234 research outputs found
Quantifying the effects of freeze-thaw transitions and snowpack melt on land surface albedo and energy exchange over Alaska and Western Canada
Variations in land surface albedo and snow-cover strongly impact the global biosphere, particularly through the snow-albedo feedback on climate. The seasonal freeze-thaw (FT) transition is coupled with snowpack melt dynamics and strongly impacts surface water mobility and the energy budget in the northern (â„45°N) arctic and boreal region (ABR). However, understanding of the regional variation in snowmelt and its effect on the surface energy budget are limited due to sparse in situ measurements of these processes and environmental constraints on effective monitoring within the ABR. In this study, we combined synergistic observations from overlapping satellite optical-infrared and microwave sensor records to quantify the regional patterns and seasonal progression in wet snow conditions during the spring snowmelt and autumn snow accumulation periods across Alaska and western Canada. The integrated satellite record included daily landscape FT status from AMSR microwave brightness temperature retrievals; and snow-cover extent, black sky albedo and net shortwave solar radiation (R snet) derived from MODIS and AVHRR observations. The integrated satellite records were analyzed with in situ surface air temperature and humidity observations from regional weather stations over a two-year study period (2015â2016) overlapping with the NASA ABoVE (Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment). Our results show a large (79%) mean decline in land surface albedo between dry snow and snow-free conditions during the spring (MarchâJune) and autumn (AugustâNovember) transition periods. Onset of diurnal thawing and refreezing of the surface snow layer and associated wet snow conditions in spring contributed to an approximate 25% decrease in snow cover albedo that extended over a seven to 21 week snowpack depletion period. The lower wet snow albedo enhances R snet by approximately 74% (9â10âMJâmâ2âdâ1) relative to dry snow conditions, reinforcing snowmelt and surface warming, and contributing to growing season onset and activation of biological and hydrological processes in the ABR. These results contribute to better understanding of snow albedo feedbacks to Arctic amplification, and the representation of these processes in global Earth system models
Quantifying the effects of spring freeze-thaw transitions and snowpack dynamics on surface albedo change using satellite optical and microwave remote sensing
Properties of mesoscopic superconducting thin-film rings. London approach
Superconducting thin-film rings smaller than the film penetration depth (the
Pearl length) are considered. The current distribution, magnetic moment, and
thermodynamic potential for a flat, washer-shaped annular
ring in a uniform applied field perpendicular to the film are solved
analytically within the London approach for a state with winding number and
a vortex at radius between the inner and outer radii.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Book Reviews
An Estate Planner\u27s Handbook By Mayo Adams Shattuck
Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1948. Pp. 575. 20.00
reviewer: Charles L.B. Lowndes
===============================
Federal Taxes--Corporations and Partnerships, 1948-49 By Robert H. Montgomery, Conrad B. Taylor and Mark E. Richardson
Vol. I: Gross Income and Deductions Vol. II: Taxes, Returns and Administration New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1948. Pp. xiii, 1001; pp. iv, 881. 10.00
reviewer: Adrian W. DeWind
================================
Wills, Gifts and Estate Planning Under the 1948 Revenue Act
By Seymour S. Mintz, Richard C. Flesch and Bernard Soman
Washington: The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 1948. Pp. 328. 5.00
reviewer: John R. Stiver
Investigating how faculty social networks and peer influence relate to knowledge and use of evidence-based teaching practices
Background: Calls for science education reform have been made for decades in the USA. The recent call to produce one million new science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) graduates over 10 years highlights the need to employ evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs) in undergraduate STEM classes to create engaging and effective learning environments. EBIPs are teaching strategies that have been empirically demonstrated to positively impact student learning, attitudes, and achievement in STEM disciplines. However, the mechanisms and processes by which faculty learn about and choose to implement EBIPs remain unclear. To explore this problem area, we used social network analysis to examine how an instructorâs knowledge and use of EBIPs may be influenced by their peers within a STEM department. We investigated teaching discussion networks in biology and chemistry departments at three public universities.
Results: We report that tie strength and tie diversity vary between departments, but that mean indegree is not correlated with organizational rank or tenure status. We also describe that teaching discussion ties can often be characterized as strong ties based on two measures of tie strength. Further, we compare peer influence models and find consistent evidence that peer influence in these departments follows a network disturbances model.
Conclusions: Our findings with respect to tie strength and tie diversity indicate that the social network structures in these departments vary in how conducive they might be to change. The correlation in teaching practice between discussion partner and peer influence models suggest that change agents should consider local social network characteristics when developing change strategies. In particular, change agents can expect that faculty may serve as opinion leaders regardless of their academic rank and that faculty can increase their use of EBIPs even if those they speak to about teaching use EBIPs comparatively less
A Proposed System for All Weather Attack on Moving Vehicles
Control Systems Laboratory changed its name to Coordinated Science LaboratoryContract DA-11-022-ORD-72
Physical Optimization of Quantum Error Correction Circuits
Quantum error correcting codes have been developed to protect a quantum
computer from decoherence due to a noisy environment. In this paper, we present
two methods for optimizing the physical implementation of such error correction
schemes. First, we discuss an optimal quantum circuit implementation of the
smallest error-correcting code (the three bit code). Quantum circuits are
physically implemented by serial pulses, i.e. by switching on and off external
parameters in the Hamiltonian one after another. In contrast to this, we
introduce a new parallel switching method that allows faster gate operation by
switching all external parameters simultaneously. These two methods are applied
to electron spins in coupled quantum dots subject to a Heisenberg coupling
H=J(t) S_1*S_2 which can generate the universal quantum gate
`square-root-of-swap'. Using parallel pulses, the encoding for three-bit
quantum error correction in a Heisenberg system can be accelerated by a factor
of about two. We point out that parallel switching has potential applications
for arbitrary quantum computer architectures.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure
Atomic force microscopyâA tool for structural and translational DNA research
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a powerful imaging technique that allows for structural characterization of single biomolecules with nanoscale resolution. AFM has a unique capability to image biological molecules in their native states under physiological conditions without the need for labeling or averaging. DNA has been extensively imaged with AFM from early single-molecule studies of conformational diversity in plasmids, to recent examinations of intramolecular variation between groove depths within an individual DNA molecule. The ability to image dynamic biological interactions in situ has also allowed for the interaction of various proteins and therapeutic ligands with DNA to be evaluatedâproviding insights into structural assembly, flexibility, and movement. This review provides an overview of how innovation and optimization in AFM imaging have advanced our understanding of DNA structure, mechanics, and interactions. These include studies of the secondary and tertiary structure of DNA, including how these are affected by its interactions with proteins. The broader role of AFM as a tool in translational cancer research is also explored through its use in imaging DNA with key chemotherapeutic ligands, including those currently employed in clinical practice
- âŠ