This thesis focuses on responses in raised bogs to changes in the effective humidity during the Holocene. Raised bogs are terrestrial deposits that can provide contiguous records of past climate changes. Information on and knowledge about past changes in climate is crucial for our understanding of natural climate variability. Analyses on different spatial and temporal scales have been conducted on a number of raised bogs in south-central Sweden in order to gain more knowledge about Holocene climate variability. Peatlands are useful as palaeoenvironmental archives because they develop over the course of millennia and provide a multi-faceted contiguous outlook on the past. Peat humification, a proxy for bog surface wetness, has been used to reconstruct palaeoclimate. In addition measurements of carbon and nitrogen on sub-recent peat from two bogs have been performed. The chronologies have been constrained by AMS radiocarbon dates and tephrochronology and by SCPs for the sub-recent peat. A comparison between a peat humification record from Värmland, south-central Sweden, and a dendrochronological record from Jämtland, north-central Sweden, indicates several synchronous changes between drier and wetter climate. This implies that changes in hydrology operate on a regional scale. In a high resolution study of two bogs in Uppland, south-central Sweden, C, N and peat humification have been compared to bog water tables inferred from testate amoebae and with meteorological data covering the last 150 years. The results indicate that peat can be subjected to secondary decomposition, resulting in an apparent lead in peat humification and C/N compared to biological proxies and meteorological data. Several periods of wetter conditions are indicated from the analysis of five peat sequences from three bogs in Värmland. Wetter conditions around especially c. 4500, 3500, 2800 and 1700-1000 cal yr BP can be correlated to several other climate records across the North Atlantic region and Scandinavia, indicating wetter and/or cooler climatic conditions at these times. Frequency analyses of two bogs indicate periodicities between 200 and 400 years that may be caused by cycles in solar activity.

The research focus is on the various modeling aspects of flow and sediment transport in water bodies and watersheds. The interaction of flow with a mobile bed involves a complex process in which various turbulent scales characterized by coherent structures cause a chaotic sediment motion. In many rivers and natural waterways secondary flows that are dominating flow struc-tures bring about more complications. In estuaries and open waterbodies thermal stratification and internal mixing control the flow structure besides the flow interaction with the mobile bed. To adequately model these processes 3D coupled flow and transport models are needed. The research is based on use and adaptation of open source codes for 3D hydrodynamic and sediment transport model known as Estuarine Coastal Ocean Model (ECOMSED) and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. A bed load transport model was developed and coupled to ECOMSED. The flow and sediment transport characteristics in a curved channel and a river reach were successfully captured by the model. Improvements in ECOMSED were made to study the effect of wind and basin bathymetry on mixing and flow exchange between two estuaries. Using spectral analysis the hydrological component of SWAT model was investigated for its applicability under limited data conditions in three Ethiopian catchments. / QC 20100827

No description available.

The Sun’s corona expands outward, populating the solar system with plasma. This plasma is known as the solar wind. The solar wind carries with it the Sun’s magnetic field, which is also known as the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). The resulting configuration of the IMF creates a current sheet at solar equatorial latitudes, which the Earth crosses as it orbits the Sun. When the Earth is on one side of the current sheet it is in a sector where the IMF is directed largely away from or toward the Sun. On the other side of the current sheet the IMF is in opposite direction. The crossing of the current sheet is known as a sector boundary crossing (SBC). The solar wind and IMF properties change significantly near the current sheet, and this affects the Earth’s ionosphere. The Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) high frequency (HF) radar data rates from 2001-2011 were examined using several techniques: a superposed epoch analysis, a fast fourier transform (FFT) analysis, and a cross–correlation analysis. Data from multiple instruments were analyzed in this study. These include the solar wind and IMF data from spacecraft, observations of charged particles precipitating into the Earth’s ionosphere, echoes from ground–based SuperDARN radars, and data from gound–based neutron monitors that detect galactic cosmic rays. Solar wind and IMF properties change significantly across a sector boundary. An increase in the IMF magnitude of about 30% occurs on the day of the SBC, and the IMF returns to pre–crossing values over the next two days. There is a decrease in the solar wind speed of about 15% the day before and the day of the SBC, and the solar wind density doubles at the time of the SBC. The polarity of the SBC does not appear to affect the solar wind and IMF. A peak in the data rate of SuperDARN echoes from both the ionosphere and ground occurs within one day of the SBC, though the variability of these data is quite large. The hemispherical power, which is an estimation of the electron energy flux precipitating into the ionosphere derived from satellite observations, increases following a SBC. Satellite particle data also revealed that the equatorward auroral oval boundary moves equatorward following a SBC. The cosmic ray counts at the Earth’s surface appear to be unaffected by the SBC. The solar wind and ionosphere data sets exhibited strong periodicities, and these were harmonics of the synodic rotational period of the Sun (approximately 27 days). Common periodicities observed were 27 days, 13.5 days, 9 days, 6.75 days and 5.4 days. There was a dominant 9–day periodicity observed in the solar wind and ionospheric data from 2005–2008, but was not observed in the solar 10.7 cm wavelength electromagnetic flux. The 9-day periodicity in the solar wind during this period has been linked to three persistent features on the Sun that produced corotating high–speed streams, or areas of fast solar wind. The parameters whose change did not depend on the polarity of the SBC had periodicities that were half that of the SBCs. From the cross–correlation analysis some relationships between the data sets became evident. For periods of high solar wind speed there were low SuperDARN data rates, and vice versa. The solar wind speed and hemispherical power were found to be well correlated, while the hemispherical power and the SuperDARN scatter occurrence were found to be anticorrelated. The solar wind changes appear to be affecting the state of the ionosphere, likely through particle precipitation. The SuperDARN scatter occurrence has been shown in past studies to be most greatly affected by changes in the electron density profile of the ionosphere, which can be influenced by changes in particle precipitation. These results demonstrate a link between the solar wind and the state of the ionosphere.

Power amplifiers (PAs) are important components of communication systems and are inherently nonlinear. When a non-constant modulus signal goes through a nonlinear PA, spectral regrowth (broadening) appears in the PA output, which in turn causes adjacent channel interference (ACI). Stringent limits on the ACI are imposed by regulatory bodies, and thus the extent of the PA nonlinearity must be controlled. PA linearization is often necessary to suppress spectral regrowth, contain adjacent channel interference, and reduce bit error rate (BER). This dissertation addresses the following aspects of power amplifier research: modeling, linearization, and spectral regrowth analysis. We explore the passband and baseband PA input/output relationships and show that they manifest differently when the PA exhibits long-term, short-term, or no memory effects. The so-called quasi-memoryless case is especially clarified. Four particular nonlinear models with memory are further investigated. We provide experimental results to support our analysis. The benefits of using the orthogonal polynomials as opposed to the conventional polynomials are explored, in the context of digital baseband PA modeling and predistorter design. A closed-form expression for the orthogonal polynomial basis is derived. We demonstrate the improvement in numerical stability associated with the use of orthogonal polynomials for predistortion. Spectral analysis can help to evaluate the suitability of a given PA for amplifying certain signals or to assist in predistortion linearization algorithm design. With the orthogonal polynomials that we derived, spectral analysis of the nonlinear PA becomes a straightforward task. We carry out nonlinear spectral analysis with digitally modulated signal as input. We demonstrate an analytical approach for evaluating the power spectra of filtered QPSK and OQPSK signals after nonlinear amplification. Many communications devices are nonlinear and have a peak power or peak amplitude constraint. In addition to possibly amplifying the useful signal, the nonlinearity also generates distortions. We focus on signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio (SNDR) optimization within the family of amplitude limited memoryless nonlinearities. We obtain a link between the capacity of amplitude-limited nonlinear channels with Gaussian noise to the SNDR.

In an event of a radiological dispersion device (RDD) detonated by terrorists in a high population density area, the hospitals and other medical facilities will be overwhelmed by people who may or may not have been contaminated by radioactivity. Under such circumstances, it would be desirable to identify people who have inhaled radioactive particles and direct them immediately for further treatment. A portable 3 by 3 NaI detector, which is widely available at most universities, was studied as a tool to identify and calculate the activity of unknown radioisotopes for such an RDD event.

Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) is used as a countermeasure in animal disuse studies that seek to determine which forms of exercise are most effective in mitigating the effects of disuse atrophy on bone and muscle. Although EMS has been used for many years in our lab and others, few researchers have been able to quantify the levels of strain on rat tibiae during EMS and far fewer have investigated the causal relationship between torque produced at the ankle and strain on the tibia. This thesis sought to investigate the relationship between ankle torque and tibial strain by using a combination of techniques, namely: (1) the addition of rosette strain gages, (2) improved synchronization between ankle torque and tibial strain recordings, and (3) spectral analysis between torque and strain waveforms. In previous work, few methods existed to align torque and strain recordings temporally, as those data were recorded on separate computers and synchronizing events were not captured. Attempting to create a torque-strain crossplot with unsynchronized data does not always yield valid results, so a method of reliably synchronizing those data is required. This thesis developed methods to capture simultaneous (synchronizing) events in both torque and strain recordings and then used those captured events to synchronize data between two computers. Following that synchronization, stiffness calculations were run on torque-strain crossplots to determine linear-model relationships between torque and strain for each method of synchronization. The results from those regressions were then used to determine if one or more synchronization techniques are superior to others, in terms of repeatability or precision. The results of these analyses have shown that using portions of the curves can dramatically increase computing speed while providing high levels of repeatability in synchronization measures. After synchronization techniques had been investigated, 3-element rosette data were used to calculate the principal strains on the surface of the tibiae, and the percentage of principal strains that are accounted for in the axial direction. Since the strain environment changes along the axis of the bone, the principal strain data were plotted versus the distance from proximal epiphysis to rosette gage, and statistical analysis was presented. After rosette data were analyzed, the torque and strain data pairs were fed into a signal processing suite for the purpose of transfer function calculation. Using the synchronization methods outlined above, two means of synchronization were compared in the transfer function program. Results for these analyses demonstrated that transfer functions are slightly dependent on synchronization methods, but that calculated gains do not differ between synchronization techniques. The specific shapes of the transfer functions highlight the relative attenuation/amplification of frequencies in torque and strain signals. Specifically, a range of frequencies, commonly called a band, between 24 and 32Hz is attenuated by the soft tissues and mechanical linkages in the lower leg of rats. This finding gives researchers looking to increase or decrease modeling stimulus to bone a new piece of information about the relative efficiency of EMS exercise. For example, EMS performed at 24-25Hz might produce less strain in the tibia than EMS at 22-23Hz, despite the 22-23Hz stimulation producing marginally less torque.

In this work, the CHANDRA ACIS-S3 data of the old classical nova RR Pic (1925) is presented. The source is detected with a count rate of 0.067 (+-0.002) c/s in the 0.3-5.0 keV energy range. The orbital period of the binary system in X-ray wavelengths is detected. X-ray spectrum of RR Pic can be represented by a composite model of bremsstrahlung with a photoelectric absorption, two absorption lines centered around 1.1-1.4 keV and 5 Gaussian emission lines centered at around 0.3-1.1 keV . The best t bremsstrahlung temperature derived from the model ranges from 0.99 to 1.60 keV and the unabsorbed X-ray flux is found to be 2.51 (+0.39 -1.21) erg/cm2/s in the 0.3-5.0 keV range.The absorption lines correspond to several transitions of Fe, Ne and Na. The emission lines correspond to various transitions of S, N, O, C, Ne and Fe / and observations with better spectral resolution are needed to determine the exact transitions. The source spectrum is better explained with photoionized plasma model rather than the cooling flow model. It has also been found that the neutral Hydrogen column density differs for orbital minimum and orbital maximum spectra with values 0.25 (+0.23 -0:18)*10^22 atoms/cm2 and 0.64 (+0.13 -0.14)*10^22 atoms/cm2 respectively at 3 sigma confidence level. The difference of neutral Hydrogen column density between the maximum and minimum phase spectra indicates existence of a warm absorbing region on the disc at the location of the impact zone.

This thesis brings statistical analyses techniques to bear on data derived from an extensive database of satellite launches and on-orbit anomalies and failures. The data collected is analyzed from two different perspectives and addresses, in two separate studies, two research objectives. The first study proposes to identify trends and cyclical patterns in the space industry, and to forecast the volume of launches for the next few years. Satellites have been rightfully described as the lifeblood of the entire space industry and the number of satellites ordered or launched per year is an important defining metric of the industry's level of activity. The structure of the space industry, its financial health and its workforce retention and development is dependent on the volume of satellites contracted. As such, trends and variability in this volume have significant strategic impact on the space industry. Over the past 40+ years, hundreds of satellites have been launched every year. Thus, an important data set is available for time series analysis and identification of trends and cycles in the various markets of the space industry. For the purpose of this first study, we collected data for over 6,000 satellites launched since 1960 on a yearly basis. We separated the satellites into three broad segments: 1) defense and intelligence satellites, 2) science satellites, and 3) commercial satellites. Several techniques are available for the analysis of time series data, both in the time domain and in the frequency domain. In this first study, we conducted spectral analysis of the time series for each of the three satellite populations and identified cycles contained in the data. In addition, once harmonic models were derived and fitted to the data, we built forecasting models of satellite launch volumes in the different market segments for the next few years. The potential implications of the results are discussed as a number of strategic matters for the space industry are contingent on the predictions or forecast of the volume of satellites contracted (the example of the U.S. auto industry is a solemn reminder of such possible strategic issues). The second study uses the previously collected launch data, confined to Earth-orbiting satellites launched between 1990 and 2008, and expanded with the failure information and retirement of each satellite to conduct a comparative analysis of satellite reliability in GEO, LEO, and MEO orbits. Reliability has long been recognized as an essential consideration in the design of space systems. However, there is limited statistical analysis of satellite reliability based on actual flight data. The objective of this second study is to conduct nonparametric satellite reliability analysis, with orbit type as a covariate, and to explore appropriate parametric fits (Weibull, lognormal, and mixture distributions). The results indicate for example that differences exist between the failure behaviors of satellites in different orbits, or that satellite infant mortality exists or dominates more clearly in a particular orbit type. The findings can be useful to satellite manufacturers as they would provide an empirical basis for reviewing and adjusting satellite testing and burn-in procedures.

The intra-continental movement of waterborne contaminants is governed by the distribution of solute load in the landscape along with the characteristics and distribution of the hydrological pathways that transport the solutes. An understanding of the processes affecting the transport and fate of the contaminants is crucial for assessments of solute concentrations and their environmental effect on downstream recipients. Elevated concentration of nutrients and the presence of anthropogenic substances, such as pharmaceutical residues, are two examples of the current problems related to hydrological transport. The overall objective of this thesis is to increase the mechanistic understanding of the governing hydrological transport processes and their links to geomorphological and biogeochemical retention and attenuation processes. Specifically, this study aims to quantify the processes governing the transport and fate of waterborne contaminants on the point, stream reach, and watershed scales by evaluating time series obtained from stream tracer tests and water quality monitoring data. The process quantification was achieved by deriving formal expressions for the key transport characteristics, such as the central temporal moments of a unit solute response function and the spectral scaling function for time series of solute responses, which attributes the solute response in the Laplace and Fourier domains to the governing processes and spatial regions within the watershed. The results demonstrate that in addition to the hydrological and biogeochemical processes, the distribution of the load in the landscape and the geomorphological properties in terms of the distribution of transport pathway distances have defined effects on the solute response. Furthermore, the spatial variability between and along the transport pathways significantly affect the solute response. The results indicate that environments with high retention and attenuation intensity, such as stream-reaches with pronounced hyporheic zones, may often dominate the solute flux in the watershed effluent, especially for reactive solutes. The mechanistic-based framework along with the evaluation methodologies presented within this study describes how the results can be generalized in terms of model parameters that reflect the hydrology, geomorphology and biogeochemistry in the studied area. This procedure is demonstrated by the parameterization of a compartment-in-series model for phosphorous transport. / <p>QC 20140826</p>