Tropical cyclone track and intensity prediction with a structure adjustable balanced vortex

A new Tropical Cyclone (TC) initialization method with the structure adjustable bogus vortex was applied to the forecasts of track, central pressure, and wind intensity for the 417 TCs observed in the Western North Pacific during the 3-year period of 2005–2007. In the simulations the Final Analyses (FNL) with 1° × 1° resolution of National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) were incorporated as initial conditions. The present method was shown to produce improved forecasts over those without the TC initialization and those made by Regional Specialized Meteorological Center Tokyo. The average track (central pressure, wind intensity) errors were as small as 78.0 km (11.4 hPa, 4.9 m s^?1) and 139.9 km (12.4 hPa, 5.5 m s^?1) for 24-h and 48-h forecasts, respectively. It was found that the forecast errors are almost independent on the size and intensity of the observed TCs because the size and intensity of the bogus vortex can be adjusted to fit the best track data. The results of this study indicate that a bogus method is useful in predicting simultaneously the track, central pressure, and intensity with accuracy using a dynamical forecast model.     

Hydrogeological characteristics of waterlogged areas in Natore District,Bangladesh

Waterlogging (WL) refers to the process by which water flow is resisted in vertical and horizontal directions and thus water stagnates for a short or long span of time; it is induced by a combination of human and natural factors. In the southwestern region of Bangladesh, including Natore District, WL is a significant issue that needs to be addressed if agricultural activity is to be successful. This study aimed to identify surface WL in Natore District and to characterise the WL scenario in the study area in terms of hydrogeology. Waterlogged areas were identified with a geographic information system using satellite images corresponding to the premonsoon and postmonsoon periods. Using groundwater level data (1990–2017), the pre- and postmonsoon scenarios of the waterlogged areas were indicated by seasonal and perennial types of WL. Groundwater recharge scenarios were classified as long and short lag times. Most of the study area was characterised by thick clay or silty clay surficial layers with low water penetration rates, resulting from low porosity and low hydraulic conductivity. The cross-correlation between rainfall and groundwater level revealed the response of groundwater to rainfall, with a lag time of 1–5 months. Long lag time areas exhibited slow groundwater recharge and significant groundwater level fluctuation, with lower hydraulic conductivity values of 49.37–76.24 m/day. In contrast, short lag time areas displayed rapid groundwater recharge and small groundwater fluctuation due to a good proportional relationship with rainfall and higher hydraulic conductivity values of 74.74–117.79 m/day.

     

Determination of Trace Elements in Geological Reference Materials G‐3, GSP‐2 and SGD‐1a by Low‐Dilution Glass Bead Digestion and ICP‐MS

We present a revised alkali fusion method for the determination of trace elements in geological samples. Our procedure is based on simple acid digestion of powdered low‐dilution (flux : sample ≈ 2 : 1) glass beads where large sample dilution demanded by high total dissolved solids, a main drawback of conventional alkali fusion, could be circumvented. Three geological reference materials (G‐3 granite, GSP‐2 granodiorite and SGD‐1a gabbro) decomposed by this technique and routine tabletop acid digestion were analysed for thirty trace elements using a quadrupole ICP‐MS. Results by conventional acid digestion distinctly showed poor recoveries of Zr, Hf and rare earth elements due to incomplete dissolution of resistant minerals. On the other hand, results obtained by our method were in reasonable agreement with reference data for most analytes, indicating that refractory minerals were efficiently dissolved and volatile loss was insignificant.     

Maps as Knowledge Aggregators: from Renaissance Italy Fra Mauro to Web Search Engines

Abstract

For many years geological students have been graduating from universities with little knowledge of how to use the cartographic language of line, letter, symbol and tone by which the distribution and spatial arrangement of earth science data can be best expressed. The author discusses the development of the teaching of geological cartography in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Leeds. Details of this innovation are set against the background of data obtained from a recent questionnaire on the practice of cartography as a discipline in departments of geology in British universities.     

Groundwater nitrate contamination and risk assessment in an agricultural area,South Korea

The nitrate of groundwater in the Gimpo agricultural area, South Korea, was characterized by means of nitrate concentration, nitrogen-isotope analysis, and the risk assessment of nitrogen. The groundwaters belonging to Ca–(Cl + NO₃) and Na–(Cl + NO₃) types displayed a higher average NO₃ ⁻ concentration (79.4 mg/L), exceeding the Korean drinking water standard (<44.3 mg/L NO₃ ⁻). The relationship between δ¹⁸O–NO₃ ⁻ values and δ¹⁵N–NO₃ ⁻ values revealed that nearly all groundwater samples with δ¹⁵N–NO₃ ⁻ of +7.57 to +13.5‰ were affected by nitrate from manure/sewage as well as microbial nitrification and negligible denitrification. The risk assessment of nitrate for groundwater in the study area was carried out using the risk-based corrective action model since it was recognized that there is a necessity of a quantitative assessment of health hazard, as well as a simple estimation of nitrate concentration. All the groundwaters of higher nitrate concentration than the Korean drinking water standard (<44.3 mg/L NO₃ ⁻) belonged to the domain of the hazard index <1, indicating no health hazard by nitrate in groundwater in the study area. Further, the human exposure to the nitrate-contaminated soil was below the critical limit of non-carcinogenic risk.     

On the Angular Momentum Loss of Tropical Cyclones: An <Emphasis Type="Italic">f</Emphasis>-Plane Approximation

The angular momentum for ideal axisymmetric tropical cyclones on the f-plane is investigated with a focus on the total-volume integrated quantity. Budget analysis of the momentum equation at cylindrical coordinates shows that a tropical cyclone loses angular momentum during its development and mature stages due to the dynamical difference between the viscous inward-flow near the surface and the angular momentum conserving outward-flow aloft. The total relative angular momentum of a tropical cyclone, as a result, can be negative (i.e., implying anticyclonic rotation as a whole) despite intense cyclonic wind in the tropospheric layers. This anticyclonic rotation was measured in terms of the super-rotation ratio, the ratio of total relative angular momentum to the planetary angular momentum. Simulations with the numerical model of Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) version 3.4.1 was found to be in favor of the theoretical angular-momentum budget analysis. It was revealed in the numerical simulations that the super-rotation ratio was negative, indicating a sub-rotation, as was predicted by analysis. The sub-rotation ratio was found to be less than one percent for typical tropical cyclones. To show the angular momentum decrease even in the decaying stage, numerical simulations where the thermal forcing by sea surface temperature switched off in the mature stage were carried out. In support of the angular momentum budget analysis, the results indicated that the angular momentum also decreases for a while soon after the forcing was eliminated.     

Estimation of sand transport by use of tracers along a reclaimed shoreline at Singapore Changi Airport

This paper describes a probabilistic approach in the estimation of the sediment transport along the reclaimed shoreline at the Singapore Changi Airport through a detailed analysis of the data obtained from a radio-active tracer experiment conducted on site by the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA).The probabilistic approach showed that the transport rate per unit transverse width of the beach is proportional to the effective depth of transport and the speed of the centroid of the probability function describing the dispersion of the cloud of tracers.     

Effect of barley straw biochar application on greenhouse gas emissions from upland soil for Chinese cabbage cultivation in short-term laboratory experiments

Chinese cabbage was cultivated in upland soil with the addition of biochar in order to investigate the potential for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Barley straw biochar (BSB) was introduced in a Wagner pot (1/5000a) in amounts of 0 (BSB0, control), 100 (BSB100), 300 (BSB300), and 500 (BSB500) kg 10a^-1. After the addition of BSB into the upland soil, carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission increased while methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions decreased. The highest CO₂ flux was measured for the BSB500 sample, (84.6 g m^-2) followed by BSB300, BSB100, and BSB0 in decreasing order. Relative to those of control, the total CH₄ flux and N₂O flux for the BSB500 treatment were lower by 31.6% and 26.1%, respectively. The global warming potential (GWP) of the treatment without biochar was 281.4 g CO₂ m^-2 and those for treatments with biochar were in the range from 194.1 to 224.9 g CO₂ m^-2. Therefore, introducing BSB into upland soil to cultivate Chinese cabbages can reduce the global warming potential.     

Optical dating of hydromagmatic volcanoes on the southwestern coast of Jeju Island, Korea

Jeju Island, the largest Quaternary volcanic island in Korea, has formed mostly since the early Pleistocene, but its latest chronology of volcanism and sedimentation is still poorly constrained. Here we report optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages for two hydromagmatic volcanoes on the southwestern coast of Jeju Island, i.e., the Songaksan and Suwolbong tuff rings. The basaltic tuffs of these volcanoes contain abundant quartz sands from underlying marine sedimentary sequences. Two samples collected from the middle part of the Songaksan Tuff yielded highly reproducible quartz single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) OSL ages of 7.0±0.3 ka, providing the first direct age estimate of Holocene volcanism in Jeju Island. The quartz OSL age estimate of 5.1±0.3 ka for the younger reworked basaltic tuff (the Hamori Formation) is comparable with previous radiocarbon and U-series disequilibrium dating of fossil mollusk shells. Two samples from the Suwolbong Tuff show quartz OSL age estimates of 18.3±0.7 and 18.6±0.9 ka, which are identical within error ranges and younger than the quartz OSL age estimate of 23.2±1.0 ka for the underlying Gosan Formation. This study confirms that volcanism and attendant sedimentation were active in Jeju Island until very recently.     

First data on the age of rocks from the northern flank of the Olkhon terrane,western Baikal area

The metamorphic complexes in the northern part of the Olkhon terrane (Zunduk megazone), Central Asian Fold Belt, are studied. It is found that the age of gneiss–granites, which correspond to granites of type I formed within the active continental margin, is 800 ± 11 Ma, whereas the age of the protolith of epidote–muscovite–feldspar–quartz schist, which formed by metamorphic reworking of island-arc volcanic rocks, is 650–630 Ma. New results and those published earlier show that the structure of the Olkhon terrane contains traces of at least three stages of different ages when suprasubduction processes were manifested. The earliest episode (～850?800 Ma) occurred within the Panthalassa, and the subsequent ones (～650?620 and ～500 Ma) occurred in the Paleoasian Ocean. New data give us grounds to consider protoliths of the studied rocks from the northern flank of the Olkhon metamorphic terrane as products of convergence-related processes that took place within the limits of the paleooceans in the Late Precambrian, rather than in the Pleoproterozoic as was supposed earlier.