The post-eclipse brightening of Io

We review the photometric work on eclipse reappearances of Io. New observations of eclipse reappearances of Io confirm the post-eclipse brightness anomaly reported by Binder and Cruikshank (1964) but testify to its intermittent nature. A post-eclipse anomaly of approximately 0.07 mag was observed on two occasions in 1972, while observations of Europa and Ganymede showed no brightness anomaly greater than 0.01 mag. The atmospheric condensation model for the anomaly on Io is reviewed in terms of the quantity of frost required to produce the effect and the corresponding amount of gas liberated to the atmosphere upon sublimation. The observational data and the results from a stellar occultation are in general accord with the theoretical predictions of the stability of heavy gases on Io, while both observational and theoretical criteria are satisfied by a tenuous atmosphere of a heavy gas such as methane or ammonia having a surface pressure ～10^?7 bar.     

The Enso-Fire Dynamic in Insular Southeast Asia

We examined the spatiotemporal patterns of fire in insular Southeast Asia from July 1996 to December 2001 using a set of consistent, nighttime fire observations provided by the Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) sensor. Monthly ATSR fire counts were analyzed relative to georeferenced climatic and land-cover data from a variety of sources. We found that fires were strongly correlated with Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) (r = ?0.75) and Niño 3.4 index (r = 0.72) in forested land-cover types within the equatorial belt (5.5^°S–5.5^°N). Cross-correlation analysis revealed that detrended SOI was modestly correlated (r = 0.42) with detrended monthly fire count with a positive lag of four months. However, our analysis also revealed that fire counts reached their maximum 6 months before the absolute maximum of SOI. Annual sums of SOI (∑_SOI) and fire counts revealed linearity for ∑_SOI≤ 0. Overall, the results suggest that ENSO indices may have limited predictive utility at a monthly time scale, but that temporal aggregation and additional fire observations may enhance our capacity to forecast fires in different cover types based on ENSO data.     

Grounding the virtual: The material effects of electronic grocery shopping

This paper addresses the materiality of computer-mediated retailing. The paper uncovers the “hidden geography” of e-commerce, considering how the seemingly simple act of doorstep food delivery is explicated in urban form, and in transportation and communication infrastructures. The paper categorises electronic grocery shopping (EGS) enterprises into three types: “bricks and clicks”, “pure-play” and the “infomediary”, and examines how each type of operation has been materialised in the urban landscape, and the infrastructure upon which each draws. The paper then considers the strategies EGS operations have used to offset the “killer costs” of logistics for electronic commerce. The paper concludes by considering how electronic grocery shopping is embedded within broader trends in consumer behaviour, and how these trends are manifested in the materiality of urban life. The paper argues that online grocers are in the vanguard of ventures habituating customers to the remote ordering and delayed delivery of products to the home. Through controlling this “last mile”, online retailers hope to extend the product offer to higher-margin and more problematic products, which are in themselves unprofitable to distribute direct to the customer, but which can be profitably combined with a grocery shop.     

The C/CO ratio in B335 and the decaying dark matter neutrino hypothesis

C¹⁸O J  = 2–1, C¹⁷O J  = 2–1 and [C  I ] ³P₁–³P₀ emission from the dense cold cloud B335 has been observed and modelled in order to determine the C/CO ratio. The observed ratio is compared with a prediction by Tarafdar who assumes a mechanism in which the CO dissociation is caused by photons of energy ∼ 13.8 eV. These were postulated by Sciama to result from the decay of dark matter neutrinos. Our value for the C/CO ratio sets an upper limit to the strength of the neutrino decay dissociation process, thus providing a significant datum for interstellar chemistry theory.     

An explosion seismology investigation of the continental margin west of the Hebrides, Scotland, at 58°N

During summer 1975, a line of large shots was fired across the continental margin between the Rockall Trough and the Hebridean shelf along 58°N. Arrivals were observed at temporary seismic stations set up across Scotland and in northwestern Ireland. A clear P₂ phase was observed to cross the margin and a converted phase P₁ also seen on the records is interpreted as travelling in the sub-sedimentary oceanic crust of Rockall Trough and in the upper continental crust beneath the shelf.The continental crust beneath the Hebridean shelf is estimated to be 27 ± 2 km thick, with P_g = 6.22 ± 0.03 km/s and P_n = 8.01 ± 0.04 km/s as determined by time-term analysis. P_g delays on the outer shelf are interpreted in terms of a seaward thickening wedge of Mesozoic sediments which pre-date the split. P_n beneath the Rockall Trough was poorly determined at 8.20 ± 0.17 km/s and the Moho is estimated to be 18 ± 2 km deep at 58°N. This and other seismic and gravity work indicates a northward thickening of the crust along the Rockall Trough, accounting for the northward decrease in the height of the slope.Our results, and those of gravity interpretations, indicate a relatively abrupt transition between continental and oceanic crust, possibly correlating with the lack of major shelf subsidence. This is attributed to a relatively cool origin for this margin. The main thinning of the continental crust beneath the slope is attributed to outslip of continental crustal material into and beneath the newly forming oceanic crust during the first few million years after the split, possibly enhanced by pre-split stretching.     

Multiple reflections between the earth and the ionosphere in V.L.F. propagation

Summary Treating the ionosphere as a sharply bounded ionized medium, sky wave field intensities are calculated by geometrical-optical methods for very low radio frequencies. The reflection coefficients are discussed in some detail and the numerical data are compared with experiment.     

A Study of Ozone Laminae Using Diabatic Trajectories, Contour Advection and Photochemical Trajectory Model Simulations.

In this paper, we show that the rate of ozone loss in both polar and mid-latitudes, derived from ozonesonde and satellite data, has almost the same vertical distribution (although opposite sense) to that of ozone laminae abundance. Ozone laminae appear in the lower stratosphere soon after the polar vortex is established in autumn, increase in number throughout the winter and reach a maximum abundance in late winter or spring. We indicate a possible coupling between mid-winter, sudden stratospheric warmings (when the vortex is weakened or disrupted) and the abundance of ozone laminae using a 23-year record of ozonesonde data from the World Ozone Data Center in Canada combined with monthly-mean January polar temperatures at 30 hPa.Results are presented from an experiment conducted during the winter of 1994/95, in phase II of the Second European Stratospheric And Mid-latitude Experiment (SESAME), in which 93 ozone-enhanced laminae of polar origin observed by ozonesondes at different time and locations are linked by diabatic trajectories, enabling them to be probed twice or more. It is shown that, in general, ozone concentrations inside laminae fall progressively with time, mixing irreversibly with mid-latitude air on time-scales of a few weeks. A particular set of laminae which advected across Europe during mid February 1995 are examined in detail. These laminae were observed almost simultaneously at seven ozonesonde stations, providing information on their spatial scales. The development of these laminae has been modelled using the Contour Advection algorithm of Norton (1994), adding support to the concept that many laminae are extrusions of vortex air. Finally, a photochemical trajectory model is used to show that, if the air in the laminae is chemically activated, it will impact on mid-latitude ozone concentrations. An estimate is made of the potential number of ozone molecules lost each winter via this mechanism.