439 research outputs found
Raduga experiment: Multizonal photographing the Earth from the Soyuz-22 spacecraft
The main results of the scientific research and 'Raduga' experiment are reported. Technical parameters are presented for the MKF-6 camera and the MSP-4 projector. Characteristics of the obtained materials and certain results of their processing are reported
Tidally induced lateral dispersion of the Storfjorden overflow plume
We investigate the flow of brine-enriched shelf water from Storfjorden (Svalbard) into Fram Strait and onto the western Svalbard Shelf using a regional set-up of NEMO-SHELF, a 3-D numerical ocean circulation model. The model is set up with realistic bathymetry, atmospheric forcing, open boundary conditions and tides. The model has 3 km horizontal resolution and 50 vertical levels in the sh-coordinate system which is specially designed to resolve bottom boundary layer processes. In a series of modelling experiments we focus on the influence of tides on the propagation of the dense water plume by comparing results from tidal and non-tidal model runs. Comparisons of non-tidal to tidal simulations reveal a hotspot of tidally induced horizontal diffusion leading to the lateral dispersion of the plume at the southernmost headland of Spitsbergen which is in close proximity to the plume path. As a result the lighter fractions in the diluted upper layer of the plume are drawn into the shallow coastal current that carries Storfjorden water onto the western Svalbard Shelf, while the dense bottom layer continues to sink down the slope. This bifurcation of the plume into a diluted shelf branch and a dense downslope branch is enhanced by tidally induced shear dispersion at the headland. Tidal effects at the headland are shown to cause a net reduction in the downslope flux of Storfjorden water into the deep Fram Strait. This finding contrasts previous results from observations of a dense plume on a different shelf without abrupt topography
Arctic sea surface height variability and change from satellite radar altimetry and GRACE, 2003–2014
Arctic sea surface height (SSH) is poorly observed by radar altimeters due to the poor coverage of the polar oceans provided by conventional altimeter missions and because large areas are perpetually covered by sea ice, requiring specialized data processing. We utilize SSH estimates from both the ice-covered and ice-free ocean to present monthly estimates of Arctic Dynamic Ocean Topography (DOT) from radar altimetry south of 81.5°N and combine this with GRACE ocean mass to estimate steric height. Our SSH and steric height estimates show good agreement with tide gauge records and geopotential height derived from Ice-Tethered Profilers. The large seasonal cycle of Arctic SSH (amplitude ∼5 cm) is dominated by seasonal steric height variation associated with seasonal freshwater fluxes, and peaks in October–November. Overall, the annual mean steric height increased by 2.2 ± 1.4 cm between 2003 and 2012 before falling to circa 2003 levels between 2012 and 2014 due to large reductions on the Siberian shelf seas. The total secular change in SSH between 2003 and 2014 is then dominated by a 2.1 ± 0.7 cm increase in ocean mass. We estimate that by 2010, the Beaufort Gyre had accumulated 4600 km3 of freshwater relative to the 2003–2006 mean. Doming of Arctic DOT in the Beaufort Sea is revealed by Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis to be concurrent with regional reductions in the Siberian Arctic. We estimate that the Siberian shelf seas lost ∼180 km3 of freshwater between 2003 and 2014, associated with an increase in annual mean salinity of 0.15 psu yr−1. Finally, ocean storage flux estimates from altimetry agree well with high-resolution model results, demonstrating the potential for altimetry to elucidate the Arctic hydrological cycle
Short-term impacts of enhanced Greenland freshwater fluxes in an eddy-permitting ocean model
In a sensitivity experiment, an eddy-permitting ocean general circulation model is forced with realistic freshwater fluxes from the Greenland Ice Sheet, averaged for the period 1991–2000. The fluxes are obtained with a mass balance model for the ice sheet, forced with the ERA-40 reanalysis dataset. The freshwater flux is distributed around Greenland as an additional term in prescribed runoff, representing seasonal melting of the ice sheet and a fixed year-round iceberg calving flux, for 8.5 model years. By adding Greenland freshwater fluxes with realistic geographical distribution and seasonality, the experiment is designed to investigate the oceanic response to a sudden and spatially/temporally uniform amplification of ice sheet melting and discharge, rather than localized or gradual changes in freshwater flux. The impacts on regional hydrography and circulation are investigated by comparing the sensitivity experiment to a control experiment, without additional fluxes. By the end of the sensitivity experiment, the majority of additional fresh water has accumulated in Baffin Bay, and only a small fraction has reached the interior of the Labrador Sea, where winter mixed layer depth is sensitive to small changes in salinity. As a consequence, the impact on large-scale circulation is very slight. An indirect impact of strong freshening off the west coast of Greenland is a small anti-cyclonic component to the circulation around Greenland, which opposes the wind-driven cyclonic circulation and reduces net southward flow through the Canadian Archipelago by ~10%. Implications for the post-2000 acceleration of Greenland mass loss are discussed
Endogenous amyloidogenesis in long-term rat hippocampal cell cultures
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Long-term primary neuronal cultures are a useful tool for the investigation of biochemical processes associated with neuronal senescence. Improvements in available technology make it possible to observe maturation of neural cells isolated from different regions of the rodent brain over a prolonged period <it>in vitro</it>. Existing experimental evidence suggests that cellular aging occurs in mature, long-term, primary neuronal cell cultures. However, detailed studies of neuronal development <it>in vitro </it>are needed to demonstrate the validity of long-term cell culture-based models for investigation of the biochemical mechanisms of <it>in vitro </it>neuronal development and senescence.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the current study, neuron-enriched hippocampal cell cultures were used to analyze the differentiation and degeneration of hippocampal neurons over a two month time period. The expression of different neuronal and astroglial biomarkers was used to determine the cytochemical characteristics of hippocampal cells in long-term cultures of varying ages. It was observed that the expression of the intermediate filament nestin was absent from cultures older than 21 days in vitro (DIV), and the expression of neuronal or astrocytic markers appeared to replace nestin. Additionally, morphological evaluations of neuronal integrity and Hoescht staining were used to assess the cellular conditions in the process of hippocampal culture development and aging. It was found that there was an increase in endogenous production of Aβ<sub>1-42 </sub>and an increase in the accumulation of Congo Red-binding amyloidal aggregates associated with the aging of neurons in primary culture. <it>In vitro </it>changes in the morphology of co-existing astrocytes and cell culture age-dependent degeneration of neurodendritic network resemble features of <it>in vivo </it>brain aging at the cellular level.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In conclusion, this study suggests that long-term primary CNS culture is a viable model for the study of basic mechanisms and effective methods to decelerate the process of neuronal senescence.</p
Magnetic proximity effects in V/Fe superconductor/ferromagnet single bilayer revealed by waveguide-enhanced polarized neutron reflectometry
Polarized neutron reflectometry is used to study the magnetic proximity
effect in a superconductor/ferromagnet (SC/FM) system of composition
Cu(32nm)/V(40nm)/Fe(1nm)/MgO. In contrast to previous studies, here a single
SC/FM bilayer, is studied and multilayer artefacts are excluded. The necessary
signal enhancement is achieved by waveguide resonance, i.e. preparing the
V(40nm)/Fe(1nm) SC/FM bilayer sandwiched by the highly reflective MgO substrate
and Cu top layer, respectively . A new magnetic state of the system was
observed at temperatures below 0.7 TC. manifested in a systematic change in the
height and width of the waveguide resonance peak. Upon increasing the
temperature from 0.7 TC to TC, a gradual decay of this state is observed,
accompanied by a 5% growth of the diffuse scattering. According to theoretical
studies, such behavior is the result of the magnetic proximity effect. Due to
the presence of the thin FM layer the superconducting electrons are polarized
and, as a result, near the SC/FM interface an additional magnetic layer appears
in the SC with thickness comparable to ksi, the coherence length of the
superconductor.Comment: Submitted to the Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism. 11
pages, 6 figures
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Summer sea ice floe perimeter density in the Arctic: high-resolution optical satellite imagery and model evaluation
Size distribution of sea ice floes is an important
component for sea ice thermodynamic and dynamic processes, particularly in
the marginal ice zone. Recently processes related to the floe size
distribution (FSD) have been incorporated into sea ice models, but the
sparsity of existing observations limits the evaluation of FSD models, thus
hindering model improvements. In this study, perimeter density has been
applied to characterise the floe size distribution for evaluating three FSD
models – the Waves-in-Ice module and Power law Floe Size Distribution (WIPoFSD)
model and two branches of a fully prognostic floe size-thickness
distribution model: CPOM-FSD and FSDv2-WAVE. These models are evaluated
against a new FSD dataset derived from high-resolution satellite imagery in
the Arctic. The evaluation shows an overall overestimation of floe perimeter
density by the models against the observations. Comparison of the floe
perimeter density distribution with the observations shows that the models
exhibit a much larger proportion for small floes (radius <10–30 m) but a much smaller proportion for large floes (radius >30–50 m). Observations and the WIPoFSD model both show a negative
correlation between sea ice concentration and the floe perimeter density,
but the two prognostic models (CPOM-FSD and FSDv2-WAVE) show the opposite
pattern. These differences between models and the observations may be
attributed to limitations in the observations (e.g. the image resolution is
not sufficient to detect small floes) or limitations in the model
parameterisations, including the use of a global power-law exponent in the
WIPoFSD model as well as too weak a floe welding and enhanced wave fracture
in the prognostic models.</p
Peierls Instabilities in Quasi-One-Dimensional Quantum Double-Well Chains
Peierls-type instabilities in quarter-filled () and half-filled
() quantum double-well hydrogen-bonded chain are investigated
analytically in the framework of two-stage orientational-tunnelling model with
additional inclusion of the interactions of protons with two different optical
phonon branches. It is shown that when the energy of proton-phonon coupling
becomes large, the system undergoes a transition to a various types of
insulator states. The influence of two different transport amplitudes on ground
states properties is studied. The results are compared with the pressure effect
experimental investigations in superprotonic systems and hydrogen halides at
low temperatures.Comment: 7 pages, RevTeX, 9 eps figure
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