Interplanetary MIST

The London MIST meeting in November covered current research using satellites to investigate planetary environments across the solar system, including our own. Earth-bound instruments, GPS and modelling also came under discussion, as did a series of results from the Cluster mission. Neil Arnold reports.     

London MIST 2004

The annual one-day meeting of the MIST (Magnetosphere, Ionosphere and Solar–Terrestrial) community was held in November 2004 at Burlington House, with contributions on data and ideas ranging from Cassini to Cluster, with stops at many experiments in between.     

Changes in American urban floodplain occupancy since 1958: the experiences of nine cities

In 1958, researchers from the University of Chicago documented increases in the number of structures in the floodplains of 17 American cities, a phenomenon attributed to the prevalence of flood control structures. Because federal policies have shifted to managing floodplains, this paper updates the 1958 study for nine of the cities. Several trends are apparent. Development pressures determine flood-plain encroachment; floodplain management regulations have been implemented where it was easiest to do so. Further, structural measures continue to dominate. Thus, while many local officials are becoming more aware of advantages of flood-plain regulation, implementation and enforcement are inconsistent and uneven.     

The potential for agricultural land use change to reduce flood risk in a large watershed

Effects of agricultural land management practices on surface runoff are evident at local scales, but evidence for watershed‐scale impacts is limited. In this study, we used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool model to assess changes in downstream flood risks under different land uses for the large, intensely agricultural, Raccoon River watershed in Iowa. We first developed a baseline model for flood risk based on current land use and typical weather patterns and then simulated the effects of varying levels of increased perennials on the landscape under the same weather patterns. Results suggest that land use changes in the Raccoon River could reduce the likelihood of flood events, decreasing both the number of flood events and the frequency of severe floods. The duration of flood events were not substantially affected by land use change in our assessment. The greatest flood risk reduction was associated with converting all cropland to perennial vegetation, but we found that converting half of the land to perennial vegetation or extended rotations (and leaving the remaining area in cropland) could also have major effects on reducing downstream flooding potential. We discuss the potential costs of adopting the land use change in the watershed to illustrate the scale of subsidies required to induce large‐scale conversion to perennially based systems needed for flood risk reduction. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Observations of a Radio-Quiet Solar Preflare

The preflare phase of the flare SOL2011-08-09T03:52 is unique in its long duration, in that it was covered by the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) and the Nobeyama Radioheliograph, and because it showed three well-developed soft X-ray (SXR) peaks. No hard X-rays (HXR) are observed in the preflare phase. Here we report that no associated radio emission at 17 GHz was found either, despite the higher sensitivity of the radio instrument. The ratio between the SXR peaks and the upper limit of the radio peaks is higher by more than one order of magnitude than the ratio in regular flares. The result suggests that the ratio between acceleration and heating in the preflare phase was different than in regular flares. Acceleration to relativistic energies, if any, occurred with lower efficiency.     

Identification of the uranium speciation in an underground acid mine drainage environment

The subsurface acid mine drainage (AMD) environment of an abandoned underground uranium mine in Königstein/Saxony/Germany, currently in the process of remediation, is characterized by low pH, high sulfate concentrations and elevated concentrations of heavy metals, in particular uranium. Acid streamers thrive in the mine drainage channels and are heavily coated with iron precipitates. These precipitates are biologically mediated iron precipitates and related to the presence of Fe-oxidizing microorganisms forming copious biofilms in and on the Fe-precipitates. Similar biomineralisations were also observed in stalactite-like dripstones, called snottites, growing on the gallery ceilings.The uranium speciation in these solutions of underground AMD waters flowing in mine galleries as well as dripping from the ceiling and forming stalactite-like dripstones were studied by time resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS). The fluorescence lifetime of uranium species in both AMD water environments were best described with a mono-exponential decay, indicating the presence of one major species. The detected positions of the emission bands and by comparing it in a fingerprinting procedure with spectra obtained for acid sulfate reference solutions, in particular Fe(III) - SO₄²⁻ - UO₂²⁺ reference solutions, indicated that the uranium speciation in the AMD environment of Königstein is dominated in the pH range of 2.5-3.0 by the highly mobile aquatic uranium sulfate species UO₂SO_4(aq) and formation of uranium precipitates is rather unlikely as is retardation by sorption processes. The presence of iron in the AMD reduces the fluorescence lifetime of the UO₂SO_4(aq) species from 4.3 μs, found in iron-free uranium sulfate reference solutions, to 0.7 μs observed in both AMD waters of Königstein and also in the iron containing uranium sulfate reference solutions.Colloids were not observed in both drainage water and dripping snottite water as photon correlation spectroscopy analyses and centrifugation experiments at different centrifugal accelerations between 500g and 46000g revealed. Thus transport and uranium speciation at the investigated AMD sites is neither influenced by U(IV) or U(VI) eigencolloids nor by uranium adsorbed on colloidal particles.This study shows that TRLFS is a suitable spectroscopic technique to identify the uranium speciation in bulk solutions of AMD environments.     

Influence of the vertical distribution of cyanobacteria in the water column on the remote sensing signal

An increased intensity of cyanobacterial blooms and their potentially harmful effects have attracted the attention of environmental agencies, water authorities and the general public worldwide. Reliable operational monitoring methods of coastal waters, lakes and ponds are needed. Mapping of the surface extent of cyanobacterial blooms with remote sensing is straightforward, but recognizing waters dominated by cyanobacteria throughout the water column and quantitative mapping of cyanobacterial biomass with remote sensing is more complicated. Unlike most algae, cyanobacteria can regulate their buoyancy and move vertically in the water column. We used the Hydrolight 4.2 radiative transfer model and the specific optical properties of three species of cyanobacteria to study the impact of vertical distribution of cyanobacteria on the remote sensing signal. The results show that the vertical distribution of cyanobacteria in the water column has a significant impact on the remote sensing signal. This result indicates that developing remote sensing methods for quantitative mapping of cyanobacterial biomass is much more complex than quantitative mapping of an algal biomass that is uniformly distributed in the top mixed layer of water column.     

Stratospheric in situ measurements of H2SO4 and HSO3 vapors during a volcanically active period

In situ measurements of stratospheric H₂SO₄ and HSO₃vapors using passive chemical ionization mass spectrometry were made in October 1982 after the eruption of volcano El Chichon. Data were obtained between about 20 and 41 km showing [H₂SO₄ + HSO₃] sum concentrations between about 10⁴ and 2 × 10⁵ cm^?3 below 29 km and a steep rise above this altitude. Maximum [H₂SO₄ + HSO₃] values of about 3 × 10⁶ cm^?3 are reached above 35 km.Partial [HSO₃] concentrations increase above 34 km reaching about $\text{4 × 10}{}^5\text{cm}{}^{\mathrm{?3}}$ around 40 km. From the measurements it is concluded that H₂SO₄ and probably HSO₃photolysis have an important influence above 34 km leading to the observed increase of [HSO₃] and a depletion of H₂SO₄vapor.It also seems that the data support the view of heterogeneous HSO₃ removal. If correct, this would imply that stratospheric aerosols are formed primarily from HSO₃ rather than H₂SO₄vapor.