The environmental impacts of pollutants generated by routine shipping operations on ports

The environmental impacts generated by shipping operations have increasingly become an important research topic, where its pollutants often pose negative externalities to natural habitats and economic losses to coastal areas. While the environmental impact costs generated by shipping disasters, notably large scale accidental oil spills, have been widely studied, hitherto, works dedicated to the assessment of environmental impact costs of pollutants generated by routine shipping operations remain scarce due to their relatively implicit nature and thus delays of consequential risks. Hence, by proposing an economic model and calibrating it to Port of Rotterdam, this paper assesses the environmental impact costs generated by routine shipping operations on ports. By shedding light on this important, but under-researched, issue critical to the well-being of the global shipping industry, this paper provides a decent framework for further research in sustainable shipping and port management for future generations.     

The parametrization of the sulfate-nitrate-ammonia aerosol system in the long-range transport model EURAD

Summary Because of the obvious importance of aerosols for atmospheric modelling, an aerosol module has been developed as part of the European Acid Deposition Model (EURAD). The chemical and physical processes have been restricted to the sulfate-nitrate-ammonia system to study the influence of aerosols on acid deposition. Special consideration is given to the reversible formation process ofNH ₄ NO ₃ aerosols and the influence of the dissociation constant on the aerosol and gas phase concentrations. This component appears to be important in particular for regions where large ammonia emissions are found as in Europe.Concentration and deposition fields as predicted by EURAD are analysed for a simulation with and without the new aerosol module. Due to their smaller dry deposition velocities in the aerosol phase, the amount of nitrogen species in air is larger and the spatial distribution is considerably different if aerosols are taken into account. On the other hand wet deposition of nitrogen is enhanced due to the presence of easily soluble ammonium nitrate aerosols.A comparison with observations from the EMEP network has been conducted to evaluate the performance of the aerosol module. Modelling with the aerosol phase leads to a much better agreement between modelled and measured concentration fields.With 12 Figures     

Simulated effect of a forest road on near‐surface hydrologic response: redux

In the work reported here the comprehensive physics‐based Integrated Hydrology Model (InHM) was employed to conduct both three‐ and two‐dimensional (3D and 2D) hydrologic‐response simulations for the small upland catchment known as C3 (located within the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest in Oregon). Results from the 3D simulations for the steep unchannelled C3 (i) identify subsurface stormflow as the dominant hydrologic‐response mechanism and (ii) show the effect of the down‐gradient forest road on both the surface and subsurface flow systems. Comparison of the 3D results with the 2D results clearly illustrates the importance of convergent subsurface flow (e.g. greater pore‐water pressures in the hollow of the catchment for the 3D scenario). A simple infinite‐slope model, driven by subsurface pore‐water pressures generated from the 3D and 2D hydrologic‐response simulations, was employed to estimate slope stability along the long‐profile of the C3 hollow axis. As expected, the likelihood of slope failure is underestimated for the lower pore pressures from the 2D hydrologic‐response simulation compared, in a relative sense, to the higher pore pressures from the 3D hydrologic response simulation. The effort reported herein provides a firm quantitative foundation for generalizing the effects that forest roads can have on near‐surface hydrologic response and slope stability at the catchment scale. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Eine Analyse quasiperiodischer Variationen des Magnetfeldes während geomagnetischer Stürme

Summary Geomagnetic storms of middle intensity—the so-called moderate storms—are characterized in middle latitudes by fluctuations of pulsation and bay type in all three componentsD, H andZ, the periods of which are within the range of 20 to 120 minutes. They are appearing in all three storm phases (initial, main and recovery phase), generally showing a maximum in the main phase. By the aid of statistic frequency analysis as well as of the calculation of the autocorrelation function and power spectra the fluctuations of this period ranges were analysed for 22 geomagnetic storms of middle intensity during the period of 1952 to 1962, recorded at the Niemegk observatory. In order to get an impression about the dependence on latitude 7 parallel records from a station in higher latitude (Dombas, Norway) were analysed in the same way. Power spectra show that there are favoured some periodicities within the period range of 20 to 120 minutes, especially near 50 to 60 and 90 to 120 minutes. This applies to the investigatedX(H)- andY(D)-components as well in middle as in northern latitudes.

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Mitt. aus dem Geomagnetischen Inst. Potsdam Nr. 263.     

A Climatology of Tropopause Folds by Global Analyses

Summary A global ECMWF data set comprising ten years of daily routine T63 analyses is employed for the derivation of regional and temporal tropopause fold statistics. Due to the small scale of folds relative to grid resolution it was found to be convenient to identify them by joint occurrences of potential vorticity maxima and upper tropospheric Q-vector divergences as indicators. The applicability of the proposed method is shown by diagnostic studies of episodic mesoscale model simulations, with 40–50 km resolution as a basis for reference and comparison with the global data set. Tropopause folds are a frequent and rather uniformly occurring phenomenon of the extratropics pole-ward of 30° latitude. On the global scale, and based on daily counting, there are about 11 000 tropopause fold days per year. In order to account for the different folding depth and intensity a four step classification is proposed to define a tropopause fold activity by weighted sums, in terms of four intensity classes. Tropopause fold activity in the Northern Hemisphere is nearly twice as high and less homogeneously distributed as in the Southern Hemisphere, where only 62% of the tropopause fold frequency is estimated. The frequency of tropopause folds is significantly smaller in the summer than in the other seasons. Received September 10, 1996 Revised June 24, 1997     

Meteorite 3‐D synchrotron microtomography: Methods and applications

Abstract— Methods of synchrotron X‐ray computed microtomography (XRCMT) are described, which allow nondestructive, high spatial and contrast resolution imaging of the density structures of meteorites and their components in three dimensions. Images of bulk chondrites (to one cubic centimeter in size) reveal compound chondrules, chondrule/matrix volumetric ratios, metal and sulfide distribution, petrofabrics, and 3‐D chondrule and calcium‐aluminum inclusion (CAI) sizes and shapes. Images of separated chondrules and CAIs reveal void spaces, mineral intergrowth textures, and the true locations of crystal rims and cores, at resolutions to <8 cubic micron/volume element. Images of achondrites reveal mineral fabrics and crystal zoning. Lunar glass spherules can be searched for phenocrysts bearing deeply sourced melt inclusions. A companion DVD and URL contain images for classroom and research use. Numerical techniques for quantification of X‐ray computed microtomography (XRCMT) data and its potential applications are discussed. Three‐dimensional X‐ray images of meteorites provide a way to discover components of interest and to precisely slice samples to expose these components with minimal damage and loss of material. Three‐dimensional studies of petrographic features (size, shape, texture, and modal abundance) of chondrites and their components, as well as other meteorites, have definite advantages over standard 2‐D studies using randomly sliced thin sections.     

Equilibrium condensation from chondritic porous IDP enriched vapor: Implications for Mercury and enstatite chondrite origins

The origin of Mercury's anomalous core and low FeO surface mineralogy are outstanding questions in planetary science. Mercury's composition may result from cosmochemical controls on the precursor solids that accreted to form Mercury. High temperatures and enrichment in solid condensates are likely conditions near the midplane of the inner solar protoplanetary disk. Silicate liquids similar to the liquids quenched in ferromagnesian chondrules are thermodynamically stable in oxygen-rich systems that are highly enriched in dust of CI-chondrite composition. In contrast, the solids surviving into the orbit of Mercury's accretion zone were probably similar to highly unequilibrated, anhydrous, interstellar organic- and presolar grain-bearing chondritic, porous interplanetary dust particles (C-IDPs). Chemical systems enriched in an assumed C-IDP composition dust produce condensates (solid+liquid assemblages in equilibrium with vapor) with super-chondritic atomic Fe/Si ratios at high temperatures, approaching 50% of that estimated for bulk Mercury. Sulfur behaves as a refractory element, but at lower temperatures, in these chemical systems. Stable minerals are FeO-poor, and include CaS and MgS, species found in enstatite chondrites. Disk gradients in volatile compositions of planetary and asteroidal precursors can explain Mercury's anomalous composition, as well as enstatite chondrite and aubrite parent body compositions. This model predicts high sulfur content, and very low FeO content of Mercury's surface rocks.