346 research outputs found
Variability of the winter wind waves and swell in the North Atlantic and North Pacific as revealed by the Voluntary Observing Ship data
Get PDFThis paper analyses secular changes and interannual variability in the wind wave, swell, and significant wave height (SWH) characteristics over the North Atlantic and North Pacific on the basis of wind wave climatology derived from the visual wave observations of voluntary observing ship (VOS) officers. These data are available from the International Comprehensive Ocean–Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) collection of surface meteorological observations for 1958–2002, but require much more complicated preprocessing than standard meteorological variables such as sea level pressure, temperature, and wind. Visual VOS data allow for separate analysis of changes in wind sea and swell, as well as in significant wave height, which has been derived from wind sea and swell estimates. In both North Atlantic and North Pacific midlatitudes winter significant wave height shows a secular increase from 10 to 40 cm decade−1 during the last 45 yr. However, in the North Atlantic the patterns of trend changes for wind sea and swell are quite different from each other, showing opposite signs of changes in the northeast Atlantic. Trend patterns of wind sea, swell, and SWH in the North Pacific are more consistent with each other. Qualitatively the same conclusions hold for the analysis of interannual variability whose leading modes demonstrate noticeable differences for wind sea and swell. Statistical analysis shows that variability in wind sea is closely associated with the local wind speed, while swell changes can be driven by the variations in the cyclone counts, implying the importance of forcing frequency for the resulting changes in significant wave height. This mechanism of differences in variability patterns of wind sea and swell is likely more realistic than the northeastward propagation of swells from the regions from which the wind sea signal originates
Judicial Review, Irrationality, and the Limits of Intervention by the Courts
Get PDFWhen exercising judicial review, the courts, on occasions, have intervened in circumstances where administrative decisions were not irrational. However, these low standards of judicial intervention are arguably constitutional, especially since the enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA). To this end, this article seeks to establish a zone of executive decision-making, for reasons of democracy, where the courts are clearly excluded. But it is unable to do so. Does this mean, therefore, that judicial intervention on the grounds of irrationality exists without limit? Assuming this to be the case, it is suggested that the courts should show greater respect to the administrative branch of the state where it has genuinely sought to engage with the legal process in arriving at its decisions
Sweet Egyptian Rose
Get PDF[Verse 1] In love’s garden filled with flowers rare, There is one that I love the best. There are roses growing ev’rywhere, Still I’d choose you from all the rest. And my love will never let you fade, Flowers all need such tender care, Queen of all roses, that I’ve ever seen, You’re the only one I ever wear.
[Refrain] My sweet Egyptian Rose, Each fragrant breeze that blows, Seems to bring a message, dear, from you, Each little star at night That sheds its silv’ry light Reflects the ardor of my love so true, The dainty Mignonette, The modest violet, I’ll forget each one of them for you, dear, In Egypt’s bower, There’s just one flower, Egyptian Rose, that’s you
[Verse 2] All the pansies and the lilies fair, Used to win me with their charms, Heliotropes and dahlias so rare, They all thrilled me with love’s sweet balms. But my dear, the moment I saw you, All the others seemed just like weds, Love’s sweetest symbol, sent from up above, None but Cupid could e’er plant such seeds.
[Chorus
In search of the authentic nation: landscape and national identity in Canada and Switzerland
Get PDFWhile the study of nationalism and national identity has flourished in the last decade, little attention has been devoted to the conditions under which natural environments acquire significance in definitions of nationhood. This article examines the identity-forming role of landscape depictions in two polyethnic nation-states: Canada and Switzerland. Two types of geographical national identity are identified. The first – what we call the ‘nationalisation of nature’– portrays zarticular landscapes as expressions of national authenticity. The second pattern – what we refer to as the ‘naturalisation of the nation’– rests upon a notion of geographical determinism that depicts specific landscapes as forces capable of determining national identity. The authors offer two reasons why the second pattern came to prevail in the cases under consideration: (1) the affinity between wild landscape and the Romantic ideal of pure, rugged nature, and (2) a divergence between the nationalist ideal of ethnic homogeneity and the polyethnic composition of the two societies under consideration
The Atlantic Ocean surface microlayer from 50°N to 50°S is ubiquitously enriched in surfactants at wind speeds up to 13 m s−1
Get PDFWe report the first measurements of surfactant activity (SA) in the sea surface microlayer (SML) and in subsurface waters (SSW) at the ocean basin scale, for two Atlantic Meridional Transect from cruises 50°N to 50°S during 2014 and 2015. Northern Hemisphere (NH) SA was significantly higher than Southern Hemisphere (SH) SA in the SML and in the SSW. SA enrichment factors (EF = SASML/SASSW) were also higher in the NH, for wind speeds up to ~13 m s−1, questioning a prior assertion that Atlantic Ocean wind speeds >12 m s−1 poleward of 30°N and 30°S would preclude high EFs and showing the SML to be self-sustaining with respect to SA. Our results imply that surfactants exert a control on air-sea CO2 exchange across the whole North Atlantic CO2 sink region and that the contribution made by high wind, high latitude oceans to air-sea gas exchange globally should be reexamined
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