43,079 research outputs found
Can tract element distributions reclaim tectonomagmatic facies of basalts in greenstone assemblages?
During the past two decades many words have been written both for and against the hypothesis that the tectonic setting of a suite of igneous rocks is retained by the chemical variability within the suite. For example, it is argued that diagrams can be constructed from modern/recent basalt subcompositions within the system Ti-Zr-Y-Nb-Sr such that tectonomagmatic settings can be reclaimed. If one accepts this conclusion, it is tempting to inquire as to how far this hypothesis can be extended into other petrological realms. If chemical variations of metabasalts retain information relating to their genesis (tectonic setting), for example, this would be most helpful in reconstructing the history of basalts from greenstone belts. A discussion follows
The Penn Science Teacher Institute: A Proven Model
The University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Chemistry Education (MCE) program graduated five cohorts of approximately twenty teachers between 2002 and 2006. One year after the teachers in the last cohort earned their degrees, the Penn Science Teacher Institute (Penn STI) initiated a follow-up study to ascertain if the goals of the MCE program had been sustained. For example, were the teachers incorporating updated content knowledge into their lessons and were their students learning more chemistry? A total of seventy-four of the eighty-two graduates participated in some aspect of this study. Because baseline data were not available for the MCE teachers and their students, baseline data from a comparable group of chemistry teachers enrolled in the first cohort of the Penn STI program and their students were used in some analyses. Among other findings, the data indicate that MCE met its goals: 1) to improve the chemistry content knowledge of its teacher participants; 2) to increase the use of research-based instruction in their classrooms; and, 3) to improve student achievement in chemistry (students of MCE graduates scored significantly higher than the comparison group)
Outport adaptations: Social indicators through Newfoundland\u27s Cod crisis
The 1992 moratorium on fishing for Northern Cod marked a symbolic end to the way of life that had sustained Newfoundland\u27s out ports for hundreds of years. It also marked the completion of an ecological regime shift, from an ocean ecosystem dominated by cod and other predatory ground fish, to one in which such fish are comparatively scarce, and lower-trophic-level invertebrates more common. We examine patterns of change seen in large-scale social indicators, which reflect the smaller-scale adaptations of individuals and communities during this ecological shift. Trends in population, migration, age, unemployment and dependency suggest declining conditions in rural Newfoundland over the years of fisheries troubles. The 1992 crisis accelerated previous trends, but did not produce great discontinuities. Some trends date instead to the late-1980s resource-depletion phase that ended the glory years of Newfoundland\u27s ground fish boom. Government interventions meant to soften the economic impact of the 1992 crisis also blunted its social impacts, effectively postponing or distributing these over a number of subsequent years. Out port society is adapting to shifts in the regulatory and global-market environment, as well as changing marine ecology. Adaptive strategies include new investments in invertebrate fisheries, changes in education and migration, and continuing reliance on the informal economy
The Darkest Shadows: Deep Mid-Infrared Extinction Mapping of a Massive Protocluster
We use deep Spitzer-IRAC imaging of a massive Infrared Dark Cloud
(IRDC) G028.37+00.07 to construct a Mid-Infrared (MIR) extinction map that
probes mass surface densities up to
(mag), amongst the highest values yet probed by extinction
mapping. Merging with a NIR extinction map of the region, creates a high
dynamic range map that reveals structures down to mag. We utilize
the map to: (1) Measure a cloud mass within a radius
of pc. CO kinematics indicate that the cloud is gravitationally
bound. It thus has the potential to form one of the most massive young star
clusters known in the Galaxy. (2) Characterize the structures of 16 massive
cores within the IRDC, finding they can be fit by singular polytropic spheres
with and . They have
--- relatively low values
that, along with their measured cold temperatures, suggest magnetic fields,
rather than accretion-powered radiative heating, are important for controlling
fragmentation of these cores. (3) Determine the (equivalently column
density or ) probability distribution function (PDF) for a region that is
near complete for mag. The PDF is well fit by a single log-normal with
mean mag, high compared to other known clouds. It does
not exhibit a separate high-end power law tail, which has been claimed to
indicate the importance of self-gravity. However, we suggest that the PDF does
result from a self-similar, self-gravitating hierarchy of structure being
present over a wide range of scales in the cloud.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, accepted to ApJ
The output distribution of important LULU-operators
Two procedures to compute the output distribution phi_S of certain stack
filters S (so called erosion-dilation cascades) are given. One rests on the
disjunctive normal form of S and also yields the rank selection probabilities.
The other is based on inclusion-exclusion and e.g. yields phi_S for some
important LULU-operators S. Properties of phi_S can be used to characterize
smoothing properties of S. One of the methods discussed also allows for the
calculation of the reliability polynomial of any positive Boolean function
(e.g. one derived from a connected graph).Comment: 20 pages, up to trivial differences this is the final version to be
published in Quaestiones Mathematicae 201
The Early Evolution of Rhynchosaurs
The rhynchosaurian archosauromorphs are an important and diverse group of fossil tetrapods that first appeared during the Early Triassic and probably became extinct during the early Late Triassic (early Norian). Here, the early evolution of rhynchosaurs during the Early and early Middle Triassic (Induan-Anisian: 252.2-242 Mya) is reviewed based on new anatomical observations and their implications for the taxonomy, phylogenetic relationships and macroevolutionary history of the group. A quantitative phylogenetic analysis recovered a paraphyletic genus Rhynchosaurus, with “Rhynchosaurus” brodiei more closely related to hyperodapedontines than to Rhynchosaurus articeps. Therefore, a new genus is erected, resulting in the new combination Langeronyx brodiei. A body size analysis found two independent increases in size in the evolutionary history of rhynchosaurs, one among stenaulorhynchines and the other in the hyperodapedontine lineage. Maximum likelihood fitting of phenotypic evolution models to body size data found ambiguous results, with body size evolution potentially interpreted as fitting either a non-directional Brownian motion model or a stasis model. A Dispersal-ExtinctionCladogenesis analysis reconstructed the areas that are now South Africa and Europe as the ancestral areas of Rhynchosauria and Rhynchosauridae, respectively. The reconstruction of dispersal events between geographic areas that are broadly separated paleolatitudinally implies that barriers to the dispersal of rhynchosaurs from either side of the paleo-Equator during the Middle Triassic were either absent or permeable.Fil: Ezcurra, Martin Daniel. University of Birmingham; Reino Unido. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Montefeltro, Felipe C.. University of Birmingham; Reino Unido. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Butler, Richard J.. University of Birmingham; Reino Unid
A new survivability measure for military communication networks
A new measure for survivability of military communication networks based upon topological structures is presented. The proposed measure can be used to evaluate and enhance the survivability of military communication networks, which is illustrated through case studies. The computer simulation results have shown that the new measure can well reflect the survivability of networks. It can be used as a reliable criterion for estimating the survivability of networks and designing networks with high survivability
Investigation of potential of differential absorption Lidar techniques for remote sensing of atmospheric pollutants
The NASA multipurpose differential absorption lidar (DIAL) system uses two high conversion efficiency dye lasers which are optically pumped by two frequency-doubled Nd:YAG lasers mounted rigidly on a supporting structure that also contains the transmitter, receiver, and data system. The DIAL system hardware design and data acquisition system are described. Timing diagrams, logic diagrams, and schematics, and the theory of operation of the control electronics are presented. Success in obtaining remote measurements of ozone profiles with an airborne systems is reported and results are analyzed
An experimental/analytical program to assess the utility of lidar for pollution monitoring
The development and demonstration of lidar techniques for the remote measurement of atmospheric constituents and transport processes in the lower troposphere was carried out. Particular emphasis was given to techniques for monitoring SO2 and particulates, the principal pollutants in power plant and industrial plumes. Data from a plume dispersion study conducted in Maryland during September and October 1976 were reduced, and a data base was assembled which is available to the scientific community for plume model verification. A UV Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) was built, and preliminary testing was done
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