Comparing an estimate of seabirds at risk to a mortality estimate from the November 2004 Terra Nova FPSO oil spill

On 21 November 2004, about 1000 barrels of crude oil were accidentally released from the Terra Nova FPSO (floating production, storage and offloading) onto the Grand Banks, approximately 340 km east-southeast of St. John's, Newfoundland. We estimated the number of vulnerable seabirds (murres (Uria spp.) and dovekies (Alle alle)) at risk from this incident by multiplying observed densities of seabirds with the total area covered by the slick, estimated at 793 km(2). A mean density of 3.46 murres/km(2) and 1.07 dovekies/km(2) on the sea surface was recorded during vessel-based surveys on 28 and 29 November 2004, with a mean density of 6.90 murres/km(2) and 13.43 dovekies/km(2) combining those on the sea and in flight. We calculated a mean of 9858 murres and dovekies were at risk of being oiled, with estimates ranging from 3593 to 16,122 depending on what portion of birds in flight were assumed to be at risk. A mortality model based on spill volume was derived independently of the risk model, and estimated that 4688 (CI 95%: 1905-12,480) birds were killed during this incident. A low mortality estimate based strictly on spill volume would be expected for this incident, which occurred in an area of relatively high seabird densities. Given that the risk and mortality estimates are statistically indistinguishable, we estimate that on the order of 10,000 birds were killed by the Terra Nova spill.     

交城断裂交城县城段的位置及其与地裂缝的关系

交城断裂为太原盆地西界的主控边界断裂,为查明交城断裂在这一地区的确切位置和地裂缝与交城断裂的关系,采用地震地质调查和人工地震勘探对在此范围内交城断裂的具体位置和地层错断情况进行了详细研究。结果表明,交城断裂交城县城段并不是位于基岩隆起区与盆地倾斜平原的分界处,而是位于距该分界东南约200 m处。交城县城西北侧的地裂缝与地震勘探在这一带所探查到的交城断裂的位置相当吻合,由此可以推断地裂缝的产生与交城断裂有关,属构造地裂缝。指出,在进行活动断裂附近的城市规划或重大工程建设时应对“山根”的倒退现象予以高度重视。     

Terra和Aqua MODIS气溶胶光学厚度产品在中国热带沿海地区的适用性评估

This study compares the aerosol optical depth (AOD) Level 2 Collection 5 products from the Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS) with ground-based measurements from a Microtops II sun photometer over Sanya (18.23°N, 109.52°E), a tropical coastal site in China, from July 2005 to June 2006. The results indicate that the Terra and Aqua MODIS AOD retrievals at 550 nm have good correlations with the measurements from the Microtops II sun photometer. The correlation coefficients for the linear regression fits (R²) are 0.83 for Terra and 0.78 for Aqua, and the regressed intercepts are near zero (0.005 for Terra, 0.009 for Aqua). However, the Terra and Aqua MODIS are found to consistently underestimate AOD with respect to the Microtops II sun photometer, with slope values of 0.805 (Terra) and 0.767 (Aqua). The comparison of the monthly mean AOD indicates that for each month, the Terra and Aqua MODIS retrievals are matched with corresponding Microtops measurements but are systematically less than those of the Microtops. This validation study indicates that the Terra and Aqua MODIS AOD retrievals can adequately characterize the AOD distributions over the tropical coastal region of China, but further efforts to eliminate systematic errors are needed.     

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) after fifteen years: Review of global products

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is a 15-channel imaging instrument operating on NASA’s Terra satellite. A joint project between the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, ASTER has been acquiring data for 15 years, since March 2000. The archive now contains over 2.8 million scenes; for the majority of them, a stereo pair was collected using nadir and backward telescopes imaging in the NIR wavelength. The majority of users require only a few to a few dozen scenes for their work. Studies have ranged over numerous scientific disciplines, and many practical applications have benefited from ASTER’s unique data. A few researchers have been able to mine the entire ASTER archive, that is now global in extent due to the long duration of the mission. Six examples of global products are described in this contribution: the ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM), the most complete, highest resolution DEM available to all users; the ASTER Emissivity Database (ASTER GED), a global 5-band emissivity map of the land surface; the ASTER Global Urban Area Map (AGURAM), a 15-m resolution database of over 3500 cities; the ASTER Volcano Archive (AVA), an archive of over 1500 active volcanoes; ASTER Geoscience products of the continent of Australia; and the Global Ice Monitoring from Space (GLIMS) project.     

MODIS Terra Collection 6 fractional snow cover validation in mountainous terrain during spring snowmelt using Landsat TM and ETM+

Daily swath MODIS Terra Collection 6 fractional snow cover (MOD10_L2) estimates were validated with two‐day Landsat TM/ETM + snow‐covered area estimates across central Idaho and southwestern Montana, USA. Snow cover maps during spring snowmelt for 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009 were compared between MODIS Terra and Landsat TM/ETM + using least‐squared regression. Strong spatial and temporal map agreement was found between MODIS Terra fractional snow cover and Landsat TM/ETM + snow‐covered area, although map disagreement was observed for two validation dates. High‐altitude cirrus cloud contamination during low snow conditions as well as late season transient snowfall resulted in map disagreement. MODIS Terra's spatial resolution limits retrieval of thin‐patchy snow cover, especially during partially cloudy conditions. Landsat's image acquisition frequency can introduce difficulty when discriminating between transient and resident mountain snow cover. Furthermore, transient snowfall later in the snowmelt season, which is a stochastic accumulation event that does not usually persist beyond the daily timescale, will skew decadal snow‐covered area variability if bi‐monthly climate data record development is the objective. As a quality control step, ground‐based daily snow telemetry snow‐water‐equivalent measurements can be used to verify transient snowfall events. Users of daily MODIS Terra fractional snow products should be aware that local solar illumination and sensor viewing geometry might influence fractional snow cover estimation in mountainous terrain. Cross‐sensor interoperability has been confirmed between MODIS Terra and Landsat TM/ETM + when mapping snow from the visible/infrared spectrum. This relationship is strong and supports operational multi‐sensor snow cover mapping, specifically climate data record development to expand cryosphere, climate, and hydrological science applications. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On 226Ra and 222Rn concentrations in the brackish waters of coastal aquifers: lab-investigations and confirmation in the carbonate aquifer of Brindisi (Italy)

The ground waters circulating in the Apulian mesozoic carbonate aquifer, of coastal type, show high concentrations of ²²²Rn everywhere. Considering their variation during the different phases of a hydrological year, such high concentration values can reach activity of 20 Bq/L, in the more internal zones of the aquifer. Moreover, it is often observed that, in correspondence of wells and springs nearest the coast, the concentrations of radioactive gas reach values greater than 400 Bq/L and vary considerably during the course of a day and with withdrawals. The research carried out over the last few years, has confirmed that ²²⁶Ra and ²²²Rn concentrations in the karst groundwater of Apulia, are mainly related to the occurrence of Terra Rossa inside the aquifer and the capacity of these paleosols to fix the salts of ²²⁶Ra coming from the dissolution of the calcareous and calcareous-dolomitic rocks. This paper shows the results of the analysis performed to define ²²²Rn increase in the brackish waters that come in contact with carbonate rocks and terra rossa. It also indicates the results of surveys performed in a coastal zone with well-known hydrogeological features. The controls performed during one hydrological year, have confirmed the relationships between the salt content of the ground waters and the enrichment of ²²²Rn and have highlighted that the manner of increase of this radioisotope is related to cases of ionic exchange and adsorption regulated by the dynamics of marine intrusion.