Rapid biotic molecular transformation of fulvic acids in a karst aquifer

The study of molecular transformation processes of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the environment significantly contributes to a better understanding of the global biogeochemical organic matter cycle. In an oxic karst groundwater system, in which the most powerful abiotic DOC degradative reactions, photodegradation and metal-mediated redox chemistry, are at best marginal contributors, a near complete turnover of fulvic acids (FAs) has been observed within decades (∼60 years). Depletion of oxygen for a very extensive range of aliphatic and aromatic carbon chemical environments has been confirmed as well as the formation of novel classes of compounds, suggesting a major contribution from biotic processes. From these results we infer that FAs must be perceived as a rather active participant in the global carbon cycle. Molecular-level alterations of such magnitude and rapidity on such short-time scales ought to be considered as widespread in the processing of “refractory” DOC in the environment.     

Prévision rapide de l''extension d''une pollution dans quelques cas d''écoulement et de mode d''injection

The relationship between maximum concentration and longitudinal distance, independent of time, can determine the size of the area to be contaminated, under well-defined conditions of injection and flow in a saturated medium. The envelope curve for maximal concentrations is easily obtained as a function of the axial distance in non-dimensional variables in the cases of one- and two-dimensional uniform flow, as well as in those of radially symmetric converging or diverging flow.

Graphs providing relations between dimensionless variables (as described in the text) are given for the following cases:

1. (1) uniform flow with instantaneous discharge of a pollutant; measurement downstream of the injection point, no transverse dispersion;

2. (2) uniform flow with continuous injection of a pollutant; measurement downstream of the injection point, influence of transverse dispersion included;

3. (3) convergent radial flow towards a well; pollution caused by an instantaneous pointsource at some distance; and

4. (4) divergent radial flow from an injection point; pollution caused by instantaneous injection of a pollutant.

Résumé

L'expression de la concentration maximale en fonction de la distance et indépendamment du temps permet de déterminer l'extension d'une zone susceptible d'être contaminée lors de conditions bien définies d'injection d'un produit dangereux et d'écoulement en milieu saturé. La courbe enveloppe des maxima de concentration en fonction de la distance axiale est facilement exprimable sous forme adimensionnelle (abaques) dans le cas d'écoulements uniformes mono- et bi-dimensionnels (réponse dans l'axe), comme dans ceux d'écoulements purement cylindriques convergent ou divergent.     

Trophic interactions of the pelagic ciliate Stentor spp. in North Patagonian lakes

The zooplankton of oligotrophic lakes in North Patagonia is often dominated by mixotrophic ciliates, particularly Stentor amethystinus and Stentor araucanus. Therefore, we tested whether Stentor spp. (i) is an important food for juvenile endemic (Cheirodon australe, Galaxias maculatus, Odontesthes mauleanum, Percichthys trucha) and introduced (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fish species, and (ii) represents a remarkable grazer of bacteria. Ingestion rates of fish estimated by disappearance of Stentor in feeding experiments ranged between 8 (G. maculatus) and 53 (C. australe) ciliates per fish and day, and assimilation rates measured by using radioactively labelled Stentor ranged between 3 (P. trucha) and 52 (C. australe) ciliates per fish and day. However, although we detected the consumption of Stentor by fish, the daily consumption amounted to at most 0.2% of the fish biomass which can not cover the energy requirement of the fish. Furthermore, the daily consumption was equivalent to a maximum of 1.6% of the Stentor standing stock so that fish predation does not seem to be an important mortality factor for the ciliates. The clearance rate of Stentor sp. on natural bacteria was on average 3.8 μl cil⁻¹ h⁻¹. The daily ingestion (mean 3.9 ng C cil⁻¹ d⁻¹) was about 3.5% of the individual biomass of Stentor sp. Therefore, bacteria ingestion might explain a ciliate growth rate of appr. 1% d⁻¹, which was about 17% of the photosynthesis of endosymbiotic algae. The maximum density of Stentor sp. in the lake could ingest about 1 μg C L⁻¹ d⁻¹ bacteria which is only 3% of average bacterial production. Thus, grazing by Stentor sp. does not seem to be a main loss factor for the bacteria.     

Using a Bayesian estimator to combine information from a cluster analysis and remote sensing data to estimate high-resolution data for agricultural production in Germany

In Germany, a county-resolution data set that consists of 35 land-use and animal-stock categories has been used extensively to assess the impact of agriculture on the environment. However, because such environmental effects as emission or nutrient surplus depend on the location, even a county resolution might produce misleading results. The aim of this article is to propose a Bayesian approach which combines two sorts of information, with one being treated as defining the prior and the other the data to form a posterior, used to estimate a data set at a municipality resolution. We define the joint prior density function based on (i) remote sensing data, thus accounting for differences in county data and missing data at the municipality level, and (ii) the results of a cluster analysis that was previously applied to the micro-census, whereas the data are defined by official statistics at the county level. This approach results in a fairly accurate data set at the municipality level. The results, using the proposed method, are validated by the national research data centre by comparing the estimates to actual observations. The test statistics presented here demonstrate that the proposed approach adequately estimates the production activities.     

The Impact of Land-Surface Parameter Properties and Resolution on the Simulated Cloud-Topped Atmospheric Boundary Layer

A method to simulate characteristics of wind speed in the boundary layer of tropical cyclones in an idealized manner is developed and evaluated. The method can be used in a single-column modelling set-up with a planetary boundary-layer parametrization, or within large-eddy simulations (LES). The key step is to include terms in the horizontal velocity equations representing advection and centrifugal acceleration in tropical cyclones that occurs on scales larger than the domain size. Compared to other recently developed methods, which require two input parameters (a reference wind speed, and radius from the centre of a tropical cyclone) this new method also requires a third input parameter: the radial gradient of reference wind speed. With the new method, simulated wind profiles are similar to composite profiles from dropsonde observations; in contrast, a classic Ekman-type method tends to overpredict inflow-layer depth and magnitude, and two recently developed methods for tropical cyclone environments tend to overpredict near-surface wind speed. When used in LES, the new technique produces vertical profiles of total turbulent stress and estimated eddy viscosity that are similar to values determined from low-level aircraft flights in tropical cyclones. Temporal spectra from LES produce an inertial subrange for frequencies \(\gtrsim \)0.1 Hz, but only when the horizontal grid spacing \(\lesssim \)20 m.     

Boundary-layer ozone depletion as seen in the Norwegian Arctic in spring

Several years of measurements of ozone, hydrocarbons, sulphate and meteorological parameters from Spitsbergen in the Norwegian Arctic are presented. Most of the measurements were taken on the Zeppelin Mountain at an altitude of 474 m a.s.l. The focus is the episodes of ozone depletion in the lower troposphere in spring, which are studied in a climatological way. Episodes of very low ozone concentrations are a common feature on the Zeppelin Mountain in spring. The low ozone episodes were observed from late March to the beginning of June. When the effect of transport direction was subtracted, the frequenty of the low ozone episodes was found to peak in the beginning of May, possibly reflecting the seasonal cycle in the actual depletion process. Analyses based on trajectory calculations show that most of the episodes occurred when the air masses were transported from W-N. Ozone soundings show that the ozone depletion may extend from the surface and up to 3–4 km altitude. The episodes were associated with a cold boundary layer beneath a thermally stable layer, suppressing mixing with the free troposphere. The concentration of several individual hydrocarbons was much lower during episodes of low ozone than for the average conditions. The change in concentration ratio between the hydrocarbons was in qualitative agreement with oxidation of hydrocarbons by Br and Cl atoms rather than by OH radicals.     

Atmospheric concentrations of nonmethane hydrocarbons at a North European coastal site

Two years of individual nonmethane hydrocarbon (NMHC) measurements at a rural site close to the south coast of Norway show that there was a distinct annual cycle with a late winter maximum and late summer minimum in the slowly reacting NMHCs acetylene, ethane, propane and i- and n-butane. The average January—March concentrations were a factor 2–4 higher than the July-September concentrations. Also ethene, propene and the pentanes show a similar annual cycle, but the individual scatter in the measurements in particular of propene, is large. The highest concentrations of NMHC were found in winter for easterly transport on a regional scale (out to 1500 km from the site), and for southeasterly transport in the summer.     

A timing formula for main-sequence star binary pulsars

In binary radio pulsars with a main-sequence star companion, the spin-induced quadrupole moment of the companion gives rise to a precession of the binary orbit. As a first approximation one can model the secular evolution caused by this classical spin-orbit coupling by linear-in-time changes of the longitude of periastron and the projected semi-major axis of the pulsar orbit. This simple representation of the precession of the orbit neglects two important aspects of the orbital dynamics of a binary pulsar with an oblate companion. First, the quasiperiodic effects along the orbit, owing to the anisotropic 1/ r ³ nature of the quadrupole potential. Secondly, the long-term secular evolution of the binary orbit, which leads to an evolution of the longitude of periastron and the projected semi-major axis, which is non-linear in time.   In this paper a simple timing formula for binary radio pulsars with a main-sequence star companion is presented which models the short-term secular and most of the short-term periodic effects caused by the classical spin-orbit coupling. I also give extensions of the timing formula that account for long-term secular changes in the binary pulsar motion. It is shown that the short-term periodic effects are important for the timing observations of the binary pulsar PSR B1259–63. The long-term secular effects are likely to become important in the next few years of timing observations of the binary pulsar PSR J0045–7319. They could help to restrict or even determine the moments of inertia of the companion star and thus probe its internal structure.   Finally, I reinvestigate the spin-orbit precession of the binary pulsar PSR J0045–7319 since the analysis given in the literature is based on an incorrect expression for the precession of the longitude of periastron. A lower limit of 20° for the inclination of the B star with respect to the orbital plane is derived.