Some Observational Consequences of Brane World Cosmologies

The presence of dark energy in the Universe is inferred directly and indirectly from a large body of observational evidence. The simplest and most theoretically appealing possibility is the vacuum energy density (cosmological constant). However, although in agreement with current observations, such a possibility exacerbates the well known cosmological constant problem, requiring a natural explanation for its small, but nonzero, value. In this paper we focus our attention on another dark energy candidate, one arising from gravitational \emph{leakage} into extra dimensions. We investigate observational constraints from current measurements of angular size of high-$z$ compact radio-sources on accelerated models based on this large scale modification of gravity. The predicted age of the Universe in the context of these models is briefly discussed. We argue that future observations will enable a more accurate test of these cosmologies and, possibly, show that such models constitute a viable possibility for the dark energy problem.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. D (minor revisions

Measuring thermal conductivity in freezing and thawing soil using the soil temperature response to heating

The thermal conductivity of the thin seasonally freezing and thawing soil layer in permafrost landscapes exerts considerable control over the sensitivity of the permafrost to energy and mass exchanges at the surface. At the same time, the thermal conductivity is sensitive to the state of the soil, varying, for example, by up to two orders of magnitude with varying water contents. In situ measurement techniques perturb the soil thermally and are affected by changes in soil composition, for example through variations in thermal contact resistance between sensor and soil. The design of a sensor for measuring the temperature of the soil rather than the axial heating wire temperature has consequences for the modeling of heat flow. We introduce an approximation of heat flow from a heated cylinder with thermal contact resistance between the cylinder and the surrounding medium. This approximation is compared to the standard line source approximation, and both are applied to data measured over a one-year period in northern Alaska. Comparisons of thermal conductivity values determined numerically using the line source solution, line source approximation and the analytical form of the heated cylinder model fall within 10% of accepted values, except for measurements made in pure ice, for which all methods of calculation under-predicted the thermal conductivity. Field data collected from a complete freeze¿thaw cycle in silty clay show a seasonally bimodal apparent thermal conductivity, with a sharp transition between frozen and thawed values during thaw, but a three-month transition period during freezing. The use of soil composition data to account for changes in heat flow due to the effect of latent heat during phase change results in a relationship between soil thermal conductivity and temperature

Terrestrial processes affecting unlithified coastal erosion disparities in central fjords of Svalbard

Terrestrial influences of coastal cliff morphology and hydrological impact on coastal erosion in unlithified cliff sediments in the inner fjords of Svalbard are assessed. Differential global positioning system measurements have been taken annually over the past two to four years at four field sites in central Svalbard. Measurements were combined with aerial imagery using ArcGIS and the Digital Shoreline Analysis System to calculate rates of erosion in varying geomorphological cliff types. A total of 750 m of coast was divided into two main cliff types: ice-poor and ice-rich tundra cliffs and further divided based on their sediment depositional character and processes currently acting upon sediments. The results show that the most consistent erosion rates occur in the ice-poor cliffs (0.34 m/yr), whereas the most irregular and highest rates occur in ice-rich cliffs (0.47 m/yr). Throughout the study, no waves were observed to reach cliff toes, and therefore erosion rates are considered to reflect an effect of terrestrial processes, rather than wave action. Terrestrial hydrological processes are the driving factors for cliff erosion through winter precipitation for ice-poor cliffs and summer precipitation for ice-rich cliffs. Sediment removal from the base of the cliffs appears to be mainly conducted by sea ice and the ice foot during break up as waves did not reach the base of the studied cliffs during the observed period

High-resolution electrical resistivity tomography applied to patterned ground, Wedel Jarlsberg Land, south-west Spitsbergen

This article presents results of two-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) applied to three types of patterned ground in Wedel-Jarlsberg Land (Svalbard), carried out in late July 2012. The structures investigated include sorted circles, non-sorted polygons and a net with sorted coarser material. ERT was used to recognize the internal ground structure, the shape of permafrost table below the active layer and the geometric relationships between permafrost, ground layering and surface patterns. Results of inversion modelling indicate that the permafrost table occurs at a depth of 0.5–1 m in a mountain valley and 1–2.5 m on raised marine terraces. The permafrost table was nearly planar beneath non-sorted deposits and wavy beneath sorted materials. The mutual relationships between the permafrost table and the shape of a stone circle are different from those typically presented in literature. Ground structure beneath the net with sorted coarser materials is complex as implied in convective models. In non-sorted polygons, the imaging failed to reveal vertical structures between them