Weakening of the solar extreme-ultraviolet line emission by lyman continuum absorption as derived from line ratios

The intensity ratios of Niii, Oiii, Oiv, and Ov lines observed by the HCO experiment on Skylab are compared with the results of recent multilevel calculations. It is found that solar transition-region spectra require Lyman continuum absorption. The equivalent optical thickness of the absorbers causing the weakening is found to be 1.6–1.7 for a quiet area, 1.4–1.9 for a coronal hole, and 2.4–2.5 for active regions. These values are consistent with previous estimates from different methods.     

Biogeochemical consequences of macrofauna burrow ventilation

The burrow walls created by macrofauna in aquatic sediments are sites of intense chemical mass transfer. Quantitative measurement of their significance is, however, difficult because chemistry in the immediate vicinity of burrow walls is temporally dynamic due to periodic ventilation of burrows by macrofauna. A temporally dynamic, 2D multicomponent diffusion-reaction model was utilized to depict the magnitude and time dependency of chemical mass transfer in the immediate vicinity of burrow walls as well as at the water/sediment interface. The simulation results illustrate that sediment particles, pore water, and microorganisms within a few millimeters of burrow walls experience significant oscillation in pH (as much as two pH units) and dissolved oxygen concentration (between saturation and near anoxia) whereas such oscillation is absent at the water/ sediment interface. The geochemical oscillation is expected to affect the net stability of mineral phases, activities and community structures of microorganisms, and rates and magnitudes of microbial diagenetic reactions.