Biased estimates of the isotope ratios of steady‐state evaporation from the assumption of equilibrium between vapour and precipitation

Stable water isotope ratios are measured as a tracer of environmental processes in materials such as leaves, soils, and lakes. Water in these archives may experience evaporation, which increases the abundance of heavy isotopologues proportionally to the gradients in humidity and isotope ratio between the evaporating water and the surrounding atmosphere. The isotope ratio of the atmosphere has been difficult to measure until recently, and measurements remain scarce. As a result, several assumptions have been adopted to estimate isotope ratios of atmospheric water vapour. Perhaps the most commonly employed assumption in terrestrial environments is that water vapour is in isotopic equilibrium with precipitation. We evaluate this assumption using an eight‐member ensemble of general circulation model (GCM) simulations that include explicit calculation of isotope ratios in precipitation and vapour. We find that across the model ensemble, water vapour is typically less depleted in heavy isotopologues than expected if it were in equilibrium with annual precipitation. Atmospheric vapour likely possesses higher‐than‐expected isotope ratios because precipitation isotope ratios are determined by atmospheric conditions that favour condensation, which do not reflect atmospheric mixing and advection processes outside of precipitation events. The effect of this deviation on theoretical estimates of isotope ratios of evaporating waters scales with relative humidity. As a result, the equilibrium assumption gives relatively accurate estimates of the isotope ratios of evaporating waters in low latitudes but performs increasingly poorly at increasing latitudes. Future studies of evaporative water pools should include measurements of atmospheric isotope ratios or constrain potential bias with isotope‐enabled GCM simulations.     

Seasonal variation in the Ra/Ra ratio of coastal water within the Sea of Japan: Implications for the origin and circulation patterns of the Tsushima Coastal Branch Current

In the current study, low-background γ-spectrometry was employed to determine the ²²⁸Ra/²²⁶Ra activity ratio and ¹³⁷Cs activity of 84 coastal water samples collected at six sites along the main island of Japan (Honshu Island) within the Sea of Japan, including the Tsushima Strait, and two other representative sites on Honshu Island (a Pacific shore and the Tsugaru Strait) at 1-month intervals in 2006.The ²²⁸Ra/²²⁶Ra ratio of coastal waters in the Sea of Japan exhibited similar patterns of seasonal variation, with minimum values during early summer (²²⁸Ra/²²⁶Ra = 0.6–0.8), maximum values during autumn (²²⁸Ra/²²⁶Ra = 1.5–3), and a time lag in their temporal changes ( 2.5 months and over  1300 km distance). However, the 2 other sites represented no clear periodic variation.In contrast to the positive correlation between ¹³⁷Cs activity (0.6–1.7 mBq/L) and salinity (15–35), the ²²⁸Ra/²²⁶Ra ratio of coastal water samples from the Sea of Japan was not observed to correlate with salinity, and the increase in the ²²⁸Ra/²²⁶Ra ratio was not as marked (0.5–1; May–June 2004 and 2005) during the migration along Honshu Island. The input of land-derived water and/or the diffusion of radium from coastal sediments is unlikely to have affected the wide seasonal variation in the ²²⁸Ra/²²⁶Ra ratio observed in these water samples.The seasonal variation in the ²²⁸Ra/²²⁶Ra ratio recorded for the coastal waters of the Sea of Japan is considered to be mainly controlled by the remarkable changes in the mixing ratio of the ²²⁸Ra-poor Kuroshio and the ²²⁸Ra-rich continental shelf waters within the East China Sea (ECS). After passing through the Tsushima Strait, this water mass moves northeast along the coastline of the Sea of Japan as the Tsushima Coastal Branch Current (TCBC).     

沿海地区经济结构的变化与近岸海域环境污染

近岸海域环境恶化已成为明显的事实.从污染物的种类和含量上看,这和沿海地区经济结构的变化有很大的关系.本文先用理论的分析方法,从影响近岸海域环境的因素和经济-环境投入产出表及模型的不同角度论证了沿海地区经济结构与近岸海域环境之间存在很大的相关性;然后运用实证的分析方法,从全国沿海县(市、区)和广东省沿海城市不同范围上论证了沿海地区经济结构与近岸海域环境之间也存在很大的相关性.     

含盐量对石灰固化滨海盐渍土微结构参数的影响

因土中含有较多的氯盐,引起了石灰固化滨海盐渍土的微结构变化。采用Leica QWin5000图形处理软件对石灰固化滨海盐渍土的SEM照片进行统计,证实随着含盐量的增加,固化土颗粒的等效直径、扁圆度、面积比和充填比等微结构参数呈近线性变化。含盐量增加使得固化土颗粒的粒度分维值增加,颗粒的均一化程度越来越差;而颗粒定向分维则先升、后降、再逐渐趋于一个稳定值,即固化土颗粒的排列方向保持不变。固化土颗粒级配测试结果也与上述变化规律相吻合。     

Evaluating the Global Environment Facility: A goodwill gesture or a serious attempt to deliver global benefits?

Over its 17 years, the UN's Global Environment Facility (GEF) has allocated US $7.5 billion intended to develop and implement scientifically and socially credible solutions to key global environmental problems such as climate change, biological diversity loss and degradation of transboundary aquatic systems. We studied 906 GEF projects to analyse the challenges that it is facing in delivering solutions that are likely to be sustainable in the long-term. The research included desk reviews of relevant documents and follow-up interviews with a wide range of stakeholders. Some of the challenges the GEF faces are deeply rooted in temporal and spatial mismatches of scale between human economies and their environmental consequences and the strongly sectoral way current society is managed. We conclude that the GEF obtained impressive results for tackling problems of limited complexity and easily quantified benefits but progress is slower on more complex and less tangible problems impeding sustainable development. Potentially, the GEF could enable adaptive management through a ‘learning by doing’ process, transforming it into an innovative mechanism for delivering global benefits. Continued emphasis on ‘easy wins’ would not allow it to achieve this goal.     

A lattice Boltzmann-finite element model for two-dimensional fluid–structure interaction problems involving shallow waters

In this paper, a numerical method for the modeling of shallow waters interacting with slender elastic structures is presented. The fluid domain is modeled through the lattice Boltzmann method, while the solid domain is idealized by corotational beam finite elements undergoing large displacements. Structure dynamics is predicted by using the time discontinuous Galerkin method and the fluid–structure interface conditions are handled by the Immersed Boundary method. An explicit coupling strategy to combine the adopted numerical methods is proposed and its effectiveness is tested by computing the error in terms of the energy that is artificially introduced at the fluid–solid interface.     

A Regional Ocean Reanalysis System for Coastal Waters of China and Adjacent Seas

A regional ocean reanalysis system for the coastal waters of China and adjacent seas has been developed by the National Marine Data and Information Service(NMDIS).It produces a dataset package called CORA (China ocean reanalysis).The regional ocean model used is based on the Princeton Ocean Model with a generalized coordinate system(POMgcs).The model is parallelized by NMDIS with the addition of the wave breaking and tidal mixing processes into model parameterizations.Data assimilation is a sequential three-dimensional variational(3D-Var) scheme implemented within a multigrid framework.Observations include satellite remote sensing sea surface temperature(SST),altimetry sea level anomaly(SLA),and temperature/salinity profiles.The reanalysis fields of sea surface height,temperature,salinity,and currents begin with January 1986 and are currently updated every year. Error statistics and error distributions of temperature,salinity and currents are presented as a primary evaluation of the reanalysis fields using sea level data from tidal gauges,temperature profiles,as well as the trajectories of Argo floats.Some case studies offer the opportunity to verify the evolution of certain local circulations.These evaluations show that the reanalysis data produced provide a good representation of the ocean processes and phenomena in the coastal waters of China and adjacent seas.     

Thermodynamic Characteristics of Tropical Cyclones with Rapid Intensity Change over the Coastal Waters of China

In order to investigate the different thermodynamic mechanisms between rapid intensifying (RI) and rapid weakening (RW) tropical cyclones (TCs), the thermodynamic structures of two sets of composite TCs are analyzed based on the complete-form vertical vorticity tendency equation and the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. Each composite is composed of five TCs, whose intensities change rapidly over the coastal waters of China. The results show that the maximum apparent heating source Q ₁ exists in both the upper and lower troposphere near the RI TC center, and Q ₁ gets stronger at the lower level during the TC intensification period. But for the RW TC, the maximum Q ₁ exists at the middle level near the TC center, and Q ₁ gets weaker while the TC weakens. The maximum apparent moisture sink Q ₂ lies in the mid troposphere. Q ₂ becomes stronger and its peak-value height rises while TC intensifies, and vice versa. The increase of diabatic heating with height near the TC center in the mid-upper troposphere and the increase of vertical inhomogeneous heating near the TC center in the lower troposphere are both favorable to the TCs’ rapid intensification; otherwise, the intensity of the TC decreases rapidly.     

Application of brine differentiation and Langelier–Ludwig plots to fresh-to-brine waters from sedimentary basins: Diagnostic potentials and limits

Classical chemical classification plots that use major anions and cations can discern between different water facies but they do not offer sufficient discriminatory power for salt waters from sedimentary basins, whose origin is therefore frequently misunderstood.     

Barnacles as biomonitors of metal contamination in coastal waters

The use of barnacles as biomonitors of metal contamination in coastal waters worldwide is reviewed as a critique compilation of the reported studies and presents resume-tables of available data for future reference. The barnacle body reflects both short and long-term metal level environmental variations and the metal bioaccumulation occurs mainly in their granules (relatively inactive pools). The barnacle body is considered as good biomonitoring material and different barnacle species could bioaccumulate metal concentration ranges of 40–153,000 μg/g of Zn, 20–22,230 μg/g de Fe, 1.5–21,800 μg/g of Cu, 5.9–4742 μg/g of Mn, 0.1–1000 μg/g of Pb, 0.7–330 μg/g of Cd, 0.4–99 μg/g of Ni and 0.2–49 μg/g of Cr. However, as the plates (‘shells’) of barnacle exoskeletons can be affected by metal levels in coastal waters, mainly in their composition and morphology, they are not considered good biomonitoring material. Despite this, the use of a specific barnacle species or group of species in a specific region must firstly be carefully validated and the interpretation of the contaminant bioaccumulation levels should involve specific environmental variations of the region, physiological parameters of the barnacle species and the relationship between the potential toxicity of the contaminant for the environment and their significance for the barnacle species. Barnacles, particularly a widespread cosmopolitan species such as Amphibalanus amphitrite, have a great potential as biomonitors of anthropogenic contamination in coastal waters and have been used worldwide, including Europe (United Kingdom, Turkey, Poland, Croatia, Spain and Portugal), Asia (India and China), Oceania (Australia), North America (Florida, Massachusetts and Mexico) and South America (Brazil). The use of barnacle species as biomonitors of metal contamination in coastal waters is considered an important and valuable tool to evaluate and predict the ecological quality of an ecosystem.