Climate change impacts on water demand and availability using CMIP5 models in the Jaguaribe basin,semi-arid Brazil

The objective of this study was to analyze climate change impacts on irrigation water demand and availability in the Jaguaribe River basin, Brazil. For northeastern Brazil, five global circulation models were selected using a rainfall seasonal evaluation screening technique from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change named Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5. The climate variables were generated for the base period of 1971–2000, as were projections for the 2025–2055 future time slice. Removal of maximum and minimum temperature and rainfall output bias was used to estimate reference evapotranspiration, irrigation water needs, and river flow using the rainfall—river flow hydrological model Soil Moisture Accounting Procedure for the baseline and future climate (Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios). In addition, by applying improved irrigation efficiency, a scenario was evaluated in comparison with field observed performance. The water-deficit index was used as a water availability performance indicator. Future climate projections by all five models resulted in increases in future reference evapotranspiration (2.3–6.3%) and irrigation water needs (2.8–16.7%) for all scenarios. Regarding rainfall projections, both positive (4.8–12.5%) and negative (??2.3 to ??15.2%) signals were observed. Most models and scenarios project that annual river flow will decrease. Lower future water availability was detected by the less positive water-deficit index. Improved irrigation efficiency is a key measure for the adaptation to higher future levels of water demand, as climate change impacts could be compensated by gains in irrigation efficiency (water demand changes varying from ??1.7 to ??35.2%).     

Sources of intense geomagnetic storms over the rise of solar cycle 23

In this work we present a study of the triggers of intense geomagnetic storms since the launch of the WIND spacecraft, November 1995 until December 2001. Reviewing the signatures of solar wind flow, we looked for two different kinds of interplanetary events associated with intense geomagnetic storms: ejecta and corotating solar wind streams. We also looked for the solar origin related to both events. We provide a list of the solar–terrestrial events during the rising phase of this solar cycle. The paper includes statistical conclusions that shed light onto the paradigm of geomagnetic storms.     

Stellar clusters in the nuclear regions of AGN with the Advanced Camera for Surveys

We explore the role of star clusters in the nuclear regions of galaxies through their connection with active galactic nuclei (AGN). Nuclear star clusters (NCs) are conspicuous in the centers of most nearby galaxies, all along the Hubble sequence. These clusters are probably the faint-end distribution of the central supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in massive bulges. On the other hand, star formation is known to be ongoing in the majority of Seyfert nuclei and in many low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGN). We study two samples of AGN galaxies (75 Seyferts and 26 LLAGN) in the near-ultraviolet with the Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. We aim to better understand the connection between the growing of the SMBH and the build-up of the bulge, and we also intend to make statistical progress and determine the properties of the population of NCs coexisting with growing SMBHs.     

The CaT strength in Seyfert nuclei revisited: analysing young stars and non-stellar light contributions to the spectra

In a former paper, we have presented spectra of 64 active, nine normal and five starburst galaxies in the region around the near-infrared calcium triplet (CaT) absorption lines and the [S  iii ]λ9069 line. In the present paper, we analyse the CaT strength ( W _CaT) and kinematical products derived in that study, namely stellar  (σ_★)  and ionized gas (σ_gas) velocity dispersions. Our main results may be summarized as follows. (1) Type 2 Seyfert galaxies show no sign of dilution in W _CaT with respect to the values spanned by normal galaxies, even when optical absorption lines such as the Ca  ii K band at 3933 Å are much weaker than in old, bulge-like stellar populations. (2) The location of type 2 Seyfert galaxies in the   W _CaT– W _CaK  plane is consistent with evolutionary synthesis models. The implication is that the source responsible for the dilution of optical lines in these active galactic nuclei (AGN) is a young stellar population, rather than an AGN featureless continuum, confirming the conclusion of the pioneer study of Terlevich, Díaz & Terlevich. (3) In type 1 Seyfert galaxies, both   W _{[S  iii ]}  and W _CaT tend to be diluted due to the presence of a non-stellar component, in agreement with the unification paradigm. (4) A comparison of  σ_★  with σ_gas (obtained from the core of the [S  iii ] emitting line) confirms the existence of a correlation between the typical velocities of stars and clouds of the narrow line region. The strength and scatter around this correlation are similar to those previously obtained from the [O  iii ]λ5007 linewidth.     

On the nature of the near-UV extended light in Seyfert galaxies

We study the nature of the extended near-UV emission in the inner kiloparsec of a sample of 15 Seyfert (Sy) galaxies which have both near-UV (F330W) and narrow-band [O  iii ] high-resolution Hubble images. For the majority of the objects, we find a very similar morphology in both bands. From the [O  iii ] images, we construct synthetic images of the nebular continuum plus the emission-line contribution expected through the F330W filter, which can be subtracted from the F330W images. We find that the emission of the ionized gas dominates the near-UV extended emission in half of the objects. A further broad-band photometric study, in the bands F330W ( U ), F547M ( V ) and F160W ( H ), shows that the remaining emission is dominated by the underlying galactic bulge contribution. We also find a blue component whose nature is not clear in four out of 15 objects. This component may be attributed to scattered light from the active galactic nuclei, to a young stellar population in unresolved star clusters, or to early disrupted clusters. Star-forming regions and/or bright off nuclear star clusters are observed in 4/15 galaxies of the sample.     

Application of Fuzzy Sets to the Determination of Sunspot Areas

The computation of sunspot areas is important for many applications in solar physics. Some uncertainty is, however, inherent to this determination, since there is uncertainty in defining the limits of sunspots, as well as their umbrae and penumbrae, particularly in high-resolution images where large variations in intensity are observed, mainly in the penumbrae and photosphere regions. In this paper a methodology based on the classical histogram method is presented that enables the generation of fuzzy sets that correspond to the umbrae and penumbrae of sunspots, as well as to the complete sunspots, which enable the representation of the uncertainty in their locations. The areas of the sunspots and of their umbrae and penumbrae are then obtained by computing the areas of the fuzzy sets used to represent them. Two operators are used: the Rosenfeld Area operator, which generates a real number for the area, and the Fuzzy Area operator, which generates a fuzzy number, providing more information about the uncertainty of the area. A comparison of the obtained results with the area values given by the classical cumulative histogram method is made and the differences analyzed.     

Invariance in Von Zeipel method

Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy - In this paper the relation between the Von Zeipel generating functions, in two canonical systems, is considered. Explicit recursive formulae between...     

Stoichiometry among bioactive trace metals in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas

The distribution of Al, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in seawater was investigated in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas of the western Arctic Ocean in September 2000. The unfiltered and filtered seawater samples were used for determination of total dissolvable metal (TDM) and dissolved metal (DM), respectively. The concentration of labile particulate metal (LPM) was estimated with the difference between that of TDM and DM. The concentrations of TDAl, TDMn, TDFe, TDCo and TDPb varied substantially in the study area. The high concentrations occurred at stations near the Bering Strait, in the Mackenzie delta, and above reductive sediments on the shelf and slope. These elements were mostly dominated by labile particulate species, such as Fe?CMn oxides and species adsorbed on terrestrial clay. DCo was correlated with DMn over the study area (r?=?0.78, n?=?135), and the slope of the regression line was 27 times higher at a pelagic station than at a shelf station. TDNi, TDCu, TDZn and TDCd showed relatively small variations and were generally dominated by dissolved species. There was a moderate correlation between DCd and phosphate for all samples (r?=?0.79), whereas there were no significant correlation between the other DMs and nutrients. TDNi and TDCu showed a remarkable linearity for most stations except those near the Bering Strait (R ²?=?0.95, n?=?126). These results suggest that biogeochemical cycling including uptake by phytoplankton and remineralization from settling particles has only minor control over the distribution of trace metals in this area. Using the present data, the annual input of bioactive trace metals form the Bering Strait and the Mackenzie River was estimated. Also, the trace metal compositions of major water masses were evaluated. The dissolved elemental ratio was P:Al:Mn:Fe:Co:Ni:Cu:Zn:Cd?=?1:1.2?×?10^?2:4.4?×?10^?4:1.4?×?10^?3:3.7?×?10^?5:3.7?×?10^?3:1.4?×?10^?3:4.5?×?10^?3:2.2?×?10^?4 for Canada Basin deep water (CBDW). This ratio was significantly different from that for Pacific deep water and Bering Sea water, suggesting substantial modification of the trace metal compositions of seawater in the study area.