Holocene climate and glacier variability at Hallet and Greyling Lakes,Chugach Mountains,south-central Alaska

Evidence from lake sediments and glacier forefields from two hydrologically isolated lake basins is used to reconstruct Holocene glacier and climate history at Hallet and Greyling Lakes in the central Chugach Mountains of south-central Alaska. Glacial landform mapping, lichenometry, and equilibrium-line altitude reconstructions, along with changes in sedimentary biogenic-silica content, bulk density, and grain-size distribution indicate a dynamic history of Holocene climate variability. The evidence suggests a warm early Holocene from 10 to 6 ka, followed by the onset of Neoglaciation in the two drainage basins, beginning between 4.5 and 4.0 ka. During the past 2 ka, the glacial landforms and lacustrine sediments from the two valleys record a remarkably similar history of glaciation, with two primary advances, one during the first millennium AD, from ~500 to 800 AD, and the second during the Little Ice Age (LIA) from ~1400 to 1900 AD. During the LIA, the reconstructed equilibrium-line altitude in the region was no more than 83 ± 44 m (n = 21) lower than the modern, which is based on the extent of glaciers during 1978. Differences between the summer temperature inferred from the biogenic-silica content and the evidence for glacial advances and retreats suggest a period of increased winter precipitation from 1300 to 1500 AD, and reduced winter precipitation from 1800 to 1900 AD, likely associated with variability in the strength of the Aleutian Low.

Status of the ROTSE‐III telescope network

ROTSE‐III is a homogeneous worldwide array of 4 robotic telescopes. They were designed to provide optical observations of γ ‐ray burst (GRB) afterglows as close as possible to the start of γ ‐ray emission. ROTSE‐III is fulfilling its potential for GRB science, and provides optical observations for a variety of astrophysical sources in the interim between GRB events. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The ultraviolet environment of Mars: biological implications past, present, and future.

A radiative transfer model is used to quantitatively investigate aspects of the martian ultraviolet radiation environment, past and present. Biological action spectra for DNA inactivation and chloroplast (photosystem) inhibition are used to estimate biologically effective irradiances for the martian surface under cloudless skies. Over time Mars has probably experienced an increasingly inhospitable photobiological environment, with present instantaneous DNA weighted irradiances 3.5-fold higher than they may have been on early Mars. This is in contrast to the surface of Earth, which experienced an ozone amelioration of the photobiological environment during the Proterozoic and now has DNA weighted irradiances almost three orders of magnitude lower than early Earth. Although the present-day martian UV flux is similar to that of early Earth and thus may not be a critical limitation to life in the evolutionary context, it is a constraint to an unadapted biota and will rapidly kill spacecraft-borne microbes not covered by a martian dust layer. Microbial strategies for protection against UV radiation are considered in the light of martian photobiological calculations, past and present. Data are also presented for the effects of hypothetical planetary atmospheric manipulations on the martian UV radiation environment with estimates of the biological consequences of such manipulations.     

SMART-1 mission description and development status

SMART-1 is the first of the Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology of the ESA Horizons 2000 scientific programme. The SMART-1 mission is dedicated to testing of new technologies for future cornerstone missions, using Solar-Electric Primary Propulsion (SEPP) in Deep Space. The chosen mission planetary target is the Moon. The target orbit will be polar with the pericentre close to the South-Pole. The pericentre altitude lies between 300 and 2000 km, while the apocentre will extend to about 10,000 km. During the cruise phase, before reaching the Moon, the spacecraft thrusting profile allows extended periods for cruise science. The SMART-1 spacecraft will be launched in the spring of 2003 as an auxiliary passenger on an Ariane 5 and placed into a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). The expected launch mass is about 370 kg, including 19 kg of payload. The selected type of SEPP is a Hall-effect thruster called PPS-1350. The thruster is used to spiral out of the GTO and for all orbit maneuvers including lunar capture and descent. The trajectory has been optimised by inserting coast arcs and the presence of the Moon's gravitational field is exploited in multiple weak gravity assists.The Development Phase started in October 1999 and is expected to be concluded by a Flight Acceptance Review in January 2003. The short development time for this high technology spacecraft requires a concerted effort by industry, science institutes and ESA centres. This paper describes the mission and the project development status both from a technical and programmatic standpoint.     

X-ray digital-imaging petrography: Technique development for lunar mare soils

Abstract Remote sensing studies are the primary means of solar system exploration. In particular, spectral reflectance measurements involve determinations of the nature and compositions of other worlds through analysis of absorption features characteristic of the surface chemistry and mineralogy. These studies are particularly applicable to “airless” solar system bodies (e.g., the Moon), because atmospheres, such as on Earth, tend to interfere with the reflectance spectrum. The precision of the spectral measurements is greatly increased by calibration with actual lunar soils. In the past, these calibrations were done using particle-counting data collected for the study of soil formation processes, soil classification, and provenance determination. These particle counting data, while valuable in those areas of study, neither identify the true volume percentages of soil particles, nor give the true modal values for the various phases (i.e., minerals and glasses) which make up the soil grains. These data are paramount for accurate spectral reflectance calibrations. Therefore, in this paper, a new technique is presented that involves x-ray digital-imaging of lunar soils using an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) on an electron microprobe. In contrast to particle counting with an optical microscope, the digital-imaging method allows precise volume percentages of soil grains to be determined, including absolute modal abundances of the various phases locked within the particles as well as their chemistry. In order to validate this method for characterization of lunar soils, the technique was applied to four Apollo 17 soils that were previously described by Heiken and McKay (1974) via particle counts with an optical microscope, and similar results were obtained. In addition to verifying the x-ray digital-imaging technique, the obtained data were applied in order to better understand the lunar-soil formational process, specifically the variation of particle types with maturity.     

Time of day and telephone interviews in Rural‐Urban Australia

Private household telephone ownership in Australian capital cities ranges between 91.1 per cent (Canberra) and 81.9 per cent (Brisbane). Consequently, telephone ownership need not be viewed as a major factor distinguishing households. As the characteristics of households without telephones are also known, it is possible to supplement telephone interviews with face to face interviews and thereby ensure that such a sampling frame represents the population. Such techniques, coupled with the ease and relative inexpense of telephone interviews, may promote the use of the medium. Using a letter to forewarn potential respondents and a three call‐back strategy (twice during working hours, once at night), a response rate of 77.4 per cent was achieved; 8.7 per cent of respondents could not be contacted and the balance refused. Reasons for refusals related almost exclusively to the subject matter of the interview — bushfire hazard. The first day time calls yielded 166 interviews out of 378 calls and the second 67 out of 197 calls. No particular time of day or day of week resulted in significantly more interviews; however, 55.4 per cent of respondents were female. Night calls yielded the highest response rates, with 86 interviews from 127 calls, and 63.9 per cent of respondents were male.     

Geochemical examination of obsidians from Newberry Caldera,Oregon

Five obsidian flows located in Newberry Caldera, Oregon, were systematically sampled, and the samples have been chemically analyzed to examine the homogeneity in a single large flow and to study chemical differences among the flows. The largest flow, the Big Obsidian Flow, is highly homogeneous chemically. The five flows are very similar in composition, indicating a common source. Small chemical differences among the flows do exist, but the geologic cause of the differences is not determined.