Herschel celestial calibration sources

Celestial standards play a major role in observational astrophysics. They are needed to characterise the performance of instruments and are paramount for photometric calibration. During the Herschel Calibration Asteroid Preparatory Programme approximately 50 asteroids have been established as far-IR/sub-mm/mm calibrators for Herschel. The selected asteroids fill the flux gap between the sub-mm/mm calibrators Mars, Uranus and Neptune, and the mid-IR bright calibration stars. All three Herschel instruments observed asteroids for various calibration purposes, including pointing tests, absolute flux calibration, relative spectral response function, observing mode validation, and cross-calibration aspects. Here we present newly established models for the four large and well characterized main-belt asteroids (1) Ceres, (2) Pallas, (4) Vesta, and (21) Lutetia which can be considered as new prime flux calibrators. The relevant object-specific properties (size, shape, spin-properties, albedo, thermal properties) are well established. The seasonal (distance to Sun, distance to observer, phase angle, aspect angle) and daily variations (rotation) are included in a new thermophysical model setup for these targets. The thermophysical model predictions agree within 5 % with the available (and independently calibrated) Herschel measurements. The four objects cover the flux regime from just below 1,000 Jy (Ceres at mid-IR N-/Q-band) down to fluxes below 0.1 Jy (Lutetia at the longest wavelengths). Based on the comparison with PACS, SPIRE and HIFI measurements and pre-Herschel experience, the validity of these new prime calibrators ranges from mid-infrared to about 700 μm, connecting nicely the absolute stellar reference system in the mid-IR with the planet-based calibration at sub-mm/mm wavelengths.     

The Luneberg lens and the importance of transmission in establishing contact with extraterrestrial civilizations

A large Luneberg-type antenna with accessories is described as a means of simultaneously monitoring a large number of stars for possible intelligent signals. Various contacting strategies are compared on their probability of success and arguments are advanced favoring a program of transmission at a wavelength of 21 cm to the nearest stars.     

A unique human‐made trench at Tell es‐Sâfi/Gath,Israel: Anthropogenic impact and landscape response

Tell es‐Sâfi/gath is situated in the semiarid foothills of central Israel, adjacent to the coastal . plain. An enigmatic landscape feature, noted on aerial photographs, encircles the tell on three sides. This unique feature, unknown from other Near Eastern tells, was investigated. Methods of analysis include aerial photographs, field surveys, excavations, soil analyses, chronotypological ceramic classification, and radiocarbon dating. We concluded that (1) the peculiar landscape feature is a huge human‐made trench, over 2 km long, 5–6 m deep, and more than 8 m wide, cut through bedrock; (2) the trench was excavated during the Iron Age IIA (ca. 1000–800 B.C.E.), apparently as part of a siege system; (3) the extracted rock and soil material was dumped on the Iron Age landscape surface on one side of the trench, forming an elevated “berm”; (4) erosion processes transformed this landscape scar, as the trench filled with sediment; (5) stratigraphic analysis indicates two major phases of filling, separated by a period of landscape stability and soil formation (A horizon); (6) the two filling phases, exhibiting Iron Age IIA and Byzantine pottery (ca. 324—638 C.E.), appear to coincide with more intense human activity; and (7) the possible effect of climatic variations seems less obvious. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Diversity and large-scale biogeography of Paramesochridae (Copepoda, Harpacticoida) in South Atlantic Abyssal Plains and the deep Southern Ocean

Multicorer samples for meiofaunal study were obtained within the framework of the international project CeDAMar, at 21 stations occupied during the DIVA and ANDEEP campaigns (2000, 2002 and 2005) to the southern Atlantic Ocean (Guinea, Angola and Cape Basins) and the Southern Ocean (Weddell and Scotia Seas), respectively. A total of 311 adult Paramesochridae Lang, 1944 (Copepoda, Harpacticoida) was extracted from 437 cores obtained during 83 deployments of the corer at depths between 1107 and 5655 m. All specimens were determined to species based on morphological characteristics. They belonged to 19 species and four genera (Kliopsyllus Kunz, 1962, Leptopsyllus T. Scott, 1894, Paramesochra T. Scott, 1892 and Scottopsyllus Kunz, 1962). Eleven species were restricted to single regions, whereas the others showed a much wider distribution. For example, Kliopsyllus andeep Veit-Köhler, 2004 and Kliopsyllus diva Veit-Köhler, 2005, were both collected from Guinea, Angola and Weddell Abyssal Plains, and Kliopsyllus schminkei Veit-Köhler & Drewes, 2009 occurred in the three West-African basins. This study provides a first insight into the large-scale biogeography of deep-sea harpacticoids, represented by the Paramesochridae, and indicates that distribution ranges, at least in this family, may extend across South Atlantic and Southern Ocean Abyssal Plains.     

Remotely sensed seasonality in the spatial distribution of sea-surface suspended particulate matter in the southern North Sea

An algorithm is presented for estimating near-surface SPM concentrations in the turbid Case 2 waters of the southern North Sea. The single band algorithm, named POWERS, was derived by parameterising Gordon's approximation of the radiative transfer model with measurements of Belgian and Dutch inherent optical properties. The algorithm was used to calculate near-surface SPM concentration from 491 SeaWiFS datasets for 2001. It was shown to be a robust algorithm for estimating SPM in the southern North Sea. Regression of annual geometric mean SPM concentration derived from remote sensing (SPM_rs), against in situ (SPM_is) data from 19 Dutch monitoring stations was highly significant with an r² of 0.87. Further comparison and statistical testing against independent datasets for 2000 confirmed the consistency of this relationship. Moreover, time series of SPM_rs concentrations derived from the POWERS algorithm, were shown to follow the same temporal trends as individual SPM_is data recorded during 2001. Composites of annual, winter and summer SPM_rs for 2001 highlight the three dominant water masses in the southern North Sea, as well as their winter–fall and spring–summer variability. The results indicate that wind induced wave action and mixing cause high surface SPM signals in winter in regions where the water column becomes well mixed, whereas in summer stratification leads to a lower SPM surface signal. The presented algorithm gives accurate near-surface SPM concentrations and could easily be adapted for other water masses and seas.     

Variability of the water temperature in the western Wadden Sea on tidal to centennial time scales

Daily observations of the sea surface temperature in the Marsdiep tidal inlet, which connects the shallow Dutch western Wadden Sea with the deeper North Sea, already started in the summer of 1860, over 140 years ago. Since the year 2000 the sampling frequency has strongly increased because of the use of electronic sensors and data logging by computer. Analysis of these temperature data has revealed variations with time scales from tidal, daily, seasonal, inter-annual, to centennial. The tidal temperature variations are generated by advection of the seasonally varying temperature gradient between Wadden Sea and North Sea, while the daily variations are mainly caused by the daily variation of solar radiation. The seasonal variation in sea surface temperature only lags a few days behind the coastal surface air temperature, contrary to the sea surface temperature in the deeper nearby North Sea, which is delayed with about 1 month. The North Atlantic Oscillation index has been used as large-scale proxy for the atmospheric forcing of the Wadden Sea temperature. Only for the winter and spring a significant correlation is found between temperature and the winter index. However, this correlation is so strong that also the annual mean temperature is correlated significantly with the North Atlantic Oscillation. At longer time scales, from decadal to centennial, also large temperature variations are observed, of the order of 1.5 °C. However, these are not related to long-term changes of the North Atlantic oscillation. These long-term temperature changes involve a cooling of about 1.5 °C in the first 30 years of the record and a similar warming in the last 25 years. In between, these long-term changes were smaller and more irregular. Similar conclusions can also be applied to individual seasons as well as to the date of the onset of spring.     

Variability of the salinity in the western Wadden Sea on tidal to centennial time scales

Daily observations of the salinity of the Marsdiep tidal inlet, which connects the Dutch western Wadden Sea with the North Sea, already started over 140 years ago, in 1860. Since the year 2000 the sampling frequency has increased because of the use of electronic sensors. Analysis of these salinity data have revealed variations on time scales from tidal (~ 12 hour), seasonal, inter-annual, and multi-decadal, to centennial. The contributions of the salinity variations in the Marsdiep for these different spectral bands or time scales are all of the order of a standard deviation of 0.5 to 1. The centennial variation, which can be expressed as a 140 year long salinity trend, is related to engineering works on the rivers Rhine and IJssel, which already started in the early 18-th century, and more than doubled the magnitude of the freshwater content of the western Wadden Sea since then. In contrast with this anthropogenic salinity trend, the climatic variability of the precipitation over western Europe, and the connected changes in the Rhine discharge, are mainly responsible for the inter-annual variations in the salinity and/or freshwater content of the western Wadden Sea. Since variations in salinity and freshwater content also reflect variations in the terrigeneous and river influence on the Wadden ecosystem, e.g. via the nutrient content, it can be expected that the ecology of the Wadden Sea also experienced changes on centennial time scales.     

A diatom-based Holocene record of human impact from a coastal environment: Tuckean Swamp, eastern Australia

Diatom-based paleolimnological studies are being increasingly used to track anthropogenic change in estuaries. Little is known, however, about the direction and nature of long-term environmental changes in Australian estuaries. In this study, shifts in diatom assemblages preserved in a ²¹⁰Pb and C¹⁴ AMS dated sediment core from Tuckean Swamp were analysed to determine environmental changes that had taken place as a result of changing land-use practices. Prior to European impact, the diatom assemblage remained relatively stable and was dominated by Actinocyclus normanii and Diploneis smithii. An increasing dominance of Cyclotella meneghiniana correlates well with changed land use activities in the catchment area and indicates an increase of freshwater influence in the swamp’s environment. A major shift in species composition began ∼1970, Eunotia flexuosa becoming dominant. The assemblage shifts recorded at this site appear to be consistent with environmental changes triggered by human activities such as vegetation clearance, drainage and the construction of a barrage. This study demonstrates the use of paleolimnoology in an estuarine environment to provide pre-impact data necessary for management of the aquatic environment.     

Modern sedimentation processes in Lake Towuti,Indonesia, revealed by the composition of surface sediments

Lake Towuti on Sulawesi Island, Indonesia, is located within the heart of the Indo‐Pacific Warm Pool. This tropical lake is surrounded by ultramafic (ophiolitic) rocks and lateritic soils that create a unique ferruginous depositional setting. In order to understand modern sediment deposition in Lake Towuti, a set of 84 lake surface sediment samples was collected from across the entirety of the lake and samples were analyzed for their physical, chemical, mineralogical and biological constituents. End‐member analyses were carried out to elucidate modern sediment origin, transport and depositional processes. This study found that allochthonous sediment, characterized by the concentrations of the elements Mg, Fe, Si and Al, as well as the clay and serpentine minerals, is dominated by fluvial supply from five distinct source areas. Granulometric data and the occurrence of organic matter of a terrestrial origin suggest that, in the southern and north‐eastern parts of the lake the near‐shore sediments may additionally be influenced by mass wasting. This is due at least partly to the particularly steep slopes in these areas. Furthermore, sediment composition suggests that sediment transport into deeper parts of the lake, particularly in the northern basin, is partly controlled by gravitational and density‐driven processes such as turbidity currents. Directional sediment transport by persistent lake currents, in contrast, appears to be less important. Organic matter deposition in the ultra‐oligotrophic lake, albeit limited, is dominated by autochthonous production, but with some contribution of fluvial and gravitational supply. Biogenic silica deposition, primarily from diatom frustules and sponge spicules, is very limited and is concentrated in only a few areas close to the shoreline that are characterized by shallow waters, but away from the areas of high suspension loads at the mouths of the major inlets. The results of this study build upon current and published work on short piston cores from Lake Towuti. Conversely, the results will support the interpretation of the depositional history and past climatic and environmental conditions derived from the composition of much longer records, which were obtained by the Towuti Drilling Project in May 2015 and are currently under investigation.