Development and testing of a new protocol for evaluating the effectiveness of oil spill surface washing agents

As defined by the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), a surface washing agent (SWA) is a product that removes oil from solid surfaces, such as beaches, rocks, and concrete, through a detergency mechanism and that does not involve dispersing or solubilizing the oil into the water column. Commercial products require testing to qualify for listing on the NCP Product Schedule. Such testing is conducted both for toxicity and effectiveness. Protocols currently exist for bioremediation agents and dispersants, but not SWAs. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is developing a laboratory testing protocol to evaluate the effectiveness of SWAs in removing crude oil from a solid substrate. This paper summarizes some of the defining research supporting this new protocol. Multiple variables were tested to determine their effect on SWA performance. The protocol was most sensitive to SWA-to-oil ratio and rotational speed of mixing. Less sensitive variables were contact time, mixing time, and SWA concentration when total applied mass of active product was constant. EPA recommendations for the testing protocol will be made following round robin testing.     

基于谐振子遗传算法的高效地下水优化管理模型

在传统遗传算法和模拟谐振子算法的基础上,结合两者的优点,提出了一种新型快速高效的谐振子遗传算法。通过一个理想的水资源管理模型的算例和一个华北平原典型区地下水资源优化的实际算例,从寻优结果和寻优效率两个方面对谐振子遗传算法、传统遗传算法和模拟谐振子算法进行了对比分析。在两个地下水管理模型中,与传统的遗传算法和模拟谐振子算法相比,新型的谐振子遗传算法搜索效率达到模拟谐振子算法搜索效率的2倍以上,得到的最优解比遗传算法所得到的最优解分别增加供水量1.1×10³ m³/d和0.47×10⁸ m³/a,说明谐振子遗传算法具有更强的全局搜索能力和更好的寻优效率。     

地理学在新冠肺炎疫情早期防控中的学术响应及展望

重大公共卫生突发事件如新冠肺炎等对区域人类活动有着深刻影响。作为以空间分析和人地关系为主要方法和对象的地理学,在疫情早期防控中的角色贡献以及未来趋势是迫切需要总结和讨论的重要议题。基于2020年1月20日~2月28日的文本数据,着重总结地理学者以及地理学视角下关于疫情的相关研究,地理学在疫情传播与扩散、区域规划与应急、数据与决策支撑等疫情早期防控方面做出了积极贡献,总结归纳了手机信令、百度迁徙数据等移动定位大数据与人工智能、数据挖掘、语义识别等新一代技术方法在疫情防控中发挥的支撑作用,反思提出未来应该在学科理论和防控措施方面,进一步优化风险预测模型、强化应急规划治理、加强国际合作及多学科数据交叉集成共享,从而提升应对重大公共卫生事件的科学性、主动性和高效性,为后疫情时期经济社会管理与空间治理提供科学支撑和依据。     

Estimation of regional evapotranspiration over the North China Plain using geostationary satellite data

Data from the first operational Chinese geostationary satellite Fengyun-2C (FY-2C) satellite are applied in combination with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite products for the assessment of regional evapotranspiration over the North China Plain. The approach is based on the improved triangle method, where the temperature–vegetation index space includes thermal inertia. Two thermal infrared channels from FY-2C are used to estimate surface temperature (Ts) based on a split window algorithm originally proposed for the MSG-SEVIRI sensor. Subsequently the high temporal resolution of FY-2C data is exploited to give the morning rise in Ts. Combined with the 16 days composite MODIS vegetation indices product (MOD13) at a spatial resolution of 5 km, evaporative fraction (EF) is estimated by interpolation in the ΔTs–NDVI triangular-shaped scatter space. Finally, regional actual evapotranspiration (ET) is derived from the evaporative fraction and available energy estimated from MODIS surface albedo products MCD43. Spatial variations of estimated surface variables (Ts, EF and ET) corresponded well to land cover patterns and farmland management practices. Estimated ET and EF also compared well to lysimeter data collected for the period June 2005–September 2007. The improved triangle method was also applied to MODIS products for comparison. Estimates based on FY-2C products proved to provide slightly better results than those based on MODIS products. The consistency of the estimated spatial variation with other spatial data supports the use of FY-2C data for ET estimation using the improved triangle method. Of particular value is the high temporal frequency of image acquisitions from FY-2C which improves the likelihood of obtaining cloud free image acquisitions as compared to polar orbiting sensors like MODIS.     

New Evidence for The Role of The North Sea — Caspian Pattern on The Temperature and Precipitation Regimes in Continental Central Turkey

Monthly mean temperatures and monthly precipitation totals at six stations from theCappadocian sub‐region in the continental Central Anatolia region of Turkey were analysed in order to detect the response of the variability in the Cappadocian climate to the variability of the North Sea ‐ Caspian Pattern Index (NCPI). Most of this region is classified as semi‐arid according to various climate classifications. Time series of the NCPI for the period 1958–1998, enabled each month from October toApril to be classified as belonging to the negative phase NCP(?), positive phase NCP(+) or neutral conditions. Monthly temperature and precipitation series for each station were analysed separately for both phases. Temperatures during NCP(?) were found to be considerably higher than during NCP(+). These results confirm previous results regarding the role of the NCP in controlling the temperature regime in that region. No significant differences were found in precipitation totals between the two phases, but major differences were identified in their spatial structure.     

Increased Stratification and Decreased Lower Trophic Level Productivity in the Oyashio Region of the North Pacific: A 30-Year Retrospective Study

An analysis of the time series data sets collected from the 1960s to 1990s in the Oyashio Water revealed signs of alteration in the physical, chemical and biological properties of the water column in the western subarctic North Pacific. Wintertime salinity, phosphate concentration and apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) in the subsurface increased linearly over the 30 years. At the same time, salinity and phosphate in the surface mixed layer decreased. An increase in the density gradient in the surface and subsurface suggested that the water column stratification intensified, reducing the vertical exchange of water properties during the period. The Net Community Production (NCP), estimated from the phosphate consumption from February through August, also declined. Water column Chl a was approximately halved and diatoms decreased by one order of magnitude in spring, consistent with the multi-decadal decreasing trend of NCP. Zooplankton biomass was also nearly halved during the same period. In contrast, wintertime Chl a increased by 63% and diatom abundance doubled. Developmental timing became earlier in Neocalanus flemingeri, and spring occurrence of N. plumchrus increased after the 1980s. Reduced vertical water exchange might have limited nutrient supply to the level, decreasing winter-summer NCP for these three decades. It is speculated that, in the meantime, the earlier stabilization of the surface layer might have enhanced wintertime diatom production in the Oyashio's light-limited environment. This condition could allow zooplankton to effectively utilize diatoms from earlier timing, resulting in the apparent early developmental timing and abundance increase. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The carbon dioxide system and net community production within a cyclonic eddy in the lee of Hawaii

The dynamics of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and processes controlling net community production (NCP) were investigated within a mature cyclonic eddy, Cyclone Opal, which formed in the lee of the main Hawaiian Islands in the subtropical North Pacific Gyre. Within the eddy core, physical and biogeochemical properties suggested that nutrient- and DIC-rich deep waters were uplifted by 80 m relative to surrounding waters, enhancing biological production. A salt budget indicates that the eddy core was a mixture of deep water (68%) and surface water (32%). NCP was estimated from mass balances of DIC, nitrate+nitrite, total organic carbon, and dissolved organic nitrogen, making rational inferences about the unobserved initial conditions at the time of eddy formation. Results consistently suggest that NCP in the center of the eddy was substantially enhanced relative to the surrounding waters, ranging from 14.1±10.6 (0–110 m: within the euphotic zone) to 14.2±9.2 (0–50 m: within the mixed layer) to 18.5±10.7 (0–75 m: within the deep chlorophyll-maximum layer) mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹ depending on the depth of integration. NCP in the ambient waters outside the eddy averaged about 2.37±4.24 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹ in the mixed layer (0–95 m). Most of the enhanced NCP inside the eddy appears to have accumulated as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) rather than exported as particulate organic carbon (POC) to the mesopelagic. Our results also suggest that the upper euphotic zone (0–75 m) above the deep chlorophyll maximum is characterized by positive NCP, while NCP in the lower layer (>75 m) is close to zero or negative.