Relative Scale Factor Research Articles

On the use of ATSR fire count data to estimate the seasonal and interannual variability of vegetation fire emissions

Abstract. Biomass burning has long been recognised as an important source of trace gases and aerosols in the atmosphere. The burning of vegetation has a repeating seasonal pattern, but the intensity of burning and the exact localisation of fires vary considerably from year to year. Recent studies have demonstrated the high interannual variability of the emissions that are associated with biomass burning. In this paper I present a methodology using active fire counts from the Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) sensor on board the ERS-2 satellite to estimate the seasonal and interannual variability of global biomass burning emissions in the time period 1996--2000. From the ATSR data, I compute relative scaling factors of burning intensity for each month, which are then applied to a standard inventory for carbon monoxide emissions from biomass burning. The new, time-resolved inventory is evaluated using the few existing multi-year burned area observations on continental scales.

THE SPHERE S6VIEWED AS A G2/SU(3) COSET SPACE

By deriving an explicit and strikingly tractable parametrisation of the coset space G2/ SU (3), this paper develops a non-linear realisation of G2in which its SU(3) subgroup is realised linearly. Since SU(3) is not a symmetric subalgebra of G2the situation differs from that found for examples like chiral G⊗G or symmetric space G/H examples. Despite this the treatment exhibits great simplicity, some aspects of which stem from the parametrisation found. The well-known relationship of the coset space G2/ SU (3) to the SO (7)/ SO (6) description of the sphere S6emerges and provides explicitly the relative scale factor of the quadratic Casimir operators of G2and SO(7) inherent in the formalism.

Resolving Conflict in Applying the Washington State Natural Resource Damage Assessment Compensation Schedule-Spill Volume Determination in the Absence of Volumetric Methods

ABSTRACT Many jurisdictions rely upon compensation formulae for environmental damages caused by oil spills in lieu of protracted in situ studies. Formulae often rely on quantity and physical properties of the oil. The State of Washington Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) compensation schedule is primarily based on quantity spilled. The quantity spilled is multiplied by relative values or scaling factors related to general environmental effect and habitat vulnerability indices. Using the formula, a range of $l–$50 dollars per gallon is possible. Spill volume estimation is therefore an important and sometimes controversial issue, especially when spilled volumes are not quantifiable by conventional volumetric methods. While methods of estimating spilled oil from recovery equipment, on the water, and along the shoreline are available, quantifying oil that may be bound to items in the waste stream presents many challenges and must address difficulties such as evaporative oil loss, water bound to recovered materials, varied types of absorbent materials and oiled debris among others. Attempts to quantify recovered oil from the M/V Nosac Forest (1993), Tosco Ferndale (1997), and M/V Anadyr (1998) oil spills yielded reasonable but uncertain results. Questions remain with respect to the accuracy of oil recovery estimates and the cost-effectiveness of the approach. Utilizing assumptions is necessary in any oil volume estimation technique and can be the basis for contention. However, utilizing a collaborative investigative process, where both state and responsible party investigators participate, can alleviate many potential concerns. While uncertainty remains, a collaborative process can lead to consensus and a cost-effective approach to spilled-oil estimation techniques in the absence of conventional volumetric methods.

Melnikov-Based Open-Loop Control of Escape for a Class of Nonlinear Systems

The performance of certain nonlinear stochastic systems is deemed acceptable if during a specified time interval, the systems have sufficiently low probabilities of escape from a preferred region of phase space. We propose an open-loop control method for reducing these probabilities. The method is applicable to stochastic systems whose dissipation- and excitation-free counterparts have homoclinic or heteroclinic orbits. The Melnikov relative scale factors are system properties containing information on the frequencies of the random forcing spectral components that are most effective in inducing escapes. Numerical simulations show that substantial advantages can be achieved in some cases by designing control systems that take into account the information contained in the Melnikov scale factors.

Secular gravity variations: Recent crustal movements or scale factor changes?

For the observation of secular variations of the Earth's gravity field today mainly relative spring gravimeters are used. The scale factors of relative gravimeters may change in time. Scale factor changes generate large virtual gravity changes, if they are neglected. Therefore the control of scale factor changes is necessary in secular gravity research. We can determine absolute and relative scale factors of gravimeters with an accuracy of ⩾±5 ∗ 10 −5 . On data from a gravity network established along the North Anatolian fault (Turkey) the effect of scale factor control is investigated. Improved scale factor control of gravimeters delivers more reliable secular gravity changes, which are consistent with ideas about the rate of vertical crustal movements in this tectonic active area.

The use of relative value studies in the determination of veterinary fees.

This paper discusses the methods which veterinarians in Australia use to calculate their fees and charges. Problems associated with these methods and the tendency to undervalue the professional component of veterinary services are discussed. The paper introduces the concept of a relative value study of veterinary professional services within Australia and recommends the development of a relative value scale and conversion factors, based on appropriate resource cost accounting methodology, as a method to quantify veterinary professional service charges. A relative value scale is a table of "weights" that defines the relative value of procedures or services one to the other. A conversion factor is used to change the relative value unit to a dollar price and thus convert a relative value scale to a fee schedule. The Australian Veterinary Association is suggested as the most appropriate organisation to initiate and co-ordinate the research necessary for the development of these recommendations on a national basis.

Establishment of crustal deformation networks using gps: a case study

This paper describes the analysis of Global Positioning System (GPS) observations for the determination of precise relative coordinates in two networks established to monitor crustal deformation on the west coast of Canada. Following the description of the networks and their observation schedules, the computer software used for the data reduction is reviewed and typical GPS relative positioning errors are discussed. To assess the internal consistency of GPS positioning, single baseline results are compared to those obtained in an overall network adjustment for both networks. It is found that the consistency in horizontal coordinates is better than that in the vertical coordinate by a factor of about 3. For one of the networks, which is mostly in a mountainous area, the consistency of the vertical coordinates is improved slightly when standard instead of observed meteorological data is used. The comparison of baseline lengths obtained from the GPS network adjustment and from the adjustment of terrestrial EDM measurements reveals a relative scale factor of 1.2 parts per million with residual discrepancies of 8 mm (rms). This precision will allow the determination of accumulating strain with these GPS monitoring networks within a period of five years.

On the use of smoothing splines to filter CO2 data

The use of smoothing splines in the analysis of CO2 data is reviewed in the light of recent mathematical studies of spline fitting considered as a filtering operation. The digital filtering interpretation is particularly appropriate because many recent analyses of CO2 data can be regarded as signal extraction studies. It is suggested that the most appropriate formulation of smoothing splines for analyzing CO2 and similar data is the form in which the trade‐off between smoothness and data fitting is expressed by fixing the relative scaling factor, λ. This form has a direct interpretation as a digital filter with a specific transfer function and so spline fits for different stations can be standardized for comparisons. The scaling factor should be chosen according to the spectral characteristics of the signal that is to be estimated. Smoothing splines are particularly suitable for interpolating irregularly spaced data, since the filtering properties are only weakly dependent on the data density. However, for signal estimation problems involving uniformly spaced data, special‐purpose digital filters will frequently give performance superior to smoothing splines. The discussion is illustrated by an analysis of CO2 data from Cape Grim, Tasmania.

A simple multisector model with six sectors of production estimation and simulation results for the 1950–1968 period

In this article a simple multisector model for the Netherlands is presented with six sectors of production. Estimation and simulation results are based on input-output data for the period 1950–1968. Simple log-linear equations (containing both relative price factors and scale factors) are used to describe the demand for (intermediary and primary) factors of production and the demand for final output (including private investment). Sectoral product prices and wage rates are determined within the model. This applies to the generation of disposable income of households as well. Using this simple multisector model, actual economic developments during the 1955–1968 period can be simulated in a reasonably satisfactory way.

Power-dependent correction to the scale factor in the laser gyro

Scale factor experiments were performed using an internal-mirror quartz-block 1.15-μm He-Ne laser, having a cavity length of 9.868 cm. The configuration was an equilateral triangle and the nominal geometric scale factor was <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1.035 \times 10^{5}</tex> counts per revolution. To avoid lock-in (20°/s) the laser was rotated at rates of <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">5000-9000\deg</tex> /s. Using an equal mixture of neon isotopes, the scale factor was measured as a function of frequency tuning and, at the peak power frequency, as a function of discharge current. At the peak power frequency, the relative scale factor was reduced by 0.3 percent over the value found off the center. The slope of the relative scale factor variation was -0.03 percent per percent gain. To explain the experimental results, both radiation trapping and a strong signal theory were needed. Calculations showed a strong scale factor variation with loss that was ∼414 times the gain variation.

Significance of the Difference between Two Means when the Population Variances may be Unequal

THE purpose of this communication is to present a simple test applicable at the 5 per cent level to the general case of the significance of the difference between two means. If we have two samples of n 1 and n 2 variates from normal populations with the same, though unknown, scale factor, that is, σ1 = σ2, the significance of the difference between the means can be tested by the criterion: where Σ1 and Σ2 represent the sums of squares from the respective means and t is referred to Student's integral with n 1 + n 2 − 2 degrees of freedom. If the scale factors are unequal the use of this criterion involves a bias1 which is small if n 1 = n 2 but which can be large if n 1 ≠ n 2. When the relative scale factor of the two populations is known, appropriate weighting of the sums of squares gives an exact solution. In the case where the relative scale factor is unknown, Fisher2,3 advocates the use of a different criterion, Behrens' d 4, which can be expressed as : and tables5,6 are available for the 5 per cent and 1 per cent points of this distribution for a lattice of values of n 1 and n 2 both greater than 6.