Exploring the spread of methamphetamine problems within California, 1980 to 2006

The introduction and spread of high potency methamphetamine has led to dramatic increases in drug-related problems in California. Prior research suggests that drug abuse rates are related to local demographic and economic characteristics, law enforcement activities, and sentencing practices. Methamphetamine abuse in particular has been shown to be reduced by laws regulating the raw materials needed for its production. This research models the regional effects of such laws on the spatio-temporal patterns of growth of methamphetamine-related problems across California from 1980 to 2006. Amphetamine-related arrests and hospital discharges related to amphetamine abuse/dependence were assembled for California counties over the years 1980–2006. Varying-parameter Bayesian space–time models were used to relate the implementation of major laws controlling the distribution of methamphetamine precursors to observed patterns of arrests and discharges and to allow such associations to vary by location. The models used conditionally autoregressive (CAR) Bayesian spatial priors to allow spatial correlation in estimation of county-specific growth in these measures over three distinct time periods: before the 1989 law, between the 1989 and 1997 laws, and after the 1997 law. Growth of arrests and discharges were related to demographic and economic indicators to determine geographic areas more or less susceptible to the spread of methamphetamine problems. Although both problem measures increased during all three periods, each of the precursor laws was associated with short-term reductions in the growth of arrests and discharges. Growth was greatest in central California counties prior to 1989 and increased in coastal counties in later years. From 1980 to 1989 growth was highest for counties with low incomes and high proportions of white residents, while 1989–1997 growth was highest in counties with fewer whites and more Hispanics. Growth after 1997 was not significantly associated with county characteristics. This research demonstrates that the precursor laws did suppress the growth of methamphetamine related arrests and hospital discharges. It also demonstrates specific geographic patterns in the growth of methamphetamine arrests and abuse across California during this time. Early patterns of growth were related to economic and demographic characteristics, while later patterns were not. This suggests that some counties were uniquely susceptible to the early spread of the methamphetamine epidemic, although problems eventually grew dramatically in all California counties.     

Verification of model simulated mass balance, flow fields and tabular calving events of the Antarctic ice sheet against remotely sensed observations

The Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) has the greatest potential for global sea level rise. This study simulates AIS ice creeping, sliding, tabular calving, and estimates the total mass balances, using a recently developed, advanced ice dynamics model, known as SEGMENT-Ice. SEGMENT-Ice is written in a spherical Earth coordinate system. Because the AIS contains the South Pole, a projection transfer is performed to displace the pole outside of the simulation domain. The AIS also has complex ice-water-granular material-bedrock configurations, requiring sophisticated lateral and basal boundary conditions. Because of the prevalence of ice shelves, a ‘girder yield’ type calving scheme is activated. The simulations of present surface ice flow velocities compare favorably with InSAR measurements, for various ice-water-bedrock configurations. The estimated ice mass loss rate during 2003–2009 agrees with GRACE measurements and provides more spatial details not represented by the latter. The model estimated calving frequencies of the peripheral ice shelves from 1996 (roughly when the 5-km digital elevation and thickness data for the shelves were collected) to 2009 compare well with archived scatterometer images. SEGMENT-Ice’s unique, non-local systematic calving scheme is found to be relevant for tabular calving. However, the exact timing of calving and of iceberg sizes cannot be simulated accurately at present. A projection of the future mass change of the AIS is made, with SEGMENT-Ice forced by atmospheric conditions from three different coupled general circulation models. The entire AIS is estimated to be losing mass steadily at a rate of ~120 km³/a at present and this rate possibly may double by year 2100.     

Possible Impacts of Global Warming on the Hydrology of the Ogallala Aquifer Region

The Ogallala or High Plains aquifer provides water for about 20% of the irrigated land in the United States. About 20 km³ (16.6 million acre-feet) of water are withdrawn annually from this aquifer. In general, recharge has not compensated for withdrawals since major irrigation development began in this region in the 1940s. The mining of the Ogallala has been pictured as an analogue to climate change in that many GCMs predict a warmer and drier future for this region. In this paper we attempt to anticipate the possible impacts of climate change on the sustainability of the aquifer as a source of water for irrigation and other purposes in the region. We have applied HUMUS, the Hydrologic Unit Model of the U.S. to the Missouri and Arkansas-White-Red water resource regions that overlie the Ogallala. We have imposed three general circulation model (GISS, UKTR and BMRC) projections of future climate change on this region and simulated the changes that may be induced in water yields (runoff plus lateral flow) and ground water recharge. Each GCM was applied to HUMUS at three levels of global mean temperature (GMT) to represent increasing severity of climate change (a surrogate for time). HUMUS was also run at three levels of atmospheric CO₂ concentration (hereafter denoted by [CO₂]) in order to estimate the impacts of direct CO₂ effects on photosynthesis and evapotranspiration. Since the UKTR and GISS GCMs project increased precipitation in the Missouri basin, water yields increase there. The BMRC GCM predicts sharply decreased precipitation and, hence, reduced water yields. Precipitation reductions are even greater in the Arkansas basin under BMRC as are the consequent water yield losses. GISS and UKTR climates lead to only moderate yield losses in the Arkansas. CO₂-fertilization reverses these losses and yields increase slightly. CO₂ fertilization increases recharge in the base (no climate change) case in both basins. Recharge is reduced under all three GCMs and severities of climate change.     

Lack of development of pollutant-resistance or genetic differentiation in darter gobies (Gobionellus boleosoma) inhabiting a produced-water discharge site

Physiological acclimation, genetic adaptation and genetic differentiation were examined in darter gobies (Gobionellus boleosoma) inhabiting a coastal marsh with a long history of PAH contamination. No acclimation was detected; a 2-week pre-exposure at the polluted site resulted in a decreased rather than an increased resistance in a subsequent laboratory exposure to polluted sediment. Similarly, fish collected from sites with elevated sediment PAH levels did not exhibit an increased resistance in bioassays with polluted sediment, confirming the lack of acclimation and indicating a lack of adaptation to the pollutants. No differences were detected in frequencies of allozyme genotypes when comparing gobies from the polluted area to those from a nearby control site, and overall levels of heterozygosity were similar in the two populations. While lack of UV-induced toxicity in the laboratory exposures could have played a role, at least four other factors may explain the apparent lack of adaptive responses and genetic differences. First, bioavailability of the contaminants to the darter goby could have been low, though other evidence contradicts this. Second, the contaminated marsh contains a large number of different chemicals and acclimation, adaptation and genetic differentiation are expected to be less likely when more contaminants are involved. Third, the hydrocarbon distribution at the contaminated marsh is very patchy, such that fish may avoid exposure to the highly-contaminated sediment. Fourth, gene flow may be sufficiently high in this mobile species to prevent local adaptation.     

Loss of iron to the Pt-container in melting experiments with basalts and a method to reduce it

The loss of iron from basalts to Pt containers has been investigated as a function of temperature, hydrogen fugacity, run duration, and Fe content of the sample. The loss of iron is very significant even after a short time and increases with increasing temperature and run duration and increasing hydrogen fugacity.The absorbed iron is concentrated in the inner half of the Pt-wall. The iron-containing zone of the Pt broadens only slightly with increasing run duration. Based upon this uneven distribution of Fe in the Pt-wall, a method is developed to reduce iron loss from the sample. By electroplating, a thin film of metallic iron is coated onto the inner surface of the capsule wall in order to get a Fe-Pt alloy in the inner section of the Pt-tube.     

Sediment pore-water interactions associated with arsenic and uranium transport from the North Cave Hills mining region,South Dakota,USA

The extent of historical U mining impacts is well documented for the North Cave Hills region of Harding County, South Dakota, USA. While previous studies reported watershed sediment and surface water As and U concentrations up to 90× established background concentrations, it was unclear whether or how localized changes in sediment redox behavior may influence contaminant remobilization. Five pore-water equilibration samplers (peepers) were spatially and temporally deployed within the study area to evaluate seasonal solid–liquid As and U distributions as a function of sediment depth. Pore-water and solid phase As and U concentrations, Fe speciation, Eh and pH were measured to ascertain specific geochemical conditions responsible for As and U remobilization and transport behavior. At a mine overburden sedimentation pond adjacent to the mine sites, high total aqueous As and U concentrations (4920 and 674 μg/L, respectively) were found within surface water during summer sampling; however pond dredging prior to autumn sampling resulted in significantly lower aqueous As and U concentrations (579 and 108 μg/L, respectively); however, both As and U still exceeded regional background concentrations (20 and 18 μg/L, respectively). At a wetlands-dominated deposition zone approximately 2 km downstream of the sedimentation pond, pore-water geochemical conditions varied seasonally. Summer conditions promoted reducing conditions in pore water, resulting in active release of As(III) to the water column. Autumn conditions promoted oxidizing conditions, decreasing pore-water As (As_pw) 5× and increasing U_pw 10×. Peak U pore-water concentrations (781 μg/L) were 3.5× greater than determined for the surface water (226 μg/L), and approximately 40× background concentrations. At the Bowman–Haley reservoir backwaters 45 km downstream from the mine sites, As and U pore-water concentrations increased significantly between the summer and autumn deployments, attributed to increased Fe reduction processes. Geochemical modeling suggests solid-phase Fe reduction promotes the liberation of pore-water As and U via suppressing the formation of thioarsenite. Intermittent hydrological processes facilitate As and U transport and deposition throughout the watershed, while biogeochemical-influenced redox changes cycle As and U between pore and surface water within localized environments.     

The Use of Multiple Reference Samples for the Monitoring of Ion Microprobe Performance During Zircon 207Pb/206Pb Age Determinations

Data from a series of extended analytical sessions using a range of different zircon reference samples have been used to investigate the periodic derivation of abnormal ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages during microbeam analysis%For the Canberra SHRIMP II, this phenomenon probably results from the presence of a signal at mass 204 that is alien to the Pb spectrum; isotopic fractionation is unlikely to be a significant contributor. In contrast, abnormal ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages obtained from SHRIMP I at the same research centre require a different, but as yet unknown explanation. Assessment of the reasons for atypical ^207Pb/²⁰⁶Pb measurements and the means of correcting for them should therefore be independently assessed for individual analytical instruments. The use of reference samples with very different ages is an effective way of doing this, because older reference samples are more useful for documenting isotopic fractionation, whereas younger ones are more sensitive indicators of isobaric interference.     

滇西保山地块金厂河Fe- Cu- Pb- Zn矽卡岩型多金属矿床黑柱石成因及地质意义

黑柱石是一种矽卡岩型铅锌及铁矿床中少见的矿物,与铅锌矿体、磁铁矿体关系密切。为查明黑柱石成矿过程中与铅锌铁铜多金属成矿作用的关系,本文对金厂河Fe- Cu- Pb- Zn多金属矿床中的黑柱石产状、矿物共生组合、化学成分、分带性等开展了研究。根据电子探针数据计算可得,金厂河矿区黑柱石的化学式为:Ca0. 95- 1. 08(Fe0. 87- 1. 97Mn0. 08- 0. 36Mg0. 01- 0. 06)2+(1. 89- 2. 03)(Fe0. 82- 1. 04Al0. 01- 0. 03)3+(0. 88- 1. 15)[Si1. 94- 2. 08O7]O(OH)。结合矿物组合类型、产状、分带特征等,推测矿床内矽卡岩由内带逐渐向外带交代的趋势。金厂河矿区主要有3种矿物共生组合：黑柱石+磁铁矿组合,黑柱石+磁铁矿+黄铁矿+黄铜矿组合,黑柱石+方铅矿+闪锌矿+黄铜矿组合,分别对应三个不同的蚀变阶段：晚期矽卡岩阶段（代表组合I）,以石榴子石的分解为主,形成大量的黑柱石;退蚀变阶段（代表组合II）,以阳起石、黄铜矿、黄铁矿发育为主;石英- 硫化物阶段（代表组合III）,以发育大量的方铅矿、闪锌矿为主,同时这一阶段内黑柱石分解,形成阳起石、方解石、磁铁矿等。此外,黑柱石的稀土元素配分模式与石榴子石的类似,一定程度上保留了石榴子石的稀土元素特征。研究认为：黑柱石是早期石榴子石退化分解的产物,矿床自内向外逐渐交代,形成了铅锌铜矿体中以锰质黑柱石为主,而磁铁矿体、铜矿体中以含锰黑柱石为主的分带特性。锰质黑柱石有利于铅锌矿的形成,而对于磁铁矿有贫化的影响,同时也可为矿区揭露中酸性岩体和深部找矿提供重要科学意义。