PALEOMONSOONS OF CHINA OVER THE LAST 130,000 YEARS——PALEOMONSOON VARIATION

Based upon the effect of land-sea interaction on the paleomonsoon variation and the time series of climatic proxy-indicators, the historical Asian monsoon variation over the last 130,000 and 18,000 years has been reconstructed with an emphasis on the basic characteristics of summer monsoon circulation. The monsoon-climatic cycles and associated model of environmental development over the central and eastern China are proposed and the mechanism of paleomonsoon variation of China preliminarily discussed. The variation of East Asian monsoon circulation should be regarded as a regional result of both solar-radiation changes and the global glacial-interglacial cycles. The episodic uplifting of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau since the late Miocene has to a large extent controlled the forming and evolution of the paleomonsoon circulation of China.     

SOLAR ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION AT THE EARTH'S SURFACE

The biologically effective ultraviolet irradiance at the earth's surface varies with the elevation of the sun, the atmospheric ozone amount, and with the abundance of scatterers and absorbers of natural and anthropogenic origin. Taken alone, the reported decrease in column ozone over the Northern Hemisphere between 1969 and 1986 implies an increase in erythemal irradiance at the ground of four percent or less during summer. However, an increase in tropospheric absorption, arising from polluting gases or particulates over localized areas, could more than offset the predicted enhancement in radiation. Any such extra absorption is likely to be highly regional in nature and does not imply that a decrease in erythemal radiation has occurred on a global basis. The Antarctic 'ozone hole' represents a special case in which a portion of the earth has experienced ultraviolet radiation levels during spring that are far in excess of those which prevailed prior to the present decade.     

Influence of the colloidal environment on the magnetic behavior of cobalt nanoparticles

The magnetic properties of 10 nm diameter surfactant-coated cobalt (Co) nanoparticles in 1,2-dichlorobenzene (DCB) are investigated by a series of sequential magnetic moment (m) vs temperature (T) measurements. A rapid rise in magnetic moment around 250 K during warming and an abrupt drop at 234 K during cooling are observed when a nonsaturating external magnetic field is applied. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements demonstrate that the rapid rise and abrupt drop in magnetization are associated with the melting and freezing of the solvent. Magnetic measurements of these Co nanoparticles in DCB are also used to probe their aging over a period of 70 days. The saturation magnetic moment of Co nanoparticles in DCB stored in air at room temperature decreases by nearly 40% over 70 days. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterizations are reported to show the time evolution in the size, shape, and crystalline structures of DCB-immersed nanoparticles.     

Odd-even effects on the structure, stability, and phase transition of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers

Molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to predict the structural properties and phase transition temperatures of n-alkanethiols CH(3)(CH(2))(n-1)SH (Cn, 4 ≤ n ≤ 22) self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on Au (111) surfaces. We studied the effects of chain length on the structural properties, including tilt and orientation angles, and on phase transition temperature. We found clear dependence of the structural properties, on both the number of carbon atoms, n; and on n being odd or even. Alkanethiols with n ≤ 7 show liquid-like behavior and large rotational mobility, whereas those with n ≥ 12 are well-ordered and stable. For 12 ≤ n ≤ 15, odd-even effects are observed, where for n = odd, larger tilt angles, oriented in the direction of their next next nearest neighbor (NNNN), and for n = even, lower tilt angles, mostly tilted toward next nearest neighbor (NNN), were observed. For 15 ≤ n ≤ 19, we find tilt angle and orientation to be independent of n. For all alkanethiols, a gradual decrease of the tilt angle occurred by increasing the temperature from 300 to 420 K. Order-disorder phase transitions occurred at a certain temperature. This was signified by abrupt instabilities in the tilt orientation angle. This transition temperature showed an enhancement of ～67-100 °C over the melting point of the corresponding n-alkane bulk system. This enhancement depended on n, and was larger for n = odd. Overall, we found that odd alkanethiols show better structural and thermal stability, and smaller gauche defects.     

THE MULTIPLE EQUILIBRIA IN THE COUPLED ATMOSPHERE-OCEAN SYSTEM

In this paper, a topography forced quasi-geostrophic baroclinic model and an SST (sea surface temperature) equation are used to set up a simple coupled atmosphere-ocean model The large-scale ocean current is nearly the Sverdrup flow. Two basic processes are considered in this system, i. e. the SST as a thermal forcing drives the atmospheric circulation and the ocean current produced by the wind redistributes the SST. Highly truncating and multiple scale method are used to simplify the model and obtain a low dimensional dynamic system. In this part, the qualitative vector in the phase space of the system is analysed and two stable equilibria are obtained. These two kinds of equailibria may be used to explain some features of the long-range anomalies of circulation.     

PALEOMONSOONS OF CHINA OVER THE LAST 130,000 YEARS——PALEOMONSOON RECORDS

The characteristics of the modern monsoon climate o?China may be used as clues for recognizing the records of paleomonsoon climate. The present paper deals primarily with the various paleomonsoon records of the last 130,000 years in the southeast monsoon area. These records mainly come from the following three fields: (i) the historical, (ii) the geological, including loess-paleosol sequence, deserts, lakes, snowlines, timberlines, the phenomena of continental desertization and so on, and (iii) the biological, presented by vegetation and mammals. Among these records, the loess-paleosol sequence in the Loess Plateau reflects a climatic history characterized by alternation of two different climatic periods when the Asian winter monsoon and summer monsoon showed pronounced effects on environment, respectively.     

ULTRAVIOLET SOLAR RADIATION IN THE HIGH LATITUDES OF SOUTH AMERICA

Abstract Measurements of the UV solar irradiance are available from Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego during the spring and summer seasons of 4 consecutive years beginning in 1989. In addition, column ozone amounts derived from satellite-based measurements exist for this location over the entire period from 1980 through 1991. Monthly mean column ozone over Ushuaia shows a general decline over the observing period, and a large day-to-day variability exists within a given month. Ozone amounts for the years 1980 through 1986 combined with a model of radiative transfer provide a climatological baseline against which to interpret the more recent ground-based irradiance data. We focus on monthly mean noontime irradiances integrated over 5 nm wide spectral bands near 305 nm and 340 nm, respectively. Measurements in the 340 nm band show that cloudiness has a large influence on both the absolute monthly mean irradiances and their interannual variability. For example, during December the 340 nm band irradiance varied from approximately 50% of the clear-sky value in 1992 to 65% in 1991. When the influence of cloudiness is removed, most of the months show irradiances in the 305 nm band that are larger than predicted from the climatological ozone amounts. The largest percentage enhancement occurred in October 1991 when the irradiance exceeded the baseline by 56%. The largest absolute irradiances occur in December, where the measurements range from 5.8% below the baseline in 1991 to 31% above in 1990.     

Regional variation of sediment load of Asian rivers flowing into the ocean

Study of Asian major rivers discharge to the ocean reveals variations of their water discharges and sediment loads, and local characteristic of river sediment concentrations. On the basis of this, the Asian rivers can be divided into three regions: Eurasia Arctic, East Asia, Southeast and South Asia Region. The Eurasia Arctic Region is characteristic of the lowest sediment concentration and load, while the East Asia Region is of the highest sediment concentration and higher sediment load, and the Southeast and South Asia Region yields higher sediment concentration and highest sediment load.     

Synthesis of single-crystal CdS microbelts using a modified thermal evaporation method and their photoluminescence

Large-scale synthesis of single-crystal CdS microbelts was achieved by a modified thermal evaporation method, in which an adiabatic layer was used to provide abrupt temperature decrease and high gas concentration for the microbelt growth. The synthesized CdS microbelts were usually several micrometers in width, 70 nm in thickness, and tens to several hundred micrometers in length. Studies found that the adiabatic layer has great influence on the formation of CdS microbelts. Room-temperature photoluminescence indicated the disappearance of the emission at 1.77 eV, the appearance of an emission at 2.07 eV, and also the enhancement of the emission band at 2.38 eV, whose position shifted toward the blue region compared with conventional narrow CdS nanobelts. A possible growth mechanism of the CdS microbelts was briefly discussed.     

Cooperative spin transition in a lipid layer like system

A novel iron(II) mononuclear spin transition complex [FeL(py)(2)] displays an abrupt spin transition around 225 K accompanied by a very wide thermal hysteresis loop (～50 K) that spreads out over 100 K. Crystal structure analysis in both low-spin and high-spin states reveals a lipid layer-like arrangement of the complex molecules and provides insights into the spin switching mechanism.     

The thermal conductivities enhancement of mono ethylene glycol and paraffin fluids by adding β-SiC nanoparticles

Changes in the thermal conductivities of paraffin and mono ethylene glycol (MEG) as a function of β-SiC nanoparticle concentration and size was studied. An enhancement in the effective thermal conductivity was found for both fluids (i.e., both paraffin and MEG) upon the addition of nanoparticles. Although an enhancement in thermal conductivity was found, the degree of enhancement depended on the nanoparticle concentration in a complex way. An increase in particle-to-particle interactions is thought to be the cause of the enhancement. However, the enhancement became muted at higher particle concentrations compared to lower ones. This phenomenon can be related to nanoparticles interactions. An improvement in the thermal conductivities for both fluids was also found as the nanoparticle size shrank. It is believed that the larger Brownian motion for smaller particles causes more particle-to-particle interactions, which, in turn, improves the thermal conductivity. The role that the base-fluid plays in the enhancement is complex. Lower fluid viscosities are believed to contribute to greater enhancement, but a second effect, the interaction of the fluid with the nanoparticle surface, can be even more important. Nanoparticle-liquid suspensions generate a shell of organized liquid molecules on the particle surface. These organized molecules more efficiently transmit energy, via phonons, to the bulk of the fluid. The efficient energy transmission results in enhanced thermal conductivity. The experimentally measured thermal conductivities of the suspensions were compared to a variety of models. None of the models proved to adequately predict the thermal conductivities of the nanoparticle suspensions.     

Thermal processing of algal biomass for biofuel production

Concerns over the environment and energy security have led to considerable research efforts into the development of renewable alternatives to fossil-based fuels and chemical from biomass. Algae has been identified as the biomass with great potential for utilization in this regard, due to several advantages algae has over terrestrial plants, such as a higher growth rate and photosynthetic efficiency, better CO₂ sequestration, and the ability to grow in non-arable land with low quality water. Conversion technologies, particularly thermochemical conversion, are actively being researched and developed to produce renewable chemicals and fuels. A major advance in this regard is thermal conversion of whole algal biomass, especially wet processing that can significantly reduce the cost of production. This short review looks at major developments in thermal processing of algal biomass with primary focus on the past two years.     

Transport coefficients of the Lennard-Jones model fluid. III. Bulk viscosity

In an extensive computer simulation study, the transport coefficients of the Lennard-Jones model fluid were determined with high accuracy from equilibrium molecular-dynamics simulations. In the frame of time-correlation function theory, the generalized Einstein relations were employed to evaluate the transport coefficients. This third of a series of four papers presents the results for the bulk viscosity. With comprehensive simulation data at over 350 state points, the temperature and density dependences of the bulk viscosity are characterized in this work over a wide range of fluid states. The bulk viscosity exhibits a large critical enhancement similar to that known for the thermal conductivity, but it extends much farther into the supercritical region and can be observed even at 4.5 times the critical temperature. An investigation of the pressure-fluctuation autocorrelation functions shows that the enhancement is caused by extremely slowly decaying pressure fluctuations.     

POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF UV-B RADIATION ON MARINE ORGANISMS OF THE SOUTHERN OCEAN: DISTRIBUTIONS OF PHYTOPLANKTON AND KRILL DURING AUSTRAL SPRING

Increases in UV-B radiation resulting from ozone depletion during austral spring could potentially alter the balance of the Southern Ocean marine ecosystem. A quantitative assessment ol the effects of UV-B enhancement requires knowledge of (1) the wavelength-dependent fluxes of UV-B in the upper ocean, (2) action spectra for UV-B damage to Antarctic phytoplankton and zooplankton, and (3) depth-dependent distributions and residence times of Southern Ocean phytoplankton and zooplankton during austral spring. Unfortunately, only limited data arc currently available to address this impact directly. To provide some of the information required for such an assessment, available data regarding plankton distributions and their photophysiological characteristics have been summarized. A preliminary assessment of the available literature suggests that Antarctic phytoplankton and krill receive very low doses of UV-B during austral spring. The high spectral attenuation coefficients associated with the environments in which most plankton arc found during springtime precludes the possibility of UV damage. Future research directions are described which should provide a better understanding of the ecological consequences of the "ozone hole" which resides over the Antarctic continent during austral spring.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENVIRONMENT CHANGE AND SE MONSOON STRENGTH, DAIHAI LAKE, INNER MONGOLIA

Daihai Lake, located in NW margin of SE monsoon region, belongs to the sensitive area for climatic fluctuation. The analysis of continuous sedimentary column with an age of 100 ka indicates that there exists the different quasiperiodicity in time scales for monsoon shift. The climatic fluctuation in the Daihai Basin shows all along the alternation of cold and dry with a warm and wet climatic pattern, suggesting that the strength and drift of SE monsoon play a controllable role in the climatic change.     

Determination of aluminium in natural water samples

The atmospheric deposition of terrestrial dust into the ocean is an important factor in controlling Earth's climate. Aluminium can be used as a tracer for the magnitude and location of dust transported from the land to surface ocean. The element is ideal for this purpose since its primary input is via aeolian dust deposition and it has a short surface water residence time. The accurate determination of dissolved aluminium in seawater is difficult due to the complexity of the matrix and the trace (nanomolar) concentrations at which the metal exists. This paper presents a critical review of the different sampling and analytical methods for the determination of the concentration of aluminium in natural waters, with particular focus on techniques successfully applied to shipboard analysis of seawater.     

THE PROPAGATION OF INTERNAL WAVES IN NON-HOMOGENEOUS OCEAN WITH THE BASIC HORIZONTAL CURRENTS

The influence of basic horizontal current on the propagation of internal wave in the non-homogeneous ocean is studied in this paper. By means of pseudo-static hypothesis, the basic equation on propagation of internal wave in the non-homogeneous ocean is derived. By using geometric optics approximation the eikonal equation and transport equation are obtained, at the same time in a sort of fluid field, i. e. M= M(y)i+t-M(x)j, the extended Snell law and analytical solution of the rays are also obtained. The present work is an extension to the ray theory of internal wave in the static ocean.     

Development and validation of a method for the determination of trace alkylphenols and phthalates in the atmosphere

An analytical method has been developed for the simultaneous extraction and determination of trace tertiary octylphenol (t-OP), technical nonylphenol isomers (NP), nonylphenol monoethoxylate isomers (NP1EO) and seven phthalates in the atmosphere using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). High volume samples were collected using a high-volume pump equipped with a PUF/XAD-2 column for air and glass fiber filter for particles. The detection limits of the method for alkylphenols (APs) and the phthalates ranged from 0.0006 to 0.034 ng m⁻³ in air. The recoveries of t-OP, NP, NP1EO and the phthalates for the entire procedure were satisfactory (>69%). The method was successfully applied to the determination of the analytes in the atmosphere samples collected over land and the ocean. The concentrations of t-OP, NP, NP1EO showed decline trends from land to the open sea, and the phthalates present over land and the North Sea were comparable. It is suggested that the atmosphere is a significant pathway for the transport of alkylphenols and the phthalates in the environment.     

Ball milling: An effective technique for the preparation of exfoliated clay filled unsaturated polyester toughened epoxy nanocomposite

This paper investigates the possibility of improving the mechanical and thermal properties of epoxy and unsaturated polyester toughened epoxy resins through the dispersion of octadecyl ammonium ion-exchanged montmorillonite (organoclay) through exfoliated mechanism. The nanocomposites prepared are characterized for their structural change and studied for their crystallite size, mechanical, thermal and water absorption (hydrophilicity) properties. The mechanical data indicates significant improvement in the flexural and tensile properties over the neat epoxy and UP-epoxy matrix according to the percentage content of organoclay. The thermal behavior too shows noticeable enhancement in glass transition temperature T _g and high thermal stability. Hydrophilicity of all the composites decreases irrespective of the concentration of organoclay on the epoxy and UP-epoxy matrices. The homogeneous morphology of epoxy and UP toughened epoxy nanocomposite hybrid systems is ascertained using scanning electron microscope (SEM). X-ray results point out that the cetyl ammonium modified clay filled composites exhibited the exfoliated structure.     

Building materials thermal conductivity measurement and correlation with heat flow meter, laser flash analysis and TCi

The most important factor in the worldwide problem of global warming is the emission of carbon dioxide. The 23% of carbon dioxide emissions generated by building construction must be reduced. Reduction in thermal conductivity, especially via improved insulation, is the most basic factor for decreasing energy consumption. Therefore, accurate and continuous thermal conductivity measurements are important in saving energy. This study presents methods for investigating thermal conductivity measurement and compares three methods: the heat flow meter, laser flash analysis, and thermal conductivity analyzer.