The Effect of Particulate Matter Components on the Acidity of Rain in Upper Silesia (Poland)

Analysis of data characterizing the chemical composition of atmospheric precipitation was presented, with an emphasis on components responsible for neutralization of rain acidity. For this purpose, chemometric methods were applied. Based on a principal component analysis (PCA) a strong correlation between precipitation pH and potassium and ammonium ions in the heating period (October–March) and potassium and sodium ions in the non‐heating period (April–September) was observed. Additionally, a classification of eight variables, i.e., Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, , , Cl^?, and according to their similarities was made using a cluster analysis. Based on this study, two ions, potassium and ammonium, together with the pH value were classified into one group (cluster) in the heating period while in the non‐heating period ions of potassium and sodium were clustered together with the pH. The results of the cluster analysis indicated that the selected ions contributed the most to the neutralization of the atmospheric precipitation acidity. This relationship was confirmed by a discriminant analysis in which potassium and ammonium ions were selected as components of the highest potential for precipitation classification according to its acidity degree. The relationship between the precipitation pH and the number of non‐precipitation days preceding the precipitation was also analyzed. It was found that although the observed an increase of the pH value was not very high, nevertheless, the effect of the duration of the period preceding the precipitation on the pH value recorded on the day of the precipitation occurrence was quite evident.     

Spatial distribution of phosphorus forms in sediments in the Gulf of Gdańsk (southern Baltic Sea)

The paper analyses the concentrations of total phosphorus and its forms in sediments from the Gulf of Gdańsk on the basis of studies conducted at 25 sampling sites in 2001–05. The phosphorus speciation analysis was performed by sequential extraction. The extensive spatial variability of P_tot concentrations and speciation was found to be dependent on the physicochemical properties of the sediments, the oxygen conditions in the water and sediments, and the depth of the water column above the sediment surface. In the coastal zone, the sedimentation of riverine suspended matter and the sorption and chemisorption processes exert a considerable influence on P speciation. Over 70% of variation of total phosphorus concentration in sediments in the Gulf of Gdańsk could be explained by changes of proportion of fine fraction of sediments (grain size <0.0625 mm). Maximum P_tot concentrations were recorded in clays and silts in the deep water, stratified part of the Gulf of Gdańsk. In the coastal zone, where sandy sediments are dominant, phosphorus concentrations were much lower; this was due to the considerable dynamics of the bottom water and intensive sea floor transport. P_tot concentrations in the Gulf of Gdańsk sediments ranged from 1.75 to 957.17 μmol g⁻¹ d.w. Of all the forms of phosphorus, the highest concentrations were found for organic phosphorus (Org-P). Of its inorganic forms, the highest concentrations were of phosphorus bound to clay minerals and aluminium oxides (NaOH-P), the lowest ones were of loosely bound phosphorus (NaCl-P). On the basis of determinations of total phosphorus concentrations in sediments of a given type and the available data on the seabed areas covered by particular sediment types in the Gulf of Gdańsk, the mass of total phosphorus in the surficial sediment layer (0–2 cm) was estimated at ca. 15.6×10³ tonnes.     

Iranian earthquakes, a uniform catalog with moment magnitudes

A uniform earthquake catalog is an essential tool in any seismic hazard analysis. In this study, an earthquake catalog of Iran and adjacent areas was compiled, using international and national databanks. The following priorities were applied in selecting magnitude and earthquake location: (a) local catalogs were given higher priority for establishing the location of an earthquake and (b) global catalogs were preferred for determining earthquake magnitudes. Earthquakes that have occurred within the bounds between 23–42° N and 42–65° E, with a magnitude range of M _W 3.5–7.9, from the third millennium BC until April 2010 were included. In an effort to avoid the “boundary effect,” since the newly compiled catalog will be mainly used for seismic hazard assessment, the study area includes the areas adjacent to Iran. The standardization of the catalog in terms of magnitude was achieved by the conversion of all types of magnitude into moment magnitude, M _W, by using the orthogonal regression technique. In the newly compiled catalog, all aftershocks were detected, based on the procedure described by Gardner and Knopoff (Bull Seismol Soc Am 64:1363–1367, 1974). The seismicity parameters were calculated for the six main tectonic seismic zones of Iran, i.e., the Zagros Mountain Range, the Alborz Mountain Range, Central Iran, Kope Dagh, Azerbaijan, and Makran.     

Magnetic fields and radio polarization of barred galaxies

In order to simulate evolution of a large-scale magnetic field in a barred galaxy possessing a gaseous halo we apply a three-dimensional (3D) MHD numerical model. We solve a induction equation using a time-dependent velocity field of molecular gas resulting from self-consistent 3D N-body simulations of a galactic disk. The gaseous halo rotates differentially co-rotating with the disk. In our model we introduce the dynamo process causing the amplification of the magnetic field as well as the formation of field structures high above the galactic disk. The simulated magnetic fields are used to construct the models of a high-frequency (Faraday rotation-free) polarized radio emission that accounts for effects of projection and limited resolution, and is thus suitable for direct comparison with observations. We found that the resultant magnetic field correctly reproduces the observed structures of polarization B-vectors, forming coherent patterns well aligned with spiral arms and with the bar. The process initializing a wave-like behavior of the magnetic field, which efficiently forms magnetic maxima between the spiral arms, is demonstrated. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Shear modulus, heat capacity, viscosity and structural relaxation time of Na2O–Al2O3–SiO2 and Na2O–Fe2O3–Al2O3–SiO2 melts

The configurational heat capacity, shear modulus and shear viscosity of a series of Na₂O–Fe₂O₃–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ melts have been determined as a function of composition. A change in composition dependence of each of the physical properties is observed as Na₂O/(Na₂O + Al₂O₃) is decreased, and the peralkaline melts become peraluminous and a new charge-balanced Al-structure appears in the melts. Of special interest are the frequency dependent (1 mHz–1 Hz) measurements of the shear modulus. These forced oscillation measurements determine the lifetimes of Si–O bonds and Na–O bonds in the melt. The lifetime of the Al–O bonds could not, however, be resolved from the mechanical spectrum. Therefore, it appears that the lifetime of Al–O bonds in these melts is similar to that of Si–O bonds with the Al–O relaxation peak being subsumed by the Si–O relaxation peak. The appearance of a new Al-structure in the peraluminous melts also cannot be resolved from the mechanical spectra, although a change in elastic shear modulus is determined as a function of composition. The structural shear-relaxation time of some of these melts is not that which is predicted by the Maxwell equation, but up to 1.5 orders of magnitude faster. Although the configurational heat capacity, density and shear modulus of the melts show a change in trend as a function of composition at the boundary between peralkaline and peraluminous, the deviation in relaxation time from the Maxwell equation occurs in the peralkaline regime. The measured relaxation times for both the very peralkaline melts and the peraluminous melts are identical with the calculated Maxwell relaxation time. As the Maxwell equation was created to describe the timescale of flow of a mono-structure material, a deviation from the prediction would indicate that the structure of the melt is too complex to be described by this simple flow equation. One possibility is that Al-rich channels form and then disappear with decreasing Si/Al, and that the flow is dominated by the lifetime of Si–O bonds in the Al-poor peralkaline melts, and by the lifetime of Al–O bonds in the relatively Si-poor peralkaline and peraluminous melts with a complex flow mechanism occurring in the mid-compositions. This anomalous deviation from the calculated relaxation time appears to be independent of the change in structure expected to occur at the peralkaline/peraluminous boundary due to the lack of charge-balancing cations for the Al-tetrahedra.