A tour on the banks of the Thames, from London to Oxford, in ... 1829.

The author's name may be R. Walton.

Observations on the public right of fishing by angle or nets, in public navigable rivers in general and the River Thames in particular ...

Mode of access: Internet.

The wag's miscellany, an original collection of jests, bon-mots, witticisms jeux d'esprits, &c. &c. and other enemies to anelancholy. To which is added a chronological table of remarkable frosts in all ages and nations, embellished with an accurate delineation of Frost-fair, or Rural sports on the River Thames.

Mode of access: Internet.

Complete works. With an essay on the life, genius and achievement of the author, by William Ernest Henley.

Mode of access: Internet.

Old ballads illustrating the great frost of 1683-4 and the fair on the river Thames /

Mode of access: Internet.

Impact of signal-ASE four-wave mixing on the effectiveness of digital back-propagation in 112 Gb/s PM-QPSK systems

Limitations in the performance of coherent transmission systems employing digital back-propagation due to four-wave mixing impairments are reported for the first time. A significant performance constraint is identified, originating from four-wave mixing between signals and amplified spontaneous emission noise which induces a linear increase in the standard deviation of the received field with signal power, and linear dependence on transmission distance.

Performance comparison of 40 Gb/s ULH transmissions using CSRZ-ASK or CSRZ-DPSK modulation formats on UltraWave (TM) fiber

In this work we present extensive comparisons between numerical modelling and experimental measurements of the transmission performance of either CSRZ-ASK or CSRZ-DPSK modulation formats for 40-Gb/s WDM ULH systems on UltraWave (TM) fiber spans with all-Raman amplification. We numerically optimised the amplification and the signal format parameters for both CSRZ-DPSK and CSRZ-ASK formats. Numerical and experimental results show that, in a properly optimized transmission link, the DPSK format permits to double the transmission distance ( for a given BER level) with respect to the ASK format, while keeping a substantial OSNR margin ( on ASK modulation) after the propagation in the fiber line. Our comparison between numerical and experimental results permits to identify what is the most suitable BER estimator in assessing the transmission performance when using the DPSK format. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.

Impact of the fiber type and dispersion management on the performance of a NRZ 16 x 40 Gb/s DWDM transmission system

We examine the impact of the fiber type and dispersion management on the performance of a 16 × 40 Gb/s dense wavelength-division-multiplexing nonreturn-to-zero transmission system. The transmission line is composed of G.652 or G.655 fiber with periodic dispersion compensation and hybrid Raman erbium-doped fiber amplifier amplification.

Performance comparison of 40 Gb/s ULH transmissions using CSRZ-ASK or CSRZ-DPSK modulation formats on Ultra Wave™ fiber

In this work we present extensive comparisons between numerical modelling and experimental measurements of the transmission performance of either CSRZ-ASK or CSRZ-DPSK modulation formats for 40-Gb/s WDM ULH systems on UltraWave™ fiber spans with all-Raman amplification. We numerically optimised the amplification and the signal format parameters for both CSRZ-DPSK and CSRZ-ASK formats. Numerical and experimental results show that, in a properly optimized transmission link, the DPSK format permits to double the transmission distance (for a given BER level) with respect to the ASK format, while keeping a substantial OSNR margin (on ASK modulation) after the propagation in the fiber line. Our comparison between numerical and experimental results permits to identify what is the most suitable BER estimator in assessing the transmission performance when using the DPSK format. © 2007 Optical Society of America.

Impact of electric vehicles on GB electricity demand and associated benefits for system control

This paper investigates the impact that electric vehicle uptake will have on the national electricity demand of Great Britain. Data from the National Travel Survey, and the Coventry and Birmingham Low Emissions Demonstration (CABLED) are used to model an electrical demand profile in a future scenario of significant electric vehicle market penetration. These two methods allow comparison of how conventional cars are currently used, and the resulting electrical demand with simple substitution of energy source, with data showing how electric vehicles are actually being used at present. The report finds that electric vehicles are unlikely to significantly impact electricity demand in GB. The paper also aims to determine whether electric vehicles have the potential to provide ancillary services to the grid operator, and if so, the capacity for such services that would be available. Demand side management, frequency response and Short term Operating Reserve (STOR) are the services considered. The report finds that electric cars are unlikely to provide enough moveable demand peak shedding to be worthwhile. However, it is found that controlling vehicle charging would provide sufficient power control to viably act as frequency response for dispatch by the transmission system operator. This paper concludes that electric vehicles have technical potential to aid management of the transmission network without adding a significant demand burden. © 2013 IEEE.

Spotlight on ... Philately : a tale of two postage stamps - following the things

I found it on eBay: ‘Jamaica GB used in 1858 6d x 2 sg Z5 used on piece A01 [Kingston] 1858’. Offered for sale by a stamp dealer on the Isle of Man was a scrap of blue paper, apparently part of an old envelope or torn off a sealed, folded letter, on which was stuck an attached pair of British postage stamps, each bearing the image of a young Queen Victoria

The SEA-CALIPSO volcano imaging experiment at Montserrat : plans, campaigns at sea and on land, scientific results, and lessons learned

Since 1995 the eruption of the andesitic Soufrière Hills Volcano (SHV), Montserrat, has been studied in substantial detail. As an important contribution to this effort, the Seismic Experiment with Airgunsource-Caribbean Andesitic Lava Island Precision Seismo-geodetic Observatory (SEA-CALIPSO) experiment was devised to image the arc crust underlying Montserrat, and, if possible, the magma system at SHV using tomography and reflection seismology. Field operations were carried out in October–December 2007, with deployment of 238 seismometers on land supplementing seven volcano observatory stations, and with an array of 10 ocean-bottom seismometers deployed offshore. The RRS James Cook on NERC cruise JC19 towed a tuned airgun array plus a digital 48-channel streamer on encircling and radial tracks for 77 h about Montserrat during December 2007, firing 4414 airgun shots and yielding about 47 Gb of data. The main objecctives of the experiment were achieved. Preliminary analyses of these data published in 2010 generated images of heterogeneous high-velocity bodies representing the cores of volcanoes and subjacent intrusions, and shallow areas of low velocity on the flanks of the island that reflect volcaniclastic deposits and hydrothermal alteration. The resolution of this preliminary work did not extend beyond 5 km depth. An improved three-dimensional (3D) seismic velocity model was then obtained by inversion of 181 665 first-arrival travel times from a more-complete sampling of the dataset, yielding clear images to 7.5 km depth of a low-velocity volume that was interpreted as the magma chamber which feeds the current eruption, with an estimated volume 13 km3. Coupled thermal and seismic modelling revealed properties of the partly crystallized magma. Seismic reflection analyses aimed at imaging structures under southern Montserrat had limited success, and suggest subhorizontal layering interpreted as sills at a depth of between 6 and 19 km. Seismic reflection profiles collected offshore reveal deep fans of volcaniclastic debris and fault offsets, leading to new tectonic interpretations. This chapter presents the project goals and planning concepts, describes in detail the campaigns at sea and on land, summarizes the major results, and identifies the key lessons learned.

Seabed Biodiversity on the Continental Shelf of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area

The Great Barrier Reef is a unique World Heritage Area of national and international significance. As a multiple use Marine Park, activities such as fishing and tourism occur along with conservation goals. Managers need information on habitats and biodiversity distribution and risks to ensure these activities are conducted sustainably. However, while the coral reefs have been relatively well studied, less was known about the deeper seabed in the region. From 2003 to 2006, the GBR Seabed Biodiversity Project has mapped habitats and their associated biodiversity across the length and breadth of the Marine Park to provide information that will help managers with conservation planning and to assess whether fisheries are ecologically sustainable, as required by environmental protection legislation (e.g. EPBC Act 1999). Holistic information on the biodiversity of the seabed was acquired by visiting almost 1,500 sites, representing a full range of known environments, during 10 month-long voyages on two vessels and deploying several types of devices such as: towed video and digital cameras, baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS), a digital echo-sounder, an epibenthic sled and a research trawl to collect samples for more detailed data about plants, invertebrates and fishes on the seabed. Data were collected and processed from >600 km of towed video and almost 100,000 photos, 1150 BRUVS videos, ~140 GB of digital echograms, and from sorting and identification of ~14,000 benthic samples, ~4,000 seabed fish samples, and ~1,200 sediment samples.

A study on the variations of optical and physical properties of aerosols over a tropical semi-arid station during grassland fire

The present paper records the results of a case study on the impact of an extensive grassland fire on the physical and optical properties of aerosols at a semi-arid station in southern India for the first time from ground based measurements using a MICROTOPS-II sunphotometer, an aethalometer and a quartz crystal microbalance impactor (QCM). Observations revealed a substantial increase in aerosol optical depth (AOD) at all wavelengths during burning days compared to normal days. High AOD values observed at shorter wavelengths suggest the dominance of accumulation mode particle loading over the study area. Daily mean aerosol size spectra shows, most of the time, power-law distribution. To characterize AOD, the Angstrom parameters (i.e., alpha and beta) were used. Wavelength exponent (1.38) and turbidity coefficient (0.21) are high during burning days compared to normal days, thereby suggesting an increase in accumulation mode particle loading. Aerosol size distribution suggested dominance of accumulation mode particle loading during burning days compared to normal days. A significant positive correlation was observed between AOD at 500 mn and water vapour and negative correlation between AOD at 500 nm and wind speed for burning and non-burning days. Diurnal variations of black carbon (BC) aerosol mass concentrations increased by a factor of similar to 2 in the morning and afternoon hours during burning period compared to normal days.