Using GPS multipath to measure soil moisture fluctuations: initial results

Measurements of soil moisture are important for studies of climate and weather forecasting, flood prediction, and aquifer recharge studies. Although soil moisture measurement networks exist, most are sparsely distributed and lack standardized instrumentation. Measurements of soil moisture from satellites have extremely large spatial footprints (40–60 km). A methodology is described here that uses existing networks of continuously-operating GPS receivers to measure soil moisture fluctuations. In this technique, incoming signals are reflected off and attenuated by the ground before reception by the GPS receiver. These multipath reflections directly affect signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) data routinely collected by GPS receivers, creating amplitude variations that are a function of ground reflectivity and therefore soil moisture content. After describing this technique, multipath reflection amplitudes at a GPS site in Tashkent, Uzbekistan are compared to estimates of soil moisture from the Noah land surface model. Although the GPS multipath amplitudes and the land surface model are uncalibrated, over the 70-day period studied, they both rise sharply following each rainfall event and slowly decrease over a period of ∼10 days.     

Remote spectroscopic identification of carbonaceous chondrite mineralogies: Applications to Ceres and Pallas

High-resolution spectroscopic observations of asteroids Ceres and Pallas have been obtained in the 1.0- to 2.6-μm region. Combined with previous spectralmeasurements at other wavelengths, this work presents the broadband spectral reflectances of these asteroids over the 0.4 to 3.6-um region. This extended coverage permits new analyses of the surface mineralogies of these objects. Using laboratory comparison spectra of meteorites and mixtures of terrestrial minerals, the surfaces of Ceres and Pallas are consistent with mixtures of opaques and hydrated silicates, such as are found in types C1 and C2 meteorites. This research emphasizes the importance of the 3-um spectral region for studying by remote methods the relationship of carbonaceous chondrite mineralogies to asteroid surfaces.     

Numerical study of droplet size dependent chemistry in oceanic,wintertime stratus cloud at southern mid-latitudes

Cloud droplet chemistry is modelled for the first 150 m of rise in a wintertime, mid-latitude, marine stratus cloud using observations made at and near the Cape Grim Baseline Station as a source of input parameters. The emphasis in this work was to study the variation in droplet chemistry as a function of both droplet size and nucleus composition, with a particular focus on the way in which oxidation of dissolved sulfur dioxide varied.At 150 m above the condensation level, solute concentration as a function of droplet size was found to increase by as much as 2 to 3 orders of magnitude for only a factor of 2 increase in droplet radius, primarily as a consequence of the 1/r dependence in the droplet growth equation. This type of size dependence exists at all levels in the model cloud, and has a significant influence on oxidation rate of sulfur dioxide in droplets growing on sulfate nuclei, oxidation by ozone being favoured in the smallest droplets, but oxidation by hydrogen peroxide being favoured in the larger droplets. Oxidation by ozone is favoured at all sizes in droplets formed on sea-salt nuclei as a result of the initially high alkalinity of these droplets, and in the cloud overall is calculated to be the more important oxidation pathway. Although based on a simplified chemical scheme, these results suggest that both size-dependent and nucleus-dependent chemistry of cloud droplets may need to be considered explicitly in cloud modelling work.Volume-weighted mean pH values in the range 5 to 6 were predicted from sensitivity studies in which input variables were varied over reasonable ranges, in agreement with two sets of bulk cloud-water pH data obtained by aircraft near Cape Grim.     

Upper limits to trace constituents in Jupiter's atmosphere from an analysis of its 5-μm spectrum

A high-resolution (0.6 cm^?1) spectrum of Jupiter at 5 μm recorded at the Kuiper Airborne Observatory is used to determine upper limits to the column density of 19 molecules. The upper limits to the mixing ratios of SiH₄, H₂S, HCN, and simple hydrocarbons are discussed with respect to current models of Jupiter's atmosphere. These upper limits are compared to expectations based upon the solar abundance of the elements. This analysis permits upper limit measurements (SiH₄), or actual detections (GeH₄), of molecules with mixing ratios with hydrogen as low as 10^?9. In future observations at 5 μm the sensitivity of remote spectroscopic analyses should permit the study of constituents with mixing ratios as low as 10^?10, which would include the hydrides of such elements as Sn and As as well as numerous organic molecules.     

Mid‐Miocene initiation of E‐W extension and recoupling of the Himalaya

The Tibetan plateau is host to numerous ~N‐S striking graben that have accommodated E‐W directed extension. The development of these structures has been interpreted to reflect a variety of different geological processes including plateau collapse, oroclinal bending or mid‐to‐lower crustal flow. New ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar thermochronology and quartz c‐axis data from the Thakkhola graben of west‐central Nepal show that E‐W extension was ongoing at least locally by the early Miocene (ca. 17 Ma). Our new, and previously published chronologic information on the initiation of graben across the orogen shows that they typically developed immediately after cessation of the South Tibetan detachment system, a structural network that facilitated differential southward movement of the upper and middle crust. We interpret this fundamental switch in orogen kinematics to reflect recoupling of the middle and upper Himalayan crust such that the subsequent widespread flow of the mid‐to‐lower crust out of the system to the east forced brittle accommodation in the upper crust.     

Oxygen‐18 dynamics in precipitation and streamflow in a semi‐arid agricultural watershed,Eastern Washington,USA

Understanding flow pathways and mechanisms that generate streamflow is important to understanding agrochemical contamination in surface waters in agricultural watersheds. Two environmental tracers, δ¹⁸O and electrical conductivity (EC), were monitored in tile drainage (draining 12 ha) and stream water (draining nested catchments of 6‐5700 ha) from 2000 to 2008 in the semi‐arid agricultural Missouri Flat Creek (MFC) watershed, near Pullman Washington, USA. Tile drainage and streamflow generated in the watershed were found to have baseline δ¹⁸O value of ?14·7‰ (VSMOW) year round. Winter precipitation accounted for 67% of total annual precipitation and was found to dominate streamflow, tile drainage, and groundwater recharge. ‘Old’ and ‘new’ water partitioning in streamflow were not identifiable using δ¹⁸O, but seasonal shifts of nitrate‐corrected EC suggest that deep soil pathways primarily generated summer streamflow (mean EC 250 µS/cm) while shallow soil pathways dominated streamflow generation during winter (EC declining as low as 100 µS/cm). Using summer isotopic and EC excursions from tile drainage in larger catchment (4700‐5700 ha) stream waters, summer in‐stream evaporation fractions were estimated to be from 20% to 40%, with the greatest evaporation occurring from August to October. Seasonal watershed and environmental tracer dynamics in the MFC watershed appeared to be similar to those at larger watershed scales in the Palouse River basin. A 0·9‰ enrichment, in shallow groundwater drained to streams (tile drainage and soil seepage), of δ¹⁸O values from 2000 to 2008 may be evidence of altered precipitation conditions due to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) in the Inland Northwest. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The feeding and growth of the sea nettle,Chrysaora quinquecirrha (Desor), in the laboratory

The sea nettle,Chrysaora quinquecirrha, can capture ctenophore prey on its exumbrella, tentacles, and oral arms. Once attached to the medusa, the prey is transferred to the oral arms, where it becomes enveloped by the lip-like folds of the oral arms. The oral arms move the prey as far proximally as possible by ciliary creeping and muscular contractions. If the prey is too large to enter the stomach, it is digested within the oral arms by extracellular, proteolytic enzymes that probably originate from the gastrodermis of the oral arms and/or from the gastric cirri. Several large ctenophores can be digested simultaneously, owing to the extensive surface areas of the oral arms. Of the threeC. quinquecirrha medusae maintained in the laboratory for up to 60 d, the smaller two specimens (25–150 g wet weight) showed a biomass doubling in ～14 d; the largest specimen (300 g), a sexually mature female, showed little growth but did release >100 ova 24 h^?1. Growth efficiencies were estimated to be ～2% for the largest specimen (not including biomass of gametes) and ～10% for the smaller two specimens. These growth efficiencies are comparable to those of other gelatinous predators.     

In situ feeding rates of the ctenophoreMnemiopsis mccradyi

Prey ingested byMnemiopsis mccradyi collected in Link Port (Indian River, east coast of central Florida) consisted mostly of copepod nauplii, barnacle nauplii, bivalve veligers, and adult copepods (Acartia sp.,Oithona sp.); abundances in that order. Compared to relative in situ densities, there was an increased consumption of barnacle nauplii, bivalve veligers, andAcartia sp., and a decreasesed consumption of copepod nauplii andOithona sp., implying that prey selection had occurred. In situ clearance rates (based on numbers of ingested prey, digestion rates, and in situ prey densities) forM. mccradyi (5 cm mean length) were 0.1 to 1.31 h^?1 individual^?1, depending on prey taxon. These rates are less than those measured previously in the laboratory; however, it is not possible to state if this difference is statistically significant.     

Radon 222 measurements below 4 km as related to atmospheric convection

Summary Radon (Rn²²²) profiles were made over southwest Arizona from 300 m to 4km altitude. A temperature inversion near 2000 m and a stable radon concentration averaging 32.0 pc m^–3 at 2000 m were characteristic of morning flights. At 300 m there was a definite pattern of high radon concentrations in the early morning and lower concentrations by noon. At 760 m the radon concentration increased between the times of ascent and descent. This pattern resulted from the trapping of radon close to the ground during stable night-time conditions and its subsequent upward dispersal with solar heating. The day-to-day variation in radon concentrations at higher levels cannot be attributed to local upward transport by diffusion but must have resulted from larger scale circulations. Above 2000 m there are no conclusive differences between morning, afternoon and evening profiles. Low concentrations of radon were measured during one late evening profile when there was definite subsidence and advection of drier air into the region.