A world model of soil carbon dioxide

Mean growing season soil PCO₂ data were obtained for 19 regions of the world in nine countries. Bivariate and multiple linear regression analysis with soil log(PCO₂) as the dependent variable and TEMP, PRECIP, log(AET), and log(PET) as the four climatic independent variables demonstrated that AET was the best independent predictor of soil PCO₂. An improved soil PCO₂-AET model was developed by assuming (1) that as AET approaches zero, soil PCO₂ approaches the atmospheric value and (2) that there is an upper limit to soil PCO₂ at very high AET. This model has the form log(PCO₂) = ?3·47 + 2·09 (1 ?e^{?0·0172 AET}) where AET is in mm. It explains 67 per cent of the initial variation in the soil PCO₂ data, predicts a soil log(PCO₂) of ? 3·47 at AET = 0, and an upper limit of 3·5 per cent (log(PCO₂) = ? 1·45) for mean growing season soil PCO₂ at AET values of 2000 mm and above. The results of this study suggest that soil PCO₂ levels in tropical areas are, on average, higher than those in temperate, alpine, and arctic regions.     

The use of dual channel circular-polarization radar observations for remotely sensing storm electrification

Summary Observations of thunderstorms with a dual channel circularpolarization radar have provided dramatic indications of the buildup of the electric field inside the storms and of the sudden collapse of the field at the time of lightning. The indications are obtained by coherently correlating the simultaneous returns in the right- and left-hand circular polarization channels of the radar, and follow up on the pioneering observations of this type by Hendry and McCormick (1976). The correlation is estimated and displayed in real time and the results enable one to predict when a storm has the potential for producing a lightning discharge, and often to anticipate the occurrence of individual discharges. The observations detect the presence of electrically aligned particles, believed to be small ice crystals, which are aligned by the electrostatic field of the storm. The aligned particles cause the radar signal to become progressively depolarized as it propagates through an alignment region, giving rise to correlated right- and left-circular polarization echoes. The alignment direction can be determined from the phase of the correlation and is found to be predominantly vertical, indicating a similar electric field orientation. Weaker horizontal alignment is often observed immediately following lightning discharges, consistent with the idea that the aligned particles are ice platelets which fall with horizontal orientation due to aerodynamic forces. The observations have been found to reveal the onset of strong electrification in developing storms and to indicate when decaying storms no longer have the potential to produce lightning. By compensating for signal-to-noise effects, the variation of the depolarization with range can be determined. This provides detailed pictures of the alignment regions which could be used as tracers of ice crystal populations in storms. The pictures also show the spatial variation of the alignment directions, raising the possibility of remotely mapping the storm electric field structure. Finally, the depolarization rate results readily enable one to distinguish between liquid and solid precipitation in the storms.With 7 Figures     

Refinement of the Kudo-Weill plagioclase thermometer and its application to basaltic rocks

The Kudo-Weill plagioclase thermometer is applied to basaltic rocks. Comparison of measured and calculated crystallization temperatures shows that the latter are generally higher than measured values. The plagioclase thermometer predicts non-ideal behavoir of plagioclase solid solution and is in close agreement with experimental work at lower temperature. New equations are generated that relate plagioclase and melt chemistries to plagioclase crystallization temperatures; and these, combined with activity coefficient corrections, result in a refinement of the plagioclase thermometer.     

A note on vertical coherence of wind measured in an urban boundary layer

The coherence, γ, between levels of the horizontal components of wind velocity are examined for data obtained on a 118-m tower at Victoria Dock, an urban site in Melbourne, Australia. The coherence is analysed to determine the influence of various parameters on its variation; it is found to be strongly dependent on f=n δz/U (n frequency, δz interlevel spacing and U the mean wind speed), and to a lesser degree on thermal stability and wind component. The empirical relation γ=exp(?af) is found to be reasonable and estimates of a are given. The data conform to observations reported at other sites.     

On the marine geochemistry of nickel

Nickel has been measured on four Geosecs profiles from the Atlantic and Pacific. The resulting distribution is oceanographically consistent: the concentration levels are over a factor of five lower than any previously reported. Values range from as low as 3 nmoles/kg in surface waters to 12 nmoles/kg in the deep North Pacific. The form of the Pacific profiles indicates that nickel is involved in the biogeochemical cycle and is regenerated both at shallow depths, like phosphate and in the deep waters like silicate. The oceanic residence time is ca. 10,000 years. While ferromanganese phases may be the ultimate sink for nickel they do not control its distribution in the water column.     

Use of fluorescein as a ground water tracer in brackish water aquifers

A drift and pumpback experiment was conducted in a brackish water sandfill. The sandfill was reclaimed from the sea in the eastern part of Singapore and contains sands with low organic and clay/silt contents. The high salinity in the ground water precludes the use of chloride and bromide as tracers in such an environment, and a field experiment was conducted to assess the viability of using fluorescein as a tracer in brackish water aquifers. Nitrate was used as a second tracer to serve as a check. Initial laboratory studies showed that fluorescence was unaffected over the range of electrical conductivity and pH of the ground water. Results from the field experiment show that fluorescein appears to behave conservatively.     

The hyperthermal ionization and high absolutemeteor velocities observed with HPLA radars

High Power Large Aperture (HPLA) radars generally observe very high meteor velocities averaging over 50 km s⁻¹. There are only a few events recorded around 30 km s⁻¹, while meteors at 20 km s⁻¹ or slower are very rare. This is a clear and debated contradiction to specular meteor radar results. A high plasma density condition contributes, but the dominating phenomenon is the hyperthermal ionization mechanism due to chemical dynamics of the ionization process. The observed high velocities can be explained in terms of high hyperthermal ionization cross-sections for collisions between ablated meteoroid metal atoms such as Na and/or Fe and atmospheric species.