The FAO global capture production database: A six-decade effort to catch the trend

With data series extending for 60 years, including catch data for almost 1850 species items, and reflecting geo-political, historical and natural events, the FAO capture database provides a service to the community interested in fishery information. Over 600 articles from refereed journals cited the database in the last 15 years. Species included grew significantly in the last decade and an analysis of annual reporting showed more timely data submissions, although the number of non-reporting countries remained stable throughout the years. An evaluation of data quality found over half developing countries reporting inadequately but also one-fourth of reports by developed countries were not satisfactory. This article also provides meta information on historical developments, data sources and coverage, and advice on what should be kept in mind when using the database for trend studies.     

南黄海辐射沙脊群里磕脚11DT02孔沉积相分析及环境演化

11DT02孔位于南黄海辐射沙脊群东北部里磕脚沙脊南坡,通过沉积相分析、粒度统计,结合年代地层数据,重建晚更新世以来里磕脚沙脊的长周期环境演化,分析沙脊成因、厘定沙脊发育年代。研究表明:里磕脚沙脊从下至上由潮滩相、硬黏土相、潮滩相和潮流沙脊相组成。潮流沙脊和潮滩由粉砂、细砂和少量黏土组成,两者均成正偏态分布。潮流沙脊和潮滩在概率累积曲线上分别表现为三段式和四段式分布,以跳跃次总体为主,并呈双跳跃特点。研究区晚更新世经历海平面下降发育潮滩环境,到完全暴露形成标志性的“硬黏土”层;全新世初期经历海侵,研究区复又开始潮滩沉积,随后被海水完全淹没,潮流作用渐强,改造下伏潮滩和“硬黏土”,逐渐堆积成高差最大达30 m的脊槽地形。     

数学形态滤波与大地电磁噪声压制

数学形态滤波是一种新型的非线性滤波方法.介绍了形态学滤波的基本原理,针对大地电磁信号表现出的非线性、非平稳性和非最小相位特性,综合结构元素特征我们提出一种基于数学形态滤波的大地电磁噪声压制方法.为了有效抑制目标信号中的噪声干扰及修正统计偏倚现象,通过选用合理的结构元素及形态开-闭、闭-开组合,将正、负结构元素级联构造组合广义形态滤波器对实测大地电磁信号进行噪声压制.实验结果表明,该方法是切实可行的,有效地剔除了大尺度干扰及基线漂移,较好地还原了大地电磁信号的原始特征,修正了标准形态算子所产生的统计偏倚现象,去噪精度高.该方法计算速度快,具有潜在优势,为矿集区海量大地电磁信号与强干扰的分离提供了一条新的途径,应用前景广阔.     

Deconvolution of multicomponent seismic data by means of quaternions: Theory and preliminary results‡

Multicomponent seismic data are acquired by orthogonal geophones that record a vectorial wavefield. Since the single components are not independent, the processing should be performed jointly for all the components. In this contribution, we use hypercomplex numbers, specifically quaternions, to implement the Wiener deconvolution for multicomponent seismic data. This new approach directly derives from the complex Wiener filter theory, but special care must be taken in the algorithm implementation due to the peculiar properties of quaternion algebra. Synthetic and real data examples show that quaternion deconvolution, either spiking or predictive, generally performs superiorly to the standard (scalar) deconvolution because it properly takes into account the vectorial nature of the wavefields. This provides a better wavelet estimation and thus an improved deconvolution performance, especially when noise affects differently the various components.     

The relation between Lyman α absorbers and gas-rich galaxies in the local Universe

We use high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations to investigate the spatial correlation between weak  ( N _{H  i} < 10¹⁵ cm⁻²)  Lyα absorbers and gas-rich galaxies in the local Universe. We confirm that Lyα absorbers are preferentially expected near gas-rich galaxies and that the degree of correlation increases with the column density of the absorber. The real-space galaxy auto-correlation is stronger than the cross-correlation (correlation lengths   r _0,gg= 3.1 ± 0.1 Mpc  h ⁻¹  and   r _0,ag= 1.4 ± 0.1 Mpc  h ⁻¹  , respectively), in contrast with the recent results of Ryan-Weber, and the auto-correlation of absorbers is very weak. These results are robust to the presence of strong galactic winds in the hydrodynamical simulations. In redshift space, a further mismatch arises since at small separations the distortion pattern of the simulated galaxy–absorber cross-correlation function is different from the one measured by Ryan-Weber. However, when sampling the intergalactic medium along a limited number of lines-of-sight, as in the real data, uncertainties in the cross-correlation estimates are large enough to account for these discrepancies. Our analysis suggests that the statistical significance of difference between the cross-correlation and auto-correlation signal in current data sets is ∼1σ only.     

A robust statistical estimation of the basic parameters of single stellar populations – I. Method

The colour–magnitude diagrams of resolved single stellar populations, such as open and globular clusters, have provided the best natural laboratories to test stellar evolution theory. Whilst a variety of techniques have been used to infer the basic properties of these simple populations, systematic uncertainties arise from the purely geometrical degeneracy produced by the similar shape of isochrones of different ages and metallicities. Here we present an objective and robust statistical technique which lifts this degeneracy to a great extent through the use of a key observable: the number of stars along the isochrone. Through extensive Monte Carlo simulations we show that, for instance, we can infer the four main parameters (age, metallicity, distance and reddening) in an objective way, along with robust confidence intervals and their full covariance matrix. We show that systematic uncertainties due to field contamination, unresolved binaries, initial or present-day stellar mass function are either negligible or well under control. This technique provides, for the first time, a proper way to infer with unprecedented accuracy the fundamental properties of simple stellar populations, in an easy-to-implement algorithm.     

The DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey: the role of galaxy environment in the cosmic star formation history

Using galaxy samples drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey, we study the relationship between star formation and environment at   z ∼ 0.1  and 1. We estimate the total star formation rate (SFR) and specific star formation rate (sSFR) for each galaxy according to the measured [O  ii ]λ 3727 Å nebular line luminosity, corrected using empirical calibrations to match more robust SFR indicators. Echoing previous results, we find that in the local Universe star formation depends on environment such that galaxies in regions of higher overdensity, on average, have lower SFRs and longer star formation time-scales than their counterparts in lower density regions. At   z ∼ 1  , we show that the relationship between sSFR and environment mirrors that found locally. However, we discover that the relationship between total SFR and overdensity at   z ∼ 1  is inverted relative to the local relation. This observed evolution in the SFR–density relation is driven, in part, by a population of bright, blue galaxies in dense environments at   z ∼ 1  . This population, which lacks a counterpart at   z ∼ 0  , is thought to evolve into members of the red sequence from   z ∼ 1  to ∼0. Finally, we conclude that environment does not play a dominant role in the cosmic star formation history at   z < 1  : the dependence of the mean galaxy SFR on local galaxy density at constant redshift is small compared to the decline in the global SFR space density over the last 7 Gyr.     

Exploring star formation using the filaments in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release Five

We have quantified the average filamentarity of the galaxy distribution in seven nearly two-dimensional strips from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release Five (SDSS DR5) using a volume-limited sample in the absolute magnitude range  −21 ≤ M _r ≤−20  . The average filamentarity of star-forming (SF) galaxies, which are predominantly blue, is found to be more than that of other galaxies which are predominantly red. This difference is possibly an outcome of the fact that blue galaxies have a more filamentary distribution. Comparing the SF galaxies with only the other blue galaxies, we find that the two show nearly equal filamentarity. Separately analyzing the galaxies with high star formation rates (SFR) and low SFR, we find that the latter has a more filamentary distribution. We interpret this in terms of two effects. (i) A correlation between the SFR and individual galaxy properties like luminosity with the high-SFR galaxies being more luminous. (ii) A relation between the SFR and environmental effects like the density with the high-SFR galaxies preferentially occurring in high-density regions. These two effects are possibly not independent and are operating simultaneously. We do not find any difference in the filamentarity of SF galaxies and active galactic nuclei.     

Luminous red galaxy clustering at z≃ 0.7 – first results using AAOmega

We report on the AAT-AAOmega LRG Pilot observing run to establish the feasibility of a large spectroscopic survey using the new AAOmega instrument. We have selected luminous red galaxies (LRGs) using single epoch SDSS riz -photometry to   i < 20.5  and   z < 20.2  . We have observed in three fields including the COSMOS field and the COMBO-17 S11 field, obtaining a sample of ∼600 redshift   z ≳ 0.5  LRGs. Exposure times varied from 1–4 h to determine the minimum exposure for AAOmega to make an essentially complete LRG redshift survey in average conditions. We show that LRG redshifts to   i < 20.5  can be measured in ≈1.5 h exposures and present comparisons with 2SLAQ and COMBO-17 (photo)redshifts. Crucially, the riz selection coupled with the three to four times improved AAOmega throughput is shown to extend the LRG mean redshift from   z = 0.55  for 2SLAQ to   z = 0.681 ± 0.005  for riz -selected LRGs. This extended range is vital for maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio for the detection of the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAOs). Furthermore, we show that the amplitude of LRG clustering is   s ₀= 9.9 ± 0.7 h ⁻¹ Mpc  , as high as that seen in the 2SLAQ LRG Survey. Consistent results for this clustering amplitude are found from the projected and semi-projected correlation functions. This high amplitude is consistent with a long-lived population whose bias evolves as predicted by a simple 'high-peak' model. We conclude that a redshift survey of 360 000 LRGs over 3000 deg², with an effective volume some four times bigger than previously used to detect BAO with LRGs, is possible with AAOmega in 170 nights.     

The Observed Long- and Short-Term Phase Relation between the Toroidal and Poloidal Magnetic Fields in Cycle 23

The observed phase relations between the weak background solar magnetic (poloidal) field and strong magnetic field associated with sunspots (toroidal field) measured at different latitudes are presented. For measurements of the solar magnetic field (SMF) the low-resolution images obtained from Wilcox Solar Observatory are used and the sunspot magnetic field was taken from the Solar Feature Catalogues utilizing the SOHO/MDI full-disk magnetograms. The quasi-3D latitudinal distributions of sunspot areas and magnetic fields obtained for 30 latitudinal bands (15 in the northern hemisphere and 15 in the southern hemisphere) within fixed longitudinal strips are correlated with those of the background SMF. The sunspot areas in all latitudinal zones (averaged with a sliding one-year filter) reveal a strong positive correlation with the absolute SMF in the same zone appearing first with a zero time lag and repeating with a two- to three-year lag through the whole period of observations. The residuals of the sunspot areas averaged over one year and those over four years are also shown to have a well defined periodic structure visible in every two – three years close to one-quarter cycle with the maxima occurring at − 40° and + 40° and drifts during this period either toward the equator or the poles depending on the latitude of sunspot occurrence. This phase relation between poloidal and toroidal field throughout the whole cycle is discussed in association with both the symmetric and asymmetric components of the background SMF and relevant predictions by the solar dynamo models.