2,773 research outputs found
The role of soil biotic processes in the search of quantitative indexes of soil quality
Non-Peer ReviewedMonitoring soil quality involves measurements of soil properties over periods of several years. This article
examines the potential role of chemical SOM composition and of soil biotic processes as faster indexes of soil quality. Soil quality was quantified on the basis of individual soil attributes and time. Chemical characterization of soil organic matter by solid 13C-NMR and Py-FIMS showed that a degraded Gleysol cropped to corn during 25 years suffered C losses from all chemical functional groups. Surprisingly, aromatic-C was lost at proportional higher rates than aliphatic-C. These results indicate that chemical composition of SOM determined by quantitative nondestructive methods can be used as quality indexes in
agricultural soils. Biotic processes reflect changes in soil quality over shorter periods than total or type of SOM. Microbial specific respiration (qCO2) is a soil attribute that consistently reflected differences in soil quality. It was hypothesized that qCO2 , the microbial adenylate energy charge and anabolic reduction charge may permit to asses soil quality over monitoring periods of weeks to <5y
The Lockheed OSO-8 program. Analysis of data from the mapping X-ray heliometer experiment
The final report describes the extent of the analysis effort, and other activities associated with the preservation and documentation of the data set are described. The main scientific results, which are related to the behavior of individual solar activity regions in the energy band 1.5 - 15 keV, are summarized, and a complete bibliography of publications and presentations is given. Copies of key articles are also provided
Shared Responsibilities for Nuclear Disarmament: A Global Debate
Presents Sagan's 2009 paper calling for rethinking the balance of responsibilities and the relationship between articles in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty with seven response papers by international scholars about how to pursue nuclear disarmament
T-junction ion trap array for two-dimensional ion shuttling, storage and manipulation
We demonstrate a two-dimensional 11-zone ion trap array, where individual
laser-cooled atomic ions are stored, separated, shuttled, and swapped. The trap
geometry consists of two linear rf ion trap sections that are joined at a 90
degree angle to form a T-shaped structure. We shuttle a single ion around the
corners of the T-junction and swap the positions of two crystallized ions using
voltage sequences designed to accommodate the nontrivial electrical potential
near the junction. Full two-dimensional control of multiple ions demonstrated
in this system may be crucial for the realization of scalable ion trap quantum
computation and the implementation of quantum networks.Comment: 3 pages, 5 figure
Universality in the merging dynamics of parametric active contours: a study in MRI-based lung segmentation
Measurement of lung ventilation is one of the most reliable techniques of
diagnosing pulmonary diseases. The time consuming and bias prone traditional
methods using hyperpolarized HHe and H magnetic resonance
imageries have recently been improved by an automated technique based on
multiple active contour evolution. Mapping results from an equivalent
thermodynamic model, here we analyse the fundamental dynamics orchestrating the
active contour (AC) method. We show that the numerical method is inherently
connected to the universal scaling behavior of a classical nucleation-like
dynamics. The favorable comparison of the exponent values with the theoretical
model render further credentials to our claim.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Paleomagnetism of Middle Miocene Volcanic Rocks in the Mojave-Sonora Desert Region of Western Arizona and Southeastern California
Paleomagnetic directions have been obtained from 190 early to middle Miocene (12–20 Ma) mafic volcanic flows in 16 mountain ranges in the Mojave-Sonora desert region of western Arizona and southeastern California. These flows generally postdate early Miocene tectonic deformation accommodated by low-angle normal faults but predate high-angle normal faulting in the region. After detailed demagnetization experiments, 179 flows yielded characteristic directions interpreted as original thermal remanent magnetizations (TRM). Because of the episodic nature of basaltic volcanism in this region, the 179 flows yielded only 65 time-distinct virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs). The angular dispersion of the 65 VGPs is consistent with the angular dispersion expected for a data set that has adequately averaged geomagnetic secular variation. The paleomagnetic pole calculated from the 65 cooling unit VGPs is located at 85.5°N, 108.9° within a 4.4° circle of 95% confidence. This pole is statistically indistinguishable (at 95% confidence) from reference poles calculated from rocks of similar age in stable North America and from a paleomagnetic pole calculated from rocks of similar age in Baja California. The coincidence of paleomagnetic poles from the Mojave-Sonora desert region with reference poles from the stable continental interior indicates that (1) significant vertical axis net tectonic rotations have not accompanied post-middle Miocene high-angle normal faulting in this region; (2) there has been no detectable post-middle Miocene latitudinal transport of the region; and (3) long-term nondipole components of the middle Miocene geomagnetic field probably were no larger than those of the recent (0–5 Ma) geomagnetic field. In contrast, paleomagnetic data indicate vertical axis rotations of similar age rocks in the Transverse Ranges, the Eastern Transverse Ranges, and the Mojave Block. We speculate that a major structural discontinuity in the vicinity of the southeastward projection of the Death Valley fault zone separates western areas affected by vertical axis rotations from eastern areas that have not experienced such rotations
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