One Decade of Glacier Mass Changes on the Tibetan Plateau Derived from Multisensoral Remote Sensing Data

The Tibetan Plateau (TP) with an average altitude of 4,500 meters above sea level is characterized by many glaciers and ice caps. Glaciers are a natural indicator for climate variability in this high mountain environment where meteorological stations are rare or non-existent. In addition, the melt water released from the Tibetan glaciers is feeding the headwaters of the major Asian river systems and contributes to the rising levels of endorheic lakes on the plateau. As many people directly rely on the glacier melt water a continuous glacier monitoring program is necessary in this region. In situ measurements of glaciers are important, but are spatial limited due to large logistical efforts, physical constrains and high costs. Remote sensing techniques can overcome this gap and are suitable to complement in situ measurements on a larger scale. In the last decade several remote sensing studies dealt with areal changes of glaciers on the TP. However, glacier area changes only provide a delayed signal to a changing climate and the amount of melt water released from the glaciers cannot be quantified. Therefore it is important to measure the glacier mass balance. In order to estimate glacier mass balances and their spatial differences on the TP, several remote sensing techniques and sensors were synthesized in this thesis. In a first study data from the Ice Cloud and Elevation Satellite (ICESat) mission were employed. ICESat was in orbit between 2003 and 2009 and carried a laser altimeter which recorded highly accurate surface elevation measurements. As in mid-latitudes these measurements are rather sparse glaciers on the TP were grouped into eight climatological homogeneous sub-regions in order to perform a statistical sound analysis of glacier elevation changes. To assess surface elevation changes of a single mountain glacier from ICESat data, an adequate spatial sampling of ICESat measurements need to be present. This is the case for the Grosser Aletschgletscher, located in the Swiss Alps which served as a test site in this thesis. In another study data from the current TanDEM-X satellite mission and from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) conducted in February 2000 were employed to calculate glacier elevation changes. In a co-authored study, these estimates could be compared with glacier elevation changes obtained from the current French Pléiades satellite mission. In order to calculate glacier mass balances, the derived elevation changes were combined with assumptions about glacier area and ice density in all studies. In this thesis contrasting patterns of glacier mass changes were found on the TP. With an ICESat derived estimate of -15.6±10.1 Gt/a between 2003 and 2009 the average glacier mass balance on the TP was clearly negative. However, some glaciers in the central and north-western part of the TP showed a neutral mass balance or a slightly positive anomaly which was also confirmed by data from the current TanDEM-X satellite mission. A possible explanation of this anomaly in mass balance could be a compensation of the temperature driven glacier melt due to an increase in precipitation

Refeudalisierung der Ökonomie : Zum Strukturwandel kapitalistischer Wirtschaft

Der Finanzmarktkapitalismus der Gegenwart lässt sich nur unzureichend als ideologische Ausgeburt des Neoliberalismus begreifen. Auch stellt die Ökonomie der schnellen Gewinne und hohen Verluste nicht einfach einen Verfall rationaler Erwerbsprinzipien dar. Derselbe gesellschaftliche Prozess, der die wirtschaftlichen Institutionen zur Struktur eines Finanzmarktkapitalismus modernisierte, hat vielmehr zugleich soziale Formen der Verteilung von Einkommen, Anerkennung und Macht etabliert, die ursprünglich vormoderne Muster der sozialen Ordnung aktualisieren. Mit Rekurs auf den analytischen Topos der „Refeudalisierung“, den Jürgen Habermas einst in seiner Studie über den Strukturwandel der Öffentlichkeit ausgearbeitet hat, wird die refeudalisierte Ökonomie der Gegenwart als eine Paradoxie kapitalistischer Modernisierung untersucht, deren Entstehungs- und Wirkungsmechanismen in vielfältiger Weise formale Ähnlichkeiten mit den institutionellen Transformationen moderner Öffentlichkeiten aufweisen.The rise of financial-market-based capitalism cannot be adequately explained by attributing it to prevailing neoliberal ideology alone. Similarly, the economics of fast money and big losses is not merely a sign of deteriorating economic rationality. Instead, this article argues that the societal process that transformed the economic institutions towards a financial-based model of capitalism also brought back social patterns of distributing wealth, income and power typical of the pre-modern era, albeit in an updated form. Referring to the analytical concept of “refeudalization” introduced by Jürgen Habermas in his inquiry on the Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, the author examines the current refeudalization of the economic sphere as a paradoxical process of capitalist modernization that is often similar to the institutional transformation of the modern public sphere

Near-infrared Circular Polarization Images of NGC 6334-V

We present results from deep imaging linear and circular polarimetry of the massive star-forming region NGC 6334-V. These observations show high degrees of circular polarization (CP), as much as 22% in the Ks band, in the infrared nebula associated with the outflow. The CP has an asymmetric positive/negative pattern and is very extended (~80'' or 0.65 pc). Both the high CP and its extended size are larger than those seen in the Orion CP region. Three-dimensional Monte Carlo light-scattering models are used to show that the high CP may be produced by scattering from the infrared nebula followed by dichroic extinction by an optically thick foreground cloud containing aligned dust grains. Our results show not only the magnetic field orientation of around young stellar objects, but also the structure of circumstellar matter such as outflow regions and their parent molecular cloud along the line of sight. The detection of the large and extended CP in this source and the Orion nebula may imply the CP origin of the biological homochirality on EarthPeer reviewe

AVALIAÇÃO DE DESEMPENHO NO INSTITUTO FEDERAL DE SANTA CATARINA

As empresas estão sendo obrigadas a se repensarem de forma integrada, redefinindo sua estrutura e por consequência os perfis de competências necessárias dos profissionais que nelas atuam. Atualmente há necessidade de uma visão mais estratégica da área de Recursos Humanos, buscando vincular o desempenho humano aos resultados organizacionais. O plano nacional de desenvolvimento de pessoal focou nos recursos humanos como meio de desenvolvimento dos servidores e destacou as discussões sobre a gestão de competências, definindo novas diretrizes referentes à adequação das competências do servidor aos objetivos da instituição. Este estudo procurou verificar como ocorre a avaliação de desempenho no Instituto Federal de Santa Catarina, vinculando-o ao modelo de gestão por competências. Foram realizadas entrevistas no primeiro semestre de 2012 e analisados documentos da instituição. Esta pesquisa possui uma abordagem qualitativa, descritiva, através de estudo de caso. Foi observado que a instituição possui obrigação legal de implantação da gestão por competências e adota o modelo de avaliação de desempenho como ferramenta para tal, porém a prática de retroalimentação da gestão de competências não está institucionalizada na organização, existindo resistência dos servidores no processo de avaliação de desempenho

FINANCIAMENTO DE PROJETOS E CONVÊNIOS NA EDUCAÇÃO SUPERIOR: UM RETORNO SOCIAL

Este trabalho teve como objetivo geral: analisar de que forma os financiamentos de projetos e convênios firmados contribuem para o desenvolvimento das pesquisas na UDESC. Para alcançar este objetivo fez-se um estudo de caso das fontes de financiamento dos projetos e convênios realizados pela Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina – UDESC no período 2010-2011. Dentre os resultados alcançados pode-se destacar que: no período a UDESC firmou 35 convênios para obtenção de financiamento de seus projetos, sendo a maioria com a SESu/MEC; 64% dos recursos financeiros obtidos pela UDESC por meio de convênios financeiros são oriundos da CAPES e da FINEP, o que demonstra que há uma concentração do montante de recursos em apenas dois órgãos de fomento; a UDESC é bastante dependente dos recursos do governo estadual para a manutenção das suas atividades; todos os convênios impactaram na dimensão sociocultural seja da própria comunidade acadêmica, seja da sociedade, a dimensão econômica foi impactada por quatro dos 10 convênios firmados entre a UDESC e entidades externas, e as dimensões ambiental e política foram impactadas por apenas um projeto

The Broad-Band Spectrum and Infrared Variability of the Magnetar AXP 1E1048.1-5937

We present photometry of the Anomalous X-ray pulsar 1E1048.1-5937 in the infrared and optical, taken at Magellan and the VLT. The object is detected in the I, J and Ks bands under excellent conditions. We find that the source has varied greatly in its infrared brightness and present these new magnitudes. No correlation is found between the infrared flux and spin-down rate, but the infrared flux and X-ray flux may be anti-correlated. Assuming nominal reddening values, the resultant spectral energy distribution is found to be inconsistent with the only other AXP SED available (for 4U0142+61). We consider the effect of the uncertainty in the reddening to the source on its SED. We find that although both the X-ray and infrared fluxes have varied greatly for this source, the most recent flux ratio is remarkably consistent with what is is found for other AXPs. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings in the context of the magnetar model.Comment: 21 pages, 5 eps figures. Submitted to Ap

Interstellar extinction towards open clusters and galactic structure

We study the distribution of interstellar matter near the galactic plane on the basis of open star clusters and reviewed the correlation of extinction with different physical parameters of the clusters to understand the galactic structure. It is seen from the extinction towards open clusters that about 90% of the absorbing material lie within -5<b<5 deg of the galactic plane. The mean thickness of the absorbing material, which is determined in terms of half-width value \beta, is estimated to be about 125+/-21 pc. We show that the interstellar absorption follows a sinusoidal variation with galactic longitude and maximum and minimum absorptions occur at l ~ 48+/-4 deg and l ~ 228+/-4 deg respectively. It is found that the galactic plane defined by the reddening material is inclined by an angle of 0.6+/-0.4 deg to the formal galactic plane and inclination is maximum at l ~ 54+/-6 deg. The reddening analysis has been used to constrain the Solar offset which is found to be about 22.8+/-3.3 pc above the reddening plane. We obtained a scale height of 53+/-5 pc for the distribution of open clusters while it is 186+/-25 pc for the distribution of reddening material from the reddening plane.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures, accepted for the publication in MNRA

Recent mass balance of the Purogangri Ice Cap, central Tibetan Plateau, by means of differential X-band SAR interferometry

Due to their remoteness, altitude and harsh climatic conditions, little is known about the glaciological parameters of ice caps on the Tibetan Plateau. This study presents a geodetic mass balance estimate of the Purogangri Ice Cap, Tibet's largest ice field between 2000 and 2012. We utilized data from the actual TerraSAR-X mission and its add-on for digital elevation measurements and compared it with elevation data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. The employed data sets are ideal for this approach as both data sets were acquired at X-band at nearly the same time of the year and are available at a fine grid spacing. In order to derive surface elevation changes we employed two different methods. The first method is based on differential synthetic radar interferometry while the second method uses common DEM differencing. Both approaches revealed a slightly negative mass budget of −44 ± 15 and −38 ± 23 mm w.eq. a⁻¹ (millimeter water equivalent) respectively. A slightly negative trend of −0.15 ± 0.01 km² a⁻¹ in glacier extent was found for the same time period employing a time series of Landsat data. Overall, our results show an almost balanced mass budget for the studied time period. Additionally, we detected one continuously advancing glacier tongue in the eastern part of the ice cap