Numerical simulations of protostellar encounters — I. Star–disc encounters

It appears that most stars are born in clusters, and that at birth most stars have circumstellar discs which are comparable in size to the separations between the stars. Interactions between neighbouring stars and discs are therefore likely to play a key role in determining disc lifetimes, stellar masses, and the separations and eccentricities of binary orbits. Such interactions may also cause fragmentation of the discs, thereby triggering the formation of additional stars.   We have carried out a series of simulations of star–disc interactions using an SPH code which treats self-gravity, hydrodynamic and viscous forces. We find that interactions between discs and stars provide a mechanism for removing energy from, or adding energy to, the orbits of the stars, and for truncating the discs. However, capture during such encounters is unlikely to be an important binary formation mechanism.   A more significant consequence of such encounters is that they can trigger fragmentation of the disc, via tidally and compressionally induced gravitational instabilities, leading to the formation of additional stars and substellar objects. When the disc spins and stellar orbits are randomly oriented, encounters lead to the formation of new companions to the original star in 20 per cent of encounters. If most encounters are prograde and coplanar, as suggested by simulations of dynamically triggered star formation, then new companions are formed in approximately 50 per cent of encounters.     

A numerical computer investigation of the polar F-region ionosphere

Results of a numerical computer investigation of the geomagnetically quiet, high latitude F-region ionosphere are presented. A mathematical model of the steady state polar convective electric field pattern is used in conjunction with production and loss processes to solve the continuity equation for the ionization density in a unit volume as it moves across the polar cap and through the auroral zones.Contours of electron density (～ 300 km altitude) over the polar region are computed for various geophysical conditions. Results show changes in the F-region morphology within the polar cap in response to varying the asymmetry of the global convective electric fields but no corresponding change in the morphology of the mid-latitude ionospheric trough. The U.T. response of the ionosphere produces large diurnal changes in both the polar cap densities and trough morphology. In agreement with observations, the model shows diurnal variations of the polar cap density by a factor of about 10 at midwinter and a negligible diurnal variation at midsummer. The phase of the polar cap diurnal variation is such that the maximum polar cap densities occur approximately when the geomagnetic pole is nearest to the Sun (i.e. when the polar cap photo-ionization is a maximum).Within the accuracy of this model, the results suggest that transport of ionization from the dayside of the auroral zone can numerically account for the maintenance of the polar cap ionosphere during winter when no other sources of ionization are present. In addition, east-west transport of ionization, in conjunction with chemical recombination is responsible for the major features of the main trough morphology.There is little seasonal variation in the depth or latitude of the ionization trough, the predominant seasonal change being the longitudinal extent of the trough.The polar wind loss of ionization is of secondary importance compared to chemical recombination.     

Regional-Scale Heat and Water Vapour Fluxes in an Agricultural Landscape: An Evaluation of CBL Budget Methods at OASIS

This paper evaluates convective boundary layer (CBL) budget methods as a tool for estimating regionally averaged sensible and latent heat fluxes for the study region used in OASIS (Observations at Several Interacting Scales). This is an agricultural region of mixed cropping and grazing extending about 100 km west of the town of Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia.The analysis proceeds in three stages: first, a simpleone-dimensional model of the well-mixed layer (the CBL slab model), forced with measurements of the surface heat and evaporation fluxes, is evaluated by comparing measured and modelled CBL temperature, humidity and depths. A comparison of several entrainment schemes shows that a simple model, where the entrainment kinetic energy is parameterised as a fraction (₃) of the surface sensible heat flux, works well if is set to 0.5. Second, the slab model is coupled to a Penman–Monteith model of surface evaporation to predict regional scale evaporation and thence heat fluxes. Finally, the integral CBL budget approach, which is an inverse method using theone-dimensional slab model, is used to infer regional heat and evaporation fluxes from measured time series of CBL temperature and humidity.We find that the simple CBL slab model works reasonably well for predicting CBL depth and very well for CBL temperature, especially if approximate estimates of subsidence velocity and warming due to advection are included. Regional sensible heat fluxes estimated from the integral CBL method match those measured, although the method is very sensitive to measurement errors. Measurement-model differences were larger for short integration times, because the well-mixed assumptions are violated at particular times of the day. The corollary is that `whole-day' (0530–1530 h) estimates are in reasonable agreement with measured values. Integral methods could not be used to infer the regional evaporation flux directly because CBL humidity profiles were complex and often not well mixed until mid-afternoon. We recommend that regional evaporation fluxes be predicted either from a coupled Penman–Monteith – CBL slab model, or inferred as a residual term from estimates of the regionally averaged available energy and sensible heat flux. Furthermore, we show that inferring fluxes via integral methods will always be difficult when the scalar concentrations have either a large surface source and free atmosphere sink (in the case of water vapour and methane), or a large surface sink and upper level source (in the case of CO₂).     

Bedload sediment transport dynamics in a macrotidal embayment, and implications for export to the southern Great Barrier Reef shelf

Keppel Bay is a macrotidal embayment on a tectonically stable, tropical coast, which links the Fitzroy River with the Great Barrier Reef continental shelf. Estuaries and deltas act as conduits between catchments and inner shelf environments. Therefore, understanding sediment transport pathways in these complex systems is essential for the management of ecosystems such as coral-reefs that are potentially vulnerable to enhanced river sediment loads. Furthermore, the morphology and sediment dynamics of subtidal sand ridges and dunes are relatively poorly characterised in macrotidal estuaries, particularly in turbid, episodic systems such as the Fitzroy River and Keppel Bay. Our sedimentological analysis of seabed samples, shear-stress modelling and three-dimensional acoustic imaging reveals that Keppel Bay is a mixed wave- and tide-dominated estuarine system. Areas of sediment starvation and shoreward transport characterise the offshore zone, whereas a complex of both active and relict tidal sand ridges, and associated subaqueous dunes, dominate the relatively protected southern Keppel Bay. Transport within this region is highly dynamic and variable, with ebb-dominated sediment transport through tidal channels into the outer bay where there is a switch to wave-dominated shoreward transport. Ultimately, bedload sediments appear to be reworked back inshore and to the north, and are gradually infilling the bedrock-defined embayment. Our characterisation of the Keppel Bay system provides a detailed example of the physiography of the seaward portion of a tide-dominated system, and shows that sediment transport in these areas is influenced by a variable hydrodynamic regime as well as relict channels and bedrock topography.     

Environmental factors influencing the biodeposition of the suspension feeding bivalve Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas): Comparison of brackish and freshwater populations

Invasive suspension feeders have been particularly successful in shallow eutrophic estuarine and freshwater ecosystems. The impact of an invasive species is strong under favourable conditions. However, suboptimal feeding conditions may significantly reduce the impact to ambient environment. The invasive bivalve Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas) is able to colonize both fresh and brackish waterbodies. In an in situ experiment the seasonal variability in the biodeposition of D. polymorpha from fresh and brackish water populations was quantified at different temperature, salinity and chlorophyll a (Chl a) regimes. Salinity fluctuations in brackish water areas, temperature and water Chl a content were all important factors in the model of mussels' feeding. The results indicated that D. polymorpha fed significantly more in fresh than in brackish water. Mussels acclimated more easily to acute transfer from brackish to freshwater than vice versa. The biodeposition of zebra mussels increased with temperature and water Chl a content but these effects were less straightforward than that of salinity. The results suggest that the impact of D. polymorpha on recipient ecosystem is more pronounced in fresh than in brackish water environments.     

“Of outstanding universal value”: The challenge of scale in applying the World Heritage Convention at national parks in the US

This paper explores the operation of the international World Heritage Convention in the national context of the United States. Although an early advocate of the national park idea and among the earliest proponents of the Convention, the US has shown increasing ambivalence towards the World Heritage Program since the mid-1990s. Through in-depth interviews with expert informants and a questionnaire survey of 406 visitors at four US World Heritage Sites, this study considers whether combining national and international conservation designations provides valuable reinforcement of conservation goals, or leads to unnecessary overlap and even challenges to sovereignty. The majority of my expert informants were supportive of the Convention, related to philosophical and practical benefits that they believed to be associated with the World Heritage label, although most identified few tangible influences of the World Heritage Program itself. Several noted hostility to the Program from a nationalist fringe, which fears international involvement in land use decisions. Such concerns were reflected in questionnaire responses, which revealed some distrust of the Convention and misunderstandings of its operation. I conclude that the scalar mismatch of implementing an international convention at the national scale inevitably involves challenges, but that country-specific factors are important in explaining why the Convention has been particularly controversial in the US. Education is integral to addressing these challenges, as well as reengagement with the Program by both the National Park Service and the federal administration. Intangible values associated with World Heritage mean that the Convention still enjoys considerable support in the US, providing a solid foundation for such a reengagement.     

Hopane,sterane and n-alkane distributions in shallow sediments hosting high arsenic groundwaters in Cambodia

The presence of elevated As in ground waters exploited for drinking water and irrigation in South-East Asia is causing serious impacts on human health. A key mechanism that causes the mobilization of As in these waters is microbially mediated reductive transformation of As-bearing Fe(III) hydrated oxides and the role of degradable organic matter (OM) in this process is widely recognized. A number of different types of OM that drive As release in these aquifers have been suggested, including petroleum derived hydrocarbons naturally seeping into shallow sediments from deeper thermally mature source rocks. However, the amount of information on the characteristics of the OM in South-East Asian aquifers is limited. Here the organic geochemical analyses of the saturated hydrocarbon fractions and radiocarbon analysis, of two additional sites in SE Asia are reported. The results show that the OM in a given sedimentary horizon likely derives from multiple sources including naturally occurring petroleum. The importance of naturally occurring petroleum as one of the sources was clearly indicated by the n-alkane CPI of approximately 1, the presence of an unresolved complex mixture, and hopane (dominated by 17α(H),21β(H) hopanes) and sterane distribution patterns. The results also indicate that the OM in these aquifers varies tremendously in content, character and potential bioavailability. Furthermore, the presence of petroleum derived OM in sediments at both sites doubles the number of locations where their presence has been observed in association with As-rich, shallow aquifers, suggesting that the role of petroleum derived OM in microbially mediated As release might occur over a wider range of geographical locations than previously thought.