Analysis of climate indicator association with hotspots in Indonesia using heterogeneous correlation map

In several regions, land and forest fires of Indonesia occurred almost annually during the drought season. The severity of Indonesia's drought season is mainly influenced by the Australian Monsoon, local cloud formation controlled by Sea Surface Temperature (SST) around Indonesia. Moreover, it affects the severity of land and forest fires itself indirectly. This research aims to examine the association of the Australian Monsoon and local SST with land and forest fires in Indonesia. This research uses the Australian Monsoon Index (AUSMI) as an indicator for the Australian Monsoon and SST in the Karimata Strait and the Java Sea as indicators of local SST. An indicator of land and forest fires that will be used is the number of hotspots. A heterogeneous Correlation Map (HCM) is used to describe hotspots associated with AUSMI and local SST. The analysis shows that the east wind pattern of AUSMI associated with hotspots in Indonesia, especially in years when zonal winds enter an upward phase more slowly. Karimata Strait’s SST is associate with hotspots in the coastal part of Riau. Meanwhile, Java Sea’s SST is associate with hotspots in Lampung, South Sumatra, Jambi, and Kalimantan.

Concentration and Physical Characteristics of Black Carbon in Winter Snow of Beijing in 2015

In Beijing, the probability of snowfall is decreasing as a result of global warming. At the same time, Beijing has suffered severe air pollution. In this paper, the concentration and particle size characteristics of BC (Black Carbon) in snow during the winter of 2015 in Beijing were analyzed by the SP2 method. The average concentration of BC in snow meltwater in Beijing is 82 ng/mL, with a minimum value of 62.9 ng/mL and a maximum of 210.6 ng/mL. The BC particle size in snow and ice in the Beijing area is mostly concentrated in the range of 70–400 nm. After log-normal, the BC particle size above 600 nm is still small, which should be closely related to the nature of the local BC emission source. The concentration of BC in snow is highly susceptible to meteorological conditions and local pollution levels. When Beijing is under the control of the east wind or the southeast wind, aerosols in the urban areas can easily accumulate in the northwestern mountains and then settle or participate in the snowfall process, resulting in an increase in BC aerosol accumulation in the snow, thus further changing the optical properties of snow in the Beijing area.

Fuel particles in consequences of the accident at the ChNPP

As a result of the nuclear explosion at the fourth block of the Chornobyl NPP (ChNPP), the radioactive cloud containing an aerodispersed system with aerosols formed at the explosion appeared in air above the ChNPP territory. The accident occurred at the end of the reactor company before the assumed reloading of the active zone. Thus, the cloud composition included the products of fission and activation of uranium that were accumulated in the reactor fuel during the company. On that night, the east wind carried the radioactive cloud to the west, by leaving the aerosol fallouts on Earth’s surface as a radioactive trace. The results of the own studies (1986–1990) of aerosol fallouts on the west trace formed at once after the explosion at the ChNPP are presented. On this basis, the characteristics [physico-chemical forms, radionuclidic composition, activity median aerodynamic diameters (AMADs), etc.] of the aerodispersed system created at once after the explosion of the active zone of the reactor are reconstructed. In the frame of the respiratory model given in ICRP Publication 66, the contributions caused by the inhalation of fuel particles (microscopic particles which are fragments of exploded fuel elements and have conserved mainly their radionuclidic characteristics) to the doses of irradiation of parts of respiratory organs and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) are evaluated. It is shown that the cause for a mass cough in the summers of 1986 and 1987 on territories underwent the action of emergency fallouts was the inhalation of radionuclides of ruthenium in the form of RuO4 that was formed in “hot” particles contacting with air and then evaporated from them. The “hot” particles are compact inclusions formed by fission products. They consist mainly of atoms close to noble metals (molybdenum, ruthenium, rhodium, etc.) formed during a regular operating period in fuel tablets and released from the latter at the explosion of the active zone. The reasons for the disagreement between the clinic consequences and the ascribed values of the dose for the sufferers who were present in premises of the NPP at the emergency time and then died from acute radiation sickness in three-four weeks after the accident are explained.

3D CFD Analysis of Natural Ventilation in Reduced Scale Model of Compost Bedded Pack Barn for Dairy Cows

Compost bedded pack (CBP) barns have been receiving increased attention as an alternative housing system for dairy cattle. To create a satisfactory environment within CBP barns that promotes a good composting process, an adequate air movement and minimal temperature fluctuations throughout the building are required. Therefore, a study based on compost barn structure model employing techniques of dimensional analysis for naturally ventilated buildings was developed. Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations of compost barns with different ridge designs and wind direction, along with the visual demonstration of the impact on airflow through structure were performed. The results showed that the barn ventilation CFD model and simulations were in good agreement with the experimental measurements, predicting the airflow through the CBP barns structure for alternative roof ridge types adequately. The results also indicate that the best roof configuration in the winter was the open ridge with chimney for a west to east wind direction.