Evaluation of the synoptic and mesoscale predictive capabilities of a mesoscale atmospheric simulation system

The overall performance characteristics of a limited area, hydrostatic, fine (52 km) mesh, primitive equation, numerical weather prediction model are determined in anticipation of satellite data assimilations with the model. The synoptic and mesoscale predictive capabilities of version 2.0 of this model, the Mesoscale Atmospheric Simulation System (MASS 2.0), were evaluated. The two part study is based on a sample of approximately thirty 12h and 24h forecasts of atmospheric flow patterns during spring and early summer. The synoptic scale evaluation results benchmark the performance of MASS 2.0 against that of an operational, synoptic scale weather prediction model, the Limited area Fine Mesh (LFM). The large sample allows for the calculation of statistically significant measures of forecast accuracy and the determination of systematic model errors. The synoptic scale benchmark is required before unsmoothed mesoscale forecast fields can be seriously considered

Carrier localization in gallium nitride

In wide bandgap GaN, a large number of interesting and important scientific questions remain to be answered. For example, the large free electron concentration reaching 10{sup 19} to 10{sup 20} cm{sup - 3} in nominally undoped material are ascribed to intrinsic defects because no chemical impurity has been found at such high concentrations. According to theoretical models, a nitrogen vacancy acts as a donor but its formation energy is very large in n-type materials, making this suggestion controversial. We have investigated the nature of this yet unidentified donor at large hydrostatic pressure. Results from infrared reflection and Raman scattering indicate strong evidence for localization of free carriers by large pressures. The carrier density is drastically decreased by two orders of magnitude between 20 and 30 GPa. Several techniques provide independent evidence for results in earlier reports and present the first quantitative analysis. A possible interpretation of this effect in terms of the resonant donor level is presented

Electron-phonon scattering in Si doped GaN

Phonon-plasmon scattering in non-resonant Raman spectroscopy is used to determine the free electron concentration in Si doped GaN films. For various doping concentration and variable temperature the correlation with magneto-transport data is established. The freeze-out of the carrier concentration at low temperature is thus observed in a purely optical detection scheme. We observe a very long transient time of several hours for the carrier concentration as a reaction to temperature variation. This indicates an indirect capture and emission process with a very small cross section. The value of the Faust-Henry coefficient is determined

Heterocyst placement strategies to maximize growth of cyanobacterial filaments

Under conditions of limited fixed-nitrogen, some filamentous cyanobacteria develop a regular pattern of heterocyst cells that fix nitrogen for the remaining vegetative cells. We examine three different heterocyst placement strategies by quantitatively modelling filament growth while varying both external fixed-nitrogen and leakage from the filament. We find that there is an optimum heterocyst frequency which maximizes the growth rate of the filament; the optimum frequency decreases as the external fixed-nitrogen concentration increases but increases as the leakage increases. In the presence of leakage, filaments implementing a local heterocyst placement strategy grow significantly faster than filaments implementing random heterocyst placement strategies. With no extracellular fixed-nitrogen, consistent with recent experimental studies of Anabaena sp. PCC 7120, the modelled heterocyst spacing distribution using our local heterocyst placement strategy is qualitatively similar to experimentally observed patterns. As external fixed-nitrogen is increased, the spacing distribution for our local placement strategy retains the same shape while the average spacing between heterocysts continuously increases.Comment: This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in Physical Biology. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The definitive publisher-authenticated version will be available onlin

Nitrogen and phosphorus loads to temperate seepage lakes associated with allochthonous dissolved organic carbon loads

Terrestrial loads of dissolved organic matter (DOM) have increased in recent years in many north temperate lakes. While much of the focus on the “browning” phenomena has been on its consequences for carbon cycling, much less is known about how it influences nutrient loading to lakes. We characterize potential loads of nitrogen and phosphorus to seepage lakes in northern Wisconsin, USA, based on a laboratory soil leaching experiment and a model that includes landscape cover and watershed area. In these seepage lakes, nutrient concentrations are positively correlated with dissolved organic carbon concentrations (nitrogen: r = 0.68, phosphorus: r = 0.54). Using long‐term records of browning, we found that dissolved organic matter‐associated nutrient loadings may have resulted in substantial increases in nitrogen and phosphorus in seepage lakes and could account for currently observed nutrient concentrations in the lake. “Silent” nutrient loadings to brown‐water lakes may lead to future water‐quality concerns. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: The color of many temperate lakes is changing; some lakes are becoming more darkly stained brown. The tea‐colored stain is due to dissolved organic matter from the surrounding landscape. Much of the research related to the causes and consequences of increased staining, or “brownification,” relate to its connection to the carbon cycle. However, by examining long‐term lake chemical records, analyzing the properties of the organic compounds, and modeling potential flows of the compounds, we find that carbon is not the only element that is influenced by browning. Nitrogen and phosphorus, two nutrients important to growth of organisms at the base of the food web, may also be increasing in lakes due to brownification."Funding for this research was supported by the Northern Research Station and the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest (CNNF) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service and a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to support the North Temperate Lakes Long-Term Ecological Research (NTLLTER) Site (DEB-#1440297)."https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2018GL07721

Sedimentation in an artificial lake -Lake Matahina, Bay of Plenty

Lake Matahina, an 8 km long hydroelectric storage reservoir, is a small (2.5 km2), 50 m deep, warm monomictic, gorge-type lake whose internal circulation is controlled by the inflowing Rangitaiki River which drains a greywacke and acid volcanic catchment. Three major proximal to distal subenvironments are defined for the lake on the basis of surficial sediment character and dominant depositional process: (a) fluvial-glassy, quartzofeld-spathic, and lithic gravel-sand mixtures deposited from contact and saltation loads in less than 3 m depth; (b) (pro-)deltaic-quartzofeldspathic and glassy sand-silt mixtures deposited from graded and uniform suspension loads in 3-20 m depth; and (c) basinal-diatomaceous, argillaceous, and glassy silt-clay mixtures deposited from uniform and pelagic suspension loads in 20-50 m depth. The delta face has been prograding into the lake at a rate of 35-40 m/year and vertical accretion rates in pro-delta areas are 15-20 cm/year. Basinal deposits are fed mainly from river plume dispersion involving overflows, interflows, and underflows, and by pelagic settling, and sedimentation rates behind the dam have averaged about 2 cm/year. Occasional fine sand layers in muds of basinal cores attest to density currents or underflows generated during river flooding flowing the length of the lake along a sublacustrine channel marking the position of the now submerged channel of the Rangitaiki River

Use of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy to predict nitrogen uptake by winter wheat within fields with high variability in organic matter

In this study, the ability to predict N-uptake in winter wheat crops using NIR-spectroscopy on soil samples was evaluated. Soil samples were taken in unfertilized plots in one winter wheat field during three years (1997-1999) and in another winter wheat field nearby in one year (2000). Soil samples were analyzed for organic C content and their NIR-spectra. N-uptake was measured as total N-content in aboveground plant materials at harvest. Models calibrated to predict N-uptake were internally cross validated and validated across years and across fields. Cross-validated calibrations predicted N-uptake with an average error of 12.1 to 15.4 kg N ha-1. The standard deviation divided by this error (RPD) ranged between 1.9 and 2.5. In comparison, the corresponding calibrations based on organic C alone had an error from 11.7 to 28.2 kg N ha-1 and RPDs from 1.3 to 2.5. In three of four annual calibrations within a field, the NIR-based calibrations worked better than the organic C based calibrations. The prediction of N-uptake across years, but within a field, worked slightly better with an organic C based calibration than with a NIR based one, RPD = 1.9 and 1.7 respectively. Across fields, the corresponding difference was large in favour of the NIR-calibration, RPD = 2.5 for the NIR-calibration and 1.5 for the organic C calibration. It was concluded that NIR-spectroscopy integrates information about organic C with other relevant soil components and therefore has a good potential to predict complex functions of soils such as N-mineralization. A relatively good agreement of spectral relationships to parameters related to the N-mineralization of datasets across the world suggests that more general models can be calibrated