Chemistry of atmospheres formed during accretion of the Earth and other terrestrial planets

We used chemical equilibrium and chemical kinetic calculations to model chemistry of the volatiles released by heating different types of carbonaceous, ordinary and enstatite chondritic material as a function of temperature and pressure. Our results predict the composition of atmospheres formed by outgassing during accretion of the Earth and other terrestrial planets. Outgassing of CI and CM carbonaceous chondritic material produces H₂O-rich (steam) atmospheres in agreement with the results of impact experiments. However, outgassing of other types of chondritic material produces atmospheres dominated by other gases. Outgassing of ordinary (H, L, LL) and high iron enstatite (EH) chondritic material yields H₂-rich atmospheres with CO and H₂O being the second and third most abundant gases. Outgassing of low iron enstatite (EL) chondritic material gives a CO-rich atmosphere with H₂, CO₂, and H₂O being the next most abundant gases. Outgassing of CV carbonaceous chondritic material gives a CO₂-rich atmosphere with H₂O being the second most abundant gas. Our results predict that the atmospheres formed during accretion of the Earth and Mars were probably H₂-rich unless the accreted material was dominantly CI and CM carbonaceous chondritic material. We also predict significant amounts of S, P, Cl, F, Na, and K in accretionary atmospheres at high temperatures (1500-2500 K). Finally, our results may be useful for interpreting spectroscopic observations of accreting extrasolar terrestrial planets.     

Impact of Sea-Spray on the Atmospheric Surface Layer

The feedback effects of sea-spray on the heat and momentum fluxes under equilibrium conditions associated with winds of tropical cyclones are investigated using a one-dimensional coupled sea-spray and atmospheric surface-layer (ASL) model. This model is capable of simulating the microphysical aspects of the evaporation of saline water droplets of various sizes and their dynamic and thermal interaction with the turbulence mixing that is simulated by the Mellor–Yamada 1.5-order closure scheme. Sea-spray droplet generation is described by a state-of-the-art parametrization that predicts the size spectrum of sea-spray droplets for a given surface forcing. The results from a series of simulations indicate the way in which evaporating droplets of various sizes modify the turbulence mixing near the surface, which in turn affects further droplet evaporation. All these results are direct consequences of the effects of sea-spray on the balance of turbulent kinetic energy in the spray-filled surface layer. In particular, the overall impact of sea-spray droplets on the mean wind depends on the wind speed at the level of sea-spray generation. When the wind speed is below 40 m s⁻¹, the droplets are small in size and tend to evaporate substantially and thus cool the spray-filled layer, while for wind speeds above 50 m s⁻¹, the size of the droplets is so large that they do not have enough time to evaporate much before falling back into the sea. The sensible heat carried by the droplets is released to the ambient air, increasing the buoyancy of the surface layer and enhancing the turbulent mixing. The suspension of sea-spray droplets reduces the buoyancy and makes the surface layer more stable, decreasing the friction velocity and the downward turbulent mixing of momentum. The results from the numerical experiments also suggest that, in order not to violate the constant flux assumption critical to the Monin–Obukhov similarity theory, a displacement equal to the mean wave height should be included in the logarithmic profiles of the wind and thermal fields.     

Reflections on a White Discipline

Utilizing a partially autobiographical format, this article considers the practice and study of race within geography. I argue that the overwhelmingly white composition of the discipline has very real implications for both individual experiences and our intellectual production and disciplinary culture. I explore these issues by drawing on my own experiences as a Chicana within geography, and by examining the extent to which one area of research, environmental justice, has engaged questions of race and the consequences of that engagement. I conclude with some general remarks on what it might take to significantly diversify geography.     

Hydrologic,geomorphic and climatic processes controlling willow establishment in a montane ecosystem

Willow communities dominate mid‐elevation riparian areas throughout the Rocky Mountains of North America. However, many willow stands are rapidly declining in aerial cover and individual plants in stature. A poor understanding of the processes that control willow establishment hinders identifying the causes of this decline. We analysed the processes that have facilitated or limited willow establishment over the last half of the 20th century on two large floodplains in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado by addressing two questions: (1) How does hydrologic regime control willow establishment on different fluvial landforms? (2) How might climate‐driven variations in hydrologic regime affect future willow establishment? We precisely aged willows on the three most common fluvial landforms, stream point bars, drained beaver ponds, and abandoned channels, and statistically related establishment dates to patterns of annual stream peak flow. The role of peak flow on willow establishment varied significantly by landform. Willow recruitment had occurred nearly every year on point bars. In former beaver complexes, most willows had established following dam breaches, whereas willows had established on abandoned channels for several years following channel avulsion. Establishment on point bars and abandoned channels was driven by peak flows of 2‐ to 5‐year return intervals, whereas in abandoned beaver ponds most establishment was associated with flow events of >5‐year return interval. Models of climate change suggest that temperatures will increase and precipitation seasonality will shift over the coming decades in the Rocky Mountains, leading to earlier spring runoff, lower summer and fall flows, decreased snowpack and decreased soil moisture. Such changes are likely to diminish opportunities for willow establishment. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chinese migrants in Melbourne and their house choices

Meanings behind the choice of the migrant house are explored through an examination of 12 houses of migrants who emigrated from mainland China to Melbourne during the 1990s and 2000s. A qualitative investigation shows that there are three interconnected meanings behind the choice of houses in Melbourne: a desire to counter past experiences of housing in China, a desire to improve future opportunities through housing, and the wish to blend into Australian society. While much of the literature claims that migrant housing represents the ethnic character of their owners through architectural features, these Chinese houses do not resemble past houses in China in any physical way. The location of the house in a ‘good’ suburb was the most important factor when choosing the house. The house should be located near good educational, transport and shopping services before the built form becomes important. Chinese migrants wish to assimilate into Australian society through their choice of ordinary houses that do not communicate their ethnic identity through their external façades, while also adopting Australian ways of living that are focused on gardens and backyards.     

Changes in extremes and hydroclimatic regimes in the CREMA ensemble projections

We analyze changes of four extreme hydroclimatic indices in the RCP8.5 projections of the Phase I CREMA experiment, which includes 21st century projections over 5 CORDEX domains (Africa, Central America, South America, South Asia, Mediterranean) with the ICTP regional model RegCM4 driven by three CMIP5 global models. The indices are: Heat Wave Day Index (HWD), Maximum Consecutive Dry Day index (CDD), fraction of precipitation above the 95th intensity percentile (R95) and Hydroclimatic Intensity index (HY-INT). Comparison with coarse (GPCP) and high (TRMM) resolution daily precipitation data for the present day conditions shows that the precipitation intensity distributions from the GCMs are close to the GPCP data, while the RegCM4 ones are closer to TRMM, illustrating the added value of the increased resolution of the regional model. All global and regional model simulations project predominant increases in HWD, CDD, R95 and HY-INT, implying a regime shift towards more intense, less frequent rain events and increasing risk of heat wave, drought and flood with global warming. However, the magnitudes of the changes are generally larger in the global than the regional models, likely because of the relatively low “climate sensitivity” of the RegCM4, especially when using the CLM land surface scheme. In addition, pronounced regional differences in the change signals are found. The data from these simulations are available for use in impact assessment studies.     

Injection and arrest of dykes: implications for volcanic hazards

Dykes are the principal channels through which magma reaches the surface in volcanic eruptions. For this reason dykes observed in the field are commonly assumed to be feeders to lava flows. The actual proportion of dykes reaching the surface is, however, poorly known. In order to develop models for the purpose of estimating volcanic hazard, this proportion must be known. This follows because such models should not only consider the probability of dykes being injected from magma chambers during periods of unrest in the associated volcanoes, but also the probability of the injected dykes being arrested. This paper presents field data on several thousand dykes from Iceland and Tenerife (Canary Islands) indicating that many, and probably most, dykes become arrested at various crustal levels and never reach the surface to feed eruptions. Using the results of analytical and numerical models, it is shown that, for common loading conditions, the stress field in the vicinity of a magma chamber may favour the injection and propagation of dykes while the stress field at a certain distance from the chamber favours dyke arrest. This means that many dykes that are injected from the chamber propagate only for a very limited distance from the chamber to the point where they become arrested. The implication is that during periods of unrest in volcanoes, the probability of volcanic eruption is only a small fraction of the probability of dyke injection from the source magma chamber.     

An experiment on reservoir representation schemes to improve hydrologic prediction: coupling the national water model with the HEC-ResSim

ABSTRACT

This study experiments with reservoir representation schemes to improve the ability to model active water management in the National Water Model (NWM). For this purpose, we developed an integrated water management model, NWM-ResSim, by coupling the NWM with HEC-ResSim, and two reservoir representation schemes are tested: simulation of reservoir operations and retrieval of scheduled operations. The experiments focus on a pilot reservoir domain in the Russian River basin – Lake Mendocino, California – and its contributing watershed. The evaluation results suggest that the NWM-ResSim improves the simulation performance of reservoir outflow from this managed reservoir over the NWM default level pool routing scheme. The degree of this improvement depends on the suitability of the operation guidance; the reservoir operations simulation scheme could have acceptable errors for the purposes of water resources management, but not for flood operations. Results of the retrieval scheme of scheduled operations demonstrated better performance for sub-daily flood operations.