Human-induced Changes in the Groundwater Chemical Composition within an Oil Field Area

The effect of highly saline oil-field water on soils and potable groundwater is considered. Three phases of the hydrochemical evolution of groundwater quality affected by transborder pollution and field development that has deteriorated potable groundwater in the two topmost aquifers are identified.     

RHESSI Microflares: II. Implications for Loop Structure and Evolution

We present simple analytic models which predict the peak X-ray emission measure and temperature attained in flares in which the chromospheric evaporation process takes place either in a single ‘monolithic’ loop or in a loop consisting of several filaments that are created successively as the energy release process proceeds in time. As possible mechanisms driving chromospheric evaporation we consider both classical heat conduction from the loop top and non-thermal electron beams. The model predictions are tested for a set of 18 well studied RHESSI microflares. The results suggest beam driven evaporation in filamented loops as being capable of accounting for the observed emission measures and temperatures though there are issues with the very high beam densities needed. On the other hand, estimates of the emission measures achieved by conductive evaporation which are derived by using the Rosner – Tucker – Vaiana (RTV) scaling law are much larger than the observed ones. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.     

From Celsius to Chaos to Cyclones: Using Temperature-Conversion Equations to Introduce Advanced Mathematical Concepts in Earth Science Courses

The Fahrenheit-to-Celsius temperature-conversion equation is a basic component of many introductory earth science courses. Despite its simplicity, it presents a challenge to students and instructors alike because residents of the United States are unfamiliar with the Celsius scale. By solving for the point at which these two temperature scales are equal, it is possible to use the equations for temperature conversion as a springboard to more advanced topics. It is demonstrated that temperature-conversion equations and chaotic equations can be solved using identical numerical and graphical techniques. As a result, the fundamental concepts of chaos theory and numerical methods can be introduced to students in the context of the simplest equations in the earth sciences. These solution methods are applied to the quantitative theory of the extratropical cyclone as an example of the utility and broad scope of this educational approach.     

The contribution of sulphur dioxide from ablating micrometeorites to the atmospheres of Earth and Mars

Atmospheric composition is a key control on climate and the habitability of planetary surfaces. Ablation of infalling micrometeorites has been recognised as one way in which atmospheric chemistry can be changed, especially at times in solar system history when the infall rates of exogenous material were high. Despite its potential to influence climate and habitability, extraterrestrial sulphur dioxide is currently an unquantified contribution to the atmospheres of the terrestrial planets. We have used flash pyrolysis to simulate the atmospheric entry of micrometeorites and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to identify and quantify the sulphur dioxide produced from the carbonaceous meteorites Orgueil (CI1), ALH 88045 (CM1), Cold Bokkeveld (CM2), Murchison (CM2) and Mokoia (CV3). We have used this approach to understand the introduction of sulphur dioxide to the atmospheres of Earth and Mars from infalling micrometeorites. Sulphates, present in carbonaceous chondrites at a few wt.%, are resistant to thermal decomposition, limiting the yields of sulphur dioxide from unmelted micrometeorites. Infalling micrometeorites are a minor source of present-day sulphur dioxide on Earth and Mars, calculated to be up to around 2400 tonnes and about 350 tonnes, respectively. During the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB), the much greater infall rates of micrometeoritic dust are calculated to be associated with average production rates of sulphur dioxide of around 20 Mt yr⁻¹ for the early Earth and 0.5 Mt yr⁻¹ for early Mars, for a LHB of 100 Myr. These rates of delivery of sulphur dioxide at high altitudes would have reduced the solar energy reaching the surfaces of these planets, via scattering of sunlight by stratospheric sulphate aerosols, and may have had detrimental effects on developing biospheres by promoting cooler climates and reducing the probability of liquid water on planetary surfaces.     

Modelling the spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall: a case study in the wet and dry tropics of North East Australia

Rainfall regimes with strong spatial and temporal variation are characteristic of many coastal regions of north and eastern Australia. In coastal regions of north eastern Australia, regimes vary considerably over short distances. This occurs because of changes in local topography, including the height and orientation of mountain ranges and the direction of the coastline with respect to the prevailing moist south east air stream. Northern Australia experiences a tropical monsoon climate with rainfall occurring predominantly during the summer months. Areas with a closer proximity to the coast typically experience the heavier rainfalls. While networks of rainfall gauges have been established and continuous records are available for most of these stations from the 1890s, their low distribution density relative to the complexity of rainfall pattern they are required to represent means that there remains a poor understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall in the wet tropics. An enhanced knowledge of rainfall distribution in both space and time has the potential to deliver significant economic and environmental benefits to managers of natural resources. This paper reports on the application of a technique for estimating mean annual and mean monthly rainfall across the Herbert River catchment of north east Australia's dry and wet tropics. The technique utilises thin plate smoothing splines to incorporate both location and elevation into estimates of rainfall distribution. We demonstrate that the method can be applied successfully at the meso scale and within the domain of routinely available data. As such, the method has broad relevance for decision making.     

Uranium and thorium in the Kupferschiefer formation,Lower Zechstein,Poland

The Kupferschiefer in Poland has an increased U content. The facies high in organic matter are significantly enriched in U. The maximum values of U are mostly in the lower part of the Kupferschiefer sequence. The mean (x) U content in the Kupferschiefer from the Lubin-Sieroszowice district is 61.5 ppm and from the rest of the Polish Zechstein basin is about 26 ppm. Thorium occurs only in small quantities (x) = 1.5 and 5 ppm respectively). The high variance of U and Th in the Kupferschiefer is due to multistage diagenetic processes. The main U carrier is thucholite. The investigated thucholite showed a Th-content below 0.36 ppm. Thucholite with uraninite exolutions showed small (up to 1.0 wt.%) admixtures of U and thucholite without microscopically visible exsolutions (up to 37.85 wt.% U). The phosphates showed significant amounts of U (up to 0.24 wt.). The U content in the Kupferschiefer is significantly lower than in black shales from other part of the world. Uranium in the Lubin district is not economic.     

Simulating the moderating effect of a lake on downwind temperatures

A steady-state, two-dimensional numerical model is used to simulate air temperatures and humidity downwind of a lake at night. Thermal effects of the lake were modelled for the case of moderate and low surface winds under the cold-air advective conditions that occur following the passage of a cold front. Surface temperatures were found to be in good agreement with observations. A comparison of model results with thermal imagery indicated the model successfully predicts the downwind distance for which thermal effects due to the lake are significant.     

Assimilating data into open ocean tidal models

The problem of deriving tidal fields from observations by reason of incompleteness and imperfectness of every data set practically available has an infinitely large number of allowable solutions fitting the data within measurement errors and hence can be treated as ill-posed. Therefore, interpolating the data always relies on some a priori assumptions concerning the tides, which provide a rule of sampling or, in other words, a regularization of the ill-posed problem. Data assimilation procedures used in large scale tide modeling are viewed in a common mathematical framework as such regularizations. It is shown that they all (basis functions expansion, parameter estimation, nudging, objective analysis, general inversion, and extended general inversion), including those (objective analysis and general inversion) originally formulated in stochastic terms, may be considered as utilizations of one of the three general methods suggested by the theory of ill-posed problems. The problem of grid refinement critical for inverse methods and nudging is discussed.