Estimation of Tidal Marsh Loading Effects in a Complex Estuary

2010 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Science and Policy Challenges for a Sustainable Futur

Using Big Data to Optimally Develop Water Quality Temperature

2010 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Science and Policy Challenges for a Sustainable Futur

Development of Decision Support Systems for Estimating Salinity Instrusion Effects due to Climate Change on the South Carolina and Georgia Coast

2010 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Science and Policy Challenges for a Sustainable Futur

Temperature dependence of UV absorption cross sections and atmospheric implications of several alkyl iodides

The ultraviolet absorption spectra of a number of alkyl iodides which have been found in the troposphere, CH_3I, C_2H_5I, CH_3CH_2CH_2I, CH_3CHICH_3, CH_2I_2, and CH2_ClI, have been measured over the wavelength range 200–380 nm and at temperatures between 298 and 210 K. The absorption spectra of the monoiodides C_H3I, C_2H_5I, CH_3CH_2CH_2I, and CH_3CHICH_3 are nearly identical in shape and magnitude and consist of single broad bands centered near 260 nm. The addition of a chlorine atom in CH_2ClI shifts its spectrum to longer wavelengths (σ_(max) at 270 nm). The spectrum of CH_2I_2 is further red‐shifted, reaching a maximum of 3.85×10^(−18) cm^2 molecule^(−1) at 288 nm and exhibiting strong absorption in the solar actinic region, λ>290 nm. Atmospheric photolysis rate constants, J values, have been calculated assuming quantum efficiencies of unity for different solar zenith angles as a function of altitude using the newly measured cross sections. Surface photolysis rate constants, calculated from the absorption cross sections measured at 298 K, range from 3×10^(−6) s^(−1) for CH)3I to 5×10^(−3) s^(−1) for CH)2I)2 at a solar zenith angle of 40°

Sediment history mirrors Pleistocene aridification in the Gobi Desert (Ejina Basin, NW China)

Central Asia is a large-scale source of dust transport, but it also held a prominent changing hydrological system during the Quaternary. A 223 m long sediment core (GN200) was recovered from the Ejina Basin (synonymously Gaxun Nur Basin) in NW China to reconstruct the main modes of water availability in the area during the Quaternary. The core was drilled from the Heihe alluvial fan, one of the world's largest alluvial fans, which covers a part of the Gobi Desert. Grain-size distributions supported by endmember modelling analyses, geochemical-mineralogical compositions (based on XRF and XRD measurements), and bioindicator data (ostracods, gastropods, pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs, and n-alkanes with leaf-wax delta D) are used to infer the main transport processes and related environmental changes during the Pleistocene. Magnetostratigraphy supported by radionuclide dating provides the age model. Grain- size endmembers indicate that lake, playa (sheetflood), fluvial, and aeolian dynamics are the major factors influencing sedimentation in the Ejina Basin. Core GN200 reached the pre-Quatemary quartz- and plagioclase-rich "Red Clay" formation and reworked material derived from it in the core bottom. This part is overlain by silt-dominated sediments between 217 and 110 m core depth, which represent a period of lacustrine and playa-lacustrine sedimentation that presumably formed within an endorheic basin. The upper core half between 110 and 0 m is composed of mainly silty to sandy sediments derived from the Heihe that have accumulated in a giant sediment fan until modem time. Apart from the transition from a siltier to a sandier environment with frequent switches between sediment types upcore, the clay mineral fraction is indicative of different environments. Mixed-layer clay minerals (chlorite/smectite) are increased in the basal Red Clay and reworked sediments, smectite is indicative of lacustrine-playa deposits, and increased chlorite content is characteristic of the Heihe river deposits. The sediment succession in core GN200 based on the detrital proxy interpretation demonstrates that lake-playa sedimentation in the Ejina Basin has been disrupted likely due to tectonic events in the southern part of the catchment around 1 Ma. At this time Heihe broke through from the Hexi Corridor through the Heli Shan ridge into the northern Ejina Basin. This initiated the alluvial fan progradation into the Ejina Basin. Presently the sediment bulge repels the diminishing lacustrine environment further north. In this sense, the uplift of the hinterland served as a tipping element that triggered landscape transformation in the northern Tibetan foreland (i.e. the Hexi Corridor) and further on in the adjacent northern intracontinental Ejina Basin. The onset of alluvial fan formation coincides with increased sedimentation rates on the Chinese Loess Plateau, suggesting that the Heihe alluvial fan may have served as a prominent upwind sediment source for it

Temperature dependence of UV absorption cross sections and atmospheric implications of several alkyl iodides

The ultraviolet absorption spectra of a number of alkyl iodides which have been found in the troposphere, CH_3I, C_2H_5I, CH_3CH_2CH_2I, CH_3CHICH_3, CH_2I_2, and CH2_ClI, have been measured over the wavelength range 200–380 nm and at temperatures between 298 and 210 K. The absorption spectra of the monoiodides C_H3I, C_2H_5I, CH_3CH_2CH_2I, and CH_3CHICH_3 are nearly identical in shape and magnitude and consist of single broad bands centered near 260 nm. The addition of a chlorine atom in CH_2ClI shifts its spectrum to longer wavelengths (σ_(max) at 270 nm). The spectrum of CH_2I_2 is further red‐shifted, reaching a maximum of 3.85×10^(−18) cm^2 molecule^(−1) at 288 nm and exhibiting strong absorption in the solar actinic region, λ>290 nm. Atmospheric photolysis rate constants, J values, have been calculated assuming quantum efficiencies of unity for different solar zenith angles as a function of altitude using the newly measured cross sections. Surface photolysis rate constants, calculated from the absorption cross sections measured at 298 K, range from 3×10^(−6) s^(−1) for CH)3I to 5×10^(−3) s^(−1) for CH)2I)2 at a solar zenith angle of 40°

Methane emissions from dairies in the Los Angeles Basin

We estimate the amount of methane (CH_4) emitted by the largest dairies in the southern California region by combining measurements from four mobile solar-viewing ground-based spectrometers (EM27/SUN), in situ isotopic ^(13∕12)CH_4 measurements from a CRDS analyzer (Picarro), and a high-resolution atmospheric transport simulation with a Weather Research and Forecasting model in large-eddy simulation mode (WRF-LES). The remote sensing spectrometers measure the total column-averaged dry-air mole fractions of CH_4 and CO_2 (X_(CH)_4 and X_(CO)_2) in the near infrared region, providing information on total emissions of the dairies at Chino. Differences measured between the four EM27/SUN ranged from 0.2 to 22 ppb (part per billion) and from 0.7 to 3 ppm (part per million) for X_(CH)_4 and X_(CO)_2, respectively. To assess the fluxes of the dairies, these differential measurements are used in conjunction with the local atmospheric dynamics from wind measurements at two local airports and from the WRF-LES simulations at 111 m resolution. Our top-down CH_4 emissions derived using the Fourier transform spectrometers (FTS) observations of 1.4 to 4.8 ppt s^(−1) are in the low end of previous top-down estimates, consistent with reductions of the dairy farms and urbanization in the domain. However, the wide range of inferred fluxes points to the challenges posed by the heterogeneity of the sources and meteorology. Inverse modeling from WRF-LES is utilized to resolve the spatial distribution of CH_4 emissions in the domain. Both the model and the measurements indicate heterogeneous emissions, with contributions from anthropogenic and biogenic sources at Chino. A Bayesian inversion and a Monte Carlo approach are used to provide the CH_4 emissions of 2.2 to 3.5 ppt s^(−1) at Chino

Comparative validation of single-shot optical techniques for laparoscopic 3-D surface reconstruction

Intra-operative imaging techniques for obtaining the shape and morphology of soft-tissue surfaces in vivo are a key enabling technology for advanced surgical systems. Different optical techniques for 3-D surface reconstruction in laparoscopy have been proposed, however, so far no quantitative and comparative validation has been performed. Furthermore, robustness of the methods to clinically important factors like smoke or bleeding has not yet been assessed. To address these issues, we have formed a joint international initiative with the aim of validating different state-of-the-art passive and active reconstruction methods in a comparative manner. In this comprehensive in vitro study, we investigated reconstruction accuracy using different organs with various shape and texture and also tested reconstruction robustness with respect to a number of factors like the pose of the endoscope as well as the amount of blood or smoke present in the scene. The study suggests complementary advantages of the different techniques with respect to accuracy, robustness, point density, hardware complexity and computation time. While reconstruction accuracy under ideal conditions was generally high, robustness is a remaining issue to be addressed. Future work should include sensor fusion and in vivo validation studies in a specific clinical context. To trigger further research in surface reconstruction, stereoscopic data of the study will be made publically available at www.open-CAS.com upon publication of the paper