803 research outputs found
The ``Outside-In'' Outburst of HT Cassiopeiae
We present results from photometric observations of the dwarf nova system HT
Cas during the eruption of November 1995. The data include the first
two--colour observations of an eclipse on the rise to outburst. They show that
during the rise to outburst the disc deviates significantly from steady state
models, but the inclusion of an inner-disc truncation radius of about 4
and a ``flared'' disc of semi-opening angle of produces
acceptable fits. The disc is found to have expanded at the start of the
outburst to about , as compared to quiescent measurements. The
accretion disc then gradually decreases in radius reaching during
the last stages of the eruption. Quiescent eclipses were also observed prior to
and after the eruption and a revised ephemeris is calculated.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, to appear in MNRA
The influence of light attenuation on the biogeomorphology of a marine karst cave: a case study of Puerto Princesa Underground River, Palawan, the Philippines
Karst caves are unique biogeomorphological systems. Cave walls offer habitat for microorganisms which in-turn have a geomorphological role via their involvement in rock weathering, erosion and mineralisation. The attenuation of light with distance into caves is known to affect ecology, but the implications of this for biogeomorphological processes and forms have seldom been examined. Here we describe a semi-quantitative microscopy study comparing the extent, structure, and thickness of biocover and depth of endolithic penetration for samples of rock from the Puerto Princesa Underground River system in Palawan, the Philippines, which is a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Organic growth at the entrance of the cave was abundant (100% occurrence) and complex, dominated by phototrophic organisms (green microalgae, diatoms, cyanobacteria, mosses and lichens). Thickness of this layer was 0.28 ± 0.18 mm with active endolith penetration into the limestone (mean depth = 0.13 ± 0.03 mm). In contrast, phototrophs were rare 50 m into the cave and biofilm cover was significantly thinner (0.01 ± 0.01 mm, p < 0.000) and spatially patchy (33% occurrence). Endolithic penetration here was also shallower (< 0.01 mm, p < 0.000) and non-uniform. Biofilm was found 250 m into the cave, but with a complete absence of phototrophs and no evidence of endolithic bioerosion.
We attribute these findings to light-induced stress gradients, showing that the influence of light on phototroph abundance has knock-on consequences for the development of limestone morphological features. In marine caves this includes notches, which were most well-developed at the sheltered cave entrance of our study site, and for which variability in formation rates between locations is currently poorly understood
Geomorphological control on boulder transport and coastal erosion before, during and after an extreme extra-tropical cyclone
This is the final version of the article. Available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.Extreme wave events in coastal zones are principal drivers of geomorphic change. Evidence of boulder entrainment and erosional impact during storms is increasing. However, there is currently poor time coupling between pre- and post-storm measurements of coastal boulder deposits. Importantly there are no data reporting shore platform erosion, boulder entrainment and/or boulder transport during storm events – rock coast dynamics during storm events are currently unexplored. Here, we use high-resolution (daily) field data to measure and characterize coastal boulder transport before, during and after the extreme Northeast Atlantic extra-tropical cyclone Johanna in March 2008. Forty-eight limestone fine-medium boulders (n = 46) and coarse cobbles (n = 2) were tracked daily over a 0.1 km2 intertidal area during this multi-day storm. Boulders were repeatedly entrained, transported and deposited, and in some cases broken down (n = 1) or quarried (n = 3), during the most intense days of the storm. Eighty-one percent (n = 39) of boulders were located at both the start and end of the storm. Of these, 92% were entrained where entrainment patterns were closely aligned to wave parameters. These data firmly demonstrate rock coasts are dynamic and vulnerable under storm conditions. No statistically significant relationship was found between boulder size (mass) and net transport distance. Graphical analyses suggest that boulder size limits the maximum longshore transport distance but that for the majority of boulders lying under this threshold, other factors influence transport distance. Paired analysis of 20 similar sized and shaped boulders in different morphogenic zones demonstrates that geomorphological control affects entrainment and transport distance – where net transport distances were up to 39 times less where geomorphological control was greatest. These results have important implications for understanding and for accurately measuring and modelling boulder entrainment and transport. Coastal managers require these data for assessing erosion risk.This paper benefitted from: comments from J.
Hansom, S. Etienne and anonymous reviewers; student volunteers at
Atlantic United World College; cartography from Sue Rouillard and
Mike Shand; funding from a Royal Geographical Society EPSRC small
grant and a NERC grant NE/M010546/1 (Dr Naylor) and an Australian
Research Council Discovery grant DP0557205 (Dr Stephenson);
permission from the Countryside Council for Wales
An Irradiation Effect in Nova DN Gem 1912 and the Significance of the Period Gap for Classical Novae
Continuous CCD photometry of the classical nova DN Gem during 52 nights in
the years 1992-98 reveals a modulation with a period 0.127844 d. The
semi-amplitude is about 0.03 mag. The stability of the variation suggests that
it is the orbital period of the binary system. This interpretation makes DN Gem
the fourth nova inside the cataclysmic variable (CV) period gap, as defined by
Diaz and Bruch (1997), and it bolsters the idea that there is no period gap for
classical novae. However, the number of known nova periods is still too small
to establish this idea statistically. We eliminate several possible mechanisms
for the variation, and propose that the modulation is driven by an irradiation
effect. We find that model light curves of an irradiated secondary star, fit
the data well. The inclination angle of the system is restricted by this model
to 10 deg < i < 65 deg. We also refine a previous estimate of the distance to
the binary system, and find d=1.6+/-0.6 kpc.Comment: 7 pages, Latex file, 2 .ps files and 3 .eps files. accepted for
publication in MNRAS. also available at:
ftp://ftp.astro.keele.ac.uk/pub/preprints/preprints.htm
Making space for proactive adaptation of rapidly changing coasts: A windows of opportunity approach
This is the final version of the article. Available from MDPI via the DOI in this record.Coastlines are very often places where the impacts of global change are felt most keenly, and they are also often sites of high values and intense use for industry, human habitation, nature conservation and recreation. In many countries, coastlines are a key contested territory for planning for climate change, and also locations where development and conservation conflicts play out. As a "test bed" for climate change adaptation, coastal regions provide valuable, but highly diverse experiences and lessons. This paper sets out to explore the lessons of coastal planning and development for the implementation of proactive adaptation, and the possibility to move from adaptation visions to actual adaptation governance and planning. Using qualitative analysis of interviews and workshops, we first examine what the barriers are to proactive adaptation at the coast, and how current policy and practice frames are leading to avoidable lock-ins and other maladaptive decisions that are narrowing our adaptation options. Using examples from UK, we then identify adaptation windows that can be opened, reframed or transformed to set the course for proactive adaptation which links high level top-down legislative requirements with local bottom-up actions. We explore how these windows can be harnessed so that space for proactive adaptation increases and maladaptive decisions are reduced.This work was supported through the Belmont Forum by the Natural Environment Research
Council Multi-scale adaptations to global change in coasts, project number NE/L008807/1; and Developing a
sustainable, ecosystem-based coastal climate change adaptation routemap for policymakers and practitioners,
project number NE/M010546/1
Ultraviolet Emission Line Ratios of Cataclysmic Variables
We present a statistical analysis of the ultraviolet emission lines of
cataclysmic variables (CVs) based on ultraviolet spectra of 20
sources extracted from the International Ultraviolet Explorer Uniform Low
Dispersion Archive. These spectra are used to measure the emission line fluxes
of N V, Si IV, C IV, and He II and to construct diagnostic flux ratio diagrams.
We investigate the flux ratio parameter space populated by individual CVs and
by various CV subclasses (e.g., AM Her stars, DQ Her stars, dwarf novae,
nova-like variables). For most systems, these ratios are clustered within a
range of decade for log Si IV/C IV and log He II/C IV
and decades for log N V/C IV . These
ratios are compared to photoionization and collisional ionization models to
constrain the excitation mechanism and the physical conditions of the
line-emitting gas. We find that the collisional models do the poorest job of
reproducing the data. The photoionization models reproduce the Si IV/C IV line
ratios for some shapes of the ionizing spectrum, but the predicted N V/C IV
line ratios are simultaneously too low by typically decades. Worse,
for no parameters are any of the models able to reproduce the observed He II/C
IV line ratios; this ratio is far too small in the collisional and scattering
models and too large by typically decades in the photoionization
models.Comment: LaTeX format, uses aaspp4.sty, 28 pages, 11 Postscript figures,
accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal 10/16/9
Are There Age Spreads in Star Forming Regions?
A luminosity spread at a given effective temperature is ubiquitously seen in
the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagrams of young star forming regions and often
interpreted in terms of a prolonged period (>=10 Myr) of star formation. I
review the evidence that the observed luminosity spreads are genuine and not
caused by astrophysical sources of scatter. I then address whether the
luminosity spreads necessarily imply large age spreads, by comparing HR diagram
ages with ages from independent clocks such as stellar rotation rate, the
presence of circumstellar material and lithium depletion. I argue that whilst
there probably is a true luminosity dispersion, there is little evidence to
support age spreads larger than a few Myr. This paradox could be resolved by
brief periods of rapid accretion during the class I pre main-sequence phase.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of JENAM10: Star Clusters in the Era of
Large Surveys, 8 page
On the accumulation of planetesimals near disc gaps created by protoplanets
We have performed three-dimensional two-fluid (gas-dust) hydrodynamical
models of circumstellar discs with embedded protoplanets (3 - 333 M\oplu) and
small solid bodies (radii 10cm to 10m). We find that high mass planets (\gtrsim
Saturn mass) open sufficiently deep gaps in the gas disc such that the density
maximum at the outer edge of the gap can very efficiently trap metre-sized
solid bodies. This allows the accumulation of solids at the outer edge of the
gap as solids from large radii spiral inwards to the trapping region. This
process of accumulation occurs fastest for those bodies that spiral inwards
most rapidly, typically metre-sized boulders, whilst smaller and larger objects
will not migrate sufficiently rapidly in the discs lifetime to benefit from the
process. Around a Jupiter mass planet we find that bound clumps of solid
material, as large as several Earth masses, may form, potentially collapsing
under self-gravity to form planets or planetesimals. These results are in
agreement with Lyra et al. (2009), supporting their finding that the formation
of a second generation of planetesimals or of terrestrial mass planets may be
triggered by the presence of a high mass planet.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Low mass stars, brown dwarf candidates and the mass function of the young open cluster NGC 2547
We present a catalogue of RIZ photometry over an area of 0.855 square
degrees, centred on NGC 2547. The survey is substantially complete to limits of
R_c=21.5, I_c=19.5, Z=19.5. We use the catalogue to define NGC 2547 candidates
with masses of about 0.05-1.0 M_sun. After correcting for incompleteness and
contamination by foreground field dwarfs, we investigate the mass function of
the cluster, its binary content, and search for evidence of mass segregation
among lower mass stars. There is evidence for mass segregation between high (>3
M_sun) and lower mass stars, but over the range 0.1<M<0.7 M_sun, the data are
consistent with no further mass segregation. By fitting King profiles we
conclude that at least 60 percent of the low-mass stellar population are
contained in our survey. The cluster mass function is remarkably similar to the
Pleiades for 0.075<M<0.7 M_sun. Because of its age (~30 Myr), we demonstrate
that this mass function is robust to several systematic uncertainties likely to
affect older and younger clusters and is therefore one of the best available
estimates for the initial mass function in young disc populations. For
0.05<M<0.075 M_sun there is some evidence for a deficit of brown dwarfs in NGC
2547 compared with other clusters. This deficit may extend to lower masses or
may only be a dip, perhaps caused by an imperfect understanding of the
mass-magnitude relationship at temperatures of 2800K.Incompleteness in our
survey, and the luminosity functions from which we estimate contamination,
leave this question open. The binary fraction for systems with mass ratios
greater than about 0.5 is 20-35 per cent for M-dwarfs in NGC 2547, quite
consistent with that found in the field (abridged).Comment: 24 pages, accepted for MNRAS. Version with better Figures and
electronic catalogues available from
http://www.astro.ex.ac.uk/people/timn/Catalogues/description.htm
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