45,167 research outputs found
Developing alternatives for optimal representation of seafloor habitats and associated communities in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
The implementation of various types of marine protected areas is one of several management tools available for conserving representative examples of the biological
diversity within marine ecosystems in general and National Marine Sanctuaries in particular. However, deciding where and how many sites to establish within a given area
is frequently hampered by incomplete knowledge of the distribution of organisms and an understanding of the potential tradeoffs that would allow planners to address frequently competing interests in an objective manner. Fortunately, this is beginning to change. Recent studies on the continental shelf of the northeastern United States suggest that substrate and water mass characteristics are highly correlated with the composition of benthic communities and may therefore, serve as proxies for the distribution of biological biodiversity. A detailed geo-referenced interpretative map of major sediment types
within Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) has recently been developed, and computer-aided decision support tools have reached new levels of sophistication. We demonstrate the use of simulated annealing, a type of mathematical optimization, to identify suites of potential conservation sites within SBNMS that equally represent 1) all major sediment types and 2) derived habitat types based on both sediment and depth in the smallest amount of space. The Sanctuary was divided into 3610 0.5 min2 sampling units. Simulations incorporated constraints on the physical dispersion of sampling units to varying degrees such that solutions included between one and four site clusters. Target representation goals were set at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 percent of each sediment type, and 10 and 20 percent of each habitat type. Simulations consisted of 100 runs, from which we identified the best solution (i.e., smallest total area) and four nearoptimal alternates. We also plotted total instances in which each sampling unit occurred in solution sets of the 100 runs as a means of gauging the variety of spatial configurations available under each scenario. Results suggested that the total combined area needed to represent each of the sediment types in equal proportions was equal to the percent representation level sought. Slightly larger areas were required to represent all habitat types at the same representation levels. Total boundary length increased in direct proportion to the number of sites at all levels of representation for simulations involving sediment and habitat classes, but increased more rapidly with number of sites at higher
representation levels. There were a large number of alternate spatial configurations at all representation levels, although generally fewer among one and two versus three- and four-site solutions. These differences were less pronounced among simulations targeting habitat representation, suggesting that a similar degree of flexibility is inherent in the spatial arrangement of potential protected area systems containing one versus several sites for similar levels of habitat representation. We attribute these results to the distribution of sediment and depth zones within the Sanctuary, and to the fact that even levels of representation were sought in each scenario. (PDF contains 33 pages.
Testing a Simplified Version of Einstein's Equations for Numerical Relativity
Solving dynamical problems in general relativity requires the full machinery
of numerical relativity. Wilson has proposed a simpler but approximate scheme
for systems near equilibrium, like binary neutron stars. We test the scheme on
isolated, rapidly rotating, relativistic stars. Since these objects are in
equilibrium, it is crucial that the approximation work well if we are to
believe its predictions for more complicated systems like binaries. Our results
are very encouraging.Comment: 9 pages (RevTeX 3.0 with 6 uuencoded figures), CRSR-107
A bioregional classification of the continental shelf of northeastern North America for conservation analysis and planning based on representation
Understanding how well National Marine Sanctuaries and other marine protected areas represent the diversity of species present within and among the biogeographic regions
where they occur is essential for assessing their conservation value and identifying gaps in the protection of biological diversity. One of the first steps in any such assessment should be the development of clearly defined and scientifically justified planning boundaries representing distinct oceanographic conditions and faunal assemblages. Here, we propose a set of boundaries for the continental shelf of northeastern North America defined by subdivisions of the Eastern Temperate Province, based on a review and
synthesis (i.e. meta-analysis) of the scientific literature. According to this review, the Eastern Temperate Province is generally divided into the Acadian and Virginian
Subprovinces. Broad agreement places the Scotian Shelf, Gulf of Maine, and Bay of Fundy within the Acadian Subprovince. The proper association of Georges Bank is less
clear; some investigators consider it part of the Acadian and others part of the Virginian. Disparate perspectives emerge from the analysis of different groups of organisms.
Further, while some studies suggest a distinction between the Southern New England shelf and the rest of the Mid-Atlantic Bight, others describe the region as a broad
transition zone with no unique characteristics of its own. We suggest there exists sufficient evidence to consider the Scotian Shelf, Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, Southern
New England, and Southern Mid-Atlantic Bight as distinct biogeographic regions from a conservation planning perspective, and present a set of proposed mapped boundaries. (PDF contains 23 pages.
Adaptive Parallel Iterative Deepening Search
Many of the artificial intelligence techniques developed to date rely on
heuristic search through large spaces. Unfortunately, the size of these spaces
and the corresponding computational effort reduce the applicability of
otherwise novel and effective algorithms. A number of parallel and distributed
approaches to search have considerably improved the performance of the search
process. Our goal is to develop an architecture that automatically selects
parallel search strategies for optimal performance on a variety of search
problems. In this paper we describe one such architecture realized in the
Eureka system, which combines the benefits of many different approaches to
parallel heuristic search. Through empirical and theoretical analyses we
observe that features of the problem space directly affect the choice of
optimal parallel search strategy. We then employ machine learning techniques to
select the optimal parallel search strategy for a given problem space. When a
new search task is input to the system, Eureka uses features describing the
search space and the chosen architecture to automatically select the
appropriate search strategy. Eureka has been tested on a MIMD parallel
processor, a distributed network of workstations, and a single workstation
using multithreading. Results generated from fifteen puzzle problems, robot arm
motion problems, artificial search spaces, and planning problems indicate that
Eureka outperforms any of the tested strategies used exclusively for all
problem instances and is able to greatly reduce the search time for these
applications
Exotic Meson Decay Widths using Lattice QCD
A decay width calculation for a hybrid exotic meson h, with JPC=1-+, is
presented for the channel h->pi+a1. This quenched lattice QCD simulation
employs Luescher's finite box method. Operators coupling to the h and pi+a1
states are used at various levels of smearing and fuzzing, and at four quark
masses. Eigenvalues of the corresponding correlation matrices yield energy
spectra that determine scattering phase shifts for a discrete set of relative
pi+a1 momenta. Although the phase shift data is sparse, fits to a Breit-Wigner
model are attempted, resulting in a decay width of about 60 MeV when averaged
over two lattice sizes.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, RevTex4, minor change to Fig.
Perturbative evolution of conformally flat initial data for a single boosted black hole
The conformally flat families of initial data typically used in numerical
relativity to represent boosted black holes are not those of a boosted slice of
the Schwarzschild spacetime. If such data are used for each black hole in a
collision, the emitted radiation will be partially due to the ``relaxation'' of
the individual holes to ``boosted Schwarzschild'' form. We attempt to compute
this radiation by treating the geometry for a single boosted conformally flat
hole as a perturbation of a Schwarzschild black hole, which requires the use of
second order perturbation theory. In this we attempt to mimic a previous
calculation we did for the conformally flat initial data for spinning holes. We
find that the boosted black hole case presents additional subtleties, and
although one can evolve perturbatively and compute radiated energies, it is
much less clear than in the spinning case how useful for the study of
collisions are the radiation estimates for the ``spurious energy'' in each
hole. In addition to this we draw some lessons on which frame of reference
appears as more favorable for computing black hole collisions in the close
limit approximation.Comment: 11 pages, RevTex, 4 figures included with psfig, to appear in PR
International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite mission analysis
The results are presented of the mission analysis performed by Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) in support of the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite. The launch window is open for three separate periods (for a total time of 7 months) during the year extending from July 20, 1977, to July 20, 1978. The synchronous orbit shadow constraint limits the launch window to approximately 88 minutes per day. Apogee boost motor fuel was computed to be 455 pounds (206 kilograms) and on-station weight was 931 pounds (422 kilograms). The target orbit is elliptical synchronous, with eccentricity 0.272 and 24 hour period
Energy efficient engine. Volume 2. Appendix A: Component development and integration program
The large size and the requirement for precise lightening cavities in a considerable portion of the titanium fan blades necessitated the development of a new manufacturing method. The approach which was selected for development incorporated several technologies including HIP diffusion bonding of titanium sheet laminates containing removable cores and isothermal forging of the blade form. The technology bases established in HIP/DB for composite blades and in isothermal forging for fan blades were applicable for development of the manufacturing process. The process techniques and parameters for producing and inspecting the cored diffusion bonded titanium laminate blade preform were established. The method was demonstrated with the production of twelve hollow simulated blade shapes for evaluation. Evaluations of the critical experiments conducted to establish procedures to produce hollow structures by a laminate/core/diffusion bonding approach are included. In addition the transfer of this technology to produce a hollow fan blade is discussed
Estimating sufficient reductions of the predictors in abundant high-dimensional regressions
We study the asymptotic behavior of a class of methods for sufficient
dimension reduction in high-dimension regressions, as the sample size and
number of predictors grow in various alignments. It is demonstrated that these
methods are consistent in a variety of settings, particularly in abundant
regressions where most predictors contribute some information on the response,
and oracle rates are possible. Simulation results are presented to support the
theoretical conclusion.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/11-AOS962 the Annals of
Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aos/) by the Institute of Mathematical
Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
Device measures conductivity and velocity of ionized gas streams
Coaxial arrangement of primary coil and two sensing secondary coils contained inside slender quartz tube inserted into ionized stream permits simultaneous determination of conductivity and linear velocity. System results agree favorably with theory
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