Aerosol Chemistry, and Light-Scattering and Hygroscopicity Budgets during Outflow from East Asia

During the ACE-Asia field campaign, 41 aerosol filter samples were obtained by airborne sampling over the ocean to the north, south and west of Japan, generally under conditions of outflow from the Asian continent. These samples were analyzed for their water-soluble chemical components, particularly organic species. Suites of inorganic anions, carbohydrates, organic acids and metallic elements were identified and quantified (21 distinct species). Simultaneously, measurements were made of the aerosol hygroscopicity and light scattering. A factor analysis performed on the compositional data identified several sources for the aerosols sampled during the field campaign. Regression of the light-scattering data onto tracers for each of these factors suggests that the aerosol light scattering could be largely attributed to three of these factors: anthropogenic emissions, biomass burning, and soil dust. Similarly, the aerosol hygroscopicity was largely consistent with an empirical mixing model based on past measurements of the hygroscopicity of these individual aerosol types. Limited size-resolved , aerosol composition measurements were also obtained and suggested different sources for various chemical species.     

Managing Bay and Estuarine Ecosystems for Multiple Services

Managers are moving from a model of managing individual sectors, human activities, or ecosystem services to an ecosystem-based management (EBM) approach which attempts to balance the range of services provided by ecosystems. Applying EBM is often difficult due to inherent tradeoffs in managing for different services. This challenge particularly holds for estuarine systems, which have been heavily altered in most regions and are often subject to intense management interventions. Estuarine managers can often choose among a range of management tactics to enhance a particular service; although some management actions will result in strong tradeoffs, others may enhance multiple services simultaneously. Management of estuarine ecosystems could be improved by distinguishing between optimal management actions for enhancing multiple services and those that have severe tradeoffs. This requires a framework that evaluates tradeoff scenarios and identifies management actions likely to benefit multiple services. We created a management action-services matrix as a first step towards assessing tradeoffs and providing managers with a decision support tool. We found that management actions that restored or enhanced natural vegetation (e.g., salt marsh and mangroves) and some shellfish (particularly oysters and oyster reef habitat) benefited multiple services. In contrast, management actions such as desalination, salt pond creation, sand mining, and large container shipping had large net negative effects on several of the other services considered in the matrix. Our framework provides resource managers a simple way to inform EBM decisions and can also be used as a first step in more sophisticated approaches that model service delivery.     

Experimental Effects of the Grass Shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, on Hard-Substrate Communities in Chesapeake Bay and an Adjacent Coastal Bay, USA

With increased shoreline hardening and development, it is important to understand the ecological processes occurring in these and adjacent coastal habitats. A common species found associated with these hard-substrate habitats in Chesapeake Bay is the grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio. Caging experiments were conducted from June to August 2010 to examine the effects of shrimp on the recruitment and development of hard-substrate communities. Experiments were conducted at two low-salinity sites within Chesapeake Bay and one high-salinity site in an adjacent coastal bay in Virginia. The addition of grass shrimp reduced recruitment of polychaetes and scyphistomae of the sea nettle, Chrysaora quinquecirrha, and increased recruitment of encrusting bryozoans and the oyster, Crassostrea virginica. After 12?weeks, sea nettles at one low-salinity site, dominated predator-exclusion treatments. At the high-salinity site, oysters dominated when shrimp were present. Although it is unclear whether the results of short-term caging studies can be applied across larger temporal and spatial scales, the significant effects of grass shrimp on two important Chesapeake Bay species suggests that increases in hard-substrate habitat could have broader impacts within this and other systems.     

Tuna schools/aggregations in surface longline data 1993–98

Exploratory data analysis of a high‐resolution (hook‐by‐hook), 6‐year time series (1993–98) of observed longline catch data for tunas was used to investigate fine‐scale spatial patterns along individual sets that may be indicative of social behaviour (i.e., schooling) and/or the response of individual fish to favourable extrinsic conditions (i.e., aggregation). Methods of spatial data analysis (i.e., nearest neighbour analysis) that have previously been applied in various other sciences (e.g., forestry and astronomy) were used. Results indicate strong clustering of individual tunas at characteristic scales within the set. Mean Nearest Neighbour Distances (NNDs) were between 100 and 200 m, compared with NNDs of 200–700 m predicted by a heterogeneous Poisson process on the same spatial domain. The results suggest that these adult tunas were either schooling or aggregating at the time of capture; this may therefore be related either to social behaviour or to sub‐mesoscale oceanographic features. An aggregation index was derived from the NNDs, giving a classification method that may be used for similar data and the development of empirical models attempting to relate patterns in fish catch distributions to environmental variables. The success of such models will ultimately depend on elucidating the ecological processes reflected in oceanographic features at biologically meaningful spatial scales.     

The Relation Between Ageostrophy and Boundary-Layer Structure in the Western-Pacific Trades (Wake Island)

Eight years (1980–1987) of Wake Island rawinsonde data are used to derive atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) depth, integrated boundary-layer moisture, and a measure of boundary-layer ageostrophy. The variability in these processes controls the accumulation of moisture and heat in the tradewind regions and their transport to regions of intense convection. Preliminary analyses using different methods reveal quasi-periodic signals in these data in the 30–60 days range. Cross correlation calculations in this intraseasonal range show that these ABL variables are coherent with each other and with the low-level flow. The integrated ABL variables and the ABL height exhibit local in-phase relationships. At higher frequencies, the analyses show intense diurnal variation of boundary-layer height but only a weak diurnal signal in integrated ABL properties. At the lower frequency range, the analyses show a significant reduction in the amplitude of the seasonal and intraseasonal variation in ageostrophy during the strong El-Niño event of 1982/1983. The results clearly establish a relationship between integrated water vapour and divergent ABL processes (Ekman pumping/suction) in which shallower (deeper) ABLs are associated with mass and moisture divergence (convergence) and higher (lower) sea-level pressure. A possible interpretation in terms of a remote dynamic response of the trade inversion and ABL processes to equatorial deep convection is suggested.     

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) was launched on 11 February 2010 at 15:23 UT from Kennedy Space Center aboard an Atlas V 401 (AV-021) launch vehicle. A?series of apogee-motor firings lifted SDO from an initial geosynchronous transfer orbit into a circular geosynchronous orbit inclined by 28° about the longitude of the SDO-dedicated ground station in New Mexico. SDO began returning science data on 1 May 2010. SDO is the first space-weather mission in NASA’s Living With a Star (LWS) Program. SDO’s main goal is to understand, driving toward a predictive capability, those solar variations that influence life on Earth and humanity’s technological systems. The SDO science investigations will determine how the Sun’s magnetic field is generated and structured, how this stored magnetic energy is released into the heliosphere and geospace as the solar wind, energetic particles, and variations in the solar irradiance. Insights gained from SDO investigations will also lead to an increased understanding of the role that solar variability plays in changes in Earth’s atmospheric chemistry and climate. The SDO mission includes three scientific investigations (the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE), and Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI)), a spacecraft bus, and a dedicated ground station to handle the telemetry. The Goddard Space Flight Center built and will operate the spacecraft during its planned five-year mission life; this includes: commanding the spacecraft, receiving the science data, and forwarding that data to the science teams. The science investigations teams at Stanford University, Lockheed Martin Solar Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL), and University of Colorado Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) will process, analyze, distribute, and archive the science data. We will describe the building of SDO and the science that it will provide to NASA.     

Eddy correlation measurements of CO2, latent heat,and sensible heat fluxes over a crop surface

Eddy correlation equipment was used to measure mass and energy fluxes over a soybean crop. A rapid response CO₂ sensor, a drag anemometer, a Lyman-alpha hygrometer and a fine wire thermocouple were used to sense the fluctuating quantities.Diurnal fluxes of sensible heat, latent heat and CO₂ were calculated from these data. Energy budget closure was obtained by summing the sensible and latent heat fluxes determined by eddy correlation which balanced the sum of net radiation and soil heat flux. Peak daytime CO₂ fluxes were near 1.0 mg m^–2 (ground area) s^–1.The eddy correlation technique was also employed in this study to measure nocturnal CO₂ fluxes caused by respiration from plants, soil, and roots. These CO₂ fluxes ranged from - 0.1 to - 0.25 mg m^–2s^–1.From the data collected over mature soybeans, a relationship between CO₂ flux and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) was developed. The crop did not appear to be light-saturated at PAR flux densities < 1800 Ei m^–2 s^–1. The light compensation point was found to be about 160 Ei m^–2 s^–1.Published as Paper No. 7402, Journal Series, Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station. The work reported here was conducted under Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station Project 27-003 and Regional Research Project 11–33.Post-doctoral Research Associate, Professor and Professor, respectively. Center for Agricultural Meteorology and Climatology, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583-0728.     

460火山岩盆地的地质发展与铀,钍演化

在总结460火山岩盆地地质特征和构造-岩浆活动发展历史的基础上。研究了各时代岩石中铀、钍的演化规律。提出该区晚太古代基底岩石的钾质混合岩化所引起的铀、钍增量是影响其后盖屋火山岩演化和铀成矿的物质基础;具有壳源重熔成因的上侏罗统酸性火山岩盖层,由于分布广泛,厚度巨大,有多种告石组台和多样的岩性序列,以及铀、钍含量高,构成了该区铀成矿有利的地层背景;燕山晚期沿区域断裂侵入的高铀酸性次火山岩或小侵入体,是该区成矿定位的决定因崇,它本身常成为赋矿的有刊围岩;后期热液铀成矿是使地层和岩体中铀和钍最终发生分离的主要地质作用。     

Decadal temperature changes in the Tasman Sea

Ocean temperature changes between 1991 and 2005 in the eastern Tasman Sea were analysed. This area was chosen because of a combination of data availability, low mesoscale variability and because of its importance in determining the climate of the downwind New Zealand landmass. A large warming extending to the full depth of the water column (c. 800 m) was found to have occurred between 1996 and 2002. This warming was seen in measurements by expendable bathythermographs and also in satellite sea surface temperature and sea surface height products, and has a clear impact on New Zealand's terrestrial temperature. The nature of the warming is discussed, together with likely forcing mechanisms. No local forcing mechanisms are consistent with the observed warming, leading to the conclusion that the signal seen in the Tasman Sea is part of a larger South Pacific‐wide phenomenon.