The Sensitivity of Four Monitoring Well Sampling Systems to Low Concentrations of Three Volatile Organics

Four state-of-the-art ground water sampling systems were analyzed to determine their reliability in providing representative samples of the volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons trichloroethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE), and 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA) from a simulated monitoring well. The sampling systems studied represent four commonly used devices, including a stainless steel and Teflon® piston pump, a Teflon bailer, a Teflon bladder pump, and a PVC air-lift pump.
Controlled laboratory sampling experiments were conducted in a tank and well test chamber designed to approximate field conditions. A well purging and sampling procedure was used in the test apparatus to determine the accuracy and precision of each device for detecting low concentrations of the compounds in ground water. The compounds selected are some of the most ubiquitous hazardous contaminants found in shallow aquifers near hazardous waste sites throughout the United States.
No significant statistical difference was found among the four sampling systems in detecting the compounds.     

The respiratory environment of the Namib Desert Golden Mole

We measured the partial pressure of oxygen (PO₂) in the interstitial gas surrounding the sand-swimming Namib moleEremitalpa granti namibensis. At a sand temperature of 26 °C, which produced a nearly maximal rate of oxygen consumption, thePO₂near the noses of the animals averaged only 0·9 kPa (6·7 Torr) below the level in the free atmosphere. High oxygen availability was a result of the notably low metabolic rate in the 20 g mammals and the dry, porous and metabolically inactive nature of dune sand. A mathematical model indicated that normal mammals weighing 200 g or more could comfortably exist completely encased in dune sand. We concluded that the moles' small size and low metabolic rate are not adaptations to hypoxia or hypercapnia underground but are probably related to low food availability and the energetic cost of foraging in their desert environment.     

Determination of the onset dates of the rainy season in central Amazon with equatorially antisymmetric outgoing longwave radiation

The present work provides a new methodology to determine onset dates of the rainy season (ONR) in central Amazon (CAM) using the antisymmetric in relation to the equator outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) (AOLR) data, for the 1979–2006 period. Spatial averages of the AOLR ( $\overline {AOLR} $ ) over the CAM for the ONR periods are obtained. These periods correspond to 25 pentads centered on the mean pentad for the ONR. The sign changes from positive to negative of the $\overline {AOLR} $ for the ONR periods indicate the transition from dry to wet season. Composites of several variables are done for pentads before and after the ONR dates. These composites show physically consistent features. The potential of the $\overline {AOLR} $ time series as an index for monitoring tasks is analyzed. The results here show that the $\overline {AOLR} $ for the ONR period captures the transition from dry to wet conditions in the CAM area during 2006. The advantages of this method are discussed. The new simple method proposed here seems to be efficient in determining the ONR in the CAM.     

Chemical and chronologic complexity in the convecting upper mantle: Evidence from the Taitao ophiolite, southern Chile

Exposure of the ca. 6 Ma Taitao ophiolite, Chile, located 50 km south of the Chile Triple Junction, allows detailed chemical and isotopic study of rocks that were recently extracted from the depleted mantle source of mid-ocean ridge basalts (DMM). Ultramafic and mafic rocks are examined for isotopic (Os, Sr, Nd, and O), and major and trace element compositions, including the highly siderophile elements (HSE). Taitao peridotites have compositions indicative of variable extents of partial melting and melt extraction. Low δ¹⁸O values for most whole rock samples suggest some open-system, high-temperature water–rock interaction, most likely during serpentinization, but relict olivine grains have δ¹⁸O values consistent with primary mantle values. Most of the peridotites analyzed for Nd–Sr isotopes have compositions consistent with estimates for the modern DMM, although several samples are characterized by ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd indicative of crustal contamination, most likely via interactions with seawater. The peridotites have initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios that range widely from 0.1168 to 0.1288 (γ_Os = −8.0 to +1.1), averaging 0.1239 (γ_Os = −2.4), which is comparable to the average for modern abyssal peridotites. A negative correlation between the Mg^# of relict olivine grains and Os isotopic compositions of whole rock peridotites suggests that the Os isotopic compositions reflect primary mantle Re/Os fractionation produced by variable extents of partial melting at approximately 1.6 Ga. Recent re-melting at or near the spatially associated Chile Ridge further modified these rocks, and Re, and minor Pt and Pd were subsequently added back into some rocks by late-stage melt–rock or fluid–rock interactions.In contrast to the peridotites, approximately half of the mafic rocks examined have whole rock δ¹⁸O values within the range of mantle compositions, and their Nd and Sr isotopic compositions are all generally within the range of modern DMM. These rocks have initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios, calculated for 6 Ma, that range from 0.126 (γ_Os = −1) to as high as 0.561 (γ_Os = +342). The Os isotopic systematics of each of these rocks may reflect derivation from mixed lithologies that include the peridotites, but may also include pyroxenites with considerably more radiogenic Os than the peridotites. This observation supports the view that suprachondritic Os present in MORB derives from mixed mantle source lithologies, accounting for some of the worldwide dichotomy in ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os between MORB and abyssal peridotites.The collective results of this study suggest that this >500 km³ block of the mantle underwent at least two stages of melting. The first stage occurred at 1.6 Ga, after which the block remained isolated and unmixed within the DMM. A final stage of melting recently occurred at or near the Chile Ridge, resulting in the production of at least some of the mafic rocks. Convective stirring of this mantle domain during a >1 Ga period was remarkably inefficient, at least with regard to Os isotopes.     

Post‐orogenic sediment drape in the Northern Pyrenees explained using a box model

The transition to a post‐orogenic state in mountain ranges has been identified by a change from active subsidence to isostatic rebound of the foreland basin. However, the nature of the interplay between isostatic rebound and sediment supply, and their impact on the topographic evolution of a range and foreland basin during this transition, has not been fully investigated. Here, we use a box model to explore the syn‐ to post‐orogenic evolution of foreland basin/thrust wedge systems. Using a set of parameter values that approximate the northern Pyrenees and the neighbouring Aquitaine foreland basin, we evaluate the controls on sediment drape over the frontal parts of the retro‐wedge following cessation of crustal thickening. Conglomerates preserved at approximately 600‐m elevation, which is ~ 300 m above the present mountain front in the northern Pyrenees are ca. 12 Ma, approximately 10 Myrs younger than the last evidence of crustal thickening in the wedge. Using the model, this post‐orogenic sediment drape is explained by the combination of a sustained, high sediment influx from the range into the basin relative to the efflux out of the basin, combined with cessation of the generation of accommodation space through basin subsidence. Post‐orogenic sediment drape is considered a generic process that is likely to be responsible for elevated low‐gradient surfaces and preserved remnants of continental sedimentation draping the outer margins of the northern Pyrenean thrust wedge.     

A hybrid artificial neural network-numerical model for ground water problems

Numerical models constitute the most advanced physical-based methods for modeling complex ground water systems. Spatial and/or temporal variability of aquifer parameters, boundary conditions, and initial conditions (for transient simulations) can be assigned across the numerical model domain. While this constitutes a powerful modeling advantage, it also presents the formidable challenge of overcoming parameter uncertainty, which, to date, has not been satisfactorily resolved, inevitably producing model prediction errors. In previous research, artificial neural networks (ANNs), developed with more accessible field data, have achieved excellent predictive accuracy over discrete stress periods at site-specific field locations in complex ground water systems. In an effort to combine the relative advantages of numerical models and ANNs, a new modeling paradigm is presented. The ANN models generate accurate predictions for a limited number of field locations. Appending them to a numerical model produces an overdetermined system of equations, which can be solved using a variety of mathematical techniques, potentially yielding more accurate numerical predictions. Mathematical theory and a simple two-dimensional example are presented to overview relevant mathematical and modeling issues. Two of the three methods for solving the overdetermined system achieved an overall improvement in numerical model accuracy for various levels of synthetic ANN errors using relatively few constrained head values (i.e., cells), which, while demonstrating promise, requires further research. This hybrid approach is not limited to ANN technology; it can be used with other approaches for improving numerical model predictions, such as regression or support vector machines (SVMs).     

Connecting atmospheric science and atmospheric models for aerocapture at Titan and the outer planets

Many atmospheric measurement systems, such as the sounding instruments on Voyager, gather atmospheric information in the form of temperature versus pressure level. In these terms, there is considerable consistency among the mean atmospheric profiles of the outer planets Jupiter through Neptune, including Titan. On a given planet or on Titan, the range of variability of temperature versus pressure level due to seasonal, latitudinal, and diurnal variations is also not large. However, many engineering needs for atmospheric models relate not to temperature versus pressure level but atmospheric density versus geometric altitude. This need is especially true for design and analysis of aerocapture systems. Drag force available for aerocapture is directly proportional to atmospheric density. Available aerocapture “corridor width” (allowable range of atmospheric entry angle) also depends on height rate of change of atmospheric density, as characterized by density scale height. Characteristics of hydrostatics and the gas law equation mean that relatively small systematic differences in temperature versus pressure profiles can integrate at high altitudes to very large differences in density versus altitude profiles. Thus, a given periapsis density required to accomplish successful aerocapture can occur at substantially different altitudes (∼150-300 km) on the various outer planets, and significantly different density scale heights (∼20-50 km) can occur at these periapsis altitudes. This paper will illustrate these effects and discuss implications for improvements in atmospheric measurements to yield significant impact on design of aerocapture systems for future missions to Titan and the outer planets. Relatively small-scale atmospheric perturbations, such as gravity waves, tides, and other atmospheric variations can also have significant effect on design details for aerocapture guidance and control systems. This paper will discuss benefits that would result from improved understanding of Titan and outer planetary atmospheric perturbation characteristics. Details of recent engineering-level atmospheric models for Titan and Neptune will be presented, and effects of present and future levels of atmospheric uncertainty and variability characteristics will be examined.     

Twelve years of tracking 52-Hz whale calls from a unique source in the North Pacific

A unique whale call with 50–52 Hz emphasis from a single source has been tracked over 12 years in the central and eastern North Pacific. These calls, referred to as 52-Hz calls, were monitored and analyzed from acoustic data recorded by hydrophones of the US Navy Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) and other arrays. The calls were noticed first in 1989, and have been detected and tracked since 1992. No other calls with similar characteristics have been identified in the acoustic data from any hydrophone system in the North Pacific basin. Only one series of these 52-Hz calls has been recorded at a time, with no call overlap, suggesting that a single whale produced the calls. The calls were recorded from August to February with most in December and January. The species producing these calls is unknown. The tracks of the 52-Hz whale were different each year, and varied in length from 708 to 11,062 km with travel speeds ranging from 0.7 to 3.8 km/h. Tracks included (A) meandering over short ranges, (B) predominantly west-to-east movement, and (C) mostly north-to-south travel. These tracks consistently appeared to be unrelated to the presence or movement of other whale species (blue, fin and humpback) monitored year-round with the same hydrophones.