Laboratory studies of methane and ethane adsorption and nucleation onto organic particles: Application to Titan's clouds

Titan, Saturn's largest moon, has a thick nitrogen/methane atmosphere. The temperature and pressure conditions in Titan's atmosphere are such that the methane vapor should condense near the tropopause to form clouds. Several ground-based measurements have observed sparse cloud-like features in Titan's atmosphere, while the Cassini mission to Saturn has provided large scale images of the clouds. However, Titan's cloud formation conditions remain poorly constrained. Heterogeneous nucleation (from the vapor phase onto a solid or liquid aerosol surface) greatly enhances cloud formation relative to homogeneous nucleation. In order to elucidate the cloud formation mechanism near the tropopause, we have performed laboratory measurements of the adsorption of methane and ethane onto solid organic particles (tholins) representative of Titan's photochemical haze. We find that monolayers of methane adsorb onto tholin particles at saturation ratios less than unity. We also find that solid methane nucleates onto the adsorbed methane at a saturation ratio of S=1.07±0.008. This implies that Titan's methane clouds should form easily. This is consistent with recent measurements of the column of methane ruling out excessive methane supersaturation. In addition, we find ethane adsorbs onto tholin particles in a metastable phase prior to nucleation. However, ethane nucleation onto the adsorbed ethane occurs at a relatively high saturation ratio of S=1.36±0.08. These findings are consistent with the recent report of polar ethane clouds in Titan's lower stratosphere.     

Modelling how vegetation cover affects climate change impacts on streamflow timing and magnitude in the snowmelt‐dominated upper Tuolumne Basin,Sierra Nevada

We investigated, through hydrologic modelling, the impact of the extent and density of canopy cover on streamflow timing and on the magnitude of peak and late summer flows in the upper Tuolumne basin (2600–4000 m) of the Sierra Nevada, California, under current and warmer temperatures. We used the Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model for the hydrologic modelling of the basin, assuming four vegetation scenarios: current forest (partial cover, 80% density), all forest (uniform coverage, 80% density), all barren (no forest) and thinned forest (partial cover, 40% density) for a medium‐high emissions scenario causing a 3.9 °C warming over a 100‐year period (2001–2100). Significant advances in streamflow timing, quantified as the centre of mass (COM) of over 1 month were projected for all vegetation scenarios. However, the COM advances faster with increased forest coverage. For example, when forest covered the entire area, the COM occurred on average 12 days earlier compared with the current forest coverage, with the rate of advance higher by about 0.06 days year^?1 over 100 years and with peak and late summer flows lower by about 20% and 27%, respectively. Examination of modelled changes in energy balance components at forested and barren sites as temperatures rise indicated that increases in net longwave radiation are higher in the forest case and have a higher contribution to melting earlier in the calendar year when shortwave radiation is a smaller fraction of the energy budget. These increases contributed to increased midwinter melt under the forest at temperatures above freezing, causing decreases in total accumulation and higher winter and early spring melt rates. These results highlight the importance of carefully considering the combined impacts of changing forest cover and climate on downstream water supply and mountain ecosystems. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dispersal of Mississippi and Atchafalaya sediment on the Texas-Louisiana shelf: Model estimates for the year 1993

A three-dimensional coupled hydrodynamic-sediment transport model for the Texas-Louisiana continental shelf was developed using the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) and used to represent fluvial sediment transport and deposition for the year 1993. The model included water and sediment discharge from the Mississippi River and Atchafalaya Bay, seabed resuspension, and suspended transport by currents. Input wave properties were provided by the Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) model so that ROMS could estimate wave-driven bed stresses, critical to shallow-water sediment suspension. The model used temporally variable but spatially uniform winds, spatially variable seabed grain size distributions, and six sediment tracers from rivers and seabed.At the end of the year 1993, much of the modeled fluvial sediment accumulation was localized with deposition focused near sediment sources. Mississippi sediment remained within 20-40 km of the Mississippi Delta. Most Atchafalaya sediment remained landward of the 10-m isobath in the inner-most shelf south of Atchafalaya Bay. Atchafalaya sediment displayed an elongated westward dispersal pattern toward the Chenier Plain, reflecting the importance of wave resuspension and perennially westward depth-averaged currents in the shallow waters (<10 m). Due to relatively high settling velocities assumed for sediment from the Mississippi River as well as the shallowness of the shelf south of Atchafalaya Bay, most sediment traveled only a short distance before initial deposition. Little fluvial sediment could be transported into the vicinity of the “Dead Zone” (low-oxygen area) within a seasonal-annual timeframe. Near the Mississippi Delta and Atchafalaya Bay, alongshore sediment-transport fluxes always exceeded cross-shore fluxes. Estimated cumulative sediment fluxes next to Atchafalaya Bay were episodic and “stepwise-like” compared to the relatively gradual transport around the Mississippi Delta. During a large storm in March 1993, strong winds helped vertically mix the water column over the entire shelf (up to 100-m isobath), and wave shear stress dominated total bed stress. During fair-weather conditions in May 1993, however, the freshwater plumes spread onto a stratified water column, and combined wave-current shear stress only exceeded the threshold for suspending sediment in the inner-most part of the shelf.     

Archaeal lipids record paleosalinity in hypersaline systems

We present an ecologically based biomarker method for estimating past salinity, especially in hypersaline conditions. The relative amounts of acyclic diether and tetraether membrane lipids synthesized by Archaea correlate with salinity from 0–250 practical salinity units (psu) in modern settings. We examined the preservation of this lipid biomarker–salinity relationship in ancient sedimentary organic matter using samples from two sequences of marls and diatomites deposited just prior to the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Salinity estimates were consistent with expected absolute salinity, as well as the amplitude of variations leading up to the Messinian Salinity Crisis. This lipid biomarker approach to salinity reconstruction complements existing paleosalinity proxies because (i) Archaea survive and thrive over a broad salinity range, well beyond that of haptophyte algae and other plankton which form the microfossil record and (ii) it provides fine salinity resolution for the wide range broadly defined as hypersaline. With the proxy, there is the potential to provide novel insights into salinity variation within desiccating basins in climatically sensitive seas (e.g. Dead Sea, Permian Delaware Basin), evolution of brines, timing of onset of hypersaline conditions and evaporite deposition.     

Aqueous Carbon Monoxide Cycling in a Fjord-Like Estuary

Dissolved carbon monoxide, [CO], was measured in oxic surface waters and in the anoxic layer of the Pettaquamscutt River, Rhode Island, from March to August 2008. Samples were collected at near-shore locations to examine spatial and seasonal changes at solar noon. Each month, a set of diel samples was collected at the surface stations to evaluate photoproduction and biological processing. In July and August, anoxic samples from depths >6 m were collected to examine the presence of an active anaerobic CO metabolism. The surface [CO] decreased from 65 to 5 nmol kg^?1 from spring to summer, which was attributed to a decline in dissolved organic matter. Diel [CO] showed a strong mid-afternoon maximum with a late evening and early morning minimum. Inferred first-order loss rates, attributed to biological processing, ranged from 0.1–0.6 h^?1 without a clear seasonal pattern. [CO] saturation ratios were typically >200 at mid-day, >7 in morning/late evening, and never below 1, implying the river is always a net source of CO to the atmosphere. [CO] in the anoxic layer averaged 2 nmol kg^?1.     

Topographic control on the dynamics of the Svalbard-Barents Sea ice sheet

The land surface of what is now the Barents Sea region may have been eroded to a sub-aerial platform prior to the Quaternary, due to both tectonic uplift-induced and sea-level lowering-induced erosion processes. The Barents Sea was then further eroded into its present form by the subsequent action of ice sheets. Two bedrock configurations, representing the pre-Quaternary sub-aerial Barents Shelf topography and the largely submarine morphology of the present day, were used as input to a glaciological ice sheet model so that the dynamic evolution of the maximum-sized ice sheets, caused solely by a change in bedrock elevation, could be identified. The ice-sheet model was run under constant glacial environmental conditions, until mass balance stability was reached, over both bedrock configurations. The simple parabolic ice sheet surface, which formed on a flat sub-aerial bedrock platform, was found to be significantly different in dynamic character compared with an ice sheet developed on the present submarine bedrock topography. In this latter situation, the central ice dome is drained by ice streams in Bjørnøyrenna, Storfjordrenna and smaller outlet glaciers in the north of the ice sheet.     

Risk reduction at the ��Last-Mile��: an attempt to turn science into action by the example of Padang, Indonesia

More than ever before, the last decade revealed the immense vulnerability of the world??s cities to natural hazards. Neither the tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004, the hurricane Katrina in 2005, the cyclone Nargis in 2008 nor the earthquakes in Sichuan in 2008 or in Haiti 2010 found the people, the city administrations or the national or international organizations well prepared in the advent of anticipated but to a large extent disregarded natural disasters. It is evident that the lack of tailor-made disaster management plans and standard operational procedures are often the crucial point in proper risk reduction approaches. This study presents an approach to transfer knowledge of an extensive multidisciplinary scientific study on risk identification into recommendations for risk reduction strategies. The study has been conducted by means of a combination of experts from different scientific communities coming from civil and coastal engineering, remote sensing, social sciences, evacuation modelling and capacity development. The paper presents the results of this research approach and interweaves key findings with recent experiences from an eyewitness on a previous hazard event. Thus, necessary tsunami hazard and vulnerability information as well as valuable insights into preparedness activities have been derived for initiating updated infrastructural designs and practical recommendations for emergency management as well as strategic spatial planning activities at the local scale. The approach was applied in the context of tsunami early warning and evacuation planning in the coastal city of Padang, Western Sumatra, Republic of Indonesia.     

Ecological Entrepreneurship Support Networks: Roles and functions for conservation organizations

Changing social and economic drivers of land use require a more integrated approach to land conservation that addresses both the land and the socio-economic context of land use. Technical and legal conservation focused at the single-parcel scale is insufficient. This research examines ecological entrepreneurship, discussed by Marsden and Smith (2005), as an integrated conservation strategy that targets environmental as well as economic goals. Specifically, we explore the roles and functions that must be provided by Ecological Entrepreneurship Support Networks (EESNs). In particular, we look at land trusts engaging in these efforts. Through a series of case studies, we examine the roles and functions, as well as motivations and challenges faced by land trusts involved in EESNs. The lessons learned through these case studies are intended to inform broader sustainable development efforts.     

Contributions from glacially derived sediment to the global iron (oxyhydr)oxide cycle: Implications for iron delivery to the oceans

Estimates of glacial sediment delivery to the oceans have been derived from fluxes of meltwater runoff and iceberg calving, and their sediment loads. The combined total (2900 Tg yr⁻¹) of the suspended sediment load in meltwaters (1400 Tg yr⁻¹) and the sediment delivered by icebergs (1500 Tg yr⁻¹) are within the range of earlier estimates. High-resolution microscopic observations show that suspended sediments from glacial meltwaters, supraglacial, and proglacial sediments, and sediments in basal ice, from Arctic, Alpine, and Antarctic locations all contain iron (oxyhydr)oxide nanoparticles, which are poorly crystalline, typically ∼5 nm in diameter, and which occur as single grains or aggregates that may be isolated or attached to sediment grains. Nanoparticles with these characteristics are potentially bioavailable. A global model comparing the sources and sinks of iron present as (oxyhydr)oxides indicates that sediment delivered by icebergs is a significant source of iron to the open oceans, beyond the continental shelf. Iceberg delivery of sediment containing iron as (oxyhydr)oxides during the Last Glacial Maximum may have been sufficient to fertilise the increase in oceanic productivity required to drawdown atmospheric CO₂ to the levels observed in ice cores.