Surveillance of waste disposal activity at sea using satellite ocean color imagers: GOCI and MODIS

Korean Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Aqua observations of the variation in ocean color at the sea surface were utilized to monitor the impact of nutrient-rich sewage sludge disposal in the oligotrophic area of the Yellow Sea. MODIS revealed that algal blooms persisted in the spring annually at the dump site in the Yellow Sea since year 2000 to the present. A number of implications of using products of the satellite ocean color imagers were exploited here based on the measurements in the Yellow Sea. GOCI observes almost every hour during the daylight period, every day since June 2011. Therefore, GOCI provides a powerful tool to monitor waste disposal at sea in real time. Tracking of disposal activity from a large tanker was possible hour by hour from the GOCI timeseries images compared to MODIS. Smaller changes in the color of the ocean surface can be easily observed, as GOCI resolves images at smaller scales in space and time in comparison to polar orbiting satellites, e.g., MODIS. GOCI may be widely used to monitor various marine activities in the sea, including waste disposal activity from ships.     

Initial validation of GOCI water products against in situ data collected around Korean peninsula for 2010–2011

This paper provides initial validation results for GOCI-derived water products using match-ups between the satellite and ship-borne in situ data for the period of 2010?C2011, with a focus on remote-sensing reflectance (R _rs ). Match-up data were constructed through systematic quality control of both in situ and GOCI data, and a manual inspection of associated GOCI images to identify pixels contaminated by cloud, land and inter-slot radiometric discrepancy. Efforts were made to process and quality check the in situ R _rs data. This selection process yielded 32 optimal match-ups for the R _rs spectra, chlorophyll a concentration (Chl_a) and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), and with 20 match-ups for suspended particulate matter concentration (SPM). Most of the match-ups are located close to shore and thus the validation should be interpreted limiting to near-shore coastal waters. The R _rs match-ups showed the mean relative errors of 18?C33% for the visible bands with the lowest 18?C19% for the 490 nm and 555 nm bands and 33% for the 412 nm band. Correlation for the R _rs match-ups was high in the 490?C865 nm bands (R²=0.72?C0.84) and lower in the 412 nm band (R²=0.43) and 443 nm band (R²=0.66). The match-ups for Chl_a showed a low correlation (<0.41) although the mean absolute percentage error was 35% for the GOCI standard Chl_a. The CDOM match-ups showed an even worse comparison with R²<0.2. These match-up comparison for Chl_a and CDOM would imply the difficulty to estimate Chl_a and CDOM in near-shore waters where the variability in SPM would dominate the variability in R _rs . Clearly, the match-up statistics for SPM was better with R²=0.73 and 0.87 for two evaluated algorithms, although GOCI-derived SPM overestimated low concentration and underestimated high concentration. Based on this initial match-up analysis, we made several recommendations -1) to collect more offshore under-water measurements of the R _rs data, 2) to include quality flags in level-2 products, 3) to introduce an ISRD correction in the GOCI processing chain, 4) to investigate other types of in-water algorithms such as semianalytical ones, and 5) to investigate vicarious calibration for GOCI data and to maintain accurate and consistent calibration of field radiometric instruments.     

Development of atmospheric correction algorithm for Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI)

This paper describes an atmospheric correction algorithm for Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) and its early phase evaluation. This algorithm was implemented in GOCI Data Processing System (GDPS) version 1.1. The algorithm is based on the standard SeaWiFS method, which accounts for multiple scattering effects and partially updated in terms of turbid case-2 water correction, optimized aerosol models, and solar angle correction per slot. For turbid water correction, we used a regional empirical relationship between water reflectance at the red (660 nm) and near infrared bands (745 nm and 865 nm). The relationship was derived from turbid pixels in satellite images after atmospheric correction, and processed using aerosol properties derived for neighboring non-turbid waters. For validation of the GOCI atmospheric correction, we compared our results with in situ measurements of normalized water leaving radiance (nL _w ) spectra that were obtained during several cruises in 2011 around Korean peninsula. The match up showed an acceptable result with mean ratio of the GOCI to in situ nL _w (??), 1.17, 1.24, 1.26, 1.15, 0.86 and 0.99 at 412 nm, 443 nm, 490 nm, 555 nm, 660 nm and 680 nm, respectively. It is speculated that part of the deviation arose from a lack of vicarious calibration and uncertainties in the above water nLw measurements.     

A Review on the Macromolecular Compositions of Phytoplankton and the Implications for Aquatic Biogeochemistry

Ocean Science Journal - Biochemical composition of phytoplankton is a key indicator of the physiological and nutritional status of phytoplankton. A balanced biochemical pattern represents a healthy...     

Stability of earth dam contaminated by chemical transport

When chemicals are introduced into the oil, they affect soil properties such as hydraulic conductivity and stress–strain behavior. In this study, several chloride concentrations are varied from 0 to 20 per cent to analyse the effect of chemicals on soil properties. A series of laboratory triaxial tests are performed on the cylindrical specimens of sand–bentonite mixture with different sodium chloride contents (5, 10, 15 per cent) by Nannapaneni. Deformation (elastic modulus, E) and strength (cohesion, c′, and angle of friction, ϕ′) parameters are obtained from the triaxial tests as functions of confining pressure and sodium chloride concentrations, and variations of parameters are incorporated into stability analysis. The stress–strain–strength behaviour based on the above strength parameters is introduced in a finite element procedure with a modified residual flow procedure (RFP). By integrating a slope stability procedure in the finite element method, the stability with time of earth dam contaminated by sodium chloride is examined. It is found that increasing sodium chloride concentration for the soil considered increases stability. However, the procedure is general and can allow stability analysis under the influence of other chemical which may lead to decrease in stability. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Derivation of regression coefficients for sea surface temperature retrieval over East Asia

Among the regression-based algorithms for deriving SST from satellite measurements, regionally optimized algorithms normally perform better than the corresponding global algorithm. In this paper,three algorithms are considered for SST retrieval over the East Asia region (15°-55°N, 105°-170°E),including the multi-channel algorithm (MCSST), the quadratic algorithm (QSST), and the Pathfinder algorithm (PFSST). All algorithms are derived and validated using collocated buoy and Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (GMS-5) observations from 1997 to 2001. An important part of the derivation and validation of the algorithms is the quality control procedure for the buoy SST data and an improved cloud screening method for the satellite brightness temperature measurements. The regionally optimized MCSST algorithm shows an overall improvement over the global algorithm, removing the bias of about -0.13℃ and reducing the root-mean-square difference (rmsd) from 1.36℃ to 1.26℃. The QSST is only slightly better than the MCSST. For both algorithms, a seasonal dependence of the remaining error statistics is still evident. The Pathfinder approach for deriving a season-specific set of coefficients, one for August to October and one for the rest of the year, provides the smallest rmsd overall that is also stable over time.     

Time‐varying suspended sediment‐discharge rating curves to estimate climate impacts on fluvial sediment transport

This study presents time‐varying suspended sediment‐discharge rating curves to model suspended‐sediment concentrations (SSCs) under alternative climate scenarios. The proposed models account for hysteresis at multiple time scales, with particular attention given to systematic shifts in sediment transport following large floods (long‐term hysteresis). A series of nested formulations are tested to evaluate the elements embedded in the proposed models in a case study watershed that supplies drinking water to New York City. To maximize available data for model development, a dynamic regression model is used to estimate SSC based on denser records of turbidity, where the parameters of this regression are allowed to vary over time to account for potential changes in the turbidity‐SSC relationship. After validating the proposed rating curves, we compare simulations of SSC among a subset of models in a climate change impact assessment using an ensemble of flow simulations generated using a stochastic weather generator and hydrologic model. We also examine SSC estimates under synthetic floods generated using a peaks‐over‐threshold model. Our results indicate that estimates of extreme SSC under new climate and hydrologic scenarios can vary widely depending on the selected model and may be significantly underestimated if long‐term hysteresis is ignored when simulating impacts under sequences of large storm event. Based on the climate change scenarios explored here, average annual maximum SSC could increase by as much as 2.45 times over historical values.     

Oxygen-Containing Compounds Identified in Groundwater from Fuel Release Sites Using GCxGC-TOF-MS

This research continues a 7-year study of oxygen-containing organic compounds present in groundwater at gasoline and diesel fuel release sites that are quantified as diesel-range “total petroleum hydrocarbons” when measured by methods utilizing solvent extraction and gas chromatography. Two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to tentatively identify 1162 compounds (TICs) in 113 groundwater samples from 22 sites. Samples were collected from wells either upgradient of the release, within the source zone, or downgradient of the source but still within the plume of dissolved organics associated with release. The names and formulas of all TICs found in samples from each well type are presented and the results from upgradient and downgradient locations are compared in detail. About 60% of the most frequently detected TICs in downgradient wells were also detected in upgradient wells. A majority of these were saturated straight chain alkyl acids, commonly called fatty acids, or fatty acid esters. Of TICs frequently detected in downgradient wells but not upgradient wells, over half were branched alkyl alcohols. Hierarchical cluster analysis results suggest about 80% of the chemical composition of downgradient samples is more similar to upgradient samples than to source area samples. This similarity is due to the presence of the same types of fatty acids and esters. Principal component analysis indicates a continuum of biodegradation between the source area and downgradient samples with the latter becoming more consistent with upgradient samples. Results suggest some TICs may not be petroleum degradation intermediates but compounds synthesized by microorganisms through secondary production and carbon cycling.     

Cambrian integrative stratigraphy and timescale of China

The Cambrian Period is the first period of the Phanerozoic Eon and witnessed the explosive appearance of the metazoans, representing the beginning of the modern earth-life system characterized by animals in contrary to the Precambrian earth-life system dominated by microbial life. However, understanding Cambrian earth-life system evolution is hampered by regional and global stratigraphic correlations due to an incomplete chronostratigraphy and consequent absence of a highresolution timescale. Here we briefly review the historical narrative of the present international chronostratigraphic framework of the Cambrian System and summarize recent advances and problems of the undefined Cambrian stage GSSPs, in particular we challenge the global correlation of the GSSP for the Cambrian base, in addition to Cambrian chemostratigraphy and geochronology. Based on the recent advances of the international Cambrian chronostratigraphy, revisions to the Cambrian chronostratigraphy of China, which are largely based on the stratigraphic record of South China, are suggested, and the Xiaotanian Stage is newly proposed for the Cambrian Stage 2 of China. We further summarize the integrative stratigraphy of South China, North China and Tarim platforms respectively with an emphasis on the facies variations of the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary successions and problems for identification of the Cambrian base in the different facies and areas of China. Moreover, we discuss stratigraphic complications that are introduced by poorly fossiliferous dolomite successions in the upper Cambrian System which are widespread in South China, North China and Tarim platforms.