60 research outputs found
Financing Marine Conservation: A Menu of Options
This guide describes over 30 mechanisms for financing the conservation of marine biodiversity, both within and outside of MPAs. Its main purpose is to familiarize conservation professionals i.e., the managers and staff of government conservation agencies, international donors, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) with a menu of options for financing the conservation of marine and coastal biodiversity. A number of economic incentive mechanisms for marine conservation (as contrasted with revenue-raising mechanisms) are also presented in section 5 (on Real Estate and Development Rights) and section 6 (on Fishing Industry Revenues). Each section provides a description of the financing mechanism and examples showing how the mechanism has been used to finance marine conservation. In some cases, even though a mechanism may have only been used to finance terrestrial conservation, it has been included in this guide because of its potential to also serve as a new source of funding for marine conservation. This guide is not intended to provide detailed instructions on how to establish and implement each of the different conservation financing mechanisms. Instead references are provided at the end of each section for sources of additional information about each of the mechanisms described. Citations to specific references are also included in the text in parentheses
A New Distance to The Antennae Galaxies (NGC 4038/39) Based on the Type Ia Supernova 2007sr
Traditionally, the distance to NGC 4038/39 has been derived from the systemic
recession velocity, yielding about 20 Mpc for H_0 = 72 km/s/Mpc. Recently, this
widely adopted distance has been challenged based on photometry of the presumed
tip of the red giant branch (TRGB), which seems to yield a shorter distance of
13.3+-1.0 Mpc and, with it, nearly 1 mag lower luminosities and smaller radii
for objects in this prototypical merger. Here we present a new distance
estimate based on observations of the Type Ia supernova (SN) 2007sr in the
southern tail, made at Las Campanas Observatory as part of the Carnegie
Supernova Project. The resulting distance of D(SN Ia) = 22.3+-2.8 Mpc [(m-M)_0
= 31.74+-0.27 mag] is in good agreement with a refined distance estimate based
on the recession velocity and the large-scale flow model developed by Tonry and
collaborators, D(flow) = 22.5+-2.8 Mpc. We point out three serious problems
that a short distance of 13.3 Mpc would entail, and trace the claimed short
distance to a likely misidentification of the TRGB. Reanalyzing Hubble Space
Telescope (HST) data in the Archive with an improved method, we find a TRGB
fainter by 0.9 mag and derive from it a preliminary new TRGB distance of
D(TRGB) = 20.0+-1.6 Mpc. Finally, assessing our three distance estimates we
recommend using a conservative, rounded value of D = 22+-3 Mpc as the best
currently available distance to The Antennae.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 1 table (emulateapj; uses amsmath package).
Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 136. Figs. 1 & 2
degraded to reduce file size
The Carnegie Supernova Project: First Near-Infrared Hubble Diagram to z~0.7
The Carnegie Supernova Project (CSP) is designed to measure the luminosity
distance for Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) as a function of redshift, and to set
observational constraints on the dark energy contribution to the total energy
content of the Universe. The CSP differs from other projects to date in its
goal of providing an I-band {rest-frame} Hubble diagram. Here we present the
first results from near-infrared (NIR) observations obtained using the Magellan
Baade telescope for SNe Ia with 0.1 < z < 0.7. We combine these results with
those from the low-redshift CSP at z <0.1 (Folatelli et al. 2009). We present
light curves and an I-band Hubble diagram for this first sample of 35 SNe Ia
and we compare these data to 21 new SNe Ia at low redshift. These data support
the conclusion that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating. When
combined with independent results from baryon acoustic oscillations (Eisenstein
et al. 2005), these data yield Omega_m = 0.27 +/- 0.0 (statistical), and
Omega_DE = 0.76 +/- 0.13 (statistical) +/- 0.09 (systematic), for the matter
and dark energy densities, respectively. If we parameterize the data in terms
of an equation of state, w, assume a flat geometry, and combine with baryon
acoustic oscillations, we find that w = -1.05 +/- 0.13 (statistical) +/- 0.09
(systematic). The largest source of systematic uncertainty on w arises from
uncertainties in the photometric calibration, signaling the importance of
securing more accurate photometric calibrations for future supernova cosmology
programs. Finally, we conclude that either the dust affecting the luminosities
of SNe Ia has a different extinction law (R_V = 1.8) than that in the Milky Way
(where R_V = 3.1), or that there is an additional intrinsic color term with
luminosity for SNe Ia independent of the decline rate.Comment: 44 pages, 23 figures, 9 tables; Accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
The UV-Optical Color Dependence of Galaxy Clustering in the Local Universe
We measure the UV-optical color dependence of galaxy clustering in the local
universe. Using the clean separation of the red and blue sequences made
possible by the NUV - r color-magnitude diagram, we segregate the galaxies into
red, blue and intermediate "green" classes. We explore the clustering as a
function of this segregation by removing the dependence on luminosity and by
excluding edge-on galaxies as a means of a non-model dependent veto of highly
extincted galaxies. We find that \xi (r_p, \pi) for both red and green galaxies
shows strong redshift space distortion on small scales -- the "finger-of-God"
effect, with green galaxies having a lower amplitude than is seen for the red
sequence, and the blue sequence showing almost no distortion. On large scales,
\xi (r_p, \pi) for all three samples show the effect of large-scale streaming
from coherent infall. On scales 1 Mpc/h < r_p < 10 Mpc/h, the projected
auto-correlation function w_p(r_p) for red and green galaxies fits a power-law
with slope \gamma ~ 1.93 and amplitude r_0 ~ 7.5 and 5.3, compared with \gamma
~ 1.75 and r_0 ~ 3.9 Mpc/h for blue sequence galaxies. Compared to the
clustering of a fiducial L* galaxy, the red, green, and blue have a relative
bias of 1.5, 1.1, and 0.9 respectively. The w_p(r_p) for blue galaxies display
an increase in convexity at ~ 1 Mpc/h, with an excess of large scale
clustering. Our results suggest that the majority of blue galaxies are likely
central galaxies in less massive halos, while red and green galaxies have
larger satellite fractions, and preferentially reside in virialized structures.
If blue sequence galaxies migrate to the red sequence via processes like
mergers or quenching that take them through the green valley, such a
transformation may be accompanied by a change in environment in addition to any
change in luminosity and color.Comment: accepted by MNRA
The Carnegie Hubble Program: The Leavitt Law at 3.6 \mu m and 4.5 \mu m in the Large Magellanic Cloud
The Carnegie Hubble Program (CHP) is designed to improve the extragalactic
distance scale using data from the post-cryogenic era of Spitzer. The ultimate
goal is a determination of the Hubble constant to an accuracy of 2%. This paper
is the first in a series on the Cepheid population of the Large Magellanic
Cloud, and focusses on the period-luminosity relations (Leavitt laws) that will
be used, in conjunction with observations of Milky Way Cepheids, to set the
slope and zero--point of the Cepheid distance scale in the mid-infrared. To
this end, we have obtained uniformly-sampled light curves for 85 LMC Cepheids,
having periods between 6 and 140 days. Period-luminosity and period-color
relations are presented in the 3.6 \mu m and 4.5\mu m bands. We demonstrate
that the 3.6 \mu m band is a superb distance indicator. The cyclical variation
of the [3.6]-[4.5] color has been measured for the first time. We attribute the
amplitude and phase of the color curves to the dissociation and recombination
of CO molecules in the Cepheid's atmosphere. The CO affects only the 4.5 \mu m
flux making it a potential metallicity indicator.Comment: 38 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables. ApJ accepted. Cepheid photometry
available in electronic version of ApJ, or on request from V
Wide-Field InfrarRed Survey Telescope-Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets WFIRST-AFTA 2015 Report
This report describes the 2014 study by the Science Definition Team (SDT) of
the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) mission. It is a space
observatory that will address the most compelling scientific problems in dark
energy, exoplanets and general astrophysics using a 2.4-m telescope with a
wide-field infrared instrument and an optical coronagraph. The Astro2010
Decadal Survey recommended a Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope as its top
priority for a new large space mission. As conceived by the decadal survey,
WFIRST would carry out a dark energy science program, a microlensing program to
determine the demographics of exoplanets, and a general observing program
utilizing its ultra wide field. In October 2012, NASA chartered a Science
Definition Team (SDT) to produce, in collaboration with the WFIRST Study Office
at GSFC and the Program Office at JPL, a Design Reference Mission (DRM) for an
implementation of WFIRST using one of the 2.4-m, Hubble-quality telescope
assemblies recently made available to NASA. This DRM builds on the work of the
earlier WFIRST SDT, reported by Green et al. (2012) and the previous WFIRST-2.4
DRM, reported by Spergel et. (2013). The 2.4-m primary mirror enables a mission
with greater sensitivity and higher angular resolution than the 1.3-m and 1.1-m
designs considered previously, increasing both the science return of the
primary surveys and the capabilities of WFIRST as a Guest Observer facility.
The addition of an on-axis coronagraphic instrument to the baseline design
enables imaging and spectroscopic studies of planets around nearby stars.Comment: This report describes the 2014 study by the Science Definition Team
of the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope mission. 319 pages; corrected a
misspelled name in the authors list and a typo in the abstrac
ExELS: an exoplanet legacy science proposal for the ESA Euclid mission I. Cold exoplanets
Euclid is the second M-class mission of the ESA Cosmic Vision programme, with
the principal science goal of studying dark energy. Euclid is also expected to
undertake additional Legacy Science programmes. One proposal is the Exoplanet
Euclid Legacy Survey (ExELS) which will be the first survey able to measure the
abundance of exoplanets down to Earth mass for host separations from ~1AU out
to the free-floating (unbound) regime. The cold and free-floating exoplanet
regimes represent a crucial discovery space for testing planet formation
theories. ExELS will use the gravitational microlensing technique and will
detect 1000 microlensing events per month over 1.6 deg^2 of the Galactic bulge.
We assess how many of these events will have detectable planetary signatures
using a detailed multi-wavelength microlensing simulator (MABuLS) which
incorporates the Besancon Galactic model with 3D extinction. MABuLS is the
first theoretical simulation of microlensing to treat the effects of point
spread function (PSF) blending self-consistently with the underlying Galactic
model. We use MABuLS, together with current numerical models for the Euclid
PSFs, to explore a number of designs and de-scope options for ExELS, including
the exoplanet yield as a function of filter choice and slewing time, and the
effect of systematic photometry errors. Using conservative extrapolations of
current empirical exoplanet mass functions determined from ground-based
microlensing and radial velocity surveys, ExELS can expect to detect a few
hundred cold exoplanets around mainly G, K and M-type stellar hosts, including
~45 Earth-mass planets and ~6 Mars-mass planets for an observing programme
totalling 10 months. ExELS will be capable of measuring the cold exoplanet mass
function down to Earth mass or below, with orbital separations from ~1AU to the
free-floating regime. (Abridged)Comment: 22 pages. Submitted to MNRAS. New version re-normalises the Besancon
model predictions using current luminosity function and microlensing data
towards the bulge. Exoplanet predictions are revised (upwards) accordingly.
The Euclid exoplanet sensitivity contours shown in Fig 10 are available to
download as an ancillary data fil
Using viral vectors as gene transfer tools (Cell Biology and Toxicology Special Issue: ETCS-UK 1 day meeting on genetic manipulation of cells)
In recent years, the development of powerful viral gene transfer techniques has greatly facilitated the study of gene function. This review summarises some of the viral delivery systems routinely used to mediate gene transfer into cell lines, primary cell cultures and in whole animal models. The systems described were originally discussed at a 1-day European Tissue Culture Society (ETCS-UK) workshop that was held at University College London on 1st April 2009. Recombinant-deficient viral vectors (viruses that are no longer able to replicate) are used to transduce dividing and post-mitotic cells, and they have been optimised to mediate regulatable, powerful, long-term and cell-specific expression. Hence, viral systems have become very widely used, especially in the field of neurobiology. This review introduces the main categories of viral vectors, focusing on their initial development and highlighting modifications and improvements made since their introduction. In particular, the use of specific promoters to restrict expression, translational enhancers and regulatory elements to boost expression from a single virion and the development of regulatable systems is described
CMB-S4: Forecasting Constraints on Primordial Gravitational Waves
CMB-S4---the next-generation ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB)
experiment---is set to significantly advance the sensitivity of CMB
measurements and enhance our understanding of the origin and evolution of the
Universe, from the highest energies at the dawn of time through the growth of
structure to the present day. Among the science cases pursued with CMB-S4, the
quest for detecting primordial gravitational waves is a central driver of the
experimental design. This work details the development of a forecasting
framework that includes a power-spectrum-based semi-analytic projection tool,
targeted explicitly towards optimizing constraints on the tensor-to-scalar
ratio, , in the presence of Galactic foregrounds and gravitational lensing
of the CMB. This framework is unique in its direct use of information from the
achieved performance of current Stage 2--3 CMB experiments to robustly forecast
the science reach of upcoming CMB-polarization endeavors. The methodology
allows for rapid iteration over experimental configurations and offers a
flexible way to optimize the design of future experiments given a desired
scientific goal. To form a closed-loop process, we couple this semi-analytic
tool with map-based validation studies, which allow for the injection of
additional complexity and verification of our forecasts with several
independent analysis methods. We document multiple rounds of forecasts for
CMB-S4 using this process and the resulting establishment of the current
reference design of the primordial gravitational-wave component of the Stage-4
experiment, optimized to achieve our science goals of detecting primordial
gravitational waves for at greater than , or, in the
absence of a detection, of reaching an upper limit of at CL.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures, 9 tables, submitted to ApJ. arXiv admin note:
text overlap with arXiv:1907.0447
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