Class I Methanol Emission Around DR 21 (OH)

Results of new observations of the vicinity of DR 21 (OH) conducted on the 20-m Onsala radio telescope are presented. The goal was to search for associations between molecular hydrogen emission tracing shock waves and class I methanol maser emission. Observations at 44 and 36 GHz have shown that an extensive region of faint methanol maser emission elongated North-South is probably present in the vicinity of DR 21(OH). The linear size of this structure may be a factor of ten larger than the central region in DR 21(OH) that emits at 44 GHz. Three maser emission peaks are clearly visible in the northern (DR 21N), central (DR 21(OH)), and southern (vicinity of DR 21 West) parts of this structure. Many other structures are also embedded in this region, including the protostellar disk ERO 3 previously detected at 6.7 GHz. Maser components of these objects are formed with velocities from -5 to-2 km/s, with a velocity gradient from -5 in the North to -2 km/s in the South. The spatial resolution of the map is not high enough to distinguish fine structures at 44 GHz associated with spots and jets emitting in molecular hydrogen.     

Moisture and heat budgets of the south American monsoon system: climatological aspects

The climatology of the moisture and heat budget equation terms for subareas within the South American Monsoon System (SAMS) region is investigated for the 1958–2014 period considering the distinct phases of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). These budget equations are applied to the data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Reanalysis project. Sources or sinks of moisture and heat are equation residues, referred to as residue and diabatic terms, respectively. Analyses are done for the Central Amazon Basin (CAM) and Western-Central Brazil (WCB) for three distinct periods, 1958–1976, 1977–1995, and 1996–2014, that correspond to the cold, warm, and undefined PDO phases. The differences among the PDO phases for each term are discussed. The CAM region acts dominantly as a moisture sink and heat source in all months during the three phases. On the other hand, in the WCB region, the monsoon characteristics are better defined, with a moisture sink (source) and a heat source (sink) during the wet (dry) season. The main result of the present analysis is the persistence of SAMS intensification signs in both CAM and WCB areas up to the last analyzed period (1996–2014), which is consistent with intense flooding in the Amazon Basin in 2008/2009, 2012, and 2014.