The Intercomparison of Top-of-Atmosphere Reflectivity Measured by MERIS and SCIAMACHY in the Spectral Range of 443–865 nm

This letter is aimed at better understanding of Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography (SCIAMACHY) reflectance radiometric calibration errors using the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) onboard ENVISAT. Earlier investigations showed that the SCIAMACHY calibration error can reach 20% in the visible bands, which prevents aerosol retrievals using the SCIAMACHY data. Recent improvements of the SCIAMACHY calibration are discussed. It is found that the differences in reflectances for the wavelengths 443, 560, 665, 754, and 865 nm between MERIS and improved Processor 6 SCIAMACHY data are close to the MERIS radiometric calibration error, which is below 4%     

The Statistical Prediction Of Offshore Winds From Land-Based Data For Wind-Energy Applications

Land-based meteorological measurements at two locations on the Danish coast are used to predict offshore wind speeds. Offshore wind-speed data are used only for developing the statistical prediction algorithms and forverification. As a first step, the two datasets were separated into ninepercentile-based bins, with a minimum of 30 data records in each bin. Next, the records were randomly selected with approximately 70% of the data in each bin being used as a training set for development of the prediction algorithms, and the remaining 30% being reserved as a test set for evaluation purposes. The binning procedure ensured that both training and test sets fairly represented the overall data distribution.To base the conclusions on firmer ground, five permutations of these training and test sets were created. Thus, all calculations were based on five cases, each one representing a different random selection from the same data, but maintaining the (approximate) 70-30 split in each bin. This procedure served to ensure that conclusions were not based on a single randomly-selected case. Two statistical methods are employed:multiple linear regression (MLR), and Classification and Regression Trees(CART). MLR produces excellent results using only land-based predictors.The CART results are similar to those from MLR, and tend to be slightly better.Retired     

A large marine ecosystem governance framework

A large marine ecosystem (LME) governance framework, developed from a need to effectively address the sustainable management of the shared living marine resources of the Caribbean, is proposed. The framework is based on four propositions and focuses on a linked examination of two well-known components of LME-level governance: the policy cycle process by which decisions are made and the multi-level nature of LMEs. It accommodates the diversity of policy cycles at multiple levels and the linkages among them required for effective governance of LMEs. The framework takes into account of factors such as context, purpose, jurisdictional scale, capacity and complexity and provides a means to identify critical areas for intervention.     

Organic and trace metal contaminants in sediments and English sole tissues from Vancouver Harbour,Canada

As part of a multinational workshop on marine environmental quality, sediments were collected from seven sites in Vancouver Harbour and analyzed for polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorines (OCs), and for trace metals. English sole were collected from five sites, and muscle was analyzed for trace metals and liver for OCs. As expected, sediment PAH and OC concentrations and tissue OC concentrations were higher at sites east of the First Narrows, compared to the outer harbor and reference sites. Sediment PAH concentrations east of the First Narrows were similar to concentrations at moderately contaminated sites in Puget Sound, south of Vancouver Harbour. In contrast, concentrations of OCs in sediments and tissue were low to moderate, even at relatively contaminated sites within Vancouver Harbour. Although several trace metals in sediments were higher than in contaminated sediments from Puget Sound, trace metals measured in fish muscle were lower.     

Interpretation of Mid-Stratospheric Arctic Ozone Measurements Using a Photochemical Box-Model

In this study measurements of mid-stratospheric Arctic ozone are compared with model simulations. The measurements obtained at Spitsbergen (79°N, 12°E) by ground based millimeter-wave radiometry exhibit large day to day variabilities as well as periods with low ozone. To interpret these measurements, calculations were made using the new photochemical box-trajectory model BRAPHO, with air parcel trajectories calculated from analyzed wind fields. Using a relatively simple approach, the model reproduces the observed ozone variability well, including inter-annual variations. The explanation for the observed ozone behavior is that at these altitudes ozone is determined by what we call dynamically controlled photochemistry. This means that the photochemical evolution of the ozone volume mixing ratio is mainly controlled by the atmospheric dynamics, in particular the solar zenith angle the air parcel has experienced.     

Assessment of a field incubation method estimating primary productivity in rockpool communities

An open incubation method has been used in many studies to directly estimate primary productivity and ecosystem functioning by measuring photosynthetic and respiratory rates in intertidal rockpool communities. The method measures changes in dissolved oxygen concentrations recorded in situ during an artificial dark period (respiration) and a natural light period (net primary productivity). Although this method has yielded interesting results, its advantages and limitations have yet to be thoroughly tested. The accuracy of the method was investigated in a controlled laboratory environment and compared with field incubations. Atmospheric oxygen diffusion across the air–water interface did not affect incubation measurements under low wind speed (<2 m s⁻¹). Temperature increases during incubations were not greater than in natural rockpools and did not affect primary productivity. The major problem was the oxygen supersaturation which inhibited photosynthesis, thus leading to an underestimation of primary production. To allow comparable measurements, net primary productivity needs to be recorded during the linear phase of the photosynthetic process (<30 min of light) before water reaches supersaturation (<160%). This method gives rapid and reliable estimates of primary productivity thereby allowing biodiversity and ecosystem functioning relationships to be tested using rockpools as natural mesocosms.     

Multiple flaring activity in the supergiant fast X-ray transient IGR J08408−4503 observed with Swift

IGR  J08408−4503  is a supergiant fast X–ray transient discovered in 2006 with a confirmed association with a O8.5Ib(f) supergiant star, HD 74194. We report on the analysis of two outbursts caught by Swift /Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) on 2006 October 4 and 2008 July 5, and followed up at softer energies with Swift /X-ray Telescope (XRT). The 2008 XRT light curve shows a multiple-peaked structure with an initial bright flare that reached a flux of  ∼10⁻⁹ erg cm⁻² s⁻¹  (2–10 keV), followed by two equally bright flares within 75 ks. The spectral characteristics of the flares differ dramatically, with most of the difference, as derived via time-resolved spectroscopy, being due to absorbing column variations. We observe a gradual decrease in the N _H, derived with a fit using absorbed power-law model, as time passes. We interpret these N _H variations as due to an ionization effect produced by the first flare, resulting in a significant decrease in the measured column density towards the source. The durations of the flares as well as the times of the outbursts suggest that the orbital period is ∼35 d, if the flaring activity is interpreted within the framework of the Sidoli et al. model with the outbursts triggered by the neutron star passage inside an equatorial wind inclined with respect to the orbital plane.     

Swift observations of GRB 050712

We present the results of X-ray and optical observations of GRB 050712 performed by Swift . The X-ray light curve of this burst exhibits episodes of flares in the first 1000 s, the same epoch at which the UVOT detected an optical counterpart. A shallow X-ray decay, with a decay slope of  α=−0.73  , followed and lasted ∼70 ks. This behaviour can be explained in terms of activity of the gamma-ray burst 'inner engine', with the possibility that the last flare is caused by the interaction of the ejecta with the surrounding medium.
We also find interesting spectral parameters for the X-ray emission. In particular, data suggest the presence of an intrinsic absorption in the first 1000 s, which can be explained if circumburst medium clouds lie along the line of sight.