Infrared observations of serendipitous hard Chandra X-ray sources

We present observations of a sample of optically faint, hard X-ray sources of the kind likely to be responsible for much of the hard X-ray background. We confirm that such sources are easily detected in the near-infrared, and find that they have a featureless continuum suggesting that the active nucleus is heavily obscured. The infrared colours of the majority of the targets observed are consistent with absorbed elliptical host galaxies at z =1–2. It is likely that we are observing some of the brighter members of the important new class of X-ray type II quasars.     

Invariance and scaling properties in the distributions of contributing area and energy in drainage basins

The cumulative probability distributions for stream order, stream length, contributing area, and energy dissipation per unit length of channel are derived, for an ordered drainage system, from Horton's laws of network composition. It is shown how these distributions can be related to the fractal nature of single rivers and river networks. Finally, it is shown that the structure proposed here for these probability distributions is able to fit the observed frequency distributions, and their deviations from straight lines in a log-log plot.     

A 20‐ka climate record from Central Himalayan loess deposits

The southwest monsoon that dominated Central Himalaya has preserved loessic silt deposits preserved in patches that are proximal to periglacial areas. The occurrence of such silts suggests contemporary prevalence of cold and dry northwesterly winds. Field stratigraphy, geochemistry, mineral magnetism, infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) and radiocarbon dating has enabled reconstruction of an event chronology during the past 20 ka. Three events of loess accretion could be identified. The first two events of loess deposition occurred betweem 20 and 9 ka and were separated by a phase of moderate weathering. Pedogenesis at the end of this event gave rise to a well‐developed soil that was bracketed around 9 to > 4 ka. This was followed by the third phase of loess accretion that occurred around 4 to > 1 ka. Episodes of loess deposition and soil formation are interpreted in terms of changes in the strength of the Indian southwest monsoon. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Convection flow over a uniform-flux vertical surface with variable viscosity

A regular perturbation analysis is presented for natural convection flow over an uniform flux vertical surface with temperature dependent viscosity. Numerical calculations are presented forP _r=6.7 which show that the first-order correction to the local temperature difference and to the local skin-fraction are negative whereas it is positive for the local Nusselt number. The effects of variable viscosity on the temperature, velocity profiles, the local temperature difference, the local Nusselt number and the local skin fraction are discussed.     

Lumped geopotential harmonics of order 14, from the orbit of 1967-11G

The satellite 1967-11G, which had an orbital inclination of 40°, passed through the 14th-order resonance with the Earth's gravitational field in 1974. The changes in its orbital inclination at resonance have been analysed to obtain values for four lumped 14th-order harmonics in the geopotential, with accuracies equivalent to about 5 cm in geoid height. Analysis of the eccentricity was also attempted, but did not yield useful results.As no previous satellite analysed at 14th-order resonance has had an inclination near 40°, the results have proved to be valuable in determining individual 14th-order harmonics in the geopotential.     

Bi-dimensional observation of waves near the mesopause at auroral latitudes

During a campaign of optical observations at high latitude, a bi-dimensional study of the wave structure of the OH layer has been performed in December 1981 from Sodankyla (Finland). This site is one of the three stations of the EISCAT ionosphere sounding system. It has been found that a wave field covering an area of 1 million km² may extend to latitudes as high as 70°N. The OH wave structure shows many similarities with noctilucent clouds. The fairly large horizontal wavelength, of the order of 40 km cannot easily be explained by a wave motion at an interface. The observed wave structure seems to be a result of the propagation of an internal gravity wave in the 80–100 km region. This wave structure was often recorded during the same time as an active aurora was present. As a result, it appears that the perturbation might be correlated with particle precipitations at auroral latitudes.     

The Preboreal climate reversal and a subsequent solar‐forced climate shift

Accurate chronologies are essential for linking palaeoclimate archives. Carbon‐14 wiggle‐match dating was used to produce an accurate chronology for part of an early Holocene peat sequence from the Borchert (The Netherlands). Following the Younger Dryas–Preboreal transition, two climatic shifts could be inferred. Around 11 400 cal. yr BP the expansion of birch (Betula) forest was interrupted by a dry continental phase with dominantly open grassland vegetation, coeval with the PBO (Preboreal Oscillation), as observed in the GRIP ice core. At 11 250 cal. yr BP a sudden shift to a humid climate occurred. This second change appears to be contemporaneous with: (i) a sharp increase of atmospheric ¹⁴C; (ii) a temporary decline of atmospheric CO₂; and (iii) an increase in the GRIP ¹⁰Be flux. The close correspondence with excursions of cosmogenic nuclides points to a decline in solar activity, which may have forced the changes in climate and vegetation at around 11 250 cal. yr BP. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.