An In‐Depth Characterization of Urban Aerosols Using Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X‐Ray Analysis

The physical and chemical characterization of aerosols from three large cities, Karachi and Islamabad, Pakistan, and New York City (NYC), USA, was investigated. A scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) was used to determine particle morphology and elemental composition of the samples. A Bruker Spirit system in combination with a Sahara detector provided both computer controlled Automated Chemical Classification (ACC) and digital mapping features for analysis purposes. The use of these two features to characterize the elemental composition, particle size, and to determine specific classes or source types is described in this paper. Filters were analyzed for the following elements; Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, As, Se, Br, Sr, Y, Zr, Mo, Pd, Ag, Cd, In, Sn, Sb, Ba, La, Au, Hg, Tl, Pb, and U. The EDS work was qualitative not quantitative. Seven source types (mobile, cement, soil, steel mill, fossil fuel, sea salt and biological) contributed to particulate matter in the ambient air of both cities in Pakistan, whereas there were eight source types (diesel, road dust, automobile, iron, residual fuel oil, sea salt, ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate) for NYC. For all three urban centers, vehicular traffic emissions were the main contributor to particle number. Diesel emissions from trucks and buses were relatively more prominent in NYC aerosols, while gasoline emission from automotive exhaust was dominant in the two cities of Pakistan. The cement/limestone component from local cement industries was very evident in both particle surface characteristics and number for both Karachi and Islamabad, but not in NYC air. Sea salt aerosols were seen in the two coastal cities, Karachi and NYC. It was also witnessed in Islamabad aerosols and was attributable to the mining of rock salt at the world's richest salt mine, Khewra, situated upwind from the city.     

Variations of Surface Air Temperature Over the Land Areas in and Around the Bay of Bengal

The inter-annual variation and linear trends of the surface air temperature in the regions in and around the Bay of Bengal have been studied using the time series data of monthly and annual mean temperature for 20–40 years period within 1951–1990. The study area extends from Pusma Camp of Nepal in the north and Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia in the south and between 80--100 ° E. The annual variation of temperature has also been studied using the mean monthly temperature for the variable time frames 1961–1975, 1976–1990 and 1961–1990. The trend of temperature has been analyzed using linear regression technique with the data from 1961–1990, which showed that the warming trend is dominant over the study areas except for a few stations. It has been found that Nepal shows predominant warming trends. Bangladesh and the adjacent areas of India and the northern part of Bay of Bengal adjacent to the Bangladesh coast have shown strong warming trends of the annual temperature with maximum at Dhaka (0.037 °C/year). The near equatorial zone, i.e., southern India, Sri Lanka and part of Thailand and Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) shows warming trends in the annual mean temperature with strong warming at Pamban and Anuradhapura (around 0.04 °C/year). The cooling trends have been observed at a few stations including Port Blair, Yangoon and Cuttack. Further analysis shows the presence of prominent ENSO scale of variations with time period 4–7 years and 2–3 years for almost all the stations. The decadal mode with T >7 years is present in some data series. The results of the variations of temperature with respect to the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) show that SOI has some negative correlation with temperature for most of the stations except those in the extreme northeast. It has been found that positive anomaly of temperature has been observed for El Niño events and negative anomaly for the La Nina events.     

Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of a middle Miocene alluvial fan to cyclic shallow lacustrine depositional system in the Calatayud Basin (NE Spain)

ABSTRACT The middle Miocene sedimentary fill of the Calatayud Basin in north‐eastern Spain consists of proximal to distal alluvial fan‐floodplain and shallow lacustrine deposits. Four main facies groups characteristic of different sedimentary environments are recognized: (1) proximal and medial alluvial fan facies that comprise clast‐supported gravel and subordinate sandstone and mudstone, the latter exhibiting incipient pedogenic features; (2) distal alluvial fan facies, formed mainly of massive mudstone, carbonate‐rich palaeosols and local carbonate pond deposits; (3) lake margin facies, which show two distinct lithofacies associations depending on their distribution relative to the alluvial fan system, i.e. front (lithofacies A), comprising massive siliciclastic mudstone and tabular carbonates, or lateral (lithofacies B) showing laminated and/or massive siliciclastic mudstone alternating with tabular and/or laminated carbonate beds; and (4) mudflat–shallow lake facies showing a remarkable cyclical alternation of green‐grey and/or red siliciclastic mudstone units and white dolomitic carbonate beds. The cyclic mudflat–shallow lake succession, as exposed in the Orera composite section (OCS), is dominantly composed of small‐scale mudstone–carbonate/dolomite cycles. The mudstone intervals of the sedimentary cycles are interpreted as a result of sedimentation from suspension by distal sheet floods, the deposits evolving either under subaerial exposure or water‐saturated conditions, depending on their location on the lacustrine mudflat and on climate. The dolomite intervals accumulated during lake‐level highstands with Mg‐rich waters becoming increasingly concentrated. Lowstand to highstand lake‐level changes indicated by the mudstone/dolomite units of the small‐scale cycles reflect a climate control (from dry to wet conditions) on the sedimentation in the area. The spatial distribution of the different lithofacies implies that deposition of the small‐scale cycles took place in a low‐gradient, shallow lake basin located in an interfan zone. The development of the basin was constrained by gradual alluvial fan aggradation. Additional support for the palaeoenvironmental interpretation is derived from the isotopic compositions of carbonates from the various lithofacies that show a wide range of δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values varying from ?7·9 to 3·0‰ PDB and from ?9·2 to ?1·7‰ PDB respectively. More negative δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values are from carbonate‐rich palaeosols and lake‐margin carbonates, which extended in front of the alluvial fan systems, whereas more positive values correspond to dolomite beds deposited in the shallow lacustrine environment. The results show a clear trend of δ¹⁸O enrichment in the carbonates from lake margin to the centre of the shallow lake basin, thereby also demonstrating that the lake evolved under hydrologically closed conditions.     

The near-field tsunami amplitudes caused by submarine landslides and slumps spreading in two orthogonal directions

The aim of this study is to present the solutions for the near-field tsunami amplitudes caused by submarine landslumps and slides spreading in two orthogonal directions. A linearized shallow water wave theory is derived. The transform techniques (Fourier and Laplace transform) are used for the solution of Laplace equation. The results show that if the ratio of the velocties is v₁/v₂=0.1, the numerical results are almost the same as the values obtained for one dimensional movement of the slumps and slides. But, when the ratio of the velocties is v₁/v₂=1, obtained normalized peak amplitudes, η_max/ζ₀ are smaller than the numerical values for one dimensional solution. It is concluded that normalized peak amplitudes for the models are small because of the interaction of the velocities. Numerical examples are presented for various parameters.     

Variability of unconfined compressive strength in relation to number of test samples

Unconfined compressive strength is one of the most commonly used properties in rock engineering. Estimation or selection of an appropriate value of unconfined compressive strength for a given rock can be difficult as it can vary greatly within the same rock unit. Considering this large variability, unconfined compressive strength obtained by testing just a few samples is questionable. The purpose of this study was to investigate the variability of unconfined compressive strength for a given rock and, based on this information, determine the minimum number of samples required for obtaining a reliable value. Unconfined compressive strength values for approximately 50 NX-size (2.125 in./5.4 cm) core samples were determined for five different rock types. Statistical analyses were performed on subsets of cores to determine the minimum number of samples required to render a reliable estimate of the average strength of the entire set of cores. The results indicate that the minimum number of samples needed for strength determination depends on the statistical method used, the chosen confidence interval, and the acceptable deviation from the mean. For a 95% confidence interval and a 20% acceptable strength deviation from the mean, either 9 or 10 samples are needed to test for strength, depending on the statistical analysis used.     

Quantifying uncertainties associated with depth duration frequency curves

Uncertainty in depth–duration–frequency (DDF) curves is usually disregarded in the view of difficulties associated in assigning a value to it. In central Iran, precipitation duration is often long and characterized with low intensity leading to a considerable uncertainty in the parameters of the probabilistic distributions describing rainfall depth. In this paper, the daily rainfall depths from 4 stations in the Zayanderood basin, Iran, were analysed, and a generalized extreme value distribution was fitted to the maximum yearly rainfall for durations of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 days. DDF curves were described as a function of rainfall duration (D) and return period (T). Uncertainties of the rainfall depth in the DDF curves were estimated with the bootstrap sampling method and were described by a normal probability density function. Standard deviations were modeled as a function of rainfall duration and rainfall depth using 10⁴ bootstrap samples for all the durations and return periods considered for each rainfall station.     

Migration of Petroleum Products Through Sandy Hydrogeologic Systems

Laboratory column experiments were carried out to study the migration of petroleum products through a sandy porous medium. It was found that the oil pressure needed to displace water from the pores of the sand medium increased with depth below the top of the column. While oil under negative pressure displaced water through the variably unsaturated zone, a significant vertical column of oil was needed to displace water from the pores at the water table. These results indicate that oil penetration to and below the water table will occur only if the porous medium is highly conductive and the rate of oil leak is high. For small to moderate leak rates and hydraulic conductivities, oil would preferentially spread laterally through the zones above the water table. This process of spreading could serve as a natural barrier to severe aquifer contamination by petroleum products.
A simplified procedure was developed to give an order-of-magnitude estimate of the preferred subsurface migration pathways of leaked petroleum products. This procedure utilizes the main drainage and wetting curves for oil and water and the interfacial pressure between these two fluids. This approach could be useful in guiding exploratory investigations, reducing both the risk for further spreading of the contaminants and the investigative cost.