1. Wochenbericht POS408/3

Leg 3, 23 – 28 February 2011, chief scientist: Dr. Anton Eisenhauer Within the project Nutrient Gradients (project 3) the coastal interaction between corals and macroalgae under different stress states (eutrophied versus non-eutrophied, with versus without heavy fishing pressure) was assessed. In addition, work is planned on cold water coral occurrences (azooxanthellate deep-water corals). - CTD/RO casts and net sample

Approximation bias in estimating risk aversion

The asymmetric approximation originally employed by Pratt (1964) to construct reduced-form measures of risk aversion s a downward bias when used for empirical estimation. Calculations based on recent survey data indicate that estimates from a symmetric approximation are generally three times larger than their asymmetric counterparts, a finding that may help to explain the equity premium puzzle.

Assessing Intergenerational Earnings Persistence among German Workers

In this study we assess the relationship between father and son earnings among (West) German Workers. To reduce the lifecycle and attenuation bias a novel sampling procedure is developed and applied to the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) 1984-2006. Our preferred point estimate indicates an intergenerational earnings elasticity of 1/3 .Intergenerational Mobility, Lifecycle, Permanent Earnings, Wages

Assessing Intergenerational Earnings Persistence Among German Workers

In this study we assess the relationship between father and son earnings among (West) German Workers. To reduce the lifecycle and attenuation bias a novel sampling procedure is developed and applied to the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) 1984-2006. Our preferred point estimate indicates that about 1/3 of the earnings differential in the labor market has been passed on from the generation of fathers to their sons. --Intergenerational Mobility,Lifecycle,Permanent Earnings,Wages

Assessing intergenerational earnings persistence among German workers

"'The vitality and stability of our democracy - as well as the economy - eventually depend on the social permeability of our society.' (Horst Köhler, German Federal President, 29. 12. 2007, authors' own translation) This statement draws attention to the strong meritocratic beliefs concerning the equality of opportunity that dominate public debates. This is especially true of the education system. But does this general concern translate into a society in which one's economic success in the labor market is independent of the family into which one was born? And if so, to what degree? In this study, we investigate intergenerational earnings persistence among German workers. Our measure of labor market success is real monthly earnings before taxes and social security contributions. The relationship between fathers' and sons' labor market earnings is assessed using samples drawn from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) 1984-2006. We introduce a novel sampling procedure that allows us to observe father-son pairs at a fairly similar stage in their lives. From a variety of microeconometric estimates (utilizing both OLS and IV methods) we suggest that the best point estimate of intergenerational earnings elasticity among German workers is one-third. Hence, if in the period of investigation a father's permanent labor market earnings increased by 10 percent ( EURO 231 at the mean of our father sample), the son's long-run economic status grew by 3.33 percent. Evaluated at the mean of our sample of sons ( EURO 1,937), this implies a step up of EURO 63 for the son. This figure indicates a lower degree of mobility (and a higher degree of persistence) in Germany compared to preceding studies. In an international perspective, the intergenerational earnings persistence in Germany seems to be lower than that in the United States and higher than that in Sweden. To summarize: there still seems to be substantial intergenerational earnings mobility among German workers, but more persistence than previous research suggested." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) Additional Information Kurzfassung (deutsch) Executive summary (english)Einkommenshöhe, Intergenerationsmobilität, Väter, Söhne, soziale Herkunft, Sozioökonomisches Panel, Persistenz, erwerbstätige Männer, Erwerbseinkommen, soziale Mobilität, Einkommensunterschied, Westdeutschland, Bundesrepublik Deutschland

The orbit of the star S2 around SgrA* from VLT and Keck data

Two recent papers (Ghez et al. 2008, Gillessen et al. 2009) have estimated the mass of and the distance to the massive black hole in the center of the Milky Way using stellar orbits. The two astrometric data sets are independent and yielded consistent results, even though the measured positions do not match when simply overplotting the two sets. In this letter we show that the two sets can be brought to excellent agreement with each other when allowing for a small offset in the definition of the reference frame of the two data sets. The required offsets in the coordinates and velocities of the origin of the reference frames are consistent with the uncertainties given in Ghez et al. (2008). The so combined data set allows for a moderate improvement of the statistical errors of mass of and distance to Sgr A*, but the overall accuracies of these numbers are dominated by systematic errors and the long-term calibration of the reference frame. We obtain R0 = 8.28 +- 0.15(stat) +- 0.29(sys) kpc and M(MBH) = 4.30 +- 0.20(stat) +- 0.30(sys) x 10^6 Msun as best estimates from a multi-star fit.Comment: submitted to ApJ

Near IR diffraction-limited integral-field SINFONI spectroscopy of the Circinus galaxy

Using the adaptive optics assisted near infrared integral field spectrometer SINFONI on the VLT, we have obtained observations of the Circinus galaxy on parsec scales. The morphologies of the H_2(1-0)S(1) 2.12um and Br_gamma 2.17um emission lines are only slightly different, but their velocity maps are similar and show a gradient along the major axis of the galaxy, consistent with rotation.Since V_rot/sigma is approximately 1 suggests that random motions are also important, it is likely that the lines arise in a rotating spheroid or thickened disk around the AGN. Comparing the Br_gamma flux to the stellar continuum indicates that the star formation in this region began almost 10^8 yr ago. We also detect the [SiVI] 1.96um,[AlIX] 2.04um and [CaVIII] 2.32um coronal lines. In all cases we observe a broad blue wing, indicating the presence of two or more components in the coronal line region. A correlation between the ionisation potential and the asymmetry of the profiles was found for these high excitation species.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Submitted to the Proceedings of the IFS Workshop, Jul 4-8 2005, Durham, Englan

The influence of increased pCO2 on the calcification of Mytilus edulis

One of the most important and abundant calcifying organisms in several marine ecosystems is the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis. It has a wide geographic distribution (Gosling 1992 Developm. Aquacult. Fish. Sci. 25, 1-20) and tolerates a broad range of environmental conditions (Seed and Suchanek 1992 Developm. Aquacult. Fish. Sci. 25, 87-170). Blue mussel beds are also common features in the Kiel Fjord (Baltic Sea), a habitat dominated by low salinity (10-20 PSU), low alkalinity (1900-2150 μmol kg-1), low pH (minimum values < 7.5) and high pCO2 (maximum value of 2340 ppm). The resulting calcium carbonate saturation state (min. values: Ωarag = 0.34 and Ωcalc = 0.58) is significantly lower than in the open ocean (Thomsen et al. submitted). Therefore, pCO2 in Kiel Fjord during summer is already higher than what is predicted for the future (e.g., Caldeira and Wickett 2003 Nature 425, 365). Additionally, Meier (2006 Clim. Dyn. 27, 39-68) projected an increase of temperature (2.6 to 5.0 °C) in the next 100 years for the Baltic Sea. To contribute to the understanding of the ability of calcifying organisms to live under ocean acidification conditions and of biomineralization mechanisms, M. edulis from this naturally CO2-enriched habitat were cultured in a flow-through system. Experiments were conducted using CO2 concentrations ranging from 380 ppm to 4000 ppm and temperatures ranging from 5° to 25°C. At the end of the experiments, hemolymph and extrapallial fluid (EPF) were taken and analyzed for pH, pCO2, bicarbonate and elemental ratios. Fluids showed decreased pH and increased CO2 with increasing water pCO2. Elemental ratios (Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca) in the fluids did not show pCO2 or temperature-related systematic changes. Furthermore, boron isotopes ([Delta]11B), used in isotope geochemistry as a pH proxy, were investigated by LA-MC-ICP-MS in shell portions precipitated during the experimental treatment. We observed high [Delta]11B variability between different individuals, but also within single shells. Average [Delta]11B values showed a weak positive correlation with pH. When comparing our results to published studies, boron isotopes appeared to represent internal pH conditions (EPF) instead of ambient water pH (Kasemann et al. 2009 Chem. Geol. 260, 138-147; Reynaud et al. 2004 Coral Reefs 23, 539-546; Sanyal et al. 2000 Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 64, 1551-1555)