Distribution and exchange of water masses in the Northeast Water polynya (Greenland Sea)

On the basis of classical hydrographic and nutrient analysis, water masses and their spreading in the Northeast Water (NEW) Polynya were investigated from RV Polarstern ARK IX (1993) data. It is shown that a local water body, East Greenland Shelf Water, occupies the top layer in the NEW and that this water is different from Polar Water exported from the Arctic Polar Ocean. Polar Water, as well as the underlying and also imported Knee Water, follows a path crossing the broad East Greenland Shelf diagonally from northeast to southwest but both waters do not enter the NEW Polynya. Intermediate waters in the NEW are also modified locally. A local source of silicate, contributing to an intermediate silicate maximum in the trough system, is identified in the centre of the anticyclonic movement over Belgica Bank. Furthermore, it is confirmed that there is no one-directional through-flow of deeper waters in the trough system. Belgica Trough and Westwind Trough contain two different water types of Atlantic origin, which are not directly related to Return Atlantic Waters. The deeper waters in Norske Trough are supplied from Belgica Trough over a sill of about 250 m depth.     

Alternatives in assigning short‐term counts to seasonal adjustment factor groupings

The precise estimation of the annual average daily traffic (AADT) is a task of significant interest for many transportation authorities and Departments of Transportation. In this study, three methods are developed to improve the assignment of short‐term counts to seasonal adjustment factor (SAF) groupings: the traditional functional classification, a discriminant analysis (DA), and a new statistical approach based on a weighted coefficient of variation (WCV). The data analyzed within this study are generated from all available continuous counters within the State of Ohio between 2002 and 2006. The analysis is conducted using SAFs that are separately calculated for the total volume and the directional specific volumes of a site. The results show that the directionally based assignment errors are statistically lower at a 95% confidence interval when compared with those generated by the total volume analysis. It is also found that the hourly time‐of‐day factors are more important in the assignment process than the average daily traffic. The directionally based WCV produces a decline in the average mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) over the roadway functional classification by 58% and in the standard deviation of the absolute error (SDAE) by 70%. On the contrary, the directionally based DA lowers the MAPE and the SDAE by 35% and 60%, respectively. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of a neighborhood commute mode share model using nationally-available data

Transportation - Practitioners often use demand models to predict how neighborhood-level land use, infrastructure, demographic, and other changes may impact transportation systems. Few of the...     

Evaluating transfer velocity-wind speed relationship using a long-term series of direct eddy correlation CO2 flux measurements

Long-term observations of the marine atmospheric boundary layer were performed by an eddy correlation system, which was set-up on a platform in the Baltic Sea. In this experiment the three-dimensional wind vector and the turbulent fluxes of momentum, sensible and latent heat and CO₂ were measured for one and a half years. Simultaneously the CO₂ partial pressure p_CO2 in surface water was measured by a submersible autonomous moored instrument for CO₂ at the platform in 7-m depth. The high-resolution eddy correlation measurements of the atmospheric CO₂ flux F_CO2, together with the measurements of the CO₂ partial pressure differences between air and sea Δp_CO2 led to a long-term data set which provided the possibility to investigate the parameterization of the CO₂ transfer velocity k as a function of 10-m wind speed u in a statistical manner. From half-hour mean CO₂ fluxes and CO₂ partial pressure differences, k was calculated using k = F_CO2 / (K₀Δp_CO2), with K₀ the CO₂ solubility. The half-hour mean data points, used for the determination of the k–u parameterization, show large scatter. However, assuming a linear, quadratic dependency the analysis yields: k₆₆₀ = 0.365u² + 0.46u (k at 20 °C and salinity 35 psu) with a correlation coefficient of r² = 0.81. The large scatter indicates that the kinetics of the air–sea CO₂ transfer velocity is not only a function of the wind speed alone, but might also be controlled by other environmental parameters and mechanisms, such as sea state and surface coverage with surfactants.     

Identification and quantification of plankton bloom events in the Baltic Sea by continuous pCO2 and chlorophyll a measurements on a cargo ship

Continuous measurements of the surface water CO₂ partial pressure (pCO₂) and the chlorophyll a fluorescence were performed in the Baltic Sea using a fully automated measurement system deployed on a cargo ship. The ship commuted regularly at two day intervals between the Mecklenburg Bight (Luebeck) and the Gulf of Finland (Helsinki). The pCO₂ data collected during June 2003 and September 2004 were used to identify biological production events such as the spring bloom and the midsummer cyanobacteria bloom in five different sub-regions. To quantify the net biomass production, the decrease of the total CO₂, ^NC_T (normalized to a uniform alkalinity), during the production periods was calculated using the pCO₂, temperature and salinity records and the mean alkalinity. Taking into account the CO₂ air/sea exchange and the formation of dissolved organic carbon, a simple mass balance yielded the net production of particulate organic carbon which represents the total biomass. The chlorophyll a concentrations obtained from the fluorescence data showed peaks that in most cases coincided with the production maxima and thus supported the interpretation of the pCO₂ data. The production during both the spring bloom (2004) and the midsummer nitrogen fixation period (2003) increased by a factor of about three from the southwest to the northeast. For the spring bloom our estimates were significantly higher than those based on the winter nutrient supply and Redfield C / N and C / P ratios. This indicated the existence of additional nutrient sources such as dissolved organic nitrogen, early nitrogen fixation and preferential P mineralization. Midsummer ^NC_T minima were observed only in 2003 and used to quantify the nitrogen fixation activity and to characterize its interannual variability.     

CO2 partial pressure in Northeast Atlantic and adjacent shelf waters: Processes and seasonal variability

CO₂ partial pressure in surface water was measured in the Northeast Atlantic and in the Hebride Shelf/North Sea area during a cruise with R.V. Poseidon in June 1991. A mean p_CO2 of 303 μatm was found in the Atlantic between 50°N and 60°N. For an atmospheric CO₂ content of 357.5 ppm(v) this corresponds to a partial pressure difference of −55 μatm. This supports the view that the subarctic Atlantic is a significant sink within the CO₂ cycle between the ocean and the atmosphere. A comparison of our measurements with other data reveals that the p_CO2 distribution changes significantly during May/June. This explained by seasonal warming, CO₂ exchange with the atmosphere and biomass production. The contribution by each of these processes to the seasonal variations is calculated. It was found that during a plankton bloom the production of biomass is the dominating factor and may lower seawater p_CO2 by almost 100 μatm. The shelf areas are charactrized by strong p_CO2 gradients which are explained by water exchange with the Atlantic, temperature effects and biomass production.     

Development of multimodal performance measures for transit systems in New York State

The New York State Department of Transportation was required to certify as to the economy and efficiency of transit operators participating in the State's public transportation operating assistance program. This paper describes the efforts undertaken to meet this mandate.Discussed are past efforts to link performance measures to funding programs; reasons for modifying measures which had been used in previous efforts; and some of the problems and issues raised by the use of such criteria. The paper identifies 15 performance measures being used by New York State in its evaluations, the actual ranges encountered in the transit operations being funded through the state program, and tentative acceptable and desirable levels of those measures which the Transportation Department is using in its evaluation. The role these measures play in the state's operating assistance policy decision process is also described.     

Determining the optimal number of seasonal adjustment factor groupings when estimating annual average daily traffic and investigating their characteristics

Although cluster analysis is recommended by the US Traffic Monitoring Guide (TMG) to supplement the development of seasonal adjustment factor groupings (SAFGs), the relationships among SAFGs' characteristics remain undiscovered, while the determination of the optimal number of clusters is an ambiguous task exposed to great subjectivity. Statistical indicators provide a mathematical solution by removing engineering judgment without taking into consideration any guidelines or other criteria, necessary for transportation planners to generate ‘practical and sensible’ groupings. The method examined in this study aims to overcome the above weaknesses incorporating into the methodology a series of statistics, recommendations, and previous research findings. The investigation of the relationships among (1) the within-group variation, (2) the total number of sites, (3) the minimum number of stations within a cluster, (4) the optimal number of clusters, and (5) the geographical size of the groups constitutes the main objectives of this research. According to the results, the cluster variability declines as the available number of stations increases. When the minimum number of stations within a cluster increases, the weighted coefficient of variation inflates as well, with the rate of increase depending on sample size. The average number of automatic traffic recorders per cluster is analogous to the sample size, while the optimal number of clusters varies conversely with the minimum number of stations within a cluster. The application developed for the conduct of the analysis minimizes the computational time needed, while it can be easily implemented by engineers to automate the process recommended by the TMG, enhancing the current state of practice.     

Designing personal rapid transit (PRT) networks

This paper presents a heuristic method for designing a PRT network. Because the PRT system operating characteristics and performance measures differ widely from those of conventional transit technologies, an algorithm for the PRT network design problem (NDP) is derived by using concepts from some current NDP algorithms. We minimize the sum of passenger travel time cost, construction cost, vehicle cost and operational costs, subject to an available budget of guideway, a maximum number of vehicles and given link capacities. Starting with a well-connected initial network, the algorithm eliminates and adds links iteratively as it searches for a near-optimal solution. If this solution satisfies the budget constraint, it is considered to be acceptable. Otherwise, additional links are deleted until a feasible near-optimal solution is obtained. The link elimination phase of the algorithm only considers half of the links at a time which greatly decreases computing time. None of the links in an acceptable solution will be overloaded.     

Is telecommuting cheaper than travel? An examination of interaction costs in a business setting

This paper presents an analysis of telecommunications and travel costs for typical business meetings. It is contribution to the debate on the substitutability of telecommunications for travel. An underlying assumption which supports the substitution hypothesis is that the cost of traversing distance through the use of telecommunication is lower than the cost of travelling.This paper addresses the relative cost of telecommunications and travel in conducting interactions. Three factors are assumed to determine these costs: distance, duration of interaction and number of participants. The analysis assumes that cost alone affects choice, and ignores other communication qualities.The relationship between telecommunication and travel costs was tested quantitatively through a case study of typical business meetings in the U.S., based on data from 1988. The results show that travel costs are lower than telecommunication costs for shorter distances, and that the relationship between telecommunications and travel costs differs substantially as a function of number of participants and meeting duration. Because of ongoing rapid changes in the costs of both of these interaction modes, the complex competition between them will continue. The implications of the findings for location decisions and policy-making are discussed.