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This dissertation reports on studies on the role of the mean state in modulating climate variability at interannual and decadal time scales. In the atmosphere, the nonlinear superposition of mean flow and anomalous flow has important implications for many phenomena associated with variables that are nonlinear by definition, such as the vertical wind shear and surface wind speed. In the first part of this dissertation, the influence of mean flow and anomalous flow on vertical wind shear variability is studied in observations and numerical model simulations. At interannual timescales, the ENSO-shear relationship is compared between observations and numerical model simulations. It is shown that there is strong influence of mean flow on the ENSO-shear relationship. For same anomalous flow, different mean flows could give rise to a different ENSO-shear relationship. The nonlinear superposition of mean flow and anomalous flow also helps explains the dipole mode of tropical Atlantic vertical wind shear variability seen in observations and models, which implies opposite variation of vertical wind shear over the two sides of the tropical Atlantic. This has important implications for predicting phenomena such as Atlantic hurricanes, whose variations are modulated by vertical shear variability. The dissertation also addresses the role of the mean surface wind in decadal variability and predictability, as manifested through the Wind-Evaporation-SST (WES) feedback. The nonlinear superposition of anomalous surface wind on the mean trade wind can give rise to a positive WES feedback, which can amplify tropical climate variability. To study this feedback, we carried out ensembles of decadal climate predictions using the CAM3 atmospheric model coupled to a slab ocean model (CAM3- SOM) with prescribed ocean transport and simple extrapolative prescriptions of future external forcings. Mechansitic sensitivity runs using the CAM3-SOM were also carried out, where the WES feedback was switched off by prescribing climatological surface wind. Results suggest that switching off the WES feedback enhances the prediction skill over some regions, especially over the eastern tropical Pacific, by increasing the signal- to-noise ratio. To address the issue of cold bias noted in the decadal prediction experiments, we carried out additional sensitivity experiments where we used an adaptive formulation for the prescribed oceanic heat transport (Q-flux) in the slab ocean. The results from these experiments demonstrate that the mean oceanic heat transport plays a crucial role in influencing decadal predictability, by helping improve predictions of the trend component of decadal variations.

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<p>The objective of this project is to study the production of Li, Be and B isotopes emitted in the interaction of 12C with 12C at incident energies of 200 and 400 MeV.<br /> The energies of these produced fragments were measured with a detector telescope consisting of two silicon detectors at the incident energy of 200 MeV while a third silicon detector was added for the measurements at 400 MeV.</p>

<p>This research investigated the nature, source and the spatial variation of the salinity of the water used for irrigation in the urban farming area of Philippi, which lies in the Cape Flats region of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area, South Africa. The irrigation water is mainly drawn from the Cape Flats aquifer, and pumped into ponds for eventual crop irrigation. Water samples were collected in summer and in winter from fifteen selected sites using standard water sampling procedures. Each site consisted of one borehole and one pond. The samples were routinely analyzed for salinity levels, and concentrations of major and minor ions. From the same boreholes and ponds, water was sampled in summer for isotope analysis to assess effects of evaporation on the water quality and salinity. Descriptive statistics were used to display the variation in range of specific ions in order to compare them with the recommended ranges. Geographical Information Systems analysis described the spatial distribution of the salinity across the study area, and hydrogeochemical analysis characterized the various waters and detected similarities between the water samples in the study area and other waters found in the Cape Flats region. In addition, the US salinity diagram classification of irrigation water developed by Richards (1954) was used to assess the current suitability of groundwater and pond water samples collected during the entire sampling period for irrigation activities. The research indicated that the concentrations of some ions such as chloride, nitrate, potassium and sodium exceeded in places in the study area, the target range values set by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF, 1996) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (Ayers and Westcot, 1985). It revealed that borehole and pond water were mostly brackish across the area regarding their total dissolved salts content, and fresh water was only found in the middle part of the study area. The research found that sea water does not intrude into the aquifer of the study area, and the accumulation of salts in groundwater and soil in the study area is mainly due to the agricultural activities and partially due to the natural movement of water through the geological formation of the Cape Flats region. The conceptual model of the occurrence of the salinization process supported these findings. From this investigation it is understood that the groundwater and pond water in the study area were generally suitable for irrigation purposes but they have to be used with caution as the vegetables are classified as sensitive and moderately sensitive to salt according to DWAF Irrigation water guidelines (1996). The quality of these waters was mainly affected by the land use activities.</p>

Accurate estimation of reference evaporation is necessary for the estimation of actual evaporation for irrigation and water resource management purposes. Estimation of reference evaporati~n using the Penman-Monteith method using automatic weather station (AWS)measurements requires the available energy to be accurately estimated. The available energy of short grass of 0.12 m was measured using a component net radiometer and soil heat flux plate measurements at the Faculty of Sciences and Agricultural (Agrometeorological station, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, latitude ~29.79 oS, longitude ~ 30.95 °E, altitude ~ 650 m). In an attempt to evaluate the accuracy of commonly used procedures of estimating available energy, estimates of net irradiance (from net long wave irradiance and reflection coefficient estimate) and soil heat flux density were compared to the actual measurements. The linear approximation of atmosphere minus crop surface emittance based on air temperature was compared with measured net long wave irradiance and similar empirical formulations. The underestimation of the measured net long wave irradiance was observed using the linear approach. Furthermore, a plot of measured clear sky net long wave irradiance and air temperature showed a logarithmic relation. The estimated reflected solar irradiance was overestimated for the reference crop. The measured soil heat flux density was observed to vary not only with net irradiance but also with cloudiness, wind speed and soil water content. The soil heat flux density measured with plates was noticed to follow the measured net irradiance. The sensitivity of Penman-Monteith latent heat estimate was investigated for the use of estimated reflection coefficient and soil heat flux density as well as ignored soil heat flux density. Results showed the latent heat estimate to be greater when soil heat flux density was ignored. Reduced set assumptions of Penman-Monteith were assessed usmg the microclimatic measurements. The grass reference evaporation estimate using estimated water vapour pressure from the pervious day minimum air temperature and approximated wind speed were found to be seasonal and procedure dependent. The hourly-reduced set estimate of reference evaporation was in good agreement with the grass Penman-Monteith estimate. The estimated daily water vapour pressure underestimated the daily grass Penman-Monteith estimate. The sensitivity of the reduced set reference evaporation estimate was compared for the two values of approximated wind speeds. The assumption of 2 m S-1 wind speed gave a relatively better result. The sensitivity of the surface temperature energy balance (STEB) estimate of reference evaporation was investigated using two different atmospheric stability procedures. The evaporation estimate agreement and performance of the technique were found to vary depending on the stability correction procedure. The Monteith (1973) correction procedure was observed to be more sensitive to a higher surface-air temperature difference. The Monteith (1973) procedure was found to underestimate the reference evaporation and this resulted in a lower correlation coefficient. The uncorrected and Campbell and Norman (1998) stability corrected procedure of STEB estimate overestimated the reference evaporation but resulted in good agreement with actual reference evaporation. The use of estimated available energy using the STEB method resulted in a 7 % overestimate of measured available energy. Different designs of atmometers have been used to measure evaporation. The less expensive and simple ET_gageR (Model A and E) atmometer for daily evaporation measures were compared to grass-based and alfalfa-based Penman-Monteith and STEB estimate of reference evaporation. Two different evaporation surface covers used with the device allowed for the comparison to be made. Measurements using the canvas 30 ET-gage cover for grass reference evaporation were compared to grass based Penman-Monteith and STEB reference evaporation estimates. Correlation between the canvas 30 measures and Penman-Monteith estimates were good compared to the STEB estimate. The ET-gage canvas 54 measures were in a good agreement with alfalfa based Penman-Monteith reference evaporation estimate. There was, however, a slight time lag in ET-gage evaporation with ET-gage evaporation continuing accumulation when the reference evaporation was zero. The sensitivity of the ET-gage for microclimate variation was tested using the measurements made for two levels and three different microclimates. A shade measurement of reference evaporation was overestimated. The response of the ET-gage to one and two meter microclimate measures was similar to the short grass measurement. Furthermore, the ET-gage surface evaporation estimate using the STEB method showed equal response to the ET-gage surface for the microclimate measure and explained the possible cause of the lag of the ET-gage response. Accurate microclimate measurements is a requirement for the performance of the PenmanMonteith approach for the estimation of reference evaporation. The investment cost required for an AWS set up is high. Alternative options for gathering information of the microc1imate measurements required for calculating reference evaporation were assessed in terms of cost saving, accuracy and other advantages. A weather station system using a Hobo H8 logger (internal relative humidity and air temperature sensor and two external channels, one which was used for solar irradiance measurements) was found to be a cost-effective method for calculating the necessary microclimatic information for calculating reference evaporation. With this system reference evaporation was estimated with reasonable accuracy, at 16 % of the cost of normal AWS system. The use of an Event Hobo logger and an ET-gage was found to provide a reasonable estimate of reference evaporation. The use of the reduced set evaporation weather station was found to be unreasonable in terms of cost and accuracy. Air temperature and relative humidity were measured from different design of radiation shields and Stevenson screens. The use of home-made seven-plate plastic radiation shields provided a similar shield to radiation and ventilation compared to manufactured shields. At a low solar angle when wind speed was very low, all the radiation shields including the small Stevenson screens showed a higher air temperature difference relative to the standard Stevenson screen. The highest average difference of air temperature measurement was measured within the small Stevenson screen and metal-radiation shield. The home-made plastic radiation shield showed similar averages of air temperature and water vapour pressure difference compared to the six- and twelve-plate Gill radiation shields. The home-made metal radiation shield showed relatively higher deviation from the mean being cold at night time and hot during the day. More research is needed to explore the efficiency of the ET-gage evaporation from variety of microclimates to establish the cause of the overestimate under shade, to develop better relation of clear day net long wave irradiance and air temperature and the use of a wind speed sensor with Hobo H8 weather station system. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

Recently, considerable attention has been focused on the generation of nano- and micrometer scale multicomponent polymer particles with specifically tailored mechanical, electrical and optical properties. As only a few polymer-polymer pairs are miscible, the set of multicomponent polymer systems achievable by conventional methods, such as melt blending, is severely limited in property ranges. Therefore, researchers have been evaluating synthesis methods that can arbitrarily blend immiscible solvent pairs, thus expanding the range of properties that are practical. The generation of blended microparticles by evaporating a co-solvent from aerosol droplets containing two dissolved immiscible polymers in solution seems likely to exhibit a high degree of phase uniformity. A second important advantage of this technique is the formation of nano- and microscale particulates with very low impurities, which are not attainable through conventional solution techniques. When the timescale of solvent evaporation is lower than that of polymer diffusion and self-organization, phase separation is inhibited within the atto- to femto-liter volume of the droplet, and homogeneous blends of immiscible polymers can be produced. We have studied multicomponent polymer particles generated from highly monodisperse micrordroplets that were produced using a Vibrating Orifice Aerosol Generator (VOAG). The particles are characterized for both external and internal morphology along with homogeneity of the blends. Ultra-thin slices of polymer particles were characterized by a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and the degree of uniformity was examined using an Electron Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDAX). To further establish the homogeneity of the polymer blend microparticles, differential scanning calorimeter was used to measure the glass transition temperature of the microparticles obtained. A single glass transition temperature was obtained for these microparticles and hence the homogeneity of the blend was concluded. These results have its significance in the field of particulate encapsulation. Also, better control of the phase morphologies can be obtained by simply changing the solvent/solvents in the dilute solutions. Evaporation and drying of a binary droplet containing a solute and a solvent is a complicated phenomenon. Most of the present models do not consider convection in the droplet phase as solvent is usually water which is not very volatile. In considering highly volatile solvents the evaporation is very rapid. The surface of the droplet recedes inwards very fast and there is an inherent convective flow that is established inside the solution droplet. In this dissertation work, a model is developed that incorporates convection inside the droplet. The results obtained are compared to the size obtained from experimental results. The same model when used with an aqueous solution droplet predicted concentration profiles that are comparable to results obtained when convection was not taken into account. These results have significance for more rigorous modeling of binary and multicomponent droplet drying.

The present study is the first investigation of falling-film evaporation over horizontal rectangular tubes. This geometry is representative of the external profile of microchannel tubes. Incorporating these designs into shell-and-tube heat exchangers has the potential to provide compact, high-performance components for a wide range of applications. This fluid flow was investigated experimentally, targeting three areas: measurements of heat transfer coefficients, quantification of flow characteristics, and the performance of flow distributors. Falling-film evaporation experiments were conducted using water on a rectangular test section with dimensions of 203 × 1.42 × 27.4 mm (length × width × height), measuring heat transfer coefficients over a range of saturation temperatures, test section spacings, heat fluxes, and film Reynolds numbers. This was supported by a flow visualization study that quantified droplet and wave parameters using image analysis of high speed videos. Finally, the performance of eight liquid distributors, which are used to establish falling-film flows, was quantified and the size of the generated droplets and jets was measured. Three models were developed to predict the flow regime, wetted tube area, and heat transfer coefficient. The flow regime model is based on a thermodynamic analysis, while the wetted tube area is found with a hydrodynamic model based on idealized flow assumptions. Finally, the heat transfer model relies on a relationship with the classic Nusselt (1916) film theory. Each of these models demonstrated good agreement with the experimental data, as well as trends in the literature. The increased understanding of falling-film evaporation gained in this study will enable the accurate design of shell-and-tube heat exchangers with microchannel tubes.

In this study, InSe and CdS thin films were deposited by thermal evaporation method onto glass substrates. Schottky and heterojunction devices were fabricated by deposition of InSe and CdS thin films onto SnO2 coated glass substrates with various top metal contacts such as Ag, Au, In, Al and C. The structural, electrical and optical properties of the films were investigated prior to characterization of the fabricated devices. The structural properties of the deposited InSe and CdS thin films were examined through SEM and EDXA analysis. XRD and electrical measurements have indicated that undoped InSe thin films deposited on cold substrates were amorphous with p-type conductivity lying in the range of 10-4-10-5 (&amp / #61527 / .cm)-1 at room temperature. Cd doping and post-depositional annealing effect on the samples were investigated and it was observed that annealing at 100 oC did not show any significant effect on the film properties, whereas the conductivity of the samples increased as the Cd content increases. Temperature dependent I-V and Hall effect measurements have shown that conductivity and carrier concentration increases with increasing absolute temperature while mobility is almost temperature independent in the studied temperature range of 100-430 K. The structural and electrical analysis on the as-grown CdS thin films have shown that the films were polycrystalline with n-type conductivity. Temperature dependent conductivity and Hall effect measurements have indicated that conductivity, mobility and carrier concentrations increases with increasing temperature. Transmission measurements on the as-grown InSe and CdS films revealed optical band gaps around 1.74 and 2.36 eV, respectively. Schottky diode structures in the form of TO/p-InSe/Metal were fabricated with a contact area of around 8x10-3 cm2 and characterized. The best rectifying devices obtained with Ag contacts while diodes with Au contacts have shown slight rectification. The ideality factor and barrier height of the best rectifying structure were determined to be 2.0 and 0.7 eV, respectively. Illuminated I-V measurements revealed open-circuit voltages around 300 mV with short circuit current 3.2x10-7 A. High series resistance effect was observed for the structure which was found to be around 588 &amp / #61527 / . Validity of SCLC mechanism for Schottky structures was also investigated and it was found that the mechanism was related with the bulk of InSe itself. Heterostructures were obtained in the form of TO/n-CdS/p-InSe/Metal and the devices with Au and C contacts have shown the best photovoltaic response with open circuit voltage around 400 mV and short circuit current 4.9x10-8 A. The ideality factor of the cells was found to be around 2.5. High series resistance effect was also observed for the heterojunction devices and the fill factors were determined to be around 0.4 which explains low efficiencies observed for the devices.