Monthly Variations of Water Masses in the Yellow and East China Seas, November 6, 1998

The monthly water mass variations in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea are investigated using over 40 years of historical temperature and salinity observations via a cluster analysis that incorporates geographical distance and depth separation in addition to the temperature and salinity. Results delineate monthly variations in the major water masses and provide some insight into formation mechanisms and intermixing. The major water masses include the Kuroshio-East China Sea water (KE), the Yellow Sea surface water (YSS) and bottom cold water (YSB), mixed water (MW), and coastal water (CW). The distribution of the KE water mass reveals the intrusion pattern into the area west of Cheju. A separate mixed water type appears between the KE water mass and the Yellow Sea water masses during winter. The formation mechanism of the YSB appears to be the surface cooling and active mixing in winter. In the East China Sea, during summer, surface water is differentiated from the subsurface water while there is no differentiation during winter. In the Yellow Sea, a three layer system exists in the summer and fall (May–November) while a two layer system exists during the rest of the year. A fresh water mass generated by Yangtze River discharge (YD) is present over the northern East China Sea and the southern Yellow Sea during summer. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

黄、东海海域水团发育对底质沉积物分布的影响

通过对黄、东海海域底质沉积物中的细粒级粘土矿物组合特征和全粒级碳酸盐含量分析、对比上覆水团和悬浮体资料，探讨研究区水团发育消长对底质沉积物分布的影响作用。结果表明研究区可以划分为长江冲淡水影响的长江型物质沉积区；黄海水影响的黄河型物质沉积区和黑潮水以及东海次表层水影响的残留型物质沉积区。而水团发育消长可直接影响下伏底质的分布特征。黄河型物质沉积区与残留型物质沉积区的分界相应于黄海冷水向东南扩展与黑潮次中层混合水向陆架爬升互为消长的长期综合平衡位置，而黄海冷水向东南的扩展范围代表着黄河物质在陆架向东南扩展沉积的最大范围．     

变性绕极深层水入侵时南极普里兹湾湍流混合特征研究

基于中国第28、29和31次南极科学考察中的CTD数据,利用Thorpe尺度方法计算了普里兹湾及其附近海域湍动能耗散率,分析了其分布特征,并对当地的水团结构进行研究.结果表明,普里兹湾及其附近海域中,前两个航次观测中次表层湍动能耗散率强度在陆架坡折区域达到最大.在水团分布方面,在第28和29航次中均观测到了变性绕极深层...     

An acousto-optical imaging spectrophotometer for astrophysical observations

We present the results of our tests of an acousto-optical imaging spectrophotometer with a CCD detector for astronomical observations. The tunable acousto-optical filter, based on a paratellurite single crystal with a 13 Å pass band operates in the wavelength range 6300–11000 Å. We obtained image spectra for the planetary nebula NGC 7027 in the Hα line and for Saturn in the methane absorption band, as well as Hα and continuum images for the nuclear region of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068.     

X-ray emission from accretion disks in active galactic nuclei

We constructed a grid of relativistic models for standard high-relative-luminosity accretion α-disks around supermassive Kerr black holes (BHs) and computed X-ray spectra for their hot, effectively optically thin inner parts by taking into account general-relativity effects. They are known to be heated to high (～10⁶–10⁹ K) temperatures and to cool down through the Comptonization of intrinsic thermal radiation. Their spectra are power laws with an exponential cutoff at high energies; i.e., they have the same shape as those observed in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Fitting the observed X-ray spectra of AGNs with computed spectra allowed us to estimate the fundamental parameters of BHs (their mass and Kerr parameter) and accretion disks (luminosity and inclination to the line of sight) in 28 AGNs. We show that the Kerr parameter for BHs in AGNs is close to unity and that the disk inclination correlates with the Seyfert type of AGN, in accordance with the unification model of activity. The estimated BH masses M_x are compared with the masses M_rev determined by the reverberation mapping technique. For AGNs with luminosities close to the Eddington limit, these masses agree and the model under consideration may be valid for them. For low-relative-luminosity AGNs, the differences in masses increase with decreasing relative luminosity and their X-ray emission cannot be explained by this model.     

Neutrino radiation from a collapsing galactic nucleus

We discuss the possible observational manifestation of the formation of massive black holes in galactic nuclei in the form of an intense high-energy neutrino flux. A short-lived (≤10 yr) hidden neutrino source results from the natural dynamicalal evolution of a central star cluster in the galactic nucleus before its gravitational collapse. The central star cluster at the final evolutionary stage consists of degenerate compact stars (neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes) and is embedded in a massive gaseous envelope produced by destructive collisions of normal stars. Multiple fireballs from frequent collisions of neutron stars give rise to a tenuous quasi-stationary cavity in the central part of the massive envelope. The cavity is filled with shock waves on which an effective cosmic-ray acceleration takes place. Allthe accelerated particles, except the secondary high-energy neutrinos, are absorbed in the dense envelope. The neutrino signal that carries information on the dynamicals of the collapsing galactic nucleus can be recorded by a neutrino detector with an effective area S∼1 km².     

Oort Cloud Comet Perihelion Asymmetries: Galactic Tide, Shower or Observational Bias?

We investigate the distribution of Oort cloud comet perihelia. The data considered includes comets having orbital elements of the two highest quality classes with original energies designated as new or young. Perihelion directions are determined in galactic, ecliptic and geocentric equatorial coordinates. Asymmetries are detected in the scatter and are studied statistically for evidence of adiabatic galactic tidal dynamics, an impulse-induced shower and observational bias. The only bias detected is the well-known deficiency of observations with perihelion distances q > 2.5 AU. There is no significant evidence of a seasonal dependence. Nor is there a substantive hemispherical bias in either ecliptic or equatorial coordinates. There is evidence for a weak stellar shower previously detected by Biermann which accounts for ≈ 10% of the total observations. Both the q bias and the Biermann star track serve to weaken the evidence for a galactic tidal imprint. Nevertheless, statistically significant asymmetries in galactic latitude and longitude of perihelia remain. A latitude asymmetry is produced by a dominant tidal component perpendicular to the galactic disk. The longitude signal implies that ≈ 20% of new comets need an additional dynamical mechanism. Known disk non-uniformities and an hypothetical bound perturber are discussed as potential explanations. We conclude that the detected dynamical signature of the galactic tide is real and is not an artifact of observational bias, impulsive showers or poor data. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

New active galactic nuclei among the INTEGRAL and SWIFT X-ray sources

We present the results of our optical identifications of a set of X-ray sources from the INTEGRAL and SWIFT all-sky surveys. The optical data have been obtained with the 1.5-m Russian-Turkish Telescope (RTT-150). Nine X-ray sources have been identified with active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Two of them are located in the nearby spiral galaxies MCG-01-05-047 and NGC 973 seen almost edge-on. One source, IGR J16562-3301, is probably a BL Lac object (blazar). The remaining AGNs are observed as the starlike nuclei of spiral galaxies whose spectra exhibit broad emission lines. The relation between the hard X-ray (17–60 keV) luminosity and the [O III] 5007 line luminosity, log L _x/L _{[O III]} ≈ 2.1, holds good for most of the AGNs detected in hard X rays. However, the luminosities of some AGNs deviate from this relation. The fraction of such objects can reach ～20%. In particular, the [O III] line flux is lower for two nearby edge-on spiral galaxies. This can be explained by the effect of absorption in the galactic disks.     

The radio structure of 45 quasars atz < 1.5

Radio maps at 5 GHz with an angular resolution of 1 to 2 arcsec and a dynamic range ≳ 200:1 are presented for a sample of 45 radio quasars at redshifts between 0.2 and 1.5. The sources were imaged from observations made with the Very Large Array with the aim of investigating the epoch dependence of misalignments and asymmetries in their extended radio structure. Maps of some of the larger radio sources are presented also at a frequency of 1.5 GHz with a typical angular resolution of ≈ 4 arcsec. The radio structure of most of the quasars reported here has been delineated in considerably greater detail than available in the literature.     

The influence of solar activity on the rainfall over India: Cycle-to-cycle variations

We use 130 years data for studying correlative effects due to solar cycle and activity phenomena on the occurrence of rainfall over India. For the period of different solar cycles, we compute the correlation coefficients and significance of correlation coefficients for the seasonal months of Jan–Feb (JF), Mar–May (MAM), June–Sept (JJAS) and Oct–Dec (OND) and,annual mean data. We find that: (i) with a moderate-to-high significance, Indian rainfall is correlated with the sunspot activity and, (ii) there is an overall trend that during the period of low sunspot activity, occurrence of rainfall is high compared to the period of high sunspot activity. We speculate in this study a possible physical connection between the occurrence of the rainfall and the sunspot activities and, the flux of galactic cosmic rays. Some of the negative correlations between the occurrences of the sunspot and rainfall activities obtained for different solar cycle periods are interpreted as effects of aerosols on the rain forming clouds due to either intermittent volcanic eruptions or due to intrusion of interstellar dust particles in the Earth’s atmosphere.