Lidar positioning of higher clear-air turbulence regions

The possibility of lidar positioning of regions with higher clear-air turbulence (CAT) is shown. The turbulence is indicated by air density fluctuations generated by it. A scheme with a lidar based on using the backscattering enhecement (BSE) effect in a turbulent medium is considered. A stable solution of the positioning problem is obtained using the statistical regularization method. As is shown on models, CAT regions that are dangerous for civil aviation flights can be detected using such a lidar.     

Distribution surfaces in solvent extraction systems

In the solvent extraction of metals, the distribution of the metal is usually dependent on the concentrations of several different species in the two phases. Despite this fact, distribution isotherms are usually presented as plots of C_o as a function of C_aq and these are used for a McCabe-Thiele type evaluation of a number of stages and flow rates, etc., each individual isotherm being valid only for one set of initial conditions; this treatment limits the possibilities of optimizing the system. In the present paper an extension of three-dimensional plots is suggested with special reference to the Cu/LIX64N extraction system. The distribution surface is defined and the general properties of the plots are outlined.A procedure is outlined whereby the surface can be represented on a two dimensional plot and a theoretical model for the surface can be superimposed.The paper also shows how distribution ratios (D values) are related to the surface.     

Nereis diversicolor: an Unreliable Biomonitor of Metal Contamination in the 'Ría de Bilbao' (Spain)

Abstract. Samples of the polychaete Nereis diversicolor O.F. M üller and surficial sediments from a clean and a polluted estuary were taken during a year at monthly intervals to determine, by comparison, the range of temporal fluctuations in trace metal concentrations. Whereas metal variations in surficial sediments were more pronounced in the polluted estuary, concentrations in N. diversicolor in both estuaries showed a wide range of temporal variation that surpassed that of surficial sediments. A clear decline in all metals studied (except Mn) from polluted sediments was noted after episodes of strong rainfall. In the reference estuary the fluctuations were less pronounced. Metal body burdens in N. diversicolor from the two estuaries were usually quite similar even though total levels in sediments differed considerably, indicating a lack of worm-sediment relationship. The low level of Cu, Cr and Pb in the tissues of N. diversicolor suggest a mechanism which prevents the polychaete from being exposed to these metals in highly polluted sediments. Therefore, it is concluded that N. diversicolor cannot be considered to be an ideal biomonitor of metal contamination in the polluted Bilbao Estuary.     

Estimation of Contamination of ERS-2 and POSEIDON Satellite Radar Altimetry Close to the Coasts of Australia

It is broadly acknowledged that the precision of satellite-altimeter-measured instantaneous sea surface heights (SSH) is lower in coastal regions than in open oceans, due partly to contamination of the radar return from the coastal sea-surface state and from land topography. This study investigates the behavior of ERS-2 and POSEIDON altimeter waveform data in coastal regions and estimates a boundary around Australia's coasts in which the altimeter range may be poorly estimated by on-satellite tracking software. Over one million 20 Hz ERS-2 (March to April 1999) and POSEIDON (January 1998 to January 1999) radar altimeter waveform data were used over an area extending 350 km offshore Australia. The DS759.2 (5'resolution) ocean depth model and the GSHHS (0.2 km resolution) shoreline model were used together to define the coastal regions. Using the 50% threshold retracking points as the estimates of expected tracking gate, we determined that the sea surface height is contaminated out to maximum distance of between about 8 km and 22 km from the Australian shoreline for ERS-2, depending partly on coastal topography. Using the standard deviation of the mean waveforms as an indication of the general variability of the altimeter returns in the Australian coastal region shows obvious coastal contamination out to about 4 km for both altimeters, and less obvious contamination out to about 8 km for POSEIDON and 10 km for ERS-2. Therefore, ERS-2 and POSEIDON satellite altimeter data should be treated with some caution for distances less than about 22 km from the Australian coast and probably ignored altogether for distances less than 4 km.     

A precise bathymetric map of the world’s deepest seafloor,Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench

Data from three bathymetric surveys by R/V Kairei using a 12-kHz multibeam echosounder and differential GPS were used to create an improved topographic model of the Challenger Deep in the southwestern part of the Mariana Trench, which is known as the deepest seafloor in the world. The strike of most of the elongated structures related to plate bending accompanied by subduction of the Pacific plate is N70°E and is not parallel to the trench axis. The bending-related structures were formed by reactivation of seafloor spreading fabric. Challenger Deep consists of three en echelon depressions along the trench axis, each of which is 6–10 km long, about 2 km wide, and deeper than 10,850 m. The eastern depression is the deepest, with a depth of 10,920 ± 5 m.     

Long-term (1998–2007) trends on the spatial distribution of heterotrophic ciliates in the East China Sea in summer: effect of the Three Gorges Dam construction

The spatial distribution of heterotrophic ciliates, environmental factors and potential food items (bacteria, Synechococcus spp. and nanoflagellates) were measured in the East China Sea to examine which variables contributed importantly to the long-term distribution of ciliates between 1998 and 2007. In July 1998 and June 2003, heterotrophic ciliates were found to be abundant (1,000–2,000 × 10³ cells m⁻³) in regions where surface salinity <32 but extremely low (<500 × 10³ cells m⁻³) in shelf waters of surface salinity >32. After August 2003, shortly after the completion of the Three Gorges Dam, we found no significant areal differences in the abundance of heterotrophic ciliates (HC). However, we found a significantly negative correlation between temperature and HC abundance of surface water after the completion of the dam, suggesting that temperature had a greater influence on HC abundance, once the original saline state had changed. For the long-term trends on the vertical distribution of HC, their abundance was significantly higher in the upper 50 m of the water column than at either 75 or 100 m. Abundance of Synechococcus spp. at these levels varied significantly in regions of surface salinity <32, suggesting that ciliates and picophytoplankton contribute greatly to mediating the transfer of organic matter to higher trophic levels in this marine ecosystem.