Are invasive species most successful in habitats of low native species richness across European brackish water seas?

European brackish water seas (Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov, Caspian Sea) are subject to intense invasion of non-indigenous species (NIS). In these seas, salinity is the most important range limiting factor and native species seem to reach a minimum species richness at intermediate salinities. This trend, revealed by Remane in 1934 and later on confirmed by many other scientists, was compared to the salinity range of already established NIS in the European brackish water seas. It turned out that most NIS are well adapted to the salinities holding lowest native species richness, already in their native area, and that NIS richness maximum in brackish water seas occurs in the salinity intervals of native species richness minimum. A predictable pattern in the salinity range of NIS can be used as a tool in initial risk assessment of future invasions in brackish water seas, especially when mapping highly potential donor and recipient areas. A product of empty niches, suitable environmental conditions, and availability of proper vectors might be the most effective predictor for the invasibility of brackish water areas.     

Resistance law,effective roughness length,and deviation angle over hilly terrain

In this note, we derive from the resistance law of Rossby number similarity theory the expressions for the drag coefficient and the deviation angle for strongly unstable and strongly stable stratifications. The extension of the applicability of the resistance laws to inhomogeneous terrain is discussed. A determination of the deviation angle over inhomogeneous terrain from a numerical experiment is presented.On leave from: Institute of Limnology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 196199 Leningrad.     

Shear convection

The paper discusses convection in the presence of wind shear, a condition analysed previously by Zilitinkevich (1971). This region (between the forced and fully developed convective layers) was also considered by Betchov and Yaglom (1971). In the present paper the author endeavors to develop a consistent analysis from the basic hypothesis of a very weak interaction between the vertical convective motions and mechanical turbulence, employing a new similarity model of the turbulent regime. Additional experimental data are introduced. Unlike the notation used in the references quoted above, this regime is termed shear convection rather than free convection. The latter is traditionally regarded as synonymous with the terms pure or fully developed convection.     

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Tangling Turbulence and Semi-Organized Structures in Convective Boundary Layers

A new mean-field theory of turbulent convection is developed based on the idea that only the small-scale region of the spectrum is considered as turbulence, whereas its large-scale part, including both regular and semi-organized motions, is treated as the mean flow. In the shear-free regime, this theory predicts the convective wind instability, which causes the formation of large-scale semi-organized motions in the form of cells. In the presence of wind shear, the theory predicts another type of instability, which causes the formation of large-scale semi-organized structures in the form of rolls and the generation of convective-shear waves propagating perpendicular to the convective rolls. The spatial characteristics of these structures, such as the minimum size of the growing perturbations and the size of perturbations with the maximum growth rate, are determined. This theory might be useful for understanding the origin of large-scale cells and rolls observed in the convective boundary layer and laboratory turbulent convection     

Single-binary star separation by ultraviolet color index diagrams

Detection of a composite flux in photometry can serve as an indication of a photometrically unresolved binarity and can contribute to the parameterization of the components of binary systems. A main goal of the present study is to develop a method of automatic photometric detection of binaries, based on multi-color photometry, theoretical stellar spectral energy distributions and general understanding of binary evolution. In particular, we consider an ultraviolet photometry where, in combination with optical and infrared photometry, interstellar reddening can be easier distinguished from temperature reddening.     

Instruments, Detectors and the Future of Astronomy with Large Ground Based Telescopes

Results of a survey of instrumentation and detector systems, either currently deployed or planned for use at telescopes larger than 3.5 m, in ground based observatories world-wide, are presented. This survey revealed a number of instrumentation design trends at optical, near, and mid-infrared wavelengths. Some of the most prominent trends include the development of vastly larger optical detector systems (> 10⁹ pixels) than anything built to date, and the frequent use of mosaics of near-infrared detectors – something that was quite rare only a decade ago in astronomy. Some future science applications for detectors are then explored, in an attempt to build a bridge between current detectors and what will be needed to support the research ambitions of astronomers in the future.     

The Effect of Stratification on the Aerodynamic Roughness Length and Displacement Height

The roughness length, z _0u , and displacement height, d _0u , characterise the resistance exerted by the roughness elements on turbulent flows and provide a conventional boundary condition for a wide range of turbulent-flow problems. Classical laboratory experiments and theories treat z _0u and d _0u as geometric parameters independent of the characteristics of the flow. In this paper, we demonstrate essential stability dependences—stronger for the roughness length (especially in stable stratification) and weaker but still pronounced for the displacement height. We develop a scaling-analysis model for these dependences and verify it against experimental data.