Interannual variability of CFC-11 absorption by the ocean: an offline model study

The global ocean Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC-11) was simulated in an offline model driven by re-analysis ocean currents in order to identify the mechanisms of interannual to interdecadal variability of air?Csea CFC fluxes. The model was forced with the observed anthropogenic perturbations of atmospheric CFC-11 from the post industrial period (1938) following the OCMIP-II flux protocols along with the observed winds from 1960 to 1999 in the formulation of surface gas exchanges. The model ocean CFC-11 inventories, at the end of 1990s, accounted approximately 1% of the total atmospheric CFC-11, which is consistent with the corresponding observations. The mid-to-high latitude oceans were venue for strong (weak) oceanic sinks (sources) of CFC-11 during the winter (summer) months. The Southern Ocean (south of 40°S) and the North Atlantic (north of 35°N) provided two largest sinks of CFC-11, through which 31.4 and 14.6% of the global ocean CFC-11 entered, respectively. The eastern tropical Pacific Ocean exhibited large interannual variability of CFC-11 flux with a strong (weak) sink during La Ni?a (El Ni?o) years and represented 36% of the global CFC-11 flux variability. The North Atlantic and Southern Ocean were found as regions of large sink efficiency: a capacity to sink more CFC than outsource, although it reduced by 80 and 70%, respectively, in the last 40?years compared to 1960. The sink to source ratio of global ocean CFC-11 fluxes were reduced from 90 to 50% in the last 40?years. This indicates a saturation of CFC in the above-thermocline subsurface that makes the upper ocean less efficient in absorbing CFC in recent decades. A positive trend in CFC sink is now limited to the Southern Ocean, central tropical Pacific and western boundary current regions which possess active upwelling of old water with long time since last atmospheric contact. However, a globally averaged trend was a reduced CFC-11 sink, by emitting 30% of the total ocean CFC-11 that was absorbed during last 40?years.     

Speciation of Arsenic Using Chelation Solvent Extraction and High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Research interest in speciation of arsenic stems from its species dependent behavior in the environment and in living organisms. The complexity of the matrix to be analyzed and low concentrations of target arsenic species that may be labile or difficult to chromatogram, indicate that a suitable pre‐treatment methodology is required. This study investigated the usefulness of chelation solvent extraction – high performance liquid chromatography (CSE‐HPLC) for the speciation of arsenic in water. It involved reacting arsenic with the chelant known for its affinity towards arsenic, followed by extraction, separation, and identification of the arsenic‐chelant‐arsenic complex. Arsenic species having different physicochemical properties were investigated. Species, such as, As₂O₃, As₃O₅, KH₂AsO₄, Na₂HAsO₄, and NaAsO₂ were detected as a group of closely eluted peaks with different retention times and spectral properties, whereas, the organic arsenic species CH₃Na₂AsO₃, o‐arsanilic acid, roxarson and triphenyl arsine separated quite well on the EnviroseP‐CM HPLC column. Key method parameters, such as, type of HPLC column, composition of mobile phase and organic solvents affecting peak resolution and sensitivity were optimized. Real environmental matrices contaminated with arsenic were analyzed under varying wavelengths (λ_max = 190, 210, 220, 234, 244, and 282 nm), with good precision. Different arsenic species were detected in these samples with excellent background and signal‐to‐noise ratios demonstrating the robustness of the method. The detection limit, reproducibility, selectivity, accuracy, and dynamic range of the calibration curves were evaluated.     

Impact of wildfire in Russia between 1998–2010 on ecosystems and the global carbon budget

Verified estimates of wildfire area and related carbon emissions in territories of Russia are reported for the period of 1998–2010. It is shown that the average burnt area is estimated to be at 8.23 million hectares per year (uncertainty ±9.0%, confidence interval 0.9), and carbon emissions—121 Tg C yr⁻¹ (±23%), with a significant interannual variability of these indicators. A quantitative characteristic of fire emissions by species is reported. Forests are a source of three quarters of all carbon emissions caused by wildfires. A significant acceleration of fire regimes is expected during the 21st century as a result of climate change in the country.     

Interannual variability of the air–sea CO2 flux in the north Indian Ocean

A simple biogeochemical model coupled to an offline ocean tracer transport model driven by reanalysis ocean data is used to simulate the seasonal and interannual CO $_2$ flux variability in the northern Indian Ocean. The maximum of seasonal and interannual CO $_2$ emission variances in the northern Indian Ocean are located in the coastal Arabian Sea (AS) and Southern Peninsular India (SP) with a basin-wide seasonal amplitude and standard deviation of 0.044 $\pm $ 0.04 Pg C year $^{-1}$ . The area integrated CO $_2$ emissions from these two regions in the model are significantly correlated (above a 95 % level) with the observations of Takahashi et al. (Deep-Sea Res-II, 56:554–577, 2009). The interannual anomalies of CO $_2$ emission from the AS and SP are found as 40 and 30 % of their respective seasonal amplitudes. Both the Arabian Sea (AS) and Southern Peninsular India (SP) interannual CO $_2$ emission anomalies show a 3–4-year variability. The correlations of AS and SP CO $_2$ emission anomalies with the Indian Ocean Dipole/Zonal Mode (IODZM) and Southern Oscillation (SO) indices from 1980 to 1999 are 0.35, 0.21 and 0.32, 0.01 respectively. A 5-year window moving correlation analysis shows that the relationship of AS and SP CO $_2$ emission to the SO and IODZM are complementary to each other. During the years when the correlation of air–sea CO $_2$ emission with the IODZM is stronger, the corresponding correlation with the SO is weaker or opposite. The total change in pCO $_2$ is broken down into changes induced by the individual components such as dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), sea surface temperature (SST), alkalinity, and salinity and found that (1) the effect of SST in the AS CO $_2$ emission increases (decreases) when the correlation of CO $_2$ emission with the IODZM is positive (negative), and (2) the SP CO $_2$ emission is strongly controlled by the circulation-driven DIC changes; however, this relation is found to be weaker when the SO correlates negatively with the SP CO $_2$ emission.     

Using the landscape map to assess the productivity of geosystems in the southern taiga of Western Siberia

The principle of structural-dynamical landscape science was used in mapping the taiga of the Ob’-Irtysh, Lower Irtysh and Tobol regions. The spatiotemporal dynamics of the regions’ geosystems is outlined, and their productivity is assessed from forest inventory data and NDVI indices as calculated on the basis of Landsat-5 TM images.     

Estimating by inverse modeling the release of radioactive substances (<Superscript>133</Superscript>Xe, <Superscript>131</Superscript>I,and <Superscript>137</Superscript>Cs) into the atmosphere from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster

The estimate of the release of radioactive substances (¹³³Xe, ¹³¹I, and ¹³⁷Cs) into the atmosphere from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster is presented. It was obtained using the FLEXPART Lagrangian dispersion model and the data of local ground-based measurements of radiation dose rate. The computation period covers the active phase of the nuclear disaster that lasted 20 days after the tsunami. To get the quantitative characteristics of emissions of radioactive substances, the inverse modeling based on the Bayesian approach is used. The emissions were estimated for three altitudes. The total emissions are equal to 2.1 + 0.4 kg (14 000 + 2700 PBq) for ¹³³Xe, (3.8 + 0.4) x 10^-2 kg (174 + + 18 PBq) for ¹³¹I, and 5.7 + 1.2 kg (18 + 4 PBq) for ¹³⁷Cs that is consistent with the results of other studies. Retrieved emissions were used to provide the forward modeling for mapping the areas of radionuclide deposition. The developed method of retrieving the emission of radioactive substances makes a useful instrument that operationally estimates and localizes the areas of potential pollution in case of nuclear accidents and could be used for making decisions on the population evacuation.     

Global Lagrangian Atmospheric Dispersion Model

The Global Lagrangian Atmospheric Dispersion Model (GLADIM) is described. GLADIM is based on the global trajectory model, which had been developed earlier and uses fields of weather parameters from different atmospheric reanalysis centers for calculations of trajectories of air mass that include trace gases. GLADIM includes the parameterization of turbulent diffusion and allows the forward calculation of concentrations of atmospheric tracers at nodes of a global regular grid when a source is specified. Thus, GLADIM can be used for the forward simulation of pollutant propagation (volcanic ash, radionuclides, and so on). Working in the reverse direction, GLADIM allows the detection of remote sources that mainly contribute to the tracer concentration at an observation point. This property of Lagrangian models is widely used for data analysis and the reverse modeling of emission sources of a pollutant specified. In this work we describe the model and some results of its validation through a comparison with results of a similar model and observation data.     

Methane emission from West Siberian forest-steppe and subtaiga reed fens

Methane emission from West Siberian forest-steppe and subtaiga reed fens (that is, fens dominated by Phragmites australis) observed in summer 2013, is considered using the static chamber method. The obtained medians of CH₄ fluxes varied from -0.08 to 2.7 mg CH₄/m² per hour. Eenvironmental factors affecting methane emission are analyzed. It was found that CH₄ emissions from the reed fens correlate only with the concentration of salt ions in the wetland water and with the plant community structure. The latter probably also depends on water salinity. It was revealed that in fens the ratio between fluxes of CH₄ and CO₂ does not depend on the water table level that contradicts the general pattern simulated by mathematical models of CH₄ emission. It was found that Phragmites australis fens and similar ecosystems should be considered as a separate wetland class from the point of view of methane emission study.     

A new map of wetlands in the southern taiga of the West Siberia for assessing the emission of methane and carbon dioxide

A typological map of wetlands in the southern taiga of West Siberia has been compiled based on high-resolution Landsat images. In accordance with the new map, the area of southern-taiga wetlands is estimated at 12.02 Mha at the total wetland area percentage in the subzone estimated at 28%. The final accuracy of determination of various wetland classes is 80%. The use of the new map improved the estimates of methane emissions from southern-taiga wetlands from 0.84 to 1.57 MtCH₄/year, i.e., by 87%. The respiration of wetland ecosystems in the southern taiga of the West Siberia is estimated at 67 MtCO₂/year.