The interaction of the eta carinae primary wind with a century old slow equatorial ejecta

We argue that the asymmetric morphology of the blue and red shifted components of the outflow at hundreds of AU from the massive binary system η Carinae can be understood from the collision of the primary stellar wind with the slowly expanding dense equatorial gas. Recent high spatial observations of some forbidden lines, e.g. [Fe III] λ4659, reveal the outflowing gas within about one arcsecond (2300AU) from η Car. The distribution of the blue and red shifted components are not symmetric about the center, and they are quite different from each other. The morphologies of the blue and red shifted components correlate with the location of dense slowly moving equatorial gas (termed the Weigelt blob environment; WBE), that is thought to have been ejected during the 1887–1895 Lesser Eruption (LE). In our model the division to the blue and red shifted components is caused by the postshock flow of the primary wind on the two sides of the equatorial plane after it collides with the WBE. The fast wind from the secondary star plays no role in our model for these components, and it is the freely expanding primary wind that collides with the WBE. Because the line of sight is inclined to the binary axis, the two components are not symmetric. We show that the postshock gas can also account for the observed intensity in the [Fe III] λ4659 line.     

Calculation of transverse hydrodynamic coefficients using computational fluid dynamic approach

Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) based on Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes equation is used for determining the transverse hydrodynamic damping force and moment coefficients that are needed in the maneuverability study of marine vehicles. Computations are performed for two geometrical shapes representing typical AUVs presently in use. Results are compared with available data on similar geometries and from some of the available semi-empirical relations. It is found that the CFD predictions compares reasonable well with these results. In particular, the CFD predictions of forces and moments are found to be nonlinear with respect to the transverse velocity, and therefore both linear and nonlinear coefficients can be derived. A discussion on the sources of the component forces reveal that the total force and moment variations should in fact be nonlinear.     

Corona-like atmospheric escape from KBOs: II. The behavior of aerosols

In Levi and Podolak (Levi, A., Podolak, M. [in press] Icarus) we applied the theory of coronal expansion to gas escape from a small, cold, object such as those found in the Kuiper belt. Here we extend the theory to include aerosols that are lifted off the surface by the escaping gas. Aerosols carried by the gas but still gravitationally bound, tend to be lifted to a height above the surface that is dependent on the aerosol radius, so that in steady state the variation of aerosol radius with height is well-defined. We develop an extension of Parker’s coronal flow theory to include the effect of aerosols carried along by the gas and use this to estimate the optical depth of such an atmosphere. For KBOs with CO evaporation from the surface and with radii in the range 245-334 km, line-of-site optical depths through the atmosphere can exceed one at heights of a few hundred kilometers above the surface. Such aerosol layers should be observable, and might be used to infer the flow proprieties of the escaping gas.     

Mapping of apple orchards using remote sensing techniques in cold desert of Himachal Pradesh,India

The present study was conducted to map Apple orchards in dry alpine Spiti region of Indian Himalaya using LISS III satellite image. The barren terrain with sparse woody vegetation helped in classification of apple orchards with 91.3 % accuracy. The orchards were found in 154.6 ha of the study area and are anticipated to expand owing to its economic importance.     

Characteristics of sea-cliff erosion induced by a strong winter storm in the eastern Mediterranean

Changes in sea-cliff morphologies along the 30-km-long Sharon Escarpment segment of Israel's weakly cemented Mediterranean eolianite cliff line were analyzed to gain quantitative insights into erosion characteristics associated with a high-energy winter storm (10–20 year return interval). Ground-based repeat LiDAR measurements at five sites along the cliff line captured perturbations of cliff stability by basal wave scouring during the storm, subsequent post-storm gravity-driven slope failures in the cliff face above, and return of the system to transient stability within several months. Post-storm erosion, which amounted to 70% of the total volume of cliff erosion documented, resulted in dramatic local effects of up to 8 m of cliff-top retreat. And yet, at the larger scale of the 30-km cliff line examined, erosion during the storm and the year that followed affected less than 4% of the cliff length and does not appear to be above the average cliff-length annual erosion implied by previously published decadal-scale retreat rates along this sea cliff. Our results do not support a direct association between strong storm events and elevated erosion and retreat at the cliff-line scale.     

Influence of rooftop telecommunication tower on set back-step back building resting on different ground slopes

In the hilly region due to scarcity of the plain area, buildings like set back-step back are more often used and also as a big surge in the telecommunication industries, rooftop tower adaptation is very common story nowadays. In the present study an analogy has been drawn to find out the influence of the rooftop telecommunication tower on the setback-step back building resting on ground at 20° and 30° slopes. A dynamic analysis has been performed and compared on the 4 legged angled section telecommunication tower which is located on the roof top of set back-step back building by varying positions of tower with the existing host structure built up on ground slope of 20° and 30° in both directions(X and Y).     

Detection of model voids by identifying reverberation phenomena in GPR records

In order to improve the reliability of the ground penetrating radar (GPR) method in identifying subsurface sinkholes and karst cavities, laboratory investigations have been performed. The main objective of this work was to examine the relationship between horizontal/vertical voids dimensions and wavelengths of various antennas, and the corresponding GPR responses. Emphasis was given to the investigation of the factors that cause the appearance of reverberation phenomena in the signal pattern.The tests were conducted in 5 m × 10 m area by 2-m-deep trench filled with homogenous, dry sand. The voids models (empty fiberglass cylinders in diameters of 0.6 m, 1.0 m, 1.5 m and 2.4 m, with various heights) were buried vertically with their tops at depths of between 0.7 and 1.5 m. Investigations were performed for the various model conditions by towing 500, 300 and 100 MHz antennas along a pre-established grid, for the various model conditions.The GPR data collected using the 500 MHz bistatic antenna above the 1.0-m- and the 1.5-m-diameter cylinders, and using the 300 MHz bistatic antenna above the 1.5-m-diameter cylinder, confirmed the presence of a reverberation phenomenon, i.e. a strong convex signal pattern, containing a series of high amplitude extending oscillations with reduced frequency.Based on past practical GPR experience of void detection and presently obtained experimental data, two rules of thumbs may be adopted for the prediction of the appearance of resonant radar pictures:

1. The void diameter larger than the wavelength in air of the antenna used.

2. The vertical size of the empty void not significantly smaller than its horizontal dimension.

The strong reverberations generated by the inner surface of the void targets were found to approximate standing waves generated in cylindrical waveguides and waveguide resonators. The theoretical, experimental and practical results obtained concur.     

Detecting thermal boundary control in surface flows from numerical dynamos

The geomagnetic field and secular variation exhibit asymmetrical spatial features which are possibly originating from an heterogeneous thermal control of the Earth's lower mantle on the core. The identification of this control in magnetic data is subject to several difficulties, some of which can be alleviated by the use of core surface flow models. Using numerical dynamos driven by heterogeneous boundary heat flux, we confirm that within the parameter space accessible to simulations, time average surface flows obey a simple thermal wind equilibrium between the Coriolis and buoyancy forces, the Lorentz, inertial and viscous forces playing only a secondary role, even for Elsasser numbers significantly larger than 1. Furthermore, we average the models over the duration of three vortex turnovers, and correlate them with a longer time average which fully reveals the signature of boundary heterogeneity. This allows us to quantify the possibility of observing mantle control in core surface flows averaged over a short time period. A scaling analysis is performed in order to apply the results to the Earth's core. We find that three vortex turnovers could represent between 100 and 360 years of Earth time, and that the heat flux heterogeneity at the core-mantle boundary could be large enough to yield an observable signature of thermal mantle control in a time average core surface flow within reach of the available geomagnetic data.