The Air-Coastal Sea Chemical Exchange: A Case Study on the New Jersey Coast

The coastal marine atmosphere adjacent to large urban and industrial centers is in general strongly impacted by pollution emissions, resulting in high loading of pollutants in the ambient air. Among the airborne substances are certain trace elements from a variety of emission sources that can serve as micronutrients to marine organisms in coastal waters. High concentrations of such elements in coastal air can result in enhanced air-to-sea deposition fluxes to coastal waters. They could also be transported over the open ocean, affecting the composition of the remote marine atmosphere and then ocean ecosystems. To provide better understanding of the extent of air-to-sea deposition processes on the New Jersey coast, a heavily polluted coastal region on the US East Coast, a synthesis of observation data was carried out for selected trace elements, including Fe, Cd, Cr and Cu, derived from measurements of both size-segregated and bulk aerosol particles, as well as precipitation around the New Jersey coast. The atmospheric input of Hg was also estimated based on measurement data. Results indicated that the total deposition fluxes of most trace elements were higher in Northern coastal NJ compared to Southern coastal NJ, reflecting the differences in the source strengths of these element emissions between the two coastal regions. Dry deposition processes were more significant for common dust-derived elements, particularly Fe and Al, compared with their wet deposition fluxes. However, the processes of precipitation scavenging appeared to be more important for the elements that were often enriched in fine particles including Zn, Cu, Pb and Ni. The removal of Hg from the ambient air was overwhelmingly dominated by atmospheric wet deposition. In the future, atmospheric measurements at more sites on the NJ coast should be performed simultaneously to reduce the spatial and temporal uncertainties associated with atmospheric deposition fluxes estimated in this study.     

Improvement of saponification extraction method for fatty acids separation from geological samples

The conventional saponification method could result in lower recoveries and artificial changes of long-chain fatty acids. The main reason is the error judgment of the intermediate layer suspended between the aqueous and organic layer during the liquid–liquid extraction process. This study shows that the intermediate layer consists of lots of medium- to long-chain carboxylic salts for their special physical and chemical properties. An improved saponification extraction method is also developed and the results show that the carboxylic salts distributed in the intermediate layer could be obtained completely, which greatly enhances the authenticity and accuracy of fatty acid analysis. Additionally, the possible reasons of formation of the intermediate layer are also discussed.     

Fish,Macroinvertebrate and Epifaunal Communities in Shallow Coastal Lagoons with Varying Seagrass Cover of the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Coastal lagoons are ubiquitous along coastlines worldwide. Here, we compare the abundance of epifauna, seagrass-associated macroinvertebrates, and small fish across a gradient of seagrass cover in shallow coastal lagoons of the northern Gulf of Mexico. Two of the lagoons had little or no seagrass cover (0–18.8 %), and four had high cover (83.8–97.5 %). All of the lagoons were partially covered with fringing marsh. We hypothesized that, due to habitat redundancy between seagrass beds and fringing marshes, seagrass-associated fish and macroinvertebrates would not be largely reduced despite the large differences in seagrass cover among the lagoons. Our results support this hypothesis. For most sampling dates, we did not find significant differences in fish and macroinvertebrate abundance among the lagoons and, when we did, several highly vegetated lagoons did not have larger abundances than sparsely vegetated lagoons. The extreme shallowness of the lagoons studied (<1 m) may also provide further protection from large predatory fishes in the absence of seagrasses. Our results also suggest that marsh detritus, by providing habitat for epifauna and helping maintain prey availability, may further temper reductions in seagrass-associated fishes and macroinvertebrates following seagrass decline. The results highlight the importance of marsh-bordered, shallow lagoons as habitat for small fish and macroinvertebrates regardless of seagrass cover. This study contributes to the characterization of habitat redundancy in coastal ecosystems and pinpoints the importance of considering all habitats in concert for the proper understanding and management of coastal ecosystems.     

Mapping the hydraulic connection between a coalbed and adjacent aquifer: example of the coal-seam gas resource area,north Galilee Basin,Australia

Coal-seam gas production requires groundwater extraction from coal-bearing formations to reduce the hydraulic pressure and improve gas recovery. In layered sedimentary basins, the coalbeds are often separated from freshwater aquifers by low-permeability aquitards. However, hydraulic connection between the coalbed and aquifers is possible due to the heterogeneity in the aquitard such as the existence of conductive faults or sandy channel deposits. For coal-seam gas extraction operations, it is desirable to identify areas in a basin where the probability of hydraulic connection between the coalbed and aquifers is low in order to avoid unnecessary loss of groundwater from aquifers and gas production problems. A connection indicator, the groundwater age indictor (GAI), is proposed, to quantify the degree of hydraulic connection. The spatial distribution of GAI can indicate the optimum positions for gas/water extraction in the coalbed. Depressurizing the coalbed at locations with a low GAI would result in little or no interaction with the aquifer when compared to the other positions. The concept of GAI is validated on synthetic cases and is then applied to the north Galilee Basin, Australia, to assess the degree of hydraulic connection between the Aramac Coal Measure and the water-bearing formations in the Great Artesian Basin, which are separated by an aquitard, the Betts Creek Beds. It is found that the GAI is higher in the western part of the basin, indicating a higher risk to depressurization of the coalbed in this region due to the strong hydraulic connection between the coalbed and the overlying aquifer.     

Performance of a Pier Group Foundation in Swelling Rock

Foundations on claystone with swell potential may experience upward movement and failure. In this case study, the cause of 58 mm upward movement of drilled-in piers is analyzed using survey data, extensometer readings, and moisture content monitoring of claystone at the site. Laboratory swell tests were conducted to characterize the swelling characteristics of the weathered rock. A swell potential analysis for the pier group foundations is presented. The interaction of the pier group with the swelling rock is considered in analyzing the initiation of the upward movement. Furthermore, a novel inverse analysis method is presented to integrate the laboratory swell test results and numerical modeling to identify the representative swell pressures acting on the pier group as well as upward movement of the pier system. The numerical analysis indicates that the studied pier system is expected to have 135 mm heave and its rate of upward movement is compared with field observations. The behavior of the pier group foundation in swelling rock under various pier spacings and superstructure pressures shows that the uplift is considerably less for piers with smaller center-to-center spacing. The results of pier group numerical modeling provide the correlation of upward deformation changes due to center-to-center spacing of the piers, pier diameters and superstructure pressures.     

Sinkhole characterization in the Dead Sea area using airborne laser scanning

Since the early 1980s, the Dead Sea coast has undergone a near catastrophic land deterioration as a result of a rapid lake-level drop. One conspicuous expression of this deterioration is the formation of sinkholes fields that puncture the coastal plains. The evolution of sinkholes along nearly 70-km strip has brought to a halt the regional development in this well-known and toured area and destroyed existing infrastructures. Great efforts are being invested in understanding the phenomena and in development of monitoring techniques. We report in this paper the application of airborne laser scanning for characterization of sinkholes. We demonstrate first the appropriateness of laser scanning for this task and its ability to provide detailed 3D information on this phenomenon. We describe then an autonomous means for their extraction over large regions and with high level of accuracy. Extraction is followed by their detailed geometric characterization. Using this high-resolution data, we show how sinkholes of 0.5 m radius and 25 cm depth can be detected from airborne platforms as well as the geomorphic features surrounding them. These sinkhole measures account for their embryonic stage, allowing tracking them at an early phase of their creation.     

Verification of cloud cover forecast with INSAT observation over western India

Since the beginning of the summer monsoon 2009, experimental mesoscale weather forecasts in real time are being generated using WRF model by the Meteorology and Oceanography Group at the Space Applications Centre (ISRO) and are disseminated through MOSDAC () to various users. To begin with, the 12 h, 24 h and 48 h forecasts for the western India region are made available. A study is undertaken to comprehensively assess the cloudiness prediction performance of WRF model. The evaluations have been made over the three months period during monsoon 2009. INSAT cloud imagery data has been used as a reference for these evaluations. The verification strategy includes computation of various skill scores. It is seen that probability of detection (POD) of cloud is 84% and the false alarm rate (FAR) is around 18%. It is hoped that this assessment will provide information on the use of these forecasts in various applications.     

Groundwater residence times and flow paths in fractured rock determined using environmental tracers in the Mission Tunnel; Santa Barbara County,California, USA

Multiple geochemical tracers [ion chemistry, stable isotopes of water, chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), tritium] and a 25-year-long record of discharge were used to understand residence times and flow paths of groundwater seeps in the fractured rock aquifer surrounding the Mission Tunnel, Santa Barbara, California. Tritium data from individual seeps indicate that seep waters are a mixture of >45-year-old (recharged prior to the nuclear bomb tests) and young groundwater. CFC data support this interpretation, however, a two-end member mixing model cannot completely explain the age tracer data. Microbial degradation and partial re-equilibration complicate the CFC signal. Spectral analysis of precipitation and groundwater seepage records shows that seepage lags precipitation by 3 months. This delay is related to the advancement of the wetting front and increasing the number of active flow paths. Additionally, the amount of seepage produced by precipitation is less during extended periods of drought than during normal or wet periods, suggesting antecedent conditions strongly affect flow through this fractured rock aquifer.     

Physical and chemical changes of water in the deep interior of the Earth—Decrepitation-style mud-volcano-earthquake—A bright lamp to shed light on the mysteries of the deep interior of the Earth

The 2008-05-12 Wenchuan mud-volcano-earthquake was accompanied with eruption of a huge volume of gas and stone, revealing that earthquakes generally result from instant reverse phase explosion of supercritical water (SCW) at the supercritical point. In the deep parts of the crust and mantle there still exists a large amount of supercritical water equivalent in order of magnitude to that of the Earth’s hydrosphere. Soft fluids which exist in the MOHO at the top of the upper mantle are the so-called deep supercritical fluids (SCWD). Supercritical water (SCW) has n×10³ times strong capability to dissolve gas. Its viscosity is extremely low and its diffusivity is extremely strong. Therefore, it can naturally migrate toward a region with relatively negative pressure. In the steep break zone of the MOHO at the 57–65 km depth beneath the earthquake belt, due to mutation of overburden pressure, SCWD can automatically separate out CaSiO₃ and other inorganic salts, evolving into the SCW (H₂O-CO₂-CH₄O system. In going upwards to the 10–20-km depth of the crust SCW will be accumulated as an earthquake-pregnant reservoir in the broken terrain. The phase-transition heat of SCW is estimated at 606.62 kJ/kg and the reverse phasing kinetic energy is 2350.8 kJ/kg. When automatic exhaust at the time of decompression reaches the critical pressure (Pc), the instant explosion reverse phase will be normal-state air water. It will release a huge volume of energy and high-kinetic-energy gas which has been expanded by a factor of 1000, leading to the breaking of the country rocks overlying the earthquake-pregnant reservoir, thus giving rise to a Ms 8.0 earthquake. As a result, there were formed eruptive and air-driven (pneumatic) debris flows whose volumatric flow rate reaches n×10¹⁴ m³/s, and their force greatly exceeds the power of INT explosive of the same equivalent value.     

Shear strength and compressibility of oyster shell–sand mixtures

This paper investigates the fundamental characteristics of shear strength and deformation of crushed oyster shell–sand mixtures to stimulate recycling of waste oyster shells. Standard penetration tests (SPT) and large-scale direct-shear tests were carried out with different kinds of dry unit weight and mixing rate of oyster shell–sand mixture. Correlations between N-value, dry unit weight, and friction angle of mixtures were observed from the results of experimental tests, making it possible to estimate the in situ strength from SPT, and the coefficient of volume compressibility from the confined direct-shear compression test. These results also make it possible to compute the settlement of oyster shell–sand mixture when used in soft ground improvement.