Carbon dioxide and methane dynamics in a sub-Arctic peatland in northern Finland

We studied carbon dynamics on various surface parts of a highly patterned fen, typical in northern Finland, to examine the importance of different microsites to the areal carbon fluxes. The studies were carried out in June-September 1995 on a mesotrophic flark fen (an aapa mire) in Kaamanen (69°08'N, 27° 17'E). Wet flarks, moist lawns and dry strings accounted for 60%, 10% and 30% of the surface area, respectively. A static chamber technique was applied to measure the CH₄ exchange, the instantaneous net ecosystem exchange (NEE, transparent chamber) and the ecosystem respiration (R_tot' opaque chamber) in several microsites. The static chamber results were compared with those obtained by the eddy covariance technique. The mean daytime areal net ecosystem CO₂ exchange rate measurement in conditions where photosynthesis was light saturated (PAR>400 μmol m_-2 s_-1) varied during the measurement period from −59 mg CO₂-C m⁻²h⁻¹ (release) to 250 (uptake). The mean CH₄ emission during the measuring period was 78 mg CH_4-Cm⁻² d⁻¹ on the flarks, 68 mg on the lawn and 6.0 mg on the strings. The strings without shrubs (mainly Betula nana ) were in general net sources of CO₂, even during the middle of the growing season, whereas the lawns, flarks and also strings growing B. nana showed a daytime net uptake of CO₂. Areally integrated chamber results showed lower CO₂ and higher CH₄ fluxes than predicted from the eddy covariance measurements.     

Extreme wave events and sampling variability

Ocean Dynamics - Wave field data are affected not only by the accuracy of instruments recording them but also by sampling variability, an uncertainty due to the limited number of observations. For...     

Computations with finite element methods for the Brinkman problem

Various finite element families for the Brinkman flow (or Stokes–Darcy flow) are tested numerically. Particularly, the effect of small permeability is studied. The tested finite elements are the MINI element, the Taylor–Hood element, and the stabilized equal order methods. The numerical tests include both a priori analysis and adaptive methods.     

Correlation of ice load with large-scale and local meteorological conditions in Hungary

Conditional probability of icing in correlation with local weather elements, as well as with different macrocirculation types are investigated on the basis of 23 years of daily observations for two stations situated in the Pannonian Plain (Debrecen) and in mountainous region (Kékestetö, 1000 m above sea-level). Empirical histograms are calculated and a theoretical model of the distribution is elaborated. Ice is generally twice as frequent at night as during the day. Icing is 5–6 times as frequent on the top of the hill as on the plain, especially considering larger water-contents. Macrosynoptic conditions favourable for icing are essentially different in the two circumstances. At the higher altitude icing is more frequent in cyclonic situations. Considerable load is often accompanied with southwesterly, southerly currents. On the plain station however the anticyclonic situations are somewhat more frequently accompanied with ice formation. Wind speed is practically indifferent at the top of the hill, but on the plain ice formation prefers low wind speeds. These differences are in coincidence with the a priori information of the different nature of ice load. Namely, at the top of hill in-cloud icing is the predominant form, while on the plain fine rime and frozen precipitation represent the overwhelming majority of ice load events. No clear differences in probabilities of icing in any of the above relations appear, however, between the two perpendicular directions of measuring devices. From among the possible applications of the results, a local scenario on ice load changes assuming a 0.5 K global warming is presented.     

Experimental and modelling investigations of the biogeochemistry of gas production from low and intermediate level radioactive waste

The degradation of organic wastes and the corrosion of metallic wastes and steel containers in low and intermediate level radioactive waste (LLW/ILW) repositories are important processes that affect repository geochemistry and the speciation and transport of radionuclides. Gas is generated in association with these degradation processes and this has the potential to overpressure the repository, which can promote transport of groundwater and gas, and consequently radionuclide transport. Microbial activity plays an important role in organic degradation, corrosion and gas generation through the mediation of reduction–oxidation reactions.