Investigation on piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate detector bombarded obliquely with hypervelocity iron particles

A cosmic dust detector for use onboard a satellite is currently being constructed from piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT). The characteristics of the PZT detector were studied by bombarding it with hypervelocity iron particles, which were supplied by a Van de Graaff accelerator. There was a linear relationship between the rise time of the signal observed from the detector and the particle's velocity, which was above 10 km/s on impact. It was also found that the rise time was almost independent of the collisional angle between the particles and the PZT surface within the limits of the particle's parameters used in this experiment.     

晚冰期以来大柴旦盐湖沉积记录的古气候演变及其尘暴事件

本文选择大柴旦盐湖DCD03沉积剖面柱硼镁石矿层下伏土黄色淤泥质粉砂层为研究对象,基于AMS ₁₄C年代学、岩性地层学、矿物学以及地球化学等研究方法,旨在探讨土黄色湖相淤泥质粉砂沉积记录的尘暴事件,以及重建晚冰期以来西风环流显著影响区的水文气候变化。研究结果表明,DCD03沉积剖面的淤泥质粉砂样品粒度频率曲线呈现为双峰态,主峰(均值10 μm)反映了河流作用携带入湖的细粒组分,次峰(﹥32 μm)则反映了风力作用以及河流作用等携带入湖的粗粉砂粒组分。大于64 μm的砂砾组分可能代表外源风尘物质的输入,由尘暴天气携带入湖。大柴旦地区晚冰期以来依次出现了博令和阿勒罗德暖期(12.94~12.17 cal. ka BP)、新仙女木冷期(12.17~11.37 cal. ka BP)、不稳定的早全新世气候(11.37~8.64 cal. ka BP)以及趋于偏冷干的中全新世早期(8.64~7.39 cal. ka BP)。     

A 3D multi-threshold,region-growing algorithm for identifying dust storm features from model simulations

Dust storms cause significant damage to health, property, and the environment worldwide every year. To help mitigate the damage, dust forecast models simulate and predict upcoming dust events, providing valuable information to scientists, decision makers, and the public. These simulation outputs are in four-dimensions (i.e., latitude, longitude, elevation, and time) and represent spatially heterogeneous dust storm features and their evolution over space and time. This research investigates and proposes an automatic multi-threshold, region-growing-based algorithm to identify critical dust storm features from 3D dust storm simulations. A multi-threshold scheme is defined for the identification of dust storm features with different dust concentrations. Based on the multi-thresholds, dust storm features are iteratively identified by developing a region-growing algorithm that splits a clustered dust storm feature into multiple sub-features. The proposed approach is compared with three commonly used methods in image processing and thunderstorm identification. The proposed approach outperforms the other three methods in sensitivity and quantitative/qualitative accuracy. This research approach may also be slightly adjusted to identify critical 3D features from simulation outputs for other severe weather and geographical phenomena.     

沙尘表面非均相化学过程的气候效应的初步模拟研究

建立了一个包含地表起尘机制的尘粒表面非均相化学模式, 并与区域气候——大气化学模式系统连接. 研究了沙尘气溶胶表面的非均相过程对大气中一些重要微量成分浓度的影响及其所产生的气候效应. 结果表明,非均相过程使得二氧化硫和臭氧的浓度降低,硫酸盐浓度增加,年平均硫酸盐积分浓度增加26mg/m2;在部分地区非均相过程使二氧化氮浓度降低,而在另外一些地区,则使二氧化氮浓度增加. 1,4,7,10月四个月硫酸盐浓度增加造成的辐射强迫最大值分别为-0.24,-1.0,-2.0,-0.6 W/m2,全区域年平均辐射强迫为-0.033 W/m2. 四个月最大降温分别可达0.16,0.35,0.5,0.48K,年平均降温0.021K. 非均相过程对月总降水亦有明显的影响.     

The effect of Nix and Hydra on the putative Pluto–Charon dust cloud

Impact-generated dust clouds around airless bodies have been observed or suggested to be present throughout the solar system, including around the Martian, Galilean and Saturnian satellites. Simulations have assessed Pluto and Charon as sources of a possible dust cloud or torus and found that such a cloud would be dominated by Charon-produced ejecta and would have an optical depth of τ≈10⁻¹¹. These simulations were conducted before the discovery of two additional, small satellites of Pluto, Nix and Hydra. These small moons may yield impact-generated dust in excess of their larger counterparts due to their lower escape velocities, despite their smaller cross sections. In this paper, we extend a previous model of the Pluto–Charon dust cloud to include Nix and Hydra, both as sinks for Pluto- and Charon-generated dust and as sources of impact-generated dust. We find that Nix- and Hydra-generated dust grains outlive Pluto and Charon dust grains significantly and are the dominant contributors of dust in the Pluto–Charon system. Furthermore, we estimate the net geometric optical depth of grains between 0.1 and to be on the order of 10⁻⁷.     

Meteorological causes of Harmattan dust in West Africa

We investigated the temporal dynamics of dust entrainment in the Bodélé Depression, Central Sahara, to better understand the intra-annual variability of aerosol emission in the world's largest dust source. The linkages between dust entrainment and large-scale meteorological factors were examined by correlating several meteorological variables in the Mediterranean and Africa north of the equator with the aerosol concentrations in the Bodélé Depression separately for winter and summer. The methodological tools applied are NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and the aerosol index of the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS-AI), available for 15 years from 1978 to 1993. We found that dust mobilisation during the Harmattan season is highly dependent on air pressure variability in the Mediterranean area. High pressure to the north of the Bodélé intensifies the NE trade winds, leading to an increased entrainment of dust in the Bodélé Depression. In summer, dust mobilization cannot be explained by the large scale meteorological conditions. This highlights the importance of local to regional wind systems linked to the northernmost position of the intertropical convection zone (ITCZ) during this time.     

WRF-chem sensitivity to vertical resolution during a saharan dust event

The Saharan dust event that occurred between the 22nd and 30th of June 2012 influenced the atmospheric radiative properties over North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, the Western Mediterranean basin, extending its effects to France and Southern England. This event is well documented in satellite imagery, as well as on the air quality stations over the Iberian Peninsula and the AERONET NASA network. In order to assess the effect of the model vertical resolution on the extinction coefficient fields, as a proxy to the particulate matter concentrations in the atmosphere, the WRF-Chem model was applied during this period over a mother domain with a resolution of 18 km, covering Europe and North Africa. To this end five model setups differing in the number of vertical levels were tested. Model skills were evaluated by comparing the model results with CALIPSO and EARLINET LIDAR data. Results show that the model is able to simulate the higher level aerosol transport but it is susceptible to the vertical resolution used. This is due to the thickness of the transport layers which is, eventually, thinner than the vertical resolution of the model. When comparing model results to the observed vertical profiles, it becomes evident that the broad features of the extinction coefficient profile are generally reproduced in all model configurations, but finer details are captured only by the higher resolution simulations.     

钢铁厂周围不同污染介质的磁学性质及环境意义

为了通过钢铁厂周围不同污染介质的磁学性质研究,实现对环境污染的有效监测,本文系统地采集了河北兴隆和湖南娄底两个钢铁厂周围的树皮和草表面的飞灰、土壤及不同树种的年轮样品.其中前三者用来反映现今污染源,而树木年轮用来追踪长时间尺度的污染历史.通过综合岩石磁学实验分析（包括热磁曲线、磁滞性质和低温实验等）、电子扫描电镜(SEM)和能谱(EDX)以及X射线衍射(XRD)分析,发现钢铁厂周围现今污染源中的主要粗颗粒磁性矿物为磁铁矿、赤铁矿和纯铁.其中8~50 μm的球形磁铁矿颗粒和呈棱角状的铁颗粒是钢铁厂污染物的特征磁性矿物.对不同树种来说,其中香樟树和枫树树木年轮中的磁性矿物以顺磁性物质为主, 不适合用于环境磁学的污染监测.而柳树中的磁性矿物（主要为磁铁矿）与现今污染源的磁性矿物相符.以上研究表明多参数岩石磁学测量并辅以微观分析等手段,可以精确地提取磁性矿物的种类及粒度特征, 判别重工业区污染源,为应用磁学方法来监测环境污染提供依据.     

Dust emission by off-road driving: Experiments on 17 arid soil types, Nevada, USA

Field experiments were conducted in Nellis Dunes Recreational Area (Clark County, Nevada, USA) to investigate emission of dust produced by off-road driving. Experiments were carried out with three types of vehicles: 4-wheelers (quads), dirt bikes (motorcycles) and dune buggies, on 17 soil types characteristic for a desert environment. Tests were done at various driving speeds, and emissions were measured for a large number of grain size fractions. This paper reports the results for two size fractions of emissions: PM10 (particles < 10 μm) and PM60 (particles < 60 μm). The latter was considered in this study to be sufficiently representative of the total suspendable fraction (TSP). Off-road driving was found to be a significant source of dust. However, the amounts varied greatly with the type of soil and the characteristics of the top layer. Models predicting emission of dust by off-road driving should thus consider a number of soil parameters and not just one key parameter. Vehicle type and driving speed are additional parameters that affect emission. In general, 4-wheelers produce more dust than dune buggies, and dune buggies, more than dirt bikes. Higher speeds also result in higher emissions. Dust emitted by off-road driving is less coarse than the parent sediment on the road surface. Off-road driving thus results in a progressive coarsening of the top layer. Exceptions to this are silty surfaces with no, or almost no, vegetation. For such surfaces no substantial differences were observed between the grain size distribution of road dust and emitted dust. Typical emission values for off-road driving on dry desert soils are: for sandy areas, 30–40 g km^− 1 (PM10) and 150–250 g km^− 1 (TSP); for silty areas, 100–200 g km^− 1 (PM10) and 600–2000 g km^− 1 (TSP); for drainages, 30–40 g km^− 1 (PM10) and 100–400 g km^− 1 (TSP); and for mixed terrain, 60–100 g km^− 1 (PM10) and 300–800 g km^− 1 (TSP). These values are for the types of vehicles tested in this study and do not refer to cars or trucks, which produce significantly more dust.     

沙尘天气频率与相关气象因子的关系

基于北京及其周边14个国家基本气象站1971—2000年气象资料的相关分析,指出风速、相对湿度是影响沙尘天气的关键气象因子,用这两个气象因子构建了月沙尘气象指数。月沙尘气象指数与沙尘天气频率具有较一致的周期性,沙尘天气日的沙尘气象指数是非沙尘日指数的倍数关系。另外,根据月沙尘气象指数在不同月份的分布特征,给出了相应的季节性气象指数计算方法,对14个站计算的结果显示,季节性气象指数与沙尘天气频率有很好的线性关系,这种线性关系具有明显的区域特征。