MoMaF: the Mock Map Facility

We present the Mock Map Facility, a powerful tool for converting theoretical outputs of hierarchical galaxy formation models into catalogues of virtual observations. The general principle is straightforward: mock observing cones can be generated using semi-analytically post-processed snapshots of cosmological N -body simulations. These cones can then be projected to synthesize mock sky images. To this end, the paper describes in detail an efficient technique for creating such mock cones and images from the galaxies in cosmological simulations ( galics ) semi-analytic model, providing the reader with an accurate quantification of the artefacts it introduces at every step. We show that replication effects introduce a negative bias on the clustering signal – typically peaking at less than 10 per cent around the correlation length. We also thoroughly discuss how the clustering signal is affected by finite-volume effects, and show that it vanishes at scales larger than approximately one-tenth of the simulation box size. For the purpose of analysing our method, we show that number counts and redshift distributions obtained with galics / momaf compare well with K -band observations and the two-degree field galaxy redshift survey. Given finite-volume effects, we also show that the model can reproduce the automatic plate measuring machine angular correlation function. The momaf results discussed here are made publicly available to the astronomical community through a public data base. Moreover, a user-friendly Web interface ( http://galics.iap.fr ) allows any user to recover her/his own favourite galaxy samples through simple SQL queries. The flexibility of this tool should permit a variety of uses ranging from extensive comparisons between real observations and those predicted by hierarchical models of galaxy formation, to the preparation of observing strategies for deep surveys and tests of data processing pipelines.     

The Main Belt Comets and ice in the Solar System

We review the evidence for buried ice in the asteroid belt; specifically the questions around the so-called Main Belt Comets (MBCs). We summarise the evidence for water throughout the Solar System, and describe the various methods for detecting it, including remote sensing from ultraviolet to radio wavelengths. We review progress in the first decade of study of MBCs, including observations, modelling of ice survival, and discussion on their origins. We then look at which methods will likely be most effective for further progress, including the key challenge of direct detection of (escaping) water in these bodies.     

Stakeholder perspectives on use, trade, and conservation of medicinal plants in the Rasuwa district of central Nepal

People’s livelihood in several Himalayan regions largely depends on collection, use, and trade of medicinal plants. Traditional use is generally not a problem, but commercial gathering of selected species to meet increasing national and international demand can result in over-exploitation. Sustainable management of medicinal plants requires a clear understanding of the respective roles, responsibilities and viewpoints of the various stakeholders involved. Through personal interviews and group discussions, this study aimed at investigating the views of two stakeholder groups on use, trade and conservation of medicinal plants in the Rasuwa district of Nepal. Local people and district and national organizations agreed that medicinal plants are collected for a combination of commercial and personal uses. Perceptions on market availability differed significantly: 100 % of the respondents from district and national organizations saw markets as easily available, against only 36 % for local people. This could explain why medicinal plants were perceived by local people to contribute less to income generation than to livelihood improvement. Different viewpoints were also expressed concerning the status of medicinal plants in the district: 81 % of the respondents from district and national organizations considered that medicinal plants were threatened, compared to only 28 % for local people. Despite this disparity, both stakeholder groups agreed upon potential threats to medicinal plants: over-harvesting; habitat loss due to land-use change and deforestation; and over-grazing by livestock. Several challenges were identified regarding sustainable management of medicinal plants, such as ambiguous policies; lack of resources, information and infrastructures; habitat degradation; and over-exploitation. Despite these challenges, respondents agreed that the medicinal plants sector offers huge opportunities in the Rasuwa district, given resource availability, community awareness and motivation, and the priority given to the sector by governments and other agencies. Proper collaboration, communication and coordination among stakeholders are needed to grab these opportunities.     

A history of tourism at the Mer de Glace: Adaptations of glacier tourism to glacier fluctuations since 1741

Climate change induces profound changes in mountain territories that affect the activities pursued there. Tourism is one activity that is strongly impacted by these changes. Most research on tourism in mountain regions has focused on winter sports tourism, but glacier tourism, a summer activity, is also severely affected by climate change-induced phenomena, including glacier retreat and other geomorphological processes. Given that Alpine glacier tourism has been pursued since the 18 th century and glaciers have been changing throughout this period, this article aims to examine the adaptations implemented by glacier tourism operators since the activity's beginnings. Through analysis of historical documents, glaciological surveys and semi-structured interviews, this paper reveals how tourism activities around the Mer de Glace(the largest French glacier) have been impacted by glacier fluctuations since the first visit to the area in 1741. The study reveals that these developments have mainly been driven by glacier retreat and associated paraglacial dynamics. More recently, the shortening of the period of snow cover on the glacier has also impacted tourism activities. Most of the adaptation strategies implemented by tourism operators during the period in question are found to be reactive, consisting in the installation of safety equipment, the renovation of access points or the building of new structures to allow tourist activities to continue despite the consequences of glacier retreat. Other strategies, such as the adoption of new activities by workers previously specialised in another, are identified that could be considered transformative strategies, although these were only adopted by workers when their activity was no longer feasible. The analysis of materials from 1741 to the present also reveals that the recent impacts of climate change on glacier tourism are much more significant and diverse than those produced by past fluctuations. Therefore, it is important that stakeholders take suitable measures to ensure the sustainable future of the Mer de Glace and other glacier tourism destinations.     

Theoretical investigation of interstellar C–C–O and C–O–C bonding backbone molecules

There are numerous complex organic molecules containing carbon and oxygen atoms which show either C–C–O or C–O–C bonding backbone. This paper examines altogether 51 C–C–O and C–O–C bonding backbone molecules from ten different isomeric groups (C₂H₂O, C₃H₂O, C₂H₄O, C₂H₄O₂, C₃H₄O, C₂H₆O, C₂H₆O₂, C₃H₆O, C₃H₆O₂, C₃H₈O) to summarize the present astronomical status of these molecules. Accurate calculations of enthalpy of formation of these molecules show that the isomers with C–C–O backbone are more stable than the C–O–C backbone. Interestingly, a detailed analysis of relevant astromolecules indicates that most of the observed astromolecules have the C–C–O backbone. As a matter of fact, of all the molecules examined in this study, 80% of the astronomically observed species have the C–C–O backbone while only 20% have the C–O–C backbone. In general, interstellar abundance of a molecule is controlled by some factors such as kinetics, formation and destruction pathways,thermodynamics etc. A proper consideration of these factors could explain the observed abundances of these molecules. All these possible key factors are discussed in this paper.     

The 1995–2002 Long-Term Monitoring of Comet C/1995 O1 (HALE–BOPP) at Radio Wavelength

The bright comet Hale–Bopp provided the first opportunity to follow the outgassing rates of a number of molecular species over a large range of heliocentric distances. We present the results of our observing campaign at radio wavelengths which began in August 1995 and ended in January 2002. The observations were carried out with the telescopes of Nançay, IRAM, JCMT, CSO and, since September 1997, SEST. The lines of nine molecules (OH, CO, HCN, CH₃OH, H₂CO, H₂S, CS, CH₃CN and HNC) were monitored. CS, H₂S, H₂CO, CH₃CN were detected up to r_h= 3–4 AU from the Sun, while HCN and CH₃OH were detected up to 6 AU. CO, which is the main driver of cometary activity at heliocentric distances larger than 3–4 AU, was last detected in August 2001, at r_h= 14 AU. The gas production rates obtained from this programme contain important information on the nature of cometary ices, their thermal properties and sublimation mechanisms.Line shapes allow to measure gas expansion velocities, which, at large heliocentric distances, might be directly connected to the temperature of the nucleus surface. Inferred expansion velocity of the gas varied as r_h ^-0.4 within 7 AU from the Sun, but remained close to 0.4 km s^-1 further away. The CO spectra obtained at large r_hare strongly blueshifted and indicative of an important day-to-night asymmetry in outgassing and expansion velocity. The kinetic temperature of the coma, estimated from the relative intensities of the CH₃OH and CO lines, increased with decreasing r_h, from about 10 K at 7 AU to 110 K around perihelion.     

Boron isotopic fractionation related to boron sorption on humic acid and the structure of surface complexes formed

Boron isotopic fractionation during adsorption onto Ca-flocculated Aldrich humic acid (HA) has been investigated experimentally as a function of solution pH at 25°C and I = 0.15 M. Boron aqueous concentration and isotopic composition were determined by Cs₂BO₂⁺ Positive Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry analysis, while the structure of B surface complexes on HA was characterized using ¹¹B Magic Angle Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (MAS NMR). Significant B sorption on HA was observed at 6 < pH < 12 with a maximum value of Kd, the partition coefficient between adsorbed and aqueous boron, equal to 40 at pH = 9.5-10. Combined ¹¹B MAS NMR analysis and FITEQL modeling of B sorption on HA showed that this element forms tetrahedrally coordinated five- or six-membered ring chelates, most likely 1,2-diol and 1,3-diol complexes at alkaline pH (8 < pH < 11) and dicarboxylic complexes at near neutral conditions (6 < pH < 9). Results of this study demonstrate for the first time that boron sorption on HA induces a strong pH-dependent isotope fractionation—with ¹¹B depleted at the surface of HA—that reaches a maximum at 5 < pH < 9 (α = 0.975, Δ = −25‰) and decreases sharply at pH >9. The measured isotope fractionation cannot be modeled assuming that the isotopic composition of the sorbed borate species is identical to that of B(OH)₄^- species in the parent solution. It is shown that the extent of isotopic fractionation depends not only on B aqueous speciation but also on the distribution and structure of the borate surface complexes formed. In agreement with energetic constrains, calculation of the isotope fractionation factors between aqueous boric acid and boron surface complexes suggests that the formation of the strained six-membered ring 1,3-diol complex yields a much higher fractionation (α_BLP1−III = 0.954-0.960, Δ = −41/-47‰) than that of the very stable five-membered ring 1,2-diol (α_BLP2−III = 0.983, Δ = −18‰). The results of this study open new perspectives to understand and model boron biogeochemical cycle. It is predicted that boron sorption onto organic matter can have important consequences for the boron isotopic composition of surface water reservoirs (seawater, groundwater, soil waters) in which either abundant organic surfaces or significant boron concentrations are available. In addition, the large isotope fractionation between aqueous boric acid and surface boron-organic complexes found in the present work makes boron a promising tracer of biologic activity.