Reducing standard errors by incorporating spatial autocorrelation into a measurement scheme for soil carbon credits     

Siân Mooney  Ken Gerow  John Antle  Susan Capalbo  Keith Paustian 《Climatic change》2007,80(1-2):55-72

Several studies have suggested that geostatistical techniques could be employed to reduce overall transactions costs associated with contracting for soil C credits by increasing the efficacy of sampling protocols used to measure C-credits. In this paper, we show how information about the range of spatial autocorrelation can be used in a measurement scheme to reduce the size of the confidence intervals that bound estimates of the mean number of C-credits generated per hectare. A tighter confidence interval around the mean number of C-credits sequestered could increase producer payments for each hectare enrolled in a contract to supply C-credits. An empirical application to dry land cropping systems in three regions of Montana shows that information about the spatial autocorrelation exhibited by soil C could be extremely valuable for reducing transactions costs associated with contracts for C-credits but the benefits are not uniform across all regions or cropping systems. Accounting for spatial autocorrelation greatly reduced the standard errors and narrowed the confidence intervals associated with sample estimates of the mean number of C-credits produced per hectare. For the payment mechanism considered in this paper, tighter confidence intervals around the mean number of C-credits created per hectare enrolled could increase producer payments by more than 100 percent under a C-contract.  相似文献   

Evaluation of vegetative criteria for near-surface groundwater detection using multispectral mapping and GIS techniques in semi-arid Botswana     

Susan Ringrose  Cornelis Vanderpost  Wilma Matheson 《Applied geography (Sevenoaks, England)》1998,18(4):331-354

The critical need to consider all options in the search for groundwater in semi-arid areas has promoted work on the possible association of near-surface groundwater and vegetation characteristics using a combination of remote-sensing data and geographic information systems (GIS) techniques. Two vegetative criteria (dense woody cover and abundance of deep-rooting species) are identified as being indicative of near-surface groundwater, and their spatial distribution is tested against the location of aquifers in southeast Botswana. Vegetative criteria classes were combined in a GIS environment with the distribution of geomorphic units and bedrock geology to determine the degree of coincidence with assumed or known aquifers. Results indicate that the distribution of dense woody vegetation as mapped from Thematic Mapper imagery has some potential in identifying especially surficial but also bedrock near-surface groundwater sources in mostly naturally vegetated semi-arid areas. Dense woody cover classes tend to select aquifers in topographically higher areas while classes comprising some deep-rooting species tend to select low-lying aquifers such as those occurring in fossil valleys. Deep-rooting species, however, are less successful as a vegetative criterion. Although various technical refinements are suggested, this work shows that vegetative criteria mapping can however be used in conjunction with conventional geological/geophysical techniques to enhance the prospects for groundwater location in relatively undisturbed semi-arid areas.  相似文献   

Thecamoebians in Lake Winnipeg: a tool for Holocene paleolimnology     

Susan M. Burbidge  Claudia J. Schröder-Adams 《Journal of Paleolimnology》1998,19(3):309-328

Holocene sediments in Lake Winnipeg are expressed in the lower Lake Agassiz sequence which is unconformably overlain by the Lake Winnipeg sequence. Nine sites, covering the North and South basins and the connecting Narrows, were selected for analysis of Holocene changes in thecamoebian faunae. Only the Lake Winnipeg sequence contains thecamoebians. This study indicates that biologic productivity and consequently the type of organic material in the sediments is the main control on thecamoebian taxa in Lake Winnipeg. Other factors controlling the distribution of thecamoebians are water chemistry and turbidity. Inorganic sediment geochemistry and water temperature do not appear to significantly influence the thecamoebian fauna of Lake Winnipeg. Variations in the abundance of key thecamoebian species along a north-south transect divide Lake Winnipeg into three distinct areas. The North Basin has remained relatively unchanged since the retreat of Lake Agassiz as indicated by the domination of Difflugia manicata throughout its history. This species appears to prefer Cyanophyta and diatoms as its food source. In the Narrows harsh conditions created by turbid waters and lack of algal food taxa result in Centropyxis aculeata replacing Difflugia manicata as the dominant species. In the South Basin three thecamoebian assemblages are recognized. Cucurbitella tricuspis, indicative of eutrophic conditions, dominates the most recent sediments of the South Basin. The underlying sediments are characterized by Difflugia globulus. In Lake Winnipeg this species is not a cold climate (arctic) indicator as suggested elsewhere but instead seems to prefer sediments containing green and yellow-green algal material. A Centropyxis-Arcella Assemblage occurs only at the base of the southernmost core where it is indicative of an early phase of hyposaline conditions as developed in shallow pools during the southward transgression of Lake Winnipeg. This study illustrates the usefulness of thecamoebians as paleolimnological indicators. Environmental changes are more significant in the restricted South Basin resulting in distinct thecamoebian assemblages. In contrast, the North Basin provided a stable environment throughout the late Holocene reflected in only subtle faunal changes.  相似文献   

Plagiogranites as late-stage immiscible liquids in ophiolite and mid-ocean ridge suites: An experimental study   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Susan Dixon  M.J. Rutherford 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》1979,45(1):45-60

Chemical studies of two ophiolite suites and of selected mid-oceanic rift (MOR) regions indicate the presence of certain magmatic compositions: basalt, Fe-enriched basalt, and sodium granite (plagiogranite). There is a notable lack of evidence for melts of intermediate composition (i.e. 50–60 wt.% SiO₂). To determine possible relationships between basic rocks (basalts and gabbros) and acidic rocks (plagiogranites) a primitive basalt was fractionated at low pressure, under anhydrous conditions, and at different oxygen fugacities near the iron-wustite buffer and slightly above the quartz-fayalite-magnetite buffer. Samples of this basalt were taken to slightly above liquidus temperatures and then cooled at rates ranging from 1 to 2°C/hr. A liquid line of descent characterized by an Fe enrichment was delineated by quenching these experiments from a final temperature in the range of 1200 to 1000°C and analyzing the residual liquid (glass). After 95% crystallization of olivine, plagioclase, calcium pyroxene, and ilmenite, the residual liquid was an Fe-enriched basalt. This Fe-enriched basalt became immiscible at a temperature of about 1010°C. The immiscible phases produced were a more Fe-enriched basaltic liquid and a granitic liquid. The granitic liquid is similar in composition to the naturally occurring plagiogranites found in small volumes in ophiolites and in certain MOR regions. It is therefore concluded that silicate liquid immiscibility could be the petrogenetic process responsible for producing plagiogranite in some MOR regions and in some ophiolites. On the other hand, plagiogranites in ophiolites and MOR rock suites having andesitic and dacitic composition rocks may have evolved under conditions more closely approximating equilibrium crystallization and/or they may have evolved at high water pressures. The available experimental data suggest that amphibole would crystallize early and yield SiO₂-enriched liquids at depths greater than 4.5 km for P_H2O's in the range 0.6–1.0 P_total.The major problem in interpreting any of the natural plagiogranites as products of silicate liquid immiscibility is the fact that neither the Fe-enriched conjugate liquid or its crystalline equivalent has been described in the ophiolite or MOR literature. The identification of this Fe-rich conjugate magma is essential in any rock suite if a completely convincing case for silicate liquid immiscibility is to be made.  相似文献   

A novel charge-transfer polymer for separating hydrocarbon fractions of crude oils     

Keith C.C. Bancroft  Susan B. Kendall  Michael M. Rhead  Gerard Hentic 《Marine pollution bulletin》1979,10(8):238-239

Hydrocarbon fractions in crude oil were separated by a new charge-transfer polymer in place of silver ions in Argentation TLC. The charge-transfer plates are cheaper than their silver nitrate equivalents, do not discolour, and store well. The polymer/silica gel mix can be re-used.  相似文献   

The azimuthal variation of teleseismic P-wave residuals for stations in southern California     

Susan A. Raikes 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》1976,29(2):367-372

A study of teleseismic P-residuals for 13 stations in southern California reveals that these vary systematically with the azimuth of the event; the residuals generally tend to be negative in the NW and SE quadrants. This effect is greatest in the north of the region: a maximum peak-to-peak variation of 1.3 sec with residuals as low as ?0.9 sec was observed at Isabella. The delays become less negative further south in the region, and at the southernmost station, Glamis, delays of up to +0.75 sec were observed to the west. The latter may be associated with velocity decreases in the active geothermal areas of the Imperial Valley. A simple model, consisting of a region some 175 km wide and 100 km thick at a depth of approximately 100 km in which a velocity increase of up to 0.45 km/sec occurs, is proposed to account for the observed variations. This region trends NW-SE approximately parallel to the North America-Pacific plate boundary. The proposed velocity changes are consistent with a pinching out of the low-velocity (partial melting) zone under the area, such as has been proposed to explain the low heat flow in the Sierra Nevada, and may be related to the presence of an ancient (～ 30 m.y.) subduction zone under southern California.  相似文献   

Fatty acids and Pb-210 geochronology of a sediment core from Buzzards Bay,Massachusetts     

John W Farrington  Susan M Henrichs  Robert Anderson 《Geochimica et cosmochimica acta》1977,41(2):289-296

Four sections of a Pb-210 dated core of 62 cm length from Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, were analyzed for fatty acids. A comparison of fatty acids extracted by Soxhlet extraction (unbound fatty acids) with fatty acids extracted by subsequent saponification extraction of the same sample (bound fatty acids) showed the former did not undergo diagenetic loss any faster than the latter. However, compositional differences between bound and unbound fatty acids were apparent in the top section of 1–2 cm and were less apparent in the 54–58 cm section. At least 14% of the bound fatty acids are esterified to non-solvent extractable material. The net conversion of fatty acids to other compounds is 32 μ/g dry weight sediment over the first 30 yr after deposition.  相似文献   

Seismic reflection coefficients from mantle fault zones   总被引：3，自引：0，他引：3  

Mike Warner &  Susan McGeary 《Geophysical Journal International》1987,89(1):223-230

Summary. Several bright reflections from structures within the mantle can be seen on BIRPS' deep seismic reflection profiles. We have calculated apparent reflection coefficients for the brightest of these events and obtain values around 0.1. It is not possible to produce such large reflections by either compositional layering or seismic anisotropy if olivine and pyroxene are the only significant minerals in the mantle. These large reflections can be produced by a mafic layer or a partially hydrated layer within normal peridotite. The brightest reflections seem to be best explained as major faults or shear zones within the mantle.  相似文献   

Assessing possible changes in flood frequency due to climate change in mid‐sized watersheds in New York State,USA     

Stephen B. Shaw  Susan J. Riha 《水文研究》2011,25(16):2542-2550

The frequency of flooding is often presumed to increase with climate change because of projected increases in rainfall intensities. In this paper, using 50‐plus years of historical discharge and meteorological data from three watersheds in different physiographic regions of New York State, USA, we find that annual maximum stream discharges are associated with 20% or less of the annual maximum rainfall events. Instead of rainfall events, approximately 20% of annual maximum stream discharges are associated with annual maximum snowmelt events while 60% of annual maximum discharges are associated with moderate rainfall amounts and very wet soil conditions. To explore the potential for changes in future flood risk, we employed a compound frequency distribution that assumes annual maximum discharges can be modelled by combining the cumulative distribution functions of discharges resulting from annual maximum rainfall, annual maximum snowmelt, and occurrences of moderate rain on wet soils. Basing on a compound frequency distribution comprised of univariate general extreme value (GEV) and gamma distributions, we found that a hypothetical 20% increase in the magnitude of rainfall‐related stream discharge results in little change in 96th percentile annual maximum discharge. For the 99th percentile discharge, two waterbodies in our study had a 10% or less increase in annual maximum discharge when annual maximum rainfall‐related discharges increased 20% while the third waterbody had a 16% increase in annual maximum discharges. Additionally, in some cases, annual maximum discharges could be offset by a reduction in the discharge resulting from annual maximum snowmelt events. While only intended as a heuristic tool to explore the interaction among different flood‐causing mechanisms, use of a compound flood frequency distribution suggests a case can be made that not all waterbodies in humid, cold regions will see extensive changes in flooding due to increased rainfall intensities. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Correspondence analysis of water quality data: Implications for fauna deaths at Stillwater Lakes, Nevada     

Susan G. Oleson  James R. Carr 《Mathematical Geology》1990,22(6):665-698

Over the last 2 years, more than seven million fish and 16,000 birds have died from drought-induced disease and suspected poisoning at Stillwater Lakes, Nevada. Correspondence analysis of water samples taken in June and September 1986, from lakes and reservoirs near Stillwater Lakes and four background lakes/reservoirs (not associated with fauna disease and death), is attempted to investigate the correlation among sites associated with fauna deaths. This analysis identifies high correlation between some Stillwater Lakes sites and boron. A correlation between boron and arsenic is also identified. Leaching and transport of toxins to the Stillwater Lakes system is one hypothesis to explain the wildlife deaths. Other hypotheses include the direct introduction of toxins by groundwater associated with geothermal activity. A natural cause for the wildlife deaths is also suggested, a cause not associated with the introduction of toxins.  相似文献