Multifrequency behayiour of the dwarf nova SS Cygni

Several years of coordinated multifrequency observations of the dwarf nova SS Cygni have been performed in order to study the accretion behaviour of this system in particular, and in general to clarify this crucial problem for the cataclysmic variables.From IUE measurements, together with those from optical and IR ground based telescopes, we have found orbital modulations in the continuum and in the equivalent widths of the emission lines. During quiescent phases the behaviour of SS Cygni are dependent on the type of the preceding outburst (long-type or short-type).In this paper we will discuss the physical implications one can derive from these results.Paper presented at the 11th European Regional Astronomical Meetings of the IAU on New Windows to the Universe, held 3–8 July, 1989, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.Based on the observations performed with IUE (VILSPA) satellite, and with the telescopes of the Loiano and Roque de los Muchachos Observatories.     

Trace gas exchange at the air/water interface: Measurements of mass accommodation coefficients

A liquid jet of 90 m diameter and variable length has been utilized to determine absorption rates and, hence, mass accommodation coefficients , of atmospheric trace gases. The compounds investigated are HCl (0.01), HNO₃ (0.01), N₂O₅ (0.005), peroxyacetyl nitrate (>0.001), and HONO (0.005). It is concluded that the absorption of these trace gases by liquid atmospheric water is not significantly retarded by interfacial mass transport. The strengths and limitations of the liquid jet technique for measuring mass accommodation coefficients are explored.     

Oil-generation kinetics for organic facies with Type-II and -IIS kerogen in the Menilite Shales of the Polish Carpathians

The Menilite Shales (Oligocene) of the Polish Carpathians are the source of low-sulfur oils in the thrust belt and some high-sulfur oils in the Carpathian Foredeep. These oil occurrences indicate that the high-sulfur oils in the Foredeep were generated and expelled before major thrusting and the low-sulfur oils in the thrust belt were generated and expelled during or after major thrusting. Two distinct organic facies have been observed in the Menilite Shales. One organic facies has a high clastic sediment input and contains Type-II kerogen. The other organic facies has a lower clastic sediment input and contains Type-IIS kerogen. Representative samples of both organic facies were used to determine kinetic parameters for immiscible oil generation by isothermal hydrous pyrolysis and S₂ generation by non-isothermal open-system pyrolysis. The derived kinetic parameters showed that timing of S₂ generation was not as different between the Type-IIS and -II kerogen based on open-system pyrolysis as compared with immiscible oil generation based on hydrous pyrolysis. Applying these kinetic parameters to a burial history in the Skole unit showed that some expelled oil would have been generated from the organic facies with Type-IIS kerogen before major thrusting with the hydrous-pyrolysis kinetic parameters but not with the open-system pyrolysis kinetic parameters. The inability of open-system pyrolysis to determine earlier petroleum generation from Type-IIS kerogen is attributed to the large polar-rich bitumen component in S₂ generation, rapid loss of sulfur free-radical initiators in the open system, and diminished radical selectivity and rate constant differences at higher temperatures. Hydrous-pyrolysis kinetic parameters are determined in the presence of water at lower temperatures in a closed system, which allows differentiation of bitumen and oil generation, interaction of free-radical initiators, greater radical selectivity, and more distinguishable rate constants as would occur during natural maturation. Kinetic parameters derived from hydrous pyrolysis show good correlations with one another (compensation effect) and kerogen organic-sulfur contents. These correlations allow for indirect determination of hydrous-pyrolysis kinetic parameters on the basis of the organic-sulfur mole fraction of an immature Type-II or -IIS kerogen.     

Assessment of the mycoflora of commercial poultry feeds sold in the humid tropical environment of Imo State, Nigeria

This study was carried out to identify the common moulds growing in selected commercial poultry feed sold in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. Forty-eight bulk samples derived froml92 bags of feeds were collected from broiler starter (BS), broiler finishers (BF), grower mash (GM) and layer mash (LM) across 4 different brands of ommercial poultry feeds, which included Livestock (LF), Top (TF) Guinea (GF) and Vital (VF) feeds. The feed samples were collected during the rainy season months of June, July and August. The common moulds isolated from these feeds were Aspergillus sp., Peicillium sp.,Mucor sp., Yeast sp., Rhizopus sp., Epicoecum sp., Gymnoaseus sp., Cladosporium sp., Mortierella sp. as well as Bacteria. Generally, more organisms were isolated in June than the other months with Mortierella sp. being the only one not isolated in that month. Vital feed with 8 different isolates had the highest diversity of fungal species while the others had between 4 and 5 species. Prevalence rates across the feed types, generally ranged from 18.76% in layer mash to 30.03% in broiler finisher. The four Aspergillus sp. isolated came from GM and BF. This study highlights the need for constant monitoring of moulds in commercial feedstuff produced in the humid tropical environments such as Imo state, Nigeria. There is also the need to routinely include fungal growth nhibitors in commercial feeds since moulds are capable of reducing the nutritional values of feedstuff as well as elaborating pathogenic toxins.     

Alpine reworking of Ordovician protoliths in the Western Carpathians: Geochronological and geochemical data on the Muráñ Gneiss Complex, Slovakia

Magmatic protoliths of Ordovician age have been identified in the metamorphic rocks of the Muráñ Gneiss Complex, Veporic Unit (Central Western Carpathians). Vapor digestion single zircon U–Pb dating yields an intrusion age of 464 ± 35 Ma (upper intercept) for the granite protolith. A lower intercept age of 88 ± 40 Ma records amphibolite-facies metamorphic overprint in the Cretaceous, during the Alpine orogeny. Geochemical and isotopic data suggest crustal origin of the orthogneiss. Nd_initial are between − 2.6 and − 5.0 and T_DM^Nd between 1.3 and 1.5 Ga (two-step approach). ⁸⁷Sr / ⁸⁶Sr_initial ratios vary between 0.7247 and 0.7120, and a steep REE pattern further constrains the crustal affinity of these rocks. Associated amphibolite bodies have Nd_initial values of 6.5, ⁸⁷Sr / ⁸⁶Sr_initial ratio of 0.7017, and a flat REE pattern. They are interpreted as MORB derived metabasites. Whole-rock Pb isotope analyses define a linear array in a ²⁰⁶Pb / ²⁰⁴Pb vs. ²⁰⁷Pb / ²⁰⁴Pb diagram with an age of ca. 134 Ma, consistent with intense Alpine metamorphism and deformation.

These basement rocks of the Central Western Carpathians are interpreted as Ordovician magmatic rocks intruded at an active margin of Gondwana. They represent the eastern prolongation of Cambro–Ordovician units of the European Variscides, which were part of the peri-Gondwana superterrane and accreted to Laurussia during the Variscan orogeny. Variscan metamorphic overprint is not recorded by the isotopic data of the Muráñ Gneiss Complex. Alpine metamorphism is the most dominant overprint.     

T -distributed Random Fields: A Parametric Model for Heavy-tailedWell-log Data1

Histograms of observations from spatial phenomena are often found to be more heavy-tailed than Gaussian distributions, which makes the Gaussian random field model unsuited. A T-distributed random field model with heavy-tailed marginal probability density functions is defined. The model is a generalization of the familiar Student-T distribution, and it may be given a Bayesian interpretation. The increased variability appears cross-realizations, contrary to in-realizations, since all realizations are Gaussian-like with varying variance between realizations. The T-distributed random field model is analytically tractable and the conditional model is developed, which provides algorithms for conditional simulation and prediction, so-called T-kriging. The model compares favourably with most previously defined random field models. The Gaussian random field model appears as a special, limiting case of the T-distributed random field model. The model is particularly useful whenever multiple, sparsely sampled realizations of the random field are available, and is clearly favourable to the Gaussian model in this case. The properties of the T-distributed random field model is demonstrated on well log observations from the Gullfaks field in the North Sea. The predictions correspond to traditional kriging predictions, while the associated prediction variances are more representative, as they are layer specific and include uncertainty caused by using variance estimates.     

Reconstructing hydrological variability from testate amoebae analysis in Carpathian peatlands

Peatlands offer the potential for high resolution records of water balance over Holocene timescales, yet this potential is under-exploited in many areas of the world. Within Europe, peatlands are mostly confined to areas north of 55° N, but several areas of southern and eastern Europe contain small peatlands which may be suitable for palaeoclimatic reconstruction. In this paper we test the potential of peatlands in the Carpathian region for deriving quantified estimates of water table changes using testate amoebae analysis. A training set for palaeohydrological reconstruction from testate amoebae assemblages was obtained by collecting surface samples from 13 peatlands, including 9 from Hungary and 4 from Transylvania (Romania). Using a simple measure of mean annual water tables estimated from staining of PVC tape, we found that some peatlands were heavily influenced by runoff and groundwater, and were therefore not suitable as modern analogues of ombrotrophic climatically sensitive sites. The relationship between the testate amoebae assemblages in the modern samples and the environmental variables was explored using CCA. The CCA biplot showed that the most important variables are depth to water table and moisture content, confirming that hydrology is a key control on taxon distribution. pH was a secondary gradient. A transfer function for % moisture and depth to water table was established and applied to fossil assemblages from a sequence from Fenyves-tető, Transylvania, Romania. The reconstructed water table shows a number of variations which have parallels with other palaeoclimatic records from Europe and the North Atlantic prominent phases of higher water tables are associated with the periods 8000–8300 cal BP, 3000–2500 cal BP and after 600 cal BP. We suggest that these were periods of particular intensification of westerly airflow which affected eastern Europe as well as western and central Europe.     

The First Appearance of Cattle in Denmark Occurred 6000 Years Ago: An Effect of Cultural or Climate and Environmental Changes

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios from bones of contemporaneous Late Atlantic aurochs and early cattle in eastern Denmark are significantly different and provide information on the origin and feeding strategies of the earliest domestic cattle. The data show that the early cattle were feeding on grass right from the beginning 4000 cal. yr BC. In contrast, the youngest aurochs population primarily browsed and grazed from the dense forest floor resulting in rather negative δ¹³C values measured on bone collagen. The oldest aurochs have similar isotope values to the earlier cattle, whereas the youngest aurochs have similar values to Late Atlantic red deer from the same locality. As eastern Denmark was largely covered by forest, speculations on the origin of the grazing areas are many. The grass may have grown in openings in the forest, at the forest fringe, or more likely on the newly reclaimed coastal land areas exposed by the decreasing rate of eustatic sea‐level rise contemporaneously with isostatic uplift, during the Littorina transgressions. The stable isotope values do not indicate that leaf foddering of the early cattle was of importance.