613 research outputs found
Derivation of tropospheric methane from TCCON CHâ‚„ and HF total column observations
The Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) is a global ground-based network of Fourier transform spectrometers that produce precise measurements of column-averaged dry-air mole fractions of atmospheric methane (CHâ‚„). Temporal variability in the total column of CHâ‚„ due to stratospheric dynamics obscures fluctuations and trends driven by tropospheric transport and local surface fluxes that are critical for understanding CHâ‚„ sources and sinks. We reduce the contribution of stratospheric variability from the total column average by subtracting an estimate of the stratospheric CHâ‚„ derived from simultaneous measurements of hydrogen fluoride (HF). HF provides a proxy for stratospheric CHâ‚„ because it is strongly correlated to CHâ‚„ in the stratosphere, has an accurately known tropospheric abundance (of zero), and is measured at most TCCON stations. The stratospheric partial column of CHâ‚„ is calculated as a function of the zonal and annual trends in the relationship between CHâ‚„ and HF in the stratosphere, which we determine from ACE-FTS satellite data. We also explicitly take into account the CHâ‚„ column averaging kernel to estimate the contribution of stratospheric CHâ‚„ to the total column. The resulting tropospheric CHâ‚„ columns are consistent with in situ aircraft measurements and augment existing observations in the troposphere
Diffuse liver disease classification from ultrasound surface characterization, clinical and laboratorial data
In this work liver contour is semi-automatically segmented and quantified in order to help the identification and diagnosis of diffuse liver disease. The features extracted from the liver contour are jointly used with clinical and laboratorial data in the staging process. The classification results of a support vector machine, a Bayesian and a k-nearest
neighbor classifier are compared. A population of 88 patients at five different
stages of diffuse liver disease and a leave-one-out cross-validation strategy are used in the classification process. The best results are obtained using the k-nearest neighbor classifier, with an overall accuracy of 80.68%. The good performance of the proposed method shows a reliable
indicator that can improve the information in the staging of diffuse liver disease
Drivers of column-average CO_2 variability at Southern Hemispheric Total Carbon Column Observing Network sites
We investigate factors that drive the variability in total column CO_2 at the Total Carbon Column Observing Network sites in the Southern Hemisphere using fluxes tagged by process and by source region from the CarbonTracker analysed product as well as the Simple Biosphere model. We show that the terrestrial biosphere is the largest driver of variability in the Southern Hemisphere column CO_2. However, it does not dominate in the same fashion as in the Northern Hemisphere. Local- and hemispheric-scale biomass burning can also play an important role, particularly at the tropical site, Darwin. The magnitude of seasonal variability in the column-average dry-air mole fraction of CO_2, X_CO_2, is also much smaller in the Southern Hemisphere and comparable in magnitude to the annual increase. Comparison of measurements to the model simulations highlights that there is some discrepancy between the two time series, especially in the early part of the Darwin data record. We show that this mismatch is most likely due to erroneously estimated local fluxes in the Australian tropical region, which are associated with enhanced photosynthesis caused by early rainfall during the tropical monsoon season
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Volcanic constraints on the unzipping of Africa from South America: Insights from new geochronological controls along the Angola margin
The breakup of Africa from South America is associated with the emplacement of the Paraná-Etendeka flood basalt province from around 134 Ma and the Tristan da Cunha plume. Yet many additional volcanic events occur that are younger than the main pulse of the Paraná-Etendeka and straddle the rift to drift phases of the main breakup. This contribution reports on new geochronological constraints from the Angolan part of the African Margin. Three coastal and one inland section have been sampled stretching across some 400 Km, with 39Ar/40Ar, U-Pb and Palaeontology used to provide age constraints. Ages from the new data range from ~100 to 81 Ma, with three main events (cr. 100, 91 and 82-81 Ma). Volcanic events are occurring within the Early to Late Cretaceous, along this part of the margin with a general younging towards Namibia. With the constraints of additional age information both onshore and offshore Angola, a clear younging trend at the early stages of rift to drift is recorded in the volcanic events that unzip from North to South. Similar age volcanic events are reported from the Brazilian side of the conjugate margin, and highlight the need to fully incorporate these relatively low volume volcanic pulses into the plate tectonic breakup models of the South Atlantic Margin
A multi-year methane inversion using SCIAMACHY, accounting for systematic errors using TCCON measurements
This study investigates the use of total column CH<sub>4</sub> (<i>X</i>CH<sub>4</sub>) retrievals
from the SCIAMACHY satellite instrument for quantifying large-scale emissions
of methane. A unique data set from SCIAMACHY is available spanning almost a
decade of measurements, covering a period when the global CH<sub>4</sub> growth rate
showed a marked transition from stable to increasing mixing ratios. The TM5
4DVAR inverse modelling system has been used to infer CH<sub>4</sub> emissions from a
combination of satellite and surface measurements for the period 2003–2010.
In contrast to earlier inverse modelling studies, the SCIAMACHY retrievals
have been corrected for systematic errors using the TCCON network of ground-based Fourier transform spectrometers. The aim is to further investigate the
role of bias correction of satellite data in inversions. Methods for bias
correction are discussed, and the sensitivity of the optimized emissions to
alternative bias correction functions is quantified. It is found that the use
of SCIAMACHY retrievals in TM5 4DVAR increases the estimated inter-annual
variability of large-scale fluxes by 22% compared with the use of only
surface observations. The difference in global methane emissions between 2-year periods before and after July 2006 is estimated at 27–35 Tg yr<sup>−1</sup>. The use
of SCIAMACHY retrievals causes a shift in the emissions from the
extra-tropics to the tropics of 50 ± 25 Tg yr<sup>−1</sup>. The large uncertainty in
this value arises from the uncertainty in the bias correction functions.
Using measurements from the HIPPO and BARCA aircraft campaigns, we show that
systematic errors in the SCIAMACHY measurements are a main factor limiting
the performance of the inversions. To further constrain tropical emissions of
methane using current and future satellite missions, extended validation
capabilities in the tropics are of critical importance
Derivation of tropospheric methane from TCCON CHâ‚„ and HF total column observations
The Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) is a global ground-based network of Fourier transform spectrometers that produce precise measurements of column-averaged dry-air mole fractions of atmospheric methane (CHâ‚„). Temporal variability in the total column of CHâ‚„ due to stratospheric dynamics obscures fluctuations and trends driven by tropospheric transport and local surface fluxes that are critical for understanding CHâ‚„ sources and sinks. We reduce the contribution of stratospheric variability from the total column average by subtracting an estimate of the stratospheric CHâ‚„ derived from simultaneous measurements of hydrogen fluoride (HF). HF provides a proxy for stratospheric CHâ‚„ because it is strongly correlated to CHâ‚„ in the stratosphere, has an accurately known tropospheric abundance (of zero), and is measured at most TCCON stations. The stratospheric partial column of CHâ‚„ is calculated as a function of the zonal and annual trends in the relationship between CHâ‚„ and HF in the stratosphere, which we determine from ACE-FTS satellite data. We also explicitly take into account the CHâ‚„ column averaging kernel to estimate the contribution of stratospheric CHâ‚„ to the total column. The resulting tropospheric CHâ‚„ columns are consistent with in situ aircraft measurements and augment existing observations in the troposphere
Supersonic radiatively cooled rotating flows and jets in the laboratory
The first laboratory astrophysics experiments to produce a radiatively cooled
plasma jet with dynamically significant angular momentum are discussed. A new
configuration of wire array z-pinch, the twisted conical wire array, is used to
produce convergent plasma flows each rotating about the central axis. Collision
of the flows produces a standing shock and jet that each have supersonic
azimuthal velocities. By varying the twist angle of the array, the rotation
velocity of the system can be controlled, with jet rotation velocities reaching
~20% of the propagation velocity.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters (16 pages, 5
figures
T-lymphocyte subsets in liver tissues of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), and normal controls
T lymphocytes infiltrating hepatic tissues were typed and enumerated in liver biopsies of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), and normal controls using monoclonal antibodies and the avidin-biotin-immunoperoxidase technique. The peripheral blood mononuclear cells were studied also by flow cytometry. In PBC, T lymphocytes were decreased (P<0.001) in the blood [absolute number was 426±200 (SE) vs 1351±416 in 15 controls], as was the helper/suppressor (T4/T8) ratio (1.0±0.1 vs normal 2.3±0.3). T lymphocytes were the most numerous mononuclear cells infiltrating portal areas of PBC livers: 749±93/5 high-power fields (HPF) in PBC vs 98±15/5 HPF (P<0.01) in controls. The T4/T8 ratios varied from 0.9 to 2.3 (mean, 1.8±0.1) in the portal triads (normal mean, 1.6±0.1), with the T4+ cells accounting for more than 75% of infiltrating T cells. In contrast, the mean T4/T8 ratio in portal triads of PSC was reduced (1.0±0.3) due to a significant increase (P<0.001) in the number of T8+ cells. The T cells around and in the walls of bile ducts in PBC were mostly T8+, and the T4/T8 ratio was 0.8±0.2. No T8+ cells were seen in this location in PSC and normal livers. Few mononuclear cells were present in hepatic lobules. Subtyping of T lymphocytes in liver tissues of patients with PBC and PSC may be helpful in the differential pathologic diagnosis. In patients with advanced PBC, a decrease in T4+ cells in the blood appeared to be accompanied by their accumulation in the portal triads. In contrast, T8+ cells accumulated preferentially around bile ducts. © 1984 Plenum Publishing Corporation
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