Project description:Marine plastic pollution is an increasing environmental threat. Although it is assumed that most marine plastics are transported from land to the ocean through rivers, only limited data on riverine plastic transport exists. Recently, new methods have been introduced to characterize riverine plastics consistently through time and space. For example, combining visual counting observations and plastic debris sampling can provide order of magnitude estimations of plastic transport through a river. In this paper, we present findings from multi-season measurement campaign in the Saigon River, Vietnam. For the first time, we demonstrate that macroplastic transport exhibits strong temporal variation. The monthly averaged plastic transport changes up to a factor five within the measurement period. As it is unclear what drives the variation in plastic transport, relations between rainfall, river discharge, presence of organic material and plastic transport have been explored. Furthermore, we present new findings on the cross-sectional and vertical distribution of riverine plastic transport. With this paper we present new insights in the origin and fate of riverine plastic transport, emphasizing the severity of the emerging thread of plastic pollution on riverine ecosystems.
Project description:The research on wind-driven rain (WDR) transport process of the splash-saltation has increased over the last twenty years as wind tunnel experimental studies provide new insights into the mechanisms of simultaneous wind and rain (WDR) transport. The present study was conducted to investigate the efficiency of the BEST® sediment traps in catching the sand particles transported through the splash-saltation process under WDR conditions. Experiments were conducted in a wind tunnel rainfall simulator facility with water sprayed through sprinkler nozzles and free-flowing wind at different velocities to simulate the WDR conditions. Not only for vertical sediment distribution, but a series of experimental tests for horizontal distribution of sediments was also performed using BEST® collectors to obtain the actual total sediment mass flow by the splash-saltation in the center of the wind tunnel test section. Total mass transport (kg m-2) were estimated by analytically integrating the exponential functional relationship using the measured sediment amounts at the set trap heights for every run. Results revealed the integrated efficiency of the BEST® traps at 6, 9, 12 and 15 m s-1 wind velocities under 55.8, 50.5, 55.0 and 50.5 mm h-1 rain intensities were, respectively, 83, 106, 105, and 102%. Results as well showed that the efficiencies of BEST® did not change much as compared with those under rainless wind condition.
Project description:Land transformation (ha of surface disturbance/MW) associated with wind facilities shows wide variation in its reported values. In addition, no studies have attempted to explain the variation across facilities. We digitized land transformation at 39 wind facilities using high resolution aerial imagery. We then modeled the effects of turbine size, configuration, land cover, and topography on the levels of land transformation at three spatial scales. The scales included strings (turbines with intervening roads only), sites (strings with roads connecting them, buried cables and other infrastructure), and entire facilities (sites and the roads or transmission lines connecting them to existing infrastructure). An information theoretic modeling approach indicated land cover and topography were well-supported variables affecting land transformation, but not turbine size or configuration. Tilled landscapes, despite larger distances between turbines, had lower average land transformation, while facilities in forested landscapes generally had the highest land transformation. At site and string scales, flat topographies had the lowest land transformation, while facilities on mesas had the largest. The results indicate the landscape in which the facilities are placed affects the levels of land transformation associated with wind energy. This creates opportunities for optimizing wind energy production while minimizing land cover change. In addition, the results indicate forecasting the impacts of wind energy on land transformation should include the geographic variables affecting land transformation reported here.
Project description:The accurate characterization of near-surface winds is critical to our understanding of past and modern climate. Dust lofted by these winds has the potential to modify surface and atmospheric conditions as well as ocean biogeochemistry. Stony deserts, low dust emitting regions today, represent expansive areas where variations in surficial geology through time may drastically impact near-surface conditions. Here we use the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model over the western Gobi Desert to demonstrate a previously undocumented process between wind-driven landscape evolution and boundary layer conditions. Our results show that altered surficial thermal properties through winnowing of fine-grained sediments and formation of low-albedo gravel-mantled surfaces leads to an increase in near-surface winds by up to 25%; paradoxically, wind erosion results in faster winds regionally. This wind-albedo-wind feedback also leads to an increase in the frequency of hours spent at higher wind speeds, which has implications for dust emission potential.
Project description:Natural aquatic environments such as oceans, lakes, and rivers are home to a tremendous diversity of microorganisms. Some may cross the air-water interface within droplets and become airborne, with the potential to impact the Earth's radiation budget, precipitation processes, and spread of disease. Larger droplets are likely to return to the water or adjacent land, but smaller droplets may be suspended in the atmosphere for transport over long distances. Here, we report on a series of controlled laboratory experiments to quantify wind-driven droplet production from a freshwater source for low wind speeds. The rate of droplet production increased quadratically with wind speed above a critical value (10-m equivalent 5.7 m/s) where droplet production initiated. Droplet diameter and ejection speeds were fit by a gamma distribution. The droplet mass flux and momentum flux increased with wind speed. Two mechanisms of droplet production, bubble bursting and fragmentation, yielded different distributions for diameter, speed, and angle. At a wind speed of about 3.5 m/s, aqueous suspensions of the ice-nucleating bacterium Pseudomonas syringae were collected at rates of 283 cells m-2 s-1 at 5 cm above the water surface, and at 14 cells m-2 s-1 at 10 cm above the water surface. At a wind speed of about 4.0 m/s, aqueous suspensions of P. syringae were collected at rates of 509 cells m-2 s-1 at 5 cm above the water surface, and at 81 cells m-2 s-1 at 10 cm above the water surface. The potential for microbial flux into the atmosphere from aquatic environments was calculated using known concentrations of bacteria in natural freshwater systems. Up to 3.1 × 104 cells m-2 s-1 of water surface were estimated to leave the water in potentially suspended droplets (diameters <100 µm). Understanding the sources and mechanisms for bacteria to aerosolize from freshwater aquatic sources may aid in designing management strategies for pathogenic bacteria, and could shed light on how bacteria are involved in mesoscale atmospheric processes.
Project description:Millimeter wave fixed wireless systems in future backhaul and access network applications can be affected by weather conditions. The losses caused by rain attenuation and antenna misalignment due to wind-induced vibrations have greater impacts on the link budget reduction at E-band frequencies and higher. The current International Telecommunications Union Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) recommendation has been widely used to estimate rain attenuation, and the recent Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) report provides the model to estimate the wind-induced attenuation. This article provides the first experimental study of the combined rain and wind effects in a tropical location using both models at a frequency in the E band (74.625 GHz) and a short distance of 150 m. In addition to using wind speeds for attenuation estimation, the setup also provides direct antenna inclination angle measurements using the accelerometer data. This solves the limitation of relying on the wind speed since the wind-induced loss is dependent on the inclination direction. The results show that the current ITU-R model can be used to estimate the attenuation of a short fixed wireless link under heavy rain, and the addition of wind attenuation via the APT model can estimate the worst-case link budget during high wind speeds.
Project description:Preserving permafrost subgrade is a challenge due to global warming, but passive cooling techniques have limited success. Here, we present a novel wind-driven device that can cool permafrost subgrade by circulating coolant between the ambient air and the subgrade. It consists of a wind mill, a mechanical clutch with phase change material, and a fluid-circulation heat exchanger. The clutch engages and disengages through freezing and melting phase change material, while the device turns off when the outside air temperature exceeds a certain threshold, preventing heat from penetrating the subgrade. Two-year observations demonstrate that the device effectively cooled permafrost measuring 8.0 m in height and 1.5 m in radius by 0.6-1.0 °C, with an average power of 68.03 W. The device can be adapted for cooling embankments, airstrip bases, pipe foundations, and other structures. Further experimentation is required to evaluate its cooling capacity and long-term durability under various conditions.
Project description:While the ecological effects of climate change have been widely observed, most efforts to document these impacts in terrestrial systems have concentrated on the impacts of temperature. We used tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nest observations from two widely separated sites in central Alaska to examine the aspects of climate affecting breeding phenology at the northern extent of this species' range. We found that two measures of breeding phenology, annual lay and hatch dates, are more strongly predicted by windiness and precipitation than by temperature. At our longest-monitored site, breeding phenology has advanced at nearly twice the rate seen in more southern populations, and these changes correspond to long-term declines in windiness. Overall, adverse spring climate conditions known to negatively impact foraging success of swallows (wet, windy weather) appear to influence breeding phenology more than variation in temperature. Separate analyses show that short windy periods significantly delay initiation of individual clutches within years. While past reviews have emphasized that increasing variability in climate conditions may create physiological and ecological challenges for natural populations, we find that long-term reductions in inclement weather corresponded to earlier reproduction in one of our study populations. To better predict climate change impacts, ecologists need to more carefully test effects of multiple climate variables, including some, like windiness, that may be of paramount importance to some species, but have rarely been considered as strong drivers of ecological responses to climate alteration.
Project description:Litter was collected from 12 roadside ditches in the Finger lakes Region of New York State over two sampling periods: pre-COVID-19 pandemic and during COVID-19 pandemic. Litter pieces were washed in DI water, oven dried, massed and plastic-type visually determined. Macroplastic data was analysed to assess the impact of land use, traffic, and COVID-19 variables on macroplastic accumulation on a piece, mass, and plastic-type basis. These data are all litter pieces collected, including both plastics categorized as 1 through 7 in the RIC resin classification codes as well as non-plastic litter. These data have wide-ranging reuse potential, as terrestrial microplastic accumulation is not well documented. These data could be compared with other litter accumulation across regions, specifically to assess total environmental macroplastic loading and enable contaminant mitigation strategies. These data also have direct application to modelling and transport of macroplastics into surface water bodies as a result of road ditch sampling locations. Macroplastic accumulation data across varying land uses, traffic, and COVID-19 conditions has been published [1].
Project description:Alignment of microchips with receptors is an important process step in the construction of integrated micro- and nanosystems for emerging technologies, and facilitating alignment by spontaneous self-assembly processes is highly desired. Previously, capillary self-alignment of microchips driven by surface tension effects on patterned surfaces has been reported, where it was essential for microchips to have sufficient overlap with receptor sites. Here we demonstrate for the first time capillary self-transport and self-alignment of microchips, where microchips are initially placed outside the corresponding receptor sites and can be self-transported by capillary force to the receptor sites followed by self-alignment. The surface consists of hydrophilic silicon receptor sites surrounded by superhydrophobic black silicon. Rain-induced microscopic droplets are used to form the meniscus for the self-transport and self-alignment. The boundary conditions for the self-transport have been explored by modeling and confirmed experimentally. The maximum permitted gap between a microchip and a receptor site is determined by the volume of the liquid and by the wetting contrast between receptor site and substrate. Microscopic rain applied on hydrophilic-superhydrophobic patterned surfaces greatly improves the capability, reliability and error-tolerance of the process, avoiding the need for accurate initial placement of microchips, and thereby greatly simplifying the alignment process.