Search results for "atmosphere"
showing 10 items of 673 documents
Emission of nitrous acid from soil and biological soil crusts represents an important source of HONO in the remote atmosphere in Cyprus
2018
Abstract. Soil and biological soil crusts can emit nitrous acid (HONO) and nitric oxide (NO). The terrestrial ground surface in arid and semiarid regions is anticipated to play an important role in the local atmospheric HONO budget, deemed to represent one of the unaccounted-for HONO sources frequently observed in field studies. In this study HONO and NO emissions from a representative variety of soil and biological soil crust samples from the Mediterranean island Cyprus were investigated under controlled laboratory conditions. A wide range of fluxes was observed, ranging from 0.6 to 264 ng m−2 s−1 HONO-N at optimal soil water content (20–30 % of water holding capacity, WHC). Maximum NO-N f…
In-situ integrating nephelometer measurements of the scattering properties of atmospheric aerosols at an urban coastal site in western Mediterranean
2012
Abstract Measurements of aerosol scattering properties obtained during the period from March 2006 to December 2010 at Valencia (Spain) have been analyzed. The total aerosol scattering (σsp) and backscattering (σbsp) coefficients were measured using a TSI Model 3563 three-wavelength integrating nephelometer. From the measurements of σsp and σbsp, it was possible to determine also the scattering Angstrom exponent (αs). For the entire measurement period, the mean values (±standard deviation) at 550 nm are: 80 ± 50 Mm−1 for σsp; 8 ± 5 Mm−1 for σbsp; and 1.6 ± 0.3 for αs. These results indicate a moderate polluted atmosphere characterized by fine particles. The daily variation for all seasons sh…
The sea–air exchange of mercury (Hg) in the marine boundary layer of the Augusta basin (southern Italy): Concentrations and evasion flux
2013
Abstract The first attempt to systematically investigate the atmospheric mercury (Hg) in the MBL of the Augusta basin (SE Sicily, Italy) has been undertaken. In the past the basin was the receptor for Hg from an intense industrial activity which contaminated the bottom sediments of the Bay, making this area a potential source of pollution for the surrounding Mediterranean. Three oceanographic cruises have been thus performed in the basin during the winter and summer 2011/2012, where we estimated averaged Hg atm concentrations of about 1.5 ± 0.4 (range 0.9–3.1) and 2.1 ± 0.98 (range 1.1–3.1) ng m −3 for the two seasons, respectively. These data are somewhat higher than the background Hg atm …
Assessing persistent organic pollutants (POPS) in the sicily island atmosphere, mediterranean, using PUF disk passive air samplers
2016
In this study, PUF disk passive air samplers were deployed at eight sites, during two sampling periods, on the Island of Sicily in the Mediterranean basin. Samples were screened for a number of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (n = 28 congeners), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) (n = 16 compounds), and polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs n = 28) using GC-MS. PCB concentrations in air ranged ~10-300 pg m-3. The PCB pattern was dominated by lower to middle molecular weight PCBs (Cl3-5) and PCB-28 and PCB-52 were the most abundant congeners. α- and γ-Hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) concentrations in air were relatively high ~420 ± 320 (50-1000) an…
The Opportunity Rover's Athena Science Investigation at Meridiani Planum, Mars
2004
The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has investigated the landing site in Eagle crater and the nearby plains within Meridiani Planum. The soils consist of fine-grained basaltic sand and a surface lag of hematite-rich spherules, spherule fragments, and other granules. Wind ripples are common. Underlying the thin soil layer, and exposed within small impact craters and troughs, are flat-lying sedimentary rocks. These rocks are finely laminated, are rich in sulfur, and contain abundant sulfate salts. Small-scale cross-lamination in some locations provides evidence for deposition in flowing liquid water. We interpret the rocks to be a mixture of chemical and siliciclastic sediments formed by e…
High Temperature Study of Metamict Rinkite
2013
Metamict minerals contain radioactive elements that degrade their crystal structure. During the annealing process under ambient pressure in argon atmosphere the sample of metamict rinkite recrystallizes to the primary crystalline form at 700°C. Further heating leads to the formation of a new crystalline phase.
The size distribution of marine atmospheric aerosol with regard to primary biological aerosol particles over the South Atlantic Ocean
1999
Abstract The marine atmosphere is characterized by particles which originate from the ocean and by those which reached the air by advection from the continent. The bubble-burst mechanism produces both sea salt as well as biological particles. The following article describes the determination of the size distribution of marine aerosol particles with special emphasis on the biological particles. Th data were obtained on three cruises with the German Research Vessel “METEOR” crossing the South Atlantic Ocean. The measurements showed that biological particles amount to 17% in number and 10% in volume concentration. Another type of particle became obvious in the marine atmosphere, the biological…
A Dutch contribution to early interpretations of Meteor Crater, Arizona, USA – Marten Edsge Mulder’s ignored 1911 paper
2018
Abstract Following the first scientific descriptions in the late nineteenth century, the origin of the curious structure currently known as Meteor Crater (or Barringer Crater) in Arizona (USA) remained controversial until well into the twentieth century. Within the context of commercial mining, Daniel Moreau Barringer’s view that it recorded a substratum-penetrative meteorite impact (with the cosmic body still preserved) was commonly discarded. Marten Edsge Mulder (1847–1928), Dutch professor of medicine, found fault with Barringer’s non-explosive model. In 1911, Mulder advanced, in an ignored paper written in Dutch, a novel model of an explosive meteorite (‘meteor’ in Mulder’s terminology)…
Scaling carbon fluxes from eddy covariance sites to globe: synthesis and evaluation of the FLUXCOM approach
2020
FLUXNET comprises globally distributed eddy-covariance-based estimates of carbon fluxes between the biosphere and the atmosphere. Since eddy covariance flux towers have a relatively small footprint and are distributed unevenly across the world, upscaling the observations is necessary to obtain global-scale estimates of biosphere–atmosphere exchange. Based on cross-consistency checks with atmospheric inversions, sun-induced fluorescence (SIF) and dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs), here we provide a systematic assessment of the latest upscaling efforts for gross primary production (GPP) and net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of the FLUXCOM initiative, where different machine learning methods…
Comparison of evapotranspiration estimates by NOAA-AVHRR images and aircraft flux measurements in a semiarid region of Spain.
1998
Abstract This paper is intended to show how to aggregate two different remote-sensing techniques carried out in the framework of the European-Union funded project EFEDA (European Field Experiment in a Desertification-threatened Area). One of these is based on satellite measurements, and the other on aircraft flux measurements. The aim of putting together both methodologies was to determine regional evapotranspiration as a major component of the water balance in Castilla-La Mancha, a semiarid region in southeast Spain. The basis for the satellite approach is using temperature information collected by the Advanced Very High-Resolution Radio- meter (AVHRR) sensor on board the National Oceanic …