Future ocean acidification in the Canada Basin and surrounding Arctic Ocean from CMIP5 earth system models

Six Earth system models that include an interactive carbon cycle and have contributed results to the 5th Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) are evaluated with respect to Arctic Ocean acidification. Projections under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 8.5 and 4.5 consistently show reductions in the bidecadal mean surface pH from about 8.1 in 1986-2005 to 7.7/7.9 by 2066-2085 in the Canada Basin, closely linked to reductions in the calcium carbonate saturation state (A,C) from about 1.4 (2.0) to 0.7 (1.0) for aragonite (calcite) for RCP8.5. The large but opposite effects of dilution and biological drawdown of DIC and dilution of alkalinity lead to a small seasonal amplitude change in , as well as intermodel differences in the timing and sign of the summer minimum. The Canada Basin shows a characteristic layering in : affected by ice melt and inflowing Pacific water, shallow undersaturated layers form at the surface and subsurface, creating a shallow saturation horizon which expands from the surface downward. This is in addition to the globally observed deep saturation horizon which is continuously expanding upward with increasing CO2 uptake. The Eurasian Basin becomes undersaturated much later than the rest of the Arctic. These CMIP5 model results strengthen earlier findings, although large intermodel differences remain: Below 200 m (A) varies by up to 1.0 in the Canada Basin and the deep saturation horizon varies from 2000 to 4000 m among the models. Differences of projected acidification changes are primarily related to sea ice retreat and responses of wind mixing and stratification

Semiclassical Distorted Wave Model Analysis of the (π−,K+)(\pi^-,K^+) Σ\Sigma Formation Inclusive Spectrum

$(\pi^-,K^+)$ hyperon production inclusive spectra with $p_\pi =1.2$ GeV/c measured at KEK on $^{12}$C and $^{28}$Si are analyzed by the semiclassical distorted wave model. Single-particle wave functions of the target nucleus are treated using Wigner transformation. This method is able to account for the energy and angular dependences of the elementary process in nuclear medium without introducing the factorization approximation frequently employed. Calculations of the $(\pi^+,K^+)$ $\Lambda$ formation process, for which there is no free parameter since the $\Lambda$ s.p. potential is known, demonstrate that the present model is useful to describe inclusive spectra. It is shown that in order to account for the experimental data of the $\Sigma^-$ formation spectra a repulsive $\Sigma$-nucleus potential is necessary whose magnitude is not so strong as around 100 MeV previously suggested.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, accepted in Phys. Rev.

Randomized Controlled Trial on Effectiveness of Ultrasonography Screening for Breast Cancer in Women Aged 40–49 (J-START): Research Design

In cancer screening, it is essential to undertake effective screening with appropriate methodology, which should be supported by evidence of a reduced mortality rate. At present, mammography is the only method for breast cancer screening with such evidence. However, mammography does not achieve sufficient accuracy in breasts with high density at ages below 50. Although ultrasonography achieves better accuracy in Breast Cancer detection even in dense breasts, the effectiveness has not been verified. We have planned a randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of ultrasonography in women aged 40–49, with a design to study 50 000 women with mammography and ultrasonography (intervention group), and 50 000 controls with mammography only (control group). The participants are scheduled to take second round screening with the same modality 2 years on. The primary endpoints are sensitivity and specificity, and the secondary endpoint is the rate of advanced breast cancers

The rapid response of the Canada Basin to climate forcing : from bellwether to alarm bells

Author Posting. © Oceanography Society, 2011. This article is posted here by permission of Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 24 no. 3 (2011): 146–159, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2011.66.Sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean diminished significantly during the first decade of the 2000s, most particularly in the Canada Basin where the loss of both multiyear and first-year ice was greater than in the other three subbasins. Using data collected during basin-wide surveys conducted from 2003–2010 together with data collected during the 1990s and 2000s at one station in the southern Canada Basin, we investigate the response of the Canada Basin water column to this significant decrease in ice cover. Changes were evident from the surface down to the Atlantic layer: some changes were the result of Beaufort Gyre forcing on regional processes, others were the result of Arctic Ocean atmospheric forcing on a hemispheric scale and large-scale advection. These changes have troubling consequences for the ecosystem.We acknowledge support from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the US National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs (grant OPP-0424864), and the Canadian International Polar Year office

On the stability of renormalizable expansions in three-dimensional gravity

Preliminary investigations are made for the stability of the $1/N$ expansion in three-dimensional gravity coupled to various matter fields, which are power-counting renormalizable. For unitary matters, a tachyonic pole appears in the spin-2 part of the leading graviton propagator, which implies the unstable flat space-time, unless the higher-derivative terms are introduced. As another possibility to avoid this spin-2 tachyon, we propose Einstein gravity coupled to non-unitary matters. It turns out that a tachyon appears in the spin-0 or -1 part for any linear gauges in this case, but it can be removed if non-minimally coupled scalars are included. We suggest an interesting model which may be stable and possess an ultraviolet fixed point.Comment: 32 pages. (A further discussion to avoid tachyons is included. To be Published in Physical Review D.

Bursts from Soft Gamma-Ray Repeaters triggered by HETE-2

HETE-2 triggered 166 events from SGR1900+14 and SGR1806−20 in summer periods from June 18 2001 to September 8 2004. Among these events, 6 events were localized to SGR1900+14 and 53 events to SGR1806−20. We performed the energy spectral analyses of bursts from SGR1900+14 and SGR1806−20 using the data of theWXM and FREGATE onboard HETE-2. Wefind that thee nergy spectra of SGR1900+14 and SGR1806−20 are well described by a sum of two blackbody models with temperatures of ∼4keVand ∼11 keV

Instrument Overview of the JEM-EUSO Mission

JEM-EUSO with a large and wide-angle telescope mounted on the International Space Station (ISS) has been planned as a space mission to explore extremes of the universe through the investigation of extreme energy cosmic rays by detecting photons which accompany air showers developed in the earth's atmosphere. JEM-EUSO will be launched by Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) and mounted at the Exposed Facility of Japanese Experiment Module (JEM/EF) of the ISS in the second phase of utilization plan. The telescope consists of high transmittance optical Fresnel lenses with a diameter of 2.5m, 200k channels of multi anode-photomultiplier tubes, focal surface front-end, readout, trigger and system electronics. An infrared camera and a LIDAR system will be also used to monitor the earth's atmosphere

Dissolved iron in the Arctic shelf seas and surface waters of the Central Arctic Ocean: Impact of Arctic river water and ice-melt

Key Points - DFe in the Arctic shelves and surface is linked to freshwater and alkalinity - Fluvial input main contributor to high DFe, low alkalinity in Central Arctic - Remineralisation and biological depletion determine DFe in the Arctic Shelf Seas Abstract Concentrations of dissolved (10 nM) in the bottom waters of the Laptev Sea shelf may be attributed to either sediment resuspension, sinking of brine or regeneration of DFe in the lower layers. A significant correlation (R2 = 0.60) between salinity and DFe is observed. Using δ18O, salinity ,nutrients and total alkalinity data, the main source for the high (>2 nM) DFe concentrations in the Amundsen and Makarov Basins is identified as (Eurasian) river water, transported with the Transpolar Drift (TPD). On the North American side of the TPD, the DFe concentrations are low ( 4) above the shelf and low ( < 4) off the shelf)

Tunneling Desorption of Single Hydrogen on the Surface of Titanium Dioxide

We investigated the reaction mechanism of the desorption of single hydrogen from a titanium dioxide surface excited by the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). Analysis of the desorption yield, in combination with theoretical calculations, indicates the crucial role played by the applied electric field. Instead of facilitating desorption by reducing the barrier height, the applied electric field causes a reduction in the barrier width, which, when coupled with the electron excitation induced by the STM tip, leads to the tunneling desorption of the hydrogen. A significant reduction in the desorption yield was observed when deuterium was used instead of hydrogen, providing further support for the tunneling-desorption mechanism