Human spaceflight in the UK: the cost of non-participation     

Kevin Fong 《Earth, Moon, and Planets》2004,94(3-4):169-176

Human space exploration is not considered a strategic priority in the United Kingdom at present. However the UK would benefit from participating in human spaceflight, for both scientific and social reasons. From the point of view of medical science there are many parallels between the physiology of spaceflight and terrestrial disease processes, and studies of the response of astronauts to long-duration spaceflight can therefore help in the development of therapeutic strategies on Earth. On the social side, human spaceflight is an attractive vehicle for stimulating the interest of young people in science and engineering, something that must be of value for an aspiring ‘knowledge-based’ economy.  相似文献   

Nutrient limitation of the macroalgaEnteromorpha intestinalis collected along a resource gradient in a highly eutrophic estuary     

Kamer  Krista  Fong  Peggy  Kennison  Rachel  Schiff  Kenneth 《Estuaries and Coasts》2004,27(2):201-208

We conducted a laboratory experiment to quantify nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) limitation of macroalgae collected along a gradient in water column nutrient availability in Upper Newport Bay estuary, a relatively nutrient-rich system in southern California, United States. We collectedEnteromorpha intestinalis and water for use in the experiment from five sites ranging from the lower end of the estuary to the head. Initial algal tissue N and P concentrations and molar N∶P ratios—as well as water column NO₃ and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN)—increased along a spatial gradient from the lower end toward the head. Water column soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) varied among sites as well but did not follow a pattem of increasing from the seaward end toward the head. Algae from each site were assigned to one of four experimental treatments: control (C), nitrogen enrichment (+N), phosphorus enrichment (+P), and nitrogen and phosphorus enrichment (+N+P). Each week for 3 wk we replaced the water in each unit with the appropriate treatment water to mimic a poorly flushed estuary. After 3 wk, the degree of nutrient limitation ofE. intestinalis varied spatially with distance from the head of the estuary. Growth ofE. intestinalis collected from several sites increased with N enrichment alone and increased further when P was added in combination with N This indicated that N was limiting and that when N was sufficient, P became limiting. Sites from whichE. intestinalis exhibited nutrient limitation spanned the range of background water column NO₃ (12.9±0.4 to 55.2±2.1 μM) and SRP (0.8±0.0 to 2.9±0.2 μM) concentrations. Algae that were N limited had initial tissue N levels ranging from 1.18±0.03 to 2.81±0.08% dry weight and molar N∶P ratios ranging from 16.75±0.39 to 26.40±1.98.  相似文献   

A new bounding surface model for thermal cyclic behaviour          下载免费PDF全文

C. Zhou  K.Y. Fong  C.W.W. Ng 《国际地质力学数值与分析法杂志》2017,41(16):1656-1666

To accurately predict soil volume changes under thermal cycles is of great importance for analysing the performance of many earth structures such as the energy pile and energy storage system. Most of the existing thermo‐mechanical models focus on soil behaviour under monotonic thermal loading only, and they are not able to capture soil volume changes under thermal cycles. In this study, a constitutive model is proposed to simulate volume changes of saturated soil subjected to cyclic heating and cooling. Two surfaces are defined and used: a bounding surface and a memory surface. The bounding surface and memory surface are mainly controlled by the preconsolidation pressure (a function of plastic volumetric strain) and the maximum stress experienced by the soil, respectively. Under thermal cycles, the distance of the two surfaces and plastic modulus increase with an accumulation of plastic strain. By adopting the double surface concept, a new elastoplastic model is derived from an existing single bounding surface thermo‐mechanical model. Comparisons between model predictions and experimental results reveal that the proposed model is able to capture soil volume changes under thermal cycles well. The plastic strain accumulates under thermal cycles, but at a decreasing rate, until stabilization. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Global gravitational changes due to atmospheric mass redistribution as observed by the Lageos nodal residual   总被引：4，自引：0，他引：4  

Benjamin Fong Chao  Richard Eanes 《Geophysical Journal International》1995,122(3):755-764

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Geophysical analysis of zonal tidal signals in length of day   总被引：5，自引：0，他引：5  

Benjamin Fong Chao  James B. Merriam  Yoshiaki Tamura 《Geophysical Journal International》1995,122(3):765-775

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Changes in global gravitational energy induced by earthquakes   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Benjamin Fong Chao  Richard S. Gross  Da-Nan Dong 《Geophysical Journal International》1995,122(3):784-789

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Self-organised clustering for road extraction in classified imagery     

Peter Doucette  Peggy Agouris  Anthony Stefanidis  Mohamad Musavi 《ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing》2001,55(5-6)

The extraction of road networks from digital imagery is a fundamental image analysis operation. Common problems encountered in automated road extraction include high sensitivity to typical scene clutter in high-resolution imagery, and inefficiency to meaningfully exploit multispectral imagery (MSI). With a ground sample distance (GSD) of less than 2 m per pixel, roads can be broadly described as elongated regions. We propose an approach of elongated region-based analysis for 2D road extraction from high-resolution imagery, which is suitable for MSI, and is insensitive to conventional edge definition. A self-organising road map (SORM) algorithm is presented, inspired from a specialised variation of Kohonen's self-organising map (SOM) neural network algorithm. A spectrally classified high-resolution image is assumed to be the input for our analysis. Our approach proceeds by performing spatial cluster analysis as a mid-level processing technique. This allows us to improve tolerance to road clutter in high-resolution images, and to minimise the effect on road extraction of common classification errors. This approach is designed in consideration of the emerging trend towards high-resolution multispectral sensors. Preliminary results demonstrate robust road extraction ability due to the non-local approach, when presented with noisy input.  相似文献   

Environmental factors associated with long-term changes in chlorophyll concentration in the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta and Suisun Bay,California     

Peggy W. Lehman 《Estuaries and Coasts》1992,15(3):335-348

Long-term changes in chlorophyll concentration were predicted from environmental variables using Box-Jenkins transfer function models for the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and Suisun Bay. Data used for the analyses were collected continuously on a semimonthly or monthly basis over the 17-yr period between 1971 and 1987. Groups of highly correlated environmental variables were summarized along three environmental axes using principal component analysis. The first environmental axis summarized river flow and specific conductance. The second environmental axis summarized water transparency and the third environmental axis summarized air and water temperature. Chlorophyll concentration was significantly corss-correlated with environmental axes and individual environmental variables. Transfer function models developed to describe changes in chlorophyll concentration over time were characterized by lag responses and described between 41% and 51% of the data variation. Significant cross-correlations between environmental axes and the California climate index (CA SLP) were used to develop a conceptual model of the link between regional climate and estuarine production.  相似文献   

1980～1994年台湾海峡两岸的地热涡与降水季度预报初探   总被引：4，自引：0，他引：4  

汤懋苍  柳中明  高晓清  冯松 《气象学报》1998,56(5):611-618

利用１９８０～１９９４年大陆３．２ｍ深度和台湾３．０ｍ深度的地温资料,分析了１５ａ来的逐季地气图,统计了台湾海峡两岸的地热涡活动,发现平均每季有１个地热涡活动,其水平尺度比大陆内部的地热涡要小,生命史也要短,进入台湾地区的地热涡绝大多数是从西方和北方进入,其移动速度比大陆内部的要快得多。９０％以上的地热涡在同期有多雨区与其对应,热涡中心与多雨中心相距在１００ｋｍ以内者占６８％。最后给出了一个季度降水的定性预测方案,其步骤为：预报地热涡的中心位置、强度和水平尺度;推算降水正距平区的水平尺度、中心位置和强度;根据本区发生的地震等情况进行预报订正。  相似文献   

A systematic approach to the input determination for neural network rainfall–runoff models     

Gwo‐Fong Lin  Guo‐Rong Chen 《水文研究》2008,22(14):2524-2530

Input determination has a great influence on the performance of artificial neural network (ANN) rainfall–runoff models. To improve the performance of ANN models, a systematic approach to the input determination for ANN models is proposed. In the proposed approach, the irrelevant inputs are removed. Then an adequate ANN model, which only includes highly relevant inputs, is constructed. Unlike the trial‐and‐error procedure, the proposed approach is more systematic and avoids unnecessary trials. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, an application to actual typhoon events is presented. The results show that the proposed ANN model, which is constructed by the proposed approach, has advantages over those obtained by the trial‐and‐error procedure. The proposed ANN model has a simpler architecture, needs less training time, and performs better. The proposed ANN model is recommended as an alternative to existing rainfall–runoff ANN models. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献