Year-round cooling and thermal stabilization of water-saturated soils under engineering structures

We consider the problem of year-round cooling of water-saturated soil to freezing temperatures in order to convert it into a state of permafrost.A new soil-cooling apparatus is proposed.The apparatus is to be made in modular form and connected to passive-active thermal piles (thermosyphons).The estimated capacity of one apparatus allows simultaneous use of up to 1,000 thermal piles for ground freezing.The apparatus is based on natural sources of energy:solar radiation and wind;and it can be used for soil freezing.This approach can prevent thawing of soft soils under railways and roads,as well as under buildings or structures,in an area of more than tens of hectares.The apparatus has no mechanical moving parts and can operate for a long time in stand-alone mode without staff involvement.     

An aromatase inhibitor and tamoxifen decrease plasma levels of o,p-DDT and its metabolites in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

The objective of this study was to determine if tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor (4-hydroxyandrostenedione; 4-OHA) affected plasma concentrations of o,p^′-DDT and its metabolites, o,p^′-DDD and o,p^′-DDE, in mature tilapia. Male and female tilapia were injected 6 times intraperitoneally with o,p^′-DDT (40 mg/kg) alone or in combination with 4-OHA (2 mg/kg) over a 12 day period. An additional group of male fish was injected with tamoxifen (5 mg/kg) plus o,p^′-DDT. At the end of the treatment period, plasma samples were extracted and analyzed by GC/ECD. Females injected only with o,p^′-DDT had significantly higher levels of o,p^′-DDT compared with males. Interestingly, females and males treated concomitantly with o,p^′-DDT and 4-OHA or tamoxifen had significantly lower concentrations of plasma o,p^′-DDT (about 50%) compared with fish treated with only o,p^′-DDT. These initial results suggest that an interaction between endocrine-active compounds occurs in vivo in tilapia and may involve alterations in metabolism of o,p^′-DDT.     

Delineation of riparian vegetation from Landsat multi‐temporal imagery using PCA

A deficiency in crucial digital data, such as vegetation cover, in remote regions is a challenging issue for water management and planning, especially for areas undergoing rapid development, such as mining in the Pilbara, Western Australia. This is particularly relevant to riparian vegetation, which provides important ecological services and, as such, requires regional protection. The objective of this research was to develop an approach to riparian vegetation mapping at a regional scale using remotely sensed data. The proposed method was based on principal component analysis applied to multi‐temporal Normalized Difference Vegetation Index datasets derived from Landsat TM 5 imagery. To delimit the spatial extent of riparian vegetation, a thresholding method was required and various thresholding algorithms were tested. The accuracy of results was estimated for various Normalized Difference Vegetation Index multi‐temporal datasets using available ground‐truth data. The combination of a 14‐dry‐date dataset and Kittler's thresholding method provided the most accurate delineation of riparian vegetation.     

Identifying factors of influence in the spatial distribution of domestic fires

Domestic fires at the city level, being causes for casualties and causing significant material damages, are stored as a point pattern in a GIS. In this paper we apply a statistical point pattern analysis to derive major causes from related layers of information. We fit a G-function to analyse neighbourhood relations and a Strauss process for inferring causal relations. Using open-source software we find significant differences in patterns and explaining factors between the different parts of the day, in particular for different building types and income groups. We conclude that a quantitative spatial model can be fitted and that this provides a useful opportunity for fire brigades to improve planning their efforts.     

The Retreat of Tien Shan Glaciers (Kyrgyzstan) Since the Little Ice Age Estimated from Aerial Photographs, Lichenometric and Historical Data

The retreat of 293 glaciers in the Tien Shan Mountains (Kyrgyz Republic) from their maximum extent during the Little Ice Age (LIA) is estimated using aerial photographs from 1980 to 1985 and maps at a scale of 1:25000, constructed during period 1956–1990. Two indices of changes are used: the linear distance from the glacier terminus to its Little Ice Age moraine and the difference in absolute elevation of the terminus and the moraine. Historical information about the front positions of glaciers in the 1880s to the 1930s was used as an indirect control of remote sensing data. The age of moraines in key regions was estimated by lichenometry. On average, Tien Shan glaciers have retreated by 989 ± 540 m since the LIA maximum. Their front elevations (dh) rose by 151 ± 105 m. These changes are similar to changes observed in the Alps and western Norway, Pamir‐Alay and Koryak plateau, but greater than in east Siberia over the same interval. Differences between four regions in Tien Shan (northern, western, inner, central) are generally small, though in the northern Tien Shan the glacier retreat and frontal rise are more prominent (1065 ± 479 m and 215 ± 140 m, respectively).     

Features of the Comacchio ecosystem transformed during persistent bloom of picocyanobacteria

The big Comacchio lagoons (NW Adriatic coast) have been experiencing a super-dense, long-term bloom of picocyanobacteria (PCB) since 1985. This bloom has caused profound transformations in their ecosystem and has resulted in the loss of valuable fish and clam resources. The composition, density and seasonal dynamics of this bloom and its impact on the ecosystem were studied between spring and autumn 1995 and in the summer of 2001. The density of the blooming phytoplankton assemblages varied from 8 to 35 × 10⁶ cells ml⁻¹, and biomass from 20 to 40 g m⁻³, thus demonstrating a quasi-stable status since 1993. The share of pico + nanocyanobacterial fraction of the total phytoplankton biomass was 98% in spring to early summer, and 92% in autumn. The remaining 0.2–5% comprised eukaryotic nano-algae. All components of the animal food web were found to be drastically depleted in the lagoons. Their biomass range in the open lagoons areas were: 2 to 20 mg m⁻³ of microzooplankton, 10 to 40 mg m⁻³ mesozooplankton, and 5 to 12 g m⁻² macrozoobenthos. The share of filtering fauna in the whole ecosystem metabolism was less than 2%. The malfunction of the deteriorated animal food web resulted in the hyper-accumulation of non-grazed microplankton biomass and detritus in the water column and in bottom sediments. The sequence brought the acceleration of sulfide production and the accumulation of acid soluble sulfides in the upper sediment layer of up to 700–800 mg S dm⁻³ of wet silt. The results of this study provide evidence that the state of ecological collapse continues in the lagoons since 1993.     

The Source Regions of Impulsive Solar Electron Events

Low-energy (2–19 keV) impulsive electron events observed in interplanetary space have been traced back to the Sun, using their interplanetary type III radiation and metric/decimetric radio-spectrograms. For the first time we are able to study the highest frequencies and thus the radio signatures closest to the source region. All the selected impulsive solar electron events have been found to be associated with an interplanetary type III burst. This allows to time the particle events at the 2 MHz plasma level and identify the associated coronal radio emissions. Except for 5 out of 27 cases, the electron events were found to be associated with a coronal type III burst in the metric wavelength range. The start frequency yields a lower limit to the density in the acceleration region. We also search for narrow-band spikes at the start of the type III bursts. In about half of the observed cases we find metric spikes or enhancements of type I bursts associated with the start of the electron event. If interpreted as the plasma emission of the acceleration process, the observed average frequency of spikes suggests a source density of the order of 3×10⁸ cm^–3 consistent with the energy cut-off observed.