The history and fate of the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer springs in the oasis depressions of the Western Desert,Egypt

Extraction of groundwater for agriculture has resulted in the loss of springs across arid regions of the globe. The history and fate are recorded of the artesian springs of Egypt’s Western Desert, from ancient times to the present, spanning the rise and fall of the great civilisations from the Pharoanic dynasties to Persian, Greek and Roman conquests. The study area includes oases Kharga, Dakhla, Bahriya, Farafra and Siwa, and several outer and small oases around Siwa and the edge of the Qattara Depression. The region is hyper-arid, receiving 10 mm or less average annual precipitation and evaporation rates are in the vicinity of 3,000 mm/a. Groundwater in the oases is largely derived from bores discharging from the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer. Based on an extensive survey, conducted for the first time, attention is drawn to the rapid demise of springs as a result of modern irrigation schemes which continue to deplete groundwater supplies.     

Late Holocene Environmental Reconstructions from Lake Solai,Kenya

Playa lake systems tend to be overlooked archives of paleoenvironmental change due to the likelihood of a short and intermittent record of deposition. Groundwater-fed wetlands associated with these climate-sensitive playas, however, preserve changes in hydrologic budget and are thus valuable archives for semiarid regions. This study examines the paleoecological record of a groundwater-fed wetland from Lake Solai, Kenya. Biological proxies are used to reconstruct paleoenvironmental change and climate impacts over the past millennium. Dry conditions persisted between CE 1115 and 1490, followed by wetter conditions during the Little Ice Age. Near surface sediments indicate increasing anthropogenic impact through pastoralism.     

The UBV orbital phase curves of Rhea,Dione, and Tethys

Orbital phase curves are reported for Rhea (SV), Dione (SIV), and Tethys (SIII). Variations of 0.2 mag. and 0.8 mag. were found for Rhea and Dione respectively, while no variation of Tethys was detected. Some color variations are also reported.     

Infrared observations of the surface and atmosphere of Titan

Infrared photometry of Titan, Saturn, and Saturn's Rings at 3.5, 4.9, 17.8, and 18.4 μm is reported. Comparison of the albedo of Titan in the 4.9 μm “window” with the albedo of the rings and with laboratory spectra suggests that frost, possibly water ice, could be a major constituent. If thick clouds are present they must be very dark at 4.9 μm. The 17.8 and 18.4 μm data are not consistent with a clear, dense molecular hydrogen atmosphere.     

A physical model of Titan's clouds

We have constructed a model of the physical processes controlling Titan's clouds. Our model produces clouds that qualitatively match the present observational constraints in a wide variety of model atmospheres, including those with low atmospheric pressures (25 mbar) and high atmospheric pressures. We find the following: (1) high atmospheric temperatures (160°K) are important so that there is a large scale height in the first few optical depths of cloud; (2) the aerosol mass production occurs at very low aerosol optical depth so that the cloud particles do not directly affect the photochemistry producing them; (3) the production rate of aerosol mass by chemical processes is probably greater than 3.5 × 10^?14 g cm^?2 sec^?1; (4) and the eddy diffusion coefficient is less than 5 × 10⁶ cm² sec^?1 except perhaps in the top optical depth of the cloud. Our model is not extremely sensitive to particle shape, but it is sensitive to particle density. Higher particle densities require larger aerosol mass production rates to produce satisfactory clouds. Particle densities of unity require a mass production rate on the order of 3.5 × 10^?13 g cm^?2 sec^?1. We also show that an increase in mass input causes a decrease in the mean particle size, as required by J. B. Pollack et al. (1980, Geophys. Res. Lett. 7, 829–832), to explain the observed correlation between the solar cycle and Titan's albedo; that coagulation need not be extremely inefficient in order to obtain realistic clouds as proposed by M. Podolak and E. Podolak (1980, Icarus43, 73–83); that coagulation could be inefficient due to photoelectric charging of the particles; and, that the lifetime of particles near the altitude of unit optical depth is a few months, as required to explain the temporal variability observed by S. T. Suess and G. W. Lockwood and D. P. Cruikshank and J. S. Morgan (1979, Bull. Amer. Astron. Soc.11, 564). Although Titan's aerosols are ottically thick in the vertical direction, the atmosphere is so extended that the horizontal visibility is greater than that found anywhere at Earth's surface.     

The effect of particles on light scattering in the sea

Relationships of light scattering to particle concentration and size distribution were experimentally determined to follow theoretical findings, both in laboratory suspensions and in a variety of conditions in the natural marine environment. Confirmation was obtained by electronic particle counts paired with scattering measurements that light scattering provides a measure of concentration of particle cross-section in the sea. The use of light scattering as a measure of particle bulk concentration is shown to require constancy of the distribution of particle size, which is met under prescribed circumstances in the upper part of the sea. A simple test can indicate the constancy of the size distribution. A tentative estimate is made of the effect particles have on the inherent properties of open ocean water.     

Climate Change and Global Wine Quality

From 1950 to 1999 the majority of the world's highest quality wine-producing regions experienced growing season warming trends. Vintage quality ratings during this same time period increased significantly while year-to-year variation declined. While improved winemaking knowledge and husbandry practices contributed to the better vintages it was shown that climate had, and will likely always have, a significant role in quality variations. This study revealed that the impacts of climate change are not likely to be uniform across all varieties and regions. Currently, many European regions appear to be at or near their optimum growing season temperatures, while the relationships are less defined in the New World viticulture regions. For future climates, model output for global wine producing regions predicts an average warming of 2 ^∘C in the next 50 yr. For regions producing high-quality grapes at the margins of their climatic limits, these results suggest that future climate change will exceed a climatic threshold such that the ripening of balanced fruit required for existing varieties and wine styles will become progressively more difficult. In other regions, historical and predicted climate changes could push some regions into more optimal climatic regimes for the production of current varietals. In addition, the warmer conditions could lead to more poleward locations potentially becoming more conducive to grape growing and wine production.