Constraining the evolution of the CMB temperature with SZ measurements from Planck data

The CMB temperature-redshift relation, T_CMB(z)=T_0(1+z), is a key prediction of the standard cosmology, but is violated in many non standard models. Constraining possible deviations to this law is an effective way to test the LambdaCDM paradigm and to search for hints of new physics. We have determined T_CMB(z), with a precision up to 3%, for a subsample (104 clusters) of the Planck SZ cluster catalog, at redshift in the range 0.01-- 0.94, using measurements of the spectrum of the Sunyaev Zel'dovich effect obtained from Planck temperature maps at frequencies from 70 to 353 GHz. The method adopted to provide individual determinations of T_CMB(z) at cluster redshift relies on the use of SZ intensity change, Delta I_SZ(nu), at different frequencies, and on a Monte-Carlo Markov Chain approach. By applying this method to the sample of 104 clusters, we limit possible deviations of the form T_CMB(z)=T_0(1+z)^(1-beta) to be beta= 0.022 +/- 0.018, at 1 sigma uncertainty, consistent with the prediction of the standard model. Combining these measurements with previously published results we get beta=0.016+/-0.012.Comment: submitted to JCAP, 21 pages, 8 figure

El crecimiento de Abies pinsapo y el clima de Grazalema: aportaciones dendroecológicas

Abies pinsapo is an interesting species wich lives in special ecological conditions, in a particular very rainy subtype of Mediterranean climate, which nevertheless is arid in summer. Its radial growth has been studied using dendrochronological methods in two Iberian population, and both the general trends and the particular disturbances have been analysed, together with the pointer years of the tree rings series. Three local chronologies have been established, in accordance with the site and the age of the trees, the longest wich extends from 1690 to 1998. The climatic signal contained in these chronologies has been determined using the Grazalema meteorological record, the most complete and extensive among those close to the Abies pinsapo forest. The effects of the severe drought that took place in the five years from 1990 to 1995 are indicated, and forest managements are suggested wich could mitigate these effects should such a situation recur in the future.Abies pinsapo es una interesante especie que habita en condiciones ecológicas especiales, bajo un subtipo particular muy lluvioso del clima mediterráneo, aunque árido en verano. Se ha estudiado el crecimiento radial por métodos dendrocronológicos en dos poblaciones ibéricas y se han analizado, tanto las tendencias generales, como las oscilaciones particulares y los años característicos de las series obtenidas. Se han elaborado tres cronologías locales, en función de la localización y de la edad de los árboles, la más larga se extiende desde 1690 a 1998. La señal climática contenida en estas cronologías se ha determinado utilizando el registro meteorológico de Grazalema, el más completo y extenso entre los próximos a pinsapares. Se han señalado los efectos de la extrema sequía sucedida en el quinquenio 1990-1995 y se sugieren medidas que puedan mitigarlos si se reprodujera dicha situación en el futuro

Machine Ethics: Do Androids Dream of Being Good People?

Is ethics a computable function? Can machines learn ethics like humans do? If teaching consists in no more than programming, training, indoctrinating¿ and if ethics is merely following a code of conduct, then yes, we can teach ethics to algorithmic machines. But if ethics is not merely about following a code of conduct or about imitating the behavior of others, then an approach based on computing outcomes, and on the reduction of ethics to the compilation and application of a set of rules, either a priori or learned, misses the point. Our intention is not to solve the technical problem of machine ethics, but to learn something about human ethics, and its rationality, by reflecting on the ethics that can and should be implemented in machines. Any machine ethics implementation will have to face a number of fundamental or conceptual problems, which in the end refer to philosophical questions, such as: what is a human being (or more generally, what is a worthy being); what is human intentional acting; and how are intentional actions and their consequences morally evaluated. We are convinced that a proper understanding of ethical issues in AI can teach us something valuable about ourselves, and what it means to lead a free and responsible ethical life, that is, being good people beyond merely "following a moral code". In the end we believe that rationality must be seen to involve more than just computing, and that value rationality is beyond numbers. Such an understanding is a required step to recovering a renewed rationality of ethics, one that is urgently needed in our highly technified society.This work has been supported by the Madrid Government (Comunidad de Madrid-Spain) under the terms of the Multi-Annual Agreement with UC3M in the line of Excellence of University Professors (EPUC3M17), and in the context of the V PRICIT (Regional Programme of Research and Technological Innovation). This research has received funding also from the RESTART project – “Continuous Reverse Engineering for Software Product Lines / Ingeniería Inversa Continua para Líneas de Productos de Software” (ref. RTI2018-099915-B-I00, Convocatoria Proyectos de I + D Retos Investigación del Programa Estatal de I + D + i Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad 2018, grant agreement nº: 412122; and from the CritiRed project – “Elaboración de un modelo predictivo para el desarrollo del pensamiento crítico en el uso de las redes sociales”, Convocatoria Retos de Investigación del Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (2019–2022), ref. RTI2018-095740-B-I00

Crecimiento y longevidad en el pino canario (Pinus canariensis Smith.)

This paper exposes the major results we have obtained in the dendrochronological and dendroecological analysis of Pinus canariensis that we have been developing in the Canary Islands since several years ago. We analyse the variability in tree ring formation based on a wide sampling from several natural pine forests. Applying several synchronisation techniques, recurrent dysfunctions in cambial activity resulting in total or partial missing rings have been established, and, when possible, local and individual chronologies have been built. We also analyse representative growing patterns and trends and we estimate the age structure in forest populations where dated sequences have been available. Finally, we estimate the dendrochronological age of certain monument trees by a new original method.En este trabajo se aportan los principales resultados obtenidos en el estudio dendrocronológico y dendroecológico de Pinus canariensis que, desde hace ya algunos años, estamos realizando en las islas Canarias. Se analiza la variabilidad en la formación de los anillos de crecimiento, principalmente a través de un extenso muestreo realizado en diferentes pinares de origen natural. Mediante distintas técnicas de sincronización, se determinan las numerosas disfunciones recurrentes en la actividad del cambium vascular que dan lugar a anillos de crecimiento total o parcialmente ausentes y se elaboran, cuando es posible, cronologías individuales y locales. Se analizan patrones y tendencias representativas del crecimiento y se estima la estructura de edades en poblaciones forestales con secuencias datadas. Asimismo se estima la edad dendrocronológica de determinados árboles monumentales a través de un procedimiento original

A study of the galaxy redshift distribution toward the cosmic microwave background cold spot in the Corona Borealis supercluster

We present a study of the spatial and redshift distributions of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) galaxies toward the position of CrB-H, a very deep and extended decrement in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), located within the Corona Borealis supercluster (CrB-SC). It was found in a survey with the Very Small Array (VSA) interferometer at 33 GHz, with a peak negative brightness temperature of -230 muK, and deviates 4.4-sigma from the Gaussian CMB (G\'enova-Santos et al.). Observations with the Millimeter and Infrared Testa Grigia Observatory (MITO) suggested that 25$^+21_-18% of this decrement may be caused by the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (tSZ) effect (Battistelli et al.). Here we investigate whether the galaxy distribution could be tracing either a previously unnoticed galaxy cluster or a Warm/Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM) filament that could build up this tSZ effect. We find that the projected density of galaxies outside Abell clusters and with redshifts 0.05<z<0.12 at the position of CrB-H is the highest in the area encompassed by the CrB-SC. Most of these galaxies are located around redshifts z=0.07 and z=0.11, but no clear connection in the form of a filamentary structure is appreciable in between. While the galaxy distribution at z=0.07 is sparse, we find evidence at z=0.11 of a galaxy group or a low-mass galaxy cluster. We estimate that this structure could produce a tSZ effect of ~ -18 muK. The remaining VSA signal of ~ -212 muK is still a significant 4.1-sigma deviation from the Gaussian CMB. However, the MITO error bar allows for a larger tSZ effect, which could be produced by galaxy clusters or superclusters beyond the sensitivity of the SDSS. Contributions from other possible secondary anisotropies associated with these structures are also discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables. Accepted in MNRA

Nuevas citas de olmo de montaña (Ulmus glabra Huds.) en el sector oriental del sistema central español

Se citan y describen trece nuevas poblaciones de Ulmus glabra Huds., en el sector oriental del sistema central español, en las provincias de Guadalajara, Madrid y Segovia. Palabras clave: corología, Ulmus, Sistema Central, España. ----------ABSTRACT---------- New sites of wych elm (Ulmus glabra Huds.) in the eastern sector of the Spanish Central System. Thirteen new populations of Ulmus glabra Huds. in the eastern sector of the Spanish Central System, in the provinces of Guadalajara, Madrid and Segovia, are cited and described. Keywords: chorology, Ulmus, Spanish Central range

Subfossil macroremains in the iberian central range: preliminary results from new sites

Análisis dendroecológico de maderas holocenas en un yacimiento de Castilla la Mancha (España)

Summer rainfall variability in European Mediterranean mountains from the sixteenth to the twentieth century reconstructed from tree rings.

En este trabajo se utilizan dendrocronologías para reconstruir la precipitación estival

Flood Hazard Management in Public Mountain Recreation Areas vs. Ungauged Fluvial Basins. Case Study of the Caldera de Taburiente National Park, Canary Islands (Spain)

Las Angustias River is an ungauged stream in the Caldera de Taburiente National Park (Spain), where frequent intense flash-flood events occur. The aim of this research is to analyze the flood hazard at the Playa de Taburiente. Based on the limited information available (short time-series of daily precipitation), a statistical frequency analysis of 24 h rainfall was completed and the precipitation results were transformed into surface runoff. To determine if the model underestimates the flows that are generated in the basin, the dendro-geomorphological information available was used to calibrate results. The results of the HMS model were significantly lower. At this point, both the rainfall data and the rainfall-runoff model were re-analyzed to maximize the rainfall intensity values and the runoff generated (increasing the CN value for the basin). For the 1997 flood event, a 1250 m3·s−1 flood minimizes the RMSE for the disturbed tree sample; this flow value also clearly exceeds any peak flow derived from the rainfall-runoff analysis. It is only when rainfall intensity and surface runoff are maximized that the peak flows obtained approximate those associated with dendro-geomorphological data. The results highlight the difficulties of flood hazard management in ungauged torrential basins in mountain recreational areas (such as National Parks). Thus, in the absence of flow records, when considering the maximum rainfall intensity scenario may be a useful and effective tool for flood risk management

Dendrogeomorphological evidence of flood frequency changes and human activities (Portainé basin, spanish Pyrenees)

The Portainé mountain catchment, containing the Port Ainé ski resort (Lleida, Spanish Pyrenees), displays active erosional and depositional phenomena caused by periodic torrential floods. These events present a potential risk and incur significant economic losses. In ungauged remote catchments (like Portainé), trees might be the only paleohydrological source of information regarding past floods. Thus, we estimated the temporal and spatial distribution of torrential floods by dendrogeomorphological techniques to assess whether human impact (land-use changes and infrastructure works) affected their frequency and magnitude. One-hundred and sixty-six samples from 67 trees belonging to 10 different species were analyzed; past flood events of the last 50 years were identified by dating and relating evidence between them. Moreover, a detailed geomorphological study was performed and the available historical data compiled. Our multi-evidence analysis provides new insight into the occurrence of paleofloods. Changes in flood frequency since 2006, especially from 2008, suggest that the geomorphological equilibrium has been disturbed, coinciding with both major earthworks within the ski resort and intense but not extraordinary rainfall. This conclusion has important implications for land planning and the design of future projects in the mountain watersheds