Minor planet's positions of the ESO — La Silla

This paper contains three discoveries and observations of numbered asteroids observed in September and October 1984 at the ESO in La Silla.     

Disentangling exploitation of the intertidal grazer Phorcus sauciatus (Gastropoda: Trochidae) in an oceanic archipelago: Implications for conservation

Harvesting of intertidal grazers such as topshells is known to affect negatively the exploited populations by altering population structure and decreasing abundance. Phorcus sauciatus has a wide geographic distribution in the North‐eastern Atlantic Ocean and is subject to increasing levels of harvesting pressure due to the expansion of human population on coastal areas. The effect of proximity to human settlements and coastal accessibility on the size structure and abundance of P. sauciatus populations was examined in Madeira archipelago. Mean size, proportion of reproductive individuals, and abundance of this species were generally smaller in areas closer to human settlements and in more accessible coastal areas. Marine protected areas returned the highest mean sizes evidencing their effectiveness in preserving the size structure of this species. The results highlight the necessity to regulate the harvest of P. sauciatus in Madeira archipelago, as well as the implementation of management measures aiming at the sustainable exploitation and conservation of this species, exploited in this region since the early 15th century.     

Observations of near-inertial oscillations along the Brazilian continental shelf break

Ocean Dynamics - Near-inertial oscillations (NIO) are intermittent motions with a frequency close to the inertial frequency and represent an important fraction of the energy to the currents in the...     

Use of the Boussinesq Equation for Determining the Distribution of Stress Within a Diametrical Point Load Test

Summary The maximum tensile stress at failure for a dry specimen, as determined by the Boussinesq equation for the diametrical point load test, was found to be in very good agreement with the diametrical point load tensile strength (Is) as defined by ISRM (1985). The force at failure for specimens of different geometry was used to determine the stress distribution along the line of loading. Distinctive tensile stress gradients dominate almost 84 percent of the specimen radius regardless of the size of the specimen. The maximum tensile stress is located away from the centre of the specimen at a distance approximately 76 percent along the specimen radius, measured from the centre. The stress magnitude at the centre of the specimen is small and represents about 13 percent of the maximum tensile stress calculated, which suggests that the initiation of the fracture is not from the specimen centre. At the zone of contact between the specimen and the loading cones there exists great compressive stress in areas where much material destruction occurs under the loading platen cones. The value of this compressive stress varies from specimen to specimen and, for the material used in these experiments (Oolitic limestone), ranges from 5.3 to 7.2 times the dry unconfined compressive strength of the material. According to the ISRM Suggested Method for Point Load Test, Is ₍₅₀₎ is approximately 0.8 times the uniaxial tensile strength. The maximum tensile stress revealed by the Boussinesq equation (Bs) was correlated with Is ₍₅₀₎ and found to be in the order of 0.9 times the uniaxial tensile strength.     

True ‘gravitational lens’ effect for cylindrical deflectors

We show that gravitational light deflection is truly equivalent to the optical effect of a prism and a thin diverging lens when the massive deflector has cylindrical symmetry. We then investigate the possibility of cosmological measurements analogous to those proposed by Refsdal in the spherically-symmetric case.This work was partially supported by FINEP, CNPq, and CAPES.     

Statistical masses of Abell clusters

The analysis of a homogeneous sample of 108 Abell clusters has led to an average peculiar velocity for the center of mass motion of these clusters of 610±750 km s^–1. From this result, an upper limit for the average mass of the Abell clusters of (1.6±2.4)×10¹⁵ M was obtained under the assumption that the peculiar motion is due to the excess of neighbours with respect to an uniform background. A lower limit of (2.42.9) x 10¹⁴ h ^-10.4 M was derived if one assumes that the peculiar velocity results from the mutual acceleration with the nearest neighbour.     

The leblanc bands of the CN radical in the spectra of comets

Spontaneous emission rates and absorption oscillator strengths for prominent V4 sequence bands of theB ²⁺-A ²_i transition of the CN molecule are estimated. The wavelengths of some lines observed in the coma spectrum of the comet Bradfield 1980t as well as in several comets coincide with these V4 sequence LeBlanc bands of the CN radical. Formation and destruction of the CN radical in the coma of a comet are discussed in the framework of gas phase reactions.Work supported by CNPq, Brasília, under contract numbers: Processos 401236-83 and 4076/77-FA01.     

Selection of nursery areas by six southeast African Penaeidae

A survey was carried out along the shore and adjacent mangrove swamp in the northeast margin of Maputo Bay in Mozambique, east Africa. The study area contained several habitats within close proximity. These were shallow pools in the intertidal muddy sand flats, areas of submerged macrophytes, the swash zone on sandy beaches, primary mangrove channels, secondary mangrove channels, shallow mangrove creeks and a shallow creek with strong freshwater influence at the landward fringe of the swamp. Each station was sampled by means of a small handnet. Data suggest that Penaeus japonicus prefers sandy substrata, while P. semisulcatus chooses areas rich in submerged macrophytes. P. indicus and P. monodon both appear to favour muddy mangrove channels, although P. monodon may require marginal or floating vegetation as nurseries. Metapenaeus stebbingi seems to prefer the swash zone in quiet areas with minimal wave action, while M. monoceros is more widespread and is able to cope with very low salinities. Managers of coastal systems should, therefore, attempt to maintain a diversity of biotopes within larger systems because, even if postlarvae do enter an estuary, juvenile populations with not develop if their specific habitat has been destroyed.     

The Gulf of Cadiz: an unstable giant contouritic levee

Recent multibeam bathymetry and acoustic imagery data provide a new understanding of the sedimentary system located in the Gulf of Cadiz which is under the influence of a strong current, the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW). When it comes out from the Strait of Gibraltar, the MOW is either channelled along major or secondary channels, or spills over a sedimentary levee. Frequent earthquakes and the constant current shearing generate widespread sediment deformation and instability of contourite deposits. Secondary channels can form by retrogression following an initial failure. At their mouth, sediment accumulates in the form of small sandy contourite lobes. These observations suggest that the Gulf of Cadiz system shares many similarities with channel–levee complexes formed by turbidity current activity. The main difference is that, in the Gulf of Cadiz, the main process is a strongly flowing saline current which locally interacts with gravity processes.