1,558 research outputs found
Ancient Amazonian populations left lasting impacts on forest structure
Amazonia contains a vast expanse of contiguous tropical forest and is influential in global carbon and hydrological cycles. Whether ancient Amazonia was highly disturbed or modestly impacted, and how ancient disturbances have shaped current forest ecosystem processes, is still under debate. Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs), which are anthropic soil types with enriched nutrient levels, are one of the primary lines of evidence for ancient human presence and landscape modifications in settings that mostly lack stone structures and which are today covered by vegetation. We assessed the potential of using moderate spatial resolution optical satellite imagery to predict ADEs across the Amazon Basin. Maximum entropy modeling was used to develop a predictive model using locations of ADEs across the basin and satelliteâderived remotely sensed indices. Amazonian Dark Earth sites were predicted to be primarily along the main rivers and in eastern Amazonia. Amazonian Dark Earth sites, when compared with randomly selected forested sites located within 50 km of ADE sites, were less green canopies (lower normalized difference vegetation index) and had lower canopy water content. This difference was accentuated in two drought years, 2005 and 2010. This is contrary to our expectation that ADE sites would have nutrientârich soils that support trees with greener canopies and forests on ADE soils being more resilient to drought. Biomass and tree height were lower on ADE sites in comparison with randomly selected adjacent sites. Our results suggested that ADEârelated ancient human impact on the forest is measurable across the entirety of the 6 million km2 of Amazon Basin using remotely sensed data
Intermanifold similarities in partial photoionization cross sections of helium
Using the eigenchannel R-matrix method we calculate partial photoionization
cross sections from the ground state of the helium atom for incident photon
energies up to the N=9 manifold. The wide energy range covered by our
calculations permits a thorough investigation of general patterns in the cross
sections which were first discussed by Menzel and co-workers [Phys. Rev. A {\bf
54}, 2080 (1996)]. The existence of these patterns can easily be understood in
terms of propensity rules for autoionization. As the photon energy is increased
the regular patterns are locally interrupted by perturber states until they
fade out indicating the progressive break-down of the propensity rules and the
underlying approximate quantum numbers. We demonstrate that the destructive
influence of isolated perturbers can be compensated with an energy-dependent
quantum defect.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, replacement with some typos correcte
THE DENSITY OF LIQUID PLUTONIUM METAL
Measurements were made of the product of surface tension (Ï) and the contact angle (Ξ) of liquid plutonium vs solid tantalum and of the density of liquid plutonium (p) as functions of temperature between 655 and 960°C. The following values were obtained: Ï cos Ξ = 1030 - (0.967)T d/cm and p = [17.56 - (1.45 x 10)T] ± 0.021 g/cm. A single determination was also made of the liquid density of a plutonium-7.93 atomic percent iron alloy and he following value obtained: p = [16.88 - (1.36)T] ± 0.012 g/cm
Resonance structure in the Li^- photodetachment cross section
We report on the first observation of resonance structure in the total cross
section for the photodetachment of Li^-. The structure arises from the
autodetaching decay of doubly excited ^1P states of Li^- that are bound with
respect to the 3p state of the Li atom. Calculations have been performed for
both Li^- and H^- to assist in the identification of these resonances. The
lowest lying resonance is a symmetrically excited intrashell resonance. Higher
lying asymmetrically excited intershell states are observed which converge on
the Li(3p) limit.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure, 19 references, RevTeX, figures in ep
Ecological Science Infrastructure for Sustainability Transformations in Rangelands
Sustainability transformationsâdeliberate and radical shifts in values, governance, and management regimes to achieve sustainabilityâare needed in rangelands as in other components of the Earth system. We review four concepts comprising an ecological science infrastructure to support such transformations. The foundation is standard measurement of rangeland conditions in the field, especially vegetation and soil properties that underpin the environmental aspects of sustainability. Big data resources, especially gridded spatial datasets produced by models and remote sensing, can be combined with field data and computational approaches to upscale information about rangeland conditions and produce additional indicators of ecosystem functions and services. State and transition models (STMs) linked to land types provide a means to interpret indicators and link interpretations to sustainable land management practices to manage change. Technologies for climate adaptation in rangelands also need to be linked to STM databases. Web and mobile technologies can put multifaceted science knowledge into the hands of pastoralists worldwide to support transformational changes in how rangelands are managed
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