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The islands of the tropical South Pacific (TSP) are considered biodiversity hotspots. However, the biota of this region has received limited scientific attention and very little is known about its diversity, ecology and evolution. In this thesis we investigate some of the ecological and evolutionary processes in the TSP, focussing on lowland rain forests. We use molecular techniques to investigate evolutionary processes and vegetation surveys to study species diversity patterns and ecological processes. Chapter 1 reviews molecular, distributional and geographic evidence for dispersal versus vicariance explanations for the diversity and distribution of the TSP biota. Most islands of the TSP are geologically young (less than 40 million years old) and of oceanic origin, so most (if not all) of the biota on islands in the TSP arrived through long-distance dispersal events. This view is strongly corroborated by genetic data from published studies. Molecular studies also suggest two major source areas. One is located in the northwest, which includes Malesia and Southeast Asia, while the other is in the southwest and includes New Caledonia, Australia and New Zealand. We argue that local extinctions have occurred in source and stepping stone areas, creating sources of error for the interpretation of distribution and molecular data. In Chapter 2 we use allozyme data to investigate the question how Pacific cycads (Cycas, subsection Rumphiae) colonised the Pacific. We show that they colonised the Pacific and East Africa by long-distance dispersal, probably through floating seeds from a Malesian source area. Allozymes and morphological data provide support for two major groups within subsection Rumphiae and reveal close relationships between the extant species, suggesting very recent and/or ongoing dispersal events. Cycads are an example of recent diversification in a lineage with a long fossil record. The podocarp genus Dacrydium is another lineage with a long fossil record and in chapter 3 we investigate the colonisation and speciation processes in this lineage using allozymes and trnL-trnF plastid sequences. Our results suggest that the Pacific species of Dacrydium arrived recently (within the last 10 million years) in the TSP but are inconclusive about the source area of the genus. Combined molecular and ecological data suggest the occurrence of both allopatric and sympatric speciation in the Pacific radiation in this genus. Allozyme data also demonstrate the occurrence of hybridisation between two New Caledonian species. Our findings suggest that hybridisation and sympatric speciation may have played an important role in the evolution of the biota in the TSP. In chapter 4 we attempt to untangle the disparate forces driving alpha species diversity, forest structure and species composition in old-growth lowland tropical rainforest by assessing the tree species composition of twelve 1 ha vegetation count plots on 13 islands between New Guinea and Samoa. Using simplifications of a model based on biogeographic and ecological disturbance theory, we show that species diversity and richness are mainly influenced by size and area of an island, while endemism is mostly determined by isolation and area. High cyclone frequency is shown to increase the density of stems (with dbh > 10 cm). Correlations between the abundance of widespread canopy tree taxa and cyclone frequency suggest that cyclones affect species composition by increasing the abundance of cyclone-resistant species. However, floristic similarities show that geographic distance also affects species composition. It therefore appears that, for lowland rain forests in the TSP, biogeography is the major driver of species diversity and endemism and that disturbance is the major driver of forest structure, while both biogeography and disturbance affect the species composition. In chapter 5 we test the ability of NDVI (Normalised Difference Vegetation Index, a remotely sensed index of productivity) data and leaf samples as covariates of alpha species diversity using twelve vegetation count plots. NDVI performed poorly in estimating species diversity and species richness. However, the cost- and time-efficiency associated with remotely sensed data shows the potential of these methods, but only if accurate methods to estimate species richness are found. Species richness and species diversity estimates obtained from leaf litter samples correlate reasonably well with similar estimates obtained from count plots and are more than 30% cheaper and about 10% faster to obtain. If travel can be avoided through collaboration, leaf litter-based estimates of diversity could be obtained at about 5% the cost and in about half the time compared to count plots. Therefore the analysis of leaf litter is potentially a suitable and efficient method to obtain rapid estimates of species diversity in count plots. The final chapter discusses the roles of ecological and evolutionary processes in the TSP. While research to date has been scarce, especially on ecological processes acting on large scales, data show that the effects of ecology, evolution and biogeography are interlinked during the colonisation, establishment and subsequent evolution of taxa and biomes in the TSP.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 152-162).

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:27:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:59:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Foram desenvolvidos modelos analíticos que descrevem os elementos básicos para irradiações de alvos metálicos em ciclotrons. Parâmetros importantes como valor máximo de corrente de feixe e potência térmica depositada sobre o alvo foram obtidos e confrontados com situações práticas. De forma totalmente inédita, foram determinados analiticamente as características encontradas em situações de intensos transientes térmicos, quando altas concentrações de prótons em uma pequena região do feixe provocam intensos gradientes de temperatura em pequenas regiões do alvo. A comparação dos resultados obtidos com aqueles encontrados na literatura mostraram que os modelos desenvolvidos são satisfatórios, tendo em vista todas as limitações do modelo proposto. / Tese (Doutoramento) / IPEN/T / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Orientadores: Milton Mori, Waldir Pedro Martignoni / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Quimica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-12T22:56:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dias_DanieldeBrito_M.pdf: 5535932 bytes, checksum: 88e566e01cde62262c8caf66d26410e5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: Ciclones são equipamentos amplamente utilizados em indústrias como separadores gássólido. Apesar deste equipamento possuir princípios de funcionamento simples, estudos já demonstraram que o escoamento vorticial confinado inerente aos separadores ciclônicos é, na realidade, muito complexo. O recente avanço em métodos numéricos e poder computacional tornou possível o uso de ferramentas avançadas como a fluidodinâmica computacional (CFD), técnica que propõe a solução das equações de conservação de massa, quantidade de movimento e energia através de métodos numéricos. Sua aplicação a ciclones não deixou sombra de dúvida da complexidade da fluidodinâmica envolvida, mas mesmo com dificuldades abriu caminho para muitos avanços na área. O presente estudo busca somar à vasta literatura ao discutir a variação de alguns parâmetros específicos para a simulação de ciclones. O primeiro parâmetro foi a condição de contorno de saída de sólidos. Foram estudadas algumas configurações que incluem a saída direta, com dip, leg com caixa coletora e parede. Estas variações provaram ser de enorme influência em toda a fluidodinâmica do sistema. Em seguida é feito um estudo da influência do modelo de turbulência nos campos de escoamento. São aplicados os modelos k-epsilon, RNG k-epsilon, SSG-Reynolds Stress Model (SSG-RSM) e Large Eddy Simulation (LES). Os dois primeiros se mostraram inadequados, o SSG-RSM mostrou-se adequado e o LES promissor, porém limitado pela malha esparsa utilizada. Por fim, variou-se a abordagem de modelagem da fase sólida, primeiramente utilizando um modelo Euleriano-Euleriano (E-E) que levava em consideração apenas um diâmetro para a fase sólida e depois um modelo E-E3, com três fases sólidas de diâmetros diferentes sendo simuladas simultaneamente. Através destes modelos foram obtidas curvas de eficiência de coleta fracional e global. Ambos os modelos representaram bem os dados experimentais, mas o E-E3 mostrou superioridade, principalmente no que diz respeito ao tempo total de processamento e escalabilidade da simulação. As geometrias e malhas numéricas foram construídas no pacote ICEM CFD, e os casos resolvidos utilizando o software comercial ANSYS CFX, rodando em paralelo em um cluster de alta performance. Dados experimentais da literatura foram utilizados para validação. / Abstract: Cyclones are widely used in industries as gas-solid separators. Although this equipment features simple operational principles, studies have shown that the confined vorticial flow found in cyclonic separators is, in fact, very complex. Recent advances in numerical methods and computational power have made possible the use of advanced tools such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD), a technique that proposes the solution of the equations of conservation of mass, momentum and energy through numerical methods. Applied to cyclones, CFD has left no doubt on the complexity of the fluid dynamics involved, but much progress has been done in this area. The present study seeks to add to this vast literature with the discussion of the variation of a few specific parameters to cyclone simulation. The first chosen parameter was the boundary condition for the outlet of solids. A few configurations were studied, including a direct outlet, dipleg, dust hopper and wall. These variations proved to be of enormous influence to the fluid dynamics of the system. As a second study, four turbulence models were compared: k-epsilon, RNG k-epsilon, SSG-Reynolds Stress Model (SSG-RSM) and Large Eddy Simulation (LES). The first two proved to be inadequate, SSG-RSM performed the best and LES showed promise, but it suffered the limitations of a coarse mesh. The last studied parameter was the modeling approach to the solids phase, first by utilizing an Eulerian-Eulerian (E-E) model that considered a single diameter for the solid phase and second an E-E3 model, with three solid phases of different diameters being simulated simultaneously. Through these methods the fractional and overall collection efficiency curves were obtained. Both approaches reproduced the experimental data well, but E-E3 was more accurate, also presenting a reduced overall computational time and better scalability. The geometries and numerical meshes were built using the code ICEM CFD, and the cases solved using commercial software ANSYS CFX, running in parallel mode in a high performance computing cluster. Experimental data available in the literature was used as validation. / Mestrado / Desenvolvimento de Processos Químicos / Mestre em Engenharia Química

The thesis is presented in alternative format, meaning that the results of the thesis take the form of three journal articles, each telling a distinct story within the subject matter, but collectively highlighting the sensitivity of bands to frictional and diabatic processes. Paper 1 is an idealised-modelling study with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, in which moist baroclinic waves are simulated from an initial zonally uniform mid-latitude jet on an f-plane at 20-km grid spacing, and the sensitivity of the resulting precipitation bands is explored. Paper 2 employs further WRF idealised-baroclinic-wave simulations and takes a simulation from Paper 1, after the cold front has formed, as the initial condition. A nested domain at 4-km grid spacing is inserted when this simulation is re-initialised to invesigate the sensitivity of finer-scale precipitation cores along the surface cold front. In both Papers 1 and 2, friction and latent-heat release enhance multiple banding at the two distinct horizontal scales, while surface fluxes hinder multiple banding. Paper 3 studies post-frontal snowbands over the English Channel and Irish Sea during extreme cold-air outbreaks in the winters of 2009-10 and 2010-11, via a climatology of precipitation-radar, sounding, and SST data, and real-data WRF sensitivity simulations of one such band over the English Channel. The observational and modelling results show that strong winds and large differential heat fluxes between land and sea were necessary to generate banded precipitation. Coastal orography and the land-sea frictional contrast aided the morphology of bands, but banded precipitation did still form in the absence of these influences in the sensitivity simulations. These three studies and the thesis as a whole highlight the role of frictional and diabatic processes in modifying various types of precipitation bands within baroclinic waves, and in generating bands that would otherwise not exist.

Surface wind speeds are an important and revealing component of the structure of tropical cyclones (TCs). To understand the asymmetric structure of surface winds in TCs associated with differences in formation region, environmental wind shear, storm forward motion, and TC strength and intensification, a twelve year database of satellite scatterometer data are utilized to produce composite total wind speed and Fourier-derived, low wavenumber analyses. A quantified asymmetry is determined as a function of TC intensity and reveals the tropical storms are influenced by wind shear at all TC-centric radii but only for areas away from the radius of maximum wind in hurricanes. Additionally, an increase of absolute angular momentum flux has a preference for the downshear-right quadrant, and the low wavenumber maximum develops downwind of this momentum transport. Further evaluation of the asymmetric structure with respect to wind shear’s relation to motion and impacts during TC intensity change are also considered. A composite rapid intensification event is produced and compared to overlapping satellite rain estimates. Results indicate that the TC becomes more symmetric during intensification and the phase of the maximum asymmetry rotates from a downshear-left direction to upshear-left direction after the intensification slows. The rain or convective maximum is generally located upwind of the surface wind maximum at the early stages of intensification and is coincident with the region of large angular momentum transport, which supports the idea that the surface wind asymmetry is likely a consequence of convective or other processes. Using data from a regional TC model, it is also determined that the scatterometer data are useful for model verification of tropical storms and non-major hurricanes and performs similar to or better than the standard tool at forecast lead times up to 60 hours. Preliminary comparisons of model-derived surface wind asymmetry relative to rain generally confirm the observational results.

HURDAT is the main historical archive of all tropical storms and hurricanes in the North Atlantic Basin, which includes the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, from 1851 to the present. HURDAT is maintained and updated annually by the National Hurricane Center at Miami, Florida. Today, HURDAT is widely used by research scientists, operational hurricane forecasters, insurance companies, emergency managers and others. HURDAT contains both systematic biases and random errors. Thus, the reanalysis of HURDAT is vital. For this thesis, HURDAT is reanalyzed for the period of 1954-1963. The track and intensity of each existing tropical cyclone in HURDAT is assessed in the light of 21st century understanding and previously unrecognized tropical cyclones are detected and analyzed. The resulting changes will be recommended to the National Hurricane Center Best Track Change Committee for inclusion in HURDAT.

This thesis was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and is presented in an alternative thesis format. The thesis consists of three separate journal articles which form a coherent research project. Paper 1 investigates the development of strong winds in a dry, idealised extratropical cyclone using the horizontal momentum equation. In particular, the southwest wind maximum that develops was found to contain air parcels from three airstreams. The development of the horizontal along-flow forces around the cyclone and along trajectories entering the southwest wind maximum were analysed. An attempt to extend this methodology to a moist, idealised extratropical cyclone was made. However, the effect of adding moisture to the initial condition was found to be negligible. The reasons for this are explored in Paper 2, which documents this finding: that the effect of moisture on the development of an idealised, baroclinic wave is sensitive to the choice of initial condition. Paper 3 applies the horizontal momentum equation diagnostics to an intense, marine extratropical cyclone that brought strong winds to Ireland and the United Kingdom on 12 February 2014. The development of strong winds in Cyclone Tini was investigated by turning off latent heat release and surface fluxes. In the absence of latent heat release a weaker wind maximum developed. However, the simulation without surface fluxes had a very similar vertical structure of the horizontal wind to the full-physics simulation, but a weaker surface wind maximum. The reason for this weaker wind maximum was analysed using the quasigeostrophic omega equation. This analysis demonstrated a maximum in forcing for descent southwest of the low both in the full-physics simulation and in the simulation without surface fluxes, however strong winds were prevented from reaching the surface in the simulation without surface fluxes because of a more stable boundary layer around the bent-back front.