Assessing the Comparability of Ammonium,Nitrate and Sulfate Concentrations Measured by Three Air Quality Monitoring Networks

Airborne fine particulate matter across the United States is monitored by different networks, the three prevalent ones presently being the Clean Air Status and Trend Network (CASTNet), the Interagency Monitoring of PROtected Visual Environment Network (IMPROVE) and the Speciation and Trend Network (STN). If combined, these three networks provide speciated fine particulate data at several hundred locations throughout the United States. Yet, differences in sampling protocols and samples handling may not allow their joint use. With these concerns in mind, the objective of this study is to assess the spatial and temporal comparability of the sulfate, nitrate and ammonium concentrations reported by each of these networks. One of the major differences between networks is the sampling frequency they adopted. While CASTNet measures pollution levels on seven-day integrated samples, STN and IMPROVE data pertain to 24-hour samples collected every three days. STN and IMPROVE data therefore exhibit considerably more short-term variability than their CASTNet counterpart. We show that, despite their apparent incongruity, averaging the data with a window size of four to six weeks is sufficient to remove the effects of differences in sampling frequency and duration and allow meaningful comparison of the signals reported by the three networks of concern. After averaging, all the sulfate and, to a lesser degree, ammonium concentrations reported are fairly similar. Nitrate concentrations, on the other hand, are still divergent. We speculate that this divergence originates from the different types of filters used to collect particulate nitrate. Finally, using a rotated principal component technique (RPCA), we determined the number and the geographical organization of the significant temporal modes of variation (clusters) detected by each network for the three pollutants of interest. For sulfate and ammonium, the clusters’ geographical boundaries established for each network and the modes of variations within each cluster seem to correspond. RPCA erformed on nitrate concentrations revealed that, for the CASTNet and IMPROVE networks, the modes of variation do not correspond to unified geographical regions but are found more sporadically. For STN, the clustered areas are unified and easily delineable. We conclude that the possibility of jointly using the data collected by CASTNet, IMPROVE and STN has to be weighed pollutant by pollutant. While sulfate and ammonium data show some potential for joint use, at this point, combining the nitrate data from these monitoring networks may not be a judicious choice.     

改进的能量守恒方法及其在CHAMP重力场恢复中的应用

An efficient method for gravity field determination from CHAMP orbits and accelerometer data is referred to as the energy balance approach. A new CHAMP gravity field recovery strategy based on the improved energy balance approach IS developed in this paper. The method simultaneously solves the spherical harmonic coefficients, daily Integration constant, scale and bias parameters. Two 60 degree and order gravitational potential models, XISM-CHAMPO1S from the classical energy balance approach, and XISM-CHAMPO2S from the improved energy balance, are determined using about one year＇s worth of CHAMP kinematic orbits from TUM and accelerometer data from GFZ. Comparisons among XISM-CHAMPO1S, XISM-CHAMPO2S, EIGEN-CGO3C, EIGEN-CHAMPO3S, EIGEN2, ENIGNIS and EGM96 are made. The results show that the XISM-CHAMPO2S model is more accurate than EGM96, EIGENIS, EIGEN2 and XISM-CHAMPO1S at the same degree and order, and has almost the same accuracy as EIGEN-CHAMPO3S.     

Building damage in Dujiangyan during Wenchuan Earthquake

A field damage survey of 1,005 buildings damaged by the Wenchuan Earthquake in Dujiangyan City was carried out and the resulting data was analyzed using the statistical method. It is shown that buildings that were seismically designed achieved the desired seismic fortification target; they sustained less damage than the non-seismically designed buildings. Among the seismically designed buildings investigated, RC frame buildings performed the best in terms of seismic resistance. Masonry buildings with a ground story of RC frame structure were the second best, and masonry buildings performed the worst. Considering building height, multistory buildings sustained more severe damage than high-rise buildings and 2- and 3-story buildings. Compared to residential buildings, public buildings, such as schools and hospitals, suffered more severe damage.     

Iron isotopic analyses of geological reference materials on MC-ICP-MS with instrumental mass bias corrected by three independent methods

Here we report iron (Fe) isotopic data of three pure Fe solution standards (IRMM-014, GSB Fe, and NIST 3126a) and five widely used geological reference materials (RMs) from the United States Geological Survey and Geological Survey of Japan obtained on a Neptune Plus multi-collector–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS) in our laboratory over the past 3 years. The instrumental mass bias was corrected by three independent methods: sample-standard bracketing (SSB), Ni doping?+?SSB, and ⁵⁷Fe–⁵⁸Fe double spike?+?SSB. Measurements reveal that both the Ni doping and double spike methods helped calibrate short-term fluctuations in mass bias. Collectively, almost all measurements of RMs yielded δ⁵⁶Fe within?±?0.05 of recommended values, provided that each sample was measured four times on MC-ICP-MS. For the first time, new recommended values for NIST SRM3126a are reported (δ⁵⁶Fe?=?0.363?±?0.006, 2SE, 95% CI; and δ⁵⁷Fe?=?0.534?±?0.010, 2SE).     

The effect of annealing on the luminescence decay-time of synthetic calcite:Mn

Calcite was synthesized by four methods, and the luminescence decay-time was measured for nine samples before and after heating hydrothermally in the temperature range 200–400°C. Decay-time data were collected between room temperature and approximately 15 K. The decay time at room temperature is approximately 50 ms, with little difference between a given calcite before and after hydrothermal treatment. The decay time at 15 K is always greater than at room temperature as the effect of thermal quenching diminishes. Differences in decay time before and after heating are more apparent at low temperature owing to this reduction in thermal quenching. The decay time decreased significantly in two samples, and an increase in decay time was observed in the remaining seven samples following heating. Among the latter group, the change in decay time was insignificant in three samples. The results are compared with previous data in which it was shown that the effect of heating is to increase the intensity of luminescence.     

Citizens as sensors: the world of volunteered geography

In recent months there has been an explosion of interest in using the Web to create, assemble, and disseminate geographic information provided voluntarily by individuals. Sites such as Wikimapia and OpenStreetMap are empowering citizens to create a global patchwork of geographic information, while Google Earth and other virtual globes are encouraging volunteers to develop interesting applications using their own data. I review this phenomenon, and examine associated issues: what drives people to do this, how accurate are the results, will they threaten individual privacy, and how can they augment more conventional sources? I compare this new phenomenon to more traditional citizen science and the role of the amateur in geographic observation.     

Assessing the vulnerability of social–environmental system from the perspective of hazard,sensitivity, and resilience: a case study of Beijing,China

Despite a recent increase in the number of vulnerability analyses there has been relatively little discussion of vulnerability assessment of social–environment system, especially when they face multiple hazards. In this study, we developed an applicable and convenient method to assess vulnerability of social–environment system at a regional scale. Vulnerability is quantified by measuring three critical elements (i.e. hazards, sensitivity, and resilience) through some key variables. The results showed that vulnerability is high in Miaofeng Mountain in Mengtougou District, the hills of Pinggu County and the riparian zones of the lower courses of the Beiyun and Yongding Rivers; but low in the city of Beijing and the southwestern part of the Fangshan District. Areas of very high, high, medium, and low-vulnerability account for 6.19, 25.48, 33.06, and 35.27% of the total area, respectively. The degree of vulnerability decreases in a northwest direction in mountainous areas and declines from watercourses to riparian zones along a lateral direction in the plain. Some adaptive strategies are also proposed.     

Structural improvement of age-hardened gypsum-treated bauxite red mud waste using readily decomposable phyto-organics

Several years (7) after incidental lithification by added gypsum, the effect of crushing and phyto-organics on some physical properties of red mud wastes (RMW) was examined under laboratory conditions. It was hypothesized that mechanically breaking up the hardened masses would increase their permeability. However, on the contrary, crushing these rock-hard masses into <2-mm particles did not increase permeability. A phyto-organic treatment on the other hand greatly improved permeability of the crushed entities such that infiltration rates increased from 0 to 10 cm/h. After 24 weeks of incubation, the structure of the newly formed phyto-organically treated gypsum-hardened RMW aggregates was also substantially improved over that of the controls, as a >3-fold increase in resistance to disintegration during wet sieving was exhibited by the phyto-organically treated samples. The increase in water infiltration by combining crushing with phyto-organic applications was ascribed to a decrease in particle dispersion, creating more stable clay clusters, which in turn stabilized channels and pores. Conversely, it was concluded that the singular crushing of gypsum-hardened bauxite waste in the waste dumps is potentially wasteful and ineffective.     

Bristen granite: a highly differentiated,fluorite-bearing A-type granite from the Aar massif,Central Alps,Switzerland

Bristen granite is a body of fine-grained leucogranite occurring in the Gotthard rail base tunnel in the Central Alps. During construction of the tunnel, Bristen granite (Brgr) has been drilled along a 600 m long section. The aplite-granite belongs to the suite of Variscan granitoid intrusions of the Aar massif and contains a variety of accessory minerals typical of highly differentiated granites. Rock forming fluorite, partly enriched in yttrium (Y) and rare earth elements (REE), is intergrown with the late Y- and REE-bearing carbonate mineral synchysite. The granite contains a variety of Ti- and Y-REE-niobates, thorite, and zircon. Compared with the calc-alkaline central Aar granite (cAgr), Bristen granite is strongly depleted in Ti, P, Mg, Sr, and Ba and shows a remarkable enrichment in incompatible elements such as Rb, Th, U, Nb, Y, HREE and F. Bristen granite is the most evolved granitoid rock of the Aar massif. The composition of Brgr is typical of post-collisional reduced (ferroan) A-type granites. The Brgr melt formed in the lower crust and crystallized from a highly differentiated melt at the cotectic point in the quartz-feldspar system close to 100 MPa and 700 °C. The Brgr intruded as a small isolated stock pre-Variscan gneisses with sharply discordant contacts. The primary igneous host of Nb, Ta, Y, U, Th and REE is biotite in addition to minor amounts of allanite, and zircon. The presence of Y-REE-fluorite, synchysite, parisite and Y- and Ti-niobates and other REE-minerals can be related to reaction of igneous biotite and primary fluorite with hydrothermal fluids. The reaction is associated with alpine metamorphism, because Y-bearing fluorite and synchysite have been reported from Alpine fissures. The transformation of primary biotite to chlorite and muscovite released the heavy metal oxides under lower greenschist facies conditions that formed the Alpine diagnostic mineral stilpnomelane at about 300 °C.     

Chemical composition of rock-forming minerals and crystallization physicochemical conditions of the Middle Eocene I-type Haji Abad pluton,SW Buin-Zahra,Iran

The Haji Abad intrusion is a well-exposed Middle Eocene I-type granodioritc pluton in the Urumieh–Dokhtar magmatic assemblage (UDMA). The major constituents of the investigated rocks are K-feldspar, quartz, plagioclase, pyroxene, and minor Fe–Ti oxide and hornblende. The plagioclase compositions fall in the labradorite, andesine, and oligoclase fields. The amphiboles range in composition from magnesio-hornblende to tremolite–hornblende of the calcic-amphibole group. Most pyroxenes principally plot in the field of diopside. The calculated average pressure of emplacement is 1.9 kbar for the granodioritic rocks, crystallizing at depths of about 6.7 km. The highest pressure estimated from clinopyroxene geobarometry (5 kbar) reflects initial pyroxene crystallization pressure, indicating initial crystallization depth (17.5 km) in the Haji Abad granodiorite. The estimated temperatures using two-feldspar thermometry give an average 724 °C. The calculated average temperature for clinopyroxene crystallization is 1090 °C. The pyroxene temperatures are higher than the estimated temperature by feldspar thermometry, indicating that the pyroxene and feldspar temperatures represent the first and late stages of magmatic crystallization of Haji Abad granodiorite, respectively. Most pyroxenes plot above the line of Fe³⁺?=?0, indicating they crystallized under relatively high oxygen fugacity or oxidized conditions. Furthermore, the results show that the Middle Eocene granitoids crystallized from magmas with H₂O content about 3.2 wt%. The relatively high water content is consistent with the generation environment of HAG rocks in an active continental margin and has allowed the magma to reach shallower crustal levels. The MMEs with ellipsoidal and spherical shapes show igneous microgranular textures and chilled margins, probably indicating the presence of magma mixing. Besides, core to rim compositional oscillations (An and FeO) for the plagioclase crystals serve as robust evidence to support magma mixing. The studied amphiboles and pyroxenes are grouped in the subalkaline fields that are consistent with crystallization from I-type calc-alkaine magma in the subduction environment related to active continental margin. Mineral chemistry data indicate that Haji Abad granodiorites were generated in an orogenic belt related to the volcanic arc setting consistent with the subduction of Neo-Tethyan oceanic crust beneath the central Iranian microcontinent.