Cloud observations with a polarimetric 33 GHz and 95 GHz radar

Summary The University of Massachusetts' Microwave Remote Sensing Laboratory (MIRSL) has developed a unique high spatial resolution multiparameter radar under sponsorship from the Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program. The Cloud Profiling Radar System (CPRS) uses a single one-meter diameter dielectric lens antenna to make collocated polarimetric and Doppler measurements at both 33 GHz and 95 GHz. The polarization of each transmitted pulse at either frequency can be selected on a pulse-to-pulse basis. The radar and supporting hardware are mounted on a truck that serves as a mobile laboratory. The truck-based platform permits CPRS to operate in remote locations and also serves as an economical means of transporting the system.This paper describes the CPRS hardware and presents preliminary vertically pointing observations of mixed-phase stratus clouds obtained in the summer of 1993 during the first field test of the system. Measurements show Mie scattering in the ice region, melting layer and rain region of the clouds observed. To illustrate CPRS potential for particle sizing, models of differential reflectivity and differential mean Doppler velocity are used to estimate median volume diameter,D ₀, from dual-wavelength reflectivity and Doppler measurments of rain.With 20 Figures     

Evidence for a Black Hole and Accretion Disk in the LINER NGC 4203

We examine the supernova remnant SNR 0540-697 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) using data from the Chandra Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer. The X-ray emission from this supernova remnant (SNR) had previously been hidden in the bright emission of the nearby X-ray binary LMC X-1; however, new observations with Chandra can finally reveal the SNR's structure and spectrum. We find the SNR to be a thick-shelled structure about 19 pc in diameter, with a brightened northeast region. Spectral results suggest a temperature of 0.31 keV and an X-ray luminosity (0.3-3.0 keV) of 8.4x1033 ergs s(-1). We estimate an age of 12,000-20,000 yr for this SNR, but note that this estimate does not take into account the possibility of cavity expansion or other environmental effects.     

Response to “Limitations in the Hilbert Transform Approach to Locating Solar Cycle Terminators” by R. Booth

Solar Physics - The Maunder Minimum (1645?–?1715) was unique in terms of solar-cycle amplitudes and sunspot-position distributions registered in the last four centuries; however,...     

Are secular variations in seawater chemistry reflected in the compositions of basinal brines?

It has been proposed that brines in Phanerozoic sedimentary basins inherited their chemistries and salinities from evaporated paleoseawaters during times when the world oceans were Ca-rich and SO₄-poor, such as the Silurian and Devonian. However, the compositions of typical Silurian and Devonian-hosted brines in the Illinois and Michigan basins show significant deviations from calculated Silurian seawater evaporation trends, reflecting instead, diagenetic control of compositions. In addition, brines in many basins show evidence for the dissolution of halite being an important source of salinity in addition to, or instead of, evaporated seawater. As long as there is halite present, generation of salinity could continue to occur long after the deposition of evaporites and the influx of evaporated seawater. Thus, even the concept of assigning an age to a basinal brine is problematic given the dynamics of fluid flow, mixing, and solute transport which can occur in sedimentary sequences.     

The Whole Heliosphere Interval in the Context of a Long and Structured Solar Minimum: An Overview from Sun to Earth

Throughout months of extremely low solar activity during the recent extended solar-cycle minimum, structural evolution continued to be observed from the Sun through the solar wind and to the Earth. In 2008, the presence of long-lived and large low-latitude coronal holes meant that geospace was periodically impacted by high-speed streams, even though solar irradiance, activity, and interplanetary magnetic fields had reached levels as low as, or lower than, observed in past minima. This time period, which includes the first Whole Heliosphere Interval (WHI 1: Carrington Rotation (CR) 2068), illustrates the effects of fast solar-wind streams on the Earth in an otherwise quiet heliosphere. By the end of 2008, sunspots and solar irradiance had reached their lowest levels for this minimum (e.g., WHI 2: CR 2078), and continued solar magnetic-flux evolution had led to a flattening of the heliospheric current sheet and the decay of the low-latitude coronal holes and associated Earth-intersecting high-speed solar-wind streams. As the new solar cycle slowly began, solar-wind and geospace observables stayed low or continued to decline, reaching very low levels by June??C?July 2009. At this point (e.g., WHI 3: CR 2085) the Sun?CEarth system, taken as a whole, was at its quietest. In this article we present an overview of observations that span the period 2008??C?2009, with highlighted discussion of CRs 2068, 2078, and 2085. We show side-by-side observables from the Sun??s interior through its surface and atmosphere, through the solar wind and heliosphere and to the Earth??s space environment and upper atmosphere, and reference detailed studies of these various regimes within this topical issue and elsewhere.     

The last interglacial as represented in the glaciochemical record from Mount Moulton Blue Ice Area,West Antarctica

Understanding climate during the last interglacial is critical for understanding how modern climate change differs from purely naturally forced climate change. Here we present the first high-resolution ice core record of the last interglacial and transition to the subsequent glacial period from Antarctica and the first glaciochemical record for this period from West Antarctica. Samples were collected from a horizontal ice trench in the Mt. Moulton Blue Ice Area (BIA) in West Antarctica and analyzed for their soluble major anions (Cl^?, NO₃^?, SO₄^2-), major and trace elements (Na, Mg, Ca, Sr, Cd, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Pb, Bi, U, As, Al, S, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn) and water hydrogen isotopes (δD). The last interglacial is characterized by warmer temperatures (δD), weakened atmospheric circulation (dust elements, seasalts aerosols), decreased sea ice extent (Na, nssSO₄^2-) and decreased oceanic productivity (nssSO₄^2-). A combined examination of Mt. Moulton seasalts, dust, nssSO₄^2- and δD records indicates that the last interglacial was extremely stable compared to glacial age climate events and it ended through a long period of gradual cooling unlike that projected for future Holocene climate.     

Impacts of agricultural irrigation recharge on groundwater quality in a basalt aquifer system (Washington, USA): a multi-tracer approach

Irrigation in semi-arid agricultural regions can have profound effects on recharge rates and the quality of shallow groundwater. This study coupled stable isotopes (²??, ¹⁸O), age-tracers (³H, CFCs, ¹⁴C), ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, and elemental chemistry to determine the sources, residence times, and flowpaths of groundwater and agricultural contaminants (e.g. NO ₃ ^?C ) in the Saddle Mountains Basalt Aquifer in central Washington, USA, where over 80% of the population depend on groundwater for domestic use. Results demonstrate the presence of two distinct types of water: contaminated irrigation water and pristine regional groundwater. Contaminated irrigation water has high NO ₃ ^?C concentrations (11?C116? mg/l), ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.70659?C0.71078) within range of nitrogen-based fertilizers, detectable tritium (2.8?C13.4 TU), CFC ages 20?C40?years, high ??¹⁸O values (?16.9 to ?13.5??), and ??100 percent modern ¹⁴C. Pristine regional groundwater has low NO ₃ ^?C concentrations (1?C5? mg/l), no detectable tritium (??0.8 TU), low ??¹⁸O values (?18.9 to ?17.3??) and ¹⁴C ages from ??15 to 33?ky BP. Nitrogen and oxygen isotopes of NO ₃ ^?C , combined with high dissolved oxygen values, show that denitrification is not an important process in the organic-poor basalt aquifers resulting in transport of high NO ₃ ^?C irrigation water to depths greater than 40?m in less than 30? years.     

Nine Years Of Euv Bright Points

We discuss early results derived from an algorithm that automates the detection, cataloging, and analysis of extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) “bright points” (BP) from 9 years of data acquired by the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The algorithm relies upon the computation of a map of “intensity significance”; this then contains the location of the EUV BPs. By mapping the location of BPs in each image and linking them through long sequences of EIT images we can describe the temporal and spatial variations of the 1.3× 10⁸ EUV BPs observed by SOHO to date. We suggest that there is a considerable amount of physical information about the solar coronal plasma that can be readily gleamed from the BP detection database. In this paper we discuss only a small portion of the possible correlations, but we point to the possibility of BP lifetime distributions that are well described by modified power-laws; the components of which vary with the different temperature filters and with time over the present solar cycle. Dedicated to the memory of John (Ian) Hamilton (1938–2004).     

Environmental effects on satellite galaxies: the link between concentration, size and colour profile

Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4 group catalogue of Yang et al., we investigate sizes, concentrations, colour gradients and surface brightness profiles of central and satellite galaxies. We compare central and satellite galaxies at fixed stellar mass, in order to disentangle environmental from stellar mass dependencies. Early- and late-type galaxies are defined according to concentration. We find that at fixed stellar mass, late-type satellite galaxies have smaller radii and larger concentrations than late-type central galaxies. No such differences are found for early-type galaxies. We have also constructed surface brightness and colour profiles for the central and satellite galaxies in our sample. We find that late-type satellite galaxies have a lower surface brightness and redder colours than late-type central galaxies. We show that all observed differences between satellite and central galaxies can be explained by a simple fading model, in which the star formation in the disc decreases over time-scales of 2–3 Gyr after a galaxy becomes a satellite. Processes that induce strong morphological changes (e.g. harassment) and processes that strip the galaxy of its entire interstellar medium need not to be invoked in order to explain the environmental dependencies we find.