Geochemical changes during neutralisation of acid mine drainage in a dynamic mountain stream, New Zealand

The Mangatini Stream drains a coal mining area in the mountains of northwestern South Island of New Zealand. Abundant rainfall on pyritic rocks yields acid mine drainage (AMD) to the stream, which flows through a steep gorge at discharges that rapidly increase from <1 to >100 m³/s during frequent rain events. The AMD is treated with finely ground limestone, which is discharged as a slurry at a point in the middle of the gorge. The limestone slurry mixes and reacts with the AMD during flow ∼4 km downstream over ∼12 h. Neutralisation reactions increase stream pH from near 3 (untreated Mangatini Stream water impacted by AMD) to 5–6 in the first 250 m downstream, although mixing is commonly incomplete in this zone. Large stream discharge volumes in rain events dilute the neutralising material input, thus driving the pH back towards 4 downstream of treatment. More complete neutralisation is achieved 4 km downstream, even in major rain events, and pH can rise to >7. Partial neutralisation is sufficient to remove most of the dissolved Fe(III) (typically ∼30 mg/L) from the Mangatini Stream in the first 10 m, and remaining dissolved Fe is essentially all Fe(II), which decreases over time as it oxidises and precipitates. Dissolved Al in the Mangatini Stream (typically ∼50 mg/L) decreases steadily downstream over ∼100 m in the limestone mixing zone. Precipitated Fe and Al form amorphous oxyhydroxides that are transported as suspended solids and deposited on the stream bed with excess limestone in zones of low flow velocity. Dissolved Zn is removed from solution by adsorption to Fe oxyhydroxide when pH reaches ∼5, but dissolved Ni remains in solution despite the neutralisation process. Gypsum precipitation occurs throughout the limestone mixing zone, resulting in at least 30% decrease in dissolved . Minor ettringite forms in the first 100 m, but then probably redissolves. The limestone dosing system is an effective method of neutralising the effects of AMD and removing most dissolved metals in a steep mountain stream with frequent rain events where this dynamic environment places many constraints on treatment options.     

Genesis of garnet peridotites in the Sulu UHP belt. Examples from the CCSD-MH, PP1 and PP3 drillholes

The main hole (MH), and pre-pilot holes PP1, and PP3 of the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Project (CCSD) penetrated three different garnet peridotite massifs in the Sulu ultrahigh pressure metamorphic belt, and they are 80m, 120m, and 430m thick, respectively.     

Marginal abatement cost curves: a call for caution

Legal commitments to reduce CO₂ emissions require policy makers to find cost-efficient means to meet these obligations. Marginal abatement cost (MAC) curves, which illustrate the economics associated with climate change mitigation, have recently attracted a great amount of attention. A number of limitations with MAC curves are explained by the implication they should be just one tool in a broader set of decision-making aids used in assessing climate policy. MAC curves, for example, omit ancillary benefits of greenhouse gas emission abatement, treat uncertainty in a limited manner, exclude intertemporal dynamics and lack the necessary transparency concerning their assumptions. MAC curves based on the individual assessment of abatement measures suffer from additional shortcomings such as the non-consideration of interactions and non-financial costs, a possibly inconsistent baseline, double counting and limited treatment of behavioural aspects. Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation exhibit many of the above-mentioned problems, making it particularly difficult to capture in a cost curve. Policy makers should therefore be cautious when interpreting MAC curves, pay attention to the underlying assumptions, consider non-financial costs and be aware of the important uncertainties and underlying path dependencies.     

Groundwater Modeling with Nonlinear Uncertainty Analyses to Enhance Remediation Design Confidence

Soil and groundwater contamination are often managed by establishing on‐site cleanup targets within the context of risk assessment or risk management measures. Decision‐makers rely on modeling tools to provide insight; however, it is recognized that all models are subject to uncertainty. This case study compares suggested remediation requirements using a site‐specific numerical model and a standardized analytical tool to evaluate risk to a downgradient wetland receptor posed by on‐site chloride impacts. The base case model, calibrated to observed non‐pumping and pumping conditions, predicts a peak concentration well above regulatory criteria. Remediation scenarios are iteratively evaluated to determine a remediation design that adheres to practical site constraints, while minimizing the potential for risk to the downgradient receptor. A nonlinear uncertainty analysis is applied to each remediation scenario to stochastically evaluate the risk and find a solution that meets the site‐owner risk tolerance, which in this case required a risk‐averse solution. This approach, which couples nonlinear uncertainty analysis with a site‐specific numerical model provides an enhanced level of knowledge to foster informed decision‐making (i.e., risk‐of‐success) and also increases stakeholder confidence in the remediation design.     

Knowledge gaps in our perceptual model of Great Britain's hydrology

There is a no lack of significant open questions in the field of hydrology. How will hydrological connectivity between freshwater bodies be altered by future human alterations to the hydrological cycle? Where does water go when it rains? Or what is the future space–time variability of flood and drought events? However, the answers to these questions will vary with location due to the specific and often poorly understood local boundary conditions and system properties that control the functional behaviour of a catchment or any other hydrologic control volume. We suggest that an open, shared and evolving perceptual model of a region's hydrology is critical to tailor our science questions, as it would be for any other study domain from the plot to the continental scale. In this opinion piece, we begin to discuss the elements of and point out some knowledge gaps in the perceptual model of the terrestrial water cycle of Great Britain. We discuss six major knowledge gaps and propose four key ways to reduce them. While the specific knowledge gaps in our perceptual model do not necessarily transfer to other places, we believe that the development of such perceptual models should be at the core of the debate for all hydrologic communities, and we encourage others to have a similar debate for their hydrologic domain.     

Rotation and color properties of the nucleus of Comet 2P/Encke

We present results from CCD observations of Comet 2P/Encke acquired at Steward Observatory's 2.3 m Bok Telescope on Kitt Peak. The observations were carried out in October 2002 when the comet was near aphelion. Rotational lightcurves in B-, V-, and R-filters were acquired over two nights of observations, and analysed to study the physical and color properties of the nucleus. The average apparent R-filter magnitude across both nights corresponds to a mean effective radius of 3.95±0.06 km, and this value is similar to that found for the V- and B-filters. Taking the observed brightness range, we obtain a/b?1.44±0.06 for the semi-axial ratio of Encke's nucleus. Applying the axial ratio to the R-filter photometry gives nucleus semi-axes of [3.60±0.09]×[5.20±0.13] km, using the empirically-derived albedo and phase coefficient. No coma or tail was seen despite deep imaging of the comet, and flux limits from potential unresolved coma do not exceed a few percent of the total measured flux, for standard coma models. This is consistent with many other published data sets taken when the comet was near aphelion. Our data includes the first detailed time series multi-color measurements of a cometary nucleus, and significant color variations were seen on October 3, though not repeated on October 4. The average color indices across both nights are: (V−R)=0.39±0.06 and (B−V)=0.73±0.06 (). We analysed the R-filter time-series photometry using the method of Harris et al. [Harris, A.W., Young, J.W., Bowell, E., Martin, L.J., Millis, R.L., Poutanen, M., Scaltriti, F., Zappala, V., Schober, H.J., Debehogne, H., Zeigler, K.W., 1989. Icarus 77, 171-186] to constrain the rotation period of the comet's nucleus, and find that a period of ∼11.45 h will satisfy the data, however the errors bars are large. We have successfully linked our data with the September 2002 data from Fernández et al. [Fernández, Y.R., Lowry, S.C., Weissman, P.R., Mueller, B.E.A., Samarasinha, N.H., Belton, M.J.S., Meech, K.J., 2005. Icarus 175, 194-214]—taken just 2-3 weeks before the current data set—and we show that a rotation period of just over 11 h works extremely well for the combined data set. The resulting best-fit period is 11.083±0.003 h, consistent with the Fernández et al. value.     

震后地形变与孔隙压力瞬态变化的相互关系

大震改变地壳的应力,从而触发地震及其余震。一系列随时间变化的过程,包括余滑、孔隙流体的流动、下地壳和上地幔粘性的张驰、断层附近应力和孔隙压力调整以及地震的触发进程。然而,尽管进行过多次尝试,但通过直接场地的观测,很难将这些过程区分开来。这里我们采用一种星载雷达干涉图和冰岛南部地震带两个6.5级地震地热井水位变化过程结合的测量法。干涉图记录到的形变既不能用余滑也不能用粘-弹性张驰来解释,但它与地震发生后最初两个月孔隙弹性物质的回跳一致,这可以用地震引起水位变化的快速恢复(1—2个月)来证实,相反余震序列的持续时间达到3.5年,这表明余震的持续时间并不是由孔隙流体的流动控制的,但是,因为表面应变是由地壳浅部孔隙压力的变化控制的,因此,我们不能排除在余震发生深度存在较长时间的孔隙压力瞬态变化。余震的持续时间与随速度和状态变化的摩擦定律控制的地震活动变化速率模型是一致的。     

A Test Environment for Location-Based Services Applications

Location‐Based Services (LBS) are the delivery of information to mobile devices customised to location and context of the user. Some research has focused on data content, while other studies have emphasised the role of multimedia communication. However, very few objective tests have been carried out concerning usage and behaviour. In this paper, a conceptual model and a LBS test environment are presented which aim to study the behaviour and interaction between environments, individuals and mobile devices. The test environment was created, for this purpose, with three main components: urban VR models that allow individuals to ‘walk around’ at street level, a mobile device as information source which simulates LBS applications, and software for recording participant actions and reactions within the test environment. Multi‐source data were collected regarding movement tracking, information accessed through mobile device and participant observations using a combination of automated and semi‐automated methods. A case study on pedestrian wayfinding in urban settings is presented. This illustrates how the test environment can be used for LBS applications and how the data collected can be analysed. The research presented in this paper provides a novel approach in studying and understanding the interaction between environments, individuals and mobile devices.