Contribution of the tully groups to the soft X-ray background

We examine a model for the expected contributions to the soft X-ray background (SXRB) due to bremsstrahlung and re-combination radiation of gas, enriched with heavy elements, located in groups of galaxies taken from Tully'sCatalog of Nearby Groups of Galaxies. It is shown that the contribution to the SXRB of groups of galaxies can explain up to 20% of the observed flux depending on the chemical composition and ratio of emitting mass to assumed virial mass.     

Anomalous Emissions of SO2 During the Recent Eruption of Santa Ana Volcano, El Salvador, Central America

Santa Ana volcano in western El Salvador, Central America, had a phreatic eruption at 8:05 am (local time) on October 1, 2005, 101 years after its last eruption. However, during the last one hundred years this volcano has presented periods of quiet degassing with fumarolic activity and an acidic lake within its crater. This paper presents results of frequent measurements of SO₂ degassing using the MiniDOAS (Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy) system and a comparison with the volcanic seismicity prior to the eruption, during, and after the eruption. Vehicle measurements of SO₂ flux were taken every hour during the first nine days of the eruption and daily after that. The period of time reported here is from August to December, 2005. Three periods of degassing are distinguished: pre-eruptive, eruptive, and post-eruptive periods. The intense activity at Santa Ana volcano started in July 2005. During the pre-eruptive period up to 4306 and 5154 ton/day of SO₂ flux were recorded on October 24 and September 9, 2005, respectively. These values were of the same order of magnitude as the recorded values just after the October 1^st eruption (2925 ton/day at 10:01 am). Hourly measurements of SO₂ flux taken during the first nine days after the main eruptive event indicate that explosions are preceded by an increase in SO₂ flux and that this parameter reaches a peak after the explosion took place. This behavior suggests that increasing accumulation of exsolved magmatic gases occurs within the magmatic chamber before the explosions, increasing the pressure until the point of explosion. A correlation between SO₂ fluxes and RSAM (Real Time Seismic Amplitude Measurements) is observed during the complete sampling period. Periodic fluctuations in the SO₂ and RSAM values during the entire study period are observed. One possible mechanism explaining these fluctuations it that convective circulation within the magmatic chamber can bring fresh magma periodically to shallow levels, allowing increasing degasification and then decreasing degasification as the batch of magma lowers its gas content, becomes denser, and sinks to give space to a new magma pulse. These results illustrate that the measurements of SO₂ flux can provide important warning signals for incoming explosive activity in active volcanoes.     

Analysis of meteorological drought episodes in Paraguay

This paper analyzes the meteorological drought events in Paraguay in the period of 1964 to 2011, using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). The objective is to determine if the frequency and/or severity of droughts has increased or decreased in the last years, in response of climate change. They The southernmost parts of the country are affected by severe droughts producing damage to soybean and corn crop during the rainy season (October–March) especially during the summer of 2008–2009. The years of 1967, 1968, 1978, 1979, 2000 and 2008 was identified as severe to extreme drought events and coincides with La Niña event. However, the relationship between all drought events, especially those agricultural droughts and La Niña is not clear, suggesting the necessity of new research, focusing on new drivers to explain the cause of the droughts. The economy of Paraguay, based for good part on agriculture, is clearly vulnerable to droughts. Even though no undeniable increasing trend in drought frequency/severity was detected, contingency plans to diminish drought impacts ought to be elaborated.     

Supersymetric Taub model,the micro-superspace sector

Since there are reasons for expecting supersymmetry in an underlying quantum theory of gravity, one is led to study quantum and classical cosmology with supergravity. In particular, classical solutions corresponding to these models could also be used to generate the quantization of supersymmetric minisuperspaces. In generating these solutions, the solution to the Rarita-Schwinger field in the cosmological background is also obtained. In this paper the supercosmological equations of Einstein-Rarita-Schwinger are solved for the micro-superspace sector of the Taub model, under the assumption =₁₁*₂₂ and . The solution for the parameters of the metric and are proportional to each other in each order, the zeroth-order and also the second-order terms. The zeroth-order terms correspond to the solution in general relativity and are logarithmic in time, the ₁₂ terms have an hyperbolic time-dependence. The Rarita-Schwinger field has the form cos((2/D ³)ln |t–t ₀|) and oscillates an infinite number of times astt ₀. This oscillating behaviour of the solution for is not only present when spinor fields are treated in a curved background, but also some cosmological wave functions behave in this manner. This solution is at the same time the supercosmological solution for the microsuperspace sector of the Taub model and also the Rarita-Schwinger field in this background.This work was supported in part by CONACYT grant P228CCOX891723, and DGICSA SEP grant C90-03-0347.     

The relativistic factor in the orbital dynamics of point masses

There is a growing population of relativistically relevant minor bodies in the Solar System and a growing population of massive extrasolar planets with orbits very close to the central star where relativistic effects should have some signature. Our purpose is to review how general relativity affects the orbital dynamics of the planetary systems and to define a suitable relativistic correction for Solar System orbital studies when only point masses are considered. Using relativistic formulae for the N body problem suited for a planetary system given in the literature we present a series of numerical orbital integrations designed to test the relevance of the effects due to the general theory of relativity in the case of our Solar System. Comparison between different algorithms for accounting for the relativistic corrections are performed. Relativistic effects generated by the Sun or by the central star are the most relevant ones and produce evident modifications in the secular dynamics of the inner Solar System. The Kozai mechanism, for example, is modified due to the relativistic effects on the argument of the perihelion. Relativistic effects generated by planets instead are of very low relevance but detectable in numerical simulations.     

Creating a conceptual framework to improve the re‐usability of open geographic data in cities

Open data has a profound effect on the working environment within which information is created and shared at all levels. At the local government level, open data initiatives have resulted in higher transparency in policy, a greater engagement between decision‐makers and citizens, and have changed the culture about how data analysis and evidence are used to support local governance. This article, based on data collected through an on‐line survey, participatory workshops with data user communities in four cities (in Colombia and Spain), and interviews with Valencia good‐government office, identifies four elements for a conceptual framework to improve the re‐usability of open geographic data in cities. The essential elements defined in this research are the definition of data user communities and their needs, the creation of the community of reuse, user‐focused metadata, and reuse‐focused legal terms. The definition of these indicators provides a framework for authorities to re‐shape their current open data strategy to include data user requirements. At the end of this article, a roadmap for future research and implementation is presented, considering some reflections on the conceptual framework.     

Hydrologic Dynamics of a Subtropical Estuary Using Geochemical Tracers,Celestún,Yucatan, Mexico

Oxygen isotopes and strontium concentrations were used as geochemical tracers to discern the sources of water to Celestún Lagoon, a small subtropical estuary on the western side of the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico. Celestún Lagoon is underlain by karstified limestone with numerous locations where groundwater is observed discharging directly to the lagoon. In this study, samples of groundwater, lagoon surface water, and seawater (SW) were collected in April 2008 and June 2009 and analyzed for salinity, stable isotopes of oxygen, and strontium (Sr²⁺) concentrations. These geochemical tracers were used in two tertiary mixing models to calculate the relative ratio inputs of fresh groundwater, brackish groundwater, and SW to the lagoon. Two sources of groundwater were found to contribute to the surface water in the lagoon; one fresh and the other brackish with an average salinity of 19 psu. The fresh groundwater had an oxygen isotopic signature (δ¹⁸O) and strontium concentration (Sr²⁺) of δ¹⁸O?=?-3.30‰ and Sr²⁺?=?0.03 mmol/l, respectively. The brackish groundwater observed in the northern end of the lagoon add a dissimilar oxygen isotopic signature and Sr²⁺ concentration of δ¹⁸O?=?3.01‰ and Sr²⁺?=?0.12 mmol/l, respectively. Local SW had an isotopic oxygen signature and Sr²⁺ concentration between the two fresher sources (δ¹⁸O?=?1.40‰, Sr²⁺?=?0.09 mmol/l). The lagoonwide results of the two tracer mixing models (δ¹⁸O and Sr²⁺) agreed well (within 5 %) and indicated a ratio of brackish groundwater–fresh groundwater– SW of 31 %–26 %–43 % (±5 %) for the Sr²⁺ model and 35 %–25 %–40 % (± 5 %) for the δ¹⁸O model. Brackish groundwater is dominant in the northern portion of the lagoon, while SW dominates the southern portion. Fresh groundwater discharge is a significant contributor of water along the entire eastern boundary of the lagoon where mangrove forests are the dominant vegetation.     

Microalgae and Clean Technologies: A Review

The search for clean technologies needs to be continued to offer alternatives for achieving sustainable energy production and a sustainable economy. This concern is particularly related to the demands of both producing enough renewable energy to meet future needs and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Microalgae are recognized for several benefits they offer, and in recent years, the use of life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the benefits resulting from microalgae cultivation, harvesting/dewatering, biomass drying, extraction, and byproduct development has stimulated research in this area. Considering the importance of microalgae and clean technologies and the increasing number of publications on these subjects, this review aims to perform bibliometric mapping of such studies from 2008 to 2018. Web of Science and Scopus databases are used to identify leading trends. Visualization of similarities viewer (VOSviewer) software is applied to analyze the interactions among keywords. The results of this study indicate an association of microalgae and clean technologies and demonstrate that LCA is one of the most common tools used for such analyses. Bibliometric mapping provides relevant data to reinforce this association and understand the main bottlenecks that must be overcome in this field for future progress to be made.     

The Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect as a cosmological discriminator

We show how future measurements of the Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect (SZE) can be used to constrain the cosmological parameters. We combine the SZ information expected from the Planck full-sky survey, N ( S ), where no redshift information is included, with the N ( z ) obtained from an optically identified SZ-selected survey covering less than 1 per cent of the sky. We demonstrate how with a small subsample (≈300 clusters) of the whole SZ catalogue observed optically it is possible to reduce the degeneracy among the cosmological parameters drastically. We have studied the requirements for performing the optical follow-up and we show the feasibility of such a project. Finally, we have compared the cluster expectations for Planck with those expected for Newton–XMM during their lifetimes. It is shown that, owing to its larger sky coverage, Planck will detect a factor of ∼5 times more clusters than Newton–XMM and also provide a larger redshift coverage.