Is Ocean Acidification an Open-Ocean Syndrome? Understanding Anthropogenic Impacts on Seawater pH

Ocean acidification due to anthropogenic CO₂ emissions is a dominant driver of long-term changes in pH in the open ocean, raising concern for the future of calcifying organisms, many of which are present in coastal habitats. However, changes in pH in coastal ecosystems result from a multitude of drivers, including impacts from watershed processes, nutrient inputs, and changes in ecosystem structure and metabolism. Interaction between ocean acidification due to anthropogenic CO₂ emissions and the dynamic regional to local drivers of coastal ecosystems have resulted in complex regulation of pH in coastal waters. Changes in the watershed can, for example, lead to changes in alkalinity and CO₂ fluxes that, together with metabolic processes and oceanic dynamics, yield high-magnitude decadal changes of up to 0.5 units in coastal pH. Metabolism results in strong diel to seasonal fluctuations in pH, with characteristic ranges of 0.3 pH units, with metabolically intense habitats exceeding this range on a daily basis. The intense variability and multiple, complex controls on pH implies that the concept of ocean acidification due to anthropogenic CO₂ emissions cannot be transposed to coastal ecosystems directly. Furthermore, in coastal ecosystems, the detection of trends towards acidification is not trivial and the attribution of these changes to anthropogenic CO₂ emissions is even more problematic. Coastal ecosystems may show acidification or basification, depending on the balance between the invasion of coastal waters by anthropogenic CO₂, watershed export of alkalinity, organic matter and CO₂, and changes in the balance between primary production, respiration and calcification rates in response to changes in nutrient inputs and losses of ecosystem components. Hence, we contend that ocean acidification from anthropogenic CO₂ is largely an open-ocean syndrome and that a concept of anthropogenic impacts on marine pH, which is applicable across the entire ocean, from coastal to open-ocean environments, provides a superior framework to consider the multiple components of the anthropogenic perturbation of marine pH trajectories. The concept of anthropogenic impacts on seawater pH acknowledges that a regional focus is necessary to predict future trajectories in the pH of coastal waters and points at opportunities to manage these trajectories locally to conserve coastal organisms vulnerable to ocean acidification.     

Dust motions in quasi-statically charged binary asteroid systems

In this paper, we discuss dust motion and investigate possible mass transfer of charged particles in a binary asteroid system, in which the asteroids are electrically charged due to solar radiation. The surface potential of the asteroids is assumed to be a piecewise function, with positive potential on the sunlit half and negative potential on the shadow half. We derive the nonautonomous equations of motion for charged particles and an analytic representation for their lofting conditions. Particle trajectories and temporary relative equilibria are examined in relation to their moving forbidden regions, a concept we define and discuss. Finally, we use a Monte Carlo simulation for a case study on mass transfer and loss rates between the asteroids.     

Causes and predictability of the record wet east Australian spring 2010

In 2010 eastern Australia received its highest springtime (September–November) rainfall since 1900. Based on historical relationships with sea surface temperatures (SST) and other climate indices, this record rainfall in 2010 was shown to be largely commensurate with the occurrence of a very strong La Niña event and an extreme positive excursion of the SAM. The pattern and magnitude of the tropical SST anomalies in austral spring 2010 were diagnosed to be nearly perfect to produce high rainfall across eastern Australia. Key aspects of this SST pattern were the strong cold anomaly in the central equatorial Pacific, and the strong warm anomalies in the eastern Indian Ocean and the far western Pacific to the north of Australia. Although the recent upward trend in SSTs in the western Pacific/eastern Indian Ocean warm pool accounted for about 50 % of the SST anomaly surrounding northern Australia in 2010, the contribution by the warming trend in these SSTs to the Australian rainfall anomaly in 2010 was assessed to be relatively modest. The strong positive swing in SAM was estimated to have accounted for upwards of 40 % of the regional anomaly along the central east coastal region and about 10 % of the area mean anomaly across eastern Australia. This contribution by the SAM suggests that a significant portion of the rainfall in 2010 may not have been seasonally predictable. However, predictability arising from the promotion of high SAM by the extreme La Nina event can not be ruled out.     

Simulation Study of a Robust Algorithm for Soil Moisture and Surface Roughness Estimation Using L‐Band Radar Backscatter

Abstract

Various inversion algorithms have been developed to obtain estimates of soil moisture and surface roughness parameters from multifrequency, multiangle, and multipolarization radar reflectances. Since the penetration depth for radar signals increases with wavelength, an inversion algorithm using widely separated frequencies does not yield comparable probing depths. Furthermore, existing algorithms assume a linear relationship between the radar backscatter coefficient (in dB) and soil parameters, such as the volumetric soil moisture, soil surface roughness and surface slope. This assumption is valid only over a narrow range of soil parameters, thereby restricting its operational use under realistic conditions. Our research specifically explored the use of inversion algorithms based on L‐Band radar reflectances at 1 GHz and 2 GHz frequencies in order to retain relatively consistent probing depths. In order to extend the range of applicability, a non‐linear exponential‐type relationship was developed between radar reflectance at a specified frequency, polarization and incidence angle combination, and soil parameters of interest, viz., soil moisture, surface roughness, and surface slope. An over‐constrained inversion algorithm using a six‐parameter combination was found to yield relatively accurate estimates of soil parameters over a wide range of soil conditions even in the presence of system error.     

A Multilevel Analysis of Agricultural Trade and Socioeconomic Inequality in Rural Mozambique

This study uses a mixed methodology to investigate the relationship between agricultural trade and socioeconomic inequality in Mozambique at multiple geographical scales. The quantitative analysis examines all rural regions of the country and a nationally representative sample of rural households, whereas the qualitative analysis focuses primarily on two case study villages. Research findings suggest that social and geographical context greatly influence the relationships between agricultural trade and regional inequality. Trade-related effects on economic inequality—and the social status of traders—vary across Mozambican regions. Results suggest that trade increases inequality in regions where traders have low social status, but reduces inequality in areas where they have high social status. These findings suggest that social and economic factors work together to shape landscapes of inequality.     

Non-stationary frequency analysis of heavy rainfall events in southern France

Abstract

Heavy rainfall events often occur in southern French Mediterranean regions during the autumn, leading to catastrophic flood events. A non-stationary peaks-over-threshold (POT) model with climatic covariates for these heavy rainfall events is developed herein. A regional sample of events exceeding the threshold of 100 mm/d is built using daily precipitation data recorded at 44 stations over the period 1958–2008. The POT model combines a Poisson distribution for the occurrence and a generalized Pareto distribution for the magnitude of the heavy rainfall events. The selected covariates are the seasonal occurrence of southern circulation patterns for the Poisson distribution parameter, and monthly air temperature for the generalized Pareto distribution scale parameter. According to the deviance test, the non-stationary model provides a better fit to the data than a classical stationary model. Such a model incorporating climatic covariates instead of time allows one to re-evaluate the risk of extreme precipitation on a monthly and seasonal basis, and can also be used with climate model outputs to produce future scenarios. Existing scenarios of the future changes projected for the covariates included in the model are tested to evaluate the possible future changes on extreme precipitation quantiles in the study area.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor K. Hamed

Citation Tramblay, Y., Neppel, L., Carreau, J., and Najib, K., 2013. Non-stationary frequency analysis of heavy rainfall events in southern France. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (2), 280–294.     

Soil CO2 flux trends with differences in soil moisture among four types of land use in an Ecuadorian páramo landscape

Abstract

Páramo grasslands are important carbon sinks in the Ecuadorian Andes. Although carbon content of páramo Andisols is correlated with high water retention, the effects of differences in soil moisture under different types of land use on soil carbon processes have not been explicitly tested in the Ecuadorian Andes. This study assessed the relationship between soil moisture and soil CO₂ flux among a mature páramo grassland, recently burned páramo grassland, native montane forest, and pine plantation in an Ecuadorian páramo landscape. Soil CO₂ flux was greater in the forest sites compared to the grassland sites. Thus, a shift from grassland to forest cover may have significant implications for soil carbon loss via CO₂ flux. Our results suggest that although soil moisture plays a significant role in differences of soil CO₂ flux rates among land-use types, more investigation into mechanisms for soil carbon loss and how they are driven by land-use change is needed. To our knowledge, these are the first soil CO₂ flux rates reported for the Ecuadorian páramo.     

Linear and weakly nonlinear internal wave theories applied to “morning glory” waves

Abstract

Detailed comparisons are made between the predictions of Benjamin's weakly nonlinear theory for internal solitary waves in fluids of great depth, with observational data on solitary wave-type disturbances in the lower atmosphere associated with the “morning glory” phenomenon.

It is shown that, while the theory is not wholly unreasonable, neither is it completely satisfactory. In particular, although the calculated wave speeds are generally close to those observed, they are no improvement on those based on linear long wave theory; at the same time the predicted wave half-widths are too large by a factor of two to three. The limitations of the theory appear to be associated with the requirement that wave half-widths are much less than the total fluid depth, a condition not satisfied in the atmospheric case. However, the alternative theory for shallow fluids, based on the Korteweg-de Vries equation is found to be even more unsuitable.

Our analyses highlight some of the problems in comparing theory with observations and bring to the fore some of the present limitations of the data for such purposes.     

A system dynamics approach for urban water reuse planning: a case study from the Great Lakes region

Water reclamation and reuse practices are recently receiving growing attention due to increasing water scarcity, concerns about the effect of wastewater discharges on receiving water, and availability of high-performing and cost-effective water reuse technologies. However, incorporation of water reuse schemes into water/wastewater infrastructure systems is a complex decision making process, involving various economical, technological, and environmental criteria. System dynamics (SD) allows modeling of complex systems and provides information about the temporal and feedback behavior of the system. In this sense, a SD model of the existing water/wastewater system in Kalamazoo-Michigan, an urban area in the Great Lakes region, was created with the hypothetical incorporation of water reuse. The model simulates and optimizes the overall water system cost (including water, wastewater and water reuse components), accounting for future scenarios of population, economic growth and climate change. Results indicate significant levels of water reuse after an infrastructure build delay. The model also indicates that a decision to implement water reuse yields remarkably lower water withdrawals and lower water treatment costs even in a location with a relatively abundant water supply like Kalamazoo. This study emphasizes the fact that a true understanding of the practice of water reuse cannot be achieved without taking regional and climatic parameters into account.     

Geophysical evolution of Saturn’s satellite Phoebe,a large planetesimal in the outer Solar System

Saturn’s satellite Phoebe is the best-characterized representative of large outer Solar System planetesimals, thanks to the close flyby by the Cassini spacecraft in June 2004. We explore the information contained in Phoebe’s physical properties, density and shape, which are significantly different from those of other icy objects in its size range. Phoebe’s higher density has been interpreted as evidence that it was captured, probably from the proto-Kuiper-Belt. First, we demonstrate that Phoebe’s shape is globally relaxed and consistent with a spheroid in hydrostatic equilibrium with its rotation period. This distinguishes the satellite from ‘rubble-piles’ that are thought to result from the disruption of larger proto-satellites. We numerically model the geophysical evolution of Phoebe, accounting for the feedback between porosity and thermal state. We compare thermal evolution models for different assumptions on the formation of Phoebe, in particular the state of its water, amorphous or crystalline. We track the evolution of porosity and thermal conductivity as well as the destabilization of amorphous ice or clathrate hydrates. While rubble-piles may never reach temperatures suitable for porous ice to creep and relax, we argue that Phoebe’s shape could have relaxed due to heat from the decay of ²⁶Al, provided that this object formed less than 3 Myr after the production of the calcium–aluminum inclusions. This is consistent with the idea that Phoebe could be an exemplar of planetesimals that formed in the transneptunian region and later accreted onto outer planet satellites, either during the satellite’s formation stage, or still later, during the late heavy bombardment.