Agricultural application of remote sensing. The potential from space platforms

Agricultural applications of photographic sensors and photograph interpretation techniques from orbiting satellite

Current reversal and exclusion processes with history-dependent random walks

A class of exclusion processes in which particles perform history-dependent random walks is introduced, stimulated by dynamic phenomena in some biological and artificial systems. The particles locally interact with the underlying substrate by breaking and reforming lattice bonds. We determine the steady-state current on a ring, and find current-reversal as a function of particle density. This phenomenon is attributed to the non-local interaction between the walkers through their trails, which originates from strong correlations between the dynamics of the particles and the lattice. We rationalize our findings within an effective description in terms of quasi-particles which we call front barriers. Our analytical results are complemented by stochastic simulations.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

The Coupled GCM ECHO-2. Part I: The Tropical Pacific

In this paper the performance of the global coupled general circulation model (CGCM) ECHO-2, which was integrated for 10 years without the application of flux correction, is described. Although the integration is rather short, strong and weak points of this CGCM can be clearly identified, especially in view of the model's performance of the annual cycle in the tropical Pacific. The latter is simulated with more success relative to the earlier version, ECHO-I. A better representation of the low-level stratus clouds in the atmosphere model associated with a reduction in the shortwave radiative flux at the air-sea interface improved the coupled model's performance in the southeastern tropical oceans, with a strongly reduced warm bias in these regions. Modifications in the atmospheric convection scheme also eliminated the AGCM's tendency to simulate a double ITCZ, and this behavior is maintained in the CGCM simulation. Finally, a new numerical scheme for active tracer advection in the ocean model strongly reduced the numerical mixing, which seems to enhance considerably the level of interannual variability in the equatorial Pacific. One weak point is an overall cold bias in the Tropics and midlatitudes, which typically amounts to 1°C in open ocean regions. Another weak point is the still too strong equatorial cold tongue, which penetrates too far into the western equatorial Pacific. Although this model deficiency is not as pronounced as in ECHO-1, the too strong cold tongue reduces the level of interannual rainfall variability in the western and central equatorial Pacific. Finally, the interannual fluctuations in equatorial Pacific sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are too equatorially trapped, a problem that is also found in ocean-only simulations. Overall, however, the authors believe that the ECHO-2 CGCM has been considerably improved relative to ECHO-1

Are immigrant children admitted to intensive care at increased risk?

These findings indicate that disparities may exist at a lower level of illness severity, due to many possible reasons (for example shortcomings in primary health care). However, once a child enters tertiary health care, nationality and socio-economic factors no longer influence quality of health care delivery

Traffic jams induced by rare switching events in two-lane transport

We investigate a model for driven exclusion processes where internal states are assigned to the particles. The latter account for diverse situations, ranging from spin states in spintronics to parallel lanes in intracellular or vehicular traffic. Introducing a coupling between the internal states by allowing particles to switch from one to another induces an intriguing polarization phenomenon. In a mesoscopic scaling, a rich stationary regime for the density profiles is discovered, with localized domain walls in the density profile of one of the internal states being feasible. We derive the shape of the density profiles as well as resulting phase diagrams analytically by a mean-field approximation and a continuum limit. Continuous as well as discontinuous lines of phase transition emerge, their intersections induce multi-critical behaviour

Bolometric and UV Light Curves of Core-Collapse Supernovae

The Swift UV-Optical Telescope (UVOT) has been observing Core-Collapse Supernovae (CCSNe) of all subtypes in the UV and optical since 2005. We present here 50 CCSNe observed with the Swift UVOT, analyzing their UV properties and behavior. Where we have multiple UV detections in all three UV filters (\lambda c = 1928 - 2600 \AA), we generate early time bolometric light curves, analyze the properties of these light curves, the UV contribution to them, and derive empirical corrections for the UV-flux contribution to optical-IR based bolometric light curves

Martian surface physical properties to be derived by radar altimeter on the Mars observer spacecraft

The potential is described of a candidate Mars Observer altimeter for determining dielectric properties of Mars regolith. It is pointed out that it is straightforward to use the time between altimeter pulse trains for passive radiometry (hence dielectric properties) and roughness can be derived. Given the mission plan the whole surface can be mapped at least three times, yielding data on seasonal variability

Canonical phase space approach to the noisy Burgers equation

Presenting a general phase approach to stochastic processes we analyze in particular the Fokker-Planck equation for the noisy Burgers equation and discuss the time dependent and stationary probability distributions. In one dimension we derive the long-time skew distribution approaching the symmetric stationary Gaussian distribution. In the short time regime we discuss heuristically the nonlinear soliton contributions and derive an expression for the distribution in accordance with the directed polymer-replica model and asymmetric exclusion model results.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex file, submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. a reference has been added and a few typos correcte

The use of happiness research for public policy

Research on happiness tends to follow a "benevolent dictator" approach where politicians pursue people's happiness. This paper takes an antithetic approach based on the insights of public choice theory. First, we inquire how the results of happiness research may be used to improve the choice of institutions. Second, we show that the policy approach matters for the choice of research questions and the kind of knowledge happiness research aims to provide. Third, we emphasize that there is no shortcut to an optimal policy maximizing some happiness indicator or social welfare function since governments have an incentive to manipulate this indicator

The radio structure of 3C 316, a galaxy with double-peaked narrow optical emission lines

The galaxy 3C\,316 is the brightest in the radio band among the optically-selected candidates exhibiting double-peaked narrow optical emission lines. Observations with the Very Large Array (VLA), Multi-Element Remotely Linked Interferometer Network (e-MERLIN), and the European VLBI Network (EVN) at 5\,GHz have been used to study the radio structure of the source in order to determine the nature of the nuclear components and to determine the presence of radio cores. The e-MERLIN image of 3C 316 reveals a collimated coherent east-west emission structure with a total extent of about 3 kpc. The EVN image shows seven discrete compact knots on an S-shaped line. However, none of these knots could be unambiguously identified as an AGN core. The observations suggest that the majority of the radio structure belongs to a powerful radio AGN, whose physical size and radio spectrum classify it as a compact steep-spectrum source. Given the complex radio structure with radio blobs and knots, the possibility of a kpc-separation dual AGN cannot be excluded if the secondary is either a naked core or radio quiet.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in the MNRA