Phthalate ester plasticizers,DDT, DDE and polychlorinated biphenyls in biota from the Gulf of Mexico

The levels of phthalate ester plasticizers, DDT, DDE and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in the tissues of 18 species of marine organisms from the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Low levels of the most widely used phthalate, di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, were found in the majority of the samples; no other phthalates were detected. DDT, DDE and PCBs were found in all samples, but at somewhat lower levels than those found in our 1971 survey. A decrease in p,p′-DDT/p,p′-DDE ratios relative to 1971 was also noted.     

Effects of bottom sediments on the survival of Enterobacter aerogenes in seawater

The survival of the coliform bacterium Enterobacter aerogenes in seawater was greatly affected by the underlying bottom sediments. The presence of sediments which contained higher concentrations of organic nutrients than the overlaying seawater prolonged the survival and even enabled growth of the bacterial cells. Results obtained from chemical analysis indicated that sediments of fine-grained, silt-clay type contained highest amounts of organic nutrients as compared with sediments with larger particle sizes such as silt and sand grains. Thus, nutrient contents of the sediments were found to be inversely proportional to sediment particle size. The degree of prolonged survival of E. aerogenes was also found to be inversely proportional to the size of the sediment particles presented. Release of the bound nutrients which became available to cells of E. aerogenes from sediments by action of waves and human activities can explain, at least in part, why high counts of coliform bacteria are obtained in coastal and beach waters.     

大气动力学方程组的定性理论及其应用

基于完整的湿大气动力学方程组,利用无穷维动力系统的新理论和新方法,系统讨论了强迫耗散的非线性大气系统的定性理论及其应用。将完整的强迫耗散非线性湿大气动力学方程组化为Hilbert空间中一个等价的算子方程,研究了算子的性质及其物理意义,在此基础上得到湿大气系统全局吸引子的存在性定理,揭示出系统向外源的非线性适应特征,并把结果推广到有地形动力作用和非定常外源强迫的情形。同时探讨了大气方程组惯性流形的存在,大气多平衡态产生的根源以及强迫、耗散和非线性对系统解的渐近行为的影响。在理论结果的基础上,提出强迫耗散的非线性动力系统中存在三类时间边界层、方程组简化准则、分解算法的算子约束原则以及支撑吸引子基底的少数自由度的构造方法,探讨了理论在非线性发展方程差分格式的设计和计算稳定性分析、多平衡态的数值分析、数值模式延伸预报的改进、短期气候预测以及一类中尺度系统分析与预测中的应用,指出描述长期过程动力学模式的必备条件,给出初值与模式相协调的合理解释。最后,对今后的研究方向作了展望。     

Electromagnetic induction in the San Juan Bay region of Vancouver Island

The response of the electric and magnetic field variations over the San Juan Bay region of Vancouver Island is studied using a scaled laboratory analogue model. The laboratory frequencies simulate periods of 10 and 100 s in the geophysical problem. The model results indicate that, for both E- and H-polarization of the source field, induced current in the ocean is deflected around Cape Flattery and channelled into the Juan de Fuca Strait. With increasing period, the proportion of current channelled into the Strait decreases sharply. Induced current in the strait is also funnelled into San Juan Bay, a finger-shaped bay ca. 4 km wide and 7.5 km long, for both polarizations of the source field. The effect of the Bay on the field response is confined to the local region, within approximately 6 km of the centre of the Bay. Good agreement between field station and analogue model H_z results was obtained for the San Juan Bay. The behaviour of the Parkinson arrow for these two stations is examined with the aid of the analogue model results.     

On the role of the Asian monsoon in the angular momentum and kinetic energy balances of the tropics

The balance conditions of relative angular momentum and time-mean kinetic energy and their annual variations are studied for the Northern Hemisphere tropical belt. The belt is divided into two roughly equal size parts, the monsoon and the extramonsoon regions. The data used consist of all available daily rawinsonde reports from the world areological network for the two 5-year periods 1958–63 and 1968–73.In winter, the trade winds in the monsoon and extramonsoon regions are both sources of westerly relative angular momentum for the middle latitude circulation. However, it is found that the angular momentum gained in the extramonsoon region of the Tropics is mostly destroyed by a net southward flow of mass in that region, and becomes regenerated in the monsoon region by a net northward flow of mass there. This excess of angular momentum together with the angular momentum picked up locally in the monsoon region is almost all exported across its northern boundary. It is further found that in winter the Tropics are also an important source of mean kinetic energy for middle latitudes. Again almost all export of kinetic energy was found to take place across the northern boundary of the monsoon sector. Most of this energy must be generated through the pressure gradient term inside the monsoon region itself, the transformation from transient eddy kinetic energy being very small. The proper evaluation of the pressure gradient appears to be the main stumbling block in the present study, preventing us from estimating the generation and thereby, as a residual, the frictional dissipation in the two regions.In summer, the extramonsoon region remains a source of angular momentum, but the monsoon region with its surface westerlies acts as a sink, leading to a sharp reduction (and even a midsummer reversal) of the export into middle latitudes. Also the export of mean kinetic energy almost vanishes in summer, except for a small southward transfer across the equator. The calculations for two 5-year periods give very similar estimates and thereby show the reliability of the results.Parts of this paper were presented at the International Symposium on Monsoons, March 7–12, 1977 in New Delhi, India.     

Observational constraints of sterile neutrinos in galaxies

We study a model in which degenerate sterile neutrinos account for galactic dark matter. We fit the rotation curves of 5 dwarf galaxies with the degenerate sterile neutrinos in hydrostatic equilibrium. Also we estimate the range of sterile neutrino mass by calculating the upper and lower bounds of the mass densities of sterile neutrino halos in the outermost regions of 21 normal galaxies. The observed rotation curves of 5 dwarf galaxies and 21 normal galaxies are consistent with having sterile neutrinos with mass (26–30) eV, and the similarity of the rotation curves of different galaxies emerges naturally in our model.     

The effects of rock fragments on hydrologic and hydraulic responses along a slope

A model describing the three‐dimensional matrix flow along a slope with rock fragments or impermeable blocks was developed. The model was combined with modified Picard's iteration to ensure mass conservation in the unsaturated flow. We found that rock fragments obstruct water flow along the slope. The groundwater table must be raised to provide a sufficient pore water pressure gradient to facilitate water flow, but higher pore water pressure may induce slope failure. We also conducted a bench‐scale laboratory flume experiment to examine the effects of impermeable blocks on downstream seepage flow. In addition, a numerical experiment was conducted to examine how different arrangements of impermeable blocks affect downstream seepage flow and pore water pressure. This research demonstrated that the hydraulic phenomena were affected when impermeable blocks were present, and pore water pressure increased as the position of impermeable blocks was lowered. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A brief introduction to BNU-HESM1.0 and its earth surface temperature simulations

Integrated assessment models and coupled earth system models both have their limitations in understanding the interactions between human activity and the physical earth system. In this paper,a new human–earth system model,BNUHESM1.0,constructed by combining the economic and climate damage components of the Dynamic Integrated Model of Climate Change and Economy to the BNU-ESM model,is introduced. The ability of BNU-HESM1.0 in simulating the global CO2 concentration and surface temperature is also evaluated. We find that,compared to observation,BNU-HESM1.0underestimates the global CO2 concentration and its rising trend during 1965–2005,due to the uncertainty in the economic components. However,the surface temperature simulated by BNU-HESM1.0 is much closer to observation,resulting from the overestimates of surface temperature by the original BNU-ESM model. The uncertainty of BNU-ESM falls within the range of present earth system uncertainty,so it is the economic and climate damage component of BNU-HESM1.0 that needs to be improved through further study. However,the main purpose of this paper is to introduce a new approach to investigate the complex relationship between human activity and the earth system. It is hoped that it will inspire further ideas that prove valuable in guiding human activities appropriate for a sustainable future climate.     

The Landau level-superfluid modified factor and the overal soft X/<Emphasis Type="Italic">γ</Emphasis>-ray efficiency coefficient of a magnetar

As soon as the energies of electrons near the Fermi surface exceed Q, the threshold energy of inverse β-decay, electron capture (EC) dominates inside a neutron star. The high-energy neutrons released by EC will destroy anisotropic ³ P ₂ neutron Cooper pairs in the degenerate superfluid. By colliding with the neutrons produced in the process n+(n↑n↓)→n+n+n, the kinetic energies of the neutrons released by EC will be transformed into thermal energy. A portion of this thermal energy will be transported from the star interior to the star surface by conduction, then converted to a thermal spectrum of soft X-rays and γ-rays. By introducing two important parameters: the Landau level-superfluid modified factor and the overal soft X/γ-ray efficiency coefficient, we compute the theoretical luminosity L _X of a magnetar under our model and plot a diagram of L _X as a function of magnetic field strength B. Numerical calculations based on our model agree well with the observed properties of magnetar candidates.