Emissions and distribution of methyl bromide in field beds applied at two rates and covered with two types of plastic mulches

A field experiment was conducted to compare two plastic mulches and two application rates on surface emissions and subsurface distribution of methyl bromide (MBr) in field beds in Florida. Within 30 minutes after injection of MBr to 30 cm depth, MBr had diffused upward to soil surface in all beds covered with polyethylene film (PE) or virtually impermeable film (VIF) and applied at a high rate (392 kg/ha) and a low rate (196 kg/ha). Due to the highly permeable nature of PE, within 30 minutes after injection, MBr volatilized from the bed surfaces of the two PE-covered beds into the atmosphere. The amount of volatilization was greater for the high rate-treatment bed. On the other hand, volatilization of MBr from the bed surfaces of the two VIF-covered beds were negligible. Volatilization losses occurred from the edges of all the beds covered with PE or VIF and were greater from the high rate-treatment beds. Initial vertical diffusion of MBr in the subsurface of the beds covered with PE or VIF was mainly upward, as large concentrations of MBr were detected from near bed surfaces to 20 cm depth in these beds 30 minutes after injection and little or no MBr was found at 40 cm depth. The two VIF-covered beds exhibited greater MBr concentrations and longer resident times in the root zone (0.5-40 cm depth) than corresponding PE-covered beds. Concentrations of MBr in the root zone of the high rate-treatment beds were 3.6-6.1 times larger than the low rate-treatment beds during the first days after application. In conclusion, VIF promoted retention of MBr in the root zone and, if volatilization loss from bed edges can be blocked, volatilization loss from VIF-covered beds should be negligible.     

基于压电纤维复合材料的风沙冲击力传感器研究∗

沙尘暴是一种多发于沙漠等干旱地区的灾害天气，建（构）筑物常受其影响被侵蚀甚至产生破坏，这种破坏的本质是风沙两相流中沙粒对结构表面冲击产生细微损伤的积累。为了深入探索这种风沙两相流对结构的冲击作用和沙粒冲击力在结构表面的分布规律，研究了采用压电纤维复合材料作为力传感器来测量风沙流场中沙粒冲击力的方法，通过标定试验建立了压电传感器所受沙粒冲击力与其输出电信号之间的数学模型，构建了基于压电纤维复合材料的风沙冲击力传感器。分别采用高频测力天平和压电传感器测量低矮房屋迎风面在风沙风洞试验中所受到的沙粒冲击力，验证压电传感器测量沙粒冲击力的适用性和准确性。结果显示：两种测力方式的结果总体相差在-4.72%~5.80%，两种试验结果吻合良好；建筑物迎风面内侧所受到的沙粒冲击力大于外侧所受到的沙粒冲击力，沙粒冲击力的分布与表面风压力分布具有一定相关关系。研究成果可为结构防风沙灾害的相关研究提供参考。     

The toxicity of the glyphosate herbicide for Pardosa spiders’ predatory activity depends on the formulation of the glyphosate product

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Glyphosate is an herbicide which was previously considered safe for non-target organisms. 825.8 million kilograms of glyphosate-based products were used...     

Vertical distribution and temporal evolution of formaldehyde and glyoxal derived from MAX-DOAS observations: The indicative role of VOC sources

Formaldehyde (HCHO) and glyoxal (CHOCHO) are important oxidization intermediates of most volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but their vertical evolution in urban areas is not well understood. Vertical profiles of HCHO, CHOCHO, and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) were retrieved from ground-based Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) observations in Hefei, China. HCHO and CHOCHO vertical profiles prefer to occur at higher altitudes compared to NO₂, which might be caused by the photochemistry-oxidation of longer-lived VOCs at higher altitudes. Monthly means of HCHO concentrations were higher in summer, while enhanced amounts of NO₂ were mainly observed in winter. CHOCHO exhibited a hump-like seasonal variation, with higher monthly-averaged values not only occurred in warm months (July-August) but also in cold months (November-December). Peak values mainly occurred during noon for HCHO but emerged in the morning for CHOCHO and NO₂, suggesting that HCHO is stronger link to photochemistry than CHOCHO. We further use the glyoxal to formaldehyde ratio (GFR) to investigate the VOC sources at different altitudes. The lowest GFR value is almost found in the altitude from 0.2 to 0.4 km, and then rises rapidly as the altitude increases. The GFR results indicate that the largest contributor of the precursor VOC is biogenic VOCs at lower altitudes, while at higher altitudes is anthropogenic VOCs. Our findings provide a lot more insight into VOC sources at vertical direction, but more verification is recommended to be done in the future.