An optical view of BL Lacertae objects

BL Lac objects are active nuclei, hosted in massive elliptical galaxies, the emission of which is dominated by a relativistic jet closely aligned with the line of sight. This implies the existence of a parent population of sources with a misaligned jet that have been identified with low-power radiogalaxies. The spectrum of BL Lacs, dominated by non-thermal emission over the whole electromagnetic range, together with bright compact radio cores, high luminosities, rapid and large amplitude flux variability at all frequencies and strong polarization makes these sources an optimal laboratory for high energy astrophysics. A most distinctive characteristic of the class is the weakness or absence of spectral lines, that historically hindered the identification of their nature and ever thereafter proved to be a hurdle in the determination of their distance. In this paper, we review the main observational facts that contribute to the present basic interpretation of this class of active galaxies. We overview the history of the BL Lac objects research field and their population as it emerged from multi-wavelength surveys. The properties of the flux variability and polarization, compared with those at radio, X-ray and gamma-ray frequencies, are summarized together with the present knowledge of the host galaxies, their environments, and central black hole masses. We focus this review on the optical observations, which played a crucial role in the early phase of BL Lacs studies, and in spite of extensive radio, X-ray, and recently gamma-ray observations, could represent the future major contribution to the unveiling of the origin of these sources. In particular, they could provide a firm conclusion on the long debated issue of the cosmic evolution of this class of active galactic nuclei and on the connection between formation of supermassive black holes and relativistic jets.     

Comparison of potentially toxic metals leaching from weathered rocks at a closed mine site between laboratory columns and field observation

Potentially toxic metals, such as Cu, Pb and Zn, are leached from weathered rocks at many closed mine sites due to the acidic environments and mineralogical modifications. The mobilized toxic metals may cause contamination of surrounding water bodies. In this study, both laboratory column experiments and field observations at a former mine located in the north of Japan were carried out to compare the leaching behavior of Cu, Pb and Zn. The thickness of the surface weathered rock was varied (10, 20 and 30 cm) for the columns experiments while porous cups for porewater sampling were set up at different depths (GL-15, -45, -70, and -95 cm) for the field observations. Deionized water was added once a week over 75 weeks to the columns to simulate rainfall while porewater was extracted by a vacuum pump in several sampling campaigns (over 18 months). Similar low pH and leaching behavior of potentially toxic metals were observed for column experiments and field observations. A moderate increase in concentration with depth was observed for Cu and Zn. However, no increase in concentration was observed for Pb. This suggests that the leaching of Cu and Zn is enhanced by the length of the flow pathway through the weathered rock layer while Pb concentration is restricted by the precipitation of insoluble Pb sulfate. Thus, the thickness of the weathered rock layer is an important parameter that should be taken into consideration to estimate the loads of some potentially toxic metals, which is important when designing remediation schemes.     

Late Pleistocene depositional cycles of the Lapis Tiburtinus travertine (Tivoli, Central Italy): Possible influence of climate and fault activity

The depositional and erosional history of the Lapis Tiburtinus endogenic travertine located circa 25 km to the east of Rome, Central Italy, near the Colli Albani quiescent volcano, is interpreted through three-dimensional stratigraphy and uranium-series geochronology. Analyses of large exposures located in active quarries and of cores obtained from 114 industrial wells reveal that the travertine deposit is about 20 km² wide and 60 m thick on average. The travertine thickness is over 85 m toward its western N–S-elongated side, where thermal springs and large sinkholes occur aligned over a seismically-active N-striking fault. The travertine age was calculated using the U/Th isochron method. Results constrain the onset and conclusion of travertine deposition at about 115 and 30 ka, respectively. The three-dimensional study of the travertine shows that this deposit is characterized by a succession of depositional benches grown in an aggradational fashion. The benches are separated by five main erosional surfaces, which are associated with paleosols, conglomerates, and karstic features. This evidence shows that the travertine evolution was mostly controlled by water table fluctuations. Chronological correlations between travertine evolution and paleoclimate indicators suggest that the travertine deposition was partly modulated by climate conditions. Other influencing factors may have been fault-related deformation and volcanic events.     

Single-station ellipticity retrieval and its joint inversion with dispersion curve,for a borehole test site

To obtain the shear wave velocity profile for engineering application to near-subsurface, many geophysical techniques are used. The dispersion curve alone is unable to provide deeper shear wave velocity information for deep soil deposit; therefore, a joint inversion of dispersion curves with the horizontal over vertical (H/V) (i.e., apparently ellipticity) curve is recommended. The H/V curve obtained from the microtremor recording contains a major part of Love wave contribution to the noise wavefield horizontal component. Due to this presence of Love wave fraction, the H/V curve does not completely replicate the ellipticity of Rayleigh wave. In this study, we try to compare the Rayleigh wave ellipticity obtained from the borehole velocity model to the H/V curve obtained at the same locality from seismic ambient noise recording. Two different techniques available for the Love effect minimization are tested and compared with the borehole ellipticity. Finally, the joint inversion of H/V and dispersion curve is made, which shows great correspondence with the previous measurement at the site.     

How old is Luzia? Luminescence dating and stratigraphic integrity at Lapa Vermelha,Lagoa Santa,Brazil

During an excavation in the 1970s, a disarticulated female human skeleton, later nicknamed Luzia, was discovered at 12m depth at Lapa Vermelha rockshelter in central Brazil. Radiocarbon dating of associated charcoal suggested an age of 11.4‐16.4 ka for the skeleton. The scattering of the skeletal parts, some uncertainty about the exact provenience of the skeleton, and evidence of pervasive insect turbation in the archaeological layers have raised doubts about the accuracy of the age. Luminescence dates for the depositional ages of the sediments at Lapa Vermelha are reported here. Single‐grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) of quartz along with grain‐size, chemical and micro‐morphological analyses of the sediments were employed to assess stratigraphic integrity, particularly the degree of sediment mixing. These various lines of evidence point to high stratigraphic integrity with little mixing at Lapa Vermelha. Sediments closest to where Luzia was recovered give OSL ages ranging from 12.7 to 16.0 ka, thus not refuting the original dates. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Boundary-Layer Stress Instabilities in Neutral,Rotating Turbulent Flows

Boundary-layer instabilities are studied by analyzing the results of laboratory simulations of wall turbulence in a shear-driven rotating flow. The experiments were carried out in the Turin University Laboratory rotating water tank, where a circular flow was generated by either increasing (spin-up) or decreasing (spin-down) the rotation speed of the platform. The flow was measured using a Particle Image Velocimetry technique and the developed turbulence analyzed. Two cases were accounted for, in the former the measurements were performed over a smooth surface (bottom of the tank), while in the latter a rough-to-smooth transition was considered. The turbulent boundary layer developed inside the tank is analyzed by means of vertical profiles of mean and turbulent quantities and on the basis of drag coefficients. Then turbulent structures developed in the different cases are shown and discussed in terms of the vorticity fields. Finally, an analysis based on the concept of swirling strength was carried out to select among the vortex extremes those associated with a coherent structure.     

Behaviour of metals and nutrients in soils and groundwater of a karst polje

The Croatian south part of the country is mainly composed of strongly krastified carbonate rocks. Also in this south part of Croatia is lacking of large depressions and poljes with thick covers. Some karst poljes and depressions may have thick covers, like for example the Vransko polje. The Vransko polje is characterised by an intensive agricultural activity. At the centre of the polje is located a karst spring (Turanjsko jezero), which is used for the water supply of the town Biograd and its surroundings. Total metals, nutrients (nitrate, ammonia, phosphate), organic matter content and cation exchange capacity (CEC) were measured in soil samples collected from the polje. Metals and nutrients were also measured in the water samples of channel Kotarka (which is passing through the area) and three springs (Turanjsko jezero, Kakma and Tinj). Measured total concentrations of metals of soil samples were treated by R-cluster multivariate statistical analysis. The result of statistical analysis showed grouping of metals with similar behaviour. Content of metals and nutrients were low in the spring samples but high in the water sample of the channel Kotarka, because the channel drains the water from the surroundings. Although agricultural activity in the Vransko polje is high, there is no high anthropogenic influence on groundwater and soil. They are both of good quality.     

Reduced-order optimal control of water flooding using proper orthogonal decomposition

Model-based optimal control of water flooding generally involves multiple reservoir simulations, which makes it into a time-consuming process. Furthermore, if the optimization is combined with inversion, i.e., with updating of the reservoir model using production data, some form of regularization is required to cope with the ill-posedness of the inversion problem. A potential way to address these issues is through the use of proper orthogonal decomposition (POD), also known as principal component analysis, Karhunen–Loève decomposition or the method of empirical orthogonal functions. POD is a model reduction technique to generate low-order models using ‘snapshots’ from a forward simulation with the original high-order model. In this work, we addressed the scope to speed up optimization of water-flooding a heterogeneous reservoir with multiple injectors and producers. We used an adjoint-based optimal control methodology that requires multiple passes of forward simulation of the reservoir model and backward simulation of an adjoint system of equations. We developed a nested approach in which POD was first used to reduce the state space dimensions of both the forward model and the adjoint system. After obtaining an optimized injection and production strategy using the reduced-order system, we verified the results using the original, high-order model. If necessary, we repeated the optimization cycle using new reduced-order systems based on snapshots from the verification run. We tested the methodology on a reservoir model with 4050 states (2025 pressures, 2025 saturations) and an adjoint model of 4050 states (Lagrange multipliers). We obtained reduced-order models with 20–100 states only, which produced almost identical optimized flooding strategies as compared to those obtained using the high-order models. The maximum achieved reduction in computing time was 35%.     

Integrated assessment and evaluation of the coastal environment of the province of vizcaya,bay of Biscay,Spain

A methodology for the quick, overall assessment of the capability of different parts of a coastal environment to be used for human activities is described. The methodology is based on the elaboration of a series of thematic maps (geologic, biologic, and dynamic, e.g., currents, features) for the three “environmental systems” that were defined (marine, estuarine, and emerged coastline). The thematic maps are combined to define “homogeneous units” and these are then evaluated for the attractiveness and impact corresponding to a series of selected activities. Alternatively, the mapped features can be evaluated directly for certain systems, without defining homogeneous units. The combination of attractiveness and impact is used to obtain the relative capability of each unit for each activity, thus establishing the activities that are most advisable in each case.