Search for class I methanol maser emission toward several supernova remnants

Observations at 44 GHz in the 7₀−6₁ A ⁺ methanol line have been carried out on the 20-m telescope of the Onsala Space Observatory (Sweden) in the directions of the poorly studied region G27.4–0.2 and of several supernova remnants, at the coordinates of the OH(1720) maser satellite emission, with the aim of searching for Class I methanol maser emission in these sources. The region G27.4–0.2 has beenmapped, and contains maser sources and two supernova remnants with similar coordinates and radial velocities, which may accelerate condensation of the ambient gas-dust medium. This may play a role in enhancing the probability of methanol formation and maser emission. This is the first detection of 44 GHz maser emission in this source, and this maser is among the 10% of the strongest Class I methanol masers, within the uncertainties in the integrated flux (of a total of 198 currently knownmasers). A 27′ × 27′ region around the maser has been mapped at 44 GHz in steps of 1′. The 44-GHz emission forms only within the previously known maser region. Further studies in water lines are needed to estimate the influence of shocks from supernovae. No 44-GHz Class I methanol maser emission was detected at the 3σ level at the coordinates of the OH(1720) satellite emission in six supernova remnants; i.e., the presence of OH(1720) emission is not a sufficient condition for the detection of Class I methanol masers.     

Contribution of geophysical methods to karst-system exploration: an overview

The karst environment is one of the most challenging in terms of groundwater, engineering and environmental issues. Geophysical methods can provide useful subsurface information in karst regions concerning, for instance, hazard estimation or groundwater exploration and vulnerability assessment. However, a karst area remains a very difficult environment for any geophysical exploration; selection of the best-suited geophysical method is not always straightforward, due to the highly variable and unpredictable target characteristics. The state of the art is presented, in terms of the contributions made by geophysical methods to karst-system exploration, based on extensive analysis of the published scientific results. This report is an overview and should be used as a preliminary methodological approach, rather than a guideline.     

Geogene Versus Anthropogene Origin of Trace Metals in Sediments in Cua Luc Estuary and Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

In the present study, the geochemistry of 49 surficial-bed and 101 core sediment samples is investigated to clarify the origin of trace metals in the Cua Luc Estuary and Ha Long Bay, which is a famous World Natural Heritage Site in Vietnam. Moreover, the potential mobility of trace metals is also assessed and their relationship with reference elements (Al, Fe, and Ca) and organic matter is established in order to make recommendations for sediment management and monitor future pollution. Generally, trace metals display higher concentrations in Ha Long Bay compared to the Cua Luc Estuary. However, this is controlled by the distribution of the fine (clay?+?silt) fraction, and hence the concentrations of Al, Fe, Ca, and organic matter (OM). The comparison of concentrations of trace metals (normalized towards Al) between the surficial sediments and the subsurface core sediments based on ¹³⁷Cs datings indicates that almost all surficial-sediment data fall inside or deviate slightly from the 95 % prediction interval of a background regression line. In addition, as determined by a Community Bureau of Reference three-step extraction, trace metals mainly dominate in the residual fraction (assumed to relate to crystal lattice of primary and secondary minerals), and this fraction does not change much in recent sediment layers. Therefore, trace metals are supposed to be derived from natural bio/geochemical processes and are characterized by a low potential mobility. Consequently, the established linear regression relationships of trace metal vs. Al or multiple regression relationships of trace metal vs. multi-elements (Al, Fe, Ca, and OM) are useful for the prediction of background levels of trace metals in sediments in future pollution monitoring and assessment programs.     

Comparative phylogeography of African rain forest trees: A review of genetic signatures of vegetation history in the Guineo-Congolian region

The biogeographic history of the African rain forests has been contentious. Phylogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of genetic lineages within species, can highlight the signatures of historical events affecting the demography and distribution of species (i.e. population fragmentation or size changes, range expansion/contraction) and, thereby, the ecosystems they belong to. The accumulation of recent data for African rain forests now enables a first biogeographic synthesis for the region. In this review, we explain which phylogeographic patterns are expected under different scenarios of past demographic change, and we give an overview of the patterns detected in African rain forest trees to discuss whether they support alternative hypotheses regarding the history of the African rain forest cover. The major genetic discontinuities in the region support the role of refugia during climatic oscillations, though not necessarily following the classically proposed scenarios. We identify in particular a genetic split between the North and the South of the Lower Guinean region. Finally we provide some perspectives for future study.     

Discreteness of spatial-temporal manifestations of solar activity and solar-terrestrial phenomena

The discreteness of the time series of the solar-related geophysical phenomena is justified. The balance of the formation and decomposition (neglecting diffusion) of fractal elements during the evolution of the equilibrium systems as applied to the heliophysical and geomagnetic phenomena is the original position in this case. The discreteness properties of the spatial-temporal characteristics of solar activity are simply justified based on a fractal analysis. The performed calculations in the solar wind medium in the near-Earth space make it possible to classify the fluxes depending on their fractal dimension. The possible mechanism by which high-speed solar wind streams are generated is also briefly discussed in the scope of the fractal paradigm.     

Storm waves in Canadian waters: A major marine hazard

Abstract

In this paper, an overview of storm waves associated with intense weather systems affecting the east and west coasts of Canada is presented. The paper presents the wave climatology of the east and west coasts in terms of the 100‐year significant and maximum wave heights and further analyses the directional distribution of wave heights at selected locations in the Canadian east and west coasts offshore. The paper also analyses wave hazards associated with storm waves in the Beaufort Sea as well as the Canadian Great Lakes region. A section on ocean wave modelling provides a brief history of the development of ocean surface wave models and its present status. The paper further considers the impact of climate change scenarios on wave hazards and finally examines mitigation measures in terms of wave products available from operational wave models and related wave climatology.     

A Parameterization of Dry Thermals and Shallow Cumuli for Mesoscale Numerical Weather Prediction

For numerical weather prediction models and models resolving deep convection, shallow convective ascents are subgrid processes that are not parameterized by classical local turbulent schemes. The mass flux formulation of convective mixing is now largely accepted as an efficient approach for parameterizing the contribution of larger plumes in convective dry and cloudy boundary layers. We propose a new formulation of the EDMF scheme (for Eddy Diffusivity\Mass Flux) based on a single updraft that improves the representation of dry thermals and shallow convective clouds and conserves a correct representation of stratocumulus in mesoscale models. The definition of entrainment and detrainment in the dry part of the updraft is original, and is specified as proportional to the ratio of buoyancy to vertical velocity. In the cloudy part of the updraft, the classical buoyancy sorting approach is chosen. The main closure of the scheme is based on the mass flux near the surface, which is proportional to the sub-cloud layer convective velocity scale w _*. The link with the prognostic grid-scale cloud content and cloud cover and the projection on the non- conservative variables is processed by the cloud scheme. The validation of this new formulation using large-eddy simulations focused on showing the robustness of the scheme to represent three different boundary layer regimes. For dry convective cases, this parameterization enables a correct representation of the countergradient zone where the mass flux part represents the top entrainment (IHOP case). It can also handle the diurnal cycle of boundary-layer cumulus clouds (EUROCS\ARM) and conserve a realistic evolution of stratocumulus (EUROCS\FIRE).     

ENSO anomalies over the Western United States: present and future patterns in regional climate simulations

Surface temperature, precipitation, specific humidity and wind anomalies associated with the warm and cold phases of ENSO simulated by WRF and HadRM are examined for the present and future decades. WRF is driven by ECHAM5 and CCSM3, respectively, and HadRM is driven by HadCM3. For the current decades, all simulations show some capability in resolving the observed warm-dry and cool-wet teleconnection patterns over the PNW and the Southwest U.S. for warm and cold ENSO. Differences in the regional simulations originate primarily from the respective driving fields. For the future decades, the warm-dry and cool-wet teleconnection patterns in association with ENSO are still represented in ECHAM5-WRF and HadRM. However, there are indications of changes in the ENSO teleconnection patterns for CCSM3-WRF in the future, with wet anomalies dominating in the PNW and the Southwest U.S. for both warm and cold ENSO, in contrast to the canonical patterns of precipitation anomalies. Interaction of anomalous wind flow with local terrain plays a critical role in the generation of anomalous precipitation over the western U.S. Anomalous dry conditions are always associated with anomalous airflow that runs parallel to local mountains and wet conditions with airflow that runs perpendicular to local mountains. Future changes in temperature and precipitation associated with the ENSO events in the regional simulations indicate varying responses depending on the variables examined as well as depending on the phase of ENSO.     

Statistical Study and Prediction of Variability of Erythemal Ultraviolet Irradiance Solar Values in Valencia,Spain

The goal of this study was to statistically analyse the variability of global irradiance and ultraviolet erythemal (UVER) irradiance and their interrelationships with global and UVER irradiance, global clearness indices and ozone. A prediction of short-term UVER solar irradiance values was also obtained. Extreme values of UVER irradiance were included in the data set, as well as a time series of ultraviolet irradiance variability (UIV). The study period was from 2005 to 2014 and approximately 250,000 readings were taken at 5-min intervals. The effect of the clearness indices on global irradiance variability (GIV) and UIV was also recorded and bi-dimensional distributions were used to gather information on the two measured variables. With regard to daily GIV and UIV, it is also shown that for global clearness index (k_t) values lower than 0.6 both global and UVER irradiance had greater variability and that UIV on cloud-free days (k_t higher than 0.65) exceeds GIV. To study the dependence between UIV and GIV the χ² statistical method was used. It can be concluded that there is a 95% probability of a clear dependency between the variabilities. A connection between high k_t (corresponding to cloudless days) and low variabilities was found in the analysis of bi-dimensional distributions. Extreme values of UVER irradiance were also analyzed and it was possible to calculate the probable future values of UVER irradiance by extrapolating the values of the adjustment curve obtained from the Gumbel distribution.     

Windstorm of the eighteenth century in the Czech Lands: course,extent, impacts

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - This paper addresses the course, extent, and impacts of a windstorm that occurred on 20–21 December 1740, in the Czech Lands. The analysis is based on...