The polarimetric nature of HD 108

V -band polarimetric observations of HD 108 were obtained during 1994 August and September. This is the first time that the temporal polarimetric variability of this star has been investigated. Its percentage polarization and position angle vary randomly, and no evidence of its proposed binary nature is detected. The random variability is consistent with that seen for previously observed Wolf–Rayet stars and OB supergiants. Nightly variations do show some systematic behaviour consistent with the blob ejection model of Underhill & Fehey (1984). From the data it is estimated that the mass-loss rate resulting from blobs is ∼1-10⁻⁷ M⊙ yr⁻¹. The total mass-loss rate of the star is estimated to be ∼1-10⁻⁵ M⊙ yr⁻¹. The stellar rotation rate is estimated to be V _rot∼400 km s⁻¹ with an inclination of i <20c. The data are also interpreted in terms of perturbations occurring in an equatorial disc plus bipolar jets viewed equatorially (Underhill 1994). It is found that the perturbation mass-loss rate is about ∼3-10⁻⁷ M⊙ yr⁻¹, giving a total mass-loss rate for the star of 13-10⁻⁵ M⊙ yr⁻¹. Both models are consistent with HD 108 being an OB supergiant or of the class Ofpe/WR9.     

High-frequency reverberation in shallow water

Monostatic reverberation measurements were collected in shallow water, over a coarse gravel and cobble bottom, 100 m deep, off the coast of Nova Scotia. Data were collected at frequencies of 21, 28, and 36 kHz using linear FM pulses of 2-kHz bandwidth and 0.160-s duration. An anchored, high-frequency active sonar array deployed at a depth of 42 m was used to collect the data. The reverberation measurements were compared with estimates computed with the NUWC generic sonar model (GSM). The data were reasonably well modeled for times greater than 0.2 s after pulse transmission by neglecting surface reverberation and using Lambert's rule for bottom backscattering with a scattering coefficient of -27 dB, independent of frequency. At all three frequencies, the data and model show a peak approximately 0.9 s after pulse transmission. This peak results from a focusing effect that the downward-refracting sound-speed profile has on the interaction of the rays with the bottom     

Short term variability of atmospheric turbidity and optical turbulence in a desert environment

Summary Variability of atmospheric turbidity calculated from direct beam solar radiation measurements and the transverse coherence length,r ₀, derived from differential image motion of stellar sources show pronounced fluctuations on the order of a few minutes under convectively unstable conditions in a desert environment. The quiescent periods, neutral events, when local near surface adiabatic conditions occur show substantial reductions in the fluctuations of the same quantities. Image motion results for nighttime (stable) conditions display slowing varying patterns with reduced short term (few minutes) variations.The measurements were taken using a suite of instrumentation probing the same volume of atmosphere. The instrumentation used includes a pyrheliometer, Atmospheric Turbulence Measurement and Observation System (ATMOS), a sodar, a scintillometer, and tower- mounted sensors. A time-height display of sodar data calibrated for the refractive index structure parameter,C _n ² , coupled with scintillometer measurements show the diurnal evolution of the boundary layer responding to the local heating-cooling cycle and drainage flows from the surrounding mountains. Several atmospheric features are seen and discussed in these results as they affect the nature of the patterns of turbidity andr ₀. Of particular interests are the development of convection, changes in the capping inversion, thermal plume structures, neutral events, and wave-turbulence interactions. Sinusoidal oscillations, identified as internal gravity waves, are seen in the nighttime laminated structures.With 10 Figures     

Nonlinearities and Linearities in Internal Gravity Waves of the Atmosphere and Oceans

The spectrum of internal gravity waves in the atmosphere and oceans is sufficiently intense that nonlinear interactions must occur, if these waves are analyzed in Eulerian coordinates as is usually done. As it happens, however, if these waves are analyzed in Lagrangian coordinates the most important nonlinearity can be entirely avoided: it is an Eulerian mathematical construct only, not a physical process. The mathematical basis for this assertion is developed here, and some of its consequences are discussed. Among the latter is a questioning of the validity of standard Eulerian eikonal methods of calculating ray paths and related functions in a multiwave environment, discussed in an appendix.     

Microbial biogeochemistry and bioturbation in the sediments of Great Bay, New Hampshire

The influence of bioturbation on certain aspects of the biogeochemistry of sulfur and iron was examined in shallow-water sediments of Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire. A bioturbated (JEL) and non-bioturbated (SQUAM) site were compared. Annual sulfate reduction measured with ³⁵S, was 4·5 times more rapid at JEL. A significant portion of this difference was attributed to rapid rates which occurred throughout the upper 12 cm of sediment at JEL due to infaunal reworking activities. Sulfate reduction decreased rapidly with depth at SQUAM. FeS in the upper 2 cm at JEL increased in concentration from 3 to 45 μmol ml⁻¹ from early May to late July while only increasing from 3 to 8 μmol ml⁻¹ at SQUAM. Infaunal irrigation and reworking activities caused rapid and continous subsurface cycling of iron and sulfur at JEL. This maintained dissolved iron concentrations at 160–170 μM throughout the summer despite rapid sulfide production. Therefore, dissolved sulfide never accumulated in JEL pore waters. Although dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was generated during sulfate reduction, bioturbation during summer caused a net removal of DOC from JEL pore waters. Sulfate reduction rates, decomposition stoichiometry and nutrient concentrations were used to calculate turnover times of nutrients in pore waters. Nutrient turnover varied temporally and increased three-to five-fold during bioturbation. A secondary maximum in the abundance of recoverable sulfate-reducing bacteria occurred at 10 cm in JEL sediments only during periods of active bioturbation, demonstrating the influence of macrofaunal activities on bacterial distributions.     

Estimating the Effects of Map Error on Habitat Delineation for the California Spotted Owl in Southern California

The reliability of habitat maps that have been generated using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and image processing of remotely sensed data can be overestimated. Habitat suitability and spatially explicit population viability models are often based on these products without explicit knowledge of the effects of these mapping errors on model results. While research has considered errors in population modeling assumptions, there is no standardized method for measuring the effects of inaccuracies resulting from errors in landscape classification. Using landscape‐scale maps of existing vegetation developed for the USDA Forest Service in southern California from Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite data and GIS modeling, we performed a sensitivity analysis to estimate how mapping errors in vegetation type, forest canopy cover, and tree crown size might affect delineation of suitable habitat for the California spotted owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis). The resulting simulated uncertainty maps showed an increase in the estimated area of suitable habitat types. Further analysis measuring the fragmentation of the additional patches showed that they were too small to be useful as habitat areas.     

Earlier days of gravity waves revisited

The means whereby the author came to be involved in the study of atmospheric gravity waves, and then came to involve others in that study, are outlined. In particular, events leading up to, during and following the International Symposium on Fluid Mechanics in the Ionosphere, of July 1959, are described.