Electrical properties of Titan's surface from Cassini RADAR scatterometer measurements     

Lauren C. Wye  Howard A. Zebker  Richard D. West  Ralph D. Lorenz  the Cassini RADAR Team 《Icarus》2007,188(2):367-385

We report regional-scale low-resolution backscatter images of Titan's surface acquired by the Cassini RADAR scatterometer at a wavelength of 2.18-cm. We find that the average angular dependence of the backscatter from large regions and from specific surface features is consistent with a model composed of a quasi-specular Hagfors term plus a diffuse cosine component. A Gaussian quasi-specular term also fits the data, but less well than the Hagfors term. We derive values for the mean dielectric constant and root-mean-square (rms) slope of the surface from the quasi-specular term, which we ascribe to scattering from the surface interface only. The diffuse term accommodates contributions from volume scattering, multiple scattering, or wavelength-scale near-surface structure. The Hagfors model results imply a surface with regional mean dielectric constants between 1.9 and 3.6 and regional surface roughness that varies between 5.3° and 13.4° in rms-slope. Dielectric constants between 2 and 3 are expected for a surface composed of solid simple hydrocarbons, water ice, or a mixture of both. Smaller dielectric constants, between 1.6 and 1.9, are consistent with liquid hydrocarbons, while larger dielectric constants, near 4.5, may indicate the presence of water-ammonia ice [Lorenz, R.D., 1998. Icarus 136, 344-348] or organic heteropolymers [Thompson, W.R., Squyres, S.W., 1990. Icarus 86, 336-354]. We present backscatter images corrected for angular effects using the model residuals, which show strong features that correspond roughly to those in 0.94-μm ISS images. We model the localized backscatter from specific features to estimate dielectric constant and rms slope when the angular coverage is within the quasi-specular part of the backscatter curve. Only two apparent surface features are scanned with angular coverage sufficient for accurate modeling. Data from the bright albedo feature Quivira suggests a dielectric constant near 2.8 and rms slope near 10.1°. The dark albedo feature Shangri-La is best fit by a Hagfors model with a dielectric constant close to 2.4 and an rms slope near 9.5°. From the modeled backscatter curves, we find the average radar albedo in the same linear (SL) polarization to be near 0.34. We constrain the total-power albedo in order to compare the measurements with available groundbased radar results, which are typically obtained in both senses of circular polarization. We estimate an upper limit of 0.4 on the total-power albedo, a value that is significantly higher than the 0.21 total albedo value measured at 13 cm [Campbell, D., Black, G., Carter, L., Ostro, S., 2003. Science 302, 431-434]. This is consistent with a surface that has more small-scale structure and is thus more reflective at 2-cm than 13-cm. We compare results across overlapping observations and observe that the reduction and analysis are repeatable and consistent. We also confirm the strong correlations between radar and near-infrared images.  相似文献   

Stakeholder Perceptions of Coastal Habitat Ecosystem Services     

Lauren Hutchison  Paul Montagna  Dave Yoskowitz  Damion Scholz  Jace Tunnell 《Estuaries and Coasts》2015,38(1):67-80

The goal of the current study was to document local stakeholder perceptions of ecosystem services provided by coastal habitats and to incorporate values of ecosystem services into an ecosystem-based management plan. A second goal was to identify and quantify ecosystem service supply at the local level, which is a knowledge gap identified by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Ecosystem services were quantified as stakeholder perceptions of values. To identify local stakeholder perceptions of coastal habitat ecosystem services, a workshop was conducted at which stakeholders were asked to complete surveys. Data from the surveys were used to create a spatial representation of the number of ecosystem services provided by habitats in the form of a heat map. Results of the study were incorporated into an ecosystem-based management plan to enable stakeholders and managers to make better-informed decisions regarding priority areas for conservation, preservation, and restoration. The methods used in this study can be expanded to develop future ecosystem-based management plans.  相似文献   

Sensitivity of modern climate to the presence,strength and salinity of Mediterranean-Atlantic exchange in a global general circulation model     

Ruza F. Ivanovic  Paul J. Valdes  Lauren Gregoire  Rachel Flecker  Marcus Gutjahr 《Climate Dynamics》2014,42(3-4):859-877

Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) is thought to be a key contributor to the strength and stability of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), but the future of Mediterranean-Atlantic water exchange is uncertain. It is chiefly dependent on the difference between Mediterranean and Atlantic temperature and salinity characteristics, and as a semi-enclosed basin, the Mediterranean is particularly vulnerable to future changes in climate and water usage. Certainly, there is strong geologic evidence that the Mediterranean underwent dramatic salinity and sea-level fluctuations in the past. Here, we use a fully coupled atmosphere–ocean General Circulation Model to examine the impact of changes in Mediterranean-Atlantic exchange on global ocean circulation and climate. Our results suggest that MOW strengthens and possibly stabilises the AMOC not through any contribution towards NADW formation, but by delivering relatively warm, saline water to southbound Atlantic currents below 800 m. However, we find almost no climate signal associated with changes in Mediterranean-Atlantic flow strength. Mediterranean salinity, on the other hand, controls MOW buoyancy in the Atlantic and therefore affects its interaction with the shallow-intermediate circulation patterns that govern surface climate. Changing Mediterranean salinity by a factor of two reorganises shallow North Atlantic circulation, resulting in regional climate anomalies in the North Atlantic, Labrador and Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian Seas of ±4 °C or more. Although such major variations in salinity are believed to have occurred in the past, they are unlikely to occur in the near future. However, our work does suggest that changes in the Mediterranean’s hydrological balance can impact global-scale climate.  相似文献   

Effects of anthropogenic disturbance on the abundance and size of epibenthic jellyfish Cassiopea spp     

Stoner EW  Layman CA  Yeager LA  Hassett HM 《Marine pollution bulletin》2011,62(5):1109-1114

Jellyfish blooms in pelagic systems appear to be increasing on a global scale because of anthropogenic impacts, but much less is known about the link between human activities and epibenthic jellyfish abundance. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the epibenthic jellyfish, Cassiopea spp., were found in greater abundance, and attained larger sizes, in coastal habitats adjacent to high human population densities compared to sites adjacent to uninhabited areas on Abaco Island, Bahamas. Cassiopea spp. were found to be significantly more dense and larger in areas with high human population densities. Ambient nutrient levels and nutrient content of seagrass were elevated in high human population density sites, and may be one mechanism driving higher abundance and size of Cassiopea spp. Cassiopea spp. may have important effects on community structure and ecosystem function in critical coastal ecosystems (e.g., seagrass beds), and their impacts warrant further study.  相似文献   

Multidisciplinary approach of the hyperarid desert of Pampas de La Joya in southern Peru as a new Mars-like soil analog     

Julio E. Valdivia-Silva  Rafael Navarro-González  Lauren E. Fletcher  Reneé Condori-Apaza 《Geochimica et cosmochimica acta》2011,75(7):1975-1991

The distribution of living organisms, organic matter, and chemical properties in Mars-like environments on Earth can be used as a model to guide the investigation of possible habitable environments on Mars. This work aims to demonstrate that the place known informally as the “Mar de Cuarzo” (Sea of Quartz) in the Pampas de La Joya desert southern Peru (between 16°S and 17°S latitude), contains soils with characteristics similar to those found on the Martian surface. Using a multidisciplinary approach, we studied the environmental data, geology, organic matter content, oxidant activity, and microbiology of this area. Our data show that (1) Mar de Cuarzo is a hyper arid area with a lower concentration of organic matter than those found in the Mars-like soils from Yungay area (Atacama Desert in Chile), while at the same time having, comparable extreme environmental conditions, and very low levels of microorganisms. (2) The detrital components of the soils come essentially from the Andean volcanic chain and local outcrops of Precambrian gneisses and Cretaceous granitic batholiths. (3) The presence of microclimates, geomorphological features, and the high influence of the “El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)” allowed the formation of exotic and heterogeneous chemical deposits in these soils, including iron oxides, sulfates, and other evaporites. (4) Thermal volatilization in these soils (using methods similar to the Viking and Phoenix instruments) shows high oxidant activity. (5) Labeled release experiment (similar to the Viking instrument) shows high degradation of nutrients added in these soils.Altogether, the Mar de Cuarzo area in the Pampas de La Joya is an interesting place for astrobiological studies as a new analog to Mars, and for comparative analyses with other hyperarid analogs as Yungay.  相似文献   

Recurrent spring‐fed rivers in a Middle to Late Pleistocene semi‐arid grassland: Implications for environments of early humans in the Lake Victoria Basin,Kenya          下载免费PDF全文

Emily J. Beverly  Steven G. Driese  Daniel J. Peppe  Cara R. Johnson  Lauren A. Michel  J. Tyler Faith  Christian A. Tryon  Warren D. Sharp 《Sedimentology》2015,62(6):1611-1635

The effect of changing palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment on human evolution during the Pleistocene is debated, but hampered by few East African records directly associated with archaeological sites prior to the Last Glacial Maximum. Middle to Late Pleistocene deposits on the shoreline of eastern Lake Victoria preserve abundant vertebrate fossils and Middle Stone Age arte‐facts associated with riverine tufas at the base of the deposits, which are ideal for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. New data from tufas identified on Rusinga Island and on the mainland near Karungu, Kenya are provided from outcrop, thin sections, mineralogical, stable isotopic and U‐series dating analyses. Tufa is identified in four sites: Nyamita (94·0 ± 3·3 and 111·4 ± 4·2 ka); Kisaaka, Aringo (455 ± 45 ka); and Obware. The age ranges of these tufa deposits demonstrate that spring‐fed rivers were a recurrent, variably preserved feature on the Pleistocene landscape for ca 360 kyr. Poor sorting of clastic facies from all sites indicates flashy, ephemeral discharge, but these facies are commonly associated with barrage tufas, paludal environments with δ¹³C values of ca 10‰ indicative of C₃ plants and fossil Hippopotamus, all of which indicate a perennial water source. Other tufa deposits from Nyamita, Obware and Aringo have a mixed C₃/C₄ signature consistent with a semi‐arid C₄ grassland surrounding these spring‐fed rivers. The δ¹⁸O values of tufa from Nyamita are on average ca 1‰ more negative than calcite precipitated from modern rainfall in the region, suggesting greater contribution of depleted monsoonal input, similar to the Last Glacial Maximum. Microdebitage and surface‐collected artefacts indicate that early modern humans were utilizing these spring‐fed rivers. The presence of spring?fed rivers would have afforded animals a reliable water source, sustaining a diverse plant and animal community in an otherwise arid environment.  相似文献   

Influence of human pressure on forest resources and productivity at stand and tree scales: The case study of Yunnan pine in SW China     

Thomas M.HINCKLEY  Phillip CHI  Keala HAGMANN  Stevan HARRELL  Amanda Henck SCHMIDT  Lauren URGENSON  Zong-yong ZENG 《山地科学学报》2013,10(5):824-832

This paper examines human impact on stands and individual trees of Pinus yunnanensis growing near the small mountain villages of Pianshui and Yangjuan in southwestern Sichuan Province,China.In an effort to assess whether use of these forests was sustainable,we examined the effects of human use in two ways.First,we directly measured the effect of cutting branches,for fuel and fodder,on tree growth.We hypothesized that branch cutting would negatively impact tree growth.We established 12 plots on four hills and compared 14 pairs of trees,one tree in each pair with an apparently full crown and the other with a considerable portion of the crown removed.Second,we assessed stand and tree properties over a 500 m elevation gradient above the villages where we hypothesized that as elevation increases,stand and tree properties should show fewer human impacts.Although extensive branch cutting reduced the live crown,tree height and diameter,compensatory processes likely enabled trees to recover and to add basal area increments(BAIs) similar to those added by trees with full crowns.Trees and stands close to villages showed less growth and lower basal areas,respectively,than stands and trees at intermediate or distant elevations from villages.Areas relatively close to the villages showed considerable effects of human-related disturbances such as branch cutting,grazing,tree and shrub removal,losses of litter,and human and animal trails.Such areas had increased soil erosion and often loss of the ‘A’ horizon.Stands close to villages had younger trees,lower stand basal areas,smaller basal area increments,and more stumps.Our results suggest an increasingly vulnerable interface between occupants of these two villages and their surrounding forests.  相似文献   

Reverse Water‐Level Fluctuations Associated with Fracture Connectivity     

Christopher A. Gellasch  Herbert F. Wang  Kenneth R. Bradbury  Jean M. Bahr  Lauren L. Lande 《Ground water》2014,52(1):105-117

Reverse water‐level fluctuations (RWFs), a phenomenon in which water levels rise briefly in response to pumping, were detected in monitoring wells in a fractured siliciclastic aquifer system near a deep public supply well. The magnitude and timing of RWFs provide important information that can help interpret aquifer hydraulics near pumping wells. A RWF in a well is normally attributed to poroelastic coupling between the solid and fluid components in an aquifer system. In addition to revealing classical pumping‐induced poroelastic RWFs, data from pressure transducers located at varying depths and distances from the public supply well suggest that the RWFs propagate rapidly through fractures to influence wells hundreds of meters from the pumping well. The rate and cycling frequency of pumping is an important factor in the magnitude of RWFs. The pattern of RWF propagation can be used to better define fracture connectivity in an aquifer system. Rapid, cyclic head changes due to RWFs may also serve as a mechanism for contaminant transport.  相似文献   

Change and variability in sea ice during the 2007–2008 Canadian International Polar Year program     

David G. Barber  Matthew G. Asplin  Richard L. Raddatz  Lauren M. Candlish  Scot Nickels  Stephanie Meakin  Klaus P. Hochheim  Jennifer V. Lukovich  Ryan J. Galley  Simon J. Prinsenberg 《Climatic change》2012,115(1):115-133

In this paper we describe sea ice change and variability during the Canadian International Polar Year (IPY) program and examine several regional and hemispheric causes of this change. In a companion paper (Barber et al., Climate Change 2012) we present an overview of the consequences of this observed change and variability on ecosystem function, climatically relevant gas exchange, habitats of primary and apex predators, and impacts on northern peoples. Sea ice-themed research projects within the fourth IPY were designed to be among the most diverse international science programs. They greatly enhanced the exchange of Inuit knowledge and scientific ideas across nations and disciplines. This interdisciplinary and cultural exchange helped to explain and communicate the impacts of a transition of the Arctic Ocean and ecosystem to a seasonally ice-free state, the commensurate replacement of perennial with annual sea ice types and the causes and consequences of this globally significant metamorphosis. This paper presents a synthesis of scientific sea ice research and traditional knowledge results from Canadian-led IPY projects between 2007 and 2009. In particular, a summary of sea ice trends, basin-wide and regional, is presented in conjunction with Inuit knowledge of sea ice, gathered from communities in northern Canada. We focus on the recent observed changes in sea ice and discuss some of the causes of this change including atmospheric and oceanic forcing of both dynamic and thermodynamic forcing on the ice. Pertinent results include: 1) In the Amundsen Gulf, at the western end of the Northwest Passage, open water persists longer than normal and winter sea ice is thinner and more mobile. 2) Large areas of summer sea ice are becoming heavily decayed during summer and can be broken up by long-period waves being generated in the now extensive open water areas of the Chukchi Sea. 3) Cyclones play an important role in flaw leads??regions of open water between pack ice and land-fast ice. They delay the formation of new ice and the growth of multi-year ice. 4) Feedbacks involving the increased period of open water, long-period wave generation, increased open-ocean roughness, and the precipitation of autumn snow are all partially responsible for the observed reduction in multiyear sea ice. 5) The atmosphere is observed as remaining generally stable throughout the winter, preventing vertical entrainment of moisture above the surface.  相似文献   

Does hillslope trenching enhance groundwater recharge and baseflow in the Peruvian Andes?          下载免费PDF全文

Lauren D. Somers  Jeffrey M. McKenzie  Samuel C. Zipper  Bryan G. Mark  Pablo Lagos  Michel Baraer 《水文研究》2018,32(3):318-331

As Andean glaciers rapidly retreat due to climate change, the balance of groundwater and glacial meltwater contributions to stream discharge in tropical, proglacial watersheds will change, potentially increasing vulnerability of water resources. The Shullcas River Watershed, near Huancayo, Peru, is fed only partly by the rapidly receding Huaytapallana glaciers (<20% of dry season flow). To potentially increase recharge and therefore increase groundwater derived baseflow, the government and not‐for‐profit organizations have installed trenches along large swaths of hillslope in the Shullcas Watershed. Our study focuses on a nonglacierized subcatchment of the Shullcas River Watershed and has 2 objectives: (a) create a model of the Shullcas groundwater system and assess the controls on stream discharge and (b) investigate the impact of the infiltration trenches on recharge and baseflow. We first collected hydrologic data from the field including a year‐long hydrograph (2015–2016), meteorological data (2011–2016), and infiltration measurements. We use a recharge model to evaluate the impact of trenched hillslopes on infiltration and runoff processes. Finally, we use a 3‐dimensional groundwater model, calibrated to the measured dry season baseflow, to determine the impact of trenching on the catchment. Simulations show that trenched hillslopes receive approximately 3.5% more recharge, relative to precipitation, compared with unaltered hillslopes. The groundwater model indicates that because the groundwater flow system is fast and shallow, incorporating trenched hillslopes (~2% of study subcatchment area) only slightly increases baseflow in the dry season. Furthermore, the location of trenching is an important consideration: Trenching higher in the catchment (further from the river) and in flatter terrain provides more baseflow during the dry season. The results of this study may have important implications for Andean landscape management and water resources.  相似文献