THE IMPACT OF NOAA SATELLITE SOUNDING DATA ON THE SYSTEMATIC FORECAST ERROR OF B-MODEL

This paper is to examine the impact of satellite data on the systematic error of operational B-model in China.Em-phasis is put on the study of the impact of satellite sounding data on forecasts of the sea level pressure field and 500 hPaheight.The major findings are as follows.(1)The B-model usually underforecasts the strength of features in the sea level pressure(SLP)field,i.e.pressuresare too low near high pressure systems and too high near low pressure systems.(2)The nature of the systematic errors found in the 500 hPa height forecasts is not as clear cut as that of the SLPforecasts,but most often the same type of pattern is seen,i.e.,the heights in troughs are not low enough and those inridges are not high enough.(3)The use of satellite data in the B-model analysis/forecast system is found to have an impact upon the model'sforecast of SLP and 500 hPa height.Systematic errors in the vicinity of surface lows/500 hPa troughs over the oceansare usually found to be significantly reduced.A less conclusive mix of positive and negative impacts was found for allother types of features.     

The theory of geomagnetic induction

The theoretical basis of electromagnetic induction methods in geophysics is considered with special reference to the interplay of physical ideas and mathematical arguments. The design of mathematical problems to elucidate observed physical phenomena, and methods of solving them, are discussed. Earth models suitable for various types of investigation are considered. The importance of getting the correct physical interpretation of the solution of a mathematical problem is stressed.     

The dose-response relationship between No. 2 fuel oil and the growth of the salt marsh grass,Spartina alterniflora

The effect of No. 2 fuel oil on the biomass production of the salt marsh plant, Spartina alterniflora, was studied in a greenhouse dose-response experiment. S. alterniflora were transplanted into soil with 10 dosage levels of No. 2 fuel oil ranging from 0 to 456 mg g(-1) dry soil. Three months after transplantation, values for plant biomass, stem density, and shoot height decreased significantly with increasing fuel oil level in a dose-response fashion. Evapo-transpiration rates were correlated with the total biomass response. Relative to the control, a significant decrease in total (above- plus below-ground) plant biomass was observed at concentrations above 57 mg g(-1) dry soil. Within the 3-month experimental period, detrimental effects on below-ground biomass accumulation and bioluminescence of the marine bacterium Viberio fisheri in the Microtox Solid Phase Test were observed at oil concentrations >29 mg g(-1) dry soil, suggesting that biological effects of oil within the sediment matrix may be more pronounced than on above-ground biomass, requiring a dosage 228 mg g(-1) dry soil to elicit a significant detrimental effect. Hence, measurements of oil effects with biological end-points based solely on above-ground responses may underestimate the potential impacts of petroleum hydrocarbon spills, especially when the oil has penetrated the soil. While S. alterniflora was proved to be relatively tolerant to the No. 2 fuel oil spills, its effectiveness in phytoremediation operations may be limited at fuel oil levels 228 mg g(-1) dry soil, as both plant growth and microbial activity may be constrained.     

The Dark Matter Problem

In these notes I will briefly summarize our knowledge about the dark matter problem, and emphasize the corresponding dynamical aspects. This covers a wide area of research, so I have been selective, and have concentrated on the subject of dark matter in nearby galaxies, in particular spirals. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Lead and copper in the waters of Raritan and Lower New York Bays

A survey of waters adjacent to this heavily urbanized and industrialized region showed concentrations of copper, 65 μg l.^?1 to be the highest reported to date for estuarine waters, and lead up to 13.9 μg l.^?1 Correlations between distributions of dissolved and total metal concentration in the water column, hydrography, and metal in the sediment were related to benthic studies in this area. Laboratory studies are cited which show the potential for adverse effects on marine animals at these metal concentrations.     

Paleobotany of Wisconsinan interstadials, eastern Great Lakes region, North America

This study concerns the pollen and plant macrofossils from Mid-Wisconsinan Interstadial sites within the Wisconsinan ice margin in eastern North America. The time period covered is from about 55,000 years BP to 22,500 years BP, an interval much longer than the postglacial. Sediments examined are principally those of large lakes deposited in the Erie and Ontario basins during intervals of ice retreat.The Port Talbot I Interval (from about 55,000 to 50,000 years BP) in the Erie basin is characterized by pollen assemblages alternating from Pinus-dominated zones to ones with abundant Pinus, Quercus, and nonarboreal pollen. These assemblages are interpreted as indicating relatively warm and dry conditions. Mean July temperatures fluctuated between 15 and 21°C.During the succeeding Port Talbot II Interval and Plum Point Interstadial, in both the Erie and Ontario basins, pollen assemblages are characterized by dominant Pinus and Picea. Characteristic macrofossils include needles of the boreal Picea and Larix and leaves of species with a more northerly distribution, such as Dryas integrifolia, Betula glandulosa var. glandulosa, Vaccinium uliginosum var. alpinum, and Salix herbacea. These fossil assemblages are interpreted as indicating cooler and moister conditions in a forest-tundra environment. Mean July temperatures fluctuated between 10 and 15°C during the Port Talbot II Interval and Plum Point Interstadial.     

Sedimentation in Lake Biel,an eutrophic,hard-water lake in northwestern Switzerland

A 2-year study of sedimentation in Lake Biel reveals that three major factors can account for the spatial and temporal patterns of tripton sedimentation. Allochthonous inputs of particulate matter mostly derived from the Aare river during spring snowmelt and other high-water periods, provide about 50% of the carbonate and 50% of the siliceous matter collected in sediment traps. Phytoplankton activity in this eutrophic, hard-water lake accounts for the rest of the carbonate and siliceous matter, the latter being mostly diatom frustules. Sedimentation rates are thus highest during periods of maximum river flooding, maximum phytoplankton activity and following the breakdown of the thermocline, at which time trapped particles settle out. Resuspension of sediment is important in at least one basin. Resolution of carbonate appears to be minor.     

On steep isogradic surfaces in the Simplon area

The Simplon tunnel (19.7 km long) in the Central Alps crosses, at an altitude of 640–700 m, a mountain chain that culminates in Monte Leone (3 553 m). Along the tunnel axis the metamorphic grade of Mesozoic sediments, recrystallized during the Lepontine phase of the Alpine orogenesis, increases from NW to SE. Investigations on rock samples from the tunnel and from surface exposures give information in three dimensions on conditions during the culmination of Alpine regional metamorphism in the Simplon group. The succession of isograds from km 3 from the NW entrance of the tunnel in SE direction is: First occurrence of biotite, of garnet, last occurrence of albite in paragenesis with calcite, entry of feldspars of the peristerite gap and of oligoclase alone in calc-schists, marbles and amphibolites, coming in of plagioclase An > 30 associated with calcite, first occurrence of staurolite and kyanite, entry of tremolite and calcite, occurrence of plagioclase An >50 in calcschists. Correlation of the data from tunnel and surface samples shows that, in the northwestern and central part of the section, the isogradic surfaces are steeply inclined to the NW, the average dip is 60–75°, with uncertainty between 55 and 90°. In the southeastern part of the section the isogradic surfaces are overturned and dip to the E. No observations indicate gently inclined isogradic surfaces. Geological evidence excludes postmetamorphic tilting of originally subhorizontal isogradic surfaces in such a scale. It is assumed that, during the Lepontine phase, the isobaric surfaces have been subhorizontal, but that the isotherms (which roughly correspond to isograds) have formed angles greater than 45° with isobars. During the culmination of metamorphism vertical and lateral temperature gradients differed considerably from place to place in the Simplon area, and gradually changed also in one and the same direction. The Simplon area is situated near the western edge of the high-grade metamorphic zones of the Ticino complex. The metamorphic conditions described are believed to have been strongly influenced by the eastern adjacent vast thermal bulge of the Central Alps. Thus, not only in Val Bregaglia, with its quite different geological environment, at the E end of the highgrade zone and of the same thermal antiform, but also in the Simplon area in the W, isogradic surfaces are steeply inclined.     

Zeitgebundene Erzlagerstätten

Proceeding from the observation that in the Early Paleozoic there is a time-bound, world-wide distributed ore deposit type with scheelite in volcanic-sedimentary series, the question concerning a systematic development of ore deposits connected with an evolution of the earth's crust and mantle is discussed. A schematic model of this development is constructed, which, beginning with a still thin, primeval crust, by way of time-bound stages as for instance greenstone belts and mobile zones, receiving abundant material introduction from juvenile volcanism accompanied with corresponding time-bound ores, leads to the “Assynthic” revolution, giving rise to a crust which is essentially dependent on selfsupport by sedimentary reworking and palingenic magmatism. During the initial “juvenile” period as well as during the palingenic there is significant participation of sedimentary processes, in dependence upon time-bound evolution of the atmosphere and biosphere, for material transport, redeposition and renewed concentration. During the “palingenic” stage the crust is only episodically supplied with mantle material along world-wide volcanic, tectonic lineaments, whereby new ore types, for example the scheelite ores of the Early Paleozoic or the copper-molybdenum ores at the Mesozoic-Cenozoic transition, experience their time-bound formation.     

Pleistocene climatic change in Southern Australia and its effect on speleothem deposition in some Nullarbor caves

Activity ratios of ²³⁴U/²³⁸U, ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U, and ²³⁰Th/²³²Th have been determined for calcite, gypsum and halite speleothems from caves of the Nullarbor Plain, mostly in the area N and NW of Mundrabilla Station, for the purpose of U-series dating. All calcite speleothems contain adequate amounts of uranium for dating, but some show an excess of ²³⁰Th. Stratigraphic relationships indicate that there were at least three phases of calcium carbonate deposition in the Nullarbor caves. The calcite samples, with one possible exception, have ages in excess of ca. 400000 yrs BP. This suggests that no significant amounts of calcium carbonate deposition have taken place during the last 400ka. At present, active deposition of speleothems is restricted almost entirely to gypsum and halite. The only gypsum speleothem dated was found to have a finite age of ca. 185 ka. Six dates on a small halite speleothem containing insect and arachnid remains indicate that it formed rapidly during Holocene time.