A new one-dimensional simple energy balance and carbon cycle coupled model for global warming simulation

Global warming and accompanying climate change may be caused by an increase in atmospheric greenhouse gasses generated by anthropogenic activities. In order to supply such a mechanism of global warming with a quantitative underpinning, we need to understand the multifaceted roles of the Earth's energy balance and material cycles. In this study, we propose a new one-dimensional simple Earth system model. The model consists of carbon and energy balance submodels with a north–south zonal structure. The two submodels are coupled by interactive feedback processes such as CO₂ fertilization of net primary production (NPP) and temperature dependencies of NPP, soil respiration, and ocean surface chemistry. The most important characteristics of the model are not only that the model requires a relatively short calculation time for carbon and energy simulation compared with a General Circulation Model (GCM) and an Earth system Model of Intermediate Complexity (EMIC), but also that the model can simulate average latitudinal variations. In order to analyze the response of the Earth system due to increasing greenhouse gasses, several simulations were conducted in one dimension from the years 1750 to 2000. Evaluating terrestrial and oceanic carbon uptake output of the model in the meridional direction through comparison with observations and satellite data, we analyzed the time variation patterns of air temperature in low- and middle-latitude belts. The model successfully reproduced the temporal variation in each latitude belt and the latitudinal distribution pattern of carbon uptake. Therefore, this model could more accurately demonstrate a difference in the latitudinal response of air temperature than existing models. As a result of the model evaluations, we concluded that this new one-dimensional simple Earth system model is a good tool for conducting global warming simulations. From future projections using various emission scenarios, we showed that the spatial distribution of terrestrial carbon uptake may vary greatly, not only among models used for climate change simulations, but also amongst emission scenarios.     

Influence of various factors on the difference in the liquid limit values determined by Casagrande’s and fall cone method

As there are many correlations linking the liquid limit directly or indirectly with various engineering properties of the soil, the accurate determination of the liquid limit is quite essential. Generally, two methods, i.e. Casagrande’s and fall cone are adopted to determine the liquid limit of soil. Research was carried out to study the influence of the properties of bentonite and the presence of the salt solution on the liquid limit values of soil-bentonite mixtures determined by the Casagrande’s and fall cone methods. The results showed that irrespective of the presence of the type of bentonite or salt solution, a higher value of the liquid limit was obtained by the Casagrande’s method as compared to the fall cone method. However, the difference between the two methods decreased with the decrease in the liquid limit, clay fraction, specific surface area and free swelling capacity of the bentonite present in the mixture. Similarly, the difference in the liquid limit values obtained by both these methods is reduced with an increase in the salt concentration.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987112000643

Incipient charnockites represent granulite formation on a mesoscopic scale and have received considerable attention in understanding fluid processes in the deep crust.Here we report new petrological data from an incipient charnockite locality at Rajapalaiyam in the Madurai Block,southern India,and discuss the petrogenesis based on mineral phase equilibrium modeling and pseudosection analysis. Rajapalaiyam is a key locality in southern India from where diagnostic mineral assemblages for ultrahigh-temperature（UHT） metamorphism have been reported.Proximal to the UHT rocks are patches and lenses of charnockite（Kfs + Qtz + Pl + Bt + Opx + Grt + Ilm） occurring within Opx-free Grt-Bt gneiss（Kfs + Pl + Qtz + Bt + Grt + Ilm + Mt） which we report in this study.The application of mineral equilibrium modeling on the charnockitic assemblage in NCKFMASHTO system yields a p-T range of～820℃and～9 kbar.Modeling of the charnockite assemblage in the MnNCKFMASHTO system indicates a slight shift of the equilibrium condition toward lower p and T（～760℃and～7.5 kbar）. which is consistent with the results obtained from geothermobarometry（710—760℃,6.7—7.5 kbar）. but significantly lower than the peak temperatures（>1000℃） recorded from the UHT rocks in this locality,suggesting that charnockitization is a post-peak event.The modeling of T versus molar H₂O content in the rock（M（H₂O）） demonstrates that the Opx-bearing assemblage in charnockite and Opxfree assemblage in Grt-Bt gneiss are both stable at M（H₂O） = 0.3 mol%-0.6 mol%.and there is no significant difference in water activity between the two domains.Our finding is in contrast to the previous petrogenetic model of incipient charnockite formation which envisages lowering of water activity and stabilization of orthopyroxene through breakdown of biotite by dehydration caused by the infiltration of CO₂-rich fluid.T-X_Fe³⁺（= Fe₂O₃/（FeO + Fe₂O₃） in mole） pseudosections suggest that the oxidation condition of the rocks played a major role on the stability of orthopyroxene:Opx is stable at X_Fe³⁺ <0.03 in charnockite.while Opx-free assemblage in Grt-Bt gneiss is stabilized at X_Fe³⁺ >0.12.Such low oxygen fugacity conditions of X_Fe³⁺ <0.03 in the charnockite compared to Grt-Bt gneiss might be related to the infiltration of a reduced fluid（e.g.,H₂O + CH₄） during the retrograde stage.     

He+ ion implantation and electron irradiation effects on cathodoluminescence of plagioclase

Cathodoluminescence (CL) spectra of unirradiated, He⁺ ion-implanted and electron-irradiated plagioclase minerals contain the following emission bands: (1) below 300 nm due to Pb²⁺, (2) at ~320 and ~350 nm to Ce³⁺, (3) at 380–420 nm to Eu²⁺, Ti⁴⁺ and/or Al–O^?–Al/Ti defects, (4) at 560–580 nm to Mn²⁺ and (5) at 720–760 nm to Fe³⁺. During the implantation of He⁺ ion, much of their energy may be dissipated by partial destruction and strain of the feldspar framework, resulting in quenching of CL. Deconvolution of CL spectra acquired from albite and oligoclase reveals an emission component at 1.86 eV (666 nm) assigned to a radiation-induced defect center associated with Na⁺ atoms. As its intensity increases with radiation dose, this emission component has potential for geodosimetry and geochronometry. Electron irradiation causes Na⁺ migration in plagioclase, and then a considerable reduction in intensity of emissions assigned to impurity centers, which is responsible for an alteration in the energy state or a decrease in luminescence efficiency following the change of activation energy. Emission intensity at 1.86 eV positively correlates with electron irradiation time for unimplanted and He⁺ ion-implanted albite and oligoclase, but negatively for the implanted albite above 1.07 × 10^?4 C/cm². It implies that radiation halo produced by α-particles should not be measured using CL spectroscopy to estimate β radiation dose on albite in the high radiation level.     

Geometry of stress function surfaces for an asymmetric continuum

A two-dimensional stress field of dislocation or fault is geometrically studied for an asymmetric continuum. For geometric surfaces of the stress and couple-stress functions, the mean and Gaussian curvatures are derived. The mean curvature of couple-stress function surface is connected with the asymmetric of stress tensor. Moreover, the Gaussian curvature of stress function surface is characterized by both the stress and couple-stress. On the other hand, the mean curvature of stress function surface is not affected by the asymmetry of stress. Based on these geometric expressions, the Coulomb’s failure criterion and the friction coefficient are expressed by the curvatures of couple-stress function surface. Moreover, geometric structures of stress and couple stress function surfaces are shown for edge and wedge dislocations as faults. The curvatures of these surfaces show that the effect of couple-stress is constrained around the dislocations only.     

Interannual variability of North Pacific eastern subtropical mode water formation in the 1990s derived from a 4-dimensional variational ocean data assimilation experiment

The interannual variability of eastern subtropical mode water (ESTMW) formation in the North Pacific is examined using a new ocean dataset constructed by a 4-dimensional variational data assimilation experiment covering the decade of the 1990s. The volume of newly formed ESTMW varies due to interannual variability in the following three physical processes taking place in the surface layer: (1) convergence in the transport of surface saline water induced by Ekman flow in the vicinity of the formation region, (2) thermal stratification in the preconditioning phase in association with the insolation anomaly induced largely by low-level cloud coverage, and (3) wintertime surface cooling in the eastern subtropics. We find that, in addition to the surface forcing, the properties of both the ESTMW and the upper mixed-layer water are broadly controlled by the volume of the new ESTMW component, and that the variations in the upper mixed-layer water affect the properties of ESTMW formed in the following winter. Due to the combined effect of these processes, the ESTMW subducts down to subsurface layers with a wide range of σ_θ values lying between 24.8 and 25.4 and with significant interannual variation in water mass formation.     

Validation of TRMM Precipitation Radar satellite data over Indonesian region

Research has been conducted to validate monthly and seasonal rain rates derived from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Precipitation Radar (PR) using rain gauge data analysis from 2004 to 2008. The study area employed 20 gauges across Indonesia to monitor three Indonesian regional rainfall types. The relationship of PR and rain gauge data statistical analysis included the linear correlation coefficient, the mean bias error (MBE), and the root mean square error (RMSE). Data validation was conducted with point-by-point analysis and spatial average analysis. The general results of point-by-point analysis indicated satellite data values of medium correlation, while values of MBE and RMSE tended to indicate underestimations with high square errors. The spatial average analysis indicated the PR data values are lower than gauge values of monsoonal and semi-monsoonal type rainfall, while anti-monsoonal type rainfall was overestimated. The validation analysis showed very good correlation with the gauge data of monsoonal type rainfall, high correlation for anti-monsoonal type rainfall, but medium correlation for semi-monsoonal type rainfall. In general, the statistical error level of monthly seasonal monsoonal type conditions is more stable compared to other rainfall types. Unstable correlations were observed in months of high rainfall for semi-monsoonal and anti-monsoonal type rainfall.     

Millennial-scale oscillations of the westerly jet path during the last glacial period

It has been established that East Asian summer monsoon intensity varies with Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles, suggesting a connection between the climates of East Asia and the North Atlantic on a millennial timescale. However, the dynamics of such a connection are still unsolved. Here we demonstrate that temporal changes in the provenance of aeolian dust in Japan Sea sediments, which we interpret to reflect changes in the westerly jet path over East Asia, exhibit variations in harmony with Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles. The dominance of dust with a Mongolian Gobi provenance during stadials suggests a westerly jet axis located to the south of the Himalaya–Tibetan Plateau throughout most of the year, whereas the co-dominance of dust from both the Taklimakan Desert and the Mongolian Gobi during interstadials suggests that the westerly jet axis jumped to the north of the Tibetan Plateau at latest in summer. As the shift of the westerly jet axis to the north of the Tibetan Plateau is closely related to the onset of the East Asian summer monsoon, changes of the westerly jet path apparently critically affect the teleconnection between the climates of Asia and North Atlantic on a millennial timescale.     

Decline in heavy metal contamination in marine sediments in Jakarta Bay,Indonesia due to increasing environmental regulations

The ²¹⁰Pb geochronology, heavy metal concentrations (Zn, Cu, and Pb), and stable Pb isotope ratios (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb) of three sediment cores collected from Jakarta Bay were analyzed to decipher the history of heavy metal contamination in the period 1900–2006. The chemical and isotopic analyses clearly suggest that anthropogenic metal accumulation in the sediments began in the 1920s and increased greatly from the 1970s until the end of the 1990s. From the end of the 1990s to 2006, accumulation rates were constant or decreased for Zn and Pb near the coastal industrialized area. Comparison of economic data and sociological information suggests that the decline in the concentrations of heavy metals could be attributed to the stricter environmental regulations which were enforced at the end of 1990s. However, metal contamination is currently still an important cause of concern in dealing with environmental preservation and protection in Jakarta Bay.