The California least tern (Sternula antillarum browni) is an endangered species. The two largest colonies of this bird species in the San Francisco Bay, California, USA, are located 23 km apart at Alameda Point and ...The California least tern (Sternula antillarum browni) is an endangered species. The two largest colonies of this bird species in the San Francisco Bay, California, USA, are located 23 km apart at Alameda Point and Hayward Regional Shoreline. The Alameda Point colony, on the former Naval Air Station, Alameda, has grown at an average rate of 9.2% per year since its discovery in 1976 and has a nesting density ranging from 1-153 nests per ha. Long-term breeding success at Alameda has averaged 0.86 fledglings per breeding pair. Least tems began appearing in 2003, at an island in Hayward enhanced with substrate mediums and social attraction devices. Successful breeding attempts have been observed at the Hayward colony since 2006. The Hayward colony has grown at an average rate of 51.5% per year, has a nesting density ranging from 33-333 nests per ha and long-term breeding success average of 0.87 fledglings per breeding pair. Dropped fish have been collected from both colonies, and silversides (family Atherinopsidae) are the dominant prey. Alameda terns forage on a greater variety of species than the Hayward terns. The regression results indicate the importance of Northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) to the breeding success of the Alameda colony.展开更多
Groundwater comprises a large portion of irrigation for California's agriculture, and sustains a wide diversity of ecosystems as well as consumptive use, but pumping is occurring faster than replenishment. At the sam...Groundwater comprises a large portion of irrigation for California's agriculture, and sustains a wide diversity of ecosystems as well as consumptive use, but pumping is occurring faster than replenishment. At the same time, contaminants from fertilizers and pesticides are infiltrating into the groundwater, becoming increasingly concentrated as water is extracted. It compared space-based observations of groundwater anomalies from California's San Joaquin Valley using the GRACE (gravity recovery and climate experiment) against measurements of 42 organic and inorganic chemicals from 41,667 wells in the valley from 2003 to 2010. It compared Arsenic, Boron, Cadmium, Chloride, Selenium, Trichloroethylene, and TDS (total dissolved solid) concentrations with the groundwater storage anomaly from 2003 to 2010. The results show strong correlations for groundwater depletion against increasing chloride (r2= 0.78, p 〈 0.05) and boron (r2 = 0.88, p 〈 0.05). This indicates increasing contaminant concentrations while groundwater was depleting over the last eight years. Solubilization by complexation with Cl, CO3 and/or organic chelates may account for the increasing concentration of some heavy metals when groundwater depletion occurs. These results are the first to link space-based groundwater mass change with groundwater contaminant concentration change.展开更多
An experimental field study was conducted at the University of California at Santa Cruz USA to determine if radar cross section signals were different between a person without wearing any wires and a person wearing bo...An experimental field study was conducted at the University of California at Santa Cruz USA to determine if radar cross section signals were different between a person without wearing any wires and a person wearing both a suicide vest and wires with (without) loops in the wires. The data was collected using the GunnPlexer Doppler radar at 12.5 GHz at various safe distances using various subjects both without any wires and wearing a suicide vest with detonation wires and with detonation wires and loops. The raw data was separated in its horizontal and vertical polarization signals (HH and VV). The analysis of these two HH and VV polarization signals from the data allowed several promising metrics to be created. These metrics were individually tested in a Monte Carlo simulation which is in order to determine the probability of detection of a would-be suicide bomber. The results of the Monte Carlo simulation showed that the metrics yielded a probability of successful detection of slightly over 98% and a false positive rate of just less than 2 %. This research and its result are encouraging and suggest further testing to insure that suicide bombers can be found prior to their detonation of their bombs at a safe range.展开更多
文摘The California least tern (Sternula antillarum browni) is an endangered species. The two largest colonies of this bird species in the San Francisco Bay, California, USA, are located 23 km apart at Alameda Point and Hayward Regional Shoreline. The Alameda Point colony, on the former Naval Air Station, Alameda, has grown at an average rate of 9.2% per year since its discovery in 1976 and has a nesting density ranging from 1-153 nests per ha. Long-term breeding success at Alameda has averaged 0.86 fledglings per breeding pair. Least tems began appearing in 2003, at an island in Hayward enhanced with substrate mediums and social attraction devices. Successful breeding attempts have been observed at the Hayward colony since 2006. The Hayward colony has grown at an average rate of 51.5% per year, has a nesting density ranging from 33-333 nests per ha and long-term breeding success average of 0.87 fledglings per breeding pair. Dropped fish have been collected from both colonies, and silversides (family Atherinopsidae) are the dominant prey. Alameda terns forage on a greater variety of species than the Hayward terns. The regression results indicate the importance of Northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) to the breeding success of the Alameda colony.
文摘Groundwater comprises a large portion of irrigation for California's agriculture, and sustains a wide diversity of ecosystems as well as consumptive use, but pumping is occurring faster than replenishment. At the same time, contaminants from fertilizers and pesticides are infiltrating into the groundwater, becoming increasingly concentrated as water is extracted. It compared space-based observations of groundwater anomalies from California's San Joaquin Valley using the GRACE (gravity recovery and climate experiment) against measurements of 42 organic and inorganic chemicals from 41,667 wells in the valley from 2003 to 2010. It compared Arsenic, Boron, Cadmium, Chloride, Selenium, Trichloroethylene, and TDS (total dissolved solid) concentrations with the groundwater storage anomaly from 2003 to 2010. The results show strong correlations for groundwater depletion against increasing chloride (r2= 0.78, p 〈 0.05) and boron (r2 = 0.88, p 〈 0.05). This indicates increasing contaminant concentrations while groundwater was depleting over the last eight years. Solubilization by complexation with Cl, CO3 and/or organic chelates may account for the increasing concentration of some heavy metals when groundwater depletion occurs. These results are the first to link space-based groundwater mass change with groundwater contaminant concentration change.
文摘An experimental field study was conducted at the University of California at Santa Cruz USA to determine if radar cross section signals were different between a person without wearing any wires and a person wearing both a suicide vest and wires with (without) loops in the wires. The data was collected using the GunnPlexer Doppler radar at 12.5 GHz at various safe distances using various subjects both without any wires and wearing a suicide vest with detonation wires and with detonation wires and loops. The raw data was separated in its horizontal and vertical polarization signals (HH and VV). The analysis of these two HH and VV polarization signals from the data allowed several promising metrics to be created. These metrics were individually tested in a Monte Carlo simulation which is in order to determine the probability of detection of a would-be suicide bomber. The results of the Monte Carlo simulation showed that the metrics yielded a probability of successful detection of slightly over 98% and a false positive rate of just less than 2 %. This research and its result are encouraging and suggest further testing to insure that suicide bombers can be found prior to their detonation of their bombs at a safe range.