Survival of juvenile spot (Leiostomus xanthurus) exposed to bromochlorinated and chlorinated sewage in estuarine waters

The acute toxicity of chlorinated and bromochlorinated treated sewage waste was determined with spot, Leiostomus xanthurus. The halogenated sewage waste was generated in a pilot plant located at the James River Sewage Treatment Plant, Newport News, Va. The 96 h and 144 h LC50's were 0·23 mg/l (measured residual) for chlorine and 0·25 mg/l (measured residual) for bromine chloride. These concentrations are considerably higher than those which would be produced by optimal halogenation rates for disinfection or maximum superhalogenation rates permitted by pilot plant equipment and normal effluent dilution rates.     

High spatial resolution Galactic 3D extinction mapping with IPHAS

We present an algorithm (MEAD, for 'Mapping Extinction Against Distance') which will determine intrinsic  ( r '− i ')  colour, extinction, and distance for early-A to K4 stars extracted from the IPHAS   r '/ i '/Hα  photometric data base. These data can be binned up to map extinction in three dimensions across the northern Galactic plane. The large size of the IPHAS data base (∼200 million unique objects), the accuracy of the digital photometry it contains and its faint limiting magnitude  ( r '∼ 20)  allow extinction to be mapped with fine angular (∼10 arcmin) and distance (∼ 0.1 kpc) resolution to distances of up to 10 kpc, outside the solar circle. High reddening within the solar circle on occasion brings this range down to ∼2 kpc. The resolution achieved, both in angle and depth, greatly exceeds that of previous empirical 3D extinction maps, enabling the structure of the Galactic Plane to be studied in increased detail. MEAD accounts for the effect of the survey magnitude limits, photometric errors, unresolved interstellar medium (ISM) substructure and binarity. The impact of metallicity variations, within the range typical of the Galactic disc is small. The accuracy and reliability of MEAD are tested through the use of simulated photometry created with Monte Carlo sampling techniques. The success of this algorithm is demonstrated on a selection of fields and the results are compared to the literature.     

Methods and results of an automatic analysis of a complete sample of Swift-XRT observations of GRBs

We present a homogeneous X-ray analysis of all 318 gamma-ray bursts detected by the X-ray telescope (XRT) on the Swift satellite up to 2008 July 23; this represents the largest sample of X-ray GRB data published to date. In Sections 2–3 , we detail the methods which the Swift -XRT team has developed to produce the enhanced positions, light curves, hardness ratios and spectra presented in this paper. Software using these methods continues to create such products for all new GRBs observed by the Swift -XRT. We also detail web-based tools allowing users to create these products for any object observed by the XRT, not just GRBs. In Sections 4–6 , we present the results of our analysis of GRBs, including probability distribution functions of the temporal and spectral properties of the sample. We demonstrate evidence for a consistent underlying behaviour which can produce a range of light-curve morphologies, and attempt to interpret this behaviour in the framework of external forward shock emission. We find several difficulties, in particular that reconciliation of our data with the forward shock model requires energy injection to continue for days to weeks.     

新疆东准噶尔石炭纪火山机构类型与时限

东准噶尔卡拉麦里大气田的主要储层是石炭纪火山岩,石炭纪古火山机构的样式与组合特征,与火山岩储层展布关系密切。野外调查表明,隐爆角砾岩是东准噶尔石炭纪古火山机构最常见的标志之一。东准噶尔石炭纪古火山机构类型主要有中心式、裂隙式和裂隙-中心式等样式。中心式火山机构以大石头层状火山、柯克巴斯套锥状火山最为典型;巴塔玛依内山附近沿断裂分布的带状火山岩具有裂隙式喷发的特征;东黑山火山具有火山口串珠状排列特征,是裂隙-中心式喷发的产物。大石头地区原缪林托凯陶山组火山岩的锆石SHRIMP U-Pb年龄为345.6±7.1 Ma,而已知巴塔玛依内山组火山岩年龄是350.0±6.3Ma,因此东准噶尔火山活动的主要时期是早石炭世。     

Understanding salt mobilization from an irrigated catchment in south‐eastern Australia

Groundwater discharge from the Riverine Plains of the southern Murray‐Darling Basin is a major process contributing salt to the Murray River in Australia. In this study, data from an irrigated 60 000 ha catchment in the Riverine Plains were analysed to understand groundwater discharge into deeply incised drains, the process dominating salt mobilization from the catchment. We applied three integrated methodologies: classification and regression trees (CART), conceptual modelling and artificial neural networks (ANNs) to a comprehensive, spatially lumped, monthly data set from July 1975 to December 2004. Using CART analysis, it was shown that rainfall was the most important variable consistently explaining the salt load patterns at the catchment outlet. Using the conceptual model representing spatially lumped groundwater discharge into deeply incised drains, we demonstrated that salt mobilization from the study catchment can be well represented by a rainfall contribution, influenced by the hydraulic head in the deep regional aquifer and potential evapotranspiration. Using ANNs, it was confirmed that rainfall had a much higher impact on salt loads at the catchment outlet than irrigation water use. All these results demonstrate that under conditions similar to those experienced from 1975 to 2004, it is rainfall rather than irrigation water use that governs salt mobilization from the study catchment. Management of salt mobilization from irrigated catchments has traditionally focussed on the improvement of irrigation practices but it could be equally important to further understand the scope for management to control groundwater discharge in these irrigation areas. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.