Wind-tunnel Modelling of Dispersion from a Scalar Area Source in Urban-Like Roughness

A wind-tunnel study was conducted to investigate ventilation of scalars from urban-like geometries at neighbourhood scale by exploring two different geometries a uniform height roughness and a non-uniform height roughness, both with an equal plan and frontal density of λ _p = λ _f = 25%. In both configurations a sub-unit of the idealized urban surface was coated with a thin layer of naphthalene to represent area sources. The naphthalene sublimation method was used to measure directly total area-averaged transport of scalars out of the complex geometries. At the same time, naphthalene vapour concentrations controlled by the turbulent fluxes were detected using a fast Flame Ionisation Detection (FID) technique. This paper describes the novel use of a naphthalene coated surface as an area source in dispersion studies. Particular emphasis was also given to testing whether the concentration measurements were independent of Reynolds number. For low wind speeds, transfer from the naphthalene surface is determined by a combination of forced and natural convection. Compared with a propane point source release, a 25% higher free stream velocity was needed for the naphthalene area source to yield Reynolds-number-independent concentration fields. Ventilation transfer coefficients w _T /U derived from the naphthalene sublimation method showed that, whilst there was enhanced vertical momentum exchange due to obstacle height variability, advection was reduced and dispersion from the source area was not enhanced. Thus, the height variability of a canopy is an important parameter when generalising urban dispersion. Fine resolution concentration measurements in the canopy showed the effect of height variability on dispersion at street scale. Rapid vertical transport in the wake of individual high-rise obstacles was found to generate elevated point-like sources. A Gaussian plume model was used to analyse differences in the downstream plumes. Intensified lateral and vertical plume spread and plume dilution with height was found for the non-uniform height roughness.     

Big Data Analytics for Earth Sciences: the EarthServer approach

Big Data Analytics is an emerging field since massive storage and computing capabilities have been made available by advanced e-infrastructures. Earth and Environmental sciences are likely to benefit from Big Data Analytics techniques supporting the processing of the large number of Earth Observation datasets currently acquired and generated through observations and simulations. However, Earth Science data and applications present specificities in terms of relevance of the geospatial information, wide heterogeneity of data models and formats, and complexity of processing. Therefore, Big Earth Data Analytics requires specifically tailored techniques and tools. The EarthServer Big Earth Data Analytics engine offers a solution for coverage-type datasets, built around a high performance array database technology, and the adoption and enhancement of standards for service interaction (OGC WCS and WCPS). The EarthServer solution, led by the collection of requirements from scientific communities and international initiatives, provides a holistic approach that ranges from query languages and scalability up to mobile access and visualization. The result is demonstrated and validated through the development of lighthouse applications in the Marine, Geology, Atmospheric, Planetary and Cryospheric science domains.     

Hydrologic Sensitivity of Global Rivers to Climate Change

Climate predictions from four state-of-the-art general circulation models (GCMs) were used to assess the hydrologic sensitivity to climate change of nine large, continental river basins (Amazon, Amur, Mackenzie, Mekong, Mississippi, Severnaya Dvina, Xi, Yellow, Yenisei). The four climate models (HCCPR-CM2, HCCPR-CM3, MPI-ECHAM4, and DOE-PCM3) all predicted transient climate response to changing greenhouse gas concentrations, and incorporated modern land surface parameterizations. Model-predicted monthly average precipitation and temperature changes were downscaled to the river basin level using model increments (transient minus control) to adjust for GCM bias. The variable infiltration capacity (VIC) macroscale hydrological model (MHM) was used to calculate the corresponding changes in hydrologic fluxes (especially streamflow and evapotranspiration) and moisture storages. Hydrologic model simulations were performed for decades centered on 2025 and 2045. In addition, a sensitivity study was performed in which temperature and precipitation were increased independently by 2 °C and 10%, respectively, during each of four seasons. All GCMs predict a warming for all nine basins, with the greatest warming predicted to occur during the winter months in the highest latitudes. Precipitation generally increases, but the monthly precipitation signal varies more between the models than does temperature. The largest changes in the hydrological cycle are predicted for the snow-dominated basins of mid to higher latitudes. This results in part from the greater amount of warming predicted for these regions, but more importantly, because of the important role of snow in the water balance. Because the snow pack integrates the effects of climate change over a period of months, the largest changes occur in early to mid spring when snow melt occurs. The climate change responses are somewhat different for the coldest snow dominated basins than for those with more transitional snow regimes. In the coldest basins, the response to warming is an increase of the spring streamflow peak, whereas for the transitional basins spring runoff decreases. Instead, the transitional basins have large increases in winter streamflows. The hydrological response of most tropical and mid-latitude basins to the warmer and somewhat wetter conditions predicted by the GCMs is a reduction in annual streamflow, although again, considerable disagreement exists among the different GCMs. In contrast, for the high-latitude basins increases in annual flow volume are predicted in most cases.     

Models of thermal conductivity of crystalline rocks

A numerical model of a rock sample provides estimates of conductivity related to mineral content that are very close to estimates provided by previous models. For any given volumetric mineral content conductivity may vary slightly, depending on the crystal arrangement and the crystal size. Order of crystallisation of the minerals causes differences of conductivity of less than 2%. Crystal size from small to up to 75% of the sample size creates differences in conductivity of the sample of about 3%. Disagreement of calculated values based on surface point-count of mineral content with measured values of the samples is up to 35%, which is attributed to the inability of one surface to adequately represent the volumetric mineral content.     

Structural health monitoring of bridges in the State of Connecticut

A joint effort between the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the University of Connecticut has been underway for more than 20 years to utilize various structural monitoring approaches to assess different bridges in Connecticut. This has been done to determine the performance of existing bridges, refine techniques needed to evaluate different bridge components, and develop approaches that can be used to provide a continuous status of a bridge＇s structural integrity. This paper briefly introduces the background of these studies, with emphasis on recent research and the development of structural health monitoring concepts. This paper presents the results from three different bridge types： a post-tensioned curved concrete box girder bridge, a curved steel box-girder bridge, and a steel multi-girder bridge. The structural health monitoring approaches to be discussed have been successfully tested using field data collected during multi-year monitoring periods, and are based on vibrations, rotations and strains. The goal has been to develop cost-effective strategies to provide critical information needed to manage the State of Connecticut＇s bridge infrastructure.     

Crustal Electrical Conductivity Structure of Southern Tibet from Magnetotelluric Survey

INTRODUCTIONAsatypicalintercontinent collisionarea ,Tibetanplateauisapresentlypopularregionnoticedbygeoscientistsallovertheworld ,sinceitisanidealandnaturallabforthestudyofthegeologicalevolutionoftheinnerlandmountain creatingzoneandoftheprocessofthecrust mantledeepdy namicsaswellasoftheinteractionbetweenthesurfaceandthecrustmovement.ThestudyoftheTibetanplateauevolutionisimportantnotonlyinsolvingsometheoreticalproblemsaboutcontinentaldynamicsandglobalchangesingeosciences ;butalsoinexplorin…     

Age and origin of agpaitic magmatism at Ilímaussaq,south Greenland: RbSr study

A RbSr whole-rock isochron gives an age of 1168±21 m.y. for the agpaitic units of Ilímaussaq, showing that this complex belongs to the main phase of Gardar igneous activity in south Greenland and is not, as previously supposed, a significantly younger intrusion. Moreover, the agpaites must have intruded very soon after the earlier augite syenite phase of Ilímaussaq. The initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of 0.7096±0.0022 for the agpaites is in marked contrast to the low (～0.703) ratio obtained for the augite syenites and suggests that selective enrichment of ⁸⁷Sr occurred by preferential leaching of radiogenic strontium from unstable positions in Rb lattice sites in older crustal material by the highly reactive agpaitic magma.     

Low- and high-alumina komatiites from a Late Archaean sequence,Newton Township,Ontario

Late Archaean komatiitic lavas from Newton Township, Ontario, consist of 6 chemically distinct magma types: 3 komatiites and 3 komatiitic basalts. The succession is unusual in containing both Al- and HREE-depleted komatiites and Al- and HREE-undepleted komatiites. The two types form distinct stratigraphic units separated by komatiitic basalts. Two komatiite types are strongly LREE depleted, whilst the third and the associated komatiitic basalts range from mildly depleted to enriched. Of the six magma types, only the two strongly LREE depleted komatiites represent primary mantle melts. The other komatiite type and the komatiitic basalts were derived from the primary komatiite magmas by combinations of olivine (+chromite) fractionation, assimilation of continental crust, and magma mixing. The two primary magmas may have been derived from similar sources, their contrasting chemistry being due to differing degrees of garnet segregation during melting. A generally applicable conclusion is that a wide range of komatiitic magma types can be generated from a relatively homogeneous depleted mantle, under conditions likely to prevail during the eruption of late Archean greenstone belt sequences.     

Strontium isotope and alkali element abundances in ultramafic rocks

The concentrations of the trace elements Na, K, Rb and Sr and the isotopic composition of Sr have been measured in a suite of ultramafic rocks, including alpine-type intrusions, inclusions in basalts and kimberlite pipes, zones from stratiform sheets, and a mica peridotite. From these data and those available in the literature the following conclusions can be drawn. Alpine-type ultramafic material appears to be residual in nature and can be neither the source material for the derivation of basalts nor the refractory residue of modern basalts. Alpine-type ultramafic intrusions appear to have no relationship with ultramafic zones in stratiform sheets and were probably derived from the upper mantle. A genetic relationship exists between basalts and their ultramafic inclusions, but it is extremely doubtful that this inclusion material could give rise to basalts by partial fusion. There is a possible genetic relationship between basalts and ultramafic inclusions in kimberlite pipes, and this ultramafic material is a potential source for the derivation of basalts. Ultramafic inclusions in basalts are probably not fragments of an alpine-type ultramafic zone in the mantle. An attempt has been made to synthesize the data and interpretations of this study by way of speculations on the role of ultramafic rocks in the differentiation history of the earth.