Procedure of embedding biological action functions into the atmospheric transmittance

In order to perform calculations of biologically effective irradiance, the usual procedure is to modulate the ground-measured spectral solar irradiance with a specific biological action function. The inconvenience is that only a few meteorological stations worldwide are equipped to measure the spectral solar irradiance in the ultraviolet range. This motivates the search for a numerical substitute, which constitutes the subject of this report. An innovative approach based on generalized mean is used to infer the effective atmospheric transmittance. Its illustration resulted in a new parametric model for computing the biological dose under clear sky. The action spectrum for the growth response of plants, as a carrier of biological effects, is encapsulated into the atmospheric transmittance, leading to the calculation of the effective irradiance by simple algebra. The overall results indicate that the new parametric model performs accurately enough to be routinely used in practice. The procedure is general; therefore, it is described in detail to guide potential users in developing similar models incorporating other biological action spectra as needed. For speed-intensive applications, an executable file intended to run on any PC, which computes the effective irradiance with the proposed model, is provided.     

Assessment of vulnerability for rockfalls in Cozia Gorge (Southern Carpathians,Romania)

Natural Hazards - Rockfalls represents a sudden, extremely important geomorphological hazard and may become a threat for people’s life, as well as goods and transport. The present study aims...     

Cosmogenic 21Ne analysis of individual detrital grains: Opportunities and limitations

We use a numerical model describing cosmogenic nuclide acquisition in sediment moving through the upper Gaub River catchment to evaluate the extent to which aspects of source area geomorphology and geomorphological processes can be inferred from frequency distributions of cosmogenic ²¹Ne (²¹Ne_c) concentrations in individual detrital grains. The numerical model predicts the pathways of sediment grains from their source to the outlet of the catchment and calculates the total ²¹Ne_c concentration that each grain acquires along its pathway. The model fully accounts for variations in nuclide production due to changes in latitude, altitude and topographic shielding and allows for spatially variable erosion and sediment transport rates. Model results show that the form of the frequency distribution of ²¹Ne_c concentrations in exported sediment is sensitive to the range and spatial distribution of processes operating in the sediment's source areas and that this distribution can be used to infer the range and spatial distribution of erosion rates that characterise the catchment. The results also show that lithology can affect the form of the ²¹Ne_c concentration distribution indirectly by exerting control on the spatial pattern of denudation in a catchment. Model results further indicate that the form of the distribution of ²¹Ne_c concentrations in the exported sediment can also be affected by the acquisition of ²¹Ne_c after detachment from bedrock, in the diffusive (hillslope) and/or advective (fluvial) domains. However, for such post‐detachment nuclide acquisition to be important, this effect needs to at least equal the nuclide acquisition prior to detachment from bedrock. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.     

(137)Cs baseline levels in the Mediterranean and Black Sea: a cross-basin survey of the CIESM Mediterranean Mussel Watch programme

The common mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis was selected as unique biomonitor species to implement a regional monitoring programme, the CIESM Mediterranean Mussel Watch (MMW), in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. As of today, and upon standardization of the methodological approach, the MMW Network has been able to quantify (137)Cs levels in mussels from 60 coastal stations and to produce the first distribution map of this artificial radionuclide at the scale of the entire Mediterranean and Black Seas. While measured (137)Cs levels were found to be very low (usually < 1 Bq kg(-1) wet wt) (137)Cs activity concentrations in the Black Sea and North Aegean Sea were up to two orders of magnitude higher than those in the western Mediterranean Basin. Such effects, far from representing a threat to human populations or the environment, reflect a persistent signature of the Chernobyl fallout in this area.     

The impact of climatic and non-climatic factors on land surface temperature in southwestern Romania

Land surface temperature is one of the most important parameters related to global warming. It depends mainly on soil type, discontinuous vegetation cover, or lack of precipitation. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between high LST, synoptic conditions and air masses trajectories, vegetation cover, and soil type in one of the driest region in Romania. In order to calculate the land surface temperature and normalized difference vegetation index, five satellite images of LANDSAT missions 5 and 7, covering a period of 26 years (1986–2011), were selected, all of them collected in the month of June. The areas with low vegetation density were derived from normalized difference vegetation index, while soil types have been extracted from Corine Land Cover database. HYSPLIT application was employed to identify the air masses origin based on their backward trajectories for each of the five study cases. Pearson, logarithmic, and quadratic correlations were used to detect the relationships between land surface temperature and observed ground temperatures, as well as between land surface temperature and normalized difference vegetation index. The most important findings are: strong correlation between land surface temperature derived from satellite images and maximum ground temperature recorded in a weather station located in the area, as well as between areas with land surface temperature equal to or higher than 40.0 °C and those with lack of vegetation; the sandy soils are the most prone to high land surface temperature and lack of vegetation, followed by the chernozems and brown soils; extremely severe drought events may occur in the region.     

Magmagenesis in a subduction-related post-collisional volcanic arc segment: the Ukrainian Carpathians

Calc-alkaline magmatism in the south-west Ukraine occurred between 13.8 and 9.1 Ma and formed an integral part of the Neogene subduction-related post-collisional Carpathian volcanic arc. Eruptions occurred contemporaneously in two parallel arcs (here termed Outer Arc and Inner Arc) in the Ukrainian part of the Carpathians. Outer Arc rocks, mainly andesites, are characterized by LILE enrichment (e.g. K and Pb), Nb depletion, low compatible trace element abundances, high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, high δ¹⁸O and low ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd isotopic ratios (0.7085–0.7095, 7.01–8.53, 0.51230–0.51245, respectively). Inner Arc rocks are mostly dacites and rhyolites with some basaltic and andesitic lavas. They also show low compatible element abundances but have lower ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, δ¹⁸O and higher ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios (0.7060–0.7085, 6.15–6.64, 0.5125–0.5126, respectively) than Outer Arc rocks. Both high-Nb and low-Nb lithologies are present in the Inner Arc. Based on the LILE enrichment (especially Pb), a higher fluid flux is suggested for the Outer Arc magmas compared with those of the Inner Arc.

Combined trace element and Sr–Nd–O isotopic modelling suggests that the factors which controlled the generation and evolution of magmas were complex. Compositional differences between the Inner and Outer Arcs were produced by introduction of variable proportions of slab-derived sediments and fluids into a heterogeneous mantle wedge, and by different extents of upper crustal contamination. Degrees of magmatic fractionation also differed between the two arcs. The most primitive magmas belong to the Inner Arc. Isotopic modelling shows that they can be produced by adding 3–8% subducted terrigenous flysch sediments to the local mantle wedge source. Up to 5% upper crustal contamination has been modelled for fractionated products of the Inner Arc. The geochemical features of Outer Arc rocks suggest that they were generated from mantle wedge melts similar to the Inner Arc primitive magmas, but were strongly affected by both source enrichment and upper crustal contamination. Assimilation of 10–20% bulk upper crust is required in the AFC modelling, assuming an Inner Arc parental magma. We suggest that magmagenesis is closely related to the complex geotectonic evolution of the Carpathian area. Several tectonic and kinematic factors are significant: (1) hydration of the asthenosphere during subduction and plate rollback directly related to collisional processes; (2) thermal disturbance caused by ascent of hot asthenospheric mantle during the back-arc opening of the Pannonian Basin; (3) clockwise translational movements of the Intracarpathian terranes, which facilitated eruption of the magmas.     

Unsteady free convection flow past an infinite plate with constant suction and heat sources

An analysis of a two-dimensional unsteady free convective flow of an incompressible viscous fluid past an infinite vertical porous plate has been carried out under the following conditions: (i) constant suction, (ii) the plate temperature oscillating in time about a constant non-zero mean, (iii) presence of the temperature-dependent sources in the fluid. Approximate solutions have been derived for the mean velocity and temperature fields, the transient velocity and temperature fields, the amplitude and the phase of the skin-friction and the rate of heat transfer. It is shown that an increase inS (the source-strength), leads to an increase in the value of |B| (the amplitude of the skin-friction) and |Q| (the amplitude of the rate of heat transfer), in case of air, but in case of water |B| and |Q| decrease.     

A model for the propagation of nonlinear surface waves over viscous muds

The effect of a thin viscous fluid–mud layer on nearshore nonlinear wave–wave interactions is studied using a parabolic frequency-domain nonlinear wave model, modified to incorporate a bottom dissipation mechanism based on a viscous boundary layer approach. The boundary-layer formulation allows for explicit calculation of the mud-induced wave damping rate. The model performed well in tests based on laboratory data. Numerical tests show that damping of high frequency waves occurs, mediated by “difference” nonlinear interactions. Simulations of 2-dimensional wave propagation over a mud “patch” of finite extent show that the wave dissipation causes significant downwave diffraction effects.     

Light curve shape variability of SZ cassiopeiae between 1978–1994

The aim of our investigation was toapproach the problem of identification for possiblevariability of light curve shape in case of theclassical Cepheid SZ Cassiopeiae. In order to performsuch a study we analysed eight observational data setsobtained through V photoelectrical photometry,covering a time base of 16 years. We applied theFourier decomposition technique to each data set; theobtained Fourier coefficients were used to calculatethe corresponding amplitude ratios and phasedifferences. Their time behavior were finally studiedin order to search for evidences of the variability ofthe light curve shape.