hernandez, F.; Köhl, A.; Lee, T.; Martin, M. J.; Masina, S.; Masuda, S.; Peterson, K. A.; Storto, A.; Toyoda, T.; Valdivieso, M.; Vernieres, G.; Wang, O.; Xue, Y.

2017-08-01

Accurate knowledge of the location and magnitude of ocean heat content (OHC) variability and change is essential for understanding the processes that govern decadal variations in surface temperature, quantifying changes in the planetary energy budget, and developing constraints on the transient climate response to external forcings. We present an overview of the temporal and spatial characteristics of OHC variability and change as represented by an ensemble of dynamical and statistical ocean reanalyses (ORAs). Spatial maps of the 0-300 m layer show large regions of the Pacific and Indian Oceans where the interannual variability of the ensemble mean exceeds ensemble spread, indicating that OHC variations are well-constrained by the available observations over the period 1993-2009. At deeper levels, the ORAs are less well-constrained by observations with the largest differences across the ensemble mostly associated with areas of high eddy kinetic energy, such as the Southern Ocean and boundary current regions. Spatial patterns of OHC change for the period 1997-2009 show good agreement in the upper 300 m and are characterized by a strong dipole pattern in the Pacific Ocean. There is less agreement in the patterns of change at deeper levels, potentially linked to differences in the representation of ocean dynamics, such as water mass formation processes. However, the Atlantic and Southern Oceans are regions in which many ORAs show widespread warming below 700 m over the period 1997-2009. Annual time series of global and hemispheric OHC change for 0-700 m show the largest spread for the data sparse Southern Hemisphere and a number of ORAs seem to be subject to large initialization `shock' over the first few years. In agreement with previous studies, a number of ORAs exhibit enhanced ocean heat uptake below 300 and 700 m during the mid-1990s or early 2000s. The ORA ensemble mean (±1 standard deviation) of rolling 5-year trends in full-depth OHC shows a relatively steady

Ocean energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charlier, R.H.; Justus, J.R.

1993-01-01

This timely volume provides a comprehensive review of current technology for all ocean energies. It opens with an analysis of ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), with and without the use of an intermediate fluid. The historical and economic background is reviewed, and the geographical areas in which this energy could be utilized are pinpointed. The production of hydrogen as a side product, and environmental consequences of OTEC plants are considered. The competitiveness of OTEC with conventional sources of energy is analysed. Optimisation, current research and development potential are also examined. Separate chapters provide a detailed examination of other ocean energy sources. The possible harnessing of solar ponds, ocean currents, and power derived from salinity differences is considered. There is a fascinating study of marine winds, and the question of using the ocean tides as a source of energy is examined, focussing on a number of tidal power plant projects, including data gathered from China, Australia, Great Britain, Korea and the USSR. Wave energy extraction has excited recent interest and activity, with a number of experimental pilot plants being built in northern Europe. This topic is discussed at length in view of its greater chance of implementation. Finally, geothermal and biomass energy are considered, and an assessment of their future is given. The authors also distinguished between energy schemes which might be valuable in less-industrialized regions of the world, but uneconomical in the developed countries. A large number of illustrations support the text. This book will be of particular interest to energy economists, engineers, geologists and oceanographers, and to environmentalists and environmental engineers

A reduced feedback proportional fair multiuser scheduling scheme

KAUST Repository

Shaqfeh, Mohammad

2011-12-01

Multiuser switched-diversity scheduling schemes were recently proposed in order to overcome the heavy feedback requirements of conventional opportunistic scheduling schemes by applying a threshold-based, distributed and ordered scheduling mechanism. A slight reduction in the prospected multiuser diversity gains is an acceptable trade-off for great savings in terms of required channel-state-information feedback messages. In this work, we propose a novel proportional fair multiuser switched-diversity scheduling scheme and we demonstrate that it can be optimized using a practical and distributed method to obtain the per-user feedback thresholds. We demonstrate by numerical examples that our reduced feedback proportional fair scheduler operates within 0.3 bits/sec/Hz from the achievable rates by the conventional full feedback proportional fair scheduler in Rayleigh fading conditions. © 2011 IEEE.

Aging transition in systems of oscillators with global distributed-delay coupling.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, B; Blyuss, K B; Kyrychko, Y N

2017-09-01

We consider a globally coupled network of active (oscillatory) and inactive (nonoscillatory) oscillators with distributed-delay coupling. Conditions for aging transition, associated with suppression of oscillations, are derived for uniform and gamma delay distributions in terms of coupling parameters and the proportion of inactive oscillators. The results suggest that for the uniform distribution increasing the width of distribution for the same mean delay allows aging transition to happen for a smaller coupling strength and a smaller proportion of inactive elements. For gamma distribution with sufficiently large mean time delay, it may be possible to achieve aging transition for an arbitrary proportion of inactive oscillators, as long as the coupling strength lies in a certain range.

The Coastal Ocean Prediction Systems program: Understanding and managing our coastal ocean

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eden, H.F.; Mooers, C.N.K.

1990-06-01

The goal of COPS is to couple a program of regular observations to numerical models, through techniques of data assimilation, in order to provide a predictive capability for the US coastal ocean including the Great Lakes, estuaries, and the entire Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The objectives of the program include: determining the predictability of the coastal ocean and the processes that govern the predictability; developing efficient prediction systems for the coastal ocean based on the assimilation of real-time observations into numerical models; and coupling the predictive systems for the physical behavior of the coastal ocean to predictive systems for biological, chemical, and geological processes to achieve an interdisciplinary capability. COPS will provide the basis for effective monitoring and prediction of coastal ocean conditions by optimizing the use of increased scientific understanding, improved observations, advanced computer models, and computer graphics to make the best possible estimates of sea level, currents, temperatures, salinities, and other properties of entire coastal regions

Aging trends -- the Philippines.

Science.gov (United States)

Biddlecom, A E; Domingo, L J

1996-03-01

This report presents a description of the trends in growth of the elderly population in the Philippines and their health, disability, education, work status, income, and family support. The proportion of elderly in the Philippines is much smaller than in other Southeast Asian countries, such as Singapore and Malaysia. The elderly population aged over 65 years increased from 2.7% of total population in 1990 to 3.6% in 1990. The elderly are expected to comprise 7.7% of total population in 2025. The proportion of elderly is small due to the high fertility rate. Life expectancy averages 63.5 years. The aged dependency ratio will double from 5.5 elderly per 100 persons aged 15-64 years in 1990 to 10.5/100 in 2025. A 1984 ASEAN survey found that only 11% of elderly rated their health as bad. The 1990 Census reveals that 3.9% were disabled elderly. Most were deaf, blind, or orthopedically impaired. 16% of elderly in the ASEAN survey reported not seeing a doctor even when they needed to. 54% reported that a doctor was not visited due to the great expense. In 1980, 67% of men and 76% of women aged over 60 years had less than a primary education. The proportion with a secondary education in 2020 is expected to be about 33% for men and 33% for women. 66.5% of men and 28.5% of women aged over 60 years were in the formal labor force in 1990. Women were less likely to receive cash income from current jobs or pensions. 65% of earnings from older rural people was income from agricultural production. 60% of income among urban elderly was from children, and 23% was from pensions. Family support is provided to the elderly in the form of coresidence. In 1988, 68% of elderly aged over 60 years lived with at least one child. Retirement or nursing homes are uncommon. The Philippines Constitution states that families have a duty to care for elderly members.

North Atlantic ocean circulation and abrupt climate change during the last glaciation.

Science.gov (United States)

Henry, L G; McManus, J F; Curry, W B; Roberts, N L; Piotrowski, A M; Keigwin, L D

2016-07-29

The most recent ice age was characterized by rapid and hemispherically asynchronous climate oscillations, whose origin remains unresolved. Variations in oceanic meridional heat transport may contribute to these repeated climate changes, which were most pronounced during marine isotope stage 3, the glacial interval 25 thousand to 60 thousand years ago. We examined climate and ocean circulation proxies throughout this interval at high resolution in a deep North Atlantic sediment core, combining the kinematic tracer protactinium/thorium (Pa/Th) with the deep water-mass tracer, epibenthic δ(13)C. These indicators suggest reduced Atlantic overturning circulation during every cool northern stadial, with the greatest reductions during episodic Hudson Strait iceberg discharges, while sharp northern warming followed reinvigorated overturning. These results provide direct evidence for the ocean's persistent, central role in abrupt glacial climate change. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Age dependencies in the modelling of radiation carcinogenesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kellerer, A.M.; GSF, Neuherberg; Barclay, D.

1992-01-01

Models for the dose and age dependence of radiation induced cancer have been based primarily on the follow-up of the atomic bomb survivors. Two different concepts have been deduced for leukaemias and for other cancers. The excess leukaemias appear in a distinct temporal wave with a maximum 5 to 10 years after radiation exposure; the distribution is more narrow for younger ages, but there is little dependence of the total attributable risk on age at exposure. For other cancers the latent periods are longer and, according to the current interpretation, the excess rates are then proportional to the age specific spontaneous rates, so that most excess cases would arise at old age. The factors of proportionality, and thus the attributable risks, are assumed to be markedly higher for young ages at exposure. It is argued here, that there is no firm support for this interpretation. (author)

Potassium-argon radiometric dates of the mid-atlantic ocean floor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agyei, E.K.

1989-01-01

The basalt and six trachyte rock samples from the King's Trough in the mid-Atlantic ocean floor have been dated by the conventional potassium-argon method. The basalts give two different ages, 155+/-6 Ma (late Jurassic) and 53+/-6 Ma (lower Eocene), while the trachytes give a range of ages from 31.6+/-0.6 Ma to 35.2=0.2 Ma and an average of 33.0+/=0.4 Ma (lower oligocene). The Lower Eocene age of the in-situ basalt matches the age of the original volcanic activity of the region while the lower Oligocene age is associated with the subsequent faulting event. The late Jurassic age of the erratic basalt is interesting because of the scarcity of extrusive igneous rocks of that age along the margins of the North Atlantic and, therefore,needs to be investigated further. (author). 4 refs. 2 tabs

A Partial Proportional Odds Model for Pedestrian Crashes at Mid-Blocks in Melbourne Metropolitan Area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Toran Pour Alireza

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Pedestrian crashes account for 11% of all reported traffic crashes in Melbourne metropolitan area between 2004 and 2013. There are very limited studies on pedestrian accidents at mid-blocks. Mid-block crashes account for about 46% of the total pedestrian crashes in Melbourne metropolitan area. Meanwhile, about 50% of all pedestrian fatalities occur at mid-blocks. In this research, Partial Proportional Odds (PPO model is applied to examine vehicle-pedestrian crash severity at mid-blocks in Melbourne metropolitan area. The PPO model is a logistic regression model that allows the covariates that meet the proportional odds assumption to affect different crash severity levels with the same magnitude; whereas the covariates that do not meet the proportional odds assumption can have different effects on different severity levels. In this research vehicle-pedestrian crashes at mid-blocks are analysed for first time. In addition, some factors such as distance of crashes to public transport stops, average road slope and some social characteristics are considered to develop the model in this research for first time. Results of PPO model show that speed limit, light condition, pedestrian age and gender, and vehicle type are the most significant factors that influence vehicle-pedestrian crash severity at mid-blocks.

THE ROLE OF METHANOL IN THE CRYSTALLIZATION OF TITAN'S PRIMORDIAL OCEAN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deschamps, Frederic; Mousis, Olivier; Sanchez-Valle, Carmen; Lunine, Jonathan I.

2010-01-01

A key parameter that controls the crystallization of primordial oceans in large icy moons is the presence of anti-freeze compounds, which may have maintained primordial oceans over the age of the solar system. Here we investigate the influence of methanol, a possible anti-freeze candidate, on the crystallization of Titan's primordial ocean. Using a thermodynamic model of the solar nebula and assuming a plausible composition of its initial gas phase, we first calculate the condensation sequence of ices in Saturn's feeding zone, and show that in Titan's building blocks methanol can have a mass fraction of ∼4 wt% relative to water, i.e., methanol can be up to four times more abundant than ammonia. We then combine available data on the phase diagram of the water-methanol system and scaling laws derived from thermal convection to estimate the influence of methanol on the dynamics of the outer ice I shell and on the heat transfer through this layer. For a fraction of methanol consistent with the building blocks composition we determined, the vigor of convection in the ice I shell is strongly reduced. The effect of 5 wt% methanol is equivalent to that of 3 wt% ammonia. Thus, if methanol is present in the primordial ocean of Titan, the crystallization may stop, and a sub-surface ocean may be maintained between the ice I and high-pressure ice layers. A preliminary estimate indicates that the presence of 4 wt% methanol and 1 wt% ammonia may result in an ocean of thickness at least 90 km.

An integrated photosensor readout for gas proportional scintillation counters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopes, J.A.M.; Santos, J.M.F. dos; Conde, C.A.N.

1996-01-01

A xenon gas proportional scintillation counter has been instrumented with a novel photosensor that replaces the photomultiplier tube normally used to detect the VUV secondary scintillation light. In this implementation, the collection grid of a planar gas proportional scintillation counter also functions as a multiwire proportional chamber to amplify and detect the photoelectrons emitted by a reflective CsI photocathode in direct contact with the xenon gas. This integrated concept combines greater simplicity, compactness, and ruggedness (no optical window is used) with low power consumption. An energy resolution of 12% was obtained for 59.6 keV x-rays

Impacts of Ocean Acidification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bijma, Jelle (Alfred Wegener Inst., D-27570 Bremerhaven (Germany)) (and others)

2009-08-15

There is growing scientific evidence that, as a result of increasing anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) emissions, absorption of CO{sub 2} by the oceans has already noticeably increased the average oceanic acidity from pre-industrial levels. This global threat requires a global response. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), continuing CO{sub 2} emissions in line with current trends could make the oceans up to 150% more acidic by 2100 than they were at the beginning of the Anthropocene. Acidification decreases the ability of the ocean to absorb additional atmospheric CO{sub 2}, which implies that future CO{sub 2} emissions are likely to lead to more rapid global warming. Ocean acidification is also problematic because of its negative effects on marine ecosystems, especially marine calcifying organisms, and marine resources and services upon which human societies largely depend such as energy, water, and fisheries. For example, it is predicted that by 2100 around 70% of all cold-water corals, especially those in the higher latitudes, will live in waters undersaturated in carbonate due to ocean acidification. Recent research indicates that ocean acidification might also result in increasing levels of jellyfish in some marine ecosystems. Aside from direct effects, ocean acidification together with other global change-induced impacts such as marine and coastal pollution and the introduction of invasive alien species are likely to result in more fragile marine ecosystems, making them more vulnerable to other environmental impacts resulting from, for example, coastal deforestation and widescale fisheries. The Marine Board-ESF Position Paper on the Impacts of Climate Change on the European Marine and Coastal Environment - Ecosystems indicated that presenting ocean acidification issues to policy makers is a key issue and challenge. Indeed, as the consequences of ocean acidification are expected to emerge rapidly and drastically, but are

EPOCA/EUR-OCEANS data compilation on the biological and biogeochemical responses to ocean acidification

OpenAIRE

Nisumaa Anne-Marin; Pesant Stephane; Bellerby Richard G J; Delille Bruno; Middelburg Jack J; Orr James C; Riebesell Ulf; Tyrrell Toby; Wolf-Gladrow Dieter A; Gattuso Jean-Pierre

2010-01-01

The uptake of anthropogenic CO₂ by the oceans has led to a rise in the oceanic partial pressure of CO₂, and to a decrease in pH and carbonate ion concentration. This modification of the marine carbonate system is referred to as ocean acidification. Numerous papers report the effects of ocean acidification on marine organisms and communities but few have provided details concerning full carbonate chemistry and complementary observations. Additional...

Molar incisor hypomineralization: proportion and severity in primary public school children in Graz, Austria.

Science.gov (United States)

Buchgraber, Barbara; Kqiku, Lumnije; Ebeleseder, Kurt A

2018-03-01

The aim of this study was to determine the proportion and severity of molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH) in primary school children in Graz (southeast of Austria). In 1111 children aged 6 to 12 years (mean age 9.0 ± 1.2), a wet examination of all teeth was performed by three trained examiners using a dental chair, optimal illumination, a dental mirror, and a dental explorer. All teeth with MIH lesions were registered so that different definitions of MIH were applicable. According to the European Academy of Pediatric Dentistry criteria that were considered valid at the time of the investigation, MIH was diagnosed when at least one first primary molar (FPM) was affected. MIH was present in 78 children (7.0%). In 64 children (5.8%), at least one molar and one incisor were affected (so-called M + IH). Additionally, in 9 children, only incisors were affected. In 7 affected children, teeth other than FPMs and incisors had MIH lesions. Almost an equal number of males (38) and females (40) were affected. The upper and lower molars were equally affected. The upper incisors were more frequently affected than the lower ones. Demarcated enamel opacities were the predominant types of defects. The proportion of MIH was 7.0% in Graz, which is similar to other comparable trials. This study has proven that MIH is an existing dental problem in Graz.

Anthropogenic CO2 in the ocean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tsung-Hung Peng

2005-06-01

Full Text Available The focus of this review article is on the anthropogenic CO2 taken up by the ocean. There are several methods of identifying the anthropogenic CO2 signal and quantifying its inventory in the ocean. The ?C* method is most frequently used to estimate the global distribution of anthropogenic CO2 in the ocean. Results based on analysis of the dataset obtained from the comprehensive surveys of inorganic carbon distribution in the world oceans in the 1990s are given. These surveys were jointly conducted during the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE and the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS. This data set consists of 9618 hydrographic stations from a total of 95 cruises, which represents the most accurate and comprehensive view of the distribution of inorganic carbon in the global ocean available today. The increase of anthropogenic CO2 in the ocean during the past few decades is also evaluated using direct comparison of results from repeat surveys and using statistical method of Multi-parameter Linear Regression (MLR. The impact of increasing oceanic anthropogenic CO2 on the calcium carbonate system in the ocean is reviewed briefly as well. Extensive studies of CaCO3 dissolution as a result of increasing anthropogenic CO2 in the ocean have revealed several distinct oceanic regions where the CaCO3 undersaturation zone has expanded.

Tectonic setting of the Seychelles, Mascarene and Amirante Plateaus in the Western Equatorial Indian Ocean

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mart, Y.

1988-01-01

A system of marine plateaus occurs in the western equatorial Indian Ocean, forming an arcuate series of wide and shallow banks with small islands in places. The oceanic basins that surround the Seychelles - Amirante region are of various ages and reflect a complex seafloor spreading pattern. The structural analysis of the Seychelle - Amirante - Mascarene region reflects the tectonic evolution of the western equatorial Indian Ocean. It is suggested that due to the seafloor spreading during a tectonic stage, the Seychelles continental block drifted southwestwards to collide with the oceanic crust of the Mascarene Basin, forming an elongated folded structure at first, and then a subduction zone. The morphological similarity, the lithological variability and the different origin of the Seychelles Bank, the Mascarene Plateau and the Amirante Arc emphasizes the significant convergent effects of various plate tectonic processes on the development of marine plateaus

Ocean carbon uptake and storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tilbrook, Bronte

2007-01-01

Full text: The ocean contains about 95% of the carbon in the atmosphere, ocean and land biosphere system, and is of fundamental importance in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. In the 1990s an international research effort involving Australia was established to determine the uptake and storage of anthropogenic C02 for all major ocean basins. The research showed that about 118 of the 244 + 20 billion tons of the anthropogenic carbon emitted through fossil fuel burning and cement production has been stored in the ocean since preindustrial times, thus helping reduce the rate of increase in atmospheric C02. The research also showed the terrestrial biosphere has been a small net source of C02 (39 ± 28 billion tons carbon) to the atmosphere over the same period. About 60% of the total ocean inventory of the anthropogenic C02 was found in the Southern Hemisphere, with most in the 30 0 S to 50 0 S latitude band. This mid-latitude band is where surface waters are subducted as Mode and Intermediate waters, which is a major pathway controlling ocean C02 uptake. High storage (23% of the total) also occurs in the North Atlantic, associated with deep water formation in that basin. The ocean uptake and storage is expected to increase in the coming decades as atmospheric C02 concentrations rise. However, a number of feedback mechanisms associated with surface warming, changes in circulation, and biological effects are likely to impact on the uptake capacity. The accumulation or storage-of the C02 in the ocean is also the major driver of ocean acidification with potential to disrupt marine ecosystems. This talk will describe the current understanding of the ocean C02 uptake and storage and a new international research strategy to detect how the ocean uptake and storage will evolve on interannual through decadal scales. Understanding the ocean response to increasing atmospheric C02 will be a key element in managing future C02 increases and establishing

Ocean acoustic tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cornuelle, Bruce D; Worcester, Peter F; Dzieciuch, Matthew A

2008-01-01

Ocean acoustic tomography (OAT) was proposed in 1979 by Walter Munk and Carl Wunsch as an analogue to x-ray computed axial tomography for the oceans. The oceans are opaque to most electromagnetic radiation, but there is a strong acoustic waveguide, and sound can propagate for 10 Mm and more with distinct multiply-refracted ray paths. Transmitting broadband pulses in the ocean leads to a set of impulsive arrivals at the receiver which characterize the impulse response of the sound channel. The peaks observed at the receiver are assumed to represent the arrival of energy traveling along geometric ray paths. These paths can be distinguished by arrival time, and by arrival angle when a vertical array of receivers is available. Changes in ray arrival time can be used to infer changes in ocean structure. Ray travel time measurements have been a mainstay of long-range acoustic measurements, but the strong sensitivity of ray paths to range-dependent sound speed perturbations makes the ray sampling functions uncertain in real cases. In the ray approximation travel times are sensitive to medium changes only along the corresponding eigenrays. Ray theory is an infinite-frequency approximation, and its eikonal equation has nonlinearities not found in the acoustic wave equation. We build on recent seismology results (kernels for body wave arrivals in the earth) to characterize the kernel for converting sound speed change in the ocean to travel time changes using more complete propagation physics. Wave-theoretic finite frequency kernels may show less sensitivity to small-scale sound speed structure.

Ocean deoxygenation in a warming world.

Science.gov (United States)

Keeling, Ralph E; Körtzinger, Arne; Gruber, Nicolas

2010-01-01

Ocean warming and increased stratification of the upper ocean caused by global climate change will likely lead to declines in dissolved O2 in the ocean interior (ocean deoxygenation) with implications for ocean productivity, nutrient cycling, carbon cycling, and marine habitat. Ocean models predict declines of 1 to 7% in the global ocean O2 inventory over the next century, with declines continuing for a thousand years or more into the future. An important consequence may be an expansion in the area and volume of so-called oxygen minimum zones, where O2 levels are too low to support many macrofauna and profound changes in biogeochemical cycling occur. Significant deoxygenation has occurred over the past 50 years in the North Pacific and tropical oceans, suggesting larger changes are looming. The potential for larger O2 declines in the future suggests the need for an improved observing system for tracking ocean 02 changes.

IODP Expedition 324: Ocean Drilling at Shatsky Rise Gives Clues about Oceanic Plateau Formation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jörg Geldmacher

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP Expedition 324 cored Shatsky Rise at five sites (U1346–U1350 to study processes of oceanic plateau formation and evolution. Site penetrations ranged from 191.8 m to 324.1 m with coring of 52.6 m to 172.7 m into igneous basement at four of the sites. Average recovery in basement was 38.7%–67.4%. Cored igneous sections consist mainly of variably evolved tholeiiticbasalts emplaced as pillows or massive flows. Massive flows are thickest and make up the largest percentage of section on the largest and oldest volcano, late Jurassic age Tamu Massif; thus, it may have formed at high effusion rates. Such massive flows are characteristic of flood basalts, and similar flows were cored at Ontong Java Plateau. Indeed, the similarity of igneous sections at Site U1347 with that cored on Ontong Java Plateau implies similar volcanic styles for these two plateaus. On younger, smaller Shatsky Rise volcanoes, pillow flows are common and massive flows thinner andfewer, which might mean volcanism waned with time. Cored sediments from summit sites contain fossils and structures implying shallow water depths or emergence at the time of eruption and normal subsidence since. Summit sites also show pervasive alteration that could be due to high fluid fluxes. A thick section of volcaniclastics cored on Tamu Massif suggests that shallow, explosive submarine volcanism played a significant role in the geologic development of the plateau summit. Expedition 324 results imply that Shatsky Risebegan with massive eruptions forming a huge volcano and that subsequent eruptions waned in intensity, forming volcanoes that are large, but which did not erupt with unusually high effusionrates. Similarities of cored sections on Tamu Massif with those ofOntong Java Plateau indicate that these oceanic plateaus formed insimilar fashion.

A parsimonious model for the proportional control valve

OpenAIRE

Elmer, KF; Gentle, CR

2001-01-01

A generic non-linear dynamic model of a direct-acting electrohydraulic proportional solenoid valve is presented. The valve consists of two subsystems-s-a spool assembly and one or two unidirectional proportional solenoids. These two subsystems are modelled separately. The solenoid is modelled as a non-linear resistor-inductor combination, with inductance parameters that change with current. An innovative modelling method has been used to represent these components. The spool assembly is model...

Development of extruded resistive plastic tubes for proportional chamber cathodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kondo, K.

1982-01-01

Carbon mixed plastic tubes with resistivity of 10 3 approx. 10 4 Ωcm have been molded with an extrusion method and used for the d.c. cathode of a proportional counter and a multi-wire proportional chamber. The signal by gas multiplication was picked up from a strip r.f. cathode set outside the tube. The characteristics of the counter in the proportional and limited streamer modes have been studied

The ocean planet.

Science.gov (United States)

Hinrichsen, D

1998-01-01

The Blue Planet is 70% water, and all but 3% of it is salt water. Life on earth first evolved in the primordial soup of ancient seas, and though today's seas provide 99% of all living space on the planet, little is known about the world's oceans. However, the fact that the greatest threats to the integrity of our oceans come from land-based activities is becoming clear. Humankind is in the process of annihilating the coastal and ocean ecosystems and the wealth of biodiversity they harbor. Mounting population and development pressures have taken a grim toll on coastal and ocean resources. The trend arising from such growth is the chronic overexploitation of marine resources, whereby rapidly expanding coastal populations and the growth of cities have contributed to a rising tide of pollution in nearly all of the world's seas. This crisis is made worse by government inaction and a frustrating inability to enforce existing coastal and ocean management regulations. Such inability is mainly because concerned areas contain so many different types of regulations and involve so many levels of government, that rational planning and coordination of efforts are rendered impossible. Concerted efforts are needed by national governments and the international community to start preserving the ultimate source of all life on earth.

The Southern Ocean's role in ocean circulation and climate transients

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, A. F.; Stewart, A.; Hines, S.; Adkins, J. F.

2017-12-01

The ventilation of deep and intermediate density classes at the surface of the Southern Ocean impacts water mass modification and the air-sea exchange of heat and trace gases, which in turn influences the global overturning circulation and Earth's climate. Zonal variability occurs along the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the Antarctic margins related to flow-topography interactions, variations in surface boundary conditions, and exchange with northern basins. Information about these zonal variations, and their impact on mass and tracer transport, are suppressed when the overturning is depicted as a two-dimensional (depth-latitude) streamfunction. Here we present an idealized, multi-basin, time-dependent circulation model that applies residual circulation theory in the Southern Ocean and allows for zonal water mass transfer between different ocean basins. This model efficiently determines the temporal evolution of the ocean's stratification, ventilation and overturning strength in response to perturbations in the external forcing. With this model we explore the dynamics that lead to transitions in the circulation structure between multiple, isolated cells and a three-dimensional, "figure-of-eight," circulation in which traditional upper and lower cells are interleaved. The transient model is also used to support a mechanistic explanation of the hemispheric asymmetry and phase lag associated with Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events during the last glacial period. In particular, the 200 year lag in southern hemisphere temperatures, following a perturbation in North Atlantic deep water formation, depends critically on the migration of Southern Ocean isopycnal outcropping in response to low-latitude stratification changes. Our results provide a self-consistent dynamical framework to explain various ocean overturning transitions that have occurred over the Earth's last 100,000 years, and motivate an exploration of these mechanisms in more sophisticated climate models.

Operational Ocean Modelling with the Harvard Ocean Prediction System

Science.gov (United States)

2008-11-01

tno.nl TNO-rapportnummer TNO-DV2008 A417 Opdrachtnummer Datum november 2008 Auteur (s) dr. F.P.A. Lam dr. ir. M.W. Schouten dr. L.A. te Raa...area of theory and implementation of numerical schemes and parameterizations, ocean models have grown from experimental tools to full-blown ocean...sound propagation through mesoscale features using 3-D coupled mode theory , Thesis, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, USA. 1992. [9] Robinson

Juvenile wood volume and its proportion to stem volume vs. selected biometric features of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L. trees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arkadiusz Tomczak

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to determine whether there is a correlation between breast height diameter, tree height and stem total volume of Scots pines, on the one hand, and volume and proportion of juvenile wood, on the other. The investigations comprised pure pine stands of the IInd, IIIrd, IVth and Vth age classes developed in conditions of fresh mixed coniferous forest. A distinct curvilinear correlation was found between volume and proportion of juvenile wood in tree stems and breast height diameter, height and stem total volume. Because of high values of determination coefficients (R2, which characterised the above-mentioned correlations, it seems appropriate to use these regularities to assess the quality of the timber raw material regarding the proportions of its volume and juvenile wood in stems of Scots pine trees.

77 FR 15052 - National Ocean Council-National Ocean Policy Draft Implementation Plan

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-14

... charge for Federal agencies to implement the National Ocean Policy, the National Ocean Council developed... dollars a year to the national economy, and are essential to public health and national security. Next...

Biological and physical controls in the Southern Ocean on past millennial-scale atmospheric CO2 changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Gottschalk, Julia; Skinner, Luke C; Lippold, Jörg; Vogel, Hendrik; Frank, Norbert; Jaccard, Samuel L; Waelbroeck, Claire

2016-05-17

Millennial-scale climate changes during the last glacial period and deglaciation were accompanied by rapid changes in atmospheric CO2 that remain unexplained. While the role of the Southern Ocean as a 'control valve' on ocean-atmosphere CO2 exchange has been emphasized, the exact nature of this role, in particular the relative contributions of physical (for example, ocean dynamics and air-sea gas exchange) versus biological processes (for example, export productivity), remains poorly constrained. Here we combine reconstructions of bottom-water [O2], export production and (14)C ventilation ages in the sub-Antarctic Atlantic, and show that atmospheric CO2 pulses during the last glacial- and deglacial periods were consistently accompanied by decreases in the biological export of carbon and increases in deep-ocean ventilation via southern-sourced water masses. These findings demonstrate how the Southern Ocean's 'organic carbon pump' has exerted a tight control on atmospheric CO2, and thus global climate, specifically via a synergy of both physical and biological processes.

Thermal Coupling Between the Ocean and Mantle of Europa: Implications for Ocean Convection

Science.gov (United States)

Soderlund, Krista M.; Schmidt, Britney E.; Wicht, Johannes; Blankenship, Donald D.

2015-11-01

Magnetic induction signatures at Europa indicate the presence of a subsurface ocean beneath the cold icy crust. The underlying mantle is heated by radioactive decay and tidal dissipation, leading to a thermal contrast sufficient to drive convection and active dynamics within the ocean. Radiogenic heat sources may be distributed uniformly in the interior, while tidal heating varies spatially with a pattern that depends on whether eccentricity or obliquity tides are dominant. The distribution of mantle heat flow along the seafloor may therefore be heterogeneous and impact the regional vigor of ocean convection. Here, we use numerical simulations of thermal convection in a global, Europa-like ocean to test the sensitivity of ocean dynamics to variations in mantle heat flow patterns. Towards this end, three end-member cases are considered: an isothermal seafloor associated with dominant radiogenic heating, enhanced seafloor temperatures at high latitudes associated with eccentricity tides, and enhanced equatorial seafloor temperatures associated with obliquity tides. Our analyses will focus on convective heat transfer since the heat flux pattern along the ice-ocean interface can directly impact the ice shell and the potential for geologic activity within it.

Multiaxial low cycle fatigue life under non-proportional loading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itoh, Takamoto; Sakane, Masao; Ohsuga, Kazuki

2013-01-01

A simple and clear method of evaluating stress and strain ranges under non-proportional multiaxial loading where principal directions of stress and strain are changed during a cycle is needed for assessing multiaxial fatigue. This paper proposes a simple method of determining the principal stress and strain ranges and the severity of non-proportional loading with defining the rotation angles of the maximum principal stress and strain in a three dimensional stress and strain space. This study also discusses properties of multiaxial low cycle fatigue lives for various materials fatigued under non-proportional loadings and shows an applicability of a parameter proposed by author for multiaxial low cycle fatigue life evaluation

Oceanic Channel of the IOD-ENSO teleconnection over the Indo-Pacific Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Dongliang; Wang, Jing; Zhao, Xia; Zhou, Hui; Xu, Tengfei; Xu, Peng

2017-04-01

The lag correlations of observations and model simulated data that participate the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase-5 (CMIP5) are used to study the precursory teleconnection between the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and the Pacific ENSO one year later through the Indonesian seas. The results suggest that Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) play an important role in the IOD-ENSO teleconnection. Numerical simulations using a hierarchy of ocean models and climate coupled models have shown that the interannual sea level depressions in the southeastern Indian Ocean during IOD force enhanced ITF to transport warm water of the Pacific warm pool to the Indian Ocean, producing cold subsurface temperature anomalies, which propagate to the eastern equatorial Pacific and induce significant coupled ocean-atmosphere evolution. The teleconnection is found to have decadal variability. Similar decadal variability has also been identified in the historical simulations of the CMIP5 models. The dynamics of the inter-basin teleconnection during the positive phases of the decadal variability are diagnosed to be the interannual variations of the ITF associated with the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). During the negative phases, the thermocline in the eastern equatorial Pacific is anomalously deeper so that the sea surface temperature anomalies in the cold tongue are not sensitive to the thermocline depth changes. The IOD-ENSO teleconnection is found not affected significantly by the anthropogenic forcing.

Integrated Age-based Krill Model Fish Res 2015

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — An integrated, age-structured model was fitted to different combinations of survey data using two forms of selectivity (logistic or double-logistic) with...

Ocean heat content variability in an ensemble of twentieth century ocean reanalyses

Science.gov (United States)

de Boisséson, Eric; Balmaseda, Magdalena Alonso; Mayer, Michael

2017-08-01

This paper presents a ten-member ensemble of twentieth century Ocean ReAnalyses called ORA-20C. ORA-20C assimilates temperature and salinity profiles and is forced by the ECMWF twentieth century atmospheric reanalysis (ERA-20C) over the 1900-2010 period. This study attempts to identify robust signals of ocean heat content change in ORA-20C and detect contamination by model errors, initial condition uncertainty, surface fluxes and observing system changes. It is shown that ORA-20C trends and variability in the first part of the century result from the surface fluxes and model drift towards a warmer mean state and weak meridional overturning circulation. The impact of the observing system in correcting the mean state causes the deceleration of the warming trend and alters the long-term climate signal. The ensemble spread reflects the long-lasting memory of the initial conditions and the convergence of the system to a solution compatible with surface fluxes, the ocean model and observational constraints. Observations constrain the ocean heat uptake trend in the last decades of the twentieth century, which is similar to trend estimations from the post-satellite era. An ocean heat budget analysis attributes ORA-20C heat content changes to surface fluxes in the first part of the century. The heat flux variability reflects spurious signals stemming from ERA-20C surface fields, which in return result from changes in the atmospheric observing system. The influence of the temperature assimilation increments on the heat budget is growing with time. Increments control the most recent ocean heat uptake signals, highlighting imbalances in forced reanalysis systems in the ocean as well as in the atmosphere.

Reproductive and population parameters of spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias in the south-western Atlantic Ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Colonello, J H; Cortés, F; Belleggia, M; Massa, A M

2016-05-01

The objective of this study was to estimate reproductive and population parameters of the spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias for the south-western Atlantic Ocean. In total, 2714 specimens (1616 males and 1098 females) were collected from surveys carried out using research vessels. Males ranged from 225 to 861 mm total length (LT ) and females from 235 to 925 mm LT . The size at maturity of females (651 mm) was significantly greater than that of males (565 mm). The maximum proportion of mature individuals (Pmax ) of the gestation ogive was 156 mm). The temporal and spatial co-occurrence of non-gravid adult females at different stages of ovarian development, as well as gravid females at all embryonic development stages would indicate that the female reproductive cycle in the south-western Atlantic Ocean is asynchronous. The results indicate that S. acanthias is susceptible to fishing pressure on account of its length at maturity, extended reproductive cycles and low fecundity. © 2016 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Preventing blue ocean from turning into red ocean: A case study of a room escape game

OpenAIRE

Gündüz, Şafak

2018-01-01

The weariness of competitive business environment has made it one of the hot topics of recent business management literature to find ways to escape from the intense Red Ocean by creating a Blue Ocean where there is no competition. Rene and Mauborgne’s Blue Ocean Strategy (2004) provides a reasonable solution for this issue. Blue Ocean Strategy studies demonstrate that every blue ocean will eventually turn red due to fast entries into the market and the literature leaves a gap in understanding...

An initial assessment of Ocean Energy Resources in the Western Indian Ocean

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hammar, Linus; Ehnberg, Jimmy

2011-07-01

The demand for modern energy is accelerating in the Western Indian Ocean (coastal East Africa). A mixture of different energy sources will by necessity be the option for the long-term future and the most adequate solutions naturally vary between locations. The vast coastlines and many islands of the region make ocean energy (OE) a relevant field to explore. With an early understanding of the resources strategic planning towards sustainable development is facilitate. Moreover, early awareness facilitates a respectful integration of new technologies in the fragile and for local people invaluable ecosystems. This study provides a first assessment of the frontier OE technologies and corresponding resources in the region. Five renewable Ocean Energy technologies have been reviewed and the physical resource abundance for respective energy source has been screened based on available literature and databases. The Western Indian Ocean is shared between nine African countries and two French departments. The studied countries are the Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, the Seychelles, Tanzania, and Reunion. The energy situation is insufficient throughout the region, either as consequence of lacking domestic energy sources or rudimentary grid extension. The results indicate that ocean energy resources are abundant in much of the region, but different sources have potential in different areas. Several countries have favourable physical conditions for extracting energy from waves and from the temperature gradient between the surface and deep water. Wave power is a young but currently available technology which can be utilized for both large- and small-scale applications. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion is a technology under development that, once proven, may be applicable for large-scale power production. The physical conditions for small-scale tidal barrage power, tidal stream power, and ocean current power are less pronounced but may be of interest at

The Improved Estimation of Ratio of Two Population Proportions

Science.gov (United States)

Solanki, Ramkrishna S.; Singh, Housila P.

2016-01-01

In this article, first we obtained the correct mean square error expression of Gupta and Shabbir's linear weighted estimator of the ratio of two population proportions. Later we suggested the general class of ratio estimators of two population proportions. The usual ratio estimator, Wynn-type estimator, Singh, Singh, and Kaur difference-type…

The role of the complete Coriolis force in weakly stratified oceanic flows

Science.gov (United States)

Tort, M.; Winters, K. B.; Ribstein, B.; Zeitlin, V.

2016-02-01

Ocean dynamics is usually described using the primitive equations based on the so-called traditional approximation (TA), where the Coriolis force associated with the horizontal component of the planetary rotation is neglected (also called non-traditional (NT) part proportional to cosΦ, see Fig 1.). However, recent studies have shown that the NT part of the Coriolis force plays a non-negligible dynamical role in some particular oceanic flows (see Gerkema et al., 2008 for an extensive review of NT effects for geophysical and astrophysical flows). Here we explore the relevance of including the NT component of the Coriolis force in ocean models, by presenting particular results regarding two different mid-latitude flow configurations after relaxing the TA: Propagation of wind-induced near-inertial waves (NIWs). Under the TA, NIWs propagate toward the equator, the inertially poleward propagation being internally reflected at a depth-independent critical latitude. The combined effects of the NT Coriolis force and weak stratification in the deep ocean leads to the existence of waveguides for sub-inertial waves, which get trapped and propagate further poleward (Winters et al., 2011). Here we consider storm-induced NIWs and their evolution in a non-linear Boussinesq model on the β-plane in the NT approximation. Preliminary results are presented concerning the behavior of the waves in a weakly stratified mixed-layer, where NT effects are expected to be significant. Inertial instability. A detailed linear stability analysis of the Bickley jet at large Rossby numbers in the NT approximation on the f-plane is performed for long waves in a continuously stratified Boussinesq model. For a sufficiently weak stratification, both symmetric and asymmetric inertial instabilities have substantially higher growth rates than in the TA while no discernible differences between the two approximations are observed for strong enough stratifications (Tort et al., 2015).

Achieving Negative CO2 Emissions by Protecting Ocean Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Cannara, A.

2016-12-01

Industrial Age CO2 added 1.8 trillion tons to the atmosphere. About ¼ has dissolved in seas. The rest still dissolves, bolstered by present emissions of >30 gigatons/year. Airborne & oceanic CO2 have induced sea warming & ocean acidification*. This paper suggests a way to induce a negative CO2-emissions environment for climate & oceans - preserve the planet`s dominant CO2-sequestration system ( 1 gigaton/year via calcifying sea life**) by promptly protecting ocean chemistry via expansion of clean power for both lime production & replacement of CO2-emitting sources. Provide natural alkali (CaO, MgO…) to oceans to maintain average pH above 8.0, as indicated by marine biologists. That alkali (lime) is available from past calcifying life's limestone deposits, so can be returned safely to seas once its CO2 is removed & permanently sequestered (Carbfix, BSCP, etc.***). Limestone is a dense source of CO2 - efficient processing per mole sequestered. Distribution of enough lime is possible via cargo-ship transits - 10,000 tons lime/transit, 1 million transits/year. New Panamax ships carry 120,000 tons. Just 10,000/transit allows gradual reduction of present & past CO2 emissions effects, if coupled with combustion-power reductions. CO2 separation from limestone, as in cement plants, consumes 400kWHrs of thermal energy per ton of output lime (or CO2). To combat yearly CO2 dissolution in seas, we must produce & distribute about 10gigatons of lime/year. Only nuclear power produces the clean energy (thousands of terawatt hours) to meet this need - 1000 dedicated 1GWe reactors, processing 12 cubic miles of limestone/year & sequestering CO2 into a similar mass of basalt. Basalt is common in the world. Researchers*** report it provides good, mineralized CO2 sequestration. The numbers above allow gradual CO2 reduction in air and seas, if we return to President Kennedy's energy path: http://tinyurl.com/6xgpkfa We're on an environmental precipice due to failure to eliminate

Evidences of Seasonal Variation in Altimetry Derived Ocean Tides in the Subarctic Ocean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hok Sum Fok

2013-01-01

Full Text Available While the barotropic ocean tides in the deep ocean are well modeled to ~2 cm RMS, accurate tidal prediction in the ice-covered polar oceans and near coastal regions remain elusive. A notable reason is that the most accurate satellite altimeters (TOPEX/Jason-1/-2, whose orbits are optimized to minimize the tidal aliasing effect, have spatial coverage limited to largely outside of the polar ocean. Here, we update the assessment of tidal models using 7 contemporary global and regional models, and show that the altimetry sea surface height (SSH anomaly residual after tidal correction is 9 - 12 cm RMS in the Subarctic Ocean. We then address the hypothesis whether plausible evidence of variable tidal signals exist in the seasonally ice-covered Subarctic Ocean, where the sea ice cover is undergoing rapid thinning. We first found a difference in variance reduction for multi-mission altimeter SSH anomaly residuals during the summer and winter seasons, with the residual during winter season 15 - 30% larger than that during the summer season. Experimental seasonal ocean tide solutions derived from satellite altimetry reveals that the recovered winter and summer tidal constituents generally differ by a few cm in amplitude and tens of degrees in phase. Relatively larger seasonal tidal patterns, in particular for M2, S2 and K1 tides, have been identified in the Chukchi Sea study region near eastern Siberia, coincident with the seasonal presence and movement of sea ice.

Monitoring and assessment of ocean acidification in the Arctic Ocean-A scoping paper

Science.gov (United States)

Robbins, Lisa L.; Yates, Kimberly K.; Feely, Richard; Fabry, Victoria

2010-01-01

Carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is absorbed at the ocean surface by reacting with seawater to form a weak, naturally occurring acid called carbonic acid. As atmospheric carbon dioxide increases, the concentration of carbonic acid in seawater also increases, causing a decrease in ocean pH and carbonate mineral saturation states, a process known as ocean acidification. The oceans have absorbed approximately 525 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or about one-quarter to one-third of the anthropogenic carbon emissions released since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Global surveys of ocean chemistry have revealed that seawater pH has decreased by about 0.1 units (from a pH of 8.2 to 8.1) since the 1700s due to absorption of carbon dioxide (Raven and others, 2005). Modeling studies, based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) CO2 emission scenarios, predict that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels could reach more than 500 parts per million (ppm) by the middle of this century and 800 ppm by the year 2100, causing an additional decrease in surface water pH of 0.3 pH units. Ocean acidification is a global threat and is already having profound and deleterious effects on the geology, biology, chemistry, and socioeconomic resources of coastal and marine habitats. The polar and sub-polar seas have been identified as the bellwethers for global ocean acidification.

Oceanic ferromanganese deposits: Future resources and past-ocean recorders

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Banakar, V.K.; Nair, R.R.; Parthiban, G.; Pattan, J.N.

decades following the Mero's publication witnessed global "Nodule Rush". The technological leaders of those years like US, Germany, Japan, France, New-Zealand, and USSR have conducted major scientific expeditions to the Central Pacific to map...-Mn-(Cu+Ni+Co) in ferromanganese deposits from the Central Indian Ocean (Source: Jauhari, 1987). OCEANIC FERROMANGANESE DEPOSITS 45 DISTRIBUTION The nodules occur invariably in almost all the deep-sea basins witnessing low sedimentation rates. But abundant ore grade deposits...

The Vertical Profile of Ocean Mixing

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrari, R. M.; Nikurashin, M.; McDougall, T. J.; Mashayek, A.

2014-12-01

The upwelling of bottom waters through density surfaces in the deep ocean is not possible unless the sloping nature of the sea floor is taken into account. The bottom--intensified mixing arising from interaction of internal tides and geostrophic motions with bottom topography implies that mixing is a decreasing function of height in the deep ocean. This would further imply that the diapycnal motion in the deep ocean is downward, not upwards as is required by continuity. This conundrum regarding ocean mixing and upwelling in the deep ocean will be resolved by appealing to the fact that the ocean does not have vertical side walls. Implications of the conundrum for the representation of ocean mixing in climate models will be discussed.

Ocean Quality

OpenAIRE

Brevik, Roy Schjølberg; Jordheim, Nikolai; Martinsen, John Christian; Labori, Aleksander; Torjul, Aleksander Lelis

2017-01-01

Bacheloroppgave i Internasjonal Markedsføring fra ESADE i Spania, 2017 In this thesis we were going to answer the problem definition “which segments in the Spanish market should Ocean Quality target”. By doing so we started to collect data from secondary sources in order to find information about the industry Ocean Quality are operating in. After conducting the secondary research, we still lacked essential information about the existing competition in the aquaculture industry o...

Evolution of organic carbon burial in the Global Ocean during the Neogene

Science.gov (United States)

LI, Z.; Zhang, Y.

2017-12-01

Although only a small fraction of the organic carbon (OC) that rains from surface waters is eventually buried in the sediments, it is a process that controls the organic sub-cycle of the long-term carbon cycle, and the key for atmospheric O2, CO2 and nutrient cycling. Here we constrain the spatiotemporal variability of OC burial by quantifying the total organic carbon (TOC) mass accumulation rate (MAR) over the Neogene (23.0-2.6 Ma) by compiling the TOC, age model and sediment density data from sites retrieved by the Deep Sea Drilling Program, Ocean Drilling Program, and Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. We screened all available sites which yielded 80 sites with adequate data quality, covering all major ocean basins and sedimentary depositional environments. All age models are updated to the GTS 2012 timescale so the TOC MAR records from different sites are comparable. Preliminary results show a clear early Miocene peak of OC burial in many sites related to high sediment flux which might reflect the orogenic uplift and/or glacier erosion. Places that receive high influx of terrigenous inputs become "hotspots" for Neogene burial of OC. At "open ocean" sites, OC burial seems to be more impacted by marine productivity changes, with a pronounced increase during the middle Miocene "Monterey Formation" and late Miocene - early Pliocene "Biogenic Bloom". Upon the completion of the data collection, we will further explore the regional and global OC burial in the context of tectonic uplift, climate change and the evolution of primary producers and consumers during the last 23 million years of Earth history.

Rapid cooling rates at an active mid-ocean ridge from zircon thermochronology

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitt, Axel K.; Perfit, Michael R.; Rubin, Kenneth H.; Stockli, Daniel F.; Smith, Matthew C.; Cotsonika, Laurie A.; Zellmer, Georg F.; Ridley, W. Ian

2011-01-01

Oceanic spreading ridges are Earth's most productive crust generating environment, but mechanisms and rates of crustal accretion and heat loss are debated. Existing observations on cooling rates are ambiguous regarding the prevalence of conductive vs. convective cooling of lower oceanic crust. Here, we report the discovery and dating of zircon in mid-ocean ridge dacite lavas that constrain magmatic differentiation and cooling rates at an active spreading center. Dacitic lavas erupted on the southern Cleft segment of the Juan de Fuca ridge, an intermediate-rate spreading center, near the intersection with the Blanco transform fault. Their U–Th zircon crystallization ages (29.3-4.6+4.8 ka; 1δ standard error s.e.) overlap with the (U–Th)/He zircon eruption age (32.7 ± 1.6 ka) within uncertainty. Based on similar 238U-230Th disequilibria between southern Cleft dacite glass separates and young mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) erupted nearby, differentiation must have occurred rapidly, within ~ 10–20 ka at most. Ti-in-zircon thermometry indicates crystallization at 850–900 °C and pressures > 70–150 MPa are calculated from H2O solubility models. These time-temperature constraints translate into a magma cooling rate of ~ 2 × 10-2 °C/a. This rate is at least one order-of-magnitude faster than those calculated for zircon-bearing plutonic rocks from slow spreading ridges. Such short intervals for differentiation and cooling can only be resolved through uranium-series (238U–230Th) decay in young lavas, and are best explained by dissipating heat convectively at high crustal permeability.

Signature of ocean warming in global fisheries catch.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheung, William W L; Watson, Reg; Pauly, Daniel

2013-05-16

Marine fishes and invertebrates respond to ocean warming through distribution shifts, generally to higher latitudes and deeper waters. Consequently, fisheries should be affected by 'tropicalization' of catch (increasing dominance of warm-water species). However, a signature of such climate-change effects on global fisheries catch has so far not been detected. Here we report such an index, the mean temperature of the catch (MTC), that is calculated from the average inferred temperature preference of exploited species weighted by their annual catch. Our results show that, after accounting for the effects of fishing and large-scale oceanographic variability, global MTC increased at a rate of 0.19 degrees Celsius per decade between 1970 and 2006, and non-tropical MTC increased at a rate of 0.23 degrees Celsius per decade. In tropical areas, MTC increased initially because of the reduction in the proportion of subtropical species catches, but subsequently stabilized as scope for further tropicalization of communities became limited. Changes in MTC in 52 large marine ecosystems, covering the majority of the world's coastal and shelf areas, are significantly and positively related to regional changes in sea surface temperature. This study shows that ocean warming has already affected global fisheries in the past four decades, highlighting the immediate need to develop adaptation plans to minimize the effect of such warming on the economy and food security of coastal communities, particularly in tropical regions.

Ocean Research - Perspectives from an international Ocean Research Coordination Network

Science.gov (United States)

Pearlman, Jay; Williams, Albert, III

2013-04-01

The need for improved coordination in ocean observations is more urgent now given the issues of climate change, sustainable food sources and increased need for energy. Ocean researchers must work across disciplines to provide policy makers with clear and understandable assessments of the state of the ocean. With advances in technology, not only in observation, but also communication and computer science, we are in a new era where we can answer questions asked over the last 100 years at the time and space scales that are relevant. Programs like GLOBEC moved us forward but we are still challenged by the disciplinary divide. Interdisciplinary problem solving must be addressed not only by the exchange of data between the many sides, but through levels where questions require day-to-day collaboration. A National Science Foundation-funded Research Coordination Network (RCN) is addressing approaches for improving interdisciplinary research capabilities in the ocean sciences. During the last year, the RCN had a working group for Open Data led by John Orcutt, Peter Pissierssens and Albert Williams III. The teams has focused on three areas: 1. Data and Information formats and standards; 2. Data access models (including IPR, business models for open data, data policies,...); 3. Data publishing, data citation. There has been a significant trend toward free and open access to data in the last few years. In 2007, the US announced that Landsat data would be available at no charge. Float data from the US (NDBC), JCOMM and OceanSites offer web-based access. The IODE is developing its Ocean Data Portal giving immediate and free access to ocean data. However, from the aspect of long-term collaborations across communities, this global trend is less robust than might appear at the surface. While there are many standard data formats for data exchange, there is not yet widespread uniformity in their adoption. Use of standard data formats can be encouraged in several ways: sponsors of

Blue Ocean Thinking

Science.gov (United States)

Orem, Donna

2016-01-01

This article describes a concept called the "blue ocean thinking strategy," developed by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, professors at INSEAD, an international graduate school of business in France. The "blue ocean" thinking strategy considers opportunities to create new markets for services, rather than focusing solely on…

Communicating Ocean Acidification

Science.gov (United States)

Pope, Aaron; Selna, Elizabeth

2013-01-01

Participation in a study circle through the National Network of Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation (NNOCCI) project enabled staff at the California Academy of Sciences to effectively engage visitors on climate change and ocean acidification topics. Strategic framing tactics were used as staff revised the scripted Coral Reef Dive program,…

A simple model of the effect of ocean ventilation on ocean heat uptake

Science.gov (United States)

Nadiga, Balu; Urban, Nathan

2017-11-01

Transport of water from the surface mixed layer into the ocean interior is achieved, in large part, by the process of ventilation-a process associated with outcropping isopycnals. Starting from such a configuration of outcropping isopycnals, we derive a simple model of the effect of ventilation on ocean uptake of anomalous radiative forcing. This model can be seen as an improvement of the popular anomaly-diffusing class of energy balance models (AD-EBM) that are routinely employed to analyze and emulate the warming response of both observed and simulated Earth system. We demonstrate that neither multi-layer, nor continuous-diffusion AD-EBM variants can properly represent both surface-warming and the vertical distribution of ocean heat uptake. The new model overcomes this deficiency. The simplicity of the models notwithstanding, the analysis presented and the necessity of the modification is indicative of the role played by processes related to the down-welling branch of global ocean circulation in shaping the vertical distribution of ocean heat uptake.

Vertical and horizontal proportions of the face and their correlation to phi among Indians in Moradabad population: A survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Anand, Shruti; Tripathi, Siddhi; Chopra, Anubhav; Khaneja, Karan; Agarwal, Swatantra

2015-01-01

The purpose was to examine the existence of divine proportions among the Indian faces in Moradabad population. Totally, 100 patients (50 males; 50 females) aged 25-45 years were selected for the study. All facial photographs were analyzed based on the method of Ricketts assessing the divine proportions in vertical and transverse facial planes. Six horizontal and seven vertical ratios were determined, which were then compared with the phi ratio. The horizontal ratio results showed that three male and female ratios were not significantly different from each other (P > 0.05), and interchilion/nose width ratio was highly significant (P phi ratio (P 0.05) for males. The vertical ratio results showed that there was a highly significant difference (P 0.05) for the male group. Although, the golden proportion is a prominent and recurring theme in esthetics, it should not be embraced as the only method by which human beauty is measured to the exclusion of others factors.

Reduction of degraded events in miniaturized proportional counters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Plaga, R.; Kirsten, T. (Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany))

1991-11-15

A method to reduce the number of degraded events in miniaturized proportional counters is described. A shaping of the outer cathode leads to a more uniform gas gain along the counter axis. The method is useful in situations in which the total number of decay events is very low. The effects leading to degraded events are studied theoretically and experimentally. The usefulness of the method is demonstrated by using it for the proportional counter of the GALLEX solar neutrino experiment. (orig.).

Comparative Analysis of Upper Ocean Heat Content Variability from Ensemble Operational Ocean Analyses

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Yan; Balmaseda, Magdalena A.; Boyer, Tim; Ferry, Nicolas; Good, Simon; Ishikawa, Ichiro; Rienecker, Michele; Rosati, Tony; Yin, Yonghong; Kumar, Arun

2012-01-01

Upper ocean heat content (HC) is one of the key indicators of climate variability on many time-scales extending from seasonal to interannual to long-term climate trends. For example, HC in the tropical Pacific provides information on thermocline anomalies that is critical for the longlead forecast skill of ENSO. Since HC variability is also associated with SST variability, a better understanding and monitoring of HC variability can help us understand and forecast SST variability associated with ENSO and other modes such as Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), Tropical Atlantic Variability (TAV) and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). An accurate ocean initialization of HC anomalies in coupled climate models could also contribute to skill in decadal climate prediction. Errors, and/or uncertainties, in the estimation of HC variability can be affected by many factors including uncertainties in surface forcings, ocean model biases, and deficiencies in data assimilation schemes. Changes in observing systems can also leave an imprint on the estimated variability. The availability of multiple operational ocean analyses (ORA) that are routinely produced by operational and research centers around the world provides an opportunity to assess uncertainties in HC analyses, to help identify gaps in observing systems as they impact the quality of ORAs and therefore climate model forecasts. A comparison of ORAs also gives an opportunity to identify deficiencies in data assimilation schemes, and can be used as a basis for development of real-time multi-model ensemble HC monitoring products. The OceanObs09 Conference called for an intercomparison of ORAs and use of ORAs for global ocean monitoring. As a follow up, we intercompared HC variations from ten ORAs -- two objective analyses based on in-situ data only and eight model analyses based on ocean data assimilation systems. The mean, annual cycle, interannual variability and longterm trend of HC have

Indian Ocean and Indian summer monsoon: relationships without ENSO in ocean-atmosphere coupled simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Crétat, Julien; Terray, Pascal; Masson, Sébastien; Sooraj, K. P.; Roxy, Mathew Koll

2017-08-01

The relationship between the Indian Ocean and the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) and their respective influence over the Indo-Western North Pacific (WNP) region are examined in the absence of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in two partially decoupled global experiments. ENSO is removed by nudging the tropical Pacific simulated sea surface temperature (SST) toward SST climatology from either observations or a fully coupled control run. The control reasonably captures the observed relationships between ENSO, ISM and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). Despite weaker amplitude, IODs do exist in the absence of ENSO and are triggered by a boreal spring ocean-atmosphere coupled mode over the South-East Indian Ocean similar to that found in the presence of ENSO. These pure IODs significantly affect the tropical Indian Ocean throughout boreal summer, inducing a significant modulation of both the local Walker and Hadley cells. This meridional circulation is masked in the presence of ENSO. However, these pure IODs do not significantly influence the Indian subcontinent rainfall despite overestimated SST variability in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean compared to observations. On the other hand, they promote a late summer cross-equatorial quadrupole rainfall pattern linking the tropical Indian Ocean with the WNP, inducing important zonal shifts of the Walker circulation despite the absence of ENSO. Surprisingly, the interannual ISM rainfall variability is barely modified and the Indian Ocean does not force the monsoon circulation when ENSO is removed. On the contrary, the monsoon circulation significantly forces the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal SSTs, while its connection with the western tropical Indian Ocean is clearly driven by ENSO in our numerical framework. Convection and diabatic heating associated with above-normal ISM induce a strong response over the WNP, even in the absence of ENSO, favoring moisture convergence over India.

Smithsonian Ocean Portal | Find Your Blue

Science.gov (United States)

Natural History Blog For Educators At The Museum Media Archive Ocean Life & Ecosystems Mammals Sharks Mangroves Poles Census of Marine Life Planet Ocean Tides & Currents Waves & Storms The Seafloor life. These two are in the middle of a courtship. VIEW ARCHIVE Ocean Optimism Success Stories in Ocean

Ocean Thermal Extractable Energy Visualization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ascari, Matthew [Lockheed Martin Corporation, Bethesda, MD (United States)

2012-10-28

The Ocean Thermal Extractable Energy Visualization (OTEEV) project focuses on assessing the Maximum Practicably Extractable Energy (MPEE) from the world’s ocean thermal resources. MPEE is defined as being sustainable and technically feasible, given today’s state-of-the-art ocean energy technology. Under this project the OTEEV team developed a comprehensive Geospatial Information System (GIS) dataset and software tool, and used the tool to provide a meaningful assessment of MPEE from the global and domestic U.S. ocean thermal resources.

Geochemical cycles and climate change studied chiefly in the ocean

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsunogai, Shizuo

2011-01-01

I have obtained following results written in my 209 scientific papers. 1. The tropospheric aerosols having the residence time of about 5 days are sporadically transported with a few % of long lived stratospheric aerosols. 2. The air-sea gas exchange at the sea surface is highly controlled by air bubbles taken into the depths sometimes more than 20m, inducing the fact that the gas exchange rate of CO 2 is a few tens % at least larger than that of O 2 . 3. The Pacific Deep Water can absorb the largest amount of CO 2 when its nutrients are used by photosynthesis, due to the facts that (1) it dissolved much CaCO 3 test during its stay in the deep, (2) it was formed before the industrial revolution, and (3) it expelled CO 2 from the surface during winter in the Antarctic Ocean. 4. The continental shelf zone shallower than 200m occupying only 8% of area of world seas is contributing about a half of the oceans' atmospheric CO 2 absorption. 5. Chemical tracers reveal one order of magnitude slower northward flow of the Pacific Deep Water than the current meter, its vertical eddy diffusivity of 1.2cm 2 /sec and its oldest age of 2000 years as well as 3% renewal of the Japan Sea deep water in winter 2000-2001. 6. Analyzing the oceanic behavior of radiochemical isotopes of insoluble metals, most of which cannot be collected on filter paper but settle down with great speeds, I submitted the train-passengers model for their removal from the ocean. 7. Sediment trap experiments gave the results that the organic C/carbonate C ratio is large in the western North Pacific, but it decreases with depth, indicating that the biological pump in the eastern Pacific and the Atlantic deeper than 1km is helpless. 8. In the Cenozoic era, diatoms are the strongest phytoplankton in the ocean, but their superiority disappears by reducing the concentration of dissolved silica below a threshold value due to their exclusive propagation during, for example, spring blooming, introducing the community

Climate change feedbacks on future oceanic acidification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McNeil, Ben I.; Matear, Richard J.

2007-01-01

Oceanic anthropogenic CO 2 uptake will decrease both the pH and the aragonite saturation state (Oarag) of seawater leading to an oceanic acidification. However, the factors controlling future changes in pH and Oarag are independent and will respond differently to oceanic climate change feedbacks such as ocean warming, circulation and biological changes. We examine the sensitivity of these two CO 2 -related parameters to climate change feedbacks within a coupled atmosphere-ocean model. The ocean warming feedback was found to dominate the climate change responses in the surface ocean. Although surface pH is projected to decrease relatively uniformly by about 0.3 by the year 2100, we find pH to be insensitive to climate change feedbacks, whereas Oarag is buffered by ∼15%. Ocean carbonate chemistry creates a situation whereby the direct pH changes due to ocean warming are almost cancelled by the pH changes associated with dissolved inorganic carbon concentrations changes via a reduction in CO 2 solubility from ocean warming. We show that the small climate change feedback on future surface ocean pH is independent to the amount of ocean warming. Our analysis therefore implies that future projections of surface ocean acidification only need to consider future atmospheric CO 2 levels, not climate change induced modifications in the ocean

Investigation of a multiwire proportional chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konijn, J.

1976-01-01

The article discusses some aspects of a prototype multiwire proportional chamber for electron detection located at IKO in Amsterdam, i.e. voltage, counting rates, noise and gas mixture (argon, ethylene bromide). The efficiency and performance of the chamber have been investigated and an error analysis is given

Triangular tube proportional wire chamber system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Badtke, D H; Bakken, J A; Barnett, B A; Blumenfeld, B J; Chien, C Y; Madansky, L; Matthews, J A.J.; Pevsner, A; Spangler, W J [Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (USA); Lee, K L [California Univ., Berkeley (USA). Lawrence Berkeley Lab.

1981-10-15

We report on the characteristics of the proportional tube chamber system which has been constructed for muon identification in the PEP-4 experiment at SLAC. The mechanical and electrical properties of the extruded aluminum triangular tubes allow these detectors to be used as crude drift chambers.

Mercury genomics in the Arctic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Bowman, K.; Lamborg, C. H.; Collins, E.; Hammerschmidt, C. R.; Agather, A. M.

2017-12-01

Methyl-mercury production in the ocean is likely dependent on microbial activity, however, methylation pathways remain elusive. In the Arctic, high concentrations of methyl-mercury are found in top predator marine mammals and seabirds. As a result of seafood consumption, pregnant women and women of child-bearing age in the Arctic often have blood Hg concentrations that exceed U.S. and Canadian safety guidelines. To understand the chemical cycling of mercury in the Arctic Ocean we participated in the 2015 U.S. GEOTRACES Arctic expedition (GN01) to measure Hg speciation in the water column of the Bering Sea, Makarov basin, and Canada basin between Dutch Harbor, Alaska and the North Pole. At select stations, seawater was filtered through 0.22 µm Sterivex filters and genomic DNA was collected using a phenol-chloroform extraction. Broad-range degenerate PCR primers were used to detect the presence of hgcAB, and clade-specific degenerate quantitative PCR primers were used to determine the abundance of hgcA. Metagenomic sequencing was done at three stations to identify taxonomic and functional groups, and to search for hgcA-like genes that the PCR primers may have missed.

EPOCA/EUR-OCEANS data compilation on the biological and biogeochemical responses to ocean acidification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.-M. Nisumaa

2010-07-01

Full Text Available The uptake of anthropogenic CO₂ by the oceans has led to a rise in the oceanic partial pressure of CO₂, and to a decrease in pH and carbonate ion concentration. This modification of the marine carbonate system is referred to as ocean acidification. Numerous papers report the effects of ocean acidification on marine organisms and communities but few have provided details concerning full carbonate chemistry and complementary observations. Additionally, carbonate system variables are often reported in different units, calculated using different sets of dissociation constants and on different pH scales. Hence the direct comparison of experimental results has been problematic and often misleading. The need was identified to (1 gather data on carbonate chemistry, biological and biogeochemical properties, and other ancillary data from published experimental data, (2 transform the information into common framework, and (3 make data freely available. The present paper is the outcome of an effort to integrate ocean carbonate chemistry data from the literature which has been supported by the European Network of Excellence for Ocean Ecosystems Analysis (EUR-OCEANS and the European Project on Ocean Acidification (EPOCA. A total of 185 papers were identified, 100 contained enough information to readily compute carbonate chemistry variables, and 81 data sets were archived at PANGAEA – The Publishing Network for Geoscientific & Environmental Data. This data compilation is regularly updated as an ongoing mission of EPOCA.

Data access: http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.735138

Fluvial fingerprints in northeast Pacific sediments: Unravelling terrestrial-ocean climate linkages

Science.gov (United States)

Vanlaningham, S. J.; Duncan, R.; Pisias, N.

2004-12-01

As the earth's climate history becomes better understood, it becomes clear that the terrestrial and oceanic systems interact in complex ways. This is seen in core sites offshore the Pacific Northwest (PNW) of North America. A correlation can be seen in oceanic biostratigraphic assemblages and down-core changes in terrestrial pollen types. However, it is difficult to determine whether this relationship is the result of a coupled migration of terrestrial vegetation and oceanic fauna on millennial timescales or the result of changes in ocean circulation patterns that create more complex pollen pathways to the core sites. This research begins to unravel the answers to this problem by examining down-core changes in sediment provenance on millennial timescales. Preliminary data characterize sediment of 24 rivers from ten geologic provinces between latitudes 36° N - 47° N. Through clay mineralogy, major and trace element geochemistry and Ar-Ar "province" ages, ten of the 24 rivers can be uniquely identified, while six of the ten geologic provinces can be uniquely constrained geochemically. With further Nd, Sr and Pb isotopic analyses, we hope to constrain the non-unique sediment sources. We will also be presenting initial down-core geochemical results from cores EW 9504-17PC and EW9504-13PC, offshore southern Oregon and central California, respectively.

Late Pleistocene and Holocene meltwater events in the western Arctic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Poore, R.Z.; Osterman, L.; Curry, W.B.; Phillips, R.L.

1999-01-01

Accelerator mass spectrometer 14C dated stable isotope data from Neogloboquadrina pachyerma in cores raised from the Mendeleyev Ridge and slope provide evidence for significant influx of meltwater to the western Arctic Ocean during the early part of marine oxygen isotope stage 1 (OIS 1) and during several intervals within OIS 3. The strongest OIS 3 meltwater event occurred before ca. 45 ka (conventional radiocarbon age) and was probably related to the deglaciation at the beginning of OIS 3. Major meltwater input to the western Arctic Ocean during the last deglaciation coincides closely with the maximum rate of global sea-level rise as determined from the Barbados sea-level record, demonstrating a strong link between the global record and changes in the central Arctic Ocean. OIS 2, which includes the last glacial maximum, is very condensed or absent in the cores. Abundance and ??13C values for N. pachyderma in the middle part of OIS 3 are similar to modern values, indicating high productivity and seasonal ice-free areas along the Arctic margin at that time. These records indicate that the Arctic Ocean was a source of heat and moisture to the northern polar atmosphere during parts of OIS 3.

The Ocean as a teaching tool: the first MOOC on Ocean Literacy

Science.gov (United States)

Santin, Selvaggia; Santoro, Francesca

2017-04-01

Education its broader understanding (in both formal and informal settings) serves as a high potential channel to reach young citizens. As a lack of sufficient 'Ocean Literacy' has been identified in many countries, this clearly presents a barrier for citizens to engage in ocean responsible behaviour or consider ocean-related careers. In order to sensitize and enable teachers and students to incorporate ocean literacy into educational programmes we build up a first Massive Open Online Course on Emma Platform, an European Multiple MOOC Aggregator that provides a system for the delivery of free, open, online courses in multiple languages from different European universities. Almost 500 students were enrolled from all over the world and we proposed a multi-perspective approach building on the UNESCO experience in the field of education for sustainable development. The course had two sections: a narrative format which introduces to the Ocean Literacy principles, focusing on how to incorporate them into lessons with tips, advice, references and activities; and an interactive section with webinairs which covers contemporary and emerging issues such as seafood, marine pollution and human health, simulating a "real-world experiences" with a problems-solutions approach.

The deep ocean under climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Levin, Lisa A.; Le Bris, Nadine

2015-11-01

The deep ocean absorbs vast amounts of heat and carbon dioxide, providing a critical buffer to climate change but exposing vulnerable ecosystems to combined stresses of warming, ocean acidification, deoxygenation, and altered food inputs. Resulting changes may threaten biodiversity and compromise key ocean services that maintain a healthy planet and human livelihoods. There exist large gaps in understanding of the physical and ecological feedbacks that will occur. Explicit recognition of deep-ocean climate mitigation and inclusion in adaptation planning by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) could help to expand deep-ocean research and observation and to protect the integrity and functions of deep-ocean ecosystems.

Incisors’ proportions in smile esthetics

Science.gov (United States)

Alsulaimani, Fahad F; Batwa, Waeil

2013-01-01

Aims: To determine whether alteration of the maxillary central and lateral incisors’ length and width, respectively, would affect perceived smile esthetics and to validate the most esthetic length and width, respectively, for the central and lateral incisors. Materials and Methods: Photographic manipulation was undertaken to produce two sets of photographs, each set of four photographs showing the altered width of the lateral incisor and length of the central length. The eight produced photographs were assessed by laypeople, dentists and orthodontists. Results: Alteration in the incisors’ proportion affected the relative smile attractiveness for laypeople (n=124), dentists (n=115) and orthodontists (n=68); dentists and orthodontists did not accept lateral width reduction of more than 0.5 mm (P<0.01), which suggests that the lateral to central incisor width ratio ranges from 54% to 62%. However, laypeople did not accept lateral width reduction of more than 1 mm (P<0.01), widening the range to be from 48% to 62%. All groups had zero tolerance for changes in central crown length (P<0.01). Conclusion: All participants recognized that the central incisors’ length changes. For lateral incisors, laypeople were more tolerant than dentists and orthodontists. This suggests that changing incisors’ proportions affects the relative smile attractiveness. PMID:24987650

On Verifying Currents and Other Features in the Hawaiian Islands Region Using Fully Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System Compared to Global Ocean Model and Ocean Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Jessen, P. G.; Chen, S.

2014-12-01

This poster introduces and evaluates features concerning the Hawaii, USA region using the U.S. Navy's fully Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS-OS™) coupled to the Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM). It also outlines some challenges in verifying ocean currents in the open ocean. The system is evaluated using in situ ocean data and initial forcing fields from the operational global Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM). Verification shows difficulties in modelling downstream currents off the Hawaiian islands (Hawaii's wake). Comparing HYCOM to NCOM current fields show some displacement of small features such as eddies. Generally, there is fair agreement from HYCOM to NCOM in salinity and temperature fields. There is good agreement in SSH fields.

Tides. Ocean Related Curriculum Activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Marrett, Andrea

The ocean affects all of our lives. Therefore, awareness of and information about the interconnections between humans and oceans are prerequisites to making sound decisions for the future. Project ORCA (Ocean Related Curriculum Activities) has developed interdisciplinary curriculum materials designed to meet the needs of students and teachers…

Juvenile Osprey Navigation during Trans-Oceanic Migration.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Travis W Horton

Full Text Available To compensate for drift, an animal migrating through air or sea must be able to navigate. Although some species of bird, fish, insect, mammal, and reptile are capable of drift compensation, our understanding of the spatial reference frame, and associated coordinate space, in which these navigational behaviors occur remains limited. Using high resolution satellite-monitored GPS track data, we show that juvenile ospreys (Pandion haliaetus are capable of non-stop constant course movements over open ocean spanning distances in excess of 1500 km despite the perturbing effects of winds and the lack of obvious landmarks. These results are best explained by extreme navigational precision in an exogenous spatio-temporal reference frame, such as positional orientation relative to Earth's magnetic field and pacing relative to an exogenous mechanism of keeping time. Given the age (<1 year-old of these birds and knowledge of their hatching site locations, we were able to transform Enhanced Magnetic Model coordinate locations such that the origin of the magnetic coordinate space corresponded with each bird's nest. Our analyses show that trans-oceanic juvenile osprey movements are consistent with bicoordinate positional orientation in transformed magnetic coordinate or geographic space. Through integration of movement and meteorological data, we propose a new theoretical framework, chord and clock navigation, capable of explaining the precise spatial orientation and temporal pacing performed by juvenile ospreys during their long-distance migrations over open ocean.

Ocean Acidification Product Suite

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Scientists within the ACCRETE (Acidification, Climate, and Coral Reef Ecosystems Team) Lab of AOML_s Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems Division (OCED) have constructed...

ocean_city_md.grd

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC builds and distributes high-resolution, coastal digital elevation models (DEMs) that integrate ocean bathymetry and land topography to support NOAA's mission to...

Age structure of the population in Belgium and social security.

Science.gov (United States)

Dooghe, G

1991-01-01

The effects of demographic aging and of various socioeconomic factors on the social security system in Belgium are explored. "Special attention is given to the impact of the ageing of the population on the pension problem. Based on a simple formula a series of percentages of taxation have been calculated as a function of shifts in the proportion of retired vs. active population and in the proportion of the average income vs. the average amount of pension. One of the conclusions is that the progressive ageing of the population will become the most significant factor in the growth of social expenditures." excerpt

Continental crustal formation and recycling: Evidence from oceanic basalts

Science.gov (United States)

Saunders, A. D.; Tarney, J.; Norry, M. J.

1988-01-01

Despite the wealth of geochemical data for subduction-related magma types, and the clear importance of such magmas in the creation of continental crust, there is still no concensus about the relative magnitudes of crustal creation versus crustal destruction (i.e., recycling of crust into the mantle). The role of subducted sediment in the formation of the arc magmas is now well documented; but what proportion of sediment is taken into the deeper mantle? Integrated isotopic and trace element studies of magmas erupted far from presently active subduction zones, in particular basaltic rocks erupted in the ocean basins, are providing important information about the role of crustal recycling. By identifying potential chemical tracers, it is impossible to monitor the effects of crustal recycling, and produce models predicting the mass of material recycled into the mantle throughout long periods of geological time.

Risk evaluations of aging phenomena: The linear aging reliability model and its extensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vesely, W.E.; Wolford, A.J.

1988-01-01

A model for component failure rates due to aging mechanisms is developed from basic phenomenological considerations. In the treatment, the occurrences of deterioration are modeled as following a Poisson process. The severity of damage is allowed to have any distribution, however the damage is assumed to accumulate independently. Finally, the failure rate is modeled as being proportional to the accumulated damage. Using this treatment, the linear aging failure rate model is obtained. The applicability of the linear aging model to various mechanisms is discussed. Extensions of the model to cover nonlinear and dependent aging phenomena are also described. The implementability of the linear aging model is demonstrated by applying it to the aging data collected in the U.S. NRC Nuclear Plant Aging Research (NPAR) Program. (orig./HP)

Radiation loading effect proportional chamber on the performances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alekseev, T.D.; Kalinina, N.A.; Karpukhin, V.V.; Kruglov, V.V.; Khazins, D.M.

1980-01-01

The effect of a space charge which appears under the effect of radiation loading on counting characteristics of a proportional chamber, is experimentally investigated. Calculations are made which take into account the effect of a space charge of positive ions formed in the chamber. The investigations have been carried out on the test board which consists of a one-coordinate proportional chamber, a telescope of two scintillation counters and a collimated 90 Sr β-source. The proportional chamber has the 160x160 mm dimensions. The signal wires with the 50 μm diameter are located with the step of s=10 mm. High-voltage planes are coiled with a wire with the 100 μm diameter and a 2 mm step. The distance between high-voltage planes are 18 mm. The chamber is blown through with a gaseous mixture, its composition is 57% Ar+38% CH 4 +5% (OCH 3 ) 2 CH 2 . When carrying out measurements in wide ranges, the density of radiation loading and the amplifier threshold are changed. The experimental results show a considerable effect of radiation loading and the value of amplifier threshold on the value of a counting characteristic. This should be taken into account when estimating the performance of a proportional chamber according to board testing using radioactive sources, as conditions for investigations are usually different from those of a physical experiment on an accelerator

Geochemical prerequisites of petroleum-gas formation in the Mesozoic-Cenozoic sedimentary layer of the world's oceans

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trotsyuk, V Ya

1979-05-01

A summarization is given of the latest material on the geochemistry of trace organic matter of Mesozoic-Cenozoic deposits of the world's oceans, obtained as a result of deep-sea drilling. Trace organic matter was found to be present in the sedimentary layers of the ocean outskirts in amounts near that found in the continental stratosphere, but that content was five times less in the interior region of the oceans. The trace organic matter of deposits in the marginal region of the oceans was found to have a significant petroleum-gas matrix potential with respect to the level of content and composition characteristics. The distribution of organic carbon was found to be uneven in variously aged horizons of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic. The maximum content of organic carbon was noted in the Neogene-Quaternary and lower Cretaceous deposits. An elevated content of trace organic matter was found to be characteristic of the oceanic stratisphere in lithological mixed sediments: terrigenous-carbonate and terrigenous-silicons was 1.5 times greater than the trace organic matter in clays. Fundamental geochemical propagation laws were formulated, possibly for petroleum-gas-bearing sediment basins under the ocean bottom and beyond the shelf. 18 references, 3 figures.