Simulating Gaia performances on white dwarfs     

Santiago Torres  Enrique García-Berro  Jordi Isern  Francesca Figueras 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2005,360(4):1381-1392

One of the most promising space missions of the European Space Agency is the astrometric satellite Gaia , which will provide very precise astrometry and multicolour photometry, for all 1.3 billion objects to   V ∼ 20  , and radial velocities with accuracies of a few km s⁻¹ for most stars brighter than   V ∼ 17  . Consequently, full homogeneous six-dimensional phase-space information for a huge number of stars will become available. Our Monte Carlo simulator has been used to estimate the number of white dwarfs potentially observable by Gaia . From this we assess the white dwarf luminosity functions that Gaia will obtain and discuss in depth the scientific returns of Gaia in the specific field of white dwarf populations. Scientifically attainable goals include, among others, a reliable determination of the age of the Galactic disc, a better knowledge of the halo of the Milky Way and the reconstruction of the star formation history of the Galactic disc. Our results also demonstrate the potential impact of a mission such as Gaia within the context of current understanding of white dwarf cooling theory.  相似文献   

Radiometric investigation of different snow covers in Svalbard     

Ruggero Casacchia  Francesca Lauta  Rosamaria Salvatori  Anselmo Cagnati  Mauro Valt  Jon B. Ørbæk 《Polar research》2001,20(1):13-22

This paper examines the relationship between reflectance and physical characteristics of the snow cover in the Arctic. Field data were acquired for different snow and ice surfaces during a survey carried out at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, in spring 1998. In each measurement reflectance in the spectral range 350 - 2500 nm, snow data (including temperature, grain size and shape, density and water content), surface layer morphology, and vertical profile of the snow pack were recorded detailed analysis of reflectance based on the physical was performed. Field reflectance data were also re-sampled at the spectral intervals of Landsat TM to compare the ability of identifying different snow targets at discrete wavelength intervals. This analysis shows that reliable data on snow structure and thickness are necessary to understand albedo changes of the snow surfaces.  相似文献   

Seasonal and daily variation of mercury evasion at coastal and off shore sites from the Mediterranean Sea   总被引：3，自引：0，他引：3  

Maria E. Andersson  Katarina Grdfeldt  Ingvar Wngberg  Francesca Sprovieri  Nicola Pirrone  Oliver Lindqvist 《Marine Chemistry》2007,104(3-4):214-226

Dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) was measured continuously using two newly developed techniques and a manual technique. The continuous techniques were based on the equilibrium between the aqueous and gaseous phase (DGM = Hg_extr / H', Hg_extr is the measured mercury concentration in the gas phase, H' is the Henry's Law coefficient at the desired temperature). In order to calculate the annual mercury evasion from the Mediterranean Sea, diurnal and seasonal measurements of DGM, total gaseous mercury in air (TGM), water temperature and wind speed were performed. During August 2003, March–April 2004 and October–November 2004 measurements of these parameters were conducted on board the RV Urania. The continuous measurements of DGM showed a diurnal variation in concentration, at both coastal and off shore sites, with higher concentrations during daytime than nighttime. The concentration difference could be as large as 130 fM between day and night. The degree of saturation was calculated directly from the measurements, S = Hg_extr / TGM and was found to vary between the different seasons. The highest average degree of saturation (850%) and the largest variation in saturation (600–1150%) was observed during the summer. The spring showed the lowest variation (260–360%) and the lowest average degree of saturation (320%). The autumn also showed a large variation in saturation (500–1070%) but a lower average (740%) compared to the summer cruise. This might be explained by the temperature difference between the different seasons, since that parameter varied the most. The flux from the sea surface was calculated using the gas exchange model developed by Nightingale et al. [Nightingale, P.D., Malin, G., Law, C.S., Watson, A.J., Liss, P.S., Liddicoat, M.I., Boutin, J., Upstill-Goddard, R. C., 2000. In situ evaluation of air–sea gas exchange parameterization using novel conservative and volatile tracers. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 14(1):373–387]. The evasion varied between the different seasons with the highest evasion during the autumn, 24.6 pmol m^− 2 h^− 1. The summer value was estimated to 22.3 pmol m^− 2 h^− 1 and the spring to 7.6 pmol m^− 2 h^− 1. Using this data the yearly evasion from the Mediterranean Sea surface was estimated to 77 tons.  相似文献   

Seasonal Blooms of the HAB Dinoflagellate Alexandrium taylori Balech in a New Mediterranean Area (Vulcano, Aeolian Islands)     

Antonella Penna  Maria Grazia Giacobbe  Nunzio Penna  Francesca Andreoni  Mauro Magnani 《Marine Ecology》2002,23(S1):320-328

Abstract. High-biomass blooms of A. taylori Balech have recently been spreading over new Mediterranean areas, with evident adverse effects on the marine ecosystem. In 1999–2000, a new Mediterranean locality was affected by blooms of A. taylori: the West Bay of Vulcano (Aeolian Islands, Tyrrhenian Sea), with maximum cell densities of 1.2 × 10⁷ cells 1⁻¹ in August 1999 and 4.0 × 10⁶ cells 1⁻¹ in August 2000 observed together with yellowish water discoloration. The seawater samples contained high concentrations of nutrients as DIN (Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen), especially NH₃-N with values of 14.4 μM and TOT-P (Total Phosphorus) with values of 3.2 μM due to the anthropic presence and discharge of untreated sewage. The climatic conditions also seem to influence the occurrence and spreading of the A. taylori blooms in the Vulcano Bay. Clonal cultures of A. taylori , established from Italian and Spanish seawater samples, were used for the sequence analyses of the 5.8S rDNA gene and ITS regions in order to study the genetic variability of different geographical populations of Alexandrium species in the Mediterranean area and to further develop the molecular markers for HAB key-species.  相似文献   

Galaxy formation and evolution: low-surface-brightness galaxies     

Raul Jimenez  Paolo Padoan  Francesca Matteucci  & Alan F. Heavens 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》1998,299(1):123-138

We investigate in detail the hypothesis that low-surface-brightness galaxies (LSBs) differ from ordinary galaxies simply because they form in haloes with large spin parameters. We compute star formation rates using the Schmidt law, assuming the same gas infall dependence on surface density as used in models of the Milky Way. We build stellar population models, predicting colours, spectra and chemical abundances. We compare our predictions with observed values of metallicity and colours for LSBs, and find excellent agreement with all observables. In particular, integrated colours, colour gradients, surface brightness and metallicity match very well to the observed values of LSBs for models with ages larger than 7 Gyr and high values (λ > 0.05) for the spin parameter of the haloes. We also compute the global star formation rate (SFR) in the Universe due to LSBs, and show that it has a flatter evolution with redshift than the corresponding SFR for normal discs. We furthermore compare the evolution in redshift of [ Zn / H ] for our models to those observed in damped Lyman α systems by Pettini et al. and show that damped Lyman α system abundances are consistent with the predicted abundances at different radii for LSBs. Finally, we show how the required late redshift of collapse of the halo may constrain the power spectrum of fluctuations.  相似文献   

Extinction versus backscatter relationships for lidar applications at 351 nm: maritime and desert aerosol simulations and comparison with observations     

Francesca Barnaba  Ferdinando De Tomasi  Gian Paolo Gobbi  Maria Rita Perrone  Anna Tafuro 《Atmospheric Research》2004,70(3-4):229-259

Functional relationships linking at λ₀=351 nm aerosol extinction α_λ0^aer and backscatter coefficient β_λ0^aer of maritime and desert type aerosols are determined to allow for inversion of the single-wavelength lidar signals. Such relationships are derived as mean behavior of 20,000 extinction versus backscatter computations, performed for aerosol size distributions and compositions whose describing parameters are randomly chosen within the naturally observed variability. For desert-type aerosols, the effect of the particle non-sphericity is considered and it is shown that the extinction to backscatter ratio of non-spherical dust particles can be up to 60% larger than the values obtained for spherical particles. Aerosol extinction and backscatter coefficient profiles obtained inverting the single-wavelength lidar signal with the modeled relationships are then compared to the same profiles measured by a combined elastic-Raman lidar operating at 351 nm. Analytical back trajectories and satellite images are used to characterize advection patterns during lidar measurements and to properly choose the modeled functional relationship. A good accordance between the two techniques is found for advection patterns over the lidar site typical of maritime and dust conditions. Maximum differences between the model-based α_λ0^aer and β_λ0^aer vertical profiles and the corresponding ones measured by the combined elastic-Raman lidar technique are of 30% and 40% in maritime and desert dust conditions, respectively. The comparison of elastic-Raman lidar measurements and model-based results also reveals that particle non-sphericity must be taken into account when mineral dust-type aerosols are directly advected over the measurement site.  相似文献   

Relative motion of the Adriatic with respect to the confining plates: seismological and geodetic constraints   总被引：3，自引：0，他引：3  

Daniele Babbucci  Caterina Tamburelli  Marcello Viti  Enzo Mantovani  Dario Albarello  Francesca D'Onza  Nicola Cenni  Enrico Mugnaioli 《Geophysical Journal International》2004,159(2):765-775

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New insights on late Quaternary palaeogeographic setting in the Northern Adriatic Sea (Italy)     

Sara Picone  Francesca Alvisi  Enrico Dinelli  Caterina Morigi  Alessandra Negri  Mariangela Ravaioli  Carmela Vaccaro 《第四纪科学杂志》2008,23(5):489-501

Sedimentological, geochemical and micropalaeontological data from sediment cores in the northwestern Adriatic Sea were obtained to reconstruct the stratigraphic framework and palaeogeographic setting during the last post‐glacial sea‐level rise (14000–6000 yr BP). Four lithostratigraphic units were identified: (a) distal plain deposits (>14000 yr BP), submerged during the first phases of marine ingression; (b) coastal lagoon system; (c) barrier‐lagoon system, which is dated back to between 10019 ± 61 and 10228 ± 174 cal. yr BP from ¹⁴C dating on peat and shell remains; (d) marine prodelta deposits (<5500 yr BP). Geochemical data allow the identification of three distinct sediment sources: River Po, River Adige and Eastern Alpine rivers characterised by decreasing Ni/Mg ratios (50–70, 8–15 and 5–10, respectively) and Ba/Al ratios of 45–55, 55–65 and 35–45, respectively. The three sources display different relative abundances in time. During the Lateglacial, the Po is the main sediment source for the southern cores, whereas the Eastern Alps and the River Adige are the main sediment sources for the northern cores. This suggests a northern position of the Po River bed compared to previous studies. Coastal drowning led to a homogenization of the provenance signal within the sediments. Only after the marine transgression does a River Po signal appear in the northern cores. At the same time, in the southern cores the signal of Eastern Alpine rivers becomes stronger. Transgressive barrier‐lagoon and recent sediments do not display a predominant signal for provenance indicators. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Comparison of seismic analysis methods applied to a historical church struck by 2009 L’Aquila earthquake     

Yohei Endo  Luca Pelà  Pere Roca  Francesca da Porto  Claudio Modena 《Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering》2015,13(12):3749-3778

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Spatial reconstruction of rainfall fields from rain gauge and radar data     

Francesca Bruno  Daniela Cocchi  Fedele Greco  Elena Scardovi 《Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment (SERRA)》2014,28(5):1235-1245

Rainfall is a phenomenon difficult to model and predict, for the strong spatial and temporal heterogeneity and the presence of many zero values. We deal with hourly rainfall data provided by rain gauges, sparsely distributed on the ground, and radar data available on a fine grid of pixels. Radar data overcome the problem of sparseness of the rain gauge network, but are not reliable for the assessment of rain amounts. In this work we investigate how to calibrate radar measurements via rain gauge data and make spatial predictions for hourly rainfall, by means of Monte Carlo Markov Chain algorithms in a Bayesian hierarchical framework. We use zero-inflated distributions for taking zero-measurements into account. Several models are compared both in terms of data fitting and predictive performances on a set of validation sites. Finally, rainfall fields are reconstructed and standard error estimates at each prediction site are shown via easy-to-read spatial maps.  相似文献