The evaluation of a shuttle borne lidar experiment to measure the global distribution of aerosols and their effect on the atmospheric heat budget

A shuttle-borne lidar system is described, which will provide basic data about aerosol distributions for developing climatological models. Topics discussed include: (1) present knowledge of the physical characteristics of desert aerosols and the absorption characteristics of atmospheric gas, (2) radiative heating computations, and (3) general circulation models. The characteristics of a shuttle-borne radar are presented along with some laboratory studies which identify schemes that permit the implementation of a high spectral resolution lidar system

Spitzer Spectroscopy of Infrared-Luminous Galaxies: Diagnostics of AGN and Star Formation and Contribution to Total Infrared Luminosity

We use Spitzer IRS spectroscopy to study the nature 65 IR-luminous galaxies at 0.02 1.2mJy. The IRS spectra cover wavelengths spanning the PAH features and important atomic diagnostic lines. Our sample corresponds to L(IR) = L(8-1000micron) = 10^10-10^12 Lsun. We divide our galaxies into those with Spitzer IRAC colors indicative of warm dust heated by an AGN (IRAGN) and those whose colors indicate star-formation processes (non-IRAGN). Compared to the non-IRAGN, the IRAGN show smaller PAH emission EWs, which we attribute to an increase in mid-IR continuum from the AGN. We find that in both the IRAGN and non-IRAGN samples, the PAH luminosities correlate strongly with the [Ne II] emission, from which we conclude that the PAH luminosity directly traces the instantaneous SFR in both the IRAGN and non-IRAGN galaxies. We compare the ratio of PAH luminosity to the total IR luminosity and show that for most IRAGN star-formation accounts for 10-50% of the L(IR). We also find no measurable difference between the PAH luminosity ratios of L(11.3)/L(7.7) and L(6.2)/L(7.7) for the IRAGN and non-IRAGN, suggesting that AGN do not significantly excite or destroy PAH molecules on galaxy-wide scales. A small subset of galaxies show excess of [O IV] emission compared to their PAH emission, which indicates the presence of heavily-obscured AGN, including 3 galaxies that are not otherwise selected as IRAGN. The low PAH emission and low [Ne II] emission of the IRAGN and [O IV]-excess objects imply they have low SFRs and their IR luminosity is dominated by processes associated with the AGN.Comment: 22 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Detectionof gas hydrates infaults using azimuthal seismic velocity analysis,Vestnesa Ridge, W-Svalbard Margin

Accepted for publication in Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth. Copyright 2020 American Geophysical Union. Further reproduction or electronic distribution is not permitted.Joint analysis of electrical resistivity and seismic velocity data is primarily used to detect the presence of gas hydrate‐filled faults and fractures. In this study, we present a novel approach to infer the occurrence of structurally‐controlled gas hydrate accumulations using azimuthal seismic velocity analysis. We perform this analysis using ocean‐bottom seismic (OBS) data at two sites on Vestnesa Ridge, W‐Svalbard Margin. Previous geophysical studies inferred the presence of gas hydrates at shallow depths (up to ~190‐195 m below the seafloor) in marine sediments of Vestnesa Ridge. We analyze azimuthal P‐wave seismic velocities in relation with steeply‐dipping near surface faults to study structural controls on gas hydrate distribution. This unique analysis documents directional changes in seismic velocities along and across faults. P‐wave velocities are elevated and reduced by ~0.06‐0.08 km/s in azimuths where the raypath plane lies along the fault plane in the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) and below the base of the GHSZ, respectively. The resulting velocities can be explained with the presence of gas hydrate‐ and free gas‐filled faults above and below the base of the GHSZ, respectively. Moreover, the occurrence of elevated and reduced (>0.05 km/s) seismic velocities in groups of azimuths bounded by faults, suggests compartmentalization of gas hydrates and free gas by fault planes. Results from gas hydrate saturation modelling suggest that these observed changes in seismic velocities with azimuth can be due to gas hydrate saturated faults of thickness greater than 20 cm and considerably smaller than 300 cm

Diurnal pattern of salivary cortisol and progression of aortic stiffness: Longitudinal study

Background: The positive direct relation between stress and the development of cardiovascular disease has increasingly been recognized. However, the link between hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) dysregulation and subclinical cardiovascular disease has not been studied longitudinally. We investigated the relation of diurnal salivary cortisol, as a biological marker of stress levels, with progression of aortic stiffness over five years. Methods: A total of 3281 people (mean age 65.5) in the Whitehall II prospective study provided six saliva samples on a single weekday. We assessed the diurnal salivary cortisol using the daytime slope and bedtime level. Aortic stiffness was measured by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) at baseline (2007–2009) and five years later (2012–2013). Linear mixed models were used to estimate the association of diurnal salivary cortisol with baseline PWV and five-year longitudinal changes. Results: Diurnal salivary cortisol were not associated with PWV at baseline. Among women but not men, a 1-SD shallower salivary cortisol slope at baseline was associated with a five-year increase in PWV (β = 0.199; 95% CI = 0.040, 0.358 m/s) and higher bedtime cortisol level (β = 0.208, 95% CI = 0.062, 0.354 m/s). Conclusions: Dysregulation of the HPA axis measured using salivary cortisol (shallower slope, higher bedtime level) predicted the rate of progression of aortic stiffness among women

Relations between mud volcanoes, thrust deformation, slope sedimentation, and gas hydrate, offshore north Panama

SeaMARC II swath-mapping and migrated seismic reflection data show a high concentration of mud volcanoes in the primary sediment depocentre along the lower slope of a thrust belt, offshore north Panama. The mud volcanoes are 0.4-2.0 km wide, Sonar reflectivity (backscattering), sediment cores, and seismic stratigraphic relations indicate that the depocentre contains thick sequences of basinal turbidites which are ponded between the anticlinal ridges. The ridges are composed of the deformed turbidites of the Colombian basin and exhibit a strong bottom-simulating reflector (BSR), apparently associated with a gas hydrate layer. Based on the concentration of mud volcanoes along the crests of the anticlinal ridges in the depocentre and the structural position of the BSR, we suggest that folding along the deformation front, sediment ponding leading to differential loading, methane migration and accumulation in the anticlines, and gas hydrate formation are important factors in the development of mud volcanoes in this region.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/28727/1/0000553.pd

Initiation of Strike‐Slip Faults, Serpentinization, and Methane: The Nootka Fault Zone, the Juan de Fuca‐Explorer Plate Boundary

The Nootka fault zone is a ridge‐trench‐trench transform fault that was initiated ~4 Ma when the Explorer ridge became independent of the Juan de Fuca ridge. Multibeam data around the fault zone and a compilation of several seismic reflection surveys provide insight into initiation of strike‐slip faults. Previous interpretations assumed that the two faults seen cutting the seafloor are subparallel to shear between the Explorer and Juan de Fuca plates and formed instantaneously at 4 Ma. Increased data density shows that these faults are subparallel to seafloor magnetic anomalies and appear to have utilized extensional faults formed at the ridge. They are surrounded by numerous buried steeply dipping, small‐offset growth faults; at least some of which are likely still active. Our observations corroborate analogue models of strike‐slip fault initiation that predict formation of Riedel‐like shears within a zone of faulting and that displacement localizes over time. The existence of several long subparallel faults and a very wide zone of faulting has been predicted by models of distributed shear at depth. Along the Nootka fault zone basement has risen by several hundred meters and bright reversed‐polarity reflectors some of which are interpreted to be methane hydrate reflectors are common. Hydration, likely as serpentinization, of the upper mantle could explain both sets of observations: Serpentinization can result in a 30–50% volume expansion and methane is observed in vents driven by this process. Biogenic sources of methane are likely to be present and concentrated by currently active fluid flow in the faulted sediments

Integrating omics to characterize eco‐physiological adaptations: How moose diet and metabolism differ across biogeographic zones

1. With accelerated land conversion and global heating at northern latitudes, it becomes crucial to understand, how life histories of animals in extreme environments adapt to these changes. Animals may either adapt by adjusting foraging behavior or through physiological responses, including adjusting their energy metabolism or both. Until now, it has been difficult to study such adaptations in free‐ranging animals due to methodological constraints that prevent extensive spatiotemporal coverage of ecological and physiological data. 2. Through a novel approach of combining DNA‐metabarcoding and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)‐based metabolomics, we aim to elucidate the links between diets and metabolism in Scandinavian moose Alces alces over three biogeographic zones using a unique dataset of 265 marked individuals. 3. Based on 17 diet items, we identified four different classes of diet types that match browse species availability in respective ecoregions in northern Sweden. Individuals in the boreal zone consumed predominantly pine and had the least diverse diets, while individuals with highest diet diversity occurred in the coastal areas. Males exhibited lower average diet diversity than females. 4. We identified several molecular markers indicating metabolic constraints linked to diet constraints in terms of food availability during winter. While animals consuming pine had higher lipid, phospocholine, and glycerophosphocholine concentrations in their serum than other diet types, birch‐ and willow/aspen‐rich diets exhibit elevated concentrations of several amino acids. The individuals with highest diet diversity had increased levels of ketone bodies, indicating extensive periods of starvation for these individuals. 5. Our results show how the adaptive capacity of moose at the eco‐physiological level varies over a large eco‐geographic scale and how it responds to land use pressures. In light of extensive ongoing climate and land use changes, these findings pave the way for future scenario building for animal adaptive capacity

Long working hours and risk of 50 health conditions and mortality outcomes: a multicohort study in four European countries

Background: Studies on the association between long working hours and health have captured only a narrow range of outcomes (mainly cardiometabolic diseases and depression) and no outcome-wide studies on this topic are available. To achieve wider scope of potential harm, we examined long working hours as a risk factor for a wide range of disease and mortality endpoints. / Methods: The data of this multicohort study were from two population cohorts from Finland (primary analysis, n=59 599) and nine cohorts (replication analysis, n=44 262) from Sweden, Denmark, and the UK, all part of the Individual-participant Meta-analysis in Working Populations (IPD-Work) consortium. Baseline-assessed long working hours (≥55 hours per week) were compared to standard working hours (35-40 h). Outcome measures with follow-up until age 65 years were 46 diseases that required hospital treatment or continuous pharmacotherapy, all-cause, and three cause-specific mortality endpoints, ascertained via linkage to national health and mortality registers. / Findings: 2747 (4·6%) participants in the primary cohorts and 3027 (6·8%) in the replication cohorts worked long hours. After adjustment for age, sex, and socioeconomic status, working long hours was associated with increased risk of cardiovascular death (hazard ratio 1·68; 95% confidence interval 1·08-2·61 in primary analysis and 1·52; 0·90-2·58 in replication analysis), infections (1·37; 1·13-1·67 and 1·45; 1·13-1·87), diabetes (1·18; 1·01-1·38 and 1·41; 0·98-2·02), injuries (1·22; 1·00-1·50 and 1·18; 0·98-1·18) and musculoskeletal disorders (1·15; 1·06-1·26 and 1·13; 1·00-1·27). Working long hours was not associated with all-cause mortality. / Interpretation: Follow-up of 50 health outcomes in four European countries suggests that working long hours is associated with an elevated risk of early cardiovascular death and hospital-treated infections before age 65. Associations, albeit weak, were also observed with diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders and injuries. In these data working long hours was not related to elevated overall mortality. Funding: NordForsk, the Medical Research Council, the National Institute on Aging, the Wellcome Trust, Academy of Finland, and Finnish Work Environment Fund

Contrasting Decollement and Prism Properties over the Sumatra 2004-2005 Earthquake Rupture Boundary

Styles of subduction zone deformation and earthquake rupture dynamics are strongly linked, jointly influencing hazard potential. Seismic reflection profiles across the trench west of Sumatra, Indonesia, show differences across the boundary between the major 2004 and 2005 plate interface earthquakes, which exhibited contrasting earthquake rupture and tsunami generation. In the southern part of the 2004 rupture, we interpret a negative-polarity sedimentary reflector ~500 meters above the subducting oceanic basement as the seaward extension of the plate interface. This predécollement reflector corresponds to unusual prism structure, morphology, and seismogenic behavior that are absent along the 2005 rupture zone. Although margins like the 2004 rupture zone are globally rare, our results suggest that sediment properties influence earthquake rupture, tsunami hazard, and prism development at subducting plate boundaries

Allelic imbalance at 1p36 may predict prognosis of chemoradiation therapy for bladder preservation in patients with invasive bladder cancer

Invasive bladder cancers have been treated by irradiation combined with cis- platinum (CDDP) as a bladder preservative option. The aim of this study was to find a marker for predicting patient outcome as well as clinical response after chemoradiation therapy (CRT) by investigating allelic loss of apoptosis-related genes. A total of 67 transitional cell carcinomas of the bladder treated by CRT (median dose: 32.4 Gy of radiation and 232 mg of CDDP) were studied. We investigated allelic imbalances at 14 loci on chromosomes 17p13 and 1p36 including the p53 and p73 gene regions by fluorescent multiplex PCR based on DNA from paraffin-embedded tumour specimens and peripheral blood. The response to CRT was clinical response (CR) in 21 patients (31%), partial response (PR) in 31 (46%), and no change(NC) in 15 (22%). There was no statistical correlation between treatment response and clinical parameters, such as tumour grade, stage, radiation dose, or CDDP dose. The frequencies of allelic imbalance for TP53 and TP73 were 21 and 56%, respectively; neither was correlated with clinical treatment response and tumour stage or grade. There was no statistical correlation between treatment response and allelic imbalance at the other 12 loci. We found a significant correlation between cancer-specific survival and an imbalance of D1S243 (P=0.0482) or TP73 (P=0.0013) using a Log-rank test, although other loci including TP53 did not correlate with survival (P=0.4529 Multivariate analysis showed performance status (P=0.0047), recurrence (P=0.0017), and radiation doses (P=0.0468) were independent predictive factors for cancer-specific survival. However, an allelic imbalance of TP73 was the most remarkable independent predictive factor of poor patient survival (P=0.0002, risk ratio: 3382). Our results suggest that the allelic loss of the p73 gene predicts a clinical outcome of locally advanced bladder cancer when treated by CRT