A direct helicopter EM sea ice thickness inversion, assessed with synthetic and field data

Accuracy and precision of helicopter electromagneticHEM sounding are the essential parameters for HEM seaicethickness profiling. For sea-ice thickness research, thequality of HEM ice thickness estimates must be better than10 cm to detect potential climatologic thickness changes.Weintroduce and assess a direct, 1D HEM data inversion algorithmfor estimating sea-ice thickness. For synthetic qualityassessment, an analytically determined HEM sea-ice thicknesssensitivity is used to derive precision and accuracy. Precisionis related directly to random, instrumental noise, althoughaccuracy is defined by systematic bias arising fromthe data processing algorithm. For the in-phase component ofthe HEM response, sensitivity increases with frequency andcoil spacing, but decreases with flying height. For small-scaleHEM instruments used in sea-ice thickness surveys, instrumentalnoise must not exceed 5 ppm to reach ice thicknessprecision of 10 cm at 15-m nominal flying height. Comparableprecision is yielded at 30-m height for conventional explorationHEM systems with bigger coil spacings. Accuracylosses caused by approximations made for the direct inversionare negligible for brackish water and remain better than10 cm for saline water. Synthetic precision and accuracy estimatesare verified with drill-hole validated field data fromEast Antarctica, where HEM-derived level-ice thicknessagrees with drilling results to within 4%, or 2 cm

Summary of results and conclusions based on analysis of volume imaging and high spectral resolution lidar data acquired during FIRE phase 1, part 1

The collection of long term global statistics on cloud cover may be most easily accomplished with satellite based observations; however, measurements derived from passive satellite retrieval methods must be calibrated and verified by in situ or ground based remote sensor observations. Verification is not straight forward, however, because the highly variable nature of cloud altitude, morphology, and optical characteristics complicates the scaling of point measurements to satellite footprint sized areas. This is particularly evident for cirrus clouds which may be organized on horizontal scales of 10's of meters to 8 km or more, and have optical depths ranging from less than .003 to greater than 3. Cirrus clouds can strongly influence earths' radiative balance, but, because they are often transmissive, cirrus clouds are difficult to detect and characterize from satellite measurements. Because of its precise ranging capabilities, spatial resolution and sensitivity, lidar observations have played an important role in the detection, depiction, and characterization of cirrus clouds. Some of the characteristics of cirrus clouds are summarized which observed the High Spectral Resolution and Volume Imaging Lidars during the phase 1 IFO and ETO periods

Summary of results and conclusions based on analysis of volume imaging and high spectral resolution lidar data acquired during FIRE phase 1, part 2

Since the fall of 1986, cirrus clouds were observed with backscatter cross sections ranging from less than 1 x 10(exp -7) to 4.2 x 10(exp -5)m/sr, optical thicknesses ranging from less than .003 to greater than 2.7, and bulk average backscatter phase functions from .02 to .065/sr. Cirrus cloud structures were recorded ranging in vertical extent from 0.1 to 8 km, having horizontal scales from 10's of meters to 266 km, and exhibiting aspect ratios of from 1:5 to 1:100. The altitude relationship between cloud top and bottom boundaries and the optical center of the cloud is influenced by the type of formation observed. Cirrus morphology and generation processes appear to be related to the wind field. The high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL) was adapted to the task of cirrus cloud optical property measurement. The HSRL data reported were collected with the CuCl2 transmitter producing 50 mW of output power, achieving eye safe, direct optical depth and backscatter cross section measurements with 10 minute averaging times

Multinational banks and development finance

Financial market recommendations for less industrialized economies, particularly in the wake of the recent financial crises, have included a push for more international financial competition. The entry of multinational banks (MNBs) into developing economies is supposed to create more market discipline for domestic banks, thus making them more efficient, and enhancing financial stability. Using data from the BIS and the IMF, we look at the determinants of MNB presence, at MNB activities, and their impact on credit supply and on financial stability. With respect to the determinants of MNB presence, we find that lower asset prices, a ready market and competition with other MNBs matter more than economic fundamentals of the host economy. In line with these results, MNBs focus their activities predominantly on serving MNCs, and on providing services that domestic banks cannot offer to domestic corporations, and high net worth individuals. Thus, we also find that domestic banks lower their total credit exposure by reducing their commercial loans in response to increased competition, particularly in serving MNCs, domestic corporations, or high net worth individuals, which may lead to real implications for less industrialized economies, particularly lower business investment. --

Study of the Born-Oppenheimer Approximation for Mass-Scaling of Cold Collision Properties

Asymptotic levels of the A $^1\Sigma_u^+$ state of the two isotopomers $^{39}{\rm K}_2$ and $^{39}{\rm K}^{41}{\rm K}$ up to the dissociation limit are investigated with a Doppler-free high resolution laser-spectroscopic experiment in a molecular beam. The observed level structure can be reproduced correctly only if a mass dependent correction term is introduced for the interaction potential. The applied relative correction in the depth of the potential is $10^{-6}$, which is in the order of magnitude expected for corrections of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. A similar change in ground state potentials might lead to significant changes of mass-scaled properties describing cold collisions like the s-wave scattering length.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Reconciling transport models across scales: the role of volume exclusion

Diffusive transport is a universal phenomenon, throughout both biological and physical sciences, and models of diffusion are routinely used to interrogate diffusion-driven processes. However, most models neglect to take into account the role of volume exclusion, which can significantly alter diffusive transport, particularly within biological systems where the diffusing particles might occupy a significant fraction of the available space. In this work we use a random walk approach to provide a means to reconcile models that incorporate crowding effects on different spatial scales. Our work demonstrates that coarse-grained models incorporating simplified descriptions of excluded volume can be used in many circumstances, but that care must be taken in pushing the coarse-graining process too far

Helmholtz bright spatial solitons and surface waves at power-law optical interfaces

We consider arbitrary-angle interactions between spatial solitons and the planar boundary between two optical materials with a single power-law nonlinear refractive index. Extensive analysis has uncovered a wide range of new qualitative phenomena in non-Kerr regimes. A universal Helmholtz-Snell law describing soliton refraction is derived using exact solutions to the governing equation as a nonlinear basis. New predictions are tested through exhaustive computations, which have uncovered substantially enhanced Goos-Hänchen shifts at some non-Kerr interfaces. Helmholtz nonlinear surface waves are analyzed theoretically, and their stability properties are investigated numerically for the first time. Interactions between surface waves and obliquely-incident solitons are also considered. Novel solution behaviours have been uncovered, which depend upon a complex interplay between incidence angle, medium mismatch parameters, and the power-law nonlinearity exponent