Paleoenvironments from robust loess stratigraphy using high-resolution color and grain-size data of the last glacial Krems-Wachtberg record (NE Austria)

The complex interplay of dust sedimentation, pedogenesis, and erosion/reworking in the formation of loess-paleosol sequences (LPS) challenges paleoenvironmental proxies. Here we show that color and grain size are essential parameters characterizing loess profiles and support robust stratigraphies as a basis for reconstructions in the context of local geo-ecological and large-scale paleoclimatic evolution. Detailed paleoenvironmental records from the period since the arrival of anatomically modern humans to the last glacial maximum are scarce in the Alpine surroundings. The c. 7.5 m thick LPS Krems-Wachtberg, NE Austria, known for its well-preserved Upper Paleolithic context at a depth of 5.5 m, formed between 40 and 20 ka BP by quasi-continuous dust-sedimentation, interrupted by phases of incipient pedogenesis and local reworking. The new KW2015 composite is based on three sections studied and sampled at 2.5 cm resolution. Color and grain size data support a robust stratigraphy for reconstructions of the pedosedimentary evolution. The marked transition from oxidized to reduced paleosols of KW2015 around 34–35 ka corresponds to the Middle-to Upper Pleniglacial transition as part of a general cooling trend from marine isotope stage (MIS) 3 to 2, intensely modulated by millennial-scale climatic fluctuations as recorded in the Greenland ice core data. The distinct response of KW2015 to these trends highlights that reconstructing LPS evolution based on a robust stratigraphy is a prerequisite to paleoenvironmental proxy interpretation

Provenance and paleoenvironmental context of the Late Pleistocene thin aeolian silt mantles in southwestern Poland – A widespread parent material for soils

Thin loess deposits are widespread soil parent materials and important archives for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. The origin of loess in SW Poland is attributed to the Great Odra Valley (GOV), following the general concept that large rivers play a major role in regional silt supply. Yet, the precise provenance (glacier sources and/or local rocks) of silts, possibly deflated from dry GOV braided riverbeds, is not clear. Our study of thin and thick loess mantles in SW Poland for the first time indicates the provenance of thin loess based on mineralogical (MLA-SEM) and isotopic analyses (143Nd/144Nd, 87Sr/86Sr). Luminescence ages of five localities point to thin loess mantle formation during and shortly (23.0 to 17.7 ka yr) after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Our isotopic data indicate that thin loess deposits in SW Poland are the mixtures of two main components – local Sudetic and Scandinavian, the latter delivered by the Fennoscandian ice sheet (FIS). Also, detailed analyses of heavy minerals show that a single mineral (e.g., hornblende) may come from both Sudetic and Scandinavian sources. This research highlights the role of the (Pleistocene) GOV in collecting and homogenizing materials, while supplying the region with fine particles to be deflated by paleowinds from open surfaces. Anomalies in mineralogy and isotopic composition are connected with influence of Sudetic mountain rivers and locally blowing silt material by katabatic winds. Regional grain size differentiation of thin loess mantles explains transport distance and altitude. © 2021 The Author

Comparing Notes: Recording and Criticism

This chapter charts the ways in which recording has changed the nature of music criticism. It both provides an overview of the history of recording and music criticism, from the advent of Edison’s Phonograph to the present day, and examines the issues arising from this new technology and the consequent transformation of critical thought and practice

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Wider Still and Wider: British Music Criticism since the Second World War

This chapter provides the first historical examination of music criticism in Britain since the Second World War. In the process, it also challenges the simplistic prevailing view of this being a period of decline from a golden age in music criticism

Search for eccentric black hole coalescences during the third observing run of LIGO and Virgo

Despite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass M>70 M⊙) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities 0<e≤0.3 at 0.33 Gpc−3 yr−1 at 90\% confidence level

Ultralight vector dark matter search using data from the KAGRA O3GK run

Among the various candidates for dark matter (DM), ultralight vector DM can be probed by laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors through the measurement of oscillating length changes in the arm cavities. In this context, KAGRA has a unique feature due to differing compositions of its mirrors, enhancing the signal of vector DM in the length change in the auxiliary channels. Here we present the result of a search for U(1)B−L gauge boson DM using the KAGRA data from auxiliary length channels during the first joint observation run together with GEO600. By applying our search pipeline, which takes into account the stochastic nature of ultralight DM, upper bounds on the coupling strength between the U(1)B−L gauge boson and ordinary matter are obtained for a range of DM masses. While our constraints are less stringent than those derived from previous experiments, this study demonstrates the applicability of our method to the lower-mass vector DM search, which is made difficult in this measurement by the short observation time compared to the auto-correlation time scale of DM