2,913 research outputs found
Climate Change Affects Winter Chill for Temperate Fruit and Nut Trees
Temperate fruit and nut trees require adequate winter chill to produce economically viable yields. Global warming has the potential to reduce available winter chill and greatly impact crop yields.We estimated winter chill for two past (1975 and 2000) and 18 future scenarios (mid and end 21st century; 3 Global Climate Models [GCMs]; 3 greenhouse gas emissions [GHG] scenarios). For 4,293 weather stations around the world and GCM projections, Safe Winter Chill (SWC), the amount of winter chill that is exceeded in 90% of all years, was estimated for all scenarios using the "Dynamic Model" and interpolated globally. We found that SWC ranged between 0 and about 170 Chill Portions (CP) for all climate scenarios, but that the global distribution varied across scenarios. Warm regions are likely to experience severe reductions in available winter chill, potentially threatening production there. In contrast, SWC in most temperate growing regions is likely to remain relatively unchanged, and cold regions may even see an increase in SWC. Climate change impacts on SWC differed quantitatively among GCMs and GHG scenarios, with the highest GHG leading to losses up to 40 CP in warm regions, compared to 20 CP for the lowest GHG.The extent of projected changes in winter chill in many major growing regions of fruits and nuts indicates that growers of these commodities will likely experience problems in the future. Mitigation of climate change through reductions in greenhouse gas emissions can help reduce the impacts, however, adaption to changes will have to occur. To better prepare for likely impacts of climate change, efforts should be undertaken to breed tree cultivars for lower chilling requirements, to develop tools to cope with insufficient winter chill, and to better understand the temperature responses of tree crops
Calibration Uncertainty for Advanced LIGO's First and Second Observing Runs
Calibration of the Advanced LIGO detectors is the quantification of the
detectors' response to gravitational waves. Gravitational waves incident on the
detectors cause phase shifts in the interferometer laser light which are read
out as intensity fluctuations at the detector output. Understanding this
detector response to gravitational waves is crucial to producing accurate and
precise gravitational wave strain data. Estimates of binary black hole and
neutron star parameters and tests of general relativity require well-calibrated
data, as miscalibrations will lead to biased results. We describe the method of
producing calibration uncertainty estimates for both LIGO detectors in the
first and second observing runs.Comment: 15 pages, 21 figures, LIGO DCC P160013
Polymer sphere lithography for solid oxide fuel cells: a route to functional, well-defined electrode structures
As a first step towards mechanistic studies of fuel cell electrodes with both well-defined and functionally representative structural features, two-dimensional anti-dot metal films with tunable features are prepared. The fabrication employs a facile, sacrificial templating method, known as polymer sphere lithography, and the resulting metal films are fully connected, yet fully porous. Using initial bead sizes in the range of 500 nm to 3.2 m and oxygen plasma etching to remove from ¼ to ¾ of the original bead diameter, computed triple phase boundary densities in the porous films of 2,000 to 43,500 cm cm-2 are achieved. Image analysis shows the computed (theoretical) and experimental structural features to be in good agreement, demonstrating sufficient perfection in the films for electrochemical studies. Furthermore, thermal stability under hydrogen of thermally evaporated Ni films is excellent, with negligible change in triple phase boundary length as required for quantitative electrochemical measurements. Ultimately, these two-dimensional metallic networks may also serve as the platform for future fabrication of three-dimensional electrodes with truly optimized structural features
Spectra and Light Curves of Failed Supernovae
Astronomers have proposed a number of mechanisms to produce supernova
explosions. Although many of these mechanisms are now not considered primary
engines behind supernovae, they do produce transients that will be observed by
upcoming ground-based surveys and NASA satellites. Here we present the first
radiation-hydrodynamics calculations of the spectra and light curves from three
of these "failed" supernovae: supernovae with considerable fallback, accretion
induced collapse of white dwarfs, and energetic helium flashes (also known as
type .Ia supernovae).Comment: 33 pages, 14 figure
The Primeval Populations of the Ultra-Faint Dwarf Galaxies
We present new constraints on the star formation histories of the ultra-faint
dwarf (UFD) galaxies, using deep photometry obtained with the Hubble Space
Telescope (HST). A galaxy class recently discovered in the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey, the UFDs appear to be an extension of the classical dwarf spheroidals
to low luminosities, offering a new front in efforts to understand the missing
satellite problem. They are the least luminous, most dark-matter dominated, and
least chemically-evolved galaxies known. Our HST survey of six UFDs seeks to
determine if these galaxies are true fossils from the early universe. We
present here the preliminary analysis of three UFD galaxies: Hercules, Leo IV,
and Ursa Major I. Classical dwarf spheroidals of the Local Group exhibit
extended star formation histories, but these three Milky Way satellites are at
least as old as the ancient globular cluster M92, with no evidence for
intermediate-age populations. Their ages also appear to be synchronized to
within ~1 Gyr of each other, as might be expected if their star formation was
truncated by a global event, such as reionization.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Latex,
5 pages, 2 color figures, 1 tabl
Timescales of spike-train correlation for neural oscillators with common drive
We examine the effect of the phase-resetting curve (PRC) on the transfer of
correlated input signals into correlated output spikes in a class of neural
models receiving noisy, super-threshold stimulation. We use linear response
theory to approximate the spike correlation coefficient in terms of moments of
the associated exit time problem, and contrast the results for Type I vs. Type
II models and across the different timescales over which spike correlations can
be assessed. We find that, on long timescales, Type I oscillators transfer
correlations much more efficiently than Type II oscillators. On short
timescales this trend reverses, with the relative efficiency switching at a
timescale that depends on the mean and standard deviation of input currents.
This switch occurs over timescales that could be exploited by downstream
circuits
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