Long-range transport of Asian emissions to the West Pacific tropical tropopause layer

Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry - Rapid transport by deep convection is an important mechanism for delivering surface emissions of reactive halocarbons and other trace species to the tropical...     

Ra and Rn isotopes as natural tracers of submarine groundwater discharge in the patagonian coastal zone (Argentina): an initial assessment

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is herein recognized as a significant pathway of material transport from land to the coastal SW Atlantic Ocean and thus, it can be a relevant factor affecting the marine biogeochemical cycles in the region. This paper focuses on the initial measurements of ²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ra and ²²²Rn made in Patagonia’s coastal zone of Chubut and Santa Cruz provinces (42°S–48°S, Argentina). ²²⁶Ra activity ranged from 2.9 to 73.5 dpm 100 L^?1, and ²²⁸Ra activity ranged from 11.9 to 311.0 dpm 100 L^?1 in groundwater wells. The radium activities found in Patagonia’s marine coastal regions and adjacent shelf indicate significant enrichment throughout the coastal waters. Groundwater samples presented the largest ²²²Rn activity and ranged from 2.66 to 1083 dpm L^?1. Conversely, in the coastal marine environment, the ²²²Rn activity ranged from 1.03 to 6.23 dpm L^?1. The Patagonian coastal aquifer showed a larger enrichment in ²²⁸Ra than in ²²⁶Ra, which is a typical feature for sites where SGD is dominant, probably playing a significant role in the biogeochemistry of these coastal waters.     

Probabilistic assessment of the impact of coal seam gas development on groundwater: Surat Basin,Australia

Modelling cumulative impacts of basin-scale coal seam gas (CSG) extraction is challenging due to the long time frames and spatial extent over which impacts occur combined with the need to consider local-scale processes. The computational burden of such models limits the ability to undertake calibration and sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. A framework is presented that integrates recently developed methods and tools to address the computational burdens of an assessment of drawdown impacts associated with rapid CSG development in the Surat Basin, Australia. The null space Monte Carlo method combined with singular value decomposition (SVD)-assisted regularisation was used to analyse the uncertainty of simulated drawdown impacts. The study also describes how the computational burden of assessing local-scale impacts was mitigated by adopting a novel combination of a nested modelling framework which incorporated a model emulator of drawdown in dual-phase flow conditions, and a methodology for representing local faulting. This combination provides a mechanism to support more reliable estimates of regional CSG-related drawdown predictions. The study indicates that uncertainties associated with boundary conditions are reduced significantly when expressing differences between scenarios. The results are analysed and distilled to enable the easy identification of areas where the simulated maximum drawdown impacts could exceed trigger points associated with legislative ‘make good’ requirements; trigger points require that either an adjustment in the development scheme or other measures are implemented to remediate the impact. This report contributes to the currently small body of work that describes modelling and uncertainty analyses of CSG extraction impacts on groundwater.     

Broadening participation,creating community,and learning that it never goes as planned

This paper presents the experience of a service-learning course which used community geography to study a proposed research and community center in DeKalb, IL. The center was proposed as a jointly-developed project by the Northern Illinois University and local governmental entities. The original goal of the course was to explore the viability of the proposed project and solicit feedback from the community through traditional engaged planning and public participation. As students began interacting with university and residential communities, it became clear that both communities had input for the center, and found similarities in their experiences and perceptions. While noted divisions in interest groups are known in DeKalb, both communities found themselves surprisingly interested in meaningful discussion to better understand each other through their shared experiences. In response, our theoretical approach shifted to community geography. Students, university employees, and local residents introduced and analyzed questions together as researchers and participants, and developed recommendations to address shared concern. Students then prepared a report advocating for those concerns to submit to university and community leaders. Following the evolution of this project, this paper presents lessons learned and areas for application of community geography as a pedagogical technique, as an important component of geography curriculum, and as a research framework for town-gown relationship inquiry.

     

Geometric calculation of view factors for stream surface radiation modelling in the presence of riparian forest

Many efforts to model stream temperature by using an energy budget approach have not accounted for view factors in modelling stream surface radiative exchanges, used informal approaches for computing them, or relied on calibration, which is not applicable for prediction at unmonitored sites or for predicting the effects of changes in riparian vegetation. In this paper, equations are derived for calculating view factors on the basis of geometric considerations for streams with and without riparian forest. The solutions can accommodate vegetation overhanging the stream surface. Example calculations illustrate the substantial variability of view factors across the stream width, which has implications for the estimation of view factors from point‐scale radiation measurements over the stream surface, and the important influence of overhanging vegetation on view factors for narrow streams. View factors computed from the geometric model agreed well with view factors computed from hemispherical photography for streams ranging from 1 to almost 50 m wide, indicating that the model appears to be reasonably robust to deviations from the simplified geometry assumed by the model. In addition to their use in modelling stream surface energy exchanges, the solutions could also be adapted for application to energy balance and microclimate modelling in linear forest openings, such as seismic lines used in oil and gas exploration. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late‐summer thermal regime of a small proglacial lake

This study was motivated by an interest in understanding the potential effects of climate change and glacier retreat on late summer water temperatures in alpine areas. Fieldwork was carried out between July and September 2007 at Place Lake, located below Place Glacier in the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. Place Lake has an area of 72 000 m², a single inlet and outlet channel, and an approximate residence time of 4 days. Warming between the inlet and outlet of the lake ranged up to 3 °C and averaged 1.8 °C, which exceeds the amount of warming that occurred over the 1 km reach of Place Creek between the lake outlet and tree line. Over a 23‐day period, net radiation totalled about 210 MJ·m^–2, with sensible heat flux adding another 56 MJ m^‐2. The latent heat flux consumed about 8% of the surface heat input. The dominant heat sink was the net horizontal advection associated with lake inflow and outflow. Early in the study period, temperatures between the surface and 6‐m depth were dominantly at or above 4 °C and were generally neutral to thermally stable, whereas temperatures decreased with depth below 6 m and exhibited irregular sub‐diurnal variations. The maximum outflow temperature of almost 7 °C occurred in this period. We hypothesize that turbidity currents associated with cold, sediment‐laden glacier discharge formed an underflow and influenced temperatures in the deeper portion of the lake but did not mix with the upper layers. Later in the study period, the lake was dominantly well mixed with some near‐surface stability associated with nocturnal cooling. Further research is required to examine the combined effects of sediment concentrations and thermal processes on mixing in small proglacial lakes to make projections of the consequences of glacier retreat on alpine lake and stream temperatures. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stream temperature dynamics in two hydrogeomorphically distinct reaches

The objective of this study was to analyse stream temperature variability during summer in relation to both surface heat exchanges and reach‐scale hydrology for two hydrogeomorphically distinct reaches. The study focused on a 1·5‐km wildfire‐disturbed reach of Fishtrap Creek located north of Kamloops, British Columbia. Streamflow measurements and longitudinal surveys of electrical conductivity and water chemistry indicated that the upper 750 m of the study reach was dominated by flow losses. A spring discharged into the stream at 750 m below the upper reach boundary. Below the spring, the stream was neutral to losing on three measurement days, but gained flow on a fourth day that followed a rain event. Continuous stream temperature measurements typically revealed a downstream warming along the upper 750 m of the study reach on summer days, followed by a pronounced cooling associated with the spring, with little downstream change below the spring. Modelled surface energy exchanges were similar over the upper and lower sub‐reaches, and thus cannot explain the differences in longitudinal temperature patterns. Application of a Lagrangian stream temperature model provided reasonably accurate predictions for the upper sub‐reach. For the lower sub‐reach, accurate prediction required specification of concurrent flow losses and gains as a hydrological boundary condition. These findings are consistent with differences in the hydrogeomorphology of the upper and lower sub‐reaches. The modelling exercise indicated that substantial errors in predicted stream temperature can occur by representing stream‐surface exchange as a reach‐averaged one‐directional flux computed from differences in streamflow between the upper and lower reach boundaries. Further research should focus on reliable methods for quantifying spatial variations in reach‐scale hydrology. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Designing science web sites

From a scientist’s viewpoint a web site is one tool used to conduct research. From an artist’s viewpoint web sites are a form of visual composition. From a developer’s point of view a web site is a type of application. While web sites are a relatively new medium with a particular set of constraints, they do adhere to the same basic design principles that apply to other art forms. These design principles are the basic assumptions that affect the arrangement of elements within a composition. A successful design uses the principles and elements to achieve a visual goal in the composition. A web site designed for scientists has unique properties which are not shared by many other types of web sites. These properties influence the overall visual design of the web sites. Recently at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at UCLA undertook a re-design of a number of its websites. In the effort, the use of visual design principles combined with the properties of a science web site were put to the test. In all, six different web sites were designed each with a difference science focus. We describe the process used to design the web sites which involve forming teams of designers, scientists and developers. We present example pages from each design and conclude with a discussion of what was learned during the process.