Use of SARAL/AltiKa Observations for Modeling River Flow

In the absence of many gauging stations in the major and mighty river systems, there is a need for satellite-based observations to estimate temporal variations in the river water storage and associated water management. In this study, SARAL/AltiKa application for setting up hydraulic model (HEC-RAS) and river flow simulations over Tapi River India has been discussed. Waveform data of 40 Hz from Ka band altimeter has been used for water levels retrieval in the Tapi river. SARAL/AltiKa retrieved water levels were converted to discharge in the upstream location (track-926) using the rating curve available for the nearby gauging site and using linear spatial interpolation technique. Steady state simulations were done for various flow conditions in the upstream. Validation of river flow model was done in the downstream location (track-367) by comparing simulated and altimeter retrieved water levels (RMSE 0.67 m). Validated model was used to develop rating curve between water levels and simulated discharge for the downstream location which enables to monitor discharge variations from satellite platform in the absence of in situ observations. It has been demonstrated that SARAL/AltiKa data has potential for river flow monitoring and modeling which will feed for flood disaster forecasting, management and planning.     

Effect of reproductive state and sex on movement and food consumption of western rock lobster (Panulirus cygnus) in a tank environment

The catchability of western rock lobsters (Panulirus cygnus) during the spawning season (October and November) may be affected by their reproductive state. In this study, movement and food consumption of males and females of different reproductive states held in laboratory tanks were measured as proxies for catchability. Density of lobsters was found to influence both movement and food consumption. Solitary animals and, to a lesser extent, two lobsters per tank, were more sedentary and consumed significantly less food than animals at a density of three or four specimens per tank. Tests using three animals per tank confirmed that mature, unmated, and ovigerous females carrying early stage eggs moved more frequently away from their shelters than males or females carrying late stage eggs (P < 0.0001, d.f. = 3). Further, unmated females and females with early stage eggs recorded significantly higher food consumption (P < 0.0061, d.f. = 3) compared with males or females carrying late stage eggs. The greater time spent away from shelter and also food consumption make unmated females and females with early stage eggs likely to be more catchable than males or females with late stage eggs. As catchability is commonly used to obtain population estimates from survey data, these results have implications for surveys which use catch rates of breeding animals as indicators of egg production.     

Genetic Diversity and Population Genetic Structure of Korean Black Scraper Thamnaconus modestus in Korea and Japan Based on the mtDNA Marker

Ocean Science Journal - Thamnaconus modestus is a commercially important species that is widely distributed in the Northwest Pacific region. To investigate the genetic diversity, demographic...     

The dissociation constants of carbonic acid in seawater at salinities 5 to 45 and temperatures 0 to 45°C

The pK₁^* and pK₂^* for the dissociation of carbonic acid in seawater have been determined from 0 to 45°C and S = 5 to 45. The values of pK₁^* have been determined from emf measurements for the cell:

Pt](1 − X)H2 + XCO2|NaHCO3, CO2 in synthetic seawater|AgC1; Ag

where X is the mole fraction of CO₂ in the gas. The values of pK₂^* have been determined from emf measurements on the cell:

Pt, H2(g, 1 atm)|Na2CO3, NaHCO3 in synthethic seawater|AgC1; Ag

The results have been fitted to the equations:

lnK^*₁ = 2.83655 − 2307.1266/T − 1.5529413 lnT + (−0.20760841 − 4.0484/T)S^0.5 + 0.08468345S − 0.00654208S¹

InK^*₂ = −9.226508 − 3351.6106/T− 0.2005743 lnT + (−0.106901773 − 23.9722/T)S^0.5 + 0.1130822S − 0.00846934S^1.5

where T is the temperature in K, S is the salinity, and the standard deviations of the fits are σ = 0.0048 in lnK₁^* and σ = 0.0070 in lnK₂^*.Our new results are in good agreement at S = 35 (±0.002 in pK₁^*and ±0.005 in pK₂^*) from 0 to 45°C with the earlier results of Goyet and Poisson (1989). Since our measurements are more precise than the earlier measurements due to the use of the Pt, H₂|AgCl, Ag electrode system, we feel that our equations should be used to calculate the components of the carbonate system in seawater.     

The petroleum evaluation of a tectonically complex area: The western margin of the Southeast Basin (France)

The Southeast Basin of France is the thickest onshore French sedimentary basin which contains locally as much as 10 km of Mesozoic-Cenozoic sediment. Basin development occurred in several stages between late Carboniferous and late Cretaceous times. Partial tectonic inversion took place during two compressive events, the so-called ‘Pyrenean’ and ‘Alpine’ phases of late Cretaceous-early Tertiary and late Tertiary ages respectively. They are separated by an intervening stretching event of Oligocene age, which further south resulted in the opening of the western Mediterranean oceanic basin. As a result of this complex tectonic history, structural traps were difficult to image on the seismic data shot during the first phase of exploration prior to 1980. Oil and gas natural seeps, and shows in several wells, indicate that some petroleum systems are, or have been active, at least in some places.The present erosional western margin of the basin is more or less superimposed on the initial Triassic-Jurassic margin. Margin subsidence and Tertiary inversion are discussed using regional sections on which the polyphase history of the entire basin is well shown. These sections are located on three major segments where the Mesozoic margin is either partly preserved (Ardèche), or has been partly inverted in late Tertiary times (Vercors-Chartreuse), or has been completely inverted in early Tertiary times (Corbières-eastern Pyrenees). 1-D ‘Genex’ basin modelling on the Ardèche segment, and 2-D ‘Thrustpack’ structural-maturity modelling in the Vercors-Chartreuse segment are used to further assess the remaining petroleum plays.     

ENSO related modulation of coastal upwelling in the eastern Atlantic

An index of ENSO in the Pacific during early boreal winter is shown to account for a significant part of the variability of coastal SST anomalies measured a few months later within the wind driven West African coastal upwelling region from 10°N to 26°N. This teleconnection is thought to result from an atmospheric bridge between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, leading to warm (cold) ENSO events being associated with a relaxation (intensification) of the Atlantic trade winds and of the wind-induced coastal upwelling. This ENSO related modulation of the wind-driven coastal upwelling appears to contribute to the connection observed at the basin-scale between ENSO and SST in the north Atlantic. The ability to use this teleconnection to give warnings of large changes in the West African upwelling several months in advance is successfully tested using data from the 1998 and 1999 ENSO events.     

Assessing Risks of Shallow Riparian Groundwater Quality Near an Oil Sands Tailings Pond

The potential discharge of groundwater contaminated by oil sands process‐affected water (OSPW) is a concern for aquatic ecosystems near tailings ponds. Groundwater in the area, but unaffected by OSPW, may contain similar compounds, complicating the assessment of potential ecological impacts. In this study, 177 shallow groundwater samples were collected from riparian areas along the Athabasca River and tributaries proximate to oil sands developments. For “pond‐site” samples (71; adjacent to study tailings pond), Canadian aquatic life guidelines were exceeded for 11 of 20 assessed compounds. However, “non‐pond” samples (54; not near any tailings pond) provided similar exceedances. Statistical analyses indicate that pond‐site and non‐pond samples were indistinguishable for all but seven parameters assessed, including salts, many trace metals, and fluorescence profiles of aromatic naphthenic acids (ANA). This suggests that, regarding the tested parameters, groundwater adjacent to the study tailings pond generally poses no greater ecological risk than other nearby groundwaters at this time. Multivariate analyses applied to the groundwater data set separated into 11 smaller zones support this conclusion, but show some variation between zones. Geological and potential OSPW influences could not be distinguished based on major ions and metals concentrations. However, similarities in indicator parameters, namely ANA, F, Mo, Se, and Na‐Cl ratio, were noted between a small subset of samples from two pond‐site zones and two OSPW samples and two shallow groundwater samples documented as likely OSPW affected. This indicator‐based screening suggests that OSPW‐affected groundwater may be reaching Athabasca River sediments at a few locations.     

Representativeness of total ozone trends as derived from satellite BUV and ground-based measurements

The information content of the 7-year BUV data set has been reexamined by a comparison with a fairly large set of ground Dobson and M-83 instruments. The satellite-ground intercomparison of total ozone was done under different types of ground observation techniques (observation code) and different instrument exposure (exposure code) and for various distances of the subsatellite point from the station. Because of the existing latitudinal gradient in total ozone, at a given station the bias ground-BUV tends to be smaller when the subsatellite point is at a latitude higher than the station's latitude. Knowing the total ozone gradient at a given station, the BUV total ozone has been corrected to account for the ozone gradient and the correlation was calculated with the corresponding ground observations. These correlations seem to offer no improvement when compared with the correlations between the ground ozone and the actual BUV ozone at distances of the subsatellite point from the station within 200 km from the station used in previous studies. The seasonal variation of the BUV-ground correlation reveals information on the noise level of the measurements and the geographical distribution of the percentage mean bias: (Ground-BUV)×100/(Ground) is discussed. Both on short and on longer time scales it appears that the BUV derived recommended total ozone data set is reasonably good and possible instrumental drifts are not large. The analysis includes an extension through April 1977 of the BUV and contour-derived total ozone trends byLondon andLing (1980). Over the northern hemisphere both data sets (contour and BUV) show comparable trends over middle and high latitudes which range from –3 D.U./year to –5 D.U./year during the 7-year period April 1970–April 1977. In the southern hemisphere, however, long-term variation in total ozone cannot be determined from ground observations alone. It is concluded that for unknown reasons during the 7-year period of study, total ozone has been decreasing over most of the globe. The negative growth rates at high latitudes of the northern hemisphere are highly significant.     

Trend in chemical composition of precipitation during 2005–2009 at a rural station of Bhubaneswar, eastern India

Precipitation samples collected during 2005–2009 from a rural forest station of Bhubaneswar were analyzed for their chemical composition. The samples were collected through a wet-only (WO) collector and two bulk (B1 and B2) collectors. The ions were evenly balanced indicating good data quality. The overall pH of rainwater was slightly acidic and ~47% of all rain events during the period were acidic (pH?<?5.6). Multilinear regression analysis showed relation between the free acidity (H⁺) and other components in rainwater. Enrichment factors (EF) of the major components with respect to their sources such as marine and crustal were calculated. Maximum EF was observed for NO ₃ ^? for both marine and crustal sources for all the three collectors. Source apportionments were also carried for the ions. Trend analysis showed continuous increase in most of the ions over years during the study period driven by anthropogenic emissions. Statistical/factorial analysis established correlation among different ions.