Utilisation and Management Changes in South Kyrgyzstan＇s Mountain Forests

Using political ecology as its conceptual framework, this paper focuses on the changes in forest utilisation and management of South Kyrgyzstan＇s walnut-fruit forests over the last century The aim of this study on human-environment interactions is to investigate the relationship between actors on the one side, their interests and demands, and the forests and forested lands on the other. Forest resource utilisation and management - and even the recognition of different forest products as resources - are connected with political and socioeconomic conditions that change with time. The walnut-fruit forests of South Kyrgyzstan are unique, characterised by high biodiversity and a multiplicity of usable products; and they have been utilised for a long time. Centralised and formal management of the forests started with the Russian occupation and was strengthened under Soviet rule, when the region became a part of the USSR. During this era, a state forest administration that was structured from Moscow all the way down to the local level drew up detailed plans and developed procedures for utilising the different forest products. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the socio-political and economic frame conditions have changed significantly, which has brought not only the sweeping changes in the managing institutions, but also the access rights and interests in the forest resources. At present, the region is suffering from a high unemployment rate, which has resulted in the forests＇ gaining considerable importance in the livelihood strategies of the local population. Political and economic liberalization, increased communication and transregional exchange relations have opened the door for international companies and agents interested in the valuable forest products. Today, walnut wood and burls, walnuts, wild apples and mushrooms are all exported to various countries in the world. Scientists and members of various international organisations stress the ecological value of the forests and are trying to establish nature conservation areas. Nevertheless, it is to fear that a multiplicity of interrelated factors - the present transformation and globalization processes, the appearance of new actors, the local population＇s insecure economic situation and the erosion of managing institutions - are all leading to an intensified and unregulated exploitation of the forests, resulting in their degradation.     

The surface properties of small asteroids: Peculiar Betulia—A case study

We present the results of extensive thermal-infrared observations of the C-type near-Earth Asteroid (1580) Betulia obtained in June 2002 with the 3-m NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Betulia is a highly unusual object for which earlier radiometric observations, interpreted on the basis of simple thermal models, indicated a surface of high thermal inertia. A high thermal inertia implies a lack of thermally insulating regolith. Radiometric observations of other asteroids of comparable size indicate that regolith is present in nearly all cases. Knowledge of the surface thermal properties of small near-Earth asteroids is crucial for meaningful calculations of the Yarkovsky effect, which is invoked to explain the delivery of collisional fragments from the main belt into near-Earth orbits, and apparently has a significant influence on the orbital evolution of potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroids. Furthermore, apart from being an indicator of the presence of thermally insulating regolith on the surface of an asteroid, the thermal inertia determines the magnitude of the diurnal temperature variation and is therefore of great importance in the design of instrumentation for lander missions to small asteroids. In the case of Betulia our database is sufficiently broad to allow the use of more sophisticated thermal models than were available for earlier radiometric observations. The measured fluxes have been fitted with thermal-model emission continua to determine the asteroid's size and geometric albedo, pv. Fits obtained with a new thermophysical model imply an effective diameter of 4.57±0.46 km and an albedo of 0.077±0.015 and indicate a moderate surface thermal inertia of around 180 J m⁻² s^−0.5 K⁻¹. It is difficult to reconcile our results with earlier work, which indicate a larger diameter for Betulia and a high-thermal-inertia surface of bare rock.     

Dissipationless mergers of elliptical galaxies and the evolution of the fundamental plane

We carry out numerical simulations of dissipationless major mergers of elliptical galaxies using initial galaxy models that consist of a dark matter haloes and a stellar bulge with properties consistent with the observed fundamental plane. By varying the density profile of the dark matter haloes [standard Navarro, Frenk & White (NFW) profile versus adiabatically contracted NFW profile], the global stellar to dark matter mass ratio and the orbit of the merging galaxies, we are able to assess the impact of each of these factors on the structure of the merger remnant. Our results indicate that the properties of the remnant bulge depend primarily on the angular momentum and energy of the orbit; for a cosmologically motivated orbit, the effective radius and velocity dispersion of the remnant bulge remain approximately on the fundamental plane. This indicates that the observed properties of elliptical galaxies are consistent with significant growth via late dissipationless mergers. We also find that the dark matter fraction within the effective radius of our remnants increases after the merger, consistent with the hypothesis that the tilt of the fundamental plane from the virial theorem is due to a varying dark matter fraction as a function of galaxy mass.     

Simulation of the ice age atmosphere — January and July means

A simulation of the atmospheric state under ice age conditions (18,000 years before present) is presented. The T21 Atmospheric General Circulation Model (AGCM), originally developed at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, was used for the calculation of six annual cycles. Results of the near-surface climatology (2 m-temperature, 10 m-wind, and precipitation), averaged over the last five model years, are presented. The presentation is restricted to January and July means in order to demonstrate the glacial changes in summer and winter. The model's response to ice age boundary conditions was quite consistent with paleogeological data on land and with AGCM experiments of other studies. Although the differences between the mean climate states of the model atmosphere under glacial and modern boundary conditions were statistically significant, the basic structure of the simulated atmospheric circulation was not altered substantially.

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Zusammenfassung Eine Simulation des Zustands der eiszeitlichen Atmosphäre (18000 Jahre vor heute) wird vorgestellt. Das T21-Modell (allgemeines Zirkulationsmodell der Atmosphäre), entwickelt am Europäischen Zentrum für Mittelfrist-Wettervorhersage, wurde zur Berechnung von sechs Jahresgängen verwendet. Die Ergebnisse der oberflächennahen Klimatologie (2 m-Temperatur, 10 m-Wind und Niederschlag) werden präsentiert als Mittel über die letzten fünf Modelljahre. Die Darstellung ist eingeschränkt auf Januar- und Julimittel, um die eiszeitlichen Änderungen im Sommer und Winter deutlich zu machen. Die Antwort des Modells auf die eiszeitlichen Randbedingungen stimmt recht gut überein mit paläogeologischen Landdaten und mit anderen Simulationsrechnungen. Obgleich die Klimaunterschiede in der eiszeitlichen und der heutigen Modellatmosphäre statistisch signifikant sind, wurde die Grundstruktur der atmosphärischen Zirkulation vom T21-Modell nur wenig verändert.

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Résumé Cette note présente une simulation de l'état de l'atmosphère dans les conditions de l'âge glaciaire, il y a 18.000 ans. Le calcul de 6 cycles annuels a été effectué au moyen du modèle T 21 de la circulation atmosphérique générale développé au Centre Européen de prévision du temps à moyen terme. Les éléments du climat proche de la surface (température à 2 m, vent à 10 m, précipitations) sont présentés en moyenne des cinq dernières années du modèle. Ces éléments sont limités aux moyennes de janvier et de juillet, de manière à mettre en évidence les changements hiver/été. La réponse du modèle aux conditions aux limites de l'âge glaciaire est en bon accord avec les données paléontologiques de terrain ainsi qu'avec d'autres calculs de simulation. Bien qu'il existe d'importantes différences climatiques entre les modèles d'atmosphère de l'âge glaciaire et d'aujourd'hui, la structure de base de la circulation atmosphérique du modèle T 21 est peu modifiée.

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, 18000 . 21 = , = , 6 . , — 2 10 , 5 . , , , . . , 21 .

     

Isovortical orbits in uniformly rotating coordinates

For the conservative, two degree-of-freedom system with autonomous potential functionV(x,y) in rotating coordinates; $$\dot u - 2n\upsilon = V_x , \dot \upsilon + 2nu = V_y $$ , vorticity (v _x -u _y ) is constant along the orbit when the relative velocity field is divergence-free such that: $$u(x,y,t) = \psi _y , \upsilon (x,y,t) = - \psi _x $$ . Unlike isoenergetic reduction using the Jacobi, integral and eliminating the time,non-singular reduction from fourth to second-order occurs when (u,v) are determined explicitly as functions of their arguments by solving for ψ (x, y, t). The orbit function ψ satisfies a second-order, non-linear partial differential equation of the Monge Ampere type: $$2(\psi _{xx} \psi _{yy} - \psi _{xy}^2 ) - 2(\psi _{xx} + \psi _{yy} ) + V_{xx} + V_{yy} = 0$$ . Isovortical orbits in the rotating frame arenot level curves of ψ because it contains time explicitly due to coriolis effects. Rather, (x, y) coordinates along the orbit are obtained, from (u, v) either by numerical integration of the kinematic equations, or by partial differentiation of the Legendre transform ? of ψ. In the latter case, ? is shown to satisfy a non-linear, second-order partial differential equation in three independent variables, derived from the Monge-Ampere Equation. Complete reduction to quadrature is possible when space-time symmetries exist, as in the case of central force motion.     

The magnetic and thermodynamical structure of a coronal hole

A nonpolytropic model of a polar coronal hole at 2 R R 5 R is constructed. Our main assumptions are: (1) the magnetic structure of the Sun can be described by a combination of dipole-like and radial fields; (2) in the magnetically dominated region [(v ²/2) < (B ²/8)] the influence of the outflow on the magnetic structure is negligible. The magnetic and thermodynamic structures are obtained by solving the force balance equation for plasma with the observationally derived electron density. Profiles of velocities in the acceleration regime are presented and the influence of the outflow on the thermodynamic structure of the solar corona above the polar region is discussed.This paper is the first part of a joint project of the Space Environment Laboratory, the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, and the High Altitude Observatory, NCAR. The second paper by Munro and Tzur is in preparation.Work done while at the Space Environment Laboratory, NOAA, ERL, Boulder, CO 80303, U.S.A.1982–83 Visiting Fellow at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, National Bureau of Standards and University of Colorado.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.Visitor at NCAR.     

A versatile ground data display system for spacelab experiments

We describe a microprocessor-based data capture and display system suited to the needs of many Spacelab experimenters. Although developed specifically for the needs of the FAUST ultraviolet astronomy telescope, several features of the system may make it attractive to other groups who need to interact with their Spacelab data in real or near-real time. The display system captures data from the serial data stream originating in the Spacelab experiment computer input/output (ECIO) data channel, and can reformat and display several hundred variables per second in real time. The system offers a combination of Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) display and analog paper strip-chart output. A facility is also provided for simultaneously creating floppy-disk records of short segments of data according to prearranged criteria, to allow detailed examination of critical events in the operation of the experiment. The simplicity, economy, reliability, and flexibility of the display system suggest its use for monitoring a variety of low- and medium-data-rate Spacelab experiments.     

Distinct climate change synchronous with Heinrich event one, recorded by stable oxygen and carbon isotopic compositions in stalagmites from China

Uranium-series dating of oxygen and carbon isotope records for stalagmite SJ3 collected in Songjia Cave, central China, shows significant variation in past climate and environment during the period 20-10 ka. Stalagmite SJ3 is located more than 1000 km inland of the coastal Hulu Cave in East China and more than 700 km north of the Dongge Cave in Southwest China and, despite minor differences, displays a clear first-order similarity with the Hulu and Dongge records. The coldest climatic phase since the Last Glacial Maximum, which is associated with the Heinrich Event 1 in the North Atlantic region, was clearly recorded in SJ3 between 17.6 and 14.5 ka, in good agreement in timing, duration and extent with the records from Hulu and Dongge caves and the Greenland ice core. The results indicate that there have been synchronous and significant climatic changes across monsoonal China and strong teleconnections between the North Atlantic and East Asia regions during the period 20-10 ka. This is much different from the Holocene Optimum which shows a time shift of more than several thousands years from southeast coastal to inland China. It is likely that temperature change at northern high latitudes during glacial periods exerts stronger influence on the Asian summer monsoon relative to insolation and appears to be capable of perturbing large-scale atmospheric/oceanic circulation patterns in the Northern Hemisphere and thus monsoonal rainfall and paleovegetation in East Asia. Climatic signals in the North Atlantic region propagate rapidly to East Asia during glacial periods by influencing the winter land-sea temperature contrast in the East Asian monsoon region.