A spectral difference between silicates in Comet Halley and interstellar silicates

The authors obtained an intermediate resolution (1 percent) spectrum of the 8 to 13 micron region in Comet Halley which shows a prominent silicate emission feature with structure not observed before in other comets or in interstellar silicates. They confirm the presence of a strong 11.3 micron peak reported by Bregman et al. (1987) and find evidence for additional structure in the band. The 11.3 micron peak represents the main difference between the Halley Spectrum and that of Comet Kohoutek. The Kohoutek Spectrum is similar to that of the circumstellar shell around mu Ceph. Based on a comparison with the spectra of Interplanetary Dust Particles (Sandford and Walker 1985), most of which are believed to be of cometary origin, the authors attribute the 11.3 micron peak to small crystalline olivine particles, although other minerals cannot be ruled out. Their interpretation is supported by the airborne observation of four emission peaks near 24, 28, 35 and 45 microns which can also be matched with iron-magnesium silicates including crystalline olivine. Other types of silicates (such as hydrated or amorphous) are necessary to explain the width and the 9.7 micron peak of the emission observed in Comet Halley

Infrared observations of the dust coma

The main infrared observational results were briefly reviewed at the start of this session. The new results are summarized. All of these results have yet to be synthesized into a self-consistent picture of the dust grain composition, dust production history, outburst mechanisms, and composition of the nucleus. The workshop discussion was helpful in pointing out problems faced by theorists, such as data quality, the lack of the proper theory for computing the scattering and emission of irregular particles, and in some cases the lack of optical constants of realistic materials. It is expected that the gross spectral and dynamical properties of Halley's Comet can be understood in time, even if the details of the observations and the theoretical calculations continue to vex us in the future

High resolution images of P/Tempel 1 and P/Tempel 2 constructed from IRAS survey data

Infrared images of P/Tempel 1 and P/Tempel 2 were constructed from IRAS survey data using a computer algorithm based on the Maximum Correlation Method for Image Construction (Aumann et al, 1990). The resulting images are of sufficiently high quality and resolution to delineate coma and tail morphology, and permit accurate photometry of the total dust complex. Comparisons of the infrared colors and photometric profiles of Tempel 1 and Tempel 2 at similar heliocentric distances show that the grains produced by the two comets are quite similar in radiometric and dynamic properties. Tempel 1 is found to produce about 30 percent more dust in its coma and tail than Tempel 2. The comae of Tempel 1 and Tempel 2 are expanding with mean velocities of 5.8 plus or minus 0.07 and 6.1 plus or minus 0.17 m/sec respectively, indicative of the ejection of large grains. The IRAS cataloged infrared fluxes (Walker, 1986) are found to be underestimated by as much as a factor of three for the comets. Therefore, it is essential to create images of the comets to obtain meaningful IRAS photometry

Testing the comet nature of main belt comets. The spectra of 133P/Elst-Pizarro and 176P/LINEAR

We present the visible spectrum of MBCs 133P/Elst-Pizarro and 176P/LINEAR, as well as three Themis family asteroids: (62) Erato, (379), Huenna and (383) Janina, obtained in 2007 using three telescopes at "El Roque de los Muchachos"' Observatory, in La Palma, Spain, and the 8m Kueyen (UT2) VLT telescope at Cerro Paranal, Chile. The spectra of 133P and 176P resemble best those of B-type asteroid and are very similar to those of Themis family members and are significantly different from the spectrum of comet 162P/Siding-Spring and most of the observed cometary nuclei. CN gas emission is not detected in the spectrum of 133P. We determine an upper limit for the CN production rate Q(CN) = $= 2.8 \times 10^{21}$ mol/s, three orders of magnitude lower than the Q(CN) of Jupiter family comets observed at similar heliocentric distances. The spectra of 133P/Elst-Pizarro and 176P/LINEAR confirm that they are likely members of the Themis family of asteroids, fragments that probably retained volatiles, and unlikely have a cometary origin in the trans-neptunian belt or the Oort cloud.Comment: Paper sumbmited to A&A. 7 pages and 6 figure

An efficient technique of texture representation in segmentation-based image coding schemes

In segmentation-based image coding techniques the image to be compressed is first segmented. Then, the information is coded describing the shape and the interior of the regions. A new method to encode the texture obtained in segmentation-based coding schemes is presented. The approach combines 2-D linear prediction and stochastic vector quantization. To encode a texture, a linear predictor is computed first. Next, a codebook following the prediction error model is generated and the prediction error is encoded with VQ. In the decoder, the error image is decoded first and then filtered as a whole, using the prediction filter. Hence, correlation between pixels is not lost from one block to another and a good reproduction quality can be achieved.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Las entidades sub-nacionales en Norteamérica y la lucha contra el cambio climático: desarrollo normativo y vinculación de sistemas de comercio de derechos de emisión

Mientras que en Europa la interdependencia y la dimensión transfronteriza de las cuestiones ligadas al cambio climático ha facilitado una cierta “continentalización” de la gestión de este fenómeno, favorecida por el carácter intergubernamental de las medidas que se adoptan en el marco de la Unión Europea, al otro lado del Atlántico la transversalidad de este mismo fenómeno explica la necesidad de que, ante las limitaciones del marco regional, se pongan en marcha mecanismos que faciliten la intervención no sólo estatal sino también de las entidades sub-nacionales. En este sentido, la ausencia de la acción federal tanto en Estados Unidos como en Canadá ha comportado un mayor desarrollo de la acción de las entidades sub-nacionales, que han tomado el liderazgo en la lucha contra el cambio climático. Son estas medidas las que se han visualizado en el escenario internacional. Ello ha favorecido el establecimiento de mecanismos de coordinación de la acción de estas entidades sub-nacionales en el seno de redes transnacionales, que han ido adquiriendo una mayor relevancia en la implementación del Convenio Marco sobre el Cambio Climático y del Protocolo de Kyoto, particularmente en relación a uno de sus instrumentos, el comercio de los derechos de emisión de gases de efecto invernadero. En este contexto, la futura vinculación de los sistemas de comercio de derechos de emisión de gases de efecto invernadero en Norteamérica con el sistema de la Unión Europea presenta diversos retos de carácter material y formal

Infrared observations of faint comets

Infrared observations of the periodic comets Encke, Stephan-Oterma and Chernykh indicate that the dusty component in this class of comets is not radically different from the dusty component found in nonperiodic comets. The differences in the infrared behavior among these three comets suggest that a range of behaviors rather than a single behavior typifies the cometary activity. The range in albedo (0.02 to 0.10) of the dust calculated for the periodic comets is similar to the range in albedos seen among the asteroids

Impact of climate change on wave energy resource: the case of Menorca (Spain)

The aim of this paper was to analyse how changes in wave patterns, due to the effect of climate change, can affect wave energy power and yield around Menorca (NW Mediterranean Sea). The present and future wave energy conditions were derived from recently developed high-resolution wave projections in the NW Mediterranean. These wave projections were forced by surface wind fields obtained, respectively, by 5 different combinations of global and regional circulation models (GCMs and RCMs) for the A1B scenario. The results showed that the projected future spatial and directional distributions of wave energy are very similar to those of the present conditions. The multi-model ensemble average illustrated a slight general decrease in the annual and seasonal wave power (except for summer). However, the inter-model variability is large since two models showed opposite trends to the other 3 in most cases. Such inter-model variability is lower(higher) for winter(autumn). Another result is the reduction of the temporal variability in the future, considering both the multi-model mean and each single model projection. Such a decrease is consistent with the future seasonal redistribution of energy throughout the year. This would entail an increase in the efficiency of wave energy converters deployed in this area due to the more regular temporal distribution of the energy.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Las entidades sub-nacionales en Norteamérica y la lucha contra el cambio climático: desarrollo normativo y vinculación de sistemas de comercio de derechos de emisión

[spa] Mientras que en Europa la interdependencia y la dimensión transfronteriza de las cuestiones ligadas al cambio climático ha facilitado una cierta"continentalización" de la gestión de este fenómeno, favorecida por el carácter intergubernamental de las medidas que se adoptan en el marco de la Unión Europea, al otro lado del Atlántico la transversalidad de este mismo fenómeno explica la necesidad de que, ante las limitaciones del marco regional, se pongan en marcha mecanismos que faciliten la intervención no sólo estatal sino también de las entidades sub-nacionales. En este sentido, la ausencia de la acción federal tanto en Estados Unidos como en Canadá ha comportado un mayor desarrollo de la acción de las entidades sub-nacionales, que han tomado el liderazgo en la lucha contra el cambio climático. Son estas medidas las que se han visualizado en el escenario internacional. Ello ha favorecido el establecimiento de mecanismos de coordinación de la acción de estas entidades sub-nacionales en el seno de redes transnacionales, que han ido adquiriendo una mayor relevancia en la implementación del Convenio Marco sobre el Cambio Climático y del Protocolo de Kyoto, particularmente en relación a uno de sus instrumentos, el comercio de los derechos de emisión de gases de efecto invernadero. En este contexto, la futura vinculación de los sistemas de comercio de derechos de emisión de gases de efecto invernadero en Norteamérica con el sistema de la Unión Europea presenta diversos retos de carácter material y formal.[eng] In Europe, the interdependence and cross-border dimension of climate change’s issues as well as the intergovernmental nature of the European Union measures, have favored certain "continentalization" of its management. In North America, the transversal character of these same issues and the limitations of regional framework have favored the intervention of the States as well as the sub-national bodies. The lack of federal action in United States and Canada implies a further development of sub-national’s action. Sub-national bodies have taken the lead fighting the climate change and they have acquired a relevant presence at international level, too. This has encouraged the establishment of sub-national bodies’ coordination within transnational networks, which have gained a larger role in the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, especially in what concerns the greenhouse gases emission trading. In this context, the future linking of these emission trading systems with European Union emission trading system presents several challenges from the material and formal perspectives