New spectroscopic and polarimetric observations of the A0 supergiant HD 92207

Our recent search for the presence of a magnetic field in the bright early A‐type supergiant HD 92207 using FORS 2 in spectropolarimetric mode revealed the presence of a longitudinal magnetic field of the order of a few hundred Gauss. However, the definite confirmation of the magnetic nature of this object remained pending due to the detection of shortterm spectral variability probably affecting the position of line profiles in left‐ and right‐hand polarized spectra. We present new magnetic field measurements of HD 92207 obtained on three different epochs in 2013 and 2014 using FORS 2 in spectropolarimetric mode. A 3σ detection of the mean longitudinal magnetic field using the entire spectrum, 〈B_z〉_all = 104 ± 34 G, was achieved in observations obtained in 2014 January. At this epoch, the position of the spectral lines appeared stable. Our analysis of spectral line shapes recorded in opposite circularly polarized light, i.e. in light with opposite sense of rotation, reveals that line profiles in the light polarized in a certain direction appear slightly split. The mechanism causing such a behaviour in the circularly polarized light is currently unknown. Trying to settle the issue of short‐term variability, we searched for changes in the spectral line profiles on a time scale of 8–10 min using HARPS polarimetric spectra and on a time scale of 3–4 min using time series obtained with the CORALIE spectrograph. No significant variability was detected on these time scales during the epochs studied. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Estuarine Habitat and Demographic Factors Affect Juvenile Chinook (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Oncorhynchus tshawytscha</Emphasis>) Growth Variability in a Large Freshwater Tidal Estuary

Estuarine rearing has been shown to enhance within watershed biocomplexity and support growth and survival for juvenile salmon (Oncorhynchus sp.). However, less is known about how growth varies across different types of wetland habitats and what explains this variability in growth. We focused on the estuarine habitat use of Columbia River Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), which are listed under the Endangered Species Act. We employed a generalized linear model (GLM) to test three hypotheses: (1) juvenile Chinook growth was best explained by temporal factors, (2) habitat, or (3) demographic characteristics, such as stock of origin. This study examined estuarine growth rate, incorporating otolith microstructure, individual assignment to stock of origin, GIS habitat mapping, and diet composition along ~130 km of the upper Columbia River estuary. Juvenile Chinook grew on average 0.23 mm/day in the freshwater tidal estuary. When compared to other studies in the basin our growth estimates from the freshwater tidal estuary were similar to estimates in the brackish estuary, but ~4 times slower than those in the plume and upstream reservoirs. However, previous survival studies elucidated a possible tradeoff between growth and survival in the Columbia River basin. Our GLM analysis found that variation in growth was best explained by habitat and an interaction between fork length and month of capture. Juvenile Chinook salmon captured in backwater channel habitats and later in the summer (mid-summer and late summer/fall subyearlings) grew faster than salmon from other habitats and time periods. These findings present a unique example of the complexity of understanding the influences of the many processes that generate variation in growth rate for juvenile anadromous fish inhabiting estuaries.     

Determination of evaporation from integrated profiles of humidity and temperature over an inhomogeneous surface

In this study a moderate-sized alfalfa field was downwind of a large dry region. Measured vertical profiles of temperature, humidity and wind at upwind and downwind sides of the field were used to calculate the short-term evaporation rate, as well as the contribution of horizontally transported or advected heat energy to the evaporation. The vertical profiles must be measured at least to the height at which air is modified by the new surface. In this case that height was as large as 18 m over a several hundred meter long traverse.Evaporation rates calculated by such an approach were in very close agreement to surface fluxes measured by an eddy correlation system near the surface. The difference between calculated and measured values averaged 9.5%. The reduction in sensible heat content of the air of the control volume was substantial during passage over the field. If all this energy was assumed to have been used in evaporation, then the advection of heat contributed from 35 to 86% of the total evaporation rate.It appears that for an inhomogeneous surface, knowledge of the distortion of some properties of local boundary layers can yield reliable estimates of local evaporation. The approach has little empiricism as it is based on simple conservation laws.     

Depth and Seasonal Distribution of Some Groups of the Vagile Fauna of the Posidonia oceanica Leaf Stratum: Structural and Trophic Analyses

Abstract. The taxonomical and trophic structures of the vagile fauna communities of the leaf stratum in a Posidonia oceanica meadow at Ischia (Gulf of Naples, Italy) were investigated at five stations along a depth gradient (1 to 25 m). Sampling was performed in July, November, February, and May. The analyzed groups - polychaetes, molluscs, tanaids, isopods, amphipods, and decapods - exhibited similar distributional trends in all seasons, with coenotic discontinuities occurring at well-defined depths. The same zonation pattern was produced by feeding-guild analysis. Eleven trophic groups were identified. The most abundant groups were: Herbivores, which were found mainly at the shallow stations; Herbivores-deposit feeders, which were widely distributed along the transect; Deposit feeders-carnivores, found mainly at the deep stations.
This study suggests that in the Posidonia leaf stratum, herbivores and herbivores-deposit feeders, as consumers of epiphytic micro- and macroflora and deposited particulate organic matter, play an important role in the energy transfer from producers to higher trophic levels of the system.     

The role of the land use, land use change and forestry sector in achieving Annex I reduction pledges

Annex I Parties may receive credits or debits from Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) activities, contributing to achieving individual emission reduction targets. In the Durban climate negotiations, Parties agreed new LULUCF accounting rules for the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (CP2). By using these new rules, this paper presents key differences among Parties at the minimum (assuming no additional action) and potential (assuming additional actions) contribution of the forest-related LULUCF activities in achieving the pledges for 2020. Overall, the potential contribution of LULUCF is relatively modest (up to about 2 % of 1990 emissions) for the EU, the Annex I Parties likely joining the CP2, and for the Annex I Parties that joined the CP1 as a whole. However, for specific Parties, LULUCF can make a substantial contribution to achieving the pledges. For New Zealand, for instance, the potential contribution of future LULUCF credits may equal 33 % of its 1990 emission level. For Australia, the pledges are expressed relative to 2000 emission levels including LULUCF emissions. Given that LULUCF emissions have strongly declined between 1990 and 2000, and a further decline in foreseen by 2020 (based on Australia’s projections), the minimum contribution of LULUCF to meet the Australian pledges appears to be about 19 % and 7 % relative to its 1990 and 2000 emission level, respectively. A further 3 % potential contribution is estimated from additional actions.     

Upper Jurassic record of Polyphylloseris (Egypt, Northern Sinai)

Genus Polyphylloseris is a scleractinian colonial coral that has been established by d’Orbigny (1849) from the Neocomian of Yonne, France. The genus is characterized by having elevated domal calices that are mammillar or craterlike in shape and with porous confluent septa. Columella is absent or rudimentary, and the lower surface of the corallum is covered with a thick and wrinkled holotheca. Specimens having the above-mentioned characteristics have been collected from the Upper Jurassic Arousiah Member of the Masajid Formation (Callovian–Oxfordian) of Gebel Maghara, Northern Sinai, Egypt. They are characterized by having a cupolate colonial form and porous pennulate septa which reach 40–50 in number. Based on these characters and other characters such as density of septa, height, and width of mammillar calices, the studied material is attributed to a new species named Polyphylloseris magharensis. The new species is a first undoubted record of Polyphylloseris in the Jurassic. Previously recorded undoubted ages of the genus are Early and Late Cretaceous. The fewer number of septa and the smaller-sized and closer mammillar calices allow differentiation of the species from other species such as Polyphylloseris icaunensis d’Orbigny and Polyphylloseris convexa d’Orbigny.     

A Raman spectroscopic study of H/D isotopically substituted hydrous aluminosilicate glasses

We have obtained high quality Raman spectra for two H/D isotopically substituted hydrous aluminosilicate glasses with compositions along the NaAlSi₃O₈-SiO₂ join. Consistent with the results of previous studies, the isotope shift for the band near 900 cm^–1, whose intensity grows with increasing water content, is extremely small: v _h /v _d = 1.004 ± 0.004. The lack of a definite H/D isotope shift for this band does not, however, preclude its association with a vibration of a hydrous species in the glass, because of likely strong coupling between different vibrational modes of hydrated framework species. The 900 cm^–1 band could well be due to a T — OH (T = Si, Al) stretching or bending vibration in the hydrous glass, as required by the presence of a combination band near 4500 cm^–1 in near-infrared spectra.     

Condensed hyperelements method of non-vertical consistent boundaries for wave propagation analysis in irregular media

The study of wave propagation in finite/infinite media has many applications in geotechnical and structural earthquake engineering and has been a focus of research for the past few decades. This paper presents an analysis of 2D anti- plane problems （Love waves） and 2D in-plane problems （Rayleigh waves） in the frequency domain in media consisting of a near-field irregular and a far-field regular part. The near field part may contain structures and its boundaries with the far-field can be of any shape. In this study, the irregular boundaries of the near-field are treated as consistent boundaries, extending the concept of Lysmer＇s vertical consistent boundaries. The presented technique is called the Condensed Hyperelements Method （CHM）. In this method, the irregular boundary is limited to a vertical boundary at each end that is a consistent boundary at the far-field side. Between the two ends, the medium is discretized with hyperelements. Using static condensation, the stiffness matrix of the far-field is derived for the nodes on the irregular boundary. Examples of the application of the CHM illustrate its excellent accuracy and efficiency.     

Empirically-based modeling of spatial sampling uncertainties associated with rainfall measurements by rain gauges

In the quantitative evaluation of radar-rainfall products (maps), rain gauge data are generally used as a good approximation of the true ground rainfall. However, rain gauges provide accurate measurements for a specific location, while radar estimates represent areal averages. Because these sampling discrepancies could introduce noise into the comparisons between these two sensors, they need to be accounted for. In this study, the spatial sampling error is defined as the ratio between the measurements by a single rain gauge and the true areal rainfall, defined as the value obtained by averaging the measurements by an adequate number of gauges within a pixel. Using a non-parametric scheme, the authors characterize its full statistical distribution for several spatial (4, 16 and 36 km²) and temporal (15 min and hourly) scales.