Laboratory kinetics of C2H radical reactions with ethane, propane, and n-butane at T = 96-296 K: implications for Titan

The kinetics of the reactions of C₂H radical with ethane (k₁), propane (k₂), and n-butane (k₃) are studied over the temperature range of T = 96-296 K with a pulsed Laval nozzle apparatus that utilizes a pulsed laser photolysis-chemiluminescence technique. The C₂H decay profiles in the presence of both the alkane reactant and O₂ are monitored by the CH(A²Δ) chemiluminescence tracer method. The results, together with available literature data, yield the following Arrhenius expressions: k₁(T) = (0.51 ± 0.06) × 10⁻¹⁰ exp[(−76 ± 30)K/T] cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ (T = 96-800 K), k₂(T) = (0.98 ± 0.32) × 10⁻¹⁰exp[(−71 ± 60)K/T] cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ (T = 96-361 K), and k₃(T) = (1.23 ± 0.26) × 10⁻¹⁰ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ (T = 96-297 K). At T = 296 K, k₁ is measured as a function of total pressure and has little or no pressure dependence. The results from this work support a direct hydrogen abstraction mechanism for the title reactions. Implications to the atmospheric chemistry of Titan are discussed.     

Climate change and human impact in a sensitive ecosystem: the Holocene environment of the Northwest Icelandic highland margin

Complex interactions of climate and volcanic activity have shaped the environment of Iceland during the Holocene. Palaeoecological records from Iceland offer a unique look at a Holocene environment that was uninhabited by humans and free of mammal herbivores until about AD 870. We present a new reconstruction of Holocene vegetation and landscape dynamics from a small lake, Barðalækjartjörn, located near the highland margin in Northwest Iceland. A multi‐proxy approach was used to reconstruct vegetation based on pollen and plant macrofossil analysis and landscape stability based on lithological proxies. The record covers the period c. 10 300–200 cal. a BP. For the first two millennia aeolian processes probably played a part in vegetation development. This period is characterized by high input of minerogenic material into the lake and a vegetation assemblage in which plants tolerant of aeolian deposition are prominent. Betula pubescens woodland reached a maximum between c. 7400 and 6500 cal. a BP. Betula nana‐dominated dwarf shrub heath replaced woodland after c. 4000 cal. a BP, following the onset of Neoglaciation. Land use following human settlement caused an environmental shift at the highland margin. Betula pubescens probably disappeared from the vicinity of the lake soon thereafter. Large‐scale soil erosion began at c. 1000 cal. a BP in the wake of human activities, such as introduction of grazing livestock and woodcutting. This study offers an important long‐term perspective of the development of the highland ecosystem under both wholly natural and human‐influenced conditions.     

A novel methodological approach for land subsidence prediction through data assimilation techniques

Computational Geosciences - Anthropogenic land subsidence can be evaluated and predicted by numerical models, which are often built over deterministic analyses. However, uncertainties and...     

Effects of Interference and Oxidation on the UV/Visible Rejection Properties of Filters for Soft X-ray Detectors

We report on UV/Visible transmission measurements of aluminum coated Lexan filters designed as UV blocking filters for soft x-ray detectors. Transmission of the filters in the 2300-8000 Å wavelength range is significantly higher than expected. It cannot be accounted for applying a simple slab model of the transmission and adopting material properties reported in the literature. We show that this is due to interference effects which are strongly dependent on the filter geometry, and to oxidation of exposed aluminum surfaces and/or chemical interaction with the plastic support. The results of this work have led to the redesign of the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility High Resolution Camera UV blocking filters.     

Evaluation of MIVIS Hyperspectral Data for Mapping Soil Degradation in an Upland Ecosystem of Southern Italy

Abstract

This paper describes the first stage of an experiment aiming to evaluate the potential and limitations of MIVIS data for mapping the degradational state of soils in a sub‐scene of a southern Apennines study area (Italy). After radiometric rectification of the image data and the collection of a field/laboratory spectral library, linear spectral mixture modelling (SMA) was used to decompose image spectra into fractions of spectrally distinct mixing components. Spectral endmember selection was based upon a principal component analysis (PCA) applied to a set of soil spectra, collected from the spectral library. The resulting abundance estimates (fractions) trough SMA were then analysed to identify soil conditions and to obtain an improved measure of dry and green vegetation cover. A map of soil conditions and dry‐green vegetation abundance, based upon MIVIS data was then derived from normalised fractions of soil‐vegetation endmembers obtained from SMA.     

Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes from the Radicofani Volcano, Central Italy: constraints on heterogeneities in a veined mantle responsible for the shift from ultrapotassic shoshonite to basaltic andesite magmas in a post-collisional setting

The Radicofani Volcano is characterised by few lava flows, a cinder cone and a denudated neck, and is part of the Tuscan Magmatic Province, the northernmost volcanic region of the Italian peninsula. In spite of the short time span of activity, a large time-dependant chemical and isotopic variability is observed. Most of the rocks of the Radicofani volcano are ultrapotassic shoshonites associated to younger basaltic andesites, found at the bottom of the neck. K₂O contents are positively correlated with trace element and isotopic variations. Shoshonitic and high-K calc-alkaline rocks of the Radicofani volcano are significantly different from shoshonites occurring in association with leucite-bearing ultrapotassic rocks in the southernmost portion of the Roman Magmatic Province. The studied rocks are characterised by high, but variable, levels of incompatible trace elements with a subduction-related signature, with troughs at Ba, Ta, Nb, and Ti, and peaks at Cs, K, Th, U, and Pb. Initial values of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr range from 0.71333 to 0.71588, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ranges from 0.512050 to 0.512183, while the lead isotope ratios vary between 18.672 and 18.716 for ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, 15.665 to 15.696 for ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, and 39.981 to 39.081 for ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb. Ultrapotassic shoshonites show the highest incompatible trace element contents coupled with the highest ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and the lowest ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd. On the basis of geochemical and isotopic signatures it is argued that magmas were generated in a modified lithospheric peridotitic source containing metasomatic veins generated by K-rich melts from recycled sediments within the mantle via subduction. A further metasomatic event generated by slab-derived fluids pervasively enriched the peridotitic source. Partial melting of the veins produced leucite-free ultrapotassic magmas (i.e. lamproite), and was triggered by rising of the isotherms after the orogenic front migrated eastward in the Italian Peninsula. Further rise of the isotherms induced larger degrees of partial melting inducing melting of the surrounding wall peridotite. The variation of the degree of partial melting of such a heterogeneous peridotitic source produced a wide spectrum of magma compositions, which mimic a mixing line between two components: ultrapotassic magma from partial melting of the metasomatic vein and a basaltic andesitic magma from partial melting of the surrounding peridotite.     

Analysis of the institutional and social responses to the eruption and the lahars of Mount Pinatubo volcano from 1991 to 1998 (Central Luzon, Philippines)

Mount Pinatubo volcano erupted in June 1991 in the main island of Luzon belonging to the Philippines archipelago. Huge economic losses and population exodus have followed. This major crisis has been relayed with other crises due to rain-fed lahars which have been supplied with eruption deposits. These lahars have occurred every year since 1991 during the rainy season. They will probably last until 2005. After a brief presentation of the Philippine official response system to disasters, this paper draws up a critical analysis of the different kinds of institutional and social responses deployed to manage the different crisis and post-crisis phases of this event. Based on three viewpoints: from population, media and other actors, this analysis attempts to point out the strengths and weaknesses of the official management system, especially by studying the efficiency and the range of the solutions taken. So, it appears that the management of the June 1991 main crisis (eruption) was a success. On the other hand, difficulties have occurred with lahars risk management. Indeed, these lahars have obliged the authorities to protect and relocate thousands of people. In spite of persistent problems, the management system (monitoring/warning/evacuation) of lahar crises improves year after year. Failures appear especially within the rehabilitation program (protection/rehousing). Many direct (lack of means, preparedness, coordination, dialog, etc.) and indirect (politico-administrative, socio-economic, cultural contexts) factors come together to lock the wheels of the institutional response system. They defer the socio-economic start of this vital northern Philippines area. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Strong slope-aspect control of regolith thickness by bedrock foliation

The porous near-surface layer of the Earth's crust – the critical zone – constitutes a vital reservoir of water for ecosystems, provides baseflow to streams, guides recharge to deep aquifers, filters contaminants from groundwater, and regulates the long-term evolution of landscapes. Recent work suggests that the controls on regolith thickness include climate, tectonics, lithology, and vegetation. However, the relative paucity of observations of regolith structure and properties at landscape scales means that theoretical models of critical zone structure are incompletely tested. Here we present seismic refraction and electrical resistivity surveys that thoroughly characterize subsurface structure in a small catchment in the Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona, USA, where slope-aspect effects on regolith structure are expected based on differences in vegetation. Our results show a stark contrast in physical properties and inferred regolith thickness on opposing slopes, but in the opposite sense of that expected from environmental models and observed vegetation patterns. Although vegetation (as expressed by normalized difference vegetation index [NDVI]) is denser on the north-facing slope, regolith on the south-facing slope is four times thicker (as indicated by lower seismic velocities and resistivities). This contrast cannot be explained by variations in topographic stress or conventional hillslope morphology models. Instead, regolith thickness appears to be controlled by metamorphic foliation: regolith is thicker where foliation dips into the topography, and thinner where foliation is nearly parallel to the surface. We hypothesize that, in this catchment, hydraulic conductivity and infiltration capacity control weathering: infiltration is hindered and regolith is thin where foliation is parallel to the surface topography, whereas water infiltrates deeper and regolith is thicker where foliation intersects topography at a substantial angle. These results suggest that bedrock foliation, and perhaps by extension sedimentary layering, can control regolith thickness and must be accounted for in models of critical zone development. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geomasking sensitive health data and privacy protection: an evaluation using an E911 database

Geomasking is used to provide privacy protection for individual address information while maintaining spatial resolution for mapping purposes. Donut geomasking and other random perturbation geomasking algorithms rely on the assumption of a homogeneously distributed population to calculate displacement distances, leading to possible under-protection of individuals when this condition is not met. Using household data from 2007, we evaluated the performance of donut geomasking in Orange County, North Carolina. We calculated the estimated k-anonymity for every household based on the assumption of uniform household distribution. We then determined the actual k-anonymity by revealing household locations contained in the county E911 database. Census block groups in mixed-use areas with high population distribution heterogeneity were the most likely to have privacy protection below selected criteria. For heterogeneous populations, we suggest tripling the minimum displacement area in the donut to protect privacy with a less than 1% error rate.     

Interaction of the sea breeze with a river breeze in an area of complex coastal heating

A three-dimensional finite-element mesoscale model is used to study the interaction of two different but related mesoscale phenomena in an area having a complex pattern of surface heating. The model simulations have been compared with temperature and wind fields observed on a typical fall day during the Kennedy Space Center Atmospheric Boundary Layer Experiment on the east coast of Florida.Numerical results and observations both show that the meso- scale flow field is significantly modified from the conventional coastal-flow patterns by the smaller meso- scale irregular geographic features in this area. A local river breeze is observed to develop around the Indian River almost the same time as the Atlantic sea breeze. A comparison of the sea and the river breezes shows a large difference in their horizontal circulations but only slight differences in their vertical scales. The sea breeze intensifies more rapidly than the river breeze, so that a lag of 1 to 1.5 h exists between their most developed stages. The river breeze is relatively stationary, whereas the sea breeze propagates inland, with an eventual merger of the two circulations occurring about 6–8 h after their onset.Different synoptic wind regimes create different flow structures. Well-defined sea- and river-breeze circulations become established under calm, weak offshore, and weak alongshore synoptic-wind conditions. Maximum vertical velocities occur in the sea-breeze front (river-breeze front) in the cases of calm (offshore winds). The sea breeze and the river breeze are weaker when the synoptic winds are stronger.Finally, the results from numerical experiments designed to isolate the rivers' effect indicate that the convergence in the sea-breeze front is suppressed when it passes over the cooler surface of the rivers.Journal Paper No. J-14150 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa, Project No. 2779