Calculated Production Rates Research Articles

Air‐Sea exchange of biogenic volatile organic compounds and the impact on aerosol particle size distributions

AbstractWe report simultaneous, underway eddy covariance measurements of the vertical flux of isoprene, total monoterpenes, and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) over the Northern Atlantic Ocean during fall. Mean isoprene and monoterpene sea‐to‐air vertical fluxes were significantly lower than mean DMS fluxes. While rare, intense monoterpene sea‐to‐air fluxes were observed, coincident with elevated monoterpene mixing ratios. A statistically significant correlation between isoprene vertical flux and short wave radiation was not observed, suggesting that photochemical processes in the surface microlayer did not enhance isoprene emissions in this study region. Calculations of secondary organic aerosol production rates (PSOA) for mean isoprene and monoterpene emission rates sampled here indicate that PSOA is on average <0.1 μg m−3 d−1. Despite modest PSOA, low particle number concentrations permit a sizable role for condensational growth of monoterpene oxidation products in altering particle size distributions and the concentration of cloud condensation nuclei during episodic monoterpene emission events from the ocean.

Neon produced by solar cosmic rays in ordinary chondrites

AbstractSolar‐cosmic‐ray‐produced Ne (SCR‐Ne), in the form of low cosmogenic 21Ne/22Ne ratios (21Ne/22Necos <0.8), is more likely to be found in rare meteorite classes, like Martian meteorites, than in ordinary chondrites. This may be the result of a sampling bias: SCR‐Ne is better preserved in meteorites with small preatmospheric radii and these specimens are often only studied if they belong to unusual or rare classes. We measured He and Ne isotopic concentrations and nuclear tracks in 25 small unpaired ordinary chondrites from Oman. Most chondrites have been intensively heated during atmospheric entry as evidenced by the disturbed track records, the low 3He/21Ne ratios, the low 4He concentrations, and the high peak release temperatures. Concentration depth profiles indicate significant degassing; however, the Ne isotopes are mainly undisturbed. Remarkably, six chondrites have low 21Ne/22Necos in the range 0.711–0.805. Using a new physical model for the calculation of SCR production rates, we show that four of the chondrites contain up to ~20% of SCR‐Ne; they are analyzed in terms of preatmospheric sizes, cosmic ray exposure ages, mass ablation losses, and orbits. We conclude that SCR‐Ne is preserved, regardless of the meteorite class, in specimens with small preatmospheric radii. Sampling bias explains the predominance of SCR‐Ne in rare meteorites, although we cannot exclude that SCR‐Ne is more common in Martian meteorites than it is in small ordinary chondrites.

Production rate calculations for cosmic-ray-muon-produced 10Be and 26Al benchmarked against geological calibration data

First, I benchmark existing methods of calculating subsurface 26Al, 10Be, and 14C production rates due to cosmic-ray muons against published calibration data from bedrock cores and mine excavations. This shows that methods based on downward propagation of the surface muon energy spectrum fit calibration data adequately. Of these methods, one that uses a simpler geographic scaling method based on energy-dependent attenuation of muons in the atmosphere appears to fit calibration data better than a more complicated one that uses the results of a global particle transport model to estimate geographic variation in the surface muon energy spectrum. Second, I show that although highly simplified and computationally much cheaper exponential function approximations for subsurface production rates are not globally adequate for accurate production rate estimates at arbitrary location and depth, they can be used with acceptable accuracy for many exposure-dating and erosion-rate-estimation applications.

Assessment of different sunspot number series using the cosmogenic isotope 44 Ti in meteorites

Many sunspot number series exist suggesting different levels of solar activity during the past centuries. Their reliability can be assessed only by comparing them with alternative indirect proxies. We test different sunspot number series against the updated record of cosmogenic radionuclide 44Ti measured in meteorites. Two bounding scenarios of solar activity changes have been considered: the HH-scenario (based on the series by Svalgaard and Schatten), in particular, predicting moderate activity during the Maunder minimum, and the LL-scenario (based on the RG series by Lockwood et al.) predicting moderate activity for the 18th–19th centuries and the very low activity level for the Maunder minimum. For each scenario, the magnetic open solar flux, the heliospheric modulation potential and the expected production of 44Ti were computed. The calculated production rates were compared with the corresponding measurements of 44Ti activity in stony meteorites fallen since 1766. The analysis reveals that the LL-scenario is fully consistent with the measured 44Ti data, in particular, recovering the observed secular trend between the 17th century and the Modern grand maximum. On the contrary, the HH-scenario appears significantly inconsistent with the data, mostly due to the moderate level of activity during the Maunder minimum. It is concluded that the HH-scenario sunspot number reconstruction significantly overestimates solar activity prior to the mid-18th century, especially during the Maunder minimum. The exact level of solar activity after 1750 cannot be distinguished with this method, since both H- and L- scenarios appear statistically consistent with the data.

Calculation of Neutron Production Rates and Spectra from Compounds of Actinides and Light Elements

The code NEDIS allows the calculation of neutron production rate and continuous energy spectra due to (α,n) reaction on Li, Be, B, C, O, F, Ne, Na Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, Ar, K, and Ca. It accounts for anisotropic angular distribution of neutrons of (α,n) reaction in centre-of- mass system and dimensions of alpha emitting source material particles. Spontaneous fission spectra are calculated with evaluated half-life, spontaneous fission branching, ν- averaged per fission, and Watt spectrum parameters. The results of calculations by NEDIS can be used as input for Monte Carlo simulation for materials that will be used in radiation shielding and for underground neutron experiments

Monte Carlo model for electron degradation in xenon gas.

We have developed a Monte Carlo model for studying the local degradation of electrons in the energy range 9-10 000 eV in xenon gas. Analytically fitted form of electron impact cross sections for elastic and various inelastic processes are fed as input data to the model. The two-dimensional numerical yield spectrum (NYS), which gives information on the number of energy loss events occurring in a particular energy interval, is obtained as the output of the model. The NYS is fitted analytically, thus obtaining the analytical yield spectrum (AYS). The AYS can be used to calculate electron fluxes, which can be further employed for the calculation of volume production rates. Using the yield spectrum, mean energy per ion pair and efficiencies of inelastic processes are calculated. The value for mean energy per ion pair for Xe is 22 eV at 10 keV. Ionization dominates for incident energies greater than 50 eV and is found to have an efficiency of approximately 65% at 10 keV. The efficiency for the excitation process is approximately 30% at 10 keV.

Halocarbon emissions and sources in the equatorial Atlantic Cold Tongue

Abstract. Halocarbons from oceanic sources contribute to halogens in the troposphere, and can be transported into the stratosphere where they take part in ozone depletion. This paper presents distribution and sources in the equatorial Atlantic from June and July 2011 of the four compounds bromoform (CHBr3), dibromomethane (CH2Br2), methyl iodide (CH3I) and diiodomethane (CH2I2). Enhanced biological production during the Atlantic Cold Tongue (ACT) season, indicated by phytoplankton pigment concentrations, led to elevated concentrations of CHBr3 of up to 44.7 and up to 9.2 pmol L−1 for CH2Br2 in surface water, which is comparable to other tropical upwelling systems. While both compounds correlated very well with each other in the surface water, CH2Br2 was often more elevated in greater depth than CHBr3, which showed maxima in the vicinity of the deep chlorophyll maximum. The deeper maximum of CH2Br2 indicates an additional source in comparison to CHBr3 or a slower degradation of CH2Br2. Concentrations of CH3I of up to 12.8 pmol L−1 in the surface water were measured. In contrary to expectations of a predominantly photochemical source in the tropical ocean, its distribution was mostly in agreement with biological parameters, indicating a biological source. CH2I2 was very low in the near surface water with maximum concentrations of only 3.7 pmol L−1. CH2I2 showed distinct maxima in deeper waters similar to CH2Br2. For the first time, diapycnal fluxes of the four halocarbons from the upper thermocline into and out of the mixed layer were determined. These fluxes were low in comparison to the halocarbon sea-to-air fluxes. This indicates that despite the observed maximum concentrations at depth, production in the surface mixed layer is the main oceanic source for all four compounds and one of the main driving factors of their emissions into the atmosphere in the ACT-region. The calculated production rates of the compounds in the mixed layer are 34 ± 65 pmol m−3 h−1 for CHBr3, 10 ± 12 pmol m−3 h−1 for CH2Br2, 21 ± 24 pmol m−3 h−1 for CH3I and 384 ± 318 pmol m−3 h−1 for CH2I2 determined from 13 depth profiles.

Disparities between in situ and optically derived carbon biomass and growth rates of the prymnesiophyte <i>Phaeocystis globosa</i>

Abstract. The oceans play a pivotal role in the global carbon cycle. It is not practical to measure the global daily production of organic carbon, the product of phytoplankton standing stock and its growth rate using discrete oceanographic methods. Instead, optical proxies from Earth-orbiting satellites must be used. To test the accuracy of optically derived proxies of phytoplankton physiology and growth rate, hyperspectral reflectance data from the wax and wane of a Phaeocystis bloom in laboratory mesocosms were compared with standard ex situ data. Chlorophyll biomass could be estimated accurately from reflectance using specific chlorophyll absorption algorithms. However, the conversion of chlorophyll (Chl) to carbon (C) was obscured by the non-linear increase in C : Chl under nutrient-limited growth. Although C : Chl was inversely correlated (r2 = 0.88) with the in situ fluorometric growth rate indicator Fv / Fm (Photosystem II quantum efficiency), none of them was linearly correlated to growth rate, constraining the accurate calculation of Phaeocystis growth or production rates. Unfortunately, the optical proxy ϕph (quantum efficiency of fluorescence: the ratio of the number of fluoresced photons to the number of photons absorbed by the phytoplankton) did not show any correlation with Phaeocystis growth rate, and therefore it is concluded that ϕph cannot be applied in the remotely sensed measurement of this species' carbon production rate.

Enchytraeid Reproduction Test(PLUS): hatching, growth and full life cycle test--an optional multi-endpoint test with Enchytraeus crypticus.

Soil ecotoxicity standard tests for invertebrates are usually limited to the assessment of endpoints like survival and reproduction. Adverse effects may occur at other developmental stages, e.g. embryo development, hatching or growth. The species Enchytraeus crypticus is a model organism in the standard soil ecotoxicology test, where survival and reproduction are assessed. In the present study we optimized the test method to include additional endpoints. The proposed test started with synchronized age organisms', and included additionally hatching success, growth, maturation status and full life cycle. This allowed for the calculation of cocoon production and population growth rate. Results indicated that Cd is embryotoxic, main effect occurs on the embryo developmental stage and maturity. Further, the full life cycle test can discriminate between pre- and post-embryo formation. The increased sensitivity and full life cycle detail level makes it potentially useful for novel materials e.g. nanomaterials where the mode of action and hence effect target is unknown.

Characterization and site-directed mutation of a novel aldo-keto reductase from Lodderomyces elongisporus NRRL YB-4239 with high production rate of ethyl (R)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate.

A novel aldo-keto reductase (LEK) from Lodderomyces elongisporus NRRL YB-4239 (ATCC 11503) was discovered by genome database mining for carbonyl reduction. LEK was overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3), purified to homogeneity and the catalytic properties were studied. Among the substrates, ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate was converted to ethyl (R)-4-chloro-3- hydroxybutanoate ((R)-CHBE), an important pharmaceutical intermediate, with an excellent enantiomeric excess (e.e.) (>99 %). The mutants W28A and S209G obtained by site-directed mutation were identified with much higher molar conversion yields and lower Km values. Further, the constructed coenzyme regeneration system with glucose as co-substrate resulted in a yield of 100 %, an enantioselectivity of >99 %, and the calculated production rate of 56.51 mmol/L/H. These results indicated the potential of LEK for the industrial production of (R)-CHBE and other valuable chiral alcohols.

Physics-based modeling of cosmogenic nuclides part II – Key aspects of in-situ cosmogenic nuclide production

Characteristics of the spallogenic component of nuclide production are investigated through the use of a physics-based model. Calculated production rates for commonly used nuclides indicate differences in scaling up to 15% at very high altitude. Angular distribution of nuclide forming particles suggests the current method of shielding correction, which is neither altitude nor latitude dependent, can be improved on. Subsurface production profiles suggest that erosion corrections should be performed with non-constant attenuation lengths. Results are parameterized for easy application.

The Nuts and Bolts of Cosmogenic Nuclide Production

Over the last 60 years, our understanding of how cosmic rays produce cosmogenic nuclides has grown from basic physical considerations. We introduce the different types of cosmic ray particles and how their flux varies with altitude, latitude, and time. Accurately describing these variations remains a challenge for some regions when calculating production rates. We describe current and emerging computational methods for calculating production rates that address this challenge. Continuing developments in our understanding of modern and prehistoric cosmic ray fluxes and energy spectra in Earth9s atmosphere and at its surface are bound to contribute in the future to more robust applications.

Physics-based modeling of cosmogenic nuclides part I – Radiation transport methods and new insights

We present a comprehensive, nuclear-physics-based cosmogenic nuclide production rate model combining radiation transport modeling with excitation functions for commonly measured nuclides. This model allows investigation of factors influencing nuclide production, such as the energy spectrum and angular distribution of the incident radiation that cannot be easily isolated in calibration measurements on natural samples. We present neutron and proton fluxes over a range of atmospheric depths and cut-off rigidities. Calculated production rates for 3He, 10Be, 14C, 21Ne, 26Al, and 36Cl based on these fluxes are presented. The model predicts that production rates for these nuclides diverge from one another with altitude, hence that production ratios depend on altitude. Compared to existing scaling schemes, the model predicts a larger difference between sea-level production rates at low and high latitude.

Theoretical aspects of photon production in high energy nuclear collisions

A brief overview of the calculation of photon and dilepton production rates in a deconfined quark-gluon plasma is presented. We review leading order rates as well as recent NLO determinations and non-equilibrium corrections. Furthermore, the difficulties in a non-perturbative lattice determination are summarized.

Excitation functions of proton-induced reactions on natural Nd and production of radionuclides relevant for double beta decay: Completing measurement in 5–35 MeV energy range

Cross-sections for the proton-induced reactions on natural neodymium in energy regions 5-10 MeV and 30-35 MeV were measured using the cyclotron U-120M at the Nuclear Physics Institute at Rez near Prague. This measurement completes the investigation previously done in the 10-30 MeV energy range. Results revealed practical production thresholds and secondary maxima and minima in the excitation functions. It allowed for more appropriate calculation of thick target yields and production rates of many longer-lived radionuclides potentially disturbing the search for neutrinoless double beta decay. Measured cross-sections are consistent with our previously published data.

Photochemical evolution of organic aerosols observed in urban plumes from Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta of China

Organic aerosols influence human health and global radiative forcing. However, their sources and evolution processes in the atmosphere are not completely understood. To study the aging and production of organic aerosols in a subtropical environment, we measured hourly resolved organic carbon (OC) and element carbon (EC) in PM2.5 at a receptor site (Tung Chung, TC) in Hong Kong from August 2011 to May 2012. The average OC concentrations exhibited the highest values in late autumn and were higher during the daytime than at night. The secondary organic carbon (SOC) concentrations, which were estimated using an EC-tracer method, comprised approximately half of the total OC on average. The SOC showed good correlation with odd oxygen (Ox = O3 + NO2) in the summer and autumn seasons, suggestive of contribution of photochemical activities to the formation of secondary organic aerosols (SOA). We calculated production rates of SOA using the photochemical age (defined as –Log10(NOx/NOy)) in urban plumes from the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region and Hong Kong during pollution episodes in summer and autumn. The CO-normalized SOC increased with the photochemical age, with production rates ranging from 1.31 to 1.82 μg m−3 ppmv−1 h−1 in autumn and with a larger rate in summer (3.86 μg m−3 ppmv−1 h−1). The rates are in the range of the rates observed in the outflow from Mexico City, the eastern U.S. and Los Angeles. Microscopic analyses of the individual aerosol particles revealed large contrasts of aerosol physico-chemical properties on clean and smoggy days, with thick organic coatings internally mixed with inorganic sulfate for all particle sizes in the aged plumes from the PRD region.

Fuerteventura – Assessment of a calibration site for cosmogenic 3He exposure dating with the 40Ar/39Ar incremental heating method

In situ Terrestrial Cosmogenic Nuclides (hereafter TCNs) are increasingly important for absolutely dating terrestrial events and processes. This study aimed at improving our knowledge of the production rate of Terrestrial Cosmogenic 3He formed in situ in rock surfaces at low latitude and sea level as well as re-evaluation of the Canary Islands as a calibration site for TCNs. For this purpose, we sampled basaltic lava flows from some of the youngest and yet undated volcanic sites and used the 40Ar/39Ar incremental heating method on groundmass samples and in situ cosmogenic 3He on olivine and clinopyroxene phenocrysts. 40Ar/39Ar analysis was done on a Hiden HAL Series 1000 triple filter quadrupole mass spectrometer with extraction furnace. Incremental heating data shows ages in the Late Pleistocene from 52.7 ± 21.6 ka to 398.6 ± 27.6 ka.We measured cosmogenic 3He concentrations in olivine and clinopyroxene phenocrysts from flow top samples on a MAP 215-50 sector mass spectrometer with a crushing device and a diode laser extraction system. Exposure age calculations yielded ages in the range 38.9 ± 4.0 ka to 62.3 ± 6.7 ka for the youngest lava flow and the data series is in broad agreement with the argon data up to 250 ka and reveals a more continuous time line of volcanism during the late Pleistocene on the island. However, the dataset was not sufficient for calculation of production rates for in situ Terrestrial Cosmogenic 3He as many samples showed signs of erosion. Calculated erosion rates range from none to as high as 7.3 mm/kyr assuming a rock density of 2.9 g/cm2. This finding puts a constraint on the use of Fuerteventura as a calibration site for exposure histories older than 50–100 ka. A comparison with cosmogenic 36Cl data supports these findings and indicates substantial weathering.

Observational Insights into Aerosol Formation from Isoprene

Atmospheric photooxidation of isoprene is an important source of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) and there is increasing evidence that anthropogenic oxidant emissions can enhance this SOA formation. In this work, we use ambient observations of organosulfates formed from isoprene epoxydiols (IEPOX) and methacrylic acid epoxide (MAE) and a broad suite of chemical measurements to investigate the relative importance of nitrogen oxide (NO/NO2) and hydroperoxyl (HO2) SOA formation pathways from isoprene at a forested site in California. In contrast to IEPOX, the calculated production rate of MAE was observed to be independent of temperature. This is the result of the very fast thermolysis of MPAN at high temperatures that affects the distribution of the MPAN reservoir (MPAN / MPA radical) reducing the fraction that can react with OH to form MAE and subsequently SOA (F(MAE formation)). The strong temperature dependence of F(MAE formation) helps to explain our observations of similar concentrations of IEPOX-derived organosulfates (IEPOX-OS; ~1 ng m(-3)) and MAE-derived organosulfates (MAE-OS; ~1 ng m(-3)) under cooler conditions (lower isoprene concentrations) and much higher IEPOX-OS (~20 ng m(-3)) relative to MAE-OS (<0.0005 ng m(-3)) at higher temperatures (higher isoprene concentrations). A kinetic model of IEPOX and MAE loss showed that MAE forms 10-100 times more ring-opening products than IEPOX and that both are strongly dependent on aerosol water content when aerosol pH is constant. However, the higher fraction of MAE ring opening products does not compensate for the lower MAE production under warmer conditions (higher isoprene concentrations) resulting in lower formation of MAE-derived products relative to IEPOX at the surface. In regions of high NOx, high isoprene emissions and strong vertical mixing the slower MPAN thermolysis rate aloft could increase the fraction of MPAN that forms MAE resulting in a vertically varying isoprene SOA source.

Hydrogen Production from Water Vapor Plasmolysis Using DBD-Corona Hybrid Reactor

Hydrogen is produced by plasmolysis of (1) demineralized water vapors (steam) and (2) water vapor and argon gas. In the current study, a custom-made dielectric barrier discharge (DBD)-corona hybrid reactor has been designed and used for steam plasmolysis. The objective is to show the feasibility of hydrogen production from water vapor plasmolysis at atmospheric pressure at a relatively smaller interelectrode distance and to characterize the plasma for its fundamental properties. The generated plasma properties have been characterized by applying spectrometric analysis, in which the measured plasma temperatures are demonstrated in the order Te > Texc > Trot, which confirms the nonlocalized thermal equilibrium (LTE) existence in the plasma bulk. Moreover, the estimated electron number density (1.765 × 1017 m–3) shows an exceptional energy for water vapor dissociation, which eventually results in a reasonable efficiency. The estimated energy efficiency and thermodynamic efficiency for water vapor plasmolysis along with steam was found to be 78.8% and 79.2%, respectively. Accordingly, the calculated production rate (20 g/kWh) and the predicted cost (£0.09/kWh) are shown to be competitive to the electrolysis process, which is increasingly applied for hydrogen production, with the benefit of reduced equipment size and low power consumption.

High accuracy tritium measurement for the verification of the tritium production rate calculations with MCNPX

This paper presents high accuracy tritium production rate measurement results compared with calculations using the MCNPX Monte Carlo particle transport code. The experimental results are regarded as reference values for a new passive technique based on the secondary charged particle activation method developed for measuring the tritium production rate in the test blanket modules of the ITER Tokamak. The 16O(t,n)18F reaction, which is one of the possible tritium monitor reactions, was also extensively investigated, and the experimentally determined reaction rates were compared with simulations.Li2CO3 solution was filled and sealed into quartz ampoules which were irradiated in the Training Reactor of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. The amount of 18F was determined using γ-spectroscopy. Then the precise tritium measurements were carried out in the Hertelendi Laboratory of Environmental Studies using the 3H–3He ingrowth method, where the 3He produced during the storage time is measured by a static noble gas mass spectrometer (VG-5400).The HT/HTO ratio in the irradiated aqueous solutions was found to be 0.1323±0.0034. Based on the comparison of the measurements and the simulations it was pointed out that the model calculations underestimate the reaction rate of both the Li6(n,t)α and the 16O(t,n)18F reactions by 5–10% and 15%, respectively.