The distribution of atomic gas and dust in nearby galaxies – I. Presentation of matched-resolution VLA H i and SCUBA 850-μm maps

We present matched-resolution VLA H  i and SCUBA 850-μm maps of 20 IRAS -bright galaxies. Of the galaxies observed, two were not detected in H  i and two were detected in absorption. The H  i distributions of the galaxies have a range of morphologies. Some of the systems appear H  i deficient in the central regions which could be due to a high conversion rate of H  i into molecules or H  i absorption. In contrast to the H  i , the 850-μm emission has a smooth distribution which is concentrated towards the optical centre of each galaxy. We also find evidence for 850-μm emission extending to the periphery of the optical disc in some of the galaxies. Finally, we note that the relative lack of 850-μm emission when compared with H  i does not necessarily mean that the atomic gas and dust do not have similar mass distributions.     

Geochemical background – can we calculate it?

 The term "background" is discussed and a definition is suggested to put an end to the currently unsatisfying (non-)definition of geochemical or natural background. Based on the requirements stated in the definition, several simple and robust statistical methods are applied to different data sets (n>50) from the atmosphere, pedosphere, and biosphere in order to explore their potential for the evaluation of a useful and robust background. Compared with the original data set both the calculated distribution, based upon the lower 50% of the values, as well as a 2σ-approximation of the normalised data set lead to promising and realistic results. Both methods seem appropriate for a fast and reliable evaluation of likely upper limits of background values. Nevertheless, even this robust method is not able to present absolute and doubtlessly correct background values. True quantification of any natural or geochemical background still requires a thorough investigation and is impossible without costly expert knowledge. Received: 12 July 1999 · Accepted: 9 September 1999     

Normal and lognormal data distribution in geochemistry: death of a myth. Consequences for the statistical treatment of geochemical and environmental data

All variables of several large data sets from regional geochemical and environmental surveys were tested for a normal or lognormal data distribution. As a general rule, almost all variables (up to more than 50 analysed chemical elements per data set) show neither a normal or a lognormal data distribution. Even when different transformation methods are used more than 70 % of all variables in every single data set do not approach a normal distribution. Distributions are usually skewed, have outliers and originate from more than one process. When dealing with regional geochemical or environmental data normal and/or lognormal distributions are an exception and not the rule. This observation has serious consequences for the further statistical treatment of geochemical and environmental data. The most widely used statistical methods are all based on the assumption that the studied data show a normal or lognormal distribution. Neglecting that geochemcial and environmental data show neither a normal or lognormal distribution will lead to biased or faulty results when such techniques are used. Received: 21 June 1999 · Accepted: 14 August 1999     

A statistical retrieval algorithm for root zone soil moisture

An algorithm for the estimation of root zone soil moisture is presented. Global fields of the soil moisture within the uppermost metre of soil are derived with a temporal resolution of 10 days. For calibration, long-term soil moisture observations from the former Soviet Union are used. The variance of the measurements is largely dominated by the spatial variability of the long-term mean soil moisture, while the temporal variability gives comparatively small contribution. Consequently, the algorithm is organised into two steps. The first step concentrates on the retrieval of the spatial variance of the long-term means, which comprises more than 85% of the total soil moisture variability. A major part of the spatial variance can be explained by four easily available fields: the climatological precipitation, land use, soil texture, and terrain slope. The second step of the algorithm is dedicated to the local temporal variability. This part of variability is recovered by using passive microwave data from scanning multichannel microwave radiometre (SMMR) supported by monthly averaged fields of air temperature and precipitation. The 6-GHz channel of SMMR is shown to be severely disturbed by radio frequency interference, so that information from the 10-GHz channel is used instead. The algorithm provides reasonable soil moisture fields which is confirmed by a comparison with independent measurements from Illinois.     

Structural insights from boron tribromide ether cleavage into lignites and low maturity coals from the New Zealand Coal Band

Ether functionalities form an important cross-linking structure within the macromolecular organic matrix of lignites and coals. To obtain a deeper insight into the complex internal structure of such macromolecules and the maturation related changes of the ether compounds within the network structure, boron tribromide (BBr₃) ether cleavage was applied to a series of lignite and coal samples of different maturity (R₀ 0.27-0.80%) obtained from coal mines and natural outcrops from the North and South Island of New Zealand. Terminal ether-bound alcohols rapidly decrease during diagenesis and occur only in low amounts during the catagenetic stage. Comparison between ester- and ether-bound terminal alcohols indicates a parallel decreasing trend during the diagenetic stage, suggesting that the stability differences between both linkages are not large enough to be observed in maturation processes over geological time scales. Polyether compounds were detected with chain length up to five carbon atoms. After a small decrease during the diagenetic phase these compounds occur in relatively high concentrations, even in the main catagenetic stage. This suggests that these linkage structures represent important cross-linking substructures within the macromolecular matrix of lignites and coals being sterically protected within the macromolecular network during the maturation process. Additional cross-linking substructures were (poly)ether aromatics, esters and ketones.     

Spatial distribution of lead and lead isotopes in soil B-horizon, forest-floor humus, grass (Avenella flexuosa) and spruce (Picea abies) needles across the Czech Republic

Lead concentrations were determined in samples of soil B-horizon (N = 258), forest-floor humus (O-horizon, N = 259), grass (Avenella flexuosa, N = 251) and spruce (Picea abies, N = 253) needles (2nd year) collected at the same locations evenly spread over the territory of the Czech Republic at an average density of 1 site/300 km². Median Pb concentrations differ widely in the four materials: soil B-horizon: 27 mg/kg (3.3-220 mg/kg), humus: 78 mg/kg (19-1863 mg/kg), grass: 0.37 mg/kg (0.08-8 mg/kg) and spruce needles: 0.23 mg/kg (0.07-3 mg/kg). In the Pb distribution maps for humus, grass and spruce a number of well-known Pb-contamination sources are indicated by unusually high concentrations (e.g., the Pb smelter at Pribram, the metallurgical industry in the NE of the Czech Republic and along the Polish border, as well as the metallurgical industry in Upper Silesia and Europe’s largest coal-fired power plant at Bogatynia, Poland). The ratio ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb was determined in all four materials. The median value of the ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb isotope ratio in the soil B-horizon is 1.184 (variation: 1.145-1.337). In both humus and grass the median value for the ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb isotope ratio is 1.162 (variation: 1.130-1.182), in spruce needles the median ratio is 1.159 (variation: 1.116-1.186). In humus, grass and spruce needles the known contamination sources are all marked by higher ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb isotope ratios in the maps. Furthermore, the soil B-horizon, humus, grass and spruce needles show distinctly different spatial distribution patterns of the ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb isotope ratios. The B-horizon does not provide a viable background value for metal concentrations in the O-horizon or plant materials. None of the maps provides evidence for the importance of traffic-related emissions for the observed isotope ratios at the scale of the Czech Republic.     

Cloudy circumstellar dust shells around young variable stars

A number of variable stars of the Orion population has been identified with IRAS point sources by us. This finding supports the conclusion that the prominent Algol-like minima in the lightcurves of these stars originate from obscurations by dust clouds in a circumstellar shell. The discussion of the existingUBVR data leads to the remarkable conclusion that the extinction properties of the grain populations contained in individual dust clouds moving in one and the same circumstellar shell are quite different.From the multicolour photometric data of the different Algol-like minima we derived individual values of the reddening parameterR = A _v /E(B - V). It covers a remarkable wide range of values from that one typical of the interstellar extinction law up to 7. In the case of SV Cep one of the grain populations produces a virtually neutral extinction. The large values ofR speak in favour of larger than normal (interstellar) dust grains, which may have grown by coagulation processes. The cloudy circumstellar dust shell provides a natural explanation for the observed infrared excess. The properties derived from the optical light variations are fully compatible with the properties deduced from the infrared radiation. The irregularity of the light variations indicates that many clouds are involved and may sometimes superimpose themselves.Paper presented at the Conference onPlanetary Systems: Formation, Evolution, and Detection held 7–10 December, 1992 at CalTech, Pasadena, California, U.S.A.     

The wider context of the Lower Jurassic Toarcian oceanic anoxic event in Yorkshire coastal outcrops,UK

The Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE, ～183 Ma) was characterized by enhanced carbon burial, a prominent negative carbon-isotope excursion (CIE) in marine carbonate and organic matter, and numerous geochemical anomalies. A precursor excursion has also been documented at the Pliensbachian/Toarcian boundary, but its possible causes are less constrained. The T-OAE is intensively studied in the Cleveland Basin, Yorkshire, UK, whose sedimentary deposits have been litho-, bio- and chemostratigraphically characterised. Here, we present new elemental data produced by hand-held X-ray fluorescence analysis to test the expression of redox-sensitive trace metals and detrital elements across the upper Pliensbachian to mid-Toarcian of the Cleveland Basin. Detrital elemental concentrations (Al, Si, Ti, Zr) are used as proxies for siliciclastic grain content and thus, sea-level change, which match previous sequence stratigraphic interpretations from the Cleveland Basin. The timescale of the event is debated, though our new elemental proxies of relative sea level change show evidence for a cyclicity of 350 cm that may be indicative of ～405 kyr eccentricity cycles in Yorkshire. Trends in total organic carbon and redox-sensitive elements (S, Fe, Mo, As) confirm scenarios of widespread ocean deoxygenation across the T-OAE. The correlation of comparable trends in Mo across the T-OAE in Yorkshire and the Paris Basin suggests a similar oceanic drawdown of this element accompanying widespread anoxia in the two basins. Data from Yorkshire point to a transgressive trend at the time of the Mo drawdown, which contradicts the “basin restriction” model for the euxinic conditions that characterise the CIE interval.