Asteroid impact effects on Snowball Earth

Several Snowball Earth periods, in which the Earth has been (almost) totally glaciated, are known from Earth history. Neither the trigger for the initiation, nor the reason for the ending of such phases, are well understood. Here we discuss some mechanical effects of the impact of asteroids 5–10 km in diameter on the Snowball Earth environment. An impact of this scale is the largest impact that is statistically predictable for 10–60 Myr time periods. The impact cratering itself (shock waves, impact crater formation) is not powerful enough to change the natural climate evolution path on Earth. However, the products of impact (mainly—water vapor) can be quickly distributed over a substantial part of the globe, influencing the global circulation (e.g., facilitating cloud formation). It is a question for future studies to confirm if such an event (which is possible statistically during this interval) may or may not have influenced the global climate of the Snowball Earth, and/or contributed to deglaciation.     

Distribution and expression of gas seeps in a gas hydrate province of the northeastern Sakhalin continental slope, Sea of Okhotsk

Multidisciplinary surveys were conducted to investigate gas seepage and gas hydrate accumulation on the northeastern Sakhalin continental slope (NESS), Sea of Okhotsk, during joint Korean–Russian–Japanese expeditions conducted from 2003 to 2007 (CHAOS and SSGH projects). One hundred sixty-one gas seeps were detected in a 2000 km² area of the NESS (between 53°45′N and 54°45′N). Active gas seeps in a gas hydrate province on the NESS were evident from features in the water column, on the seafloor, and in the subsurface: well-defined hydroacoustic anomalies (gas flares), side-scan sonar structures with high backscatter intensity (seepage structures), bathymetric structures (pockmarks and mounds), gas- and gas-hydrate-related seismic features (bottom-simulating reflectors, gas chimneys, high-amplitude reflectors, and acoustic blanking), high methane concentrations in seawater, and gas hydrates in sediment near the seafloor. These expressions were generally spatially related; a gas flare would be associated with a seepage structure (mound), below which a gas chimney was present. The spatial distribution of gas seeps on the NESS is controlled by four types of geological structures: faults, the shelf break, seafloor canyons, and submarine slides. Gas chimneys that produced enhanced reflection on high-resolution seismic profiles are interpreted as active pathways for upward gas migration to the seafloor. The chimneys and gas flares are good indicators of active seepage.     

Simulations of magnetic-flux transport in solar active regions

We simulate the evolution of several observed solar active regions by solving a transport equation for magnetic flux at the photosphere. The rates of rotation, meridional flow, and diffusion of the flux are determined self-consistently in the calculations. Our findings are in good quantitative agreement with previous measures of the rotation rate and diffusion constant associated with photospheric magnetic fields. Although our meridional velocities are consistent in direction and magnitude with recently reported poleward flows, relatively large uncertainties in our velocity determinations make this result inconclusive.Laboratory for Computational Physics.E. O. Hulburt Center for Space Research.     

Theory of the radio emission of pulsars

A consistent theory of excitation, stabilization, and propagation of electromagnetic oscillations in a relativistic one-dimensional electron-positron plasma flowing along curved magnetic field lines is presented. It is shown that in such a medium which is typical of the magnetosphere of a neutron star there exist unstable natural modes of oscillations. Nonlinear saturation of the instability leads to an effective energy conversion into transverse oscillations capable of leaving the magnetosphere of a pulsar. The polarization spectrum and the directivity pattern of generated radiation are determined. A comparison with observations has shown that the theory makes it possible to explain practically all the basic characteristics of observed pulsar radio emission.     

The theory of the Trojan asteroids,part V

E.W. Brown conjectured (1911) that the family of the long-periodic orbits in the Troian case of the restricted problem of three bodies terminates in an asymptotic orbit passing through the Lagrangian point L₃ at t=±∞. In 1977 the author showed that such an orbit deviates from L₃ by the epicyclic term mg (±∞). It is shown here that $$g\left( { \pm \infty } \right) = 0,$$ so that the Brown conjecture regarding L₃ is false. Contrary to what Brown believed, there is an entire family ofhomoclinic orbits, doubly asymptotic to short-periodic orbits around L₃. In the complex z-plane of the Poincaré eccentric variables, the latter orbits are circles of radius mR, with R bounded away from zero. The kinematics of the homoclinic family is investigated here in some detail.     

Vibrational states of H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O in beryl: physical aspects

Single-crystal polarized Raman spectra (3,000–4,000 cm⁻¹ at 3 ≤ T ≤ 300 K) were measured for synthetic alkali-free and natural beryl, Be₂Al₃Si₆O₁₈·xH₂O, to determine the behavior of H₂O molecules of both Type I and Type II in the cavities. At low temperature, the H₂O molecules of Type I displace from the center of cavity and give rise to very weak hydrogen bonding with the host lattice. The H₂O Type I translational motion is characterized by substantial anharmonicity and looks like a motion of “a particle in the box” with a frequency of 6.3 cm⁻¹. Water Type II is characterized by a free rotation with respect to the C ₂ molecule axis, and it makes possible the water nuclear isomers (i.e. ortho- and para-) to be observed at low temperature.

Interactive Knowledge Generation in Urban Green Building Transitions

Knowledge coproduction between practitioners and scientists offers promising opportunities for the emerging research field of the geography of sustainability transitions. Drawing on experiences from an international research project on urban green building transitions, this article explores the potentials and challenges of interactive and collaborative knowledge generation methods in understanding sustainability transitions. Our results show that ongoing engagement with local experts and practitioners through interactive World Café workshops and follow-up exchanges allows for a better understanding of the research context and knowledge exchange to all participants involved in the research process.     

Spectrofluorometric Applications in Studying Macroalgal Exudates*

Abstract. In this paper we present a one-year investigation on the fluorescence characteristics of released products of selected Adriatic seaweeds. The technique chosen was UV-fluorescence spectroscopy with the synchronous mode, which involves the stepping of the excitation and emission monochromators. The five species, of representative macrophytes, Cystoseira compressa, Dictyopreris polypodioides, Gracilaria bursapastoris, Pterocladia capillacea, and Ulva rigida, were chosen on the basis of their dominance in the plant communities typical for the area near Split - Central Adriatic. Our results suggest that macroalgal-related dissolved fluorescent matter can be categorized into two distinct groups of fluorescing compounds with the following excitation wavelengths: one from 320–360 nm, probably for compounds with 2 fused aromatic rings, and another from 360–420 nm, corresponding with 3 & 4 fused rings. The contribution of aromatics with 2 and with 3 & 4 rings was very similar in the brown algae Cysroseira compressa and Dictyopteris polypodioides, while in the red algae Gracilaria bursapastoris and Pterocludia capillacea as well in the green alga Ulva rigida the group with 2 rings dominated.     

Tracing terrigenous dissolved organic matter and its photochemical decay in the ocean by using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

Reversed-phase liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) is introduced as a new molecular fingerprinting technique for tracing terrigenous dissolved organic matter (DOM) and its photochemical decay in the ocean. DOM along a transect from the mangrove-fringed coast in Northern Brazil to the shelf edge was compared with mangrove-derived porewater DOM exposed to natural sunlight for 2–10 days in a photodegradation experiment. DOM was isolated from all samples via solid-phase extraction (C18) for LC/MS analysis. DOM in the estuary and ocean showed a bimodal mass distribution with two distinct maxima in the lower m/z range from 400 to 1000 Da (intensity-weighted average of 895 Da). Terrigenous porewater DOM from the mangroves was characterized by a broad molecular mass distribution over the detected range from 150 to 2000 Da (intensity-weighted average of 1130 Da). Polar compounds, i.e., those that eluted early in the reversed-phase chromatography, absorbed more UV light and had on average smaller molecular masses than the more apolar compounds.