Spectral variability of the X-ray pulsar Hercules X-1

We present the results of our comparative timing and spectral analysis of the high and low (off) states in the X-ray pulsar Her X-1 based on data from the ART-P telescope onboard the Granat observatory. A statistically significant (several mCrab) persistent flux with a simple power-law spectrum was detected during the low state. The spectral slope changed from observation to observation by almost a factor of 2. Pulsations were detected only during the high state of the source, when its flux was a factor of ～25 larger than the low-state flux. The spectral shape of Her X-1 in its high state was complex, with the parameters depending on pulse phase.     

Three-dimensional simulations of a starburst wind

In order to better understand the formation of a starburst-driven wind, we have performed a series of three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations in an inhomogeneous interstellar medium. We present the results of these simulations, which provide new insights into the formation of the optical filaments and the origin of the soft X-ray emission.     

An assessment of geologic sequestration potential in the panhandle of Florida USA

One alternative to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions is to store the emissions in underground geologic sequestration repositories. The efficacy of this approach has been favorably evaluated by numerous authors over the last 15 years. This paper discusses an assessment of the overall feasibility of storing emissions in three different repositories in the Florida panhandle located in the Southeastern United States. The feasibility assessment evaluates both saline aquifers and oil reservoirs located in the panhandle region. The overall feasibility is driven by the available geologic sequestration capacity, the transportation cost to deliver emissions to a respective repository, and other engineering and regulatory issues. The geologic sequestration capacity is generally controlled by the so-called storage efficiency, a variable dependent on the site-specific geology, reservoir conditions, and the injected fluid characteristics. For this paper, storage efficiency for saline repositories was assessed in more detail using numerical modeling. Based on the work completed, the 3 repositories studied have at least 4.55 gigatonnes of capacity to sequester CO₂.     

X-radiation (E > 10keV), Hα and microwave emission during the impulsive phase of solar flares

A study has been made of the variation in hard (E 10 keV) X-radiation, H and microwave emission during the impulsive phase of solar flares. Analysis shows that the rise-time in the 20–30-keV X-ray spike depends on the electron hardness, i.e., t _rise exp (0.87 ). The impulsive phase is also marked by an abrupt, very intense increase in H emission in one or more knots of the flare. Properties of these H kernels include: (1) a luminosity several times greater than the surrounding flare, (2) an intensity rise starting about 20–30 s before, peaking about 20–25 s after, and lasting about twice as long as the hard spike, (3) an effective diameter of 3000–6000 km for class 1 flares, representing less than 1/8-1/2 of the main flare, (4) a location lower in the chromosphere than the remaining flare, (5) essentially no expansion prior to the hard spike, (6) a position within 6000 km of the boundary separating polarities, usually forming on both sides of the neutral line near both feet of the same tube of force, (7) a shape often resembling isogauss contours of the photospheric field indicated on magnetograms and (8) total radiated energy less than l/50 that of the hard electrons. Correspondingly, impulsive microwave events are characterized by: (1) the detection of a burst at 8800 MHz for every X-ray spike ifthe number of electrons above 100 keV is greater than 10³³, (2) great similarity in burst structure with 20–32 keV X-rays but only at f > 5000 MHz, (3) typical low frequency burst cutoff between 1400–3800 MHz, and (4) maximum emission at f > 7500 MHz. Finally the H, X-ray and microwave data are combined to present a picture of the impulsive phase consistent with the above observations.     

Processing of chondritic and planetary material in spiral density waves in the nebula

Abstract— A widely held view of nebular evolution is that during the ～0.5 Ma while interstellar material was collapsing onto the disk, the latter grew in mass to the point of gravitational instability. It responded to this by losing axial symmetry, growing spiral arms that had the capacity to tidally redistribute disk mass (inward) and angular momentum (outward) and prevent further increase in the disk/protosun mass ratio. The spiral arms (density waves) rotated differently than the substance of the nebula, and in some parts of the disk, nebular material may have encountered the arms at supersonic velocities. The disk gas, and solid particles entrained in it, would have been heated to some degree when they passed through shock fronts at the leading edges of the spiral arms. The present paper proposes this was the energetic nebular setting or environment that has long been sought, in which the material now in the planets and chondritic meteorites was thermally processed.     

Modelling the spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall: a case study in the wet and dry tropics of North East Australia

Rainfall regimes with strong spatial and temporal variation are characteristic of many coastal regions of north and eastern Australia. In coastal regions of north eastern Australia, regimes vary considerably over short distances. This occurs because of changes in local topography, including the height and orientation of mountain ranges and the direction of the coastline with respect to the prevailing moist south east air stream. Northern Australia experiences a tropical monsoon climate with rainfall occurring predominantly during the summer months. Areas with a closer proximity to the coast typically experience the heavier rainfalls. While networks of rainfall gauges have been established and continuous records are available for most of these stations from the 1890s, their low distribution density relative to the complexity of rainfall pattern they are required to represent means that there remains a poor understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall in the wet tropics. An enhanced knowledge of rainfall distribution in both space and time has the potential to deliver significant economic and environmental benefits to managers of natural resources. This paper reports on the application of a technique for estimating mean annual and mean monthly rainfall across the Herbert River catchment of north east Australia's dry and wet tropics. The technique utilises thin plate smoothing splines to incorporate both location and elevation into estimates of rainfall distribution. We demonstrate that the method can be applied successfully at the meso scale and within the domain of routinely available data. As such, the method has broad relevance for decision making.     

Analysis of petroleum hydrocarbons in mangrove sediments of Red Sea of Yemen

A field work has been carried out to identify the occurrence of oil and oil products pollution in mangrove sediment from Red Sea of Yemen. The concentration of total petroleum hydrocarbons is from 700 ng/g at Kamaran Island station to 400 ng/g at Al-Hodiedah station, and the total organic carbon ( TOC) in samples ranges from 0.07% at Dhubab station to 0.03% at Kamaran Island station. This pollution is as a result of localized oil pollution and /or heavy ship traffic in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.     

Tracking recent recovery from eutrophication in a high arctic lake (Meretta Lake, Cornwallis Island, Nunavut, Canada) using fossil diatom assemblages

Meretta Lake (Resolute Bay, Cornwallis Island, Nunavut, Canada) is a high arctic lake that received raw sewage for almost 50 years from the Canadian Department of Transport Base. The lake was sampled from 1968–72 during the International Biological Programme, as part of the Char Lake Project. As the number of users at the Transport Base declined throughout the 1990s, so too did the lake's nutrient levels, and Meretta Lake is now classified as oligotrophic. A previous diatom-based paleolimnological study revealed marked species assemblage shifts coincident with sewage inputs beginning in the late 1940s; however, because the core was taken at a time when nutrient levels were still relatively high (i.e., 1993), the diatom record did not yet track any signs of recovery. In this present study, we examined fossil diatom assemblages from a sediment core taken in 2001. Our results indicate a shift to the pre-impact diatom assemblages in the most recent sediments, indicating that the paleolimnological record is tracking the decreased nutrient inputs to this high arctic lake, and confirms that no significant lags exist in these largely ice-covered lakes.     

The contribution of sulphur dioxide from ablating micrometeorites to the atmospheres of Earth and Mars

Atmospheric composition is a key control on climate and the habitability of planetary surfaces. Ablation of infalling micrometeorites has been recognised as one way in which atmospheric chemistry can be changed, especially at times in solar system history when the infall rates of exogenous material were high. Despite its potential to influence climate and habitability, extraterrestrial sulphur dioxide is currently an unquantified contribution to the atmospheres of the terrestrial planets. We have used flash pyrolysis to simulate the atmospheric entry of micrometeorites and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to identify and quantify the sulphur dioxide produced from the carbonaceous meteorites Orgueil (CI1), ALH 88045 (CM1), Cold Bokkeveld (CM2), Murchison (CM2) and Mokoia (CV3). We have used this approach to understand the introduction of sulphur dioxide to the atmospheres of Earth and Mars from infalling micrometeorites. Sulphates, present in carbonaceous chondrites at a few wt.%, are resistant to thermal decomposition, limiting the yields of sulphur dioxide from unmelted micrometeorites. Infalling micrometeorites are a minor source of present-day sulphur dioxide on Earth and Mars, calculated to be up to around 2400 tonnes and about 350 tonnes, respectively. During the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB), the much greater infall rates of micrometeoritic dust are calculated to be associated with average production rates of sulphur dioxide of around 20 Mt yr⁻¹ for the early Earth and 0.5 Mt yr⁻¹ for early Mars, for a LHB of 100 Myr. These rates of delivery of sulphur dioxide at high altitudes would have reduced the solar energy reaching the surfaces of these planets, via scattering of sunlight by stratospheric sulphate aerosols, and may have had detrimental effects on developing biospheres by promoting cooler climates and reducing the probability of liquid water on planetary surfaces.