80 research outputs found
Global maps of soil temperature
Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-kmÂČ resolution for 0â5 and 5â15 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e., offset) between in-situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-kmÂČ pixels (summarized from 8500 unique temperature sensors) across all the worldâs major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10°C (mean = 3.0 ± 2.1°C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 ± 2.3°C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler (-0.7 ± 2.3°C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in-situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications.publishedVersio
The time scale of recombination rate evolution in great apes
We present three linkage-disequilibrium (LD)-based recombination maps generated using whole-genome sequence data from 10 Nigerian chimpanzees, 13 bonobos, and 15 western gorillas, collected as part of the Great Ape Genome Project (Prado-Martinez J, et al. 2013. Great ape genetic diversity and population history. Nature 499:471-475). We also identified species-specific recombination hotspots in each group using a modified LDhot framework, which greatly improves statistical power to detect hotspots at varying strengths. We show that fewer hotspots are shared among chimpanzee subspecies than within human populations, further narrowing the time scale of complete hotspot turnover. Further, using species-specific PRDM9 sequences to predict potential binding sites (PBS), we show higher predicted PRDM9 binding in recombination hotspots as compared to matched cold spot regions in multiple great ape species, including at least one chimpanzee subspecies. We found that correlations between broad-scale recombination rates decline more rapidly than nucleotide divergence between species. We also compared the skew of recombination rates at centromeres and telomeres between species and show a skew from chromosome means extending as far as 10-15Mb from chromosome ends. Further, we examined broad-scale recombination rate changes near a translocation in gorillas and found minimal differences as compared to other great ape species perhaps because the coordinates relative to the chromosome ends were unaffected. Finally, on the basis of multiple linear regression analysis, we found that various correlates of recombination rate persist throughout the African great apes including repeats, diversity, and divergence. Our study is the first to analyze within- And between-species genome-wide recombination rate variation in several close relatives
Early Release Science of the Exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRSpec G395H
Measuring the abundances of carbon and oxygen in exoplanet atmospheres is
considered a crucial avenue for unlocking the formation and evolution of
exoplanetary systems. Access to an exoplanet's chemical inventory requires
high-precision observations, often inferred from individual molecular
detections with low-resolution space-based and high-resolution ground-based
facilities. Here we report the medium-resolution (R600) transmission
spectrum of an exoplanet atmosphere between 3-5 m covering multiple
absorption features for the Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b, obtained with JWST
NIRSpec G395H. Our observations achieve 1.46x photon precision, providing an
average transit depth uncertainty of 221 ppm per spectroscopic bin, and present
minimal impacts from systematic effects. We detect significant absorption from
CO (28.5) and HO (21.5), and identify SO as the
source of absorption at 4.1 m (4.8). Best-fit atmospheric models
range between 3 and 10x solar metallicity, with sub-solar to solar C/O ratios.
These results, including the detection of SO, underscore the importance of
characterising the chemistry in exoplanet atmospheres, and showcase NIRSpec
G395H as an excellent mode for time series observations over this critical
wavelength range.Comment: 44 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables. Resubmitted after revision to Natur
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Nightside clouds and disequilibrium chemistry on the hot Jupiter WASP-43b
Hot Jupiters are among the best-studied exoplanets, but it is still poorly understood how their chemical composition and cloud properties vary with longitude. Theoretical models predict that clouds may condense on the nightside and that molecular abundances can be driven out of equilibrium by zonal winds. Here we report a phase-resolved emission spectrum of the hot Jupiter WASP-43b measured from 5âÎŒm to 12âÎŒm with the JWSTâs Mid-Infrared Instrument. The spectra reveal a large dayânight temperature contrast (with average brightness temperatures of 1,524â±â35âK and 863â±â23âK, respectively) and evidence for water absorption at all orbital phases. Comparisons with three-dimensional atmospheric models show that both the phase-curve shape and emission spectra strongly suggest the presence of nightside clouds that become optically thick to thermal emission at pressures greater than ~100âmbar. The dayside is consistent with a cloudless atmosphere above the mid-infrared photosphere. Contrary to expectations from equilibrium chemistry but consistent with disequilibrium kinetics models, methane is not detected on the nightside (2Ï upper limit of 1â6âppm, depending on model assumptions). Our results provide strong evidence that the atmosphere of WASP-43b is shaped by disequilibrium processes and provide new insights into the properties of the planetâs nightside clouds. However, the remaining discrepancies between our observations and our predictive atmospheric models emphasize the importance of further exploring the effects of clouds and disequilibrium chemistry in numerical models.Peer reviewe
Nightside clouds and disequilibrium chemistry on the hot Jupiter WASP-43b
Hot Jupiters are among the best-studied exoplanets, but it is still poorly understood how their chemical composition and cloud properties vary with longitude. Theoretical models predict that clouds may condense on the nightside and that molecular abundances can be driven out of equilibrium by zonal winds. Here we report a phase-resolved emission spectrum of the hot Jupiter WASP-43b measured from 5-12 ÎŒm with JWST's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). The spectra reveal a large day-night temperature contrast (with average brightness temperatures of 1524±35 and 863±23 Kelvin, respectively) and evidence for water absorption at all orbital phases. Comparisons with three-dimensional atmospheric models show that both the phase curve shape and emission spectra strongly suggest the presence of nightside clouds which become optically thick to thermal emission at pressures greater than ~100 mbar. The dayside is consistent with a cloudless atmosphere above the mid-infrared photosphere. Contrary to expectations from equilibrium chemistry but consistent with disequilibrium kinetics models, methane is not detected on the nightside (2Ï upper limit of 1-6 parts per million, depending on model assumptions)
Nightside clouds and disequilibrium chemistry on the hot Jupiter WASP-43b
Hot Jupiters are among the best-studied exoplanets, but it is still poorly
understood how their chemical composition and cloud properties vary with
longitude. Theoretical models predict that clouds may condense on the nightside
and that molecular abundances can be driven out of equilibrium by zonal winds.
Here we report a phase-resolved emission spectrum of the hot Jupiter WASP-43b
measured from 5-12 m with JWST's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). The
spectra reveal a large day-night temperature contrast (with average brightness
temperatures of 152435 and 86323 Kelvin, respectively) and evidence
for water absorption at all orbital phases. Comparisons with three-dimensional
atmospheric models show that both the phase curve shape and emission spectra
strongly suggest the presence of nightside clouds which become optically thick
to thermal emission at pressures greater than ~100 mbar. The dayside is
consistent with a cloudless atmosphere above the mid-infrared photosphere.
Contrary to expectations from equilibrium chemistry but consistent with
disequilibrium kinetics models, methane is not detected on the nightside
(2 upper limit of 1-6 parts per million, depending on model
assumptions).Comment: 61 pages, 13 figures, 4 tables. This preprint has been submitted to
and accepted in principle for publication in Nature Astronomy without
significant change
Early Release Science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRISS
Transmission spectroscopy provides insight into the atmospheric properties
and consequently the formation history, physics, and chemistry of transiting
exoplanets. However, obtaining precise inferences of atmospheric properties
from transmission spectra requires simultaneously measuring the strength and
shape of multiple spectral absorption features from a wide range of chemical
species. This has been challenging given the precision and wavelength coverage
of previous observatories. Here, we present the transmission spectrum of the
Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b obtained using the SOSS mode of the NIRISS
instrument on the JWST. This spectrum spans m in wavelength and
reveals multiple water absorption bands, the potassium resonance doublet, as
well as signatures of clouds. The precision and broad wavelength coverage of
NIRISS-SOSS allows us to break model degeneracies between cloud properties and
the atmospheric composition of WASP-39b, favoring a heavy element enhancement
("metallicity") of the solar value, a sub-solar
carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio, and a solar-to-super-solar potassium-to-oxygen
(K/O) ratio. The observations are best explained by wavelength-dependent,
non-gray clouds with inhomogeneous coverage of the planet's terminator.Comment: 48 pages, 12 figures, 2 tables. Under review at Natur
Early Release Science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRCam
Measuring the metallicity and carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio in exoplanet
atmospheres is a fundamental step towards constraining the dominant chemical
processes at work and, if in equilibrium, revealing planet formation histories.
Transmission spectroscopy provides the necessary means by constraining the
abundances of oxygen- and carbon-bearing species; however, this requires broad
wavelength coverage, moderate spectral resolution, and high precision that,
together, are not achievable with previous observatories. Now that JWST has
commenced science operations, we are able to observe exoplanets at previously
uncharted wavelengths and spectral resolutions. Here we report time-series
observations of the transiting exoplanet WASP-39b using JWST's Near InfraRed
Camera (NIRCam). The long-wavelength spectroscopic and short-wavelength
photometric light curves span 2.0 - 4.0 m, exhibit minimal systematics,
and reveal well-defined molecular absorption features in the planet's spectrum.
Specifically, we detect gaseous HO in the atmosphere and place an upper
limit on the abundance of CH. The otherwise prominent CO feature at 2.8
m is largely masked by HO. The best-fit chemical equilibrium models
favour an atmospheric metallicity of 1-100 solar (i.e., an enrichment
of elements heavier than helium relative to the Sun) and a sub-stellar
carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio. The inferred high metallicity and low C/O ratio
may indicate significant accretion of solid materials during planet formation
or disequilibrium processes in the upper atmosphere.Comment: 35 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables, Nature, accepte
Cerebral small vessel disease genomics and its implications across the lifespan
White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are the most common brain-imaging feature of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD), hypertension being the main known risk factor. Here, we identify 27 genome-wide loci for WMH-volume in a cohort of 50,970 older individuals, accounting for modification/confounding by hypertension. Aggregated WMH risk variants were associated with altered white matter integrity (pâ=â2.5Ă10-7) in brain images from 1,738 young healthy adults, providing insight into the lifetime impact of SVD genetic risk. Mendelian randomization suggested causal association of increasing WMH-volume with stroke, Alzheimer-type dementia, and of increasing blood pressure (BP) with larger WMH-volume, notably also in persons without clinical hypertension. Transcriptome-wide colocalization analyses showed association of WMH-volume with expression of 39 genes, of which four encode known drug targets. Finally, we provide insight into BP-independent biological pathways underlying SVD and suggest potential for genetic stratification of high-risk individuals and for genetically-informed prioritization of drug targets for prevention trials.Peer reviewe
Mitochondrial physiology
As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery
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