Remotely sensed and laboratory spectral signatures of an ocean-dumped acid waste

An ocean-dumped acid waste plume was studied by using a rapid scanning spectrometer to remotely measure ocean radiance from a helicopter. The results of these studies are presented and compared with results from sea truth samples and laboratory experiments. An ocean spectral reflectance signature and a laboratory spectral transmission signature were established for the iron-acid waste pollutant. The spectrally and chemically significant component of the acid waste pollutant was determined to be ferric iron

Adopting national vegetation guidelines and the National Vegetation Information System (NVIS) framework in the Northern Territory

Guidelines and core attributes for site-based vegetation surveying and mapping developed for the Northern Territory, are relevant to botanical research, forestry typing, rangeland monitoring and reporting on the extent and condition of native and non-native vegetated landscapes. These initiatives are consistent with national vegetation guidelines and the National Vegetation Information System (NVIS) framework. This paper provides a synopsis of vegetation site data collection, classification and mapping in the Northern Territory, and discusses the benefits of consistency between the guidelines, core attributes and the NVIS framework; both of which has an emphasis on the NVIS hierarchical classification system for describing structural and floristic attributes of vegetation. The long-term aim of the NVIS framework is that national attributes are adopted at regional levels to enable comparability of vegetation information within survey and jurisdictional boundaries in the Northern Territory and across Australia. The guidelines and core attributes are incorporated in current and future vegetation survey and mapping programs in the Northern Territory

Evaluation of remote sensing in control of pink bollworm in cotton

The author has identified the following significant results. This project is to identify and map cotton fields in the southern deserts of California. Cotton in the Imperial, Coachella, and Palo Verde Valleys is heavily infested by the pink bollworm which affects both the quantity and quality of cotton produced. In California the growing season of cotton is regulated by establishing planting and plowdown dates. These procedures ensure that the larvae, whose diapause or resting period occurs during the winter months, will have no plant material on which to feed, thus inhibiting spring moth emergence. the underflight data from the U-2 aircraft has shound that it is possible to detect the differences between a growing, a defoliated, and plowed down field providing the locations of the fields are known. The ERTS-1 MSS data are being analyzed using an I2S optical color combiner to determine which combinations of dates and colors will identify cotton fields and thus provide the data needed to produce maps of the fields for the forthcoming season

Evaluation of remote sensing in control of pink bollworm in cotton

The author has identified the following significant results. This investigation is to evaluate the use of a satellite in monitoring the cotton production regulation program of the State of California as an aid in controlling pink bollworm infestation in the southern deserts of California. Color combined images of ERTS-1 multispectral images simulating color infrared are being used for crop identification. The status of each field (crop, bare, harvested, wet, plowed) is mapped from the imagery and is then compared to ground survey information taken at the time of ERTS-1 overflights. A computer analysis has been performed to compare field and satellite data to a crop calendar. Correlation to date has been 97% for field condition. Actual crop identification varies; cotton identification is only 63% due to lack of full season coverage

Viking orbiter stereo imaging catalog

The extremely long mission of the two Viking Orbiter spacecraft produced a wealth of photos of surface features. Many of these photos can be used to form stereo images allowing the student of Mars to examine a subject in three dimensional. This catalog is a technical guide to the use of stereo coverage within the complex Viking imaging data set

Support for Gay and Lesbian Rights: How and Why the South Differs from the Rest of the Country

The South provides far fewer legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans than does the rest of the country. Because state gay rights policies strongly reflect public opinion, trends in and the causes of Southerners’ stronger opposition to homosexuality and gay rights are key to the future of lesbian and gay rights in the region. Using data for over 200,000 respondents to over 150 surveys, we assess the width, stability, and roots of Southern differences in beliefs about whether homosexual sex should be legal, schools should employ lesbian and gay teachers, same-sex marriage should be legal, and homosexual relations are “not wrong at all.” We find strong and stable regional divergences that owe much to Southerners’ greater religiosity, conservatism, and Republican party identification and their higher probabilities of being evangelical Protestants and African Americans. Migration patterns seem to maintain rather than to narrow or widen regional differences on gay rights

Neighborhood and Individual Level Socioeconomic Variation in Perceptions of Racial Discrimination

In approaching the study of racial discrimination and health, the neighborhood and individual-level antecedents of perceived discrimination need further exploration. We investigated the relationship between neighborhood and individual-level socioeconomic position (SEP), neighborhood racial composition, and perceived racial discrimination in a cohort of African-American and White women age 40-79 from Connecticut, USA. Design. The logistic regression analysis included 1249 women (39% African- American and 61% White). Neighborhood-level SEP and racial composition were determined using 1990 census tract information. Individual-level SEP indicators included income, education, and occupation. Perceived racial discrimination was measured as lifetime experience in seven situations. Results. For African-American women, living in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods was associated with fewer reports of racial discrimination (odds ratio (OR) 0.44; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.26, 0.75), with results attenuated after adjustment for individual-level SEP (OR 0.54, CI: 0.29, 1.03), and additional adjustment for neighborhood racial composition (OR 0.70, CI: 0.30, 1.63). African-American women with 12 years of education or less were less likely to report racial discrimination, compared with women with more than 12 years of education (OR 0.57, CI: 0.33, 0.98 (12 years); OR 0.51, CI: 0.26, 0.99 (less than 12 years)) in the fully adjusted model. For White women, neither neighborhood-level SEP nor individual-level SEP was associated with perceived racial discrimination. Conclusion. Individual and neighborhood-level SEP may be important in understanding how racial discrimination is perceived, reported, processed, and how it may influence health. In order to fully assess the role of racism in future studies, inclusion of additional dimensions of discrimination may be warranted

[OII] emitters in the GOODS field at z~1.85: a homogeneous measure of evolving star formation

We present the results of a deep, near-infrared, narrow band imaging survey at a central wavelength of 1.062 microns (FWHM=0.01 microns) in the GOODS-South field using the ESO VLT instrument, HAWK-I. The data are used to carry out the highest redshift search for [OII]3727 emission line galaxies to date. The images reach an emission line flux limit (5 sigma) of 1.5 x 10^-17 erg cm^-2 s^-1, additionally making the survey the deepest of its kind at high redshift. In this paper we identify a sample of [OII]3727 emission line objects at redshift z~1.85 in a co-moving volume of ~4100 Mpc^3. Objects are selected using an observed equivalent width (EW_obs) threshold of EW_obs = 50 angstroms. The sample is used to derive the space density and constrain the luminosity function of [OII] emitters at z=1.85. We find that the space density of objects with observed [OII] luminosities in the range log(L_[OII]) > 41.74 erg s^-1 is log(rho)=-2.45+/-0.14 Mpc^-3, a factor of 2 greater than the observed space density of [OII] emitters reported at z~1.4. After accounting for completeness and assuming an internal extinction correction of A_Halpha=1 mag (equivalent to A_[OII]=1.87), we report a star formation rate density of rho* ~0.38+/-0.06 Msun yr^-1 Mpc^-3. We independently derive the dust extinction of the sample using 24 micron fluxes and find a mean extinction of A_[OII]=0.98+/-0.11 magnitudes (A_Halpha=0.52). This is significantly lower than the A_Halpha=1 (A[OII]=1.86) mag value widely used in the literature. Finally we incorporate this improved extinction correction into the star formation rate density measurement and report rho*~0.24+/-0.06 Msun yr^-1 Mpc^-3.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Electron-impact excitation of X 1Sigma_g⁺(v[double-prime]=0) to the a[double-prime] 1Sigma_g⁺, b 1Piu, c3 1Piu, o3 1Piu, b[prime] 1Sigma_u⁺, c₄^[prime] 1Sigma_u⁺, G 3Piu, and F 3Piu states of molecular nitrogen

Measurements of differential cross sections (DCSs) for electron-impact excitation of the a[double-prime] 1Sigmag+, b 1Piu, c3 1Piu, o3 1Piu, b[prime] 1Sigmau+, c4[prime] 1Sigmau+, G 3Piu, and F 3Piu states in N2 from the X 1Sigmag+(v[double-prime]=0) ground level are presented. The DCSs were obtained from energy-loss spectra in the region of 12 to 13.82 eV measured at incident energies of 17.5, 20, 30, 50, and 100 eV and for scattering angles ranging from 2° to 130°. The analysis of the spectra follows a different algorithm from that employed in a previous study of N2 for the valence states [Khakoo et al. Phys. Rev. A 71, 062703 (2005)], since the 1Piu and 1Sigmau+ states form strongly interacting Rydberg-valence series. The results are compared with existing data

Assessment of locations along the proposed HS2 Routes that are likely to experience ground vibration boom from high-speed trains

Ground vibration boom is a physical phenomenon associated with a dramatic increase in railway-generated ground vibrations that can occur when train speeds exceed the velocity of Rayleigh waves in the supporting ground. The present paper describes the results of the preliminary assessment of the proposed HS2 routes from the point of view of possible occurrence of ground vibration boom. The analysis is based on the available geological information about the soil composition along the proposed HS2 routes and on the expected train speeds, including areas of train acceleration and deceleration between railway terminals. Rayleigh wave velocities have been calculated for all sites along the routes using the geological data and compared with the expected train speeds at the relevant locations. Using this method, several sensitive locations have been identified where ground vibration boom is likely to occur. The expected levels of ground vibration boom for some sites have been estimated