Geographic prospects for large-scale African mammal wildlife conservation

This work assesses current geographic prospects for large-scale conservation of Africa’s mammals on the basis of statistics on wildlife habitat, elephant numbers, political stability and potential for environmental tourism and concludes that these prospects depend on events in a small number of eastern and southern African (core) countries, geographically grouped into a ‘safari-belt’ between South-Africa and Kenya. Additional countries with good potential are connected to this belt. African countries need more global scientific support for their conservation efforts, particularly with respect to ongoing trans-boundary conservation efforts.     

Empirical NLTE analyses of solar spectral lines

A method is suggested for empirical NLTE analyses of solar spectral lines. Special depthdependent departure coefficients (x) are introduced and the formulas are given for further application. From test calculations it is shown that the separation of the departure coefficients for the upper and the lower level from each other and from the uncertainties in several input parameters (oscillator strength times abundance, turbulent velocities and damping constant) is greatly facilitated when spectral lines are analysed on the disk, around the limb, as well as in the flash spectrum. Therefore it is necesssary that all accessible line data are used, from accurate line profiles to equivalent widths or integrated intensities. To reduce the number of independent variables the analysis should include many multiplets between a few spectroscopic terms.We discuss the advantages of translating the departure coefficients into a set of temperatures. Some published LTE and NLTE analyses are compared in terms of these temperatures. The results do not show inexplicable contradictions. For several atomic spectra the departures from LTE seem large enough to be established quantitatively by the detailed method suggested in this paper.     

Isotope mixing models require individual isotopic tracer content for correct quantification of sediment source contributions

The use of isotopic tracers for sediment source apportionment is gaining interest with recent introduction of compound‐specific stable isotope tracers. The method relies on linear mixing of source isotopic tracers, and deconvolution of a sediment mixture initially quantifies the contribution of sources to the mixture's tracer signature. Therefore, a correction to obtain real sediment source proportions is subsequently required. As far as we are aware, all published studies to date have used total isotopic tracer content or a proxy (e.g., soil carbon content) for this post‐unmixing correction. However, as the relationship between the isotopic tracer mixture and the source mixture is different for each isotopic tracer, post‐unmixing corrections cannot be carried out with one single factor. This contribution presents an isotopic tracer model structure—the concentration‐dependent isotope mixing model (CD‐IMM)—to overcome this limitation. Herein, we aim to clarify why the “conventional” approach to converting isotopic tracer proportions to source proportions using a single factor is wrong. In an initial mathematical assessment, error incurred by not using CD‐IMM (NCD‐IMM) in unmixing two sources with two isotopic tracers showed a complex relation as a function of relative tracer contents. Next, three artificial mixtures with different proportions of three soil sources were prepared and deconvoluted using ¹³C of fatty acids using CD‐IMM and NCD‐IMM. Using NCD‐IMM affected both accuracy (mean average error increased up to a threefold compared with the CD‐IMM output) and precision (interquartile range was up to 2.5 times larger). Finally, as an illustrative example, the proportional source contribution reported in a published study was recalculated using CD‐IMM. This resulted in changes in estimated source proportions and associated uncertainties. Content of isotopic tracers is seldom reported in published work concerning use of isotopic tracers for sediment source partitioning. The magnitude of errors made by miscalculation in former studies is therefore difficult to assess. With this contribution, we hope the community will acknowledge the limitations of prior approaches and use a CD‐IMM in future studies.     

Using hourly measurements to explore the role of secondary inorganic aerosol in PM2.5 during haze and fog in Hangzhou,China

This paper explores the role of the secondary inorganic aerosol （SIA） species ammonium,NH4＋,nitrate,NO3-,and sulfate,SO24-,during haze and fog events using hourly mass concentrations of PM2.5 measured at a suburban site in Hangzhou,China.A total of 546 samples were collected between 1 April and 8 May 2012.The samples were analyzed and classified as clear,haze or fog depending on visibility and relative humidity （RH）.The contribution of SIA species to PM2.5 mass increased to ～50％ during haze and fog.The mass contribution of nitrate to PM2.5 increased from 11％ during clear to 20％ during haze episodes.Nitrate mass exceeded sulfate mass during haze,while near equal concentrations were observed during fog episodes.The role of RH on the correlation between concentrations of SIA and visibility was examined,with optimal correlation at 60％-70％ RH.The total acidity during clear,haze and fog periods was 42.38,48.38 and 45.51 nmol m-3,respectively,indicating that sulfate,nitrate and chloride were not neutralized by ammonium during any period.The nitrate to sulfate molar ratio,as a function of the ammonium to sulfate molar ratio,indicated that nitrate formation during fog started at a higher ammonium to sulfate molar ratio compared to clear and haze periods.During haze and fog,the nitrate oxidation ratio increased by a factor of 1.6-1.7,while the sulfur oxidation ratio increased by a factor of 1.2-1.5,indicating that both gaseous NO2 and SO2 were involved in the reduced visibility.     

The flares of April 1980

We discuss the spatial and temporal characteristics of X-ray flares occurring in the active region NOAA2372 from April 6 to 13, 1980. The flares are seen to extend in most cases across the whole active complex, involving several magnetic features. They originate in an intermediate bipole, between the two main sunspots of the active region, where high magnetic shear was detected. A rapid expansion is seen in some cases, in conjunction with the start of the impulsive hard X-ray bursts. We also detect, in the late phases of some of the events, a large soft X-ray structure overlying the whole active region, which also shows up as a noise storm region at metric wavelengths. These large loops cool by heat conduction but, in some cases, Hα condensations seem to appear, probably as a result of magnetic compression and a condensation mode of the thermal instability. The topological aspects of the field configuration are discussed, in the context of flare models invoking magnetic reconnection at the site of the primary energy release. In such a model, the intermediate bipole is the natural site of initial magnetic reconnection, particle acceleration and heating. In one particular case of a flare observed at the limb, we find possible evidence of particle acceleration in a neutral sheet at the boundary between two clearly defined magnetic structures.     

Tidal dissipation from free drift sea ice in the Barents Sea assessed using GNSS beacon observations

Ocean Dynamics - One of the major challenges facing global hydrodynamic tidal models is the modelling of the interaction between sea ice and tides in high-latitude waters. Recent studies have shown...     

Diagenesis in Okavango fan and adjacent dune deposits with implications for the record of palaeo-environmental change in Makgadikgadi–Okavango–Zambezi basin, northern Botswana

This work considers the spatial distribution and ages of western MOZ basin siliclastic sediments prior to providing insights into the diagenesis of degraded dune and alluvial fan sands. Previously published and new TL/OSL ages imply that extensive over-washing of dune sands took place at least 100 ka ago while ages on Okavango floodplains imply that the fan was formed ca. 40 ka and has since undergone periods of higher and lower flood regimes. Sediment analyses indicate that both dune and fan sands contain a diagenetic matrix of clay-enhanced amorphous silica (CEAS) which bonds weakly formed aggregates. The time of formation of diagenetic matrix products is inconclusive but may have been accelerated during or shortly after events dated using OSL/TL techniques. Hence earlier dune over-washing may have led to greater porewater of an acidic to near neutral nature which in turn promoted smectite formation and silicic acid precipitation > 100 000 years ago. The relatively abundant CEAS matrix in floodplain sands implies more recent semi-continuous flood events again of an acidic-near neutral nature leading to the formation of smectite. In this case the floodplain sediments are dated as having been deposited around 40 and 11 ka, when porewater content may have accelerated clay formation and silica dissolution. The dual nature of the CEAS in the islands reflects a changing environment from smectite-dominated flooding events to sepiolite-dominated desiccation events. Flooding may also correspond to TL/OSL ages over the past 40 000 years which contributed to accelerated CEAS formation. The sepiolite is associated with a Ca-rich matrix implying desiccation which may relate to drying events over the 40 000 year period or to riparian tree root pumping and selective salt accumulation. This work shows that sedimentation in incipient rifts is complex and rarely explained totally in terms of primary depositional events. The implications of different stages of sand diagenesis may be significant in enhancing palaeo-environmental interpretations in semi-arid fluvial environments.