Transport phenomena in kaolinite clay: Molecular simulation,homogenization analysis and similitude law

Kaolinite is a common clay mineral. It is a nanomaterial with a platelet crystalline structure. In order to analyze the behavior of kaolinite, its microscopic structure and material properties must be specified correctly. A molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is used for determining the microscale properties of hydrated kaolinite, and these properties are introduced into a multiscale homogenization analysis (HA). We previously developed such an MD/HA technique to investigate seepage, diffusion, sorption and consolidation in bentonite clay (Proceedings of the Science Basis for Nuclear Waste Management, Davos, Switzerland, vol. XXI. Material Research Society: Warrendale, PA, 1997; 359–366; Eng. Geol. 1999; 54 :21–31; Eng. Geol. 2001; 60 :127–138; Coupled Thermo‐Hydro‐Mechanical‐Chemical Processes in Geo‐systems. Elsevier: Amsterdam, 2005; 457–464). We here apply the method to kaolinite clay to investigate the permeability, diffusion and related similitude law. The obtained results are supported by existing experimental data. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Validation of AVHRR and TMI-derived sea surface temperature in the northern South China Sea

Satellite-derived SSTs are validated in the northern South China Sea (NSCS) using in situ SSTs from the drifting buoys and well-calibrated sensors installed on Research/Vessel(R/V) Shiyan 3. The satellite SSTs are Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) daytime SST, AVHRR nighttime SST, Tropical rainfall Measuring Mission Microwave Imager (TMI) daytime SST and TMI nighttime SST. Availability of satellite SST, which is the ratio that the number of available satellite SST to the total ocean pixels in NSCS is calculated; annual average SST availabilities of AVHRR daytime SST, AVHRR nighttime SST, TMI daytime SST and TMI nighttime SST are 68.42%, 69.99%, 56.57% and 52.80%, respectively. Though the TMI SST availability is nearly constant throughout the year, the variations of the AVHRR SST availability are much larger because of seasonal variations of cloud cover in NSCS. Validation of the satellite-derived SSTs shows that bias±standard deviation (STD) of AVHRR SST is −0.43±0.76 and −0.33±0.79 °C for daytime and nighttime, respectively, and bias±STD of TMI SSTs is 0.07±1.11 and 0.00±0.97 °C for daytime and nighttime, respectively. It is clear that AVHRR SSTs have significant regional biases of about −0.4 °C against the drifting buoy SSTs. Differences between satellite-derived−in situ SSTs are investigated in terms of the diurnal SST cycle. When satellite-derived wind speeds decrease down below 6 m/s, the satellite SSTs become higher than the corresponding in situ SSTs, which means that the SST difference (satellite SST−Buoy SST) is positive. This wind-speed dependence of the SST difference is consistent with the previous results, which have mentioned that low wind speed coupled with clear sky conditions (high surface solar radiation) enhance the diurnal SST amplitude and the bulk-skin temperature difference.     

Validation of wind speeds and significant wave heights observed by the TOPEX altimeter around Japan

The wind speeds and significant wave heights observed by the TOPEX altimeter during the first 30 repeat cycles (for about 10 months) are validated by comparing with the data obtained at Japanese Ocean Data Buoy stations. The values of Kuband ⁰ observed by the altimeter show good agreement with those estimated from the buoy wind speed using the modified Chelton-Wentz algorithm. The wind speeds derived from the Ku-band ⁰ using the algorithm agree well with the buoy data with an rms difference of 1.99 ms^–1. The significant wave heights observed by the altimeter have a systematic bias of 0.3 m.     

Study on SST front disappearance in the subtropical North Pacific using microwave SSTs

We investigated the processes relating to the weakening of the SST front in the subtropical front (STF) zone using the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System SSTs for 7?years with temporal/spatial resolutions of 1?day/12.5?km. In April, the SST front is strong with a high gradient magnitude (GM) and Jensen–Shannon divergence (JSD) band; in August, SSTs become uniform (28–30?°C), together with small GMs (<0.8?°C/100?km) and JSDs (<0.75). Since the SST front features become invisible in GM/JSD snapshots and weekly–monthly averaged images, we call this phenomenon ‘SST front disappearance (SFD)’. The SFD occurs in August, but the number of high SSTs (>30?°C) in August is smaller than that in July, which indicates that the SFD results from not only the increase in lower SSTs but also the decrease in higher SSTs. In June and July, the GM distributions have quite large standard deviations compared to those in May and August. We also investigated the vertical profile of STF using in situ temperature/salinity profiles. It was revealed that the SFD influence extends to 50?m depth. The area of high integrated heat flux and shallow mixed layer depth were found to correspond to the area where the GM decreases from 0.9 to 0.6?°C/100?km during June–August. Quantitative analyses confirmed that the SFD mechanism may be attributable to the establishment of the shallow mixed layer by the high integrated heat flux from May to July. From July to August, the SST heating/cooling in the north/south of the SST front may accelerate the SFD.     

Parameterization of rain cell properties using an advection-diffusion model and rain gage data

To reduce flooding risks and improve urban drainage management, there is a need to increase the forecasting accuracy for rainfall models on small typical urban time and space scales. Increased rainfall forecasting accuracy will in turn improve runoff prediction and thus, prevent flooding hazards, decrease pollution discharge through combined sewers, increase waste water treatment efficiency, etc. For this purpose, we analyzed the parameters of a two-dimensional stochastic advection-diffusion model including a Fourier domain method and an extended Kalman filter algorithm for investigation of motion, shape, size, and intensity distribution of convective rainfall. The resulting set of model parameters (advective velocity, apparent turbulent diffusion, and development/decay of rainfall rate) is used to study convective rainfall variability. It appears that the speed at which the rainfall cell is advected is not dependent on the cell development stage or apparent diffusion. Instead, there is a dependence between the source/sink term and apparent diffusion. This can be explained by the turbulent updraft of warm air which results in large rainfall intensity increase. This strong turbulence results in larger diffusion (and vice versa). The behavior of the model parameters is therefore physically explainable and relevant. The results can be used as first choice of parameter values when modeling convective rainfall over ungaged areas.     

Latitudinal distribution of terrestrial lipid biomarkers and n-alkane compound-specific stable carbon isotope ratios in the atmosphere over the western Pacific and Southern Ocean

We investigated the latitudinal changes in atmospheric transport of organic matter to the western Pacific and Southern Ocean (27.58°N-64.70°S). Molecular distributions of lipid compound classes (homologous series of C₁₅ to C₃₅n-alkanes, C₈ to C₃₄n-alkanoic acids, C₁₂ to C₃₀n-alkanols) and compound-specific stable isotopes (δ¹³C of C₂₉ and C₃₁n-alkanes) were measured in marine aerosol filter samples collected during a cruise by the R/V Hakuho Maru. The geographical source areas for each sample were estimated from air-mass back-trajectory computations. Concentrations of TC and lipid compound classes were several orders of magnitude lower than observations from urban sites in Asia. A stronger signature of terrestrial higher plant inputs was apparent in three samples collected under conditions of strong terrestrial winds. Unresolved complex mixtures (UCM) showed increasing values in the North Pacific, highlighting the influence of the plume of polluted air exported from East Asia. n-Alkane average chain length (ACL) distribution had two clusters, with samples showing a relation to latitude between 28°N and 47°S (highest ACL values in the tropics), whilst a subset of southern samples had anomalously high ACL values. Compound-specific carbon isotopic analysis of the C₂₉ (−25.6‰ to −34.5‰) and C₃₁n-alkanes (−28.3‰ to −37‰) revealed heavier δ¹³C values in the northern latitudes with a transition to lighter values in the Southern Ocean. By comparing the isotopic measurements with back-trajectory analysis it was generally possible to discriminate between different source areas. The terrestrial vegetation source for a subset of the southernmost Southern Ocean is enigmatic; the back-trajectories indicate eastern Antarctica as the only intercepted terrestrial source area. These samples may represent a southern hemisphere background of well mixed and very long range transported higher plant organic material.     

Estimation of insolation over the Pacific Ocean off the Sanriku coast

Surface solar radiation over the Pacific Ocean off the Sanriku coast has been estimated using Visible and Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer data supplied by the Geostationary Meteorological Satellite 5 for September, 1996 to June, 1997, when the Ocean Color and Temperature Scanner was functioning. The hourly and daily insolation is estimated with a spatial resolution of 0.01-degree grid. Thein situ surface short wave radiation obtained by the research vessel,Kofu-Maru belonging to the Japan Meteorological Agency is used for validation of the estimated insolation. It is shown that the estimated hourly and daily insolation has an rms (root mean square) error of 17.05% and 8.13%, respectively, which are the ratios between the rms error (W/m²) and the mean insolation (W/m²).     

Linking bacterial community structure to carbon fluxes in marine environments

Microbial oceanography is undergoing a dramatic revolution thanks to the rapid development of novel techniques that allow the examination of microbial diversity and functions via molecular methods, including genomic and metagenomic analyses. During the past decade, studies have revealed previously unknown and surprisingly diverse bacterial communities in marine waters. These studies have radically changed our understanding of spatiotemporal patterns in marine bacterial community composition and the distribution of specific genes. However, our knowledge of the role of individual bacterial subgroups in oceanic food webs and biogeochemical cycles remains limited. To embed the internal dynamics of bacterial communities into marine biogeochemistry models, the characteristic parameters of individual bacterial subgroups (i.e., growth, mortality, and utilization of dissolved organic matter) must be determined. Here, we survey the approaches used to assess variation in and factors controlling bacterial communities in marine environments, emphasizing the importance of quantitative studies that examine growth and grazing parameters of bacterial subgroups.     

Hourly sea surface temperature retrieval using the Japanese Geostationary Satellite,Multi-Functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT)

An algorithm has been developed for retrieving sea surface temperature (SST) from hourly data transmitted from the Japanese Advanced Meteorological Imager (JAMI) aboard a Japanese geostationary satellite, Multi-functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT)-1R. Threshold tests screening cloudy pixels are empirically adjusted to cases of daytime with/without sun glitter, and nighttime. The Non-Linear SST (NLSST) equation, including several new additional terms, is used to calculate MTSAT SST. The estimated SST is compared with drifting and moored buoy measurements, with the result that the bias of the MTSAT SST is nearly 0.0°K. The root mean square (rms) error is about 0.8°K, and it is 0.7°K under the condition that the satellite zenith angle is less than 50°. It is demonstrated that the hourly MTSAT SST produced by the algorithm developed here captures diurnal SST variations in the equatorial sea in mid-November 2006.     

Improvement of New Generation Sea Surface Temperature for Open ocean (NGSST-O): a new sub-sampling method of blending microwave observations

An improved version (version 1.6) of the blended optimum interpolation sea surface temperature (SST), obtained by use of infrared (IR) and microwave (MW) data of the New Generation SST for Open ocean (NGSST-O) product, has been developed. A major improvement is the introduction of a sub-sampling scheme for MW-SST with a finer grid; this has resulted in reduction of the blocky patterning occasionally found in blended SST products with finer grids. Spectral comparison of along-track sea surface height and NGSST-O suggests that mesoscale turbulence was reproduced in the updated NGSST-O in a wide wavelength range.