A laboratory discharge lamp source for the O2 atmospheric bands and OI 5577 Å and 6300 Å lines of a known line width

A laboratory discharge lamp is described which strongly emits the forbidden OI 5577 and 6300 Å lines and the O₂ (0?0) atmospheric band. Experimental measurements confirm that these atomic and molecular species are in thermal equilibrium with one another, so that a rotational temperature measurement of the O₂ atmospheric band allows one to deduce the line widths of the 5577 and 6300 Å emissions. This thus provides a useful calibration source for interferometric measurements of these emissions.     

Thomson Thick X-Ray Absorption in a Broad Absorption Line Quasar, PG 0946+301

We present results of new ASCA observations of the low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (LLAGN) NGC 4579 obtained on 1998 December 18 and 28, and we report on the detection of variability of an iron K emission line. The X-ray luminosities in the 2-10 keV band for the two observations are nearly identical (LX approximately 2x1041 ergs s(-1)), but they are approximately 35% larger than that measured in 1995 July by Terashima et al. An Fe K emission line is detected at 6.39+/-0.09 keV (source rest frame), which is lower than the line energy 6.73+0.13-0.12 keV in the 1995 observation. If we fit the Fe lines with a blend of two Gaussians centered at 6.39 and 6.73 keV, the intensity of the 6.7 keV line decreases, while the intensity of the 6.4 keV line increases, within an interval of 3.5 yr. This variability rules out thermal plasmas in the host galaxy as the origin of the ionized Fe line in this LLAGN. The detection and variability of the 6.4 keV line indicates that cold matter subtends a large solid angle viewed from the nucleus and that it is located within approximately 1 pc from the nucleus. It could be identified with an optically thick standard accretion disk. If this is the case, a standard accretion disk is present at the Eddington ratio of Lbol/LEdd approximately 2x10-3. A broad disk-line profile is not clearly seen, and the structure of the innermost part of accretion disk remains unclear.     

The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: luminosity functions by density environment and galaxy type

We use the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey to measure the dependence of the b _J-band galaxy luminosity function on large-scale environment, defined by density contrast in spheres of radius  8  h ⁻¹ Mpc  , and on spectral type, determined from principal component analysis. We find that the galaxy populations at both extremes of density differ significantly from that at the mean density. The population in voids is dominated by late types and shows, relative to the mean, a deficit of galaxies that becomes increasingly pronounced at magnitudes brighter than   M _{b J}−5log₁₀ h ≲−18.5  . In contrast, cluster regions have a relative excess of very bright early-type galaxies with   M _{b J}−5log₁₀ h ≲−21  . Differences in the mid- to faint-end population between environments are significant: at   M _{b J}−5log₁₀ h =−18  early- and late-type cluster galaxies show comparable abundances, whereas in voids the late types dominate by almost an order of magnitude. We find that the luminosity functions measured in all density environments, from voids to clusters, can be approximated by Schechter functions with parameters that vary smoothly with local density, but in a fashion that differs strikingly for early- and late-type galaxies. These observed variations, combined with our finding that the faint-end slope of the overall luminosity function depends at most weakly on density environment, may prove to be a significant challenge for models of galaxy formation.     

The Strecker synthesis as a source of amino acids in carbonaceous chondrites: deuterium retention during synthesis

Deuterium-enriched amino acids occur in the Murchison carbonaceous chondrite. Synthesis from D-enriched interstellar precursors by Strecker reactions during aqueous alteration of the parent body has been proposed. To test this hypothesis, we have measured the retention of deuterium in amino acids produced from HCN, NH3, and formaldehyde-D2, acetaldehyde-D4, and acetone-D6 in H2O. The isotopic label is 50% to 98% retained, with variations in retentivity depending on the amino acid and the reaction conditions. If amino acids, once formed on the parent body by the Strecker synthesis, lose no deuterium by subsequent exchange with water or H-bearing minerals, then the observed deuterium isotopic composition of Murchison amino acids represents as much as 50% or more of the enrichments inherited from their interstellar precursors. Imino diacids are prominent side products of the Strecker synthesis which have not been reported in carbonaceous chondrites. Under the conditions of the Strecker reaction using deuterium labeled aldehydes and ketones, unlabeled amino acids are also formed by an HCN polymerization route indicating multiple pathways for the synthesis of amino acids in meteorites.     

Extended time series measurements of submarine groundwater discharge tracers (222Rn and CH4) at a coastal site in Florida

We report the results of an experiment in which we measured ²²²Rn (15,000 observations), CH₄ (40,000 observations), and associated variables in seawater nearly continuously at a coastal site in the Gulf of Mexico for almost two years. Significant correlations between ²²²Rn and CH₄ imply that they are derived from a common source, most likely groundwater. However, we were unable to explain the overall tracer variability as a single function of groundwater table height, temperature, tidal range, and wind speed, indicating multiple, overlapping controls on SGD dynamics at this site. Methane and radon concentrations may vary 2-fold in a given well in the subterranean estuary over tidal time scales, demonstrating the complexity of determining SGD endmember concentrations and suggesting that unaccounted for temporal changes in groundwater may explain some of the patterns observed in seawater. Surprisingly, the variability of ²²²Rn and CH₄ in seawater over short (e.g., hourly) time scales was generally comparable to or even more pronounced than fluctuations over much longer (e.g., monthly) scales. While high tracer concentrations usually occurred during low tide and low tracer concentrations during high tide, this pattern was occasionally inverted or absent indicating that no single model can be used to describe the entire data set. We also describe a sequence of events in which SGD tracers were depleted in coastal waters during storms and regenerated afterwards. We found no increase in radon activities immediately after the largest storm (75 mm rainfall) perhaps because of the short residence times of groundwater in contrast to the ingrowth time of radon. Marine controls appeared to be the most important SGD drivers with only minor influence relating to the shallow and deep aquifers. This implies that seasonal investigations of SGD tracers in the coastal ocean may be masked by short-term variability.     

Preparing for Climatic Change: The Water, Salmon, and Forests of the Pacific Northwest

The impacts of year-to-year and decade-to-decade climatic variations on some of the Pacific Northwest's key natural resources can be quantified to estimate sensitivity to regional climatic changes expected as part of anthropogenic global climatic change. Warmer, drier years, often associated with El Niño events and/or the warm phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, tend to be associated with below-average snowpack, streamflow, and flood risk, below-average salmon survival, below-average forest growth, and above-average risk of forest fire. During the 20th century, the region experienced a warming of 0.8 °C. Using output from eight climate models, we project a further warming of 0.5–2.5 °C (central estimate 1.5 °C) by the 2020s, 1.5–3.2°C (2.3 °C) by the 2040s, and an increase in precipitation except in summer. The foremost impact of a warming climate will be the reduction of regional snowpack, which presently supplies water for ecosystems and human uses during the dry summers. Our understanding of past climate also illustrates the responses of human management systems to climatic stresses, and suggests that a warming of the rate projected would pose significant challenges to the management of natural resources. Resource managers and planners currently have few plans for adapting to or mitigating the ecological and economic effects of climatic change.     

Tritium in the Arctic Ocean and East Greenland Current

High concentrations of tritium are found in the surface water of the Arctic Ocean (up to 50 TU) and in the East Greenland Current (up to 70 TU). These high tritium values are a direct result of atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in the early 1960's. A box model with a time-dependent input of highly tritiated precipitation predicts that high tritium concentrations are to be expected in the surface layer of the Arctic Ocean and its various outflows. We suggest that a few tritium stations in the Arctic Ocean would provide a powerful analytical tool for assigning time scales to exchange processes.