2,220 research outputs found
Tohoku-Hiroshima-Nagoya planetary spectra library: A method for characterizing planets in the visible to near infrared
There has not been a comprehensive framework for comparing spectral data from
different planets.Such a framework is needed for the study of extrasolar
planets and objects within the solar system. We have undertaken observations to
compile a library of planet spectra for all planets, some moons, and some dwarf
planets in the solar system to study their general spectroscopic and
photometric natures. During May and November of 2008, we acquired spectra for
the planets using TRISPEC, which is capable of simultaneous three-band
spectroscopy in a wide wavelength range of 0.45 - 2.5 microns with low
resolving power (lambda-over-Delta-lambda is 140 - 360). Patterns emerge from
comparing the spectra. Analyzing their general spectroscopic and photometric
natures, we show that it is possible to distinguish between gas planets, soil
planets and ice planets. These methods can be applied to extrasolar
observations using low resolution spectrography or broad-band filters. The
present planet spectral library is the first library to contain observational
spectra for all of the solar system planets, based on simultaneous observations
in visible and near infrared wavelengths. This library will be a useful
reference for analyzing extrasolar planet spectra, and for calibrating
planetary data sets.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, Accepted on 28/08/2009 to appear in Section 10.
Planets and planetary systems of Astronomy and Astrophysic
A REVIEW OF CHALLENGES IN ASSESSMENT AND FORECASTING OF WIND ENERGY RESOURCES
The main issues related to assessment and forecasting of the wind and wind energy have been reviewed. These include the limitations and advantages of wind forecasting and assessment of the wind power density, especially considering trends of increasing penetration of wind-generated power into the utility grid and storage of wind-generated power. Accurate forecasting of the wind power density over a large range of spatial and temporal scales is a critical
issue for planning and operations of wind farms. A review of various prediction tools, from simple statistical models to highly complex numerical techniques, was performed for this purpose. The influence of wind variability, atmospheric stability, turbulence, and the low-level jets on wind power density are elaborated on in detail. Furthermore, prediction and assessment of future wind energy resources and their economic implications as well as environmental concerns such as birds’ habitats and routes, viewpoint aesthetics, and noise are also discussed in this study. Some climate projection studies indicate minor changes in the wind resources comparable
to differences in global models results while others argue that the wind resources will be reduced due to global warming and they call for harvesting wind energy at the maximum rate as soon as possible
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Framework for Analyzing Safeguards Alarms and Response Decisions
This paper describes a quantitative approach to help evaluate and respond to safeguards alarms. These alrms may be generated internally by a facility's safeguards systems or externally by individuals claiming to possess stolen Special Nuclear Material (SNM). This approach can be used to identify the most likely cause of an alarm - theft, hoax, or error - and to evaluate alternative responses to alarms. Possible responses include conducting investigations, initiating measures to recover stolen SNM, and replying to external threats. Based on the results of each alarm investigation step, the evaluation revises the likelihoods of possible causes of an alarm, and uses this information to determine the optimal sequence of further responses. The choice of an optimal sequence of responses takes into consideration the costs and benefits of successful thefts or hoaxes. These results provide an analytical basis for setting priorities and developing contingency plans for responding to safeguards alarms
Cassini/VIMS hyperspectral observations of the HUYGENS landing site on Titan
Titan is one of the primary scientific objectives of the NASA ESA ASI Cassini
Huygens mission. Scattering by haze particles in Titan's atmosphere and
numerous methane absorptions dramatically veil Titan's surface in the visible
range, though it can be studied more easily in some narrow infrared windows.
The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) instrument onboard the
Cassini spacecraft successfully imaged its surface in the atmospheric windows,
taking hyperspectral images in the range 0.4 5.2 ?m. On 26 October (TA flyby)
and 13 December 2004 (TB flyby), the Cassini Huygens mission flew over Titan at
an altitude lower than 1200 km at closest approach. We report here on the
analysis of VIMS images of the Huygens landing site acquired at TA and TB, with
a spatial resolution ranging from 16 to14.4 km/pixel. The pure atmospheric
backscattering component is corrected by using both an empirical method and a
first-order theoretical model. Both approaches provide consistent results.
After the removal of scattering, ratio images reveal subtle surface
heterogeneities. A particularly contrasted structure appears in ratio images
involving the 1.59 and 2.03 ?m images north of the Huygens landing site.
Although pure water ice cannot be the only component exposed at Titan's
surface, this area is consistent with a local enrichment in exposed water ice
and seems to be consistent with DISR/Huygens images and spectra
interpretations. The images show also a morphological structure that can be
interpreted as a 150 km diameter impact crater with a central peak
Techno-economic assessment guidelines for CO2 utilization
Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) is an emerging technology field that can replace fossil carbon value chains, and that has a significant potential to achieve emissions mitigation or even “negative emissions”—however in many cases with challenging technology feasibility and economic viability. Further challenges arise in the decision making for CCU technology research, development, and deployment, in particular when allocating funding or time resources. No generally accepted techno-economic assessment (TEA) standard has evolved, and assessment studies often result in “apples vs. oranges” comparisons, a lack of transparency and a lack of comparability to other studies. A detailed guideline for systematic techno-economic (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) for CCU technologies was developed; this paper shows a summarized version of the TEA guideline, which includes distinct and prioritized (shall and should) rules and which allows conducting TEA in parallel to LCA. The TEA guideline was developed in a co-operative and creative approach with roughly 50 international experts and is based on a systematic literature review as well as on existing best practices from TEA and LCA from the areas of industry, academia, and policy. To the best of our knowledge, this guideline is the first TEA framework with a focus on CCU technologies and the first that is designed to be conducted in parallel to LCA due to aligned vocabulary and assessment steps, systematically including technology maturity. Therefore, this work extends current literature, improving the design, implementation, and reporting approaches of TEA studies for CCU technologies. Overall, the application of this TEA guideline aims at improved comparability of TEA studies, leading to improved decision making and more efficient allocation of funds and time resources for the research, development, and deployment of CCU technologies
Health security for the rural poor? A case study of a health insurance scheme for rural farmers and peasants in India
Magnetic Quantum Dot: A Magnetic Transmission Barrier and Resonator
We study the ballistic edge-channel transport in quantum wires with a
magnetic quantum dot, which is formed by two different magnetic fields B^* and
B_0 inside and outside the dot, respectively. We find that the electron states
located near the dot and the scattering of edge channels by the dot strongly
depend on whether B^* is parallel or antiparallel to B_0. For parallel fields,
two-terminal conductance as a function of channel energy is quantized except
for resonances, while, for antiparallel fields, it is not quantized and all
channels can be completely reflected in some energy ranges. All these features
are attributed to the characteristic magnetic confinements caused by nonuniform
fields.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Physical Review Letter
Saturn's icy satellites and rings investigated by Cassini - VIMS. III. Radial compositional variability
In the last few years Cassini-VIMS, the Visible and Infared Mapping
Spectrometer, returned to us a comprehensive view of the Saturn's icy
satellites and rings. After having analyzed the satellites' spectral properties
(Filacchione et al. (2007a)) and their distribution across the satellites'
hemispheres (Filacchione et al. (2010)), we proceed in this paper to
investigate the radial variability of icy satellites (principal and minor) and
main rings average spectral properties. This analysis is done by using 2,264
disk-integrated observations of the satellites and a 12x700 pixels-wide rings
radial mosaic acquired with a spatial resolution of about 125 km/pixel. The
comparative analysis of these data allows us to retrieve the amount of both
water ice and red contaminant materials distributed across Saturn's system and
the typical surface regolith grain sizes. These measurements highlight very
striking differences in the population here analyzed, which vary from the
almost uncontaminated and water ice-rich surfaces of Enceladus and Calypso to
the metal/organic-rich and red surfaces of Iapetus' leading hemisphere and
Phoebe. Rings spectra appear more red than the icy satellites in the visible
range but show more intense 1.5-2.0 micron band depths. The correlations among
spectral slopes, band depths, visual albedo and phase permit us to cluster the
saturnian population in different spectral classes which are detected not only
among the principal satellites and rings but among co-orbital minor moons as
well. Finally, we have applied Hapke's theory to retrieve the best spectral
fits to Saturn's inner regular satellites using the same methodology applied
previously for Rhea data discussed in Ciarniello et al. (2011).Comment: 44 pages, 27 figures, 7 tables. Submitted to Icaru
Identification of manganese superoxide dismutase from Sphingobacterium sp. T2 as a novel bacterial enzyme for lignin oxidation
The valorisation of aromatic heteropolymer lignin is an important unsolved problem in the development of a biomass-based biorefinery, for which novel high-activity biocatalysts are needed. Sequencing of the genomic DNA of lignin-degrading bacterial strain Sphingobacterium sp. T2 revealed no matches to known lignin-degrading genes. Proteomic matches for two manganese superoxide dismutase proteins were found in partially purified extracellular fractions. Recombinant MnSOD1 and MnSOD2 were both found to show high activity for oxidation of Organosolv and Kraft lignin, and lignin model compounds, generating multiple oxidation products. Structure determination revealed that the products result from aryl-Cα and Cα-Cβ bond oxidative cleavage and O-demethylation. The crystal structure of MnSOD1 was determined to 1.35 Å resolution, revealing a typical MnSOD homodimer harbouring a 5-coordinate trigonal bipyramidal Mn(II) centre ligated by three His, one Asp and a water/hydroxide in each active site. We propose that the lignin oxidation reactivity of these enzymes is due to the production of hydroxyl radical, a highly reactive oxidant. This is the first demonstration that MnSOD is a microbial lignin-oxidising enzyme
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