14,088 research outputs found
Spatial variations of shallow and deep soil moisture in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China
Soil moisture in deep soil layers is an important relatively stable water resource for vegetation growth in the semi-arid Loess Plateau of China. Characterizing the spatial variations of deep soil moisture with respect to the topographic conditions has significant importance for vegetation restoration. In this study, we focused on analyzing the spatial variations and factors influencing soil moisture content (SMC) in shallow (0â2 m) and deep (2â8 m) soil layers, based on soil moisture observations in the Longtan watershed, Dingxi, Gansu province. The vegetation type of each sampling site for each comparison is same and varies by different positions, gradients, or aspects. The following discoveries were captured: (1) in comparison with shallow SMC, slope position and slope aspect may affect shallow soil moisture more than deep layers, while slope gradient affects both shallow and deep soil moisture significantly. This indicates that a great difference in deep soil hydrological processes between shallow and deep soil moisture remains that can be attributed to the introduced vegetation and topography. (2) A clear negative relationship exists between vegetation growth condition and deep soil moisture, which indicates that plants under different growing conditions may differ in consuming soil moisture, thus causing higher spatial variations in deep soil moisture. (3) The dynamic role of slope position and slope aspect on deep soil moisture has been changed due to large-scale plantation in semi-arid environment. Consequently, vegetation growth conditions and slope gradients may become the key factors dominating the spatial variations in deep soil moisture
Slow light in paraffin-coated Rb vapor cells
We present preliminary results from an experimental study of slow light in
anti-relaxation-coated Rb vapor cells, and describe the construction and
testing of such cells. The slow ground state decoherence rate allowed by coated
cell walls leads to a dual-structured electromagnetically induced transparency
(EIT) spectrum with a very narrow (<100 Hz) transparency peak on top of a broad
pedestal. Such dual-structure EIT permits optical probe pulses to propagate
with greatly reduced group velocity on two time scales. We discuss ongoing
efforts to optimize the pulse delay in such coated cell systems.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Journal of Modern Optic
Temperature and Kinematics of CIV Absorption Systems
We use Keck HIRES spectra of three intermediate redshift QSOs to study the
physical state and kinematics of the individual components of CIV selected
heavy element absorption systems. Fewer than 8 % of all CIV lines with column
densities greater than 10^{12.5} cm^{-2} have Doppler parameters b < 6 km/s. A
formal decomposition into thermal and non-thermal motion using the simultaneous
presence of SiIV gives a mean thermal Doppler parameter b_{therm}(CIV) = 7.2
km/s, corresponding to a temperature of 38,000 K although temperatures possibly
in excess of 300,000 K occur occasionally. We also find tentative evidence for
a mild increase of temperature with HI column density. Non-thermal motions
within components are typically small (< 10 km/s) for most systems, indicative
of a quiescent environment. The two-point correlation function (TPCF) of CIV
systems on scales up to 500 km/s suggests that there is more than one source of
velocity dispersion. The shape of the TPCF can be understood if the CIV systems
are caused by ensembles of objects with the kinematics of dwarf galaxies on a
small scale, while following the Hubble flow on a larger scale. Individual high
redshift CIV components may be the building blocks of future normal galaxies in
a hierarchical structure formation scenario.Comment: submitted to the ApJ Letters, March 16, 1996 (in press); (13 Latex
pages, 4 Postscript figures, and psfig.sty included
Hadronic Vacuum Polarization and the Lamb Shift
Recent improvements in the determination of the running of the fine-structure
constant also allow an update of the hadronic vacuum-polarization contribution
to the Lamb shift. We find a shift of -3.40(7) kHz to the 1S level of hydrogen.
We also comment on the contribution of this effect to the determination by
elastic electron scattering of the r.m.s. radii of nuclei.Comment: 7 pages, latex, 1 figure -- Submitted to Phys. Rev. A -- epsfig.sty
require
Atomic structure of Ge quantum dots on the Si(001) surface
In situ morphological investigation of the {105} faceted Ge islands on the
Si(001) surface (hut clusters) have been carried out using an ultra high vacuum
instrument integrating a high resolution scanning tunnelling microscope and a
molecular beam epitaxy vessel. Both species of hut clusters--pyramids and
wedges--were found to have the same structure of the {105} facets which was
visualized. Structures of vertexes of the pyramidal clusters and ridges of the
wedge-shaped clusters were revealed as well and found to be different. This
allowed us to propose a crystallographic model of the {105} facets as well as
models of the atomic structure of both species of the hut clusters. An
inference is made that transitions between the cluster shapes are impossible.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures. Accepted to JETP Letters (publication date
2010-03-25
Effect of arsenic on spatial pattern of radial oxygen loss and iron plaque formation in rice
The effects of different arsenic (As) treatments on spatial pattern of radial oxygen loss (ROL), iron (Fe) plaque formation and As accumulation in rice were investigated using three rice genotypes, planted under greenhouse conditions. Arsenic was applied to soil at 50 and 100 mg/kg, with untreated soil used as a control having an average As concentration of 8.5 mg/kg. It was demonstrated that the ratio of ROL in root tips to that at the root base slightly decreased with increasing As concentration, suggesting that the spatial ROL patterns in these groups may be shifted from the âtightâ barrier towards the âpartialâ barrier form. Furthermore, increasing As concentration led to a increase in Fe plaque formation on root surfaces. In addition, root As concentrations of genotypes in 50 and 100 mg/kg As treatments were significantly higher than that of control treatment (P<0.05). Grain As concentration of genotype Nanyangzhan (with lower ROL) was significantly higher (P<0.05) than that of genotype CNT87059-3 with higher ROL
The Weak Clustering of Gas-Rich Galaxies
We examine the clustering properties of HI-selected galaxies through an
analysis of the HI Parkes All-Sky Survey Catalogue (HICAT) two-point
correlation function. Various sub-samples are extracted from this catalogue to
study the overall clustering of HI-rich galaxies and its dependence on
luminosity, HI gas mass and rotational velocity. These samples cover the entire
southern sky Dec < 0 deg, containing up to 4,174 galaxies over the radial
velocity range 300-12,700 km/s. A scale length of r_0 = 3.45 +/- 0.25 Mpc/h and
slope of gamma = 1.47 +/- 0.08 is obtained for the HI-rich galaxy real-space
correlation function, making gas-rich galaxies among the most weakly clustered
objects known. HI-selected galaxies also exhibit weaker clustering than
optically selected galaxies of comparable luminosities. Good agreement is found
between our results and those of synthetic HI-rich galaxy catalogues generated
from the Millennium Run CDM simulation. Bisecting HICAT using different
parameter cuts, clustering is found to depend most strongly on rotational
velocity and luminosity, while the dependency on HI mass is marginal. Splitting
the sample around v_rot = 108 km/s, a scale length of r_0 = 2.86 +/- 0.46 Mpc/h
is found for galaxies with low rotational velocities compared to r_0 = 3.96 +/-
0.33 Mpc/h for the high rotational velocity sample.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
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