Red dust rain within the Spanish Mediterranean area

Dust rain belongs to the climatological conditions of the Iberian Peninsula's Mediterranean seaboard. Traditionally known as muddy' or bloody rains, red dust rain has become a topical issue as a result of more frequent rainfall of this kind in recent years. In spite of the difficulties that studying this phenomenon involves, owing to the lack of systematically kept records at meteorological observatories, details are provided of the high frequency of such phenomena within the Spanish Mediterranean area, using records from other phenological sources. The study analyzes the chemical composition of red dust rain and the atmospheric factors giving rise to such phenomena. Whether there is a relationship betwen the higher frequency of dust rain and possible changes in global atmospheric circulation is as yet unclear.     

Landform instability and land-use dynamics in tropical high mountains, Central Mexico

This investigation is an analysis of the influence of landform instability on the distribution of land-use dynamics in a hydrographical basin, located in the Mexican Volcanic Belt mountain range (central Mexico), currently affected by substantial changes in land use and deforestation. A landform map was produced, in addition to seven attribute maps - altimetry, drainage density, slope, relief energy, potential erosion, geology and tectonics - which were considered as factors for determining landform instability through Multi-criteria Evaluation Analysis. Likewise, the direction and rhythm of land-use dynamics were analyzed in four dates - between 1976 and 2000 - and cross tabulations were made between them, in order to analyze the trends and processes of land-use dynamics. Afterwards, the databases obtained were cross tabulated with the landform variables to derive areas, percentages and correlation indices. In the study area, high-instability landforms are associated with most ancient volcanic and sedimentary landforms, where high altitude, drainage density, slope and potential to develop gravitational and fluvial processes are the major factors favouring a land-use pattern, dominated by the conservation of extensive forest land, abandonment of human land use and regeneration of disturbed areas. In contrast, low-instability landforms correspond to alluvial plains and lava hills covered by pyroclasts, where low potential erosion to develop fluvial processes, added to water and soil availability and accessibility, have favoured a land-use pattern dominated by the expansion of agroforestry plantations and human settlements, showing a marked trend towards either intensification or permanence of the current land use and with little abandonment and regeneration.     

Distribution of aliphatic amines in CO,CV, and CK carbonaceous chondrites and relation to mineralogy and processing history

The analysis of water‐soluble organic compounds in meteorites provides valuable insights into the prebiotic synthesis of organic matter and the processes that occurred during the formation of the solar system. We investigated the concentration of aliphatic monoamines present in hot acid water extracts of the unaltered Antarctic carbonaceous chondrites, Dominion Range (DOM) 08006 (CO3) and Miller Range (MIL) 05013 (CO3), and the thermally altered meteorites, Allende (CV3), LAP 02206 (CV3), GRA 06101 (CV3), Allan Hills (ALH) 85002 (CK4), and EET 92002 (CK5). We have also reviewed and assessed the petrologic characteristics of the meteorites studied here to evaluate the effects of asteroidal processing on the abundance and molecular distributions of monoamines. The CO3, CV3, CK4, and CK5 meteorites studied here contain total concentrations of amines ranging from 1.2 to 4.0 nmol g^?1 of meteorite; these amounts are 1–3 orders of magnitude below those observed in carbonaceous chondrites from the CI, CM, and CR groups. The low‐amine abundances for CV and CK chondrites may be related to their extensive degree of thermal metamorphism and/or to their low original amine content. Although the CO3 meteorites, DOM 08006 and MIL 05013, do not show signs of thermal and aqueous alteration, their monoamine contents are comparable to those observed in moderately/extensively thermally altered CV3, CK4, and CK5 carbonaceous chondrites. The low content of monoamines in pristine CO carbonaceous chondrites suggests that the initial amounts, and not asteroidal processes, play a dominant role in the content of monoamines in carbonaceous chondrites. The primary monoamines, methylamine, ethylamine, and n‐propylamine constitute the most abundant amines in the CO3, CV3, CK4, and CK5 meteorites studied here. Contrary to the predominance of n‐ω‐amino acid isomers in CO3 and thermally altered meteorites, there appears to be no preference for the larger n‐amines.     

On The Origin of The High-Perihelion Scattered Disk: The Role of The Kozai Mechanism And Mean Motion Resonances

We study the transfer process from the scattered disk (SD) to the high-perihelion scattered disk (HPSD) (defined as the population with perihelion distances q > 40 AU and semimajor axes a>50 AU) by means of two different models. One model (Model 1) assumes that SD objects (SDOs) were formed closer to the Sun and driven outwards by resonant coupling with the accreting Neptune during the stage of outward migration (Gomes 2003b, Earth, Moon, Planets 92, 29–42.). The other model (Model 2) considers the observed population of SDOs plus clones that try to compensate for observational discovery bias (Fernández et al. 2004, Icarus , in press). We find that the Kozai mechanism (coupling between the argument of perihelion, eccentricity, and inclination), associated with a mean motion resonance (MMR), is the main responsible for raising both the perihelion distance and the inclination of SDOs. The highest perihelion distance for a body of our samples was found to be q = 69.2 AU. This shows that bodies can be temporarily detached from the planetary region by dynamical interactions with the planets. This phenomenon is temporary since the same coupling of Kozai with a MMR will at some point bring the bodies back to states of lower-q values. However, the dynamical time scale in high-q states may be very long, up to several Gyr. For Model 1, about 10% of the bodies driven away by Neptune get trapped into the HPSD when the resonant coupling Kozai-MMR is disrupted by Neptune’s migration. Therefore, Model 1 also supplies a fossil HPSD, whose bodies remain in non-resonant orbits and thus stable for the age of the solar system, in addition to the HPSD formed by temporary captures of SDOs after the giant planets reached their current orbits. We find that about 12 – 15% of the surviving bodies of our samples are incorporated into the HPSD after about 4 – 5 Gyr, and that a large fraction of the captures occur for up to the 1:8 MMR (a ⋍ 120 AU), although we record captures up to the 1:24 MMR (a ≃ 260 AU). Because of the Kozai mechanism, HPSD objects have on average inclinations about 25°–50°, which are higher than those of the classical Edgeworth–Kuiper (EK) belt or the SD. Our results suggest that Sedna belongs to a dynamically distinct population from the HPSD, possibly being a member of the inner core of the Oort cloud. As regards to 2000 CR₁₀₅ , it is marginally within the region occupied by HPSD objects in the parametric planes (q,a) and (a,i), so it is not ruled out that it might be a member of the HPSD, though it might as well belong to the inner core.     

Micro-XCT chondrule classification for subsequent isotope analysis

Chondrules are microscopic, recrystallized melt droplets found in chondritic meteorites. High-resolution isotope analyses of minor elements require large enough element quantities which are obtained by dissolving entire chondrules. This work emphasizes the importance of X-ray computed tomography (XCT) to detect features that can significantly affect the bulk chondrule isotope composition. It thereby expands on other works by looking into chondrules from a wide range of chondrites including CR, CV, CB, CM, L, and EL samples before turning toward complex and time-consuming chemical processing. The features considered are metal and igneous rims, compound chondrules, matrix remnants, and metal contents. In addition to the identification of these features, computed tomography prevents the inclusion of non-chondrule samples (pure matrix or metal) as well as samples where two different chondrule fragments with potentially different isotope compositions are held together by matrix. Matrix surrounding chondrules is also easily detected and the affected chondrules can be omitted or reprocessed. The results strongly encourage to perform XCT before dissolution of chondrules for isotope analysis as a non-invasive method.     

Spatial and temporal evolution of soft and hard X-ray emission in a solar flare

We study the spatial and temporal characteristics of the 3.5 to 30.0 keV emission in a solar flare on April 10, 1980. The data were obtained by the Hard X-ray Imaging Spectrometer aboard the Solar Maximum Mission Satellite. It is complemented in our analysis with data from other instruments on the same spacecraft, in particular that of the Hard X-ray Burst Spectrometer.Key results of our investigation are: (a) Continuous energy release is needed to substain the increase of the emission through the rising phase of the flare, before and after the impulsive phase in hard X-rays. The energy release is characterized by the production of hot (5 × 10⁷ T 1.5 × 10⁸ K) thermal regions within the flare loop structures. (b) The observational parameters characterizing the impulsive burst show that it is most likely associated with non-thermal processes (particle acceleration). (c) The continuous energy release is associated with strong chromospheric evaporation, as evidenced in the spectral line behavior determined from the Bent Crystal Spectrometer data. Both processes seem to stop just before flare maximum, and the subsequent evolution is most likely governed by the radiative cooling of the flare plasma.     

The magnetic properties of solar surges

High resolution on- and off-band Hα filtergrams of disk solar surges obtained with the Vacuum Tower Telescope of the Sacramento Peak Observatory have been compared to magnetic data.

1. Surges constitute clusters of very fine dark (sometimes bright) filaments where each thread connects to an Ellerman bomb brightening. If the magnetic map reveals the existence of a satellite polarity as defined by Rust (1968), the bomb(s) lies over it.
2. Although a large fraction of surges is not associated with clearly detectable satellite polarities, events are strongly favored in regions of evolving magnetic features, characterized by dimensions of about 10 000 km and significant flux change over a period of less than a day. A flux change rate of 3 × 10¹⁵ Mx s^?1 has been measured along at least three homologous bomb-surge events in a satellite of region MW 18594. Surges appear to be related to rising flux of one polarity into a region of stronger opposite flux.
3. The trajectories of surges are matched by magnetic lines of force computed in the current-free approximation.

     

Groundwater-flow modeling in the Yucatan karstic aquifer, Mexico

The current conceptual model of the unconfined karstic aquifer in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, is that a fresh-water lens floats above denser saline water that penetrates more than 40 km inland. The transmissivity of the aquifer is very high so the hydraulic gradient is very low, ranging from 7–10 mm/km through most of the northern part of the peninsula. The computer modeling program AQUIFER was used to investigate the regional groundwater flow in the aquifer. The karstified zone was modeled using the assumption that it acts hydraulically similar to a granular, porous medium. As part of the calibration, the following hypotheses were tested: (1) karstic features play an important role in the groundwater-flow system; (2) a ring or belt of sinkholes in the area is a manifestation of a zone of high transmissivity that facilitates the channeling of groundwater toward the Gulf of Mexico; and (3) the geologic features in the southern part of Yucatan influence the groundwater-flow system. The model shows that the Sierrita de Ticul fault, in the southwestern part of the study area, acts as a flow barrier and head values decline toward the northeast. The modeling also shows that the regional flow-system dynamics have not been altered despite the large number of pumping wells because the volume of water pumped is small compared with the volume of recharge, and the well-developed karst system of the region has a very high hydraulic conductivity. Electronic Publication     

Complexing capacity of the nutrient medium and its relation to inhibition of algal photosynthesis by copper

The toxic effect of copper on phytoplankton production is investigated in waters having different complexing capacities. It is demonstrated that a water’s complexing capacity does not guarantee that an equivalent amount of copper could be tolerated without adversely affecting algal production. Possible explanations for these findings are offered and discussed. It is deduced that ionic copper probably is already toxic to planktonic algae at concentrations of about 10^?10 mole/l.     

Bioenergy potentials from forestry in 2050

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the global energy production potential of woody biomass from forestry for the year 2050 using a bottom-up analysis of key factors. Woody biomass from forestry was defined as all of the aboveground woody biomass of trees, including all products made from woody biomass. This includes the harvesting, processing and use of woody biomass. The projection was performed by comparing the future demand with the future supply of wood, based on existing databases, scenarios, and outlook studies. Specific attention was paid to the impact of the underlying factors that determine this potential and to the gaps and uncertainties in our current knowledge. Key variables included the demand for industrial roundwood and woodfuel, the plantation establishment rates, and the various theoretical, technical, economical, and ecological limitations related to the supply of wood from forests. Forests, as defined in this study, exclude forest plantations. Key uncertainties were the supply of wood from trees outside forests, the future rates of deforestation, the consumption of woodfuel, and the theoretical, technical, economical, or ecological wood production potentials of the forests. Based on a medium demand and medium plantation scenario, the global theoretical potential of the surplus wood supply (i.e., after the demand for woodfuel and industrial roundwood is met) in 2050 was calculated to be 6.1 Gm³ (71 EJ) and the technical potential to be 5.5 Gm³ (64 EJ). In practice, economical considerations further reduced the surplus wood supply from forests to 1.3 Gm³ year⁻¹ (15 EJ year⁻¹). When ecological criteria were also included, the demand for woodfuel and industrial roundwood exceeded the supply by 0.7 Gm³ year⁻¹ (8 EJ year⁻¹). The bioenergy potential from logging and processing residues and waste was estimated to be equivalent to 2.4 Gm³ year⁻¹ (28 EJ year⁻¹) wood, based on a medium demand scenario. These results indicate that forests can, in theory, become a major source of bioenergy, and that the use of this bioenergy can, in theory, be realized without endangering the supply of industrial roundwood and woodfuel and without further deforestation. Regional shortages in the supply of industrial roundwood and woodfuel can, however, occur in some regions, e.g., South Asia and the Middle East and North Africa.