Venus cloud microphysics

Because sulfuric acid does not wet sulfur, composite drops in the atmosphere of Venus cannot have sulfur “cores,” but must instead have sulfur coats. Both components then communicate with the vapor phase. Drops that are fully coated with sulfur are immune to coalescence; this sets a limit to growth that may explain “Mode 3” particles. The sulfur coating is probably responsible for the anomalously low refractive indices derived from entry-probe nephelometer data. There appears to be about an order of magnitude less elemental sulfur than sulfuric acid in the clouds.     

Streambank dewatering for increased stability

Streambank erosion is often the dominant source of sediment leaving modified watersheds. Mass failure of high, steep banks is one of the most serious forms of streambank erosion. The risk of a given bank experiencing mass failure is a function of bank height, angle, and soil strength, which is governed by soil moisture. Two methods for bank dewatering were tested in adjacent sections of streambank bordering a deeply incised channel in northern Mississippi: a low‐cost pump system and subsurface horizontal drains. Pore water pressures (both positive and negative pressures, or matric suction) were continuously monitored for 2 years at the pumped site, at an adjacent untreated control section, and for 1 year at the site stabilized with horizontal drains. Resulting data were used to calculate a time series of the factor of safety using a computer model. Over the course of two wet seasons, average bank retreats for the control and pumped plots were 0·43 and 0·21 m, respectively. More limited monitoring revealed that the site with passive drains retreated about 0·23 m. At the pumped site pore water pressure was 3–4 kPa lower than at the control site during the most critical periods. Accordingly, computed factors of safety were above the failure threshold at the pumped site, but fell below unity at the control site on 11 occasions over the period of observation. Similarly, the drained site displayed generally lower pore water pressure and higher safety factors except for two events when drains were evidently overwhelmed with the volume of local surface and subsurface flows. These results suggest, but do not prove, that bank dewatering promoted lower rates of bank retreat and higher levels of stability since the three sites had slight differences in soils, geometry and boundary conditions. Initial cost of the dewatering treatments were significantly less than orthodox bank stabilization measures, but operation and maintenance requirements may be greater. Published in 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Natural and artificial connections between atoll islets in the pacific,their process and environmental impact

Three types of natural connection between atoll islets are described. Causeway, as an artificial way of connecting islets, makes a connection to be completed in a few months. In this case shore adjustment becomes more vigorous than that in natural conditions, resulting in lagoon shore erosion. A causeway without short bridges or culverts should be built close to the lagoon shore to reduce lagoon shore erosion. A causeway-crossing channel assemblage is the worst type among all of the connection engineering constructions because the crossing channel traps sediment and further transports it out of the channel, resulting in long period coastal erosion. Reforming Nippon Causeway in Tarawa Atoll, Kiribati by simple means will stop sand loss, reduce shore erosion and greatly upgrade its stability.     

A comparison of unsupervised segmentation parameter optimization approaches using moderate- and high-resolution imagery

Unsupervised segmentation optimization methods have been proposed to aid in selecting an “optimal” set of scale parameters quickly and objectively for object-based image analysis. The goal of this study was to qualitatively assess three unsupervised approaches using both moderate-resolution Landsat and high-resolution Ikonos imagery from two study sites with different landscape characteristics to demonstrate the continued need for analyst intervention during the segmentation process. The results demonstrate that these methods selected parameters that were optimal for the scene which varied with method, image type, and site complexity. Several takeaways from this exercise are as follows: (1) some methods do not work as intended, (2) single-scale unsupervised optimization procedures cannot be expected to properly segment all the features of interest in the image every time, and (3) many multi-scale approaches require subjectively chosen weights or thresholds or additional testing to determine those values that meet the objective. Visual inspection of segmentation results is still required in order to assess over and under-segmentation as no method can be expected to select the best parameters for land cover classifications every time. These approaches should instead be used to narrow down parameter values in order to save time.     

A petrological,mineralogical, and chemical analysis of the lunar mare basalt meteorite LaPaz Icefield 02205, 02224, and 02226

Abstract— LaPaz Icefield (LAP) 02205, 02226, and 02224 are paired stones of a crystalline basaltic lunar meteorite with a low‐Ti (3.21–3.43% TiO₂) low‐Al (9.93–10.45% Al₂O₃), and low‐K (0.11–0.12% K₂O) composition. They consist mainly of zoned pyroxene and plagioclase grains, with minor ilmenite, spinel, and mesostasis regions. Large, possibly xenocrystic, forsteritic olivine grains (<3% by mode) contain small trapped multiphase melt inclusions. Accessory mineral and mesostasis composition shows that the samples have experienced residual melt crystallization with silica oversaturation and late‐stage liquid immiscibility. Our section of LAP 02224 has a vesicular fusion crust, implying that it was at one time located sufficiently close to the lunar surface environment to have accumulated solar‐wind‐implanted gases. The stones have a comparable major element composition and petrography to low‐Ti, low‐Al basalts collected at the Apollos 12 and 15 landing sites. However, the LAP stones also have an enriched REE bulk composition and are more ferroan (Mg numbers in the range of 31 to 35) than similar Apollo samples, suggesting that they represent members of a previously unsampled fractionated mare basalt suite that crystallized from a relatively evolved lunar melt.     

Near-infrared properties of i-drop galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field

We analyse near-infrared Hubble Space Telescope ( HST )/Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer F 110 W ( J ) and F 160 W ( H ) band photometry of a sample of 27 i '-drop candidate   z ≃ 6  galaxies in the central region of the HST /Advanced Camera for Surveys Ultra Deep Field . The infrared colours of the 20 objects not affected by near neighbours are consistent with a high-redshift interpretation. This suggests that the low-redshift contamination of this i '-drop sample is smaller than that observed at brighter magnitudes, where values of 10–40 per cent have been reported. The J – H colours are consistent with a slope flat in   f_ν ( f_λ ∝λ⁻²)  , as would be expected for an unreddened starburst. However, there is evidence for a marginally bluer spectral slope  ( f_λ ∝λ^−2.2)  , which is perhaps indicative of an extremely young starburst (∼10 Myr old) or a top heavy initial mass function and little dust. The low levels of contamination, median photometric redshift of   z ∼ 6.0  and blue spectral slope, inferred using the near-infrared data, support the validity of the assumptions in our earlier work in estimating the star formation rates, and that the majority of the i -drop candidates galaxies lie at   z ∼ 6  .     

A proposed search of the solar neighborhood for substellar objects

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) program will produce an extremely sensitive all-sky survey over the wavelength region 8 to 120 μm when the mission is flown in 1982. These data will provide a novel opportunity to detect planetary-sized objects having masses <0.08M_⊙ or near our solar system. The improved detection limit of the IRAS will greatly increase the volume of space searched for such objects as compared with previous optical and infrared studies.     

Comparing Solar Minimum 23/24 with Historical Solar Wind Records at 1 AU

Based on the variations of sunspot numbers, we choose a 1-year interval at each solar minimum from the beginning of the acquisition of solar wind measurements in the ecliptic plane and at 1 AU. We take the period of July 2008??C?June 2009 to represent the solar minimum between Solar Cycles 23 and 24. In comparison with the previous three minima, this solar minimum has the slowest, least dense, and coolest solar wind, and the weakest magnetic field. As a result, the solar wind dynamic pressure, dawn?Cdusk electric field, and geomagnetic activity during this minimum are the weakest among the four minima. The weakening trend had already appeared during solar minimum 22/23, and it may continue into the next solar minimum. During this minimum, the galactic cosmic ray intensity reached the highest level in the space age, while the number of solar energetic proton events and the ground level enhancement events were the least. Using solar wind measurements near the Earth over 1995??C?2009, we have surveyed and characterized the large-scale solar wind structures, including fast-slow stream interaction regions (SIRs), interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs), and interplanetary shocks. Their solar cycle variations over the 15 years are studied comprehensively. In contrast with the previous minimum, we find that there are more SIRs and they recur more often during this minimum, probably because more low- and mid-latitude coronal holes and active regions emerged due to the weaker solar polar field than during the previous minimum. There are more shocks during this solar minimum, probably caused by the slower fast magnetosonic speed of the solar wind. The SIRs, ICMEs, and shocks during this minimum are generally weaker than during the previous minimum, but did not change as much as did the properties of the undisturbed solar wind.