Effects of air-sea interaction on extended-range prediction of geopotential height at 500 hPa over the northern extratropical region

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xujia; Zheng, Zhihai; Feng, Guolin

2018-04-01

The contribution of air-sea interaction on the extended-range prediction of geopotential height at 500 hPa in the northern extratropical region has been analyzed with a coupled model form Beijing Climate Center and its atmospheric components. Under the assumption of the perfect model, the extended-range prediction skill was evaluated by anomaly correlation coefficient (ACC), root mean square error (RMSE), and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The coupled model has a better prediction skill than its atmospheric model, especially, the air-sea interaction in July made a greater contribution for the improvement of prediction skill than other months. The prediction skill of the extratropical region in the coupled model reaches 16-18 days in all months, while the atmospheric model reaches 10-11 days in January, April, and July and only 7-8 days in October, indicating that the air-sea interaction can extend the prediction skill of the atmospheric model by about 1 week. The errors of both the coupled model and the atmospheric model reach saturation in about 20 days, suggesting that the predictable range is less than 3 weeks.

Potential regulation on the climatic effect of Tibetan Plateau heating by tropical air-sea coupling in regional models

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ziqian; Duan, Anmin; Yang, Song

2018-05-01

Based on the conventional weather research and forecasting (WRF) model and the air-sea coupled mode WRF-OMLM, we investigate the potential regulation on the climatic effect of Tibetan Plateau (TP) heating by the air-sea coupling over the tropical Indian Ocean and western Pacific. Results indicate that the TP heating significantly enhances the southwesterly monsoon circulation over the northern Indian Ocean and the South Asia subcontinent. The intensified southwesterly wind cools the sea surface mainly through the wind-evaporation-SST (sea surface temperature) feedback. Cold SST anomaly then weakens monsoon convective activity, especially that over the Bay of Bengal, and less water vapor is thus transported into the TP along its southern slope from the tropical oceans. As a result, summer precipitation decreases over the TP, which further weakens the TP local heat source. Finally, the changed TP heating continues to influence the summer monsoon precipitation and atmospheric circulation. To a certain extent, the air-sea coupling over the adjacent oceans may weaken the effect of TP heating on the mean climate in summer. It is also implied that considerations of air-sea interaction are necessary in future simulation studies of the TP heating effect.

Air-sea interaction and formation of the Asian summer monsoon onset vortex over the Bay of Bengal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Guoxiong; Liu, Yimin; Mao, Jiangyu [Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (LASG), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, P.O. Box 9804, Beijing (China); Guan, Yue [Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (LASG), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, P.O. Box 9804, Beijing (China); Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China); Yan, Jinghui [China Meteorological Administration, National Climate Center, Beijing (China)

2012-01-15

In spring over the southern Bay of Bengal (BOB), a vortex commonly develops, followed by the Asian summer monsoon onset. An analysis of relevant data and a case study reveals that the BOB monsoon onset vortex is formed as a consequence of air-sea interaction over BOB, which is modulated by Tibetan Plateau forcing and the land-sea thermal contrast over the South Asian area during the spring season. Tibetan Plateau forcing in spring generates a prevailing cold northwesterly over India in the lower troposphere. Strong surface sensible heating is then released, forming a prominent surface cyclone with a strong southwesterly along the coastal ocean in northwestern BOB. This southwesterly induces a local offshore current and upwelling, resulting in cold sea surface temperatures (SSTs). The southwesterly, together with the near-equatorial westerly, also results in a surface anticyclone with descending air over most of BOB and a cyclone with ascending air over the southern part of BOB. In the eastern part of central BOB, where sky is clear, surface wind is weak, and ocean mixed layer is shallow, intense solar radiation and low energy loss due to weak surface latent and sensible heat fluxes act onto a thin ocean layer, resulting in the development of a unique BOB warm pool in spring. Near the surface, water vapor is transferred from northern BOB and other regions to southeastern BOB, where surface sensible heating is relatively high. The atmospheric available potential energy is generated and converted to kinetic energy, thereby resulting in vortex formation. The vortex then intensifies and moves northward, where SST is higher and surface sensible heating is stronger. Meanwhile, the zonal-mean kinetic energy is converted to eddy kinetic energy in the area east of the vortex, and the vortex turns eastward. Eventually, southwesterly sweeps over eastern BOB and merges with the subtropical westerly, leading to the onset of the Asian summer monsoon. (orig.)

Assessing Air-Sea Interaction in the Evolving NASA GEOS Model

Science.gov (United States)

Clayson, Carol Anne; Roberts, J. Brent

2015-01-01

In order to understand how the climate responds to variations in forcing, one necessary component is to understand the full distribution of variability of exchanges of heat and moisture between the atmosphere and ocean. Surface heat and moisture fluxes are critical to the generation and decay of many coupled air-sea phenomena. These mechanisms operate across a number of scales and contain contributions from interactions between the anomalous (i.e. non-mean), often extreme-valued, flux components. Satellite-derived estimates of the surface turbulent and radiative heat fluxes provide an opportunity to assess results from modeling systems. Evaluation of only time mean and variability statistics, however only provides limited traceability to processes controlling what are often regime-dependent errors. This work will present an approach to evaluate the representation of the turbulent fluxes at the air-sea interface in the current and evolving Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model. A temperature and moisture vertical profile-based clustering technique is used to identify robust weather regimes, and subsequently intercompare the turbulent fluxes and near-surface parameters within these regimes in both satellite estimates and GEOS-driven data sets. Both model reanalysis (MERRA) and seasonal-to-interannual coupled GEOS model simulations will be evaluated. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding the distribution of the fluxes including extremes, and the representation of near-surface forcing variables directly related to their estimation. Results from these analyses will help identify the existence and source of regime-dependent biases in the GEOS model ocean surface turbulent fluxes. The use of the temperature and moisture profiles for weather-state clustering will be highlighted for its potential broad application to 3-D output typical of model simulations.

Intense air-sea exchanges and heavy orographic precipitation over Italy: The role of Adriatic sea surface temperature uncertainty

Science.gov (United States)

Stocchi, Paolo; Davolio, Silvio

2017-11-01

Strong and persistent low-level winds blowing over the Adriatic basin are often associated with intense precipitation events over Italy. Typically, in case of moist southeasterly wind (Sirocco), rainfall affects northeastern Italy and the Alpine chain, while with cold northeasterly currents (Bora) precipitations are localized along the eastern slopes of the Apennines and central Italy coastal areas. These events are favoured by intense air-sea interactions and it is reasonable to hypothesize that the Adriatic sea surface temperature (SST) can affect the amount and location of precipitation. High-resolution simulations of different Bora and Sirocco events leading to severe precipitation are performed using a convection-permitting model (MOLOCH). Sensitivity experiments varying the SST initialization field are performed with the aim of evaluating the impact of SST uncertainty on precipitation forecasts, which is a relevant topic for operational weather predictions, especially at local scales. Moreover, diagnostic tools to compute water vapour fluxes across the Italian coast and atmospheric water budget over the Adriatic Sea have been developed and applied in order to characterize the air mass that feeds the precipitating systems. Finally, the investigation of the processes through which the SST influences location and intensity of heavy precipitation allows to gain a better understanding on mechanisms conducive to severe weather in the Mediterranean area and in the Adriatic basin in particular. Results show that the effect of the Adriatic SST (uncertainty) on precipitation is complex and can vary considerably among different events. For both Bora and Sirocco events, SST does not influence markedly the atmospheric water budget or the degree of moistening of air that flows over the Adriatic Sea. SST mainly affects the stability of the atmospheric boundary layer, thus influencing the flow dynamics and the orographic flow regime, and in turn, the precipitation pattern.

Observed Seasonal Variations of the Upper Ocean Structure and Air-Sea Interactions in the Andaman Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yanliang; Li, Kuiping; Ning, Chunlin; Yang, Yang; Wang, Haiyuan; Liu, Jianjun; Skhokiattiwong, Somkiat; Yu, Weidong

2018-02-01

The Andaman Sea (AS) is a poorly observed basin, where even the fundamental physical characteristics have not been fully documented. Here the seasonal variations of the upper ocean structure and the air-sea interactions in the central AS were studied using a moored surface buoy. The seasonal double-peak pattern of the sea surface temperature (SST) was identified with the corresponding mixed layer variations. Compared with the buoys in the Bay of Bengal (BOB), the thermal stratification in the central AS was much stronger in the winter to spring, when a shallower isothermal layer and a thinner barrier layer were sustained. The temperature inversion was strongest from June to July because of substantial surface heat loss and subsurface prewarming. The heat budget analysis of the mixed layer showed that the net surface heat fluxes dominated the seasonal SST cycle. Vertical entrainment was significant from April to July. It had a strong cooling effect from April to May and a striking warming effect from June to July. A sensitivity experiment highlighted the importance of salinity. The AS warmer surface water in the winter was associated with weak heat loss caused by weaker longwave radiation and latent heat losses. However, the AS latent heat loss was larger than the BOB in summer due to its lower relative humidity.

Cruise and Data Report of USA-PRC Joint Air-Sea Interaction Studies in the Western Pacific Ocean (NODC Accession 8700374)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The USA-PRC Joint Program on Air-Sea Interaction Studies in the Tropical Western Pacific is a component of the Protocol on Cooperation in the Field of Marine and...

Observational analysis of air-sea fluxes and sea water temperature offshore South China Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Bi, X.; Huang, J.; Gao, Z.; Liu, Y.

2017-12-01

This paper investigates the air-sea fluxes (momentum flux, sensible heat flux and latent heat flux) from eddy covariance method based on data collected at an offshore observation tower in the South China Sea from January 2009 to December 2016 and sea water temperature (SWT) on six different levels based on data collected from November 2011 to June 2013. The depth of water at the tower over the sea averages about 15 m. This study presents the in-situ measurements of continuous air-sea fluxes and SWT at different depths. Seasonal and diurnal variations in air-sea fluxes and SWT on different depths are examined. Results show that air-sea fluxes and all SWT changed seasonally; sea-land breeze circulation appears all the year round. Unlike winters where SWT on different depths are fairly consistent, the difference between sea surface temperature (SST) and sea temperature at 10 m water depth fluctuates dramatically and the maximum value reaches 7 °C during summer.

Observations and Modeling of Turbulent Air-Sea Coupling in Coastal and Strongly Forced Condition

Science.gov (United States)

Ortiz-Suslow, David G.

The turbulent fluxes of momentum, mass, and energy across the ocean-atmosphere boundary are fundamental to our understanding of a myriad of geophysical processes, such as wind-wave generation, oceanic circulation, and air-sea gas transfer. In order to better understand these fluxes, empirical relationships were developed to quantify the interfacial exchange rates in terms of easily observed parameters (e.g., wind speed). However, mounting evidence suggests that these empirical formulae are only valid over the relatively narrow parametric space, i.e. open ocean conditions in light to moderate winds. Several near-surface processes have been observed to cause significant variance in the air-sea fluxes not predicted by the conventional functions, such as a heterogeneous surfaces, swell waves, and wave breaking. Further study is needed to fully characterize how these types of processes can modulate the interfacial exchange; in order to achieve this, a broad investigation into air-sea coupling was undertaken. The primary focus of this work was to use a combination of field and laboratory observations and numerical modeling, in regimes where conventional theories would be expected to breakdown, namely: the nearshore and in very high winds. These seemingly disparate environments represent the marine atmospheric boundary layer at its physical limit. In the nearshore, the convergence of land, air, and sea in a depth-limited domain marks the transition from a marine to a terrestrial boundary layer. Under extreme winds, the physical nature of the boundary layer remains unknown as an intermediate substrate layer, sea spray, develops between the atmosphere and ocean surface. At these ends of the MABL physical spectrum, direct measurements of the near-surface processes were made and directly related to local sources of variance. Our results suggest that the conventional treatment of air-sea fluxes in terms of empirical relationships developed from a relatively narrow set of

Air-sea interactions of semi-volatile organic compounds in the tropical environment of Southeast Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Balasubramanian R.

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Major urban and industrial centers increase loadings of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs to proximate sea waters through riverine transport, atmospheric deposition via dry particle deposition, wet deposition, and air-sea gas exchange. In addition to acting as sinks for SVOCs, oceans can act as sources of SVOCs to coastal atmospheres and play important roles in the global biogeochemistry of SVOCs. Particle-sorbed SVOCs can settle to the ocean surface by dry particle deposition, a uni-directional advective transport process from the atmosphere to the water, the removal rate by which is a function of the physical and chemical properties of the aerosols and bound pollutants, meteorological conditions and surface characteristics. In addition, SVOCs are removed from the atmosphere and transported to the waters by precipitation scavenging of atmospheric vapors and particles, which are incorporated into the rain within or below the clouds. After SVOCs are deposited into the bulk seawater, water-column partitioning can affect the distribution of pollutants between the dissolved aqueous and the solid phases and eventually impact the fate of these compounds in oceans. Other than the abovementioned processes, air-sea exchange can make SVOCs diffuse across the air-sea interface; however, the sea surface microlayer (SML, a unique compartment at the air-sea boundary defined operationally as the upper millimeter (1 ∼ 1000 μm of the sea surface, has large storage capacity to delay the transport of SVOCs across the interface. This article reports the dry particle deposition and wet deposition of selected SVOCs based on an extensive set of yearly data collected in Singapore. Singapore, a representative country of Southeast Asia (SEA, is a small but highly developed island with dense industrial parks in the Southwestern part, where the terrestrial sources affect the surrounding coasts. In this study, Singapore’s Southern coastline was chosen during

Thermodynamic properties of sea air

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Feistel

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Very accurate thermodynamic potential functions are available for fluid water, ice, seawater and humid air covering wide ranges of temperature and pressure conditions. They permit the consistent computation of all equilibrium properties as, for example, required for coupled atmosphere-ocean models or the analysis of observational or experimental data. With the exception of humid air, these potential functions are already formulated as international standards released by the International Association for the Properties of Water and Steam (IAPWS, and have been adopted in 2009 for oceanography by IOC/UNESCO.

In this paper, we derive a collection of formulas for important quantities expressed in terms of the thermodynamic potentials, valid for typical phase transitions and composite systems of humid air and water/ice/seawater. Particular attention is given to equilibria between seawater and humid air, referred to as "sea air" here. In a related initiative, these formulas will soon be implemented in a source-code library for easy practical use. The library is primarily aimed at oceanographic applications but will be relevant to air-sea interaction and meteorology as well.

The formulas provided are valid for any consistent set of suitable thermodynamic potential functions. Here we adopt potential functions from previous publications in which they are constructed from theoretical laws and empirical data; they are briefly summarized in the appendix. The formulas make use of the full accuracy of these thermodynamic potentials, without additional approximations or empirical coefficients. They are expressed in the temperature scale ITS-90 and the 2008 Reference-Composition Salinity Scale.

Impact of surface sensible heating over the Tibetan Plateau on the western Pacific subtropical high: A land-air-sea interaction perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, Anmin; Sun, Ruizao; He, Jinhai

2017-02-01

The impact of surface sensible heating over the Tibetan Plateau (SHTP) on the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) with and without air-sea interaction was investigated in this study. Data analysis indicated that SHTP acts as a relatively independent factor in modulating the WPSH anomaly compared with ENSO events. Stronger spring SHTP is usually followed by an enhanced and westward extension of the WPSH in summer, and vice versa. Numerical experiments using both an AGCM and a CGCM confirmed that SHTP influences the large-scale circulation anomaly over the Pacific, which features a barotropic anticyclonic response over the northwestern Pacific and a cyclonic response to the south. Owing to different background circulation in spring and summer, such a response facilitates a subdued WPSH in spring but an enhanced WPSH in summer. Moreover, the CGCM results showed that the equatorial low-level westerly at the south edge of the cyclonic anomaly brings about a warm SST anomaly (SSTA) in the equatorial central Pacific via surface warm advection. Subsequently, an atmospheric Rossby wave is stimulated to the northwest of the warm SSTA, which in turn enhances the atmospheric dipole anomalies over the western Pacific. Therefore, the air-sea feedbacks involved tend to reinforce the effect of SHTP on the WPSH anomaly, and the role of SHTP on general circulation needs to be considered in a land-air-sea interaction framework.

Air sea ratio reduction initiative

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oberle, Jean

2010-09-15

Airfreight is the most expensive mode of transportation as well as the most impacting in terms of CO{sup 2} emissions. It is 7 times more expensive on average to ship by air than shipping by sea 1. Airfreight transportation mode emits 30 times more CO{sup 2} than sea freight mode 2. These elements provided a compelling platform to design a global logistics program to initiate a modal shift from air to sea freight without compromising service to customers.

Air-sea exchange over Black Sea estimated from high resolution regional climate simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Velea, Liliana; Bojariu, Roxana; Cica, Roxana

2013-04-01

Black Sea is an important influencing factor for the climate of bordering countries, showing cyclogenetic activity (Trigo et al, 1999) and influencing Mediterranean cyclones passing over. As for other seas, standard observations of the atmosphere are limited in time and space and available observation-based estimations of air-sea exchange terms present quite large ranges of uncertainty. The reanalysis datasets (e.g. ERA produced by ECMWF) provide promising validation estimates of climatic characteristics against the ones in available climatic data (Schrum et al, 2001), while cannot reproduce some local features due to relatively coarse horizontal resolution. Detailed and realistic information on smaller-scale processes are foreseen to be provided by regional climate models, due to continuous improvements of physical parameterizations and numerical solutions and thus affording simulations at high spatial resolution. The aim of the study is to assess the potential of three regional climate models in reproducing known climatological characteristics of air-sea exchange over Black Sea, as well as to explore the added value of the model compared to the input (reanalysis) data. We employ results of long-term (1961-2000) simulations performed within ENSEMBLE project (http://ensemblesrt3.dmi.dk/) using models ETHZ-CLM, CNRM-ALADIN, METO-HadCM, for which the integration domain covers the whole area of interest. The analysis is performed for the entire basin for several variables entering the heat and water budget terms and available as direct output from the models, at seasonal and annual scale. A comparison with independent data (ERA-INTERIM) and findings from other studies (e.g. Schrum et al, 2001) is also presented. References: Schrum, C., Staneva, J., Stanev, E. and Ozsoy, E., 2001: Air-sea exchange in the Black Sea estimated from atmospheric analysis for the period 1979-1993, J. Marine Systems, 31, 3-19 Trigo, I. F., T. D. Davies, and G. R. Bigg (1999): Objective

Coastal Land Air Sea Interaction: "the" beach towers

Science.gov (United States)

MacMahan, J. H.; Koscinski, J. S.; Ortiz-Suslow, D. G.; Haus, B. K.; Thornton, E. B.

2016-12-01

As part of the Coastal Land Air Sea Interaction (CLASI) experiment, an alongshore array of 6-m high towers instrumented with ultrasonic 3D anemometers and temperature-relative humidity sensors were deployed at five sandy beaches near the high-tide line in Monterey Bay, CA, in May-June 2016. A cross-shore array of towers was also deployed from within the active surfzone to the toe of the dune at one beach. In addition, waves and ocean temperature were obtained along the 10m isobath for each beach. The dissipative surfzone was O(80m) wide. The wave energy varies among the beaches owing to sheltering and refraction by the Monterey Canyon and headlands. The tides are semi-diurnal mixed, meso-tidal with a maximum tidal range of 2m. This results in a variable beach width from the tower to the tidal line. Footprint analysis for estimating the source region for the turbulent momentum fluxes, suggests that the observations represent three scenarios described as primarily ocean, mixed beach and ocean, and primarily beach. The direct-estimate of the atmospheric stability by the sonic anemometer suggest that all of the beaches are mostly unstable except for a few occurrences in the evening during low wind conditions. The onshore neutral drag coefficient (Cd) estimated at 10m heights is 3-5 times larger than open ocean estimates. Minimal variability was found in Cd based on the footprint analysis. Beach-specific spatial variability in Cd was found related to atmospheric stability and wave energy.

Air-Sea Momentum and Enthalpy Exchange in Coupled Atmosphere-Wave-Ocean Modeling of Tropical Cyclones

Science.gov (United States)

Curcic, M.; Chen, S. S.

2016-02-01

The atmosphere and ocean are coupled through momentum, enthalpy, and mass fluxes. Accurate representation of these fluxes in a wide range of weather and climate conditions is one of major challenges in prediction models. Their current parameterizations are based on sparse observations in low-to-moderate winds and are not suited for high wind conditions such as tropical cyclones (TCs) and winter storms. In this study, we use the Unified Wave INterface - Coupled Model (UWIN-CM), a high resolution, fully-coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean model, to better understand the role of ocean surface waves in mediating air-sea momentum and enthalpy exchange in TCs. In particular, we focus on the explicit treatment of wave growth and dissipation for calculating atmospheric and oceanic stress, and its role in upper ocean mixing and surface cooling in the wake of the storm. Wind-wave misalignment and local wave disequilibrium result in difference between atmospheric and oceanic stress being largest on the left side of the storm. We find that explicit wave calculation in the coupled model reduces momentum transfer into the ocean by more than 10% on average, resulting in reduced cooling in TC's wake and subsequent weakening of the storm. We also investigate the impacts of sea surface temperature and upper ocean parameterization on air-sea enthalpy fluxes in the fully coupled model. High-resolution UWIN-CM simulations of TCs with various intensities and structure are conducted in this study to better understand the complex TC-ocean interaction and improve the representation of air-sea coupling processes in coupled prediction models.

Understanding the Role of Air-Sea Interaction on Extreme Rainfall in Aquaplanet and Earth-like CESM2

Science.gov (United States)

Benedict, J. J.; Clement, A. C.; Medeiros, B.

2017-12-01

Extreme precipitation events are associated with anomalous, latitudinally dependent dynamical and convective weather systems. For example, plumes of excessive poleward water vapor transport and topographical effects drive extreme precipitation events in the midlatitudes, while intense tropical precipitation is associated with organized convective systems. In both cases, air-sea fluxes have the potential to contribute significantly to the moisture budget of these storms, but the roles of surface fluxes and upper-ocean processes and their impact on precipitation extremes have yet to be explored in sufficient detail. To examine such mechanisms, we implement a climate model hierarchy that encompasses a spectrum of ocean models, from prescribed-SST to fully dynamic, as well as both aquaplanet and Earth-like lower boundary types within version 2 of the Community Earth System Model (CESM2). Using the CESM2 hierarchy and comparing to observations, we identify key moisture processes and related air-sea interactions that drive extreme precipitation events across different latitudes in Earth-like models and then generalize the analyses in aquaplanet configurations to highlight the most salient features. The analyses are applied to both present-day and global warming conditions to investigate how these fundamental mechanisms might change extreme precipitation events in the future climate.

Study of the air-sea interactions at the mesoscale: the SEMAPHORE experiment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Eymard

1996-09-01

Full Text Available The SEMAPHORE (Structure des Echanges Mer-Atmosphère, Propriétés des Hétérogénéités Océaniques: Recherche Expérimentale experiment has been conducted from June to November 1993 in the Northeast Atlantic between the Azores and Madeira. It was centered on the study of the mesoscale ocean circulation and air-sea interactions. The experimental investigation was achieved at the mesoscale using moorings, floats, and ship hydrological survey, and at a smaller scale by one dedicated ship, two instrumented aircraft, and surface drifting buoys, for one and a half month in October-November (IOP: intense observing period. Observations from meteorological operational satellites as well as spaceborne microwave sensors were used in complement. The main studies undertaken concern the mesoscale ocean, the upper ocean, the atmospheric boundary layer, and the sea surface, and first results are presented for the various topics. From data analysis and model simulations, the main characteristics of the ocean circulation were deduced, showing the close relationship between the Azores front meander and the occurrence of Mediterranean water lenses (meddies, and the shift between the Azores current frontal signature at the surface and within the thermocline. Using drifting buoys and ship data in the upper ocean, the gap between the scales of the atmospheric forcing and the oceanic variability was made evident. A 2 °C decrease and a 40-m deepening of the mixed layer were measured within the IOP, associated with a heating loss of about 100 W m-2. This evolution was shown to be strongly connected to the occurrence of storms at the beginning and the end of October. Above the surface, turbulent measurements from ship and aircraft were analyzed across the surface thermal front, showing a 30% difference in heat fluxes between both sides during a 4-day period, and the respective contributions of the wind and the surface temperature were evaluated. The classical

Study of the air-sea interactions at the mesoscale: the SEMAPHORE experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Eymard, L.; Planton, S.; Durand, P.; Le Visage, C.; Le Traon, P. Y.; Prieur, L.; Weill, A.; Hauser, D.; Rolland, J.; Pelon, J.; Baudin, F.; Bénech, B.; Brenguier, J. L.; Caniaux, G.; de Mey, P.; Dombrowski, E.; Druilhet, A.; Dupuis, H.; Ferret, B.; Flamant, C.; Flamant, P.; Hernandez, F.; Jourdan, D.; Katsaros, K.; Lambert, D.; Lefèvre, J. M.; Le Borgne, P.; Le Squere, B.; Marsoin, A.; Roquet, H.; Tournadre, J.; Trouillet, V.; Tychensky, A.; Zakardjian, B.

1996-09-01

The SEMAPHORE (Structure des Echanges Mer-Atmosphère, Propriétés des Hétérogénéités Océaniques: Recherche Expérimentale) experiment has been conducted from June to November 1993 in the Northeast Atlantic between the Azores and Madeira. It was centered on the study of the mesoscale ocean circulation and air-sea interactions. The experimental investigation was achieved at the mesoscale using moorings, floats, and ship hydrological survey, and at a smaller scale by one dedicated ship, two instrumented aircraft, and surface drifting buoys, for one and a half month in October-November (IOP: intense observing period). Observations from meteorological operational satellites as well as spaceborne microwave sensors were used in complement. The main studies undertaken concern the mesoscale ocean, the upper ocean, the atmospheric boundary layer, and the sea surface, and first results are presented for the various topics. From data analysis and model simulations, the main characteristics of the ocean circulation were deduced, showing the close relationship between the Azores front meander and the occurrence of Mediterranean water lenses (meddies), and the shift between the Azores current frontal signature at the surface and within the thermocline. Using drifting buoys and ship data in the upper ocean, the gap between the scales of the atmospheric forcing and the oceanic variability was made evident. A 2 °C decrease and a 40-m deepening of the mixed layer were measured within the IOP, associated with a heating loss of about 100 W m-2. This evolution was shown to be strongly connected to the occurrence of storms at the beginning and the end of October. Above the surface, turbulent measurements from ship and aircraft were analyzed across the surface thermal front, showing a 30% difference in heat fluxes between both sides during a 4-day period, and the respective contributions of the wind and the surface temperature were evaluated. The classical momentum flux bulk

Study of the air-sea interactions at the mesoscale: the SEMAPHORE experiment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Eymard

Full Text Available The SEMAPHORE (Structure des Echanges Mer-Atmosphère, Propriétés des Hétérogénéités Océaniques: Recherche Expérimentale experiment has been conducted from June to November 1993 in the Northeast Atlantic between the Azores and Madeira. It was centered on the study of the mesoscale ocean circulation and air-sea interactions. The experimental investigation was achieved at the mesoscale using moorings, floats, and ship hydrological survey, and at a smaller scale by one dedicated ship, two instrumented aircraft, and surface drifting buoys, for one and a half month in October-November (IOP: intense observing period. Observations from meteorological operational satellites as well as spaceborne microwave sensors were used in complement. The main studies undertaken concern the mesoscale ocean, the upper ocean, the atmospheric boundary layer, and the sea surface, and first results are presented for the various topics. From data analysis and model simulations, the main characteristics of the ocean circulation were deduced, showing the close relationship between the Azores front meander and the occurrence of Mediterranean water lenses (meddies, and the shift between the Azores current frontal signature at the surface and within the thermocline. Using drifting buoys and ship data in the upper ocean, the gap between the scales of the atmospheric forcing and the oceanic variability was made evident. A 2 °C decrease and a 40-m deepening of the mixed layer were measured within the IOP, associated with a heating loss of about 100 W m^-2. This evolution was shown to be strongly connected to the occurrence of storms at the beginning and the end of October. Above the surface, turbulent measurements from ship and aircraft were analyzed across the surface thermal front, showing a 30% difference in heat fluxes between both sides during a 4-day period, and the respective contributions of the wind and the surface temperature were evaluated. The

Air-sea interactions and exchanges

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Naqvi, S.W.A

To support the idea that the Arabian Sea makes a significant contribution to biogeochemical ocean-atmosphere transfer processes, quantification of parameters such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, ammonia and dimethylsulphide was carried...

Local air pollution in the Arctic: knowledge gaps, challenges and future directions

Science.gov (United States)

Law, K.; Schmale, J.; Anenberg, S.; Arnold, S.; Simpson, W. R.; Mao, J.; Starkweather, S.

2017-12-01

It is estimated that about 30 % of the world's undiscovered gas and 13 % of undiscovered oil resources are located in the Arctic. Sea ice loss with climate change is progressing rapidly and by 2050 the Arctic could be nearly sea ice free in summer. This will allow for Arctic industrialization, commercial shipping, fishing and tourism to increase. Given that the world population is projected to grow beyond 9 billion by mid-century needing more resources, partly to be found in the Arctic, it can be expected that the current urbanization trend in the region will accelerate in the future. Against this background, it is likely that new local emission sources emerge which may lead to increased burdens of air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM), reactive nitrogen, and ozone. Typical Arctic emission sources include road transport, domestic fuel burning, diesel emissions, as well as industrial sources such as oil and gas extraction, metallurgical smelting, power generation as well as shipping in coastal areas. These emissions and their impacts remain poorly quantified in the Arctic. Boreal wildfires can already affect summertime air quality and may increase in frequency and size in a warmer climate. Locally produced air pollution, in combination with cold, stagnant weather conditions and inversion layers in winter, can also lead to significant localized pollutant concentrations, often in exceedance of air quality standards. Despite these concerns, very few process studies on local air pollution in or near inhabited areas in the Arctic have been conducted, which significantly limits our understanding of atmospheric chemical reactions involving air pollutants under Arctic conditions (e.g., extremely cold and dry air with little solar radiation in winter) and their impacts on human health and ecosystems. We will provide an overview of our current understanding of local air pollution and its impacts in Arctic urban environments and highlight key gaps. We will discuss a

Air-sea exchange studies at the North Sea

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leeuw, G. de; Eijk, A.M.J. van; Kunz, G.J.; Veefkind, P.J.

1996-01-01

The North Sea can be considered as a local 'inner' sea in which many processes are quite different from these over the open ocean. The surrounding land has a major influence, being the source for man-made aerosols and gases, whereas the North Sea acts as a sink for these. At the same time the North

Oceanographic, Air-sea Interaction, and Environmental Aspects of Artificial Upwelling Produced by Wave-Inertia Pumps for Potential Hurricane Intensity Mitigation

Science.gov (United States)

Soloviev, A.; Dean, C.

2017-12-01

The artificial upwelling system consisting of the wave-inertia pumps driven by surface waves can produce flow of cold deep water to the surface. One of the recently proposed potential applications of the artificial upwelling system is the hurricane intensity mitigation. Even relatively small reduction of intensity may provide significant benefits. The ocean heat content (OHC) is the "fuel" for hurricanes. The OHC can be reduced by mixing of the surface layer with the cold water produced by wave-inertia pumps. Implementation of this system for hurricane mitigation has several oceanographic and air-sea interaction aspects. The cold water brought to the surface from a deeper layer has higher density than the surface water and, therefore, tends to sink back down. The mixing of the cold water produced by artificial upwelling depends on environmental conditions such as stratification, regional ocean circulation, and vertical shear. Another aspect is that as the sea surface temperature drops below the air temperature, the stable stratification develops in the atmospheric boundary layer. The stable atmospheric stratification suppresses sensible and latent heat air-sea fluxes and reduces the net longwave irradiance from the sea surface. As a result, the artificial upwelling may start increasing the OHC (though still reducing the sea surface temperature). In this work, the fate of the cold water in the stratified environment with vertical shear has been studied using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools. A 3D large eddy simulation model is initialized with observational temperature, salinity, and current velocity data from a sample location in the Straits of Florida. A periodic boundary condition is set along the direction of the current, which allows us to simulate infinite fetch. The model results indicate that the cold water brought to the sea surface by a wave-inertia pump forms a convective jet. This jet plunges into the upper ocean mixed layer and penetrates the

Tracers of air-sea gas exchange

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liss, P.S.

1988-01-01

The flux of gas across the air-sea interface is determined by the product of the interfacial concentration difference driving the exchange and a rate constant, often termed the transfer velocity. The concentration-difference term is generally obtained by direct measurement, whereas more indirect approaches are required to estimate the transfer velocity and its variation as a function of controlling parameters such as wind and sea state. Radioactive tracers have proved particularly useful in the estimation of air-sea transfer velocities and, recently, stable purposeful tracers have also started to be used. In this paper the use of the following tracers to determine transfer velocities at the sea surface is discussed: natural and bomb-produced 14 C, dissolved oxygen, 222 Rn and sulphur hexafluoride. Other topics covered include the relation between transfer velocity and wind speed as deduced from tracer and wind-tunnel studies, and the discrepancy between transfer velocities determined by using tracers and from eddy correlation measurements in the atmosphere. (author)

Air gun near the sea floor as shear-wave source?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Drijkoningen, G.G.; Dieulangard, D.; Holicki, M.E.

2015-01-01

The feasibility of using an air gun near the sea floor as shear-wave source has been investigated. With an air gun near the sea floor, an evanescent P-wave in the water becomes a propagating S-wave in the sea floor, such that it seems that a pure shear-wave source has been used at the sea floor.

CLOUDS, AEROSOLS, RADIATION AND THE AIR-SEA INTERFACE OF THE SOUTHERN OCEAN: ESTABLISHING DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wood, Robert [University of Washington; Bretherton, Chris [University of Washington; McFarquhar, Greg [University of Illinois - Urbana; Protat, Alain [Bureau of Meteorology - Melbourne; Quinn, Patricia [NOAA PMEL; Siems, Steven [Monash Univ., Melbourne, VIC (Australia); Jakob, Christian [Monash Univ., Melbourne, VIC (Australia); Alexander, Simon [Australian Antarctic Division; Weller, Bob [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

2014-09-29

A workshop sponsored by the Department of Energy was convened at the University of Washington to discuss the state of knowledge of clouds, aerosols and air-sea interaction over the Southern Ocean and to identify strategies for reducing uncertainties in their representation in global and regional models. The Southern Ocean plays a critical role in the global climate system and is a unique pristine environment, yet other than from satellite, there have been sparse observations of clouds, aerosols, radiation and the air-sea interface in this region. Consequently, much is unknown about atmospheric and oceanographic processes and their linkage in this region. Approximately 60 scientists, including graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and senior researchers working in atmospheric and oceanic sciences at U.S. and foreign universities and government laboratories, attended the Southern Ocean Workshop. It began with a day of scientific talks, partly in plenary and partly in two parallel sessions, discussing the current state of the science for clouds, aerosols and air-sea interaction in the Southern Ocean. After the talks, attendees broke into two working groups; one focused on clouds and meteorology, and one focused on aerosols and their interactions with clouds. This was followed by more plenary discussion to synthesize the two working group discussions and to consider possible plans for organized activities to study clouds, aerosols and the air-sea interface in the Southern Ocean. The agenda and talk slides, including short summaries of the highlights of the parallel session talks developed by the session chars, are available at http://www.atmos.washington.edu/socrates/presentations/SouthernOceanPresentations/.

The role of sea–land air thermal difference, shape of the coastline and sea surface temperature in the nocturnal offshore convection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jordi Mazón

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Nocturnal precipitation cells and lines occur near the coastline in the whole Mediterranean basin in all seasons. The precipitation events are mainly located in areas where coastal mountain ranges and rivers enhance convergence though the interaction of nocturnal mesoscale and local flows (land breeze, katabatic and drainages winds with prevailing synoptic wind or with other mesoscale and local flows. The methodology used here to study this phenomenon consists of three stages. First, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM radar satellite database is used to detect nocturnal precipitation near the coastline, from 18 to 09 UTC. An event is included in the study if the 3 hours accumulated precipitation detected by TRMM is stationary near the coast, or has moved slightly onshore or offshore, and has lasted no more than six consecutive hours. Second, the NCEP reanalysis database is used to describe the synoptic conditions and to discard precipitation associated with synoptic events (large low pressure areas, dynamic polar fronts, or troughs, for example. In the final step by using the version 3 of the Weather Research Forecast model, we simulate and analyse some of the selected events to determine the role of the land–sea temperature differences, the curvature of the coastline and the sea surface temperature.The simulations confirm that the nocturnal precipitation studied in the Mediterranean basin near the coastline is formed from the interaction between relatively warm and wet sea-air with the cold air mass from drainage winds, as well as from the convergence of several drainage winds offshore. The mechanism is the same that is used to explain nocturnal precipitation in tropical areas.

Effects of air-sea coupling over the North Sea and the Baltic Sea on simulated summer precipitation over Central Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Ho-Hagemann, Ha Thi Minh; Gröger, Matthias; Rockel, Burkhardt; Zahn, Matthias; Geyer, Beate; Meier, H. E. Markus

2017-12-01

. However, the COSTRICE simulations are generally more accurate than the atmosphere-only CCLM simulations if extreme precipitation is considered, particularly under Northerly Circulation conditions, in which the airflow from the North Atlantic Ocean passes the North Sea in the coupling domain. The air-sea feedback (e.g., wind, evaporation and sea surface temperature) and land-sea interactions are better reproduced with the COSTRICE model system than the atmosphere-only CCLM and lead to an improved simulation of large-scale moisture convergence from the sea to land and, consequently, increased heavy precipitation over Central Europe.

Atmospheric deposition and air-sea gas exchange fluxes of DDT and HCH in the Yangtze River Estuary, East China Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhongxia; Lin, Tian; Li, Yuanyuan; Jiang, Yuqing; Guo, Zhigang

2017-07-01

The Yangtze River Estuary (YRE) is strongly influenced by the Yangtze River and lies on the pathway of the East Asian Monsoon. This study examined atmospheric deposition and air-sea gas exchange fluxes of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) to determine whether the YRE is a sink or source of selected pesticides at the air-water interface under the influences of river input and atmospheric transport. The air-sea gas exchange of DDT was characterized by net volatilization with a marked difference in its fluxes between summer (140 ng/m2/d) and the other three seasons (12 ng/m2/d), possibly due to the high surface seawater temperatures and larger riverine input in summer. However, there was no obvious seasonal variation in the atmospheric HCH deposition, and the air-sea gas exchange reached equilibrium because of low HCH levels in the air and seawater after the long-term banning of HCH and the degradation. The gas exchange flux of HCH was comparable to the dry and wet deposition fluxes at the air-water interface. This suggests that the influences from the Yangtze River input and East Asian continental outflow on the fate of HCH in the YRE were limited. The gas exchange flux of DDT was about fivefold higher than the total dry and wet deposition fluxes. DDT residues in agricultural soil transported by enhanced riverine runoff were responsible for sustaining such a high net volatilization in summer. Moreover, our results indicated that there were fresh sources of DDT from the local environment to sustain net volatilization throughout the year.

Size distribution of oceanic air bubbles entrained in sea-water by wave-breaking

Science.gov (United States)

Resch, F.; Avellan, F.

1982-01-01

The size of oceanic air bubbles produced by whitecaps and wave-breaking is determined. The production of liquid aerosols at the sea surface is predicted. These liquid aerosols are at the origin of most of the particulate materials exchanged between the ocean and the atmosphere. A prototype was designed and built using an optical technique based on the principle of light scattering at an angle of ninety degrees from the incident light beam. The output voltage is a direct function of the bubble diameter. Calibration of the probe was carried out within a range of 300 microns to 1.2 mm. Bubbles produced by wave-breaking in a large air-sea interaction simulating facility. Experimental results are given in the form of size spectrum.

Effects of air-sea coupling on the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillations over the tropical Indian Ocean

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Ailan [CMA, Key Open Laboratory for Tropical Monsoon, Institute of Tropical and Marine Meteorology, Guangzhou (China); Li, Tim [CMA, Key Open Laboratory for Tropical Monsoon, Institute of Tropical and Marine Meteorology, Guangzhou (China); University of Hawaii, IPRC, Honolulu, Hawaii (United States); University of Hawaii, Department of Meteorology, Honolulu, Hawaii (United States); Fu, Xiouhua [University of Hawaii, IPRC, Honolulu, Hawaii (United States); Luo, Jing-Jia; Masumoto, Yukio [Research Institute for Global Change, JAMSTEC, Yokohama (Japan)

2011-12-15

The effects of air-sea coupling over the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) on the eastward- and northward-propagating boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation (BSISO) are investigated by comparing a fully coupled (CTL) and a partially decoupled Indian Ocean (pdIO) experiment using SINTEX-F coupled GCM. Air-sea coupling over the TIO significantly enhances the intensity of both the eastward and northward propagations of the BSISO. The maximum spectrum differences of the northward- (eastward-) propagating BSISO between the CTL and pdIO reach 30% (25%) of their respective climatological values. The enhanced eastward (northward) propagation is related to the zonal (meridional) asymmetry of sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA). A positive SSTA appears to the east (north) of the BSISO convection, which may positively feed back to the BSISO convection. In addition, air-sea coupling may enhance the northward propagation through the changes of the mean vertical wind shear and low-level specific humidity. The interannual variations of the TIO regulate the air-sea interaction effect. Air-sea coupling enhances (reduces) the eastward-propagating spectrum during the negative Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) mode, positive Indian Ocean basin (IOB) mode and normal years (during positive IOD and negative IOB years). Such phase dependence is attributed to the role of the background mean westerly in affecting the wind-evaporation-SST feedback. A climatological weak westerly in the equatorial Indian Ocean can be readily reversed by anomalous zonal SST gradients during the positive IOD and negative IOB events. Although the SSTA is always positive to the northeast of the BSISO convection for all interannual modes, air-sea coupling reduces the zonal asymmetry of the low-level specific humidity and thus the eastward propagation spectrum during the positive IOD and negative IOB modes, while strengthening them during the other modes. Air-sea coupling enhances the northward propagation under all

Sea ice contribution to the air-sea CO(2) exchange in the Arctic and Southern Oceans

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rysgaard...[], Søren; Bendtsen, Jørgen; Delille, B.

2011-01-01

Although salt rejection from sea ice is a key process in deep-water formation in ice-covered seas, the concurrent rejection of CO(2) and the subsequent effect on air-sea CO(2) exchange have received little attention. We review the mechanisms by which sea ice directly and indirectly controls the air......-sea CO(2) exchange and use recent measurements of inorganic carbon compounds in bulk sea ice to estimate that oceanic CO(2) uptake during the seasonal cycle of sea-ice growth and decay in ice-covered oceanic regions equals almost half of the net atmospheric CO(2) uptake in ice-free polar seas. This sea......-sea CO(2) exchange during winter, and (3) release of CO(2)-depleted melt water with excess total alkalinity during sea-ice decay and (4) biological CO(2) drawdown during primary production in sea ice and surface oceanic waters....

Sea ice contribution to the air-sea CO{sub 2} exchange in the Arctic and Southern Oceans

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rysgaard, Soeren (Greenland Climate Research Centre, Greenland Inst. of Natural Resources, Nuuk, Greenland (Denmark); Centre for Earth Observation Science, CHR Faculty of Environment Earth and Resources, Univ. of Manitoba, Winnipeg (Canada)), e-mail: rysgaard@natur.gl; Bendtsen, Joergen (Greenland Climate Research Centre, Greenland Inst. of Natural Resources, Nuuk, Greenland (Denmark); Centre for Ice and Climate, Niels Bohr Inst., Univ. of Copenhagen, Copenhagen O (Denmark)); Delille, Bruno (Unit' e d' Oceanographie Chimique, Interfacultary Centre for Marine Research, Universite de Liege, Liege (Belgium)); Dieckmann, Gerhard S. (Alfred Wegener Inst. for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven (Germany)); Glud, Ronnie N. (Greenland Climate Research Centre, Greenland Inst. of Natural Resources, Nuuk, Greenland (Denmark); Scottish Association of Marine Sciences, Scotland UK, Southern Danish Univ. and NordCee, Odense M (Denmark)); Kennedy, Hilary; Papadimitriou, Stathys (School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor Univ., Menai Bridge, Anglesey, Wales (United Kingdom)); Mortensen, John (Greenland Climate Research Centre, Greenland Inst. of Natural Resources, Nuuk, Greenland (Denmark)); Thomas, David N. (School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor Univ., Menai Bridge, Anglesey, Wales (United Kingdom); Finnish Environment Inst. (SYKE), Marine Research Centre, Helsinki (Finland)); Tison, Jean-Louis (Glaciology Unit, Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, (Belgium))

2011-11-15

Although salt rejection from sea ice is a key process in deep-water formation in ice-covered seas, the concurrent rejection of CO{sub 2} and the subsequent effect on air-sea CO{sub 2} exchange have received little attention. We review the mechanisms by which sea ice directly and indirectly controls the air-sea CO{sub 2} exchange and use recent measurements of inorganic carbon compounds in bulk sea ice to estimate that oceanic CO{sub 2} uptake during the seasonal cycle of sea-ice growth and decay in ice-covered oceanic regions equals almost half of the net atmospheric CO{sub 2} uptake in ice-free polar seas. This sea-ice driven CO{sub 2} uptake has not been considered so far in estimates of global oceanic CO{sub 2} uptake. Net CO{sub 2} uptake in sea-ice-covered oceans can be driven by; (1) rejection during sea-ice formation and sinking of CO{sub 2}-rich brine into intermediate and abyssal oceanic water masses, (2) blocking of air-sea CO{sub 2} exchange during winter, and (3) release of CO{sub 2}-depleted melt water with excess total alkalinity during sea-ice decay and (4) biological CO{sub 2} drawdown during primary production in sea ice and surface oceanic waters

Greenland coastal air temperatures linked to Baffin Bay and Greenland Sea ice conditions during autumn through regional blocking patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Ballinger, Thomas J.; Hanna, Edward; Hall, Richard J.; Miller, Jeffrey; Ribergaard, Mads H.; Høyer, Jacob L.

2018-01-01

Variations in sea ice freeze onset and regional sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in Baffin Bay and Greenland Sea are linked to autumn surface air temperatures (SATs) around coastal Greenland through 500 hPa blocking patterns, 1979-2014. We find strong, statistically significant correlations between Baffin Bay freeze onset and SSTs and SATs across the western and southernmost coastal areas, while weaker and fewer significant correlations are found between eastern SATs, SSTs, and freeze periods observed in the neighboring Greenland Sea. Autumn Greenland Blocking Index values and the incidence of meridional circulation patterns have increased over the modern sea ice monitoring era. Increased anticyclonic blocking patterns promote poleward transport of warm air from lower latitudes and local warm air advection onshore from ocean-atmosphere sensible heat exchange through ice-free or thin ice-covered seas bordering the coastal stations. Temperature composites by years of extreme late freeze conditions, occurring since 2006 in Baffin Bay, reveal positive monthly SAT departures that often exceed 1 standard deviation from the 1981-2010 climate normal over coastal areas that exhibit a similar spatial pattern as the peak correlations.

Temporal and spatial variations of oceanic pCO2 and air-sea CO2 flux in th Greenland Sea and the Barents Sea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakaoka, Shin-Ichiro; Aoki, Shuji; Nakazawa, Takakiyo; Yoshikawa-Inoue, Hisayuki

2006-01-01

In order to elucidate the seasonal and inter annual variations of oceanic CO 2 uptake in the Greenland Sea and the Barents Sea, the partial pressure of CO 2 in the surface ocean (pCO 2 sea ) was measured in all seasons between 1992 and 2001. We derived monthly varying relationships between pCO 2 sea and sea surface temperature (SST) and combined them with the SST data from the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis to determine pCO 2 sea and air-sea CO 2 flux in these seas. The pCO 2 sea values were normalized to the year 1995 by assuming that pCO 2 sea increased at the same growth rate (1.5 μatm/yr) of the pCO 2 in the air (pCO 2 air ) between 1992 and 2001. In 1995, the annual net air-sea CO 2 fluxes were evaluated to be 52 ± 20 gC/m 2 /yr in the Greenland Sea and 46 ± 18 gC/m 2 /yr in the Barents Sea. The CO 2 flux into the ocean reached its maximum in winter and minimum in summer. The wind speed and (delta)pCO 2 (=pCO 2 air -pCO 2 sea ) exerted a greater influence on the seasonal variation than the sea ice coverage. The annual CO 2 uptake examined in this study (70-80 deg N, 20 deg W-40 deg E) was estimated to be 0.050 ± 0.020 GtC/yr in 1995. The inter annual variation in the annual CO 2 uptake was found to be positively correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI) via wind strength but negatively correlated with (delta)pCO 2 and the sea ice coverage. The present results indicate that the variability in wind speed and sea ice coverage play a major role, while that in (delta)pCO 2 plays a minor role, in determining the interannual variation of CO 2 uptake in this area

Air pollution related to sea transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Massin, J.M.; Hertz, O.

1993-01-01

Sea transportation contributes only 1-2% of world CO 2 emissions. Owing to the sulphur concentration in the bunker fuels, this transportation mode represents over 4% of the world SO 2 emissions. In addition, NO x emissions are likely to exceed 7% of the world emissions. SO 2 emissions in the North Sea and the Channel account for 15% of the whole French emissions, NO x emissions for about 10% and CO 2 emissions for about 3%. There are several potential measures to reduce the emissions of ship engines - propelling engines or generator driving engines - improvement of fuel quality, by desulphurizing and prohibiting the use of noxious additives such as PCB; use of alternative fuels; engine optimizing; exhaust gas processing; use of new propelling systems. A new organisation of world marketing of fuels with low or high sulphur levels could also be set up. The Sea Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) discussed this problem during its meeting in 1990. The 73/78 MARPOL convention provides the IMO with an international juridical tool, especially designed for the preclusion of pollution due to sea transportation. It can address the issue of air pollution which requires a concerted approach between seaside countries and the drawing up of international regulations relating to the protection of the sea world. Fuel quality is already controlled by international standards drawn up by ISO. These standards should be improved to reduce air pollution due to sea transportation

Southeast Atlantic Cloud Properties in a Multivariate Statistical Model - How Relevant is Air Mass History for Local Cloud Properties?

Science.gov (United States)

Fuchs, Julia; Cermak, Jan; Andersen, Hendrik

2017-04-01

This study aims at untangling the impacts of external dynamics and local conditions on cloud properties in the Southeast Atlantic (SEA) by combining satellite and reanalysis data using multivariate statistics. The understanding of clouds and their determinants at different scales is important for constraining the Earth's radiative budget, and thus prominent in climate-system research. In this study, SEA stratocumulus cloud properties are observed not only as the result of local environmental conditions but also as affected by external dynamics and spatial origins of air masses entering the study area. In order to assess to what extent cloud properties are impacted by aerosol concentration, air mass history, and meteorology, a multivariate approach is conducted using satellite observations of aerosol and cloud properties (MODIS, SEVIRI), information on aerosol species composition (MACC) and meteorological context (ERA-Interim reanalysis). To account for the often-neglected but important role of air mass origin, information on air mass history based on HYSPLIT modeling is included in the statistical model. This multivariate approach is intended to lead to a better understanding of the physical processes behind observed stratocumulus cloud properties in the SEA.

Air-sea gas exchange of HCHs and PCBs and enantiomers of α-HCH in the Kattegat Sea region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sundqvist, Kristina L.; Wingfors, Haakan; Brorstoem-Lunden, Eva; Wiberg, Karin

2004-01-01

Concentrations and air-water gas exchange of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) were determined in nine paired air and water samples. The samples were collected monthly in the Kattegat Sea between December 1998 and November 1999. Average fugacity and flux values indicated that PCBs were oversaturated in the water, while HCHs were net deposited. Variations were large over the year, especially during spring and summer. Air parcel back trajectories suggested that air concentrations over the Kattegat Sea are largely dependent of air mass origin. Seasonal trends were detected for airborne HCHs and for PCBs in water. The air and water enantiomeric compositions of α-HCH indicated that a larger portion of α-HCH in air originated from the underlying water during summer than during winter. - Air-water exchange of PCBs and HCHs is studied in the Kattegat Sea and shows to vary seasonally

Wintertime Air-Sea Gas Transfer Rates and Air Injection Fluxes at Station Papa in the NE Pacific

Science.gov (United States)

McNeil, C.; Steiner, N.; Vagle, S.

2008-12-01

In recent studies of air-sea fluxes of N2 and O2 in hurricanes, McNeil and D'Asaro (2007) used a simplified model formulation of air-sea gas flux to estimate simultaneous values of gas transfer rate, KT, and air injection flux, VT. The model assumes air-sea gas fluxes at high to extreme wind speeds can be explained by a combination of two processes: 1) air injection, by complete dissolution of small bubbles drawn down into the ocean boundary layer by turbulent currents, and 2) near-surface equilibration processes, such as occurs within whitecaps. This analysis technique relies on air-sea gas flux estimates for two gases, N2 and O2, to solve for the two model parameters, KT and VT. We present preliminary results of similar analysis of time series data collected during winter storms at Station Papa in the NE Pacific during 2003/2004. The data show a clear increase in KT and VT with increasing NCEP derived wind speeds and acoustically measured bubble penetration depth.

Air-sea interaction regimes in the sub-Antarctic Southern Ocean and Antarctic marginal ice zone revealed by icebreaker measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Lisan; Jin, Xiangze; Schulz, Eric W.; Josey, Simon A.

2017-08-01

This study analyzed shipboard air-sea measurements acquired by the icebreaker Aurora Australis during its off-winter operation in December 2010 to May 2012. Mean conditions over 7 months (October-April) were compiled from a total of 22 ship tracks. The icebreaker traversed the water between Hobart, Tasmania, and the Antarctic continent, providing valuable in situ insight into two dynamically important, yet poorly sampled, regimes: the sub-Antarctic Southern Ocean and the Antarctic marginal ice zone (MIZ) in the Indian Ocean sector. The transition from the open water to the ice-covered surface creates sharp changes in albedo, surface roughness, and air temperature, leading to consequential effects on air-sea variables and fluxes. Major effort was made to estimate the air-sea fluxes in the MIZ using the bulk flux algorithms that are tuned specifically for the sea-ice effects, while computing the fluxes over the sub-Antarctic section using the COARE3.0 algorithm. The study evidenced strong sea-ice modulations on winds, with the southerly airflow showing deceleration (convergence) in the MIZ and acceleration (divergence) when moving away from the MIZ. Marked seasonal variations in heat exchanges between the atmosphere and the ice margin were noted. The monotonic increase in turbulent latent and sensible heat fluxes after summer turned the MIZ quickly into a heat loss regime, while at the same time the sub-Antarctic surface water continued to receive heat from the atmosphere. The drastic increase in turbulent heat loss in the MIZ contrasted sharply to the nonsignificant and seasonally invariant turbulent heat loss over the sub-Antarctic open water.Plain Language SummaryThe icebreaker Aurora Australis is a research and supply vessel that is regularly chartered by the Australian Antarctic Division during the southern summer to operate in waters between Hobart, Tasmania, and Antarctica. The vessel serves as the main lifeline to three permanent research stations on the

Biopolymers form a gelatinous microlayer at the air-sea interface when Arctic sea ice melts.

Science.gov (United States)

Galgani, Luisa; Piontek, Judith; Engel, Anja

2016-07-20

The interface layer between ocean and atmosphere is only a couple of micrometers thick but plays a critical role in climate relevant processes, including the air-sea exchange of gas and heat and the emission of primary organic aerosols (POA). Recent findings suggest that low-level cloud formation above the Arctic Ocean may be linked to organic polymers produced by marine microorganisms. Sea ice harbors high amounts of polymeric substances that are produced by cells growing within the sea-ice brine. Here, we report from a research cruise to the central Arctic Ocean in 2012. Our study shows that microbial polymers accumulate at the air-sea interface when the sea ice melts. Proteinaceous compounds represented the major fraction of polymers supporting the formation of a gelatinous interface microlayer and providing a hitherto unrecognized potential source of marine POA. Our study indicates a novel link between sea ice-ocean and atmosphere that may be sensitive to climate change.

ISLSCP II Air-Sea Carbon Dioxide Gas Exchange

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This data set contains the calculated net ocean-air carbon dioxide (CO2) flux and sea-air CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) difference. The estimates are based on...

Models for Comparing Air-Only and Sea/Air Transportation of Wartime Deployment Cargo

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Theres, Michael

1998-01-01

...) to an overseas Port of Debarkation (POD). This thesis evaluates a proposal to load air-transportable cargo aboard vessels at CONUS seaports and to ship that cargo to an appropriately located sea-air-interface (SAI...

A Unified Air-Sea Interface in Fully Coupled Atmosphere-Wave-Ocean Models for Data Assimilation and Ensemble Prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shuyi; Curcic, Milan; Donelan, Mark; Campbell, Tim; Smith, Travis; Chen, Sue; Allard, Rick; Michalakes, John

2014-05-01

The goals of this study are to 1) better understand the physical processes controlling air-sea interaction and their impact on coastal marine and storm predictions, 2) explore the use of coupled atmosphere-ocean observations in model verification and data assimilation, and 3) develop a physically based and computationally efficient coupling at the air-sea interface that is flexible for use in a multi-model system and portable for transition to the next generation research and operational coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean-land models. We have developed a unified air-sea interface module that couples multiple atmosphere, wave, and ocean models using the Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF). This standardized coupling framework allows researchers to develop and test air-sea coupling parameterizations and coupled data assimilation, and to better facilitate research-to-operation activities. It also allows for future ensemble forecasts using coupled models that can be used for coupled data assimilation and assessment of uncertainties in coupled model predictions. The current component models include two atmospheric models (WRF and COAMPS), two ocean models (HYCOM and NCOM), and two wave models (UMWM and SWAN). The coupled modeling systems have been tested and evaluated using the coupled air-sea observations (e.g., GPS dropsondes and AXBTs, drifters and floats) collected in recent field campaigns in the Gulf of Mexico and tropical cyclones in the Atlantic and Pacific basins. This talk will provide an overview of the unified air-sea interface model and fully coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean model predictions over various coastal regions and tropical cyclones in the Pacific and Atlantic basins including an example from coupled ensemble prediction of Superstorm Sandy (2012).

Eddy-Kuroshio Interactions: Local and Remote Effects

Science.gov (United States)

Jan, Sen; Mensah, Vigan; Andres, Magdalena; Chang, Ming-Huei; Yang, Yiing Jang

2017-12-01

western North Pacific, is important in redistributing ocean energy and, in turn, shaping the large scale ocean circulation. This study focuses on the processes underlying the interaction of nonlinear mesoscale eddies with the Kuroshio, which have not yet been thoroughly investigated in the literature. Using pressure-sensor equipped echo sounder and satellite observations interpreted in the context of semi-idealized numerical simulations, this study find (1) locally, eddy arrivals modify velocity structure in the Kuroshio first, followed by changes in sea level and isopycnal depths leading to seesaw-like variations of the sea level and density slopes across the Kuroshio, and (2) modeled remote effects, i.e., Kuroshio intrusions, manifest in the Luzon Strait and on the East China Sea shelf and depend on the eddies' impingement latitude, strength, and polarity.

Laboratory modeling of air-sea interaction under severe wind conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Troitskaya, Yuliya; Vasiliy, Kazakov; Nicolay, Bogatov; Olga, Ermakova; Mikhail, Salin; Daniil, Sergeev; Maxim, Vdovin

2010-05-01

Wind-wave interaction at extreme wind speed is of special interest now in connection with the problem of explanation of the sea surface drag saturation at the wind speed exceeding 30 m/s. The idea on saturation (and even reduction) of the coefficient of aerodynamic resistance of the sea surface at hurricane wind speed was first suggested by Emanuel (1995) on the basis of theoretical analysis of sensitivity of maximum wind speed in a hurricane to the ratio of the enthalpy and momentum exchange coefficients. Both field (Powell, Vickery, Reinhold, 2003, French et al, 2007, Black, et al, 2007) and laboratory (Donelan et al, 2004) experiments confirmed that at hurricane wind speed the sea surface drag coefficient is significantly reduced in comparison with the parameterization obtained at moderate to strong wind conditions. Two groups of possible theoretical mechanisms for explanation of the effect of the sea surface drag reduction can be specified. In the first group of models developed by Kudryavtsev & Makin (2007) and Kukulka,Hara Belcher (2007), the sea surface drag reduction is explained by peculiarities of the air flow over breaking waves. Another approach more appropriate for the conditions of developed sea exploits the effect of sea drops and sprays on the wind-wave momentum exchange (Andreas, 2004; Makin, 2005; Kudryavtsev, 2006). The main objective of this work is investigation of factors determining momentum exchange under high wind speeds basing on the laboratory experiment in a well controlled environment. The experiments were carried out in the Thermo-Stratified WInd-WAve Tank (TSWIWAT) of the Institute of Applied Physics. The parameters of the facility are as follows: airflow 0 - 25 m/s (equivalent 10-m neutral wind speed U10 up to 60 m/s), dimensions 10m x 0.4m x 0.7 m, temperature stratification of the water layer. Simultaneous measurements of the airflow velocity profiles and wind waves were carried out in the wide range of wind velocities. Airflow

Air-Sea Interaction Measurements from the Controlled Towed Vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Khelif, D.; Bluth, R. T.; Jonsson, H.; Barge, J.

2014-12-01

The Controlled Towed Vehicle (CTV) uses improved towed drone technology to actively maintain via a radar altimeter and controllable wing a user-set height that can be as low as the canonical reference height of 10 m above the sea surface. After take-off, the drone is released from the tow aircraft on a ~700-m stainless steel cable. We have instrumented the 0.23 m diameter and 2.13 m long drone with high fidelity instruments to measure the means and turbulent fluctuations of 3-D wind vector, temperature, humidity, pressure, CO2 and IR sea surface temperature. Data are recorded internally at 40 Hz and simultaneously transmitted to the tow aircraft via dedicated wireless Ethernet link. The CTV accommodates 40 kg of instrument payload and provides it with 250 W of continuous power through a ram air propeller-driven generator. Therefore its endurance is only limited by that of the tow aircraft.We will discuss the CTV development, the engineering challenges and solutions that have been successfully implemented to overcome them. We present results from recent flights as low as 9 m over the coastal ocean and comparisons of profiles and turbulent fluxes from the CTV and the tow aircraft. Manned aircraft operation at low-level boundary-layer flights is very limited. Dropsondes and UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) and UAS are alternates for measurements near the ocean surface. However, dropsondes have limited sensor capability and do not measure fluxes, and most present UAS vehicles do not have the payload and power capacity nor the low-flying ability in high winds over the oceans. The CTV therefore, fills a needed gap between the dropsondes, in situ aircraft, and UAS. The payload, capacity and power of the CTV makes it suitable for a variety of atmospheric research measurements. Other sensors to measure aerosol, chemistry, radiation, etc., could be readily accommodated in the CTV.

Surging Seas Risk Finder: A Tool for Local-Scale Flood Risk Assessments in Coastal Cities

Science.gov (United States)

Kulp, S. A.; Strauss, B.

2015-12-01

Local decision makers in coastal cities require accurate, accessible, and thorough assessments of flood exposure risk within their individual municipality, in their efforts to mitigate against damage due to future sea level rise. To fill this need, we have developed Climate Central's Surging Seas Risk Finder, an interactive data toolkit which presents our sea level rise and storm surge analysis for every coastal town, city, county, and state within the USA. Using this tool, policy makers can easily zoom in on their local place of interest to receive a detailed flood risk assessment, which synthesizes a wide range of features including total population, socially vulnerable population, housing, property value, road miles, power plants, schools, hospitals, and many other critical facilities. Risk Finder can also be used to identify specific points of interest in danger of exposure at different flood levels. Additionally, this tool provides localized storm surge probabilities and sea level rise projections at tidal gauges along the coast, so that users can quickly understand the risk of flooding in their area over the coming decades.

Spume Drops: Their Potential Role in Air-Sea Gas Exchange

Science.gov (United States)

Monahan, Edward C.; Staniec, Allison; Vlahos, Penny

2017-12-01

After summarizing the time scales defining the change of the physical properties of spume and other droplets cast up from the sea surface, the time scales governing drop-atmosphere gas exchange are compared. Following a broad review of the spume drop production functions described in the literature, a subset of these functions is selected via objective criteria, to represent typical, upper bound, and lower bound production functions. Three complementary mechanisms driving spume-atmosphere gas exchange are described, and one is then used to estimate the relative importance, over a broad range of wind speeds, of this spume drop mechanism compared to the conventional, diffusional, sea surface mechanism in air-sea gas exchange. While remaining uncertainties in the wind dependence of the spume drop production flux, and in the immediate sea surface gas flux, preclude a definitive conclusion, the findings of this study strongly suggest that, at high wind speeds (>20 m s-1 for dimethyl sulfide and >30 m s-1 for gases such a carbon dioxide), spume drops do make a significant contribution to air-sea gas exchange.Plain Language SummaryThis paper evaluates the existing spume drop generation functions available to date and selects a reasonable upper, lower and mid range function that are reasonable for use in air sea exchange models. Based on these the contribution of spume drops to overall air sea gas exchange at different wind speeds is then evaluated to determine the % contribution of spume. Generally below 20ms-1 spume drops contribute <1% of gas exchange but may account for a significant amount of gas exchange at higher wind speeds.

Air-sea exchange fluxes of synthetic polycyclic musks in the North Sea and the Arctic.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Zhiyong; Ebinghaus, Ralf; Temme, Christian; Heemken, Olaf; Ruck, Wolfgang

2007-08-15

Synthetic polycyclic musk fragrances Galaxolide (HHCB) and Tonalide (AHTN) were measured simultaneously in air and seawater in the Arctic and the North Sea and in the rural air of northern Germany. Median concentrations of gas-phase HHCB and AHTN were 4 and 18 pg m(-3) in the Arctic, 28 and 18 pg m(-3) in the North Sea, and 71 and 21 pg m(-3) in northern Germany, respectively. Various ratios of HHCB/AHTN implied that HHCB is quickly removed by atmospheric degradation, while AHTN is relatively persistent in the atmosphere. Dissolved concentrations ranged from 12 to 2030 pg L(-1) for HHCB and from below the method detection limit (3 pg L(-1)) to 965 pg L(-1) for AHTN with median values of 59 and 23 pg L(-1), respectively. The medians of volatilization fluxes for HHCB and AHTN were 27.2 and 14.2 ng m(-2) day(-1) and the depositional fluxes were 5.9 and 3.3 ng m(-2) day(-1), respectively, indicating water-to-air volatilization is a significant process to eliminate HHCB and AHTN from the North Sea. In the Arctic, deposition fluxes dominated the air-sea gas exchange of HHCB and AHTN, suggesting atmospheric input controls the levels of HHCB and AHTN in the polar region.

High air-sea CO 2 uptake rates in nearshore and shelf areas of Southern Greenland: Temporal and spatial variability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rysgaard, Søren; Mortensen, J.; Juul-Pedersen, T.

2012-01-01

significant correlation between average annual gross primary production and annual air-sea flux during 2005-2010, which suggests that regulation of pCO 2 in the fjord is more complex. Despite three confined periods with supersaturated pCO 2 conditions in surface waters during 2005-2010, Godthåbsfjord can......The present study is based on hourly samplings of wind speed, monthly sampling sessions of temperature, salinity, dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, nutrients, primary productivity and vertical export in the outer sill region (station GF3) of a sub-arctic SW Greenland fjord (Godthåbsfjord......) through 2005-2010. Air-sea CO 2 fluxes varied at GF3 from c. -20gCm -2month -1 (uptake from the atmosphere) to 25gCm -2month -1 (release to the atmosphere) during 2005-10. The average annual air-sea CO 2 flux of -83 to -108gCm -2yr -1 was within the range of the local gross annual primary productivity...

Effects of the surface waves on air-sea interactions of the sea spray

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Francius, M.J.; Eijk, A.M.J. van

2006-01-01

Aerosols are important to a large number of processes in the marine boundary layer. On a micro-meteorological scale, they influence the heat and moisture budgets near the sea surface. Since the ocean acts both as a source and a sink for aerosols, the sea spray droplets may transfer water vapour and

Sea-to-air and diapycnal nitrous oxide fluxes in the eastern tropical North Atlantic Ocean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Kock

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Sea-to-air and diapycnal fluxes of nitrous oxide (N₂O into the mixed layer were determined during three cruises to the upwelling region off Mauritania. Sea-to-air fluxes as well as diapycnal fluxes were elevated close to the shelf break, but elevated sea-to-air fluxes reached further offshore as a result of the offshore transport of upwelled water masses. To calculate a mixed layer budget for N₂O we compared the regionally averaged sea-to-air and diapycnal fluxes and estimated the potential contribution of other processes, such as vertical advection and biological N₂O production in the mixed layer. Using common parameterizations for the gas transfer velocity, the comparison of the average sea-to-air and diapycnal N₂O fluxes indicated that the mean sea-to-air flux is about three to four times larger than the diapycnal flux. Neither vertical and horizontal advection nor biological production were found sufficient to close the mixed layer budget. Instead, the sea-to-air flux, calculated using a parameterization that takes into account the attenuating effect of surfactants on gas exchange, is in the same range as the diapycnal flux. From our observations we conclude that common parameterizations for the gas transfer velocity likely overestimate the air-sea gas exchange within highly productive upwelling zones.

MP3 - A Meteorology and Physical Properties Package to explore Air:Sea interaction on Titan

Science.gov (United States)

Lorenz, R. D.

2012-04-01

The exchange of mass, heat and momentum at the air:sea interface are profound influences on our environment. Titan presents us with an opportunity to study these processes in a novel physical context. The MP3 instrument, under development for the proposed Discovery mission TiME (Titan Mare Explorer) is an integrated suite of small, simple sensors that combines the a traditional meteorology package with liquid physical properties and depth-sounding. In TiME's 6-Titan-day (96-day) nominal mission, MP3 will have an extended measurement opportunity in one of the most evocative environments in the solar system. The mission and instrument benefit from APL's expertise and experience in marine as well as space systems. The topside meteorology sensors (METH, WIND, PRES, TEMP) will yield the first long-duration in-situ data to constrain Global Circulation Models. The sea sensors (TEMP, TURB, DIEL, SOSO) allow high cadence bulk composition measurements to detect heterogeneities as the TiME capsule drifts across Ligeia, while a depth sounder (SONR) will measure the bottom profile. The combination of these sensors (and vehicle dynamics, ACCL) will characterize air:sea exchange. In addition to surface data, a measurement subset (ACCL, PRES, METH, TEMP) is made during descent to characterize the structure of the polar troposphere and marine boundary layer. A single electronics box inside the vehicle performs supervising and data handling functions and is connected to the sensors on the exterior via a wire and fiber optic harness. ACCL: MEMS accelerometers and angular rate sensors measure the vehicle motion during descent and on the surface, to recover wave amplitude and period and to correct wind measurements for vehicle motion. TEMP: Precision sensors are installed at several locations above and below the 'waterline' to measure air and sea temperatures. Installation of topside sensors at several locations ensures that at least one is on the upwind side of the vehicle. PRES: The

Air-sea interaction in the tropical Pacific Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Allison, L. J.; Steranka, J.; Holub, R. J.; Hansen, J.; Godshall, F. A.; Prabhakara, C.

1972-01-01

Charts of 3-month sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean were produced for the period 1949 to 1970. The anomalies along the United States and South American west coasts and in the eastern tropical Pacific appeared to be oscillating in phase during this period. Similarly, the satellite-derived cloudiness for each of four quadrants of the Pacific Ocean (130 deg E to 100 deg W, 30 deg N to 25 deg S) appeared to be oscillating in phase. In addition, a global tropical cloudiness oscillation from 30 deg N to 30 deg S was noted from 1965 to 1970, by using monthly satellite television nephanalyses. The SST anomalies were found to have a good degree of correlation both positive and negative with the following monthly geophysical parameters: (1) satellite-derived cloudiness, (2) strength of the North and South Pacific semipermanent anticyclones, (3) tropical Pacific island rainfall, and (4) Darwin surface pressure. Several strong direct local and crossequatorial relationships were noted. In particular, the high degree of correlation between the tropical island rainfall and the SST anomalies (r = +0.93) permitted the derivation of SST's for the tropical Pacific back to 1905. The close occurrence of cold tropical SST and North Pacific 700-mb positive height anomalies with central United States drought conditions was noted.

Satellite Observations of Imprint of Oceanic Current on Wind Stress by Air-Sea Coupling.

Science.gov (United States)

Renault, Lionel; McWilliams, James C; Masson, Sebastien

2017-12-18

Mesoscale eddies are present everywhere in the ocean and partly determine the mean state of the circulation and ecosystem. The current feedback on the surface wind stress modulates the air-sea transfer of momentum by providing a sink of mesoscale eddy energy as an atmospheric source. Using nine years of satellite measurements of surface stress and geostrophic currents over the global ocean, we confirm that the current-induced surface stress curl is linearly related to the current vorticity. The resulting coupling coefficient between current and surface stress (s τ [N s m -3 ]) is heterogeneous and can be roughly expressed as a linear function of the mean surface wind. s τ expresses the sink of eddy energy induced by the current feedback. This has important implications for air-sea interaction and implies that oceanic mean and mesoscale circulations and their effects on surface-layer ventilation and carbon uptake are better represented in oceanic models that include this feedback.

The interaction of trace heavy metal with lipid monolayer in the sea surface microlayer.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Siyang; Du, Lin; Tsona, Narcisse T; Wang, Wenxing

2018-04-01

Lipid molecules and trace heavy metals are enriched in sea surface microlayer and can be transferred into the sea spray aerosol. To better understand their impact on marine aerosol generation and evolution, we investigated the interaction of trace heavy metals including Fe 3+ , Pb 2+ , Zn 2+ , Cu 2+ , Ni 2+ , Cr 3+ , Cd 2+ , and Co 2+ , with dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) monolayers at the air-water interface. Phase behavior of the DPPC monolayer on heavy metal solutions was probed with surface pressure-area (π-A) isotherms. The conformation order and orientation of DPPC alkyl chains were characterized by infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS). The π-A isotherms show that Zn 2+ and Fe 3+ strongly interact with DPPC molecules, and induce condensation of the monolayers in a concentration-dependent manner. IRRAS spectra show that the formation of cation-DPPC complex gives rise to conformational changes and immobilization of the headgroups. The current results suggest that the enrichment of Zn 2+ in sea spray aerosols is due to strong binding to the DPPC film. The interaction of Fe 3+ with DPPC monolayers can significantly influence their surface organizations through the formation of lipid-coated particles. These results suggest that the sea surface microlayer is capable of accumulating much higher amounts of these metals than the subsurface water. The organic and metal pollutants may transfer into the atmosphere by this interaction. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Air-sea heat flux control on the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass intensity and implications for its prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Junying; Shi, Jie; Guo, Xinyu; Gao, Huiwang; Yao, Xiaohong

2018-01-01

The Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass (YSCWM), which occurs during summer in the central Yellow Sea, plays an important role in the hydrodynamic field, nutrient cycle and biological species. Based on water temperature observations during the summer from 1978 to 1998 in the western Yellow Sea, five specific YSCWM years were identified, including two strong years (1984 and 1985), two weak years (1989 and 1995) and one normal year (1992). Using a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model, the YSCWM formation processes in these five years were simulated and compared with observations. In general, the YSCWM began forming in spring, matured in summer and gradually disappeared in autumn of every year. The 8 °C isotherm was used to indicate the YSCWM boundary. The modelled YSCWM areas in the two strong years were approximately two times larger than those in the two weak years. Based on the simulations in the weak year of 1995, ten numerical experiments were performed to quantify the key factors influencing the YSCWM intensity by changing the initial water condition in the previous autumn, air-sea heat flux, wind, evaporation, precipitation and sea level pressure to those in the strong year of 1984, respectively. The results showed that the air-sea heat flux was the dominant factor influencing the YSCWM intensity, which contributed about 80% of the differences of the YSCWM average water temperature at a depth of 50 m. In addition, the air-sea heat flux in the previous winter had a determining effect, contributing more than 50% of the differences between the strong and weak YSCWM years. Finally, a simple formula for predicting the YSCWM intensity was established by using the key influencing factors, i.e., the sea surface temperature before the cooling season and the air-sea heat flux during the cooling season from the previous December to the current February. With this formula, instead of a complicated numerical model, we were able to roughly predict the YSCWM intensity for the

Winter sea ice export from the Laptev Sea preconditions the local summer sea ice cover and fast ice decay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Itkin

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Ice retreat in the eastern Eurasian Arctic is a consequence of atmospheric and oceanic processes and regional feedback mechanisms acting on the ice cover, both in winter and summer. A correct representation of these processes in numerical models is important, since it will improve predictions of sea ice anomalies along the Northeast Passage and beyond. In this study, we highlight the importance of winter ice dynamics for local summer sea ice anomalies in thickness, volume and extent. By means of airborne sea ice thickness surveys made over pack ice areas in the south-eastern Laptev Sea, we show that years of offshore-directed sea ice transport have a thinning effect on the late-winter sea ice cover. To confirm the preconditioning effect of enhanced offshore advection in late winter on the summer sea ice cover, we perform a sensitivity study using a numerical model. Results verify that the preconditioning effect plays a bigger role for the regional ice extent. Furthermore, they indicate an increase in volume export from the Laptev Sea as a consequence of enhanced offshore advection, which has far-reaching consequences for the entire Arctic sea ice mass balance. Moreover we show that ice dynamics in winter not only preconditions local summer ice extent, but also accelerate fast-ice decay.

Carbon dioxide in northern high latitude oceans: Anthropogenic increase and air-sea flux variability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Omar, Abdirahman M.

2003-07-01

flux in the northern North Atlantic is found to be 0.1 G ton, with an interannual variability of about {sup +}- 10 % (paper IV). This was studied by using an empirical relationship between seawater fCO2 and SST. Gridded data of SST, sea level pressure, and wind speed were used in combination with data for atmospheric mole fraction of CO, to calculate the air-sea flux in the time period 1981 until 2001. Locally, and on a monthly time scale, the interannual variability is found to be higher, typically 20 - 40 %. Changes in wind speed and fCO2 in the atmosphere account for most of the interannual variations. (Author)

Carbon dioxide in northern high latitude oceans: Anthropogenic increase and air-sea flux variability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Omar, Abdirahman M.

2003-01-01

variability of about + - 10 % (paper IV). This was studied by using an empirical relationship between seawater fCO2 and SST. Gridded data of SST, sea level pressure, and wind speed were used in combination with data for atmospheric mole fraction of CO, to calculate the air-sea flux in the time period 1981 until 2001. Locally, and on a monthly time scale, the interannual variability is found to be higher, typically 20 - 40 %. Changes in wind speed and fCO2 in the atmosphere account for most of the interannual variations. (Author)

New approaches for air-sea fluxes in the Southern Ocean

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Gille, S

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Air-sea exchanges in the Southern Ocean of momentum, heat, freshwater, carbon dioxide, and other gases are not well documented because fluxes are sparsely sampled (see Figure 1) and because high winds, high sea state, and lack of calibration...

An analysis of warm pool and cold tongue El Ninos: air-sea coupling processes, global influences, and recent trends

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hu, Zeng-Zhen; Kumar, Arun; Wang, Wanqiu [NCEP/NWS/NOAA, Climate Prediction Center, Camp Springs, MD (United States); Jha, Bhaskar; Huang, Boyin [NCEP/NWS/NOAA, Climate Prediction Center, Camp Springs, MD (United States); Wyle Information Systems, Camp Springs, MD (United States); Huang, Bohua [George Mason University, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences, College of Science, Fairfax, VA (United States); Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies, Calverton, MD (United States)

2012-05-15

The differences in tropical air-sea interactions and global climate connection as well as the hindcast skills for the warm pool (WP) and cold tongue (CT) El Ninos are investigated based on observed, (re)analyzed, and model hindcast data. The robustness of observed global climate connection is established from the model simulations. Lastly, variations of atmosphere and ocean conditions in the recent decades, and their possible connection with the frequency increase of the WP El Nino are discussed. Consistent with previous results, our individual case study and composite results suggest that stronger (weaker) and more eastward extended (westward confined) westerly wind along the equatorial Pacific in early months of a year is associated with active (suppressed) air-sea interaction over the cold tongue/the Intertropical Convergence Zone complex, as well as more (less) intensive oceanic thermocline feedback, favoring the CT (WP) El Nino development. The preceding westerly wind signal and air-sea interaction differences may be responsible for the predication skill difference with higher (lower) overall hindcast skill for the CT (WP) El Nino in the Climate Forecast System of National Centers for Environmental Prediction. Our model experiments show that, in addition to the tropics, the eastern Pacific, North America and North Atlantic are the major regions having robust climate differences between the CT and WP El Ninos. Nevertheless, the climate contrasts seem not robust over the Eurasian continent. Also, the frequency increase of the WP El Nino in the recent decades may not be directly connected with the linear trend of the tropical climate. (orig.)

Pronounced anomalies of air, water, ice conditions in the Barents and Kara Seas, and the Sea of Azov

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gennady G. Matishov

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This paper analyses the anomalous hydrometeorological situation that occurred at the beginning of 2012 in the seas of the Russian Arctic and Russian South. Atmospheric blocking in the temperate zone and the extension of the Siberian High to the Iberian Peninsula (known as the Voeikov et al. axis led to a positive anomaly of air and water temperatures and a decrease in the ice extent in the Barents and Kara Seas. At the same time a prolonged negative air temperature anomaly was recorded in central and southern Europe and led to anomalously severe ice conditions in the Sea of Azov. Winter hydrographic conditions in the Barents and Kara Seas are illustrated by a unique set of observations made using expendable bathythermosalinographs (XCTD.

Global changes and the air-sea exchange of chemicals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

Present and potential future changes to the global environment have important implications for marine pollution and for the air-sea exchange of both anthropogenic and natural substances. This report addresses three issues related to the potential impact of global change on the air-sea exchange of chemicals: Global change and the air-sea transfer of the nutrients nitrogen and iron. Global change and the air-sea exchange of gases. Oceanic responses to radiative and oxidative changes in the atmosphere. The deposition of atmospheric anthropogenic nitrogen has probably increased biological productivity in coastal regions along many continental margins. Atmospheric deposition of new nitrogen may also have increased productivity somewhat in mid-ocean regions. The projected future increases of nitrogen oxide emissions from Asia, Africa and South America will provide significant increases in the rate of deposition of oxidized nitrogen to the central North Pacific, the equatorial Atlantic, and the equatorial and central South Indian Oceans. Atmospheric iron may be an important nutrient in certain open regions. Future changes will likely occur if there are changing patterns of aridity and wind speed as a result of climate change. The most important future effects on surface ocean p CO2 will likely be caused by changes in ocean circulation. The pH of the ocean would decrease by ∼0.3 units for a doubling of p CO2 , reducing the capacity of the ocean to take up CO 2 . There is increasing evidence that dimethyl sulfide from the ocean is a source of cloud condensation nuclei and thus a factor controlling cloud albedo. By 2060 in the southern hemisphere reduction in total column stratospheric ozone from recent levels could reach 2 to 5% in the tropics, 10% at mid latitudes, and over 20% at 60 deg C. S. In this same time frame increases in ground-level effective UV-B radiation could reach 5%, 26% and 66%, at low, mid, and high latitudes in the southern hemisphere. Changes in

Biopolymers form a gelatinous microlayer at the air-sea interface when Arctic sea ice melts

OpenAIRE

Galgani, Luisa; Piontek, Judith; Engel, Anja

2016-01-01

The interface layer between ocean and atmosphere is only a couple of micrometers thick but plays a critical role in climate relevant processes, including the air-sea exchange of gas and heat and the emission of primary organic aerosols (POA). Recent findings suggest that low-level cloud formation above the Arctic Ocean may be linked to organic polymers produced by marine microorganisms. Sea ice harbors high amounts of polymeric substances that are produced by cells growing within the sea-ice ...

Experimental sea slicks: Their practical applications and utilization for basic studies of air-sea interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Hühnerfuss, Heinrich; Garrett, W. D.

1981-01-01

Practical applications of organic surface films added to the sea surface date back to ancient times. Aristotle, Plutarch, and Pliny the Elder describe the seaman's practice of calming waves in a storm by pouring oil onto the sea [Scott, 1977]. It was also noted that divers released oil beneath the water surface so that it could rise and spread over the sea surface, thereby suppressing the irritating flicker associated with the passage of light through a rippled surface. From a scientific point of view, Benjamin Franklin was the first to perform experiments with oils on natural waters. His experiment with a `teaspoonful of oil' on Clapham pond in 1773 inspired many investigators to consider sea surface phenomena or to conduct experiments with oil films. This early research has been reviewed by Giles [1969], Giles and Forrester [1970], and Scott [1977]. Franklin's studies with experimental slicks can be regarded as the beginning of surface film chemistry. His speculations on the wave damping influence of oil induced him to perform the first qualitative experiment with artificial sea slicks at Portsmouth (England) in October of 1773. Although the sea was calmed and very few white caps appeared in the oil-covered area, the swell continued through the oiled area to Franklin's great disappointment.

Wind-sea surface temperature-sea ice relationship in the Chukchi-Beaufort Seas during autumn

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jing; Stegall, Steve T.; Zhang, Xiangdong

2018-03-01

Dramatic climate changes, especially the largest sea ice retreat during September and October, in the Chukchi-Beaufort Seas could be a consequence of, and further enhance, complex air-ice-sea interactions. To detect these interaction signals, statistical relationships between surface wind speed, sea surface temperature (SST), and sea ice concentration (SIC) were analyzed. The results show a negative correlation between wind speed and SIC. The relationships between wind speed and SST are complicated by the presence of sea ice, with a negative correlation over open water but a positive correlation in sea ice dominated areas. The examination of spatial structures indicates that wind speed tends to increase when approaching the ice edge from open water and the area fully covered by sea ice. The anomalous downward radiation and thermal advection, as well as their regional distribution, play important roles in shaping these relationships, though wind-driven sub-grid scale boundary layer processes may also have contributions. Considering the feedback loop involved in the wind-SST-SIC relationships, climate model experiments would be required to further untangle the underlying complex physical processes.

Chemical Atmosphere-Snow-Sea Ice Interactions: defining future research in the field, lab and modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Frey, Markus

2015-04-01

The air-snow-sea ice system plays an important role in the global cycling of nitrogen, halogens, trace metals or carbon, including greenhouse gases (e.g. CO2 air-sea flux), and therefore influences also climate. Its impact on atmospheric composition is illustrated for example by dramatic ozone and mercury depletion events which occur within or close to the sea ice zone (SIZ) mostly during polar spring and are catalysed by halogens released from SIZ ice, snow or aerosol. Recent field campaigns in the high Arctic (e.g. BROMEX, OASIS) and Antarctic (Weddell sea cruises) highlight the importance of snow on sea ice as a chemical reservoir and reactor, even during polar night. However, many processes, participating chemical species and their interactions are still poorly understood and/or lack any representation in current models. Furthermore, recent lab studies provide a lot of detail on the chemical environment and processes but need to be integrated much better to improve our understanding of a rapidly changing natural environment. During a 3-day workshop held in Cambridge/UK in October 2013 more than 60 scientists from 15 countries who work on the physics, chemistry or biology of the atmosphere-snow-sea ice system discussed research status and challenges, which need to be addressed in the near future. In this presentation I will give a summary of the main research questions identified during this workshop as well as ways forward to answer them through a community-based interdisciplinary approach.

Using eddy covariance to measure the dependence of air-sea CO2 exchange rate on friction velocity

Science.gov (United States)

Landwehr, Sebastian; Miller, Scott D.; Smith, Murray J.; Bell, Thomas G.; Saltzman, Eric S.; Ward, Brian

2018-03-01

Parameterisation of the air-sea gas transfer velocity of CO2 and other trace gases under open-ocean conditions has been a focus of air-sea interaction research and is required for accurately determining ocean carbon uptake. Ships are the most widely used platform for air-sea flux measurements but the quality of the data can be compromised by airflow distortion and sensor cross-sensitivity effects. Recent improvements in the understanding of these effects have led to enhanced corrections to the shipboard eddy covariance (EC) measurements.Here, we present a revised analysis of eddy covariance measurements of air-sea CO2 and momentum fluxes from the Southern Ocean Surface Ocean Aerosol Production (SOAP) study. We show that it is possible to significantly reduce the scatter in the EC data and achieve consistency between measurements taken on station and with the ship underway. The gas transfer velocities from the EC measurements correlate better with the EC friction velocity (u*) than with mean wind speeds derived from shipboard measurements corrected with an airflow distortion model. For the observed range of wind speeds (u10 N = 3-23 m s-1), the transfer velocities can be parameterised with a linear fit to u*. The SOAP data are compared to previous gas transfer parameterisations using u10 N computed from the EC friction velocity with the drag coefficient from the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment (COARE) model version 3.5. The SOAP results are consistent with previous gas transfer studies, but at high wind speeds they do not support the sharp increase in gas transfer associated with bubble-mediated transfer predicted by physically based models.

Foehn-induced effects on local dust pollution, frontal clouds and solar radiation in the Dead Sea valley

Science.gov (United States)

Kishcha, Pavel; Starobinets, Boris; Savir, Amit; Alpert, Pinhas; Kaplan, Michael

2018-06-01

Despite the long history of investigation of foehn phenomena, there are few studies of the influence of foehn winds on air pollution and none in the Dead Sea valley. For the first time the foehn phenomenon and its effects on local dust pollution, frontal cloudiness and surface solar radiation were analyzed in the Dead Sea valley, as it occurred on 22 March 2013. This was carried out using both numerical simulations and observations. The foehn winds intensified local dust emissions, while the foehn-induced temperature inversion trapped dust particles beneath this inversion. These two factors caused extreme surface dust concentration in the western Dead Sea valley. The dust pollution was transported by west winds eastward, to the central Dead Sea valley, where the speed of these winds sharply decreased. The transported dust was captured by the ascending airflow contributing to the maximum aerosol optical depth (AOD) over the central Dead Sea valley. On the day under study, the maximum surface dust concentration did not coincide with the maximum AOD: this being one of the specific effects of the foehn phenomenon on dust pollution in the Dead Sea valley. Radar data showed a passage of frontal cloudiness through the area of the Dead Sea valley leading to a sharp drop in noon solar radiation. The descending airflow over the downwind side of the Judean Mountains led to the formation of a cloud-free band followed by only the partial recovery of solar radiation because of the extreme dust pollution caused by foehn winds.

Sea-town interactions over Marseille: 3D urban boundary layer and thermodynamic fields near the surface

Science.gov (United States)

Lemonsu, A.; Pigeon, G.; Masson, V.; Moppert, C.

2006-02-01

3D numerical simulations with the Meso-NH atmospheric model including the Town Energy Balance urban parameterization, are conducted over the south-east of France and the one million inhabitants city of Marseille in the frameworks of the ESCOMPTE-UBL program. The geographic situation of the area is relatively complex, because of the proximity of the Mediterranean Sea and the presence of numerous massifs, inducing complex meteorological flows. The present work is focused on six days of the campaign, characterized by the development of strong summer sea-breeze circulations. A complete evaluation of the model is initially realized at both regional- and city-scales, by using the large available database. The regional evaluation shows a good behavior of the model, during the six days of simulation, either for the parameters near the surface or for the vertical profiles describing the structure of the atmosphere. The urban-scale evaluation indicates that the fine structure of the horizontal fields of air temperature above the city is correctly simulated by the model. A specific attention is then pointed to the 250-m horizontal resolution outputs, focused on the Marseille area, for two days of the campaign. From the study of the vertical structure of the Urban Boundary Layer and the thermodynamic fields near the surface, one underscores the important differences due to the regional and local flows, and the complex interactions that occur between the urban effects and the effects of sea breezes.

Sea level muon spectrum and muon charge ratio derived from CERN results for nucleon-nucleus inelastic interactions

CERN Document Server

Bhattacharya, D P

1979-01-01

The sea level cosmic ray spectrum and muon charge ratio have been estimated by using the energy moments of the cross section for proton- air inelastic collisions. These energy moments have been determined by interpolation from CERN results for proton-nucleus inelastic interactions in pion production. The derived results are compared with previous work. (26 refs).

Air-sea fluxes of CO2 and CH4 from the Penlee Point Atmospheric Observatory on the south-west coast of the UK

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Mingxi; Bell, Thomas G.; Hopkins, Frances E.; Kitidis, Vassilis; Cazenave, Pierre W.; Nightingale, Philip D.; Yelland, Margaret J.; Pascal, Robin W.; Prytherch, John; Brooks, Ian M.; Smyth, Timothy J.

2016-05-01

We present air-sea fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), momentum, and sensible heat measured by the eddy covariance method from the recently established Penlee Point Atmospheric Observatory (PPAO) on the south-west coast of the United Kingdom. Measurements from the south-westerly direction (open water sector) were made at three different sampling heights (approximately 15, 18, and 27 m above mean sea level, a.m.s.l.), each from a different period during 2014-2015. At sampling heights ≥ 18 m a.m.s.l., measured fluxes of momentum and sensible heat demonstrate reasonable ( ≤ ±20 % in the mean) agreement with transfer rates over the open ocean. This confirms the suitability of PPAO for air-sea exchange measurements in shelf regions. Covariance air-sea CO2 fluxes demonstrate high temporal variability. Air-to-sea transport of CO2 declined from spring to summer in both years, coinciding with the breakdown of the spring phytoplankton bloom. We report, to the best of our knowledge, the first successful eddy covariance measurements of CH4 emissions from a marine environment. Higher sea-to-air CH4 fluxes were observed during rising tides (20 ± 3; 38 ± 3; 29 ± 6 µmole m-2 d-1 at 15, 18, 27 m a.m.s.l.) than during falling tides (14 ± 2; 22 ± 2; 21 ± 5 µmole m-2 d-1), consistent with an elevated CH4 source from an estuarine outflow driven by local tidal circulation. These fluxes are a few times higher than the predicted CH4 emissions over the open ocean and are significantly lower than estimates from other aquatic CH4 hotspots (e.g. polar regions, freshwater). Finally, we found the detection limit of the air-sea CH4 flux by eddy covariance to be 20 µmole m-2 d-1 over hourly timescales (4 µmole m-2 d-1 over 24 h).

Interaction between turbulent flow and sea breeze front over urban-like coast in large-eddy simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Ping; Wen, Zhiping; Sha, Weiming; Chen, Guixing

2017-05-01

Turbulent flow and its interaction with a sea breeze front (SBF) over an urban-like coast with a regular block array were investigated using a building-resolving computational fluid dynamics model. It was found that during daytime with an offshore ambient flow, streaky turbulent structures tended to grow within the convective boundary layer (CBL) over a warm urban surface ahead of the SBF. The structures were organized as streamwise streaks at an interval of a few hundred meters, which initiated at the rooftop level with strong wind shear and strengthens in the CBL with moderate buoyancy. The streaks then interacted with the onshore-propagating SBF as it made landfall. The SBF, which was initially characterized as a shallow and quasi-linear feature over the sea, developed three-dimensional structures with intensified updrafts at an elevated frontal head after landfall. Frontal updrafts were locally enhanced at intersections where the streaks merged with the SBF, which greatly increased turbulent fluxes at the front. The frontal line was irregular because of merging, tilting, and transformation effects of vorticity associated with streaky structures. Inland penetration of the SBF was slowed by the frictional effect of urban-like surfaces and turbulent flow on land. The overall SBF intensity weakened after the interaction with turbulent flow. These findings aid understanding of local weather over coastal cities during typical sea breeze conditions.

Distribution and sea-to-air flux of isoprene in the East China Sea and the South Yellow Sea during summer.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jian-Long; Zhang, Hong-Hai; Yang, Gui-Peng

2017-07-01

Spatial distribution and sea-to-air flux of isoprene in the East China Sea and the South Yellow Sea in July 2013 were investigated. This study is the first to report the concentrations of isoprene in the China marginal seas. Isoprene concentrations in the surface seawater during summer ranged from 32.46 to 173.5 pM, with an average of 83.62 ± 29.22 pM. Distribution of isoprene in the study area was influenced by the diluted water from the Yangtze River, which stimulated higher in-situ phytoplankton production of isoprene rather than direct freshwater input. Variations in isoprene concentrations were found to be diurnal, with high values observed during daytime. A significant correlation was observed between isoprene and chlorophyll a in the study area. Relatively higher isoprene concentrations were recorded at stations where the phytoplankton biomass was dominated by Chaetoceros, Skeletonema, Pennate-nitzschia, and Thalassiosira. Positive correlation was observed between isoprene and methyl iodide. In addition, sea-to-air fluxes of isoprene approximately ranged from 22.17 nmol m -2  d -1 -537.2 nmol m -2  d -1 , with an average of 161.5 ± 133.3 nmol m -2  d -1 . These results indicate that the coastal and shelf areas may be important sources of atmospheric isoprene. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Updating sea spray aerosol emissions in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model version 5.0.2

OpenAIRE

Gantt, B.; Kelly, J. T.; Bash, J. O.

2015-01-01

Sea spray aerosols (SSAs) impact the particle mass concentration and gas-particle partitioning in coastal environments, with implications for human and ecosystem health. Model evaluations of SSA emissions have mainly focused on the global scale, but regional-scale evaluations are also important due to the localized impact of SSAs on atmospheric chemistry near the coast. In this study, SSA emissions in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model were updated to enhance the...

Air–Sea Interaction and Horizontal Circulation in the Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Bower, Amy S.

2015-01-01

This chapter discusses the horizontal circulation of the Red Sea and the surface meteorology that drives it, and recent satellite and in situ measurements from the region are used to illustrate properties of the Red Sea circulation and the atmospheric forcing. The surface winds over the Red Sea have rich spatial structure, with variations in speed and direction on both synoptic and seasonal timescales. Wintertime mountain-gap wind jets drive large heat losses and evaporation at some locations, with as much as 9 cm of evaporation in a week. The near-surface currents in the Red Sea exhibit similarly rich variability, with an energetic and complex flow field dominated by persistent, quasi-stationary eddies, and convoluted boundary currents. At least one quasi-stationary eddy pair is driven largely by winds blowing through a gap in the mountains (Tokar Gap), but numerical simulations suggest that much of the eddy field is driven by the interaction of the buoyancy-driven flow with topography. Recent measurements suggest that Gulf of Aden Intermediate Water (GAIW) penetrates further northward into the Red Sea than previously reported.

Updating Sea Spray Aerosol Emissions in the Community Multiscale Air Quality Model

Science.gov (United States)

Gantt, B.; Bash, J. O.; Kelly, J.

2014-12-01

Sea spray aerosols (SSA) impact the particle mass concentration and gas-particle partitioning in coastal environments, with implications for human and ecosystem health. In this study, the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model is updated to enhance fine mode SSA emissions, include sea surface temperature (SST) dependency, and revise surf zone emissions. Based on evaluation with several regional and national observational datasets in the continental U.S., the updated emissions generally improve surface concentrations predictions of primary aerosols composed of sea-salt and secondary aerosols affected by sea-salt chemistry in coastal and near-coastal sites. Specifically, the updated emissions lead to better predictions of the magnitude and coastal-to-inland gradient of sodium, chloride, and nitrate concentrations at Bay Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (BRACE) sites near Tampa, FL. Including SST-dependency to the SSA emission parameterization leads to increased sodium concentrations in the southeast U.S. and decreased concentrations along the Pacific coast and northeastern U.S., bringing predictions into closer agreement with observations at most Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) and Chemical Speciation Network (CSN) sites. Model comparison with California Research at the Nexus of Air Quality and Climate Change (CalNex) observations will also be discussed, with particular focus on the South Coast Air Basin where clean marine air mixes with anthropogenic pollution in a complex environment. These SSA emission updates enable more realistic simulation of chemical processes in coastal environments, both in clean marine air masses and mixtures of clean marine and polluted conditions.

Sea-level rise: towards understanding local vulnerability

Science.gov (United States)

Rahmstorf, Stefan

2012-06-01

, experts are increasingly looking at its potential impacts on coasts to facilitate local adaptation planning. This is a more complex issue than one might think, because different stretches of coast can be affected in very different ways. First of all, the sea-level response to global warming will not be globally uniform, since factors like changes in ocean currents (Levermann et al 2005) and the changing gravitational pull of continental ice (Mitrovica et al 2001) affect the local rise. Secondly, superimposed on the climatic trend is natural variability in sea level, which regionally can be as large as the climatic signal on multi-decadal timescales. Over the past decades, sea level has dropped in sizable parts of the world ocean, although it has of course risen in global mean (IPCC 2007). Thirdly, local land uplift or subsidence affects the local sea-level change relative to the coast, both for natural reasons (post-glacial isostatic adjustment centred on regions that were covered by ice sheets during the last ice age) and artificial ones (e.g., extraction of water or oil as in the Gulf of Mexico). Finally, local vulnerability to sea-level rise depends on many factors. Two interesting new studies in this journal (Tebaldi et al 2012, Strauss et al 2012) make important steps towards understanding sea-level vulnerability along the coasts of the United States, with methods that could also be applied elsewhere. The first, by Strauss and colleagues, merges high-resolution topographic data and a newly available tidal model together with population and housing data in order to estimate what land area and population would be at risk given certain increments in sea level. The results are mapped and tabulated at county and city level. They reveal the 'hot spots' along the US coast where sea-level rise is of the highest concern because of large populations living near the high-tide line: New York City and Long Island; the New Jersey shore; the Norfolk, Virginia, area; near Charleston

Influence of the monsoon trough on air-sea interaction in the head of the Bay of Bengal during the southwest monsoon of 1990 (monsoon trough boundary layer experiment - 90)

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sarma, Y.V.B.; Seetaramayya, P.; Murty, V.S.N.; Rao, D.P.

programme reveals considerable temporal variability in sea-level pressure, sea-surface temperature (SST) and the fluxes of heat and momentum at the air-sea interface. This variability is related closely to the north-south movement of the monsoon trough...

Influence of local air velocity from air conditioner evaluated by salivary and skin biomarkers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamaguchi, Masaki; Takahashi, Takayuki; Yoshino, Yuichiro; Sasaki, Makoto [Graduate School of Engineering, Iwate University, 4-3-5 Ueda, Morioka 020-8551 (Japan); Nishimiya, Hajime [Asahi Kasei Homes Corporation, R and D Laboratories, 2-1 Samejima, Fuji, Shizuoka 416-8501 (Japan)

2010-11-15

The purpose of this paper is to reveal both the psychosomatic and the physical effects of local air velocity from an air conditioner using biomarkers which can be collected noninvasively. Salivary {alpha}-amylase activity (SAA) and salivary cortisol were used as the indexes of psychosomatic effects. The total protein (TP) collected from stratum corneum was used as an index of the physical condition of dry skin. A continuous experiment over a 5 days period in summer was conducted using 8 healthy young male adults for 2-types of airflow conditioners, a whole ceiling-type air conditioner (without local air velocity) and a normal-type air conditioner (with local air velocity). The subjects felt cool, windy, dry and uncomfortable when under the normal-type air conditioner as determined in a subjective evaluation. The SAA under the normal-type air conditioner fluctuated more widely than with the whole ceiling-type air conditioner. The level of salivary cortisol decreased more in a day under the normal-type air conditioner than with the whole ceiling-type air conditioner. These results showed that reducing local air velocity may provide more healthy psychosomatic conditions over the long-term. Moreover, the TP of a drying-exposed skin area showed a significant change during this experiment whereas the TP of drying-protected area was relatively unchanged. It was indicated that one week's exposure to local air velocity conditions possibly influences the drying of facial skin. Thus, air movement at low velocity can be provides more comfortable conditions not only psychosomatically but also physically. (author)

Local Interaction Simulation Approach for Fault Detection in Medical Ultrasonic Transducers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. Hashemiyan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available A new approach is proposed for modelling medical ultrasonic transducers operating in air. The method is based on finite elements and the local interaction simulation approach. The latter leads to significant reductions of computational costs. Transmission and reception properties of the transducer are analysed using in-air reverberation patterns. The proposed approach can help to provide earlier detection of transducer faults and their identification, reducing the risk of misdiagnosis due to poor image quality.

Air-sea Exchange of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), Organochlorine Pesticides (OCPs) and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in the Mediterranean Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Lammel, G. P.; Heil, A.; Kukucka, P.; Meixner, F. X.; Mulder, M. D.; Prybilova, P.; Prokes, R.; Rusina, T. S.; Song, G. Z.; Vrana, B.

2015-12-01

The marine atmospheric environment is a receptor for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) which are advected from sources on land, primary, such as biomass burning by-products (PAHs, dioxins), and secondary, such as volatilization from contaminated soils (PCBs, pesticides). Primary sources do not exist in the marine environment, except for PAHs (ship engines) but following previous atmospheric deposition, the sea surface may turn to a secondary source by reversal of diffusive air-sea mass exchange. No monitoring is in place. We studied the vertical fluxes of a wide range of primary and secondary emitted POPs based on measurements in air and surface seawater at a remote coastal site in the eastern Mediterranean (2012). To this end, silicon rubbers were used as passive water samplers, vertical concentration gradients were determined in air and fluxes were quantified based on Eddy covariance. Diffusive air-sea exchange fluxes of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and semivolatile PAHs were found close to phase equilibrium, except one PAH, retene, a wood burning tracer, was found seasonally net-volatilisational. Some PCBs, p,p'-DDE, penta- and hexachlorobenzene (PeCB, HCB) were mostly net-depositional, while PBDEs were net-volatilizational. Fluxes determined at a a remote coastal site ranged -33 - +2.4 µg m-2 d-1 for PAHs and -4.0 - +0.3 µg m-2 d-1for halogenated compounds ( 0 means net-volatilization). It is concluded that nowadays in open seas more pollutants are undergoing reversal of the direction of air-sea exchange. Recgional fire activity records in combination with box model simulations suggest that deposition of retene during summer is followed by a reversal of air-sea exchange. The seawater surface as secondary source of pollution should be assessed based on flux measurements across seasons and over longer time periods.

Operationalizing Air-Sea Battle in the Pacific

Science.gov (United States)

2015-02-01

Joumall 25 \\/ FEATURE Ballard, Harysch, Cole, & Hall Operationalizing Ait’-Sea Battle in the Pacific tribes and nomadic marauders such as the...communications in general, the former focuses on the digital data links between different platforms. The original CSBA operational con- cept touches on this...very capable fourth-generation fighters; and it has fielded layers of upgraded and double- digit surface-to-air missile systems and antiaircraft

The Effect of the South Asia Monsoon on the Wind Sea and Swell Patterns in the Arabian Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Semedo, Alvaro

2015-04-01

Ocean surface gravity waves have a considerable impact on coastal and offshore infrastructures, and are determinant on ship design and routing. But waves also play an important role on the coastal dynamics and beach erosion, and modulate the exchanges of momentum, and mass and other scalars between the atmosphere and the ocean. A constant quantitative and qualitative knowledge of the wave patterns is therefore needed. There are two types of waves at the ocean surface: wind-sea and swell. Wind-sea waves are growing waves under the direct influence of local winds; as these waves propagate away from their generation area, or when their phase speed overcomes the local wind speed, they are called swell. Swell waves can propagate thousands of kilometers across entire ocean basins. The qualitative analysis of ocean surface waves has been the focus of several recent studies, from the wave climate to the air-sea interaction community. The reason for this interest lies mostly in the fact that waves have an impact on the lower atmosphere, and that the air-sea coupling is different depending on the wave regime. Waves modulate the exchange of momentum, heat, and mass across the air-sea interface, and this modulation is different and dependent on the prevalence of one type of waves: wind sea or swell. For fully developed seas the coupling between the ocean-surface and the overlaying atmosphere can be seen as quasi-perfect, in a sense that the momentum transfer and energy dissipation at the ocean surface are in equilibrium. This can only occur in special areas of the Ocean, either in marginal seas, with limited fetch, or in Open Ocean, in areas with strong and persistent wind speed with little or no variation in direction. One of these areas is the Arabian Sea, along the coasts of Somalia, Yemen and Oman. The wind climate in the Arabian sea is under the direct influence of the South Asia monsoon, where the wind blows steady from the northeast during the boreal winter, and

Air-sea exchange of gaseous mercury in the East China Sea.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chunjie; Ci, Zhijia; Wang, Zhangwei; Zhang, Xiaoshan

2016-05-01

Two oceanographic cruises were carried out in the East China Sea (ECS) during the summer and fall of 2013. The main objectives of this study are to identify the spatial-temporal distributions of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) in air and dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) in surface seawater, and then to estimate the Hg(0) flux. The GEM concentration was lower in summer (1.61 ± 0.32 ng m(-3)) than in fall (2.20 ± 0.58 ng m(-3)). The back-trajectory analysis revealed that the air masses with high GEM levels during fall largely originated from the land, while the air masses with low GEM levels during summer primarily originated from ocean. The spatial distribution patterns of total Hg (THg), fluorescence, and turbidity were consistent with the pattern of DGM with high levels in the nearshore area and low levels in the open sea. Additionally, the levels of percentage of DGM to THg (%DGM) were higher in the open sea than in the nearshore area, which was consistent with the previous studies. The THg concentration in fall was higher (1.47 ± 0.51 ng l(-1)) than those of other open oceans. The DGM concentration (60.1 ± 17.6 pg l(-1)) and Hg(0) flux (4.6 ± 3.6 ng m(-2) h(-1)) in summer were higher than those in fall (DGM: 49.6 ± 12.5 pg l(-1) and Hg(0) flux: 3.6 ± 2.8 ng m(-2) h(-1)). The emission flux of Hg(0) from the ECS was estimated to be 27.6 tons yr(-1), accounting for ∼0.98% of the global Hg oceanic evasion though the ECS only accounts for ∼0.21% of global ocean area, indicating that the ECS plays an important role in the oceanic Hg cycle. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Numerical analysis of air pollution in a combined field of land/sea breeze and mountain/valley wind

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kitada, T.; Igarashi, K.; Owada, M.

1986-01-01

Air pollution in the presence of two types of local flows (i.e., land/sea breeze and mountain/valley wind) was studies by advection simulation of the cluster of hypothetical fluid particles, and transport/chemistry calculation employing a three-dimensional Eulerian model for 20 advected species and about 90 chemical reactions. Three-dimensional flow fields over the River Yahagi basin in Japan were estimated for 48 h using an objective method with routine wind observations. Those obtained showed characteristics of the combined local flows such that in the daytime sea breeze and valley wind tend to form one united flow with substantial wind velocity in the whole region and, in contrast, land breeze and mountain wind during the nighttime form two separated circulating flows with a clear weak-wind area between the two local flow regimes. The results of the advection simulation of fluid particles and the transport/chemistry calculation using those flows as inputs elucidated how the features found in the diurnally varying, complex local flows contribute to produce characteristic time-variations of the concentrations of both primary and secondary pollutants. Among others, dynamics of NO 2 , HNO 3 , PAN, O 3 , SO 2 , and SO 4 /sup =/ concentrations are discussed

Distribution and air-sea exchange of current-use pesticides (CUPs) from East Asia to the high Arctic Ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Guangcai; Xie, Zhiyong; Cai, Minghong; Möller, Axel; Sturm, Renate; Tang, Jianhui; Zhang, Gan; He, Jianfeng; Ebinghaus, Ralf

2012-01-03

Surface seawater and marine boundary layer air samples were collected on the ice-breaker R/V Xuelong (Snow Dragon) from the East China Sea to the high Arctic (33.23-84.5° N) in July to September 2010 and have been analyzed for six current-use pesticides (CUPs): trifluralin, endosulfan, chlorothalonil, chlorpyrifos, dacthal, and dicofol. In all oceanic air samples, the six CUPs were detected, showing highest level (>100 pg/m(3)) in the Sea of Japan. Gaseous CUPs basically decreased from East Asia (between 36.6 and 45.1° N) toward Bering and Chukchi Seas. The dissolved CUPs in ocean water ranged widely from air. Trifluralin in seawater was relatively high in the Sea of Japan (35.2° N) and evenly distributed between 36.9 and 72.5° N, but it remained below the detection limit at the highest northern latitudes in Chukchi Sea. In contrast with other CUPs, concentrations of chlorothalonil and dacthal were more abundant in Chukchi Sea and in East Asia. The air-sea gas exchange of CUPs was generally dominated by net deposition. Latitudinal trends of fugacity ratios of α-endosulfan, chlorothalonil, and dacthal showed stronger deposition of these compounds in East Asia than in Chukchi Sea, while trifluralin showed stronger deposition in Chukchi Sea (-455 ± 245 pg/m(2)/day) than in the North Pacific (-241 ± 158 pg/m(2)/day). Air-sea gas exchange of chlorpyrifos varied from net volatilizaiton in East Asia (<40° N) to equilibrium or net deposition in the North Pacific and the Arctic.

Sea Ice Retreat and its Impact on the Intensity of Open-Ocean Convection in the Greenland and Iceland Seas

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, K.; Våge, K.; Pickart, R. S.; Renfrew, I.

2016-12-01

The air-sea transfer of heat and freshwater plays a critical role in the global climate system. This is particularly true for the Greenland and Iceland Seas, where these fluxes drive ocean convection that contributes to Denmark Strait Overflow Water, the densest component of the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). This buoyancy transfer is most pronounced during the winter downstream of the ice edge, where the cold and dry Arctic air first comes in contact with the relatively warm ocean surface. Here we show that the wintertime retreat of sea ice in the region, combined with different rates of warming for the atmosphere and sea surface of the Greenland and Iceland Seas, has resulted in statistically significant reductions of approximately 20% in the magnitude of the winter air-sea heat fluxes since 1979. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that modes of climate variability other than the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) are required to fully characterize the regional air-sea interaction in this region. Mixed-layer model simulations imply that a continued decrease in atmospheric forcing will exceed a threshold for the Greenland Sea whereby convection will become depth limited, reducing the ventilation of mid-depth waters in the Nordic Seas. In the Iceland Sea, further reductions have the potential to decrease the supply of the densest overflow waters to the AMOC.

The contribution of ship emissions to air pollution in the North Sea regions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matthias, Volker, E-mail: volker.matthias@gkss.d [GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht, Institute for Coastal Research, Max-Planck-Strasse 1, 21502 Geesthacht (Germany); Bewersdorff, Ines [GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht, Institute for Coastal Research, Max-Planck-Strasse 1, 21502 Geesthacht (Germany); Aulinger, Armin, E-mail: armin.aulinger@gkss.d [GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht, Institute for Coastal Research, Max-Planck-Strasse 1, 21502 Geesthacht (Germany); Quante, Markus, E-mail: markus.quante@gkss.d [GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht, Institute for Coastal Research, Max-Planck-Strasse 1, 21502 Geesthacht (Germany)

2010-06-15

As a consequence of the global distribution of manufacturing sites and the increasing international division of labour, ship traffic is steadily increasing and is becoming more and more important as an origin of air pollution. This study investigates the impact of ship emissions in coastal areas of the North Sea under conditions of the year 2000 by means of a regional chemistry transport model which runs on a sufficiently high resolution to study air pollution in coastal regions. It was found that northern Germany and Denmark in summer suffer from more than 50% higher sulphate, nitrate and ammonium aerosol concentrations due to contributions from ships. The implementation of a sulphur emission control area (SECA) in the North Sea, as it was implemented at the end of 2007, directly results in reduced sulphur dioxide and sulphate aerosol concentrations while nitrate aerosol concentrations are slightly increased. - Ship emissions lead to significantly enhanced air pollution by secondary inorganic aerosols in North Sea coastal areas.

Ductless personalized ventilation with local air cleaning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalewski, Mariusz; Vesely, Michal; Melikov, Arsen Krikor

2012-01-01

An experiment with 28 human subjects was performed to examine effects of using a local air cleaning device combined with ductless personalized ventilation (DPV) on perceived air quality. Experiments were performed in a test room with displacement ventilation. The DPV at one of two desks was equip......An experiment with 28 human subjects was performed to examine effects of using a local air cleaning device combined with ductless personalized ventilation (DPV) on perceived air quality. Experiments were performed in a test room with displacement ventilation. The DPV at one of two desks...... was equipped with an activated carbon filter installed at the air intake, while the DPV at the second desk was without such a filter. The air temperature in the occupied zone (1.1 m above the floor) was 29 °C. The pollution load in the room was simulated by PVC floor covering. The subjects assessed...

Local air quality management: some evidence of current practices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beattie, Clare; Newton, Alex; Longhurst, Jim [University of the West of England, Air Quality Research Group, Bristol (United Kingdom)

1998-12-01

The recent legislative changes, notably the Environment Act 1995 and resultant National Air Quality Strategy have brought new powers and obligations to local authorities to reach specified air quality standards and objectives. Initially this will involve local authorities carrying out a review and assessment of air quality in their locality by December 1999. This paper will outline a project currently being undertaken within the University of the West of England investigating how this legislation is being put into practice and present the results from a nation-wide questionnaire survey of environmental health officers. The study found that local authorities are still at an early stage of the process. It seems probable that one possible barrier to the implementation of Air Quality Management will be communication and cooperation within local authorities. (Author)

Persistent volcanic signature observed around Barren Island, Andaman Sea, India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Laluraj, C.M.; Balachandran, K.K.; Sabu, P.S.; Panampunnayil, U.

in the Andaman Sea during the period 25 to 30th October 2005. It is evident that during this period, the local winds were weak and northerly (Figure 3c), consistent with the orientation of the warm air pool. The heat source feeding the warm air mass may.... 1976). The intensity and movement of this hot air mass depends on the strength and endurance of eruption and the winds (Mass and Portman, 1989). Persistence of a warm air pool in the Andaman Sea, especially in the winter season is significant because...

The Effect of Breaking Waves on CO_2 Air-Sea Fluxes in the Coastal Zone

Science.gov (United States)

Gutiérrez-Loza, Lucía; Ocampo-Torres, Francisco J.; García-Nava, Héctor

2018-03-01

The influence of wave-associated parameters controlling turbulent CO_2 fluxes through the air-sea interface is investigated in a coastal region. A full year of high-quality data of direct estimates of air-sea CO_2 fluxes based on eddy-covariance measurements is presented. The study area located in Todos Santos Bay, Baja California, Mexico, is a net sink of CO_2 with a mean flux of -1.3 μmol m^{-2}s^{-1} (-41.6 mol m^{-2}yr^{-1} ). The results of a quantile-regression analysis computed between the CO_2 flux and, (1) wind speed, (2) significant wave height, (3) wave steepness, and (4) water temperature, suggest that the significant wave height is the most correlated parameter with the magnitude of the flux but the behaviour of the relation varies along the probability distribution function, with the slopes of the regression lines presenting both positive and negative values. These results imply that the presence of surface waves in coastal areas is the key factor that promotes the increase of the flux from and into the ocean. Further analysis suggests that the local characteristics of the aqueous and atmospheric layers might determine the direction of the flux.

Loss of sea ice during winter north of Svalbard

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ingrid H. Onarheim

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Sea ice loss in the Arctic Ocean has up to now been strongest during summer. In contrast, the sea ice concentration north of Svalbard has experienced a larger decline during winter since 1979. The trend in winter ice area loss is close to 10% per decade, and concurrent with a 0.3°C per decade warming of the Atlantic Water entering the Arctic Ocean in this region. Simultaneously, there has been a 2°C per decade warming of winter mean surface air temperature north of Svalbard, which is 20–45% higher than observations on the west coast. Generally, the ice edge north of Svalbard has retreated towards the northeast, along the Atlantic Water pathway. By making reasonable assumptions about the Atlantic Water volume and associated heat transport, we show that the extra oceanic heat brought into the region is likely to have caused the sea ice loss. The reduced sea ice cover leads to more oceanic heat transferred to the atmosphere, suggesting that part of the atmospheric warming is driven by larger open water area. In contrast to significant trends in sea ice concentration, Atlantic Water temperature and air temperature, there is no significant temporal trend in the local winds. Thus, winds have not caused the long-term warming or sea ice loss. However, the dominant winds transport sea ice from the Arctic Ocean into the region north of Svalbard, and the local wind has influence on the year-to-year variability of the ice concentration, which correlates with surface air temperatures, ocean temperatures, as well as the local wind.

THRESHOLD DETERMINATION FOR LOCAL INSTANTANEOUS SEA SURFACE HEIGHT DERIVATION WITH ICEBRIDGE DATA IN BEAUFORT SEA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Zhu

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The NASA Operation IceBridge (OIB mission is the largest program in the Earth’s polar remote sensing science observation project currently, initiated in 2009, which collects airborne remote sensing measurements to bridge the gap between NASA’s ICESat and the upcoming ICESat-2 mission. This paper develop an improved method that optimizing the selection method of Digital Mapping System (DMS image and using the optimal threshold obtained by experiments in Beaufort Sea to calculate the local instantaneous sea surface height in this area. The optimal threshold determined by comparing manual selection with the lowest (Airborne Topographic Mapper ATM L1B elevation threshold of 2 %, 1 %, 0.5 %, 0.2 %, 0.1 % and 0.05 % in A, B, C sections, the mean of mean difference are 0.166 m, 0.124 m, 0.083 m, 0.018 m, 0.002 m and −0.034 m. Our study shows the lowest L1B data of 0.1 % is the optimal threshold. The optimal threshold and manual selections are also used to calculate the instantaneous sea surface height over images with leads, we find that improved methods has closer agreement with those from L1B manual selections. For these images without leads, the local instantaneous sea surface height estimated by using the linear equations between distance and sea surface height calculated over images with leads.

Refined Source Terms in WAVEWATCH III with Wave Breaking and Sea Spray Forecasts

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-30

dissipation and breaking, nonlinear wave-wave interaction, bottom friction, wave-mud interaction, wave-current interaction as well as sea spray flux. These...shallow water outside the surf zone. After careful testing within a comprehensive suite of test bed cases, these refined source terms will be...aim to refine the parameterization of air-sea and upper ocean fluxes, including wind input and sea spray as well as dissipation, and hence improve

Sensitivity of the sea ice concentration over the Kara-Barents Sea in autumn to the winter temperature variability over East Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, K. H.; Chang, E. C.

2017-12-01

In this study, we performed sensitivity experiments by utilizing the Global/Regional Integrated Model system with different conditions of the sea ice concentration over the Kara-Barents (KB) Sea in autumn, which can affect winter temperature variability over East Asia. Prescribed sea ice conditions are 1) climatological autumn sea ice concentration obtained from 1982 to 2016, 2) reduced autumn sea ice concentration by 50% of the climatology, and 3) increased autumn sea ice concentration by 50% of climatology. Differently prescribed sea ice concentration changes surface albedo, which affects surface heat fluxes and near-surface air temperature. The reduced (increased) sea ice concentration over the KB sea increases (decreases) near-surface air temperature that leads the lower (higher) sea level pressure in autumn. These patterns are maintained from autumn to winter season. Furthermore, it is shown that the different sea ice concentration over the KB sea has remote effects on the sea level pressure patterns over the East Asian region. The lower (higher) sea level pressure over the KB sea by the locally decreased (increased) ice concentration is related to the higher (lower) pressure pattern over the Siberian region, which induces strengthened (weakened) cold advection over the East Asian region. From these sensitivity experiments it is clarified that the decreased (increased) sea ice concentration over the KB sea in autumn can lead the colder (warmer) surface air temperature over East Asia in winter.

Tidal influence on the sea-to-air transfer of CH4 in the coastal ocean

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hahm, Doshik; Kim, Guebuem; Lee, Yong-Woo; Nam, Sungh-Yun; Kim, Kyung-Ryul; Kim, Kuh

2006-01-01

We obtained real-time monitoring data of water temperature, salinity, wind, current, CH 4 and other oceanographic parameters in a coastal bay in the southern sea of Korea from July 8 to August 15, 2003, using an environmental monitoring buoy. In general, the transfer velocity of environmental gases across the air-sea interface is obtained exclusively from empirical relationships with wind speeds. However, our monitoring data demonstrate that the agitation of the aqueous boundary layer is controlled significantly by tidal turbulence, similar to the control exercised by wind stress in the coastal ocean. The sea-to-air transfer of CH 4 is enhanced significantly during spring tide due to an increase in the gas transfer velocity and vertical CH 4 transport from bottom water to the surface layer. Thus, our unique time-series results imply that the sea-to-air transfer of gases, such as CH 4 , DMS, DMHg, N 2 O, CO 2 and 222 Rn, from highly enriched coastal bottom waters, is controlled not only by episodic wind events but also by regular tidal turbulence in the coastal ocean

Air pollution, deprivation and health: understanding relationships to add value to local air quality management policy and practice in Wales, UK.

Science.gov (United States)

Brunt, H; Barnes, J; Jones, S J; Longhurst, J W S; Scally, G; Hayes, E

2017-09-01

Air pollution exposure reduces life expectancy. Air pollution, deprivation and poor-health status combinations can create increased and disproportionate disease burdens. Problems and solutions are rarely considered in a broad public health context, but doing so can add value to air quality management efforts by reducing air pollution risks, impacts and inequalities. An ecological study assessed small-area associations between air pollution (nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter), deprivation status and health outcomes in Wales, UK. Air pollution concentrations were highest in 'most' deprived areas. When considered separately, deprivation-health associations were stronger than air pollution-health associations. Considered simultaneously, air pollution added to deprivation-health associations; interactions between air pollution and deprivation modified and strengthened associations with all-cause and respiratory disease mortality, especially in 'most' deprived areas where most-vulnerable people lived and where health needs were greatest. There is a need to reduce air pollution-related risks for all. However, it is also the case that greater health gains can result from considering local air pollution problems and solutions in the context of wider health-determinants and acting on a better understanding of relationships. Informed and co-ordinated air pollution mitigation and public health action in high deprivation and pollution areas can reduce risks and inequalities. To achieve this, greater public health integration and collaboration in local air quality management policy and practice is needed. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Local diffusion coefficient determination: Mediterranean Sea experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bacciola, D.; Borghini, M.; Cannarsa, S.

1993-10-01

The Mediterranean is a semi/enclosed basin characterized by the presence of channels and straits influencing the circulation, temperature and salinity fields. The tides generally have amplitudes of the order of 10 cm and velocities of few cm/s. Conversely, the wind forced circulation is very strong and can assume velocity values of 1 m/s at the sea surface. The temperature and salinity fields have a high temporal and spatial variability, because of many mixing processes existing in the sea. For example, the waters coming from the Provencal basin meet those waters coming from the Tyrrhenian Sea in the eastern Ligurian Sea, creating meanders and eddies. Local runoff influences significantly the coastal circulation. This paper describes diffusion experiments carried out in this complex environment. The experimental apparatus for the detection of the fluorescine released at sea was composed by two Turner mod. 450 fluorometres. During the experiments, temperature and salinity vertical profiles were measured by using a CTD; meteorological data were acquired on a dinghy. The positioning was obtained by means of a Motorola system, having a precision of about 1 meter. The experiments were carried out under different stratification and wind conditions. From data analysis it was found that the horizontal diffusion coefficient does not depend on time or boundary conditions. The role of stratification is important with regard to vertical displacement of the dye. However, its role with regard to vertical diffusion cannot be assessed with the actual experimental apparatus

Gas exchange at the air-sea interface: a technique for radon measurements in seawater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Queirazza, G.; Roveri, M.

1991-01-01

The rate of exchange of various gas species, such as O 2 , CO 2 etc. across the air-water interface can be evaluated from the 222 Rn vertical profiles in the water column. Radon profiles were measured in 4 stations in the NW Adriatic Sea, in September 1990, using solvent extraction and liquid scintillation counting techniques, directly on board the ship. The radiochemical procedure is described in detail. The lower limit of detection is approximately 0.4 mBq 1 -1 . The radon deficiency in the profiles gives estimates of the gas transfer rate across the air-sea interface ranging from 0.9 to 7.0 m d -1 . The suitability of the radon deficiency method in shallow water, enclosed seas is briefly discussed. (Author)

Air-sea exchange of CO2 in the Gulf of Kutch, northern Arabian Sea based on bomb-carbon in corals and tree rings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chakraborty, S.; Ramesh, R.; Krishnaswami, S.

1994-01-01

Radiocarbon analyses were carried out in the annual bands of a 40 year old coral collected from the Gulf of Kutch (22.6degN, 70degE) in the northern Arabian Sea and in the annual rings of a teak tree from Thane (19deg14'N, 73deg24'E) near Bombay. These measurements were made in order to obtain the rates of air-sea exchange of CO 2 and the advective mixing of water in the Gulf of Kutch. The Δ 14 C peak in the Thane tree occurs in the year 1964, with a value of ∼630 part per thousand, significantly lower than that of the mean atmospheric Δ 14 C of the northern hemisphere (∼1000 part per thousand). The radiocarbon time series of the coral was modelled considering the supply of carbon and radiocarbon to the gulf through air-sea exchange and advective water transport from the open Arabian Sea. A reasonable fit for the coral data was obtained with an air-sea CO 2 exchange rate of 11-12 mol m -2 yr -1 , and an advective velocity of 28 m yr -1 between the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Kutch; this was based on a model generated time series for radiocarbon in the Arabian Sea. The deduced velocity (∼ 28 m yr -1 ) of the advective transport of water between the Gulf and the Arabian Sea is much lower than the surface tidal current velocity in this region, but can be understood in terms of net fluxes of carbon and radiocarbon to the gulf to match the observed coral Δ 14 C time series. (author). 30 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs

Seasonal atmospheric deposition and air-sea gas exchange of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons over the Yangtze River Estuary, East China Sea: Implications for source-sink processes

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Yuqing; Lin, Tian; Wu, Zilan; Li, Yuanyuan; Li, Zhongxia; Guo, Zhigang; Yao, Xiaohong

2018-04-01

In this work, air samples and surface seawater samples covering four seasons from March 2014 to January 2015 were collected from a background receptor site in the YRE to explore the seasonal fluxes of air-sea gas exchange and dry and wet deposition of 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their source-sink processes at the air-sea interface. The average dry and wet deposition fluxes of 15 PAHs were estimated as 879 ± 1393 ng m-2 d-1 and 755 ± 545 ng m-2 d-1, respectively. Gaseous PAH release from seawater to the atmosphere averaged 3114 ± 1999 ng m-2 d-1 in a year round. The air-sea gas exchange of PAHs was the dominant process at the air-sea interface in the YRE as the magnitude of volatilization flux of PAHs exceeded that of total dry and wet deposition. The gas PAH exchange flux was dominated by three-ring PAHs, with the highest value in summer and lowest in winter, indicating a marked seasonal variation owing to differences in Henry's law constants associated with temperature, as well as wind speed and gaseous-dissolved gradient among seasons. Based on the simplified mass balance estimation, a net 11 tons y-1 of PAHs (mainly three-ring PAHs) were volatilized from seawater to the atmosphere in a ∼20,000 km2 area in the YRE. Other than the year-round Yangtze River input and ocean ship emissions, the selective release of low-molecular-weight PAHs from bottom sediments in winter due to resuspension triggered by the East Asian winter monsoon is another potential source of PAHs. This work suggests that the source-sink processes of PAHs at the air-sea interface in the YRE play a crucial role in regional cycling of PAHs.

Reconstruction of Local Sea Levels at South West Pacific Islands—A Multiple Linear Regression Approach (1988-2014)

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, V.; Melet, A.; Meyssignac, B.; Ganachaud, A.; Kessler, W. S.; Singh, A.; Aucan, J.

2018-02-01

Rising sea levels are a critical concern in small island nations. The problem is especially serious in the western south Pacific, where the total sea level rise over the last 60 years has been up to 3 times the global average. In this study, we aim at reconstructing sea levels at selected sites in the region (Suva, Lautoka—Fiji, and Nouméa—New Caledonia) as a multilinear regression (MLR) of atmospheric and oceanic variables. We focus on sea level variability at interannual-to-interdecadal time scales, and trend over the 1988-2014 period. Local sea levels are first expressed as a sum of steric and mass changes. Then a dynamical approach is used based on wind stress curl as a proxy for the thermosteric component, as wind stress curl anomalies can modulate the thermocline depth and resultant sea levels via Rossby wave propagation. Statistically significant predictors among wind stress curl, halosteric sea level, zonal/meridional wind stress components, and sea surface temperature are used to construct a MLR model simulating local sea levels. Although we are focusing on the local scale, the global mean sea level needs to be adjusted for. Our reconstructions provide insights on key drivers of sea level variability at the selected sites, showing that while local dynamics and the global signal modulate sea level to a given extent, most of the variance is driven by regional factors. On average, the MLR model is able to reproduce 82% of the variance in island sea level, and could be used to derive local sea level projections via downscaling of climate models.

Killer storms from the seas

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Varkey, M.J.

The author has discussed the distruction taking place due to cyclone in the Indian subcontinent of formation which is said to be the result of thermal fronts in the atmosphere and sea interaction of different air masses is discussed in detailed...

High resolution modelling of aerosol dispersion regimes during the CAPITOUL field experiment: from regional to local scale interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Aouizerats

2011-08-01

Full Text Available High resolution simulation of complex aerosol particle evolution and gaseous chemistry over an atmospheric urban area is of great interest for understanding air quality and processes. In this context, the CAPITOUL (Canopy and Aerosol Particle Interactions in the Toulouse Urban Layer field experiment aims at a better understanding of the interactions between the urban dynamics and the aerosol plumes. During a two-day Intensive Observational Period, a numerical model experiment was set up to reproduce the spatial distribution of specific particle pollutants, from the regional scales and the interactions between different cities, to the local scales with specific turbulent structures. Observations show that local dynamics depends on the day-regime, and may lead to different mesoscale dynamical structures. This study focuses on reproducing these fine scale dynamical structures, and investigate the impact on the aerosol plume dispersion. The 500-m resolution simulation manages to reproduce convective rolls at local scale, which concentrate most of the aerosol particles and can locally affect the pollutant dispersion and air quality.

Air-sea exchange of gaseous mercury in the tropical coast (Luhuitou fringing reef) of the South China Sea, the Hainan Island, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Ci, Zhijia; Zhang, Xiaoshan; Wang, Zhangwei

2016-06-01

The air-sea exchange of gaseous mercury (mainly Hg(0)) in the tropical ocean is an important part of the global Hg biogeochemical cycle, but the related investigations are limited. In this study, we simultaneously measured Hg(0) concentrations in surface waters and overlaying air in the tropical coast (Luhuitou fringing reef) of the South China Sea (SCS), Hainan Island, China, for 13 days on January-February 2015. The purpose of this study was to explore the temporal variation of Hg(0) concentrations in air and surface waters, estimate the air-sea Hg(0) flux, and reveal their influencing factors in the tropical coastal environment. The mean concentrations (±SD) of Hg(0) in air and total Hg (THg) in waters were 2.34 ± 0.26 ng m(-3) and 1.40 ± 0.48 ng L(-1), respectively. Both Hg(0) concentrations in waters (53.7 ± 18.8 pg L(-1)) and Hg(0)/THg ratios (3.8 %) in this study were significantly higher than those of the open water of the SCS in winter. Hg(0) in waters usually exhibited a clear diurnal variation with increased concentrations in daytime and decreased concentrations in nighttime, especially in cloudless days with low wind speed. Linear regression analysis suggested that Hg(0) concentrations in waters were positively and significantly correlated to the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) (R (2) = 0.42, p sea Hg(0) fluxes were estimated to be 1.73 ± 1.25 ng m(-2) h(-1) with a large range between 0.01 and 6.06 ng m(-2) h(-1). The high variation of Hg(0) fluxes was mainly attributed to the greatly temporal variation of wind speed.

Interaction between local and regional pollution during Escompte 2001: impact on surface ozone concentrations (IOP2a and 2b)

Science.gov (United States)

Cousin, F.; Tulet, P.; Rosset, R.

2005-03-01

Escompte, a European programme which took place in the Marseille region in June-July 2001, has been designed as an exhaustive database to be used for the development and validation of air pollution models. The air quality Mesoscale NonHydrostatic Chemistry model (Meso-NH-C) is used to simulate 2 days of an Intensive Observation Period (IOP) documented during the Escompte campaign, June 23 and 24, 2001. We first study the synoptic and local meteorological situation on June 23 and 24, using surface and aircraft measurements. Then, we focus on the pollution episode of June 24. This study emphasizes the deep impact of synoptic and local dynamics on observed ozone concentrations. It is shown that ozone levels are due both to regional and local factors, with highlights of the importance of ozone layering. More generally this confirms, even in an otherwise predominant local sea-breeze regime, the need to consider larger scale regional pollutant transport.

Effects of Sea-Surface Waves and Ocean Spray on Air-Sea Momentum Fluxes

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ting; Song, Jinbao

2018-04-01

The effects of sea-surface waves and ocean spray on the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) at different wind speeds and wave ages were investigated. An MABL model was developed that introduces a wave-induced component and spray force to the total surface stress. The theoretical model solution was determined assuming the eddy viscosity coefficient varied linearly with height above the sea surface. The wave-induced component was evaluated using a directional wave spectrum and growth rate. Spray force was described using interactions between ocean-spray droplets and wind-velocity shear. Wind profiles and sea-surface drag coefficients were calculated for low to high wind speeds for wind-generated sea at different wave ages to examine surface-wave and ocean-spray effects on MABL momentum distribution. The theoretical solutions were compared with model solutions neglecting wave-induced stress and/or spray stress. Surface waves strongly affected near-surface wind profiles and sea-surface drag coefficients at low to moderate wind speeds. Drag coefficients and near-surface wind speeds were lower for young than for old waves. At high wind speeds, ocean-spray droplets produced by wind-tearing breaking-wave crests affected the MABL strongly in comparison with surface waves, implying that wave age affects the MABL only negligibly. Low drag coefficients at high wind caused by ocean-spray production increased turbulent stress in the sea-spray generation layer, accelerating near-sea-surface wind. Comparing the analytical drag coefficient values with laboratory measurements and field observations indicated that surface waves and ocean spray significantly affect the MABL at different wind speeds and wave ages.

Effects of Northern Hemisphere Sea Surface Temperature Changes on the Global Air Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, K.; Liu, J.

2017-12-01

The roles of regional sea surface temperature (SST) variability on modulating the climate system and consequently the air quality are investigated using the Community Earth System Model (CESM). Idealized, spatially uniform SST anomalies of +/- 1 °C are superimposed onto the North Pacific, North Atlantic, and North Indian Oceans individually. Ignoring the response of natural emissions, our simulations suggest large seasonal and regional variability of surface O3 and PM2.5 concentrations in response to SST anomalies, especially during boreal summers. Increasing the SST by 1 °C in one of the oceans generally decreases the surface O3 concentrations from 1 to 5 ppbv while increases the anthropogenic PM2.5 concentrations from 0.5 to 3 µg m-3. We implement the integrated process rate (IPR) analysis in CESM and find that meteorological transport in response to SST changes is the key process causing air pollutant perturbations in most cases. During boreal summers, the increase in tropical SST over different ocean basins enhances deep convection, which significantly increases the air temperature over the upper troposphere and trigger large-scale subsidence over nearby and remote regions. These processes tend to increase tropospheric stability and suppress rainfall at lower mid-latitudes. Consequently, it reduces the vertical transport of O3 to the surface while facilitating the accumulation of PM2.5 concentrations over most regions. In addition, this regional SST warming may also considerably suppress intercontinental transport of air pollution as confirmed with idealized CO-like tracers. Our findings indicate a robust linkage between basin-scale SST variability and regional air quality, which can help local air quality management.

Coral seas in fifty years: Need for local policies

Science.gov (United States)

Longley, P.; Cheng, N. S.; Fontaine, R. M.; Horton, K.; Bhattacharya, A.

2017-12-01

Arising stressors from both global and local sources threaten coral reefs, with studies indicating that local and global sources might reduce coral resilience. Local sources include sediment stress and nutrient stress from fishing; global sources include increasing sea surface temperature and ocean acidification. Through an in-depth review and re-analysis of published work, conducted under the scope of a course in the spring of 2017 semester and follow up research over the summer of 2017 and fall of 2017, students in Environmental Studies Course, ENVS 4100: Coral reefs, at the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a framework to initiate a discussion of global and local policies focused on protection of coral reefs. The research aims to assess current threats and suggest mitigation efforts. The paper uses secondary research to analyze impact of ocean acidification on aragonite saturation levels, current thermal stress, nutrient stress, and sediment factors that influence the health of coral and its surrounding ecosystem over the Common Era. Case studies in this paper include the Caribbean and Red Sea coral reefs, due to the variation of the atmosphere, temperature, and human activity in these regions. This paper intends to offer sufficient evidence that will lead to appropriate policy decisions that pertain to reef conservation.

Statistical analysis of global surface air temperature and sea level using cointegration methods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmith, Torben; Johansen, Søren; Thejll, Peter

Global sea levels are rising which is widely understood as a consequence of thermal expansion and melting of glaciers and land-based ice caps. Due to physically-based models being unable to simulate observed sea level trends, semi-empirical models have been applied as an alternative for projecting...... of future sea levels. There is in this, however, potential pitfalls due to the trending nature of the time series. We apply a statistical method called cointegration analysis to observed global sea level and surface air temperature, capable of handling such peculiarities. We find a relationship between sea...... level and temperature and find that temperature causally depends on the sea level, which can be understood as a consequence of the large heat capacity of the ocean. We further find that the warming episode in the 1940s is exceptional in the sense that sea level and warming deviates from the expected...

Incorporating Air Quality Improvement at a Local Level into Climate Policy in the Transport Sector: A Case Study in Bandung City, Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helmi Gunawan

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Climate policy has a strong influence on policy processes at national levels in Indonesia, while other policies with a focus on air quality improvement are being implemented at local levels. Indonesia as a developing country has committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG emissions by 29 percent by the year 2030. This calls into question the extent to which cities and local governments can cope with the challenges of climate change mitigation. The purpose of the research is to find out the extent to which local air pollution reduction policies can contribute to the climate change mitigation program. The research design involved an empirical case study on governance and policy relevant to climate change efforts to lower GHG in Bandung City, Indonesia. The study evaluated the air quality improvement and the climate change mitigation programs using the actor-based framework of the Contextual Interaction Theory (CIT. The governance and stakeholder characteristic of climate change mitigation were also analysed using the structural context part of the CIT framework. The result shows that air quality improvement policy is implemented separately from climate policy; the latter operates at the national level and the former at the local level. By looking at the actor interaction analysis, the study concludes that a more holistic environmental policy approach would be more efficient at reducing local air pollution and contributing to the mitigation of climate change.

New Zealand traffic and local air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Irving, Paul; Moncrieff, Ian

2004-12-01

Since 1996 the New Zealand Ministry of Transport (MOT) has been investigating the effects of road transport on local air quality. The outcome has been the government's Vehicle Fleet Emissions Control Strategy (VFECS). This is a programme of measures designed to assist with the improvement in local air quality, and especially in the appropriate management of transport sector emissions. Key to the VFECS has been the development of tools to assess and predict the contribution of vehicle emissions to local air pollution, in a given urban situation. Determining how vehicles behave as an emissions source, and more importantly, how the combined traffic flows contribute to the total emissions within a given airshed location was an important element of the programme. The actual emissions output of a vehicle is more than that determined by a certified emission standard, at the point of manufacture. It is the engine technology's general performance capability, in conjunction with the local driving conditions, that determines its actual emissions output. As vehicles are a mobile emissions source, to understand the effect of vehicle technology, it is necessary to work with the average fleet performance, or "fleet-weighted average emissions rate". This is the unit measure of performance of the general traffic flow that could be passing through a given road corridor or network, as an average, over time. The flow composition can be representative of the national fleet population, but also may feature particular vehicle types in a given locality, thereby have a different emissions 'signature'. A summary of the range of work that has been completed as part of the VFECS programme is provided. The NZ Vehicle Fleet Emissions Model and the derived data set available in the NZ Traffic Emission Rates provide a significant step forward in the consistent analysis of practical, sustainable vehicle emissions policy and air-quality management in New Zealand.

Retrieval of sea surface air temperature from satellite data over Indian Ocean: An empirical approach

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sathe, P.V.; Muraleedharan, P.M.

the sea surface air temperature from satellite derived sea surface humidity in the Indian Ocean. Using the insitu data on surface met parameters collected on board O.R.V. Sagar Kanya in the Indian Ocean over a period of 15 years, the relationship between...

Seasonal Variability of Wind Sea and Swell Waves Climate along the Canary Current: The Local Wind Effect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alvaro Semedo

2018-03-01

Full Text Available A climatology of wind sea and swell waves along the Canary eastern boundary current area, from west Iberia to Mauritania, is presented. The study is based on the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF reanalysis ERA-Interim. The wind regime along the Canary Current, along west Iberia and north-west Africa, varies significantly from winter to summer. High summer wind speeds generate high wind sea waves, particularly along the coasts of Morocco and Western Sahara. Lower winter wind speeds, along with stronger extratropical storms crossing the North Atlantic sub-basin up north lead to a predominance of swell waves in the area during from December to February. In summer, the coast parallel wind interacts with the coastal headlands, increasing the wind speed and the locally generated waves. The spatial patterns of the wind sea or swell regional wave fields are shown to be different from the open ocean, due to coastal geometry, fetch dimensions, and island sheltering.

Coupling of WRF meteorological model to WAM spectral wave model through sea surface roughness at the Balearic Sea: impact on wind and wave forecasts

Science.gov (United States)

Tolosana-Delgado, R.; Soret, A.; Jorba, O.; Baldasano, J. M.; Sánchez-Arcilla, A.

2012-04-01

Meteorological models, like WRF, usually describe the earth surface characteristics by tables that are function of land-use. The roughness length (z0) is an example of such approach. However, over sea z0 is modeled by the Charnock (1955) relation, linking the surface friction velocity u*2 with the roughness length z0 of turbulent air flow, z0 = α-u2* g The Charnock coefficient α may be considered a measure of roughness. For the sea surface, WRF considers a constant roughness α = 0.0185. However, there is evidence that sea surface roughness should depend on wave energy (Donelan, 1982). Spectral wave models like WAM, model the evolution and propagation of wave energy as a function of wind, and include a richer sea surface roughness description. Coupling WRF and WAM is thus a common way to improve the sea surface roughness description of WRF. WAM is a third generation wave model, solving the equation of advection of wave energy subject to input/output terms of: wind growth, energy dissipation and resonant non-linear wave-wave interactions. Third generation models work on the spectral domain. WAM considers the Charnock coefficient α a complex yet known function of the total wind input term, which depends on the wind velocity and on the Charnock coefficient again. This is solved iteratively (Janssen et al., 1990). Coupling of meteorological and wave models through a common Charnock coefficient is operationally done in medium-range met forecasting systems (e.g., at ECMWF) though the impact of coupling for smaller domains is not yet clearly assessed (Warner et al, 2010). It is unclear to which extent the additional effort of coupling improves the local wind and wave fields, in comparison to the effects of other factors, like e.g. a better bathymetry and relief resolution, or a better circulation information which might have its influence on local-scale meteorological processes (local wind jets, local convection, daily marine wind regimes, etc.). This work, within the

Model calculations of the effects of present and future emissions of air pollutants from shipping in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. E. Jonson

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Land-based emissions of air pollutants in Europe have steadily decreased over the past two decades, and this decrease is expected to continue. Within the same time span emissions from shipping have increased in EU ports and in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, defined as SECAs (sulfur emission control areas, although recently sulfur emissions, and subsequently particle emissions, have decreased. The maximum allowed sulfur content in marine fuels in EU ports is now 0.1%, as required by the European Union sulfur directive. In the SECAs the maximum fuel content of sulfur is currently 1% (the global average is about 2.4%. This will be reduced to 0.1% from 2015, following the new International Maritime Organization (IMO rules. In order to assess the effects of ship emissions in and around the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, regional model calculations with the EMEP air pollution model have been made on a 1/4° longitude × 1/8° latitude resolution, using ship emissions in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea that are based on accurate ship positioning data. The effects on depositions and air pollution and the resulting number of years of life lost (YOLLs have been calculated by comparing model calculations with and without ship emissions in the two sea areas. In 2010 stricter regulations for sulfur emissions were implemented in the two sea areas, reducing the maximum sulfur content allowed in marine fuels from 1.5 to 1%. In addition ships were required to use fuels with 0.1 % sulfur in EU harbours. The calculations have been made with emissions representative of 2009 and 2011, i.e. before and after the implementation of the stricter controls on sulfur emissions from 2010. The calculations with present emissions show that per person, an additional 0.1–0.2 years of life lost is estimated in areas close to the major ship tracks with current emission levels. Comparisons of model calculations with emissions before and after the implementation of stricter

Modeling the air-sea feedback system of Madeira Island

Science.gov (United States)

Pullen, Julie; Caldeira, Rui; Doyle, James D.; May, Paul; Tomé, Ricardo

2017-07-01

A realistic nested data-assimilating two-way coupled ocean/atmosphere modeling study (highest resolution 2 km) of Madeira Island was conducted for June 2011, when conditions were favorable for atmospheric vortex shedding. The simulation's island lee region exhibited relatively cloud-free conditions, promoting warmer ocean temperatures (˜2°C higher than adjacent waters). The model reasonably reproduced measured fields at 14 meteorological stations, and matched the dimensions and magnitude of the warm sea surface temperature (SST) wake imaged by satellite. The warm SSTs in the wake are shown to imprint onto the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) over several diurnal cycles by modulating the ABL depth up to ˜200-500 m. The erosion and dissipation of the warm ocean wake overnight was aided by atmospheric drainage flow and offshore advection of cold air (ΔT = 2°C) that produced strong upward heat fluxes (˜50 W/m2 sensible and ˜250 W/m2 latent) on an episodic basis. Nevertheless, the warm wake was never entirely eroded at night due to the cumulative effect of the diurnal cycle. The spatial pattern of the diurnal warming varied day-to-day in location and extent. Significant mutual interaction of the oceanic and atmospheric boundary layers was diagnosed via fluxes and temperature cross sections and reinforced by sensitivity runs. The simulation produces for the first time the interactive nature of the ocean and atmosphere boundary layers in the warm wake region of an island with complex terrain.

Meteorological and Land Surface Properties Impacting Sea Breeze Extent and Aerosol Distribution in a Dry Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Igel, Adele L.; van den Heever, Susan C.; Johnson, Jill S.

2018-01-01

The properties of sea breeze circulations are influenced by a variety of meteorological and geophysical factors that interact with one another. These circulations can redistribute aerosol particles and pollution and therefore can play an important role in local air quality, as well as impact remote sensing. In this study, we select 11 factors that have the potential to impact either the sea breeze circulation properties and/or the spatial distribution of aerosols. Simulations are run to identify which of the 11 factors have the largest influence on the sea breeze properties and aerosol concentrations and to subsequently understand the mean response of these variables to the selected factors. All simulations are designed to be representative of conditions in coastal sub tropical environments and are thus relatively dry, as such they do not support deep convection associated with the sea breeze front. For this dry sea breeze regime, we find that the background wind speed was the most influential factor for the sea breeze propagation, with the soil saturation fraction also being important. For the spatial aerosol distribution, the most important factors were the soil moisture, sea-air temperature difference, and the initial boundary layer height. The importance of these factors seems to be strongly tied to the development of the surface-based mixed layer both ahead of and behind the sea breeze front. This study highlights potential avenues for further research regarding sea breeze dynamics and the impact of sea breeze circulations on pollution dispersion and remote sensing algorithms.

Seasonal atmospheric deposition and air-sea gaseous exchange of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons over the Yangtze River Estuary, East China Sea: Implication for the source-sink processes

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Y.; Guo, Z.

2017-12-01

As the home of the largest port in the world, the Yangtze River Estuary (YRE) in the East China Sea (ECS) is adjacent to the largest economic zone in China with more than 10% of Chinese population and provides one-fifth of national GDP. The YRE is under the path of contaminated East Asian continental outflow. These make the YRE unique for the pollutant biogeochemical cycling in the world. In this work, 94 pairs of air samples and 20 surface seawater samples covering four seasons were collected from a remote receptor site in the YRE from March 2014 to January 2015, in order to explore the seasonal fluxes of air-sea gaseous exchange and atmospheric dry and wet deposition of 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their source-sink processes at the air-sea interface. The average dry and wet deposition fluxes of 15 PAHs were estimated as 879 ± 1393 ng m-2 d-1 and 755 ± 545 ng m-2 d-1, respectively. The gaseous PAHs were released from seawater to atmosphere during the whole year with an average of 3039 ± 2030 ng m-2 d-1. The gaseous exchange of PAHs was referred as the dominant process at the air-sea interface in the YRE as the magnitude of volatilization flux of PAHs exceeded that of the total dry and wet deposition. The gaseous PAH exchange flux was dominated by 3-ring PAHs, with the highest value in summer while lowest in winter, depicting a strong seasonal variation due to temperature, wind speed and air-sea concentration gradient difference among seasons. Based on the simplified mass balance estimation, net 9.6 tons/y of PAHs was volatilized from seawater to atmosphere with an area of approximately 20000 km2 in the YRE. Apart from Yangtze River input and ocean ship emissions in the entire year, the selective release of low molecular weight PAHs from sediments in winter due to re-suspension triggered by the East Asian winter monsoon could be another possible source for dissolved PAHs. This work suggests that the source-sink processes of PAHs at air-sea

Ship emissions and the use of current air cleaning technology: contributions to air pollution and acidification in the Baltic Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Claremar, Björn; Haglund, Karin; Rutgersson, Anna

2017-10-01

The shipping sector is a significant contributor to emissions of air pollutants in marine and coastal regions. In order to achieve sustainable shipping, primarily through new regulations and techniques, greater knowledge of dispersion and deposition of air pollutants is required. Regional model calculations of the dispersion and concentration of sulfur, nitrogen, and particulate matter, as well as deposition of oxidized sulfur and nitrogen from the international maritime sector in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, have been made for the years 2011 to 2013. The contribution from shipping is highest along shipping lanes and near large ports for concentration and dry deposition. Sulfur is the most important pollutant coupled to shipping. The contribution of both SO2 concentration and dry deposition of sulfur represented up to 80 % of the total in some regions. WHO guidelines for annual concentrations were not trespassed for any analysed pollutant, other than PM2.5 in the Netherlands, Belgium, and central Poland. However, due to the resolution of the numerical model, 50 km × 50 km, there may be higher concentrations locally close to intense shipping lanes. Wet deposition is more spread and less sensitive to model resolution. The contribution of wet deposition of sulfur and nitrogen from shipping was up to 30 % of the total wet deposition. Comparison of simulated to measured concentration at two coastal stations close to shipping lanes showed some underestimations and missed maximums, probably due to resolution of the model and underestimated ship emissions. A change in regulation for maximum sulfur content in maritime fuel, in 2015 from 1 to 0.1 %, decreases the atmospheric sulfur concentration and deposition significantly. However, due to costs related to refining, the cleaning of exhausts through scrubbers has become a possible economic solution. Open-loop scrubbers meet the air quality criteria but their consequences for the marine environment are largely unknown

Ship emissions and the use of current air cleaning technology: contributions to air pollution and acidification in the Baltic Sea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Claremar

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The shipping sector is a significant contributor to emissions of air pollutants in marine and coastal regions. In order to achieve sustainable shipping, primarily through new regulations and techniques, greater knowledge of dispersion and deposition of air pollutants is required. Regional model calculations of the dispersion and concentration of sulfur, nitrogen, and particulate matter, as well as deposition of oxidized sulfur and nitrogen from the international maritime sector in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, have been made for the years 2011 to 2013. The contribution from shipping is highest along shipping lanes and near large ports for concentration and dry deposition. Sulfur is the most important pollutant coupled to shipping. The contribution of both SO2 concentration and dry deposition of sulfur represented up to 80 % of the total in some regions. WHO guidelines for annual concentrations were not trespassed for any analysed pollutant, other than PM2.5 in the Netherlands, Belgium, and central Poland. However, due to the resolution of the numerical model, 50 km  ×  50 km, there may be higher concentrations locally close to intense shipping lanes. Wet deposition is more spread and less sensitive to model resolution. The contribution of wet deposition of sulfur and nitrogen from shipping was up to 30 % of the total wet deposition. Comparison of simulated to measured concentration at two coastal stations close to shipping lanes showed some underestimations and missed maximums, probably due to resolution of the model and underestimated ship emissions. A change in regulation for maximum sulfur content in maritime fuel, in 2015 from 1 to 0.1 %, decreases the atmospheric sulfur concentration and deposition significantly. However, due to costs related to refining, the cleaning of exhausts through scrubbers has become a possible economic solution. Open-loop scrubbers meet the air quality criteria but their consequences for

Response of air-sea carbon fluxes and climate to orbital forcing changes in the Community Climate System Model

Science.gov (United States)

Jochum, M.; Peacock, S.; Moore, K.; Lindsay, K.

2010-07-01

A global general circulation model coupled to an ocean ecosystem model is used to quantify the response of carbon fluxes and climate to changes in orbital forcing. Compared to the present-day simulation, the simulation with the Earth's orbital parameters from 115,000 years ago features significantly cooler northern high latitudes but only moderately cooler southern high latitudes. This asymmetry is explained by a 30% reduction of the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation that is caused by an increased Arctic sea ice export and a resulting freshening of the North Atlantic. The strong northern high-latitude cooling and the direct insolation induced tropical warming lead to global shifts in precipitation and winds to the order of 10%-20%. These climate shifts lead to regional differences in air-sea carbon fluxes of the same order. However, the differences in global net air-sea carbon fluxes are small, which is due to several effects, two of which stand out: first, colder sea surface temperature leads to a more effective solubility pump but also to increased sea ice concentration which blocks air-sea exchange, and second, the weakening of Southern Ocean winds that is predicted by some idealized studies occurs only in part of the basin, and is compensated by stronger winds in other parts.

A generalized model for the air-sea transfer of dimethyl sulfide at high wind speeds

Science.gov (United States)

Vlahos, Penny; Monahan, Edward C.

2009-11-01

The air-sea exchange of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is an important component of ocean biogeochemistry and global climate models. Both laboratory experiments and field measurements of DMS transfer rates have shown that the air-sea flux of DMS is analogous to that of other significant greenhouse gases such as CO2 at low wind speeds (10 m/s. The result is an attenuation of the dimensionless Henry's Law constant (H) where (Heff = H/(1 + (Cmix/Cw) ΦB) by a solubility enhancement Cmix/Cw, and the fraction of bubble surface area per m2 surface ocean.

Surfactant control of air-sea gas exchange from North Sea coastal waters and the Atlantic Meridional Transect

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, R.

2016-02-01

suppression and SA is much weaker (r2 = <0.01, n = 22). While organic matter composition and sources may have variable control on air-sea gas exchange between the provinces, the poor relationship observed between SA and k660 suggests that other environmental factors maybe more influential on air-sea gas exchange in the open ocean compared to North Sea coastal waters.

Comparative study of air quality by the North Sea and Baltic Sea; Vergleichsuntersuchungen der Luftqualitaet an Nord- und Ostsee

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moriske, H.J.; Turowski, E.; Klar, A.; Schoendube, M.; Ebert, G.; Konieczny, L. [Umweltbundesamt, Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Wasser-, Boden- und Lufthygiene

2000-01-01

Air quality measurements were carried out in the North Sea and Baltic Sea regions. The results are summarized in this contribution from the hygienic view. [German] Im Rahmen eines Forschungsprojektes des Umweltbundesamtes, das zwischen 1996 und 1998 mit dem Titel 'Erfassung gasfoermiger und partikelfoermiger Bestandteile der Umgebungsluft an Nord- und Ostsee - Untersuchungen zur hygienischen Bedeutung des maritimen Aerosols' durchgefuehrt wurde, sollte die Frage unterschiedlicher Luftqualitaet an Nord- und Ostsee beantwortet werden und eine aktuelle Bestandsaufnahme vorgenommen werden. Der Artikel fasst die Forschungsergebnisse aus hygienischer Sicht zusammen. (orig./SR)

Sea turtle and artisanal cerco-fixo fishing interactions in Cananéia, south coast of São Paulo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natália Cristina Fidelis Bahia

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Sea turtles are reptiles that occur on the Brazilian coast, mainly on nesting and feeding grounds. The consumption of turtle meat and eggs is an ancient habit in many coastal communities around the world. The main dangers that threaten these species are the increase in fishing and the drastic changes in the environment. This study aimed to elucidate the interaction between the artisanal fishermen and the sea turtles in Cananéia, São Paulo state, Brazil. Local fishermen had developed an artisanal trap to fish, the "cerco-fixo", and through interviews and illustrations, as well as by accompanying the fishermen' daily activities, three main aspects were verified: (i the perception of the fishermen about the sea turtles; (ii the identification of species and morphological characteristics of these animals; and (iii a description of the incidental bycatch of sea turtles in these traps. The data indicates that this fishing trap is not harmful to the sea turtles. Location of traps can influence the capture of these animals, particularly those traps placed on rocky shores and other similiar points.

Sea turtle and artisanal cerco-fixo fishing interactions in Cananéia, south coast of São Paulo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natália Cristina Fidelis Bahia

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Sea turtles are reptiles that occur on the Brazilian coast, mainly on nesting and feeding grounds. The consumption of turtle meat and eggs is an ancient habit in many coastal communities around the world. The main dangers that threaten these species are the increase in fishing and the drastic changes in the environment. This study aimed to elucidate the interaction between the artisanal fishermen and the sea turtles in Cananéia, São Paulo state, Brazil. Local fishermen had developed an artisanal trap to fish, the “cerco-fixo”, and through interviews and illustrations, as well as by accompanying the fishermen’ daily activities, three main aspects were verified: (i the perception of the fishermen about the sea turtles; (ii the identification of species and morphological characteristics of these animals; and (iii a description of the incidental bycatch of sea turtles in these traps. The data indicates that this fishing trap is not harmful to the sea turtles. Location of traps can influence the capture of these animals, particularly those traps placed on rocky shores and other similiar points.

Mercury in the marine boundary layer and seawater of the South China Sea: Concentrations, sea/air flux, and implication for land outflow

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Xuewu; Feng, Xinbin; Zhang, Gan; Xu, Weihai; Li, Xiangdong; Yao, Hen; Liang, Peng; Li, Jun; Sommar, Jonas; Yin, Runsheng; Liu, Na

2010-03-01

Using R/V Shiyan 3 as a sampling platform, measurements of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), surface seawater total mercury (THg), methyl mercury (MeHg), and dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) were carried out above and in the South China Sea (SCS). Measurements were collected for 2 weeks (10 to 28 August 2007) during an oceanographic expedition, which circumnavigated the northern SCS from Guangzhou (Canton), Hainan Inland, the Philippines, and back to Guangzhou. GEM concentrations over the northern SCS ranged from 1.04 to 6.75 ng m-3 (mean: 2.62 ng m-3, median: 2.24 ng m-3). The spatial distribution of GEM was characterized by elevated concentrations near the coastal sites adjacent to mainland China and lower concentrations at stations in the open sea. Trajectory analysis revealed that high concentrations of GEM were generally related to air masses from south China and the Indochina peninsula, while lower concentrations of GEM were related to air masses from the open sea area, reflecting great Hg emissions from south China and Indochina peninsula. The mean concentrations of THg, MeHg, and DGM in surface seawater were 1.2 ± 0.3 ng L-1, 0.12 ± 0.05 ng L-1, and 36.5 ± 14.9 pg L-1, respectively. In general, THg and MeHg levels in the northern SCS were higher compared to results reported from most other oceans/seas. Elevated THg levels in the study area were likely attributed to significant Hg delivery from surrounding areas of the SCS primarily via atmospheric deposition and riverine input, whereas other sources like in situ production by various biotic and abiotic processes may be important for MeHg. Average sea/air flux of Hg in the study area was estimated using a gas exchange method (4.5 ± 3.4 ng m-2 h-1). This value was comparable to those from other coastal areas and generally higher than those from open sea environments, which may be attributed to the reemission of Hg previously transported to this area.

Global changes and the air-sea exchange of chemicals. Reports and studies. No. 48

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

GESAMP-IMO/FAO/UNESCO/WMO/WHO/IAEA/UN/UNEP Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Pollution

1992-12-31

Present and future changes to global environment have implications for marine pollution and for air-sea exchange of both anthropogenic and natural substances. This report addresses 3 issues related to potential impact of global change on air-sea exchange of chemicals: Global change and air-sea transfer of nutrients nitrogen and iron. Global change and air-sea exchange of gases. Oceanic responses to radiative and oxidative changes in atmosphere. Deposition of atmospheric anthropogenic nitrogen has probably increased bio- productivity in coastal regions along continental margins. Atmospheric deposition of new nitrogen may also have increased productivity somewhat in mid-ocean regions. Projected future increases of N oxide emissions from Asia, Africa and South America will increase the rate of deposition of oxidized nitrogen to central North Pacific, equatorial Atlantic, and equatorial and central South Indian Oceans. Atmospheric iron may be an important nutrient in certain open regions. Future changes will likely occur from changed aridity and wind speed as a result of climate change. The most important future effects on surface ocean p{sub CO2} will likely be caused by changes in ocean circulation. The pH of ocean would decrease by {approx}0.3 units for a doubling of p{sub CO2}, reducing the capacity of the ocean to take up CO{sub 2}. There is evidence that dimethyl sulfide from ocean is a source of cloud condensation nuclei and thus a factor controlling cloud albedo. By 2060 in the southern hemisphere reduction in total column stratospheric ozone from recent levels could reach 2 to 5% in the tropics, 10% at mid latitudes, and over 20% at 60 deg C. S. Increases in ground-level effective UV-B radiation could also reach 5%, 26% and 66%, at low, mid, and high latitudes in southern hemisphere. Changes in photochemical processes in the surface waters of the ocean could also happen.

The rhetoric and realities of integrating air quality into the local transport planning process in English local authorities.

Science.gov (United States)

Olowoporoku, Dotun; Hayes, Enda; Longhurst, James; Parkhurst, Graham

2012-06-30

Regardless of its intent and purposes, the first decade of the Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) framework had little or no effect in reducing traffic-related air pollution in the UK. Apart from the impact of increased traffic volumes, the major factor attributed to this failure is that of policy disconnect between the process of diagnosing air pollution and its management, thereby limiting the capability of local authorities to control traffic-related sources of air pollution. Integrating air quality management into the Local Transport Plan (LTP) process therefore presents opportunities for enabling political will, funding and joined-up policy approach to reduce this limitation. However, despite the increased access to resources for air quality measures within the LTP process, there are local institutional, political and funding constraints which reduce the impact of these policy interventions on air quality management. This paper illustrate the policy implementation gaps between central government policy intentions and the local government process by providing evidence of the deprioritisation of air quality management compared to the other shared priorities in the LTP process. We draw conclusions on the policy and practice of integrating air quality management into transport planning. The evidence thereby indicate the need for a policy shift from a solely localised hotspot management approach, in which the LAQM framework operates, to a more holistic management of vehicular emissions within wider spatial administrative areas. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The relationship between the microwave radar cross section and both wind speed and stress: Model function studies using Frontal Air-Sea Interaction Experiment data

Science.gov (United States)

Weissman, David E.; Davidson, Kenneth L.; Brown, Robert A.; Friehe, Carl A.; Li, Fuk

1994-01-01

The Frontal Air-Sea Interaction Experiment (FASINEX) provided a unique data set with coincident airborne scatterometer measurements of the ocean surface radar cross section (RCS)(at Ku band) and near-surface wind and wind stress. These data have been analyzed to study new model functions which relate wind speed and surface friction velocity (square root of the kinematic wind stress) to the radar cross section and to better understand the processes in the boundary layer that have a strong influence on the radar backscatter. Studies of data from FASINEX indicate that the RCS has a different relation to the friction velocity than to the wind speed. The difference between the RCS models using these two variables depends on the polarization and the incidence angle. The radar data have been acquired from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory airborne scatterometer. These data span 10 different flight days. Stress measurements were inferred from shipboard instruments and from aircraft flying at low altitudes, closely following the scatterometer. Wide ranges of radar incidence angles and environmental conditions needed to fully develop algorithms are available from this experiment.

Bottom-Up Determination of Air-Sea Momentum Exchange Under a Major Tropical Cyclone

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Jarosz, Ewa; Mitchell, Douglas A; Wang, David W; Teague, William J

2007-01-01

.... Using current observations recorded during a major tropical cyclone, we have estimated this momentum transfer from the ocean side of the air-sea interface, and we discuss it in terms of the drag coefficient...

Changes in ocean circulation and carbon storage are decoupled from air-sea CO₂ fluxes

OpenAIRE

A. Gnanadesikan; I. Marinov

2010-01-01

The spatial distribution of the air-sea flux of carbon dioxide is a poor indicator of the underlying ocean circulation and of ocean carbon storage. The weak dependence on circulation arises because mixing-driven changes in solubility-driven and biologically-driven air-sea fluxes largely cancel out. This cancellation occurs because mixing driven increases in the poleward residual mean circulation results in more transport of both remineralized nutrients and heat from low to high latitudes. By ...

Interaction between a wildfire and the sea-breeze front

Science.gov (United States)

Deborah E. Hanley; Philip Cunningham; Scott Goodrick

2013-01-01

Florida experiences sea breezes, lake breezes, and bay breezes almost every day during the year, and there are frequently complex interactions between many of these breezes. Given the often-rapid changes in temperature, humidity, and wind speed that accompany these breezes, most wildfires and prescribed fires in Florida are affected in some way by their interaction...

Characteristics of Winter Surface Air Temperature Anomalies in Moscow in 1970-2016 under Conditions of Reduced Sea Ice Area in the Barents Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Shukurov, K. A.; Semenov, V. A.

2018-01-01

On the basis of observational data on daily mean surface air temperature (SAT) and sea ice concentration (SIC) in the Barents Sea (BS), the characteristics of strong positive and negative winter SAT anomalies in Moscow have been studied in comparison with BS SIC data obtained in 1949-2016. An analysis of surface backward trajectories of air-particle motions has revealed the most probable paths of both cold and warm air invasions into Moscow and located regions that mostly affect strong winter SAT anomalies in Moscow. Atmospheric circulation anomalies that cause strong winter SAT anomalies in Moscow have been revealed. Changes in the ways of both cold and warm air invasions have been found, as well as an increase in the frequency of blocking anticyclones in 2005-2016 when compared to 1970-1999. The results suggest that a winter SIC decrease in the BS in 2005-2016 affects strong winter SAT anomalies in Moscow due to an increase in the frequency of occurrence of blocking anticyclones to the south of and over the BS.

Changes in ocean circulation and carbon storage are decoupled from air-sea CO2 fluxes

Science.gov (United States)

Marinov, I.; Gnanadesikan, A.

2011-02-01

The spatial distribution of the air-sea flux of carbon dioxide is a poor indicator of the underlying ocean circulation and of ocean carbon storage. The weak dependence on circulation arises because mixing-driven changes in solubility-driven and biologically-driven air-sea fluxes largely cancel out. This cancellation occurs because mixing driven increases in the poleward residual mean circulation result in more transport of both remineralized nutrients and heat from low to high latitudes. By contrast, increasing vertical mixing decreases the storage associated with both the biological and solubility pumps, as it decreases remineralized carbon storage in the deep ocean and warms the ocean as a whole.

Changes in ocean circulation and carbon storage are decoupled from air-sea CO2 fluxes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Gnanadesikan

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The spatial distribution of the air-sea flux of carbon dioxide is a poor indicator of the underlying ocean circulation and of ocean carbon storage. The weak dependence on circulation arises because mixing-driven changes in solubility-driven and biologically-driven air-sea fluxes largely cancel out. This cancellation occurs because mixing driven increases in the poleward residual mean circulation result in more transport of both remineralized nutrients and heat from low to high latitudes. By contrast, increasing vertical mixing decreases the storage associated with both the biological and solubility pumps, as it decreases remineralized carbon storage in the deep ocean and warms the ocean as a whole.

Impact of Transpacific Aerosol on Air Quality over the United States: A Perspective from Aerosol-Cloud-Radiation Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Zhining; Yu, Hongbin; Chin, Mian

2015-01-01

Observations have well established that aerosols from various sources in Asia, Europe, and Africa can travel across the Pacific and reach the contiguous United States (U.S.) at least on episodic bases throughout a year, with a maximum import in spring. The imported aerosol not only can serve as an additional source to regional air pollution (e.g., direct input), but also can influence regional air quality through the aerosol-cloud-radiation (ACR) interactions that change local and regional meteorology. This study assessed impacts of the transpacific aerosol on air quality, focusing on surface ozone and PM2.5, over the U.S. using the NASA Unified Weather Research Forecast model. Based on the results of 3- month (April to June of 2010) simulations, the impact of direct input (as an additional source) of transpacific aerosol caused an increase of surface PM2.5 concentration by approximately 1.5 micro-g/cu m over the west coast and about 0.5 micro-g/cu m over the east coast of the U.S. By influencing key meteorological processes through the ACR interactions, the transpacific aerosol exerted a significant effect on both surface PM2.5 (+/-6 micro-g/cu m3) and ozone (+/-12 ppbv) over the central and eastern U.S. This suggests that the transpacific transport of aerosol could either improve or deteriorate local air quality and complicate local effort toward the compliance with the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

Diurnal circulations and their multi-scale interaction leading to rainfall over the South China Sea upstream of the Philippines during intraseasonal monsoon westerly wind bursts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Myung-Sook; Elsberry, Russell L. [Naval Postgraduate School, Department of Meteorology, Monterey, CA (United States); Ho, Chang-Hoi [Seoul National University, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jinwon [University of California in Los Angeles, Department of Meteorology, Berkeley, CA (United States)

2011-10-15

The morning diurnal precipitation maximum over the coastal sea upstream of the Philippines during intraseasonal westerly wind bursts is examined from observations and numerical model simulations. A well-defined case of precipitation and large-scale circulation over the coastal sea west of the Philippines during 17-27 June 2004 is selected as a representative case. The hypothesis is that the mesoscale diurnal circulation over the Philippines and a large-scale diurnal circulation that is induced by large-scale differential heating over Asian continent and the surrounding ocean interact to produce the offshore precipitation maximum during the morning. Three-hourly combined satellite microwave and infrared rainfall retrievals define the morning rainfall peak during this period, and then later the stratiform rain area extends toward the open sea. A control numerical simulation in which a grid-nudging four-dimensional data assimilation (FDDA) is applied to force the large-scale diurnal circulation represents reasonably well the morning rainfall maximum. An enhanced low-level convergence similar to observations is simulated due to the interaction of the local- and large-scale diurnal circulations. The essential role of the local-scale diurnal circulation is illustrated in a sensitivity test in which the solar zenith angle is fixed at 7 am to suppress this diurnal circulation. The implication for climate diagnosis or modeling of such upstream coastal sea precipitation maxima is that the diurnal variations of both the local- and the large-scale circulations must be taken into consideration. (orig.)

Chromatographic determination of the rate and extent of absorption of air pollutants by sea water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nikolakaki, S.; Vassilakos, C.; Katsanos, N.A.

1994-01-01

A simple chromatographic method is developed to determine the rate constant for expulsion of an air pollutant from water or its diffusion parameter in the liquid, the rate constant for chemical reaction of the pollutant with water, its mass transfer coefficient in the liquid, and the partition coefficient between liquid water and air. From these physicochemical parameters, the absorption rate by sea water and, therefore, the depletion rate of a polluting substance from the air can be calculated, together with the equilibrium state of this absorption. The method has been applied to nitrogen dioxide being absorbed by triple-distilled water and by sea water, at various temperatures. From the temperature variation of the reaction rate constant and of the partition coefficient, the activation energy for the reaction and the differential heat of solution were determined. (orig.)

An Improved Local Gradient Method for Sea Surface Wind Direction Retrieval from SAR Imagery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lizhang Zhou

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Sea surface wind affects the fluxes of energy, mass and momentum between the atmosphere and ocean, and therefore regional and global weather and climate. With various satellite microwave sensors, sea surface wind can be measured with large spatial coverage in almost all-weather conditions, day or night. Like any other remote sensing measurements, sea surface wind measurement is also indirect. Therefore, it is important to develop appropriate wind speed and direction retrieval models for different types of microwave instruments. In this paper, a new sea surface wind direction retrieval method from synthetic aperture radar (SAR imagery is developed. In the method, local gradients are computed in frequency domain by combining the operation of smoothing and computing local gradients in one step to simplify the process and avoid the difference approximation. This improved local gradients (ILG method is compared with the traditional two-dimensional fast Fourier transform (2D FFT method and local gradients (LG method, using interpolating wind directions from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF reanalysis data and the Cross-Calibrated Multi-Platform (CCMP wind vector product. The sensitivities to the salt-and-pepper noise, the additive noise and the multiplicative noise are analyzed. The ILG method shows a better performance of retrieval wind directions than the other two methods.

Non-linear interactions determine the impact of sea-level rise on estuarine benthic biodiversity and ecosystem processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamanaka, Tsuyuko; Raffaelli, David; White, Piran C L

2013-01-01

Sea-level rise induced by climate change may have significant impacts on the ecosystem functions and ecosystem services provided by intertidal sediment ecosystems. Accelerated sea-level rise is expected to lead to steeper beach slopes, coarser particle sizes and increased wave exposure, with consequent impacts on intertidal ecosystems. We examined the relationships between abundance, biomass, and community metabolism of benthic fauna with beach slope, particle size and exposure, using samples across a range of conditions from three different locations in the UK, to determine the significance of sediment particle size beach slope and wave exposure in affecting benthic fauna and ecosystem function in different ecological contexts. Our results show that abundance, biomass and oxygen consumption of intertidal macrofauna and meiofauna are affected significantly by interactions among sediment particle size, beach slope and wave exposure. For macrofauna on less sloping beaches, the effect of these physical constraints is mediated by the local context, although for meiofauna and for macrofauna on intermediate and steeper beaches, the effects of physical constraints dominate. Steeper beach slopes, coarser particle sizes and increased wave exposure generally result in decreases in abundance, biomass and oxygen consumption, but these relationships are complex and non-linear. Sea-level rise is likely to lead to changes in ecosystem structure with generally negative impacts on ecosystem functions and ecosystem services. However, the impacts of sea-level rise will also be affected by local ecological context, especially for less sloping beaches.

Atmosphere-surface interactions over polar oceans and heterogeneous surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vihma, T.

1995-12-31

Processes of interaction between the atmospheric boundary layer and the planetary surface have been studied with special emphasis on polar ocean surfaces: the open ocean, leads, polynyas and sea ice. The local exchange of momentum, heat and moisture has been studied experimentally both in the Weddell Sea and in the Greenland Sea. Exchange processes over heterogeneous surfaces are addressed by modelling studies. Over a homogeneous surface, the local turbulent fluxes can be reasonably well estimated using an iterative flux-profile scheme based on the Monin-Obukhov similarity theory. In the Greenland Sea, the near-surface air temperature and the generally small turbulent fluxes over the open ocean were affected by the sea surface temperature fronts. Over the sea ice cover in the Weddell Sea, the turbulent sensible heat flux was generally downwards, and together with an upward oceanic heat flux through the ice it compensated the heat loss from the surface via long-wave radiation. The wind dominated on time scales of days, while the current became important on longer time scales. The drift dynamics showed apparent spatial differences between the eastern and western regions, as well as between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the rest of the Weddell Sea. Inertial motion was present in regions of low ice concentration. The surface heterogeneity, arising e.g. from roughness or temperature distribution, poses a problem for the parameterization of surface exchange processes in large-scale models. In the case of neutral flow over a heterogeneous terrain, an effective roughness length can be used to parameterize the roughness effects

Atmosphere-surface interactions over polar oceans and heterogeneous surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vihma, T

1996-12-31

Processes of interaction between the atmospheric boundary layer and the planetary surface have been studied with special emphasis on polar ocean surfaces: the open ocean, leads, polynyas and sea ice. The local exchange of momentum, heat and moisture has been studied experimentally both in the Weddell Sea and in the Greenland Sea. Exchange processes over heterogeneous surfaces are addressed by modelling studies. Over a homogeneous surface, the local turbulent fluxes can be reasonably well estimated using an iterative flux-profile scheme based on the Monin-Obukhov similarity theory. In the Greenland Sea, the near-surface air temperature and the generally small turbulent fluxes over the open ocean were affected by the sea surface temperature fronts. Over the sea ice cover in the Weddell Sea, the turbulent sensible heat flux was generally downwards, and together with an upward oceanic heat flux through the ice it compensated the heat loss from the surface via long-wave radiation. The wind dominated on time scales of days, while the current became important on longer time scales. The drift dynamics showed apparent spatial differences between the eastern and western regions, as well as between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the rest of the Weddell Sea. Inertial motion was present in regions of low ice concentration. The surface heterogeneity, arising e.g. from roughness or temperature distribution, poses a problem for the parameterization of surface exchange processes in large-scale models. In the case of neutral flow over a heterogeneous terrain, an effective roughness length can be used to parameterize the roughness effects

Characteristics of low-frequency oscillation intensity of air-sea turbulent heat fluxes over the northwest Pacific

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LI Gen; REN BaoHua; ZHENG JianOiu; WANG Jun

2009-01-01

Based on the daily turbulent heat fluxes and related meteorological variables dataeets (1985-2006) from Objectively Analyzed air-sea Fluxes (OAFlux) Project of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), characteristics of low-frequency oscillation intensity of air-sea turbulent heat fluxes over the northwest Pacific are analyzed by linear perturbation method and correlation analysis. It can be concluded that: 1) the distribution of low-frequency oscillation intensity of latent heat flux (LHF) over the northwest Pacific is mainly affected by that of low-frequency oscillation intensity of anomalous air-eea humidity gradient (△q') as well as mean air-eea humidity gradient (△q), while the distribution of low-frequency oscillation Intensity of sensible heat flux (SHF) is mainly affected by that of low-frequency oscillation intensity of anomalous air-sea temperature gradient (△T'). 2) The low-frequency oscillation of turbulent heat fluxes over the northwest Pacific is the strongest in winter and the weakest in summer. And the seasonal transition of low-frequency oscillation intensity of LHF is jointly influenced by those of low-frequency oscillation intensity of △q', low-frequency oscillation intensity of anomalous wind speed (U'), △q and mean wind speed (U), while the seasonal transition of low-frequency oscillation intensity of SHF is mainly influenced by those of low-frequency oscillation Intensity of △T' and U. 3) Over the tropical west Pacific and sea areas north of 20ON, the low-frequency oscillation of LHF (SHF) is mainly influenced by atmospheric variables qa' (Ta') and U', indicating an oceanic response to overlying atmospheric forcing. In contrast, over the tropical eastern and central Pacific south of 20°N, qs' (Ts') also greatly influences the low-frequency oscillation of LHF (SHF).

Coastal zone: Shelf-EEZ and land sea interface

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Desai, B.N.; Parulekar, A

Among the few vibrant ecotopes is the coastal zone, where multifaceted interactions among air, sea and land are dynamically balanced. An area of intense clash of interest of user community, the coastal zone harbouring vast potential of renewable...

Tidal marsh susceptibility to sea-level rise: importance of local-scale models

Science.gov (United States)

Thorne, Karen M.; Buffington, Kevin J.; Elliott-Fisk, Deborah L.; Takekawa, John Y.

2015-01-01

Increasing concern over sea-level rise impacts to coastal tidal marsh ecosystems has led to modeling efforts to anticipate outcomes for resource management decision making. Few studies on the Pacific coast of North America have modeled sea-level rise marsh susceptibility at a scale relevant to local wildlife populations and plant communities. Here, we use a novel approach in developing an empirical sea-level rise ecological response model that can be applied to key management questions. Calculated elevation change over 13 y for a 324-ha portion of San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge, California, USA, was used to represent local accretion and subsidence processes. Next, we coupled detailed plant community and elevation surveys with measured rates of inundation frequency to model marsh state changes to 2100. By grouping plant communities into low, mid, and high marsh habitats, we were able to assess wildlife species vulnerability and to better understand outcomes for habitat resiliency. Starting study-site conditions were comprised of 78% (253-ha) high marsh, 7% (30-ha) mid marsh, and 4% (18-ha) low marsh habitats, dominated by pickleweed Sarcocornia pacifica and cordgrass Spartina spp. Only under the low sea-level rise scenario (44 cm by 2100) did our models show persistence of some marsh habitats to 2100, with the area dominated by low marsh habitats. Under mid (93 cm by 2100) and high sea-level rise scenarios (166 cm by 2100), most mid and high marsh habitat was lost by 2070, with only 15% (65 ha) remaining, and a complete loss of these habitats by 2080. Low marsh habitat increased temporarily under all three sea-level rise scenarios, with the peak (286 ha) in 2070, adding habitat for the endemic endangered California Ridgway’s rail Rallus obsoletus obsoletus. Under mid and high sea-level rise scenarios, an almost complete conversion to mudflat occurred, with most of the area below mean sea level. Our modeling assumed no marsh migration upslope due to human

KERENTANAN KAWASAN TEPI AIR TERHADAP KENAIKAN PERMUKAAN AIR LAUT Kasus Kawasan Tepi Air Kota Surabaya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iwan Suprijanto

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Even though global warming are still debates whether it will or not be happened, the changes on climate will influence activities of human. Regarding global warming issue, one of the impact that is very interesting to be investigated is sea level rise. Sea level rise is predicted has very big impact since, in general, in coastal areas locate a lot of important activities for such city or country. On the context of Indonesian locality, most of big cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Semarang, Makasar, etc. are located on the coastal area. Since a lot of important activities located on those cities, in general, sea level rise will influence the development processes of those cities. On the basis of the observation gathering in Surabaya City, the impact of sea level rise will influence not only the development of coastal area but also development of Surabaya City in general. The influence is because the area accommodates activities which are very important in city development both for present and future. The activities are port, industrial estate and location for new housing. Abstract in Bahasa Indonesia : Terlepas dari ketidakpastian mengenai terjadi atau tidaknya pemanasan global, setiap perubahan iklim di bumi akan memberikan dampak terhadap kelangsungan hidup manusia. Salah satu kajian yang saat ini banyak dilakukan berkaitan dengan isu pemanasan global adalah mengenai kenaikan permukaan air laut. Pengkajian mengenai kenaikan permukaan air laut tersebut penting mengingat dampak yang akan ditimbulkannya dan dengan kenyataan secara umum kawasan tepi air memegang peranan penting dalam perkembangan suatu kota ataupun negara. Hal ditandai dengan banyaknya aktivitas yang berlokasi di kawasan tepi air. Kondisi geografis Indonesia dengan duapertiga bagian wilayahnya adalah perairan, menjadikan Indonesia memiliki garis pantai terpanjang di dunia. Hal tersebut menjadikan pula beberapa bagian wilayah di Indonesia merupakan kawasan pesisir atau tepi air

Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions Modulate Irrigation's Climate Impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Krakauer, Nir Y.; Puma, Michael J.; Cook, Benjamin I.; Gentine, Pierre; Nazarenko, Larissa

2016-01-01

Numerous studies have focused on the local and regional climate effects of irrigated agriculture and other land cover and land use change (LCLUC) phenomena, but there are few studies on the role of ocean- atmosphere interaction in modulating irrigation climate impacts. Here, we compare simulations with and without interactive sea surface temperatures of the equilibrium effect on climate of contemporary (year 2000) irrigation geographic extent and intensity. We find that ocean-atmosphere interaction does impact the magnitude of global-mean and spatially varying climate impacts, greatly increasing their global reach. Local climate effects in the irrigated regions remain broadly similar, while non-local effects, particularly over the oceans, tend to be larger. The interaction amplifies irrigation-driven standing wave patterns in the tropics and mid-latitudes in our simulations, approximately doubling the global-mean amplitude of surface temperature changes due to irrigation. The fractions of global area experiencing significant annual-mean surface air temperature and precipitation change also approximately double with ocean-atmosphere interaction. Subject to confirmation with other models, these findings imply that LCLUC is an important contributor to climate change even in remote areas such as the Southern Ocean, and that attribution studies should include interactive oceans and need to consider LCLUC, including irrigation, as a truly global forcing that affects climate and the water cycle over ocean as well as land areas.

Impacts of altimeter corrections on local linear sea level trends around Taiwan

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cheng, Yongcun; Andersen, Ole Baltazar

2013-01-01

.e. the inverted barometer correction, wet tropospheric correction, and sea state bias correction, have significant impacts on the determination of local LSLT. The trend of default corrections contribute more than 1.4 mm year-1 along the coastline of China mainland and 2.1 mm year-1 to local LSLT in the Taiwan...

TropFlux: air-sea fluxes for the global tropical oceans-description and evaluation

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

PraveenKumar, B.; Vialard, J.; Lengaigne, M.; Murty, V.S.N.; McPhaden, M.J.

This paper evaluates several timely, daily air-sea heat flux products (NCEP, NCEP2, ERA-Interim and OAFlux/ISCCP) against observations and present the newly developed TropFlux product. This new product uses bias-corrected ERA-interim and ISCCP data...

Setting realistic recovery targets for two interacting endangered species, sea otter and northern abalone.

Science.gov (United States)

Chadès, Iadine; Curtis, Janelle M R; Martin, Tara G

2012-12-01

Failure to account for interactions between endangered species may lead to unexpected population dynamics, inefficient management strategies, waste of scarce resources, and, at worst, increased extinction risk. The importance of species interactions is undisputed, yet recovery targets generally do not account for such interactions. This shortcoming is a consequence of species-centered legislation, but also of uncertainty surrounding the dynamics of species interactions and the complexity of modeling such interactions. The northern sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) and one of its preferred prey, northern abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana), are endangered species for which recovery strategies have been developed without consideration of their strong predator-prey interactions. Using simulation-based optimization procedures from artificial intelligence, namely reinforcement learning and stochastic dynamic programming, we combined sea otter and northern abalone population models with functional-response models and examined how different management actions affect population dynamics and the likelihood of achieving recovery targets for each species through time. Recovery targets for these interacting species were difficult to achieve simultaneously in the absence of management. Although sea otters were predicted to recover, achieving abalone recovery targets failed even when threats to abalone such as predation and poaching were reduced. A management strategy entailing a 50% reduction in the poaching of northern abalone was a minimum requirement to reach short-term recovery goals for northern abalone when sea otters were present. Removing sea otters had a marginally positive effect on the abalone population but only when we assumed a functional response with strong predation pressure. Our optimization method could be applied more generally to any interacting threatened or invasive species for which there are multiple conservation objectives. © 2012 Society for

Natural and human land-sea interactions: Burgas Case Study, Bulgaria

Science.gov (United States)

Stancheva, Margarita; Stanchev, Hristo; Palazov, Atanas; Krastev, Anton

2017-04-01

The Directive 2014/89/ of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 establishing a framework for maritime spatial planning sets the land-sea interactions as one of the minimum requirements for Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP). Coastal areas are interconnected with the sea in both human use and natural values and many human activities on marine areas are functionally linked to the coast and vice versa. This research was elaborated in the frame of MARSPLAN-BS Project (DG MARE EU Commission) focused on a case study of land-sea interactions in Burgas Bay, south Bulgarian coast. The main goal of the project is to support the implementation of MSP for Black Sea. Burgas is one of the most important ports at the Black Sea with significant infrastructure for supporting the economic activities and it is the largest Bulgarian Black Sea harbour. Burgas has a modern international airport, which handles most of the tourist flow during the peak summer season. The city is a center of culture, science and art of national importance and is distinguished with rapid developments over the recent years. In the surroundings of the study area there are valuable natural protected areas (Natura 2000) and wetlands, important Ramsar sites, such as: lakes of Atanasovsko, Burgas and Mandra. These lakes, together with the Pomorie Lake (adjacent in north direction) form the largest wetland in the country with exceptional conservation value of international and national importance. The intensity of both coastal and maritime activities in the study area have been constantly increased and new activities have been initiated or planned over the recent years, that area is often in conflict with other activities or the objectives of environmental protection. In this context, the necessity of performing such an investigation at the area of Burgas comes up as a current challenge for sustainable economic development and protection of all wetlands and effective use of natural resources

Global sea-to-air flux climatology for bromoform, dibromomethane and methyl iodide

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Ziska

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Volatile halogenated organic compounds containing bromine and iodine, which are naturally produced in the ocean, are involved in ozone depletion in both the troposphere and stratosphere. Three prominent compounds transporting large amounts of marine halogens into the atmosphere are bromoform (CHBr3, dibromomethane (CH2Br2 and methyl iodide (CH3I. The input of marine halogens to the stratosphere has been estimated from observations and modelling studies using low-resolution oceanic emission scenarios derived from top-down approaches. In order to improve emission inventory estimates, we calculate data-based high resolution global sea-to-air flux estimates of these compounds from surface observations within the HalOcAt (Halocarbons in the Ocean and Atmosphere database (https://halocat.geomar.de/. Global maps of marine and atmospheric surface concentrations are derived from the data which are divided into coastal, shelf and open ocean regions. Considering physical and biogeochemical characteristics of ocean and atmosphere, the open ocean water and atmosphere data are classified into 21 regions. The available data are interpolated onto a 1°×1° grid while missing grid values are interpolated with latitudinal and longitudinal dependent regression techniques reflecting the compounds' distributions. With the generated surface concentration climatologies for the ocean and atmosphere, global sea-to-air concentration gradients and sea-to-air fluxes are calculated. Based on these calculations we estimate a total global flux of 1.5/2.5 Gmol Br yr−1 for CHBr3, 0.78/0.98 Gmol Br yr−1 for CH2Br2 and 1.24/1.45 Gmol Br yr−1 for CH3I (robust fit/ordinary least squares regression techniques. Contrary to recent studies, negative fluxes occur in each sea-to-air flux climatology, mainly in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. "Hot spots" for global polybromomethane emissions are located in the equatorial region, whereas methyl iodide emissions are enhanced in the

Mesoscale energetics and flows induced by sea-land and mountain-valley contrasts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Federico

2000-02-01

Full Text Available We study the relative importance of sea-land and mountain-valley thermal contrasts in determining the development of thermally forced mesoscale circulations (TFMCs over a mountainous peninsula. We first analyse the energetics of the problem, and using this theory, we interprete the numerical simulations over Calabria, a mountainous peninsula in southern Italy. The CSU 3-D nonlinear numerical model is utilised to simulate the dynamics and the thermodynamics of the atmospheric fields over Calabria. Results show the importance of orography in determining the pattern of the flow and the local climate in a region as complex as Calabria. Analysis of the results shows that the energetics due to the sea-land interactions are more efficient when the peninsula is flat. The importance of the energy due to the sea-land decreases as the mountain height of the peninsula increases. The energy stored over the mountain gains in importance, untill it is released by the readjustment of the warm mountain air as it prevails over the energy released by the inland penetration of the sea breeze front. For instance, our results show that over a peninsula 100 km wide the energy over the mountain and the energy in the sea-land contrast are of the same order when the height of the mountain is about 700 m, for a 1500 m convective boundary layer (CBL depth. Over the Calabrian peninsula, the energy released by the hot air in the CBL of the mountain prevails over the energy released by the inland penetration of the sea air. Calabria is about 1500 m high and about 50 km wide, and the CBL is of the order of 1500 m. The energy over the mountain is about four time larger than the energy contained in the sea-land contrast. Furthermore, the energetics increase with the patch width of the peninsula, and when its half width is much less than the Rossby radius, the MAPE of the sea breeze is negligible. When its half width is much larger than the Rossby radius, the breezes from the two

Internal Guidelines for interactions with communities and local governments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-11-01

These Guidelines provide principles for interactions with local populations. Interaction with communities and local govenments are the responsibility of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Wastes Management program's implementing offices. The Guidelines provide policy direction to these implementing offices, while preserving their ability to tailor local interactions to fit a given situation, taking into account the social and political context and the history of local involvement in the program. Project Offices conduct community and local interactions within overall program resources which must be husbanded prudently. Careful planning by implementing offices should ensure that adequate resources are available to foster effective interactions with local representatives

Air--sea gaseous exchange of PCB at the Venice lagoon (Italy).

Science.gov (United States)

Manodori, L; Gambaro, A; Moret, I; Capodaglio, G; Cescon, P

2007-10-01

Water bodies are important storage media for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and this function is increased in coastal regions because their inputs are higher than those to the open sea. The air-water interface is extensively involved with the global cycling of PCBs because it is the place where they accumulate due to depositional processes and where they may be emitted by gaseous exchange. In this work the parallel collection of air, microlayer and sub-superficial water samples was performed in July 2005 at a site in the Venice lagoon to evaluate the summer gaseous flux of PCBs. The total concentration of PCBs (sum of 118 congeners) in air varies from 87 to 273 pg m(-3), whereas in the operationally defined dissolved phase of microlayer and sub-superficial water samples it varies from 159 to 391 pg L(-1). No significant enrichment of dissolved PCB into the microlayer has been observed, although a preferential accumulation of most hydrophobic congeners occurs. Due to this behaviour, we believe that the modified two-layer model was the most suitable approach for the evaluation of the flux at the air-sea interface, because it takes into account the influence of the microlayer. From its application it appears that PCB volatilize from the lagoon waters with a net flux varying from 58 to 195 ng m(-2)d(-1) (uncertainty: +/-50-64%) due to the strong influence of wind speed. This flux is greater than those reported in the literature for the atmospheric deposition and rivers input and reveals that PCB are actively emitted from the Venice lagoon in summer months.

Sea Ice, Climate and Fram Strait

Science.gov (United States)

Hunkins, K.

1984-01-01

When sea ice is formed the albedo of the ocean surface increases from its open water value of about 0.1 to a value as high as 0.8. This albedo change effects the radiation balance and thus has the potential to alter climate. Sea ice also partially seals off the ocean from the atmosphere, reducing the exchange of gases such as carbon dioxide. This is another possible mechanism by which climate might be affected. The Marginal Ice Zone Experiment (MIZEX 83 to 84) is an international, multidisciplinary study of processes controlling the edge of the ice pack in that area including the interactions between sea, air and ice.

Abundance and Summer Distribution of a Local Stock of Black Sea Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops truncatus (Cetacea, Delphinidae, in Coastal Waters near Sudak (Ukraine, Crimea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gladilina E. V.

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The first assessment of abundance of a local population of bottlenose dolphins in the Black Sea (near the Sudak coast in 2011–2012 has been conducted: the results of a mark-recapture study of photo identified animals were complemented by a vessel line transect survey. The overall abundance of a population was estimated at between 621 ± 198 and 715 ± 267 animals (Chapman and Petersen estimates, and the majority of members of the population were recorded in the surveyed area. The summer range covered the area of a few hundred square kilometers, similar to migrating coastal stocks in other world regions. The greatest density of distribution was observed in August in sea 45–60 m deep; in addition, frequent approaches to the coastline are usual for dolphins of this stock. These trends in distribution may be partly explained by distribution of prey. Interaction with sprat trawling fisheries can be a factor shaping the local population structure. Coastal waters of Sudak and adjoining sea areas are an important habitat for bottlenose dolphins in the northern Black Sea, significant for their conservation.

Remote ENSO forcing versus local air-sea interaction in QTCM: a sensitivity study to intraseasonal variability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Gushchina

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The skill of a newly designed global atmospheric model of intermediate complexity - QTCM (for quasi-equilibrium tropical circulation model in simulating the teleconnections is investigated. The role of the ENSO remote forcing over the Pacific surrounding regions is emphasized from sensitivity experiments to critical parameters of the model. The role of the tropical intraseasonal variability (ITV on the simulated ENSO teleconnection pattern is estimated using the methodology proposed by Lin et al. (2000 allowing to damp the energy of ITV in the model. The reduction of intraseasonal variability allows emphasizing the forced response of the atmosphere and eases the detection of local coupled atmosphere-ocean patterns. It was shown that the simulated ITV has an impact on the ENSO teleconnection pattern both in the mid-latitudes and in regions of ascending and descending branches of Walker circulation cells in the tropics.

Simulation of air-heated evaporators using a method of local analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parise, J.A.R.; Cartwright, W.G.

1983-01-01

The development and application of an analytical method for the performance prediction of air-heated evaporators are presented. A local analysis is employed in which the evaporator is considered as a three dimensional matrix of elementary heat transfer modules. For each element, local film coefficients for both air and the evaporating fluid are determined appropriate to the local conditions, including the two-phase flow regime. An application of the method is considered. (Author) [pt

Sensitivity of local air quality to the interplay between small- and large-scale circulations: a large-eddy simulation study

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf-Grosse, Tobias; Esau, Igor; Reuder, Joachim

2017-06-01

Street-level urban air pollution is a challenging concern for modern urban societies. Pollution dispersion models assume that the concentrations decrease monotonically with raising wind speed. This convenient assumption breaks down when applied to flows with local recirculations such as those found in topographically complex coastal areas. This study looks at a practically important and sufficiently common case of air pollution in a coastal valley city. Here, the observed concentrations are determined by the interaction between large-scale topographically forced and local-scale breeze-like recirculations. Analysis of a long observational dataset in Bergen, Norway, revealed that the most extreme cases of recurring wintertime air pollution episodes were accompanied by increased large-scale wind speeds above the valley. Contrary to the theoretical assumption and intuitive expectations, the maximum NO2 concentrations were not found for the lowest 10 m ERA-Interim wind speeds but in situations with wind speeds of 3 m s-1. To explain this phenomenon, we investigated empirical relationships between the large-scale forcing and the local wind and air quality parameters. We conducted 16 large-eddy simulation (LES) experiments with the Parallelised Large-Eddy Simulation Model (PALM) for atmospheric and oceanic flows. The LES accounted for the realistic relief and coastal configuration as well as for the large-scale forcing and local surface condition heterogeneity in Bergen. They revealed that emerging local breeze-like circulations strongly enhance the urban ventilation and dispersion of the air pollutants in situations with weak large-scale winds. Slightly stronger large-scale winds, however, can counteract these local recirculations, leading to enhanced surface air stagnation. Furthermore, this study looks at the concrete impact of the relative configuration of warmer water bodies in the city and the major transport corridor. We found that a relatively small local water

Sensitivity of local air quality to the interplay between small- and large-scale circulations: a large-eddy simulation study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Wolf-Grosse

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Street-level urban air pollution is a challenging concern for modern urban societies. Pollution dispersion models assume that the concentrations decrease monotonically with raising wind speed. This convenient assumption breaks down when applied to flows with local recirculations such as those found in topographically complex coastal areas. This study looks at a practically important and sufficiently common case of air pollution in a coastal valley city. Here, the observed concentrations are determined by the interaction between large-scale topographically forced and local-scale breeze-like recirculations. Analysis of a long observational dataset in Bergen, Norway, revealed that the most extreme cases of recurring wintertime air pollution episodes were accompanied by increased large-scale wind speeds above the valley. Contrary to the theoretical assumption and intuitive expectations, the maximum NO2 concentrations were not found for the lowest 10 m ERA-Interim wind speeds but in situations with wind speeds of 3 m s−1. To explain this phenomenon, we investigated empirical relationships between the large-scale forcing and the local wind and air quality parameters. We conducted 16 large-eddy simulation (LES experiments with the Parallelised Large-Eddy Simulation Model (PALM for atmospheric and oceanic flows. The LES accounted for the realistic relief and coastal configuration as well as for the large-scale forcing and local surface condition heterogeneity in Bergen. They revealed that emerging local breeze-like circulations strongly enhance the urban ventilation and dispersion of the air pollutants in situations with weak large-scale winds. Slightly stronger large-scale winds, however, can counteract these local recirculations, leading to enhanced surface air stagnation. Furthermore, this study looks at the concrete impact of the relative configuration of warmer water bodies in the city and the major transport corridor. We found that a

Plutonium and americium in air on the coasts of the Irish Sea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Playford, K.

1991-01-01

Measurements of artificial radionuclides in air, deposition and seawater were carried out at coastal and inland locations in Cumbria, south-west Scotland, Northern Ireland and North Wales. The measurements were undertaken to determine the distribution of artificial radionuclides in the coastal environment attributable to discharges from Sellafield and to investigate the mechanisms responsible for the increased radionuclide concentration in the marine aerosol and their subsequent transfer to land. A number of different sampling methods were used and the contribution each method could make to the understanding of the marine aerosol was assessed. Measurements of the size distribution of the marine aerosol was also undertaken. The measurements demonstrated that the actinide concentrations measured in the air and deposition at coastal locations could be related to near shore sea water concentrations, but that no direct proportionality existed. It was also determined that a significant proportion of the material transferred from sea to land was associated with larger particulate present in the marine aerosol during conditions of above average onshore winds. (author)

On the Influence of Air Mass Origin on Low-Cloud Properties in the Southeast Atlantic

Science.gov (United States)

Fuchs, Julia; Cermak, Jan; Andersen, Hendrik; Hollmann, Rainer; Schwarz, Katharina

2017-10-01

This study investigates the impact of air mass origin and dynamics on cloud property changes in the Southeast Atlantic (SEA) during the biomass burning season. The understanding of clouds and their determinants at different scales is important for constraining the Earth's radiative budget and thus prominent in climate system research. In this study, the thermodynamically stable SEA stratocumulus cover is observed not only as the result of local environmental conditions but also as connected to large-scale meteorology by the often neglected but important role of spatial origins of air masses entering this region. In order to assess to what extent cloud properties are impacted by aerosol concentration, air mass history, and meteorology, a Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory cluster analysis is conducted linking satellite observations of cloud properties (Spinning-Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager), information on aerosol species (Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate), and meteorological context (ERA-Interim reanalysis) to air mass clusters. It is found that a characteristic pattern of air mass origins connected to distinct synoptical conditions leads to marked cloud property changes in the southern part of the study area. Long-distance air masses are related to midlatitude weather disturbances that affect the cloud microphysics, especially in the southwestern subdomain of the study area. Changes in cloud effective radius are consistent with a boundary layer deepening and changes in lower tropospheric stability (LTS). In the southeastern subdomain cloud cover is controlled by a generally higher LTS, while air mass origin plays a minor role. This study leads to a better understanding of the dynamical drivers behind observed stratocumulus cloud properties in the SEA and frames potentially interesting conditions for aerosol-cloud interactions.

Updating sea spray aerosol emissions in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model version 5.0.2

Science.gov (United States)

Gantt, B.; Kelly, J. T.; Bash, J. O.

2015-11-01

Sea spray aerosols (SSAs) impact the particle mass concentration and gas-particle partitioning in coastal environments, with implications for human and ecosystem health. Model evaluations of SSA emissions have mainly focused on the global scale, but regional-scale evaluations are also important due to the localized impact of SSAs on atmospheric chemistry near the coast. In this study, SSA emissions in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model were updated to enhance the fine-mode size distribution, include sea surface temperature (SST) dependency, and reduce surf-enhanced emissions. Predictions from the updated CMAQ model and those of the previous release version, CMAQv5.0.2, were evaluated using several coastal and national observational data sets in the continental US. The updated emissions generally reduced model underestimates of sodium, chloride, and nitrate surface concentrations for coastal sites in the Bay Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (BRACE) near Tampa, Florida. Including SST dependency to the SSA emission parameterization led to increased sodium concentrations in the southeastern US and decreased concentrations along parts of the Pacific coast and northeastern US. The influence of sodium on the gas-particle partitioning of nitrate resulted in higher nitrate particle concentrations in many coastal urban areas due to increased condensation of nitric acid in the updated simulations, potentially affecting the predicted nitrogen deposition in sensitive ecosystems. Application of the updated SSA emissions to the California Research at the Nexus of Air Quality and Climate Change (CalNex) study period resulted in a modest improvement in the predicted surface concentration of sodium and nitrate at several central and southern California coastal sites. This update of SSA emissions enabled a more realistic simulation of the atmospheric chemistry in coastal environments where marine air mixes with urban pollution.

Improving local air quality in cities: To tree or not to tree?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vos, Peter E.J.; Maiheu, Bino; Vankerkom, Jean; Janssen, Stijn

2013-01-01

Vegetation is often quoted as an effective measure to mitigate urban air quality problems. In this work we demonstrate by the use of computer models that the air quality effect of urban vegetation is more complex than implied by such general assumptions. By modelling a variety of real-life examples we show that roadside urban vegetation rather leads to increased pollutant concentrations than it improves the air quality, at least locally. This can be explained by the fact that trees and other types of vegetation reduce the ventilation that is responsible for diluting the traffic emitted pollutants. This aerodynamic effect is shown to be much stronger than the pollutant removal capacity of vegetation. Although the modelling results may be subject to a certain level of uncertainty, our results strongly indicate that the use of urban vegetation for alleviating a local air pollution hotspot is not expected to be a viable solution. Highlights: ► We model the impact of roadside urban vegetation on the local air quality. ► Vegetation in general lowers the wind speed thereby reducing the ventilation. ► In general roadside urban vegetation does not appear to decrease concentrations. ► Roadside urban trees have a pronounced detrimental effect on the local air quality. ► City planners and policy makers need to be better informed about this topic. -- Rather than improving the local air quality, our results suggest that roadside urban vegetation increases the pollutant concentrations at the footpath

Elemental and organic carbon in aerosols over urbanized coastal region (southern Baltic Sea, Gdynia).

Science.gov (United States)

Lewandowska, Anita; Falkowska, Lucyna; Murawiec, Dominika; Pryputniewicz, Dorota; Burska, Dorota; Bełdowska, Magdalena

2010-09-15

Studies on PM 10, total particulate matter (TSP), elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) concentrations were carried out in the Polish coastal zone of the Baltic Sea, in urbanized Gdynia. The interaction between the land, the air and the sea was clearly observed. The highest concentrations of PM 10, TSP and both carbon fractions were noted in the air masses moving from southern and western Poland and Europe. The EC was generally of primary origin and its contribution to TSP and PM 10 mass was on average 2.3% and 3.7% respectively. Under low wind speed conditions local sources (traffic and industry) influenced increases in elemental carbon and PM 10 concentrations in Gdynia. Elemental carbon demonstrated a pronounced weekly cycle, yielding minimum values at the weekend and maximum values on Thursdays. The role of harbors and ship yards in creating high EC concentrations was clearly observed. Concentration of organic carbon was ten times higher than that of elemental carbon, and the average OC contribution to PM 10 mass was very high (31.6%). An inverse situation was observed when air masses were transported from over the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. These clean air masses were characterized by the lowest concentrations of all analysed compounds. Obtained results for organic and elemental carbon fluxes showed that atmospheric aerosols can be treated, along with water run-off, as a carbon source for the coastal waters of the Baltic Sea. The enrichment of surface water was more effective in the case of organic carbon (0.27+/-0.19 mmol m(-2) d(-1)). Elemental carbon fluxes were one order of magnitude smaller, on average 0.03+/-0.04 mmol m(-2) d(-1). We suggest that in some situations atmospheric carbon input can explain up to 18% of total carbon fluxes into the Baltic coastal waters. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Complex yet translucent: the optical properties of sea ice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perovich, Donald K.

2003-01-01

Sea ice is a naturally occurring material with an intricate and highly variable structure consisting of ice platelets, brine pockets, air bubbles, and precipitated salt crystals. The optical properties of sea ice are directly dependent on this ice structure. Because sea ice is a material that exists at its salinity determined freezing point, its structure and optical properties are significantly affected by small changes in temperature. Understanding the interaction of sunlight with sea ice is important to a diverse array of scientific problems, including those in polar climatology. A key optical parameter for climatological studies is the albedo, the fraction of the incident sunlight that is reflected. The albedo of sea ice is quite sensitive to surface conditions. The presence of a snow cover enhances the albedo, while surface meltwater reduces the albedo. Radiative transfer in sea ice is a combination of absorption and scattering. Differences in the magnitude of sea ice optical properties are ascribable primarily to differences in scattering, while spectral variations are mainly a result of absorption. Physical changes that enhance scattering, such as the formation of air bubbles due to brine drainage, result in more light reflection and less transmission

Interaction patterns of major air pollutants in Hong Kong territory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, W.Z.; Wang, X.K.

2004-01-01

Air pollution in a metropolitan city like Hong Kong is a major obstacle to improve air quality and living environment due to the high population density and the vehicle emission increases. The high air pollutant levels impose harm to the human health and impair the city image. The characteristic analysis of air pollutants is very important and necessary to pollutant monitoring, forecasting and controlling. In this study, the interaction patterns of principle air pollutants, e.g. nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), nitric oxide (NO), nitric oxides (NO x ) and ozone (O 3 ), a secondary pollutant, are investigated based on the measured database in four selected areas, which covers two urban types (i.e. residential area, mixed residential/commercial/industrial area) in Hong Kong, during the period of 1999-2001. The study involves analyzing the chemical and physical properties, the characteristics of air pollutants and the factors affecting such interactions using statistical method. The results reveal several routines in urban air pollutants' variations, interaction and trends from macro aspect

The Influence of Air-Sea Fluxes on Atmospheric Aerosols During the Summer Monsoon Over the Tropical Indian Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Zavarsky, Alex; Booge, Dennis; Fiehn, Alina; Krüger, Kirstin; Atlas, Elliot; Marandino, Christa

2018-01-01

During the summer monsoon, the western tropical Indian Ocean is predicted to be a hot spot for dimethylsulfide emissions, the major marine sulfur source to the atmosphere, and an important aerosol precursor. Other aerosol relevant fluxes, such as isoprene and sea spray, should also be enhanced, due to the steady strong winds during the monsoon. Marine air masses dominate the area during the summer monsoon, excluding the influence of continentally derived pollutants. During the SO234-2/235 cruise in the western tropical Indian Ocean from July to August 2014, directly measured eddy covariance DMS fluxes confirm that the area is a large source of sulfur to the atmosphere (cruise average 9.1 μmol m-2 d-1). The directly measured fluxes, as well as computed isoprene and sea spray fluxes, were combined with FLEXPART backward and forward trajectories to track the emissions in space and time. The fluxes show a significant positive correlation with aerosol data from the Terra and Suomi-NPP satellites, indicating a local influence of marine emissions on atmospheric aerosol numbers.

Interactions between particulate air pollution and temperature in air pollution mortality time series studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roberts, Steven

2004-01-01

In many community time series studies on the effect of particulate air pollution on mortality, particulate air pollution is modeled additively. In this study, we investigated the interaction between daily particulate air pollution and daily mean temperature in Cook County, Illinois and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, using data for the period 1987-1994. This was done through the use of joint particulate air pollution-temperature response surfaces and by stratifying the effect of particulate air pollution on mortality by temperature. Evidence that the effect of particulate air pollution on mortality may depend on temperature is found. However, the results were sensitive to the number of degrees of freedom used in the confounder adjustments, the particulate air pollution exposure measure, and how the effects of temperature on mortality are modeled. The results were less sensitive to the estimation method used--generalized linear models and natural cubic splines or generalized additive models and smoothing splines. The results of this study suggest that in community particulate air pollution mortality time series studies the possibility of an interaction between daily particulate air pollution and daily mean temperature should be considered

Lake destratification induced by local air injection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kranenburg, C.

1979-01-01

Mathematical and physical modelling makes possible quantitative predictions regarding the destratification process brought about by the local injection of air at the bottom of a thermally stratified lake or reservoir. The mathematical model developed distinguishes between a near field and a far

Distribution and air-sea exchange of mercury (Hg in the Yellow Sea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. J. Ci

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The Yellow Sea, surrounded by East China and the Korea Peninsula, is a potentially important receptor for anthropogenic mercury (Hg emissions from East Asia. However, there is little documentation about the distribution and cycle of Hg in this marine system. During the cruise covering the Yellow Sea in July 2010, gaseous elemental mercury (GEM or Hg(0 in the atmosphere, total Hg (THg, reactive Hg (RHg and dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM, largely Hg(0 in the waters were measured aboard the R/V Kexue III. The mean (±SD concentration of GEM over the entire cruise was 2.61 ± 0.50 ng m⁻³ (range: 1.68 to 4.34 ng m⁻³, which were generally higher than other open oceans. The spatial distribution of GEM generally reflected a clear gradient with high levels near the coast of East China and low levels in open waters, suggesting the significant atmospheric Hg outflow from East China. The mean concentration of THg in the surface waters was 1.69 ± 0.35 ng l⁻¹ and the RHg accounted for a considerable fraction of THg (RHg: 1.08 ± 0.28 ng l⁻¹, %RHg/THg = 63.9%. The mean concentration of DGM in the surface waters was 63.9 ± 13.7 pg l⁻¹ and always suggested the supersaturation of Hg(0 in the surface waters with respect to Hg(0 in the atmosphere (the degree of saturation: 7.8 ± 2.3 with a range of 3.6–14.0. The mean Hg(0 flux at the air-sea interface was estimated to be 18.3 ± 11.8 ng m⁻² h⁻¹ based on a two-layer exchange model. The high wind speed and DGM levels induced the extremely high Hg(0 emission rates. Measurements at three stations showed no clear vertical patterns of DGM, RHg and THg in the water column. Overall, the elevated Hg levels in the Yellow Sea compared with other open oceans suggested that the human activity has influenced the oceanic Hg cycle downwind of East Asia.

Oxygen in the Southern Ocean From Argo Floats: Determination of Processes Driving Air-Sea Fluxes

Science.gov (United States)

Bushinsky, Seth M.; Gray, Alison R.; Johnson, Kenneth S.; Sarmiento, Jorge L.

2017-11-01

The Southern Ocean is of outsized significance to the global oxygen and carbon cycles with relatively poor measurement coverage due to harsh winters and seasonal ice cover. In this study, we use recent advances in the parameterization of air-sea oxygen fluxes to analyze 9 years of oxygen data from a recalibrated Argo oxygen data set and from air-calibrated oxygen floats deployed as part of the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling (SOCCOM) project. From this combined data set of 150 floats, we find a total Southern Ocean oxygen sink of -183 ± 80 Tmol yr-1 (positive to the atmosphere), greater than prior estimates. The uptake occurs primarily in the Polar-Frontal Antarctic Zone (PAZ, -94 ± 30 Tmol O2 yr-1) and Seasonal Ice Zone (SIZ, -111 ± 9.3 Tmol O2 yr-1). This flux is driven by wintertime ventilation, with a large portion of the flux in the SIZ passing through regions with fractional sea ice. The Subtropical Zone (STZ) is seasonally driven by thermal fluxes and exhibits a net outgassing of 47 ± 29 Tmol O2 yr-1 that is likely driven by biological production. The Subantarctic Zone (SAZ) uptake is -25 ± 12 Tmol O2 yr-1. Total oxygen fluxes were separated into a thermal and nonthermal component. The nonthermal flux is correlated with net primary production and mixed layer depth in the STZ, SAZ, and PAZ, but not in the SIZ where seasonal sea ice slows the air-sea gas flux response to the entrainment of deep, low-oxygen waters.

Air/sea DMS gas transfer in the North Atlantic: evidence for limited interfacial gas exchange at high wind speed

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, T. G.; De Bruyn, W.; Miller, S. D.; Ward, B.; Christensen, K.; Saltzman, E. S.

2013-05-01

Shipboard measurements of eddy covariance DMS air/sea fluxes and seawater concentration were carried out in the North Atlantic bloom region in June/July 2011. Gas transfer coefficients (k660) show a linear dependence on mean horizontal wind speed at wind speeds up to 11 m s-1. At higher wind speeds the relationship between k660 and wind speed weakens. At high winds, measured DMS fluxes were lower than predicted based on the linear relationship between wind speed and interfacial stress extrapolated from low to intermediate wind speeds. In contrast, the transfer coefficient for sensible heat did not exhibit this effect. The apparent suppression of air/sea gas flux at higher wind speeds appears to be related to sea state, as determined from shipboard wave measurements. These observations are consistent with the idea that long waves suppress near surface water side turbulence, and decrease interfacial gas transfer. This effect may be more easily observed for DMS than for less soluble gases, such as CO2, because the air/sea exchange of DMS is controlled by interfacial rather than bubble-mediated gas transfer under high wind speed conditions.

EDXRS study of aerosol composition variations in air masses crossing the North Sea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Injuk, J.; Malderen, H. van; Grieken, R. van; Swietlicki, E.; Knox, J.M.; Schofield, R.

1993-01-01

X-ray emission techniques for bulk and individual particle analysis (EDXRF, EPXMA, micro-PIXE) were combined and applied in atmospheric research on the North Sea area as part of a field-study on air-sea exchange processes of particulate matter. The atmospheric loading for a number of elements was determined by EDXRF, yielding bulk concentrations for Mg, Al, Si, S, Cl, K, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Br and Sr. From these EDXRF data, deposition rates were derived and, based on a classical multivariate statistical approach, different aerosol sources were identified. Complementary to this work, EPXMA combined with automated image analysis was applied to individual size-segregated aerosol particles to determine their inorganic composition, physical size and shape. Also, the first results of micro-PIXE analyses on individual North Sea aerosol particles, particularly their large-size fraction, are discussed and compared with the corresponding EPXMA results. In summary, such a joint approach with the use of different x-ray emission techniques contributed to the resolution of the mixed structure of the lower North Sea troposphere and to the determination of the atmospheric supply of material to the North Sea environment. (author)

Air Land Sea Bulletin

Science.gov (United States)

2014-11-01

Unidentified Royal Air Force Regiment forward air controllers from the Air Land Integration Cell , Based at Royal Air Force Honington, Suffolk (United...heavy as an actual weapon.4 Ideally, this practice imbued a soldier with more energy and stamina during real combat, given the feel of the genuine but...through tactical forces, to individual training. Unidentified Royal Air Force Regiment forward air controllers from the Air Land Integration Cell , Based

Simulating emission and chemical evolution of coarse sea-salt particles in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model

OpenAIRE

J. T. Kelly; P. V. Bhave; C. G. Nolte; U. Shankar; K. M. Foley

2009-01-01

Chemical processing of sea-salt particles in coastal environments significantly impacts concentrations of particle components and gas-phase species and has implications for human exposure to particulate matter and nitrogen deposition to sensitive ecosystems. Emission of sea-salt particles from the coastal surf zone is known to be elevated compared to that from the open ocean. Despite the importance of sea-salt emissions and chemical processing, the US EPA's Community Multiscale Air Quality (C...

A NEW COMBINED LOCAL AND NON-LOCAL PBL MODEL FOR METEOROLOGY AND AIR QUALITY MODELING

Science.gov (United States)

A new version of the Asymmetric Convective Model (ACM) has been developed to describe sub-grid vertical turbulent transport in both meteorology models and air quality models. The new version (ACM2) combines the non-local convective mixing of the original ACM with local eddy diff...

How well does wind speed predict air-sea gas transfer in the sea ice zone? A synthesis of radon deficit profiles in the upper water column of the Arctic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Loose, B.; Kelly, R. P.; Bigdeli, A.; Williams, W.; Krishfield, R.; Rutgers van der Loeff, M.; Moran, S. B.

2017-05-01

We present 34 profiles of radon-deficit from the ice-ocean boundary layer of the Beaufort Sea. Including these 34, there are presently 58 published radon-deficit estimates of air-sea gas transfer velocity (k) in the Arctic Ocean; 52 of these estimates were derived from water covered by 10% sea ice or more. The average value of k collected since 2011 is 4.0 ± 1.2 m d-1. This exceeds the quadratic wind speed prediction of weighted kws = 2.85 m d-1 with mean-weighted wind speed of 6.4 m s-1. We show how ice cover changes the mixed-layer radon budget, and yields an "effective gas transfer velocity." We use these 58 estimates to statistically evaluate the suitability of a wind speed parameterization for k, when the ocean surface is ice covered. Whereas the six profiles taken from the open ocean indicate a statistically good fit to wind speed parameterizations, the same parameterizations could not reproduce k from the sea ice zone. We conclude that techniques for estimating k in the open ocean cannot be similarly applied to determine k in the presence of sea ice. The magnitude of k through gaps in the ice may reach high values as ice cover increases, possibly as a result of focused turbulence dissipation at openings in the free surface. These 58 profiles are presently the most complete set of estimates of k across seasons and variable ice cover; as dissolved tracer budgets they reflect air-sea gas exchange with no impact from air-ice gas exchange.

Kansas City Transportation and Local-Scale Air Quality Study (KC-TRAQS) Fact Sheet

Science.gov (United States)

In fall 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched the Kansas City Transportation Local-Scale Air Quality Study (KC-TRAQS) to learn more about local community air quality in three neighborhoods in Kansas City, KS.

Distribution patterns of wintering sea ducks in relation to the North Atlantic Oscillation and local environmental characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Zipkin, Elise F.; Gardner, Beth; Gilbert, Andrew T.; O'Connell, Allan F.; Royle, J. Andrew; Silverman, Emily D.

2010-01-01

Twelve species of North American sea ducks (Tribe Mergini) winter off the eastern coast of the United States and Canada. Yet, despite their seasonal proximity to urbanized areas in this region, there is limited information on patterns of wintering sea duck habitat use. It is difficult to gather information on sea ducks because of the relative inaccessibility of their offshore locations, their high degree of mobility, and their aggregated distributions. To characterize environmental conditions that affect wintering distributions, as well as their geographic ranges, we analyzed count data on five species of sea ducks (black scoters Melanitta nigra americana, surf scoters M. perspicillata, white-winged scoters M. fusca, common eiders Somateria mollissima, and long-tailed ducks Clangula hyemalis) that were collected during the Atlantic Flyway Sea Duck Survey for ten years starting in the early 1990s. We modeled count data for each species within ten-nautical-mile linear survey segments using a zero-inflated negative binomial model that included four local-scale habitat covariates (sea surface temperature, mean bottom depth, maximum bottom slope, and a variable to indicate if the segment was in a bay or not), one broad-scale covariate (the North Atlantic Oscillation), and a temporal correlation component. Our results indicate that species distributions have strong latitudinal gradients and consistency in local habitat use. The North Atlantic Oscillation was the only environmental covariate that had a significant (but variable) effect on the expected count for all five species, suggesting that broad-scale climatic conditions may be directly or indirectly important to the distributions of wintering sea ducks. Our results provide critical information on species-habitat associations, elucidate the complicated relationship between the North Atlantic Oscillation, sea surface temperature, and local sea duck abundances, and should be useful in assessing the impacts of climate

Intraseasonal sea surface temperature variability in Indonesian seas

Science.gov (United States)

Napitu, A. M.; Gordon, A. L.; Yuan, X.

2012-12-01

The satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) data, 1998-mid 2012, are used to examine intraseasonal variability (ISV; 20-90 days) across the Indonesian seas. The most energetic ISV is observed in the Banda Sea and across the Indo-Australia basin with an The satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) data, 1998-mid 2012, are used to examine intraseasonal variability (ISV; 20-90 days) across the Indonesian seas. The most energetic ISV is observed in the Banda Sea and across the Indo-Australia basin with an average SST standard deviation (STD) between 0.4-0.5°C, with strongest signature during boreal winter. What physical processes force the SST ISV variability within the Indonesian seas? Ocean process, sea-air interaction, or both? To help identify the main forcing, the satellite derived outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) and wind stress data in the region are examined. The OLR shows robust intraseasonal variations and is significantly correlated with the SST, particularly for variability with periods of 30-60 days, with OLR accounting for ~60-70% of the SST variance. The OLR is also maximum during boreal winter. Conversely, the surface wind may play insignificant role in perturbing the SST at intraseasonal timescales as shown by weak correlation between wind stress and SST. We thus suspect that the surface solar flux (suggested by the OLR) is likely more dominant than the surface turbulent heat flux (indicated by the surface wind) as the main source for the ISV in the SST in Indonesian seas. Furthermore the maximum OLR phase, coupled with a period of minimum mixed layer depth, may explain the strong SST variation during boreal winter in Indonesian seas. The influence of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) on the OLR and SST variability is currently being evaluated.

Effects of sea-ice and biogeochemical processes and storms on under-ice water fCO2 during the winter-spring transition in the high Arctic Ocean: Implications for sea-air CO2 fluxes

Science.gov (United States)

Fransson, Agneta; Chierici, Melissa; Skjelvan, Ingunn; Olsen, Are; Assmy, Philipp; Peterson, Algot K.; Spreen, Gunnar; Ward, Brian

2017-07-01

We performed measurements of carbon dioxide fugacity (fCO2) in the surface water under Arctic sea ice from January to June 2015 during the Norwegian young sea ICE (N-ICE2015) expedition. Over this period, the ship drifted with four different ice floes and covered the deep Nansen Basin, the slopes north of Svalbard, and the Yermak Plateau. This unique winter-to-spring data set includes the first winter-time under-ice water fCO2 observations in this region. The observed under-ice fCO2 ranged between 315 µatm in winter and 153 µatm in spring, hence was undersaturated relative to the atmospheric fCO2. Although the sea ice partly prevented direct CO2 exchange between ocean and atmosphere, frequently occurring leads and breakup of the ice sheet promoted sea-air CO2 fluxes. The CO2 sink varied between 0.3 and 86 mmol C m-2 d-1, depending strongly on the open-water fractions (OW) and storm events. The maximum sea-air CO2 fluxes occurred during storm events in February and June. In winter, the main drivers of the change in under-ice water fCO2 were dissolution of CaCO3 (ikaite) and vertical mixing. In June, in addition to these processes, primary production and sea-air CO2 fluxes were important. The cumulative loss due to CaCO3 dissolution of 0.7 mol C m-2 in the upper 10 m played a major role in sustaining the undersaturation of fCO2 during the entire study. The relative effects of the total fCO2 change due to CaCO3 dissolution was 38%, primary production 26%, vertical mixing 16%, sea-air CO2 fluxes 16%, and temperature and salinity insignificant.

User localization during human-robot interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Alonso-Martín, F; Gorostiza, Javi F; Malfaz, María; Salichs, Miguel A

2012-01-01

This paper presents a user localization system based on the fusion of visual information and sound source localization, implemented on a social robot called Maggie. One of the main requisites to obtain a natural interaction between human-human and human-robot is an adequate spatial situation between the interlocutors, that is, to be orientated and situated at the right distance during the conversation in order to have a satisfactory communicative process. Our social robot uses a complete multimodal dialog system which manages the user-robot interaction during the communicative process. One of its main components is the presented user localization system. To determine the most suitable allocation of the robot in relation to the user, a proxemic study of the human-robot interaction is required, which is described in this paper. The study has been made with two groups of users: children, aged between 8 and 17, and adults. Finally, at the end of the paper, experimental results with the proposed multimodal dialog system are presented.

Localization of weakly interacting Bose gas in quasiperiodic potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ray, Sayak; Pandey, Mohit; Ghosh, Anandamohan; Sinha, Subhasis

2016-01-01

We study the localization properties of weakly interacting Bose gas in a quasiperiodic potential. The Hamiltonian of the non-interacting system reduces to the well known ‘Aubry–André model’, which shows the localization transition at a critical strength of the potential. In the presence of repulsive interaction we observe multi-site localization and obtain a phase diagram of the dilute Bose gas by computing the superfluid fraction and the inverse participation ratio. We construct a low-dimensional classical Hamiltonian map and show that the onset of localization is manifested by the chaotic phase space dynamics. The level spacing statistics also identify the transition to localized states resembling a Poisson distribution that are ubiquitous for both non-interacting and interacting systems. We also study the quantum fluctuations within the Bogoliubov approximation and compute the quasiparticle energy spectrum. Enhanced quantum fluctuation and multi-site localization phenomenon of non-condensate density are observed above the critical coupling of the potential. We briefly discuss the effect of the trapping potential on the localization of matter wave. (paper)

Air-sea dimethylsulfide (DMS) gas transfer in the North Atlantic: evidence for limited interfacial gas exchange at high wind speed

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, T. G.; De Bruyn, W.; Miller, S. D.; Ward, B.; Christensen, K.; Saltzman, E. S.

2013-11-01

Shipboard measurements of eddy covariance dimethylsulfide (DMS) air-sea fluxes and seawater concentration were carried out in the North Atlantic bloom region in June/July 2011. Gas transfer coefficients (k660) show a linear dependence on mean horizontal wind speed at wind speeds up to 11 m s-1. At higher wind speeds the relationship between k660 and wind speed weakens. At high winds, measured DMS fluxes were lower than predicted based on the linear relationship between wind speed and interfacial stress extrapolated from low to intermediate wind speeds. In contrast, the transfer coefficient for sensible heat did not exhibit this effect. The apparent suppression of air-sea gas flux at higher wind speeds appears to be related to sea state, as determined from shipboard wave measurements. These observations are consistent with the idea that long waves suppress near-surface water-side turbulence, and decrease interfacial gas transfer. This effect may be more easily observed for DMS than for less soluble gases, such as CO2, because the air-sea exchange of DMS is controlled by interfacial rather than bubble-mediated gas transfer under high wind speed conditions.

Local and regional interactions between air quality and climate in New Delhi- A sector based analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Marrapu, Pallavi

Deteriorating air quality is one of the major problems faced worldwide and in particular in Asia. The world's most polluted megacities are located in Asia highlighting the urgent need for efforts to improve the air quality. New Delhi (India), one of the world's most polluted cities, was the host of the Common Wealth Games during the period of 4-14 October 2010. This high profile event provided a good opportunity to accelerate efforts to improve air quality. Computational advances now allow air quality forecast models to fully couple the meteorology with chemical constituents within a unified modeling system that allows two-way interactions. The WRF-Chem model is used to simulate air quality in New Delhi. The thesis focuses on evaluating air quality and meteorology feedbacks. Four nested domains ranging from South Asia, Northern India, NCR Delhi and Delhi city at 45km, 15km, 5km and 1.67km resolution for a period of 20 day (26th Sep--15th Oct, 2010) are used in the study. The predicted mean surface concentrations of various pollutants show similar spatial distributions with peak values in the middle of the domain reflecting the traffic and population patterns in the city. Along with these activities, construction dust and industrial emissions contribute to high levels of criteria pollutants. The study evaluates the WRF-Chem capabilities using a new emission inventory developed over Delhi at a fine resolution of 1.67km and evaluating the results with observational data from 11 monitoring sties placed at various Game venues. The contribution of emission sectors including transportation, power, industry, and domestic to pollutant concentrations at targeted regions are studied and the results show that transportation and domestic sector are the major contributors to the pollution levels in Delhi, followed by industry. Apart from these sectors, emissions outside of Delhi contribute 20-50% to surface concentrations depending on the species. This indicates that pollution

Coupled atmosphere-ocean-wave simulations of a storm event over the Gulf of Lion and Balearic Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Renault, Lionel; Chiggiato, Jacopo; Warner, John C.; Gomez, Marta; Vizoso, Guillermo; Tintore, Joaquin

2012-01-01

The coastal areas of the North-Western Mediterranean Sea are one of the most challenging places for ocean forecasting. This region is exposed to severe storms events that are of short duration. During these events, significant air-sea interactions, strong winds and large sea-state can have catastrophic consequences in the coastal areas. To investigate these air-sea interactions and the oceanic response to such events, we implemented the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport Modeling System simulating a severe storm in the Mediterranean Sea that occurred in May 2010. During this event, wind speed reached up to 25 m.s-1 inducing significant sea surface cooling (up to 2°C) over the Gulf of Lion (GoL) and along the storm track, and generating surface waves with a significant height of 6 m. It is shown that the event, associated with a cyclogenesis between the Balearic Islands and the GoL, is relatively well reproduced by the coupled system. A surface heat budget analysis showed that ocean vertical mixing was a major contributor to the cooling tendency along the storm track and in the GoL where turbulent heat fluxes also played an important role. Sensitivity experiments on the ocean-atmosphere coupling suggested that the coupled system is sensitive to the momentum flux parameterization as well as air-sea and air-wave coupling. Comparisons with available atmospheric and oceanic observations showed that the use of the fully coupled system provides the most skillful simulation, illustrating the benefit of using a fully coupled ocean-atmosphere-wave model for the assessment of these storm events.

Intensified Arctic warming under greenhouse warming by vegetation–atmosphere–sea ice interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Jee-Hoon; Kug, Jong-Seong; Linderholm, Hans W; Chen, Deliang; Kim, Baek-Min; Jun, Sang-Yoon

2014-01-01

Observations and modeling studies indicate that enhanced vegetation activities over high latitudes under an elevated CO 2 concentration accelerate surface warming by reducing the surface albedo. In this study, we suggest that vegetation-atmosphere-sea ice interactions over high latitudes can induce an additional amplification of Arctic warming. Our hypothesis is tested by a series of coupled vegetation-climate model simulations under 2xCO 2 environments. The increased vegetation activities over high latitudes under a 2xCO 2 condition induce additional surface warming and turbulent heat fluxes to the atmosphere, which are transported to the Arctic through the atmosphere. This causes additional sea-ice melting and upper-ocean warming during the warm season. As a consequence, the Arctic and high-latitude warming is greatly amplified in the following winter and spring, which further promotes vegetation activities the following year. We conclude that the vegetation-atmosphere-sea ice interaction gives rise to additional positive feedback of the Arctic amplification. (letter)

Local emission of primary air pollutants and its contribution to wet deposition and concentrations of aerosols and gases in ambient air in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Aikawa, Masahide; Hiraki, Takatoshi; Tomoyose, Nobutaka; Ohizumi, Tsuyoshi; Noguchi, Izumi; Murano, Kentaro; Mukai, Hitoshi

2013-11-01

We studied wet deposition by precipitation and the concentrations of aerosols and gases in ambient air in relation to the primary air pollutants discharged from domestic areas. The concentrations of aerosols and gases were influenced by nearby emissions except for non-sea-salt SO, which is transported long distances. The area facing the Sea of Japan showed much larger wet deposition than other areas, although the domestic emissions of the primary air pollutants there were small and showed a peak in wet deposition from October to March, as distinct from April to September in other areas. We performed the correlation analyses between wet deposition of each component and the product of the concentrations of corresponding aerosols and gases in ambient air and the two-thirds power of the precipitation. From the results, following scavenging processes were suggested. • Sulfate and ammonium were scavenged in precipitation as particulate matter such as (NH4)2SO4 and NH4HSO4. • Nitrate was scavenged mainly in precipitation through gaseous HNO3. • Ammonium was complementarily scavenged in precipitation through aerosols such as (NH4)2SO4 and NH4HSO4 and through gaseous NH3.

Interactive Effect of Air-Water Ratio and Temperature on the Air ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

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KEYWORDS: Interactive effect, air-water ratio, temperature, volatile organic compounds, removal efficiency. [Received ... The rate of mass transfer of a VOC from wastewater to the ... where ΔHo is heat of evaporation of 1 mole of component.

Projecting Future Sea Level Rise for Water Resources Planning in California

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, J.; Kao, K.; Chung, F.

2008-12-01

Sea level rise is one of the major concerns for the management of California's water resources. Higher water levels and salinity intrusion into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta could affect water supplies, water quality, levee stability, and aquatic and terrestrial flora and fauna species and their habitat. Over the 20th century, sea levels near San Francisco Bay increased by over 0.6ft. Some tidal gauge and satellite data indicate that rates of sea level rise are accelerating. Sea levels are expected to continue to rise due to increasing air temperatures causing thermal expansion of the ocean and melting of land-based ice such as ice on Greenland and in southeastern Alaska. For water planners, two related questions are raised on the uncertainty of future sea levels. First, what is the expected sea level at a specific point in time in the future, e.g., what is the expected sea level in 2050? Second, what is the expected point of time in the future when sea levels will exceed a certain height, e.g., what is the expected range of time when the sea level rises by one foot? To address these two types of questions, two factors are considered: (1) long term sea level rise trend, and (2) local extreme sea level fluctuations. A two-step approach will be used to develop sea level rise projection guidelines for decision making that takes both of these factors into account. The first step is developing global sea level rise probability distributions for the long term trends. The second step will extend the approach to take into account the effects of local astronomical tides, changes in atmospheric pressure, wind stress, floods, and the El Niño/Southern Oscillation. In this paper, the development of the first step approach is presented. To project the long term sea level rise trend, one option is to extend the current rate of sea level rise into the future. However, since recent data indicate rates of sea level rise are accelerating, methods for estimating sea level rise

Spin symmetry in the Dirac sea derived from the bare nucleon-nucleon interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Shihang; Liang, Haozhao; Meng, Jie; Ring, Peter; Zhang, Shuangquan

2018-06-01

The spin symmetry in the Dirac sea has been investigated with relativistic Brueckner-Hartree-Fock theory using the bare nucleon-nucleon interaction. Taking the nucleus 16O as an example and comparing the theoretical results with the data, the definition of the single-particle potential in the Dirac sea is studied in detail. It is found that if the single-particle states in the Dirac sea are treated as occupied states, the ground state properties are in better agreement with experimental data. Moreover, in this case, the spin symmetry in the Dirac sea is better conserved and it is more consistent with the findings using phenomenological relativistic density functionals.

Platform Innovations and System Integration for Unmanned Air, Land and Sea Vehicles Symposium. Technical Evaluation Report

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Decuypere, Roland; Selegan, David

2007-01-01

...) of the Research and Technology Organization (RTO) of NATO organized a joint symposium on Platform Innovations and System Integration for Unmanned Air, Land and Sea Vehicles which met from 14-18 May 2007 in Florence Italy...

Effect of duration of exposure to polluted air environment on lung function in subjects exposed to crude oil spill into sea water.

Science.gov (United States)

Meo, Sultan Ayoub; Al-Drees, Abdul Majeed; Rasheed, Shahzad; Meo, Imran Mu; Khan, Muhammad Mujahid; Al-Saadi, Muslim M; Alkandari, Jasem Ramadan

2009-01-01

Oil spill in sea water represents a huge environmental disaster for marine life and humans in the vicinity. The aim was to investigate the effect of duration of exposure to polluted air environment on lung function in subjects exposed to crude oil spill into sea water. The present study was conducted under the supervision of Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the period July 2003 - December 2004. This was a comparative study of spirometry in 31 apparently healthy, non smoking, male workers, exposed to crude oil spill environment during the oil cleaning operation. The exposed group was matched with similar number of male, non smoking control subjects. Pulmonary function test was performed by using an electronic spirometer. Subjects exposed to polluted air for periods longer than 15 days showed a significant reduction in Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume in First Second (FEV1), Forced Expiratory Flow in 25-25% (FEF25-75%) and Maximal Voluntary Ventilation (MVV). Air environment polluted due to crude oil spill into sea water caused impaired lung function and this impairment was associated with dose response effect of duration of exposure to air polluted by crude oil spill into sea water.

Caribbean Sea rainfall variability during the rainy season and relationship to the equatorial Pacific and tropical Atlantic SST

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Renguang [Institute of Global Environment and Society, Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies, Calverton, MD (United States); Kirtman, Ben P. [University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Miami, FL (United States)

2011-10-15

The present study investigates the Caribbean Sea rainfall variability during the early and late rainy seasons and its association with sea surface temperature (SST) and air-sea interaction based on observational estimates, the NCEP Climate Forecast System (CFS) and Global Forecast System (GFS) simulations, and the CFS retrospective forecasts. Analysis of the observational estimates indicates that air-sea interaction is important over the Caribbean Sea, whereas the atmospheric forcing of SST dominates over the Gulf of Mexico. The CFS simulation captures the basic elements of this observed air-sea relationship. The GFS simulation produces spurious SST forcing of the atmosphere over the Gulf of Mexico largely due to prescribing SST. The CFS forecasts capture the air-sea relationship in the late rainy season (August-October), but cannot reproduce the SST forcing of atmosphere over the Caribbean Sea in the early rainy season (May-July). An empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis indicates that the leading modes of percent anomalies of the rainy season precipitation have the largest loading in the southern Caribbean Sea in observations. The model simulations and forecasts skillfully reproduce the spatial pattern, but not the temporal evolution. The Caribbean Sea rainfall variability in the early rainy season is mainly due to the tropical North Atlantic (TNA) SST anomalies in observations, is contributed by both the TNA and eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) SST anomalies in the CFS simulation, and has an overly large impact from the EEP SST anomalies in the GFS simulation and the CFS forecasts. The observed Caribbean Sea rainfall variability in the late rainy season has a leading impact from the EEP SST anomalies, with a secondary contribution from the TNA SST anomalies. In comparison, the model simulations and forecasts overestimate the impacts of the EEP SST anomalies due to an earlier development and longer duration of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation in the CFS

Poleward upgliding Siberian atmospheric rivers over sea ice heat up Arctic upper air.

Science.gov (United States)

Komatsu, Kensuke K; Alexeev, Vladimir A; Repina, Irina A; Tachibana, Yoshihiro

2018-02-13

We carried out upper air measurements with radiosondes during the summer over the Arctic Ocean from an icebreaker moving poleward from an ice-free region, through the ice edge, and into a region of thick ice. Rapid warming of the Arctic is a significant environmental issue that occurs not only at the surface but also throughout the troposphere. In addition to the widely accepted mechanisms responsible for the increase of tropospheric warming during the summer over the Arctic, we showed a new potential contributing process to the increase, based on our direct observations and supporting numerical simulations and statistical analyses using a long-term reanalysis dataset. We refer to this new process as "Siberian Atmospheric Rivers (SARs)". Poleward upglides of SARs over cold air domes overlying sea ice provide the upper atmosphere with extra heat via condensation of water vapour. This heating drives increased buoyancy and further strengthens the ascent and heating of the mid-troposphere. This process requires the combination of SARs and sea ice as a land-ocean-atmosphere system, the implication being that large-scale heat and moisture transport from the lower latitudes can remotely amplify the warming of the Arctic troposphere in the summer.

Structure of local interactions in complex financial dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, X F; Chen, T T; Zheng, B

2014-06-17

With the network methods and random matrix theory, we investigate the interaction structure of communities in financial markets. In particular, based on the random matrix decomposition, we clarify that the local interactions between the business sectors (subsectors) are mainly contained in the sector mode. In the sector mode, the average correlation inside the sectors is positive, while that between the sectors is negative. Further, we explore the time evolution of the interaction structure of the business sectors, and observe that the local interaction structure changes dramatically during a financial bubble or crisis.

Atlanta Rail Yard Study: Evaluation of local-scale air pollution ...

Science.gov (United States)

Intermodal rail yards are important nodes in the freight transportation network, where freight is organized and moved from one mode of transport to another, critical equipment is serviced, and freight is routed to its next destination. Rail yard environments are also areas with multiple sources of air pollutant emissions (e.g., heavy-duty vehicles, locomotives, cranes), which may affect local air quality in residential areas nearby. In order to understand emissions and related air quality impacts, two field studies took place over the time span of 2010-2012 to measure air pollution trends in close proximity to the Inman and Tilford rail yard complex in Atlanta, GA. One field study involved long-term stationary monitoring of black carbon, fine particles, and carbon dioxide at two stations nearby the rail yard. In addition, a second field study performed intensive mobile air monitoring for a one month period in the summer of 2012 at a roadway network surrounding the rail yard complex and measured a comprehensive array of pollutants. Real-time mobile particulate measurements included particle counts, extinction coefficient, black carbon via light-absorption and particle incandescence, and particle composition derived by aerosol mass spectrometry. Gas-phase measurements included oxides of nitrogen, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and air toxics (e.g., benzene). Both sets of measurements determined detectable local influence from rail yard-related emissions.

Direct observations of atmosphere - sea ice - ocean interactions during Arctic winter and spring storms

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, R. M.; Itkin, P.; Granskog, M. A.; Assmy, P.; Cohen, L.; Duarte, P.; Doble, M. J.; Fransson, A.; Fer, I.; Fernandez Mendez, M.; Frey, M. M.; Gerland, S.; Haapala, J. J.; Hudson, S. R.; Liston, G. E.; Merkouriadi, I.; Meyer, A.; Muilwijk, M.; Peterson, A.; Provost, C.; Randelhoff, A.; Rösel, A.; Spreen, G.; Steen, H.; Smedsrud, L. H.; Sundfjord, A.

2017-12-01

To study the thinner and younger sea ice that now dominates the Arctic the Norwegian Young Sea ICE expedition (N-ICE2015) was launched in the ice-covered region north of Svalbard, from January to June 2015. During this time, eight local and remote storms affected the region and rare direct observations of the atmosphere, snow, ice and ocean were conducted. Six of these winter storms passed directly over the expedition and resulted in air temperatures rising from below -30oC to near 0oC, followed by abrupt cooling. Substantial snowfall prior to the campaign had already formed a snow pack of approximately 50 cm, to which the February storms contributed an additional 6 cm. The deep snow layer effectively isolated the ice cover and prevented bottom ice growth resulting in low brine fluxes. Peak wind speeds during winter storms exceeded 20 m/s, causing strong snow re-distribution, release of sea salt aerosol and sea ice deformation. The heavy snow load caused widespread negative freeboard; during sea ice deformation events, level ice floes were flooded by sea water, and at least 6-10 cm snow-ice layer was formed. Elevated deformation rates during the most powerful winter storms damaged the ice cover permanently such that the response to wind forcing increased by 60 %. As a result of a remote storm in April deformation processes opened about 4 % of the total area into leads with open water, while a similar amount of ice was deformed into pressure ridges. The strong winds also enhanced ocean mixing and increased ocean heat fluxes three-fold in the pycnocline from 4 to 12 W/m2. Ocean heat fluxes were extremely large (over 300 W/m2) during storms in regions where the warm Atlantic inflow is located close to surface over shallow topography. This resulted in very large (5-25 cm/day) bottom ice melt and in cases flooding due to heavy snow load. Storm events increased the carbon dioxide exchange between the atmosphere and ocean but also affected the pCO2 in surface waters

Interaction of Air Flow in Complex Ventilation Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhorzh G. Levitskiy

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The article presents the results of study of interaction of air flow in complex ventilation systems. The study used Taylor and Maclaurin’s series and Lagrange formula to create the functional connections on estimation of the impact of changing aerodynamic parameters of one or several simultaneously working regulators on the air flow distribution in mines

Influence of local air velocity from air conditioner evaluated by salivary and skin biomarkers

OpenAIRE

Yamaguchi, Masaki; Takahashi, Takayuki; Yoshino, Yuichiro; Sasaki, Makoto; Nishiyama, Hajime

2010-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to reveal both the psychosomatic and the physical effects of local air velocity from an air conditioner using biomarkers which can be collected noninvasively. Salivary α-amylase activity (SAA) and salivary cortisol were used as the indexes of psychosomatic effects. The total protein (TP) collected from stratum corneum was used as an index of the physical condition of dry skin. A continuous experiment over a 5 days period in summer was conducted using 8 healthy you...

Air-sea exchange and gas-particle partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons over the northwestern Pacific Ocean: Role of East Asian continental outflow

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Z.; Guo, Z.

2017-12-01

We measured 15 parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in atmosphere and water during a research cruise from the East China Sea (ECS) to the northwestern Pacific Ocean (NWP) in the spring of 2015 to investigate the occurrence, air-sea gas exchange, and gas-particle partitioning of PAHs with a particular focus on the influence of East Asian continental outflow. The gaseous PAH composition and identification of sources were consistent with PAHs from the upwind area, indicating that the gaseous PAHs (three- to five-ring PAHs) were influenced by upwind land pollution. In addition, air-sea exchange fluxes of gaseous PAHs were estimated to be -54.2 to 107.4 ng m-2 d-1, and was indicative of variations of land-based PAH inputs. The logarithmic gas-particle partition coefficient (logKp) of PAHs regressed linearly against the logarithmic subcooled liquid vapor pressure, with a slope of -0.25. This was significantly larger than the theoretical value (-1), implying disequilibrium between the gaseous and particulate PAHs over the NWP. The non-equilibrium of PAH gas-particle partitioning was shielded from the volatilization of three-ring gaseous PAHs from seawater and lower soot concentrations in particular when the oceanic air masses prevailed. Modeling PAH absorption into organic matter and adsorption onto soot carbon revealed that the status of PAH gas-particle partitioning deviated more from the modeling Kp for oceanic air masses than those for continental air masses, which coincided with higher volatilization of three-ring PAHs and confirmed the influence of air-sea exchange. Meanwhile, significant linear regressions between logKp and logKoa (logKsa) for PAHs were observed for continental air masses, suggesting the dominant effect of East Asian continental outflow on atmospheric PAHs over the NWP during the sampling campaign.

The Siberian High and Arctic Sea Ice: Long-term Climate Change and Impacts on Air Pollution during Wintertime in China

Science.gov (United States)

Long, X.; Zhao, S.; Feng, T.; Tie, X.; Li, G.

2017-12-01

China has undergone severe air pollution during wintertime as national industrialization and urbanization have been increasingly developed in the past three decades. It has been suggested that high emission and adverse weather patterns contribute to wintertime air pollution. Recent studies propose that climate change and Arctic sea ice loss likely lead to extreme haze events in winter. Here we use two reanalysis and observational datasets to present the trends of Siberian High (SH) intensity over Eurasia, and Arctic temperature and sea ice. The results show the Arctic region of Asia is becoming warming accompanied by a rapid decline of sea ice while Eurasia is cooling and SH intensity is gradually enhancing. Wind patterns induced by these changes cause straight westerly prevailing over Eurasia at the year of weak SH while strengthened northerly winds at the year of strong SH. Therefore, we utilize regional dynamical and chemical WRF-Chem model to determine the impact of SH intensity difference on wintertime air pollution in China. As a result, enhancing northerly winds at the year of strong SH rapidly dilute and transport air pollution, causing a decline of 50 - 400 µg m-3 PM2.5 concentrations relative to that at the year of weak SH. We also assess the impact of emission reduction to half the current level on air pollution. The results show that emission reduction by 50% has an equivalent impact as the variability of SH intensity. This suggests that climate change over Eurasia has largely offset the negative impact of emission on air pollution and it is urgently needed to take measures to mitigate air pollution. In view of current high emission scenario in China, it will be a long way to effectively mitigate, or ultimately prevent wintertime air pollution.

By land, sea, or air? A comparative analysis of cartel smuggling strategies

OpenAIRE

Harney, Sean M.

2017-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited Cartels are known for their innovative smuggling techniques, across land, sea, or air, which allow them to clandestinely transport drugs across any point of entry into the United States. With this in mind, it is worth asking: why do cartels choose a certain drug smuggling technique over another, which domain is more commonly used and potentially more successful, and what sorts of structural changes would it take to shift from one metho...

Sea-air boundary meteorological sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Barbosa, Jose G.

2015-05-01

The atmospheric environment can significantly affect radio frequency and optical propagation. In the RF spectrum refraction and ducting can degrade or enhance communications and radar coverage. Platforms in or beneath refractive boundaries can exploit the benefits or suffer the effects of the atmospheric boundary layers. Evaporative ducts and surface-base ducts are of most concern for ocean surface platforms and evaporative ducts are almost always present along the sea-air interface. The atmospheric environment also degrades electro-optical systems resolution and visibility. The atmospheric environment has been proven not to be uniform and under heterogeneous conditions substantial propagation errors may be present for large distances from homogeneous models. An accurate and portable atmospheric sensor to profile the vertical index of refraction is needed for mission planning, post analysis, and in-situ performance assessment. The meteorological instrument used in conjunction with a radio frequency and electro-optical propagation prediction tactical decision aid tool would give military platforms, in real time, the ability to make assessments on communication systems propagation ranges, radar detection and vulnerability ranges, satellite communications vulnerability, laser range finder performance, and imaging system performance predictions. Raman lidar has been shown to be capable of measuring the required atmospheric parameters needed to profile the atmospheric environment. The atmospheric profile could then be used as input to a tactical decision aid tool to make propagation predictions.

Localized air foci in the lower thorax in the patients with pneumothorax: Skip pneumothoraces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Higuchi, Takeshi, E-mail: higuchi@hosp.niigata.niigata.jp [Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Niigata City General Hospital, 463-7 Chuo-ku, Shumoku, Niigata 950-1197 (Japan); Takahashi, Naoya, E-mail: nandtr@hosp.niigata.niigata.jp [Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Niigata City General Hospital, 463-7 Chuo-ku, Shumoku, Niigata 950-1197 (Japan); Kiguchi, Takao, E-mail: takakig@gmail.com [Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Niigata City General Hospital, 463-7 Chuo-ku, Shumoku, Niigata 950-1197 (Japan); Shiotani, Motoi, E-mail: Shiotani14@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Niigata Cancer Center Hospital, 2-15-3 Chuo-ku, Kawagishicho, Niigata 951-8566 (Japan); Maeda, Haruo, E-mail: h-maeda@hosp.niigata.niigata.jp [Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Niigata City General Hospital, 463-7 Chuo-ku, Shumoku, Niigata 950-1197 (Japan)

2013-08-15

Purpose: To investigate the characteristics and imaging features of localized air foci in the lower thorax in patients with pneumothorax using thin-section multidetector computed tomography. Materials and methods: Of 10,547 consecutive CT examinations comprising the chest, the CT scans of 146 patients with ordinary pneumothoraces were identified and retrospectively evaluated. The study group included 110 male and 36 female patients (mean age, 50 years; range, 1–93 years). All examinations were performed at our institution between January 2009 and December 2009. Cause of pneumothorax was classified as traumatic or non-traumatic. Localized air foci in the lower thorax were defined as being localized air collections in the lower thorax that did not appear to be adjacent to the lung. If these criteria were met, the shape, size, location laterality, and number of foci were evaluated. Associations with trauma, sex, severity of the pneumothorax, and laterality were evaluated using the χ{sup 2} test. All P values <0.05 were considered significant. Results: Localized air foci in the lower thorax presented as slit-like or small ovoid air collections in the lowest part of the pleural space. These foci were observed in 79/146 (54.1%) patients. The traumatic pneumothoraces group showed a higher prevalence of these features than the non-traumatic group. Some foci that were situated in the anterior part mimicked the appearance of free intraperitoneal air. Conclusion: Patients with pneumothorax commonly had localized air foci in the lower thorax. Because such foci can mimic pneumoperitoneum, accurate recognition of them is required to avoid confusion with free intraperitoneal air, especially in traumatic cases.

Localized air foci in the lower thorax in the patients with pneumothorax: Skip pneumothoraces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Higuchi, Takeshi; Takahashi, Naoya; Kiguchi, Takao; Shiotani, Motoi; Maeda, Haruo

2013-01-01

Purpose: To investigate the characteristics and imaging features of localized air foci in the lower thorax in patients with pneumothorax using thin-section multidetector computed tomography. Materials and methods: Of 10,547 consecutive CT examinations comprising the chest, the CT scans of 146 patients with ordinary pneumothoraces were identified and retrospectively evaluated. The study group included 110 male and 36 female patients (mean age, 50 years; range, 1–93 years). All examinations were performed at our institution between January 2009 and December 2009. Cause of pneumothorax was classified as traumatic or non-traumatic. Localized air foci in the lower thorax were defined as being localized air collections in the lower thorax that did not appear to be adjacent to the lung. If these criteria were met, the shape, size, location laterality, and number of foci were evaluated. Associations with trauma, sex, severity of the pneumothorax, and laterality were evaluated using the χ 2 test. All P values <0.05 were considered significant. Results: Localized air foci in the lower thorax presented as slit-like or small ovoid air collections in the lowest part of the pleural space. These foci were observed in 79/146 (54.1%) patients. The traumatic pneumothoraces group showed a higher prevalence of these features than the non-traumatic group. Some foci that were situated in the anterior part mimicked the appearance of free intraperitoneal air. Conclusion: Patients with pneumothorax commonly had localized air foci in the lower thorax. Because such foci can mimic pneumoperitoneum, accurate recognition of them is required to avoid confusion with free intraperitoneal air, especially in traumatic cases

Land cover, land use changes and air pollution in Asia: a synthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Vadrevu, Krishna; Ohara, Toshimasa; Justice, Chris

2017-12-01

A better understanding of land cover/land use changes (LCLUC) and their interactions with the atmospheric environment is essential for the sustainable management of natural resources, environmental protection, air quality, agricultural planning and food security. The 15 papers published in this focus issue showcase a variety of studies relating to drivers and impacts of LCLUC and air pollution in different South/Southeast Asian (S/SEA) countries. This synthesis article, in addition to giving context to the articles in this focus issue, also reviews the broad linkages between population, LCLUC and air pollution. Additionally, we identify knowledge gaps and research priorities that are essential in addressing air pollution issues in the region. We conclude that for effective pollution mitigation in S/SEA countries, quantifying drivers, sources and impacts of pollution need a thorough data analysis through ground-based instrumentation, models and integrated research approaches. We also stress the need for the development of sustainable technologies and strengthening the scientific and resource management communities through capacity building and training activities to address air pollution issues in S/SEA countries.

Continent-Ocean Interactions Within East Asian Marginal Seas

Science.gov (United States)

Clift, Peter; Kuhnt, Wolfgang; Wang, Pinxian; Hayes, Dennis

The study of the complex interactions between continents and oceans has become a leading area for 21st century earth cience. In this volume, continent—ocean interactions in tectonics, arc-continent collision, sedimentology, and climatic volution within the East Asian Marginal Seas take precedence. Links between oceanic and continental climate, the sedimentology of coastal and shelf areas, and the links between deformation of continental and oceanic lithosphere are also discussed. As an introduction to the science presented throughout the volume, Wang discusses many of the possible interactions between the tectonic evolution of Asia and both regional and global climate. He speculates that uplift of central Asia in the Pliocene may have triggered the formation of many of the major rivers that drain north through Siberia into the Arctic Ocean. He also argues that it is the delivery of this fresh water that allows the formation of sea ice in that area and triggered the start of Northern Hemispheric glaciation. This may be one of the most dramatic ways in which Asia has shaped the Earth's climate and represents an alternative to the other competing models that have previously emphasized the role of oceanic gateway closure in Central America. Moreover, his proposal for major uplift of at least part of Tibet and Mongolia as late as the Pliocene, based on the history of drainage evolution in Siberia, supports recent data from the southern Tarim Basin and from the Qilian Shan and Qaidam and Jiuxi Basins in northeast Tibet that indicate surface uplift at that time. Constraining the timing and patterns of Tibetan surface uplift is crucial to testing competing models for strain accommodation in Asia following India—Asia collision.

Satellite-Surface Perspectives of Air Quality and Aerosol-Cloud Effects on the Environment: An Overview of 7-SEAS BASELInE

Science.gov (United States)

Tsay, Si-Chee; Maring, Hal B.; Lin, Neng-Huei; Buntoung, Sumaman; Chantara, Somporn; Chuang, Hsiao-Chi; Gabriel, Philip M.; Goodloe, Colby S.; Holben, Brent N.; Hsiao, Ta-Chih;

A flame particle tracking analysis of turbulence–chemistry interaction in hydrogen–air premixed flames

KAUST Repository

Uranakara, Harshavardhana A.; Chaudhuri, Swetaprovo; Dave, Himanshu L.; Arias, Paul G.; Im, Hong G.

2015-01-01

Interactions of turbulence, molecular transport, and energy transport, coupled with chemistry play a crucial role in the evolution of flame surface geometry, propagation, annihilation, and local extinction/re-ignition characteristics of intensely turbulent premixed flames. This study seeks to understand how these interactions affect flame surface annihilation of lean hydrogen–air premixed turbulent flames. Direct numerical simulations (DNSs) are conducted at different parametric conditions with a detailed reaction mechanism and transport properties for hydrogen–air flames. Flame particle tracking (FPT) technique is used to follow specific flame surface segments. An analytical expression for the local displacement flame speed (Sd) of a temperature isosurface is considered, and the contributions of transport, chemistry, and kinematics on the displacement flame speed at different turbulence-flame interaction conditions are identified. In general, the displacement flame speed for the flame particles is found to increase with time for all conditions considered. This is because, eventually all flame surfaces and their resident flame particles approach annihilation by reactant island formation at the end of stretching and folding processes induced by turbulence. Statistics of principal curvature evolving in time, obtained using FPT, suggest that these islands are ellipsoidal on average enclosing fresh reactants. Further examinations show that the increase in Sd is caused by the increased negative curvature of the flame surface and eventual homogenization of temperature gradients as these reactant islands shrink due to flame propagation and turbulent mixing. Finally, the evolution of the normalized, averaged, displacement flame speed vs. stretch Karlovitz number are found to collapse on a narrow band, suggesting that a unified description of flame speed dependence on stretch rate may be possible in the Lagrangian description.

A flame particle tracking analysis of turbulence–chemistry interaction in hydrogen–air premixed flames

KAUST Repository

Uranakara, Harshavardhana A.

2015-11-21

Interactions of turbulence, molecular transport, and energy transport, coupled with chemistry play a crucial role in the evolution of flame surface geometry, propagation, annihilation, and local extinction/re-ignition characteristics of intensely turbulent premixed flames. This study seeks to understand how these interactions affect flame surface annihilation of lean hydrogen–air premixed turbulent flames. Direct numerical simulations (DNSs) are conducted at different parametric conditions with a detailed reaction mechanism and transport properties for hydrogen–air flames. Flame particle tracking (FPT) technique is used to follow specific flame surface segments. An analytical expression for the local displacement flame speed (Sd) of a temperature isosurface is considered, and the contributions of transport, chemistry, and kinematics on the displacement flame speed at different turbulence-flame interaction conditions are identified. In general, the displacement flame speed for the flame particles is found to increase with time for all conditions considered. This is because, eventually all flame surfaces and their resident flame particles approach annihilation by reactant island formation at the end of stretching and folding processes induced by turbulence. Statistics of principal curvature evolving in time, obtained using FPT, suggest that these islands are ellipsoidal on average enclosing fresh reactants. Further examinations show that the increase in Sd is caused by the increased negative curvature of the flame surface and eventual homogenization of temperature gradients as these reactant islands shrink due to flame propagation and turbulent mixing. Finally, the evolution of the normalized, averaged, displacement flame speed vs. stretch Karlovitz number are found to collapse on a narrow band, suggesting that a unified description of flame speed dependence on stretch rate may be possible in the Lagrangian description.

Addressing Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Pan-Japan Sea Region. An Overview of Economic Instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boyle, G.; Kambu, A.

2005-11-01

The health and environmental impacts of fossil fuel consumption are of increasing concern to countries in the Pan-Japan Sea region, where economic growth has led to increased energy consumption in recent years. Economic instruments like green taxes and emissions-trading schemes represent important tools to help reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in China, Japan, South Korea and Russia. Over the past several years, OECD countries have made progress in the use of economic instruments to reduce atmospheric air pollution. In Europe, new environmental taxes have been used most extensively, while in the United States market creation and emissions-trading schemes are more common. In the Pan-Japan Sea region, there has been considerable experience with pollution charge and levy systems, including the longstanding Japanese sulfur levy and the Russian and Chinese pollution charge systems. Generally, tax and emissions-trading systems are only beginning to emerge in the region although China has been experimenting with SOx emissions-trading schemes for several years now and South Korea and Japan have already begun experimenting with CO2 emissions-trading schemes. Only Japan has seriously looked at a carbon tax to curb GHG emissions among the four countries while direct subsidies for cleaner technologies have been adopted in the different Pan-Japan Sea countries. The costs and benefits of different economic instruments like taxes, charges, emissions-trading schemes and subsidies vary from case to case because they all have to be financially feasible, rest on informed and competent public institutions and perform effectively in local market and economic conditions. On top of all these is the fact that their overall success depends on their political acceptability. Given the experience of Pan-Japan Sea countries with economic instruments so far vis-a-vis the lessons learned in OECD countries and the nature of current and emerging pollution problems in Pan

Gaseous elemental mercury in the marine boundary layer and air-sea flux in the Southern Ocean in austral summer.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jiancheng; Xie, Zhouqing; Wang, Feiyue; Kang, Hui

2017-12-15

Gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) in the marine boundary layer (MBL), and dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) in surface seawater of the Southern Ocean were measured in the austral summer from December 13, 2014 to February 1, 2015. GEM concentrations in the MBL ranged from 0.4 to 1.9ngm -3 (mean±standard deviation: 0.9±0.2ngm -3 ), whereas DGM concentrations in surface seawater ranged from 7.0 to 75.9pgL -1 (mean±standard deviation: 23.7±13.2pgL -1 ). The occasionally observed low GEM in the MBL suggested either the occurrence of atmospheric mercury depletion in summer, or the transport of GEM-depleted air from the Antarctic Plateau. Elevated GEM concentrations in the MBL and DGM concentrations in surface seawater were consistently observed in the ice-covered region of the Ross Sea implying the influence of the sea ice environment. Diminishing sea ice could cause more mercury evasion from the ocean to the air. Using the thin film gas exchange model, the air-sea fluxes of gaseous mercury in non-ice-covered area during the study period were estimated to range from 0.0 to 6.5ngm -2 h -1 with a mean value of 1.5±1.8ngm -2 h -1 , revealing GEM (re-)emission from the East Southern Ocean in summer. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exchange of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons across the air-water interface in the Bohai and Yellow Seas

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yingjun; Lin, Tian; Tang, Jianhui; Xie, Zhiyong; Tian, Chongguo; Li, Jun; Zhang, Gan

2016-09-01

In this study, air and surface seawater samples collected from the Bohai (BS) and Yellow Seas (YS) in May 2012 were determined exchange of PAHs, especially of low-molecular-weight (LMW) PAHs (three- and four-ring PAHs) at the air-water interface. Net volatilization fluxes of LMW PAHs were 266-1454 ng/m2/d and decreased with distance from the coast, indicating that these PAHs transported from coastal runoff were potential contributors to the atmosphere in the BS and YS. Moreover, LMW PAHs were enriched in the dissolved phase compared with those in the particulate phase in the water column, possibly suggesting that the volatilized LMW PAHs were directly derived from wastewater discharge or petroleum pollution rather than released from contaminated sediments. The air-sea exchange fluxes of the three-ring PAHs were 2- to 20-fold higher than their atmospheric deposition fluxes in the BS and YS. The input to and output from the water reached equilibrium for four-ring PAHs. Differently, five- and six-ring PAHs were introduced into the marine environment primarily through dry and wet deposition, indicating that the water column was still a sink of these PAHs from the surrounding atmosphere.

More about the comparison of local and non-local NN interaction models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amghar, A.; Desplanques, B.

2003-01-01

The effect of non-locality in the NN interaction with an off-energy shell character has been studied in the past in relation with the possibility that some models could be approximately phase-shifts equivalent. This work is extended to a non-locality implying terms that involve an anticommutator with the operator p 2 . It includes both scalar and tensor components. The most recent 'high accuracy' models are considered in the analysis. After studying the deuteron wave functions, electromagnetic properties of various models are compared with the idea that these ones differ by their non-locality but are equivalent up to a unitary transformation. It is found that the extra non-local tensor interaction considered in this work tends to re-enforce the role of the term considered in previous works, allowing one to explain almost completely the difference in the deuteron D-state probabilities evidenced by the comparison of the Bonn-QB and Paris models for instance. Conclusions for the effect of the non-local scalar interaction are not so clear. In many cases, it was found that these terms could explain part of the differences that the comparison of predictions for various models evidences but cases where they could not were also found. Some of these last ones have been analyzed in order to pointing out the origin of the failure

The global climatology of an interannually varying air-sea flux data set

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Large, W.G.; Yeager, S.G. [National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)

2009-08-15

The air-sea fluxes of momentum, heat, freshwater and their components have been computed globally from 1948 at frequencies ranging from 6-hourly to monthly. All fluxes are computed over the 23 years from 1984 to 2006, but radiation prior to 1984 and precipitation before 1979 are given only as climatological mean annual cycles. The input data are based on NCEP reanalysis only for the near surface vector wind, temperature, specific humidity and density, and on a variety of satellite based radiation, sea surface temperature, sea-ice concentration and precipitation products. Some of these data are adjusted to agree in the mean with a variety of more reliable satellite and in situ measurements, that themselves are either too short a duration, or too regional in coverage. The major adjustments are a general increase in wind speed, decrease in humidity and reduction in tropical solar radiation. The climatological global mean air-sea heat and freshwater fluxes (1984-2006) then become 2 W/m{sup 2} and -0.1 mg/m{sup 2} per second, respectively, down from 30 W/m{sup 2} and 3.4 mg/m{sup 2} per second for the unaltered data. However, decadal means vary from 7.3 W/m{sup 2} (1977-1986) to -0.3 W/m{sup 2} (1997-2006). The spatial distributions of climatological fluxes display all the expected features. A comparison of zonally averaged wind stress components across ocean sub-basins reveals large differences between available products due both to winds and to the stress calculation. Regional comparisons of the heat and freshwater fluxes reveal an alarming range among alternatives; typically 40 W/m{sup 2} and 10 mg/m{sup 2} per second, respectively. The implied ocean heat transports are within the uncertainty of estimates from ocean observations in both the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific basins. They show about 2.4 PW of tropical heating, of which 80% is transported to the north, mostly in the Atlantic. There is similar good agreement in freshwater transport at many latitudes in both

Temporal dynamics of top predators interactions in the Barents Sea.

Science.gov (United States)

Durant, Joël M; Skern-Mauritzen, Mette; Krasnov, Yuri V; Nikolaeva, Natalia G; Lindstrøm, Ulf; Dolgov, Andrey

2014-01-01

The Barents Sea system is often depicted as a simple food web in terms of number of dominant feeding links. The most conspicuous feeding link is between the Northeast Arctic cod Gadus morhua, the world's largest cod stock which is presently at a historical high level, and capelin Mallotus villosus. The system also holds diverse seabird and marine mammal communities. Previous diet studies may suggest that these top predators (cod, bird and sea mammals) compete for food particularly with respect to pelagic fish such as capelin and juvenile herring (Clupea harengus), and krill. In this paper we explored the diet of some Barents Sea top predators (cod, Black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla, Common guillemot Uria aalge, and Minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata). We developed a GAM modelling approach to analyse the temporal variation diet composition within and between predators, to explore intra- and inter-specific interactions. The GAM models demonstrated that the seabird diet is temperature dependent while the diet of Minke whale and cod is prey dependent; Minke whale and cod diets depend on the abundance of herring and capelin, respectively. There was significant diet overlap between cod and Minke whale, and between kittiwake and guillemot. In general, the diet overlap between predators increased with changes in herring and krill abundances. The diet overlap models developed in this study may help to identify inter-specific interactions and their dynamics that potentially affect the stocks targeted by fisheries.

Distribution and air-sea exchange of mercury (Hg) in polluted marine environments

Science.gov (United States)

Bagnato, E.; Sprovieri, M.; Bitetto, M.; Bonsignore, M.; Calabrese, S.; Di Stefano, V.; Oliveri, E.; Parello, F.; Mazzola, S.

2012-04-01

Mercury (Hg) is emitted in the atmosphere by anthropogenic and natural sources, these last accounting for one third of the total emissions. Since the pre-industrial age, the atmospheric deposition of mercury have increased notably, while ocean emissions have doubled owing to the re-emission of anthropogenic mercury. Exchange between the atmosphere and ocean plays an important role in cycling and transport of mercury. We present the preliminary results from a study on the distribution and evasion flux of mercury at the atmosphere/sea interface in the Augusta basin (SE Sicily, southern Italy), a semi-enclosed marine area affected by a high degree of contamination (heavy metals and PHA) due to the oil refineries placed inside its commercial harbor. It seems that the intense industrial activity of the past have lead to an high Hg pollution in the bottom sediments of the basin, whose concentrations are far from the background mercury value found in most of the Sicily Strait sediments. The release of mercury into the harbor seawater and its dispersion by diffusion from sediments to the surface, make the Augusta basin a potential supplier of mercury both to the Mediterranean Sea and the atmosphere. Based on these considerations, mercury concentration and flux at the air-sea interface of the Bay have been estimated using a real-time atomic adsorption spectrometer (LUMEX - RA915+) and an home-made accumulation chamber, respectively. Estimated Total Atmospheric Mercury (TGM) concentrations during the cruise on the bay were in the range of 1-3 ng · m-3, with a mean value of about 1.4 ng · m-3. These data well fit with the background Hgatm concentration values detected on the land (1-2 ng · m-3, this work), and, more in general, with the background atmospheric TGM levels found in the North Hemisphere (1.5-1.7 ng · m-3)a. Besides, our measurements are in the range of those reported for other important polluted marine areas. The mercury evasion flux at the air-sea interface

Localized air foci in the lower thorax in the patients with pneumothorax: skip pneumothoraces.

Science.gov (United States)

Higuchi, Takeshi; Takahashi, Naoya; Kiguchi, Takao; Shiotani, Motoi; Maeda, Haruo

2013-08-01

To investigate the characteristics and imaging features of localized air foci in the lower thorax in patients with pneumothorax using thin-section multidetector computed tomography. Of 10,547 consecutive CT examinations comprising the chest, the CT scans of 146 patients with ordinary pneumothoraces were identified and retrospectively evaluated. The study group included 110 male and 36 female patients (mean age, 50 years; range, 1-93 years). All examinations were performed at our institution between January 2009 and December 2009. Cause of pneumothorax was classified as traumatic or non-traumatic. Localized air foci in the lower thorax were defined as being localized air collections in the lower thorax that did not appear to be adjacent to the lung. If these criteria were met, the shape, size, location laterality, and number of foci were evaluated. Associations with trauma, sex, severity of the pneumothorax, and laterality were evaluated using the χ(2) test. All P values pneumothorax commonly had localized air foci in the lower thorax. Because such foci can mimic pneumoperitoneum, accurate recognition of them is required to avoid confusion with free intraperitoneal air, especially in traumatic cases. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Distributions and sea-to-air fluxes of chloroform, trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, chlorodibromomethane and bromoform in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea during spring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, Zhen; Yang, Gui-Peng; Lu, Xiao-Lan; Zhang, Hong-Hai

2013-01-01

Halocarbons including chloroform (CHCl 3 ), trichloroethylene (C 2 HCl 3 ), tetrachloroethylene (C 2 Cl 4 ), chlorodibromomethane (CHBr 2 Cl) and bromoform (CHBr 3 ) were measured in the Yellow Sea (YS) and the East China Sea (ECS) during spring 2011. The influences of chlorophyll a, salinity and nutrients on the distributions of these gases were examined. Elevated levels of these gases in the coastal waters were attributed to anthropogenic inputs and biological release by phytoplankton. The vertical distributions of these gases in the water column were controlled by different source strengths and water masses. Using atmospheric concentrations measured in spring 2012 and seawater concentrations obtained from this study, the sea-to-air fluxes of these gases were estimated. Our results showed that the emissions of C 2 HCl 3 , C 2 Cl 4, CHBr 2 Cl, and CHBr 3 from the study area could account for 16.5%, 10.5%, 14.6%, and 3.5% of global oceanic emissions, respectively, indicating that the coastal shelf may contribute significantly to the global oceanic emissions of these gases. -- Highlights: ► Distributions of the VHCs were studied in the YS and the ECS. ► Elevated levels of VHCs were related to terrestrial input from the Yangtze River. ► Biogenic production from diatoms was an important source of the VHCs. ► Shelf seas could significantly contribute to the global oceanic VHCs emission. -- The elevated levels of the volatile halocarbons in the coastal waters were attributed to anthropogenic inputs and biological release by phytoplankton (e.g., diatoms)

Strategic environmental assessment for local transport plans; Strategische Umweltpruefung in der kommunalen Verkehrsentwicklung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Conrad, Vera

2008-08-15

The strategic environmental assessment (SEA) makes new demands for plans and programs also in the transport sector. Particularly on local level transport is one of the biggest causers of negative environmental effects. But there exists no SEA obligation for local transport plans, however many factors suggest to make such an examination in this sector. At the latest in the urban land use planning transport effects are a component for the SEA. Synergies can be exhausted and the individual planning steps are appropriately co-ordinated by the meaningful integration of transport and urban development planning. Additional synergies can gained in connection with further local and/or regional planning like e.g. the clean air planning or noise reduction planning. The aim of the doctoral thesis is to draft recommendations how to integrate the SEA into local transport planning process. For that purpose it is necessary to deduce the requirements demanded by the SEA and to demonstrate the current state of the local transport planning. The doctoral thesis is based on partial results of the research project FE 73.0237 ''Strategische Umweltpruefung in der kommunalen Verkehrsentwicklungsplanung'' in behalf of the German Ministry of Transport (Bundesministerium fuer Verkehr, Bauen und Stadtentwicklung) and mentored by the Federal Office of civil engineering (Bundesamt fuer Bauwesen und Raumordnung). The author of this thesis was instrumental in acquiring those results. The thesis contains a detailed literature research. The SEA's requirements are also described as well as the current state of the local transport planning. The state of the SEA on the different planning levels in the German transport sector is presented. Another part is a survey of 13 municipalities concerning their previous practice of the local transport and environmental planning as well as their experience with the SEA on local level and the analyse of local data. Furthermore three

Simulating emission and chemical evolution of coarse sea-salt particles in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. T. Kelly

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Chemical processing of sea-salt particles in coastal environments significantly impacts concentrations of particle components and gas-phase species and has implications for human exposure to particulate matter and nitrogen deposition to sensitive ecosystems. Emission of sea-salt particles from the coastal surf zone is known to be elevated compared to that from the open ocean. Despite the importance of sea-salt emissions and chemical processing, the US EPA's Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ model has traditionally treated coarse sea-salt particles as chemically inert and has not accounted for enhanced surf-zone emissions. In this article, updates to CMAQ are described that enhance sea-salt emissions from the coastal surf zone and allow dynamic transfer of HNO₃, H₂SO₄, HCl, and NH₃ between coarse particles and the gas phase. Predictions of updated CMAQ models and the previous release version, CMAQv4.6, are evaluated using observations from three coastal sites during the Bay Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (BRACE in Tampa, FL in May 2002. Model updates improve predictions of NO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻, NH₄⁺, Na⁺, and Cl⁻ concentrations at these sites with only a 8% increase in run time. In particular, the chemically interactive coarse particle mode dramatically improves predictions of nitrate concentration and size distributions as well as the fraction of total nitrate in the particle phase. Also, the surf-zone emission parameterization improves predictions of total sodium and chloride concentration. Results of a separate study indicate that the model updates reduce the mean absolute error of nitrate predictions at coastal CASTNET and SEARCH sites in the eastern US. Although the new model features improve performance relative to CMAQv4.6, some persistent differences exist between observations and predictions

Relationships Between the Bulk-Skin Sea Surface Temperature Difference, Wind, and Net Air-Sea Heat Flux

Science.gov (United States)

Emery, William J.; Castro, Sandra L.; Lindstrom, Eric (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The primary purpose of this project was to evaluate and improve models for the bulk-skin temperature difference to the point where they could accurately and reliably apply under a wide variety of environmental conditions. To accomplish this goal, work was conducted in three primary areas. These included production of an archive of available data sets containing measurements of the skin and bulk temperatures and associated environmental conditions, evaluation of existing skin layer models using the compiled data archive, and additional theoretical work on the development of an improved model using the data collected under diverse environmental conditions. In this work we set the basis for a new physical model of renewal type, and propose a parameterization for the temperature difference across the cool skin of the ocean in which the effects of thermal buoyancy, wind stress, and microscale breaking are all integrated by means of the appropriate renewal time scales. Ideally, we seek to obtain a model that will accurately apply under a wide variety of environmental conditions. A summary of the work in each of these areas is included in this report. A large amount of work was accomplished under the support of this grant. The grant supported the graduate studies of Sandra Castro and the preparation of her thesis which will be completed later this year. This work led to poster presentations at the 1999 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting and 2000 IGARSS meeting. Additional work will be presented in a talk at this year's American Meteorological Society Air-Sea Interaction Meeting this May. The grant also supported Sandra Castro during a two week experiment aboard the R/P Flip (led by Dr. Andrew Jessup of the Applied Physics Laboratory) to help obtain additional shared data sets and to provide Sandra with a fundamental understanding of the physical processes needed in the models. In a related area, the funding also partially supported Dr. William Emery and Daniel

Managing for interactions between local and global stressors of ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Christopher J; Saunders, Megan I; Possingham, Hugh P; Richardson, Anthony J

2013-01-01

Global stressors, including climate change, are a major threat to ecosystems, but they cannot be halted by local actions. Ecosystem management is thus attempting to compensate for the impacts of global stressors by reducing local stressors, such as overfishing. This approach assumes that stressors interact additively or synergistically, whereby the combined effect of two stressors is at least the sum of their isolated effects. It is not clear, however, how management should proceed for antagonistic interactions among stressors, where multiple stressors do not have an additive or greater impact. Research to date has focussed on identifying synergisms among stressors, but antagonisms may be just as common. We examined the effectiveness of management when faced with different types of interactions in two systems--seagrass and fish communities--where the global stressor was climate change but the local stressors were different. When there were synergisms, mitigating local stressors delivered greater gains, whereas when there were antagonisms, management of local stressors was ineffective or even degraded ecosystems. These results suggest that reducing a local stressor can compensate for climate change impacts if there is a synergistic interaction. Conversely, if there is an antagonistic interaction, management of local stressors will have the greatest benefits in areas of refuge from climate change. A balanced research agenda, investigating both antagonistic and synergistic interaction types, is needed to inform management priorities.

Managing for interactions between local and global stressors of ecosystems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher J Brown

Full Text Available Global stressors, including climate change, are a major threat to ecosystems, but they cannot be halted by local actions. Ecosystem management is thus attempting to compensate for the impacts of global stressors by reducing local stressors, such as overfishing. This approach assumes that stressors interact additively or synergistically, whereby the combined effect of two stressors is at least the sum of their isolated effects. It is not clear, however, how management should proceed for antagonistic interactions among stressors, where multiple stressors do not have an additive or greater impact. Research to date has focussed on identifying synergisms among stressors, but antagonisms may be just as common. We examined the effectiveness of management when faced with different types of interactions in two systems--seagrass and fish communities--where the global stressor was climate change but the local stressors were different. When there were synergisms, mitigating local stressors delivered greater gains, whereas when there were antagonisms, management of local stressors was ineffective or even degraded ecosystems. These results suggest that reducing a local stressor can compensate for climate change impacts if there is a synergistic interaction. Conversely, if there is an antagonistic interaction, management of local stressors will have the greatest benefits in areas of refuge from climate change. A balanced research agenda, investigating both antagonistic and synergistic interaction types, is needed to inform management priorities.

Numerical modelling of thermodynamics and dynamics of sea ice in the Baltic Sea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Herman

2011-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a numerical dynamic-thermo-dynamic sea-ice model for the Baltic Sea is used to analyze the variability of ice conditions in three winter seasons. The modelling results are validated with station (water temperature and satellite data (ice concentration as well as by qualitative comparisons with the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute ice charts. Analysis of the results addresses two major questions. One concerns effects of meteorological forcing on the spatio-temporal distribution of ice concentration in the Baltic. Patterns of correlations between air temperature, wind speed, and ice-covered area are demonstrated to be different in larger, more open sub-basins (e.g., the Bothnian Sea than in the smaller ones (e.g., the Bothnian Bay. Whereas the correlations with the air temperature are positive in both cases, the influence of wind is pronounced only in large basins, leading to increase/decrease of areas with small/large ice concentrations, respectively. The other question concerns the role of ice dynamics in the evolution of the ice cover. By means of simulations with the dynamic model turned on and off, the ice dynamics is shown to play a crucial role in interactions between the ice and the upper layers of the water column, especially during periods with highly varying wind speeds and directions. In particular, due to the fragmentation of the ice cover and the modified surface fluxes, the ice dynamics influences the rate of change of the total ice volume, in some cases by as much as 1 km³ per day. As opposed to most other numerical studies on the sea-ice in the Baltic Sea, this work concentrates on the short-term variability of the ice cover and its response to the synoptic-scale forcing.

Local and global: seafaring communities in the North Sea area, c. 1600-2000

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Davids, C.A.

2015-01-01

A seafaring community is a village, a small town or a neighbourhood where a substantial part of the population earns its livelihood wholly or partly by work at sea or is directly dependent on seafaring. A seafaring community can arise because an established population at a particular locality

Interactive Sea Level Rise App & Online Viewer Offers Deep Dive Into Climate

Science.gov (United States)

Turrin, M.; Porter, D. F.; Ryan, W. B. F.; Pfirman, S. L.

2015-12-01

Climate has captured the attention of the public but its complexity can cause interested individuals to turn to opinion pieces, news articles or blogs for information. These platforms often oversimplify or present heavily interpreted or personalized perspectives. Data interactives are an extremely effective way to explore complex geoscience topics like climate, opening windows of understanding for the user that have previously been closed. Layering data onto maps through programs like GeoMapApp and the Earth Observer App has allowed users to dig directly into science data, but with only limited scaffolding. The interactive 'Polar Explorer: Sea Level Explorer App' provides a richly layered introduction to a range of topics connected to sea level rise. Each map is supported with a pop up and a short audio file of supplementary material, and an information page that includes the data source and links for further reading. This type of learning platform works well for both the formal and informal learning environment. Through science data displayed as map visualizations the user is invited into topics through an introductory question, such as "Why does sea level change?" After clicking on that question the user moves to a second layer of questions exploring the role of the ocean, the atmosphere, the contribution from the world's glaciers, world's ice sheets and other less obvious considerations such as the role of post-glacial rebound, or the mining of groundwater. Each question ends in a data map, or series of maps, that offer opportunities to interact with the topic. Under the role of the ocean 'Internal Ocean Temperature' offers the user a chance to touch to see temperature values spatially over the world's ocean, or to click through a data series starting at the ocean surface and diving to 5000 meters of depth showing how temperature changes with depth. Other sections, like the role of deglaciation of North America, allow the user to click and see change through

Human Response to Ductless Personalized Ventilation with Local Air Cleaning: Air Quality and Prevalence of SBS Symptoms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalewski, Mariusz; Bivolarova, Maria; Fillon, Maelys

2013-01-01

The impact of local air cleaning and cooling of the head region by ductless personalized ventilation (DPV) on perceived air quality (PAQ) and Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) symptoms was studied. Thirty subjects participated in experiments performed in a test room with displacement ventilation (DV...... with air filter and 29 °C with DPV without filter. During the experiments the subjects simulated office work and answered on computerized questionnaires. At warm environment PAQ and air freshness significantly improved when DPV was used. Eye dryness increased significantly with time but was not influenced...... by air temperature and filtering. At 29 °C the facially applied air movement from DPV increased the eye dryness. The SBS symptoms increased with time and were higher (not significantly) at the warm conditions. Air movement did not have profound impact on the SBS symptoms, while filtering had only at 23...

Air-Sea exchange of biogenic volatile organic compounds and the impact on aerosol particle size distributions

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Michelle J.; Novak, Gordon A.; Zoerb, Matthew C.; Yang, Mingxi; Blomquist, Byron W.; Huebert, Barry J.; Cappa, Christopher D.; Bertram, Timothy H.

2017-04-01

We report simultaneous, underway eddy covariance measurements of the vertical flux of isoprene, total monoterpenes, and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) over the Northern Atlantic Ocean during fall. Mean isoprene and monoterpene sea-to-air vertical fluxes were significantly lower than mean DMS fluxes. While rare, intense monoterpene sea-to-air fluxes were observed, coincident with elevated monoterpene mixing ratios. A statistically significant correlation between isoprene vertical flux and short wave radiation was not observed, suggesting that photochemical processes in the surface microlayer did not enhance isoprene emissions in this study region. Calculations of secondary organic aerosol production rates (PSOA) for mean isoprene and monoterpene emission rates sampled here indicate that PSOA is on average <0.1 μg m-3 d-1. Despite modest PSOA, low particle number concentrations permit a sizable role for condensational growth of monoterpene oxidation products in altering particle size distributions and the concentration of cloud condensation nuclei during episodic monoterpene emission events from the ocean.

Carbon isotope evidence for the latitudinal distribution and wind speed dependence of the air-sea gas transfer velocity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krakauer, Nir Y.

2006-01-01

The air-sea gas transfer velocity is an important determinant of the exchange of gases, including CO 2 , between the atmosphere and ocean, but the magnitude of the transfer velocity and what factors control it remains poorly known. Here, we use oceanic and atmospheric observations of 14 C and 13 C to constrain the global mean gas transfer velocity as well as the exponent of its wind speed dependence, utilizing the distinct signatures left by the air-sea exchange of 14 CO 2 and 13 CO 2 . While the atmosphere and ocean inventories of 14 CO 2 and 13 CO 2 constrain the mean gas transfer velocity, the latitudinal pattern in the atmospheric and oceanic 14 C and 13 C distributions contain information about the wind speed dependence. We computed the uptake of bomb 14 C by the ocean for different transfer velocity patterns using pulse response functions from an ocean general circulation model, and evaluated the match between the predicted bomb 14 C concentrations and observationally based estimates for the 1970s-1990s. Using a wind speed climatology based on satellite measurements, we solved either for the best-fit global relationship between gas exchange and mean wind speed or for the mean gas transfer velocity over each of 11 ocean regions. We also compared the predicted consequences of different gas exchange relationships on the rate of change and interhemisphere gradient of 14 C in atmospheric CO 2 with tree-ring and atmospheric measurements. Our results suggest that globally, the dependence of the air-sea gas transfer velocity on wind speed is close to linear, with an exponent of 0.5 ± 0.4, and that the global mean gas transfer velocity at a Schmidt number of 660 is 20 ± 3 cm/hr, similar to the results of previous analyses. We find that the air-sea flux of 13 C estimated from atmosphere and ocean observations also suggests a lower than quadratic dependence of gas exchange on wind speed

Coccolithophore surface distributions in the North Atlantic and their modulation of the air-sea flux of CO2 from 10 years of satellite Earth observation data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. D. Shutler

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Coccolithophores are the primary oceanic phytoplankton responsible for the production of calcium carbonate (CaCO3. These climatically important plankton play a key role in the oceanic carbon cycle as a major contributor of carbon to the open ocean carbonate pump (~50% and their calcification can affect the atmosphere-to-ocean (air-sea uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2 through increasing the seawater partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2. Here we document variations in the areal extent of surface blooms of the globally important coccolithophore, Emiliania huxleyi, in the North Atlantic over a 10-year period (1998–2007, using Earth observation data from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS. We calculate the annual mean sea surface areal coverage of E. huxleyi in the North Atlantic to be 474 000 ± 104 000 km2, which results in a net CaCO3 carbon (CaCO3-C production of 0.14–1.71 Tg CaCO3-C per year. However, this surface coverage (and, thus, net production can fluctuate inter-annually by −54/+8% about the mean value and is strongly correlated with the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO climate oscillation index (r=0.75, pE. huxleyi blooms in the North Atlantic can increase the pCO2 and, thus, decrease the localised air-sea flux of atmospheric CO2. In regions where the blooms are prevalent, the average reduction in the monthly air-sea CO2 flux can reach 55%. The maximum reduction of the monthly air-sea CO2 flux in the time series is 155%. This work suggests that the high variability, frequency and distribution of these calcifying plankton and their impact on pCO2 should be considered if we are to fully understand the variability of the North Atlantic air-to-sea flux of CO2. We estimate that these blooms can reduce the annual N. Atlantic net sink atmospheric CO2 by between 3–28%.

Air-sea exchanges of materials in the Indian Ocean: Concerns and strategies

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

DileepKumar, M.

biological production is entirely due to leakage of agricultural effluents into coastal waters, as the present knowledge on the seasonal variability of nutrients and biological production in waters along the Indian coast is still limited. If this theory... to gaseous CO2 with minor reduction in pH. The gaseous CO2 in seawater determines the extent of air-sea exchange. But small changes in temperature or pH can modify gaseous CO2 content in seawater. Thus shifts in physico- chemical and biological regimes...

Collective behaviour of climate indices in the North Pacific air-sea system and its potential relationships with decadal climate changes

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Wang Xiao-Juan; Zhi Rong; He Wen-Ping; Gong Zhi-Qiang

2012-01-01

A climate network of six climate indices of the North Pacific air-sea system is constructed during the period of 1948-2009.In order to find out the inherent relationship between the intrinsic mechanism of climate index network and the important climate shift,the synchronization behaviour and the coupling behaviour of these indices are investigated.Results indicate that climate network synchronization happened around the beginning of the 1960s,in the middle of the 1970s and at the beginnings of the 1990s and the 2000s separately.These synchronization states were always followed by the decrease of the coupling coefficient.Each synchronization of the network was well associated with the abrupt phase or trend changes of annually accumulated abnormal vaiues of North Pacific sea-surface temperature and 500-hPa height,among which the one that happened in the middle of the 1970s is the most noticeable climate shift.We can also obtain this mysterious shift from the first mode of the empirical orthogonal function of six indices.That is to say,abrupt climate shift in North Pacific air-sea system is not only shown by the phase or trend changes of climate indices,but also night be indicated by the synchronizing and the coupling of climate indices.Furthermore,at the turning point of 1975,there are also abrupt correlation changes in the yearly mode of spatial degree distribution of the sea surface temperature and 500-hPa height in the region of the North Pacific,which further proves the probability of climate index synchronization and coupling shift in air-sea systems.

Air-sea exchange and gas-particle partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons over the northwestern Pacific Ocean: Role of East Asian continental outflow.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Zilan; Lin, Tian; Li, Zhongxia; Jiang, Yuqing; Li, Yuanyuan; Yao, Xiaohong; Gao, Huiwang; Guo, Zhigang

2017-11-01

We measured 15 parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in atmosphere and water during a research cruise from the East China Sea (ECS) to the northwestern Pacific Ocean (NWP) in the spring of 2015 to investigate the occurrence, air-sea gas exchange, and gas-particle partitioning of PAHs with a particular focus on the influence of East Asian continental outflow. The gaseous PAH composition and identification of sources were consistent with PAHs from the upwind area, indicating that the gaseous PAHs (three-to five-ring PAHs) were influenced by upwind land pollution. In addition, air-sea exchange fluxes of gaseous PAHs were estimated to be -54.2-107.4 ng m -2 d -1 , and was indicative of variations of land-based PAH inputs. The logarithmic gas-particle partition coefficient (logK p ) of PAHs regressed linearly against the logarithmic subcooled liquid vapor pressure (logP L 0 ), with a slope of -0.25. This was significantly larger than the theoretical value (-1), implying disequilibrium between the gaseous and particulate PAHs over the NWP. The non-equilibrium of PAH gas-particle partitioning was shielded from the volatilization of three-ring gaseous PAHs from seawater and lower soot concentrations in particular when the oceanic air masses prevailed. Modeling PAH absorption into organic matter and adsorption onto soot carbon revealed that the status of PAH gas-particle partitioning deviated more from the modeling K p for oceanic air masses than those for continental air masses, which coincided with higher volatilization of three-ring PAHs and confirmed the influence of air-sea exchange. Meanwhile, significant linear regressions between logK p and logK oa (logK sa ) for PAHs were observed for continental air masses, suggesting the dominant effect of East Asian continental outflow on atmospheric PAHs over the NWP during the sampling campaign. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dynamic Analysis of Product Lifecycle and Sea/Air Modal Choice: Evidence of Export from Japan1

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hideki Murakami

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Here, we test the hypothesis that commodities at their peak valuation are transported by air, while those at their inception and maturity are shipped by sea, as well as the theory that shippers choose air to transport high-valued commodities. We empirically investigated how the product lifecycle of commodities is reflected by shippers’ choices of air over seaborne transportation. We also assumed that commodities that achieved substantial innovation in their lifecycles would be moved by air transportation so that these commodities could reach targeted markets as quickly as possible to avoid the opportunity costs that might be generated by missed business chances. We constructed two sets of unbalanced panel data of 14 commodities for 24 years drawn from Japan's customs, demographic, and international statistics. By estimating structural equation systems that consisted of commodity-specific export and export air ratio functions, we found that the product lifecycle of cargo outgoing from Japan exactly matched the upward and downward movement of the air ratio.

Dynamic changes in the interchromosomal interaction of early histone gene loci during development of sea urchin.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsushita, Masaya; Ochiai, Hiroshi; Suzuki, Ken-Ichi T; Hayashi, Sayaka; Yamamoto, Takashi; Awazu, Akinori; Sakamoto, Naoaki

2017-12-15

The nuclear positioning and chromatin dynamics of eukaryotic genes are closely related to the regulation of gene expression, but they have not been well examined during early development, which is accompanied by rapid cell cycle progression and dynamic changes in nuclear organization, such as nuclear size and chromatin constitution. In this study, we focused on the early development of the sea urchin Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus and performed three-dimensional fluorescence in situ hybridization of gene loci encoding early histones (one of the types of histone in sea urchin). There are two non-allelic early histone gene loci per sea urchin genome. We found that during the morula stage, when the early histone gene expression levels are at their maximum, interchromosomal interactions were often formed between the early histone gene loci on separate chromosomes and that the gene loci were directed to locate to more interior positions. Furthermore, these interactions were associated with the active transcription of the early histone genes. Thus, such dynamic interchromosomal interactions may contribute to the efficient synthesis of early histone mRNA during the morula stage of sea urchin development. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Preferred Air Velocity and Local Cooling Effect of desk fans in warm environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Simone, Angela; Olesen, Bjarne W.

2013-01-01

to compensate for higher environmental temperatures at the expense of no or relatively low energy consumption. When using desk fans, local air movement is generated around the occupant and a certain cooling effect is perceived. The impact of the local air movement generated by different air flow patterns......Common experiences, standards, and laboratory studies show that increased air velocity helps to offset warm sensation due to high environmental temperatures. In warm climate regions the opening of windows and the use of desk or ceiling fans are the most common systems to generate increased airflows......, and the possibility to keep comfortable conditions for the occupants in warm environments were evaluated in studies with human subjects. In an office-like climatic chamber, the effect of higher air velocity was investigated at room temperatures between 26°C to 34°C and at constant absolute humidity of 12.2 g...

APO observations in Southern Greenland: evaluation of modelled air-sea O2 and CO2 fluxes

Science.gov (United States)

Bonne, Jean-Louis; Bopp, Laurent; Delmotte, Marc; Cadule, Patricia; Resplandy, Laure; Nevison, Cynthia; Manizza, Manfredi; Valentin Lavric, Jost; Manning, Andrew C.; Masson-Delmotte, Valérie

2014-05-01

Since September 2007, the atmospheric CO2 mole fraction and O2/N2 ratio (a proxy for O2 concentration) have been monitored continuously at the coastal site of Ivittuut, southern Greenland (61.21° N, 48.17° W). From 2007 to 2013, our measurements show multi-annual trends of +2.0 ppm/year and -20 per meg/year respectively for CO2 and O2/N2, with annual average peak-to-peak seasonal amplitudes of 14+/-1 ppm and 130+/-15 per meg. We investigate the implications of our data set in terms of APO (Atmospheric Potential Oxygen). This tracer, obtained by a linear combination of CO2 and O2/N2 data, is invariant to CO2 and O2 exchanges in the land biota, but sensitive to the oceanic component of the O2 cycle. It is used as a bridge to evaluate air-sea CO2 and O2 fluxes from atmospheric variations of CO2 and O2/N2. Global ocean biogeochemical models produce estimates of CO2 and O2 air-sea fluxes. Atmospheric APO variations can be simulated through transportation of these fluxes in the atmosphere by Eulerian transport models. Thus, model values of atmospheric APO can be extracted at the station location. This study is based on air-sea flux outputs from CMIP5 simulations. After atmospheric transportation, they give access to atmospheric APO climatologies which can be compared, in terms of seasonal cycles and inter-annual variability, to the in situ observations. A preliminary study is based on the CCSM ocean model air-sea fluxes transported in the atmosphere with the MATCH transport model, over the period 1979-2004. The amplitude of the APO seasonal cycle is correctly captured, but year to year variations on this seasonal cycle appears to be underestimated compared to observations. The LMDZ atmospheric transport model is also used to transport the ocean fluxes from five CMIP5 models, over the period 1979-2005, showing different amplitudes and timings of APO seasonal cycles. This methodology is a first step to evaluate the origin of observed APO variations at our site and then

Noninvasive evaluation of the chronic influence of local air velocity from an air conditioner using salivary cortisol and skin caspase-14 as biomarkers of psychosomatic and environmental stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamaguchi, M; Nishimiya, H

2012-01-01

To demonstrate the possibility of evaluating the chronic influence of local air velocity from an air conditioner using noninvasive biomarkers. Over a consecutive 5-day period, 16 healthy young male adults were exposed to air flow from a whole ceiling-type air conditioner (low local air velocity) and from a commercial concentrated exhaust air conditioner (high local air velocity). Salivary cortisol was used as an index of the psychological effects and caspase-14, collected from the stratum corneum, was used as a marker of environmental stress on the skin. Local air velocity generated from the whole ceiling-type air conditioner where the subject's head was positioned was one-seventh that of the exhaust air conditioner. After exposure to the exhaust air conditioner for 5 days, salivary cortisol decreased significantly from morning to evening and skin caspase-14 gradually increased during the day. A significant increase in hydration index from the morning to the evening was found with the whole ceiling-type air conditioner. The effects of chronic exposure to air movement generated by an air conditioner may be quantified by measurement of salivary cortisol and skin caspase-14.

Air pollution control technologies and their interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nalbandian, H. [IEA Clean Coal Centre, London (United Kingdom)

2004-11-01

A large number of coal-fired power stations have been fitted/retrofitted with dedicated air pollutant control technologies. Experience shows that these technologies can have complex interactions and can impact each other as well as balance of plant, positively and/or negatively. Particulate matter (PM) is usually captured with electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) and fabric filters (FF). These technologies are efficient and reliable but their performance may be affected by modifying operating conditions and introducing primary measures for NOx reduction. Flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) systems for SO{sub 2} control have been installed in many facilities with the most popular technology being the wet limestone/gypsum scrubber. FGD use can decrease particulate matter and mercury emissions which is a major issue in the USA, cause an increase in carbon dioxide emissions, and in solids by-product. Primary measures such as low NOx burners (LNBs) and overfire air (OFA) minimise NOx formation but can increase carbon in ash (CIA) which can cause problems with fly ash sales but may also improve mercury capture. Reducing NOx emissions with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) can result in a decrease in particulate matter, an increase in SO{sub 3} emissions and trace increase in NH{sub 3}. This can cause fouling and loss of performance of the air preheater, due to the formation of ammonium sulphates. One way of alleviating this is improved soot-blowing and other cleaning capabilities. This report studies these and other interactions between existing air pollution control technologies in pulverised coal fired power plants. 249 refs., 13 figs., 18 tabs.

The Ross Sea Dipole - temperature, snow accumulation and sea ice variability in the Ross Sea region, Antarctica, over the past 2700 years

Science.gov (United States)

Bertler, Nancy A. N.; Conway, Howard; Dahl-Jensen, Dorthe; Emanuelsson, Daniel B.; Winstrup, Mai; Vallelonga, Paul T.; Lee, James E.; Brook, Ed J.; Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.; Fudge, Taylor J.; Keller, Elizabeth D.; Baisden, W. Troy; Hindmarsh, Richard C. A.; Neff, Peter D.; Blunier, Thomas; Edwards, Ross; Mayewski, Paul A.; Kipfstuhl, Sepp; Buizert, Christo; Canessa, Silvia; Dadic, Ruzica; Kjær, Helle A.; Kurbatov, Andrei; Zhang, Dongqi; Waddington, Edwin D.; Baccolo, Giovanni; Beers, Thomas; Brightley, Hannah J.; Carter, Lionel; Clemens-Sewall, David; Ciobanu, Viorela G.; Delmonte, Barbara; Eling, Lukas; Ellis, Aja; Ganesh, Shruthi; Golledge, Nicholas R.; Haines, Skylar; Handley, Michael; Hawley, Robert L.; Hogan, Chad M.; Johnson, Katelyn M.; Korotkikh, Elena; Lowry, Daniel P.; Mandeno, Darcy; McKay, Robert M.; Menking, James A.; Naish, Timothy R.; Noerling, Caroline; Ollive, Agathe; Orsi, Anaïs; Proemse, Bernadette C.; Pyne, Alexander R.; Pyne, Rebecca L.; Renwick, James; Scherer, Reed P.; Semper, Stefanie; Simonsen, Marius; Sneed, Sharon B.; Steig, Eric J.; Tuohy, Andrea; Ulayottil Venugopal, Abhijith; Valero-Delgado, Fernando; Venkatesh, Janani; Wang, Feitang; Wang, Shimeng; Winski, Dominic A.; Winton, V. Holly L.; Whiteford, Arran; Xiao, Cunde; Yang, Jiao; Zhang, Xin

2018-02-01

High-resolution, well-dated climate archives provide an opportunity to investigate the dynamic interactions of climate patterns relevant for future projections. Here, we present data from a new, annually dated ice core record from the eastern Ross Sea, named the Roosevelt Island Climate Evolution (RICE) ice core. Comparison of this record with climate reanalysis data for the 1979-2012 interval shows that RICE reliably captures temperature and snow precipitation variability in the region. Trends over the past 2700 years in RICE are shown to be distinct from those in West Antarctica and the western Ross Sea captured by other ice cores. For most of this interval, the eastern Ross Sea was warming (or showing isotopic enrichment for other reasons), with increased snow accumulation and perhaps decreased sea ice concentration. However, West Antarctica cooled and the western Ross Sea showed no significant isotope temperature trend. This pattern here is referred to as the Ross Sea Dipole. Notably, during the Little Ice Age, West Antarctica and the western Ross Sea experienced colder than average temperatures, while the eastern Ross Sea underwent a period of warming or increased isotopic enrichment. From the 17th century onwards, this dipole relationship changed. All three regions show current warming, with snow accumulation declining in West Antarctica and the eastern Ross Sea but increasing in the western Ross Sea. We interpret this pattern as reflecting an increase in sea ice in the eastern Ross Sea with perhaps the establishment of a modern Roosevelt Island polynya as a local moisture source for RICE.

SO2 NAAQS Implementation Training and Assistance for State and Local Air Agencies

Science.gov (United States)

Presentations and training help air agencies understand the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for sulfur dioxide, how to engage the public in local emissions reduction programs, successful state implementation plan (SIP) development, and more.

Captive reared loggerhead sea turtles Hook and bait interaction trials From 2004-2007

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Hook and bait interaction feeding response data from experiments with captive reared loggerhead sea turtles ranging from 45 - 65 cm straight carapace length) were...

Uncertainty in Twenty-First-Century CMIP5 Sea Level Projections

Science.gov (United States)

Little, Christopher M.; Horton, Radley M.; Kopp, Robert E.; Oppenheimer, Michael; Yip, Stan

2015-01-01

The representative concentration pathway (RCP) simulations included in phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) quantify the response of the climate system to different natural and anthropogenic forcing scenarios. These simulations differ because of 1) forcing, 2) the representation of the climate system in atmosphere-ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs), and 3) the presence of unforced (internal) variability. Global and local sea level rise projections derived from these simulations, and the emergence of distinct responses to the four RCPs depend on the relative magnitude of these sources of uncertainty at different lead times. Here, the uncertainty in CMIP5 projections of sea level is partitioned at global and local scales, using a 164-member ensemble of twenty-first-century simulations. Local projections at New York City (NYSL) are highlighted. The partition between model uncertainty, scenario uncertainty, and internal variability in global mean sea level (GMSL) is qualitatively consistent with that of surface air temperature, with model uncertainty dominant for most of the twenty-first century. Locally, model uncertainty is dominant through 2100, with maxima in the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean. The model spread is driven largely by 4 of the 16 AOGCMs in the ensemble; these models exhibit outlying behavior in all RCPs and in both GMSL and NYSL. The magnitude of internal variability varies widely by location and across models, leading to differences of several decades in the local emergence of RCPs. The AOGCM spread, and its sensitivity to model exclusion and/or weighting, has important implications for sea level assessments, especially if a local risk management approach is utilized.

New calculation method for thermodynamic properties of humid air in humid air turbine cycle – The general model and solutions for saturated humid air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Zidong; Chen, Hanping; Weng, Shilie

2013-01-01

The article proposes a new calculation method for thermodynamic properties (i.e. specific enthalpy, specific entropy and specific volume) of humid air in humid air turbine cycle. The research pressure range is from 0.1 MPa to 5 MPa. The fundamental behaviors of dry air and water vapor in saturated humid air are explored in depth. The new model proposes and verifies the relationship between total gas mixture pressure and gas component pressures. This provides a good explanation of the fundamental behaviors of gas components in gas mixture from a new perspective. Another discovery is that the water vapor component pressure of saturated humid air equals P S , always smaller than its partial pressure (f·P S ) which was believed in the past researches. In the new model, “Local Gas Constant” describes the interaction between similar molecules. “Improvement Factor” is proposed for the first time by this article, and it quantitatively describes the magnitude of interaction between dissimilar molecules. They are combined to fully describe the real thermodynamic properties of humid air. The average error of Revised Dalton's Method is within 0.1% compared to experimentally-based data. - Highlights: • Our new model is suitable to calculate thermodynamic properties of humid air in HAT cycle. • Fundamental behaviors of dry air and water vapor in saturated humid air are explored in depth. • Local-Gas-Constant describes existing alone component and Improvement Factor describes interaction between different components. • The new model proposes and verifies the relationship between total gas mixture pressure and component pressures. • It solves saturated humid air thoroughly and deviates from experimental data less than 0.1%

Positronium annihilation in liquids in the framework of non-local interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mukherjee, Tapas; Dutta, Dhanadeep

2012-01-01

In the bubble model of ortho positronium (o-Ps) annihilation in liquid the origin of the trapping of o-Ps is the electron-exchange repulsive interaction between the electron of o-Ps and the electron of the medium. The corresponding effective interaction is non-local in nature. However, in the prevalent bubble model, this effective interaction is usually treated as local (model) potential (sharp or smooth). In the present study, we have taken an approach to consider this trapping interaction as non-local in nature, which is included through a model separable non-local function to tackle the problem in analytically solvable manner. The analytical calculations show that this non-local interaction effectively acts as a gauge potential in the energy of the Ps atom in parameter (bubble radius) space. The computed bubble variables obtained using experimental Ps annihilation data are shown. A comparison between the present data with the calculated results using prevalent bubble model has been presented. Discussions have been made on the input parameter dependencies of the computed data. - Highlights: ► Bubble model has been modified by considering positronium-atom non-local interaction. ► No straight forward correlation between bubble size and effective potential is observed. ► Non-local potential acts as a guage potential.

Separable expansions for local potentials with Coulomb interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adhikari, S.K.

1976-01-01

If two particles are interacting via a short range potential and a repulsive Coulomb potential the t matrix can be written as a sum of the Coulomb and the ''nuclear'' t matrices. In order to solve the three-nucleon problem with Coulomb interactions usually we need a separable representation of this ''nuclear'' t matrix. A recently proposed method for finding a separable expansion for local potentials is here extended to find a rapidly convergent separable expansion, with analytic form factors, for the ''nuclear'' part of the t matrix of a local potential, in the presence of Coulomb interactions. The method is illustrated for a two-term Malfliet-Tjon potential. In each rank the ''nuclear'' phase shift is close to the corresponding phase shift when the Coulomb interaction is switched off

Variability in the air–sea interaction patterns and timescales within the south-eastern Bay of Biscay, as observed by HF radar data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Fontán

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Two high-frequency (HF radar stations were installed on the coast of the south-eastern Bay of Biscay in 2009, providing high spatial and temporal resolution and large spatial coverage of currents in the area for the first time. This has made it possible to quantitatively assess the air–sea interaction patterns and timescales for the period 2009–2010. The analysis was conducted using the Barnett–Preisendorfer approach to canonical correlation analysis (CCA of reanalysis surface winds and HF radar-derived surface currents. The CCA yields two canonical patterns: the first wind–current interaction pattern corresponds to the classical Ekman drift at the sea surface, whilst the second describes an anticyclonic/cyclonic surface circulation. The results obtained demonstrate that local winds play an important role in driving the upper water circulation. The wind–current interaction timescales are mainly related to diurnal breezes and synoptic variability. In particular, the breezes force diurnal currents in waters of the continental shelf and slope of the south-eastern Bay. It is concluded that the breezes may force diurnal currents over considerably wider areas than that covered by the HF radar, considering that the northern and southern continental shelves of the Bay exhibit stronger diurnal than annual wind amplitudes.

Allowances for evolving coastal flood risk under uncertain local sea-level rise

Science.gov (United States)

Buchanan, M. K.; Kopp, R. E.; Oppenheimer, M.; Tebaldi, C.

2015-12-01

Sea-level rise (SLR) causes estimates of flood risk made under the assumption of stationary mean sea level to be biased low. However, adjustments to flood return levels made assuming fixed increases of sea level are also inaccurate when applied to sea level that is rising over time at an uncertain rate. To accommodate both the temporal dynamics of SLR and their uncertainty, we develop an Average Annual Design Life Level (AADLL) metric and associated SLR allowances [1,2]. The AADLL is the flood level corresponding to a time-integrated annual expected probability of occurrence (AEP) under uncertainty over the lifetime of an asset; AADLL allowances are the adjustment from 2000 levels that maintain current risk. Given non-stationary and uncertain SLR, AADLL flood levels and allowances provide estimates of flood protection heights and offsets for different planning horizons and different levels of confidence in SLR projections in coastal areas. Allowances are a function primarily of local SLR and are nearly independent of AEP. Here we employ probabilistic SLR projections [3] to illustrate the calculation of AADLL flood levels and allowances with a representative set of long-duration tide gauges along U.S. coastlines. [1] Rootzen et al., 2014, Water Resources Research 49: 5964-5972. [2] Hunter, 2013, Ocean Engineering 71: 17-27. [3] Kopp et al., 2014, Earth's Future 2: 383-406.

Semi-local invariance in Ising models with multi-spin interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lipowski, A.

1996-08-01

We examine implications of semi-local invariance in Ising models with multispin interaction. In ergodic models all spin-spin correlation functions vanish and the local symmetry is the same as in locally gauge-invariant models. The d = 3 model with four-spin interaction is nonergodic at low temperature but the magnetic symmetry remains unbroken. The d = 3 model with eight-spin interaction is ergodic but undergoes the phase transition and most likely its low-temperature phase is characterized by a nonlocal order parameter. (author). 7 refs, 1 fig

Interactive short-term effects of equivalent temperature and air pollution on human mortality in Berlin and Lisbon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burkart, Katrin; Canário, Paulo; Breitner, Susanne; Schneider, Alexandra; Scherber, Katharina; Andrade, Henrique; Alcoforado, Maria João; Endlicher, Wilfried

2013-01-01

There is substantial evidence that both temperature and air pollution are predictors of mortality. Thus far, few studies have focused on the potential interactive effects between the thermal environment and different measures of air pollution. Such interactions, however, are biologically plausible, as (extreme) temperature or increased air pollution might make individuals more susceptible to the effects of each respective predictor. This study investigated the interactive effects between equivalent temperature and air pollution (ozone and particulate matter) in Berlin (Germany) and Lisbon (Portugal) using different types of Poisson regression models. The findings suggest that interactive effects exist between air pollutants and equivalent temperature. Bivariate response surface models and generalised additive models (GAMs) including interaction terms showed an increased risk of mortality during periods of elevated equivalent temperatures and air pollution. Cold effects were mostly unaffected by air pollution. The study underscores the importance of air pollution control in mitigating heat effects. -- Highlights: • Interactive effects between air pollution and equivalent temperature result in augmented excess mortality. • High levels of ozone and particulate matter increase adverse heat effects on human mortality. • Cold effects are mostly unaffected by air pollution. • Findings underscore the importance of air pollution control in mitigating heat-related mortality. -- Interactive effects between air pollution and elevated (equivalent) temperatures underscore the importance of air pollution control in mitigating the adverse effects of heat

Tide-surge interaction along the east coast of the Leizhou Peninsula, South China Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Heng; Cheng, Weicong; Qiu, Xixi; Feng, Xiangbo; Gong, Wenping

2017-06-01

A triply-nested two-dimensional (2D) ocean circulation model along with observed sea level records are used to study tide-surge interaction along the east coast of the Leizhou Peninsula (LP) which is characterized by extensive mudflats, large tidal ranges and a complex coastline. The dependency of surge maxima on the water level and the phase of tide are respectively investigated using two statistical approaches. Results show that tide-surge interaction along the east coast of the LP is significant, where surges peak 3-6 h before or after the nearest high water. The triply-nested 2D ocean circulation model is used to quantify tide-surge interaction in this region and to investigate its physical cause. The largest amplitudes of tide-surge interaction are found in the shallow water region of the Leizhou Bay, with values up to 1 m during typhoon events. Numerical experiments reveal that nonlinear bottom friction is the main contributor to tide-surge interaction, while the contribution of the nonlinear advective effect can be neglected. The shallow water effect enhances the role of nonlinear bottom friction in determining tide-surge modulation, leaving the surge peaks usually occur on the rising or falling tide. It is also found that the relative contribution of local wind and remote wind is different depending on the storm track and storm intensity, which would finally affect the temporal and spatial distribution of tide-surge interaction during typhoon events. These findings confirm the importance of coupling storm surges and tides for the prediction of storm surge events in regions which are characterized by shallow water depths and large tidal ranges.

STABLE STATIONARY STATES OF NON-LOCAL INTERACTION EQUATIONS

KAUST Repository

FELLNER, KLEMENS

2010-12-01

In this paper, we are interested in the large-time behaviour of a solution to a non-local interaction equation, where a density of particles/individuals evolves subject to an interaction potential and an external potential. It is known that for regular interaction potentials, stable stationary states of these equations are generically finite sums of Dirac masses. For a finite sum of Dirac masses, we give (i) a condition to be a stationary state, (ii) two necessary conditions of linear stability w.r.t. shifts and reallocations of individual Dirac masses, and (iii) show that these linear stability conditions imply local non-linear stability. Finally, we show that for regular repulsive interaction potential Wε converging to a singular repulsive interaction potential W, the Dirac-type stationary states ρ̄ ε approximate weakly a unique stationary state ρ̄ ∈ L∞. We illustrate our results with numerical examples. © 2010 World Scientific Publishing Company.

Impacts of Detailed Land-Use Types and Urban Heat in an Urban Canopy Model on Local Meteorology and Ozone Levels for Air Quality Modeling in a Coastal City, Korea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoon-Hee Kang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available An urban canopy model (UCM, with detailed urban land-use and anthropogenic heat information, is required to reproduce and understand the urbanization process and its impact on regional climate and urban air quality. This study investigates the UCM impact on simulated meteorology and surface ozone in the coastal city of Busan using the WRF-SMOKE-CMAQ model coupled with (UCM case, and without the UCM (NOUCM case. The UCM and NOUCM case results suggest that UCM case generally produces warmer temperatures and deeper planetary boundary layer (PBL heights, especially in the early morning and night time, than the NOUCM case. Owing to urban heating and enhanced turbulent mixing incorporation in the center of the city, the sea breeze in the UCM case tends to penetrate faster and more strongly than in the NOUCM case. After sea breeze arrival at the urban center, the urban heat island effect prevents its penetration further inland. In the UCM case in the late afternoon, local meteorological changes induce remarkable increases in simulated O3 concentrations over the downwind (up to 17.1 ppb and downtown (up to 10.6 ppb areas. This is probably due to an increase in temperature in the urban areas and the wind convergence zone movement due to the sea breeze interaction and offshore flows. The increase in O3 concentration in the late afternoon results in the model bias reduction under previously underestimated O3 conditions due to high NOx emissions. The simulated O3 concentrations in the UCM case are more similar to the observed O3 concentrations compared to those of the NOUCM case.

Many-body Anderson localization of strongly interacting bosons in random lattices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katzer, Roman

2015-05-01

In the present work, we investigate the problem of many-body localization of strongly interacting bosons in random lattices within the disordered Bose-Hubbard model. This involves treating both the local Mott-Hubbard physics as well as the non-local quantum interference processes, which give rise to the phenomenon of Anderson localization, within the same theory. In order to determine the interaction induced transition to the Mott insulator phase, it is necessary to treat the local particle interaction exactly. Therefore, here we use a mean-field approach that approximates only the kinetic term of the Hamiltonian. This way, the full problem of interacting bosons on a random lattice is reduced to a local problem of a single site coupled to a particle bath, which has to be solved self-consistently. In accordance to previous works, we find that a finite disorder width leads to a reduced size of the Mott insulating regions. The transition from the superfluid phase to the Bose glass phase is driven by the non-local effect of Anderson localization. In order to describe this transition, one needs to work within a theory that is non-local as well. Therefore, here we introduce a new approach to the problem. Based on the results for the local excitation spectrum obtained within the mean-field theory, we reduce the full, interacting model to an effective, non-interacting model by applying a truncation scheme to the Hilbert space. Evaluating the long-ranged current density within this approximation, we identify the transition from the Bose glass to the superfluid phase with the Anderson transition of the effective model. Resolving this transition using the self-consistent theory of localization, we obtain the full phase diagram of the disordered Bose-Hubbard model in the regime of strong interaction and larger disorder. In accordance to the theorem of inclusions, we find that the Mott insulator and the superfluid phase are always separated by the compressible, but insulating

The UK National Air Quality Strategy: the effects of the proposed changes on Local Air Quality Management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beattie, C.I.; Ling, K.; Longhurst, J.W.S. [Univ. of the West of England, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Bristol (GB)] [and others

1999-07-01

The UK has implemented a system of Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) to tackle the many contemporary sources of air pollution, notably transport, industry and domestic fuel burning, in a holistic manner. The current legislation stems from the Environment Act 1995, which required a National Air Quality Strategy (NAQS) to be published outlining the Governments policies with respect to the assessment and management of air quality. The NAQS, originally published in March 1997, is on a rolling programme of reviews in order to reflect developments in European legislation, technological and scientific advances, improved air pollution modelling techniques and an increasingly better understanding of the economic and social issues involved. Following the first review (currently at consultation state), this paper will comment on how the proposed changes may affect the LAQM process. The proposed changes will also be summarised and discussed in the context of European Union air quality objectives and the economic analysis of NAQS.

Local and regional air quality over 1997 based on decrees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vissenberg, H.A.; Warmenhoven, R.C.G.

1999-01-01

Eleven of the 12 Dutch provinces and 52 of the 79 municipalities (over 40.000 inhabitants) reported on their air quality for 19997. The National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and the Directorate-General for Environmental Protection of the Ministry of VROM then combined these reports into an annual national report for 1997. The largest in several years, still 35 percent of the municipalities failed to meet their reported obligations. Most of the reports on air quality are incomplete on the contribution of large point sources and traffic to local air quality. For 1997 one province reported an exceedence of the limit value of nitrogen dioxide. In four provinces the target value of nitrogen dioxide was exceeded. The province of Zuid-Holland has to report next year on its air quality over 1998 because of exceeding of the limit value and the provinces Friesland and Utrecht have to report because they did not report (completely) over 1997. The 52 municipalities reported in total 60 exceedences of the (provisional) limit value over 1997: 20 roads with an exceedence of the nitrogen dioxide (provisional) limit value, 2 roads with an exceedence of the carbon monoxide limit value and 38 roads with an exceedance of the benzene limit value. Nine municipalities have to report on their air quality over 1998; Amsterdam, Arnhem, Breda, Den Haag, Leiden, Nijmegen, Sittard, Utrecht and Zwolle. Also the 27 municipalities which did not report over 1997 have to report over 1998; Alphen a/d Rijn, Dordrecht, Ede, Eindhoven, Enschede, Gouda, Groningen, Heerhugowaard, Heerlen, Helmond, 's Hertogenbosch, Heusden, Katwijk, Leeuwarden, Maarssen, Maastricht, Oosterhout, Oss, Purmerend, Ridderkerk, Roosendaal, Veldhoven, Smallingerland, Tilburg, Velsen, Vlaardingen and Zwijndrecht. Seven provinces and eight municipalities also reported on their policy to either maintain their air quality or improve it. Exceedance of limit values means that on a local scale air quality

Spatial and Temporal Changes in Air Pollution Along the Gulf Coast Observed During BRACE: A Case Study of the Land-Sea Breeze

Science.gov (United States)

Wellman, D.; Luke, W.; Arnold, J.; Watson, T.; Gunter, L.

2003-12-01

NOAA's Air Resources Laboratory conducted airborne measurements of trace gases and aerosols in the Bay Region Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (BRACE) using the NOAA Twin Otter. The Twin Otter flew more than 90 hours in 21 flights in and around the Tampa metropolitan region in May, 2002, at altitudes of 60-3000 m MSL. Flights were conducted over rural and suburban areas, over the centers of Tampa and St. Petersburg, and over Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. One objective of the aircraft flights was to investigate the role of the sea breeze circulation in determining patterns of nutrient deposition and pollutant loads in the Tampa Bay watershed. Results will be presented from a May 8 flight designed to investigate the effect of the sea breeze recirculation upon Tampa's air quality. The Twin Otter took off at 1425 UTC and after performing a spiral ascent over the Sydney ground site, proceeded to fly north, at 200 feet above mean sea level (MSL) just off the Gulf coast, west of St. Petersburg. Back trajectory analysis suggested the dominance of a northerly rotation in the sea breeze; thus, air sampled over the Gulf passed some hours earlier to the south of the Tampa metropolitan area, in an area largely devoid of major pollution sources, before being advected eastward in the afternoon return flow. Ozone levels in this air mass ranged from 40 to 50 ppbv. Farther north the Twin Otter encountered the advected urban plume from Tampa, displaced to the north by the combination of southeasterly sea breeze flow and westerly return flow, and tracked this plume inland. Ozone levels quickly jumped to 60 ppbv, and increased to as high as 90 ppbv as photochemical processing continued in the advected plume. Nitric acid levels, which approached 4 ppbv in the aged urban air at the coast, dropped rapidly to as low as 1 ppbv inland. A final flight leg to the east of downtown Tampa encountered fresh anthropogenic pollution from the afternoon rush hour; ozone was rapidly produced in the

The Ross Sea Dipole – temperature, snow accumulation and sea ice variability in the Ross Sea region, Antarctica, over the past 2700 years

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. A. N. Bertler

2018-02-01

Full Text Available High-resolution, well-dated climate archives provide an opportunity to investigate the dynamic interactions of climate patterns relevant for future projections. Here, we present data from a new, annually dated ice core record from the eastern Ross Sea, named the Roosevelt Island Climate Evolution (RICE ice core. Comparison of this record with climate reanalysis data for the 1979–2012 interval shows that RICE reliably captures temperature and snow precipitation variability in the region. Trends over the past 2700 years in RICE are shown to be distinct from those in West Antarctica and the western Ross Sea captured by other ice cores. For most of this interval, the eastern Ross Sea was warming (or showing isotopic enrichment for other reasons, with increased snow accumulation and perhaps decreased sea ice concentration. However, West Antarctica cooled and the western Ross Sea showed no significant isotope temperature trend. This pattern here is referred to as the Ross Sea Dipole. Notably, during the Little Ice Age, West Antarctica and the western Ross Sea experienced colder than average temperatures, while the eastern Ross Sea underwent a period of warming or increased isotopic enrichment. From the 17th century onwards, this dipole relationship changed. All three regions show current warming, with snow accumulation declining in West Antarctica and the eastern Ross Sea but increasing in the western Ross Sea. We interpret this pattern as reflecting an increase in sea ice in the eastern Ross Sea with perhaps the establishment of a modern Roosevelt Island polynya as a local moisture source for RICE.

SEA in local land use planning - first experience in the Alpine States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiricka, Alexandra; Proebstl, Ulrike

2008-01-01

In the Alpine area, planning decisions can result in far-reaching consequences because of the high sensitivity of the Alpine ecosystems. This article is based on two hypotheses: (1) The Alpine states/regions were aware of their sensitive environment and therefore recognized the necessity of introducing a comparable instrument to assess local land use planning. (2) By introducing this differentiated assessment tool, namely SEA, an increase in costs may be the consequence. However, better and more transparent planning can contribute to the enhancement of planning standards. To reveal the validity of these assumptions the legal implementation in the Alpine countries Austria, Germany, Italy and France was examined as well as first practical experience resulting from the determined procedures. The results of the implementation process in the four states were compared and discussed on the basis of selected process steps of SEA

Modeling of multi-phase interactions of reactive nitrogen between snow and air in Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

McCrystall, M.; Chan, H. G. V.; Frey, M. M.; King, M. D.

2016-12-01

In polar and snow-covered regions, the snowpack is an important link between atmospheric, terrestrial and oceanic systems. Trace gases, including nitrogen oxides, produced via photochemical reactions in snow are partially released to the lower atmosphere with considerable impact on its composition. However, the post-depositional processes that change the chemical composition and physical properties of the snowpack are still poorly understood. Most current snow chemistry models oversimplify as they assume air-liquid interactions and aqueous phase chemistry taking place at the interface between the snow grain and air. Here, we develop a novel temperature dependent multi-phase (gas-liquid-ice) physical exchange model for reactive nitrogen. The model is validated with existing year-round observations of nitrate in the top 0.5-2 cm of snow and the overlying atmosphere at two very different Antarctic locations: Dome C on the East Antarctic Plateau with very low annual mean temperature (-54ºC) and accumulation rate (rate and high background level of sea salt aerosol. We find that below the eutectic temperature of the H2O/dominant ion mixture the surface snow nitrate is controlled by kinetic adsorption onto the surface of snow grains followed by grain diffusion. Above the eutectic temperature, in addition to the former two processes, thermodynamic equilibrium of HNO3 between interstitial air and liquid water pockets, possibly present at triple junctions or grooves at grain boundaries, greatly enhances the nitrate uptake by snow in agreement with the concentration peak observed in summer.

MODEL SPASIAL DINAMIK GENANGAN AKIBAT KENAIKAN MUKA AIR LAUT DI PESISIR SEMARANG (Spatial Dynamic Model of Inundated area due to Sea Level rise at Semarang coastal Area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ifan R Suhelmi

2014-05-01

Full Text Available ABSTRAK Kota Semarang merupakan kota pesisir di Provinsi Jawa Tengah yang memiliki topografi datar pada wilayah laut yang biasa disebut dengan kota bawah dan bergunung pada bagian atasnya yang biasa disebut dengan kota atas. Kota bawah memiliki kerentanan yang tinggi terhadap genangan akibat kenaikan muka air laut, hal ini disebabkan olehkondisi topografi yang datar. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk memberikan gambaran secara dinamik distribusi genangan akibat berbagai skenario kenaikan muka air laut. Model spasial dinamik menggunakan Flash yang berfungsi memberikan gambaran secara interaktif dan real time pada berbagai skenario kenaikan muka air laut. Skenario kenaikan muka air laut menggunakan skenario IPCC hingga tahun 2100. Hasil studi menunjukkan bahwa terjadi kenaikan jumlah genangan dari 599,4 ha pada tahun 2020 menjadi 4.235,4 ha pada tahun 2100.   ABSTRACT Semarang is one of coastal city located at Central Java Province. It has flatten topography at coastal area called “downside town” and hilly topography at upper area called “topside town”.  Ownside town was highly vulnerable to sea level rise caused by it’s topographic condition and the land subsidence phenomena. This research conducted to mapeed the inundated area due to sea level rise at many scenarios of sea level rise. The dynamic spatialmodel of sea level rise represented using flash techmology to showed distributed area inundated by sea level rise. The scenario of sea level rise by IPCC prediction was used at this study. The stuty showed that the inundated area increased from 599.4 ha at year 2020 to 4,235.4 ha at 2100.

Determination of a Critical Sea Ice Thickness Threshold for the Central Arctic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Ford, V.; Frauenfeld, O. W.; Nowotarski, C. J.

2017-12-01

While sea ice extent is readily measurable from satellite observations and can be used to assess the overall survivability of the Arctic sea ice pack, determining the spatial variability of sea ice thickness remains a challenge. Turbulent and conductive heat fluxes are extremely sensitive to ice thickness but are dominated by the sensible heat flux, with energy exchange expected to increase with thinner ice cover. Fluxes over open water are strongest and have the greatest influence on the atmosphere, while fluxes over thick sea ice are minimal as heat conduction from the ocean through thick ice cannot reach the atmosphere. We know that turbulent energy fluxes are strongest over open ocean, but is there a "critical thickness of ice" where fluxes are considered non-negligible? Through polar-optimized Weather Research and Forecasting model simulations, this study assesses how the wintertime Arctic surface boundary layer, via sensible heat flux exchange and surface air temperature, responds to sea ice thinning. The region immediately north of Franz Josef Land is characterized by a thickness gradient where sea ice transitions from the thickest multi-year ice to the very thin marginal ice seas. This provides an ideal location to simulate how the diminishing Arctic sea ice interacts with a warming atmosphere. Scenarios include both fixed sea surface temperature domains for idealized thickness variability, and fixed ice fields to detect changes in the ocean-ice-atmosphere energy exchange. Results indicate that a critical thickness threshold exists below 1 meter. The threshold is between 0.4-1 meters thinner than the critical thickness for melt season survival - the difference between first year and multi-year ice. Turbulent heat fluxes and surface air temperature increase as sea ice thickness transitions from perennial ice to seasonal ice. While models predict a sea ice free Arctic at the end of the warm season in future decades, sea ice will continue to transform

Carbon Dioxide Variability in the Gulf of Trieste (GOT) in the Northern Adriatic Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Turk, D.; McGillis, W. R.; Malacic, V.; Degrandpre, M.

2008-12-01

Coastal marine regions such as the Gulf of Trieste GOT in the Northern Adriatic Sea serve as the link between carbon cycling on land and the ocean interior and potentially contribute large uncertainties in the estimate of anthropogenic CO2 uptake. This system may be either a sink or a source for atmospheric CO2. Understanding the sources and sinks as a result of biological and physical controls for air-sea carbon dioxide fluxes in coastal waters may substantially alter the current view of the global carbon budget for unique terrestrial and ocean regions such as the GOT. GOT is a semi-enclosed Mediterranean basin situated in the northern part of Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most productive regions in the Mediterranean and is affected by extreme fresh river input, phytoplankton blooms, and large changes of air-sea exchange during Bora high wind events. The unique combination of these environmental processes and relatively small size of the area makes the region an excellent study site for investigations of air-sea interaction, and changes in biology and carbon chemistry. However, there is a dearth of current data or information from the region. Here we present the first measurements of air and water CO2 flux in the GOT. The aqueous CO2 was measured at the Coastal Oceanographic buoy Piran, Slovenia using the SAMI CO2 sensor during spring and late summer and fall 2007. CO2 measurements were combined with hydrological and biological observations to evaluate the processes that control carbon cycling in the region.

LAND-SEA INTERACTIONS IN COASTAL WATERS OFF NE KALIMANTAN: EVIDENCE FROM MICROFAUNAL COMMUNITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kresna Tri Dewi

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Microfauna (ostracoda and foraminifera as component of sediments has been used to detect the dynamics of sea floor condition in NE Kalimantan, particularly off Nunukan and Sebatik Islands. In general, the microfaunal components tend to increase (both number of species and specimens from near shore to the open sea. The microfauna occur rarely at locations surrounding the islands due to high content of plant remains from the land. The marine origin of microfaunas occurs very abundantly in the inner part of the study area between Tinabasan and Nunukan Islands. This finding is interested due to their occurrence as unusual forms: brownish shells, broken and articulated ostracod carapaces. Additional interested findings are: the incidence of abraded test of Elphidium, the occurrence of dominant species of both ostracoda and foraminifera at some stations; various morphological forms of foraminiferal genus, Asterorotalia that reaches about 1% and distributed in the open sea. The various unusual forms may relate to the dynamics of local environmental changes such as postdepositional accumulation in the sediment, biological activities, and drift currents from open sea to landward.

Reminiscences on the study of wind waves

Science.gov (United States)

MITSUYASU, Hisashi

2015-01-01

The wind blowing over sea surface generates tiny wind waves. They develop with time and space absorbing wind energy, and become huge wind waves usually referred to ocean surface waves. The wind waves cause not only serious sea disasters but also take important roles in the local and global climate changes by affecting the fluxes of momentum, heat and gases (e.g. CO2) through the air-sea boundary. The present paper reviews the selected studies on wind waves conducted by our group in the Research Institute for Applied Mechanics (RIAM), Kyushu University. The themes discussed are interactions between water waves and winds, the energy spectrum of wind waves, nonlinear properties of wind waves, and the effects of surfactant on some air-sea interaction phenomena. PMID:25864467

About local calibration curve of the Black Sea during the period 18000 - 3000 calendar years BP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slavova, K.

2002-01-01

Understanding the youngest geological Black Sea history requires that the age of the tested samples be accurately determined. The comparison between 234 U/ 230 Th and 14 C ages obtained on the Holocene samples demonstrate that 234 U/ 230 Th ages are accurate because they are in agreement with the dendrochonological calibration. Beyond 9100 calendar year BP it is proved that 14 C ages are systematically younger than 234 U/ 230 Th ages with a maximum difference of about 3000 years reached at about 20000 calendar years. This calls for converting the conventional 14 C ages in calendar ages. The procedure is called calibration. A local calibration Black Sea curve in which features of the Black Sea as a basin to be included is required, videlicet: correction of conventional ages for 'reservoir effect' - 60 years for TOC (Total Organic Carbon), 460 years for TCC (Total Carbonate Carbon) and for 'detrital carbon input - 580 years for TOC, 260 years for TCC. Such local calibration curve is constructed and proved in the article by using and comparing data from different dating methods (carbon 14, 234 U/ 230 Th, dendrochronology)

Aircraft Surveys of the Beaufort Sea Seasonal Ice Zone

Science.gov (United States)

Morison, J.

2016-02-01

The Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Surveys (SIZRS) is a program of repeated ocean, ice, and atmospheric measurements across the Beaufort-Chukchi sea seasonal sea ice zone (SIZ) utilizing US Coast Guard Arctic Domain Awareness (ADA) flights of opportunity. The SIZ is the region between maximum winter sea ice extent and minimum summer sea ice extent. As such, it contains the full range of positions of the marginal ice zone (MIZ) where sea ice interacts with open water. The increasing size and changing air-ice-ocean properties of the SIZ are central to recent reductions in Arctic sea ice extent. The changes in the interplay among the atmosphere, ice, and ocean require a systematic SIZ observational effort of coordinated atmosphere, ice, and ocean observations covering up to interannual time-scales, Therefore, every year beginning in late Spring and continuing to early Fall, SIZRS makes monthly flights across the Beaufort Sea SIZ aboard Coast Guard C-130H aircraft from USCG Air Station Kodiak dropping Aircraft eXpendable CTDs (AXCTD) and Aircraft eXpendable Current Profilers (AXCP) for profiles of ocean temperature, salinity and shear, dropsondes for atmospheric temperature, humidity, and velocity profiles, and buoys for atmosphere and upper ocean time series. Enroute measurements include IR imaging, radiometer and lidar measurements of the sea surface and cloud tops. SIZRS also cooperates with the International Arctic Buoy Program for buoy deployments and with the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory atmospheric chemistry sampling program on board the aircraft. Since 2012, SIZRS has found that even as SIZ extent, ice character, and atmospheric forcing varies year-to-year, the pattern of ocean freshening and radiative warming south of the ice edge is consistent. The experimental approach, observations and extensions to other projects will be discussed.

Interactive short-term effects of equivalent temperature and air pollution on human mortality in Berlin and Lisbon.

Science.gov (United States)

Burkart, Katrin; Canário, Paulo; Breitner, Susanne; Schneider, Alexandra; Scherber, Katharina; Andrade, Henrique; Alcoforado, Maria João; Endlicher, Wilfried

2013-12-01

There is substantial evidence that both temperature and air pollution are predictors of mortality. Thus far, few studies have focused on the potential interactive effects between the thermal environment and different measures of air pollution. Such interactions, however, are biologically plausible, as (extreme) temperature or increased air pollution might make individuals more susceptible to the effects of each respective predictor. This study investigated the interactive effects between equivalent temperature and air pollution (ozone and particulate matter) in Berlin (Germany) and Lisbon (Portugal) using different types of Poisson regression models. The findings suggest that interactive effects exist between air pollutants and equivalent temperature. Bivariate response surface models and generalised additive models (GAMs) including interaction terms showed an increased risk of mortality during periods of elevated equivalent temperatures and air pollution. Cold effects were mostly unaffected by air pollution. The study underscores the importance of air pollution control in mitigating heat effects. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of Atlantic on the warming and reduction of sea ice in the Arctic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. V. Alekseev

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Influence of anomalies of the sea surface temperature (SST in low latitudes of the North Atlantic on the sea ice cover and the near-surface air temperature in the marine Arctic is discussed in the article. Data on the SST in the Atlantic Ocean from the HadISST dataset, climatic series of the water temperature at the section along the Kola meridian together with mean monthly data on the sea ice extent and the air surface temperature in the Maritime Arctic and the Northern hemisphere were analyzed. Multivariate cross-correlation analysis was applied to determine the maximum correlation coefficients between the SST anomalies, climate characteristics and their corresponding delays within time limits of 33 to 38 months. Existence of intimate link had been found between changes of the Atlantic SST in low latitudes and the sea ice extent in the Arctic with correlation coefficients up to 0.90 and delays up to 3 years. A mechanism of formation of the remote influence of low-latitude SST anomalies on the sea ice anomalies in the Arctic Ocean is proposed. The interpretation of this mechanism includes into consideration the interaction between atmospheric and oceanic circulation modes.

Interplay of Anderson localization and strong interaction in disordered systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Henseler, Peter

2010-01-15

We study the interplay of disorder localization and strong local interactions within the Anderson-Hubbard model. Taking into account local Mott-Hubbard physics and static screening of the disorder potential, the system is mapped onto an effective single-particle Anderson model, which is studied within the self-consistent theory of electron localization. For fermions, we find rich nonmonotonic behavior of the localization length {xi}, particularly in two-dimensional systems, including an interaction-induced exponential enhancement of {xi} for small and intermediate disorders and a strong reduction of {xi} due to hopping suppression by strong interactions. In three dimensions, we identify for half filling a Mott-Hubbard-assisted Anderson localized phase existing between the metallic and the Mott-Hubbard-gapped phases. For small U there is re-entrant behavior from the Anderson localized phase to the metallic phase. For bosons, the unrestricted particle occupation number per lattice site yields a monotonic enhancement of {xi} as a function of decreasing interaction, which we assume to persist until the superfluid Bose-Einstein condensate phase is entered. Besides, we study cold atomic gases expanding, by a diffusion process, in a weak random potential. We show that the density-density correlation function of the expanding gas is strongly affected by disorder and we estimate the typical size of a speckle spot, i.e., a region of enhanced or depleted density. Both a Fermi gas and a Bose-Einstein condensate (in a mean-field approach) are considered. (orig.)

Interplay of Anderson localization and strong interaction in disordered systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henseler, Peter

2010-01-01

We study the interplay of disorder localization and strong local interactions within the Anderson-Hubbard model. Taking into account local Mott-Hubbard physics and static screening of the disorder potential, the system is mapped onto an effective single-particle Anderson model, which is studied within the self-consistent theory of electron localization. For fermions, we find rich nonmonotonic behavior of the localization length ξ, particularly in two-dimensional systems, including an interaction-induced exponential enhancement of ξ for small and intermediate disorders and a strong reduction of ξ due to hopping suppression by strong interactions. In three dimensions, we identify for half filling a Mott-Hubbard-assisted Anderson localized phase existing between the metallic and the Mott-Hubbard-gapped phases. For small U there is re-entrant behavior from the Anderson localized phase to the metallic phase. For bosons, the unrestricted particle occupation number per lattice site yields a monotonic enhancement of ξ as a function of decreasing interaction, which we assume to persist until the superfluid Bose-Einstein condensate phase is entered. Besides, we study cold atomic gases expanding, by a diffusion process, in a weak random potential. We show that the density-density correlation function of the expanding gas is strongly affected by disorder and we estimate the typical size of a speckle spot, i.e., a region of enhanced or depleted density. Both a Fermi gas and a Bose-Einstein condensate (in a mean-field approach) are considered. (orig.)

Modeling Biogeochemical-Physical Interactions and Carbon Flux in the Sargasso Sea (Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study site)

Science.gov (United States)

Signorini, Sergio R.; McClain, Charles R.; Christian, James R.

2001-01-01

An ecosystem-carbon cycle model is used to analyze the biogeochemical-physical interactions and carbon fluxes in the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site for the period of 1992-1998. The model results compare well with observations (most variables are within 8% of observed values). The sea-air flux ranges from -0.32 to -0.50 mol C/sq m/yr, depending upon the gas transfer algorithm used. This estimate is within the range (-0.22 to -0.83 mol C/sq m/yr) of previously reported values which indicates that the BATS region is a weak sink of atmospheric CO2. The overall carbon balance consists of atmospheric CO2 uptake of 0.3 Mol C/sq m/yr, upward dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) bottom flux of 1.1 Mol C/sq m/yr, and carbon export of 1.4 mol C/sq m/yr via sedimentation. Upper ocean DIC levels increased between 1992 and 1996 at a rate of approximately 1.2 (micro)mol/kg/yr, consistent with observations. However, this trend was reversed during 1997-1998 to -2.7 (micro)mol/kg/yr in response to hydrographic changes imposed by the El Nino-La Nina transition, which were manifested in the Sargasso Sea by the warmest SST and lowest surface salinity of the period (1992-1998).

Modelling Local Sea-Breeze Flow and Associated Dispersion Patterns Over a Coastal Area in North-East Spain: A Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Soler, M. R.; Arasa, R.; Merino, M.; Olid, M.; Ortega, S.

2011-07-01

The structure and evolution of the sea breeze in the north-west part of the Mediterranean (Catalonia, north-east Spain) is studied both experimentally and, predominantly, using numerical models to increase understanding of sea-breeze structure and three-dimensional (3D) pollution distributions in coastal environments. Sea-breeze components are modelled and analyzed using the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University-National Centre for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5). The results show that the growth and structure of the sea-breeze circulation is modulated by the synoptic flow and especially by the complex topography of the area. 3D pollution transport in a sea breeze is modelled by coupling the MM5 to the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, with results indicating that topography and synoptic flow are the main factors modulating horizontal and vertical pollutant transport in sea-breeze episodes. In this way, horizontal dispersion is limited by the complex topography of the area, whilst the sea-breeze flow is intensified by anabatic upslope winds that contribute to vertical pollutant transport. The numerical model results also indicate that the sea-breeze circulation with a weak return flow at upper levels grows due to a synoptic onshore wind component. However, such a sea-breeze circulation is capable of transporting pollutants towards the coast.

Relationship between Eurasian large-scale patterns and regional climate variability over the Black and Baltic Seas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stankunavicius, G.; Pupienis, D. [Vilnius Univ. (Lithuania). Dept. of Hydrology and Climatology; Basharin, D. [National Academy of Science of Ukraine, Sevastopol (Ukraine). Sevastopol Marine Hydrophysical Inst.

2012-11-01

Using a NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis dataset and the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis approach we studied interannual to decadal variabilities of the sea-level air pressure (SLP) and the surface air temperature (SAT) fields over Eurasia during the 2nd part of the 20th century. Our results agree with those of the previous studies, which conclude that Eurasian trends are the result of storm-path changes driven by the interdecadal behaviour of the NAO-like meridional dipole pattern in the Atlantic. On interannual and decadal time scales, significant synchronous correlations between correspondent modes of SAT and SLP EOF patterns were found. This fact suggests that there is a strong and stable Eurasian interrelationship between SAT and SLP large-scale fields which affects the local climate of two sub-regions: the Black and Baltic Seas. The climate variability in these sub-regions was studied in terms of Eurasian large-scale surface-temperature and air-pressure patterns responses. We concluded that the sub-regional climate variability substantially differs over the Black and Baltic Seas, and depends on different Eurasian large-scale patterns. We showed that the Baltic Sea region is influenced by the patterns arising primary from NAO-like meridional dipole, as well as Scandinavian patterns, while the Black Sea's SAT/SLP variability is influenced mainly by the second mode EOF (eastern Atlantic) and large scale tropospheric wave structures. (orig.)

Mathematical models and methods of localized interaction theory

CERN Document Server

Bunimovich, AI

1995-01-01

The interaction of the environment with a moving body is called "localized" if it has been found or assumed that the force or/and thermal influence of the environment on each body surface point is independent and can be determined by the local geometrical and kinematical characteristics of this point as well as by the parameters of the environment and body-environment interactions which are the same for the whole surface of contact.Such models are widespread in aerodynamics and gas dynamics, covering supersonic and hypersonic flows, and rarefied gas flows. They describe the influence of light

Local simulation algorithms for Coulombic interactions

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

We consider a problem in dynamically constrained Monte Carlo dynamics and show that this leads to the generation of long ranged effective interactions. This allows us to construct a local algorithm for the simulation of charged systems without ever having to evaluate pair potentials or solve the Poisson equation.

Arabian Plate Deformation: The role of inherited structures in the localization of strain in the Red Sea extensional system

Science.gov (United States)

Aldaajani, T.; Furlong, K.; Malservisi, R.

2017-12-01

The Red Sea rift structural architecture changes dramatically along strike from narrow localized spreading (with creation of new oceanic crust) in the south to asymmetrical diffuse extension north of 21 ° latitude. The region of diffuse extension falls within a triangle that is bounded to the east by the Sarhan graben, (a Cenozoic failed rift), to the west by the northern Red Sea Rift, and to the south by the Makkah-Madinah-Nafud (MMN) volcanic line. Geological observations appear to show that tectonic stresses acting on inherited structures within the NW Arabian margin are associated with the region of diffuse extension. In contrast, in the southern Red Sea, a single strong block within the SW Arabian margin led to localize the extension there. Using current velocities from more than 30 GNSS stations distributed within the Arabian plate, we are able to map its rigidity and the distribution of strain along the plate margin. The data show that the transition between the two styles of extension within the Red Sea (crustal accretion vs crustal extension) corresponds with a transition between rigid behavior and diffuse extension within the Arabian Plate. This suggests that the preexisting structures within the Arabian plate play a significant role in the style of extension along the Red Sea margin.

A multivariate analysis of Antarctic sea ice since 1979

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Magalhaes Neto, Newton de; Evangelista, Heitor [Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Uerj), LARAMG - Laboratorio de Radioecologia e Mudancas Globais, Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Tanizaki-Fonseca, Kenny [Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Uerj), LARAMG - Laboratorio de Radioecologia e Mudancas Globais, Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Dept. Analise Geoambiental, Inst. de Geociencias, Niteroi, RJ (Brazil); Penello Meirelles, Margareth Simoes [Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ)/Geomatica, Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Garcia, Carlos Eiras [Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Laboratorio de Oceanografia Fisica, Rio Grande, RS (Brazil)

2012-03-15

Recent satellite observations have shown an increase in the total extent of Antarctic sea ice, during periods when the atmosphere and oceans tend to be warmer surrounding a significant part of the continent. Despite an increase in total sea ice, regional analyses depict negative trends in the Bellingshausen-Amundsen Sea and positive trends in the Ross Sea. Although several climate parameters are believed to drive the formation of Antarctic sea ice and the local atmosphere, a descriptive mechanism that could trigger such differences in trends are still unknown. In this study we employed a multivariate analysis in order to identify the response of the Antarctic sea ice with respect to commonly utilized climate forcings/parameters, as follows: (1) The global air surface temperature, (2) The global sea surface temperature, (3) The atmospheric CO{sub 2} concentration, (4) The South Annular Mode, (5) The Nino 3, (6) The Nino (3 + 4, 7) The Nino 4, (8) The Southern Oscillation Index, (9) The Multivariate ENSO Index, (10) the Total Solar Irradiance, (11) The maximum O{sub 3} depletion area, and (12) The minimum O{sub 3} concentration over Antarctica. Our results indicate that western Antarctic sea ice is simultaneously impacted by several parameters; and that the minimum, mean, and maximum sea ice extent may respond to a separate set of climatic/geochemical parameters. (orig.)

Local tax interaction with multiple tax instruments: evidence from Flemish municipalities

OpenAIRE

S. VAN PARYS; B. MERLEVEDE; T. VERBEKE

2010-01-01

We investigate the long run result of strategic interaction among local jurisdictions using multiple tax instruments. Most studies about local policy interaction only consider a single policy instrument. With multiple tax instruments, however, tax interaction is more complex. We construct a simple theoretical framework based on a basic spillover model, with two tax rates and immobile resources. We show that the signs of within and cross tax interaction crucially depend on the extent to which ...

Nonequilibrium localization and the interplay between disorder and interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mascarenhas, Eduardo; Bragança, Helena; Aguiar, M C O; França Santos, M; Drumond, R

2016-01-01

We study the nonequilibrium interplay between disorder and interactions in a closed quantum system. We base our analysis on the notion of dynamical state-space localization, calculated via the Loschmidt echo. Although real-space and state-space localization are independent concepts in general, we show that both perspectives may be directly connected through a specific choice of initial states, namely, maximally localized states (ML-states). We show numerically that in the noninteracting case the average echo is found to be monotonically increasing with increasing disorder; these results are in agreement with an analytical evaluation in the single particle case in which the echo is found to be inversely proportional to the localization length. We also show that for interacting systems, the length scale under which equilibration may occur is upper bounded and such bound is smaller the greater the average echo of ML-states. When disorder and interactions, both being localization mechanisms, are simultaneously at play the echo features a non-monotonic behaviour indicating a non-trivial interplay of the two processes. This interplay induces delocalization of the dynamics which is accompanied by delocalization in real-space. This non-monotonic behaviour is also present in the effective integrability which we show by evaluating the gap statistics. (paper)

Nonequilibrium localization and the interplay between disorder and interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mascarenhas, Eduardo; Bragança, Helena; Drumond, R; Aguiar, M C O; França Santos, M

2016-05-18

We study the nonequilibrium interplay between disorder and interactions in a closed quantum system. We base our analysis on the notion of dynamical state-space localization, calculated via the Loschmidt echo. Although real-space and state-space localization are independent concepts in general, we show that both perspectives may be directly connected through a specific choice of initial states, namely, maximally localized states (ML-states). We show numerically that in the noninteracting case the average echo is found to be monotonically increasing with increasing disorder; these results are in agreement with an analytical evaluation in the single particle case in which the echo is found to be inversely proportional to the localization length. We also show that for interacting systems, the length scale under which equilibration may occur is upper bounded and such bound is smaller the greater the average echo of ML-states. When disorder and interactions, both being localization mechanisms, are simultaneously at play the echo features a non-monotonic behaviour indicating a non-trivial interplay of the two processes. This interplay induces delocalization of the dynamics which is accompanied by delocalization in real-space. This non-monotonic behaviour is also present in the effective integrability which we show by evaluating the gap statistics.

The introduction of local air quality management in the United Kingdom: A review and theoretical framework

Science.gov (United States)

Longhurst, J. W. S.; Lindley, S. J.; Watson, A. F. R.; Conlan, D. E.

In the light of recent episodes of poor air quality in many of the U.K.'s major urban areas, concern has been expressed regarding the apparent inability of existing air quality control procedures to effectively tackle contemporary scenarios. As a result of this, a new philosophy for air quality control has been sought which can provide a solid basis for the preservation and future improvement of air quality. It is proposed that a suitable mechanism for this would be found through the adoption of an integrated and holistic local air quality management approach. This paper will present and discuss a theoretical framework for the application of local air quality management in the U.K. and investigate the potential of the Environment Act (1995) to provide such a framework.

Dimensionality of Local Minimizers of the Interaction Energy

KAUST Repository

Balagué , D.; Carrillo, J. A.; Laurent, T.; Raoul, G.

2013-01-01

In this work we consider local minimizers (in the topology of transport distances) of the interaction energy associated with a repulsive-attractive potential. We show how the dimensionality of the support of local minimizers is related to the repulsive strength of the potential at the origin. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Dimensionality of Local Minimizers of the Interaction Energy

KAUST Repository

Balagué, D.

2013-05-22

In this work we consider local minimizers (in the topology of transport distances) of the interaction energy associated with a repulsive-attractive potential. We show how the dimensionality of the support of local minimizers is related to the repulsive strength of the potential at the origin. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Increased Surface Wind Speeds Follow Diminishing Arctic Sea Ice

Science.gov (United States)

Mioduszewski, J.; Vavrus, S. J.; Wang, M.; Holland, M. M.; Landrum, L.

2017-12-01

Projections of Arctic sea ice through the end of the 21st century indicate the likelihood of a strong reduction in ice area and thickness in all seasons, leading to a substantial thermodynamic influence on the overlying atmosphere. This is likely to have an effect on winds over the Arctic Basin, due to changes in atmospheric stability and/or baroclinicity. Prior research on future Arctic wind changes is limited and has focused mainly on the practical impacts on wave heights in certain seasons. Here we attempt to identify patterns and likely mechanisms responsible for surface wind changes in all seasons across the Arctic, particularly those associated with sea ice loss in the marginal ice zone. Sea level pressure, near-surface (10 m) and upper-air (850 hPa) wind speeds, and lower-level dynamic and thermodynamic variables from the Community Earth System Model Large Ensemble Project (CESM-LE) were analyzed for the periods 1971-2000 and 2071-2100 to facilitate comparison between a present-day and future climate. Mean near-surface wind speeds over the Arctic Ocean are projected to increase by late century in all seasons but especially during autumn and winter, when they strengthen by up to 50% locally. The most extreme wind speeds in the 90th percentile change even more, increasing in frequency by over 100%. The strengthened winds are closely linked to decreasing lower-tropospheric stability resulting from the loss of sea ice cover and consequent surface warming (locally over 20 ºC warmer in autumn and winter). A muted pattern of these future changes is simulated in CESM-LE historical runs from 1920-2005. The enhanced winds near the surface are mostly collocated with weaker winds above the boundary layer during autumn and winter, implying more vigorous vertical mixing and a drawdown of high-momentum air.The implications of stronger future winds include increased coastal hazards and the potential for a positive feedback with sea ice by generating higher winds and

Estimating the Health and Economic Impacts of Changes in Local Air Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Carvour, Martha L.; Hughes, Amy E.; Fann, Neal

2018-01-01

Objectives. To demonstrate the benefits-mapping software Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program-Community Edition (BenMAP-CE), which integrates local air quality data with previously published concentration–response and health–economic valuation functions to estimate the health effects of changes in air pollution levels and their economic consequences. Methods. We illustrate a local health impact assessment of ozone changes in the 10-county nonattainment area of the Dallas–Fort Worth region of Texas, estimating the short-term effects on mortality predicted by 2 scenarios for 3 years (2008, 2011, and 2013): an incremental rollback of the daily 8-hour maximum ozone levels of all area monitors by 10 parts per billion and a rollback-to-a-standard ambient level of 65 parts per billion at only monitors above that level. Results. Estimates of preventable premature deaths attributable to ozone air pollution obtained by the incremental rollback method varied little by year, whereas those obtained by the rollback-to-a-standard method varied by year and were sensitive to the choice of ordinality and the use of preloaded or imported data. Conclusions. BenMAP-CE allows local and regional public health analysts to generate timely, evidence-based estimates of the health impacts and economic consequences of potential policy options in their communities. PMID:29698094

Neurotoxin localization to ectodermal gland cells uncovers an alternative mechanism of venom delivery in sea anemones.

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Yehu; Genikhovich, Grigory; Gordon, Dalia; Wienkoop, Stefanie; Zenkert, Claudia; Ozbek, Suat; Technau, Ulrich; Gurevitz, Michael

2012-04-07

Jellyfish, hydras, corals and sea anemones (phylum Cnidaria) are known for their venomous stinging cells, nematocytes, used for prey and defence. Here we show, however, that the potent Type I neurotoxin of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, Nv1, is confined to ectodermal gland cells rather than nematocytes. We demonstrate massive Nv1 secretion upon encounter with a crustacean prey. Concomitant discharge of nematocysts probably pierces the prey, expediting toxin penetration. Toxin efficiency in sea water is further demonstrated by the rapid paralysis of fish or crustacean larvae upon application of recombinant Nv1 into their medium. Analysis of other anemone species reveals that in Anthopleura elegantissima, Type I neurotoxins also appear in gland cells, whereas in the common species Anemonia viridis, Type I toxins are localized to both nematocytes and ectodermal gland cells. The nematocyte-based and gland cell-based envenomation mechanisms may reflect substantial differences in the ecology and feeding habits of sea anemone species. Overall, the immunolocalization of neurotoxins to gland cells changes the common view in the literature that sea anemone neurotoxins are produced and delivered only by stinging nematocytes, and raises the possibility that this toxin-secretion mechanism is an ancestral evolutionary state of the venom delivery machinery in sea anemones.

Foehn-induced effects on dust pollution, frontal clouds and solar radiation in the Dead Sea valley

Science.gov (United States)

Kishcha, Pavel; Starobinets, Boris; Alpert, Pinhas; Kaplan, Michael

2017-04-01

The significant drying up of the Dead Sea over the past 40 years has led to an increase in an exposed area contributing to local dust pollution. Measurements show that, sometimes, in the Dead Sea valley, dust pollution can reach extreme concentrations up to several thousands of micrograms per cubic meters. Our analysis of a meteorological situation shows that a foehn phenomenon can be a causal factor for the aforementioned extreme local dust concentration. This foehn phenomenon creates strong warm and dry winds, which are accompanied by air turbulence and temperature inversion. In our study, foehn-induced effects on dust pollution, frontal clouds and solar radiation were analyzed over the Judean Mountains ( 1000 m) and over the Dead Sea valley (-420 m), using high-resolution numerical simulations and in-situ observations at meteorological stations located across the mountain ridge. An extreme dust episode occurring on March 22, 2013, was analyzed, which was characterized by measured surface dust concentrations of up to 7000 µg m-3 in the Dead Sea valley. We simulated this foehn phenomenon with the 3-km resolution COSMO-ART model. Our analysis has shown that the foehn phenomenon could be observed even over the relatively low Judean Mountains. This analysis was based on various meteorological, pyranometer, radar, and aerosol measurements together with high-resolution model data. In the Dead Sea valley, the maximum aerosol optical depth (AOD) did not coincide with the maximum surface dust concentration. This lack of coincidence indicates difficulties in using satellite-based AOD for initializing dust concentration within numerical forecast systems over this region with complex terrain. In the western Dead Sea valley, strong foehn winds of over 20 m/s were accompanied by maximal air turbulence leading to maximal local dust emissions. Thus, the model showed that, by creating significant turbulence, the foehn phenomenon intensified the saltation (bombardment) mechanism

Assessment of air mass ventilation potential in and around Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Trombay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jana, R.; Vinod Kumar, A.

2016-01-01

Aim of the present study is quantification of airborne pollutant dispersion potential in and around Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Trombay, a coastal belt of Arabian sea. Apart from synoptic atmospheric circulation, there is local land-sea interactive breezes diurnally in the area for which air mass ventilation potential is assessed here. For this purpose, a micro-meteorological station was established at Mandala hill top representing Trombay area to measure 3 dimensional wind components, i.e. Zonal: u, meridional: v and vertical: w, using ultrasonic anemometer. Hourly wind speed and wind direction are derived in this study for a period of 1 year, January-December 2013. Accuracy of wind components measurement is 0.1 m/s. This covers low wind condition too, i.e. wind speed below 1 m/s. Hourly statistics of year-long as well as seasonal period of wind field and associated parameters reveals the uniqueness of wind field phenomenon at the site being situated in west coast. Seasonal Wind Roses captures various frequencies of wind speed and wind direction for the respective periods

Effect of air bubble localization after transfer on embryo transfer outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Tiras, Bulent; Korucuoglu, Umit; Polat, Mehtap; Saltik, Ayse; Zeyneloglu, Hulusi Bulent; Yarali, Hakan

2012-09-01

Our study aimed to provide information about the effects of air bubble localization after transfer on embryo transfer outcomes. Retrospective analysis of 7489 ultrasound-guided embryo transfers. Group 1 included 6631 embryo transfers in which no movement of the air bubbles was observed after transfer. Group 2 consisted of 407 embryo transfers in which the air bubbles moved towards the uterine fundus spontaneously, a little time after transfer. Group 3 included 370 embryo transfers in which the air bubbles moved towards the uterine fundus with ejection, immediately after transfer. Group 4 consisted of 81 embryo transfers in which the air bubbles moved towards the cervical canal. The four patient groups were different from one another with respect to positive pregnancy tests. Post hoc test revealed that this difference was between group 4 and other groups. An initial finding of our study was significantly decreased positive pregnancy test rates and clinical pregnancy rates with air bubbles moving towards the cervical canal after transfer. Although air bubbles moving towards the uterine fundus with ejection were associated with higher pregnancy rates, higher miscarriage rates and similar live birth rates were observed compared to air bubbles remaining stable after transfer. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prediction of localization and interactions of apoptotic proteins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matula Pavel

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract During apoptosis several mitochondrial proteins are released. Some of them participate in caspase-independent nuclear DNA degradation, especially apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF and endonuclease G (endoG. Another interesting protein, which was expected to act similarly as AIF due to the high sequence homology with AIF is AIF-homologous mitochondrion-associated inducer of death (AMID. We studied the structure, cellular localization, and interactions of several proteins in silico and also in cells using fluorescent microscopy. We found the AMID protein to be cytoplasmic, most probably incorporated into the cytoplasmic side of the lipid membranes. Bioinformatic predictions were conducted to analyze the interactions of the studied proteins with each other and with other possible partners. We conducted molecular modeling of proteins with unknown 3D structures. These models were then refined by MolProbity server and employed in molecular docking simulations of interactions. Our results show data acquired using a combination of modern in silico methods and image analysis to understand the localization, interactions and functions of proteins AMID, AIF, endonuclease G, and other apoptosis-related proteins.

Fluxes and exchange rates of radon and oxygen across an air-sea interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duenas, C.; Fernandez, M.C.; La Torre, M. de

1986-01-01

The flux of 222 Rn and O 2 from shallow water off the Bay of Malaga has been measured. The mean value of flux of 222 Rn is evaluated to be 74 atoms/m 2 · s. The Bay is a weak source of oxygen to the atmosphere, where the net production of oxygen is found to be 1.82 mol/m 2 · y. Moreover, the gas exchange rates of 222 Rn and O 2 across the air-sea interface has been determined by the radon method. The gas exchange rates and the wind speed have been estimated. (author)

Acoustic Monitoring of a Previously Unstudied Whale Shark Aggregation in the Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Cochran, Jesse

2012-01-01

in the area and to inform local management. Continued study will add to the collective knowledge on Red Sea whale sharks, including the population dynamics within the region and how they interact with the global whale shark community.

Aircraft-based investigation of Dynamics-Aerosol-Chemistry-Cloud Interactions in Southern West Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Flamant, Cyrille

2017-04-01

The EU-funded project DACCIWA (Dynamics-Aerosol-Chemistry-Cloud Interactions in West Africa, http://www.dacciwa.eu) is investigating the relationship between weather, climate and air pollution in southern West Africa. The air over the coastal region of West Africa is a unique mixture of natural and anthropogenic gases, liquids and particles, emitted in an environment, in which multi-layer cloud decks frequently form. These exert a large influence on the local weather and climate, mainly due to their impact on radiation, the surface energy balance and thus the diurnal cycle of the atmospheric boundary layer. The main objective for the aircraft detachment was to build robust statistics of cloud properties in southern West Africa in different chemical landscapes to investigate the physical processes involved in their life cycle in such a complex chemical environment. As part of the DACCIWA field campaigns, three European aircraft (the German DLR Falcon 20, the French SAFIRE ATR 42 and the British BAS Twin Otter) conducted a total of 50 research flights across Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, and Benin from 27 June to 16 July 2016 for a total of 155 flight hours, including hours sponsored through 3 EUFAR projects. The aircraft were used in different ways based on their strengths, but all three had comparable instrumentation with the the capability to do gas-phase chemistry, aerosol and clouds, thereby generating a rich dataset of atmospheric conditions across the region. Eight types of flight objectives were conducted to achieve the goals of the DACCIWA: (i) Stratus clouds, (ii) Land-sea breeze clouds, (iii) Mid-level clouds, (iv) Biogenic emission, (v) City emissions, (vi) Flaring and ship emissions, (vii) Dust and biomass burning aerosols, and (viii) air-sea interactions. An overview of the DACCIWA aircraft campaign as well as first highlights from the airborne observations will be presented.

Land-atmosphere-ocean interactions in the southeastern Atlantic: interannual variability

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Xiaoming; Vizy, Edward K.; Cook, Kerry H.

2018-02-01

Land-atmosphere-ocean interactions in the southeastern South Atlantic and their connections to interannual variability are examined using a regional climate model coupled with an intermediate-level ocean model. In austral summer, zonal displacements of the South Atlantic subtropical high (SASH) can induce variations of mixed-layer currents in the Benguela upwelling region through surface wind stress curl anomalies near the Namibian coast, and an eastward shifted SASH is related to the first Pacific-South American mode. When the SASH is meridionally displaced, mixed layer vertically-integrated Ekman transport anomalies are mainly a response to the change of alongshore surface wind stress. The latitudinal shift of the SASH tends to dampen the anomalous alongshore wind by modulating the land-sea thermal contrast, while opposed by oceanic diffusion. Although the position of the SASH is closely linked to the phase of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the southern annular mode (SAM) in austral summer, an overall relationship between Benguela upwelling strength and ENSO or SAM is absent. During austral winter, variations of the mixed layer Ekman transport in the Benguela upwelling region are connected to the strength of the SASH through its impact on both coastal wind stress curl and alongshore surface wind stress. Compared with austral summer, low-level cloud cover change plays a more important role. Although wintertime sea surface temperature fluctuations in the equatorial Atlantic are strong and may act to influence variability over the northern Benguela area, the surface heat budget analysis suggests that local air-sea interactions dominate.

First day of an oil spill on the open sea: Early mass transfers of hydrocarbons to air and water

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gros, J.; Nabi, D.; Würz, B.; Wick, L.Y.; Brussaard, C.P.D.; Huisman, J.; van der Meer, J.R.; Reddy, C.M.; Arey, J.S.

2014-01-01

During the first hours after release of petroleum at sea, crude oil hydrocarbons partition rapidly into air and water. However, limited information is available about very early evaporation and dissolution processes. We report on the composition of the oil slick during the first day after a

Sea Spray Aerosols

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Butcher, Andrew Charles

emissions produced directly from bubble bursting as the result of air entrainment from breaking waves and particles generated from secondary emissions of volatile organic compounds. In the first paper, we study the chemical properties of particles produced from several sea water proxies with the use...... of a cloud condensation nuclei ounter. Proxy solutions with high inorganic salt concentrations and some organics produce sea spray aerosol particles with little change in cloud condensation activity relative to pure salts. Comparison is made between a frit based method for bubble production and a plunging...... a relationship between plunging jet particle ux, oceanic particle ux, and energy dissipation rate in both systems. Previous sea spray aerosol studies dissipate an order of magnitude more energy for the same particle ux production as the open ocean. A scaling factor related to the energy expended in air...

Environmental variability facilitates coexistence within an alcid community at sea

Science.gov (United States)

Haney, J. Christopher; Schauer, Amy E.S.

1994-01-01

We examined coexistence at sea among 7 taxa of diving, wing-propelled seabirds (Alcidae) in the genera Aethia, Uria, Cepphus, and Fratercula. Species abundances were measured simultaneously with a suite of environmental factors in the northern Bering Sea, Alaska, USA; data from 260 adjacent and non-adjacent sites occupied by alcids foraging offshore near breeding colonies were then subjected to principal component analysis (PCA). We used PCA to group redundant environmental descriptors, to identify orthogonal axes for constructing a multi-dimensional niche, and to differentiate species associations within niche dimensions from species associations among niche dimensions. Decomposition of the correlation matrix for 22 environmental and 7 taxonomic variables with PCA gave 14 components (10 environmental and 4 species interactions) that retained 90% of the original available variance. Alcid abundances (all species) were most strongly correlated with axes representing tidal stage, a time-area interaction (due to sampling layout), water masses, and a temporal or intra-seasonal trend partially associated with weather changes. Axes representing tidal stage, 2 gradients in macro-habitat (Anadyr and Bering Shelf Water masses), the micro-habitat of the sea surface, and an air-sea interaction were most important for detecting differences among species within niche dimensions. Contrary to assumptions of competition, none of 4 compound variables describing primarily species-interactions gave strong evidence for negative associations between alcid taxa sharing similar body sizes and feeding requirements. This exploratory analysis supports the view that alcids may segregate along environmental gradients at sea. But in this community, segregation was unrelated to foraging distance from colonies, in part because foraging 'substrate' was highly variable in structure, location, and area1 extent. We contend that coexistence within this seabird group is facilitated via expanded niche

Genome-Wide Interaction Analysis of Air Pollution Exposure and Childhood Asthma with Functional Follow-up.

Science.gov (United States)

Gref, Anna; Merid, Simon K; Gruzieva, Olena; Ballereau, Stéphane; Becker, Allan; Bellander, Tom; Bergström, Anna; Bossé, Yohan; Bottai, Matteo; Chan-Yeung, Moira; Fuertes, Elaine; Ierodiakonou, Despo; Jiang, Ruiwei; Joly, Stéphane; Jones, Meaghan; Kobor, Michael S; Korek, Michal; Kozyrskyj, Anita L; Kumar, Ashish; Lemonnier, Nathanaël; MacIntyre, Elaina; Ménard, Camille; Nickle, David; Obeidat, Ma'en; Pellet, Johann; Standl, Marie; Sääf, Annika; Söderhäll, Cilla; Tiesler, Carla M T; van den Berge, Maarten; Vonk, Judith M; Vora, Hita; Xu, Cheng-Jian; Antó, Josep M; Auffray, Charles; Brauer, Michael; Bousquet, Jean; Brunekreef, Bert; Gauderman, W James; Heinrich, Joachim; Kere, Juha; Koppelman, Gerard H; Postma, Dirkje; Carlsten, Christopher; Pershagen, Göran; Melén, Erik

2017-05-15

The evidence supporting an association between traffic-related air pollution exposure and incident childhood asthma is inconsistent and may depend on genetic factors. To identify gene-environment interaction effects on childhood asthma using genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data and air pollution exposure. Identified loci were further analyzed at epigenetic and transcriptomic levels. We used land use regression models to estimate individual air pollution exposure (represented by outdoor NO 2 levels) at the birth address and performed a genome-wide interaction study for doctors' diagnoses of asthma up to 8 years in three European birth cohorts (n = 1,534) with look-up for interaction in two separate North American cohorts, CHS (Children's Health Study) and CAPPS/SAGE (Canadian Asthma Primary Prevention Study/Study of Asthma, Genetics and Environment) (n = 1,602 and 186 subjects, respectively). We assessed expression quantitative trait locus effects in human lung specimens and blood, as well as associations among air pollution exposure, methylation, and transcriptomic patterns. In the European cohorts, 186 SNPs had an interaction P asthma development and provided supportive evidence for interaction with air pollution for ADCY2, B4GALT5, and DLG2.

Methanethiol Concentrations and Sea-Air Fluxes in the Subarctic NE Pacific Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Kiene, R. P.; Williams, T. E.; Esson, K.; Tortell, P. D.; Dacey, J. W. H.

2017-12-01

Exchange of volatile organic sulfur from the ocean to the atmosphere impacts the global sulfur cycle and the climate system and is thought to occur mainly via the gas dimethylsulfide (DMS). DMS is produced during degradation of the abundant phytoplankton osmolyte dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) but bacteria can also convert dissolved DMSP into the sulfur gas methanethiol (MeSH). MeSH has been difficult to measure in seawater because of its high chemical and biological reactivity and, thus, information on MeSH concentrations, distribution and sea-air fluxes is limited. We measured MeSH in the northeast subarctic Pacific Ocean in July 2016, along transects with strong phytoplankton abundance gradients. Water samples obtained with Niskin bottles were analyzed for MeSH by purge-and-trap gas chromatography. Depth profiles showed that MeSH concentrations were high near the surface and declined with depth. Surface waters (5 m depth) had an average MeSH concentration of 0.75 nM with concentrations reaching up to 3nM. MeSH concentrations were correlated (r = 0.47) with microbial turnover of dissolved DMSP which ranged up to 236 nM per day. MeSH was also correlated with total DMSP (r = 0.93) and dissolved DMS (r = 0.63), supporting the conclusion that DMSP was a major precursor of MeSH. Surface water MeSH:DMS concentration ratios averaged 0.19 and ranged up to 0.50 indicating that MeSH was a significant fraction of the volatile sulfur pool in surface waters. Sea-air fluxes of MeSH averaged 15% of the combined DMS+MeSH flux, therefore MeSH contributed an important fraction of the sulfur emitted to the atmosphere from the subarctic NE Pacific Ocean.

Simulated interannual variability of the Greenland Sea deep water formation and its connection to surface forcing

Science.gov (United States)

Haekkinen, Sirpa

1995-01-01

A fully prognostic Arctic ice-ocean model is used to study the interannual variability of deepwater formation in the Greenland Sea Gyre based on the simulations for the Arctic ice-ocean system for the period 1955 and 1960 - 1985. The model uses monthly climatology for thermodynamic forcing components (such as air temperature and cloudiness), together with constant annual net precipitation and river runoff. The daily wind forcing is derived from analyzed sea level air pressures from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). In summary, the model shows that the occurence of deep convection in the Greenland Sea Gyre is controlled by the extensive Fram Strait ice export and/or local wind conditions in the Greenland Sea. In the latter case the weakening of the local wind curl allows the Polar Front to move eastward. The movement of the Polar Front causes adverse ice conditions, often together with much larger than normal ice export from the Arctic, such as in 1968, which can block convection in the gyre. The density difference between upper and lower layers is investigated as an indication of water mass formation through convection, occurring as strong diffusion in the model. The model-simulated density difference between the average top 100 m and deep levels reveals that the period 1960 - 1985 had only a few distinct years with weak stratification, and, especially, the model predicts no deep convection since the nid-1970s. The common factor for the years of the weakest decrease of the model-predicted heat content of the upper 2000 m which can, to a high degree, be explained by local heat loss.

Shocks from high-energy nuclear-interacting particles in the mountain Chakaltajya

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kamata, K [Tokyo Univ. (Japan)

1975-06-01

Experimental investigations of extensive air showers at the height of 5200 m above the sea level have been performed. The behaviour of high energy nuclear active particles in the cores of the showers has been studied using the nuclear knock-on method. The cross section of the proton inelastic interaction with the air is shown to increase with energy in the energy range of 3-9 TeV.

Air quality management: evolution of policy and practice in the UK as exemplified by the experience of English local government

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beattie, C.I.; Longhurst, J.W.S.; Woodfield, N.K. [University of the West of England, Bristol (United Kingdom). Air Quality Research Group, Dept. of Environmental Sciences

2001-03-01

The air quality management (AQM) framework in the UK is designed to be an effects-based solution to air pollutants currently affecting human health. The AQM process has been legislated through The Environment Act 1995, which required the National Air Quality Strategy (NAQS) to be published. AQM practice and capability within local authorities has flourished since the publication of the NAQS in March 1997. This paper outlines the policy framework within which the UK operates, both at a domestic and European level, and reviews the air quality management process relating to current UK policy and EU policy. Data from questionnaire surveys are used to indicate the involvement of various sectors of local government in the air quality management process. These data indicate an increasing use of monitoring, and use of air dispersion modelling by English local authorities. Data relating to the management of air quality, for example, the existence and work of air quality groups, dissemination of information to the public and policy measures in place on a local scale to improve air quality, have also been reported. The UK NAQS has been reviewed in 1999 to reflect developments in European legislation, technological and scientific advances, improved air pollution modelling techniques and an increasingly better understanding of the socio-economic issues involved. The AQM process, as implemented by UK local authorities, provides an effective model for other European member states with regards to the implementation of the Air Quality Framework Directive. The future direction of air quality policy in the UK is also discussed. (Author)

Air quality management: evolution of policy and practice in the UK as exemplified by the experience of English local government

Science.gov (United States)

Beattie, C. I.; Longhurst, J. W. S.; Woodfield, N. K.

The air quality management (AQM) framework in the UK is designed to be an effects-based solution to air pollutants currently affecting human health. The AQM process has been legislated through The Environment Act 1995, which required the National Air Quality Strategy (NAQS) to be published. AQM practice and capability within local authorities has flourished since the publication of the NAQS in March 1997. This paper outlines the policy framework within which the UK operates, both at a domestic and European level, and reviews the air quality management process relating to current UK policy and EU policy. Data from questionnaire surveys are used to indicate the involvement of various sectors of local government in the air quality management process. These data indicate an increasing use of monitoring, and use of air dispersion modelling by English local authorities. Data relating to the management of air quality, for example, the existence and work of air quality groups, dissemination of information to the public and policy measures in place on a local scale to improve air quality, have also been reported. The UK NAQS has been reviewed in 1999 to reflect developments in European legislation, technological and scientific advances, improved air pollution modelling techniques and an increasingly better understanding of the socio-economic issues involved. The AQM process, as implemented by UK local authorities, provides an effective model for other European member states with regards to the implementation of the Air Quality Framework Directive. The future direction of air quality policy in the UK is also discussed.

Local Air Quality Conditions and Forecasts

Science.gov (United States)

... Monitor Location Archived Maps by Region Canada Air Quality Air Quality on Google Earth Links A-Z About AirNow AirNow International Air Quality Action Days / Alerts AirCompare Air Quality Index (AQI) ...

MODELING THE TRANSPORT AND CHEMICAL EVOLUTION OF ONSHORE AND OFFSHORE EMISSIONS AND THEIR IMPACT ON LOCAL AND REGIONAL AIR QUALITY USING A VARIABLE-GRID-RESOLUTION AIR QUALITY MODEL

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kiran Alapaty

2003-12-01

This document, the project's first semiannual report, summarizes the research performed from 04/17/2003 through 10/16/2003. Portions of the research in several of the project's eight tasks were completed, and results obtained are briefly presented. We have tested the applicability of two different atmospheric boundary layer schemes for use in air quality model simulations. Preliminary analysis indicates that a scheme that uses sophisticated atmospheric boundary physics resulted in better simulation of atmospheric circulations. We have further developed and tested a new surface data assimilation technique to improve meteorological simulations, which will also result in improved air quality model simulations. Preliminary analysis of results indicates that using the new data assimilation technique results in reduced modeling errors in temperature and moisture. Ingestion of satellite-derived sea surface temperatures into the mesoscale meteorological model led to significant improvements in simulated clouds and precipitation compared to that obtained using traditional analyzed sea surface temperatures. To enhance the capabilities of an emissions processing system so that it can be used with our variable-grid-resolution air quality model, we have identified potential areas for improvements. Also for use in the variable-grid-resolution air quality model, we have tested a cloud module offline for its functionality, and have implemented and tested an efficient horizontal diffusion algorithm within the model.

Stability of stationary states of non-local equations with singular interaction potentials

KAUST Repository

Fellner, Klemens

2011-04-01

We study the large-time behaviour of a non-local evolution equation for the density of particles or individuals subject to an external and an interaction potential. In particular, we consider interaction potentials which are singular in the sense that their first derivative is discontinuous at the origin.For locally attractive singular interaction potentials we prove under a linear stability condition local non-linear stability of stationary states consisting of a finite sum of Dirac masses. For singular repulsive interaction potentials we show the stability of stationary states of uniformly bounded solutions under a convexity condition.Finally, we present numerical simulations to illustrate our results. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

Expected extreme sea levels at Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp up until year 2100

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brydsten, Lars; Engqvist, Anders; Naeslund, Jens-Ove; Lindborg, Tobias

2009-01-01

Literature data on factors that can affect the highest expected shoreline during the operational lifetime of a final repository up until ca 2100 AD have been compiled for Forsmark and Laxemar/Simpevarp. The study takes into consideration eustasy (global sea level), isostasy (isostatic rebound) and their trends, as well as regional (North Sea) and local (Baltic Sea) annual extremes of today's sea levels and those in year 2100. The most uncertain factor of these is the future global sea level change. For this factor, three possible scenarios have been included from the literature, forming an rough uncertainty interval around a case with an 'intermediate' global sea level. To this end, the study thus makes use of information on global sea level change that has been published since the IPCC's (UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) most recent report (2007). The local cumulative impact on the shoreline of the eustatic and isostatic components for both the Forsmark and Laxemar/Simpevarp coastal areas is that the maximum sea level occurs at the end of the investigation period, by year 2100. The interaction of these estimates is discussed in terms of coastal oceanographic aspects and estimated return periods for local extreme sea level-impacting events, including estimated storm surge. Maximum sea levels in year 2100 based on the sea level rise estimates by Rahmstorf are + 254 cm for Forsmark and + 297 cm for Laxemar/Simpevarp, both of these levels with an uncertainty interval of about ± 70 cm. The numbers apply for the worst possible case in regard to future sea level rise, and for occasions of short duration during heavy storms. In this context it is important to note that the data on which these estimates are based are the subject of intense research, and that revisions are therefore to be expected

Expected extreme sea levels at Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp up until year 2100

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brydsten, Lars (Umeaa Univ., Umeaa (Sweden)); Engqvist, Anders (Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm (Sweden)); Naeslund, Jens-Ove; Lindborg, Tobias (Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co., Stockholm (Sweden))

2009-01-15

Literature data on factors that can affect the highest expected shoreline during the operational lifetime of a final repository up until ca 2100 AD have been compiled for Forsmark and Laxemar/Simpevarp. The study takes into consideration eustasy (global sea level), isostasy (isostatic rebound) and their trends, as well as regional (North Sea) and local (Baltic Sea) annual extremes of today's sea levels and those in year 2100. The most uncertain factor of these is the future global sea level change. For this factor, three possible scenarios have been included from the literature, forming an rough uncertainty interval around a case with an 'intermediate' global sea level. To this end, the study thus makes use of information on global sea level change that has been published since the IPCC's (UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) most recent report (2007). The local cumulative impact on the shoreline of the eustatic and isostatic components for both the Forsmark and Laxemar/Simpevarp coastal areas is that the maximum sea level occurs at the end of the investigation period, by year 2100. The interaction of these estimates is discussed in terms of coastal oceanographic aspects and estimated return periods for local extreme sea level-impacting events, including estimated storm surge. Maximum sea levels in year 2100 based on the sea level rise estimates by Rahmstorf are + 254 cm for Forsmark and + 297 cm for Laxemar/Simpevarp, both of these levels with an uncertainty interval of about +- 70 cm. The numbers apply for the worst possible case in regard to future sea level rise, and for occasions of short duration during heavy storms. In this context it is important to note that the data on which these estimates are based are the subject of intense research, and that revisions are therefore to be expected

Investigation of enhanced cross-city transport and trapping of air pollutants by coastal and urban land-sea breeze circulations

Science.gov (United States)

Lo, Jeff C. F.; Lau, Alexis K. H.; Fung, Jimmy C. H.; Chen, Fei

2006-07-01

Recent satellite observations show that a layer of haze perpetually hangs over the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region and surface observations show numerous violations of the Hong Kong Air Quality Objective. This layer of haze mostly concentrates in the Pearl River Estuary and a narrow (20 km wide) band along the shoreline, in particular during weak wind situations. Although researchers suspect the land-sea breeze (LSB) circulations "concentrate" or "trap" various pollutants in this region, the physical mechanism of the phenomenon has never been fully explained or quantified. In this paper, a mesoscale atmospheric model (MM5) coupled with the Noah land surface model (LSM), which has bulk urban land use treatments along with a detailed Pearl River Delta land use map, is used to investigate the unique feature and mechanism of this land-sea breeze effect and the temporal evolution. A three-dimensional particle trajectory model is used to understand its associated pollutant transport, trapping and accumulation. A conceptual model is then developed for the perpetual air pollution phenomenon in the region. Further sensitivity experiments are used to illustrate the impact of urbanization and large-scale winds on the pollution processes. Results show that urbanization enhances the pollutant trapping and therefore contributes to the overall poor air quality in the region.

The effect of sea ice loss on sea salt aerosol concentrations and the radiative balance in the Arctic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Struthers

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Understanding Arctic climate change requires knowledge of both the external and the local drivers of Arctic climate as well as local feedbacks within the system. An Arctic feedback mechanism relating changes in sea ice extent to an alteration of the emission of sea salt aerosol and the consequent change in radiative balance is examined. A set of idealized climate model simulations were performed to quantify the radiative effects of changes in sea salt aerosol emissions induced by prescribed changes in sea ice extent. The model was forced using sea ice concentrations consistent with present day conditions and projections of sea ice extent for 2100. Sea salt aerosol emissions increase in response to a decrease in sea ice, the model results showing an annual average increase in number emission over the polar cap (70–90° N of 86 × 10⁶ m⁻² s⁻¹ (mass emission increase of 23 μg m⁻² s⁻¹. This in turn leads to an increase in the natural aerosol optical depth of approximately 23%. In response to changes in aerosol optical depth, the natural component of the aerosol direct forcing over the Arctic polar cap is estimated to be between −0.2 and −0.4 W m⁻² for the summer months, which results in a negative feedback on the system. The model predicts that the change in first indirect aerosol effect (cloud albedo effect is approximately a factor of ten greater than the change in direct aerosol forcing although this result is highly uncertain due to the crude representation of Arctic clouds and aerosol-cloud interactions in the model. This study shows that both the natural aerosol direct and first indirect effects are strongly dependent on the surface albedo, highlighting the strong coupling between sea ice, aerosols, Arctic clouds and their radiative effects.

The role of local and external factors in determining the interannual sea level variability of the Adriatic and Black Seas during the 20th century.

Science.gov (United States)

Scarascia, Luca; Lionello, Piero

2016-04-01

The Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea are two semienclosed basins connected to the Mediterranean Sea by the Otranto and the Bosporus straits, respectively. This work aims to reconstruction the sea level for both basins in the 20th century and to investigate main sources of interannual variability. Using 7 tide gauge timeseries located along the Adriatic coast and 5 along the Black Sea coast, provided by the PSMSL (Permanent service of mean sea level), a seamless sea level timeseries (1900-2009) has been obtained for each basin on the basis of statistical procedure involving PCA and Least Square Method. The comparison with satellite data in the period 1993 - 2009 confirms that these are reliable representations of the observed sea level for the whole basin, showing a great agreement with a correlation value of 0.87 and 0.72 for Adriatic and Black Sea respectively. The sea level has been decomposed in various contributions in order to analyze the role of the factors responsible for its interannual variability. The annual cycles of the local effect of pressure (inverse barometer effect IB), of the steric effect due to temperature and salinity variation and of the wind effect have been computed. The largest contribute for the Adriatic Sea is due to the wind, whilst inverse barometer effect plays a minor role and the steric effect seems to be almost negligible. For the Black Sea, on the contrary, wind effect is negligible, and the largest source of variability is due to the Danube river, which is estimated from the available discharge data of Sulina (one of the exits of the Danube delta. Steric and IB effects play both a minor role in this basin. A linear regression model, built considering as predictor the SLP gradient identified at large scale after having carried out the correlation analysis, is capable to explain a further percentage of variability (about 20-25%) of the sea level after subtracting all the factors considered above. Finally, residual sea levels show a

An Interdecadal Increase in the Spring Bering Sea Ice Cover in 2007

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Renguang eWu

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The sea ice coverage of the Northern Hemisphere as a whole has been declining since 1979. On contrary, the March-April sea ice concentration in the Bering Sea experienced a prominent increase in year 2007. The present study documents the changes in surface air temperature, surface heat fluxes, sea surface temperature, and atmospheric circulation accompanying the above interdecadal change in the Bering Sea ice concentration. It is shown that an obvious decrease in surface air temperature, sea surface temperature, and surface net shortwave radiation occurred in concurrent with the sea ice increase. The surface air temperature decrease is associated with a large-scale circulation change, featuring a decrease in sea level pressure extending from the Pacific coast of Alaska to northwestern Europe and an increase in sea level pressure over the high-latitude Asia and the high-latitude North Atlantic Ocean. The enhancement of northwesterly winds over the Bering Sea led to a large decrease in surface air temperature there. The associated increase in upward turbulent heat flux cooled the sea surface temperature in the waters south of the ice covered region, favoring the southward expansion of ice extent. This, together with a positive ice-albedo feedback, amplified the sea ice anomalies after they were initiated, leading to the interdecadal increase in sea ice in the Bering Sea.

Oceanic whitecaps: Sea surface features detectable via satellite that ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging) 1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22

experiments that the air-sea gas transfer coefficient for each of a wide range of gases, including carbon dioxide and .... generators with which the basin was equipped, the .... whitecaps in air-sea gas exchange; Gas Transfer at Water. Surfaces ...

Fluctuation instability of the Dirac Sea in quark models of strong interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Zinovjev, G. M.; Molodtsov, S. V.

2016-03-01

A number of exactly integrable (quark) models of quantum field theory that feature an infinite correlation length are considered. An instability of the standard vacuum quark ensemble, a Dirac sea (in spacetimes of dimension higher than three), is highlighted. It is due to a strong ground-state degeneracy, which, in turn, stems from a special character of the energy distribution. In the case where the momentumcutoff parameter tends to infinity, this distribution becomes infinitely narrow and leads to large (unlimited) fluctuations. A comparison of the results for various vacuum ensembles, including a Dirac sea, a neutral ensemble, a color superconductor, and a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) state, was performed. In the presence of color quark interaction, a BCS state is unambiguously chosen as the ground state of the quark ensemble.

Fluctuation instability of the Dirac Sea in quark models of strong interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zinovjev, G. M.; Molodtsov, S. V.

2016-01-01

A number of exactly integrable (quark) models of quantum field theory that feature an infinite correlation length are considered. An instability of the standard vacuum quark ensemble, a Dirac sea (in spacetimes of dimension higher than three), is highlighted. It is due to a strong ground-state degeneracy, which, in turn, stems from a special character of the energy distribution. In the case where the momentumcutoff parameter tends to infinity, this distribution becomes infinitely narrow and leads to large (unlimited) fluctuations. A comparison of the results for various vacuum ensembles, including a Dirac sea, a neutral ensemble, a color superconductor, and a Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer (BCS) state, was performed. In the presence of color quark interaction, a BCS state is unambiguously chosen as the ground state of the quark ensemble.

Fluctuation instability of the Dirac Sea in quark models of strong interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zinovjev, G. M., E-mail: Gennady.Zinovjev@cern.ch [National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics (Ukraine); Molodtsov, S. V. [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Russian Federation)

2016-03-15

A number of exactly integrable (quark) models of quantum field theory that feature an infinite correlation length are considered. An instability of the standard vacuum quark ensemble, a Dirac sea (in spacetimes of dimension higher than three), is highlighted. It is due to a strong ground-state degeneracy, which, in turn, stems from a special character of the energy distribution. In the case where the momentumcutoff parameter tends to infinity, this distribution becomes infinitely narrow and leads to large (unlimited) fluctuations. A comparison of the results for various vacuum ensembles, including a Dirac sea, a neutral ensemble, a color superconductor, and a Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer (BCS) state, was performed. In the presence of color quark interaction, a BCS state is unambiguously chosen as the ground state of the quark ensemble.

Sea ice local surface topography from single-pass satellite InSAR measurements: a feasibility study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. Dierking

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Quantitative parameters characterizing the sea ice surface topography are needed in geophysical investigations such as studies on atmosphere–ice interactions or sea ice mechanics. Recently, the use of space-borne single-pass interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR for retrieving the ice surface topography has attracted notice among geophysicists. In this paper the potential of InSAR measurements is examined for several satellite configurations and radar frequencies, considering statistics of heights and widths of ice ridges as well as possible magnitudes of ice drift. It is shown that, theoretically, surface height variations can be retrieved with relative errors  ≤  0.5 m. In practice, however, the sea ice drift and open water leads may contribute significantly to the measured interferometric phase. Another essential factor is the dependence of the achievable interferometric baseline on the satellite orbit configurations. Possibilities to assess the influence of different factors on the measurement accuracy are demonstrated: signal-to-noise ratio, presence of a snow layer, and the penetration depth into the ice. Practical examples of sea surface height retrievals from bistatic SAR images collected during the TanDEM-X Science Phase are presented.

Studies on the local evaluation of the effects of air pollution by biological index, interim report I. On the evaluation of air pollution by remote sensing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1973-12-01

The amount of arboreal activity locally affected by air pollution and numerical data obtained by transformation of aerial photography of local arboreal activity were compared to determine a biological air pollution index. The remote sensing technique used in Japan is described. The investigation was carried out in Sept. 1973 and Oct. 1972 in 16 districts of Kanagawa prefecture on three evergreen trees and three deciduous trees easily affected by air pollution. A noticeable correlation occurred between arboreal activity of zelkova, ginkgo, castanopsis, and mixed flora and the photographic density and their ratios.

Relative contributions of local wind and topography to the coastal upwelling intensity in the northern South China Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Dongxiao; Shu, Yeqiang; Xue, Huijie; Hu, Jianyu; Chen, Ju; Zhuang, Wei; Zu, TingTing; Xu, Jindian

2014-04-01

Topographically induced upwelling caused by the interaction between large-scale currents and topography was observed during four cruises in the northern South China Sea (NSCS) when the upwelling favorable wind retreated. Using a high-resolution version of the Princeton Ocean Model, we investigate relative contributions of local wind and topography to the upwelling intensity in the NSCS. The results show that the topographically induced upwelling is sensitive to alongshore large-scale currents, which have an important contribution to the upwelling intensity. The topographically induced upwelling is comparable with the wind-driven upwelling at surface and has a stronger contribution to the upwelling intensity than the local wind does at bottom in the near-shore shelf region. The widened shelf to the southwest of Shanwei and west of the Taiwan Banks intensifies the bottom friction, especially off Shantou, which is a key factor for topographically induced upwelling in terms of bottom Ekman transport and Ekman pumping. The local upwelling favorable wind enhances the bottom friction as well as net onshore transport along the 50 m isobath, whereas it has less influence along the 30 m isobath. This implies the local wind is more important in upwelling intensity in the offshore region than in the nearshore region. The contribution of local upwelling favorable wind on upwelling intensity is comparable with that of topography along the 50 m isobath. The effects of local upwelling favorable wind on upwelling intensity are twofold: on one hand, the wind transports surface warm water offshore, and as a compensation of mass the bottom current transports cold water onshore; on the other hand, the wind enhances the coastal current, and the bottom friction in turn increases the topographically induced upwelling intensity.

Impacts of ENSO on air-sea oxygen exchange: Observations and mechanisms

Science.gov (United States)

Eddebbar, Yassir A.; Long, Matthew C.; Resplandy, Laure; Rödenbeck, Christian; Rodgers, Keith B.; Manizza, Manfredi; Keeling, Ralph F.

2017-05-01

Models and observations of atmospheric potential oxygen (APO ≃ O2 + 1.1 * CO2) are used to investigate the influence of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on air-sea O2 exchange. An atmospheric transport inversion of APO data from the Scripps flask network shows significant interannual variability in tropical APO fluxes that is positively correlated with the Niño3.4 index, indicating anomalous ocean outgassing of APO during El Niño. Hindcast simulations of the Community Earth System Model (CESM) and the Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace model show similar APO sensitivity to ENSO, differing from the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory model, which shows an opposite APO response. In all models, O2 accounts for most APO flux variations. Detailed analysis in CESM shows that the O2 response is driven primarily by ENSO modulation of the source and rate of equatorial upwelling, which moderates the intensity of O2 uptake due to vertical transport of low-O2 waters. These upwelling changes dominate over counteracting effects of biological productivity and thermally driven O2 exchange. During El Niño, shallower and weaker upwelling leads to anomalous O2 outgassing, whereas deeper and intensified upwelling during La Niña drives enhanced O2 uptake. This response is strongly localized along the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, leading to an equatorial zonal dipole in atmospheric anomalies of APO. This dipole is further intensified by ENSO-related changes in winds, reconciling apparently conflicting APO observations in the tropical Pacific. These findings suggest a substantial and complex response of the oceanic O2 cycle to climate variability that is significantly (>50%) underestimated in magnitude by ocean models.

The Philosophy of Local Studies in the Interactive Age

Science.gov (United States)

Reid, Peter H.; Macafee, Caroline

2007-01-01

The authors examine strategic priorities for local studies libraries in the context of the interactive Web. They examine the implications for access, investigations and the needs of different users. The philosophy that has previously guided local studies is articulated as a number of maxims, taking into account also social inclusion and lifelong…

Seasonal variation of air-sea CO2 fluxes in the Terra Nova Bay of the Ross Sea, Antarctica, based on year-round pCO2 observations

Science.gov (United States)

Zappa, C. J.; Rhee, T. S.; Kwon, Y. S.; Choi, T.; Yang, E. J.; Kim, J.

2017-12-01

The polar oceans are rapidly changing in response to climate variability. In particular, augmented inflow of glacial melt water and shrinking sea-ice extent impacts the polar coastal oceans, which may in turn shift the biogeochemistry into an unprecedented paradigm not experienced previously. Nonetheless, most research in the polar oceans is limited to the summer season. Here, we present the first direct observations of ocean and atmospheric pCO2 measured near the coast of Terra Nova Bay in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, ongoing since February, 2015 at Jang Bogo Station. The coastal area is covered by landfast sea-ice from spring to fall while continually exposed to the atmosphere during summer season only. The pCO2 in seawater swung from 120 matm in February to 425 matm in early October. Although sea-ice still covers the coastal area, pCO2 already started decreasing after reaching the peak in October. In November, the pCO2 suddenly dropped as much as 100 matm in a week. This decrease of pCO2 continued until late February when the sea-ice concentration was minimal. With growing sea ice, the pCO2 increased logarithmically reaching the atmospheric concentration in June/July, depending on the year, and continued to increase until October. Daily mean air-sea CO2 flux in the coastal area widely varied from -70 mmol m-2 d-1 to 20 mmol m-2 d-1. Based on these observations of pCO2 in Terra Nova Bay, the annual uptake of CO2 is 8 g C m-2, estimated using the fraction of sea-ice concentration estimated from AMSR2 microwave emission imagery. Extrapolating to all polynyas surrounding Antarctica, we expect the annual uptake of 8 Tg C in the atmosphere. This is comparable to the amount of CO2 degassed into the atmosphere south of the Antarctic Polar Front (62°S).

Ice sheet-ocean interactions and sea level change

Science.gov (United States)

Heimbach, Patrick

2014-03-01

Mass loss from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets has increased rapidly since the mid-1990s. Their combined loss now accounts for about one-third of global sea level rise. In Greenland, a growing body of evidence points to the marine margins of these glaciers as the region from which this dynamic response originated. Similarly, ice streams in West Antarctica that feed vast floating ice shelves have exhibited large decadal changes. We review observational evidence and present physical mechanisms that might explain the observed changes, in particular in the context of ice sheet-ocean interactions. Processes involve cover 7 orders of magnitudes of scales, ranging from mm boundary-layer processes to basin-scale coupled atmosphere-ocean variability. We discuss observational needs to fill the gap in our mechanistic understanding.

Land-Air Interactions over Urban-Rural Transects Using Satellite Observations: Analysis over Delhi, India from 1991–2016

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Madhavi Jain

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Over the past four decades Delhi, India, has witnessed rapid urbanization and change in land use land cover (LULC pattern, with most of the cultivable areas and wasteland being converted into built-up areas. Presently around 40% land is under built-up area, a drastic rise of 30% from 1977. The effect of changing LULC, at a local scale, on various variables-land surface temperature (LST, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI, emissivity, albedo, evaporation, Bowen ratio, and planetary boundary layer (PBL height, from 1991–2016, is investigated. To assess the spatio-temporal dynamics of land-air interactions, we select two different 100 km transects covering the NE-SW and NW-SE expanse of Delhi and its adjoining areas. High NDVI and emissivity is found for regions with green cover and drastic reduction is noted in built-up area clusters. In both of the transects, land surface variations manifest itself in patterns of LST variation. Parametric and non-parametric correlations are able to statistically establish the land-air interactions in the city. NDVI, an indirect indicator for LULC classes, significantly helps in understanding the modifications in LST and ultimately air temperature. Significant, strong positive relationships exist between skin temperature and evaporation, skin temperature and PBL height, and PBL height and evaporation, providing insights into the meteorological changes that are associated with urbanization.

On heat and moisture exchanges between the sea surface and the atmosphere during the medalpex

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colacino, M.; Purini, R.

1988-01-01

Data collected by a buoy, moored in the Ligurian Sea about 27 nautical miles off the coast during the period 1 March-31 May, 1982, are analysed. The buoy was equipped by the Institute for Naval Automation (IAN) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR) during the Mediterrenean Alpine Experiment (Medalpex), join program of the Alpine Experiment (Alpex). Exchanges of heat and mass across the air-sea interface are computed from the collected data and comparisons with existing values are made. The resulting agreement confirms the strong interaction between the sea and the atmosphere in some peculiar situation, and lends weight to the oceanographic hypotesis for the statistical occurrence of deeping of orographic cyclones in the Liguro-Provencal basin

Arctic Ocean outflow and glacier-ocean interactions modify water over the Wandel Sea shelf (northeastern Greenland)

Science.gov (United States)

Dmitrenko, Igor A.; Kirillov, Sergey A.; Rudels, Bert; Babb, David G.; Toudal Pedersen, Leif; Rysgaard, Søren; Kristoffersen, Yngve; Barber, David G.

2017-12-01

The first-ever conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) observations on the Wandel Sea shelf in northeastern Greenland were collected in April-May 2015. They were complemented by CTDs taken along the continental slope during the Norwegian FRAM 2014-2015 drift. The CTD profiles are used to reveal the origin of water masses and interactions with ambient water from the continental slope and the tidewater glacier outlet. The subsurface water is associated with the Pacific water outflow from the Arctic Ocean. The underlying halocline separates the Pacific water from a deeper layer of polar water that has interacted with the warm Atlantic water outflow through the Fram Strait, recorded below 140 m. Over the outer shelf, the halocline shows numerous cold density-compensated intrusions indicating lateral interaction with an ambient polar water mass across the continental slope. At the front of the tidewater glacier outlet, colder and turbid water intrusions were observed at the base of the halocline. On the temperature-salinity plots these stations indicate a mixing line that is different from the ambient water and seems to be conditioned by the ocean-glacier interaction. Our observations of Pacific water are set within the context of upstream observations in the Beaufort Sea and downstream observations from the Northeast Water Polynya, and clearly show the modification of Pacific water during its advection across the Arctic Ocean. Moreover, ambient water over the Wandel Sea slope shows different thermohaline structures indicating the different origin and pathways of the on-shore and off-shore branches of the Arctic Ocean outflow through the western Fram Strait.

Delayed hadrons in air showers observed in Chacaltaya

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kakimoto, Fumio

1984-01-01

Bolivian Air Shower Joint Experiment group has studied high energy interaction by measuring the aspect of vertical growth of air showers of 10 16 eV or more at Mt. Chacaltaya Space Physics Observatory at 5200 m above sea level and atmospheric depth of 550 g/cm 2 . The aspect of vertical growth of electrons from about 100 g/cm 2 to about 400 g/cm 2 of atmospheric depth obtained by the measured results of the time of arrival distribution of air Cherenkov radiation at Mt. Chacaltaya agreed with the one predicted from the enhanced 1/2 power of E model. Since the vertical growth of electrons and muons in about 10 17 eV air showers from the atmospheric apex was difficult to give the unified explanation with known interaction models, the University of Tokyo group has proposed a two-component model for air shower growth. If this second component is formed from heavy particles or heavy quantum state as parents, it should be observed as the component which arrives later in air shower. Thus, the measurement and experiment on the delayed hadrons in air showers have been started. In this paper, the experiment, analysis and results are reported. It is clear that the parent particles which caused such a phenomenon were not pions which were multiply generated by the interaction generally known. Therefore, an exact simulating calculation must be performed and compared with the experimental results to obtain the final conclusion from the measured results of this time. (Wakatsuki, Y.)

Regulation of CO2 Air Sea Fluxes by Sediments in the North Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Burt, William; Thomas, Helmuth; Hagens, Mathilde; Brenner, Heiko; Pätsch, Johannes; Clargo, Nicola; Salt, Lesley

2016-04-01

A multi-tracer approach is applied to assess the impact of boundary fluxes (e.g. benthic input from sediments or lateral inputs from the coastline) on the acid-base buffering capacity, and overall biogeochemistry, of the North Sea. Analyses of both basin-wide observations in the North Sea and transects through tidal basins at the North-Frisian coastline, reveal that surface distributions of the δ13C signature of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) are predominantly controlled by a balance between biological production and respiration. In particular, variability in metabolic DIC throughout stations in the well-mixed southern North Sea indicates the presence of an external carbon source, which is traced to the European continental coastline using naturally-occurring radium isotopes (224Ra and 228Ra). 228Ra is also shown to be a highly effective tracer of North Sea total alkalinity (AT) compared to the more conventional use of salinity. Coastal inputs of metabolic DIC and AT are calculated on a basin-wide scale, and ratios of these inputs suggest denitrification as a primary metabolic pathway for their formation. The AT input paralleling the metabolic DIC release prevents a significant decline in pH as compared to aerobic (i.e. unbuffered) release of metabolic DIC. Finally, long-term pH trends mimic those of riverine nitrate loading, highlighting the importance of coastal AT production via denitrification in regulating pH in the southern North Sea.

Turbulence structure and CO2 transfer at the air-sea interface and turbulent diffusion in thermally-stratified flows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komori, S.

1996-01-01

A supercomputer is a nice tool for simulating environmental flows. The Center for Global Environmental Research (CGER) of the National Institute for Environmental Studies purchased a supercomputer SX-3 of CGER about three years ago, and it has been used for various environmental simulations since. Although one of the main purposes for which the supercomputer was used was to simulate global warming with a general circulation model (GCM), our research organization used the supercomputer for more fundamental work to investigate heat and mass transfer mechanisms in environmental flows. Our motivations for this work was the fact that GCMs involve a number of uncertain submodels related to heat and mass transfer in turbulent atmospheric and oceanic flows. It may be easy to write research reports by running GCMs which were developed in western countries, but it is difficult for numerical scientists to do original work with such second-hand GCMs. In this sense, we thought that it would be more original to study the fundamentals of heat and mass transfer mechanisms in environmental flows rather than to run a GCM. Therefore, we tried to numerically investigate turbulence structure and scalar transfer both at the air-sea interface and in thermally stratified flows, neither of which were well modeled by GCMs. We also employed laboratory experiments to clarify the turbulence structure and scalar transfer mechanism, since numerical simulations are not sufficiently powerful to clarify all aspects of turbulence structure and scalar transfer mechanisms. A numerical technique is a promising tool to complement measurements of processes that cannot be clarified by turbulence measurements in environmental flows. It should also be noted that most of the interesting phenomena in environmental flows can be elucidated by laboratory or field measurements but not by numerical simulations alone. Thus, it is of importance to combine laboratory or field measurements with numerical simulations

A quantum annealing architecture with all-to-all connectivity from local interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lechner, Wolfgang; Hauke, Philipp; Zoller, Peter

2015-10-01

Quantum annealers are physical devices that aim at solving NP-complete optimization problems by exploiting quantum mechanics. The basic principle of quantum annealing is to encode the optimization problem in Ising interactions between quantum bits (qubits). A fundamental challenge in building a fully programmable quantum annealer is the competing requirements of full controllable all-to-all connectivity and the quasi-locality of the interactions between physical qubits. We present a scalable architecture with full connectivity, which can be implemented with local interactions only. The input of the optimization problem is encoded in local fields acting on an extended set of physical qubits. The output is-in the spirit of topological quantum memories-redundantly encoded in the physical qubits, resulting in an intrinsic fault tolerance. Our model can be understood as a lattice gauge theory, where long-range interactions are mediated by gauge constraints. The architecture can be realized on various platforms with local controllability, including superconducting qubits, NV-centers, quantum dots, and atomic systems.

A quantum annealing architecture with all-to-all connectivity from local interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Lechner, Wolfgang; Hauke, Philipp; Zoller, Peter

2015-01-01

Quantum annealers are physical devices that aim at solving NP-complete optimization problems by exploiting quantum mechanics. The basic principle of quantum annealing is to encode the optimization problem in Ising interactions between quantum bits (qubits). A fundamental challenge in building a fully programmable quantum annealer is the competing requirements of full controllable all-to-all connectivity and the quasi-locality of the interactions between physical qubits. We present a scalable architecture with full connectivity, which can be implemented with local interactions only. The input of the optimization problem is encoded in local fields acting on an extended set of physical qubits. The output is—in the spirit of topological quantum memories—redundantly encoded in the physical qubits, resulting in an intrinsic fault tolerance. Our model can be understood as a lattice gauge theory, where long-range interactions are mediated by gauge constraints. The architecture can be realized on various platforms with local controllability, including superconducting qubits, NV-centers, quantum dots, and atomic systems. PMID:26601316

Interactions of GST Polymorphisms in Air Pollution Exposure and Respiratory Diseases and Allergies.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowatte, Gayan; Lodge, Caroline J; Perret, Jennifer L; Matheson, Melanie C; Dharmage, Shyamali C

2016-11-01

The purpose of this review is to summarize the evidence from recently published original studies investigating how glutathione S-transferase (GST) gene polymorphisms modify the impact of air pollution on asthma, allergic diseases, and lung function. Current studies in epidemiological and controlled human experiments found evidence to suggest that GSTs modify the impact of air pollution exposure on respiratory diseases and allergies. Of the nine articles included in this review, all except one identified at least one significant interaction with at least one of glutathione S-transferase pi 1 (GSTP1), glutathione S-transferase mu 1 (GSTM1), or glutathione S-transferase theta 1 (GSTT1) genes and air pollution exposure. The findings of these studies, however, are markedly different. This difference can be partially explained by regional variation in the exposure levels and oxidative potential of different pollutants and by other interactions involving a number of unaccounted environment exposures and multiple genes. Although there is evidence of an interaction between GST genes and air pollution exposure for the risk of respiratory disease and allergies, results are not concordant. Further investigations are needed to explore the reasons behind the discordancy.

RV SONNE SO243 Cruise Report / Fahrtbericht Guayaquil, Ecuador: 05. October 2015 Antofagasta, Chile: 22. October 2015 SO243 ASTRA-OMZ: AIR SEA INTERACTION OF TRACE ELEMENTS IN OXYGEN MINIMUM ZONES

OpenAIRE

Marandino, Christa A.

2016-01-01

The ASTRA-OMZ SO243 cruise on board the R/V Sonne took place between the 5th and 22nd October 2015 from Guayaquil, Ecuador to Antofagasta, Chile. Scientists from Germany, the U.S.A, and Norway participated, spanning chemical, biological, and physical oceanography, as well as atmospheric science. The main goal of the cruise was to determine the impact of low oxygen conditions on trace element cycling and distributions, as well as to determine how air-sea exchange of trace elements is influence...

Best practice in English Local Air Quality Management: principles illustrated by some examples of current practice

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beattie, C.I.; Ling, K.; Longhurst, J.W.S. [Univ. of the West of England, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Bristol (GB)] [and others

1999-07-01

The Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) process, a holistic approach to management, is well underway in England. The process aims to tackle air pollution problems from a variety of diverse sources, operating over different time scales and spatial areas. Although technical guidance from the Government has been published over the last two years, little guidance has been available for the management aspects of the process. Arguably, the management of air quality will be the crucial test of the LAQM process. Only by collaboration can technologies and policy actions, such as traffic management schemes, be put into effective action. The authors present an overview of the process, including a model of current LAQM procedures in the UK. Current practice is illustrated by way of results from a questionnaire survey of local authorities, health authorities and the Environment Agency and also by reference to specific examples from local authorities. (Author)

Unexpectedly high ultrafine aerosol concentrations above East Antarctic sea ice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. S. Humphries

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Better characterisation of aerosol processes in pristine, natural environments, such as Antarctica, have recently been shown to lead to the largest reduction in uncertainties in our understanding of radiative forcing. Our understanding of aerosols in the Antarctic region is currently based on measurements that are often limited to boundary layer air masses at spatially sparse coastal and continental research stations, with only a handful of studies in the vast sea-ice region. In this paper, the first observational study of sub-micron aerosols in the East Antarctic sea ice region is presented. Measurements were conducted aboard the icebreaker Aurora Australis in spring 2012 and found that boundary layer condensation nuclei (CN3 concentrations exhibited a five-fold increase moving across the polar front, with mean polar cell concentrations of 1130 cm−3 – higher than any observed elsewhere in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean region. The absence of evidence for aerosol growth suggested that nucleation was unlikely to be local. Air parcel trajectories indicated significant influence from the free troposphere above the Antarctic continent, implicating this as the likely nucleation region for surface aerosol, a similar conclusion to previous Antarctic aerosol studies. The highest aerosol concentrations were found to correlate with low-pressure systems, suggesting that the passage of cyclones provided an accelerated pathway, delivering air masses quickly from the free troposphere to the surface. After descent from the Antarctic free troposphere, trajectories suggest that sea-ice boundary layer air masses travelled equatorward into the low-albedo Southern Ocean region, transporting with them emissions and these aerosol nuclei which, after growth, may potentially impact on the region's radiative balance. The high aerosol concentrations and their transport pathways described here, could help reduce the discrepancy currently present between

Unexpectedly high ultrafine aerosol concentrations above East Antarctic sea ice

Science.gov (United States)

Humphries, R. S.; Klekociuk, A. R.; Schofield, R.; Keywood, M.; Ward, J.; Wilson, S. R.

2016-02-01

Better characterisation of aerosol processes in pristine, natural environments, such as Antarctica, have recently been shown to lead to the largest reduction in uncertainties in our understanding of radiative forcing. Our understanding of aerosols in the Antarctic region is currently based on measurements that are often limited to boundary layer air masses at spatially sparse coastal and continental research stations, with only a handful of studies in the vast sea-ice region. In this paper, the first observational study of sub-micron aerosols in the East Antarctic sea ice region is presented. Measurements were conducted aboard the icebreaker Aurora Australis in spring 2012 and found that boundary layer condensation nuclei (CN3) concentrations exhibited a five-fold increase moving across the polar front, with mean polar cell concentrations of 1130 cm-3 - higher than any observed elsewhere in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean region. The absence of evidence for aerosol growth suggested that nucleation was unlikely to be local. Air parcel trajectories indicated significant influence from the free troposphere above the Antarctic continent, implicating this as the likely nucleation region for surface aerosol, a similar conclusion to previous Antarctic aerosol studies. The highest aerosol concentrations were found to correlate with low-pressure systems, suggesting that the passage of cyclones provided an accelerated pathway, delivering air masses quickly from the free troposphere to the surface. After descent from the Antarctic free troposphere, trajectories suggest that sea-ice boundary layer air masses travelled equatorward into the low-albedo Southern Ocean region, transporting with them emissions and these aerosol nuclei which, after growth, may potentially impact on the region's radiative balance. The high aerosol concentrations and their transport pathways described here, could help reduce the discrepancy currently present between simulations and observations of

Review of scientific linkages and interactions between climate change and air quality, with implications for air quality management in South Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Thambiran, Tirusha

2010-04-01

Full Text Available In recent years there has been considerable advancement in our scientific understanding of the linkages and interactions between climate change and air quality. A warmer, evolving climate is likely to have severe consequences for air quality due...

STABLE STATIONARY STATES OF NON-LOCAL INTERACTION EQUATIONS

KAUST Repository

FELLNER, KLEMENS; RAOUL, GAË L

2010-01-01

.r.t. shifts and reallocations of individual Dirac masses, and (iii) show that these linear stability conditions imply local non-linear stability. Finally, we show that for regular repulsive interaction potential Wε converging to a singular repulsive

Interactive Cosegmentation Using Global and Local Energy Optimization

OpenAIRE

Xingping Dong,; Jianbing Shen,; Shao, Ling; Yang, Ming-Hsuan

2015-01-01

We propose a novel interactive cosegmentation method using global and local energy optimization. The global energy includes two terms: 1) the global scribbled energy and 2) the interimage energy. The first one utilizes the user scribbles to build the Gaussian mixture model and improve the cosegmentation performance. The second one is a global constraint, which attempts to match the histograms of common objects. To minimize the local energy, we apply the spline regression to learn the smoothne...

A Formulation of Quantum Field Theory Realizing a Sea of Interacting Dirac Particles

Science.gov (United States)

Finster, Felix

2011-08-01

In this survey article, we explain a few ideas behind the fermionic projector approach and summarize recent results which clarify the connection to quantum field theory. The fermionic projector is introduced, which describes the physical system by a collection of Dirac states, including the states of the Dirac sea. Formulating the interaction by an action principle for the fermionic projector, we obtain a consistent description of interacting quantum fields which reproduces the results of perturbative quantum field theory. We find a new mechanism for the generation of boson masses and obtain small corrections to the field equations which violate causality.

Does air-sea coupling influence model projections of the effects of the Paris Agreement?

Science.gov (United States)

Klingaman, Nicholas; Suckling, Emma; Sutton, Rowan; Dong, Buwen

2017-04-01

The 2015 Paris Agreement includes the long-term goal to hold global-mean temperature to "well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels", with the further stated aim of limiting the global-mean warming to 1.5°C, in the belief that this would "significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change". However, it is not clear which risks and impacts would be avoided, or reduced, by achieving a 1.5°C warming instead of a 2.0°C warming. Initial efforts to quantify changes in risk have focused on analysis of existing CMIP5 simulations at levels of global-mean warming close to 1.5°C or 2.0°C, by taking averages over ≈20 year periods. This framework suffers from several drawbacks, however, including the effect of model internal multi-decadal variability, the influence of coupled-model systematic errors on regional circulation patterns, and the presence of a warming trend across the averaging period (i.e., the model is not in steady state). To address these issues, the "Half a degree Additional warming, Prognosis and Projected Impacts" (HAPPI) project is performing large ensembles of atmosphere-only experiments with prescribed sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) for present-day and 1.5°C and 2.0°C scenarios. While these experiments reduce the complications from a limited dataset and coupled-model systematic errors, the use of atmosphere-only models neglects feedbacks between the atmosphere and ocean, which may have substantial effects on the representation of local and regional extremes, and hence on the response of these extremes to global-mean warming. We introduce a set of atmosphere-ocean coupled simulations that incorporate much of the HAPPI experiment design, yet retain a representation of air-sea feedbacks. We use the Met Office Unified Model Global Ocean Mixed Layer (MetUM-GOML) model, which comprises the MetUM atmospheric model coupled to many columns of the one-dimensional K Profile Parameterization mixed-layer ocean. Critically, the MetUM-GOML ocean mean

Local Interactions of Hydrometeors by Diffusion in Mixed-Phase Clouds

Science.gov (United States)

Baumgartner, Manuel; Spichtinger, Peter

2017-04-01

Mixed-phase clouds, containing both ice particles and liquid droplets, are important for the Earth-Atmosphere system. They modulate the radiation budget by a combination of albedo effect and greenhouse effect. In contrast to liquid water clouds, the radiative impact of clouds containing ice particles is still uncertain. Scattering and absorption highly depends in microphysical properties of ice crystals, e.g. size and shape. In addition, most precipitation on Earth forms via the ice phase. Thus, better understanding of ice processes as well as their representation in models is required. A key process for determining shape and size of ice crystals is diffusional growth. Diffusion processes in mixed-phase clouds are highly uncertain; in addition they are usually highly simplified in cloud models, especially in bulk microphysics parameterizations. The direct interaction between cloud droplets and ice particles, due to spatial inhomogeneities, is ignored; the particles can only interact via their environmental conditions. Local effects as supply of supersaturation due to clusters of droplets around ice particles are usually not represented, although they form the physical basis of the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen process. We present direct numerical simulations of the interaction of single ice particles and droplets, especially their local competition for the available water vapor. In addition, we show an approach to parameterize local interactions by diffusion. The suggested parameterization uses local steady-state solutions of the diffusion equations for water vapor for an ice particle as well as a droplet. The individual solutions are coupled together to obtain the desired interaction. We show some results of the scheme as implemented in a parcel model.

A Case Study of Air Cleaner by the Intelligent Interaction and Emotion

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Huai; Sun, Yuwen

2018-02-01

The pure and fresh air can not only contribute to our physical and mental health, but also can be beneficial to ease the pressure and relax the mood. The vertical intelligent air cleaner can remove the harmful gases from the air and absorb the suspended particles in the air, especially all kinds of the bacteria and viruses. The air cleaner is good for improving the air quality of the indoor and maintaining the health of the people. The designing of the vertical air cleaner is as follows: The designing of the vertical intelligent make full use of the developed air purification technology. The smart home is inserted into the work. Simultaneously, in the aspect of the design of intelligent products, the intelligent interactive processes are scientifically planned. Moreover, the emotional design and the user experience are fully considered, which can enhance the comprehensive design ability.

Future increases in Arctic precipitation linked to local evaporation and sea-ice retreat.

Science.gov (United States)

Bintanja, R; Selten, F M

2014-05-22

Precipitation changes projected for the end of the twenty-first century show an increase of more than 50 per cent in the Arctic regions. This marked increase, which is among the highest globally, has previously been attributed primarily to enhanced poleward moisture transport from lower latitudes. Here we use state-of-the-art global climate models to show that the projected increases in Arctic precipitation over the twenty-first century, which peak in late autumn and winter, are instead due mainly to strongly intensified local surface evaporation (maximum in winter), and only to a lesser degree due to enhanced moisture inflow from lower latitudes (maximum in late summer and autumn). Moreover, we show that the enhanced surface evaporation results mainly from retreating winter sea ice, signalling an amplified Arctic hydrological cycle. This demonstrates that increases in Arctic precipitation are firmly linked to Arctic warming and sea-ice decline. As a result, the Arctic mean precipitation sensitivity (4.5 per cent increase per degree of temperature warming) is much larger than the global value (1.6 to 1.9 per cent per kelvin). The associated seasonally varying increase in Arctic precipitation is likely to increase river discharge and snowfall over ice sheets (thereby affecting global sea level), and could even affect global climate through freshening of the Arctic Ocean and subsequent modulations of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation.

Dioxin in Danish air

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vikelsoe, J.; Andersen, H.V. [National Environmental Research Inst., Roskilde (Denmark)

2004-09-15

To gain more knowledge about dioxin levels, sources and emissions in Denmark, the Danish government year 2001 initiated the Danish Dioxin Monitoring Program. The program is a series of investigations, comprising soil, compost, percolate, bio-ash, incineration of municipal and hazardous waste, deposition, air, lake and fjord sediment as well as cows milk and human milk. The present paper describes the preliminary results for the continued investigation of air. Deposition of dioxin over land or sea is of major importance for the human exposure, which takes place mainly from food intake. The dioxin are emitted mainly to the atmosphere, therefore air measurements are well suited for tracking the transport and fate of dioxin from sources to exposure. Whereas measurements from chimneys has been frequently used to estimate the industrial emission from point sources such as incinerators, air measurements also include emission from diffuse sources such as larger urban or industrial regions, residential quarters, and from evaporation. Furthermore, emission measurements must be done on known sources, whereas air measurements include contribution from unknown source. The major drawbacks of air measurements are the long duration required (years), and the results depends on meteorological conditions, such as temperature, rainfall, wind speed and direction. The purpose of the present study has been to measure dioxins in Danish air, emphasizing - background concentrations and annual variation - difference between urban, rural and residential zones - influence from local sources and long range transport - connection between dioxin in air and deposition.

Analytical local electron-electron interaction model potentials for atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neugebauer, Johannes; Reiher, Markus; Hinze, Juergen

2002-01-01

Analytical local potentials for modeling the electron-electron interaction in an atom reduce significantly the computational effort in electronic structure calculations. The development of such potentials has a long history, but some promising ideas have not yet been taken into account for further improvements. We determine a local electron-electron interaction potential akin to those suggested by Green et al. [Phys. Rev. 184, 1 (1969)], which are widely used in atom-ion scattering calculations, electron-capture processes, and electronic structure calculations. Generalized Yukawa-type model potentials are introduced. This leads, however, to shell-dependent local potentials, because the origin behavior of such potentials is different for different shells as has been explicated analytically [J. Neugebauer, M. Reiher, and J. Hinze, Phys. Rev. A 65, 032518 (2002)]. It is found that the parameters that characterize these local potentials can be interpolated and extrapolated reliably for different nuclear charges and different numbers of electrons. The analytical behavior of the corresponding localized Hartree-Fock potentials at the origin and at long distances is utilized in order to reduce the number of fit parameters. It turns out that the shell-dependent form of Green's potential, which we also derive, yields results of comparable accuracy using only one shell-dependent parameter

Effect of wind waves on air-sea gas exchange: proposal of an overall CO2 transfer velocity formula as a function of breaking-wave parameter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, D.; Suzuki, Y.; Komori, S.

2003-01-01

A new formula for gas transfer velocity as a function of the breaking-wave parameter is proposed based on correlating gas transfer with whitecap coverage. The new formula for gas transfer across an air-sea interface depends not only on wind speed but also on wind-wave state. At the same wind speed, a higher gas transfer velocity will be obtained for a more developed wind-sea, which is represented by a smaller spectral peak frequency of wind waves. We suggest that the large uncertainties in the traditional relationship of gas transfer velocity with wind speed be ascribed to the neglect of the effect of wind waves. The breaking-wave parameter can be regarded as a Reynolds number that characterizes the intensity of turbulence associated with wind waves in the downward-bursting boundary layer (DBBL). DBBL provides an effective way to exchange gas across the air-sea interface, which might be related to the surface renewal

Boreal summer sub-seasonal variability of the South Asian monsoon in the Met Office GloSea5 initialized coupled model

Science.gov (United States)

Jayakumar, A.; Turner, A. G.; Johnson, S. J.; Rajagopal, E. N.; Mohandas, Saji; Mitra, A. K.

2017-09-01

Boreal summer sub-seasonal variability in the Asian monsoon, otherwise known as the monsoon intra-seasonal oscillation (MISO), is one of the dominant modes of intraseasonal variability in the tropics, with large impacts on total monsoon rainfall and India's agricultural production. However, our understanding of the mechanisms involved in MISO is incomplete and its simulation in various numerical models is often flawed. In this study, we focus on the objective evaluation of the fidelity of MISO simulation in the Met Office Global Seasonal forecast system version 5 (GloSea5), an initialized coupled model. We analyze a series of nine-member hindcasts from GloSea5 over 1996-2009 during the peak monsoon period (July-August) over the South-Asian monsoon domain focusing on aspects of the time-mean background state and air-sea interaction processes pertinent to MISO. Dominant modes during this period are evident in power spectrum analysis, but propagation and evolution characteristics of the MISO are not realistic. We find that simulated air-sea interactions in the central Indian Ocean are not supportive of MISO initiation in that region, likely a result of the low surface wind variance there. As a consequence, the expected near-quadrature phase relationship between SST and convection is not represented properly over the central equatorial Indian Ocean, and northward propagation from the equator is poorly simulated. This may reinforce the equatorial rainfall mean state bias in GloSea5.

Effect of coulomb interaction on Anderson localization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waintal, X.

1999-01-01

We study the quantum mechanics of interacting particles in a disordered system, and in particular, what happens to Anderson localisation when interaction is taken into account. In the first part, one looks at the excited states of two particles in one dimension. For this model, it has been shown (Shepelyansky 1994) that a local repulsive interaction can partially destroy Anderson localisation. Here, we show that this model has similarities with the three-dimensional Anderson model at the metal-insulator transition. In particular, the maximum of rigidity obtained in the spectral statistics correspond to some intermediary statistics that cannot be described by random matrix theory neither by a Poisson statistics. The wave functions show a multifractal behaviour and the spreading of the center of mass of a wave packet is logarithmic in time. The second part deals with the ground state of a finite density of spinless fermions in two dimensions. After the scaling theory of localisation, it was commonly accepted that there was no metal in two dimensions. This idea has been challenged by the observation of a metal-insulator transition in low density electron gas (Kravchenko et al. 1994). We propose a scenario in which a metallic phase occurs between the Anderson insulator and the pinned Wigner crystal. This intermediate phase is characterized by an alignment of the local currents flowing in the system. (author)

Intraseasonal variability in the far-east pacific: investigation of the role of air-sea coupling in a regional coupled model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Small, R.J. [Naval Research Laboratory, Jacobs Technology, Stennis Space Center, MS (United States); University of Hawaii, International Pacific Research Center, POST 401, Honolulu, HI (United States); Xie, Shang-Ping [University of Hawaii, International Pacific Research Center, POST 401, Honolulu, HI (United States); University of Hawaii, Department of Meteorology, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, Honolulu, HI (United States); Maloney, Eric D. [Colorado State University, Department of Atmospheric Science, Fort Collins, CO (United States); Szoeke, Simon P. de [Oregon State University, College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Corvallis, OR (United States); Miyama, Toru [Frontier Research for Global Change, Yokohama (Japan)

2011-03-15

Intraseasonal variability in the eastern Pacific warm pool in summer is studied, using a regional ocean-atmosphere model, a linear baroclinic model (LBM), and satellite observations. The atmospheric component of the model is forced by lateral boundary conditions from reanalysis data. The aim is to quantify the importance to atmospheric deep convection of local air-sea coupling. In particular, the effect of sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies on surface heat fluxes is examined. Intraseasonal (20-90 day) east Pacific warm-pool zonal wind and outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) variability in the regional coupled model are correlated at 0.8 and 0.6 with observations, respectively, significant at the 99% confidence level. The strength of the intraseasonal variability in the coupled model, as measured by the variance of outgoing longwave radiation, is close in magnitude to that observed, but with a maximum located about 10 further west. East Pacific warm pool intraseasonal convection and winds agree in phase with those from observations, suggesting that remote forcing at the boundaries associated with the Madden-Julian oscillation determines the phase of intraseasonal convection in the east Pacific warm pool. When the ocean model component is replaced by weekly reanalysis SST in an atmosphere-only experiment, there is a slight improvement in the location of the highest OLR variance. Further sensitivity experiments with the regional atmosphere-only model in which intraseasonal SST variability is removed indicate that convective variability has only a weak dependence on the SST variability, but a stronger dependence on the climatological mean SST distribution. A scaling analysis confirms that wind speed anomalies give a much larger contribution to the intraseasonal evaporation signal than SST anomalies, in both model and observations. A LBM is used to show that local feedbacks would serve to amplify intraseasonal convection and the large-scale circulation. Further

Expression and localization of Aquaporin 1a in the sea-bass (Dicentrarchus labrax during ontogeny

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivone eGiffard-Mena

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The successful establishment of a species in a given habitat depends on the ability of each of its developing stages to adapt to the environment. In order to understand this process we have studied the adaptation of a euryhaline fish, the sea-bass Dicentrarchus labrax, to various salinities during its ontogeny. The expression and localization of Aquaporin 1a (AQP1a mRNA and protein were determined in different osmoregulatory tissues. In larvae, the sites of AQP1a expression are variable and they shift according to age, implying functional changes. In juveniles after metamorphosis (D32-48 post hatch, 15 - 25 mm and in pre-adults, an increase in AQP1a transcript abundance was noted in the digestive tract, and the AQP1a location was observed in the intestine. In juveniles (D87-100 post hatch, 38 - 48 mm, the transcript levels of AQP1a in the digestive tract and in the kidney were higher in sea water than at lower salinity. These observations, in agreement with existing models, suggest that in sea water-acclimated fish, the imbibed water is absorbed via AQP1a through the digestive tract, particularly the intestine and the rectum. In addition, AQP1a may play a role in water reabsorption in the kidney. These mechanisms compensate dehydratation in sea water, and they contribute to the adaptation of juveniles to salinity changes during sea-lagoon migrations. These results contribute to the interpretation of the adaptation of populations to habitats where salinity varies.

LOCAL AIR: Local Aerosol monitoring combining in-situ and Remote Sensing observations

Science.gov (United States)

Mona, Lucia; Caggiano, Rosa; Donvito, Angelo; Giannini, Vincenzo; Papagiannopoulos, Nikolaos; Sarli, Valentina; Trippetta, Serena

2015-04-01

local sources, which in the troposphere, where there are aerosols transported over long distances by the phenomena of atmospheric circulation. The purpose of the LOCAL AIR project is the development of a methodology for using synergistic data at different resolutions (ground measurements, remote sensing from ground and satellite) as an effective tool for the characterization of tropospheric aerosols on a local scale. The backbone of the project is the long-term ground-based measurements collected at CIAO (CNR-IMAA Atmospheric Observatory) plus the CALIPSO observations.. The location of the plethora of instruments and measurements of atmospheric interest available at CNR-IMAA makes it a sample site not only for the realization of the methodology, but also allows a feasibility study of this method in the absence of some by analysis of the measures considered in the scaling down of the algorithm developed. It will be evaluated the applicability and reliability of the algorithm implemented for the characterization of the aerosol content to the ground in other places of special interest. Acknowledgments: LOCAL AIR is supported by PO FSE Basilicata 2007-2013 Azione n. 45/AP/05/2013/REG - CUP: G53G13000300009.

Effectiveness of local air quality measures; Effectiviteit van likale luchtkwaliteitsmaatregelen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Bommel, R.; Van de Poll, T. [Royal Haskoning DHV, Amersfoort (Netherlands)

2013-12-15

This article examines the effects of local air quality measures which are calculated by order of the city of Utrecht. The conclusions are that environmental zones and other local measures contribute to meet the targets and improve public health. It is also explained why this is the case, and the question is raised whether or not national measures would be better [Dutch] Dit artikel gaat in op de effecten van lokale maatregelen die zijn berekend in opdracht van de gemeente Utrecht. De conclusie: milieuzones en andere lokale maatregelen dragen bij aan het halen van normen en leveren gezondheidswinst op. Er wordt uitgelegd waarom dat zo is en de vraag wordt gesteld of landelijke maatregelen niet beter zijn.

Estimating the Ocean Flow Field from Combined Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Surface Height Data

Science.gov (United States)

Stammer, Detlef; Lindstrom, Eric (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This project was part of a previous grant at MIT that was moved over to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) together with the principal investigator. The final report provided here is concerned only with the work performed at SIO since January 2000. The primary focus of this project was the study of the three-dimensional, absolute and time-evolving general circulation of the global ocean from a combined analysis of remotely sensed fields of sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height (SSH). The synthesis of those two fields was performed with other relevant physical data, and appropriate dynamical ocean models with emphasis on constraining ocean general circulation models by a combination of both SST and SSH data. The central goal of the project was to improve our understanding and modeling of the relationship between the SST and its variability to internal ocean dynamics, and the overlying atmosphere, and to explore the relative roles of air-sea fluxes and internal ocean dynamics in establishing anomalies in SST on annual and longer time scales. An understanding of those problems will feed into the general discussion on how SST anomalies vary with time and the extend to which they interact with the atmosphere.

Transboundary Transport of Biomass Burning Emissions in Southeast Asia and Contribution to Local Air Quality During the 2006 Fire Event

Science.gov (United States)

Aouizerats, B.; van der Werf, G.; Balasubramanian, R.; Betha, R.

2014-12-01

Smoke from biomass and peat burning has a notable impact on ambient air quality and climate in the Southeast Asia (SEA) region. We modeled the largest fire-induced haze episode in the past decade (2006) that originated in Indonesia using WRF-Chem. Our study addressed 3 research questions: (1) Can the WRF-Chem model reproduce observations of both aerosol and CO concentrations in this complex region? (2) What is the evolution in the chemical composition of the aerosol fire plume during its atmospheric transport? and (3) What is the relative contribution of these fires to air quality in the urbanized area of the city-state of Singapore? To test model performance, we used three independent datasets for comparison (PM10 in Singapore, CO measurements in Sumatra, and AOD column observations from 4 satellite-based sensors). We found reasonable agreement of the model runs with ground-based measurements of both CO and PM10. However, the comparison with AOD was less favorable and indicated the model underestimated AOD. In the past, modeling studies using only AOD as a constraint have often boosted fire emissions to get a better agreement with observations. In our case, this approach would seriously deteriorate the difference with ground-based observations. Finally, our results show that about 21% of the total mass loading of ambient PM10 during the July-October study period in Singapore was due to the influence of biomass and peat burning in Sumatra, with an increased contribution during high burning periods. The composition of this biomass burning plume was largely dominated by primary organic carbon. In total, our model results indicated that during 35 days aerosol concentrations in Singapore were above the threshold of 50 μg m-3 day-1 (WHO threshold). During 17 days this deterioration was due to Indonesian fires, based on the difference between the simulations with and without fires. Local air pollution in combination with recirculation of air masses was probably the main

Understanding spatial and temporal behavior of sea spray droplets in the marine atmospheric boundary layer using an Eulerian-Lagrangian model

Science.gov (United States)

Nissanka, I. D.; Richter, D. H.

2017-12-01

Previous studies have shown that sea spray droplets can play a significant role in air-sea heat and moisture exchange. The larger spray droplets have potential to transfer considerable amount of mass, momentum and heat, however they remain closer to surface and their residence times are shorter due to the faster settling. On the other hand, smaller droplets have high vertical mobility which allows sufficient time for droplets to adjust to ambient conditions. Hence, to study the heat and moisture characteristics of sea spray droplets it is important to understand how different droplet sizes behave in the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer (MABL), especially their temporal evolutions. In this study sea spray droplet transport in the MABL is simulated using Large Eddy Simulation combined with a Lagrangian Particle model which represents spray droplets of varying size. The individual droplets are tracked while their radius and temperature evolve based on local ambient conditions. The particles are advected based on the local resolved velocities and the particle dispersion due to sub-filtered scale motions are modeled using a Lagrangian stochastic model. In this study a series of simulations are conducted with the focus of understanding fundamental droplet microphysics, which will help characterize and quantify the lifetime and airborne concentrations of spray droplets in the MABL, thus elucidating ongoing knowledge gaps which are impossible to fill using observations alone. We measure the size resolved spray droplet vertical concentrations, particle residence times, and temporal evolution of droplet radius and temperature to explain the behavior of sea spry droplets in MABL. The PDF of residence time of different initial droplet sizes and joint PDFs of droplet life time and radius and temperature for different droplet sizes are calculated to further quantify the temporal and spatial behavior of sea spray droplets in the MABL, which can be used as inputs into bulk models

Arctic Ocean outflow and glacier–ocean interactions modify water over the Wandel Sea shelf (northeastern Greenland

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I. A. Dmitrenko

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The first-ever conductivity–temperature–depth (CTD observations on the Wandel Sea shelf in northeastern Greenland were collected in April–May 2015. They were complemented by CTDs taken along the continental slope during the Norwegian FRAM 2014–2015 drift. The CTD profiles are used to reveal the origin of water masses and interactions with ambient water from the continental slope and the tidewater glacier outlet. The subsurface water is associated with the Pacific water outflow from the Arctic Ocean. The underlying halocline separates the Pacific water from a deeper layer of polar water that has interacted with the warm Atlantic water outflow through the Fram Strait, recorded below 140 m. Over the outer shelf, the halocline shows numerous cold density-compensated intrusions indicating lateral interaction with an ambient polar water mass across the continental slope. At the front of the tidewater glacier outlet, colder and turbid water intrusions were observed at the base of the halocline. On the temperature–salinity plots these stations indicate a mixing line that is different from the ambient water and seems to be conditioned by the ocean–glacier interaction. Our observations of Pacific water are set within the context of upstream observations in the Beaufort Sea and downstream observations from the Northeast Water Polynya, and clearly show the modification of Pacific water during its advection across the Arctic Ocean. Moreover, ambient water over the Wandel Sea slope shows different thermohaline structures indicating the different origin and pathways of the on-shore and off-shore branches of the Arctic Ocean outflow through the western Fram Strait.

Investigation of local meteorological events and their relationship with ozone and aerosols during an ESCOMPTE photochemical episode

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P. Augustin

2006-11-01

Full Text Available The international ESCOMPTE campaign, which took place in summer 2001 in the most highly polluted French region, was devoted to validate air pollution prediction models. Surface and remote sensing instruments (Lidar, Radar and Sodar were deployed over the Marseille area, along the Mediterranean coast, in order to investigate the fine structure of the sea-breeze circulation and its relationship with the pollutant concentrations. The geographical situation of the Marseille region combines a complex coastline and relief which both lead to a peculiar behaviour of the sea-breeze circulation. Several local sea breezes, perpendicular to the nearest coastline, settled in during the morning. In the afternoons, when the thermal gradient between the continental and marine surface grows up, a southerly or a westerly sea breeze may dominate. Their respective importance is then a function of time, space and altitude. Furthermore, an oscillation of the westerly sea breeze with a period of about 3 h is also highlighted. We show that these dynamical characteristics have profound influences on the atmospheric boundary-layer (ABL development and on pollutant concentrations. In fact, the direction and intensity of the sea-breeze determine the route and the transit time of the stable marine air flow over the continental surface. Thus, the ABL depth may exhibit several collapses correlated with the westerly sea-breeze pulsation. The ozone and aerosol concentrations are also related to the dynamical features. In the suburbs and parts of the city under pulsed sea breezes, a higher ABL depth and higher ozone concentrations are observed. In the city centre, this relationship between pulsed sea-breeze intensity and ozone concentration is different, emphasising the importance of the transit time and also the build-up of pollutants in the marine air mass along the route. Finally, the variations of aerosol concentration are also described according to the breeze direction.

Investigation of local meteorological events and their relationship with ozone and aerosols during an ESCOMPTE photochemical episode

Science.gov (United States)

Augustin, P.; Delbarre, H.; Lohou, F.; Campistron, B.; Puygrenier, V.; Cachier, H.; Lombardo, T.

2006-11-01

The international ESCOMPTE campaign, which took place in summer 2001 in the most highly polluted French region, was devoted to validate air pollution prediction models. Surface and remote sensing instruments (Lidar, Radar and Sodar) were deployed over the Marseille area, along the Mediterranean coast, in order to investigate the fine structure of the sea-breeze circulation and its relationship with the pollutant concentrations. The geographical situation of the Marseille region combines a complex coastline and relief which both lead to a peculiar behaviour of the sea-breeze circulation. Several local sea breezes, perpendicular to the nearest coastline, settled in during the morning. In the afternoons, when the thermal gradient between the continental and marine surface grows up, a southerly or a westerly sea breeze may dominate. Their respective importance is then a function of time, space and altitude. Furthermore, an oscillation of the westerly sea breeze with a period of about 3 h is also highlighted. We show that these dynamical characteristics have profound influences on the atmospheric boundary-layer (ABL) development and on pollutant concentrations. In fact, the direction and intensity of the sea-breeze determine the route and the transit time of the stable marine air flow over the continental surface. Thus, the ABL depth may exhibit several collapses correlated with the westerly sea-breeze pulsation. The ozone and aerosol concentrations are also related to the dynamical features. In the suburbs and parts of the city under pulsed sea breezes, a higher ABL depth and higher ozone concentrations are observed. In the city centre, this relationship between pulsed sea-breeze intensity and ozone concentration is different, emphasising the importance of the transit time and also the build-up of pollutants in the marine air mass along the route. Finally, the variations of aerosol concentration are also described according to the breeze direction.

Investigation of local meteorological events and their relationship with ozone and aerosols during an ESCOMPTE photochemical episode

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Augustin

2006-11-01

Full Text Available The international ESCOMPTE campaign, which took place in summer 2001 in the most highly polluted French region, was devoted to validate air pollution prediction models. Surface and remote sensing instruments (Lidar, Radar and Sodar were deployed over the Marseille area, along the Mediterranean coast, in order to investigate the fine structure of the sea-breeze circulation and its relationship with the pollutant concentrations.

The geographical situation of the Marseille region combines a complex coastline and relief which both lead to a peculiar behaviour of the sea-breeze circulation. Several local sea breezes, perpendicular to the nearest coastline, settled in during the morning. In the afternoons, when the thermal gradient between the continental and marine surface grows up, a southerly or a westerly sea breeze may dominate. Their respective importance is then a function of time, space and altitude. Furthermore, an oscillation of the westerly sea breeze with a period of about 3 h is also highlighted.

We show that these dynamical characteristics have profound influences on the atmospheric boundary-layer (ABL development and on pollutant concentrations. In fact, the direction and intensity of the sea-breeze determine the route and the transit time of the stable marine air flow over the continental surface. Thus, the ABL depth may exhibit several collapses correlated with the westerly sea-breeze pulsation. The ozone and aerosol concentrations are also related to the dynamical features. In the suburbs and parts of the city under pulsed sea breezes, a higher ABL depth and higher ozone concentrations are observed. In the city centre, this relationship between pulsed sea-breeze intensity and ozone concentration is different, emphasising the importance of the transit time and also the build-up of pollutants in the marine air mass along the route. Finally, the variations of aerosol concentration are also described according to the

Sea urchin vault structure, composition, and differential localization during development

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Dickey-Sims Carrie

2005-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Vaults are intriguing ribonucleoprotein assemblies with an unknown function that are conserved among higher eukaryotes. The Pacific coast sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, is an invertebrate model organism that is evolutionarily closer to humans than Drosophila and C. elegans, neither of which possesses vaults. Here we compare the structures of sea urchin and mammalian vaults and analyze the subcellular distribution of vaults during sea urchin embryogenesis. Results The sequence of the sea urchin major vault protein (MVP was assembled from expressed sequence tags and genome traces, and the predicted protein was found to have 64% identity and 81% similarity to rat MVP. Sea urchin MVP includes seven ~50 residue repeats in the N-terminal half of the protein and a predicted coiled coil domain in the C-terminus, as does rat MVP. A cryoelectron microscopy (cryoEM reconstruction of isolated sea urchin vaults reveals the assembly to have a barrel-shaped external structure that is nearly identical to the rat vault structure. Analysis of the molecular composition of the sea urchin vault indicates that it contains components that may be homologs of the mammalian vault RNA component (vRNA and protein components (VPARP and TEP1. The sea urchin vault appears to have additional protein components in the molecular weight range of 14–55 kDa that might correspond to molecular contents. Confocal experiments indicate a dramatic relocalization of MVP from the cytoplasm to the nucleus during sea urchin embryogenesis. Conclusions These results are suggestive of a role for the vault in delivering macromolecules to the nucleus during development.

High-precision spatial localization of mouse vocalizations during social interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Heckman, Jesse J; Proville, Rémi; Heckman, Gert J; Azarfar, Alireza; Celikel, Tansu; Englitz, Bernhard

2017-06-07

Mice display a wide repertoire of vocalizations that varies with age, sex, and context. Especially during courtship, mice emit ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) of high complexity, whose detailed structure is poorly understood. As animals of both sexes vocalize, the study of social vocalizations requires attributing single USVs to individuals. The state-of-the-art in sound localization for USVs allows spatial localization at centimeter resolution, however, animals interact at closer ranges, involving tactile, snout-snout exploration. Hence, improved algorithms are required to reliably assign USVs. We develop multiple solutions to USV localization, and derive an analytical solution for arbitrary vertical microphone positions. The algorithms are compared on wideband acoustic noise and single mouse vocalizations, and applied to social interactions with optically tracked mouse positions. A novel, (frequency) envelope weighted generalised cross-correlation outperforms classical cross-correlation techniques. It achieves a median error of ~1.4 mm for noise and ~4-8.5 mm for vocalizations. Using this algorithms in combination with a level criterion, we can improve the assignment for interacting mice. We report significant differences in mean USV properties between CBA mice of different sexes during social interaction. Hence, the improved USV attribution to individuals lays the basis for a deeper understanding of social vocalizations, in particular sequences of USVs.

Indonesian Sea Accident Analysis (Case Study From 2003 – 2013)

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Arya Dewanto, Y.; Faturachman, D.

2018-03-01

There are so many accidents in sea transportation in Indonesia. Most of the accidents happen because of low concern aspects of the safety and security of the crew. In sailing, a man as transport users to interact with the ship and the surrounding environment (including other ships, cruise lines, ports, and the situation of local conditions). These interactions are sometimes very complex and related to various aspects of. Aware of the multiplicity of aspects related to the third of these factors, seeking the safety of cruise through a reduction in the number of accidents and the risk of death and serious injuries due to accidents and goods transported is certainly not enough attempted through mono-sector approach, but rather takes a multi-sector approach to the efforts. In this paper, we described the Indonesian Sea Transportation accident analysis for eleven years divided into four items: total of ship accident type, ship accident factor, total of casualties, region of ship accidents. All data founded from Marine Court (Mahkamah Pelayaran). From that 4 items we can find Indonesia Sea Accident Analysis from 2003-2013.

Sea Turtles Geolocalization in the Indian Ocean: An Over Sea Radio Channel framework integrating a trilateration technique

Science.gov (United States)

Guegan, Loic; Murad, Nour Mohammad; Bonhommeau, Sylvain

2018-03-01

This paper deals with the modeling of the over sea radio channel and aims to establish sea turtles localization off the coast of Reunion Island, and also on Europa Island in the Mozambique Channel. In order to model this radio channel, a framework measurement protocol is proposed. The over sea measured channel is integrated to the localization algorithm to estimate the turtle trajectory based on Power of Arrival (PoA) technique compared to GPS localization. Moreover, cross correlation tool is used to characterize the over sea propagation channel. First measurement of the radio channel on the Reunion Island coast combine to the POA algorithm show an error of 18 m for 45% of the approximated points.

Developments in urban local authority capability and practice in air quality management: a temporal comparison between practice in 1994 and 1998

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beattie, C.I.; Longhurst, J.W.S. [Univ. of the West of England, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Bristol (United Kingdom); Crabbe, H. [Middlesex Univ., Urban Pollution Research Centre, London (United Kingdom); Elsom, D.M. [Oxford Brookes Univ., AQM Research Group, Oxford (United Kingdom)

1999-07-01

Air Quality Management (AQM) is the process by which air quality control is being accomplished both in the UK and the European Union. One of the key components of the process is the explicit identification of a responsibility by municipalities for local action. Results from two questionnaire surveys of local authority environmental health departments (1994 and 1998) are presented in order to illustrate the changes in AQM practice in England over the 4 years. Monitoring, modelling and communication of air quality information by local authorities are examined in detail. The intervening period was a turbulent time for AQM legislation in the UK. The Environment Act 1995 (HM Government) prompted the publication of the National Air Quality Strategy in 1997 (DoE). Through the Air Quality Regulations (HM Government) local authorities have become legally responsible for meeting seven pollutant objectives by 2005. Local authorities have undergone a rapid advance in AQM practice and capability. There is now a greater standardisation of practice than in 1994 due substantially to the implementation of the recent legislation governing the AQM process. (Author)

Dust in the Earth system: the biogeochemical linking of land, air and sea.

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Ridgwell, Andy J

2002-12-15

Understanding the response of the Earth's climate system to anthropogenic perturbation has been a pressing priority for society since the late 1980s. However, recent years have seen a major paradigm shift in how such an understanding can be reached. Climate change demands analysis within an integrated 'Earth-system' framework, taken to encompass the suite of interacting physical, chemical, biological and human processes that, in transporting and transforming materials and energy, jointly determine the conditions for life on the whole planet. This is a highly complex system, characterized by multiple nonlinear responses and thresholds, with linkages often between apparently disparate components. The interconnected nature of the Earth system is wonderfully illustrated by the diverse roles played by atmospheric transport of mineral 'dust', particularly in its capacity as a key pathway for the delivery of nutrients essential to plant growth, not only on land, but perhaps more importantly, in the ocean. Dust therefore biogeochemically links land, air and sea. This paper reviews the biogeochemical role of mineral dust in the Earth system and its interaction with climate, and, in particular, the potential importance of both past and possible future changes in aeolian delivery of the micro-nutrient iron to the ocean. For instance, if, in the future, there was to be a widespread stabilization of soils for the purpose of carbon sequestration on land, a reduction in aeolian iron supply to the open ocean would occur. The resultant weakening of the oceanic carbon sink could potentially offset much of the carbon sequestered on land. In contrast, during glacial times, enhanced dust supply to the ocean could have 'fertilized' the biota and driven atmospheric CO(2) lower. Dust might even play an active role in driving climatic change; since changes in dust supply may affect climate, and changes in climate, in turn, influence dust, a 'feedback loop' is formed. Possible feedback

Interaction of the sea breeze with a river breeze in an area of complex coastal heating

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Zhong, Shiyuan; Takle, Eugene S.; Leone, John M., Jr.

1991-01-01

The interaction of the sea-breeze circulation with a river-breeze circulation in an area of complex coastal heating (east coast of Florida) was studied using a 3D finite-element mesoscale model. The model simulations are compared with temperature and wind fields observed on a typical fall day during the Kennedy Space Center Atmospheric Boundary Layer Experiment. The results from numerical experiments designed to isolate the effect of the river breeze indicate that the convergence in the sea-breeze front is suppressed when it passes over the cooler surface of the rivers.

Role of atmospheric heating over the South China Sea and western Pacific regions in modulating Asian summer climate under the global warming background

Science.gov (United States)

He, Bian; Yang, Song; Li, Zhenning

2016-05-01

The response of monsoon precipitation to global warming, which is one of the most significant climate change signals at the earth's surface, exhibits very distinct regional features, especially over the South China Sea (SCS) and adjacent regions in boreal summer. To understand the possible atmospheric dynamics in these specific regions under the global warming background, changes in atmospheric heating and their possible influences on Asian summer climate are investigated by both observational diagnosis and numerical simulations. Results indicate that heating in the middle troposphere has intensified in the SCS and western Pacific regions in boreal summer, accompanied by increased precipitation, cloud cover, and lower-tropospheric convergence and decreased sea level pressure. Sensitivity experiments show that middle and upper tropospheric heating causes an east-west feedback pattern between SCS and western Pacific and continental South Asia, which strengthens the South Asian High in the upper troposphere and moist convergence in the lower troposphere, consequently forcing a descending motion and adiabatic warming over continental South Asia. When air-sea interaction is considered, the simulation results are overall more similar to observations, and in particular the bias of precipitation over the Indian Ocean simulated by AGCMs has been reduced. The result highlights the important role of air-sea interaction in understanding the changes in Asian climate.