697 research outputs found
Data assimilation of stratospheric constituents: a review
International audienceThe data assimilation of stratospheric constituents is reviewed. The data assimilation method is introduced, with particular consideration to its application to stratospheric constituent measurements. Differences from meteorological data assimilation are outlined. Historically, two approaches have been used to carry out constituent assimilation. One approach has carried constituent assimilation out as part of a numerical weather prediction system; the other has carried it out in a standalone chemical model, often with a more sophisticated representation of chemical processes. Whereas the aim of the numerical weather prediction approach has been to improve weather forecasts, the aims of the chemical model approach have included providing chemical forecasts and analyses of chemical constituents. A range of constituent assimilation systems developed in these two areas is presented and strengths and weaknesses discussed. The use of stratospheric constituent data assimilation to evaluate models, observations and analyses, and to provide analyses of constituents, monitor ozone, and make ozone forecasts is discussed. Finally, the current state of affairs is assessed, future directions are discussed, and potential key drivers identified
EC58-123 Questions and Answers about Stubble Mulching
Extension Circular 58-123 provides questions and answers about Stubble Mulch farming
EC58-123 Questions and Answers about Stubble Mulching
Extension Circular 58-123 provides questions and answers about Stubble Mulch farming
A magnified view of star formation at redshift 0.9 from two lensed galaxies
We present new narrow-band H alpha imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope of
two redshift 0.91 galaxies that have been lensed by foreground galaxy cluster
Abell 2390. These data probe spatial scales as small as 0.3 kpc, providing a
magnified look at the morphology of star formation at an epoch when the global
star formation rate was high. However, dust attenuates our spatially resolved
star formation rate (SFR) indicators, the H alpha and rest-UV emission, and we
lack a direct measurement of extinction. Other studies have found that ionized
gas in galaxies tends to be roughly 50 percent more obscured than stars;
however, given an unextincted measurement of the SFR we can quantify the
relative stellar to nebular extinction and the extinction in H{\alpha}. We
infer SFRs from Spitzer and Herschel mid- to far-infrared observations and
compare these to integrated H alpha and rest-UV SFRs; this yields stellar to
nebular extinction ratios consistent with previous studies. We take advantage
of high spatial resolution and contextualize these results in terms of the
source-plane morphologies, comparing the distribution of H alpha to that of the
rest-frame UV and optical light. In one galaxy, we measure separate SFRs in
visually distinct clumps, but can set only a lower limit on the extinction and
thus the star formation. Consequently, the data are also consistent with there
being an equal amount of extinction along the lines of sight to the ionized gas
as to the stars. Future observations in the far-infrared could settle this by
mapping out the dust directly.Comment: Published as 2014, The Astronomical Journal, 148, 6
GMOS Integral Field Spectroscopy of a Merging System with Enhanced Balmer Absorption
In this paper we present the three dimensional dynamics of the galaxy SDSS
J101345.39+011613.66, selected for its unusually strong Balmer absorption lines
(Wo(H-delta)=7.5A). Using the GMOS-South IFU in Nod & Shuffle mode we have
mapped the continuum and optical absorption lines of this z=0.1055 field
galaxy. This galaxy has a disturbed morphology, with a halo of diffuse material
distributed asymmetrically toward the north. Using the [OII] emission line
(Wo([OII])=4.1A) we find that the gas and hot OB stars are offset from the
older stars in the system. The gas also has a spatially extended and elongated
morphology with a velocity gradient of 100+/-20km/s across 6kpc in projection.
Using the strong H-gamma and H-delta absorption lines we find that the A- stars
are widely distributed across the system and are not centrally concentrated
arguing that the A-star population has formed in molecular clouds outside the
nucleus. By cross correlating the spectra from the datacube with an A-star
template we find evidence that the A-star population has a 40km/s shear in the
same direction as the gas. The disturbed morphology, strong colour gradients
and strong H-delta and H-gamma absorption lines in SDSS J101345.39 argue that
this is a recent tidal interaction/merger between a passive elliptical and
star-forming galaxy. Although based on a single object, these results show that
we can spatially resolve and constrain the dynamics of this short lived (yet
important) phase of galaxy formation in which the evolutionary process take
galaxies from star-forming to their quiescent end products.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
Herschel-ATLAS: A Binary HyLIRG Pinpointing a Cluster of Starbursting Protoellipticals
Panchromatic observations of the best candidate hyperluminous infrared galaxies from the widest Herschel extragalactic imaging survey have led to the discovery of at least four intrinsically luminous z = 2.41 galaxies across an 100 kpc region—a cluster of starbursting protoellipticals. Via subarcsecond interferometric imaging we have measured accurate gas and star formation surface densities. The two brightest galaxies span ~3 kpc FWHM in submillimeter/radio continuum and CO J = 4-3, and double that in CO J = 1-0. The broad CO line is due partly to the multitude of constituent galaxies and partly to large rotational velocities in two counter-rotating gas disks—a scenario predicted to lead to the most intense starbursts, which will therefore come in pairs. The disks have M dyn of several × 1011 M ☉, and gas fractions of ~40%. Velocity dispersions are modest so the disks are unstable, potentially on scales commensurate with their radii: these galaxies are undergoing extreme bursts of star formation, not confined to their nuclei, at close to the Eddington limit. Their specific star formation rates place them 5 × above the main sequence, which supposedly comprises large gas disks like these. Their high star formation efficiencies are difficult to reconcile with a simple volumetric star formation law. N-body and dark matter simulations suggest that this system is the progenitor of a B(inary)-type 1014.6-M ☉ cluster
Resolved Spectroscopy of Gravitationally-Lensed Galaxies: Recovering Coherent Velocity Fields in Sub-Luminous z~2-3 Galaxies
We present spatially-resolved dynamics for six strongly lensed star-forming
galaxies at z=1.7-3.1, each enlarged by a linear magnification factor ~8. Using
the Keck laser guide star AO system and the OSIRIS integral field unit
spectrograph we resolve kinematic and morphological detail in our sample with
an unprecedented fidelity, in some cases achieving spatial resolutions of ~100
pc. With one exception our sources have diameters ranging from 1-7 kpc, star
formation rates of 2-40 Msun/yr (uncorrected for extinction) and dynamical
masses of 10^(9.7-10.3) Msun. With this exquisite resolution we find that four
of the six galaxies display coherent velocity fields consistent with a simple
rotating disk model, which can only be recovered with the considerably improved
spatial resolution and sampling from the combination of adaptive optics and
strong gravitational lensing. Our model fits imply ratios for the systemic to
random motion, V sin(i)/sigma, ranging from 0.5-1.3 and Toomre disk parameters
Q<1. The large fraction of well-ordered velocity fields in our sample is
consistent with data analyzed for larger, more luminous sources at this
redshift. Our high resolution data further reveal that all six galaxies contain
multiple giant star-forming HII regions whose resolved diameters are in the
range 300 pc - 1.0 kpc, consistent with the Jeans length expected in the case
of dispersion support. The density of star formation in these regions is ~100
times higher than observed in local spirals; such high values are only seen in
the most luminous local starbursts. The global dynamics and demographics of
star formation in these HII regions suggest that vigorous star formation is
primarily governed by gravitational instability in primitive rotating disks.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, submitted to MNRA
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