Evolution of the modern Nile delta promontories: development of accretional features during shoreline retreat

The active accretional features that have developed along the modern Nile Delta promontories during shoreline retreat are analysed using topographic maps, remote imagery, ground and hydrographic surveys, together providing 15 time-slice maps (1922-2000) at Rosetta and 14 time-slice maps (1909-2000) at Damietta. Small double sandy spits developed and persisted at Rosetta between 1986 and 1991. At Damietta, a much larger single spit, 9 km long, formed approximately east of the mouth of the Damietta Nile branch between 1955 and 1972, although its source has now been depleted. Both the Rosetta and Damietta inlets are associated with submerged mouth bars that accumulated prior to the damming of the Nile, but that continue to contribute to local sedimentation problems, particularly at Rosetta. The development of the active accretional features along the Nile promontories reflects a combination of factors including sediment availability, transport pathways from source areas, a decrease in the magnitude of Nile flood discharges, as well as the impact of protective structures at the river mouths.

Radar scattering by aggregate snowflakes

The radar scattering properties of realistic aggregate snowflakes have been calculated using the Rayleigh-Gans theory. We find that the effect of the snowflake geometry on the scattering may be described in terms of a single universal function, which depends only on the overall shape of the aggregate and not the geometry or size of the pristine ice crystals which compose the flake. This function is well approximated by a simple analytic expression at small sizes; for larger snowflakes we fit a curve to Our numerical data. We then demonstrate how this allows a characteristic snowflake radius to be derived from dual wavelength radar measurements without knowledge of the pristine crystal size or habit, while at the same time showing that this detail is crucial to using such data to estimate ice water content. We also show that the 'effective radius'. characterizing the ratio of particle volume to projected area, cannot be inferred from dual wavelength radar data for aggregates. Finally, we consider the errors involved in approximating snowflakes by 'air-ice spheres', and show that for small enough aggregates the predicted dual wavelength ratio typically agrees to within a few percent, provided some care is taken in choosing the radius of the sphere and the dielectric constant of the air-ice mixture; at larger sizes the radar becomes more sensitive to particle shape, and the errors associated with the sphere model are found to increase accordingly.

Kinetic energy analysis of the response of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation to CO2-forced climate change

Atmosphere–ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs) predict a weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) in response to anthropogenic forcing of climate, but there is a large model uncertainty in the magnitude of the predicted change. The weakening of the AMOC is generally understood to be the result of increased buoyancy input to the north Atlantic in a warmer climate, leading to reduced convection and deep water formation. Consistent with this idea, model analyses have shown empirical relationships between the AMOC and the meridional density gradient, but this link is not direct because the large-scale ocean circulation is essentially geostrophic, making currents and pressure gradients orthogonal. Analysis of the budget of kinetic energy (KE) instead of momentum has the advantage of excluding the dominant geostrophic balance. Diagnosis of the KE balance of the HadCM3 AOGCM and its low-resolution version FAMOUS shows that KE is supplied to the ocean by the wind and dissipated by viscous forces in the global mean of the steady-state control climate, and the circulation does work against the pressure-gradient force, mainly in the Southern Ocean. In the Atlantic Ocean, however, the pressure-gradient force does work on the circulation, especially in the high-latitude regions of deep water formation. During CO2-forced climate change, we demonstrate a very good temporal correlation between the AMOC strength and the rate of KE generation by the pressure-gradient force in 50–70°N of the Atlantic Ocean in each of nine contemporary AOGCMs, supporting a buoyancy-driven interpretation of AMOC changes. To account for this, we describe a conceptual model, which offers an explanation of why AOGCMs with stronger overturning in the control climate tend to have a larger weakening under CO2 increase.

Targeted observations of a polar low in the Norwegian sea

A developing polar low is targeted with dropsonde observations to improve the forecast of its landfall. Accurately forecasting a polar low's strength and location remains a challenge; polar lows form over the ocean in poorly observed regions, therefore initial condition errors may contribute significantly to forecast error. The targeted polar low formed in the Norwegian Sea on 3 March 2008, during the Norwegian IPY-THORPEX field campaign. Two flights, six hours apart, released dense networks of dropsondes into a sensitive region covering the polar low and Arctic front to its west. The impact of the targeted observations is assessed using the limited-area Met Office Unified Model and three-dimensional variational (3D-Var) data assimilation scheme. Forecasts were verified using ECMWF analysis data, which show good agreement with both dropsonde data from a flight through the mature polar low, and 10 m QuikSCAT winds. The impact of the targeted data moved southwards with the polar low as it developed and then hit the Norwegian coast after 24 hours. The results show that the forecast of the polar low is sensitive to the initial conditions; targeted observations from the first flight did not improve the forecast, but those from the second flight clearly improved the forecast polar low position and intensity. However, caution should be applied to attributing the forecast improvement to the assimilation of the targeted observations from a single case-study, especially in this case as the forecast improvement is moderate relative to the spread from an operational ensemble forecast

Kinetic energy analysis of the response of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation to CO2-forced climate change

Atmosphere–ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs) predict a weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) in response to anthropogenic forcing of climate, but there is a large model uncertainty in the magnitude of the predicted change. The weakening of the AMOC is generally understood to be the result of increased buoyancy input to the north Atlantic in a warmer climate, leading to reduced convection and deep water formation. Consistent with this idea, model analyses have shown empirical relationships between the AMOC and the meridional density gradient, but this link is not direct because the large-scale ocean circulation is essentially geostrophic, making currents and pressure gradients orthogonal. Analysis of the budget of kinetic energy (KE) instead of momentum has the advantage of excluding the dominant geostrophic balance. Diagnosis of the KE balance of the HadCM3 AOGCM and its low-resolution version FAMOUS shows that KE is supplied to the ocean by the wind and dissipated by viscous forces in the global mean of the steady-state control climate, and the circulation does work against the pressure-gradient force, mainly in the Southern Ocean. In the Atlantic Ocean, however, the pressure-gradient force does work on the circulation, especially in the high-latitude regions of deep water formation. During CO2-forced climate change, we demonstrate a very good temporal correlation between the AMOC strength and the rate of KE generation by the pressure-gradient force in 50–70°N of the Atlantic Ocean in each of nine contemporary AOGCMs, supporting a buoyancy-driven interpretation of AMOC changes. To account for this, we describe a conceptual model, which offers an explanation of why AOGCMs with stronger overturning in the control climate tend to have a larger weakening under CO2 increase

Response of the northern stratospheric polar vortex to the seasonal alignment of QBO phase transitions

This study considers the strength of the Northern Hemisphere Holton-Tan effect (HTE) in terms of the phase alignment of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) with respect to the annual cycle. Using the ERA-40 Reanalysis, it is found that the early winter (Nov–Dec) and late winter (Feb–Mar) relation between QBO phase and the strength of the stratospheric polar vortex is optimized for subsets of the 44-year record that are chosen on the basis of the seasonality of QBO phase transitions at the 30 hPa level. The timing of phase transitions serves as a proxy for changes in the vertical structure of the QBO over the whole depth of the tropical stratosphere. The statistical significance of the Nov–Dec (Feb–Mar) HTE is greatest when 30 hPa QBO phase transitions occur 9–14 (4–9) months prior to the January of the NH winter in question. This suggests that there exists for both early and late winter a vertical structure of tropical stratospheric winds that is most effective at influencing the interannual variability of the polar vortex, and that an early (late) winter HTE is associated with an early (late) progression of QBO phase towards that structure. It is also shown that the seasonality of QBO phase transitions at 30 hPa varies on a decadal timescale, with transitions during the first half of the calendar year being relatively more common during the first half of the tropical radiosonde wind record. Combining these two results suggests that decadal changes in HTE strength could result from the changing seasonality of QBO phase transitions. Citation: Anstey, J. A., and T. G. Shepherd (2008), Response of the northern stratospheric polar vortex to the seasonal alignment of QBO phase transitions, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L22810, doi:10.1029/2008GL035721.

Living to die and dying to live: the survival strategy behind leaf senescence

Senescence represents the final developmental act of the leaf, during which the leaf cell is dismantled in a coordinated manner to remobilize nutrients and to secure reproductive success. The process of senescence provides the plant with phenotypic plasticity to help it adapt to adverse environmental conditions. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of the factors and mechanisms that control the onset of senescence. We explain how the competence to senesce is established during leaf development, as depicted by the senescence window model. We also discuss the mechanisms by which phytohormones and environmental stresses control senescence, as well as the impact of source-sink relationships on plant yield and stress tolerance. In addition, we discuss the role of senescence as a strategy for stress adaptation and how crop production and food quality could benefit from engineering or breeding crops with altered onset of senescence.

Application of abrupt cut-off models in the analysis of the capacitance spectra of conjugated polymer devices

In this paper, a detailed study of the capacitance spectra obtained from Au/doped-polyaniline/Al structures in the frequency domain (0.05 Hz-10 MHz), and at different temperatures (150-340 K) is carried out. The capacitance spectra behavior in semiconductors can be appropriately described by using abrupt cut-off models, since they assume that the electronic gap states that can follow the ac modulation have response times varying rapidly with a certain abscissa, which is dependent on both temperature and frequency. Two models based on the abrupt cut-off concept, formerly developed to describe inorganic semiconductor devices, have been used to analyze the capacitance spectra of devices based on doped polyaniline (PANI), which is a well-known polymeric semiconductor with innumerous potential technological applications. The application of these models allowed the determination of significant parameters, such as Debye length (approximate to 20 nm), position of bulk Fermi level (approximate to 320 meV) and associated density of states (approximate to 2x10(18) eV(-1) cm(-3)), width of the space charge region (approximate to 70 nm), built-in potential (approximate to 780 meV), and the gap states` distribution.

HYDROTHERMAL REE FLUOROCARBONATE MINERALIZATION AT BARRA DO ITAPIRAPUA, A MULTIPLE STOCKWORK CARBONATITE, SOUTHERN BRAZIL

The Barra do Itapirapua ( BIT) carbonatites in southern Brazil belong to the final stages of the Early Cretaceous alkaline rock - carbonatite magmatism of the Ponta Grossa Arch Province. The BIT complex is a dyke and vein stockwork in which four main carbonatitic phases are recognized, mainly magnesiocarbonatites and ferrocarbonatites. These carbonatites are generally overprinted by pervasive hydrothermal events. The C-O stable isotopic data indicate re-equilibration under hydrothermal conditions at temperatures between 375 and 80 degrees C. Significant amounts of REE fluorocarbonate minerals, relatively Sr- and Th-rich, were deposited. Syntaxy between synchysite-(Ce) and parisite-(Ce) is very common owing to the similarity in structures, with alternating (001) layers of (CeF), (CO3) and (Ca). However, bastnasite-(Ce) occurs as individual crystals, overgrown by the synchysite and parisite polycrystals. Textural and chemical reactions between the REE fluorocarbonates provide insights into the mobility of rare-earth elements during fluid-rock interaction. The BIT complex is considered to be of potential economic interest for production of the rare-earth concentrates.

3-Hydroxy-4, 5-dimethyl-2 (5 H)-furanone levels in fortified Madeira wines: Relationship to sugar content

The maturation of Madeira wines usually involves exposure to relatively high temperatures and humidity levels >70%, which affect the aroma and flavor composition and lead to the formation of the typical and characteristic bouquet of these wines. To estimate the levels of sotolon [3-hydroxy4,5-dimethyl-2(5 H )-furanone] and their behavior over time, 86 aged Madeira wines samples (1-25 years old), with different sugar concentrations, respectively, 90 g L-1 for Boal, 110 g L-1 for Malvazia, 25 g L -1 for Sercial, and 65 g L-1 for Verdelho varieties, were analyzed. Isolation was performed by liquid-liquid extraction with dichloromethane followed by chromatographic analysis by GC-MS. The reproducibility of the method was found to be 4.9%. The detection and quantification limits were 1.2 and 2.0 µgL-1, respectively. The levels of sotolon found ranged from not detected to 2000 µgL-1 for wines between 1 and 25 years old. It was observed that during aging, the concentration of sotolon increased with time in a linear fashion ( r ) 0.917). The highest concentration of sotolon was found in wines with the highest residual sugar contents, considering the same time of storage. The results show that there is a strong correlation between sotolon and sugar derivatives: furfural, 5-methylfurfural, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, and 5-ethoxymethylfurfural. These compounds are also well correlated with wine aging. These findings indicate that the kinetics of sotolon formation is closely related with residual sugar contents, suggesting that this molecule may come from a component like sugar.