An interface-condition substitution strategy for theoretical study of dissolution-timescale reactive infiltration instability in fluid-saturated porous rocks

A theoretical study of reactive infiltration instability is conducted on the dissolution timescale. In the present theoretical study, the transient behavior of a dissolution-timescale reactive infiltration system needs to be considered, so that the upstream region of the chemical dissolution front should be finite. In addition, the chemical dissolution front of finite thickness should be considered on the dissolution timescale. Owing to these different considerations, it is very difficult, even in some special cases, to derive the first-order perturbation solutions of the reactive infiltration system on the dissolution timescale. To overcome this difficulty, an interface-condition substitution strategy is proposed in this paper. The basic idea behind the proposed strategy is that although the first-order perturbation equations in the downstream region cannot be directly solved in a purely mathematical manner, they should hold at the planar reference front, which is the interface between the upstream region and the downstream region. This can lead to two new equations at the interface. The main advantage of using the proposed interface-condition substitution strategy is that through using the original interface conditions as a bridge, the perturbation solutions for the dimensionless acid concentration, dimensionless Darcy velocity, and their derivatives involved in the two new equations at the interface can be evaluated just by using the obtained analytical solutions in the upstream region. The proposed strategy has been successfully used to derive the dimensionless growth rate, which is the key issue associated with the theoretical study of dissolution-timescale reactive infiltration instability in fluid-saturated porous rocks.     

A tale of two institutions: Shaping O?wi?cim-Auschwitz

For the last sixty years, two institutions have shaped the destiny of the town of O?wi?cim in southern Poland. One of these institutions is globally recognised, its history and development widely researched; the other is well known only amongst Polish industrialists, perhaps Polish economic geographers, and amongst the people of O?wi?cim. These two institutions are the Auschwitz State Museum and the chemical firm Dwory SA. Both institutions have their roots in the German Occupation of Poland 1939-1945. This paper presents the tale of these two institutions in order not only to highlight the need to embed memorial sites in their wider contexts, but also to indicate the impact of such sites as political-economic institutions, with the influence to shape social and economic landscapes. In laying out the geographies of the town and its two major institutions, we draw attention to the ways in which Holocaust memorialisation and post-socialist transformation are articulated with each other, not only here in O?wi?cim, and also with wider processes of social, economic, political and cultural change.     

Occurrence and turnover of DMSP and DMS in deep waters of the Ross Sea,Antarctica

High concentrations of the phytoplankton metabolite dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and its degradation product dimethylsulfide (DMS) are associated with blooms of Phaeocystis antarctica in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Episodic and rapid vertical export of Phaeocystis biomass to deep water has been reported for the Ross Sea, therefore we examined the distribution and microbial consumption rates of DMSP and DMS throughout the sub-euphotic water column. Total DMSP (dissolved+particulate; DMSPt) was present at 0.5–22 nM at depths between 70 and 690 m during both the early bloom (November) and the late bloom (January). Sub-euphotic peaks of DMSP were sometimes associated with mid-water temperature maxima, and elevated DMSP below 70 m was found mainly in water masses characterized as Modified Circumpolar Deep Water or Antarctic Shelf Water. Overall, 50–94% of the integrated water-column DMSPt was found below the euphotic zone. At one station during the early bloom, local maxima of DMSPt (14 nM) and DMS (20 nM) were observed between 113 and 240 m and these maxima corresponded with high chlorophyll a concentrations, P. antarctica cell numbers, and Fv/Fm (the quantum yield of photosystem II). During the late bloom, a sub-euphotic maximum of DMSPt (15.8 nM) at 250 m cooccurred with peaks of chlorophyll a concentration, DMSP lyase activity, bacterial production and dissolved DMSP consumption rates. DMSP turnover contributed ～12% of the bacterial carbon demand between 200 and 400 m. DMS concentrations peaked at 286 m but the maximum concentration (0.42 nM) was far lower than observed during the early bloom, probably because of relatively rapid biological consumption of DMS (1–3 turnovers per day) which, in turn, contributed to elevated dissolved dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) concentrations. Relatively stable DMSPt distributions at some sites suggest that rapid sinking of Phaeocystis biomass is probably not the major mechanism responsible for mesopelagic DMSP accumulations. Rather, subduction of near-surface water masses, lateral advective transport or trapping of slowly sinking P. antarctica biomass in intermediate water masses are more likely mechanisms. We found that a culture of P. antarctica maintained cellular integrity during 34 days of darkness, therefore the presence of intact cells (and DMSP) at depth can be explained even under a slow sinking/advection scenario. Whatever the mechanism, the large pools of DMSP and DMS below the euphotic zone suggest that export exerts a control on potential DMS emission from the surface waters of the Ross Sea.     

Ground motion characteristics and shaking damage of the 11th March 2011 M w9.0 Great East Japan earthquake

A catastrophic M _w9.0 earthquake and subsequent giant tsunami struck the Tōhoku and Kanto regions of Japan on 11th March 2011, causing tremendous casualties, massive damage to structures and infrastructure, and huge economic loss. This event has revealed weakness and vulnerability of urban cities and modern society in Japan, which were thought to be one of the most earthquake-prepared nations in the world. Nevertheless, recorded ground motion data from this event offer invaluable information and opportunity; their unique features include very strong short-period spectral content, long duration, and effects due to local asperities as well as direction of rupture/wave propagation. Aiming at gaining useful experience from this tragic event, Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) organised and dispatched a team to the Tōhoku region of Japan. During the EEFIT mission, ground shaking damage surveys were conducted in Sendai, Shirakawa, and Sukagawa, where the Japan Meteorological Agency intensity of 6+ was observed and instrumentally recorded ground motion data were available. The damage survey results identify the key factors for severe shaking damage, such as insufficient lateral reinforcement and detailing in structural columns from structural capacity viewpoint and rich spectral content of ground shaking in the intermediate vibration period range from seismic demand viewpoint. Importantly, inclusion of several ground motion parameters, such as nonlinear structural response, in shaking damage surveys, can improve the correlation of observed ground motion with shaking damage and therefore enhance existing indicators of potential damage.     

Spin vectors in the Koronis family: II. Additional clustered spins, and one stray

We recorded 101 new rotation lightcurves of five Koronis family members, and then combined the new observations with previous data to determine the objects' sidereal rotation periods, spin vector orientations, and model shape solutions. The observing program was tailored specifically for spin vector analyses by determining single-apparition Lumme–Bowell solar phase coefficients, and by measuring synodic rotation periods precisely enough to unambiguously count the rotations between two consecutive oppositions, which is a prerequisite for identifying the correct sidereal period. The new data make possible first pole and shape determinations for (263) Dresda, (462) Eriphyla, and (1289) Kutaïssi, and they improve the models for (277) Elvira and (534) Nassovia, two objects previously studied by Slivan et al. [Slivan, S.M., Binzel, R.P., Crespo da Silva, L.D., Kaasalainen, M., Lyndaker, M.M., Kr?o, M., 2003. Icarus 162, 285–307]. Our results increase the number of Koronis family spin vectors reported in the literature to fourteen, a sample which now includes the seven largest family members. The spin properties of Eriphyla (rotation period , spin vector obliquity ε=51°) and Kutaïssi (P=3.62 h, ε=165°) are consistent with the markedly nonrandom distribution reported by Slivan [Slivan, S.M., 2002. Nature 419, 49–51], and explained by Vokrouhlický et al. [Vokrouhlický, D., Nesvorný, D., Bottke, W.F., 2003. Nature 425, 147–151] as the result of the effects of thermal “YORP” torques combined with solar and planetary gravitational torques. Dresda (P=16.81 h, ε=16°) is the first prograde Koronis member whose spin obliquity and spin rate significantly differ from the clustered spin properties previously found for other prograde Koronis members; nevertheless, its spin vector is consistent with several of the spin evolution possibilities that were identified in the YORP modeling.     

Climate change scenarios and long term projections

Predictions of future temperature increases depend critically on the projections of future greenhouse gas emissions. Yet there is a vigorous debate about how these projections should be undertaken. This paper explores a range of methodological issues surrounding projecting greenhouse emissions over the next century. It points out that understanding future emissions requires a framework that deals with the sources of economic growth and allows for endogenous structural change. It also explores the role of convergence assumptions and the “Castles and Henderson Critique” of the Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) regarding use of Market Exchange Rates (MERs) rather than Purchasing Power Parity exchange rates (PPPs) to benchmark income differentials in the world economy. In the G-Cubed multi-country model, we show that emission projections based on convergence assumptions defined in MER terms, are 40% higher by 2100 than emissions generated using a PPP comparison of income differentials between economies. We support the argument presented by Castles and Henderson, that the use of MERs in the SRES represents a serious analytical error. It is not clear what this means for the SRES projections because the SRES is not transparent in its assumptions. In the G-Cubed model, the error leads to considerably higher emissions projections.     

Polarization at 4430Å

The wavelength dependence of polarization in the region of the interstellar absorption band at 4430 Å is investigated theoretically by variation of the relevant parameters over a wide range. Comparison is made with observations, and the suggestion that the 4430 Å band is produced by impurities in a silicate matrix is found to be not inconsistent.     

Past,present and future nutrient loads of the North Sea: Causes and consequences

Comprehensive, aggregate nutrient budgets were established for two compartments of the North Sea, the shallow coastal and deeper open regions, and for three different periods, representing pre-eutrophication (∼1950), eutrophication (∼1990) and contemporary (∼2000) phases. The aim was to quantify the major budget components, to identify their sources of variability, to specify the anthropogenic components, and to draw implications for past and future policy. For all three periods, open North Sea budgets were dominated (75%) by fluxes from and to the North-East Atlantic; sediment exchange was of secondary importance (18%). For the coastal North Sea, fluxes during the eutrophication period were dominated by sediment exchange (49% of all inputs), followed by exchange with the open sea (21%), and anthropogenic inputs (19%). Between 1950 and 1990, N-loading of coastal waters increased by a factor of 1.62 and P-loading by 1.45. These loads declined after 1990. Interannual variability in Atlantic inflow was found to correspond to a variability of 11% in nutrient load to the open North Sea. Area-specific external loads of both the open and coastal North Sea were below Vollenweider-type critical loads when expressed relative to depth and flushing. External area-specific load of the coastal North Sea has declined since 1990 from 1.8 to about 1.4 g P m⁻² y⁻¹ in 2000, which is close to the estimate of 1.3 for 1950. N-load declined less, leading to an increase in N/P ratio.     

Classification of kangaroo habitat distribution using three GIS models

Abstract

In this paper, we compare three techniques for mapping wildlife habitat, termed BIOCLIM, CART and a new classification method based on nonparametric techniques. These techniques model dependent map layers of species distributions, where the areas to be mapped are large and the plot data is sparse. The techniques recognise pattern in the (independent) plot data, available to natural resource managers. In this case, the independent data set comprised 12 climate surfaces, that attempt to represent the range of temperature and precipitation important in determining the habitat of kangaroos across Australia. With this particular data set, the CART (decision tree) model was most accurate, but more time consuming to initialise. The relative performance of these models depends on the quality of the data set, and skill of the GIS analyst. Where possible, GIS analysts should implement all available methods, and compare output.