Water-soluble organics in atmospheric particles: A critical review of the literature and application of thermodynamics to identify candidate compounds

Although organic compounds typically constitute a substantial fraction of the fine particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere, their molecular composition remains poorly characterized. This is largely because atmospheric particles contain a myriad of diverse organic compounds, not all of which extract in a single solvent or elute through a gas chromatograph; therefore, a substantial portion typically remains unanalyzed. Most often the chemical analysis is performed on a fraction that extracts in organic solvents such as benzene, ether or hexane; consequently, information on the molecular composition of the water-soluble fraction is particularly sparse and incomplete.This paper investigates theoretically the characteristics of the water-soluble fraction by splicing together various strands of information from the literature. We identify specific compounds that are likely to contribute to the water-soluble fraction by juxtaposing observations regarding the extraction characteristics and the molecular composition of atmospheric particulate organics with compound-specific solubility and condensibility for a wide variety of organics. The results show that water-soluble organics, which constitute a substantial fraction of the total organic mass, include C2 to C7 multifunctional compounds (e.g., diacids, polyols, amino acids). The importance of diacids is already recognized; our results provide an impetus for new experiments to establish the atmospheric concentrations and sources of polyols, amino acids and other oxygenated multifunctional compounds.     

四川省青川玉石矿的地质特征及其找矿意义

青川石英质玉是近年在四川省发现的新玉石矿。玉石矿体赋存于新元古界通木梁群太阳坪组云母石英片岩中。玉石的矿物成分主要为石英、铬云母、铬绢云母,具显微细粒粒状、片状变晶结构,片状、条带状构造。玉石种类分为绿色和白绿色,具油脂光泽;矿体规模大、块度好,玉石品质佳、可加工性强,可制作手镯、摆件、挂件、雕件等。根据野外地质工作判断,青川石英质玉属于区域变质成因,青川玉石矿的发现填补了四川石英质玉的空白,对丰富区域成矿系列和拓展区域玉石矿找矿方向具有重要意义。     

Characteristics of turbulent fluxes of sensible heat and momentum in the surface boundary layer during the Indian summer monsoon

Turbulent fluctuations of wind and temperature were measured using a three-component sonic anemometer at 8 m on a 30 m micro-meteorological tower erected at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur (22.3° N, 87.2° E), India, as part of the Monsoon Trough Boundary Layer Experiment (MONTBLEX). Diurnal and nocturnal variations of fluxes of sensible heat and momentum were estimated by the eddy correlation technique from 42 observations, each of 10 min duration during 6–8 July in the monsoon season of 1989. The estimated heat flux shows a diurnal trend while the momentum flux shows variability but no particular trend. The nocturnal heat flux changes sign intermittently.Fluctuations of vertical wind velocity _wand temperature when normalised with the respective scaling parameters u _*and _* are found to scale with Z/L in accordance with the Monin-Obukhov similarity hypothesis: % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaGaeqOXdy2aaS% baaSqaaiaadEhaaeqaaOGaamiEaiaacIcacaWGAbGaai4laiaadYea% caGGPaWaaWbaaSqabeaacaaIXaGaai4laiaaiodaaaaaaa!3FE8!\[\phi _w x(Z/L)^{1/3} \], % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaGaeqOXdy2aaS% baaSqaaiabeI7aXbqabaGccaWG4bGaaiikaiaadQfacaGGVaGaamit% aiaacMcadaahaaWcbeqaaiaaigdacaGGVaGaaG4maaaaaaa!40A2!\[\phi _\theta x(Z/L)^{1/3} \] during unstable conditions and % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaGaeqOXdy2aaS% baaSqaaiaadEhaaeqaaOGaamiEaiaacIcacaWGAbGaai4laiaadYea% caGGPaaaaa!3D90!\[\phi _w x(Z/L)\], % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaGaeqOXdy2aaS% baaSqaaiabeI7aXbqabaGccaWG4bGaaiikaiaadQfacaGGVaGaamit% aiaacMcadaahaaWcbeqaaiabgkHiTiaaigdaaaaaaa!401F!\[\phi _\theta x(Z/L)^{ - 1} \] during stable conditions. Correlation coefficients for heat and momentum flux % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaGaeq4SdC2aaS% baaSqaaiaadEhacqaH4oqCaeqaaaaa!3A71!\[\gamma _{w\theta } \] and _uwshow stability dependence. For unstable conditions, % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaGaeq4SdC2aaS% baaSqaaiaadEhacqaH4oqCaeqaaaaa!3A71!\[\gamma _{w\theta } \] increases with increasing ¦Z/L¦ whereas _uwdecreases. During stable conditions, % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaGaeq4SdC2aaS% baaSqaaiaadEhacqaH4oqCaeqaaaaa!3A71!\[\gamma _{w\theta } \] decreases with increasing Z/L while _uwdecreases very slowly from a value -0.36 to -0.37.     

Evaluation of reservoir temperatures and local utilization of geothermal waters of the Konkan Coast, India

Geochemical studies on fifteen geothermal manifestations (38–70°C) from the Konkan coast geothermal province of India have been used to evaluate the reservoir temperatures. Activity studies of the minerals and the waters present in the reservoirs suggest that the thermal waters are in equilibrium with montmorillonite, kaolinite and quartz at about 100°C. Reservoir temperatures of these geothermal systems as estimated by geochemical thermometers, are 88 to 128°C, and thus too low for economic electricity production.     

Laser-heated diamond anvil cell experiments at high pressure: Melting curve of nickel up to 700 kbar

Laser-heated experiments in a diamond anvil cell have been performed on high pressure melting of nickel up to 700 kbar. The laser heating system consists of diamond anvil cell, Nd:YAG and argon lasers, spectrograph with diode array, computer with software, CCD camera with monitor and optics. Experiments on melting of tungsten, nickel and platinum at 1 bar outside the diamond anvil cell and melting of nickel below 80 kbar in the cell were carried out to check the system for pressure and temperature measurements. The results show that for solid pressure medium the uncertainties in measurements of pressure at the experimental spot vary between ±5 kbar at 100 kbar and ±25 kbar at 660 kbar. Spectroradiometrically determined temperature is reliable within ±70 K. Melting was detected in situ by visual observation. The melting point of nickel at 660 kbar has been found to be 2557 ±66 K.     

Garnet-clinopyroxene geothermometer

A garnet-clinopyroxene geothermometer based on the available experimental data on compositions of coexisting phases in the system MgO-FeO-MnO-Al₂O₃-Na₂O-SiO₂ is as follows: $$T({\text{}}K) = \frac{{8288 + 0.0276 P {\text{(bar)}} + Q1 - Q2}}{{1.987 \ln K_{\text{D}} + 2.4083}}$$ where P is pressure, and Q1, Q2, and K _D are given by the following equations $$Q1 = 2,710{\text{(}}X_{{\text{Fe}}} - X_{{\text{Mg}}} {\text{)}} + 3,150{\text{ }}X_{{\text{Ca}}} + 2,600{\text{ }}X_{{\text{Mn}}} $$ (mole fractions in garnet) $$\begin{gathered}Q2 = - 6,594[X_{{\text{Fe}}} {\text{(}}X_{{\text{Fe}}} - 2X_{{\text{Mg}}} {\text{)]}} \hfill \\{\text{ }} - 12762{\text{ [}}X_{{\text{Fe}}} - X_{{\text{Mg}}} (1 - X_{{\text{Fe}}} {\text{)]}} \hfill \\{\text{ }} - 11,281[X_{{\text{Ca}}} (1 - X_{{\text{Al}}} ) - 2X_{{\text{Mg}}} 2X_{{\text{Ca}}} ] \hfill \\{\text{ + 6137[}}X_{{\text{Ca}}} (2X_{{\text{Mg}}} + X_{{\text{Al}}} )] \hfill \\{\text{ + 35,791[}}X_{{\text{Al}}} (1 - 2X_{{\text{Mg}}} )] \hfill \\{\text{ + 25,409[(}}X_{{\text{Ca}}} )^2 ] - 55,137[X_{{\text{Ca}}} (X_{{\text{Mg}}} - X_{{\text{Fe}}} )] \hfill \\{\text{ }} - 11,338[X_{{\text{Al}}} (X_{{\text{Fe}}} - X_{{\text{Mg}}} )] \hfill \\\end{gathered} $$ [mole fractions in clinopyroxene Mg = MgSiO₃, Fe = FeSiO₃, Ca = CaSiO₃, Al = (Al₂O₃-Na₂O)] K _D = (Fe/Mg) in garnet/(Fe/Mg) in clinopyroxene. Mn and Cr in clinopyroxene, when present in small concentrations are added to Fe and Al respectively. Fe is total Fe²⁺+Fe³⁺.     

Absolute sea level determination for the subtropical Atlantic Climate Study

The Subtropical Atlantic Climate Study (STACS) is a subprogram in the NOAA climate program designed to access the feasibility of monitoring horizontal fluxes in the Gulf Stream system off Florida. Transport in the Florida Current fluctuates on time scales which are reflected in sea level records monitored at tide gauges. Geodetic leveling, connecting tide gauges along the east coast of the United States, allows intercomparison of sea level records alongstream, but the cross-stream and alongstream records in the Bahamas and Cuba are not connected. In this study, various methods to determine absolute sea level differences across the Straits of Florida between Miami, Florida and Cat Cay, Bahamas, a part of the STACS area, were investigated; the desired accuracy of the sea level difference is ± 1 cm. This study indicates that a combination of dense gravity data with satellite altimeter (TOPEX and GEOSAT) data in the STACS area could provide a ± 1 cm absolute sea level difference accuracy across the Straits of Florida. This paper also provides discussion of other conventional methods.     

On the Possibility of Gly and Ala Amino Acids on Titan’s Surface

In view of the possible production of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in Titan’s atmosphere, the production of α-amino nitriles, the precursors of Glycine and Alanine amino acids, is explored in the upper atmosphere of Titan. The presence of Glycine and Alanine amino acids or their precursor amino nitriles can be used as a diagnostic, respectively for the presence or absence of water locally on the surface of Titan.     

Study of morphogenetic characteristics of surgad catchments for watershed management

The problem of surveying watersheds for strategic planning in the Himalayan terrain has attracted the attention of the land surveyors recently. A small watershed in Surgad Catchment has been surveyed to select various parameters that determine soil loss, which can be studied using aerial photo-interpretation technique with a view to watershed management. Soil, slope, landuse and micro climatic factors have been used to delineate different morphogenetic categories. The result shows that on steeper slopes, well developed soils are found which indicates a high tolerance limits of these soils. In Himalayan terrain soils and vegetation are therefore, better indices of sediment losses than slopes. Small scale aerial photographs can be successfully used to judge the tolerance limits of soils in Himalayan terrain.