Sources of Solar Total Irradiance Variations

The daily images and magnetograms acquired by MDI are a rich source of information about the contributions of different types of solar regions to variations in the total solar irradiance (TSI). These data have been used to determine the temporal variation of the MDI irradiance, the mean intensity of the solar disk in the continuum at 676.8 nm. The short-term (days to weeks) variations of the MDI irradiance and TSI are in excellent agreement with rms differences of 0.011%. This indicates that MDI irradiance is an excellent proxy for short-term variations of TSI from the competing irradiance contributions of regions causing irradiance increases, such as plages and bright network, and regions causing irradiance decreases, such as sunspots. However, the long-term or solar cycle variation of the MDI proxy and TSI differ over the 11-year period studied. The results indicate that the primary sources of the long-term (several months or more) variations in TSI are regions with magnetic fields between about 80 and 600 G. The results also suggest that the difference in the long-term variations of the MDI proxy and TSI is due to a component of TSI associated with sectors of the solar spectrum where the contrast in intensity between plages and the quiet Sun is enhanced (e.g., the UV) compared to the MDI proxy. This is evidence that the long-term variation of TSI is due primarily to solar cycle variations of the irradiance from these portions of solar spectrum, a finding consistent with modeling calculations indicating that approximately 60% of the change in TSI between solar minimum and maximum is produced by the UV part of the spectrum shortward of 400 nm (Solanki and Krivova, Space Sci. Rev. 125, 53, 2006).     

The US freedom of navigation program preserving the law of the sea

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea prescribed extensive rules of behavior for the international community in the oceanic regime. Some of the most important provisions of the Convention are those regarding the freedom of navigation and overflight in various maritime zones, i.e. territorial seas, international straits, archipelagos, exclusive economic zones and the high seas.While most coastal nations are complying with the navigation and overflight provisos of the Convention, some are not. Where excessive maritime claims exist, the US has evolved an ambitious Freedom of Navigation (FON) Program which challenges these excessive claims. This Program was initiated under the Carter Administration in 1979 and has continued, unabated, ever since.As the international community prepares for the day when the 1982 Convention becomes universally-recognized international law, there are likely to be periodic excessive maritime claims. In cases where the Convention's dispute settlement provisos fail to resolve excessive claims, the community of nations may find it useful to use the US FON Program as an example for the enforcement of maritime rules.     

A comparative study of the differential blood cell counts of winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) collected in New England

Major alterations in the distribution of peripheral blood cells were observed among winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) from Martha's Vineyard (MV), East Cape Cod Bay (ECCB), Fox Island (FI) (Narragansett Bay), Central Long Island Sound (CLIS), Gaspee Point (GP) (Narragansett Bay), Black Rock Harbor (BRH) (Bridgeport, CT), New Bedford Harbor (NBH) and Quincy Bay (QB) (Boston Harbor). Collection locations ranged from relatively uncontaminated offshore (MV) and nearshore (ECCB) sites to the more contaminated estuarine (FI, CLIS) and urban embayments (GP, BRH, NBH, QB). Differential diagnosis demonstrated a shift in lymphocyte counts from 28% (MV) to 54% (QB) that increased with the incidence of liver lesions in relation to known and suspected levels of sediment chemical contamination. A significant change in the ratio of circulating immature to mature erythrocytes was observed in flounder collected from Boston Harbor. Immature erythrocytes comprised 18% of the total erythrocyte population of fish from QB in comparison to 6% observed in flounder from ECCB.     

Suspended sediment transport from the Gironde estuary (France) onto the adjacent continental shelf

Current velocity and suspended sediment concentration measurements at anchor stations in the downstream extremity of the Gironde estuary indicate that during periods of high river discharge, a significant amount of suspended sediment is transported out of the estuary onto the adjacent continental shelf. The vertical profile of the residual (non-tidal) suspended sediment flux is similar to that of the residual current velocity, with a net upstream flux near the bottom and an overlying seaward-directed transport. The overall, depth-integrated result is a net seaward transport of suspended sediment out of the estuary. It appears that this net seaward transport varies directly with tidal amplitude.Aerial photography and water sampling indicate that during high river inflow, the downstream extremity of the turbidity maximum extends onto the continental shelf at ebb tide. The tidal and coastal current patterns of the inlet and inner shelf induce a northward transport of the turbid estuarine water, and at each tidal cycle, a certain amount of suspended sediment leaves the estuary; part of this sediment is deposited in a silt and clay zone on the continental shelf.     

MESSENGER observations of the plasma environment near Mercury

The MESSENGER Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer (FIPS) measured the bulk plasma characteristics of Mercury's magnetosphere and solar wind environment during the spacecraft's first two flybys of the planet on 14 January 2008 (M1) and 6 October 2008 (M2), producing the first measurements of thermal ions in Mercury's magnetosphere. In this work, we identify major features of the Mercury magnetosphere in the FIPS proton data and describe the data analysis process used for recovery of proton density (n_p) and temperature (T_p) with a forward modeling technique, required because of limitations in measurement geometry. We focus on three regions where the magnetospheric flow speed is likely to be low and meets our criteria for the recovery process: the M1 plasma sheet and the M1 and M2 dayside and nightside boundary-layer regions. Interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions were substantially different between the two flybys, with intense reconnection signatures observed by the Magnetometer during M2 versus a relatively quiet magnetosphere during M1. The recovered ion density and temperature values for the M1 quiet-time plasma sheet yielded n_p∼1–10 cm⁻³, T_p∼2×10⁶ K, and plasma β∼2. The nightside boundary-layer proton densities during M1 and M2 were similar, at n_p∼4–5 cm⁻³, but the temperature during M1 (T_p∼4–8×10⁶ K) was 50% less than during M2 (T_p∼8×10⁶ K), presumably due to reconnection in the tail. The dayside boundary layer observed during M1 had a density of ∼16 cm⁻³ and temperature of 2×10⁶ K, whereas during M2 this region was less dense and hotter (n_p∼8 cm⁻³ and T_p∼10×10⁶ K), again, most likely due to magnetopause reconnection. Overall, the southward interplanetary magnetic field during M2 clearly produced higher T_p in the dayside and nightside magnetosphere, as well as higher plasma β in the nightside boundary, ∼20 during M2 compared with ∼2 during M1. The proton plasma pressure accounts for only a fraction (24% for M1 and 64% for M2) of the drop in magnetic pressure upon entry into the dayside boundary layer. This result suggests that heavy ions of planetary origin, not considered in this analysis, may provide the “missing” pressure. If these planetary ions were hot due to “pickup” in the magnetosheath, the required density for pressure balance would be an ion density of ∼1 cm⁻³ for an ion temperature of ∼10⁸ K.     

Mid-infrared (5–100 μm) reflectance spectra and optical constants of ten phyllosilicate minerals

We have derived the real and imaginary indices of refraction for 10 phyllosilicate minerals—montmorillonite, beidellite, nontronite, hectorite, saponite, illite, illite–smectite (60/40 interlayered) kaolinite, halloysite, and serpentine—from 100–2000 cm⁻¹ (5–100 μm) at 2 cm⁻¹ spectral sampling using classical Lorentz–Lorenz dispersion theory. We present the real and imaginary indices and the oscillator parameters with which they were modeled. Use of these optical constants will aid in the modeling of thermal infrared spectra of planets, asteroids, interplanetary and interstellar dust, and protoplanetary disks around nearby stars.     

海水蒸发时的硼同位素分馏

采用立式亚沸石英蒸馏器，在非流动条件下进行了海水蒸发实验，以研究海水一空气界面硼同位素的行为。将具有不同pH值的天然海水在不同温度下平静地蒸发，采用冷水收集海水蒸汽，实现了无流动空气的真实的蒸发过程，共进行了3种类型的实验。 实验1 将不同pH值（(7.71-8.49)的海水在27℃，33℃和40℃下蒸发，蒸发时连续地补充高纯水以维持蒸发液体的体积恒定。收集海水蒸汽，进行蒸汽的硼同位素组成、硼和氯浓度的测定。 实验2将天然海水在33℃下蒸发，蒸发时不补加高纯水．搏派承药蒸干。分捌收集海水蒸汽和蒸干后的固体盐，进行蒸汽和固体盐的硼同位素组成测定。并同时测定不同蒸发阶段海水的pH值。 实验3 将加人不同硼量的天然海水在40℃下蒸发.蒸发时连续地补充高纯水以维持蒸发液体的体积恒定，收集海水蒸汽，进行硼同位素和硼浓度的测定。 硼浓度的结果表明：①在实验1中，蒸汽的硼浓度变化范围是1.51-10.7 μg/L，平均值为5.16 μg/L，随海水pH值升高而降低，但与蒸发温度无关；②在实验2和3中蒸汽硼的浓度要远远高于实验1，而且蒸汽硼浓度与海水硼浓度具有线性的正相关关系；③蒸汽相的Cl/B比（摩尔比值：平均23.4)远远低于海水的Cl/B比（摩尔比值：1485)，这表明蒸发时没有将海水喷雾的细珠引人蒸汽中。 硼同位素结果表明： (1)在实验1中，蒸汽的δ11B值除一个以外均低于海水B(OH)3的δ11B值，而高于海水B(OH)4-的δ11B值，而且都比海水的δ11B值高，蒸汽与海水间的平均硼同位素分馏系数为1.0019，这表明在海水蒸发时，11B富集在蒸汽相中。此结果与以前所进行的硼溶液蒸发实验结果一致，但与以前所进行的海水蒸发实验结果完全相反。以前的海水蒸发实验结果表明，10B在蒸汽相富集。这种截然相反的结果要归结于蒸发条件的差异，以前蒸发的海水蒸汽是由流动空气带出，此时非平衡的动力因素将起到重要作用，造成质量轻的10B优先进人蒸汽相。而本次实验在非空气流动条件下进行，B(OH)3和B(OH)-4间的同位素平衡将起主导作用。显然，燕汽的δ11B值与海水的pH值没有明显的关系。 (2)在实验2中，蒸汽与海水间的硼同位素分馏系数要远远高于实验1，特别当海水蒸干前的500 mL蒸汽，分馏系数高达1.0182。而蒸干后的固体盐的δ11B值明显低于原始海水，分馏系数为0.9973。这充分表明，在海水蒸发时，11B优先被蒸发而进人燕汽相。海水蒸发时蒸汽相的δ11B值随蒸发程度呈平方指数形式增加，这与蒸发时残留海水的δ11B值急剧升高有关。 (3）实验3中，蒸汽的δ11B值随海水硼浓度的增加而升高，当硼浓度为19.7 μg/mL和63.5 μg/mL时，硼同位素分馏系数分别为1.0072和1.0107。 海水蒸发时的硼同位素分馏可用于对大气降雨硼来源的研究。在不同时期采集的西宁雨水的δ11B值为12.1‰和9.0‰，受风向的影响甚微，表明西宁地区的大气环境受海洋影响较小，大气中的硼主要来源于陆地。但南海西江石油平台大气降雨的δ11B值明显受风向所控制，高δ11B值（33.2‰）表明其海洋来源，而低δ11B值（8.4‰）表明其陆地来源。以往文献所报道的陆地及其沿海大气降雨的δ11B值变化范围很宽(0.8‰~35‰)，但是它们都低于海水的δ11B值，这表明陆地及其沿海大气中的硼主要来源于陆地。 海水中的硼将因洋壳低温蚀变、沉积物吸附以及生物碳酸盐共沉淀从海洋中迁出，这些过程均造成海水10B的贫化。惟独海水蒸发时会造成海水10B的富集，但由于此时硼同位素分馏小，而且与其他因素相比，被海水蒸汽迁出的硼量低，根据计算，海水燕发对古海洋硼同位素组成的影响完全可以忽略不计。     

Multi-scale risk assessment of stream pollution by wastewater of olive oil mills in Kolymvari,Crete

In the streams of the Mediterranean island of Crete (Greece), olive mill wastewater (OMW) has been reported to reduce biodiversity up to 85 %. Mere conduction of impact assessment based on pollutant concentrations, however, cannot reveal how impacted areas may be connected to the pollution sources. In this study, we developed a new methodology which allows for a dynamic cause-effect linking of pollution sources and impacted areas through the pathways of OMW. Risk is hierarchically assessed and mapped at three different scales and more specifically, at the source scale (targeting olive mill units and their waste tanks), at the receptor scale (targeting potential impacted sites in the streams) and at the watershed scale (which is the scale of overall water management). The approach is based mainly on remote sensing data without taking account of groundwater regimes or field measurements. Involvement of local experts for recognizing spatial features of interest and selecting appropriate risk parameters was proved necessary and efficient in order to model the stream pollution risk realistically. Potential impacted sites in the stream network were occasionally verified by a field survey. The results comprise a set of risk maps at the three different scales. The constructed digital geo-database can be updated or modified and thus is considered to be a dynamic tool for future environmental management in the service of the local community.