Mass conservation and atmospheric dynamics in the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS)

This paper examines the spatio-temporal patterns of atmospheric carbon dioxide transport predicted by the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS). Forty-eight hour simulations over northern New England incorporating a simple representation of the diurnal summertime surface carbon dioxide forcing arising from biological activity indicate that, in its native formulation, RAMS exhibits a significant degree of mass non-conservation. Domain-wide rates of non-physical mass gain and mass loss are as large as three percent per day which translates into approximately eleven parts per million per day for carbon dioxide — enough to rapidly dilute the signature of carbon dioxide fluxes arising from biological activity. Analysis shows that this is due to the approximation used by RAMS to compute the Exner function. Substitution of the exact, physically complete equation improves mass conservation by two orders of magnitude. In addition to greatly improving mass conservation, use of the complete Exner function equation has a substantial impact on the spatial pattern of carbon dioxide predicted by the model, yielding predictions differing from a conventional RAMS simulation by as much as forty parts per million. Such differences have important implications both for comparisons of modeled atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations to observations and for carbon dioxide inversion studies, which use estimates of atmospheric transport of carbon dioxide in conjunction with measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations to infer the spatio-temporal distribution of surface carbon dioxide fluxes. Furthermore, use of the complete Exner function equation affects the vertical velocity and water mixing ratio fields, causing significant changes in accumulated precipitation over the region.     

温度对污泥热解产物及特性的影响

温度是污泥热解产物及产物分布状况的主要影响因素之一。为了确定最优的热解温度,为不同的热解工艺提供参考,用直径为200mm的外热式固定床反应器,以唐山西郊污水处理厂剩余污泥为实验物料,在终温为250～700℃并在初期通以氮气的情况下,对污泥的热解产物分布及特性进行了研究。实验表明:在物料成分和其它条件不变的情况下,热解反应所需时间随着热解终温的升高而缩短;热解气和热解焦油的质量分数增大;焦炭质量分数减小。热解焦炭的工业分析表明,随热解终温的升高挥发分减少、固定碳和灰分增加。热解焦油的热值在10～43MJ·kg-1之间;焦炭的热值10～24MJ·kg-1之间。     

Mass Transport in Vegetated Shear Flows

Submerged aquatic vegetation has the potential to greatly improve water quality through the removal of nutrients, particulates and trace metals. The efficiency of this removal depends heavily upon the rate of vertical mixing, which dictates the timescale over which these constituents remain in the canopy. Continuous dye injection experiments were conducted in a flume with model vegetation to characterize vertical mass transport in vegetated shear flows. Through the absorbance–concentration relationship of the Beer–Lambert Law, digital imaging was used to provide high-resolution concentration profiles of the dye plumes. Vertical mass transport is dominated by the coherent vortices of the vegetated shear layers. This is highlighted by the strong periodicity of the transport and its simple characterization based on properties of the shear layer. For example, the vertical turbulent diffusivity is directly proportional to the shear and thickness of the layer. The turbulent diffusivity depends upon the size of the plume, such that the rate of plume growth is lower near the source. In the far-field, mass is mixed more than twice as rapidly as momentum. Finally, plume size is dictated predominantly by X, a dimensionless distance that scales upon the number of vortex rotations experienced by the plume.     

The effects of burial by sand on survival and growth of Pitcher’s thistle (Cirsium pitcheri) along lake huron

Greenhouse experiments were conducted to determine the effects of sand burial on survival and growth of seedlings ofCirsium pitcheri. In 1992–1993, seedlings were buried to depths of 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% of their height while in 1993–1994, the seedlings were buried to depths of 0, 4 cm (single burial), 4 cm (repeated burial of 1 cm every 8 days), 8 cm (single burial) and 8 cm (repeated burial of 2 cm every 8 days). Several physiological traits, net photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll a∶b ratio, leaf area, number and length of leaves, number of internodes, amount of tillering, and biomass, were measured. The results showed that all seedlings died in the complete (100%) burial, 20% died in the 75% burial and none died in the 0, 25 and 50% burial treatments. Burial of seedlings to a depth of 25% stimulated their growth but 75% burial significantly decreased the total dry weight. Repeated burial treatments exhibited significantly greater stimulation of growth than single burial. Surviving seedlings grew through the sand deposit by elongating the stem and leaf petioles, increasing the number of nodes and the length of internodes. This elongation occurred at the expense of development of the root system indicating that available energy was re-allocated to above-ground parts.     

Extra-pair paternity,sperm competition and the evolution of testis size in birds

Sperm competition should select for increased sperm production if the probability of fertilization by a specific male is proportional to the relative number of sperm inseminated. A review of the literature generally supports the predicted positive association between sperm production or allocation and various measures of the presumed intensity of sperm competition. However, it is not clear how increased sperm competition is related to extra-pair paternity, and it remains unknown whether certainty of paternity should be associated with relative testis size. Based on a large sample of bird species with information on extra-pair paternity gathered from the literature, we demonstrate that testis mass is related positively to the level of extra-pair paternity, after controlling for body size and phylogeny. Although large testes may be necessary to avoid sperm depletion in species in which males frequently engage in multi-pair copulations, we argue that selection has favoured increased testis mass in situations of more intense sperm competition in order to retaliate against copulations by rival males. The fact the males are not always successful in retaliating against rival ejaculates further suggests that females may largely control the allocation of paternity in birds and that increased sperm production by males may simply be a male strategy to make the best of a bad situation.     

基因污染与生态环境安全

论述了基因污染可能对生态环境安全造成的影响。转基因作物有可能污染天然物种的基因库；有可能破坏传统农作物品种的遗传多样性，加速作物种植品种的单一化及基因资源的流失；使抗除草剂作物的基因向野生或半野生植物漂移的可能性加大，有可能创造出“超级杂草”；带有病毒型转基因作物的基因重组，有可能创造出新的植物病毒，导致新的病害；BT转基因抗虫作物分泌的毒素，在食物链中传递，很难加以控制，对非目标生物造成危害，并最终破坏自然生态系统的平衡。文章还从不同角度分析了基因污染的严重性。     

九龙江流域规模化养殖环境风险评价

在GIS支持下采用养分收支平衡法对九龙江流域规模化生猪养殖的环境风险进行评价。规模化养殖污染负荷在不同类型养殖场的分配、空间分布规律以及规模化养殖的环境风险评价结果表明：规模化养猪业年产粪尿量达107万t，以小型规模化养殖场产生的污染负荷最高；整体来看，规模化生猪养殖的环境风险不大，但由于养殖场的地理分布集中，造成近郊区域规模化养殖的环境风险极高；由于过多施用化肥，中远郊规模化养殖粪尿未得到合理利用而流失。位于水系附近的养殖场对水体影响较大，根据“福建省畜禽养殖污染防治管理办法”，为减少规模化生猪养殖对九龙江水质的直接威胁，需搬迁主要支流沿岸1km范围内的规模化养猪场250个。     

Estimation and validation of PM2.5/PM10 exhaust and non-exhaust emission factors for practical street pollution modelling

In order to carry out efficient traffic and air quality management, validated models and PM emission estimates are needed. This paper compares current available emission factor estimates for PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 from emission databases and different emission models, and validates these against eight high quality street pollution measurements in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Finland and Austria.The data sets show large variation of the PM concentration and emission factors with season and with location. Consistently at all roads the PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 emission factors are lower in the summer month than the rest of the year. For example, PM₁₀ emission factors are in average 5–45% lower during the month 6–10 compared to the annual average.The range of observed total emission factors (including non-exhaust emissions) for the different sites during summer conditions are 80–130 mg km⁻¹ for PM₁₀, 30–60 mg km⁻¹ for PM_2.5 and 20–50 mg km⁻¹ for the exhaust emissions.We present two different strategies regarding modelling of PM emissions: (1) For Nordic conditions with strong seasonal variations due to studded tyres and the use of sand/salt as anti-skid treatment a time varying emission model is needed. An empirical model accounting for these Nordic conditions was previously developed in Sweden. (2) For other roads with a less pronounced seasonal variation (e.g. in Denmark, Germany, Austria) methods using a constant emission factor maybe appropriate. Two models are presented here.Further, we apply the different emission models to data sets outside the original countries. For example, we apply the “Swedish” model for two streets without studded tyre usage and the “German” model for Nordic data sets. The “Swedish” empirical model performs best for streets with studded tyre use, but was not able to improve the correlation versus measurements in comparison to using constant emission factors for the Danish side. The “German” method performed well for the streets without clear seasonal variation and reproduces the summer conditions for streets with pronounced seasonal variation. However, the seasonal variation of PM emission factors can be important even for countries not using studded tyres, e.g. in areas with cold weather and snow events using sand and de-icing materials. Here a constant emission factor probably will under-estimate the 90-percentiles and therefore a time varying emission model need to be used or developed for such areas.All emission factor models consistently indicate that a large part (about 50–85% depending on the location) of the total PM₁₀ emissions originates from non-exhaust emissions. This implies that reduction measures for the exhaust part of the vehicle emissions will only have a limited effect on ambient PM₁₀ levels.     

氮源对气相生物滴滤床净化效果的影响

氮源对于气相生物滴滤床的净化效果有显著的影响。由于喷淋液体在生物滴滤床中分布不均匀 ,导致床层中局部氮源不充足 ,从而使滤床的去除效果降低。提高喷淋液中氮源的浓度 ,可以较大幅度提高净化效率。采用NH-4 N会导致滤床中硝化细菌的生长和累积 ,使得异养菌和硝化细菌在溶解氧、氮源和填料空间上形成竞争 ,并致使氮源分布不均匀 ,而采用NO3 N作为氮源可以改善这种状况     

Effects of bisphenol A on energy balance and accumulation in brown adipose tissue in rats

Some environmental contaminants have the potential to affect humans or animals by mimicking the effects of hormones. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a weak estrogen agonist when tested using in vitro or in vivo bioassays. In addition to the well documented effects of estrogens on reproductive functions, ovarian hormones also have salient effects on mammalian energy balance and feeding behavior. In this study, we investigated the effects of BPA on body weight and food intake of ovariectomized adult female rats. Treatment with doses of 4 or 5 mg/day for 15 days resulted in a significant reduction of body weight gain with no reduction in food intake. A dose of 1 mg/day did not affect feeding or weight gain. BPA was detected in the blood, brain and adipose tissues of the BPA-treated animals but not in the vehicle control group. There was a preferential concentration of BPA in brown adipose tissue. These results indicate that BPA can affect energy balance and that brown adipose tissue may be a primary tissue into which BPA accumulates in mammals.