Rain water composition at two BAPMoN stations in India

Six years of rain water composition data from two BAPMoN regional stations in India are analysed using Factor Model Analysis. It gives four factors representing different source type contributing to water soluble pollutants in precipitation. The major influence on rain water composition at both sites are Sea-salt and continental source such as soil dust, ammonia and low levels of sulfate and nitrate which presumably have both natural and anthropogenic components. The long term mean values of pH of rain water at both sites were found to be greater than the pH value of selected polluted northern atmosphere sites.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE SEDIMENTARY COVER IN THE EQUATORIAL SEGMENT OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN

The thickness of the Atlantic Equatorial segment sedimentary cover decreases with the distance from the continental source of mass removal and increases slightly with the distance from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). Background sedimentation makes a small contribution to the total sedimentary volume near the continents and the major contribution in basins with the formation of sedimentary bodies with a thickness of no more than 500 m. Sedimentary bodies with a thickness up to 1000 m near MAR are the results of unloading of bottom currents near structural barriers in topography and in fault troughs. The total thickness tends to increase from north to south on the western flank of the MAR. The multidirectional spatial migration of the basement depressions filled with sediments is revealed. To the west of the MAR, contrasting acoustic stratification and tectonic deformations of sediments were found. To the east of the MAR, deformations are rare and expressed by piercing structures and normal faults. Anomalies of the "bright spot" type associated with local manifestations of magmatism forming aligned high-amplitude reflectors are revealed. Normal faulting in the passive parts of the transforms zones indicates the presence of local stretching, which is part of the simple shear paragenesis. In the troughs, sediment deposition from the bottom currents, which forms channel drifts, is revealed.

Detecting and assessing trends of CFCs and substitutes from IASI measurements

<p>The first Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Instrument (IASI) on the Metop satellites suite has achieved more than 13 years of continuous operation. The instrument stability and the consistency between the different instruments on the successive Metop (A, B and C) is remarkable and offer the potential to investigate trends in the concentration of various species better than with any other previous or current hyperspectral IR sounder. The low noise of IASI radiances is also such that even weakly absorbing species can be identified, on single or at least on averaged spectra. In this work we exploit the first decadal record of IASI measurements to (1) detect and monitor halogenated compounds regulated by the Montreal protocol (CFCs) or used as substitutes (HCFCs, HFCs), as well as fluorinated compounds (CF<sub>4</sub>, SF<sub>6</sub>) and potentially short lived chlorine species, for which substantial emissions are suspected (2) give a first assessment of the trend evolution of these species over the 2008-2017 period covered by IASI on Metop-A. This is done by targeting various geographical areas on the globe and examining the remote oceanic and continental source regions separately. The trend evolution in the different chemical species, either negative or positive, is validated against what is observed from ground-based measurement networks. We will conclude by assessing the usefulness of IASI and follow-on mission to contribute to global measurements of ozone depleting substances.</p>

An unexpected large continental source of reactive bromine and chlorine with significant impact on wintertime air quality

Halogen atoms affect the budget of ozone and the fate of pollutants such as hydrocarbons and mercury. Yet their sources and significances in polluted continental regions are poorly understood. Here we report the observation of unprecedented levels (averaging to 60 parts per trillion) of bromine chloride (BrCl) at a mid-latitude site in North China during winter. Widespread coal burning in rural households and a photo-assisted process were the primary source of BrCl and other bromine gases. BrCl contributed about 55% of both bromine (Br) and chlorine (Cl) atoms. The halogen atoms increased the abundance of ‘conventional’ tropospheric oxidants (OH, HO2, and RO2) by 26–73%, and enhanced oxidation of hydrocarbon by nearly a factor of two and the net ozone production by 55%. Our study reveals the significant role of reactive halogen in winter atmospheric chemistry and the deterioration of air quality in continental regions where uncontrolled coal combustion is prevalent.

Biomarker distributions and depositional environments of continental source rocks in Sichuan Basin, SW China

In order to study the distributions of the biomarker of the continental source rocks in the Sichuan Basin, 71 source rock samples were collected from the Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic strata in different regions. The n-alkanes, isoprenoids, terpane, sterane, sesquiterpenes, caranes and aromatics in the extracts were analyzed in detail. GC-MS analysis has been conducted to analyze the biomarker of the continental source rocks. The results of GC-MS analysis indicate that the Upper Triassic source rocks are high in the content of extended tricyclic terpanes, pristane, phytane, gammacerane, C28 regular sterane and carotene. However, they are low in content of rearranged compounds. The ratio of Pr/Ph is less than 1, with the characteristics of tricyclic terpane C21 > C23. The Lower Jurassic source rocks are extremely low in content (even zero) of extended tricyclic terpanes, pristane, phytane, gammacerane, C28 regular sterane and carotene, and high in content of rearranged compounds. The ratio of Pr/Ph is more than 1, with tricyclic terpane C21 > C23. These characteristics are still preserved after maturation. Moreover, during the sedimentation of the source rocks of T3x2–T3x3 members, the supply of continental plants was low (TAR < 1, with regular sterane C27 > C29, 1-MP/9-MP < 1). The source rocks of T3x5 member were low in salinity (slightly low content of gammacerane and carotene), being different significantly from the other Upper Triassic source rocks. In addition, during the sedimentation of the source rocks of J1dn Member, the supply of continental plants was also low (regular sterane C27 > C29, 1-MP/9-MP < 1), being quite different from that of J1l member. Through analysis of the difference in biomarkers, it is indicated that the sedimentary environment had changed from anoxic and brackish water during the Late Triassic to oxygen-rich and freshwater during the Early Jurassic in the Sichuan Basin. During this process, the types of organic matters had changed for several times.

Sedimentary, Geochemical and Micropaleontological Responses to Sea Level Variations in the Vitoria Estuary, Espírito Santo

Marine insertion indicators in the Vitoria estuary (ES) revealed relative variations in sea level during the Holocene in three sediment cores. Sedimentological, geochemical (C/N ratio), and paleontological (shells and palynomorphs) analysis and 14C dating associated five sedimentary facies to different estuarine deposits. A C/N ratio <10 at the core base indicated organic matter of marine origin. Moving up the cores to 110–150 cm, an abrupt increase in C/N to 26–63 in every core suggests the sudden entry of higher plants into the estuary, potentially the moment sea level retreated. High continental (10,743 palynomorphs/g) and low marine palynomorph concentrations (323 palynomorphs/g) suggest a primarily continental source even during transgression and at high sea level. Around 8973 cal BP, an open bay already existed in the region of Vitoria. Sea level potentially exceeded the current level around 7110 cal BP. The transgressive maximum was at 5567 cal BP. Marine insertion indicators, such as marine shells, low C/N ratios and foraminiferal linings, did not always respond directly to sea level oscillations. These discrepancies probably result from lateral variations in sedimentary deposits from transport patterns and from variations in organic matter and palynomorph preservation due to differences in river and obstacle proximity.