Retrospective Assessment of Bottom Deposits in Kondopoga Bay,Lake Onega

Long-term observations of the chemical composition of bottom sediments in Kondopoga Bay, Lake Onega, are considered. The present-day state of bottom sediments is characterized, and regularities of variations in the composition and properties of sediments occurring in the zone of influence of wastewaters from a pulp and paper plant (PPP).     

Assessing the Comparability of Ammonium,Nitrate and Sulfate Concentrations Measured by Three Air Quality Monitoring Networks

Airborne fine particulate matter across the United States is monitored by different networks, the three prevalent ones presently being the Clean Air Status and Trend Network (CASTNet), the Interagency Monitoring of PROtected Visual Environment Network (IMPROVE) and the Speciation and Trend Network (STN). If combined, these three networks provide speciated fine particulate data at several hundred locations throughout the United States. Yet, differences in sampling protocols and samples handling may not allow their joint use. With these concerns in mind, the objective of this study is to assess the spatial and temporal comparability of the sulfate, nitrate and ammonium concentrations reported by each of these networks. One of the major differences between networks is the sampling frequency they adopted. While CASTNet measures pollution levels on seven-day integrated samples, STN and IMPROVE data pertain to 24-hour samples collected every three days. STN and IMPROVE data therefore exhibit considerably more short-term variability than their CASTNet counterpart. We show that, despite their apparent incongruity, averaging the data with a window size of four to six weeks is sufficient to remove the effects of differences in sampling frequency and duration and allow meaningful comparison of the signals reported by the three networks of concern. After averaging, all the sulfate and, to a lesser degree, ammonium concentrations reported are fairly similar. Nitrate concentrations, on the other hand, are still divergent. We speculate that this divergence originates from the different types of filters used to collect particulate nitrate. Finally, using a rotated principal component technique (RPCA), we determined the number and the geographical organization of the significant temporal modes of variation (clusters) detected by each network for the three pollutants of interest. For sulfate and ammonium, the clusters’ geographical boundaries established for each network and the modes of variations within each cluster seem to correspond. RPCA erformed on nitrate concentrations revealed that, for the CASTNet and IMPROVE networks, the modes of variation do not correspond to unified geographical regions but are found more sporadically. For STN, the clustered areas are unified and easily delineable. We conclude that the possibility of jointly using the data collected by CASTNet, IMPROVE and STN has to be weighed pollutant by pollutant. While sulfate and ammonium data show some potential for joint use, at this point, combining the nitrate data from these monitoring networks may not be a judicious choice.     

Analysis of Many-Year Variations in River Runoff into the Arctic Ocean

Statistical analysis of long-term hydrological observations has shown that the interannual variations in the total river runoff into the Arctic Ocean can be considered as a stationary process. Similar are the variations in the annual runoff of the Ob, Lena, and rivers of the northwestern Asia. However, some components of the total runoff into the Arctic Ocean feature distinct and fairly complicated disturbances in the homogeneity of runoff variations. For example, variations in the annual runoff of the Yenisei River have a distinct nonmonotonic trend: the runoff systematically decreased till the late 1950s and increased since the late 1960s. The rivers of the European part of the Arctic Ocean drainage basin featured a decrease in the amplitude of variations in runoff during the past decades. Rivers of the northwestern America and northeastern Asia featured a regular increase in the amplitude of runoff variations and their autocorrelation since the late 1960s.     

Observed Evolution of Linear and Nonlinear Effects at the Dahan Downhole Array,Taiwan: Analysis of the September 21, 1999 M 7.3 Chi-Chi Earthquake Sequence

— In this paper, the site characteristics of the Dahan downhole array are studied by analyzing the September 21, 1999 M 7.3 Chi-Chi earthquake sequence including the main shock and some aftershocks. The four-level array (0 m, 50 m, 100 m and 200 m) is located to the north of Hualien City in eastern Taiwan. Polarization analysis is used to check the orientation errors of the seismometers at different levels of depth. If the surface instrument is chosen as reference, the angle between the major polarization axes of the surface and any downhole records is the orientation error that must be corrected for the downhole accelerographs. The orientation errors at depths of 50 m, 100 m and 200 m are 32°, 120° and –84°. After the corrections, the coherency between the surface and downhole records is substantially improved. Spectral ratio analysis shows that the predominant frequency of the Chi-Chi main shock shifts to a lower frequency. We also simulate ground motions at different depths by using the Haskell method with a linear velocity structure model. The record at surface is chosen as the input motion. Compared with the observed data, ground acceleration can be well reproduced for the aftershocks (weak-motion events) of the September 21, 1999 M 7.3 Chi-Chi earthquake. However, for the Chi-Chi main shock, the synthetic waveform cannot match well with the observation neither in amplitude nor in phase. This indicates that large ground shaking probably induced the nonlinear site effect at that time, and the model used cannot support it.Acknowledgement. The authors would like to express their thanks to Dr. L.F. Bonilla and one anonymous reviewer for their valuable suggestions. This research was supported by the National Science Council under grant number NSC 89-2921-M-194-007. The Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica supplied the strong-motion data. The support of these organizations is gratefully acknowledged.     

A Nonlinear Model of Contaminant Transformations in an Aquatic Environment

A nonlinear model of the decomposition of a multicomponent contaminant is developed with allowance made for the distribution of components over their reactivity. Model application is illustrated by the analysis of published empirical data on organic matter biodegradation in water column and bottom sediments, in an activated-sludge bioreactor, and the biological absorption and enzymatic destruction of organic matter by macrophytes. Photodestruction, chemical destruction, and sedimentation are also considered. The nonlinear model is compared with a first-order reaction equation.__________Translated from Vodnye Resursy, Vol. 32, No. 3, 2005, pp. 322–336.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Dolgonosov, Gubernatorova.     

Freshwater Deficiency and the World Market

The causes of freshwater deficiency are considered, the main causes being poor environmental conditions and excessive water consumption. The problem of water deficiency is shown to be insoluble without the development of intense water use, conservation, and protection. Based on studying water as a commodity, it is asserted that the market mechanism is not sufficient to cope with water deficiency. The potential of the international water market is shown to be very limited in contrast to the market of water-efficient processes and water-retaining products.     

First estimate for the age of a mesoproterozoic palaeomagnetic pole from the Volodarsk-Volynsky Massif,the Ukrainian Shield

Palaeomagnetic data are presented from the southern Volodarsk-Volynsky Massif (VVM) of the Korosten Pluton, the Ukrainian Shield. Laboratory experiments (AF and thermal demagnetization, IRM acquisition, thermal separation), field tests (consistency and secular variation methods) and optical observations indicate that single domain and nearly single domain magnetite is the dominant carrier of a primary TRM in the anorthosites. Palaeomagnetic poles from the three sampling sites (Golovino and Turchinka quarries) are indistinguishable at the 95% confidence level and have been combined to yield a mean pole at P_lat = 30 °N, P_lon = 178 °E, a₉₅ = 3.4 °.In the large slow cooling Korosten Pluton the U-Pb zircon/baddeleyite (U_zb) technique gives an age for the anorthosites, which are not equivalent to the time of magnetic blocking. Based on integrated analysis of geochronologic information and blocking-temperature data for magnetic minerals proposed by Briden et al. (1993), a first attempt has been undertaken to estimate the palaeomagnetic pole age from the Mesoproterozoic anorthosites. The Korosten Pluton has cooled from 850 °C (the closure temperature of U-Pb systematics in zircon/baddeleyite) to 350 °C (the closure temperature of K-Ar systematics in biotite) during 150 Ma after the emplacement of the anorthosites. Assuming a uniform cooling of the intrusion yields a rate of 3.3 °C/Ma. The cooling rate for the granites is 3.1 °C/Ma. The mafic and acid rocks have an average rate of 3.2 °C/Ma. Using the cooling gradient for the VVM (3.2 °C/Ma) and the mean natural blocking temperature of magnetite (520 °C) can be determined a remanence age. The estimate for TRM acquisition is 1656 ± 10.0 Ma.The magnetic pole for the VVM is in good agreement with the mean pole from the Baltic quartz porphyry dykes with an age of 1630 – 1648 Ma. The VVM pole is best dated and requires a revision of the latest paleogeographic reconstructions for the Fennoscandian and Ukrainian Shields at 1770 and 1650 Ma. (Pesonen et al., 2003).     

Seasonal variations in thermo-, halo-, and pycnocline in the northeastern part of the Black sea (Based on long-term data)

Seasonal evolution of the vertical thermal, halininc, and density structure of water in the phases of warming and heat loss is shown. The annual cycle of variability of seasonal and deep-water thermo-, halo-, and pycnocline is discussed. It is revealed that variations in the seasonal (subsurface) thermo-, halo-, and pycnocline depend on the surface environmental factors (air temperature, river runoff, and precipitation), while variations in the deep-water thermo-, halo-, and pycnocline depend on the dynamic factor impact (seasonal variations in the intensity of the general cyclonic circulation in the Black Sea).Translated from Vodnye Resursy, Vol. 32, No. 1, 2005, pp. 28–34.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Titov.