Observations of nitric acid perturbations in the winter Arctic stratosphere: Evidence for PSC sedimentation

Gaseous nitric acid (HNO3) and hydrogene fluoride (HF) have been measured in the winter Arctic stratosphere using balloon- and aircraft-based Ion Molecule Reaction Mass Spectrometry (IMRMS) instruments. Strong HNO3 perturbations were found in 1993 and 1995 which may indicate nitrification around 11-13 km and denitrification around 20 km altitude. Most likely these perturbations were caused by sedimentation of HNO3 containing aerosols followed by aerosol evaporation at lower altitudes.     

Succession and sedimentation of glacigenic deposits at Hendre,Anglesey

The application of sedimentological and other techniques in a detailed small-scale study of Quaternary meltwater deposits around Pentraeth in Anglesey, North Wales has shown that interpretations based solely on surficial form are incorrect. Previous views held that the sediments were deposited sub-glacially as eskers by meltwater flowing south-west from decaying ice in Red Wharf Bay. The present work shows that in general the deposits form a coarsening upwards sequence with distinctive divisions corresponding to the lacustrine, deltaic and fluviatile phases of basin filling. The glacigenic sediments were transported by rivers flowing predominantly south-eastward and deposited in a shallow lake or lakes.     

New insights on measured and calculated vitrinite reflectance

Measurement of dispersed vitrinite reflectance in organic sediments is one of the few regional data sets used for placing bounds on the thermal history of a sedimentary basin. Reflectance data are important when access to complementary information such as high‐quality seismic data is unavailable to place bounds on subsidence history and in locations where uplift is an important part of the basin history. Attributes which make vitrinite reflectance measurements a useful data set are the relative ease of making the measurement, and the availability of archived well cores and cuttings in state, provincial, and federal facilities. In order to fully utilize vitrinite data for estimating the temperature history in a basin, physically based methods are required to calibrate an equivalent reflectance from a modelled temperature history with measured data. The most common method for calculating a numerical vitrinite reflectance from temperature history is the EASY%R_o method which we show systematically underestimates measured data. We present a new calculated reflectance model and an adjustment to EASY%R_o which makes the correlation between measured vitrinite values and calculated vitrinite values a physical relationship and more useful for constraining thermal models. We then show that calibrating the thermal history to vitrinite on a constant age date surface (e.g., top Cretaceous) instead of calibrating the thermal history in depth removes the heating rate component from the reflectance calculation and makes thermal history calibration easier to understand and more directly related to heat flow. Finally, we use bounds on the vitrinite–temperature relationships on a constant age date surface to show that significant uncertainty exists in the vitrinite data reported in most data sets.     

A re-interpretation of the origin of sands and gravels around Banc-y-warren,near Cardigan,west Wales

The sands and gravels form part of a once more continuous succession comprising parts of three delta lobes which advanced into a deepening pro-glacial lake. Normal delta construction was accompanied by sporadic rapid mass movement of coarse sediment. This generated turbidity currents which gouged and filled remarkable channels. The deposits are cut by a very large number of normal faults which bear a strike relationship to the bedding showing they were produced by down-dip extension of the beds as a result of slope instability. The consistently southwesterly current directions, deduced from various sedimentary structures, and the constant strike orientation of faults together show that the mounds cannot be ice-contact features as was previously widely believed. The external form of the deposits is related more to subsequent erosion than to their original mode of formation.     

A test of a climatic index of dune mobility using measurements from the southwestern United States

The climatic index of dune mobility developed by Lancaster (1988) has been applied to a variety of different environments. The index is, however, untested and unverified. We tested the index by comparison of values of the dune mobility index calculated from climate data with rates of sand transport measured at three stations in Arizona and New Mexico over the period 1985 to 1997. Our results show that changes in measured rates of sand transport closely parallel temporal changes in the dune mobility index. The mobility index is, however, a relatively poor predictor of the magnitude of actual sand transport on a year‐to‐year basis. This discrepancy is probably due to the fact that sand transport rates at these sites are strongly influenced by vegetation cover, the state of which may lag changes in annual precipitation. There is, however, a good relation between the mean annual mobility index and mean annual rates of sand transport. This indicates that the dune mobility index is a valid predictor of the long‐term state of the aeolian system and can be used confidently for the purposes for which it was originally intended. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

求解地面沉降预测模型参数的逆问题

地下流体的抽取所引起的地面沉降的预测依赖于所选理论模型中参数的量化。本文所建立的逆问题模型中涉及到压缩承压含水系统中5个控制地面沉降的参数：压缩弱透水层的垂向水力传导系数K＇、塑性贮水率S＇skv和弹性贮水率S＇ske、含水层的贮水率S＇S和弱透水层的前期最大固结压力p＇max0。逆问题模型由Newton-Raphson调整算法和Helm有限差分一维固结模型构成（COMPAC）,其中固结模型可用其他模型替代。文中用一个理想压缩承压含水系统对该逆问题模型进行检验,检验结果显示该模型能求解出理想压缩承压含水系统的K＇、S＇skv、S＇ske、S＇S和p＇max0的近似值,其中p＇max0和S＇skv是控制计算沉降量的两个最主要的参数。每个监测点计算压缩量的平均相对误差为7.8%,该误差仅由调整算法产生。该逆问题模型应用于上海F9地面沉降监测点上部承压含水系统参数的求解和变形量的预测,所求解出的K＇、S＇skv、S＇ske、S＇S和p＇max0的近似值分别为8.58×10-4 m/a、3.50×10-4 1/m、6.39×10-6 1/m、1.19×10-5 1/m和-2.50m、每个观测点计算压缩量的平均相对误差为13.7%。误差的来源除了调整算法外,还包括地下水位、压缩变形的观测误差以及模型概化所产生的误差。     

Histopathological observations on liver,kidney and gonad of plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) taken from the Mersey estuary

The Mersey estuary is the most contaminated estuary in British waters. Detailed studies are underway on the pathology of flounder (Platichthys flesus) from the Mersey and on flounder from the nearby, but less contaminated, Dee estuary. Flounder breed offshore but spend a lot of time in the estuaries, penetrating into freshwater. These flatfish are in close contact with sediments and will be exposed to exenobiotic stored in the sediments. Plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) are flatfish which enter the Mersey with the tidal flow but spend less time in the estuary than flounder and are less likely to show evidence of pollutant exposure. Over 20 plaice were collected from the Mersey. Samples of the liver, kidney and gonad were fixed in 10% formal saline, processed into paraffin wax and 5 microm sections cut and stained with haematoxylin and eosin. Liver changes consisted of variable amounts of glycogen/lipid storage product, minor perivenular and perivascular fibrosis, and helminth parasitisation. No tumours or foci of cellular alteration, necrosis and inflammation were seen. In the gonad only changes consistent with normal gonadal cycling was seen. These studies provide evidence that plaice show little or no evidence of toxic pathological damage resulting from their stay in the estuary.