Impact of prescribed Arctic sea ice thickness in simulations of the present and future climate

This paper describes atmospheric general circulation model climate change experiments in which the Arctic sea-ice thickness is either fixed to 3 m or somewhat more realistically parameterized in order to take into account essentially the spatial variability of Arctic sea-ice thickness, which is, to a first approximation, a function of ice type (perennial or seasonal). It is shown that, both at present and at the end of the twenty-first century (under the SRES-A1B greenhouse gas scenario), the impact of a variable sea-ice thickness compared to a uniform value is essentially limited to the cold seasons and the lower troposphere. However, because first-year ice is scarce in the Central Arctic today, but not under SRES-A1B conditions at the end of the twenty-first century, and because the impact of a sea-ice thickness reduction can be masked by changes of the open water fraction, the spatial and temporal patterns of the effect of sea-ice thinning on the atmosphere differ between the two periods considered. As a consequence, not only the climate simulated at a given period, but also the simulated Arctic climate change over the twenty-first century is affected by the way sea-ice thickness is prescribed.     

Analysis of a large extent aeromagnetic survey near the geomagnetic equator (Minas Gerais,Brazil)

A large extent aeromagnetic survey, covering a 9°×9° degree of a Precambrian shield area in SE Brazil, was used to analyse long wavelength magnetic anomalies with the purpose of determining the magnetic structure of the lithosphere.Data analysis based on a novel approach to the estimation of the parameters in the statistical model ofSpector andGrant (1970), reveals a highly magnetized lower crust, bounded by an essentially non-magnetic upper mantle. The highly magnetized layer can be associated with a higher density lower crust model, derived from gravity and seismic data available in the area, suggesting a compositional transition from upper to lower crust.It was also verified that the operation of reduction to the pole, which is singular at the geomagnetic equator, performs quite satisfactorily at the low geomagnetic inclination of the area, bringing into accordance the long wavelength anomalies with the structural trends.     

Statistics of nonlinear wave crests and groups

Groups of large nonlinear waves with sharper higher crests can pose hazards to ships, induce harbor resonance and cause wave-overtopping of fixed and floating structures. Past interest in wave groups has mostly been focused on the statistics and modeling of linear wave groups. Studies on nonlinear wave groups are surprisingly few, and address deep water waves only. Here, statistics of nonlinear wave crests and wave-crest groups in deep and transitional water depths are considered, using an appropriate second-order representation for crest heights and the continuous wave-envelope approach. In particular, theoretical expressions describing the statistics of nonlinear wave crests and their groups are posed in the form of a simple second-order transformation of well-known results on linear waves. Predictions from the transformation so posed compare well with nonlinear wave data gathered in the North Sea, and demonstrate that nonlinearities do affect the statistics of large wave crests and their groups significantly.     

Photosynthetic characteristics of dominant tree species and canopy in the broadleaved Korean pine forest of Changbai Mountains

Based on the light-photosynthesis response measurement at leaf level, combined with over-and under-canopy eddy covariance measurements, research on photosynthetic characteristics of single trees and forest canopy was conducted. The relationship between light intensity and photosynthetic rates for leaves and canopy can be well fitted by a non-rectangular hyperbola model. Mongolian oak presented a high light compensation point, L _cp (28 μmol·m^?2·s^?1), a light saturation point L _sp (>1800 μmol·m^?2·s^?1), and a maximal net photosynthetic rate P _max (9.96 μmol·m^?2·s^?1), which suggest that it is a typical heliophilous plant. Mono maple presented the highest apparent quantum efficiency α (0.066) but the lowest, L _cp (16 μmol·m^?2·s^?1), L _sp (≈800 μmol·m^?2·s^?1), and P _max (4.51 μmol·m^?2·s^?1), which suggest that it is heliophilous plant. Korean pine showed the lowest α value but a higher P _max, which suggest that it is a semi-heliophilous plant. At the canopy level, the values of both α and P _max approached the upper limit of reported values in temperate forests, while L _cp was within the lower limit. Canopy photosynthetic characteristics were well consistent with those of leaves. Both showed a high ability to photosynthesize. However, environmental stresses, especially high vapor pressure deficits, could significantly reduce the photosynthetic ability of leaves and canopy.     

Effects of convective available potential energy,temperature and humidity on the variability of thunderstorm frequency over Bangladesh

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - The present study examines the effects of convective available potential energy (CAPE), temperature and humidity on the spatiotemporal variation of...     

Prediction of water inflow to mechanized tunnels during tunnel-boring-machine advance using numerical simulation

An accurate estimate of the groundwater inflow to a tunnel is one of the most challenging but essential tasks in tunnel design and construction. Most of the numerical or analytical solutions that have been developed ignore tunnel seepage conditions, material properties and hydraulic-head changes along the tunnel route during the excavation process, leading to inaccurate prediction of inflow rates. A method is introduced that uses MODFLOW code of GMS software to predict inflow rate as the tunnel boring machine (TBM) gradually advances. In this method, the tunnel boundary condition is conceptualized and defined using Drain package, which is simulated by dividing the drilling process into a series of successive intervals based on the tunnel excavation rates. In addition, the drain elevations are specified as the respective tunnel elevations, and the conductance parameters are assigned to intervals, depending on the TBM type and the tunnel seepage condition. The Qomroud water conveyance tunnel, located in Lorestan province of Iran, is 36 km in length. Since the Qomroud tunnel involved groundwater inrush during excavating, it is considered as a good case study to evaluate the presented method. The groundwater inflow to this tunnel during the TBM advance is simulated using the proposed method and the predicted rates are compared with observed rates. The results show that the presented method can satisfactorily predict the inflow rates as the TBM advances.     

Determining the hard rock groundwater pathway in Golgohar complex formation using hydrochemical data in AHP

Thirty percent of present industrial water consumption of the Golgohar Iron Ore Mine (GIOM) is supplied from a hard rock well (PW-A15) and the rest from 25 wells located in 4 disconnected alluvial aquifers. This well is drilled in the metamorphic complex of Golgohar formation. Attempts have been made to develop extraction of water from other hard rocks existing in the area with no success. Therefore, extensive researches have been carried out to find the pathway, or a provision pathway of water discharged from this well. To study the hydrochemical similarity of this water with other water resources, 122 water samples from an area of 7132 km² were collected from the existing pumping wells, piezometers, mine exploration bore holes, and three salt pans in the vicinity of the area for hydrochemical analysis. The analyses were performed for concentration of major ions and some minor elements. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of ion concentration was plotted in the GIS to delineate the similarity of the PW-A15 water with other water sources and their hydrochemical neighborhood by analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The AHP was performed in two steps: first, iso-concentration maps of seven major ions, eight minor elements, and TDS were used to produce an AHP map (Map1) using weights for different hydrochemical parameters; and second, a similarity index (SI) map was prepared by performing a suggested clustering approach in SPSS using K-means clustering, which was overlaid on Map1 producing Map2. The result of AHP Map2 was then overlaid on the iso-potential map of the sampled locations in GIS software using a mask operator. Therefore, the zones having the most similarity and higher hydraulic potential than PW-A15 were nominated as the zones which possibly could recharge this well, and the groundwater (GW) pathway was proposed. The result of the study method showed to be successful and will be used as a guide for future exploration drillings.     

Grid resolution study of ground water flow and transport

Three-dimensional grids representing a heterogeneous, ground water system are generated at 10 different resolutions in support of a site-scale flow and transport modeling effort. These grids represent hydrostratigraphy near Yucca Mountain, Nevada, consisting of 18 stratigraphic units with contrasting fluid flow and transport properties. The grid generation method allows the stratigraphy to be modeled by numerical grids of different resolution so that comparison studies can be performed to test for grid quality and determine the resolution required to resolve geologic structure and physical processes such as fluid flow and solute transport. The process of generating numerical grids with appropriate property distributions from geologic conceptual models is automated, thus making the entire process easy to implement with fewer user-induced errors. The series of grids of various resolutions are used to assess the level at which increasing resolution no longer influences the flow and solute transport results. Grid resolution is found to be a critical issue for ground water flow and solute transport. The resolution required in a particular instance is a function of the feature size of the model, the intrinsic properties of materials, the specific physics of the problem, and boundary conditions. The asymptotic nature of results related to flow and transport indicate that for a hydrologic model of the heterogeneous hydrostratigraphy under Yucca Mountain, a horizontal grid spacing of 600 m and vertical grid spacing of 40 m resolve the hydrostratigraphic model with sufficient precision to accurately model the hypothetical flow and solute transport to within 5% of the value that would be obtained with much higher resolution.     

Finite-difference migration of the field of refracted waves in studies of the deep structure of the Earth’s crust and the upper mantle based on the DSS (on the example of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">DOBRE</Emphasis> profile)

The main results of deep seismic sounding (DSS) are usually presented in the form of high-velocity models of the medium. Some model examples and the international DOBRE profile have shown that the informativeness of the data obtained can be significantly enhanced by the construction of wave images of the Earth’s crust, based on the migration of refracted and wide-angle reflected waves. The Donets Basin Refraction/Reflection Experiment (DOBRE) profile crosses the Dnieper-Donets paleorift zone in the Donbas region. Along the profile, refracted waves from the basement and the upper mantle and the reflections from the crust basement (the M boundary) are reliably traced. This wave migration has been used to construct a wave image of the structure of the Earth’s crust. As a result, a clear seismic image of the basement surface, whose depth changes along the profile from 0 to 20 km, was obtained. In near-slope parts of the basin, several major faults were identified that had not been identified previously during standard kinematic data processing. It is shown that the crust-upper mantle transition zone is a clearly reflective horizon only within the crystalline massifs; under a depression, it is represented by a lens-shaped highly-heterogeneous area. As shown in the model examples, the images obtained using such a migration accurately reflect the structural features of the medium, in spite of its complicated structure.