High-performance direct gravitational N-body simulations on graphics processing units

We present the results of gravitational direct N-body simulations using the commercial graphics processing units (GPU) NVIDIA Quadro FX1400 and GeForce 8800GTX, and compare the results with GRAPE-6Af special purpose hardware. The force evaluation of the N-body problem was implemented in Cg using the GPU directly to speed-up the calculations. The integration of the equations of motions were, running on the host computer, implemented in C using the 4th order predictor–corrector Hermite integrator with block time steps. We find that for a large number of particles (N  10⁴) modern graphics processing units offer an attractive low cost alternative to GRAPE special purpose hardware. A modern GPU continues to give a relatively flat scaling with the number of particles, comparable to that of the GRAPE. The GRAPE is designed to reach double precision, whereas the GPU is intrinsically single-precision. For relatively large time steps, the total energy of the N-body system was conserved better than to one in 10⁶ on the GPU, which is impressive given the single-precision nature of the GPU. For the same time steps, the GRAPE gave somewhat more accurate results, by about an order of magnitude. However, smaller time steps allowed more energy accuracy on the grape, around 10⁻¹¹, whereas for the GPU machine precision saturates around 10⁻⁶ For N  10⁶ the GeForce 8800GTX was about 20 times faster than the host computer. Though still about a factor of a few slower than GRAPE, modern GPUs outperform GRAPE in their low cost, long mean time between failure and the much larger onboard memory; the GRAPE-6Af holds at most 256k particles whereas the GeForce 8800GTX can hold 9 million particles in memory.     

Environmental correlates of large-scale spatial variation in the δ13C of marine animals

Carbon stable isotopes can be used to trace the sources of energy supporting food chains and to estimate the contribution of different sources to a consumer's diet. However, the δ¹³C signature of a consumer is not sufficient to infer source without an appropriate isotopic baseline, because there is no way to determine if differences in consumer δ¹³C reflect source changes or baseline variation. Describing isotopic baselines is a considerable challenge when applying stable isotope techniques at large spatial scales and/or to interconnected food chains in open marine environments. One approach is to use filter-feeding consumers to integrate the high frequency and small-scale variation in the isotopic signature of phytoplankton and provide a surrogate baseline, but it can be difficult to sample a single consumer species at large spatial scales owing to rarity and/or discontinuous distribution. Here, we use the isotopic signature of a widely distributed filter-feeder (the queen scallop Aequipecten opercularis) in the north-eastern Atlantic to develop a model linking base δ¹³C to environmental variables. Remarkably, a single variable model based on bottom temperature has good predictive power and predicts scallop δ¹³C with mean error of only 0.6‰ (3%). When the model was used to predict an isotopic baseline in parts of the overall study region where scallop were not consistently sampled, the model accounted for 76% and 79% of the large-scale spatial variability (10¹–10⁴ km) of the δ¹³C of two fish species (dab Limanda limanda and whiting Merlangus merlangius) and 44% of the δ¹³C variability in a mixed fish community. The results show that source studies would be significantly biased if a single baseline were applied to food webs at larger scales. Further, when baseline δ¹³C cannot be directly measured, a calculated baseline value can eliminate a large proportion of the unexplained variation in δ¹³C at higher trophic levels.     

The Monitor project: JW 380 – a 0.26-, 0.15-M⊙, pre-main-sequence eclipsing binary in the Orion nebula cluster

We present a general recipe for constructing N -body realizations of galaxies comprising near spherical and disc components. First, an exact spherical distribution function for the spheroids (halo and bulge) is determined, such that it is in equilibrium with the gravitational monopole of the disc components. Second, an N -body realization of this model is adapted to the full disc potential by growing the latter adiabatically from its monopole. Finally, the disc is sampled with particles drawn from an appropriate distribution function, avoiding local-Maxwellian approximations. We performed test simulations and find that the halo and bulge radial density profile very closely match their target model, while they become slightly oblate due to the added disc gravity. Our findings suggest that vertical thickening of the initially thin disc is caused predominantly by spiral and bar instabilities, which also result in a radial re-distribution of matter, rather than scattering off interloping massive halo particles.     

Fine‐scale diet of the Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) using DNA‐based analysis of faeces

We applied DNA‐based faecal analysis to determine the diet of female Australian sea lions (n = 12) from two breeding colonies in South Australia. DNA dietary components of fish and cephalopods were amplified using the polymerase chain reaction and mitochondrial DNA primers targeting the short (~100 base pair) section of the 16S gene region. Prey diversity was determined by sequencing ~50 amplicons generated from clone libraries developed for each individual. Faecal DNA was also combined and cloned from multiple individuals at each colony and fish diversity determined. Diets varied between individuals and sites. Overall, DNA analysis identified a broad diversity of prey comprising 23 fish and five cephalopod taxa, including many species not previously described as prey of the Australian sea lion. Labridae (wrasse), Monacanthidae (leatherjackets) and Mullidae (goat fish) were important fish prey taxa. Commonly identified cephalopods were Octopodidae (octopus), Loliginidae (calamary squid) and Sepiidae (cuttlefish). Comparisons of fish prey diversity determined by pooling faecal DNA from several samples provided a reasonable but incomplete resemblance (55–71%) to the total fish diversity identified across individual diets at each site. Interpretation of diet based on the recovery of prey hard‐parts identified one cephalopod beak (Octopus sp.) and one fish otolith (Parapriacanthus elongatus). The present study highlights the value of DNA‐based analyses and their capabilities to enhance information of trophic interactions.     

Meteorites at Meridiani Planum provide evidence for significant amounts of surface and near‐surface water on early Mars

Abstract– Six large iron meteorites have been discovered in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity in a nearly 25 km‐long traverse. Herein, we review and synthesize the available data to propose that the discovery and characteristics of the six meteorites could be explained as the result of their impact into a soft and wet surface, sometime during the Noachian or the Hesperian, subsequently to be exposed at the Martian surface through differential erosion. As recorded by its sediments and chemical deposits, Meridiani has been interpreted to have undergone a watery past, including a shallow sea, a playa, an environment of fluctuating ground water, and/or an icy landscape. Meteorites could have been encased upon impact and/or subsequently buried, and kept underground for a long time, shielded from the atmosphere. The meteorites apparently underwent significant chemical weathering due to aqueous alteration, as indicated by cavernous features that suggest differential acidic corrosion removing less resistant material and softer inclusions. During the Amazonian, the almost complete disappearance of surface water and desiccation of the landscape, followed by induration of the sediments and subsequent differential erosion and degradation of Meridiani sediments, including at least 10–80 m of deflation in the last 3–3.5 Gy, would have exposed the buried meteorites. We conclude that the iron meteorites support the hypothesis that Mars once had a denser atmosphere and considerable amounts of water and/or water ice at and/or near the surface.