Chemically induced deformation of a porous layer coupled with advective–dispersive transport. Analytical solutions

In this paper a chemically induced deformation of porous material taking place during advective–dispersive transport of a chemical is considered. Linearized governing equations are derived and analytical solutions of 2 one‐dimensional problems for a homogeneous layer with drained boundaries are developed. Numerical results for a particular clayey material and a chemical migrating through the layer showing distributions of concentration of chemical, changes in porosity of the material and pore fluid pressure, and evolution of settlement of the layer as functions of time are discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Incorporation of ice sheet models into an Earth system model: Focus on methodology of coupling

Elaboration of a modern Earth system model (ESM) requires incorporation of ice sheet dynamics. Coupling of an ice sheet model (ICM) to an AOGCM is complicated by essential differences in spatial and temporal scales of cryospheric, atmospheric and oceanic components. To overcome this difficulty, we apply two different approaches for the incorporation of ice sheets into an ESM. Coupling of the Antarctic ice sheet model (AISM) to the AOGCM is accomplished via using procedures of resampling, interpolation and assigning to the AISM grid points annually averaged meanings of air surface temperature and precipitation fields generated by the AOGCM. Surface melting, which takes place mainly on the margins of the Antarctic peninsula and on ice shelves fringing the continent, is currently ignored. AISM returns anomalies of surface topography back to the AOGCM. To couple the Greenland ice sheet model (GrISM) to the AOGCM, we use a simple buffer energy- and water-balance model (EWBM-G) to account for orographically-driven precipitation and other sub-grid AOGCM-generated quantities. The output of the EWBM-G consists of surface mass balance and air surface temperature to force the GrISM, and freshwater run-off to force thermohaline circulation in the oceanic block of the AOGCM. Because of a rather complex coupling procedure of GrIS compared to AIS, the paper mostly focuses on Greenland.     

The structure of the crust in TESZ area by kriging interpolation

A precise 3D model of the crust is necessary to start any tectonic or geodynamic interpretation. It is also essential for seismic interpretations of structures lying below as well as for correct analysis of shallow structures using reflection seismics. During the last decades, a number of wide-angle refraction experiments were performed on the territory of central and eastern Europe (POLONAISE’97, CELEBRATION 2000, SUDETES 2003), resulting in many high quality 2D models. It is an interesting and complicated transition zone between Precambrian and Palaeozoic Platforms. This paper presents 3D model of the velocity distribution in the crust and upper mantle interpolated from 2D models of the structure along 33 profiles. The obtained model extends to a depth of 50 km and accurately describes the main features of the crustal structures of Poland and surrounding areas. Different interpolation techniques (Kriging, linear) are compared to assure maximum precision. The final model with estimated uncertainty is an interesting reference of the area for other studies.     

Evaluation of bacteriological and nutrient concerns in nearshore waters of a barrier island community in SW Florida

To determine if local onsite treatment systems affect nearshore water quality, seasonal and rain event monitoring of bacteria and nitrogen was conducted on the Gulf and estuary sides of Captiva Island. Monitoring wells were used to examine the relationship between surface water and groundwater quality. Nitrates were found to be significantly greater in ground water samples from the areas of Captiva using onsite treatment compared to areas with sewer. However, groundwater enterococci were no greater in areas with onsite treatment. Surface water nitrogen was significantly greater near onsite systems than areas with sewer, linking groundwater and surface water quality. Surface water enterococci increased significantly after rain events. Study results indicated stormwater runoff disperses indicator bacteria from diffuse terrestrial sources into nearshore waters, elevating the concentrations. This study reveals local onsite treatment systems produce elevated surface water nitrogen levels but do not contribute to elevated indicator bacteria concentrations in this system.     

Effect of the North Atlantic Oscillation on the Thermal Characteristics of Lakes in Poland

This paper presents the effect of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the thermal characteristics of lakes in Poland. In the analysis, the use was made of monthly air temperatures recorded at fifteen meteorological stations, water temperatures of twelve lakes, and Hurrell’s winter NAO indices. Over the study period (1971–2010), there was a marked increase in the temperatures of both, air and lake waters. Depending on the NAO phase, water temperatures were observed to depart from mean values, being markedly higher than average (even by 1°C) in the positive winter NAO phase. The differences in water temperatures were statistically significant in the winter-spring season. In turn, in the negative NAODJFM phase lake water temperatures in winter and spring were markedly lower than average (in March even by 1.0°C). The unique response of some lakes depends on their morphometric parameters, including their mean depth.     

Assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural sources in order to plan for needs of low carbon economy at local level in Poland

Agriculture is often not included in the baseline greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventories created for local low carbon economy plans in Poland and other European countries. We therefore estimate the size of the carbon footprint from agricultural sources and indicate the share of agriculture in the total GHG emissions in selected Polish communes (LAU level 2). We propose a solution whereby local government units can estimate their carbon footprint independently and monitor the impact of actions taken to reduce emissions. The value of the carbon footprint from agriculture in the selected communes varies from .5 to 46.5 thousand Mg CO₂eq/year, with a mean value of 12.6 thousand Mg CO₂eq/year and a standard deviation of 11.4 thousand Mg CO₂eq/year. Per capita, these values range from 10 kg CO₂eq/year to 8.4 Mg CO₂eq/year, with a mean of 1.1 Mg CO₂eq/year and a standard deviation of 1.5 Mg CO₂eq/year. In all communes, the contribution of agriculture to total emissions is at an average of 14% (values range from .2 to 57.4%). The obtained results confirm the appropriateness of including emissions from the agricultural sector and other related sources in low carbon economy plans.     

Time-symmetrization and isotropization of an anisotropic cosmological model without inflation

It is shown that growing-entropy stiff-fluid Kantowski-Sachs universes become time-symmetric (if they start with time-asymmetric phase) and isotropize. Isotropization happens without any inflationary era during the evolution since there is no cosmological term here. It seems that this approach is an alternative to inflation since the universe gets bigger and bigger, approaching flatness.     

Influence of Mean Rooftop-Level Estimation Method on Sensible Heat Flux Retrieved from a Large-Aperture Scintillometer Over a City Centre

The sensible heat flux (H) is determined using large-aperture scintillometer (LAS) measurements over a city centre for eight different computation scenarios. The scenarios are based on different approaches of the mean rooftop-level \((z_{H})\) estimation for the LAS path. Here, \(z_{H}\) is determined separately for wind directions perpendicular (two zones) and parallel (one zone) to the optical beam to reflect the variation in topography and building height on both sides of the LAS path. Two methods of \(z_{H}\) estimation are analyzed: (1) average building profiles; (2) weighted-average building height within a 250 m radius from points located every 50 m along the optical beam, or the centre of a certain zone (in the case of a wind direction perpendicular to the path). The sensible heat flux is computed separately using the friction velocity determined with the eddy-covariance method and the iterative procedure. The sensitivity of the sensible heat flux and the extent of the scintillometer source area to different computation scenarios are analyzed. Differences reaching up to 7% between heat fluxes computed with different scenarios were found. The mean rooftop-level estimation method has a smaller influence on the sensible heat flux (?4 to 5%) than the area used for the \(z_{H}\) computation (?5 to 7%). For the source-area extent, the discrepancies between respective scenarios reached a similar magnitude. The results demonstrate the value of the approach in which \(z_{H}\) is estimated separately for wind directions parallel and perpendicular to the LAS optical beam.