Analysis of the spatial evolution of the 2003 algal bloom in the Voordelta (North Sea)

Phaeocystis blooms in the Southern Bight of the North Sea may cause damage to the aquatic ecosystem and to commercial mussel cultures at the entrance of the Oosterschelde estuary. In this paper the potential for early detection of Phaeocystis blooms in Dutch coastal waters is studied, using a combination of field data, satellite observations and hydrodynamic- and biological modelling. For the spring bloom period in the year 2003 MERIS chlorophyll-a maps, derived with the HYDROPT algorithm for coastal waters, were compared to in-situ measurements at stations off the coast in de Voordelta and the results of the GEM biogeochemical model.The analysis shows that the spatial and temporal variability in Phaeocystis abundance and total biomass (expressed by the Chl-a concentration) during spring is large. It is confirmed that blooms may develop off shore and show a tendency to accumulate within 10 km from the coastline, giving rise to rapid biomass accumulation at the mouth of the multiple estuaries in the Voordelta. Based on the outcome of this study an early warning system is proposed that notifies local water managers and shellfish growers for potentially harmful Phaeocystis bloom formation.     

Weather, geography, and vehicle-related hyperthermia in children

Vehicle-related hyperthermia is an unfortunate tragedy that leads to the accidental deaths of children each year. This research utilizes the most extensive dataset of child vehicle-related hyperthermia deaths in the United States, including 414 deaths between 1998 and 2008. Deaths follow a seasonal pattern, with a peak in July and no deaths in December or January. Also, deaths occurred over a wide range of temperature and radiation levels and across virtually all regions, although most of them took place across the southern United States. In particular, the Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, and Las Vegas metropolitan areas had the greatest number of deaths. We utilize our vehicle hyperthermia index (vhi) to compare expected deaths versus actual deaths in a metropolitan area, based on the number of children in the area who are under the age of five and on the frequency of hot days in the area. The vhi indicates that the Memphis, West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, and Las Vegas metropolitan areas are the most dangerous places for vehicle-related hyperthermia. We conclude by discussing several recommendations with public health policy implications.     

Impact of wind on the spatial distribution of rain over micro‐scale topography: numerical modelling and experimental verification

The wind‐driven‐rain effect refers to the redistribution of rainfall over micro‐scale topography due to the existence of local perturbed wind‐flow patterns. Rainfall measurements reported in the literature point to the fact that the wind‐driven‐rain distribution can show large variations over micro‐scale topography. These variations should be taken into account in hillslope hydrology, in runoff and erosion studies and in the design of rainfall monitoring networks. In practice, measurements are often not suitable for determining the wind‐driven‐rain distribution. Therefore, a few researchers have employed numerical modelling. In order to provide confidence in using numerical models, experimental verification for a range of different topographic features is imperative. The objective of this study is to investigate the adequacy of a two‐dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model to predict the wind‐driven‐rain distribution over small‐scale topography. The numerical model is applied to a number of topographic features, including a succession of cliffs, a small isolated hill, a small valley and a field with ridges and furrows. The numerical results are compared with the corresponding measurement results reported in the literature. It is shown that two‐dimensional numerical modelling can provide a good indication of the wind‐driven‐rain distribution over each type of micro‐scale topography that is considered in this study. It is concluded that more detailed verification procedures are currently inhibited due to the lack of available and detailed spatial and temporal rainfall data from field measurements. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The search for fullerenes in rocks from the Ries impact crater

Abstract— Since their discovery, fullerenes have been reported from various geological environments. One group of these findings has been related to bolide impacts, e.g., the Sudbury crater and the K‐T and P‐T boundaries. Impact rocks of the Ries crater, Germany, including samples of suevites, metamorphosed crystalline clasts, and glass bombs, have been collected in the Otting, Altebürg, and Seelbronn quarries. No fullerenes in concentrations above 1 ppb have been found in analyzed samples. Laser desorption time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (LD‐TOF‐MS) confirmed the absence of fullerenes in the analyzed samples. These results support the concept that the Ries impactor was a stony meteorite.     

Radioisotopic dating of the Tortonian Global Stratotype Section and Point: implications for intercalibration of 40Ar/39Ar and astronomical dating methods

In this paper we present new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data of volcanic ash layers intercalated in the astronomically dated sections of Monte dei Corvi and Monte Gibliscemi (Italy) to obtain better radioisotopic time constraints on the Serravallian/Tortonian boundary and to confirm the intercalibration of radioisotopic and astronomical time proposed by Kuiper et al. [2004 ; Fish Canyon Tuff (FCT)-sanidine at 28.21 ± 0.03 Ma]. The latter intercalibration is supported by astronomically calibrated FCT sanidine ages for two ash layers at Monte Gibliscemi (GiF-1: 28.28 ± 0.04; GiD-3: 28.16 ± 0.04 Ma; ±1 SE). As a consequence, our results support the astronomically calibrated age of 11.608 Ma for the Tortonian Global Stratotype Section and Point and, hence, the tuning of the Serravallian/Tortonian boundary interval. The Ancona and Respighi levels at Monte dei Corvi give a more diffuse picture, possibly because of contamination with detrital or xenocrystic material and the inferior quality of biotite for intercalibration purposes.     

Late Cenozoic evolution of the western Barents Sea-Svalbard continental margin

Seven regionally correlatable reflectors, named R7 (oldest) to R1, have been identified in the Upper Cenozoic sedimentary succession along the western continental margin of Svalbard and the Barents Sea. Regional seismic profiles have been used to correlate between submarine fans that comprise major depocentres in this region. Glacial sediment thicknesses reach up to 3 seconds two-way time, corresponding to 3.5–4 km. Despite limited chronostratigraphic control, ages have been assigned to the major sequence boundaries based on ties both to exploration wells and to shallow boreholes, and by paleoenvironmental interpretations and correlations with other regions. Lateral and vertical variations in seismic facies, between stratified and chaotic with slump structures, have major implications for the interpretation of the depositional regime along the margin. The main phases of erosion and deposition at different segments of the margin are discussed in the paper, which also provides a regional seismic stratigraphic framework for two complementary papers in the present volume. Reflector R7 marks the onset of extensive continental shelf glaciations, but whereas the outer Svalbard shelf has been heavily and frequently glaciated since R7 time, this did not occur, or occurred to a much less extent, until R5 time in the southern Barents Sea. The present study provides the background for a quantification of the late Cenozoic glacial erosion of Svalbard and the Barents Sea. The rates of erosion and deposition exhibit large temporal and spatial variations reflecting the importance of glacial processes in the Late Cenozoic development of this nearly 1000 km long margin.     

HI shells in the Leiden-Dwingeloo HI survey

An algorithm of an automatic search for HI shells is presentedand results of identifications in the Leiden-DwingelooHI survey are shown. An identification algorithm searches forlocal minima in channel maps, then creates 3-dimensional objects,HI holes. There is no a priori constraint on the shape of an HI hole, only the dimension criterion: dimensions of the structuremust lie in a preselected interval.When this algorithm is applied to the Leiden-Dwingeloo HI survey,it finds about 1000 structures, which are seen in 4 or more consecutivevelocity channels (Δ v ≥ 4 kms^-1. A total energy contained in all structures in the Milky Way is of theorder of 10⁵⁵ erg, which is less than the energy correspondingto the observed SNR. 80% of the energy contained in holes resides at low galactic z-coordinates, |z|<2 kpc.