The nth-order stellar hydrodynamic equation: transfer of comoving moments and pressures

The exact mathematical expression for an arbitrary n th-order stellar hydrodynamic equation is explicitly obtained depending on the central moments of the velocity distribution. In such a form the equations are physically meaningful, since they can be compared with the ordinary hydrodynamic equations of compressible, viscous fluids. The equations are deduced without any particular assumptions about symmetries, steadiness or particular kinematic behaviours, so that they can be used in their complete form, and for any order, in future works with improved observational data. Also, in order to work with a finite number of equations and unknowns, which would provide a dynamic model for the stellar system, the n th-order equation is needed to investigate in a more general way the closure conditions, which may be expressed in terms of velocity distribution statistics. A case example for a Schwarzschild distribution shows how the infinite hierarchy of hydrodynamic equations is reduced to the equations of orders   n = 0, 1, 2, 3  , owing to the recurrent form of the central moments and to the equations of order   n = 2  and 3, which become closure conditions for higher even- and odd-order equations, respectively. The closure example is generalized to a quadratic function in the peculiar velocities, so that the equivalence between moment equations and the system of equations that Chandrasekhar had obtained working from the collisionless Boltzmann equation is borne out.     

New applications of the Poisson distribution in micropalaeontology: relationships between environmental variables and the Ammonia tepida distribution in the south‐western Spanish estuaries

The application of the Poisson regression to the populations of the benthic foraminifer Ammonia tepida collected in three south‐western Spanish estuaries permits to obtain a quantitative approach between some environmental variables and the number of individuals of this species. Although the three general models are unsatisfactory to predict the observed abundance of this micro‐organism, a partial statistical analysis permits to detect quantitatively the impact of each variable. This analysis indicates an increasing abundance from the high‐salt marshes to the subtidal channels and higher densities in those samples subjected to very euryhaline conditions. Increasing sand percentages show negative effects on the A. tepida abundance, whereas the silt contents do not affect significantly to this species and increasing organic carbon percentages have a small positive effect on the A. tepida densities.     

The importance of distribution types on finite element analyses of foundation settlement

We investigate the effects of using different types of statistical distributions (lognormal, gamma, and beta) to characterize the variability of Young’s modulus of soils in random finite element analyses of shallow foundation settlement. We use a two-dimensional linear elastic, plane-strain, finite element model with a rigid footing founded on elastic soil. Poisson’s ratio of the soil is considered constant, and Young’s modulus is characterized using random fields with extreme values of the scale of fluctuation. We perform an extensive sensitivity analysis to compare the distributions of computed settlements when different types of statistical distributions of Young’s modulus, different coefficients of variation of Young’s modulus, and different scales of fluctuation of the random field of Young’s modulus are considered. A large number of realizations are employed in the Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the influence of the tails of the statistical distributions under study. Results indicate the type of distribution considered for characterization of the random field of Young’s modulus can have a significant impact on computed settlement results. In particular, considering different types of distributions of Young’s modulus can lead to more than 600% differences on computed mean settlements for cases with high coefficient of variation and large scale of fluctuation of Young’s modulus. The effect of considering different types of distributions is reduced, but not completely eliminated, for smaller coefficients of variation of Young’s modulus (because the differences between distributions decrease) and for small values of the scale of fluctuation of Young’s modulus (because of an identified “averaging effect”).     

The MASTER Global Robotic Telescope Network: Observations of Asteroid NEA 2015 TB145

The results of white-light photometry for a uniquely long series of data (13.5 hours of observations, 1124 measurements) for the Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) 2015 TB145 are presented. These data were obtained with the MASTER-Amur and MASTER-Tavrida wide-field robotic telescopes of the Mobile Astronomical System of Telescope-Robots (MASTER) global network of Lomonosov Moscow State University, located in the Crimea and in Blagoveshchensk. The object moved by more than 120° during the observations. The asteroid passed the point of closest approach to the Earth, i.e., observations were carried during both the asteroid's approach and recession. Thus, due to the geometry of the passage, this series of observations contains information about the asteroid viewed at different angles, and is very suitable for precisely determining the shape of the object. Mathematical modeling of the light curve and astrometric positions (with the Asteroids3D code) was carried out, and the probable shape of the asteroid (conical) and the rotation period of 5.9 hours were obtained, as well as the orientation of the rotation axis in ecliptic coordinates: longitude λ = 53°, latitude β = −20°. The derived period coincides with twice the period of 2.9 hours obtained by other observers published earlier, within the uncertainties.

     

Chemical Characterization of Biosolids from Three Spanish WWTPs: Transfer of Organics and Metallic Pollution from Urban Wastewater to Biosolids

The production of biosolids in three Spanish wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has been investigated. Biosolids produced from the treatment of urban wastewater in Spain are usually intended for agricultural use. The reliable production of biosolids mainly depends on both the quantity of suspended solids and the organic load influent to the treatment systems. The quality of the generated biosolids was independent of both the amount of treated water and the treatment process applied, with 20 to 25% dried matter, and 60 to 75%, 7% and 4% of organic matter, N and P, respectively, of the total matter. The biosolids contained ca. 11 to 19 g/kg of total metals in the dry matter, with Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn representing 97% of all of the metals present, and Hg being the minority metal. Such biosolids had the ability to concentrate the organic matter and metals from the wastewater up to 417 and 869 times, respectively, and thus, can be used in agricultural practice.     

Substrate influence and temporal changes on periphytic biomass accrual and metabolism in a tropical humic lagoon

We performed a field experiment in a tropical humic coastal lagoon to evaluate periphyton biomass accrual and metabolism on three different substrates (1) plastic ribbons, (2) green and (3) senescent leaves of the emergent macrophyte Typha domingensis) over 30 days. The contribution of autotrophic biomass decreased as total biomass increased over the time. Mean periphytic ash free dry weight ranged from 0.8 to 5.6 mg cm⁻², but periphyton chlorophyll a concentrations presented shorter amplitudes, which oscillated from 0.12 to 0.44 μg cm⁻² throughout the experiment. Periphyton metabolism was overall heterotrophic on all substrates, especially on senescent leaves. Our data show that substrate type influenced both biomass accrual and periphyton net productivity and respiration rates throughout periphyton development and highlighted the dominance of heterotrophic metabolism. The periphyton respiration may be subsidized by both water- and substrate-derived allochthonous energy pathways, shedding light on the role of periphytic assemblages to the carbon cycling, as a source of CO₂ to the system.     

Field observations of an evolving rip current on a meso-macrotidal well-developed inner bar and rip morphology

The Aquitanian Coast (France) is a high-energy meso-macrotidal environment exhibiting a highly variable double sandbar system. The inner and the outer bar generally exhibit a bar and rip morphology and persistent crescentic patterns, respectively. In June 2007, an intense five-day field experiment was carried out at Biscarrosse Beach. A large array of sensors was deployed on a well-developed southward-oriented bar and rip morphology. Daily topographic surveys were carried out together with video imaging to investigate beach morphodynamic evolution. During the experiment, offshore significant wave height ranged from 0.5 to 3 m, with a persistent shore-normal angle. This paper identifies two types of behavior of an observed rip current: (1) for low-energy waves, the rip current is active only between low and mid tide with maximum mean rip current velocity reaching 0.8 m/s for an offshore significant wave height (H_s) lower than 1 m; (2) for high-energy waves (H_s≈ 2.5–3 m), the rip current was active over the whole tide cycle with the presence of persistent intense offshore-directed flows between mid and high tide. For both low and high-energy waves, very low-frequency pulsations (15–30 min) of the mean currents are observed on both feeder and rip channels.A persistent slow shoreward migration of the sandbar was observed during the experiment while no significant alongshore migration of the system was measured. Onshore migration during the high-energy waves can be explained by different sediment transport processes such as flow velocity skewness, wave asymmetry or bed ventilation. High-frequency local measurements of the bed evolution show the presence of significant (in the order of 10 cm) fluctuations (in the order of 1 h). These fluctuations, observed for both low- and high-energy waves, are thought to be ripples and megaripples, respectively and may play an important but still poorly understood role in the larger scale morphodynamics. The present dataset improves the knowledge of rip dynamics as well as the morphological response of strongly alongshore non-uniform meso-macrotidal beaches.