Impact of increased vertical resolution on simulation of tropical climate

Summary The aim of this study is to describe the behaviour of tropical dynamics in the ECHAM4 model when increased vertical resolution around the tropopause and in the planetary boundary layer is used. In this work we perform experiments with the ECHAM4 model using T30 horizontal resolution and 19 and 42 vertical levels. The impact of the increased vertical resolution on the simulation of tropical clouds and precipitation has been investigated. Therefore, the dynamic fields related to tropical convection have been analyzed. The results suggest a beneficial effect of the increased number of vertical levels on the convective scheme performance and on the related dynamic fields over the Tropics. The improvement of the rainfall climatologies in the 42-level model has been explained via the impact of vertical resolution on the cloud structure. In the cloud spectrum of the L42 simulation, a third peak appears around 600 hPa, revealing that when using higher vertical resolution the convective parametrization starts to represent cumulus congestus clouds.     

Problem of water in the upper mantle: Antigorite breakdown

Doklady Earth Sciences -     

Conversion of waste to electricity in a microbial fuel cell using newly identified bacteria: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas fluorescens</Emphasis>

The present study deals with the capability of pulp industry wastewater to produce bioelectricity with isolation and screening of native electrogenic bacteria from wastewater. In the screening process, three bacterial isolates were obtained; they were studied on the basis of morphology and biochemical characteristics. The maximum bioelectricity producing bacteria was identified by sequencing method and was identified as Pseudomonas fluorescens, and it is a novel bacteria reported in bioelectricity production from pulp industry wastewater. Further, the work focuses on optimization of various parameters, i.e., inoculum size, pH, temperature, mediators and its concentration. It was observed that with pulp industry wastewater, inoculum size of 1.5% gave the maximum voltage and current of 1.244 ± 0.003^d V and 5.946 ± 0.005^d mA, respectively. A pH of 7.0 gave maximum voltage and current of 0.956 ± 0.009^e V and 2.692 ± 0.016^e mA. At 35 °C temperature, maximum production of voltage and current of 1.045 ± 0.003^d V and 2.167 ± 0.037^d mA were recorded. Among the various mediators, humic acid was found to be most effective as it produced a voltage of 1.054 ± 0.004^f V and current of 1.070 ± 0.004^d mA. Maximum voltage of 1.291 ± 0.021^f V and current of 1.896 ± 0.006^f mA were recorded with 200 μM of humic acid. Physicochemical analysis of the effluent was conducted before and after experimental run, and the values suggested that the microbial fuel cell technology is an efficient method for biological treatment of wastewater.     

Spectrometric and photometric study of the eclipsing variable AM Leo

The results of quasi-simultaneous spectroscopic and photometric observations of a W UMatype eclipsing variable star AM Leo are presented. The observations were carried out with a 1.2-m telescope equipped with a high-resolution echelle spectrometer, and a telescope-reflector (D = 0.45m) of the Kourovka Astronomical Observatory of Ural Federal University. New values of semi-amplitudes of the radial velocity curves of the components, K₁ = 109.6kms^?1 and K₂ = 252.4kms^?1 and the systemic radial velocity V₀ =-9.3 kms^?1 are obtained, comparable to the data published in the literature. The semi-amplitude of the radial velocity curve of a more massive component K₁ and the mass ratio of the components q = 0.412 appeared to be slightly smaller than the values obtained by other authors. An assumption wasmade that a possible reason of this is the presence of hot and/or cold spots on the surface of the components, shifting the effective center of brightness of the visible disk of the component with respect to its center of mass position. It was shown that the AM Leo light curve variations on the time scales of one and more days, registered within the photometric part of the study may be described by the choice of appropriate model of the spot structure.     

2009年意大利中部阿奎拉地震DInSAR同震位移的有限断层反演

根据环境卫星Envisat和COSMO—SkyMed模型（为同震位错研究而首次设计的X波段反演干涉图）的DInSAR干涉图,确定了2009年4月6日阿奎拉Mw=6．3级地震时激发的断层几何形状及运动特征。我们的主震最佳拟合解为一个约16km长、12km宽的正断层,存在小的右旋分量,向西南倾斜47&#176;,最大滑动约90cm。虽然地震位错可能只有1km深,但是断层面的上倾投影与标绘的帕加尼卡-南德米特里奥断层的北段相符合,在现场观察到了该断层地表破裂的迹线。该断层在现有震源目录中的缺失表明,需要对具体的地表和地下进行进一步的地质和地球物理勘测,以便对局部规模的地震危险性做出更准确的评估。     

Plasma instability at the inner edge of the accretion disk—I

In this paper, the analytical and numerical results of the stability analysis of the accretion disk at the inner boundary is presented. Including the effect of finite conductivity in the disk dynamics, a simple calculation considering only the radial perturbation has been carried out. Within local approximation, it is concluded that the disk is stable to Kelvin-Helmholtz and resistive electromagnetic modes whereas the magnetosonic mode can destabilise the disk structure.     

The Influence of Storms on Water Quality and Phytoplankton Dynamics in the Tidal James River

Due to the unpredictable nature of intense storms and logistical constraints of sampling during storms, little is known about their immediate and long-term impacts on water quality in adjacent aquatic ecosystems. By combining targeted experiments with routine monitoring, we evaluated immediate impacts of two successive storm events on water quality and phytoplankton community response in the tidal James River and compared these findings to a non-storm year. The James River is a subestuary of the Chesapeake Bay and sampling was conducted before, during, and after Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm (TS) Lee in 2011 and during the same time period (late summer/early fall) in 2012 when there were no storms. We collected and compiled data on nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations, phytoplankton abundance, nitrogen uptake, primary productivity rates, and surface salinity, temperature, and turbidity in the meso- and polyhaline segments of the James River. Hurricane Irene introduced significant amounts of freshwater over the entire James River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds, while rainfall from TS Lee fell primarily on the tidal fresh region of the James River and headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay. Dinoflagellates dominated the algal community in the meso- and polyhaline segments prior to the storms in 2011, and a mixed diatom community emerged after the storms. In the mesohaline river segment, cyanobacteria abundance increased after TS Lee when salinities were depressed, likely due to washout from the oligohaline and tidal fresh regions of the river. In 2012, dinoflagellates dominated the community in both segments of the river during late summer but diatoms were also abundant and their biomass fluctuated throughout the summer and fall. Cyanobacteria were not present in either segment. Overall, we observed that the high-intensity rainfall from Hurricane Irene combined with high flushing in the headwaters as a result of TS Lee likely reduced primary productivity and altered community composition in the mesohaline segment but not the more estuarine-influenced polyhaline segment. Understanding the influence of high freshwater flow with a short residence time associated with storms is key to the planning and management of estuarine restoration as such disturbances are projected to increase as a result of climate change.