Integrating disciplinary research into an interdisciplinary framework: A case study in sustainability research

The complexity of today’s research problems increasingly demands that scientists move beyond the confines of their own discipline. In this special issue, the basics of a transdisciplinary framework are established and problems analyzed in a specific discipline are successfully integrated in this transdisciplinary network. The intent has been to go beyond only statements about the importance of enabling early stage researchers to work across disciplinary boundaries, and to show that important discoveries are being made at the intersection of disciplines. Embedding various research projects in a more global framework can meet the demands of an interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary approach (especially for early stage researchers) and contribute significantly to sustainable research.     

A study on the orbit of air temperature movement

In this paper, we describe an air temperature movement by mapping its time series to the polar coordinates: the value of the time series is plotted on the radial coordinate and the time on the angular coordinate. In this way, both the yearly and daily air temperature movements from five different locations of China are used to demonstrate that, in an intuitionistic view, air temperature movement is neither random nor chaotic, but has its own orbit. We then propose an elliptic orbit model for the air temperature movement. Our proposed model provides quite good results when it is applied to the evaluation of yearly air temperature movements in eight locations in various parts of the world, and the evaluation of daily air temperature movements in five locations in Hunan Province of China on December 17, 2005. Results show that our approach provides a concise and helpful model for air temperature analysis.     

Assessing land use impacts on flood processes in complex terrain by using GIS and modeling approach

A distributed hydrologic modeling and GIS approach is applied for the assessment of land use impact in the Steinsel sub-basin, Alzette, Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. The assessment focuses on the runoff contributions from different land use classes and the potential impact of land use changes on runoff generation. The results show that the direct runoff from urban areas is dominant for a flood event compared with runoff from other land use areas in this catchment, and tends to increase for small floods and for the dry season floods, whereas the interflow from forested, pasture and agricultural field areas contributes to the recession flow. Significant variations in flood volume, peak discharge, time to the peak, etc., are found from the model simulation based on the three hypothetical land use change scenarios.     

Application of a checklist for quality assistance in environmental modelling to an energy model

Large, complex energy models present considerable challenges to develop and test. Uncertainty assessments of such models provide only partial guidance on the quality of the results. We have developed a model quality assistance checklist to aid in this purpose. The model checklist provides diagnostic output in the form of a set of pitfalls for the model application. The checklist is applied here to an energy model for the problem of assessing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Use of the checklist suggests that results on this issue are contingent on a number of assumptions that are highly value-laden. When these assumptions are held fixed, the model is deemed capable of producing moderately robust results of relevance to climate policy over the longer term. Checklist responses also indicate that a number of details critical to policy choices or outcomes on this issue are not captured in the model, and model results should therefore be supplemented with alternative analyses.     

关于室内装修有害气体烘焙排风稀释技术数值研究

依据实测数据,应用数值计算手法,对烘焙排风稀释技术不同工况下总挥发性有机化合物的排除量、烘焙排风稀释阶段室内空气中总挥发性有机化合物的浓度变化进行计算并讨论烘焙温度、换气次数对去除效果的影响。     

A Simulation of Temporal and Spatial Variations in Carbon at Landscape Level: A Case Study for Lake Abitibi Model Forest in Ontario,Canada

Using a case study of the Lake Abitibi Model Forest (LAMF), this study aims to assess the temporal and spatial variability in carbon storage during 1990–2000, and to present a comprehensive estimation of the carbon budget for LAMF's ecosystems. As well, it provided the information needed by local forest managers to develop ecological and carbon-based indicators and monitor the sustainability of forest ecosystems. Temporal and spatial carbon dynamics were simulated at the landscape level using ecosystem model TRIPLEX1.0 and Geographical Information System (GIS). The simulated net primary productivity (NPP) and carbon storage in forest biomass and soil were compared with field data and results from other studies for Canada's boreal forests. The results show that simulated NPP ranged from 3.26 to 3.34 tC ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in the 1990s and was consistent with the range measured during the Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Studies (BOREAS) in central Canada. Modeled NPP was also compared with the estimation from remote sensing data. The density of total above-and belowground biomass was 125.3, 111.8, and 106.5 tC ha⁻¹ for black spruce, trembling aspen, and jack pine in the LAMF ecosystem, respectively. The total carbon density of forested land was estimated at 154.4 tC ha⁻¹ with the proportion of 4:6 for total biomass and soil. The analysis of net carbon balance of ecosystem suggested that the LAMF forest ecosystem was acting as a carbon sink with an allowable harvest in the 1990s.     

Cells of the connective tissue differentiate and migrate into pollen sacs

In angiosperms, archesporial cells in the anther primordium undergo meiosis to form haploid pollen, the sole occupants of anther sacs. Anther sacs are held together by a matrix of parenchyma cells, the connective tissue. Cells of the connective tissue are not known to differentiate. We report the differentiation of parenchyma cells in the connective tissue of two Gordonia species into pollen-like structures (described as pseudopollen), which migrate into the anther sacs before dehiscence. Pollen and pseudopollen were distinguishable by morphology and staining. Pollen were tricolpate to spherical while pseudopollen were less rigid and transparent with a ribbed surface. Both types were different in size, shape, staining and surface architecture. The ratio of the number of pseudopollen to pollen was 1:3. During ontogeny in the connective tissue, neither cell division nor tetrad formation was observed and hence pseudopollen were presumed to be diploid. Only normal pollen germinated on a germination medium. Fixed preparations in time seemed to indicate that pseudopollen migrate from the connective tissue into the anther sac.     

Fe_3O_4、Fe_2O_3对燃煤飞灰比电阻和击穿场强的影响

利用从国内不同燃煤电厂采集的飞灰作为本底灰样，采用试剂添加、磁选分离和高温煅烧等多种方法分别制备Ｆｅ_２Ｏ_３、Ｆｅ_３Ｏ_４含量不等的试样，进而对这些试样的比电阻和击穿场强进行实验研究。研究结果表明，Ｆｅ_２Ｏ_３和Ｆｅ_３Ｏ_４对飞灰的电导性质的影响规律明显不同：Ｆｅ_３Ｏ_４含量提高４％，可使飞灰的比电阻降低约１个数量级，并使霜些飞灰在０．５ｋＶ／ｃｍ场强下产生电击穿；Ｆｅ_２Ｏ_３的比电阻和击穿场强大大高于Ｆｅ_３Ｏ_４，对飞灰的影响不大。实验结果为研究电除尘器收尘极板上飞灰对收尘机理的影响，和飞灰比电阻数学模型的建立提供了依据。     

利用轨迹模式模拟近地层臭氧日变化

提出在多条轨迹上应用轨迹模式，以实现对固 区臭氧浓度日变化的模拟，应用该方法对北京燕山石化炼油厂地区的Ｏ３浓度日变化进行了模拟，结果表明模拟值和实测值十分吻和。进一步模拟了当地的臭氧生物特征，并讨论了当地的气象条件和源排放对Ｏ３生成浓度的影响。结果说明削减ＮＯｘ的排放量是控制该地区光化学烟雾形成的关键，而降低燃烃和芳香烃在排放物中所占的比例也是控制该地区光学烟雾的重要手段。