The 1979 Southeastern Virginia Urban Plume Study (SEV-UPS): Surface and airborne studies

The operation of two surface monitoring stations (one in downtown Norfolk, Virginia, one south of the city near the Great Dismal Swamp) and the collection of 40 hours of airborne measurements is described. Surface site measurements of ozone, oxides of nitrogen, sulfur dioxide, temperature, dew point, b sub seat, and condensation nuclei were made. Instrument calibrations, quality assurance audits, and preliminary data analysis in support of the Urban Plume Study were also made. The air pollution problems that were addressed are discussed. Data handling procedures followed for the surface stations are presented. The operation of the aircraft sampling platform is described. Aircraft sampling procedures are discussed. A preliminary descriptive analysis of the aircraft data is given along with data or plots for surface sites, airborne studies, hydrocarbon species, and instrument performance audits. Several of the aircraft flights clearly show the presence of an urban ozone plume downwind of Norfolk in the direction of the mean wind flow

Propagation of cosmic-ray nucleons in the Galaxy

We describe a method for the numerical computation of the propagation of primary and secondary nucleons, primary electrons, and secondary positrons and electrons. Fragmentation and energy losses are computed using realistic distributions for the interstellar gas and radiation fields, and diffusive reacceleration is also incorporated. The models are adjusted to agree with the observed cosmic-ray B/C and 10Be/9Be ratios. Models with diffusion and convection do not account well for the observed energy dependence of B/C, while models with reacceleration reproduce this easily. The height of the halo propagation region is determined, using recent 10Be/9Be measurements, as >4 kpc for diffusion/convection models and 4-12 kpc for reacceleration models. For convection models we set an upper limit on the velocity gradient of dV/dz < 7 km/s/kpc. The radial distribution of cosmic-ray sources required is broader than current estimates of the SNR distribution for all halo sizes. Full details of the numerical method used to solve the cosmic-ray propagation equation are given.Comment: 15 pages including 23 ps-figures and 3 tables, latex2e, uses emulateapj.sty (ver. of 11 May 1998, enclosed), apjfonts.sty, timesfonts.sty. To be published in ApJ 1998, v.509 (December 10 issue). More details can be found at http://www.gamma.mpe-garching.mpg.de/~aws/aws.html Some references are correcte

Caring for our country: wind erosion extent and severity maps for Australia, final report

The Wind Erosion Extent and Severity Maps (WEESMAP) project for Australia has been completed. As a result of the project significant improvements were made to both the soil and vegetation input data. These improvements include: • A new dynamic erodibility mask was created for the model,based on Fractional Cover Index (FCI) of Guerschman et al. (2009). • Increasing the soil descriptions available from 12 to 29 soils. • Replacing LAI GIS layer with the MODIS LAI layer, which no longer uses empirical relationships developed for AVHRR NDVI product. • The model was extend to a 10km resolution for the whole of the continent. Statistical comparison of the CEMSYS model before (Version 5) and after the soil/vegetation improvements (Version 6) shows that the model over estimated daily dust concentrations at 26 of the DustWatch nodes in 2009 by approximately 3 fold for V5 and underestimated it by 0.6 for V6. The mean error between modelled and observed dust levels was reduced for V6 (0.0227 to 0.0084). Finally V6 explained twice the level of variability in the observed data compared to V5 (0.2292 to 0.3956). Given the result was comparing 26 stations over 365 days, V6 appears extremely robust over the yearly period. In addition, the time series of available data was extended significantly. At the end of the project data the following data is available: • Version 650 km data is available from March2000–June2012. • Version 510 km dat is available for NSW/Victoria from February2000–June2012. • Version 610 km data is available nationally for 2002,2008,and 2009. Finally several other coding improvements were made to the model to increase performance. Consequently, it is now possible to produce 50 km and 10 km maps within 10 days of the external MODIS and Atmospheric data becoming available. This means it is now possible to use the CEMSYS in monthly reporting products

Synchrotron radiation from molecular clouds

Observations of the properties of dense molecular clouds are critical in understanding the process of star-formation. One of the most important, but least understood, is the role of the magnetic fields. We discuss the possibility of using high-resolution, high-sensitivity radio observations to measure the in-situ synchrotron radiation from these molecular clouds. If the cosmic-ray particles penetrate clouds as expected, then we can measure the B-field strength directly using radio data. So far, this signature has never been detected from the collapsing clouds themselves and would be a unique probe of the magnetic field. Dense cores are typically ~0.05 pc in size, corresponding to ~arcsec at ~kpc distances, and flux density estimates are ~mJy at 1 GHz. They should be detectable, for example with the Square Kilometre Array.Comment: Proceedings of Conference "Cosmic Rays and their InterStellar Medium Environment", (CRISM-2014), June 24-27, 2014, Montpellier, France. PoS(CRISM2014)03

Adapting the Assessing British Sign Language Development: Receptive Skills Test into American sign language

Signed languages continue to be a key element of deaf education programs that incorporate a bilingual approach to teaching and learning. In order to monitor the success of bilingual deaf education programs, and in particular to monitor the progress of children acquiring signed language, it is essential to develop an assessment tool of signed language skills. Although researchers have developed some checklists and experimental tests related to American Sign Language (ASL) assessment, at this time a standardized measure of ASL does not exist. There have been tests developed in other signed languages, for example, British Sign Language, that can serve as models in this area. The purpose of this study was to adapt the Assessing British Sign Language Development: Receptive Skills Test for use in ASL in order to begin the process of developing a standardized measure of ASL skills. The results suggest that collaboration between researchers in different signed languages can provide a valuable contribution toward filling the gap in the area of signed language assessment

Development of a theory of the spectral reflectance of minerals, part 2

Theory of diffuse reflectance of particulate media including garnet, glass, corundum powders, and mixture

EGRET Observations of the Diffuse Gamma-Ray Emission in Orion: Analysis Through Cycle 6

We present a study of the high-energy diffuse emission observed toward Orion by the Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. The total exposure by EGRET in this region has increased by more than a factor of two since a previous study. A simple model for the diffuse emission adequately fits the data; no significant point sources are detected in the region studied ($l = 195^\circ$ to $220^\circ$ and $b = -25^\circ to -10^\circ$) in either the composite dataset or in two separate groups of EGRET viewing periods considered. The gamma-ray emissivity in Orion is found to be $(1.65 \pm 0.11) \times 10^{-26} {s sr}^{-1}$ for E > 100 MeV, and the differential emissivity is well-described as a combination of contributions from cosmic-ray electrons and protons with approximately the local density. The molecular mass calibrating ratio is $N(H_2)/W_{CO} = (1.35 \pm 0.15) \times 10^{20} cm^{-2} (K km/s)^{-1}$.Comment: 16 pages, including 5 figures. 3 Tables as three separate files. Latex document, needs AASTEX style files. Accepted for publication in Ap

Diffuse continuum gamma rays from the Galaxy

A new study of the diffuse Galactic gamma-ray continuum radiation is presented, using a cosmic-ray propagation model which includes nucleons, antiprotons, electrons, positrons, and synchrotron radiation. Our treatment of the inverse Compton (IC) scattering includes the effect of anisotropic scattering in the Galactic interstellar radiation field (ISRF) and a new evaluation of the ISRF itself. Models based on locally measured electron and nucleon spectra and synchrotron constraints are consistent with gamma-ray measurements in the 30-500 MeV range, but outside this range excesses are apparent. A harder nucleon spectrum is considered but fitting to gamma rays causes it to violate limits from positrons and antiprotons. A harder interstellar electron spectrum allows the gamma-ray spectrum to be fitted above 1 GeV as well, and this can be further improved when combined with a modified nucleon spectrum which still respects the limits imposed by antiprotons and positrons. A large electron/IC halo is proposed which reproduces well the high-latitude variation of gamma-ray emission. The halo contribution of Galactic emission to the high-latitude gamma-ray intensity is large, with implications for the study of the diffuse extragalactic component and signatures of dark matter. The constraints provided by the radio synchrotron spectral index do not allow all of the <30 MeV gamma-ray emission to be explained in terms of a steep electron spectrum unless this takes the form of a sharp upturn below 200 MeV. This leads us to prefer a source population as the origin of the excess low-energy gamma rays.Comment: Final version accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal (vol. 537, July 10, 2000 issue); Many Updates; 20 pages including 49 ps-figures, uses emulateapj.sty. More details can be found at http://www.gamma.mpe-garching.mpg.de/~aws/aws.htm