Extending sensor networks into the cloud using Amazon web services

Sensor networks provide a method of collecting environmental data for use in a variety of distributed applications. However, to date, limited support has been provided for the development of integrated environmental monitoring and modeling applications. Specifically, environmental dynamism makes it difficult to provide computational resources that are sufficient to deal with changing environmental conditions. This paper argues that the Cloud Computing model is a good fit with the dynamic computational requirements of environmental monitoring and modeling. We demonstrate that Amazon EC2 can meet the dynamic computational needs of environmental applications. We also demonstrate that EC2 can be integrated with existing sensor network technologies to offer an end-to-end environmental monitoring and modeling solution

Magnetic fields in the overshoot zone: The great escape

In order that magnetic flux be confined within the solar interior for times comparable to the solar cycle period it has been suggested that the bulk of the solar toroidal field is stored in the convectively stable overshoot region situated beneath the convection zone proper. Such a magnetic field, though, is still buoyant and is therefore subject to Rayleigh-Taylor type instabilities. The model problem of an isolated region of magnetic field embedded in a convectively stable atmosphere is considered. The fully nonlinear evolution of the two dimensional interchange of modes is studied, thereby shedding some light on one of the processes responsible for the escape of flux from the solar interior

The energy dependence of p_t angular correlations inferred from mean-p_t fluctuation scale dependence in heavy ion collisions at the SPS and RHIC

We present the first study of the energy dependence of pt angular correlations inferred from event-wisemean transverse momentum (pt) fluctuations in heavy ion collisions. We compare our large-acceptancemeasurements at CM energies √^sNN = 19.6, 62.4, 130 and 200 GeV to SPS measurements at 12.3 and 17.3 GeV. p_t angular correlation structure suggests that the principal source of p_t correlations and fluctuations is minijets (minimum-bias parton fragments). We observe a dramatic increase in correlations and fluctuations from SPS to RHIC energies, increasing linearly with ln √^sNN from the onset of observable jet-related (p_t) fluctuations near 10 GeV

The color of sea level: importance of spatial variations in spectral shape for assessing the significance of trends

We investigate spatial variations in the shape of the spectrum of sea level variability, based on a homogeneously-sampled 12-year gridded altimeter dataset. We present a method of plotting spectral information as color, focusing on periods between 2 and 24 weeks, which shows that significant spatial variations in the spectral shape exist, and contain useful dynamical information. Using the Bayesian Information Criterion, we determine that, typically, a 5th order autoregressive model is needed to capture the structure in the spectrum. Using this model, we show that statistical errors in fitted local trends range between less than 1 and more than 5 times what would be calculated assuming “white” noise, and the time needed to detect a 1 mm/yr trend ranges between about 5 years and many decades. For global-mean sea level, the statistical error reduces to 0.1 mm/yr over 12 years, with only 2 years needed to detect a 1 mm/yr trend. We find significant regional differences in trend from the global mean. The patterns of these regional differences are indicative of a sea level trend dominated by dynamical ocean processes, over this perio

Two-particle correlations on transverse momentum and momentum dissipation in Au–Au collisions at √sNN = 130 GeV

Measurements of two-particle correlations on transverse momentum p_t for Au–Au collisions at √^sNN = 130 GeV are presented. Significant largemomentum-scale correlations are observed for charged primary hadrons with 0.15 ≤ p_t ≤ 2 GeV/c and pseudorapidity |η| ≤ 1.3. Such correlations were not observed in a similar study at lower energy and are not predicted by theoretical collision models. Their direct relation to mean-p_t fluctuations measured in the same angular acceptance is demonstrated. Positive correlations are observed for pairs of particles which have large pt values while negative correlations occur for pairs in which one particle has large p_t and the other has much lower p_t . The correlation amplitudes per final state particle increase with collision centrality. The observed correlations are consistent with a scenario in which the transverse momentum of hadrons associated with initial-stage semi-hard parton scattering is dissipated by the medium to lower p_t

Japan and the East Asian financial crisis: patterns, motivations and instrumentalisation of Japanese regional economic diplomacy

At first sight, the East Asian financial crisis represents an instance of Japan failing the test of regional leadership - as evidenced by its abandonment of initial proposals for an Asian Monetary Fund (AMF) in the face of US and Chinese opposition in 1997. However, if a second look is taken, and one which is sensitised to the fundamental characteristics of its diplomacy, then Japan can be seen as far more effective in augmenting its regional leadership role than previously imagined. Indeed, this article demonstrates that Japanese policy-makers have resurrected, over the longer term and in different guises, AMF-like frameworks which provide a potential springboard for further regional cooperation. Hence, the aims of this article are twofold. The first is to demonstrate the overall efficacy of Japanese regional economic diplomacy, and its ability to control outcomes through steering East Asia towards enhanced monetary cooperation. The second is to explain the reasons behind Japan's distinctive policy approach towards the financial crisis and general lessons for understanding its foreign policy. The article seeks to do so by asking three fundamental questions about the 'what', 'why' and 'how' of Japan's regional role: 'what' in terms of the dominant behavioural patterns of Japan's economic diplomacy; 'why' in terms of the motivations for this behaviour; and 'how' in terms of Japan's instrumentalisation of its regional policy