HYTEC results of the MoMas reactive transport benchmark

A specific benchmark has been developed by the French research group MoMas in order to improve numerical solution methods applied by reactive transport models, i.e., codes that couple hydrodynamic flow and mass transport in porous media with geochemical reactions. The HYTEC model has been applied to this benchmark exercise, and this paper summarizes some of the principal results. HYTEC is a general-purpose code, applied by industrials and research groups to a wide variety of domains, including soil pollution, nuclear waste storage, cement degradation, water purification systems, storage of CO₂, and valorization of stabilized wastes. The code has been applied to the benchmark test-cases without any specific modification. Apart from the benchmark imposed output, additional information is provided to highlight the behavior of HYTEC specifically and the simulation results in particular.     

Mid-tertiary igneous activity in east Greenland — The Kialineq complex

The igneous rocks of the Kialineq area on the East Greenland coast at 67 ° N comprise, gabbro, acid-basic breccia and net-vein complexes, syenite and granite and minor volcanics. Rb-Sr whole-rock and mineral isochrons for the epizonal syenites, granites and acid-basic complexes indicate a consanguineous mantle origin at 35±2 m.y. B.P. in agreement with the age obtained by K-Ar dating of biotites and hornblendes. This igneous activity may be associated with major reorganisation of plate geometry in the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans at this time.     

Sediment features, macrozoobenthic assemblages and trophic relationships (delta13C and delta15N analysis) following a dystrophic event with anoxia and sulphide development in the Santa Giusta lagoon (western Sardinia, Italy)

Macrozoobenthic assemblages and stable carbon (delta(13)C) and nitrogen (delta(15)N) isotope values of various primary producers (macroalgae and angiosperms) and consumers (macroinvertebrate filter/suspension feeders, deposit feeders, detritivores/omnivores and carnivores and fishes) were studied in the Santa Giusta lagoon (Sardinia, Italy) before (spring) and after (autumn) a dystrophic event which occurred in the summer of 2004. A few days after the dystrophy, the physico-chemical characteristics of sediments and macrozoobenthic assemblages were also investigated. In the latter occasion, high total organic carbon (3.9%) and organic matter (15.9%) contents of surface sediments went together with peaks in acid-volatile sulphide concentrations. Certain immediate effects were quite extreme, such as the drastic reduction in macrozoobenthos and the massive fish kill in August 2004. Among the macrozoobenthos, there were few individuals of chironomid larvae and Capitella cf. capitata left. However, by October, chironomid larvae were numerous, indicating a lack of predators (e.g. fish) and competitors. In addition, some bivalve species and polychaetes which were absent, or present in small numbers before the event, became relatively numerous. The results are discussed based on a knowledge of the sulphide tolerance of these species. Stable isotope analysis clearly showed that the basal level of the food web for most consumers consisted mainly of macroalgae and sedimentary organic matter, and that the values before and after the dystrophic event were not significantly different from one another. This indicates that the relations among different trophic levels were quickly restored following the dystrophic event.     

Search for purines and pyrimidines in the Murchison meteorite

A 1 g interior sample of the Murchison CII meteorite was examined for the presence of purines and pyrimidines by dual-column, ion-exclusion chromatography and ultraviolet spectroscopy. Xanthine, not previously reported in meteorites, was found to be the major purine liberated by extraction with formic acid, with a concentration corresponding to 2.3 μg/g of meteorite. Guanine (0.1 ppm) and hypoxanthine (0.04 ppm) were also tentatively identified. The presence of adenine could not be confirmed. No pyrimidines were detected at concentrations higher than the background level (0.01 ppm) in water, formic acid or strong acid extracts. Silylation of the water extract, however, resulted in the appearance of 4-hydroxypyrimidine, 4-hydroxy-2-methylpyrimidine and 4-hydroxy-6-methylpyrimidine. These compounds are-though to be formed during the silylation procedure from contaminants present in the reagent.     

Implications of alternative metrics for global mitigation costs and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture

100-year Global Warming Potentials (GWPs) are used almost universally to compare emissions of greenhouse gases in national inventories and reduction targets. GWPs have been criticised on several grounds, but little work has been done to determine global mitigation costs under alternative physics-based metrics . We used the integrated assessment model MESSAGE to compare emission pathways and abatement costs for fixed and time-dependent variants of the Global Temperature Change Potential (GTP) with those based on GWPs, for a policy goal of limiting the radiative forcing to a specified level in the year 2100. We find that fixed 100-year GTPs would increase global abatement costs (discounted and aggregated over the 21^st century) under this policy goal by 5–20 % relative to 100-year GWPs, whereas time-varying GTPs would reduce costs by about 5 %. These cost differences are smaller than differences arising from alternative assumptions regarding agricultural mitigation potential and much smaller than those arising from alternative radiative forcing targets. Using the land-use model GLOBIOM, we show that alternative metrics affect food production differently in different world regions depending on regional characteristics of future land-use change to meet growing food demand. We conclude that under scenarios of complete participation, the choice of metric has a limited impact on global abatement costs but could be important for the political economy of regional and sectoral participation in collective mitigation efforts, in particular changing costs and gains over time for agriculture and energy-intensive sectors.     

Stormflow generation in two headwater catchments in eastern Amazonia,Brazil

Throughout the tropics, and the Amazon region in particular, only a few experimental studies have identified the main hydrological pathways and response to storm events. This study identifies the hydrological response patterns and quantifies the main runoff generating processes for two headwater catchments in eastern Amazonia, an area of low relief. Over an 18 month study period, 245 and 55 rainfall–runoff events at the respective headwater catchments were analysed. The rainfall‐runoff regression lines for both catchments revealed a remarkably strong linear correlation between event rain total and runoff volume. The area contributing to stormflow was proven to be constant in extent at approximately 0·6% of the catchment and to coincide with the exact extent of the riparian wetland zone. The soils of the surrounding hillslopes were found to be highly permeable oxisols. Indications of secondary permeability due to the deep root system of the secondary vegetation were also found. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.