Infrared spectrophotometry of Comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock (1983d): a bare nucleus revealed?

Spectra of the central core and surrounding coma of Comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock (1983d) were obtained at 8–13 μm on 11 May and 2–4 μm on 12 May 1983. Spatially resolved measurements at 10 μm with a 4-arcsec beam showed that the central core was more than 100 times brighter than the inner coma only 8 arcsec away; for radially outflowing dust, the brightness ratio would be a factor of 8. The observations of the central core are consistent with direct detection of a nucleus having a radius of approximately 5 km. The temperature of the sunlit hemisphere was > 300 K. Spectra of the core are featureless, while spectra of the coma suggest weak silicate emission. The spectra show no evidence for icy grains. The dust producton rate on 11.4 May was ～ 10⁵ g/sec, assuming that the gas flux from the dust-producing areas on the nucleus was ～ 10^?5 g/cm²/sec.     

A summary of environmental issues and findings: Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway

The enactment of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) had a substantial influence on the manner in which the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (Tenn-Tom) was constructed The interdisciplinary approach, including a board of outside consultants functioning as environmental advisors, played a valuable role toward meeting the objectives of minimizing adverse impacts and maximizing the positive environmental aspects Several of the key environmental issues associated with the Tenn-Tom are addressed and the findings are presented impacts addressed include aquifer drawdown, waterlogging, water quality, interbasin transfer, mixing of species, endangered species, erosion, sedimentation, and loss of wildlife habitat Additional discussion is also presented to explain the findings and place the identified impacts into perspective While implementation of the Tenn-Tom involved losses and resource tradeoffs, measures have been incorporated into the project to mitigate for significant resource losses The evaluation, planning, and design process for the Tenn-Tom can serve as a model approach for compliance with NEPA and other environmental statutes     

Downstream geomorphic impacts of large dams: the case of Glenbawn Dam,NSW

Downstream hydrologic effects since the closure of Glenbawn Dam, a large dual-purpose storage for water conservation and flood mitigation, include: (i) a reduction in mean annual runoff of about 21 × 10⁶ m³; (ii) a change in the probability distribution of mean daily flows involving a truncation of flows >;8 × 10⁶ m³ d^?1, a much reduced frequency of flows >7 × 10⁵ m³ d^?1 and an increased frequency of flows <7 × 10⁵ m³ d^?1; and (iii) a reduction in flood magnitude of at least 80 per cent for all probabilities of exceedance. From suspended sediment samples collected before and after dam closure, sediment trap efficiency has been estimated at 99 per cent.An accommodation adjustment of the channel has occurred upstream of the first unregulated tributary because the bed is armoured, the banks are well vegetated, some bedrock and concrete controls are present and all regulated releases are incompetent to transport the bed material. Immediately downstream of the first unregulated tributary, the channel has contracted by up to 45 per cent and degraded by up to 69 per cent during lateral migration. Further downstream no channel changes were recorded although the bed material has progressively coarsened over time.     

X-ray synchrotron emission from the oblique shock in the jet of the powerful radio galaxy 3C 346

We report the first detection, with Chandra , of X-ray emission from the jet of the powerful narrow-line radio galaxy 3C 346. X-rays are detected from the bright radio and optical knot at which the jet apparently bends by approximately 70°. The Chandra observation also reveals a bright galaxy-scale atmosphere within the previously known cluster and provides a good X-ray spectrum for the bright core of 3C 346. The X-ray emission from the knot is synchrotron radiation, as seen in lower-power sources. In common with these sources, there is evidence of morphological differences between the radio/optical and X-ray structures, and the spectrum is inconsistent with a one-component continuous-injection model. We suggest that the X-ray-bright knot is associated with a strong oblique shock in a moderately relativistic, light jet, at ∼ 20° to the line of sight, and that this shock is caused by the jet interacting with the wake in the cluster medium behind the companion galaxy of 3C 346. The general jet curvature can result from pressure gradients in the cluster atmosphere.     

The origin of selected lunar geochemical anomalies: Implications for early volcanism and the formation of light plains

The Apollo orbital geochemistry, photogeologic, and other remote sensing data sets were used to identify and characterize geochemical anomalies on the eastern limb and farside of the Moon and to investigate the processes responsible for their formation. The anomalies are located in the following regions: (1) Balmer basin, (2) terrain northeast of Mare Smythii, (3) near Langemak crater, (4) Pasteur crater, (5) terrain northwest of Milne basin, (6) northeast of Mendeleev basin, (7) north and northeast of Korolev basin, (8) terrain north of Taruntius crater, and (9) terrain north of Orientale basin. The anomalies are commonly associated with Imbrian- or Nectarian-aged light plains units which exhibit dark-haloed impact craters. The results of recent spectral reflectance studies of dark-haloed impact craters plus consideration of the surface chemistry of the anomalies strongly indicate that those geochemical anomalies associated with light plains deposits which display dark-haloed impact craters result from the presence of basaltic units that are either covered by varying thickness of highland debris or have a surface contaminated with significant amounts of highlands material. The burial or contamination of ancient volcanic surfaces by varying amounts of highland material appears to have been an important (though not the dominant) process in the formation of lunar light plains. Basaltic volcanism on the eastern limb and farside of the Moon was more extensive in both space and time than has been accepted.     

CATASTROPHIC ECO-ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN THE SONGNEN PLAIN, NORTHEASTERN CHINA SINCE 1900S

Although the Songnen Plain in the northeastern China was developed relatively late in the temperate zone of the world, its eco-environment has changed greatly. This paper analyzes the changes of land cover and the rates and trends ofdesertification during the past 100 years in the Songnen Plain. According to the macroscopic analysis, we find that the eco-environment in the plain has reached to the threshold of catastrophic change since the 1950s. The Thorn Needle Catastrophic Model was used to determine and validate this conclusion. Human activities, including large-scale construction projects, such as huge dams and dikes, and excessive grazing were the primary factors contributing to regional eco-environmental catastrophe. And irrational reclamation of the wilderness also affected the eco-environmental change. The results reveal the complex human-land interactions.     

Anomalous Behavior of the Linear Polarization of the Herbig Ae Star WW Vul during the 1997 Minimum

In the course of photopolarimetric monitoring of the Herbig Ae star WW Vul, an unusual variation of linear polarization upon energence from a deep minimum was recorded, which cannot be explained by the standard mechanism for such objects (UX Ori stars): a variable contribution of radiation scattered by circumstellar dust. An analysis of possible causes of the anomalous behavior of polarization shows that it was most likely due to the presence of aligned, aspherical dust grains in the dust cloud crossing the line of sight at that time.     

Porous interstellar grains

Recent observations of stellar composition suggest that elements in the Sun are significantly more abundant than in other stars. The reduction in the available element budget implies a drastic revision in current models of interstellar dust. Theoretical models are therefore exploring fluffy, porous physical structure for the grain material. Since a detailed exact treatment of extinction cross-sections is mandatory for a correct understanding of the nature of interstellar dust, we present a technique based on the multipole expansions of the electromagnetic field, which has proven to be general, flexible and powerful in treating scattering of light by porous, composite, arbitrarily shaped particles. The results of this study speak in favour of core–mantle structures characterized by the presence of porosities.     

Dissolution and depletion of ferromagnesian minerals from Holocene tephra layers in an acid bog,New Zealand,and implications for tephra correlation

This study examines the depletion of ferromagnesian silicate minerals from a sequence of thin, distal, mainly rhyolitic tephra layers of Holocene age preserved in an acid peat bog (Kopouatai), North Island, New Zealand. The rate of such depletion has been fast, as indicated by the complete loss of biotite from one tephra layer (Kaharoa Tephra), in which it is normally dominant, in only ca. 770 yr. Chemical dissolution is advocated as the likely cause for the depletion, with amphiboles and other mineral grains commonly showing etch pits, microcaves, and other characteristic surface solution features. Theoretical thermodynamic and kinetic models show a marked increase in the rate of dissolution of all ferromagnesian minerals under conditions of low pH (< 4), but that where silica concentrations in solution are high the relative proportions of minerals remaining are unaffected. However, where concentrations of dissolved silica are low, as in most bog environments, the relative proportions of ferromagnesian minerals are affected as well as absolute amounts being decreased. Amphiboles are depleted relative to pyroxenes, consistent with kinetic studies. The results show that the identification and correlation of tephras on the basis of relative abundances of ferromagnesian minerals alone may be unreliable, and emphasise the need to use multiple criteria in such studies.