A new approach to the automatic computation of partial volumes of river runoff with various degrees of pollution (a case study for the Selenga River)

Proposed are the methods and software package that enable estimating automatically the degree of the pollution of annual and long-term river runoff at the joint processing of large volumes of standard (routine) hydrological and hydrochemical information. As a result of computations, the individual quality certificate of river runoff was created for the part of the river under study. Computation methods include regulations concerning the parameters that connect the water runoff volume with water quality; the parameters that may connect the computation of the pollution degree using RD 52.24.643-2002 adapted for the partial volumes of the annual runoff according to these methods, with the subsequent classification of the pollution degree. The computation technique was worked out and used for the first time. The informativeness of estimates is demonstrated for one of the discharge section lines of the Selenga River.     

Volcanic highlands in the South Atlantic rift zone

The morphostructure of the segment between the Cardno and St. Helen transform fracture zones is studied in the rift zone of the South Atlantic slow-spreading mid-oceanic ridge (SAMOR). It was found that it is atypical of similar ridges because of the absence of an evolved rift valley. The rift zone in the transverse section is a cupola with flat slopes, whose surface is divided by volcanic massifs, plateau-like valleys, and unclear ridges and valleys. The entire morphostructure (a cupola-like regional pedestal and the listed relief forms of the second order) indicates its volcanic origin, and the rift zone in this segment is a volcanic high-land. This conclusion is supported by seismic and magnetic data. Because other (not all) SAMOR segments contain the rift valley, the results of this study indicate alternation of the tectonic and magmatic morphostructures along the entire rift zone and identification of its scales is the most important task of the morphostructural study of the SAMOR rift zone. Determination of geodynamic regimes on the basis of the results of morphostructural studies of the rift zone will arise from the solution of this task.     

Effects of biochar, cow bone, and eggshell on Pb availability to maize in contaminated soil irrigated with saline water

Toxicity of heavy metals adversely affects environment and human health. Organic materials derived from natural matters or wastes have been applied to soils to reduce the mobility of contaminants such as heavy metals. However, the application of cow bone powder (CB), biochar (BC), and eggshell powder (ES) is rarely investigated for the reduction of Pb bioavailability in soils irrigated with saline water. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of CB, BC, and ES additions as immobilizing substances on Pb bioavailability in shooting range soil irrigated with deionized and saline water. Each additive of CB, BC, and ES at 5 % (w/w) was mixed with soils and then the deionized and saline water were irrigated for 21 days. With deionized water irrigation, the soils treated with CB, BC, and ES exhibited higher pH when compared with saline water irrigation. With saline water irrigation, the electrical conductivity, water-soluble anions, and cations were significantly increased in soils treated with CB, BC, and ES. The water-soluble Pb in soils treated with CB, BC, and ES was significantly decreased with saline water irrigation. On the other hand, the water-soluble Pb in soil treated with CB was increased with deionized water irrigation. Only BC with saline water irrigation decreased the Pb concentration in maize shoots.     

Strategically Locating Wildlife Crossing Structures for Florida Panthers Using Maximal Covering Approaches

Crossing structures are an effective method for mitigating habitat fragmentation and reducing wildlife‐vehicle collisions, although high construction costs limit the number that can be implemented in practice. Therefore, optimizing the placement of crossing structures in road networks is suggested as a strategic conservation planning method. This research explores two approaches for using the maximal covering location problem (MCLP) to determine optimal sites to install new wildlife crossing structures. The first approach is based on records of traffic mortality, while the second uses animal tracking data for the species of interest. The objective of the first is to cover the maximum number of collision sites, given a specified number of proposed structures to build, while the second covers as many animal tracking locations as possible under a similar scenario. These two approaches were used to locate potential wildlife crossing structures for endangered Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi) in Collier, Lee, and Hendry Counties, Florida, a population whose survival is threatened by excessive traffic mortality. Historical traffic mortality records and an extensive radio‐tracking dataset were used in the analyses. Although the two approaches largely select different sites for crossing structures, both models highlight key locations in the landscape where these structures can remedy traffic mortality and habitat fragmentation. These applications demonstrate how the MCLP can serve as a useful conservation planning tool when traffic mortality or animal tracking data are available to researchers.     

Assessment of future runoff trends under multiple climate change scenarios in the Willamette River Basin,Oregon, USA

We investigated trends in future seasonal runoff components in the Willamette River Basin (WRB) of Oregon for the twenty‐first century. Statistically downscaled climate projections by Climate Impacts Group (CIG), eight different global climate model (GCM) simulations with two different greenhouse gas (GHG) emission scenarios, (A1B and B1), were used as inputs for the US Geological Survey's Precipitation Runoff Modelling System. Ensemble mean results show negative trends in spring (March, April and May) and summer (June, July and August) runoff and positive trends in fall (September, October and November) and winter (December, January and February) runoff for 2000–2099. This is a result of temperature controls on the snowpack and declining summer and increasing winter precipitation. With temperature increases throughout the basin, snow water equivalent (SWE) is projected to decline consistently for all seasons. The decreases in the centre of timing and 7‐day low flows and increases in the top 5% flow are caused by the earlier snowmelt in spring, decreases in summer runoff and increases in fall and winter runoff, respectively. Winter runoff changes are more pronounced in higher elevations than in low elevations in winter. Seasonal runoff trends are associated with the complex interactions of climatic and topographic variables. While SWE is the most important explanatory variable for spring and winter runoff trends, precipitation has the strongest influence on fall runoff. Spatial error regression models that incorporate spatial dependence better explain the variations of runoff trends than ordinary least‐squares (OLS) multiple regression models. Our results show that long‐term trends of water balance components in the WRB could be highly affected by anthropogenic climate change, but the direction and magnitude of such changes are highly dependent on the interactions between climate change and land surface hydrology. This suggests a need for spatially explicit adaptive water resource management within the WRB under climate change. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flows within the Ekman layer during spin-up of a thermally stratified fluid

Abstract

Finite-difference numerical solutions were obtained to present the flow and temperature field details within the transient Ekman layer during spin-up of a thermally stratified fluid in a cylinder. This complements the earlier studies on stratified spin-up which examined the flows in the interior core region. As the stratification increases, the following changes in the flow field are noticeable. The radial velocity in the Ekman layer decreases in magnitude. The azimuthal flows adjust smoothly from the interior region to the endwall boundary, and the Ekman layer in the azimuthal flow field fades. Vertical motions are inhibited, resulting in a weakened Ekman pumping. The axial vorticity field behaves similarly to the azimuthal flows. The temperature deviation from the equilibrium profile decreases, and the heat transfer flux from the endwall to the fluid decreases. The thickness of the thermal layer is larger than the velocity layer thickness. Illustrative comparisons of the relative sizes of the terms in the governing equations are conducted in order to assess the stratification effect in the adjustment process of the fluid.     

Electric charge and magnetic flux on rotating black holes in a force-free magnetosphere

The electric charge on rotating black holes is calculated to be ∼ BJ in the force-free configuration of Ghosh, with a horizon flux of ∼ BM ². This charge is gravitationally weak for B ∼10¹⁵ G , so that the Kerr metric applies. Being similar to the electric charge of a magnetar, both electric charge and magnetic flux should be, in sign and order of magnitude, continuous during stellar collapse into a black hole. Extraction of the rotational energy from newly formed black holes may proceed by interaction with the magnetic field.     

Pre-Breakdown Processes in the Hollow Cathode Region of a Transient Hollow Cathode Discharge

Discharge formation in the A–K space of transient hollow cathode discharge (THCD) is causally linked with the emission of high energy electron beams originating in the hollow cathode region (HCR). Ionization in the A–K gap proceeds through the formation of a moving virtual anode, whose time evolution is strongly correlated with different periods in the electron beam activity. Here, we report on time and space resolved observations of different ionization events inside the HCR, which are time correlated with ionization processes inside the A–K gap. The experiments have been performed in Hydrogen, at pressures between 50 and 400 mTorr. A statistical study of the characteristic times associated with the different ionization events, based on von Laue plots, shows that the time distribution of events is well described by a single Gaussian distribution.     

Debris flow overflowing flexible barrier: physical process and drag load characteristics

Landslides - The multiple-barrier mitigation strategy in the debris-flow source area is an effective approach to inhibit debris-flow entrainment and scale amplification along the flow path....     

Hybrid continuum–discrete simulation of granular impact dynamics

Acta Geotechnica - Granular impact—the dynamic intrusion of solid objects into granular media—is widespread across scientific and engineering applications including geotechnics....