Processes affecting groundwater temperature patterns in a coastal aquifer

The temperature depth profiles of six wells in the Motril-Salobren～a aquifer were used as a basis for a comparative analysis involving various parameters to determine their relations and factors influencing the different trends. There is a clear influence of ambient temperature on all the profiles, with a lag time of two to five months. Nevertheless, there are clear differences in the temperature depth profile patterns that can be accounted for by other factors. First, there is a greater influence of localized recharge; Guadalfeo River as opposed to diffuse recharge; irrigation return flow and rainfall. Three of the wells located near the riverbed of the Guadalfeo River have extremely variable temperature-depth profiles and show clear river influence. In springtime, during the highest flood stages of the river due to cold melt water from the Sierra Nevada, the groundwater falls in temperature. During secondary peaks in river flow rates during the autumn due to rainfall, the warm water increases groundwater temperature. The effect of the river recharge decreases with distance from the course since there is less mixing with water from the Guadalfeo River. In addition, there are two temperature-depth profiles in which temperature variations remain shallow and follow a pattern that cannot be attributed to the influence of either of the above two parameters. Among these two cases, the most influential factor is the groundwater flow pattern typical of a discharge zone, characterized by vertical-flow components.     

Comparative phylogeography of African rain forest trees: A review of genetic signatures of vegetation history in the Guineo-Congolian region

The biogeographic history of the African rain forests has been contentious. Phylogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of genetic lineages within species, can highlight the signatures of historical events affecting the demography and distribution of species (i.e. population fragmentation or size changes, range expansion/contraction) and, thereby, the ecosystems they belong to. The accumulation of recent data for African rain forests now enables a first biogeographic synthesis for the region. In this review, we explain which phylogeographic patterns are expected under different scenarios of past demographic change, and we give an overview of the patterns detected in African rain forest trees to discuss whether they support alternative hypotheses regarding the history of the African rain forest cover. The major genetic discontinuities in the region support the role of refugia during climatic oscillations, though not necessarily following the classically proposed scenarios. We identify in particular a genetic split between the North and the South of the Lower Guinean region. Finally we provide some perspectives for future study.     

Restoring capability of bilinear hysteretic seismic isolation systems

The restoring capability (or re‐centering capability) is identified by the current design codes as a fundamental feature of seismic isolation systems. In this paper, the restoring capability of bilinear hysteretic or frictional seismic isolation systems is investigated in some detail. Certain energy considerations are examined first in order to provide insight into and reveal governing parameters on individual aspects of the problem. The restoring capability is then investigated through an extensive parametric study of smooth bilinear single‐degree‐of‐freedom hysteretic systems, with parameters covering a range of typical seismic isolation systems, subjected to a large group of recorded earthquakes. The results of the parametric analyses are processed statistically and regression analysis relations are derived that show the dependence of the residual displacement after the earthquake and the cumulative build up of displacements after a series of successive earthquakes on the governing parameters. Based on the analysis results, the features of the bilinear system that ensure sufficient restoring capability are identified. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Recent theoretical results on coronal heating

The scenario of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in connection with coronal active regions has been actively investigated in recent years. According to this viewpoint, a turbulent regime is driven by footpoint motions and the incoming energy is efficiently transferred to small scales due to a direct energy cascade. The development of fine scales to enhance the dissipation of either waves or DC currents is therefore a natural outcome of turbulent models. Numerical integrations of the reduced magnetohydrodynamic equations are performed to simulate the dynamics of coronal loops driven at their bases by footpoint motions. These simulations show that a stationary turbulent regime is reached after a few photospheric times, displaying a broadband power spectrum and a dissipation rate consistent with the energy loss rates of the plasma confined in these loops. Also, the functional dependence of the stationary heating rate with the physical parameters of the problem is obtained, which might be useful for an observational test of this theoretical framework.     

Groundwater contamination with arsenic and other trace elements in an area of the pampa,province of Córdoba,Argentina

A geochemical study of groundwater of the pampa in the province of Córdoba, Argentina, was performed; the area covered approximately 10,000 km².Physical-chemical parameters, dissolved solids, and seven trace elements were determined in 60 selected water samples. Systematic and accurate measurements of arsenic, flourine, and vanadium were performed for the first time. Three trace element contaminants not reported earlier were found: an important one, selenium, and two others of less known effects, uranium and molybdenum.Eighty-four percent of the water analyzed showed arsenic contents over 0.05 mg/L, maximum contaminant level established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1982). The frequency distribution of trace elements was analyzed, and its fit to the lognormal distribution was proved by means of the Pearson and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test; the geographic distribution of the seven trace elements was mapped and its correlation with the anion-cation composition of the water was studied.The maximum arsenic, fluorine, vanadium, and uranium contents were found in the western part of the area under study, in waters containing dominant alkali metals in the cation composition. Maximum selenium and antimony contents were found in the eastern part of the area, while molybdenum distribution does not show any relationship with the other two groups. In addition, the geographic distribution of the trace elements seems to be related to the subsurface structure, which has been inferred using interactive digital analysis of Landsat imagery. The movements of the subsoil have disturbed surface and subsurface drainage influencing the water salinity and trace element contents.In order to investigate the origin of the contamination, 54 loess samples were collected in wells at depths ranging from the surface down to the water table. This loess, which has a high proportion of volcanic components, mainly rhyolitic glass, exhibits a chemical composition corresponding to that of a dacite.The loess and the volcanic glass show anomalous contents of all contaminant trace elements, mainly arsenic and selenium. For this reason loess is considered the most important contamination source in the groundwater under study.     

The motion of a satellite in an axi-symmetric gravitational field

The equations for the variation of the osculating elements of a satellite moving in an axi-symmetric gravitational field are integrated to yield the complete first-order perturbations for the elements of the orbit. The expressions obtained include the effects produced by the second to eighth spherical harmonics. The orbital elements are presented in the most general form of summations by means of Hansen coefficients. Due to their general forms it is a simple matter to estimate the perturbations of any higher harmonic by simply increasing the index of summation. Finally, this paper gives the respective general expressions for the secular perturbations of the orbital elements. The formulae presented should be useful for the reductions of Earth-satellite observations and geopotential studies based on them.List of Symbols semi-major axis - C _jk ⁿ (, ) cosine functions of and - e eccentricity of the orbit - f acceleration vector of perturbing force - f sin²t - i inclination of the orbit - J _n coefficients in the potential expansion - M mean anomaly - n mean motion - p semi-latus rectum of the orbit - R, S, andW components of the perturbing acceleration - r radius-vector of satellite - r magnitude ofr - S _jk ⁿ (, ) sine functions of and - T time of perigee passage - u argument of latitude - U gravitational potential - true anomaly - V perturbing potential - G(M₊+m) (gravitational constant times the sum of the masses of Earth and satellite) - _n,k coefficients ofR component of disturbing acceleration (funtions off) - _n,k coefficients ofS andW components of disturbing acceleration (functions off) - mean anomaly at timet=0 - X ₀ ^n,m zero-order Hansen coefficients - argument of perigee - right ascension of the ascending node     

Accounting for the foreground contribution to the dust emission towards Kepler's supernova remnant

Whether or not supernovae contribute significantly to the overall dust budget is a controversial subject. Submillimetre (sub-mm) observations, sensitive to cold dust, have shown an excess at 450 and 850 μm in young remnants Cassiopeia A (Cas A) and Kepler. Some of the sub-mm emission from Cas A has been shown to be contaminated by unrelated material along the line of sight. In this paper, we explore the emission from material towards Kepler using sub-mm continuum imaging and spectroscopic observations of atomic and molecular gas, via H  i , ¹²CO( J = 2–1) and ¹³CO( J = 2–1). We detect weak CO emission (peak   T *_A  = 0.2–1 K, 1–2 km s⁻¹ full width at half-maximum) from diffuse, optically thin gas at the locations of some of the sub-mm clumps. The contribution to the sub-mm emission from foreground molecular and atomic clouds is negligible. The revised dust mass for Kepler's remnant is  0.1–1.2 M_⊙  , about half of the quoted values in the original study by Morgan et al., but still sufficient to explain the origin of dust at high redshifts.     

Test of Scintillometer Saturation Correction Methods Using Field Experimental Data

Saturation of large aperture scintillometer (LAS) signals can result in sensible heat flux measurements that are biased low. A field study with LASs of different aperture sizes and path lengths was performed to investigate the onset of, and corrections for, signal saturation. Saturation already occurs at \({C_n^2 \approx 0.074 D^{5/3} \lambda^{1/3} L^{-8/3}}\), where \({C_n^2}\) is the structure parameter of the refractive index, D is the aperture size, λ is the wavelength, L is the transect length, which is smaller than theoretically derived saturation limits. At a transect length of 1 km, a height of 2.5 m, and aperture ≈0.15 m the correction factor exceeds 5% already at \({C_n^2=2\times 10^{-12}{\rm m}^{-2/3}}\), which will affect many practical applications of scintillometry. The Clifford correction method, which only depends on \({C_n^2}\) and the transect geometry, provides good saturation corrections over the range of conditions observed in our study. The saturation correction proposed by Ochs and Hill results in correction factors that are too small in large saturation regimes. An inner length scale dependence of the saturation correction factor was not observed. Thus for practical applications the Clifford correction method should be applied.     

Molecular and structural investigation of yukonite (synthetic & natural) and its relation to arseniosiderite

This paper describes the first synthesis method of yukonite, its thorough molecular and structural analysis along with natural specimens originating from Tagish Lake (Canada) and Grotta della Monaca (Italy) for comparison, and its structural relation to arseniosiderite. The synthetic and natural yukonites were found to have a range of composition according to the general formula Ca₂Fe_3-5(AsO₄)₃(OH)_4-10·xH₂O where x = 2-11. The synthetic yukonite was found to be equivalent at the atomic, molecular and structural level to the Tagish Lake yukonite. At the molecular level, arseniosiderite, via vibrational spectroscopy, was found to have a H-bonding system as in scorodite and exhibit an extra arsenate mode indicative of groups. Heating experiments along with ATR-IR analysis indicated the presence of structural water and hydroxyl units in arseniosiderite. In yukonite in contrast, a wide diffuse H-bonding environment was observed with only arsenate groups. The presence of both structural water and hydroxyl groups was further verified via ATR-IR spectroscopy. The As K, Fe 2p and Ca 2p XANES spectra of yukonite and arseniosiderite were found to be identical, confirming that the local nature of the As, Fe and Ca atoms in these structures is the same. Diffraction analysis (X-ray and electron) showed that yukonite consist of nano-crystalline domains while in the case of arseniosiderite micro-size single crystal domains exist.     

Temporal variations in bedload transport rates: The effect of progressive bed armouring

The quantitative bedload transport data that are presently available confirm that the generalized bedload transport rate-stream power relationship is applicable to natural streams. However, the bedload transport rate is not solely dependent upon hydraulic parameters, but also upon the inter-relationship between bed material characteristics and flow properties. Segregation of the surficial bed material, as expressed through the development of an armour coat, limits the availability of transportable material. Under such circumstances observed bedload transport rates are less than the predicted values. The effect which the development of an armoured surface has upon the bedload transport rate is described with reference to bedload and bed material sampling in the Borgne d'Arolla, Valais, Switzerland. The data refer to two periods when the resumption of baseflow conditions following flood events which were of a sufficient magnitude to transport all but the coarsest (0·3–0·5 m) particles on the streambed, provided the opportunity for the bed to adjust to a comparatively stable flow regime. Observed and predicted bedload transport rate-stream power relationships are compared. The theoretical relationship does not adequately describe conditions in some gravel-bed channels, since it fails to take into account the effect which armouring may have upon the supply of transportable material.