Behavior Of Tracers Research Articles

Observing lingering hyporheic storage using electrical resistivity: variations around stream restoration structures, Crabby Creek, PA

AbstractTime‐lapse geophysical surveys can map lingering hyporheic storage by detecting changes in response to saline tracer. Tracer tests were conducted in Crabby Creek, an urban stream outside Philadelphia, to examine the influence of stream restoration structures and variable sediment thickness. We compared electrical resistivity surveys with extensive well sampling (57 wells) in two 13.5‐m‐long reaches, each with a step drop created by a J‐hook. The two step drops varied in tracer behaviour, based on both the well data and the geophysical data. The well data showed more variation in arrival time where the streambed sediment was thick and was more uniform where sediment was thin. The resistivity in the reach with thin sediment showed lingering tracer in the hyporheic zone both upstream and downstream from the J‐hook. In the second reach where the sediment was thicker, the lingering tracer in the hyporheic zone was more extensive downstream from the J‐hook. The contrasting results between the two reaches from both methods suggested that sediments influenced hyporheic exchange more than the step at this location. Resistivity inversion differed from well data in both reaches in that it showed evidence for tracer after well samples had returned to background, mapping lingering tracer either upstream or downstream of a step. We conclude that resistivity surveys may become an important tool for hyporheic zone characterization because they provide information on the extent of slow moving fluids in the hyporheic zone, which have the potential to enhance chemical reactions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In vivo measurement of gadolinium diffusivity by dynamic contrast‐enhanced MRI: A preclinical study of human xenografts

Compartmental tracer kinetic models currently used for analysis of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI data yield poor fittings or parameter values that are unphysiological in necrotic regions of the tumor, as these models only describe microcirculation in perfused tissue. In this study, we explore the use of Fick's law of diffusion as an alternative method for analysis of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI data in the necrotic regions. Xenografts of various human cancer cell lines were implanted in 14 mice that were subjected to dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI performed using a spoiled gradient recalled sequence. Tracer concentration was estimated using the variable flip angle technique. Poorly perfused and necrotic tumor regions exhibiting delayed and slow enhancement were identified using a k-means clustering algorithm. Tracer behavior in necrotic regions was shown to be consistent with Fick's diffusion equation and the in vivo gadolinium diffusivity was estimated to be 2.08 (±0.88) × 10(-4) mm(2)/s. This study proposes the use of gadolinium diffusivity as an alternative parameter for quantifying tracer transport within necrotic tumor regions.

Transient water age distributions in environmental flow systems: The time‐marching Laplace transform solution technique

Environmental fluid circulations are very often characterized by analyzing the fate and behavior of natural and anthropogenic tracers. Among these tracers, age is taken as an ideal tracer which can yield interesting diagnoses, as for example the characterization of the mixing and renewal of water masses, of the fate and mixing of contaminants, or the calibration of hydrodispersive parameters used by numerical models. Such diagnoses are of great interest in atmospheric and ocean circulation sciences, as well in surface and subsurface hydrology. The temporal evolution of groundwater age and its frequency distributions can display important changes as flow regimes vary due to natural change in climate and hydrologic conditions and/or human induced pressures on the resource to satisfy the water demand. Groundwater age being nowadays frequently used to investigate reservoir properties and recharge conditions, special attention needs to be put on the way this property is characterized, would it be using isotopic methods or mathematical modeling. Steady state age frequency distributions can be modeled using standard numerical techniques since the general balance equation describing age transport under steady state flow conditions is exactly equivalent to a standard advection‐dispersion equation. The time‐dependent problem is however described by an extended transport operator that incorporates an additional coordinate for water age. The consequence is that numerical solutions can hardly be achieved, especially for real 3‐D applications over large time periods of interest. A novel algorithm for solving the age distribution problem under time‐varying flow regimes is presented and, for some specific configurations, extended to the problem of generalized component exposure time. The algorithm combines the Laplace transform technique applied to the age (or exposure time) coordinate with standard time‐marching schemes. The method is validated and illustrated using analytical and numerical solutions considering 1‐D, 2‐D, and 3‐D theoretical groundwater flow domains.

色素トレーサと画像処理，空間モーメント法を融合した不飽和領域における縦分散と横分散の推定

A new methodology using spatial moment analysis linked with image processing of a dye tracer behavior in porous media was developed to estimate dispersivities not only in longitudinal but in transverse directions. Laboratory tracer experiments using a relatively mobile dye tracer Brilliant Blue FCF were conducted under saturated and unsaturated flow conditions. Uniformly packed homogeneous fields, which were comprised by silica sand or andisol taken from a maize field, were of concern under four different infiltration rates as well as under saturated flow conditions. An image processing technique based on digitalized spatial distributions of dye tracer allowed to link with a spatial moment approach to identify the transverse and longitudinal dispersivities. Dispersivities exhibited an increasing and decreasing tendency associated with infiltration rates and showed a marked difference between estimates under saturated and unsaturated conditions. Laboratory study was extended by a comprehensive literature search to compare the new results with earlier work, demonstrating a good agreement between the experimental and published results. Developed methodology was applied to a field with approximately 100 cm depth from the ground surface under unsaturated conditions. Dye tracer moved through the soils in a preferential path pattern, which induced higher dispersivities in more irregular pore patterns as compared with estimates obtained in laboratory tracer experiments. Experimental results demonstrated the effectiveness of the developed methodology for simultaneous assessment of transverse and longitudinal dispersion in unsaturated soils.

Tracer adsorption in sand-tank experiments of saltwater up-coning

Summary This study aims to substantiate otherwise unresolved double-peaked plumes produced in recent saltwater up-coning experiments (see Jakovovic et al. (2011) , Numerical modelling of saltwater up-coning: Comparison with experimental laboratory observations, Journal of Hydrology 402, 261–273) through additional laboratory testing and numerical modelling. Laboratory experimentation successfully reproduced the double-peaked plume demonstrating that this phenomenon was not an experimental nuance in previous experiments. Numerical modelling by Jakovovic et al. (2011) was extended by considering adsorption effects, which were needed to explain the observed up-coning double peaks of both previous and current laboratory experiments. A linear adsorption isotherm was applied in predicting dye tracer (Rhodamine WT) behaviour in the sand-tank experiments using adsorption parameters obtained experimentally. The same adsorption parameters were tested on all laboratory experiments and it was found that adsorption had insignificant effect on experiments with high pumping rates. However, low pumping rates produced pronounced spatial velocity variations within the dense salt plume beneath the pumping well, with velocities within the plume increasing from the centre of the plume towards the interface. The dye tracer was retarded relative to the salt and was transported preferentially along the higher-velocity paths (i.e. along the edges of the salt plume) towards the well forming double-peaked up-coning patterns. This illustrates the sensitive adsorptive nature of Rhodamine WT and that care should be taken when it is used in similar sand-tank experiments. Observations from this study offer insight into the separation of chemicals in natural systems due to different adsorption characteristics and under conditions of density-dependent flow.

Experimental methods for river discharge measurements: comparison among tracers and current meter

Discharge measurements in natural watercourses are performed in order to determine the value of the surface outflow of a basin, its temporal variability, and the outflow characteristics. The methods conventionally used for these measurements utilize an immersed current meter in different points of a river section, which acquires the mean flow velocity. Using this measurement, the discharge can be calculated. Some experimental problems arise, however, when there is a very high discharge. An important method, valid in such cases, is the artificial tracing method. In particular, the use of chemical tracers for small watercourses is very convenient because they are low cost, easily handled, low impact and provide satisfactory results. In the past, radioactive tracers such as tritium have been used in large rivers, while fluorescent tracers have been commonly exploited in the USA and now elsewhere. However, if the water is turbid, the suspended sediments may easily absorb some tracers. In this paper, the preliminary results of a comparison between current meter and artificial tracer measurements are reported. In particular, field tests in a small tributary have been performed, in order to investigate the behaviour of different tracers. Citation Tazioli, A. (2011) Experimental methods for river discharge measurements: comparison among tracers and current meter. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(7), 1314–1324.

EVIDENCE FOR INFLOW IN HIGH-MASS STAR-FORMING CLUMPS

We analyze the HCO+ 3-2 and H13CO+ 3-2 line profiles of 27 high-mass star-forming regions to identify asymmetries that are suggestive of mass inflow. Three quantitative measures of line asymmetry are used to indicate whether a line profile is blue, red or neither - the ratio of the temperature of the blue and red peaks, the line skew and the dimensionless parameter delta_v. We find nine HCO+ 3-2 line profiles with a significant blue asymmetry and four with significant red asymmetric profiles. Comparing our HCO+ 3-2 results to HCN 3-2 observations from Wu et al. (2003, 2010), we find that eight of the blue and three of red have profiles with the same asymmetry in HCN. The eight sources with blue asymmetries in both tracers are considered strong candidates for inflow. Quantitative measures of the asymmetry (e.g. delta_v) tend to be larger for HCN. This, combined with possible HCO+ abundance enhancements in outflows, suggests that HCN may be a better tracer of inflow. Understanding the behavior of common molecular tracers like HCO+ in clumps of different masses is important for properly analyzing the line profiles seen in a sample of sources representing a broad range of clump masses. Such studies will soon be possible with the large number of sources with possible self-absorption seen in spectroscopic follow-up observations of clumps identified in the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey.

Slow‐rotation dynamic SPECT with a temporal second derivative constraint

Dynamic tracer behavior in the human body arises as a result of continuous physiological processes. Hence, the change in tracer concentration within a region of interest (ROI) should follow a smooth curve. The authors propose a modification to an existing slow-rotation dynamic SPECT reconstruction algorithm (dSPECT) with the goal of improving the smoothness of time activity curves (TACs) and other properties of the reconstructed image. The new method, denoted d2EM, imposes a constraint on the second derivative (concavity) of the TAC in every voxel of the reconstructed image, allowing it to change sign at most once. Further constraints are enforced to prevent other nonphysical behaviors from arising. The new method is compared with dSPECT using digital phantom simulations and experimental dynamic 99mTc -DTPA renal SPECT data, to assess any improvement in image quality. In both phantom simulations and healthy volunteer experiments, the d2EM method provides smoother TACs than dSPECT, with more consistent shapes in regions with dynamic behavior. Magnitudes of TACs within an ROI still vary noticeably in both dSPECT and d2EM images, but also in images produced using an OSEM approach that reconstructs each time frame individually, based on much more complete projection data. TACs produced by averaging over a region are similar using either method, even for small ROIs. Results for experimental renal data show expected behavior in images produced by both methods, with d2EM providing somewhat smoother mean TACs and more consistent TAC shapes. The d2EM method is successful in improving the smoothness of time activity curves obtained from the reconstruction, as well as improving consistency of TAC shapes within ROIs.

Improving model fidelity and sensitivity for complex systems through empirical information theory.

In many situations in contemporary science and engineering, the analysis and prediction of crucial phenomena occur often through complex dynamical equations that have significant model errors compared with the true signal in nature. Here, a systematic information theoretic framework is developed to improve model fidelity and sensitivity for complex systems including perturbation formulas and multimodel ensembles that can be utilized to improve both aspects of model error simultaneously. A suite of unambiguous test models is utilized to demonstrate facets of the proposed framework. These results include simple examples of imperfect models with perfect equilibrium statistical fidelity where there are intrinsic natural barriers to improving imperfect model sensitivity. Linear stochastic models with multiple spatiotemporal scales are utilized to demonstrate this information theoretic approach to equilibrium sensitivity, the role of increasing spatial resolution in the information metric for model error, and the ability of imperfect models to capture the true sensitivity. Finally, an instructive statistically nonlinear model with many degrees of freedom, mimicking the observed non-Gaussian statistical behavior of tracers in the atmosphere, with corresponding imperfect eddy-diffusivity parameterization models are utilized here. They demonstrate the important role of additional stochastic forcing of imperfect models in order to systematically improve the information theoretic measures of fidelity and sensitivity developed here.

On superdiffusive behavior of a passive tracer in a Poisson shot noise field

In this paper, we investigate the trajectory of the passive tracer model governed by the ordinary differential equation $$ \frac{{\rm d} {\bf x} (t)}{{\rm d}t} = {\bf F} ({\bf x}(t)), \quad {\bf x}(0)= {\bf x}_{0}, $$ where F(x) is a zero mean, homogeneous, isotropic Poisson shot noise random field. We prove the superdiffusive character of the trajectories under certain conditions on the energy spectrum of the velocity field.

A NEW APPROACH FOR ESTIMATING MACRODISPERSIVITY USING DYE TRACER AND SPATIAL MOMENT ANALYSIS

Laboratory dye tracer experiments with a pulse source were conducted in homogeneous and stratified porous formations under saturated unidirectional flow conditions. A new methodology using spatial moment analysis linked with image processing of a dye tracer behavior was developed to estimate macrodispersivities both in longitudinal and lateral directions. A calibration relation between the dye concentration and the corresponding pixel brightness was established to quantify the spatial distribution of dye tracer. Both dispersivities asymptotically approached a certain value and exhibited a dependency on the difference of hydraulic conductivities associated with the stratification, which played a significant role in the evolution of transverse dispersion. Laboratory study was extended by a random walk particle tracking approach to reconstruct the estimated dispersivity transition, demonstrating a good agreement between the experimental and numerical results not only in homogeneous but in stratified porous media of concern.

Tracing Diffusion in Porous Media with Fractal Properties

This work is concerned with conditional averaging methods which can be used for modeling of transport in porous media with volume reactions in the fluid phase and surface reactions at the fluid/solid interface. The model under consideration takes into account convection, diffusion within the pores and on larger scales, and homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions. Near the interface with fractal properties, the fluid flow is slow, and diffusion, as a transport mechanism, dominates over convection. Following the conditional moment closure paradigm, we employ a diffusion tracer as a reference scalar field that makes the conditional averaging sensitive to the proximity of a point to the interface. The resulting conditionally averaged reactive transport equations are governed by the probability density function (PDF) of the diffusion tracer, and this makes the study of its behavior an important problem. We consider a hitting time stochastic interpretation of the diffusion tracer, establish integral equations relating it to a subsidiary distance tracer, and obtain distance-diffusion inequalities. Assuming that the fluid/solid interface and pores themselves possess fractal properties which are quantified, in particular, by a variant of the Minkowski–Bouligand fractal dimension, we investigate the interplay between the interface and network scenarios of fractality in the scaling laws of the diffusion tracer PDF. We also discuss and employ several hypotheses, including a lognormal cascade hypothesis on the behavior of the diffusion tracer at different length scales.

Evidence of Compound-Dependent Hydrodynamic and Mechanical Transverse Dispersion by Multitracer Laboratory Experiments

Mass transfer, mixing, and therefore reaction rates during transport of solutes in porous media strongly depend on dispersion and diffusion. In particular, transverse mixing is a significant mechanism controlling natural attenuation of contaminant plumes in groundwater. The aim of the present study is to gain a deeper understanding of vertical transverse dispersive mixing of reaction partners in saturated porous media. Multitracer laboratory experiments in a quasi two-dimensional tank filled with glass beads were conducted and transverse dispersion coefficients were determined from high-resolution vertical concentration profiles. We investigated the behavior of conservative tracers (i.e., fluorescein, dissolved oxygen, and bromide), with different aqueous diffusion coefficients, in a range of grain-related Peclet numbers between 1 and 562. The experimental results do not agree with the classical linear parametric model of hydrodynamic dispersion, in which the transverse component is approximated as the sum of pore diffusion and a compound-independent mechanical dispersion term. The outcome of the multitracer experiments clearly indicates a nonlinear relation between the dispersion coefficient and the average linear velocity. More importantly, we show that transverse mechanical dispersion depends on the diffusion coefficient of the compound, at least at the experimental bench-scale. This result has to be considered in reactive-transport models, because the typical assumption that two reactants with different aqueous diffusive properties are characterized by the same dispersive behavior does not hold anymore.

Molecular crowding affects diffusion and binding of nuclear proteins in heterochromatin and reveals the fractal organization of chromatin

The nucleus of eukaryotes is organized into functional compartments, the two most prominent being heterochromatin and nucleoli. These structures are highly enriched in DNA, proteins or RNA, and thus thought to be crowded. In vitro, molecular crowding induces volume exclusion, hinders diffusion and enhances association, but whether these effects are relevant in vivo remains unclear. Here, we establish that volume exclusion and diffusive hindrance occur in dense nuclear compartments by probing the diffusive behaviour of inert fluorescent tracers in living cells. We also demonstrate that chromatin-interacting proteins remain transiently trapped in heterochromatin due to crowding induced enhanced affinity. The kinetic signatures of these crowding consequences allow us to derive a fractal model of chromatin organization, which explains why the dynamics of soluble nuclear proteins are affected independently of their size. This model further shows that the fractal architecture differs between heterochromatin and euchromatin, and predicts that chromatin proteins use different target-search strategies in the two compartments. We propose that fractal crowding is a fundamental principle of nuclear organization, particularly of heterochromatin maintenance.

Multicomponent diffusion of a suite of tracers (HTO, Cl, Br, I, Na, Sr, Cs) in a single sample of Opalinus Clay

Abstract Diffusion experiments with HTO, 36Cl−, Br−, I−, 22Na+, 85Sr2+ and 134Cs+ at trace concentrations in a single sample of Opalinus Clay are modeled with PHREEQC’s multicomponent diffusion module. The model is used first in a classical approach to derive accessible porosities, geometrical factors (the ratio of pore tortuosity and constrictivity) and sorption behavior of the individual tracers assuming that the clay is homogeneous. The accessible porosity for neutral species and cations is obtained from HTO, the anion exclusion volume from 36Cl− and Br−, and the cation exchange capacity from 22Na+. The homogeneous model works well for tritium, the anions and 22Na+. However, the 85Sr2+ and 134Cs+ experiments show an early arrival of the tracer and a front-form that suggest a dual porosity structure. A model with 10% dead-end pores, containing 19% of the total exchange capacity, can satisfactorily calculate all the experimental data. The Cs+ diffusion model builds on a 3-site exchange model, constructed from batch sorption data. The excellent agreement of modeled and measured data contradicts earlier reports that the exchange capacity for Cs+ would be smaller in diffusion than in batch experiments. The geometrical factors for the anions are 1.5 times larger than for HTO, and for the cations 2–4 times smaller than for HTO. The different behavior is explained by a tripartite division of the porespace in free porewater, diffuse double layer (DDL) water, and interlayer water in montmorillonite. Differences between estimated and observed geometrical factors for cations are attributed to increased ion-pairing of the divalent cations in DDL water as a result of the low relative dielectric permittivity. Interlayer and/or surface diffusion contributes significantly to the diffusive flux of Cs+ but is negligible for the other solutes. The geometrical factors for anions are higher than estimated, because pore constrictions with overlapping double layers force the anions to take longer routes than HTO and the cations. Small differences among the anions can also be attributed to different ion-pairing in DDL water.

Hepatic Metastases: In Vivo Assessment of Perfusion Parameters at Dynamic Contrast-enhanced MR Imaging with Dual-Input Two-Compartment Tracer Kinetics Model

This study was institutional review board approved, with waived patient consent for retrospective analysis of the data. The hepatic perfusion at dynamic contrast material-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was commonly described and assessed by using a dual-input one-compartment tracer kinetics model. Although the tracer kinetics in normal liver parenchyma can be described by using a single compartment, functional changes in the tumor microenvironment can result in distinctly different tracer behavior that entails a second tissue compartment. A dual-input two-compartment model is proposed to describe the tracer behavior in hepatic metastases. The authors applied this model to the dynamic MR imaging data obtained in three patients. Perfusion parameter maps and region-of-interest analysis revealed that tracer behavior in hepatic metastases-in contrast to that in surrounding normal liver tissue, which effectively involves one compartment-can be described by using two compartments.

On superdiffusive behavior of a passive tracer in a random flow

In this note we consider a passive tracer model describing particle dispersion in a turbulent flow. The trajectory of the particle is given by the solution of an ordinary differential equation x ̇ ( t ) = F ( x ( t ) ) , x ( 0 ) = x 0 , where F ( x ) is a divergence-free, random vector field that is spatially homogeneous and isotropic. We show that trajectories of the tracer display superdiffusive behavior when the random velocity F ( x ) decorrelates, at large distances, but does it not rapidly but rather at some moderate rate. The main tools used in the proofs are variational principles and Tauberian-type theorems.

Diffusion of linear macromolecules and spherical particles in semidilute polymer solutions and polymer networks

The dynamics of fluorescently labeled linear macromolecules and spherical particles that are enclosed in semidilute polymer matrixes was studied by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching. The experiments were designed such that the transition from a semidilute solution to a permanent network could be covered. This was achieved by employing a matrix polymer, polyacrylamide, carrying pendant dimethylmaleimide groups. Stepwise irradiation of such samples in the presence of a triplet sensitizer causes successive dimerization of the maleimides leading to progressive crosslinking.Studies were performed with varying concentrations of matrix polymer (20–80gL−1) as well as different molar masses (200,000–1,300,000gmol−1) and particle radii (17 and 36nm) of enclosed labeled probes. Results show notable differences between the behavior of linear and spherical tracers: while the mobility of flexible linear chains remains nearly unaffected by the transition from a semidilute polymer solution into a chemically crosslinked network, spherical tracers get completely immobilized when the degree of crosslinking exceeds a certain threshold.

Modeling the distribution of Nd isotopes in the oceans using an ocean general circulation model

Nd isotopic compositions of authigenic phases in marine archives are increasingly used as a tracer of past changes in ocean circulation. Such applications assume that water masses are “tagged” with distinct Nd isotope compositions in source regions and that away from these regions the Nd isotope ratios observed in deep waters mainly reflect water mass mixing. However, the degree to which the simple assumption of “quasi-conservative mixing” reflects the complicated reality of general circulation in the oceans is not well understood. Here, we present numerical simulations of the Nd isotope distribution in seawater using an offline ocean general circulation model (OGCM), treating the Nd isotopic composition of seawater as a conservative tracer. Nd isotope data from modern surface waters are used to generate an interpolated map of Nd isotope compositions for the entire surface ocean. This map is treated as a fixed surface boundary condition that is propagated into the interior ocean by the advective–diffusive transport of the ocean model until a steady state is reached. This treatment of Nd isotopes was chosen because it mimics the behavior of well-known and well-understood conservative tracers, such as potential temperature and salinity. The model results for all non-surface grid points are then compared to published data. This simple approach produces Nd isotope estimates for North Atlantic Deep Water that are consistent with observations, but produces values lower than observed in the deep Pacific and Southern Oceans, indicating the need for a source of radiogenic Nd directly to the deep Pacific Ocean. Sensitivity tests show this to be a robust result. By fixing the return flow of the Pacific Ocean to the Southern Ocean with Nd isotope ratios that are consistent with modern observations, the model results are brought into close agreement with a majority of the available data. With the addition of a deep Pacific source of radiogenic Nd, more than half of the simulated values from the interior ocean fall within one ε-unit of the corresponding observations. Our results thus indicate that the deep Pacific Ocean requires a source of radiogenic Nd in addition to inputs to the surface ocean, and that when the deep waters of the North Atlantic and North Pacific are set with realistic values, a majority of intermediate areas are consistent with quasi-conservative mixing of these two end-members.

Response of Simulated Squall Lines to Low-Level Cooling

Abstract Organized convection has long been recognized to have a nocturnal maximum over the central United States. The present study uses idealized numerical simulations to investigate the mechanisms for the maintenance, propagation, and evolution of nocturnal-like convective systems. As a litmus test for the basic governing dynamics, the experiments use horizontally homogeneous initial conditions (i.e., they include neither fronts nor low-level jet streams). The simulated storms are allowed to mature as surface-based convective systems before the boundary layer is cooled. In this case it is then surprisingly difficult to cut the mature convective systems off from their source of near-surface inflow parcels. Even when 10 K of the low-level cooling has been applied, the preexisting system cold pool is sufficient to lift boundary layer parcels to their levels of free convection. The present results suggest that many of the nocturnal convective systems that were previously thought to be elevated may actually be surface based. With additional cooling, the simulated systems do, indeed, become elevated. First, the CAPE of the near-surface air goes to zero: second, as the cold pool’s temperature deficit vanishes, the lifting mechanism evolves toward a bore atop the nocturnal inversion. Provided that air above the inversion has CAPE, the system then survives and begins to move at the characteristic speed of the bore. Interestingly, as the preconvective environment is cooled and approaches the temperature of the convective outflow, but before the system becomes elevated, yet another distinct behavior emerges. The comparatively weaker cold pool entails slower system motion but also more intense lifting, apparently because it is more nearly balanced by the lower-tropospheric shear. This could explain the frequent observation of intensifying convective systems in the evening hours without the need for a nocturnal low-level jet. The governing dynamics of the simulated systems, as well as the behavior of low-level tracers and parcel trajectories, are addressed for a variety of environments and degrees of stabilization.