Evaluation of statistical tropospheric scintillation models using SUPERBIRD-C satellite for Malaysia

The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate and compare some of the statistical tropospheric scintillation models for one-year data (1999–2000) measured using SUPERBIRD-C satellite in Tronoh, Malaysia. Eight statistical models of monthly mean scintillation intensity are briefly reviewed and their predictions compared with measurements. Results are discussed in order to understand the potentials and the limits of each prediction model within this case study. In the context of our measurements, the Karasawa and Ortgies-T models have the best overall performance. The agreement with satellite measurements is found to be mainly dependent on the parameterization of prediction models to the radiometeorological variables along the earth-space path.     

A probabilistic model to improve reconciliation of estimated and actual grade in open-pit mining

Many of the open-pit mines suffer from the lack of reconciliation between estimated and actual grades. In a mining operation, grade reconciliation is the comparison between the values of the estimated grade calculated in exploration stage and the actual grade obtained from more reliable data such as blast holes?? samples. Many different factors affect the degree of reconciliation in a mining operation. In this paper, the factors related to estimated grade which affect the reconciliation process in the exploration stage of the orebody are investigated. These factors constitute the sources of uncertainty for the upcoming phases of the mining life. Among these parameters, the inherent variability, statistical uncertainty, and systematic uncertainty are the most important factors. In this work, these parameters are studied in further detail, and, accordingly, for each of these uncertainties, a correction factor is determined in the proposed model. The model was applied to the study of real data taken from an iron open-pit mine in Iran. The results of the case study indicated that the systematic uncertainty, inherent variability, and statistical uncertainty are, in order, the main sources of uncertainty on grade reconciliation process. Applying the correction factors to estimated grade values has increased the amount of grade reconciliation from 10%, at original condition, to 50%, at new condition, in the case study.     

Contemporary 14C radiocarbon levels of oxygenated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (O-PBDEs) isolated in sponge-cyanobacteria associations

Considerable debate surrounds the sources of oxygenated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (O-PBDEs) in wildlife as to whether they are naturally produced or result from anthropogenic industrial activities. Natural radiocarbon (¹⁴C) abundance has proven to be a powerful tool to address this problem as recently biosynthesized compounds contain contemporary (i.e. modern) amounts of atmospheric radiocarbon; whereas industrial chemicals, mostly produced from fossil fuels, contain no detectable ¹⁴C. However, few compounds isolated from organisms have been analyzed for their radiocarbon content. To provide a baseline, we analyzed the ¹⁴C content of four O-PBDEs. These compounds, 6-OH-BDE47, 2′-OH-BDE68, 2′,6-diOH-BDE159, and a recently identified compound, 2′-MeO-6-OH-BDE120, were isolated from the tropical marine sponges Dysidea granulosa and Lendenfeldia dendyi. The modern radiocarbon content of their chemical structures (i.e. diphenyl ethers, C₁₂H₂₂O) indicates that they are naturally produced. This adds to a growing baseline on, at least, the sources of these unusual compounds.     

Composition and source identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in mangrove sediments of Peninsular Malaysia: indication of anthropogenic input

This is a comprehensive study of the composition, origin and sources of specific polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments of mangrove estuary in the western part of Peninsular Malaysia. Mangrove sediments were analyzed for 17 PAHs by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Total PAH concentrations in the sediments ranged from 20 to 112 ng/g on a dry-weight basis. High molecular weight PAHs were abundant in the sediments. Parent PAH ratios revealed that pyrogenic input has important contribution to the sedimentary PAHs. Ratios of alkylated PAHs indicate that the sedimentary PAHs were influenced by petrogenic PAHs, which implies that petrogenic input has contribution to the sedimentary PAHs but that it is not a major factor in distribution of PAHs within the estuary. Combustion-derived PAHs show a positive and very strong correlation with total PAHs (R ² = 0.926, p < 0.05). Total methylphenanthrenes show very weak correlation with total PAHs (R ² = 0.0928, p < 0.05). The PAH concentrations were found to increase with distance from the upstream of the estuary to the coastal area of the Straits of Malacca. For the assessment of sediment contamination using biological thresholds, none of the individual studied PAH compounds exceeded the values of the effect range low–effect range median guideline and the threshold effects level–probable effects level guideline. This study demonstrates that the sediments of the mangrove ecosystem facing the Straits of Malacca and Sumatra are influenced by anthropogenic PAH inputs as a result of human activities such as biomass burning, vehicle emissions and boating activities.     

Sources of sedimentary PAHs in tropical Asian waters: Differentiation between pyrogenic and petrogenic sources by alkyl homolog abundance

We collected surface sediment samples from 174 locations in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and the Philippines and analyzed them for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and hopanes. PAHs were widely distributed in the sediments, with comparatively higher concentrations in urban areas (∑PAHs: ∼1000 to ∼100 000 ng/g-dry) than in rural areas (∼10 to ∼100 g-dry), indicating large sources of PAHs in urban areas. To distinguish petrogenic and pyrogenic sources of PAHs, we calculated the ratios of alkyl PAHs to parent PAHs: methylphenanthrenes to phenanthrene (MP/P), methylpyrenes + methylfluoranthenes to pyrene + fluoranthene (MPy/Py), and methylchrysenes + methylbenz[a]anthracenes to chrysene + benz[a]anthracene (MC/C). Analysis of source materials (crude oil, automobile exhaust, and coal and wood combustion products) gave thresholds of MP/P = 0.4, MPy/Py = 0.5, and MC/C = 1.0 for exclusive combustion origin. All the combustion product samples had the ratios of alkyl PAHs to parent PAHs below these threshold values. Contributions of petrogenic and pyrogenic sources to the sedimentary PAHs were uneven among the homologs: the phenanthrene series had a greater petrogenic contribution, whereas the chrysene series had a greater pyrogenic contribution. All the Indian sediments showed a strong pyrogenic signature with MP/P ≈ 0.5, MPy/Py ≈ 0.1, and MC/C ≈ 0.2, together with depletion of hopanes indicating intensive inputs of combustion products of coal and/or wood, probably due to the heavy dependence on these fuels as sources of energy. In contrast, sedimentary PAHs from all other tropical Asian cities were abundant in alkylated PAHs with MP/P ≈ 1-4, MPy/Py ≈ 0.3-1, and MC/C ≈ 0.2-1.0, suggesting a ubiquitous input of petrogenic PAHs. Petrogenic contributions to PAH homologs varied among the countries: largest in Malaysia whereas inferior in Laos. The higher abundance of alkylated PAHs together with constant hopane profiles suggests widespread inputs of automobile-derived petrogenic PAHs to Asian waters.     

Separation of Vanillin from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Lignin

The separation of vanillin from the lignin of empty fruit bunch oil palm is presented in this study. The lignin was extracted from soda black liquor derived from oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) using 20% sulfuric acid. Nitrobenzene oxidation was carried out by adding 50 mg of dry EFB lignin into a mixture of 7 mL of 2 M NaOH and 4 mL of nitrobenzene in a 15 mL steel autoclave. The autoclave was sealed tightly with a screw cap fitted with a Teflon gasket and heated to 165°C for 3 h in a preheated thermostatic oil bath. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to determine the concentration of each compound present in the lignin. There were eight compounds detected in the HPLC chromatogram. The crystallization process was then used as a method to separate vanillin from other compounds. Based on the solubility of vanillin in acetone, 15 mL of acetone was added to the residue of the oxidized products and heated to 60°C for 10 min. A yield of 1.6% vanillin was isolated from a 50 mg lignin sample. The isolated compound was analyzed with HPLC, Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FT‐IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (¹³C‐NMR) for structural verification. The results of the characterization studies proved that the isolated compound is vanillin.     

Estimation of sediment load and erosion of different geological units: A case study from a basin of north-eastern Iran

Erosion of geological units and sediment load in rivers can be considered as the serious problems in recent decades.Increasing sediment loads generate major hazards for water resources development,particularly in terms of loss of reservoir storage due to sedimentation and siltation of water distribution systems.In this paper,the performance of four sediment rating curve (SRC) development methods was evaluated for the Shirin Darreh River(SDR) basin (1750 km2),located in North Khorasan Province,Iran.Data of flow discharge (Q) and suspended sediment flux (SSF)(Q-SSF pairs,N=957)and daily flow discharge,recorded by the Regional Water Company of North Khorasan (RWCNK) at the Qaleh-Barbar (QB) gauging site during 1989-2018were used.The flow discharge classification method performed best by meeting the desired criteria of most statistical indices,including normalized root mean square error (NRMSE),mean bias error (MBE),mean absolute error (MAE),index of agreement (d),and coefficient of determination (R~2).Based on the optimized method,the rate of suspended sediment transportation at the study site was estimated about2.7×10~6 ton year~(-1).Erodibility of the exposed formations in the study area was estimated based on a factorial scoring model (FSM).Three indices,focused on the outcrop and erodibility,were calculated for the geological units at sub-basin and total scales.Marl deposits are the most extensive geological unit in the three sub-basins and the maximum formation outcrop ratio (FOR) and participation in erosion (PCE)were obtained for these rocks at total scale.In fact,marl unit can be regarded as the main source to supply the suspended sediments in the study basin.     

Magnetohydrodynamic oscillation of a gas jet of zero inertia dispersed in a resistive liquid with energy conservation

The dynamical oscillation and instability of a gas cylinder of zero inertia immersed in a resistive liquid has been developed for symmetric perturbations. In the absence of the magnetic field we have used the conservation of energy to study such problem for all symmetric and asymmetric perturbations. In the latter it is found that the temporal amplification is much lower than that of the full fluid jet. The model is capillary stable for all short and long wavelengths in the asymmetric perturbation while in the symmetric disturbances it is stabilizing or not according the perturbed wavelength is shorter than the gas cylinder circumference or not. The resistivity is stabilizing or destabilizing according to restrictions. The electromagnetic body force is stabilizing for all wavelengths in the rotationally-symmetric disturbances. The Lorentz body force, for high magnetic field intensity, could be suppressing the destabilizing character of the present model. This may be due to the fact that the acting magnetic field is uniform and that the fluid is considered to be incompressible.     

A note on MHD instability of a compressible gravitational streaming fluid cylinder

The fundamental equations are formulated using cylindrical polar coordinates and then solved in the unperturbed state. The perturbation equations are determined, simplified, integrated and the constants of integrations are identified by applying appropriate boundary conditions across the perturbed fluid interface. A cumbersome stability criterion for MHD inviscid compressible self-gravitating streaming fluid cylinder is derived. The magnetic field is stabilizing, the streaming is destabilizing while both of the self-gravitating and compressibility are stabilizing or not according to restrictions and that the gravitational instability of sufficiently long waves will persist. Several approximations are required to obtain Chandrasekhar's and Fermi's dispersion relation (Chandrasekhar and Fermi, 1953).