Should energy efficiency be traded off for other product attributes? : an analysis of air-conditioner regulation in Japan

This paper examines the functioning of energy efficiency standards and labeling policies for air conditioners in Japan. The results of our empirical analysis suggest that consumers respond more to label information, which benchmarks the energy efficiency performance of each product to a pre-specified target, than to direct performance measures. This finding provides justification for the setting, and regular updating, of target standards as well as their use in calculating relative performance measures. We also find, through graphical analysis, that air conditioner manufacturers face a tradeoff between energy efficiency and product compactness when they develop their products. This tradeoff, combined with the semi-regular upward revision of minimum energy efficiency standards, has led to the growth in indoor unit size of air conditioners in recent years. In the face of this phenomenon, regulatory rules were revised so that manufacturers could adhere to less stringent standards if the indoor unit size of their product remains below a certain size. Our demand estimates provide no evidence that larger indoor unit size causes disutility to consumers. It is therefore possible that the regulatory change was not warranted from a consumer welfare point of view.

Bulk sediment element analysis of sediment cores GeoB10065-9 and GeoB10065-7, offshore northwest Sumba Island, Indonesia

The Australian-Indonesian monsoon has a governing influence on the agricultural practices and livelihood in the highly populated islands of Indonesia. However, little is known about the factors that have influenced past monsoon activity in southern Indonesia. Here, we present a ~6000 years high-resolution record of Australian-Indonesian summer monsoon (AISM) rainfall variations based on bulk sediment element analysis in a sediment archive retrieved offshore northwest Sumba Island (Indonesia). The record suggests lower riverine detrital supply and hence weaker AISM rainfall between 6000 yr BP and ~3000 yr BP compared to the Late Holocene. We find a distinct shift in terrigenous sediment supply at around 2800 yr BP indicating a reorganization of the AISM from a drier Mid Holocene to a wetter Late Holocene in southern Indonesia. The abrupt increase in rainfall at around 2800 yr BP coincides with a grand solar minimum. An increase in southern Indonesian rainfall in response to a solar minimum is consistent with climate model simulations that provide a possible explanation of the underlying mechanism responsible for the monsoonal shift. We conclude that variations in solar activity play a significant role in monsoonal rainfall variability at multi-decadal and longer timescales. The combined effect of orbital and solar forcing explains important details in the temporal evolution of AISM rainfall during the last 6000 years. By contrast, we find neither evidence for volcanic forcing of AISM variability nor for a control by long-term variations in the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

Stable isotope records and biogenic barium fluxes of sediment core SO202-07-06

Reduced nitrate supply to the subarctic North Pacific (SNP) surface during the last ice age has been inferred from coupled changes in diatom-bound d15N (DB-d15N), bulk sedimentary d15N, and biogenic fluxes. However, the reliability of bulk sedimentary and DB-d15N has been questioned, and a previously reported d15N minimum during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1) has proven difficult to explain. In a core from the western SNP, we report the foraminifera-bound d15N (FB-d15N) in Neogloboquadrina pachyderma and Globigerina bulloides, comparing them with DB-d15N in the same core over the past 25 kyr. The d15N of all recorders is higher during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) than in the Holocene, indicating more complete nitrate consumption. N. pachyderma FB-d15N is similar to DB-d15N in the Holocene but 2.2 per mil higher during the LGM. This difference suggests a greater sensitivity of FB-d15N to changes in summertime nitrate drawdown and d15N rise, consistent with a lag of the foraminifera relative to diatoms in reaching their summertime production peak in this highly seasonal environment. Unlike DB-d15N, FB-d15N does not decrease from the LGM into HS1, which supports a previous suggestion that the HS1 DB-d15N minimum is due to contamination by sponge spicules. FB-d15N drops in the latter half of the Bølling/Allerød warm period and rises briefly in the Younger Dryas cold period, followed by a decline into the mid-Holocene. The FB-d15N records suggest that the coupling among cold climate, reduced nitrate supply, and more complete nitrate consumption that characterized the LGM also applied to the deglacial cold events.

Description and 238U, 234U, 232Th and 230Th measurements of the manganese nodule analysed from station SO79_63KG, R/V SONNE

Thorium and uranium isotopes were measured in a diagenetic manganese nodule from the Peru basin applying alpha- and thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS). Alpha-counting of 62 samples was carried out with a depth resolution of 0.4 mm to gain a high-resolution Th-230(excess) profile. In addition, 17 samples were measured with TIMS to obtain precise isotope concentrations and isotope ratios. We got values of 0.06-0.59 ppb (Th-230), 0.43-1.40 ppm (Th-232), 0.09-0.49 ppb (U-234) and 1.66-8.24 ppm (U-238). The uranium activity ratio in the uppermost samples (1-6 mm) and in two further sections in the nodule at 12.5+/-1.0 mm and 27.3-33.5 mm comes close to the present ocean wa ter value of 1.144+/-0.004. In two other sections of the nodule, this ratio is significantly higher, probably reflecting incorporation of diagenetic uranium. The upper 25 mm section of the Mn nodule shows a relatively smooth exponential decrease in the Th-230(excess) concentration (TIMS). The slope of the best fit yields a growth rate of 110 mm/Ma up to 24.5 mm depth. The section from 25 to 30.3 mm depth shows constant Th-230(excess) concentrations probably due to growth rates even faster than those in the top section of the nodule. From 33 to 50 mm depth, the growth rate is approximately 60 mm/Ma. Two layers in the nodule with distinct laminations (11-15 and 28-33 mm depth) probably formed during the transition from isotopic stage 8 to 7 and in stage 5e, respectively. The Mn/Fe ratio shows higher values during interglacials 5 and 7, and lower ones during glacials 4 and 6. A comparison of our data with data from adjacent sediment cores suggests (a) a variable sb supply of hydrothermal Mn to sediments and Mn nodules of the Peru basin or (b) suboxic conditions at the water sediment interface during periods with lower Mn/Fe ratios.

(Table 1) Neodymium and Strontium measurements from sediment core MD01-2451

In the nineties, cold-water coral mounds were discovered in the Porcupine Seabight (NE Atlantic, west of Ireland). A decade later, this discovery led to the drilling of the entire Challenger cold-water coral mound (Eastern slope, Porcupine Seabight) during IODP Expedition 307. As more than 50% of the sediment within Challenger Mound consists of terrigenous material, the terrigenous component is equally important for the build-up of the mound as the framework-building corals. Moreover, the terrigenous fraction contains important information on the dynamics and the conditions of the depositional environment during mound development. In this study, the first in-depth investigation of the terrigenous sediment fraction of a cold-water coral mound is performed, combining clay mineralogy, sedimentology, petrography and Sr-Nd-isotopic analysis on a gravity core (MD01-2451G) collected at the top of Challenger Mound. Sr- and Nd-isotopic fingerprinting identifies Ireland as the main contributor of terrigenous material in Challenger Mound. Besides this, a variable input of volcanic material from the northern volcanic provinces (Iceland and/or the NW British Isles) is recognized in most of the samples. This volcanic material was most likely transported to Challenger Mound during cold climatic stages. In three samples, the isotopic ratios indicate a minor contribution of sediment deriving from the old cratons on Greenland, Scandinavia or Canada. The grain-size distributions of glacial sediments demonstrate that ice-rafted debris was deposited with little or no sorting, indicating a slow bottom-current regime. In contrast, interglacial intervals contain strongly current-sorted sediments, including reworked glacio-marine grains. The micro textures of the quartz-sand grains confirm the presence of grains transported by icebergs in interglacial intervals. These observations highlight the role of ice-rafting as an important transport mechanism of terrigenous material towards the mound during the Late Quaternary. Furthermore, elevated smectite content in the siliciclastic, glaciomarine sediment intervals is linked to the deglaciation history of the British-Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS). The increase of smectite is attributed to the initial stage of chemical weathering processes, which became activated following glacial retreat and the onset of warmer climatic conditions. During these deglaciations a significant change in the signature of the detrital fraction and a lack of coral growth is observed. Therefore, we postulate that the deglaciation of the BIIS has an important effect on mound growth. It can seriously alter the hydrography, nutrient supply and sedimentation processes, thereby affecting both sediment input and coral growth and hence, coral mound development.

Benthic oxygen isotope and dust flux record from ODP Site 108-659 in the North Atlantic

High-resolution benthic oxygen isotope and dust flux records from Ocean Drilling Program site 659 have been analyzed to extend the astronomically calibrated isotope timescale for the Atlantic from 2.85 Ma back to 5 Ma. Spectral analysis of the delta18O record indicates that the 41-kyr period of Earth's orbital obliquity dominates the Pliocene record. This is shown to be true regardless of fundamental changes in the Earth's climate during the Pliocene. However, the cycles of Sahelian aridity fluctuations indicate a shift in spectral character near 3 Ma. From the early Pliocene to 3 Ma, the periodicities were dominantly precessional (19 and 23 kyr) and remained strong until 1.5 Ma. Subsequent to 3 Ma, the variance at the obliquity period (41 kyr) increased. The timescale tuned to precession suggests that the Pliocene was longer than previously estimated by more than 0.5 m.y. The tuned ages for the magnetic boundaries Gauss/Gilbert and Top Cochiti are about 6-8% older than the ages of the conventional timescale. A major phase of Pliocene northern hemisphere ice growth occurred between 3.15 Ma and 2.5 Ma. This was marked by a gradual increase in glacial Atlantic delta18O values of 1per mil and an increase in amplitude variations by up to 1.5 per mil, much larger than in the Pacific deepwater record (site 846). The first maxima occured in cold stages G6-96 between 2.7 Ma and 2.45 Ma. Prior to 3 Ma, the isotope record is characterized by predominantly low amplitude fluctuations (< 0.7 per mil). When obliquity forcing was at its minimum between 4.15 and 3.6 Ma and during the Kaena interval, delta18O amplitude fluctuations were minimal. From 4.9 to 4.3 Ma, the delta18O values decreased by about 0.5 per mil, reaching a long-term minimum at 4.15 Ma, suggesting higher deepwater temperatures or a deglaciation. Deepwater cooling and/or an increase in ice volume is indicated by a series of short-term delta18O fluctuations between 3.8 and 3.6 Ma.

Organic carbon and biomarker record from the Laptev Sea continental margin

In order to understand the processes controlling organic carbon deposition (i.e., primary productivity vs. terrigenous supply) and their paleoceanographic significance, three sediment cores (PS2471, PS2474. and PS2476) from the Laptev Sea continental margin were investigated for their content and composition of organic carbon. The characterization of organic matter indudes the determination of buk parameters (hydrogen index values and C/N ratios) and the analysis of specific biomarkers (n-alaknes, fatty acids, alkenones, and pigments). Total organic carbon (TOC) values vary between 0.3 and 2%. In general, the organic matter from the Laptev Sea continental margin is dominated by terrigenous matter throughout. However. significant amounts of marine organic carbon occur. The turbidites, according to a still preliminary stratigraphy probably deposited during glacial Oxygen Isotope Stages 2 and 4, are characterized by maximum amounts of organic carbon of terrigenous origin. Marine organic carbon appears to show enhanced relative abundances in the Termination I (?) and early Holocene time intervals, as indicated by maximum amounts of short chain n-alkanes, short-chain fatty acids, and alkenones. The increased amounts of faity acids, however, may also have a freshwater origin due to increased river discharge at that time. The occurrence of alkenones is suggested to indicate an intensification of Atlantic water inflow along the Eurasian continental margin starting at that time. Oxygen Isotope Stage l accumutation rates of total organic carhon are 0.3, 0.17, and 0.02 C/cm**2/ky in cores PS2476, PS2474, and PS2471, respectively.

Age determination and stable isotope composition of sediment cores from the Arctic Ocean

On the basis of 52 sediment cores, analyzed and dated at high resolution, the paleoceanography and climate of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) were reconstructed in detail for the Fram Strait and the eastern and central Arctic Ocean. Sediment composition and stable isotope data suggest three distinct paleoenvironments: (1) a productive region in the eastern to central Fram Strait and along the northern Barents Sea continental margin characterized by Atlantic Water advection, frequent open water conditions, and occasional local meltwater supply and iceberg calving from the Barents Sea Ice Sheet; (2) an intermediate region in the southwestern Eurasian Basin (up to 84-85°N) and the western Fram Strait characterized by subsurface Atlantic Water advection and recirculation, a moderately high planktic productivity, and a perennial ice cover that breaks up only occasionally; and (3) a central Arctic region (north of 85°N in the Eurasian Basin) characterized by a low-salinity surface water layer and a thick ice cover that strongly reduces bioproduction and bulk sedimentation rates. Although the total inflow of Atlantic Water into the Arctic Ocean may have been reduced during the LGM, its impact on ice coverage and halocline structure in the Fram Strait and southwestern Eurasian Basin was strong.

[Culinary ephemera : gelatin and tapioca].

Corporate contributors include: Genesee Pure Food Company; Jell-O-Co. Inc.

Proceedings of the State and interstate water pollution control administrators in joint meeting with the Conference of State Sanitary Engineers; a summary.

Mode of access: Internet.

Annual report - Water and Sewerage Dept.

For earlier file, whose numbering it continues, see: Detroit Metro Water Dept. Operating report.

Forest products research guide in fundamental and applied research.

"The first edition was issued in 1943 under the title 'Bibliography of fundamental and applied research in forest products'."

Steel and iron wrought products.

Mode of access: Internet.

Survey of interstate pollution of the Bear River and tributaries, Idaho-Utah, 1962.

Mode of access: Internet.

Sea-power, and other studies,

Ten of the essays included in this volume first appeared in the Encyclopaedia britannica, the Times, the Morning post, the National review, the Nineteenth century and after, the Cornhill magazine, and the Naval annual ... The paper on "Naval strategy and tactics at the time of Trafalgar" was read at the Institute of naval architects, and that on "The supply and communications of a fleet" at the Hong-Kong United service institution.