Evaluation of deep learning algorithm for inflow forecasting: a case study of Durian Tunggal Reservoir,Peninsular Malaysia

Natural Hazards - Forecasting of reservoir inflow is one of the most vital concerns when it comes to managing water resources at reservoirs to mitigate natural hazards such as flooding. Machine...     

Fate and transport of volatile organic compounds in glacial till and groundwater at an industrial site in Northern Ireland

Volatile organic compound (VOC) contamination of subsurface geological material and groundwater was discovered on the Nortel Monkstown industrial site, Belfast, Northern Ireland. The objectives of this study were to (1) investigate the characteristics of the geological material and its influences on contaminated groundwater flow across the site using borehole logs and hydrological evaluations, and (2) identify the contaminants and examine their distribution in the subsurface geological material and groundwater using chemical analysis. This report focuses on the eastern car park (ECP) which was a former storage area associated with trichloroethene (TCE) degreasing operations. This is where the greatest amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particularly TCE, were detected. The study site is on a complex deposit of clayey glacial till with discontinuous coarser grained lenses, mainly silts, sands and gravel, which occur at 0.45–7.82 m below ground level (bgl). The lenses overall form an elongated formation that acts as a small unconfined shallow aquifer. There is a continuous low permeable stiff clayey till layer beneath the lenses that performs as an aquitard to the groundwater. Highest concentrations of VOCs, mainly TCE, in the geological material and groundwater are in these coarser lenses at ∼4.5–7 m bgl. Highest TCE measurements at 390,000 μg L⁻¹ for groundwater and at 39,000 μg kg⁻¹ at 5.7 m for geological material were in borehole GA19 in the coarse lens zone. It is assumed that TCE gained entrance to the subsurface near this borehole where the clayey till was thin to absent above coarse lenses which provided little retardation to the vertical migration of this dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) into the groundwater. However, TCE is present in low concentrations in the geological material overlying the coarse lens zone. Additionally, VOCs appear to be associated with poorly drained layers and in peat <3.0 m bgl in the ECP. Some indication of natural attenuation as VOCs degradation products vinyl chloride (VC) and dichloromethane (DCM) also occur on the site.     

A multi-model comparison of Atlantic multidecadal variability

A multi-model analysis of Atlantic multidecadal variability is performed with the following aims: to investigate the similarities to observations; to assess the strength and relative importance of the different elements of the mechanism proposed by Delworth et al. (J Clim 6:1993–2011, 1993) (hereafter D93) among coupled general circulation models (CGCMs); and to relate model differences to mean systematic error. The analysis is performed with long control simulations from ten CGCMs, with lengths ranging between 500 and 3600 years. In most models the variations of sea surface temperature (SST) averaged over North Atlantic show considerable power on multidecadal time scales, but with different periodicity. The SST variations are largest in the mid-latitude region, consistent with the short instrumental record. Despite large differences in model configurations, we find quite some consistency among the models in terms of processes. In eight of the ten models the mid-latitude SST variations are significantly correlated with fluctuations in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), suggesting a link to northward heat transport changes. Consistent with this link, the three models with the weakest AMOC have the largest cold SST bias in the North Atlantic. There is no linear relationship on decadal timescales between AMOC and North Atlantic Oscillation in the models. Analysis of the key elements of the D93 mechanisms revealed the following: Most models present strong evidence that high-latitude winter mixing precede AMOC changes. However, the regions of wintertime convection differ among models. In most models salinity-induced density anomalies in the convective region tend to lead AMOC, while temperature-induced density anomalies lead AMOC only in one model. However, analysis shows that salinity may play an overly important role in most models, because of cold temperature biases in their relevant convective regions. In most models subpolar gyre variations tend to lead AMOC changes, and this relation is strong in more than half of the models.     

鲕粒滩中光合作用生物膜构建的高能核形石:以辽西葫芦岛三道沟剖面寒武系张夏组为例

核形石是一种具有双重属性而较为特别的微生物碳酸盐岩:①作为一种包覆颗粒类型,核形石以不平滑的圈层和较大的大小被解释为微生物成因区别于成因存在着较大争议的鲕粒;②作为一种形成在围绕着核心的序列式纹层化作用过程中的球形或椭球型的生物沉积构造,核形石还常常被解释为微生物碳酸盐岩的一种类型而被归为球状叠层石。在辽西葫芦岛三道沟剖面寒武系苗岭统张夏组顶部的块状鲕粒滩相灰岩之中,密集发育着厘米级别大小的高能泥晶核形石。另外,以下重要特征将张夏组鲕粒灰岩中的核形石特征化,包括:①厘米级别的大小;②椭圆形为主的形态学特征;③特征性的纹层状构造;④核形石皮层中普遍发育而且较高密度保存的丝状蓝细菌鞘的钙化化石等等。尽管穿越成岩作用过滤器去解释古代核形石复杂的形成机理将存在着巨大的挑战,也尽管形成这些核形石复杂的生物膜钙化作用机理还没有得到精确的了解,但是,辽西葫芦岛三道沟剖面张夏组中的核形石,直接的微生物化石证据,尤其是在核形石内较为丰富的丝状蓝细菌鞘化石,使其成为一个了解光合作用生物膜建造核形石的典型实例;同时,也为进一步了解形成在水柱中的放射鲕粒以及形成在海底的泥晶核形石之间复杂的形成机理的差异性,提供了一个较为典型的实例。     

Determination of Cu,Fe, and Ni in Spices after Preconcentration on Diaion‐HP 20 Resin as Their Zincon Complexes

In this work, a new separation–preconcentration method was developed for the determination of trace amounts of Cu(II), Ni(II), and Fe(III) by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Analytes were complexed by using zincon (2‐[2‐[alpha(2‐hydroxy‐5‐sulfophenylazo) benzylidene] hydrazino] benzoic acid sodium salt). The analyte ions were quantitatively adsorbed on a Diaion HP‐20 resin at pH 5. The retained metal ions on the resin were eluted by acetone. The analytical parameters such as pH of the sample, eluent type and volume, sample volume, and flow rates of the solution and the eluent were investigated. The influences of concomitant ions on the recoveries of the analytes were also examined. The instrumental detection limits for the analytes after application of the presented solid‐phase extraction procedure were in the range of 0.72–1.41 µg/L. The validation of the presented procedure was checked by analyzing certified reference material of SRM1515 Apple Leaves. The procedure was performed by analyzing some spice samples.     

ENSIP: the El Niño simulation intercomparison project

An ensemble of twenty four coupled ocean-atmosphere models has been compared with respect to their performance in the tropical Pacific. The coupled models span a large portion of the parameter space and differ in many respects. The intercomparison includes TOGA (Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere)-type models consisting of high-resolution tropical ocean models and coarse-resolution global atmosphere models, coarse-resolution global coupled models, and a few global coupled models with high resolution in the equatorial region in their ocean components. The performance of the annual mean state, the seasonal cycle and the interannual variability are investigated. The primary quantity analysed is sea surface temperature (SST). Additionally, the evolution of interannual heat content variations in the tropical Pacific and the relationship between the interannual SST variations in the equatorial Pacific to fluctuations in the strength of the Indian summer monsoon are investigated. The results can be summarised as follows: almost all models (even those employing flux corrections) still have problems in simulating the SST climatology, although some improvements are found relative to earlier intercomparison studies. Only a few of the coupled models simulate the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in terms of gross equatorial SST anomalies realistically. In particular, many models overestimate the variability in the western equatorial Pacific and underestimate the SST variability in the east. The evolution of interannual heat content variations is similar to that observed in almost all models. Finally, the majority of the models show a strong connection between ENSO and the strength of the Indian summer monsoon.     

Variations and Trends in Turkish Seasonal Heating and Cooling Degree-Days

The potential effect of climate change on energy demand is important especially for the developing and non-oil-producing countries. Cooling and heating degree-day (CDD and HDD) concepts are among the most significant meteorological variables related to residential energy consumption. This paper presents the spatial and temporal characteristics of Turkish seasonal CDD and HDD in the context of climate change. CDD and HDD are defined objectively by truncation of the temperature series at any constant base temperature level. This leads to surpluses and deficits as deviations. The surpluses are instances for cooling and the deficits for heating. Depending on temperature fluctuations, the degree-day statistics at any location show local and seasonal variations. In this study, regional variations of seasonal HDD and CDD are mapped for Turkey and their relations to local topography and climatic features are examined with conclusive interpretations. The sequential version of Mann–Kendall rank statisticis applied to demonstrate any existence of possible non-linear trends in accumulated HDD and CDD over the seasons. Spatially coherent and statistically significant trends of HDD and CDD appear in some regions of Turkey. In general, the sign of the trends is inconsistent with General Circulation Models (GCM) predictions.     

A natural-gradient field tracer test for evaluation of pollutant-transport parameters in a porous-medium aquifer

This paper describes a natural-gradient field tracer test to characterise solute-transport properties in a sand and gravel aquifer in the Hebei Province, northern China. Some laboratory-scale column tests on aquifer material and a local-scale field borehole-dilution test have been conducted previously, but the field test reported herein represents the only large-scale tracer test in the aquifer, which is the sole water supply to the city of Shi Jiazhuang and which is threatened by urban pollution. The aim of the study was to quantify the transport behaviour of nonreactive pollutants in this aquifer. Little quantitative data are available concerning its solute-transport properties; thus, the results of the tracer test are significant and critical for understanding pollutant transport and fate. The in-situ tracer test was carried out in the aquifer using a slug injection of the geochemically conservative, radioactive iodine tracer ¹³¹I. The longitudinal (α _L ) and transverse (α _T ) hydrodynamic dispersivities for solute transport in the field are 1.72 and 0.0013 m, respectively. The ratio of longitudinal dispersivity α _L and the flow length at the field scale is 1:10. The ratio between α _L and α _T from the in-situ test (~1,300:1) demonstrates a dominant longitudinal dispersion in this fluvial sand and gravel aquifer. The tracer test further indicates a relatively short transit time for the aquifer (linear velocities ~13 m/d) under natural-gradient conditions. Electronic Publication