Determination of historical emission of heavy metals into the atmosphere: Celje case study

The research shows that in the Celje area (Slovenia), the historical anthropogenical emissions are 1,712 tons of Zn and 9.1 tons of Cd. For Zn, this value represents approximately 0.3% of the total Zn production in that area. Close to the former zinc smelting plant, the “Zn precipitation” has been estimated to be up to 0.036 mm. The 100-year Zn production left behind a heavily contaminated area with maximum concentrations of Zn of up to 5.6% in attic dust and 0.85% in the soil, and 456 mg/kg of Cd in attic dust and 59.1 mg/kg in the soil. The calculation of historical emissions is based on the data of heavy metals concentration in the attic dust at 98 sampling points and on the data from 19 measurement sites of the weight of total monthly air deposit. The main idea behind determining past emissions is that when the weight of the deposited dust on a small area is multiplied by the concentration of the element in that area, the mass of the polluter which has been transported to the place of interest by air can be calculated. If we sum up all the weight over the whole geochemical anomaly, we get the quantity of historical emissions.     

An operational multiscale system for hazards prediction, mapping, and response

By definition, a crisis is a situation that requires assistance to be managed. Hence, response to a crisis involves the merging of local and non-local emergency response personnel. In this situation, it is critical that each participant: (1) know the roles and responsibilities of each of the other participants; (2) know the capabilities of each of the participants; and (3) have a common basis for action. For many types of natural disasters, this entails having a common operational picture of the unfolding events, including detailed information on the weather, both current and forecasted, that may impact on either the emergency itself or on response activities. The Consequences Assessment Tool Set (CATS) is a comprehensive package of hazard prediction models and casualty and damage assessment tools that provides a linkage between a modeled or observed effect and the attendant consequences for populations, infrastructure, and resources, and, hence, provides the common operational picture for emergency response. The Operational Multiscale Environment model with Grid Adaptivity (OMEGA) is an atmospheric simulation system that links the latest methods in computational fluid dynamics and high-resolution gridding technologies with numerical weather prediction to provide specific weather analysis and forecast capability that can be merged into the geographic information system framework of CATS. This paper documents the problem of emergency response as an end-to-end system and presents the integrated CATS–OMEGA system as a prototype of such a system that has been used successfully in a number of different situations.     

Numerical modeling of tide-surge interaction along Orissa coast of India

The Orissa coast of India is one of the most vulnerable regions of extreme sea levels associated with severe tropical cyclones. There was extensive loss of life and property due to the October 1999 super cyclone, which devastated large part of the Orissa coast. The shallow nature of the head bay, presence of a large number of deltas formed by major rivers of Orissa such as Mahanadi and Dhamra, and high tidal range are responsible for storm surge flooding in the region. Specifically, rising and falling tidal phases influence the height, duration, and arrival time of peak surge along the coast. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the tide-surge interaction during the 1999 Orissa cyclone by using nonlinear vertically integrated numerical models. The pure tidal solution for the head bay region of the Bay of Bengal provides the initial condition for the fine resolution nested grid Orissa model. However, the feedback from the Orissa model does not affect the head bay model as the study provides a one-way interaction. Numerical experiments are performed to study the tide-surge interaction by considering various relative phases of the tidal waves with the surge-wave produced by 1999 Orissa cyclone. The comparison, although utilizing only the limited estimates of tidal data, appears adequate to assert that the principal features are reproduced correctly.     

Ground motion estimation during the Kashmir earthquake of 8th October 2005

In this article, analytical methods have been used to estimate ground motion during the 8 October 2005, Kashmir earthquake. Peak ground acceleration (PGA) values at several stations in the epicentral region have been estimated by empirical analytical source mechanism models. As an alternate analysis, PGA estimates have also been obtained using the stochastic finite fault seismological model. The estimated PGAs are compared with that obtained from damage values. A PGA contour map in the near-source region is provided. It is found that very near to the epicenter, PGA would have reached more than 1 g. It is demonstrated that empirical analytical models can be effectively used to estimate ground motion due to rupture of active faults.     

Detection of free vertical convection and double-diffusion in groundwater monitoring wells with geophysical borehole measurements

Two algorithms for in-situ detection and identification of vertical free convective and double-diffusive flows in groundwater monitoring wells or boreholes are proposed. With one algorithm the causes (driving forces) and with the other one the effects (convection or double-diffusion) of vertical transport processes can be detected based on geophysical borehole measurements in the water column. Five density-driven flow processes are identified: thermal, solutal, and thermosolutal convection leading to an equalization, as well as saltfingers and diffusive layering leading to an intensification of a vertical density gradient. The occurrence of density-driven transport processes could be proven in many groundwater monitoring wells and boreholes; especially shallow sections of boreholes or groundwater monitoring wells are affected dramatically by such vertical flows. Deep sections are also impaired as the critical threshold for the onset of a density-driven flow is considerably low. In monitoring wells or boreholes, several sections with different types of density-driven vertical flows may exist at the same time. Results from experimental investigations in a medium-scale testing facility with high aspect ratio (height/radius = 19) and from numerical modeling of a water column agree well with paramters of in-situ detected convection cells.     

陆面过程中稳定水同位素逐日变化的数学模拟——引入稳定同位素效应的CLM实例分析

将稳定同位素效应引入CLM(Community Land Model),并对巴西马瑙斯站在平衡年的稳定水同位素的逐日变化进行模拟和分析.结果表明: 降水、水汽和地表径流中δ18O存在明显的季节变化,并与相应的水量存在显著的负相关关系,但凝结物中δ18O与地面凝结量存在显著的正相关关系,蒸发水汽中δ18O与蒸发量之间无显著的相关关系.受土壤贮水削峰功能的影响,表层土壤和根区水中δ18O的季节变化全无.植被层蒸发水汽中稳定同位素的丰度与大气的干湿程度存在密切联系: 当降水量少时,大气干燥,植被层的蒸发较少,植被蒸发中δ18O较高;当降水量较大时,空气湿润,植被层的蒸发量较大,蒸发中δ18O则较低.植被蒸腾中δ18O的变化与源区水体中δ18O的变化保持一致,尤其是与根区水中的δ18O.由于地下径流直接源自根区水的补充,因此,地下径流中δ18O等于根区水中的δ18O.模拟结果还显示,降水MWL (大气水线)的梯度项和常数项均比全球平均MWL略偏小.尽管主要来自降水的贡献,但地表径流和植被层水体的MWLs与降水MWL存在较大的差异,这一方面与两类水体在蒸发过程中的稳定同位素的富集作用有关,另一方面与CLM模拟的水量有关.大气水汽线与降水的MWL的梯度值相近,说明大气水汽与降水近似处于稳定同位素平衡状态.另外,模拟的地面的凝结线与植被层的凝结线均与全球大气水线相近,且具有非常高相关程度,说明CLM的模拟是合理的.     

松花江哈尔滨段河床冲积物与沙尘天气关系的讨论

笔者重点分析了哈尔滨河床冲积物的粒度组成,结合沙尘沉降物的粒度组成,论述了裸露河床冲积物对沙尘天气的影响。河床冲积物及沙尘沉降物粒度分析结果显示,裸露河床冲积物粒径大于63μm的颗粒占84%以上,而小于63μm粒径的颗粒很少,小于10μm的颗粒微乎其微;沙尘沉降物中小于63μm的粉粘颗粒含量在90%以上。对河床冲积物而言,无论是砂级别的粗颗粒物质还是粉粘级别的细颗粒物质都与沙尘沉降物的粒度无相关性,对沙尘暴物质组成没有影响或影响很小。受砂级别的粗颗粒物质扬起高度和搬运距离的限制,沙尘暴发生时,裸露河床中的冲积物颗粒不会被远距离搬运而影响到整个哈尔滨地区,真正影响整个哈尔滨地区的沙尘物质是小于63μm的粉砂级别的颗粒,特别是小于10μm的粉尘。笔者认为对哈尔滨沙尘天气产生重大影响的是含有大量细颗粒物质的城市地表土和建筑土等,这些地域是防止沙尘天气的重点治理区域。     

含铀物质对有机质生烃的实验研究

采用密闭容器水热模拟实验方法,考察含铀物质对有机质热解生烃过程的影响。对热模拟实验产物分析发现,在暗色泥岩和煤岩样品中加入含铀物质后,气态烃和液态烃的生烃量都有比较明显的增加。其中煤岩的气态烃产量平均增加值为34%,而泥岩样品平均增加值也达到了30%以上。液态烃产率分析表明,含铀矿物也促进了泥岩和煤岩的液态烃产率。从泥岩氯仿沥青‘A’族组成分析表明,加入催化剂后泥岩的饱和烃和芳烃在高温阶段具有规律性的明显增大的趋势,反映出非烃和沥青质,甚至不溶有机质向相对稳定的饱和烃转化以及芳烃随演化程度增加的高聚合作用。综合以上分析,认为放射性铀对油气生成具有氧化催化作用。     

中国对虾血细胞酶细胞化学的初步研究

运用电镜酶细胞化学技术 ,对中国对虾 (Penaeus chinensis)的血细胞和血清中的酚氧化酶、酸性磷酸酶、碱性磷酸酶和过氧化物酶的酶活性部位进行标记。实验结果显示 :酚氧化酶主要以酶原形式存在于大颗粒细胞的颗粒体中 ,酸性磷酸酶和碱性磷酸酶以酶原形式存在于小颗粒细胞的颗粒体中。健康虾和患病虾血细胞中酶活性的表现形式不尽相同 ,在病理情况下 ,颗粒细胞能以细胞解体的方式 ,排出细胞内的颗粒 ,转化成有活性的酶 ,以此提高血淋巴中这几种酶的活性。透明细胞可以吞噬排放颗粒后的颗粒细胞 ,透明细胞中由高尔基体合成的酸性磷酸酶等溶酶体酶主要用于透明细胞的细胞内消化作用。研究认为 :3种血细胞因含有不同的免疫酶以及酶的作用方式不同而具有不同的免疫功能     

基于生物信息学探讨骨质疏松症与2型糖尿病的关系

目的：基于生物信息学探讨骨质疏松症与 2 型糖尿病的关系。方法：通过基因表达汇编（GEO）数据库检索骨质疏松症和2型糖尿病的相关数据集,并筛选骨质疏松症-2型糖尿病共同差异表达基因,将数据导入STRING数据库找寻关键基因,以一个单细胞测序数据集作为检验集验证关键基因细胞层面的表达水平,对筛选结果进行基因本体（GO）功能及京都基因与基因组百科全书（KEGG）通路富集分析,并对关键靶点、相关中药进行频数统计及功效分类。结果：骨质疏松症与 2 型糖尿病相关通路集中在 ErbB信号通路、丝活化蛋白激酶（MAPK）信号通路、神经营养素信号通路、NOD样受体信号通路。频数统计结果显示,与骨质疏松症-2型糖尿病关键基因相关的中药有51味,以功效分类,可分为清热解毒药、止痛药、祛风药、补虚药、止呕药。结论：骨质疏松症和2型糖尿病都是复杂的代谢性疾病,涉及众多基因表达网络和信号通路。尽管两种疾病存在复杂的基因网络背景,但是分析结果表明两种疾病之间仍存在高度重合的差异基因表达和信号通路。这表明两种疾病的分子机制密切相关,可能存在共同调控的靶点,因此这些靶点可能成为药物同时干预两种疾病的治疗靶点。