March 1, 2005 Daylight Fireball Over Galicia (NW of Spain) and Minho (N. Portugal)

A daylight bolide was observed over Galicia (NW Spain) and Minho (N. Portugal) on March 1, 2005 at 15 h10 min ± 3 min UTC. We interviewed 23 eyewitnesses of the event in order to obtain the azimuth, altitude, and slope of the fireball’s trajectory. Reports suggest an atmospheric ending height below 20 km, indicating that meteorite survival was likely. From the reconstructed trajectory and the fireball’s duration, we obtained the approximate heliocentric orbits for the meteoroid. Assuming an entry velocity higher than 20 km s⁻¹ which is consistent with its estimated duration, the meteoroid originated in the asteroid belt.     

Management alternatives to offset climate change effects on Mediterranean fire regimes in NE Spain

Fire regime is affected by climate and human settlements. In the Mediterranean, the predicted climate change is likely to exacerbate fire prone weather conditions, but the mid- to long-term impact of climate change on fire regime is not easily predictable. A negative feedback via fuel reduction, for instance, might cause a non-linear response of burned area to fire weather. Also, the number of fires escaping initial control could grow dramatically if the fire meteorology is just slightly more severe than what fire brigades are prepared for. Humans can directly influence fire regimes through ignition frequency, fire suppression and land use management. Here we use the fire regime model FIRE LADY to assess the impacts of climate change and local management options on number of fires, burned area, fraction of area burned in large fires and forest area during the twenty-first century in three regions of NE Spain. Our results show that currently fuel-humidity limited regions could suffer a drastic shift of fire regime with an up to 8 fold increase of annual burned area, due to a combination of fuel accumulation and severe fire weather, which would result in a period of unusually large fires. The impact of climate change on fire regime is predicted to be less pronounced in drier areas, with a gradual increase of burned area. Local fire prevention strategies could reduce but not totally offset climate induced changes in fire regimes. According to our model, a combination of restoring the traditional rural mosaic and classical fire prevention would be the most effective strategy, as a lower ignition frequency reduces the number of fires and the creation of agricultural fields in marginal areas reduces their extent.     

The rural in dispute: Discourses of rurality in the Pyrenees

There is a widespread assumption that associates the rural with the unchanged and unchangeable. However, what constitutes ‘the rural’ is under constant transformation. In rural Europe a rapid process of social recomposition and economic restructuring is taking place causing increasing social complexity and new disputes about what is and should become the rural. This is more apparent in mountain areas, being locations that are particularly vulnerable to change. This situation is reflected in the growing diversity of discourses of rurality, which struggle to impose their particular views and interests on others. Nevertheless, little attention is paid in understanding the multiplicity of representations and interests held by rural dwellers about their own world. This paper aims to explore the diversity of perceptions and perspectives held by the inhabitants of the county of El Pallars Sobirà, in the Catalan Pyrenees. The material provided by semi-structured interviews given to local residents has been analysed through the Q methodology. As a result, four discourses of rurality have been identified, namely: the agriculturalist, entrepreneurial, conservationist and endogenous development. Finally, we argue that an underlying social structure, derived from the experiences of local dwellers of the rural population movements and the tertiarisation of local economies, exists behind the organisation of the debate on the rural. This leads us to assume that not only perceptions, but also socioeconomic reorganisations are in dispute.     

A fractal fragmentation model for rockfalls

The impact-induced rock mass fragmentation in a rockfall is analyzed by comparing the in situ block size distribution (IBSD) of the rock mass detached from the cliff face and the resultant rockfall block size distribution (RBSD) of the rockfall fragments on the slope. The analysis of several inventoried rockfall events suggests that the volumes of the rockfall fragments can be characterized by a power law distribution. We propose the application of a three-parameter rockfall fractal fragmentation model (RFFM) for the transformation of the IBSD into the RBSD. A discrete fracture network model is used to simulate the discontinuity pattern of the detached rock mass and to generate the IBSD. Each block of the IBSD of the detached rock mass is an initiator. A survival rate is included to express the proportion of the unbroken blocks after the impact on the ground surface. The model was calibrated using the volume distribution of a rockfall event in Vilanova de Banat in the Cadí Sierra, Eastern Pyrenees, Spain. The RBSD was obtained directly in the field, by measuring the rock block fragments deposited on the slope. The IBSD and the RBSD were fitted by exponential and power law functions, respectively. The results show that the proposed fractal model can successfully generate the RBSD from the IBSD and indicate the model parameter values for the case study.     

Near-inertial motions in and around the Palamós submarine canyon (NW Mediterranean) generated by a severe storm

During 9–16 November 2001 the western Mediterranean Sea was lashed by one of the most extreme storms of the last decades. Current meter data from seven moorings in the Palamós submarine canyon (northwestern Mediterranean) are analyzed to understand the vertical propagation of near-inertial energy generated by the storm. The daily inertial rotary components are examined for evidence of free and forced near-inertial oscillations. Free near-inertial motions are increased during the storm, although they are larger outside the canyon than inside. Conversely, forced near-inertial motions are relatively large inside the canyon but are almost negligible outside. Based on the results of a three-dimensional ocean circulation model, these differences are shown to be caused by the presence of a storm-generated alongshore front. The mechanisms by which near-inertial energy propagates are distinct at each side of the front. On the onshore side of the front (inside the canyon), free near-inertial motions are rapidly carried away by normal inertial waves, and wave reflection off canyon wall is responsible for the dissipation of free near-inertial motions and enhancement of forced near-inertial motions. On the offshore side of the front (outside the canyon), on the other hand, free near-inertial motions propagates first downward with anomalously low frequency internal waves and are then advected southward and offshore by the mean flow.     

SPECTROSCOPY OF A GEMINID FIREBALL: ITS SIMILARITY TO COMETARY METEOROIDS AND THE NATURE OF ITS PARENT BODY

A detailed analysis of a photographic spectrum of a Geminid fireball obtained in December 14, 1961 at the Ondrejov Observatory is presented. We have computed a synthetic spectrum for the fireball and compared it with the observed spectrum assuming chemical equilibrium in the meteor head. In this way we have determined relative chemical abundances in meteor vapors. Comparing the relative chemical abundances of this Geminid meteoroid with those obtained from meteoroids associated with comets 55P/Tempel-Tuttle and 109P/Swift-Tuttle we found no significant chemical differences in main rock-forming elements. Despite of this similarity, the deepest penetration of the Geminid meteoroids and their ability to reach high rotation rates in space without fragmentation suggest that thermal processing is affecting their physical properties. We suggest that as consequence of space weathering a high-strength envelope is produced around these particles. In this picture, heating processes of the mineral phases could result in the peculiar properties observed during atmospheric entry of the Geminid meteoroids, especially their strength, which is evidenced by its resistance to ablation. Finally, although one meteoroid cannot be obviously considered as representative of the composition of its parent body, we conclude that 3200 Phaethon is able to produce millimetre-size debris nearly chondritic in composition, but the measured slight overabundance of Na would support a cometary origin for this body.     

Formation of carbides and hydrocarbons in chondritic interplanetary dust particles: A laboratory study

Abstract— The reaction between kamacite grains and H₂ + CO gas mixture has been tested in the laboratory under experimental conditions presumed for interplanetary dust particle (IDP) formation in a nebular-type environment (H₂:CO = 250:1; 5 × 10^?4 atm total pressure, and 473 K). Carbon deposition, hydrocarbon production in the C₁–C₄ range, and the formation of an ?-carbide phase occur when well-defined model FeNi bcc alloy (kamacite) particles are exposed to a mixture of H₂ + CO during 10³ h. These results strongly support the idea that gas-solid reactions in the solar nebula during CO hydrogenation represent a plausible scenario for the formation of carbides and carbonaceous materials in IDPs, as well as for the production of hydrocarbons through Fischer-Tropsch-type reactions.     

Astrometry and Photometry of Open Clusters: NGC 1746, NGC 1750 and NGC 1758

We present an astrometric and photometric analysis of a 5 square degree region around NGC 1746, NGC 1750 and NGC 1758, close to the Galactic anti-center (l = 179°, b = -10°), in Taurus. We describe the acquisition, reduction and analysis of the observational data, including the development of innovative data analysis tools. The data comprise CCD UBVRI photometry, photographic BVR photometry and proper motions. The clusters NGC 1750 and 1758 are poor and loose. We determine several physical parameters (distance, age, colour excess, positions, density profiles). The mutual separation, their relative velocity and their age difference allows us to conclude that these two clusters are physically independent. No real object in the area can be identified as NGC 1746. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.