Dynamic model of flotation cell banks — circuit analysis

While all mineral industry flotation circuits are stable, they are sensitive to low-frequency perturbations in the feedrate. In both countercurrent and cocurrent circuits, the lead cell is more sensitive to feed variations. The frequency response predicts the amount of extra cell capacity needed to handle the maximum feed due to a sinusoidal forcing function. Feedback loops are more significant than sump delays. The countercurrent $\text{4 × 4}$ circuit floating quartz, with a 200-sec retention time, requires 75 minutes for the concentration of quartz in the input to the first cell to reach 95% of its steady-state value. Countercurrent circuits were found superior to cocurrent circuits in all respects.     

Towards evaluating cloud response to climate change using clustering technique identification of cloud regimes

Most of the discrepancies in the climate sensitivity of general circulation models (GCMs) are believed to be due to differences in cloud radiative feedback. Analysis of cloud response to climate change in different ‘regimes’ may offer a more detailed understanding of how the cloud response differs between GCMs. In which case, evaluation of simulated cloud regimes against observations in terms of both their cloud properties and frequency of occurrence will assist in assessing confidence in the cloud response to climate change in a particular GCM. In this study, we use a clustering technique on International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) data and on ISCCP-like diagnostics from two versions of the Hadley Centre GCM to identify cloud regimes over four different geographical regions. The two versions of the model are evaluated against observational data and their cloud response to climate change compared within the cloud regime framework. It is found that cloud clusters produced by the more recent GCM, HadSM4, compare more favourably with observations than HadSM3. In response to climate change, although the net cloud response over particular regions is often different in the two models, in several instances the same basic processes may be seen to be operating. Overall, both changes in the frequency of occurrence of cloud regimes and changes in the properties (optical depth and cloud top height) of the cloud regimes contribute to the cloud response to climate change.     

Why the Sacramento Delta area differs from other parts of the great valley: Numerical modeling of thermal structure and thermal subsidence of forearc basins

Data on present-day heat flow, subsidence history, and paleotemperature for the Sacramento Delta region, California, have been employed to constrain a numerical model of tectonic subsidence and thermal evolution of forearc basins. The model assumes an oceanic basement with an initial thermal profile dependent on its age subjected to refrigeration caused by a subducting slab. Subsidence in the Sacramento Delta region appears to be close to that expected for a forearc basin underlain by normal oceanic lithosphere of age 150 Ma, demonstrating that effects from both the initial thermal profile and the subduction process are necessary and sufficient. Subsidence at the eastern and northern borders of the Sacramento Valley is considerably less, approximating subsidence expected from the dynamics of the subduction zone alone. These results, together with other geophysical data, show that Sacramento Delta lithosphere, being thinner and having undergone deeper subsidence, must differ from lithosphere of the transitional type under other parts of the Sacramento Valley. Thermal modeling allows evaluation of the rheological properties of the lithosphere. Strength diagrams based on our thermal model show that, even under relatively slow deformation (10⁻¹⁷ s⁻¹), the upper part of the delta crystalline crust (down to 20–22 km) can fail in brittle fashion, which is in agreement with deeper earthquake occurrence. Hypocentral depths of earthquakes under the Sacramento Delta region extend to nearly 20 km, whereas, in the Coast Ranges to the west, depths are typically less than 12–15 km. The greater width of the seismogenic zone in this area raises the possibility that, for fault segments of comparable length, earthquakes of somewhat greater magnitude might occur than in the Coast Ranges to the west. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

A device for measuring downwearing rates on cohesive shore platforms

The device described in this paper, known as the traversing erosion beam, is believed to be the first to be designed specifically for measuring rates of downwearing of cohesive foreshores, such as clay shore platforms, under high‐energy wave conditions. It is primarily constructed of Flexlink Aluminium Structural System components and consists of a horizontal beam with a main leg and two further support legs. A sliding ‘dolly’ module is moved along the beam at precise intervals using a longitudinal scale as a reference. The topographic profile of the measurement surface is transferred to the dolly by a vertical sliding steel alloy rod, from which the relative height differences are measured by a separate engineer's digital height gauge placed on the dolly. The main leg of the device fits into a marine grade stainless steel box, which is deeply embedded into the foreshore or shore platform to act a permanent datum. The box is robust and can be expected to have a lifetime of at least a year, and possibly even five years or more. Sample data are provided from a clay shore platform at Warden Point in the Isle of Sheppey, Kent (UK), which demonstrate that the TEB can provide information on seasonal as well as annual rates of downwearing. The device has also been tested successfully on a peat and clay foreshore at Pett Level in Sussex and on a shore platform cut in glacial till at Easington, Yorkshire. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Robust H∞ control for aseismic structures with uncertainties in model parameters

This paper presents a robust H∞ output feedback control approach for structural systems with uncertainties in model parameters by using available acceleration measurements and proposes conditions for the existence of such a robust output feedback controller. The uncertainties of structural stiffness, damping and mass parameters are assumed to be norm-bounded. The proposed control approach is formulated within the framework of linear matrix inequalities, for which existing convex optimization techniques, such as the LMI toolbox in MATLAB, can be used effectively and conveniently. To illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed robust H∞ strategy, a six-story building was subjected both to the 1940 El Centro earthquake record and to a suddenly applied Kanai-Tajimi filtered white noise random excitation. The results show that the proposed robust H∞ controller provides satisfactory results with or without variation of the structural stiffness, damping and mass parameters.     

A statistical riverine litter propagation model.

A statistical riverine litter propagation (RLP) model based on importance sampling Monte Carlo (ISMC) simulation was developed in order to predict the frequency distribution of certain litter types in river reaches. The model was preliminarily calibrated for plastic sheeting by a pilot study conducted on the River Taff, Wales (UK). Litter movement was predominantly controlled by reach characteristics, such as vegetation overhang and water-course obstructions. These affects were modeled in the simulations, by utilizing geometric distributions of river reaches in the time domain. The proposed model satisfactorily simulated the dosing experiments performed at the River Taff. It was concluded from the preliminary calibrations that, the RLP model can be efficiently utilized to portray litter propagation at any arbitrarily selected river site, provided that the stream flows and reach characteristics are calibrated by representative probability distributions of similar sections. Therefore, the RLP model can be considered as a new statistical technique that can predict litter propagation in river sections.     

Arsenic in mine waters: an international study

 Hydrochemical data are presented for arsenic (As) in the mine waters of 34 gold and base-metal mining localities in seven countries of south-east Asia, Africa and Latin America, encompassing contrasting climatic settings and at least eight discrete styles of primary mineralization. Peak dissolved As concentrations at these sites range from 0.005–72 mg/l, with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) potable water threshold of 50 μg/l exceeded in 25 cases. Arsenate (As⁵⁺) constitutes the dominant species at over 80% of sites. Very high dissolved As concentrations (>1 mg/l) show no systematic between-site relationship with mine water pH/Eh regime. Important determinants of mine water As fluxes include iron hydrochemistry, the presence of cyanic ore processing effluents, site geology, the paragenetic sequence that follows sulphide oxidation, climate and mine management. Human toxicological impacts of As contamination have been recognized at only one case-study site, with a further four considered to warrant more detailed risk assessment. Received: 2 November 1999 · Accepted: 21 March 2000     

A comparison of cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) mRNA inducibility in four species of Atlantic coast anadromous fishes

Quantification of levels of cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) gene expression in sentinel species of fishes has been proposed as a management tool to evaluate contamination of aquatic systems. Based on preliminary studies, we hypothesized that differences in CYP1A mRNA inducibility among individuals, populations, or species might lead to spurious conclusions when using this approach in environmental monitoring programs. To address this possibility, we quantitated and compared CYP1A mRNA induction levels in four species of common Atlantic Coast estuarine fish: smooth flounder, hogchoker, striped bass, and Atlantic tomcod, which were treated with model chemicals (beta naphthoflavone (β-NF), or benzo[a]pyrene at 10 ppm) known to induce CYP1A mRNA, or were exposed to contaminated environments. Species-specific CYP1A DNA probes were generated from PCR (polymerase chain reaction) amplification of genomic DNA using conserved oligonucleotide primers, and, along with cloned rainbow trout and Atlantic tomcod CYP1A cDNA probes were used to quantify CYP1A mRNA levels in northern blot analyses. Successful PCR amplification of CYP1A hybridizable DNA fragments was observed for all four species. Results from northern blot analyses showed large differences in CYP1A mRNA induction among species; only Atlantic tomcod exhibited significant induction of CYP1A mRNA for both chemically treated (97-fold) and environmentally exposed fish (34-fold). Significant, although lower, levels of induction were observed in β-NF treated (14-fold) smooth flounder, but not in environmentally exposed smooth flounder. Only low levels (not significant) of CYP1A gene induction were detected in hogchokers and striped bass. We conclude that CYP1A mRNA inducibility differed significantly among fish taxa perhaps due to differences in regulation of gene expression, suggesting that careful selection of sentinel species should be exercised prior to the use of CYP1A mRNA induction in environmental monitoring programs. However, the significance of differences in CYP1A mRNA inducibility in relation to higher level biological endpoints has yet to be determined.