Biodegradation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Fractured, Unsaturated Dolomite at a Field Site

Gasoline constituents were detected in unsaturated soil and rock during abandonment of a leaky underground storage tank (UST). The unsaturated sequence beneath the former UST consists of 90 feet of silty till, fractured dolomite, and friable sand-stone. Pore gas probes were installed in each of the unsaturated units, both in the source area and in a background on-site location. Pore gas samples were collected to evaluate the nature, extent, and fate of residual hydrocarbons in the vadose zone. Pore gas from the till and dolomite in the source area was enriched in petroleum hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide, and was depleted in oxygen, relative to pore gas from the background area. During two years of ground water monitoring at the site, methyl tertiary butyl ether was periodically detected in the ground water beneath the source area as pulses of recharge passed through the unsaturated zone, but no other gasoline constituents were detected. Apparently, the most degradable fraction of the gasoline (aromatic hydrocarbons) is being attenuated in the vadose zone before the water table is reached.     

Spin temperatures and covering factors for H i 21-cm absorption in damped Lyman α systems

We investigate the practice of assigning high spin temperatures to damped Lyman α absorption systems (DLAs) not detected in H  i 21-cm absorption. In particular, Kanekar & Chengalur have attributed the mix of 21-cm detections and non-detections in low-redshift  ( z _abs≤ 2.04) DLAs  to a mix of spin temperatures, while the non-detections at high redshift were attributed to high spin temperatures. Below   z _abs= 0.9  , where some of the DLA host galaxy morphologies are known, we find that 21-cm absorption is normally detected towards large radio sources when the absorber is known to be associated with a large intermediate (spiral) galaxy. Furthermore, at these redshifts, only one of the six 21-cm non-detections has an optical identification and these DLAs tend to lie along the sight-lines to the largest background radio continuum sources. For these and many of the high-redshift DLAs occulting large radio continua, we therefore expect covering factors of less than the assumed/estimated value of unity. This would have the effect of introducing a range of spin temperatures considerably narrower than the current range of  Δ T _s≳ 9000 K  , while still supporting the hypothesis that the high-redshift DLA sample comprises a larger proportion of compact galaxies than the low-redshift sample.     

A sharper view of the outer Galaxy at 1420 and 408 MHz from the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey II: the catalogue of extended radio sources

A new catalogue of extended radio sources has been prepared based on arcminute-resolution 1420-MHz images from the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey (CGPS). The new catalogue provides both 1420- and 408-MHz flux density measurements on sources found near the Galactic plane in the second quadrant of our Galaxy. In addition cross-identifications are made with other major radio catalogues and information is provided to facilitate the recovery of CGPS image data associated with each catalogued source. Numerous new radio sources are identified and the catalogue provides a comprehensive summary of both newly discovered and previously known H  ii regions and supernova remnants in the outer Galaxy. The catalogue should be of use both for synoptic studies of Galactic structure and for placing higher resolution observations, at radio and other wavelengths, in context.     

Wide-field imaging and polarimetry for the biggest and brightest in the 20-GHz southern sky

We present the wide-field imaging and polarimetry at  ν= 20 GHz  of seven most extended, bright  ( S _total≥ 0.50 Jy)  , high-frequency selected radio sources in the southern sky with declinations  δ < −30°  . Accompanying the data are brief reviews of the literature for each source. The results presented here aid in the statistical completeness of the Australia Telescope 20-GHz Survey: the Bright Source Sample. The data are of crucial interest for future cosmic microwave background missions as a collection of information about candidate calibrator sources. We were able to obtain data for seven of the nine sources identified by our selection criteria. We report that Pictor A is thus far the best extragalactic calibrator candidate for the Low Frequency Instrument of the Planck European Space Agency mission due to its high level of integrated polarized flux density  (∼0.50 ± 0.06 Jy)  on a scale of 10 arcmin. Six out of the seven sources have a clearly detected compact radio core in our images, with either a null detection or less than 2 per cent detection of polarized emission from the nuclei. Most sources with detected jets have magnetic field alignments running in a longitudinal configuration, however, PKS 1333−33 exhibits transverse fields and an orthogonal change in field geometry from nucleus to jets.     

Using genetic techniques to investigate the sources of the invasive alga Caulerpa taxifolia in three new locations in Australia

The invasive green alga Caulerpa taxifolia has gained a high profile due to 'outbreaks' in the Mediterranean and California. During the year 2000 three new discrete locations colonised by abundant C. taxifolia were discovered in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal DNA was used to explore the source(s) of these new records, which is an important prerequisite for subsequent environmental management responses. Our results indicate that the NSW C. taxifolia originated from several sources and, hence, through different invasion events. For two of the new records (Port Hacking, Careel Bay) it can be excluded that they are derived from the so-called "aquarium strain" of C. taxifolia, closely related to the invasive Mediterranean populations. Port Hacking is likely to have originated from tropical native populations. However, samples from Lake Conjola cannot be sufficiently distinguished with the applied technique from native C. taxifolia in Moreton Bay and the Mediterranean/"aquarium strain".     

Formation of phreatic caves in an eogenetic karst aquifer by CO2 enrichment at lower water tables and subsequent flooding by sea level rise

Formation of extensive phreatic caves in eogenetic karst aquifers is widely believed to require mixing of fresh and saltwater. Extensive phreatic caves also occur, however, in eogenetic karst aquifers where fresh and saltwater do not mix, for example in the upper Floridan aquifer. These caves are thought to have formed in their modern settings by dissolution from sinking streams or by convergence of groundwater flow paths on springs. Alternatively, these caves have been hypothesized to have formed at lower water tables during sea level low‐stands. These hypotheses have not previously been tested against one another. Analyzing morphological data and water chemistry from caves in the Suwannee River Basin in north‐central Florida and water chemistry from wells in the central Florida carbonate platform indicates that phreatic caves within the Suwannee River Basin most likely formed at lower water tables during lower sea levels. Consideration of the hydrological and geochemical constraints posed by the upper Floridan aquifer leads to the conclusion that cave formation was most likely driven by dissolution of vadose CO₂ gas into the groundwater. Sea level rise and a wetter climate during the mid‐Holocene lifted the water table above the elevation of the caves and placed the caves tens of meters below the modern water table. When rising water tables reached the land surface, surface streams formed. Incision of surface streams breached the pre‐existing caves to form modern springs, which provide access to the phreatic caves. Phreatic caves in the Suwannee River Basin are thus relict and have no causal relationship with modern surficial drainage systems. Neither mixing dissolution nor sinking streams are necessary to form laterally extensive phreatic caves in eogenetic karst aquifers. Dissolution at water tables, potentially driven by vadose CO₂ gas, offers an underappreciated mechanism to form cavernous porosity in eogenetic carbonate rocks. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A decision‐analytic study of the joint value of seasonal precipitation and temperature forecasts in a choice‐of‐crop problem

Abstract

A static decision‐analytic method is used to investigate the economic value of bivariate ‐ precipitation and temperature ‐ seasonal forecasts of the form currently issued by the U.S. National Weather Service. This method is applied to a corn versus spring wheat choice‐of‐crop decision‐making problem by considering a transect of four counties across the northwestern margin of the North American corn belt. Numerical results indicate that seasonal forecasts of current quality can be of appreciable value (≥$1/ha) for some locations when the optimal action chosen on the basis of climatological information is only marginally preferred to another action. Increases in forecast value follow from hypothetical increases in the quality of both the precipitation and temperature components of the forecasts in the spring wheat region, whereas forecast value increases primarily as a function of the quality of the precipitation forecasts alone in the corn belt region. The results are very sensitive to absolute and relative crop prices.     

Chromium Augite - A New Microprobe Reference Sample

A microprobe reference sample was made from a portion of a large and homogeneous single crystal of augite which contains 0.85% of Cr₂O₃. The relatively high chromium content of this augite increases its usefulness as a microprobe reference sample.     

圣安德烈斯断层南段大地震发生的准周期性

圣安德烈斯断层(美国加州)南段最后一次大地震距今已有153年了,而其平均震间间隔却仅为～100年.如果大地震的复发具有周期性,而并非随机发生或群集发生,则这个时间长度是很值得关注的,而且通常意味着概率意义上的地震危险性增大.遗憾的是,多数地震记录都很简单,这就限制了对单条断层上地震复发的分布特征的描述.本文利用加州Wr...