The yellow hypergiants

We list the main stellar data of known hypergiants and similarly luminous stars, and then concentrate on a review of the yellow hypergiants. These stars are post-red supergiants evolving along blueward loops in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Their properties, their location in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and their occasional mass ejections are related to a region of atmospheric instability in the H-R diagram, the Yellow Void. The ‘bouncing against the border of the Void’ of three objects: Cas, HR8752 and IRC+10420, is described. The apparent atmospheric instability of yellow hypergiants is related to the atmospheric pulsations. There are indications that the approach to the Void is associated with an increased amplitude of the pulsation and with enhanced mass loss. The observed small-scale motion field is only apparently strongly supersonic; the observed large stochastic velocities are the quasi-stochastically varying thermal motions in the many hot sheets that occur in the wakes of many small shocks, while the real hydrodynamic velocity component is small and subsonic. This shock-wave field is also responsible for the observed rate of mass loss and for emission in the wings of H. Most yellow hypergiants have envelopes containing gas and dust, but a thick extended envelope, presumably dissipating and showing bipolar outflow, is only known around IRC+10420. At the interface of the bipolar wind and the interstellar medium one or more stationary shocks may develop as is observed in the case of IRC+10420 and suspected with Cas. Received 1 July 1997     

Tracing mechanisms controlling the release of dissolved silicon in forest soil solutions using Si isotopes and Ge/Si ratios

The terrestrial biogenic Si (BSi) pool in the soil-plant system is ubiquitous and substantial, likely impacting the land-ocean transfer of dissolved Si (DSi). Here, we consider the mechanisms controlling DSi in forest soil in a temperate granitic ecosystem that would differ from previous works mostly focused on tropical environments. This study aims at tracing the source of DSi in forest floor leachates and in soil solutions under various tree species at homogeneous soil and climate conditions, using stable Si isotopes and Ge/Si ratios. Relative to granitic bedrock, clays minerals were enriched in ²⁸Si and had high Ge/Si ratios, while BSi from phytoliths was also enriched in ²⁸Si, but had a low Ge/Si ratio. Such a contrast is useful to infer the relative contribution of silicate weathering and BSi dissolution in the shallow soil on the release of DSi in forest floor leachate solutions. The δ³⁰Si values in forest floor leachates (−1.38‰ to −2.05‰) are the lightest ever found in natural waters, and Ge/Si ratios are higher in forest floor leachates relative to soil solution. These results suggest dissolution of ²⁸Si and Ge-enriched secondary clay minerals incorporated by bioturbation in organic-rich horizons in combination with an isotopic fractionation releasing preferentially light Si isotopes during this dissolution process. Ge/Si ratios in soil solutions are governed by incongruent weathering of primary minerals and neoformation of secondary clays minerals. Tree species influence Si-isotopic compositions and Ge/Si ratios in forest floor leachates through differing incorporation of minerals in organic horizons by bioturbation and, to a lesser extent, through differing Si recycling.     

Instability regions in the upper HR diagram

The following instability regions for blueward evolving-supergiants are outlined and compared. (1) Areas in the Hertzsprung–Russell (HR) diagram where stars are dynamically unstable. (2) Areas where the effective acceleration in the upper part of the photospheres is negative, hence directed outward. (3) Areas where the sonic points of the stellar winds (where     are situated inside the photospheres, at a level deeper than     . We compare the results with the positions of actual stars in the HR diagram and we find evidence that the recent strong contraction of the yellow hypergiant HR 8752 was initiated in a period during which     , whereupon the star became dynamically unstable. The instability and extreme shells around IRC+10420 are suggested to be related to three factors:     the sonic point is situated inside the photosphere; and the star is dynamically unstable.     

Properties and emergence patterns of bipolar active regions

Patterns in the properties of bipolar active regions are determined throughout Cycle 21. Active regions that emerged on the visible hemisphere were identified on NSO/KP full-disk magnetograms during 29 solar rotations selected from 1975 through 1986. The bipolar active regions are included only once in this sampling; their properties are derived at the time of maximum development. In order to study an unbiased sample over the entire range of areas larger than 2.5 square degrees (or 373 Mm²), their counts are corrected for size-dependent effects that reduce the chance of their identifications.The size distribution of bipolar active regions is a well-defined function that decreases with increasing size. Except for the smallest regions, the shape of the size distribution is independent of the phase of a cycle, only the scaling factor varies. The shape of the size distribution function for bipoles emerging within existing sunspot regions is virtually the same as that for bipoles emerging outside existing regions. Over the cycle, at least 44% of the regions larger than 3.5 square degrees emerge within existing sunspot regions. Hence, the rate at which new regions emerge is much higher within the boundaries of existing sunspot regions than it is in the activity belts outside existing regions. For regions emerging outside of existing sunspot regions, this rate increases by a factor of 3.5 from cycle minimum to maximum, while for new bipoles within existing active regions, the emergence rate varies with a significantly lower magnitude.Through the cycle, for regions in all size bins, the emergence frequencies appear to vary in phase. The frequencies increase by a factor of more than 8 from minimum to maximum for regions larger than 3.5 square degrees, but no more than 4.7 for the smaller regions. Short-term variations in the emergence frequency of regions do not necessarily occur simultaneously for regions of all sizes, implying that the size distribution is variable on time scales of less than six rotations.     

Weichselian Late Pleniglacial surface winds over northwest and central Europe: a model–data comparison

Reconstructions of the Weichselian Late Pleniglacial wind direction in northwest and central Europe are reviewed and compared with palaeoclimate simulations performed with an atmospheric general circulation model. These reconstructions are based on proxy data containing information on former wind directions, such as relic dune forms, sediments and wind‐polished rock surfaces. The objective is to investigate whether: (1) the proxy information is internally consistent; and (2) in agreement with the model simulations. We find a general consensus in the proxy‐based reconstructions, indicating a dominant westerly to northwesterly wind in winter during the Late Pleniglacial. The model results indicate over the study area an atmospheric circulation in winter that is dominated by southwesterly to west‐northwesterly winds, which are stronger than the southwesterly winds in the present‐day climate. The main driving factors behind the anomalous atmospheric circulation in the Late Pleniglacial are the Laurentide Ice Sheet and a colder North Atlantic Ocean with a relatively extensive sea‐ice cover, leading to an eastward relocation of the Icelandic Low and an enhanced pressure gradient over northwest Europe. The minor difference in Late Pleniglacial wind direction between the reconstructions and model can be explained by a combination of uncertainties in the proxy data and the relatively low spatial resolution of the applied climate model. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Weichselian fluvio‐aeolian sands and coversands of the type locality Grubbenvorst (southern Netherlands): sedimentary environments,climate record and age

The Weichselian Late Pleniglacial and Lateglacial aeolian stratigraphy (Older Coversand I, Beuningen Gravel Bed, Older Coversand II, Younger Coversand I, Usselo Soil, Younger Coversand II) in the southern Netherlands has been reinvestigated in its type locality (Grubbenvorst). Sedimentary environments have been reconstructed and related to their climatic evolution based on periglacial structures. In addition, 22 optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages have been determined that provide an absolute chronology for the climatic evolution and environmental changes of the coversand area. From this work it appears that, prior to 25 ka fluvial deposition by the Maas dominated. After 25 ka fluvial activity reduced and deposition occurred in a fluvio‐aeolian environment with continuous permafrost (Older Coversand I). This depositional phase was dated between 25.2 ± 2.0 and 17.2 ± 1.2 ka. The upward increase of aeolian activity and cryogenic structures in this unit is related to an increase of climatic aridity and a decrease in sedimentation rate during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The Beuningen Gravel Bed, that results from deflation with polar desert conditions and that represents a stratigraphic marker in northwestern Europe, was bracketed between 17.2 ± 1.2 and 15.3 ± 1.0 ka. Based on this age result a correlation with Heinrich event H1 is suggested. Permafrost degradation occurred at the end of this period. Optical ages for the Older Coversand II unit directly overlying the Beuningen Gravel Bed range from 15.3 ± 1.0 ka at the base to 12.7 ± 0.9 ka at the top. Thus this regionally important Older Coversand II unit started at the end of the Late Pleniglacial and continued throughout the early Lateglacial. Its formation after the Late Pleniglacial (LP) maximum cold and its preservation are related to rapid climatic warming around 14.7 ka cal. BP. The Allerød age of the Usselo Soil was confirmed by the optical ages. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biological carbon sequestration and carbon trading re-visited

Biological activities that sequester carbon create CO₂ offset credits that could obviate the need for reductions in fossil fuel use. Credits are earned by storing carbon in terrestrial ecosystems and wood products, although CO₂ emissions are also mitigated by delaying deforestation, which accounts for one-quarter of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. However, non-permanent carbon offsets from biological activities are difficult to compare with each other and with emissions reduction because they differ in how long they prevent CO₂ from entering the atmosphere. This is the duration problem. It results in uncertainty and makes it hard to determine the legitimacy of biological activities in mitigating climate change. Measuring, verifying and monitoring the carbon sequestered in sinks greatly increases transaction costs and leads to rent seeking by sellers of dubious sink credits. While biological sink activities undoubtedly help mitigate climate change and should not be neglected, it is shown that there are limits to the substitutability between temporary offset credits from these activities and emissions reduction, and that this has implications for carbon trading. A possible solution to inherent incommensurability between temporary and permanent credits is also suggested.     

Microfocus X-ray computed tomography analysis of corroded glass objects

Microfocus X-ray computed tomography (µCT) is a useful tool for non-destructive analysis of corroded archaeological glass objects and for monitoring restoration and conservation processes for these materials. This was demonstrated by µCT analysis of artificially corroded laboratory-produced glasses and corroded archaeological glasses retrieved from soil environments. Corrosion layers with a thickness of 20 µm or more can be detected as areas with lower X-ray attenuation values than the non-corroded glass. Features that are revealed by µCT analyses include the degree and patterns of corrosion and the presence of various internal structures in the corrosion layers. The study of restored corroded glasses demonstrates that mechanical and laser cleaning can be monitored efficiently. The study of consolidation practices, using test objects, requires the use of additives to increase X-ray attenuation values of the organic compounds that are used.