On the Urban Heat Island Effect Dependence on Temperature Trends

For U.S., Argentine and Australian cities, yearly mean urban to rural temperature differences (T_u-r) and rural temperatures (T_r) are negatively correlated in almost every case, suggesting that urban heat island intensity depends, among other parameters on the temperature itself. This negative correlation is related to the fact that interannual variability of temperature is generally lower in urban environments than in rural areas. This seems to hold true at low frequencies leading to opposite trends in the two variables. Hence, urban stations are prone to have lower trends in absolute value than rural ones. Therefore, regional data sets including records from urban locations, in addition to urban growth bias may have a second type of urban bias associated with temperature trends. A bulk estimate of this second urban bias trend for the contiguous United States during 1901–1984 indicates that it could be of the same order as the urban growth bias and of opposite sign. If these results could be extended to global data, it could be expected that the spurious influence of urban growth on global temperature trends during warming periods will be offset by the diminishing of the urban heat island intensity.     

Measurement of solid suspension concentration and flow velocity with temperature compensation using a portable ultrasonic device

Abstract

Ultrasonic spectroscopy is highly suitable for real-time measurement, in particular for dense particle systems. In the present study, a novel measurement device, namely a portable ultrasonic device (PUD), is designed and manufactured for measuring solid suspension concentration and flow velocity simultaneously with respect to the propagation of ultrasound waves in a solid–liquid mixture at different temperatures. A series of experiments were conducted in the laboratory to obtain the ultrasonic attenuation of kaolin and reservoir sediment solutions within a wide range of concentrations (1000–300 000 mg/L) at various temperatures (15–27°C). The resulting data were regressed to establish linear functions of attenuation and temperature for concentration. The experimental data were compared with theoretical simulated results to show the effect of particle size distribution on concentration measurement. The flow meter part of the PUD was verified by a standard-speed carriage in the towing tank. According to experimental tests by PUD, it was demonstrated that the accuracy for concentration in full scale is ±5%, and the accuracy for flow velocity is ±2%. Compared with sampled data, good agreements were also found by employing the PUD for sediment concentration and flow velocity measurements in turbidity currents during typhoon floods in a reservoir, which demonstrates that the PUD is operable and reliable on site.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor K. Heal

Citation Huang, Y.J., Sung, C.C., Lai, J.S., Lee, F.Z., Hwang, G.W., and Tan, Y.C., 2013. Measurement of solid suspension concentration and flow velocity with temperature compensation using a portable ultrasonic device. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (3), 615–626.     

Origin of rutile needles in star garnet and implications for interpretation of inclusion textures in ultrahigh‐pressure metamorphic rocks

The asterism effect of star garnet has been attributed to the oriented distribution of needle‐like rutile inclusions. Rutile needles occur in garnet from a wide range of metamorphic settings and rock bulk compositions, and their origin has been ascribed to different mechanisms, such as exsolution, and used to interpret petrological and tectonic processes. Results from an optical and transmission electron microscopy of Idaho star garnet indicate a co‐precipitation origin. It was found that rutile needles are predominantly oriented along the <103>_rt//<111>_grt and <001>_rt//<001>_grt directions following multiple crystallographic orientation relationships (CORs); i.e. COR‐1, 2, 2′, 3, 4 and 5 in 6‐ray star garnet, and are oriented solely along the <103>_rt//<111>_grt directions following exclusively COR‐2 in 4‐ray star garnet. The sole presence of COR‐2 <111>_grt needles in the common 4‐ray star garnet, in contrast to the presence of both <111>_grt and <001>_grt needles with multiple CORs in the rare 6‐ray star garnet, suggests that the COR‐2 <111>_grt needle probably is the energetically most favoured variant, as is also supported by the coincidence site lattice considerations. The unique crystallography‐controlled microstructures of 4‐ray star garnet, including the cloudy domains behind the {111}_grt or {100}_grt fronts with abundant inclusions of rutile needle, rutile compound needle and multiple‐phase‐inclusion, as well as the clear domains behind the {110}_grt fronts with only a few above inclusions concentrated exclusively within the linear, <110>_grt‐oriented, continuous tube‐like domains, further suggest that the COR‐2 <111>_grt needles in 4‐ray star garnet most likely have a growth‐in origin, co‐precipitating with garnet at its growth fronts close to thermodynamic equilibrium conditions. The 6‐ray star garnet, on the other hand, most likely formed under far‐from equilibrium conditions, thereby yielding a maximum of 99 crystallographic variants of rutile needles with multiple CORs in a single crystal. In the light of these findings, along with the common occurrences of the sole COR in many inclusion‐host systems owing to the requirement to minimize the energy barrier in an exsolution process, the presence of both <103>_rt//<111>_grt and <001>_rt//<001>_grt needles with multiple CORs in garnet of Sulu eclogite and Erzegebirge quartzofeldspathic rock would therefore cast doubt on the assertion of an exsolution origin of rutile needles in garnet from these ultrahigh‐pressure rocks.     

Molecular and isotopic constraints on the sources of suspended particulate organic carbon on the northwestern Atlantic margin

The abundance, carbon isotopic composition (Δ¹⁴C and δ¹³C), and lipid biomarker (alkenones and saturated fatty acids) distributions of suspended particulate organic matter were investigated at three stations centered on the 2000, 3000, and 3500 m isobaths over the New England slope in order to assess particulate carbon sources and dynamics in this highly productive and energetic region. Transmissometry profiles reveal that particle abundances exhibit considerable fine structure, with several distinct layers of elevated suspended particulate matter concentration at intermediate water depths in addition to the presence of a thick bottom nepheloid layer at each station. Excluding surface water samples, the Δ¹⁴C values of particulate organic carbon (POC) indicated the presence of a pre-aged component in the suspended POC pool (Δ¹⁴C<+38‰). The Δ¹⁴C values at the 3000 m station exhibited greater variability and generally were lower than those at the other two stations where the values decreased in a more systematic matter with increasing sampling depth. These lower Δ¹⁴C values were consistent with higher relative abundances of terrigenous long-chain fatty acids at this station than at the other two stations. Two scenarios were considered regarding the potential provenances of laterally transported POC: cross-shelf transport of shelf sediment (Δ¹⁴C=?140‰) and along-slope transport of the slope sediment proximal to the sampling locations (Δ¹⁴C=?260‰). Depending on the scenario, isotopic mass balance calculations indicate allochthonous POC contributions ranging between 15% and 54% in the meso- and bathy-pelagic zone, with the highest proportions at the 3000 m station. Alkenone-derived temperatures recorded on suspended particles from surface waters closely matched in-situ temperatures at each station. However, alkenone-derived temperatures recorded on particles from the subsurface layer down to 250 m were lower than those of overlying surface waters, especially at the 3000 m station, implying supply of phytoplankton organic matter originally produced in cooler surface waters. AVHRR images and temperature profiles indicate that the stations were under the influence of a warm-core ring during the sampling period. The low alkenone-derived temperatures in the subsurface layer coupled with the lower Δ¹⁴C values for the corresponding POC suggests supply of OC on resuspended sediments underlying cooler surface waters distal to the study area, possibly further north or west. Taken together, variations in Δ¹⁴C values, terrigenous fatty acid abundances, and alkenone-derived temperatures among the stations suggest that input of laterally advected OC is a prominent feature of POC dynamics on the NW Atlantic margin, and is spatially heterogeneous on a scale smaller than the distance between the stations (<150 km).     

Effects of BPA and DES on longchin goby (Chasmichthys dolichognathus) in vitro during the oocyte maturation

This study was performed in order to assess whether bisphenol (BPA) and diethylstilbestrol (DES) had agonistic or antagonistic effects on oocyte maturation using marine fish. We tested the effects of these chemicals on in vitro maturation, germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD), assay using oocytes from the longchin goby, Chasmichthys dolichognathus. During the maturation process, low concentrations of BPA and DES triggered GVBD depending on the stage of oocyte development; BPA at 0.044 nM and DES at 0.037, 0.37, and 3.73 nM induced GVBD in 0.82-0.88 mm diameter oocytes (germinal vesicle located near the center of oocytes). In 0.76-0.80 mm diameter oocytes (fully vitellogenic oocytes), BPA induced GVBD at relatively higher concentrations (4.38, 43.8, and 438 nM). In 0.86-0.90 mm diameter oocytes, BPA and DES had no observable effect on GVBD at the concentrations tested. Oocytes with diameters between 0.82 and 0.88 mm appeared to be more sensitive to these chemicals. Moreover, our results showed that BPA and DES did not inhibit GVBD.     

Rapid and Accurate Method for Determining 234Th in Seawater: Fe Co-precipitation,UTEVA Extraction,and Micro-precipitation

Ocean Science Journal - Thorium-234 (234Th; t1/2 = 24.1&nbsp;days) has been widely used as a tracer of particle settling and organic carbon export in the ocean. However, the use of...