| 1. |
- Kim, Jae-Young, et al.
(författare)
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Event Horizon Telescope imaging of the archetypal blazar 3C 279 at an extreme 20 microarcsecond resolution
- 2020
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 640
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 3C 279 is an archetypal blazar with a prominent radio jet that show broadband flux density variability across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. We use an ultra-high angular resolution technique - global Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) at 1.3mm (230 GHz) - to resolve the innermost jet of 3C 279 in order to study its fine-scale morphology close to the jet base where highly variable-ray emission is thought to originate, according to various models. The source was observed during four days in April 2017 with the Event Horizon Telescope at 230 GHz, including the phased Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, at an angular resolution of ∼20 μas (at a redshift of z = 0:536 this corresponds to ∼0:13 pc ∼ 1700 Schwarzschild radii with a black hole mass MBH = 8 × 108 M⊙). Imaging and model-fitting techniques were applied to the data to parameterize the fine-scale source structure and its variation.We find a multicomponent inner jet morphology with the northernmost component elongated perpendicular to the direction of the jet, as imaged at longer wavelengths. The elongated nuclear structure is consistent on all four observing days and across diffierent imaging methods and model-fitting techniques, and therefore appears robust. Owing to its compactness and brightness, we associate the northern nuclear structure as the VLBI "core". This morphology can be interpreted as either a broad resolved jet base or a spatially bent jet.We also find significant day-to-day variations in the closure phases, which appear most pronounced on the triangles with the longest baselines. Our analysis shows that this variation is related to a systematic change of the source structure. Two inner jet components move non-radially at apparent speeds of ∼15 c and ∼20 c (∼1:3 and ∼1:7 μas day-1, respectively), which more strongly supports the scenario of traveling shocks or instabilities in a bent, possibly rotating jet. The observed apparent speeds are also coincident with the 3C 279 large-scale jet kinematics observed at longer (cm) wavelengths, suggesting no significant jet acceleration between the 1.3mm core and the outer jet. The intrinsic brightness temperature of the jet components are ≤1010 K, a magnitude or more lower than typical values seen at ≥7mm wavelengths. The low brightness temperature and morphological complexity suggest that the core region of 3C 279 becomes optically thin at short (mm) wavelengths.
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| 2. |
- Hudson, Lawrence N, et al.
(författare)
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The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project
- 2017
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2045-7758. ; 7:1, s. 145-188
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.
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| 3. |
- Akiyama, Kazunori, et al.
(författare)
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First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope Results. II. EHT and Multiwavelength Observations, Data Processing, and Calibration
- 2022
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 930:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) 1.3 mm measurements of the radio source located at the position of the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), collected during the 2017 April 5-11 campaign. The observations were carried out with eight facilities at six locations across the globe. Novel calibration methods are employed to account for Sgr A*'s flux variability. The majority of the 1.3 mm emission arises from horizon scales, where intrinsic structural source variability is detected on timescales of minutes to hours. The effects of interstellar scattering on the image and its variability are found to be subdominant to intrinsic source structure. The calibrated visibility amplitudes, particularly the locations of the visibility minima, are broadly consistent with a blurred ring with a diameter of similar to 50 mu as, as determined in later works in this series. Contemporaneous multiwavelength monitoring of Sgr A* was performed at 22, 43, and 86 GHz and at near-infrared and X-ray wavelengths. Several X-ray flares from Sgr A* are detected by Chandra, one at low significance jointly with Swift on 2017 April 7 and the other at higher significance jointly with NuSTAR on 2017 April 11. The brighter April 11 flare is not observed simultaneously by the EHT but is followed by a significant increase in millimeter flux variability immediately after the X-ray outburst, indicating a likely connection in the emission physics near the event horizon. We compare Sgr A*'s broadband flux during the EHT campaign to its historical spectral energy distribution and find that both the quiescent emission and flare emission are consistent with its long-term behavior.
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| 4. |
- Abbuehl, Luca M., et al.
(författare)
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El Niño forcing on 10Be-based surface denudation rates in the northwestern Peruvian Andes?
- 2010
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Ingår i: Geomorphology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-555X .- 1872-695X. ; 123:3-4, s. 257-268
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- High magnitude precipitation events provide large contributions to landscape formation and surface denudation in arid environments. Here, we quantify the precipitation-dependent geomorphic processes within the Rio Piura drainage basin located on the Western Escarpment of the northern Peruvian Andes at 5 degrees S latitude. In this region, monsoonal easterly winds bring precipitation to the >3000 m asl high headwaters, from where the annual amount of precipitation decreases downstream toward the Pacific coast. Denudation rates are highest in the knickzones near the headwaters, similar to 200-300 mm ky(-1), and sediment discharge is limited by the transport capacity of the channel network. Every few years, this situation is perturbed by westerly, wind-driven heavy precipitation during El Nino events and results in supply-limited sediment discharge as indicated by bedrock channels. The detailed analysis of the stream-long profiles of two river basins within the Rio Piura catchment reveals a distinct knickzone in the transition zone between the easterly and westerly climatic influences, suggesting an En Nino forcing on the longitudinal channel profiles over at least Holocene timescales. Measured trunk stream catchment-wide denudation rates are up to ca. 300 mm ky(-1) and decrease successively downstream along the river profiles. Denudation rates of tributary rivers are ca. 200 mm ky(-1) near the plateau and show a stronger downstream decreasing trend than trunk stream rates. This suggests that the landscape is in a transient stage of local relief growth, which is driven by fluvial incision. This corroborates the results of paleoclimate studies that point towards higher El Nino frequencies during the past ca. 3000 years, leading to higher runoff and more erosion in the trunk channel compared to the hillslopes and thus growth of local relief. Downstream increases in channel gradient spatially coincide with the reaches of highest precipitation rates during El Nino events, we therefore interpret that Holocene landscape evolution has largely been controlled by climate. The ky-timescale of the Be-10 data together with the transience of the landscape implies that El Nino events in northwestern Peru have occurred since at least the Holocene, and that adjustment to channel incision is still taking place.
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| 5. |
- Ainsworth, Elizabeth A., et al.
(författare)
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Next generation of elevated [CO2] experiments with crops: a critical investment for feeding the future world
- 2008
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Ingår i: Plant, Cell and Environment. - : Wiley. - 0140-7791 .- 1365-3040. ; 31:9, s. 1317-1324
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A rising global population and demand for protein-rich diets are increasing pressure to maximize agricultural productivity. Rising atmospheric [CO2] is altering global temperature and precipitation patterns, which challenges agricultural productivity. While rising [CO2] provides a unique opportunity to increase the productivity of C-3 crops, average yield stimulation observed to date is well below potential gains. Thus, there is room for improving productivity. However, only a fraction of available germplasm of crops has been tested for CO2 responsiveness. Yield is a complex phenotypic trait determined by the interactions of a genotype with the environment. Selection of promising genotypes and characterization of response mechanisms will only be effective if crop improvement and systems biology approaches are closely linked to production environments, that is, on the farm within major growing regions. Free air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiments can provide the platform upon which to conduct genetic screening and elucidate the inheritance and mechanisms that underlie genotypic differences in productivity under elevated [CO2]. We propose a new generation of large-scale, low-cost per unit area FACE experiments to identify the most CO2-responsive genotypes and provide starting lines for future breeding programmes. This is necessary if we are to realize the potential for yield gains in the future.
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| 6. |
- Ebert, Karin, 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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Meteoric Be-10 concentrations from saprolite and till in northern Sweden : Implications for glacial erosion and age
- 2012
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Ingår i: Quaternary Geochronology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1871-1014 .- 1878-0350. ; 12, s. 11-22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We examine Be-10 concentration in two pit profiles in the Parkajoki area at similar to 67 degrees N on the northern Fennoscandian shield in northern Sweden. Due to repeated cover by cold-based, non-erosive ice sheets, the area retains many relict non-glacial features, including tors and saprolites. In the examined pit profiles, gruss-type saprolite developed from weathering of intermediate igneous rocks is overlain unconformably by Weichselian till.Our results show that Be-10 concentrations found in the till greatly exceed the levels of Be-10 that can have accumulated since deglaciation at similar to 11 ka and are comparable to those reported from Pliocene and Early Pleistocene tills in North America. Old tills with grussified boulders at depth were excavated in the Parkajoki area and correlations with neighbouring parts of Finland indicate a Middle Pleistocene or older age. Evidence from pit excavations and geochemistry shows that the underlying saprolites have been truncated by glacial erosion and that previously weathered material has been incorporated into the till sequence. Hence, Be-10 inventories in the tills are dominated by material recycled from Middle Pleistocene or older soils, near-surface sediments and saprolite, and cannot be used to date the periods of till deposition. The retention of relict Be-10 in the tills nonetheless confirms minimal glacial erosion.Concentrations of meteoric Be-10 in the saprolites are lower than any reported saprolite concentrations measured in other settings. Uncertainty in the pre-glaciation Be-10 concentrations in the saprolites makes age determinations difficult. One possibility is that that the saprolite had higher Be-10 concentrations in the past but that saprolite formation ended after glaciation and burial by till and that the Be-10 has substantially decayed. Modelling of the meteoric Be-10 depth profiles in this case suggests that the saprolites in the Parkajoki area were formed at a minimum of 2 Ma. Erosion of the saprolite allows an older age of up to similar to 5 Ma, with up to 250 cm of material removed and incorporated into later tills. A second possibility is that concentrations of meteoric Be-10 in the saprolite were originally lower, with formation of the saprolite in a period or periods of ice- and permafrost-free conditions before 0.8 Ma.
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| 7. |
- Trauerstein, Mareike, et al.
(författare)
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Climatic imprint on landscape morphology in the western escarpment of the Andes
- 2013
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Ingår i: Geomorphology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-555X .- 1872-695X. ; 194, s. 76-83
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Because of competing forces and variations through time, the relative importance of geomorphic processes responsible for the long-term topographic evolution of a mountain range is not always obvious. Here we perform a space-for-time substitution with the western escarpment of the Andes between 10 and 20 degrees S to identify the mechanisms of plateau destruction over geological timescales. We use this setting to propose that variations in the precipitation rate play a primary role in setting hillslope relief in uplifted mountainous landscapes. We find that in dry climates local topographic relief grows with increasing precipitation, independent of the underlying lithology and given an overall uniform rock uplift history. We proceed by differentiating Andean landscapes with generally low precipitation rates (80-500 mm a(-1), Peruvian Andes 10-20 degrees S) where local relief correlates positively with precipitation, from those with higher precipitation rates (400-1400 mm a(-1), Chilean Andes 35-40 degrees S) where increases in precipitation lead to topographic decay. We suggest that these trends result from dominant bottom-up control (channel incision is faster than hillslope response) giving way to an increasing top-down control (hillslope lowering is faster than channel incision). With low precipitation, relief growth is controlled by stream incision and knickzone retreat into a largely undissected plateau. With higher precipitation rates, relief is set by the steepness of graded streams and the rates of sediment production and transport on hillslopes. Trends of topography can also be interpreted in temporal terms in which the higher precipitation results in shorter response times, such that the Peruvian Andes between 10 and 20 degrees S are still responding to Miocene uplift, while in the Chilean Andes between 35 and 40 degrees S, these knickzones have already propagated through the entire fluvial network. We anticipate that such changes also operate during the formation and destruction of other mountainous plateau landscapes.
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