The ROSAT Bright Survey: I. Identification of an AGN sample with hard ROSAT X-ray spectra

The ROSAT Bright Survey (RBS) aims to completely optically identify the more than 2000 brightest sources detected in the ROSAT all-sky survey at galactic latitudes |b| > 30° (excluding LMC, SMC, Virgo cluster). This paper presents a subsample of 66 bright point-like ROSAT survey sources with almost hard PSPC spectra, the hardness ratio HR1 is > 0.5 for most of the sources. Teh subsample could be nearly completely identified by low-resolution optical spectroscopy with the following breakdown into object classes: 31 Seyfert galaxies, 22 BL Lac candidates, 5 clusters of galaxies, 1 cataclysmic variable, and 5 bright stars. Only one object remained unidentified and one X-ray source was a spurious detection. The redshift distrbution peaks around 0.06 for the Seyferts and around 0.13 for the BL Lac candidates. Observations with medium spectral resolution were obtained for most of the new Seyfert galaxies. A large fraction (20 objects) are type 1 Seyfert galaxies, the other fraction includes Seyfert galaxies of type 1.5 – 1.8 (5 objects), two LINERs, and 4 possible narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1). About one third of the new Seyfert's have nearby companion galaxies displaying either emission or absorption lines at the same redshift. Among them are a couple of systems showing direct morphological evidence for interaction. The large fraction of interacting galaxies among our sample suggests a scenario where interaction is the main trigger of AGN activity.     

Paired 10Be sampling of polished bedrock and erratic boulders to improve dating of glacial landforms: an example from the Western Alps

Cosmogenic nuclide dating of glacial landforms may lead to ambiguous results for ice retreat histories. The persistence of significant cosmogenic concentrations inherited from previous exposure may increase the apparent exposure ages for polished bedrocks affected by limited erosion under ice and for erratic boulders transported by glaciers and previously exposed in high-altitude rock walls. In contrast, transient burying by moraines, sediments and snow decreases the apparent exposure age. We propose a new sampling strategy, applied to four sites distributed in the Arc and Arve valleys in the Western Alps, to better constrain the factors that can bias exposure ages associated with glacial processes. We used the terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide ¹⁰Be (TCN) to estimate the exposure time from paired sampling of depth profiles in polished bedrock and on overlying erratic boulders. For a given sampling site, the exposure ages for both the polished bedrock and boulder are expected to be the same. However, in six cases out of seven, boulders had significantly higher ¹⁰Be surface concentrations than those of the associated polished surfaces. In present and past glacial processes, the ¹⁰Be distribution with depth for boulders and bedrocks implies the presence of an inheritance concentration of ¹⁰Be. Our study suggests that ¹⁰Be concentrations in erratic boulders and in polished bedrocks provide maximum and minimum exposure ages of the glacial retreat, respectively. © 2019 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

Benthic Community Structure and Sediment Properties in Barnegat Bay,New Jersey,Before and After Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy was an extraordinarily large storm that affected most of the eastern coast of the USA in October 2012. To assess this storm’s impact, the benthic invertebrate community structure and sediment properties were compared in samples collected 3.5 months prior to (July 2012) and 8 months after (July 2013) the hurricane at 97 locations in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, USA. Barnegat Bay is a shallow back-barrier estuary just north of where Sandy made landfall. For all locations taken together, sediment total nitrogen concentration was lower afterwards, while total organic carbon and total phosphorus concentrations were similar. Sediment median particle size was the same before and after, but the sediment was better sorted after the storm. There were no differences in total abundance of invertebrates, species richness, species diversity, or the abundance of polychaetes, bivalves, or gastropods. Malacostracan crustaceans were more abundant after Sandy (average 82 (0.04 m²)^?1) than they were before (average 64), due almost entirely to increased abundance of ampeliscid amphipods, which showed a shift toward smaller sizes in 2013. Annelids in the order Clitellata were on average less abundant after the hurricane (17) than before (53). The apparent minimal effect of Sandy on the benthic community in Barnegat Bay was probably because the passage of the hurricane had no detectable effects on salinity or dissolved oxygen concentrations throughout the bay.     

Using the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis as weather input data for watershed models

Obtaining representative meteorological data for watershed‐scale hydrological modelling can be difficult and time consuming. Land‐based weather stations do not always adequately represent the weather occurring over a watershed, because they can be far from the watershed of interest and can have gaps in their data series, or recent data are not available. This study presents a method for using the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) global meteorological dataset to obtain historical weather data and demonstrates the application to modelling five watersheds representing different hydroclimate regimes. CFSR data are available globally for each hour since 1979 at a 38‐km resolution. Results show that utilizing the CFSR precipitation and temperature data to force a watershed model provides stream discharge simulations that are as good as or better than models forced using traditional weather gauging stations, especially when stations are more than 10 km from the watershed. These results further demonstrate that adding CFSR data to the suite of watershed modelling tools provides new opportunities for meeting the challenges of modelling un‐gauged watersheds and advancing real‐time hydrological modelling. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Traveling wavefront ray tracing and its applications

The current discussion of whether marine geodesy is something entirely new or part of oceanography or geodesy can be clarified by re‐examining our notions about the basic business of geodesy. This paper contends that the same basic geodetic services, which were needed for millenia to chart and control new territory, are being adapted now to the marine environment to suit modern accuracy standards. In a brief historical review it is shown that conceptually, the oceanic regions were always an integral part of geodetic concern. The oceans were certainly part of the world for the ancient map makers and for Pythagoras’ spherical earth model. Notions connected with the marine geoid were implied in ancient speculations. Distances and directions at sea, even depths, were determined to meet the requirements of the times. With the modern sophistication in geodetic theory and measuring techniques, these ideas became more refined and demanding in turn, but they were there all the time. For obvious reasons, land geodesy developed faster; marine geodesy will catch up now, because only now there is the technical capability and also an urgent economic motivation.     

Biodiversity in Hudson River shore zones: influence of shoreline type and physical structure

The shore zones of the Hudson River, like those of many developed waterways, are highly varied, containing a mix of seminatural and highly engineered shores. Our goal was to document the biodiversity supported by different kinds of shore zones in the Hudson. We chose six common types of shore zones, three of them ??natural?? (sand, unconsolidated rock, and bedrock), and three of them engineered (riprap, cribbing, and bulkheads). We measured selected physical characteristics (shore zone width, exposure, substrate roughness and grain size, shoreline complexity) of three examples of each of these shore types, and also sampled communities of terrestrial plants, fishes, and aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates. Community composition of most taxa differed across shore types, and frequently differed between wide, sheltered shores and narrow, exposed shores. Alien plant species were especially well represented along engineered shores. Nevertheless, a great deal of variation in biological communities was not explained by our six-class categorization of shore zones or the physical variables that we measured. No single shore type supported the highest values of all kinds of biodiversity, but engineered shore zones (especially cribbing and bulkheads) tended to have less desirable biodiversity characteristics than ??natural?? shore zones.     

Engaging Los Angeles County subsistence anglers in the California marine protected area planning process

Ecosystem-based management is more successful when a great diversity of stakeholders is engaged early in a decision-making process. Implementation of the California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) has been stakeholder-based, coordinating the participation of a wide range of people including divers, fishermen, conservationists, local officials, business owners and coastal residents. Although commercial and recreational fishermen have actively participated throughout the MLPA implementation process, and research related to California’s sport and commercial fisheries has been integrated into the process, pier and shore anglers have been relatively unengaged as stakeholders. This study was completed to generate information about pier angler understanding and sentiment towards marine protected areas (MPAs), as well as to educate anglers on the MLPA implementation process in southern California and inform them on involvement opportunities. Of the 3030 pier anglers surveyed over 12 months, 78% only fish for subsistence from piers and from shore (never from boats); 84.6% are of non-White/Euro-American ethnicity and speak English as a second language; and 82% indicated that they were supportive of establishing a strong network of MPAs in southern California, specifically fully-protective no-take marine reserves. This study is an example of an alternative and customized method of outreach designed to reach a unique and previously unengaged stakeholder group, which stands to be affected by the implementation of the MLPA in California. Engaging such non-traditional stakeholders in public policy may be critical for decision makers to gauge all views from those standing to be affected by a policy—not just the views of those that regularly attend policy meetings—and for the ultimate success of policy implementation and community support.     

Remote and local forcing of a coastal lagoon: The Virginia Coast Reserve

The effects of local and remote wind forcing of water level heights in the Virginia Coast Reserve (VCR) are examined in order to determine the significant forces governing estuarine motions over subtidal time scales. Recent (1996–2008) data from tide and wind stations in the lagoon, a tide station to the north at Sandy Hook, NJ, and one offshore wind station at the Chesapeake Light Tower are examined. Sea surface height spectrum calculations reveal significant diurnal and semidiurnal tidal effects along with subtidal variations, but a suppressed inertial signal. Sea-surface heights (SSH) with 2–5 day periods at Wachapreague, VA are coherent with those at Sandy Hook and lag them in time, suggesting that southward-propagating continental shelf waves provide subtidal variability within the lagoon. The coherence between lagoon winds and sea surface height, as well as between winds and cross-lagoon sea height gradient, were significant at a relatively small number of frequency and wind direction combinations. The frequencies at which this wind forcing occurs are the tidal and subtidal bands present to the north, so that lagoon winds selectively augment existing SSH signals, but do not generate them. The impact of the wind direction is closely related to the geometry of the lagoon and bounding landmasses. The effect of wind stress is also constrained by geometry in affecting the cross-lagoon water height gradient. Water levels at subtidal frequencies are likely forced by a combination of local wind forcing, remote wind forcing and oceanic forcing modified by the complex topography of the lagoon, shelf, and barrier islands.     

Wireless technologies for the monitoring of strategic civil infrastructures: an ambient vibration test on the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Suspension Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey

Rapid improvements in telemetry technology and the general decrease in communication costs have raised a growing interest in low-cost wireless sensing units. This is especially the case for structural monitoring purposes, where they are becoming a more valuable alternative to conventional wired monitoring system. The main advantages associated with the use of wireless sensing unit include a considerable decrease in installation costs, decentralization of data analysis, and the possibility of broadening the functional capabilities by exploiting the use, at the same time and place, of different sensors. In this work, the design of a low-cost wireless sensing unit able both to collect, analyze, store, and communicate data and estimated parameters is presented. The suitability of a network of these low-cost wireless instruments for monitoring the vibration characteristics and dynamic properties of strategic civil infrastructures is validated during a ambient vibration recording field test on the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey.