Chemical characterization and multivariate analysis of atmospheric PM<Subscript>2.5</Subscript> particles

The new European Council Directive (PE-CONS 3696/07) frames the inhalable (PM₁₀) and fine particles (PM_2.5) on priority to chemically characterize these fractions in order to understand their possible relation with health effects. Considering this, PM_2.5 was collected during four different seasons to evaluate the relative abundance of bulk elements (Cl, S, Si, Al, Br, Cu, Fe, Ti, Ca, K, Pb, Zn, Ni, Mn, Cr and V) and water soluble ions (F⁻, Cl⁻, NO₂ ⁻, NO₃ ⁻, SO₄ ²⁻, Na⁺, NH₄ ⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺) over Menen, a Belgian city near the French border. The air quality over Menen is influenced by industrialized regions on both sides of the border. The most abundant ionic species were NO₃ ⁻, SO₄ ²⁻ and NH₄ ⁺, and they showed distinct seasonal variation. The elevated levels of NO₃ ⁻ during spring and summer were found to be related to the larger availability of the NO_x precursor. The various elemental species analyzed were distinguished into crustal and anthropogenic source categories. The dominating elements were S and Cl in the PM_2.5 particles. The anthropogenic fraction (e.g. Zn, Pb, and Cu) shows a more scattered abundance. Furthermore, the ions and elemental data were also processed using principal component analysis and cluster analysis to identify their sources and chemistry. These approach identifies anthropogenic (traffic and industrial) emissions as a major source for fine particles. The variations in the natural/anthropogenic fractions of PM_2.5 were also found to be a function of meteorological conditions as well as of long-range transport of air masses from the industrialized regions of the continent. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Sample return of interstellar matter (SARIM)

The scientific community has expressed strong interest to re-fly Stardust-like missions with improved instrumentation. We propose a new mission concept, SARIM, that collects interstellar and interplanetary dust particles and returns them to Earth. SARIM is optimised for the collection and discrimination of interstellar dust grains. Improved active dust collectors on-board allow us to perform in-situ determination of individual dust impacts and their impact location. This will provide important constraints for subsequent laboratory analysis. The SARIM spacecraft will be placed at the L2 libration point of the Sun–Earth system, outside the Earth’s debris belts and inside the solar-wind charging environment. SARIM is three-axes stabilised and collects interstellar grains between July and October when the relative encounter speeds with interstellar dust grains are lowest (4 to 20 km/s). During a 3-year dust collection period several hundred interstellar and several thousand interplanetary grains will be collected by a total sensitive area of 1 m². At the end of the collection phase seven collector modules are stored and sealed in a MIRKA-type sample return capsule. SARIM will return the capsule containing the stardust to Earth to allow for an extraction and investigation of interstellar samples by latest laboratory technologies.     

Assessment of long-range kinematic GPS positioning errors by comparison with airborne laser altimetry and satellite altimetry

Long-range airborne laser altimetry and laser scanning (LIDAR) or airborne gravity surveys in, for example, polar or oceanic areas require airborne kinematic GPS baselines of many hundreds of kilometers in length. In such instances, with the complications of ionospheric biases, it can be a real challenge for traditional differential kinematic GPS software to obtain reasonable solutions. In this paper, we will describe attempts to validate an implementation of the precise point positioning (PPP) technique on an aircraft without the use of a local GPS reference station. We will compare PPP solutions with other conventional GPS solutions, as well as with independent data by comparison of airborne laser data with “ground truth” heights. The comparisons involve two flights: A July 5, 2003, airborne laser flight line across the North Atlantic from Iceland to Scotland, and a May 24, 2004, flight in an area of the Arctic Ocean north of Greenland, near-coincident in time and space with the ICESat satellite laser altimeter. Both of these flights were more than 800 km long. Comparisons between different GPS methods and four different software packages do not suggest a clear preference for any one, with the heights generally showing decimeter-level agreement. For the comparison with the independent ICESat- and LIDAR-derived “ground truth” of ocean or sea-ice heights, the statistics of comparison show a typical fit of around 10 cm RMS in the North Atlantic, and 30 cm in the sea-ice region north of Greenland. Part of the latter 30 cm error is likely due to errors in the airborne LIDAR measurement and calibration, as well as errors in the “ground truth” ocean surfaces due to drifting sea-ice. Nevertheless, the potential of the PPP method for generating 10 cm level kinematic height positioning over long baselines is illustrated.     

Mineral Paragenesis of the Lepanto Copper and Gold and the Victoria Gold Deposits, Mankayan Mineral District, Philippines

Abstract: Mineral paragenesis of the alteration, ore and gangue minerals of the Lepanto epithermal copper‐gold deposit and the Victoria gold deposit, Mankayan Mineral District, Northern Luzon, Philippines, is discussed. The principal ore minerals of the Lepanto copper‐gold deposit are enargite and luzonite, with significant presence of tennantite‐tetrahedrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, native gold/electrum and gold‐silver tellurides. Pervasive alteration zonations are commonly observed from silicification outward to advanced argillic then to propylitic zone. The ore mineralogy of the Lepanto copper‐gold deposit suggests high f_S2 in the early stages of mineralization corresponding to the deposition of the enargite‐luzonite‐pyrite assemblage. Subsequent decrease in the f_S2 formed the chalcopyrite‐tennantite‐pyrite assemblage. An increase in the f_S2 of the fluids with the formation of the covellite‐digenite‐telluride assemblage caused the deposition of native gold/electrum and gold‐silver tellurides. The principal ore minerals of the Victoria gold deposit are sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, tetrahedrite and native gold/electrum. The alteration halos are relatively narrow and in an outward sequence from the ore, silica alteration grades to illitic‐argillic alteration, which in turn grades to propylitic alteration. The Victoria gold mineralization has undergone early stages of silica supersaturation leading to quartz deposition. Vigorous boiling increased the pH of the fluids that led to the deposition of sulfides and carbonates. The consequent decrease in H₂S precipitated the gold. Gypsum and anhydrite mainly occur as overprints that cut the carbonate‐silica stages. The crosscutting and overprinting relationships of the Victoria quartz‐gold‐base metal veins on the Lepanto copper‐gold veins manifest the late introduction of near neutral pH hydrothermal fluids.     

Modelling the fine-structure of the geoid: Methods,data requirements and some results

The requirements for precise geoid models on local and regional scales have increased in recent years, primarily due to the ongoing developments in height determination by GPS on land, but also due to oceanographic requirements in using satellite altimetry for recovering dynamic sea-surface topography. Suitable methods for geoid computations from gravity data include Stokes integration, FFT methods, and least-squares collocation. Especially the FFT methods are efficient in handling large amounts of gravity data, and new variants of the methods taking earth curvature rigorously into account provide attractive methods for obtaining continental-scale, high-resolution geoid models. The accuracy of such models may be from 2–5 cm locally, to 50–100 cm on regional scales, depending on gravity data coverage, long wave-length gravity field errors, and datum problems. When approaching the cm-level geoid basic geoid definition questions (geoid or quasigeoid?) become very significant, especially in rugged areas. In the paper the geoid modelling methods and problems are reviewed, and some investigations on local data requirements for cm-level geoid prediction are presented. Some actual results are presented from Scandinavia, where a recent regional high-resolution geoid model yields apparent accuracies of 2–10 cm over GPS baselines of 50 to 2000 km.     

Normal moveout in focus1

Improving the accuracy of NMO corrections and of the corresponding interval velocities entails implementing a better approximation than the formula used since the beginning of seismic processing. The exact equations are not practical as they include many unknowns. The approximate expression has only two unknowns, the reflection time and the rms velocity, but becomes inaccurate for large apertures of the recording system and heterogeneous vertical velocities. Several methods of improving the accuracy have been considered, but the gains do not compensate for the dramatic increase in computing time. Two alternative equations are proposed: the first containing two parameters, the reflection time and the focusing time, is not valid for apertures much greater than is the standard formula, but has a much faster computing time and does not stretch the far traces; the other, containing three parameters, the reflection time, like focusing time and the tuning velocity, retains high frequencies for apertures about twice those allowed by the standard equation. Its computing time can be kept within the same limits. NMO equations, old and new, are designed strictly for horizontal layering, but remain reliable as long as the rays travel through the same layers in both the down and up directions. An equation, similar to Dix's formula, is given to compute the interval velocities. The entire scheme can be automated to produce interval-velocity sections without manual picking.     

Volatile organic compounds in coastal seawater

The occurence and temporal variations of a variety of low to medium polarity organic compounds in the volatility range bracketed by n-heptane and n-octadecane have been studied in seawater from a station in Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts, and from a tidal creek in Sippewisset Marsh, Massachusetts. The closed-loop vapor phase stripping method of Grob and Zürcher (J. Chromatogr., v. 117, p. 285–294), high resolution glass capillary gas chromatography, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were used. Approximately 50 compounds were found at ≥ 2 ng/kg; most were recovered at less than 10 ng/kg, while the 20 ng/kg level was only rarely exceeded by a few components. The total material recovered was 0.2–1.0 μg organic carbon equivalent/kg seawater. The major compound classes found were normal alkanes, alkenes, aromatic and alkylaromatic hydrocarbons, n-aldehydes, dimethyldisulfide and dimethyltrisulfide, and a few halogenated hydrocarbons. The preliminary results suggest that both biogenic and anthropogenic sources were representted. Also, air-sea gas exchange and other physical processes may be important non-biological sinks.     

Thermal history,hydrocarbon generation and migration in the Horn Graben in the Danish North Sea: a 2D basin modelling study

In this study a 2D basin model has been built along a transect crossing the Horn Graben in WNW-ESE direction. The aim of the investigation was to improve the understanding of the thermal evolution of the basin and its influence on possible petroleum systems. The 2D model of the subsurface is based on one seismic line and data from two exploration wells. Both wells TD’ed in Triassic sediments. The updoming of the Ringkøbing-Fyn High began during Late Carboniferous–Early Permian. At the end of the Permian the Horn Graben became active due to regional extension. The subsequent sedimentation history from Triassic to date is well recorded by well reports. A matter of debate has been whether or not significant amounts of Pre-Permian sediments exist in this area of the North Sea. Since organic material rich Paleozoic sediments serve as source rocks in widespread areas of North Germany and the southern North Sea it would be of great importance to know whether the same deposits exist in the Horn Graben. Nielsen et al. (Bull Geol Soc Denmark Copenhagen 45:1–10, 1998) introduced a model, which shows Paleozoic sediments covering the basement at a maximum depth of 6.5 km. Assuming, Paleozoic sediments are underlying the Permian salt deposits there should be an active petroleum system present. The 2D model includes the Paleozoic source rock and tries to explain why two exploration wells have not found petroleum.     

A statistical test on the local effects of spatially structured variance

Spatial variance is an important characteristic of spatial random variables. It describes local deviations from average global conditions and is thus a proxy for spatial heterogeneity. Investigating instability in spatial variance is a useful way of detecting spatial boundaries, analysing the internal structure of spatial clusters and revealing simultaneously acting geographic phenomena. Recently, a corresponding test statistic called ‘Local Spatial Heteroscedasticity’ (LOSH) has been proposed. This test allows locally heterogeneous regions to be mapped and investigated by comparing them with the global average mean deviation in a data set. While this test is useful in stationary conditions, its value is limited in a global heterogeneous state. There is a risk that local structures might be overlooked and wrong inferences drawn. In this paper, we introduce a test that takes account of global spatial heterogeneity in assessing local spatial effects. The proposed measure, which we call ‘Local Spatial Dispersion’ (LSD), adapts LOSH to local conditions by omitting global information beyond the range of the local neighbourhood and by keeping the related inferential procedure at a local level. Thereby, the local neighbourhoods might be small and cause small-sample issues. In the view of this, we recommend an empirical Bayesian technique to increase the data that is available for resampling by employing empirical prior knowledge. The usefulness of this approach is demonstrated by applying it to a Light Detection and Ranging-derived data set with height differences and by making a comparison with LOSH. Our results show that LSD is uncorrelated with non-spatial variance as well as local spatial autocorrelation. It thus discloses patterns that would be missed by LOSH or indicators of spatial autocorrelation. Furthermore, the empirical outcomes suggest that interpreting LOSH and LSD together is of greater value than interpreting each of the measures individually. In the given example, local interactions can be statistically detected between variance and spatial patterns in the presence of global structuring, and thus reveal details that might otherwise be overlooked.