Modelling regional effects of artificial groundwater recharge in a multilayer aquifer characterized by perched water tables

This paper presents an approach to estimate the effects of a managed recharge experiment in a multilayer aquifer characterized by the presence of perched water tables in the Medina del Campo groundwater body, Douro basin, central Spain. A numerical model was developed to evaluate the effect of artificial recharge on the shallow sector of a regional-scale aquifer and on formerly active wetlands. The model was developed in the Visual MODFLOW Pro v.2011.1 environment in order to represent and analyse the regional impact of this artificial recharge event. Results suggest that the assumption of a single perched system may prove useful in regional contexts where data is limited. From a study site perspective, managed recharge is observed to increase shallow storage along the riverbanks, which is considered valuable for environmental purposes. However, downstream wetlands are unlikely to experience a significant recovery. Furthermore, only a small percentage of artificial recharge is expected to reach the deep regional aquifer. This method can be exported to settings characterized by the presence of perched aquifers and associated groundwater dependent ecosystems.     

The influence of salinity on the solubility of Zn and Cd sulphides in the Scheldt estuary

In the estuary of the river Scheldt, where an oxygen gradient exists in addition to the salinity gradient, redox processes will be of major importance for trace metal mobilisation. In this study, the influence of salinity and pH on the redox processes of dissolved Zn and Cd sulphides is investigated together with the effects on the ratio of the dissolved Zn and Cd concentrations. The speciation of these metals is calculated with the chemical equilibrium programme +. Zn sulphides are oxidised at lower oxygen concentrations than Cd sulphides, due to lower stability constants, causing a sudden increase or peak in the dissolved Zn/Cd ratio. The formation of dissolved Cd chloride complexes when oxidation occurs at high salinities (S=15) increases the mobility of Cd, causing a decrease in the Zn/Cd peak of the total dissolved concentrations. The peak is three to four times smaller at S=15 than when oxidation occurs at S=2. The simple model calculations compare very well with field data. The Scheldt estuary is suitable to illustrate these calculations. In the 1970s, the anoxic part of the estuary reached S=15–20, but since the early 1980s it has dropped to S=2–10. Historic data on metals in the estuary from 1978, 1987 and the 1990s were used to compare with the equilibrium calculations. The increase of the dissolved Zn/Cd peak at low salinity as a consequence, of the decreasing anoxic region is confirmed well by the data. The good agreement between model calculations and field data is a proof of the extreme importance of redox processes for the solubility of Zn and Cd sulphides in the estuary.     

Sample treatment with focused ultrasound and bath sonication as a powerful tool for the evaluation of cadmium pollution in estuarine waters

A new sample treatment was developed for the determination of dissolved cadmium in Tagus estuarine waters, based on focused ultrasound in conjunction with small volumes in the extraction steps for Cd pre-concentration. Cadmium was first pre-concentrated using a classical approach (APDC as the complexing agent and MIBK as the organic phase) and then back-extracted into HNO₃ with the aid of focused ultrasound, which reduced the acid concentration by more than one order of magnitude (from 4 to 0.1 mol L^− 3). This sample treatment was accomplished in less than 5 min, using low sample volume (20 mL), and low-volume, low-concentration reagents. The pre-concentration factor used in this work was 25, but different sample/organic volume ratios may be used in order to increase that value. The limit of detection and the limit of quantification in Tagus water samples were 0.03 nmol L^− 1 and 0.1 nmol L^− 3, respectively. Recoveries from spiked Tagus water were higher than 90%. The procedure was validated using the reference estuarine water NRC-SLEW-3. In the solubilization of Cd particulate, bath ultrasonication was used in conjunction with HNO₃ + HCl, followed by H₂O₂, which took about 2 instead of the usual 12 h (cooling included) when high-pressure microwave digestion is used.     

Light curve analysis of the short period eclipsing binary RT and

We have analysed the 1978 UBV photoelectric observations of the short-period (RS CVn type) binary system RT And, using the rectifiable methods of Russell and Merrill (1952) and Kitamura (1965). The primary minimum is a transit. The solutions allow us to classify the system as a detached one, but a certain disagreement results with respect to solutions of previous epochs. A graphical test of the reliability of the solution is given.     

Uncertainties in Solar Synoptic Magnetic Flux Maps

Magnetic flux synoptic charts are critical for a reliable modeling of the corona and heliosphere. Until now, however, these charts were provided without uncertainty estimates. The uncertainties are due to instrumental noise in the measurements and to the spatial variance of the magnetic flux distribution that contributes to each bin in the synoptic chart. We describe here a simple method to compute synoptic magnetic flux maps and their corresponding magnetic flux spatial variance charts that can be used to estimate the uncertainty in the results of coronal models. We have tested this approach by computing a potential-field source-surface model of the coronal field for a Monte Carlo simulation of Carrington synoptic magnetic flux maps generated from the variance map. We show that these uncertainties affect both the locations of source-surface neutral lines and the distributions of coronal holes in the models.     

Diurnal variation of the dayside, ionospheric, mid-latitude trough in the southern hemisphere at 800 km: Model and measurement comparison

Our high latitude ionospheric model predicts the existence of a pronounced “dayside” trough in plasma concentration equatorward of the auroral oval in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres for solar maximum, winter, and low geomagnetic activity conditions. The trough in the Southern Hemisphere is much deeper than that in the Northern Hemisphere, with the minimum trough density at 800 km being 2 × 10³ cm⁻³ in the Southern Hemisphere and 10⁴ cm⁻³ in the Northern Hemisphere. The dayside trough has a strong longitudinal (diurnal) dependence and appears between 11:00 and 19:00 U.T. in the Southern Hemisphere and between 02:00 and 08:00 U.T. in the Northern Hemisphere. This dayside trough is a result of the auroral oval moving to larger solar zenith angles at those universal times when the magnetic pole is on the antisunward side of the geographic pole. As the auroral ionization source moves to higher geographic latitudes, it leaves a region of declining photoionization on the dayside. For low convection speeds, the ionosphere decays and a dayside trough forms. The trough is deeper in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere because of the greater offset between the geomagnetic and geographic poles. Satellite data taken in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres confirm the gross features of the dayside trough, including its strong longitudinal dependence, its depth, and the asymmetry between the Northern and Southern Hemisphere troughs.     

1958～2018年永定河流域蒸发皿蒸发量的变化特征及其影响因子分析

基于永定河流域1958～2018年14个气象站的逐日观测数据,采用气候倾向率、Mann–Kendall趋势检验法分析蒸发皿蒸发量时空变化特征,并通过完全相关系数和多元回归分析识别气候因子与蒸发量的相关程度并定量计算其贡献率.结果表明:在全球气候变暖的背景下,60年来永定河流域气温以0.29°C/10 a的速率上升,而蒸...     

Synoptic charts of solar 9.1 cm and coronal hole data

Synoptic charts for Carrington rotations 1601–1605 (May–August, 1973) were prepared using the central meridian column of the daily 9.1 cm Stanford solar radio maps. These charts were especially contoured to emphasize temperatures near the quiet solar disk level. Synoptic charts of coronal holes from the ATM-Skylab were superimposed on the radio data to investigate the ability of the radio charts to show coronal holes. This brief period is unfortunately the only interval for which both sets of data are available. The conclusion reached is that in spite of certain problems due to active regions, side-lobe effects and a rather large beamwidth, the 9.1 cm synoptic charts can be of substantial value in identifying large coronal holes, especially during periods of low solar activity. Such synoptic charts, therefore, for the years 1962–1973 that Stanford data are available, could enhance significantly the meagre data pool for coronal holes prior to the Skylab mission.     

Application of Air Decks in Production Blasting to Improve Fragmentation and Economics of an Open Pit Mine

In blasting with air decks, repeated oscillation of shock waves within the air gap increases the time over which it acts on the surrounding rock mass by a factor at between 2 and 5. The ultimate effect lies in increasing the crack network in the surrounding rock and reducing the burden movement. Trials of air deck blasting in the structurally unfavourable footwall side of an open pit manganese mine has resulted in substantial improvements in fragmentation and blast economics. Better fragmentation resulted in improved shovel loading efficiency by 50–60%. Secondary blasting was almost eliminated. Use of ANFO explosive with this technique reduced explosive cost by 31.6%. Other benefits included reductions in overbreak, throw and ground vibration of the order of 60–70, 65–85 and 44% respectively. This paper reviews the theory of air deck blasting and describes in detail the air deck blast trials conducted in a manganese open pit mine in India. The blast performance data have been analysed to evaluate the benefits of air decking over conventional blasting.