F stars, metallicity and the ages of red galaxies at z > 1

We explore whether the rest-frame near-ultraviolet spectral region, observable in high-redshift galaxies via optical spectroscopy, contains sufficient information to allow the degeneracy between age and metallicity to be lifted. We do this by first testing the ability of evolutionary synthesis models to reclaim the correct metallicity when fitted to the near-ultraviolet spectra of F stars of known (subsolar and supersolar) metallicity. F stars are of particular interest because the rest-frame near-ultraviolet spectra of the oldest known elliptical galaxies at   z > 1  appear to be dominated by F stars near to the main-sequence turn-off.
We find that, in the case of the F stars, where the Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet spectra have a high signal-to-noise ratio, fitting models in which the metallicity is allowed to vary as a free parameter is rather successful at deriving the correct metallicity. As a result, the estimated turn-off ages of these stars yielded by model-fitting are well constrained. Encouraged by this we have fitted these same variable-metallicity models to the deep, optical spectra of the   z ≃ 1.5 mJy  radio galaxies 53W091 and 53W069 obtained with the Keck telescope. While the age and metallicity are not so easily constrained for these galaxies, we find that even when metallicity is allowed as a free parameter, the best estimates of their ages are still ≥3 Gyr, with ages younger than 2 Gyr now strongly excluded. Furthermore, we find that a search of the entire parameter space of metallicity and star formation history using MOPED leads to the same conclusion. Our results therefore continue to argue strongly against an Einstein–de Sitter universe, and favour a Λ-dominated universe in which star formation in at least these particular elliptical galaxies was completed somewhere in the redshift range   z = 3–5  .     

An Instantaneous-Frequency Filtering Technique for High-Frequency Radar Oceanography

High-frequency (HF) radar systems are remote sensing tools that can be used to measure oceanographic parameters. Problems can occur when using the conventional periodogram (PG) method for computing power spectral estimates from backscattered radar signals. Temporal and spatial inhomogeneities within the radar measurement region can cause distortion in the spectra. This paper describes an instantaneous-frequency (IF) filtering technique that has been developed to measure the first-order modulation contained within the radar signal. Successful removal of this modulation is shown to yield an increased quality and quantity of ocean measurements     

Survival of organic phases in porous IDPs during atmospheric entry: A pulse‐heating study

Abstract— In this study, we have performed pulse‐heating experiments at different temperatures for three organic molecules (a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon [PAH], a ketone, and an amino acid) absorbed into microporous aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) in order to imitate the heating of the organic molecules in interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) and micrometeorites (MMs) during atmospheric entry and to investigate their survival. We have shown that modest amounts (a few percent) of these organic molecules survive pulse‐heating at temperatures in the 700 to 900 °C range. This suggests that the porosity in IDPs and MMs, combined with a sublimable phase (organic material, water), produces an ablative cooling effect, which permits the survival of organic molecules that would otherwise be lost either by thermal degradation or evaporation during atmospheric entry.     

Titan's atmospheric engine: an overview

Heating occurs in Titan's stratosphere from the absorption of incident solar radiation by methane and aerosols. About 10% of the incident sunlight reaches Titan's surface and causes heating there. Thermal radiation redistributes heat within the atmosphere and cools to space. The resulting vertical temperature profile is stable against convection and a state of radiative equilibrium is established. Equating theoretical and observed temperature profiles enables an empirical determination of the vertical distribution of thermal opacity. A uniformly mixed aerosol is responsible for most of the opacity in the stratosphere, whereas collision-induced absorption of gases is the main contributor in the troposphere. Occasional clouds are observed in the troposphere in spite of the large degrees of methane supersaturation found there. Photochemistry converts CH₄ and N₂ into more complex hydrocarbons and nitriles in the stratosphere and above. Thin ice clouds of trace organics are formed in the winter and early spring polar regions of the lower stratosphere. Precipitating ice particles serve as condensation sites for supersaturated methane vapor in the troposphere below, resulting in lowered methane degrees of supersaturation in the polar regions. Latitudinal variations of stratospheric temperature are seasonal, and lag instantaneous response to solar irradiation by about one season for two reasons: (1) an actual instantaneous thermal response to a latitudinal distribution of absorbing gases, themselves out of phase with the sun by about one season, and (2) a sluggish dynamical response of the stratosphere to the latitudinal transport of angular momentum, induced by radiative heating and cooling. Mean vertical abundances of stratospheric organics and aerosols are determined primarily by atmospheric chemistry and condensation, whereas latitudinal distributions are more influenced by meridional circulations. In addition to preferential scavenging by precipitating ice particles from above, the polar depletion of supersaturated methane results from periodic scavenging by short-lived tropospheric clouds, coupled with the steady poleward march of the continuously drying atmosphere due to meridional transport.     

Investigation of Failure Mechanisms and Migration of Organic Chemicals at Wilsonville, Illinois

Ground water contamination was discovered in 1981 in a monitoring well at the Earthline disposal facility near Wilsonville, Illinois. Organic chemicals had migrated at a rate 100 to 1000 times greater than predicted when the site received its permit to operate in 1978. Postulated failure mechanisms included migration through previously unmapped permeable zones, subsidence of an underground mine, organic-chemical and clay-mineral interactions, acid-mine drainage and clay interactions, trench-cover settlement, and erosion.
In this investigation, the Illinois State Geological Survey found the primary reason for the rapid migration: the presence of previously undetermined fractures and joints in glacial till. The inaccurate predictions of hydraulic conductivity were based on laboratory-determined values that did not adequately measure the effects of fractures and joints on the transit time calculations. Field-measured hydraulic conductivity values were generally 10 to 1000 times greater than their laboratory-measured counterparts, thus largely accounting for the discrepancy between predicted and actual migration rates in the transit time calculations. The problem was compounded, however, by the burial of liquid wastes and by trench covers that allowed excess surface runoff to enter the trenches. Organic-chemical and clay-mineral interactions may also have exacerbated the problem in areas where liquid organic wastes were buried.     

A non-coherent surface backscattering model for radar observation of planetary bodies and its application to Cassini radar altimeter

Mission and hardware constraints make the Cassini radar altimeter working in the beam limited or pulse limited mode dependent on the radar operative mode (Low and High Resolution, respectively), but never allows work in a condition such that the pulsewidth limited circle is much smaller than the beamwidth limited circle. Unfortunately this latter condition is vital for the application of the so-called Brown model widely and successfully used in Earth (ocean) observation missions where the quoted condition is really met. In the paper a new model is discussed which is based on the same general hypotheses of the Brown model but is worked out by means of a different approach which makes it more general and independent of the specific operative conditions. An extension of the new model to take into account large mispointing angles is considered as well based on a series expansion of the Bessel function and on the analysis of the truncation error. Finally a comparison with the classical Brown model is discussed too.     

The significance of Messinian occurrences of Globorotalia margaritae and Globorotalia puncticulata in Sicily

Globorotalia puncticulata and Globorotalia margaritae are critical species that define internationally recognized planktonic foraminiferal biozones in the Pliocene. These biozones are defined from stratotype sections on Sicily and their fauna are commonly considered to have been introduced to the Mediterranean after an influx of Atlantic water that terminated the late Miocene desiccation of the basin. Herein new discoveries of these species in rocks that predate the late Miocene desiccation are described. These data are supported by magneto- and lithostratigraphy that have been integrated at a single continuous section. Not only do these discoveries question the existing foraminiferal biozone stratigraphy, they also suggest new models for the dispersal of planktonic species. It is proposed that Globorotalia puncticulata and perhaps even Globorotalia margaritae evolved in the Mediterranean during earliest Messinian times (during or before chron C3Bn1n) and dispersed into the Atlantic. This suggests that a marine connection remained between the two sea areas until at least chron C3An.1n. Using the existing geomagnetic polarity time scale, these occurrences are some 2 Myr earlier than previously recorded in the Mediterranean. The distribution of G. margaritae and G. puncticulata in Mediterranean sections is likely to reflect palaeoenvironment or the preservation of deposits rather than the absolute age of the sediments.