Some critical factors for engineering and environmental microgravity investigations

The gravity method is one of the geophysical tools used for engineering and environmental investigations where the detection of cavities, karst phenomena, subsoil irregularities, or landfills is essential. In many cases, deep or small-scale heterogeneities generating low-amplitude anomalies have to be detected and the reliability of further interpretation requires highly accurate measurements, carefully corrected for any quantifiable disturbing effects. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors likely to limit measurement quality and how to make improvements.Calibrations of a Scintrex gravimeter were made between French relative and absolute base stations, and the relative uncertainties on the calibration factors were estimated for these links. Ranging from 10⁻³, for calibration on an old gravity net, to 10⁻⁴, for a high amplitude absolute base line, this accuracy will be generally sufficient for microgravity surveys.Continuous gravity recordings of Scintrex gravimeters, installed at the same stable site, enabled the estimation of the stability and accuracy of the instruments and revealed that some of the time variations of g measurements, such as instrumental drift, tidal effects and seismic noise, are not entirely removed by standard processing procedures. The accuracy of corrected gravity measurements is mainly limited by inadequate corrections of tidal effects and by a poor estimation of ocean loading effects. In comparison with residual defaults in tidal corrections, instrumental and seismic noises are taken more properly into account by statistical data processing.In field operation, residual tidal effects are generally integrated into an experimental terrain drift estimated on the basis of frequent repeated measurements. A differential gravity approach, based on a fixed gravimeter reference whose recordings are used to correct measurements made with a mobile gravimeter, has also been investigated at a test site. Compared to standard processing, this method can help improve repeatability of gravity measurements.Microgravity surveys in the urban environment require effective and accurate consideration of the effects of infrastructures, nearby buildings and basements, as well as those of topography, in the vicinity of a gravity station. Correction procedures, applied at the same experimental site, where gravity points are located close to buildings, walls and basement slope, appear to have almost totally eliminated these disturbances.     

Evaluation of optical remote sensing-based shallow water bathymetry for recursive mapping

Water depth estimation using optical remote sensing offers a reliable and efficient means of mapping coastal zones. Here, we aim to find a suitable model for fast and practical bathymetry of an estuary using Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) Linear Imaging Self Scanning Sensor (LISS-3) images. The study examines three different models; (1) least square regression model, (2) spectral band-ratio method and (3) multi-tidal bathymetry model. The findings are supported with in situ observed depth values and statistical estimates. Although the least square regression model has provided best results with root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.4 m, it requires a large number of observed data points for absolute depth estimation. Spectral band-ratio and multi-tidal model provides results with RMSEs 2.1 and 0.9 m, respectively. The present investigation demonstrates that multi-date imagery exploitation at disparate tide levels is the best estimation technique for recursive shallow water bathymetry where in situ observation is not possible.     

Pb isotopic variability in the modern-Pleistocene Indus River system measured by ion microprobe in detrital K-feldspar grains

The western Himalaya, Karakoram and Tibet are known to be heterogeneous with regard to Pb isotope compositions in K-feldspars, which allows this system to be used as a sediment provenance tool. We used secondary ion mass spectrometry to measure the isotopic character of silt and sand-sized grains from the modern Sutlej and Chenab Rivers, together with Thar Desert sands, in order to constrain their origin. The rivers show a clear Himalayan provenance, contrasting with grains from the Indus Suture Zone, but with overlap to known Karakoram compositions. The desert dunes commonly show ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb values that are much higher than those seen in the rivers, most consistent with erosion from Nanga Parbat. This implies at least some origin from the trunk Indus, probably reworked by summer monsoon winds from the SW, a hypothesis supported by bulk Nd and U-Pb zircon dating. Further data collected from Holocene and Pleistocene sands shows that filled and abandoned channels on the western edge of the Thar Desert were sourced from Himalayan rivers before and at 6-8 ka, but that after that time the proportion of high isotopic ratio grains rose, indicating increased contribution from the Thar Desert dunes prior to ∼4.5 ka when flow ceased entirely. This may be linked to climatic drying, northward expansion of the Thar Desert, or changes in drainage style including regional capture, channel abandonment, or active local Thar tributaries. Our data further show a Himalayan river channel east of the present Indus, close to the delta, in the Nara River valley during the middle Holocene. While this cannot be distinguished from the Indus it is not heavily contaminated by reworking from the desert. The Pb system shows some use as a provenance tool, but is not effective at demonstrating whether these Nara sediments represent a Ghaggar-Hakra stream independent from the Indus. Our study highlights an important role for eolian reworking of floodplain sediments in arid rivers such as the Indus.     

Alkaline phosphatase activity in the western English Channel: Elevations induced by high summertime rainfall

Alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) was determined in bulk particulate material and in a single-cell (ELF) assay at station L4 in the western English Channel during the summer of 2007. Throughout this period, the UK experienced its heaviest summertime rainfall since records began in 1914; with the result that riverine run-off into coastal waters was also elevated relative to long-term averages. Between May and August 2007, three distinct periods of elevated river run-off were observed which resulted in salinity minima at L4 on days 141, 190 and 232. An extended period of high river run-off between days 170 and 210 was responsible for decreases in near-surface salinity at L4 from 35.2068 to a minimum on day 190 of 34.7422. This contributed to the development of haline stratification which supported the development of an intense bloom of the centric diatom Chaetoceros debelis, with maximum observed chlorophyll a concentration of 8.69 μg l⁻¹. Minima in salinity, and maxima in chlorophyll concentration on day 190 were coincident with a peak in river-derived dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) of 1.9 μmol l⁻¹ which was >5 times greater than the summertime mean and 24 times the concentrations experienced at L4 on weeks immediately before and after. There was no accompanying increase in dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), and the DIN:DIP ratio increased to 49. With the inherent phosphorus stress that this caused, rates of APA increased from <4 to 42.4 nmolP l⁻¹ h⁻¹. ELF analysis on day 197 identified two taxa actively expressing alkaline phosphatase: the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum micans and ciliate Tiarana sp.     

Biogeographic variability in the physiological response of the cold‐water coral Lophelia pertusa to ocean acidification

While ocean acidification is a global issue, the severity of ecosystem effects is likely to vary considerably at regional scales. The lack of understanding of how biogeographically separated populations will respond to acidification hampers our ability to predict the future of vital ecosystems. Cold‐water corals are important drivers of biodiversity in ocean basins across the world and are considered one of the most vulnerable ecosystems to ocean acidification. We tested the short‐term physiological response of the cold‐water coral Lophelia pertusa to three pH treatments (pH = 7.9, 7.75 and 7.6) for Gulf of Mexico (USA) and Tisler Reef (Norway) populations, and found that reductions in seawater pH elicited contrasting responses. Gulf of Mexico corals exhibited reductions in net calcification, respiration and prey capture rates with decreasing pH. In contrast, Tisler Reef corals showed only slight reductions in net calcification rates under decreased pH conditions while significantly elevating respiration and capture rates. These differences are likely the result of environmental differences (depth, pH, food supply) between the two regions, invoking the potential for local adaptation or acclimatization to alter their response to global change. However, it is also possible that variations in the methodology used in the experiments contributed to the observed differences. Regardless, these results provide insights into the resilience of L. pertusa to ocean acidification as well as the potential influence of regional differences on the viability of species in future oceans.     

Turbulent Dissipation Rate In The Boundary Layer Via Uhf Wind Profiler Doppler Spectral Width Measurements

The study is focused on the retrieval and validation of the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate from spectral width measurements made by a UHF wind profiler in the convective atmospheric boundary layer. The possibility to deduce , which is one of the most important parameters for boundary-layer study and monitoring, from Doppler radar spectral width measurements has a firm theoretical basis established by numerous earlier works. However, the major drawback of this approach lies in various meteorological and instrumental sources of non-turbulent spectral width broadening which have to be recognised and accounted for. In the first part of the study, the theoretical background of the retrieval is detailed and all possible causes of spectral broadening are listed and evaluated. In the second part, the method is applied to four days of UHF diurnal boundary-layer observations, collected during the TRAC-98 experiment, for which in situ aircraft measurements were available. Comparison between radar-retrieved and in situ aircraft measurements yields a fairly good agreement with a linear correlation coefficient of about 0.9 and a residual bias less than 2 × 10^-4 m² s^-3. The analysis of derived from vertical and off-zenith observation leads to the recommendation, that in the boundary layer, where the wind is usually moderate, data collected by off-zenith beams should be used. Indeed, the measurement of the vertical spectral width, less affected by the large-scale broadening factor, can still be altered by the ground clutter removal.     

High-technology industries in Korea: Spatial linkages and policy implications

This study seeks to analyze spatial linkages of high-technology (high-tech) firms in Korea and to suggest directions for high-tech industrial development policies for regional economic development. The data were derived from questionnaire and interview surveys conducted in high-tech firms throughout Korea. Patterns of spatial linkages and the intensity of local linkages of input materials, output sales, business services, and high-tech labor forces were analyzed. Characteristics of regions and high-tech firms are identified as significant dimensions in determining the intensity of local linkages of input and output materials. Four types of possible high-tech clusters, self-supporting, redeveloping, assembling, and dependent, are also identified based on the characteristics of regions and high-tech firms. Policy implications for successful high-tech industrial development in Korea are suggested from a consideration of the four types of high-tech cluster.