The DIRC Particle Identification System for the BABAR Experiment

A new type of ring-imaging Cherenkov detector is being used for hadronic particle identification in the BABAR experiment at the SLAC B Factory (PEP-II). This detector is called DIRC, an acronym for Detection of Internally Reflected Cherenkov (Light). This paper will discuss the construction, operation and performance of the BABAR DIRC in detail

RRS Discovery Cruise DY108‐109, 6 Sept - 2 Oct 2019. CLASS – Climate‐linked Atlantic System Science Darwin Mounds Marine Protected Area habitat monitoring, BioCAM ‐ first equipment trials. BLT‐ Recipes: pilot study

DY108/109 was a combined expedition, integrating a series of scientific and technological objectives related to three different projects. The main study area was the Darwin Mounds Marine Protected Area, an area of small cold‐water coral mounds in the Northern Rockall Trough, discovered by NOC scientists in 1998 and protected from bottom contact fisheries (mainly bottom trawling) since 2003. As part of the NERC CLASS programme (Climate‐Linked Atlantic Sector Science), the aim was to assess the status of the coral mounds, in order to identify and quantify any long‐term changes to this deep‐sea habitat. The mounds were surveyed with the Autosub6000 AUV (sidescan sonar), the HyBIS video platform and a series of targeted boxcores, repeating a first round of monitoring efforts undertaken in 2011 (expedition JC060). In addition, two settlement experiments deployed in 2011 were recovered on board. The second aim of the cruise was to demonstrate and test the latest innovation in survey technology as a potential new method for monitoring this type of seafloor habitat. The new BioCam system, a combined stereo camera and double laser line scanner integrated in the Autosub6000, was developed under the NERC Oceanids Marine Sensor Capital programme. BioCam enabled millimetre‐resolution 3D colour reconstructions of the seabed over areas that are an order of magnitude larger than typically covered with conventional visual methods (~30ha/day). This type of technology will revolutionise marine habitat monitoring in the future, both in terms of area covered and level of information obtained. In addition to these habitat mapping and monitoring activities in the Darwin Mound area, DY108/109 also supported two oceanographic studies of the Rockall Trough. For the NERC‐funded project BLT‐Recipes, two 24h CTD stations were occupied on the Irish margin, as pilot study to support further work in 2020 and 2021. For the oceanographic part of the CLASS programme, a number of single CTD casts were taken along the “Ellett Line”, while the turn‐around of a lander with upward‐looking ADCP was attempted. Unfortunately, investigation with the HyBIS platform confirmed that the lander was severely damaged and could not be recovered. Despite some time lost to weather and unfortunate equipment malfunctioning, the expedition was a success, with 10 HyBIS dives completed (76h seabed video), two sidescan sonar surveys repeated, 20 successful boxcores taken, sieved an analysed on board, one mooring deployed and 48 CTD casts completed. Most of all, the BioCam system performed excellently, staightaway from its first deployment, and acquired two dense grid survey datasets covering ~60ha in total. KEYWORDS Cold‐water coral, BioCam, CLASS, Marine Protected Area, Darwin Mounds, monitoring, habitat mapping, Autosub6000, AUV, Rockall Trough, Ellett Line, OSNAP, turbulent mixin

RRS James Cook Cruise JC191 19 January - 1 March 2020 Hydrographic sections from the Florida Straits to the Canaries Current across 24ºN in the Atlantic Ocean

A hydrographic section across the North Atlantic Ocean at a nominal latitude of 24°N was occupied by the RRS James Cook (cruise identifier: JC191) from 19 January to 1 March, 2020. The ship departed from Port Everglades, USA, completing a total of 135 CTD stations over the Florida Straits, the western basin, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, eastern basin and eastern boundary up to Morocco, before ending the cruise in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. The main objectives of the JC191 research expedition was to collect/measure physical-, chemical-, and biological-ocean data with the purpose of estimating heat, freshwater and carbon budgets on low frequency time scales. All CTD stations had measurements from a CTD rosette equipped with temperature, conductivity, pressure, oxygen sensors, in addition to water captured from 24 niskin bottles fired at varying intervals throughout the full depth water column. The water from the niskin bottles was analysed for dissolved oxygen, carbon (DIC/TA), nutrients, and conductivity. Water for methane (CH4), C14, C13, and pigments (filtered) was collected for onshore analysis. The CTD rosette was also equipped with 2 RBR loggers measuring conductivity, temperature and pressure (up to 6,000m), and a lowered Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (LADCP) making full depth velocity measurements. The 135 CTD stations include 2 carbon blank stations, and 2 bulk water stations for incubations. In addition to the CTD stations, the RRS James Cook has an underway system, which includes an intake for surface water to be pumped into the water bottle annex and the deck lab; two vessel mounted ADCPs (VMADCPs). A thermosalinograph and a fluorometer, installed in the water bottle annex, continually recorded conductivity, temperature and fluorescence. Water from the CTD was collected to calibrate the ship’s underway TSG. The VMADCPs, 75Hz and 150HZ, mounted on the drop keel record ocean velocities in roughly the top 300- and 600-m, respectively. Surface carbon and methane measurements were also recorded from the underway systems, and surface meteorological variables were monitored via the meteorological sampling system and the pumped water underway system. Finally bathymetric data were recorded an EA640 echosounder and a Kongsberg EM122 multibeam, both of which are mounted on the ship’s hull. Last, 5 Deep Apex Argo floats measuring conductivity, temperature, pressure and oxygen (except for one float not equipped with an optode) were deployed in the western basin. Many of the science party also engaged in extensive outreach via blogs and social media, heightening visibility of the science teams activities to the oceanographic community and the general public. This report summarises the data collected and analysed, and the methodology used for the acquisition and processing of the data onboard the James Cook during the JC191 research expedition

Civil Engineer Company Grade Officer Training Needs Analysis for Contingency Operations

In terms of active duty personnel, the USAF is the smallest it has ever been since its creation in 1947. With fewer personnel to accomplish essential tasks, the training of Airmen is more important than ever. Outdated and irrelevant training can lead to gaps in the knowledge of trainees. The purpose of this research was to analyze the training needs of Civil Engineer (CE) Company Grade Officers (CGOs) in the contingency environment. This was done by first conducting a Job Analysis (JA). The JA resulted in a list of 36 critical tasks and 58 important Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). The tasks rated most critical were those associated with presenting information to superiors, project management, construction management, and operations and maintenance. The most important KSAs included the ability to work in teams, critical thinking, time and stress management, and leadership. These results were used to create a test instrument to assess contingency job knowledge in a sample of 64 CE CGOs. The lowest scoring areas of the test included Prime BEEF concepts, joint forces, enlisted CE AFSC knowledge, contingency construction standards, general construction activities, reach-back resources, deployed leadership, project scheduling, BOS-I and SAA, contingency base types, contract types, and construction inspection. The knowledge gaps represented the training needs for CE CGOs in the contingency environment. The career field should consider the findings of this research when making decisions regarding the content of future contingency training curriculums for CE CGOs

RRS Discovery Cruise DY008, 18 Mar - 13 Apr 2014, Southampton to Southampton. Shelf sea biogeochemistry

We addressed four interdisciplinary themes to provide a holistic view of the biogeochemistry of benthic shelf ecosystems, including the nepheloid layer. The relative size of the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools, microbial transformation rates and fluxes between pools were quantified in shelf sediments on this, the first of several integrated cruises (Winter, post-bloom Spring, late Summer) scheduled to coincide with contrasting biogeochemical conditions. During each cruise, observations and experiments are to be made across a gradient of soft cohesive mud to coarse advective gravel. The effort has four modules: Module 1: Biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon and carbon within sediment; Module 2: Role of sediments in carbon storage; Module 3: Role of macrofauna and the impacts of natural and anthropogenic disturbance on sediment biogeochemical processes; Module 4: Role of sediment resuspension and near-bed current flow: Impacts on carbon and nutrient sediment-water exchange in diffusive and pumped sediments. Four primary sites were selected based on representation of the dominant habitat types (% area covered/ biogeochemically activity) within the Celtic Sea. This approach is to ensure that all data generated are applicable to the largest area of shelf sediments and thus suitable for scaling-up activities. Sites were chosen from a limited depth and temperature range to ensure high comparability between sites. Notably this was the first scientific research cruise of the 4th RRS Discovery. The vessel demonstrated its grand potential. It is the most advanced vessel like it and thus naturally has some teething to do, but any scientist who gets the opportunity use such a comprehensive platform is privileged

Wall roughness effects on flow and scouring in curved channels with gravel bed

Wall roughness effects on flow and scouring in curved channels with gravel bed In the narrow valleys in Alpine regions, rivers frequently flow across constructed zones, passing through villages and cities. Due to limited space, the protection from high floods often needs to be ensured by protection walls. During floods, these protection walls may be endangered by scour phenomena, especially if they are located in bends. In the past, the potential danger of underscoured structures was reduced by sufficient foundation depth. By providing roughness elements such as vertical ribs at the surface of walls located at the outer side of river bends, the local erosion along the foot of the wall can be considerably decreased, reducing the cost of wall foundations. Such observations were made during the review and optimization of several flood protection projects with hydraulic model tests in Switzerland. A literature review showed, that no systematic study of the influence of these ribs on scour and flow in bends was performed up to this day (§ 2). This research project covers this gap by investigating the development of the scour as a function of main parameters. The study is based on an experimental investigation in a 90° bend with a radius of 6 m including measurements of the velocities, the water level, the bed topography, the sediment characteristics, the grain size distribution of the armoring layer, the discharge and the bed load (§ 4 and 5). The large set of tests covers a wide range of discharges, bed slopes, rather high Froude numbers, but in subcritical regimes, many rib spacings and depths. The formation of two scour holes was observed. Without macro roughness, a first scour hole occurs in the prolongation of the inner sidewall of the entry reach at the outer wall and a second scour hole appears at the end of the 90° bend. The analysis of the performed tests results in the following conclusions: Most existing scour formulae considerably underestimate the scour depth in mountain rivers with coarse gravel bed (§ 3). Significant oscillations, both of the free water surface (stationary waves) and of the scour depth were observed, especially for the second scour hole. The two scour holes have different reasons. The first one is essentially due to the change of the main flow direction (impact on the wall) and the induced secondary current, whereas the second one is mainly due to increased velocity fluctuations after the point bar formed at the inner side of the channel (§ 6). In the average flow field in a bend, the highest main velocities are shifted from the centerline close to the surface toward the outer wall and then towards the bottom (§ 6). At the first scour, the highest main velocities are found next to the ground. A significant grain sorting process is observed over the cross-section due to the use of coarse gravel mixture, resulting in the accumulation of coarse sediments at the outer wall and depositions of fine material on the inner bank. By applying vertical ribs on the outer sidewall, an important impact on the scour process and on the flow field can be observed (§ 6). The macro-roughness has the following effects: The scour depth along the outer sidewall is significantly reduced and the prominent scours almost disappear. With increasing wall roughness, the first scour hole shifts in the downstream direction whereas the second one remains at about the same position. Significant oscillations of the water surface and the scour depth, observed without macroroughness, are reduced by about 50% and the scour develops in a "smoother" way. The flow field undergoes a pronounced modification: the highest velocities are kept away from the outer sidewall, reducing the scour at the bottom of the outer wall foundations. Along the outer wall at the free surface, an secondary flow cell at the outer bank can be observed. The importance of this cell shows an important correlation with the bank protection effect. Optimum rib spacing is essential since an inappropriate spacing may lead to an important increase in scour depth. The transport capacity in the bend is reduced. In natural rivers, this phenomenon is compensated by a steepening of the bed slope. The upstream and downstream extremities of the bend are influenced by the ribs: upstream of the bend, the water depth increases due to the head losses in the bend, and downstream, some additional erosion is found in the center of the channel. The grain sorting process is not significantly influenced by the presence of the ribs beside an increase of the area of the coarse sediment zone. This report furthermore presents a new empirical scour formula for the estimation of the maximum scour depth for mountain rivers with wide grain size distribution (§ 7), established with physically based parameters, which are the ratio mean water depth to channel width, a dimensionless ratio combining the mean velocity with the hydraulic radius and finally the friction angle of the bed material. The lateral bed profile in the maximum scour cross section can also be computed with this equation. An estimation of the maximum scour depth in the presence of macro-roughness on the outer wall can be obtained with a formula depending on the rib spacing, the hydraulic radius, the Froude number and the difference between the dimensionless shear stress and the critical Shields parameter (§ 7). Finally recommendations for hydraulic engineers (§ 8.3) are given to facilitate the application of vertical ribs on outer banks serving as macro-roughness

Report on the state of the art on existing indicators and CCD implementation in the UNCCD Annexes

This volume presents the reviews on the use of Benchmarks and Indicators in the different UNCCD Annexes with specific reference to the response and impact indicators adopted in the National Action Plans (NAPs). The reports constitute a valuable contribution to achieve a global overview on the utilisation of desertification B&I, while providing an excellent basis to compare the level of implementation of the UNCCD in its Annexes and the approaches utilised

A methodology for the 'live' capture and reuse of project knowledge in construction

The importance of capturing and sharing useful knowledge from construction projects has been recognised by the construction industry. However, issues such as the loss of important insights due to the time lapse in capturing the knowledge, the need for sharing the knowledge captured as soon as possible in order to maximise the benefits brought about by reusing the knowledge, and the need to share the knowledge before the opportunities for reusing the knowledge diminish have not been adequately addressed. To address this, it is crucial for knowledge to be captured as soon as possible once it is created or identified (i.e. 'live') in a collaborative environment, and presented in a format that will facilitate its reuse during and after the project. This research was aimed at developing a methodology that facilitates the `live' capture and reuse of project knowledge in construction. An extensive literature review was first conducted on the concept of knowledge management and the current practices for managing project knowledge. Subsequently, case studies involving six companies were carried out to investigate the shortcomings of current practice and the end-user requirements for the capture and reuse of project knowledge. These requirements informed the development of the methodology for `live' capture and reuse of project knowledge. The Web IS Development Methodology (Avison and Fitzgerald, 2003) employing ASP. NET 2.0 was adopted to encapsulate the methodology into a Web-based prototype application. The evaluation of the prototype revealed that the methodology can enable project knowledge to be captured and shared `live' across different organisations without significant additional workload and costs. It is concluded that the `live' capture and reuse of project knowledge in construction is important in preventing knowledge loss and helping to harness the project knowledge captured. A combination of both KM technologies and techniques is essential for the effective management of tacit and explicit knowledge. The prototype application developed can facilitate the `live' capture and reuse of project knowledge as shown by the results of the evaluation. There is scope for enhancing this study by exploring the integration of the prototype application with other information systems, and the use of software agents to automatically locate useful knowledge from the Internet and project extranets. The methodology developed will help construction organisation to leverage their knowledge in a timely way to meet the challenge of today's fast evolving world

Methods for Faecal Sludge Analysis

Faecal sludge management is recognized globally as an essential component of city-wide inclusive sanitation. However, a major gap in developing appropriate and adequate management and monitoring for faecal sludge is the ability to understand and predict the characteristics and volumes of accumulated faecal sludge, and correlations to source populations. Since standard methods for sampling and analysing faecal sludge do not currently exist, results are not comparable, the actual variability is not yet fully understood, and the transfer of knowledge and data between different regions and institutions can be challenging and often arbitrary. Due to this lack of standard analytical methods for faecal sludge, methods from other fields, such as wastewater management, and soil and food science are frequently applied. However, these methods are not necessarily the most suitable for faecal sludge analysis, and have not been specifically adapted for this purpose. Characteristics of faecal sludge can be different than these other matrices by orders of magnitude. There is also a lack of standard methods for sampling, which is complicated by the difficult nature of in situ sampling, the wide range of onsite sanitation technologies and potential sampling locations, and the diverse heterogeneity of faecal sludge within onsite containments and within cities. This illustrates the urgent need to establish common methods and procedures for faecal sludge characterisation, quantification, sampling, and modelling. The aim of this book is to provide a basis for standardised methods for the analysis of faecal sludge from onsite sanitation technologies, for improved communication between sanitation practitioners, and for greater confidence in the generated data. The book presents background information on types of faecal sludge, methods for sample collection, health and safety procedures for handling, case studies of experimental design, an approach for estimating faecal sludge at community to city-wide scales, modelling containment and treatment processes, recipes for simulants, and laboratory methods for faecal sludge analysis currently in use by faecal sludge laboratories. This book will be beneficial for researchers, laboratory technicians, academics, students and sanitation practitioners