A Faraday rotation template for the Galactic sky

Using a set of compilations of measurements for extragalactic radio sources, we construct all-sky maps of the Faraday rotation produced by the Galactic magnetic field. In order to generate the maps, we treat the radio source positions as a kind of 'mask' and construct combinations of spherical harmonic modes that are orthogonal on the masked sky. As long as relatively small multipoles are used, the resulting maps are quite stable to changes in the selection criteria for the sources, and show clearly the structure of the local Galactic magnetic field. We also suggest the use of these maps as templates for cosmic microwave background (CMB) foreground analysis, illustrating the idea with a cross-correlation analysis between the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe ( WMAP ) data and our maps. We find a significant cross-correlation, indicating the presence of a significant residual contamination.     

A late Neoproterozoic paleomagnetic pole for the Congo craton: Tectonic setting, paleomagnetism and geochronology of the Nola dike swarm (Central African Republic)

New structural, geochronological and paleomagnetic data were obtained on dolerite dikes of the Nola region (Central African Republic) at the northern border of the Congo craton. In this region, metavolcanic successions were thrust southward onto the craton during the Panafrican orogenic events. Our structural data reveal at least two structural klippes south of the present-day limits of the Panafrican nappe suggesting that it has once covered the whole Nola region, promoting the pervasive hydrothermal greenschist metamorphism observed in the underlying cratonic basement and also in the intrusive dolerite dikes. Paleomagnetic measurements revealed a stable dual-polarity low-inclination magnetization component in nine dikes (47 samples), carried by pyrrhotite and magnetite. This component corresponds to a paleopole at 304.8°E and 61.8°S (dp = 5.4, dm = 10.7) graded at Q = 6. Both metamorphism and magnetic resetting were dated by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method on amphibole grains separated from the dikes at 571 ± 6 Ma. The Nola pole is the first well-dated paleomagnetic pole for the Congo craton between 580 and 550 Ma. It marks a sudden change in direction of the Congo craton apparent polar wander path at the waning stages of the Panafrican orogenic events.     

Modeling of water–rock interactions in an aquitard of sandy clay in the coastal area near Beihai,China

Unconsolidated sand, gravel and clay deposits near Beihai and in the Leizhou Peninsula in southern China form an unconfined aquifer, aquitard and a confined aquifer. Water and soil samples were collected from the two aquifers in the coastal Beihai area for the determination of chemical compositions, minerals and soluble ions. Hydrogeochemical modeling of three flow paths through the aquitard are carried out using PHREEQC to determine water–rock interactions along the flow paths. The results indicate that the dissolution of anorthite, fluorite, halite, rhodochrosite and CO₂, and precipitation of potash feldspar and kaolinite may be occurring when groundwater leaks through the aquitard from the unconfined aquifer to the confined aquifer. Cation exchanges between Na and Ca can also happen along the flow paths.     

Weed species diversity on arable land of the dryland areas of central Tanzania: impacts of continuous application of traditional tillage practices

This paper presents findings from a study that assessed influence of continuous application of a particular traditional tillage practice on weed species richness, diversity and composition and identifies weed species with positive benefits to the communities in semi-arid areas of Mpwapwa district, central Tanzania. In this area farmers apply three different traditional tillage practices which are no-till (NT), shallow tillage (ST) and Ridging System (RT). A total of 36 farm fields were surveyed in 2006/2007 cropping season where 63 weed species from 26 families were identified. Analysis of variance indicated significant differences between practices (p < 0.05), with NT practice having highest weed species richness and diversity. Among the five more prevalent weed species appearing, Bidens lineariloba was observed to exist in all the three practices. Community representatives during focus group discussions indicated 9 weed species out of 63 identified to have beneficial uses. These species are Cleome hirta, Amaranthus graecizans, Bidens lineoriloba, Bidens pilosa, Dactyloctenium aegyptium, Launaea cornuta, Heteropogon contortus, Tragus berteronianus and Trichodesma zeylanicum. Their main uses include leaf-vegetable, medicines, fodder and materials for thatching. From this study NT has highest weed species richness and diversity which therefore suggests that much more time is needed for weeding in this practice compared to other practice which was the farmers’ concern. It was also noted that although weed species have negative effects in crop production and production costs, they still play a vital role in food security and for the health of different people in marginal areas as well as for the complete ecosystem including micro and macrofauna.     

Diel Patterns in Chlorophyll <Emphasis Type="Italic">a</Emphasis> Specific Absorption Coefficient and Absorption Efficiency Factor of Picoplankton

Diel patterns in the chlorophyll a specific absorption coefficient of surface picoplankton, a*_pico (γ) (m²·[mg chlorophyll a]⁻¹), were studied at 7 stations under daily cycle of in situ light condition in the western subarctic Pacific and Japan Sea. All the data were normalized by dividing the anomaly with daily averaged a*_pico (γ). Opposite diel patterns were observed for the normalized a*_pico (443) and a*_pico (675) with maximum toward dawn or dusk and minimum toward midday at 4 stations under low-irradiance (LI) conditions and vice versa at 3 stations under high-irradiance (HI) conditions. The absorption efficiency factors at red absorption peak, Q _a (675), were determined by reconstruction with intracellular chlorophyll a concentration and cell diameter. The normalized Q _a (675) also showed diel pattern with maximum toward midday and minimum toward dawn or dusk under LI. The diel pattern in a*_pico (675) and Q _a (675) were primarily caused by changes in intracellular chlorophyll a concentration due to photoadaptation under LI. The diel pattern in a*_pico (443) was influenced by pigmentation, as recognized by blue to red ratio [a*_pico (443)/a*_pico (675)] under HI. This study proposed that the opposite diel pattern in a*_pico (γ) might occur for a wide range of algal species. The results presented here have important consequences for the interpretation of diel variations in optical properties observed in the open ocean.     

CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Flux Measurements over the Sea Surface by Eddy Correlation and Aerodynamic Techniques

The measurements of the vertical transport of CO₂ were carried out over the Sea of Japan using the specially designed pier of Kyoto University on September 20 to 22, 2000. CO₂ fluxes were measured by the eddy correlation and aerodynamic techniques. Both techniques showed comparable CO₂ fluxes during sea breeze conditions: −0.001 to −0.08 mg m⁻²s⁻¹ with the mean of −0.05 mg m⁻²s⁻¹. This means that the measuring site satisfies the fetch requirement for meteorological observations under sea breeze conditions. Moreover, the eddy diffusivity coefficient used in the aerodynamic technique is found to be consistent with the coefficient used in the eddy correlation technique. The present result leads us to conclude that the aerodynamic technique may be applicable to underway CO₂ flux measurements over the ocean and may be used in place of the bulk technique. The important point is the need to maintain a measuring accuracy of CO₂ concentration difference of the order of 0.1 ppmv on the research vessels or the buoys.     

Long-Term Investigation of Spatio-Temporal Variations in Faunal Composition and Species Richness of Megabenthos in Ise Bay,Central Japan

Based on our long-term data from megabenthos sampling from 1993 to 2002 in Ise Bay, central Japan, we examined spatio-temporal variations in taxon composition, species richness and its distribution of megabenthos in the bay in relation to the occurrence of the oxygen-poor water (i.e. oxygen content less than 3 ppm) in bottom waters of the bay. A total of 261 species were identified including 6 cnidarians, 1 tentaculate, 5 annelids, 71 molluscs, 72 crustaceans, 16 echinoderms, 12 urochordates and 78 pisces. Of the most abundant 10 megabenthos species, the following 4 species of echinoderms made up more than the half of megabenthos biomass: Luidia quinaria, Echinocardium cordatum, Asterias amurensis and Astropecten scoparius. Species richness of megabenthos varied significantly between seasons and among stations. The severity and period of occurrence of the oxygen-poor water developing every summer play an important role in determining spatial distributions of species richness in the bay.     

Relationship between Salinity and Nutrients in the Subsurface Layer in the Suruga Bay

We investigated the water structure and nutrient distribution in the Suruga Bay from April 2000 to July 2002, especially the Offshore Water, which occupies a large part of the bay. The maximum salinity in the upper 200 m varied between 34.49 and 34.71, indicating a temporal change in the influence of Kuroshio Water on the Offshore Water. Seasonal variation in nutrient concentrations was largest from surface to 50 m. On the other hand, the variance in nutrient concentrations within each season was largest in the subsurface layer of 100–300 m in spring, summer and fall. In the Offshore Water, the change of nutrients was negatively correlated with that of salinity in each season. This suggests that an increasing intrusion of saline water brings about a lower nutrient concentration in the Offshore Water. Likewise, negative correlations were observed between the change of the maximum salinity and chlorophyll a (Δ [chl.a-int])/nutrients integrated in the upper 200 m. Δ[chl.a-int] was significantly correlated with the changes of nitrate and phosphorus, but there were no significant correlations between Δ[chl.a-int] and the change of silicate. These results suggest that the concentrations of chlorophyll a and nutrients in the Offshore Water were decreased due to the increasing intrusion of Kuroshio Water. The Offshore Water is likely to be related to the regulation of primary production by nitrate.     

Drag Coefficient,Dynamic Roughness and Reference Wind Speed

Surface waves are the roughness element of the ocean surface. The parameterization of the drag coefficient of the ocean surface is simplified by referencing to wind speed at an elevation proportional to the characteristic wavelength. The dynamic roughness is analytically related to the drag coefficient. Under the assumption of fetch limited wave growth condition, various empirical functions of the dynamic roughness can be converted to equivalent expressions for comparison. For datasets covering a wide range of the dimensionless frequency (inverse wave age), it is important to account for the variable rate of wave development at different wave ages. As a result, the dependence of the Charnock parameter on wave age is nonmonotonic. Finally, the analysis presented here suggests that the significant wave steepness is a sensitive property of the ocean surface and a single variable normalization of the dynamic roughness using a wavelength or wave height parameter actually produces more robust functions than bi-variable normalizations using wave height and wave slope.