Chromium uptake by giant reed under rhizobacterial inhibition

The role of rhizospheric microbes of giant reed (Arundo donax L.) in Cr uptake from hydroponic culture was investigated. The control group was exposed to Cr in range of 25–100 mg L^?1 containing a control itself (with no metal addition). The experimental group received same Cr treatments, but in addition was exposed to antibiotic treatment in order to inhibit rhizospheric bacteria. The range of Cr accumulated in the roots was 3–7.65 mg L^?1; in stem it ranged 2.15–42.4 mg kg^?1; while in leaves, the range of Cr content was 13.7–15 mg kg^?1. Overall, Cr uptake in A. donax (without rhizobacterial inhibition) was root < leaf < stem. However, the amount of Cr uptake in plants with rhizobacterial inhibition was significantly less (~4.6-folds in 100 mg L^?1 Cr treatment) than those without such inhibition clearly highlighting that rhizobacterial inhibition decreased the Cr uptake. The experimental results clearly demonstrated that the inhibition of the rhizobacterial populations had great influence on the Cr uptake. However, Cr uptake could not be completely inhibited as some metal uptake was observed after the rhizobacterial inhibition although it was significantly less than the Cr uptake of plants without such inhibition.     

Bela oceanic lithosphere assemblage and its relation to the Réunion hotspot

The Bela ophiolite of Pakistan contains a complete ophiolite-accretionary wedge-trench sequence emplaced onto the Indian continental margin during the northward drift of India-Seychelles over the active Réunion hotspot. A structurally higher ophiolite overlies an accretionary prism, which is thrust over a foreland basin. Shear-sense determinations in peridotite mylonites in the ophiolite footwall and imbrication structures in the underlying accretionary wedge indicate an ESE emplacement. Sedimentary rocks in the accretionary wedge indicate Aptian-Albian pillow lavas, initially deep water conditions, and increasing influence from the continent until the Maastrichtian. The ophiolite emplacement was predated and accompanied by Fe-tholeiitic and alkaline magmatism related to the Réunion hotspot and continuous incorporation of trench sediments into the accretionary wedge. ³⁹Ar/⁴⁰Ar dating shows that the ophiolite formed around 70 Ma. Intraoceanic subduction initiated between 70 and 65 Ma, obduction onto the Indian passive margin occurred during the formation of the Deccan traps at ≈ 66 Ma, and final thrusting onto the continental margin ended in the early Eocene (≈ 50 Ma). The ophiolite emplacement occurred during the counterclockwise separation of Madagascar and India-Seychelles which caused shortening and consumption of oceanic lithosphere between the African-Arabian and the Indian-Seychelles plates.     

Frequency-interval control reconfigurability for automated processes

Faults in automated systems will often result in undesired behavior and shut-down of the processes. The consequences of these could be damage to the plant, to personnel and resources, or even to the environment. In particular, in the case of natural disasters, faults are often inevitable. The objective of the methods for fault-tolerant control (FTC) is to prevent simple faults turning into severe failure. Therefore, FTC methods help to increase plant availability and to reduce the risk of safety hazards. However, these methods cannot be effective if sufficient redundancy does not exist in the system. A measure for control reconfigurability which reveals the level of redundancy in connection with feedback control is proposed in this paper. The proposed control reconfigurability measure is developed in particular for many applications in which one is interested in analysis and control within a frequency-interval. Compared to the other counterparts, the proposed measure encodes more information on the level of redundancy within the frequency-interval of interest. An illustrative example is given to show the computation of frequency-interval control reconfigurability and its relevance to redundant actuating capabilities in the models.     

Seismic triggering of atmospheric variables prior to the major earthquakes in the Middle East within a 12-year time-period of 2002–2013

Several studies have reported the increased values of surface-latent heat flux (SLHF) and rainfall events prior to the earthquakes as the seismic precursors. In order to investigate the variation of two mentioned atmospheric variables, we analyzed 39 major earthquakes in the Middle East based on the time series of NASA remote sensing data. On this basis, we observed that accumulated rainfall and SLHF of about 29 earthquakes were higher than 10 mm and 50 W/m², respectively (~75 %), over 3–23 days prior to the main shock of major earthquakes. We believed that the records of atmospheric variables are the consequence of a seismic-triggered chain including of air ionization, surface-latent heat exhalation, water vapor condensation and subordinate rainfall as the atmospheric responses to lithospheric motions. This seismic triggering in the Middle East has averagely caused to accumulated rainfall of ~35 mm and maximum SLHF of ~115 W/m² over the 3–23 days prior to 39 major earthquakes. To investigate of spatial correlation between earthquakes and atmospheric variations, we clustered 39 major earthquakes in eight seismological regions. Then, we estimated the moderate and strong correlation (R ²) between preceding times of earthquakes with magnitude of major earthquakes and their hypocenter depth equal to 0.48 and 0.68, respectively.     

Extinction depth and evapotranspiration from ground water under selected land covers

In many landscapes, vegetation extracts water from both the unsaturated and the saturated zones. The partitioning of evapotranspiration (ET) into vadose zone evapotranspiration and ground water evapotranspiration (GWET) is complex because it depends on land cover and subsurface characteristics. Traditionally, the GWET fraction is assumed to decay with increasing depth to the water table (DTWT), attaining a value of 0 at what is termed the extinction depth. A simple assumption of linear decay with depth is often used but has never been rigorously examined using unsaturated-saturated flow simulations. Furthermore, it is not well understood how to relate extinction depths to characteristics of land cover and soil texture. In this work, variable saturation flow theory is used to simulate GWET for three land covers and a range of soil properties under drying soil conditions. For a water table within half a meter of the land surface, nearly all ET is extracted from ground water due to the close hydraulic connection between the unsaturated and the saturated zones. For deep-rooted vegetation, the decoupling of ground water and vadose zone was found to begin at water table depths between 30 and 100 cm, depending on the soil texture. The decline of ET with DTWT is better simulated by an exponential decay function than the commonly used linear decay. A comparison with field data is consistent with the findings of this study. Tables are provided to vary the extinction depth for heterogeneous landscapes with different vegetation cover and soil properties.     

Condensate clouds in Titan's north polar stratosphere

Analysis of the 250-560 cm⁻¹ spectral continuum of Titan's north polar hood just after spring equinox reveals, in addition to the ubiquitous aerosol, a tenuous but relatively uniform cloud of small particles permeating the lower stratosphere at altitudes between 58 and 90 km. Voyager 1 IRIS data suggest the particles are highly scattering, almost certainly condensed organics, with radii between 1 and 5 μm. Mole fractions for the condensed material range between 4×¹⁰⁻⁸ and 4×¹⁰⁻⁶, depending upon particle size. Vapor pressure arguments imply condensed nitriles near 90 km, the most likely being HCN, with condensed hydrocarbons such as C₂H₆ restricted to regions considerably nearer the tropopause. No direct chemical identification is possible. Negligible methane supersaturation in the troposphere at 67.4° N latitude, when compared with degrees of supersaturation at other latitudes, hints at precipitation fluxes of north polar stratospheric condensates during the previous northern winter that were perhaps three orders of magnitude greater than those at low latitudes during that time. A scale height of 1.5 times the density scale height above 160 km is reaffirmed for the photochemical aerosol of the north polar hood. There appears to be a depletion of aerosol somewhere below 160 km. An aerosol mole fraction ∼8×¹⁰⁻⁸ at 160 km is inferred, about 33% greater than the value derived in a previous study. The Cassini CIRS instrument, with its expanded spectral range and higher spectral resolution, should be able to provide highly complementary information for the time period covering most of the northern winter season.     

A combined geological, hydrochemical, and geophysical approach to understanding a disease contamination hazard in groundwaters at a state fish hatchery

At the Midway, Utah, USA fish hatchery, a groundwater development program was conducted to help transition the facility from surface to groundwater in response to contamination by whirling disease, which is caused by a trout parasite. The unconfined aquifer system that provided the hatchery water became infected through the recharge of infected irrigation water obtained from the Provo River. Whirling disease was first discovered in Utah in 1991 at a private fish farm. Infected fish from the farm quickly infected many of Utah’s waterways and infected the hatchery in 2000. Because the parasite completes its life cycle in multiple organisms and can survive for decades in a variety of harsh environments, a comprehensive study of the hydrostratigraphy and hydrodynamics at the hatchery was critical in order to understand the hazard and avoid further contamination. Drilling revealed the presence of a shallow unconfined (surface to 10 m) and two deeper confined aquifer systems (~20–35 m and >40 m bgs). Confinement is related to tufa layers, detected both by drilling and reflection seismology. The tufa layers are associated with past discharge of the thermal system. Vertical leakage is apparent from upward hydraulic head gradients and incrementally increasing unconfined aquifer discharge into downstream on-site drainage canals. High-resolution seismic profiles reveal small-offset faults that provide pathways for upward flow. Analysis of water quality data demonstrates an inverted geochemical gradient in that apparent ¹⁴C ages, solute concentrations, and temperatures decrease with depth. The origin of the inverted geochemical gradient is related to mixing of upwelling thermal, high-TDS waters with cold, low-TDS systems several kilometers up-gradient from the hatchery. Thermal upwelling appears to be fault controlled. Up-gradient of the hatchery, near-surface groundwater mixes with a larger proportion of thermal groundwater than does deeper groundwater. As these mixed systems flow toward the hatchery, a major locus of groundwater discharge, they are segregated into confined and unconfined compartments. Our study requires integration of hydrological, geochemical, and geophysical strategies in order to understand a complex natural hazard and thus may serve as a model for other similarly complex hydrological environments.