Quantification of adamantane in organic media via infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy

In the present study, the quantitative determination of the diamondoid compound adamantane in organic solvents via infrared attenuated total reflection (IR-ATR) spectroscopy at unmodified waveguide surfaces was established. Limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) of adamantane in dichloromethane, hexane and carbon tetrachloride were determined. Quantitative IR-ATR measurements additionally facilitated the determination of adamantane solubility limit in dichloromethane, hexane and carbon tetrachloride. The developed analytical strategy further enabled the successful detection and quantification of adamantane in crude oil matrices. Consequently, IR-ATR spectroscopy provides a promising strategy for on ship and in situ diamondoid analysis in harsh real world environments.     

Simulations of spiral galaxies with an active potential: molecular cloud formation and gas dynamics

We describe simulations of the response of a gaseous disc to an active spiral potential. The potential is derived from an N -body calculation and leads to a multi-armed time-evolving pattern. The gas forms long spiral arms typical of grand-design galaxies, although the spiral pattern is asymmetric. The primary difference from a grand-design spiral galaxy, which has a consistent two-/four-armed pattern, is that instead of passing through the spiral arms, gas generally falls into a developing potential minimum and is released only when the local minimum dissolves. In this case, the densest gas is coincident with the spiral potential, rather than offset as in the grand-design spirals. We would therefore expect no offset between the spiral shock and star formation, and no obvious corotation radius. Spurs which occur in grand-design spirals when large clumps are sheared off leaving the spiral arms, are rare in the active, time-evolving spiral reported here. Instead, large branches are formed from spiral arms when the underlying spiral potential is dissolving due to the N -body dynamics. We find that the molecular cloud mass spectrum for the active potential is similar to that for clouds in grand-design calculations, depending primarily on the ambient pressure rather than the nature of the potential. The largest molecular clouds occur when spiral arms collide, rather than by agglomeration within a spiral arm.     

The 16th Workshop on Antarctic Meteorology and Climate and 6th Year of Polar Prediction in the Southern Hemisphere Meeting

1. Overview In June 2021, the 16th Workshop on Antarctic Meteorology and Climate (WAMC) and the 6th Year of Polar Prediction in the Southern Hemisphere (YOPP-SH) Meeting (http://polarmet.osu.edu/WAMC;021/) were held online and hosted by the Polar Meteorology Group at Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus,Ohio (Fig. 1).     

News coverage of drought impacts and vulnerability in the US Carolinas, 1998–2007

Regional newspaper coverage from 1998 to 2007 is examined to expand our understanding of the complexity of drought impacts and vulnerability in the Carolinas. Coverage at the height of two droughts reports drought effects extending beyond first-order impacts on broadly recognized sectors, such as agriculture, livestock, and water supplies to recreation and tourism and impacts on businesses, manufacturing, and households. Impacts were accompanied by social controversies with near-term and long-term planning and development implications. Key concepts in vulnerability analysis were used to structure the review of vulnerability reporting. The coverage of differential vulnerability, although limited, identified individual, household, local, and cross-scale factors that influenced the severity of impacts. Articles also highlighted additional interacting stresses in some sectors contributing to the severity of impacts experienced. An elaborated understanding of drought impacts and vulnerabilities is a necessary, early step in advancing efforts to developing a risk-based drought management approach.     

Multiplex PCR allows simultaneous detection of pathogens in ships' ballast water

There is enormous potential for global transfer of microorganisms, including pathogens, in ships' ballast water. We contend that a major advancement in the study of ballast-water microorganisms in particular, and of aquatic pathogens in general, will be expedited sample analysis, such as provided by the elegant technology of DNA microarrays. In order to use DNA microarrays, however, one must establish the appropriate conditions to bind target sequences in samples to multiple probes on the microarrays. We conducted proof-of-concept experiments to optimize simultaneous detection of multiple microorganisms using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Southern hybridization. We chose three target organisms, all potentially found in ballast water: a calicivirus, the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, and the photosynthetic protist Aureococcus anophagefferens. Here, we show simultaneous detection of multiple pathogens is possible, a result supporting the promising future use of microarrays for simultaneous detection of pathogens in ballast water.     

Attenuation of a Mixed Chromium and Chlorinated Etjeme Ground Wate Plume in Estuarine Influenced Glaciated Sediments

The natural attenuation behavior of a ground water contaminant plume containing chromium and chlorinated ethenes in glaciated sediments was assessed using traditional and nontraditional methods. The mixed waste is transported through and attenuated within an estuarine influenced ground water aquifer of spatially varying redox character and organic carbon content. Contaminant fate and speciation were assessed as a function of geochemical conditions. Total, speciation-based, and sequential chemical extraction analyses were performed to determine contaminant partitioning and the redox capacity of the aquifer. Chromium speciation and partitioning were correlated with the reductive capacity and redox conditions of the aquifer sediments spatially distributed within the aquifer. Reductive dechlorination and partitioning of chlorinated ethenes were correlated with the organic carbon content and redox conditions of the aquifer sediments. The data showed that sharp redox gradients existed within the aquifer. Active reduction and retardation of both chromium and chlorinated ethenes was exhibited. The aqueous hexavalent chromium concentrations decreased to near nondetect levels in the vicinity of the receptor, whereas degradation products of higher-order chlorinated ethenes increased as a fraction of the total chlorinated ethene concentrations along the length of the plume. The potential for competition for reducing power under specific cases within the aquifer was suggested by the data, highlighting the need to include contaminant interactions in natural attenuation assessments.     

Sub-recent nitrogen-isotope trends in sediments from Skagerrak (North Sea) and Kattegat: Changes in N-budgets and N-sources?

We determined ¹⁵N/¹⁴N ratios of total nitrogen in surface sediments and dated sediment cores to reconstruct the history of N-loading of the North Sea. The isotopic N composition in modern surface sediments is equivalent to and reflects the isotopic mixture of oceanic nitrate on the one hand (δ¹⁵N = 5‰) and the imprint of river-borne nitrogen input into the SE North Sea (δ¹⁵N up to 12‰ in estuaries of the SE North Sea) on the other hand. We compare the results with δ¹⁵N records from pre-industrial sediment intervals in cores from the Skagerrak and Kattegat areas, which both constitute significant depositional centres for N in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea/North Sea transition. As expected, isotopically enriched anthropogenic nitrogen was found in the two records from the Kattegat area, which is close to eutrophication sources on land. Enrichment of δ¹⁵N in cores from the Skagerrak – the largest sediment sink for nitrogen in the entire North Sea – was not significant and values were similar to those found in sediment layers representing pre-industrial conditions. We interpret this isotopic uniformity as an indication that most riverine reactive nitrogen with its characteristic isotopic signature is removed by denitrification in shallow shallow-water sediments before reaching the main sedimentary basin of the North Sea.     

Developing a long-term outlook for the Great Barrier Reef,Australia: A framework for adaptive management reporting underpinning an ecosystem-based management approach

The Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2009 was the first produced in response to a newly legislated requirement for five-yearly reports on the status of and outlook for the Great Barrier Reef. It adopted an ecosystem approach, assessing all habitats and species, ecosystem processes and major uses. By then considering the factors affecting the ecosystem, coupled with an assessment of management effectiveness, it provided a risk-based forward-looking projection for the ecosystem. Rarely has such a comprehensive, ecosystem-based report been produced to guide government action. With no pre-determined path to follow for interpreting the legislative requirements, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) developed a repeatable structure and method for Great Barrier Reef Outlook Reports that impartially and consistently considers the evidence and clearly presents the findings. The GBRMPA worked closely with relevant Australian and Queensland Government agencies as well as researchers, industry representatives and the community while developing the report. That such a report must be produced every five years allows an overview of the effectiveness of management responses to be regularly assessed. It also provides a transparent means of highlighting and tracking emerging risks facing the Great Barrier Reef.     

Radium Sampling Methods and Residence Times in St. Andrew Bay,Florida

Activity ratios (AR) of radium isotopes have been used with success to constrain estimates of water ages and to approximate residence times in coastal waters. We compared two common radium sampling methods (grab sampling and stationary moorings) to estimate water ages and the residence time of St. Andrew Bay waters in northwest Florida, USA. Both sampling methods utilize manganese dioxide fibers (“Mn fibers”) to adsorb dissolved radium from the water column. Grab samples capture radium activities at a discrete time while moorings integrate radium activities over longer deployments. The two methods yielded similar results in this study and thus both approaches are useful for water age comparisons and residence time approximations. However, since radium often varies as a function of tidal stage, deploying moorings over a complete tidal cycle is the preferred approach. An estimated residence time for North Bay and West Bay of 8–11 days was approximated using ARs for both ex²²⁴Ra/²²³Ra and ex²²⁴Ra/²²⁸Ra. Some complications were introduced as St. Andrew Bay is a tidally dominated, rather than a river-dominated bay system where this method has previously been applied. The largest freshwater source to this bay system is from a man-made reservoir, with an average freshwater flow of only 20 m³ s^?1. The activity concentrations and ARs measured by both sampling methods suggest that while the reservoir is the prominent radium source, it is not the only radium source. Nonetheless, a tidal mixing model applied to the western half of the system yielded an approximate flushing time of 10–12 days, similar to that derived from our radium-based water age approach.