45 research outputs found
Diurnal emissivity dynamics in bare versus biocrusted sand dunes
No full textLand surface emissivity (LSE) in the thermal infrared depends mainly on the ground cover and on changes in soil moisture. The LSE is a critical variable that affects the prediction accuracy of geophysical models requiring land surface temperature as an input, highlighting the need for an accurate derivation of LSE. The primary aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that diurnal changes in emissivity, as detected from space, are larger for
areas mostly covered by biocrusts (composed mainly of cyanobacteria) than for bare sand areas. The LSE dynamics were monitored from geostationary orbit by the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) over a sand dune field in a coastal desert region extending across both sides of the Israel–Egypt political borderline.
Different land-use practices by the two countries have resulted in exposed, active sand dunes on the Egyptian side (Sinai), and dunes stabilized by biocrusts on the Israeli side (Negev). Since biocrusts adsorb more moisture
from the atmosphere than bare sand does, and LSE is affected by the soil moisture, diurnal fluctuations in LSE were larger for the crusted dunes in the 8.7 μm channel. This phenomenon is attributed to water vapor adsorption
by the sand/biocrust particles. The results indicate that LSE is sensitive to minor changes in soil water content caused by water vapor adsorption and can, therefore, serve as a tool for quantifying this effect, which has a
large spatial impact. As biocrusts cover vast regions in deserts worldwide, this discovery has repercussions for LSE estimations in deserts around the globe, and these LSE variations can potentially have considerable effects on geophysical models from local to regional scales
Development of a new approach based on midwave infrared spectroscopy for post-consumer black plastic waste sorting in the recycling industry
No full textDETECTION AND IDENTIFICATION OF TOXIC CHEMICAL VAPORS IN AN OPEN-AIR ENVIRONMENT BY A DIFFERENTIAL PASSIVE LWIR STANDOFF TECHNIQUE
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Iterative Signature Suppression for detection and identification of gas plume constituents
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Simulation discussed : tax avoidance in the common law
No full textIncludes bibliographical references.The simulation doctrine has, in the law of taxation, always played the role of being SARS' remedy in the common law, vis-a-vis its legislated cohorts, viz. both the specific and general anti-avoidance provisions contained in the various tax statutes. Building on the principles established in Zandberg v Van Zyl, Dadoo Ltd and others v Krugersdorp Municipal Council and Commissioner of Customs and Excise v Randles Brothers & Hudson Ltd, the test which emerged and has been applied since, is broadly recognised as being that as formulated by Watermeyer JA in Randles, being that where the parties to a contract truly intended to act in accordance with the tenor of the agreement, irrespective of what their purpose for entering into that transaction was, that contract cannot be a simulated one. However, the Supreme Court of Appeal judgment in CSARS v NWK Ltd has necessitated that the principles applied previously be revisited academically to determine whether the doctrine for determining whether a simulation is present has changed - and if so, to what extent. Some argue that the comments in NWK, which is perceived to have changed the simulation test, were merely part of the obiter of the judgment, though they hasten to add that this does not mean that such comments are void of import where lower courts may consider the doctrine in future. Opposed hereto are those who are of the view that the judgment has indeed changed the simulation doctrine's landscape
