The inhibition of marine nitrification by ocean disposal of carbon dioxide

In an attempt to reduce the threat of global warming, it has been proposed that the rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations be reduced by the ocean disposal of CO2 from the flue gases of fossil fuel-fired power plants. The release of large amounts of CO2 into mid or deep ocean waters will result in large plumes of acidified seawater with pH values ranging from 6 to 8. In an effort to determine whether these CO2-induced pH changes have any effect on marine nitrification processes, surficial (euphotic zone) and deep (aphotic zone) seawater samples were sparged with CO2 for varying time durations to achieve a specified pH reduction, and the rate of microbial ammonia oxidation was measured spectrophotometrically as a function of pH using an inhibitor technique. For both seawater samples taken from either the euphotic or aphotic zone, the nitrification rates dropped drastically with decreasing pH. Relative to nitrification rates in the original seawater at pH 8, nitrification rates were reduced by ca. 50% at pH 7 and more than 90% at pH 6.5. Nitrification was essentially completely inhibited at pH 6. These findings suggest that the disposal of CO2 into mid or deep oceans will most likely result in a drastic reduction of ammonia oxidation rates within the pH plume and the concomitant accumulation of ammonia instead of nitrate. It is unlikely that ammonia will reach the high concentration levels at which marine aquatic organisms are known to be negatively affected. However, if the ammonia-rich seawater from inside the pH plume is upwelled into the euphotic zone, it is likely that changes in phytoplankton abundance and community structure will occur. Finally, the large-scale inhibition of nitrification and the subsequent reduction of nitrite and nitrate concentrations could also result in a decrease of denitrification rates which, in turn, could lead to the buildup of nitrogen and unpredictable eutrophication phenomena. Clearly, more research on the environmental effects of ocean disposal of CO2 is needed to determine whether the potential costs related to marine ecosystem disturbance and disruption can be justified in terms of the perceived benefits that may be achieved by temporarily delaying global warming.     

Does temperature contain a stochastic trend: linking statistical results to physical mechanisms

By construction, the time series for radiative forcing that are used to run the 20c3m experiments, which are implemented by climate models, impart non-stationary movements (either stochastic or deterministic) to the simulated time series for global surface temperature. Here, we determine whether stochastic or deterministic trends are present in the simulated time series for global surface temperature by examining the time series for radiative forcing. Statistical tests indicate that the forcings contain a stochastic trend against the alternative hypothesis that the series are trend stationary with a one-time structural change. This result is consistent with the economic processes that impart a stochastic trend to anthropogenic emissions and the physical processes that integrate emissions in the atmosphere. Furthermore, the stochastic trend in the aggregate measure of radiative forcing also is present in the simulated time series for global surface temperature, which is consistent with the relation between these two variables that is represented by a zero dimensional energy balance model. Finally, we propose that internal weather variability imposed on the stochastic trend in radiative forcings is responsible for statistical results, which gives the impression that global surface temperature is trend stationary with a one-time structural change. We conclude that using the ideas of stochastic trends, cointegration, and error correction can generate reliable conclusions regarding the causes of changes in global surface temperature during the instrumental temperature record.     

Experimental study of the stability of cordierite and garnet in pelitic compositions at high pressures and temperatures

In pelitic rocks, under conditions of low f _{O 2} and low f _{H 2 O}, the stability of the mineral pair cordierite-garnet is limited by five univariant reactions. In sequence from high pressure and low temperature to high temperature and low pressure these are: cordierite+garnet hypersthene+sillimanite+quartz, cordierite+garnet hypersthene+sapphirine+quartz, cordierite+garnet hypersthene+spinel+quartz and cordierite+garnet olivine+spinel +quartz. In this sequence of reactions the Mg/Mg+Fe²⁺ ratio of all ferro-magnesian minerals involved decreases continuously from the first reaction to the fifth. The five univariant boundaries delimit a wide P-T range over which cordierite and garnet may coexist.Two divariant equilibria in which the Mg/Mg+ Fe²⁺ ratio of the coexisting phases are uniquely determined by pressure and temperature have been studied in detail. P-T-X grids for the reactions cordierite garnet+sillimanite+quartz and cordierite+hypersthene garnet+quartz are used to obtain pressure-temperature estimates for several high grade metamorphic areas. The results suggest temperatures of formation of 700–850° C and load pressures of 5–10 kb. In rare occasions temperatures of 950–1000° C appear to have been reached during granulite metamorphism.On the basis of melting experiments in pelitic compositions it is suggested that Ca-poor garnet xenocrysts found in calc-alkaline magmas derive from admixed pelitic rocks and did not equilibrate with the calc-alkaline magma.     

IR-spektroskopische und weitere Untersuchungen an neuen Weichspüler-Wirkstoffen

IR Spectroscopy and Further Analyses of New Fabric Rinse Agents Distearyldimethylammoniumchloride (DSDMAC) that dominated the fabric softener market in Germany in the past is now substituted by three new types of ester-based agents, i.e. imidazoline ester, ester quats, and diester quats what poses new challenges to surface water analytics. The IR spectra and the chromatographic behaviour of these three agents are more or less similar to those of naturally occuring fatty esters. The paper reports about the use of IR spectroscopy, its benefit in the sense of fingerprinting principle, the identification of substances by functional groups, and the analytical tracing of transformation products. The latter relates to the formation of salts with anions that are easily detectable, the clean up, and the final spectroscopic determination. While in 1994 DSDMAC was still determinable in concentrations of 10…20 mg/kg in suspended solids from the Middle Rhine River, the concentration of the substitutes was below the detection limit of 2 mg/kg and 1…2 μg/L in 1995.     

哈萨克斯坦共和国地震学数据库简介

建立哈萨克斯坦共和国地震学数据库是CASIN国际项目的一部分,应由中亚各国来共同完成。项目主要目的旨在建立地震学数据库,以作为今后减小哈萨克斯坦共和国地震危险性的工作基础。哈萨克斯坦共和国地震学数据库由下列子系统构成:1)文件输入子系统;2)信息检索和提交子系统;3)信息元数据存储子系统;4)档案库运行控制子系统;5)信息安全子系统。哈萨克斯坦共和国地震学数据库有以下功能:1)永久存储综合信息并上报和收集(记录)其他资料;2)存储数据和资料计算;3)电子文档的长期存储和管理;4)规定序号进行信息查询和文件的联机保证;5)信息统计和…     

A conduit-related genesis of the Lengshuiqing intrusive assemblage (Sichuan,SW China)

Lengshuiqing is part of the late Proterozoic igneous province from the western margin of the Yangtze craton. The Lengshuiqing area comprises five ultramafic–mafic intrusions, emplaced in the late Proterozoic Yanbian Group. The intrusions from Lengshuiqing contain cumulate ultramafic zones (peridotite + olivine pyroxenite), with cumulus olivine and Cr-spinel, and intercumulus pyroxenes, hornblende, phlogopite and plagioclase. Ni–Cu ore (pyrrhotite + pentlandite + chalcopyrite) is hosted in the ultramafic zones. Olivine-free diorite–quartz diorite ± gabbro and granite zones commonly occur above the ultramafic rocks. The genesis of the intrusions (conduit-related accumulation or differentiation from stagnant magma) was investigated. The amount of sulphides in the intrusions from Lengshuiqing is one order of magnitude bigger than the sulphides that can be dissolved by a volume of mafic magma similar with the volume of the intrusions. Most intrusions from Lengshuiqing have bulk composition (peridotite ± diorite ± granite) more magnesian (MgO = 21–22%; Mg# > 78) than the deduced composition of their parental magma (MgO = 9–11%; Mg# = 64–67). This indicates the accumulation of sulphide and mafic silicates from a volume of magma much bigger than the volume of the intrusions, which can be explained by the fractionation from magma ascending through the intrusions to shallower depths. A continuous supply and vent of magma is consistent with the lack of chilled margins, the melting of the wall rocks and the generation of high-temperature mineral assemblages (K-feldspar, diopside, and sillimanite) in the Yanbian Group. The intrusions from Lengshuiqing are seen as microchambers on conduits draining olivine-, Cr-spinel-, and sulphide-bearing mafic magma from a larger staging chamber.     

Neo-deterministic seismic hazard assessment in North Africa

North Africa is one of the most earthquake-prone areas of the Mediterranean. Many devastating earthquakes, some of them tsunami-triggering, inflicted heavy loss of life and considerable economic damage to the region. In order to mitigate the destructive impact of the earthquakes, the regional seismic hazard in North Africa is assessed using the neo-deterministic, multi-scenario methodology (NDSHA) based on the computation of synthetic seismograms, using the modal summation technique, at a regular grid of 0.2?×?0.2°. This is the first study aimed at producing NDSHA maps of North Africa including five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. The key input data for the NDSHA algorithm are earthquake sources, seismotectonic zonation, and structural models. In the preparation of the input data, it has been really important to go beyond the national borders and to adopt a coherent strategy all over the area. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the teams involved, it has been possible to properly merge the earthquake catalogues available for each country to define with homogeneous criteria the seismogenic zones, the characteristic focal mechanism associated with each of them, and the structural models used to model wave propagation from the sources to the sites. As a result, reliable seismic hazard maps are produced in terms of maximum displacement (D _max), maximum velocity (V _max), and design ground acceleration.