Within this dissertation, I document how—and hypothesize why—the quirks and qualities of the Cambrian Period demarcate this interval as fundamentally different from the preceding Proterozoic Eon and succeeding periods of the Phanerozoic Eon. To begin, I focus on the anomalous marine deposition of the mineral apatite. Sedimentary sequestration of phosphorus modulates the capacity for marine primary productivity and, thus, the redox state of the Earth system. Moreover, sedimentary apatite minerals may entomb and replicate skeletal and soft-tissue organisms, creating key aspects of the fossil record from which paleontologists deduce the trajectory of animal evolution. I ask what geochemical redox regime promoted the delivery of phosphorus to Cambrian seafloors and conclude that, for the case of the Thorntonia Limestone, apatite nucleation occurred under anoxic, ferruginous subsurface water masses. Moreover, I infer that phosphorus bound to iron minerals precipitated from the water column and organic-bound phosphorus were both important sources of phosphorus to the seafloor. Petrographic observations allow me to reconstruct the early diagenetic pathways that decoupled phosphorus from these delivery shuttles and promoted the precipitation of apatite within the skeletons of small animals. Together, mechanistic understandings of phosphorus delivery to, and retention within, seafloor sediment allow us to constrain hypotheses for the fleeting occurrence of widespread apatite deposition and exquisite fossil preservation within Cambrian sedimentary successions. Next, I describe and quantify the nature of carbonate production on a marine platform deposited at the hypothesized peak of Cambrian skeletal carbonate production. I find that fossils represent conspicuous, but volumetrically subordinate components of early Cambrian carbonate reef ecosystems and that despite the evolution of mineralized skeletons, Cambrian carbonate platforms appear similar to their Neoproterozoic counterparts, primarily reflecting abiotic and microbial deposition. Finally, I investigate the geodynamic mechanism responsible for rapid, oscillatory true polar wander (TPW) events proposed for the Neoproterozoic and Phanerozoic Earth on the basis of paleomagnetic data. Using geodynamic models, I demonstrate that elastic strength in the lithosphere and stable excess ellipticity of Earth’s figure provided sufficient stabilization to return the pole to its original state subsequent to convectively-driven TPW. / Earth and Planetary Sciences

Exploration was a defining aspect of how European societies encountered and established relations with the wider world. It set the stage for worldwide empires and laid the foundations for understandings of planetary existence. Exploration facilitated the exchange of commodities and ideas, the migration of peoples and the construction of scientific knowledge. This dissertation examines the nexus between ice and imperium through a study of how citizens of the Habsburg Monarchy contributed to polar exploration. In the long nineteenth century, the two main objects of European exploration were Africa and the polar regions. In the former, the dynamic between exploration and empire was fairly straightforward. But how did imperialism function in the frozen, uninhabited, latitudes of the world? This question becomes more problematic for the Habsburg Monarchy, a multinational polity with eleven officially recognized languages, and a self-professed empire that was the one European "Great Power" at the time without overseas colonies. This dissertation analyzes how the symbology and practice of polar exploration was used in the service of sundry - and frequently contradictory - political projects, including various nationalist activisms, Habsburg loyalism, and the liberal politics of notables. The analysis incorporates a case study in the convoluted road between discovery and empire, Franz Josef Land, the northernmost terrain in Eurasia, discovered by an Austro-Hungarian expedition in 1873. This dissertation then traces fractures within the Austro-Hungarian culture of exploration, as explorer/scientists could reach little consensus on the goals and practices for expeditions to the farthest latitudes of the globe. Finally, it examines how the rise of mass-data driven inductive sciences, such as geomagnetism, caused a fundamental redefinition in the practice of polar research toward a model of corporate, coordinated scientific effort and transnational cooperation. With the emergence of nation states and colonial empires, the basic frameworks of sovereignty, legitimacy and political meaning were changing and this study highlights how Habsburg subjects contributed to these modernization processes. In so doing, it brings to light neglected but lasting aspects of nineteenth century imperialism and treats both nationalism and empire as research problems rather than given ends. / History

Most amino acid sequences are predicted to specify a single three-dimensional protein structure. However, the identification of "metamorphic" proteins, which can adopt two folds from a single amino acid sequence, has challenged the one sequence/one structure paradigm. Polar-to-hydrophobic substitutions have been suggested computationally as one mechanism to decrease structural specificity, allowing the population of novel folds. Here, we experimentally investigate the role of polar-to-hydrophobic substitutions on structural specificity in the homodimeric ribbon-helix-helix protein Arc repressor. Previous work showed that a single polar-to-hydrophobic surface substitution in the strand region of Arc repressor (Arc-N11L) populates the wild-type fold and a novel dimeric "switch" fold. In this work, we investigate an Arc repressor variant with the N11L substitution plus two additional polar-to-hydrophobic surface substitutions (Arc-S-VLV). We determine that this sequence folds into at least three structures: both dimer forms present in Arc-N11L, and a novel octamer structure containing higher stability and less helicity than the dimer folds. We are able to isolate and stabilize a core of the S-VLV octamer by limited trypsinolysis and deletion mutagenesis (Arc-VLV 4-44). The shortened construct contains only the octameric structure by removing disordered C-terminal segments nonessential for this fold. A two-dimensional NMR spectrum of VLV 4-44 and subsequent trypsinolysis of this construct suggests that at least two types of subunits comprise the S-VLV octamer: subunits structured from residues 4 to 44 and subunits structured from residues 4 to 31. Crystal trials of trypsinolyzed Arc-VLV 4-44 yielded several leads, suggesting that obtaining a high resolution structure of the S-VLV octamer is possible. Relatedly, we determine that the proline residues flanking the Arc repressor strand act in concert as "gatekeepers" to prevent aggregation in the S-VLV sequence. We also find that three highly hydrophobic surface substitutions in the Arc repressor strand region are necessary and sufficient to promote higher-order oligomer formation. In summation, this work reveals in an experimental context that progressive increases in polar-to-hydrophobic surface substitutions populate increasingly diverse, structurally degenerate folds. These results suggest that "metamorphic" as well as "polymetamorphic" proteins, which adopt numerous folds, are possible outcomes for a single protein sequence.

The optical properties of matter are determined by the coupling of the incident electromagnetic radiation to oscillators within the material. The oscillators can be electrons, ions or molecules. Close to a resonance the dielectric function exhibits strong dispersion and may be negative. A negative dielectric function gives rise to a complex wave vector which is associated with no allowed states for photons, i.e. high extinction and bulk reflectance, as well as the possibility to support surface waves. It is possible to manufacture a dielectric material that generates a complex wave vector. Such materials are called photonic crystals and they may exhibit a frequency range without allowed states for photons, i.e. an energy gap. A photonic crystal has a periodically varying dielectric function and the lattice constant is of the same order of magnitude as the wavelengths of the gap. In this thesis, two optical phenomena causing a complex wave vector are combined. Polar materials, which have lattice resonance in the thermal infrared causing strong dispersion, are studied in combination with a periodic structure. The periodicity introduced is achieved using another material, but also by structuring of the polar material. One, two and three dimensional structures are considered. The polar materials used are silicon dioxide and silicon carbide. It is shown, both by calculations and experiments that the two optical phenomena can co-exist and interact, both constructively and destructively. A possible application for the combination of the two phenomena is discussed: Selective emittance in the thermal infrared. It is also shown that a polar material can be periodically structured by a focused ion beam in such way that it excites surface waves.

No description available.

R??sum?? : L???Arctique est particuli??rement sensible aux changements climatiques et a r??cemment subi des modifications majeures incluant une diminution dramatique de l???extension de la glace de mer. Notre capacit???? a?? mod??liser et a?? potentiellement r??duire les changements climatiques est limit??e, en partie, par les incertitudes associe??es au forc??age radiatif induit par les effets directs et indirects des ae??rosols, qui de??pendent de notre compre??hension des processus impliquant les nuages et les ae??rosols. La charge des ae??rosols est caracte??rise??e par l???e??paisseur optique des ae??rosols (AOD) qui est le parame??tre radiatif extensif le plus important et l???indicateur re??gional du comportement des ae??rosols sans doute le plus de??cisif. Une de nos lacunes majeures dans la compre??hension des ae??rosols arctiques est leur comportement durant l???hiver polaire. Cela est principalement du?? au manque de mesures nocturnes d???AOD. Dans ce travail, on utilise des instruments (lidar et photome??tre stellaire) installe??s en Arctique pour mesurer, respectivement, les profils verticaux des ae??rosols et une valeur inte??gre??e dans la colonne (AOD) de ces profils. En outre, les donne??es d???un lidar spatial (CALIOP) sont utilise??es pour fournir un contexte pan-arctique et des statistiques saisonnie??res pour supporter les mesures au sol. Ces dernie??res ont e??te?? obtenues aux stations arctiques d???Eureka (80??? N, 86??? W) et de Ny A??lesund (79??? N, 12??? E) durant les hivers polaires de 2010-2011 et 2011-2012. L???importance physique des pe- tites variations d???amplitude de l???AOD est typique de l???hiver polaire en Arctique, mais suppose une ve??rification pour s???assurer que des artefacts ne contribuent pas a?? ces variations (par exemple un masque de nuage insuffisant). Une analyse des processus base??e sur des e??ve??nements (avec une re??solution temporelle ??? une minute) est essentielle pour s???assurer que les parame??tres optiques et microphysiques extensifs (grossiers) et intensifs (par particules) sont cohe??rents et physiquement conformes. La synergie photom??tre stellaire-lidar nous permet de caracte??riser plusieurs e??ve??nements distincts au cours des pe??riodes de mesures, en particulier : des ae??rosols, des cristaux de glace, des nuages fins et des nuages polaires stratosphe??riques (PSC). Dans l???ensemble, les modes fin (<1??m) et grossier (>1??m) de l???AOD obtenus par photome??trie stellaire (??[indice inf??rieur f] et ??[indice inf??rieur c]) sont cohe??rents avec leurs analogues produits a?? partir des profils inte??gre??s du lidar. Cependant certaines inconsistances cause??es par des facteurs instrumentaux et environnementaux ont aussi e??te?? trouve??es. La division de l???AOD du photome??tre stellaire ??[indice inf??rieur f] et ??[indice inf??rieur c] a e??te?? davantage exploite??e afin d???e??liminer les e??paisseurs optiques du mode grossier (le filtrage spectral de nuages) et, par la suite, de comparer ??[indice inf??rieur]f avec les AODs obtenues par le filtrage de nuages traditionnel (temporel). Alors que les filtrages temporel et spectral des nuages des cas e??tudie??s au niveau des processus ont conduit a?? des re??sultats bons a?? mode??re??s en termes de cohe??rence entre les donne??es filtre??es spectralement et temporellement (les e??paisseurs optiques des photome??tres stellaires et lidars e??tant toutes deux filtre??es temporellement), les re??sultats saisonniers semblent e??tre encore contamine??s par les nuages. En imposant un accord en utilisant un second filtre, plus restrictif, avec un crite??re de ciel clair ("enveloppe minimale du nuage"), les valeurs saisonnie??res moyennes obtenues e??taient de 0.08 a?? Eureka et 0.04 a?? Ny A??lesund durant l???hiver 2010-2011. En 2011-2012, ces valeurs e??taient, respectivement, de 0.12 et 0.09. En revanche les valeurs d???e??paisseur optique de CALIOP (estime??es entre 0 et 8 km) ont le??ge??rement diminue?? de 2010-2011 a?? 2011-2012 (0.04 vs. 0.03). // Abstract : The Arctic region is particularly sensitive to climate change and has recently undergone major alterations including a dramatic decrease of sea-ice extent. Our ability to model and potentially mitigate climate change is limited, in part, by the uncertainties associated with radiative forcing due to direct and indirect aerosol effects which in turn are dependent on our understanding of aerosol and cloud processes. Aerosol loading can be characterized by aerosol optical depth (AOD) which is the most important (extensive or bulk) aerosol radiative parameter and arguably the most important regional indicator of aerosol behavior. One of the most important shortcomings in our understanding of Arctic aerosols is their behavior during the Polar winter. A major reason for this is the lack of night-time AOD measurements. In this work we use lidar and starphotometry instruments in the Arctic to obtain vertically resolved aerosol profiles and column integrated representations of those profiles (AODs) respectively. In addition, data from a space-borne lidar (CALIOP) is used to provide a pan-Arctic context and seasonal statistics in support of ground based measurements. The latter were obtained at the Eureka (80 ??? N, 86 ??? W) and Ny ??lesund (79 ??? N, 12 ??? E) high Arctic stations during the Polar Winters of 2010-11 and 2011-12. The physical significance of the variation of the small-amplitude AODs that are typical of the Arctic Polar Winter, requires verification to ensure that artifactual contributions (such as incomplete cloud screening) do not contribute to these variations. A process-level event-based analysis (with a time resolution of ??? minutes), is essential to ensure that extracted extensive (bulk) and intensive (per particle) optical and microphysical indicators are coherent and physically consistent. Using the starphotometry-lidar synergy we characterized several distinct events throughout the measurement period: these included aerosol, ice crystal, thin cloud and polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) events. In general fine (<1 ??m ) and coarse (>1 ??m )modeAODs from starphotometry ( ??[subscript f] and ?? [subscript c] ) were coherent with their lidar analogues produced from integrated profiles : however several inconsistencies related to instrumental and environmental factors were also found. The division of starphotometer AODs into ??[subscript ]f and ?? [subscript c] components was further exploited to eliminate coarse mode cloud optical depths (spectral cloud screening) and subsequently compare ?? [subscript f] with cloud-screened AODs using a traditional (temporal based) approach. While temporal and spectral cloud screening case studies at process level resolutions yielded good to moderate results in terms of the coherence between spectrally and temporally cloud screened data (both temporally screened starphotometer and lidar optical depths), seasonal results apparently still contained cloud contaminated data. Forcing an agreement using a more restrictive, second-pass, clear sky criterion ("minimal cloud envelope") produced mean 2010-11 AOD seasonal values of 0.08 and 0.04 for Eureka and Ny ??lesund respectively. In 2011-12 these values were 0.12 and 0.09. Conversely, CALIOP AODs (0 to 8 km) for the high Arctic showed a slight decrease from 2010-2011 to 2011-2012 (0.04 vs 0.03).

A three-dimensional (3D) steady-state electron modulation model based on Parker (1965) transport equation is applied to study the modelling of – 7 MeV galactic and Jovian electrons in the inner heliosphere. The latter is produced within Jupiter's magnetosphere which is situated at - 5 AU in the ecliptic plane. The heliospheric propagation of these particles is mainly described by the heliospheric diffusion tensor. Some elements of the tensor, such as the diffusion coefficient in the azimuthal direction, which were neglected in the previous two-dimensional modulation studies are investigated to account for the three-dimensional transport of Jovian electrons. Different anisotropic solar wind speed profiles that could represent solar minimum conditions were modelled and their effects were illustrated by computing the distribution of 7 MeV Jovian electrons in the equatorial regions. In particular, the electron intensity time-profile along the Ulysses spacecraft trajectory was calculated for these speed profiles and compared to the 3-10 MeV electron flux observed by the Kiel Electron Telescope (KET) on board the Ulysses spacecraft from launch (1990) up to end of its first out-of-ecliptic orbit (2000). It was found that the model solution computed with the solar wind profile previously assumed for typical solar minimum conditions produced good compatibility with observations up to 1998. After 1998 all model solutions deviated completely from the observations. In this study, as a further attempt to model KET observations more realistically, a new relation is established between the latitudinal dependence of the solar wind speed and the perpendicular polar diffusion. Based on this relation, a transition of an average solar wind speed from solar minimum conditions to intermediate solar activity and to solar maximum conditions was modelled based on the assumption of the time-evolution of large polar coronal holes and were correlated to different scenarios of the enhancement of perpendicular polar diffusion. Effects of these scenarios were illustrated, as a series of steady-state solutions, on the computed 7 MeV Jovian and galactic electrons in comparison with the 3-10 MeV electron observed by the KET instrument from the period 1998 up to the end of 2003. Subsequent effects of these scenarios were also shown on electron modulation in general. It was found that this approach improved modelling of the post-1998 discrepancy between the model and KET observations but it also suggested the need for a time-dependent 3D electron modulation model to describe modulation during moderate to extreme solar maximum conditions. / Thesis (M.Sc.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Cape Bounty, Melville Island is a partially vegetated High Arctic landscape with three main plant communities: polar semi-desert (47% of the study area), mesic tundra (31%) , and wet sedge meadows (7%). The objective of this research was to relate biophysical measurements of soil, vegetation, and CO2 exchange rates in each vegetation type to high resolution satellite data from IKONOS-2, extending plot level measurements to a landscape scale. Field data was collected through six weeks of the 2008 growing season. Two IKONOS images were acquired, one on July 4th and the other on August 2nd. Two products were generated from the satellite data: a land-cover classification and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The three vegetation types were found to have distinct soil and vegetation characteristics. Only the wet sedge meadows were a net sink for CO2; soil respiration tended to exceed photosynthesis in the sparsely vegetated mesic tundra and polar semi-desert. Scaling up the plot measurements by vegetation type area suggested that Cape Bounty was a small net carbon source (0.34 ± 0.47 g C m-2 day-1) in the summer of 2008. NDVI was strongly correlated with percent vegetation cover, vegetation volume, soil moisture, and moderately with soil nitrogen, biomass, and leaf area index (LAI). Photosynthesis and respiration of CO2 both positively correlated with NDVI, most strongly when averaged over the season. NDVI increased over time in every vegetation type, but this change was not reflected in any significant measured changes in vegetation or CO2 flux rates. A simple spatial model was developed to estimate Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) at every pixel on the satellite images based on NDVI, temperature and incoming solar radiation. It was found that the rate of photosynthesis per unit NDVI was higher early in the growing season. The model estimated a mean flux to the atmosphere of 0.21 g C m-2 day-1 at the time of image acquisition on July 4th, and -0.07 g C m-2 day-1 (a net C sink) on August 2nd. The greatest uncertainty in the relationship between NDVI and CO2 flux was associated with the polar semi-desert class. / Thesis (Master, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2011-12-28 23:27:34.824

Polar codes, recently invented by Arikan, are the first class of codes known to achieve the symmetric capacity for a large class of channels. The symmetric capacity is the highest achievable rate subject to using the binary input letters of the channel with equal probability. Polar code construction is based on a phenomenon called channel polarization. The encoding as well as the decoding operation of polar codes can be implemented with O(N logN) complexity, where N is the blocklength of the code. In this work, we study the factor graph representation of finite-length polar codes and their effect on the belief propagation (BP) decoding process over Binary Erasure Channel (BEC). Particularly, we study the parity-check-based (H-Based) as well as the generator based (G-based) factor graphs of polar codes. As these factor graphs are not unique for a code, we study and compare the performance of Belief Propagation (BP) decoders on number of well-known graphs. Error rates and complexities are reported for a number of cases. Comparisons are also made with the Successive Cancellation (SC) decoder. High errors are related to the so-called stopping sets of the underlying graphs. we discuss the pros and cons of BP decoder over SC decoder for various code lengths. / Thesis (Master, Electrical & Computer Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2012-01-31 17:10:59.955

Analytic solutions to the static and stationary boundary value field problems relative to an arbitrary configuration of parallel cylinders are obtained by using translational addition theorems for scalar Laplacian polar functions, to express the field due to one cylinder in terms of the polar coordinates of the other cylinders such that the boundary conditions can be imposed at all the cylinder surfaces. The constants of integration in the field expressions of all the cylinders are obtained from a truncated infinite matrix equation. Translational addition theorems are available for scalar cylindrical and spherical wave functions but such theorems are not directly available for the general solution of the Laplace equation in polar coordinates. The purpose of deriving these addition theorems and applying them to field problems involving systems of cylinders is to obtain exact analytic solutions with controllable accuracies, thereby, yielding benchmark solutions to validate other approximate numerical methods.