1,041 research outputs found
Tolerable versus actual soil erosion rates in Europe
Erosion is a major threat to soil resources in Europe, and may impair their ability to deliver a range of ecosystem goods and services. This is reflected by the European Commission's Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection, which recommends an indicator-based approach for monitoring soil erosion. Defined baseline and threshold values are essential for the evaluation of soil monitoring data. Therefore, accurate spatial data on both soil loss and soil genesis are required, especially in the light of predicted changes in climate patterns, notably frequency, seasonal distribution and intensity of precipitation. Rates of soil loss are reported that have been measured, modelled or inferred for most types of soil erosion in a variety of landscapes, by studies across the spectrum of the Earth sciences. Natural rates of soil formation can be used as a basis for setting tolerable soil erosion rates, with soil formation consisting of mineral weathering as well as dust deposition. This paper reviews the concept of tolerable soil erosion and summarises current knowledge on rates of soil formation, which are then compared to rates of soil erosion by known erosion types, for assessment of soil erosion monitoring at the European scale
Squelched Galaxies and Dark Halos
There is accumulating evidence that the faint end of the galaxy luminosity
function might be very different in different locations. The luminosity
function might be rising in rich clusters and flat or declining in regions of
low density. If galaxies form according to the model of hierarchical clustering
then there should be many small halos compared to the number of big halos. If
this theory is valid then there must be a mechanism that eliminates at least
the visible component of galaxies in low density regions. A plausible mechanism
is photoionization of the intergalactic medium at a time before the epoch that
most dwarf galaxies form in low density regions but after the epoch of
formation for similar systems that ultimately end up in rich clusters. The
dynamical timescales are found to accommodate this hypothesis in a flat
universe with Omega_m < 0.4.
If small halos exist but simply cannot be located because they have never
become the sites of significant star formation, they still might have dynamical
manifestations. These manifestations are hard to identify in normal groups of
galaxies because small halos do not make a significant contribution to the
global mass budget. However, it could be entertained that there are clusters of
halos where there are only small systems, clusters that are at the low mass end
of the hierarchical tree. There may be places where only a few small galaxies
managed to form, enough for us to identify and use as test probes of the
potential. It turns out that such environments might be common. Four probable
groups of dwarfs are identified within 5 Mpc and the assumption they are
gravitationally bound suggests M/L_B ~ 300 - 1200 M_sun/L_sun, 6 +/- factor 2
times higher than typical values for groups with luminous galaxies.Comment: Accepted ApJ 569, (April 20), 2002, 12 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl
The Kinematics in the Core of the Low Surface Brightness Galaxy DDO 39
We present a high resolution, SparsePak two-dimensional velocity field for
the center of the low surface brightness (LSB) galaxy DDO 39. These data are a
significant improvement on previous HI or Halpha long slit data, yet the inner
rotation curve is still uncertain due to significant noncircular and random
motions. These intrinsic uncertainties, probably present in other LSB galaxies
too, result in a wide range of inner slopes being consistent with the data,
including those expected in cold dark matter (CDM) simulations. The halo
concentration parameter provides a more useful test of cosmological models than
the inner slope as it is more tightly constrained by observations. DDO 39's
concentration parameter is consistent with, but on the low end of the
distribution predicted by CDM.Comment: 4 pages, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
The curious case of J113924.74+164144.0: a possible new group of galaxies at z = 0.0693
J113924.74+164144.0 is an interesting galaxy at z = 0.0693, i.e. D_L ~ 305
Mpc, with tidal-tail-like extended optical features on both sides. There are
two neighbouring galaxies, a spiral galaxy J113922.85+164136.3 which has a
strikingly similar 'tidal' morphology, and a faint galaxy J113923.58+164129.9.
We report HI 21 cm observations of this field to search for signatures of
possible interaction. Narrow HI emission is detected from J113924.74+164144.0,
but J113922.85+164136.3 shows no detectable emission. The total HI mass
detected in J113924.74+164144.0 is 7.7 x 10^9 M_solar. The HI emission from the
galaxy is found to be extended and significantly offset from the optical
position of the galaxy. We interpret this as signature of possible interaction
with the neighbouring spiral galaxy. There is also a possible detection of HI
emission from another nearby galaxy J113952.31+164531.8 at z = 0.0680 at a
projected distance of 600 kpc, and with a total HI mass of 5.3 x 10^9 M_solar,
suggesting that all these galaxies form a loose group at z ~ 0.069.Comment: 5 pages, 1 table, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS
Letters. The definitive version will be available at
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com
Star Formation and Tidal Encounters with the Low Surface Brightness Galaxy UGC 12695 and Companions
We present VLA H I observations of the low surface brightness galaxy UGC
12695 and its two companions, UGC 12687 and a newly discovered dwarf galaxy
2333+1234. UGC 12695 shows solid body rotation but has a very lopsided
morphology of the H I disk, with the majority of the H I lying in the southern
arm of the galaxy. The H I column density distribution of this very blue, LSB
galaxy coincides in detail with its light distribution. Comparing the H I
column density of UGC 12695 with the empirical (but not well understood) value
of Sigma_c = 10E21 atoms/cm^2 found in, i.e., Skillman's 1986 paper shows the
star formation to be a local affair, occurring only in those regions where the
column density is above this star formation threshold. The low surface
brightness nature of this galaxy could thus be attributed to an insufficient
gas surface density, inhibiting star formation on a more global scale.
Significantly, though, the Toomre criterion places a much lower critical
density on the galaxy (+/-10E20 atoms/cm^2), which is shown by the galaxy's low
SFR to not be applicable.
Within a projected distance of 300kpc/30kms of UGC 12695 lie two companion
galaxies - UGC 12687, a high surface brightness barred spiral galaxy, and
2333+1234, a dwarf galaxy discovered during this investigation. The close
proximity of the three galaxies, combined with UGC 12695's extremely blue color
and regions of localized starburst and UGC 12687's UV excess bring to mind
mutually induced star formation through tidal activity.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures (2 color), To be published in A.J., May 2000
Applying infrared thermography to soil surface temperature monitoring: Case study of a high-resolution 48 h survey in a vineyard (Anadia, Portugal)
The soil surface albedo decreases with an increasing biochar application rate as a power decay function, but the net impact of biochar application on soil temperature dynamics remains to be clarified. The objective of this study was to assess the potential of infrared thermography (IRT) sensing by monitoring soil surface temperature (SST) with a high spatiotemporal and thermal resolution in a scalable agricultural application. We monitored soil surface temperature (SST) variations over a 48 h period for three treatments in a vineyard: bare soil (plot S), 100% biochar cover (plot B), and biochar-amended topsoil (plot SB). The SST of all plots was monitored at 30 min intervals with a tripod-mounted IR thermal camera. The soil temperature at 10 cm depth in the S and SB plots was monitored continuously with a 5 min resolution probe. Plot B had greater daily SST variations, reached a higher daily temperature peak relative to the other plots, and showed a faster rate of T increase during the day. However, on both days, the SST of plot B dipped below that of the control treatment (plot S) and biochar-amended soil (plot SB) from about 18:00 onward and throughout the night. The diurnal patterns/variations in the IRT-measured SSTs were closely related to those in the soil temperature at a 10 cm depth, confirming that biochar-amended soils showed lower thermal inertia than the unamended soil. The experiment provided interesting insights into SST variations at a local scale. The case study may be further developed using fully automated SST monitoring protocols at a larger scale for a range of environmental and agricultural applications
Electrodynamics of superconductors
An alternate set of equations to describe the electrodynamics of
superconductors at a macroscopic level is proposed. These equations resemble
equations originally proposed by the London brothers but later discarded by
them. Unlike the conventional London equations the alternate equations are
relativistically covariant, and they can be understood as arising from the
'rigidity' of the superfluid wave function in a relativistically covariant
microscopic theory. They predict that an internal 'spontaneous' electric field
exists in superconductors, and that externally applied electric fields, both
longitudinal and transverse, are screened over a London penetration length, as
magnetic fields are. The associated longitudinal dielectric function predicts a
much steeper plasmon dispersion relation than the conventional theory, and a
blue shift of the minimum plasmon frequency for small samples. It is argued
that the conventional London equations lead to difficulties that are removed in
the present theory, and that the proposed equations do not contradict any known
experimental facts. Experimental tests are discussed.Comment: Small changes following referee's and editor's comments; to be
published in Phys.Rev.
Self-consistent nonspherical isothermal halos embedding zero-thickness disks
Disk-halo decompositions of galaxy rotation curves are generally performed in
a parametric way. We construct self-consistent models of nonspherical
isothermal halos embedding a zero-thickness disk, by assuming that the halo
distribution function is a Maxwellian. The method developed here can be used to
study other physically-based choices for the halo distribution function and the
case of a disk accompanied by a bulge. In a preliminary investigation we note
the existence of a fine tuning between the scalelengths R_{\Omega} and h,
respectively characterizing the rise of the rotation curve and the luminosity
profile of the disk, which surprisingly applies to both high surface brightness
and low surface brightness galaxies. This empirical correlation identifies a
much stronger conspiracy than the one required by the smoothness and flatness
of the rotation curve (disk-halo conspiracy). The self-consistent models are
characterized by smooth and flat rotation curves for very different
disk-to-halo mass ratios, hence suggesting that conspiracy is not as dramatic
as often imagined. For a typical rotation curve, with asymptotically flat
rotation curve at V_{\infty} (the precise value of which can also be treated as
a free parameter), and a typical density profile of the disk, self-consistent
models are characterized by two dimensionless parameters, which correspond to
the dimensional scales (the disk mass-to-light ratio M/L and the halo central
density) of standard disk-halo decompositions. We show that if the rotation
curve is decomposed by means of our self-consistent models, the disk-halo
degeneracy is removed and typical rotation curves are fitted by models that are
below the maximum-disk prescription. Similar results are obtained from a study
of NGC 3198. Finally, we quantify the flattening of the spheroidal halo, which
is significant, especially on the scale of the visible disk.Comment: accepted for publication in A&
Morphologies and stellar populations of galaxies in the core of Abell 2218
SUMMARIZED ABSTRACT:
We present a study of the stellar populations and morphologies of galaxies in
the core of the galaxy cluster Abell 2218. Integral field spectroscopy was
obtained using PMAS/[email protected] CAHA to obtain a complete flux limited sample of
cluster members within its field-of-view (~74"X64"). In addition of 31 galaxies
with known redshifts in the outer regions, we built up a final sample of 59
spectroscopically confirmed cluster members. Multiban photometry and detailed
morphologies were obtained using deep images taken with the HST/ACS camera in
the BVRI and z-bands. The CM diagram shows that the E-type galaxies cover the
range of brighter and redder colors. A large fraction of spiral galaxies
(50%) is found. They cover a wide range in colors. This result, together
with the distributions of ages, metallicities and masses, indicates that E-type
galaxies are more massive and have older stellar populations, while L-type
galaxies are less massive and have a wider range of stellar Our results agree
with a proposed two-step scenario for the evolution of galaxies in clusters. In
addition, an extremely blue merging galaxy system is found at the core, with
the nominal redshift of the cluster.Comment: 29 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publishing in MNRAS. (HST/ACS
composite image: http://www.caha.es/sanchez/abell2218/BRI_big.jpg
The line-of-sight warp of the spiral galaxy ESO 123-G23
We present 3-D modelling of the distribution and kinematics of the neutral
hydrogen in the spiral galaxy ESO 123-G23. The optical appearance of this
galaxy is an almost perfectly edge-on disk, while the neutral hydrogen is found
to extend vertically out to about 15 kpc on either side of the galactic plane.
The HI layer and the major features of the HI data cube can be successfully
explained by a model dominated by a strong (about 30 degrees) line-of-sight
warp. Other models were tried, including a flare model and a two-component
model, but they clearly do not reproduce the data. This is the first
unambiguous detection of a galactic warp that has the maximum deviation from
the central plane almost along the line-of-sight. No evidence for the presence
of any companion galaxy is found in the HI data cube. Line-of-sight warps in
edge-on galaxies are probably frequent, but escape detection as they are too
weak. Moreover they may easily be mistaken as flares or 'thick disks'. A 3-D
modelling of the HI layer as the one presented here is needed in order to
distinguish between these possibilities.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted by A&
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