A Long-Term Decrease of the Mid-Size Segmentation Lengths Observed in the He <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">ii</Emphasis> (30.4 nm) Solar EUV Emission

Power spectra of segmentation-cell length (a dominant length scale of EUV emission in the transition region) from full-disk He?ii extreme ultraviolet (EUV) images observed by the Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) during periods of quiet-Sun conditions for a time interval from 1996 to 2015 were analyzed. The spatial power as a function of the spatial frequency from about 0.04 to 0.27 (EIT) or up to 0.48 (AIA) Mm^?1 depends on the distribution of the observed segmentation-cell dimensions – a structure of the solar EUV network. The temporal variations of the spatial power reported by Didkovsky and Gurman (Solar Phys. 289, 153, 2014) were suggested as decreases at the mid-spatial frequencies for the compared spectra when the power curves at the highest spatial frequencies of 0.5 pix^?1 were adjusted to match each other. This approach has been extended in this work to compare spectral ratios at high spatial frequencies expressed in the solar spatial frequency units of Mm^?1. A model of EIT and AIA spatial responses allowed us to directly compare spatial spectral ratios at high spatial frequencies for five years of joint operation of EIT and AIA, from 2010 to 2015. Based on this approach, we represent these ratio changes as a long-term network transformation that may be interpreted as a continuous dissipation of mid-size network structures to the smaller-size structures in the transition region. In contrast to expected cycling of the segmentation-cell dimension structures and associated spatial power in the spectra with the solar cycle, the spectra demonstrate a significant and steady change of the EUV network. The temporal trend across these structural spectra is not critically sensitive to any long-term instrumental changes, e.g. degradation of sensitivity, but to the change of the segmentation-cell dimensions of the EUV network structure.     

Climatic and geographic factors affect ecosystem multifunctionality through biodiversity in the Tibetan alpine grasslands

Ecosystem multifunctionality(EMF), the simultaneous provision of multiple ecosystem functions, is often affected by biodiversity and environmental factors. We know little about how the interactions between biodiversity and environmental factors affect EMF. In this case study, a structural equation model was used to clarify climatic and geographic pathways that affect EMF by varying biodiversity in the Tibetan alpine grasslands. In addition to services related to carbon, nitrogen, and water cycling, forage supply, which is related to plantproductivity and palatability, was included in the EMF index. The results showed that 72% of the variation in EMF could be explained by biodiversity and other environmental factors. The ratio of palatable richness to all species richness explained 8.3% of the EMF variation. We found that air temperature, elevation, and latitude all affected EMF, but in different ways. Air temperature and elevation impacted the aboveground parts of the ecosystem, which included plant height, aboveground biomass, richness of palatable species, and ratio of palatable richness to all species richness. Latitude affected EMF by varying both aboveground and belowground parts of the ecosystem, which included palatable speciesrichness and belowground biomass. Our results indicated that there are still uncertainties in the biodiversity–EMF relationships related to the variable components of EMF, and climatic and geographic factors. Clarification of pathways that affect EMF using structural equation modeling techniques could elucidate the mechanisms by which environmental changes affect EMF.     

Artificial light at night: implications for early life stages development in four temperate freshwater fish species

Flora and fauna have both evolved under a natural cycle of light and dark. But especially in urban areas, the night is now increasingly disturbed by artificial light. Many traits and behaviours in fish are triggered by a circadian clock, for example hatching and swim bladder inflation, which predominantly take place at dusk or night. As lighting becomes brighter and extends farther into rural areas, the distinction between day and night becomes increasingly blurred. Therefore, the loss of diurnal trigger by artificial light at night was hypothesized having deleterious effects on these traits and impact fish reproduction. To assess these effects, eggs of four native freshwater fishes, Eurasian perch Perca fluviatilis, roach Rutilus rutilus, bleak Alburnus alburnus and chub Leuciscus cephalus, were incubated under two different light conditions: a photoperiod of 14 h light:10 h darkness (LD) and continuous illumination (LL). The time to hatch and swim bladder inflation was recorded. The species showed inconsistent reactions to the light treatments. In roach and bleak, the time to 50% hatch was longer in LL, whereas continuous lighting had an accelerating effect in chub. Incubation in LL elongated the hatching period in perch and roach and, in perch, the onset of darkness seemed to trigger hatching. The swim bladder inflation was significantly promoted by continuous light in chub and bleak but was not affected in roach. In conclusion, nocturnal artificial illumination could have an effect on hatching and initial swim bladder filling by masking the day–night-change and thereby diminish the trigger effect. However, the reactions were species specific and the increase in variation indicated a lack of diurnal triggering, whilst a general deleterious effect of artificial light at night has not been identified on early life stages.     

Saturation of groundwaters with respect to minerals of the host rocks

Calculations of the saturation of groundwaters with respect to minerals of the rocks hosting these waters indicate that most of the analyzed groundwaters were saturates with respect to calcite, dolomite, and quartz. Brines of chloride-calcic composition were determined to be saturated with respect to calcite, whereas brines of chloride-sodic composition are saturated with respect to dolomite and quartz. The solution was simultaneously saturated with respect to six minerals for the association ankerite-calcite-dolomite-pyrite-quartz-strontianite. An increase in the number of minerals with respect to which solution is saturated is correlated with an increase in the diversity of types of groundwaters and an increase in the runoff rate. The paper proposes possible avenues for searches for relations between hydrogeological and geochemical parameters that make it possible to adapt the thermodynamic models to real geological-hydrogeological conditions. The research was centered on the testing of groundwaters for their saturation with respect to minerals of the rocks hosting these waters. This parameter plays a significant part in forming the geochemical type of natural waters because it reflects the crystallization of a mineral from a solution and, consequently, the removal of an element from the aqueous solution.     

Evidence for short term changes in the intensity and spectrum of hard X-rays from Cyg X-1

The paper presents experimental evidence for the existence of fast intensity fluctuations with time scales of the order of a minute in the X-ray emission from Cyg X-1 at energies greater than 29 keV. Spectral variations over time intervals of 20–25 min are also observed in the same energy range. Whereas, similar intensity and spectral fluctuations have been reported earlier at lower energies the observations presented here is the first evidence for the existence of similar fluctuations at high energies.     

A New Protocol for the Astrometric Follow-up of Near Earth Asteroids

A new protocol was devised to improve the efficiency of astrometric follow-up observations of Near Earth Asteroids for the accurate determination of their orbits. It was implemented in the activities of the Spaceguard Central Node (SCN, a facility of the Spaceguard Foundation, established with the support of the European Space Agency) in the form of a Priority List. Here we describe this protocol and results obtained during five years of activity (2000–2004).     

Petrophysical properties of rocks in seismogenic crustal blocks of the southeastern Greater Caucasus and their geological and geophysical interpretation

The elastic and density properties of rocks of the Shamakha-Ismailly seismogenic blocks are studied by the ultrasonic pulse method in quasi-hydrostatic high pressure apparatuses. An attempt is made to more accurately determine the upper crustal lithology of these blocks. The observed values of the elastic and density characteristics of the rocks at high pressures suggest that the upper layers in the Ismailly and Shamakha blocks can consist of sedimentary carbonate rocks such as marls, sandstones, mudstones, and limestones. The middle layers apparently consist of volcaniclastic rocks: lithoclastic tuffs, andesites, etc. The lower layer (basement) in both blocks is likely composed of basic rocks such as basalts, trachybasalts, etc. According to the values of elastic wave velocities and densities, gabbroid rocks may compose the fourth layer of the Buinuz intrusion, identified from seismic data.     

Contributions from oceanic and ionospheric dynamos to the lunar daily variation at Alibag

Summary. The contributions from the oceanic and ionospheric dynamos, L_o and L_I respectively, to the geomagnetic lunar daily variation, L , at Alibag, a coastal station in the Indian equatorial region, are calculated from the L harmonics derived from a 41–yr long series of observations. The analysis in the calendar months shows a steady and significant ocean dynamo contribution in the vertical component, Z, in all the months except April. Examination, by an analysis of the data year by year, of the association of L_o and L_I with varying solar and magnetic activities reveals, surprisingly, a stable correlation between the magnetic activity index A _P and the oceanic part in the horizontal and vertical components but not in declination, which probably indicates the influence of induced currents, along the latitudes, on L _o.     

Annual and sub-annual effects of euv heating—I. Harmonic analysis

In this paper we compute the rate of solar EUV heating in the upper atmosphere by photo-dissociation and photo-ionization, taking care to include properly the effects of oblique incidence of solar flux, sphericity of the atmosphere and ellipticity of the Earth's orbit. The time and latitudinal variations of the computed heat function are revealed by numerical Fourier analysis of the heat function into harmonics of the yearly cycle. It is shown that EUV absorption contains a ‘latitude independent’ semi-annual component of heating with the ‘proper phase’ to account for the semi-annual density variations. Further, the annual component of the heat function predicts the existence of ‘summer polar’ density increases in the northern and southern hemispheres.