Sediment compaction rates and subsidence in deltaic plains : numerical constraints and stratigraphic influences

This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Basin Research 19 (2007): 19-31, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2117.2006.00310.x.Natural sediment compaction in deltaic plains influences subsidence rates and the evolution of deltaic morphology. Determining compaction rates requires detailed knowledge of subsurface geotechnical properties and depositional history, neither of which is often readily available. To overcome this lack of knowledge, we numerically forward model the incremental sedimentation and compaction of stochastically generated stratigraphies with geotechnical properties typical of modern depositional environments in the Mississippi River delta plain. Using a Monte Carlo approach, the range of probable compaction rates for stratigraphies with compacted thicknesses <150 m and accumulation times <20 kyr. varies, but maximum values rarely exceed a few mm yr-1. The fastest compacting stratigraphies are composed primarily of peat and bar sand, whereas the slowest compacting stratigraphies are composed of prodelta mud and natural levee deposits. These results suggest that compaction rates can significantly influence vertical and lateral stratigraphic trends during deltaic evolution

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on domestic violence and child abuse

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments around the world have implemented lockdown or mass quarantine measures. While the purpose of these measures is to prevent the spread of the virus, they have had important social consequences. To determine the effect that pandemic-related isolation and quarantine measures have had on domestic violence and child abuse, we analyzed Canadian police calls for service data from 2015 to 2020. Our findings indicate that calls for service related to both domestic violence and child abuse have significantly increased during the pandemic. In light of these findings, we make recommendations for both government officials responsible for pandemic management and policing organizations on how to prevent increases in domestic violence and child abuse during future lockdowns

High-precision determination of transition amplitudes of principal transitions in Cs from van der Waals coefficient C_6

A method for determination of atomic dipole matrix elements of principal transitions from the value of dispersion coefficient C_6 of molecular potentials correlating to two ground-state atoms is proposed. The method is illustrated on atomic Cs using C_6 deduced from high-resolution Feshbach spectroscopy. The following reduced matrix elements are determined < 6S_{1/2} || D || 6P_{1/2} > =4.5028(60) |e| a0 and =6.3373(84) |e| a0 (a0= 0.529177 \times 10^{-8} cm.) These matrix elements are consistent with the results of the most accurate direct lifetime measurements and have a similar uncertainty. It is argued that the uncertainty can be considerably reduced as the coefficient C_6 is constrained further.Comment: 4 pages; 3 fig

The π\pi, K+K^+, and K0K^0 electromagnetic form factors

The rainbow truncation of the quark Dyson-Schwinger equation is combined with the ladder Bethe-Salpeter equation for the meson amplitudes and the dressed quark-photon vertex in a self-consistent Poincar\'e-invariant study of the pion and kaon electromagnetic form factors in impulse approximation. We demonstrate explicitly that the current is conserved in this approach and that the obtained results are independent of the momentum partitioning in the Bethe-Salpeter amplitudes. With model gluon parameters previously fixed by the condensate, the pion mass and decay constant, and the kaon mass, the charge radii and spacelike form factors are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, Revte

Mental models of high reliability systems

Reliable performance in complex systems is determined in part by the ade quacy with which mental models of the system capture accurately the dimen sions of system coupling and system complexity. Failure to register coupling and complexity leads the observer to intervene into an imagined technology that does not exist and to convert opportunities for error into actual errors. To decrease the frequency with which this conversion occurs, people can make their models more complex or the systems they monitor less complex. Neither type of change is as daunting as it may appear, and this is illustrated by an analysis of the mental model and system design associated with the invasion of Grenada.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68652/2/10.1177_108602668900300203.pd

High-precision calculations of van der Waals coefficients for heteronuclear alkali-metal dimers

Van der Waals coefficients for the heteronuclear alkali-metal dimers of Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, and Fr are calculated using relativistic ab initio methods augmented by high-precision experimental data. We argue that the uncertainties in the coefficients are unlikely to exceed about 1%.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figs, graphicx.st

Markov Chain Monte Carlo Exploration of Minimal Supergravity with Implications for Dark Matter

We explore the full parameter space of Minimal Supergravity (mSUGRA), allowing all four continuous parameters (the scalar mass m_0, the gaugino mass m_1/2, the trilinear coupling A_0, and the ratio of Higgs vacuum expectation values tan beta) to vary freely. We apply current accelerator constraints on sparticle and Higgs masses, and on the b -> s gamma branching ratio, and discuss the impact of the constraints on g_mu-2. To study dark matter, we apply the WMAP constraint on the cold dark matter density. We develop Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques to explore the parameter regions consistent with WMAP, finding them to be considerably superior to previously used methods for exploring supersymmetric parameter spaces. Finally, we study the reach of current and future direct detection experiments in light of the WMAP constraint.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Energy and Flux Measurements of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays Observed During the First ANITA Flight

The first flight of the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) experiment recorded 16 radio signals that were emitted by cosmic-ray induced air showers. For 14 of these events, this radiation was reflected from the ice. The dominant contribution to the radiation from the deflection of positrons and electrons in the geomagnetic field, which is beamed in the direction of motion of the air shower. This radiation is reflected from the ice and subsequently detected by the ANITA experiment at a flight altitude of 36km. In this paper, we estimate the energy of the 14 individual events and find that the mean energy of the cosmic-ray sample is 2.9 EeV. By simulating the ANITA flight, we calculate its exposure for ultra-high energy cosmic rays. We estimate for the first time the cosmic-ray flux derived only from radio observations. In addition, we find that the Monte Carlo simulation of the ANITA data set is in agreement with the total number of observed events and with the properties of those events.Comment: Added more explanation of the experimental setup and textual improvement

Parton-Hadron Duality in Unpolarised and Polarised Structure Functions

We study the phenomenon of parton-hadron duality in both polarised and unpolarised electron proton scattering using the HERMES and the Jefferson Lab data, respectively. In both cases we extend a systematic perturbative QCD based analysis to the integrals of the structure functions in the resonance region. After subtracting target mass corrections and large x resummation effects, we extract the remaining power corrections up to order 1/Q^2. We find a sizeable suppression of these terms with respect to analyses using deep inelastic scattering data. The suppression appears consistently in both polarised and unpolarised data, except for the low Q^2 polarised data, where a large negative higher twist contribution remains. Possible scenarios generating this behavior are discussed.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figure