The ratio of total to selective absorption in the Carina OB2 association

Several previous studies in and around the Great Carina nebula (NGC 3372) have strongly indicated an abnormal interstellar extinction law with a high ratio of total to selective absorptionR. In the present study, newUBV photometric data and accurate MK spectral-types of stars in the region of the Carina OB2 association are used to show that (1) Car OB2 is a genuine stellar association located at a distance of 3.2 kpc, and (2) the interstellar extinction law seems to be normal throughout most of the region. A representative value ofR = A _v/E(B – V) = 3.0 is derived for Car OB2 from the variable extinction method.Visiting Astronomer, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, operated by AURA, Inc. under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

Radial velocities in the open cluster Trumpler 14

Spatially-homogenous and anisotropic Bianchi type-II and III cosmological models are obtained in Barber's second self-creation theory of gravitation both in vacuum and in the presence of perfect fluid with pressure equal to energy density. Some properties of the models are discussed.     

Natural and anthropic perturbations to the chemical composition of the Colorado River (Tucumán,Argentina)

Economic and urban development in the province of Tucumán is closely associated with its hydrological network. In spite of the regulatory efforts to preserve the quality of the water resources, the lower basins of the majority of the rivers are contaminated with organic effluents derived from sugar-mill and citrus industry. In this paper, the conditions of the Colorado River basin are described. At its headwater, the lithology and geology determine the chemical composition. Calcite and gypsum dissolution and silicate influence water composition, which is slightly perturbed a few kilometers downstream by geothermal waters discharged by a tributary. Close to the discharge into the Salí River, the Colorado River receives a high organic matter load from the highly polluted Calimayo stream, which produces an increase in the organic matter and depletion of dissolved oxygen with redox conditions that promote the reduction of sulfate to sulfide.     

Holocene trophic state changes in relation to sea level variation in Lake Blanca, SE Uruguay

Paleolimnological data are presented relating trophic development to sea level variation in Lake Blanca, a small (0.6 km²), coastal fresh waterbody in southern Uruguay. Using a sediment core that extended to 7300 years BP, analyses of grain size, thin sections, organic matter, carbonate, total carbon, nutrients, diatoms and palynomorphs, allowed us to infer changes in trophic state and paleosalinities, which were closely related to Holocene sea level variation. Higher trophic states were observed during regressive events, most probably due to increases in runoff and erosion as regression progressed. Four diatom association zones (DAZ) were identified in the sediment core. The basal core section pre-dated the first Holocene marine transgression, contained no diatoms, chrysophyte cysts or non-siliceous microalgae, and showed C/N ratios values higher than 20. Thus, it is likely that the system exhibited terrestrial characteristics. In the second section (6500–2200 years BP, following the first Holocene transgression), there was dominance of marine/brackish diatom species. The lowest trophic states of the core were observed in this section. The third section (2200–1100 years BP), represented the system as it became separate from the Atlantic Ocean, and showed a dominance of brackish/freshwater species and increases in trophic state were observed. In the last section (after 1100 years BP), the system became fully freshwater as no marine or brackish diatom species were found, but a trend to oligotrophication was observed, probably due to nutrient depletion. However, after 1967 AD, eutrophication intensified because of forestry and soil fertilization in the catchment. Pollen association zones (PAZ) allowed us to identify four sections. Below 250 cm (2200 years BP), the core contained no pollen grains as redox potential and pH values were not conducive for pollen preservation. After 2200 years BP (when the system started to separate from the ocean), xerophilic taxa typical of coastal dunes colonized the catchment. Only after 1100 years BP (after fully freshwater conditions established) pollen grains of trees were observed.     

Letter to the editor Are the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Southern Oscillation related in any time-scale?

The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Southern Oscillation (SO) are compared from the standpoint of a possible common temporal scale of oscillation. To do this a cross-spectrum of the temporal series of NAO and SO indices was determined, finding a significant common oscillation of 6/8 years. To assure this finding, both series were decomposed in their main oscillations using singular spectrum analysis (SSA). Resulting reconstructed series of 6/8 years oscillation were then cross-correlated without and with pre-whitened, the latter being significant. The main conclusion is a possible relationship between a common oscillation of 6/8 years that represents about 20% of the SO variance and about 25% of the NAO variance.     

Geology and rural landscapes in central Spain (Guadalajara, Castilla—La Mancha)

Methods commonly used in regional geological analysis were employed to study the visual landscapes of the Sigüenza–Molina de Aragón area (Spain). Landscape data were compiled to produce a landscape map and a photograph catalogue. Lithological composition, tectonic structure and recent erosive processes are the main factors controlling the visual landscapes. Territorial properties, such as colours and agricultural capacities, are controlled by these geological characteristics. The landscape map and the photographic catalogue is the main contribution of this paper. The first level of landscape classification distinguishes zones with dominance of either flat, concave or convex areas. Other parts of the territory are, however, composed of concave and convex combinations that originate hybrid orographic structures. In a second level of classification, several subdivisions for each of these types are established.     

Petrological and Geochemical Characteristics of the Cerro Colorado Plutonic Complex in the Precordillera of Northern Chile

Abstract. The Cerro Colorado intrusive stock in the northeastern Chilean Precordillera is a plutonic complex formed during Late Cretaceous (64–72 Ma), and consists predominantly of pyroxene-bearing biotite monzogabbro (Colorado Unit), with lesser amounts of pyroxene-bearing hornblende biotite diorite (Pucaquisca Unit) and biotite hornblende monzonite (Pabellón Unit). Compositional variations of major and trace elements suggest that the Cerro Colorado complex is composed of shoshonitic alkali granitoids generated at the active continental margin. The basic to intermediate rocks of the Colorado Unit are characterized by high contents of A1₂O₃ (>20 wt%), CaO and LIL elements (K, Sr, Ba), high Fe/Mg ratio and fairly low contents of Cr, Ni and Y. These characteristics suggest that the Colorado Unit was formed by plagioclase-free source magma originated from asthenospheric mantle or mafic lower crust. All the Cerro Colorado rocks generally display linear compositional trends, and the latest Pabellón Unit rocks are richer in SiO₂ than the Colorado Unit and Pucaquisca Unit rocks. These indicate that the Pabellón Unit rocks were produced by assimilation-fractional crystallization process of the basic to intermediate magma genetically related to the voluminous Colorado Unit.     

Deriving Wind Force Terms from Nautical Reports Through Content Analysis. The Spanish and French Cases

Records of wind strength taken onboard Spanish and French ships during the 1750–1850 period have been digitized and examined using content analysis techniques to derive the equivalent wind strength in terms of the current Beaufort scale, this conversion being a key step in any attempt to compare ancient records with modern climatologies. During the analysis it was evident that Spanish and French officers used a great number of different terms to describe the wind force. However, when the records are analyzed and homogenized, a broadly common and essentially narrow vocabulary was identified, indicating that, at this period, a great effort had been made to regulate the maritime language. Using contemporary dictionaries and navigation manuals, an equivalence was established between the original wind force terms and the Beaufort scale.     

Numerical simulations of MHD dynamos

The generation of magnetic fields in space plasmas and in astrophysics is usually described within the framework of magnetohydrodynamics. Turbulent helical flows produce magnetic fields very efficiently, with correlation length scales larger than those characterizing the flow. Within the context of the solar magnetic cycle, a turbulent dynamo is responsible for the so-called alpha effect, while the Omega effect is associated to the differential rotation of the Sun.We present direct numerical simulations of turbulent magnetohydrodynamic dynamos including two-fluid effects such as the Hall current. More specifically, we study the evolution of an initially weak and small-scale magnetic field in a system maintained in a stationary regime of hydrodynamic turbulence, and explore the conditions for exponential growth of the magnetic energy. In all the cases considered, we find that the dynamo saturates at the equipartition level between kinetic and magnetic energy, and the total energy reaches a Kolmogorov power spectrum.     

Interannual Variability of the Annual Cycle of Temperature over Northern Africa

In this study, the imprints of two major atmospheric variability modes - ENSO and NAO - on the annual cycle of temperature over Northern Africa, a region sensitive to both modes, are investigated. Results from adjusting the annual cycle from daily data on a high resolution grid, indicate that both NAO and ENSO are able to influence significantly the amplitude and phase of the seasonal cycle and, consequently, that interannual trends found in amplitude and phase can be not exclusively due to greenhouse gases effects.