Study to define points of entry for potential contaminants in limestone aquifers

Visual examinations of both prints and transparencies from ERTS 1 and U-2 aircraft imagery provided a method for discovering possible points of entry of potential contaminants into the limestone aquifer in Madison County, Alabama. Knowledge of the locations at which contaminants could enter the aquifer is an important consideration in water quality management, particularly for regions that depend, at least partially, on ground water for their water supply. ERTS 1 imagery recorded on December 28, 1972 in the Multispectral Scanner-5 (MSS-5) and MSS-7 bands, and a false-color composite of the MSS-4 (green), MSS-5 (red), and MSS-7 (near infrared) bands were the principal materials used, along with thermography recorded by an RS-7 infrared scanner onboard a U-2 aircraft. The results of the study are discussed in detail, providing information on prominent lineations and major fracture trends which are related to aquifer contamination. Maps depicting the observations are also presented

Investigating the Rotational Phase of Stellar Flares on M dwarfs Using K2 Short Cadence Data

We present an analysis of K2 short cadence data of 34 M dwarfs which have spectral types in the range M0 - L1. Of these stars, 31 showed flares with a duration between $\sim$10-90 min. Using distances obtained from Gaia DR2 parallaxes, we determined the energy of the flares to be in the range $\sim1.2\times10^{29}-6\times10^{34}$ erg. In agreement with previous studies we find rapidly rotating stars tend to show more flares, with evidence for a decline in activity in stars with rotation periods longer than $\sim$10 days. The rotational modulation seen in M dwarf stars is widely considered to result from a starspot which rotates in and out of view. Flux minimum is therefore the rotation phase where we view the main starspot close to the stellar disk center. Surprisingly, having determined the rotational phase of each flare in our study we find none show any preference for rotational phase. We outline three scenarios which could account for this unexpected finding. The relationship between rotation phase and flare rate will be explored further using data from wide surveys such as NGTS and TESS.Comment: Accepted main Journal MNRA

Contrasting Views of Complexity and Their Implications For Network-Centric Infrastructures

There exists a widely recognized need to better understand and manage complex “systems of systems,” ranging from biology, ecology, and medicine to network-centric technologies. This is motivating the search for universal laws of highly evolved systems and driving demand for new mathematics and methods that are consistent, integrative, and predictive. However, the theoretical frameworks available today are not merely fragmented but sometimes contradictory and incompatible. We argue that complexity arises in highly evolved biological and technological systems primarily to provide mechanisms to create robustness. However, this complexity itself can be a source of new fragility, leading to “robust yet fragile” tradeoffs in system design. We focus on the role of robustness and architecture in networked infrastructures, and we highlight recent advances in the theory of distributed control driven by network technologies. This view of complexity in highly organized technological and biological systems is fundamentally different from the dominant perspective in the mainstream sciences, which downplays function, constraints, and tradeoffs, and tends to minimize the role of organization and design

Do Asymmetric Central Bank Preferences Help Explain Observed Inflation Outcomes?

Recent theoretical work shows that changes in the volatility of inflation and/or unemployment affect equilibrium inflation outcomes when the central banker's loss function is asymmetric. We show that previous evidence offered in support of the proposition that the volatility of unemployment helps explain inflation outcomes suffers from a spurious regression problem. Once this problem is controlled for, the evidence suggests that the volatility of unemployment does not help explain inflation outcomes. There is some evidence of a relationship between inflation and its volatility, but the data is not strongly supportive of the view that asymmetric central bank preferences are an important driver of inflation.inflation; monetary policy; asymmetric loss