Galactic longitude dependence of the intensity ratio of the diffuse interstellar absorption bands at λλ6180 and 4430

Equivalent widths, as published by Seddon, for the diffuse interstellar absorption band at 6180 are compared with photoelectric 4430 indices for ten stars in the northern Milky Way. The intensity ratio is found to depend on galactic longitude in a way similar to that found by Johnson for the ratioA _V /E _B–V of total to selective interstellar absorption.The dependence found, combined with deductions from a tentative identification of the bands as due to negative hydrogen, points to a direction for the galactic magnetic field that is in better agreement with the direction derived from rotation measures of extragalactic sources than with that based on the dust-hypothesis interpretation of interstellar optical polarization.     

The 1s 2s states of negative hydrogen

Term values for the 1s 2s states of H^– are calculated with the use of simple eigenfunction approximations constructed on the basis of available Hartree-type functions for the 1s ² and 2s ² states of the ion. The results seem to support a tentative identification of the interstellar diffuse absorption bands at 4890 and 6180 as due to negative hydrogen.     

Polar 5—an electron accelerator experiment within an aurora. 4. Measurements of the 391.4 nm light produced by an artificial electron beam in the upper atmosphere

The POLAR 5 sounding rocket, launched from Andøya, Norway, on February 1, 1976, was of the “mother-daughter” configuration.A rocket-borne electron accelerator, mounted on the “daughter,” produced a pulsed electron beam with a maximum current of 130 mA and electron energies up to 10 kev.Using a photometer the luminescence at 391.4nm produced by electrons colliding with ambient nitrogen molecules was studied. The observed light at 391.4 nm consisted of low background, with occasional flashes due to the natural auroral excitations, and intense sparkles when the electron beam was emitted.Below 130 km the light observed during beam injection can be explained by excitations of ambient N₂ due to high energy beam electrons.In the altitude range from 150 km to apogee at 220 km, the observed light level during beam emission is fairly constant and much larger than that produced by the high energy beam electrons. A possible source of this light is the excitation of ambient N₂ by an enhanced population of low energy electrons, created by the presence of a beam plasma discharge in the vicinity of the “daughter” payload.     

The magnetic properties of Quaternary and Tertiary sediments in the southern North Sea

Cores from boreholes penetrating late Quaternary, glacial, interglacial and postglacial sediments and the underlying late Cenozoic delta complex of the southern North Sea have been examined for their magnetic properties. A magnetic polarity stratigraphy has been established as an aid to biostratigraphic dating of the sediments; the Kaena-Gauss and Gauss—Matuyama transitions and the base and top of the Olduvai subchron have been identified. The strength and stability of laboratory-induced isothermal remanent magnetisation display clear magneto-petrological variations, which match lithostratigraphic changes in the cores. Principal component analysis has picked out a basin-wide and palaeoenvironmental consistency in the magnetic data. Large, multi-domain magnetite grains predominate in the post-deltaic and fluvio-deltaic sediments, whereas smaller greigite or titanomagnetite grains are concentrated in the intertidal and marine deltaic facies. Since heavy mineral analysis indicates that most of the deltaic detritus derived from common source areas, the differences in magnetic mineralogy have probably been caused by the sediment transport processes operating within the delta complex.     

Challenges in global ballast water management

Ballast water management is a complex issue raising the challenge of merging international regulations, ship's specific configurations along with ecological conservation. This complexity is illustrated in this paper by considering ballast water volume, discharge frequency, ship safety and operational issues aligned with regional characteristics to address ecological risk for selected routes. A re-estimation of ballast water volumes gives a global annual level of 3500 Mton. Global ballast water volume discharged into open sea originating from ballast water exchange operations is estimated to approximately 2800 Mton. Risk based decision support systems coupled to databases for different ports and invasive species characteristics and distributions can allow for differentiated treatment levels while maintaining low risk levels. On certain routes, the risk is estimated to be unacceptable and some kind of ballast water treatment or management should be applied.     

Crystallographic orientations of high-angle grain boundaries in dynamically recrystallized quartz: First results

The crystallography and geometry of high-angle grain boundaries from dynamically recrystallized quartz have been studied. On the basis of combined electron backscatter diffraction and universal stage measurements, the complete crystallographic orientation of the grain boundaries could be calculated. The u-stage rotation of the grain boundaries to a vertical position reveals that they are never curved but always consist of straight segments. Our results show that these segments preferentially occupy rhombohedral, trapezohedral and bipyramidal orientations, i.e., orientations in a  25–50° girdle to the c-axis. A specific, albeit low, number of segments with special crystallographic orientation, with respect to a neighbouring quartz grain, often shows another special orientation with respect to the other neighbouring grain. Preferred combinations of grain boundary orientations related to both neighbouring grains are (i) low-index rhombohedral and high index trapezohedral, (ii) low-index bipyramidal and low-index trapezohedral or high-index rhombohedral, and (iii) low-index trapezohedral and low or high index trapezohedral. In certain cases, such as at triple junctions, the boundaries occupy specific trapezohedral orientations with a constant angle to the c-axis. This argues for energy isotropy of trapezohedral planes with the same angle to the quartz c-axis. In general, good match coincidence site lattice (CSL) orientations are not preferentially occupied so that most of the studied grain boundaries represent general boundaries. The formation of straight segments in special crystallographic orientations indicates the crystallographic control and implies an energy reduction of certain general boundaries.     

Precipitation,temperature and wind in Norway: dynamical downscaling of ERA40

A novel downscaling approach of the ERA40 (ECMWF 40-years reanalysis) data set has been taken and results for comparison with observations in Norway are shown. The method applies a nudging technique in a stretched global model, focused in the Norwegian Sea (67°N, 5°W). The effective resolution is three times the one of the ERA40, equivalent to about 30 km grid spacing in the area of focus. Longer waves (<T42) in the downscaled solution are nudged towards the ERA40 solution, and thus the large-scale circulation is similar in the two data sets. The shorter waves are free to evolve, and produce high intensities of winds and precipitation. The comparison to observations incorporate numerous station data points of (1) precipitation (#357), (2) temperature (#98) and (3) wind (#10), and for the period 1961–1990, the downscaled data set shows large improvements over ERA40. The daily precipitation shows considerable reduction in bias (from 50 to 11%), and twofold reduction at the 99.9 percentile (from −59 to −29%). The daily temperature showed a bias reduction of about a degree in most areas, and relative large RMSE reduction (from 7.5 to 5.0°C except winter). The wind comparison showed a slight improvement in bias, and significant improvements in RMSE.     

Adaptation in integrated assessment modeling: where do we stand?

Adaptation is an important element on the climate change policy agenda. Integrated assessment models, which are key tools to assess climate change policies, have begun to address adaptation, either by including it implicitly in damage cost estimates, or by making it an explicit control variable. We analyze how modelers have chosen to describe adaptation within an integrated framework, and suggest many ways they could improve the treatment of adaptation by considering more of its bottom-up characteristics. Until this happens, we suggest, models may be too optimistic about the net benefits adaptation can provide, and therefore may underestimate the amount of mitigation they judge to be socially optimal. Under some conditions, better modeling of adaptation costs and benefits could have important implications for defining mitigation targets.     

Source attribution of urban smog episodes caused by coal combustion

Stable weather conditions together with extensive use of coal combustion often lead to severe smog episodes in certain urban environments, especially in Eastern Europe. In order to identify the specific sources that cause the smog episodes in such environments, and to better understand the mixing state and atmospheric processing of aerosols, both single particle and bulk chemical characterization analysis of aerosols were performed in Krakow, Poland, during winter 2005.Real-time measurements of the bulk PM10 aerosol during a severe smog episode (PM10 mass > 400 µg m^− 3) showed a stable concentration of black carbon in the aerosol, and an increase in the sulphate and chlorine mass contributions towards the end of the episode. Chemical characterization of single particles further helped to identify residential coal burning as the main source that caused this severe smog episode, consisting of single particles with major signals for carbon with simultaneous absence of sulphate, chlorine and calcium. Particles from industrial coal combustion gained importance towards the end of that episode, after residential coal combustion was switched off, indicated by an increase of the percentage of sulphate and chlorine containing particles. Traffic was not a significant source during the severe smog episode. During a lighter smog episode, residential and industrial coal combustion was still predominant, with an increased contribution of traffic and processed/aged aerosols. On a clean day, particle classes containing nitrate were the most abundant. In addition, the aerosol was more internally mixed showing that there were more sources contributing to the total aerosol population.