5,676 research outputs found
Unevenly-sampled signals: a general formalism of the Lomb-Scargle periodogram
The periodogram is a popular tool that tests whether a signal consists only
of noise or if it also includes other components. The main issue of this method
is to define a critical detection threshold that allows identification of a
component other than noise, when a peak in the periodogram exceeds it. In the
case of signals sampled on a regular time grid, determination of such a
threshold is relatively simple. When the sampling is uneven, however, things
are more complicated. The most popular solution in this case is to use the
"Lomb-Scargle" periodogram, but this method can be used only when the noise is
the realization of a zero-mean, white (i.e. flat-spectrum) random process. In
this paper, we present a general formalism based on matrix algebra, which
permits analysis of the statistical properties of a periodogram independently
of the characteristics of noise (e.g. colored and/or non-stationary), as well
as the characteristics of sampling.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, Astronomy and Astrophysics, in pres
Assessing infrequent large earthquakes using geomorphology and geodesy in the Malawi Rift
In regions with large, mature fault systems, a characteristic earthquake model may be more appropriate for modelling earthquake occurrence than extrapolating from a short history of small, instrumentally observed earthquakes using the GutenbergâRichter scaling law. We illustrate how the geomorphology and geodesy of the Malawi Rift, a region with large seismogenic thicknesses, long fault scarps, and slow strain rates, can be used to assess hazard probability levels for large infrequent earthquakes. We estimate potential earthquake size using fault length and recurrence intervals from plate motion velocities and generate a synthetic catalogue of events. Since it is not possible to determine from the geomorphological information if a future rupture will be continuous (7.4 ⤠M W ⤠8.3 with recurrence intervals of 1,000â4,300 years) or segmented (6.7 ⤠M W ⤠7.7 with 300â1,900 years), we consider both alternatives separately and also produce a mixed catalogue. We carry out a probabilistic seismic hazard assessment to produce regional- and site-specific hazard estimates. At all return periods and vibration periods, inclusion of fault-derived parameters increases the predicted spectral acceleration above the level predicted from the instrumental catalogue alone, with the most significant changes being in close proximity to the fault systems and the effect being more significant at longer vibration periods. Importantly, the results indicate that standard probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) methods using short instrumental records alone tend to underestimate the seismic hazard, especially for the most damaging, extreme magnitude events. For many developing countries in Africa and elsewhere, which are experiencing rapid economic growth and urbanisation, seismic hazard assessments incorporating characteristic earthquake models are critical
Semi-automatic selection of summary statistics for ABC model choice
A central statistical goal is to choose between alternative explanatory
models of data. In many modern applications, such as population genetics, it is
not possible to apply standard methods based on evaluating the likelihood
functions of the models, as these are numerically intractable. Approximate
Bayesian computation (ABC) is a commonly used alternative for such situations.
ABC simulates data x for many parameter values under each model, which is
compared to the observed data xobs. More weight is placed on models under which
S(x) is close to S(xobs), where S maps data to a vector of summary statistics.
Previous work has shown the choice of S is crucial to the efficiency and
accuracy of ABC. This paper provides a method to select good summary statistics
for model choice. It uses a preliminary step, simulating many x values from all
models and fitting regressions to this with the model as response. The
resulting model weight estimators are used as S in an ABC analysis. Theoretical
results are given to justify this as approximating low dimensional sufficient
statistics. A substantive application is presented: choosing between competing
coalescent models of demographic growth for Campylobacter jejuni in New Zealand
using multi-locus sequence typing data
Using Wave-Packet Interferometry to Monitor the External Vibrational Control of Electronic Excitation Transfer
We investigate the control of electronic energy transfer in molecular dimers
through the preparation of specific vibrational coherences prior to electronic
excitation, and its observation by nonlinear wave-packet interferometry.
Laser-driven coherent nuclear motion can affect the instantaneous resonance
between site-excited electronic states and thereby influence short-time
electronic excitation transfer (EET). We first illustrate this control
mechanism with calculations on a dimer whose constituent monomers undergo
harmonic vibrations. We then consider the use of nonlinear wave-packet
interferometry (nl-WPI) experiments to monitor the nuclear dynamics
accompanying EET in general dimer complexes following impulsive vibrational
excitation by a sub-resonant control pulse (or control pulse sequence). In
measurements of this kind, two pairs of polarized phase-related femtosecond
pulses following the control pulse generate superpositions of coherent nuclear
wave packets in optically accessible electronic states. Interference
contributions to the time- and frequency-integrated fluorescence signal due to
overlaps among the superposed wave packets provide amplitude-level information
on the nuclear and electronic dynamics. We derive the basic expression for a
control-pulse-dependent nl-WPI signal. The electronic transition moments of the
constituent monomers are assumed to have a fixed relative orientation, while
the overall orientation of the complex is distributed isotropically. We include
the limiting case of coincident arrival by pulses within each phase-related
pair in which control-influenced nl-WPI reduces to a fluorescence-detected
pump-probe difference experiment. Numerical calculations of pump-probe signals
based on these theoretical expressions are presented in the following paper
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Food System Transformation: Integrating a Political-Economy and Social-Ecological Approach to Regime Shifts.
Sustainably achieving the goal of global food security is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. The current food system is failing to meet the needs of people, and at the same time, is having far-reaching impacts on the environment and undermining human well-being in other important ways. It is increasingly apparent that a deep transformation in the way we produce and consume food is needed in order to ensure a more just and sustainable future. This paper uses the concept of regime shifts to understand key drivers and innovations underlying past disruptions in the food system and to explore how they may help us think about desirable future changes and how we might leverage them. We combine two perspectives on regime shifts-one derived from natural sciences and the other from social sciences-to propose an interpretation of food regimes that draws on innovation theory. We use this conceptualization to discuss three examples of innovations that we argue helped enable critical regime shifts in the global food system in the past: the Haber-Bosch process of nitrogen fixation, the rise of the supermarket, and the call for more transparency in the food system to reconnect consumers with their food. This paper concludes with an exploration of why this combination of conceptual understandings is important across the Global North/ Global South divide, and proposes a new sustainability regime where transformative change is spearheaded by a variety of social-ecological innovations
Village health volunteers: key issues facing agencies in Malawi
In March 1991 the International Eye Foundation and Adventist Development Be Relief Agency conducted a workshop on village health volunteers, bringing together representatives from Malawibased non-governmental organizations, the Ministry of Health, and USAID. The participants discussed recruitment, training, rewards, retention, and roles of village health volunteers. This paper presents background data on village health volunteers in Malawi and elsewhere and reviews the key issues facing health care providers in working with village health volunteers. A copy of the workshop report can be obtained from IEF or ADRA
Partition Function Zeros of a Restricted Potts Model on Lattice Strips and Effects of Boundary Conditions
We calculate the partition function of the -state Potts model
exactly for strips of the square and triangular lattices of various widths
and arbitrarily great lengths , with a variety of boundary
conditions, and with and restricted to satisfy conditions corresponding
to the ferromagnetic phase transition on the associated two-dimensional
lattices. From these calculations, in the limit , we determine
the continuous accumulation loci of the partition function zeros in
the and planes. Strips of the honeycomb lattice are also considered. We
discuss some general features of these loci.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure
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Lava flow morphology at an erupting andesitic stratovolcano: a satellite perspective on El Reventador, Ecuador
Lava flows pose a significant hazard to infrastructure and property located close to volcanoes, and understanding how flows advance is necessary to manage volcanic hazard during eruptions. Compared to low-silica basaltic flows, flows of andesite composition are infrequently erupted and so relatively few studies of their characteristics and behaviour exist. We use El Reventador, Ecuador as a target to investigate andesitic lava flow properties during a 4.5 year period of extrusive eruption between February 2012 and August 2016. We use satellite radar to map the dimensions of 43 lava flows and look at variations in their emplacement behaviour over time. We find that flows descend the north and south flanks of El Reventador, and were mostly emplaced during durations shorter than the satellite repeat interval of 24 days.Flows ranged in length from 0.3 to 1.7 km, and the length of these flows decreased over the observation period. We measure a decrease in flow volume with time that is correlated with a long-term exponential decrease in eruption rate, and propose that this behaviour is caused by temporary magma storage in the conduit acting as a melt capacitor between the magma reservoir and the surface. We use the dimensions of the flow levees and widths to estimate the flow yield strengths, which were of the order of 10-100 kPa. We observe that some flows were diverted by topographic obstacles, and compare measurements of decreased channel width and increased flow thickness at the obstacles with observations from laboratory experiments. Radar observations, such as those presented here, could be used to map and measure properties of evolving lava flow fields at other remote or difficult to monitor volcanoes
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