The Effect of Atmospheric Organic Compounds on the Fe-Catalyzed S(IV) Autoxidation in Aqueous Solution

Laboratory experiments were conducted with real atmospheric aerosol particles as well as with synthetic solutions under dark conditions, to simulate some of the chemical features of aerosols. In solutions obtained by the leaching of aerosols (size range >D _ae: 0.4–1.6 m) that contained sufficient amounts of transition metal ions (e.g. Fe) and organic species (e.g. oxalate), S(IV) oxidation rates were significantly lower than those expected from the Fe-catalyzed S(IV) autoxidation in Milli-Q water. The results suggest that oxalate is responsible for much of the observed inhibition. Acetate and formate also inhibit the reaction, but to a much lesser extent. Oxalate has a strong inhibiting effect on the Fe-catalyzed S(IV) autoxidation at all investigated pH values (2.8, 3.7 and 4.5). It was established that Fe(III)-oxalato complexes affect the redox cycling of Fe(II)/Fe(III) and that the observed decrease of the reaction rate is caused by the reduced amount of catalytically active Fe(III) due to the complexation with oxalate. For the system Fe-S(IV)-O₂-oxalate at initial pH 3.7 the reaction rate was calculated using exponential simplification to account for oxalate influence on the amount of free Fe(III) by the following equation:–r_S(IV) = k · [S(IV)] · [Fe(III))] · e ^-b·[Ox]     

Estimate of the time interval of activity of volcanoes of the basalt formation of the lower jeseník mts. based on palaeomagnetic data

Summary Virtual geomagnetic poles, corresponding to the directions of primary remanent magnetization of the neovolcanic occurrences studied in the Lower Jeseník, form a close group which is positionally considerably removed from the present geographic pole. By comparison with some published data on the extent of the secular variation of the geomagnetic field, a conclusion was drawn that the assumption of a practically simultaneous generation of the considered volcanites (over a period of about one third of the longest secular variation cycle) is at least twice as probable as the assumption of an expressive difference in their age.     

Long term variation in the secular love number

Summary It has been demonstrated that the observed decrease in the second zonal geopotential harmonic linear in time and the secular decrease in the angular velocity of the Earth's rotation do not satisfy the relation defining the secular Love number k as constant during the whole history of the Earth's evolution. The discrepancy disappears if it is assumed thatdk/dt=–2.4×10^–6 cy^–1 .

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aa, m a ¶rt;a au m aauunmuaa u u a ¶rt;a u mu au u ¶rt;mm mu, n¶rt; u a a nm mu umuu u. a uam, u ¶rt;nmumdk/dt=–2,4·10 ^–6 (mmu)^–1 .

     

The Diagnostics of the κ-Distributions from EUV Spectra

The EUV lines suitable to diagnose possible κ-distributions in the solar corona are examined. A set of synthetic spectra for various values of the κ-parameter, characterizing the non-thermal κ-distributions, electron densities, and the mean energy of the distributions are calculated in the spectral range corresponding to the Hinode/EIS and Coronas-F/SPIRIT detectors. The strong EUV lines of Fe in various degrees of ionization are used to analyze the sensitivity of the line ratios to the shape of the distribution function, electron density, and temperature or the parameter T of the κ-distribution. The EUV lines suitable for the diagnostics of the distribution function are proposed and the conditions for their usage are discussed.     

The abelian higgs sunspot endowed with a local conformal symmetry

We show that the requirement of alocal conformal symmetry of the Abelian Higgs sunspot leads, at least formally, to a complex-valued electromagnetic potential, whose imaginary part is a conformal compensating potential. It is shown that there exists a fundamental difference between conformal and ordinary electromagnetic fields; whereas the ordinary total magnetic flux of a spot is quantized its conformal analogue has to vanish if the Higgs field is to be single-valued. We further stress that such a complex-valued Abelian Higgs field configuration mimics quite well, under certain conditions (all the salient features of) the classical Abelian Higgs sunspot.     

Periodic motions around pulsating stars

The periodic motion of a test particle (dust, grain, or a larger body) around a pulsating star with a luminosity oscillation of small amplitude (featured by a small parameterB) is being studied. The perturbations of all orbital elements are determined to first order inB, by using Delaunay-type canonical variables and a method whose bases were put forth by von Zeipel. According to the value of the ratio oscillation frequency/dynamic frequency, three possible situations are pointed out: nonresonant (NR), quasi-resonant (QR), and resonant (R). The solution of motion equations shows that only in the (QR) and (R) cases there are orbital parameters (argument of periastron and mean anomaly) affected by secular perturbations. These solutions (which indicate a secularly stable motion in a first approximation) are valid over prediction times of orderB ^–1 in the (NR) case andB ^–1/2 in the (QR) and (R) cases. The theory may be applied to various astronomical situations.     

Photographic observations of fireballs in Tajikistan

Since 2006, systematic double-station photographic observations of fireballs using all-sky cameras equipped with Zeiss Distagon “fisheye” objectives (f/3.5, f = 30 mm) with a 180° field of view have been carried out at two observatories, Gissar (GisAO) and Sanglokh (IAOS), of the Institute of Astrophysics of the Tajik Academy of Sciences. In the method of astrometric reduction of fireball photographs, the empirical formulae for converting the measured coordinates to horizontal celestial coordinates are used. These formulae contain 12 unknown constants to be determined by the least-squares method and the iteration method. Such an approach enables the determination of the coordinates of an object at any point of the celestial hemisphere with a precision close to the theoretical limit whose value is quite comparable with the measurement errors. In the photometric reduction, the dependence of the measured width of the diurnal star trails on their magnitudes was used. As a result of astrometric and photometric reduction of the double-station photographs of five fireballs, the data on atmospheric trajectories, the coordinates of radiants, orbits in interplanetary space, light curves, and photometric masses of meteoroids which produced fireballs were obtained, and the belonging of fireballs to the known meteor showers was determined as well.     

Effectiveness of conventional management in Mediterranean type artisanal fisheries

Artisanal fisheries throughout the Mediterranean region are managed mostly by applying gear specific regulations. The data about the extent and dynamics by which littoral fish resources respond to commonly proposed changes of such regulations are lacking. Here the results of a 15 year (1995–2009) monitoring programme of littoral fish resources in a pilot region of island Vis aquatorium, central Adriatic Sea, are reported with the scope of investigating whether a more restrictive fishing regime (encompassing an increase in minimum inner layer mesh size of trammel net from 28 to 40 mm and excluding the trammel net from subsistence artisanal fishing) that has progressively been put in place during the study period has been accompanied by expected positive changes of littoral fish resources’ abundance, biomass and structure. Significant increases over time were observed in most of the community indices analyzed (abundance and biomass catch per unit effort, diversity indices) as well as a directional change in abundance and biomass catch composition of littoral fish resources. Positive responses were, however, primarily related with a recovery of Mullus surmuletus stock. Additionally, time-series analysis of ABC curves and their corresponding W index revealed that fish community in the study area was still moderately disturbed. Limited extent of conventional management restorative potential is further exacerbated by social issues – noncompliant behavior mainly among subsistence artisanal fishers and consequent resentment of commercial artisanal fishers. In order to improve further the state of the resources a more comprehensive set of management measures incorporating closed areas and a new approach actively involving fishers in the management process should be adopted.     

Heat production data from airborne and laboratory measurements of gamma-ray activity of rocks

Summary The paper discusses the obvious experimental relation between the laboratory determinations of total gamma-ray activity, expressed in equilibrium uranium concentration, and heat production due to radioactive decay. The heat production data were calculated by means of the concentrations of uranium, thorium and potassium determined spectrometrically, together with the conversion factors into the rate of heat generation. The obtained relation may help define the typical heat production for characteristic surface rocks and estimate their contribution in heat flow study. Between the gamma-ray activity recorded during aeroradiometric mapping and the laboratory radiometric measurements of surface rock samples, there is also an experimental relation, which can be used further in estimating the value of surface heat production at a chosen locality.