Nutrient transport by sediment-water interaction

This report presents the results of a series of laboratory tests to investigate phosphate transport in sediments subjected to one dimensional consolidation type loading. P-32 techniques are employed. The results indicate that measurable transport occurs for phosphate concentrations on the order of 2 mg p/gm dry soil or more and for loads in excess of the preconsolidation load for the samples. In addition, the report discusses models for the exchange of phosphates between sediment or soil in lakes and lake waters. These models are expressed in a form that allows them to be used to predict the environmental impact of construction operations in aquatic environments. Three modes of interaction are discussed: 1 ) exchange due to new soil surfaces being exposed, 2) exchange due to the dispersion of soil particles in the water, and 3) release due to forced drainage of water from sediments. The conditions under which each mechanism might be influential are discussed and mathematical models are developed for quantitative predictions.U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological SurveyOpe

Role of sediments in eutrophication—A preliminary study

The report is divided into two parts. The first part contains the results of an extensive literature survey concerning the distribution of nutrients in waters and sediments and mechanisms for describing the mobility of phosphate nutrients in aquatic systems. The horizontal and vertical distribution of nutrients for Great Lakes waters in other U.S. as well as foreign lakes and rivers are presented. Phosphate nutrient mobility mechanisms are organized in a single table based upon two types of transformations: special and chemical. Twenty-four possible types of transformation categories are employed based upon the organic or inorganic form of the phosphate itself and the organic or inorganic type of spatial domain in which the phosphate is located. In the second part a laboratory technique to aid in the study of the hydrodynamic transport of phosphates in saturated soils is described. The technique is based upon a modification of the one dimensional consolidation test and employs radionucleid tracers. Typical test results are presented, though the complete study of the phenomenon is the subject of a subsequent project in progress.U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological SurveyOpe

Interactions between carbon and nitrogen dynamics in estimating net primary productivity for potential vegetation in North America

We use the terrestrial ecosystem model (TEM), a process-based model, to investigate how interactions between carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics affect predictions of net primary productivity (NPP) for potential vegetation in North America. Data on pool sizes and fluxes of C and N from intensively studied field sites are used to calibrate the model for each of 17 non-wetland vegetation types. We use information on climate, soils, and vegetation to make estimates for each of 11,299 non-wetland, 0.5° latitude × 0.5° longitude, grid cells in North America. The potential annual NPP and net N mineralization (NETNMIN) of North America are estimated to be 7.032 × 1015 g C yr−1 and 104.6 × 1012 g N yr−1, respectively. Both NPP and NETNMIN increase along gradients of increasing temperature and moisture in northern and temperate regions of the continent, respectively. Nitrogen limitation of productivity is weak in tropical forests, increasingly stronger in temperate and boreal forests, and very strong in tundra ecosystems. The degree to which productivity is limited by the availability of N also varies within ecosystems. Thus spatial resolution in estimating exchanges of C between the atmosphere and the terrestrial biosphere is improved by modeling the linkage between C and N dynamics. We also perform a factorial experiment with TEM on temperate mixed forest in North America to evaluate the importance of considering interactions between C and N dynamics in the response of NPP to an elevated temperature of 2°C. With the C cycle uncoupled from the N cycle, NPP decreases primarily because of higher plant respiration. However, with the C and N cycles coupled, NPP increases because productivity that is due to increased N availability more than offsets the higher costs of plant respiration. Thus, to investigate how global change will affect biosphere-atmosphere interactions, process-based models need to consider linkages between the C and N cycles

Energy Loss of Leading Hadrons and Direct Photon production in Evolving Quark-Gluon Plasma

We calculate the nuclear modification factor of neutral pions and the photon yield at high p_T in central Au-Au collisions at RHIC (\sqrt{s}=200 GeV) and Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC (\sqrt{s}=5500 GeV). A leading-order accurate treatment of jet energy loss in the medium has been convolved with a physical description of the initial spatial distribution of jets and a (1+1) dimensional expansion. We reproduce the nuclear modification factor of pion R_{AA} at RHIC, assuming an initial temperature T_i=370 MeV and a formation time \tau_i=0.26 fm/c, corresponding to dN/dy=1260. The resulting suppression depends on the particle rapidity density dN/dy but weakly on the initial temperature. The jet energy loss treatment is also included in the calculation of high p_T photons. Photons coming from primordial hard N-N scattering are the dominant contribution at RHIC for p_T > 5 GeV, while at the LHC, the range 8<p_T<14 GeV is dominated by jet-photon conversion in the plasma.Comment: 21 pages, 16 figures. Discussions and references added. New figure includind photon dat

Magic wavelengths for the np-ns transitions in alkali-metal atoms

Extensive calculations of the electric-dipole matrix elements in alkali-metal atoms are conducted using the relativistic all-order method. This approach is a linearized version of the coupled-cluster method, which sums infinite sets of many-body perturbation theory terms. All allowed transitions between the lowest ns, np_1/2, np_3/2 states and a large number of excited states are considered in these calculations and their accuracy is evaluated. The resulting electric-dipole matrix elements are used for the high-precision calculation of frequency-dependent polarizabilities of the excited states of alkali-metal atoms. We find magic wavelengths in alkali-metal atoms for which the ns and np_1/2 and np_3/2 atomic levels have the same ac Stark shifts, which facilitates state-insensitive optical cooling and trapping.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure

Radiative and Collisional Jet Energy Loss in the Quark-Gluon Plasma at RHIC

We calculate and compare bremsstrahlung and collisional energy loss of hard partons traversing a quark-gluon plasma. Our treatment of both processes is complete at leading order in the coupling and accounts for the probabilistic nature of the jet energy loss. We find that the nuclear modification factor $R_{AA}$ for neutral $\pi^0$ production in heavy ion collisions is sensitive to the inclusion of collisional and radiative energy loss contributions while the averaged energy loss only slightly increases if collisional energy loss is included for parent parton energies $E\gg T$. These results are important for the understanding of jet quenching in Au+Au collisions at $200 {\rm AGeV}$ at RHIC. Comparison with data is performed applying the energy loss calculation to a relativistic ideal (3+1)-dimensional hydrodynamic description of the thermalized medium formed at RHIC.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

An Investigation of Four Wings of Square Plan Form at a Mach Number of 6.9 in the Langley 11-inch Hypersonic Tunnel

The results of pressure-distribution and force tests of four wings at a Mach number of about 6.9 and a Reynolds number of 0.98 x 10(6) in the Langley 11-inch hypersonic tunnel are presented. The wings had a square plan form, a 5-percent-chord maximum thickness, and diamond, half-diamond, wedge, and half-circular sections

Decline in Aerobic Fitness After Long-Term Stays on the International Space Station

U.S. and non-Russian International Partner astronauts who participate in long-term International Space Station (ISS) expeditions perform submaximal cycle exercise tests before, during, and after space flight. The heart rate (HR) and oxygen uptake (VO2) responses to exercise are used to estimate peak VO2 (EVO2pk). Purpose: To determine if the following factors are associated with the preflight-to-post flight change in EVO2pk: gender, age, body weight (BW), number of aerobic exercise sessions/wk- during flight, length of flight, EVO2pk measured before and late during the flight, ISS Expedition number and time between landing and the first post flight test. Methods: Records of 37 ISS astronauts (30 male, BW=81.6 plus or minus 8.6 kg; 7 female BW=66.1 plus or minus 4.9 kg [mean plus or minus SD]), age 46 plus or minus 4 years, were retrospectively examined. Peak HR and VO2 were measured approximately 9 months before flight to establish the test protocol. The submaximal cycle test consisted of three 5-minute stages designed to elicit 25, 50, and 75% of VO2pk. EVO2pk was calculated using linear least-squares extrapolation of average HR and VO2 during the last minute of each stage to predict VO2 at maximal HR. VO2 was not measured during flight and was assumed to not be different from preflight. Testing was performed 45 days before launch, late during flight, and during the week after landing. A random-intercept multivariate model was used to determine which characteristics significantly contributed to post flight EVO2pk. Results: In-flight aerobic exercise averaged 5.4 plus or minus 1.2 sessions/wk. ISS flight duration averaged 163 plus or minus 39 d. Mean EVO2pk values were 3.41 plus or minus 0.64 L (raised dot) per minute before flight, 3.09 plus or minus 0.57 L (raised dot) per minute late in flight, and 3.02 plus or minus 0.65 L (raised dot) per minute after flight. Late- and after-flight values were lower (p less than 0.05) than preflight values and did not differ from each other. Time between landing and post flight testing was 4.5 plus or minus 1.6 days. The only factor significantly associated with the post flight EVO2pk value was the late-flight EVO2pk score. Conclusion: Testing performed late during a mission provides a prediction of EVO2pk after landing. This approach may be implemented during longer missions