Absolute spectrophotometry of Neptune: 3390 to 7800 Å

Absolute spectrophotometry of Neptune from 3390 to 7800 Å, with spectral resolution of 10 Å in the interval 3390–6055 and 20 Å in the interval 6055–7800 Å, is reported. The results are compared with filter photometry (Appleby, 1973; Wamsteker, 1973; Savage et al., 1980) and with synthetic spectra computed on the basis of a parameterization proposed by Podolak and Danielson (1977) for aerosol scattering and absorption. A CH₄/H₂ ratio of is derived for the convectively mixed part of Neptune's atmosphere, and constrains optical properties of hypothetical aerosol layers.     

Mussels document loss of bioavailable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the return to baseline conditions for oiled shorelines in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were measured in mussels (Mytilus trossulus) collected between 1990 and 2002 from 11 sites on the shores of Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska, that were heavily oiled by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS). This study, utilizing the methods of the NOAA Status and Trends Mussel Watch Program, found that concentrations of PAH released from spill remnants have decreased dramatically with time and by 2002 were at or near the range of total PAH (TPAH) of 3-355 ng/g dry weight obtained for mussels from unoiled reference sites in PWS. Time-series TPAH data indicate a mean TPAH half-life in mussel tissues of 2.4 years with a range from 1.4 to 5.3, yielding an annual mean loss of bioaccumulated TPAH of 25%. The petroleum-derived TPAH fraction in mussel tissues has decreased with time, reflecting the decreasing release of EVOS residues in shoreline sediments. These results show that PAH from EVOS residues that remain buried in shoreline sediments after the early 1990s are in a form and at locations that have a low accessibility to mussels living in the intertidal zone.     

Absolute spectrophotomery of comets 1973XII and 1975IX: II. Profiles of the Swan bands

Absolute spectrophotometric measurements of the Swan bands of two comets have been compared with computed synthetic spectra using modern Franck-Condon and Hönl-London factors, and varying rotational, vibrational, and electronic excitation temperatures. Rotational and vibrational temperatures were obtained for the comets. Although the electronic excitation temperature and the molecular column density cannot be separated, a relationship is found between these two quantities. A review is made of recent determinations of column densities for CN in comets.     

Numerical modelling of water spray barriers for dispersing dense gases

A depth-integrated numerical model is used to calculate the behavior of heavy and cold gas clouds subjected to the diluting influence of a water spray curtain. The model includes the physics of a cold cloud heated by the ground which entrains moist air. Entrainment velocities are influenced by cloud stratification. Laboratory water-curtain trials are predicted accurately. The model reveals the influence of curtain placement, width of spray, spray strength and thermal effects on the efficacy of the water curtain to mitigate potential hazards.Professor, Civil Engineering.Research Associate, Civil Engineering.     

Ground-based remote sensing of the atmospheric boundary layer: 25 years of progress

The role of ground-based remote sensors in boundary-layer research is reviewed, emphasizing the contributions of radars, sodars, and lidars. The review begins with a brief comparison of the state of remote sensors in boundary-layer research 25 years ago with its present-day status. Next, a summary of the current capabilities of remote sensors for boundary-layer studies demonstrates that for boundary-layer depth and for profiles of many mean quantities, remote sensors offer some of the most accurate measurements available. Similar accuracies are in general not found for most turbulence parameters. Important contributions of remote sensors to our understanding of the structure and dynamics of various boundary-layer phenomena or processes are then discussed, including the sea breeze, convergence boundaries, dispersion, and boundary-layer cloud systems. The review concludes with a discussion of the likely future role of remote sensors in boundary-layer research.     

Building comparable global change vulnerability assessments: The vulnerability scoping diagram

Advancing vulnerability science depends in part on identifying common themes from multiple, independent vulnerability assessments. Such insights are difficult to produce when the assessments use dissimilar, often qualitative, measures. The Vulnerability Scoping Diagram is presented to facilitate the comparison of assessments with dissimilar measures. The diagram is illustrated with recent research on drought vulnerabilities, showing that common insights into vulnerability may emerge if independent research teams use a common structure for organizing information about exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity—even if the underlying measures differ between assessments. Broadly adopting this technique, which is grounded in the “Eight Steps” methodological protocol [Schröter, D., Polsky, C., Patt, A., 2005. Assessing vulnerabilities to the effects of global change: an eight step approach. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 10(4), 573–595], will enable a vulnerability meta-analysis, the lessons from which may permit places to identify helpful adaptation or mitigation options without first having to conduct their own vulnerability assessments.     

Phthalate ester plasticizers,DDT, DDE and polychlorinated biphenyls in biota from the Gulf of Mexico

The levels of phthalate ester plasticizers, DDT, DDE and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in the tissues of 18 species of marine organisms from the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Low levels of the most widely used phthalate, di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, were found in the majority of the samples; no other phthalates were detected. DDT, DDE and PCBs were found in all samples, but at somewhat lower levels than those found in our 1971 survey. A decrease in p,p′-DDT/p,p′-DDE ratios relative to 1971 was also noted.     

Pilot study experiments sourcing quartzite,Gunnison Basin,Colorado

This paper reports the results of pilot‐study efforts to develop methods to profile quartzite, a rock type to which geochemical and other sourcing techniques have only rarely been applied. The long‐term goal of the research is to fingerprint sources of quartzite in the Gunnison Basin, southwest Colorado, used by Paleoindian people ca. 11,500–8,000 years ago to make stone tools. Success would facilitate reconstruction of Paleoindian mobility in the Southern Rocky Mountains and potentially anywhere prehistoric people used quartzite. The goals of this paper are more modest: to demonstrate that a small‐scale exploration of sourcing techniques suggests reason for optimism that quartzites may be amenable to source discrimination. For the same twenty Gunnison Basin quartzite samples, this study evaluated petrography, ultraviolet fluorescence (UVF), wavelength dispersive X‐ray fluorescence (WD‐XRF), instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry—both acid‐digestion (AD‐ICP‐MS) and laser ablation (LA‐ICP‐MS)—as means to differentiate among the specimens and the sources they represent. Although more testing is needed to verify and refine our results, the study suggests there is potential for petrography, INAA, and both versions of ICP‐MS to discriminate among quartzites from different source localities in the Gunnison Basin. The greatest potential for discriminating among different sources of quartzite in the Gunnison Basin may lie in a methodology combining petrographic analysis and LA‐ICPMS. Future testing is required to evaluate this two‐fold approach. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.