2,211 research outputs found

    The 1973-1984 Solar Modulation of Cosmic Ray Nuclei

    Get PDF
    As a continuation of the program of solar modulation studies, new measurements were carried out with the cosmic ray telescope on the Earth satellite IMP-8, of the intensity time variations and the energy spectra of galactic cosmic ray protons, helium, carbon and oxygen from 1980 through 1984 including the recent solar maximum. In order to test the applicability of a steady state model of solar modulation during a period which includes times of rapidly changing modulation, these fluxes were equated with the predictions of a conventional model of solar modulation which assumes equilibrium between modulation mechanisms. It is found that for a reasonable range of variations of the diffusion coefficient the model predictions can be made to agree with the measurements at essentially all times during the studied period. The model can account also for the observed hysteresis effects between cosmic rays of different rigidities

    Protons associated with centers of solar activity and their propagation in interplanetary magnetic field regions co-rotating with the sun

    Get PDF
    Protons associated with centers of solar activity and propagation in interplanetary magnetic field regions co-rotating with su

    Winter Conditions Influence Biological Responses of Migrating Hummingbirds

    Full text link
    Conserving biological diversity given ongoing environmental changes requires the knowledge of how organisms respond biologically to these changes; however, we rarely have this information. This data deficiency can be addressed with coordinated monitoring programs that provide field data across temporal and spatial scales and with process-based models, which provide a method for predicting how species, in particular migrating species that face different conditions across their range, will respond to climate change. We evaluate whether environmental conditions in the wintering grounds of broad-tailed hummingbirds influence physiological and behavioral attributes of their migration. To quantify winter ground conditions, we used operative temperature as a proxy for physiological constraint, and precipitation and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) as surrogates of resource availability. We measured four biological response variables: molt stage, timing of arrival at stopover sites, body mass, and fat. Consistent with our predictions, we found that birds migrating north were in earlier stages of molt and arrived at stopover sites later when NDVI was low. These results indicate that wintering conditions impact the timing and condition of birds as they migrate north. In addition, our results suggest that biologically informed environmental surrogates provide a valuable tool for predicting how climate variability across years influences the animal populations

    Intention of preserving forest remnants among landowners in the Atlantic Forest: The role of the ecological context via ecosystem services

    Get PDF
    Unravelling the psychological processes determining landowners' support towards forest conservation is crucial, particularly in rural areas of the tropics, where most forest remnants are within private lands. As human–nature connections are known to shape pro‐environmental behaviours, the intention of preserving forest remnants should ultimately be determined by the ecological context people live in. Here, we investigate the pathways through which the ecological context (forest cover), via direct contact with forests and ecosystem services and disservices, influence the psychological antecedents of conservation behaviour (beliefs, attitude and intention of preserving forest remnants). We conceptualized a model based on the Reasoned Action Approach, using the ecological context and these three forest experiences as background factors, and tested the model using Piecewise Structural Equation Modelling. Data were collected through an interview‐based protocol applied to 106 landowners across 13 landscapes varying in forest cover in a consolidated rural region in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Our results indicate that: (a) ecosystem services are more important than disservices for shaping intention of preserving forests, particularly non‐provisioning services; (b) contact with forest has an indirect effect on intention, by positively influencing the frequency of receiving ecosystem services; (c) people living in more forested ecological contexts have more contact with forests, receive ecosystem services more frequently and, ultimately, have stronger intention of preserving forests. Hence, our study suggests a dangerous positive feedback loop between deforestation, the extinction of forest experiences and impairment of human–nature connections. Local demands across the full range of ecosystem services, the balance between services and disservices and the ecological context people live in should be considered when developing conservation initiatives in tropical rural areas

    Accessory Mineral Eu Anomalies in Suprasolidus Rocks: Beyond Feldspar

    Full text link
    Accessory mineral Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu*) are routinely measured to infer changes in the amount of feldspar over time, allowing accessory mineral U‐Pb dates to be linked to the progressive crystallization of igneous and metamorphic rocks and, by extension, geodynamic processes. However, changes in Eu/Eu* can reflect any process that changes the relative availability of Eu2+ and Eu3+. We constructed partitioning budgets for Sm, Eu2+, Eu3+, and Gd in suprasolidus metasedimentary rocks to investigate processes that can influence accessory mineral Eu anomalies. We modeled three scenarios: (1) closed‐system, equilibrium crystallization; (2) fractionation of Eu by feldspar growth during melt crystallization; and (3) removal of Eu by melt extraction. In the closed‐system equilibrium model, accessory mineral Eu/Eu* changes as a function of fO2 and monazite stability; Eu/Eu* changes up to 0.3 over a pressure‐temperature range of 4–12 kbar and 700–950°C. Fractionation of Eu by feldspar growth is modeled to decrease accessory mineral Eu/Eu* by ~0.05–0.15 per 10 wt% feldspar crystallized. Melt extraction has a smaller effect; removal of 10% melt decreases accessory mineral Eu/Eu* in the residue by ≀0.05. Although these models demonstrate that fractionation of Eu by feldspar growth can be a dominant control on a rocks u budget, they also show that the common interpretation that Eu/Eu* only records feldspar growth and breakdown is an oversimplification that could lead to incorrect interpretation about the duration and rates of tectonic processes. Consideration of other processes that influence Eu anomalies will allow for a broader range of geological processes to be investigated by petrochronology.Plain Language SummaryMetamorphic rocks—rocks in which new minerals grew in response to increase in pressure and temperature related to deep burial or subduction—and igneous rocks—rocks that formed as magmas cool and crystallize—provide a direct record of how Earth’s continents have moved and changed through time. To read this record, geologists need to be able to measure the ages of metamorphism and magmatism: When did it happen? How long did it last? How does it relate to other rocks around the world? A common approach to addressing these questions is using U‐Pb dating of the minerals zircon, monazite, and apatite. The elements these minerals incorporate are indicative of how hot and how deep in the Earth they were when they grew. In this study we explore how geologists can use the concentrations of the element Europium (Eu) in these minerals to provide new insights into the geological meaning of U‐Pb dates, leading to more robust interpretations of Earth’s plate tectonic history.Key PointsEu anomalies in suprasolidus rocks record any process that changes the relative availability of Eu2+ and Eu3+, not just feldspar growthDisequilibrium is required for feldspar growth to strongly influence accessory mineral Eu anomaliesComparing accessory mineral Eu anomalies and Sr concentrations leads to more robust interpretation than evaluating Eu anomalies alonePeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156481/1/ggge22268_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156481/3/ggge22268.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156481/2/ggge22268-sup-0001-2020GC009052-Text_SI-S01.pd

    Modelling deep convection and its impacts on the tropical tropopause layer

    Get PDF
    The UK Met Office's Unified Model is used at a climate resolution (N216, ~0.83°×~0.56°, ~60 km) to assess the impact of deep tropical convection on the structure of the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). We focus on the potential for rapid transport of short-lived ozone depleting species to the stratosphere by rapid convective uplift. The modelled horizontal structure of organised convection is shown to match closely with signatures found in the OLR satellite data. In the model, deep convective elevators rapidly lift air from 4–5 km up to 12–14 km. The influx of tropospheric air entering the TTL (11–12 km) is similar for all tropical regions with most convection stopping below ~14 km. The tropical tropopause is coldest and driest between November and February, coinciding with the greatest upwelling over the tropical warm pool. As this deep convection is co-located with bromine-rich biogenic coastal emissions, this period and location could potentially be the preferential gateway for stratospheric bromine

    Thermal detection of single e-h pairs in a biased silicon crystal detector

    Get PDF
    We demonstrate that individual electron-hole pairs are resolved in a 1 cm2^2 by 4 mm thick silicon crystal (0.93 g) operated at ∌\sim35 mK. One side of the detector is patterned with two quasiparticle-trap-assisted electro-thermal-feedback transition edge sensor (QET) arrays held near ground potential. The other side contains a bias grid with 20\% coverage. Bias potentials up to ±\pm 160 V were used in the work reported here. A fiber optic provides 650~nm (1.9 eV) photons that each produce an electron-hole (e−h+e^{-} h^{+}) pair in the crystal near the grid. The energy of the drifting charges is measured with a phonon sensor noise σ\sigma ∌\sim0.09 e−h+e^{-} h^{+} pair. The observed charge quantization is nearly identical for h+h^+'s or e−e^-'s transported across the crystal.Comment: 4 journal pages, 5 figure
    • 

    corecore