Improvement of photomultiplier performance in astronomical applications

The physics of an EMI 9558 Å photomultiplier has been investigated in some detail, and this study has led to a gain of more than thirty times in the signal-to-noise obtainable in a given observation time when used in receiver noise limited conditions. The importance of giant pulses in limiting performance is demonstrated.     

Synoptic charts of solar 9.1 cm and coronal hole data

Synoptic charts for Carrington rotations 1601–1605 (May–August, 1973) were prepared using the central meridian column of the daily 9.1 cm Stanford solar radio maps. These charts were especially contoured to emphasize temperatures near the quiet solar disk level. Synoptic charts of coronal holes from the ATM-Skylab were superimposed on the radio data to investigate the ability of the radio charts to show coronal holes. This brief period is unfortunately the only interval for which both sets of data are available. The conclusion reached is that in spite of certain problems due to active regions, side-lobe effects and a rather large beamwidth, the 9.1 cm synoptic charts can be of substantial value in identifying large coronal holes, especially during periods of low solar activity. Such synoptic charts, therefore, for the years 1962–1973 that Stanford data are available, could enhance significantly the meagre data pool for coronal holes prior to the Skylab mission.     

AGRICULTURAL DROUGHT ON SOUTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC ISLANDS *

A pilot study of spatial patterns of agricultural drought hazard in the south-central Pacific is presented. The durations of crop stress periods are estimated using a water balance approach. A rainfall approach is used to identify dry periods corresponding to different durations. Strong correlation between the results of the two methods indicates that monthly rainfall data are sufficient for estimating the patterns of agricultural drought hazard in the region. The simpler rainfall method is particularly useful for high islands where data required for the water balance approach are not sufficient to characterize the complex climatic patterns. Drought hazard is greatest in the eastern and southwestern parts of the study area. Great spatial variation in drought hazard is observed in a small area on the high islands of Western Samoa, where the range of values found within a few tens of kilometers is about the same as the range found across thousands of kilometers for low islands.     

Comet Bowell (1980b): Measurement of the optical thickness of the coma and particle albedo from a stellar occultation

Comet Bowell (1980b) was observed to pass within 0.25 ± 0.09 arc sec of a star (about 540 km at the comet), where the absorption of starlight by the dust coma was found to be 3% (±1%). The implied optical thickness of 0.03 differs greatly from other determinations and gives a mass of 3 × 10¹³ g for the coma within 1 × 10⁴ km of the nucleus. Coupled with absolute continuum filter photometry, these results indicate a very low particle albedo consistent with fluffy carbonaceous material. This experiment indicates the need to observe nearly central occulations by several observers to measure the optical thickness profile of a comet. The advantages of using a charge-coupled device area photometer for such observations are discussed.     

Combining pump-and-treat and physical barriers for contaminant plume control

A detailed analysis is presented of the hydraulic efficiency of plume management alternatives that combine a conventional pump-and-treat system with vertical, physical hydraulic barriers such as slurry walls or sheet piles. Various design settings are examined for their potential to reduce the pumping rate needed to obtain a complete capture of a given contaminated area. Using established modeling techniques for flow and transport, those barrier configurations (specified by location, shape, and length) that yield a maximum reduction of the pumping rate are identified assuming homogeneous aquifer conditions. Selected configurations are further analyzed concerning their hydraulic performance under heterogeneous aquifer conditions by means of a stochastic approach (Monte Carlo simulations) with aquifer transmissivity as a random space function. The results show that physical barriers are an appropriate means to decrease expected (mean) pumping rates, as well as the variance of the corresponding pumping rate distribution at any given degree of heterogeneity. The methodology presented can be transferred easily to other aquifer scenarios, provided some basic premises are fulfilled, and may serve as a basis for reducing the pumping rate in existing pump-and-treat systems.