Total ozone measurement: Intercomparison of prototype New Zealand filter instrument and Dobson spectrophotometer

A five month intercomparison showed that the total ozone amounts of a prototype narrowband interference filter instrument were 7% less than those of a Dobson instrument for an ozone range of 0.300 to 0.500 atm cm and for airmasses less than two. The 7% bias was within the intercomparison calibration uncertainty. An airmass dependence in the Dobson instrument made the bias relationship airmass-dependent but the filter instrument's ozone values were generally constant to 2% up to an airmass of four. Long term drift in the bias was negligible

Error in total ozone measurements arising from aerosol attenuation

A generalized least squares method for deducing both total ozone and aerosol extinction spectrum parameters from Dobson spectrophotometer measurements was developed. An error analysis applied to this system indicates that there is little advantage to additional measurements once a sufficient number of line pairs have been employed to solve for the selected detail in the attenuation model. It is shown that when there is a predominance of small particles (less than about 0.35 microns in diameter) the total ozone from the standard AD system is too high by about one percent. When larger particles are present the derived total ozone may be an overestimate or an underestimate but serious errors occur only for narrow polydispersions

Surface erosion assessment using 137 Cs: examples from New Zealand

The 137Cs technique has provided the first quantitative, medium-term data on rates of soil redistribution by surface erosion on both cropland and rangeland in New Zealand. Use of the technique has demonstrated: high rates of soil redistribution by water erosion at two cropland sites under intensive vegetable production; a slow rate of net loss of soil by wind erosion associated with arable farming; a strong association between vegetation depletion and wind erosion on grazed rangeland. Research has also provided data on natural short-range variability of 137Cs in uneroded soils, and a technique for independently estimating 137Cs reference values from rainfall. The greatest research need remains the development of robust, accurate calibration procedures for conve rting 137Cs measurements to rates of erosion

Late Holocene landscape change history related to the Alpine Fault determined from drowned forests in Lake Poerua, Westland, New Zealand

Lake Poerua is a small, shallow lake that abuts the scarp of the Alpine Fault on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island. Radiocarbon dates from drowned podocarp trees on the lake floor, a sediment core from a rangefront alluvial fan, and living tree ring ages have been used to deduce the late Holocene history of the lake. Remnant drowned stumps of kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides) at 1.7–1.9m water depth yield a preferred time-ofdeath age at 1766–1807 AD, while a dryland podocarp and kahikatea stumps at 2.4–2.6m yield preferred time-of-death ages of ca. 1459–1626 AD. These age ranges are matched to, but offset from, the timings of Alpine Fault rupture events at ca. 1717 AD, and either ca. 1615 or 1430 AD. Alluvial fan detritus dated from a core into the toe of a rangefront alluvial fan, at an equivalent depth to the maximum depth of the modern lake (6.7 m), yields a calibrated age of AD 1223–1413. This age is similar to the timing of an earlier Alpine Fault rupture event at ca. 1230AD±50 yr. Kahikatea trees growing on rangefront fans give ages of up to 270 yr, which is consistent with alluvial fan aggradation following the 1717AD earthquake. The elevation levels of the lake and fan imply a causal and chronological link between lake-level rise and Alpine Fault rupture. The results of this study suggest that the growth of large, coalescing alluvial fans (Dry and Evans Creek fans) originating from landslides within the rangefront of the Alpine Fault and the rise in the level of Lake Poerua may occur within a decade or so of large Alpine Fault earthquakes that rupture adjacent to this area. These rises have in turn drowned lowland forests that fringed the lake. Radiocarbon chronologies built using OxCal show that a series of massive landscape changes beginning with fault rupture, followed by landsliding, fan sedimentation and lake expansion. However, drowned Kahikatea trees may be poor candidates for intimately dating these events, as they may be able to tolerate water for several decades after metre-scale lake level rises have occurred

Self-Care among Ulcerative Colitis patients

Background: ulcerative colitis is emerging as a worldwide epidemic, with prevalence of around 1% in North America and some European countries, and a rapid increase in incidence reported in Asia, China and Australasia. A number of recent reports and publications point to the burden that this rising tide of ulcerative colitis is imposing on patients, healthcare services and society (Panés et al., 2014). Study aims to assess self-care among patients with ulcerative colitis disease and its relationship with their demographic data.. Methodology: : a descriptive study design was conducted at Al-Najaf city in the southern region of Iraq in Al-Najaf Al-Ashraf Health Directorate/ Specialized Hospital for Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease and Surgery from February 20th, 2023, to May 21th, 2023, in order to assess self-care among ulcerative colitis patients. The methodological strategies for data collection used an assessment questionnaire survey Results: As the study shows, that the total responses of patients to universal self-care is moderate. Conclusion: the study concludes that the level of patients' self-care is moderate, besides, patients' gender and occupation affect their universal self-care level. Recommendations: health education programs should be applied to increase the patients' knowledge regarding how to improve their self-care and factors that affecting their self-care abilities

Design and Construction Optical Pumping System

In this work the design and construction of optical pumping system was presented. The parameters of the pumping source to obtain discharge current density sufficient to shift the flash lamp spectrum towards uv portion of spectrum were measured.The current density was supplied to the flash lamp must be greater than 4000Amp./cm2 to obtain the spectral range wavelength lies between 0.2 and 0.35?m. The current density was obtained by a capacitor 50?F, at 7KV discharge voltage. The applied electrical energy to the flash lamp was more than 1200 J, and the current density was around 5000 Amp./cm2.The electrical parameters of the flash lamp were calculated. The impedance parameters(K0) from the voltage and the peak current pulse was measured in range equal to 57, while the damping factor(?) was 1.3. The energy of the flash lamp was around 75% from the input electrical energy. The external trigger circuit was limited the increase the applied voltage, which is responsible for the damping factor

Coping with the climate: a way forward : summary and proposals for action

Seasonal weather and climate fluctuations have significant impacts on society, via agriculture, food security, water, health, natural disasters and the environment. These can be a major brake on economic progress in the developing world. Climate thus sits at the nexus of the two principal development concerns, poverty and sustainable development. Concerns about climate change and the emergence of scientific forecasting of El Niño have set the stage for a fresh approach to addressing the problems of preparing for the coming season and managing climatic risks. Regional Climate Outlook Forums (RCOFs) were first initiated in 1996 and gained momentum as a regional response to the major El Niño event of 1997/98. Since that time they have rapidly become the main regional mechanism for the formulation and dissemination of seasonal climate forecasts to policymakers and other climate information users. In many regions RCOFs continue to convene regularly before, during, and after key rainfall seasons. Globally more than thirty have been held to date, employing a variety of approaches. The Forums bring together climate scientists, operational forecasters and climate information users to formulate climate outlook guidance and to discuss the implications of probable climate outcomes for climate-sensitive sectors. In the process a substantial amount of experience and knowledge has been gained in the generation, communication and application of seasonal climate information. This report summarizes the results of a global review of the effectiveness of the RCOFs and related activities. Through an exhaustive stakeholder-driven process, drawing on the experiences of hundreds of organizations, the review has sought to identify key issues, constraints and opportunities for improving the forum process and its contribution to the management of climate variability and change. Proposals are made to advance the goals of the RCOFs to reduce vulnerability to climate variability and change in sensitive regions and sectors

Design and construction Optically Gas Laser

In this work the design and construction of a flash photolysis pulsed HCl laser was presented. The parameters of the pumping source and discharge current density was obtained, which sufficient to shift the flash lamp spectrum towards uv portion of spectrum. The maximum pulse laser energy parameters was measured. Total pressure and ratio of active gases to optimized the output pulse energy were measured , where at 125 mbar of total pressure and 1:7:14 Cl2:H2: He ratio, the laser energy was measured to be 200 mJ at pumping four flash lamps energy in the order of 6400J .The resonator consists of copper a near hemispherical mirror with the radius of curvature 3m coated by gold and reflectivity 98%,the output coupler sapphire mirror of 63% reflectivity . Total efficiency of the system was measured to be 0.0125%