Interstellar cloud material: contribution to planetary atmospheres

A statistical analysis of the properties of dense interstellar clouds indicates that the solar system has encountered at least a dozen clouds of sufficient density to cause planets to accumulate nonnegligible amounts of some isotopes. The effect is most pronounced for neon. This mechanism could be responsible for much of the neon in Earth's atmosphere. For Mars, the predicted amount of neon added by cloud encounters greatly exceeds the present abundance.     

Radar reflectivity of titan

The present understanding of the atmosphere and surface conditions on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, including the stability of methane, and an application of thermodynamics leads to a strong prediction of liquid hydrocarbons in an ethane-methane mixture on the surface. Such a surface would have nearly unique microwave reflection properties due to the low dielectric constant. Attempts were made to obtain reflections at a wavelength of 3.5 centimeters by means of a 70-meter antenna in California as the transmitter and the Very Large Array in New Mexico as the receiving instrument. Statistically significant echoes were obtained that show Titan is not covered with a deep, global ocean of ethane, as previously thought. The experiment yielded radar cross sections normalized by the Titan disk of 0.38 +/- 0.15, 0.78 +/- 0.15, and 0.25 +/- 0.15 on three consecutive nights during which the sub-Earth longitude on Titan moved 50 degrees. The result for the combined data for the entire experiment is 0.35 +/- 0.08. The cross sections are very high, most consistent with those of the Galilean satellites; no evidence of the putative liquid ethane was seen in the reflection data. A global ocean as shallow as about 200 meters would have exhibited reflectivities smaller by an order of magnitude, and below the detection limit of the experiment. The measured emissivity at similar wavelengths of about 0.9 is somewhat inconsistent with the high reflectivity.     

Radar images of Mars

Full disk images of Mars have been obtained with the use of the Very Large Array (VLA) to map the radar reflected flux density. The transmitter system was the 70-m antenna of the Deep Space Network at Goldstone, California. The surface of Mars was illuminated with continuous wave radiation at a wavelength of 3,5 cm. The reflected energy was mapped in individual 12-minute snapshots with the VLA in its largest configuration; fringe spacings as small as 67 km were obtained. The images reveal near-surface features including a region in the Tharsis volcano area, over 2000 km in east-west extent, that displayed no echo to the very low level of the radar system noise. The feature, called Stealth, is interpreted as a deposit of dust or ash with a density less than about 0.5 gram per cubic centimeter and free of rocks larger than 1 cm across. The deposit must be several meters thick and may be much deeper. The strongest reflecting geological feature was the south polar ice cap, which was reduced in size to the residual south polar ice cap at the season of observation. The cap image is interpreted as arising from nearly pure CO(2) or H(2)O ice with a small amount of martian dust (less than 2 percent by volume) and a depth greater than 2 to 5 m. Only one anomalous reflecting feature was identified outside of the Tharsis region, although the Elysium region was poorly sampled in this experiment and the north pole was not visible from Earth.     

Book reviews

Marilyn Holly is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Florida. Her special interests include political philosophy, ethics and ecology, Jungian thought, and Native American spirituality in its relation to the environment. She is currently at work on a monograph-length piece on the latter topic. She has taught an undergraduate course in ethics and ecology, and plans to do so again. The following essay emerged from her search for a suitable text for such a course.     

Insecticidal potency of novel compounds on multiple insect species of medical and veterinary importance

BACKGROUND: Vector‐borne diseases continue to present significant threats to human, animal and plant health. Mosquitoes, houseflies, sand flies and stable flies are well‐known vectors of several human and animal pathogens. The toxicity of selected semiochemicals with molecular structures indicative of insecticidal activity was determined against these insect species with the aim of developing novel insecticides toxic to multiple insect species. RESULTS: Three semiochemicals, namely beta‐damascone, cyclemone A and melafleur, showed remarkable toxicity to three mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti L., Ae. albopictus (Skuse) and Anopheles quadrimaculatus Say, the housefly, Musca domestica L., the stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans L., and the sand fly, Lutzomyia shannoni (Dyar). The chemicals were equally toxic to several field‐collected permethrin‐tolerant housefly strains. When formulated as 500 mL L^?1 emulsifiable concentrates, the chemicals demonstrated stability and toxicity on filter paper and camouflage military fabrics, with persistence up to 8 days under laboratory conditions. The chemicals were equally effective under field conditions when evaluated on unpainted plywood panels, although a higher dosage was required under field conditions to achieve similar efficacy. CONCLUSION: Laboratory quantification of LC₅₀ values and field efficacy of three semiochemicals as formulated compounds on mosquitoes, houseflies, stable flies and sand flies showed that these semiochemicals could serve as potent insecticides for multiple insect species. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

The performance of a thermometer screen on an automatic weather station

The performance of a Didcot-type thermometer screen on an Automatic Weather Station and a conventional Stevenson screen were compared, both with each other and against an aspirated Assmann psychrometer. Maximum temperature in the Didcot screen exceeded the conventional screen maximum by up to 1 K on calm, sunny days, and Didcot minimum temperatures were as much as 1.5 K less than the screen minima on still, clear nights; mean temperature discrepancies between screens were + 0.3 and − 0.4 K for maxima and minima, respectively. The apparent psychrometric constant for the Didcot screen was 1.0 mbar K⁻¹ which increased to 1.2 mbar K⁻¹ when u < 2 m s⁻¹ in contrast to the value of 0.799 mbar K⁻¹ frequently used for the Stevenson screen.     

Turf-banked terrace treads and risers, turf exfoliation and possible relationships with advancing treeline

Fine-scale geomorphic/pedogenic processes at alpine treeline may facilitate the initial stages of conifer invasion of alpine tundra. Turf-banked terraces and turf exfoliation associated with solifluction may provide both the topographic protection and the seedbed necessary for conifer establishment above treeline. The morphometry, stoniness and surface penetrability of turf-banked terraces were recorded. Whereas differences among sites exist due to topographic constraints, differences in soil penetrability depend on turf exfoliation. Exfoliated turf risers are significantly more penetrable than non-exfoliated solifluction risers and adjacent treads. These penetrable microsites provide favorable conditions for seed germination. The process of turf exfoliation may play a role in conifer advance into tundra during climatic change.     

Growth and nitrogen fixation by Medicago littoralis in pot experiments: Effect of plant density and competition from Lolium multiflorum

The legume Medicago littoralis cv. Harbinger, was grown either alone (1–4 plants per pot) or with Lolium multiflorum (ryegrass) at a total of 4 plants per pot, using two soils of contrasting N status. An ¹⁵N dilution technique was used to distinguish the amounts of plant N due to N₂ fixation and to N uptake from soil. Medic outyielded (dry weight and total plant N) ryegrass in a soil which released low amounts of inorganic N (Roseworthy) but ryegrass outyielded medic in a soil of higher N availability (Avon).For both soils, all combinations of medic and ryegrass plants utilized 70–73% of the inorganic N released on incubation. Competition from ryegrass invariably reduced yields of dry matter, total N, and fixed N of the medic plants, especially in the Avon soil. For both soils, the percentage reduction in the amounts of fixed N resulting from competition from ryegrass was directly proportional to the percentage increase of plant dry matter due to ryegrass. Medic plants grown in Roseworthy soil contained much higher proportions of N due to N₂-fixation than did medic plants grown in Avon soil. The amounts of plant N, fixed N and plant dry weight increased with increasing numbers of medic plants, when grown alone in Roseworthy soil, but not in the Avon soil containing more than two plants per pot. Nevertheless, irrespective of the soil used, medic numbers per pot, or competition from ryegrass, the amounts of fixed N correlated well with total N and with dry matter yields of medic plants. The proportions of fixed N to total N varied consistently in each of the medic plant parts (roots < = leaves < stems < pods).     

COLOR DOPPLER AND DOPPLER SPECTRAL ANALYSIS IN THE SPINAL CORD OF NORMAL DOGS

Doppler ultrasonography of the spinal cord was performed in 34 normal, anesthetized dogs following hemilaminectomy. This study was part of an investigation to evaluate the efficacy of a 21-aminosteroid compound and high dose methylprednisolone for the treatment of spinal cord trauma. Grey-scale images of the canine spinal cord were similar to those described for the spinal cord of people. Doppler waveforms of intraparenchymal spinal arteries exhibited high end diastolic blood flow velocities, indicating low resistance to flow. Doppler values (mean ± SD) for arteries immediately ventrolateral to the central canal were: Peak Systolic Velocity = 5.78 ± 2.5 cm/sec, Minimum Diastolic Velocity = 3.5 ± 1.62 cm/sec, Mean Velocity = 4.45 ± 1.96 cm/sec, Minimum Diastolic Velocity = 3.5 ± 1.62 cm/sec, Mean Velocity = 4.45 ± 1.96 cm/sec, Systolic/Diastolic ratio = 169 ± 0.19, Pulsatility Index = 0.53 ± 0.09, and Resistance Index = 0.4 ± 0.06.