Crystallisation of sodium sulfate: supersaturation and metastable phases

Crystallisation of sodium sulfate solutions by evaporation under controlled climatic conditions has revealed the existence of crystalline hydrated sodium sulfate salts not previously reported. The sodium sulfate phase crystallising and the concentration of the solution at the point of crystallisation depends on the climatic conditions (temperature and evaporation rate). During the rehydration of the anhydrous sodium sulfate phase, thenardite, another previously unreported phase was formed prior to the nucleation of the stable phase, mirabilite Na₂SO₄ · 10H₂O. The addition of organic inhibitors changes both the crystallisation and the rehydration behavior in this system.     

凌汛期槽蓄水增量过程模拟

为研究凌汛期槽蓄水增量来源,在分析实测冰情资料基础上,把槽蓄水增量分为水位壅高主河道蓄水量增大、主河道内河水转化为固体冰盖和上滩水形成冰盖及在冰下聚集等3部分,建立河冰动力学模型,模拟河冰生消及槽蓄水增量过程,利用2008/2009年度三湖河口—头道拐河段实测冰情资料对模型进行了验证,表明滩地冰盖及冰盖下滞洪是内蒙古河段槽蓄水增量的主要来源,占最大槽蓄水增量的63.44%,主河道水位壅高引起的槽蓄水增量占26.56%,主槽冰盖蓄水占10.0%。     

A neighbor decay cellular automata approach for simulating urban expansion based on particle swarm intelligence

Simulation and quantitative analysis of urban land use change are effective ways to investigate urban form evolution. Cellular Automata (CA) has been used as a convenient and useful tool for simulating urban land use change. However, the key issue for CA models is the definition of the transition rules, and a number of statistical or artificial intelligence methods may be used to obtain the optimal rules. Neighborhood configuration is a basic component of transition rules, and is characterized by a distance decay effect. However, many CA models do not consider the neighbor decay effect in cellular space. This paper presents a neighbor decay cellular automata model based on particle swarm optimization (PSO-NDCA). We used particle swarm optimization (PSO) to find transition rules and considered the decay effect of the cellular neighborhood. A negative power exponential function was used to compute the decay coefficient of the cellular neighborhood in the model. By calculating the cumulative differences between simulation results and the sample data, the PSO automatically searched for the optimal combination of parameters of the transition rules. Using Xiamen City as a case study, we simulated urban land use changes for the periods 1992–1997 and 2002–2007. Results showed that the PSO-NDCA model had a higher prediction accuracy for built-up land, and a higher overall accuracy and Kappa coefficient than the urban CA model based on particle swarm optimization. The study demonstrates that there exist optimal neighborhood decay coefficients in accordance with the regional characteristics of an area. Urban CA modelling should take into account the role of neighborhood decay.     

Influence of surface forcing on near-surface and mixing layer turbulence in the tropical Indian Ocean

An autonomous upwardly-moving microstructure profiler was used to collect measurements of the rate of dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy (ε) in the tropical Indian Ocean during a single diurnal cycle, from about 50 m depth to the sea surface. This dataset is one of only a few to resolve upper ocean ε over a diurnal cycle from below the active mixing layer up to the air–sea interface. Wind speed was weak with an average value of ~5 m s⁻¹ and the wave field was swell-dominated. Within the wind and wave affected surface layer (WWSL), ε values were on the order of 10⁻⁷–10⁻⁶ W kg⁻¹ at a depth of 0.75 m and when averaged, were almost a factor of two above classical law of the wall theory, possibly indicative of an additional source of energy from the wave field. Below this depth, ε values were closer to wall layer scaling, suggesting that the work of the Reynolds stress on the wind-induced vertical shear was the major source of turbulence within this layer. No evidence of persistent elevated near-surface ε characteristic of wave-breaking conditions was found. Profiles collected during night-time displayed relatively constant ε values at depths between the WWSL and the base of the mixing layer, characteristic of mixing by convective overturning. Within the remnant layer, depth-averaged values of ε started decaying exponentially with an e-folding time of 47 min, about 30 min after the reversal of the total surface net heat flux from oceanic loss to gain.     

Long-term measurements of 36Cl to investigate potential solar influence on the decay rate

Recently, Jenkins et al. [6] reported on fluctuations in the detected decay events of ³⁶Cl which were measured with a Geiger–Müller counter. Experimental data of ³²Si measured by means of an end-window gas-flow proportional counter at the Brookhaven National Laboratory show similar periodicity, albeit a different amplitude. Jenkins et al. interpret the fluctuations as evidence of solar influence on the decay rates of beta-decaying radionuclides.In this work, liquid scintillation counting was used to check for potential variations in the ³⁶Cl decay rates. A custom-built counter with three photomultiplier tubes was used. In contrast to commercial counters, the relevant parameters of our system are well controlled and the discrimination threshold and HV setting can be adjusted and checked. The experimental data were analyzed by means of the triple-to-double coincidence ratio (TDCR) method which is a primary method for activity determination. Thus, our results do not depend on any other standard or reference source.Our data show fluctuations which are by more than one order of magnitude lower than those seen in the experiment using a Geiger–Müller counter. More importantly, no oscillation could be identified. Interestingly, our data overlap in time with those from Jenkins et al. [6]. We do not observe the phase and amplitude as seen by Jenkins and conclude that the fluctuations are not due to solar influence. This also implies that the interpretation by Jenkins et al. is false.     

Quartz age extension applied to SE Asian cover sands

A significant feature of the surface sediments of southeast Asia is a regionally extensive layer of distinctive red, quartz-rich, cover sand observed throughout Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, and further afield. In many locations, these cover sands immediately overlay a laterite layer containing tektites, known as the Muong Nong type, associated with a large meteorite impact between 750 and 800ka in Indochina. Sections of these cover sands at sites in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam have been investigated using field and laboratory profiling, and quartz SAR procedures. In some locations the sections consist of a layer of low-sensitivity quartz with saturated signals overlain by a visibly indistinguishable layer of high-sensitivity quartz with ages less than c. 35ka. Further work has been undertaken to attempt to extend quartz luminescence dating for the older materials, including samples associated with the tektites, using thermally stimulated or transferred luminescence to access traps that are expected to saturate at higher doses. Luminescence was recorded during sample heating and hold, giving thermoluminescence (TL-ramp) and isothermal decay (ID) data, in addition to optically stimulated luminescence after the transfer (Thermally Transferred Optically Stimulated Luminescence, TT-OSL) measurements. These measurements have produced equivalent dose values of up to 250Gy, and ages of 70–125ka, for these older materials, which is significantly younger than would be expected from the association with the tektites. Investigation of the traps associated with these signals has produced properties consistent with prior investigations, suggesting that these are not sufficiently stable at environmental temperatures above 25 °C to permit age extension using these methods.     

The role of distance in peri-urban national park use: Who visits them and how far do they travel?

There is a sizable literature about the factors shaping park visitation and use – especially for urban parks, including (i) geographic (e.g. proximity), (ii) socio-cultural (e.g. population characteristics) and to a lesser extent, (iii) individual psychometric factors (e.g. attitudes and values). Yet comparatively little is known about how factors related to distance may affect peri-urban national park use, particularly outside the United States. This paper reports on research investigating distance-related factors affecting use of a peri-urban national park in Brisbane, Australia. This study found that older visitors live closer to the park while younger visitors travel further to use it. Surprisingly, travel distance did not vary with the type of recreational activities that users were conducting in the park. These results have implications for park planning and management including user demand for different recreational activities in peri-urban national parks. Results are useful for scholars using distance decay models to explain travel behaviour, evidencing the empirical veracity of the model in different places and across different service types. The findings are especially important for geographers because they demonstrate that assumptions about uniform park catchments may be unsupported and need to be empirically validated.     

The flux profile of a blowing sand cloud: a wind tunnel investigation

The flux profile of a blowing sand cloud, or the variation of blown sand flux with height, is the reflection of blown sand particles that move in different trajectories, and also the basis for checking drifting sand. Here we report the wind tunnel results of systematic tests of the flux profiles of different sized sands at different free-stream wind velocities. The results reveal that within the 60-cm near-surface layer, the decay of blown sand flux with height can be expressed by an exponential function: q_h=aexp(−h/b), where, q_h is the blown sand transport rate at height h, a and b are parameters that vary with wind velocity and sand size. The significance of coefficient a and b in the function is defined: a represents the transport rate in true creep and b implies the relative decay rate with height of the blown sand transport rate. The true creep fraction, the ratio of the sand transported on the surface (h=0) to the total transport varies widely, decreasing with both sand size and wind speed. The flux profiles are converted to straight lines by plotting sand transport rate, q_h, on a log-scale. The slope of the straight lines that represents the relative decay rate with height of sand transport rate decreases with an increase in free-stream wind velocity and sand grain size, implying that relatively more of the blown sand is transported to greater heights as grain size and wind speed increase. The average saltating height represented by the height where 50% of the cumulative flux percentage occurs increases with both wind speed and grain size, implying that saltation becomes more intense as grain size and/or wind velocity increase.     

Discrimination of α and β/γ interactions in a TeO2 bolometer

TeO₂ crystals have proven to be superb bolometers for the search of neutrinoless double beta decay in many respects. However, if used alone, they do not exhibit any feature that allows to discriminate an α energy deposit from a β/γ one. This fact limits their ability to reject the background due to natural radioactivity and eventually affects the sensitivity of the search. In this paper we show the results of a TeO₂ crystal where, in coincidence with its bolometric heat signal, also the luminescence light escaping the crystal is recorded. The results show that we are able to measure the light produced by β/γ particles, which can be explained as due to Cerenkov emission. No light is detected from α particles, allowing the rejection of this background source.