Nearby supernova host galaxies from the CALIFA Survey: II. SN environmental metallicity

The metallicity of a supernova (SN) progenitor, together with its mass, is one of the main parameters that rules their outcome. We present a metallicity study of 115 nearby SN host galaxies (0.005<z<0.03) which hosted 142 SNe using Integral Field Spectroscopy (IFS) from the CALIFA survey. Using O3N2 we found no statistically significant differences between the gas-phase metallicities at the locations of the three main SN types (Ia, Ib/c and II) all having ~8.50$\pm$0.02 dex. The total galaxy metallicities are also very similar and we argue that this is because our sample consists only of SNe discovered in massive galaxies (log(M/Msun)>10 dex) by targeted searches. We also found no evidence that the metallicity at the SN location differs from the average metallicity at the GCD of the SNe. By extending our SN sample with published metallicities at the SN location, we studied the metallicity distributions for all SN subtypes split into SN discovered in targeted and untargeted searches. We confirm a bias toward higher host masses and metallicities in the targeted searches. Combining data from targeted and untargeted searches we found a sequence from higher to lower local metallicity: SN Ia, Ic, and II show the highest metallicity, which is significantly higher than SN Ib, IIb, and Ic-BL. Our results support the picture of SN Ib resulting from binary progenitors and, at least part of, SN Ic being the result of single massive stars stripped of their outer layers by metallicity driven winds. We studied several proxies of the local metallicity frequently used in the literature and found that the total host metallicity allows for the estimation of the metallicity at the SN location with an accuracy better than 0.08 dex and very small bias. In addition, weak AGNs not seen in total spectra may only weakly bias (by 0.04 dex) the metallicity estimate from integrated spectra. (abridged)Comment: 24 pages, 16 Figures, 13 Tables, Accepted in A&

Manejo florestal comunitário e familiar: percepções de pequenos produtores rurais na BR-163 e BR-230, Pará.

O Manejo Florestal Comunitário e Familiar (MFCF) tomou-se promissora alternativa de renda para povos tradicionais e comunidades rurais. Dentre os beneficiários das políticas do MFCF (i.e. Decreto n° 6.874/09) estão colonos de assentamentos rurais. Estes, embora motivados pelo dinheiro e pela melhoria das infraestruturas locais, não recebem assistência técnica e outros tipos de apoio institucionais necessários que conduzem ao sucesso da atividade. Nesse contexto, este trabalho analisou as características de alguns contratos formais celebrados entre assentados e o setor madeireiro na BR-163 e BR-230, estado do Pará, dando enfoque nas percepções dos produtores rurais quanto às relações entre atores locais e regionais que atuam nos assentamentos e que estão envolvidos de alguma forma no manejo florestal madeireiro na região do estudo. Observou-se que as melhores relações são aquelas em que os atores mantém presença física nos assentamentos e que, órgãos importantes, como o SFB, não têm visibilidade de suas ações nessas localidades, mostrando gargalos na implementação de programas governamentais de apoio ao MFCF. Observou-se também que as lideranças possuem uma percepção mais complexa das relações entre os atores. Para melhorias, sugere-se maior abertura no diálogo entre governo e produtores rurais e apoio técnico através de assistência técnica e extensão florestal

Low carbon electricity systems for Great Britain in 2050: An energy-land-water perspective

The decarbonisation of the power sector is key to achieving the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global mean surface temperature rise to well below 2 °C. This will require rapid, national level transitions to low carbon electricity generation, such as variable renewables (VRE), nuclear and fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage, across the world. At the same time it is essential that future power systems are sustainable in the wider sense and thus respect social, environmental and technical limitations. Here we develop an energy-land-water nexus modelling framework and use it to perform a scenario analysis with the aim of understanding the planning and operational implications of these constraints on Great Britain's (GB) power system in 2050. We consider plausible scenarios for limits on installed nuclear capacity, siting restrictions that shape VRE deployment and water use for thermal power station cooling. We find that these factors combined can lead to up to a 25% increase in the system's levelised cost of electricity (LCOE). VRE siting restrictions can result in an up to 13% increase in system LCOE as the deployment of onshore wind is limited while nuclear capacity restrictions can drive an up to 17% greater LCOE. We also show that such real-world limitations can cause substantial changes in system design both in terms of the spatial pattern of where generators are located and the capacity mix of the system. Thus we demonstrate the large impact simultaneously considering a set of nexus factors can have on future GB power systems. Finally, given our plausible assumptions about key energy-land-water restrictions and emission limits effecting the GB power system in 2050, the cost optimal penetration of VREs is found to be at least 50%

On the use of ethanol for evaluating microporosity of activated carbons prepared from Polish lignite

Microporous activated carbons prepared by KOH chemical activation or steam activation from lignite were characterised by adsorption of N2 at 77 K and CO2 at 298 K. Subsequently, the adsorption of ethanol was carried out and complemented by adsorption of benzene and cyclohexane. The isotherm analysis included application of the αs method using ethanol reference data obtained here by also studying non-porous carbon blacks. The work confirmed that ethanol is an experimentally convenient adsorptive to use and leads to results in overall agreement with those obtained using other probe molecules. Of particular interest was the observation that ethanol can gain access to the whole microporosity even in the case of samples containing constricted micropore entrances. It was also possible to show that certain furnace carbon blacks contain intrinsic microporosity which is more difficult to unambiguously detect by adsorption of N2 at 77 K. On the other hand, the results also suggested that the exact shape of the ethanol adsorption isotherm on a nonporous surface is more sensitive to the nature of the surface than has previously been found with other adsorptives

Spectroscopic Observations and Analysis of the Unusual Type Ia SN 1999ac

We present optical spectra of the peculiar Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 1999ac. The data extend from -15 to +42 days with respect to B-band maximum and reveal an event that is unusual in several respects. Prior to B-band maximum, the spectra resemble those of SN 1999aa, a slowly declining event, but possess stronger SiII and CaII signatures (more characteristic of a spectroscopically normal SN). Spectra after B-band maximum appear more normal. The expansion velocities inferred from the Iron lines appear to be lower than average; whereas, the expansion velocity inferred from Calcium H and K are higher than average. The expansion velocities inferred from SiII are among the slowest ever observed, though SN 1999ac is not particularly dim. The analysis of the parameters v_10, R(SiII), dv(SiII)/dt, and d_m15 further underlines the unique characteristics of SN 1999ac. We find convincing evidence of CII 6580 in the day -15 spectrum with ejection velocity v > 16,000 km/s, but this signature disappears by day -9. This rapid evolution at early times highlights the importance of extremely early-time spectroscopy.Comment: 40 pages, 24 figures, accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journa

Taxi branco (Sclerolobium paniculatum Vogel): uma espécie leguminosa nativa com uso potencial em florestas energéticas.

Este trabalho foi realizado com o objetivo de reunir informações disponíveis na literatura e em levantamentos realizados por pesquisadores em diferentes estados da Amazônia sobre o desempenho do taxi branco (Sclerolobium paniculatum Vogel) em plantios na região norte do Brasil.Seção: Silvicultura e Produção de Biomassa

The O3N2 and N2 abundance indicators revisited: improved calibrations based on CALIFA and Te-based literature data

The use of IFS is since recently allowing to measure the emission line fluxes of an increasingly large number of star-forming galaxies both locally and at high redshift. The main goal of this study is to review the most widely used empirical oxygen calibrations, O3N2 and N2, by using new direct abundance measurements. We pay special attention to the expected uncertainty of these calibrations as a function of the index value or abundance derived and the presence of possible systematic offsets. This is possible thanks to the analysis of the most ambitious compilation of Te-based HII regions to date. This new dataset compiles the Te-based abundances of 603 HII regions extracted from the literature but also includes new measurements from the CALIFA survey. Besides providing new and improved empirical calibrations for the gas abundance, we also present here a comparison between our revisited calibrations with a total of 3423 additional CALIFA HII complexes with abundances derived using the ONS calibration by Pilyugin et al. (2010). The combined analysis of Te-based and ONS abundances allows us to derive their most accurate calibration to date for both the O3N2 and N2 single-ratio indicators, in terms of all statistical significance, quality and coverage of the space of parameters. In particular, we infer that these indicators show shallower abundance dependencies and statistically-significant offsets compared to those of Pettini and Pagel (2004), Nagao et al. (2006) and P\'erez-Montero and Contini (2009). The O3N2 and N2 indicators can be empirically applied to derive oxygen abundances calibrations from either direct abundance determinations with random errors of 0.18 and 0.16, respectively, or from indirect ones (but based on a large amount of data) reaching an average precision of 0.08 and 0.09 dex (random) and 0.02 and 0.08 dex (systematic; compared to the direct estimations),respectively.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&