Variability in the air-sea interaction patterns and timescales within the south-eastern Bay of Biscay, as observed by HF radar data

Two high-frequency (HF) radar stations were installed on the coast of the south-eastern Bay of Biscay in 2009, providing high spatial and temporal resolution and large spatial coverage of currents in the area for the first time. This has made it possible to quantitatively assess the air-sea interaction patterns and timescales for the period 2009-2010. The analysis was conducted using the Barnett-Preisendorfer approach to canonical correlation analysis (CCA) of reanalysis surface winds and HF radar-derived surface currents. The CCA yields two canonical patterns: the first wind-current interaction pattern corresponds to the classical Ekman drift at the sea surface, whilst the second describes an anticyclonic/cyclonic surface circulation. The results obtained demonstrate that local winds play an important role in driving the upper water circulation. The wind-current interaction timescales are mainly related to diurnal breezes and synoptic variability. In particular, the breezes force diurnal currents in waters of the continental shelf and slope of the south-eastern Bay. It is concluded that the breezes may force diurnal currents over considerably wider areas than that covered by the HF radar, considering that the northern and southern continental shelves of the Bay exhibit stronger diurnal than annual wind amplitudes.

Radar methods for the exploration of glaciers

The problem of finding the depths of glaciers and the current methods are discussed briefly. Radar methods are suggested as a possible improvement for, or adjunct to, seismic and gravity survey methods. The feasibility of propagating electromagnetic waves in ice and the maximum range to be expected are then investigated theoretically with the aid of experimental data on the dielectric properties of ice. It is found that the maximum expected range is great enough to measure the depth of many glaciers at the lower radar frequencies if there is not too much liquid water present. Greater ranges can be attained by going to lower frequencies.

The results are given of two expeditions in two different years to the Seward Glacier in the Yukon Territory. Experiments were conducted on a small valley glacier whose depth was determined by seismic sounding. Many echoes were received but their identification was uncertain. Using the best echoes, a profile was obtained each year, but they were not in exact agreement with each other. It could not be definitely established that echoes had been received from bedrock. Agreement with seismic methods for a considerable number of glaciers would have to be obtained before radar methods could be relied upon. The presence of liquid water in the ice is believed to be one of the greatest obstacles. Besides increasing the attenuation and possibly reflecting energy, it makes it impossible to predict the velocity of propagation. The equipment used was far from adequate for such purposes, so many of the difficulties could be attributed to this. Partly because of this, and the fact that there are glaciers with very little liquid water present, radar methods are believed to be worthy of further research for the exploration of glaciers.

Determinación de longitudes efectivas de lluvia en trayectos de enlaces vía satélite a partir de los datos de reflectividad del Radar meteorológico de Kapildui

[ES]En este proyecto se presenta un estudio sobre la estimación de la longitud efectiva de lluvia derivada de los escaneos de elevación obtenidos por el radar meteorológico de Kapildui, en Álava. Se estudia la altura y la longitud de la lluvia para distintos eventos: para lluvia estratiforme y para lluvia convectiva. Se analizará la variabilidad espacial y temporal para diferentes ángulos de elevación del radar. Finalmente, se presentará una versión del algoritmo implementado para el cálculo de longitudes efectivas de lluvia y se realizará un estudio estadístico de la variabilidad de ésta para diferentes direcciones y con diferentes eventos de lluvia.

Aplicação da metodologia de GPR (Radar de Penetração no Solo) com tratamento no programa Reflexw dos cordões cenozóicos da planície costeira de Itaguaí, Rio de Janeiro

Esta pesquisa investigou a formação de depósitos arenosos localizados na planície costeira da Baixada de Sepetiba, em Itaguaí, estado do Rio de Janeiro. A deposição sedimentar e a evolução desta área, na Baixada de Sepetiba tem sido estudada nas três últimas décadas, principalmente, porque é um ambiente de depósitos arenosos antigo de idade Holocênica a Pleistocênica que corresponde a uma linha de praia, originada com eventos transgressivos e/ou regressivos que tiveram seu ápice durante o Quaternário. A metodologia de Radar de Penetração no Solo (GPR) é usada, principalmente nos casos de trabalho em que se estuda um ambiente costeiro arenoso. Este campo da Geofísica tem sido usado para examinar características, tais como: a espessura de depósitos arenosos, a profundidade de um aqüífero, a detecção de uma rocha ou um aqüífero, e determina a direção de progradação. Esta pesquisa usa técnicas de radar de penetração no solo (GPR) para analisar as estruturas, em subsuperfície desde que o ambiente estudado seja definido como linha de costa, as margens de uma lagoa mixohalina, chamada Baía de Sepetiba. Neste trabalho realizamos um total de 11 perfis, que foram processados pelo software ReflexWin. Durante o processamento do dado aplicamos alguns filtros, tais como: subtract-mean (dewow), bandpassfrequency e ganhos. E as melhores imagens dos perfis foram realizadas usando-se uma antena de 200 MHz (canal 1) e outra antena de 80 MHz. Neste caso, obtivemos imagens de alta resolução a uma profundidade de até 25 metros.

Do oil and gas platforms off California reduce recruitment of bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis) to natural habitat? An analysis based on trajectories derived from high-frequency radar

To investigate the possibility that oil and gas platforms may reduce recruitment of rockfishes (Sebastes spp.) to natural habitat, we simulated drift pathways termed “trajectories” in our model) from an existing oil platform to nearshore habitat using current measurements from high-frequency (HF) radars. The trajectories originated at Platform Irene, located west of Point Conception, California, during two recruiting seasons for bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis): May through August, 1999 and 2002. Given that pelagic juvenile bocaccio dwell near the surface, the trajectories estimate transport to habitat. We assumed that appropriate shallow water juvenile habitat exists inshore of the 50-m isobath. Results from 1999 indicated that 10% of the trajectories represent transport to habitat, whereas 76% represent transport across the offshore boundary. For 2002, 24% represent transport to habitat, and 69% represent transport across the offshore boundary. Remaining trajectories (14% and 7% for 1999 and 2002, respectively) exited the coverage area either northward or southward along isobaths. Deployments of actual drifters (with 1-m drogues) from a previous multiyear study provided measurements originating near Platform Irene from May through August. All but a few of the drifters moved offshore, as was also shown with the HF radar-derived trajectories. These results indicate that most juvenile bocaccio settling on the platform would otherwise have been transported offshore and perished in the absence of a platform. However, these results do not account for the swimming behavior of juvenile bocaccio, about which little is known.

A crowding model of visual clutter.

Visual information is difficult to search and interpret when the density of the displayed information is high or the layout is chaotic. Visual information that exhibits such properties is generally referred to as being "cluttered." Clutter should be avoided in information visualizations and interface design in general because it can severely degrade task performance. Although previous studies have identified computable correlates of clutter (such as local feature variance and edge density), understanding of why humans perceive some scenes as being more cluttered than others remains limited. Here, we explore an account of clutter that is inspired by findings from visual perception studies. Specifically, we test the hypothesis that the so-called "crowding" phenomenon is an important constituent of clutter. We constructed an algorithm to predict visual clutter in arbitrary images by estimating the perceptual impairment due to crowding. After verifying that this model can reproduce crowding data we tested whether it can also predict clutter. We found that its predictions correlate well with both subjective clutter assessments and search performance in cluttered scenes. These results suggest that crowding and clutter may indeed be closely related concepts and suggest avenues for further research.