The Advisory System for Fertilizer Application in the German Democratic Republic Emphasizing the Minimization of Nitrogen Pollution

This paper describes one of three operational state computer systems used to give advice on agricultural problems in the GDR. The system, employed nationwide, is oriented to providing advice about fertilizer application on farms or even single fields. Of the other two computer systems, one is described in IIASA CP-79-18, "Environmental Problems of Agriculture II: Pest and Weed Management: Monitoring and Forecasting in the German Democratic Republic." The remaining operational system is applied to irrigation. At IIASA's request, the present paper emphasizes the methods of the system for determining the optimal amount of fertilizer to apply which allows for maximum agricultural production without wasting resources or harming the environment. The paper thus offers another contribution to the solution of nonpoint source chemical pollution problems which have been intensively studied at IIASA both in-house and in cooperation with other institutions

Energy Scaling of Minimum-Bias Tunes

We propose that the flexibility offered by modern event-generator tuning tools allows for more than just obtaining "best fits" to a collection of data. In particular, we argue that the universality of the underlying physics model can be tested by performing several, mutually independent, optimizations of the generator parameters in different physical regions. For regions in which these optimizations return similar and self-consistent parameter values, the model can be considered universal. Deviations from this behavior can be associated with a breakdown of the modeling, with the nature of the deviations giving clues as to the nature of the breakdown. We apply this procedure to study the energy scaling of a class of minimum-bias models based on multiple parton interactions (MPI) and pT-ordered showers, implemented in the Pythia 6.4 generator. We find that a parameter controlling the strength of color reconnections in the final state is the most important source of non-universality in this model.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures, 4 table

The Search for the QGP: A Critical Appraisal

Over the past 15 years, an extensive program of high energy nuclear collisions at BNL and CERN has been devoted to the experimental search for the quark-gluon plasma predicted by QCD. The start of RHIC this year will increase the highest available collision energy by a factor 10. This seems a good time for a critical assessment: what have we learned so far and what can we hope to learn in the coming years?Comment: 20 pages, 20 figure

Tracking Performance of the Scintillating Fiber Detector in the K2K Experiment

The K2K long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment uses a Scintillating Fiber Detector (SciFi) to reconstruct charged particles produced in neutrino interactions in the near detector. We describe the track reconstruction algorithm and the performance of the SciFi after three years of operation.Comment: 24pages,18 figures, and 1 table. Preprint submitted to NI

Multiplicity Distributions and Rapidity Gaps

I examine the phenomenology of particle multiplicity distributions, with special emphasis on the low multiplicities that are a background in the study of rapidity gaps. In particular, I analyze the multiplicity distribution in a rapidity interval between two jets, using the HERWIG QCD simulation with some necessary modifications. The distribution is not of the negative binomial form, and displays an anomalous enhancement at zero multiplicity. Some useful mathematical tools for working with multiplicity distributions are presented. It is demonstrated that ignoring particles with pt<0.2 has theoretical advantages, in addition to being convenient experimentally.Comment: 24 pages, LaTeX, MSUHEP/94071

Questions and Remarks About Clans in Multiparticle Dynamics

The fact that several important effects in multiparticle dynamics, on which QCD has not yet satisfactory predictions, have been interpreted in terms of the validity of negative binomial (Pascal) regularity and related clan properties at the level of simpler substructures, raises intriguing questions on clan properties in all classes of collisions, the main one being whether clans are observable objects or merely a mathematical concept. We approach this problem by studying clan masses and rapidity distributions in each substructure for e+e- annihilation and hh collisions, and find that such properties can indeed characterise the different components. These results support the idea that clans could be observable, a challenging problem for future experiments.Comment: 11 pages; 3 figures; latex 2e and amsmat

Studying the impact of ocean eddies on the ecosystem of the Prince Edward Islands: DEIMEC ll

The Dynamics of Eddy Impacts on Marion’s Ecosystem Study (DEIMEC) programme was begun in 2002 with the aim of understanding the importance of the oceanic, upstream environment to the ecosystem of the Prince Edward Islands. This island group consists of two small volcanic islands and provides many opportunities for studying ecological and evolutionary processes, for monitoring ecological changes in relation to global climate change and for conserving a unique component of the planet’s biological diversity