500 research outputs found
Static Scaling Behavior of High-Molecular-Weight Polymers in Dilute Solution: A Reexamination
Previous theories of dilute polymer solutions have failed to distinguish
clearly between two very different ways of taking the long-chain limit: (I) at fixed temperature , and (II) ,
with fixed. I argue that the modern
two-parameter theory (continuum Edwards model) applies to case II --- not case
I --- and in fact gives exactly the crossover scaling functions for
modulo two nonuniversal scale factors. A Wilson-type renormalization group
clarifies the connection between crossover scaling functions and continuum
field theories. [Also contains a general discussion of the connection between
the Wilson and field-theoretic renormalization groups. Comments solicited.]Comment: 10 pages including 1 figure, 181159 bytes Postscript
(NYU-TH-93/05/01
A fully autonomous ozone, aerosol and nighttime water vapor lidar: a synergistic approach to profiling the atmosphere in the Canadian oil sands region
Lidar technology has been rapidly advancing over the past several decades. It
can be used to measure a variety of atmospheric constituents at very high
temporal and spatial resolutions. While the number of lidars continues to
increase worldwide, there is generally a dependency on an operator,
particularly for high-powered lidar systems. Environment and Climate Change
Canada (ECCC) has recently developed a fully autonomous, mobile lidar system
called AMOLITE (Autonomous Mobile Ozone Lidar Instrument for Tropospheric
Experiments) to simultaneously measure the vertical profile of tropospheric
ozone, aerosol and water vapor (nighttime only) from near the ground to
altitudes reaching 10 to 15 km. This current system uses a dual-laser,
dual-lidar design housed in a single climate-controlled trailer. Ozone
profiles are measured by the differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technique
using a single 1 m Raman cell filled with CO2. The DIAL
wavelengths of 287 and 299 nm are generated as the second and third Stokes
lines resulting from stimulated Raman scattering of the cell pumped using the
fourth harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser (266 nm). The aerosol lidar transmits
three wavelengths simultaneously (355, 532 and 1064 nm) employing a detector
designed to measure the three backscatter channels, two nitrogen Raman
channels (387 and 607 nm) and one cross-polarization channel at 355 nm. In
addition, we added a water vapor channel arising from the Raman-shifted
355 nm output (407 nm) to provide nighttime water vapor profiles. AMOLITE
participated in a validation experiment alongside four other ozone DIAL
systems before being deployed to the ECCC Oski-ôtin ground site in the
Alberta oil sands region in November 2016. Ozone was found to increase
throughout the troposphere by as much as a factor of 2 from stratospheric
intrusions. The dry stratospheric air within the intrusion was measured to be
less than 0.2 g kg−1. A biomass burning event that impacted the region
over an 8-day period produced lidar ratios of 35 to 65 sr at 355 nm and 40
to 100 sr at 532. Over the same period the Ångström exponent
decreased from 1.56±0.2 to 1.35±0.2 in the 2–4 km smoke region.</p
Impacts of an intense wildfire smoke episode on surface radiation, energy and carbon fluxes in southwestern British Columbia, Canada
A short, but severe, wildfire smoke episode in July 2015, with an aerosol
optical depth (AOD) approaching 9, is shown to strongly impact radiation
budgets across four distinct land-use types (forest, field, urban and
wetland). At three of the sites, impacts on the energy balance are also
apparent, while the event also appears to elicit an ecosystem response with
respect to carbon fluxes at the wetland and a forested site. Greatest impacts on
radiation and energy budgets were observed at the forested site where the
role of canopy architecture and the complex physiological responses to an
increase in diffuse radiation were most important. At the forest site, the
arrival of smoke reduced both sensible and latent heat flux substantially
but also lowered sensible heat flux more than the latent heat flux. With
widespread standing water, and little physiological control on
evapotranspiration, the impacts on the partitioning of turbulent
fluxes were modest at the wetland compared to the physiologically dominated
fluxes at the forested site. Despite the short duration and singular nature
of the event, there was some evidence of a diffuse radiation fertilization
effect when AOD was near or below 2. With lighter smoke, both the wetland
and forested site appeared to show enhanced photosynthetic activity (a
greater sink for carbon dioxide). However, with dense smoke, the forested site
was a strong carbon source. Given the extensive forest cover in the Pacific
Northwest and the growing importance of forest fires in the region, these
results suggest that wildfire aerosol during the growing season potentially
plays an important role in the regional ecosystem response to smoke and
ultimately the carbon budget of the region.</p
Trans-Pacific Transport of Saharan Dust to Western North America: A Case Study
The first documented case of long range transport of Saharan dust over a pathway spanning Asia and the Pacific to Western North America is described. Crustal material generated by North African dust storms during the period 28 February - 3 March 2005 reached western Canada on 13-14 March 2005 and was observed by lidar and sunphotometer in the Vancouver region and by high altitude aerosol instrumentation at Whistler Peak. Global chemical models (GEOS-CHEM and NRL NAAPS) confirm the transport pathway and suggest source attribution was simplified in this case by the distinct, and somewhat unusual, lack of dust activity over Eurasia (Gobi and Takla Makan deserts) at this time. Over western North America, the dust layer, although subsiding close to the boundary layer, did not appear to contribute to boundary layer particulate matter concentrations. Furthermore, sunphotometer observations (and associated inversion products) suggest that the dust layer had only subtle optical impact (Aerosol Optical Thickness (Tau(sub a500)) and Angstrom exponent (Alpha(sub 440-870) were 0.1 and 1.2 respectively) and was dominated by fine particulate matter (modes in aerodynamic diameter at 0.3 and 2.5microns). High Altitude observations at Whistler BC, confirm the crustal origin of the layer (rich in Ca(++) ions) and the bi-modal size distribution. Although a weak event compared to the Asian Trans-Pacific dust events of 1998 and 2001, this novel case highlights the possibility that Saharan sources may contribute episodically to the aerosol burden in western North America
Quantifying the impact of BOReal forest fires on Tropospheric oxidants over the Atlantic using Aircraft and Satellites (BORTAS) experiment: design, execution and science overview
We describe the design and execution of the BORTAS (Quantifying the impact of BOReal forest fires on Tropospheric oxidants over the Atlantic using Aircraft and Satellites) experiment, which has the overarching objective of understanding the chemical aging of air masses that contain the emission products from seasonal boreal wildfires and how these air masses subsequently impact downwind atmospheric composition. The central focus of the experiment was a two-week deployment of the UK BAe-146-301 Atmospheric Research Aircraft (ARA) over eastern Canada, based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Atmospheric ground-based and sonde measurements over Canada and the Azores associated with the planned July 2010 deployment of the ARA, which was postponed by 12 months due to UK-based flights related to the dispersal of material emitted by the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, went ahead and constituted phase A of the experiment. Phase B of BORTAS in July 2011 involved the same atmospheric measurements, but included the ARA, special satellite observations and a more comprehensive ground-based measurement suite. The high-frequency aircraft data provided a comprehensive chemical snapshot of pyrogenic plumes from wildfires, corresponding to photochemical (and physical) ages ranging from 45 sr 10 days, largely by virtue of widespread fires over Northwestern Ontario. Airborne measurements reported a large number of emitted gases including semi-volatile species, some of which have not been been previously reported in pyrogenic plumes, with the corresponding emission ratios agreeing with previous work for common gases. Analysis of the NOy data shows evidence of net ozone production in pyrogenic plumes, controlled by aerosol abundance, which increases as a function of photochemical age. The coordinated ground-based and sonde data provided detailed but spatially limited information that put the aircraft data into context of the longer burning season in the boundary layer. Ground-based measurements of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) over Halifax show that forest fires can on an episodic basis represent a substantial contribution to total surface PM2.5
Critical Exponents, Hyperscaling and Universal Amplitude Ratios for Two- and Three-Dimensional Self-Avoiding Walks
We make a high-precision Monte Carlo study of two- and three-dimensional
self-avoiding walks (SAWs) of length up to 80000 steps, using the pivot
algorithm and the Karp-Luby algorithm. We study the critical exponents
and as well as several universal amplitude ratios; in
particular, we make an extremely sensitive test of the hyperscaling relation
. In two dimensions, we confirm the predicted
exponent and the hyperscaling relation; we estimate the universal
ratios , and (68\% confidence
limits). In three dimensions, we estimate with a
correction-to-scaling exponent (subjective 68\%
confidence limits). This value for agrees excellently with the
field-theoretic renormalization-group prediction, but there is some discrepancy
for . Earlier Monte Carlo estimates of , which were , are now seen to be biased by corrections to scaling. We estimate the
universal ratios and ; since , hyperscaling holds. The approach to
is from above, contrary to the prediction of the two-parameter
renormalization-group theory. We critically reexamine this theory, and explain
where the error lies.Comment: 87 pages including 12 figures, 1029558 bytes Postscript
(NYU-TH-94/09/01
Nucleation and condensational growth to CCN sizes during a sustained pristine biogenic SOA event in a forested mountain valley
The Whistler Aerosol and Cloud Study (WACS 2010), included intensive measurements of trace gases and particles at two sites on Whistler Mountain. Between 6–11 July 2010 there was a sustained high-pressure system over the region with cloud-free conditions and the highest temperatures of the study. During this period, the organic aerosol concentrations rose from <1 μg m<sup>−3</sup> to &sim;6 μg m<sup>−3</sup>. Precursor gas and aerosol composition measurements show that these organics were almost entirely of secondary biogenic nature. Throughout 6–11 July, the anthropogenic influence was minimal with sulfate concentrations <0.2 μg m<sup>−3</sup> and SO<sub>2</sub> mixing ratios &approx; 0.05–0.1 ppbv. Thus, this case provides excellent conditions to probe the role of biogenic secondary organic aerosol in aerosol microphysics. Although SO<sub>2</sub> mixing ratios were relatively low, box-model simulations show that nucleation and growth may be modeled accurately if <i>J</i><sub>nuc</sub> = 3 × 10<sup>&minus;7</sup>[H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>] and the organics are treated as effectively non-volatile. Due to the low condensation sink and the fast condensation rate of organics, the nucleated particles grew rapidly (2–5 nm h<sup>&minus;1</sup>) with a 10–25% probability of growing to CCN sizes (100 nm) in the first two days as opposed to being scavenged by coagulation with larger particles. The nucleated particles were observed to grow to &sim;200 nm after three days. Comparisons of size-distribution with CCN data show that particle hygroscopicity (&kappa;) was &sim;0.1 for particles larger 150 nm, but for smaller particles near 100 nm the κ value decreased near midway through the period from 0.17 to less than 0.06. In this environment of little anthropogenic influence and low SO<sub>2</sub>, the rapid growth rates of the regionally nucleated particles – due to condensation of biogenic SOA – results in an unusually high efficiency of conversion of the nucleated particles to CCN. Consequently, despite the low SO<sub>2</sub>, nucleation/growth appear to be the dominant source of particle number
Evaluation of chemical transport model predictions of primary organic aerosol for air masses classified by particle component-based factor analysis
Observations from the 2007 Border Air Quality and Meteorology Study (BAQS-Met 2007) in Southern Ontario, Canada, were used to evaluate predictions of primary organic aerosol (POA) and two other carbonaceous species, black carbon (BC) and carbon monoxide (CO), made for this summertime period by Environment Canada's AURAMS regional chemical transport model. Particle component-based factor analysis was applied to aerosol mass spectrometer measurements made at one urban site (Windsor, ON) and two rural sites (Harrow and Bear Creek, ON) to derive hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol (HOA) factors. A novel diagnostic model evaluation was performed by investigating model POA bias as a function of HOA mass concentration and indicator ratios (e.g. BC/HOA). Eight case studies were selected based on factor analysis and back trajectories to help classify model bias for certain POA source types. By considering model POA bias in relation to co-located BC and CO biases, a plausible story is developed that explains the model biases for all three species. <br></br> At the rural sites, daytime mean PM<sub>1</sub> POA mass concentrations were under-predicted compared to observed HOA concentrations. POA under-predictions were accentuated when the transport arriving at the rural sites was from the Detroit/Windsor urban complex and for short-term periods of biomass burning influence. Interestingly, the daytime CO concentrations were only slightly under-predicted at both rural sites, whereas CO was over-predicted at the urban Windsor site with a normalized mean bias of 134%, while good agreement was observed at Windsor for the comparison of daytime PM<sub>1</sub> POA and HOA mean values, 1.1 μg m<sup>−3</sup> and 1.2 μg m<sup>−3</sup>, respectively. Biases in model POA predictions also trended from positive to negative with increasing HOA values. Periods of POA over-prediction were most evident at the urban site on calm nights due to an overly-stable model surface layer. This model behaviour can be explained by a combination of model under-estimation of vertical mixing at the urban location, under-representation of PM emissions for on-road traffic exhaust along major urban roads and highways, and a more structured allocation of area POA sources such as food cooking and dust emissions to urban locations. A downward trend in POA bias was also observed at the urban site as a function of the BC/HOA indicator ratio, suggesting a possible association of POA under-prediction with under-representation of diesel combustion sources. An investigation of the emission inventories for the province of Ontario and the nearby US state of Indiana also suggested that the top POA area emission sources (food cooking, organic-bound to dust, waste disposal burning) dominated over mobile and point sources, again consistent with a mobile under-estimation. <br></br> We conclude that more effort should be placed at reducing uncertainties in the treatment of several large POA emission sources, in particular food cooking, fugitive dust, waste disposal burning, and on-road traffic sources, and especially their spatial surrogates and temporal profiles. This includes using higher spatial resolution model grids to better resolve the urban road network and urban food cooking locations. We also recommend that additional sources of urban-scale vertical mixing in the model, such as a stronger urban heat island effect and vehicle-induced turbulence, would help model predictions at urban locations, especially at night time
Population demographics of golden perch (Macquaria ambigua) in the Darling River prior to a major fish kill: A guide for rehabilitation
An understanding of population demographics and life history processes is integral to the rehabilitation of fish populations. In Australia's highly modified Murray-Darling Basin, native fish are imperilled and fish deaths in the Darling River in 2018-19 highlighted their vulnerability. Golden perch (Macquaria ambigua) is a long-lived percichthyid that was conspicuous in the fish kills. To guide population rehabilitation in the Darling River, pre-fish kill age structure, provenance and movement of golden perch were explored using otolith microstructure and chemistry (87Sr/86Sr). Across the Lower and Mid-Darling River, recruitment was episodic, with dominant cohorts associated with years characterised by elevated discharge. There was substantial variability in age structure, recruitment source and movement patterns between the Lower and Mid-Darling River. In the Mid-Darling River, tributaries were an important recruitment source, whereas in the Lower Darling fish predominantly originated in the Darling River itself. Downstream movement of juveniles, upstream migration of adults and return movements to natal locations were important drivers of population structure. Restoring resilient golden perch populations in the Darling River will be reliant on mitigating barriers to movement, promoting a connected mosaic of recruitment sources and reinstating the hydrological and hydraulic factors associated with spawning, recruitment and dispersal. Globally, increasing water resource development and climate change will necessitate such integrated approaches to the management of long-lived migratory riverine fishes. © 2022 Journal Compilatio
A genome-wide scan for common alleles affecting risk for autism
Although autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have a substantial genetic basis, most of the known genetic risk has been traced to rare variants, principally copy number variants (CNVs). To identify common risk variation, the Autism Genome Project (AGP) Consortium genotyped 1558 rigorously defined ASD families for 1 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and analyzed these SNP genotypes for association with ASD. In one of four primary association analyses, the association signal for marker rs4141463, located within MACROD2, crossed the genome-wide association significance threshold of P < 5 × 10−8. When a smaller replication sample was analyzed, the risk allele at rs4141463 was again over-transmitted; yet, consistent with the winner's curse, its effect size in the replication sample was much smaller; and, for the combined samples, the association signal barely fell below the P < 5 × 10−8 threshold. Exploratory analyses of phenotypic subtypes yielded no significant associations after correction for multiple testing. They did, however, yield strong signals within several genes, KIAA0564, PLD5, POU6F2, ST8SIA2 and TAF1C
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