Whipple telescope observations of LS I +61 303: 2004–2006

In this paper we present the results of the past two years observations on the galactic microquasar LS I +61 303 with the Whipple 10 m gamma-ray telescope. The recent MAGIC detection of the source between 200 GeV and 4 TeV suggests that the source is periodic with very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission linked to its orbital cycle. The entire 50-hour data set obtained with Whipple from 2004 to 2006 was analyzed with no reliable detection resulting. The upper limits obtained in the 2005–2006 season covered several of the same epochs as the MAGIC Telescope detections, albeit with lower sensitivity. Upper limits are placed on emission during the orbital phases of 0→0.1 and 0.8→1, phases which are not included in the MAGIC data set.      

Preliminary spectral characterization of snow in a high altitude tropical glacier and potential effects of impurities in snow on albedo of tropical glaciers

This paper presents some preliminary measurements of snow spectral reflectance on the tropical Bolivian Zongo glacier. Measurements show a correct agreement with theoretical spectral albedo of pure snow in the near infrared region, but lower values in the visible region (by 10–20%) probably due to aerosols contained in snow. Impurity contents ranged from 10 to 100 ppmw in one‐week‐old snow collected from the Zongo glacier, but measurements are scarce. Large amounts of snowfall partly compensate the proximity of dust sources in mid‐latitude glaciers, whereas on outer‐tropical glaciers precipitations are not abundant and are very seasonal, and sources of aerosols are proximate. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Infrared photometry of AGB stars

The goal of this article is to show that, if one avoids star forming regions, mass-losing AGB stars can generally be selected from the data that will be provided by the near-infrared surveys which are presently considered. Also, if IRAS data are available, the separation between carbon-rich and oxygen-rich stars can be operated by their positions in infrared colour diagrams. In extragalactic systems, red supergiants can be discriminated from AGB stars by their luminosities.based on observations obtained with the ESO 1-m telescope     

X1908+075: A Late O-Type Supergiant with a Neutron Star Companion

X1908 + 075 is a highly-absorbed Galactic X-ray source likely made up of a pulsar accreting wind material from a massive companion. We have used near-IR photometric data complemented by follow-up spectroscopy to identify the likely counterpart to this X-ray source and to assign a spectral type O7.5–9.5 If to the primary. Further details can be found in Morel and Grosdidier (2005).     

Observations of the Ushant tidal front in September 2007

The Ushant tidal front is the dominant feature of the summer season hydrological structure of the Iroise Sea. It separates tidally mixed coastal waters from thermally stratified open Celtic Sea waters. This article reports on observations made in September 2007 during two short cruises that took place aboard R/V “Côtes de la Manche”, and gives a general account of the physical structure of the front along one cross-frontal transect. The data set comprises data from a 4 month ADCP mooring, short CTD/fluorescence/nutrients transects, Lagrangian drifter trajectories, and HF radar surface current measurements. One finding is that the surface and bottom fronts, being affected by different dynamical influences, are not necessarily coincident in the vertical. This entails that the opposite density gradients located above and below the thermocline depth do not necessarily compensate, and can each be associated with a significant surface geostrophic expression. A second finding is that mixing effects bear a very strong influence on the thermal structure of the warm-water intrusions associated with frontal cyclonic eddies of the kind described by Pingree [1978. Cyclonic eddies and cross-frontal mixing. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 58 (4), 955–963].     

“一带一路”区域可持续发展生态环境遥感监测

2013年9月和10月,习近平主席在出访中亚和东南亚国家期间,先后提出了共建"丝绸之路经济带"和"21世纪海上丝绸之路"(简称"一带一路")的重大倡议。要全面保护"一带一路"区域生态环境,实现2030年可持续发展目标,是一个具有挑战性的问题。遥感技术对生态环境监测与评价发挥着十分重要的作用。本研究利用多尺度、多源遥感数据,对2015年"一带一路"区域的生态环境状况进行监测和分析,旨在提供可持续发展目标生态环境遥感监测的本底。本文选取了几个重要的生态环境方面开展监测与分析,主要包括宏观生态系统结构和植被状况、太阳能资源分布、水资源平衡、主要生态环境限制因素对经济走廊建设的影响、主要城市生态环境质量等。监测区域覆盖亚洲、非洲、欧洲和大洋洲的陆上区域。研究结果为生态环境评价与保护提供了有效的决策依据,有助于"一带一路"建设积极推进。