388 research outputs found
Temperature influence on the carbon isotopic composition of Orbulina universa and Globigerina bulloides (planktonic foraminifera)
Laboratory experiments with the planktonic foraminifera Orbulina universa (symbiotic) and Globigerina bulloides (nonsymbiotic) were used to examine the effects of temperature, irradiance (symbiont photosynthesis), [CO32-], [HPO42-], and ontogeny on shell d13C values. In ambient seawater ([CO32-] = 171 mmol kg-1), the d13C of O. universa shells grown under low light (LL) levels is insensitive to temperature and records the d13C value of seawater TCO2. In contrast, the d13C of high light (HL) shells increases ~0.4â° across 15-25°C (+0.050â°/°C). This suggests that the d13C enrichment due to symbiont photosynthetic activity is temperature-dependent. A comparison of HL O. universa grown in elevated [CO32-] seawater with ambient specimens shows that temperature does not affect the slope of the d13C/[CO32-] relationship previously described [Spero et al., 1997]. The d13C of G. bulloides shells decreases across the 15-24°C temperature range and d13C:temperature slopes decrease with increasing shell size (-0.13, -0.10, and -0.09â°/°C in 11- 12-, and 13-chambered shells, respectively). The pattern of lower d13C values at higher temperatures likely results from the incorporation of more respired CO2 into the shell at higher metabolic rates. The d13C of HL O. universa increases with increased seawater [HPO42-]
Long Range Forces from Two Neutrino Exchange Revisited
The exchange of two massless neutrinos gives rise to a long range force which
couples to weakly charged matter. As has been noted previously in the
literature, the potential for this force is \VN \propto G_{F}^2 / r^5 with
monopole-monople, spin-spin and more complicated interactions. Unfortunately,
this is far too small to be observed in present day experiments. We calculate
\VN explicitly in the electroweak theory, and show that under very general
assumptions forces arising from the exchange of two massless fermions can at
best yield potentials.Comment: 5 pages + 1 figure (not included), UFIFT-HEP-92-28/HUTP-92-A04
Drones, Virtual Reality, and Modeling: Communicating Catastrophic Dam Failure
Dam failures occur worldwide and can be economically and ecologically devastating. Communicating the scale of these risks to the general public and decision-makers is imperative. Two-dimensional (2D) dam failure hydraulic models inform owners and floodplain managers of flood regimes but have limitations when shared with non-specialists. This study addresses these limitations by constructing a 3D Virtual Reality (VR) environment to display the 1976 Teton Dam disaster case study using a pipeline composed of (1) 2D hydraulic model data (extrapolated into 3D), (2) a 3D reconstructed dam, and (3) a terrain model processed from UAS (Uncrewed Airborne System) imagery using Structure from Motion photogrammetry. This study validates the VR environment pipeline on the Oculus Quest 2 VR Headset with the criteria: immersion fidelity, movement, immersive soundscape, and agreement with historical observations and terrain. Through this VR environment, we develop an effective method to share historical events and, with future work, improve hazard awareness; applications of this method could improve citizen engagement with Early Warning Systems. This paper establishes a pipeline to produce a visualization tool for merging UAS imagery, Virtual Reality, digital scene creation, and sophisticated 2D hydraulic models to communicate catastrophic flooding events from natural or human-made levees or dams
Technical challenges and solutions in representing lakes when using WRF in downscaling applications
The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is commonly used to make high-resolution future projections of regional climate by downscaling global climate model (GCM) outputs. Because the GCM fields are typically at a much coarser spatial resolution than the target regional downscaled fields, lakes are often poorly resolved in the driving global fields, if they are resolved at all. In such an application, using WRF's default interpolation methods can result in unrealistic lake temperatures and ice cover at inland water points. Prior studies have shown that lake temperatures and ice cover impact the simulation of other surface variables, such as air temperatures and precipitation, two fields that are often used in regional climate applications to understand the impacts of climate change on human health and the environment. Here, alternative methods for setting lake surface variables in WRF for downscaling simulations are presented and contrasted
Evolution of the density contrast in inhomogeneous dust models
With the help of families of density contrast indicators, we study the
tendency of gravitational systems to become increasingly lumpy with time.
Depending upon their domain of definition, these indicators could be local or
global. We make a comparative study of these indicators in the context of
inhomogeneous cosmological models of Lemaitre--Tolman and Szekeres. In
particular, we look at the temporal asymptotic behaviour of these indicators
and ask under what conditions, and for which class of models, they evolve
monotonically in time. We find that for the case of ever-expanding models,
there is a larger class of indicators that grow monotonically with time,
whereas the corresponding class for the recollapsing models is more restricted.
Nevertheless, in the absence of decaying modes, indicators exist which grow
monotonically with time for both ever-expanding and recollapsing models
simultaneously. On the other hand, no such indicators may found which grow
monotonically if the decaying modes are allowed to exist. We also find the
conditions for these indicators to be non-divergent at the initial singularity
in both models. Our results can be of potential relevance for understanding
structure formation in inhomogeneous settings and in debates regarding
gravitational entropy and arrow of time. In particular, the spatial dependence
of turning points in inhomogeneous cosmologies may result in multiple density
contrast arrows in recollapsing models over certain epochs. We also find that
different notions of asymptotic homogenisation may be deduced, depending upon
the density contrast indicators used.Comment: 22 pages, 1 figure. To be published in Classical and Quantum Gravit
Benefits of Artificially Generated Gravity Gradients for Interferometric Gravitational-Wave Detectors
We present an approach to experimentally evaluate gravity gradient noise, a
potentially limiting noise source in advanced interferometric gravitational
wave (GW) detectors. In addition, the method can be used to provide sub-percent
calibration in phase and amplitude of modern interferometric GW detectors.
Knowledge of calibration to such certainties shall enhance the scientific
output of the instruments in case of an eventual detection of GWs. The method
relies on a rotating symmetrical two-body mass, a Dynamic gravity Field
Generator (DFG). The placement of the DFG in the proximity of one of the
interferometer's suspended test masses generates a change in the local
gravitational field detectable with current interferometric GW detectors.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure
Constraints on Light Pseudoscalars Implied by Tests of the Gravitational Inverse-Square Law
The exchange of light pseudoscalars between fermions leads to a
spin-independent potential in order g^4, where g is the Yukawa
pseudoscalar-fermion coupling constant. This potential gives rise to detectable
violations of both the weak equivalence principle (WEP) and the gravitational
inverse-square law (ISL), even if g is quite small. We show that when
previously derived WEP constraints are combined with those arisingfrom ISL
tests, a direct experimental limit on the Yukawa coupling of light
pseudoscalars to neutrons can be inferred for the first time (g_n^2/4pi < 1.6
\times 10^-7), along with a new (and significantly improved) limit on the
coupling of light pseudoscalars to protons.Comment: 12 pages, Revtex, with 1 Postscript figure (submitted to Physical
Review Letters
The potential effects of climate change on air quality across the conterminous US at 2030 under three Representative Concentration Pathways
The potential impacts of climate change on regional ozone (O3) and
fine particulate (PM2.5) air quality in the United States (US) are
investigated by linking global climate simulations with regional-scale
meteorological and chemical transport models. Regional climate at 2000 and
at 2030 under three Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) is simulated by
using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to downscale 11-year
time slices from the Community Earth System Model (CESM). The downscaled
meteorology is then used with the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ)
model to simulate air quality during each of these 11-year periods. The
analysis isolates the future air quality differences arising from
climate-driven changes in meteorological parameters and specific natural
emissions sources that are strongly influenced by meteorology. Other factors
that will affect future air quality, such as anthropogenic air pollutant
emissions and chemical boundary conditions, are unchanged across the
simulations. The regional climate fields represent historical daily maximum
and daily minimum temperatures well, with mean biases of less than 2 K for most
regions of the US and most seasons of the year and good representation of
variability. Precipitation in the central and eastern US is well simulated
for the historical period, with seasonal and annual biases generally less
than 25 %, with positive biases exceeding 25 % in the western US throughout
the year and in part of the eastern US during summer. Maximum daily 8 h
ozone (MDA8 O3) is projected to increase during summer and autumn in
the central and eastern US. The increase in summer mean MDA8 O3 is
largest under RCP8.5, exceeding 4 ppb in some locations, with smaller
seasonal mean increases of up to 2 ppb simulated during autumn and changes
during spring generally less than 1 ppb. Increases are magnified at the upper
end of the O3 distribution, particularly where projected increases in
temperature are greater. Annual average PM2.5 concentration changes
range from â1.0 to 1.0 ”g mâ3. Organic PM2.5
concentrations increase during summer and autumn due to increased biogenic
emissions. Aerosol nitrate decreases during winter, accompanied by lesser
decreases in ammonium and sulfate, due to warmer temperatures causing
increased partitioning to the gas phase. Among meteorological factors
examined to account for modeled changes in pollution, temperature and
isoprene emissions are found to have the largest changes and the greatest
impact on O3 concentrations.</p
Sub-millimeter Tests of the Gravitational Inverse-square Law
Motivated by a variety of theories that predict new effects, we tested the
gravitational 1/r^2 law at separations between 10.77 mm and 137 microns using
two different 10-fold azimuthally symmetric torsion pendulums and rotating
10-fold symmetric attractors. Our work improves upon other experiments by up to
a factor of about 100. We found no deviation from Newtonian physics at the 95%
confidence level and interpret these results as constraints on extensions of
the Standard Model that predict Yukawa or power-law forces. We set a constraint
on the largest single extra dimension (assuming toroidal compactification and
that one extra dimension is significantly larger than all the others) of R <=
160 microns, and on two equal-sized large extra dimensions of R <= 130 microns.
Yukawa interactions with |alpha| >= 1 are ruled out at 95% confidence for
lambda >= 197 microns. Extra-dimensions scenarios stabilized by radions are
restricted to unification masses M >= 3.0 TeV/c^2, regardless of the number of
large extra dimensions. We also provide new constraints on power-law potentials
V(r)\propto r^{-k} with k between 2 and 5 and on the gamma_5 couplings of
pseudoscalars with m <= 10 meV/c^2.Comment: 34 pages, 38 figure
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