Factors affecting the distribution and abundance of Macrobrachium petersi (Hilgendorf) in the Keiskamma River and estuary,South Africa

A dry (1979–1980) and a wet (1980–1981) season had a marked effect on the freshwater inflow into the Keiskamma estuary. Under low inflow conditions, which results in elevated salinities in the upper reaches, an upstream migration of adult Macrobrachium petersi (Hilgendorf) to freshwater takes place. During periods of increased river inflow adult M. petersi move downstream to the more saline reaches of the estuary. These two migratory responses have been interpreted as (a) a breeding migration under high inflow conditions which ensures that larvae are in close proximity to salinities that favour growth and development, and (b) an adult upstream migration back to freshwater to escape elevated estuarine salinities as a result of the low freshwater inflow.     

Estimation of snow water equivalent using microwave radiometry over Arctic first‐year sea ice

The magnitude and spatial distribution of snow on sea ice are both integral components of the ocean–sea‐ice–atmosphere system. Although there exists a number of algorithms to estimate the snow water equivalent (SWE) on terrestrial surfaces, to date there is no precise method to estimate SWE on sea ice. Physical snow properties and in situ microwave radiometry at 19, 37 and 85 GHz, V and H polarization were collected for a 10‐day period over 20 first‐year sea ice sites. We present and compare the in situ physical, electrical and microwave emission properties of snow over smooth Arctic first‐year sea ice for 19 of the 20 sites sampled. Physical processes creating the observed vertical patterns in the physical and electrical properties are discussed. An algorithm is then developed from the relationship between the SWE and the brightness temperature measured at 37 GHz (55°) H polarization and the air temperature. The multiple regression between these variables is able to account for over 90% of the variability in the measured SWE. This algorithm is validated with a small in situ data set collected during the 1999 field experiment. We then compare our data against the NASA snow thickness algorithm, designed as part of the NASA Earth Enterprise Program. The results indicated a lack of agreement between the NASA algorithm and the algorithm developed here. This lack of agreement is attributed to differences in scale between the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager and surface radiometers and to differences in the Antarctic versus Arctic snow physical and electrical properties. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mid-ultraviolet and optical photometry of helium stars

Mid-ultraviolet and optical photometric analysis of helium stars are presented. A linear relation exists between the effective temperature derived from model atmospheres and (1965-V)₀ index. The effective temperatures derived from (1965-V)₀ index are somewhat higher than that of MK spectral type estimates especially for late B-type helium objects.     

Massive disks in low surface brightness galaxies

An update of the set of low surface brightness galaxies is presented which can be used to set constraints on the otherwise ambiguous decompositions of their rotation curves into contributions due to the various components of the galaxies. The selected galaxies show all clear spiral structure and arguments of density wave theory of galactic spiral arms are used to estimate the masses of the galactic disks. Again these estimates seem to indicate that the disks of low surface brightness galaxies might be much more massive than currently thought. This puzzling result contradicts stellar population synthesis models. This would mean also that low surface brightness galaxies are not dominated by dark matter in their inner parts. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Sensitivity analysis of a deterministic water temperature model to forest canopy and soil temperature in Catamaran Brook (New Brunswick,Canada)

A coupled deterministic hydrological and water temperature model, CEQUEAU, was modified to include soil temperature and crown closure in its calculation of local advective terms in the heat budget. The modified model was than tested to verify its sensitivity to these modifications. An analysis of the heat budget of a small forested catchment in eastern Canada revealed that the advective term related to interflow plays a significant role in the daily water heat budget, providing on average 28% of the local advective budget (which also includes advective heat terms from surface runoff and groundwater) and nearly 14% of the total heat budget (which includes all radiative terms at the water surface, convection and evaporation, as well as the local advective terms). Relative sensitivity indices (RSIs) were used to verify the impact of the newly introduced parameters and variables. Among them, parameters related to the forest cover (crown closure and leaf area index) have a maximum RSI of ?0·6; i.e. a 100% increase in value produces a 60% decrease in the local advective term. Parameters with the greatest influence are the volume of water contributing to interflow and the amplitude of the net radiative flux at the soil surface, which, if doubled, would double the contribution of the local interflow advective term to the heat budget. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling the effect of low soil temperatures on transpiration by Scots pine

For ecosystem modelling of the Boreal forest it is important to include processes associated with low soil temperature during spring‐early summer, as these affect the tree water uptake. The COUP model, a physically based SVAT model, was tested with 2 years of soil and snow physical measurements and sap flow measurements in a 70‐year‐old Scots pine stand in the boreal zone of northern Sweden. During the first year the extent and duration of soil frost was manipulated in the field. The model was successful in reproducing the timing of the soil warming after the snowmelt and frost thaw. A delayed soil warming, into the growing season, severely reduced the transpiration. We demonstrated the potential for considerable overestimation of transpiration by the model if the reduction of the trees' capacity to transpire due to low soil temperatures is not taken into account. We also demonstrated that the accumulated effect of aboveground conditions could be included when simulating the relationship between soil temperature and tree water uptake. This improved the estimated transpiration for the control plot and when soil warming was delayed into the growing season. The study illustrates the need of including antecedent conditions on root growth in the model in order to catch these effects on transpiration. The COUP model is a promising tool for predicting transpiration in high‐latitude stands. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

一种新的温度记录器

本文提出一个以带有定时器的低功耗微处理机为主体的温度记录器。其定时器用于开动微处理机,可由一个开关定为0.5、1、3或30分钟。仪器通过处理一个电容器向热敏电阻放电的时间来测量温度。仪器在工作中能显示温度值,并把温度值保存在微处理机的RAM之中。总共资料容量为2816次测值,量程为0～35℃,精度±0.1℃,分辨±0.02℃。 温度记录器具有液晶显示器,可直接读出温度值,配有标准计算机接口RS-232,能把保存的资料方便地倒给个人计算机。 这项工作是伍兹霍尔海洋研究所A.Bradley博士指导的。他提出的原理对研制可靠而廉价的温度记录器是一条新的途径。     

Virgin rock temperatures from well logs — accuracy analysis for some advanced inversion models

Temperature data from 18 measurement series obtained during logging of the Oseberg field in the northern North Sea are presented. Because the measurement series are taken at approximately the same depth, they should give identical temperatures after depth correction, and are suitable for assessing the performance of different models used to determine virgin rock temperatures from well log information.We have used this data set to test the properties of the different models given by Shen and Beck (1986). Although these models were built to simulate closely the thermal recovery of a well and are unbiased, the uncertainties in the temperature estimates when applied to real data are found to be no less than those from simpler (biased) models. This fact confirms the conclusion of Hermanrud (1989a) who showed that physical factors other than those presently accounted for significantly influence the thermal recovery of a borehole.