Vertical profiles of black carbon measured by a micro-aethalometer in summer in the North China Plain

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L. Ran

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Black carbon (BC is a dominant absorber in the visible spectrum and a potent factor in climatic effects. Vertical profiles of BC were measured using a micro-aethalometer attached to a tethered balloon during the Vertical Observations of trace Gases and Aerosols (VOGA field campaign, in summer 2014 at a semirural site in the North China Plain (NCP. The diurnal cycle of BC vertical distributions following the evolution of the mixing layer (ML was investigated for the first time in the NCP region. Statistical parameters including identified mixing height (Hm and average BC mass concentrations within the ML (Cm and in the free troposphere (Cf were obtained for a selected dataset of 67 vertical profiles. Hm was usually lower than 0.2 km in the early morning and rapidly rose thereafter due to strengthened turbulence. The maximum height of the ML was reached in the late afternoon. The top of a full developed ML exceeded 1 km on sunny days in summer, while it stayed much lower on cloudy  days. The sunset triggered the collapse of the ML, and a stable nocturnal boundary layer (NBL gradually formed. Accordingly, the highest level Cm was found in the early morning and the lowest was found in the afternoon. In the daytime, BC was almost uniformly distributed within the ML and significantly decreased above the ML. During the field campaign, Cm averaged about 5.16 ± 2.49 µg m−3, with a range of 1.12 to 14.49 µg m−3, comparable with observational results in many polluted urban areas such as Milan in Italy and Shanghai in China. As evening approached, BC gradually built up near the surface and exponentially declined with height. In contrast to the large variability found both in Hm and Cm, Cf stayed relatively unaffected through the day. Cf was less than 10 % of the ground level under clean conditions, while it amounted to half of the ground level in some polluted cases. In situ measurements of BC vertical profiles would hopefully

Interactive effects of vertical mixing, nutrients and ultraviolet radiation: in situ photosynthetic responses of phytoplankton from high mountain lakes in Southern Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Helbling, E. W.; Carrillo, P.; Medina-Sánchez, J. M.; Durán, C.; Herrera, G.; Villar-Argaiz, M.; Villafañe, V. E.

2013-02-01

Global change, together with human activities, has resulted in increasing amounts of organic material (including nutrients) that water bodies receive. This input further attenuates the penetration of solar radiation, leading to the view that opaque lakes are more "protected" from solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) than clear ones. Vertical mixing, however, complicates this view as cells are exposed to fluctuating radiation regimes, for which the effects have, in general, been neglected. Furthermore, the combined impacts of mixing, together with those of UVR and nutrient inputs are virtually unknown. In this study, we carried out complex in situ experiments in three high mountain lakes of Spain (Lake Enol in the National Park Picos de Europa, Asturias, and lakes Las Yeguas and La Caldera in the National Park Sierra Nevada, Granada), used as model ecosystems to evaluate the joint impact of these climate change variables. The main goal of this study was to address the question of how short-term pulses of nutrient inputs, together with vertical mixing and increased UVR fluxes modify the photosynthetic responses of phytoplankton. The experimentation consisted in all possible combinations of the following treatments: (a) solar radiation: UVR + PAR (280-700 nm) versus PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) alone (400-700 nm); (b) nutrient addition (phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N)): ambient versus addition (P to reach to a final concentration of 30 μg P L-1, and N to reach N:P molar ratio of 31); and (c) mixing: mixed (one rotation from surface to 3 m depth (speed of 1 m 4 min-1, total of 10 cycles)) versus static. Our findings suggest that under ambient nutrient conditions there is a synergistic effect between vertical mixing and UVR, increasing phytoplankton photosynthetic inhibition and excretion of organic carbon (EOC) from opaque lakes as compared to algae that received constant mean irradiance within the epilimnion. The opposite occurs in clear lakes where

Interactive effects of vertical mixing, nutrients and ultraviolet radiation: in situ photosynthetic responses of phytoplankton from high mountain lakes in Southern Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. W. Helbling

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Global change, together with human activities, has resulted in increasing amounts of organic material (including nutrients that water bodies receive. This input further attenuates the penetration of solar radiation, leading to the view that opaque lakes are more "protected" from solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR than clear ones. Vertical mixing, however, complicates this view as cells are exposed to fluctuating radiation regimes, for which the effects have, in general, been neglected. Furthermore, the combined impacts of mixing, together with those of UVR and nutrient inputs are virtually unknown. In this study, we carried out complex in situ experiments in three high mountain lakes of Spain (Lake Enol in the National Park Picos de Europa, Asturias, and lakes Las Yeguas and La Caldera in the National Park Sierra Nevada, Granada, used as model ecosystems to evaluate the joint impact of these climate change variables. The main goal of this study was to address the question of how short-term pulses of nutrient inputs, together with vertical mixing and increased UVR fluxes modify the photosynthetic responses of phytoplankton. The experimentation consisted in all possible combinations of the following treatments: (a solar radiation: UVR + PAR (280–700 nm versus PAR (photosynthetically active radiation alone (400–700 nm; (b nutrient addition (phosphorus (P and nitrogen (N: ambient versus addition (P to reach to a final concentration of 30 μg P L⁻¹, and N to reach N:P molar ratio of 31; and (c mixing: mixed (one rotation from surface to 3 m depth (speed of 1 m 4 min⁻¹, total of 10 cycles versus static. Our findings suggest that under ambient nutrient conditions there is a synergistic effect between vertical mixing and UVR, increasing phytoplankton photosynthetic inhibition and excretion of organic carbon (EOC from opaque lakes as compared to algae that received constant mean irradiance within the epilimnion. The

Different hydrodynamic processes regulated on water quality (nutrients, dissolved oxygen, and phytoplankton biomass) in three contrasting waters of Hong Kong.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Weihua; Yuan, Xiangcheng; Long, Aimin; Huang, Hui; Yue, Weizhong

2014-03-01

The subtropical Hong Kong (HK) waters are located at the eastern side of the Pearl River Estuary. Monthly changes of water quality, including nutrients, dissolved oxygen (DO), and phytoplankton biomass (Chl-a) were routinely investigated in 2003 by the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department in three contrasting waters of HK with different prevailing hydrodynamic processes. The western, eastern, and southern waters were mainly dominated by nutrient-replete Pearl River discharge, the nutrient-poor coastal/shelf oceanic waters, and mixtures of estuarine and coastal seawater and sewage effluent of Hong Kong, respectively. Acting in response, the water quality in these three contrasting areas showed apparently spatial–temporal variation pattern. Nutrients usually decreased along western waters to eastern waters. In the dry season, the water column was strongly mixed by monsoon winds and tidal currents, which resulted in relatively low Chl-a (4 mg l(−1)), suggesting that mixing enhanced the buffering capacity of eutrophication in HK waters. However, in the wet season, surface Chl-a was generally >10 μg l(−1) in southern waters in summer due to halocline and thermohaline stratification, adequate nutrients, and light availability. Although summer hypoxia (DO waters induced by vertical stratification, the eutrophication impacts in HK waters were not as severe as expected owing to P limitation and short water residence time in the wet season.

Tidal pumping drives nutrient and dissolved organic matter dynamics in a Gulf of Mexico subterranean estuary

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Isaac R.; Burnett, William C.; Dittmar, Thorsten; Suryaputra, I. G. N. A.; Chanton, Jeffrey

2009-03-01

We hypothesize that nutrient cycling in a Gulf of Mexico subterranean estuary (STE) is fueled by oxygen and labile organic matter supplied by tidal pumping of seawater into the coastal aquifer. We estimate nutrient production rates using the standard estuarine model and a non-steady-state box model, separate nutrient fluxes associated with fresh and saline submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), and estimate offshore fluxes from radium isotope distributions. The results indicate a large variability in nutrient concentrations over tidal and seasonal time scales. At high tide, nutrient concentrations in shallow beach groundwater were low as a result of dilution caused by seawater recirculation. During ebb tide, the concentrations increased until they reached a maximum just before the next high tide. The dominant form of nitrogen was dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in freshwater, nitrate in brackish waters, and ammonium in saline waters. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) production was two-fold higher in the summer than in the winter, while nitrate and DON production were one order of magnitude higher. Oxic remineralization and denitrification most likely explain these patterns. Even though fresh SGD accounted for only ˜5% of total volumetric additions, it was an important pathway of nutrients as a result of biogeochemical inputs in the mixing zone. Fresh SGD transported ˜25% of DOC and ˜50% of total dissolved nitrogen inputs into the coastal ocean, with the remainder associated with a one-dimensional vertical seawater exchange process. While SGD volumetric inputs are similar seasonally, changes in the biogeochemical conditions of this coastal plain STE led to higher summertime SGD nutrient fluxes (40% higher for DOC and 60% higher for nitrogen in the summer compared to the winter). We suggest that coastal primary production and nutrient dynamics in the STE are linked.

Summer inputs of riverine nutrients to the Baltic Sea: Bioavailability and eutrophication relevance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stepanauskas, R.; Jørgensen, N.O.G.; Eigaard, Ole Ritzau

2002-01-01

loading of inorganic N and P. Concentrations of total N and P ranged from 9 to 220 mumol/L and from 0.14 to 5.56 mumol/L, respectively, with the highest concentrations in the southern part of the Baltic Sea drainage area and in several rivers on the Finnish western coast. Urea and dissolved combined amino......Most nitrogen and phosphorus transported by world rivers to the oceans is associated with dissolved organic matter. However, organic matter as a potential source of N and P has hitherto been largely neglected in studies of coastal microbial food webs. We examined 50 rivers, draining a major part...... of the Baltic Sea watershed, with respect to summer concentrations, chemical composition, and biological availability of N and P. The broad spectrum of rivers studied enabled us to assess whether the input of terrigenous organic matter can be an important nutrient source, at various levels of anthropogenic...

Coupling the Mars Dust and Water Cycles: Investigating the Role of Clouds in Controlling the Vertical Distribution of Dust During N. H. Summer

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Kahre, M. A.; Haberle, R. M.; Hollingsworth, J. L.; Wilson, R. J.

2014-01-01

The dust cycle is critically important for the current climate of Mars. The radiative effects of dust impact the thermal and dynamical state of the atmosphere (Gierasch and Goody, 1968; Haberle et al., 1982; Zurek et al., 1992). Although dust is present in the Martian atmosphere throughout the year, the level of dustiness varies with season. The atmosphere is generally the dustiest during northern fall and winter and the least dusty during northern spring and summer (Smith, 2004). Dust particles are lifted into the atmosphere by dust storms that range in size from meters to thousands of kilometers across (Cantor et al., 2001). During some years, regional storms combine to produce hemispheric or planet encircling dust clouds that obscure the surface and raise atmospheric temperatures by as much as 40 K (Smith et al., 2002). Key recent observations of the vertical distribution of dust indicate that elevated layers of dust exist in the tropics and sub-tropics throughout much of the year (Heavens et al., 2011). These observations have brought particular focus on the processes that control the vertical distribution of dust in the Martian atmosphere. The goal of this work is to further our understanding of how clouds in particular control the vertical distribution of dust, particularly during N. H. spring and summer

Effect of dietary supplementation of Pulvis Curcuma Longa on the voluntary feed intake, nutrient digestibility and Growth performance of Broiler rabbits under summer stress

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Basavaraj

Full Text Available Eighteen four weeks’ old weaned Broiler rabbits of comparable body weights were allotted to three dietary treatment groups of six rabbits in each group namely T0 (basal control diet, T1 (basal diet added with Turmeric (Curcuma longa Rhizoid Powder, TRP, at the ratio of 150mg and T2 ( basal diet added with TRP at the ratio of 300mg/100g diet. Feeding cum growth trial and digestion trial were during summer months of April, May and June to study voluntary feed intake, growth rate and nutrient utilization by the experimental animals. TRP included in the diets of experimental groups consisting 6.72 % CP, 5.04% ether extract, 3.96% crude fibre, 7.85% total ash. Depression in voluntary feed intake due to summer stress did not alter due to the inclusion of turmeric powder. The weekly mean body weight gain, feed conversion efficiency and digestibility of nutrients did not show significant difference by the supplementation of turmeric rhizome powder in the diets of rabbit in present study. [Veterinary World 2010; 3(8.000: 369-372

Direct and indirect effects of vertical mixing, nutrients and ultraviolet radiation on the bacterioplankton metabolism in high-mountain lakes from southern Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Durán, C.; Medina-Sánchez, J. M.; Herrera, G.; Villar-Argaiz, M.; Villafañe, V. E.; Helbling, E. W.; Carrillo, P.

2014-05-01

As a consequence of global change, modifications in the interaction among abiotic stressors on aquatic ecosystems have been predicted. Among other factors, UVR transparency, nutrient inputs and shallower epilimnetic layers could alter the trophic links in the microbial food web. Currently, there are some evidences of higher sensitiveness of aquatic microbial organisms to UVR in opaque lakes. Our aim was to assess the interactive direct and indirect effects of UVR (through the excretion of organic carbon - EOC - by algae), mixing regime and nutrient input on bacterial metabolism. We performed in situ short-term experiments under the following treatments: full sunlight (UVR + PAR, >280 nm) vs. UVR exclusion (PAR only, >400 nm); ambient vs. nutrient addition (phosphorus (P; 30 μg PL-1) and nitrogen (N; up to final N : P molar ratio of 31)); and static vs. mixed regime. The experiments were conducted in three high-mountain lakes of Spain: Enol [LE], Las Yeguas [LY] and La Caldera [LC] which had contrasting UVR transparency characteristics (opaque (LE) vs. clear lakes (LY and LC)). Under ambient nutrient conditions and static regimes, UVR exerted a stimulatory effect on heterotrophic bacterial production (HBP) in the opaque lake but not in the clear ones. Under UVR, vertical mixing and nutrient addition HBP values were lower than under the static and ambient nutrient conditions, and the stimulatory effect that UVR exerted on HBP in the opaque lake disappeared. By contrast, vertical mixing and nutrient addition increased HBP values in the clear lakes, highlighting for a photoinhibitory effect of UVR on HBP. Mixed regime and nutrient addition resulted in negative effects of UVR on HBP more in the opaque than in the clear lakes. Moreover, in the opaque lake, bacterial respiration (BR) increased and EOC did not support the bacterial carbon demand (BCD). In contrast, bacterial metabolic costs did not increase in the clear lakes and the increased nutrient availability even

Summer cover crops and soil amendments to improve growth and nutrient uptake of okra

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Q.R.; Li, Y.C.; Klassen, W. [University of Florida, Homestead, FL (United States). Center for Tropical Research & Education

2006-04-15

A pot experiment with summer cover crops and soil amendments was conducted in two consecutive years to elucidate the effects of these cover crops and soil amendments on 'Clemson Spineless 80' okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) yields and biomass production, and the uptake and distribution of soil nutrients and trace elements. The cover crops were sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), velvetbean (Mucuna deeringiana), and sorghum sudan-grass (Sorghum bicolor x S. bicolor var. sudanense) with fallow as the control. The organic soil amendments were biosolids (sediment from wastewater plants), N-Viro Soil (a mixture of biosolids and coal ash), coal ash (a combustion by-product from power plants), co-compost (a mixture of 3 biosolids: 7 yard waste), and yard waste compost (mainly from leaves and branches of trees and shrubs, and grass clippings) with a soil-incorporated cover crop as the control. As a subsequent vegetable crop, okra was grown after the cover crops, alone or together with the organic soil amendments, had been incorporated. All of the cover crops, except sorghum sudangrass in 2002-03, significantly improved okra fruit yields and the total biomass production. Both cover crops and soil amendments can substantially improve nutrient uptake and distribution. The results suggest that cover crops and appropriate amounts of soil amendments can be used to improve soil fertility and okra yield without adverse environmental effects or risk of contamination of the fruit. Further field studies will be required to confirm these findings.

Nutrient supply controls picoplankton community structure during three contrasting seasons in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea

KAUST Repository

Mouriño-Carballido, B

2016-02-03

We investigated the influence of ocean mixing and nutrient supply dynamics on picoplankton community composition in the context of Margalef’s Mandala (Margalef 1978). Simultaneous measurements of microturbulence, nutrient concentration, and autotrophic and heterotrophic picoplankton properties, were collected during 3 cruises carried out in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea in March (F1), April/May (F2) and September (F3) 2009. The 3 cruises sampled different oceanographic conditions, starting with early stages of the late winter-early spring bloom, followed by the late stage of the bloom, and finally summer stratification. As a result of the variability in vertical diffusivity and the nitrate gradient across the nitracline, nitrate vertical fluxes were higher during F1 (23 ± 35 mmol m-2 d-1), compared to F2 (0.4 ± 0.2 mmol m-2 d-1) and F3 (0.09 ± 0.09 mmol m-2 d-1). Prochlorococcus abundance was low when nitrate supply was high, Synechococcus exhibited the highest abundances at intermediate levels of nitrate supply and highest irradiance during F2, and large and small picoeukaryotic groups increased their abundance under high nutrient supply in F1. No significant relationships between the abundance of high and low nucleic acid heterotrophic bacteria and nitrate supply were found. In agreement with Margalef’s model, our results show different responses of picophytoplankton groups to nitrate supply (probably reflecting differences in nutrient uptake abilities), and that the ratio of prokaryotic to picoeukaryotic photoautotrophic biomass decreases with increasing nitrate supply.

Proximate and Ultimate Limiting Nutrients in the Mississippi River Plume: Implications for Hypoxia Reduction Through Nutrient Management

Science.gov (United States)

Fennel, K.; Laurent, A.

2016-02-01

A large hypoxic area (15,000 km2 on average) forms every summer over the Texas-Louisiana shelf in the northern Gulf of Mexico due to decay of organic matter that is primarily derived from nutrient inputs from the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River System. Efforts are underway to reduce the extent of hypoxic conditions through nutrient management in the watershed; for example, an interagency Hypoxia Task Force is developing Action Plans with input from various stakeholders that set out targets for hypoxia reduction. An open question is by how much nutrient loads would have to be decreased in order to produce the desired reductions in hypoxia and when these would be measurable over natural variability. We have performed a large number of multi-year nutrient load reduction scenarios with a regional biogeochemical model for the region. The model is based on the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS), explicitly includes nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) species as inorganic nutrients, and has been shown to realistically reproduce the key processes responsible for hypoxia generation. We have quantified the effects of differential reductions in river N and P loads on hypoxic extent. An assessment of the effects of N versus P reductions is important because, thus far, nutrient management efforts have focused on N, yet P is known to limit primary production in spring and early summer. A debate is ongoing as to whether targets for P reductions should be set and whether nutrient reduction efforts should focus solely on P, which results primarily from urban and industrial point sources and is uncoupled from agricultural fertilizer application. Our results strongly indicate that N is the `ultimate' limiting nutrient to primary production determining the areal extent and duration of hypoxic conditions in a cumulative sense, while P is temporarily limiting in spring. Although reductions in river P load would decrease hypoxic extent in early summer, they would have a much smaller effect

Proximate versus ultimate limiting nutrients in the Mississippi River Plume and Implications for Hypoxia Reductions through Nutrient Management

Science.gov (United States)

Fennel, Katja; Laurent, Arnaud

2016-04-01

A large hypoxic area (15,000 km2 on average) forms every summer over the Texas-Louisiana shelf in the northern Gulf of Mexico due to decay of organic matter that is primarily derived from nutrient inputs from the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River System. Efforts are underway to reduce the extent of hypoxic conditions through nutrient management in the watershed; for example, an interagency Hypoxia Task Force is developing Action Plans with input from various stakeholders that set out targets for hypoxia reduction. An open question is how far nutrient loads would have to be decreased in order to produce the desired reductions in hypoxia and when these would be measurable given significant natural variability. We have simulated a large number of multi-year nutrient load reduction scenarios with a regional biogeochemical model for the region. The model is based on the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS), explicitly includes nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) species as inorganic nutrients, and has been shown to realistically reproduce the key processes responsible for hypoxia generation. We have quantified the effects of differential reductions in river N and P loads on hypoxic extent. An assessment of the effects of N versus P reductions is important because, thus far, nutrient management efforts have focused on N, yet P is known to limit primary production in spring and early summer. A debate is ongoing as to whether targets for P reductions should be set and whether nutrient reduction efforts should focus solely on P, which results primarily from urban and industrial point sources and is uncoupled from agricultural fertilizer application. Our results strongly indicate that N is the 'ultimate' limiting nutrient to primary production determining the areal extent and duration of hypoxic conditions in a cumulative sense, while P is temporarily limiting in spring. Although reductions in river P load would decrease hypoxic extent in early summer, they would have a much

Interactive effects of vertical mixing, nutrients and ultraviolet radiation: in situ photosynthetic responses of phytoplankton from high mountain lakes of Southern Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Helbling, E. W.; Carrillo, P.; Medina-Sanchez, J. M.; Durán, C.; Herrera, G.; Villar-Argaiz, M.; Villafañe, V. E.

2012-07-01

Global change, together with human activities had resulted in increasing amounts of organic material (including nutrients) received by water bodies. This input further attenuates the penetration of solar radiation leading to the view that opaque lakes are more "protected" from solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) than clear ones. Vertical mixing, however, complicates this view as cells are exposed to fluctuating radiation regimes, which effects have in general been neglected. Even more, the combined impacts of mixing, together with those of UVR and nutrients input are virtually unknown. In this study, we carried out in situ experiments in three high mountain lakes of Spain (Lake Enol in Asturias, and lakes Las Yeguas and La Caldera in Granada) to determine the combined effects of these three variables associated to global change on photosynthetic responses of natural phytoplankton communities. The experimentation consisted in all possible combinations of the following treatments: (a) solar radiation: UVR + PAR (280-700 nm) versus PAR alone (400-700 nm); (b) nutrient addition (phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N)): ambient versus addition (P to reach to a final concentration of 30 μg P l-1, and N to reach a N : P molar ratio of 31) and, (c) mixing: mixed (one rotation from surface to 3 m depth (speed of 1 m every 4 min, total of 10 cycles) versus static. Our findings suggest that under in situ nutrient conditions there is a synergistic effect between vertical mixing and UVR, increasing phytoplankton photosynthetic inhibition and EOC from opaque lakes as compared to algae that received constant mean irradiance within the epilimnion. The opposite occurs in clear lakes where antagonistic effects were determined, with mixing partially counteracting the negative effects of UVR. Nutrients input mimicking atmospheric pulses from Saharan dust, reversed this effect and clear lakes became more inhibited during mixing, while opaque lakes benefited from the fluctuating irradiance

Vertical distribution of major photosynthetic picoeukaryotic groups in stratified marine waters

KAUST Repository

Cabello, Ana M.

2016-03-14

Photosynthetic picoeukaryotes (PPEs) are fundamental contributors to oceanic primary production and form diverse communities dominated by prymnesiophytes, chlorophytes, pelagophytes and chrysophytes. Here, we studied the vertical distribution of these major groups in two offshore regions of the northern Iberian Peninsula during summer stratification. We performed a fine-scale vertical sampling (every ∼2 m) across the DCM and used fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to determine the PPE composition and to explore the possible segregation of target groups in the light, nutrient and temperature gradients. Chlorophytes, pelagophytes and prymnesiophytes, in this order of abundance, accounted for the total PPEs recorded by flow cytometry in the Avilés canyon, and for more than half in the Galicia Bank, whereas chrysophytes were undetected. Among the three detected groups, often the prymnesiophytes were dominant in biomass. In general, all groups were present throughout the water column with abundance peaks around the DCM, but their distributions differed: pelagophytes were located deeper than the other two groups, chlorophytes presented two peaks and prymnesiophytes exhibited surface abundances comparable to those at the DCM. This study offers first indications that the vertical distribution of different PPE groups is heterogeneous within the DCM. © 2016 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Phytoplankton and nutrient dynamics in Winyah Bay, SC.

Science.gov (United States)

Boneillo, G. E.; Brooks, S. S.; Brown, S. L.; Woodford, K. M.; Wright, C. R.

2016-02-01

Winyah Bay is a coastal plain estuary located in South Carolina that has been classified for a moderate risk of Eutrophication by NOAA. Winyah Bay receives freshwater input from four rivers, the Waccamaw, Sampit, Black, and Pee Dee Rivers. The Waccamaw, Sampit and Black River are blackwater systems that discharge elevated amounts of colored dissolved organic matter. During the summer and fall of 2015, bioassay experiments were performed to simultaneously examine both light and nutrient (nitrogen & phosphate) limitation throughout Winyah Bay. Sampling stations near the mouth of the Waccamaw and Sampit Rivers showed that phytoplankton were light limited in the late summer instead of nutrient limited. These stations were located in the industrialized area of the bay and typically had the highest nutrient concentrations and highest turbidity, with Secchi depths typically less than 0.5 meters. Results indicated that phytoplankton may be nitrogen limited near the mouth of Winyah Bay, where nutrient concentrations and turbidity were observed to be lower than locations further upstream. There was also an observed dissolved oxygen and pH gradient during the summer of 2015. Dissolved oxygen levels less than 4.0 mg/L were routinely observed near the industrialized head of the estuary and corresponded with lower pH values.

Seasonality directs contrasting food collection behavior and nutrient regulation strategies in ants.

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, Steven C; Eubanks, Micky D; Gold, Roger E; Behmer, Spencer T

2011-01-01

Long-lived animals, including social insects, often display seasonal shifts in foraging behavior. Foraging is ultimately a nutrient consumption exercise, but the effect of seasonality per se on changes in foraging behavior, particularly as it relates to nutrient regulation, is poorly understood. Here, we show that field-collected fire ant colonies, returned to the laboratory and maintained under identical photoperiod, temperature, and humidity regimes, and presented with experimental foods that had different protein (p) to carbohydrate (c) ratios, practice summer- and fall-specific foraging behaviors with respect to protein-carbohydrate regulation. Summer colonies increased the amount of food collected as the p:c ratio of their food became increasingly imbalanced, but fall colonies collected similar amounts of food regardless of the p:c ratio of their food. Choice experiments revealed that feeding was non-random, and that both fall and summer ants preferred carbohydrate-biased food. However, ants rarely ate all the food they collected, and their cached or discarded food always contained little carbohydrate relative to protein. From a nutrient regulation strategy, ants consumed most of the carbohydrate they collected, but regulated protein consumption to a similar level, regardless of season. We suggest that varied seasonal food collection behaviors and nutrient regulation strategies may be an adaptation that allows long-lived animals to meet current and future nutrient demands when nutrient-rich foods are abundant (e.g. spring and summer), and to conserve energy and be metabolically more efficient when nutritionally balanced foods are less abundant.

Managed nutrient reduction impacts on nutrient concentrations, water clarity, primary production, and hypoxia in a north temperate estuary

Science.gov (United States)

Oviatt, Candace; Smith, Leslie; Krumholz, Jason; Coupland, Catherine; Stoffel, Heather; Keller, Aimee; McManus, M. Conor; Reed, Laura

2017-12-01

Except for the Providence River and side embayments like Greenwich Bay, Narragansett Bay can no longer be considered eutrophic. In summer 2012 managed nitrogen treatment in Narragansett Bay achieved a goal of reducing effluent dissolved inorganic nitrogen inputs by over 50%. Narragansett Bay represents a small northeast US estuary that had been heavily loaded with sewage effluent nutrients since the late 1800s. The input reduction was reflected in standing stock nutrients resulting in a statistically significant 60% reduction in concentration. In the Providence River estuary, total nitrogen decreased from 100 μm to about 40 μm, for example. We tested four environmental changes that might be associated with the nitrogen reduction. System apparent production was significantly decreased by 31% and 45% in the upper and mid Bay. Nutrient reductions resulted in statistically improved water clarity in the mid and upper Bay and in a 34% reduction in summer hypoxia. Nitrogen reduction also reduced the winter spring diatom bloom; winter chlorophyll levels after nutrient reduction have been significantly lower than before the reduction. The impact on the Bay will continue to evolve over the next few years and be a natural experiment for other temperate estuaries that will be experiencing nitrogen reduction. To provide perspective we review factors effecting hypoxia in other estuaries with managed nutrient reduction and conclude that, as in Narragansett Bay, physical factors can be as important as nutrients. On a positive note managed nutrient reduction has mitigated further deterioration in most estuaries.

Seasonal overturning circulation in the Red Sea: 1. Model validation and summer circulation

KAUST Repository

Yao, Fengchao; Hoteit, Ibrahim; Pratt, Larry J.; Bower, Amy S.; Zhai, Ping; Kö hl, Armin; Gopalakrishnan, Ganesh

2014-01-01

The overturning circulation in the Red Sea exhibits a distinct seasonally reversing pattern and is studied using high-resolution MIT general circulation model simulations. In the first part of this study, the vertical and horizontal structure of the summer overturning circulation and its dynamical mechanisms are presented from the model results. The seasonal water exchange in the Strait of Bab el Mandeb is successfully simulated, and the structures of the intruding subsurface Gulf of Aden intermediate water are in good agreement with summer observations in 2011. The model results suggest that the summer overturning circulation is driven by the combined effect of the shoaling of the thermocline in the Gulf of Aden resulting from remote winds in the Arabian Sea and an upward surface slope from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden set up by local surface winds in the Red Sea. In addition, during late summer two processes associated, respectively, with latitudinally differential heating and increased salinity in the southern Red Sea act together to cause the reversal of the contrast of the vertical density structure and the cessation of the summer overturning circulation. Dynamically, the subsurface northward pressure gradient force is mainly balanced by vertical viscosity resulting from the vertical shear and boundary friction in the Strait of Bab el Mandeb. Unlike some previous studies, the three-layer summer exchange flows in the Strait of Bab el Mandeb do not appear to be hydraulically controlled.

Seasonal overturning circulation in the Red Sea: 1. Model validation and summer circulation

KAUST Repository

Yao, Fengchao

2014-04-01

The overturning circulation in the Red Sea exhibits a distinct seasonally reversing pattern and is studied using high-resolution MIT general circulation model simulations. In the first part of this study, the vertical and horizontal structure of the summer overturning circulation and its dynamical mechanisms are presented from the model results. The seasonal water exchange in the Strait of Bab el Mandeb is successfully simulated, and the structures of the intruding subsurface Gulf of Aden intermediate water are in good agreement with summer observations in 2011. The model results suggest that the summer overturning circulation is driven by the combined effect of the shoaling of the thermocline in the Gulf of Aden resulting from remote winds in the Arabian Sea and an upward surface slope from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden set up by local surface winds in the Red Sea. In addition, during late summer two processes associated, respectively, with latitudinally differential heating and increased salinity in the southern Red Sea act together to cause the reversal of the contrast of the vertical density structure and the cessation of the summer overturning circulation. Dynamically, the subsurface northward pressure gradient force is mainly balanced by vertical viscosity resulting from the vertical shear and boundary friction in the Strait of Bab el Mandeb. Unlike some previous studies, the three-layer summer exchange flows in the Strait of Bab el Mandeb do not appear to be hydraulically controlled.

Seasonality directs contrasting food collection behavior and nutrient regulation strategies in ants.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven C Cook

Full Text Available Long-lived animals, including social insects, often display seasonal shifts in foraging behavior. Foraging is ultimately a nutrient consumption exercise, but the effect of seasonality per se on changes in foraging behavior, particularly as it relates to nutrient regulation, is poorly understood. Here, we show that field-collected fire ant colonies, returned to the laboratory and maintained under identical photoperiod, temperature, and humidity regimes, and presented with experimental foods that had different protein (p to carbohydrate (c ratios, practice summer- and fall-specific foraging behaviors with respect to protein-carbohydrate regulation. Summer colonies increased the amount of food collected as the p:c ratio of their food became increasingly imbalanced, but fall colonies collected similar amounts of food regardless of the p:c ratio of their food. Choice experiments revealed that feeding was non-random, and that both fall and summer ants preferred carbohydrate-biased food. However, ants rarely ate all the food they collected, and their cached or discarded food always contained little carbohydrate relative to protein. From a nutrient regulation strategy, ants consumed most of the carbohydrate they collected, but regulated protein consumption to a similar level, regardless of season. We suggest that varied seasonal food collection behaviors and nutrient regulation strategies may be an adaptation that allows long-lived animals to meet current and future nutrient demands when nutrient-rich foods are abundant (e.g. spring and summer, and to conserve energy and be metabolically more efficient when nutritionally balanced foods are less abundant.

SUNYA Regional Climate Model Simulations of East Asia Summer Monsoon: Effects of Cloud Vertical Structure on the Surface Energy Balance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Gong and Wei-Chyung Wang

2007-01-01

Full Text Available We used the State University of New York at Albany (SUNYA regional climate model to study the effect of cloud vertical distribution in affecting the surface energy balance of the East Asia summer monsoon (EASM. Simulations were conducted for the summers of 1988 and 1989, during which large contrast in the intra-seasonal cloud radiative forcing (CRF was observed at the top of the atmosphere. The model results indicate that both the high and low clouds are persistent throughout the summer months in both years. Because of large cloud water, low clouds significantly reduce the solar radiation flux reaching the surface, which nevertheless still dominate the surface energy balance, accounting for more than 50% of the surface heating. The low clouds also contribute significantly the downward longwave radiation to the surface with values strongly dependent on the cloud base temperature. The presence of low clouds effectively decreases the temperature and moisture gradients near surface, resulting in a substantial decrease in the sensible and latent heat fluxes from surface, which partially compensate the decrease of the net radiative cooling of the surface. For example, in the two days, May 8 and July 11 of 1988, the total cloud cover of 80% is simulated, but the respective low cloud cover (water was 63% (114 gm-2 and 22% (21 gm-2. As a result, the downward solar radiation is smaller by 161 Wm-2 in May 8. On the other hand, the cloud temperature was _ lower, yielding 56 Wm-2 smaller downward longwave radiation. The near surface temperature and gradient is more than _ smaller (and moisture gradient, leading to 21 and 81 Wm-2 smaller sensible heat and latent heat fluxes. It is also demonstrated that the model is capable to reproduce the intraseasonal variation of shortwave CRF, and catches the relationship between total cloud cover and SW CRF. The model results show the dominance of high cloud on the regional mean longwave CRF and low cloud on the intra

Phytoplankton size structure in the southern Bay of Bengal modified by the Summer Monsoon Current and associated eddies: Implications on the vertical biogenic flux..

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Jyothibabu, R; Vinayachandran, P. N.; Madhu, N.V.; Robin, R; Karman, C.; Jagadeesan, L.; Anjusha, A.

. Mar. Syst., vol.143; 2015; 98–119 Phytoplankton Size Structure in the Southern Bay of Bengal Modified by the Summer Monsoon Current and Associated Eddies: Implications on the Vertical Biogenic Flux R. Jyothibabu1*, P. N. Vinayachandran2, N. V.... Madhu1, R.S. Robin3, C. Karnan1, L. Jagadeesan1, A. Anjusha1 1CSIR – National Institute of Oceanography, Regional Centre, Kochi, India 2Centre for Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India 3Integrated Coastal...

Variation of milk coagulation properties, cheese yield, and nutrients recovery in curd of cows of different breeds before, during and after transhumance to highland summer pastures.

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Zendri, Francesco; Ramanzin, Maurizio; Cipolat-Gotet, Claudio; Sturaro, Enrico

2017-02-01

This paper aimed at evaluating the effect of summer transhumance to mountain pastures of dairy cows of different breeds on cheese-making ability of milk. Data were from 649 dairy cows of specialized (Holstein Friesian and Brown Swiss) dual purpose (Simmental) and local (mostly Rendena and Alpine Grey) breeds. The Fourier-Transform Infra-Red Spectra (FTIRS) of their milk samples were collected before and after transhumance in 109 permanent dairy farms, and during transhumance in 14 summer farms (with multi-breeds herds) of the Trento Province, north-eastern Italy. A variety of 18 traits describing milk coagulation, curd firming, cheese yield and nutrients recovery in curd/loss in whey were predicted on the basis of FTIRS collected at the individual cow level. Moving the cows to summer farms improved curd firming traits but reduced cheese yields because of an increase of water and fat lost in the whey. During summer grazing, most of cheese-making traits improved, often non-linearly. The milk from summer farms supplementing cows with more concentrates showed better curd firming and cheese yield, because of lower fat lost in the whey. The breed of cows affected almost all the traits with a worst cheese-making ability for milk samples of Holsteins through all the trial, and interacted with concentrate supplementation because increasing compound feed tended to improve cheese-making traits for all breed, with the exception of local breeds for coagulation time and of Brown Swiss for curd firming time. In general, summer transhumance caused a favourable effect on cheese-making aptitude of milk, even though with some difference according to parity, initial days in milk, breed and concentrate supplementation of cows.

Hydroclimatic conditions trigger record harmful algal bloom in western Patagonia (summer 2016).

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León-Muñoz, Jorge; Urbina, Mauricio A; Garreaud, René; Iriarte, José Luis

2018-01-22

A harmful algal bloom (HAB) of the raphidophyta alga Pseudochattonella cf. verruculosa during the 2016 austral summer (February-March) killed nearly 12% of the Chilean salmon production, causing the worst mass mortality of fish and shellfish ever recorded in the coastal waters of western Patagonia. The HAB coincided with a strong El Niño event and the positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode that altered the atmospheric circulation in southern South America and the adjacent Pacific Ocean. This led to very dry conditions and higher than normal solar radiation reaching the surface. Using time series of atmospheric, hydrologic and oceanographic data we show here that an increase in surface water temperature and reduced freshwater input resulted in a weakening of the vertical stratification in the fjords and sounds of this region. This allowed the advection of more saline and nutrient-rich waters, ultimately resulting in an active harmful algal bloom in coastal southern Chile.

Evidence of the Lower Thermospheric Winter-to-Summer Circulation

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Qian, L.; Burns, A. G.; Yue, J.

2017-12-01

Numerical studies showed that the lower thermospheric winter-to-summer circulation is driven by wave dissipation, and it plays a significant role in trace gas distributions in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT), and in the composition of the thermosphere. Direct observations of this circulation are difficult. However, it leaves clear signatures in tracer distributions. Recent analysis of CO2 observed by the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) onboard the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics satellite showed dynamically driven dense isolines of CO2 at summer high latitudes. We conduct modeling and observational studies to understand the CO2 distribution and circulation patterns in the MLT. We found that there exists maximum vertical gradient of CO2 at summer high latitudes, driven by the convergence of the upwelling of the mesospheric circulation and the downwelling of the lower thermospheric circulation; this maximum vertical gradient of CO2 is located at a higher altitude in the winter hemisphere, driven by the convergence of the upwelling of the lower thermospheric circulation and the downwelling of the solar-driven thermospheric circulation. Based on SABER CO2 distribution, the bottom of the lower thermospheric circulation is located between 95 km and 100 km, and it has a vertical extent of 10 km. Analysis of the SABER CO2 and temperature at summer high latitudes showed that the bottom of this circulation is consistently higher than the mesopause height by 10 km; and its location does not change much between solar maximum and solar minimum.

Nutrients and clam contamination by Escherichia coli in a meso-tidal coastal lagoon: Seasonal variation in counter cycle to external sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Botelho, Maria João; Soares, Florbela; Matias, Domitília; Vale, Carlos

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Sources of nutrients and E. coli in Ria Formosa linked to tourism in summer. • Lower nutrient values and clam contamination by E. coli in summer. • Bactericide effect of temperature and solar radiation causes lower E. coli. • Higher biological consumption of nutrients in warmer periods. • Results mirror possible effects of climate changes on coastal lagoons. - Abstract: The clam Ruditapes decussatus was transplanted from a natural recruitment area of Ria Formosa to three sites, surveyed for nutrients in water and sediments. Specimens were sampled monthly for determination of Escherichia coli, condition index and gonadal index. Higher nutrient values in low tide reflect drainage, anthropogenic sources or sediment regeneration, emphasising the importance of water mixing in the entire lagoon driven by the tide. Despite the increase of effluent discharges in summer due to tourism, nutrient concentrations and E. coli in clams were lower in warmer periods. The bactericide effect of temperature and solar radiation was better defined in clams from the inlet channel site than from sites closer to urban effluents. High temperature in summer and torrential freshwater inputs to Ria Formosa may anticipate climate change scenarios for south Europe. Seasonal variation of nutrients and clam contamination may thus point to possible alterations in coastal lagoons and their ecosystem services

Seasonally dynamic diel vertical migrations of Mysis diluviana, coregonine fishes, and siscowet lake trout in the pelagia of western Lake Superior

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Ahrenstorff, Tyler D.; Hrabik, Thomas R.; Stockwell, Jason D.; Yule, Daniel L.; Sass, Greg G.

2011-01-01

Diel vertical migrations are common among many aquatic species and are often associated with changing light levels. The underlying mechanisms are generally attributed to optimizing foraging efficiency or growth rates and avoiding predation risk (μ). The objectives of this study were to (1) assess seasonal and interannual changes in vertical migration patterns of three trophic levels in the Lake Superior pelagic food web and (2) examine the mechanisms underlying the observed variability by using models of foraging, growth, and μ. Our results suggest that the opossum shrimp Mysis diluviana, kiyi Coregonus kiyi, and siscowet lake trout Salvelinus namaycush migrate concurrently during each season, but spring migrations are less extensive than summer and fall migrations. In comparison with M. diluviana, kiyis, and siscowets, the migrations by ciscoes C. artedi were not as deep in the water column during the day, regardless of season. Foraging potential and μ probably drive the movement patterns of M. diluviana, while our modeling results indicate that movements by kiyis and ciscoes are related to foraging opportunity and growth potential and receive a lesser influence from μ. The siscowet is an abundant apex predator in the pelagia of Lake Superior and probably undertakes vertical migrations in the water column to optimize foraging efficiency and growth. The concurrent vertical movement patterns of most species are likely to facilitate nutrient transport in this exceedingly oligotrophic ecosystem, and they demonstrate strong linkages between predators and prey. Fishery management strategies should use an ecosystem approach and should consider how altering the densities of long-lived top predators produces cascading effects on the nutrient cycling and energy flow in lower trophic levels.

The influence of tide-topography interaction on low-frequency heat and nutrient fluxes. Application to Cape Trafalgar

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Vargas-Yáñez, Manuel; Viola, Tarek Sarhan; Jorge, Francisco Plaza; Rubín, Juan P.; García-Martínez, M. Carmen

2002-01-01

During July 1994, 1995 and 1996, the Instituto Español de Oceanografía carried out three multidisciplinar surveys in the Northwestern Alboran Sea, Strait of Gibraltar and Gulf of Cadiz. Conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) data and nutrient measurements revealed the existence of a pool of cool surface waters, rich in nutrients and with high fluorescence values offshore Cape Trafalgar during the three surveys. These data are considered as an indication of some sort of upwelling. The presence of a submarine ridge, breaking the continental shelf off Trafalgar and intercepting along shore tidal currents, and the intense winds in this area make us think that tide-topography interaction, probably enhanced by wind stirring in surface layers, is responsible for this phenomenon. Its permanence is inspected by means of the sea surface temperature (SST) satellite images recompiled for one year. They show that the pool is very frequent in summer and autumn, more unusual in spring and exceptional in winter. The explanation considered is that the mixing of deep and surface waters is only an effective means of heat exchange when the water column is stratified. To support our initial hypothesis and to get some insight of the relevant factors involved, we develop a bidimensional model aimed at studying along shore variations on the temperature, nutrient and chlorophyll distributions. Although the physical-biological model is very simple, it is able to show how large vertical excursions due to tide-topography interaction produce an eddy flux of heat and nutrients, cooling and fertilising areas around the topographic accident. The model is initialised with along-shore homogeneous distributions of all the variables modelled to check if the mechanism proposed is able to break this homogeneity in a similar way to the observed in experimental data. Appreciable differences between areas affected by tide-topography interaction and those far away from it appear in several days, a time

Nutrient enhanced coastal ocean productivity in the north Gulf of Mexico: understanding the effects of nutrients on a coastal ecosystem

OpenAIRE

1999-01-01

The continental shelf adjacent to the Mississippi River is a highly productive system, often referred to as the fertile fisheries crescent. This productivity is attributed to the effects of the river, especially nutrient delivery. In the later decades of the 2oth century, though, changes in the system were becoming evident. Nutrient loads were seen to be increasing and reports of hypoxia were becoming more frequent. During most recent summers, a broad area (up to 20,000 krn2) of near botto...

Modeling the relative importance of nutrient and carbon loads ...

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The Louisiana continental shelf (LCS) in the northern Gulf of Mexico experiences bottom water hypoxia in the summer. In order to gain a more fundamental understanding of the controlling factors leading to hypoxia, the Gulf of Mexico Dissolved Oxygen Model (GoMDOM) was applied to this area to simulate dissolved oxygen concentrations in the water as a function of various nutrient loadings. The model is a numerical, biogeochemical, three-dimensional ecological model that receives its physical transport data from the Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM-LCS). GoMDOM was calibrated to a large set of nutrient, phytoplankton, dissolved oxygen, sediment nutrient flux, sediment oxygen demand (SOD), primary production, and respiration data collected in 2006 and corroborated with field data collected in 2003. The primary objective was to use the model to estimate a nutrient load reduction of both nitrogen and phosphorus necessary to reduce the size of the hypoxic area to 5,000 km2, a goal established in the 2008 Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Action Plan prepared by the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force. Using the year 2006 as a test case, the model results suggest that the nitrogen and phosphorus load reduction from the Atchafalaya and Mississippi River basins would need to be reduced by 64% to achieve the target hypoxia area. The Louisiana continental shelf (LCS) in the northern part of the Gulf of Mexico has a history of subsurface hypoxia in the summer.

Water Quality Protection from Nutrient Pollution: Case ...

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Water bodies and coastal areas around the world are threatened by increases in upstream sediment and nutrient loads, which influence drinking water sources, aquatic species, and other ecologic functions and services of streams, lakes, and coastal water bodies. For example, increased nutrient fluxes from the Mississippi River Basin have been linked to increased occurrences of seasonal hypoxia in northern Gulf of Mexico. Lake Erie is another example where in the summer of 2014 nutrients, nutrients, particularly phosphorus, washed from fertilized farms, cattle feedlots, and leaky septic systems; caused a severe algae bloom, much of it poisonous; and resulted in the loss of drinking water for a half-million residents. Our current management strategies for point and non-point source nutrient loadings need to be improved to protect and meet the expected increased future demands of water for consumption, recreation, and ecological integrity. This presentation introduces management practices being implemented and their effectiveness in reducing nutrient loss from agricultural fields, a case analysis of nutrient pollution of the Grand Lake St. Marys and possible remedies, and ongoing work on watershed modeling to improve our understanding on nutrient loss and water quality. Presented at the 3rd International Conference on Water Resource and Environment.

Nutrient Dynamics in the Northern South China Sea Shelf-sea (NoSoCS)

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Wong, G. T.; Guo, X.

2011-12-01

The Northern South China Sea Shelf-sea (NoSoCS) is situated in the sub-tropics along the southern Chinese coast between the southern end of the Taiwan Strait and the Hainan Island. Samples were collected in four cross-shelf transects in summer, 2010 and two cross-shelf transects in winter, 2011 in this Shelf-sea. The shelf may be sub-divided into the inner shelf (1 μM in NO3- and >0.1 μM in soluble reactive phosphate) stretched across the shelf at least to the middle shelf. Thus, vertical mixing, even to relatively shallow depths, on the shelf may supply nutrients to and play a critical role in determining the primary production in the mixed layer. At least three such processes were observed. Through the year, internal waves of various strengths generated at the Luzon Strait propagated westward along the bottom of the mixed layer and dissipated along the middle and outer shelf. The effects of these waves were especially conspicuous north of the Dongsha Atoll and their action enhances vertical mixing. In the summer, upwelling occurred in the inner/middle shelf off Dongshan in response to the along shore southwest monsoon and the topographic forcing by the ridge extending offshore from Dongshan to the Taiwan Bank. In the winter, surface cooling and the strong northeast monsoon led to complete overturn in the shelf. The maximum density, reaching 24.6, in the surface waters was found offshore in the inner and middle shelf. This density was equivalent to the density of the water at >100 m offshore. As a result, this dense water also appeared as a layer of bottom water that extended across the shelf to the shelf edge.

Variation in summer nitrogen and phosphorus uptake among Siberian headwater streams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John D. Schade

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Arctic streams are likely to receive increased inputs of dissolved nutrients and organic matter from thawing permafrost as climate warms. Documenting how Arctic streams process inorganic nutrients is necessary to understand mechanisms that regulate watershed fluxes of permafrost-derived materials to downstream ecosystems. We report on summer nitrogen (N and phosphorus (P uptake in streams draining upland soils from the Pleistocene, and lowland floodplain soils from the Holocene, in Siberia's Kolyma River watershed. Uptake of N and P differed between upland and floodplain streams, suggesting topographic variation in nutrient limitation. In floodplain streams, P uptake rate and uptake velocity were higher than N, while upland streams had similar values for all N and P uptake metrics. Phosphorus uptake velocity and size of the transient hydrologic storage zone were negatively related across all study streams, indicating strong influence of hydrologic processes on nutrient fluxes. Physical sorption of P was higher in floodplain stream sediments relative to upland stream sediments, suggesting more physically driven uptake in floodplain streams and higher biological activity in upland streams. Overall, these results demonstrate that high-latitude headwater streams actively retain N and P during summer base flows; however, floodplain and upland streams varied substantially in N and P uptake and may respond differently to inorganic nutrient and organic matter inputs. Our results highlight the need for a comprehensive assessment of N and P uptake and retention in Arctic streams in order to fully understand the impact of permafrost-derived materials on ecosystem processes, and their fate in continental drainage networks.

Turbulence and feeding behaviour affect the vertical distributions of Oithona similis and Microsetella norwegica

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maar, M.; Visser, Andre; Nielsen, Torkel Gissel

2006-01-01

The small copepods Oithona similis and Microsetella norwegica are often numerically abundant and widely distributed, but the factors controlling their vertical distributions and role in carbon cycling are yet unknown. Here we examined the vertical distributions of copepods during spring and summer...

Morphology-dependent water budgets and nutrient fluxes in arctic thaw ponds

Science.gov (United States)

Koch, Joshua C.; Gurney, Kirsty; Wipfli, Mark S.

2014-01-01

Thaw ponds on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska are productive ecosystems, providing habitat and food resources for many fish and bird species. Permafrost in this region creates unique pond morphologies: deep troughs, shallow low-centred polygons (LCPs) and larger coalescent ponds. By monitoring seasonal trends in pond volume and chemistry, we evaluated whether pond morphology and size affect water temperature and desiccation, and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fluxes. Evaporation was the largest early-summer water flux in all pond types. LCPs dried quickly and displayed high early-summer nutrient concentrations and losses. Troughs consistently received solute-rich subsurface inflows, which accounted for 12 to 42 per cent of their volume and may explain higher P in the troughs. N to P ratios increased and ammonium concentrations decreased with pond volume, suggesting that P and inorganic N availability may limit ecosystem productivity in older, larger ponds. Arctic summer temperatures will likely increase in the future, which may accelerate mid-summer desiccation. Given their morphology, troughs may remain wet, become warmer and derive greater nutrient loads from their thawing banks. Overall, seasonal- to decadal-scale warming may increase ecosystem productivity in troughs relative to other Arctic Coastal Plain ponds. 

Investigating vertical distribution patterns of lower tropospheric PM2.5 using unmanned aerial vehicle measurements

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Li, Xiao-Bing; Wang, Dong-Sheng; Lu, Qing-Chang; Peng, Zhong-Ren; Wang, Zhan-Yong

2018-01-01

A lightweight unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was outfitted with miniaturized sensors to investigate the vertical distribution patterns and sources of fine aerosol particles (PM2.5) within the 1 000 m lower troposphere. A total of 16 UAV flights were conducted in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, China, from the summer to winter in 2014. The associated ground-level measurements from two environmental monitoring stations were also used for background analysis. The results show that ground-level PM2.5 concentrations demonstrated a decreasing trend from Feb. to Jul. and an increasing trend from Aug. to Jan. (the following year). Higher PM2.5 concentrations during the day were mainly observed in the morning (Local Time, LT 05-09) in the spring and summer. However, higher PM2.5 concentrations occurred mainly in the late afternoon and evening (LT 16-20) in the autumn and winter, excluding severe haze pollution days when higher PM2.5 concentrations were also observed during the morning periods. Lower tropospheric PM2.5 concentrations exhibited similar diurnal vertical distribution patterns from the summer to winter. The PM2.5 concentrations decreased with height in the morning, with significantly large vertical gradients from the summer to winter. By contrast, the aerosol particles were well mixed with PM2.5 concentrations of lower than 35 μg ṡm-3 in the early afternoon (LT 12-16) due to sufficient expansions of the planetary boundary layer. The mean vertical PM2.5 concentrations within the 1 000 m lower troposphere in the morning were much larger in the winter (∼87.5 μg ṡm-3) than in the summer and autumn (∼20 μg ṡm-3). However, subtle differences of ∼11 μg ṡm-3 in the mean vertical PM2.5 concentrations were observed in the early afternoon from the summer to winter. The vertical distribution patterns of black carbon and its relationships with PM2.5 indicated that the lower tropospheric aerosol particles might be mainly derived from fossil

Nutrient availability limits biological production in Arctic sea ice melt ponds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Heidi Louise; Thamdrup, Bo; Jeppesen, Erik

2017-01-01

nutrient limitation in melt ponds. We also document that the addition of nutrients, although at relative high concentrations, can stimulate biological productivity at several trophic levels. Given the projected increase in first-year ice, increased melt pond coverage during the Arctic spring and potential......Every spring and summer melt ponds form at the surface of polar sea ice and become habitats where biological production may take place. Previous studies report a large variability in the productivity, but the causes are unknown. We investigated if nutrients limit the productivity in these first...... additional nutrient supply from, e.g. terrestrial sources imply that biological activity of melt ponds may become increasingly important for the sympagic carbon cycling in the future Arctic....

Vertical Mulching e manejo da água em semeadura direta Vertical Mulching and water management in no tillage system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Maria Garcia

2008-04-01

Full Text Available A intensa mobilização do solo no sistema cultivo convencional causou degradação da estrutura, compactação e adensamento do solo abaixo da camada arável, reduzindo a macroporosidade e a taxa de infiltração de água no solo, com conseqüente aumento de escoamento superficial, de erosão e de assoreamento de rios e de reservatórios. A semeadura direta, que protege a superfície do solo, praticamente controlou a perda por erosão hídrica, os terraços foram eliminados, pelos agricultores, e a conseqüência foi maior escoamento superficial do que no sistema cultivo convencional. Com o objetivo de avaliar o comportamento hidrológico do vertical mulching em semeadura direta, em relação ao escoamento superficial, realizou-se esta pesquisa nos anos agrícolas 2002/2003 e 2003/2004, em Latossolo Vermelho distrófico típico, na região fisiográfica do planalto médio do Rio Grande do Sul, isto é, um experimento em escala de campo, com parcelas sem vertical mulching, com vertical mulching a cada 10 m e com vertical mulching a cada 5 m, no delineamento de blocos ao acaso com três repetições. Sulcos em nível, perpendiculares ao declive, com dimensões de 0,08 m de largura por x 0,38 m de profundidade, foram abertos e preenchidos com palha compactada o suficiente para prevenir desmoronamento das paredes do sulco. No ciclo da cultura da soja e do trigo foram simuladas chuvas com duas intensidades, 70 e 106 mm h-1. Foram determinados o escoamento superficial, a taxa de infiltração básica de água no solo e a concentração de nutrientes e de CO no escoamento superficial. Os resultados indicam que o vertical mulching na semeadura direta reduz, significativamente, o volume do escoamento superficial aumenta a taxa de infiltração básica de água no solo e reduz também as perdas totais de nutrientes e de CO devido ao menor volume de água no escoamento superficial.Intensive soil mobilization in the conventional tillage system has caused

Nitrogen and Winter Cover Crop Effects on Spring and Summer Nutrient Uptake

Science.gov (United States)

Fertilization of bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] with swine-lagoon effluent in summer, April to September, does not match the period of productivity of the winter annual cover crops, annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.), cereal rye (Secale cereale), and berseem clover (Trifolium alexan...

Developmental Strategy For Effective Sampling To Detect Possible Nutrient Fluxes In Oligotrophic Coastal Reef Waters In The Caribbean

Science.gov (United States)

Mendoza, W. G.; Corredor, J. E.; Ko, D.; Zika, R. G.; Mooers, C. N.

2008-05-01

The increasing effort to develop the coastal ocean observing system (COOS) in various institutions has gained momentum due to its high value to climate, environmental, economic, and health issues. The stress contributed by nutrients to the coral reef ecosystem is among many problems that are targeted to be resolved using this system. Traditional nutrient sampling has been inadequate to resolve issues on episodic nutrient fluxes in reef regions due to temporal and spatial variability. This paper illustrates sampling strategy using the COOS information to identify areas that need critical investigation. The area investigated is within the Puerto Rico subdomain (60-70oW, 15-20oN), and Caribbean Time Series (CaTS), World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE), Intra-America Sea (IAS) ocean nowcast/forecast system (IASNFS), and other COOS-related online datasets are utilized. Nutrient profile results indicate nitrate is undetectable in the upper 50 m apparently due to high biological consumption. Nutrients are delivered in Puerto Rico particularly in the CaTS station either via a meridional jet formed from opposing cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies or wind-driven upwelling. The strong vertical fluctuation in the upper 50 m demonstrates a high anomaly in temperature and salinity and a strong cross correlation signal. High chlorophyll a concentration corresponding to seasonal high nutrient influx coincides with higher precipitation accumulation rates and apparent riverine input from the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers during summer (August) than during winter (February) seasons. Non-detectability of nutrients in the upper 50 m is a reflection of poor sampling frequency or the absence of a highly sensitive nutrient analysis method to capture episodic events. Thus, this paper was able to determine the range of depths and concentrations that need to be critically investigated to determine nutrient fluxes, nutrient sources, and climatological factors that can affect nutrient delivery

Evidence of the Lower Thermospheric Winter-to-Summer Circulation From SABER CO2 Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Qian, Liying; Burns, Alan; Yue, Jia

2017-10-01

Numerical studies have shown that there is a lower thermospheric winter-to-summer circulation that is driven by wave dissipation and that it plays a significant role in trace gas distributions in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere, and in the composition of the thermosphere. However, the characteristics of this circulation are poorly known. Direct observations of it are difficult, but it leaves clear signatures in tracer distributions. The Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) onboard the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics satellite has obtained CO2 concentration from 2002 to present. This data set, combined with simulations by the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model, provides an unprecedented opportunity to infer the morphology of this circulation in both the summer and winter hemispheres. Our study show that there exists a maximum vertical gradient of CO2 at summer high latitudes, driven by the convergence of the upwelling of the mesospheric circulation and the downwelling of the lower thermospheric circulation; in the winter hemisphere, the maximum vertical gradient of CO2 is located at a higher altitude, driven by the convergence of the upwelling of the lower thermospheric circulation and the downwelling of the solar-driven thermospheric circulation; the bottom of the lower thermospheric circulation is located between 95 km and 100 km, and it has a vertical extent of 10 km. Analysis of the SABER CO2 and temperature at summer high latitudes showed that the bottom of this circulation is consistently higher than the mesopause height by 10 km.

Diet and nutrient balance of red panda in Nepal

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Panthi, Saroj; Coogan, Sean C. P.; Aryal, Achyut; Raubenheimer, David

2015-10-01

We identified the winter plant species consumed by red panda in the Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve of eastern Nepal and compared this to the early-summer diet which was determined previously by Panthi et al. (2012). In addition, we estimated the proximate nutritional content of the leaves identified in red panda diet for both seasons, and we used nutritional geometry to explore macronutrient balance of leaves from the two different sampling periods. We identified six different plants in winter scats, which were the same as found in the previously determined early-summer diet. Arundinaria spp. bamboos were the main species found (82.1 % relative frequency), followed by Acer spp. (6.3 %), Betula utilis (4.6 %), Quercus semicarpifolia (3.7 %), Berberis spp. (1.3 %), and lichens (1.0 %), leaving 2.0 % unidentified. Geometric analysis suggested that the macronutrient balance of seasonal diets were similar in nutrient balance to the most frequently consumed Arundinaria spp. Differences in macronutrient balance may indicate seasonal nutrient preferences, such as increased carbohydrate intake in winter for thermogenesis, and increased protein and lipid intake in early summer to support reproduction and lactation; however, these differences may also indicate differences in resource availability. Habitat conserved for red panda in the region should include sufficient Arundinaria spp. as well as lesser consumed plants which may serve as complimentary foods.

Hypoxia in the central Arabian Gulf Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Qatar during summer season

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Ansari, Ebrahim M. A. S.; Rowe, G.; Abdel-Moati, M. A. R.; Yigiterhan, O.; Al-Maslamani, I.; Al-Yafei, M. A.; Al-Shaikh, I.; Upstill-Goddard, R.

2015-06-01

One of the most fascinating and unexpected discoveries during the Qatar University Marine Expeditions to the marine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Qatar in 2000-2001, was the detection of a hypoxic water layer in the central region of the Arabian Gulf in waters deeper than 50 m. Hypoxia was defined as the region where the concentration of dissolved oxygen was less than 2 mg L-1. This article presents the discovery of hypoxia in the Arabian Gulf, based on samples collected (mainly during evening or night time) from vertical profiles along transects of the EEZ of Qatar and analyzed for physico-chemical properties, nutrients and chlorophyll-a. Hypoxia occurred in the summer months caused by an interaction between physical stratification of the water column that prevents oxygen replenishment, and biological respiration that consumes oxygen. Strong south-westerly winds (the SW monsoon) from June to September drive the relatively low-salinity nutrient-rich surface water from the Arabian Sea/Arabian Gulf (Sea of Oman) through the Strait of Hormuz into the central-Arabian Gulf, and this surface current penetration fertilizes the deep central-Arabian Gulf during the summer period. A strong seasonal pycnocline is formed between deeper waters at an ambient temperature of 20.9 °C and surface waters at 31.9 °C. This prevents the mixing of supersaturated O2 (>100-130%) water from the upper layer that would otherwise raise concentrations of dissolved oxygen below the thermocline, thus resulting in deep water hypoxia, i.e. dissolved oxygen levels of less than 0.86 ml L-1 at 17.3% saturation. These are the lowest values ever recorded for the Arabian Gulf. The calculated area of hypoxia is around 7220 square kilometers, and occurs in a layer about ≥15 m thick above the sea floor which extends toward the deep part of the Qatar Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The biological consequences of this hypoxia on the sea floor are yet to be investigated.

Effects of changes in nutrient loading and composition on hypoxia dynamics and internal nutrient cycling of a stratified coastal lagoon

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Yafei; McCowan, Andrew; Cook, Perran L. M.

2017-10-01

The effects of changes in catchment nutrient loading and composition on the phytoplankton dynamics, development of hypoxia and internal nutrient dynamics in a stratified coastal lagoon system (the Gippsland Lakes) were investigated using a 3-D coupled hydrodynamic biogeochemical water quality model. The study showed that primary production was equally sensitive to changed dissolved inorganic and particulate organic nitrogen loads, highlighting the need for a better understanding of particulate organic matter bioavailability. Stratification and sediment carbon enrichment were the main drivers for the hypoxia and subsequent sediment phosphorus release in Lake King. High primary production stimulated by large nitrogen loading brought on by a winter flood contributed almost all the sediment carbon deposition (as opposed to catchment loads), which was ultimately responsible for summer bottom-water hypoxia. Interestingly, internal recycling of phosphorus was more sensitive to changed nitrogen loads than total phosphorus loads, highlighting the potential importance of nitrogen loads exerting a control over systems that become phosphorus limited (such as during summer nitrogen-fixing blooms of cyanobacteria). Therefore, the current study highlighted the need to reduce both total nitrogen and total phosphorus for water quality improvement in estuarine systems.

Effects of changes in nutrient loading and composition on hypoxia dynamics and internal nutrient cycling of a stratified coastal lagoon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Zhu

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The effects of changes in catchment nutrient loading and composition on the phytoplankton dynamics, development of hypoxia and internal nutrient dynamics in a stratified coastal lagoon system (the Gippsland Lakes were investigated using a 3-D coupled hydrodynamic biogeochemical water quality model. The study showed that primary production was equally sensitive to changed dissolved inorganic and particulate organic nitrogen loads, highlighting the need for a better understanding of particulate organic matter bioavailability. Stratification and sediment carbon enrichment were the main drivers for the hypoxia and subsequent sediment phosphorus release in Lake King. High primary production stimulated by large nitrogen loading brought on by a winter flood contributed almost all the sediment carbon deposition (as opposed to catchment loads, which was ultimately responsible for summer bottom-water hypoxia. Interestingly, internal recycling of phosphorus was more sensitive to changed nitrogen loads than total phosphorus loads, highlighting the potential importance of nitrogen loads exerting a control over systems that become phosphorus limited (such as during summer nitrogen-fixing blooms of cyanobacteria. Therefore, the current study highlighted the need to reduce both total nitrogen and total phosphorus for water quality improvement in estuarine systems.

A 900-Year Diatom and Chrysophyte Record of Spring Mixing and Summer Stratification From Varved Lake Mina, West-Central Minnesota, USA

Science.gov (United States)

St. Jacques, J.; Cumming, B. F.; Smol, J. P.

2009-05-01

A high-resolution, independent pollen-inferred paleoclimate record and direct algal seasonality data from the actual time of sediment deposition are used to interpret the high-resolution diatom and chrysophyte record of varved Lake Mina, west-central Minnesota, USA during AD 1116-2002. This direct algal seasonality information was obtained by a new technique of splitting varves into constituent winter-spring and summer lamina, and separately analyzing the siliceous algae in each layer. Analyses of integrated, continuous four-year diatom and chrysophyte samples from a sedimentary sequence show that the time period AD 1116-1478 (i.e. the Atlantic- centered Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA)) was characterized by periods of vigorous and prolonged spring mixing, suggesting that ice-out occurred early. However, the warm summer temperatures in the MCA, particularly in a massive drought spanning AD 1300-1400, frequently caused the lake to stratify strongly, leading to nutrient depletion. During AD 1478-1870 (i.e. the Atlantic-centered Little Ice Age (LIA)), Lake Mina was characterized by weak spring circulation and increasing nutrient depletion, suggesting late ice-out conditions. Strong summer stratification and/or nutrient depletion in both time periods is shown by the occurrence of the nutrient-poor oligotrophic taxon Cyclotella pseudostelligera. The diatom and chrysophyte assemblages of the period of Euro-American settlement AD 1870-2002 show higher nutrient availability and increased spring mixing intensity, due to forest clearance and increasingly earlier ice-out (documented in regional historical records).

Seasonal variation in vertical flux of biogenic matter in the marginal ice zone and the central Barents Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Olli, Kalle; Wexels Riser, Christian; Wassmann, Paul; Ratkova, Tatjana; Arashkevich, Elena; Pasternak, Anna

2002-12-01

The spatial and seasonal variations in the vertical flux of particulate biogenic matter were investigated in the Barents Sea in winter and spring 1998 and summer 1999. Arrays of simple cylindrical sediment traps were moored for 24 h between 30 and 200 m along a transect from the ice-free Atlantic water to Arctic water with up to 80% ice cover. Large gradients in the quantity and composition of the sinking particles were observed in the south-north direction, and in relation to water column structure and stability, which depend on the processes of ice retreat. The magnitude of the vertical flux of particulate organic carbon (POC) out of the upper mixed layer ranged from background winter values (30-70 mg C m -2 day -1) to 150-300 mg C m -2 day -1 in summer and 500-1500 mg C m -2 day -1 in spring. Vertical flux of chlorophyll a (CHL) was negligible in winter, generally balticum and single-celled P. pouchetii). The magnitude of the vertical flux to the bottom in spring was comparable in the Arctic and Atlantic waters (ca. 200 mg C m -2 day -1), but the composition and C/N ratio of the particles were different. The regulation of biogenic particle sedimentation took place in the upper layers and over very short vertical distances, and varied with season and water mass. The vertical flux was mainly shaped by the water column stratification (strong salinity stratification in the Arctic water; no stratification in the Atlantic water) and also by the activity of plankton organisms. Zooplankton faecal pellets were an important constituent of the vertical flux (up to 250 mg C m -2 day -1), but their significance varied widely between stations. The daily sedimentation loss rates of POC in spring exceeded the loss rates in summer on the average of 1.7 times. The complexity of the planktonic community during summer suggested the prevalence of a retention food chain with a higher capacity of resource recycling compared to spring.

Design and construction of a vertical hydroponic system with semi-continuous and continuous nutrient cycling

Science.gov (United States)

Siswanto, Dian; Widoretno, Wahyu

2017-11-01

Problems due to the increase in agricultural land use change can be solved by hydroponic system applications. Many hydroponic studies have been conducted in several countries while their applications in Indonesia requires modification and adjustment. This research was conducted to design and construct a hydroponic system with semi-continuous and continuous nutrition systems. The hydroponic system which was used adapts the ebb and flow system, and the nutrient film technique (NFT). This hydroponic system was made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes with a length of 197 cm, a diameter of 16 cm, and a slope of 4°. It was constructed from four PVC pipes. In semi-continuous irrigation treatment, nutrients flow four to six times for each of ten minutes depending on plant development and the estimated evapotranspiration occurring, while in a continuous nutrient system the nutrients are streamed for twenty-four hours without stopping at a maximum flow rate of 13.7 L per second.

Viral lysis of marine microbes in relation to vertical stratification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mojica, K.D.A.

2015-01-01

Marine microorganisms represent the largest reservoir of living organic carbon in the ocean and collectively manage the pools and fluxes of nutrients and energy. Climate-induced increases in sea surface temperature and associated modifications to vertical stratification are affecting the structure

Radon 222 and tropospheric vertical transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, S.C.; McAfee, J.R.; Cicerone, R.J.

1984-01-01

Radon 222 is an inert gas whose loss is due only to radioactive decay with a half life of 3.83 days (5.51-day ''exponential'' lifetime). It is a very useful tracer of continental air because only ground level continental sources are significant. Thus it is similar in several ways to many air pollutants (e.g., NO/sub x/) (NO+NO 2 ), SO 2 , and certain hydrocarbons. Previously published measured 222 Rn profiles are analyzed here by averaging for the summer, winter, and spring-fall seasons. The analysis shows that in summer, about 55% of the 222 Rn is transported above the planetary boundary layer, considerably more than during the other seasons. Similarly, in summer, about 20% rises to over 5.5 km (500 mbar). The average profiles have been used to derive vertical eddy diffusion coefficients with maximum values of 5-7 x 10 5 cm 2 s -1 in the midtroposphere and 8 x 10 3 to 5 x 10 4 cm 2 s -1 near the surface

High nutrient concentration and temperature alleviated formation of large colonies of Microcystis: Evidence from field investigations and laboratory experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Wei; Zhou, Xiaohua; Chen, Huaimin; Gao, Li; Xiao, Man; Li, Ming

2016-09-15

Correlations between Microcystis colony size and environmental factors were investigated in Meiliang Bay and Gonghu Bay of Lake Taihu (China) from 2011 to 2013. Compared with Gonghu Bay, both nutrient concentrations and Microcystis colony sizes were greater in Meiliang Bay. The median colony size (D50: 50% of the total mass of particles smaller than this size) increased from April to August and then decreased until November. In both bays, the average D50 of Microcystis colonies were 500 μm) dominated in summer. The differences in colony size in Meiliang Bay and Gonghu Bay were probably due to horizontal drift driven by the prevailing south wind in summer. Redundancy analysis (RDA) of field data indicated that colony size was negatively related to nutrient concentrations but positively related to air temperature, suggesting that low nutrient concentrations and high air temperature promoted formation of large colonies. To validate the field survey, Microcystis colonies collected from Lake Taihu were cultured at different temperatures (15, 20, 25 and 30 °C) under high and low nutrient concentrations for 9 days. The size of Microcystis colonies significantly decreased when temperature was above 20 °C but had no significant change at 15 °C. The differences in temperature effects on colony formation shown from field and laboratory suggested that the larger colonies in summer were probably due to the longer growth period rather than the higher air temperature and light intensity. In addition, colony size decreased more significantly at high nutrient levels. Therefore, it could be concluded that high nutrient concentration and temperature may alleviate formation of large colonies of Microcystis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Seasonal and interspecific nutrient mitigation comparisons of three emergent aquatic macrophytes

Science.gov (United States)

The purpose of this experiment was to measure both summer and winter nutrient mitigation efficiencies of three aquatic plants found in agricultural drainage ditches in the lower Mississippi River Basin. Mesocosms (1.25 x 0.6 x 0.8 m) were filled with sediment and planted with monocultures of one of...

Nutrient intake, acid base status and weight gain in water buffalo ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The impact of different dietary levels of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) on nutrient intake, acid-base status, nitrogen balance and weight gain was examined in growing male buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) calves exposed to hot summer conditions. In a complete randomized block design 60 animals of similar age and weight ...

Natural radon as a limnological tracer for the study of vertical and horizontal eddy diffusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imboden, D.M.

1979-01-01

Radon-222 (half-life 3.8 d) has been used successfully as a geochemical tracer for vertical near bottom mixing in the ocean. The parent nuclide radium-226 (half-life 1600 a) occurs in far greater quantities in sediments than in the water column, thus providing a boundary source for emanation of radon. Vertical mixing in lakes may be of central importance for the evolution of chemical and biological processes. Most lakes pass through a stagnation period during which the euphotic zone continuously loses nutrients by sedimentation of plankton through the thermocline. The return flux of nutrients from the sediments through the hypolimnion and thermocline to the euphotic layer can only be understood and quantified if vertical mixing processes are known. The traditional means by which vertical eddy diffusion is calculated is the temperature method. However, temperature changes near the bottom of deep lakes are often too small to be measured. Among various (natural or man-made) geochemical tracers radon-222 seems to be especially suitable for the study of vertical mixing since its 'memory' of about one week very often allows measured activities to be interpreted in terms of a relatively simple steady-state model

Distribution of the partial pressure of CO2 in surface water (pCO2w) between Japan and the Hawaiian Islands: pCO2w-SST relationship in the winter and summer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inoue, Hisayuki Y.; Ishii, Masao; Matsueda, Hidekazu; Kawano, Takeshi; Murata, Akihiko; Takasugi, Yoshio

2003-01-01

On the basis of measurements of the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in surface seawater (pCO 2 w) between Japan and the Hawaiian Islands in winter and summer, we examined the relationship between pCO 2 w and the sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG). In winter, pCO 2 w correlated well with the SST (0.14-0.24%/deg C), suggesting a monotonous change in the carbonate system. However, in summer, five different pCO 2 w-SST relationships were found in the NPSG (including the Kuroshio Extension) due to changes in the relative contribution of ocean dynamics (upwelling, vertical mixing and advection), biological activity in the absence (very low level) of macro-nutrients and thermodynamics. The increase in pCO 2 w corresponding to a unit increase in the SST from January to July was low (<2.5%/deg C) west (leeward side) of the Hawaiian Islands (19-22 deg N, 158-168 deg W) and in the Kuroshio Extension (33-35 deg N, 140-165deg E), and high (3%/deg C) south of the Kuroshio Extension (25-30 deg N, 180-165 deg W) and the Hawaiian Islands (15-19 deg N, 157-162 deg W). This suggested that the drawdown of dissolved inorganic carbon was affected by the enhanced biological activity due to upwelling events associated with eddies and/or the transport of dissolved nutrients from gyre edges to the interior

Upgrade of Al-Aziziah Wastewater Treatment (Wasit to Meet Nutrient Removal Requirements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed Siwan Shamkhi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to verify of suggestions to upgrade the existing process of wastewater treatment to achieve nutrient removal (phosphorus and nitrogen from the treated wastewater. The results show that the adding a cyclic anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic condition helped to biological nutrient removal efficiencies. The effluent phosphorus and nitrogen contaminants concentrations were below the maximum permissible concentration under various conditions of flow and temperature except considerable release of phosphorus during summer (July and August because the sensitivity of phosphate accumulating organisms PAOs to the temperature effect.

Nutrient budgets for large Chinese estuaries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. M. Liu

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Chinese rivers deliver about 5–10% of global freshwater input and 15–20% of the global continental sediment to the world ocean. We report the riverine fluxes and concentrations of major nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and silicon in the rivers of the contiguous landmass of China and Korea in the northeast Asia. The rivers are generally enriched with dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN and depleted in dissolved inorganic phosphate (PO₄³⁻ with very high DIN: PO₄³⁻ concentration ratios. DIN, phosphorus, and silicon levels and loads in rivers are mainly affected by agriculture activities and urbanization, anthropogenic activities and adsorption on particulates, and rock types, climate and physical denudation intensity, respectively. Nutrient transports by rivers in the summer are 3–4 times higher than those in the winter with the exception of NH₄⁺. The flux of NH₄⁺ is rather constant throughout the year due to the anthropogenic sources such as the sewer discharge. As nutrient composition has changed in the rivers, ecosystems in estuaries and coastal sea have also changed in recent decades. Among the changes, a shift of limiting nutrients from phosphorus to nitrogen for phytoplankton production with urbanization is noticeable and in some areas silicon becomes the limiting nutrient for diatom productivity. A simple steady-state mass-balance box model was employed to assess nutrient budgets in the estuaries. The major Chinese estuaries export <15% of nitrogen, <6% of phosphorus required for phytoplankton production and ~4% of silicon required for diatom growth in the Chinese Seas (Bohai, Yellow Sea, East China Sea, South China Sea. This suggests that land-derived nutrients are largely confined to the immediate estuaries, and ecosystem in the coastal sea beyond the estuaries is mainly supported by other nutrient sources such as regeneration, open ocean and

Upland and in-stream controls on baseflow nutrient dynamics in tile-drained agroecosystem watersheds

Science.gov (United States)

Ford, William I.; King, Kevin; Williams, Mark R.

2018-01-01

In landscapes with low residence times (e.g., rivers and reservoirs), baseflow nutrient concentration dynamics during sensitive timeframes can contribute to deleterious environmental conditions downstream. This study assessed upland and in-stream controls on baseflow nutrient concentrations in a low-gradient, tile-drained agroecosystem watershed. We conducted time-series analysis using Empirical mode decomposition of seven decade-long nutrient concentration time-series in the agricultural Upper Big Walnut Creek watershed (Ohio, USA). Four tributaries of varying drainage areas and three main-stem sites were monitored, and nutrient grab samples were collected weekly from 2006 to 2016 and analyzed for dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP), nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP). Statistically significant seasonal fluctuations were compared with seasonality of baseflow, watershed characteristics (e.g., tile-drain density), and in-stream water quality parameters (pH, DO, temperature). Findings point to statistically significant seasonality of all parameters with peak P concentrations in summer and peak N in late winter-early spring. Results suggest that upland processes exert strong control on DRP concentrations in the winter and spring months, while coupled upland and in-stream conditions control watershed baseflow DRP concentrations during summer and early fall. Conversely, upland flow sources driving streamflow exert strong control on baseflow NO3-N, and in-stream attenuation through transient and permanent pathways impacts the magnitude of removal. Regarding TN and TP, we found that TN was governed by NO3-N, while TP was governed by DRP in summer and fluvial erosion of P-rich benthic sediments during higher baseflow conditions. Findings of the study highlight the importance of coupled in-stream and upland management for mitigating eutrophic conditions during environmentally sensitive timeframes.

Phytoplankton chlorophyll a biomass, composition, and productivity along a temperature and stratification gradient in the northeast Atlantic Ocean

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van de Poll, W. H.; Kulk, G.; Timmermans, K. R.; Brussaard, C. P. D.; van der Woerd, H. J.; Kehoe, M. J.; Mojica, K. D. A.; Visser, R. J. W.; Rozema, P. D.; Buma, A. G. J.

2013-01-01

Relationships between sea surface temperature (SST, > 10 m) and vertical density stratification, nutrient concentrations, and phytoplankton biomass, composition, and chlorophyll a (Chl a) specific absorption were assessed in spring and summer from latitudes 29 to 63 degrees N in the northeast

Phytoplankton chlorophyll

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van de Poll, W.H.; Kulk, G.; Timmermans, K.R.; Brussaard, C.P.D.; van der Woerd, H.J.; Kehoe, M.J.; Mojica, K.D.A.; Visser, R.J.W.; Rozema, P.D.; Buma, A.G.J.

2013-01-01

Relationships between sea surface temperature (SST, > 10 m) and vertical density stratification, nutrient concentrations, and phytoplankton biomass, composition, and chlorophyll a (Chl a) specific absorption were assessed in spring and summer from latitudes 29 to 63 degrees N in the northeast

Growth and yield of summer squash: effect of the ionic concentration of nutrient solutionCrescimento e produtividade da abobrinha italiana: efeito da concentração iônica da solução nutritiva

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tiago Zanatta Aumonde

2011-07-01

Full Text Available With the objective of evaluating the effect of different ionic concentrations of the nutrient solution on growth of summer squash cultivated in raw rice husk substrate with leaching recirculation, two experiments were conducted in two crop-seasons: spring-summer of 2005 and summer-autumn of 2006, in Pelotas, RS. Four ionic concentrations of the nutrient solution (based on electrical conductivity - EC were studied: 1.3; 1.7; 2.1 and 4.2 dS m-1. Crop growth was determinated by accumulated dry mass production and partitioning among the different above-ground plant organs (leafs, stem and fruits at the end of the crop-seasons. Fruit yield was also evaluated. The obtained results indicate that ionic concentrations equal or lower than 1.7 dS m-1 were limiting for proper growth and yield of the crop. The effect of high ionic concentration of the nutrient solution (above 2.1 dS m-1 on dry mass production and partitioning varied according to the crop-season. The lower solar radiation availability of the summer-autumn crop season minimized the effects of the different concentrations of nutrient solution on dry mass production and partitioning to the fruits, as well as on the yield. The fruits comprised from 28 to 52% of the total above-ground dry mass production. Fruits represented the largest sink of assimilates of the plant only at 2.1 dS m-1 ionic concentration of the nutrient solution and in crescent solar radiation availability condition (spring-summer. According the mathematics models, the electrical conductivity that maximizes dry mass production and yield is approximately 3.0 dS m-1 for both crop-seasons.Com o objetivo de avaliar o efeito de diferentes concentrações iônicas da solução nutritiva sobre o crescimento e a produtividade da abobrinha italiana cultivada em substrato de casca de arroz in natura com recirculação dos lixiviados, foram realizados dois experimentos em duas épocas de cultivo: primavera-verão de 2005 e verão-outono de

Benthic nutrient cycling and diagenetic pathways in the North-western Black Sea

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Friedrich, J.; Dinkel, C.; Friedl, G.; Pimenov, N.; Wijsman, J.W.M.; Gomoiu, M-T.; Cociasu, A.; Popa, L.; Wehrli, B.

2002-01-01

Benthic fluxes of nutrients and metals were measured in the coastal zone of the north-western Black Sea, which is influenced by the Danube and Dniestr rivers. The results from the benthic flux chambers deployed during two EROS 21 cruises in summer 1995 and in spring 1997 yield information on benthic

Phytoplankton chlorophyll a biomass, composition, and productivity along a temperature and stratification gradient in the northeast Atlantic Ocean

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van de Poll, W.H.; Kulk, G.; Timmermans, K.R.; Brussaard, C.P.D.; van der Woerd, H.J.; Kehoe, M.J.; Mojica, K.D.A.; Visser, R.J.W.; Rozema, P.D.; Buma, A.G.J.

2013-01-01

Relationships between sea surface temperature (SST, > 10 m) and vertical density stratification, nutrient concentrations, and phytoplankton biomass, composition, and chlorophyll a (Chl a) specific absorption were assessed in spring and summer from latitudes 29 to 63° N in the northeast Atlantic

Study on the layered dusty plasma structures in the summer polar mesopause

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui Li

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Traditional hydrodynamic equations are adopted to build a one-dimensional theoretical model to study the effect of gravity wave on layered dusty plasma structures formation and evolution near the polar summer mesospause region associated with polar mesosphere summer echoes (PMSE. The proposed mechanism gives consideration to the charged ice particle motion by the gravity wave modulation, making a significant contribution to the vertical transport of heavy ice particles and convergence into thin layers. And numerical results show that the pattern of the multi-layer structure depends on the ration of the initial ice particles density distribution to the vertical wavelength of the gravity waves, the ice particle size and the wind velocity caused by gravity wave. Also, the variation of ion density distribution under the influence of gravity wave has also been examined. Finally, the electron density depletions (bite-outs layers has been simulated according to the charge conservation laws, and the results are compared to the ECT02 rocket sounding data, which agree well with the measuring.

Seasonal changes in temperature and nutrient control of photosynthesis, respiration and growth of natural phytoplankton communities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stæhr, P. A.; Sand-Jensen, K.

2006-01-01

cultures in seasons of low ambient nutrient availability. 3. Temperature stimulation of growth and metabolism was higher at low than high ambient temperature showing that long-term temperature acclimation of the phytoplankton community before the experiments was of great importance for the measured rates...... +2, +4 and +6 °C for 2 weeks with and without addition of extra inorganic nutrients. 2. Rates of photosynthesis, respiration and growth generally increased with temperature, but this effect was strongly enhanced by high nutrient availability, and therefore was most evident for nutrient amended......1. To investigate the influence of elevated temperatures and nutrients on photosynthesis, respiration and growth of natural phytoplankton assemblages, water was collected from a eutrophic lake in spring, summer, autumn, winter and the following spring and exposed to ambient temperature and ambient...

ANALYSIS OF LOW-FREQUENCY OSCILLATIONS FOR THE SOUTH CHINA SEA SUMMER MONSOON IN 1998

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

徐国强; 朱乾根

2003-01-01

With NCEP/NCAR reanalysis daily data and SST for 1998, the paper investigates the features of summer monsoon low-frequency oscillation (LFO) over the South China Sea (SCS). Results show that SCS summer monsoon onset is enhanced because of its LFO. Low-frequency (LF) low-level convergence (divergence) region of SCS is in the LF positive (negative) rainfall area. LFO of the SCS region migrates from south to north in the meridian and from west to east in zonal direction. LF divergence of SCS is vertically compensating to each other between high and low level.

Vertical stratification of bat assemblages in flooded and unflooded Amazonian forests

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria João Ramos PEREIRA, João Tiago MARQUES, Jorge M. PALMEIRIM

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Tropical rainforests usually have multiple strata that results in a vertical stratification of ecological opportunities for animals. We investigated if this stratification influences the way bats use the vertical space in flooded and unflooded forests of the Central Amazon. Using mist-nets set in the canopy (17 to 35 m high and in the understorey (0 to 3 m high we sampled four sites in upland unflooded forests (terra firme, three in forests seasonally flooded by nutrient-rich water (várzea, and three in forests seasonally flooded by nutrient-poor water (igapó. Using rarefaction curves we found that species richness in the understorey and canopy were very similar. An ordination analysis clearly separated the bat assemblages of the canopy from those of the understorey in both flooded and unflooded habitats. Gleaning carnivores were clearly associated with the understorey, whereas frugivores were abundant in both strata. Of the frugivores, Carollinae and some Stenodermatinae were understorey specialists, but several Stenodermatinae mostly used the canopy. The first group mainly includes species that, in general, feed on fruits of understorey shrubs, whereas the second group feed on figs and other canopy fruits. We conclude that vertical stratification in bat communities occurs even within forests with lower canopy heights, such as Amazonian seasonally flooded forests, and that the vertical distribution of bat species is closely related to their diet and foraging behaviour [Current Zoology 56 (4: 469–478, 2010].

Vertical circulation and thermospheric composition: a modelling study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Rishbeth

1999-06-01

Full Text Available The coupled thermosphere-ionosphere-plasmasphere model CTIP is used to study the global three-dimensional circulation and its effect on neutral composition in the midlatitude F-layer. At equinox, the vertical air motion is basically up by day, down by night, and the atomic oxygen/molecular nitrogen [O/N2] concentration ratio is symmetrical about the equator. At solstice there is a summer-to-winter flow of air, with downwelling at subauroral latitudes in winter that produces regions of large [O/N2] ratio. Because the thermospheric circulation is influenced by the high-latitude energy inputs, which are related to the geometry of the Earth's magnetic field, the latitude of the downwelling regions varies with longitude. The downwelling regions give rise to large F2-layer electron densities when they are sunlit, but not when they are in darkness, with implications for the distribution of seasonal and semiannual variations of the F2-layer. It is also found that the vertical distributions of O and N2 may depart appreciably from diffusive equilibrium at heights up to about 160 km, especially in the summer hemisphere where there is strong upwelling. Atmospheric composition and structure (thermosphere · composition and chemistry · Ionosphere (ionosphere · atmosphere interactions

The formation of multiple layers of ice particles in the polar summer mesopause region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Li

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a two-dimensional theoretical model to study the formation process of multiple layers of small ice particles in the polar summer mesosphere as measured by rockets and associated with polar mesosphere summer echoes (PMSE. The proposed mechanism primarily takes into account the transport processes induced by gravity waves through collision coupling between the neutral atmosphere and the ice particles. Numerical solutions of the model indicate that the dynamic influence of wind variation induced by gravity waves can make a significant contribution to the vertical and horizontal transport of ice particles and ultimately transform them into thin multiple layers. Additionally, the pattern of the multiple layers at least partially depends on the vertical wavelength of the gravity wave, the ice particle size and the wind velocity. The results presented in this paper will be helpful to better understand the occurrence of multiple layers of PMSE as well as its variation process.

Nutrient fluxes at the landscape level and the R* rule

Science.gov (United States)

Ju, Shu; DeAngelis, Donald L.

2010-01-01

Nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems involves not only the vertical recycling of nutrients at specific locations in space, but also biologically driven horizontal fluxes between different areas of the landscape. This latter process can result in net accumulation of nutrients in some places and net losses in others. We examined the effects of such nutrient-concentrating fluxes on the R* rule, which predicts that the species that can survive in steady state at the lowest level of limiting resource, R*, can exclude all competing species. To study the R* rule in this context, we used a literature model of plant growth and nutrient cycling in which both nutrients and light may limit growth, with plants allocating carbon and nutrients between foliage and roots according to different strategies. We incorporated the assumption that biological processes may concentrate nutrients in some parts of the landscape. We assumed further that these processes draw nutrients from outside the zone of local recycling at a rate proportional to the local biomass density. Analysis showed that at sites where there is a sufficient biomass-dependent accumulation of nutrients, the plant species with the highest biomass production rates (roughly corresponding to the best competitors) do not reduce locally available nutrients to a minimum concentration level (that is, minimum R*), as expected from the R* rule, but instead maximize local nutrient concentration. These new results require broadening of our understanding of the relationships between nutrients and vegetation competition on the landscape level. The R* rule is replaced by a more complex criterion that varies across a landscape and reduces to the R* rule only under certain limiting conditions.

Instability of biological nitrogen removal in a cokes wastewater treatment facility during summer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Young Mo; Park, Donghee; Lee, Dae Sung; Park, Jong Moon

2007-01-01

Failure in nitrogen removal of cokes wastewater occurs occasionally during summer season (38 deg. C) due to the instability of nitrification process. The objective of this study was to examine why the nitrification process is unstable especially in summer. Various parameters such as pH, temperature, nutrients and pollutants were examined in batch experiments using activated sludge and wastewater obtained from a full-scale cokes wastewater treatment facility. Batch experiments showed that nitrification rate of the activated sludge was faster in summer (38 deg. C) than in spring or autumn (29 deg. C) and the toxic effects of cyanide, phenol and thiocyanate on nitrification were reduced with increasing temperature. Meanwhile, experiment using continuous reactor showed that the reduction rate in nitrification efficiency was higher at 38 deg. C than at 29 deg. C. In conclusion, the instability of full-scale nitrification process in summer might be mainly due to washing out of nitrifiers by fast growth of competitive microorganisms at higher temperature under increased concentrations of phenol and thiocyanate

Fine root responses to temporal nutrient heterogeneity and competition in seedlings of two tree species with different rooting strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Peng; Shu, Meng; Mou, Pu; Weiner, Jacob

2018-03-01

There is little direct evidence for effects of soil heterogeneity and root plasticity on the competitive interactions among plants. In this study, we experimentally examined the impacts of temporal nutrient heterogeneity on root growth and interactions between two plant species with very different rooting strategies: Liquidambar styraciflua (sweet gum), which shows high root plasticity in response to soil nutrient heterogeneity, and Pinus taeda (loblolly pine), a species with less plastic roots. Seedlings of the two species were grown in sandboxes in inter- and intraspecific combinations. Nutrients were applied in a patch either in a stable (slow-release) or in a variable (pulse) manner. Plant aboveground biomass, fine root mass, root allocation between nutrient patch and outside the patch, and root vertical distribution were measured. L. styraciflua grew more aboveground (40% and 27% in stable and variable nutrient treatment, respectively) and fine roots (41% and 8% in stable and variable nutrient treatment, respectively) when competing with P. taeda than when competing with a conspecific individual, but the growth of P. taeda was not changed by competition from L. styraciflua . Temporal variation in patch nutrient level had little effect on the species' competitive interactions. The more flexible L. styraciflua changed its vertical distribution of fine roots in response to competition from P. taeda , growing more roots in deeper soil layers compared to its roots in conspecific competition, leading to niche differentiation between the species, while the fine root distribution of P. taeda remained unchanged across all treatments. Synthesis . L. styraciflua showed greater flexibility in root growth by changing its root vertical distribution and occupying space of not occupied by P. taeda . This flexibility gave L. styraciflua an advantage in interspecific competition.

Density and depth variations of Daphnia multilocus genotypes during a summer period in Lake Maarsseveen

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ringelberg, J.; van Gool, E.; Brehm, Michaela

2004-01-01

The genotype composition of a Daphnia population complex during a summer period in Lake Maarsseveen (The Netherlands) was determined by allozyme analysis. The depth distribution, diel vertical migration and several parameters of the total population were measured. Young-of-the-year (0+) perch (Perca

Urbanization Changes the Temporal Dynamics of Nutrients and Water Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Steele, M.; Badgley, B.

2017-12-01

Recent studies find that urban development alters the seasonal dynamics of nutrient concentrations, where the highest concentrations of nitrogen occurred during the winter in urban watersheds, rather than the summer. However, the effects of urbanization on the seasonal concentrations of other nutrients and chemical components is unknown. Therefore, to determine how urbanization changes the seasonal dynamics, once a week we measured concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nutrients (NO3, DON, TN, PO4), base cations (Ca, Mg, Na, K), anions (F, Cl, SO4), pH, sediment, temperature, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen (DO) of nine urban, agricultural, and minimally developed watersheds in southwest Virginia, USA. We found that urbanization disrupted the seasonal dynamics of all metrics, except DON, PO4, Ca, sediment, and DO, where some shifted to high concentrations during the winter (Cl, conductivity), highs during late winter or spring (DOC, Na), a season low (TN, SO4, NO3) or high (NH4) during the summer, or remained more constant throughout the year compared to the reference watersheds (Mg, K, pH). The complex changes in seasonal dynamics coincide with a decoupling of common correlations between constituents; for example, DO and NO3 are negatively correlated in reference watersheds (NO3 increases, DO decreases), but positively correlated in urban watersheds. These results suggest that as watersheds become more intensely developed, the influence of natural drivers like temperature and vegetation become steadily overcome by the influence of urban drivers like deicing salts and wastewater leakage, which exert increasing control of seasonal water quality and aquatic habitat.

Vertical migration of motile phytoplankton chains through turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Climent, Eric; Lovecchio, Salvatore; Durham, William; Stocker, Roman

2017-11-01

Daily, phytoplankton needs to migrate vertically from and towards the ocean surface to find nutrients such as dissolved oxygen. To travel through the water column they need to fight against gravity (by swimming) and fluid turbulence which can make their journey longer. It is often observed that cells migrate across the water column as chains. The first benefit to form chains is that micro-organisms sum up their thrust while reducing their drag. Therefore, upwards swimming is faster for chains in a quiescent fluid with steady vertical orientation. However, as chain length increases their tendency to periodically tumble in turbulent structures increases which reduces orientation stability and limits their capacity to swim upwards. The purpose of our study is to elaborate on this apparent contradiction. We carried out direct numerical simulations and physical analysis of the coupled system of homogeneous isotropic turbulence and chain trajectories through Lagrangian tracking. Formation of chains is indeed favorable for vertical migration through the upper layer of the ocean.

The internal wave field in Sau reservoir : Observation and modeling of a third vertical mode

OpenAIRE

Vidal Hurtado, Javier; Casamitjana, Xavier; Colomer, Jordi; Serra Putellas, Teresa

2005-01-01

Water withdrawal from Mediterranean reservoirs in summer is usually very high. Because of this, stratification is often continuous and far from the typical two-layered structure, favoring the excitation of higher vertical modes. The analysis of wind, temperature, and current data from Sau reservoir (Spain) shows that the third vertical mode of the internal seiche (baroclinic mode) dominated the internal wave field at the beginning of September 2003. We used a continuous stratification two-dim...

Impact of fugitive sources and meteorological parameters on vertical distribution of particulate matter over the industrial agglomeration.

Science.gov (United States)

Štrbová, Kristína; Raclavská, Helena; Bílek, Jiří

2017-12-01

The aim of the study was to characterize vertical distribution of particulate matter, in an area well known by highest air pollution levels in Europe. A balloon filled with helium with measuring instrumentation was used for vertical observation of air pollution over the fugitive sources in Moravian-Silesian metropolitan area during spring and summer. Synchronously, selected meteorological parameters were recorded together with particulate matter for exploration its relationship with particulate matter. Concentrations of particulate matter in the vertical profile were significantly higher in the spring than in the summer. Significant effect of fugitive sources was observed up to the altitude ∼255 m (∼45 m above ground) in both seasons. The presence of inversion layer was observed at the altitude ∼350 m (120-135 m above ground) at locations with major source traffic load. Both particulate matter concentrations and number of particles for the selected particle sizes decreased with increasing height. Strong correlation of particulate matter with meteorological parameters was not observed. The study represents the first attempt to assess the vertical profile over the fugitive emission sources - old environmental burdens in industrial region. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of vertical mixing in oscillatory vegetated flows

Science.gov (United States)

Abdolahpour, M.; Ghisalberti, M.; Lavery, P.; McMahon, K.

2016-02-01

Seagrass meadows are primary producers that provide important ecosystem services, such as improved water quality, sediment stabilisation and trapping and recycling of nutrients. Most of these ecological services are strongly influenced by the vertical exchange of water across the canopy-water interface. That is, vertical mixing is the main hydrodynamic process governing the large-scale ecological and environmental impact of seagrass meadows. The majority of studies into mixing in vegetated flows have focused on steady flow environments whereas many coastal canopies are subjected to oscillatory flows driven by surface waves. It is known that the rate of mass transfer will vary greatly between unidirectional and oscillatory flows, necessitating a specific investigation of mixing in oscillatory canopy flows. In this study, we conducted an extensive laboratory investigation to characterise the rate of vertical mixing through a vertical turbulent diffusivity (Dt,z). This has been done through gauging the evolution of vertical profiles of concentration (C) of a dye sheet injected into a wave-canopy flow. Instantaneous measurement of the variance of the vertical concentration distribution ( allowed the estimation of a vertical turbulent diffusivity (). Two types of model canopies, rigid and flexible, with identical heights and frontal areas, were subjected to a wide and realistic range of wave height and period. The results showed two important mechanisms that dominate vertical mixing under different conditions: a shear layer that forms at the top of the canopy and wake turbulence generated by the stems. By allowing a coupled contribution of wake and shear layer mixing, we present a relationship that can be used to predict the rate of vertical mixing in coastal canopies. The results further showed that the rate of vertical mixing within flexible vegetation was always lower than the corresponding rigid canopy, confirming the impact of plant flexibility on canopy

Seasonal evolution of the nutrient pattern on Biscay Bay continental shelf over the years 1999-2000

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Sophie Loyer

2006-03-01

Full Text Available The French Atlantic shelf is subjected to strong anthropic influences (urban, industrial and agricultural discharges of two main rivers (Loire and Gironde. The extension and consequences of these continental loadings for the nutrient and chlorophyll distribution have never been studied before on the Bay of Biscay continental shelf as a whole. We present the first synoptic view of the nutrient distribution and evolution on the French Atlantic shelf. Nutrient concentrations of the surface layer were studied during four cruises in April, June, September 1999 and March 2000. Until June, the freshwater inputs induce a nitrate gradient from river mouths to offshore waters in the vicinity of the 100 m isobath. The Redfield’s ratio study highlights the nitrate excess in river loadings. The early spring situation is characterised by high N:P ratios in front of the two estuaries and by a potential Si-limitation in the northern part. Nitrate removal continues in spite of the P-limitation and the increase in silicate concentrations during summer supposes high regeneration processes. At the end of summer, the water column is thermally stratified and the surface mixed layer is totally depleted in nitrate.

Vertical circulation and thermospheric composition: a modelling study

OpenAIRE

H. Rishbeth; I. C. F. Müller-Wodarg; I. C. F. Müller-Wodarg

1999-01-01

The coupled thermosphere-ionosphere-plasmasphere model CTIP is used to study the global three-dimensional circulation and its effect on neutral composition in the midlatitude F-layer. At equinox, the vertical air motion is basically up by day, down by night, and the atomic oxygen/molecular nitrogen [O/N2] concentration ratio is symmetrical about the equator. At solstice there is a summer-to-winter flow of air, with downwelling at subauroral latitudes in winter that produc...

Health hazards and heavy metals accumulation by summer squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) cultivated in contaminated soils.

Science.gov (United States)

Galal, Tarek M

2016-07-01

The present study was carried out to investigate the heavy metal concentration accumulated by summer squash cultivated in contaminated soil and their health hazards for public consumers at south Cairo Province, Egypt. Soil and plants were sampled from contaminated and reference farms, using 1 m(2) quadrats, for biomass estimation and nutrient analysis. The daily intake of metals (DIM) and health risk index (HRI) were estimated. Significant differences in soil variables (except As) between contaminated and reference sites were recognized. Summer squash showed remarkable reduction in fresh and dry biomass, fruit production, and photosynthetic pigments under pollution stress. The inorganic and organic nutrients in the aboveground and belowground parts showed significant reduction in contaminated site. In addition, higher concentrations of heavy metals were accumulated in the edible parts and roots more than shoots. The bioaccumulation factor of summer squash for investigated metals was greater than 1, while the translocation factor did not exceed unity in both contaminated and reference sites. The DIM for all investigated metals in the reference site and in the contaminated site (except Fe and Mn) did not exceed 1 in both adults and children. However, HRI of Ni and Mn in the reference site and Pb, Cd, Cu, Ni, Fe, Mn, and Zn in the contaminated one exceeded unity indicating great potential to pose health risk to the consumers. The author recommends that people living in the contaminated area should not eat large quantities of summer squash, so as to avoid excess accumulation of heavy metals in their bodies.

Influence of cross-shelf water transport on nutrients and phytoplankton in the East China Sea: a model study

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L. Zhao

2011-01-01

Full Text Available A three dimensional coupled biophysical model was used to examine the supply of oceanic nutrients to the shelf of the East China Sea (ECS and its role in primary production over the shelf. The model consisted of two parts: the hydrodynamic module was based on a nested model with a horizontal resolution of 1/18 degree, whereas the biological module was a lower trophic level ecosystem model including two types of phytoplankton, three elements of nutrients, and biogenic organic material. The model results suggested that seasonal variations occurred in the distribution of nutrients and chlorophyll a over the shelf of the ECS. After comparison with available observed nutrients and chlorophyll a data, the model results were used to calculate volume and nutrients fluxes across the shelf break. The annual mean total fluxes were 1.53 Sv for volume, 9.4 kmol s⁻¹ for DIN, 0.7 kmol s⁻¹ for DIP, and 18.2 kmol s⁻¹ for silicate. Two areas, northeast of Taiwan and southwest of Kyushu, were found to be major source regions of oceanic nutrients to the shelf. Although the onshore fluxes of nutrients and volume both had apparent seasonal variations, the seasonal variation of the onshore nutrient flux did not exactly follow that of the onshore volume flux. Additional calculations in which the concentration of nutrients in Kuroshio water was artificially increased suggested that the oceanic nutrients were distributed in the bottom layer from the shelf break to the region offshore of the Changjiang estuary from spring to summer and appeared in the surface layer from autumn to winter. The calculations also implied that the supply of oceanic nutrients to the shelf can change the consumption of pre-existing nutrients from rivers. The response of primary production over the shelf to the oceanic nutrients was confirmed not only in the surface layer (mainly at the outer shelf and shelf break in winter and in the region

Mountain-climbing bears protect cherry species from global warming through vertical seed dispersal.

Science.gov (United States)

Naoe, Shoji; Tayasu, Ichiro; Sakai, Yoichiro; Masaki, Takashi; Kobayashi, Kazuki; Nakajima, Akiko; Sato, Yoshikazu; Yamazaki, Koji; Kiyokawa, Hiroki; Koike, Shinsuke

2016-04-25

In a warming climate, temperature-sensitive plants must move toward colder areas, that is, higher latitude or altitude, by seed dispersal [1]. Considering that the temperature drop with increasing altitude (-0.65°C per 100 m altitude) is one hundred to a thousand times larger than that of the equivalent latitudinal distance [2], vertical seed dispersal is probably a key process for plant escape from warming temperatures. In fact, plant geographical distributions are tracking global warming altitudinally rather than latitudinally, and the extent of tracking is considered to be large in plants with better-dispersed traits (e.g., lighter seeds in wind-dispersed plants) [1]. However, no study has evaluated vertical seed dispersal itself due to technical difficulty or high cost. Here, we show using a stable oxygen isotope that black bears disperse seeds of wild cherry over several hundred meters vertically, and that the dispersal direction is heavily biased towards the mountain tops. Mountain climbing by bears following spring-to-summer plant phenology is likely the cause of this biased seed dispersal. These results suggest that spring- and summer-fruiting plants dispersed by animals may have high potential to escape global warming. Our results also indicate that the direction of vertical seed dispersal can be unexpectedly biased, and highlight the importance of considering seed dispersal direction to understand plant responses to past and future climate change. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relationship of boreal summer 10-20-day and 30-60-day intraseasonal oscillation intensity over the tropical western North Pacific to tropical Indo-Pacific SST

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Renguang; Cao, Xi

2017-06-01

The present study contrasts interannual variations in the intensity of boreal summer 10-20-day and 30-60-day intraseasonal oscillations (ISOs) over the tropical western North Pacific and their factors. A pronounced difference is found in the relationship of the two ISOs to El Niño-Southern Oscillation. The 10-20-day ISO intensity is enhanced during El Niño developing summer, whereas the 30-60-day ISO intensity is enhanced during La Niña decaying summer. The above different relationship is interpreted as follows. The equatorial central and eastern Pacific SST anomalies modify vertical wind shear, lower-level moisture, and vertical motion in a southeast-northwest oriented band from the equatorial western Pacific to the tropical western North Pacific where the 10-20-day ISOs originate and propagate. These background field changes modulate the amplitude of 10-20-day ISOs. Preceding equatorial central and eastern Pacific SST anomalies induce SST anomalies in the North Indian Ocean in summer, which in turn modify vertical wind shear and vertical motion over the tropical western North Pacific. The modified background fields influence the amplitude of the 30-60-day ISOs when they reach the tropical western North Pacific from the equatorial region. A feedback of ISO intensity on local SST change is identified in the tropical western North Pacific likely due to a net effect of ISOs on surface heat flux anomalies. This feedback is more prominent from the 10-20-day than the 30-60-day ISO intensity change.

Vertical circulation and thermospheric composition: a modelling study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Rishbeth

Full Text Available The coupled thermosphere-ionosphere-plasmasphere model CTIP is used to study the global three-dimensional circulation and its effect on neutral composition in the midlatitude F-layer. At equinox, the vertical air motion is basically up by day, down by night, and the atomic oxygen/molecular nitrogen [O/N₂] concentration ratio is symmetrical about the equator. At solstice there is a summer-to-winter flow of air, with downwelling at subauroral latitudes in winter that produces regions of large [O/N₂] ratio. Because the thermospheric circulation is influenced by the high-latitude energy inputs, which are related to the geometry of the Earth's magnetic field, the latitude of the downwelling regions varies with longitude. The downwelling regions give rise to large F2-layer electron densities when they are sunlit, but not when they are in darkness, with implications for the distribution of seasonal and semiannual variations of the F2-layer. It is also found that the vertical distributions of O and N₂ may depart appreciably from diffusive equilibrium at heights up to about 160 km, especially in the summer hemisphere where there is strong upwelling.

Atmospheric composition and structure (thermosphere · composition and chemistry · Ionosphere (ionosphere · atmosphere interactions

SEASONAL VARIABILITY OF SELECTED NUTRIENTS IN THE WATERS OF LAKES NIEPRUSZEWSKIE, PAMIATKOWSKIE AND STRYKOWSKIE

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Anna Zbierska

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the evaluation of seasonal and long-term changes in selected nutrients of three lakes of the Poznań Lakeland. The lakes were selected due to the high risk of pollution from agricultural and residential areas. Water samples were taken in 6 control points in the spring, summer and autumn, from 2004 to 2014. Trophic status of the lakes was evaluated based on the concentration of nutrients (nitrates, nitrites, ammonium, nitrogen and phosphorus and indicators of eutrophication. Studies have shown that the concentration of nutrients varied greatly both in individual years and seasons of the analyzed decades, especially in Lakes Niepruszewskie and Pamiątkowskie. The main problem is the high concentration of nitrates. In general, it showed an upward trend until 2013, especially in the spring. This may indicate that actions restricting runoff pollution from agricultural sources have not been fully effective. On the other hand, a marked downward trend in the concentrations of NH4 over the years from 2004 to 2014, especially after 2007, indicates a gradual improvement of wastewater management. Moreover, seasonal variation in NH4 concentrations differed from those of NO3 and NO2. The highest values were reported in the autumn season, the lowest in the summer. Concentrations of nutrients and eutrophication indexes reached high values in all analysed lakes, indicating a eutrophic or hypertrophic state of the lakes. The high value of the N:P ratio indicates that the lakes had a huge surplus of nitrogen, and phosphorus is a productivity limiting factor.

Seasonal changes in partial, reverse diel vertical migrations of cisco Coregonus artedi.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahrenstorff, T D; Hrabik, T R

2016-09-01

The objectives of this study were to (1) document changes in partial, reverse diel vertical migrations (DVM) patterns of cisco Coregonus artedi in Ten Mile Lake, MN, U.S.A., throughout the year and (2) evaluate the mechanisms that may cause shifts in migration behaviour. Results indicated that C. artedi vertical distributions remained deep in the water column during the day and night of the spring and autumn, which was related to a low risk, low reward strategy. During summer, a partial migration occurred where a portion of the population remained deeper according to the low risk, low reward strategy, while the other portion performed a more extensive high risk, high reward reverse DVM. In winter, C. artedi did not migrate because there were only low risk, low reward conditions present at all depths. The extensive partial, reverse DVM during summer probably increased the growth potential of C. artedi, helping individuals survive in a lake with low zooplankton prey resources. © 2016 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Characteristic of Soil Nutrients Loss in Beiyunhe Reservoir Under the Simulated Rainfall

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LIU Cao

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Field nutrient loss from soil became the major factor of the water pollution control in countryside in China. Beiyunhe reservoir is located in semiarid zone, where field nutrient loss distributed in summer. To assess the flied nutrient loss in Beiyunhe reservoir, we conducted experiments to study the characteristic of soil nutrients loss by analysis of the content of runoff water, soil nutrients and runoff water sediment under simulated rainfall. The results showed that the runoff happened in the rainstorm. In runoff water, the content of TN was 4.7~11.3 mg·L-1, ammonia nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen accounted for 44.51% of TN; the content of P was 0.66~1.35 mg·L-1, water soluble phosphorus accounted for 54.08% of TP. And the main loss of nutrients was in the surface soil, the loss of TN, NH4+-N, NO3--N, TP and DP were 29.79%, 52.09%, 10.21%, 16.48% and 5.27%, respectively. However, the most of field nutrient loss were in runoff sediment, the content of TN and TP were 0.66~1.27 mg·g-1 and 14.73~20 mg·g-1 in sediment, and TN and TP account for 82.28% and 99.89% of total loss of nutrient. After the rainstorm, the macro-aggregates were reduced 8.8%, and the micro-aggregates increased 9.5%.

IASI carbon monoxide validation over the Arctic during POLARCAT spring and summer campaigns

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M. Pommier

2010-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we provide a detailed comparison between carbon monoxide (CO data measured by the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI/MetOp and aircraft observations over the Arctic. The CO measurements were obtained during North American (NASA ARCTAS and NOAA ARCPAC and European campaigns (POLARCAT-France, POLARCAT-GRACE and YAK-AEROSIB as part of the International Polar Year (IPY POLARCAT activity in spring and summer 2008. During the campaigns different air masses were sampled including clean air, polluted plumes originating from anthropogenic sources in Europe, Asia and North America, and forest fire plumes originating from Siberia and Canada. The paper illustrates that CO-rich plumes following different transport pathways were well captured by the IASI instrument, in particular due to the high spatial coverage of IASI. The comparison between IASI CO total columns, 0–5 km partial columns and profiles with collocated aircraft data was achieved by taking into account the different sensitivity and geometry of the sounding instruments. A detailed analysis is provided and the agreement is discussed in terms of information content and surface properties at the location of the observations. For profiles, the data were found to be in good agreement in spring with differences lower than 17%, whereas in summer the difference can reach 20% for IASI profiles below 8 km for polluted cases. For total columns the correlation coefficients ranged from 0.15 to 0.74 (from 0.47 to 0.77 for partial columns in spring and from 0.26 to 0.84 (from 0.66 to 0.88 for partial columns in summer. A better agreement is seen over the sea in spring (0.73 for total column and 0.78 for partial column and over the land in summer (0.69 for total columns and 0.81 for partial columns. The IASI vertical sensitivity was better over land than over sea, and better over land than over sea ice and snow allowing a higher potential to detect CO vertical distribution during

Vertically-resolved particle size distribution within and above the mixing layer over the Milan metropolitan area

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L. Ferrero

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Vertical aerosol profiles were directly measured over the city of Milan during three years (2005–2008 of field campaigns. An optical particle counter, a portable meteorological station and a miniaturized cascade impactor were deployed on a tethered balloon. More than 300 vertical profiles were measured, both in winter and summer, mainly in conditions of clear, dry skies.

The mixing height was determined from the observed vertical aerosol concentration gradient, and from potential temperature and relative humidity profiles. Results show that inter-consistent mixing heights can be retrieved highlighting good correlations between particle dispersion in the atmosphere and meteorological parameters. Mixing height growth speed was calculated for both winter and summer showing the low potential atmospheric dispersion in winter.

Aerosol number size distribution and chemical composition profiles allowed us to investigate particle behaviour along height. Aerosol measurements showed changes in size distribution according to mixing height. Coarse particle profiles (d_p>1.6 μm were distributed differently than the fine ones (d_p<1.6 μm were, at different heights of the mixing layer. The sedimentation process influenced the coarse particle profiles, and led to a reduction in mean particle diameter for those particles observed by comparing data above the mixing height with ground data (−14.9±0.6% in winter and −10.7±1.0% in summer. Conversely, the mean particle diameter of fine particles increased above the mixing height under stable atmospheric conditions; the average increase, observed by comparing data above the mixing height with ground data, was +2.1±0.1% in winter and +3.9±0.3% in summer. A hierarchical statistical model was created to describe the changes in the size distribution of fine particles along height. The proposed model can be used to estimate the typical vertical

Phytomass production and nutrient accumulation by green manure species

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José Carlos Soares Mangaravite

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Green manuring is recognized as a viable alternative to improve nutrient cycling in soils. The aim of this study was to evaluate the phytomass production and nutrient accumulation in shoots of the summer green manures jack bean [Canavalia ensiformis (L. DC.], dwarf pigeon pea (Cajanus cajanvar var. Flavus DC., dwarf mucuna [Mucuna deeringiana (Bort Merr] and sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L., under nitrogen fertilization and/or inoculation with N-fixing bacteria. A split plot design was arranged with the four Fabaceae species as main plots and nitrogen fertilization (with and without and inoculation with diazotrophic bacteria (with and without as the subplots, in a 2² factorial. The experiment was arranged as a randomized complete block design with four replications. In the conditions of this trial, the sunn hemp had the highest production of shoot phytomass (12.4 Mg ha-1 and nutrient accumulation, while the dwarf mucuna had the lowest production of shoot phytomass (3.9 Mg ha-1 and nutrient accumulation. The results showed no effect of nitrogen fertilization or inoculation with N-fixing bacteria on the production of shoot phytomass and nutrient accumulation, except for inoculation without nitrogen fertilization, resulting in greater P accumulation (p <0.05 in the sunn hemp and greater Zn and Mn accumulation in the dwarf mucuna. These findings indicate that N fertilization or inoculation with N2-fixing bacteria for Fabaceae are low efficiency practices in the edaphoclimatic conditions of this study.

Transport of biologically important nutrients by wind in an eroding cold desert

Science.gov (United States)

Sankey, Joel B.; Germino, Matthew J.; Benner, Shawn G.; Glenn, Nancy F.; Hoover, Amber N.

2012-01-01

Wind erosion following fire is an important landscape process that can result in the redistribution of ecologically important soil resources. In this study we evaluated the potential for a fire patch in a desert shrubland to serve as a source of biologically important nutrients to the adjacent, downwind, unburned ecosystem. We analyzed nutrient concentrations (P, K, Ca, Mg, Cu, Fe, Mn, Al) in wind-transported sediments, and soils from burned and adjacent unburned surfaces, collected during the first to second growing seasons after a wildfire that burned in 2007 in Idaho, USA in sagebrush steppe; a type of cold desert shrubland. We also evaluated the timing of potential wind erosion events and weather conditions that might have contributed to nutrient availability in downwind shrubland. Findings indicated that post-fire wind erosion resulted in an important, but transient, addition of nutrients on the downwind shrubland. Aeolian sediments from the burned area were enriched relative to both the up- and down-wind soil and indicated the potential for a fertilization effect through the deposition of the nutrient-enriched sediment during the first, but not second, summer after wildfire. Weather conditions that could have produced nutrient transport events might have provided increased soil moisture necessary to make nutrients accessible for plants in the desert environment. Wind transport of nutrients following fire is likely important in the sagebrush steppe as it could contribute to pulses of resource availability that might, for example, affect plant species differently depending on their phenology, and nutrient- and water-use requirements.

Wind-induced flow velocity effects on nutrient concentrations at Eastern Bay of Lake Taihu, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Jalil, Abdul; Li, Yiping; Du, Wei; Wang, Jianwei; Gao, Xiaomeng; Wang, Wencai; Acharya, Kumud

2017-07-01

Shallow lakes are highly sensitive to respond internal nutrient loading due to wind-induced flow velocity effects. Wind-induced flow velocity effects on nutrient suspension were investigated at a long narrow bay of large shallow Lake Taihu, the third largest freshwater lake in China. Wind-induced reverse/compensation flow and consistent flow field probabilities at vertical column of the water were measured. The probabilities between the wind field and the flow velocities provided a strong correlation at the surface (80.6%) and the bottom (65.1%) layers of water profile. Vertical flow velocity profile analysis provided the evidence of delay response time to wind field at the bottom layer of lake water. Strong wind field generated by the west (W) and west-north-west (WNW) winds produced displaced water movements in opposite directions to the prevailing flow field. An exponential correlation was observed between the current velocities of the surface and the bottom layers while considering wind speed as a control factor. A linear model was developed to correlate the wind field-induced flow velocity impacts on nutrient concentration at the surface and bottom layers. Results showed that dominant wind directions (ENE, E, and ESE) had a maximum nutrient resuspension contribution (nutrient resuspension potential) of 34.7 and 43.6% at the surface and the bottom profile layers, respectively. Total suspended solids (TSS), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) average concentrations were 6.38, 1.5, and 0.03 mg/L during our field experiment at Eastern Bay of Lake Taihu. Overall, wind-induced low-to-moderate hydrodynamic disturbances contributed more in nutrient resuspension at Eastern Bay of Lake Taihu. The present study can be used to understand the linkage between wind-induced flow velocities and nutrient concentrations for shallow lakes (with uniform morphology and deep margins) water quality management and to develop further models.

Importance of climate change-physical forcing on the increase of cyanobacterial blooms in a small, stratified lake

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Dolores Planas

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The community structure of planktonic cyanobacteria was studied in a dimictic lake in which recurrent summer surface algal blooms have frequently occurred since the beginning of this millennium. In eutrophic-hypereutrophic lakes, epilimnetic cyanobacterial blooms are promoted by increased ambient temperatures and water column thermal stability, which favour the vertical migration of buoyancy-regulating cyanobacteria. Here we propose that intensified external energy (wind that alters thermocline stability could explain the occurence of heavy blooms in the surface of lakes with low external nutrient loading. Specifically, we hypothesized that: i in small stratified lakes with low external nutrient sources, cyanobacterial growth primarily occurs near the lake bottom, where phosphorus is more abundant and light is available; ii we additionally hypothesized that turbulence induced by strong winds increases the amplitude and energy of metalimnetic internal waves and entrains meta- and hypolimnetic water,  rich in nutrients and cyanobacteria, into the epilimnion. The study was done in a small lake (45 Ha, maximum and mean depth 7.2 m and 4.3 m, respectively with mean epilimnetic dissolved phosphorus concentrations ≈ 4 μg L-1 and chlorophyll α ≈ 8 μg L-1.  Vertical temperature profiles during the open season were continuously registered using thermistors.  Weekly vertical profiles of light transmission, phytoplankton distribution and water chemistry were also taken. On one occasion, these variables were measured throughout a continuous 24 h cycle. Results demonstrated that summer cyanobacterial blooms were dominated by Plankthotrix spp., which began their cycle in late spring at the bottom of the lake, and grew to form dense metalimnetic biomass peaks. Time series analysis of isotherms and the Lake number indicated that internal metalimnetic waves (seiches were present through the summer. During the diel sampling cycle, we found that medium to

Vertically and Horizontally Mounted Wind Mills : Wind Energy Production in Tampere University of Applied Sciences

OpenAIRE

Evdokimova, Ekaterina

2013-01-01

The purpose of this thesis was to gather information about vertical and horizontal wind mills and to complete a research on wind power production by wind mills which were installed in Tampere University of Applied Sciences. The horizontally mounted wind mill Windspot 3.5 and vertically mounted wind mill Cypress were installed in summer 2011 but they started functioning and supplying energy only during 2012. In the theoretical part of this thesis wind speed and wind power production is dis...

Trophic cascades of bottom-up and top-down forcing on nutrients and plankton in the Kattegat, evaluated by modelling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Marcell Elo; Maar, Marie; Larsen, Janus

2017-01-01

The aim of the study was to investigate the relative importance of bottom-up and top-down forcing on trophic cascades in the pelagic food-web and the implications for water quality indicators (summer phytoplankton biomass and winter nutrients) in relation to management. The 3D ecological model....... On annual basis, the system was more bottom-up than top-down controlled. Microzooplankton was found to play an important role in the pelagic food web as mediator of nutrient and energy fluxes. This study demonstrated that the best scenario for improved water quality was a combined reduction in nutrient...

Patterns of North African dust transport over the Atlantic: winter vs. summer, based on CALIPSO first year data

OpenAIRE

Y. Ben-Ami; I. Koren; O. Altaratz

2009-01-01

One of the most important factors that determine the transported dust effect on the atmosphere is its vertical distribution. In this study the vertical structure of North African dust and stratiform low clouds is analyzed over the Atlantic Ocean for the 2006–2007 boreal winter (December–February) and boreal summer of 2006 (June–August). By using the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) backscatter measurements over the dust routes, we describe the differ...

Nutrients fluxes from groundwater discharge into Mangueira Lagoon (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil); Fluxos de nutrientes associados as descargas de agua subterranea para a Lagoa Mangueira (Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andrade, Carlos F.F.; Niencheski, Luis F.H.; Attisano, Karina K.; Milani, Marcio R., E-mail: pgofcfa@furg.br [Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Campus Carreiros, Rio Grande, RS (Brazil); Santos, Isaac R. [Department of Oceanography, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL (United States); Milani, Idel C. [Departamento de Engenharia Hidrica, Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnologico, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Campus Porto, Pelotas, RS (Brazil)

2012-07-01

This study assesses the importance of groundwater discharge to dissolved nutrient levels in Mangueira Lagoon. A transect of an irrigation canal in the margin of Lagoon demonstrated a strong geochemical gradient due to high groundwater inputs in this area. Using {sup 222}Rn as a quantitative groundwater tracer, we observed that the flux of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), silicate and phosphate (1178 and 1977; 26190 and 35652; 167 and 188 mol d{sup -1} for winter and summer, respectively) can continually supply/sustain primary production. The irrigation canals act as an artificial underground tributary and represent a new source of nutrients to coastal lagoons. (author)

Microbial activity during a coastal phytoplankton bloom on the Western Antarctic Peninsula in late summer.

Science.gov (United States)

Alcamán-Arias, María E; Farías, Laura; Verdugo, Josefa; Alarcón-Schumacher, Tomás; Díez, Beatriz

2018-05-01

Phytoplankton biomass during the austral summer is influenced by freezing and melting cycles as well as oceanographic processes that enable nutrient redistribution in the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). Microbial functional capabilities, metagenomic and metatranscriptomic activities as well as inorganic 13C- and 15N-assimilation rates were studied in the surface waters of Chile Bay during two contrasting summer periods in 2014. Concentrations of Chlorophyll a (Chla) varied from 0.3 mg m-3 in February to a maximum of 2.5 mg m-3 in March, together with a decrease in nutrients; however, nutrients were never depleted. The microbial community composition remained similar throughout both sampling periods; however, microbial abundance and activity changed with Chla levels. An increased biomass of Bacillariophyta, Haptophyceae and Cryptophyceae was observed along with night-grazing activity of Dinophyceae and ciliates (Alveolates). During high Chla conditions, HCO3- uptake rates during daytime incubations increased 5-fold (>2516 nmol C L-1 d-1), and increased photosynthetic transcript numbers that were mainly associated with cryptophytes; meanwhile night time NO3- (>706 nmol N L-1 d-1) and NH4+ (41.7 nmol N L-1 d-1) uptake rates were 2- and 3-fold higher, respectively, due to activity from Alpha-/Gammaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes (Flavobacteriia). Due to a projected acceleration in climate change in the WAP, this information is valuable for predicting the composition and functional changes in Antarctic microbial communities.

Vertical patterns of ichthyoplankton at the interface between a temperate estuary and adjacent coastal waters: Seasonal relation to diel and tidal cycles

Science.gov (United States)

Primo, Ana Lígia; Azeiteiro, Ulisses M.; Marques, Sónia C.; Ré, Pedro; Pardal, Miguel A.

2012-07-01

Vertical distribution and migration pattern of ichthyoplankton assemblage in the Mondego estuary were investigated in relation to diel and tidal cycle. Summer and winter communities were sampled, at surface and bottom, over a diel cycle during spring and neap tides at a fixed station at the mouth of the estuary. Summer presented higher larvae density mainly of Pomatoschistus spp., Gobius niger and Parablennius pilicornis. Main species in winter assemblages were Pomatoschistus spp. and Sardina pilchardus. There were no differences between depth stratums across diel or tide cycle. Nevertheless, main species larval densities showed significant periodic variation associated with tide (M2) and diel (K1) cycles presenting generally, higher density at night and around low tide. Conversely, vertical patterns observed could not be related with diel or tidal cycle. Tough, main species presented some extent of vertical migration. Vertical patterns observed appear to be related to seasonal stratification and river flow, increasing amplitude during periods of less stratification and lower water currents. Present study provides a better understanding of ichthyoplankton vertical movement patterns and of small scale dynamics at the interface of two coastal European systems.

Next Generation Summer School

Science.gov (United States)

Eugenia, Marcu

2013-04-01

On 21.06.2010 the "Next Generation" Summer School has opened the doors for its first students. They were introduced in the astronomy world by astronomical observations, astronomy and radio-astronomy lectures, laboratory projects meant to initiate them into modern radio astronomy and radio communications. The didactic programme was structure as fallowing: 1) Astronomical elements from the visible spectrum (lectures + practical projects) 2) Radio astronomy elements (lectures + practical projects) 3) Radio communication base (didactic- recreative games) The students and professors accommodation was at the Agroturistic Pension "Popasul Iancului" situated at 800m from the Marisel Observatory. First day (summer solstice day) began with a practical activity: determination of the meridian by measurements of the shadow (the direction of one vertical alignment, when it has the smallest length). The experiment is very instructive and interesting because combines notions of physics, spatial geometry and basic astronomy elements. Next day the activities took place in four stages: the students processed the experimental data obtained on first day (on sheets of millimetre paper they represented the length of the shadow alignments according the time), each team realised its own sun quadrant, point were given considering the design and functionality of these quadrant, the four teams had to mimic important constellations on carton boards with phosphorescent sticky stars and the students, accompanied by the professors took a hiking trip to the surroundings, marking the interest point coordinates, using a GPS to establish the geographical coronations and at the end of the day the students realised a small map of central Marisel area based on the GPS data. On the third day, the students were introduced to basic notions of radio astronomy, the principal categories of artificial Earth satellites: low orbit satellites (LEO), Medium orbit satellites (MEO) and geostationary satellites (GEO

Longitudinal stress fracture: patterns of edema and the importance of the nutrient foramen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Craig, Joseph G.; Widman, David; Holsbeeck, Marnix van [Department of Radiology, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI 48202 (United States)

2003-01-01

We reviewed the MR appearances of six cases of longitudinal stress fracture of the lower extremity.Results. One fracture was in the femur and five were in the tibia. Four of the tibial fractures showed edema starting in the mid-tibia at the level of the nutrient foramen with the fracture on the anteromedial cortex. The other tibial fracture started at the nutrient foramen. Three fractures (two tibial and the femur fracture) showed eccentric marrow edema; all fractures showed either eccentric periosteal reaction or soft tissue edema.Conclusion. Primary diagnosis of longitudinal stress fracture is made by finding a vertical cleft on one or more axial images. Secondary signs of position of the nutrient foramen and patterns of edema may be useful. (orig.)

Nutrient pumping by submesoscale circulations in the mauritanian upwelling system

Science.gov (United States)

Hosegood, P. J.; Nightingale, P. D.; Rees, A. P.; Widdicombe, C. E.; Woodward, E. M. S.; Clark, D. R.; Torres, R. J.

2017-12-01

Observations made within a cold filament in the Mauritanian upwelling system demonstrate that intense submesoscale circulations at the peripheral edges of the filament are likely responsible for anomalously high levels of observed primary productivity by resupplying nutrients to the euphotic zone. Measurements made on the shelf within the recently upwelled water reveal that primary production (PP) of 8.2 gC/m-2 day-1 was supported by nitrate concentrations (NC) of 8 mmol m-3. Towards the front that defined the edge of the filament containing the upwelled water as it was transported offshore, PP dropped to 1.6 gC m-2 day-1 whilst NC dropped to 5.5 mmol m-3. Thus, whilst the observed nutrients on the shelf accounted for 90% of new production, this value dropped to ∼60% near the filament's front after accounting for vertical turbulent fluxes and Ekman pumping. We demonstrate that the N15 was likely to have been supplied at the front by submesoscale circulations that were directly measured as intense vertical velocities ⩾100 m day-1 by a drifting acoustic Doppler current profiler that crossed a submesoscale surface temperature front. At the same time, a recently released tracer was subducted out of the mixed layer within 24 h of release, providing direct evidence that the frontal circulations were capable of accessing the reservoir of nutrients beneath the pycnocline. The susceptibility of the filament edge to submesoscale instabilities was demonstrated by O(1) Rossby numbers at horizontal scales of 1-10 km. The frontal circulations are consistent with instabilities arising from a wind-driven nonlinear Ekman buoyancy flux generated by the persistent northerly wind stress that has a down-front component at the northern edge of the inshore section of the filament. The prevalence of submesoscale instabilities and their associated vertical circulations are proposed to be a key mechanism operating at sub-grid scales and sustaining new production throughout the upwelling

Zooplankton data: Vertical distributions of zooplankton in the Norweigian and Greenland Seas during summer, 1989

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lane, P.V.Z.; Smith, S.L.; Schwarting, E.M.

1993-08-01

Recent studies of zooplankton populations in the Greenland Sea have focused on processes at the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) and the areas immediately adjacent to it under the ice and in open water. These studies have shown a relatively short period of intense secondary productivity which is closely linked temporally and spatially to phytoplankton blooms occurring near the ice edge in spring and early summer. During the summer of 1989 we participated in a project focusing on benthic and water column processes in the basins of the Norwegian and Greenland Seas. This study allowed us to compare biological processes at the MIZ with those occurring in the open waters of the Greenland Sea, and to compare processes at both of these locations with those in the Norwegian Sea. The data presented in this report are the results of zooplankton net tows covering the upper 1000 meters of the water column over the Norwegian Sea basin and the Greenland Sea basin, and the upper 500 meters of open water adjacent to the MIZ in the Greenland Sea. Sampling was conducted between 12 and 29 July 1989.

Simulated impacts of land cover change on summer climate in the Tibetan Plateau

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Qian; Xue Yongkang

2010-01-01

The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is a key region of land-atmosphere interactions with severe eco-environment degradation. This study uses an atmospheric general circulation model, NCEP GCM/SSiB, to present the major TP summer climate features for six selected ENSO years and preliminarily assess the possible impact of land cover change on the summer circulation over the TP. Compared to Reanalysis II data, the GCM using satellite derived vegetation properties generally reproduces the main 6-year-mean TP summer circulation features despite some discrepancies in intensity and geographic locations of some climate features. Two existing vegetation maps with very different land cover conditions over the TP, one with bare ground and one with vegetation cover, derived from satellite derived data, are tested and produce clearer climate signals due to land cover change. It shows that land cover change from vegetated land to bare ground decreases the radiation absorbed by the surface and results in weaker surface thermal effects, which lead to lower atmospheric temperature, as well as weaker vertical ascending motion, low-layer cyclonic, upper level anticyclonic, and summer monsoon circulation. These changes in circulation cause a decrease in the precipitation in the southeastern TP.

Effects of ocean acidification, temperature and nutrient regimes on the appendicularian Oikopleura dioica: a mesocosm study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Troedsson, Christofer; Bouquet, Jean-Marie; Lobon, Carla M.

2012-01-01

, temperature and nutrient levels, consistent with hypotheses concerning gelatinous zooplankton in future oceans. This suggests appendicularians will play more important roles in marine pelagic communities and vertical carbon transport under projected ocean acidification and elevated temperature scenarios....

Improvement of red pepper yield and soil environment by summer catch aquatic crops in greenhouses

Science.gov (United States)

Du, X. F.; Wang, L. Z.; Peng, J.; Wang, G. L.; Guo, X. S.; Wen, T. G.; Gu, D. L.; Wang, W. Z.; Wu, C. W.

2016-08-01

To investigate effects of the rotation of summer catch crops on remediation retrogressed soils in continuous cropping, a field experiment was conducted. Rice, water spinach, or cress were selected as summer catch crops; bare fallow during summer fallow was used as the control group. Results showed that aquatic crops grown in summer fallow period could effectively reduce soil bulk density and pH, facilitate soil nutrient release, and improve soil physical and chemical properties compared with those grown in fallow period. Paddy-upland rotation could improve soil microbial members and increase bacterial and actinomycete populations; by contrast, paddy-upland rotation could reduce fungal populations and enhance bacterium-to-fungus ratio. Paddy-upland rotation could also actively promote activities of soil enzymes, such as urease, phosphatase, invertase, and catalase. The proposed paddy-upland rotation significantly affected the growth of red pepper; the yield and quality of the grown red pepper were enhanced. Summer catch crops, such as rice, water spinach, and cress significantly increased pepper yield in the following growing season by 15.4%, 10.2% and 14.0%, respectively, compared with those grown in fallow treatment. Therefore, the proposed paddy-upland crop rotation could be a useful method to alleviate continuous cropping problems involved in cultivating red pepper in greenhouses.

Trimodal distribution of ozone and water vapor in the UT/LS during boreal summer

Science.gov (United States)

Dunkerton, T. J.

2004-12-01

The relation of ozone and water vapor in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UT/LS) is strongly influenced by the off-equatorial Asian and North American monsoons in boreal summer. Both regions experience hydration, presumably as a result of deep convection. This behavior contrasts sharply with the apparent dehydrating influence of near-equatorial deep convection in boreal winter. There is also a striking difference in ozone between Asia and North America in boreal summer. Over Asia, ozone concentrations are low, evidently a result of ubiquitous deep convection and the vertical transport of ozone-poor air, while over North America, ozone concentrations are much higher. Since deep convection also occurs in the North American monsoon, it appears that the difference in ozone concentration between Asia and North America in boreal summer reflects a differing influence of the large-scale circulation in the two regions: specifically, (i) isolation of the Tibetan anticyclone versus (ii) the intrusion of filaments of ozone-rich air from the stratosphere over North America. During boreal summer, as in winter, near-equatorial concentrations of ozone and water vapor are low near the equator. The result of these geographical variations is a trimodal distribution of ozone and water-vapor correlation. Our talk reviews the observational evidence of this trimodal distribution and possible dynamical and microphysical causes, focusing primarily on the quality and possible sampling bias of satellite and aircraft measurements. A key issue is the ability of HALOE to sample areas of ubiquitous deep convection. Other issues include the vertical structure of tracer anomalies, isentropic stirring in the UT/LS, horizontal transport of biomass burning products lofted by deep convection, and connections to the moist phase of the tropical `tape recorder' signal in water vapor.

Zooplankton grazing in a eutrophic lake: implications of diel vertical migration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lampert, W.; Taylor, B.E.

1985-01-01

During summer and fall, depth profiles of zooplankton community grazing were determined in situ during day and night in the Schoehsee, a small eutrophic lake. Labeled algae of two different sizes were mixed with the natural suspension of phytoplankton in a grazing chamber. A small blue-green alga (Synechococcus, 1 μm) was labeled with 32 P; a larger green alga (Scenedesmus, 4-15 μm) was labeled with 14 C. During summer, grazing in the upper 5 m was negligible during day but strong at night. Hence, algae grow relatively unimpeded by grazing during daytime but are harvested at night. Vertical and diel differences in grazing rates disappeared when the vertical migration ceased in fall. Selectivity of grazing was controlled by the zooplankton species composition. Eudiaptomus showed a strong preference for Scenedesmus. Daphnia showed a slight preference for Scenedesmus, but Ceriodaphnia preferred Synechococcus. Cyclopoid copepodites did not ingest the small blue-green. Because Daphnia and Eudiaptomus were dominant, grazing rates on larger cells were usually higher than grazing rates on the small cells. Negative electivity indices for scenedesmus occurred only when the biomass of large crustaceans was extremely low (near the surface, during day). Zooplankton biomass was the main factor controlling both vertical and seasonal variations in grazing. Highest grazing rates (65%/d) were measured during fall when zooplankton abundance was high. Because differential losses can produce substantial errors in the results, it was necessary to process the samples on the boat immediately after collection, without preservation

Influence of Ocean Acidification on a Natural Winter-to-Summer Plankton Succession: First Insights from a Long-Term Mesocosm Study Draw Attention to Periods of Low Nutrient Concentrations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lennart T Bach

Full Text Available Every year, the oceans absorb about 30% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2 leading to a re-equilibration of the marine carbonate system and decreasing seawater pH. Today, there is increasing awareness that these changes-summarized by the term ocean acidification (OA-could differentially affect the competitive ability of marine organisms, thereby provoking a restructuring of marine ecosystems and biogeochemical element cycles. In winter 2013, we deployed ten pelagic mesocosms in the Gullmar Fjord at the Swedish west coast in order to study the effect of OA on plankton ecology and biogeochemistry under close to natural conditions. Five of the ten mesocosms were left unperturbed and served as controls (~380 μatm pCO2, whereas the others were enriched with CO2-saturated water to simulate realistic end-of-the-century carbonate chemistry conditions (~760 μatm pCO2. We ran the experiment for 113 days which allowed us to study the influence of high CO2 on an entire winter-to-summer plankton succession and to investigate the potential of some plankton organisms for evolutionary adaptation to OA in their natural environment. This paper is the first in a PLOS collection and provides a detailed overview on the experimental design, important events, and the key complexities of such a "long-term mesocosm" approach. Furthermore, we analyzed whether simulated end-of-the-century carbonate chemistry conditions could lead to a significant restructuring of the plankton community in the course of the succession. At the level of detail analyzed in this overview paper we found that CO2-induced differences in plankton community composition were non-detectable during most of the succession except for a period where a phytoplankton bloom was fueled by remineralized nutrients. These results indicate: (1 Long-term studies with pelagic ecosystems are necessary to uncover OA-sensitive stages of succession. (2 Plankton communities fueled by regenerated nutrients may be

Influence of Ocean Acidification on a Natural Winter-to-Summer Plankton Succession: First Insights from a Long-Term Mesocosm Study Draw Attention to Periods of Low Nutrient Concentrations

Science.gov (United States)

Taucher, Jan; Boxhammer, Tim; Ludwig, Andrea; Achterberg, Eric P.; Algueró-Muñiz, María; Anderson, Leif G.; Bellworthy, Jessica; Büdenbender, Jan; Czerny, Jan; Ericson, Ylva; Esposito, Mario; Fischer, Matthias; Haunost, Mathias; Hellemann, Dana; Horn, Henriette G.; Hornick, Thomas; Meyer, Jana; Sswat, Michael; Zark, Maren; Riebesell, Ulf

2016-01-01

Every year, the oceans absorb about 30% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) leading to a re-equilibration of the marine carbonate system and decreasing seawater pH. Today, there is increasing awareness that these changes–summarized by the term ocean acidification (OA)–could differentially affect the competitive ability of marine organisms, thereby provoking a restructuring of marine ecosystems and biogeochemical element cycles. In winter 2013, we deployed ten pelagic mesocosms in the Gullmar Fjord at the Swedish west coast in order to study the effect of OA on plankton ecology and biogeochemistry under close to natural conditions. Five of the ten mesocosms were left unperturbed and served as controls (~380 μatm pCO2), whereas the others were enriched with CO2-saturated water to simulate realistic end-of-the-century carbonate chemistry conditions (~760 μatm pCO2). We ran the experiment for 113 days which allowed us to study the influence of high CO2 on an entire winter-to-summer plankton succession and to investigate the potential of some plankton organisms for evolutionary adaptation to OA in their natural environment. This paper is the first in a PLOS collection and provides a detailed overview on the experimental design, important events, and the key complexities of such a “long-term mesocosm” approach. Furthermore, we analyzed whether simulated end-of-the-century carbonate chemistry conditions could lead to a significant restructuring of the plankton community in the course of the succession. At the level of detail analyzed in this overview paper we found that CO2-induced differences in plankton community composition were non-detectable during most of the succession except for a period where a phytoplankton bloom was fueled by remineralized nutrients. These results indicate: (1) Long-term studies with pelagic ecosystems are necessary to uncover OA-sensitive stages of succession. (2) Plankton communities fueled by regenerated nutrients may be more

Dynamics of sea-ice biogeochemistry in the coastal Antarctica during transition from summer to winter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suhas Shetye

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The seasonality of carbon dioxide partial pressure (pCO2, air-sea CO2 fluxes and associated environmental parameters were investigated in the Antarctic coastal waters. The in-situ survey was carried out from the austral summer till the onset of winter (January 2012, February 2010 and March 2009 in the Enderby Basin. Rapid decrease in pCO2 was evident under the sea-ice cover in January, when both water column and sea-ice algal activity resulted in the removal of nutrients and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC and increase in pH. The major highlight of this study is the shift in the dominant biogeochemical factors from summer to early winter. Nutrient limitation (low Si/N, sea-ice cover, low photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, deep mixed layer and high upwelling velocity contributed towards higher pCO2 during March (early winter. CO2 fluxes suggest that the Enderby Basin acts as a strong CO2 sink during January (−81 mmol m−2 d−1, however it acts as a weak sink of CO2 with −2.4 and −1.7 mmol m−2 d−1 during February and March, respectively. The present work, concludes that sea ice plays a dual role towards climate change, by decreasing sea surface pCO2 in summer and enhancing in early winter. Our observations emphasize the need to address seasonal sea-ice driven CO2 flux dynamics in assessing Antarctic contributions to the global oceanic CO2 budget.

Evaluation of drinks contribution to energy intake in summer and winter.

Science.gov (United States)

Malisova, Olga; Bountziouka, Vassiliki; Zampelas, Antonis; Kapsokefalou, Maria

2015-05-15

All drinks hydrate and most also provide nutrients and energy. Our objective was to evaluate the contribution of drinks to total energy intake in summer and winter. Data were obtained using the Water Balance Questionnaire (WBQ) from a sample of the general population in Athens, Greece (n = 984), 473 individuals (42 ± 18 years) in summer and 511 individuals (38 ± 20 years) in winter stratified by sex and age. The WBQ embeds a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire of 58 foods and the Short International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Data were analyzed for the contribution of drinks to total energy intake. In winter, total energy intake was 2082 ± 892 kcal/day; energy intake from drinks was 479 ± 286 kcal/day and energy expenditure 1860 ± 390 kcal/day. In summer, total energy intake was 1890 ± 894 kcal/day, energy intake from drinks 492 ± 499 kcal/day and energy expenditure 1830 ± 491 kcal/day. Energy intake from drinks in summer was higher than in winter (p drinks, milk, chocolate milk and alcoholic drinks contributed approximately 75% of energy from drinks. Fruit juice and sugar-sweetened drinks, including soft drinks and fruit juice based drinks, were consumed less frequently contributing up to 25% of drink energy intake. Drinks contribute approximately 1/4 of total energy intake depending on the energy content of the drink and frequency of consumption. Coffee, dairy and alcoholic drinks were the main energy contributors.

Vertical Distribution Characteristics of PM2.5 Observed by a Mobile Vehicle Lidar in Tianjin, China in 2016

Science.gov (United States)

Lyu, Lihui; Dong, Yunsheng; Zhang, Tianshu; Liu, Cheng; Liu, Wenqing; Xie, Zhouqing; Xiang, Yan; Zhang, Yi; Chen, Zhenyi; Fan, Guangqiang; Zhang, Leibo; Liu, Yang; Shi, Yuchen; Shu, Xiaowen

2018-02-01

We present mobile vehicle lidar observations in Tianjin, China during the spring, summer, and winter of 2016. Mobile observations were carried out along the city border road of Tianjin to obtain the vertical distribution characteristics of PM2.5. Hygroscopic growth was not considered since relative humidity was less than 60% during the observation experiments. PM2.5 profile was obtained with the linear regression equation between the particle extinction coefficient and PM2.5 mass concentration. In spring, the vertical distribution of PM2.5 exhibited a hierarchical structure. In addition to a layer of particles that gathered near the ground, a portion of particles floated at 0.6-2.5-km height. In summer and winter, the fine particles basically gathered below 1 km near the ground. In spring and summer, the concentration of fine particles in the south was higher than that in the north because of the influence of south wind. In winter, the distribution of fine particles was opposite to that measured during spring and summer. High concentrations of PM2.5 were observed in the rural areas of North Tianjin with a maximum of 350 μg m-3 on 13 December 2016. It is shown that industrial and ship emissions in spring and summer and coal combustion in winter were the major sources of fine particles that polluted Tianjin. The results provide insights into the mechanisms of haze formation and the effects of meteorological conditions during haze-fog pollution episodes in the Tianjin area.

Wind driven nutrient and subsurface chlorophyll-a enhancement in the Bay of La Paz, Gulf of California

Science.gov (United States)

Coria-Monter, Erik; Monreal-Gómez, María Adela; Salas de León, David Alberto; Durán-Campos, Elizabeth; Merino-Ibarra, Martín

2017-09-01

Nutrient and chlorophyll-a distributions in the Bay of La Paz, Gulf of California, Mexico were analyzed during the late spring of 2004 to assess their relations to hydrography and circulation patterns. The results show the presence of both Gulf of California Water and Subtropical Subsurface Water. Water circulation was dominated by wind stress driven cyclonic circulation along f / H contours (f is planetary vorticity and H is depth), and upwelling resulting from the divergence shows a vertical velocity of ∼0.4 m d-1. Nutrient concentrations were higher in the center of the cyclonic pattern, where a rise in the nutricline contributed nutrients to the euphotic layer as a result of Ekman pumping. The vertical section showed the presence of a chlorophyll-a maximum at the thermocline shoaling to a depth of only 12 m. Along the surface, two peaks of chlorophyll-a were observed, one at Boca Grande and another off San Juan de la Costa, associated with upwelling and mixing derived from current interactions with abrupt topographies. The chlorophyll-a maximum increased from 0.8 mg m-3 in the external part of the cyclonic pattern to 2.0 mg m-3 in its center. The vertically integrated chlorophyll-a concentrations followed a similar pattern, rising from 10 to 20 mg m-2 and reaching their highest values in the center of the cyclonic circulation pattern. A schematic model was developed to describe processes that occur in late spring: the wind stress driven cyclonic structure promotes upward nutrient flux, which in turn drives an enhancement of chlorophyll-a. Upwelling was found to be the main mechanism of fertilization responsible for the enhancement of productivity levels by means of nutrient transport into the euphotic zone during spring. Other chlorophyll enhancement areas point to the occurrence of additional fertilization processes that may derive from interactions between cyclonic circulation patterns and the topography off of San Juan de la Costa, where phosphate mining

Vertical profiles of aerosol and black carbon in the Arctic: a seasonal phenomenology along 2 years (2011–2012 of field campaigns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Ferrero

2016-10-01

Full Text Available We present results from a systematic study of vertical profiles of aerosol number size distribution and black carbon (BC concentrations conducted in the Arctic, over Ny-Ålesund (Svalbard. The campaign lasted 2 years (2011–2012 and resulted in 200 vertical profiles measured by means of a tethered balloon (up to 1200 m a.g.l. during the spring and summer seasons. In addition, chemical analysis of filter samples, aerosol size distribution and a full set of meteorological parameters were determined at ground. The collected experimental data allowed a classification of the vertical profiles into different typologies, which allowed us to describe the seasonal phenomenology of vertical aerosol properties in the Arctic. During spring, four main types of profiles were found and their behavior was related to the main aerosol and atmospheric dynamics occurring at the measuring site. Background conditions generated homogenous profiles. Transport events caused an increase of aerosol concentration with altitude. High Arctic haze pollution trapped below thermal inversions promoted a decrease of aerosol concentration with altitude. Finally, ground-based plumes of locally formed secondary aerosol determined profiles with decreasing aerosol concentration located at different altitude as a function of size. During the summer season, the impact from shipping caused aerosol and BC pollution plumes to be constrained close to the ground, indicating that increasing shipping emissions in the Arctic could bring anthropogenic aerosol and BC in the Arctic summer, affecting the climate.

Relation of nutrient concentrations, nutrient loading, and algal production to changes in water levels in Kabetogama Lake, Voyageurs National Park, northern Minnesota, 2008-09

Science.gov (United States)

Christensen, Victoria G.; Maki, Ryan P.; Kiesling, Richard L.

2011-01-01

Nutrient enrichment has led to excessive algal growth in Kabetogama Lake, Voyageurs National Park, northern Minnesota. Water- and sediment-quality data were collected during 2008-09 to assess internal and external nutrient loading. Data collection was focused in Kabetogama Lake and its inflows, the area of greatest concern for eutrophication among the lakes of Voyageurs National Park. Nutrient and algal data were used to determine trophic status and were evaluated in relation to changes in Kabetogama Lake water levels following changes to dam operation starting in 2000. Analyses were used to estimate external nutrient loading at inflows and assess the potential contribution of internal phosphorus loading. Kabetogama Lake often was mixed vertically, except for a few occasionally stratified areas, including Lost Bay in the northeastern part of Kabetogama Lake. Stratification, combined with larger bottom-water nutrient concentrations, larger sediment phosphorus concentrations, and estimated phosphorus release rates from sediment cores indicate that Lost Bay may be one of several areas that may be contributing substantially to internal loading. Internal loading is a concern because nutrients may cause excessive algal growth including potentially toxic cyanobacteria. The cyanobacterial hepatotoxin, microcystin, was detected in 7 of 14 cyanobacterial bloom samples, with total concentrations exceeding 1.0 microgram per liter, the World Health Organization's guideline for finished drinking water for the congener, microcystin-LR. Comparisons of the results of this study to previous studies indicate that chlorophyll-a concentrations and trophic state indices have improved since 2000, when the rules governing dam operation changed. However, total-phosphorus concentrations have not changed significantly since 2000.

Changes in the coastal and marine environments

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

DeSousa, S.N.; Ahmed, A.U.; DileepKumar, M.; Jagtap, T.G.; Sardessai, S.; Hassan, A.

to the euphotic layer. These factors make the Arabian Sea a potentially fertile area, since any vertical disturbance that can disrupt or shift the thermocline banier can lead to injection of nutrients into the euphotic layer and fuel increased biological...) injecting nutrients from the thermocline region into the surface layer, as observed by de Sousa et a!. (1996b). 1.1.3 Biological Response It was seen in sections 1.1.1-1.1.2 that processes of upwelling (both coastal and open ocean) during summer monsoon...

Seasonal variations in vertical migration of glacier lanternfish, Benthosema glaciale

KAUST Repository

Dypvik, Eivind; Rø stad, Anders; Kaartvedt, Stein

2012-01-01

The seasonal variations in glacier lanternfish (Benthosema glaciale) vertical distribution and diel vertical migration (DVM) were studied by use of a bottom-mounted upward-facing 38 kHz echo sounder deployed at 392 m depth and cabled to shore in Masfjorden (~6052?N, ~524?E), Norway. Acoustic data from July 2007-October 2008 were analyzed, and scattering layers below ~220 m during daytime were attributed to glacier lanternfish based on net sampling in this, and previous studies, as well as from analysis of the acoustic data. At these depths, three different diel behavioral strategies were apparent: normal diel vertical migration (NDVM), inverse DVM (IDVM), and no DVM (NoDVM). NoDVM was present all year, while IDVM was present in autumn and winter, and NDVM was present during spring and summer. The seasonal differences in DVM behavior seem to correlate with previously established seasonal distribution of prey. We hypothesize that in regions with seasonally migrating zooplankton, such as where calanoid copepods overwinter at depth, similar plasticity in DVM behavior might occur in other populations of lanternfishes. 2012 The Author(s).

Seasonal variations in vertical migration of glacier lanternfish, Benthosema glaciale

KAUST Repository

Dypvik, Eivind

2012-06-05

The seasonal variations in glacier lanternfish (Benthosema glaciale) vertical distribution and diel vertical migration (DVM) were studied by use of a bottom-mounted upward-facing 38 kHz echo sounder deployed at 392 m depth and cabled to shore in Masfjorden (~6052?N, ~524?E), Norway. Acoustic data from July 2007-October 2008 were analyzed, and scattering layers below ~220 m during daytime were attributed to glacier lanternfish based on net sampling in this, and previous studies, as well as from analysis of the acoustic data. At these depths, three different diel behavioral strategies were apparent: normal diel vertical migration (NDVM), inverse DVM (IDVM), and no DVM (NoDVM). NoDVM was present all year, while IDVM was present in autumn and winter, and NDVM was present during spring and summer. The seasonal differences in DVM behavior seem to correlate with previously established seasonal distribution of prey. We hypothesize that in regions with seasonally migrating zooplankton, such as where calanoid copepods overwinter at depth, similar plasticity in DVM behavior might occur in other populations of lanternfishes. 2012 The Author(s).

Seasonal patterns in nutrients, carbon, and algal responses in wadeable streams within three geographically distinct areas of the United States, 2007-08

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kathy E.; Lorenz, David L.; Petersen, James C.; Greene, John B.

2012-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey determined seasonal variability in nutrients, carbon, and algal biomass in 22 wadeable streams over a 1-year period during 2007 or 2008 within three geographically distinct areas in the United States. The three areas are the Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMIS) in Minnesota, the Ozark Plateaus (ORZK) in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas, and the Upper Snake River Basin (USNK) in southern Idaho. Seasonal patterns in some constituent concentrations and algal responses were distinct. Nitrate concentrations were greatest during the winter in all study areas potentially because of a reduction in denitrification rates and algal uptake during the winter, along with reduced surface runoff. Decreases in nitrate concentrations during the spring and summer at most stream sites coincided with increased streamflow during the snowmelt runoff or spring storms indicating dilution. The continued decrease in nitrate concentrations during summer potentially is because of a reduction in nitrate inputs (from decreased surface runoff) or increases in biological uptake. In contrast to nitrate concentrations, ammonia concentrations varied among study areas. Ammonia concentration trends were similar at UMIS and USNK sampling sites with winter peak concentrations and rapid decreases in ammonia concentrations by spring or early summer. In contrast, ammonia concentrations at OZRK sampling sites were more variable with peak concentrations later in the year. Ammonia may accumulate in stream water in the winter under ice and snow cover at the UMIS and USNK sites because of limited algal metabolism and increased mineralization of decaying organic matter under reducing conditions within stream bottom sediments. Phosphorus concentration patterns and the type of phosphorus present changes with changing hydrologic conditions and seasons and varied among study areas. Orthophosphate concentrations tended to be greater in the summer at UMIS sites, whereas total

Vertical velocity and turbulence aspects during Mistral events as observed by UHF wind profilers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J.-L. Caccia

2004-11-01

Full Text Available The general purpose of this paper is to experimentally study mesoscale dynamical aspects of the Mistral in the coastal area located at the exit of the Rhône-valley. The Mistral is a northerly low-level flow blowing in southern France along the Rhône-valley axis, located between the French Alps and the Massif Central, towards the Mediterranean Sea. The experimental data are obtained by UHF wind profilers deployed during two major field campaigns, MAP (Mesoscale Alpine Program in autumn 1999, and ESCOMPTE (Expérience sur Site pour COntraindre les Modèles de Pollution atmosphériques et de Transports d'Emission in summer 2001. Thanks to the use of the time evolution of the vertical profile of the horizontal wind vector, recent works have shown that the dynamics of the Mistral is highly dependent on the season because of the occurrence of specific synoptic patterns. In addition, during summer, thermal forcing leads to a combination of sea breeze with Mistral and weaker Mistral due to the enhanced friction while, during autumn, absence of convective turbulence leads to substantial acceleration as low-level jets are generated in the stably stratified planetary boundary layer. At the exit of the Rhône valley, the gap flow dynamics dominates, whereas at the lee of the Alps, the dynamics is driven by the relative contribution of "flow around" and "flow over" mechanisms, upstream of the Alps. This paper analyses vertical velocity and turbulence, i.e. turbulent dissipation rate, with data obtained by the same UHF wind profilers during the same Mistral events. In autumn, the motions are found to be globally and significantly subsident, which is coherent for a dry, cold and stable flow approaching the sea, and the turbulence is found to be of pure dynamical origin (wind shears and mountain/lee wave breaking, which is coherent with non-convective situations. In summer, due to the ground heating and to the interactions with thermal circulation, the

Vertical velocity and turbulence aspects during Mistral events as observed by UHF wind profilers

Science.gov (United States)

Caccia, J.; Guénard, V.; Benech, B.; Campistron, B.; Drobinski, P.

2004-11-01

The general purpose of this paper is to experimentally study mesoscale dynamical aspects of the Mistral in the coastal area located at the exit of the Rhône-valley. The Mistral is a northerly low-level flow blowing in southern France along the Rhône-valley axis, located between the French Alps and the Massif Central, towards the Mediterranean Sea. The experimental data are obtained by UHF wind profilers deployed during two major field campaigns, MAP (Mesoscale Alpine Program) in autumn 1999, and ESCOMPTE (Expérience sur Site pour COntraindre les Modèles de Pollution atmosphériques et de Transports d'Emission) in summer 2001. Thanks to the use of the time evolution of the vertical profile of the horizontal wind vector, recent works have shown that the dynamics of the Mistral is highly dependent on the season because of the occurrence of specific synoptic patterns. In addition, during summer, thermal forcing leads to a combination of sea breeze with Mistral and weaker Mistral due to the enhanced friction while, during autumn, absence of convective turbulence leads to substantial acceleration as low-level jets are generated in the stably stratified planetary boundary layer. At the exit of the Rhône valley, the gap flow dynamics dominates, whereas at the lee of the Alps, the dynamics is driven by the relative contribution of "flow around" and "flow over" mechanisms, upstream of the Alps. This paper analyses vertical velocity and turbulence, i.e. turbulent dissipation rate, with data obtained by the same UHF wind profilers during the same Mistral events. In autumn, the motions are found to be globally and significantly subsident, which is coherent for a dry, cold and stable flow approaching the sea, and the turbulence is found to be of pure dynamical origin (wind shears and mountain/lee wave breaking), which is coherent with non-convective situations. In summer, due to the ground heating and to the interactions with thermal circulation, the vertical motions are

Vertical velocity and turbulence aspects during Mistral events as observed by UHF wind profilers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caccia, J.L.; Guenard, V. [LSEET, CNRS/Univ. de Toulon, La Garde (France); Benech, B.; Campistron, B. [CRA/LA, CNRS/Obs. Midi-Pyrenees, Campistrous (France); Drobinski, P. [IPSL/SA, CNRS/Univ. de Paris VI, Paris (France)

2004-07-01

The general purpose of this paper is to experimentally study mesoscale dynamical aspects of the Mistral in the coastal area located at the exit of the Rhone-valley. The Mistral is a northerly low-level flow blowing in southern France along the Rhone-valley axis, located between the French Alps and the Massif Central, towards the Mediterranean Sea. The experimental data are obtained by UHF wind profilers deployed during two major field campaigns, MAP (mesoscale alpine program) in autumn 1999, and ESCOMPTE (Experience sur Site pour COntraindre les Modeles de Pollution atmospheriques et de Transports d'Emission) in summer 2001. Thanks to the use of the time evolution of the vertical profile of the horizontal wind vector, recent works have shown that the dynamics of the Mistral is highly dependent on the season because of the occurrence of specific synoptic patterns. In addition, during summer, thermal forcing leads to a combination of sea breeze with Mistral and weaker Mistral due to the enhanced friction while, during autumn, absence of convective turbulence leads to substantial acceleration as low-level jets are generated in the stably stratified planetary boundary layer. At the exit of the Rhone valley, the gap flow dynamics dominates, whereas at the lee of the Alps, the dynamics is driven by the relative contribution of ''flow around'' and ''flow over'' mechanisms, upstream of the Alps. This paper analyses vertical velocity and turbulence, i.e. turbulent dissipation rate, with data obtained by the same UHF wind profilers during the same Mistral events. In autumn, the motions are found to be globally and significantly subsident, which is coherent for a dry, cold and stable flow approaching the sea, and the turbulence is found to be of pure dynamical origin (wind shears and mountain/lee wave breaking), which is coherent with non-convective situations. In summer, due to the ground heating and to the interactions with

Acclimation responses to temperature vary with vertical stratification: implications for vulnerability of soil-dwelling species to climate change.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Dooremalen, J.A.; Berg, M.P.; Ellers, J.

2013-01-01

The occurrence of summer heat waves is predicted to increase in amplitude and frequency in the near future, but the consequences of such extreme events are largely unknown, especially for belowground organisms. Soil organisms usually exhibit strong vertical stratification, resulting in more frequent

Influence of atmospheric dry deposition of inorganic nutrients on phytoplankton biomass in the coastal Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Yadav, K.; Sarma, V.V.S.S.; Rao, D.B.; DileepKumar, M.

mixing due to weak stratification and wind driven mixing supplies significant amount of nutrients to the surface (Prasanna Kumar and Prasad, 1996; de Sousa et al., 1996). Though strong stratification hinders the vertical supply of nutrients during....C; Mahowald ,N., Lima. I; Feely, R.A., Mackenzie, F.T., et al., 2007.Impact of anthropogenic atmospheric nitrogen and sulfur deposition on ocean acidification and the inorganic carbon system. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104:14580–85. Duce, R. A., et al. 2008...

Water Mass Classification on a Highly Variable Arctic Shelf Region: Origin of Laptev Sea Water Masses and Implications for the Nutrient Budget

Science.gov (United States)

Bauch, D.; Cherniavskaia, E.

2018-03-01

Large gradients and inter annual variations on the Laptev Sea shelf prevent the use of uniform property ranges for a classification of major water masses. The central Laptev Sea is dominated by predominantly marine waters, locally formed polynya waters and riverine summer surface waters. Marine waters enter the central Laptev Sea from the northwestern Laptev Sea shelf and originate from the Kara Sea or the Arctic Ocean halocline. Local polynya waters are formed in the Laptev Sea coastal polynyas. Riverine summer surface waters are formed from Lena river discharge and local melt. We use a principal component analysis (PCA) in order to assess the distribution and importance of water masses within the Laptev Sea. This mathematical method is applied to hydro-chemical summer data sets from the Laptev Sea from five years and allows to define water types based on objective and statistically significant criteria. We argue that the PCA-derived water types are consistent with the Laptev Sea hydrography and indeed represent the major water masses on the central Laptev Sea shelf. Budgets estimated for the thus defined major Laptev Sea water masses indicate that freshwater inflow from the western Laptev Sea is about half or in the same order of magnitude as freshwater stored in locally formed polynya waters. Imported water dominates the nutrient budget in the central Laptev Sea; and only in years with enhanced local polynya activity is the nutrient budget of the locally formed water in the same order as imported nutrients.

Long term continuous field survey to assess nutrient emission impact from irrigated paddy field into river catchment

Science.gov (United States)

Kogure, Kanami; Aichi, Masaatsu; Zessner, Matthias

2017-04-01

In order to achieve good river environment, it is very important to understand and to control nutrient behavior such as Nitrogen and Phosphorus. As we could reduce impact from urban and industrial activities by wastewater treatment, pollution from point sources are likely to be controlled. Besides them, nutrient emission from agricultural activity is dominant pollution source into the river system. In many countries in Asia and Africa, rice is widely cultivated and paddy field covers large areas. In Japan 54% of its arable land is occupied with irrigated paddy field. While paddy field can deteriorate river water quality due to fertilization, it is also suggested that paddy field can purify water. We carried out field survey in middle reach of the Tone River Basin with focus on a paddy field IM. The objectives of the research are 1) understanding of water and nutrient balance in paddy field, 2) data collection for assessing nutrient emission. Field survey was conducted from June 2015 to October 2016 covering two flooding seasons in summer. In our measurement, all input and output were measured regarding water, N and P to quantify water and nutrient balance in the paddy field. By measuring water quality and flow rate of inflow, outflow, infiltrating water, ground water and flooding water, we tried to quantitatively understand water, N and P cycle in a paddy field including seasonal trends, and changes accompanied with rainy events and agricultural activities like fertilization. Concerning water balance, infiltration rate was estimated by following equation. Infiltration=Irrigation water + Precipitation - Evapotranspiration -Outflow We estimated mean daily water balance during flooding season. Infiltration is 11.9mm/day in our estimation for summer in 2015. Daily water reduction depth (WRD) is sum of Evapotranspiration and Infiltration. WRD is 21.5mm/day in IM and agrees with average value in previous research. Regarding nutrient balance, we estimated an annual N and

Variation of phytoplankton biomass and primary production in Daya Bay during spring and summer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song Xingyu; Huang Liangmin; Zhang Jianlin; Huang, Xiaoping; Zhang Junbin; Yin Jianqiang; Tan Yehui; Liu Sheng

2004-01-01

Environmental factors, phytoplankton biomass (Chl a) and primary production of two water areas in Daya Bay (Dapeng'ao Bay and Aotou Bay) were investigated during the transition period from spring to summer. Chl a ranged from 3.20 to 13.62 and 13.43 to 26.49 mg m -3 in Dapeng'ao Bay and Aotou Bay respectively, if data obtained during red tides are excluded. Primary production varied between 239.7 and 1001.4 mgC m -2 d -1 in Dapeng'ao Bay. The regional distribution of Chl a and primary production were mostly consistent from spring to summer in both bays. Seasonal transition characters have been found in Daya Bay from spring to summer, including high values of DO, nitrate and silicate. Size structures of phytoplankton and its primary production do not change very much from spring to summer, with micro-phytoplankton dominating and contributing about 50% of the whole. In Daya Bay, phytoplankton is limited by nitrogen in spring, and by phosphate in summer. Artificial impacts are evident from high temperature effluent from nuclear power stations, aquaculture and sewage. During the investigation, a red tide occurred in Aotou Bay, with a maximum Chl a of 103.23 mg m -3 at surface and primary production of 2721.9 mgC m -2 d -1 in the red tide center. Raised water temperature and nutrient supply from land-sources help to stimulate annual red tides

Simulating phosphorus removal from a vertical-flow constructed wetland grown with C alternifolius species

Science.gov (United States)

Ying Ouyang; Lihua Cui; Gary Feng; John Read

2015-01-01

Vertical flow constructed wetland (VFCW) is a promising technique for removal of excess nutrients and certain pollutants from wastewaters. The aim of this study was to develop a STELLA (structural thinking, experiential learning laboratory with animation) model for estimating phosphorus (P) removal in an artificial VFCW (i.e., a substrate column with six zones) grown...

Habitat use, vertical and horizontal behaviour of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea in relation to oceanographic conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Bauer, Robert Klaus; Fromentin, Jean-Marc; Demarcq, Hervé; Bonhommeau, Sylvain

2017-07-01

We investigated the habitat utilization, vertical and horizontal behaviour of Atlantic bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus (ABFT) in relation to oceanographic conditions in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea, based on 36 pop-up archival tags and different environmental data sets. Tags were deployed on early mature ABFT (127-255 cm) between July and November in 2007-2014, on the shelf area off Marseille, France. The data obtained from these tags provided 1643 daily summaries of ABFT vertical behaviour over 8 years of tag deployment. Based on a hierarchical clustering of this data, we could identify four principle daily vertical behaviour types, representing surface (≦ 10 m) and subsurface (10-100 m) orientation, moderate (50-200 m) and deep (≧ 200 m) diving behaviour. These vertical behaviour types showed seasonal variations with partly opposing trends in their frequencies. Accordingly, ABFT were more surface orientated during summer, while moderate diving behaviour was more common during winter. Depth time series data further revealed inverted day-night patterns for both of these periods. Tagged ABFT frequented the surface waters more regularly during daytime and deeper waters during the night in summer, while the opposite pattern was found in winter. Seasonal changes in the vertical behaviour of ABFT were accompanied by simultaneous changes in environmental conditions (SST, chla, thermal stratification). Accordingly, surface orientation and moderate diving behaviour appeared to be triggered by the thermal stratification of the water column, though less pronounced than previously reported for ABFT in the North Atlantic, probably indicating adaptive vertical behaviour related to the availability of epipelagic food resources (anchovies and sardines). Deep diving behaviour was particularly frequent during months of high biological productivity (February-May), although one recovered tag showed periodic and unusual long spike dives during summer-autumn, in relation to

Seasonal evolution of cholorophyll-a and cyanobacteria (Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus on the northeast continental shelf of the Gulf of Cádiz: relation to thermohaline and nutrients fields

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eleonora Anfuso

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The seasonal evolution of nutrients, chlorophyll-a (chl-a and cyanobacteria (Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus on the northeast continental shelf of the Gulf of Cádiz was observed during four cruises in summer and autumn 2006 and winter and spring 2007. Samples were collected to determine the distribution of chl-a and cyanobacteria abundance and to analyse their coupling with thermohaline and chemical properties in the gulf region. Surface nutrient distributions showed clear seasonal variability. Maximum levels were recorded for the entire study region during winter due to winter mixing and the strong influence of the Guadalquivir River and Bay of Cádiz outflow. Maximum chl-a levels were reached during spring for the entire region and for the entire water column. Minimum values of chl-a were observed during summer, under prevailing oligotrophic conditions, and winter when in spite of relatively high nutrient concentrations, phytoplankton growth was probably light-limited. The distribution of both cyanobacteria populations also varied seasonally in association with the oceanographic conditions. Prochlorococcus maximum cell abundance was observed at the sea surface during the four cruises, except in the northern region during summer. However, Synechococcus showed a maximum concentration at the sea surface in autumn and winter and at the subsurface chlorophyll maximum in autumn and spring.

On the shortening of Indian summer monsoon season in a warming scenario

Science.gov (United States)

Sabeerali, C. T.; Ajayamohan, R. S.

2018-03-01

Assessing the future projections of the length of rainy season (LRS) has paramount societal impact considering its potential to alter the seasonal mean rainfall over the Indian subcontinent. Here, we explored the projections of LRS using both historical and Representative Concentration Pathways 8.5 (RCP8.5) simulations of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase5 (CMIP5). RCP8.5 simulations project shortening of the LRS of Indian summer monsoon by altering the timing of onset and withdrawal dates. Most CMIP5 RCP8.5 model simulations indicate a faster warming rate over the western tropical Indian Ocean compared to other regions of the Indian Ocean. It is found that the pronounced western Indian Ocean warming and associated increase in convection results in warmer upper troposphere over the Indian Ocean compared to the Indian subcontinent, reducing the meridional gradient in upper tropospheric temperature (UTT) over the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) domain. The weakening of the meridional gradient in UTT induces weakening of easterly vertical wind shear over the ASM domain during first and last phase of monsoon, facilitate delayed (advanced) monsoon onset (withdrawal) dates, ensues the shortening of LRS of the Indian summer monsoon in a warming scenario.

Long-term seasonal nutrient limiting patterns at Meiliang Bay in a large, shallow and subtropical Lake Taihu, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui Ye

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Lake Taihu has undergone severe eutrophication in the past three decades, and harmful cyanobacteria blooms occur nearly every year in Meiliang Bay at the north end of the lake. To elucidate the potential relationship between seasonal nutrient limitation and phytoplankton proliferation, a 20-year (1991-2012 time series of nutrient limitation in Meiliang Bay was analyzed for deviations between trophic state index (TSI parameters. Results showed that patterns of nutrient limitation in Meiliang Bay were distinctly seasonal, where phytoplankton growth was generally phosphorus (P-limited in winter and spring, but nitrogen (N-limited mainly occurred in summer and fall. This general pattern, however, shifted into N limitation across the four seasons during the mid-1990s because a rapid increase in industrialization led to a significant rise in the input of N and P from inflowing tributaries. The initial patterns were restored by environmental regulation in the end of 1990s, including the Zero Actions plan. Using routine monitoring data, a generalised additive model (GAM with time and deviations between trophic state indexes for nitrogen and phosphorus (TSIN-TSIP as explanatory variables was used to explore which nutrient was responsible for limitation of phytoplankton chlorophyll-a (Chl-a in different seasons. Surprisingly, the model revealed a weak N limitation (TSIN-TSIP = -10 corresponded to peak values of Chl-a in summer-autumn season, which is probably because the phytoplankton community is co-limited by N & P during the period. The shift of nutrition limitation during winter-spring would partially explain high values of Chl-a throughout 1996. This study suggests that seasonal patterns of nutrient limitation must be considered to develop effective management measures to control cyanobacterial blooms.

Acclimation responses to temperature vary with vertical stratification: implications for vulnerability of soil-dwelling species to extreme temperature events

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dooremalen, van C.; Berg, M.P.; Ellers, J.

2013-01-01

The occurrence of summer heat waves is predicted to increase in amplitude and frequency in the near future, but the consequences of such extreme events are largely unknown, especially for belowground organisms. Soil organisms usually exhibit strong vertical stratification, resulting in more frequent

Erratum: Correction to: Emplacement controls for the basaltic-andesitic radial dikes of Summer Coon volcano and implications for flank vents at stratovolcanoes

Science.gov (United States)

Harp, A. G.; Valentine, G. A.

2018-06-01

In the article "Emplacement controls for the basaltic-andesitic radial dikes of Summer Coon volcano and implications for flank vents at stratovolcanoes", the vertical axis for Fig. 8 a was incorrectly labeled (i.e., the value for dikes per km2).

Evolution of Summer Ocean Mixed Layer Heat Content and Ocean/Ice Fluxes in the Arctic Ocean During the Last Decade

Science.gov (United States)

Stanton, T. P.; Shaw, W. J.

2014-12-01

Since 2002, a series of 28 Autonomous Ocean Flux Buoys have been deployed in the Beaufort Sea and from the North Pole Environmental Observatory. These long-term ice-deployed instrument systems primarily measure vertical turbulent fluxes of heat, salt and momentum at a depth of 2 - 6 m below the ocean/ice interface, while concurrently measuring current profile every 2m down to approximately 40-50m depth, within the seasonal pycnocline. Additional sensors have been added to measure local ice melt rates acoustically, and finescale thermal structure from the eddy correlation flux sensor up into the ice to resolve summer near-surface heating. The AOFB buoys have typically been co-located with Ice Tethered Profilers, that measure the upper ocean T/S structure and ice mass balance instruments. Comparisons of near-surface heat fluxes, heat content and vertical structure over the last decade will be made for buoys in the Beaufort Sea and Transpolar Drift between the North Pole and Spitzbergen. The effects of enhanced basal melting from ice/albedo feedbacks can be clearly seen in the low ice concentration summer conditions found more recently in the Beaufort Sea, while there are less pronounced effects of enhanced summer surface heating in the higher ice concentrations still found in the transpolar drift.

Pathogen and nutrient pulsing and attenuation in "accidental" urban wetland networks along the Salt River in Phoenix, AZ

Science.gov (United States)

Palta, M. M.; Grimm, N. B.

2013-12-01

Increases in available nutrients and bacteria in urban streams are at the forefront of research concerns within the ecological and medical communities, and both pollutants are expected to become more problematic under projected changes in climate. Season, discharge, instream conditions (oxygen, water velocity), and weather conditions (antecedent moisture) all may influence loading rates to and the retention capabilities of wetlands fed by urban runoff and storm flow. The aim of this research was to examine the effect of these variables on nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) loading and attenuation along flow paths in urban wetland networks along the Salt River in Phoenix, AZ. Samples were collected for one year along flowpaths through wetlands that formed below six perennially flowing outfalls. Collection took place monthly during baseflow (dry season) conditions, and before and immediately following storm events, in the summer monsoon and winter rainy seasons. Water quality was assessed at the following points: immediately downstream of the outfall, mid-wetland, and downstream of the wetland. For determination of E. coli counts, samples were plated on coliform-selective media (Chromocult) and incubated for 24 hours. Plates were then used to enumerate E. coli. For determination of nutrient concentrations, samples were filtered and frozen until they could be analyzed by ion chromatography and automated wet chemistry. During both summer and winter, total discharge into the wetlands increased during storm events. Concentrations of PO43+, NH4+, and E. coli were significantly higher following storm events than during baseflow conditions, and post-storm peaks in concentration ('pulses') were higher during the summer monsoon than in winter storms. Pulses of pollutants during storms were highest when preceded by hot, dry conditions. NO3- was high in both base and stormflow. E. coli counts and nutrient concentrations dropped along flowpaths

Lignocellulose mineralization by Arctic lake sediments in response to nutrient manipulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Federle, T.W.; Vestal, J.R.

1980-01-01

Mineralization of specifically labeled 14 C-cellulose- and 14 C-lignin-labeled lignocelluloses by Toolik Lake, Alaska, sediments was examined in response to manipulation of various environmental factors. Mineralization was measured by quantifying the amount of labeled CO 2 released from the specifically labeled substrates. Nitrogen (NH 4 NO 3 ) and, to a greater degree, phosphorus (PO 4 -3 ) additions enhanced the mineralization of white pine (Pinus strobus) cellulose during the summer of 1978. Nitrogen and phosphorus together had no cumulative effect. During the summer of 1979, nitrogen or phosphorus alone had only a slight stimulatory effect on the mineralization of a sedge (Carex aquatilis) cellulose; however, together, they had a dramatic effect. This variable response of mineralization to nutrient addition between 1978 and 1979 was probably attributable to year-to-year variation in nutrient availability within the lake. Cellobiose addition and oxygen depletion inhibited the amount of pine cellulose mineralized. Whereas addition of nitrogen to oxygen-depleted treatments had limited effect, addition of phosphorus resulted in mineralizations equal to or greater than that of the controls. Nitrogen had no effect on mineralization of pine or Carex lignins. Phosphorus, however, inhibited mineralization of both lignins. With Carex lignin, the phosphorus inhibition occurred at a concentration as low as 0.1 μM. The antagonistic role of phosphorus in cellulose and lignin mineralizations may be of significance in understanding the increased proportion of lignin relative to cellulose in decomposing litter

Patterns of North African dust transport over the Atlantic: winter vs. summer, based on CALIPSO first year data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Ben-Ami

2009-10-01

Full Text Available One of the most important factors that determine the transported dust effect on the atmosphere is its vertical distribution. In this study the vertical structure of North African dust and stratiform low clouds is analyzed over the Atlantic Ocean for the 2006–2007 boreal winter (December–February and boreal summer of 2006 (June–August. By using the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO backscatter measurements over the dust routes, we describe the differences in dust transport between the seasons. We show a bi-modal distribution of the average dust plumes height in both seasons (it is less clear in the winter. The higher plume top height is 5.1±0.4 km, near the African coast line in the summer and 3.7±0.4 km in the winter. The lower plume merges with the marine boundary layer, in both seasons. Our study suggests that a significant part of the dust is transported near and within the marine boundary layer and interacts with low stratiform clouds.

A comparison between late summer 2012 and 2013 water masses, macronutrients, and phytoplankton standing crops in the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas

Science.gov (United States)

Danielson, Seth L.; Eisner, Lisa; Ladd, Carol; Mordy, Calvin; Sousa, Leandra; Weingartner, Thomas J.

2017-01-01

Survey data from the northern Bering and Chukchi sea continental shelves in August-September 2012 and 2013 reveal inter-annual differences in the spatial structure of water masses along with statistically significant differences in thermohaline properties, chemical properties, and phytoplankton communities. We provide a set of water mass definitions applicable to the northern Bering and Chukchi continental shelves, and we find that the near-bottom Bering-Chukchi Summer Water (BCSW) was more saline in 2012 and Alaskan Coastal Water (ACW) was warmer in 2013. Both of these water masses carried higher nutrient concentrations in 2012, supporting a larger chlorophyll a biomass that was comprised primarily of small (<10 μm) size class phytoplankton, so the classical relation between higher nutrient loads and larger phytoplankton does not hold for this region in late summer. The distributions of phytoplankton biomass and size structure reveal linkages between the wind fields, seafloor topography, water mass distributions and the pelagic production. The water mass structure, including the strength and location of stratification and fronts, respectively, differed primarily because of the August regional wind field, which was more energetic in 2012 but was more persistent in direction in 2013. High concentrations of ice in winter and early spring in 2012 and 2013 resembled conditions of the 1980s and early 1990s but the regional ice retreat rate has accelerated in the late 1990s and 2000s so the summer and fall ice concentrations more closely resembled those of the last two decades. Our data show that wind forcing can shut down the Alaskan Coastal Current in the NE Chukchi Sea for periods of weeks to months during the ice-covered winter and during the summer when buoyancy forcing is at its annual maximum. We hypothesize that a decrease in salinity and nutrients from 2012 to 2013 was a consequence of a decreased net Bering Strait transport from 2011 to 2012. Biological

Relations of biological indicators to nutrient data for lakes and streams in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, 1990-98

Science.gov (United States)

Brightbill, Robin A.; Koerkle, Edward H.

2003-01-01

depth, and pH. In all cases, Secchi depth was inversely related to the chlorophyll a concentrations in a lake. Nutrient ecoregion VIII had too few samples for any type of analysis.Streams within the different nutrient ecoregions had many variables that were significantly related to periphyton chlorophyll a concentrations. These variables consisted of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, drainage area, percent forest cover, several macroinvertebrate indices, pH, basin slope, total residue, total suspended solids, and water temperature. Nutrients were not significantly related to periphyton chlorophyll a in streams within nutrient ecoregions VII or IX but were in nutrient ecoregion XI. Drainage area, percent forest cover, and several invertebrate indices were significant variables in nutrient ecoregion VII. Percent forest cover and several invertebrate indices had a negative relation with chlorophyll a concentrations in these streams. Percent forest cover and basin slope had a negative effect on periphyton in nutrient ecoregion IX streams. Light availability was more critical to periphyton growth in streams than nutrients.Ecoregion XI had enough samples to do seasonal analyses. Summer-season periphyton chlorophyll a concentrations in nutrient ecoregion XI streams were positively related to total phosphorus and drainage area but negatively related to percent forest cover. Summer-season phytoplankton in streams was related to different variables within the same nutrient ecoregion. Both total nitrogen and total phosphorus were positively related with chlorophyll a concentrations as well as basin slope, total residue, and total suspended solids but negatively related to pH. The winter stream phytoplankton chlorophyll a concentrations were related to water temperature only.

Composition of Sinking Particulates Collected under Fast Ice near Syowa Station, East Antarctica, in Early Spring and Early Summer, 1994

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Ryoko Saito

1998-11-01

Full Text Available Sinking particles collected in several sediment trap experiments near Syowa Station in austral spring-summer in 1994 have been microscopically analyzed. From the features of the shape and morphology, collected particles were identified, enumerated and measured, and the flux of each identified species was estimated. The majority of the particles were composed of diatom cells and "fecal pellet"-like aggregates were recognized in the samples. In spring, the particle fluxes were rather low and higher fluxes were detected in summer. In particular, diatom cell flux increased by two order of magnitude. The composition of the sinking particles varied seasonally; a centric diatom, Corethron criophilum, and round-shape fecal pellets accounted for dominant diatom cell and fecal pellet fluxes in the spring. But pennate diatoms and collumn-shape pellets dominated in summer. The vertical flux varied, too. In spite of the significant difference of total bio-volume flux between spring and summer (>30 times higher in summer, the bio-volume ratio, such as total identified diatoms and fecal pellets, stayed rather constant.

Changes in urban-related precipitation in the summer over three city clusters in China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Deming; Wu, Jian

2017-09-01

The impacts of urban surface expansion on the summer precipitations over three city clusters [Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), and the Pearl River Delta (PRD)] in eastern China under different monsoonal circulation backgrounds were explored using the nested fifth-generation Penn State/NCAR Mesoscale Model version 3.7 (MM5 V3.7), including the urban-related thermal and dynamical parameters. Ten-year integrations were performed using satellite image data from 2000 and 2010 to represent the urban surface distributions and expansions in China. Changes in the precipitation revealed obvious subregional characteristics, which could be explained by the influences of the vertical wind velocity and moisture flux. With urban-related warming, vertical wind motion generally intensified over urban surface-expanded areas. Meanwhile, the increase in impervious surface areas induced rapid rainwater runoff into drains, and the Bowen ratio increased over urban areas, which further contributed to changes in the local moisture fluxes in these regions. The intensities of the changes in precipitation were inconsistent over the three city clusters, although the changes in vertical motion and local evaporation were similar, which indicates that the changes in precipitation cannot be solely explained by the changes in the local evaporation-related moisture flux. The changes in precipitation were also influenced by the changes in the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) circulation and the corresponding moisture flux, which are expressed in marked subregional characteristics. Therefore, the influence of urban-related precipitation over the three city clusters in China, for which changes in moisture flux from both the impacted local evaporation and EASM circulation should be considered, varied based on the precipitation changes of only a single city.

Effects of Storm Events on Bacteria and Nutrients in the Bayou Chico Watershed

Science.gov (United States)

Hobbs, S. E.; Truong, S.

2017-12-01

Levels of Escherichia coli and abiotic nutrients often increase in response to storm events due to urban runoff. The urban setting, aging septic systems, and ample pet waste (predominant sources of bacterial and nutrient contamination) that surround Bayou Chico, provide abundant possibilities for contamination. E. coli is a gram-negative, rod shaped bacteria commonly found in the intestines of animals; while some strains are harmless, others produce dangerous toxins that can cause side effects and sometimes death. Along with E. coli, inorganic nutrient concentrations (orthophosphate, nitrate/nitrite, and ammonium) are key indicators of water quality. Dissolved nutrients promote the growth of primary producers and excessive amounts lead to algal blooms, often reducing biodiversity. Four sites were sampled weekly in June and July 2017; during which, June had the highest rainfall in comparison to the past three years; these four sites represented three different sub-watersheds of the Bayou Chico Watershed, with differing land-use at each site. Historical nutrient and bacterial data from the Bream Fishermen Association was also compared and examined to determine long term trends and obtain a more in-depth understanding of the dynamics of water quality in th urban setting. E. coli levels were universally high (ranging from 98 to 12,997 MPN/100mL) for all sites and did not show observable correlations to rainfall; possibly influenced by the systemic and anomalous heavy precipitation during most of the summer study period. Nitrate was detected at levels between 2.5 and 154.0 µM, while ammonium levels ranged from 0 to 16.1 µM. Three of four stations showed extremely elevated dissolved inorganic nitrogen and ammonium while one station showed low levels of these nutrients. Correlations between these nutrient loads and rainfall, support the hypothesis that runoff into tributary creeks contributes significant inorganic nutrient loads to the Bayou Chico urban estuary.

Enhanced gravity-wave activity and interhemispheric coupling during the MaCWAVE/MIDAS northern summer program 2002

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E. Becker

2006-07-01

Full Text Available We present new sensitivity experiments that link observed anomalies of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere at high latitudes during the MaCWAVE/MIDAS summer program 2002 to enhanced planetary Rossby-wave activity in the austral winter troposphere.

We employ the same general concept of a GCM having simplified representations of radiative and latent heating as in a previous study by Becker et al. (2004. In the present version, however, the model includes no gravity wave (GW parameterization. Instead we employ a high vertical and a moderate horizontal resolution in order to describe GW effects explicitly. This is supported by advanced, nonlinear momentum diffusion schemes that allow for a self-consistent generation of inertia and mid-frequency GWs in the lower atmosphere, their vertical propagation into the mesosphere and lower thermosphere, and their subsequent dissipation which is induced by prescribed horizontal and vertical mixing lengths as functions of height.

The main anomalies in northern summer 2002 consist of higher temperatures than usual above 82 km, an anomalous eastward mean zonal wind between 70 and 90 km, an altered meridional flow, enhanced turbulent dissipation below 80 km, and enhanced temperature variations associated with GWs. These signals are all reasonably described by differences between two long-integration perpetual model runs, one with normal July conditions, and another run with modified latent heating in the tropics and Southern Hemisphere to mimic conditions that correspond to the unusual austral winter 2002. The model response to the enhanced winter hemisphere Rossby-wave activity has resulted in both an interhemispheric coupling through a downward shift of the GW-driven branch of the residual circulation and an increased GW activity at high summer latitudes. Thus a quantitative explanation of the dynamical state of the northern mesosphere and lower

The summertime ABL structure over an antarctic oasis with a vertical Doppler sodar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kouznetsov, Rostislav D. [Obukhov Inst. of Atmospheric Physics, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2009-04-15

The one-component version of the multiple-frequency LATAN-3M sodar was operated during the summer 2006-2007 at the Russian Antarctic station Novolazarevskaya at Schirmacher oasis. We show the typical echograms for the prevailing conditions of forced turbulence, convective turbulence, strong katabatic flows and moist air advection with wave structures. The profiles of the vertical wind component and its variance reveal the vertical structure of local diurnal katabatic winds. We observed the core of a drainage flow at a height of 10-30 m. During the sea air mass advection, the wavy structures are clearly seen in the echograms at heights of 100-200 m a.g.l. The vertical wind component time series show that these waves are propagating rather than advected. The spectrum of the waves has a pronounced peak corresponding to the Brunt-Vaeisaelaefrequency in the layer 400-1000 m a.g.l. but not to that in the layer where the waves appear. (orig.)

Influence of nutrient solutions in an open-field soilless system on the quality characteristics and shelf life of fresh-cut red and green lettuces (Lactuca sativa L.) in different seasons.

Science.gov (United States)

Luna, María C; Martínez-Sánchez, Ascensión; Selma, María V; Tudela, Juan A; Baixauli, Carlos; Gil, María I

2013-01-01

Little information is available about the impact of nutrient solution ion concentration on quality characteristics and shelf life of fresh-cut lettuce grown in soilless systems in open field. Three lettuce genotypes, lollo rosso and red oak leaf as red-leafed genotypes and butterhead as green-leafed genotype, were studied. The influence of three nutrient solutions with low, medium and high ion concentrations, which varied in the macroanion (NO₃⁻) and macrocations (K⁺, Ca²⁺ and NH₄⁺), were compared in summer and winter. The nutrient solutions evaluated in this study for the production of lettuce in a soilless system did not strongly influence the quality characteristics of the raw material. When the ion concentration of the nutrient solution was increased, fresh weight decreased, although it depended on the genotype and season. Maturity index and dry matter content varied with the season but independently of the nutrient solution. In summer, maturity index was higher and dry matter lower than in winter. Initial texture and visual quality were not influenced by the nutrient solution. Medium ion concentration provided the highest content of vitamin C and phenolic compounds. Our observations pointed out that the genotype had a strong influence on the shelf life of the fresh-cut product with minor differences among nutrient solutions. In general, red-leafed lettuces showed the highest antioxidant content, helping the maintenance of sensory characteristics throughout storage. The combination of optimal nutrient solution ion concentration and suitable cultivar is considered essential to ensure lettuce post-cutting life. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry.

Response of ocean phytoplankton community structure to climate change over the 21st century: partitioning the effects of nutrients, temperature and light

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I. Marinov

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The response of ocean phytoplankton community structure to climate change depends, among other factors, upon species competition for nutrients and light, as well as the increase in surface ocean temperature. We propose an analytical framework linking changes in nutrients, temperature and light with changes in phytoplankton growth rates, and we assess our theoretical considerations against model projections (1980–2100 from a global Earth System model. Our proposed "critical nutrient hypothesis" stipulates the existence of a critical nutrient threshold below (above which a nutrient change will affect small phytoplankton biomass more (less than diatom biomass, i.e. the phytoplankton with lower half-saturation coefficient K are influenced more strongly in low nutrient environments. This nutrient threshold broadly corresponds to 45° S and 45° N, poleward of which high vertical mixing and inefficient biology maintain higher surface nutrient concentrations and equatorward of which reduced vertical mixing and more efficient biology maintain lower surface nutrients. In the 45° S–45° N low nutrient region, decreases in limiting nutrients – associated with increased stratification under climate change – are predicted analytically to decrease more strongly the specific growth of small phytoplankton than the growth of diatoms. In high latitudes, the impact of nutrient decrease on phytoplankton biomass is more significant for diatoms than small phytoplankton, and contributes to diatom declines in the northern marginal sea ice and subpolar biomes. In the context of our model, climate driven increases in surface temperature and changes in light are predicted to have a stronger impact on small phytoplankton than on diatom biomass in all ocean domains. Our analytical predictions explain reasonably well the shifts in community structure under a modeled climate-warming scenario. Climate driven changes in nutrients, temperature and light have

Vertical velocity and turbulence aspects during Mistral events as observed by UHF wind profilers

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J.-L. Caccia

2004-11-01

Full Text Available The general purpose of this paper is to experimentally study mesoscale dynamical aspects of the Mistral in the coastal area located at the exit of the Rhône-valley. The Mistral is a northerly low-level flow blowing in southern France along the Rhône-valley axis, located between the French Alps and the Massif Central, towards the Mediterranean Sea. The experimental data are obtained by UHF wind profilers deployed during two major field campaigns, MAP (Mesoscale Alpine Program in autumn 1999, and ESCOMPTE (Expérience sur Site pour COntraindre les Modèles de Pollution atmosphériques et de Transports d'Emission in summer 2001.

Thanks to the use of the time evolution of the vertical profile of the horizontal wind vector, recent works have shown that the dynamics of the Mistral is highly dependent on the season because of the occurrence of specific synoptic patterns. In addition, during summer, thermal forcing leads to a combination of sea breeze with Mistral and weaker Mistral due to the enhanced friction while, during autumn, absence of convective turbulence leads to substantial acceleration as low-level jets are generated in the stably stratified planetary boundary layer. At the exit of the Rhône valley, the gap flow dynamics dominates, whereas at the lee of the Alps, the dynamics is driven by the relative contribution of "flow around" and "flow over" mechanisms, upstream of the Alps. This paper analyses vertical velocity and turbulence, i.e. turbulent dissipation rate, with data obtained by the same UHF wind profilers during the same Mistral events.

In autumn, the motions are found to be globally and significantly subsident, which is coherent for a dry, cold and stable flow approaching the sea, and the turbulence is found to be of pure dynamical origin (wind shears and mountain/lee wave breaking, which is coherent with non-convective situations.

Macronutrient and carbon supply, uptake and cycling across the Antarctic Peninsula shelf during summer.

Science.gov (United States)

Henley, Sian F; Jones, Elizabeth M; Venables, Hugh J; Meredith, Michael P; Firing, Yvonne L; Dittrich, Ribanna; Heiser, Sabrina; Stefels, Jacqueline; Dougans, Julie

2018-06-28

The West Antarctic Peninsula shelf is a region of high seasonal primary production which supports a large and productive food web, where macronutrients and inorganic carbon are sourced primarily from intrusions of warm saline Circumpolar Deep Water. We examined the cross-shelf modification of this water mass during mid-summer 2015 to understand the supply of nutrients and carbon to the productive surface ocean, and their subsequent uptake and cycling. We show that nitrate, phosphate, silicic acid and inorganic carbon are progressively enriched in subsurface waters across the shelf, contrary to cross-shelf reductions in heat, salinity and density. We use nutrient stoichiometric and isotopic approaches to invoke remineralization of organic matter, including nitrification below the euphotic surface layer, and dissolution of biogenic silica in deeper waters and potentially shelf sediment porewaters, as the primary drivers of cross-shelf enrichments. Regenerated nitrate and phosphate account for a significant proportion of the total pools of these nutrients in the upper ocean, with implications for the seasonal carbon sink. Understanding nutrient and carbon dynamics in this region now will inform predictions of future biogeochemical changes in the context of substantial variability and ongoing changes in the physical environment.This article is part of the theme issue 'The marine system of the West Antarctic Peninsula: status and strategy for progress in a region of rapid change'. © 2018 The Authors.

The relative importance of oceanic nutrient inputs for Bass Harbor Marsh Estuary at Acadia National Park, Maine

Science.gov (United States)

Huntington, Thomas G.; Culbertson, Charles W.; Fuller, Christopher; Glibert, Patricia; Sturtevant, Luke

2014-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey and Acadia National Park (ANP) collaborated on a study of nutrient inputs into Bass Harbor Marsh Estuary on Mount Desert Island, Maine, to better understand ongoing eutrophication, oceanic nutrient inputs, and potential management solutions. This report includes the estimation of loads of nitrate, ammonia, total dissolved nitrogen, and total dissolved phosphorus to the estuary derived from runoff within the watershed and oceanic inputs during summers 2011 and 2012. Nutrient outputs from the estuary were also monitored, and nutrient inputs in direct precipitation to the estuary were calculated. Specific conductance, water temperature, and turbidity were monitored at the estuary outlet. This report presents a first-order analysis of the potential effects of projected sea-level rise on the inundated area and estuary volume. Historical aerial photographs were used to investigate the possibility of widening of the estuary channel over time. The scope of this report also includes analysis of sediment cores collected from the estuary and fringing marsh surfaces to assess the sediment mass accumulation rate. Median concentrations of nitrate, ammonium, and total dissolved phosphorus on the flood tide were approximately 25 percent higher than on the ebb tide during the 2011 and 2012 summer seasons. Higher concentrations on the flood tide suggest net assimilation of these nutrients in biota within the estuary. The dissolved organic nitrogen fraction dominated the dissolved nitrogen fraction in all tributaries. The median concentration of dissolved organic nitrogen was about twice as high on the on the ebb tide than the flood tide, indicating net export of dissolved organic nitrogen from the estuary. The weekly total oceanic inputs of nitrate, ammonium, and total dissolved phosphorus to the estuary were usually much larger than inputs from runoff or direct precipitation. The estuary was a net sink for nitrate and ammonium in most weeks during both

Evidence of increased toxic Alexandrium tamarense dinoflagellate blooms in the eastern Bering Sea in the summers of 2004 and 2005.

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Masafumi Natsuike

Full Text Available The eastern Bering Sea has a vast continental shelf, which contains various endangered marine mammals and large fishery resources. Recently, high numbers of toxic A. tamarense resting cysts were found in the bottom sediment surface of the eastern Bering Sea shelf, suggesting that the blooms have recently occurred. However, little is known about the presence of A. tamarense vegetative cells in the eastern Bering Sea. This study's goals were to detect the occurrence of A. tamarense vegetative cells on the eastern Bering Sea shelf and to find a relationship between environmental factors and their presence. Inter-annual field surveys were conducted to detect A. tamarense cells and environmental factors, such as nutrients, salinity, chlorophyll a, and water temperature, along a transect line on the eastern Bering Sea shelf during the summers of 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2013. A. tamarense vegetative cells were detected during every sampling year, and their quantities varied greatly from year to year. The maximum cell densities of A. tamarense observed during the summers of 2004 and 2005 were much higher than the Paralytic shellfish poisoning warning levels, which are greater than 100-1,000 cells L-1, in other subarctic areas. Lower quantities of the species occurred during the summers of 2009, 2012, and 2013. A significant positive correlation between A. tamarense quantity and water temperature and significant negative correlations between A. tamarense quantity and nutrient concentrations (of phosphate, silicate, and nitrite and nitrate were detected in every sampling period. The surface- and bottom-water temperatures varied significantly from year to year, suggesting that water temperatures, which have been known to affect the cell growth and cyst germination of A. tamarense, might have affected the cells' quantities in the eastern Bering Sea each summer. Thus, an increase in the Bering Sea shelf's water temperature during the summer will

Evidence of increased toxic Alexandrium tamarense dinoflagellate blooms in the eastern Bering Sea in the summers of 2004 and 2005.

Science.gov (United States)

Natsuike, Masafumi; Saito, Rui; Fujiwara, Amane; Matsuno, Kohei; Yamaguchi, Atsushi; Shiga, Naonobu; Hirawake, Toru; Kikuchi, Takashi; Nishino, Shigeto; Imai, Ichiro

2017-01-01

The eastern Bering Sea has a vast continental shelf, which contains various endangered marine mammals and large fishery resources. Recently, high numbers of toxic A. tamarense resting cysts were found in the bottom sediment surface of the eastern Bering Sea shelf, suggesting that the blooms have recently occurred. However, little is known about the presence of A. tamarense vegetative cells in the eastern Bering Sea. This study's goals were to detect the occurrence of A. tamarense vegetative cells on the eastern Bering Sea shelf and to find a relationship between environmental factors and their presence. Inter-annual field surveys were conducted to detect A. tamarense cells and environmental factors, such as nutrients, salinity, chlorophyll a, and water temperature, along a transect line on the eastern Bering Sea shelf during the summers of 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2013. A. tamarense vegetative cells were detected during every sampling year, and their quantities varied greatly from year to year. The maximum cell densities of A. tamarense observed during the summers of 2004 and 2005 were much higher than the Paralytic shellfish poisoning warning levels, which are greater than 100-1,000 cells L-1, in other subarctic areas. Lower quantities of the species occurred during the summers of 2009, 2012, and 2013. A significant positive correlation between A. tamarense quantity and water temperature and significant negative correlations between A. tamarense quantity and nutrient concentrations (of phosphate, silicate, and nitrite and nitrate) were detected in every sampling period. The surface- and bottom-water temperatures varied significantly from year to year, suggesting that water temperatures, which have been known to affect the cell growth and cyst germination of A. tamarense, might have affected the cells' quantities in the eastern Bering Sea each summer. Thus, an increase in the Bering Sea shelf's water temperature during the summer will increase the

Summer Matters: Advocating for Summer Learning That Can Weather Political Seasons

Science.gov (United States)

McQuade, Aaron

2015-01-01

Research has shown that an idle summer is not just boring; it can cost a student as much as two to three months of educational progress. Summer is critical to each child's development, both mind and body. Any meaningful attempts to get at America's equity divide and the consequent gap in opportunities for kids must include summer education as a…

WERF Nutrient Challenge investigates limits of nutrient removal technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Neethling, J B; Clark, D; Pramanik, A; Stensel, H D; Sandino, J; Tsuchihashi, R

2010-01-01

The WERF Nutrient Challenge is a multi-year collaborative research initiative established in 2007 to develop and provide current information about wastewater treatment nutrients (specifically nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater), their characteristics, and bioavailability in aquatic environments to help regulators make informed decisions. The Nutrient Challenge will also provide data on nutrient removal so that treatment facilities can select sustainable, cost-effective methods and technologies to meet permit limits. To meet these goals, the Nutrient Challenge has teamed with a wide array of utilities, agencies, consultants, universities and other researchers and practitioners to collaborate on projects that advance these goals. The Nutrient Challenge is focusing on a different approach to collaborating and leveraging resources (financial and intellectual) on research projects by targeting existing projects and research that correspond with its goals and funding those aspects that the Nutrient Challenge identified as a priority. Because the Nutrient Challenge is focused on collaboration, outreach is an absolutely necessary component of its effectiveness. Through workshops, webinars, a web portal and online compendium, published papers, and conference lectures, the Nutrient Challenge is both presenting important new information, and soliciting new partnerships.

Dynamics of inorganic nutrients in intertidal sediments: porewater, exchangeable and intracellular pools

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Emilio eGarcia-Robledo

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The study of inorganic nutrients dynamics in shallow sediments usually focuses on two main pools: the porewater (PW nutrients and the exchangeable (EX ammonium and phosphate. Recently, it has been found that microphytobenthos (MPB and other microorganisms can accumulate large amounts of nutrients intracellularly (IC, highlighting the biogeochemical importance of this nutrient pool. Storing nutrients could support the growth of autotrophs when nutrients are not available, and could also provide alternative electron acceptors for dissimilatory processes such as nitrate reduction. Here, we studied the magnitude and relative importance of these three nutrient pools (PW, IC and EX and their relation to chlorophylls (used as a proxy for MPB abundance and organic matter (OM contents in an intertidal mudflat of Cadiz Bay (Spain. MPB was localized in the first 4 mm of the sediment and showed a clear seasonal pattern; highest chlorophylls content was found during autumn and lowest during spring-summer. The temporal and spatial distribution of nutrients pools and MPB were largely correlated. Ammonium was higher in the IC and EX fractions, representing on average 59 and 37% of the total ammonium pool, respectively. Similarly, phosphate in the IC and EX fractions accounted on average for 40 and 31% of the total phosphate pool, respectively. Nitrate in the PW was low, suggesting low nitrification activity and rapid consumption. Nitrate accumulated in the IC pool during periods of moderate MPB abundance, being up to 66% of the total nitrate pool, whereas it decreased when chlorophyll concentration peaked likely due to a high nitrogen demand. EX-Nitrate accounted for the largest fraction of total sediment nitrate, 66% on average. The distribution of EX-Nitrate was significantly correlated with chlorophyll and OM, which probably indicates a relation of this pool to an increased availability of sites for ionic adsorption. This EX-Nitrate pool could represent an

Vertical Distributions of Macromolecular Composition of Particulate Organic Matter in the Water Column of the Amundsen Sea Polynya During the Summer in 2014

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Bo Kyung; Lee, SangHoon; Ha, Sun-Yong; Jung, Jinyoung; Kim, Tae Wan; Yang, Eun Jin; Jo, Naeun; Lim, Yu Jeong; Park, Jisoo; Lee, Sang Heon

2018-02-01

Macromolecular compositions (carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids) of particulate organic matter (POM) are crucial as a basic marine food quality. To date, however, one investigation has been carried out in the Amundsen Sea. Water samples for macromolecular compositions were obtained at selected seven stations in the Amundsen Sea Polynya (AP) during the austral summer in 2014 to investigate vertical characteristics of POM. We found that a high proportion of carbohydrates (45.9 ± 11.4%) in photic layer which are significantly different from the previous result (27.9 ± 6.9%) in the AP, 2012. The plausible reason could be the carbohydrate content strongly associated with biomass of the dominant species (Phaeocystis antarctica). The calorific content of food material (FM) in the photic layer obtained in this study is similar with that of the Ross Sea as one of the highest primary productivity regions in the Southern Ocean. Total concentrations, calorific values, and calorific contents of FM were higher in the photic layer than the aphotic layer, which implies that a significant fraction of organic matter underwent degradation. A decreasing proteins/carbohydrates (PRT/CHO) ratio with depth could be caused by preferential nitrogen loss during sinking period. Since the biochemical compositions of POM mostly fixed in photic layers could play an important role in transporting organic carbon into the deep sea, further detail studies on the variations in biochemical compositions and main controlling factors are needed to understand sinking mechanisms of POM.

Carbon and nutrient mixed layer dynamics in the Norwegian Sea

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H. S. Findlay

2008-10-01

Full Text Available A coupled carbon-ecosystem model is compared to recent data from Ocean Weather Station M (66° N, 02° E and used as a tool to investigate nutrient and carbon processes within the Norwegian Sea. Nitrate is consumed by phytoplankton in the surface layers over the summer; however the data show that silicate does not become rapidly limiting for diatoms, in contrast to the model prediction and in contrast to data from other temperate locations. The model estimates atmosphere-ocean CO₂ flux to be 37 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹. The seasonal cycle of the carbonate system at OWS M resembles the cycles suggested by data from other high-latitude ocean locations. The seasonal cycles of calcite saturation state and [CO₃^2-] are similar in the model and in data at OWS M: values range from ~3 and ~120 μmol kg⁻¹ respectively in winter, to ~4 and ~170 μmol kg⁻¹ respectively in summer. The model and data provide further evidence (supporting previous modelling work that the summer is a time of high saturation state within the annual cycle at high-latitude locations. This is also the time of year that coccolithophore blooms occur at high latitudes.

The Gulf of Aden Intermediate Water Intrusion Regulates the Southern Red Sea Summer Phytoplankton Blooms

KAUST Repository

Dreano, Denis; Raitsos, Dionysios E.; Gittings, John; Krokos, George; Hoteit, Ibrahim

2017-01-01

Knowledge on large-scale biological processes in the southern Red Sea is relatively limited, primarily due to the scarce in situ, and satellite-derived chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) datasets. During summer, adverse atmospheric conditions in the southern Red Sea (haze and clouds) have long severely limited the retrieval of satellite ocean colour observations. Recently, a new merged ocean colour product developed by the European Space Agency (ESA)-the Ocean Color Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI)-has substantially improved the southern Red Sea coverage of Chl-a, allowing the discovery of unexpected intense summer blooms. Here we provide the first detailed description of their spatiotemporal distribution and report the mechanisms regulating them. During summer, the monsoon-driven wind reversal modifies the circulation dynamics at the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, leading to a subsurface influx of colder, fresher, nutrient-rich water from the Indian Ocean. Using satellite observations, model simulation outputs, and in situ datasets, we track the pathway of this intrusion into the extensive shallow areas and coral reef complexes along the basin's shores. We also provide statistical evidence that the subsurface intrusion plays a key role in the development of the southern Red Sea phytoplankton blooms.

The Gulf of Aden Intermediate Water Intrusion Regulates the Southern Red Sea Summer Phytoplankton Blooms.

Science.gov (United States)

Dreano, Denis; Raitsos, Dionysios E; Gittings, John; Krokos, George; Hoteit, Ibrahim

2016-01-01

Knowledge on large-scale biological processes in the southern Red Sea is relatively limited, primarily due to the scarce in situ, and satellite-derived chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) datasets. During summer, adverse atmospheric conditions in the southern Red Sea (haze and clouds) have long severely limited the retrieval of satellite ocean colour observations. Recently, a new merged ocean colour product developed by the European Space Agency (ESA)-the Ocean Color Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI)-has substantially improved the southern Red Sea coverage of Chl-a, allowing the discovery of unexpected intense summer blooms. Here we provide the first detailed description of their spatiotemporal distribution and report the mechanisms regulating them. During summer, the monsoon-driven wind reversal modifies the circulation dynamics at the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, leading to a subsurface influx of colder, fresher, nutrient-rich water from the Indian Ocean. Using satellite observations, model simulation outputs, and in situ datasets, we track the pathway of this intrusion into the extensive shallow areas and coral reef complexes along the basin's shores. We also provide statistical evidence that the subsurface intrusion plays a key role in the development of the southern Red Sea phytoplankton blooms.

The Gulf of Aden Intermediate Water Intrusion Regulates the Southern Red Sea Summer Phytoplankton Blooms

KAUST Repository

Dreano, Denis

2017-01-09

Knowledge on large-scale biological processes in the southern Red Sea is relatively limited, primarily due to the scarce in situ, and satellite-derived chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) datasets. During summer, adverse atmospheric conditions in the southern Red Sea (haze and clouds) have long severely limited the retrieval of satellite ocean colour observations. Recently, a new merged ocean colour product developed by the European Space Agency (ESA)-the Ocean Color Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI)-has substantially improved the southern Red Sea coverage of Chl-a, allowing the discovery of unexpected intense summer blooms. Here we provide the first detailed description of their spatiotemporal distribution and report the mechanisms regulating them. During summer, the monsoon-driven wind reversal modifies the circulation dynamics at the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, leading to a subsurface influx of colder, fresher, nutrient-rich water from the Indian Ocean. Using satellite observations, model simulation outputs, and in situ datasets, we track the pathway of this intrusion into the extensive shallow areas and coral reef complexes along the basin\\'s shores. We also provide statistical evidence that the subsurface intrusion plays a key role in the development of the southern Red Sea phytoplankton blooms.

Water and nutrient budgets for Vancouver Lake, Vancouver, Washington, October 2010-October 2012

Science.gov (United States)

Sheibley, Rich W.; Foreman, James R.; Marshall, Cameron A.; Welch, Wendy B.

2014-01-01

Vancouver Lake, a large shallow lake in Clark County, near Vancouver, Washington, has been undergoing water-quality problems for decades. Recently, the biggest concern for the lake are the almost annual harmful cyanobacteria blooms that cause the lake to close for recreation for several weeks each summer. Despite decades of interest in improving the water quality of the lake, fundamental information on the timing and amount of water and nutrients entering and exiting the lake is lacking. In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a 2-year field study to quantify water flows and nutrient loads in order to develop water and nutrient budgets for the lake. This report presents monthly and annual water and nutrient budgets from October 2010–October 2012 to identify major sources and sinks of nutrients. Lake River, a tidally influenced tributary to the lake, flows into and out of the lake almost daily and composed the greatest proportion of both the water and nutrient budgets for the lake, often at orders of magnitude greater than any other source. From the water budget, we identified precipitation, evaporation and groundwater inflow as minor components of the lake hydrologic cycle, each contributing 1 percent or less to the total water budget. Nutrient budgets were compiled monthly and annually for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and orthophosphate; and, nitrogen loads were generally an order of magnitude greater than phosphorus loads across all sources. For total nitrogen, flow from Lake River at Felida, Washington, made up 88 percent of all inputs into the lake. For total phosphorus and orthophosphate, Lake River at Felida flowing into the lake was 91 and 76 percent of total inputs, respectively. Nutrient loads from precipitation and groundwater inflow were 1 percent or less of the total budgets. Nutrient inputs from Burnt Bridge Creek and Flushing Channel composed 12 percent of the total nitrogen budget, 8 percent of the total phosphorus budget, and 21 percent

Determinations of vertical stroke V{sub cb} vertical stroke and vertical stroke V{sub ub} vertical stroke from baryonic Λ{sub b} decays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hsiao, Y.K. [Shanxi Normal University, School of Physics and Information Engineering, Linfen (China); National Tsing Hua University, Department of Physics, Hsinchu (China); Geng, C.Q. [Shanxi Normal University, School of Physics and Information Engineering, Linfen (China); National Tsing Hua University, Department of Physics, Hsinchu (China); Hunan Normal University, Synergetic Innovation Center for Quantum Effects and Applications (SICQEA), Changsha (China)

2017-10-15

We present the first attempt to extract vertical stroke V{sub cb} vertical stroke from the Λ{sub b} → Λ{sub c}{sup +}l anti ν{sub l} decay without relying on vertical stroke V{sub ub} vertical stroke inputs from the B meson decays. Meanwhile, the hadronic Λ{sub b} → Λ{sub c}M{sub (c)} decays with M = (π{sup -},K{sup -}) and M{sub c} =(D{sup -},D{sup -}{sub s}) measured with high precisions are involved in the extraction. Explicitly, we find that vertical stroke V{sub cb} vertical stroke =(44.6 ± 3.2) x 10{sup -3}, agreeing with the value of (42.11 ± 0.74) x 10{sup -3} from the inclusive B → X{sub c}l anti ν{sub l} decays. Furthermore, based on the most recent ratio of vertical stroke V{sub ub} vertical stroke / vertical stroke V{sub cb} vertical stroke from the exclusive modes, we obtain vertical stroke V{sub ub} vertical stroke = (4.3 ± 0.4) x 10{sup -3}, which is close to the value of (4.49 ± 0.24) x 10{sup -3} from the inclusive B → X{sub u}l anti ν{sub l} decays. We conclude that our determinations of vertical stroke V{sub cb} vertical stroke and vertical stroke V{sub ub} vertical stroke favor the corresponding inclusive extractions in the B decays. (orig.)

Environmental drivers of vertical distribution in diapausing Calanus copepods in the Northwest Atlantic

Science.gov (United States)

Krumhansl, Kira A.; Head, Erica J. H.; Pepin, Pierre; Plourde, Stéphane; Record, Nicholas R.; Runge, Jeffrey A.; Johnson, Catherine L.

2018-03-01

Copepods of the genus Calanus play a critical trophic role in the North Atlantic ecosystems, where they serve as an important source of energy-rich food for fish and marine mammals, including the endangered North Atlantic right whale. As a strategy for coping with unfavorable near-surface conditions, Calanus enter diapause and migrate to deep water in late summer and fall after feeding and accumulating lipid stores in spring and summer. In order to assess the most important physical drivers of vertical distribution of diapausing Calanus, we synthesized existing depth-stratified abundance data of Calanus finmarchicus and Calanus hyperboreus from the Northwest Atlantic continental shelf and slope regions, spanning Newfoundland in the northeast to the Gulf of Maine in the southwest. Bottom depth strongly constrained the depth and shape of vertical distributions, with distributions becoming deeper and less compact as bottom depth increased. Diapausing Calanus, observed across a broad range of temperature (T) and in-situ density (σ) conditions (T = -1.0 to 14.4 °C, σ = 25.3-28.1 kg m-3), tended to distribute at depths with the coldest temperatures locally available. Over the shelf, diapausing Calanus in the GOM and SS generally did not have access to temperatures considered optimal for diapause (<5 °C), in many cases occurring at temperatures well above this threshold. Diapausing Calanus in both habitats were most commonly below the Cold Intermediate Layer (CIL), a feature formed through wind-driven mixing during the winter, but this effect was more obvious over the shelf than in slope waters. Our analysis highlights key differences in the vertical distributions of diapausing Calanus over the shelf vs. the slope, having regional implications for ecological dynamics and population persistence in the face of warming temperatures. In general, understanding factors that influence vertical distributions of diapausing Calanus will allow us to more accurately predict how

Seasonal steady-state budgets of nutrients and stoichiometric calculations in an Eastern Mediterranean lagoon (Papas Lagoon-Greece

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E. KRASAKOPOULOU

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The Papas Lagoon is an enclosed, small shallow water body in western Greece. The lagoon is naturally affected by eutrophication phenomena, but occasionally during the summer season, dystrophic crises occur, related to the decomposition of large beds of macroalgae. Physicochemical data collected monthly, from June 1998 to September 1999, were compiled and coupled with historical meteorological data, in order to construct seasonal water, salt and nutrients budgets using a single box single layer LOICZ model. Nutrients and other hydrochemical parameters exhibit great spatial and temporal variations. The non-conservative dissolved inorganic phosphorus flux (ΔDIP is always positive, thus indicating that the system acts as a net source of DIP for the adjacent coastal waters. Higher values were estimated  uring summer and autumn, probably due to organic matter mineralisation and release of DIP from surficial sediments in the reduced environment. In contrast to the ΔDIP, the non-conservative balance of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (ΔDIN is negative for most of the year, except for the summer, indicating the dominance of DIN removal processes in the Papas Lagoon. The Ulva growth and decomposition processes seem likely to be of essential importance for the evaluation of the non-conservative DIN fluxes. During the investigated period the amount of organic carbon respired and mineralized is greater than that produced by gross photosynthesis and the Papas Lagoon is a net heterotrophic system. Losses of DIN via denitrification appear to dominate over its inputs through nitrogen fixation throughout the year.

Controls on summer low flow

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, C. B.; McNamara, J. P.

2012-12-01

Summer low flow has significant impacts on aquatic flora and fauna, municipal water use, and power generation. However, the controls on the minimum annual summer discharge are complex, including a combination of snowmelt dynamics, summer evapotranspiration demand, and spring, summer precipitation patterns and surface - groundwater interactions. This is especially true in the Rocky Mountain West of the United States, where snowpack provides the majority of water available for spring runoff and groundwater replenishment. In this study, we look at summer low flow conditions at four snow dominated catchments (26 km2 - 2200 km2) in South-central Idaho currently feeling the effects of climate change. Measures of snowmelt dynamics, summer evapotranspiration demand and spring and summer precipitation are used to determine the dominant controls on late summer low flow magnitude, timing and duration. These analyses show that the controls vary between watersheds, with significant implications for the impacts of climate change in snow dominated areas of the Rocky Mountain West.

Impacts of Mesoscale Eddies on the Vertical Nitrate Flux in the Gulf Stream Region

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Shuwen; Curchitser, Enrique N.; Kang, Dujuan; Stock, Charles A.; Dussin, Raphael

2018-01-01

The Gulf Stream (GS) region has intense mesoscale variability that can affect the supply of nutrients to the euphotic zone (Zeu). In this study, a recently developed high-resolution coupled physical-biological model is used to conduct a 25-year simulation in the Northwest Atlantic. The Reynolds decomposition method is applied to quantify the nitrate budget and shows that the mesoscale variability is important to the vertical nitrate supply over the GS region. The decomposition, however, cannot isolate eddy effects from those arising from other mesoscale phenomena. This limitation is addressed by analyzing a large sample of eddies detected and tracked from the 25-year simulation. The eddy composite structures indicate that positive nitrate anomalies within Zeu exist in both cyclonic eddies (CEs) and anticyclonic eddies (ACEs) over the GS region, and are even more pronounced in the ACEs. Our analysis further indicates that positive nitrate anomalies mostly originate from enhanced vertical advective flux rather than vertical turbulent diffusion. The eddy-wind interaction-induced Ekman pumping is very likely the mechanism driving the enhanced vertical motions and vertical nitrate transport within ACEs. This study suggests that the ACEs in GS region may play an important role in modulating the oceanic biogeochemical properties by fueling local biomass production through the persistent supply of nitrate.

The role of grazing in nutrient-rich areas of the open sea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frost, B.W.

1991-01-01

No single factor accounts fully for the persistently low phytoplankton stocks in the nutrient-rich areas of the open sea. However, grazing plays the necessary role of consuming phytoplankton produced in excess of losses due to physical processes and sinking. Without grazing, even if specific growth rate of the phytoplankton is less than optimal for the prevailing light and temperature conditions, as might be so under limitation by a trace nutrient such as Fe, the phytoplankton stock would still accumulate with attendant depletion of nutrients. Observations during spring and summer in the open subarctic Pacific argue against limitation of phytoplankton growth to the point where phytoplankton stock could not increase in the absence of grazing. An ecosystem process model of the phytoplankton-grazer interaction suggests that two processes - grazing control of phytoplankton stock and preferential utilization of NH 4 by the phytoplankton - are sufficient to explain the continuously low phytoplankton stock and high concentrations of macronutrients. However, the grazing control may be exerted on a phytoplankton assemblage structured by Fe limitation. In particular, the intrinsic growth rates of potentially fast-growing diatoms seem to be depressed in the open subarctic Pacific. These conditions probably apply to two other nutrient-rich areas of the open sea, the Pacific equatorial upwelling region and the subantarctic circumpolar ocean, although in the latter region light limitation of phytoplankton growth may be more severe and silica limitation may influence the specific composition of the phytoplankton assemblage

Fish distribution studies near N Reactor, Summer 1983

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dauble, D.D.; Page, T.L.

1984-06-01

This report summarizes field studies that were initiated in July 1983 to provide estimates of the relative distribution of late-summer outmigrant juvenile salmonids and juvenile resident fish upstream of the N Reactor 009 Outfall. Chinook salmon are among the fish species most sensitive to thermal effects, and impacts to the juvenile outmigrant populations are of particular concern to state and federal regulatory and fisheries management agencies. Therefore, the distribution studies were conducted from late July through September, a period when high ambient river temperatures and low river flows make these salmonid populations most susceptible to thermal effects. In addition, data were not available on the spatial distribution of outmigrant juvenile chinook salmon in late summer. Information on the relative distribution of resident fish populations was also gathered. Previous studies of midstream distribution of juvenile resident fish were limited to a description of ichthyoplankton populations (Beak Consultants, Inc. 1980 Page et al. 1982), and no data were available on vertical or horizontal distribution of juvenile resident fish species near N Reactor. Relative densities and spatial distribution estimates of juvenile salmonid and resident fish species will be used in conjunction with laboratory thermal effects studies (Neitzel et al. 1984) and with plume characterization studies (Ecker et al. 1983) to assess potential impacts of thermal discharge on fish populations near N Reactor.

Tidal influences on vertical diffusion and diurnal variability of ozone in the mesosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Bjarnason, Gudmundur G.; Solomon, Susan; Garcia, Rolando R.

1987-01-01

Possible dynamical influences on the diurnal behavior of ozone are investigated. A time dependent one-dimensional photochemical model is developed for this purpose; all model calculations are made at 70 deg N during summer. It is shown that the vertical diffusion can vary as much as 1 order of magnitude within a day as a result of large changes in the zonal wind induced by atmospheric thermal tides. It is found that by introducing a dissipation time scale for turbulence produced by breaking gravity waves, the agreement with Poker Flat echo data is improved. Comparisons of results from photochemical model calculations, where the vertical diffusion is a function of height only, with those in which the vertical diffusion coefficient is changing in time show large differences in the diurnal behavior of ozone between 70 and 90 km. By including the dynamical effect, much better agreement with the Solar Mesosphere Explorers data is obtained. The results are, however, sensitive to the background zonally averaged wind. The influence of including time-varying vertical diffusion coefficient on the OH densities is also large, especially between 80 and 90 km. This suggests that dynamical effects are important in determining the diurnal behavior of the airglow emission from the Meinel bands.

Formation of well-mixed warm water column in central Bohai Sea during summer: Role of high-frequency atmospheric forcing

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Weiwei; Wan, Xiuquan; Wang, Zhankun; Liu, Yulong; Wan, Kai

2017-12-01

The influence of high-frequency atmospheric forcing on the formation of a well-mixed summer warm water column in the central Bohai Sea is investigated comparing model simulations driven by daily surface forcing and those using monthly forcing data. In the absence of high-frequency atmospheric forcing, numerical simulations have repeatedly failed to reproduce this vertically uniform column of warm water measured over the past 35 years. However, high-frequency surface forcing is found to strongly influence the structure and distribution of the well-mixed warm water column, and simulations are in good agreement with observations. Results show that high frequency forcing enhances vertical mixing over the central bank, intensifies downward heat transport, and homogenizes the water column to form the Bohai central warm column. Evidence presented shows that high frequency forcing plays a dominant role in the formation of the well-mixed warm water column in summer, even without the effects of tidal and surface wave mixing. The present study thus provides a practical and rational way of further improving the performance of oceanic simulations in the Bohai Sea and can be used to adjust parameterization schemes of ocean models.

Nutrient cycling strategies.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Breemen, van N.

1995-01-01

This paper briefly reviews pathways by which plants can influence the nutrient cycle, and thereby the nutrient supply of themselves and of their competitors. Higher or lower internal nutrient use efficiency positively feeds back into the nutrient cycle, and helps to increase or decrease soil

Nutrient Dynamics in an Avicennia marina (Forsk. Vierh., Mangrove Forest in Vamleshwar, Gujarat, India

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Isaiah Nirmal KUMAR

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The study was carried out to determine the nutrient budget of plants, sediments and nutrient dynamics in an Avicennia marina (Forsk. Vierh., dominated forest in Vamleshwar near Narmada estuary, West Coast of Gujarat for a period of one year from November 2008 to October 2009. The average tree height of the mangrove is 1.5 to 2 m without much vertical stratification. Allometric methodology was used to measure the biomass, and yield a figure of 86.47 t ha-1 and the litter fall rate amounted to 2.9 t ha-1. Nutrient stocks of N, P and K in this mangrove were 137.05, 14.38 and 241.29 kg ha-1, with an annual accumulation of 55.74, 12.38 and 83.94 kg ha-1, and an annual return of 51.30, 10.83 and 13.52 kg ha-1, respectively, in the form of litter. The annual uptake for N, P and K were 61.04, 14.28 and 97.46 kg ha-1, and turnover rates of N, P and K were estimated at 3, 6 and 14 years, respectively, for the study period. Flow coefficients, which reveal the dynamic processes of nutrients between mangrove plants and sediments, are also explained. The present study concluded that the A. marina dominated mangrove plantation is more efficient in nutrient use and conservation.

Atmospheric deposition as a source of carbon and nutrients to an alpine catchment of the Colorado Rocky Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Mladenov, N.; Williams, M. W.; Schmidt, S. K.; Cawley, K.

2012-08-01

Many alpine areas are experiencing deglaciation, biogeochemical changes driven by temperature rise, and changes in atmospheric deposition. There is mounting evidence that the water quality of alpine streams may be related to these changes, including rising atmospheric deposition of carbon (C) and nutrients. Given that barren alpine soils can be severely C limited, atmospheric deposition sources may be an important source of C and nutrients for these environments. We evaluated the magnitude of atmospheric deposition of C and nutrients to an alpine site, the Green Lake 4 catchment in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Using a long-term dataset (2002-2010) of weekly atmospheric wet deposition and snowpack chemistry, we found that volume weighted mean dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations were 1.12 ± 0.19 mg l-1, and weekly concentrations reached peaks as high at 6-10 mg l-1 every summer. Total dissolved nitrogen concentration also peaked in the summer, whereas total dissolved phosphorus and calcium concentrations were highest in the spring. To investigate potential sources of C in atmospheric deposition, we evaluated the chemical quality of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and relationships between DOM and other solutes in wet deposition. Relationships between DOC concentration, fluorescence, and nitrate and sulfate concentrations suggest that pollutants from nearby urban and agricultural sources and organic aerosols derived from sub-alpine vegetation may influence high summer DOC wet deposition concentrations. Interestingly, high DOC concentrations were also recorded during "dust-in-snow" events in the spring, which may reflect an association of DOM with dust. Detailed chemical and spectroscopic analyses conducted for samples collected in 2010 revealed that the DOM in many late spring and summer samples was less aromatic and polydisperse and of lower molecular weight than that of winter and fall samples. Our C budget estimates for the Green Lake 4 catchment

Interannual variability of surface and bottom sediment transport on the Laptev Sea shelf during summer

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C. Wegner

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Sediment transport dynamics were studied during ice-free conditions under different atmospheric circulation regimes on the Laptev Sea shelf (Siberian Arctic. To study the interannual variability of suspended particulate matter (SPM dynamics and their coupling with the variability in surface river water distribution on the Laptev Sea shelf, detailed oceanographic, optical (turbidity and Ocean Color satellite data, and hydrochemical (nutrients, SPM, stable oxygen isotopes process studies were carried out continuously during the summers of 2007 and 2008. Thus, for the first time SPM and nutrient variations on the Laptev Sea shelf under different atmospheric forcing and the implications for the turbidity and transparency of the water column can be presented.

The data indicate a clear link between different surface distributions of riverine waters and the SPM transport dynamics within the entire water column. The summer of 2007 was dominated by shoreward winds and an eastward transport of riverine surface waters. The surface SPM concentration on the southeastern inner shelf was elevated, which led to decreased transmissivity and increased light absorption. Surface SPM concentrations in the central and northern Laptev Sea were comparatively low. However, the SPM transport and concentration within the bottom nepheloid layer increased considerably on the entire eastern shelf. The summer of 2008 was dominated by offshore winds and northward transport of the river plume. The surface SPM transport was enhanced and extended onto the mid-shelf, whereas the bottom SPM transport and concentration was diminished. This study suggests that the SPM concentration and transport, in both the surface and bottom nepheloid layers, are associated with the distribution of riverine surface waters which are linked to the atmospheric circulation patterns over the Laptev Sea and the adjacent Arctic Ocean during the open water season. A continuing trend toward

Nutrient removal using biosorption activated media: Preliminary biogeochemical assessment of an innovative stormwater infiltration basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Reilly, Andrew M.; Wanielista, Martin P.; Chang, Ni-Bin; Xuan, Zhemin; Harris, Willie G.

2012-01-01

Soil beneath a stormwater infiltration basin receiving runoff from a 23 ha predominantly residential watershed in north-central Florida, USA, was amended using biosorption activated media (BAM) to study the effectiveness of this technology in reducing inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus to groundwater. The functionalized soil amendment BAM consists of a 1.0:1.9:4.1 mixture (by volume) of tire crumb (to increase sorption capacity), silt and clay (to increase soil moisture retention), and sand (to promote sufficient infiltration), which was applied to develop an innovative stormwater infiltration basin utilizing nutrient reduction and flood control sub-basins. Comparison of nitrate/chloride (NO 3 − /Cl − ) ratios for the shallow groundwater indicates that prior to using BAM, NO 3 − concentrations were substantially influenced by nitrification or variations in NO 3 − input. In contrast, for the new basin utilizing BAM, NO 3 − /Cl − ratios indicate minor nitrification and NO 3 − losses with the exception of one summer sample that indicated a 45% loss. Biogeochemical indicators (denitrifier activity derived from real-time polymerase chain reaction and variations in major ions, nutrients, dissolved and soil gases, and stable isotopes) suggest that NO 3 − losses are primarily attributable to denitrification, whereas dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium is a minor process. Denitrification was likely occurring intermittently in anoxic microsites in the unsaturated zone, which was enhanced by the increased soil moisture within the BAM layer and resultant reductions in surface/subsurface oxygen exchange that produced conditions conducive to increased denitrifier activity. Concentrations of total dissolved phosphorus and orthophosphate (PO 4 3− ) were reduced by more than 70% in unsaturated zone soil water, with the largest decreases in the BAM layer where sorption was the most likely mechanism for removal. Post-BAM PO 4 3− /Cl − ratios for shallow

The effect of organic and biofertilizers on some quantitative characteristics and essential oil content of summer savory (Satureja hortensis L.

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P. Rezvani Moghaddam

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Plant growth promoting bacteria with various mechanisms such as an increase in uptake and availability of nutrients can improve plant growth. In order to evaluate the effects of biofertilizers and Vermicompost on quantitative characteristics and essential oil content of vegetative parts of summer savory, a field experiment was conducted during growing season of 2008- 2009 at Agriculture Research Station, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. A randomized complete block design with three replications was used. Treatments included: Nitragin, Nitragin+Vermicompost, Nitragin+Nitroxin, Nitragin+Phosphate solublizing bacteria, Nitragin+Phosphate solublizing bacteria+Vermicompost, Nitragin+Phosphate solublizing bacteria+Nitroxin, Nitragin+Nitroxin+Vermicompost and control. Plants were harvested twice at 10% flowering stag. The result showed that biofertilizers and Vermicompost had significant effects (p≤0.01 on plant height, percentage of leaf and stem, biological yield and essential oil contents of leaves in both harvests. The combination of Nitragin + Nitroxin and Vermicompost and control treatments had the highest and the lowest plant height, percentage of stem and leaf, and biological yield. It seems that seed inoculation with biofertilizers enhanced root development and hence availability of moisture and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. Therefore, summer savory inoculation with biofertilizers could improve some quantitative and essential oil contents.

Dynamic contents of energy and organic nutrient in steppe growths of the Mohelenská Serpentine Steppe National Nature Reserve

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Pavel Veselý

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to determine the dynamics in the content of organic nutrients, ash and energy in dry matter of growths within the Mohelenská Serpentine Steppe National Nature Reserve (NPR, and to document their initial nutritive value before the intended grazing. Plant samples in 1995 and 1996 during the growing season in 14-days intervals from the area of 3 × 1 m2. Amounts of dry matter, fibre, nitrogen substances, fat and ashes were determined in growths according to the ANONYM (2001. Nitrogen-free extract substances (BNLV were determined by final calculating; BE, ME, NEL, NEV, PDIN and PDIE were calculated using the regression equations (VESELÝ and ZEMAN, 1995, 1997. Combining ratio (SP was calculated according to the relation: SP = PDIN (g/NEL (MJ. The dynamics of the contents of dry matter, organic nutrients, ashes and energy were assessed in the growth during the vegetation period and the dynamics was compared with standardized requirements of sheep (no pregnant ewe. Regression and correlation relations for nutrition value of the growths during vegetation period were calculated by use of mathematical-statistical analysis. Only statistically significantly (P<0.05 different parameters form the zero are presented in the paper. The content of dry matter in the growths culminated in summer months (places D8, E13, B17 and it was accompanied by depression in autumn months. After the highest content of crude protein, PDIN and PDIE recorded in spring months summer depression (August followed, this depression was partly balanced by autumn growth of vegetation. The content of ash in steppe growths increased during evaluated period. Similar tendency was registered for fat. Also the contents of fibre and BNLV linearly increased. The contents of nitrogen nutrients and energy corresponded with standardized requirements for sheep during whole vegetation period. Conversely the content of fibre highly exceeded the requirement except in spring

Nutrient removal using biosorption activated media: preliminary biogeochemical assessment of an innovative stormwater infiltration basin

Science.gov (United States)

O'Reilly, Andrew M.; Wanielista, Martin P.; Chang, Ni-Bin; Xuan, Zhemin; Harris, Willie G.

2012-01-01

Soil beneath a stormwater infiltration basin receiving runoff from a 22.7 ha predominantly residential watershed in central Florida, USA, was amended using biosorption activated media (BAM) to study the effectiveness of this technology in reducing inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus to groundwater. The functionalized soil amendment BAM consists of a 1.0:1.9:4.1 mixture (by volume) of tire crumb (to increase sorption capacity), silt and clay (to increase soil moisture retention), and sand (to promote sufficient infiltration), which was applied to develop a prototype stormwater infiltration basin utilizing nutrient reduction and flood control sub-basins. Comparison of nitrate/chloride (NO3-/Cl-) ratios for the shallow groundwater indicate that prior to using BAM, NO3- concentrations were substantially influenced by nitrification or variations in NO3- input. In contrast, for the prototype basin utilizing BAM, NO3-/Cl- ratios indicate minor nitrification and NO3- losses with the exception of one summer sample that indicated a 45% loss. Biogeochemical indicators (denitrifier activity derived from real-time polymerase chain reaction and variations in major ions, nutrients, dissolved and soil gases, and stable isotopes) suggest NO3- losses are primarily attributable to denitrification, whereas dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium is a minor process. Denitrification was likely occurring intermittently in anoxic microsites in the unsaturated zone, which was enhanced by increased soil moisture within the BAM layer and resultant reductions in surface/subsurface oxygen exchange that produced conditions conducive to increased denitrifier activity. Concentrations of total dissolved phosphorus and orthophosphate (PO43-) were reduced by more than 70% in unsaturated zone soil water, with the largest decreases in the BAM layer where sorption was the most likely mechanism for removal. Post-BAM PO43-/Cl- ratios for shallow groundwater indicate predominantly minor increases and

ESTIMATION OF SOLAR ENERGY ON VERTICAL 3D BUILDING WALLS ON CITY QUARTER SCALE

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F. Jaugsch

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In urban areas, solar energy is one promising source of renewable energy to achieve the EU parliament’s goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 20 % compared to 1990. Although annual radiation on vertical walls is lower than that on roof surfaces, they are larger in area and, therefore may contribute to energy production. On the other hand, the modelling of shadowing effects is cost intensive in an complex urban environment. Here we present a method for the calculation of solar potential on vertical walls for simple 2D maps with additional building height information. We introduced observer point columns that enable a fast decision whether a whole vertical set of observer points is illuminated or not. By the introduction of a maximum shade length, we reduce processing time in ArcGIS. 206,291 points of 130 buildings have been analysed in time steps of 15 minutes resulting in 15 769 pairs of solar angles. Results disprove the potential of vertical walls serving to fill the winter gap of roof mounted solar energy plants. Best wall orientation for the deployment of solar panels are west and east in summer, whereas it is southeast in winter.

Vertical and temporal dynamics of cyanobacteria in the Carpina potable water reservoir in northeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Moura, A N; Dantas, E W; Oliveira, H S B; Bittencourt-Oliveira, M C

2011-05-01

This study analysed vertical and temporal variations of cyanobacteria in a potable water supply in northeastern Brazil. Samples were collected from four reservoir depths in the four months; September and December 2007; and March and June 2008. The water samples for the determination of nutrients and cyanobacteria were collected using a horizontal van Dorn bottle. The samples were preserved in 4% formaldehyde for taxonomic analysis using an optical microscope, and water aliquots were preserved in acetic Lugol solution for determination of density using an inverted microscope. High water temperatures, alkaline pH, low transparency, high phosphorous content and limited nitrogen content were found throughout the study. Dissolved oxygen stratification occurred throughout the study period whereas temperature stratification occurred in all sampling months, with the exception of June. No significant vertical differences were recorded for turbidity or total and dissolved forms of nutrients. There were high levels of biomass arising from Planktothrix agardhii, Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, Geitlerinema amphibium and Pseudanabaena catenata. The study demonstrates that, in a tropical eutrophic environment with high temperatures throughout the water column, perennial multi-species cyanobacterial blooms, formed by species capable of regulating their position in the water column (those that have gas vesicles for buoyancy), are dominant in the photic and aphotic strata.

Vertical and temporal dynamics of cyanobacteria in the Carpina potable water reservoir in northeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

AN Moura

Full Text Available This study analysed vertical and temporal variations of cyanobacteria in a potable water supply in northeastern Brazil. Samples were collected from four reservoir depths in the four months; September and December 2007; and March and June 2008. The water samples for the determination of nutrients and cyanobacteria were collected using a horizontal van Dorn bottle. The samples were preserved in 4% formaldehyde for taxonomic analysis using an optical microscope, and water aliquots were preserved in acetic Lugol solution for determination of density using an inverted microscope. High water temperatures, alkaline pH, low transparency, high phosphorous content and limited nitrogen content were found throughout the study. Dissolved oxygen stratification occurred throughout the study period whereas temperature stratification occurred in all sampling months, with the exception of June. No significant vertical differences were recorded for turbidity or total and dissolved forms of nutrients. There were high levels of biomass arising from Planktothrix agardhii, Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, Geitlerinema amphibium and Pseudanabaena catenata. The study demonstrates that, in a tropical eutrophic environment with high temperatures throughout the water column, perennial multi-species cyanobacterial blooms, formed by species capable of regulating their position in the water column (those that have gas vesicles for buoyancy, are dominant in the photic and aphotic strata.

Seasonality and vertical structure of microbial communities in an ocean gyre.

Science.gov (United States)

Treusch, Alexander H; Vergin, Kevin L; Finlay, Liam A; Donatz, Michael G; Burton, Robert M; Carlson, Craig A; Giovannoni, Stephen J

2009-10-01

Vertical, seasonal and geographical patterns in ocean microbial communities have been observed in many studies, but the resolution of community dynamics has been limited by the scope of data sets, which are seldom up to the task of illuminating the highly structured and rhythmic patterns of change found in ocean ecosystems. We studied vertical and temporal patterns in the microbial community composition in a set of 412 samples collected from the upper 300 m of the water column in the northwestern Sargasso Sea, on cruises between 1991 and 2004. The region sampled spans the extent of deep winter mixing and the transition between the euphotic and the upper mesopelagic zones, where most carbon fixation and reoxidation occurs. A bioinformatic pipeline was developed to de-noise, normalize and align terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) data from three restriction enzymes and link T-RFLP peaks to microbial clades. Non-metric multidimensional scaling statistics resolved three microbial communities with distinctive composition during seasonal stratification: a surface community in the region of lowest nutrients, a deep chlorophyll maximum community and an upper mesopelagic community. A fourth microbial community was associated with annual spring blooms of eukaryotic phytoplankton that occur in the northwestern Sargasso Sea as a consequence of winter convective mixing that entrains nutrients to the surface. Many bacterial clades bloomed in seasonal patterns that shifted with the progression of stratification. These richly detailed patterns of community change suggest that highly specialized adaptations and interactions govern the success of microbial populations in the oligotrophic ocean.

Vertical ozone characteristics in urban boundary layer in Beijing.

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Ma, Zhiqiang; Xu, Honghui; Meng, Wei; Zhang, Xiaoling; Xu, Jing; Liu, Quan; Wang, Yuesi

2013-07-01

Vertical ozone and meteorological parameters were measured by tethered balloon in the boundary layer in the summer of 2009 in Beijing, China. A total of 77 tethersonde soundings were taken during the 27-day campaign. The surface ozone concentrations measured by ozonesondes and TEI 49C showed good agreement, albeit with temporal difference between the two instruments. Two case studies of nocturnal secondary ozone maxima are discussed in detail. The development of the low-level jet played a critical role leading to the observed ozone peak concentrations in nocturnal boundary layer (NBL). The maximum of surface ozone was 161.7 ppbv during the campaign, which could be attributed to abundant precursors storage near surface layer at nighttime. Vertical distribution of ozone was also measured utilizing conventional continuous analyzers on 325-m meteorological observation tower. The results showed the NBL height was between 47 and 280 m, which were consistent with the balloon data. Southerly air flow could bring ozone-rich air to Beijing, and the ozone concentrations exceeded the China's hourly ozone standard (approximately 100 ppb) above 600 m for more than 12 h.

Vertical structure of atmospheric boundary layer over Ranchi during the summer monsoon season

Science.gov (United States)

Chandra, Sagarika; Srivastava, Nishi; Kumar, Manoj

2018-04-01

Thermodynamic structure and variability in the atmospheric boundary layer have been investigated with the help of balloon-borne GPS radiosonde over a monsoon trough station Ranchi (Lat. 23°45'N, Long. 85°43'E, India) during the summer monsoon season (June-September) for a period of 2011-2013. Virtual potential temperature gradient method is used for the determination of mixed layer height (MLH). The MLH has been found to vary in the range of 1000-1300 m during the onset, 600-900 m during the active and 1400-1750 m during the break phase of monsoon over this region. Inter-annual variations noticed in MLH could be associated with inter-annual variability in convection and rainfall prevailing over the region. Along with the MLH, the cloud layer heights are also derived from the thermodynamic profiles for the onset, active and break phases of monsoon. Cloud layer height varied a lot during different phases of the monsoon. For the determination of boundary-layer convection, thermodynamic parameter difference (δθ = θ es- θ e) between saturated equivalent potential temperature (θ es ) and equivalent potential temperature (θ e) is used. It is a good indicator of convection and indicates the intense and suppressed convection during different phases of monsoon.

Vertical distribution of hydrocarbons in the low troposphere below and above the mixing height: Tethered balloon measurements in Milan, Italy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sangiorgi, G., E-mail: giorgia.sangiorgi1@unimib.it [POLARIS Research Centre, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, piazza della Scienza 1, 20126 Milano (Italy); Ferrero, L.; Perrone, M.G.; Bolzacchini, E. [POLARIS Research Centre, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, piazza della Scienza 1, 20126 Milano (Italy); Duane, M. [Institute for Environment and Sustainability, EU Joint Research Centre Ispra, 21020 Ispra, Varese (Italy); Larsen, B.R. [Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, EU Joint Research Centre Ispra, 21020 Ispra, Varese (Italy)

2011-12-15

A novel approach for measuring vertical profiles of HCs and particle number concentrations was described and applied in the low troposphere over Milan (Italy) during typical spring and summer days. Particle profiles yielded nearly homogeneous concentrations below the mixing height, with level-to-ground concentration ratios of 92-97%, while HCs showed a more pronounced decrease (74-95%). Vertical mixing and photochemical loss of HCs were demonstrated to cause these gradients. Much lower concentrations were observed for the profiles above the mixing height, where the HC mixtures showed also a different composition, which was partially explained by the horizontal advection of air with HC sources different to those prevailing at the site. The application of pseudo-first order kinetics for reactions between HCs and the hydroxyl radical allowed for the estimation of the vertical mixing time scale in the order of 100 {+-} 20 min. - Graphical abstract: Display Omitted Highlights: > Experimental vertical profiles of HCs and particle concentration by tethered balloon. > Effect of mixing height on the vertical distribution of HCs and particles. > Effect of tropospheric reactivity on vertical profiles of HCs. > Pseudo-first order kinetic reaction of HCs in convective systems. - Vertical transport and photochemical loss of HCs below and above the mixing height were studied by means of a novel and simple approach.

Extensive summer water pulses do not necessarily lead to canopy growth of Great Basin and northern Mojave Desert shrubs.

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, K A; Donovan, L A; James, J J; Tiller, R L; Richards, J H

2004-10-01

Plant species and functionally related species groups from arid and semi-arid habitats vary in their capacity to take up summer precipitation, acquire nitrogen quickly after summer precipitation, and subsequently respond with ecophysiological changes (e.g. water and nitrogen relations, gas exchange). For species that respond ecophysiologically, the use of summer precipitation is generally assumed to affect long-term plant growth and thus alter competitive interactions that structure plant communities and determine potential responses to climate change. We assessed ecophysiological and growth responses to large short-term irrigation pulses over one to three growing seasons for several widespread Great Basin and northern Mojave Desert shrub species: Chrysothamnus nauseosus, Sarcobatus vermiculatus, Atriplex confertifolia, and A. parryi. We compared control and watered plants in nine case studies that encompassed adults of all four species, juveniles for three of the species, and two sites for two of the species. In every comparison, plants used summer water pulses to improve plant water status or increase rates of functioning as indicated by other ecophysiological characters. Species and life history stage responses of ecophysiological parameters (leaf N, delta15N, delta13C, gas exchange, sap flow) were consistent with several previous short-term studies. However, use of summer water pulses did not affect canopy growth in eight out of nine comparisons, despite the range of species, growth stages, and site conditions. Summer water pulses affected canopy growth only for C. nauseosus adults. The general lack of growth effects for these species might be due to close proximity of groundwater at these sites, co-limitation by nutrients, or inability to respond due to phenological canalization. An understanding of the connections between short-term ecophysiological responses and growth, for different habitats and species, is critical for determining the significance of

Summer Meal Capacity Builder

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Agriculture — Allows users to search for summer meal sites from the previous summer by zip code, adding “layers” of information, such as free and reduced-price lunch participation...

Atmospheric deposition as a source of carbon and nutrients to barren, alpine soils of the Colorado Rocky Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Mladenov, N.; Williams, M. W.; Schmidt, S. K.; Cawley, K.

2012-03-01

Many alpine areas are experiencing intense deglaciation, biogeochemical changes driven by temperature rise, and changes in atmospheric deposition. There is mounting evidence that the water quality of alpine streams may be related to these changes, including rising atmospheric deposition of carbon (C) and nutrients. Given that barren alpine soils can be severely C limited, we evaluated the magnitude and chemical quality of atmospheric deposition of C and nutrients to an alpine site, the Green Lake 4 catchment in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Using a long term dataset (2002-2010) of weekly atmospheric wet deposition and snowpack chemistry, we found that volume weighted mean dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations were approximately 1.0 mg L-1and weekly concentrations reached peaks as high at 6-10 mg L-1 every summer. Total dissolved nitrogen concentration also peaked in the summer, whereas total dissolved phosphorus and calcium concentrations were highest in the spring. Relationships among DOC concentration, dissolved organic matter (DOM) fluorescence properties, and nitrate and sulfate concentrations suggest that pollutants from nearby urban and agricultural sources and organic aerosols derived from sub-alpine vegetation may influence high summer DOC wet deposition concentrations. Interestingly, high DOC concentrations were also recorded during "dust-in-snow" events in the spring. Detailed chemical and spectroscopic analyses conducted for samples collected in 2010 revealed that the DOM in many late spring and summer samples was less aromatic and polydisperse and of lower molecular weight than that of winter and fall samples and, therefore, likely to be more bioavailable to microbes in barren alpine soils. Bioavailability experiments with different types of atmospheric C sources are needed to better evaluate the substrate quality of atmospheric C inputs. Our C budget estimates for the Green Lake 4 catchment suggest that atmospheric deposition represents an

Biomass production and control of nutrient leaching of willows using different planting methods with special emphasis on an appraisal of the electrical impedance for roots

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang Cao

2011-07-01

Willow reproduction can be achieved through vertically or horizontally planted cuttings. Conventionally, plantations are established by inserting cuttings vertically into the soil. There is, however, a lack of information about the biomass production and nutrient leaching of plantations established through horizontally planted cuttings. A greenhouse experiment and a field trial were carried out to investigate whether horizontally planted Salix schwerinii cuttings have a positive effect on stem yield, root distribution and nutrient leaching in comparison with vertically planted cuttings with different planting densities. The shoots' height of horizontally planted cuttings was significantly smaller than that of vertically planted cuttings during the first two weeks after planting in the pot experiment. Thereafter, no significant effect of planting orientation on the stem biomass was observed in the two conducted experiments. In both experiments the total stem biomass increased with the planting density. It was also found that the fine root biomass and the specific root length were not affected by the planting orientation or density, while the fine root surface area and the absorbing root surface area (ARSA) were affected only by the planting density. The planting orientation did not affect the nutrient concentrations in the soil leachate, apart from SO{sub 4}-S and PO{sub 4}-P in the pot experiment. The ARSA in the pot experiment was assessed by using the earth impedance method. The applicability of this method was evaluated in a hydroponic study of willow cuttings where root and stem were measured independently. Electrical resistance had a good correlation with the contact area of the roots with the solution. However, the resistance depended strongly on the contact area of the stem with the solution, which caused a bias in the evaluation of root surface area. A similar experimental set-up with electrical impedance spectroscopy was employed to study the

Paired single cell co-culture microenvironments isolated by two-phase flow with continuous nutrient renewal.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yu-Chih; Cheng, Yu-Heng; Kim, Hong Sun; Ingram, Patrick N; Nor, Jacques E; Yoon, Euisik

2014-08-21

Cancer-stromal cell interactions are a critical process in tumorigenesis. Conventional dish-based assays, which simply mix two cell types, have limitations in three aspects: 1) limited control of the cell microenvironment; 2) inability to study cell behavior in a single-cell manner; and 3) have difficulties in characterizing single cell behavior within a highly heterogeneous cell population (e.g. tumor). An innovative use of microfluidic technology is for improving the spatial resolution for single cell assays. However, it is challenging to isolate the paired interacting cells while maintaining nutrient renewal. In this work, two-phase flow was used as a simple isolation method, separating the microenvironment of each individual chamber. As nutrients in an isolated chamber are consumed by cells, media exchange is required. To connect the cell culture chamber to the media exchange layer, we demonstrated a 3D microsystem integration technique using vertical connections fabricated by deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE). Compared to previous approaches, the presented process allows area reduction of vertical connections by an order of magnitude, enabling compact 3D integration. A semi-permeable membrane was sandwiched between the cell culture layer and the media exchange layer. The selectivity of the semi-permeable membrane results in the retention of the signaling proteins within the chamber while allowing free diffusion of nutrients (e.g., glucose and amino acids). Thus, paracrine signals are accumulated inside the chamber without cross-talk between cells in other chambers. Utilizing these innovations, we co-cultured UM-SCC-1 (head and neck squamous cell carcinoma) cells and endothelial cells to simulate tumor proliferation enhancement in the vascular endothelial niche.

Pleistocene atmospheric CO2 change linked to Southern Ocean nutrient utilization

Science.gov (United States)

Ziegler, M.; Diz, P.; Hall, I. R.; Zahn, R.

2011-12-01

Biological uptake of CO2 by the ocean and its subsequent storage in the abyss is intimately linked with the global carbon cycle and constitutes a significant climatic force1. The Southern Ocean is a particularly important region because its wind-driven upwelling regime brings CO2 laden abyssal waters to the surface that exchange CO2 with the atmosphere. The Subantarctic Zone (SAZ) is a CO2 sink and also drives global primary productivity as unutilized nutrients, advected with surface waters from the south, are exported via Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) as preformed nutrients to the low latitudes where they fuel the biological pump in upwelling areas. Recent model estimates suggest that up to 40 ppm of the total 100 ppm atmospheric pCO2 reduction during the last ice age were driven by increased nutrient utilization in the SAZ and associated feedbacks on the deep ocean alkalinity. Micro-nutrient fertilization by iron (Fe), contained in the airborne dust flux to the SAZ, is considered to be the prime factor that stimulated this elevated photosynthetic activity thus enhancing nutrient utilization. We present a millennial-scale record of the vertical stable carbon isotope gradient between subsurface and deep water (Δδ13C) in the SAZ spanning the past 350,000 years. The Δδ13C gradient, derived from planktonic and benthic foraminifera, reflects the efficiency of biological pump and is highly correlated (rxy = -0.67 with 95% confidence interval [0.63; 0.71], n=874) with the record of dust flux preserved in Antarctic ice cores6. This strongly suggests that nutrient utilization in the SAZ was dynamically coupled to dust-induced Fe fertilization across both glacial-interglacial and faster millennial timescales. In concert with ventilation changes of the deep Southern Ocean this drove ocean-atmosphere CO2 exchange and, ultimately, atmospheric pCO2 variability during the late Pleistocene.

Assessing the meteorological conditions of a deep Italian Alpine valley system by means of a measuring campaign and simulations with two models during a summer smog episode

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dosio, A.; Emeis, S.; Graziani, G.; Junkermann, W.; Levy, A.

2001-01-01

The typical features of a summer smog episode in the highly complex terrain of the Province of Bolzano (Northern Italy) were investigated by numerical modelling with two non-hydrostatic models, ground-based monitoring stations, and vertical profiling with two sodars and an ultra-light aircraft. High

Effects of pulsed nutrient inputs on phytoplankton assemblage structure and blooms in an enclosed coastal area

Science.gov (United States)

Spatharis, Sofie; Tsirtsis, George; Danielidis, Daniel B.; Chi, Thang Do; Mouillot, David

2007-07-01

The response of phytoplankton assemblage structure to terrestrial nutrient inputs was examined for the Gulf of Kalloni in the Northern Aegean Sea, a productive semi-enclosed coastal marine ecosystem. The study was focused on a typical annual cycle, and emphasis was placed on the comparative analysis between blooms developing after significant nutrient inputs from the watershed, and naturally occurring blooms. Baseline information was collected on a monthly basis from a network of stations located in the oligotrophic open sea and the interior and more productive part of the embayment. Intensive sampling was also carried out along a gradient in the vicinity of a river which was the most important source of freshwater and nutrient input for the Gulf. Phytoplankton assemblage structure was analyzed from 188 samples using diversity indices (Shannon and Average Taxonomic Distinctness), multivariate plotting methods (NMDS), multivariate statistics (PERMANOVA), and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Three characteristic assemblages were recognized: (1) an autumn assemblage developed under nutrient depleted conditions, having low diversity due to the dominance of two small diatoms, (2) a winter bloom of the potentially toxic species Pseudo-nitzschia calliantha occurring immediately after a nutrient peak and characterized by very low diversity, and (3) a naturally occurring early summer bloom of centric diatoms with relatively high diversity. The results of the study support the view that moderate nutrient inputs may have a beneficial effect on the functioning of coastal ecosystems, stimulating the taxonomic diversity through the growth of different taxonomic groups and taxa. On the other hand, a sudden pulse of high nutrient concentrations may greatly affect the natural succession of organisms, have a negative effect on the diversity through the dominance of a single species, and can increase the possibility of a harmful algal bloom development.

The Nutrient Density of Snacks: A Comparison of Nutrient Profiles of Popular Snack Foods Using the Nutrient-Rich Foods Index.

Science.gov (United States)

Hess, Julie; Rao, Goutham; Slavin, Joanne

2017-01-01

Background: Although Americans receive almost a quarter of their daily energy from snacks, snacking remains a poorly defined and understood eating occasion. However, there is little dietary guidance about choosing snacks. Families, clinicians, and researchers need a comprehensive approach to assessing their nutritional value. Objective: To quantify and compare the nutrient density of commonly consumed snacks by their overall nutrient profiles using the Nutrient-Rich Foods (NRF) Index 10.3. Methods: NRF Index scores were calculated for the top 3 selling products (based on 2014 market research data) in different snack categories. These NRF scores were averaged to provide an overall nutrient-density score for each category. Results: Based on NRF scores, yogurt (55.3), milk (52.5), and fruit (30.1) emerged as the most nutrient-dense snacks. Ice cream (-4.4), pies and cakes (-11.1), and carbonated soft drinks (-17.2) emerged as the most nutrient-poor snacks. Conclusions: The NRF Index is a useful tool for assessing the overall nutritional value of snacks based on nutrients to limit and nutrients to encourage.

Multi-model evaluation of short-lived pollutant distributions over east Asia during summer 2008

Science.gov (United States)

Quennehen, B.; Raut, J.-C.; Law, K. S.; Daskalakis, N.; Ancellet, G.; Clerbaux, C.; Kim, S.-W.; Lund, M. T.; Myhre, G.; Olivié, D. J. L.; Safieddine, S.; Skeie, R. B.; Thomas, J. L.; Tsyro, S.; Bazureau, A.; Bellouin, N.; Hu, M.; Kanakidou, M.; Klimont, Z.; Kupiainen, K.; Myriokefalitakis, S.; Quaas, J.; Rumbold, S. T.; Schulz, M.; Cherian, R.; Shimizu, A.; Wang, J.; Yoon, S.-C.; Zhu, T.

2016-08-01

The ability of seven state-of-the-art chemistry-aerosol models to reproduce distributions of tropospheric ozone and its precursors, as well as aerosols over eastern Asia in summer 2008, is evaluated. The study focuses on the performance of models used to assess impacts of pollutants on climate and air quality as part of the EU ECLIPSE project. Models, run using the same ECLIPSE emissions, are compared over different spatial scales to in situ surface, vertical profiles and satellite data. Several rather clear biases are found between model results and observations, including overestimation of ozone at rural locations downwind of the main emission regions in China, as well as downwind over the Pacific. Several models produce too much ozone over polluted regions, which is then transported downwind. Analysis points to different factors related to the ability of models to simulate VOC-limited regimes over polluted regions and NOx limited regimes downwind. This may also be linked to biases compared to satellite NO2, indicating overestimation of NO2 over and to the north of the northern China Plain emission region. On the other hand, model NO2 is too low to the south and west of this region and over South Korea/Japan. Overestimation of ozone is linked to systematic underestimation of CO particularly at rural sites and downwind of the main Chinese emission regions. This is likely to be due to enhanced destruction of CO by OH. Overestimation of Asian ozone and its transport downwind implies that radiative forcing from this source may be overestimated. Model-observation discrepancies over Beijing do not appear to be due to emission controls linked to the Olympic Games in summer 2008.With regard to aerosols, most models reproduce the satellite-derived AOD patterns over eastern China. Our study nevertheless reveals an overestimation of ECLIPSE model mean surface BC and sulphate aerosols in urban China in summer 2008. The effect of the short-term emission mitigation in Beijing

Multi-model evaluation of short-lived pollutant distributions over east Asia during summer 2008

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Quennehen

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The ability of seven state-of-the-art chemistry–aerosol models to reproduce distributions of tropospheric ozone and its precursors, as well as aerosols over eastern Asia in summer 2008, is evaluated. The study focuses on the performance of models used to assess impacts of pollutants on climate and air quality as part of the EU ECLIPSE project. Models, run using the same ECLIPSE emissions, are compared over different spatial scales to in situ surface, vertical profiles and satellite data. Several rather clear biases are found between model results and observations, including overestimation of ozone at rural locations downwind of the main emission regions in China, as well as downwind over the Pacific. Several models produce too much ozone over polluted regions, which is then transported downwind. Analysis points to different factors related to the ability of models to simulate VOC-limited regimes over polluted regions and NOx limited regimes downwind. This may also be linked to biases compared to satellite NO2, indicating overestimation of NO2 over and to the north of the northern China Plain emission region. On the other hand, model NO2 is too low to the south and west of this region and over South Korea/Japan. Overestimation of ozone is linked to systematic underestimation of CO particularly at rural sites and downwind of the main Chinese emission regions. This is likely to be due to enhanced destruction of CO by OH. Overestimation of Asian ozone and its transport downwind implies that radiative forcing from this source may be overestimated. Model-observation discrepancies over Beijing do not appear to be due to emission controls linked to the Olympic Games in summer 2008.With regard to aerosols, most models reproduce the satellite-derived AOD patterns over eastern China. Our study nevertheless reveals an overestimation of ECLIPSE model mean surface BC and sulphate aerosols in urban China in summer 2008. The effect of the short-term emission

Suspended matter and nutrient gradients of a small-scale river plume in Sepetiba Bay, SE-Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raphael Paiva Rodrigues

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Coastal river plumes represent one of the final stages of material transport across the land-sea interface. Most studies, however have focused on the behavior of medium to large sized river plumes of coastal-shelf waters, whereas small sized river plumes acting within estuaries have been neglected. This study addressed the behavior of suspended particulate matter (SPM, dissolved inorganic nutrients (DIN, DIP and DSi and Chlorophyll a (Chl. a of a small sized river plume derived from the closely lain São Francisco and Guandú river channels, set in the Sepetiba Bay estuary, SE-Brazil. Two surface water sampling campaigns were conducted, one in January 2003 (humid summer conditions and the other in June 2003 (dry winter conditions. On both occasions, the plumes dispersed in a SE direction towards the inner portion of the bay. The "wet" event plume was more turbid, nutrient rich and dispersed beyond nearshore waters, whereas the "dry" event plume proliferated as a narrow, less turbid and more nutrient poor film alongshore. Both exhibited a marked degree of patchiness, induced by the differential input of materials from the river sources and resuspension processes from the shallow nearshore bottom. The São Francisco river channel was the main source of freshwater, SPM and nutrients, except for ammonia (NH4+-N derived from domestic effluents of the Guandú river. The mesohaline portion of the estuarine mixing zone of the plumes behaved as a slight source for SPM, DSi and DIP, due to bottom resuspension processes. N:P molar ratios ranged between 80:1 and 20:1 along the estuarine gradient, being higher in the summer than in the winter event, indicating that DIP was the potential nutrient limiting primary production. Chl. a concentrations increased at the outer premises of the plume, suggesting that the short residence times and turbidity of the plume waters, hampered primary production nearshore, particularly during the summer occasion. The small

Variation and control of soil organic carbon and other nutrients in permafrost regions on central Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Wenjie; Chen, Shengyun; Zhao, Qian; Ren, Jiawen; Qin, Dahe; Sun, Zhizhong

2014-01-01

The variation and control of soil organic carbon (SOC) and other nutrients in permafrost regions are critical for studying the carbon cycle and its potential feedbacks to climate change; however, they are poorly understood. Soil nutrients samples at depths of 0–10, 10–20, 20–30, and 30–40 cm, were sampled eight times in 2009 in alpine swamp meadow, alpine meadow and alpine steppe in permafrost regions of the central Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. SOC and total nitrogen (TN) in the alpine swamp meadow and meadow decreased with soil depth, whereas the highest SOC content in the alpine steppe was found at depths of 20–30 cm. The vertical profiles of total and available phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) were relatively uniform for all the three grassland types. Correlation and linear regression analyses showed that soil moisture (SM) was the most important parameter for the vertical variation of SOC and other soil nutrients, and that belowground biomass (BGB) was the main source of SOC and TN. The spatial variations (including seasonal variation) of SOC and TN at plot scale were large. The relative deviation of SOC ranged from 7.18 to 41.50 in the alpine swamp meadow, from 2.88 to 35.91 in the alpine meadow, and from 9.33 to 68.38 in the alpine steppe. The spatial variations in the other soil nutrients varied among different grassland types. The most important factors for spatial variations (including seasonal variation) of SOC, TN, total P, available P, and both total and available K were: SM, SM and temperature, SM, air temperature, and SM and BGB, respectively. The large variation in the three grassland types implies that spatial variation at plot scale should be considered when estimating SOC storage and its dynamics. (letter)

Evaluation of high nutrient diets on litter performance of heat-stressed lactating sows

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Yohan Choi

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Objective The present study investigated the litter performance of multiparous sows fed 3% and 6% densified diets at farrowing to weaning during summer with mean maximum room temperature of 30.5°C. Methods A total of 60 crossbred multiparous sows were allotted to one of three treatments based on body weight according to a completely randomized design. Three different nutrient levels based on NRC were applied as standard diet (ST; metabolizable energy, 3,300 kcal/kg, high nutrient level 1 (HE1; ST+3% higher energy and 16.59% protein and high nutrient level 2 (HE2; ST+6% higher energy and 17.04% protein. Results There was no variation in the body weight change. However, backfat thickness change tended to reduce in HE1 in comparison to ST treatment. Dietary treatments had no effects on feed intake, daily energy intake and weaning-to-estrus interval in lactating sows. Litter size, litter weight at weaning and average daily gain of piglets were significantly greater in sows in HE1 compared with ST, however, no difference was observed between HE2 and ST. Increasing the nutrient levels had no effects on the blood urea nitrogen, glucose, triglyceride, and creatinine at post-farrowing and weaning time. The concentration of follicle stimulating hormone, cortisol and insulin were not affected by dietary treatments either in post-farrowing or weaning time. The concentration of blood luteinizing hormone of sows in ST treatment was numerically less than sows in HE2 treatment at weaning. Milk and colostrum compositions such as protein, fat and lactose were not affected by the treatments. Conclusion An energy level of 3,400 kcal/kg (14.23 MJ/kg with 166 g/kg crude protein is suggested as the optimal level of dietary nutrients for heat stressed lactating sows with significant beneficial effects on litter size.

Numerical simulations of river discharges, nutrient flux and nutrient dispersal in Jakarta Bay, Indonesia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wulp, Simon A. van der; Damar, Ario; Ladwig, Norbert; Hesse, Karl-J.

2016-01-01

The present application of numerical modelling techniques provides an overview of river discharges, nutrient flux and nutrient dispersal in Jakarta Bay. A hydrological model simulated river discharges with a total of 90 to 377 m 3 s −1 entering Jakarta Bay. Daily total nitrogen and total phosphorus loads ranged from 40 to 174 tons and 14 to 60 tons, respectively. Flow model results indicate that nutrient gradients are subject to turbulent mixing by tides and advective transport through circulation driven by wind, barotropic and baroclinic pressure gradients. The bulk of nutrient loads originate from the Citarum and Cisadane rivers flowing through predominantly rural areas. Despite lower nutrient loads, river discharges from the urban area of Jakarta exhibit the highest impact of nutrient concentrations in the near shore area of Jakarta Bay and show that nutrient concentrations were not only regulated by nutrient loads but were strongly regulated by initial river concentrations and local flow characteristics. - Highlights: • Full overview of river discharges, nutrient flux and nutrient levels in Jakarta Bay • Important overview of nutrient flux from individual rivers • Simulations identify the principal drivers of water circulation and nutrient gradient. • Nutrient dispersion model includes the local effects of the Java Sea current system.

Registration Summer Camp 2016

CERN Multimedia

2016-01-01

Reminder: registration for the CERN Staff Association Summer Camp is now open for children from 4 to 6 years old.   More information on the website: http://nurseryschool.web.cern.ch/. The summer camp is open to all children. The proposed cost is 480.-CHF/week, lunch included. The camp will be open weeks 27, 28, 29 and 30, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For further questions, you are welcome to contact us by email at Summer.Camp@cern.ch. CERN Staff Association

Approaches and uncertainties in nutrient budgets; Implications for nutrient management and environmental policies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oenema, O.; Kros, J.; Vries, de W.

2003-01-01

Nutrient budgets of agroecosystems are constructed either (i) to increase the understanding of nutrient cycling, (ii) as performance indicator and awareness raiser in nutrient management and environmental policy, or (iii) as regulating policy instrument to enforce a certain nutrient management

Influence of Western Tibetan Plateau Summer Snow Cover on East Asian Summer Rainfall

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhibiao; Wu, Renguang; Chen, Shangfeng; Huang, Gang; Liu, Ge; Zhu, Lihua

2018-03-01

The influence of boreal winter-spring eastern Tibetan Plateau snow anomalies on the East Asian summer rainfall variability has been the focus of previous studies. The present study documents the impacts of boreal summer western and southern Tibetan Plateau snow cover anomalies on summer rainfall over East Asia. Analysis shows that more snow cover in the western and southern Tibetan Plateau induces anomalous cooling in the overlying atmospheric column. The induced atmospheric circulation changes are different corresponding to more snow cover in the western and southern Tibetan Plateau. The atmospheric circulation changes accompanying the western Plateau snow cover anomalies are more obvious over the midlatitude Asia, whereas those corresponding to the southern Plateau snow cover anomalies are more prominent over the tropics. As such, the western and southern Tibetan Plateau snow cover anomalies influence the East Asian summer circulation and precipitation through different pathways. Nevertheless, the East Asian summer circulation and precipitation anomalies induced by the western and southern Plateau snow cover anomalies tend to display similar distribution so that they are more pronounced when the western and southern Plateau snow cover anomalies work in coherence. Analysis indicates that the summer snow cover anomalies over the Tibetan Plateau may be related to late spring snow anomalies due to the persistence. The late spring snow anomalies are related to an obvious wave train originating from the western North Atlantic that may be partly associated with sea surface temperature anomalies in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Numerical simulation on the southern flood and northern drought in summer 2014 over Eastern China

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Lianlian; He, Shengping; Li, Fei; Ma, Jiehua; Wang, Huijun

2017-12-01

In summer 2014, Eastern China suffered a typical "southern flood and northern drought" anomalous climate. Observational analyses indicated that the anomalous vertical motion, East Asian subtropical westerly jet stream, and the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) played important roles in the formation of such precipitation anomaly. Furthermore, using the climate model (IAP-AGCM-4.1) perturbed by simultaneous observed sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) in global scale and four different regions (North Pacific, Indian Ocean, North Atlantic, and Equatorial Pacific), this study investigated the potential contribution of ocean to such "southern flood and northern drought" over Eastern China in summer 2014. The simulations forced by global-scale SSTAs or North Pacific SSTAs displayed the most similarity to the observed "southern flood and northern drought" over Eastern China. It was revealed that the global-scale and North Pacific SSTAs influenced the rainfall over Eastern China via modulating the EASM. The related simulations successfully reproduced the associated atmospheric circulation anomalies. The experiment driven by Indian Ocean SSTAs could also reproduce the similar precipitation anomaly pattern and suggested that the Indian Ocean exerted pronounced influence on the North Pacific Subtropical High. Additionally, the simulations forced by SSTAs in the North Atlantic and Equatorial Pacific successfully reproduced the northern drought but failed to capture the southern flood. The simulations suggested that precipitation anomaly over Eastern China in summer 2014 was a comprehensive effect of global SSTAs and the dominant contribution to the "southern flood and northern drought" pattern came from the North Pacific and Indian Ocean.

Modeling farm nutrient flows in the North China Plain to reduce nutrient losses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhao, Zhanqing; Bai, Zhaohai; Wei, Sha; Ma, Wenqi; Wang, Mengru; Kroeze, Carolien; Ma, Lin

2017-01-01

Years of poor nutrient management practices in the agriculture industry in the North China Plain have led to large losses of nutrients to the environment, causing severe ecological consequences. Analyzing farm nutrient flows is urgently needed in order to reduce nutrient losses. A farm-level

Meteorological conditions in the central Arctic summer during the Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study (ASCOS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Tjernström

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Understanding the rapidly changing climate in the Arctic is limited by a lack of understanding of underlying strong feedback mechanisms that are specific to the Arctic. Progress in this field can only be obtained by process-level observations; this is the motivation for intensive ice-breaker-based campaigns such as the Arctic Summer Cloud-Ocean Study (ASCOS, described here. However, detailed field observations also have to be put in the context of the larger-scale meteorology, and short field campaigns have to be analysed within the context of the underlying climate state and temporal anomalies from this.

To aid in the analysis of other parameters or processes observed during this campaign, this paper provides an overview of the synoptic-scale meteorology and its climatic anomaly during the ASCOS field deployment. It also provides a statistical analysis of key features during the campaign, such as key meteorological variables, the vertical structure of the lower troposphere and clouds, and energy fluxes at the surface. In order to assess the representativity of the ASCOS results, we also compare these features to similar observations obtained during three earlier summer experiments in the Arctic Ocean: the AOE-96, SHEBA and AOE-2001 expeditions.

We find that these expeditions share many key features of the summertime lower troposphere. Taking ASCOS and the previous expeditions together, a common picture emerges with a large amount of low-level cloud in a well-mixed shallow boundary layer, capped by a weak to moderately strong inversion where moisture, and sometimes also cloud top, penetrate into the lower parts of the inversion. Much of the boundary-layer mixing is due to cloud-top cooling and subsequent buoyant overturning of the cloud. The cloud layer may, or may not, be connected with surface processes depending on the depths of the cloud and surface-based boundary layers and on the relative strengths of surface-shear and

Good-bye Summer Students 2009!

CERN Multimedia

2009-01-01

In its 47th edition, the CERN Summer Student programme has welcomed almost 200 young students from around the world. As it proves to do each year, the programme has provided a unique experience for all participants. CERN Summer Students 2009 in the Microcosm garden.During the summer months between June and August, your normal lunchtime routine is inevitably disrupted by the small stampede of students that leaves the Main Auditorium just around midday and starts queuing in Restaurant 1. When this happens, you can’t help but notice that the CERN Summer Students have arrived! With its rich lecture series, inspirational visits and actual work experience, the Summer Student programme provides a real chance to get acquainted with a career in particle physics, engineering and computation. The programme includes a morning lecture series that covers a large variety of topics, from particle physics to engineering, information technology and ...

Measuring of vertical stroke Vub vertical stroke in the forthcoming decade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, C.S.

1997-01-01

I first introduce the importance of measuring V ub precisely. Then, from a theoretician's point of view, I review (a) past history, (b) present trials, and (c) possible future alternatives on measuring vertical stroke V ub vertical stroke and/or vertical stroke V ub /V cb vertical stroke. As of my main topic, I introduce a model-independent method, which predicts Γ(B→X u lν)/Γ(B→X c lν)≡(γ u /γ c ) x vertical stroke V ub /V cb vertical stroke 2 ≅(1.83±0.28) x vertical stroke V ub /V cb vertical stroke 2 and vertical stroke V ub /V cb vertical stroke ≡(γ c /γ u ) 1/2 x [B(B→X u lν)/B(B→ X c lν]) 1/2 ≅(0.74±0.06) x [B(B→X u lν/)B(B→X c lν)] 1/2 , based on the heavy quark effective theory I also explore the possible experimental options to separate B→X u lν from the dominant B→X c lν: the measurement of inclusive hadronic invariant mass distributions, and the 'D-π' (and 'K-π') separation conditions I also clarify the relevant experimental backgrounds. (orig.)

Microbial enzyme activity, nutrient uptake and nutrient limitation in forested streams

Science.gov (United States)

Brian H. Hill; Frank H. McCormick; Bret C. Harvey; Sherri L. Johnson; Melvin L. Warren; Colleen M. Elonen

2010-01-01

The flow of organic matter and nutrients from catchments into the streams draining them and the biogeochemical transformations of organic matter and nutrients along flow paths are fundamental processes instreams (Hynes,1975; Fisher, Sponseller & Heffernan, 2004). Microbial biofilms are often the primary interface for organic matter and nutrient uptake and...

Vertical distribution of hydrocarbons in the low troposphere below and above the mixing height: Tethered balloon measurements in Milan, Italy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sangiorgi, G.; Ferrero, L.; Perrone, M.G.; Bolzacchini, E.; Duane, M.; Larsen, B.R.

2011-01-01

A novel approach for measuring vertical profiles of HCs and particle number concentrations was described and applied in the low troposphere over Milan (Italy) during typical spring and summer days. Particle profiles yielded nearly homogeneous concentrations below the mixing height, with level-to-ground concentration ratios of 92-97%, while HCs showed a more pronounced decrease (74-95%). Vertical mixing and photochemical loss of HCs were demonstrated to cause these gradients. Much lower concentrations were observed for the profiles above the mixing height, where the HC mixtures showed also a different composition, which was partially explained by the horizontal advection of air with HC sources different to those prevailing at the site. The application of pseudo-first order kinetics for reactions between HCs and the hydroxyl radical allowed for the estimation of the vertical mixing time scale in the order of 100 ± 20 min. - Graphical abstract: Display Omitted Highlights: → Experimental vertical profiles of HCs and particle concentration by tethered balloon. → Effect of mixing height on the vertical distribution of HCs and particles. → Effect of tropospheric reactivity on vertical profiles of HCs. → Pseudo-first order kinetic reaction of HCs in convective systems. - Vertical transport and photochemical loss of HCs below and above the mixing height were studied by means of a novel and simple approach.

Box Model of Freshwater, Salinity and Nutrient in the Delta Mahakam, East Kalimantan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marojahan Simanjuntak

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Box Model of Freshwater, Salinity and Nutrient in the Delta Mahakam, East Kalimantan. Research has been conducted in the southern part of the Mahakam Delta, East Kalimantan. Method of measuring temperature, salinity, light transmission and turbidity by using CTD model 603 SBE and current measurement and bathymetry by using ADCP model RDI. Measurement parameters on the nutrient chemistry are based of water samples taken using Nansen bottles from two depths. The purpose of this study to determine the mechanism of freshwater, salinity and nutrient transport from the land of the Mahakam River which interact with seawater by using box models. The results illustrate that the vertical distribution of salinity in the Mahakam Delta has obtained a high stratification, where the freshwater salinity 12.30 psu at the surface of a river flowing toward the sea, and seawater of high salinity 30.07 psu flowing in the direction river under the surface that are separated by a layer of mixture. Freshwater budget of the sea (VSurf obtained for 0,0306 x 109 m3 day-1, and the sea water salinity budget is going into the bottom layer system (VDeep.SOcn-d obtained for 20,727 x 109 psu day-1. While time dilution (Syst obtained for 0.245 day-1 or 5.87 hours. Nutrient budget in the surface layer obtained by the system is autotrophic while in layers near the bottom tend to be heterotrophic

Influence of rural land use on streamwater nutrients and their ecological significance

Science.gov (United States)

Jarvie, Helen P.; Withers, Paul J. A.; Hodgkinson, Robin; Bates, Adam; Neal, Margaret; Wickham, Heather D.; Harman, Sarah A.; Armstrong, Linda

2008-02-01

SummaryConcentrations and loads of N and P fractions were examined for lowland rivers, the Wye and Avon, draining a range of representative agricultural land-use types in two major UK river basins. Data collected over a 2-year period demonstrated important diffuse agricultural source contributions to N and P loads in these rivers. Ground water provided a major source of total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) loads, whereas near-surface sources provided a major contribution to total phosphorus (TP) loads. In terms of aquatic ecology, concentrations of nutrients, at times of eutrophication risk (spring and summer low flows) were of key environmental and management significance. Agricultural diffuse sources provided the major source of long-term P loads across the two basins. However, the results demonstrated the dominance of point-source contributions to TP and SRP concentrations at times of ecological risk. Point sources typically 'tip the balance' of dissolved inorganic P (soluble reactive P, SRP) above the 100 μg l -1 guideline value indicative of eutrophication risk. The significance of point sources for TP and SRP concentrations was shown by (a) the strong correlations between TP, SRP and B concentrations, using B as a tracer of sewage effluent, (b) the dominant contribution of SRP to TP concentrations and (c) the predominant pattern of dilution of SRP and B with flow. The clean Chalk streams draining low intensity grassland in areas of the Avon with sparse human settlement were oligotrophic and P limited with low SRP concentrations under spring and summer baseflows attributable to groundwater sources. The data provide important insights into the ecological functioning of different lowland stream systems. There was evidence of greater SRP losses and N-limitation in a stream which drains a pond system, demonstrating the importance of longer water residence times for biological nutrient uptake.

Eddy Mediated Nutrient Pattern in the North Eastern Arabian Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Thachaparambil, M.; Moolakkal Antony, R.; B R, S.; V N, S.; N, C.; M, S.

2016-02-01

A Cold Core Eddy (CCE) mediated nutrient pattern in the North Eastern Arabian Sea (NEAS) is explained based on in situ measurments during March 2013 onboard FORV Sagar Sampada which was not reported earlier in the area. Samples for physical, chemical and biological parameters were collected in 5 stations along the diameter of the eddy and following standard protocols. The core of the CCE is identified at 21°20.38'N; 66°30.68'E with a diameter of 120Km. Earlier studies explaining the process and the forcing mechanism of the particular eddy records that, the eddy is short term (1-3 months) and is regular during the season. Surface waters were well oxygenated (>4.8 ml L-1) in the core. Surface value of nutrients viz., Nitrate, Nitrite, Silicate and phosphate in the core regions was 0.9µM, 0.01 µM, 0.5 µM and 0.7 µM respectively indicating upwelling in the core. Spring intermonsoon (SIM) is generally termed as a transition period between the active winter and summer seasons and as per earlier studies, high biological production and the regularly occurring Noctilica bloom is supported by the nutrient loading due to convective mixing during winter as well as regenerated production. However, present observations shows that, nutrient pumping due to the upwelling associated with the CCE also contributes for sustaining high biological production and are evident in the Chl a and mesozooplankton biovolume which records values of 4.35mg/m3 and 1.09ml/m3 respectively in the core. An intense Noctiluca blooms observed in the western flank of the eddy (Chl a 13.25 mg/m3; cell density 5.8×106 cells/litre), where Nitrate concentration records 1.04µM explains the role of such mesoscale processes in the sustenance of the HAB events. While eastern flank of the CCE showed typical open ocean condition of the season showing Nitrate 0.08µM; Chl a 0.23mg/m3; and phytoplankton cell density as 421 cells/litre. Keywords: Cold core eddy, nutrients, NEAS, SIM, biological production

Effect of fish on water quality and nutrients cycle from an outdoor pond experiment; Sakana no suishitsu, busshitsu junkan ni oyobosu eikyo ni kansuru jikkenteki kenkyu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fukushima, T.; Matsushige, K.; Aizaki, M. [National Inst. for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba (Japan); Park, J.; Goma, R. [Tokyo University of Fisheries, Tokyo (Japan); Kong, D. [Korea National Institute of Environmental Research, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1995-11-10

The influences of fish (goldfish) on water quality and nutrients cycle (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus) were investigated during 39 days in the summer of 1993, using six outdoor experimental ponds (36 m{sup 3}) with the same water residence times and nutrient inputs. Blue-been algae dominated the ponds with fish. Compared with ponds without fish, the ponds with high densities of fish had standing stocks of zooplankton and macrozoobenthos nearly one order of magnitude lower, about twice the concentrations of chlorophyll a and twice the rate of primary production. Settling rates of particulate substances in the high density ponds were nearly half those observed in ponds with no fish. The processes of sedimentation and exchange with air played important roles in the nutrient budgets as well as the in- and outflows and the changes in nutrient standing stocks. The high concentrations of chlorophyll a in the fish ponds were attributed in part to the lower zooplankton grazing pressure and in part to the higher nutrient concentrations due to lower settling rates and rapid nutrient recycling between biomass and dissolved components. 28 refs., 8 figs., 6 tabs.

Summer Students: getting professional at CERN

CERN Multimedia

2001-01-01

The summer season at CERN is known for the traditional visit of Summer Students coming from Member and non-Member States. This time, a total of 176 future scientists are spending part of their summer with us, learning and working in the laboratory. Summer Students enjoying a lecture on particle physics by Ronald Kleiss. Now that summer has finally arrived, you'll have noticed some changes at CERN: longer queues at the bar, faces you don't recognise in the corridors, and a breath of fresh air, but where is it coming from? The answer is easy: the Summer Students are here! Aged between 20 and 27, this group of 176 future scientists has been selected from 600 candidates to spend their summer at the Laboratory. This year, there are 24 more 'Summies' than last following a recommendation in the 2000 5-yearly review to increase the number of students. The Summies mainly come from Member States, but this year there are also 11 Americans, two Mexicans, an Armenian, a Turk, a Pakistani and two South Africans. Judith N...

Interactions among hydrogeomorphology, vegetation, and nutrient biogeochemistry in floodplain ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Noe, G.B.

2013-01-01

Hydrogeomorphic, vegetative, and biogeochemical processes interact in floodplains resulting in great complexity that provides opportunities to better understand linkages among physical and biological processes in ecosystems. Floodplains and their associated river systems are structured by four dimensional gradients of hydrogeomorphology: longitudinal, lateral, vertical, and temporal components. These four dimensions create dynamic hydrologic and geomorphologic mosaics that have a large imprint on the vegetation and nutrient biogeochemistry of floodplains. Plant physiology, population dynamics, community structure, and productivity are all very responsive to floodplain hydrogeomorphology. The strength of this relationship between vegetation and hydrogeomorphology is evident in the use of vegetation as an indicator of hydrogeomorphic processes. However, vegetation also influences hydrogeomorphology by modifying hydraulics and sediment entrainment and deposition that typically stabilize geomorphic patterns. Nitrogen and phosphorus biogeochemistry commonly influence plant productivity and community composition, although productivity is not limited by nutrient availability in all floodplains. Conversely, vegetation influences nutrient biogeochemistry through direct uptake and storage as well as production of organic matter that regulates microbial biogeochemical processes. The biogeochemistries of nitrogen and phosphorus cycling are very sensitive to spatial and temporal variation in hydrogeomorphology, in particular floodplain wetness and sedimentation. The least studied interaction is the direct effect of biogeochemistry on hydrogeomorphology, but the control of nutrient availability over organic matter decomposition and thus soil permeability and elevation is likely important. Biogeochemistry also has the more documented but indirect control of hydrogeomorphology through regulation of plant biomass. In summary, the defining characteristics of floodplain ecosystems

Vertical Distribution of Daily Migrating Mesopelagic Fish in Respect to Nocturnal Lights

KAUST Repository

Prihartato, Perdana

2014-12-01

The nighttime distribution of vertically migrating mesopelagic fish in relation to nocturnal light was studied during a circumglobal survey, in the Red Sea, and in a fjord at high latitude. The study was based on data derived from ship borne echo sounders (circumglobal and the Red Sea) as well as using upward looking echo sounders mounted on the bottom (Masfjorden, Norway). We also applied a numerical model for analyzing diel vertical migration patterns. The effect of the lunar cycle was the focus in studies at low latitudes, while seasonal changes in nocturnal light climate was in focus at high latitude. Lunar phase significantly affected the distribution of mesopelagic fish at the global scale and in the Red Sea. During nights near full moon, scattering layers of mesopelagic fish distributed deeper than during darker phases of the moon. At high latitude, mesopelagic fish switched its behavior along with seasonal changes in nocturnal lights. In autumn, the population of the studied fish (Maurolicus mueleri) formed separated layers. Juveniles performed normal diel vertical migration followed by midnight sinking, with midnight sinking mainly related to temperature minima and also for avoiding predators. Meanwhile the adults did not migrate vertically, reducing foraging but increasing the adult survival. From late winter to mid-Spring, interrupted ascents behavior was noted in the afternoon. Predator avoidance, satiation, and finding temperature optimum might be the reason behind interrupted ascents. At lighter nights in mid-summer, M. muelleri took on schooling behavior, likely as an anti-predator behavior permitting access to the upper waters in the absence of darkness.

A relaxed eddy accumulation system for measuring vertical fluxes of nitrous acid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

X. Ren

2011-10-01

Full Text Available A relaxed eddy accumulation (REA system combined with a nitrous acid (HONO analyzer was developed to measure atmospheric HONO vertical fluxes. The system consists of three major components: (1 a fast-response sonic anemometer measuring both vertical wind velocity and air temperature, (2 a fast-response controlling unit separating air motions into updraft and downdraft samplers by the sign of vertical wind velocity, and (3 a highly sensitive HONO analyzer based on aqueous long path absorption photometry that measures HONO concentrations in the updrafts and downdrafts. A dynamic velocity threshold (±0.5σ_w, where σ_w is a standard deviation of the vertical wind velocity was used for valve switching determined by the running means and standard deviations of the vertical wind velocity. Using measured temperature as a tracer and the average values from two field deployments, the flux proportionality coefficient, β, was determined to be 0.42 ± 0.02, in good agreement with the theoretical estimation. The REA system was deployed in two ground-based field studies. In the California Research at the Nexus of Air Quality and Climate Change (CalNex study in Bakersfield, California in summer 2010, measured HONO fluxes appeared to be upward during the day and were close to zero at night. The upward HONO flux was highly correlated to the product of NO₂ and solar radiation. During the Biosphere Effects on Aerosols and Photochemistry Experiment (BEARPEX 2009 at Blodgett Forest, California in July 2009, the overall HONO fluxes were small in magnitude and were close to zero. Causes for the different HONO fluxes in the two different environments are briefly discussed.

Summer Steelhead Distribution [ds341

Data.gov (United States)

California Natural Resource Agency — Summer Steelhead Distribution October 2009 Version This dataset depicts observation-based stream-level geographic distribution of anadromous summer-run steelhead...

Vertical profile of 137Cs in soil.

Science.gov (United States)

Krstić, D; Nikezić, D; Stevanović, N; Jelić, M

2004-12-01

In this paper, a vertical distribution of 137Cs in undisturbed soil was investigated experimentally and theoretically. Soil samples were taken from the surroundings of the city of Kragujevac in central Serbia during spring-summer of 2001. The sampling locations were chosen in such a way that the influence of soil characteristics on depth distribution of 137Cs in soil could be investigated. Activity of 137Cs in soil samples was measured using a HpGe detector and multi-channel analyzer. Based on vertical distribution of 137Cs in soil which was measured for each of 10 locations, the diffusion coefficient of 137Cs in soil was determined. In the next half-century, 137Cs will remain as the source of the exposure. Fifteen years after the Chernobyl accident, and more than 30 years after nuclear probes, the largest activity of 137Cs is still within 10 cm of the upper layer of the soil. This result confirms that the penetration of 137Cs in soil is a very slow process. Experimental results were compared with two different Green functions and no major differences were found between them. While both functions fit experimental data well in the upper layer of soil, the fitting is not so good in deeper layers. Although the curves obtained by these two functions are very close to each other, there are some differences in the values of parameters acquired by them.

Sediment carbon and nutrient fluxes from cleared and intact temperate mangrove ecosystems and adjacent sandflats.

Science.gov (United States)

Bulmer, Richard H; Schwendenmann, Luitgard; Lohrer, Andrew M; Lundquist, Carolyn J

2017-12-01

The loss of mangrove ecosystems is associated with numerous impacts on coastal and estuarine function, including sediment carbon and nutrient cycling. In this study we compared in situ fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the sediment to the atmosphere, and fluxes of dissolved inorganic nutrients and oxygen across the sediment-water interface, in intact and cleared mangrove and sandflat ecosystems in a temperate estuary. Measurements were made 20 and 25months after mangrove clearance, in summer and winter, respectively. Sediment CO 2 efflux was over two-fold higher from cleared than intact mangrove ecosystems at 20 and 25months after mangrove clearance. The higher CO 2 efflux from the cleared site was explained by an increase in respiration of dead root material along with sediment disturbance following mangrove clearance. In contrast, sediment CO 2 efflux from the sandflat site was negligible (≤9.13±1.18mmolm -2 d -1 ), associated with lower sediment organic matter content. The fluxes of inorganic nutrients (NH 4 + , NO x and PO 4 3- ) from intact and cleared mangrove sediments were low (≤20.37±18.66μmolm -2 h - 1 ). The highest NH 4 + fluxes were measured at the sandflat site (69.21±13.49μmolm -2 h - 1 ). Lower inorganic nutrient fluxes within the cleared and intact mangrove sites compared to the sandflat site were associated with lower abundance of larger burrowing macrofauna. Further, a higher fraction of organic matter, silt and clay content in mangrove sediments may have limited nutrient exchange. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

New Zealand Summer of Code/Summer of Technology: an industry, student and tertiary engagement

OpenAIRE

Komisarczuk, Peter; Clegg, John; McDavitt, Ruth; Linton, Andy

2011-01-01

In 2006 the Wellington Summer of Code was brought to life engaging ICT undergraduates with innovative Wellington employers, it has developed into a thriving talent pipeline engaging all levels of tertiary students and industry in the Wellington region. Summer of Code engages students during term time through industry led learning and a summer seminar and workshop series that are open to all. It has worked with the NZCS to integrate the Evening with Industry where undergraduates see young IT p...

Distribution of Cd, Pb and Cu between dissolved fraction, inorganic particulate and phytoplankton in seawater of Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica) during austral summer 2011-12.

Science.gov (United States)

Illuminati, S; Annibaldi, A; Romagnoli, T; Libani, G; Antonucci, M; Scarponi, G; Totti, C; Truzzi, C

2017-10-01

During the austral summer 2011-2012, the metal quotas of Cd, Pb and Cu in the phytoplankton of Terra Nova Bay (TNB, Antarctica) were measured for the first time. Evolution of all the three metal distributions between dissolved and particulate fractions during the season was also evaluated. Metal concentrations were mainly affected by the dynamic of the pack ice melting and phytoplankton activity. In mid-December when TNB area was covered by a thick pack ice layer and phytoplankton activity was very low, all the three metals were present mainly in their dissolved species. When the pack ice started to melt and the water column characteristics became ideal (i.e. moderate stratification, ice free area), the phytoplankton bloom occurred. Cd showed a nutrient-type behaviour with dissolved and particulate fractions mainly influenced by phytoplankton activity. Cd quota showed a mean value of 0.12 ± 0.07 nmol L -1 (30-100% of the total particulate). Also Cu showed a nutrient-type behaviour, with its quota in phytoplankton varying between 0.08 and 2.1 nmol L -1 (20-100% of the total particulate). Pb features the typical distribution of a scavenged element with very low algal content (0.03 ± 0.02 nmol L -1 , representing 20-50% of the total particulate). The vertical distribution of this element was influenced by several factors (e.g. pack ice melting, atmospheric inputs), the phytoplankton activity affecting Pb behaviour only partially. Metal:C ratios provide valuable information on the biological requirements for Cd, Pb and Cu, leading us to better understand their biogeochemical cycles. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vertical distribution of aerosol optical properties in the Po Valley during the 2012 summer campaigns

Science.gov (United States)

Bucci, Silvia; Cristofanelli, Paolo; Decesari, Stefano; Marinoni, Angela; Sandrini, Silvia; Größ, Johannes; Wiedensohler, Alfred; Di Marco, Chiara F.; Nemitz, Eiko; Cairo, Francesco; Di Liberto, Luca; Fierli, Federico

2018-04-01

Studying the vertical distribution of aerosol particle physical and chemical properties in the troposphere is essential to understand the relative importance of local emission processes vs. long-range transport for column-integrated aerosol properties (e.g. the aerosol optical depth, AOD, affecting regional climate) as well as for the aerosol burden and its impacts on air quality at the ground. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the transport of desert dust in the middle troposphere and its intrusion into the planetary boundary layer (PBL) over the Po Valley (Italy), a region considered one of the greatest European pollution hotspots for the frequency that particulate matter (PM) limit values are exceeded. Events of mineral aerosol uplift from local (soil) sources and phenomena of hygroscopic growth at the ground are also investigated, possibly affecting the PM concentration in the region as well. During the PEGASOS 2012 field campaign, an integrated observing-modelling system was set up based on near-surface measurements (particle concentration and chemistry), vertical profiling (backscatter coefficient profiles from lidar and radiosoundings) and Lagrangian air mass transport simulations by FLEXPART model. Measurements were taken at the San Pietro Capofiume supersite (44°39' N, 11°37' E; 11 m a.s.l.), located in a rural area relatively close to some major urban and industrial emissive areas in the Po Valley. Mt. Cimone (44°12' N, 10°42' E; 2165 m a.s.l.) WMO/GAW station observations are also included in the study to characterize regional-scale variability. Results show that, in the Po Valley, aerosol is detected mainly below 2000 m a.s.l. with a prevalent occurrence of non-depolarizing particles ( > 50 % throughout the campaign) and a vertical distribution modulated by the PBL daily evolution. Two intense events of mineral dust transport from northern Africa (19-21 and 29 June to 2 July) are observed, with layers advected mainly above 2000 m

A simple method to forecast the frequency of depressions and cyclones over Bay of Bengal during summer monsoon season

Science.gov (United States)

Sadhuram, Y.; Maneesha, K.; Suneeta, P.

2018-04-01

In this study, an attempt has been made to develop a simple multiple regression model to forecast the total number of depressions and cyclones (TNDC) over Bay of Bengal during summer monsoon (June-September) season using the data for the period, 1995-2016. Four potential predictors (zonal wind speed at 850 hPa in May and April SST in the North Australia-Indonesia region, 05°S-15°S; 120°E-160°E; March NINO 3.4 SST and geopotential height at 200 hPa in the region, 0°N-10°N; 80°E-100°E) have been identified to forecast TNDC. A remarkably high multiple correlation coefficient of 0.92 has been observed with the TNDC which explains 85% variability. The methodology has been tested for the recent 5 years (2012-2016) and found a good agreement between the observed and forecast values of TNDC except in 2015 in which the observed and predicted TNDC were 2 and 0, respectively. It is interesting to see high and significant correlations between the above predictors and the genesis potential parameter (GPP) during summer monsoon season. This GPP depends on the relative vorticity at 850 hPa, mid troposphere relative humidity, thermal instability between 850 and 500 hPa, and vertical wind shear between 200 and 850 hPa. It is inferred that the above predictors are influencing the environmental conditions over Bay of Bengal which, in turn, influencing the genesis of cyclones during summer monsoon season. The impact of ENSO (El-Nino-Southern Oscillation) and La-Nina in TNDC is examined and found that the vertical wind shear and relative vorticity are high and the GPP was almost double in ENSO compared with that in La-Nina which favoured high (low) TNDC under ENSO (La-Nina).

Aspen increase soil moisture, nutrients, organic matter and respiration in Rocky Mountain forest communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Buck, Joshua R; St Clair, Samuel B

2012-01-01

Development and change in forest communities are strongly influenced by plant-soil interactions. The primary objective of this paper was to identify how forest soil characteristics vary along gradients of forest community composition in aspen-conifer forests to better understand the relationship between forest vegetation characteristics and soil processes. The study was conducted on the Fishlake National Forest, Utah, USA. Soil measurements were collected in adjacent forest stands that were characterized as aspen dominated, mixed, conifer dominated or open meadow, which includes the range of vegetation conditions that exist in seral aspen forests. Soil chemistry, moisture content, respiration, and temperature were measured. There was a consistent trend in which aspen stands demonstrated higher mean soil nutrient concentrations than mixed and conifer dominated stands and meadows. Specifically, total N, NO(3) and NH(4) were nearly two-fold higher in soil underneath aspen dominated stands. Soil moisture was significantly higher in aspen stands and meadows in early summer but converged to similar levels as those found in mixed and conifer dominated stands in late summer. Soil respiration was significantly higher in aspen stands than conifer stands or meadows throughout the summer. These results suggest that changes in disturbance regimes or climate scenarios that favor conifer expansion or loss of aspen will decrease soil resource availability, which is likely to have important feedbacks on plant community development.

Associated Western Universities summer participant program at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Summer 1997

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Williams, B.

1997-08-01

The Associated Western Universities, Inc. (AWU) supports a student summer program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). This program is structured so that honors undergraduate students may participate in the Laboratory`s research program under direct supervision of senior Laboratory scientists. Included in this report is a list of the AWU participants for the summer of 1997. All students are required to submit original reports of their summer activities in a format of their own choosing. These unaltered student reports constitute the major portion of this report.

Variability and Dynamics of Dissolved Oxygen in the Transition Zone of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jonasson, Lars

information about the seasonal to decadal oxygen variations in the bottom water of the Kattegat, the Danish Straits, the Sound and the Western Baltic Sea and investigates the relative importance of physical and biogeochemical processes, climate change and nutrient load reductions on the oxygen variability......The bottom water in the transition zone of the North Sea and Baltic Sea suffers from seasonal hypoxia, usually during late summer and autumn. Hypoxia is a natural phenomenon in this region because of the strong vertical stratification which prevents the bottom water to be ventilated by atmospheric...... concentrations by 15-30 μmol O2 l−1 yr−1 while the reduced nutrient concentration has increased the oxygen concentration with approximately the same amount. Thus, the positive effect on oxygen conditions from reduced nutrient concentrations have been counteracted by increased water temperatures. This has made...

Your Best Summer Ever

Science.gov (United States)

Cleaver, Samantha

2012-01-01

"It must be nice to have summers off." Only other teachers know just how short summer is, with much of August devoted to planning for the new school year. This article offers 17 fresh ideas for exploring, making money, and preparing for next year. Plus, a reading list that hits all the marks!

Joint effect of freshwater plume and coastal upwelling on phytoplankton growth off the Changjiang River

Science.gov (United States)

Tseng, Y.-F.; Lin, J.; Dai, M.; Kao, S.-J.

2014-01-01

The Changjiang (Yangtze) River discharges vast amount of unbalanced nutrients (dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus with N / P ratio > 80 in general) into the East China Sea in summer. To study nutrient dynamics and P-stress potential for phytoplankton, a cruise was conducted in the Changjiang plume during summer 2011. With 3-D observations of nutrients, chlorophyll a (Chl a), and bulk alkaline phosphatase activity (APA), we concluded that the Changjiang Diluted Water and coastal upwelling significantly influenced the horizontal and vertical heterogeneities of phytoplankton P deficiency in the Changjiang plume. Allochthonous APA was detected at nutrient-enriched freshwater end. Excessive N (~ 10 to 112 μM) was observed throughout the entire plume surface. In the plume fringe featuring stratification and excess N, diapycnal phosphate supply was blocked and phytoplankton APA was stimulated for growth. We observed an upwelling just attaching to the turbidity front at seaward side where Chl a peaked yet much less APA was detected. An external phosphate supply from subsurface, which promoted phytoplankton growth but inhibited APA, was suggested to be sourced from the Nearshore Kuroshio Branch Current. In the so hydrographically complicated Changjiang plume, phosphate supply instead of its concentration may be more important in determining the expression of APA. Meanwhile, allochthonous APA may also alter the usefulness of APA as a P-stress indicator.

Numerical simulations of river discharges, nutrient flux and nutrient dispersal in Jakarta Bay, Indonesia.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Wulp, Simon A; Damar, Ario; Ladwig, Norbert; Hesse, Karl-J

2016-09-30

The present application of numerical modelling techniques provides an overview of river discharges, nutrient flux and nutrient dispersal in Jakarta Bay. A hydrological model simulated river discharges with a total of 90 to 377m(3)s(-1) entering Jakarta Bay. Daily total nitrogen and total phosphorus loads ranged from 40 to 174tons and 14 to 60tons, respectively. Flow model results indicate that nutrient gradients are subject to turbulent mixing by tides and advective transport through circulation driven by wind, barotropic and baroclinic pressure gradients. The bulk of nutrient loads originate from the Citarum and Cisadane rivers flowing through predominantly rural areas. Despite lower nutrient loads, river discharges from the urban area of Jakarta exhibit the highest impact of nutrient concentrations in the near shore area of Jakarta Bay and show that nutrient concentrations were not only regulated by nutrient loads but were strongly regulated by initial river concentrations and local flow characteristics. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Indian Summer Arts Festival


OpenAIRE

Martel, Yann; Tabu; Tejpal, Tarun; Kunzru, Hari

2011-01-01

The SFU Woodward's Cultural Unit partnered with the Indian Summer Festival Society to kick off the inaugural Indian Summer Festival. Held at the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, it included an interactive Literature Series with notable authors from both India and Canada, including special guests Yann Martel, Bollywood superstar Tabu, journalist Tarun Tejpal, writer Hari Kunzru, and many others.

Estimates of Nutrient Loading by Ground-Water Discharge into the Lynch Cove Area of Hood Canal, Washington

Science.gov (United States)

Simonds, F. William; Swarzenski, Peter W.; Rosenberry, Donald O.; Reich, Christopher D.; Paulson, Anthony J.

2008-01-01

Low dissolved oxygen concentrations in the waters of Hood Canal threaten marine life in late summer and early autumn. Oxygen depletion in the deep layers and landward reaches of the canal is caused by decomposition of excess phytoplankton biomass, which feeds on nutrients (primarily nitrogen compounds) that enter the canal from various sources, along with stratification of the water column that prevents mixing and replenishment of oxygen. Although seawater entering the canal is the largest source of nitrogen, ground-water discharge to the canal also contributes significant quantities, particularly during summer months when phytoplankton growth is most sensitive to nutrient availability. Quantifying ground-water derived nutrient loads entering an ecologically sensitive system such as Hood Canal is a critical component of constraining the total nutrient budget and ultimately implementing effective management strategies to reduce impacts of eutrophication. The amount of nutrients entering Hood Canal from ground water was estimated using traditional and indirect measurements of ground-water discharge, and analysis of nutrient concentrations. Ground-water discharge to Hood Canal is variable in space and time because of local geology, variable hydraulic gradients in the ground-water system adjacent to the shoreline, and a large tidal range of 3 to 5 meters. Intensive studies of ground-water seepage and hydraulic-head gradients in the shallow, nearshore areas were used to quantify the freshwater component of submarine ground-water discharge (SGD), whereas indirect methods using radon and radium geochemical tracers helped quantify total SGD and recirculated seawater. In areas with confirmed ground-water discharge, shore-perpendicular electrical resistivity profiles, continuous electromagnetic seepage-meter measurements, and continuous radon measurements were used to visualize temporal variations in ground-water discharge over several tidal cycles. The results of these

Southern Hemisphere origins for interannual variations of Tibetan Plateau snow cover in boreal summer

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Z.

2017-12-01

The climate response to the Tibetan Plateau (TP) snow cover (TPSC) has been receiving extensive concern. However, relatively few studies have devoted to revealing the potential factors that can contribute to the TPSC variability on the interannual time scale. Especially during the boreal summer, snow cover can persist over the TP at high elevations, which exerts profound influences on the local and remote climate change. The present study finds that May Southern Hemisphere (SH) annular mode (SAM), the dominating mode of atmospheric circulation variability in the SH extratropics, exhibits a significant positive relationship with the boreal summer TPSC interannual variability. Observational analysis and numerical experiments manifest that the signal of May SAM can be "prolonged" by a meridional Indian Ocean tripole (IOT) sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) via atmosphere-ocean interaction. The IOT SSTA pattern persists into the following summer and excites anomalous local-scale zonal vertical circulation. Subsequently, a positive (or negative) tropical dipole rainfall (TDR) mode is induced with deficient (or sufficient) precipitation in tropical western Indian Ocean and sufficient (or deficient) precipitation in eastern Indian Ocean-Maritime continent. Rossby wave source diagnosis reveals that the wave energies, generated by the latent heat release of the TDR mode, propagate northward into western TP. As a response, abnormal cyclonic circulation and upward movement are triggered and prevail over western TP, providing favorable dynamical conditions for more TPSC, and vice versa. Hence, the IOT SSTA plays an "ocean bridge" role and the TDR mode acts as an "atmosphere bridge" role in the process of May SAM impacting the following summer TPSC variability. The results of our work may provide new insight about the cross-equatorial propagation of the SAM influence. Keywords Southern Hemisphere annular mode; Tibetan Plateau snow cover; Rossby wave source

Measurement of vertical stroke Vub vertical stroke using b hadron semileptonic decay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbiendi, G.; Aakesson, P.F.

2001-01-01

The magnitude of the CKM matrix element vertical stroke V ub vertical stroke is determined by measuring the inclusive charmless semileptonic branching fraction of beauty hadrons at OPAL based on b → X u lν event topology and kinematics. This analysis uses OPAL data collected between 1991 and 1995, which correspond to about four million hadronic Z decays. We measure Br(b → X u lν) to be (1.63 ±0.53 +0.55 -0.62 ) x 10 -3 . The first uncertainty is the statistical error and the second is the systematic error. From this analysis, vertical stroke V ub vertical stroke is determined to be: vertical stroke V ub vertical stroke =(4.00±0.65(stat) +0.67 -0.76 (sys)±0.19(HQE)) x 10 -3 . The last error represents the theoretical uncertainties related to the extraction of vertical stroke V ub vertical stroke from Br(b→X u l ν) using the Heavy Quark Expansion. (orig.)

The simulation of stratospheric water vapor in the NH summer monsoon regions in a suite of WACCM models

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, X.; Wu, Y.; Huang, Y.; Tilmes, S.

2016-12-01

Water vapor maxima are found in the upper troposphere lower stratosphere (UTLS) over Asian and North America monsoon regions during Northern Hemisphere (NH) summer months. High concentrations of stratospheric water vapor are associated with the upper-level anticyclonic circulation and they play an important role in the radiative forcing for the climate system. However, discrepancies in the simulation of stratospheric water vapor are found among different models. In this study, we use both observational data: Aura Microwave Limb Sounder satellite observations (MLS), the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2) and chemistry climate model outputs: different configurations of the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM), including standard configuration of WACCM, WACCM L110, specified chemistry (SC) WACCM and specified dynamics (SD) WACCM. We find that WACCM L110 with finer vertical resolution better simulates the stratospheric water vapor maxima over the summer monsoon regions. To better understand the mechanism, we examine the simulated temperature at around 100 hPa since 100 hPa is known to act as a dehydration mechanism, i.e. the warmer the temperature, the wetter the stratospheric water vapor. We find that both WACCM L110 and SD-WACCM better simulate the temperature at 100 hPa as compared to that of MERRA2. This suggests that improving model vertical resolution and dynamical processes in the UTLS is crucial in simulating the stratospheric water vapor concentrations.

Vertical distribution of aerosol optical properties in the Po Valley during the 2012 summer campaigns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Bucci

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Studying the vertical distribution of aerosol particle physical and chemical properties in the troposphere is essential to understand the relative importance of local emission processes vs. long-range transport for column-integrated aerosol properties (e.g. the aerosol optical depth, AOD, affecting regional climate as well as for the aerosol burden and its impacts on air quality at the ground. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the transport of desert dust in the middle troposphere and its intrusion into the planetary boundary layer (PBL over the Po Valley (Italy, a region considered one of the greatest European pollution hotspots for the frequency that particulate matter (PM limit values are exceeded. Events of mineral aerosol uplift from local (soil sources and phenomena of hygroscopic growth at the ground are also investigated, possibly affecting the PM concentration in the region as well. During the PEGASOS 2012 field campaign, an integrated observing–modelling system was set up based on near-surface measurements (particle concentration and chemistry, vertical profiling (backscatter coefficient profiles from lidar and radiosoundings and Lagrangian air mass transport simulations by FLEXPART model. Measurements were taken at the San Pietro Capofiume supersite (44°39′ N, 11°37′ E; 11 m a.s.l., located in a rural area relatively close to some major urban and industrial emissive areas in the Po Valley. Mt. Cimone (44°12′ N, 10°42′ E; 2165 m a.s.l. WMO/GAW station observations are also included in the study to characterize regional-scale variability. Results show that, in the Po Valley, aerosol is detected mainly below 2000 m a.s.l. with a prevalent occurrence of non-depolarizing particles ( > 50 % throughout the campaign and a vertical distribution modulated by the PBL daily evolution. Two intense events of mineral dust transport from northern Africa (19–21 and 29 June to 2 July are

Particle fluxes in the deep Eastern Mediterranean basins: the role of ocean vertical velocities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Patara

2009-03-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes the relationship between deep sedimentary fluxes and ocean current vertical velocities in an offshore area of the Ionian Sea, the deepest basin of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Sediment trap data are collected at 500 m and 2800 m depth in two successive moorings covering the period September 1999–May 2001. A tight coupling is observed between the upper and deep traps and the estimated particle sinking rates are more than 200 m day⁻¹. The current vertical velocity field is computed from a 1/16°×1/16° Ocean General Circulation Model simulation and from the wind stress curl. Current vertical velocities are larger and more variable than Ekman vertical velocities, yet the general patterns are alike. Current vertical velocities are generally smaller than 1 m day⁻¹: we therefore exclude a direct effect of downward velocities in determining high sedimentation rates. However we find that upward velocities in the subsurface layers of the water column are positively correlated with deep particle fluxes. We thus hypothesize that upwelling would produce an increase in upper ocean nutrient levels – thus stimulating primary production and grazing – a few weeks before an enhanced vertical flux is found in the sediment traps. High particle sedimentation rates may be attained by means of rapidly sinking fecal pellets produced by gelatinous macro-zooplankton. Other sedimentation mechanisms, such as dust deposition, are also considered in explaining large pulses of deep particle fluxes. The fast sinking rates estimated in this study might be an evidence of the efficiency of the biological pump in sequestering organic carbon from the surface layers of the deep Eastern Mediterranean basins.

Effects of nitrate on the diurnal vertical migration, carbon to nitrogen ratio, and the photosynthetic capacity of the dinoflagellate Gymnodinium splendens

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cullen, J.J.; Horrigan, S.G.

1981-01-01

A non-thecate dinoflagellate, Gymnodinium splendens, was studied in a 12 d laboratory experiment in 2.0 x 0.25 m containers in which light, temperature, and nutrients could be manipulated. Under a 12 h light:12 h dark cycle, the dinoflagellates exhibited diurnal vertical migrations, swimming downward before the dark period began and upward before the end of the dark period. This vertical migration probably involved geotaxis and a diel rhythm, as well as light-mediated behavior. The vertical distribution of nitrate affected the behavior and physiology of the dinoflagellate. When nitrate was present throughout the container, the organisms resembled those in exponential batch culture both in C:N ratios and photosynthetic capacity (P/sub max/); moreover, they migrated to the surface during the day. In contrast, when nitrate was depleted, C:N ratios increased, P/sub max/ decreased, and the organisms formed a subsurface layer at a depth corresponding to the light level at which photosynthesis saturated. When nitrate was present only at the bottom of the tank, C:N ratios of the population decreased until similar to those of nutrient-saturated cells and P/sub max/ increased; however, the dinoflagellates behaved the same as nutient-depleted cells, forming a subsurface layer during the light period. Field measurements revealed a migratory subsurface chlorophyll maximum layer dominated by G. splendens. It was just above the nitracline during the day, and in the nitracline during the night, which concurs with our laboratory observations.

Long-time observation of annual variation of Taiwan Strait upwelling in summer season

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, D. L.; Kawamura, H.; Guan, L.

The Taiwan Strait is between Taiwan Island and Mainland China, where several upwelling zones are well known for good fishing grounds. Earlier studies in the strait have been conducted on detecting upwelling by ship measurements with short-term cruises, but long-term variations of upwelling in this region are not understood. The present paper examines satellite images for a long-time observation of two major upwelling zones in the Taiwan Strait: Taiwan Bank Upwelling (TBU) and Dongshan Upwelling (DSU). Sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll a (Chl-a) images have been analyzed for summer months (June, July, and August) from 1980 to 2002. Results reveal annual variation of two upwelling zones. These two upwelling zones occur every year characterized with distinct low water temperature and high Chl-a concentrations. During the period from 1989 to 1998, SST is found to be 1.15 °C lower in TBU, and 1.42 °C lower in the DSU than the Taiwan Strait. The size of DSU has been found to be larger during summer of 1989, 1990, 1993 and 1995; TBU has been found to be weak during summer of 1994 and 1997. Ocean color images obtained from CZCS, OCI, and SeaWiFS also show high Chl-a concentrations (0.8-2.5 mg m-3) in two upwelling zones, which coincide with low SST in terms of location, shape, and time. These high Chl-a concentrations in TBU and DSU may be related to upwelling waters that bring nutrients from bottom to surface. The present results also show the potential of using satellite data for monitoring of ocean environment for long time period.

Vertical distribution of hydrocarbons in the low troposphere below and above the mixing height: tethered balloon measurements in Milan, Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Sangiorgi, G; Ferrero, L; Perrone, M G; Bolzacchini, E; Duane, M; Larsen, B R

2011-12-01

A novel approach for measuring vertical profiles of HCs and particle number concentrations was described and applied in the low troposphere over Milan (Italy) during typical spring and summer days. Particle profiles yielded nearly homogeneous concentrations below the mixing height, with level-to-ground concentration ratios of 92-97%, while HCs showed a more pronounced decrease (74-95%). Vertical mixing and photochemical loss of HCs were demonstrated to cause these gradients. Much lower concentrations were observed for the profiles above the mixing height, where the HC mixtures showed also a different composition, which was partially explained by the horizontal advection of air with HC sources different to those prevailing at the site. The application of pseudo-first order kinetics for reactions between HCs and the hydroxyl radical allowed for the estimation of the vertical mixing time scale in the order of 100 ± 20 min. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Allegheny County Summer Food Sites

Data.gov (United States)

Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — This data set shows the Summer Food Sites located within Allegheny County for children (18 years and younger) for breakfast and lunch during summer recess. OPEN...

Spatial-temporal distribution of phytoplankton pigments in relation to nutrient status in Jiaozhou Bay, China

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Peng; Yu, Zhigang; Deng, Chunmei; Liu, Shuxia; Zhen, Yu

2010-10-01

We conducted studies of phytoplankton and hydrological variables in a semi-enclosed bay in northern China to understand the spatial-temporal variability and relationship between these variables. Samples were collected during seven cruises in Jiaozhou Bay from November 2003 to October 2004, and were analyzed for temperature, nutrients and phytoplankton pigments. Pigments from eight possible phytoplankton classes (Diatoms, Dinoflagellates, Chlorophyceae, Prasinophyceae, Chrysophyceae, Haptophyceae, Cryptophyceae and Caynophyceae) were detected in surface water by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Phytoplankton pigment and nutrient concentrations in Jiaozhou Bay were spatially and temporally variable, and most of them were highest in the northern and eastern parts of the sampling regions in spring (May) and summer (August), close to areas of shellfish culturing, river estuaries, dense population and high industrialization, reflecting human activities. Chlorophyll a was recorded in all samples, with an annual mean concentration of 1.892 μg L -1, and fucoxanthin was the most abundant accessory pigment, with a mean concentration of 0.791 μg L -1. The highest concentrations of chlorophyll a (15.299 μg L -1) and fucoxanthin (9.417 μg L -1) were observed in May 2004 at the station close to the Qingdao Xiaogang Ferry, indicating a spring bloom of Diatoms in this area. Although chlorophyll a and other biomarker pigments showed significant correlations, none of them showed strong correlations with temperature and nutrients, suggesting an apparent de-coupling between the pigments and these hydrological variables. The nutrient composition and phytoplankton community composition of Jiaozhou Bay have changed significantly in the past several decades, reflecting the increasing nutrient concentrations and decline of phytoplankton cell abundance. The unchanged total chlorophyll a levels indicated that smaller species have filled the niche vacated by the larger

Few apparent short-term effects of elevated soil temperature and increased frequency of summer precipitation on the abundance and taxonomic diversity of desert soil micro- and meso-fauna

Science.gov (United States)

Darby, B.J.; Neher, D.A.; Housman, D.C.; Belnap, J.

2011-01-01

Frequent hydration and drying of soils in arid systems can accelerate desert carbon and nitrogen mobilization due to respiration, microbial death, and release of intracellular solutes. Because desert microinvertebrates can mediate nutrient cycling, and the autotrophic components of crusts are known to be sensitive to rapid desiccation due to elevated temperatures after wetting events, we studied whether altered soil temperature and frequency of summer precipitation can also affect the composition of food web consumer functional groups. We conducted a two-year field study with experimentally-elevated temperature and frequency of summer precipitation in the Colorado Plateau desert, measuring the change in abundance of nematodes, protozoans, and microarthropods. We hypothesized that microfauna would be more adversely affected by the combination of elevated temperature and frequency of summer precipitation than either effect alone, as found previously for phototrophic crust biota. Microfauna experienced normal seasonal fluctuations in abundance, but the effect of elevated temperature and frequency of summer precipitation was statistically non-significant for most microfaunal groups, except amoebae. The seasonal increase in abundance of amoebae was reduced with combined elevated temperature and increased frequency of summer precipitation compared to either treatment alone, but comparable with control (untreated) plots. Based on our findings, we suggest that desert soil microfauna are relatively more tolerant to increases in ambient temperature and frequency of summer precipitation than the autotrophic components of biological soil crust at the surface.

Periodic swarms of the salp Salpa aspera in the Slope Water off the NE United States: Biovolume, vertical migration, grazing, and vertical flux

Science.gov (United States)

Madin, L. P.; Kremer, P.; Wiebe, P. H.; Purcell, J. E.; Horgan, E. H.; Nemazie, D. A.

2006-05-01

Sampling during four summers over a twenty-seven year period has documented dense populations of Salpa aspera in the Slope Water south of New England, northeastern United States. The salps demonstrated a strong pattern of diel vertical migration, moving to depth (mostly 600-800 m) during the day and aggregating in the epipelagic (salps measured were 5.7lm-2 in 1986 and 1.6lm-2 in 1993. Depending on the year, the sampled salp populations were calculated to clear between 8 and 74% of the upper 50 m during each 8 h night. Total fecal output for the same populations was estimated to be between 5 and 91mgCm-2night-1. These results, and other observations, suggest this region is a salp "hot spot", with swarms of S. aspera developing seasonally on a frequent basis.

Physical structure and algae community of summer upwelling off eastern Hainan

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, H.; Liu, S.; Xie, Q.; Hong, B.; Long, T.

2017-12-01

The upwelling system is the most productive ecosystem along the continental shelf of the northern South China Sea Shelf. It brings nutrient from bottom to surface and blooms biotic community driven by summer monsoon. In this study, we present observed results of physical and biotic community structures during August, 2015 in the upwelling system along Hainan eastern coast, which is one the strongest upwelling systems in the northern South China Sea. By using hydrological data collected by CTD, we found a significant cold water tongue with high salinity which extended from offshore to 100 m isobaths. However, dissolved oxygen (DO) showed a sandwich structure in which high core of DO concentration appeared at the layer from 5 m to 30 m. It possibly was caused by the advection transport of high DO from adjacent area. Basically, this upwelling system was constrained at northern area of 18.8ºN in horizontal due to the weakening summer monsoon in August. In addition, we collected water sample at the upwelling area and measured algae categories and concentration by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results show the biotic community was dominated by five types of algae mainly, they were diatoms, dinoflagellates, green algae, prokaryotes and prochlorococcus. And different patterns of different algae were demonstrated. In the upwelling area, diatoms and prokaryotes show opposite structures, and more complex pattern for the rest three algae indicating an active biotic community in the upwelling system.

Measurement of the CKM matrix element vertical stroke Vts vertical stroke 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Unverdorben, Christopher Gerhard

2015-03-01

This is the first direct measurement of the CKM matrix element vertical stroke V ts vertical stroke, using data collected by the ATLAS detector in 2012 at √(s)= 8 TeV pp-collisions with a total integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb -1 . The analysis is based on 112 171 reconstructed t anti t candidate events in the lepton+jets channel, having a purity of 90.0 %. 183 t anti t→W + W - b anti s decays are expected (charge conjugation implied), which are available for the extraction of the CKM matrix element vertical stroke V ts vertical stroke 2 . To identify these rare decays, several observables are examined, such as the properties of jets, tracks and of b-quark identification algorithms. Furthermore, the s-quark hadrons K 0 s are considered, reconstructed by a kinematic fit. The best observables are combined in a multivariate analysis, called ''boosted decision trees''. The responses from Monte Carlo simulations are used as templates for a fit to data events yielding a significance value of 0.7σ for t→s+W decays. An upper limit of vertical stroke V ts vertical stroke 2 <1.74 % at 95 % confidence level is set, including all systematic and statistical uncertainties. So this analysis, using a direct measurement of the CKM matrix element vertical stroke V ts vertical stroke 2 , provides the best direct limit on vertical stroke V ts vertical stroke 2 up to now.

Nutrient synchrony in preruminant calves

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Borne, van den J.J.G.C.

2006-01-01

In animal nutrition, the nutrient composition of the daily feed supply is composed to match the nutrient requirements for the desired performance. The time of nutrient availability within a day is usually considered not to affect the fate of nutrients. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate effects

Summer Programming: What Do Children Say?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nila Cobb

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Studies document that low-income children lose academic skills over the summer. Six years of reading achievement data collected by Energy Express, a nationally recognized summer reading and nutrition program in West Virginia, has established the efficacy of the intervention. The purpose of this study was to examine characteristics of a voluntary summer program that foster participation. Interview data indicates that children attend because they perceive the program as fun; large creative art (for example, full-body portraits, appliance box castles, wall murals seems particularly important. Energy Express gives children both the fun they want and the enrichment they need in the summer.

Comparative analysis of food webs based on flow networks: effects of nutrient supply on structure and function of coastal plankton communities

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Yngvar; Reinertsen, Helge; Vadstein, Olav; Andersen, Tom; Gismervik, Ingrid; Duarte, Carlos; Agusti, Susana; Stibor, Herwig; Sommer, Ulrich; Lignell, Risto; Tamminen, Timo; Lancelot, Christiane; Rousseau, Veronique; Hoell, Espen; Sanderud, Knut Arvid

2001-12-01

The objective of COMWEB was to develop efficient analytical, numerical and experimental methods for assessing and predicting the effects of nutrient (N, P, Si) supply on the stability and persistence of pelagic food web structure and function in coastal waters. The experimental comparative work included a geographic gradient covering Baltic, Mediterranean, and NE Atlantic waters and a NE Atlantic gradient in state of eutrophication. COMWEB has been an experimental approach to coastal eutrophication, studying effects of enhanced nutrient supply on components and flows of the entire lower pelagic food web. Flow network representations of pelagic food webs has been a framework of data reduction and flows were established by sophisticated inverse modelling. Fundamental information on physiological properties of functional key species in the pelagic food web was used to constrain flow estimations. A main conclusion derived from the flow networks was that very little energy and materials were transferred from the microbial food web to the main food chain. The lower food web could therefore be described as two parallel food chains with relatively limited interaction between heterotrophic groups. Short-term effects of nutrient perturbations were examined in mesocosms along the geographic gradient. The response was comparable in all systems, with a stronger effect on the activity and biomass of autotrophic groups than those of heterotrophic ones. Mediterranean waters showed much lower autotrophic biomass response than Baltic and NE Atlantic waters, which responded almost equally. The response of primary production was, however, more comparable. High phytoplankton lysis rate explained this low accumulation of biomass in Mediterranean waters. The study of Atlantic coastal waters of different eutrophic states revealed that the ecological response was higher in the closed nutrient perturbed mesocosms than in open systems exposed for >4 summer months (summer/autumn season). The

Effect of Different Parts (Leaf, Stem and Stalk) and Seasons (Summer and Winter) on the Chemical Compositions and Antioxidant Activity of Moringa oleifera

Science.gov (United States)

Shih, Ming-Chih; Chang, Cheng-Ming; Kang, Sue-Ming; Tsai, Min-Lang

2011-01-01

Moringa oleifera, Lam. (Moringaceae) is grown world-wide in the tropics and sub-tropics of Asia and Africa and contains abundant various nutrients. This study describes the effect of different parts (leaf, stem and stalk) and seasons (summer and winter) on the chemical compositions and antioxidant activity of M. oleifera grown in Taiwan. The results showed that the winter samples of Moringa had higher ash (except the stalk part), calcium and phenolic compounds (except the leaf part) and stronger antioxidative activity than summer samples. The methanolic extract of Moringa showed strong scavenging effect of DPPH radicals and reducing power. The trend of antioxidative activity as a function of the part of Moringa was: leaf > stem > stalk for samples from both seasons investigated. The Moringa extract showed strong hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity and high Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) activity except the stalk part. PMID:22016645

Seasonal influence on the response of the somatotropic axis to nutrient restriction and re-alimentation in captive Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus).

Science.gov (United States)

Richmond, Julie P; Jeanniard du Dot, Tiphaine; Rosen, David A S; Zinn, Steven A

2010-03-01

Fluctuations in availability of prey resources can impede acquisition of sufficient energy for maintenance and growth. By investigating the hormonal mechanisms of the somatotropic axis that link nutrition, fat metabolism, and lean tissue accretion, we can assess the physiological impact of decreased nutrient intake on growth. Further, species that undergo seasonal periods of reduced intake as a part of their normal life history may have a differential seasonal response to nutrient restriction. This experiment evaluated the influence of season and age on the response of the somatotropic axis, including growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I, and IGF-binding proteins (BP), to reduced nutrient intake and re-alimentation in Steller sea lions. Eight captive females (five juveniles, three sub-adults) were subject to 28-day periods of food restriction, controlled re-feeding, and ad libitum recovery in summer (long-day photoperiod) and winter (short-day photoperiod). Hormone concentrations were insensitive to type of fish fed (low fat pollock vs. high fat herring), but sensitive to energy intake. Body mass, fat, and IGF-I declined, whereas GH and IGFBP-2 increased during feed restriction. Reduced IGF-I and IGFBP with increased GH during controlled re-feeding suggest that animals did not reach positive energy balance until fed ad libitum. Increased IGF-I, IGFBP-2, IGFBP-3, and reduced GH observed in summer reflected seasonal differences in energy partitioning. There was a strong season and age effect in the response to restriction and re-alimentation, indicating that older, larger animals are better able to cope with stress associated with energy deficit, regardless of season.

A coupled physical-biological model of the Northern Gulf of Mexico shelf: model description, validation and analysis of phytoplankton variability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Fennel

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The Texas-Louisiana shelf in the Northern Gulf of Mexico receives large inputs of nutrients and freshwater from the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River system. The nutrients stimulate high rates of primary production in the river plume, which contributes to the development of a large and recurring hypoxic area in summer, but the mechanistic links between hypoxia and river discharge of freshwater and nutrients are complex as the accumulation and vertical export of organic matter, the establishment and maintenance of vertical stratification, and the microbial degradation of organic matter are controlled by a non-linear interplay of factors. Unraveling these interactions will have to rely on a combination of observations and models. Here we present results from a realistic, 3-dimensional, physical-biological model with focus on a quantification of nutrient-stimulated phytoplankton growth, its variability and the fate of this organic matter. We demonstrate that the model realistically reproduces many features of observed nitrate and phytoplankton dynamics including observed property distributions and rates. We then contrast the environmental factors and phytoplankton source and sink terms characteristic of three model subregions that represent an ecological gradient from eutrophic to oligotrophic conditions. We analyze specifically the reasons behind the counterintuitive observation that primary production in the light-limited plume region near the Mississippi River delta is positively correlated with river nutrient input, and find that, while primary production and phytoplankton biomass are positively correlated with nutrient load, phytoplankton growth rate is not. This suggests that accumulation of biomass in this region is not primarily controlled bottom up by nutrient-stimulation, but top down by systematic differences in the loss processes.

The Nutrient Density of Snacks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julie Hess BA

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Background: Although Americans receive almost a quarter of their daily energy from snacks, snacking remains a poorly defined and understood eating occasion. However, there is little dietary guidance about choosing snacks. Families, clinicians, and researchers need a comprehensive approach to assessing their nutritional value. Objective: To quantify and compare the nutrient density of commonly consumed snacks by their overall nutrient profiles using the Nutrient-Rich Foods (NRF Index 10.3. Methods: NRF Index scores were calculated for the top 3 selling products (based on 2014 market research data in different snack categories. These NRF scores were averaged to provide an overall nutrient-density score for each category. Results: Based on NRF scores, yogurt (55.3, milk (52.5, and fruit (30.1 emerged as the most nutrient-dense snacks. Ice cream (−4.4, pies and cakes (−11.1, and carbonated soft drinks (−17.2 emerged as the most nutrient-poor snacks. Conclusions: The NRF Index is a useful tool for assessing the overall nutritional value of snacks based on nutrients to limit and nutrients to encourage.

Soluble organic nutrient fluxes

Science.gov (United States)

Robert G. Qualls; Bruce L. Haines; Wayne Swank

2014-01-01

Our objectives in this study were (i) compare fluxes of the dissolved organic nutrients dissolved organic carbon (DOC), DON, and dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) in a clearcut area and an adjacent mature reference area. (ii) determine whether concentrations of dissolved organic nutrients or inorganic nutrients were greater in clearcut areas than in reference areas,...

Goodbye to Summer Vacation? The Effects of Summer Enrollment on College and Employment Outcomes. A CAPSEE Working Paper

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Vivian Yuen Ting

2016-01-01

Despite rich evidence on the benefit of summer enrollment at the K-12 level, the college completion literature has so far focused on college readiness, remediation, and financial aid, and has largely overlooked the potential benefits of taking summer courses among college students. Academic momentum theory suggests that summer enrollment may…

Midwest Flood of 2008: Lake Michigan Basin-Wide Summer Plankton Bloom is not due to Nutrient Injection

Science.gov (United States)

Cuhel, R. L.; Aguilar, C.; Balch, B.

2008-12-01

Major Midwestern US flooding occurred in June of 2008 following over 30cm of rainfall in a 4-day period. Tributaries to Lake Michigan swelled, with outflow from the Milwaukee River increasing 30-fold from long-term means of 8.5 m3/s to over 250 m3/s. Flood stage was sustained for 8 days and dampened over a protracted 30-day period. A series of inshore, transect, and mid-lake cruises established the presence of unseasonally strong gradients in surface phytoplankton biomass moving progressively offshore, to ultimately influence at least half of the 150 km-wide Lake Michigan basin. Remote sensing of chlorophyll (chl) and the diffuse attenuation coefficient (at 490nm) documented the existence of blooms offshore of each major river on both sides of the lake persisting into mid-July, and then disappearing from surface waters, not visible to space-based satellite sensors. Profiles detailed deep chlorophyll maxima that were distinct from previous years. Surface transects in 2007 yielded typical summer chl of quagga mussel-infested shallower reef zone. Offshore transects displayed high chl in the upper 5m only a few days after the onset of high flow. Unseasonably high phytoplankton population densities progressed with time and distance offshore in a manner suggestive of advection of a surface lens across the well-stratified lake. As the lens progressed offshore, populations continued to grow, appearing as a band of high chl extending across the lake. After 2 weeks, inshore areas had substantially lower surface biomass than those offshore, reflecting settling of denser cells during a long period of relatively calm weather. Development of deep chlorophyll maxima (DCM) at 25-40m followed the decrease of surface populations at all locations deeper than 50m. High satellite- derived diffuse attenuation coefficients also reflected the presence of dense algal populations in the upper water column. 1% PAR penetration reached to only 25m, substantially short of the 35-40m

Vertical distribution of the sound-scattering layer in the Amundsen Sea, Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hyungbeen; La, Hyoung Sul; Kang, Donhyug; Lee, SangHoon

2018-03-01

Mid-trophic level at high-latitude coastal water in the Southern Ocean reside unique geographical condition with sea ice, coastal polynya, and ice shelf. To investigate the regional differences in their vertical distribution during summer, we examined acoustic backscatter data from scientific echo sounder, collected in the three representative regions in the Amundsen Sea: pack ice zone, coastal polynya zone, and ice shelf zone. The weighted mean depths (WMDs) representing zooplankton were calculated with the high resolution acoustic backscatter (1-m depth) to identify the vertical variability of the sound-scattering layer (SSL). WMDs were mainly distributed between 50 and 130 m exhibiting clear regional differences. The WMDs were detected in the shallow depth ranged between 48 and 84 m within the pack ice and coastal polynya, whereas they were observed at deeper depths around near ice shelf ranged between 117 and 126 m. WMDs varied with changing the stratification of water column structure representing strong linear relationship with the mixed layer depth (r = 0.69). This finding implies that understanding the essential forcing of zooplankton behavior will improve our ability to assess the coastal ecosystem in the Southern Ocean facing dramatic change.

Summer Appendicitis

African Journals Online (AJOL)

hanumantp

The increasing number of “fast food” restaurants where mainly high‑carbohydrate ... factors, food culture and the effect of migration for touristic purposes during the summer. .... Lal A, Hales S, French N, Baker MG. Seasonality in human.

Effect of hypoxia on benthic nutrient fluxes in the northwestern Black Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Friedrich, J.

2012-04-01

The western Black Sea shelf has been affected by eutrophication from the 1960s to the mid 1990s. A combination of increased nutrient loads from the major inflowing rivers Danube, Dniester and Dnepr and favourable climate conditions led to high productivity regimes. As a consequence, increased oxygen consumption due to decomposition of organic matter caused recurrent seasonal bottom water hypoxia for more than 20 years. In addition, recycling of nutrients from organic matter settling to the seafloor along with tight benthic-pelagic coupling represents an important internal source for productivity, hence internally supporting eutrophication. From the 1970s to 1990s, the benthic and pelagic systems deteriorated and ecosystem structure and functioning changed. Following the collapse of the centrally planned economies in the eastern European countries during the 1990s, the riverine nutrient input decreased, and the ecosystem, now slowly responding, shows signs of recovery; e.g. by a decrease in hypoxic events. In this study, benthic nutrient flux data from in-situ and ex-situ experiments during the 1990s on the Danube-influenced north-western Black Sea shelf and data from the 2000s, including the EU-FP7 HYPOX experiments, are analysed to reveal the effect of hypoxia on benthic nutrient fluxes. Mann-Whitney statistical tests have been applied to demonstrate the significance of differences in fluxes due to varying oxygen conditions in the water. During the 1990s experiments, bottom water hypoxia was encountered in all locations, while during the 2000s hypoxia has been met only during summer in the Danube Prodelta area and near the Dniester mouth. Indeed, bottom water oxygen in the 1990s has been statistically significantly lower than in the 2000s while benthic oxygen consumption was higher during eutrophication-induced hypoxia. The benthic nutrient fluxes in the 1990s and the 2000s however do not differ significantly. During hypoxia, despite ceasing eutrophication

Impact of the river Liffey discharge on nutrient and chlorophyll concentrations in the Liffey estuary and Dublin Bay (Irish Sea)

Science.gov (United States)

O'Higgins, T. G.; Wilson, J. G.

2005-08-01

Temperature, salinity, nutrients (total oxidised nitrogen (TON), ammonium (NH 4) and orthophosphate (PO 4)) and chlorophyll a were monitored in the Liffey estuary and Dublin Bay from June 2000 to June 2003. Four groups of sites were defined comprising the upper estuary (Gp. I), the outer estuary (Gp. III) with a small set (Gp. II) of sites between Groups I and III heavily influenced by the sewage treatment works outflow, and the Bay proper (Gp. IV). Riverine inputs of TON and PO 4 were calculated at an average of 826 t N y -1 and 31 t P y -1, respectively, and were largely controlled by flow rate. The sewage treatment works were identified as a major source of PO 4 and NH 4 to the system. Mixing in the upper estuary of nutrient limited saline waters with hypernutrified river water regularly (i.e. annually) produced relatively high concentrations of chlorophyll a (>10 mg chl a m -3), and also sporadic blooms with extremely high chlorophyll a values (max. 121.6 mg chl a m -3). These latter phytoplankton blooms occurred in high salinity waters and were due to mixing of nutrient limited saline waters and nutrient rich river waters. The mean annual flux of phytoplankton carbon from the river Liffey was calculated at 23.5 t C y -1, of which half was accumulated or remineralised in the estuary and did not enter the Bay. In the Bay proper (Gp. IV) summer nutrient concentrations dropped below detection limits, and chlorophyll a concentrations followed the classic pattern with a spring bloom maximum of 5.5 mg chl a m -3. This pattern in nutrients and chlorophyll a came from the advection of waters into the Bay from an offshore source. Overall while there was considerable evidence for eutrophication in the estuary, the bay itself showed little biological response to nutrient loading.

Sensitivity analysis of a pulse nutrient addition technique for estimating nutrient uptake in large streams

Science.gov (United States)

Laurence Lin; J.R. Webster

2012-01-01

The constant nutrient addition technique has been used extensively to measure nutrient uptake in streams. However, this technique is impractical for large streams, and the pulse nutrient addition (PNA) has been suggested as an alternative. We developed a computer model to simulate Monod kinetics nutrient uptake in large rivers and used this model to evaluate the...

On the recent warming in the subcloud layer entropy and vertically integrated moist static energy over South Asian Monsoon region.

Science.gov (United States)

Konduru, R.; Gupta, A.; Matsumoto, J.; Takahashi, H. G.

2017-12-01

In order to explain monsoon circulation, surface temperature gradients described as most traditional concept. However, it cannot explain certain important aspects of monsoon circulation. Later, convective quasi-equilibrium framework and vertically integrated atmospheric energy budget has become recognized theories to explain the monsoon circulation. In this article, same theories were analyzed and observed for the duration 1979-2010 over south Asian summer monsoon region. With the help of NCEP-R2, NOAA 20th Century, and Era-Interim reanalysis an important feature was noticed pertained to subcloud layer entropy and vertical moist static energy. In the last 32 years, subcloud layer entropy and vertically integrated moist static energy has shown significant seasonal warming all over the region with peak over the poleward flank of the cross-equatorial cell. The important reason related to the warming was found to be increase in surface enthalpy fluxes. Instead, other dynamical contributions pertained to the warming was also observed. Increase in positive anomalies of vertical advection of moist static energy over northern Bay of Bengal, Central India, Peninsular India, Eastern Arabian Sea, and Equatorial Indian Ocean was found to be an important dynamic factor contributing for warming of vertically integrated moist static energy. Along with it vertical moist stability has also supported the argument. Similar interpretations were perceived in the AMIP simulation of CCSM4 model. Further modeling experiments on this warming will be helpful to know the exact mechanism behind it.

Sources of Nutrients to Nearshore Areas of a Eutrophic Estuary: Implications for Nutrient-Enhanced Acidification in Puget Sound

Science.gov (United States)

Pacella, S. R.

2016-02-01

Ocean acidification has recently been highlighted as a major stressor for coastal organisms. Further work is needed to assess the role of anthropogenic nutrient additions in eutrophied systems on local biological processes, and how this interacts with CO2 emission-driven acidification. This study sought to distinguish changes in pH caused by natural versus anthropogenically affected processes. We quantified the variability in water column pH attributable to primary production and respiration fueled by anthropogenically derived nitrogen in a shallow nearshore area. Two study sites were located in shallow subtidal areas of the Snohomish River estuary, a eutrophic system located in central Puget Sound, Washington. These sites were chosen due to the presence of heavy agricultural activity, urbanized areas with associated waste water treatment, as well as influence from deep, high CO2 marine waters transported through the Strait of Juan de Fuca and upwelled into the area during spring and summer. Data was collected from July-December 2015 utilizing continuous moorings and discrete water column sampling. Analysis of stable isotopes, δ15N, δ18O-NO3, δ15N-NH4, was used to estimate the relative contributions of anthropogenic versus upwelled marine nitrogen sources. Continuous monitoring of pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and salinity was conducted at both study sites to link changes in nutrient source and availability with changes in pH. We predicted that isotope data would indicate greater contributions of nitrogen from agriculture and wastewater rather than upwelling in the shallow, nearshore study sites. This study seeks to distinguish the relative magnitude of pH change stimulated by anthropogenic versus natural sources of nitrogen to inform public policy decisions in critically important nearshore ecosystems.

Evaluation of Summer Bridge Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia, Lisa D.; Paz, Chiara C.

2009-01-01

Many colleges and universities in the United States offer summer programs for their incoming students. While programs are structured and administered in a variety of ways and target various student populations, the most common type of summer bridge program aims to serve historically underrepresented students and students of low socioeconomic…

Two different strategies of Mediterranean macchia plants to avoid photoinhibitory damage by excessive radiation levels during summer drought

Science.gov (United States)

Werner, Christiane; Correia, Otilia; Beyschlag, Wolfram

1999-02-01

The adaptive strategies to high radiation and water stress of the drought tolerant evergreen sclerophylls Quercus coccifera and Arbutus unedo are compared to those of the semi-deciduous Cistus spp. ( C. albidus and C. monspeliensis). Cistus spp. partially avoided drought by a marked reduction of their transpirational surface through leaf abscission during summer, when predawn water potential declined below -5.5 MPa. Chlorophyll fluorescence measurements revealed a reversible diurnal decrease of maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII (F v/F m), which became more accentuated during summer drought in all species. An important strategy to avoid damage by excessive radiation levels in Cistus spp. was the structural regulation of light interception through leaf angle changes, from a more horizontal orientation in spring ( 70°). Horizontal orientated leaves were highly susceptible to photoinhibition, and excessive radiation often resulted in irreversible photodamage followed by leaf abscission during summer, whereas vertical leaf orientation appeared to protect the leaf from severe photoinhibition. Still, these mechanisms were not fully successful in avoiding chronic photoinhibition, and predawn F v/F m values remained low in Cistus spp. during summer (only exhibiting a partial overnight recovery). Evergreen sclerophylls were less susceptible to photoinhibition, and the diurnal decline in F v/F m remained fully reversible during drought. Structural regulation of light interception was not found to be an important strategy in these species, and only small, though significant changes in leaf angle occurred. The ecological importance of the adaptive strategies of each functional group is discussed.

Sex-related differences in photoinhibition, photo-oxidative stress and photoprotection in stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.) exposed to drought and nutrient deficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Simancas, Bárbara; Juvany, Marta; Cotado, Alba; Munné-Bosch, Sergi

2016-03-01

Dimorphic plant species can show distinct nutrient needs due to sex-related differences in nutrient allocation to reproductive structures, which can potentially affect their sensitivity to photoinhibition and photo-oxidative stress. Here, we investigated sex-related differences in the extent of photo-oxidative stress in male and female individuals of U. dioica exposed to a combination of severe drought and nutrient starvation. Male and female individuals of U. dioica subject to severe drought stress were exposed to various levels of nutrient availability. First, a set of plants grown under field conditions and exposed to summer drought was used to test the effects of nutrient supply (given as NPK fertilizer). Secondly, the effects of various phosphate concentrations in the nutrient solution were tested in drought-stressed potted plants. The Fv/Fm ratio (maximum efficiency of PSII photochemistry), photoprotection capacity (levels of carotenoids, including the xanthophyll cycle, and vitamins C and E), and the extent of lipid peroxidation (hydroperoxide levels) were measured. Results showed that an application of the NPK fertilizer to the soil had a positive effect on drought-stressed plants, reducing the extent of lipid peroxidation in both males and females. P deficiency led to residual photoinhibition, as indicated by significant reductions in the Fv/Fm ratio, and enhanced lipid peroxidation in females, but not in males. We conclude that (i) increased nutrient availability in the soil can alleviate photo-oxidative stress in drought-stressed U. dioica plants, and (ii) U. dioica plants show sexual secondary dimorphism in terms of photoinhibition and photo-oxidative stress, but this is only apparent when stress infringed on plants is very severe. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nutrient acquisition strategies of mammalian cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Palm, Wilhelm; Thompson, Craig B

2017-06-07

Mammalian cells are surrounded by diverse nutrients, such as glucose, amino acids, various macromolecules and micronutrients, which they can import through transmembrane transporters and endolysosomal pathways. By using different nutrient sources, cells gain metabolic flexibility to survive periods of starvation. Quiescent cells take up sufficient nutrients to sustain homeostasis. However, proliferating cells depend on growth-factor-induced increases in nutrient uptake to support biomass formation. Here, we review cellular nutrient acquisition strategies and their regulation by growth factors and cell-intrinsic nutrient sensors. We also discuss how oncogenes and tumour suppressors promote nutrient uptake and thereby support the survival and growth of cancer cells.

Finding Funds to Move Summer Learning Forward

Science.gov (United States)

Seidel, Bob

2015-01-01

Summer learning loss creates a permanent drag on the US education system. With the generous support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) developed "Moving Summer Learning Forward: A Strategic Roadmap for Funding in Tough Times" to provide out-of-school time programs, school districts,…

The role of summer precipitation and summer temperature in establishment and growth of dwarf shrub Betula nana in northeast Siberian tundra

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Bingxi; Heijmans, Monique M P D; Berendse, Frank

2016-01-01

It is widely believed that deciduous tundra-shrub dominance is increasing in the pan-Arctic region, mainly due to rising temperature. We sampled dwarf birch (Betula nana L.) at a northeastern Siberian tundra site and used dendrochronological methods to explore the relationship between climatic...... variables and local shrub dominance. We found that establishment of shrub ramets was positively related to summer precipitation, which implies that the current high dominance of B. nana at our study site could be related to high summer precipitation in the period from 1960 to 1990. The results confirmed...... that early summer temperature is most influential to annual growth rates of B. nana. In addition, summer precipitation stimulated shrub growth in years with warm summers, suggesting that B. nana growth may be co-limited by summer moisture supply. The dual controlling role of temperature and summer...

Vertical axis wind turbines

Science.gov (United States)

Krivcov, Vladimir [Miass, RU; Krivospitski, Vladimir [Miass, RU; Maksimov, Vasili [Miass, RU; Halstead, Richard [Rohnert Park, CA; Grahov, Jurij [Miass, RU

2011-03-08

A vertical axis wind turbine is described. The wind turbine can include a top ring, a middle ring and a lower ring, wherein a plurality of vertical airfoils are disposed between the rings. For example, three vertical airfoils can be attached between the upper ring and the middle ring. In addition, three more vertical airfoils can be attached between the lower ring and the middle ring. When wind contacts the vertically arranged airfoils the rings begin to spin. By connecting the rings to a center pole which spins an alternator, electricity can be generated from wind.

Vertical nitrogen flux from the oceanic photic zone by diel migrant zooplankton and nekton

Science.gov (United States)

Longhurst, Alan R.; Glen Harrison, W.

1988-06-01

Where the photic zone is a biological steady-state, the downward flux of organic material across the pycnocline to the interior of the ocean is thought to be balanced by upward turbulent flux of inorganic nitrogen across the nutricline. This model ignores a significant downward dissolved nitrogen flux caused by the diel vertical migration of interzonal zooplankton and nekton that feed in the photic zone at night and excrete nitrogenous compounds at depth by day. In the oligotrophic ocean this flux can be equivalent to the flux of particulate organic nitrogen from the photic zone in the form of faecal pellets and organic flocculates. Where nitrogen is the limiting plant nutrient, and the flux by diel migration of interzonal plankton is significant compared to other nitrogen exports from the photic zone, there must be an upward revision of previous estimates for the ratio of new to total primary production in the photic zone if a nutrient balance is to be maintained. This upward revision is of the order 5-100% depending on the oceanographic regime.

Physical-biological coupling induced aggregation mechanism for the formation of high biomass red tides in low nutrient waters.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Zhigang; Yin, Kedong

2014-01-01

Port Shelter is a semi-enclosed bay in northeast Hong Kong where high biomass red tides are observed to occur frequently in narrow bands along the local bathymetric isobars. Previous study showed that nutrients in the Bay are not high enough to support high biomass red tides. The hypothesis is that physical aggregation and vertical migration of dinoflagellates appear to be the driving mechanism to promote the formation of red tides in this area. To test this hypothesis, we used a high-resolution estuarine circulation model to simulate the near-shore water dynamics based on in situ measured temperature/salinity profiles, winds and tidal constitutes taken from a well-validated regional tidal model. The model results demonstrated that water convergence occurs in a narrow band along the west shore of Port Shelter under a combined effect of stratified tidal current and easterly or northeasterly wind. Using particles as dinoflagellate cells and giving diel vertical migration, the model results showed that the particles aggregate along the convergent zone. By tracking particles in the model predicted current field, we estimated that the physical-biological coupled processes induced aggregation of the particles could cause 20-45 times enhanced cell density in the convergent zone. This indicated that a high cell density red tide under these processes could be initialized without very high nutrients concentrations. This may explain why Port Shelter, a nutrient-poor Bay, is the hot spot for high biomass red tides in Hong Kong in the past 25 years. Our study explains why red tide occurrences are episodic events and shows the importance of taking the physical-biological aggregation mechanism into consideration in the projection of red tides for coastal management. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nutrient sequestration in Aquitaine lakes (SW France) limits nutrient flux to the coastal zone

Science.gov (United States)

Buquet, Damien; Anschutz, Pierre; Charbonnier, Céline; Rapin, Anne; Sinays, Rémy; Canredon, Axel; Bujan, Stéphane; Poirier, Dominique

2017-12-01

Oligotrophic coastal zones are disappearing from increased nutrient loading. The quantity of nutrients reaching the coast is determined not only by their original source (e.g. fertilizers used in agriculture, waste water discharges) and the land use, but also by the pathways through which nutrients are cycled from the source to the river mouth. In particular, lakes sequester nutrients and, hence, reduce downstream transfer of nutrients to coastal environments. Here, we quantify the impact of Aquitaine great lakes on the fluxes of dissolved macro-nutrients (N, P, Si) to the Bay of Biscay. For that, we have measured nutrient concentrations and fluxes in 2014 upstream and downstream lakes of Lacanau and Carcans-Hourtin, which belongs to the catchment of the Arcachon Bay, which is the largest coastal lagoon of the Bay of Biscay French coast. Data were compared to values obtained from the Leyre river, the main freshwater and nutrient source for the lagoon. Results show that processes in lakes greatly limit nutrient flux to the lagoon compared to fluxes from Leyre river, although the watershed is similar in terms of land cover. In lakes, phosphorus and silicon are trapped for long term in the sediment, silicon as amorphous biogenic silica and phosphorus as organic P and P associated with Fe-oxides. Nitrogen that enters lakes mostly as nitrate is used for primary production. N is mineralized in the sediment; a fraction diffuses as ammonium. N2 production through benthic denitrification extracts only 10% of dissolved inorganic nitrogen from the aquatic system. The main part is sequestered in organic-rich sediment that accumulates below 5 m depth in both lakes.

Nutrient losses from cattle co-digestate slurry during storage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesca Perazzolo

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Among environmental issues related to intensive livestock activity, emissions to air from manure management are of increasing concern. Thus the knowledge of the effect of treatment application on subsequent emissions from manure is required to assess the environment impact of management solutions. This work addresses the effect of anaerobic digestion and phase separation on emissions during storage by studying nitrogen losses from lab-scale stores and field pilot-scale stores of a co-digestate cattle slurry and its respective separated fractions. Lab-scale experiment was carried in temperature-controlled room where each fraction (untreated, separated liquid and separated solid was stored in duplicate for a period of 32 days in 30 L vessel. Pilot-scale experiment was carried out both during the cold season and during warm season for 90 days of storage. In both experimentations samples of the manure were analysed periodically for total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN, total ammonia nitrogen, dry matter and volatile solids and pH. These analyses allow estimating nitrogen losses in different storage conditions. Effects of mechanical separation and season were assessed by ANOVA (Wilcoxon test, P<0.05. In temperature controlled conditions nitrogen losses measured account for 13% and 26% of TKN for unseparated and separated slurries respectively. In field conditions during cold season nutrient losses were limited. On average unseparated and separated slurries lost respectively 6.8% and 12.6% of their initial TKN content. Much higher were the TKN losses from the slurries examined in warm season where losses raised up to 40% of the initial TKN content. Generally mechanical separation increases nutrient losses, but the differences were not significant in field conditions. The results highlighted that nutrient losses, in particular the nitrogen ones, can be considerable especially during summer storage. The latter, in case of separated slurries, are mainly related

Excretion is Faster Than Diagenesis for Nutrient Recycling in Lake Michigan Benthos

Science.gov (United States)

Aguilar, C.; Cuhel, R. L.

2013-12-01

nucleic acids and lipid) being excreted. Oddly, the highest quality food resources (low C:N and C:P ratios) lead to the greatest excretion of N and P nutrients in healthy organisms with high metabolic rates. This suggestion is borne out by the spatial distribution of QM excretion rates in transects across seamount-like bathymetric features in south-central Lake Michigan. On the upstream side and plateaus of Northeast and Sheboygan Reefs, where freshly advected bottom water flows across mussel communities, excretion rates in summer 2013 varied around 0.8 and 30 nmol/animal/hr (HPO4= and NH4+ respectively) for robust young adult mussels 15-20mm in length. On the downstream slope, where particles are likely reprocessed several times, nutritional quality and excretion rates were lower, especially for NH4+. Inshore shallow stations have similar rates to upstream nutrient-sufficient populations. Excretion size spectrum regressions combined with population size frequency analyses enable estimation of areal flux. N:P excretion ratios (30-40) are greater than Redfield, and consistent with growing animals nearing their late summer spawning effort. Several years of trophic gradient transects for mussel excretion, and pre- vs. post-QM porewater profiles will support these conclusions.

Close the Achievement Gap with Summer Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Huggins, Gary

2012-01-01

Summer vacation from school can bring afternoons at the swimming pool, family vacations, and maybe a spirit-filled summer camp that ignites a passion for art or rock climbing. But for many children, summer also means setbacks in learning that take a tremendous toll on teaching and student performance over time. PTA leaders can make a vital…

Nutrient Management in Recirculating Hydroponic Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Bugbee, Bruce

2004-01-01

There is an increasing need to recirculate and reuse nutrient solutions in order to reduce environmental and economic costs. However, one of the weakest points in hydroponics is the lack of information on managing the nutrient solution. Many growers and research scientists dump out nutrient solutions and refill at weekly intervals. Other authors have recommended measuring the concentrations of individual nutrients in solution as a key to nutrient control and maintenance. Dumping and replacing solution is unnecessary. Monitoring ions in solution is not always necessary; in fact the rapid depletion of some nutrients often causes people to add toxic amounts of nutrients to the solution. Monitoring ions in solution is interesting, but it is not the key to effective maintenance.

vertical bar Vub vertical bar from exclusive semileptonic B→π decays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flynn, Jonathan M.; Nieves, Juan

2007-01-01

We use Omnes representations of the form factors f + and f 0 for exclusive semileptonic B→π decays, paying special attention to the treatment of the B* pole and its effect on f + . We apply them to combine experimental partial branching fraction information with theoretical calculations of both form factors to extract vertical bar V ub vertical bar. The precision we achieve is competitive with the inclusive determination and we do not find a significant discrepancy between our result, vertical bar V ub vertical bar=(3.90+/-0.32+/-0.18)x10 -3 , and the inclusive world average value (4.45+/-0.20+/-0.26)x10 -3 [Heavy Flavor Averaging Group (HFAG), hep-ex/0603003

Examining Dehydration and Hypoxic Stress in Wheat Plants Using a Porous Tube Plant Nutrient Delivery System Developed for Microgravity

Science.gov (United States)

Dreschel, T. W.; Hall, C. R.; Foster, T. E.; Salganic, M.; Warren, L.; Corbett, M.

2005-01-01

The Porous Tube Plant Nutrient Delivery System (PTPNDS) was designed for NASA to grow plants in microgravity of space. The system utilizes a controlled fluid loop to supply nutrients and water to plant roots growing on a ceramic surface moistened by capiflary action. A PTPNDS test bed was developed and utilizing remote sensing systems, spectral analyses procedures, gas-exchange, and fluorescence measurements, we examined differences in plant water status for wheat plants (Triticum aestivum, cv. Perigee) grown in a modified growth chamber during the summers of 2003 and 2004. Some differences in plant performance were detectable in the gas-exchange and fluorescence measurements. For instance, in both years the plants grown with the most available water had the lowest rates of photosynthesis and exhibited higher proportions of non-photochemical quenching particularly under low light levels. In addition, small differences in mean leaf water content between treatments were detected using spectral reflectance analyses.

Yield Gap, Indigenous Nutrient Supply and Nutrient Use Efficiency for Maize in China

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xinpeng; Liu, Xiaoyan; He, Ping; Johnston, Adrian M.; Zhao, Shicheng; Qiu, Shaojun; Zhou, Wei

2015-01-01

Great achievements have been attained in agricultural production of China, while there are still many difficulties and challenges ahead that call for put more efforts to overcome to guarantee food security and protect environment simultaneously. Analyzing yield gap and nutrient use efficiency will help develop and inform agricultural policies and strategies to increase grain yield. On-farm datasets from 2001 to 2012 with 1,971 field experiments for maize (Zea mays L.) were collected in four maize agro-ecological regions of China, and the optimal management (OPT), farmers’ practice (FP), a series of nutrient omission treatments were used to analyze yield gap, nutrient use efficiency and indigenous nutrient supply by adopting meta-analysis and ANOVA analysis. Across all sites, the average yield gap between OPT and FP was 0.7 t ha-1, the yield response to nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) were 1.8, 1.0, and 1.2 t ha-1, respectively. The soil indigenous nutrient supply of N, P, and K averaged 139.9, 33.7, and 127.5 kg ha-1, respectively. As compared to FP, the average recovery efficiency (RE) of N, P, and K with OPT increased by percentage point of 12.2, 5.5, and 6.5, respectively. This study indicated that there would be considerable potential to further improve yield and nutrient use efficiency in China, and will help develop and inform agricultural policies and strategies, while some management measures such as soil, plant and nutrient are necessary and integrate with advanced knowledge and technologies. PMID:26484543

Yield Gap, Indigenous Nutrient Supply and Nutrient Use Efficiency for Maize in China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xinpeng Xu

Full Text Available Great achievements have been attained in agricultural production of China, while there are still many difficulties and challenges ahead that call for put more efforts to overcome to guarantee food security and protect environment simultaneously. Analyzing yield gap and nutrient use efficiency will help develop and inform agricultural policies and strategies to increase grain yield. On-farm datasets from 2001 to 2012 with 1,971 field experiments for maize (Zea mays L. were collected in four maize agro-ecological regions of China, and the optimal management (OPT, farmers' practice (FP, a series of nutrient omission treatments were used to analyze yield gap, nutrient use efficiency and indigenous nutrient supply by adopting meta-analysis and ANOVA analysis. Across all sites, the average yield gap between OPT and FP was 0.7 t ha-1, the yield response to nitrogen (N, phosphorus (P, and potassium (K were 1.8, 1.0, and 1.2 t ha-1, respectively. The soil indigenous nutrient supply of N, P, and K averaged 139.9, 33.7, and 127.5 kg ha-1, respectively. As compared to FP, the average recovery efficiency (RE of N, P, and K with OPT increased by percentage point of 12.2, 5.5, and 6.5, respectively. This study indicated that there would be considerable potential to further improve yield and nutrient use efficiency in China, and will help develop and inform agricultural policies and strategies, while some management measures such as soil, plant and nutrient are necessary and integrate with advanced knowledge and technologies.

Yield Gap, Indigenous Nutrient Supply and Nutrient Use Efficiency for Maize in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xinpeng; Liu, Xiaoyan; He, Ping; Johnston, Adrian M; Zhao, Shicheng; Qiu, Shaojun; Zhou, Wei

2015-01-01

Great achievements have been attained in agricultural production of China, while there are still many difficulties and challenges ahead that call for put more efforts to overcome to guarantee food security and protect environment simultaneously. Analyzing yield gap and nutrient use efficiency will help develop and inform agricultural policies and strategies to increase grain yield. On-farm datasets from 2001 to 2012 with 1,971 field experiments for maize (Zea mays L.) were collected in four maize agro-ecological regions of China, and the optimal management (OPT), farmers' practice (FP), a series of nutrient omission treatments were used to analyze yield gap, nutrient use efficiency and indigenous nutrient supply by adopting meta-analysis and ANOVA analysis. Across all sites, the average yield gap between OPT and FP was 0.7 t ha-1, the yield response to nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) were 1.8, 1.0, and 1.2 t ha-1, respectively. The soil indigenous nutrient supply of N, P, and K averaged 139.9, 33.7, and 127.5 kg ha-1, respectively. As compared to FP, the average recovery efficiency (RE) of N, P, and K with OPT increased by percentage point of 12.2, 5.5, and 6.5, respectively. This study indicated that there would be considerable potential to further improve yield and nutrient use efficiency in China, and will help develop and inform agricultural policies and strategies, while some management measures such as soil, plant and nutrient are necessary and integrate with advanced knowledge and technologies.

Increased aerosol content in the atmosphere over Ukraine during summer 2010

Science.gov (United States)

Galytska, Evgenia; Danylevsky, Vassyl; Hommel, René; Burrows, John P.

2018-04-01

In this paper we assessed the influence of biomass burning during forest fires throughout summer (1 June-31 August) 2010 on aerosol abundance, dynamics, and its properties over Ukraine. We also considered influences and effects over neighboring countries: European Russia, Estonia, Belarus, Poland, Moldova, and Romania. We used MODIS satellite instrument data to study fire distribution. We also used ground-based remote measurements from the international sun photometer network AERONET plus MODIS and CALIOP satellite instrument data to determine the aerosol content and optical properties in the atmosphere over Eastern Europe. We applied the HYSPLIT model to investigate atmospheric dynamics and model pathways of particle transport. As with previous studies, we found that the highest aerosol content was observed over Moscow in the first half of August 2010 due to the proximity of the most active fires. Large temporal variability of the aerosol content with pronounced pollution peaks during 7-17 August was observed at the Ukrainian (Kyiv and Sevastopol), Belarusian (Minsk), Estonian (Toravere), and Romanian (Bucharest) AERONET sites. We analyzed aerosol spatiotemporal distribution over Ukraine using MODIS AOD 550 nm and further compared with the Kyiv AERONET site sun photometer measurements; we also compared CALIOP AOD 532 nm with MODIS AOD data. We analyzed vertical distribution of aerosol extinction at 532 nm, retrieved from CALIOP measurements, for the territory of Ukraine at locations where high AOD values were observed during intense fires. We estimated the influence of fires on the spectral single scattering albedo, size distribution, and complex refractive indices using Kyiv AERONET measurements performed during summer 2010. In this study we showed that the maximum AOD in the atmosphere over Ukraine recorded in summer 2010 was caused by particle transport from the forest fires in Russia. Those fires caused the highest AOD 500 nm over the Kyiv site, which in

Anomalous western Pacific subtropical high during El Niño developing summer in comparison with decaying summer

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Feng; Dong, Xiao; Fan, Fangxing

2018-03-01

The anomalous behavior of the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) in El Niño developing summer is studied based on the composite results of eight major El Niño events during 1979-2013. It is shown that the WPSH tends to retreat eastwards with weak intensity during the developing summer. The anomaly exhibits an intraseasonal variation with a weaker anomaly in June and July and a stronger anomaly in August, indicating that different underlying physical mechanisms may be responsible for the anomalous WPSH during early and late summer periods. In June and July, owing to the cold advection anomaly characterized as a weak northerly anomaly from high latitudes, geopotential height in East Asia is reduced and the WPSH tends to retreat eastwards slightly. By contrast, enhanced convection over the warm pool in August makes the atmosphere more sensitive to El Niño forcing. Consequently, a cyclonic anomaly in the western Pacific is induced, which is consistent with the seasonal march of atmospheric circulation from July to August. Accordingly, geopotential height in the western Pacific is reduced significantly, and the WPSH tends to retreat eastwards remarkably in August. Different from the developing summer, geopotential height in the decaying summer over East Asia and the western Pacific tends to enhance and extend northwards from June to August consistently, reaching the maximum anomaly in August. Therefore, the seasonal march plays an important role in the WPSH anomaly for both the developing and decaying summer.

Summer Camp Registrations 2018

CERN Multimedia

Staff Association

2018-01-01

Registration for the CERN SA Summer camp, for children from 4 to 6 years old, is now open. The general conditions are available on the EVE and School website: http://nurseryschool.web.cern.ch For further questions, please contact us by email at  Summer.Camp@cern.ch An inscription per week is proposed, for 450.-CHF/week, lunch included. The camp will be open on weeks 27, 28, 29 and 30, from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. This year the theme will be Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

Nutrient imbalance in Norway spruce

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thelin, Gunnar

2000-11-01

The studies presented in my thesis indicate that growing Norway spruce in monoculture does not constitute sustainable forest management in a high N and S deposition environment, such as in southern Sweden. The combination of N-induced high growth rates and leaching due to soil acidification causes soil reserves of nutrients to decrease. This will increase the risk of nutrient imbalance within the trees when nutrient demands are not met. The development of nutrient imbalance in Scania, southern Sweden, was shown as negative trends in needle and soil nutrient status from the mid-80s to the present in Norway spruce and Scots pine stands. This imbalance appears to be connected to high levels of N and S deposition. Clear negative effects on tree vitality were found when using a new branch development method. Today, growth and vitality seems to be limited by K, rather than N, in spruce stands older than 40 years. However, younger stands appear to be able to absorb the deposited N without negative effects on growth and vitality. When investigating effects of nutrient stress on tree vitality, indicators such as branch length and shoot multiplication rate, which include effects accumulated over several years, are suitable. Countermeasures are needed in order to maintain the forest production at a high level. Positive effects on tree nutrient status after vitality fertilization (N-free fertilization) was shown in two micronutrient deficient stands in south-central Sweden. In addition, tree vitality was positively affected after the application of a site-adapted fertilizer to the canopy. Site-adaption of fertilizers will most likely improve the possibilities of a positive response on tree growth and vitality in declining stands. In a survey of Norway spruce in mixtures with beech, birch, or oak compared to monocultures it was shown that spruce nutrient status was higher in mixtures with deciduous species than in monocultures. By using mixed-species stands the need for

Nutrient imbalance in Norway spruce

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thelin, Gunnar

2000-11-01

The studies presented in my thesis indicate that growing Norway spruce in monoculture does not constitute sustainable forest management in a high N and S deposition environment, such as in southern Sweden. The combination of N-induced high growth rates and leaching due to soil acidification causes soil reserves of nutrients to decrease. This will increase the risk of nutrient imbalance within the trees when nutrient demands are not met. The development of nutrient imbalance in Scania, southern Sweden, was shown as negative trends in needle and soil nutrient status from the mid-80s to the present in Norway spruce and Scots pine stands. This imbalance appears to be connected to high levels of N and S deposition. Clear negative effects on tree vitality were found when using a new branch development method. Today, growth and vitality seems to be limited by K, rather than N, in spruce stands older than 40 years. However, younger stands appear to be able to absorb the deposited N without negative effects on growth and vitality. When investigating effects of nutrient stress on tree vitality, indicators such as branch length and shoot multiplication rate, which include effects accumulated over several years, are suitable. Countermeasures are needed in order to maintain the forest production at a high level. Positive effects on tree nutrient status after vitality fertilization (N-free fertilization) was shown in two micronutrient deficient stands in south-central Sweden. In addition, tree vitality was positively affected after the application of a site-adapted fertilizer to the canopy. Site-adaption of fertilizers will most likely improve the possibilities of a positive response on tree growth and vitality in declining stands. In a survey of Norway spruce in mixtures with beech, birch, or oak compared to monocultures it was shown that spruce nutrient status was higher in mixtures with deciduous species than in monocultures. By using mixed-species stands the need for

USA Nutrient managment forecasting via the "Fertilizer Forecaster": linking surface runnof, nutrient application and ecohydrology.

Science.gov (United States)

Drohan, Patrick; Buda, Anthony; Kleinman, Peter; Miller, Douglas; Lin, Henry; Beegle, Douglas; Knight, Paul

2017-04-01

USA and state nutrient management planning offers strategic guidance that strives to educate farmers and those involved in nutrient management to make wise management decisions. A goal of such programs is to manage hotspots of water quality degradation that threaten human and ecosystem health, water and food security. The guidance provided by nutrient management plans does not provide the day-to-day support necessary to make operational decisions, particularly when and where to apply nutrients over the short term. These short-term decisions on when and where to apply nutrients often make the difference between whether the nutrients impact water quality or are efficiently utilized by crops. Infiltrating rainfall events occurring shortly after broadcast nutrient applications are beneficial, given they will wash soluble nutrients into the soil where they are used by crops. Rainfall events that generate runoff shortly after nutrients are broadcast may wash off applied nutrients, and produce substantial nutrient losses from that site. We are developing a model and data based support tool for nutrient management, the Fertilizer Forecaster, which identifies the relative probability of runoff or infiltrating events in Pennsylvania (PA) landscapes in order to improve water quality. This tool will support field specific decisions by farmers and land managers on when and where to apply fertilizers and manures over 24, 48 and 72 hour periods. Our objectives are to: (1) monitor agricultural hillslopes in watersheds representing four of the five Physiographic Provinces of the Chesapeake Bay basin; (2) validate a high resolution mapping model that identifies soils prone to runoff; (3) develop an empirically based approach to relate state-of-the-art weather forecast variables to site-specific rainfall infiltration or runoff occurrence; (4) test the empirical forecasting model against alternative approaches to forecasting runoff occurrence; and (5) recruit farmers from the four

Summer Schools In Nuclear Chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, Sue; Herbert, Mieva; Mantica, Paul

2006-01-01

This the report for the 5 year activities for the ACS Summer Schools in Nuclear and Radiochemistry. The American Chemical Society's Summer Schools in Nuclear and Radiochemistry were held at Brookhaven National Laboratory (Upton, NY) and San Jose State University (San Jose, CA) during the award period February 1, 2002 to January 31, 2007. The Summer Schools are intensive, six-week program involving both a lecture component covering fundamental principles of nuclear chemistry and radiochemistry and a laboratory component allowing hands-on experience for the students to test many of the basic principles they learn about in lecture. Each site hosted 12 undergraduate students annually, and students received coursework credits towards their undergraduate degrees. Up to 7 student credit hours were earned at San Jose State University, and Brookhaven students received up to 6 college credits through BNL's management partner, SUNY Stony Brook. Funding from the award period covered travel, housing, educational expenses, and student stipends, for the 24 undergraduate participants. Furthermore, funding was also used to cover expenses for lecturers and staff to run the programs at the two facilities. The students were provided with nuclear and radiochemistry training equivalent to a three-hour upper-level undergraduate course along with a two-hour hands-on laboratory experience within the six-week summer period. Lectures were held 5 days per week. Students completed an extensive laboratory sequence, as well as radiation safety training at the start of the Summer Schools. The summer school curriculum was enhanced with a Guest Lecture series, as well as through several one-day symposia and organized field trips to nuclear-related research and applied science laboratories. This enrichment afforded an opportunity for students to see the broader impacts of nuclear science in today's world, and to experience some of the future challenges through formal and informal discussions with

Data on abiotic (nutrients and biotic (phytoplankton quality elements in Fortuna ecologically reconstructed area (Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve - Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

TÖRÖK Liliana

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The impact of inorganic nutrient enrichment on reophillic ecosystems has been observed and intensively studied in many rivers. Due to the scarcity of information on ecological conditions in the channel-network of the Danube Delta it is very important to have reliable information on the trend of the abiotic and biotic quality elements in the Danube River and channel system – in order to fulfill the Water Framework Directive objectives and to implement the rehabilitation projects in area affected by nutrient pollution. The purpose of this paper is to present, analyze and discuss the results of evaluation of nutrient variation and phytoplankton quantification obtained in Fortuna area - one of the seven reconstructed areas of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve. In order to improve the quality of data on phytoplankton biomass distribution from Fortuna area, in the summer of 2008 there has been used a submersible spectrofluorometer with automatic algae class determination and chlorophyll analysis (bbe Fluoro Probe. According to the results of analyses on relation between phytoplankton communities and water-column, the phytoplankton development in the channel network of the Fortuna reconstructed area seems to be influenced mainly by nitrogen concentration than by phosphorus concentration, as in case of phytoplankton development in Danube Delta’s lakes

Water-quality models to assess algal community dynamics, water quality, and fish habitat suitability for two agricultural land-use dominated lakes in Minnesota, 2014

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Erik A.; Kiesling, Richard L.; Ziegeweid, Jeffrey R.

2017-07-20

Fish habitat can degrade in many lakes due to summer blue-green algal blooms. Predictive models are needed to better manage and mitigate loss of fish habitat due to these changes. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, developed predictive water-quality models for two agricultural land-use dominated lakes in Minnesota—Madison Lake and Pearl Lake, which are part of Minnesota’s sentinel lakes monitoring program—to assess algal community dynamics, water quality, and fish habitat suitability of these two lakes under recent (2014) meteorological conditions. The interaction of basin processes to these two lakes, through the delivery of nutrient loads, were simulated using CE-QUAL-W2, a carbon-based, laterally averaged, two-dimensional water-quality model that predicts distribution of temperature and oxygen from interactions between nutrient cycling, primary production, and trophic dynamics.The CE-QUAL-W2 models successfully predicted water temperature and dissolved oxygen on the basis of the two metrics of mean absolute error and root mean square error. For Madison Lake, the mean absolute error and root mean square error were 0.53 and 0.68 degree Celsius, respectively, for the vertical temperature profile comparisons; for Pearl Lake, the mean absolute error and root mean square error were 0.71 and 0.95 degree Celsius, respectively, for the vertical temperature profile comparisons. Temperature and dissolved oxygen were key metrics for calibration targets. These calibrated lake models also simulated algal community dynamics and water quality. The model simulations presented potential explanations for persistently large total phosphorus concentrations in Madison Lake, key differences in nutrient concentrations between these lakes, and summer blue-green algal bloom persistence.Fish habitat suitability simulations for cool-water and warm-water fish indicated that, in general, both lakes contained a large

Manure sampling procedures and nutrient estimation by the hydrometer method for gestation pigs.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Jun; Ndegwa, Pius M; Zhang, Zhijian

2004-05-01

Three manure agitation procedures were examined in this study (vertical mixing, horizontal mixing, and no mixing) to determine the efficacy of producing a representative manure sample. The total solids content for manure from gestation pigs was found to be well correlated with the total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in the manure, with highly significant correlation coefficients of 0.988 and 0.994, respectively. Linear correlations were observed between the TN and TP contents and the manure specific gravity (correlation coefficients: 0.991 and 0.987, respectively). Therefore, it may be inferred that the nutrients in pig manure can be estimated with reasonable accuracy by measuring the liquid manure specific gravity. A rapid testing method for manure nutrient contents (TN and TP) using a soil hydrometer was also evaluated. The results showed that the estimating error increased from +/-10% to +/-30% with the decrease in TN (from 1000 to 100 ppm) and TP (from 700 to 50 ppm) concentrations in the manure. Data also showed that the hydrometer readings had to be taken within 10 s after mixing to avoid reading drift in specific gravity due to the settling of manure solids.

Summer Schools in Nuclear and Radiochemistry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silber, Herbert B. [San Jose State University

2013-06-20

The ACS Summer Schools in Nuclear and Radiochemistry (herein called “Summer Schools”) were funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and held at San Jose State University (SJSU) and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). The Summer Schools offer undergraduate students with U.S. citizenship an opportunity to complete coursework through ACS accredited chemistry degree programs at SJSU or the State University of New York at Stony Brook (SBU). The courses include lecture and laboratory work on the fundamentals and applications of nuclear and radiochemistry. The number of students participating at each site is limited to 12, and the low student-to-instructor ratio is needed due to the intense nature of the six-week program. To broaden the students’ perspectives on nuclear science, prominent research scientists active in nuclear and/or radiochemical research participate in a Guest Lecture Series. Symposia emphasizing environmental chemistry, nuclear medicine, and career opportunities are conducted as a part of the program. The Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES) renewed the five-year proposal for the Summer Schools starting March 1, 2007, with contributions from Biological and Environmental Remediation (BER) and Nuclear Physics (NP). This Final Technical Report covers the Summer Schools held in the years 2007-2011.

Incorporating hydrologic variability into nutrient spiraling

Science.gov (United States)

Doyle, Martin W.

2005-09-01

Nutrient spiraling describes the path of a nutrient molecule within a stream ecosystem, combining the biochemical cycling processes with the downstream driving force of stream discharge. To date, nutrient spiraling approaches have been hampered by their inability to deal with fluctuating flows, as most studies have characterized nutrient retention within only a small range of discharges near base flow. Here hydrologic variability is incorporated into nutrient spiraling theory by drawing on the fluvial geomorphic concept of effective discharge. The effective discharge for nutrient retention is proposed to be that discharge which, over long periods of time, is responsible for the greatest portion of nutrient retention. A developed analytical model predicts that the effective discharge for nutrient retention will equal the modal discharge for small streams or those with little discharge variability. As modal discharge increases or discharge variability increases, the effective discharge becomes increasingly less than the modal discharge. In addition to the effective discharge, a new metric is proposed, the functionally equivalent discharge, which is the single discharge that will reproduce the magnitude of nutrient retention generated by the full hydrologic frequency distribution when all discharge takes place at that rate. The functionally equivalent discharge was found to be the same as the modal discharge at low hydrologic variability, but increasingly different from the modal discharge at large hydrologic variability. The functionally equivalent discharge provides a simple quantitative means of incorporating hydrologic variability into long-term nutrient budgets.

Summer and Autumn activities

CERN Multimedia

Staff Association

2013-01-01

Time to recharge the batteries, and much more… The summer holidays are an ideal opportunity to spend more time with the family, to discover new countries, make new friends, in other words to take time away from the daily grind. This recharging is essential to your work-life balance, and CERN, as a modern and socially responsible employer, has recognized this as a central part of its human resources policy.Nevertheless we should not forget that, while many of you enjoy a well-deserved summer break, some of our colleagues are hard at work making LS1 (first Long Shutdown) a success in order to guarantee that at the beginning of 2015 the LHC will be able to start physics in an energy range never before reached by mankind. Preparing the questionnaire and the elections to the Staff Council During this summer your delegates in the Staff Council are hard at work preparing for the upcoming five-yearly review whose content will be decided by CERN Council in June 2014. Therefore, as every five years, to ...

Combined impact of ultraviolet radiation and increased nutrients supply: A test of the potential anthropogenic impacts on the benthic amphipod Amphitoe valida from Patagonian waters (Argentina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Macarena S. Valiñas

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Experiments were conducted during the Austral Summer of 2014 to determine the effects of increased nutrient input and ultraviolet radiation (UVR on the food consumption rate (FCR and food preference in the amphipod Amphitoe valida. We collected specimens from the Patagonian coast (Argentina, from beaches close (Barrancas Blancas; BB and further away (Cangrejales; C from the Chubut River, which constitutes the potential source of eutrophication. Organisms were exposed to different radiation regimes (full radiation vs. PAR only and fed with different macroalgae diets (i.e., from different geographical location and with different quality in terms on nutrient content. Males collected from C showed food compensation, consuming more food under low-nutrient diets, while no compensation was observed in males from BB. Regardless of their origin, UVR decreased the FCR when males where fed on ambient nutrient diets, but not when males fed on high-quality diets indicating that in the former case, individuals were in worse physiological conditions to cope with UVR; food quality, however, significantly counteracted the deleterious effects of UVR on FCR. Females collected from the two beaches showed similar FCR under high-nutrient diet and had no food compensation when fed in low-nutrient diets. Females were more vulnerable to UVR, since their FCR were lower when exposed to UV radiation independent of the diet. Our results show that under anthropogenic eutrophication and high solar UVR levels an increase in the nutrient input could favor only males of A. valida, by reducing the negative effects of UVR on their FCR. Nevertheless, these nutrient inputs might cause additional problems like anoxia, as a result of an unusual macroalgal growth, thus affecting amphipod’s survival.

Nutrient additions to mitigate for loss of Pacific salmon: consequences for stream biofilm and nutrient dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Marcarelli, Amy M.; Baxter, Colden V.; Wipfli, Mark S.

2014-01-01

Mitigation activities designed to supplement nutrient and organic matter inputs to streams experiencing decline or loss of Pacific salmon typically presuppose that an important pathway by which salmon nutrients are moved to fish (anadromous and/or resident) is via nutrient incorporation by biofilms and subsequent bottom-up stimulation of biofilm production, which is nutrient-limited in many ecosystems where salmon returns have declined. Our objective was to quantify the magnitude of nutrient incorporation and biofilm dynamics that underpin this indirect pathway in response to experimental additions of salmon carcasses and pelletized fish meal (a.k.a., salmon carcass analogs) to 500-m reaches of central Idaho streams over three years. Biofilm standing crops increased 2–8-fold and incorporated marine-derived nutrients (measured using 15N and 13C) in the month following treatment, but these responses did not persist year-to-year. Biofilms were nitrogen (N) limited before treatments, and remained N limited in analog, but not carcass-treated reaches. Despite these biofilm responses, in the month following treatment total N load was equal to 33–47% of the N added to the treated reaches, and N spiraling measurements suggested that as much as 20%, but more likely 2–3% of added N was taken up by microbes. Design of biologically and cost-effective strategies for nutrient addition will require understanding the rates at which stream microbes take up nutrients and the downstream distance traveled by exported nutrients.

Effective Summer Programming: What Educators and Policymakers Should Know

Science.gov (United States)

McEachin, Andrew; Augustine, Catherine H.; McCombs, Jennifer

2018-01-01

The evidence suggests that many types of summer learning programs have the potential to reduce summer learning losses and perhaps create learning gains. However, implementing a summer program does not guarantee positive effects on students' learning. A key question then is: What factors make a summer learning program effective? This article, drawn…

The Mars Dust and Water Cycles: Investigating the Influence of Clouds on the Vertical Distribution and Meridional Transport of Dust and Water

Science.gov (United States)

Kahre, Melinda A.; Haberle, Robert M.; Hollingsworth, Jeffery L.; Brecht, Amanda S.; Urata, Richard A.

2015-11-01

The dust and water cycles are critical to the current Martian climate, and they interact with each other through cloud formation. Dust modulates the thermal structure of the atmosphere and thus greatly influences atmospheric circulation. Clouds provide radiative forcing and control the net hemispheric transport of water through the alteration of the vertical distributions of water and dust. Recent advancements in the quality and sophistication of both climate models and observations enable an increased understanding of how the coupling between the dust and water cycles (through cloud formation) impacts the dust and water cycles. We focus here on the effects of clouds on the vertical distributions of dust and water and how those vertical distributions control the net meridional transport of water. We utilize observations of temperature, dust and water ice from the Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and the NASA ARC Mars Global Climate Model (MGCM) to show that the magnitude and nature of the hemispheric exchange of water during NH summer is sensitive to the vertical structure of the simulated aphelion cloud belt. Further, we investigate how clouds influence atmospheric temperatures and thus the vertical structure of the cloud belt. Our goal is to isolate and understand the importance of radiative/dynamic feedbacks due to the physical processes involved with cloud formation and evolution on the current climate of Mars.

The Mars Dust and Water Cycles: Investigating the Influence of Clouds on the Vertical Distribution and Meridional Transport of Dust and Water.

Science.gov (United States)

Kahre, M. A.; Haberle, R. M.; Hollingsworth, J. L.; Brecht, A. S.; Urata, R.

2015-01-01

The dust and water cycles are critical to the current Martian climate, and they interact with each other through cloud formation. Dust modulates the thermal structure of the atmosphere and thus greatly influences atmospheric circulation. Clouds provide radiative forcing and control the net hemispheric transport of water through the alteration of the vertical distributions of water and dust. Recent advancements in the quality and sophistication of both climate models and observations enable an increased understanding of how the coupling between the dust and water cycles (through cloud formation) impacts the dust and water cycles. We focus here on the effects of clouds on the vertical distributions of dust and water and how those vertical distributions control the net meridional transport of water. We utilize observations of temperature, dust and water ice from the Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and the NASA ARC Mars Global Climate Model (MGCM) to show that the magnitude and nature of the hemispheric exchange of water during NH summer is sensitive to the vertical structure of the simulated aphelion cloud belt. Further, we investigate how clouds influence atmospheric temperatures and thus the vertical structure of the cloud belt. Our goal is to isolate and understand the importance of radiative/dynamic feedbacks due to the physical processes involved with cloud formation and evolution on the current climate of Mars.

Vertically migrating swimmers generate aggregation-scale eddies in a stratified column.

Science.gov (United States)

Houghton, Isabel A; Koseff, Jeffrey R; Monismith, Stephen G; Dabiri, John O

2018-04-01

Biologically generated turbulence has been proposed as an important contributor to nutrient transport and ocean mixing 1-3 . However, to produce non-negligible transport and mixing, such turbulence must produce eddies at scales comparable to the length scales of stratification in the ocean. It has previously been argued that biologically generated turbulence is limited to the scale of the individual animals involved 4 , which would make turbulence created by highly abundant centimetre-scale zooplankton such as krill irrelevant to ocean mixing. Their small size notwithstanding, zooplankton form dense aggregations tens of metres in vertical extent as they undergo diurnal vertical migration over hundreds of metres 3,5,6 . This behaviour potentially introduces additional length scales-such as the scale of the aggregation-that are of relevance to animal interactions with the surrounding water column. Here we show that the collective vertical migration of centimetre-scale swimmers-as represented by the brine shrimp Artemia salina-generates aggregation-scale eddies that mix a stable density stratification, resulting in an effective turbulent diffusivity up to three orders of magnitude larger than the molecular diffusivity of salt. These observed large-scale mixing eddies are the result of flow in the wakes of the individual organisms coalescing to form a large-scale downward jet during upward swimming, even in the presence of a strong density stratification relative to typical values observed in the ocean. The results illustrate the potential for marine zooplankton to considerably alter the physical and biogeochemical structure of the water column, with potentially widespread effects owing to their high abundance in climatically important regions of the ocean 7 .

Measuring nutrient spiralling in streams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Newbold, J D; Elwood, J W; O' Neill, R V; Van Winkle, W

1981-01-01

Nutrient cycling in streams involves some downstream transport before the cycle is completed. Thus, the path traveled by a nutrient atom in passing through the cycle can be visualized as a spiral. As an index of the spiralling process, we introduce spiralling length, defined as the average distance associated with one complete cycle of a nutrient atom. This index provides a measure of the utilization of nutrients relative to the available supply from upstream. Using /sup 32/p as a tracer, we estimated a spiralling length of 193 m for phosphorus in a small woodland stream.

The summer-fall anticyclonic eddy west of Luzon: Structure and evolution in 2012 and interannual variability

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xia; Fang, Wendong; Chen, Rongyu; Cai, Shuqun

2017-08-01

The Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) and acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) measurements along 18°N off the western Luzon in the South China Sea (SCS), collected during a cruise from August 12-14, 2012, were used to explore the vertical structure of an anticyclonic eddy (AE) during the observational period. Further, the French Archiving, Validation and Interpretation of Satellite Oceanographic data (AVISO) sea level anomaly (SLA) and corresponding anomalous surface geostrophic velocity were used to study the temporal evolution of the AE. The vertical structure of the AE along 18°N in August 2012 showed a trough located near 117.5°E. The AE extended vertically downward and its distinct feature was identifiable to 200 m depth. Seasonal variations of SLA indicate that the AE lasted for 5 months (June to early November), going through the growth and nearly stationary period from mid-June to late August and then propagating westward along 18°N with varying phase speeds and shapes to the continental slope off the southeastern Hainan Island during late September to November. Furthermore, T-S characteristics suggest that the AE was generated off the western Luzon. Interannual variations of the summer (July-September) SLA presented by Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis, indicates that the local circulation was enhanced by the anomalous anticyclonic eddy along 18°N in the years of 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013 during the period from1993 to 2014.

Possible connection between the East Asian summer monsoon and a swing of the haze-fog-prone area in eastern China

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Qian; Cao, Ziqi; Sheng, Lifang; Diao, Yina; Wang, Wencai; Zhou, Yang; Qiu, Jingyi

2018-05-01

The summer monsoon has recently been hypothesized to influence haze-fog events over China, but the detailed processes involved have yet to be determined. In the present study, we found that the haze-fog-prone area swings over eastern China during boreal summer (May to September), coinciding with the movement of the subtropical monsoon convergence belt (hereinafter referred to simply as the "convergence belt"). Further investigation showed that the convergence belt modulates the spatial distribution of the haze-fog-prone area by altering the regional atmospheric conditions. When the warm and wet summer monsoon air mass pushes northwards and meets with cold air, a frontal zone (namely, the convergence belt) forms. The ascent of warm and wet air along the front strengthens the atmospheric stability ahead of the frontal zone, while the descent of cold and dry air weakens the vertical diffusion at the same place. These processes result in an asymmetric distribution of haze-fog along the convergence belt. Based on the criterion of absolute stability and downdraft, these atmospheric conditions favorable for haze-fog are able to identify 57-79% of haze-fog-prone stations, and the anticipation accuracy is 61-71%. After considering the influence of air pollutants on haze-fog occurrence, the anticipation accuracy rises to 78-79%. Our study reveals a connection between local haze-fog weather phenomena and regional atmospheric conditions and large-scale circulation, and demonstrates one possible mechanism for how the summer monsoon influences the distribution of haze-fog in eastern China.

Summer fallow soil management - impact on rainfed winter wheat

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Fucui; Wang, Zhaohui; Dai, Jian

2014-01-01

Summer fallow soil management is an important approach to improve soil and crop management in dryland areas. In the Loess Plateau regions, the annual precipitation is low and varies annually and seasonally, with more than 60% concentrated in the summer months from July to September, which...... is the summer fallow period in the winter wheat-summer fallow cropping system. With bare fallow in summer as a control, a 3-year location-fixed field experiment was conducted in the Loess Plateau to investigate the effects of wheat straw retention (SR), green manure (GM) planting, and their combination on soil...... water retention (WR) during summer fallow, winter wheat yield, and crop water use and nitrogen (N) uptake. The results showed that SR increased soil WR during summer fallow by 20 mm on average compared with the control over 3 experimental years but reduced the grain yield by 8% in the third year...

Vertical and horizontal differences of soil parameters and radiocaesium contents in soil profiles (dystric cambisol) under spruce

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strebl, F.; Gerzabek, M.

1997-05-01

In a spruce forest stand 9 pooled soil profiles (ten auger cores each, 4 layers) were collected within a homogeneous area of 200 ha. This sampling technique provides sufficient accuracy for the determination of most physico-chemical soil characteristics as well as for the assessment of vertical gradients and horizontal variability within the investigation area. The results reveal the soils' tendency for podsolization and acidification processes. In spite of the small sample sizes cation wash-out (Ca, Mg) due to differences in the orographic situation was determined with high significance. 86 % of 137 Cs-contamination derived from the Chernobyl-fallout in 1986 are still found in the top-soil (10 cm). Nutrient-cycling and the high binding capacity of soil organic matter retard vertical migration of 137 Cs in forest soils effectively. From the present data sets for different soil parameters the minimum number of soil samples ensuring maximum admissible errors of 10 and 20 % were calculated. (author)

Acclimation of Emiliania huxleyi (1516) to nutrient limitation involves precise modification of the proteome to scavenge alternative sources of N and P.

Science.gov (United States)

McKew, Boyd A; Metodieva, Gergana; Raines, Christine A; Metodiev, Metodi V; Geider, Richard J

2015-10-01

Limitation of marine primary production by the availability of nitrogen or phosphorus is common. Emiliania huxleyi, a ubiquitous phytoplankter that plays key roles in primary production, calcium carbonate precipitation and production of dimethyl sulfide, often blooms in mid-latitude at the beginning of summer when inorganic nutrient concentrations are low. To understand physiological mechanisms that allow such blooms, we examined how the proteome of E. huxleyi (strain 1516) responds to N and P limitation. We observed modest changes in much of the proteome despite large physiological changes (e.g. cellular biomass, C, N and P) associated with nutrient limitation of growth rate. Acclimation to nutrient limitation did however involve significant increases in the abundance of transporters for ammonium and nitrate under N limitation and for phosphate under P limitation. More notable were large increases in proteins involved in the acquisition of organic forms of N and P, including urea and amino acid/polyamine transporters and numerous C-N hydrolases under N limitation and a large upregulation of alkaline phosphatase under P limitation. This highly targeted reorganization of the proteome towards scavenging organic forms of macronutrients gives unique insight into the molecular mechanisms that underpin how E. huxleyi has found its niche to bloom in surface waters depleted of inorganic nutrients. © 2015 The Authors. Environmental Microbiology published by Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Leaf mineral nutrient remobilization during leaf senescence and modulation by nutrient deficiency.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne eMaillard

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Higher plants have to cope with fluctuating mineral resource availability. However strategies such as stimulation of root growth, increased transporter activities, and nutrient storage and remobilization have been mostly studied for only a few macronutrients. Leaves of cultivated crops (Zea mays, Brassica napus, Pisum sativum, Triticum aestivum, Hordeum vulgare and tree species (Quercus robur, Populus nigra, Alnus glutinosa grown under field conditions were harvested regularly during their life span and analysed to evaluate the net mobilization of 13 nutrients during leaf senescence. While N was remobilized in all plant species with different efficiencies ranging from 40% (maize to 90% (wheat, other macronutrients (K-P-S-Mg were mobilized in most species. Ca and Mn, usually considered as having low phloem mobility were remobilized from leaves in wheat and barley. Leaf content of Cu-Mo-Ni-B-Fe-Zn decreased in some species, as a result of remobilization. Overall, wheat, barley and oak appeared to be the most efficient at remobilization while poplar and maize were the least efficient. Further experiments were performed with rapeseed plants subjected to individual nutrient deficiencies. Compared to field conditions, remobilization from leaves was similar (N-S-Cu or increased by nutrient deficiency (K-P-Mg while nutrient deficiency had no effect on Mo-Zn-B-Ca-Mn, which seemed to be non-mobile during leaf senescence under field conditions. However, Ca and Mn were largely mobilized from roots (-97 and -86% of their initial root contents, respectively to shoots. Differences in remobilization between species and between nutrients are then discussed in relation to a range of putative mechanisms.

Airborne Vertical Profiling of Mercury Speciation near Tullahoma, TN, USA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steve Brooks

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Atmospheric transport and in situ oxidation are important factors influencing mercury concentrations at the surface and wet and dry deposition rates. Contributions of both natural and anthropogenic processes can significantly impact burdens of mercury on local, regional and global scales. To address these key issues in atmospheric mercury research, airborne measurements of mercury speciation and ancillary parameters were conducted over a region near Tullahoma, Tennessee, USA, from August 2012 to June 2013. Here, for the first time, we present vertical profiles of Hg speciation from aircraft for an annual cycle over the same location. These airborne measurements included gaseous elemental mercury (GEM, gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM and particulate bound mercury (PBM, as well as ozone (O3, sulfur dioxide (SO2, condensation nuclei (CN and meteorological parameters. The flights, each lasting ~3 h, were conducted typically one week out of each month to characterize seasonality in mercury concentrations. Data obtained from 0 to 6 km altitudes show that GEM exhibited a relatively constant vertical profile for all seasons with an average concentration of 1.38 ± 0.17 ng∙m−3. A pronounced seasonality of GOM was observed, with the highest GOM concentrations up to 120 pg∙m−3 in the summer flights and lowest (0–20 pg∙m−3 in the winter flights. Vertical profiles of GOM show the maximum levels at altitudes between 2 and 4 km. Limited PBM measurements exhibit similar levels to GOM at all altitudes. HYSPLIT back trajectories showed that the trajectories for elevated GOM (>70 pg∙m−3 or PBM concentrations (>30 pg∙m−3 were largely associated with air masses coming from west/northwest, while events with low GOM (<20 pg∙m−3 or PBM concentrations (<5 pg∙m−3 were generally associated with winds from a wider range of wind directions. This is the first set of speciated mercury vertical profiles collected in a single location over the course

Summer Meal Sites

Data.gov (United States)

Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — Information pertaining to Summer Meal Sites, as collected by Citiparks in the City of Pittsburgh Department of Parks and Recreation. This dataset includes the...

Opening of a summer camp at CERN

CERN Multimedia

Nursery School

2015-01-01

The Staff Association has the pleasure to announce the opening of a summer camp in l’EVE et Ecole de l’AP du CERN. With a capacity of 40 children, aged 4 to 6 years, it will be open from July 6 to 30. Registration Summer camp 2015 Registration for the CERN SA Summer camp for children aged 4 to 6 is open 16 to 30 April 2015 More information on the website: http://nurseryschool.web.cern.ch/ The Summer camp is open to all children of CERN Staff. An inscription per week is proposed, cost 480.-CHF/week, lunch included. The camp will be open weeks 28, 29, 30 and 31, from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm.

Summer Students

CERN Multimedia

2005-01-01

SUMMER STUDENT LECTURE PROGRAMME Main Auditorium, bldg. 500 DATE TIME LECTURER TITLE Wednesday 6 July 09:15 - 10:00 F. CERUTTI (CERN) Presentation of the Summer Student Programme D. Heagerty (CERN) Computer rules O. ULLALAND (CERN) Workshops presentation 10:15 - 11:00 D. SCHLATTER (CERN) Introduction to CERN 11:15 Film on CERN Thursday 7 July 09:15 - 11:00 L. Di Lella (CERN) Introduction to Particle Physics (1-2/4) 11:15 - 12:00 P. Chomaz (GANIL / CERN) Introduction to Nuclear Physics (1/3) 12:00 Discussion Session 14:00 - 14:45 M. Lindroos (CERN) ISOLDE Facility 15:00 M. Lindroos (CERN) ISOLDE Visit Friday 8 July 09:15 - 10:00 L. Di Lella (CERN) Introduction to Particle Physics (3/4) 10:15 - 11:00 P. Chomaz (GANIL / CERN) Introduction to Nuclear Physics (2/3) 11:15 - 12:00 G. ROLANDI (CERN) How an experiment is designed (1/2) 12:00 Discussion Session Monday 11 July 09:15 - 10:00 L. Di Lella (CERN) Introduction to Particle Physi...

The Partitioning of Carbon Biomass among the Pico- and Nano-plankton Community in the South Brazilian Bight during a Strong Summer Intrusion of South Atlantic Central Water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natascha M. Bergo

2017-07-01

Full Text Available To investigate how pico- and nano-plankton respond to oceanographic conditions in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean, we assessed the influence of a summer intrusion of the South Atlantic Central Water (SACW on the spatial and vertical dynamics of planktonic abundance and carbon biomass across environmental gradients. Seawater samples were collected from six depths within the euphotic zone at nine oceanographic stations in a transect on the Brazilian continental shelf in January 2013. The abundance of pico- and nano-plankton populations was determined by flow cytometry, and carbon biomass was calculated based on conversion factors from the literature. The autotrophic Synechococcus spp., picoeukaryotes, and nanoeukaryotes were more abundant in the surface layers of the innermost stations influenced by Coastal Water (maximum of 1.19 × 105, 1.5 × 104, and 8.61 × 103 cell·mL−1, respectively, whereas Prochlorococcus spp. dominated (max. of 6.57 × 104 cell·mL−1 at the outermost stations influenced by Tropical Water and in the uplifting layers of the SACW around a depth of 100 m. Numerically, heterotrophic bacterial populations were predominant, with maximum concentrations (2.11 × 106 cell·mL−1 recorded in the surface layers of the inner and mid shelves in Coastal Water and the upper limits of the SACW. Nutrient-rich (high silicate and phosphate and relatively less saline waters enhanced the picoeukaryotic biomass, while Synechococcus and heterotrophic bacteria were linked to higher temperatures, lower salinities, and higher inputs of ammonia and dissolved organic carbon. The relative importance of each group to carbon biomass partitioning under upwelling conditions is led by heterotrophic bacteria, followed by picoeukaryotes, Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus, and when the SACW is not as influential, the relative contribution of each phytoplanktonic group is more evenly distributed. In addition to habitat preferences, the physical structure

Determination of the quark coupling strength vertical bar V-ub vertical bar using baryonic decays

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aaij, R.; Adeva, B.; Adinolfi, M.; Older, A. A.; Ajaltouni, Z.; Akar, S.; Albrecht, J.; Alessio, F.; Alexander, M.; Ali, S.; Alkhazov, G.; Cartelle, P. Alvarez; Alves, A. A.; Amato, S.; Amerio, S.; Amhis, Y.; An, L.; Anderlini, L.; Andreotti, M.; Andrews, J. E.; Appleby, R. B.; Gutierrez, O. Aquines; Archilli, F.; Artamonov, A.; Artuso, M.; Aslanides, E.; Auriemma, G.; Baalouch, M.; Bachmann, S.; Back, J. J.; Badalov, A.; Baesso, C.; Baldini, W.; Barlow, R. J.; Barschel, C.; Barsuk, S.; Barter, W.; Batozskaya, V.; Battista, V.; Beaucourt, L.; Beddow, J.; Bedeschi, F.; Bediaga, I.; Bel, L. J.; Belyaev, I.; Ben-Haim, E.; Bencivenni, G.; Onderwater, C. J. G.; Pellegrino, A.; Tolk, S.

In the Standard Model of particle physics, the strength of the couplings of the b quark to the u and c quarks, vertical bar V-ub vertical bar and vertical bar V-ub vertical bar, are governed by the coupling of the quarks to the Higgs boson. Using data from the LHCb experiment at the Large Hadron

Seasonal changes in nutrients, chlorophyll a and the phytoplankton assemblage of the western subarctic gyre in the Pacific Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Mochizuki, Mamiko; Shiga, Naonobu; Saito, Masaru; Imai, Keiri; Nojiri, Yukihiro

The standing stock and species composition of phytoplankton (>10 μm) were studied using monthly water samples collected at Stn KNOT (Kyodo North Pacific Ocean Time Series; 44°N, 155°E) in the western subarctic gyre in the Pacific Ocean through June 1998 to June 1999 (except for January-April 1999) and January-February 2000. One-liter water samples were preserved in 1% neutrally buffered formalin. Identification and enumeration of phytoplankton were made with an inverted microscope. Nutrients did not appear to be depleted for phytoplakton growth during any season. The vertical distribution of phytoplankton was primarily restricted by the pycnocline, and the bulk of phytoplankton assemblage existed within the surface mixed layer. In July, however, some senescent cells were observed at 200 m. Phytoplankton abundance clearly showed a spring maximum (i.e. spring bloom) in May. The seasonal change in cell numbers, however, did not coincide closely with the change in chlorophyll a concentration. Centric diatoms, which were composed of Thalassiosira, Chaetoceros, and Coscinodiscus, dominated all year round, and showed temporal succession. Pennate diatoms (mostly Neodenticula seminae and Fragilariopsis) increased only during the spring bloom. Dinoflagellates (mostly Gymnodinium and Prorocentrum) were low in abundance, although they increased in summer when the phytoplankton standing stock was low. Silicoflagellate abundance was extremely low. Comparing the annual species composition of phytoplankton between Stn KNOT and Stn P (50°N, 145°W) in the Alaskan Gyre, there was a remarkable difference between the two sites. The phytoplankton assemblage at Stn P is characterized by a high abundance of Rhizosolenia alata and low abundance of Thalassiosira. In contrast, Thalassiosira dominates at Stn KNOT during most seasons.

Dust modeling over East Asia during the summer of 2010 using the WRF-Chem model

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, B.; Huang, J.; Chen, S.

2017-12-01

An intense summer dust storm over East Asia during June 24-27, 2010, was systematically analyzed using the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) and a variety of in situ measurements and satellite retrievals. The results showed that the WRF-Chem model captured the spatial and temporal distributions of meteorological factors and dust aerosols over East Asia. This summer dust storm was initiated by the approach of a transverse trough in the northwestern Xinjiang. Because of the passage of the cutoff-low, a large amount of cold air was transported southward and further enhanced in the narrow valleys of the Altai and Tianshan Mountains, which resulted in higher wind speeds and huge dust emissions over the Taklimakan Desert (TD). Dust emission fluxes over the TD were as high as 54 μg m-2 s-1 on June 25th. The dust aerosols from the TD then swept across Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Mongolia, and some were also transported eastward to Beijing, Tianjin, the Hebei region, and even South Korea and Japan. The simulations further showed that summer dust over East Asia exerts an important influence on the radiation budget in the Earth-atmosphere system. Dust heat the atmosphere at a maximum heating rate of 0.14 k day-1, effectively changing the vertical stability of the atmosphere and affecting climate change at regional and even global scales. The dust event-averaged direct radiative forcing induced by dust particles over the TD at all-sky was -6.0, -16.8 and 10.8 W m-2 at the top of the atmosphere, the surface, and in the atmosphere, respectively.

The subtropical nutrient spiral

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, William J.; Doney, Scott C.

2003-12-01

We present an extended series of observations and more comprehensive analysis of a tracer-based measure of new production in the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda using the 3He flux gauge technique. The estimated annually averaged nitrate flux of 0.84 ± 0.26 mol m-2 yr-1 constitutes only that nitrate physically transported to the euphotic zone, not nitrogen from biological sources (e.g., nitrogen fixation or zooplankton migration). We show that the flux estimate is quantitatively consistent with other observations, including decade timescale evolution of the 3H + 3He inventory in the main thermocline and export production estimates. However, we argue that the flux cannot be supplied in the long term by local diapycnal or isopycnal processes. These considerations lead us to propose a three-dimensional pathway whereby nutrients remineralized within the main thermocline are returned to the seasonally accessible layers within the subtropical gyre. We describe this mechanism, which we call "the nutrient spiral," as a sequence of steps where (1) nutrient-rich thermocline waters are entrained into the Gulf Stream, (2) enhanced diapycnal mixing moves nutrients upward onto lighter densities, (3) detrainment and enhanced isopycnal mixing injects these waters into the seasonally accessible layer of the gyre recirculation region, and (4) the nutrients become available to biota via eddy heaving and wintertime convection. The spiral is closed when nutrients are utilized, exported, and then remineralized within the thermocline. We present evidence regarding the characteristics of the spiral and discuss some implications of its operation within the biogeochemical cycle of the subtropical ocean.

Leaf absorption of mineral nutrients in carnivorous plants stimulates root nutrient uptake

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Adamec, Lubomír

2002-01-01

Roč. 155, - (2002), s. 89-100 ISSN 0028-646X R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA6005905 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z6005908 Keywords : terrestrial carnivorous plant s * utilization of prey * mineral nutrient re-utilization * leaf nutrient supply Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 2.945, year: 2002

A global vertical reference frame based on four regional vertical datums

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Burša, Milan; Kenyon, S.; Kouba, J.; Šíma, Zdislav; Vatrt, V.; Vojtíšková, M.

2004-01-01

Roč. 48, č. 3 (2004), s. 493-502 ISSN 0039-3169 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1003909 Keywords : geopotentinal * local vertical datums * global vertical reference frame Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 0.447, year: 2004

CADDIS Volume 2. Sources, Stressors and Responses: Nutrients

Science.gov (United States)

Introduction to the nutrients module, when to list nutrients as a candidate cause, ways to measure nutrients, simple and detailed conceptual diagrams for nutrients, nutrients module references and literature reviews.

Phenomenology of summer ozone episodes over the Madrid Metropolitan Area, central Spain

Science.gov (United States)

Querol, Xavier; Alastuey, Andrés; Gangoiti, Gotzon; Perez, Noemí; Lee, Hong K.; Eun, Heeram R.; Park, Yonghee; Mantilla, Enrique; Escudero, Miguel; Titos, Gloria; Alonso, Lucio; Temime-Roussel, Brice; Marchand, Nicolas; Moreta, Juan R.; Arantxa Revuelta, M.; Salvador, Pedro; Artíñano, Begoña; García dos Santos, Saúl; Anguas, Mónica; Notario, Alberto; Saiz-Lopez, Alfonso; Harrison, Roy M.; Millán, Millán; Ahn, Kang-Ho

2018-05-01

Various studies have reported that the photochemical nucleation of new ultrafine particles (UFPs) in urban environments within high insolation regions occurs simultaneously with high ground ozone (O3) levels. In this work, we evaluate the atmospheric dynamics leading to summer O3 episodes in the Madrid air basin (central Iberia) by means of measuring a 3-D distribution of concentrations for both pollutants. To this end, we obtained vertical profiles (up to 1200 m above ground level) using tethered balloons and miniaturised instrumentation at a suburban site located to the SW of the Madrid Metropolitan Area (MMA), the Majadahonda site (MJDH), in July 2016. Simultaneously, measurements of an extensive number of air quality and meteorological parameters were carried out at three supersites across the MMA. Furthermore, data from O3 soundings and daily radio soundings were also used to interpret atmospheric dynamics.The results demonstrate the concatenation of venting and accumulation episodes, with relative lows (venting) and peaks (accumulation) in O3 surface levels. Regardless of the episode type, the fumigation of high-altitude O3 (arising from a variety of origins) contributes the major proportion of surface O3 concentrations. Accumulation episodes are characterised by a relatively thinner planetary boundary layer ( 2400 m a.s.l.). This orographic-meteorological setting causes the vertical recirculation of air masses and enrichment of O3 in the lower tropospheric layers. When the highly polluted urban plume from Madrid is affected by these dynamics, the highest Ox (O3+ NO2) concentrations are recorded in the MMA.Vertical O3 profiles during venting episodes, with strong synoptic winds and a deepening of the planetary boundary layer reaching > 2000 m a.s.l., were characterised by an upward gradient in O3 levels, whereas a reverse situation with O3 concentration maxima at lower levels was found during the accumulation episodes due to local and/or regional production

Observations of the summer Red Sea circulation

Science.gov (United States)

Sofianos, Sarantis S.; Johns, William E.

2007-06-01

Aiming at exploring and understanding the summer circulation in the Red Sea, a cruise was conducted in the basin during the summer of 2001 involving hydrographic, meteorological, and direct current observations. The most prominent feature, characteristic of the summer circulation and exchange with the Indian Ocean, is a temperature, salinity, and oxygen minimum located around a depth of 75 m at the southern end of the basin, associated with Gulf of Aden Intermediate Water inflowing from the Gulf of Aden during the summer season as an intruding subsurface layer. Stirring and mixing with ambient waters lead to marked increases in temperature (from 16.5 to almost 33°C) and salinity (from 35.7 to more than 38 psu) in this layer by the time it reaches midbasin. The observed circulation presents a very vigorous pattern with strong variability and intense features that extend the width of the basin. A permanent cyclone, detected in the northern Red Sea, verifies previous observations and modeling studies, while in the central sector of the basin a series of very strong anticyclones were observed with maximum velocities exceeding 1 m/s. The three-layer flow pattern, representative of the summer exchange between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, is observed in the strait of Bab el Mandeb. In the southern part of the basin the layer flow is characterized by strong banking of the inflows and outflows against the coasts. Both surface and intermediate water masses involved in the summer Red Sea circulation present prominent spatial variability in their characteristics, indicating that the eddy field and mixing processes play an important role in the summer Red Sea circulation.

Data for a regional approach to the development of an effects-based nutrient criterion for wadable streams

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, J. Kent; Loper, Connie A.; Beaman, Joseph R.; Soehl, Anna G.; Brown, Will S.

2007-01-01

States are required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish nutrient criteria (concentrations of nutrients above which water quality is deteriorated) as part of their water-quality regulations. A study of wadable streams in the Mid-Atlantic Region was undertaken by the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Maryland Department of the Environment, with assistance from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, to help define current concentrations of nutrients in streams with the goal of associating different nutrient-concentration levels with their effects on water quality. During the summers of 2004 and 2005, diel concentrations of dissolved oxygen, nutrient concentrations, concentrations of chlorophyll a in attached algae, and algal-community structure were measured at 46 stream sites in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Data from this work can be used by individual state agencies to define nutrient criteria. Quality-control measures for the study included submitting blank samples, duplicate samples, and reference samples for analysis of nutrients, total organic carbon, chlorophyll a, and algal biomass. Duplicate and split samples were submitted for periphyton identifications. Three periphyton split samples were sent to an independent lab for a check on periphyton identifications. Neither total organic carbon nor nutrients were detected in blank samples. Concentrations of nutrients and total organic carbon were similar for most duplicate sample pairs, with the exception of a duplicate pair from Western Run. Concentrations of ammonia plus organic nitrogen for this duplicate pair differed by as much as 34 percent. Total organic carbon for the duplicate pair from Western Run differed by 102 percent. The U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Laboratory performance on the only valid reference sample submitted was excellent; the relative percent difference values were no larger

Ocean acidification and desalination: climate-driven change in a Baltic Sea summer microplanktonic community.

Science.gov (United States)

Wulff, Angela; Karlberg, Maria; Olofsson, Malin; Torstensson, Anders; Riemann, Lasse; Steinhoff, Franciska S; Mohlin, Malin; Ekstrand, Nina; Chierici, Melissa

2018-01-01

Helcom scenario modelling suggests that the Baltic Sea, one of the largest brackish-water bodies in the world, could expect increased precipitation (decreased salinity) and increased concentration of atmospheric CO 2 over the next 100 years. These changes are expected to affect the microplanktonic food web, and thereby nutrient and carbon cycling, in a complex and possibly synergistic manner. In the Baltic Proper, the extensive summer blooms dominated by the filamentous cyanobacteria Aphanizomenon sp., Dolichospermum spp. and the toxic Nodularia spumigena contribute up to 30% of the yearly new nitrogen and carbon exported to the sediment. In a 12 days outdoor microcosm experiment, we tested the combined effects of decreased salinity (from 6 to 3) and elevated CO 2 concentrations (380 and 960 µatm) on a natural summer microplanktonic community, focusing on diazotrophic filamentous cyanobacteria. Elevated p CO 2 had no significant effects on the natural microplanktonic community except for higher biovolume of Dolichospermum spp. and lower biomass of heterotrophic bacteria. At the end of the experimental period, heterotrophic bacterial abundance was correlated to the biovolume of N. spumigena. Lower salinity significantly affected cyanobacteria together with biovolumes of dinoflagellates, diatoms, ciliates and heterotrophic bacteria, with higher biovolume of Dolichospermum spp. and lower biovolume of N. spumigena , dinoflagellates, diatoms, ciliates and heterotrophic bacteria in reduced salinity. Although the salinity effects on diatoms were apparent, they could not clearly be separated from the influence of inorganic nutrients. We found a clear diurnal cycle in photosynthetic activity and pH, but without significant treatment effects. The same diurnal pattern was also observed in situ ( p CO 2 , pH). Thus, considering the Baltic Proper, we do not expect any dramatic effects of increased p CO 2 in combination with decreased salinity on the microplanktonic food web

The Effect of Mississippi River Discharge on the Concentration and Composition of Particulate Matter along the Texas-Louisiana Shelf during Summers 2012 and 2013

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, M. J.; Zuck, N.; Gardner, W. D.

2016-02-01

Flow from the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River System generally peaks during the spring freshet, discharging nutrient-rich fresh water and sediment into the northern Gulf of Mexico. The peak discharge varies year to year as a result of varying drought or flood conditions in the Mississippi watershed. When compared to an 8-year climatological average, summer 2012 is characterized by low discharge into the northern Gulf of Mexico, whereas summer 2013 is characterized by average discharge conditions. Water samples were collected during four cruises during June and August of 2012 and 2013 to assess the changes in concentration and composition of bulk particulate matter. While no consistent relationship between particulate matter composition and hypoxia was observed, there are several statistically significant seasonal and inter-annual changes in the concentration and composition of particulate matter associated with varying river discharge. There is also evidence that some sub-pycnocline turbidity and chlorophyll-a may be due to in situ primary productivity, rather than settled plankton containing chlorophyll-a.

A Comparative-Study on Nutrient Cycling in Wet Heathland Ecosystems.2.Litter Decomposition and Nutrient Mineralization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berendse, F.; Bobbink, R.; Rouwenhorst, G.

1989-01-01

The concept of the relative nutrient requirement (L n) that was introduced in the first paper of this series is used to analyse the effects of the dominant plant population on nutrient cycling and nutrient mineralization in wet heathland ecosystems. A distinction is made between the effect that the

Vertical integration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antill, N.

1999-01-01

This paper focuses on the trend in international energy companies towards vertical integration in the gas chain from wellhead to power generation, horizontal integration in refining and marketing businesses, and the search for larger projects with lower upstream costs. The shape of the petroleum industry in the next millennium, the creation of super-major oil companies, and the relationship between size and risk are discussed. The dynamics of vertical integration, present events and future developments are considered. (UK)

Lake nutrient stoichiometry is less predictable than nutrient concentrations at regional and sub-continental scales.

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Sarah M; Oliver, Samantha K; Lapierre, Jean-Francois; Stanley, Emily H; Jones, John R; Wagner, Tyler; Soranno, Patricia A

2017-07-01

Production in many ecosystems is co-limited by multiple elements. While a known suite of drivers associated with nutrient sources, nutrient transport, and internal processing controls concentrations of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) in lakes, much less is known about whether the drivers of single nutrient concentrations can also explain spatial or temporal variation in lake N:P stoichiometry. Predicting stoichiometry might be more complex than predicting concentrations of individual elements because some drivers have similar relationships with N and P, leading to a weak relationship with their ratio. Further, the dominant controls on elemental concentrations likely vary across regions, resulting in context dependent relationships between drivers, lake nutrients and their ratios. Here, we examine whether known drivers of N and P concentrations can explain variation in N:P stoichiometry, and whether explaining variation in stoichiometry differs across regions. We examined drivers of N:P in ~2,700 lakes at a sub-continental scale and two large regions nested within the sub-continental study area that have contrasting ecological context, including differences in the dominant type of land cover (agriculture vs. forest). At the sub-continental scale, lake nutrient concentrations were correlated with nutrient loading and lake internal processing, but stoichiometry was only weakly correlated to drivers of lake nutrients. At the regional scale, drivers that explained variation in nutrients and stoichiometry differed between regions. In the Midwestern U.S. region, dominated by agricultural land use, lake depth and the percentage of row crop agriculture were strong predictors of stoichiometry because only phosphorus was related to lake depth and only nitrogen was related to the percentage of row crop agriculture. In contrast, all drivers were related to N and P in similar ways in the Northeastern U.S. region, leading to weak relationships between drivers and stoichiometry

Leaf nutrient resorption, leaf lifespan and the retention of nutrients in seagrass systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hemminga, M.A.; Marbà, N.; Stapel, J.

1999-01-01

Efficient nutrient resorption from senescing leaves, and extended leaf life spans are important strategies in order to conserve nutrients for plants in general. Despite the fact that seagrasses often grow in oligotrophic waters, these conservation strategies are not strongly developed in seagrasses.

Impact of Temperature and Nutrients on Carbon: Nutrient Tissue Stoichiometry of Submerged Aquatic Plants: An Experiment and Meta-Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mandy Velthuis

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Human activity is currently changing our environment rapidly, with predicted temperature increases of 1–5°C over the coming century and increased nitrogen and phosphorus inputs in aquatic ecosystems. In the shallow parts of these ecosystems, submerged aquatic plants enhance water clarity by resource competition with phytoplankton, provide habitat, and serve as a food source for other organisms. The carbon:nutrient stoichiometry of submerged aquatic plants can be affected by changes in both temperature and nutrient availability. We hypothesized that elevated temperature leads to higher carbon:nutrient ratios through enhanced nutrient-use efficiency, while nutrient addition leads to lower carbon:nutrient ratios by the luxurious uptake of nutrients. We addressed these hypotheses with an experimental and a meta-analytical approach. We performed a full-factorial microcosm experiment with the freshwater plant Elodea nuttallii grown at 10, 15, 20, and 25°C on sediment consisting of pond soil/sand mixtures with 100, 50, 25, and 12.5% pond soil. To address the effect of climatic warming and nutrient addition on the carbon:nutrient stoichiometry of submerged freshwater and marine plants we performed a meta-analysis on experimental studies that elevated temperature and/or added nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus. In the microcosm experiment, C:N ratios of Elodea nuttallii decreased with increasing temperature, and this effect was most pronounced at intermediate nutrient availability. Furthermore, higher nutrient availability led to decreased aboveground C:P ratios. In the meta-analysis, nutrient addition led to a 25, 22, and 16% reduction in aboveground C:N and C:P ratios and belowground C:N ratios, accompanied with increased N content. No consistent effect of elevated temperature on plant stoichiometry could be observed, as very few studies were found on this topic and contrasting results were reported. We conclude that while nutrient addition

The Coupled Mars Dust and Water Cycles: Understanding How Clouds Affect the Vertical Distribution and Meridional Transport of Dust and Water.

Science.gov (United States)

Kahre, M. A.

2015-01-01

The dust and water cycles are crucial to the current Martian climate, and they are coupled through cloud formation. Dust strongly impacts the thermal structure of the atmosphere and thus greatly affects atmospheric circulation, while clouds provide radiative forcing and control the hemispheric exchange of water through the modification of the vertical distributions of water and dust. Recent improvements in the quality and sophistication of both observations and climate models allow for a more comprehensive understanding of how the interaction between the dust and water cycles (through cloud formation) affects the dust and water cycles individually. We focus here on the effects of clouds on the vertical distribution of dust and water, and how those vertical distributions control the net meridional transport of water. For this study, we utilize observations of temperature, dust and water ice from the Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) combined with the NASA ARC Mars Global Climate Model (MGCM). We demonstrate that the magnitude and nature of the net meridional transport of water between the northern and southern hemispheres during NH summer is sensitive to the vertical structure of the simulated aphelion cloud belt. We further examine how clouds influence the atmospheric thermal structure and thus the vertical structure of the cloud belt. Our goal is to identify and understand the importance of radiative/dynamic feedbacks due to the physical processes involved with cloud formation and evolution on the current climate of Mars.

Detection of Multi-Layer and Vertically-Extended Clouds Using A-Train Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Joiner, J.; Vasilkov, A. P.; Bhartia, P. K.; Wind, G.; Platnick, S.; Menzel, W. P.

2010-01-01

The detection of mUltiple cloud layers using satellite observations is important for retrieval algorithms as well as climate applications. In this paper, we describe a relatively simple algorithm to detect multiple cloud layers and distinguish them from vertically-extended clouds. The algorithm can be applied to coincident passive sensors that derive both cloud-top pressure from the thermal infrared observations and an estimate of solar photon pathlength from UV, visible, or near-IR measurements. Here, we use data from the A-train afternoon constellation of satellites: cloud-top pressure, cloud optical thickness, the multi-layer flag from the Aqua MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the optical centroid cloud pressure from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). For the first time, we use data from the CloudSat radar to evaluate the results of a multi-layer cloud detection scheme. The cloud classification algorithms applied with different passive sensor configurations compare well with each other as well as with data from CloudSat. We compute monthly mean fractions of pixels containing multi-layer and vertically-extended clouds for January and July 2007 at the OMI spatial resolution (l2kmx24km at nadir) and at the 5kmx5km MODIS resolution used for infrared cloud retrievals. There are seasonal variations in the spatial distribution of the different cloud types. The fraction of cloudy pixels containing distinct multi-layer cloud is a strong function of the pixel size. Globally averaged, these fractions are approximately 20% and 10% for OMI and MODIS, respectively. These fractions may be significantly higher or lower depending upon location. There is a much smaller resolution dependence for fractions of pixels containing vertically-extended clouds (approx.20% for OMI and slightly less for MODIS globally), suggesting larger spatial scales for these clouds. We also find higher fractions of vertically-extended clouds over land as compared with

CERN openlab Summer Student Programme

CERN Multimedia

2012-01-01

CERN openlab is currently taking applications for its summer student programme. The closing date for applications is 30 March 2012.   The openlab Summer Student Programme is open for applications from bachelor, master and PhD students in computer science and physics. Successful applicants will spend 8 weeks at CERN, during the period June to September 2012, to work with some of the latest hardware and software technologies. The programme is more than just a summer at CERN: it can lead to follow-on projects at the home institute and may even inspire the students to become entrepreneurs in cutting-edge computing technologies. A series of lectures will be given by experts in various domains of CERN related high-throughput computing. Study tours to external companies and universities as well as to CERN facilities are also part of the programme. Please visit www.cern.ch/openlab-students for more information.

CERN openlab summer student programme

CERN Multimedia

2013-01-01

CERN openlab is currently taking applications for its summer student programme. The closing date for applications is 31 March 2013.   The openlab summer student programme is open for applications from bachelor, master and PhD students in computer science and physics. Successful applicants will spend 9 weeks at CERN, during the period from June to September 2013, working with some of the latest hardware and software technologies. The programme is more than just a summer at CERN: it can lead to follow-on projects at the home institute and may even inspire students to become entrepreneurs in cutting-edge computing technologies. A series of lectures will be given by experts in various domains of CERN-related high-throughput computing. Study tours of external companies and universities as well as of CERN facilities are also part of the programme. Please visit the CERN openlab website for more information.

Octopamine connects nutrient cues to lipid metabolism upon nutrient deprivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Jun; Ma, Yi-Cheng; Yang, Zhong-Shan; Zou, Cheng-Gang; Zhang, Ke-Qin

2016-05-01

Starvation is probably the most common stressful situation in nature. In vertebrates, elevation of the biogenic amine norepinephrine levels is common during starvation. However, the precise role of norepinephrine in nutrient deprivation remains largely unknown. We report that in the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, up-regulation of the biosynthesis of octopamine, the invertebrate counterpart of norepinephrine, serves as a mechanism to adapt to starvation. During nutrient deprivation, the nuclear receptor DAF-12, known to sense nutritional cues, up-regulates the expression of tbh-1 that encodes tyramine β-hydroxylase, a key enzyme for octopamine biosynthesis, in the RIC neurons. Octopamine induces the expression of the lipase gene lips-6 via its receptor SER-3 in the intestine. LIPS-6, in turn, elicits lipid mobilization. Our findings reveal that octopamine acts as an endocrine regulator linking nutrient cues to lipolysis to maintain energy homeostasis, and suggest that such a mechanism may be evolutionally conserved in diverse organisms.

Vertical suspsended sediment fluxes observed from ocean gliders

Science.gov (United States)

Merckelbach, Lucas; Carpenter, Jeffrey

2016-04-01

Many studies trying to understand a coastal system in terms of sediment transport paths resort to numerical modelling - combining circulation models with sediment transport models. Two aspects herein are crucial: sediment fluxes across the sea bed-water column interface, and the subsequent vertical mixing by turbulence. Both aspects are highly complex and have relatively short time scales, so that the processes involved are implemented in numerical models as parameterisations. Due to the effort required to obtain field observations of suspended sediment concentrations (and other parameters), measurements are scarce, which makes the development and tuning of parameterisations a difficult task. Ocean gliders (autonomous underwater vehicles propelled by a buoyancy engine) provide a platform complementing more traditional methods of sampling. In this work we present observations of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and dissipation rate taken by two gliders, each equipped with optical sensors and a microstructure sensor, along with current observations from a bottom mounted ADCP, all operated in the German Bight sector of the North Sea in Summer 2014. For about two weeks of a four-week experiment, the gliders were programmed to fly in a novel way as Lagrangian profilers to water depths of about 40 m. The benefit of this approach is that the rate of change of SSC - and other parameters - is local to the water column, as opposed to an unknown composition of temporal and spatial variability when gliders are operated in the usual way. Therefore, vertical sediment fluxes can be calculated without the need of the - often dubious - assumption that spatial variability can be neglected. During the experiment the water column was initially thermally stratified, with a cross-pycnocline diffusion coefficient estimated at 7\\cdot10-5 m2 s-1. Halfway through the experiment the remnants of tropical storm Bertha arrived at the study site and caused a complete mixing of the water

Satellite observations of middle atmosphere–thermosphere vertical coupling by gravity waves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Q. T. Trinh

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Atmospheric gravity waves (GWs are essential for the dynamics of the middle atmosphere. Recent studies have shown that these waves are also important for the thermosphere/ionosphere (T/I system. Via vertical coupling, GWs can significantly influence the mean state of the T/I system. However, the penetration of GWs into the T/I system is not fully understood in modeling as well as observations. In the current study, we analyze the correlation between GW momentum fluxes observed in the middle atmosphere (30–90 km and GW-induced perturbations in the T/I. In the middle atmosphere, GW momentum fluxes are derived from temperature observations of the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER satellite instrument. In the T/I, GW-induced perturbations are derived from neutral density measured by instruments on the Gravity field and Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE and CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload (CHAMP satellites. We find generally positive correlations between horizontal distributions at low altitudes (i.e., below 90 km and horizontal distributions of GW-induced density fluctuations in the T/I (at 200 km and above. Two coupling mechanisms are likely responsible for these positive correlations: (1 fast GWs generated in the troposphere and lower stratosphere can propagate directly to the T/I and (2 primary GWs with their origins in the lower atmosphere dissipate while propagating upwards and generate secondary GWs, which then penetrate up to the T/I and maintain the spatial patterns of GW distributions in the lower atmosphere. The mountain-wave related hotspot over the Andes and Antarctic Peninsula is found clearly in observations of all instruments used in our analysis. Latitude–longitude variations in the summer midlatitudes are also found in observations of all instruments. These variations and strong positive correlations in the summer midlatitudes suggest that GWs with origins related to convection also

Satellite observations of middle atmosphere-thermosphere vertical coupling by gravity waves

Science.gov (United States)

Trinh, Quang Thai; Ern, Manfred; Doornbos, Eelco; Preusse, Peter; Riese, Martin

2018-03-01

Atmospheric gravity waves (GWs) are essential for the dynamics of the middle atmosphere. Recent studies have shown that these waves are also important for the thermosphere/ionosphere (T/I) system. Via vertical coupling, GWs can significantly influence the mean state of the T/I system. However, the penetration of GWs into the T/I system is not fully understood in modeling as well as observations. In the current study, we analyze the correlation between GW momentum fluxes observed in the middle atmosphere (30-90 km) and GW-induced perturbations in the T/I. In the middle atmosphere, GW momentum fluxes are derived from temperature observations of the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) satellite instrument. In the T/I, GW-induced perturbations are derived from neutral density measured by instruments on the Gravity field and Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) and CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload (CHAMP) satellites. We find generally positive correlations between horizontal distributions at low altitudes (i.e., below 90 km) and horizontal distributions of GW-induced density fluctuations in the T/I (at 200 km and above). Two coupling mechanisms are likely responsible for these positive correlations: (1) fast GWs generated in the troposphere and lower stratosphere can propagate directly to the T/I and (2) primary GWs with their origins in the lower atmosphere dissipate while propagating upwards and generate secondary GWs, which then penetrate up to the T/I and maintain the spatial patterns of GW distributions in the lower atmosphere. The mountain-wave related hotspot over the Andes and Antarctic Peninsula is found clearly in observations of all instruments used in our analysis. Latitude-longitude variations in the summer midlatitudes are also found in observations of all instruments. These variations and strong positive correlations in the summer midlatitudes suggest that GWs with origins related to convection also propagate up to the T

Absorção de nutrientes pelo trigo Absorption of nutrients by wheat plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hermano Gargantini

1973-01-01

Full Text Available Estudou-se a absorção dos nutrientes essenciais das variedades de trigo (Triticum aestivum L. BH 1146 e IAS 3795, cultivadas em vasos de Mitscherlich em casa de vegetação, empregaudo-se Latossolo Vermelho-Escuro fase arenosa, proveniente do município de Capão Bonito. Durante todo o ciclo vegetativo da cultura, a cada 10 dias, colheram-se plantas, para serem analisados os elementos N, P, K, Ca, Mg e S. Verificou-se sensível diferença na entração dos nutrientes, entre ambas as variedades. Assim, enquanto na BH o nitrogênio e, a seguir, o potássio foram os nutrientes absorvidos em maiores quantidades, seguindo-se, em quantidades menores, o fósforo, o cálcio, o ennofre e o magnésio, na variedade IAS o potássio foi absorvido em muito maior quantidade que o nitrogênio, e depois dele, na ordem, o cálcio, o fósforo, o ennofre e o magnésio.In this paper the nutrient absorption by wheat plants is presented. Two varieties of wheat, BH 1146 and IAS 3795, were grown in Mitscherlich pots under greenhouse conditions and supplied with all nutrients, including micronutrients. Plant samples, obtained at 10-day intervals, were analysed for N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S. The amounts of nutrients absorbed were diferent between the two varieties. Furthermore, the BH variety absorbed more nitrogen than other nutrients, while for the IAS variety potassium was the element absorbed in larger amounts. Absorption of P, S, Ca, Mg was small for both varieties.

Nutrient surpluses on integrated arable farms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schröder, J.J.; Asperen, van P.; Dongen, van G.J.M.; Wijnands, F.G.

1996-01-01

From 1990 to 1993 nutrient fluxes were monitored on 38 private arable farms that had adopted farming strategies aiming at reduced nutrient inputs and substitution of mineral fertilizers by organic fertilizers. The nutrient surplus was defined as the difference between inputs (including inputs

Meteor radar observations of vertically propagating low-frequency inertia-gravity waves near the southern polar mesopause region

Science.gov (United States)

Song, I.-S.; Lee, C.; Kim, J.-H.; Jee, G.; Kim, Y.-H.; Choi, H.-J.; Chun, H.-Y.; Kim, Y. H.

2017-04-01

Vertically propagating low-frequency inertia-gravity waves (IGWs) are retrieved from meteor radar winds observed at King Sejong Station (KSS: 62.22°S, 58.78°W), Antarctica. IGW horizontal winds extracted from temporal band-pass filtering in regular time-height bins show the frequent occurrence of IGWs with the downward phase progression and the counterclockwise rotation of their horizontal wind vectors with time (i.e., upward energy propagation) near the mesopause region throughout the whole year of 2014. The vertical wavelengths of the observed IGWs roughly range from 14 km to more than 20 km, which is consistent with previous observational studies on the mesospheric IGWs over Antarctica. Stokes parameters and rotary spectra computed from the hodographs of the IGW horizontal wind components reveal that the intrinsic frequencies of the upward propagating IGWs are |f|-3|f| with seasonal variations of the relative predominance between |f|-2|f| and 2|f|-3|f|, where f is the Coriolis parameter at KSS. The hodograph analysis also indicates that the N-S propagation is dominant in austral summer, while the NE-SW propagation is pronounced in austral winter. The propagation direction is discussed in relation to the generation of IGWs due to dynamical imbalances occurring in the tropospheric and stratospheric jet flow systems. Ray tracing results indicate that the N-S propagation in summer may be due to the jet flow systems roughly north of KSS and the NE-SW propagation in winter may be either the SW propagation from the jet flow systems northeast of KSS or the NE propagation (around the South Pole) from the south of Australia and Southern Indian and Pacific Oceans.

TREsPASS Book 2: Summer School

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hall, Peter; Coles-Kemp, Lizzie

2016-01-01

The talks presented in this book were delivered as part of a summer school held at Royal Holloway University of London between the 20th and the 23rd of June 2016. The focus of the summer school was social aspects of cyber security risk and was an engagement and dissemination activity for the EU FP7

Nutrient supply of plants in aquaponic systems

OpenAIRE

Bittsánszky, András; Uzinger, Nikolett; Gyulai, Gábor; Mathis, Alex; Junge, Ranka; Villarroel, Morris; Kotzen, Benzion; Komives, Tamas

2016-01-01

In this preliminary article we present data on plant nutrient concentrations in aquaponic systems, and compare them to nutrient concentrations in “standard” hydroponic solutions. Our data shows that the nutrient concentrations supplied by the fish in aquaponic system are significantly lower for most nutrients, compared to hydroponic systems. Nevertheless, plants do thrive in solutions that have lower nutrient levels than “standard” hydroponic solutions. This is especially true for green leafy...

Energy-neutral sustainable nutrient recovery incorporated with the wastewater purification process in an enlarged microbial nutrient recovery cell

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Dongya; Gao, Yifan; Hou, Dianxun; Zuo, Kuichang; Chen, Xi; Liang, Peng; Zhang, Xiaoyuan; Ren, Zhiyong Jason; Huang, Xia

2018-04-01

Recovery of nutrient resources from the wastewater is now an inevitable strategy to maintain the supply of both nutrient and water for our huge population. While the intensive energy consumption in conventional nutrient recovery technologies still remained as the bottleneck towards the sustainable nutrient recycle. This study proposed an enlarged microbial nutrient recovery cell (EMNRC) which was powered by the energy contained in wastewater and achieved multi-cycle nutrient recovery incorporated with in situ wastewater treatment. With the optimal recovery solution of 3 g/L NaCl and the optimal volume ratio of wastewater to recovery solution of 10:1, >89% of phosphorus and >62% of ammonium nitrogen were recovered into struvite. An extremely low water input ratio of water. It was proved the EMNRC system was a promising technology which could utilize the chemical energy contained in wastewater itself and energy-neutrally recover nutrient during the continuous wastewater purification process.

Population fluctuation and vertical distribution of meiofauna in the Red Sea interstitial environment.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Serehy, Hamed A; Al-Misned, Fahad A; Al-Rasheid, Khaled A

2015-07-01

The composition and distribution of the benthic meiofauna assemblages of the Egyptian coasts along the Red Sea are described in relation to abiotic variables. Sediment samples were collected seasonally from three stations chosen along the Red Sea to observe the meiofaunal community structure, its temporal distribution and vertical fluctuation in relation to environmental conditions of the Red Sea marine ecosystem. The temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and redox potential were measured at the time of collection. The water content of the sediments, total organic matters and chlorophyll a values were determined, and sediment samples were subjected to granulometric analysis. A total of 10 meiofauna taxa were identified, with the meiofauna being primarily represented by nematodes (on annual average from 42% to 84%), harpacticoids, polycheates and ostracodes; and the meiofauna abundances ranging from 41 to 167 ind./10 cm(2). The meiofaunal population density fluctuated seasonally with a peak of 192.52 ind./10 cm(2) during summer at station II. The vertical zonation in the distribution of meiofaunal community was significantly correlated with interstitial water, chlorophyll a and total organic matter values. The present study indicates the existence of the well diversified meiofaunal group which can serve as food for higher trophic levels in the Red Sea interstitial environment.

Nutrient supply of plants in aquaponic systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andras Bittsanszky

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In this preliminary article we present data on plant nutrient concentrations in aquaponics systems, and we compare them to nutrient concentrations in “standard” hydroponic solutions. Our data shows that the nutrient concentrations supplied by the fish in the aquaponics system are significantly lower for most nutrients compared to hydroponic systems. Nevertheless, plants do thrive in solutions that have lower nutrient levels compared to “standard” hydroponic solutions. This is especially true for green leafy vegetables that rarely need additional nutritional supplementation. It is concluded that in the highly complex system of aquaponics, special care has to be taken, via continuous monitoring of the chemical composition of the circulating water, to provide adequate concentrations and ratios of nutrients, and especially for the potentially toxic component, ammonium. If certain plants require nutrient supplementation, we consider that one based on organic substances would be most beneficial. However, protocols for the application of such nutrient amendments still need to be developed.

Comparative vertical transmission of Rickettsia by Dermacentor variabilis and Amblyomma maculatum.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Emma K; Verhoeve, Victoria I; Banajee, Kaikhushroo H; Macaluso, Jacqueline A; Azad, Abdu F; Macaluso, Kevin R

2017-06-01

The geographical overlap of multiple Rickettsia and tick species coincides with the molecular detection of a variety of rickettsial agents in what may be novel tick hosts. However, little is known concerning transmissibility of rickettsial species by various tick hosts. To examine the vertical transmission potential between select tick and rickettsial species, two sympatric species of ticks, Dermacentor variabilis and Amblyomma maculatum, were exposed to five different rickettsial species, including Rickettsia rickettsii, Rickettsia parkeri, Rickettsia montanensis, Rickettsia amblyommatis, or flea-borne Rickettsia felis. Fitness-related metrics including engorgement weight, egg production index, nutrient index, and egg hatch percentage were then assessed. Subsamples of egg clutches and unfed larvae, nymphs, and adults for each cohort were assessed for transovarial and transstadial transmission of rickettsiae by qPCR. Rickettsial exposure had a minimal fitness effect in D. variabilis and transovarial transmission was observed for all groups except R. rickettsii. In contrast, rickettsial exposure negatively influenced A. maculatum fitness and transovarial transmission of rickettsiae was demonstrated only for R. amblyommatis- and R. parkeri-exposed ticks. Sustained maintenance of rickettsiae via transstadial transmission was diminished from F 1 larvae to F 1 adults in both tick species. The findings of this study suggest transovarial transmission specificity may not be tick species dependent, and sustained vertical transmission is not common. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.

Tethered balloon-borne aerosol measurements: seasonal and vertical variations of aerosol constituents over Syowa Station, Antarctica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Hara

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Tethered balloon-borne aerosol measurements were conducted at Syowa Station, Antarctica, during the 46th Japanese Antarctic expedition (2005–2006. Direct aerosol sampling was operated from near the surface to the lower free troposphere (approximately 2500 m using a balloon-borne aerosol impactor. Individual aerosol particles were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer. Seasonal and vertical features of aerosol constituents and their mixing states were investigated. Results show that sulfate particles were predominant in the boundary layer and lower free troposphere in summer, whereas sea-salt particles were predominant during winter through spring. Minerals, MgSO4, and sulfate containing K were identified as minor aerosol constituents in both boundary layer and free troposphere over Syowa Station. Although sea-salt particles were predominant during winter through spring, the relative abundance of sulfate particles increased in the boundary layer when air masses fell from the free troposphere over the Antarctic coast and continent. Sea-salt particles were modified considerably through heterogeneous reactions with SO42− CH3SO3− and their precursors during summer, and were modified slightly through heterogeneous reactions with NO3− and its precursors. During winter through spring, sea-salt modification was insignificant, particularly in the cases of high relative abundance of sea-salt particles and higher number concentrations. In August, NO3− and its precursors contributed greatly to sea-salt modification over Syowa Station. Because of the occurrence of sea-salt fractionation on sea ice, Mg-rich sea-salt particles were identified during the months of April through November. In contrast, Mg-free sea-salt particles and slightly Mg-rich sea-salt particles coexisted in the lower troposphere during summer. Thereby, Mg separation can proceed by sea-salt fractionation during summer in

First Measurements of Polar Mesospheric Summer Echoes by a Tri-static Radar System

Science.gov (United States)

La Hoz, C.

2015-12-01

Polar Mesospheric Summer Echoes (PMSE) have been observed for the first time by a tri-static radar system comprising the EISCAT VHF (224 MHz, 0.67 m Bragg wavelength) active radar in Tromso (Norway) and passive receiving stations in Kiruna, (Sweden) and Sodankyla (Finland). The antennas at the receiving stations, originally part of the EISCAT tri-static UHF radar system at 930 MHz, have been refitted with new feeder systems at the VHF frequency of the transmitter in Tromso. The refitted radar system opens new opportunities to study PMSE for its own sake and as a tracer of the dynamics of the polar mesosphere, a region that is difficult to investigate by other means. The measurements show that very frequently both remote receiving antennas detect coherent signals that are much greater than the regular incoherent scattering due to thermal electrons and coinciding in time and space with PMSE measured by the transmitter station in Tromso. This represents further evidence that PMSE is not aspect sensitive, as was already indicated by a less sensitive radar system in a bi-static configuration, and implying that the underlying atmospheric turbulence, at least at sub-meter scales, is isotropic in agreement with Kolmogorov's hypothesis. Measurements also show that the vertical rate of fall of persistent features of PMSE is the same as the vertical line of sight velocity inferred from the doppler shift of the PMSE signals. This equivalence forms the basis for using PMSE as a tracer of the dynamics of the background mesosphere. Thus, it is possible to measure the 3-dimensional velocity field in the PMSE layer over the intersection volume of the three antennas. Since the signals have large signal-to-noise ratios (up to 30 dB), the inferred velocities have high accuracies and good time resolutions. This affords the possibility to make estimates of momentum flux in the mesosphere deposited by overturning gravity waves. Gravity wave momentum flux is believed to be the engine of a

Plant nutrient acquisition strategies in tundra species: at which soil depth do species take up their nitrogen?

Science.gov (United States)

Limpens, Juul; Heijmans, Monique; Nauta, Ake; van Huissteden, Corine; van Rijssel, Sophie

2016-04-01

The Arctic is warming at unprecedented rates. Increased thawing of permafrost releases nutrients locked up in the previously frozen soils layers, which may initiate shifts in vegetation composition. The direction in which the vegetation shifts will co-determine whether Arctic warming is mitigated or accelerated, making understanding successional trajectories urgent. One of the key factors influencing the competitive relationships between plant species is their access to nutrients, in particularly nitrogen (N). We assessed the depth at which plant species took up N by performing a 15N tracer study, injecting 15(NH4)2SO4 at three depths (5, 15, 20 cm) into the soil in arctic tundra in north-eastern Siberia in July. In addition we explored plant nutrient acquisition strategy by analyzing natural abundances of 15N in leaves. We found that vascular plants took up 15N at all injection depths, irrespective of species, but also that species showed a clear preference for specific soil layers that coincided with their functional group (graminoids, dwarf shrubs, cryptogams). Graminoids took up most 15N at 20 cm depth nearest to the thaw front, with grasses showing a more pronounced preference than sedges. Dwarf shrubs took up most 15N at 5 cm depth, with deciduous shrubs displaying more preference than evergreens. Cryptogams did not take up any of the supplied 15N . The natural 15N abundances confirmed the pattern of nutrient acquisition from deeper soil layers in graminoids and from shallow soil layers in both deciduous and evergreen dwarf shrubs. Our results prove that graminoids and shrubs differ in their N uptake strategies, with graminoids profiting from nutrients released at the thaw front, whereas shrubs forage in the upper soil layers. The above implies that graminoids, grasses in particular, will have a competitive advantage over shrubs as the thaw front proceeds and/or superficial soil layers dry out. Our results suggest that the vertical distribution of nutrients

Megacity-Induced Mesoclimatic Effects in the Lower Atmosphere: A Modeling Study for Multiple Summers over Moscow, Russia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mikhail Varentsov

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Urbanization leads to distinct meteorological features of urban environments, and one the best-known is the urban heat island (UHI effect. For megacities, these features become mesoscale phenomena (scale ≥ 10 km that are amplified by the tropospheric feedbacks, and have substantial implications on human well-being. For the first time, a three-dimensional statistical description of the megacity-induced meteorological effects extending towards the lower troposphere for summer is acquired on a quasi-climatological timescale (a decade based on high-resolution (1 km simulations for Moscow with the COSMO-CLM model with and without its urban canopy model TERRA_URB. Our results confirm the features from previous observational and modeling studies, including the UHI itself, the cooling effect above established by the cross-over effect, the urban dry/moist islands and the urban breeze circulation. Particularly, the UHI shows a strong diurnal variation in terms of intensity and vertical extent between daytime (≈0.5 K/≈1.5 km and nighttime (>3 K/≈150 m. We have discovered a systematic veering in the downwind shift of the UHI spatial pattern established by the Coriolis effect, and an enhanced stable stratification of the rural surroundings established by the urban plumes further downwind. Finally, extending the analysis to multiple summers demonstrates a substantial increase in summer precipitation (up to +25% over the city center and its leeward side. These urban-caused mesoclimatic effects need to be taken into account in weather and climate services, including the design of future megacities.

A WRF sensitivity study for summer ozone and winter PM events in California

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Z.; Chen, J.; Mahmud, A.; Di, P.; Avise, J.; DaMassa, J.; Kaduwela, A. P.

2014-12-01

Elevated summer ozone and winter PM frequently occur in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) and the South Coast Air Basin (SCAB) in California. Meteorological conditions, such as wind, temperature and planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) play crucial roles in these air pollution events. Therefore, accurate representation of these fields from a meteorological model is necessary to successfully reproduce these air pollution events in subsequent air quality model simulations. California's complex terrain and land-sea interface can make it challenging for meteorological models to replicate the atmospheric conditions over the SJV and SCAB during extreme pollution events. In this study, the performance of the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) over these two regions for a summer month (July 2012) and a winter month (January 2013) is evaluated with different model configurations and forcing. Different land surface schemes (Pleim-Xiu vs. hybrid scheme), the application of observational and soil nudging, two SST datasets (the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) SST vs. the default SST from North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) reanalysis), and two land use datasets (the National Land Cover Data (NLCD) 2006 40-category vs. USGS 24-category land use data) have been tested. Model evaluation will focus on both surface and vertical profiles for wind, temperature, relative humidity, as well as PBLH. Sensitivity of the Community Multi-scale Air Quality Model (CMAQ) results to different WRF configurations will also be presented and discussed.

Comparison of Some Nutrient Content of Sport Lawn under the Influence of Fertilizer and Seasons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hossein Zarei

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Quantity, characteristics and composition of organic matter widely vary by changing seasons and geographical conditions. On the other hand when soil conditioning due to poor drainage limits then decomposition of organic matter by soil microorganisms highly reduces. Soil and plant testing is one of the best management methods in measuring these changes. In this study, the effect of seven types of organic fertilizer including Leaf Mold (LM, Rice Husk (RH, manure, Spent Mushroom Compost (SMC, a mixture of LM, RH and manure (mixture 1, a mixture of LM, RH and SMC (mixture 2 with the ratio of 1:1:1 and control (no fertilizer at three levels of compaction including roller weighted at 36, 56 and 76 kilograms on some nutrient content of sport lawn were investigated in different seasons. An experiment was conducted as a strip plot design in three replications, in research farm of Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources during 2008-2009. With the comparison of the total mean of leaf nitrogen and potassium in different seasons, the highest and the lowest absorption rate of these elements was observed in the fall and summer respectively. Moreover, statistical analysis indicated higher concentration of phosphorus in spring and summer than fall and winter.

Summer Versus School-Year Alcohol Use Among Mandated College Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Mary Beth; Merrill, Jennifer E; Yurasek, Ali M; Mastroleo, Nadine R; Borsari, Brian

2016-01-01

Longitudinal research examining college students' alcohol use during the summer months, especially in at-risk individuals, is limited. The current study evaluated changes in mandated college students' alcohol use and related consequences over the summer. Participants (n = 305, 67% male) who had violated campus alcohol policy and were subsequently mandated to treatment completed follow-up assessments at 3, 6, and 9 months. For the majority of students, one of these follow-up assessments occurred over the summer. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine changes in alcohol use and related consequences during the school year and summer. Participants reported consuming significantly fewer drinks per occasion, reaching lower peak blood alcohol concentrations, and experiencing fewer alcohol-related consequences during the summer months. All outcomes were mediated by summer housing, indicating that summer influenced alcohol use indirectly through participants' tendency to live at home. Despite small but significant decreases in alcohol consumption and related consequences when living with a parent/guardian, mandated college students continue to exhibit risky drinking and consequences during the summer months. Given these findings, summer may be an appropriate time to implement prevention and intervention strategies with mandated and other at-risk populations.

Nitrogen assimilation and short term retention in a nutrient-rich tidal freshwater marsh – a whole ecosystem 15N enrichment study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Gribsholt

2007-01-01

Full Text Available An intact tidal freshwater marsh system (3477 m2 was labelled by adding 15N-ammonium as a tracer to the flood water inundating the ecosystem. The appearance and retention of 15N-label in different marsh components (leaves, roots, sediment, leaf litter and invertebrate fauna was followed over 15 days. This allowed us to elucidate the direct assimilation and dependence on creek-water nitrogen on a relatively short term and provided an unbiased assessment of the relative importance of the various compartments within the ecosystem. Two separate experiments were conducted, one in spring/early summer (May 2002 when plants were young and building up biomass; the other in late summer (September 2003 when macrophytes were in a flowering or early senescent state. Nitrogen assimilation rate (per hour inundated was >3 times faster in May compared to September. On both occasions, however, the results clearly revealed that the less conspicuous compartments such as leaf litter and ruderal vegetations are more important in nitrogen uptake and retention than the prominent reed (Phragmites australis meadows. Moreover, short-term nitrogen retention in these nutrient rich marshes occurs mainly via microbial pathways associated with the litter and sediment. Rather than direct uptake by macrophytes, it is the large reactive surface area provided by the tidal freshwater marsh vegetation that is most crucial for nitrogen transformation, assimilation and short term retention in nutrient rich tidal freshwater marshes. Our results clearly revealed the dominant role of microbes in initial nitrogen retention in marsh ecosystems.

N and P as ultimate and proximate limiting nutrients in the northern Gulf of Mexico: implications for hypoxia reduction strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Fennel

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The occurrence of hypoxia in coastal oceans is a long-standing and growing problem worldwide and is clearly linked to anthropogenic nutrient inputs. While the need for reducing anthropogenic nutrient loads is generally accepted, it is costly and thus requires scientifically sound nutrient-reduction strategies. Issues under debate include the relative importance of nitrogen (N and phosphorus (P as well as the magnitude of the reduction requirements. The largest anthropogenically induced hypoxic area in North American coastal waters (of 15 000 ± 5000 km2 forms every summer in the northern Gulf of Mexico where the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers deliver large amounts of freshwater and nutrients to the shelf. A 2001 plan for reducing this hypoxic area by nutrient management in the watershed called for a reduction of N loads. Since then evidence of P limitation during the time of hypoxia formation has arisen, and a dual nutrient-reduction strategy for this system has been endorsed. Here we report the first systematic analysis of the effects of single and dual nutrient load reductions from a spatially explicit physical–biogeochemical model for the northern Gulf of Mexico. The model has been shown previously to skillfully represent the processes important for hypoxic formation. Our analysis of an ensemble of simulations with stepwise reductions in N, P, and N and P loads provides insight into the effects of both nutrients on primary production and hypoxia, and it allows us to estimate what nutrient reductions would be required for single and dual nutrient-reduction strategies to reach the hypoxia target. Our results show that, despite temporary P limitation, N is the ultimate limiting nutrient for primary production in this system. Nevertheless, a reduction in P load would reduce hypoxia because primary production is P limited in the region where density stratification is conducive to hypoxia development, but reductions in N load have

76 FR 23177 - Exchange Visitor Program-Summer Work Travel

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-26

...--Summer Work Travel AGENCY: Department of State. ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comment... below, this rule modifies the Summer Work Travel regulations by establishing different employment..., the Department is establishing a new Summer Work Travel framework that recognizes potential underlying...

Adaptation of the vertical vestibulo-ocular reflex in cats during low-frequency vertical rotation.

Science.gov (United States)

Fushiki, Hiroaki; Maruyama, Motoyoshi; Shojaku, Hideo

2018-04-01

We examined plastic changes in the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) during low-frequency vertical head rotation, a condition under which otolith inputs from the vestibular system are essential for VOR generation. For adaptive conditioning of the vertical VOR, 0.02Hz sinusoidal pitch rotation for one hour about the earth's horizontal axis was synchronized with out-of-phase vertical visual stimulation from a random dot pattern. A vertical VOR was well evoked when the upright animal rotated around the earth-horizontal axis (EHA) at low frequency due to the changing gravity stimulus and dynamic stimulation of the otoliths. After adaptive conditioning, the amplitude of the vertical VOR increased by an average of 32.1%. Our observations showing plasticity in the otolithic contribution to the VOR may provide a new strategy for visual-vestibular mismatch training in patients with otolithic disorders. This low-frequency vertical head rotation protocol also provides a model for investigating the mechanisms underlying the adaptation of VORs mediated by otolith activation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Vertical Farm: A Review of Developments and Implications for the Vertical City

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Kheir Al-Kodmany

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the emerging need for vertical farms by examining issues related to food security, urban population growth, farmland shortages, “food miles”, and associated greenhouse gas (GHG emissions. Urban planners and agricultural leaders have argued that cities will need to produce food internally to respond to demand by increasing population and to avoid paralyzing congestion, harmful pollution, and unaffordable food prices. The paper examines urban agriculture as a solution to these problems by merging food production and consumption in one place, with the vertical farm being suitable for urban areas where available land is limited and expensive. Luckily, recent advances in greenhouse technologies such as hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaponics have provided a promising future to the vertical farm concept. These high-tech systems represent a paradigm shift in farming and food production and offer suitable and efficient methods for city farming by minimizing maintenance and maximizing yield. Upon reviewing these technologies and examining project prototypes, we find that these efforts may plant the seeds for the realization of the vertical farm. The paper, however, closes by speculating about the consequences, advantages, and disadvantages of the vertical farm’s implementation. Economic feasibility, codes, regulations, and a lack of expertise remain major obstacles in the path to implementing the vertical farm.

Seasonal variability in nitrate and phosphate uptake kinetics in a forested headwater stream using pulse nutrient additions

Science.gov (United States)

Griffiths, N. A.; Mulholland, P. J.

2011-12-01

We used the Tracer Additions for Spiraling Curve Characterization (TASCC) approach to quantify seasonal variability in ambient nutrient spiraling metrics and nutrient uptake kinetics in the West Fork of Walker Branch, a forested headwater stream in eastern Tennessee, USA. We performed instantaneous additions of nitrate (NO3-) and phosphate (PO4-3) separately with a conservative tracer (chloride, Cl-) during the following biologically-important time periods: autumn (during leaf fall, high organic matter [OM] standing stocks), winter (low OM standing stocks), spring (prior to canopy closure), and summer (closed canopy). We predicted that nutrient demand would be highest during autumn and spring, as OM inputs fuel heterotrophic respiration and high light availability stimulates autotrophic production, respectively. The measured ambient PO4-3 uptake rates (Vf-amb) followed our predictions, with the highest Vf-amb rates in autumn (Vf-amb = 2.8 mm/min) and spring (Vf-amb = 2.9 mm/min), and undetectable uptake in winter. Further, maximum areal PO4-3 uptake rates (Umax) were higher in autumn (Umax = 297 μg/m2/min) than spring (Umax = 106 μg/m2/min), possibly due to greater nutrient demand of heterotrophs on leaf litter accumulations. Contrary to our predictions, ambient NO3- uptake rates were highest in autumn and winter (autumn: Vf-amb = 2.8 mm/min, winter: Vf-amb = 2.4 mm/min), and lowest in spring (Vf-amb = 1.0 mm/min). The higher than expected Vf-amb rate in winter may be due to higher stream metabolism rates and thus greater nitrogen demand; the lower than expected Vf-amb rate in spring may reflect an alleviation of nitrogen demand due to high ammonium concentrations during this time. As the demand for both nitrogen and phosphorus in Walker Branch is greatest in autumn, future work will characterize how nutrient metrics change during this dynamic time period (i.e., before, during, and after leaf fall).

Modeling nutrient in-stream processes at the watershed scale using Nutrient Spiralling metrics

Science.gov (United States)

Marcé, R.; Armengol, J.

2009-07-01

One of the fundamental problems of using large-scale biogeochemical models is the uncertainty involved in aggregating the components of fine-scale deterministic models in watershed applications, and in extrapolating the results of field-scale measurements to larger spatial scales. Although spatial or temporal lumping may reduce the problem, information obtained during fine-scale research may not apply to lumped categories. Thus, the use of knowledge gained through fine-scale studies to predict coarse-scale phenomena is not straightforward. In this study, we used the nutrient uptake metrics defined in the Nutrient Spiralling concept to formulate the equations governing total phosphorus in-stream fate in a deterministic, watershed-scale biogeochemical model. Once the model was calibrated, fitted phosphorus retention metrics where put in context of global patterns of phosphorus retention variability. For this purpose, we calculated power regressions between phosphorus retention metrics, streamflow, and phosphorus concentration in water using published data from 66 streams worldwide, including both pristine and nutrient enriched streams. Performance of the calibrated model confirmed that the Nutrient Spiralling formulation is a convenient simplification of the biogeochemical transformations involved in total phosphorus in-stream fate. Thus, this approach may be helpful even for customary deterministic applications working at short time steps. The calibrated phosphorus retention metrics were comparable to field estimates from the study watershed, and showed high coherence with global patterns of retention metrics from streams of the world. In this sense, the fitted phosphorus retention metrics were similar to field values measured in other nutrient enriched streams. Analysis of the bibliographical data supports the view that nutrient enriched streams have lower phosphorus retention efficiency than pristine streams, and that this efficiency loss is maintained in a wide

Characterization of nutrient deficiency in Hancornia speciosa Gomes seedlings by omitting micronutrients from the nutrient solution

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Layara Alexandre Bessa

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Hancornia speciosa Gomes (Mangaba tree is a fruit tree belonging to the Apocynaceae family and is native to Brazil. The production of seedlings of this species is limited by a lack of technical and nutritional expertise. To address this deficiency, this study aimed to characterize the visual symptoms of micronutrient deficiency and to assess growth and leaf nutrient accumulation in H. speciosa seedlings supplied with nutrient solutions that lack individual micronutrients. H. speciosa plants were grown in nutrient solution in a greenhouse according to a randomized block design, with four replicates. The treatments consisted of a group receiving complete nutrient solution and groups treated with a nutrient solution lacking one of the following micronutrients: boron (B, copper (Cu, iron (Fe, manganese (Mn, zinc (Zn, and molybdenum (Mo. The visual symptoms of nutrient deficiency were generally easy to characterize. Dry matter production was affected by the omission of micronutrients, and the treatment lacking Fe most limited the stem length, stem diameter, root length, and number of leaves in H. speciosa seedlings as well as the dry weight of leaves, the total dry weight, and the relative growth in H. speciosa plants. The micronutrient contents of H. speciosa leaves from plants receiving the complete nutrient solution treatment were, in decreasing order, Fe>Mn>Cu>Zn>B.

Successional dynamics drive tropical forest nutrient limitation

Science.gov (United States)

Chou, C.; Hedin, L. O. O.

2017-12-01

It is increasingly recognized that nutrients such as N and P may significantly constrain the land carbon sink. However, we currently lack a complete understanding of these nutrient cycles in forest ecosystems and how to incorporate them into Earth System Models. We have developed a framework of dynamic forest nutrient limitation, focusing on the role of secondary forest succession and canopy gap disturbances as bottlenecks of high plant nutrient demand and limitation. We used succession biomass data to parameterize a simple ecosystem model and examined the dynamics of nutrient limitation throughout tropical secondary forest succession. Due to the patterns of biomass recovery in secondary tropical forests, we found high nutrient demand from rapid biomass accumulation in the earliest years of succession. Depending on previous land use scenarios, soil nutrient availability may also be low in this time period. Coupled together, this is evidence that there may be high biomass nutrient limitation early in succession, which is partially met by abundant symbiotic nitrogen fixation from certain tree species. We predict a switch from nitrogen limitation in early succession to one of three conditions: (i) phosphorus only, (ii) phosphorus plus nitrogen, or (iii) phosphorus, nitrogen, plus light co-limitation. We will discuss the mechanisms that govern the exact trajectory of limitation as forests build biomass. In addition, we used our model to explore scenarios of tropical secondary forest impermanence and the impacts of these dynamics on ecosystem nutrient limitation. We found that secondary forest impermanence exacerbates nutrient limitation and the need for nitrogen fixation early in succession. Together, these results indicate that biomass recovery dynamics early in succession as well as their connection to nutrient demand and limitation are fundamental for understanding and modeling nutrient limitation of the tropical forest carbon sink.

TOR Signaling and Nutrient Sensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Dobrenel, Thomas; Caldana, Camila; Hanson, Johannes; Robaglia, Christophe; Vincentz, Michel; Veit, Bruce; Meyer, Christian

2016-04-29

All living organisms rely on nutrients to sustain cell metabolism and energy production, which in turn need to be adjusted based on available resources. The evolutionarily conserved target of rapamycin (TOR) protein kinase is a central regulatory hub that connects environmental information about the quantity and quality of nutrients to developmental and metabolic processes in order to maintain cellular homeostasis. TOR is activated by both nitrogen and carbon metabolites and promotes energy-consuming processes such as cell division, mRNA translation, and anabolism in times of abundance while repressing nutrient remobilization through autophagy. In animals and yeasts, TOR acts antagonistically to the starvation-induced AMP-activated kinase (AMPK)/sucrose nonfermenting 1 (Snf1) kinase, called Snf1-related kinase 1 (SnRK1) in plants. This review summarizes the immense knowledge on the relationship between TOR signaling and nutrients in nonphotosynthetic organisms and presents recent findings in plants that illuminate the crucial role of this pathway in conveying nutrient-derived signals and regulating many aspects of metabolism and growth.

Vertical pump assembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dohnal, M.; Rosel, J.; Skarka, V.

1988-01-01

The mounting is described of the drive assembly of a vertical pump for nuclear power plants in areas with seismic risk. The assembly is attached to the building floor using flexible and damping elements. The design allows producing seismically resistant pumps without major design changes in the existing types of vertical pumps. (E.S.). 1 fig

Nutrient cycle benchmarks for earth system land model

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Q.; Riley, W. J.; Tang, J.; Zhao, L.

2017-12-01

Projecting future biosphere-climate feedbacks using Earth system models (ESMs) relies heavily on robust modeling of land surface carbon dynamics. More importantly, soil nutrient (particularly, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)) dynamics strongly modulate carbon dynamics, such as plant sequestration of atmospheric CO2. Prevailing ESM land models all consider nitrogen as a potentially limiting nutrient, and several consider phosphorus. However, including nutrient cycle processes in ESM land models potentially introduces large uncertainties that could be identified and addressed by improved observational constraints. We describe the development of two nutrient cycle benchmarks for ESM land models: (1) nutrient partitioning between plants and soil microbes inferred from 15N and 33P tracers studies and (2) nutrient limitation effects on carbon cycle informed by long-term fertilization experiments. We used these benchmarks to evaluate critical hypotheses regarding nutrient cycling and their representation in ESMs. We found that a mechanistic representation of plant-microbe nutrient competition based on relevant functional traits best reproduced observed plant-microbe nutrient partitioning. We also found that for multiple-nutrient models (i.e., N and P), application of Liebig's law of the minimum is often inaccurate. Rather, the Multiple Nutrient Limitation (MNL) concept better reproduces observed carbon-nutrient interactions.

Summer Session: A Time for Innovation

Science.gov (United States)

Mola, Monty

2013-05-01

Summer is almost here (at least for those of us who teach semesters). Many of us are taking a well-deserved break to spend time with our families, conduct research, travel, and myriad other activities. Some of us, however, will be teaching summer school. For those of us lucky enough to be teaching this summer, we have one suggestion: Be bold! Summer is the ideal time to try something new with your teaching. We have known for some time that alternative pedagogies and engaging teaching strategies can be more effective than traditional lectures as student learning environments. However, even with headlines in The Washington Post proclaiming that the lecture is dead,2 inroads of physics education research-based curricula have been slow to diffuse into the classrooms for the greater population of college physics instructors.3 Many instructors of traditional physics courses see the use of research-based instructional strategies (RBIS) as desirable but risky and time consuming.3 Assuming a traditional physics course structure, both the where and the when each component takes place can also limit the types of engaging pedagogies used.4

Anthropogenic influences on the input and biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and mercury in Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naftz, David [US Geological Survey, Salt Lake City 84119, UT (United States)], E-mail: dlnaftz@usgs.gov; Angeroth, Cory; Kenney, Terry [US Geological Survey, Salt Lake City 84119, UT (United States); Waddell, Bruce; Darnall, Nathan [US Fish and Wildlife Service, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Silva, Steven [US Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA (United States); Perschon, Clay [Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Whitehead, John [Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)

2008-06-15

Despite the ecological and economic importance of Great Salt Lake (GSL), little is known about the input and biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and trace elements in the lake. In response to increasing public concern regarding anthropogenic inputs to the GSL ecosystem, the US Geological Survey (USGS) and US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) initiated coordinated studies to quantify and evaluate the significance of nutrient and Hg inputs into GSL. A 6 per mille decrease in {delta}{sup 15}N observed in brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) samples collected from GSL during summer time periods is likely due to the consumption of cyanobacteria produced in freshwater bays entering the lake. Supporting data collected from the outflow of Farmington Bay indicates decreasing trends in {delta}{sup 15}N in particulate organic matter (POM) during the mid-summer time period, reflective of increasing proportions of cyanobacteria in algae exported to GSL on a seasonal basis. The C:N molar ratio of POM in outflow from Farmington Bay decreases during the summer period, supportive of the increased activity of N fixation indicated by decreasing {delta}{sup 15}N in brine shrimp and POM. Although N fixation is only taking place in the relatively freshwater inflows to GSL, data indicate that influx of fresh water influences large areas of the lake. Separation of GSL into two distinct hydrologic and geochemical systems from the construction of a railroad causeway in the late 1950s has created a persistent and widespread anoxic layer in the southern part of GSL. This anoxic layer, referred to as the deep brine layer (DBL), has high rates of SO{sub 4}{sup 2-} reduction, likely increasing the Hg methylation capacity. High concentrations of methyl mercury (CH{sub 3}Hg) (median concentration = 24 ng/L) were observed in the DBL with a significant proportion (31-60%) of total Hg in the CH{sub 3}Hg form. Hydroacoustic and sediment-trap evidence indicate that turbulence introduced by internal waves

Investigating Summer Thermal Stratification in Lake Ontario

Science.gov (United States)

James, S. C.; Arifin, R. R.; Craig, P. M.; Hamlet, A. F.

2017-12-01

Seasonal temperature variations establish strong vertical density gradients (thermoclines) between the epilimnion and hypolimnion. Accurate simulation of vertical mixing and seasonal stratification of large lakes is a crucial element of the thermodynamic coupling between lakes and the atmosphere in integrated models. Time-varying thermal stratification patterns can be accurately simulated with the versatile Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code (EFDC). Lake Ontario bathymetry was interpolated onto a 2-km-resolution curvilinear grid with vertical layering using a new approach in EFDC+, the so-called "sigma-zed" coordinate system which allows the number of vertical layers to be varied based on water depth. Inflow from the Niagara River and outflow to the St. Lawrence River in conjunction with hourly meteorological data from seven local weather stations plus three-hourly data from the North American Regional Reanalysis govern the hydrodynamic and thermodynamic responses of the Lake. EFDC+'s evaporation algorithm was updated to more accurately simulate net surface heat fluxes. A new vertical mixing scheme from Vinçon-Leite that implements different eddy diffusivity formulations above and below the thermocline was compared to results from the original Mellor-Yamada vertical mixing scheme. The model was calibrated by adjusting solar-radiation absorption coefficients in addition to background horizontal and vertical mixing parameters. Model skill was evaluated by comparing measured and simulated vertical temperature profiles at shallow (20 m) and deep (180 m) locations on the Lake. These model improvements, especially the new sigma-zed vertical discretization, accurately capture thermal-stratification patterns with low root-mean-squared errors when using the Vinçon-Leite vertical mixing scheme.

Diagnosing the leading mode of interdecadal covariability between the Indian Ocean sea surface temperature and summer precipitation in southern China

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jingpeng; Ren, Hong-Li; Li, Weijing; Zuo, Jinqing

2018-03-01

Precipitation in southern China during boreal summer (June to August) shows a substantial interdecadal variability on the timescale longer than 8 years. In this study, based on the analysis of singular value decomposition, we diagnose the leading mode of interdecadal covariability between the observational precipitation in southern China and the sea surface temperature (SST) in the Indian Ocean. Results indicate that there exist a remarkable southern China zonal dipole (SCZD) pattern of interdecadal variability of summer precipitation and an interdecadal Indian Ocean basin mode (ID-IOBM) of SST. It is found that the SCZD is evidently covaried with the ID-IOBM, which may induce anomalous inter-hemispheric vertical circulation and atmospheric Kelvin waves. During the warm phase of the ID-IOBM, an enhanced lower-level convergence and upper-level divergence exist over the tropical Indian Ocean, which is a typical Gill-Matsuno-type response to the SST warming. Meanwhile, the accompanied upper-level outflow anomalies further converge over the Indo-China peninsula, resulting in a lower-level anticyclone that contributes to reduction of the eastward moisture transport from the Bay of Bengal to the west part of southern China. In addition, the Kelvin wave-like pattern, as a response of the warm ID-IOBM phase, further induces the lower-level anticyclonic anomaly over the South China Sea-Philippines. Such an anticyclonic circulation is favorable for more water vapor transport from the East China Sea into the east part of southern China. Therefore, the joint effects of the anomalous inter-hemispheric vertical circulation and the Kelvin wave-like pattern associated with the ID-IOBM may eventually play a key role in generating the SCZD pattern.

Sustaining soil productivity by integrated plant nutrient management in wheat based cropping system under rainfed conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dilshad, M.; Lone, M.I.

2011-01-01

The study of the use of organic (FYM) and inorganic (NPK) nutrient sources with bio fertiliser on wheat-fallow and wheat-maize cropping system under rainfed environment revealed significant increase in bio metric parameters of wheat during winter and summer seasons of two years. During both the seasons, application of half NPK + half FYM + Bio power (brand) produced the highest grain yield (3684 kg/ha) and (3781 kg/ha) of wheat with the maximum N uptake of 357 kg/ha, P uptake of 51 kg/ha and K uptake of 215 kg/ha. Wheat-maize cropping system was found to be profitable economically with integrated use of mineral and organic and/or Bio power under rainfed conditions of Pakistan. (author)

Vertical stability, high elongation, and the consequences of loss of vertical control on DIII-D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kellman, A.G.; Ferron, J.R.; Jensen, T.H.; Lao, L.L.; Luxon, J.L.; Skinner, D.G.; Strait, E.J.; Reis, E.; Taylor, T.S.; Turnbull, A.D.; Lazarus, E.A.; Lister, J.B.

1990-09-01

Recent modifications to the vertical control system for DIII-D has enabled operation of discharges with vertical elongation κ, up to 2.5. When vertical stability is lost, a disruption follows and a large vertical force on the vacuum vessel is observed. The loss of plasma energy begins when the edge safety factor q is 2 but the current decay does not begin until q ∼1.3. Current flow on the open field lines in the plasma scrapeoff layer has been measured and the magnitude and distribution of these currents can explain the observed force on the vessel. Equilibrium calculations and simulation of this vertical displacement episode are presented. 7 refs., 4 figs

Global Vertical Reference Frame

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Burša, Milan; Kenyon, S.; Kouba, J.; Šíma, Zdislav; Vatrt, V.; Vojtíšková, M.

2004-01-01

Roč. 33, - (2004), s. 404-407 ISSN 1436-3445 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1003909 Keywords : geopotential WO * vertical systems * global vertical frame Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics

Differences in egg nutrient availability, development, and nutrient metabolism of broiler and layer embryos

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nangsuay, A.; Molenaar, R.; Meijerhof, R.; Anker, van den I.; Heetkamp, M.J.W.; Kemp, B.; Brand, van den H.

2015-01-01

Selection for production traits of broilers and layers leads to physiological differences, which may already be present during incubation. This study aimed to investigate the influence of strain (broiler vs layer) on egg nutrient availability, embryonic development and nutrient metabolism. A total

Arctic summer school onboard an icebreaker

Science.gov (United States)

Alexeev, Vladimir A.; Repina, Irina A.

2014-05-01

The International Arctic Research Center (IARC) of the University of Alaska Fairbanks conducted a summer school for PhD students, post-docs and early career scientists in August-September 2013, jointly with an arctic expedition as a part of NABOS project (Nansen and Amundsen Basin Observational System) onboard the Russian research vessel "Akademik Fedorov". Both the summer school and NABOS expedition were funded by the National Science Foundation. The one-month long summer school brought together graduate students and young scientists with specialists in arctic oceanography and climate to convey to a new generation of scientists the opportunities and challenges of arctic climate observations and modeling. Young scientists gained hands-on experience during the field campaign and learned about key issues in arctic climate from observational, diagnostic, and modeling perspectives. The summer school consisted of background lectures, participation in fieldwork and mini-projects. The mini-projects were performed in collaboration with summer school instructors and members of the expedition. Key topics covered in the lectures included: - arctic climate: key characteristics and processes; - physical processes in the Arctic Ocean; - sea ice and the Arctic Ocean; - trace gases, aerosols, and chemistry: importance for climate changes; - feedbacks in the arctic system (e.g., surface albedo, clouds, water vapor, circulation); - arctic climate variations: past, ongoing, and projected; - global climate models: an overview. An outreach specialist from the Miami Science Museum was writing a blog from the icebreaker with some very impressive statistics (results as of January 1, 2014): Total number of blog posts: 176 Blog posts written/contributed by scientists: 42 Blog views: 22,684 Comments: 1,215 Number of countries who viewed the blog: 89 (on 6 continents) The 33-day long NABOS expedition started on August 22, 2013 from Kirkenes, Norway. The vessel ("Akademik Fedorov") returned to

Episodic Salinization of Urban Rivers: Potential Impacts on Carbon, Cation, and Nutrient Fluxes

Science.gov (United States)

Haq, S.; Kaushal, S.

2017-12-01

Human dominated watersheds are subjected to an array of salt inputs (e.g. road salts), and in urban areas, infrastructure and impervious surfaces quickly drain applied road salts into the river channel. As a result, many streams experience episodic salinization over the course of hours to days following a snow event (e.g. road salt pulse), and long-term salinization over the course of seasons to decades. Salinization of streams can release contaminants (e.g. heavy metals), reduce biodiversity, and degrade drinking water quality. We investigated the water quality effects of episodic salinization in urban streams. Sediment and streamwater were incubated from twelve sites in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area under a range of sodium chloride treatments in a lab environment to mimic a vertical stream column with a sediment-water interface undergoing episodic salinization, and to characterize relationships between experimental salinization and nutrient/cation fluxes. Eight sites (Baltimore) exhibit a land use gradient and are routinely monitored within the Baltimore Ecosystem Study LTER project, and four sites (Washington DC) are suburban and offer a contrasting lithology and physiographic province. Our research suggests that salinization can mobilize total dissolved nitrogen, soluble reactive phosphorous, and base cations; potentially due to coupled biotic-abiotic processes, such as ion exchange, rapid nitrification, pH changes, and chloride-organic matter dispersal. The impact of salinization on dissolved inorganic and organic carbon varied between sites, potentially due to sediment composition, organic matter content, and ambient water quality. We contrasted the experimental results with measurements of salinization (specific conductance) and nutrients (nitrate) from real-time sensors operated by the US Geological Survey that encompass the same watersheds as our experimental sites. Sensor data was analyzed to provide insight on the timescales of salinity-nutrient

Salt appetite is not increased in summer heat.

Science.gov (United States)

Leshem, Micah

2017-01-01

We tested the hypothesis that salt appetite increases in summer heat due to increased sodium loss due to increased drinking and perspiration. A test battery in the same sample of healthy young people tested in summer and winter revealed no seasonal differences in salt appetite (or fluid intake) despite a 10 °C rise in mean environmental temperature. Unexpectedly, sweet preference is reduced in summer. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nutrient uptake dynamics across a gradient of nutrient concentrations and ratios at the landscape scale

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, Catherine A.; O'Reilly, Catherine M.; Conine, Andrea L.; Lipshutz, Sondra M.

2015-02-01

Understanding interactions between nutrient cycles is essential for recognizing and remediating human impacts on water quality, yet multielemental approaches to studying nutrient cycling in streams are currently rare. Here we utilized a relatively new approach (tracer additions for spiraling curve characterization) to examine uptake dynamics for three essential nutrients across a landscape that varied in absolute and relative nutrient availability. We measured nutrient uptake for soluble reactive phosphorous, ammonium-nitrogen, and nitrate-nitrogen in 16 headwater streams in the Catskill Mountains, New York. Across the landscape, ammonium-nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphorus had shorter uptake lengths and higher uptake velocities than nitrate-nitrogen. Ammonium-nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphorus uptake velocities were tightly correlated, and the slope of the relationship did not differ from one, suggesting strong demand for both nutrients despite the high ambient water column dissolved inorganic nitrogen: soluble reactive phosphorus ratios. Ammonium-nitrogen appeared to be the preferred form of nitrogen despite much higher nitrate-nitrogen concentrations. The uptake rate of nitrate-nitrogen was positively correlated with ambient soluble reactive phosphorus concentration and soluble reactive phosphorus areal uptake rate, suggesting that higher soluble reactive phosphorus concentrations alleviate phosphorus limitation and facilitate nitrate-nitrogen uptake. In addition, these streams retained a large proportion of soluble reactive phosphorus, ammonium-nitrogen, and nitrate-nitrogen supplied by the watershed, demonstrating that these streams are important landscape filters for nutrients. Together, these results (1) indicated phosphorus limitation across the landscape but similarly high demand for ammonium-nitrogen and (2) suggested that nitrate-nitrogen uptake was influenced by variability in soluble reactive phosphorus availability and preference for

Interdecadal variations of East Asian summer monsoon northward propagation and influences on summer precipitation over East China

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Z.; Yang, S.; He, J.; Li, J.; Liang, J.

2008-08-01

The interdecadal variation of northward propagation of the East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) and summer precipitation in East China have been investigated using daily surface rainfall from a dense rain gauge network in China for 1957 2001, National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis, European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) reanalysis, and Global Mean Sea Level Pressure Dataset (GMSLP2) from Climatic Research Unit (CRU). Results in general show a consistent agreement on the interdecadal variability of EASM northward propagations. However, it appears that the interdecadal variation is stronger in NCEP than in ECMWF and CRU datasets. A newly defined normalized precipitation index (NPI), a 5-day running mean rainfall normalized with its standard deviation, clearly depicts the characteristics of summer rainbelt activities in East China in terms of jumps and durations during its northward propagations. The EASM northward propagation shows a prominent interdecadal variation. EASM before late 1970s had a rapid northward advance and a northern edge beyond its normal position. As a result, more summer rainfall occurred for the North China rainy season, Huaihe-River Mei-Yu, and South China Mei-Yu. In contrast, EASM after late 1970s had a slow northward movement and a northern edge located south of its normal position. Less summer precipitation occurred in East China except in Yangtze River basin. The EASM northernmost position (ENP), northernmost intensity (ENI), and EASM have a complex and good relationship at interdecadal timescales. They have significant influences on interdecadal variation of the large-scale precipitation anomalies in East China.

Retrieving Vertical Air Motion and Raindrop Size Distributions from Vertically Pointing Doppler Radars

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, C. R.; Chandra, C. V.

2017-12-01

The vertical evolution of falling raindrops is a result of evaporation, breakup, and coalescence acting upon those raindrops. Computing these processes using vertically pointing radar observations is a two-step process. First, the raindrop size distribution (DSD) and vertical air motion need to be estimated throughout the rain shaft. Then, the changes in DSD properties need to be quantified as a function of height. The change in liquid water content is a measure of evaporation, and the change in raindrop number concentration and size are indicators of net breakup or coalescence in the vertical column. The DSD and air motion can be retrieved using observations from two vertically pointing radars operating side-by-side and at two different wavelengths. While both radars are observing the same raindrop distribution, they measure different reflectivity and radial velocities due to Rayleigh and Mie scattering properties. As long as raindrops with diameters greater than approximately 2 mm are in the radar pulse volumes, the Rayleigh and Mie scattering signatures are unique enough to estimate DSD parameters using radars operating at 3- and 35-GHz (Williams et al. 2016). Vertical decomposition diagrams (Williams 2016) are used to explore the processes acting on the raindrops. Specifically, changes in liquid water content with height quantify evaporation or accretion. When the raindrops are not evaporating, net raindrop breakup and coalescence are identified by changes in the total number of raindrops and changes in the DSD effective shape as the raindrops. This presentation will focus on describing the DSD and air motion retrieval method using vertical profiling radar observations from the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) central facility in Northern Oklahoma.

Combination of Micro nutrients for Bone (COMB) Study: Bone Density after Micro nutrient Intervention

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Genuis, S.J.; Bouchard, Th.P.

2012-01-01

Along with other investigations, patients presenting to an environmental health clinic with various chronic conditions were assessed for bone health status. Individuals with compromised bone strength were educated about skeletal health issues and provided with therapeutic options for potential amelioration of their bone health. Patients who declined pharmacotherapy or who previously experienced failure of drug treatment were offered other options including supplemental micro nutrients identified in the medical literature as sometimes having a positive impact on bone mineral density (BMD). After 12 months of consecutive supplemental micro nutrient therapy with a combination that included vitamin D3, vitamin K2, strontium, magnesium and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), repeat bone densitometry was performed. The results were analyzed in a group of compliant patients and demonstrate improved BMD in patients classified with normal, osteopenic and osteoporotic bone density. According to the results, this combined micro nutrient supplementation regimen appears to be at least as effective as bis phosphonates or strontium ranelate in raising BMD levels in hip, spine, and femoral neck sites. No fractures occurred in the group taking the micro nutrient protocol. This micro nutrient regimen also appears to show efficacy in individuals where bis phosphonate therapy was previously unsuccessful in maintaining or raising BMD. Prospective clinical trials are required to confirm efficacy

2003 SOLAS Summer School

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

McGillis, Wade R

2003-01-01

In 2003, the United States provided support for the participation of 18 students, three research assistants, and seven lecturers in the first Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) Summer School...

Winter/Summer Monsoon Experiment

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Winter/Summer Monsoon Experiment (MONEX) was conducted during the First Global GARP (Global Atmospheric Research Program) Experiment (FGGE). An international...

S'Cool LAB Summer CAMP 2017

CERN Multimedia

Woithe, Julia

2017-01-01

The S’Cool LAB Summer CAMP is an opportunity for high-school students (aged 16-19) from all around the world to spend 2 weeks exploring the fascinating world of particle physics. The 24 selected participants spend their summer at S’Cool LAB, CERN’s hands-on particle physics learning laboratory, for an epic programme of lectures and tutorials, team research projects, visits of CERN’s research installations, and social activities.

Trade Liberalisation and Vertical Integration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bache, Peter Arendorf; Laugesen, Anders

We build a three-country model of international trade in final goods and intermediate inputs and study the relation between different types of trade liberalisation and vertical integration. Firms are heterogeneous with respect to both productivity and factor intensity as observed in data. Final......-good producers face decisions on exporting, vertical integration of intermediate-input production, and whether the intermediate-input production should be offshored to a low-wage country. We find that the fractions of final-good producers that pursue either vertical integration, offshoring, or exporting are all...... increasing when intermediate-input or final-goods trade is liberalised and when the fixed cost of vertical integration is reduced. At the same time, one observes firms that shift away from either vertical integration, offshoring, or exporting. Further, we provide guidance for testing the open...

Summer of history

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Burman, Jeremy Trevelyan

2017-01-01

This summer, the University of Groningen will host three events—yes, three—that will be of special interest to the historically- and theoretically-inclined. The meeting of the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science (HOPOS) will be held on July 9-12, a workshop exploring the

Directional and Spectral Irradiance in Ocean Models: Effects on Simulated Global Phytoplankton, Nutrients, and Primary Production

Science.gov (United States)

Gregg, Watson W.; Rousseaux, Cecile S.

2016-01-01

The importance of including directional and spectral light in simulations of ocean radiative transfer was investigated using a coupled biogeochemical-circulation-radiative model of the global oceans. The effort focused on phytoplankton abundances, nutrient concentrations and vertically-integrated net primary production. The importance was approached by sequentially removing directional (i.e., direct vs. diffuse) and spectral irradiance and comparing results of the above variables to a fully directionally and spectrally-resolved model. In each case the total irradiance was kept constant; it was only the pathways and spectral nature that were changed. Assuming all irradiance was diffuse had negligible effect on global ocean primary production. Global nitrate and total chlorophyll concentrations declined by about 20% each. The largest changes occurred in the tropics and sub-tropics rather than the high latitudes, where most of the irradiance is already diffuse. Disregarding spectral irradiance had effects that depended upon the choice of attenuation wavelength. The wavelength closest to the spectrally-resolved model, 500 nm, produced lower nitrate (19%) and chlorophyll (8%) and higher primary production (2%) than the spectral model. Phytoplankton relative abundances were very sensitive to the choice of non-spectral wavelength transmittance. The combined effects of neglecting both directional and spectral irradiance exacerbated the differences, despite using attenuation at 500 nm. Global nitrate decreased 33% and chlorophyll decreased 24%. Changes in phytoplankton community structure were considerable, representing a change from chlorophytes to cyanobacteria and coccolithophores. This suggested a shift in community function, from light-limitation to nutrient limitation: lower demands for nutrients from cyanobacteria and coccolithophores favored them over the more nutrient-demanding chlorophytes. Although diatoms have the highest nutrient demands in the model, their

A SWOT Analysis for Organizing a Summer School: Case Study for Advanced Summer School in Analyzing Market Data 2013

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radu Herman

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The economics scholars agree that investment in education is a competitive advantage. After participating and graduating the “Advanced Summer School in Analyzing Market Data 2013”, the students will gain some formal competences is applied knowledge in Statistics with the IBM SPSS Statistics software. Studies show that the employers seek also practical competences in the undergraduate students, along with the theoretical knowledge. The article focuses on a SWOT analysis for organizing a Summer School in order to compose lists of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The purpose of the “Advanced Summer School in Analyzing Market Data 2013“ is to train undergraduate students from social-human sciences to gain competences which are valued in the market and a certificate for attendance, to develop an appropriate training program which combines applied knowledge, statistics and IBM SPSS software and to create a „Summer School quality brand” with high-quality training programs for the Faculty of Administration and Business.

Remoción de nutrientes por cebada en seis suelos de Cundinamarca y Boyacá - Colombia Nutrient uptake by barley in six Colombian soils

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amézquita Edgar

1993-12-01

Full Text Available

En Colombia la producción de cereales como la cebada está restringida por variados factores entre los que destacan lluvias irregulares, heladas, acidez del suelo, infertilidad y enfermedades, inadecuado manejo del suelo, además de escaso germoplasma adaptado. Una alternativa para enfrentar parte del problema está en la selección de líneas en diferentes terrenos, tendiente a desarrollar variedades adaptables aún a suelos de baja productividad. Para llegar a una apropiada recomendación a los agricultores se consideró la cantidad de nutrientes removidos por las plantas en madurez fisiológica. La cebada comercial 124 mostró preferencias por suelos de moderada fertilidad pero tuvo una relativa menor eficiencia en la conversión de nutrientes a grano frente al trigo Bonza. Sus requerimientos nutricionales para alcanzar rendimientos cercanos a 2.5 t/ha sin riego se definieron así: Macronutrientes (kg/ha: 30N, 8P, 45K, 8Ca, 2.5 Mg; Micronutrientes (g/ha: 140 Mn, 40 Zn, 24 Cu, 340 Fe. La más alta eficiencia nutricional para varias líneas promisorias de cebada sembradas en terrenos ondulados se dió en el suelo más productivo pero arcilloso (Vertic Tropudalf, una respuesta intermedia se halló en uno humífero ácido poco profundo (Paralithic Humitropept y una muy baja eficiencia se reportó en el de menos retención de humedad e infértil (Ustic Dystropept. Se seleccionaron dos líneas con baja adaptación a los tres terrenos mencionados, una rindió bien en el ambiente más difícil, y tres líneas exhibieron alta adaptación a todos los terrenos escogidos.

In Colombia, the increase of barley production is restricted by such factors as irregular rainfall, low temperatures, soil acidity, low fertility and disease, associated with improper soil management and scarse improve germoplasm, A suitable use of fertilizers is an alternative to face part of the problem by means of plant breeding in different terrain, tend to develop of low

The nitrate leached below maize root zone is available for deep-rooted wheat in winter wheat-summer maize rotation in the North China Plain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou Shunli [Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Farming System, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, 2 West Yuanmingyuan Road, Beijing 100094 (China)], E-mail: zhoushl@cau.edu.cn; Wu Yongcheng [Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Farming System, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, 2 West Yuanmingyuan Road, Beijing 100094 (China); College of Agronomy, Si Chuan Agricultural University, Yaan 625014 (China); Wang Zhimin [Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Farming System, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, 2 West Yuanmingyuan Road, Beijing 100094 (China); Lu Laiqing; Wang Runzheng [Wuqiao Experimental Station, China Agricultural University, Hebei 061802 (China)

2008-04-15

In winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-summer maize (Zea mays L.) rotation system in the North China Plain, maize roots do not extend beyond 1.2 m in the vertical soil profile, but wheat roots can reach up to 2.0 m. Increases in soil nitrate content at maize harvest and significant reductions after winter wheat harvest were observed in the 1.4-2.0 m depth under field conditions. The recovery of {sup 15}N isotope (calcium nitrate) from various (1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 m) soil depths showed that deep-rooting winter wheat could use soil nitrate up to the 2.0 m depth. This accounted partially, for the reduced nitrate in the 1.4-2.0 m depth of the soil after harvest of wheat in the rotation system. - Deep-rooted wheat can recycle nitrate leached from maize root zone in winter wheat-summer maize rotation system.

The nitrate leached below maize root zone is available for deep-rooted wheat in winter wheat-summer maize rotation in the North China Plain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Shunli; Wu Yongcheng; Wang Zhimin; Lu Laiqing; Wang Runzheng

2008-01-01

In winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-summer maize (Zea mays L.) rotation system in the North China Plain, maize roots do not extend beyond 1.2 m in the vertical soil profile, but wheat roots can reach up to 2.0 m. Increases in soil nitrate content at maize harvest and significant reductions after winter wheat harvest were observed in the 1.4-2.0 m depth under field conditions. The recovery of 15 N isotope (calcium nitrate) from various (1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 m) soil depths showed that deep-rooting winter wheat could use soil nitrate up to the 2.0 m depth. This accounted partially, for the reduced nitrate in the 1.4-2.0 m depth of the soil after harvest of wheat in the rotation system. - Deep-rooted wheat can recycle nitrate leached from maize root zone in winter wheat-summer maize rotation system

Risky Drinking Can Put a Chill on Your Summer Fun

Science.gov (United States)

... on Your Summer Fun Print version Risky Drinking Can Put a Chill on Your Summer Fun Summer ... adults involve the use of alcohol. 1 Swimmers can get in over their heads. Alcohol impairs judgment ...

Center for Computing Research Summer Research Proceedings 2015.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bradley, Andrew Michael [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Parks, Michael L. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-12-18

The Center for Computing Research (CCR) at Sandia National Laboratories organizes a summer student program each summer, in coordination with the Computer Science Research Institute (CSRI) and Cyber Engineering Research Institute (CERI).

Multifaceted intra-seasonal modes over the East Asia-western North Pacific summer monsoon region

Science.gov (United States)

Ha, K. J.; Oh, H.

2017-12-01

Intra-seasonal monsoon prediction is the most imperative task due to high impact on 2/3 of world populations' daily life, but there remains an enduring challenge in climate science. The present study aims to provide a physical understanding of the sources for prediction of dominant intra-seasonal modes in the East Asian-western North Pacific summer monsoon (EA-WNPSM): preMeiyu&Baiu, Changma&Meiyu, WNPSM, and monsoon gyre modes classified by the self-organizing map analysis. The preMeiyu-Baiu mode is strongly linked to both the anomalous low-level convergence and vertical wind shear through baroclinic instability, and the Changma&Meiyu mode has a strengthened tropic-subtropics connection along the western north Pacific subtropical high, which induces vertical destabilization and strong convective instability. The WNPSM and monsoon gyre modes are characterized by anomalous southeasterly flow of warm and moist air from western north Pacific monsoon, and low-level easterly flow, respectively. Prominent difference in response to the ENSO leads to different effects of the Indian Ocean and western Pacific thermal state, and consequently, the distinct moisture supply and instability variations for the EASM intra-seasonal modes. We attempt to determine the predictability sources for the four modes in the EA-WNPSM using physical-empirical model. The selected predictors are based on the persistent and tendency signals of the SST/2m air temperature and sea level pressure fields, which reflect the asymmetric response to the ENSO and the ocean and land surface anomalous conditions. For the preMeiyu&Baiu mode, the SST cooling tendency over the WNP, which persists into summer, is the distinguishing contributor which is causative of north-south thermal contrast. Since the Changma&Meiyu mode is strongly related to the WNP subtropical high, a major precursor is the persistent SST difference between the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific. The WNPSM mode is mostly affected by the

Summer Camp of Mathematical Modeling in China

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Xiaoxi; Xie, Jinxing

2013-01-01

The Summer Camp of Mathematical Modeling in China is a recently created experience designed to further Chinese students' academic pursuits in mathematical modeling. Students are given more than three months to research on a mathematical modeling project. Researchers and teams with outstanding projects are invited to the Summer Camp to present…

Effects of Pesticide Treatments on Nutrient Levels in Worker Honey Bees (Apis mellifera

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haley K. Feazel-Orr

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Honey bee colony loss continues to be an issue and no factor has been singled out as to the cause. In this study, we sought to determine whether two beekeeper-applied pesticide products, tau-fluvalinate and Fumagilin-B®, and one agrochemical, chlorothalonil, impact the nutrient levels in honey bee workers in a natural colony environment. Treatments were performed in-hive and at three different periods (fall, spring, and summer over the course of one year. Bees were sampled both at pre-treatment and two and four weeks post-treatment, weighed, and their protein and carbohydrate levels were determined using BCA and anthrone based biochemical assays, respectively. We report that, based on the pesticide concentrations tested, no significant negative impact of the pesticide products was observed on wet weight, protein levels, or carbohydrate levels of bees from treated colonies compared with bees from untreated control colonies.

Nutrient Shielding in Clusters of Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Lavrentovich, Maxim O.; Koschwanez, John H.; Nelson, David R.

2014-01-01

Cellular nutrient consumption is influenced by both the nutrient uptake kinetics of an individual cell and the cells’ spatial arrangement. Large cell clusters or colonies have inhibited growth at the cluster's center due to the shielding of nutrients by the cells closer to the surface. We develop an effective medium theory that predicts a thickness ℓ of the outer shell of cells in the cluster that receives enough nutrient to grow. The cells are treated as partially absorbing identical spherical nutrient sinks, and we identify a dimensionless parameter ν that characterizes the absorption strength of each cell. The parameter ν can vary over many orders of magnitude between different cell types, ranging from bacteria and yeast to human tissue. The thickness ℓ decreases with increasing ν, increasing cell volume fraction ϕ, and decreasing ambient nutrient concentration ψ∞. The theoretical results are compared with numerical simulations and experiments. In the latter studies, colonies of budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, are grown on glucose media and imaged under a confocal microscope. We measure the growth inside the colonies via a fluorescent protein reporter and compare the experimental and theoretical results for the thickness ℓ. PMID:23848711

Improving crop nutrient efficiency through root architecture modifications.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xinxin; Zeng, Rensen; Liao, Hong

2016-03-01

Improving crop nutrient efficiency becomes an essential consideration for environmentally friendly and sustainable agriculture. Plant growth and development is dependent on 17 essential nutrient elements, among them, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are the two most important mineral nutrients. Hence it is not surprising that low N and/or low P availability in soils severely constrains crop growth and productivity, and thereby have become high priority targets for improving nutrient efficiency in crops. Root exploration largely determines the ability of plants to acquire mineral nutrients from soils. Therefore, root architecture, the 3-dimensional configuration of the plant's root system in the soil, is of great importance for improving crop nutrient efficiency. Furthermore, the symbiotic associations between host plants and arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi/rhizobial bacteria, are additional important strategies to enhance nutrient acquisition. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in the current understanding of crop species control of root architecture alterations in response to nutrient availability and root/microbe symbioses, through gene or QTL regulation, which results in enhanced nutrient acquisition. © 2015 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Seasonal phytoplankton blooms in the Gulf of Aden revealed by remote sensing

KAUST Repository

Gittings, John

2016-11-25

The Gulf of Aden, situated in the northwest Arabian Sea and linked to the Red Sea, is a relatively unexplored ecosystem. Understanding of large-scale biological dynamics is limited by the lack of adequate datasets. In this study, we analyse 15 years of remotely-sensed chlorophyll-a data (Chl-a, an index of phytoplankton biomass) acquired from the Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI) of the European Space Agency (ESA). The improved spatial coverage of OC-CCI data in the Gulf of Aden allows, for the first time, an investigation into the full seasonal succession of phytoplankton biomass. Analysis of indices of phytoplankton phenology (bloom timing) reveals distinct phytoplankton growth periods in different parts of the gulf: a large peak during August (mid-summer) in the western part of the gulf, and a smaller peak during November (mid-autumn) in the lower central gulf and along the southern coastline. The summer bloom develops rapidly at the beginning of July, and its peak is approximately three times higher than that of the autumnal bloom. Remotely-sensed sea-surface temperature (SST), wind-stress curl, vertical nutrient profiles and geostrophic currents inferred from the sea-level anomaly, were analysed to examine the underlying physical mechanisms that control phytoplankton growth. During summer, the prevailing southwesterlies cause upwelling along the northern coastline of the gulf (Yemen), leading to an increase in nutrient availability and enhancing phytoplankton growth along the coastline and in the western part of the gulf. In contrast, in the central region of the gulf, lowest concentrations of Chl-a are observed during summer, due to strong downwelling caused by a mesoscale anticyclonic eddy. During autumn, the prevailing northeasterlies enable upwelling along the southern coastline (Somalia) causing local nutrient enrichment in the euphotic zone, leading to higher levels of phytoplankton biomass along the coastline and in the lower central gulf

Super Summer Safari Manual: 1989 Summer Library Program. Bulletin No. 9240.

Science.gov (United States)

Roeber, Jane A., Ed.

Based on the theme, "Super Summer Safari: Make Books Your Big Game," this manual describes library activities intended to stimulate family explorations of local and regional natural environments, of urban parks, and of agricultural settings. The manual is divided into 6 sections: (1) "Planning and Promoting Programs"; (2)…

22 CFR 62.32 - Summer work travel.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

...-secondary students the opportunity to work and travel in the United States for a four month period during... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Summer work travel. 62.32 Section 62.32 Foreign... Provisions § 62.32 Summer work travel. (a) Introduction. These regulations govern program participation in...

Seasonal nutrient dynamics and biomass quality of giant reed (Arundo donax L. and miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus Greef et Deuter as energy crops

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicoletta Nassi o Di Nasso

2011-08-01

Full Text Available The importance of energy crops in displacing fossil fuels within the energy sector in Europe is growing. Among energy crops, the use of perennial rhizomatous grasses (PRGs seems promising owing to their high productivity and their nutrient recycling that occurs during senescence. In particular, nutrient requirements and biomass quality have a fundamental relevance to biomass systems efficiency. The objective of our study was to compare giant reed (Arundo donax L. and miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus Greef et Deuter in terms of nutrient requirements and cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin content. This aim was to identify, in the Mediterranean environment, the optimal harvest time that may combine, beside a high biomass yield, high nutrient use efficiency and a good biomass quality for second generation biofuel production. The research was carried out in 2009, in San Piero a Grado, Pisa (Central Italy; latitude 43°41’ N, longitude 10°21’ E, on seven-year-old crops in a loam soil characterised by good water availability. Maximum above-ground nutrient contents were generally found in summer. Subsequently, a decrease was recorded; this suggested a nutrient remobilisation from above-ground biomass to rhizomes. In addition, miscanthus showed the highest N, P, and K use efficiency, probably related to its higher yield and its C4 pathway. Regarding biomass quality, stable values of cellulose (38%, hemicelluloses (25% and lignin (8% were reported from July onwards in both crops. Hence, these components appear not to be discriminative parameters in the choice of the harvest time in the Mediterranean environment. In conclusion, our results highlighted that, in our environment, a broad harvest period (from late autumn to winter seems suitable for these PRGs. However, further research is required to evaluate the role of rhizomes in nutrient storage and supply during the growing season, as well as ecological and productive performances in marginal

Low among-provenance differences in structural and functional plasticity in response to nutrients in saplings of the circum-Mediterranean tree Arbutus unedo L.

Science.gov (United States)

Santiso, Xabier; Retuerto, Rubén

2015-10-01

The Mediterranean region is an area of special interest for conservation where the incidence of multiple drivers of global change is expected to increase. One of the factors predicted to change is soil-nutrient availability, an essential factor for plant growth. Thus, study of the effects of variation in this parameter is especially relevant in species with a circum-Mediterranean distribution, such as Arbutus unedo L., in which the different provenances grow in different habitats, which must differ in nutritional conditions. We aimed to determine the effect of provenance on plasticity, to establish whether structural and morphological traits differ in the level of plasticity and to assess how nutrients affect the photosynthetic light response. In a common garden experiment, we studied seven provenances from the circum-Mediterranean range of A. unedo and established two nutrient treatments (low and high nutrient availability). We measured physiological and structural traits in 1-year-old sapling and determined a phenotypic plasticity index (PPI) to quantify the level of plasticity, whereas the radiation effects were tested by construction and analysis of light response curves. Interestingly, provenance did not explain a significant amount of variance, but the plasticity was four times higher for the structural traits than for the physiological traits. Therefore, the plasticity to nutrient availability will not favour or prevent the expansion or contraction of the range of any of these provenances of A. unedo. Furthermore, the structural plasticity demonstrated the ability of the strawberry tree to optimize resource allocation, whereas the physiology remained stable, thus avoiding extra expenditure. The study findings also suggest that increased availability of nutrients would improve the performance of the species during the Mediterranean summer, characterized by high irradiance. These abilities will be key to the survival of saplings of the species under the future

Nutrient management in substrate systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sonneveld, C.; Voogt, W.

2009-01-01

Speaking about nutrient solutions in soilless cultivation, different solutions can be discerned. Originally, in soilless culture only one nutrient solution was taken into account, being the solution in the containers in which the plants were grown. Such solutions were intensively moved by air

Human and riverine impacts on the dynamics of seawater nutrient and carbon parameters in Kwangyang Bay, South Korea

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Tae-Wook; Kim, Dongseon; Baek, Seung Ho; Kim, Young Ok

2015-04-01

We investigated seawater nutrient and carbon parameters in Kwangyang Bay, South Korea, which has been exposed to significant human influences, in each core month of four seasons for between 2010 and 2012. The survey data were analyzed using multivariate statistics analysis (cluster and factor analysis). As a result, we found that the Seomjin River (the fifth largest river in South Korea) and biological activity, including phytoplankton photosynthesis and bacterial decomposition, were the main factors determining the overall water quality of the bay. However, the impacts of these factors varied both spatially and seasonally, because the factors were linked with the geographical environments and seasonal variations in freshwater discharge. In particular, the Seomjin River was primarily responsible for nitrate, silicate, total alkalinity, and dissolved inorganic carbon, and exhibited a significant impact in the summer. During the past 10 years, nutrient loads from the river and industrial complexes to the bay have decreased. The impacts of this decrease are visible in the phosphate concentration, which has fallen to a third of its initial value. We also examined the potential role of atmospheric nitrogen deposition in nitrogen cycling in the study area.

Characteristics of Hailstorm over Northern Thailand during Summer Season

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pakdee Chantraket

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This study focused on the potential parameters, as a result of the upper-air sounding with radiosonde and of the dual polarization radar for detecting hailstorms. The data were collected during the 2012 summer consisting of 12 hail and 1129 no-hail rainstorms of seven studied dates from April to May, 2012. They were analyzed to discern the character of hail and use them as data for detecting hail echoes and for severe weather forecast in upper Thailand. On the day of hail, the instability indices were high enough to contribute to its formation. The following indices include Lifted Index (LI, Showalter Index (SI and Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE. LI and SI displayed the marginally instability ranged -1 to -4. In the case of CAPE, it could reach the extreme instability (CAPE > 2500 J/kg and also came with the large updraft speed. TITAN software (Thunderstorm Identification, Tracking, Analysis and Nowcasting was also applied for comparing rainstorms with hailstorms. The significant seven echo characteristics included storm period, speed, mean-maximum reflectivity in the horizontal polarization (ZH, area, volume and mass. Based on the character and frequency distributions in summer, hailstorms had greater values of storm duration, area, volume, mass, speed and highest reflectivity than individual rainstorms. Besides, the mean reflectivity of the storms was a negligible factor to identify the type of storm.For the case study on hail by determining polarimetric radar measurement at S-band across Chiang Maun, Northern Thailand, radar signatures with EDGE software showed that the hail was detected 100% during its falling. It also presented as followings: Vertically integrated liquid (VIL exceeding 100 kg/m2, ZH over 60dBZ near the surface and ETOP greater than 17 km. Differential reflectivity (ZDR of rain-hail mixtures almost reached zero. In addition, the coincidental values of correlation coefficient (CC were ranged 0.988 and 0.996, and

Changes in atmospheric circulation between solar maximum and minimum conditions in winter and summer

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jae Nyung

2008-10-01

Statistically significant climate responses to the solar variability are found in Northern Annular Mode (NAM) and in the tropical circulation. This study is based on the statistical analysis of numerical simulations with ModelE version of the chemistry coupled Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) general circulation model (GCM) and National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis. The low frequency large scale variability of the winter and summer circulation is described by the NAM, the leading Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) of geopotential heights. The newly defined seasonal annular modes and its dynamical significance in the stratosphere and troposphere in the GISS ModelE is shown and compared with those in the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis. In the stratosphere, the summer NAM obtained from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis as well as from the ModelE simulations has the same sign throughout the northern hemisphere, but shows greater variability at low latitudes. The patterns in both analyses are consistent with the interpretation that low NAM conditions represent an enhancement of the seasonal difference between the summer and the annual averages of geopotential height, temperature and velocity distributions, while the reverse holds for high NAM conditions. Composite analysis of high and low NAM cases in both the model and observation suggests that the summer stratosphere is more "summer-like" when the solar activity is near a maximum. This means that the zonal easterly wind flow is stronger and the temperature is higher than normal. Thus increased irradiance favors a low summer NAM. A quantitative comparison of the anti-correlation between the NAM and the solar forcing is presented in the model and in the observation, both of which show lower/higher NAM index in solar maximum/minimum conditions. The summer NAM in the troposphere obtained from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis has a dipolar zonal structure with maximum

Nutrients Turned into Toxins: Microbiota Modulation of Nutrient Properties in Chronic Kidney Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez-Prado, Raul; Esteras, Raquel; Perez-Gomez, Maria Vanessa; Gracia-Iguacel, Carolina; Gonzalez-Parra, Emilio; Sanz, Ana B; Ortiz, Alberto; Sanchez-Niño, Maria Dolores

2017-05-12

In chronic kidney disease (CKD), accumulation of uremic toxins is associated with an increased risk of death. Some uremic toxins are ingested with the diet, such as phosphate and star fruit-derived caramboxin. Others result from nutrient processing by gut microbiota, yielding precursors of uremic toxins or uremic toxins themselves. These nutrients include l-carnitine, choline/phosphatidylcholine, tryptophan and tyrosine, which are also sold over-the-counter as nutritional supplements. Physicians and patients alike should be aware that, in CKD patients, the use of these supplements may lead to potentially toxic effects. Unfortunately, most patients with CKD are not aware of their condition. Some of the dietary components may modify the gut microbiota, increasing the number of bacteria that process them to yield uremic toxins, such as trimethylamine N-Oxide (TMAO), p-cresyl sulfate, indoxyl sulfate and indole-3 acetic acid. Circulating levels of nutrient-derived uremic toxins are associated to increased risk of death and cardiovascular disease and there is evidence that this association may be causal. Future developments may include maneuvers to modify gut processing or absorption of these nutrients or derivatives to improve CKD patient outcomes.

Vertical grid of retrieved atmospheric profiles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ceccherini, Simone; Carli, Bruno; Raspollini, Piera

2016-01-01

The choice of the vertical grid of atmospheric profiles retrieved from remote sensing observations is discussed considering the two cases of profiles used to represent the results of individual measurements and of profiles used for subsequent data fusion applications. An ozone measurement of the MIPAS instrument is used to assess, for different vertical grids, the quality of the retrieved profiles in terms of profile values, retrieval errors, vertical resolutions and number of degrees of freedom. In the case of individual retrievals no evident advantage is obtained with the use of a grid finer than the one with a reduced number of grid points, which are optimized according to the information content of the observations. Nevertheless, this instrument dependent vertical grid, which seems to extract all the available information, provides very poor results when used for data fusion applications. A loss of about a quarter of the degrees of freedom is observed when the data fusion is made using the instrument dependent vertical grid relative to the data fusion made using a vertical grid optimized for the data fusion product. This result is explained by the analysis of the eigenvalues of the Fisher information matrix and leads to the conclusion that different vertical grids must be adopted when data fusion is the expected application. - Highlights: • Data fusion application is taken into account for the choice of the vertical grid. • The study is performed using ozone profiles retrieved from MIPAS measurements. • A very fine vertical grid is not needed for the analysis of a single instrument. • The instrument dependent vertical grid is not the best choice for data fusion. • A data fusion dependent vertical grid must be used for profiles that will be fused.

Fisheries management under nutrient influence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hammarlund, Cecilia; Nielsen, Max; Waldo, Staffan

2018-01-01

A fisheries management model that identifies the economic optimal management of fisheries under the influence of nutrients is presented. The model starts from the idea that growth in fish biomass increases with increasing availability of nutrients owing to higher food availability up to a peak...

Nutrients requirements in biological industrial wastewater treatment ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In both these wastewaters nutrients were not added. A simple formula is introduced to calculate nutrient requirements based on removal efficiency and observed biomass yield coefficient. Key Words: Olive mill wastewater; anaerobic treatment; aerobic treatment; sequencing batch reactor; biomass yield; nutrient requirement.

The importance of the Summer Student Programme

CERN Multimedia

Laëtitia Pedroso

2010-01-01

As every year, the summer months see the arrival at CERN of summer students. Over a seven-week period beginning on the first Tuesday in June, students arrive at CERN for stays that will last from 8 to 13 weeks. This means that some of them are already coming to the end of their stay.   The 2010 Summer Students gathered in front of the Globe for the souvenir picture. For 2010, a total of almost 1 650 applications was received: 950 from students coming from Member States and 700 from other countries. Of these, 237 applications were accepted: 127 from the Member States,10  from the USA, 5 from Japan and 4 from Israel, and 91 from other countries. Each year, there are students from new countries, and this year CERN is welcoming students from the Philippines for the first time. “The number of applications has been growing steadily since the programme started in 1962,” reports Sharon Hobson, coordinator of the Summer Student Programme in the Recruitment Service. &ldqu...

The impact of biotic/abiotic interfaces in mineral nutrient cycling: A study of soils of the Santa Cruz chronosequence, California

Science.gov (United States)

White, A.F.; Schulz, M.S.; Vivit, D.V.; Bullen, T.D.; Fitzpatrick, J.

2012-01-01

Biotic/abiotic interactions between soil mineral nutrients and annual grassland vegetation are characterized for five soils in a marine terrace chronosequence near Santa Cruz, California. A Mediterranean climate, with wet winters and dry summers, controls the annual cycle of plant growth and litter decomposition, resulting in net above-ground productivities of 280-600gm -2yr -1. The biotic/abiotic (A/B) interface separates seasonally reversible nutrient gradients, reflecting biological cycling in the shallower soils, from downward chemical weathering gradients in the deeper soils. The A/B interface is pedologically defined by argillic clay horizons centered at soil depths of about one meter which intensify with soil age. Below these horizons, elevated solute Na/Ca, Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios reflect plagioclase and smectite weathering along pore water flow paths. Above the A/B interface, lower cation ratios denote temporal variability due to seasonal plant nutrient uptake and litter leaching. Potassium and Ca exhibit no seasonal variability beneath the A/B interface, indicating closed nutrient cycling within the root zone, whereas Mg variability below the A/B interface denotes downward leakage resulting from higher inputs of marine aerosols and lower plant nutrient requirements.The fraction of a mineral nutrient annually cycled through the plants, compared to that lost from pore water discharge, is defined their respective fluxes F j,plants=q j,plants/(q j,plants+q j,discharge) with average values for K and Ca (F K,plants=0.99; F Ca,plants=0.93) much higher than for Mg and Na (F Mg,plants 0.64; F Na,plants=0.28). The discrimination against Rb and Sr by plants is described by fractionation factors (K Sr/Ca=0.86; K Rb/K=0.83) which are used in Rayleigh fractionation-mixing calculations to fit seasonal patterns in solute K and Ca cycling. K Rb/K and K24Mg/22Mg values (derived from isotope data in the literature) fall within fractionation envelopes bounded by inputs from

Nutrient uptake and regeneration ratios in the Red sea with reference to the nutrient budgets

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Naqvi, S.W.A.; Hansen, H.P.; Kureishy, T.W.

the Red Se, however, appears to be rather uniform and the atomic ratios between carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in the biomass are deduced to be 188:21:1. Increased input of nutrients associated with subsurface inflow of nutrient-rich waters from the Gulf...

Treatment of high organic content wastewater from food-processing industry with the French vertical flow constructed wetland system.

Science.gov (United States)

Paing, J; Serdobbel, V; Welschbillig, M; Calvez, M; Gagnon, V; Chazarenc, F

2015-01-01

This study aimed at determining the treatment performances of a full-scale vertical flow constructed wetlands designed to treat wastewater from a food-processing industry (cookie factory), and to study the influence of the organic loading rate. The full-scale treatment plant was designed with a first vertical stage of 630 m², a second vertical stage of 473 m² equipped with a recirculation system and followed by a final horizontal stage of 440 m². The plant was commissioned in 2011, and was operated at different loading rates during 16 months for the purpose of this study. Treatment performances were determined by 24 hour composite samples. The mean concentration of the raw effluent was 8,548 mg.L(-1) chemical oxygen demand (COD), 4,334 mg.L(-1) biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), and 2,069 mg.L(-1) suspended solids (SS). Despite low nutrients content with a BOD5/N/P ratio of 100/1.8/0.5, lower than optimum for biological degradation (known as 100/5/1), mean removal performances were very high with 98% for COD, 99% for BOD5 and SS for the two vertical stages. The increasing of the organic load from 50 g.m(-2).d(-1) COD to 237 g.m(-2).d(-1) COD (on the first stage) did not affect removal performances. The mean quality of effluent reached French standards (COD < 125 mg.L(-1), BOD5 < 25 mg.L(-1), SS < 35 mg.L(-1)).

Effect of interannual variation in winter vertical mixing on CH4 dynamics in a subtropical reservoir

Science.gov (United States)

Itoh, Masayuki; Kobayashi, Yuki; Chen, Tzong-Yueh; Tokida, Takeshi; Fukui, Manabu; Kojima, Hisaya; Miki, Takeshi; Tayasu, Ichiro; Shiah, Fuh-Kwo; Okuda, Noboru

2015-07-01

Although freshwaters are considered to be substantial natural sources of atmospheric methane (CH4), in situ processes of CH4 production and consumption in freshwater ecosystems are poorly understood, especially in subtropical areas, leading to uncertainties in the estimation of global CH4 emissions. To improve our understanding of physical and biogeochemical factors affecting CH4 dynamics in subtropical lakes, we examined vertical and seasonal profiles of dissolved CH4 and its carbon isotope ratio (δ13C) and conducted incubation experiments to assess CH4 production and oxidation in the deep subtropical Fei-Tsui Reservoir (FTR; Taiwan). The mixing pattern of the FTR is essentially monomixis, but the intensity of winter vertical mixing changes with climatic conditions. In years with incomplete vertical mixing (does not reach the bottom) and subsequent strong thermal stratification resulting in profundal hypoxia, we observed increases in sedimentary CH4 production and thus profundal CH4 storage with the development of reducing conditions. In contrast, in years with strong winter vertical mixing to the bottom of the reservoir, CH4 production was suppressed under NO3--rich conditions, during which denitrifiers have the competitive advantage over methanogens. Diffusive emission from profundal CH4 storage appeared to be negligible due to the efficiency of CH4 oxidation during ascent through methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) activity. Most of the profundal CH4 was rapidly oxidized by MOB in both oxic and anoxic layers, as characterized by its carbon isotope signature. In contrast, aerobic CH4 production in the subsurface layer, which may be enhanced under high temperatures in summer, may account for a large portion of atmospheric CH4 emissions from this reservoir. Our CH4 profiling results provide valuable information for future studies predicting CH4 emissions from subtropical lakes with the progress of global warming.

Thresholds in the response of free-floating plant abundance to variation in hydraulic connectivity, nutrients, and macrophyte abundance in a large floodplain river

Science.gov (United States)

Giblin, Shawn M.; Houser, Jeffrey N.; Sullivan, John F.; Langrehr, H.A.; Rogala, James T.; Campbell, Benjamin D.

2014-01-01

Duckweed and other free-floating plants (FFP) can form dense surface mats that affect ecosystem condition and processes, and can impair public use of aquatic resources. FFP obtain their nutrients from the water column, and the formation of dense FFP mats can be a consequence and indicator of river eutrophication. We conducted two complementary surveys of diverse aquatic areas of the Upper Mississippi River as an in situ approach for estimating thresholds in the response of FFP abundance to nutrient concentration and physical conditions in a large, floodplain river. Local regression analysis was used to estimate thresholds in the relations between FFP abundance and phosphorus (P) concentration (0.167 mg l−1L), nitrogen (N) concentration (0.808 mg l−1), water velocity (0.095 m s−1), and aquatic macrophyte abundance (65 % cover). FFP tissue concentrations suggested P limitation was more likely in spring, N limitation was more likely in late summer, and N limitation was most likely in backwaters with minimal hydraulic connection to the channel. The thresholds estimated here, along with observed patterns in nutrient limitation, provide river scientists and managers with criteria to consider when attempting to modify FFP abundance in off-channel areas of large river systems.

International Summer School on Nuclear Fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-07-01

In cooperation with the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), the Halden Reactor Project organised a Summer School on nuclear fuel in the period August 28 September 1, 2000. The summer school was primarily intended for people who wanted to become acquainted with fuel-related subjects and issues without being experts. It was especially hoped that the summer school would serve to transfer knowledge to the ''young generation'' in the field of nuclear fuel. Experts from Halden Project member organisations gave the following presentations: (1) Overview of the nuclear community, (2) Criteria for safe operation and design of nuclear fuel, (3) Fuel design and fabrication, (4) Cladding Manufacturing, (5) Overview of the Halden Reactor Project, (6) Fuel performance evaluation and modelling, (7) Fission gas release, and (8) Cladding issues. Except for the Overview, which is a written paper, the other contributions are overhead figures from spoken lectures.

Excess mortality during the warm summer of 2015 in Switzerland.

Science.gov (United States)

Vicedo-Cabrera, Ana M; Ragettli, Martina S; Schindler, Christian; Röösli, Martin

2016-01-01

In Switzerland, summer 2015 was the second warmest summer for 150 years (after summer 2003). For summer 2003, a 6.9% excess mortality was estimated for Switzerland, which corresponded to 975 extra deaths. The impact of the heat in summer 2015 in Switzerland has not so far been evaluated. Daily age group-, gender- and region-specific all-cause excess mortality during summer (June-August) 2015 was estimated, based on predictions derived from quasi-Poisson regression models fitted to the daily mortality data for the 10 previous years. Estimates of excess mortality were derived for 1 June to 31 August, at national and regional level, as well as by month and for specific heat episodes identified in summer 2015 by use of seven different definitions. 804 excess deaths (5.4%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.0‒7.9%) were estimated for summer 2015 compared with previous summers, with the highest percentage obtained for July (11.6%, 95% CI 3.7‒19.4%). Seventy-seven percent of deaths occurred in people aged 75 years and older. Ticino (10.3%, 95% CI -1.8‒22.4%), Northwestern Switzerland (9.5%, 95% CI 2.7‒16.3%) and Espace Mittelland (8.9%, 95% CI 3.7‒14.1%) showed highest excess mortality during this three-month period, whereas fewer deaths than expected (-3.3%, 95% CI -9.2‒2.6%) were observed in Eastern Switzerland, the coldest region. The largest excess estimate of 23.7% was obtained during days when both maximum apparent and minimum night-time temperature reached extreme values (+32 and +20 °C, respectively), with 31.0% extra deaths for periods of three days or more. Heat during summer 2015 was associated with an increase in mortality in the warmer regions of Switzerland and it mainly affected older people. Estimates for 2015 were only a little lower compared to those of summer 2003, indicating that mitigation measures to prevent heat-related mortality in Switzerland have not become noticeably effective in the last 10 years.

Coexistence of Strategic Vertical Separation and Integration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jansen, Jos

2003-01-01

This paper gives conditions under which vertical separation is chosen by some upstream firms, while vertical integration is chosen by others in the equilibrium of a symmetric model. A vertically separating firm trades off fixed contracting costs against the strategic benefit of writing a (two......-part tariff, exclusive dealing) contract with its retailer. Coexistence emerges when more than two vertical Cournot oligopolists supply close substitutes. When vertical integration and separation coexist, welfare could be improved by reducing the number of vertically separating firms. The scope...

A comparative study on nutrient cycling in wet heathland ecosystems : II. Litter decomposition and nutrient mineralization.

Science.gov (United States)

Berendse, Frank; Bobbink, Roland; Rouwenhorst, Gerrit

1989-03-01

The concept of the relative nutrient requirement (L n ) that was introduced in the first paper of this series is used to analyse the effects of the dominant plant population on nutrient cycling and nutrient mineralization in wet heathland ecosystems. A distinction is made between the effect that the dominant plant species has on (1) the distribution of nutrients over the plant biomass and the soil compartment of the ecosystem and (2) the recirculation rate of nutrients. The first effect of the dominant plant species can be calculated on the basis of the δ/k ratio (which is the ratio of the relative mortality to the decomposition constant). The second effect can be analysed using the relative nutrient requirement (L n ). The mass loss and the changes in the amounts of N and P in decomposing above-ground and below-ground litter produced by Erica tetralix and Molinia caerulea were measured over three years. The rates of mass loss from both above-ground and below-ground litter of Molinia were higher than those from Erica litter. After an initial leaching phase, litter showed either a net release or a net immobilization of nitrogen or phosphorus that depended on the initial concentrations of these nutrients. At the same sites, mineralization of nitrogen and phosphorus were measured for two years both in communities dominated by Molinia and in communities dominated by Erica. There were no clear differences in the nitrogen mineralization, but in one of the two years, phosphate mineralization in the Molinia-community was significantly higher. On the basis of the theory that was developed, mineralization rates and ratios between amounts of nutrients in plant biomass and in the soil were calculated on the basis of parameters that were independently measured. There was a reasonable agreement between predicted and measured values in the Erica-communities. In the Molinia-communities there were large differences between calculated and measured values, which was explained by the

Submarine groundwater discharge as an important nutrient source influencing nutrient structure in coastal water of Daya Bay, China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xuejing; Li, Hailong; Zheng, Chunmiao; Yang, Jinzhong; Zhang, Yan; Zhang, Meng; Qi, Zhanhui; Xiao, Kai; Zhang, Xiaolang

2018-03-01

As an important nutrient source for coastal waters, submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) has long been largely ignored in Daya Bay, China. In this study, we estimate the fluxes of SGD and associated nutrients into this region using a 224Ra mass balance model and assess the contribution/importance of nutrients by SGD, benthic sediments, local rivers, and atmospheric deposition. The results of 224Ra mass balance show that the estimated SGD ranges from (2.76 ± 1.43) × 106 m3/d to (1.03 ± 0.53) × 107 m3/d with an average of (6.32 ± 2.42) × 106 m3/d, about 16 times the total discharge rate of local rivers. The nutrient loading from SGD is estimated to be (1.05-1.99) × 105 mol/d for NO3-N, (4.04-12.16) × 103 mol/d for DIP, and (3.54-11.35) × 105 mol/d for Si. Among these considered nutrient sources, we find that SGD is the primary source for Si and NO3-N, contributing 68% and 42% of all considered sources, respectively. The atmospheric NO3-N flux is comparable to that from SGD. The local rivers are the most important source for DIP, contributing 75% of all considered sources. SGD with high N:P ratio (NO3-N/DIP) of 37.0 delivers not only a large quantity of nutrients, but also changes nutrient structure in coastal water. Based on a DIP budget, primary productivity is evaluated to be 54-73 mg C/m2 d, in which SGD accounts for approximately 30% of total production. This study indicates that SGD is a key source of nutrients to coastal waters and may cause an obvious change of primary production and nutrient structure in Daya Bay.

Linking nutrient enrichment, sediment erodibility and biofilms

Science.gov (United States)

Conrad, B.; Mahon, R.; Sojka, S. L.

2014-12-01

Sediment movement in coastal lagoons affects nutrient flux and primary producer growth. Previous research has shown that sediment erodibility is affected by biofilm concentration and that growth of benthic organisms, which produce biofilm, is affected by nutrient enrichment. However, researchers have not examined possible links between nutrient addition and sediment erodibility. We manipulated nutrient levels in the water column of 16 microcosms filled with homogenized sediment from a shallow coastal lagoon and artificial seawater to determine the effects on biofilm growth, measured through chlorophyll a and colloidal carbohydrate concentrations. Erosion tests using a Gust microcosm were conducted to determine the relationship between sediment erodibility and biofilm concentration. Results show that carbohydrate levels decreased with increasing nutrient enrichment and were unrelated to chlorophyll concentrations and erodibility. The nutrient levels did not predictably affect the chlorophyll levels, with lower chlorophyll concentrations in the control and medium enrichment treatments than the low and high enrichment treatments. Controls on biofilm growth are still unclear and the assumed relationship between carbohydrates and erodibility may be invalid. Understanding how biofilms respond to nutrient enrichment and subsequent effects on sediment erodibility is essential for protecting and restoring shallow coastal systems.

COMPUTING VERTICES OF INTEGER PARTITION POLYTOPES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. S. Vroublevski

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The paper describes a method of generating vertices of the polytopes of integer partitions that was used by the authors to calculate all vertices and support vertices of the partition polytopes for all n ≤ 105 and all knapsack partitions of n ≤ 165. The method avoids generating all partitions of n. The vertices are determined with the help of sufficient and necessary conditions; in the hard cases, the well-known program Polymake is used. Some computational aspects are exposed in more detail. These are the algorithm for checking the criterion that characterizes partitions that are convex combinations of two other partitions; the way of using two combinatorial operations that transform the known vertices to the new ones; and employing the Polymake to recognize a limited number (for small n of partitions that need three or more other partitions for being convexly expressed. We discuss the computational results on the numbers of vertices and support vertices of the partition polytopes and some appealing problems these results give rise to.

Measurement of vertical bar Vub vertical bar in semi-inclusive charmless B → πX decays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, C.S.; Lee, Jake; Oha, Sechul

2002-01-01

We study semi-inclusive charmless decays B → πX, where X does not contain a charm (anti)quark. The mode B-bar 0 → π - X turns out to be be particularly useful for determination of the CKM matrix element vertical bar V ub vertical bar. We present the branching ratio (BR) of B-bar 0 → π - X as a function of vertical bar V ub vertical bar, with an estimation of possible uncertainty. The BR is expected to be an order of 10 -4

9 Nutrient Load of the Sakumo Lagoon.cdr

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Administrator

nutrients studied, phosphates were the highest in the Sakumo lagoon. The decreasing ... (2008), used nutrient and the trophic status to assess the ... the level of nutrient pollution of the Ramsar site. Materials and ... In assessing the nutrient load, water samples of the .... tidal waves resulting in sea water intrusion may account ...

Dynamics of late spring and summer phytoplankton communities on Georges Bank, with emphasis on diatoms, Alexandrium spp., and other dinoflagellates

Science.gov (United States)

Gettings, Rachel M.; Townsend, David W.; Thomas, Maura A.; Karp-Boss, Lee

2014-05-01

We analyzed the distribution, abundance, and succession patterns of major phytoplankton taxa on Georges Bank in relation to hydrography, nutrients, and size-fractionated chlorophyll concentrations (>20 μm; Gymnodinium spp., and Prorocentrum spp., had become more abundant. Patches of regenerated silicate during the June-July period appeared to support a post-spring-bloom diatom community on the central crest of the Bank (total diatom cell densities >180,000 cellsl-1) of Leptocylindrus spp., Dactyliosolen spp., and Guinardia flaccida. Multivariate statistical analyses of phytoplankton taxa and station locations revealed distinct assemblages of diatom and dinoflagellate taxa on the Bank throughout the late spring and summer. Results are interpreted in the ecological context of earlier-reported laboratory culture experiments on the competitive interactions between Alexandrium fundyense and diatoms.

Fluvial Export Variability Of Limiting Nutrient Fluxes To The Indian Ocean From Kelani, Kalu and Gin Rivers Of Sri Lanka

Science.gov (United States)