8,243 research outputs found
Synthetic aperture radar/LANDSAT MSS image registration
Algorithms and procedures necessary to merge aircraft synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and LANDSAT multispectral scanner (MSS) imagery were determined. The design of a SAR/LANDSAT data merging system was developed. Aircraft SAR images were registered to the corresponding LANDSAT MSS scenes and were the subject of experimental investigations. Results indicate that the registration of SAR imagery with LANDSAT MSS imagery is feasible from a technical viewpoint, and useful from an information-content viewpoint
Vortex spectrum in superfluid turbulence: interpretation of a recent experiment
We discuss a recent experiment in which the spectrum of the vortex line
density fluctuations has been measured in superfluid turbulence. The observed
frequency dependence of the spectrum, , disagrees with classical
vorticity spectra if, following the literature, the vortex line density is
interpreted as a measure of the vorticity or enstrophy. We argue that the
disagrement is solved if the vortex line density field is decomposed into a
polarised field (which carries most of the energy) and an isotropic field
(which is responsible for the spectrum).Comment: Submitted for publication
http://crtbt.grenoble.cnrs.fr/helio/GROUP/infa.html
http://www.mas.ncl.ac.uk/~ncfb
Using a Gridded Global Dataset to Characterize Regional Hydroclimate in Central Chile
Central Chile is facing dramatic projections of climate change, with a consensus for declining precipitation, negatively affecting hydropower generation and irrigated agriculture. Rising from sea level to 6000 m within a distance of 200 km, precipitation characterization is difficult because of a lack of long-term observations, especially at higher elevations. For understanding current mean and extreme conditions and recent hydroclimatological change, as well as to provide a baseline for downscaling climate model projections, a temporally and spatially complete dataset of daily meteorology is essential. The authors use a gridded global daily meteorological dataset at 0.25° resolution for the period 1948–2008, adjusted by monthly precipitation observations interpolated to the same grid using a cokriging method with elevation as a covariate. For validation, daily statistics of the adjusted gridded precipitation are compared to station observations. For further validation, a hydrology model is driven with the gridded 0.25° meteorology and streamflow statistics are compared with observed flow. The high elevation precipitation is validated by comparing the simulated snow extent to Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images. Results show that the daily meteorology with the adjusted precipitation can accurately capture the statistical properties of extreme events as well as the sequence of wet and dry events, with hydrological model results displaying reasonable agreement with observed streamflow and snow extent. This demonstrates the successful use of a global gridded data product in a relatively data-sparse region to capture hydroclimatological characteristics and extremes
Kolmogorov cascade and equipartition of kinetic energy in numerical simulation of Superfluid turbulence
International audienceThe turbulence of a superfluid is investigated by direct numerical simulations at finite temperature and high Reynolds numbers using the continuous model. The superfluid component is described by the Euler equation while the normal fluid component is described by the Navier-Stokes equation, both being coupled by mutual friction. In the high temperature limit, the Kolmogorov cascade is recovered, as expected from previous numerical and experimental studies. As the temperature decreases, the Kolmogorov cascade remains present at large scales while, at small scales, the system evolves towards a statistical equipartition of kinetic energy among spectral modes
Quantum turbulence at finite temperature: the two-fluids cascade
To model isotropic homogeneous quantum turbulence in superfluid helium, we
have performed Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of two fluids (the normal
fluid and the superfluid) coupled by mutual friction. We have found evidence of
strong locking of superfluid and normal fluid along the turbulent cascade, from
the large scale structures where only one fluid is forced down to the vorticity
structures at small scales. We have determined the residual slip velocity
between the two fluids, and, for each fluid, the relative balance of inertial,
viscous and friction forces along the scales. Our calculations show that the
classical relation between energy injection and dissipation scale is not valid
in quantum turbulence, but we have been able to derive a temperature--dependent
superfluid analogous relation. Finally, we discuss our DNS results in terms of
the current understanding of quantum turbulence, including the value of the
effective kinematic viscosity
Technical Note: The impact of spatial scale in bias correction of climate model output for hydrologic impact studies
Statistical downscaling is a commonly used technique for translating
large-scale climate model output to a scale appropriate for assessing
impacts. To ensure downscaled meteorology can be used in climate impact
studies, downscaling must correct biases in the large-scale signal. A simple
and generally effective method for accommodating systematic biases in
large-scale model output is quantile mapping, which has been applied to many
variables and shown to reduce biases on average, even in the presence of
non-stationarity. Quantile-mapping bias correction has been applied at
spatial scales ranging from hundreds of kilometers to individual
points, such as weather station locations. Since water resources and other
models used to simulate climate impacts are sensitive to biases in input
meteorology, there is a motivation to apply bias correction at a scale fine
enough that the downscaled data closely resemble historically observed
data, though past work has identified undesirable consequences to applying
quantile mapping at too fine a scale. This study explores the role of the
spatial scale at which the quantile-mapping bias correction is applied, in
the context of estimating high and low daily streamflows across the western
United States. We vary the spatial scale at which quantile-mapping bias
correction is performed from 2° ( ∼  200 km) to
1∕8° ( ∼  12 km) within a statistical downscaling
procedure, and use the downscaled daily precipitation and temperature to
drive a hydrology model. We find that little additional benefit is obtained,
and some skill is degraded, when using quantile mapping at scales finer than
approximately 0.5° ( ∼  50 km). This can provide
guidance to those applying the quantile-mapping bias correction method for
hydrologic impacts analysis
Linking Classical and Quantum Key Agreement: Is There "Bound Information"?
After carrying out a protocol for quantum key agreement over a noisy quantum
channel, the parties Alice and Bob must process the raw key in order to end up
with identical keys about which the adversary has virtually no information. In
principle, both classical and quantum protocols can be used for this
processing. It is a natural question which type of protocols is more powerful.
We prove for general states but under the assumption of incoherent
eavesdropping that Alice and Bob share some so-called intrinsic information in
their classical random variables, resulting from optimal measurements, if and
only if the parties' quantum systems are entangled. In addition, we provide
evidence that the potentials of classical and of quantum protocols are equal in
every situation. Consequently, many techniques and results from quantum
information theory directly apply to problems in classical information theory,
and vice versa. For instance, it was previously believed that two parties can
carry out unconditionally secure key agreement as long as they share some
intrinsic information in the adversary's view. The analysis of this purely
classical problem from the quantum information-theoretic viewpoint shows that
this is true in the binary case, but false in general. More explicitly, bound
entanglement, i.e., entanglement that cannot be purified by any quantum
protocol, has a classical counterpart. This "bound intrinsic information"
cannot be distilled to a secret key by any classical protocol. As another
application we propose a measure for entanglement based on classical
information-theoretic quantities.Comment: Accepted for Crypto 2000. 17 page
Nesting behaviour influences species-specific gas exchange across avian eggshells
Carefully controlled gas exchange across the eggshell is essential for the development of the avian embryo. Water vapour conductance (GH2O) across the shell, typically measured as mass loss during incubation, has been demonstrated to optimally ensure the healthy development of the embryo while avoiding desiccation. Accordingly, eggs exposed to sub-optimal gas exchange have reduced hatching success. We tested the association between eggshell GH2O and putative life-history correlates of adult birds, ecological nest parameters and physical characteristics of the egg itself to investigate how variation in GH2O has evolved to maintain optimal water loss across a diverse set of nest environments. We measured gas exchange through eggshell fragments in 151 British breeding bird species and fitted phylogenetically controlled, general linear models to test the relationship between GH2O and potential predictor parameters of each species. Of our 17 life-history traits, only two were retained in the final model: wet-incubating parent and nest type. Eggs of species where the parent habitually returned to the nest with wet plumage had significantly higher GH2O than those of parents that returned to the nest with dry plumage. Eggs of species nesting in ground burrows, cliffs and arboreal cups had significantly higher GH2O than those of species nesting on the ground in open nests or cups, in tree cavities and in shallow arboreal nests. Phylogenetic signal (measured as Pagel's λ) was intermediate in magnitude, suggesting that differences observed in the GH2O are dependent upon a combination of shared ancestry and species-specific life history and ecological traits. Although these data are correlational by nature, they are consistent with the hypothesis that parents constrained to return to the nest with wet plumage will increase the humidity of the nest environment, and the eggs of these species have evolved a higher GH2O to overcome this constraint and still achieve optimal water loss during incubation. We also suggest that eggs laid in cup nests and burrows may require a higher GH2O to overcome the increased humidity as a result from the confined nest microclimate lacking air movements through the nest. Taken together, these comparative data imply that species-specific levels of gas exchange across avian eggshells are variable and evolve in response to ecological and physical variation resulting from parental and nesting behaviours
Examining the profound effects of COVID19 on mental health: A comprehensive systematic review on anxiety and depression
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges to humanity, economically and in health and wellbeing. The associated limited social isolation and lifestyle changes has increased the risk for mental health services, especially among vulnerable people. This highlights the need for mental health services, burden that already stretch the health systems. This review presents an exposition on COVID-19 and mental health, and ways to minimise, and possibly prevent, their effect on the psychological well-being of those people. We searched four databases (Academic Search Complete, CINAHL Plus, PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES) using specific search terms and eligibility criteria. Of the 33 included studies, 31 were quantitative, and one qualitative and mixed method each. The studies were analysed using thematic narrative synthesis that resulted in three main themes: (a) the internal and external influences on COVID-19 behaviour, (b) the impact of COVID-19 on health and well-being and (c) the coping strategies used. Since COVID-19 will exist for the foreseeable future, understanding its impact on health and mental well-being and the coping techniques to be adopted are important now than ever. This study contributes to such an understanding along with suggestions regarding ways to minimise the impact of COVID-19 on mental health using context-appropriate strategies
Characteristic velocities of stripped-envelope core-collapse supernova cores
The velocity of the inner ejecta of stripped-envelope core-collapse
supernovae (CC-SNe) is studied by means of an analysis of their nebular
spectra. Stripped-envelope CC-SNe are the result of the explosion of bare cores
of massive stars ( M), and their late-time spectra are
typically dominated by a strong [O {\sc i}] 6300, 6363 emission
line produced by the innermost, slow-moving ejecta which are not visible at
earlier times as they are located below the photosphere. A characteristic
velocity of the inner ejecta is obtained for a sample of 56 stripped-envelope
CC-SNe of different spectral types (IIb, Ib, Ic) using direct measurements of
the line width as well as spectral fitting. For most SNe, this value shows a
small scatter around 4500 km s. Observations ( days) of
stripped-envelope CC-SNe have revealed a subclass of very energetic SNe, termed
broad-lined SNe (BL-SNe) or hypernovae, which are characterised by broad
absorption lines in the early-time spectra, indicative of outer ejecta moving
at very high velocity (). SNe identified as BL in the early phase
show large variations of core velocities at late phases, with some having much
higher and some having similar velocities with respect to regular CC-SNe. This
might indicate asphericity of the inner ejecta of BL-SNe, a possibility we
investigate using synthetic three-dimensional nebular spectra.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, MNRAS accepte
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