Determining the Oxygen Isotope Composition of Evapotranspiration Using Eddy Covariance

Impacts of different terrain configurations on the general behaviour of idealised katabatic flows are investigated in a numerical model study. Various simplified terrain models are applied to unveil modifications of the dynamics of nocturnal cold drainage of air as a result of predefined topographical structures. The generated idealised terrain models encompass all major topographical elements of an area in the tropical eastern Andes of southern Ecuador and northern Peru, and the adjacent Amazon. The idealised simulations corroborate that (i) katabatic flows develop over topographical elements (slopes and valleys), that (ii) confluence of katabatic flows in a lowland basin with a concave terrainline occur, and (iii) a complex drainage flow system regime directed into such a basin can sustain the confluence despite varying slope angles and slope distances.     

卡斯特地区的公路设计

１场地考察第一步是利用现有岩土工程资料,如州和政府的资料、航空照片、卫星图像和设计单位的数据库。这些对考察卡斯特地区有用的资料包括：（１）详细地图（这些地图不全发表）,一些州的调查实际上包含有碳酸盐岩石详细地图,从中可了解到已知的或可疑落水洞地区。（...     

A scale-invariant approach to flood-frequency analysis

In order to study historical flood-frequency records we plot the log of the number of floods on a river per unit time in which the peak discharge exceeds a specified value against the log of that value. For ten benchmark stations we find good correlations with scale-invariant (fractal) statistics. We suggest that the underlying physical processes associated with the generation of floods are sufficiently scale invariant over time scales from one to one hundred years that they provide a rational basis for the application of scale-invariant statistics. Our results fall within the range of flood-frequency estimates made by other statistical techniques. We propose that the ratio of the ten-year peak discharge to the one-year peak discharge is a quantitative measure of flood potential. With scale invariance is also the ratio of the one-hundred year flood to the ten-year flood. We find that the values of for ten stations on rivers throughout the country range from 2.04 to 8.11 and find strong regional variations that can be correlated in terms of climate. Our results are consistent with the observed fractal statistics in sedimentary sections. We have also carried out R/S analyses for the ten stations and have obtained values of the Hurst exponent. We find that the Hurst exponent cannot be used for flood-frequency forecasting.     

吐哈盆地煤成烃研究新进展

运用生物标记物及碳同位素等地化参数对吐鲁番 -哈密盆地的原油及其源岩进行了油源对比 |结果将该区原油分为三类 :第一类原油 |根据生标特征分析其具有显著的淡水环境、藻含量低、细菌影响大、C₂₉甾烷含量高、C₃₀4_α- 甲基甾烷低、C₂₄ 四环烷和C₁₉三环烷含量高和碳同位素偏重 (δ13C为 - 25‰~ - 27‰ )的特点 |初步对比结果 |本区西山窑组的煤是该类原油的主要源岩;第二类原油 |富含藻类物质(C₂₇甾烷与C₃₀4_α-甲基甾烷含量较高 ) |该类原油可能来自侏罗系的富藻湖相泥岩;第三类原油 |全油碳同位素δ13C为 - 30‰~ - 32‰ |这类原油的生标反映出其源岩相的特征为缺氧、咸水、中等含藻的湖相沉积 (高含量的伽玛蜡烷和 β_-胡萝卜烷|C₃₅/C₃₄藿烷比值大等 )。     

High resolution spectroscopy with CSHELL

CSHELL, the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility Cryogenic Echelle Spectrograph was designed to fill a need for high sensitivity, high resolution, long slit near-infrared spectroscopy. Scientific programs in the areas of comets, planetary atmospheres, young stellar objects, the interstellar medium, and galactic dynamics have been pursued with CSHELL and are described herein. The future of the instrument is also discussed.     

New insights on the binary Asteroid 121 Hermione

We report on the results of a 6-month photometric study of the main-belt binary C-type Asteroid 121 Hermione, performed during its 2007 opposition. We took advantage of the rare observational opportunity afforded by one of the annual equinoxes of Hermione occurring close to its opposition in June 2007. The equinox provides an edge-on aspect for an Earth-based observer, which is well suited to a thorough study of Hermione’s physical characteristics. The catalog of observations carried out with small telescopes is presented in this work, together with new adaptive optics (AO) imaging obtained between 2005 and 2008 with the Yepun 8-m VLT telescope and the 10-m Keck telescope. The most striking result is confirmation that Hermione is a bifurcated and elongated body, as suggested by Marchis, et al. [Marchis, F., Hestroffer, D., Descamps, P., Berthier, J., Laver, C., de Pater, I., 2005. Icarus 178, 450-464]. A new effective diameter of 187 ± 6 km was calculated from the combination of AO, photometric and thermal observations. The new diameter is some 10% smaller than the hitherto accepted radiometric diameter based on IRAS data. The reason for the discrepancy is that IRAS viewed the system almost pole-on. New thermal observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope agree with the diameter derived from AO and lightcurve observations. On the basis of the new AO astrometric observations of the small 32-km diameter satellite we have refined the orbit solution and derived a new value of the bulk density of Hermione of 1.4 + 0.5/−0.2 g cm⁻³. We infer a macroscopic porosity of ∼33 + 5/−20%.     

Galilean satellite eclipse studies I. Observations and satellite characteristics

Spectrophotometric light curves of 12 Galilean satellite eclipses are reported. The observations were made in 20 to 30 channels over the wavelength range 3240 to 10,500 Å using the 200-in. telescope. The initial data processing is described. These data measure the Jovian aerosol content in the lower stratosphere and uppermost troposhere and the methane abundance in the lower stratosphere. The data are consistent with a lack of limb darkening on the Galilean satellites. The orbit of Callisto is shown to be inclined 0.08 ± 0.02° to the equatorial plane of Jupiter.     

Diisopropanolamine Biodegradation Potential at Sour Gas Plants

The potential for aerobic and anaerobic biodegradation of a sour gas treatment chemical, diisopropanolamine (DIPA), was studied using contaminated aquifer materials from three sour gas treatment sites in western Canada. DIPA was found to be readily consumed under aerobic conditions at 8°C and 28°C in shake flask cultures incubated with aquifer material from each of the sites, and this removal was characterized by first-order kinetics. In addition, DIPA biodegradation was found to occur under nitrate-, Min(IV)., and Fe(III)-reducing conditions at 28°C, and in some cases at 8°C, in laboratory microcosms, DIPA loss corresponded to consumption of nitrate, and production of Mn(II) and Fe(II) in viable microcosms compared to corresponding sterile controls. A threshold DIPA concentration near 40 mg/L was observed in the anaerobic microcosms. This report provides the first evidence that DIPA is biodegraded under anaerobic conditions, and our data suggest that biodegradation may contribute to DIPA attenuation under aerobic and anaerobic conditions in aquifers contaminated with this sour gas treatment chemical.     

Narrow-band spectrophotometry of Ariel,Umbriel, Titania,Oberon, and Triton

The spectral reflectances of Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon, and Triton were measured in 28 bandpasses between λ326 and λ976 nm on the night of 28/29 June 1974. These observations were made with the 200-in. Hale telescope and multichannel spectrometer. Bandpasses of 8 nm from λ326 to λ566 nm and 16 nm from λ592 to λ976 nm were employed. The spectral reflectances of Ariel, Oberon, and Titania increase from λ342 to λ534 nm and are relatively flat from λ550 to λ976 nm. Umbriel's reflectance decreases monotonically with increasing wavelength through the entire range of measured wavelengths. Triton is found to have a constant spectral reflectance.     

Pressure solution - The importance of the electrochemical surface potentials

“Pressure solution”, frequently found in clay-rich sandstone, is characterized by enhanced quartz dissolution at inter-grain contacts. The origin of pressure solution and many other related dissolution processes remains elusive. Using an Electrochemical Surface Forces Apparatus we visualized and measured the dissolution of silica glass surfaces close to an electrode surface. The dissolution rates correlate quantitatively with the electrode potential via the Butler-Volmer equation for corrosion. Our experimental results demonstrate that at low temperature, apparent pressure solution and many other mineral dissolution phenomena can be driven by electrochemical processes rather than a pressure-driven process. This finding highlights the role of electrochemical surface potentials in dissolution phenomena at dissimilar material interfaces, and provides new perspectives on pressure solution in particular and a new theoretical basis for predictive control of dissolution phenomena in general.