The Astro-WISE optical image pipeline

We have designed and implemented a novel way to process wide-field astronomical data within a distributed environment of hardware resources and humanpower. The system is characterized by integration of archiving, calibration, and post-calibration analysis of data from raw, through intermediate, to final data products. It is a true integration thanks to complete linking of data lineage from the final catalogs back to the raw data. This paper describes the pipeline processing of optical wide-field astronomical data from the WFI (http://www.eso.org/lasilla/instruments/wfi/) and OmegaCAM (http://www.astro-wise.org/~omegacam/) instruments using the Astro-WISE information system (the Astro-WISE Environment or simply AWE). This information system is an environment of hardware resources and humanpower distributed over Europe. AWE is characterized by integration of archiving, data calibration, post-calibration analysis, and archiving of raw, intermediate, and final data products. The true integration enables a complete data processing cycle from the raw data up to the publication of science-ready catalogs. The advantages of this system for very large datasets are in the areas of: survey operations management, quality control, calibration analyses, and massive processing.     

Salinity‐induced increase of the hydraulic conductivity in the hyporheic zone of coastal wetlands

In coastal zones globally, salinization is rapidly taking place due to the combined effects of sea level rise, land subsidence, altered hydrology, and climate change. Although increased salinity levels are known to have a great impact on both biogeochemical and hydrological processes in aquatic sediments, only few studies have included both types of processes and their potential interactions. In the present paper, we used a controlled 3‐year experimental mesocosm approach to test salinity induced interactions and discuss mechanisms explaining the observed hydrological changes. Surface water salinity was experimentally increased from 14 to 140 mmol Cl per L (0.9 and 9 PSU) by adding sea salt which increased pore water salinity but also increased sulfate reduction rates, leading to higher sulfide, and lower methane concentrations. By analyzing slug test data with different slug test analysis methods, we were able to show that hydraulic conductivity of the hyporheic zone increased 2.8 times by salinization. Based on our hydrological and biogeochemical measurements, we conclude that the combination of pore dilation and decreased methane production rates were major controls on the observed increase in hydraulic conductivity. The slug test analysis method comparison allowed to conclude that the adjusted Bouwer and Rice method results in the most reliable estimate of the hydraulic conductivity for hyporheic zones. Our work shows that both physical and biogeochemical processes are vital to explain and predict hydrological changes related to the salinization of hyporheic zones in coastal wetlands and provides a robust methodological approach for doing so.     

RAT J1953+1859: a dwarf nova discovered through high amplitude QPOs in quiescence

We report the discovery of an accreting binary, RAT J1953+1859, made during the RApid Temporal Survey (RATS) on the Isaac Newton Telescope. It showed high amplitude (0.3 mag) quasi-periodic oscillations on a time-scale of ∼20 min. Further observations made using the Nordic Optical Telescope showed it to be ∼4 mag brighter than in the discovery images. These photometric observations, together with radial velocity data taken using the William Herschel Telescope, point to an orbital period of ∼90 min. These data suggest that RAT J1953+1859 is a dwarf novae of the SU UMa type. What makes RAT J1953+1859 unusual is that it is the first such system to be discovered as a result of high amplitude QPOs during quiescence. This suggests that high-cadence wide-field surveys could be another means to discover cataclysmic variables as a result of their short period variability.     

Natural gradient experiment on transport of jet fuel derived hydrocarbons in an unconfined sandy aquifer

This paper deals with a field experiment, combining the push–pull and tracer tests, conducted under natural gradient conditions at the international Oslo airport. The studied aquifer, showing very complex hydrogeological settings, has been contaminated by a jet fuel spill. The tracer solutes—bromide, toluene, o-xylene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene and naphthalene, have been injected into the plume. Their migration and changes in concentration of the electron acceptors and metabolic by-products have been monitored. Fast removal of both the non-reactive tracer as well as the aromatic organics has been observed. The tracer pulse could only be detected 2 m downgradient from the injection points. At this point, toluene and o-xylene have been completely removed, however, trimethylbenzenes and naphthalene have been detected. Their depletion, based on calculations of available electron acceptors, can, to a large extent, be accounted for intrinsic biodegradation, with Fe(III) and sulphate reductions as the major controlling processes.     

The contribution of urban runoff to organic contaminant levels in harbour sediments near two Norwegian cities

The main aim of the present study was to compare the quality of particle emissions (urban runoff and settling particles in rivers and harbours) to the quality of top-layer bed sediments, for two Norwegian harbours (Oslo and Drammen). A sub-aim was to investigate whether non-industrial urban runoff contributed to the organotin load of sediments, apart from leaching from ship hulls. Time-integrated samples of stormwater runoff were obtained in an innovative manner, by sampling man-holes in the stormwater system. Settling particles were sampled with sediment traps. The study focused on PAHs, PCBs and organotin compounds. Contaminant levels were generally a factor of 2-10 (PAHs) and 3-30 (TBT) lower in emitted riverine and runoff particles than in top-layer bed sediments, except for PCBs in Oslo harbour (only 20-30% lower). Significant levels of tributyltin (TBT; median 140mug/kg) were shown in runoff particles, showing that TBT can also be emitted via urban sources, since the sampled man-holes were not in areas where dry-docking activities take place. Possible land-based TBT sources include long-lasting house paint and use of TBT as PVC stabilizer and timber preservative. Since there are ongoing emissions into the two studied harbour areas, it is concluded that the addition of an actively sorbing capping material such as activated carbon might be the best remediation alternative.     

Facies model for a coarse‐grained,tide‐influenced delta: Gule Horn Formation (Early Jurassic), Jameson Land,Greenland

Tide‐dominated deltas have an inherently complex distribution of heterogeneities on several different scales and are less well‐understood than their wave‐dominated and river‐dominated counterparts. Depositional models of these environments are based on a small set of ancient examples and are, therefore, immature. The Early Jurassic Gule Horn Formation is particularly well‐exposed in extensive sea cliffs from which a 32 km long, 250 m high virtual outcrop model has been acquired using helicopter‐mounted light detection and ranging (LiDAR). This dataset, combined with a set of sedimentological logs, facilitates interpretation and measurement of depositional elements and tracing of stratigraphic surfaces over seismic‐scale distances. The aim of this article is to use this dataset to increase the understanding of depositional elements and lithologies in proximal, unconfined, tide‐dominated deltas from the delta plain to prodelta. Deposition occurred in a structurally controlled embayment, and immature sediments indicate proximity to the sediment source. The succession is tide dominated but contains evidence for strong fluvial influence and minor wave influence. Wave influence is more pronounced in transgressive intervals. Nine architectural elements have been identified, and their internal architecture and stratigraphical distribution has been investigated. The distal parts comprise prodelta, delta front and unconfined tidal bar deposits. The medial part is characterized by relatively narrow, amalgamated channel fills with fluid mud‐rich bases and sandier deposits upward, interpreted as distributary channels filled by tidal bars deposited near the turbidity maximum. The proximal parts of the studied system are dominated by sandy distributary channel and heterolithic tidal‐flat deposits. The sandbodies of the proximal tidal channels are several kilometres wide and wider than exposures in all cases. Parasequence boundaries are easily defined in the prodelta to delta‐front environments, but are difficult to trace into the more proximal deposits. This article illustrates the proximal to distal organization of facies in unconfined tide‐dominated deltas and shows how such environments react to relative sea‐level rise.     

Nature of Palaeozoic extension in Lofoten,north Norwegian Continental Shelf: insights from 3‐D seismic analysis of a Cordilleran‐style metamorphic core complex

Analyses of 3‐D seismic data reveal that pre‐Triassic basins are present underneath the Mesozoic North Træna Basin (Lofoten Margin, Norway). These are linked to a Cordilleran‐style metamorphic core complex that developed in Palaeozoic times, including rotated fault blocks with hanging wall ‘growth’ wedges, bounded by listric faults that sole into a sub‐horizontal detachment. On the basis of similarity in age, structural style and transport direction, we propose a kinematic link with a Permian mylonitic detachment documented onshore. This study presents the first offshore evidence for Palaeozoic detachment faulting, elucidating the mechanisms behind the long‐lived exhumation history of the Lofoten basement.     

Limits on the X-ray and optical luminosity of the progenitor of the Type Ia supernova 2007sr

We present Hubble Space Telescope ( HST )/Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2), Galaxy Evolution Explorer ( GALEX ) and Chandra observations of the position of the Type Ia supernova 2007sr in the Antennae galaxy, taken before the explosion. No source is found in any of the observations, allowing us to put interesting constraints on the progenitor luminosity. In total there is about 450 ks of Chandra data, spread over seven different observations. Limiting magnitudes of far-ultraviolet (FUV) (23.7 AB mag), near-ultraviolet (NUV) (23.8 AB mag), F555W (26.5 Vega mag) and F814W (24.5–25 Vega mag) are derived. The distance to the Antennae galaxy is surprisingly poorly known, with almost a factor of 2 difference between the latest distance based on the tip of the red giant branch (13.3 Mpc) and the distance derived from the 2007sr light curve (25 Mpc). Using these distances we derive limits on absolute optical and UV magnitudes of any progenitor but these are still above the brightest (symbiotic) proposed progenitors. From the Chandra data a 3σ upper limit to the X-ray luminosity of  0.5–8.0 × 10³⁷ erg s⁻¹  in the 0.3–1 keV range is found. This is below the X-ray luminosity of the potential progenitor of the Type Ia supernova 2007on that we recently discovered and for which we report a corrected X-ray luminosity. If that progenitor is confirmed it suggests the two supernovae have different progenitors. The X-ray limit is comparable to the brightest supersoft X-ray sources in the Galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and significantly below the luminosities of the brightest supersoft and quasi-soft X-ray sources found in nearby galaxies, ruling out such sources as progenitors of this Type Ia supernova.     

How do pre‐existing normal faults influence rift geometry? A comparison of adjacent basins with contrasting underlying structure on the Lofoten Margin,Norway

Recent studies of natural, multiphase rifts suggest that the presence of pre‐existing faults may strongly influence fault growth during later rift phases. These findings compare well with predictions from recent scaled analogue experiments that simulate multiphase, non‐coaxial extension. However, in natural rifts we only get to see the final result of multiphase rifting. We therefore do not get the chance to compare the effects of the same rift phase with and without pre‐existing structural heterogeneity, as we may in the controlled environment of a laboratory experiment. Here, we present a case study from the Lofoten Margin that provides a unique opportunity to compare normal fault growth with and without pre‐existing structural heterogeneity. Using seismic reflection and wellbore data, we demonstrate that the Ribban Basin formed during Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous rifting. We also show that the rift fault network of the Ribban Basin lacks a pre‐existing (Permian‐Triassic) structural grain that underlies the neighbouring North Træna Basin that also formed during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. Being able to compare adjacent basins with similar histories but contrasting underlying structure allows us to study how pre‐existing normal faults influence rift geometry. We demonstrate that in Lofoten, the absence of pre‐existing normal faults produced collinear fault zones. Conversely, where pre‐existing faults are present, normal fault zones develop strong “zigzag” plan‐view geometries.