Accretion disk spectra of super-luminal jet sources and ultra-luminous compact X-ray sources in nearby spiral galaxies

The Ultra-luminous Compact X-ray Sources (ULXs)in nearby spiral galaxies and the Galactic super-luminaljet sources sharethe common spectral characteristic that they haveextremely high disk temperatures which cannot be explainedin the framework of the standard accretion disk modelin the Schwarzschild metric. We have calculated an extreme Kerr disk model to examine if the Kerr disk model can instead explain the observed `too hot' accretion disk spectra.We found that the Kerr disk spectrum becomes significantly hardercompared to the Schwarzschild disk only when the disk is highlyinclined.For super-luminal jet sources, which are known to beinclined systems, the Kerr disk model may thuswork if we choose proper values for the black hole angular momentum. For the ULXs, however, the Kerr disk interpretation will be problematic,as is is highly unlikely that their accretion disks are preferentiallyinclined.     

Characterization of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in the Baltic Sea by excitation emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy

Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is the major light absorber in the Baltic Sea. In this study, excitation emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectra and UV–visible absorption spectra of CDOM are reported as a function of salinity. Samples from different locations and over different seasons were collected during four cruises in 2002 and 2003 in the Baltic Sea in both Pomeranian Bay and the Gulf of Gdansk. Absorption by CDOM decreased with increased distance from the riverine source and reached a relatively stable absorption background in the open sea. Regression analysis showed that fluorescence intensity was linearly related to absorption by CDOM at 375 nm and a_CDOM(375) absorption coefficients were inversely related to salinity. Analysis of CDOM-EEM spectra indicated that a change in composition of CDOM occurred along the salinity gradient in the Baltic Sea. Analysis of percent contribution of respective fluorophore groups to the total intensity of EEM spectra indicated that the fluorescence peaks associated with terrestrial humic components of the CDOM and total integrated fluorescence decreased with decreasing CDOM absorption. In contrast, the protein-like fraction of CDOM decreased to a lesser degree than the others. Analysis of the percent contribution of fluorescence peak intensities to the total fluorescence along the salinity gradient showed that the contribution of protein-like fluorophores increased from 2.6% to 5.1% in the high-salinity region of the transect. Fluorescence and absorption changes observed in the Baltic Sea were similar to those observed in similar transects that have been sampled elsewhere, e.g. in European estuaries, Gulf of Mexico, Mid-Atlantic Bight and the Cape Fear River plume in the South Atlantic Bight, although the changes in the Baltic Sea occurred over a much smaller salinity gradient.     

Effect of temperature on embryonic and larval development of bream (Abramis brama L.)

Influence of water temperature on embryonic and larval development of bream (Abramis brama L.) was stdied. Eggs of bream were incubated at eight constant water temperatures between 13.2 and 26.8°C. The temperature of 21.1°C gave highest hatching success, with no abnormalities in the eleutheroembryos and lowest mortality observed between eyed egg stage and the time of hatching. Developmental rate increased with increasing temperature. Duration of embryonic development (y; hours) decreased with increasing incubation temperature (x; °C) according to the formula: y=910.1−65.88 x+1.318 x². Larvae were reared at eight constant temperatures ranging from 13.5 to 34.0°C. The instantaneous growth rate in wet weight increased with increasing test temperature from 13.5 to 29.9°C, and then decreased at higher temperatures. Individual growth of fish and biomass production rate were highest at 27.9°C. This temperature is considered optimal when food availability and photoperiod are no limiting factors.     

Abundance and Taxonomic Diversity of Bacteria Inhabiting the Sediment-Water Interface in a Marine Harbor Channel

Ocean Science Journal - The abundance of bacteria inhabiting the sediment-water interface and their taxonomic composition were determined with the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method...     

Diffusive mass exchange of non‐reactive substances in dual‐porosity porous systems – column experiments under saturated conditions

Diffusive mass exchange into immobile water regions within heterogeneous porous aquifers influences the fate of solutes. The percentage of immobile water is often unidentified in natural aquifers though. Hence, the mathematical prediction of solute transport in such heterogeneous aquifers remains challenging. The objective of this study was to find a simple analytical model approach that allows quantifying properties of mobile and immobile water regions and the portion of immobile water in a porous system. Therefore, the Single Fissure Dispersion Model (SFDM), which takes into account diffusive mass exchange between mobile and immobile water zones, was applied to model transport in well‐defined saturated dual‐porosity column experiments. Direct and indirect model validation was performed by running experiments at different flow velocities and using conservative tracer with different molecular diffusion coefficients. In another column setup, immobile water regions were randomly distributed to test the model applicability and to determine the portion of immobile water. In all setups, the tracer concentration curves showed differences in normalized maximum peak concentration, tailing and mass recovery according to their diffusion coefficients. These findings were more pronounced at lower flow rates (larger flow times) indicating the dependency of diffusive mass exchange into immobile water regions on tracers' molecular diffusion coefficients. The SFDM simulated all data with high model efficiency. Successful model validation supported the physical meaning of fitted model parameters. This study showed that the SFDM, developed for fissured aquifers, is applicable in porous media and can be used to determine porosity and volume of regions with immobile water. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mg-enriched erythrite from Bou Azzer,Anti-Atlas Mountains,Morocco: geochemical and spectroscopic characteristics

Mineralogy and Petrology - Supergene Mg-enriched erythrite, with an average composition (Co2.25Mg0.58Ni0.14Fe0.04Mn0.02 Zn0.02) (As1.97P<0.01O8)·8H2O, accompanied by skutterudite,...     

Is Newton's iteration faster than simple iteration for transformation between geocentric and geodetic coordinates?

Summary Two iterative algorithms for transformation from geocentric to geodetic coordinates are compared for numerical efficiency: the well known Bowring's algorithm of 1976, which employs the method of simple iteration, and the recent (1989) algorithm by Borkowski, which employs the Newton-Raphson method. The results of numerical tests suggest that the simple iteration method implemented in Bowring's algorithm executes approximately 30% faster than the Newton-Raphson method implemented in Borkowski's algorithm. Only two iterations of each algorithm are considered. Two iterations are sufficient to produce coordinates accurate to the comparable level of 1E-9 m, which exceeds the requirements of any practical application. Therefore, in the class of iterative methods, the classical Bowring's algorithm should be the method of choice.     

Chlorinated hydrocarbons in fish-eating birds wintering in the Gdańsk Bay, 1981–82 and 1982–83

Seventy-four samples of adipose fat of 10 species of fisheating birds commonly wintering in Gdańsk Bay and one of little auk, a rare species in this area, have been analysed for residues of HCB, ΣBHC, ΣDDT and PCBs. Auks (guillemot, black guillemot and razorbill), which probably stay a whole year in the Baltic area, contained in their fat twice the level of PCBs as mergansers, and 5–6 times as much as in divers and grebes—birds which stay in the sea mainly after the breeding season. ΣDDT levels were somewhat higher but comparable in auks and grebes, and lower in mergansers and divers. ΣBHC and HCB levels were 3–4 times and 5–10 times higher, respectively, in auks than in birds from other families studied. When comparing residue levels found in adipose fat of birds taken during the wintering seasons of 1981–1982 and 1982–1983 with those taken in 1975–1976 or 1980–1981, an initially rapid, but in recent years a rather slow decline in ΣDDT level is detectable for grebes, mergansers and divers, and in the case of PCBs the residue levels fell slightly. In auks, the ΣDDT residue level fell by half, but remains rather stable in recent years, while there are only minor fluctuations in the residue level of PCBs.     

Chlorinated hydrocarbons in fish-eating birds wintering in the Gdańsk Bay,Baltic Sea, 1980–1981

Further samples of the chlorinated hydrocarbon content in adipose tissue of fish-eating birds wintering in the South Baltic show high concentrations of PCB compared with ΣDDT, HCB, alpha- and gamma-BHC. The great crested grebe presently examined had approximately four times higher PCB/ΣDDT ratios than specimens taken during 1975–1976.