A search for decay of with tin-loaded liquid scintillator

A search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of ¹²⁴Sn was carried out using the tin-loaded liquid scintillator for an active source-detector technique. Tin (32.6%) in weight was successfully loaded into the liquid scintillator, and light output was as high as 57% of the unloaded liquid scintillator. A tin-loaded liquid scintillator with 1.1 ℓ volume was installed at the 700 m underground laboratory in YangYang, and data were taken for 5285 h. No evidence for the 0νββ decay was found and a lower limit on the ¹²⁴Sn half-life was obtained to be 2.0×10¹⁹ year with 90% C.L. The new limit represents a significant improvement with respect to those previously available for ¹²⁴Sn.     

Comparison of Intestine Microbiota Between Wild and Farmed Korean Rockfish,Sebastes schlegelii

Ocean Science Journal - The Korean rockfish, Sebastes schlegeli, is most commonly farmed in sea cages along the coast of Korea; however, detailed information on intestinal microbiota regarding this...     

Use of total precipitable water classification of a priori error and quality control in atmospheric temperature and water vapor sounding retrieval

This study investigates the use of dynamic a priori error information according to atmospheric moistness and the use of quality controls in temperature and water vapor profile retrievals from hyperspectral infrared (IR) sounders. Temperature and water vapor profiles are retrieved from Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) radiance measurements by applying a physical iterative method using regression retrieval as the first guess. Based on the dependency of first-guess errors on the degree of atmospheric moistness, the a priori first-guess errors classified by total precipitable water (TPW) are applied in the AIRS physical retrieval procedure. Compared to the retrieval results from a fixed a priori error, boundary layer moisture retrievals appear to be improved via TPW classification of a priori first-guess errors. Six quality control (QC) tests, which check non-converged or bad retrievals, large residuals, high terrain and desert areas, and large temperature and moisture deviations from the first guess regression retrieval, are also applied in the AIRS physical retrievals. Significantly large errors are found for the retrievals rejected by these six QCs, and the retrieval errors are substantially reduced via QC over land, which suggest the usefulness and high impact of the QCs, especially over land. In conclusion, the use of dynamic a priori error information according to atmospheric moistness, and the use of appropriate QCs dealing with the geographical information and the deviation from the first-guess as well as the conventional inverse performance are suggested to improve temperature and moisture retrievals and their applications.     

Zinc surface complexes on birnessite: A density functional theory study

Biogeochemical cycling of zinc is strongly influenced by sorption on birnessite minerals (layer-type MnO₂), which are found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic environments. Zinc has been observed to form both tetrahedral (Zn^IV) and octahedral (Zn^VI) triple-corner-sharing surface complexes (TCS) at Mn(IV) vacancy sites in hexagonal birnessite. The octahedral complex is expected to be similar to that of Zn in the Mn oxide mineral, chalcophanite (ZnMn₃O₇·3H₂O), but the reason for the occurrence of the four-coordinate Zn surface species remains unclear. We address this issue computationally using spin-polarized density functional theory (DFT) to examine the Zn^IV-TCS and Zn^VI-TCS species. Structural parameters obtained by DFT geometry optimization were in excellent agreement with available experimental data on Zn-birnessites. Total energy, magnetic moments, and electron overlap populations obtained by DFT for isolated Zn^IV-TCS revealed that this species is stable in birnessite without a need for Mn(III) substitution in the octahedral sheet and that it is more effective in reducing undersaturation of surface O at a Mn vacancy than is Zn^VI-TCS. Comparison between geometry-optimized ZnMn₃O₇·3H₂O (chalcophanite) and the hypothetical monohydrate mineral, ZnMn₃O₇·H₂O, which contains only tetrahedral Zn, showed that the hydration state of Zn significantly affects birnessite structural stability. Finally, our study also revealed that, relative to their positions in an ideal vacancy-free MnO₂, Mn nearest to Zn in a TCS surface complex move toward the vacancy by 0.08-0.11 Å, while surface O bordering the vacancy move away from it by 0.16-0.21 Å, in agreement with recent X-ray absorption spectroscopic analyses.     

Tropical cyclone track and intensity prediction with a structure adjustable balanced vortex

A new Tropical Cyclone (TC) initialization method with the structure adjustable bogus vortex was applied to the forecasts of track, central pressure, and wind intensity for the 417 TCs observed in the Western North Pacific during the 3-year period of 2005–2007. In the simulations the Final Analyses (FNL) with 1° × 1° resolution of National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) were incorporated as initial conditions. The present method was shown to produce improved forecasts over those without the TC initialization and those made by Regional Specialized Meteorological Center Tokyo. The average track (central pressure, wind intensity) errors were as small as 78.0 km (11.4 hPa, 4.9 m s^?1) and 139.9 km (12.4 hPa, 5.5 m s^?1) for 24-h and 48-h forecasts, respectively. It was found that the forecast errors are almost independent on the size and intensity of the observed TCs because the size and intensity of the bogus vortex can be adjusted to fit the best track data. The results of this study indicate that a bogus method is useful in predicting simultaneously the track, central pressure, and intensity with accuracy using a dynamical forecast model.     

Tracing of residual multiple DNAPL sources in the subsurface using 222Rn as a natural tracer at an industrial complex in Wonju, Korea

Depth-discrete tracing of residual dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) sources in the subsurface is of great importance in making decisions related to contaminated groundwater remediation. Temporal variations in the natural tracer ²²²Rn and contaminant concentrations in groundwater contaminated with multiple chlorinated contaminants, such as trichloroethene, carbon tetrachloride, and chloroform, were examined to trace residual multiple DNAPL contaminants at an industrial complex in Wonju, Korea. The ²²²Rn activities and multiple DNAPL concentrations in the groundwater fluctuated irregularly according to the groundwater recharge. The natural tracer ²²²Rn in groundwater present in the soil layer, originating from the underlying crystalline biotite granite, had a wide range from 29,000 to 179,000 Bq/m³, and total concentrations of chlorinated solvents ranged from 0.06 to 17.77 mg/l, indicating the ambiguous results of ²²²Rn for tracing the residual DNAPL sources. In this paper, a method is presented to locate zones with a high probability of containing depth-discrete residual multiple DNAPL sources using ²²²Rn and considering relative contaminant concentrations. The results demonstrate that the combination of the ²²²Rn activities as a natural tracer and the relative contaminant concentrations is able to be used as a useful tool for tracing residual DNAPLs.     

Phytoremediation by benthic microalgae (BMA) and light emitting diode (LED) in eutrophic coastal sediments

Ocean Science Journal - In this study, we examined whether phytoremediation using benthic microalgae (BMA) and a light emitting diode (LED) can remediate eutrophic sediments caused by promoting the...     

A review of the National Groundwater Monitoring Network in Korea

The drastic expansion of cities and the rapid economic growth in Korea have caused dramatic increases to demand from groundwater supplies for drinking, domestic, agricultural and industrial water usage. The Ministry of Construction and Transportation and the Korea Water Resources Corporation have constructed and operated the National Groundwater Monitoring Network (NGMN) throughout the country since 1995. The NGMN, an official project establishing a total of 320 groundwater monitoring stations, was completed in 2005. Each national groundwater monitoring station serves as a baseline and primary station to monitor long‐term general trends in water‐level fluctuations and in groundwater quality. The present NGMN and its monitoring capabilities were evaluated to enhance the efficiency of groundwater monitoring and to meet the new societal conditions. Based on reviews and evaluations, some suggestions and recommendations are made with regard to improvements of the national network, including the installation of rainfall gauges in groundwater monitoring stations, gathering groundwater data every hour instead of every 6 h as at present, involving major cations and anions in the regular and periodic chemical analyses, regular periodic analyses of collected groundwater data, and construction of 199 additional groundwater monitoring stations to supplement the existing groundwater monitoring network. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.