The impact of the nitrogen carryover effect on economic activity and the environment

 The economic and environmental consequences of soil nitrogen tests can have significant impacts on agricultural production. Some of these are explored here. The pre-side-dress soil N-test is evaluated for a hypothetical farmer growing corn at the ARS Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Farm site in southern Maryland. For a farmer not currently using a soil N-test, adoption of this technology can lead to the enhancement of net farm income and the reduction in nitrogen loss to the environment. This will transpire only if the farmer is currently underestimating nitrogen carryover by more than 25% or applying nitrogen fertilizer based solely on an expected plateau-yield goal. Received: 13 February 1997 · Accepted: 13 May 1997     

陆面过程模型中垂直非均匀土壤的水分传输及相变的模拟

土壤湿度在陆气相互作用中的重要性体现在它既能影响陆地和大气之间水循环的速率, 又能改变地表的能量分配。本文针对陆面过程模型中描述土壤湿度变化的方程进行了理论分析, 指出在非均匀土壤和冻土中采用土壤水势梯度描述垂直非均匀土壤水分流动的合理性。基于描述土壤内部水热传输的统一土壤模型, 并利用推广的表征土壤水分特征的Clapp-Hornberger关系式, 研究了非冻结和冻结的土壤湿度对于垂直非均匀土壤的敏感性。结果表明, 由土壤质地决定的土壤水势和导水率对土壤湿度的模拟有重要的影响。具体地, 在决定土壤性质的Clapp-Hornberger关系式中, 与土壤质地有关的饱和水势、饱和导水率以及土壤孔隙大小分布指数B, 对土壤湿度的模拟起到了关键作用。参数B的重要性尤为突出, 它的增加会引起导水率的大大下降, 从而对水分在土壤中的垂直分布产生重要影响。饱和水势的绝对值和参数B的增加会使得土壤水势绝对值增加明显, 使土壤的结冰(融化)过程延迟, 土壤温度因为没有结冰(融化)释放(吸收)的潜热加热(冷却)而持续下降(上升), 因此在冻融时期土壤温度会比观测值振幅偏大。上述结果揭示了考虑土壤垂直非均匀性并采用有效的土壤特性参数对于陆面过程模型的重要性。     

Tropical Cyclone Energy Dispersion and Possible Self Maintenance Mechanism of the Synoptic Scale Wave Trains

The interaction between tropical cyclone (TC) and the large-scale mean flows such as the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is investigated using a three-dimensional primitive equation model. Once a TC develops in the vicinity of the ITCZ region where satisfies both barotropic and baroclinic instabilities, the southeastward energy dispersion from the TC may disturb the ITCZ and thus help its breakdown. Cumulus convection can be organized in the region of cyclonic circulation, and the interaction between convective heating and the perturbation circulation may enhance the development of the waves, leading to the generation of a new tropical cyclone to the east. While the TC moves to the high latitude, the ITCZ will reform. Though repeating of this process, a synoptic-scale wave train oriented in the northwest-southeast direction can be generated and self-maintained. The results suggest that the mutual interaction among the low-frequency background flow, wave train pattern and TCs provides a possible mechanism for the origin of the summer synoptic scale wave train pattern over the western North Pacific.     

土壤湿度对卫星辐射率资料直接同化的影响

本研究利用WRF模式及其三维变分同化系统实现了对NOAA-16 AMSU-A微波资料的直接同化,针对2010年6月19日江西地区的一次强降水过程开展模拟与同化试验,并利用中国区域土壤湿度同化系统(CLSMDAS—China Land Soil Moisture Data Assimilation System)输出的土壤湿度值替换NCEP(National Centers for Environmental Prediction)资料中的土壤湿度,研究土壤湿度初值对辐射率资料直接同化中观测场与背景场偏差调整的影响。结果表明:采用CLSMDAS输出土壤湿度初值条件下模拟的亮温值与实际观测值更为接近,经过质量控制和偏差订正后更多的观测资料能够进入到同化系统中,说明改进的土壤湿度初值条件下观测算子的计算值得到正的调整,对低层地表通道的改进效果明显,尤其以50.3 GHz的窗区通道3的结果最为理想;针对此次强降水过程中24 h累积降水分布的模拟结果,CLSMDAS输出土壤湿度初值条件下同化AMSU-A资料,能够较为准确的把握整个雨带的走向、大雨以上级别降水的落区范围、降水中心落区及强度等。说明准确的土壤湿度初值能够改进卫星辐射率资料的同化结果,进而提高数值模式的模拟预报能力。     

Rain infiltration and crust formation in the extreme arid zone of the Atacama Desert, Chile

A key question in understanding life on Mars under dry(ing) conditions is how arid soils respond to small levels of liquid water. We have conducted a series of simulated rain experiments in the hyperarid core region of the Atacama Desert. Rain amounts from 0.24 to 3.55 mm were applied in the early evening to the soil. We conclude that rain events of less than 1 mm do not saturate the surface, and the soil humidity at the surface remains below 100%. Rain events of 2 mm or more generate free water in the pore space of the soil surface, which may be necessary to support biological activity in the soil. The crust on the surface of the soil is a strong barrier to the diffusion of subsurface moisture and subsequent evaporation. Our results show that once the relative humidity in hyperarid soils begins to fall below 100% the rate of decrease is quite rapid. Thus, the precise value assumed for the limits of life or water activity, do not appreciably change the time of water availability resulting from small desert rains. The Atacama Desert results may be applied to models of (H₂O) wetting in the upper soils of Mars due to light rains, melting snow and heavy precipitating fog.     

Observed winds,turbulence, and dispersion in built-up downtown areas of Oklahoma City and Manhattan

Wind and tracer data from the Oklahoma City Joint Urban 2003 (JU2003) and the Manhattan Madison Square Garden 2005 (MSG05) urban field experiments are being analyzed to aid in understanding air flow and dispersion near street-level in built-up downtown areas. The mean winds are separately calculated for groups of anemometers having similar exposures such as “near street level” and “on building top”. Several general results are found, such as the scalar wind speed at street level is about 1/3 of that at building top. Turbulent standard deviations of wind speed components and temperature, and vertical fluxes of momentum and sensible heat, are calculated from sonic anemometers near street level at 20 locations in JU2003 and five locations in MSG05, and from two rooftop locations in MSG05. The turbulence observations are consistent with observations in the literature at other cities, although the JU2003 and MSG05 data are unique in that many data are available near street level. For example, it is found that the local (i.e., at the measuring height) averages about 1.5 and the local averages about 0.25 in the two cities, where is the standard deviation of vertical velocity fluctuations, is the friction velocity, and u is the wind speed. The ratio of temperature fluctuations to temperature scale, , averages about −3 in both cities, consistent with similarity theory for slightly unstable conditions, where is the standard deviation of temperature fluctuations, and is the temperature scale. The calculated Obukhov length, L, is also consistent with slightly unstable conditions near street level, even at night during JU2003. The SF₆ tracer concentration observations from JU2003 are analyzed. Values of for the continuous releases are calculated for each release and arc distance, where is the 30-min average arc maximum concentration, Q is the continuous source emission rate, and u is the spatial-averaged wind speed in the downtown area. The basic characteristics of the JU2003 plot of averaged agree reasonably well with similar plots for other urban experiments in Salt Lake City and London (i.e., at . A is found to be about 3 during the day and about 10 during the night.     

Multi-resolution adaptive modeling of groundwater flow and transport problems

Many groundwater flow and transport problems, especially those with sharp fronts, narrow transition zones, layers and fingers, require extensive computational resources. In this paper, we present a novel multi-resolution adaptive Fup approach to solve the above mentioned problems. Our numerical procedure is the Adaptive Fup Collocation Method (AFCM), based on Fup basis functions and designed through a method of lines (MOL). Fup basis functions are localized and infinitely differentiable functions with compact support and are related to more standard choices such as splines or wavelets. This method enables the adaptive multi-resolution approach to solve problems with different spatial and temporal scales with a desired level of accuracy using the entire family of Fup basis functions. In addition, the utilized collocation algorithm enables the mesh free approach with consistent velocity approximation and flux continuity due to properties of the Fup basis functions. The introduced numerical procedure was tested and verified by a few characteristic groundwater flow and transport problems, the Buckley–Leverett multiphase flow problem, the 1-D vertical density driven problem and the standard 2-D seawater intrusion benchmark–Henry problem. The results demonstrate that the method is robust and efficient particularly when describing sharp fronts and narrow transition zones changing in space and time.     

ICP-MS测定土壤中的As、Cr、Pb、Se、Cu和Zn

本文用电感耦合等离子质谱法(ICP-MS)测定了土壤的As、Cr、Pb、Se、Cu和Zn6种微量元素的质量分数,以In作为内标进行基体效应的补偿,方法快速灵敏,回收率为92.4%～106.8%,相对标准偏差小于5.0%,结果达到国家标准要求。     

内蒙古达塞脱东区土壤地球化学异常特征及找矿效果

内蒙古达塞脱东区位于锡林浩特—东乌旗多金属成矿带东段,成矿地质条件有利,但地表基岩出露少,第四系大片覆盖,找矿难度大。土壤地球化学测量从西到东圈定出三个SN向异常带,依据元素组合特征和分带理论,指出Ⅰ号异常带和Ⅱ号异常带东侧异常处于矿体前缘晕,Ⅲ号异常带处于矿体中前部,Ⅱ号异常带西侧异常处于矿体尾晕,异常存在较明显的水平分带性,推测矿体剥蚀程度存在由浅到深的变化趋势,后期地表槽探和钻探已在Ⅰ、Ⅱ号异常带分别发现了2个银多金属矿体和1个铅锌矿化体,且矿（化）体赋存部位、展布方向、规模与化探异常吻合性很好,化探工作在该区取得了很好的找矿效果。