The degree of anisotropy of cosmic ray electrons of solar origin

Data obtained by the Explorer 34 satellite regarding the degree of anisotropy of ≳ 70 keV electrons of solar origin are reported. It is shown that the anisotropies are initially field aligned, and that they decay to ≲ 10% in a time of the order of 1 hr. The decays of the concurrent ionic and electronic anisotropies for one well observed event are in good agreement with the diffusive propagation model of Fisk and Axford. The data suggest parallel diffusion coefficients for both ions and electrons that are rigidity independent. From considerations of a long lived electron event, it is shown that the electronic fluxes exhibit ‘equilibrium’ anositropies at late times. These are interpreted as indicating that convective removal at the solar wind velocity is the dominant mechanism whereby solar cosmic ray electrons (∼- 70 keV) leave the solar system. They also indicate that there is a positive density gradient at late times in a solar electron event. The data suggest that this was established prior to the establishment of a similar gradient for the cosmic ray ions. This research was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under contracts NASr-198 and NAS5-9075. The research in India was supported by funds from the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India and funds from the grant NAS-1492 from the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. Support in data analysis was also provided by Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, and by the Australian Research Grants Committee.     

Effects of organic pollutants on methanogenesis,sulfate reduction and carbon dioxide evolution in salt marsh sediments

Anaerobic salt marsh sediments were amended with a variety of organic pollutants and the effects on methanogenesis, sulfate reduction and carbon dioxide evolution were examined. Addition of 1000 μg g^?1 (dry weight sediment) Arochlor 1221, lindane, endrin, benzene and phenanthrene resulted in no significant effects on the activities studied. Methanogenesis was inhibited by 1000 μg g^?1toxaphene, PCP, chlordane, naphthalene, DDT, Kepone and heptachlor and by 100 μg g^?1 PCP and toxaphene. At 1000 μg g^?1 naphthalene and toxaphene and 100 μg g^?1 PCP, a period of initial inhibition of methanogenesis was followed by stimulation relative to controls. Arochlor 1254 (1000 μg g^?1) and Temik (500 and 10 μg g^?1) stimulated methanogenesis from the outset. Temik at 500 μg g^?1 gave the greatest stimulation of methanogenesis (900% of controls) of any of the compounds studied. Sulfate reduction was inhibited by 1000 μg g^?1 PCP, toxaphene, naphthalene and chlordane and by 500 μg g^?1 atrazine and 100 μg g^?1 heptachlor. Sustained inhibition of sulfate reduction by naphthalene, toxaphene and PCP may have contributed to the stimulation of methanogenesis. Carbon dioxide evolution was not significantly affected by most of the compounds studied except for 100 μg g^?1 PCP and 1000 μg g^?1 aphthalene, each of which gave significant inhibition in only one of three experiments.Concentrations of individual organic pollutants required to cause observable effects were high. It is concluded that, except for highly polluted sediments, methanogenesis, sulfate reduction and CO₂ evolution would not be affected by the compounds studied here at concentrations typically found in the environment.     

Integrative taxonomic description of Plakina kanaky,a new polychromatic sponge species from New Caledonia (Porifera: Homoscleromorpha)

Four similar sponges of different colors, all unknown to science, were collected in submarine caves of New Caledonia. We aimed at determining whether the four chromotypes represented different species or phenotypic variations of a unique new species. We used an integrative taxonomic approach combining morphologic, molecular and metabolomic analyses. The main traits that define these specimens are a skeleton made of monolophose, trilophose and tetralophose calthrops only, high chemical diversity and a high abundance and diversity of prokaryotic symbionts. The symbiotic community includes two unique prokaryote morphotypes, which are described for the first time in Homoscleromorpha, and appeared to be vertically transmitted. Although several features slightly differ among chromotypes, the most parsimonious conclusion was to propose a single new species Plakina kanaky sp. nov. Our phylogenetic analysis indicated the paraphyly of the Plakina genus, with P. kanaky sp. nov. belonging to a clade that includes Plakina jani and Plakina trilopha. The present work demonstrates that integrative taxonomy should be used in order to revise the entire Plakinidae family and especially the non‐monophyletic genus Plakina.     

Pole-to-pole moisture conditions for the IGY

Summary A study of the mean atmospheric humidity conditions on a planetary scale during the IGY covering the calendar year 1958 is presented. The fields of mean precipitable water content and of the zonal and meridional transports of water vapor are analyzed for the entire globe. Zonally averaged values of the various quantities at several levels are presented in tabular form and compared whenever possible with previous results or indirectly are analyzed on the basis of information obtained from different sources. The structure of these fields is studied and the corresponding implications for the general circulations of the atmosphere are discussed. Finally the zonal water balance for all the globe is discussed and its implications analyzed.     

Liquefaction mitigation in silty soils using composite stone columns and dynamic compaction

The objective of this study is to develop an analytical methodology to evaluate the effectiveness ofvibro stone column (S. C.) and dynamic compaction (D.C.) techniques supplemented with wick drains to densify and mitigate liquethctionin saturated sands and non-plastic silty soils. It includes the following: (i) develop numerical models to simulate and analyze soil densification during S.C. installation and D.C. process, and (ii) identify parameters controlling post-improvement soil density in both cases, and (iii) develop design guidelines for densification of silty soils using the above techniques. An analytical procedure was developed and used to simulate soil response during S.C. and D.C. installations, and the results were compared with available case history data. Important construction design parameters and soil properties that affect the effectiveness of these techniques, and construction design choices suitable for sands and non-plastic silty soils were identified. The methodology is expected to advance the use of S.C. and DC. in silty soils reducing the reliance on expensive field trials as a design tool. The ultimate outcome of this research will be design charts and design guidelines for using composite stone columns and composite dynamic compaction techniques in liquefaction mitigation of saturated silty soils.     

Estimating sediment transport in a braided gravel channel — The Kawerong River, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea

It is difficult to estimate sediment transport in braided rivers because of the complex hydraulics of rapidly changing multi-channel systems. This paper describes an algorithm for generating sets of braided-river hydraulic parameters for use with sediment transport equations. The algorithm uses random number-based simulation techniques and empirically determined probability distributions of individual hydraulic variables from the White River (U.S.A.) and the Kawerong River. A test of the suitability of the algorithm for the estimation of sediment transport was carried out over a period of two years using the Meyer-Peter and Muller equation on eight reaches of the Kawerong River in which sediment transport is known. The test produced a mean absolute error of 16.3% suggesting that the algorithm may have some potential in braided-river modelling.     

Possible impact of interplanetary and interstellar dust fluxes on the Earth’s climate

This article considers the process of entry of cosmic substance into the Earth’s atmosphere and the further evolution of the formed extraterrestrial aerosol. It is shown that meteorite-derived aerosol generated in the atmosphere may affect the Earth’s climate in two ways: (a) particles of meteoric haze may serve as condensation nuclei in the troposphere and stratosphere; (b) charged meteor particles residing in the mesosphere may markedly change (by a few percent) the total atmospheric resistance and, thereby, affect the global current circuit. Changes in the global electric circuit, in turn, may influence cloud formation processes. The obtained results argue for the fact that the meteoric dust in the Earth’s atmosphere is potentially one of the important climate-forming agents. It is shown that the amount of interstellar dust in the Earth’s atmosphere is too small to have a considerable affect on atmospheric processes.     

Coherent integration time limit of a mobile receiver for indoor GNSS applications

There is an emerging requirement for processing global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals indoor where the signal is very weak and subjected to spatial fading. Typically, longer coherent integration intervals provide the additional processing gain required for the detection and processing of such weak signals. However, the arbitrary physical motion of the handset imputed by the user limits the effectiveness of longer coherent integration intervals due to the spatial decorrelation of the multipath-faded GNSS signal. In this paper, limits of coherent integration due to spatial decorrelation are derived and corroborated with experimental verification. A general result is that the processing gain resulting from direct coherent integration saturates after the antenna has moved through a certain distance, which for typical indoor propagation, is about half a carrier wavelength. However, a refined Doppler search coupled with a prolonged coherent integration interval extends this limit, which is effectively a manifestation of selective diversity.     

Solar-Activity Index for the E-Layer Critical Frequency at Middle Latitudes

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - Based on an analysis of data from the midlatitude ionospheric stations, it is found that the P = 0.5(F1 + F81) index is an optimal solar-activity index for the daily...