Effects of meteorological and hydrogeological factors on gross recharge percentage at unconfined sandy aquifers with an equatorial climate

A thorough understanding of rainfall recharge processes and their controlling factors is essential for management of groundwater systems. This study investigates the effects of various meteorological and hydrogeological factors on the gross recharge percentages, the rainfall–recharge relationships and the recharge threshold values for unconfined sandy aquifers under an equatorial climate. Among the meteorological factors investigated, rainfall intensity was found to have the most significant impact on the gross recharge rate. The effects of potential evaporation rate, relative humidity and air temperature on the gross recharge percentage were significant when the vadose zone thickness is larger than 2·5 m. The recharge threshold values were found to depend strongly on the vadose zone thickness. The rainfall–recharge relationships could generally be well defined by a normal–log relationship. The rainfall–recharge relationships derived here are applicable to yield estimates of gross recharge percentages for unconfined sandy aquifers under an equatorial climate, using rainfall intensity and vadose zone thickness as input variables. In this study, a theory was developed and validated to provide physical explanations for the observations, based on the residence time of the percolated rainwater within the vadose zone. Among the soil hydraulic parameters tested, porosity and saturated hydraulic conductivity were found to have the most pronounced effects on the gross recharge percentage. Utilizing the sensitivity results and the theory derived, an approach was developed for extending the application of the derived rainfall–recharge relationships to other sand textures. The approach was found to be capable of producing rough and fast estimations of gross recharge percentage for other sand textures. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assimilation of thermal emission spectrometer atmospheric data during the Mars Global Surveyor aerobraking period

The Thermal Emission Spectrometer aboard the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft has produced an extensive atmospheric data set, beginning during aerobraking and continuing throughout the extended scientific mapping phase. Temperature profiles for the atmosphere below about 40 km, surface temperatures and total dust and water ice opacities, can be retrieved from infrared spectra in nadir viewing mode. This paper describes assimilation of nadir retrievals from the spacecraft aerobraking period, L_S=190°–260°, northern hemisphere autumn to winter, into a Mars general circulation model. The assimilation scheme is able to combine information from temperature and dust optical depth retrievals, making use of a model forecast containing information from the assimilation of earlier observations, to obtain a global, time-dependent analysis. Given sufficient temperature retrievals, the assimilation procedure indicates errors in the a priori dust distribution assumptions even when lacking dust observations; in this case there are relatively cold regions above the poles compared to a model which assumes a horizontally-uniform dust distribution. One major reason for using assimilation techniques is in order to investigate the transient wave behavior on Mars. Whilst the data from the 2-h spacecraft mapping orbit phase is much more suitable for assimilation, even the longer (45–24 h) period aerobraking orbit data contain useful information about the three-dimensional synoptic-scale martian circulation which the assimilation procedure can reconstruct in a consistent way. Assimilations from the period of the Noachis regional dust storm demonstrate that the combined assimilation of temperature and dust retrievals has a beneficial impact on the atmospheric analysis.     

New 1982 — 1990 photometry of λ Andromedae and its 11-year cycle

We present photoelectric photometry of λ And never before published, obtained between February 1982 and December 1990 at 29 different observatories. Then we combine it with all other photometry available to us (previously published, contained in the I.A.U. Commission 27 Archives, and obtained with the Vanderbilt 16-inch automatic telescope but not yet published), to yield a 14.8-year data base. Analysis reveals a long-term cycle in mean brightness, with a full range of 0^m.15 and a period of 11.4 ± 0.4 years. Because most of our new photometry was concentrated in the 1983-84 observing season, we analyze that one well-defined light curve with a two-spot model. Spot A keeps a 0^m.04 amplitude throughout four rotation cycles whereas the amplitude of spot B diminishes from 0^m.09 down almost to 0^m.03. The spot rotation periods were 55^d.9 ± 0^d.6 and 520^d.8 ± 1^d.0, respectively.     

Magnetic braking of Ap/Bp stars: application to compact black-hole X-ray binaries

We examine the proposal that the subset of neutron-star and black-hole X-ray binaries that form with Ap or Bp star companions will experience systemic angular-momentum losses due to magnetic braking, not otherwise operative with intermediate-mass companion stars. We suggest that for donor stars possessing the anomalously high magnetic fields associated with Ap and Bp stars, a magnetically coupled, irradiation-driven stellar wind can lead to substantial systemic loss of angular momentum. Hence, these systems, which would otherwise not be expected to experience 'magnetic braking', evolve to shorter orbital periods during mass transfer. In this paper, we detail how such a magnetic braking scenario operates. We apply it to a specific astrophysics problem involving the formation of compact black-hole binaries with low-mass donor stars. At present, it is not understood how these systems form, given that low-mass companion stars are not likely to provide sufficient gravitational potential to unbind the envelope of the massive progenitor of the black hole during a prior 'common-envelope' phase. On the other hand, intermediate-mass companions, such as Ap and Bp stars, could more readily eject the common envelope. However, in the absence of magnetic braking, such systems tend to evolve to long orbital periods. We show that, with the proposed magnetic braking properties afforded by Ap and Bp companions, such a scenario can lead to the formation of compact black-hole binaries with orbital periods, donor masses, lifetimes and production rates that are in accord with the observations. In spite of these successes, our models reveal a significant discrepancy between the calculated effective temperatures and the observed spectral types of the donor stars. Finally, we show that this temperature discrepancy would still exist for other scenarios invoking initially intermediate-mass donor stars, and this presents a substantial unresolved mystery.