Doppler images of II Pegasi for 2004-2010

Aims. We study the spot activity of II Peg during the years 2004-2010 to determine long- and short-term changes in the magnetic activity. In a previous study, we detected a persistent active longitude, as well as major changes in the spot configuration occurring on a timescale of shorter than a year. The main objective of this study is to determine whether the same phenomena persist in the star during these six years of spectroscopic monitoring. Methods. The observations were collected with the high-resolution SOFIN spectrograph at the Nordic Optical Telescope. The temperature maps were calculated using a Doppler imaging code based on Tikhonov regularization. Results. We present 12 new temperature maps that show spots distributed mainly over high and intermediate latitudes. In each image, 1-3 main active regions can be identified. The activity level of the star is clearly lower than during our previous study for the years 1994-2002. In contrast to the previous observations, we detect no clear drift of the active regions with respect to the rotation of the star. Conclusions. Having shown a systematic longitudinal drift of the spot-generating mechanism during 1994-2002, the star has clearly switched to a low-activity state for 2004-2010, during which the spot locations appear more random over phase space. It could be that the star is near to a minimum of its activity cycle.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astron. and Astrophys., 8 pages, 5 figure

Direction distributions of neutrons and reference values of the personal dose equivalent in workplace fields

Within the EC project EVIDOS, double-differential (energy and direction) fluence spectra were determined by means of novel direction spectrometers. By folding the spectra with fluence-to-dose equivalent conversion coefficients, contributions to H*(10) for 14 directions, and values of the personal dose equivalent Hp(10) and the effective dose E for 6 directions of a person's orientation in the field were determined. The results of the measurements and calculations obtained within the EVIDOS project in workplace fields in nuclear installations in Europe, i.e., at Krümmel (boiling water reactor and transport cask), at Mol (Venus research reactor and fuel facility Belgonucléaire) and at Ringhals (pressurised reactor and transport cask) are presente

Grasslands - more important for ecosystem services than you might think

Extensively managed grasslands are recognized globally for their high biodiversity and their social and cultural values. However, their capacity to deliver multiple ecosystem services (ES) as parts of agricultural systems is surprisingly understudied compared to other production systems. We undertook a comprehensive overview of ES provided by natural and semi‐natural grasslands, using southern Africa (SA) and northwest Europe as case studies, respectively. We show that these grasslands can supply additional non‐agricultural services, such as water supply and flow regulation, carbon storage, erosion control, climate mitigation, pollination, and cultural ES. While demand for ecosystems services seems to balance supply in natural grasslands of SA, the smaller areas of semi‐natural grasslands in Europe appear to not meet the demand for many services. We identified three bundles of related ES from grasslands: water ES including fodder production, cultural ES connected to livestock production, and population‐based regulating services (e.g., pollination and biological control), which also linked to biodiversity. Greenhouse gas emission mitigation seemed unrelated to the three bundles. The similarities among the bundles in SA and northwestern Europe suggest that there are generalities in ES relations among natural and semi‐natural grassland areas. We assessed trade‐offs and synergies among services in relation to management practices and found that although some trade‐offs are inevitable, appropriate management may create synergies and avoid trade‐offs among many services. We argue that ecosystem service and food security research and policy should give higher priority to how grasslands can be managed for fodder and meat production alongside other ES. By integrating grasslands into agricultural production systems and land‐use decisions locally and regionally, their potential to contribute to functional landscapes and to food security and sustainable livelihoods can be greatly enhanced

Recent Developments in Understanding Two-dimensional Turbulence and the Nastrom-Gage Spectrum

Two-dimensional turbulence appears to be a more formidable problem than three-dimensional turbulence despite the numerical advantage of working with one less dimension. In the present paper we review recent numerical investigations of the phenomenology of two-dimensional turbulence as well as recent theoretical breakthroughs by various leading researchers. We also review efforts to reconcile the observed energy spectrum of the atmosphere (the spectrum) with the predictions of two-dimensional turbulence and quasi-geostrophic turbulence.Comment: Invited review; accepted by J. Low Temp. Phys.; Proceedings for Warwick Turbulence Symposium Workshop on Universal features in turbulence: from quantum to cosmological scales, 200

Opportunities for use of exact statistical equations

Exact structure function equations are an efficient means of obtaining asymptotic laws such as inertial range laws, as well as all measurable effects of inhomogeneity and anisotropy that cause deviations from such laws. "Exact" means that the equations are obtained from the Navier-Stokes equation or other hydrodynamic equations without any approximation. A pragmatic definition of local homogeneity lies within the exact equations because terms that explicitly depend on the rate of change of measurement location appear within the exact equations; an analogous statement is true for local stationarity. An exact definition of averaging operations is required for the exact equations. Careful derivations of several inertial range laws have appeared in the literature recently in the form of theorems. These theorems give the relationships of the energy dissipation rate to the structure function of acceleration increment multiplied by velocity increment and to both the trace of and the components of the third-order velocity structure functions. These laws are efficiently derived from the exact velocity structure function equations. In some respects, the results obtained herein differ from the previous theorems. The acceleration-velocity structure function is useful for obtaining the energy dissipation rate in particle tracking experiments provided that the effects of inhomogeneity are estimated by means of displacing the measurement location.Comment: accepted by Journal of Turbulenc

Evaluation of individual monitoring in mixed neutron/photon fields: mid-term results from the EVIDOS project

EVIDOS is an EC sponsored project that aims at an evaluation and improvement of radiation protection dosimetry in mixed neutron/photon fields. This is performed through spectrometric and dosimetric investigations during different measurement campaigns in representative workplaces of the nuclear industry. The performance of routine and, in particular, novel personal dosemeters and survey instruments is tested in selected workplace fields. Reference values for the dose equivalent quantities, H*(10) and Hp(10) and the effective dose E, are determined using different spectrometers that provide the energy distribution of the neutron fluence and using newly developed devices that determine the energy and directional distribution of the neutron fluence. The EVIDOS project has passed the mid-term, and three measurement campaigns have been performed. This paper will give an overview and some new results from the third campaign that was held in Mol (Belgium), around the research reactor VENUS and in the MOX producing plant of Belgonucléair

Characterisation of mixed neutron-photon workplace fields at nuclear facilities by spectrometry (energy and direction) within the EVIDOS project

Within the EC project EVIDOS, 17 different mixed neutron-photon workplace fields at nuclear facilities (boiling water reactor, pressurised water reactor, research reactor, fuel processing, storage of spent fuel) were characterised using conventional Bonner sphere spectrometry and newly developed direction spectrometers. The results of the analysis, using Bayesian parameter estimation methods and different unfolding codes, some of them especially adapted to simultaneously unfold energy and direction distributions of the neutron fluence, showed that neutron spectra differed strongly at the different places, both in energy and direction distribution. The implication of the results for the determination of reference values for radiation protection quantities (ambient dose equivalent, personal dose equivalent and effective dose) and the related uncertainties are discusse

Evaluation of individual dosimetry in mixed neutron and photon radiation fields (EVIDOS). Part II: conclusions and recommendations

The paper presents the main conclusions and recommendations derived from the EVIDOS project, which is supported by the European Commission within the 5th Framework Programme. EVIDOS aims at evaluating state of the art neutron dosimetry techniques in representative workplaces of the nuclear industry with complex mixed neutron-photon radiation fields. This analysis complements a series of individual papers which present detailed results and it summarises the main findings from a practical point of view. Conclusions and recommendations are given concerning characterisation of radiation fields, methods to derive radiation protection quantities and dosemeter result

Achievements in workplace neutron dosimetry in the last decade: lessons learned from the EVIDOS project

The availability of active neutron personal dosemeters has made real time monitoring of neutron doses possible. This has obvious benefits, but is only of any real assistance if the dose assessments made are of sufficient accuracy and reliability. Preliminary assessments of the performance of active neutron dosemeters can be made in calibration facilities, but these can never replicate the conditions under which the dosemeter is used in the workplace. Consequently, it is necessary to assess their performance in the workplace, which requires the field in the workplace to be fully characterised in terms of the energy and direction dependence of the fluence. This paper presents an overview of developments in workplace neutron dosimetry but concentrates on the outcomes of the EVIDOS project, which has made significant advances in the characterisation of workplace fields and the analysis of dosemeter responses in those field