Determination of Meteoroid Orbits and Spatial Fluxes by Using High-Resolution All-Sky CCD Cameras

By using high-resolution, low-scan-rate, all-sky CCD cameras, the SPanish Meteor Network (SPMN) is currently monitoring meteor and fireball activity on a year round basis. Here are presented just a sampling of the accurate trajectory, radiant and orbital data obtained for meteors imaged simultaneously from two SPMN stations during the continuous 2006–2007 coverage of meteor and fireball monitoring. Typical astrometric uncertainty is 1–2 arc min, while velocity determination errors are of the order of 0.1–0.5 km/s, which is dependent on the distance of each event to the station and its particular viewing geometry. The cameras have demonstrated excellent performance for detecting meteor outbursts. The recent development of automatic detection software is also providing real-time information on the global meteor activity. Finally, some examples of the all-sky CCD cameras applications for detecting unexpected meteor activity are given.     

Mayfly communities in a prealpine stream system of Switzerland

The mayfly fauna of twelve localities belonging to a calcareous stream system of the Swiss Prealps was investigated during the last three years. The stream system was divided into three distinct topographical sections, each characterized by specific thermic and geomorphologic components. Thirty-five mayfly species, that belonged to different faunistic groups according to their respective longitudinal distribution, were found. A coefficient of interspecific association was determined for every pair of species. Non-parametric indices of diversity, as well as a parametric analysis, were calculated for the three stations investigated quantitatively. The faunistic classification of the twelve stations reflected the main topographical organization of the stream system.     

The association of Earth-crossing asteroids with meteoroid streams

Various points are discussed concerning the association of Earth-crossing asteroids (ECAs) with meteoroid streams, including the drawbacks of the techniques used in some previous work. In comparing the theoretical radiants of any ECA (or, indeed, comet) with observed meteor radiants it is necessary that the orbit used be that appropriate for epochs when the ECA has a node at 1 AU; in each precession cycle of the argument of perihelion () there will be four values rendering a node at the Earth's orbit, so that four showers are expected. Precession of the node will result in sets of showers at different times of year from different-precession cycles, whilst for some objects the orbital evolution is more convoluted. For diffuse, low-flux showers a problem is differentiating the meteors associated with any ECA from the sporadic background; a new graphical technique is introduced for illuminating whether such associations exist. A re-evaluation is required of whether ECAs should be thought of as being parent bodies of specific showers. Although this might be the case for some very large ECAs (such as (3200) Phaethon, associated with the Geminid stream), the bodies observed now being extinct or dormant cometary cores, it is suggested that in general the ECAs are better thought of as being large fragments produced in hierarchical cometary disintegrations. That is, some ECAs are just the largest meteoroids in meteoroid streams.     

WHY MONITOR CARBON IN HIGH‐ALPINE STREAMS?

In this short communication, we report on dissolved organic and inorganic carbon concentrations from a summer stream monitoring campaign at the main hydrological catchment of the Tarfala Research Station in northern Sweden. Further, we place these unique high‐alpine observations in the context of a relevant subset of Sweden's national monitoring programme. Our analysis shows that while the monitoring programme (at least for total organic carbon) may have relatively good representativeness across a range of forest coverages, alpine/tundra environments are potentially underrepresented. As for dissolved inorganic carbon, there is currently no national monitoring in Sweden. Since the selection of stream water monitoring locations and monitored constituents at the national scale can be motivated by any number of goals (or limitations), monitoring at the Tarfala Research Station along with other research catchment sites across Fennoscandia becomes increasingly important and can offer potential complementary data necessary for improving process understanding. Research catchment sites (typically not included in national monitoring programmes) can help cover small‐scale landscape features and thus complement national monitoring thereby improving the ability to capture hot spots and hot moments of biogeochemical export. This provides a valuable baseline of current conditions in high‐alpine environments against which to gauge future changes in response to potential climatic and land cover shifts.     

Short-term changes in the magnitude, frequency and temporal distribution of floods in the Eastern Mediterranean region during the last 45 years — Nahal Oren, Mt. Carmel, Israel

Short-term changes in Eastern Mediterranean precipitation affecting flow regime were documented in Nahal Oren, a 35 km² ephemeral stream in Mt. Carmel, a 500 m high mountain ridge located at the NW coast of Israel. The rainy winter of the Mediterranean type climate (Csa) in Mt. Carmel is characterized by average annual rainfall of 550 mm at the coastal plain to 750 mm at the highest elevation while the summer is hot and dry. Stream flow generates after accumulated rainfall of 120–150 mm while “large floods”, defined as flows with peak discharge of > 5 m³ s^− 1 and/or > 150,000 m³ in volume, are generated in response to rainfall of over 100 mm. Hence, large floods in Nahal Oren stream occur not earlier than December. Precipitation and flow data were divided into two sub-periods: 1957–1969 and 1991–2003 and compared to each other. The results indicate a clear increase in the frequency of large floods, their magnitudes and volumes during the second period with no parallel change in the annual precipitation. Similarly, an increase in storm rainfall–runoff ratio from < 5% to > 15% and a decrease in the threshold rainfall for channel flow by 16–25% were documented. These short-term variations in flooding behavior are explained by the clear decrease in the length of the rainy season and by the resulting significant shortening in the duration of the dry-spells. The increase in the number of large rainfall events and the large floods in each hydrological year together with the increasing number of years with no floods indicate strengthening of their uncertainty of behavior.     

夏季印度洋海温偶极子对冬季东亚高空急流的影响研究

基于1979—2019年ERA5、NCEP/NCAR再分析资料及多套海温资料,分析夏季印度洋偶极子模态对东亚高空急流的影响,并对热力动力机制展开探讨。结果表明,当夏季印度洋偶极子为正(负)位相,即夏季印度洋西部出现暖(冷)异常,东部出现冷(暖)异常时,冬季的东亚副热带急流增强(减弱),极锋急流强度减弱(增强)。伴随着印度洋偶极子位于正位相,增强(减弱)的经向温度梯度,加强(减少)的低层大气斜压性和较强(较弱)的瞬变涡动动能,易导致冬季的副热带急流增强(极锋急流减弱)。进一步利用多元线性回归方法定量区分热力和动力因子的相对贡献,夏季印度洋偶极子主要通过热力作用影响两支急流。比较两个动力因子发现,极锋急流的减弱主要以大气斜压性为主,而副热带急流的加强则以涡动动能为主。     

中山市河涌水体及污水处理厂中 合成麝香的分布规律

对中山市5个区域的48条主要河涌水体与2间污水处理厂各工艺流程水体进行样品采集,运用固相微萃取进行前处理并结合气相色谱—质谱联用技术,检测各样品中佳乐麝香、吐纳麝香和酮麝香这3种合成麝香的含量,并分析其分布特征以及探讨污水处理厂处理工艺中合成麝香的浓度变化规律。结果表明：1）合成麝香已经普遍存在于中山市的河涌水体中。中山市西部地区和南部地区的河涌水体中合成麝香总含量相对其他区域最低,中部地区河涌水体中合成麝香含量亦较低。2）中山市雁企涌和魁魁涌等28条河涌水体中的主要合成麝香为佳乐麝香,一埒涌和乌沙涌等13条河涌水体的主要合成麝香为酮麝香,仅有苏埒涌和石军涌等7条河涌水体的主要合成麝香为佳乐麝香和酮麝香这2种合成麝香。3）氧化沟和A2/O工艺均能对合成麝香产生一定的去除效果。污水处理厂A对佳乐麝香、吐纳麝香和酮麝香的去除率分别为86.94%、72.15%和89.36%;而污水处理厂B对以上3种合成麝香的去除率分别为82.09%、85.73%和87.90%。4）2间污水处理厂的二沉池以及污水处理厂A的紫外消毒亦可对合成麝香产生进一步的去除效果;2间污水处理厂均能对酮麝香产生比佳乐麝香和吐纳麝香更高的去除率。     

Seasonal mixing from intermittent flow drives concentration-discharge behaviour in a stream affected by coal mine drainage

Abandoned mining operations continue to severely degrade many ecosystems worldwide by releasing acidic water and/or heavy metals into surface and groundwater. Contaminant concentrations in affected streams vary with discharge in patterns that reflect both geochemical reactions and variable mixing of contaminated and non-contaminated waters. However, controls on concentration-discharge (C-Q) patterns remain unclear, particularly for constituents that experience changing solubility across redox and pH gradients. Understanding the C-Q behaviour of contaminants aids in predicting both downstream transport and effects on aquatic life under variable flow. Here, we examined the C-Q behaviours of non-reactive (Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cl⁻) and reactive (Fe, Mn, Al, H⁺, SO₄²⁻) solutes in a stream contaminated with acid mine drainage in northeastern Ohio, USA. Concentration-discharge patterns at the watershed outlet primarily reflected mixing of contaminated baseflow with intermittent inputs of high pH water draining from a passive limestone treatment system into the stream. The treatment system acted as an ephemeral tributary that mitigated contamination in the stream by diluting solutes, raising pH, and driving metal precipitation, but only when flow was present during wet seasons. Consequently, AMD-derived reactive solutes (H⁺, Fe, Mn, Al) decreased with increasing stream discharge while relatively conservative solutes (e.g., Ca, Mg, K, Na) decreased only slightly or were chemostatic. This study highlights both the unique C-Q patterns of reactive solutes when compared to those of non-reactive solutes and the potential for intermittent streams to control C-Q behaviour in headwater catchments.     

Large grains matter: contrasting bed stability and morphodynamics during two nearly identical experiments

While the stabilizing function of large grains in step‐pool streams has long been recognized, the role they play in gravel‐bed streams is less clear. Most researchers have ignored the role of large grains in gravel‐bed streams, and have assumed that the median bed surface size controls the erodibility of alluvial boundaries. The experiments presented herein challenge this convention. Two experiments were conducted that demonstrate the significant morphodynamic implications of a slight change to the coarse tail of the bed material. The two distributions had the same range of particle sizes, and nearly identical bulk d₅₀ values (1.6 mm); however the d₉₀ of experiment GSD1 was slightly finer (3.7 mm) than that for experiment GSD2 (3.9 mm). Transport rates during GSD1 were nearly four times greater than during GSD2 (even though the dimensionless shear stress was slightly lower), and the channel developed a sinuous pattern with well‐developed riffles, pools and bars. During GSD2 the initial rectangular channel remained virtually unchanged for the duration of the experiment. The relative stability of GSD2 seems to be associated with a slightly larger proportion of stable (large) grains on the bed surface: at the beginning of GSD1, 3.5% of the bed was immobile, while almost twice as much of it (6.1%) was immobile at the beginning of GSD2. The results demonstrate that the largest grains (not the median size) exert first‐order control on channel stability. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.