Observations and model estimates of diurnal water temperature dynamics in mosquito breeding sites in western Kenya

Water temperature is an important determinant of the growth and development of malaria mosquito immatures. To gain a better understanding of the daily temperature dynamics of malaria mosquito breeding sites and of the relationships between meteorological variables and water temperature, three clear water pools (diameter × depth: 0·16 × 0·04, 0·32 × 0·16 and 0·96 × 0·32 m) were created in Kenya. Continuous water temperature measurements at various depths were combined with weather data collections from a meteorological station. The water pools were homothermic, but the top water layer differed by up to about 2 °C in temperature, depending on weather conditions. Although the daily mean temperature of all water pools was similar (27·4–28·1 °C), the average recorded difference between the daily minimum and maximum temperature was 14·4 °C in the smallest versus 7·1 °C in the largest water pool. Average water temperature corresponded well with various meteorological variables. The temperature of each water pool was continuously higher than the air temperature. A model was developed that predicts the diurnal water temperature dynamics accurately, based on the estimated energy budget components of these water pools. The air–water interface appeared the most important boundary for energy exchange processes and on average 82–89% of the total energy was gained and lost at this boundary. Besides energy loss to longwave radiation, loss due to evaporation was high; the average estimated daily evaporation ranged from 4·2 mm in the smallest to 3·7 mm in the largest water pool. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preliminary spectral characterization of snow in a high altitude tropical glacier and potential effects of impurities in snow on albedo of tropical glaciers

This paper presents some preliminary measurements of snow spectral reflectance on the tropical Bolivian Zongo glacier. Measurements show a correct agreement with theoretical spectral albedo of pure snow in the near infrared region, but lower values in the visible region (by 10–20%) probably due to aerosols contained in snow. Impurity contents ranged from 10 to 100 ppmw in one‐week‐old snow collected from the Zongo glacier, but measurements are scarce. Large amounts of snowfall partly compensate the proximity of dust sources in mid‐latitude glaciers, whereas on outer‐tropical glaciers precipitations are not abundant and are very seasonal, and sources of aerosols are proximate. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaporation and energy balance of a wet grassland at Tadham Moor on the Somerset Levels

Wet grasslands are important both for their conservation value and for their important hydrological function. Evaporation is an important component of the water balance of a wetland. Where water is limited rainfall and/or surface (or sub‐surface) inflows are required to balance the summer evaporation and thus become a significant factor in the maintenance and environmental health of a wetland. This study presents an almost complete year of measurements of the water and energy balance of a wet grassland in the Somerset Levels in southwest England. The majority of the radiant energy at this site goes into evaporation. There is a strong seasonality of the controls on evaporation; the roughness length varies by a factor of 10 between winter and summer. The surface resistance to evaporation is low, close to zero, during the winter when the water table is at, or just below the surface. In the summer the water table drops to 80 cm below the surface; there is no sign of soil water stress on the evaporation but a clear effect of the senescence of grass during seed head production and of the subsequent harvest. There is clear evidence that water for evaporation is provided by the drainage ditches through sub‐surface flow. Standard evaporation formulae—such as the Penman‐Monteith equation with constant and standard parameters—provide a reasonable simulation of the total evaporation at this site, although they miss some of the seasonal detail. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Photon Mean Free Path Sphere, The Minimum Energy, and the Masses of the Main Elementary Particles

The photon mean free path sphere has several properties that strongly correlate with characteristics of the observable universe. This apparent connection led to a set of equations that were recently used to derive the values of the main cosmological parameters. It also leads, via an expression for the minimum energy, to an equation relating the mass of the proton to the mass of the electron.     

Energy Distribution of a Gödel-Type Space–Time

We calculate the energy and momentum distributions associated with a Gödel-type space–time, using the well-known energy–momentum complexes of Landau–Lifshitz and Møller. We show that the definitions of Landau–Lifshitz and Møller do not furnish a consistent result.     

地球的弹性形变能

采用较完善的地球模型PREM，通过求解弹性体的基本运动方程，得到形变位移矢量，由此分别计算出因日月引潮力势和地球自转离心力势引起的地球的弹性形变能，它将为弹性地球运动的Hamilton表达式提供摄动项的量级估计，并将是理论上探讨地月系演化的一个重要方面。     

倾斜矢量图正常年变化破坏的机理研究

根据云南省楚雄、永胜台的倾斜矢量图在强震前正常年变化被破坏的事实,探讨了矢量图面积异常与地震的关系。认为矢量图所围面积的变化与地下水的作用固然有一定的关系,而起决定作用的是地震前应变积累的程度。倾斜矢量图面积的减小可以作为预报的一项参考指标。