Demersally drifting invertebrates from Kongsfjorden,Svalbård (Arctic Ocean)–a comparison of catches from drift-pump and drift-nets

Demersally drifting organisms were collected at Ny Ålesund (Svalbård–Arctic Ocean) to study the taxon composition and relative abundances in the Arctic summer. Catch potentials of two collection devices for demersal drift were compared. A lowvolume submersible drift-pump and a drift-net unit were employed for the collection of demersally drifting biota, particularly for shallow aquatic habitats. With the exception of Appendicularia, Chaetognatha, Coelenterata, and Ctenophora, which were damaged at times, the pump catches were in good condition and sufficient for identification and quantification of less mobile fauna. A comparison of the two devices revealed that the drift-pump collected more specimens than the drift-net. However, the drift-net may have caused an underestimation of the abundances of invertebrates. No differences in identified taxon number and indices of richness, evenness and diversity were found. However, the proportion of invertebrate animals in the two devices was different for the three groups: zooplankton, macrofauna and meiofauna. At Svalbård, zooplankton, larvae of macrofauna, and meiofauna were successfully collected by the two collecting devices. However, the catchibility of the two devices in collecting various invertebrate taxa was different and, therefore, a sound ‘Device Effect’ was revealed.     

Aerobic oxidation of mackinawite (FeS) and its environmental implication for arsenic mobilization

Oxidation of mackinawite (FeS) and concurrent mobilization of arsenic were investigated as a function of pH under oxidizing conditions. At acidic pH, FeS oxidation is mainly initiated by the proton-promoted dissolution, which results in the release of Fe(II) and sulfide in the solution. While most of dissolved sulfide is volatilized before being oxidized, dissolved Fe(II) is oxidized into green rust-like precipitates and goethite (α-FeOOH). At basic pH, the development of Fe(III) (oxyhydr)oxide coating on the FeS surface inhibits the solution-phase oxidation following FeS dissolution. Instead, FeS is mostly oxidized into lepidocrocite (γ-FeOOH) via the surface-mediated oxidation without dissolution. At neutral pH, FeS is oxidized via both the solution-phase oxidation following FeS dissolution and the surface-mediated oxidation mechanisms. The mobilization of arsenic during FeS oxidation is strongly affected by FeS oxidation mechanisms. At acidic pH (and to some extent at neutral pH), the rapid FeS dissolution and the slow precipitation of Fe (oxyhydr)oxides results in arsenic accumulation in water. In contrast, the surface-mediated oxidation of FeS at basic pH leads to the direct formation of Fe (oxyhydr)oxides, which provides effective adsorbents for As under oxic conditions. At acidic and neutral pH, the solution-phase oxidation of dissolved Fe(II) accelerates the oxidation of the less adsorbing As(III) to the more adsorbing As(V). This study reveals that the oxidative mobilization of As may be a significant pathway for arsenic enrichment of porewaters in sulfidic sediments.     

Effects of natural and calcined oyster shells on Cd and Pb immobilization in contaminated soils

In Korea, soils adjacent to abandoned mines are commonly contaminated by heavy metals present in mine tailings. Further, the disposal of oyster shell waste by oyster farm industries has been associated with serious environmental problems. In this study, we attempted to remediate cadmium (Cd)- and lead (Pb)-contaminated soils typical of those commonly found adjacent to abandoned mines using oyster shell waste as a soil stabilizer. Natural oyster shell powder (NOSP) and calcined oyster shell powder (COSP) were applied as soil amendments to immobilize Cd and Pb. The primary components of NOSP and COSP are calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) and calcium oxide (CaO), respectively. X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and scanning electron microscope analyses conducted in this study revealed that the calcination of NOSP at 770°C converted the less reactive CaCO₃ to the more reactive CaO. The calcination process also decreased the sodium content in COSP, indicating that it was advantageous to use COSP as a liming material in agricultural soil. After 30 days of incubation, we found that the 0.1 N HCl-extractable Cd and Pb contents in soil decreased significantly as a result of an increase in the soil pH and the formation of metal hydroxides. COSP was more effective in immobilizing Cd and Pb in the contaminated soil than NOSP. Overall, the results of this study suggest that oyster shell waste can be recycled into an effective soil ameliorant.     

Availability of coastal groundwater discharge as an alternative water resource in a large-scale reclaimed land,Korea

This study was conducted to identify the availability of coastal groundwater discharge (CGD), subsurface fluids flowing from inland through the coastal area to sea, as an alternative water resource for a large-scale reclaimed land. The behaviors of stable isotopes indicated that groundwater originated from inland precipitation and traveled as CGD along the coast line. Most of the groundwater samples collected from domestic wells installed along the old coast line were considered to be relatively fresh from the correlation analysis among chemical constituents. The average electrical conductivity (EC) values of the samples were identified as averaging 1,125–1,297 μS cm^?1, corresponding to appropriate crop growth. A weathered-rock layer in a small catchment within the reclaimed land was proved to be a main CGD pathway, with electrical resistivity anomalies ranging from 7 to 14 Ω m. Five monitoring wells were placed in this catchment to delineate the occurrence of CGD. Long-term vertical EC profiling results for the monitoring wells indicated that CGD occurs within a depth of 30 m below the ground surface. Annual monitoring data for groundwater level and EC demonstrated that the water quality of CGD was improved by introducing fresh terrestrial groundwater. A remarkable improvement in water quality (EC decrease of 900–1,600 μS cm^?1) of CGD was observed during the saline water pumping test that explains how CGD could be an alternative water resource for the reclaimed land.     

Characterization of spatial and temporal variation of suspended sediments in the Yellow and East China Seas using satellite ocean color data

Total suspended sediment (TSS) data concentrations are retrieved from two sets of satellite ocean color data (the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard Aqua and the Korean Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI)) using an existing regional model to characterize spatial and temporal variation of TSS in the Yellow and East China Seas. MODIS-derived TSS maps show that TSS concentrations are, in general, high along the Korean and Chinese coasts including the Bohai Sea and the Yangtz River estuary, and lower in the middle of the Yellow Sea and the southeastern area of the East China Sea. The monthly average of 10-year MODIS data reveals that TSS values are highest during winter (January to February) and lowest in summer (July to August). Short-term TSS concentrations retrieved from GOCI data showed the dominant influence of semi-diurnal tidal changes on sediment dynamics through temporal (hourly) and spatial distribution in coastal zones of the Yellow sea. The results presented here demonstrate that the satellite-derived TSS products can be utilized as an application tool for future studies on long- and short-term sediment dynamics of turbid coastal waters. In particular, GOCI observations provide unique important capabilities to characterize and quantify the water properties at high temporal (hourly) and spatial (0.5 km) resolutions in the turbid coastal waters of the Yellow Sea and its vicinities.     

Flows within the Ekman layer during spin-up of a thermally stratified fluid

Abstract

Finite-difference numerical solutions were obtained to present the flow and temperature field details within the transient Ekman layer during spin-up of a thermally stratified fluid in a cylinder. This complements the earlier studies on stratified spin-up which examined the flows in the interior core region. As the stratification increases, the following changes in the flow field are noticeable. The radial velocity in the Ekman layer decreases in magnitude. The azimuthal flows adjust smoothly from the interior region to the endwall boundary, and the Ekman layer in the azimuthal flow field fades. Vertical motions are inhibited, resulting in a weakened Ekman pumping. The axial vorticity field behaves similarly to the azimuthal flows. The temperature deviation from the equilibrium profile decreases, and the heat transfer flux from the endwall to the fluid decreases. The thickness of the thermal layer is larger than the velocity layer thickness. Illustrative comparisons of the relative sizes of the terms in the governing equations are conducted in order to assess the stratification effect in the adjustment process of the fluid.     

Implications of simultaneously mitigating and adapting to climate change: initial experiments using GCAM

Most research on future climate change discusses mitigation and impacts/adaptation separately. However, mitigation will have implications for impacts and adaptation. Similarly, impacts and adaptation will affect mitigation. This paper begins to explore these two veins of research simultaneously using an integrated assessment model. We begin by discussing the types of interactions one might expect by impact sector. Then, we develop a numerical experiment in the agriculture sector to illustrate the importance of considering mitigation, impacts, and adaptation at the same time. In our experiment, we find that climate change can reduce crop yields, resulting in an expansion of cropland to feed a growing population and a reduction in bioenergy production. These two effects, in combination, result in an increase in the cost of mitigation.     

Sensitivity of multi-gas climate policy to emission metrics

The Global Warming Potential (GWP) index is currently used to create CO₂-equivalent emission totals for multi-gas greenhouse targets. While many alternatives have been proposed, it is not possible to uniquely define a metric that captures the different impacts of emissions of substances with widely disparate atmospheric lifetimes, which leads to a wide range of possible index values. We examine the sensitivity of emissions and climate outcomes to the value of the index used to aggregate methane emissions using a technologically detailed integrated assessment model. The methane index is varied between 4 and 70, with a central value of 21, which is the 100-year GWP value currently used in policy contexts. We find that the sensitivity to index value is, at most, 10–18 % in terms of methane emissions but only 2–3 % in terms of the maximum total radiative forcing change, with larger regional emissions differences in some cases. The choice of index also affects estimates of the cost of meeting a given end of century forcing target, with total two-gas mitigation cost increasing by 7–9 % if the index is increased, and increasing in most scenarios from 4 to 23 % if the index is lowered, with a slight (1 %) decrease in total cost in one case. We find that much of the methane abatement occurs as the induced effect of CO₂ abatement rather than explicit abatement, which is one reason why climate outcomes are relatively insensitive to the index value. We also find that the near-term climate benefit of increasing the methane index is small.     

Statistical approach to determine the salinized ground water flow path and hydrogeochemical features around the underground LPG cavern,Korea

The ground water flow path of the coastal area in the Yellow Sea, Korea, was interpreted using both the cross‐correlation analysis of hydraulic properties and the principal component analysis (PCA) of ground water chemistry. Data was obtained from observation wells in the underground liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cavern constructed in the coastal area of Pyeongtaek. Cross‐correlation results showed that the operating pressure became more influenced on artificial factors for the variation of the groundwater level of the study area (45–66% of correlation coefficient) even though its affecting area was limited to the region with fractures or faults, and also showed that the delay time from the variation of operating pressure to the fluctuation of ground water level were relatively long periods (28–31 days). Three hydrogeochemical events (encrusted cement dissolution, host rock dissolution, and seawater intrusion), which were dominantly influenced on ground water quality, could be induced from the result of PCA. Quantitative evaluation for these events using the mixed equation with principal component scores suggest that the dissolution of encrusted cement materials was the predominant factor (39·0% of the total mixed proportion) to change the chemical composition of the seepage water during the ground water flow from the observation wells to the cavern. Integration of the statistical results also imply that ground water flow and hydrogeochemistry were predominantly affected by artificial factors such as cavern operation pressure and dissolution of encrusted cement materials, which were interdependent factors on the observation wells with high cross‐correlation coefficients and pH. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparison of the photospheric and interplanetary magnetic fields during the flight of Mariner IV

The polarity of the interplanetary magnetic field observed by the Mariner IV spacecraft is compared to the polarity of the photospheric magnetic field observed with the solar magnetograph at Mt. Wilson Observatory. Unlike the results obtained from observations during the flight of IMP-I, these polarities are not well correlated when the photospheric polarity is determined from data along a narrow latitudinal strip. It is suggested that the structure of the interplanetary field is often related to major features in the photospheric field that are observed over a broad range of solar latitudes.