Using subsurface flow barriers to reduce nitrate leaching

Leaching of applied fertilizer below the rootzone in the form of nitrate is thought to be a major source of groundwater contamination. Thus, it is important to develop a method to reduce nitrate leaching while maintaining crop yield;Repacked soil columns were used in a laboratory study to examine the relative effectiveness of different types of barriers on leaching and to identify the minimum effective size of a barrier to reduce anion leaching. Of all the subsurface barriers examined, a compacted soil layer above the applied chloride was the most effective barrier which delayed initial breakthrough of chloride by 0.9 relative pore volumes, reduced the peak concentration by more than 50%, and delayed the appearance of the peak by about 1.2 relative pore volumes compared with the no-barrier case;A 5-cm diameter barrier, which had only an extra 2 cm cover to the applied chloride, started delaying the initial breakthrough of chloride. The peak concentration was reduced by 40% and the appearance of the peak was delayed by 0.6 relative pore volumes compared with the no-barrier case;The relative effectiveness of subsurface barriers against anion leaching was investigated in a field study by using lysimeters. Of all the subsurface barriers tested in 1989, a plastic sheet placed above the banded chemicals was the most effective barrier which reduced the leaching of chloride and nitrate by 23 and 21%, respectively, and increased total nitrogen in corn shoots by 100% compared with the no-barrier case. The compacted soil layer reduced the leaching of anions by 12% and increased total plant nitrogen by 20% compared with the no-barrier case;In 1990, the effect of vermiculite on anion leaching was studied. The comparison of solution banding and solution-vermiculite mixture banding revealed that vermiculite had a significant effect on delaying the initial breakthrough of chloride and nitrate. For the plastic sheet above the band, the combined effect of the barrier and vermiculite on anion leaching was observed while the compacted soil layer caused delayed leaching without reducing peak concentrations

Multiyear-drought impact on hydrologic conditions in South Carolina, water years 1998-2001

South Carolina has been in a continuous drought since June 1998, near the end of Water Year 1998. The impact of this multiyear drought on South Carolina's hydrologic system- its streams, lakes, and aquifers- is becoming increasingly apparent. In summary, the hydrologic effects shown here are due, directly or indirectly, to the multiyear drought. While streamflows can increase quickly after rainfall, and lakes and ponds can be replenished by a tropical system, the recovery of ground water takes considerably longer. It will, therefore, take several consecutive normal or wet periods for ground water levels to recover from this multiyear drought and return to normal conditions

Offshore-origin warm water inflows toward Totten Ice Shelf, East Antarctica

The Tenth Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions: [OM] Polar Meteorology and Glaciology, Thu. 5 Dec. / 2F Auditorium , National Institute of Polar Researc

The Simons Observatory: A fully remote controlled calibration system with a sparse wire grid for cosmic microwave background telescopes

For cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization observations, calibration of detector polarization angles is essential. We have developed a fully remote controlled calibration system with a sparse wire grid that reflects linearly polarized light along the wire direction. The new feature is a remote-controlled system for regular calibration, which has not been possible in sparse wire grid calibrators in past experiments. The remote control can be achieved by two electric linear actuators that load or unload the sparse wire grid into a position centered on the optical axis of a telescope between the calibration time and CMB observation. Furthermore, the sparse wire grid can be rotated by a motor. A rotary encoder and a gravity sensor are installed on the sparse wire grid to monitor the wire direction. They allow us to achieve detector angle calibration with expected systematic error of $0.08^{\circ}$. The calibration system will be installed in small-aperture telescopes at Simons Observatory

The Japanese space gravitational wave antenna; DECIGO

DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (DECIGO) is the future Japanese space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to open a new window of observation for gravitational wave astronomy especially between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz, revealing various mysteries of the universe such as dark energy, formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and inflation of the universe. The pre-conceptual design of DECIGO consists of three drag-free spacecraft, whose relative displacements are measured by a differential Fabry– Perot Michelson interferometer. We plan to launch two missions, DECIGO pathfinder and pre- DECIGO first and finally DECIGO in 2024

DECIGO pathfinder

DECIGO pathfinder (DPF) is a milestone satellite mission for DECIGO (DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) which is a future space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to provide us fruitful insights into the universe, in particular about dark energy, a formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and the inflation of the universe. Since DECIGO will be an extremely large mission which will formed by three drag-free spacecraft with 1000m separation, it is significant to gain the technical feasibility of DECIGO before its planned launch in 2024. Thus, we are planning to launch two milestone missions: DPF and pre-DECIGO. The conceptual design and current status of the first milestone mission, DPF, are reviewed in this article

Evolution of living donor liver transplantation over 10 years: experience of a single center.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the changes in living donor liver transplantations (LDLTs) over the last 10 years, we analyzed our experience of performing LDLT in a single center. METHODS: We performed 73 LDLTs over the 10 years between 1997 and 2007 in Nagasaki University Hospital, Japan. RESULTS: Initially, from 1997 to 2003, LDLT was performed for pediatric patients; then, between 2004 and 2007, adult-to-adult LDLT was introduced, primarily for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in liver cirrhosis. We also began performing LDLTs for adults with ABO-incompatible blood type combination in the latter period. As the number of adult-to-adult LDLTs increased, left-sided grafts became fi rst choice for these patients. Survival rates were 88.3%, 77.2%, 70.2% at 1, 3, and 5 years, respectively. There was a relatively low incidence of arterial complications, and although the incidence of biliary complications was high initially, it decreased with experience. Likewise, the operative time, blood loss, and hospital stay after LDLT also improved remarkably. CONCLUSION: Over the last 10 years the indications for, and operative techniques used in LDLT have changed dramatically, even in a single center in Japan