Experimental Simulation of Volatile Organic Contributions to Planetary Atmospheres and Surfaces

We present the results of a new simulation of the atmospheric entry heating experienced by extraterrestrial dust particles, quantifying their volatile loss into the early Earth atmosphere and characterising their organic volatile components

Spectral Type and Radial Velocity Variations in Three SRC Variables

SRC variables are M supergiants, precursors to Type II supernovae, that vary in brightness with moderately regular periods of order 100-1000 days. Although identified as pulsating stars that obey their own period-luminosity relation, few have been examined in enough detail to follow the temperature and spectral changes that they undergo during their long cycles. The present study examines such changes for several SRC variables revealed by CCD spectra obtained at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) during 2005-2009, as well as by archival spectra from the DAO (and elsewhere) for some stars from the 1960s to 1980s, and Cambridge radial velocity spectrometer measures for Betelgeuse. Described here is our classification procedure and information on the spectral type and radial velocity changes in three of the stars. The results provide insights into the pulsation mechanism in M supergiants.Comment: To appear in the Odessa Variable Stars 2010 conference proceedings (see http://uavso.org.ua/?page=vs2010), edited by I. Andronov and V. Kovtyuk

Combined material flow analysis and life cycle assessment as a support tool for solid waste management decision making

AbstractMaterial flow analysis (MFA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) have both widely been applied to support solid waste management (SWM) decision making. However, they are often applied independently rather than conjointly. This paper presents an approach that combines the MFA and LCA methodologies to evaluate large and complex SWM systems from an environmental perspective. The approach was applied to evaluate the environmental performance, focusing on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, of a local authority SWM system and to compare it with alternative systems to assess the potential effectiveness of different waste policy measures. The MFA results suggest that national recycling targets are unlikely to be met even if the assessed policies are implemented optimally. It is likely that for the targets to be met, investigated policies would need to be combined with additional policies that target reductions in waste arisings. The LCA results found landfilling of residual waste to be the dominant source of GHG burdens for the existing system, whilst material reprocessing was found to result in GHG benefits. Overall, each of the alternative systems investigated were found to result in lower GHG impacts compared to the existing system, with the diversion of food waste from the residual waste stream found to be potentially the most effective strategy to reduce GHG emissions. The results of this study demonstrate that the complementary methodologies of MFA and LCA can be used in combination to provide policy and decision makers with valuable information about the environmental performance of SWM systems

A novel technique for the pre-concentration and extraction of inositol hexakisphosphate from soil extracts with determination by phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance

Inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6 ) is often the dominant form of soil organic phosphorus (P), but is rarely investigated because of the analytical difficulties encountered in its extraction, separation, and detection in environmental samples. In particular, recent advances in the study of soil organic P with 31 P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) have been of limited use for the study of IP6 , because the technique does not discriminate between IP6 and other forms of P. This was addressed by developing a novel analytical procedure using the retentive properties of gel-filtration gels for IP6, which allows the combined selective extraction and pre-concentration of IP 6 from soil extracts with determination by 31 P NMR. While the technique is still in the developmental stage, the results demonstrate that the gel does not interfere with 31 13 NMR analysis and retains IP6 to concentrations well above those required to give clear spectral signals. The technique has considerable potential for application to the study of IP6 in soil extracts and water samples and, with development, could help to answer fundamental questions regarding the dynamics of organic P in the environment

Session B5: Efficiency of a Nature-Like Bypass Channel at Rodley Weir, River Aire

Abstract: Man-made physical barriers (weirs) have disrupted longitudinal connectivity in many river systems around the world for centuries. Impacts of weirs on fish communities centers on the reduced ability of fish to perform upstream migrations. To counter the potential effects these structures are having on fish communities, a number of fish pass designs have been developed to ease passage around potential barriers. To monitor the effectiveness of a recently constructed nature like bypass on the River Aire, Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) systems were installed to observe movements of brown trout (Salmo trutta). The array consists of four swim through antennas, two at either end of the pass so that swimming direction could be determined. A total of 111 wild brown trout were caught, PIT tagged and released 380 m downstream of the fish pass entrance. In total 57 brown trout (51%) were detected on the most downstream loop, and of these 49 successfully entered the pass (86%). Thirtyeight of these successfully exited the pass in an upstream direction (78%). Further analysis found that a select number of fish used the pass as an area of refuge during high flows. The possible reasons for these findings are discussed in relation to flow, temperature, time of day, season and fish size. This information is important to improve our understanding of fish pass performance, thus informing future best practice guidance of fish passage designs

Environmental signal shredding on sandy coastlines

How storm events contribute to long-term shoreline change over decades to centuries remains an open question in coastal research. Sand and gravel coasts exhibit remarkable resilience to event-driven disturbances, and, in settings where sea level is rising, shorelines retain almost no detailed information about their own past positions. Here, we use a high-frequency, multi-decadal observational record of shoreline position to demonstrate quantitative indications of morphodynamic turbulence – “signal shredding” – in a sandy beach system. We find that, much as in other dynamic sedimentary systems, processes of sediment transport that affect shoreline position at relatively short timescales may obscure or erase evidence of external forcing. This suggests that the physical effects of annual (or intra-annual) forcing events, including major storms, may convey less about the dynamics of long-term shoreline change – and vice versa – than coastal researchers might wish

Investigating the physical properties of transiting hot Jupiters with the 1.5-m Kuiper Telescope

We present new photometric data of 11 hot Jupiter transiting exoplanets (CoRoT-12b, HAT-P-5b, HAT-P-12b, HAT-P-33b, HAT-P-37b, WASP-2b, WASP-24b, WASP-60b, WASP-80b, WASP-103b, XO-3b) in order to update their planetary parameters and to constrain information about their atmospheres. These observations of CoRoT-12b, HAT-P-37b and WASP-60b are the first follow-up data since their discovery. Additionally, the first near-UV transits of WASP-80b and WASP-103b are presented. We compare the results of our analysis with previous work to search for transit timing variations (TTVs) and a wavelength dependence in the transit depth. TTVs may be evidence of a third body in the system and variations in planetary radius with wavelength can help constrain the properties of the exoplanet's atmosphere. For WASP-103b and XO-3b, we find a possible variation in the transit depths that may be evidence of scattering in their atmospheres. The B-band transit depth of HAT-P-37b is found to be smaller than its near-IR transit depth and such a variation may indicate TiO/VO absorption. These variations are detected from 2-4.6$\sigma$, so follow-up observations are needed to confirm these results. Additionally, a flat spectrum across optical wavelengths is found for 5 of the planets (HAT-P-5b, HAT-P-12b, WASP-2b, WASP-24b, WASP-80b), suggestive that clouds may be present in their atmospheres. We calculate a refined orbital period and ephemeris for all the targets, which will help with future observations. No TTVs are seen in our analysis with the exception of WASP-80b and follow-up observations are needed to confirm this possible detection.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, 9 Tables. Light Curves available online. Accepted to MNRAS (2017 August 25

Potential contribution of lysed bacterial cells to phosphorus solubilisation in two rewetted Australian pasture soils

Soil drying renders considerable amounts of phosphorus soluble upon rewetting, which may be partly derived from lysed microbial cells. Using direct bacterial cell counting in water and tetra-sodium pyrophosphate extracts of two Australian pasture soils, we found that almost all extractable cells were lysed following the rewetting of dry soils. The amounts of phosphorus in the lysed cells corresponded closely to the increases in water-extractable phosphorus following soil drying, suggesting that bacterial cell lysis is a major source of the released phosphorus