The role of organic coatings in the enrichment of marine particles with selenium. The fixation of selenite on an adsorbed amino acid

The enrichment of marine particles with selenium cannot be explained as that with metals present in cationic form by complexation with anionic functional groups of adsorbed organic matter. Physicochemical data obtained using a model system are reported. The surface of the particles is modelized by a mercury electrode whose surface charge density can be easily changed, covered by a layer of adsorbed polymers. Studies with different kinds of macromolecules and salts show a specific interaction between adsorbed polyalanine and selenite. The results can be explained by the concordance of the distances between two oxygen atoms in this oxyanion and between two amine groups of the adsorbed polypeptide. A similar mechanism could occur in marine aggregates whatever their nature, as long as they contain amine groups at their surface which result in this concordance. Some prospects derived from the results are discussed.     

Dynamic evolution of the 1997–1999 El Niño–La Niña cycle in the southern California Current System

The development of the strongest El Niño event on record in the equatorial Pacific in 1997–1998 and the rapid transition to strong La Niña conditions in 1998–1999 had a large impact on the physical and biological environment of the West Coast. We investigate the evolution of the physical structure and circulation dynamics of the southern California Current System (CCS) during this period based on hydrographic data collected on 25 cruises over a 45-month period (February 1996–October 1999). The El Niño period was characterized by a significant increase in dynamic height, extreme water mass characteristics, a strengthening and broadening of the poleward nearshore flow, and a temporary reversal of net alongshore transport. By early 1999, conditions in the CCS had reversed. The data suggest that remotely driven forcing (propagating oceanic waves) contributed to the anomalies observed during the El Niño period, while the cool-water conditions of 1999 were most likely a result of anomalous local atmospheric forcing.     

Buckling of Piles under Liquefied Soil Conditions

The paper pertains to the analysis of piles embedded in liquefiable soils to predict its’ critical buckling load under partial to full loss of lateral support over a portion of the pile length. The analysis is based on extension of Mindlin solution for a point load acting inside a semi infinite elastic half space. Degenerated solutions obtained by using the developed method compares very well with reported results. Parametric studies showed that the depth of liquefiable soil, degradation of soil strength on liquefaction, slenderness ratio, pile stiffness factor and end conditions have significant influence on the buckling behavior of the piles.     

The influence of particle composition on thorium scavenging in the NE Atlantic ocean (POMME experiment)

²³⁰Th, ²³²Th and ²³⁴Th were analyzed in sinking particles collected by moored and drifting sediment traps in the NE Atlantic Ocean (POMME experiment) in order to constrain the phase(s) carrying Th isotopes in the water column. It reveals a contrasted behaviour between ²³⁴Th and ²³⁰Th. ²³⁴Th is correlated to the particulate organic carbon suggesting that it is primarily scavenged by organic compounds in the surface waters. ²³⁰Th_xs is correlated with Mn, Ba and the lithogenic fraction that are enriched in small suspended particles and incorporated in the sinking particulate flux throughout the water column. The lack of correlation between ²³⁰Th_xs and CaCO₃ or biogenic silica (bSi) indicates that CaCO₃ and bSi are not responsible for ²³⁰Th scavenging in the deep waters of this oceanic region. ²³⁰Th is generally correlated with the lithogenic content of the trapped material but this correlation disappears in winter during strong atmospheric dust inputs suggesting that lithogenic matter is not directly responsible for ²³⁰Th scavenging in the deep waters or that sufficient time is required to achieve particle–solution equilibration. MnO₂ could be the prevalent ²³⁰Th_xs-bearing phase. The narrow range of K_{d_MnO2}^Th obtained for very contrasted oceanic environments supports a global control of ²³⁰Th_xs scavenging by MnO₂ and raises the possibility that the ²³⁰Th–²³¹Pa fractionation is controlled by the amount of colloidal MnO₂ in seawater.     

Modeling spatially non-stationary land use/cover change in the lower Connecticut River Basin by combining geographically weighted logistic regression and the CA-Markov model

Simulating land use/cover change (LUCC) and determining its transition rules have been a focus of research for several decades. Previous studies used ordinary logistic regression (OLR) to determine transition rules in cellular automata (CA) modeling of LUCC, which often neglected the spatially non-stationary relationships between driving factors and land use/cover categories. We use an integrated geographically weighted logistic regression (GWLR) CA-Markov method to simulate LUCC from 2001–2011 over 29 towns in the Connecticut River Basin. Results are compared with those obtained from the OLR-CA-Markov method, and the sensitivity of LUCC simulated by the GWLR-CA-Markov method to the spatial non-stationarity-based suitability map is investigated. Analysis of residuals indicates better goodness of fit in model calibration for geographically weighted regression (GWR) than OLR. Coefficients of driving factors indicate that GWLR outperforms OLR in depicting the local suitability of land use/cover categories. Kappa statistics of the simulated maps indicate high agreement with observed land use/cover for both OLR-CA-Markov and GWLR-CA-Markov methods. Similarity in simulation accuracy between the methods suggests that the sensitivity of simulated LUCC to suitability inputs is low with respect to spatial non-stationarity. Therefore, this study provides critical insight on the role of spatial non-stationarity throughout the process of LUCC simulation.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987112000072

The Abor volcanics outcroping in the core of the Siang window in the Eastern Himalaya comprise voluminous mafic volcanics (47％-56％ w(SiO2)),with subordinate felsic volcanics (67％-75％ w(SiO2)).The felsi...     

Role of dykes in induced seismicity at Bhatsa reservoir,Maharashtra, India

The geological and hydrological conditions near the reservoir site play an important role in the generation or absence of seismic activity. Near Bhatsa reservoir, along the west coast of India intense seismic activity occurred during August–September 1983, after a lag of six years of initial impounding. From July 1983 to September 1990, 15,388 earthquakes (mostlyM ₁<3.0) were recorded, the largest being of magnitude 4.9. The spatial distribution of well located 172 earthquakes suggest a strong correlation between the epicenters and the disposition of dykes and faults around the Bhatsa region. It is inferred that these dykes have acted as barriers for the diffusion of water from the reservoir, thereby becoming zones of instability due to increased pore pressure not only along them but also over the volume they bound.     

The 13th and 14th Workshops on Antarctic Meteorology and Climate

<正>1.Overview In July 2018, the Antarctic community came together to meet at the 13th Workshop on Antarctic Meteorology and Climate (WAMC) in Madison, Wisconsin, USA (Fig. 1); and in the following year in June 2019, the 14th WAMC was held in     

Trends in the solubility of iron,aluminium, manganese and phosphorus in aerosol collected over the Atlantic Ocean

The solubility of iron, aluminium, manganese and phosphorus has been determined in aerosol samples collected between 49°N and 52°S during three cruises conducted in the Atlantic Ocean as part of the European Union funded IRONAGES programme. Solubilities (defined at pH 4.7) determined for Fe and Al in samples of Saharan dust were significantly lower (medians 1.7% and 3.0%, respectively) than the solubilities of these metals in aerosols from other source regions (whole dataset medians 5.2% and 9.0%, respectively). Mn solubility also varied with aerosol source, but the median solubility of Mn in Saharan dust was very similar to the median for the dataset as a whole (55% and 56%, respectively). The observed solubility of aerosol P was ∼ 32%, with P solubility in Saharan aerosol perhaps as low as 10%. Laboratory studies have indicated that aerosol Fe solubility is enhanced by acid processing. No relationship could be found between Fe solubility and the concentrations of acid species (non-seasalt SO₄²⁻, NO₃⁻) nor the net acidity of the aerosol, so we are unable to confirm that this process is significant in the atmosphere. In terms of the supply of soluble Fe to oceanic ecosystems on a global scale, the observed higher solubility for Fe in non-Saharan aerosols is probably not significant because the Sahara is easily the dominant source of Fe to the Atlantic. On a smaller scale however, higher solubility for aerosol Fe may alter our understanding of Fe cycling in regions such as the remote Southern Ocean.