Seasonal variation in di-nitrogen fluxes and associated processes (denitrification, anammox and nitrogen fixation) in sediment subject to shellfish farming influences

Seasonal patterns of di-nitrogen fluxes together with denitrification, anammox, and N-fixation rates were studied in sediment in an area subject to strong human pressure via waste water, tributaries and shellfish farming in the Mediterranean Sea (Carteau Cove, NW area of the Gulf of Lion). Ammonium concentration demonstrated no seasonal variation, however, a large increase in its concentration was observed over a 10 years period due to intense biodeposition of organic matter. In contrast, nitrate concentration demonstrated no seasonal or long-term (10 years) variation. The main processes affecting di-nitrogen flux magnitudes were denitrification and N-fixation. Anammox was only detected occasionally, nevertheless it represented at times up to 39% of the N₂-flux. Nitrate reducing processes were variable and denitrification showed a 20-fold increase over the past 10 years and might actually have reached its potential maximal activity. Rates of N₂ production (denitrification and anammox) were generally higher than those of N-fixation, leading to elimination of nitrogen from the ecosystem.     

Polyfluorinated compounds in waste water treatment plant effluents and surface waters along the River Elbe, Germany

Polyfluorinated compounds (PFCs) were investigated in waste water treatment plant (WWTP) effluents and surface waters of the River Elbe from samples collected in 2007. Concentrations of various PFCs, including C₄–C₈ perfluorinated sulfonates (PFSAs), C₆ and C₈ perfluorinated sulfinates, 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate, C₅–C₁₃ perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs), C₄ and C₈ perfluoroalkyl sulfonamides and 6:2, 8:2 and 10:2 unsaturated fluorotelomercarboxylic acids were quantified. ∑PFC concentrations of the river water ranged from 7.6 to 26.4 ng L⁻¹, whereas ∑PFC concentrations of WWTP effluents were approximately 5–10 times higher (30.5–266.3 ng L⁻¹), indicating that WWTPs are potential sources of PFCs in the marine environment. PFC patterns of different WWTP effluents varied depending on the origin of the waste water, whereas the profile of PFC composition in the river water was relatively constant. In both kinds of water samples, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was the major PFC, whereas perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS) was the predominant PFSA.     

O2-O2云反演算法及其在TROPOMI上的应用

利用遥感技术对大气环境污染进行监测时,云是影响痕量气体反演精度的重要因素,因此在痕量气体反演中需要对云的影响进行校正,通常使用的云参数主要是有效云量和云压。本文基于O₂-O₂ 477 nm吸收波段构建了O₂-O₂云反演算法：首先,根据有效云量和云高与连续反射率和O₂-O₂斜柱浓度之间的对应关系,结合假定的云模型利用VLIDORT辐射传输模型建立关于有效云量和云压的查找表;然后,通过差分吸收光谱技术拟合卫星载荷观测的大气层顶辐射,获得O₂-O₂斜柱浓度并计算连续反射率;最后,结合辅助数据,根据查找表进行插值反演获得有效云量和云压。通过将算法应用到OMI观测数据,将反演结果与OMCLDO2产品进行对比验证,有效云量和云压空间分布一致,相关系数R均超过0.97;并还将该算法应用于下一代大气成分监测仪器TROPOMI,与FRESCO+产品对比,有效云量和云压空间分布基本一致,当地表类型为海洋时,有效云量相关系数R大于0.97,云压相关系数R大于0.94,云压反演结果存在一定的区别;通过将O₂-O₂云反演算法和FRESCO+云压反演结果与CALIOP Cloud Layer产品进行对比,结果表明,在低云情况下,O₂-O₂云反演算法线性回归方程斜率为0.782,截距为198.0 hPa,相关系数R为0.850,算法表现优于FRESCO+。而在高云情况下,FRESCO+反演结果更接近CALIOP云压结果。在OMI和TROPOMI上的应用表明O₂-O₂云反演算法在大气云反演中具有较高的准确性和可行性,可以为大气痕量气体反演的校正提供云参数,并为中国同类型卫星载荷的云反演算法提供算法参考。     

Basin filling evolution of the central basins of Mallorca since the Pliocene

A new compilation of data from 436 drill cores using decompaction and backstripping techniques was used to reconstruct the basin filling history from the Pliocene until the present day in the Palma, Inca and Sa Pobla Basins on the island of Mallorca (Spain). Calcareous rocks dominate the source area and provide a limited amount of clastic input to the basins that has resulted in an average accumulation rate of between 5 and 20 m/Ma during the last 5.3 Ma. Carbonate sediment production dominated the basin filling history during early‐mid Pliocene, but during the Quaternary, the sedimentation processes in the Palma Basin were probably enhanced by an evolution in the drainage network that increased the sediment supply and the accumulated thickness caused by stream capture. However, the maximum sedimentation rate filling the depocentres of the three basins has been decreasing since the Pliocene, showing that not only the catchment transport efficiency but also the relative sea level have been controlling the sediment accumulation in these carbonate basins. The isopach cross‐sections support the idea that a palaeorelief was generated during the Messinian sea level drop and that heterogeneities were filled in from the Pliocene to the Quaternary. We conclude that the central basins of Mallorca were filled heterogeneously due to tectonic and geomorphic processes that controlled sediment transport and production, resulting in different average sedimentation thicknesses that decreased since the Pliocene as the accommodation space became filled and the relative sea level dropped.     

Why chromatic imaging matters

During the last two decades, the first generation of beam combiners at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer has proved the importance of optical interferometry for high-angular resolution astrophysical studies in the near- and mid-infrared. With the advent of 4-beam combiners at the VLTI, the u ? v coverage per pointing increases significantly, providing an opportunity to use reconstructed images as powerful scientific tools. Therefore, interferometric imaging is already a key feature of the new generation of VLTI instruments, as well as for other interferometric facilities like CHARA and JWST. It is thus imperative to account for the current image reconstruction capabilities and their expected evolutions in the coming years. Here, we present a general overview of the current situation of optical interferometric image reconstruction with a focus on new wavelength-dependent information, highlighting its main advantages and limitations. As an Appendix we include several cookbooks describing the usage and installation of several state-of-the art image reconstruction packages. To illustrate the current capabilities of the software available to the community, we recovered chromatic images, from simulated MATISSE data, using the MCMC software SQUEEZE. With these images, we aim at showing the importance of selecting good regularization functions and their impact on the reconstruction.     

Preliminary assessment of the ATHENA/WFI non-X-ray background

We present a preliminary assessment of the non-X-ray background for the WFI on board ATHENA conducted at IAAT in the context of the collaborative background and radiation damage working group activities. Our main result is that in the baseline configuration originally assumed for the camera the requirement on the level of non-X-ray background could not be met. In light of the results of Geant4 simulations we propose and discuss a possible optimization of the camera design and pinpoint some open issues to be addressed in the next phase of investigation. One of these concerns the possible contribution to the non-X-ray background from soft protons and ions funneled to the focal plane through the optics. This is not quantified at this stage, here we just briefly report on our ongoing activities aimed at validating the mechanisms of proton scattering at grazing incidence.     

Application of zeolitic volcanic rocks for arsenic removal from water

Natural zeolitic rocks consisting mainly of chabazite-phillipsite, clinoptilolite, and volcanic glass have been evaluated by means of batch methods to remove arsenic from waters with different mineralization degree (from deionized water to natural water with a specific conductivity of 1,600 μS cm^− 1). Arsenic was previously spiked in the studied waters at concentrations of about 100 µg l^− 1 to simulate actual cases. The compositional range of natural waters is representative of large hydrogeochemical regions around the world. The experiments were focussed on the application of natural common zeolitic rocks to water treatment for human consumption. The removal efficiency observed rises, in the better cases, 60–80% for chabazite-phillipsite raw materials whereas is 40–60% for clinoptilolite-bearing ones. The arsenic removal tends to increase with water mineralization degree, independently of the zeolitic rock type. A large zeolitic content in the chabazite-phillipsite raw materials increase the removal. Instead, the inverse situation is observed in the clinoptilolite-bearing rocks. The relevance of the quantitative mineralogical analysis, determining also the content of volcanic glass, as well as the use of natural waters in the removal tests has been demonstrated.