Biological carbon sequestration and carbon trading re-visited

Biological activities that sequester carbon create CO₂ offset credits that could obviate the need for reductions in fossil fuel use. Credits are earned by storing carbon in terrestrial ecosystems and wood products, although CO₂ emissions are also mitigated by delaying deforestation, which accounts for one-quarter of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. However, non-permanent carbon offsets from biological activities are difficult to compare with each other and with emissions reduction because they differ in how long they prevent CO₂ from entering the atmosphere. This is the duration problem. It results in uncertainty and makes it hard to determine the legitimacy of biological activities in mitigating climate change. Measuring, verifying and monitoring the carbon sequestered in sinks greatly increases transaction costs and leads to rent seeking by sellers of dubious sink credits. While biological sink activities undoubtedly help mitigate climate change and should not be neglected, it is shown that there are limits to the substitutability between temporary offset credits from these activities and emissions reduction, and that this has implications for carbon trading. A possible solution to inherent incommensurability between temporary and permanent credits is also suggested.     

Microfocus X-ray computed tomography analysis of corroded glass objects

Microfocus X-ray computed tomography (µCT) is a useful tool for non-destructive analysis of corroded archaeological glass objects and for monitoring restoration and conservation processes for these materials. This was demonstrated by µCT analysis of artificially corroded laboratory-produced glasses and corroded archaeological glasses retrieved from soil environments. Corrosion layers with a thickness of 20 µm or more can be detected as areas with lower X-ray attenuation values than the non-corroded glass. Features that are revealed by µCT analyses include the degree and patterns of corrosion and the presence of various internal structures in the corrosion layers. The study of restored corroded glasses demonstrates that mechanical and laser cleaning can be monitored efficiently. The study of consolidation practices, using test objects, requires the use of additives to increase X-ray attenuation values of the organic compounds that are used.     

Chromospheric and coronal explosions in solar flares

The phenomenon described as a coronal explosion results directly from a chromospheric explosion. These two phenomena always occur together. They are the manifestations of the impulsive phase explosions in solar flares. These explosive processes occur during and immediately after the onset of the impulsive phase of flares. A previously presented model, describing the relation between the two kinds of explosions, appears to be able to explain qualitatively, and in many cases also quantitatively, the observations relevant to these explosive processes.     

考虑随机模型精化的精密GPS动态定位新方法

GPS动态定位要求建立函数模型和随机模型。函数模型描述的是观测值和待估参数之间的物理和几何关系，随机模型描述了GPS观测值的统计特征，并通过观测值的方差协方差给定了每个观测值对最后的定位结果的贡献。正确给定函数模型和随机模型对于GPS定位结果的估计和观测值的粗差探测均至关重要。由于有各种误差存在于伪距和载波相位观测值中，一般GPS动态定位模型均采用双差观测值来构建函数模型。有时候，仔细地使用单差观测值，较之双差观测值有更多的优点，给出了选用单差观测值的理由。但是单差观测值给函数模型带来了接收机钟差，如果直接使用单差观测方程，设计矩阵是奇异的。为了解决这个问题，将伪距观测值中接收机钟差项和接收机延迟项合并为一个新的未知参数。至于载波相位观测值，首先选定一个参考卫星，然后在观测方程的右端同时增加一正一负的参考卫星单差整周模糊度，将正项与接收机钟差项和接收机延迟项合并为一个新的未知参数，将负项和原观测方程中的单差整周模糊度项合并为双差整周模糊度，而参考卫星观测方程的模糊度项则为零，这样无须组建双差观测值，软件实现较容易，也可以直接使用LAMBDA法求整周模糊度，最终也解决了观测方程奇异的问题。准确理解观测值的统计特征是建立GPS随机模型的基础，长期以来GPS商业软件均采用简化模型。关于GPS随机模型的研究远没有函数模型那样受到广泛关注，静态GPS定位可以采用方差协方差分量估计等严密的方法，而动态定位无法承担方差协方差分量估计的计算负担。GPS观测值的信噪比(SNR)是GPS接收机观测过程中的副产品，影响SNR值的因素，如大气层、多路径、接收机内部电路等，也正好是GPS观测值的误差源，因此GPS观测值的方差与SNR存在一定的对应关系。利用这个对应关系来精化GPS随机模型。为了验证本文采用的函数模型的正确性和随机模型的有效性，我们对1999年的一次实测数据(包括零基线和短基线)进行了试算。与零基线的真值和GPSurvey 2．35处理的短基线静态结果比较，表明使用的函数模型是正确的。简化随机模型和精化随机模型处理的结果比较说明精化模型提高了基线处理的精度，同时说明了研究GPS随机模型精化的必要性。     

A simple low‐cost sand catcher for wind‐tunnel simulations

A simple low‐cost sand catcher has been developed for use in wind‐tunnel experiments. It is 500 mm high with a 300 mm by 20 mm inlet opening, and is designed to measure total mass transport directly. The length is 280 mm and its walls slowly expand at an angle of 5·6°. The top view is similar to that of the widely used BSNE sampler. Each sidewall is vented with three ventilation screens. Two sets of experiments were conducted on dune sand and at different wind velocities to investigate to what degree the catcher samples isokinetically, ef?ciently and non‐selectively. The results indicate that the catcher measures suf?ciently isokinetically (inlet wind velocity over outside wind velocity >0·9). Catch ef?ciency was around 0·75 and the degree of non‐selectivity was >0·80 for 95 per cent of the particle sizes of the test material. It was also observed that the in?uence of wind velocity on the tested sampler characteristics was of minor importance so that no speci?c corrections need to be made for different wind velocities. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On possible drivers of Sun-induced climate changes

We tested the validity of two current hypotheses on the dependence of climate change on solar activity. One of them states that variations in the tropospheric temperature are caused directly by changes of the solar radiance (total or spectral). The other suggests that cosmic ray (CR) fluctuations, caused by the solar/heliospheric modulation, affect the climate via cloud formation. Confronting these hypotheses with seven different sets of the global/hemispheric temperature reconstructions for the last 400 years, we found that the former mechanism is in general more prominent than the latter. Therefore, we can conclude that in so far as the Sun–climate connection is concerned tropospheric temperatures are more likely affected by variations in the UV radiation flux rather than by those in the CR flux.     

Some geochemical controls on lead and barium concentrations in ferromanganese deposits

The Pb content of natural deep-sea ferromanganese deposits decreases with depth. This is commonly explained by assuming oxidation of Pb²⁺ and uptake as (Mn, Pb)O₂ in normally oxygenated shallow water, a process that is less likely to occur in deep water which is somewhat depleted in oxygen. This concept is discussed and rejected, both on theoretical grounds and based on experimental results of Pb²⁺ sorption by Mn oxides. Comparative sorption experiments on Mn oxides were carried out with Pb and Ba. It is shown that Pb is preferentially adsorbed by birnessite at $\text{pH}\text{? 4}$. The uptake ratio is, however, much lower than the relative enrichment factor in natural nodule material. Suggested explanations for this discrepancy are: influence of hydrostatic pressure and extent of hydrolysis of the cations at the pH of ocean water.