Solar limb darkening in the wings of the CaII H and K lines

The method for measuring solar limb darkening has been proposed, and the formulas, describing the law of solar limb darkening in the wings of the CaII H (396.849 nm) and K (393.369 nm) lines, have been derived. To operate at arbitrary points on the Sun’s surface, it is necessary to know the law of solar limb darkening, which is specific in different spectral regions. The procedure of spectrum correction for a flat field, proposed in our previous works, is based on comparing line-free spectral regions with the solar center reference spectrum from the atlas by Brault and Neckel [1994].     

Linking Tarim Basin sea retreat (west China) and Asian aridification in the late Eocene

The Tarim Basin in western China formed the easternmost margin of a shallow epicontinental sea that extended across Eurasia and was well connected to the western Tethys during the Paleogene. Climate modelling studies suggest that the westward retreat of this sea from Central Asia may have been as important as the Tibetan Plateau uplift in forcing aridification and monsoon intensification in the Asian continental interior due to the redistribution of the land‐sea thermal contrast. However, testing of this hypothesis is hindered by poor constraints on the timing and precise palaeogeographic dynamics of the retreat. Here, we present an improved integrated bio‐ and magnetostratigraphic chronological framework of the previously studied marine to continental transition in the southwest Tarim Basin along the Pamir and West Kunlun Shan, allowing us to better constrain its timing, cause and palaeoenvironmental impact. The sea retreat is assigned a latest Lutetian–earliest Bartonian age (ca. 41 Ma; correlation of the last marine sediments to calcareous nannofossil Zone CP14 and correlation of the first continental red beds to the base of magnetochron C18r). Higher up in the continental deposits, a major hiatus includes the Eocene–Oligocene transition (ca. 34 Ma). This suggests the Tarim Basin was hydrologically connected to the Tethyan marine Realm until at least the earliest Oligocene and had not yet been closed by uplift of the Pamir–Kunlun orogenic system. The westward sea retreat at ca. 41 Ma and the disconformity at the Eocene–Oligocene transition are both time‐equivalent with reported Asian aridification steps, suggesting that, consistent with climate modelling results, the sea acted as an important moisture source for the Asian continental interior.     

The cold and wet year 1695 — a contemporary German account

After describing briefly some of the outstanding features of the uncommonly cold and wet year 1695, one of the coldest years of the Little Ice Age, an annotated translation is presented of a contemporary review of the unusual weather events of the year in Europe. The original was published in 1702 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in vol. XIV of the seriesTheatrum Europaeum. The annotation relates to the historical events of the year that were substantially affected by the weather, events to which rather abstruse references are made in the aforementioned contemporary account. In addition to the fact that the contemporary review describes the uncommon weather conditions of 1695, it appears to be the first extended weather review in history.     

Life cycle assessment of pyrolysis–gasification as an emerging municipal solid waste treatment technology

Waste-to-energy technologies are considered as one of the key waste treatment technologies due to their energy and heat recovery efficiencies from the waste. A number of research studies were accomplished to understand the potential environmental burdens from emerging waste treatment technologies such as pyrolysis–gasification (PG). The aim of this study was to examine the PG of municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment process through a life cycle assessment (LCA) method. The study also includes a comparative LCA model of PG and incineration to identify the potential environmental burdens from the existing (incineration) and emerging (PG) waste treatment technologies. This study focused on ten environmental impact categories under two different scenarios, namely: (a) LCA model of PG and (b) comparative LCA model of PG and incineration. The scenario (a) showed that PG had significant environmental burdens in the aquatic eco-toxicity and the global warming potential impact categories. The comparative scenario (b) of PG and incineration of MSW showed that PG had comparatively lower potential environmental burdens in acidification, eutrophication, and aquatic eco-toxicity. Both LCA models showed that the environmental burdens were mainly caused by the volume of the thermal gas (emissions) produced from these two technologies and the final residue to disposal. Therefore, the results indicate that the efficiency and environmental burdens of the emerging technologies are dependent on the emissions and the production of final residue to the landfill.