Oceanic thunderstorms

Summary The oceanic thunderstorm has long been a difficult phenomenon to investigate. The diurnal variation of these storms together with that of land based storms is essential in providing the statistical correlation between global thunderstorm activity and oceanic potential gradients upon which the classical explanation of the maintenance of the earth's electric charge is based. A data base of over seven million synoptic observations by ships throughout the world ocean has been analyzed to give a fresh approach and insight to the universal time variation of ocean areas affected by thunderstorms. According to these data, the annual average of this ocean area has a mean of 202×10⁴ km² with a diurnal peak of 240×10⁴ km² in the interval of 1800 to 2400 GMT. A diurnal minimum is observed to be 167×10⁴ km² in the interval of 0600 to 1200 GMT.

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Zusammenfassung Es war lange Zeit schwierig, die ozeanischen Gewitter zu untersuchen. Die klassische Erklärung für die Aufrechterhaltung der elektrischen Erdladung gründet sich auf den Zusammenhang zwischen dem luftelektrischen Potentialgefälle auf See und der weltweiten Gewittertätigkeit, wofür die Kenntnis der Tagesgänge der Gewitter über Land und über den Ozean eine wichtige Voraussetzung bilden. Beobachtungsmaterial mit mehr als sieben Millionen synoptischen Beobachtungen — gewonen von Schiffen auf allen Ozeanen — wurde ausgewertet um auf eine neue Weise die von Gewittern bedeckten ozeanischen Flächengrösse in ihrer nach Weltzeit verlaufenden Variation zu untersuchen. Es stellt sich heraus dass das Jahresmittel dieser Flächengrösse bei 202·10⁴ km² liegt, mit einem tageszeitlichen Höchstwert von 240·10⁴ km² in der Zeit zwischen 1800 und 2400 GMT. Ein tageszeitlicher Mindestwert wurde zu 167·10⁴ km² gefunden, welcher zwischen 0600 und 1200 GMT auftritt.

     

Connectivity analyses of valley patterns indicate preservation of a preglacial fluvial valley system in the Dyfi basin, Wales

Coastal valleys in the west part of Mid-Wales, such as the Mawddach, Dysynni, Tal-y-llyn and Dyfi, acted as corridors for ice which drained the Welsh Ice Cap during the Devensian. Analyses of detailed digital elevation models, and interpretation of satellite images and aerial photographs, show the existence of large variations in the amount of glacial modification between these valleys. Although all the valleys are glacially over-deepened along late Caledonian fault lines, only the Dyfi basin exhibits a dendritic pattern, with V-shaped cross-profiles and valley spurs typical of valleys formed by fluvial processes. Connectivity analysis of the Dyfi basin shows that it exhibits an almost completely dendritic pattern with connectivity α and β values of 0.74 and 1.01, respectively, with little glacial modification of the preglacial fluvial valley pattern in the form of glacial valley breaching. Several examples of glacial meltwater incision into a well-developed pre-existing river valley system, causing river capture across watersheds, have been identified in the Dyfi basin. The degree of preservation of the preglacial fluvial valley system within the Dyfi basin indicates limited modification by glacial processes, despite the area being subjected to glacier activity during the Late Devensian at least. It is possible that major parts of the basin were covered by cold-based or slow-moving ice, close to, or under, a migrating ice-divide, with the major ice drainage occurring along the weaker zone of the Pennal Fault along which teh Dyfi valley is located, causing minor adjustments to the surrounding interfluves and uplands. It is proposed here that the general river valley morphology of the Dyfi basin is of a pre-Late Devensian age.     

Nitrate reduction potential of a fractured Middle Triassic carbonate aquifer in Southwest Germany

Hydrogeology Journal - Nitrate reduction constitutes an important natural mechanism to mitigate the widespread and persistent nitrate contamination of groundwater resources. In fractured aquifers,...     

The Ohlsbach Plume – Discharge of deep saline water from the crystalline basement of the Black Forest, Germany

 Salt-water discharges from a fault system in the crystalline basement of the Black Forest into the gravel aquifer of the Kinzig River valley near Ohlsbach, upper Rhine River valley, southwestern Germany. The salt water (TDS, 16 g/kg) ascends from a reservoir at  1 3 km depth. Once discharged into the gravel aquifer, the saline deep water mixes with fresh groundwater and is carried along the groundwater flow path to the middle of the Rhine River valley. There, the natural geogene salt-water plume merges with a man-made chloride-rich infiltration zone along the Rhine River. The plume was mapped using (1) chloride data from groundwater observation wells, and (2) resistivity data from geoelectric sounding. Background chloride is about 7 mg/kg. In the central region of the plume, chloride concentration exceeds 200 mg/kg. A continuous area of Cl  1 50 mg/kg is distinguished from the discharge fault to the Rhine River over a distance of 12 km. Resistivities range from  1 50 Ω in uncontaminated regions to <7 Ω in the 700 m-long central region of the plume. A low resistivity plume (7–10 Ω) stretches for  1 7 km into the Rhine River valley. The two plume maps are in good agreement. Received, April 1998 / Revised, November 1998, January 1999 / Accepted, January 1999     

Duluth Complex FC1 Apatite and Zircon: Reference Materials for (U-Th)/He Dating?

The accuracy and validation of geo- and thermochronological dating hinges on the availability of well-characterised age reference materials. The Mesoproterozoic gabbroic anorthosite FC1 from the Duluth Complex, Minnesota is a reference material for zircon U-Pb and a suggested reference material for apatite fission-track dating. We evaluate FC1 as (U-Th)/He reference material, and determine its apatite U-Pb, and zircon and apatite (U-Th)/He age. Our dating results constrain the thermal history of FC1, showing that fast cooling occurred between ~ 1099 and 1040 Ma from ≥ 600 °C to ~ 200 °C. The zircon (U-Th)/He data from air-abraded grains give a robust isochron age of 1037 ± 25 Ma (2s) without overdispersion. The within-grain homogeneity of U and Th, the availability of FC1 zircon, and the absence of radiation-damage effects on the (U-Th)/He age support its use as reference material. Unabraded zircon grains give lower and more dispersed ages, highlighting the usefulness of air abrasion to control for α-ejection in (U-Th)/He dating. Our apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He single-grain ages vary between 180 and 300 Ma. Their wide dispersion argues against the use of FC1 apatite as (U-Th-Sm)/He reference material and makes the interpretation of their low-temperature thermal history complicated.     

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Different Methods for the Remediation of Contaminated Groundwater by Determining the Petroleum Hydrocarbon Content

The effectiveness of different remediation procedures for decreasing the amount of TPH (total petroleum hydrocarbons) in contaminated groundwater was evaluated at the site of a former refinery. The investigations were carried out on samples taken from several gravel based HSSF (horizontal subsurface flow) constructed wetlands (CW) which differed in relation to their filter material additives (no additive, charcoal, and ferric oxides additives) and examined the potential effect of these additives on the overall treatment efficiency. Samples of the following gravel based HSSF CW were investigated. No filter additive (system A), 0.1% activated carbon (system B), 0.5% iron(III) hydroxide (system C), and the reference (system D). Systems A–C were planted with common reed (Phragmites australis), whereas system D remained unplanted. In addition, the influence of seasonal conditions on the reduction of these hydrocarbons and the correlation between the amounts of TPH and BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene isomers), on the one hand, and methyl tert‐butyl ether, on the other, was investigated. The study was carried out by using a modified GC‐FID approach and multivariate methods. The investigations carried out in the first year of operation demonstrated that the effectiveness of the petroleum hydrocarbon removal was highest and reached a level of 93 ± 3.5% when HSSF filters with activated carbon as a filter additive were used. This remediation method allowed the petroleum hydrocarbon content to be reduced independently of seasonal conditions. The correlation between the reduction of TPH and BTEX was found to be R = 0.8824. Using this correlation coefficient, the time‐consuming determination of the BTEX content was no longer necessary.     

Material type and roughness influence structure of inter‐tidal communities on coastal defenses

On a global scale, urbanization has resulted in substantial proportions of coasts being replaced by artificial structures such as marinas, breakwaters and seawalls. There is broad consensus that coastal defense structures are poor surrogates of the natural habitats that they replace. Here we investigated the effects of the type and roughness of materials used for the construction of artificial structures on the surrounding biota by comparing abundances and distribution of key inter‐tidal taxa between natural shores and coastal defenses. Lower abundances of gastropods and barnacles were found on artificial coastal defense structures (regardless of the material type). At small spatial scales, abundances of key taxa increased with increasing roughness. Our results suggest that the choice of materials used for the construction of coastal defense structures has little effect on community structure per se, but that enhanced roughness could make coastal defenses better surrogates of natural habitats by supporting assemblages that are more similar to those found on natural shores.     

Potential of SARAL/AltiKa for Inland Water Applications

SARAL uses the same orbit as ERS and Envisat and can be used to extend inland water height time series derived from these missions. This article investigates the potential of SARAL for this application over the Great Lakes and the Amazon basin. SARAL/AltiKa is the first altimeter using Ka-band that is rarely influenced by ionospheric effects but susceptible for atmospheric water. Our investigations show clear waveform disruptions for SARAL due to precipitation. It is demonstrated that the quality of water heights improved when using alternative retracker products, for example, the ice-1 product. The improvement depends on the weather and yields up to 3.8 cm for wet conditions. The advantage of the smaller footprint of SARAL is demonstrated for land-water transitions where SARAL provides better water level heights up to 6 km to the lakeshore whereas Envisat is limited to about 11 km. SARAL provides also more reliable water level heights for narrow Amazon rivers than Envisat. Furthermore, the hooking effect is decreased for SARAL. Comparing water level time series of SARAL-only, Envisat-only, and multi-mission with in-situ data demonstrates that SARAL has the potential to extend Envisat long-term time series and to decrease the RMS by about 10% for large lakes and 40% for selected rivers.     

A palynological and sedimentological study of Cretaceous floodplain deposits of the Atane Formation at Skansen and Igdlunguaq, Disko, West Greenland

A palynological and sedimentological study has been carried out on the Cretaceous fluvial and deltaic Atane Formation of West Greenland. Two localities, Skansen and Igdlunguaq on the southern coast of Disko island, have been studied. The sediments are divided into two genetic facies associations interpreted as representing deposition in fluvial channels and on a floodplain. The facies indicate that most of the sediments on the floodplain accumulated in swamps or shallow lakes, whereas abundant spores and pollen indicate the presence of vegetated land nearby. The palynomorph assemblages recovered consist of 72 species of spores and pollen grains of bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms. The palynomorphs from Skansen and most of those from Igdlunguaq indicate a maximum age-range from late Albian to Cenomanian for the successions sampled, although a mid Cenomanian age seems most likely. The highest horizon examined at Igdlunguaq may, however, be late Cenomanian or Turonian in age. The assemblages compare well with palynofloras from North America and Northwest Europe.     

Oil spills in Narragansett Bay: Comparison between federal and state records

Oil spill response in the US is divided among several jurisdictions due to separate and overlapping legislative and regulatory authority. In Rhode Island, data concerning oil spill incidents are kept by two agencies of the federal government and by one agency of the state government. Narragansett Bay and its tributaries are geographically in three jurisdictions; however, because of a tradition of good interagency cooperation, there were very few duplications in spill response. Because each agency has differing expertise and equipment, the types of spill incidents reported by each, if considered separately, present an entirely different picture of the nature of oil spills in this region. Assessment of oil spills as a source of pollution to coastal waters requires examination of all data, not only that from one agency. For Narragansett Bay and its tributaries, oil spills were a minor part of the total oil pollution budget.