A realistic model for point-sources imaged on array detectors: The model and initial results

We have constructed a computer model for simulation of point-sources imaged on two-dimensional detectors. An attempt has been made to ensure that the model produces data that mimic real data taken with 2-D detectors. To be realistic, such simulations must include randomly generated noise of the appropriate type from all sources (e.g. source, background, and detector). The model is generic and accepts input values for parameters such as pixel size, read noise, source magnitude, and sky brightness. Point-source profiles are then generated with noise and detector characteristics added via our model. The synthetic data are output as simple integrations (onedimensional), as radial slices (two-dimensional), and as intensity-contour plots (three-dimensional). Each noise source can be turned on or off so that they can be studied separately as well as in combination to yield a realistic view of an image. This paper presents the basic properties of the model and some examples of how it can be used to simulate the effects of changing image position, image scale, signal strength, noise characteristics, and data reduction procedures.Use of the model has allowed us to confirm and quantify three points: 1) The use of traditionalsize apertures for photometry of faint point-sources adds substantial noise to the measurement which can significantly degrade the quality of the observation; 2) The number of pixels used to estimate the background is important and must be considered when estimating errors; and 3) The CCD equation normally used by the astronomical community consistently overestimates the signal-to-noise obtainable by a measurement while a revised equation, discussed here, provides a better estimator.     

Reconstructing epilimnetic total phosphorus using diatoms: statistical and ecological constraints

Diatoms respond rapidly to eutrophication and diatom-based models for inferring total phosphorus (TP) have found wide application in palaeolimnology, especially in tracking trajectories of past and recent nutrient enrichment and in establishing pre-disturbance targets for restoration. Using new analysis of existing training sets and sediment-cores we examine the statistical and ecological constraints of diatom-inferred TP (DI-TP) models. Although the models show an apparently strong relationship between measured and inferred TP in the training sets, even under cross-validation, the models display three fundamental weaknesses, namely (1) the relationship between TP and diatom relative abundance is heavily confounded with secondary variables such as alkalinity and lake depth, (2) the models contain many taxa that are not significantly related to TP, and (3) comparison between different models shows poor or no spatial replicability. At some sites the sediment-core diatom assemblage change tracks the TP gradient in the training sets and DI-TP reconstructions are consistent with monitored TP data and known catchment histories for the recent past. At others diatom species turnover is apparently related to variables other than TP, and DI-TP fails to even reproduce plausible trends. Pre-disturbance DI-TP values are also questionable at most sites. We argue that these problems pervade many DI-TP models, particularly those where violations of the basic assumptions of the transfer function approach are ignored.     

Automated design of gravity-assist trajectories to Mars and the outer planets

In this paper, a new approach to planetary mission design is described which automates the search for gravity-assist trajectories. This method finds all conic solutions given a range of launch dates, a range of launch energies and a set of target planets. The new design tool is applied to the problems of finding multiple encounter trajectories to the outer planets and Venus gravity-assist trajectories to Mars. The last four-planet grand tour opportunity (until the year 2153) is identified. It requires an Earth launch in 1996 and encounters Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Venus gravity-assist trajectories to Mars for the 30 year period 1995–2024 are examined. It is shown that in many cases these trajectories require less launch energy to reach Mars than direct ballistic trajectories.Assistant Professor, School of Aeronautics and AstronauticsGraduate Student, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics     

Spatially discontinuous modern sedimentation in Georgian Bay, Huron Basin, Great Lakes

High-resolution seismic reflection profile data show that the modern sediment cover (over the last 150 years) in Georgian Bay is thin and spatially discontinuous. Sediments rich in ragweed pollen, largely derived from siltation linked to land clearing and European settlement, form a thin, discontinuous veneer on the lakebed. Much of the lakebed consists of exposed sediments deposited during the late glacial or early postglacial. Accumulation rates of modern sediments range from < 0 mm/year (net erosion) to ∼3.2 mm/year, often within a few hundred metres spatially. These rates are much lower than those reported for the main basin of Lake Huron and the other Great Lakes, and are attributed to the low sediment supply. Only a few small rivers flow into Georgian Bay, and most of the basin is surrounded by bedrock of Precambrian gneiss and granite to the east, and Silurian dolostone, limestone and shale to the west. Thick deposits of Pleistocene drift, found on the Georgian Bay shoreline only between Meaford and Port Severn, are the main sediment source for the entire basin at present. Holocene to modern sediments are even absent from some deep basins of Georgian Bay. These findings have implications for the ultimate fate of anthropogenic contaminants in Georgian Bay. While microfossil assemblages in the ragweed-rich sediments record increased eutrophication over the last 150 years, most pollutants generated in the Georgian Bay catchment are not accumulating on the lakebed and are probably exported from the Bay.     

X-ray and ultraviolet observations of the dwarf nova VW Hyi in quiescence

We present an analysis of X-ray and ultraviolet (UV) data of the dwarf nova VW Hyi that were obtained with XMM–Newton during the quiescent state. The X-ray spectrum indicates the presence of an optically thin plasma in the boundary layer that cools as it settles on to the white dwarf. The plasma has a continuous temperature distribution that is well described by a power law or a cooling flow model with a maximum temperature of 6–8 keV. We estimate from the X-ray spectrum a boundary layer luminosity of  8 × 10³⁰ erg s^-1  , which is only 20 per cent of the disc luminosity. The rate of accretion on to the white dwarf is  5 × 10⁻¹² M_⊙ yr⁻¹  , about half of the rate in the disc. From the high-resolution X-ray spectra, we estimate that the X-ray emitting part of the boundary layer is rotating with a velocity of 540 km s⁻¹, which is close to the rotation velocity of the white dwarf but is significantly smaller than the Keplerian velocity. We detect a 60-s quasi-periodic oscillation of the X-ray flux, which is likely to be due to the rotation of the boundary layer. The X-ray and the UV flux show strong variability on a time-scale of ∼1500 s. We find that the variability in the two bands is correlated and that the X-ray fluctuations are delayed by ∼100 s. The correlation indicates that the variable UV flux is emitted near the transition region between the disc and the boundary layer and that accretion rate fluctuations in this region are propagated to the X-ray emitting part of the boundary layer within ∼100 s. An orbital modulation of the X-ray flux suggests that the inner accretion disc is tilted with respect to the orbital plane. The elemental abundances in the boundary layer are close to their solar values.     

Intimate Distance: The Unconscious Dimensions of the Rapport Between Researcher and Researched

To explore how psychoanalysis might contribute to the methodology of human geography, this article returns to Freud's experiences of psycho-logical analysis before he develops psychoanalysis as a distinct understanding of the mind, identity formation, and subjectivity. Going back over the early history of psychoanalysis, Freud's psychoanalysis can be seen as an attempt to solve a set of problems inherent in late nineteenth-century psycho-logical analysis. Thus, it is possible to cast his methodological solutions in a new light. In particular, this article explores the problems associated with the unconscious rapport that developed in the therapeutic use of hypnotism in the cure of hysterical symptoms, for both doctor and patient. Freud's techniques can be seen as a way to produce an appropriate detachment—or intimate distance—between himself and his clients. This intimate distance is instructive. As a corrective to certain trajectories within human geography, this article identifies five methodological propositions that might inform future research.     

Late Holocene lake level dynamics inferred from magnetic susceptibility and stable oxygen isotope data: Lake Elsinore, southern California (USA)

Southern California faces an imminent freshwater shortage. To better assess the future impact of this water crisis, it is essential that we develop continental archives of past hydrological variability. Using four sediment cores from Lake Elsinore in Southern California, we reconstruct late Holocene (3800 calendar years B.P.) hydrological change using a twentieth-century calibrated, proxy methodology. We compared magnetic susceptibility from Lake Elsinore deep basin sediments, lake level from Lake Elsinore, and regional winter precipitation data over the twentieth century to calibrate the late Holocene lake sediment record. The comparison revealed a strong positive, first-order relationship between the three variables. As a working hypothesis, we suggest that periods of greater precipitation produce higher lake levels. Greater precipitation also increases the supply of detritus (i.e., magnetic-rich minerals) from the lake's surrounding drainage basin into the lake environment. As a result, magnetic susceptibility values increase during periods of high lake level. We apply this modern calibration to late Holocene sediments from the lake's littoral zone. As an independent verification of this hypothesis, we analyzed ¹⁸O_(calcite), interpreted as a proxy for variations in the precipitation:evaporation ratio, which reflect first order hydrological variability. The results of this verification support our hypothesis that magnetic susceptibility records regional hydrological change as related to precipitation and lake level. Using both proxy data, we analyzed the past 3800 calendar years of hydrological variability. Our analyses indicate a long period of dry, less variable climate between 3800 and 2000 calendar years B.P. followed by a wet, more variable climate to the present. These results suggest that droughts of greater magnitude and duration than those observed in the modern record have occurred in the recent geological past. This conclusion presents insight to the potential impact of future droughts on the over-populated, water-poor region of Southern California.     

The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: luminosity dependence of galaxy clustering

We investigate the dependence of the strength of galaxy clustering on intrinsic luminosity using the Anglo-Australian two degree field galaxy redshift survey (2dFGRS). The 2dFGRS is over an order of magnitude larger than previous redshift surveys used to address this issue. We measure the projected two-point correlation function of galaxies in a series of volume-limited samples. The projected correlation function is free from any distortion of the clustering pattern induced by peculiar motions and is well described by a power law in pair separation over the range     . The clustering of     galaxies in real space is well-fitted by a correlation length     and power-law slope     . The clustering amplitude increases slowly with absolute magnitude for galaxies fainter than M *, but rises more strongly at higher luminosities. At low luminosities, our results agree with measurements from the Southern Sky Redshift Survey 2 by Benoist et al. However, we find a weaker dependence of clustering strength on luminosity at the highest luminosities. The correlation function amplitude increases by a factor of 4.0 between     and −22.5, and the most luminous galaxies are 3.0 times more strongly clustered than L * galaxies. The power-law slope of the correlation function shows remarkably little variation for samples spanning a factor of 20 in luminosity. Our measurements are in very good agreement with the predictions of the hierarchical galaxy formation models of Benson et al.