H 0 from an orientation-unbiased sample of Sunyaev–Zel'dovich and X-ray clusters

We have observed the Sunyaev–Zel'dovich (SZ) effect in a sample of five moderate-redshift clusters with the Ryle Telescope, and used them in conjunction with X-ray imaging and spectral data from ROSAT and ASCA to measure the Hubble constant. This sample was chosen with a strict X-ray flux limit using both the Bright Cluster Sample and the Northern ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS) cluster catalogues to be well above the surface brightness limit of the RASS, and hence to be unbiased with respect to the orientation of the cluster. This controls a major potential systematic effect in the SZ/X-ray method of measuring H ₀. Taking the weighted geometric mean of the results and including the main sources of error, namely the noise in the SZ measurement, the uncertainty in the X-ray temperatures and the unknown ellipticity and substructure of the clusters, we find   H ₀= 59⁺¹⁰₋₉ (random)⁺⁸₋₇(systematic) km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹  assuming a standard cold dark matter model with  Ω_M= 1.0, Ω_Λ= 0.0  or   H ₀= 66⁺¹¹₋₁₀ ⁺⁹₋₈ km  s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹  if  Ω_M= 0.3, Ω_Λ= 0.7  .     

Phosphorus sorption from aqueous solution using natural materials

The sorption of phosphorus by using four different natural materials (marble dust, sawdust, soil, and rice husk) was studied by conducting batch tests and kinetic sorption model. The kinetic sorption model based on a pseudo equation was applied to predict the rate constant of sorption. Thorough investigations to understand the mechanism of phosphorus sorption onto the natural materials using kinetic sorption models, pseudo first- and second-order kinetic sorption model showed that the kinetic sorption is consistent with the second-order model, from which it can be inferred that the mechanism of sorption is chemisorption. Batch tests and kinetic sorption model results showed that by using marble dust as sorbent, among other materials, could remove more than 93 % of phosphorus from aqueous solution.     

Occurrence and turnover of DMSP and DMS in deep waters of the Ross Sea,Antarctica

High concentrations of the phytoplankton metabolite dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and its degradation product dimethylsulfide (DMS) are associated with blooms of Phaeocystis antarctica in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Episodic and rapid vertical export of Phaeocystis biomass to deep water has been reported for the Ross Sea, therefore we examined the distribution and microbial consumption rates of DMSP and DMS throughout the sub-euphotic water column. Total DMSP (dissolved+particulate; DMSPt) was present at 0.5–22 nM at depths between 70 and 690 m during both the early bloom (November) and the late bloom (January). Sub-euphotic peaks of DMSP were sometimes associated with mid-water temperature maxima, and elevated DMSP below 70 m was found mainly in water masses characterized as Modified Circumpolar Deep Water or Antarctic Shelf Water. Overall, 50–94% of the integrated water-column DMSPt was found below the euphotic zone. At one station during the early bloom, local maxima of DMSPt (14 nM) and DMS (20 nM) were observed between 113 and 240 m and these maxima corresponded with high chlorophyll a concentrations, P. antarctica cell numbers, and Fv/Fm (the quantum yield of photosystem II). During the late bloom, a sub-euphotic maximum of DMSPt (15.8 nM) at 250 m cooccurred with peaks of chlorophyll a concentration, DMSP lyase activity, bacterial production and dissolved DMSP consumption rates. DMSP turnover contributed ～12% of the bacterial carbon demand between 200 and 400 m. DMS concentrations peaked at 286 m but the maximum concentration (0.42 nM) was far lower than observed during the early bloom, probably because of relatively rapid biological consumption of DMS (1–3 turnovers per day) which, in turn, contributed to elevated dissolved dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) concentrations. Relatively stable DMSPt distributions at some sites suggest that rapid sinking of Phaeocystis biomass is probably not the major mechanism responsible for mesopelagic DMSP accumulations. Rather, subduction of near-surface water masses, lateral advective transport or trapping of slowly sinking P. antarctica biomass in intermediate water masses are more likely mechanisms. We found that a culture of P. antarctica maintained cellular integrity during 34 days of darkness, therefore the presence of intact cells (and DMSP) at depth can be explained even under a slow sinking/advection scenario. Whatever the mechanism, the large pools of DMSP and DMS below the euphotic zone suggest that export exerts a control on potential DMS emission from the surface waters of the Ross Sea.     

Factors controlling groundwater chemistry in an agricultural area with complex topographic and land use patterns in mid‐western South Korea

Shallow and bedrock groundwater from granitic aquifers were investigated for the hydrogeochemistry of major and minor constituents in an agricultural area. Nitrate concentrations were observed up to 49 mg/l as NO₃‐N, with 22% of samples exceeding the drinking water standard, which could pose a significant threat because most residents rely on groundwater as their drinking water source. Principal component analysis revealed three principal components (PCs): (1) nitrate contamination, contributed by major cations, Cl^?, SO and NO , (2) reduction processes positively involving Fe, Mn and B, and negatively involving dissolved oxygen and NO and (3) natural mineralization, involving HCO and F^?. Cluster analysis, performed on the PC scores, resulted in seven sample groups, which were successfully identified by total depth, elevation and land use. The nitrate‐contaminated groups had mixed land uses, with locally concentrated residential areas. Uncontaminated groundwater groups were found in the natural environment, including high‐altitude spring water and bedrock groundwater with a higher degree of natural mineralization. Shallow groundwater groups in paddy fields in lowlands were affected by reducing environments, of which one group was characterized by high Fe, Mn and B, and negligible nitrate. Groundwater with intermediate nitrate and lower Cl^? and SO was found primarily in hilly terrains with orchards and vegetable gardens, indicating lower contaminant loadings than lowland areas. Higher concentrations of F^? and nitrate were observed in the nitrate‐contaminated water, which seemed unlikely to be explained by groundwater mixing. The strong acidity generated from nitrification may infiltrate deeper into the aquifer, induce accelerated weathering of bedrock and result in the coexistence of F^? and nitrate, which may be an evidence of intense nitrate loading, leading to soil acidification. Multivariate statistical analysis successfully delineated hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater attained by natural and anthropogenic processes in an agriculturally stressed area with complex topographic land use patterns. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

State‐led talent return migration programme and the doubly neglected ‘Malaysian diaspora’: Whose diaspora,what citizenship,whose development?

This paper questions the assumptions of ‘diaspora’, ‘citizenship’ and ‘development’ underlying diaspora strategies targeting a specific pool of overseas Malaysian ‘talent’ migrants. I examine the Malaysian state's discursive attempts to construct a carefully contained economic ‘diaspora'—the ‘Malaysian diaspora'—through its talent return migration programme. In this process, there is a portion of the ‘Malaysian diaspora’, especially non‐bumiputeras (sons of soil), who are doubly neglected and excluded: first, from access to full and equal citizenship (which arguably contributed to their emigration in the first place); and second, from eligibility and recognition to participate in Malaysia's talent return migration programme. However, recent political activism calling for electoral reform and overseas voting rights challenges state‐constructed visions of the ‘diaspora’ and their expected roles in advancing ‘development’. This paper concludes by highlighting questions raised by the Malaysian case, linking these explicitly to how diaspora strategies—as they have been conceived, practised and contested—challenge the broader Migration and Development paradigm.     

Removal of trace metals from seawater during a phytoplankton bloom as studied with sediment traps in Funka Bay,Japan

To study biological effects on the particulate removal of chemical elements from seawater, sediment trap experiments were carried out successively ten times throughout the spring phytoplankton bloom in Funka Bay. Sediment traps were deployed every one to two weeks at 1, 40 and 80 m depths. The settling particles obtained were analyzed for trace metals, phosphate and silicate. The propagation of diatoms in spring results in larger particulate fluxes than that of dinoflagellates. The biogenic silicate concentration is higher in the earlier period, when diatoms are predominant, than in the subsequent period, when dinoflagellates are predominant. The concentrations of aluminum, iron, manganese and cobalt in the settling particles comprising largely biogenic particles are lower during phytoplankton bloom. The concentration of copper is not reduced by the addition of biogenic particles, and its vertical flux is approximately proportional to the total flux, indicating that its concentration in the biogenic particles is nearly equal to that in the non-biogenic particles. The results for nickel and lead show the same tendency as for copper. Cadmium is more concentrated in biogenic particles than in non-biogenic particles, and the concentration of cadmium in the settling particles decreases with depth, similarly to phosphate and organic matter. Thus, metals in seawater are segregated by biological affinities, and the degree of incorporation into biogenic particles is in the order Cd > Pb, Ni, Cu > Co > Mn, Fe, Al. Biogenic particles are the most important agent controlling the vertical distribution of metals in the ocean. They remove the metals from the surface water, transport them through the water column, and regenerate them in the deep.     

Different partitioning among thorium isotopes in seawater of the Northern North pacific

Each about 400 l of seawater sample was collected in the northern North Pacific and filtered through a membrane filter. Four radioisotopes of thorium,²³²Th,²³⁰Th,²²⁸Th and²³⁴Th, were determined for the two FractionsF (filtrate) andP (particles on the filter). In the percentages of FractionP in the subsurface water,²³⁰Th was significantly larger than other 3 isotopes, and²³²Th was significantly smaller than other 3 isotopes. The former finding can be explained by the slower rates in the reversible change between the FractionsF andP. The latter one, however, cannot be explained if thorium isotopes in the FractionF are truly dissolved with the same chemical form. This suggests that major part of the FractionF of²³²Th is not identical with those of other radiogenic thorium isotopes, and it should not be composed of simple dissolved ions. The removal of radiogenic²³⁴Th was related to the biological activity, but there was a deviation, between the FractionP and radioactivity deficiency of²³⁴Th in their vertical profiles. The deviation was similar to that between the chlorophylla and phaeo-pigments contents including their maximum depths.     

Application of fractional derivatives to seismic analysis of base-isolated models

The concept of fractional derivatives is employed in the formulation of a stress-strain relationship for elastomers. An oscillator consisting of a mass and a ‘fractional’ Kelvin element is used to model elastomeric bearings used in base isolation systems. Efficient numerical multi-step schemes are developed for the dynamic analysis of a single-degree-of-freedom ‘fractional oscillator’ in the time domain. Numerical examples show that these multi-step schemes are in good agreement with the Laplace and Fourier solutions. When applied to shaking table tests of a base-isolated bridge deck, the fractional derivative model is found to agree well with the experimental results.