Visible–near infrared spectral indices for mapping mineralogy and chemistry with OSIRIS‐REx

The primary objective of the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS‐REx) mission is to return to Earth a pristine sample of carbonaceous material from the primitive asteroid (101955) Bennu. To support compositional mapping of Bennu as part of sample site selection and characterization, we tested 95 spectral indices on visible to near infrared laboratory reflectance data from minerals and carbonaceous meteorites. Our aim was to determine which indices reliably identify spectral features of interest. Most spectral indices had high positive detection rates when applied to spectra of pure, single‐component materials. The meteorite spectra have fewer and weaker absorption features and, as a result, fewer detections with the spectral indices. Indices targeting absorptions at 0.7 and 2.7–3 μm, which are attributable to hydrated minerals, were most successful for the meteorites. Based on these results, we identified a set of 17 indices that are most likely to be useful at Bennu. These indices detect olivines, pyroxenes, carbonates, water/OH‐bearing minerals, serpentines, ferric minerals, and organics. Particle size and albedo are known to affect band depth but had a negligible impact on interpretive success with spectral indices. Preliminary analysis of the disk‐integrated Bennu spectrum with these indices is consistent with expectations given the observed absorption near 3 μm. Our study prioritizes spectral indices to be used for OSIRIS‐REx spectral analysis and mapping and informs the reliability of all index‐derived data products, including a science value map for sample site selection.     

Integrated Data Assimilation and Distance-Based Model Selection with Ensemble Kalman Filter for Characterization of Uncertain Geological Scenarios

Natural Resources Research - This paper develops a reliable workflow for multi-objective history matching coupled with a distance-based model selection and ensemble-based data assimilation at a...     

Antecedent mid-tropospheric frontogenesis caused by the interaction between a tropical cyclone and midlatitude trough: a case study of Typhoon Rusa (2002)

This study examines antecedent mid-tropospheric frontogenesis (AMF) resulting from the interaction between Typhoon Rusa (2002) and a midlatitude trough over the Korean Peninsula. In this event, the AMF contributed to the first peak in the time series of rainfall in Gangneung (37.75°N, 128.90°E), occurring about 12 h before the time of the extratropical transition (ET) process of the tropical cyclone (TC). Using observations and high-resolution model outputs, we showed that the AMF contributed to the antecedent rainfall in Gangneung during the first rainfall period when Gangneung was located outside of Rusa's sphere of direct influence. A Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) model experiment was conducted to diagnose the frontogenetical features and associated precipitation processes in detail. The experiment revealed that the AMF was mainly forced by the horizontal deformation forcing (HDF). The direction of the HDF was oriented from southwest to northeast in the middle part of the peninsula. The HDF increased positively due to the confluence of the southeasterlies from the TC and the northwesterlies emanating from the midlatitude trough. The experiment also suggested that the mid-tropospheric moisture originated from the subtropical ocean and deposited into the frontal region by the southerlies on the eastern periphery of the TC, which enhanced the convergence of moisture flux in the frontal region during the first rainfall period. The thermally direct circulation associated with the AMF lead to the mid-tropospheric saturation, which enhanced the precipitation of the first rainfall event together with the orographically forced convection at the low level above Gangneung.     

Aluminium solubility in rainwater and molten snow

Large variations of aluminium solubilities are found in marine and rural precipitations. The results of seven field experiments are used to produce a model of the solubilization of aluminium independent of the sampling site. Large variations of solubility appear, and the pH seems to be a major factor explaining this solubility changes. Thermodynamic calculations at T=278K suggest that, at higher pHs (>5), equilibrium with gibbsite (Al(OH)₃) or a trivalent alkaline insoluble form acts as a limiting of aluminium solubility and at lower pHs (<5), Al could be in equilibrium with a hydroxysulfate salt Al(OH)_1.5(SO₄)_0.75.Paper submitted to the 7th International Symposium of the Commission for Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Pollution on the Chemistry of the Global Atmosphere held in Chamrousse, France, from 5 to 11 September 1990.     

Diurnal Variation of Tropical Convection during TOGA COARE IOP

Diurnal variation of tropical convection and kinematic and thermodynamic conditions was investigated for different large-scale environments of the convectively active and inactive periods by using satellite observations and surface measurements during the Intensive Observation Period （IOP） of the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere/Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment （TOGA/COARE）. During the convectively active period, the features of nocturnal convection appear in vertical profiles of convergence, vertical velocity, heat source, and moisture sink. The specific humidity increases remarkably in the middle troposphere at dawn. On the other hand, the altitude of maximum convergence and that of the upward motion is lower during the convectively inactive period. The specific humidity peaks in the lower troposphere in the daytime and decreases in the middle troposphere. Spectral analyses of the time series of the infrared （IR） brightness temperature （TBB） and amounts of rainfall suggest multiscale temporal variation with a prominent diurnal cycle over land and oceanic regions such as the Intensive Flux Array （IFA） and the South Pacific Convergence Zone （SPCZ）. Over land, the daily maximum of deep convection associated with cloud top temperature less than 208 K appears at midnight due to the daytime radiative heating and the sea-land breeze. Over the ocean, convection usually tends to occur at dawn for the convectively active period while in the afternoon during the inactive period. Comparing the diurnal variation of convection with large-scale variables, the authors inferred that moisture in the middle troposphere contributes mostly to the development of nocturnal convection over the ocean during the convectively active period.     

Halocarbon emissions from marine phytoplankton and climate change

Long-lived and short-lived halocarbons have long been known for their adverse effects on atmospheric chemistry, especially ozone depletion that may be directly or indirectly influenced by global climate change. Marine organisms including phytoplankton contribute shorter-lived halocarbon compounds to the atmosphere. Oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth’s surface making the marine phytoplankton a significant presence. Changes in the environment will inevitably affect this widely distributed group of organisms. Various predictions have been made about how phytoplankton will respond to climate change, but as yet little is known about the interactions between phytoplankton, climate change and halocarbon emissions. We provide a summary of studies on halocarbon emissions by marine phytoplankton isolated from different climatic zones that includes data from our recent studies on tropical marine phytoplankton. It is important to determine and characterize the contribution of the phytoplankton to the halocarbon load in the atmosphere to allow their interaction with the changing global climate to be understood. Using these data, we compare the range of halocarbons emitted by phytoplankton with halocarbon emission data for seaweeds, a well-known biogenic contributor of short-lived halocarbons. Sørensen’s coefficient of similarity of 0.50 was calculated, which suggests that half of the detected halocarbon species present in seaweeds are also present in phytoplankton.     

Harmful Dinoflagellate Prorocentrum donghaiense Lu is Widely Distributed Along the East China Sea and Korean Coastal Area

Ocean Science Journal - There have been controversies regarding the taxonomy of Prorocentrum donghaiense, however Zhang et al. (2016) recently developed a probe with a quantitative real-time PCR...     

Metabolic and physiological regulation of Chlorella sp. (Trebouxiophyceae,Chlorophyta) under nitrogen deprivation

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - A freshwater green microalgae Chlorella sp., UMACC344 was shown to produce high lipid content and has the potential to be used as feedstock for biofuel...     

Recent environmental changes on Banks Island (N.W.T., Canadian Arctic) quantified using fossil diatom assemblages

Banks Island (N.W.T.) has become a focal point for climate change studies in the Canadian Arctic. However, long-term climatic and environmental data are very sparse from this large island, as they are for the entire southwestern region of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. In this paleolimnological study, diatom species assemblage shifts documented in cores collected from a pond and a lake on Banks Island were interpreted to represent a response to climate warming commencing in the nineteenth century. We found that, although the timing and overall nature of the species changes in the two cores were consistent, the signal was muted in the deeper site likely as a result of differences in ice cover extent and duration between lakes and ponds. A high-resolution study was also conducted from a second pond, at sub-decadal resolution, that only spanned the last ∼60 years. In the deeper lake site, Fragilaria construens and F. pinnata dominated the assemblages, similar to those noted in other high Arctic regions where lakes are characterized by extended ice cover. In contrast, Denticula kuetzingii dominated the shallower ponds and, in the case of the pond core representing the longer time period, this taxon increased in the post-1850 sediments, likely coincident with climate warming. In all cores, diatom assemblages became more diverse and Achnanthes species (particularly A. minutissima) increased from ∼1850 to the present, similar to changes documented in other Arctic regions. Beta diversity values calculated for the diatom species changes indicated that assemblage shifts in the Banks Island cores were of similar magnitude to those recorded in other Arctic regions with high species turnover, such as Ellesmere Island. A diatom-based Total Nitrogen (TN) transfer function previously developed for Banks Island was applied to the three ²¹⁰Pb dated cores as an exploratory tool for inferring past changes in nitrogen concentrations. In both the lake and pond cores, diatom-inferred TN concentrations tended to increase in the more recent sediments, as may be expected with warming; however these trends were not very distinct.     

Enhanced biological activity by an anticyclonic warm eddy during early spring in the East Sea (Japan Sea) detected by the geostationary ocean color satellite

The high primary production enhanced by anticyclonic eddies and hourly variation pattern in the productivity during the spring season in the East Sea were first investigated using the first Korean Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI). Even though the stratification for a seasonal spring bloom is not well developed in the water column in early April in the East Sea, a physical upward water flux movement at the periphery of the anticyclonic eddies could remain the phytoplankton in euphotic zone to sustain high chlorophyll-a concentration conditions in the Ulleung Basin. At this time, nutrients were no major controlling factor for phytoplankton growth since concentrations of major nutrients (nitrate, silicate, and phosphate) were relatively high in the observed eddy sites based on the observation data from the Korean Oceanographic Data Center (KODC). The estimated mixed layer depth (MLD) significantly shallower at the periphery supports for this mechanism. The hourly primary productivity estimation based on a Carbon-based Productivity Model (CbPM) provides a bimodal pattern along the time especially in L1 with an approximately one order magnitude difference between the lowest and highest values of productivities on 5 April, 2011. Potential possibilities for this large discrepancy in the hourly productivity and some thoughts on a short time in situ incubation method were discussed.