Modeling IR spectral energy distributions: a?pilot study of?starburst parameters and silicate absorption curves for some GOALS galaxies

This paper describes a pilot study into the spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting and the derivation of physical parameters for 19 galaxies observed as part of the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS) survey as observed with the Spitzer Space Telescope. For this we have used the pan-spectral fitting tools developed in a series of papers by Dopita and his co-workers. We show that the standard Lee and Draine ??astronomical silicate?? model cannot provide a good fit to the silicate absorption features as observed in the heavily dust-extinguished (A _V??50 mag.) starbursts. We have derived an empirical fit to the ??starburst silicate?? absorption in these objects. This absorption curve is consistent with the silicate grains being systematically larger in starburst environments than in the local Galactic interstellar medium. We demonstrate the sensitivity of the SED fitting to each of the fitted parameters, and derive these parameters for those galaxies which do not have an embedded AGN. This technique is simple and provides reasonably robust and uniform parameters for the starburst, especially as far as the star formation rate, population of old stars, compactness of the starburst region and total foreground extinction are concerned. However, the chemical abundances and the optical extinction cannot be reliably determined by this analysis, and optical SEDs will also be required to provide a complete characterization of the starburst region and of the surrounding galaxy.     

Late Quaternary landscape reconstruction and geochronology in the northern Pampas of Buenos Aires province,Argentina

This paper reports the main sedimentary characteristics, soil micromorphology and optically-stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages, and details the pedosedimentary reconstruction, of the Hudson site situated in the northern Pampas of Buenos Aires province. It also provides the OSL chronology and a reinterpretation of previously reported micromorphological features for the nearby site of Gorina. Finally, the stratigraphic records of both sites are compared and the main environmental events discussed in a regional context.At Hudson, situated at a low altitude environment close to the coastal plain, the basal fine-grained paludal deposits were unconformably covered by coastal marine sediments with an OSL age of ca. 128 ka supporting its correlation with the high stand of sea level of marine isotope stage 5e. A paleosol developed on the marine deposits and the underlying paludal sediments. OSL ages suggest that soil development and its subsequent erosion occurred over some period between ca. 128 and 54 ka. Fine sediment accumulation in a paludal environment continued until prior to ca. 23 ka when the accumulation of the uppermost loess mantle started. It continued until the early Holocene when present soil development began. At Gorina, OSL ages suggest that the upper part of the pedocomplex formed at some stage between ca. 194 and 56 ka. Loess then accumulated followed by an erosional phase; loess deposition restarted by ca. 29 ka and continued until the beginning of the Holocene (ca. 9 ka) when the present land surface was established.The stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental differences exhibited by the Hudson and Gorina records result from their contrasting geomorphological settings. The OSL geochronology suggests that the last interglacial (MIS 5) at Hudson is marked by the accumulation of marine deposits (MIS 5e) and the subsequent development of a paleosol. The equivalent soil-forming interval at Gorina is represented by the upper part of the buried pedocomplex. Both at Gorina and Hudson, loess accumulation was dominant especially during MIS 2. Loess accumulation continued during MIS 1 until the early Holocene with apparently somewhat higher sedimentation rates in Hudson. Pedogenesis has been predominant during the rest of the Holocene, resulting in the formation of the surface soil profiles.     

The geologist down your street: three famous geologists from a small town in Lancashire,England

The town of Colne in Pennine east Lancashire, northern England—once a centre of the textiles trade—is now best known locally as the home of Boundary Mill ‘shopping experience’. But there is more to the town than meets the eye, including three significant geologists.     

塔里木河流域水文特性分析

塔里木河是我国最大的内陆河,历史上是九大水系144条河流的总称.由于气候变化和人类活动影响生态环境急剧恶化,目前形成了"四源一干"的格局.根据水文气象监测资料,从50 a来流域内的降水、蒸发、径流、洪水、泥沙、水质等方面对塔里木河流域生态环境恶化的成因进行分析.     

Analyses of the global distribution of precipitation

The global distribution of area-averaged precipitation is extremely difficult to determine with precision. In this paper we will explain why satellite measurements are necessary for the production of global analyses of precipitation, summarize some of the various methods which have been used to estimate rainfall from satellite observations over the past two decades, and describe an attempt to use a mix of remotely sensed estimates and surface observations of rainfall to produce analyses of the large-scale rainfall for the globe. We will discuss the relationship between two types of satellite-derived precipitation estimates over the oceans from 40°N to 40°S, and then will conclude with a discussion of some possible physical mechanisms which might be responsible for the observed correlation between area-averaged rainfall and cloudiness.     

The need for recognition and implementation of a sinkhole-floodplain hazard designation in urban karst terrains

Soluble rock terrains pose increased flood hazards because of a demographic shift from the upper Middle West and metropolitan Northeast to the “Sun Belt.” Approximately one-half of the soluble rock terrains in the continental United States occur in the Sun Belt. Urbanization of karst terrains generally increases the frequency and magnitude of sinkhole flooding and the probability of collapse. Soil erosion attendant with urbanization results in silt deposition in depressions, reducing sinkhole runoff storage capacity and regolith hydraulic conductivity. A new flood-hazard designation termed the sinkhole flood-plain is advocated for use by federal mortgage agencies in karst terrains so that sinkhole-related flooding can be minimized. A four-phase methodology for assessing sinkhole flood hazards in a rapidly urbanizing karst terrain is developed, using examples from central Tennessee and southern Kentucky.     

Bringing stakeholders,scientists, and managers together through an integrated ecosystem assessment process

For decades, the scientific community has conducted essential background research and developed appropriate modeling tools in support of an ecosystem-based approach to natural resource management. Resource managers and the public, however, lack a clear roadmap for working with scientists to move beyond the traditional single-species approach. With current management processes so strongly focused on working in a species-by-species framework, there are entrenched cultural and institutional challenges to shifting those processes toward ecosystem-based management. We propose using the integrated ecosystem assessment process to both develop new management ideas for a particular ecosystem, and to help shift public policy processes and perceptions to embrace ecosystem approaches to management.