South Polar Region of Mars: Topography and Geology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schenk, P. M.; Moore, J. M.

1999-01-01

The polar layered deposits of Mars represent potentially important volatile reservoirs and tracers for the planet's geologically recent climate history. Unlike the north polar cap, the uppermost surface of the bright residual south polar deposit is probably composed of carbon dioxide ice. It is unknown whether this ice extends through the entire thickness of the deposit. The Mars Polar Lander (MPL), launched in January 1999, is due to arrive in December 1999 to search for water and carbon dioxide on layered deposits near the south pole (SP) of Mars. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Summer South Polar Cap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

13 April 2004 The martian south polar residual ice cap is composed mainly of frozen carbon dioxide. Each summer, a little bit of this carbon dioxide sublimes away. Pits grow larger, and mesas get smaller, as this process continues from year to year. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a view of a small portion of the south polar cap as it appeared in mid-summer in January 2004. The dark areas may be places where the frozen carbon dioxide contains impurities, such as dust, or places where sublimation of ice has roughened the surface so that it appears darker because of small shadows cast by irregularities in the roughened surface. The image is located near 86.9oS, 7.6oW. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

South Polar Cap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

17 March 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows mesas and pits formed by sublimation of carbon dioxide of the south polar cap.

Location near: 85.8oS, 351.5oW Image width: 2 km (1.2 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Summer

Mobile Lid Convection Beneath Enceladus' South Polar Terrain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barr, Amy C.

2008-01-01

Enceladus' south polar region has a large heat flux, 55-110 milliwatts per square meter (or higher), that is spatially associated with cryovolcanic and tectonic activity. Tidal dissipation and vigorous convection in the underlying ice shell are possible sources of heat; however, prior predictions of the heat flux carried by stagnant lid convection range from F(sub conv) 15 to 30 milliwatts per square meter, too low to explain the observed heat flux. The high heat flux and increased cryovolcanic and tectonic activity suggest that near-surface ice in the region has become rheologically and mechanically weakened enough to permit convective plumes to reach close to the surface. If the yield strength of Enceladus' lithosphere is less than 1-10 kPa, convection may instead occur in the mobile lid" regime, which is characterized by large heat fluxes and large horizontal velocities in the near-surface ice. I show that model ice shells with effective surface viscosities between 10(exp 16) and 10(exp 17) Pa s and basal viscosities between 10(exp 13) and 10(exp 15) Pa s have convective heat fluxes comparable to that observed by the Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer. If this style of convection is occurring, the south polar terrain should be spreading horizontally with v1-10 millimeter per year and should be resurfaced in 0.1-10 Ma. On the basis of Cassini imaging data, the south polar terrain is 0.5 Ma old, consistent with the mobile lid hypothesis. Maxwell viscoelastic tidal dissipation in such ice shells is not capable of generating enough heat to balance convective heat transport. However, tidal heat may also be generated in the near-surface along faults as suggested by Nimmo et al. and/or viscous dissipation within the ice shell may occur by other processes not accounted for by the canonical Maxwell dissipation model.

Mars South Polar Cap 'Fingerprint' Terrain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

This picture is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

Some portions of the martian south polar residual cap have long, somewhat curved troughs instead of circular pits. These appear to form in a layer of material that may be different than that in which 'swiss cheese' circles and pits form, and none of these features has any analog in the north polar cap or elsewhere on Mars. This picture shows the 'fingerprint' terrain as a series of long, narrow depressions considered to have formed by collapse and widening by sublimation of ice. Unlike the north polar cap, the south polar region stays cold enough in summer to retain frozen carbon dioxide. Viking Orbiter observations during the late 1970s showed that very little water vapor comes off the south polar cap during summer, indicating that any frozen water that might be there remains solid throughout the year.

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image was obtained in early southern spring on August 4, 1999. It shows an area 3 x 5 kilometers (1.9 x 3.1 miles) at a resolution of about 7.3 meters (24 ft) per pixel. Located near 86.0oS, 53.9oW.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

South Polar Cryptic Region Revisited: THEMIS Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Titus, T. N.; Kieffer, H. H.; Plaut, J. J.; Christensen, P. R.; Ivanov, A. B.

2003-01-01

The early part of the Mars Global Surveyor mission provided good TES coverage of the Mars south polar region. These data allow mapping of the polar cap recession, surface and atmospheric temperatures, and albedo features found within the seasonal cap itself over Ls = 180 - 270 deg. During this period, the seasonal south polar cap retreated continuously and asymmetrically around the geographic pole, similar to the observations of Viking in 1976- 1977 [3]. A prominent albedo feature on the seasonal cap is a region that appears almost as dark as bare ground, yet remains cold. We refer to this region, generally located between latitudes 85 deg. S and 75 deg. S and longitudes 150 deg. W and 310 deg. W, as the Cryptic region.

South Polar Cap Erosion and Aprons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

This scene is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

While Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images have shown that the north and south polar cap surfaces are very different from each other, one thing that the two have in common is that they both seem to have been eroded. Erosion in the north appears mostly to come in the form of pits from which ice probably sublimed to vapor and was transported away from the polar cap by wind. Erosion in the south takes on a wider range of possible processes that include collapse, slumping and mass-movement on slopes, and probably sublimation. Among the landforms created by these process on the south polar cap are the 'aprons' that surround mesas and buttes of remnant layers such as the two almost triangular features in the lower quarter of this image. The upper slopes of the two triangular features show a stair-stepped pattern that suggest these hills are layered.

This image shows part of the south polar residual cap near 86.9oS, 78.5oW, and covers an area approximately 1.2 by 1.0 kilometers (0.7 x 0.6 miles) in size. The image has a resolution of 2.2 meters per pixel. The picture was taken on September 11, 1999.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

More South Polar "Swiss Cheese"

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-04-24

This image is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. Some of the surface of the residual south polar cap has a pattern that resembles that of sliced, swiss cheese. Shown here at the very start of southern spring is a frost-covered surface in which there are two layers evident--a brighter upper layer into which are set swiss cheese-like holes, and a darker, lower layer that lies beneath the "swiss cheese" pattern. Nothing like this exists anywhere on Mars except within the south polar cap. This is a Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image acquired on August 2, 1999. It is located near 84.8°S, 71.8°W, and covers an area 3 km across and about 6.1 km long (1.9 by 3.8 miles). http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02368

Four Mars Years of South Polar Changes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] [figure removed for brevity, see original site] View in 1999View in 2001View in 2003View in 2005

One of the most profound discoveries that would not have been possible if NASA's Mars Global Surveyor mission had not been extended beyond its primary mission of one Mars year (687 Earth days) is that of dramatic changes that take place in the south polar residual ice cap each martian year. To make this discovery, the Mars Orbiter Camera on the spacecraft had to be employed during a second Mars year to repeat images of sites on the south polar cap that had been imaged during the primary mission.

The initial discovery was made in 2001, when the camera team repeated images of portions of the south polar cap that had already been imaged in 1999. The goal of these images was to obtain stereo views, which would allow investigators to see the topography of the cap in three dimensions and to measure the thickness of the polar ice layers.

It was not possible to produce the desired 3-D views. To the team's surprise, the landforms of the south polar cap had changed.

The south polar residual cap -- that is, the portion of the ice cap that remains bright and retains ice throughout the southern summer season -- was seen in 1997 and 1999 images to have a complex terrain of broad, relatively flat mesas, small buttes, and many pits and troughs. Pits are generally circular and in some areas visually resemble a stack of thin slices of Swiss cheese. Very early in the Mars Global Surveyor mission, the Mars Orbiter Camera team speculated that these landforms must be carved into frozen carbon dioxide, because they look so unfamiliar and because Viking orbiter infrared measurements indicated that the south polar cap is cold enough consist of frozen carbon dioxide, even in summer.

The observations made by Mars Orbiter Camera in 2001, during the first part of the extended mission, showed that the scarps and pit walls of

South Polar Polygons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

4 July 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a polgyon-cracked surface, into which deep, somewhat kidney-bean-shaped pits have formed. These are landscapes of the martian south polar residual cap. This view was captured during May 2005.

Location near: 86.9oS, 5.1oW Image width: 1.5 km (0.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season Southern Spring

South Polar Depression

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

14 August 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a circular depression and a suite of eroding mesas of carbon dioxide. These features occur in the south polar residual cap of Mars. The eroding carbon dioxide creates landforms reminiscent of 'Swiss cheese.' The circular feature might indicate the location of a filled, buried impact crater.

Location near: 86.8oS, 111.0oW Image width: width: 3 km (1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Spring

South Polar Polygons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-473, 4 September 2003

Looking somewhat like the roadmap of a city on Earth, this August 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows patterned ground--a mosaic of polygonal forms--highlighted by seasonal frost in the south polar region near 86.3oS, 310.2oW. Dark surfaces in this springtime view are areas from which cold, carbon dioxide frost has been subliming away. The picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

Stereo Topography of the South Polar of Mar: Volatile Inventory and Mars Polar Landing Landing Site

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schenk, Paul M.; Moore, Jeffrey M.

2000-01-01

Viking stereo images and topographic maps reveal that the south polar layered deposits of Mars are topographically complex and morphologically distinct from the north polar layered deposits. The dominant feature is a 500-km-wide topographic dome that rises 3 km above the surrounding plains. This dome underlies the residual ice cap but is at least 50% larger in area. Erosional scarps and terraces indicate that this dome was once more extensive and has undergone erosional retreat. Adjacent to the dome, layered deposits form a vast plateau 1-1.5 km high extending approximately 1000 km beyond and to one side of the residual south polar cap. This plateau is relatively flat at kilometer scales, although it is cut in places by troughs and depressions, which have locally steep scarps up to 2 km high and sloping up to roughly 10 deg. Contiguously flat kilometer-scale regions the size of the Mars Polar Lander (MPL) landing ellipse are present. These are in the form of plateaus 100-300 km wide and 1-2 km high. One of the largest of these plateaus has been proposed as a landing site for the Mars Polar Lander (MPL). The volume associated with the south polar layered deposits may be comparable to those of the layered deposits at the north pole. Although this doubles the current probable inventory of surface ice on Mars, it still falls far short of accounting for the inferred volume of water on Mars in the past.

High Latitude Meridional Flow on the Sun May Explain North-South Polar Field Asymmetry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kosak, Katie; Upton, Lisa; Hathaway, David

2012-01-01

We measured the flows of magnetic elements on the Sun at very high latitudes by analyzing magnetic images from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Mission. Magnetic maps constructed using a fixed, and north-south symmetric, meridional flow profile give weaker than observed polar fields in the North and stronger than observed polar fields in the South during the decline of Cycle 23 and rise of Cycle 24. Our measurements of the meridional flow at high latitudes indicate systematic north-south differences. There was a strong flow in the North while the flow in the South was weaker. With these results, we have a possible solution to the polar field asymmetry. The weaker flow in the South should keep the polar fields from becoming too strong while the stronger flow in the North should strengthen the field there. In order to gain a better understanding of the Solar Cycle and magnetic flux transport on the Sun, we need further observations and analyses of the Sun's polar regions in general and the polar meridonal flow in particular.

High Latitude Meridional Flow on the Sun May Explain North-South Polar Field Asymmetry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kosak, Katie; Upton, Lisa; Hathaway, David

2012-01-01

We measured the flows of magnetic elements on the Sun at very high latitudes by analyzing magnetic images from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Mission. Magnetic maps constructed using a fixed, and north ]south symmetric, meridional flow profile give weaker than observed polar fields in the North and stronger than observed polar fields in the South during the decline of Cycle 23 and rise of Cycle 24. Our measurements of the meridional flow at high latitudes indicate systematic north ]south differences. There was a strong flow in the North while the flow in the South was weaker. With these results, we have a possible solution to the polar field asymmetry. The weaker flow in the South should keep the polar fields from becoming too strong while the stronger flow in the North should strengthen the field there. In order to gain a better understanding of the Solar Cycle and magnetic flux transport on the Sun, we need further observations and analyses of the Sun fs polar regions in general and the polar meridional flow in particular

More South Polar 'Swiss Cheese'

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

This image is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

Some of the surface of the residual south polar cap has a pattern that resembles that of sliced, swiss cheese. Shown here at the very start of southern spring is a frost-covered surface in which there are two layers evident--a brighter upper layer into which are set swiss cheese-like holes, and a darker, lower layer that lies beneath the 'swiss cheese' pattern. Nothing like this exists anywhere on Mars except within the south polar cap.

This is a Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image acquired on August 2,1999. It is located near 84.8oS, 71.8oW, and covers an area 3 km across and about 6.1 km long (1.9 by 3.8 miles).

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Ir Spectral Mapping of the Martian South Polar Residual CAP Using Crism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, Jacqueline; Sidiropoulos, Panagiotis; Muller, Jan-Peter

2016-06-01

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are considered to be important in theories of abiogenesis (Allamandola, 2011) . There is evidence that PAHs have been detected on two icy Saturnian satellites using the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) on the Cassini spacecraft (Cruikshank et al., 2007). The hypothesised presence of PAHs in Mars south polar cap has not been systematically examined even though the Mars south polar cap may allow the preservation of organic molecules that are typically destroyed at the Martian surface by UV radiation (Dartnell et al. 2012). This hypothesis is supported by recent analyses of South Polar Residual Cap (SPRC) structural evolution (Thomas et al., 2009) that suggest the possibility that seasonal and long term sublimation may excavate dust particles from within the polar ice. Periodic sublimation is believed to be responsible for the formation of so-called "Swiss Cheese Terrain", a unique surface feature found only in the Martian south polar residual cap consisting of flat floored, circular depressions (Byrne, 2009). We show the first examples of work towards the detection of PAHs in Swiss Cheese Terrain, using data from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). CRISM is designed to search for mineralogical indications of past and present water, thus providing extensive coverage of the south polar cap. In this work, we discuss whether CRISM infrared spectra can be used to detect PAHs in Swiss Cheese Terrain and demonstrate a number of maps showing shifts in spectral profiles over the SPRC.

High Latitude Meridional Flow on the Sun May Explain North-South Polar Field Asymmetry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kosak, Katie; Upton, Lisa; Hathaway, David

2012-01-01

We measured the flows of magnetic elements on the Sun at very high latitudes by analyzing magnetic images from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Mission. Magnetic maps constructed using a fixed, and north-south symmetric, meridional flow profile give weaker than observed polar fields in the North and stronger than observed polar fields in the South during the decline of Cycle 23 and rise of Cycle 24. Our measurements of the meridional flow at high latitudes indicate systematic north-south differences. In the fall of 2010 (when the North Pole was most visible), there was a strong flow in the North while in the spring of 2011 (when the South Pole was most visible) the flow there was weaker. With these results, we have a possible solution to this polar field asymmetry. The weaker flow in the South should keep the polar fields from becoming too strong while the stronger flow in the North should strengthen the field there. In order to gain a better understanding of the Solar Cycle and magnetic flux transport on the Sun, we need further observations and analyses of the Sun s polar regions in general and the polar meridional flow in particular.

South Polar 'Poodle'

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-422, 15 July 2003

Have you ever stared up at the clouds in the sky and seen the shapes of animals, people, or objects? Sometimes when the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) team is looking at newly-returned pictures from Mars, the same thing happens. This is a picture of pits and scarps in the frozen south polar carbon dioxide ice cap. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper right. At the bottom of the picture is a feature that resembles a long, thin poodle; its head faces to the left, the tail to the right. This picture is located near 86.9oS, 55.8oW.

Thermal and albedo mapping of the north and south polar regions of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paige, D. A.; Keegan, K. D.

1991-01-01

The first maps of the thermal properties of the north and south polar region of Mars are presented. The maps complete the mapping of the entire planet. The maps for the north polar region were derived from Viking Infrared Thermal Mapper (IRTM) observations obtained from 10 Jun. to 30 Sep. 1978. This period corresponds to the early summer season in the north, when the north residual water ice cap was exposed, and the polar surface temperatures were near their maximum. The maps in the south were derived from observations obtained between 24 Aug. to 23 Sep. 1977. This period corresponds to the late summer season in the south, when the seasonal polar cap had retreated to close to its residual configuration, and the second global dust storm of 1977 had largely subsided. The major results concerning the following topics are summarized: (1) surface water ice; (2) polar dune material; and (3) dust deposits.

Transient surface liquid in Titan's south polar region from Cassini

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hayes, A.G.; Aharonson, O.; Lunine, J.I.; Kirk, R.L.; Zebker, H.A.; Wye, L.C.; Lorenz, R.D.; Turtle, E.P.; Paillou, P.; Mitri, Giuseppe; Wall, S.D.; Stofan, E.R.; Mitchell, K.L.; Elachi, C.

2011-01-01

Cassini RADAR images of Titan's south polar region acquired during southern summer contain lake features which disappear between observations. These features show a tenfold increases in backscatter cross-section between images acquired one year apart, which is inconsistent with common scattering models without invoking temporal variability. The morphologic boundaries are transient, further supporting changes in lake level. These observations are consistent with the exposure of diffusely scattering lakebeds that were previously hidden by an attenuating liquid medium. We use a two-layer model to explain backscatter variations and estimate a drop in liquid depth of approximately 1-m-per-year. On larger scales, we observe shoreline recession between ISS and RADAR images of Ontario Lacus, the largest lake in Titan's south polar region. The recession, occurring between June 2005 and July 2009, is inversely proportional to slopes estimated from altimetric profiles and the exponential decay of near-shore backscatter, consistent with a uniform reduction of 4 ± 1.3 m in lake depth. Of the potential explanations for observed surface changes, we favor evaporation and infiltration. The disappearance of dark features and the recession of Ontario's shoreline represents volatile transport in an active methane-based hydrologic cycle. Observed loss rates are compared and shown to be consistent with available global circulation models. To date, no unambiguous changes in lake level have been observed between repeat images in the north polar region, although further investigation is warranted. These observations constrain volatile flux rates in Titan's hydrologic system and demonstrate that the surface plays an active role in its evolution. Constraining these seasonal changes represents the first step toward our understanding of longer climate cycles that may determine liquid distribution on Titan over orbital time periods.

South Polar Artwork

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-456, 18 August 2003

Nature has created some interesting artwork on the south polar residual cap of Mars. This July 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an example. The patterns in this picture are formed by erosion and sublimation of multiple layers of frozen carbon dioxide. The artwork is ephemeral and changing with each passing summer. By the end of the coming southern summer, the scarps in this area will have retreated an average of 3 meters (3.3 yards); some of the smaller buttes and ridges will have vanished. This picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is located near 86.6oS, 358.2oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

South Polar Ice Cap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-337, 21 April 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the 'swiss cheese' pattern of frozen carbon dioxide on the south polar residual cap. Observation of these materials over two Mars years has revealed that the scarps that bound the mesas and small buttes are retreating-the carbon dioxide ice is subliming away-at a rate of about 3 meters (3 yards) per Mars year in some places. The picture covers an area about 900 m (about 900 yards) wide near 87.1oS, 93.7oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

Complete mitochondrial genome of the South Polar Skua Stercorarius maccormicki (Charadriiformes, Stercorariidae) in Antarctica.

PubMed

Han, Yeong-Deok; Baek, Ye-Seul; Kim, Jeong-Hoon; Choi, Han-Gu; Kim, Sanghee

2016-05-01

The South Polar Skua, gull-like seabirds is the most fascinating Antarctic seabirds that lay two eggs at sites free of snow and ice and predominantly hunt pelagic fish and penguins. Blood samples of the South Polar Skua Stercorarius maccormicki was collected during the summer activity near King Sejong station in Antarctica. The complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of S. maccormicki was 16,669 bp, showing conserved genome structure and orientation found in other avian species. The control region of S. maccormicki was 93- and 80 bp shorter compared to those of Chroicocephalus saundersi and Synthliboramphus antiquus respectively. Interestingly, there is a (CAACAAACAA)6 repeat sequence in the control region. Our results of S. maccormicki mt genome including the repeat sequence, may provide useful genetic information for phylogenetic and phylogeographic histories of the southern skua complex.

Discovery of araneiforms outside of the South Polar Layered Deposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwamb, Megan E.; Aye, K.-Michael; Portyankina, Ganna; Hansen, Candice; Lintott, Chris J.; Allen, Campbell; Allen, Sarah; Calef, Fred J.; Duca, Simone; McMaster, Adam; R. M Miller, Grant

2017-10-01

Mars' south polar region is sculpted by the seasonal cycle of freezing and thawing of exposed carbon dioxide (CO2) ice. In the Southern Spring, CO2 jets loft dust and dirt through cracks in the sublimating CO2 ice sheet to the surface where winds blow the material into the hundreds of thousands of dark fans observed from orbit. During this seasonal process, it is thought that the CO2 gas also exploits weaknesses in the surface below the ice sheet to carve dendritic channels known as araneiforms. Planet Four: Terrains (http://terrains.planetfour.org) is a citizen science project enlisting the general public to review ~6 m/pixel resolution Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Context Camera (CTX) subimages to identify: (1) araneiforms (including features with a central pit and radiating channels known as ‘spiders’) (2) erosional depressions, troughs, mesas, ridges, and quasi-circular pits characteristic of the South Polar Residual Cap (SPRC) which we collectively refer to as ‘Swiss cheese terrain’, and (3) craters.We provide an overview of Planet Four: Terrains and discuss the distributions of our high confidence classic spider araneiforms and Swiss cheese terrain identifications in CTX images covering 11% of the South polar regions at latitudes ≤ -75 degrees N. Previously spiders were reported as being confined to the South Polar Layered Deposits (SPLD). We present the first identification of araneiforms at locations outside of the SPLD and discuss the implications for the CO2 jet hypothesis.Acknowledgements: This work uses data generated via the Zooniverse.org platform, development of which was supported by a Global Impact Award from Google, and by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. We also thank the HIRSE and MRO Teams for their help in scheduling and acquiring our requested observations.

Monstrous Ice Cloud System in Titan's Present South Polar Stratosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Carrie; Samuelson, Robert; McLain, Jason; Achterberg, Richard; Flasar, F. Michael; Milam, Stefanie

2015-11-01

During southern autumn when sunlight was still available, Cassini's Imaging Science Subsystem discovered a cloud around 300 km near Titan's south pole (West, R. A. et al., AAS/DPS Abstracts, 45, #305.03, 2013); the cloud was later determined by Cassini's Visible and InfraRed Mapping Spectrometer to contain HCN ice (de Kok et al., Nature, 514, pp 65-67, 2014). This cloud has proven to be only the tip of an extensive ice cloud system contained in Titan's south polar stratosphere, as seen through the night-vision goggles of Cassini's Composite InfraRed Spectrometer (CIRS). As the sun sets and the gloom of southern winter approaches, evidence is beginning to accumulate from CIRS far-IR spectra that a massive system of nitrile ice clouds is developing in Titan's south polar stratosphere. Even during the depths of northern winter, nothing like the strength of this southern system was evident in corresponding north polar regions.From the long slant paths that are available from limb-viewing CIRS far-IR spectra, we have the first definitive detection of the ν6 band of cyanoacetylene (HC3N) ice in Titan’s south polar stratosphere. In addition, we also see a strong blend of nitrile ice lattice vibration features around 160 cm-1. From these data we are able to derive ice abundances. The most prominent (and still chemically unidentified) ice emission feature, the Haystack, (at 220 cm-1) is also observed. We establish the vertical distributions of the ice cloud systems associated with both the 160 cm-1 feature and the Haystack. The ultimate aim is to refine the physical and possibly the chemical relationships between the two. Transmittance thin film spectra of nitrile ice mixtures obtained in our Spectroscopy for Planetary ICes Environments (SPICE) laboratory are used to support these analyses.

Thermal and albedo mapping of the north and south polar regions of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paige, D. A.; Keegan, K. D.

1991-01-01

The first maps are presented of the north and south polar regions of Mars. The thermal properties of the midlatitude regions from -60 deg to +60 deg latitude were mapped in previous studies. The presented maps complete the mapping of entire planet. The maps for the north and south polar regions were derived from Viking Infrared Thermal Mapper (IRTM) observations. Best fit thermal inertias were determined by comparing the available IRTM 20 micron channel brightness within a given region to surface temperatures computed by a diurnal and seasonal thermal model. The model assumes no atmospheric contributions to the surface heat balance. The resulting maps of apparent thermal inertia and average IRTM measured solar channel lambert albedo for the north and south polar regions from the poles to +/- 60 deg latitude.

SOUTH POL: Revealing the Polarized Southern Sky

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magalhães, A. M.

2014-10-01

SOUTH POL will be a survey of the Southern sky in optical polarized light. It will use a newly designed polarimeter for an 80cm Robotic Telescope. Telescope and polarimeter will be installed at CTIO, Chile. The initial goal is to cover the sky south of declination -15° in about two years of observing time, aiming at a polarimetric accuracy ≤ 0.1% down to V=15, with a camera covering a field of about 2.0 square degrees. SOUTH POL will impact areas such as Cosmology, Extragalactic Astronomy, Interstellar Medium of the Galaxy and Magellanic Clouds, Star Formation, Stellar Envelopes, Stellar Explosions and Solar System, among others. The polarimeter is currently being built and its optics and electronics assembled. We will describe the current status of the project. This project is supported by FAPESP. AMM is also supported by CNPq.

South Polar Polygons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

4 March 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a spectacular suite of large and small polygons in the south polar region. On Earth, polygons such as these would be indicators of the presence of ground ice. Whether this is true for Mars remains to be determined, but it is interesting to note that these polygons do occur in a region identified by the Mars Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) team as a place with possible ground ice. The polygons are in an old impact crater located near 62.9oS, 281.4oW. This 1.5 meter (5 ft.) per pixel view covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. To see the smaller set of polygons, the reader must view the full-resolution image (click on picture, above).

Mars south polar spring and summer temperatures - A residual CO2 frost

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kieffer, H. H.

1979-01-01

Viking infrared thermal mapper (IRTM) energy measurements over the Mars south polar cap throughout the Martian spring and summer revealed complex spatial, spectral, and temporal variations. High albedos did not directly correspond with low temperatures, and as the cap shrank to its residual position, it maintained large differences in brightness temperature between the four IRTM surface-sensing bands at 7, 9, 11, and 20 microns. The late summer infrared spectral pattern can be matched by a surface consisting of CO2 frost with 20 micron emissivity of 0.8 and about 6% dark, warm soil under a dusty atmosphere of moderate infrared opacity and spectral properties similar to those measured for the Martian global dust storms. Low temperature, the absence of appreciable water vapor in the south polar atmosphere, and the absence of surface warming expected if H2O were to become exposed, all imply that the residual south polar cap was covered by solid CO2.

Effects of Atmospheric Dust on Residual South Polar Cap Stability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bonrv, B. P.; Bjorkman, J. E.; Hansen, G. B.; James, P. B.; Wolff, M. J.

2005-01-01

The Martian polar caps have been studied from the time of Herschel. Neither polar cap normally disappears in summer. The Residual North Polar Cap (portion that remains through summer) is composed of a mixture of water ice and dust, and its interannual stability is due to its low sublimation rate at the summer temperatures in the North Polar Region. The Residual South Polar Cap (RSPC) is more enigmatic, surviving the relatively hot perihelic summer season despite being composed of much more volatile CO2. It is able to do so because of its unusually high albedo, which is larger than that of other bright regions in the seasonal cap (e.g. Mountains of Mitchel). The proximity of the albedo of the RSPC to the critical albedo for stability raises the question of whether the RSPC exists in every Martian year. The ground based record is somewhat ambivalent. Douglass and Lowell reported that RSPC suddenly vanished at Ls=297deg in 1894 and did not reappear until Ls=0deg [1], and Kuiper reported that it disappeared in 1956 [2]; but both observations were questioned by contemporaries, who tended to attribute them to obscuring dust. Barker [3] reported a large amount of water vapor over the south polar cap in 1969 that could be attributed to exposure of near surface water ice during partial removal of the CO2 in the RSPC in 1969.

Continuous Lidar Monitoring of Polar Stratospheric Clouds at the South Pole

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Campbell, James R.; Welton, Ellsworth J.; Spinhirne, James D

2009-01-01

Polar stratospheric clouds (PSC) play a primary role in the formation of annual ozone holes over Antarctica during the austral sunrise. Meridional temperature gradients in the lower stratosphere and upper troposphere, caused by strong radiative cooling, induce a broad dynamic vortex centered near the South Pole that decouples and insulates the winter polar airmass. PSC nucleate and grow as vortex temperatures gradually fall below equilibrium saturation and frost points for ambient sulfate, nitrate, and water vapor concentrations (generally below 197 K). Cloud surfaces promote heterogeneous reactions that convert stable chlorine and bromine-based molecules into photochemically active ones. As spring nears, and the sun reappears and rises, photolysis decomposes these partitioned compounds into individual halogen atoms that react with and catalytically destroy thousands of ozone molecules before they are stochastically neutralized. Despite a generic understanding of the ozone hole paradigm, many key components of the system, such as cloud occurrence, phase, and composition; particle growth mechanisms; and denitrification of the lower stratosphere have yet to be fully resolved. Satellite-based observations have dramatically improved the ability to detect PSC and quantify seasonal polar chemical partitioning. However, coverage directly over the Antarctic plateau is limited by polar-orbiting tracks that rarely exceed 80 degrees S. In December 1999, a NASA Micropulse Lidar Network instrument (MPLNET) was first deployed to the NOAA Earth Systems Research Laboratory (ESRL) Atmospheric Research Observatory at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station for continuous cloud and aerosol profiling. MPLNET instruments are eye-safe, capable of full-time autonomous operation, and suitably rugged and compact to withstand long-term remote deployment. With only brief interruptions during the winters of 2001 and 2002, a nearly continuous data archive exists to the present.

South Polar Hills

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2006-01-01

28 January 2006 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a summer scene from the south polar region of Mars. The circular feature in the northeast (upper right) corner of the image is an old meteor impact crater that has been partially filled and buried. The cone-shaped hill that occurs within the crater on its east (right) side is a remnant of material that once covered and completely buried the crater. Perhaps beneath the surfaces in the rest of the image there are other craters that have been filled and buried such that we cannot know, from an image, that they ever existed. The theme of filled, buried, and exhumed craters is one that repeats itself -- over and over again -- all over Mars.

Location near: 80.3oS, 286.1oW Image width: 3 km (1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Summer

Planet Four: Terrains - Discovery of araneiforms outside of the South Polar layered deposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwamb, Megan E.; Aye, Klaus-Michael; Portyankina, Ganna; Hansen, Candice J.; Allen, Campbell; Allen, Sarah; Calef, Fred J.; Duca, Simone; McMaster, Adam; Miller, Grant R. M.

2018-07-01

We present the results of a systematic mapping of seasonally sculpted terrains on the South Polar region of Mars with the Planet Four: Terrains (P4T) online citizen science project. P4T enlists members of the general public to visually identify features in the publicly released Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Context Camera (CTX) images. In particular, P4T volunteers are asked to identify: (1) araneiforms (including features with a central pit and radiating channels known as 'spiders'); (2) erosional depressions, troughs, mesas, ridges, and quasi-circular pits characteristic of the South Polar Residual Cap (SPRC) which we collectively refer to as 'Swiss cheese terrain', and (3) craters. In this work we present the distributions of our high confidence classic spider araneiforms and Swiss cheese terrain identifications in 90 CTX images covering 11% of the South polar regions at latitudes ≤ -75° N. We find no locations within our high confidence spider sample that also have confident Swiss cheese terrain identifications. Previously spiders were reported as being confined to the South Polar Layered Deposits (SPLD). Our work has provided the first identification of spiders at locations outside of the SPLD, confirmed with high resolution HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) imaging. We find araneiforms on the Amazonian and Hesperian polar units and the Early Noachian highland units, with 75% of the identified araneiform locations in our high confidence sample residing on the SPLD. With our current coverage, we cannot confirm whether these are the only geologic units conducive to araneiform formation on the Martian South Polar region. Our results are consistent with the current CO2 jet formation scenario with the process exploiting weaknesses in the surface below the seasonal CO2 ice sheet to carve araneiform channels into the regolith over many seasons. These new regions serve as additional probes of the conditions required for channel creation in the CO2

SOUTH POL: Revealing the Polarized Southern Sky

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magalhaes, Antonio Mario Mario; Ramírez, Edgar; Ribeiro, Nadili; Seriacopi, Daiane; Rubinho, Marcelo; Ferrari, Tiberio; Rodrigues, Claudia; Schoenell, William; Herpich, Fabio; Pereyra, Antonio

2018-01-01

SOUTH POL will be a survey of the Southern sky in optical polarized light. It will use a newly built polarimeter for T80-S, an 84 cm robotic telescope installed at Cerro Tololo (CTIO), Chile. It will initially cover the sky South of declination -15 deg with a polarimetric accuracy < 0.1% at V~14-15. The telescope and camera combination covers a field of about 2.0 square degrees.SOUTH POL will impact areas such as Cosmology, Extragalactic Astronomy, Interstellar Medium of the Galaxy and Magellanic Clouds, Star Formation, Stellar Envelopes, Stellar Explosions and Solar System.The polarimeter has just been commissioned in mid-November, 2017. The data reduction pipeline has already been built. We will describe the instrument and the data reduction, as well as a few of the science cases. The survey is expected to begin midway through the 1st semester of 2018. Both catalog data and raw images will be made available.

Active polarization descattering.

PubMed

Treibitz, Tali; Schechner, Yoav Y

2009-03-01

Vision in scattering media is important but challenging. Images suffer from poor visibility due to backscattering and attenuation. Most prior methods for scene recovery use active illumination scanners (structured and gated), which can be slow and cumbersome, while natural illumination is inapplicable to dark environments. The current paper addresses the need for a non-scanning recovery method, that uses active scene irradiance. We study the formation of images under widefield artificial illumination. Based on the formation model, the paper presents an approach for recovering the object signal. It also yields rough information about the 3D scene structure. The approach can work with compact, simple hardware, having active widefield, polychromatic polarized illumination. The camera is fitted with a polarization analyzer. Two frames of the scene are taken, with different states of the analyzer or polarizer. A recovery algorithm follows the acquisition. It allows both the backscatter and the object reflection to be partially polarized. It thus unifies and generalizes prior polarization-based methods, which had assumed exclusive polarization of either of these components. The approach is limited to an effective range, due to image noise and illumination falloff. Thus, the limits and noise sensitivity are analyzed. We demonstrate the approach in underwater field experiments.

IRTM brightness temperature maps of the Martian south polar region during the polar night: The cold spots don't move

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paige, D. A.; Crisp, D.; Santee, M. L.; Richardson, M. I.

1993-01-01

A series of infrared thermal mapper (IRTM) south polar brightness temperature maps obtained by Viking Orbiter 2 during a 35-day period during the southern fall season in 1978 was examined. The maps show a number of phenomena that have been identified in previous studies, including day to day brightness temperature variations in individual low temperature regions and the tendency for IRTM 11-micron channel brightness temperatures to also decrease in regions where low 20-micron channel brightness temperatures are observed. The maps also show new phenomena, the most striking of which is a clear tendency for the low brightness temperature regions to occur at fixed geographic regions. During this season, the coldest low brightness temperatures appear to be concentrated in distinct regions, with spatial scales ranging from 50 to 300 km. There are approximately a dozen of these concentrations, with the largest centered near the location of the south residual polar cap. Other concentrations are located at Cavi Angusti and close to the craters Main, South, Lau, and Dana. Broader, less intense regions appear to be well correlated with the boundaries of the south polar layered deposits and the Mountains of Mitchell. No evidence for horizontal motion of any of these regions has been detected.

An Inventory of Impact Craters on the Martian South Polar Layered Deposits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plaut, J. J.

2005-01-01

The polar layered deposits (PLD) of Mars continue to be a focus of study due to the possibility that these finely layered, volatile-rich deposits hold a record of recent eras in Martian climate history. Recently, the visible sensor on 2001 Mars Odyssey s Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) has acquired 36 meter/pixel contiguous single-band visible image data sets of both the north and the south polar layered deposits, during the local spring and summer seasons. In addition, significant coverage has been obtained at the THEMIS visible sensor s full resolution of 18 meters/pixel. This paper reports on the use of these data sets to further characterize the population of impact craters on the south polar layered deposits (SPLD), and the implications of the observed population for the age and evolution of the SPLD.

Titan South Polar Cloud Burst

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-06-03

This infrared image of Saturn's moon Titan shows a large burst of clouds in the moon's south polar region. These clouds form and move much like those on Earth, but in a much slower, more lingering fashion, new results from NASA's Cassini Spacecraft show. This image is a color composite, with red shown at a 5-micron wavelength, green at 2.7 microns, and blue at 2 microns. An infrared color mosaic is also used as a background image (red at 5 microns, green at 2 microns, blue at 1.3 microns). The images were taken by Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer during a flyby of Titan on March 26, 2007, known as T27. For a similar view see PIA12004. Titan's southern hemisphere still shows a very active meteorology (the cloud appears in white-reddish tones) even in 2007. According to climate models, these clouds should have faded out since 2005. Scientists have monitored Titan's atmosphere for three-and-a-half years, between July 2004 and December 2007, and observed more than 200 clouds. The way these clouds are distributed around Titan matches scientists' global circulation models. The only exception is timing—clouds are still noticeable in the southern hemisphere while fall is approaching. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA12005

Investigating Mercury's South Polar Deposits: Arecibo Radar Observations and High-Resolution Determination of Illumination Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chabot, Nancy L.; Shread, Evangela E.; Harmon, John K.

2018-02-01

There is strong evidence that Mercury's polar deposits are water ice hosted in permanently shadowed regions. In this study, we present new Arecibo radar observations of Mercury's south pole, which reveal numerous radar-bright deposits and substantially increase the radar imaging coverage. We also use images from MESSENGER's full mission to determine the illumination conditions of Mercury's south polar region at the same spatial resolution as the north polar region, enabling comparisons between the two poles. The area of radar-bright deposits in Mercury's south is roughly double that found in the north, consistent with the larger permanently shadowed area in the older, cratered terrain at the south relative to the younger smooth plains at the north. Radar-bright features are strongly associated with regions of permanent shadow at both poles, consistent with water ice being the dominant component of the deposits. However, both of Mercury's polar regions show that roughly 50% of permanently shadowed regions lack radar-bright deposits, despite some of these locations having thermal environments that are conducive to the presence of water ice. The observed uneven distribution of water ice among Mercury's polar cold traps may suggest that the source of Mercury's water ice was not a steady, regular process but rather that the source was an episodic event, such as a recent, large impact on the innermost planet.

Enceladus's south polar thermal anomaly in light of weak thermal convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Besserer, Jonathan; Golabek, Gregor J.; Rozel, Antoine; Tackley, Paul J.

2014-05-01

The south polar thermal anomaly of Enceladus, contrasting with older and colder northern regions, suggests an asymmetrical heat transfer in the satellite's ice shell. Most of the current models that explain such a distribution prescribe an a priori asymmetry by mean of a mechanical or topographical anomaly in or below the south polar ice shell. We present here a series of simulations with a 2D-spherical convection model to investigate the possibility of self-consistently generating a localized mechanical anomaly in the ice shell. We focus on the non-Newtonian character of ice rheology, and on the stability of a single-plume (i.e. localized convection) and low-degree convection regimes. We show that the non-Newtonian rheology favors a localized (tidally heated) convection surrounded by a conductive ice mantle, even with a global, liquid water ocean at the base of the ice shell. We find that the single-plume state is very unlikely to remain stable if the rheology is Newtonian. The proposed thermal regime for Enceladus's ice shell is therefore weak, single-plume thermal convection focused at the south pole (e.g., remnant of a formerly more vigorous convection). Such weak-to-sub-critical regimes may be important for icy satellites, as recently pointed out by Solomatov (2012, PEPI). We will discuss the effects of ice plasticity on heat focusing in Enceladus's South Polar Terrain, together with the possibility of an ice shell a factor ~2 thinner than previously thought (Hemingway et al., AGU 2013; Stevenson et al., AGU 2013).

Accumulation and erosion of Mars' south polar layered deposits.

PubMed

Seu, Roberto; Phillips, Roger J; Alberti, Giovanni; Biccari, Daniela; Bonaventura, Francesco; Bortone, Marco; Calabrese, Diego; Campbell, Bruce A; Cartacci, Marco; Carter, Lynn M; Catallo, Claudio; Croce, Anna; Croci, Renato; Cutigni, Marco; Di Placido, Antonio; Dinardo, Salvatore; Federico, Costanzo; Flamini, Enrico; Fois, Franco; Frigeri, Alessandro; Fuga, Oreste; Giacomoni, Emanuele; Gim, Yonggyu; Guelfi, Mauro; Holt, John W; Kofman, Wlodek; Leuschen, Carlton J; Marinangeli, Lucia; Marras, Paolo; Masdea, Arturo; Mattei, Stefania; Mecozzi, Riccardo; Milkovich, Sarah M; Morlupi, Antonio; Mouginot, Jérémie; Orosei, Roberto; Papa, Claudio; Paternò, Tobia; Persi del Marmo, Paolo; Pettinelli, Elena; Pica, Giulia; Picardi, Giovanni; Plaut, Jeffrey J; Provenziani, Marco; Putzig, Nathaniel E; Russo, Federica; Safaeinili, Ali; Salzillo, Giuseppe; Santovito, Maria Rosaria; Smrekar, Suzanne E; Tattarletti, Barbara; Vicari, Danilo

2007-09-21

Mars' polar regions are covered with ice-rich layered deposits that potentially contain a record of climate variations. The sounding radar SHARAD on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mapped detailed subsurface stratigraphy in the Promethei Lingula region of the south polar plateau, Planum Australe. Radar reflections interpreted as layers are correlated across adjacent orbits and are continuous for up to 150 kilometers along spacecraft orbital tracks. The reflectors are often separated into discrete reflector sequences, and strong echoes are seen as deep as 1 kilometer. In some cases, the sequences are dipping with respect to each other, suggesting an interdepositional period of erosion. In Australe Sulci, layers are exhumed, indicating recent erosion.

Thermal and albedo mapping of the polar regions of Mars using Viking thermal mapper observations: 2. South polar region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paige, David A.; Keegan, Kenneth D.

1994-01-01

We present the first maps of the apparent thermal inertia and albedo of the south polar region of Mars. The observations used to create these maps were acquired by the infrared thermal mapper (IRTM) instruments on the two Viking Orbiters over a 30-day period in 1977 during the Martian late southern summer season. The maps cover the region from 60 deg S to the south pole at a spatial resolution of 1 deg of latitude, thus completing the initial thermal mapping of the entire planet. The analysis and interpretation of these maps is aided by the results of a one-dimensional radiative convective model, which is used to calculate diurnal variations in surface and atmospheric temperatures, and brightness temperatures at the top of the atmosphere for a range of assumptions concerning dust optical properties and dust optical depths. The maps show that apparent thermal inertias of bare ground regions decrease systematically from 60 deg S to the south pole. In unfrosted regions close to the south pole, apparent thermal inertias are among the lowest observed anywhere on the planet. On the south residual cap, apparent thermal inertias are very high due to the presence of CO2 frost. In most other regions of Mars, best fit apparent albedos based on thermal emission measurements are generally in good agreement with actual surface albedos based on broadband solar reflectance measurements. The one-dimensional atmospheric model calculations also predict anomalously cold brightness temperatures close to the pole during late summer, and after considering a number of alternatives, it is concluded that the net surface cooling due to atmospheric dust is the best explanation for this phenomenon. The region of lowest apparent thermal inertia close to the pole, which includes the south polar layered deposits, is interpreted to be mantled by a continuous layer of aeolian material that must be at least a few millimeters thick. The low thermal inertias mapped in the south polar region imply an

Perennial water ice identified in the south polar cap of Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bibring, Jean-Pierre; Langevin, Yves; Poulet, François; Gendrin, Aline; Gondet, Brigitte; Berthé, Michel; Soufflot, Alain; Drossart, Pierre; Combes, Michel; Bellucci, Giancarlo; Moroz, Vassili; Mangold, Nicolas; Schmitt, Bernard; OMEGA Team; Erard, S.; Forni, O.; Manaud, N.; Poulleau, G.; Encrenaz, T.; Fouchet, T.; Melchiorri, R.; Altieri, F.; Formisano, V.; Bonello, G.; Fonti, S.; Capaccioni, F.; Cerroni, P.; Coradini, A.; Kottsov, V.; Ignatiev, N.; Titov, D.; Zasova, L.; Pinet, P.; Sotin, C.; Hauber, E.; Hoffman, H.; Jaumann, R.; Keller, U.; Arvidson, R.; Mustard, J.; Duxbury, T.; Forget, F.

2004-04-01

The inventory of water and carbon dioxide reservoirs on Mars are important clues for understanding the geological, climatic and potentially exobiological evolution of the planet. From the early mapping observation of the permanent ice caps on the martian poles, the northern cap was believed to be mainly composed of water ice, whereas the southern cap was thought to be constituted of carbon dioxide ice. However, recent missions (NASA missions Mars Global Surveyor and Odyssey) have revealed surface structures, altimetry profiles, underlying buried hydrogen, and temperatures of the south polar regions that are thermodynamically consistent with a mixture of surface water ice and carbon dioxide. Here we present the first direct identification and mapping of both carbon dioxide and water ice in the martian high southern latitudes, at a resolution of 2km, during the local summer, when the extent of the polar ice is at its minimum. We observe that this south polar cap contains perennial water ice in extended areas: as a small admixture to carbon dioxide in the bright regions; associated with dust, without carbon dioxide, at the edges of this bright cap; and, unexpectedly, in large areas tens of kilometres away from the bright cap.

Topography and geologic characteristics of aeolian grooves in the south polar layered deposits of Mars

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bridges, N.T.; Herkenhoff, K. E.

2002-01-01

The topographic and geologic characteristics of grooves and groove-like features in the south polar layered deposits near the Mars Polar Lander/Deep Space 2 landing sites are evaluated using Mariner 9 images and their derived photoclinometry, normalized using Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter data. Although both Mariner 9 and Viking images of the south polar layered deposits were available at the time of this study, Mariner 9 images of the grooves were selected because they were generally of higher resolution than Viking images. The dimensions and slopes of the grooves, together with orientations that nearly match the strongest winds predicted in the Martian Global Circulation Model and directions inferred from other wind indicators, suggest that they formed by aeolian scour of an easily erodible surface. Most grooves are symmetric and V-shaped in transverse profile, inconsistent with an origin involving extensional brittle deformation. Although the grooves strike along slopes and terraces of the south polar layered deposits, the variable depths and lack of terracing within the grooves themselves indicate that any stratigraphy in the uppermost 100 m of the polar layered deposits is composed of layers of similar, and relatively low, resistance. The grooves do not represent landing hazards at the scale of the Mariner 9 images (72-86 m/pixel) and therefore probably would not have affected Mars Polar Lander and Deep Space 2, had they successfully reached the surface. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).

Semi-automatic measures of activity in selected south polar regions of Mars using morphological image analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aye, Klaus-Michael; Portyankina, Ganna; Pommerol, Antoine; Thomas, Nicolas

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) onboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been used to monitor the seasonal evolution of several regions at high southern latitudes. Of particular interest have been jet-like activities that may result from the process described by Kieffer (2007), involving translucent CO2 ice. These jets are assumed to create fan-shaped ground features, as studied e.g. in Hansen et.al. (2010) and Portyankina et.al. (2010). In Thomas et.al. (2009), a small region of interest (ROI) inside the south polar Inca City region (81° S, 296° E) was defined for which the seasonal change of the number of fans was determined. This ROI was chosen for its strong visual variability in ground features. The mostly manual counting work showed, that the number of apparent fans increases monotonously for a considerable amount of time from the beginning of the spring time observations at Ls of 178° until approx. 230° , following the increase of available solar energy for the aforementioned processes of the Kieffer model. This fact indicates that the number of visual fan features can be used as an activity measure for the seasonal evolution of this area, in addition to commonly used evolution studies of surface reflectance. Motivated by these results, we would like to determine the fan count evolution for more south polar areas like Ithaca, Manhattan, Giza and others. To increase the reproducibility of the results by avoiding potential variability in fan shape recognition by human eye and to increase the production efficiency, efforts are being undertaken to automise the fan counting procedure. The techniques used, cleanly separated in different stages of the procedure, the difficulties for each stage and an overview of the tools used at each step will be presented. After showing a proof of concept in Aye et.al. (2010), for a ROI that is comparable to the one previously used for manual counting in Thomas et.al. (2009), we now will show

Investigating Mercury’s South Polar Deposits: Arecibo Radar Observations and High-resolution Determination of Illumination Conditions

PubMed Central

Chabot, Nancy L.; Shread, Evangela E.; Harmon, John K.

2018-01-01

There is strong evidence that Mercury’s polar deposits are water ice hosted in permanently shadowed regions. In this study, we present new Arecibo radar observations of Mercury’s south pole, which reveal numerous radar-bright deposits and substantially increase the radar imaging coverage. We also use images from MESSENGER’s full mission to determine the illumination conditions of Mercury’s south polar region at the same spatial resolution as the north polar region, enabling comparisons between the two poles. The area of radar-bright deposits in Mercury’s south is roughly double that found in the north, consistent with the larger permanently shadowed area in the older, cratered terrain at the south relative to the younger smooth plains at the north. Radar-bright features are strongly associated with regions of permanent shadow at both poles, consistent with water ice being the dominant component of the deposits. However, both of Mercury’s polar regions show that roughly 50% of permanently shadowed regions lack radar-bright deposits, despite some of these locations having thermal environments that are conducive to the presence of water ice. The observed uneven distribution of water ice among Mercury’s polar cold traps may suggest that the source of Mercury’s water ice was not a steady, regular process but rather that the source was an episodic event, such as a recent, large impact on the innermost planet. PMID:29552436

Implications of Martian North/South Polar Differences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murray, Bruce C.

2003-01-01

Our first requirement was to create the specialized tools necessary to precisely co-locate at highest spatial resolution the rapidly growing MOC/NA and MOLA data sets in the polar regions. This meant promptly creating a very accurate Mars Polar GIs system (based on the commercial ArcView product) along with various other supporting routines. Later we extended its use to the THEMIS/VIS data. That customized GIS and integrated data system has enabled all of our polar research to date. We focused initially on a preliminary geological reconnaissance in the Ultimi Lobe region of the South Polar Layered Deposits, which also included the intended MPL landing site about which much remote sensing data and interpretations had been accumulated before the failed landing attempt on December 3, 1999. The most interesting findings from that effort were discoveries about the layering, faulting and contact relationships exposed along the bounding scarp. Those results were published in Icarus. We have had a priority interest in the cratering record of the polar layered deposits, starting with the first post-Viking survey based on MOLA shaded relief maps and crossing profiles. Those results, based primarily on craters < 1 km diameter, were published in JGR and showed that a portion of the SPLD exhibited a large crater population consistent with an exposure age of 30 million years or more. Those craters also exhibited remarkably low Depth to Diameter ratios, which Asmin Pathare, then at UCLA, subsequently interpreted as due to slow viscous flow in the ice-rich material composing the PLD. Our cratering study also recognized that the craters of less than 1 km diameter were many order of magnitudes too few compared to what the crater production function of the larger craters requires.

Stratigraphy of the south polar region of Ganymede

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dehon, R. A.

1987-01-01

A preliminary assessment is made of the stratigraphy and geology in the south polar region of the Jovian satellite, Ganymede. Geologic mapping is based on inspection of Voyager images and compilation on an airbrush base map at a scale of 1:5M. Illumination and resolution vary greatly in the region. Approximately half of the quadripole is beyond the terminator. Low angle illumination over a large part of the area precludes distinction of some units by albedo characteristics. Several types of grooved terrain and groove related terrain occur in the southern polar region. Grooves typically occur in straight to curvilinear sets or lanes. Bright lanes and grooved lanes intersect at high angles outlining polygons of dark cratered terrain. Groove sets exhibit a range of ages as shown by superposition or truncation and by crater superposition ages.

A subsurface depocenter in the South Polar Layered Deposits of Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitten, J. L.; Campbell, B. A.; Morgan, G. A.

2017-08-01

The South Polar Layered Deposits (SPLD) are one of the largest water ice reservoirs on Mars, and their accumulation is driven by variations in the climate primarily controlled by orbital forcings. Patterns of subsurface layering in the SPLD provide important information about past atmospheric dust content, periods of substantial erosion, and variations in local or regional deposition. Here we analyze the SPLD using SHAllow RADar (SHARAD) sounder data to gain a unique perspective on the interior structure of the deposits and to determine what subsurface layers indicate about the preserved climate history. SHARAD data reveal a major deviation from the gently domical layering typical of the SPLD: a subsurface elongate dome. The dome most likely formed due to variations in the accumulation of ice and snow across the cap, with a higher rate occurring in this region over a prolonged period. This SPLD depositional center provides an important marker of south polar climate patterns.

Internal stratigraphy of the South Polar Layered Deposits, Mars from SHARAD data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitten, J. L.; Campbell, B. A.

2017-12-01

The South Polar Layered Deposits (SPLD) are one of the largest deposits of water ice on Mars, composed of alternating layers of ice and dust. The accumulation of the layers is driven by orbital forcings (e.g., obliquity) and both the cadence and structure of these layers preserve a record of the past martian climate. Image of very limited exposed layering suggest several distinct sequences, demarcated by erosional hiatuses, with a gently domical shape. Here we use the Shallow Radar (SHARAD) sounder dataset to investigate the internal stratigraphy of the SPLD in order to further constrain the south polar climate record. We identify four distinct units based in part on their degree of vertical sharpness (focus) in the SHARAD data: (1) upper focused layer packets, (2) focused layer packets, (3) blurred layer packets, and (4) reflection free zones (RFZs). A diffuse echo pattern related to uncertain aspects of composition or layer roughness is termed fog. The upper focused layer packets are concentrated in the area between 270° to 90°E, close to the residual polar cap. The focused and blurred layer packets cover a large portion of the SPLD and are subdivided into two different units, those with an average reflecting-interface brightness and those with substantially brighter reflectors. The brighter radar reflectors have a coherent spatial distribution and only comprise a small portion of the entire unit. The diffuse echoes are separated into a fog that is present throughout the entire vertical column of the SPLD and a fog that begins at the surface and traverses only the uppermost layers. Depending on the geometry of individual SHARAD tracks, reflectors can be traced for hundreds of kilometers, but the fog obscures much of the internal layering, and is related to the focusing distortion that prevents individual reflectors from being traced across the entire SPLD. We identify a major deviation from a gently domical SPLD shape in a 200 km dome. Its presence suggests

Investigating Mercury's South Polar Deposits with High-Resolution Determination of Illumination Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shread, E. E.; Chabot, N. L.

2018-05-01

High-resolution images acquired by MESSENGER's Mercury Dual Imaging System were used to investigate the illumination conditions of Mercury's south polar deposits and to map the areas of permanent shadow in the region to compare with radar imaging.

CO_2 Frost Halos on the South Polar Residual Cap of Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becerra, P.; Byrne, S.; HiRISE Team

2012-03-01

We present observational analysis, and a numerical model to explain the formation of bright CO_2 frost halos seen by HiRISE on the edges of scarps and "swiss cheese" features in the south polar residual cap of Mars.

Integration of Lunar Polar Remote-Sensing Data Sets: Evidence for Ice at the Lunar South Pole

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nozette, Stewart; Spudis, Paul D.; Robinson, Mark S.; Bussey, D. B. J.; Lichtenberg, Chris; Bonner, Robert

2001-01-01

In order to investigate the feasibility of ice deposits at the lunar south pole, we have integrated all relevant lunar polar data sets. These include illumination data, Arecibo ground-based monostatic radar data, newly processed Clementine bistatic radar data, and Lunar Prospector neutron spectrometer measurements. The possibility that the lunar poles harbor ice deposits has important implications not only as a natural resource for future human lunar activity but also as a record of inner solar system volatiles (e.g., comets and asteroids) over the past billion years or more. We find that the epithermal neutron flux anomalies, measured by Lunar Prospector, are coincident with permanently shadowed regions at the lunar south pole, particularly those associated with Shackleton crater. Furthermore, these areas also correlate with the beta=0 circular polarization ratio (CPR) enhancements revealed by new processing of Clementine bistatic radar echoes, which in turn are colocated with areas of anomalous high CPR observed by Arecibo Observatory on the lower, Sun-shadowed wall of Shackleton crater. Estimates of the extent of high CPR from Arecibo Observatory and Clementine bistatic radar data independently suggest that approximately 10 square kilometers of ice may be present on the inner Earth-facing wall of Shackleton crater. None of the experiments that obtained the data presented here were ideally suited for definitively identifying ice in lunar polar regions. By assessing the relative merits of all available data, we find that it is plausible that ice does occur in cold traps at the lunar south pole and that future missions with instruments specifically designed to investigate these anomalies are worthy.

North-south geological differences between the residual polar caps on Mars

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thomas, P.C.; Malin, M.C.; Edgett, K.S.; Carr, M.H.; Hartmann, W.K.; Ingersoll, A.P.; James, P.B.; Soderblom, L.A.; Veverka, J.; Sullivan, R.

2000-01-01

Polar processes can be sensitive indicators of global climate, and the geological features associated with polar ice caps can therefore indicate evolution of climate with time. The polar regions on Mars have distinctive morphologic and climatologic features: thick layered deposits, seasonal CO2 frost caps extending to mid latitudes, and near-polar residual frost deposits that survive the summer. The relationship of the seasonal and residual frost caps to the layered deposits has been poorly constrained, mainly by the limited spatial resolution of the available data. In particular, it has not been known if the residual caps represent simple thin frost cover or substantial geologic features. Here we show that the residual cap on the south pole is a distinct geologic unit with striking collapse and erosional topography; this is very different from the residual cap on the north pole, which grades into the underlying layered materials. These findings indicate that the differences between the caps are substantial (rather than reflecting short-lived differences in frost cover), and so support the idea of long-term asymmetry in the polar climates of Mars.

A Sublimation Model for the Martian Polar Swiss-Cheese Features. Observational and Modeling Studies of the South Polar Residual Cap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Byrne, Shane; Ingersoll, Andrew P.

2002-01-01

In their pioneering work Leighton and Murray argued that the Mars atmosphere, which is 95 percent CO2 today, is controlled by vapor equilibrium with a much larger polar reservoir of solid CO2. Here we argue that the polar reservoir is small and cannot function as a long-term buffer to the more massive atmosphere. Our work is based on modeling the circular depressions (Swiss-cheese features) in the south polar cap. We argue that a solid CO2 layer approximately 8 meters thick is being etched away to reveal water ice underneath. Preliminary results from the THEMIS (Thermal Emission Imaging System) instrument seem to confirm our model.

Full genome analysis of a novel adenovirus from the South Polar skua (Catharacta maccormicki) in Antarctica.

PubMed

Park, Yon Mi; Kim, Jeong-Hoon; Gu, Se Hun; Lee, Sook Young; Lee, Min-Goo; Kang, Yoon Kyoo; Kang, Sung-Ho; Kim, Hak Jun; Song, Jin-Won

2012-01-05

Adenoviruses have been identified in humans and a wide range of vertebrate animals, but not previously from the polar region. Here, we report the entire 26,340-bp genome of a novel adenovirus, detected by PCR, in tissues of six of nine South Polar skuas (Catharacta maccormicki), collected in Lake King Sejong, King George Island, Antarctica, from 2007 to 2009. The DNA polymerase, penton base, hexon and fiber genes of the South Polar skua adenovirus (SPSAdV) exhibited 68.3%, 75.4%, 74.9% and 48.0% nucleotide sequence similarity with their counterparts in turkey hemorrhagic enteritis virus. Phylogenetic analysis based on the entire genome revealed that SPSAdV belonged to the genus Siadenovirus, family Adenoviridae. This is the first evidence of a novel adenovirus, SPSAdV, from a large polar seabird (family Stercorariidae) in Antarctica. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Buried CO2 Ice traces in South Polar Layered Deposits of Mars detected by radar sounder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castaldo, L.; Mège, D.; Orosei, R.; Séjourné, A.

2014-12-01

SHARAD (SHAllow RADar) is the subsurface sounding radar provided by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) as a facility instrument to NASA's 2005 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The Reduced Data Record of SHARAD data covering the area of the South Polar Layered Deposits (SPLD), has been used. The elaboration and interpretation of the data, aimed to estimate electromagnetic properties of surface layers, has been performed in terms of permittivity. The theory of electromagnetic scattering from fractal surfaces, and the estimation of geometric parameters from topographic data by Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) which was one of five instruments on board the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft, has been used. A deep analysis of inversion has been made on all Mars and extended to the South Polar Caps in order to extract the area with a permittivity constant of CO2 ice. Several corrections have been applied to the data, moreover the calibration of the signal requires the determination of a constant that takes into account the power gain due to the radar system and the surface in order to compensate the power losses due to the orbitographic phenomena. The determination of regions with high probability of buried CO2 ice in the first layer of the Martian surface, is obtained extracting the real part of the permittivity constant of the CO2 ice (~2), estimated by other means. The permittivity of CO2ice is extracted from the Global Permittivity Map of Mars using the global standard deviation of itself as following: ɛCO2ice=ɛCO2ice+ Σ (1)where Σ=±std(ɛMapMars)/2Figure 1(a) shows the south polar areas where the values of the permittivity point to the possibility of a CO2 ice layer. Figure 1(b) is the corresponding geologic map. The comparison between the two maps indicates that the area with probable buried CO2 overlaps Hesperian and Amazonian polar units (Hp, Hesperian plains-forming deposits marked by narrow sinuous, anabranching ridges and irregular depressions, and

Polar Field Reversals and Active Region Decay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrie, Gordon; Ettinger, Sophie

2017-09-01

We study the relationship between polar field reversals and decayed active region magnetic flux. Photospheric active region flux is dispersed by differential rotation and turbulent diffusion, and is transported poleward by meridional flows and diffusion. We summarize the published evidence from observation and modeling of the influence of meridional flow variations and decaying active region flux's spatial distribution, such as the Joy's law tilt angle. Using NSO Kitt Peak synoptic magnetograms covering cycles 21-24, we investigate in detail the relationship between the transport of decayed active region flux to high latitudes and changes in the polar field strength, including reversals in the magnetic polarity at the poles. By means of stack plots of low- and high-latitude slices of the synoptic magnetograms, the dispersal of flux from low to high latitudes is tracked, and the timing of this dispersal is compared to the polar field changes. In the most abrupt cases of polar field reversal, a few activity complexes (systems of active regions) are identified as the main cause. The poleward transport of large quantities of decayed trailing-polarity flux from these complexes is found to correlate well in time with the abrupt polar field changes. In each case, significant latitudinal displacements were found between the positive and negative flux centroids of the complexes, consistent with Joy's law bipole tilt with trailing-polarity flux located poleward of leading-polarity flux. The activity complexes of the cycle 21 and 22 maxima were larger and longer-lived than those of the cycle 23 and 24 maxima, and the poleward surges were stronger and more unipolar and the polar field changes larger and faster. The cycle 21 and 22 polar reversals were dominated by only a few long-lived complexes whereas the cycle 23 and 24 reversals were the cumulative effects of more numerous, shorter-lived regions. We conclude that sizes and lifetimes of activity complexes are key to

Mariner 9 observations of the south polar cap of Mars - Evidence for residual CO2 frost

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paige, D. A.; Herkenhoff, K. E.; Murray, B. C.

1990-01-01

The first spacecraft observations of the south residual polar cap of Mars were obtained by the Mariner 9 orbiter during the Martian southern summer season, 1971-1972. Analyses of Viking orbiter observations obtained 3 Mars years later have shown that residual carbon dioxide frost was present at the south polar cap in 1977. In this study, Mariner 9 infrared interferometer spectrometer spectra and television camera images are used in conjuction with multispectral thermal emission models to constrain the temperatures of dark bare ground and bright frost regions within the south residual cap. The results provide strong evidence that carbon dioxide frost was present throughout the summer season despite the fact that the residual frost deposits observed by Mariner 9 were less extensive than those observed by Viking.

Identifying Surface Changes on HRSC Images of the Mars South Polar Residual CAP (sprc)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putri, Alfiah Rizky Diana; Sidiropoulos, Panagiotis; Muller, Jan-Peter

2016-06-01

The surface of Mars has been an object of interest for planetary research since the launch of Mariner 4 in 1964. Since then different cameras such as the Viking Visual Imaging Subsystem (VIS), Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Context Camera (CTX) and High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) have been imaging its surface at ever higher resolution. The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board of the European Space Agency (ESA) Mars Express, has been imaging the Martian surface, since 25th December 2003 until the present-day. HRSC has covered 100 % of the surface of Mars, about 70 % of the surface with panchromatic images at 10-20 m/pixel, and about 98 % at better than 100 m/pixel (Neukum et. al., 2004), including the polar regions of Mars. The Mars polar regions have been studied intensively recently by analysing images taken by the Mars Express and MRO missions (Plaut et al., 2007). The South Polar Residual Cap (SPRC) does not change very much in volume overall but there are numerous examples of dynamic phenomena associated with seasonal changes in the atmosphere. In particular, we can examine the time variation of layers of solid carbon dioxide and water ice with dust deposition (Bibring, 2004), spider-like channels (Piqueux et al., 2003) and so-called Swiss Cheese Terrain (Titus et al., 2004). Because of seasonal changes each Martian year, due to the sublimation and deposition of water and CO2 ice on the Martian south polar region, clearly identifiable surface changes occur in otherwise permanently icy region. In this research, good quality HRSC images of the Mars South Polar region are processed based on previous identification as the optimal coverage of clear surfaces (Campbell et al., 2015). HRSC images of the Martian South Pole are categorized in terms of quality, time, and location to find overlapping areas, processed into high quality Digital Terrain

Density of Mars' south polar layered deposits.

PubMed

Zuber, Maria T; Phillips, Roger J; Andrews-Hanna, Jeffrey C; Asmar, Sami W; Konopliv, Alexander S; Lemoine, Frank G; Plaut, Jeffrey J; Smith, David E; Smrekar, Suzanne E

2007-09-21

Both poles of Mars are hidden beneath caps of layered ice. We calculated the density of the south polar layered deposits by combining the gravity field obtained from initial results of radio tracking of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter with existing surface topography from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft and basal topography from the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding on the Mars Express spacecraft. The results indicate a best-fit density of 1220 kilograms per cubic meter, which is consistent with water ice that has approximately 15% admixed dust. The results demonstrate that the deposits are probably composed of relatively clean water ice and also refine the martian surface-water inventory.

Tracking the Polar Front south of New Zealand using penguin dive data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sokolov, Serguei; Rintoul, Stephen R.; Wienecke, Barbara

2006-04-01

Nearly 36,000 vertical temperature profiles collected by 15 king penguins are used to map oceanographic fronts south of New Zealand. There is good correspondence between Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) front locations derived from temperatures sampled in the upper 150 m along the penguin tracks and front positions inferred using maps of sea surface height (SSH). Mesoscale features detected in the SSH maps from this eddy-rich region are also reproduced in the individual temperature sections based on dive data. The foraging strategy of Macquarie Island king penguins appears to be influenced strongly by oceanographic structure: almost all the penguin dives are confined to the region close to and between the northern and southern branches of the Polar Front. Surface chlorophyll distributions also reflect the influence of the ACC fronts, with the northern branch of the Polar Front marking a boundary between low surface chlorophyll to the north and elevated values to the south.

Distinct water activation on polar/non-polar facets of ZnO nanoparticles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, He; Sun, Junming; Liu, Changjun

2015-11-01

ZnO nanoparticles with differing dominant facets were prepared and characterized by a complimentary of techniques such as X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, temperature programmed desorption of H2O, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis of adsorbed D2O. For the first time, water interaction/activation is compared on ZnO polar and non-polar facets. We report that non-polar facets exhibit high activity in water activation, which favors reactions such as ketonization and steam reforming in which dissociated water is involved. The distinct water dissociation on ZnO non-polar facets could be related to its facile formation of oxygen vacancies under realistic reaction conditions.

Polar cap formation on Ganymede

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaya, E. J.; Pilcher, C. B.

1984-01-01

It is argued that Ganymede's polar caps are the remnants of a more extensive covering of water ice that formed during a period in which the satellite was geologically active. It is inferred that the initial thickness of this covering was a significant fraction of the gardening depth since the covering formed. This suggests an initial thickness of at least a few meters over heavily cratered regions such as the south polar grooved terrain. The absence of similar polar caps on Callisto apparently reflects the absence of comparable geologic activity in the history of this satellite.

Titan’s High Altitude South Polar (HASP) Stratospheric Ice Cloud as observed by Cassini CIRS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Carrie; Nna-Mvondo, Delphine; Samuelson, Robert E.; Achterberg, Richard K.; Flasar, F. Michael; Jennings, Donald E.; Raulin, Francois

2017-10-01

During Cassini’s T112 flyby of Titan in the late southern fall season (July 2015), the Composite InfraRed Spectrometer (CIRS) made a startling discovery - a massive cloud system had developed throughout Titan’s mid stratosphere (~200 km) at high southern latitudes. The vertical distributions of intensity of this High-Altitude South Polar (HASP) stratospheric ice cloud system are at least an order of magnitude stronger than the CIRS-observed northern winter polar stratospheric cloud system [1]. The chemical composition of the HASP cloud is not identical to its northern winter counterpart, in that it exhibits different spectral characteristics. The HASP cloud is just one illustrative example demonstrating the rapidly changing conditions occurring in Titan’s south polar stratospheric region as Titan began its journey into southern winter. Such observed changes are contrary to the observed configuration as Titan’s northern polar stratosphere transitioned out of northern winter, which revealed a relatively slow decay of: 1) the cold polar stratospheric temperatures, 2) the strength of the polar vortex, and 3) the abundances in stratospheric organic gases and ices. We will discuss the physical and chemical characteristics of the CIRS-observed HASP mid stratospheric ice cloud system. Potential ice analog candidates obtained from thin film transmission spectra of co-condensed nitrile/hydrocarbon ice mixtures obtained with our SPECtroscopy of Titan-Related ice AnaLogs (SPECTRAL) chamber are used to support these analyses. [1] Anderson C. M. and Samuelson R. E. (2011) Icarus, 212, 762-778.

Large Grooves in the South Polar Layered Deposits: Insights from Spacecraft Data and Terrestrial Analogs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bridges, N. T.; Herkenhoff, K. E.

2000-01-01

The Martian polar layered deposits (PLD) are probably the best source of information about the recent climate history of Mars, but their origin and the mechanisms of accumulation are still a mystery. The polar layers are sedimentary deposits that most planetary scientists believe are composed of water ice and varying amounts of wind-blown dust, although their composition is poorly constrained. Interpretation of the observed polar stratigraphy in terms of global climate changes is complicated by the significant difference in surface ages between the north and south PLD inferred from crater statistics. The study reported here was undertaken as part of the landing site selection effort for the Mars Polar Lander (MPL) and Deep Space 2 (DS2) missions that made use of all available data. We used Mariner 9, Viking, and Mars Global Surveyor images of the south PLD in the area accessible to MPL and DS2 to evaluate the topography and morphology of grooves, terraced layers, and other features. Here we report on results from grooves that appear to have been carved by strong winds. Because these features are found throughout the interior of the PLD, where MPL and DS2 were targeted to land, their topographic characteristics were judged as important input for landing site safety assessment. The characteristics of the grooves also provide constraints and insights into aeolian processes in the polar regions and the effects these have on PLD ablation. Our results indicate that these grooves do not represent landing hazards at the scale of the images (approx. 80 m/pixel). Their topography and shape do not seem correlated with south PLD layering. No Earth analog of suitable scale exists, although the grooves bear some resemblance to smaller terrestrial deflation hollows found in soft sediment and ice. Additional information is contained in original extended abstract.

The Residual South Polar Cap of Mars: Stable or Transitory?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glenar, David A.; Bonev, B. P.; Hansen, G. B.; James, P. B.; Bjorkman, J. E.

2006-09-01

It remains uncertain whether the CO2 residual south polar cap (RSPC) is a permanent feature of the present Mars climate, or whether it occasionally sublimes completely during years marked by dramatic dust storm activity. While there is no firm evidence for complete disappearance of the cap in the past, observations show that the residual cap lost significant CO2 material in the spring / summer season prior to the Mariner 9 encounter. On the other hand, little interannual change has been observed in the RSPC during the MGS mission [1], despite the massive early-spring dust storm which occurred in 2001. We discuss whether a global dust storm beginning near perihelion could enhance the net CO2 sublimation sufficiently to completely remove the RSPC. We utilize a surface-plus-aerosol radiative transfer model under conditions of both modest and heavy atmospheric dust loading. The sublimination behavior depends critically on the extended (visible to thermal IR) albedo spectrum of the polar CO2 ice, which we have strongly constrained [2] from a combination of HST photometric imaging, ground based near-IR imaging spectroscopy and spectroscopic measurements by the Mars Express PFS. The extension of the cap spectrum to thermal IR wavelengths was accomplished by forward modeling using a semi-infinite grid of scattering grains. Results of this analysis depend on the strength of possible feedback mechanisms (increased surface dust content; exposure of water ice) as well as on the possibility of dust confinement by the polar vortex; but the general conclusion is that it would require multiple, intense dust storms in a given year in order to completely remove the CO2 ice veneer layer. This work has been supported by the NASA Planetary Astronomy and Mars Data Analysis Programs. [1] Benson and James, Icarus 174, 513, 2005; [2] Bonev et al., Planet Space Sci. 2006 (accepted).

Possible recent and ancient glacial ice flow in the south polar region of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kargel, J. S.

1992-01-01

Martian polar science began almost as soon as small telescopes were trained on the planet. The seasonal expansion and contraction of the polar caps and their high albedoes led most astronomers to think that water ice is the dominant constituent. In 1911 Lowell perceived a bluish band around the retreating edge of the polar caps, and interpreted it as water from melting polar ice and seasonal snow. An alternative idea in his time was that the polar caps consist of frozen carbonic acid. Lowell rejected the carbonic acid hypothesis on account of his blue band. He also pointed out that carbonic acid would sublimate rather than melt at confining pressures near and below one bar, hence, carbonic acid could not account for the blue band. In comparing Lowell's theories with today's knowledge, it is recognized that (1) sublimation is mainly responsible for the growth and contraction of Mars' polar caps, (2) carbon dioxide is a major component of the southern polar cap, and (3) Lowell's blue band was probably seasonal dust and/or clouds. Geomorphic evidence that glacial ice and glacial melt waters once flowed over broad areas of the southern polar region. Two aspects of the south polar region suggest possible glacial processes during two distinct eras in Mars' history.

Coherent active polarization control without loss

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Yuqian; Hay, Darrick; Shi, Zhimin

2017-11-01

We propose a lossless active polarization control mechanism utilizing an anisotropic dielectric medium with two coherent inputs. Using scattering matrix analysis, we derive analytically the required optical properties of the anisotropic medium that can behave as a switchable polarizing beam splitter. We also show that such a designed anisotropic medium can produce linearly polarized light at any azimuthal direction through coherent control of two inputs with a specific polarization state. Furthermore, we present a straightforward design-on-demand procedure of a subwavelength-thick metastructure that can possess the desired optical anisotropy at a flexible working wavelength. Our lossless coherent polarization control technique may lead to fast, broadband and integrated polarization control elements for applications in imaging, spectroscopy, and telecommunication.

Three-dimensional thermal structure of the South Polar Vortex of Venus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hueso, Ricardo; Garate-Lopez, Itziar; Garcia-Muñoz, Antonio; Sánchez-Lavega, Agustín

2014-11-01

We have analyzed thermal infrared images provided by the VIRTIS-M instrument aboard Venus Express (VEX) to obtain high resolution thermal maps of the Venus south polar region between 55 and 85 km altitudes. The maps investigate three different dynamical configurations of the polar vortex including its classical dipolar shape, a regularly oval shape and a transition shape between the different configurations of the vortex. We apply the atmospheric model described by García Muñoz et al. (2013) and a variant of the retrieval algorithm detailed in Grassi et al. (2008) to obtain maps of temperature over the Venus south polar region in the quoted altitude range. These maps are discussed in terms of cloud motions and relative vorticity distribution obtained previously (Garate-Lopez et al. 2013). Temperature maps retrieved at 55 - 63 km show the same structures that are observed in the ~5 µm radiance images. This altitude range coincides with the optimal expected values of the cloud top altitude at polar latitudes and magnitudes derived from the analysis of ~5 µm images are measured at this altitude range. We also study the imprint of the vortex on the thermal field above the cloud level which extends up to 80 km. From the temperature maps, we also study the vertical stability of different atmospheric layers. The cold collar is clearly the most statically stable structure at polar latitudes, while the vortex and subpolar latitudes show lower stability values. Furthermore, the hot filaments present within the vortex at 55-63 km exhibit lower values of static stability than their immediate surroundings.ReferencesGarate-Lopez et al. Nat. Geosci. 6, 254-257 (2013).García Muñoz et al. Planet. Space Sci. 81, 65-73 (2013).Grassi, D. et al. J. Geophys. Res. 113, 1-12 (2008).AcknowledgementsWe thank ESA for supporting Venus Express, ASI, CNES and the other national space agencies supporting VIRTIS on VEX and their principal investigators G. Piccioni and P. Drossart. This work

Complex Burial and Exhumation of South Polar Cap Pitted Terrain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

This image is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. The two prominent bright stripes at the left/center of the image are covered with bright frost and thus create the illusion that they are sunlit from the lower left.

The large pits, troughs, and 'swiss cheese' of the south polar residual cap appear to have been formed in the upper 4 or 5 layers of the polar material. Each layer is approximately 2 meters (6.6 feet) thick. Some Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images of this terrain show examples in which older pitted and eroded layers have been previously buried and are now being exhumed. The example shown here includes two narrow, diagonal slopes that trend from upper left toward lower right at the left/center portion of the frame. Along the bottoms of these slopes are revealed a layer that underlies them in which there are many more pits and troughs than in the upper layer. It is likely in this case that the lower layer formed its pits and troughs before it was covered by the upper layer. This observation suggests that the troughs, pits, and 'swiss cheese' features of the south polar cap are very old and form over long time scales.

The picture is located near 84.6oS, 45.1oW, and covers an area 3 km by 5 km (1.9 x 3.1 mi) at a resolution of about 3.8 meters (12 ft) per pixel. The image was taken during southern spring on August 29, 1999.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

South Polar Cryptic Terrain in Early Spring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

This image of the south polar region of Mars was taken by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) at 1557 UTC (10:57 a.m. EST) on Feb. 10, 2007, near 77.55 degrees south latitude, 131.98 degrees east longitude. CRISM's image was taken in 544 colors covering 0.36-3.92 micrometers, and shows features as small as 30 meters (98 feet) across. The region covered is just over 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) wide at its narrowest point, and is one of several in which CRISM is monitoring the evaporation (or 'sublimation') of the seasonal frost cap.

The Martian south polar seasonal cap consists of carbon dioxide ice and frost, whose sublimation in the Martian spring creates a variety of features unlike anything in Earth's circumpolar regions. Part of the cap known as the 'cryptic region' is so cold that it must be covered with carbon dioxide frost, but it is also unexpectedly low in brightness and exhibits a variety of unusual dark blotches. Many scientists believe that carbon dioxide gas trapped below the sublimating ice is released in bursts, which carry along dust that gradually darkens the ice. One idea is that geyser-like dust eruptions form the dark blotches, and that the blotches grow, coalesce, and eventually hide the frost under a thin layer of dust.

This image was taken shortly after sunrise with the Sun only about five degrees above the horizon. The left version shows brightness of the surface at 1.3 micrometers. The right version shows strength of an absorption band due to carbon dioxide frost at 1.435 micrometers; brighter areas have a stronger absorption and more carbon dioxide frost. However, even the darkest areas still have frost. The correlation between brightness and carbon dioxide frost abundance is striking, supporting the idea that the frost is being darkened by dust. Frost in the upper right corner shows the expected dark blotches, whereas the frost over the rest of the image is more uniformly dark, hinting that another

Spatio-temporal dynamics of an active, polar, viscoelastic ring.

PubMed

Marcq, Philippe

2014-04-01

Constitutive equations for a one-dimensional, active, polar, viscoelastic liquid are derived by treating the strain field as a slow hydrodynamic variable. Taking into account the couplings between strain and polarity allowed by symmetry, the hydrodynamics of an active, polar, viscoelastic body include an evolution equation for the polarity field that generalizes the damped Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation. Beyond thresholds of the active coupling coefficients between the polarity and the stress or the strain rate, bifurcations of the homogeneous state lead first to stationary waves, then to propagating waves of the strain, stress and polarity fields. I argue that these results are relevant to living matter, and may explain rotating actomyosin rings in cells and mechanical waves in epithelial cell monolayers.

Dynamics of Venus' Southern hemisphere and South Polar Vortex from VIRTIS data obtained during the Venus Expres Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hueso, R.; Garate-Lopez, I.; Sanchez-Lavega, A.

2011-12-01

The VIRTIS instrument onboard Venus Express observes Venus in two channels (visible and infrared) obtaining spectra and multi-wavelength images of the planet. The images have been used to trace the motions of the atmosphere at different layers of clouds [1-3]. We review the VIRTIS cloud image data and wind results obtained by different groups [1-3] and we present new results concerning the morphology and evolution of the South Polar Vortex at the upper and lower cloud levels with data covering the first 900 days of the mission. We present wind measurements of the South hemisphere obtained by cloud tracking individual cloud features and higher-resolution wind results of the polar region covering the evolution of the South polar vortex. The later were obtained by an image correlation algorithm run under human supervision to validate the data. We present day-side data of the upper clouds obtained at 380 and 980 nm sensitive to altitudes of 66-70 km, night-side data in the near infrared at 1.74 microns of the lower cloud (45-50 km) and day and night-side data obtained in the thermal infrared (wavelengths of 3.8 and 5.1 microns) which covers the dynamical evolution of Venus South Polar vortex at the cloud tops (66-70 km). We explore the different dynamics associated to the varying morphology of the vortex, its dynamical structure at different altitudes, the variability of the global wind data of the southern hemisphere and the interrelation of the polar vortex dynamics with the wind dynamics at subpolar and mid-latitudes. Acknowledgements: Work funded by Spanish MICIIN AYA2009-10701 with FEDER support and Grupos Gobierno Vasco IT-464-07. References [1] A. Sánchez-Lavega et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. 35, L13204, (2008). [2] D. Luz et al., Science, 332, 577-580 (2011). [3] R. Hueso, et al., Icarus doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2011.04.020 (2011)

Active polar two-fluid macroscopic dynamics.

PubMed

Pleiner, H; Svenšek, D; Brand, H R

2013-11-01

We study the dynamics of systems with a polar dynamic preferred direction. Examples include the pattern-forming growth of bacteria as well as shoals of fish, flocks of birds and migrating insects. Due to the fact that the preferred direction only exists dynamically, but not statically, the macroscopic variable of choice is the macroscopic velocity associated with the motion of the active units, which are typically biological in nature. We derive the macroscopic equations for such a system and discuss novel static, reversible and irreversible cross-couplings connected to a second velocity as a variable. We analyze in detail how the macroscopic behavior of an active system with a polar dynamic preferred direction compares to other systems with two velocities including immiscible liquids and electrically neutral quantum liquids such as superfluid (4)He and (3)He . We critically discuss changes in the normal mode spectrum when comparing uncharged superfluids, immiscible liquids and active system with a polar dynamic preferred direction. We investigate the influence of a macroscopic hand (collective effects of chirality) on the macroscopic behavior of such active media.

On the origin of south polar folds on Enceladus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barr, Amy C.; Preuss, Lauren J.

2010-07-01

Recent high-resolution Cassini images of the south polar terrain of Enceladus reveal regions of short-wavelength deformation, inferred to be compressional folds between the Baghdad and Damascus tiger stripes (Spencer, J.R., Barr, A.C., Esposito, L.W., Helfenstein, P., Ingersoll, A.P., Jaumann, R., McKay, C.P., Nimmo, F., Waite, J.H. [2009a]. Enceladus: An active cryovolcanic satellite. In: Saturn after Cassini-Huygens. Springer, New York, pp. 683-722). Here, we use Fourier analysis of the bright/dark variations to show that the folds have a dominant wavelength of 1.1 ± 0.4 km. We use the simple model of lava flow folding from Fink (Fink, J. [1980]. Geology 8, 250-254) to show that the folds could form in an ice shell with an upper high-viscosity boundary layer of thickness <400 m, with a driving stress of 40-80 kPa, and strain rate between 10 -14 s -1 and 10 -12 s -1. Such deformation rates imply resurfacing of the SPT in 0.05-5 Myr, consistent with its estimated surface age. Measurements of fold topography and more sophisticated numerical modeling can narrow down the conditions of fold formation and provide valuable constraints on the thermal structure of the ice shell on Enceladus.

Topography of the South Polar Cap and Layered Deposits of Mars: Viking Stereo Grametry at Regional and Local Scales

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schenk, P.; Moore, J.; Stoker, C.

1998-01-01

Layered deposits and residual polar caps on Mars may record the deposition of ice and sediment modulated by periodic climate change. Topographic information relating to layer thicknesses, erosional processes, and formation of dark spirals within these deposits has been sparce or unreliable until the arrival of MOLA in orbit in September 1997. To assist in evaluating these terrains prior to launch and to assess formation and erosion processes in the polar deposits, we have assembled Viking stereo mosaics of the region and have produced the first reliable DEM models of the south polar deposits using automated stereogrammetry tools. Here we report our preliminary topographic results, pending final image pointing updates. The maximum total thickness of the layered deposits in the south polar region is 2.5 km. The thick layered deposits consist of a series of megaterraces. Each terrace is several tens of kilometers wide and is flat or slopes very gently toward the pole. These terraces step downward from a central plateau near the south pole. Terraces are bounded by relatively steep scarps 100-500 meters high that face toward the equator. These scarps correspond to the pattern of dark spirals observed within the residual cap in southern summer, and are interpreted as ice or frost-free surfaces warmed by solar insolation. Several tongue-shaped troughs, with rounded cirquelike heads, are observed near the margins of the deposit. These troughs are 300-600 meters in deep and may be similar to troughs observed in the northern polar deposit.

Survival, site and mate fidelity in south polar skuas Catharacta maccormicki at Anvers Island, Antarctica

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pietz, P.J.; Parmelee, D.F.

1993-01-01

In 1974-1975, 34 adult South Polar Skuas Catharacta maccormicki were colour-ringed on 18 nest territories at Bonaparte Point, Anvers Island, near Palmer Station along the Antarctic Peninsula. Subsequently, the area was searched for these birds during the austral summers of 1975-1976 to 1984-1985 and in 1987-1988 and 1989-1990. Fifty-three percent were seen in 1984-1985, 32% in 1987-1988 and 21% in 1989-1990. Annual survival rate averaged 95% from 1974-1975 to 1984-1985; no sexual differences were detected (n = 28 of known sex). Strong territory and mate fidelity were apparent; 34 skuas averaged 1.1 nest territories and 1.7 mates each in 16 years. Only 4 of 34 individuals (all females) were known to change territories, and each territory change involved a change of mates. Although males showed higher territory fidelity than females (P < 0.01), most females (four of five) retained their territories when previous mates failed to return. Seventeen of 34 birds changed mates a total of 24 times; at least 20 mate changes followed the death or disappearance of the former mate. Males showed slightly higher mate fidelity than females (P < 0.04). Female South Polar and Brown Skuas Catharacta lonnbergi did not differ in territory or mate fidelity. From 1974-1975 to 1984-1985, 120 South Polar Skua chicks were ringed on 18 nest territories on Bonaparte Point; 17 were resighted in the Palmer area when they were 3-10 years old. All 17 returnees were found within 3 km of their natal nest sites, and four of them occupied nest territories on Bonaparte Point.

Comparison Between North and South Near Polar Regions of Mars from HEND/Odyssey Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Litvak, M. L.; Mitrofanov, I. G.; Kozyrev, A. S.; Sanin, A. B.; Tretyakov, V.; Boynton, W. V.; Hamara, D. K.; Shinohara, C.; Saunders, R. S.; Drake, D.

2003-01-01

It is known that North and South near polar regions are affected by global redistribution of atmospheric CO2. The maximal thickness of CO2 snow depth may be as high as 1 m at latitudes close to martian poles. It explains why neutron flux above martian poles significantly varies from summer to winter seasons. It occurs because CO2 frost hides upper surface layer from the orbit observations. This fact was used to estimate thickness of CO2 deposit at different latitudes. Here we suggest to make comparison between martian near polar regions in both ways as in terms of subsurface regolith structure as in terms of distribution of CO2 deposits.

Modeling the Formation of CO2 Frost Halos on the South Polar Residual Cap of Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becerra, P.; Byrne, S.; HiRISE Team

2011-03-01

We introduce a model for the formation of bright halos seen by HiRISE on the edges of scarps and "swiss cheese" features in the south polar residual cap of Mars. We propose that they are formed from differences between the sublimation rates of sloped and flat surfaces.

Massive CO2 Ice Deposits Sequestered in the South Polar Layered Deposits of Mars

USGS Publications Warehouse

Phillips, Roger J.; Davis, Brian J.; Tanaka, Kenneth L.; Byrne, Shane; Mellon, Michael T.; Putzig, Nathaniel E.; Haberle, Robert M.; Kahre, Melinda A.; Campbell, Bruce A.; Carter, Lynn M.; Smith, Isaac B.; Holt, John W.; Smrekar, Suzanne E.; Nunes, Daniel C.; Plaut, Jeffrey J.; Egan, Anthony F.; Titus, Timothy N.; Seu, Roberto

2011-01-01

Shallow Radar soundings from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal a buried deposit of carbon dioxide (CO2) ice within the south polar layered deposits of Mars with a volume of 9500 to 12,500 cubic kilometers, about 30 times that previously estimated for the south pole residual cap. The deposit occurs within a stratigraphic unit that is uniquely marked by collapse features and other evidence of interior CO2 volatile release. If released into the atmosphere at times of high obliquity, the CO2 reservoir would increase the atmospheric mass by up to 80%, leading to more frequent and intense dust storms and to more regions where liquid water could persist without boiling.

The Changing South Polar Cap of Mars: 1999-2005

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

13 July 2005 The south polar residual cap of Mars is composed of layered, frozen carbon dioxide. In 1999, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) showed that the carbon dioxide layers have been eroded to form a variety of circular pits, arcuate scarps, troughs, buttes, and mesas. In 2001, MOC images designed to provide repeated views of the areas imaged in 1999 -- with the hope of creating stereo (3-D) images, so that the height of scarps and depth of pits could be measured -- showed that the scarps had retreated, pits enlarged, and buttes and mesas shrank. Only carbon dioxide is volatile enough in the martian environment to have caused such dramatic changes -- the scarps were seen to retreat at an average rate of 3 meters (about 3 yards) per Mars year. Most of the scarp retreat occurs during the southern summer season; in some areas the scarps move as much as 8 meters, in others, only 1 meter per Mars year.

Three Mars years have now elapsed since MOC first surveyed the south polar cap in 1999. Over the past several months, MGS MOC has been re-imaging areas that were seen in 1999, 2001, and 2003, to develop a detailed look at how the landscape has been changing. This animated GIF provides an example of the dramatic changes that have occurred during the past three martian years. The first image, a sub-frame of M09-05244, was acquired on 21 November 1999. The second image, a sub-frame of S06-00973, was obtained on 11 May 2005. The animation shows the changes that have occurred between 1999 and 2005. Each summer, the cap has lost more carbon dioxide. This may mean that the carbon dioxide content of the martian atmosphere has been increasing, bit by very tiny little bit, each of the years that MGS has been orbiting the red planet. These observations also imply that there was once a time, in the not-too-distant past (because there are no impact craters on the polar cap), when the atmosphere was somewhat thinner and colder, to permit the layers

Metabolic profile and biological activities of Lavandula pedunculata subsp. lusitanica (Chaytor) Franco: studies on the essential oil and polar extracts.

PubMed

Costa, Patrícia; Gonçalves, Sandra; Valentão, Patrícia; Andrade, Paula B; Almeida, Carlos; Nogueira, José M F; Romano, Anabela

2013-12-01

We investigated the metabolic profile and biological activities of the essential oil and polar extracts of Lavandula pedunculata subsp. lusitanica (Chaytor) Franco collected in south Portugal. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed that oxygen-containing monoterpenes was the principal group of compounds identified in the essential oil. Camphor (40.6%) and fenchone (38.0%) were found as the major constituents. High-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) analysis allowed the identification of hydroxycinnamic acids (3-O-caffeoylquinic, 4-O-caffeoylquinic, 5-O-caffeoylquinic and rosmarinic acids) and flavones (luteolin and apigenin) in the polar extracts, with rosmarinic acid being the main compound in most of them. The bioactive compounds from L. pedunculata polar extracts were the most efficient free-radical scavengers, Fe(2+) chelators and inhibitors of malondialdehyde production, while the essential oil was the most active against acetylcholinesterase. Our results reveal that the subspecies of L. pedunculata studied is a potential source of active metabolites with a positive effect on human health. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Scattering linear polarization of late-type active stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yakobchuk, T. M.; Berdyugina, S. V.

2018-05-01

Context. Many active stars are covered in spots, much more so than the Sun, as indicated by spectroscopic and photometric observations. It has been predicted that star spots induce non-zero intrinsic linear polarization by breaking the visible stellar disk symmetry. Although small, this effect might be useful for star spot studies, and it is particularly significant for a future polarimetric atmosphere characterization of exoplanets orbiting active host stars. Aims: Using models for a center-to-limb variation of the intensity and polarization in presence of continuum scattering and adopting a simplified two-temperature photosphere model, we aim to estimate the intrinsic linear polarization for late-type stars of different gravity, effective temperature, and spottedness. Methods: We developed a code that simulates various spot configurations or uses arbitrary surface maps, performs numerical disk integration, and builds Stokes parameter phase curves for a star over a rotation period for a selected wavelength. It allows estimating minimum and maximum polarization values for a given set of stellar parameters and spot coverages. Results: Based on assumptions about photosphere-to-spot temperature contrasts and spot size distributions, we calculate the linear polarization for late-type stars with Teff = 3500 K-6000 K, log g = 1.0-5.0, using the plane-parallel and spherical atmosphere models. Employing random spot surface distribution, we analyze the relation between spot coverage and polarization and determine the influence of different input parameters on results. Furthermore, we consider spot configurations with polar spots and active latitudes and longitudes.

Unusual Polar Conditions in Solar Cycle 24 and Their Implications for Cycle 25

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gopalswamy, Nat; Yashiro, Seiji; Akiyama, Sachiko

2016-01-01

We report on the prolonged solar-maximum conditions until late 2015 at the north-polar region of the Sun indicated by the occurrence of high-latitude prominence eruptions (PEs) and microwave brightness temperature close to the quiet-Sun level. These two aspects of solar activity indicate that the polarity reversal was completed by mid-2014 in the south and late 2015 in the north. The microwave brightness in the south-polar region has increased to a level exceeding the level of the Cycle 23/24 minimum, but just started to increase in the north. The northsouth asymmetry in the polarity reversal has switched from that in Cycle 23. These observations lead us to the hypothesis that the onset of Cycle 25 in the northern hemisphere is likely to be delayed with respect to that in the southern hemisphere. We find that the unusual condition in the north is a direct consequence of the arrival of poleward surges of opposite polarity from the active region belt. We also find that multiple rush-to-the-pole episodes were indicated by the PE locations that lined up at the boundary between opposite-polarity surges. The high-latitude PEs occurred in the boundary between the incumbent polar flux and the insurgent flux of opposite polarity.

Effects of the Observed Meridional Flow Variations since 1996 on the Sun's Polar Fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hathaway, David; Upton, Lisa

2013-01-01

The cause of the low and extended minimum in solar activity between Sunspot Cycles 23 and 24 was the small size of Sunspot Cycle 24 itself - small cycles start late and leave behind low minima. Cycle 24 is small because the polar fields produced during Cycle 23 were substantially weaker than those produced during the previous cycles and those (weak) polar fields are the seeds for the activity of the following cycle. The polar fields are produced by the latitudinal transport of magnetic flux that emerged in low-latitude active regions. The polar fields thus depend upon the details of both the flux emergence and the flux transport. We have measured the flux transport flows (differential rotation, meridional flow, and supergranules) since 1996 and find systematic and substantial variation in the meridional flow alone. Here we present experiments using a Surface Flux Transport Model in which magnetic field data from SOHO/MDI and SDO/HMI are assimilated into the model only at latitudes between 45-degrees north and south of the equator (this assures that the details of the active region flux emergence are well represented). This flux is then transported in both longitude and latitude by the observed flows. In one experiment the meridional flow is given by the time averaged (and north-south symmetric) meridional flow profile. In the second experiment the time-varying and north-south asymmetric meridional flow is used. Differences between the observed polar fields and those produced in these two experiments allow us to ascertain the effects of these meridional flow variations on the Sun s polar fields.

Year-to-year instability of the Mars south polar cap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jakosky, Bruce M.; Haberle, Robert M.

1990-01-01

Models of the Mars polar cap energy balance suggest that the south cap has two possible configurations at the current epoch. It can be covered all year by CO2 frost, as was observed by the Viking spacecraft, or the CO2 frost can disappear at midsummer to expose an underlying surface. The difference between the two states depends on the role of energy conducted into the subsurface. If the cap was exposed the previous year, conducted energy will cause less CO2 frost to condense in winter, and the frost will disappear completely in summer. If the cap was covered the previous year, there will be no conducted energy, and it will stay covered again. Subtle effects in the atmosphere can perturb the cap energy balance sufficiently to cause the cap to jump between states. This behavior might provide an explanation for the large southern summer water vapor abundances observed in 1969. It also explains the observed differences between the north and the south residual caps as resulting in part from a difference in the role in the annual energy balance of energy conducted into the subsurface.

Atmospheric Modeling of the Martian Polar Regions: One Mars Year of CRISM EPF Observations of the South Pole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, A. J.; Wolff, M. J.

2009-03-01

We have used CRISM Emission Phase Function gimballed observations to investigate atmospheric dust/ice opacity and surface albedo in the south polar region for the first Mars year of MRO operations. This covers the MY28 "dust event" and cap recession.

South Polar Surface

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-07-14

It is high summer as NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft captures this image of the South Pole of Mars. The circular surface features may look like swiss cheese, but how they form, coalesce, and disappear is not fully understood.

Identifying the stars on Johann Bayer's Chart of the South Polar Sky

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ridpath, I.

2014-04-01

The first chart of the stars in the region around the south celestial pole was published in 1603 by Johann Bayer (1572-1625) as part of his monumental star atlas called Uranometria. This south polar chart depicted 12 entirely new constellations that had been created only a few years earlier from stars observed during the first Dutch expedition to the East Indies in 1595-97. Bayer's chart plotted 121 stars in the 12 newly invented constellations. Five more stars formed a southern extension of the existing constellation Eridanus, while another twelve stars were left 'unformed', i.e. unattached to any constellation. Whereas Bayer famously applied Greek or Roman letters to the stars in the 48 Ptolemaic constellations, he left the stars in the newly invented constellations unlabelled. This paper attempts to identify the stars plotted on Bayer's chart. It also discusses the source of Bayer's data and the origin of the 12 new southern constellations.

IR spectral properties of dust and ice at the Mars south polar cap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Titus, T. N.; Kieffer, H. H.

2001-11-01

Removal of atmospheric dust effects is required to derive surface IR spectral emissivity. Commonly, the atmospheric-surface separation is based on radiative transfer (RT) spectral inversion methods using nadir-pointing observations. This methodology depends on a priori knowledge of the spectral shape of each atmospheric aerosol (e.g. dust or water ice) and a large thermal contrast between the surface and atmosphere. RT methods fail over the polar caps due to low thermal contrast between the atmosphere and the surface. We have used multi-angle Emission Phase Function (EPF) observations to estimate the opacity spectrum of dust over the springtime south polar cap and the underlying surface radiance, and thus, the surface emissivity. We include a few EPFs from Hellas Basin as a basis for comparisons between the spectral shape of polar and non-polar dust. Surface spectral emissivities over the seasonal cap are compared to CO2 models. Our results show that the spectral shape of the polar dust opacity is not constant, but is a two-parameter family that can be characterized by the 9 um and 20 um opacities. The 9 um opacity varies from 0.15 to 0.45 and characterizes the overall atmospheric conditions. The 9 um to 20 um opacity ratio varies from 2.0 to 5.1, suggesting changes in dust size distribution over the polar caps. Derived surface temperatures from the EPFs confirm that the slightly elevated temperatures (relative to CO2 frost temperature) observed in ``cryptic'' regions are a surface effect, not atmospheric. Comparison of broad-band reflectivity and surface emissivities to model spectra suggest the bright regions (e.g. perennial cap, Mountains of Mitchell) have higher albedos due to a thin surface layer of fine-grain CO2 (perhaps either frost or fractured ice) with an underlying layer of either coarse grain or slab CO2 ice.

Photometric Properties of Enceladus' South Polar Terrain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Annex, Andrew; Verbiscer, A. J.; Helfenstein, P.

2012-10-01

Cassini images reveal in exquisite detail the complex and varied terrains within the geologically active south pole of Enceladus. The region is dominated by four parallel rifts or sulci, informally known as tiger stripes, from which plumes comprised primarily of water vapor erupt [1,2]. The rich data set of Cassini images acquired at high spatial resolution (< 0.5 km/pixel) and a variety of viewing and illumination geometries enables the quantitative analysis of surface scattering properties through disk-resolved photometry. Here we investigate the photometric properties of individual terrain units [3] through fits of the Hapke photometric model [4] to data acquired in the clear (CL1 CL2), UV3, GRN, and IR3 filters, centered at 0.61, 0.34, 0.57, and 0.93 μm, respectively. Terrain units include the tiger stripe smooth and platy plank formations, tiger stripe medial dorsum structures, relict tiger stripe structures, south pole funiscular (ropy) plains, south pole lateral fold-and-wedge formations, and the south pole reticulated plains. Despite the constant, ubiquitous infall of plume particles onto the surface, differences in scattering properties, texture, and albedo among terrain units can be discerned. Work supported by NASA's Cassini Data Analysis Program. [1] Porco et al. 2006 Science 311, 1393-1401. [2] Hansen et al. 2008 Nature 456, 477-479. [3] Spencer et al. 2009 in Saturn from Cassini-Huygens (M. K. Dougherty et al. Eds.) 683-724. [4] Hapke 2002 Icarus 157, 523-534.

Mechanisms of CDC-42 activation during contact-induced cell polarization

PubMed Central

Chan, Emily; Nance, Jeremy

2013-01-01

Summary Polarization of early embryos provides a foundation to execute essential patterning and morphogenetic events. In Caenorhabditis elegans, cell contacts polarize early embryos along their radial axis by excluding the cortical polarity protein PAR-6 from sites of cell contact, thereby restricting PAR-6 to contact-free cell surfaces. Radial polarization requires the cortically enriched Rho GTPase CDC-42, which in its active form recruits PAR-6 through direct binding. The Rho GTPase activating protein (RhoGAP) PAC-1, which localizes specifically to cell contacts, triggers radial polarization by inactivating CDC-42 at these sites. The mechanisms responsible for activating CDC-42 at contact-free surfaces are unknown. Here, in an overexpression screen of Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factors (RhoGEFs), which can activate Rho GTPases, we identify CGEF-1 and ECT-2 as RhoGEFs that act through CDC-42 to recruit PAR-6 to the cortex. We show that ECT-2 and CGEF-1 localize to the cell surface and that removing their activity causes a reduction in levels of cortical PAR-6. Through a structure–function analysis, we show that the tandem DH-PH domains of CGEF-1 and ECT-2 are sufficient for GEF activity, but that regions outside of these domains target each protein to the cell surface. Finally, we provide evidence suggesting that the N-terminal region of ECT-2 may direct its in vivo preference for CDC-42 over another known target, the Rho GTPase RHO-1. We propose that radial polarization results from a competition between RhoGEFs, which activate CDC-42 throughout the cortex, and the RhoGAP PAC-1, which inactivates CDC-42 at cell contacts. PMID:23424200

Mechanisms of CDC-42 activation during contact-induced cell polarization.

PubMed

Chan, Emily; Nance, Jeremy

2013-04-01

Polarization of early embryos provides a foundation to execute essential patterning and morphogenetic events. In Caenorhabditis elegans, cell contacts polarize early embryos along their radial axis by excluding the cortical polarity protein PAR-6 from sites of cell contact, thereby restricting PAR-6 to contact-free cell surfaces. Radial polarization requires the cortically enriched Rho GTPase CDC-42, which in its active form recruits PAR-6 through direct binding. The Rho GTPase activating protein (RhoGAP) PAC-1, which localizes specifically to cell contacts, triggers radial polarization by inactivating CDC-42 at these sites. The mechanisms responsible for activating CDC-42 at contact-free surfaces are unknown. Here, in an overexpression screen of Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factors (RhoGEFs), which can activate Rho GTPases, we identify CGEF-1 and ECT-2 as RhoGEFs that act through CDC-42 to recruit PAR-6 to the cortex. We show that ECT-2 and CGEF-1 localize to the cell surface and that removing their activity causes a reduction in levels of cortical PAR-6. Through a structure-function analysis, we show that the tandem DH-PH domains of CGEF-1 and ECT-2 are sufficient for GEF activity, but that regions outside of these domains target each protein to the cell surface. Finally, we provide evidence suggesting that the N-terminal region of ECT-2 may direct its in vivo preference for CDC-42 over another known target, the Rho GTPase RHO-1. We propose that radial polarization results from a competition between RhoGEFs, which activate CDC-42 throughout the cortex, and the RhoGAP PAC-1, which inactivates CDC-42 at cell contacts.

Active polarization imaging system based on optical heterodyne balanced receiver

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Qian; Sun, Jianfeng; Lu, Zhiyong; Zhou, Yu; Luan, Zhu; Hou, Peipei; Liu, liren

2017-08-01

Active polarization imaging technology has recently become the hot research field all over the world, which has great potential application value in the military and civil area. By introducing active light source, the Mueller matrix of the target can be calculated according to the incident light and the emitted or reflected light. Compared with conventional direct detection technology, optical heterodyne detection technology have higher receiving sensitivities, which can obtain the whole amplitude, frequency and phase information of the signal light. In this paper, an active polarization imaging system will be designed. Based on optical heterodyne balanced receiver, the system can acquire the horizontal and vertical polarization of reflected optical field simultaneously, which contain the polarization characteristic of the target. Besides, signal to noise ratio and imaging distance can be greatly improved.

Composition and abundance of epibenthic-sledge catches in the South Polar Front of the Atlantic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brandt, A.; Havermans, C.; Janussen, D.; Jörger, K. M.; Meyer-Löbbecke, A.; Schnurr, S.; Schüller, M.; Schwabe, E.; Brandão, S. N.; Würzberg, L.

2014-10-01

An epibenthic sledge (EBS) was deployed at seven different deep-sea stations along the South Polar Front of the Atlantic in order to explore the composition and abundance of macrofaunal organisms and to identify the most abundant taxa in this transition zone to the Southern Ocean. In total 3,130 specimens were sampled by means of the EBS on board of RV Polarstern during the expedition ANT-XXVIII/3 in the austral summer of 2012. Benthic and suprabenthic Crustacea occurred to be most frequent in the samples. Among those, copepods were by far most numerous, with 1,585 specimens followed by the peracarid taxa Isopoda (236 ind.), Amphipoda (103 ind.), Tanaidacea (78 ind.) and Cumacea (50 ind.). Annelida were represented by a high number of specimens belonging to different polychaete taxa (404 ind.). The molluscan fauna was clearly dominated by Bivalvia (255 ind.), followed in numbers of specimens by Gastropoda (47 ind.). The deep-sea benthos sampled along the Southern Polar Front occurred in surprisingly low abundances, contrasting the largely high surface productivity of the area. Numbers of specimens across different macrofaunal taxa and especially of peracarid crustaceans underscored by far those from South Ocean sites at higher latitudes in the Weddell Sea.

Active Polar Two-Fluid Macroscopic Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pleiner, Harald; Svensek, Daniel; Brand, Helmut R.

2014-03-01

We study the dynamics of systems with a polar dynamic preferred direction. Examples include the pattern-forming growth of bacteria (in a solvent, shoals of fish (moving in water currents), flocks of birds and migrating insects (flying in windy air). Because the preferred direction only exists dynamically, but not statically, the macroscopic variable of choice is the macroscopic velocity associated with the motion of the active units. We derive the macroscopic equations for such a system and discuss novel static, reversible and irreversible cross-couplings connected to this second velocity. We find a normal mode structure quite different compared to the static descriptions, as well as linear couplings between (active) flow and e.g. densities and concentrations due to the genuine two-fluid transport derivatives. On the other hand, we get, quite similar to the static case, a direct linear relation between the stress tensor and the structure tensor. This prominent ``active'' term is responsible for many active effects, meaning that our approach can describe those effects as well. In addition, we also deal with explicitly chiral systems, which are important for many active systems. In particular, we find an active flow-induced heat current specific for the dynamic chiral polar order.

Polarized excitons and optical activity in single-wall carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Yao-Wen; Jin, Bih-Yaw

2018-05-01

The polarized excitons and optical activity of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are studied theoretically by π -electron Hamiltonian and helical-rotational symmetry. By taking advantage of the symmetrization, the single-particle energy and properties of a SWNT are characterized with the corresponding helical band structure. The dipole-moment matrix elements, magnetic-moment matrix elements, and the selection rules can also be derived. Based on different selection rules, the optical transitions can be assigned as the parallel-polarized, left-handed circularly-polarized, and right-handed circularly-polarized transitions, where the combination of the last two gives the cross-polarized transition. The absorption and circular dichroism (CD) spectra are simulated by exciton calculation. The calculated results are well comparable with the reported measurements. Built on the foundation, magnetic-field effects on the polarized excitons and optical activity of SWNTs are studied. Dark-bright exciton splitting and interband Faraday effect in the CD spectrum of SWNTs under an axial magnetic field are predicted. The Faraday rotation dispersion can be analyzed according to the selection rules of circular polarizations and the helical band structure.

Asymmetry and polarity of the South Atlantic conjugated margins related to the presence of cratons: a numerical study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andrés-Martínez, Miguel; Pérez-Gussinyé, Marta; de Monserrat Navarro, Albert; Morgan, Jason P.

2015-04-01

Tectonic asymmetry of conjugated passive margins, where one margin is much narrower than the conjugate one, is commonly observed at many passive margins world-wide. Conjugate margin asymmetry has been suggested to be a consequence of lateral changes in rheology, composition, temperature gradient or geometries of the crust and lithosphere. Here we use the South Atlantic margins (from Camamu/Gabon to North Santos/South Kwanza) as a natural laboratory to understand conjugate margin asymmetry. Along this margin sector the polarity of the asymmetry changes. To the North, the Brazilian margin developed in the strong Sao Francisco craton, and this constitutes the narrow side of the conjugate pair. To the South, the Brazilian margin developed in the Ribeira fold belt, and the margin is wide. The opposite is true for the African side. We have thus numerically analysed how the relative distance between the initial location of extension and the craton influences the symmetry/asymmetry and polarity of the conjugate margin system. Our numerical model is 2D visco-elasto-plastic and has a free surface, strain weakening and shear heating. The initial set-up includes a cratonic domain, a mobile belt and a transition area between both. We have run tests with different rheologies, thickness of the lithosphere, and weak seeds at different distances from the craton. Results show asymmetric conjugated margins, where the narrower margin is generally the closest to the craton. Our models also allow us to study how the polarity is controlled by the distance between the initial weakness and the craton, and help to understand how the presence of cratonic domains affects the final architecture of the conjugated margins.

Transitions between homogeneous phases of polar active liquids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dauchot, Olivier; Nguyen Thu Lam, Khanh Dang; Schindler, Michael; EC2M Team; PCT Team

2015-03-01

Polar active liquids, composed of aligning self-propelled particle exhibit large scale collective motion. Simulations of Vicsek-like models of constant-speed point particles, aligning with their neighbors in the presence of noise, have revealed the existence of a transition towards a true long range order polar-motion phase. Generically, the homogenous polar state is unstable; non-linear propagative structures develop; and the transition is discontinuous. The long range dynamics of these systems has been successfully captured using various scheme of kinetic theories. However the complexity of the dynamics close to the transition has somewhat hindered more basics questions. Is there a simple way to predict the existence and the order of a transition to collective motion for a given microscopic dynamics? What would be the physically meaningful and relevant quantity to answer this question? Here, we tackle these questions, restricting ourselves to the study of the homogeneous phases of polar active liquids in the low density limit and obtain a very intuitive understanding of the conditions which particle interaction must satisfy to induce a transition towards collective motion.

Alma Polarization Observations Of The Particle Accelerators In The Peculiar Hot Spot 3C 445 South

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orienti, Monica; Brunetti, G.; Mack, K.-H.; Nagai, H.; Paladino, R.; Prieto, M. A.

2017-10-01

Radio hot spots are bright and compact regions at the edges of powerful radio galaxies. In these regions the relativistic particles are reaccelerated by shocks produced by the interaction between the supersonic jets and the external environment. The discovery of synchrotron optical emission extending on kpc scale in some hot spots suggests that additional efficient and spatially distributed acceleration mechanisms must take place in order to compensate the severe radiative losses of optical emitting electrons. The key parameter to unveil the mechanism at work is the polarization intensity: high fractional polarization in the case of shocks, whereas low values or absence of polarization are expected in case of turbulence. In this contribution I will present results on full-polarization ALMA observations at 97 GHz of the hot spot 3C 445 South. This arc-shaped hot spot is characterized by two main components enshrouded by extended emission that is visible from radio to X-rays. The ALMA results, complemented by mutiband VLA, VLT, HST and Chandra data, will be used to shed a light on the complex distribution and nature of particle acceleration at the edge of powerful radio galaxies.

Surface Ages and Resurfacing Rates of the Polar Layered Deposits on Mars

USGS Publications Warehouse

Herkenhoff, K. E.; Plaut, J.J.

2000-01-01

Interpretation of the polar stratigraphy of Mars in terms of global climate changes is complicated by the significant difference in surface ages between the north and south polar layered terrains inferred from crater statistics. We have reassessed the cratering record in both polar regions using Viking Orbiter and Mariner 9 images. No craters have been found in the north polar layered terrain, but the surface of most of the south polar layered deposits appears to have been stable for many of the orbital/axial cycles that are thought to have induced global climate changes on Mars. The inferred surface age of the south polar layered deposits (about 10 Ma) is two orders of magnitude greater than the surface age of the north polar layered deposits and residual cap (at most 100 ka). Similarly, modeled resurfacing rates are at least 20 times greater in the north than in the south. These results are consistent with the hypotheses that polar layered deposit resurfacing rates are highest in areas covered by perennial ice and that the differences in polar resurfacing rates result from the 6.4 km difference in elevation between the polar regions. Deposition on the portion of the south polar layered deposits that is not covered by the perennial ice cap may have ceased about 5 million years ago when the obliquity of Mars no longer exceeded 40??. ?? 2000 Academic Press.

South Polar Cap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site]

Released 28 May 2004 This image was collected February 29, 2004 during the end of southern summer season. The local time at the location of the image was about 2 pm. The image shows an area in the South Polar region.

The THEMIS VIS camera is capable of capturing color images of the martian surface using its five different color filters. In this mode of operation, the spatial resolution and coverage of the image must be reduced to accommodate the additional data volume produced from the use of multiple filters. To make a color image, three of the five filter images (each in grayscale) are selected. Each is contrast enhanced and then converted to a red, green, or blue intensity image. These three images are then combined to produce a full color, single image. Because the THEMIS color filters don't span the full range of colors seen by the human eye, a color THEMIS image does not represent true color. Also, because each single-filter image is contrast enhanced before inclusion in the three-color image, the apparent color variation of the scene is exaggerated. Nevertheless, the color variation that does appear is representative of some change in color, however subtle, in the actual scene. Note that the long edges of THEMIS color images typically contain color artifacts that do not represent surface variation.

Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -84.7, Longitude 9.3 East (350.7 West). 38 meter/pixel resolution.

Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.

NASA's Jet

Clues to the formation of Enceladus' south-polar terrain from simulations of funiscular plains formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bland, M. T.; McKinnon, W. B.

2013-12-01

Cassini imaging and thermal data have demonstrated that Enceladus' four south-polar linear-fractures are the source of both Enceladus' cryovolcanic plume and its extreme thermal emission. These long (130 km), parallel 'tiger stripes' are located within a young, quasi-circular, south-polar depression characterized by extensive tectonic deformation that includes sets of both small-scale fractures (possibly relic tiger stripes) [Patthoff and Kattenhorn 2011], and large-amplitude circumferential ridges. Between the tiger stripes themselves are broad regions of periodic, low amplitude (50-100 m), short-wavelength (1 km) ridges (dubbed 'funiscular' terrain) that generally run parallel to the larger tiger stripe fractures but occasionally intersect them at small angles [Spencer et al. 2009]. The formation of the south polar terrain (SPT) may be related to localized melting of Enceladus' ice layer [e.g., Collins and Goodman, 2007] but the detailed formation kinematics of the SPT and its specific tectonic structures is far from certain. Here we constrain the formation of the SPT by simulating the development of funiscular terrain specifically. This terrain dominates the central portion of the SPT, including regions immediately adjacent to the tiger stripes. The stripes are, in effect, large-scale fractures imbedded within the funiscular terrain; thus, any kinematic or dynamic prescription for SPT formation must account for funiscular morphology. The simplest formation mechanism consistent with the funiscular ridges is that of low-amplitude, short-wavelength folding of a thin surface layer. Barr and Pruess [2010] demonstrated the plausibility of this mechanism using an analytical model developed for folds forming on lava flow tops. We extend their analysis using finite element modeling of the contraction of a thin, brittle lithosphere overlying ductile ice. We find fold morphologies consistent with the funiscular terrain (50-100 m amplitude, 1.5 km wavelengths) for

Reconsideration of F-layer seismic model in the south polar region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohtaki, T.; Kaneshima, S.

2017-12-01

Previously, we analyzed the seismic structure near the inner core boundary beneath Antarctica (Ohtaki et al., 2012). In the study, we determined the velocity of the lowermost outer core (F-layer) using amplitude ratio observations between the inner-core phase (PKIKP) and the inner-core grazing/diffracted phase (PKPbc/c-diff). Because the observations are not so sensitive to the F-layer structure, a constant velocity is assumed in the layer to simplify the model. The obtained model (SPR) has a flat velocity zone with a 75 km thick on the inner core boundary. With this F-layer structure and using travel times of these phases as well as the phase that reflects at the boundary, we determined the seismic structure of the inner core in the south polar region. However, a constant velocity layer is unrealistic, although it is reasonable assumption.Recently, we determined F-layer velocity structures more accurately using the combined observations of PKiKP-PKPbc differential travel times and of PKPbc/c-diff dispersion (Ohtaki et al., 2015, 2016). The former observation is sensitive to average velocity in the F-layer; the latter to velocity gradient in the layer. By analyzing these two observations together, we can determine the detailed velocity structure in the F-layer. The surveyed areas are beneath the Northeast Pacific and Australia. The seismic velocity models obtained are quite different between the two regions. Thus our results require laterally heterogeneous F-layer, and show that F-layer is more complicated than we ever imagined.Then there is one question; which structure is that of the south polar region close to? Unfortunately, the seismic waveforms that we analyzed in the previous study may not have quality high enough to analyze the PKiKP-PKPbc or PKPbc dispersion. However, it would be meaningful to reanalyze the amplitude data and reconsider the F-layer velocity there. And we also estimate how large slope of velocity can be acceptable for the F-layer velocity

Monitoring the Seasonal Evolution of the North and South Polar Vortex on Titan during 10 Years with Cassini/Vims

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Mouelic, S.; Rousseau, B.; Rodriguez, S.; Cornet, T.; Sotin, C.; Barnes, J. W.; Brown, R. H.; Buratti, B. J.; Baines, K. H.; Clark, R. N.; Nicholson, P. D.

2014-12-01

Cassini entered in Saturn's orbit in July 2004. In ten years, more than 100 targeted flybys of Titan have been performed. We focus our study on the comprehensive analysis of the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer data set acquired between 2004 and 2014, with a particular emphasis on the atmospheric polar features. First evidences for a vast ethane cloud covering the North Pole have been detected as soon as the second targeted flyby in December 2005 [1]. The first detailed imaging of this north polar feature with VIMS was obtained in December 2006, thanks to a change in inclination of the spacecraft orbit [2]. At this time, the northern lakes and seas of Titan were totally masked to the optical instruments by the haze and clouds, whereas the southern pole was well illuminated and mostly clear of haze and vast clouds. Subsequent flybys revealed that the vast north polar feature was progressively vanishing around the equinox in 2009 [2,3,4], in agreement with the predictions of Global Circulation Models [5]. It revealed progressively the underlying lakes to the ISS and VIMS instruments. First evidences of an atmospheric vortex growing over the South Pole occurred in May 2012, with a high altitude feature detected at each flybys since then. In this study, we have computed individual global maps of the north and south poles for each of the 100 targeted flybys, using VIMS wavelengths sensitive both to clouds and surface features. This allows a more complete monitoring of the evolution of the north polar cloud than was previously done before using a selection of individual flybys only. It also provides a detailed investigation of what is currently acting over the South Pole. [1] Griffith et al., Science, 2006. [2] Le Mouélic et al., PSS, 2012. [3] Rodriguez et al., Nature, 2009. [4] Rodriguez et al., Icarus 2011. [5] Rannou et al., Science 2005

South Polar Skua breeding populations in the Ross Sea assessed from demonstrated relationship with Adélie Penguin numbers

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilson, Deborah J.; Lyver, Phil O'B.; Greene, Terry C.; Whitehead, Amy L.; Dugger, Catherine; Karl, Brian J.; Barringer, James R. F.; McGarry, Roger; Pollard, Annie M.; Ainley, David G.

2017-01-01

In the Ross Sea region, most South Polar Skuas (Stercorarius maccormicki) nest near Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) colonies, preying and scavenging on fish, penguins, and other carrion. To derive a relationship to predict skua numbers from better-quantified penguin numbers, we used distance sampling to estimate breeding skua numbers within 1000 m of 5 penguin nesting locations (Cape Crozier, Cape Royds, and 3 Cape Bird locations) on Ross Island in 3 consecutive years. Estimated numbers of skua breeding pairs were highest at Cape Crozier (270,000 penguin pairs; 1099 and 1347 skua pairs in 2 respective years) and lowest at Cape Royds (3000 penguin pairs; 45 skua pairs). The log–log linear relationship (R2 = 0.98) between pairs of skuas and penguins was highly significant, and most historical estimates of skua and penguin numbers in the Ross Sea were within 95 % prediction intervals of the regression. Applying our regression model to current Adélie Penguin colony sizes at 23 western Ross Sea locations predicted that 4635 pairs of skuas now breed within 1000 m of penguin colonies in the Ross Island metapopulation (including Beaufort Island) and northern Victoria Land. We estimate, using published skua estimates for elsewhere in Antarctica, that the Ross Sea South Polar Skua population comprises ~50 % of the world total, although this may be an overestimate because of incomplete data elsewhere. To improve predictions and enable measurement of future skua population change, we recommend additional South Polar Skua surveys using consistent distance-sampling methods at penguin colonies of a range of sizes.

Detection of B-mode polarization in the cosmic microwave background with data from the South Pole Telescope.

PubMed

Hanson, D; Hoover, S; Crites, A; Ade, P A R; Aird, K A; Austermann, J E; Beall, J A; Bender, A N; Benson, B A; Bleem, L E; Bock, J J; Carlstrom, J E; Chang, C L; Chiang, H C; Cho, H-M; Conley, A; Crawford, T M; de Haan, T; Dobbs, M A; Everett, W; Gallicchio, J; Gao, J; George, E M; Halverson, N W; Harrington, N; Henning, J W; Hilton, G C; Holder, G P; Holzapfel, W L; Hrubes, J D; Huang, N; Hubmayr, J; Irwin, K D; Keisler, R; Knox, L; Lee, A T; Leitch, E; Li, D; Liang, C; Luong-Van, D; Marsden, G; McMahon, J J; Mehl, J; Meyer, S S; Mocanu, L; Montroy, T E; Natoli, T; Nibarger, J P; Novosad, V; Padin, S; Pryke, C; Reichardt, C L; Ruhl, J E; Saliwanchik, B R; Sayre, J T; Schaffer, K K; Schulz, B; Smecher, G; Stark, A A; Story, K T; Tucker, C; Vanderlinde, K; Vieira, J D; Viero, M P; Wang, G; Yefremenko, V; Zahn, O; Zemcov, M

2013-10-04

Gravitational lensing of the cosmic microwave background generates a curl pattern in the observed polarization. This "B-mode" signal provides a measure of the projected mass distribution over the entire observable Universe and also acts as a contaminant for the measurement of primordial gravity-wave signals. In this Letter we present the first detection of gravitational lensing B modes, using first-season data from the polarization-sensitive receiver on the South Pole Telescope (SPTpol). We construct a template for the lensing B-mode signal by combining E-mode polarization measured by SPTpol with estimates of the lensing potential from a Herschel-SPIRE map of the cosmic infrared background. We compare this template to the B modes measured directly by SPTpol, finding a nonzero correlation at 7.7σ significance. The correlation has an amplitude and scale dependence consistent with theoretical expectations, is robust with respect to analysis choices, and constitutes the first measurement of a powerful cosmological observable.

Research on the system scheme and experiment for the active laser polarization imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Qiang; Duan, Jin; Zhao, Rui; Li, Zheng; Zhang, Su; Zhan, Juntong; Zhu, Yong; Jiang, Hui-Lin

2015-10-01

The polarization imaging detection technology increased the polarization information on the basis of the intensity imaging, which is extensive application in the military and civil and other fields. The research present and development trend of polarization imaging detection technology was introduce, the system scheme of the active polarization imaging detection was put forward, and the key technologies such as the polarization information detection, optical system design, polarization radiation calibration and image fusion approach was analyzed. On this basis, detection system by existing equipment of laboratory was set up, and on the different materials such as wood, metal, plastic and goal was detected by polarization imaging to realize the active polarization imaging detection. The results show that image contrast of the metal and man-made objects is higher, the polarization effect is better, which provided the basis on the better performance of the polarization imaging instruments.

Cross-Polarization Optical Coherence Tomography with Active Maintenance of the Circular Polarization of a Sounding Wave in a Common Path System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gelikonov, V. M.; Romashov, V. N.; Shabanov, D. V.; Ksenofontov, S. Yu.; Terpelov, D. A.; Shilyagin, P. A.; Gelikonov, G. V.; Vitkin, I. A.

2018-05-01

We consider a cross-polarization optical coherence tomography system with a common path for the sounding and reference waves and active maintenance of the circular polarization of a sounding wave. The system is based on the formation of birefringent characteristics of the total optical path, which are equivalent to a quarter-wave plate with a 45° orientation of its optical axes with respect to the linearly polarized reference wave. Conditions under which any light-polarization state can be obtained using a two-element phase controller are obtained. The dependence of the local cross-scattering coefficient of light in a model medium and biological tissue on the sounding-wave polarization state is demonstrated. The necessity of active maintenance of the circular polarization of a sounding wave in this common path system (including a flexible probe) is shown to realize uniform optimal conditions for cross-polarization studies of biological tissue.

Mixing and demixing of binary mixtures of polar chiral active particles.

PubMed

Ai, Bao-Quan; Shao, Zhi-Gang; Zhong, Wei-Rong

2018-05-17

We study a binary mixture of polar chiral (counterclockwise or clockwise) active particles in a two-dimensional box with periodic boundary conditions. Besides the excluded volume interactions between particles, the particles are also subjected to the polar velocity alignment. From the extensive Brownian dynamics simulations, it is found that the particle configuration (mixing or demixing) is determined by the competition between the chirality difference and the polar velocity alignment. When the chirality difference competes with the polar velocity alignment, the clockwise particles aggregate in one cluster and the counterclockwise particles aggregate in the other cluster; thus, the particles are demixed and can be separated. However, when the chirality difference or the polar velocity alignment is dominant, the particles are mixed. Our findings could be used for the experimental pursuit of the separation of binary mixtures of chiral active particles.

A Classroom Activity for Teaching Electric Polarization of Insulators and Conductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deligkaris, Christos

2018-04-01

The phenomenon of electric polarization is crucial to student understanding of forces exerted between charged objects and insulators or conductors, the process of charging by induction, and the behavior of electroscopes near charged objects. In addition, polarization allows for microscopic-level models of everyday-life macroscopic-level phenomena. Textbooks may adequately discuss polarization, but there is little material in active learning labs and tutorials on this topic. Since polarization of materials is a microscopic phenomenon, instructors often use diagrams and figures on the classroom board to explain the process in a lecture setting. In this paper I will describe a classroom activity where the students play the role of electrons as an alternative option.

ON POLAR MAGNETIC FIELD REVERSAL AND SURFACE FLUX TRANSPORT DURING SOLAR CYCLE 24

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sun, Xudong; Todd Hoeksema, J.; Liu, Yang

As each solar cycle progresses, remnant magnetic flux from active regions (ARs) migrates poleward to cancel the old-cycle polar field. We describe this polarity reversal process during Cycle 24 using four years (2010.33-2014.33) of line-of-sight magnetic field measurements from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager. The total flux associated with ARs reached maximum in the north in 2011, more than two years earlier than the south; the maximum is significantly weaker than Cycle 23. The process of polar field reversal is relatively slow, north-south asymmetric, and episodic. We estimate that the global axial dipole changed sign in 2013 October; the northernmore » and southern polar fields (mean above 60° latitude) reversed in 2012 November and 2014 March, respectively, about 16 months apart. Notably, the poleward surges of flux in each hemisphere alternated in polarity, giving rise to multiple reversals in the north. We show that the surges of the trailing sunspot polarity tend to correspond to normal mean AR tilt, higher total AR flux, or slower mid-latitude near-surface meridional flow, while exceptions occur during low magnetic activity. In particular, the AR flux and the mid-latitude poleward flow speed exhibit a clear anti-correlation. We discuss how these features can be explained in a surface flux transport process that includes a field-dependent converging flow toward the ARs, a characteristic that may contribute to solar cycle variability.« less

Strong variable linear polarization in the cool active star II Peg

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosén, Lisa; Kochukhov, Oleg; Wade, Gregg A.

2014-08-01

Magnetic fields of cool active stars are currently studied polarimetrically using only circular polarization observations. This provides limited information about the magnetic field geometry since circular polarization is only sensitive to the line-of-sight component of the magnetic field. Reconstructions of the magnetic field topology will therefore not be completely trustworthy when only circular polarization is used. On the other hand, linear polarization is sensitive to the transverse component of the magnetic field. By including linear polarization in the reconstruction the quality of the reconstructed magnetic map is dramatically improved. For that reason, we wanted to identify cool stars for which linear polarization could be detected at a level sufficient for magnetic imaging. Four active RS CVn binaries, II Peg, HR 1099, IM Peg, and σ Gem were observed with the ESPaDOnS spectropolarimeter at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Mean polarization profiles in all four Stokes parameters were derived using the multi-line technique of least-squares deconvolution (LSD). Not only was linear polarization successfully detected in all four stars in at least one observation, but also, II Peg showed an extraordinarily strong linear polarization signature throughout all observations. This qualifies II Peg as the first promising target for magnetic Doppler imaging in all four Stokes parameters and, at the same time, suggests that other such targets can possibly be identified.

High Heat Flow from Enceladus' South Polar Region Measured using 10-600/cm(exp -1) Cassini/CIRS Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howett, C. J. A.; Spencer, J. R.; Pearl, J.; Segura, M.

2011-01-01

Analysis of 2008 Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) 10 to 600/cm thermal emission spectra of Enceladus shows that for reasonable assumptions about the spatial distribution of the emission and the thermophysical properties of the solar-heated background surface, which are supported by CIRS observations of background temperatures at the edge of the active region, the endogenic power of Enceladus' south polar terrain is 15.8 +/- 3.1 GW. This is significantly higher than the previous estimate of 5.8 +/- 1.9 GW. The new value represents an improvement over the previous one, which was derived from higher wave number data (600 to 1100/cm-I) and was thus only sensitive to high-temperature emission. The mechanism capable of producing such a high endogenic power remains a mystery and challenges the current models of proposed heat production.

Nonequilibrium phase transitions, fluctuations and correlations in an active contractile polar fluid.

PubMed

Gowrishankar, Kripa; Rao, Madan

2016-02-21

We study the patterning, fluctuations and correlations of an active polar fluid consisting of contractile polar filaments on a two-dimensional substrate, using a hydrodynamic description. The steady states generically consist of arrays of inward pointing asters and show a continuous transition from a moving lamellar phase, a moving aster street, to a stationary aster lattice with no net polar order. We next study the effect of spatio-temporal athermal noise, parametrized by an active temperature TA, on the stability of the ordered phases. In contrast to its equilibrium counterpart, we find that the active crystal shows true long range order at low TA. On increasing TA, the asters dynamically remodel, concomitantly we find novel phase transitions characterized by bond-orientational and polar order upon "heating".

Physical and chemical properties of Jupiter's north and south polar vortex revealed through mid-infrared imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernandes, Joshua M.

This thesis reports on the characterization of the thermal and chemical distribution of Jupiter's polar regions. The quantities are derived from mid-infrared images covering all longitudes at unprecedented spatial resolution using the COMICS instrument at the Subaru Telescope on the nights of January 24 and 25, 2016. Because of Jupiter's slight axial tilt of 3° and low angular resolution and incomplete longitudinal coverage of previous mid-infrared observations, the physical and chemical properties of Jupiter's polar regions have been poorly characterized. In advance of the exploration of the structure of Jupiter's polar regions by the Juno spacecraft, this study focuses on mapping the 3-dimensional structure of Jupiter's polar regions, specifically to characterize the polar vortices and compact regions of auroral influence. Using mid-infrared images taken in the 7.8 mum - 24.2 mum range, the 3-dimensional temperature field, para-H2 fraction, aerosol opacity, and the constraint on the distribution of gaseous-NH3 are determined on a range from 400 mbar to 100 mbar. Retrievals of these atmospheric parameters were performed using NEMESIS, a radiative transfer forward model and retrieval code. Results indicate that there are vortices at both poles, each with very distinct boundaries approximately 70° latitude in the north and -75° latitude in the south. The boundaries can be defined by sharp thermal gradients extending at least from the upper troposphere (500 mbar of atmospheric pressure) and into the stratosphere (0.1 mbar of atmospheric pressure). These polar regions are characterized by lower temperatures and lower para-hydrogen concentration, compared with the regions immediately outside the vortex boundaries.

North-South Asymmetry in the Magnetic Deflection of Polar Coronal Jets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nisticò, Giuseppe; Zimbardo, Gaetano; Bothmer, Volker; Patsourakos, Spiros

Solar jets observed with the Extreme Ultra-Violet Imager (EUVI) and CORonagraphs (COR) instruments aboard the STEREO mission provide a tool to probe and understand the magnetic structure of the corona. Since the corona is an environment where the magnetic pressure is greater than the kinetic pressure, the magnetic field controls the dynamics of plasma and, on average, jets during their propagation trace the magnetic field lines. We discuss the North-South asymmetry of the magnetic field of the Sun as inferred from measurements of the deflection of polar coronal hole jets when they propagate throughout the corona. We measured the position angle at 1 and at 2 solar radii for the 79 jets of the catalogue of Nisticò et al. (2009), based on the STEREO ultraviolet and visible observations, and we found that the propagation is not radial. The average jet deflection is studied both in the plane perpendicular to the line of sight, and, for a reduced number of jets in the three dimensional (3D) space. We find that the magnetic deflection of jets is larger in the North than in the South, with an asymmetry which is consistent with the N-S asymmetry of the heliospheric magnetic field inferred from the Ulysses in situ measurements, and gives clues to the study of the large scale solar magnetic field.

Response of the equatorial and polar magnetosphere to the very tenuous solar wind on May 11, 1999

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farrugia, C. J.; Singer, H. J.; Evans, D.; Berdichevsky, D.; Scudder, J. D.; Ogilvie, K. W.; Fitzenreiter, R. J.; Russell, C. T.

2000-12-01

We examine effects in the equatorial and polar magnetosphere during 9-13 May, 1999. Earth's field at geostationary orbit became closely dipolar for ˜16 hours when solar wind densities nsw were <1 cm-3. Electron precipitation in the northern polar cap intensified as nsw decreased, with significant fluxes up to ˜15 keV energy on May 11. The simultaneous precipitation void in the southern polar cap implies a very pronounced north-south asymmetry, also reflected in the hemispherical power deposition. With an intense and collimated strahl, these observations support the ideas of Fairfield and Scudder [1985] on the preferential entry of the strahl into the northern hemisphere under the observed IMF away sector as a source of the north-south precipitation asymmetry. The polar rain north-south asymmetry argues against an ejecta source for the solar wind drop-out. The temporal profiles of solar wind parameters were very asymmetric with respect to the time of minimum nsw, and strong compressions and substorm activity prevailed as nsw recovered.

Goldstone/VLA 3.5cm Mars Radar Observations - "Stealths" and South Polar Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butler, Bryan; Chizek, M. R.; Slade, M. A.; Haldemann, A. F.; Muhleman, D. O.; Mao, T. F.

2006-09-01

The opposition of Mars in 2003 provided a fantastic opportunity to use the combined Goldstone/VLA radar to probe the surface with the highest resolution ever obtained on Mars with that instrument (as good as 70 km). Observations were made on August 11, 19, 28, and September 8. Details of data reduction and analysis of the radar echoes from the volcanic regions of the planet are presented in a companion paper in these proceedings (Chizek et al.). We will present results related to "Stealth" (and other radar-dark regions of the planet, including the Argyre and Hellas Planitiae, and a region to the west of the Elysium Mons caldera), and the south polar residual and seasonal ice caps. The size, shape, and reflectivity characteristics of Stealth and "mega-Stealth" (Edgett et al. 1997) are reaffirmed, with a better viewing geometry of the western extent of the feature than had been obtained previously. It had been speculated previously that Hellas Planitia should also be radar dark - this is confirmed by our imaging, though the reflectivity is not as low as for Stealth. We find a new radar dark area to the west of Elysium Mons, which is likely an ash fall from that volcano (similar to the relationship between Stealth and the Tharsis volcanoes). The south polar residual ice cap is a very bright reflector, as seen previously, but we now also see a very bright reflection from the seasonal cap, not seen previously. The cap is not uniformly bright, however, and the extent of the bright reflection does not correspond to that expected from the retreat of the cap as measured either from albedo or thermal emission characteristics. The NRAO is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

Above Titan South

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-09-17

Titan south polar vortex seems to float above the moon south pole in this Cassini spacecraft view. The vortex, which is a mass of gas swirling around the south pole high in the moon atmosphere, can be seen in the lower right of this view.

South polar residual cap of Mars: Features, stratigraphy, and changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, P. C.; Malin, M. C.; James, P. B.; Cantor, B. A.; Williams, R. M. E.; Gierasch, P.

2005-04-01

The south residual polar cap of Mars, rich in CO 2 ice, is compositionally distinct from the north residual cap which is dominantly H 2O ice. The south cap is also morphologically distinct, displaying a bewildering variety of depressions formed in thin layered deposits, which have been observed to change by scarp retreat over an interval of one Mars year (Malin et al., 2001, Science 294, 2146-2148). The climatically sensitive locale of the residual caps suggests that their behavior may help in the interpretation of recent fluctuations or repeatability of the Mars climate. We have used Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images obtained in three southern summers to map the variety of features in the south residual cap and to evaluate changes over two Mars years (Mars y). The images show that there are two distinct layered units which were deposited at different times separated by a period of degradation. The older unit, ˜10 m thick, has layers approximately 2 m thick. The younger unit has variable numbers of layers, each ˜1 m thick. The older unit is eroding by scarp retreat averaging 3.6 m/Mars y, a rate greater than the retreat of 2.2 m/Mars y observed for the younger unit. The rates of scarp retreat and sizes of the different types of depressions indicate that the history of the residual cap has been short periods of deposition interspersed with longer erosional periods. Erosion of the older unit probably occupied ˜100-150 Mars y. One layer may have been deposited after the Mariner 9 observations in 1972. Residual cap layers appear to differ from normal annual winter deposits by having a higher albedo and perhaps by having higher porosities. These properties might be produced by differences in the depositional meteorology that affect the fraction of high porosity snow included in the winter deposition.

Observations of polar aurora on Jupiter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lane, A. L.; Clarke, J. T.; Moos, H. W.; Atreya, S. K.

1981-01-01

North-south spatial maps of Jupiter were obtained with the SWP camera in IUE observations of 10 December 1978, 19 May 1979, and 7 June 1979. Bright auroral emissions were detected from the north and south polar regions at H Ly alpha (1216 A) and in the H2 Lyman bands (1250-1608 A) on 19 May 1979; yet no enhanced polar emission was detected on the other days. The relationship between the IUE observing geometry and the geometry of the Jovian magnetosphere is discussed.

Frontier Science in the Polar Regions: Current Activities of the Polar Research Board

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, L. M.

2011-12-01

The National Academies (the umbrella term for the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council) is a private, nonprofit organization chartered by Congress in 1863. The Polar Research Board (PRB) is the focal point within the Academies for providing advice on issues related to the Arctic, Antarctic, and cold regions in general. Tasks within the PRB mission include: providing a forum for the polar science community to address research needs and policy issues; conducting studies and workshops on emerging scientific and policy issues in response to requests from federal agencies and others; providing program reviews, guidance, and assessments of priorities; and facilitating communication on polar issues among academia, industry, and government. The PRB also serves as the US National Committee to two international, nongovernmental polar science organizations: the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC). The polar regions are experiencing rapid changes in environment and climate, and the PRB has a number of completed and ongoing studies that will enhance scientific understanding of these issues. This poster will illustrate current PRB activities as well as results from two recently released reports: Frontiers in Understanding Climate Change and Polar Ecosystems and Future Science Opportunities in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. In the former, a set of frontier research questions are developed to help scientists understand the impacts of climate change on polar ecosystems. The report builds on existing knowledge of climate change impacts and highlights the next big topics to be addressed in the coming decades. In addition, a number of methods and technologies are identified that will be useful to advance future research in polar ecosystem science. In the latter, changes to important science conducted on Antarctica and the surrounding

North-south asymmetry in the magnetic deflection of polar coronal hole jets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nisticò, G.; Zimbardo, G.; Patsourakos, S.; Bothmer, V.; Nakariakov, V. M.

2015-11-01

Context. Measurements of the sunspots area, of the magnetic field in the interplanetary medium, and of the heliospheric current sheet (HCS) position, reveal a possible north-south (N-S) asymmetry in the magnetic field of the Sun. This asymmetry could cause the bending of the HCS of the order of 5-10 deg in the southward direction, and it appears to be a recurrent characteristic of the Sun during the minima of solar activity. Aims: We study the N-S asymmetry as inferred from measurements of the deflection of polar coronal hole jets when they propagate throughout the corona. Methods: Since the corona is an environment where the magnetic pressure is greater than the kinetic pressure (β ≪ 1), we can assume that the magnetic field controls the dynamics of plasma. On average, jets follow magnetic field lines during their propagation, highlighting their local direction. We measured the position angles at 1 R⊙ and at 2 R⊙ of 79 jets, based on the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) ultraviolet and white-light coronagraph observations during the solar minimum period March 2007-April 2008. The average jet deflection is studied both in the plane perpendicular to the line of sight and, for a reduced number of jets, in 3D space. The observed jet deflection is studied in terms of an axisymmetric magnetic field model comprising dipole (g1), quadrupole (g2), and esapole (g3) moments. Results: We found that the propagation of the jets is not radial, which is in agreement with the deflection due to magnetic field lines. Moreover, the amount of the deflection is different between jets over the north and those from the south pole. A comparison of jet deflections and field line tracing shows that a ratio g2/g1 ≃ -0.5 for the quadrupole and a ratio g3/g1 ≃ 1.6-2.0 for the esapole can describe the field. The presence of a non-negligible quadrupole moment confirms the N-S asymmetry of the solar magnetic field for the considered period. Conclusions: We find that the

SHARAD Finds Voluminous CO2 Ice Sequestered in the Martian South Polar Layered Deposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, R. J.; Davis, B. J.; Byrne, S.; Campbell, B. A.; Carter, L. M.; Haberle, R. M.; Holt, J. W.; Kahre, M. A.; Nunes, D. C.; Plaut, J. J.; Putzig, N. E.; Smith, I. B.; Smrekar, S. E.; Tanaka, K. L.; Titus, T. N.

2010-12-01

The SHARAD instrument on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) mission has carried out systematic radar soundings of the layered deposits at both martian polar regions. While well-organized sets of radar reflectors are ubiquitous in the North Polar Layered Deposits, those in the South Polar Layered Deposits (SPLD) are limited to specific regions, and it is difficult to map SPLD-wide radar stratigraphy. What is evident in the radar observations are four regional reflection-free zones (RFZ) distinguished qualitatively by their radar characteristics. They are up to a kilometer in thickness and extend downward from near the surface. One such zone (RFZ3) occurs beneath the South Polar Residual Cap (SPRC), which is composed of ~5 m of solid CO2 underlain by an apparently thin layer of water ice. Using a correlation technique, we inverted for the real permittivity, ɛ', on each of 41 usable SHARAD orbits over RFZ3. The results were mean values of ɛ' = 2.0 or 2.1, with a σ of 0.2. A secondary technique based on the “smoothest” solution gave similar results. These values are exceptionally close to the laboratory-measured permittivity value of bulk CO2 ice [Pettinelli et al., 2003] and distant from the bulk water ice value (ɛ' = 3.15); water ice is the dominant volatile in the SPLD. An alternative hypothesis for ɛ' = 2.0-2.1 is that the RFZ3 material is porous water ice, but this can be strongly discounted based on theoretical and empirical models of ɛ' of porous water ice vs. thickness. By the same arguments, the proposed CO2 material also cannot be very porous, and ɛ' should be close to the bulk value. With the permittivity estimates, radar time delays were converted to depth, and for RFZ3 a mean thickness of 210-220 m and a volume of 4,200-4,400 km3 result. This is unlikely to be the entire volume because MRO’s orbital inclination precludes SHARAD sounding poleward of ~87°S, where RFZ3 appears to extend. We do find a very good spatial correlation of RFZ3 with

A Brunhes-Matuyama polarity transition record from anoxic sediments in the South Atlantic (Ocean Drilling Program Hole 1082C)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamazaki, T.; Oda, H.

2001-08-01

A paleomagnetic study was performed on Hole 1082C sediment cores taken during the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 175 in the South Atlantic in order to obtain a high-resolution Brunhes-Matuyama (B/M) polarity transition record. An average sedimentation rate was as high as 10 cm/kyr. The cores consist of strongly anoxic sediments, which is common for the areas of large material supply. Anoxic sediments, which are geochemically quite active, were considered to be unsuitable for studies on detailed behavior of the geomagnetic field such as polarity transitions. For global site distribution, however, it is necessary to make efforts to retrieve paleomagnetic records from such sediments. A continuous record of directional changes around the transition was obtained from U-channel samples after cleaning by stepwise alternating-field (AF) demagnetization. Consistency of the record was checked using discrete samples taken from the other half of the cores. The coring-induced magnetic overprint of radial-inward direction, which has often been reported from ODP piston-cores, was negligibly small in our cores. Relative paleointensity variation was estimated from remanent intensities of the discrete samples normalized by artificial remanences. Our record shows following features of the B/M transition similar to those already reported by previous studies. A zone of large directional fluctuations with low paleointensities occurs just before the main transition (788 to 795 ka based on the oxygen-isotope stratigraphy), which would correspond to the "precursor" of Hartl and Tauxe (1996). The virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) at the precursor lie along the so-called preferred longitudinal bands over the north-south Americas and Australia-east Asia. After the main transition from the reversed to normal polarity, VGPs stayed in the middle-to-high latitudes over the North America with an intermediate paleointensity for about 5~kyrs, and then moved in the vicinity of the North Pole with

Assessment of HRSC Digital Terrain Models Produced for the South Polar Residual Cap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putri, Alfiah Rizky Diana; Sidiropoulos, Panagiotis; Muller, Jan-Peter

2017-04-01

The current Digital Terrain Models available for Mars consist of NASA MOLA (Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter) Digital Terrain Models with an average resolution of 112 m/ pixel (512 pixels/degree) for the polar region. The ESA/DLR High Resolution Stereo Camera is currently orbiting Mars and mapping its surface, 98% with resolution of ≤100 m/pixel and better and 100% at lower resolution [1]. It is possible to produce Digital Terrain Models from HRSC images using various methods. In this study, the method developed on Kim and Muller [2] which uses the VICAR open source program together with photogrammetry sofrware from DLR (Deutschen Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt) with image matching based on the GOTCHA (Gruen-Otto-Chau) algorithm [3]. Digital Terrain Models have been processed over the South Pole with emphasis on areas around South Polar Residual Cap from High Resolution Stereo Camera images [4]. Digital Terrain Models have been produced for 31 orbits out of 149 polar orbits available. This study analyses the quality of the DTMs including an assessment of accuracy of elevations using the MOLA MEGDR (Mission Experiment Gridded Data Records) which has roughly 42 million MOLA PEDR (Precision Experiment Data Records) points between latitudes of 78 o -90 o S. The issues encountered in the production of Digital Terrain Models will be described and the statistical results and assessment method will be presented. The resultant DTMs will be accessible via http://i-Mars.eu/web-GIS References: [1] Neukum, G. et. al, 2004. Mars Express: The Scientific Payload pp. 17-35. [2] Kim, J.-R. and J.-P. Muller. 2009. PSS vol. 57, pp. 2095-2112. [3] Shin, D. and J.-P. Muller. 2012. Pattern Recognition, 45(10), 3795 -3809. [4] Putri, A.R. D., et al., Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLI-B4, 463-469 Acknowledgements: The research leading to these results has received partial funding from the STFC "MSSL Consolidated Grant" ST/K000977/1 and partial support from the

QKD using polarization encoding with active measurement basis selection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duplinskiy, A.; Ustimchik, V.; Kanapin, A.; Kurochkin, Y.

2017-11-01

We report a proof-of-principle quantum key distribution experiment using a one-way optical scheme with polarization encoding implementing the BB84 protocol. LiNbO3 phase modulators are used for generating polarization states for Alice and active basis selection for Bob. This allows the former to use a single laser source, while the latter needs only two single-photon detectors. The presented optical scheme is simple and consists of standard fiber components. Calibration algorithm for three polarization controllers used in the scheme has been developed. The experiment was carried with 10 MHz repetition frequency laser pulses over a distance of 50 km of standard telecom optical fiber.

North Polar Cap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

7 September 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a 1.4 m/pixel (5 ft/pixel) view of a typical martian north polar ice cap texture. The surface is pitted and rough at the scale of several meters. The north polar residual cap of Mars consists mainly of water ice, while the south polar residual cap is mostly carbon dioxide. This picture is located near 85.2oN, 283.2oW. The image covers an area approximately 1 km wide by 1.4 km high (0.62 by 0.87 miles). Sunlight illuminates this scene from the lower left.

Changes in aerobic performance, body composition, and physical activity in polar explorers during a year-long stay at the polar station in the Arctic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maciejczyk, Marcin; Araźny, Andrzej; Opyrchał, Marta

2017-04-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in physical activity, aerobic performance, and body composition in polar explorers during a 1-year stay at the polar station. The study group consisted of 10 people, including 8 men and 2 women. Aerobic performance (maximal oxygen uptake), physical activity, body mass, and composition were evaluated for the polar explores of the Polish Polar Station prior to departure, and then during their stay at the station for a period of 1 year. The measurements were performed every 3 months. Compared to the measurements taken before going to the polar station, aerobic performance significantly ( p = 0.02) increased in the first 3 months of residing at the polar station and then remained relatively stable for the following duration of the stay. In the first 3 months of the stay, we also observed the highest level of physical activity in participants. In the polar explorers, no significant ( p > 0.05) body fatness changes were noted. Nonetheless, lean body mass, body mass, and BMI significantly increased compared to the measurements taken before departure to the polar station. The greatest changes in aerobic performance, physical activity, and body composition were observed during the first 3 months after arrival to the Arctic and then, despite changing biometeorological conditions, they remained stable for the next months of the stay. We recommend the introduction of a physical preparation program before departing to the polar station to improve explorers' physical fitness, so that they can meet the physical challenges they are faced with immediately after arrival to the polar station.

COMMENTS ON "MEASUREMENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC MERCURY SPECIES AT A COASTAL SITE IN THE ANTARCTIC AND OVER THE SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN DURING POLAR SUMMER"

EPA Science Inventory

Attached comment submitted to Environmental Science and Technology entitled, Comments on "Measurements of Atmospheric Mercury Species at a Costal Site in the Antarctic and over the South Atlantic Ocean during Polar Summer" by Temme et al. Environmental Science and Technology 37 (...

A Warmer Atmosphere on Mars Near the Noachian-Hesperian Boundary: Evidence from Basal Melting of the South Polar Ice Cap (Dorsa Argentea Formation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fastook, J. L.; Head, J. W.; Marchant, D. R.; Forget, F.; Madeleine, J.-B.

2011-03-01

Dorsa Argentea Formation (Noachian-Hesperian) eskers are evidence for basal melting. Ice-flow models show that the mean annual south polar temperature must be raised to -50° to -75°C, providing an independent estimate of elevated lower latitude surface temperature.

The swimming polarity of multicellular magnetotactic prokaryotes can change during an isolation process employing magnets: evidence of a relation between swimming polarity and magnetic moment intensity.

PubMed

de Melo, Roger Duarte; Acosta-Avalos, Daniel

2017-09-01

Magnetotactic microorganisms are characterized by swimming in the direction of an applied magnetic field. In nature, two types of swimming polarity have been observed: north-seeking microorganisms that swim in the same direction as the magnetic field, and south-seeking microorganisms that swim in the opposite direction. The present work studies the reversal in the swimming polarity of the multicellular magnetotactic prokaryote Candidatus Magnetoglobus multicellularis following an isolation process using high magnetic fields from magnets. The proportion of north- and south-seeking organisms was counted as a function of the magnetic field intensity used during the isolation of the organisms from sediment. It was observed that the proportion of north-seeking organisms increased when the magnetic field was increased. The magnetic moment for north- and south-seeking populations was estimated using the U-turn method. The average magnetic moment was higher for north- than south-seeking organisms. The results suggest that the reversal of swimming polarity must occur during the isolation process in the presence of high magnetic fields and magnetic field gradients. It is shown for the first time that the swimming polarity reversal depends on the magnetic moment intensity of multicellular magnetotactic prokaryotes, and new studies must be undertaken to understand the role of magnetic moment polarity and oxygen gradients in determination of swimming polarity.

Global tectonic of Enceladus driven by subsidence of South Polar Terrain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czechowski, Leszek

2016-07-01

Enceladus is the smallest celestial body in the Solar System where volcanic and tectonic activities are observed. Every second, the mass of ~200 kg is ejected into space from the South Polar Terrain (SPT) - [1]. Our hypothesis states that this mass loss is the main driving mechanism of the tectonic processes. The hypothesis is presented in [2] and [3]. We find that the loss of the volatiles results in a void, an instability, and motion of solid matter to fill the void. The motion includes: (i) Subsidence of the 'lithosphere' of SPT. (ii) Flow of the matter in the mantle. (iii) Motion of plates adjacent to SPT towards the active region. The numerical model of the subsidence process is developed. It is based on the model of thermal convection in the mantle. Special boundary conditions are applied that could simulate subsidence of SPT. If emerging void is being filled by the subsidence of SPT only, then the velocity of subsidence is ~0.05 mm per yr. However, numerical calculations indicate that all three types of motion are usually important. The role of a given motion depends on the viscosity distribution. Generally, for most of the models the subsidence is ~0.02 mm per yr, but mantle flow and plates' motion also play a role in filling the void. The preliminary results of the numerical model indicate also that the velocity of adjacent plates could be ~0.02 mm per yr for the Newtonian rheology. The SPT is not compressed, so "tiger stripes" could exist for long time. Only after significant subsidence the regime of stresses changes to compression. It means the end of activity in a given region. The future region of activity is suggested. Acknowledgments This work was partially supported by the National Science Centre (grant 2011/01/B/ST10/06653). Computer resources of Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modeling of University of Warsaw were also used in the research References [1] Spencer, J. R., et al. (2009) Enceladus: An Active Cryovolcanic

Mars Polar Thermal Inertia and Albedo Properties Using TES Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scherbenski, J. M.; Paige, D. A.

2002-12-01

We present north and south polar thermal inertia and albedo maps derived from MGS TES observations. The maps were derived using the same robust approach developed to make polar thermal and inertia and albedo maps using IRTM observationsby Paige, Bachman, and Keegan (1994) and Paige and Keegan (1994). The data processing approach involved reading TES reduced data records in PDS format using the Vanilla software tool, and sending the data down a processing pipeline that constrains and bins the data, and compares it to the results of a diurnal and seasonal thermal model to obtain the best fit thermal inertia and apparent albedo. To facilitate comparison, the TES maps were created at the same Ls ranges as the published IRTM maps using TES spectral surface temperature results. The north polar maps used TES nadir observations obtained during a 50-day period from Ls 98.39 to Ls 121.25. The south polar maps used TES nadir observations obtained during a 30-day period from Ls 321.58 to 338.07. The creation of these maps employ a basic thermal model that does not include the effects of the atmosphere, as well as a one-dimensional radiative-convective model that does include the effects of the atmosphere. The spatial resolution of the north polar maps is 0.1 degrees of latitude and 1.0 degrees of longitude. The spatial resolution of the south polar maps is 2 degrees of latitude and 2 degrees of longitude. The TES north polar maps show the residual cap area in significantly greater detail than has been available previously. The IRTM maps showed that the north polar sand sea that surrounds the cap has unusually low thermal inertia. The TES maps confirm this conclusion, but also show that the dark renetrant features in chama boreal and elsewhere on the cap also have low thermal inertias. This strongly supports the proposal that these dark rentrants are the sources of the dune material. The TES maps also show that the darker layered deposits which are found at the periphery of the

Dielectric Constant of Titan's South Polar Region from Cassini Radio Science Bistatic Scattering Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marouf, E.; Rappaport, N.; French, R.; Simpson, R.; Kliore, A.; McGhee, C.; Schinder, P.; Anabtawi, A.

2008-12-01

(~ 23 minutes). The relatively more grazing incidence geometry (θ ~ 70-79°) caused the RCP component to dominate the LCP component, as expected. Nonetheless, the later was mostly detectable, allowing estimation of the corresponding polarization ratio and hence profiling of the variability of the dielectric constant along the ground track. The inferred dielectric constant ɛ appears to vary over the large surface region probed but falls generally in the range 2 to 2.5, suggesting solid hydrocarbons or hydrocarbon "sludge" surface composition close to Titan's south pole. The small observed spectral Doppler broadening suggests that the echoes originate from gently undulating surface regions with RMS slopes of order few degrees.

Rhea South Polar Map - January 2011

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-05-02

The northern and southern hemispheres of Rhea are seen in these polar stereographic maps, mosaicked from the best-available NASA Cassini and Voyager images. Six Voyager images fill in gaps in Cassini coverage of the moon north pole.

Distribution Analysis of Sulphide Mineral (Pyrite) Using Induced Polarization Method in Libureng, Bone, South Sulawesi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altin Massinai, Muhammad; Lantu; Latuconsina, Hidayat; Fawzy Ismullah M, Muhammad

2018-03-01

Sulphide minerals are any member of a group of compounds of sulphur with one or more metals. Some of these sulphide minerals are economically important. This study used induced polarization method to identify distribution and mineralized zone of sulphide mineral (Pyrite), in Libureng, Bone Regency, South Sulawesi. The data processing yielded resistivity value, percent frequency effect (PPE) value, and metal factor (MF) value which were then used to produce 2-D and 3-D section model. Based on the data interpretation, an anomaly linked to pyrite deposits was seen in four trajectories with resistivity value < = 50, PFE = > 3%, and MF > = 150, deposited in hydrothermal alteration zone, sericite zone.

Polar Textures

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-09-21

This VIS image shows part of the South Polar cap. In this region the surface has numerous circular depressions, which give the appearance of a slice of swiss cheese. Orbit Number: 64848 Latitude: -86.7725 Longitude: 355.096 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-07-27 09:35 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20993

After the Mars Polar Lander: Where to Next?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paige, D. A.; Boynton, W. V.; Crisp, D.; DeJong, E.; Hansen, C. J.; Harri, A. M.; Keller, H. U.; Leshin, L. A.; May, R. D.; Smith, P. H.

2000-01-01

The recent loss of the Mars Polar Lander (MPL) mission represents a serious setback to Mars science and exploration. Targeted to land on the Martian south polar layered deposits at 76 degrees south latitude and 195 degrees west longitude, it would have been the first mission to study the geology, atmospheric environment, and volatiles at a high-latitude landing site. Since the conception of the MPL mission, a Mars exploration strategy has emerged which focuses on Climate, Resources and Life, with the behavior and history of water as the unifying theme. A successful MPL mission would have made significant contributions towards these goals, particularly in understanding the distribution and behavior of near-surface water, and the nature and climate history of the south polar layered deposits. Unfortunately, due to concerns regarding the design of the MPL spacecraft, the rarity of direct trajectories that enable high-latitude landings, and funding, an exact reflight of MPL is not feasible within the present planning horizon. However, there remains significant interest in recapturing the scientific goals of the MPL mission. The following is a discussion of scientific and strategic issues relevant to planning the next polar lander mission, and beyond.

The polar cusp: Cluster observations and simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Escoubet, C. Philippe; Berchem, Jean; Pitout, Frederic; Richard, Robert; Trattner, Karlheinz; Grison, Benjamin; Taylor, Matthew; Laakso, Harri; Masson, Arnaud; Dunlop, Malcolm; Dandouras, Iannis; Reme, Henri; Fazakerley, Andrew N.

The polar cusp, together with the magnetopause, are the magnetospheric regions in direct contact with the shocked solar wind flowing continuously from the Sun. Therefore any changes in the solar wind plasma reaching the magnetopause induce changes in the polar cusp with a delay of a few minutes to a few tens of minutes. For instance a change of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) direction from South to North will displace the polar cusp poleward and at the same time will change the injection of ions from the subsolar magnetopause to the magnetotail lobes. In the mid and low-altitude cusp a spacecraft will then observe a reversal of the dispersion in energy of the ions. We will use Cluster string of pearl configuration in the mid-altitude polar cusp to investigate the temporal variations of ion injections in the polar cusp. In the period from July to September, the Cluster spacecraft follow each other in the mid-altitude cusp with a delay of few minutes up to one hour. A few examples of cusp crossings will be presented to illustrate the influence of solar wind changes in the polar cusp. We will show that a sudden change in the IMF direction from South to North produces a double cusp crossing. By opposition, a change of the IMF from North to South produces a temporal injection on the equatorward side of the cusp and an erosion of the magnetosphere. Finally, we will show that when the interplanetary conditions are stable with the IMF pointing Northward or Southward for more than 10 min the polar cusp ion dispersion stays constant. MHD and large-scale particle simulations will also be used to complement the Cluster data.

Polarization of Rayleigh scattered Lyα in active galactic nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Seok-Jun; Lee, Hee-Won; Yang, Yujin

2017-02-01

The unification scheme of active galactic nuclei invokes an optically thick molecular torus component hiding the broad emission line region. Assuming the presence of a thick neutral component in the molecular torus characterized by a H I column density >1022 cm-2, we propose that far-UV radiation around Lyα can be significantly polarized through Rayleigh scattering. Adopting a Monte Carlo technique, we compute polarization of Rayleigh scattered radiation near Lyα in a thick neutral region in the shape of a slab and a cylindrical shell. It is found that radiation near Lyα Rayleigh reflected from a very thick slab can be significantly polarized in a fairly large range of wavelength Δλ ˜ 50 Å exhibiting a flux profile similar to the incident one. Rayleigh transmitted radiation in a slab is characterized by the central dip with a complicated polarization behaviour. The optically thick part near Lyα centre is polarized in the direction perpendicular to the slab normal, which is in contrast to weakly polarized wing parts in the direction parallel to the slab normal. A similar polarization flip phenomenon is also found in the case of a tall cylindrical shell, in which the spatial diffusion along the vertical direction near the inner cylinder wall for core photons leads to a tendency of the electric field aligned to the direction perpendicular to the vertical axis. Observational implications are briefly discussed including spectropolarimetry of the quasar PG 1630+377 by Koratkar et al. in 1990 where Lyα is strongly polarized with no other emission lines polarized.

Mars polar cap: a habitat for elementary life1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallis, M. K.; Wickramasinghe, N. C.

2009-04-01

Ices in the Martian polar caps are potential habitats for various species of microorganisms. Salts in the ice and biological anti-freeze polymers maintain liquid in cracks in the ices far below 0°C, possibly down to the mean 220-240 K. Sub-surface microbial life is shielded from ultraviolet (UV) radiation, but could potentially be activated on south-facing slopes under the midday, midsummer Sun. Such life would be limited by low levels of vapour, little transport of nutrients, low light levels below a protective dirt-crust, frost accumulation at night and in shadows, and little if any active translocation of organisms. As in the Antarctic and in permafrost, movement to new habitats depends on geo-climatic changes, which for Mars's north polar cap occur on a 50 000 year scale, except for rare meteorite impacts.

COMPARISON OF CHAOTIC AND FRACTAL PROPERTIES OF POLAR FACULAE WITH SUNSPOT ACTIVITY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deng, L. H.; Xiang, Y. Y.; Dun, G. T.

The solar magnetic activity is governed by a complex dynamo mechanism and exhibits a nonlinear dissipation behavior in nature. The chaotic and fractal properties of solar time series are of great importance to understanding the solar dynamo actions, especially with regard to the nonlinear dynamo theories. In the present work, several nonlinear analysis approaches are proposed to investigate the nonlinear dynamical behavior of the polar faculae and sunspot activity for the time interval from 1951 August to 1998 December. The following prominent results are found: (1) both the high- and the low-latitude solar activity are governed by a three-dimensional chaoticmore » attractor, and the chaotic behavior of polar faculae is the most complex, followed by that of the sunspot areas, and then the sunspot numbers; (2) both the high- and low-latitude solar activity exhibit a high degree of persistent behavior, and their fractal nature is due to such long-range correlation; (3) the solar magnetic activity cycle is predictable in nature, but the high-accuracy prediction should only be done for short- to mid-term due to its intrinsically dynamical complexity. With the help of the Babcock–Leighton dynamo model, we suggest that the nonlinear coupling of the polar magnetic fields with strong active-region fields exhibits a complex manner, causing the statistical similarities and differences between the polar faculae and the sunspot-related indicators.« less

Transient bright "halos" on the South Polar Residual Cap of Mars: Implications for mass-balance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becerra, Patricio; Byrne, Shane; Brown, Adrian J.

2015-05-01

Spacecraft imaging of Mars' south polar region during mid-southern summer of Mars year 28 (2007) observed bright halo-like features surrounding many of the pits, scarps and slopes of the heavily eroded carbon dioxide ice of the South Polar Residual Cap (SPRC). These features had not been observed before, and have not been observed since. We report on the results of an observational study of these halos, and spectral modeling of the SPRC surface at the time of their appearance. Image analysis was performed using data from MRO's Context Camera (CTX), and High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), as well as images from Mars Global Surveyor's (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC). Data from MRO's Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) were used for the spectral analysis of the SPRC ice at the time of the halos. These data were compared with a Hapke reflectance model of the surface to constrain their formation mechanism. We find that the unique appearance of the halos is intimately linked to a near-perihelion global dust storm that occurred shortly before they were observed. The combination of vigorous summertime sublimation of carbon dioxide ice from sloped surfaces on the SPRC and simultaneous settling of dust from the global storm, resulted in a sublimation wind that deflected settling dust particles away from the edges of these slopes, keeping these areas relatively free of dust compared to the rest of the cap. The fact that the halos were not exhumed in subsequent years indicates a positive mass-balance for flat portions of the SPRC in those years. A net accumulation mass-balance on flat surfaces of the SPRC is required to preserve the cap, as it is constantly being eroded by the expansion of the pits and scarps that populate its surface.

Mars' South Polar Ar Enhancement: A Tracer for South Polar Seasonal Meridional Mixing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sprague, A. L.; Boynton, W. V.; Kerry, K. E.; Janes, D. M.; Hunten, D. M.; Kim, K. J.; Reedy, R. C.; Metzger, A. E.

2004-11-01

The gamma ray spectrometer on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft measured an enhancement of atmospheric argon over southern high latitudes during autumn followed by dissipation during winter and spring. Argon does not freeze at temperatures normal for southern winter (~145 kelvin) and is left in the atmosphere, enriched relative to carbon dioxide (CO2), as the southern seasonal cap of CO2 frost accumulates. Calculations of seasonal transport of argon into and out of southern high latitudes point to meridional (north-south) mixing throughout southern winter and spring.

Climate Prediction Center - Stratosphere: Polar Stratosphere and Ozone

Science.gov Websites

depletion processes can occur. In addition, the latitudinal-time cross sections shows the thermal evolution UV Daily Dosage Estimate South Polar Vertical Ozone Profile Time Series of Size of S.H. Polar Vortex Time Series of Size of S.H. PSC Temperature Time Series of Size of N.H. Polar Vortex Time Series of

Multiwaveband Polarimetric Observations of 15 Active Galactic Nuclei at High Frequencies: Correlated Polarization Behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jorstad, Svetlana G.; Marscher, Alan P.; Stevens, Jason A.; Smith, Paul S.; Forster, James R.; Gear, Walter K.; Cawthorne, Timothy V.; Lister, Matthew L.; Stirling, Alastair M.; Gómez, José L.; Greaves, Jane S.; Robson, E. Ian

2007-08-01

We report on multifrequency linear polarization monitoring of 15 active galactic nuclei containing highly relativistic jets with apparent speeds from ~4c to >40c. The measurements were obtained at optical, 1 mm, and 3 mm wavelengths, and at 7 mm with the Very Long Baseline Array. The data show a wide range in degree of linear polarization among the sources, from <1% to >30%, and interday polarization variability in individual sources. The polarization properties suggest separation of the sample into three groups with low, intermediate, and high variability of polarization in the core at 7 mm (LVP, IVP, and HVP, respectively). The groups are partially associated with the common classification of active galactic nuclei as radio galaxies and quasars with low optical polarization (LVP), BL Lacertae objects (IVP), and highly optically polarized quasars (HVP). Our study investigates correlations between total flux, fractional polarization, and polarization position angle at the different wavelengths. We interpret the polarization properties of the sources in the sample through models in which weak shocks compress turbulent plasma in the jet. The differences in the orientation of sources with respect to the observer, jet kinematics, and abundance of thermal matter external to the jet near the core can account for the diversity in the polarization properties. The results provide strong evidence that the optical polarized emission originates in shocks, most likely situated between the 3 and 7 mm VLBI cores. They also support the idea that the 1 mm core lies at the edge of the transition zone between electromagnetically dominated and turbulent hydrodynamic sections of the jet.

Go Polar! Network: a Museum-Zoo-Aquarium Approach to Disseminate IPY Research to Children and their Families

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, D. D.; Horne, C.

2006-12-01

With proper programming, informal learning environments of children's museums, zoos and aquariums can be fertile frontiers for communicating the excitement, the significance and even the complexity of Polar scientific research to the public, including children under 12 old. These venues can also be effective in enhancing public understanding of the global dimensions of the issues facing the Polar Regions in the coming decades. We base these assertions not just on scholarly research in how children learn in informal environments but also from an experiential program we created in 2003-04 called Go Polar! Cool Science in the Arctic. Funded by the US National Science Foundation in 2003 (ESI-0336928), Go Polar! was a partnership between the EdVenture Children Museum, the largest children's museum in the southeastern US, and the University of South Carolina, the State's largest research university. Go Polar! involved active Arctic researchers, university undergraduate students, the EdVenture museum staff, family education specialists, and educational psychologists to disseminate on-going NSF funded research on the Arctic hydrologic cycle (ODP-0229737). The Go Polar program provided opportunities for South Carolina children and families to meet real scientists engaged in Arctic research with hands-on activities that introduced children and families not only to the scientific process but also to new science concepts and knowledge. The Go Polar! also resulted in the development and testing of new educational materials Arctic Discovery Boxes specially designed hands-on informal education activities on three themes #1 The Arctic and Global Change, #2 Arctic Cultures and #3 Animal Adaptations in the Arctic. In 2005 the Go Polar! partnership expanded the reach of their programming and materials to include the Antarctic. Using the theme "Exploring and Connecting the Opposite Ends of the Earth," the Go Polar! team created a Polar Festival featuring a giant floor puzzle of the

LSPECS: A Proposed Robotic Astronomy Mission to the Lunar South Polar Regions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lowman, Paul D., Jr.

2003-01-01

This paper outlines a possible mission to emplace a robotic infrared/submillimeter wave interferometer array near the lunar south pole. This region has now been investigated by the Clementine and Lunar Prospector missions, and by Earth-based radar, and its topography and thermal environment are fairly well-known. The area would be exceptionally suitable for infrared/submillimeter astronomy because of the continually low temperatures, approaching that of liquid nitrogen (77K) in some places. The presence of ice has been inferred independently from Clementine and Lunar Prospector, providing another incentive for a south polar mission. A submillimeter spaceborne interferometer mission, Submillimeter Probe of the Evolution of the Cosmic Structure (SPECS) has been proposed by John Mather and others, covering the 40 - 500 micron region with 3 formation flying telescopes. The present paper proposes a lunar adaptation of the SPECS concept, LSPECS. This adaptation would involve landing 4 telescopes on the area north of Shackleton crater at zero degrees longitude. This is in nearly year round darkness but is continually radar visible from Earth. The landed payload of LSPECS would include a telerobotic rover, 4 three meter submm telescopes, a solar power array to be emplaced on the continually sunlit north rim of Shackleton crater, and an S-band antenna for data relay to Earth. Operation without the use of expendable cryogenics for cooling might be possible, trading long exposure time for instrument temperatures above that of liquid helium. The LSPECS would permit long-term study of an extremely wide range of cosmic and solar system phenomena in the southern celestial hemisphere. For complete sky coverage, a similar installation near the north pole would be required. The LSPECS site would also be suitable other types of observation, such as optical interferometry or centimeter wavelength radio astronomy. The lunar south pole is also of great interest because of its extensive

Geologic history of the polar regions of Mars based on Mars Global survey data. I. Noachian and Hesperian Periods

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tanaka, K.L.; Kolb, E.J.

2001-01-01

During the Noachian Period, the south polar region of Mars underwent intense cratering, construction of three groups of volcanoes, widespread contractional deformation, resurfacing of low areas, and local dissection of valley networks; no evidence for polar deposits, ice sheets, or glaciation is recognized. South polar Hesperian geology is broadly characterized by waning impacts, volcanism, and tectonism. Emplacement of the polar Dorsa Argentea Formation (DAF) occurred during the Hesperian Period. Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter topographic data and Mars Orbiter Camera images elucidate stratigraphic, morphologic, and topographic relations, permitting the dividing of the DAF into eight members, which surround and underlie about half of the Amazonian south polar layered deposits. The lobate fronts and lack of typical volcanic-flow morphology of the six plains units indicate that they may be made up of debris flows. We think that these flows, tens of meters to 200 m thick, may have originated by the discharge of huge volumes of slurry fluidized by ground water or liquid CO2, perhaps triggered by local impacts, igneous activity, or basal melting beneath polar deposits. The cavi and rugged members include irregular depressions that penetrate the subsurface; some of the pits have raised rims. The depressions may have formed by collapse due to expulsion of subsurface material in which local explosive activity built up the raised rims. Further, smaller eruptions of volatile-rich material may have resulted in narrow, sinuous channel deposits within aggrading fine-grained unconsolidated material perhaps produced by gaseous discharge of subsurface volatiles; preferential erosion of the latter material could have produced the Dorsa Argentea-type ginuous ridges associated mainly with the DAF. Alternatively, the ridges may be eskers, but the lack of associated glacial and fluvial morphologies casts doubt on this interpretation. The knobby, degraded materials forming Scandia Colles

Geologic History of the Polar Regions of Mars Based on Mars Global Surveyor Data. I. Noachian and Hesperian Periods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, Kenneth L.; Kolb, Eric J.

2001-11-01

During the Noachian Period, the south polar region of Mars underwent intense cratering, construction of three groups of volcanoes, widespread contractional deformation, resurfacing of low areas, and local dissection of valley networks; no evidence for polar deposits, ice sheets, or glaciation is recognized. South polar Hesperian geology is broadly characterized by waning impacts, volcanism, and tectonism. Emplacement of the polar Dorsa Argentea Formation (DAF) occurred during the Hesperian Period. Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter topographic data and Mars Orbiter Camera images elucidate stratigraphic, morphologic, and topographic relations, permitting the dividing of the DAF into eight members, which surround and underlie about half of the Amazonian south polar layered deposits. The lobate fronts and lack of typical volcanic-flow morphology of the six plains units indicate that they may be made up of debris flows. We think that these flows, tens of meters to 200 m thick, may have originated by the discharge of huge volumes of slurry fluidized by ground water or liquid CO 2, perhaps triggered by local impacts, igneous activity, or basal melting beneath polar deposits. The cavi and rugged members include irregular depressions that penetrate the subsurface; some of the pits have raised rims. The depressions may have formed by collapse due to expulsion of subsurface material in which local explosive activity built up the raised rims. Further, smaller eruptions of volatile-rich material may have resulted in narrow, sinuous channel deposits within aggrading fine-grained unconsolidated material perhaps produced by gaseous discharge of subsurface volatiles; preferential erosion of the latter material could have produced the Dorsa Argentea-type sinuous ridges associated mainly with the DAF. Alternatively, the ridges may be eskers, but the lack of associated glacial and fluvial morphologies casts doubt on this interpretation. The knobby, degraded materials forming Scandia Colles

Paleomagnetism of a well-dated marine succession in South China: A possible Late Cambrian true polar wander (TPW)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiao, Wen-Jun; Li, Yong-Xiang; Yang, Zhen-Yu

2018-04-01

The Cambrian true polar wander (TPW) hypothesis remains controversial largely because of the uncertainties in the quality and/or fidelity of the paleomagnetic data as well as their chronological control. Testing the TPW hypothesis requires high-quality paleomagnetic data of sufficient spatial and temporal resolutions. Here, we present paleomagnetic results of a continuous Cambrian shallow marine succession from South China where available detailed biostratigraphy provides exceptional chronological constraints. Forty-three sites of paleomagnetic samples were collected from this limestone-dominated succession. Stepwise thermal demagnetization generally reveals three-component magnetizations. Low- and intermediate-temperature components can be cleaned by ∼330 °C, and the high-temperature component (HTC) was isolated typically from ∼350 to ∼450 °C. A positive fold test and the presence of reversed polarity in the strata, together with rock magnetic data as well as the scanning electron microscopic (SEM) and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) results, collectively suggest that the HTCs are likely primary. A directional shift of the HTCs occurs between the lower-middle Cambrian and the upper Cambrian strata in the succession and is tentatively interpreted to indicate a ∼57° polar wander from ∼500.5 to 494 Ma. Because the rate of polar wander is too fast to be a tectonic origin, this polar wander is interpreted to represent a Late Cambrian TPW. This TPW appears coeval with the Steptoean positive carbon isotope excursion (SPICE) and the major trilobite mass extinctions, suggesting a potential link between the TPW and the Late Cambrian biotic and climatic changes. Because the proposed TPW event is exceptionally well-dated, it should be testable through examination of other worldwide sections.

Driving of Dramatic Geomagnetic Activity by Enhancement of Meso-Scale Polar-cap Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyons, L. R.; Gallardo-Lacourt, B.; Zou, Y.; Nishimura, Y.; Anderson, P. C.; Angelopoulos, V.; Ruohoniemi, J. M.; Mitchell, E. J.; Paxton, L. J.; Nishitani, N.

2017-12-01

Recent studies have shown that mesoscale flows are common within the polar cap ionosphere. They often cross the magnetic separatrix, and become are critical to the driving of geomagnetic activity. They lead, for example, to plasma sheet flow bursts, auroral poleward boundary intensifications, auroral streamers, substorms, auroral omega bands, and poleward motion of the polar cap boundary from reconnection. We have found large enhancements of these meso-scale ionospheric polar cap flows heading towards the nightside separatrix. These enhancements are common immediately after the impact of CME shocks under southward IMF, but can also occur in other situations, including without substantial change in the solar wind or IMF. These meso-scale flow enhancements, which must extent outward along magnetospheric field lines from the ionosphere, are seen to drive an almost immediate strong auroral, ionospheric and field-aligned current, and reconnection activity. The resulting activity is particularly dramatic during the initiation of CME storms, but may reflect a more generally occurring phenomenon of mesoscale flow enhancements leading to similar oval responses without a shock impact, including during and following the expansion phase some substorms. If this phenomenon is indeed common, it could lead to possibly fundamental questions, such as when do polar cap convection enhancements lead to a substorm growth phase versus leading directly to strong poleward expansion of, and strong activity within, the auroral oval field line region? Another critical question would be what leads to and causes the enhancements in meso-scale polar cap flows?

Polar Textures

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-10-04

This VIS image of the South Polar cap shows several different surface textures. It appears that the circular depressions (which look like swiss cheese) alter with time, appearing to lose the circular shape as the intervening walls of ice are removed. Orbit Number: 65187 Latitude: -87.0386 Longitude: 276.053 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-08-24 07:47 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21003

3-D Imaging of Mars’ Polar Ice Caps Using Orbital Radar Data

PubMed Central

Foss, Frederick J.; Putzig, Nathaniel E.; Campbell, Bruce A.; Phillips, Roger J.

2018-01-01

Since its arrival in early 2006, various instruments aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) have been collecting a variety of scientific and engineering data from orbit around Mars. Among these is the SHAllow RADar (SHARAD) instrument, supplied by Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) and designed for subsurface sounding in the 15–25 MHz frequency band. As of this writing, MRO has completed over 46,000 nearly polar orbits of Mars, 30% of which have included active SHARAD data collection. By 2009, a sufficient density of SHARAD coverage had been obtained over the polar regions to support 3-D processing and analysis of the data. Using tools and techniques commonly employed in terrestrial seismic data processing, we have processed subsets of the resulting collection of SHARAD observations covering the north and south polar regions as SHARAD 3-D volumes, imaging the interiors of the north and south polar ice caps known, respectively, as Planum Boreum and Planum Australe. After overcoming a series of challenges revealed during the 3-D processing and analysis, a completed Planum Boreum 3-D volume is currently being used for scientific research. Lessons learned in the northern work fed forward into our 3-D processing and analysis of the Planum Australe 3-D volume, currently under way. We discuss our experiences with these projects and present results and scientific insights stemming from these efforts. PMID:29400351

Does trans‐spinal and local DC polarization affect presynaptic inhibition and post‐activation depression?

PubMed Central

Kaczmarek, D.; Ristikankare, J.

2017-01-01

Key points Trans‐spinal polarization was recently introduced as a means to improve deficient spinal functions. However, only a few attempts have been made to examine the mechanisms underlying DC actions. We have now examined the effects of DC on two spinal modulatory systems, presynaptic inhibition and post‐activation depression, considering whether they might weaken exaggerated spinal reflexes and enhance excessively weakened ones.Direct current effects were evoked by using local intraspinal DC application (0.3–0.4 μA) in deeply anaesthetized rats and were compared with the effects of trans‐spinal polarization (0.8–1.0 mA).Effects of local intraspinal DC were found to be polarity dependent, as locally applied cathodal polarization enhanced presynaptic inhibition and post‐activation depression, whereas anodal polarization weakened them. In contrast, both cathodal and anodal trans‐spinal polarization facilitated them.The results suggest some common DC‐sensitive mechanisms of presynaptic inhibition and post‐activation depression, because both were facilitated or depressed by DC in parallel. Abstract Direct current (DC) polarization has been demonstrated to alleviate the effects of various deficits in the operation of the central nervous system. However, the effects of trans‐spinal DC stimulation (tsDCS) have been investigated less extensively than the effects of transcranial DC stimulation, and their cellular mechanisms have not been elucidated. The main objectives of this study were, therefore, to extend our previous analysis of DC effects on the excitability of primary afferents and synaptic transmission by examining the effects of DC on two spinal modulatory feedback systems, presynaptic inhibition and post‐activation depression, in an anaesthetized rat preparation. Other objectives were to compare the effects of locally and trans‐spinally applied DC (locDC and tsDCS). Local polarization at the sites of terminal branching of afferent

Structures Within the South Polar Cap of Mars from Three-dimensional Radar Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putzig, N. E.; Foss, F. J., II; Campbell, B. A.; Phillips, R. J.; Smith, I. B.

2016-12-01

We used Shallow Radar (SHARAD) observations on 2093 orbital passes by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter over Planum Australe to construct a 3-D data volume encompassing the entirety of the Martian south polar layered deposits (SPLD) and their surroundings. Efforts are underway to apply 3-D migration processing, an imaging process that will correct off-nadir returns (clutter) and properly position internal structures while improving the overall signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Clutter mitigation and the structural corrections that migration provides have been particularly effective for a 3-D SHARAD volume over Planum Boreum, notably supporting the mapping of a shallow unconformity linked to the most recent retreat of mid-latitude glaciation (Smith et al., 2016, Science 352) and revealing what appear to be impact craters fully buried within the ice (Putzig et al., 2015, AGU Fall Meeting, Abs. P53G-05). In the preliminary Planum Australe volume, many crater-like structures are also present, adding to the evidence from surface age dating that the SPLD may be an order of magnitude or more older that the 4-Ma-old north polar layered deposits. Migration processing will sharpen this view, and the expected improvement in SNR is likely to reveal structures that are missing or very faint in single-orbit 2-D profiles, such as the deeper sequences within the layered deposits that are often obfuscated by shallow or internal scattering. The clarified views of the polar-cap interiors emerging from each SHARAD 3-D volume advance our ability to map out the interior structures and infer the history of their emplacement. A full assessment of likely buried craters may provide a means to date the deposits that is independent of climate models and goes beyond estimating a surface age. Achieving these objectives would be a major advancement toward the overarching goal of linking the geologic history of the polar layered deposits to climate processes and their history. Figure provides a cut

Polar Textures

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-06-08

This VIS image of the south pole was taken at the end of summer. Frost will soon start to form as the season transitions into fall. Fall in the southern hemisphere means spring in the northern, so the north polar cap is just starting to thaw. Orbit Number: 67893 Latitude: -87.0251 Longitude: 275.679 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2017-04-04 06:19 https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21679

Are boundary conditions in surface productivity at the Southern Polar Front reflected in benthic activity?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brandt, Angelika; Vanreusel, Ann; Bracher, Astrid; Jule Marie Hoppe, Clara; Lins, Lidia; Meyer-Löbbecke, Anna; Altenburg Soppa, Mariana; Würzberg, Laura

2014-10-01

In austral summer 2012, during the expedition ANT-XXVIII/3 on board RV Polarstern, two sites were sampled 1600 km apart in the South Polar Front area (52°S) at the boundary of different productivity regimes for meio- and macrobenthos using a multiple-corer and an epibenthic sledge, respectively. Patterns in density and abundance data were compared between different size classes of the benthos and interpreted in relation to surface primary productivity data and sediment oxygen consumption. We tested the hypothesis that long-term satellite-derived surface phytoplankton biomass, in situ real time biomass, and productivity measurements at the surface and throughout the euphotic zone are reflected in abyssal benthos densities, abundances and activity. Specifically, we investigated the effect of boundary conditions for lower and higher surface productivity. Surface and integrated to 100 m depth biomass and primary productivity measurements vary stations, with the lowest values at station 85 (0.083 mg Chl-a m-3 at surface, 9 mg Chl-a m-2 and 161 mg C m-2 d-1- integrated over the first 100 m depth), and the highest values at station 86 (2.231 mg Chl-a m-3 at surface, 180 mg Chl-a m-2 and 2587 mg C m-2 d-1 integrated over first 100 m depth). Total meiofaunal densities varied between 102 and 335 individuals/10 cm². Densities were the highest at station 86-30 (335 individuals) and lowest at station 81-13 (102 individuals). Total macrofaunal densities (individuals/1000 m²) varied between 26 individuals at station 81-17 and 194 individuals at station 86-24. However, three EBS hauls were taken at station 86 with a minimum of 80 and a maximum of 194 individuals. Sediment oxygen consumption did not vary significantly between stations from east to west. Bentho-pelagic coupling of meio- and macrobenthic communities could not be observed in the South Polar Front at the boundary conditions from low to high surface productivity between stations 81 and 86.

Albedo of surface CO2 deposits in Mars' Residual South Polar Cap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

James, P. B.; Wolff, M. J.; Bonev, B.

2013-12-01

The albedo of surface CO2 deposits in the Residual South Polar Cap (RSPC) controls their net condensation / sublimation over a martian year and is therefore a crucial parameter in determining RSPC stability. The Lambert albedo used in previous analyses is obtained by dividing I/F, determined from radiometrically calibrated imaging data, by the cosine of the incidence angle. Because of atmospheric dust, this albedo calculated from I/F above the atmosphere is not the surface albedo that enters into stability considerations. In order to investigate the real surface albedo, we interpolate optical depths determined from CRISM EPF measurements to provide estimates of the opacites over the RSPC and use these to determine the actual surface albedos from MARCI images using the radiative transport program DISORT (Stamnes et al., 1988). The assumption that the surface is a Lambertian diffuse reflector can then also be tested. MARCI images acquired in one-day span a significant range of emission angles; the set of images acquired during one sol is similar to EPF observations except that diurnal opacity variations could be important.

The origin of the mid-infrared nuclear polarization of active galactic nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopez-Rodriguez, E.; Alonso-Herrero, A.; Diaz-Santos, T.; Gonzalez-Martin, O.; Ichikawa, K.; Levenson, N. A.; Martinez-Paredes, M.; Nikutta, R.; Packham, C.; Perlman, E.; Almeida, C. Ramos; Rodriguez-Espinosa, J. M.; Telesco, C. M.

2018-05-01

We combine new (NGC 1275, NGC 4151, and NGC 5506) and previously published (Cygnus A, Mrk 231, and NGC 1068) sub-arcsecond resolution mid-infrared (MIR; 8-13 μm) imaging- and spectro-polarimetric observations of six Seyfert galaxies using CanariCam on the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio CANARIAS. These observations reveal a diverse set of physical processes responsible for the nuclear polarization, and permit characterization of the origin of the MIR nuclear polarimetric signature of active galactic nuclei (AGN). For all radio quiet objects, we found that the nuclear polarization is low (<1 per cent), and the degree of polarization is often a few per cent over extended regions of the host galaxy where we have sensitivity to detect such extended emission (i.e., NGC 1068 and NGC 4151). We suggest that the higher degree of polarization previously found in lower resolution data arises only on the larger-than-nuclear scales. Only the radio-loud Cygnus A exhibits significant nuclear polarization (˜11 per cent), attributable to synchrotron emission from the pc-scale jet close to the core. We present polarization models that suggest that the MIR nuclear polarization for highly obscured objects arises from a self-absorbed MIR polarized clumpy torus and/or dichroism from the host galaxy, while for unabsorbed cores, MIR polarization arises from dust scattering in the torus and/or surrounding nuclear dust.

Albedo models for the residual south polar cap on Mars: Implications for the stability of the cap under near-perihelion global dust storm conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonev, Boncho P.; Hansen, Gary B.; Glenar, David A.; James, Philip B.; Bjorkman, Jon E.

2008-02-01

It is uncertain whether the residual (perennial) south polar cap on Mars is a transitory or a permanent feature in the current Martian climate. While there is no firm evidence for complete disappearance of the cap in the past, clearly observable changes have been documented. Observations suggest that the perennial cap lost more CO 2 material in the spring/summer season prior to the Mariner 9 mission than in those same seasons monitored by Viking and Mars Global Surveyor. In this paper we examine one process that may contribute to these changes - the radiative effects of a planet encircling dust storm that starts during late Martian southern spring on the stability of the perennial south polar cap. To approach this, we model the radiative transfer through a dusty planetary atmosphere bounded by a sublimating CO 2 surface. A critical parameter for this modeling is the surface albedo spectrum from the near-UV to the thermal-IR, which was determined from both space-craft and Earth-based observations covering multiple wavelength regimes. Such a multi-wavelength approach is highly desirable since one spectral band by itself cannot tightly constrain the three-parameter space for polar surface albedo models, namely photon "scattering length" in the CO 2 ice and the amounts of intermixed water and dust. Our results suggest that a planet-encircling dust storm with onset near solstice can affect the perennial cap's stability, leading to advanced sublimation in a "dusty" year. Since the total amount of solid CO 2 removed by a single storm may be less than the total CO 2 thickness, a series of dust storms would be required to remove the entire residual CO 2 ice layer from the south perennial cap.

Habitat degradation affects the summer activity of polar bears.

PubMed

Ware, Jasmine V; Rode, Karyn D; Bromaghin, Jeffrey F; Douglas, David C; Wilson, Ryan R; Regehr, Eric V; Amstrup, Steven C; Durner, George M; Pagano, Anthony M; Olson, Jay; Robbins, Charles T; Jansen, Heiko T

2017-05-01

Understanding behavioral responses of species to environmental change is critical to forecasting population-level effects. Although climate change is significantly impacting species' distributions, few studies have examined associated changes in behavior. Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) subpopulations have varied in their near-term responses to sea ice decline. We examined behavioral responses of two adjacent subpopulations to changes in habitat availability during the annual sea ice minimum using activity data. Location and activity sensor data collected from 1989 to 2014 for 202 adult female polar bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea (SB) and Chukchi Sea (CS) subpopulations were used to compare activity in three habitat types varying in prey availability: (1) land; (2) ice over shallow, biologically productive waters; and (3) ice over deeper, less productive waters. Bears varied activity across and within habitats with the highest activity at 50-75% sea ice concentration over shallow waters. On land, SB bears exhibited variable but relatively high activity associated with the use of subsistence-harvested bowhead whale carcasses, whereas CS bears exhibited low activity consistent with minimal feeding. Both subpopulations had fewer observations in their preferred shallow-water sea ice habitats in recent years, corresponding with declines in availability of this substrate. The substantially higher use of marginal habitats by SB bears is an additional mechanism potentially explaining why this subpopulation has experienced negative effects of sea ice loss compared to the still-productive CS subpopulation. Variability in activity among, and within, habitats suggests that bears alter their behavior in response to habitat conditions, presumably in an attempt to balance prey availability with energy costs.

English language proficiency and physical activity among Mexican-origin women in South Texas and South Carolina.

PubMed

Salinas, Jennifer J; Hilfinger Messias, DeAnne K; Morales-Campos, Daisy; Parra-Medina, Deborah

2014-02-01

To examine the relationship between English language proficiency (ELP), physical activity, and physical activity-related psychosocial measures (i.e., exercise self-efficacy, exercise social support, perceptions of environmental supports) among Mexican-origin women in South Carolina and Texas. Adjusted robust regression and interaction modeling to evaluate baseline questionnaire data on self-reported ELP with CHAMPS leisure-time moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), accelerometry data, Physical Activity Self-Efficacy, Physical Activity Social Support, and Environmental Support for Physical Activity in 118 Mexican-origin women. The adjusted regression revealed a significant association between ELP and perceived physical activity self-efficacy (β = 234.2, p = .004), but not with physical activity social support. In South Carolina, CHAMPS leisure-time MVPA (411.4 versus 114.3 minutes, p < .05) was significantly different between women in the high ELP quartile and those in the very low quartile. Among high ELP Mexican-origin women, participants in Texas reported significantly higher MVPA measured by accelerometry (p = .042) than those in South Carolina. Our findings indicate that ELP was associated with physical activity and that contextual factors may also play a role.

Polarization of Young Brown Dwarfs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manjavacas, Elena; Miles-Páez, Paulo A.; Zapatero-Osorio, Maria Rosa; Goldman, Bertrand; Buenzli, Esther; Henning, Thomas; Pallé, Enric

2016-08-01

Linear polarization due to scattering processes can be used as a probe of the existence of atmospheric condensates in ultracool dwarfs. Models predict that the observed linear polarization increases with the degree of oblateness, which is inverse to the surface gravity.We aimed to measure optical linear polarization from a sample of six young brown dwarfs, with spectral types between M6 to L2, and cataloged previously as objects with low gravity using spectroscopy. These targets are believed to have dusty atmospheres as a consequence of their low gravity, therefore linearly polarized light is expected from these objects.Linear polarimetric data were collected in I and R-band using CAFOS at the 2.2m telescope in Calar Alto Observatory.We obtained results of linear polarization in the I-band compatible with non polarization for all the objects, and similar results for the polarization degree in the R-band for all objects with the exception of 2M0422. For this object we find a linear polarization degree of 0.81+-0.18%. 2M0422 is 10 deg to the south of the Taurus star-forming region, thus, we suspect that its polarization is caused by the dust in the cloud in which 2M0422 might be embedded.

Environmental contaminants activate human and polar bear (Ursus maritimus) pregnane X receptors (PXR, NR1I2) differently

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lille-Langøy, Roger, E-mail: Roger.lille-langoy@bio.uib.no; Goldstone, Jared V.; Rusten, Marte

Background: Many persistent organic pollutants (POPs) accumulate readily in polar bears because of their position as apex predators in Arctic food webs. The pregnane X receptor (PXR, formally NR1I2, here proposed to be named promiscuous xenobiotic receptor) is a xenobiotic sensor that is directly involved in metabolizing pathways of a wide range of environmental contaminants. Objectives: In the present study, we comparably assess the ability of 51 selected pharmaceuticals, pesticides and emerging contaminants to activate PXRs from polar bears and humans using an in vitro luciferase reporter gene assay. Results: We found that polar bear PXR is activated by amore » wide range of our test compounds (68%) but has a slightly more narrow ligand specificity than human PXR that was activated by 86% of the 51 test compounds. The majority of the agonists identified (70%) produces a stronger induction of the reporter gene via human PXR than via polar bear PXR, however with some notable and environmentally relevant exceptions. Conclusions: Due to the observed differences in activation of polar bear and human PXRs, exposure of each species to environmental agents is likely to induce biotransformation differently in the two species. Bioinformatics analyses and structural modeling studies suggest that amino acids that are not part of the ligand-binding domain and do not interact with the ligand can modulate receptor activation. - Highlights: • Comparative study of ligand activation of human and polar bear PXRs. • Polar bear PXR is a promiscuous ligand-activated nuclear receptor but less so than human PXR. • Environmental contaminants activate human and polar bear PXRs differently. • Expression and ligand promiscuity indicate that PXR is a xenosensor in polar bears.« less

Cell cycle entry triggers a switch between two modes of Cdc42 activation during yeast polarization

PubMed Central

Witte, Kristen; Strickland, Devin; Glotzer, Michael

2017-01-01

Cell polarization underlies many cellular and organismal functions. The GTPase Cdc42 orchestrates polarization in many contexts. In budding yeast, polarization is associated with a focus of Cdc42•GTP which is thought to self sustain by recruiting a complex containing Cla4, a Cdc42-binding effector, Bem1, a scaffold, and Cdc24, a Cdc42 GEF. Using optogenetics, we probe yeast polarization and find that local recruitment of Cdc24 or Bem1 is sufficient to induce polarization by triggering self-sustaining Cdc42 activity. However, the response to these perturbations depends on the recruited molecule, the cell cycle stage, and existing polarization sites. Before cell cycle entry, recruitment of Cdc24, but not Bem1, induces a metastable pool of Cdc42 that is sustained by positive feedback. Upon Cdk1 activation, recruitment of either Cdc24 or Bem1 creates a stable site of polarization that induces budding and inhibits formation of competing sites. Local perturbations have therefore revealed unexpected features of polarity establishment. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.26722.001 PMID:28682236

On remote sensing of small aerosol particles with polarized light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, W.

2012-12-01

The CALIPSO satellite mission consistently measures volume (including molecule and particulate) light depolarization ratio of ~2% for smoke, compared to ~1% for marine aerosols and ~15% for dust. The observed ~2% smoke depolarization ratio comes primarily from the nonspherical habits of particles in the smoke at certain particle sizes. The depolarization of linearly polarized light by small sphere aggregates and irregular Gaussian-shaped particles is studied, to reveal the physics between the depolarization of linearly polarized light and aerosol shape and size. It is found that randomly oriented nonspherical particles have some common depolarization properties as functions of scattering angle and size parameter. This may be very useful information for active remote sensing of small nonspherical aerosols using polarized light. We also show that the depolarization ratio from the CALIPSO measurements could be used to derive smoke aerosol particle size. The mean particle size of South-African smoke is estimated to be about half of the 532 nm wavelength of the CALIPSO lidar.

A study of the geomagnetic indices asymmetry based on the interplanetary magnetic field polarities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Borie, M. A.; El-Taher, A. M.; Aly, N. E.; Bishara, A. A.

2018-05-01

Data of geomagnetic indices ( aa, Kp, Ap, and Dst) recorded near 1 AU over the period 1967-2016, have been studied based on the asymmetry between the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) directions above and below of the heliospheric current sheet (HCS). Our results led to the following conclusions: (i) Throughout the considered period, 31 random years (62%) showed apparent asymmetries between Toward (T) and Away (A) polarity days and 19 years (38%) exhibited nearly a symmetrical behavior. The days of A polarity predominated over the T polarity days by 4.3% during the positive magnetic polarity epoch (1991-1999). While the days of T polarity exceeded the days of A polarity by 5.8% during the negative magnetic polarity epoch (2001-2012). (ii) Considerable yearly North-South (N-S) asymmetries of geomagnetic indices observed throughout the considered period. (iii) The largest toward dominant peaks for aa and Ap indices occurred in 1995 near to minimum of solar activity. Moreover, the most substantial away dominant peaks for aa and Ap indices occurred in 2003 (during the descending phase of the solar cycle 23) and in 1991 (near the maximum of solar activity cycle) respectively. (iv) The N-S asymmetry of Kp index indicated a most significant away dominant peak occurred in 2003. (v) Four of the away dominant peaks of Dst index occurred at the maxima of solar activity in the years 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2013. The largest toward dominant peak occurred in 1991 (at the reversal of IMF polarity). (vi) The geomagnetic indices ( aa, Ap, and Kp) all have northern dominance during positive magnetic polarity epoch (1971-1979), while the asymmetries shifts to the southern solar hemisphere during negative magnetic polarity epoch (2001-2012).

Active imaging with the aids of polarization retrieve in turbid media system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tao, Qiangqiang; Sun, Yongxuan; Shen, Fei; Xu, Qiang; Gao, Jun; Guo, Zhongyi

2016-01-01

We propose a novel active imaging based on the polarization retrieve (PR) method in turbid media system. In our simulations, the Monte Carlo (MC) algorithm has been used to investigate the scattering process between the incident photons and the scattering particles, and the visually concordant object but with different polarization characteristics in different regions, has been selected as the original target that is placed in the turbid media. Under linearly and circularly polarized illuminations, the simulation results demonstrate that the corresponding polarization properties can provide additional information for the imaging, and the contrast of the polarization image can also be enhanced greatly compared to the simplex intensity image in the turbid media. Besides, the polarization image adjusted by the PR method can further enhance the visibility and contrast. In addition, by PR imaging method, with the increasing particles' size in Mie's scale, the visibility can be enhanced, because of the increased forward scattering effect. In general, in the same circumstance, the circular polarization images can offer a better contrast and visibility than that of linear ones. The results indicate that the PR imaging method is more applicable to the scattering media system with relatively larger particles such as aerosols, heavy fog, cumulus, and seawater, as well as to biological tissues and blood media.

Circularly polarized antennas for active holographic imaging through barriers

DOEpatents

McMakin, Douglas L [Richland, WA; Severtsen, Ronald H [Richland, WA; Lechelt, Wayne M [West Richland, WA; Prince, James M [Kennewick, WA

2011-07-26

Circularly-polarized antennas and their methods of use for active holographic imaging through barriers. The antennas are dielectrically loaded to optimally match the dielectric constant of the barrier through which images are to be produced. The dielectric loading helps to remove barrier-front surface reflections and to couple electromagnetic energy into the barrier.

Using high-resolution HiRISE digital elevation models to study early activity in polar regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Portyankina, G.; Pommerol, A.; Aye, K.; Thomas, N.; Mattson, S.; Hansen, C. J.

2013-12-01

Martian polar areas are known for their very dynamic seasonal activity. It is believed that many observed seasonal phenomena here (cold CO2 jets, seasonal ice cracks, fan deposits, blotches) are produced by spring sublimation of CO2 slab ice. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) has exceptional capabilities to image polar areas at times when surface processes there are most active, i.e. in early local spring. HiRISE data can be also used to create digital elevation models (DEMs) of the martian surface if two images with similar lighting but different observation geometry are available. Polar areas pose some specific problems in this because of the oblique illumination conditions and seasonally changing ice cover. Nevertheless, HiRISE DEMs with spatial resolution up to 1 meter were produced for a few polar locations with active spring sublimation. These DEMs improve our ability to directly compare observations from different local times, sols, seasons and martian years. These observations may now be orthorectified by projecting them onto the well-defined topography thus eliminating the ambiguities of different observational geometries. In addition, the DEM can serve as a link between the observations and models of seasonal activity. Observations of martian polar areas in springs of multiple martian years have led to the hypothesis that meter-scale topography is triggering the activity in early spring. Solar energy input is critical for the timing of spring activity. In this context, variations of surface inclination are important especially in early spring, when orientation towards the sun is one of critical parameters determining the level of solar energy input, the amount of CO2 sublimation, and hence the level of any activity connected to it. In the present study existing DEMs of two polar locations serve as model terrains to test the previously proposed hypothesis of early initialization of CO2 activity by

Habitat degradation affects the summer activity of polar bears

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ware, Jasmine V.; Rode, Karyn D.; Bromaghin, Jeffrey F.; Douglas, David C.; Wilson, Ryan R.; Regehr, Eric V.; Amstrup, Steven C.; Durner, George M.; Pagano, Anthony M.; Olson, Jay; Robbins, Charles T.; Jansen, Heiko T

2017-01-01

Understanding behavioral responses of species to environmental change is critical to forecasting population-level effects. Although climate change is significantly impacting species’ distributions, few studies have examined associated changes in behavior. Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) subpopulations have varied in their near-term responses to sea ice decline. We examined behavioral responses of two adjacent subpopulations to changes in habitat availability during the annual sea ice minimum using activity data. Location and activity sensor data collected from 1989 to 2014 for 202 adult female polar bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea (SB) and Chukchi Sea (CS) subpopulations were used to compare activity in three habitat types varying in prey availability: (1) land; (2) ice over shallow, biologically productive waters; and (3) ice over deeper, less productive waters. Bears varied activity across and within habitats with the highest activity at 50–75% sea ice concentration over shallow waters. On land, SB bears exhibited variable but relatively high activity associated with the use of subsistence-harvested bowhead whale carcasses, whereas CS bears exhibited low activity consistent with minimal feeding. Both subpopulations had fewer observations in their preferred shallow-water sea ice habitats in recent years, corresponding with declines in availability of this substrate. The substantially higher use of marginal habitats by SB bears is an additional mechanism potentially explaining why this subpopulation has experienced negative effects of sea ice loss compared to the still-productive CS subpopulation. Variability in activity among, and within, habitats suggests that bears alter their behavior in response to habitat conditions, presumably in an attempt to balance prey availability with energy costs.

Collective motion of active Brownian particles with polar alignment.

PubMed

Martín-Gómez, Aitor; Levis, Demian; Díaz-Guilera, Albert; Pagonabarraga, Ignacio

2018-04-04

We present a comprehensive computational study of the collective behavior emerging from the competition between self-propulsion, excluded volume interactions and velocity-alignment in a two-dimensional model of active particles. We consider an extension of the active brownian particles model where the self-propulsion direction of the particles aligns with the one of their neighbors. We analyze the onset of collective motion (flocking) in a low-density regime (10% surface area) and show that it is mainly controlled by the strength of velocity-alignment interactions: the competition between self-propulsion and crowding effects plays a minor role in the emergence of flocking. However, above the flocking threshold, the system presents a richer pattern formation scenario than analogous models without alignment interactions (active brownian particles) or excluded volume effects (Vicsek-like models). Depending on the parameter regime, the structure of the system is characterized by either a broad distribution of finite-sized polar clusters or the presence of an amorphous, highly fluctuating, large-scale traveling structure which can take a lane-like or band-like form (and usually a hybrid structure which is halfway in between both). We establish a phase diagram that summarizes collective behavior of polar active brownian particles and propose a generic mechanism to describe the complexity of the large-scale structures observed in systems of repulsive self-propelled particles.

Hyperspectral characterisation of the Martian south polar residual cap using CRISM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, J. D.; Sidiropoulos, P.; Muller, J.-P.

2017-09-01

We present our research on hyperspectral characterization of the Martian South Polar Residual Cap (SPRC), with a focus on the detection of organic signatures within the dust content of the ice. The SPRC exhibits unique CO2 ice sublimation features known colloquially as 'Swiss Cheese Terrain' (SCT). These flat floored, circular depressions are highly dynamic, and may expose dust particles previously trapped within the ice in the depression walls and partially on the floors. Here we identify suitable regions for potential dust exposure on the SPRC, and utilise data from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) satellite to examine infrared spectra of dark regions to establish their mineral composition, to eliminate the effects of ices on sub-pixel dusty features, and to assess whether ther might be signatures indicative of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). Spectral mapping has identified compositional differences between depression rims and the majority of the SPRC and CRISM spectra have been corrected to minimise the influence of CO2 and H2O ice. Whilst no conclusive evidence for PAHs has been found, depression rims are shown to have higher water content than regions of featureless ice, and there are indications of magnesium carbonate within the dark, dusty regions.

"Cottage Cheese" Texture on the Martian North Polar Cap in Summer

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-04-24

This image is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. Martian Dairy Products? If parts of the south polar cap can look like swiss cheese (see "Martian "Swiss Cheese""), then parts of the north polar cap might as well look like some kind of cheese, too. This picture shows a cottage cheese-like texture on the surface of a part of the residual--summertime--north polar cap. The north polar cap surface is mostly covered by pits, cracks, small bumps and knobs. In this image, the cap surface appears bright and the floors of pits look dark. Based upon observations made by the Mariner 9 and Viking orbiters in the 1970s, the north polar residual cap is thought to contain mostly water ice because its summertime temperature is usually near the freezing point of water and water vapor was observed by the Vikings to be coming off the cap during summer. The south residual cap is different--its temperatures in summer remain cold enough to freeze carbon dioxide, and very little to no water vapor has been observed to come off the south cap in summer. The pits that have developed on the north polar cap surface are closely-spaced relative to the very different depressions in the south polar cap. The pits are estimated from the length of shadows cast in them to be less than about 2 meters (5.5 feet) deep. These pits probably develop slowly over thousands of years of successive spring and summer seasons. This picture was taken by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) during northern summer on April 5, 1999. The picture is located near 82.1°N, 329.6°W and covers an area 1.5 km wide by 3 km long (0.9 x 1.8 miles) at a resolution of 3 meters (10 ft) per pixel. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02369

The 1997 Spring Regression of the Martian South Polar Cap: Mars Orbiter Camera Observations

USGS Publications Warehouse

James, P.B.; Cantor, B.A.; Malin, M.C.; Edgett, K.; Carr, M.H.; Danielson, G.E.; Ingersoll, A.P.; Davies, M.E.; Hartmann, W.K.; McEwen, A.S.; Soderblom, L.A.; Thomas, P.C.; Veverka, J.

2000-01-01

The Mars Orbiter cameras (MOC) on Mars Global Surveyor observed the south polar cap of Mars during its spring recession in 1997. The images acquired by the wide angle cameras reveal a pattern of recession that is qualitatively similar to that observed by Viking in 1977 but that does differ in at least two respects. The 1977 recession in the 0o to 120o longitude sector was accelerated relative to the 1997 observations after LS = 240o; the Mountains of Mitchel also detached from the main cap earlier in 1997. Comparison of the MOC images with Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter data shows that the Mountains of Mitchel feature is controlled by local topography. Relatively dark, low albedo regions well within the boundaries of the seasonal cap were observed to have red-to-violet ratios that characterize them as frost units rather than unfrosted or partially frosted ground; this suggests the possibility of regions covered by CO2 frost having different grain sizes.

Vertebrate records in polar sediments: Biological responses to past climate change and human activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, L. G.; Emslie, S. D.; Huang, T.; Blais, J. M.; Xie, Z. Q.; Liu, X. D.; Yin, X. B.; Wang, Y. H.; Huang, W.; Hodgson, D. A.; Smol, J. P.

2013-11-01

Biological responses to climate and environmental changes in remote polar regions are of increasing interest in global change research. Terrestrial and marine polar ecosystems have suffered from impacts of both rapid climate change and intense human activities, and large fluctuations in the population sizes of seabirds, seals, and Antarctic krill have been observed in the past decades. To understand the mechanisms driving these regime shifts in polar ecosystems, it is important to first distinguish the influences of natural forcing from anthropogenic activities. Therefore, investigations of past changes of polar ecosystems prior to human contact are relevant for placing recent human-induced changes within a long-term historical context. Here we focus our review on the fossil, sub-fossil, archaeological, and biogeochemical remains of marine vertebrates in polar sediments. These remains include well-preserved tissues such as bones, hairs and feathers, and biogeochemical markers and other proxy indicators, including deposits of guano and excrement, which can accumulate in lake and terrestrial sediments over thousands of years. Analyses of these remains have provided insight into both natural and anthropogenic impacts on marine vertebrates over millennia and have helped identify the causal agents for these impacts. Furthermore, land-based seabirds and marine mammals have been shown to play an important role as bio-vectors in polar environments as they transport significant amounts of nutrients and anthropogenic contaminants between ocean and terrestrial ecosystems.

Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Mars Polar Science and Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2006-01-01

Sessions in this conference include: Mars polar geology and glaciology; Mars and terrestrial radar investigations; Observations, nature, and evolution of the Martian seasonal polar caps; Mars' residual south polar cap; Climate change, ice core analysis, and the redistribution of volatiles on Mars; errestrial Mars analog environments; The Phoenix Scout mission and the nature of the near-polar environment; Moderated Discussion: Key Issues Regarding Phoenix Scout Mission and the nature of the near-polar environment; Panel Discussion: Key Issues in Mars Polar Science and Exploration; Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter investigations of the Martian polar regions and climate; Mars Polar Scout Mission concepts; and Panel Discussion: New perspectives on Mars polar science and exploration

Influence of Polarity and Activation Energy in Microwave–Assisted Organic Synthesis (MAOS)

PubMed Central

Rodríguez, Antonio M; Prieto, Pilar; de la Hoz, Antonio; Díaz-Ortiz, Ángel; Martín, D Raúl; García, José I

2015-01-01

The aim of this work was to determine the parameters that have decisive roles in microwave-assisted reactions and to develop a model, using computational chemistry, to predict a priori the type of reactions that can be improved under microwaves. For this purpose, a computational study was carried out on a variety of reactions, which have been reported to be improved under microwave irradiation. This comprises six types of reactions. The outcomes obtained in this study indicate that the most influential parameters are activation energy, enthalpy, and the polarity of all the species that participate. In addition to this, in most cases, slower reacting systems observe a much greater improvement under microwave irradiation. Furthermore, for these reactions, the presence of a polar component in the reaction (solvent, reagent, susceptor, etc.) is necessary for strong coupling with the electromagnetic radiation. We also quantified that an activation energy of 20–30 kcal mol−1 and a polarity (μ) between 7–20 D of the species involved in the process is required to obtain significant improvements under microwave irradiation. PMID:26246993

Interannual observations and quantification of summertime H2O ice deposition on the Martian CO2 ice south polar cap

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brown, Adrian J.; Piqueux, Sylvain; Titus, Timothy N.

2014-01-01

The spectral signature of water ice was observed on Martian south polar cap in 2004 by the Observatoire pour l'Mineralogie, l'Eau les Glaces et l'Activite (OMEGA) ( Bibring et al., 2004). Three years later, the OMEGA instrument was used to discover water ice deposited during southern summer on the polar cap ( Langevin et al., 2007). However, temporal and spatial variations of these water ice signatures have remained unexplored, and the origins of these water deposits remains an important scientific question. To investigate this question, we have used observations from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) instrument on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft of the southern cap during austral summer over four Martian years to search for variations in the amount of water ice. We report below that for each year we have observed the cap, the magnitude of the H2O ice signature on the southern cap has risen steadily throughout summer, particularly on the west end of the cap. The spatial extent of deposition is in disagreement with the current best simulations of deposition of water ice on the south polar cap (Montmessin et al., 2007). This increase in water ice signatures is most likely caused by deposition of atmospheric H2O ice and a set of unusual conditions makes the quantification of this transport flux using CRISM close to ideal. We calculate a ‘minimum apparent‘ amount of deposition corresponding to a thin H2O ice layer of 0.2 mm (with 70% porosity). This amount of H2O ice deposition is 0.6–6% of the total Martian atmospheric water budget. We compare our ‘minimum apparent’ quantification with previous estimates. This deposition process may also have implications for the formation and stability of the southern CO2 ice cap, and therefore play a significant role in the climate budget of modern day Mars.

Ulysses discovers the mysteries of the sun's south pole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1994-09-01

Scientists at ESA's space research and technology centre in Noordwijk (the Netherlands) this morning gave a very positive account of the South polar pass phase, which started in June and will be completed in November. In particular they concluded that the south polar region displayed unexpected magnetic and dynamic characteristics; this probably means that the thinking on the magnetic structure of the Sun will have to be revised. The first thing that surprised the scientists was the low cosmic radiation activity above the south pole and the remarkable apparent absence of a south magnetic pole. Richard Marsden, ESA's project scientist, explained: "We expected the Sun to have a relatively simple magnetic field, such as the Earth's or that of a magnetised iron bar. We thought we were going to find a local increase in the field's intensity. But the probe did not detect any such thing and all the evidence so far suggests that the Sun has no south magnetic pole. Could it be that the Sun has no south magnetic pole? Or is one suddenly going to appear before Ulysses completes its pass? These are some of the questions exercising the minds of the team of scientists working on the project, who are keenly looking forward to comparing these results with those that will be coming through next year when the probe passes over the Sun's north geographic pole. It is however already manifestly clear that the structure of the solar magnetic field in the southern polar region is not as predicted by the models. In particular, the instruments on board Ulysses have detected a new type of very slowly varying electromagnetic waves, with oscillation periods of 10 to 20 hours. The experts' theory is that this is due to an unexpected phenomenon that conveys the solar magnetic field into space through the solar wind. It is still far too early to say what effect these new findings are going to have on our overall understanding of the Sun and the interplanetary wind it generates. A vast volume of

Albedo of Carbon Dioxide Ice in Mars' Residual South Polar Cap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

James, P. B.; Wolff, M. J.; Bonev, B.

2015-12-01

The albedo of surface CO2 deposits in the Residual South Polar Cap (RSPC) of Mars controls their net condensation / sublimation over a martian year and is therefore a crucial parameter in determining RSPC stability. The albedo used in previous analyses is obtained by dividing I/F, determined from radiometrically calibrated imaging data, by the cosine of the incidence angle. Because of atmospheric aerosols, the albedo calculated from I/F above the atmosphere is not the surface albedo that enters into stability considerations. In order to determine the surface albedo, we interpolate optical depths determined from CRISM EPF measurements to provide estimates of the dust and ice opacities over the RSPC (Wolff et al., 2009) and use these to determine the actual surface albedos from MARCI images using the radiative transport program DISORT (Stamnes et al., 1988). Assuming that dust is the only contributor to atmospheric opacity, the retrieved surface albedos for the longer wavelength MARCI filters in MY 28 and 29 are found to be consistent despite very different dust opacities in the two years (James et al., 2014). However, this model fails to reproduce the short wavelength behavior in early summer and suggests either an additional opacity source or modification of the CRISM dust opacity or the dust phase function. The consequences of these changes will be discussed.

Martian Polar Caps: Folding, Faulting, Flowing Glaciers of Multiple Interbedded Ices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kargel, J. S.

2001-12-01

The Martian south polar cap (permanent CO2 cap and polar layered deposits), exhibit abundant, varied, and widespread deformational phenomena. Folding and boudinage are very common. Strike-slip or normal faults are rarer. Common in the vicinity of major troughs and scarps are signs of convergent flow tectonics manifested as wrinkle-ridge-like surface folds, thrust faults, and viscous forebulges with thin-skinned extensional crevasses and wrinkle-ridge folds. Such flow convergence is predicted by theory. Boudinage and folding at the 300-m wavelength scale, indicating rheologically contrasting materials, is widely exposed at deep levels along erosional scarps. Independent morphologic evidence indicates south polar materials of contrasting volatility. Hence, the south polar cap appears to be a multiphase structure of interbedded ices. The north polar cap locally also exhibits flow indicators, though they are neither as common nor as varied as in the south. The large-scale quasi-spiral structure of the polar caps could be a manifestation of large-scale boudinage. According to this scenario, deep-level boudinage continuously originates under the glacial divide (the polar cap summit). Rod-like boudin structures are oriented transverse to flow and migrate outward with the large-scale flow field. Troughs develop over areas between major boudins. A dynamic competition, and possibly a rough balance, develops between the local flow field in the vicinity of a trough (which tends to close the trough by lateral closure and upwelling flow) and sublimation erosion (which tends to widen and deepen them). Over time, the troughs flow to the margins of the polar cap where they, along with other polar structures, are destroyed by sublimation. Major ice types contributing to rheological and volatility layering may include, in order of highest to lowest mechanical strength, CO2 clathrate hydrate, water ice containing inert/insoluble dust, pure water ice, water ice containing traces of

Seasonal, interannual, and long-term variabilities in biomass burning activity over South Asia.

PubMed

Bhardwaj, P; Naja, M; Kumar, R; Chandola, H C

2016-03-01

The seasonal, interannual, and long-term variations in biomass burning activity and related emissions are not well studied over South Asia. In this regard, active fire location retrievals from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the retrievals of aerosol optical depth (AOD) from MODIS Terra, and tropospheric column NO2 from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) are used to understand the effects of biomass burning on the tropospheric pollution loadings over South Asia during 2003-2013. Biomass burning emission estimates from Global Fire Emission Database (GFED) and Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) are also used to quantify uncertainties and regional discrepancies in the emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NOx), and black carbon (BC) due to biomass burning in South Asia. In the Asian continent, the frequency of fire activity is highest over Southeast Asia, followed by South Asia and East Asia. The biomass burning activity in South Asia shows a distinct seasonal cycle that peaks during February-May with some differences among four (north, central, northeast, and south) regions in India. The annual biomass burning activity in north, central, and south regions shows an increasing tendency, particularly after 2008, while a decrease is seen in northeast region during 2003-2013. The increase in fire counts over the north and central regions contributes 24 % of the net enhancement in fire counts over South Asia. MODIS AOD and OMI tropospheric column NO2 retrievals are classified into high and low fire activity periods and show that biomass burning leads to significant enhancement in tropospheric pollution loading over both the cropland and forest regions. The enhancement is much higher (110-176 %) over the forest region compared to the cropland (34-62 %) region. Further efforts are required to understand the implications of biomass burning on the regional air quality and climate of South Asia.

PPAR Activation Induces M1 Macrophage Polarization via cPLA2-COX-2 Inhibition, Activating ROS Production against Leishmania mexicana

PubMed Central

Díaz-Gandarilla, J. A.; Osorio-Trujillo, C.; Hernández-Ramírez, V. I.; Talamás-Rohana, P.

2013-01-01

Defence against Leishmania depends upon Th1 inflammatory response and, a major problem in susceptible models, is the turnoff of the leishmanicidal activity of macrophages with IL-10, IL-4, and COX-2 upregulation, as well as immunosuppressive PGE2, all together inhibiting the respiratory burst. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR) activation is responsible for macrophages polarization on Leishmania susceptible models where microbicide functions are deactivated. In this paper, we demonstrated that, at least for L. mexicana, PPAR activation, mainly PPARγ, induced macrophage activation through their polarization towards M1 profile with the increase of microbicide activity against intracellular pathogen L. mexicana. PPAR activation induced IL-10 downregulation, whereas the production of proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 remained high. Moreover, PPAR agonists treatment induced the deactivation of cPLA2-COX-2-prostaglandins pathway together with an increase in TLR4 expression, all of whose criteria meet the M1 macrophage profile. Finally, parasite burden, in treated macrophages, was lower than that in infected nontreated macrophages, most probably associated with the increase of respiratory burst in these treated cells. Based on the above data, we conclude that PPAR agonists used in this work induces M1 macrophages polarization via inhibition of cPLA2 and the increase of aggressive microbicidal activity via reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. PMID:23555077

Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2 Nanoparticles Supported on Electrically Polarized Hydroxyapatite.

PubMed

Zhang, Xuefei; Yates, Matthew Z

2018-05-23

Fast recombination of photogenerated charge carriers in titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) remains a challenging issue, limiting the photocatalytic activity. This study demonstrates increased photocatalytic performance of TiO 2 nanoparticles supported on electrically polarized hydroxyapatite (HA) films. Dense and thermally stable yttrium and fluorine co-doped HA films with giant internal polarization were synthesized as photocatalyst supports. TiO 2 nanoparticles deposited on the support were then used to catalyze the photochemical reduction of aqueous silver ions to produce silver nanoparticles. It was found that significantly more silver nanoparticles were produced on polarized HA supports than on depolarized HA supports. In addition, the photodegradation of methyl orange with TiO 2 nanoparticles on polarized HA supports was found to be much faster than with TiO 2 nanoparticles on depolarized HA supports. It is proposed that separation of photogenerated electrons and holes in TiO nanoparticles is promoted by the internal polarization of the HA support, and consequently, the recombination of charge carriers is mitigated. The results imply that materials with large internal polarization can be used in strategies for enhancing quantum efficiency of photocatalysts.

CO2 jets formed by sublimation beneath translucent slab ice in Mars' seasonal south polar ice cap

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kieffer, H.H.; Christensen, P.R.; Titus, T.N.

2006-01-01

The martian polar caps are among the most dynamic regions on Mars, growing substantially in winter as a significant fraction of the atmosphere freezes out in the form of CO2 ice. Unusual dark spots, fans and blotches form as the south-polar seasonal CO2 ice cap retreats during spring and summer. Small radial channel networks are often associated with the location of spots once the ice disappears. The spots have been proposed to be simply bare, defrosted ground; the formation of the channels has remained uncertain. Here we report infrared and visible observations that show that the spots and fans remain at CO2 ice temperatures well into summer, and must be granular materials that have been brought up to the surface of the ice, requiring a complex suite of processes to get them there. We propose that the seasonal ice cap forms an impermeable, translucent slab of CO2 ice that sublimates from the base, building up high-pressure gas beneath the slab. This gas levitates the ice, which eventually ruptures, producing high-velocity CO 2 vents that erupt sand-sized grains in jets to form the spots and erode the channels. These processes are unlike any observed on Earth. ?? 2006 Nature Publishing Group.

Surface properties of Mars' polar layered deposits and polar landing sites

USGS Publications Warehouse

Vasavada, Ashwin R.; Williams, Jean-Pierre; Paige, David A.; Herkenhoff, Ken E.; Bridges, Nathan T.; Greeley, Ronald; Murray, Bruce C.; Bass, Deborah S.; McBride, Karen S.

2000-01-01

On December 3, 1999, the Mars Polar Lander and Mars Microprobes will land on the planet's south polar layered deposits near (76°S, 195°W) and conduct the first in situ studies of the planet's polar regions. The scientific goals of these missions address several poorly understood and globally significant issues, such as polar meteorology, the composition and volatile content of the layered deposits, the erosional state and mass balance of their surface, their possible relationship to climate cycles, and the nature of bright and dark aeolian material. Derived thermal inertias of the southern layered deposits are very low (50-100 J m-2 s-1/2 K-1), suggesting that the surface down to a depth of a few centimeters is generally fine grained or porous and free of an appreciable amount of rock or ice. The landing site region is smoother than typical cratered terrain on ∼1 km pixel-1 Viking Orbiter images but contains low-relief texture on ∼5 to 100 m pixel-1 Mariner 9 and Mars Global Surveyor images. The surface of the southern deposits is older than that of the northern deposits and appears to be modified by aeolian erosion or ablation of ground ice.

THE EFFECT OF ACTIVITY-RELATED MERIDIONAL FLOW MODULATION ON THE STRENGTH OF THE SOLAR POLAR MAGNETIC FIELD

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jiang, J.; Cameron, R. H.; Schmitt, D.

We studied the effect of the perturbation of the meridional flow in the activity belts detected by local helioseismology on the development and strength of the surface magnetic field at the polar caps. We carried out simulations of synthetic solar cycles with a flux transport model, which follows the cyclic evolution of the surface field determined by flux emergence and advective transport by near-surface flows. In each hemisphere, an axisymmetric band of latitudinal flows converging toward the central latitude of the activity belt was superposed onto the background poleward meridional flow. The overall effect of the flow perturbation is tomore » reduce the latitudinal separation of the magnetic polarities of a bipolar magnetic region and thus diminish its contribution to the polar field. As a result, the polar field maximum reached around cycle activity minimum is weakened by the presence of the meridional flow perturbation. For a flow perturbation consistent with helioseismic observations, the polar field is reduced by about 18% compared to the case without inflows. If the amplitude of the flow perturbation depends on the cycle strength, its effect on the polar field provides a nonlinearity that could contribute to limiting the amplitude of a Babcock-Leighton type dynamo.« less

Subsidence of the South Polar Terrain and global tectonic of Enceladus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czechowski, Leszek

2016-04-01

Introduction: Enceladus is the smallest celestial body in the Solar System where volcanic and tectonic activities are observed. Every second, the mass of ˜200 kg is ejected into space from the South Polar Terrain (SPT) - [1]. The loss of matter from the body's interior should lead to global compression of the crust (like on Mercury). Typical effects of compression are: thrust faults, folding and subduction. However, such forms are not dominant on Enceladus. We propose here special dynamical process that could explain this paradox. Our hypothesis states that the mass loss from SPT is the main driving mechanism of the following tectonic processes: subsidence of SPT, flow in the mantle and motion of adjacent tectonic plates. The hypothesis is presented in [2] and [3]. We suggest that the loss of the volatiles results in a void, an instability, and motion of solid matter to fill the void. The motion includes: Subsidence of the 'lithosphere' of SPT. Flow of the matter in the mantle. Motion of plates adjacent to SPT towards the active region. Methods and results: The numerical model of the subsidence process is developed. It is based on the model of thermal convection in the mantle. Special boundary conditions are applied, that could simulate subsidence of SPT. If emerging void is being filled by the subsidence of SPT only, then the velocity of subsidence is ˜0.05 mmṡyr-1. However, numerical calculations indicate that all three types of motion are usually important. The role of a given motion depends on the viscosity distribution. Generally, for most of the models the subsidence is ˜0.02 mmṡyr-1, but mantle flow and plates' motion also play a role in filling the void. The preliminary results of the numerical model indicate also that the velocity of adjacent plates could be ˜0.02 mmṡyr-1 for the Newtonian rheology. Note that in our model the reduction of the crust area is not a result of compression but it is a result of the plate sinking. Therefore the

Albedo of Surface CO2 Deposits in Mars' Residual South Polar Cap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

James, P. B.; Wolff, M. J.; Bonev, B.

2014-12-01

The albedo of surface CO2 deposits in the Residual South Polar Cap (RSPC) of Mars controls their net condensation / sublimation over a martian year and is therefore a crucial parameter in determining RSPC stability. The albedo used in previous analyses is obtained by dividing I/F, determined from radiometrically calibrated imaging data, by the cosine of the incidence angle. Because of atmospheric aerosols, the albedo calculated from I/F above the atmosphere is not the surface albedo that enters into stability considerations. In order to determine the surface albedo, we interpolate optical depths determined from CRISM EPF measurements to provide estimates of the dust and ice opacities over the RSPC (Wolff et al., 2009) and use these to determine the actual surface albedos from MARCI images using the radiative transport program DISORT (Stamnes et al., 1988). Assuming that dust is the only contributor to atmospheric opacity, the retrieved surface albedos for the longer wavelength MARCI filters in MY 28 and 29 are found to be consistent despite very different dust opacities in the two years (James et al., 2014). However, this model fails to reproduce the short wavelength behavior in early summer. We consider possible modifications of the dust only model that could explain the discrepancy.

Copepod grazing on phytoplankton in the Pacific sector of the Antarctic Polar Front

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urban-Rich, Juanita; Dagg, Michael; Peterson, Jay

Mesozooplankton abundance, community structure and copepod grazing on phytoplankton were examined during the austral spring 1997 and summer 1998 as part of the US JGOFS project in the Pacific sector of the Antarctic polar front. Mesozooplankton abundance and biomass were highest at the polar front and south of the front. Biomass increased by 1.5-2-times during the course of the study . Calanoides acutus, Calanus propinquus, C. simillimus, Rhincalanus gigas and Neocalanus tonsus were the dominant large copepods found in the study. Oithona spp and pteropods were numerically important components of the zooplankton community. The copepod and juvenile krill community consumed 1-7% of the daily chlorophyll standing stock, equivalent to 3-21% of the daily phytoplankton production. There was an increased grazing pressure at night due to both increased gut pigment concentrations as well as increases in zooplankton numbers. Phytoplankton carbon contributed a significant fraction (>50%) of the dietary carbon for the copepods during spring and summer. The relative importance of phytoplankton carbon to the diet increased south of the polar front, suggested that grazing by copepods could be important to organic carbon and biogenic silica flux south of the polar front.

Lipase in aqueous-polar organic solvents: Activity, structure, and stability

PubMed Central

Kamal, Md Zahid; Yedavalli, Poornima; Deshmukh, Mandar V; Rao, Nalam Madhusudhana

2013-01-01

Studying alterations in biophysical and biochemical behavior of enzymes in the presence of organic solvents and the underlying cause(s) has important implications in biotechnology. We investigated the effects of aqueous solutions of polar organic solvents on ester hydrolytic activity, structure and stability of a lipase. Relative activity of the lipase monotonically decreased with increasing concentration of acetone, acetonitrile, and DMF but increased at lower concentrations (upto ∼20% v/v) of dimethylsulfoxide, isopropanol, and methanol. None of the organic solvents caused any appreciable structural change as evident from circular dichorism and NMR studies, thus do not support any significant role of enzyme denaturation in activity change. Change in 2D [15N, 1H]-HSQC chemical shifts suggested that all the organic solvents preferentially localize to a hydrophobic patch in the active-site vicinity and no chemical shift perturbation was observed for residues present in protein's core. This suggests that activity alteration might be directly linked to change in active site environment only. All organic solvents decreased the apparent binding of substrate to the enzyme (increased Km); however significantly enhanced the kcat. Melting temperature (Tm) of lipase, measured by circular dichroism and differential scanning calorimetry, altered in all solvents, albeit to a variable extent. Interestingly, although the effect of all organic solvents on various properties on lipase is qualitatively similar, our study suggest that magnitudes of effects do not appear to follow bulk solvent properties like polarity and the solvent effects are apparently dictated by specific and local interactions of solvent molecule(s) with the protein. PMID:23625694

Polar Polygons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

18 August 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dark-outlined polygons on a frost-covered surface in the south polar region of Mars. In summer, this surface would not be bright and the polygons would not have dark outlines--these are a product of the presence of seasonal frost.

Location near: 77.2oS, 204.8oW Image width: width: 3 km (1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Spring

Polar Landforms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

10 August 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows eroded remnants of carbon dioxide ice in the south polar residual cap of Mars. The scarps that outline each small mesa have retreated about 3 meters (10 feet) per Mars year since MGS began orbiting the red planet in 1997.

Location near: 87.0oS, 31.9oW Image width: width: 3 km (1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Spring

The physical activity profiles of South Asian ethnic groups in England

PubMed Central

Bhatnagar, Prachi; Townsend, Nick; Shaw, Alison; Foster, Charlie

2016-01-01

Background To identify what types of activity contribute to overall physical activity in South Asian ethnic groups and how these vary according to sex and age. We used the White British ethnic group as a comparison. Methods Self-reported physical activity was measured in the Health Survey for England 1999 and 2004, a nationally representative, cross-sectional survey that boosted ethnic minority samples in these years. We merged the two survey years and analysed data from 19 476 adults. The proportions of total physical activity achieved through walking, housework, sports and DIY activity were calculated. We stratified by sex and age group and used analysis of variances to examine differences between ethnic groups, adjusted for the socioeconomic status. Results There was a significant difference between ethnic groups for the contributions of all physical activity domains for those aged below 55 years, with the exception of walking. In women aged 16–34 years, there was no significant difference in the contribution of walking to total physical activity (p=0.38). In the 35–54 age group, Bangladeshi males have the highest proportion of total activity from walking (30%). In those aged over 55 years, the proportion of activity from sports was the lowest in all South Asian ethnic groups for both sexes. Conclusions UK South Asians are more active in some ways that differ, by age and sex, from White British, but are similarly active in other ways. These results can be used to develop targeted population level interventions for increasing physical activity levels in adult UK South Asian populations. PMID:26677257

High-resolution observations of the polar magnetic fields of the sun

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, H.; Varsik, J.; Zirin, H.

1994-01-01

High-resolution magnetograms of the solar polar region were used for the study of the polar magnetic field. In contrast to low-resolution magnetograph observations which measure the polar magnetic field averaged over a large area, we focused our efforts on the properties of the small magnetic elements in the polar region. Evolution of the filling factor (the ratio of the area occupied by the magnetic elements to the total area) of these magnetic elements, as well as the average magnetic field strength, were studied during the maximum and declining phase of solar cycle 22, from early 1991 to mid-1993. We found that during the sunspot maximum period, the polar regions were occupied by about equal numbers of positive and negative magnetic elements, with equal average field strength. As the solar cycle progresses toward sunspot minimum, the magnetic field elements in the polar region become predominantly of one polarity. The average magnetic field of the dominant polarity elements also increases with the filling factor. In the meanwhile, both the filling factor and the average field strength of the non-dominant polarity elements decrease. The combined effects of the changing filling factors and average field strength produce the observed evolution of the integrated polar flux over the solar cycle. We compared the evolutionary histories of both filling factor and average field strength, for regions of high (70-80 deg) and low (60-70 deg) latitudes. For the south pole, we found no significant evidence of difference in the time of reversal. However, the low-latitude region of the north pole did reverse polarity much earlier than the high-latitude region. It later showed an oscillatory behavior. We suggest this may be caused by the poleward migration of flux from a large active region in 1989 with highly imbalanced flux.

Stimulated electromagnetic emission polarization under different polarizations of pump waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tereshchenko, E. D.; Yurik, R. Y.; Baddeley, L.

2015-03-01

The results of investigations into the stimulated electromagnetic emission (SEE) polarization under different modes of the pump wave polarization are presented. The present results were obtained in November 2012 during a heating campaign utilizing the SPEAR (Space Plasma Exploration by Active Radar) heating facility, transmitting in both O- and X-mode polarization, and a PGI (Polar Geophysical Institute) radio interferometer capable of recording the polarization of the received radiation. The polarization ellipse parameters of the SEE DM (downshifted maximum) components were determined under both O-mode and X-mode polarization of the pump waves. The polarization direction of the SEE DM component was preserved under different polarizations of the pump waves. Different polarizations of the pump waves have a different SEE generation efficiency. The intensity of the DM component is observed to be greater during O-mode pumping. In addition, the numbers of observed SEE features are also greater during O-mode pumping.

Increased Arctic sea ice drift alters adult female polar bear movements and energetics

USGS Publications Warehouse

Durner, George M.; Douglas, David C.; Albeke, Shannon; Whiteman, John P.; Amstrup, Steven C.; Richardson, Evan; Wilson, Ryan R.; Ben-David, Merav

2017-01-01

Recent reductions in thickness and extent have increased drift rates of Arctic sea ice. Increased ice drift could significantly affect the movements and the energy balance of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) which forage, nearly exclusively, on this substrate. We used radio-tracking and ice drift data to quantify the influence of increased drift on bear movements, and we modeled the consequences for energy demands of adult females in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas during two periods with different sea ice characteristics. Westward and northward drift of the sea ice used by polar bears in both regions increased between 1987–1998 and 1999–2013. To remain within their home ranges, polar bears responded to the higher westward ice drift with greater eastward movements, while their movements north in the spring and south in fall were frequently aided by ice motion. To compensate for more rapid westward ice drift in recent years, polar bears covered greater daily distances either by increasing their time spent active (7.6%–9.6%) or by increasing their travel speed (8.5%–8.9%). This increased their calculated annual energy expenditure by 1.8%–3.6% (depending on region and reproductive status), a cost that could be met by capturing an additional 1–3 seals/year. Polar bears selected similar habitats in both periods, indicating that faster drift did not alter habitat preferences. Compounding reduced foraging opportunities that result from habitat loss; changes in ice drift, and associated activity increases, likely exacerbate the physiological stress experienced by polar bears in a warming Arctic.

Active Polar Gels: a Paradigm for Cytoskeletal Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Julicher, Frank

2006-03-01

The cytoskeleton of eucaryotic cells is an intrinsically dynamic network of rod-like filaments. Active processes on the molecular scale such as the action of motor proteins and the polymerization and depolymerization of filaments drive active dynamic behaviors while consuming chemical energy in the form of a fuel. Such emergent dynamics is regulated by the cell and is important for many cellular processes such as cell locomotion and cell division. From a general point of view the cytoskeleton represents an active gel-like material with interesting material properties. We present a general theory of active viscoelastic materials made of polar filaments which is motivated by the the cytoskeleton. The continuous consumption of a fuel generates a non- equilibrium state characterized by the generation of flows and stresses. Our theory can be applied to experiments in which cytoskeletal patterns are set in motion by active processes such as those which are at work in cells. It can also capture generic aspects of the flows and stress profiles which occur during cell locomotion.

Tiam1 interaction with the PAR complex promotes talin-mediated Rac1 activation during polarized cell migration

PubMed Central

Wang, Shujie; Watanabe, Takashi; Matsuzawa, Kenji; Katsumi, Akira; Kakeno, Mai; Matsui, Toshinori; Ye, Feng; Sato, Kazuhide; Murase, Kiyoko; Sugiyama, Ikuko; Kimura, Kazushi; Mizoguchi, Akira; Ginsberg, Mark H.; Collard, John G.

2012-01-01

Migrating cells acquire front-rear polarity with a leading edge and a trailing tail for directional movement. The Rac exchange factor Tiam1 participates in polarized cell migration with the PAR complex of PAR3, PAR6, and atypical protein kinase C. However, it remains largely unknown how Tiam1 is regulated and contributes to the establishment of polarity in migrating cells. We show here that Tiam1 interacts directly with talin, which binds and activates integrins to mediate their signaling. Tiam1 accumulated at adhesions in a manner dependent on talin and the PAR complex. The interactions of talin with Tiam1 and the PAR complex were required for adhesion-induced Rac1 activation, cell spreading, and migration toward integrin substrates. Furthermore, Tiam1 acted with talin to regulate adhesion turnover. Thus, we propose that Tiam1, with the PAR complex, binds to integrins through talin and, together with the PAR complex, thereby regulates Rac1 activity and adhesion turnover for polarized migration. PMID:23071154

The Bess-Polar II Long Duration Flight Above Antarctica

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sasaki, Makoto; Yamamoto, Akira; Yoshimura, Koji; Makida, Yasuhiro; Matsuda, Shinya; Hasegawa, Masaya; Horikoshi, Atsushi; Tanaka, Ken-ichi; Suzuki, Junichi; Nishimura, Jun;

Ridges Down South

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-11-04

This image captured by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of an area just off the margin of the south polar cap. The bright and dark markings are identical to some seen on the cap, telling us that ice is located at the surface.

Polarization: A Key Difference between Man-made and Natural Electromagnetic Fields, in regard to Biological Activity.

PubMed

Panagopoulos, Dimitris J; Johansson, Olle; Carlo, George L

2015-10-12

In the present study we analyze the role of polarization in the biological activity of Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs)/Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR). All types of man-made EMFs/EMR - in contrast to natural EMFs/EMR - are polarized. Polarized EMFs/EMR can have increased biological activity, due to: 1) Ability to produce constructive interference effects and amplify their intensities at many locations. 2) Ability to force all charged/polar molecules and especially free ions within and around all living cells to oscillate on parallel planes and in phase with the applied polarized field. Such ionic forced-oscillations exert additive electrostatic forces on the sensors of cell membrane electro-sensitive ion channels, resulting in their irregular gating and consequent disruption of the cell's electrochemical balance. These features render man-made EMFs/EMR more bioactive than natural non-ionizing EMFs/EMR. This explains the increasing number of biological effects discovered during the past few decades to be induced by man-made EMFs, in contrast to natural EMFs in the terrestrial environment which have always been present throughout evolution, although human exposure to the latter ones is normally of significantly higher intensities/energy and longer durations. Thus, polarization seems to be a trigger that significantly increases the probability for the initiation of biological/health effects.

Polarization: A Key Difference between Man-made and Natural Electromagnetic Fields, in regard to Biological Activity

PubMed Central

Panagopoulos, Dimitris J.; Johansson, Olle; Carlo, George L.

2015-01-01

In the present study we analyze the role of polarization in the biological activity of Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs)/Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR). All types of man-made EMFs/EMR - in contrast to natural EMFs/EMR - are polarized. Polarized EMFs/EMR can have increased biological activity, due to: 1) Ability to produce constructive interference effects and amplify their intensities at many locations. 2) Ability to force all charged/polar molecules and especially free ions within and around all living cells to oscillate on parallel planes and in phase with the applied polarized field. Such ionic forced-oscillations exert additive electrostatic forces on the sensors of cell membrane electro-sensitive ion channels, resulting in their irregular gating and consequent disruption of the cell’s electrochemical balance. These features render man-made EMFs/EMR more bioactive than natural non-ionizing EMFs/EMR. This explains the increasing number of biological effects discovered during the past few decades to be induced by man-made EMFs, in contrast to natural EMFs in the terrestrial environment which have always been present throughout evolution, although human exposure to the latter ones is normally of significantly higher intensities/energy and longer durations. Thus, polarization seems to be a trigger that significantly increases the probability for the initiation of biological/health effects. PMID:26456585

Polarization: A Key Difference between Man-made and Natural Electromagnetic Fields, in regard to Biological Activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panagopoulos, Dimitris J.; Johansson, Olle; Carlo, George L.

2015-10-01

In the present study we analyze the role of polarization in the biological activity of Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs)/Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR). All types of man-made EMFs/EMR - in contrast to natural EMFs/EMR - are polarized. Polarized EMFs/EMR can have increased biological activity, due to: 1) Ability to produce constructive interference effects and amplify their intensities at many locations. 2) Ability to force all charged/polar molecules and especially free ions within and around all living cells to oscillate on parallel planes and in phase with the applied polarized field. Such ionic forced-oscillations exert additive electrostatic forces on the sensors of cell membrane electro-sensitive ion channels, resulting in their irregular gating and consequent disruption of the cell’s electrochemical balance. These features render man-made EMFs/EMR more bioactive than natural non-ionizing EMFs/EMR. This explains the increasing number of biological effects discovered during the past few decades to be induced by man-made EMFs, in contrast to natural EMFs in the terrestrial environment which have always been present throughout evolution, although human exposure to the latter ones is normally of significantly higher intensities/energy and longer durations. Thus, polarization seems to be a trigger that significantly increases the probability for the initiation of biological/health effects.

Physical activity patterns among South-Asian adults: a systematic review

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Physical activity (PA) has many beneficial physical and mental health effects. Physical inactivity is considered the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. At present there are no systematic reviews on PA patterns among South Asian adults residing in the region. The present study aims to systematically evaluate studies on PA patterns in South Asian countries. A five-staged comprehensive search of the literature was conducted in Medline, Web of Science and SciVerse Scopus using keywords ‘Exercise’, ‘Walking’, ‘Physical activity’, ‘Inactivity’, ‘Physical Activity Questionnaire’, ‘International Physical Activity Questionnaire’, ‘IPAQ’, ‘Global Physical Activity Questionnaire’ and ‘GPAQ’, combined with individual country names. The search was restricted to English language articles conducted in humans and published before 31st December 2012. To obtain additional data a manual search of the reference lists of articles was performed. Data were also retrieved from the search of relevant web sites and online resources. The total number of hits obtained from the initial search was 1,771. The total number of research articles included in the present review is eleven (India-8, Sri Lanka-2, Pakistan-1). In addition, eleven country reports (Nepal-3, Bangladesh-2, India-2, Sri Lanka-2, Bhutan-1, Maldives-1) of World Health Organization STEPS survey from the South-Asian countries were retrieved online. In the research articles the overall prevalence of inactivity was as follows; India (18.5%-88.4%), Pakistan (60.1%) and Sri Lanka (11.0%-31.8%). STEPS survey reports were available from all countries except Pakistan. Overall in majority of STEPS surveys females were more inactive compared to males. Furthermore, leisure related inactivity was >75% in studies reporting inactivity in this domain and people were more active in transport domain when compared with the other domains. In conclusion, our results show that there is a wide

The physical activity profiles of South Asian ethnic groups in England.

PubMed

Bhatnagar, Prachi; Townsend, Nick; Shaw, Alison; Foster, Charlie

2016-06-01

To identify what types of activity contribute to overall physical activity in South Asian ethnic groups and how these vary according to sex and age. We used the White British ethnic group as a comparison. Self-reported physical activity was measured in the Health Survey for England 1999 and 2004, a nationally representative, cross-sectional survey that boosted ethnic minority samples in these years. We merged the two survey years and analysed data from 19 476 adults. The proportions of total physical activity achieved through walking, housework, sports and DIY activity were calculated. We stratified by sex and age group and used analysis of variances to examine differences between ethnic groups, adjusted for the socioeconomic status. There was a significant difference between ethnic groups for the contributions of all physical activity domains for those aged below 55 years, with the exception of walking. In women aged 16-34 years, there was no significant difference in the contribution of walking to total physical activity (p=0.38). In the 35-54 age group, Bangladeshi males have the highest proportion of total activity from walking (30%). In those aged over 55 years, the proportion of activity from sports was the lowest in all South Asian ethnic groups for both sexes. UK South Asians are more active in some ways that differ, by age and sex, from White British, but are similarly active in other ways. These results can be used to develop targeted population level interventions for increasing physical activity levels in adult UK South Asian populations. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

SPT-3G: a next-generation cosmic microwave background polarization experiment on the South Pole telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benson, B. A.; Ade, P. A. R.; Ahmed, Z.; Allen, S. W.; Arnold, K.; Austermann, J. E.; Bender, A. N.; Bleem, L. E.; Carlstrom, J. E.; Chang, C. L.; Cho, H. M.; Cliche, J. F.; Crawford, T. M.; Cukierman, A.; de Haan, T.; Dobbs, M. A.; Dutcher, D.; Everett, W.; Gilbert, A.; Halverson, N. W.; Hanson, D.; Harrington, N. L.; Hattori, K.; Henning, J. W.; Hilton, G. C.; Holder, G. P.; Holzapfel, W. L.; Irwin, K. D.; Keisler, R.; Knox, L.; Kubik, D.; Kuo, C. L.; Lee, A. T.; Leitch, E. M.; Li, D.; McDonald, M.; Meyer, S. S.; Montgomery, J.; Myers, M.; Natoli, T.; Nguyen, H.; Novosad, V.; Padin, S.; Pan, Z.; Pearson, J.; Reichardt, C.; Ruhl, J. E.; Saliwanchik, B. R.; Simard, G.; Smecher, G.; Sayre, J. T.; Shirokoff, E.; Stark, A. A.; Story, K.; Suzuki, A.; Thompson, K. L.; Tucker, C.; Vanderlinde, K.; Vieira, J. D.; Vikhlinin, A.; Wang, G.; Yefremenko, V.; Yoon, K. W.

2014-07-01

We describe the design of a new polarization sensitive receiver, spt-3g, for the 10-meter South Pole Telescope (spt). The spt-3g receiver will deliver a factor of ~20 improvement in mapping speed over the current receiver, spt-pol. The sensitivity of the spt-3g receiver will enable the advance from statistical detection of B-mode polarization anisotropy power to high signal-to-noise measurements of the individual modes, i.e., maps. This will lead to precise (~0.06 eV) constraints on the sum of neutrino masses with the potential to directly address the neutrino mass hierarchy. It will allow a separation of the lensing and inflationary B-mode power spectra, improving constraints on the amplitude and shape of the primordial signal, either through spt-3g data alone or in combination with bicep2/keck, which is observing the same area of sky. The measurement of small-scale temperature anisotropy will provide new constraints on the epoch of reionization. Additional science from the spt-3g survey will be significantly enhanced by the synergy with the ongoing optical Dark Energy Survey (des), including: a 1% constraint on the bias of optical tracers of large-scale structure, a measurement of the differential Doppler signal from pairs of galaxy clusters that will test General Relativity on ~200Mpc scales, and improved cosmological constraints from the abundance of clusters of galaxies

Particulate organic carbon export across the Antarctic Circumpolar Current at 10°E: Differences between north and south of the Antarctic Polar Front

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puigcorbé, Viena; Roca-Martí, Montserrat; Masqué, Pere; Benitez-Nelson, Claudia R.; Rutgers v. d. Loeff, Michiel; Laglera, Luis M.; Bracher, Astrid; Cheah, Wee; Strass, Volker H.; Hoppema, Mario; Santos-Echeandía, Juan; Hunt, Brian P. V.; Pakhomov, Evgeny A.; Klaas, Christine

2017-04-01

The vertical distribution of 234Th was measured along the 10°E meridian between 44°S and 53°S in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) during the austral summer of 2012. The overarching goal of this work was to estimate particulate organic carbon (POC) export across three fronts: the Sub-Antarctic Front (SAF), the Antarctic Polar Front (APF) and the Southern Polar Front (SPF). Steady state export fluxes of 234Th in the upper 100 m ranged from 1600 to 2600 dpm m-2 d-1, decreasing with increasing latitude. Using large particle (>53 μm) C/234Th ratios, the 234Th-derived POC fluxes at 100 m ranged from 25 to 41 mmol C m-2 d-1. Observed C/234Th ratios decreased with increasing depth north of the APF while south of the APF, ratios remained similar or even increased with depth. These changes in C/234Th ratios are likely due to differences in the food web. Indeed, satellite images, together with macronutrients and dissolved iron concentrations suggest two different planktonic community structures north and south of the APF. Our results indicate that higher ratios of POC flux at 100 m to primary production occurred in nanophytoplankton dominated surface waters, where primary production rates were lower. Satellite images prior to the expedition suggest that the higher export efficiencies obtained in the northern half of the transect may be the result of the decoupling between production and export (Buesseler 1998). Transfer efficiencies to 400 m, i.e. the fraction of exported POC that reached 400 m, were found to be higher south of the APF, where diatoms were dominant and salps largely abundant. This suggests different remineralization pathways of sinking particles, influencing the transfer efficiency of exported POC to depth.

Differences in physical activity levels between white and South Asian children in the United Kingdom.

PubMed

Duncan, Michael J; Woodfield, Lorayne; Al-Nakeeb, Yahya; Nevill, Alan M

2008-08-01

The purpose of this study was to compare physical activity levels between white and South Asian children in the UK. The data were obtained from 606, 11-14 year old schoolchildren (397 white; 209 Asian). Physical activity was assessed using the 'four by one day' recall questionnaire from which the time spent in moderate and vigorous physical activity was calculated. Boys were significantly more active than girls (p = .0001), and white children reported significantly greater physical activity than south Asian children (p = .001). Mean +/- SD of time spent in moderate and vigorous activity was 90.2 +/- 65.4 mins and 68.2 +/- 49.3 mins for white and south Asian children and 103.5 +/- 63.4 mins and 65.6 +/- 53.5 mins for boys and girls respectively. These findings indicate that south Asian children are significantly less active than their white peers and there may be a need for specific interventions to target South Asian children particularly.

The X-Ray Polarization of the Accretion Disk Coronae of Active Galactic Nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beheshtipour, Banafsheh; Krawczynski, Henric; Malzac, Julien

2017-11-01

Hard X-rays observed in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) are thought to originate from the Comptonization of the optical/UV accretion disk photons in a hot corona. Polarization studies of these photons can help to constrain the corona geometry and the plasma properties. We have developed a ray-tracing code that simulates the Comptonization of accretion disk photons in coronae of arbitrary shapes, and use it here to study the polarization of the X-ray emission from wedge and spherical coronae. We study the predicted polarization signatures for the fully relativistic and various approximate treatments of the elemental Compton scattering processes. We furthermore use the code to evaluate the impact of nonthermal electrons and cyclo-synchrotron photons on the polarization properties. Finally, we model the NuSTAR observations of the Seyfert I galaxy Mrk 335 and predict the associated polarization signal. Our studies show that X-ray polarimetry missions such as NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer and the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer proposed to ESA will provide valuable new information about the physical properties of the plasma close to the event horizon of AGN black holes.

Parsec-scale Faraday rotation and polarization of 20 active galactic nuclei jets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kravchenko, E. V.; Kovalev, Y. Y.; Sokolovsky, K. V.

2017-05-01

We perform polarimetry analysis of 20 active galactic nuclei jets using the very long baseline array at 1.4, 1.6, 2.2, 2.4, 4.6, 5.0, 8.1, 8.4 and 15.4 GHz. The study allowed us to investigate linearly polarized properties of the jets at parsec scales: distribution of the Faraday rotation measure (RM) and fractional polarization along the jets, Faraday effects and structure of Faraday-corrected polarization images. Wavelength dependence of the fractional polarization and polarization angle is consistent with external Faraday rotation, while some sources show internal rotation. The RM changes along the jets, systematically increasing its value towards synchrotron self-absorbed cores at shorter wavelengths. The highest core RM reaches 16 900 rad m-2 in the source rest frame for the quasar 0952+179, suggesting the presence of highly magnetized, dense media in these regions. The typical RM of transparent jet regions has values of an order of a hundred rad m-2. Significant transverse RM gradients are observed in seven sources. The magnetic field in the Faraday screen has no preferred orientation, and is observed to be random or regular from source to source. Half of the sources show evidence for the helical magnetic fields in their rotating magneto-ionic media. At the same time jets themselves contain large-scale, ordered magnetic fields and tend to align its direction with the jet flow. The observed variety of polarized signatures can be explained by a model of spine-sheath jet structure.

Environmental contaminants activate human and polar bear (Ursus maritimus) pregnane X receptors (PXR, NR1I2) differently

PubMed Central

Roger, Lille-Langøy; V, Goldstone Jared; Marte, Rusten; R, Milnes Matthew; Rune, Male; J, Stegeman John; Bruce, Blumberg; Anders, Goksøyr

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND Many persistent organic pollutants (POPs) accumulate readily in polar bears because of their position as apex predators in Arctic food webs. The pregnane X receptor (PXR, formally NR1I2, here proposed to be named promiscuous xenobiotic receptor) is a xenobiotic sensor that is directly involved in metabolizing pathways of a wide range of environmental contaminants. OBJECTIVES In the present study, we comparably assess the ability of 51 selected pharmaceuticals, pesticides and emerging contaminants to activate PXRs from polar bears and humans using an in vitro luciferase reporter gene assay. RESULTS We found that polar bear PXR is activated by a wide range of our test compounds (68%) but has a slightly more narrow ligand specificity than human PXR that was activated by 86% of the 51 test compounds. The majority of the agonists identified (70%) produces a stronger induction of the reporter gene via human PXR than via polar bear PXR, however with some notable and environmentally relevant exceptions. CONCLUSIONS Due to the observed differences in activation of polar bear and human PXRs, exposure of each species to environmental agents is likely to induce biotransformation differently in the two species. Bioinformatics analyses and structural modelling studies suggests that amino acids that are not part of the ligand-binding domain and do not interact with the ligand can modulate receptor activation. PMID:25680588

Environmental contaminants activate human and polar bear (Ursus maritimus) pregnane X receptors (PXR, NR1I2) differently.

PubMed

Lille-Langøy, Roger; Goldstone, Jared V; Rusten, Marte; Milnes, Matthew R; Male, Rune; Stegeman, John J; Blumberg, Bruce; Goksøyr, Anders

2015-04-01

Many persistent organic pollutants (POPs) accumulate readily in polar bears because of their position as apex predators in Arctic food webs. The pregnane X receptor (PXR, formally NR1I2, here proposed to be named promiscuous xenobiotic receptor) is a xenobiotic sensor that is directly involved in metabolizing pathways of a wide range of environmental contaminants. In the present study, we comparably assess the ability of 51 selected pharmaceuticals, pesticides and emerging contaminants to activate PXRs from polar bears and humans using an in vitro luciferase reporter gene assay. We found that polar bear PXR is activated by a wide range of our test compounds (68%) but has a slightly more narrow ligand specificity than human PXR that was activated by 86% of the 51 test compounds. The majority of the agonists identified (70%) produces a stronger induction of the reporter gene via human PXR than via polar bear PXR, however with some notable and environmentally relevant exceptions. Due to the observed differences in activation of polar bear and human PXRs, exposure of each species to environmental agents is likely to induce biotransformation differently in the two species. Bioinformatics analyses and structural modeling studies suggest that amino acids that are not part of the ligand-binding domain and do not interact with the ligand can modulate receptor activation. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

PolarTREC—A Model Program for Taking Polar Literacy into the Future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warburton, J.; Timm, K.; Larson, A. M.

2009-12-01

Polar TREC—Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating, is a three-year (2007-2009) NSF-funded International Polar Year (IPY) teacher professional development program that advances Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education by improving teacher content knowledge and instructional practices through Teacher Research Experiences (TRE) in the Arctic and Antarctic. Leveraging profound changes and fascinating science taking place in the polar regions, PolarTREC broadly disseminates activities and products to students, educators, researchers, and the public, connecting them with the Arctic and Antarctica and sustaining the widespread interest in the polar regions and building on the enthusiasm that was generated through IPY. Central to the PolarTREC Teacher Research Experience Model, over 40 teachers have spent two to eight weeks participating in hands-on research in the polar regions and sharing their experiences with diverse audiences via live events, online multimedia journals, and interactive bulletin boards. The Connecting Arctic/Antarctic Researchers and Educators (CARE) Network unifies learning community members participants, alumni, and others, developing a sustainable association of education professionals networking to share and apply polar STEM content and pedagogical skills. Educator and student feedback from preliminary results of the program evaluation has shown that PolarTREC’s comprehensive program activities have many positive impacts on educators and their ability to teach science concepts and improve their teaching methods. Additionally, K-12 students polled in interest surveys showed significant changes in key areas including amount of time spent in school exploring research activities, importance of understanding science for future work, importance of understanding the polar regions as a person in today’s world, as well as increased self-reported knowledge and interest in numerous science content areas. Building

Hepatocyte Polarity

PubMed Central

Treyer, Aleksandr; Müsch, Anne

2013-01-01

Hepatocytes, like other epithelia, are situated at the interface between the organism’s exterior and the underlying internal milieu and organize the vectorial exchange of macromolecules between these two spaces. To mediate this function, epithelial cells, including hepatocytes, are polarized with distinct luminal domains that are separated by tight junctions from lateral domains engaged in cell-cell adhesion and from basal domains that interact with the underlying extracellular matrix. Despite these universal principles, hepatocytes distinguish themselves from other nonstriated epithelia by their multipolar organization. Each hepatocyte participates in multiple, narrow lumina, the bile canaliculi, and has multiple basal surfaces that face the endothelial lining. Hepatocytes also differ in the mechanism of luminal protein trafficking from other epithelia studied. They lack polarized protein secretion to the luminal domain and target single-spanning and glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored bile canalicular membrane proteins via transcytosis from the basolateral domain. We compare this unique hepatic polarity phenotype with that of the more common columnar epithelial organization and review our current knowledge of the signaling mechanisms and the organization of polarized protein trafficking that govern the establishment and maintenance of hepatic polarity. The serine/threonine kinase LKB1, which is activated by the bile acid taurocholate and, in turn, activates adenosine monophosphate kinase-related kinases including AMPK1/2 and Par1 paralogues has emerged as a key determinant of hepatic polarity. We propose that the absence of a hepatocyte basal lamina and differences in cell-cell adhesion signaling that determine the positioning of tight junctions are two crucial determinants for the distinct hepatic and columnar polarity phenotypes. PMID:23720287

Enceladus: An Active Cryovolcanic Satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spencer, J. R.; Barr, Amy C.; Esposito, L. W.; Helfenstein, P.; Ingersoll, A. P.; Jaumann, R.; McKay, C. P.; Nimmo, F.; Waite, J. H.

2009-01-01

Enceladus is one of the most remarkable satellites in the solar system, as revealed by Cassini's detection of active plumes erupting from warm fractures near its south pole. This discovery makes Enceladus the only icy satellite known to exhibit ongoing internally driven geological activity. The activity is presumably powered by tidal heating maintained by Enceladus 2:1 mean-motion resonance with Dione, but many questions remain. For instance, it appears difficult or impossible to maintain the currently observed radiated power (probably at least 6 GW) in steady state. It is also not clear how Enceladus first entered its current self-maintaining warm and dissipative state initial heating from non-tidal sources is probably required. There are also many unanswered questions about Enceladus interior. The silicate fraction inferred from its density of 1.68 g per cubic centimeter is probably differentiated into a core, though we have only indirect evidence for differentiation. Above the core there is probably a global or regional water layer, inferred from several models of tidal heating, and an ice shell thick enough to support the 1 kilometer amplitude topography seen on Enceladus. It is possible that dissipation is largely localized beneath the south polar region. Enceladus surface geology, ranging from moderately cratered terrain to the virtually crater-free active south polar region, is highly diverse, tectonically complex, and remarkably symmetrical about the rotation axis and the direction to Saturn. South polar activity is concentrated along the four tiger stripe fractures, which radiate heat at temperatures up to at least 167 K and are the source of multiple plumes ejecting 200 kilograms per second of H2O vapor along with significant N2 (or C2H4), CO2, CH4, NH3, and higher-mass hydrocarbons. The escaping gas maintains Saturn's neutral gas torus, and the plumes also eject a large number of micron-sized H2O ice grains that populate Saturn's E-ring. The mechanism

Seasonal Evolution of the North and South Polar Vortex on Titan From 2004 to 2017 as Seen by Cassini/VIMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Mouelic, S.; Robidel, R.; Rousseau, B.; Rodriguez, S.; Cornet, T.; Sotin, C.; Barnes, J. W.; Brown, R. H.; Buratti, B. J.; Baines, K. H.; Clark, R. N.; Nicholson, P. D.

2017-12-01

Cassini entered in Saturn's orbit in July 2004. In thirteen years, 127 targeted flybys of Titan have been performed. We focus our study on the analysis of the complete Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer data set, with a particular emphasis on the evolving features on both poles. We have computed individual global maps of the north and south poles for each of the 127 targeted flybys, using VIMS wavelengths sensitive both to clouds and surface features. First evidences for a vast ethane cloud covering the North Pole is seen as soon as the first and second targeted flyby in October 2004 and December 2005 [1]. The first detailed imaging of this north polar feature with VIMS was obtained in December 2006, thanks to a change in inclination of the spacecraft orbit [2]. At this time, the northern lakes and seas of Titan were totally masked to the optical instruments by the haze and clouds, whereas the southern pole was well illuminated and mostly clear of haze and vast clouds. The vast north polar feature progressively vanished around the equinox in 2009 [2,3,4], in agreement with the predictions of Global Circulation Models [5]. It revealed progressively the underlying lakes to the ISS and VIMS instruments, which show up very nicely in VIMS in a series of flybys between T90 and T100. First evidences of an atmospheric vortex growing over the south pole occurred in May 2012 (T82), with a high altitude feature being detected consistently at each flyby up to the last T126 targeted flyby, and also appearing in more distant observations up to the end of the Cassini mission. Cassini has covered almost half a titanian year, corresponding to two seasons. The situation observed at the South Pole in the last images may correspond to what was observed in the north as Cassini just arrived. [1] Griffith et al., Science, 2006. [2] Le Mouélic et al., PSS, 2012. [3] Rodriguez et al., Nature, 2009. [4] Rodriguez et al., Icarus 2011. [4] Hirtzig et al., Icarus, 2013. [5] Rannou et al

Cassini Observes the Active South Pole of Enceladus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Porco, C. C.; Helfenstein P.; Thomas, P. C.; Ingersoll, A. P.; Wisdom, J.; West, R.; Neukum, G.; Denk, T.; Wagner, R.; Roatsch, T.;

Increased Arctic sea ice drift alters adult female polar bear movements and energetics.

PubMed

Durner, George M; Douglas, David C; Albeke, Shannon E; Whiteman, John P; Amstrup, Steven C; Richardson, Evan; Wilson, Ryan R; Ben-David, Merav

2017-09-01

Recent reductions in thickness and extent have increased drift rates of Arctic sea ice. Increased ice drift could significantly affect the movements and the energy balance of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) which forage, nearly exclusively, on this substrate. We used radio-tracking and ice drift data to quantify the influence of increased drift on bear movements, and we modeled the consequences for energy demands of adult females in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas during two periods with different sea ice characteristics. Westward and northward drift of the sea ice used by polar bears in both regions increased between 1987-1998 and 1999-2013. To remain within their home ranges, polar bears responded to the higher westward ice drift with greater eastward movements, while their movements north in the spring and south in fall were frequently aided by ice motion. To compensate for more rapid westward ice drift in recent years, polar bears covered greater daily distances either by increasing their time spent active (7.6%-9.6%) or by increasing their travel speed (8.5%-8.9%). This increased their calculated annual energy expenditure by 1.8%-3.6% (depending on region and reproductive status), a cost that could be met by capturing an additional 1-3 seals/year. Polar bears selected similar habitats in both periods, indicating that faster drift did not alter habitat preferences. Compounding reduced foraging opportunities that result from habitat loss; changes in ice drift, and associated activity increases, likely exacerbate the physiological stress experienced by polar bears in a warming Arctic. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Perspective view of Polar Bear Restaurant, 25 G Street, view ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Perspective view of Polar Bear Restaurant, 25 G Street, view looking northeast - Lakeview Downtown Historic District, E, F & G Streets between Second Street North & First Street South, Lakeview, Lake County, OR

Assessing Challenges and Opportunities for Education and Communication Activities for International Polar Year 2007-2008

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCaffrey, M. S.

2005-05-01

Considerable planning has gone into identifying ways to maximize International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY) as a global event that will facilitate the integration of research and education inherent in IPY, and draw the interest and involvement of people around the world. Documents developed through the IPY planning process, including NRC Reports (2004), and drafts reports on education and outreach from the ICSU IPY Planning Group in the Fall of 2004, and the Bridging the Poles workshop of June, 2004, articulate the tremendous potential for IPY beyond the formal research agenda and goals. With less that two years before the start of IPY and fewer than fours years before the activities are completed, these and emerging opportunities face a number of challenges. In addition to the limited time frame remaining to prepare for these activities, participants involved with IPY education and outreach will also need to consider factors such as: uncertain funding for such activities; the lack of established international networks for geoscience education; the need for high level coordination of IPY education and communication; and the creative and intellectual challenge of making the polar regions relevant to people around the world. The planning process has identified six constituencies as key audiences of IPY communication efforts: i) the scientific/research community, ii) young and potentially new polar researchers, iii) the pre-university education community, iv) arctic communities, iv) the general public, and v) decision-makers. Understanding and meeting these audiences' expectations through on-going evaluation and engagement will be key to successful IPY education and outreach efforts. A number of distinct education and outreach projects have been proposed to the ICSU-WMO IPY planning process, such as courses and workshops on specific aspects of IPY, including efforts to address the social and cultural dimension of Arctic peoples. To help meet the challenges, achieve the

Recycling Endosomes of Polarized Epithelial Cells Actively Sort Apical and Basolateral Cargos into Separate Subdomains

PubMed Central

Thompson, Anthony; Nessler, Randy; Wisco, Dolora; Anderson, Eric; Winckler, Bettina

2007-01-01

The plasma membranes of epithelial cells plasma membranes contain distinct apical and basolateral domains that are critical for their polarized functions. However, both domains are continuously internalized, with proteins and lipids from each intermixing in supranuclear recycling endosomes (REs). To maintain polarity, REs must faithfully recycle membrane proteins back to the correct plasma membrane domains. We examined sorting within REs and found that apical and basolateral proteins were laterally segregated into subdomains of individual REs. Subdomains were absent in unpolarized cells and developed along with polarization. Subdomains were formed by an active sorting process within REs, which precedes the formation of AP-1B–dependent basolateral transport vesicles. Both the formation of subdomains and the fidelity of basolateral trafficking were dependent on PI3 kinase activity. This suggests that subdomain and transport vesicle formation occur as separate sorting steps and that both processes may contribute to sorting fidelity. PMID:17494872

Polarization digital holographic microscopy using low-cost liquid crystal polarization rotators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dovhaliuk, Rostyslav Yu

2018-02-01

Polarization imaging methods are actively used to study anisotropic objects. A number of methods and systems, such as imaging polarimeters, were proposed to measure the state of polarization of light that passed through the object. Digital holographic and interferometric approaches can be used to quantitatively measure both amplitude and phase of a wavefront. Using polarization modulation optics, the measurement capabilities of such interference-based systems can be extended to measure polarization-dependent parameters, such as phase retardation. Different kinds of polarization rotators can be used to alternate the polarization of a reference beam. Liquid crystals are used in a rapidly increasing number of different optoelectronic devices. Twisted nematic liquid crystals are widely used as amplitude modulators in electronic displays and light valves or shutter glass. Such devices are of particular interest for polarization imaging, as they can be used as polarization rotators, and due to large-scale manufacturing have relatively low cost. A simple Mach-Zehnder polarized holographic setup that uses modified shutter glass as a polarization rotator is demonstrated. The suggested approach is experimentally validated by measuring retardation of quarter-wave film.

Polar Bear

USGS Publications Warehouse

Amstrup, S.D.; ,; Lentfer, J.W.

1988-01-01

Polar bears are long-lived, late-maturing carnivores that have relatively low rates of reproduction and natural mortality. Their populations are susceptible to disturbance from human activities, such as the exploration and development of mineral resources or hunting. Polar bear populations have been an important renewable resource available to coastal communities throughout the Arctic for thousands of years.

Mapping TES Aerobreaking Data of The Martian Polar Caps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altunaiji, E. S.; Edwards, C. S.; Smith, M. D.; AlShamsi, M. R.; AlJanaahi, A. A.

2016-12-01

The purpose of this paper is to create maps of the north and south Mars polar caps using Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) aerobreaking surface temperature data in south and north as well as Lambert albedo data in the south. TES is an instrument on board the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft. It has six detectors arranged in a 2x3 array with a nominal spot size of 3 × 6 km; however, given the elliptical nature of the orbit during aerobreaking the footprint can be significantly larger (10s of km), especially over the southern hemisphere. TES is a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer designed to study the Martian surface and atmosphere using thermal infrared emission spectroscopy. It is composed of 2 separate channels, a broadband visible/near-infrared bolometer and hyperspectral thermal infrared spectrometer with a broadband thermal infrared bolometer. TES aerobraking spectra were taken between Mars Year 23, Ls=180° and Mars Year 24, Ls=30°. To determine the footprint location on the surface, geometry is calculated using the Spacecraft Planet Instrument Camera Matrix and Event (SPICE) Toolkit. These data were then binned and mapped to surface in polar stereographic projection. While some early studies focused on these data, we have expanded upon the ranges, generated time-/seasonally-binned data, and re-examined this largely underutilized set of data from TES ultimately extending the record of polar science on Mars.

Spatial variability in the seasonal south polar CAP of Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calvin, Wendy M.; Martin, Terry Z.

1994-10-01

The first comprehensive discussion of the south seasonal polar cap spectra obtained by the Mariner 7 infrared spectrometer in the short-wavelength region (2-4 microns) is presented. The infrared spectra is correlated with images acquired by the wide-angle camera. Significant spectral variation is noted in the cap interior and regions of varying water frost abundance, CO2 ice/frost cover, and CO2-ice path length can be distinguished. Many of these spectral variations correlate with heterogeneity noted in the camera images, but certain significant infrared spectral variations are not discernible in the visible. Simple reflectance models are used to classify the observed spectral variations into four regions. Region I is at the cap edge, where there is enhanced absorption beyond 3 microns inferred to be caused by an increased abundance of water frost. The increase in water abundance over that in the interior is on the level of a few parts per thousand or less. Region II is the typical cap interior characterized by spectral features of CO2 ice at grain sizes of several millimeters to centimeters. These spectra also indicate the presence of water frost at the parts per thousand level. A third, unusual region (III), is defined by three spectra in which weak CO2 absorption features are as much as twice as strong as in the average cap spectra and are assumed to be caused by an increased path length in the CO2. Such large paths are inconsistent with the high reflectance in the visible and at 2.2 microns and suggest layered structures or deposition conditions that are not accounted for in current reflectance models. The final region (IV) is an area of thinning frost coverage or transparent ice well in the interior of the seasonal cap. These spectra are a combination of CO2 and ground signatures.

Spatial variability in the seasonal south polar cap of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calvin, Wendy M.; Martin, Terry Z.

1994-01-01

The first comprehensive discussion of the south seasonal polar cap spectra obtained by the Mariner 7 infrared spectrometer in the short-wavelength region (2-4 microns) is presented. The infrared spectra is correlated with images acquired by the wide-angle camera. Significant spectral variation is noted in the cap interior and regions of varying water frost abundance, CO2 ice/frost cover, and CO2-ice path length can be distinguished. Many of these spectral variations correlate with heterogeneity noted in the camera images, but certain significant infrared spectral variations are not discernible in the visible. Simple reflectance models are used to classify the observed spectral variations into four regions. Region I is at the cap edge, where there is enhanced absorption beyond 3 microns inferred to be caused by an increased abundance of water frost. The increase in water abundance over that in the interior is on the level of a few parts per thousand or less. Region II is the typical cap interior characterized by spectral features of CO2 ice at grain sizes of several millimeters to centimeters. These spectra also indicate the presence of water frost at the parts per thousand level. A third, unusual region (III), is defined by three spectra in which weak CO2 absorption features are as much as twice as strong as in the average cap spectra and are assumed to be caused by an increased path length in the CO2. Such large paths are inconsistent with the high reflectance in the visible and at 2.2 microns and suggest layered structures or deposition conditions that are not accounted for in current reflectance models. The final region (IV) is an area of thinning frost coverage or transparent ice well in the interior of the seasonal cap. These spectra are a combination of CO2 and ground signatures.

Development of the Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hardgrove, C.; Bell, J. F.; Starr, R.; Colaprete, A.; Drake, D.; Lazbin, I.; West, S.; Johnson, E. B.; Christian, J.; Heffern, L.; Genova, A.; Dunham, D.; Williams, B.; Nelson, D.; Puckett, S.; Babuscia, A.; Scowen, P.; Kerner, H.; Amzler, R. J.

2018-04-01

The Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper is a 6U CubeSat mission launching on SLS EM-1. The spacecraft will orbit at a low altitude perlune over the lunar south pole and carries a miniature neutron spectrometer to map small scale hydrogen enrichments in PSRs.

A complicated story of frost and wind: Present-day gully activity within the north polar erg, Mar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diniega, Serina; Hansen, Candice; Allen, Amanda; Grisby, Nathan; Li, Zheyu Joey

2016-10-01

Analyses of high-resolution observations have shown that the dunes within the martian north polar erg (AKA Olympia Undae) are currently very active on seasonal and yearly timescales, with 20-60% of the dunes within five polar dune fields undergoing the formation of alcove-apron features each Mars year. Previous studies have hypothesized formation mechanisms, based on observations of when new alcove and alcove-apron features form within an individual field through one Mars year. However, results are ill-constrained (and thus different hypotheses have been proposed) as the polar hood and winter night mean very few images are taken during the actual period of activity. In this study, we mitigate this limitation by examining several fields over several Mars years -- thus bringing aggregated results as well as detailed correlation checks against environmental conditions and seasonal processes to bear on the problem. From this, we propose a new process that appears consistent with all observations: (1) small alcoves form along the dune brink in the autumn (under the polar hood) due to instabilities induced by the night-formation and morning-sublimation of frost. As autumn progresses, the seasonal frost layer builds over the altered dune slope. (2) In the early spring, sublimation activity is concentrated and/or enhanced over these alcoves, causing further erosion and the formation of larger alcove-apron features. From the planform dimensions of the newly formed alcoves, we can estimate the volume of sand moved down the dune slope during one period of activity and estimate the aeolian sediment flux by looking at how quickly the alcoves are erased. We find that, over a Mars year, the amount of material moved via alcove-apron activity and via the wind are both comparable to aeolian sand flux estimates over dunes within lower-latitude regions of Mars. Thus it appears that the formation of alcoves-aprons is a significant mechanism for dune advancement and evolution within the

The South Central Superpave Center: Report of Activities

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-12-01

The planning of the South Central Superpave Center (SCSC) began in mid-1994. The Center hired its first staff in early 1995 and was fully staffed by June 1995, at which point it became fully operational. This report describes SCSC activities that too...

Polar Cap Retreat

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

13 August 2004 This red wide angle Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a view of the retreating seasonal south polar cap in the most recent spring in late 2003. Bright areas are covered with frost, dark areas are those from which the solid carbon dioxide has sublimed away. The center of this image is located near 76.5oS, 28.2oW. The scene is large; it covers an area about 250 km (155 mi) across. The scene is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

Daily and seasonal activity patterns of free range South-American rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus).

PubMed

Tozetti, Alexandro M; Martins, Marcio

2013-09-01

This study aimed at describing daily and seasonal variation in the activity of a population of South-American rattlesnakes (Crotalus durissus) in a savanna like habitat (Cerrado) in Southeastern Brazil. Seasonal and daily activities of snakes were evaluated by the number of captures of snakes during road surveys, accidental encounters, and relocations by radio-tracking. Our results show that climatic variables such as air temperature and rainfall have little influence on the activity pattern of rattlesnakes. Our findings indicate that rattlesnakes spend most of the day resting and most of the night in ambush posture. The South-American rattlesnake is active throughout the year with a discrete peak in activity of males during the matting season. The possibility of maintaining activity levels even during the coldest and driest season can facilitate the colonization of several habitats in South America. This possibility currently facilitates the colonization of deforested areas by rattlesnakes.

Comparative analysis of fecal microbiota and intestinal microbial metabolic activity in captive polar bears.

PubMed

Schwab, Clarissa; Gänzle, Michael

2011-03-01

The composition of the intestinal microbiota depends on gut physiology and diet. Ursidae possess a simple gastrointestinal system composed of a stomach, small intestine, and indistinct hindgut. This study determined the composition and stability of fecal microbiota of 3 captive polar bears by group-specific quantitative PCR and PCR-DGGE (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) using the 16S rRNA gene as target. Intestinal metabolic activity was determined by analysis of short-chain fatty acids in feces. For comparison, other Carnivora and mammals were included in this study. Total bacterial abundance was approximately log 8.5 DNA gene copies·(g feces)-1 in all 3 polar bears. Fecal polar bear microbiota was dominated by the facultative anaerobes Enterobacteriaceae and enterococci, and the Clostridium cluster I. The detection of the Clostridium perfringens α-toxin gene verified the presence of C. perfringens. Composition of the fecal bacterial population was stable on a genus level; according to results obtained by PCR-DGGE, dominant bacterial species fluctuated. The total short-chain fatty acid content of Carnivora and other mammals analysed was comparable; lactate was detected in feces of all carnivora but present only in trace amounts in other mammals. In comparison, the fecal microbiota and metabolic activity of captive polar bears mostly resembled the closely related grizzly and black bears.

Defrosting Polar Dunes -- "The Snow Leopard"

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-05-16

The patterns created by dark spots on defrosting south polar dunes are often strange and beautiful. This picture, which the Mars Orbiter Camera team has dubbed, "the snow leopard," shows a dune field located at 61.5°S, 18.9°W, as it appeared on July 1, 1999. The spots are areas where dark sand has been exposed from beneath bright frost as the south polar winter cap begins to retreat. Many of the spots have a diffuse, bright ring around them this is thought to be fresh frost that was re-precipitated after being removed from the dark spot. The spots seen on defrosting polar dunes are a new phenomenon that was not observed by previous spacecraft missions to Mars. Thus, there is much about these features that remains unknown. For example, no one yet knows why the dunes become defrosted by forming small spots that grow and grow over time. No one knows for sure if the bright rings around the dark spots are actually composed of re-precipitated frost. And no one knows for sure why some dune show spots that appear to be "lined-up" (as they do in the picture shown here). This Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera image is illuminated from the upper left. North is toward the upper right. The scale bar indicates a distance of 200 meters (656 feet). http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02301

Proliferative effects of apical, but not basal, matrix metalloproteinase-7 activity in polarized MDCK cells

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harrell, Permila C.; McCawley, Lisa J.; Fingleton, Barbara

2005-02-15

Matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) is primarily expressed in glandular epithelium. Therefore, its mechanism of action may be influenced by its regulated vectorial release to either the apical and/or basolateral compartments, where it would act on its various substrates. To gain a better understanding of where MMP-7 is released in polarized epithelium, we have analyzed its pattern of secretion in polarized MDCK cells expressing stably transfected human MMP-7 (MDCK-MMP-7), and HCA-7 and Caco2 human colon cancer cell lines. In all cell lines, latent MMP-7 was secreted to both cellular compartments, but was 1.5- to 3-fold more abundant in the basolateral compartment asmore » compared to the apical. However, studies in the MDCK system demonstrated that MMP-7 activity was 2-fold greater in the apical compartment of MDCK-MMP-7{sup HIGH}-polarized monolayers, which suggests the apical co-release of an MMP-7 activator. In functional assays, MMP-7 over-expression increased cell saturation density as a result of increased cell proliferation with no effect on apoptosis. Apical MMP-7 activity was shown to be responsible for the proliferative effect, which occurred, as demonstrated by media transfer experiments, through cleavage of an apical substrate and not through the generation of a soluble factor. Taken together, our findings demonstrate the importance of MMP-7 secretion in relation to its mechanism of action when expressed in a polarized epithelium.« less

Rearrangement of a polar core provides a conserved mechanism for constitutive activation of class B G protein-coupled receptors

PubMed Central

Yin, Yanting; de Waal, Parker W.; He, Yuanzheng; Zhao, Li-Hua; Yang, Dehua; Cai, Xiaoqing; Jiang, Yi; Melcher, Karsten; Wang, Ming-Wei; Xu, H. Eric

2017-01-01

The glucagon receptor (GCGR) belongs to the secretin-like (class B) family of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and is activated by the peptide hormone glucagon. The structures of an activated class B GPCR have remained unsolved, preventing a mechanistic understanding of how these receptors are activated. Using a combination of structural modeling and mutagenesis studies, we present here two modes of ligand-independent activation of GCGR. First, we identified a GCGR-specific hydrophobic lock comprising Met-338 and Phe-345 within the IC3 loop and transmembrane helix 6 (TM6) and found that this lock stabilizes the TM6 helix in the inactive conformation. Disruption of this hydrophobic lock led to constitutive G protein and arrestin signaling. Second, we discovered a polar core comprising conserved residues in TM2, TM3, TM6, and TM7, and mutations that disrupt this polar core led to constitutive GCGR activity. On the basis of these results, we propose a mechanistic model of GCGR activation in which TM6 is held in an inactive conformation by the conserved polar core and the hydrophobic lock. Mutations that disrupt these inhibitory elements allow TM6 to swing outward to adopt an active TM6 conformation similar to that of the canonical β2-adrenergic receptor complexed with G protein and to that of rhodopsin complexed with arrestin. Importantly, mutations in the corresponding polar core of several other members of class B GPCRs, including PTH1R, PAC1R, VIP1R, and CRFR1, also induce constitutive G protein signaling, suggesting that the rearrangement of the polar core is a conserved mechanism for class B GPCR activation. PMID:28356352

[DNA hydroxymethylase 10-11 translocation 2 (TET2) inhibits mouse macrophage activation and polarization].

PubMed

Li, Bingyi; Huo, Yi; Lin, Zhifeng; Wang, Tao

2017-09-01

Objective To study the role of DNA hydroxymethylase 10-11 translocation 2 (TET2) in macrophage activation and polarization. Methods RAW264.7 macrophages were cultured in vitro and stimulated with 100 ng/mL LPS for 0, 1, 2, 4, 6 hours. Real-time quantitative PCR was used to detect TET2 mRNA expression. TET2 expression was knocked down with siRNA and the knock-down efficiency was evaluated by real-time quantitative PCR and Western blotting. Following siRNA transfection for 48 hours, RAW264.7 cells were stimulated by LPS for 4 hours, and then real-time quantitative PCR and ELISA were performed to detect the expressions of interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and IL-12. The M1 polarizing markers TNF-α, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and IL-12, and M2 polarizing markers mannose receptor (MR), arginase 1 (Arg-1) and chitinase 3-like molecule 1 (Ym1) were tested after M1 or M2 induction by LPS/IFN-γ or IL-4. Results TET2 expression increased after LPS treatment in RAW264.7 cells and reached the peak at 2 hours later. The siRNA effectively reduced the expression of TET2. The expressions of IL-6, TNF-α and IL-12 mRNAs increased after TET2 knock-down and LPS stimulation. The expressions of M1 polarization markers and M2 markers were up-regulated by the corresponding stimulations after TET2 knock-down. Conclusion TET2 has the effect of inhibiting LPS-induced macrophage activation and plays an inhibitory role in macrophage M1 and M2 polarization.

Atmospheric Modeling of the Martian Polar Regions: CRISM EPF Coverage During the South Polar Spring Recession

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, A. J.; McGuire, P.; Wolff, M. J.

2008-03-01

We describe efforts to model dust and ice aerosols content and soils and icy surface reflectance in the Martian southern polar region during spring recession (Ls = 152-320) using CRISM emission phase function (EPF) observations.

Animated Displays IV: Linear Polarization.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chagnon, Paul

1993-01-01

Describes several demonstrations that can be easily reproduced to help students understand optical polarization. Displays and supplement text include polarization by reflection; polarization by scattering; liquid crystals; optical activity; calcite; birefringent plastics; retardation plates; photoelasticity; and the "Optical Barber…

The Polar Insulation Investigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Urban-Rich, Juanita

2006-01-01

In this article, the author developed an activity called "The Polar Insulation Investigation." This activity builds on students' natural interest in "things polar" and introduces them to animal adaptations in a unique way. The aim of the exploration is to determine the role of animal coverings (e.g., blubber, fur, and feathers) and to see which is…

The Residual Polar Caps of Mars: Geological Differences and Possible Consequences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, P. C.; Sullivan, R.; Ingersoll, A. P.; Murray, B. C.; Danielson, G. E.; Herkenhoff, K. E.; Soderblom, L.; Malin, M. C.; Edgett, K. S.; James, P. B.

2000-01-01

The Martian polar regions have been known to have thick layered sequences (presumed to consist of silicates and ice), CO2 seasonal frost, and residual frosts that remain through the summer: H2O in the north, largely CO2 in the south. The relationship of the residual frosts to the underlying layered deposits could not be determined from Viking images. The Mars Orbiter Camera on Mars Global Surveyor has provided a 50-fold increase in resolution that shows more differences between the two poles. The north residual cap surface has rough topography of pits, cracks, and knobs, suggestive of ablational forms. This topography is less than a few meters in height, and grades in to surfaces exposing the layers underneath. In contrast, the south residual cap has distinctive collapse and possibly ablational topography emplaced in four or more layers, each approx. two meters thick. The top surface has polygonal depressions suggestive of thermal contraction cracks. The collapse and erosional forms include circular and cycloidal depressions, long sinuous troughs, and nearly parallel sets of troughs. The distinctive topography occurs throughout the residual cap area, but not outside it. Unconformities exposed in polar layers, or other layered materials, do not approximate the topography seen on the south residual cap. The coincidence of a distinct geologic feature, several layers modified by collapse, ablation, and mass movement with the residual cap indicates a distinct composition and/or climate compared to both the remainder of the south polar layered units and those in the north.

Formation of a Bright Polar Hood over the Summer North Pole of Saturn in 2016

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sayanagi, Kunio M.; Blalock, John J.; Ingersoll, Andrew P.; Dyudina, Ulyana A.; Ewald, Shawn P.

2016-10-01

We report that a bright polar hood has formed over the north pole of Saturn, seen first in images captured by the Cassini ISS camera in 2016. When the north pole was observed during the previous period of Cassini spacecraft's high-inclination orbits in 2012-2013, the concentration of light-scattering aerosols within 2-degree latitude of the north pole appeared to be less than that of the surrounding region, and appeared as a dark hole in all ISS filters, in particular in the shorter wavelength filters BL1 (460 nm), and VIO (420 nm). The north pole's appearance in 2012 was in contrast to that of the south pole in 2007, when the south pole had a bright polar hood in those short wavelengths; the south pole appeared dark in all other ISS filters in 2007. The difference between the south pole in 2007 and the north pole in 2012 was interpreted to be seasonal; in 2007, Saturn was approaching the equinox of 2009 and the south pole had been continuously illuminated since the previous equinox in 1995. In 2012, the north pole had been illuminated for only ~3 years after the long winter polar night. The bright hood over the summer south pole in 2007 was hypothesized to consist of aerosols produced by ultraviolet photodissociation of hydrocarbon molecules. Fletcher et al (2015) predicted that a similar bright hood should form over the north pole as Saturn approaches the 2017 solstice. In 2016, the Cassini spacecraft raised its orbital inclination again in preparation for its Grande Finale phase of the mission, from where it has a good view of the north pole. New images captured in 2016 show that the north pole has developed a bright polar hood. We present new images of the north polar region captured in 2016 that show the north pole, and other seasonally evolving high-latitude features including the northern hexagon. Our research has been supported by the Cassini Project, NASA grants OPR NNX11AM45G, CDAPS NNX15AD33G PATM NNX14AK07G, and NSF grant AAG 1212216.

Magnetic elliptical polarization of Schumann resonances

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sentman, D. D.

1987-01-01

Measurements of orthogonal, horizontal components of the magnetic field in the ELF range obtained during September 1985 show that the Schumann resonance eigenfrequencies determined separately for the north-south and east-west magnetic components differ by as much as 0.5 Hz, suggesting that the underlying magnetic signal is not linearly polarized at such times. The high degree of magnetic ellipticity found suggests that the side multiplets of the Schumann resonances corresponding to azimuthally inhomogeneous normal modes are strongly excited in the highly asymmetric earth-ionosphere cavity. The dominant sense of polarization over the measurement passband is found to be right-handed during local daylight hours, and to be left-handed during local nighttime hours.

Basal Topography of the South Polar Layered Deposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, C. W.; Murray, B. C.; Byrne, S.

2004-12-01

The ice inferred to comprise the south polar layered deposits (SPLD) represents a significant fraction of the total water reservoir of the planet. The basal topography of these deposits is currently unconstrained but may be expected to contain considerable relief based on the heavily cratered nature of the surrounding terrain. In this work we report on our efforts to characterize the overall nature of this basal topography and in so doing better constrain the volume of this important volatile reservoir. Our approach has been to measure elevations at the periphery of the SPLD (defined by [1]) and use various interpolation techniques to estimate the basal topography. We used 1300 control points from the edges and areas surrounding the SPLD and included extensive control points from within the Chasmae and other features to fit a surface beneath the SPLD. No assumptions were made about any lithospheric flexure, nor did the results suggest that possibility. We first tested a variety of surface interpolation routines on a comparable area of cratered terrain immediately adjacent to the SPLD, using the same spatial distribution of 1300 height control points as we used for the SPLD itself, and found that the topography was broadly reproducible (ignoring craters) to within a few hundred meters. The SPLD basal topography we derive can be subtracted from the current spatial topography to produce isopach maps of the layered deposits. All interpolation methods we tested (within the ArcMap 8.3) indicate a lower total SPLD volume than that previous published [Smith et al., 2001]. Our best estimate for the SPLD volume is ~1 million km3, with a formal error in volume of ~5%, corresponding to an average thickness of ~950 meters. In comparison, [2] estimated this volume to be ~1.2-1.7 million km3. The Prometheus impact basin is present as a rimmed depression, consistent with the inference by [3]. More unexpected is the presence of a broad ridge underlying nearly the entire eastern

North-south asymmetry of ultra-low-frequency oscillations of Earth's electromagnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guglielmi, Anatol; Klain, Boris; Potapov, Alexander

2017-12-01

In the paper, we present the result of an experimental study of north-south asymmetry of ultralow-frequency electromagnetic oscillations IPCL. This study is based on observations made at Mirny Observatory (Antarctica). IPCLs are excited in the dayside sector of the auroral oval in the range 3-10 min periods and represent one of the most powerful types of oscillations of Earth's magnetosphere. These oscillations were discovered in the 1970s during IPhE AS USSR polar expeditions organized by Prof. V.A. Troitskaya. We have shown that IPCL activity in Mirny depends on the inclination (north-south asymmetry) of interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) lines to the plane of the geomagnetic equator before the front of the magnetosphere. The result suggests a controlling exposure of IMF on the magnetospheric oscillations and gives rise to the hypothesis that IPCLs are forced oscillations of a nonlinear dynamical system whose major structural elements are dayside polar cusps. The paper is dedicated to the memory of Professor V.A. Troitskaya (1917-2010).

Rearrangement of a polar core provides a conserved mechanism for constitutive activation of class B G protein-coupled receptors.

PubMed

Yin, Yanting; de Waal, Parker W; He, Yuanzheng; Zhao, Li-Hua; Yang, Dehua; Cai, Xiaoqing; Jiang, Yi; Melcher, Karsten; Wang, Ming-Wei; Xu, H Eric

2017-06-16

The glucagon receptor (GCGR) belongs to the secretin-like (class B) family of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and is activated by the peptide hormone glucagon. The structures of an activated class B GPCR have remained unsolved, preventing a mechanistic understanding of how these receptors are activated. Using a combination of structural modeling and mutagenesis studies, we present here two modes of ligand-independent activation of GCGR. First, we identified a GCGR-specific hydrophobic lock comprising Met-338 and Phe-345 within the IC3 loop and transmembrane helix 6 (TM6) and found that this lock stabilizes the TM6 helix in the inactive conformation. Disruption of this hydrophobic lock led to constitutive G protein and arrestin signaling. Second, we discovered a polar core comprising conserved residues in TM2, TM3, TM6, and TM7, and mutations that disrupt this polar core led to constitutive GCGR activity. On the basis of these results, we propose a mechanistic model of GCGR activation in which TM6 is held in an inactive conformation by the conserved polar core and the hydrophobic lock. Mutations that disrupt these inhibitory elements allow TM6 to swing outward to adopt an active TM6 conformation similar to that of the canonical β 2 -adrenergic receptor complexed with G protein and to that of rhodopsin complexed with arrestin. Importantly, mutations in the corresponding polar core of several other members of class B GPCRs, including PTH1R, PAC1R, VIP1R, and CRFR1, also induce constitutive G protein signaling, suggesting that the rearrangement of the polar core is a conserved mechanism for class B GPCR activation. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Advancing Environmental Prediction Capabilities for the Polar Regions and Beyond during The Year of Polar Prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Werner, Kirstin; Goessling, Helge; Hoke, Winfried; Kirchhoff, Katharina; Jung, Thomas

2017-04-01

Environmental changes in polar regions open up new opportunities for economic and societal operations such as vessel traffic related to scientific, fishery and tourism activities, and in the case of the Arctic also enhanced resource development. The availability of current and accurate weather and environmental information and forecasts will therefore play an increasingly important role in aiding risk reduction and safety management around the poles. The Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP) has been established by the World Meteorological Organization's World Weather Research Programme as the key activity of the ten-year Polar Prediction Project (PPP; see more on www.polarprediction.net). YOPP is an internationally coordinated initiative to significantly advance our environmental prediction capabilities for the polar regions and beyond, supporting improved weather and climate services. Scheduled to take place from mid-2017 to mid-2019, the YOPP core phase covers an extended period of intensive observing, modelling, prediction, verification, user-engagement and education activities in the Arctic and Antarctic, on a wide range of time scales from hours to seasons. The Year of Polar Prediction will entail periods of enhanced observational and modelling campaigns in both polar regions. With the purpose to close the gaps in the conventional polar observing systems in regions where the observation network is sparse, routine observations will be enhanced during Special Observing Periods for an extended period of time (several weeks) during YOPP. This will allow carrying out subsequent forecasting system experiments aimed at optimizing observing systems in the polar regions and providing insight into the impact of better polar observations on forecast skills in lower latitudes. With various activities and the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders, YOPP will contribute to the knowledge base needed to managing the opportunities and risks that come with polar climate change.

Cretaceous polar climates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ziegler, A.M.; Horrell, M.A.; Lottes, A.L.

1988-02-01

The Cretaceous, like most Phanerozoic periods, was characterized by ice-free poles. Some still argue that the glaciers and sea ice were there, and that the tillites, etc, have been eroded or remain undiscovered. However, diverse floras, dense forests, and coal-forming cypress swamps, and dinosaurs, crocodilians, and lungfish are known from areas that were certainly at 75/degree/-80/degree/ north and south paleolatitude in the Cretaceous, implying that the coastal basins did not experience hard freezes. No deep marine connections to the North Pole existed in the Cretaceous, so oceanic polar heat transport can be discounted. However, the five north-south trending epeiric ormore » rift-related seaways that connected or nearly connected the Tethys to the Arctic would have dampened the seasonal temperature cycle, bring maritime climates deep into the North American and Eurasian continents and, more importantly, would have served as an energy source and channel for winter storms, much as the Gulf Stream does today. Cyclones have a natural tendency to move poleward, because of the increase in the Coriolis Parameter, and they transport both sensible and latent heat. The coastal regions of the relatively warm polar ocean in the Cretaceous would have received continuous precipitation during the winter because cyclones would be entering from as many as five directions. Coastal rainfall would also have been abundant in the summer but for a different reason; the land-sea temperature profile would reverse, with the warm land surface drawing in moisture, while clear ice-free conditions over the ocean would allow for solar warming.« less

Cretaceous polar climates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ziegler, A.M.; Horrell, M.A.; Lottes, A.L.

1988-01-01

The Cretaceous, like most Phanerozooic periods, was characterized by ice-free poles. Some still argue that the glacier and sea ice were there, and that the tillites, etc, have been eroded or remain undiscovered. However, diverse floras, dense forests, coal-forming cypress swamps, and dinosaurs, crocodilians, and lungfish are known from areas that were certainly at 75/sup 0/-80/sup 0/ north and south paleolatitude in the Cretaceous, implying that the coastal basins did not experience hard freezes. No deep marine connections to the North Pole existed in the Cretaceous, so oceanic polar heat transport can be discounted. However, the five north-south trending epeiricmore » or rift-related seaways that connected or nearly connected the Tethys to the Arctic would have dampened the seasonal temperature cycle, bringing maritime climates deep into the North American and Eurasian continents and, more importantly, would have served as an energy source and channel for winter storms, much as the Gulf Stream does today. Cyclones have a natural tendency to move poleward, because of the increase in the Coriolis Paramteter, and they transport both sensible and latent heat. The coastal regions of the relatively warm polar ocean in the Cretaceous would have received continuous precipitation during the winter because cyclones would be entering from as many as five directions. Coastal rainfall would also have been abundant in the summer but for a different reason; the land-sea temperature profile would reverse, with the warm land surface drawing in moisture, while clear ice-free conditions over the ocean would allow for solar warming.« less

What Colour Is a Polar Bear's Skin?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Truchot, Sandrine; Weber, Agathe

2005-01-01

The association "Participe Futur", based in France, has set up a fantastic sailing and educational adventure with the help of the International Polar Foundation. A group of scientists left the South of France on 20 March 2005 on a sailing boat named "Alcyon". They will be on board for nine months, travelling all the way from…

Polar Bears

USGS Publications Warehouse

Amstrup, Steven C.; Douglas, David C.; Reynolds, Patricia E.; Rhode, E.B.

2002-01-01

Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are hunted throughout most of their range. In addition to hunting polar bears of the Beaufort Sea region are exposed to mineral and petroleum extraction and related human activities such as shipping road-building, and seismic testing (Stirling 1990).Little was known at the start of this project about how polar bears move about in their environment, and although it was understood that many bears travel across political borders, the boundaries of populations had not been delineated (Amstrup 1986, Amstrup et al. 1986, Amstrup and DeMaster 1988, Garner et al. 1994, Amstrup 1995, Amstrup et al. 1995, Amstrup 2000).As human populations increase and demands for polar bears and other arctic resources escalate, managers must know the sizes and distributions of the polar bear populations. Resource managers also need reliable estimates of breeding rates, reproductive intervals, litter sizes, and survival of young and adults.Our objectives for this research were 1) to determine the seasonal and annual movements of polar bears in the Beaufort Sea, 2) to define the boundaries of the population(s) using this region, 3) to determine the size and status of the Beaufort Sea polar bear population, and 4) to establish reproduction and survival rates (Amstrup 2000).

A search for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons over the Martian South Polar Residual Cap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, J. D.; Sidiropoulos, P.; Muller, J.-P.

2018-07-01

We present our research on compositional mapping of the Martian South Polar Residual Cap (SPRC), especially the detection of organic signatures within the dust content of the ice, based on hyperspectral data analysis. The SPRC is the main region of interest for this investigation, because of the unique CO2 ice sublimation features that cover the surface. These flat floored, circular depressions are highly dynamic, and we infer frequently expose dust particles previously trapped within the ice during the wintertime. Here we identify suitable regions for potential dust exposure on the SPRC, and utilise data from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) satellite to examine infrared spectra of dark regions assumed to be composed mainly of dust particles to establish their mineral composition, to eliminate the effects of ices on sub-pixel dusty features, and to look for signatures indicative of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). Spectral mapping has identified compositional differences between depression rims and the majority of the SPRC and CRISM spectra have been corrected to minimise the influence of CO2 ice. Whilst no conclusive evidence for PAHs has been found within the detectability limits of the CRISM instrument, depression rims are shown to have higher water content than regions of featureless ice, and there are possible indications of magnesium carbonate within the dark, dusty regions.

The Polar Engineering Development Center (PEDC) for Coordinated Geospace Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerrard, A. J.; Kim, H.; Weatherwax, A. T.

2016-12-01

The PEDC, housed at the New Jersey Institute, consists of a highly skilled group of collegiate professors, research scientists, electrical and mechanical engineers, and technicians that have decades of experience in instrument and hardware design for deployment at high latitude/polar regions. Now supported by NSF and reaching out to serve the broader astrophysical and geospace scientific communities conducting research in polar environments by providing support in the areas of: (a) sustainable "green" power generation in the 10-W to 500-W range, (b) power conditioning and control, (c) robust engineering for polar climates, (d) data acquisition techniques, units, and transmission services, and (e) general polar field support. The original group was formed in the 1980's as part of the NSF-supported Automatic Geophysical Observatory (AGO) program which operates to this day on projects active across the Antarctic ice shelf. In this paper we present the PEDC Antarctic geospace data portal, which was created in order to host and distribute data and quicklook plots from the instrumentation located at South Pole Station, McMurdo Station, and the Automated Geophysical Observatories in Antarctica. At this time, all fluxgate magnetometer data from all of the stations are posted for a time period covering the late 1990's to today's synoptic data. In the coming months, additional datasets (e.g., searchcoil magnetometers, photometers, and riometers) will be likewise posted. This data portal, linked through antarcticgeospace.org or directly via antarcticgeospace.njit.edu, is now open to community use.

Environmental Chemicals Modulate Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma (PPARG) and Adipogenesis in Vitro.

PubMed

Routti, Heli; Lille-Langøy, Roger; Berg, Mari K; Fink, Trine; Harju, Mikael; Kristiansen, Kurt; Rostkowski, Pawel; Rusten, Marte; Sylte, Ingebrigt; Øygarden, Lene; Goksøyr, Anders

2016-10-04

We studied interactions between polar bear peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (pbPPARG) and selected compounds using a luciferase reporter assay and predictions through molecular docking. Furthermore, we studied adipogenesis by liver and adipose tissue extracts from a polar bear and three synthetic mixtures of contaminants in murine 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and polar bear adipose tissue-derived stem cells (pbASCs). PCB153 and p,p'-DDE antagonized pbPPARG, although their predicted receptor-ligand affinity was weak. PBDEs, tetrabromobisphenol A, and PCB170 had a weak agonistic effect on pbPPARG, while hexabromocyclododecane, bisphenol A, oxychlordane, and endosulfan were weak antagonists. pbPPARG-mediated luciferase activity was suppressed by synthetic contaminant mixtures reflecting levels measured in polar bear adipose tissue, as were transcript levels of PPARG and the PPARG target gene fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) in pbASCs. Contaminant extracts from polar bear tissues enhanced triglyceride accumulation in murine 3T3-L1 cells and pbASCs, whereas triglyceride accumulation was not affected by the synthetic mixtures. Chemical characterization of extracts using nontarget methods revealed presence of exogenous compounds that have previously been reported to induce adipogenesis. These compounds included phthalates, tonalide, and nonylphenol. In conclusion, major legacy contaminants in polar bear adipose tissue exert antagonistic effects on PPARG, but adipogenesis by a mixture containing emerging compounds may be enhanced through PPARG or other pathways.

Hidden in the Neutrons: Physical Evidence for Lunar True Polar Wander

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keane, J. T.; Siegler, M. A.; Miller, R. S.; Laneuville, M.; Paige, D. A.; Matsuyama, I.; Lawrence, D. J.; Crotts, A.; Poston, M.

2015-12-01

Airless bodies like the Moon are time capsules of planetary and solar system evolution. Lunar polar ices, in particular, record a history of volatile delivery, orbital dynamics, and solar system chemistry. However, despite two decades of orbital geochemistry measurements, the observed abundances and spatial distribution of lunar polar volatiles (likely water ice, as inferred by epithermal neutron deficits) remain unexplained. The observed deposits do not correlate with measured surface temperatures or thermal models of ice stability and are notably asymmetric about the lunar poles, with the peak abundance offset from the present-day pole by 5°. Here we show, for the first time, that polar volatile deposits at the North and South pole are antipodal, displaced equally from each each pole along opposite longitudes. These off-polar volatiles likely represent fossilized cold-traps, formed when the moon had a different spin pole. Reorientation of the Moon from this paleopole to the present pole (i.e. true polar wander) altered the locations of cold-traps and resulted in the asymmetric, but antipodal, polar hydrogen distribution. Since true polar wander results from changes in the distribution of mass within a planet, the direction and magnitude of this wander can be used to constrain the evolution of the lunar interior. We find a causal link between this paleopole and the unique thermal evolution of the nearside Procellarum KREEP Terrane (PKT). Radiogenic heating within this province not only resulted major mare volcanism, but also altered the Moon's moments of inertia. We use a combination of analytical, and numerical 3-D thermochemical convection models to show that the evolution of the PKT naturally produces the correct direction and magnitude of polar wander (albeit early in lunar history, when the PKT was most active). This work provides a self-consistent explanation for the spatial distribution of lunar polar volatiles and opens a deeper connection to the

Do monarch butterflies use polarized skylight for migratory orientation?

PubMed

Stalleicken, Julia; Mukhida, Maya; Labhart, Thomas; Wehner, Rüdiger; Frost, Barrie; Mouritsen, Henrik

2005-06-01

To test if migratory monarch butterflies use polarized light patterns as part of their time-compensated sun compass, we recorded their virtual flight paths in a flight simulator while the butterflies were exposed to patches of naturally polarized blue sky, artificial polarizers or a sunny sky. In addition, we tested butterflies with and without the polarized light detectors of their compound eye being occluded. The monarchs' orientation responses suggested that the butterflies did not use the polarized light patterns as a compass cue, nor did they exhibit a specific alignment response towards the axis of polarized light. When given direct view of the sun, migratory monarchs with their polarized light detectors painted out were still able to use their time-compensated compass: non-clockshifted butterflies, with their dorsal rim area occluded, oriented in their typical south-southwesterly migratory direction. Furthermore, they shifted their flight course clockwise by the predicted approximately 90 degrees after being advance clockshifted 6 h. We conclude that in migratory monarch butterflies, polarized light cues are not necessary for a time-compensated celestial compass to work and that the azimuthal position of the sun disc and/or the associated light-intensity and spectral gradients seem to be the migrants' major compass cue.

Cassini ISS Observations Of The Early Stages Of The Formation Of Titan's South Polar Hood And Vortex In 2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

West, Robert A.; Del Genio, A.; Perry, J.; Ingersoll, A. P.; Turtle, E. P.; Porco, C.; Ovanessian, A.

2012-10-01

Northern spring equinox on Titan occurred on August 11, 2009. In March of 2012 the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) on the Cassini spacecraft saw the first evidence for the formation of a polar hood in the atmosphere above Titan’s south pole. Views of the limb showed an optical thickening primarily at about 360 km altitude across a few degrees of latitude centered on the pole. Images of Titan in front of Saturn provide a nearly direct measure of the line-of-sight optical depth as a function of latitude and altitude from about 250 km and higher. Two or more distinct layers are seen, both near the pole and at other latitudes. The highest of these, near 360 km altitude, hosts the embryonic polar hood. On June 27, 2012 ISS observed the pole from high latitude. These images show a distinct and unusual cloudy patch, elongated and not centered on the pole and with an elevated perimeter. The morphology and color indicate an unfamiliar (for Titan) composition and dynamical regime. The interior of the feature consists of concentrations of cloud/haze organized on spatial scales of tens of kilometers. Its morphology is reminiscent of the open cellular convection sometimes seen in the atmospheric boundary layer over Earth’s oceans under conditions of large-scale subsidence. Unlike Earth, where such convection is forced by large surface heat fluxes or the onset of drizzle, convection at 360 km on Titan is more likely to be driven from above by radiative cooling. During the 9 hours we observed Titan, this feature completed a little over one rotation around the pole, providing direct evidence for a polar vortex rotating at a rate roughly consistent with angular-momentum-conserving flow for air displaced from the equator. Part of this work was performed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology.

Polarized Light Corridor Demonstrations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davies, G. R.

1990-01-01

Eleven demonstrations of light polarization are presented. Each includes a brief description of the apparatus and the effect demonstrated. Illustrated are strain patterns, reflection, scattering, the Faraday Effect, interference, double refraction, the polarizing microscope, and optical activity. (CW)

Advection in polar and sub-polar environments: Impacts on high latitude marine ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hunt, George L.; Drinkwater, Kenneth F.; Arrigo, Kevin; Berge, Jørgen; Daly, Kendra L.; Danielson, Seth; Daase, Malin; Hop, Haakon; Isla, Enrique; Karnovsky, Nina; Laidre, Kristin; Mueter, Franz J.; Murphy, Eugene J.; Renaud, Paul E.; Smith, Walker O.; Trathan, Philip; Turner, John; Wolf-Gladrow, Dieter

2016-12-01

We compare and contrast the ecological impacts of atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns on polar and sub-polar marine ecosystems. Circulation patterns differ strikingly between the north and south. Meridional circulation in the north provides connections between the sub-Arctic and Arctic despite the presence of encircling continental landmasses, whereas annular circulation patterns in the south tend to isolate Antarctic surface waters from those in the north. These differences influence fundamental aspects of the polar ecosystems from the amount, thickness and duration of sea ice, to the types of organisms, and the ecology of zooplankton, fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Meridional flows in both the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans transport heat, nutrients, and plankton northward into the Chukchi Sea, the Barents Sea, and the seas off the west coast of Greenland. In the North Atlantic, the advected heat warms the waters of the southern Barents Sea and, with advected nutrients and plankton, supports immense biomasses of fish, seabirds and marine mammals. On the Pacific side of the Arctic, cold waters flowing northward across the northern Bering and Chukchi seas during winter and spring limit the ability of boreal fish species to take advantage of high seasonal production there. Southward flow of cold Arctic waters into sub-Arctic regions of the North Atlantic occurs mainly through Fram Strait with less through the Barents Sea and the Canadian Archipelago. In the Pacific, the transport of Arctic waters and plankton southward through Bering Strait is minimal. In the Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and its associated fronts are barriers to the southward dispersal of plankton and pelagic fishes from sub-Antarctic waters, with the consequent evolution of Antarctic zooplankton and fish species largely occurring in isolation from those to the north. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current also disperses biota throughout the Southern Ocean

South African Curriculum Reform: Education for Active Citizenship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Juliana; Arendse, Agnetha

2016-01-01

The changing societal context in South Africa (SA) has necessitated curriculum reform to deal with the challenges of education, from apartheid to democracy, with the aim of promoting active citizenship education. The aim of the paper is thus to illuminate to what extent the Grade 11 Life Orientation (LO) curriculum prepares learners for active…

Satellite observations of polar mesospheric clouds by the solar backscattered ultraviolet spectral radiometer - Evidence of a solar cycle dependence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, Gary E.; Mcpeters, Richard D.; Jensen, Eric J.

1991-01-01

Results are presented on eight years of satellite observations of the polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs) by the SBUV spectral radiometer, showing that PMCs occur in the summertime polar cap regions of both hemispheres and that they exhibit year-to-year variability. It was also found that the increase in the PMC occurrence frequency was inversely correlated with solar activity. Two kinds of hemispherical asymmetries could be identified: (1) PMCs in the Northern Hemisphere were significantly brighter than in the Southern Hemisphere, in accordance with previous results derived from SME data; and (2) the solar cycle response in the south is more pronounced than in the north. The paper also describes the cloud detection algorithm.

SeaWinds - Oceans, Land, Polar Regions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

The SeaWinds scatterometer on the QuikScat satellite makes global radar measurements -- day and night, in clear sky and through clouds. The radar data over the oceans provide scientists and weather forecasters with information on surface wind speed and direction. Scientists also use the radar measurements directly to learn about changes in vegetation and ice extent over land and polar regions.

This false-color image is based entirely on SeaWinds measurements obtained over oceans, land, and polar regions. Over the ocean, colors indicate wind speed with orange as the fastest wind speeds and blue as the slowest. White streamlines indicate the wind direction. The ocean winds in this image were measured by SeaWinds on September 20, 1999. The large storm in the Atlantic off the coast of Florida is Hurricane Gert. Tropical storm Harvey is evident as a high wind region in the Gulf of Mexico, while farther west in the Pacific is tropical storm Hilary. An extensive storm is also present in the South Atlantic Ocean near Antarctica.

The land image was made from four days of SeaWinds data with the aid of a resolution enhancement algorithm developed by Dr. David Long at Brigham Young University. The lightest green areas correspond to the highest radar backscatter. Note the bright Amazon and Congo rainforests compared to the dark Sahara desert. The Amazon River is visible as a dark line running horizontally though the bright South American rain forest. Cities appear as bright spots on the images, especially in the U.S. and Europe.

The image of Greenland and the north polar ice cap was generated from data acquired by SeaWinds on a single day. In the polar region portion of the image, white corresponds to the largest radar return, while purple is the lowest. The variations in color in Greenland and the polar ice cap reveal information about the ice and snow conditions present.

NASA's Earth Science Enterprise is a long-term research and technology program designed to

THE SUBARCSECOND MID-INFRARED VIEW OF LOCAL ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI. III. POLAR DUST EMISSION

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Asmus, D.; Hönig, S. F.; Gandhi, P., E-mail: dasmus@eso.org

2016-05-10

Recent mid-infrared (MIR) interferometric observations have shown that in a few active galactic nuclei (AGNs) the bulk of the infrared emission originates from the polar region above the putative torus, where only a little dust should be present. Here, we investigate whether such strong polar dust emission is common in AGNs. Out of 149 Seyferts in the MIR atlas of local AGNs, 21 show extended MIR emission on single-dish images. In 18 objects, the extended MIR emission aligns with the position angle (PA) of the system axis, established by [O iii], radio, polarization, and maser-based PA measurements. The relative amountmore » of resolved MIR emission is at least 40% and scales with the [O iv] fluxes, implying a strong connection between the extended continuum and [O iv] emitters. These results together with the radio-quiet nature of the Seyferts support the scenario that the bulk of MIR emission is emitted by dust in the polar region and not by the torus, which would demand a new paradigm for the infrared emission structure in AGNs. The current low detection rate of polar dust in the AGNs of the MIR atlas is explained by the lack of sufficient high-quality MIR data and the requirements on the orientation, strength of narrow-line region, and distance of the AGNs. The James Webb Space Telescope will enable much deeper nuclear MIR studies with comparable angular resolution, allowing us to resolve the polar emission and surroundings in most of the nearby AGNs.« less

78 FR 16247 - Foreign-Trade Zone 38-Spartanburg County, South Carolina; Authorization of Production Activity...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-14

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Foreign-Trade Zones Board [B-86-2012] Foreign-Trade Zone 38--Spartanburg County, South Carolina; Authorization of Production Activity; ZF Transmissions Gray Court, LLC (Automatic Transmissions); Gray Court, South Carolina On November 8, 2012, the South Carolina State Ports Authority...

Target detection in active polarization images perturbed with additive noise and illumination nonuniformity.

PubMed

Bénière, Arnaud; Goudail, François; Dolfi, Daniel; Alouini, Mehdi

2009-07-01

Active imaging systems that illuminate a scene with polarized light and acquire two images in two orthogonal polarizations yield information about the intensity contrast and the orthogonal state contrast (OSC) in the scene. Both contrasts are relevant for target detection. However, in real systems, the illumination is often spatially or temporally nonuniform. This creates artificial intensity contrasts that can lead to false alarms. We derive generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) detectors, for which intensity information is taken into account or not and determine the relevant expressions of the contrast in these two situations. These results are used to determine in which cases considering intensity information in addition to polarimetric information is relevant or not.

Solar Activity Studies using Microwave Imaging Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gopalswamy, N.

2016-01-01

We report on the status of solar cycle 24 based on polar prominence eruptions (PEs) and microwave brightness enhancement (MBE) information obtained by the Nobeyama radioheliograph. The north polar region of the Sun had near-zero field strength for more than three years (2012-2015) and ended only in September 2015 as indicated by the presence of polar PEs and the lack of MBE. The zero-polar-field condition in the south started only around 2013, but it ended by June 2014. Thus the asymmetry in the times of polarity reversal switched between cycle 23 and 24. The polar MBE is a good proxy for the polar magnetic field strength as indicated by the high degree of correlation between the two. The cross-correlation between the high- and low-latitude MBEs is significant for a lag of approximately 5.5 to 7.3 years, suggesting that the polar field of one cycle indicates the sunspot number of the next cycle in agreement with the Babcock-Leighton mechanism of solar cycles. The extended period of near-zero field in the north-polar region should result in a weak and delayed sunspot activity in the northern hemisphere in cycle 25.

International Polar Year (IPY): Thinking Beyond Polar Bears and Penguins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morris, P. A.; Reiff, P.; Austin, S.; Johnson, L.; Walter, D.

2008-12-01

The mention of an International Polar Year (IPY) to most of our university students evokes images of polar bears, penguins, perhaps some concepts of polar exploration in previous centuries. IPY provides an unusual opportunity to incorporate various aspects of polar research into the classroom, research opportunities as well as outreach activities. The subject areas that can be incorporated into classroom and undergraduate research activities would include astrobiology, atmospheric sciences, glaciation past and present. Astrobiology, in particular geomicrobiology in relation to the pursuit of life on other planets, is dependent on an understanding of extremophile organisms and the identifying signatures that can be chemical or morphological. Atmospheric studies using balloons with attached instruments enable us to understand the role of an atmosphere in providing a habitable world and filtering damaging rays from the Sun. L. Agassiz studied the patterns of glaciation and their alteration of the crustal surface today and the information enabled us to identify similar patterns in Earth's past and today are important for identifying polar glaciation on Mars. The wide variation of scientific opportunities and research information are also important for developing partnership and outreach programs whether elements are used for planetarium shows, exhibits at museums, hands-on activities, or leading students to pursue atmospheric studies. Each and every one of the components provides different avenues and the potential partnerships are limited only by one's creativity. One example of an effective partnership is the January NASA Space Day at the University of Texas at Brownsville, Texas. The event reaches over 600 primarily Hispanic students from the entire Rio Grande Valley. In January, 2009, the topic will be IPY and the popular Polar Palooza. The event will include exhibits, talks, and the new planetarium show Ice Worlds. The partners for this event include Johnson Space

Performance and utility of satellite telemetry during field studies of free-ranging polar bears in Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Garner, Gerald W.; Amstrup, Steven C.; Douglas, David C.; Gardner, Craig L.; Amlaner, Charles J.

1989-01-01

Satellite telemetry technology has been used during field studies of polar bears in Alaska since 1985. A total of 109 Platform Transmitter Terminals (PTT) have been deployed on free-ranging female polar bears that seasonally inhabit waters adjacent to the Alaskan coast. The PTTs transmitted locational and sensor data to TIROS-N polar-orbiting satellites during a duty cycle of 12 hours on/60 hours off in 1985, 1986, and 1987. Expected battery life was 13.8 months, and collars were normally removed and replaced with new or refurbished PTTs at 11-13 month intervals. Duty cycles were altered to 7-8 hours on/64-65 hours off in 1988 to prolong expected battery life to 19-21 months. Sensor data transmitted included PTT internal temperature, short term activity counts recorded at 60 second intervals, and long term activity counts for the preceding 24 or 72-hour period. Early failures of PTTs to fix location (less than 75% of expected battery life) were as high as 53% during 198501986. Subsequent improvements in battery design, including better shock insulation, improved electronic, and an improved battery system have reduced early failures to 27% in 1987-1988. The harsh environment and the degree of abuse observed in recovered collars indicate that an unavoidable failure rate of 8-10% is inherent within 60 days after deployment on polar bears. A total of 18,000 locations and 201,000 sensor messages were received from female polar bears between May 1985 and June 1988. Polar bears that were marked in Alaskan waters have been located as far south as 60°N 168°W, and as far east as 70°N 127°W in the Beaufort Sea. Polar bears in the Beaufort Sea are shared with Canada, while polar bears in the Chukchi and Bering seas are shared with the Soviet Union. The international ranges of the two hypothesized populations have been documented. Satellite telemetry has detailed the large movement patterns of polar bear over these vast areas that were previously not available using other

An Apical MRCK-driven Morphogenetic Pathway Controls Epithelial Polarity

PubMed Central

Zihni, Ceniz; Vlassaks, Evi; Terry, Stephen; Carlton, Jeremy; Leung, Thomas King Chor; Olson, Michael; Pichaud, Franck; Balda, Maria Susana; Matter, Karl

2017-01-01

Polarized epithelia develop distinct cell surface domains, with the apical membrane acquiring characteristic morphological features such as microvilli. Cell polarization is driven by polarity determinants including the evolutionarily conserved partitioning defective (PAR) proteins that are separated into distinct cortical domains. PAR protein segregation is thought to be a consequence of asymmetric actomyosin contractions. The mechanism of activation of apically polarized actomyosin contractility is unknown. Here we show that the Cdc42 effector MRCK activates Myosin-II at the apical pole to segregate aPKC-Par6 from junctional Par3, defining the apical domain. Apically polarized MRCK-activated actomyosin contractility is reinforced by cooperation with aPKC-Par6 downregulating antagonistic RhoA-driven junctional actomyosin contractility, and drives polarization of cytosolic brush border determinants and apical morphogenesis. MRCK-activated polarized actomyosin contractility is required for apical differentiation and morphogenesis in vertebrate epithelia and Drosophila photoreceptors. Our results identify an apical origin of actomyosin-driven morphogenesis that couples cytoskeletal reorganization to PAR polarity signalling. PMID:28825699

Palaeomagnetic directions of the volcanic rocks from Gramado Xavier, Rio Grande do Sul State, South Brazil: implications for time duration of the volcanic activity.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raposo, M. I. B.; Canon-Tapia, E.; Guimarães, L. F.; Janasi, V. A.

2015-12-01

The magmatism in the LIP Paraná-Etendeka comprises basic and acid rocks. On the Paraná side, these rocks are basalt tholeiitic with high (>2%) and low TiO2 content, and dacites, rhyodacites, rhyolites and quartz latites forming the acid types Chapecó and Palmas. The volcanic acid Palmas are found in the South part of Brazil, and based on TiO2 and P2O5 contents are subdivided into Caxias do Sul, Santa Maria, Anita Garibaldi, Jacuí, Clevelândia and Barros Cassal units. In the studied region, the first stratigraphic sequence is low TiO2 basalt followed by Caxias do Sul, Barros Cassal and Santa Maria on top. We sampled all these units in the Gramado Xavier (Rio Grande do Sul State, South Brazil) region. To determine the mean magnetization directions of each site, samples were demagnetized by both thermal and AF techniques. The results show that the basalt flows recorded both normal and reverse polarities of the geomagnetic field. All sites from Caxias do Sul registered an anomalous direction suggesting an excursion of the geomagnetic field. Sites from Barros Cassal present both normal and reverse polarities. All sites from Santa Maria unit show a reverse polarity of the geomagnetic field. The normal and reverse polarities recorded in the different units are similar indicating contemporaneity of the magmatic source. Due to the existence of only one reversal event, a short duration of volcanism is suspected.

Polar Environmental Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nagler, R. G.; Schulteis, A. C.

1979-01-01

The present and projected benefits of the polar regions were reviewed and then translated into information needs in order to support the array of polar activities anticipated. These needs included measurement sensitivities for polar environmental data (ice/snow, atmosphere, and ocean data for integrated support) and the processing and delivery requirements which determine the effectiveness of environmental services. An assessment was made of how well electromagnetic signals can be converted into polar environmental information. The array of sensor developments in process or proposed were also evaluated as to the spectral diversity, aperture sizes, and swathing capabilities available to provide these measurements from spacecraft, aircraft, or in situ platforms. Global coverage and local coverage densification options were studied in terms of alternative spacecraft trajectories and aircraft flight paths.

Update of the Polar SWIFT model for polar stratospheric ozone loss (Polar SWIFT version 2)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wohltmann, Ingo; Lehmann, Ralph; Rex, Markus

2017-07-01

The Polar SWIFT model is a fast scheme for calculating the chemistry of stratospheric ozone depletion in polar winter. It is intended for use in global climate models (GCMs) and Earth system models (ESMs) to enable the simulation of mutual interactions between the ozone layer and climate. To date, climate models often use prescribed ozone fields, since a full stratospheric chemistry scheme is computationally very expensive. Polar SWIFT is based on a set of coupled differential equations, which simulate the polar vortex-averaged mixing ratios of the key species involved in polar ozone depletion on a given vertical level. These species are O3, chemically active chlorine (ClOx), HCl, ClONO2 and HNO3. The only external input parameters that drive the model are the fraction of the polar vortex in sunlight and the fraction of the polar vortex below the temperatures necessary for the formation of polar stratospheric clouds. Here, we present an update of the Polar SWIFT model introducing several improvements over the original model formulation. In particular, the model is now trained on vortex-averaged reaction rates of the ATLAS Chemistry and Transport Model, which enables a detailed look at individual processes and an independent validation of the different parameterizations contained in the differential equations. The training of the original Polar SWIFT model was based on fitting complete model runs to satellite observations and did not allow for this. A revised formulation of the system of differential equations is developed, which closely fits vortex-averaged reaction rates from ATLAS that represent the main chemical processes influencing ozone. In addition, a parameterization for the HNO3 change by denitrification is included. The rates of change of the concentrations of the chemical species of the Polar SWIFT model are purely chemical rates of change in the new version, whereas in the original Polar SWIFT model, they included a transport effect caused by the

The Energy Budget of the Polar Atmosphere in MERRA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cullather, Richard I.; Bosilovich, Michael G.

2010-01-01

Components of the atmospheric energy budget from the Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) are evaluated in polar regions for the period 1979-2005 and compared with previous estimates, in situ observations, and contemporary reanalyses. Closure of the energy budget is reflected by the analysis increments term, which results from virtual enthalpy and latent heating contributions and averages -11 W/sq m over the north polar cap and -22 W/sq m over the south polar cap. Total energy tendency and energy convergence terms from MERRA agree closely with previous study for northern high latitudes but convergence exceeds previous estimates for the south polar cap by 46 percent. Discrepancies with the Southern Hemisphere transport are largest in autumn and may be related to differences in topography with earlier reanalyses. For the Arctic, differences between MERRA and other sources in TOA and surface radiative fluxes maximize in May. These differences are concurrent with the largest discrepancies between MERRA parameterized and observed surface albedo. For May, in situ observations of the upwelling shortwave flux in the Arctic are 80 W/sq m larger than MERRA, while the MERRA downwelling longwave flux is underestimated by 12 W/sq m throughout the year. Over grounded ice sheets, the annual mean net surface energy flux in MERRA is erroneously non-zero. Contemporary reanalyses from the Climate Forecast Center (CFSR) and the Interim Re-Analyses of the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ERA-I) are found to have better surface parameterizations, however these collections are also found to have significant discrepancies with observed surface and TOA energy fluxes. Discrepancies among available reanalyses underscore the challenge of reproducing credible estimates of the atmospheric energy budget in polar regions.

Flagellar dynamics of a connected chain of active, polar, Brownian particles.

PubMed

Chelakkot, Raghunath; Gopinath, Arvind; Mahadevan, L; Hagan, Michael F

2014-03-06

We show that active, self-propelled particles that are connected together to form a single chain that is anchored at one end can produce the graceful beating motions of flagella. Changing the boundary condition from a clamp to a pivot at the anchor leads to steadily rotating tight coils. Strong noise in the system disrupts the regularity of the oscillations. We use a combination of detailed numerical simulations, mean-field scaling analysis and first passage time theory to characterize the phase diagram as a function of the filament length, passive elasticity, propulsion force and noise. Our study suggests minimal experimental tests for the onset of oscillations in an active polar chain.

Observations of the northern seasonal polar cap on Mars: I. Spring sublimation activity and processes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hansen, C.J.; Byrne, S.; Portyankina, G.; Bourke, M.; Dundas, C.; McEwen, A.; Mellon, M.; Pommerol, A.; Thomas, N.

2013-01-01

Spring sublimation of the seasonal CO2 northern polar cap is a dynamic process in the current Mars climate. Phenomena include dark fans of dune material propelled out onto the seasonal ice layer, polygonal cracks in the seasonal ice, sand flow down slipfaces, and outbreaks of gas and sand around the dune margins. These phenomena are concentrated on the north polar erg that encircles the northern residual polar cap. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been in orbit for three Mars years, allowing us to observe three northern spring seasons. Activity is consistent with and well described by the Kieffer model of basal sublimation of the seasonal layer of ice applied originally in the southern hemisphere. Three typical weak spots have been identified on the dunes for escape of gas sublimed from the bottom of the seasonal ice layer: the crest of the dune, the interface of the dune with the interdune substrate, and through polygonal cracks in the ice. Pressurized gas flows through these vents and carries out material entrained from the dune. Furrows in the dunes channel gas to outbreak points and may be the northern equivalent of southern radially-organized channels (“araneiform” terrain), albeit not permanent. Properties of the seasonal CO2 ice layer are derived from timing of seasonal events such as when final sublimation occurs. Modification of dune morphology shows that landscape evolution is occurring on Mars today, driven by seasonal activity associated with sublimation of the seasonal CO2 polar cap.

Cathodoluminescence study of Mg activation in non-polar and semi-polar faces of undoped/Mg-doped GaN core-shell nanorods.

PubMed

Hortelano, V; Martínez, O; Cuscó, R; Artús, L; Jiménez, J

2016-03-04

Spectrally and spatially resolved cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements were carried out at 80 K on undoped/Mg-doped GaN core-shell nanorods grown by selective area growth metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy in order to investigate locally the optical activity of the Mg dopants. A study of the luminescence emission distribution over the different regions of the nanorods is presented. We have investigated the CL fingerprints of the Mg incorporation into the non-polar lateral prismatic facets and the semi-polar facets of the pyramidal tips. The amount of Mg incorporation/activation was varied by using several Mg/Ga flow ratios and post-growth annealing treatment. For lower Mg/Ga flow ratios, the annealed nanorods clearly display a donor-acceptor pair band emission peaking at 3.26-3.27 eV and up to 4 LO phonon replicas, which can be considered as a reliable indicator of effective p-type Mg doping in the nanorod shell. For higher Mg/Ga flow ratios, a substantial enhancement of the yellow luminescence emission as well as several emission subbands are observed, which suggests an increase of disorder and the presence of defects as a consequence of the excess Mg doping.

Cathodoluminescence study of Mg activation in non-polar and semi-polar faces of undoped/Mg-doped GaN core-shell nanorods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hortelano, V.; Martínez, O.; Cuscó, R.; Artús, L.; Jiménez, J.

2016-03-01

Spectrally and spatially resolved cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements were carried out at 80 K on undoped/Mg-doped GaN core-shell nanorods grown by selective area growth metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy in order to investigate locally the optical activity of the Mg dopants. A study of the luminescence emission distribution over the different regions of the nanorods is presented. We have investigated the CL fingerprints of the Mg incorporation into the non-polar lateral prismatic facets and the semi-polar facets of the pyramidal tips. The amount of Mg incorporation/activation was varied by using several Mg/Ga flow ratios and post-growth annealing treatment. For lower Mg/Ga flow ratios, the annealed nanorods clearly display a donor-acceptor pair band emission peaking at 3.26-3.27 eV and up to 4 LO phonon replicas, which can be considered as a reliable indicator of effective p-type Mg doping in the nanorod shell. For higher Mg/Ga flow ratios, a substantial enhancement of the yellow luminescence emission as well as several emission subbands are observed, which suggests an increase of disorder and the presence of defects as a consequence of the excess Mg doping.

Lifestyles and routine activities of South African teenagers at risk of being trafficked for involuntary prostitution.

PubMed

Lutya, Thozama Mandisa

2010-12-01

The United Nations estimates that 79% of teenage girls trafficked globally every year are forced into involuntary prostitution. About 247 000 South African children work in exploitative conditions; about 40 000 South African female teenagers work as prostitutes. This paper investigates lifestyles and routine activities of teenagers at risk of being trafficked for involuntary prostitution. The key concepts involuntary prostitution, intergenerational sex and exploitative conditions are defined in relation to the lifestyles and routine activities of South African female teenagers. Human trafficking for involuntary prostitution is described, based on a literature review. Lifestyle exposure and routine activities theories help to explain the potential victimisation of these teenagers in human trafficking for involuntary prostitution. Actual lifestyle and routine activities of South African teenagers and risky behaviours (substance abuse, intergenerational sex and child prostitution) are discussed as factors that make teens vulnerable to such trafficking. This paper recommends that human trafficking prevention efforts (awareness programmes and information campaigns) be directed at places frequented by human traffickers and teenagers in the absence of a capable guardian to reduce victimisation, as traffickers analyse the lifestyles and routine activities of their targets. South Africa should also interrogate entrenched practices such as intergenerational sex.

OMC-1 as Revealed by HST NICMOS Polarization Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simpson, J. P.; Burton, M. G.; Colgan, S. W. J.; Erickson, E. F.; Schultz, A. S. B.; Simpson, E.

2004-12-01

The Orion Molecular Cloud (OMC-1) harbors the nearest and most studied massive star-forming region. Signs of the formation of multiple stars in this optically obscured region include powerful CO outflows, H2O and SiO maser emission, remarkable H2 "bullets", "fingers", and "streamers", and X-rays from pre-main-sequence stars. Highly polarized clouds indicate that the illuminating sources lie in the directions of the Becklin-Neugebauer object (BN), and stars in the vicinity of IRc2, radio source I, NIR source n, and others. Here we present 2 μ m polarization measurements of positions north and south of BN made with NICMOS Camera 2 on the Hubble Space Telescope. Near-infrared starlight can be polarized by scattering from nearby dust grains and by dichroic absorption by non-spherical dust grains aligned by a magnetic field. Within the 19'' field of view of Camera 2, BN appears to be the illuminating source of most of the nebulosity to its north; however, the material to the south is illuminated either by a star near I (IRc4) or by source n (IRc2B). Source n also illuminates material 1'' - 2'' to its northeast and southwest, at the same position angles as the extended radio source at the same location. We discuss possible interpretations of the strong polarization of IRc7, which is not illuminated by source I. We also display several stars (NICMOS point sources) that are the source of their own polarization, which ranges up to 40% and occurs at distinctly different angles from the polarization of the immediately surrounding diffuse emission. This may be caused by dichroic absorption and scattering in edge-on circumstellar disks. At least two faint stars are variable. Support for proposal 9752 was provided by NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555.

Invited Article: An active terahertz polarization converter employing vanadium dioxide and a metal wire grating in total internal reflection geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xudong; Chen, Xuequan; Parrott, Edward P. J.; Han, Chunrui; Humbert, Georges; Crunteanu, Aurelian; Pickwell-MacPherson, Emma

2018-05-01

Active broadband terahertz (THz) polarization manipulation devices are challenging to realize, but also of great demand in broadband terahertz systems. Vanadium dioxide (VO2) shows a promising phase transition for active control of THz waves and provides broadband polarization characteristics when integrated within grating-type structures. We creatively combine a VO2-based grating structure with a total internal reflection (TIR) geometry providing a novel interaction mechanism between the electromagnetic waves and the device, to realize a powerful active broadband THz polarization-controlling device. The device is based on a Si-substrate coated with a VO2 layer and a metal grating structure on top, attached to a prism for generating the TIR condition on the Si-VO2-grating interface. The grating is connected to electrodes for electrically switching the VO2 between its insulating and conducting phases. By properly selecting the incident angle of the THz waves, the grating direction, and the incident polarization state, we first achieved a broadband intensity modulator under a fused silica prism with an average modulation depth of 99.75% in the 0.2-1.1 THz region. Additionally, we realized an active ultra-broadband quarter-wave converter under a Si prism that can be switched between a 45° linear rotator and a quarter wave converter in the 0.8-1.5 THz region. This is the first demonstration of an active quarter-wave converter with ultra-broad bandwidth performance. Our work shows a highly flexible and multifunctional polarization-controlling device for broadband THz applications.

Polarity of the Amphibian Egg

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malacinski, G. M.

1983-01-01

Amphibian egg polarity and the mechanism which generates the polarity is addressed. Of particular concern is the question of whether the activation rotation which responds to gravity is a prerequisite for normal development.

Do embryonic polar bodies commit suicide?

PubMed

Fabian, Dušan; Čikoš, Štefan; Rehák, Pavol; Koppel, Juraj

2014-02-01

The extrusion and elimination of unnecessary gametic/embryonic material is one of the key events that determines the success of further development in all living organisms. Oocytes produce the first polar body to fulfill the maturation process just before ovulation, and release the second polar body immediately after fertilization. The aim of this study was to compile a physiological overview of elimination of polar bodies during early preimplantation development in mice. Our results show that three-quarters of the first polar bodies were lost even at the zygotic stage; the 4-cell stage embryos contained only one (second) polar body, and the elimination of second polar bodies proceeded continuously during later development. Both first and second polar bodies showed several typical features of apoptosis: phosphatidylserine redistribution (observed for the first time in the first polar body), specific DNA degradation, condensed nuclear morphology, and inability to exclude cationic dye from the nucleus during the terminal stage of the apoptotic process. Caspase-3 activity was recorded only in the second polar body. From the morphological point of view, mouse polar bodies acted very similarly to damaged embryonic cells which have lost contact with their neighboring blastomeres. In conclusion, polar bodies possess all the molecular equipment necessary for triggering and executing an active suicide process. Furthermore, similarly as in dying embryonic cells, stressing external conditions (culture in vitro) might accelerate and increase the incidence of apoptotic elimination of the polar bodies in embryos.

North Polar Cap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site]

This week we will be looking at five examples of laminar wind flow on the north polar cap. On Earth, gravity-driven south polar cap winds are termed 'catabatic' winds. Catabatic winds begin over the smooth expanse of the cap interior due to temperature differences between the atmosphere and the surface. Once begun, the winds sweep outward along the surface of the polar cap toward the sea. As the polar surface slopes down toward sealevel, the wind speeds increase. Catabatic wind speeds in the Antartic can reach several hundreds of miles per hour.

In the images of the Martian north polar cap we can see these same type of winds. Notice the streamers of dust moving downslope over the darker trough sides, these streamers show the laminar flow regime coming off the cap. Within the trough we see turbulent clouds of dust, kicked up at the trough base as the winds slow down and enter a chaotic flow regime.

The horizontal lines in these images are due to framelet overlap and lighting conditions over the bright polar cap.

Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 86.5, Longitude 64.5 East (295.5 West). 40 meter/pixel resolution.

Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation

North Polar Cap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site]

This week we will be looking at five examples of laminar wind flow on the north polar cap. On Earth, gravity-driven south polar cap winds are termed 'catabatic' winds. Catabatic winds begin over the smooth expanse of the cap interior due to temperature differences between the atmosphere and the surface. Once begun, the winds sweep outward along the surface of the polar cap toward the sea. As the polar surface slopes down toward sealevel, the wind speeds increase. Catabatic wind speeds in the Antartic can reach several hundreds of miles per hour.

In the images of the Martian north polar cap we can see these same type of winds. Notice the streamers of dust moving downslope over the darker trough sides, these streamers show the laminar flow regime coming off the cap. Within the trough we see turbulent clouds of dust, kicked up at the trough base as the winds slow down and enter a chaotic flow regime.

The horizontal lines in these images are due to framelet overlap and lighting conditions over the bright polar cap.

Image information:VIS instrument. Latitude 86.5, longitude 57.4 East (302.6 West). 40 meter/pixel resolution.

Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is

North Polar Cap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site]

This week we will be looking at five examples of laminar wind flow on the north polar cap. On Earth, gravity-driven south polar cap winds are termed 'catabatic' winds. Catabatic winds begin over the smooth expanse of the cap interior due to temperature differences between the atmosphere and the surface. Once begun, the winds sweep outward along the surface of the polar cap toward the sea. As the polar surface slopes down toward sealevel, the wind speeds increase. Catabatic wind speeds in the Antartic can reach several hundreds of miles per hour.

In the images of the Martian north polar cap we can see these same type of winds. Notice the streamers of dust moving downslope over the darker trough sides, these streamers show the laminar flow regime coming off the cap. Within the trough we see turbulent clouds of dust, kicked up at the trough base as the winds slow down and enter a chaotic flow regime.

The horizontal lines in these images are due to framelet overlap and lighting conditions over the bright polar cap.

Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 84.3, Longitude 314.4 East (45.6 West). 40 meter/pixel resolution.

Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation

North Polar Cap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site]

This week we will be looking at five examples of laminar wind flow on the north polar cap. On Earth, gravity-driven south polar cap winds are termed 'catabatic' winds. Catabatic winds begin over the smooth expanse of the cap interior due to temperature differences between the atmosphere and the surface. Once begun, the winds sweep outward along the surface of the polar cap toward the sea. As the polar surface slopes down toward sealevel, the wind speeds increase. Catabatic wind speeds in the Antartic can reach several hundreds of miles per hour.

In the images of the Martian north polar cap we can see these same type of winds. Notice the streamers of dust moving downslope over the darker trough sides, these streamers show the laminar flow regime coming off the cap. Within the trough we see turbulent clouds of dust, kicked up at the trough base as the winds slow down and enter a chaotic flow regime.

The horizontal lines in these images are due to framelet overlap and lighting conditions over the bright polar cap.

Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 84.2, Longitude 57.4 East (302.6 West). 40 meter/pixel resolution.

Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation

Investigations into the climate of the South Pole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Town, Michael S.

Four investigations into the climate of the South Pole are presented. The general subjects of polar cloud cover, the surface energy balance in a stable boundary layer, subsurface energy transfer in snow, and modification of water stable isotopes in snow after deposition are investigated based on the historical data set from the South Pole. Clouds over the South Pole. A new, accurate cloud fraction time series is developed based on downwelling infrared radiation measurements taken at the South Pole. The results are compared to cloud fraction estimates from visual observations and satellite retrievals of cloud fraction. Visual observers are found to underestimate monthly mean cloud fraction by as much as 20% during the winter, and satellite retrievals of cloud fraction are not accurate for operational or climatic purposes. We find associations of monthly mean cloud fraction with other meteorological variables at the South Pole for use in testing models of polar weather and climate. Surface energy balance. A re-examination of the surface energy balance at the South Pole is motivated by large discrepancies in the literature. We are not able to find closure in the new surface energy balance, likely due to weaknesses in the turbulent heat flux parameterizations in extremely stable boundary layers. These results will be useful for constraining our understanding and parameterization of stable boundary layers. Subsurface energy transfer. A finite-volume model of the snow is used to simulate nine years of near-surface snow temperatures, heating rates, and vapor pressures at the South Pole. We generate statistics characterizing heat and vapor transfer in the snow on submonthly to interannual time scales. The variability of near-surface snow temperatures on submonthly time scales is large, and has potential implications for revising the interpretation of paleoclimate records of water stable isotopes in polar snow. Modification of water stable isotopes after deposition. The

Powering prolonged hydrothermal activity inside Enceladus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choblet, Gaël; Tobie, Gabriel; Sotin, Christophe; Běhounková, Marie; Čadek, Ondřej; Postberg, Frank; Souček, Ondřej

2017-12-01

Geophysical data from the Cassini spacecraft imply the presence of a global ocean underneath the ice shell of Enceladus1, only a few kilometres below the surface in the South Polar Terrain2-4. Chemical analyses indicate that the ocean is salty5 and is fed by ongoing hydrothermal activity6-8. In order to explain these observations, an abnormally high heat power (>20 billion watts) is required, as well as a mechanism to focus endogenic activity at the south pole9,10. Here, we show that more than 10 GW of heat can be generated by tidal friction inside the unconsolidated rocky core. Water transport in the tidally heated permeable core results in hot narrow upwellings with temperatures exceeding 363 K, characterized by powerful (1-5 GW) hotspots at the seafloor, particularly at the south pole. The release of heat in narrow regions favours intense interaction between water and rock, and the transport of hydrothermal products from the core to the plume sources. We are thus able to explain the main global characteristics of Enceladus: global ocean, strong dissipation, reduced ice-shell thickness at the south pole and seafloor activity. We predict that this endogenic activity can be sustained for tens of millions to billions of years.

Small Scale Features at Vesta South Pole

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-10-01

This image from NASA Dawn spacecraft shows a raised mound material overlying the brighter material that makes up the floor of the south polar depression of asteroid Vesta. Many small scale craters are clear in this image.

The signalling receptor MCAM coordinates apical-basal polarity and planar cell polarity during morphogenesis

PubMed Central

Gao, Qian; Zhang, Junfeng; Wang, Xiumei; Liu, Ying; He, Rongqiao; Liu, Xingfeng; Wang, Fei; Feng, Jing; Yang, Dongling; Wang, Zhaoqing; Meng, Anming; Yan, Xiyun

2017-01-01

The apical–basal (AB) polarity and planar cell polarity (PCP) provide an animal cell population with different phenotypes during morphogenesis. However, how cells couple these two patterning systems remains unclear. Here we provide in vivo evidence that melanoma cell adhesion molecule (MCAM) coordinates AB polarity-driven lumenogenesis and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/PCP-dependent ciliogenesis. We identify that MCAM is an independent receptor of fibroblast growth factor 4 (FGF4), a membrane anchor of phospholipase C-γ (PLC-γ), an immediate upstream receptor of nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) and a constitutive activator of JNK. We find that MCAM-mediated vesicular trafficking towards FGF4, while generating a priority-grade transcriptional response of NFAT determines lumenogenesis. We demonstrate that MCAM plays indispensable roles in ciliogenesis through activating JNK independently of FGF signals. Furthermore, mcam-deficient zebrafish and Xenopus exhibit a global defect in left-right (LR) asymmetric establishment as a result of morphogenetic failure of their LR organizers. Therefore, MCAM coordination of AB polarity and PCP provides insight into the general mechanisms of morphogenesis. PMID:28589943

The hemispherical asymmetry of the residual polar caps on Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindner, Bernhard Lee

1991-01-01

A model of the polar caps of Mars was created which allows: (1) for light penetration into the cap; (2) ice albedo to vary with age, latitude, hemisphere, dust content, and solar zenith angle; and (3) for diurnal variability. The model includes the radiative effects of clouds and dust, and heat transport as represented by a thermal wind. The model reproduces polar cap regression data very well, including the survival of CO2 frost at the south pole and reproduces the general trend in the Viking Lander pressure data.

Ambulatory physical activity levels of white and South Asian children in Central England.

PubMed

Duncan, Michael J; Birch, Samantha; Al-Nakeeb, Yahya; Nevill, Alan M

2012-04-01

To assess ambulatory physical activity in white and south Asian children from Central England and to examine variation in activity between weekdays and weekends. 536 primary school children [255 boys and 281 girls, mean age (SD) = 9.6 (1.0) years] wore a sealed pedometer for 4 days (2 weekend and 2 weekdays). Repeated measures analysis of covariance was used to examine weekend versus weekday, gender, ethnic and socio-economic status differences in steps/day controlling for age, hours of daylight and body mass index (BMI). Children attained significantly higher mean steps/day during weekdays than weekends (p = 0.001) with age being more strongly associated with weekend than weekday steps/day (p = 0.014). The decline in steps/day from weekdays to weekends was greater in high compared to low socio-economic status children (p = 0.002). White children attained higher mean steps/day than south Asian children (p = 0.015). BMI was negatively associated with steps/day (p = 0.004). 39.2 and 29.9% of white and south Asian children met the BMI-referenced cut-offs for health. Physical activity was greater during weekdays compared to weekends, was associated with BMI, age and socio-economic status and white children were more active than south Asian children. © 2011 The Author(s)/Acta Paediatrica © 2011 Foundation Acta Paediatrica.

Effects of molecular asymmetry of optically active molecules on the polarization properties of multiply scattered light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vitkin, I. Alex; Laszlo, Richard D.; Whyman, Claire L.

2002-02-01

The use of polarized light for investigation of optically turbid systems has generated much recent interest since it has been shown that multiple scattering does not fully scramble the incident polarization states. It is possible under some conditions to measure polarization signals in diffusely scattered light, and use this information to characterize the structure or composition of the turbid medium. Furthermore, the idea of quantitative detection of optically active (chiral) molecules contained in such a system is attractive, particularly in clinical medicine where it may contribute to the development of a non-invasive method of glucose sensing in diabetic patients. This study uses polarization modulation and synchronous detection in the perpendicular and in the exact backscattering orientations to detect scattered light from liquid turbid samples containing varying amounts of L and D (left and right) isomeric forms of a chiral sugar. Polarization preservation increased with chiral concentrations in both orientations. In the perpendicular orientation, the optical rotation of the linearly polarized fraction also increased with the concentration of chiral solute, but in different directions for the two isomeric forms. There was no observed optical rotation in the exact backscattering geometry for either isomer. The presence of the chiral species is thus manifest in both detection directions, but the sense of the chiral asymmetry is not resolvable in retroreflection. The experiments show that useful information may be extracted from turbid chiral samples using polarized light.

North south asymmetry in the coronal and photospheric magnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Virtanen, I.; Mursula, K.

2013-12-01

Several recent studies have shown that the Heliospheric current sheet (HCS) is southward shifted during about three years in the solar declining phase (the so-called bashful ballerina phenomenon). We study the hemispherical asymmetry in the photospheric and coronal magnetic fields using Wilcox Solar Observatory (WSO) measurements of the photospheric magnetic field since 1976 and the potential field source surface (PFSS) model. Multipole analysis of the photospheric magnetic field shows that during the late declining phase of solar cycles since 1970s, bashful ballerina phenomenon is a consequence of g02 quadrupole term, signed oppositely to the dipole moment. Surges of new flux transport magnetic field from low latitudes to the poles, thus leading to a systematically varying contribution to the g02-term from different latitudes. In the case of a north-south asymmetric flux production this is seen as a quadrupole contribution traveling towards higher latitudes. When the quadrupole term is largest the main contribution comes from the polar latitudes. At least during the four recent solar cycles the g02-term arises because the magnitude of the southern polar field is larger than in the north in the declining phase of the cycle. Magnetic flux is transported polewards by the meridional flow and it is most likely that besides the north-south asymmetric production of the magnetic flux, also the asymmetric transportation may significantly contribute to the observed asymmetry of polar field intensities. The overall activity during solar cycle is not significantly different in the northern and southern hemispheres, but hemispheres tend to develop in a different phase.

Seasonally active frost-dust avalanches on a north polar scarp of Mars captured by HiRISE

USGS Publications Warehouse

Russell, P.; Thomas, N.; Byrne, S.; Herkenhoff, K.; Fishbaugh, K.; Bridges, N.; Okubo, C.; Milazzo, M.; Daubar, I.; Hansen, C.; McEwen, A.

2008-01-01

North-polar temporal monitoring by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) orbiting Mars has discovered new, dramatic examples that Mars1 CO2-dominated seasonal volatile cycle is not limited to quiet deposition and sublimation of frost. In early northern martian spring, 2008, HiRISE captured several cases of CO2 frost and dust cascading down a steep, polar scarp in discrete clouds. Analysis of morphology and process reveals these events to be similar to terrestrial powder avalanches, sluffs, and falls of loose, dry snow. Potential material sources and initiating mechanisms are discussed in the context of the Martian polar spring environment and of additional, active, aeolian processes observed on the plateau above the scarp. The scarp events are identified as a trigger for mass wasting of bright, fractured layers within the basal unit, and may indirectly influence the retreat rate of steep polar scarps in competing ways. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.

Polar Textures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Context image for PIA03638 Polar Textures

This image illustrates the variety of textures that appear in the south polar region during late summer.

Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 80.5S, Longitude 57.9E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.

Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

Dynamic polarization vision in mantis shrimps

PubMed Central

Daly, Ilse M.; How, Martin J.; Partridge, Julian C.; Temple, Shelby E.; Marshall, N. Justin; Cronin, Thomas W.; Roberts, Nicholas W.

2016-01-01

Gaze stabilization is an almost ubiquitous animal behaviour, one that is required to see the world clearly and without blur. Stomatopods, however, only fix their eyes on scenes or objects of interest occasionally. Almost uniquely among animals they explore their visual environment with a series pitch, yaw and torsional (roll) rotations of their eyes, where each eye may also move largely independently of the other. In this work, we demonstrate that the torsional rotations are used to actively enhance their ability to see the polarization of light. Both Gonodactylus smithii and Odontodactylus scyllarus rotate their eyes to align particular photoreceptors relative to the angle of polarization of a linearly polarized visual stimulus, thereby maximizing the polarization contrast between an object of interest and its background. This is the first documented example of any animal displaying dynamic polarization vision, in which the polarization information is actively maximized through rotational eye movements. PMID:27401817

Lunar true polar wander inferred from polar hydrogen.

PubMed

Siegler, M A; Miller, R S; Keane, J T; Laneuville, M; Paige, D A; Matsuyama, I; Lawrence, D J; Crotts, A; Poston, M J

2016-03-24

The earliest dynamic and thermal history of the Moon is not well understood. The hydrogen content of deposits near the lunar poles may yield insight into this history, because these deposits (which are probably composed of water ice) survive only if they remain in permanent shadow. If the orientation of the Moon has changed, then the locations of the shadowed regions will also have changed. The polar hydrogen deposits have been mapped by orbiting neutron spectrometers, and their observed spatial distribution does not match the expected distribution of water ice inferred from present-day lunar temperatures. This finding is in contrast to the distribution of volatiles observed in similar thermal environments at Mercury's poles. Here we show that polar hydrogen preserves evidence that the spin axis of the Moon has shifted: the hydrogen deposits are antipodal and displaced equally from each pole along opposite longitudes. From the direction and magnitude of the inferred reorientation, and from analysis of the moments of inertia of the Moon, we hypothesize that this change in the spin axis, known as true polar wander, was caused by a low-density thermal anomaly beneath the Procellarum region. Radiogenic heating within this region resulted in the bulk of lunar mare volcanism and altered the density structure of the Moon, changing its moments of inertia. This resulted in true polar wander consistent with the observed remnant polar hydrogen. This thermal anomaly still exists and, in part, controls the current orientation of the Moon. The Procellarum region was most geologically active early in lunar history, which implies that polar wander initiated billions of years ago and that a large portion of the measured polar hydrogen is ancient, recording early delivery of water to the inner Solar System. Our hypothesis provides an explanation for the antipodal distribution of lunar polar hydrogen, and connects polar volatiles to the geologic and geophysical evolution of the Moon

Ultra-thin, single-layer polarization rotator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Son, T. V.; Truong, V. V., E-mail: Truong.Vo-Van@Concordia.Ca; Do, P. A.

We demonstrate light polarization control over a broad spectral range by a uniform layer of vanadium dioxide as it undergoes a phase transition from insulator to metal. Changes in refractive indices create unequal phase shifts on s- and p-polarization components of incident light, and rotation of linear polarization shows intensity modulation by a factor of 10{sup 3} when transmitted through polarizers. This makes possible polarization rotation devices as thin as 50 nm that would be activated thermally, optically or electrically.

Gravitational spreading, bookshelf faulting, and tectonic evolution of the South Polar Terrain of Saturn's moon Enceladus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, An; Pappalardo, Robert T.

2015-11-01

Despite a decade of intense research the mechanical origin of the tiger-stripe fractures (TSF) and their geologic relationship to the hosting South Polar Terrain (SPT) of Enceladus remain poorly understood. Here we show via systematic photo-geological mapping that the semi-squared SPT is bounded by right-slip, left-slip, extensional, and contractional zones on its four edges. Discrete deformation along the edges in turn accommodates translation of the SPT as a single sheet with its transport direction parallel to the regional topographic gradient. This parallel relationship implies that the gradient of gravitational potential energy drove the SPT motion. In map view, internal deformation of the SPT is expressed by distributed right-slip shear parallel to the SPT transport direction. The broad right-slip shear across the whole SPT was facilitated by left-slip bookshelf faulting along the parallel TSF. We suggest that the flow-like tectonics, to the first approximation across the SPT on Enceladus, is best explained by the occurrence of a transient thermal event, which allowed the release of gravitational potential energy via lateral viscous flow within the thermally weakened ice shell.

VIIRS-J1 Polarization Narrative

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Waluschka, Eugene; McCorkel, Joel; McIntire, Jeff; Moyer, David; McAndrew, Brendan; Brown, Steven W.; Lykke, Keith; Butler, James; Meister, Gerhard; Thome, Kurtis J.

2015-01-01

The VIS/NIR bands polarization sensitivity of Joint Polar Satellite Sensor 1 (JPSS1) Visible/Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument was measured using a broadband source. While polarization sensitivity for bands M5-M7, I1, and I2 was less than 2.5%, the maximum polarization sensitivity for bands M1, M2, M3, and M4 was measured to be 6.4%, 4.4%, 3.1%, and 4.3%, respectively with a polarization characterization uncertainty of less than 0.3%. A detailed polarization model indicated that the large polarization sensitivity observed in the M1 to M4 bands was mainly due to the large polarization sensitivity introduced at the leading and trailing edges of the newly manufactured VISNIR bandpass focal plane filters installed in front of the VISNIR detectors. This was confirmed by polarization measurements of bands M1 and M4 bands using monochromatic light. Discussed are the activities leading up to and including the instruments two polarization tests, some discussion of the polarization model and the model results, the role of the focal plane filters, the polarization testing of the Aft-Optics-Assembly, the testing of the polarizers at Goddard and NIST and the use of NIST's T-SIRCUS for polarization testing and associated analyses and results.

Should Physical Activity Recommendations for South Asian Adults Be Ethnicity-Specific? Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Study of South Asian and White European Men and Women.

PubMed

Iliodromiti, Stamatina; Ghouri, Nazim; Celis-Morales, Carlos A; Sattar, Naveed; Lumsden, Mary Ann; Gill, Jason M R

2016-01-01

International public health guidelines recommend that adults undertake at least 150 min.week-1 of moderate-intensity physical activity. However, the underpinning evidence has largely been obtained from studies of populations of white European descent. It is unclear whether these recommendations are appropriate for other ethnic groups, particularly South Asians, who have greater cardio-metabolic risk than white Europeans. The objective of our study was to determine the level of moderate-intensity physical activity required in South Asians adults to confer a similar cardio-metabolic risk profile to that observed in Europeans of similar age and body mass index (BMI) undertaking the currently recommended levels of 150 min.week-1. 148 South Asians and 163 white Europeans aged 18 to 70 years were recruited. Physical activity was measured objectively via vertical axis accelerations from hip-worn accelerometers. Factor analysis was used to summarize the measured risk biomarkers into a single underlying latent "factor" describing overall cardio-metabolic risk. Sex did not modify the association between physical activity and the cardio-metabolic risk factor, so data for both sexes were combined and models adjusted for age, sex, BMI and accelerometer wear time. We estimated that South Asian adults needed to undertake 232 (95% Confidence interval: 200 to 268) min.week-1 in order to obtain the same cardio-metabolic risk factor score as a white European undertaking 150 minutes of moderate-equivalent physical activity per week. The present findings suggest that South Asian men and women need to undertake ~230 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per week. This equates to South Asians undertaking an extra 10-15 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per day on top of existing recommendations.

SIRT1/Adenosine Monophosphate-Activated Protein Kinase α Signaling Enhances Macrophage Polarization to an Anti-inflammatory Phenotype in Rheumatoid Arthritis

PubMed Central

Park, So Youn; Lee, Sung Won; Lee, Sang Yeob; Hong, Ki Whan; Bae, Sun Sik; Kim, Koanhoi; Kim, Chi Dae

2017-01-01

Macrophages are crucially involved in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Macrophages of the M1 phenotype act as pro-inflammatory mediators in synovium, whereas those of the M2 phenotype suppress inflammation and promote tissue repair. SIRT1 is a class 3 histone deacetylase with anti-inflammatory characteristics. However, the role played by SIRT1 in macrophage polarization has not been defined in RA. We investigated whether SIRT1 exerts anti-inflammatory effects by modulating M1/M2 polarization in macrophages from RA patients. In this study, SIRT1 activation promoted the phosphorylation of an adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) α/acetyl-CoA carboxylase in macrophages exposed to interleukin (IL)-4, and that this resulted in the expressions of M2 genes, including MDC, FcεRII, MrC1, and IL-10, at high levels. Furthermore, these expressions were inhibited by sirtinol (an inhibitor of SIRT1) and compound C (an inhibitor of AMPK). Moreover, SIRT1 activation downregulated LPS/interferon γ-mediated NF-κB activity by inhibiting p65 acetylation and the expression of M1 genes, such as CCL2, iNOS, IL-12 p35, and IL-12 p40. Macrophages from SIRT1 transgenic (Tg)-mice exhibited enhanced polarization of M2 phenotype macrophages and reduced polarization of M1 phenotype macrophages. In line with these observations, SIRT1-Tg mice showed less histological signs of arthritis, that is, lower TNFα and IL-1β expressions and less severe arthritis in the knee joints, compared to wild-type mice. Taken together, the study shows activation of SIRT1/AMPKα signaling exerts anti-inflammatory activities by regulating M1/M2 polarization, and thereby reduces inflammatory responses in RA. Furthermore, it suggests that SIRT1 signaling be viewed as a therapeutic target in RA. PMID:28966618

Flagellar dynamics of a connected chain of active, polar, Brownian particles

PubMed Central

Chelakkot, Raghunath; Gopinath, Arvind; Mahadevan, L.; Hagan, Michael F.

2014-01-01

We show that active, self-propelled particles that are connected together to form a single chain that is anchored at one end can produce the graceful beating motions of flagella. Changing the boundary condition from a clamp to a pivot at the anchor leads to steadily rotating tight coils. Strong noise in the system disrupts the regularity of the oscillations. We use a combination of detailed numerical simulations, mean-field scaling analysis and first passage time theory to characterize the phase diagram as a function of the filament length, passive elasticity, propulsion force and noise. Our study suggests minimal experimental tests for the onset of oscillations in an active polar chain. PMID:24352670

Polarization of Coronal Forbidden Lines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Hao; Qu, Zhongquan; Landi Degl’Innocenti, Egidio, E-mail: sayahoro@ynao.ac.cn

Since the magnetic field is responsible for most manifestations of solar activity, one of the most challenging problems in solar physics is the diagnostics of solar magnetic fields, particularly in the outer atmosphere. To this end, it is important to develop rigorous diagnostic tools to interpret polarimetric observations in suitable spectral lines. This paper is devoted to analyzing the diagnostic content of linear polarization imaging observations in coronal forbidden lines. Although this technique is restricted to off-limb observations, it represents a significant tool to diagnose the magnetic field structure in the solar corona, where the magnetic field is intrinsically weakmore » and still poorly known. We adopt the quantum theory of polarized line formation developed in the framework of the density matrix formalism, and synthesize images of the emergent linear polarization signal in coronal forbidden lines using potential-field source-surface magnetic field models. The influence of electronic collisions, active regions, and Thomson scattering on the linear polarization of coronal forbidden lines is also examined. It is found that active regions and Thomson scattering are capable of conspicuously influencing the orientation of the linear polarization. These effects have to be carefully taken into account to increase the accuracy of the field diagnostics. We also found that linear polarization observation in suitable lines can give valuable information on the long-term evolution of the magnetic field in the solar corona.« less

A New Polar Magnetic Index of Geomagnetic Activity and its Application to Monitoring Ionospheric Parameters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lyatsky, Wladislaw; Khazanov, George V.

2008-01-01

For improving the reliability of Space Weather prediction, we developed a new, Polar Magnetic (PM) index of geomagnetic activity, which shows high correlation with both upstream solar wind data and related events in the magnetosphere and ionosphere. Similarly to the existing polar cap PC index, the new, PM index was computed from data from two near-pole geomagnetic observatories; however, the method for computing the PM index is different. The high correlation of the PM index with both solar wind data and events in Geospace environment makes possible to improve significantly forecasting geomagnetic disturbances and such important parameters as the cross-polar-cap voltage and global Joule heating in high latitude ionosphere, which play an important role in the development of geomagnetic, ionospheric and thermospheric disturbances. We tested the PM index for 10-year period (1995-2004). The correlation between PM index and upstream solar wind data for these years is very high (the average correlation coefficient R approximately equal to 0.86). The PM index also shows the high correlation with the cross-polar-cap voltage and hemispheric Joule heating (the correlation coefficient between the actual and predicted values of these parameters is approximately 0.9), which results in significant increasing the prediction reliability of these parameters. Using the PM index of geomagnetic activity provides a significant increase in the forecasting reliability of geomagnetic disturbances and related events in Geospace environment. The PM index may be also used as an important input parameter in modeling ionospheric, magnetospheric, and thermospheric processes.

A model for promoting physical activity among rural South African adolescent girls

PubMed Central

Kinsman, John; Norris, Shane A.; Kahn, Kathleen; Twine, Rhian; Riggle, Kari; Edin, Kerstin; Mathebula, Jennifer; Ngobeni, Sizzy; Monareng, Nester; Micklesfield, Lisa K.

2015-01-01

Background In South Africa, the expanding epidemic of non-communicable diseases is partly fuelled by high levels of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour. Women especially are at high risk, and interventions promoting physical activity are urgently needed for girls in their adolescence, as this is the time when many girls adopt unhealthy lifestyles. Objective This qualitative study aimed to identify and describe facilitating factors and barriers that are associated with physical activity among adolescent girls in rural, north-eastern South Africa and, based on these, to develop a model for promoting leisure-time physical activity within this population. Design The study was conducted in and around three secondary schools. Six focus group discussions were conducted with adolescent girls from the schools, and seven qualitative interviews were held with sports teachers and youth leaders. The data were subjected to thematic analysis. Results Seven thematic areas were identified, each of which was associated with the girls’ self-reported levels of physical activity. The thematic areas are 1) poverty, 2) body image ideals, 3) gender, 4) parents and home life, 5) demographic factors, 6) perceived health effects of physical activity, and 7) human and infrastructural resources. More barriers to physical activity were reported than facilitating factors. Conclusions Analysis of the barriers found in the different themes indicated potential remedial actions that could be taken, and these were synthesised into a model for promoting physical activity among South African adolescent girls in resource-poor environments. The model presents a series of action points, seen both from the ‘supply-side’ perspective (such as the provision of resources and training for the individuals, schools, and organisations which facilitate the activities) and from the ‘demand-side’ perspective (such as the development of empowering messages about body image for teenage girls, and

Dune-slope activity due to frost and wind throughout the north polar erg, Mars

PubMed Central

DINIEGA, SERINA; HANSEN, CANDICE J.; ALLEN, AMANDA; GRIGSBY, NATHAN; LI, ZHEYU; PEREZ, TYLER; CHOJNACKI, MATTHEW

2018-01-01

Repeat, high-resolution imaging of dunes within the Martian north polar erg have shown that these dune slopes are very active, with alcoves forming along the dune brink each Mars year. In some areas, a few hundred cubic metres of downslope sand movement have been observed, sometimes moving the dune brink ‘backwards’. Based on morphological and activity-timing similarities of these north polar features to southern dune gullies, identifying the processes forming these features is likely to have relevance for understanding the general evolution/modification of dune gullies. To determine alcove-formation model constraints, we have surveyed seven dune fields, each over 1–4 Mars winters. Consistent with earlier reports, we found that alcove-formation activity occurs during the autumn–winter seasons, before or while the stable seasonal frost layer is deposited. We propose a new model in which alcove formation occurs during the autumn, and springtime sublimation activity then enhances the feature. Summertime winds blow sand into the new alcoves, erasing small alcoves over a few Mars years. Based on the observed rate of alcove erasure, we estimated the effective aeolian sand transport flux. From this, we proposed that alcove formation may account for 2–20% of the total sand movement within these dune fields. PMID:29731538

Dune-slope activity due to frost and wind throughout the north polar erg, Mars.

PubMed

Diniega, Serina; Hansen, Candice J; Allen, Amanda; Grigsby, Nathan; Li, Zheyu; Perez, Tyler; Chojnacki, Matthew

2017-01-01

Repeat, high-resolution imaging of dunes within the Martian north polar erg have shown that these dune slopes are very active, with alcoves forming along the dune brink each Mars year. In some areas, a few hundred cubic metres of downslope sand movement have been observed, sometimes moving the dune brink 'backwards'. Based on morphological and activity-timing similarities of these north polar features to southern dune gullies, identifying the processes forming these features is likely to have relevance for understanding the general evolution/modification of dune gullies. To determine alcove-formation model constraints, we have surveyed seven dune fields, each over 1-4 Mars winters. Consistent with earlier reports, we found that alcove-formation activity occurs during the autumn-winter seasons, before or while the stable seasonal frost layer is deposited. We propose a new model in which alcove formation occurs during the autumn, and springtime sublimation activity then enhances the feature. Summertime winds blow sand into the new alcoves, erasing small alcoves over a few Mars years. Based on the observed rate of alcove erasure, we estimated the effective aeolian sand transport flux. From this, we proposed that alcove formation may account for 2-20% of the total sand movement within these dune fields.

Physical activity among South Asian women: a systematic, mixed-methods review

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Introduction The objective of this systematic mixed-methods review is to assess what is currently known about the levels of physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (ST) and to contextualize these behaviors among South Asian women with an immigrant background. Methods A systematic search of the literature was conducted using combinations of the key words PA, ST, South Asian, and immigrant. A mixed-methods approach was used to analyze and synthesize all evidence, both quantitative and qualitative. Twenty-six quantitative and twelve qualitative studies were identified as meeting the inclusion criteria. Results Studies quantifying PA and ST among South Asian women showed low levels of PA compared with South Asian men and with white European comparison populations. However making valid comparisons between studies was challenging due to a lack of standardized PA measurement. The majority of studies indicated that South Asian women did not meet recommended amounts of PA for health benefits. Few studies assessed ST. Themes emerging from qualitative studies included cultural and structural barriers to PA, faith and education as facilitators, and a lack of understanding of the recommended amounts of PA and its benefits among South Asian women. Conclusions Quantitative and qualitative evidence indicate that South Asian women do not perform the recommended level of PA for health benefits. Both types of studies suffer from limitations due to methods of data collection. More research should be dedicated to standardizing objective PA measurement and to understanding how to utilize the resources of the individuals and communities to increase PA levels and overall health of South Asian women. PMID:23256686

Physical activity among South Asian women: a systematic, mixed-methods review.

PubMed

Babakus, Whitney S; Thompson, Janice L

2012-12-20

The objective of this systematic mixed-methods review is to assess what is currently known about the levels of physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (ST) and to contextualize these behaviors among South Asian women with an immigrant background. A systematic search of the literature was conducted using combinations of the key words PA, ST, South Asian, and immigrant. A mixed-methods approach was used to analyze and synthesize all evidence, both quantitative and qualitative. Twenty-six quantitative and twelve qualitative studies were identified as meeting the inclusion criteria. Studies quantifying PA and ST among South Asian women showed low levels of PA compared with South Asian men and with white European comparison populations. However making valid comparisons between studies was challenging due to a lack of standardized PA measurement. The majority of studies indicated that South Asian women did not meet recommended amounts of PA for health benefits. Few studies assessed ST. Themes emerging from qualitative studies included cultural and structural barriers to PA, faith and education as facilitators, and a lack of understanding of the recommended amounts of PA and its benefits among South Asian women. Quantitative and qualitative evidence indicate that South Asian women do not perform the recommended level of PA for health benefits. Both types of studies suffer from limitations due to methods of data collection. More research should be dedicated to standardizing objective PA measurement and to understanding how to utilize the resources of the individuals and communities to increase PA levels and overall health of South Asian women.

Structural evidence for the role of polar core residue Arg175 in arrestin activation.

PubMed

Granzin, Joachim; Stadler, Andreas; Cousin, Anneliese; Schlesinger, Ramona; Batra-Safferling, Renu

2015-10-29

Binding mechanism of arrestin requires photoactivation and phosphorylation of the receptor protein rhodopsin, where the receptor bound phosphate groups cause displacement of the long C-tail 'activating' arrestin. Mutation of arginine 175 to glutamic acid (R175E), a central residue in the polar core and previously predicted as the 'phosphosensor' leads to a pre-active arrestin that is able to terminate phototransduction by binding to non-phosphorylated, light-activated rhodopsin. Here, we report the first crystal structure of a R175E mutant arrestin at 2.7 Å resolution that reveals significant differences compared to the basal state reported in full-length arrestin structures. These differences comprise disruption of hydrogen bond network in the polar core, and three-element interaction including disordering of several residues in the receptor-binding finger loop and the C-terminus (residues 361-404). Additionally, R175E structure shows a 7.5° rotation of the amino and carboxy-terminal domains relative to each other. Consistent to the biochemical data, our structure suggests an important role of R29 in the initial activation step of C-tail release. Comparison of the crystal structures of basal arrestin and R175E mutant provide insights into the mechanism of arrestin activation, where binding of the receptor likely induces structural changes mimicked as in R175E.

Study of the Effect of Active Regions on the Scattering Polarization in the Solar Corona

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Derouich, M.; Badruddin

2018-03-01

The solar photospheric/chromospheric light exciting atoms/ions is not homogeneous because of the presence of active regions (ARs). The effect of ARs on the scattering polarization at the coronal level is an important ingredient for a realistic determination of the magnetic field. This effect is usually disregarded or mixed with other effects in the sense that the degree of its importance is not well known. The aim of this paper is to study the effect of atmospheric inhomogeneities on the coronal scattering polarization. We determined quantitatively the importance of the atmospheric inhomogeneities by using given geometries of solar ARs (plages and sunspots).

Polar transport in plants mediated by membrane transporters: focus on mechanisms of polar auxin transport.

PubMed

Naramoto, Satoshi

2017-12-01

Directional cell-to-cell transport of functional molecules, called polar transport, enables plants to sense and respond to developmental and environmental signals. Transporters that localize to plasma membranes (PMs) in a polar manner are key components of these systems. PIN-FORMED (PIN) auxin efflux carriers, which are the most studied polar-localized PM proteins, are implicated in the polar transport of auxin that in turn regulates plant development and tropic growth. In this review, the regulatory mechanisms underlying polar localization of PINs, control of auxin efflux activity, and PIN abundance at PMs are considered. Up to date information on polar-localized nutrient transporters that regulate directional nutrient movement from soil into the root vasculature is also discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Radio Imaging Observations of Solar Activity Cycle and Its Anomaly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shibasaki, K.

2011-12-01

The 24th solar activity cycle has started and relative sunspot numbers are increasing. However, their rate of increase is rather slow compared to previous cycles. Active region sizes are small, lifetime is short, and big (X-class) flares are rare so far. We study this anomalous situation using data from Nobeyama Radioheliograph (NoRH). Radio imaging observations have been done by NoRH since 1992. Nearly 20 years of daily radio images of the Sun at 17 GHz are used to synthesize a radio butterfly diagram. Due to stable operation of the instrument and a robust calibration method, uniform datasets are available covering the whole period of observation. The radio butterfly diagram shows bright features corresponding to active region belts and their migration toward low latitude as the solar cycle progresses. In the present solar activity cycle (24), increase of radio brightness is delayed and slow. There are also bright features around both poles (polar brightening). Their brightness show solar cycle dependence but peaks around solar minimum. Comparison between the last minimum and the previous one shows decrease of its brightness. This corresponds to weakening of polar magnetic field activity between them. In the northern pole, polar brightening is already weakened in 2011, which means it is close to solar maximum in the northern hemisphere. Southern pole does not show such feature yet. Slow rise of activity in active region belt, weakening of polar activity during the minimum, and large north-south asymmetry in polar activity imply that global solar activity and its synchronization are weakening.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae breaches the apical junction of polarized epithelial cells for transmigration by activating EGFR

PubMed Central

Edwards, Vonetta L.; Wang, Liang-Chun; Dawson, Valerie; Stein, Daniel C.; Song, Wenxia

2017-01-01

Summary Neisseria gonorrhoeae initiates infection at the apical surface of columnar endocervical epithelial cells in the female reproductive tract. These cells provide a physical barrier against pathogens by forming continuous apical junctional complexes between neighbouring cells. This study examines the interaction of gonococci (GC) with polarized epithelial cells. We show that viable GC preferentially localize at the apical side of the cell–cell junction in polarized endometrial and colonic epithelial cells, HEC-1-B and T84. In GC-infected cells, continuous apical junctional complexes are disrupted, and the junction-associated protein β-catenin is redistributed from the apical junction to the cytoplasm and to GC adherent sites; however, overall cellular levels remain unchanged. This redistribution of junctional proteins is associated with a decrease in the ‘fence’ function of the apical junction but not its ‘gate’ function. Disruption of the apical junction by removing calcium increases GC transmigration across the epithelial monolayer. GC inoculation induces the phosphorylation of both epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and β-catenin, while inhibition of EGFR kinase activity significantly reduces both GC-induced β-catenin redistribution and GC transmigration. Therefore, the gonococcus is capable of weakening the apical junction and polarity of epithelial cells by activating EGFR, which facilitates GC transmigration across the epithelium. PMID:23279089

Summer declines in activity and body temperature offer polar bears limited energy savings

USGS Publications Warehouse

Whiteman, J.P.; Harlow, H.J.; Durner, George M.; Anderson-Sprecher, R.; Albeke, Shannon E.; Regehr, Eric V.; Amstrup, Steven C.; Ben-David, M.

2015-01-01

Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) summer on the sea ice or, where it melts, on shore. Although the physiology of “ice” bears in summer is unknown, “shore” bears purportedly minimize energy losses by entering a hibernation-like state when deprived of food. Such a strategy could partially compensate for the loss of on-ice foraging opportunities caused by climate change. However, here we report gradual, moderate declines in activity and body temperature of both shore and ice bears in summer, resembling energy expenditures typical of fasting, nonhibernating mammals. Also, we found that to avoid unsustainable heat loss while swimming, bears employed unusual heterothermy of the body core. Thus, although well adapted to seasonal ice melt, polar bears appear susceptible to deleterious declines in body condition during the lengthening period of summer food deprivation.

PolarTREC: Successful Methods and Tools for Attaining Broad Educational Impacts with Interdisciplinary Polar Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Timm, K. M.; Warburton, J.; Owens, R.; Warnick, W. K.

2008-12-01

PolarTREC--Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating, a program of the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS), is a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded International Polar Year (IPY) project in which K-12 educators participate in hands-on field experiences in the polar regions, working closely with IPY scientists as a pathway to improving science education. Developing long-term teacher- researcher collaborations through PolarTREC ensures up-to-date climate change science content will permeate the K-12 education system long after the IPY. By infusing education with the cutting edge science from the polar regions, PolarTREC has already shown an increase in student and public knowledge of and interest in the polar regions and global climate change. Preliminary evaluations have shown that PolarTREC's program activities have many positive impacts on educators and their ability to teach science concepts and improve their teaching methods. Additionally, K-12 students polled in interest surveys showed significant changes regarding the importance of understanding the polar regions as a person in today's world. Researchers have been overwhelmingly satisfied with PolarTREC and cited several specific strengths, including the program's crucial link between the teachers' field research experiences and their classroom and the extensive training provided to teachers prior to their expedition. This presentation will focus on other successful components of the PolarTREC program and how researchers and organizations might use these tools to reach out to the public for long-term impacts. Best practices include strategies for working with educators and the development of an internet-based platform for teachers and researchers to interact with the public, combining several communication tools such as online journals and forums, real-time Internet seminars, lesson plans, activities, audio, and other educational resources that address a broad range of scientific

PolarTREC: Successful Methods and Tools for Attaining Broad Educational Impacts with Interdisciplinary Polar Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warburton, J.; Timm, K. M.; Owens, R.; Warnick, W. K.

2008-12-01

PolarTREC--Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating, a program of the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS), is a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded International Polar Year (IPY) project in which K-12 educators participate in hands-on field experiences in the polar regions, working closely with IPY scientists as a pathway to improving science education. Developing long-term teacher- researcher collaborations through PolarTREC ensures up-to-date climate change science content will permeate the K-12 education system long after the IPY. By infusing education with the cutting edge science from the polar regions, PolarTREC has already shown an increase in student and public knowledge of and interest in the polar regions and global climate change. Preliminary evaluations have shown that PolarTREC's program activities have many positive impacts on educators and their ability to teach science concepts and improve their teaching methods. Additionally, K-12 students polled in interest surveys showed significant changes regarding the importance of understanding the polar regions as a person in today's world. Researchers have been overwhelmingly satisfied with PolarTREC and cited several specific strengths, including the program's crucial link between the teachers' field research experiences and their classroom and the extensive training provided to teachers prior to their expedition. This poster will focus on other successful components of the PolarTREC program and how researchers and organizations might use these tools to reach out to the public for long-term impacts. Best practices include strategies for working with educators and the development of an internet-based platform for teachers and researchers to interact with the public, combining several communication tools such as online journals and forums, real-time Internet seminars, lesson plans, activities, audio, and other educational resources that address a broad range of scientific topics

Geomagnetic Polarity Epochs: Sierra Nevada II.

PubMed

Cox, A; Doell, R R; Dalrymple, G B

1963-10-18

Ten new determinations on volcanic extrusions in the Sierra Nevada with potassium-argon ages of 3.1 million years or less indicate that the remanent magnetizations fall into two groups, a normal group in which the remanent magnetization is directed downward and to the north, and a reversed group magnetized up and to the south. Thermomagnetic experiments and mineralogic studies fail to provide an explanation of the opposing polarities in terms of mineralogic control, but rather suggest that the remanent magnetization reflects reversals of the main dipole field of the earth. All available radiometric ages are consistent with this field-reversal hypothesis and indicate that the present normal polarity epoch (N1) as well as the previous reversed epoch (R1) are 0.9 to 1.0 million years long, whereas the previous normal epoch (N2) was at least 25 percent longer.

Geomagnetic polarity epochs: Sierra Nevada II

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cox, A.; Doell, Richard R.; Brent, Dalrymple G.

1963-01-01

Ten new determinations on volcanic extrusions in the Sierra Nevada with potassium-argon ages of 3.1 million years or less indicate that the remanent magnetizations fall into two groups, a normal group in which the remanent magnetization is directed downward and to the north, and a reversed group magnetized up and to the south. Thermomagnetic experiments and mineralogic studies fail to provide an explanation of the opposing polarities in terms of mineralogic control, but rather suggest that the remanent magnetization reflects reversals of the main dipole field of the earth. All available radiometric ages are consistent with this field-reversal hypothesis and indicate that the present normal polarity epoch (N1) as well as the previous reversed epoch (R1) are 0.9 to 1.0 million years long, whereas the previous normal epoch (N2) was at least 25 percent longer.

Polar Cap Pits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

17 August 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows kidney bean-shaped pits, and other pits, formed by erosion in a landscape of frozen carbon dioxide. This images shows one of about a dozen different patterns that are common in various locations across the martian south polar residual cap, an area that has been receiving intense scrutiny by the MGS MOC this year, because it is visible on every orbit and in daylight for most of 2005.

Location near: 86.9oS, 6.9oW Image width: width: 3 km (1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Spring

Immobilized heavy chain-hyaluronic acid polarizes lipopolysaccharide-activated macrophages toward M2 phenotype.

PubMed

He, Hua; Zhang, Suzhen; Tighe, Sean; Son, Ji; Tseng, Scheffer C G

2013-09-06

Despite the known anti-inflammatory effect of amniotic membrane, its action mechanism remains largely unknown. HC-HA complex (HC-HA) purified from human amniotic membrane consists of high molecular weight hyaluronic acid (HA) covalently linked to the heavy chain (HC) 1 of inter-α-trypsin inhibitor. In this study, we show that soluble HC-HA also contained pentraxin 3 and induced the apoptosis of both formyl-Met-Leu-Phe or LPS-activated neutrophils and LPS-activated macrophages while not affecting the resting cells. This enhanced apoptosis was caused by the inhibition of cell adhesion, spreading, and proliferation caused by HC-HA binding of LPS-activated macrophages and preventing adhesion to the plastic surface. Preferentially, soluble HC-HA promoted phagocytosis of apoptotic neutrophils in resting macrophages, whereas immobilized HC-HA promoted phagocytosis in LPS-activated macrophages. Upon concomitant LPS stimulation, immobilized HC-HA but not HA polarized macrophages toward the M2 phenotype by down-regulating IRF5 protein and preventing its nuclear localization and by down-regulating IL-12, TNF-α, and NO synthase 2. Additionally, IL-10, TGF-β1, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, LIGHT (TNF superfamily 14), and sphingosine kinase-1 were up-regulated, and such M2 polarization was dependent on TLR ligation. Collectively, these data suggest that HC-HA is a unique matrix component different from HA and uses multiple mechanisms to suppress M1 while promoting M2 phenotype. This anti-inflammatory action of HC-HA is highly desirable to promote wound healing in diseases heightened by unsuccessful transition from M1 to M2 phenotypes.

Dengue antiviral activity of polar extract from Melochia umbellata (Houtt) Stapf var. Visenia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hariani Soekamto, Nunuk; Liong, S.; Fauziah, S.; Wahid, I.; Firdaus; Taba, P.; Ahmad, F.

2018-03-01

A research on the dengue antiviral activity test on the polar bark extract of M. umbelatta (Houtt.) Stapf var. Vicenia have been done to determine the relation to its activity againts brine shrimp Artemia salina. The bark was extracted by maceration with n-hexane, chloroform, and ethylacetate. The activity of the ethyl acetate extract was then tested against A. salina and dengue virus. It was found that the ethyl acetate extract was active to A. salina with the LC50 value of 101.66 μg/mL and also very active to dengue virus with the IC50 value of 1.67μg/mL. It is clear that the toxicity to brine shrimp A. salina has a positive correlation with the dengue anti virus.

Some Activities with Polarized Light from a Laptop LCD Screen

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fakhruddin, Hasan

2008-01-01

The LCD screen of a laptop computer provides a broad, bright, and extended source of polarized light. A number of demonstrations on the properties of polarized light from a laptop computer screens are presented here.

Upper Thermosphere Winds and Temperatures in the Geomagnetic Polar Cap: Solar Cycle, Geomagnetic Activity, and Interplanetary Magnetic Field Dependencies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Killeen, T. L.; Won, Y.-I.; Niciejewski, R. J.; Burns, A. G.

1995-01-01

Ground-based Fabry-Perot interferometers located at Thule, Greenland (76.5 deg. N, 69.0 deg. W, lambda = 86 deg.) and at Sondre Stromfjord, Greenland (67.0 deg. N, 50.9 deg. W, lambda = 74 deg.) have monitored the upper thermospheric (approx. 240-km altitude) neutral wind and temperature over the northern hemisphere geomagnetic polar cap since 1983 and 1985, respectively. The thermospheric observations are obtained by determining the Doppler characteristics of the (OI) 15,867-K (630.0-nm) emission of atomic oxygen. The instruments operate on a routine, automatic, (mostly) untended basis during the winter observing seasons, with data coverage limited only by cloud cover and (occasional) instrument failures. This unique database of geomagnetic polar cap measurements now extends over the complete range of solar activity. We present an analysis of the measurements made between 1985 (near solar minimum) and 1991 (near solar maximum), as part of a long-term study of geomagnetic polar cap thermospheric climatology. The measurements from a total of 902 nights of observations are compared with the predictions of two semiempirical models: the Vector Spherical Harmonic (VSH) model of Killeen et al. (1987) and the Horizontal Wind Model (HWM) of Hedin et al. (1991). The results are also analyzed using calculations of thermospheric momentum forcing terms from the Thermosphere-ionosphere General Circulation Model TGCM) of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The experimental results show that upper thermospheric winds in the geomagnetic polar cap have a fundamental diurnal character, with typical wind speeds of about 200 m/s at solar minimum, rising to up to about 800 m/s at solar maximum, depending on geomagnetic activity level. These winds generally blow in the antisunward direction, but are interrupted by episodes of modified wind velocity and altered direction often associated with changes in the orientation of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF). The

Defrosting Polar Dunes--'The Snow Leopard'

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

The patterns created by dark spots on defrosting south polar dunes are often strange and beautiful. This picture, which the Mars Orbiter Camera team has dubbed, 'the snow leopard,' shows a dune field located at 61.5oS, 18.9oW, as it appeared on July 1, 1999. The spots are areas where dark sand has been exposed from beneath bright frost as the south polar winter cap begins to retreat. Many of the spots have a diffuse, bright ring around them this is thought to be fresh frost that was re-precipitated after being removed from the dark spot. The spots seen on defrosting polar dunes are a new phenomenon that was not observed by previous spacecraft missions to Mars. Thus, there is much about these features that remains unknown. For example, no one yet knows why the dunes become defrosted by forming small spots that grow and grow over time. No one knows for sure if the bright rings around the dark spots are actually composed of re-precipitated frost. And no one knows for sure why some dune show spots that appear to be 'lined-up' (as they do in the picture shown here).

This Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera image is illuminated from the upper left. North is toward the upper right. The scale bar indicates a distance of 200 meters (656 feet).

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Polar Polygons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

26 December 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture displays polygons outlined by cracks in the martian south polar region. This southern summer view was acquired in October 2003 and is located near 86.9oS, 170.6oW. Polygons similar in size and shape to these are common in the arctic and antarctic regions of Earth. On Earth, they indicate the presence (or the past presence) of ground ice and the freeze-thaw cycles that accompany this ice. On Mars, whether ground ice was responsible for these landforms is uncertain, but their presence is suggestive that ground ice may exist or may once have existed in this region. The picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

Flowing Active Liquids in a Pipe: Hysteretic Response of Polar Flocks to External Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morin, Alexandre; Bartolo, Denis

2018-04-01

We investigate the response of colloidal flocks to external fields. We first show that individual colloidal rollers align with external flows, as would a classical spin with magnetic fields. Assembling polar active liquids from colloidal rollers, we experimentally demonstrate their hysteretic response: Confined colloidal flocks can proceed against external flows. We theoretically explain this collective robustness, using an active hydrodynamic description, and show how orientational elasticity and confinement protect the direction of collective motion. Finally, we exploit the intrinsic bistability of confined active flows to devise self-sustained microfluidic oscillators.

On the Edge of the South Pole Layered Deposit

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-10-05

This image shows the edge of the Martian South Polar layered deposit. The stack of fine layering is highlighted by the rays of the polar sun. These layers show the pervasive red coloring of Mars which have built up over the ages. While this is a polar deposit, no ice or frost is visible on these layers, as they face the sun. However, if you look beyond the rim of the layered slope at the 'top' of the deposit, you can see that red rock and dust are covered with frost, as well as small radial channels that are evidence of polar spider networks. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21105

The F-BAR protein Hof1 tunes formin activity to sculpt actin cables during polarized growth

PubMed Central

Graziano, Brian R.; Yu, Hoi-Ying E.; Alioto, Salvatore L.; Eskin, Julian A.; Ydenberg, Casey A.; Waterman, David P.; Garabedian, Mikael; Goode, Bruce L.

2014-01-01

Asymmetric cell growth and division rely on polarized actin cytoskeleton remodeling events, the regulation of which is poorly understood. In budding yeast, formins stimulate the assembly of an organized network of actin cables that direct polarized secretion. Here we show that the Fer/Cip4 homology–Bin amphiphysin Rvs protein Hof1, which has known roles in cytokinesis, also functions during polarized growth by directly controlling the activities of the formin Bnr1. A mutant lacking the C-terminal half of Hof1 displays misoriented and architecturally altered cables, along with impaired secretory vesicle traffic. In vitro, Hof1 inhibits the actin nucleation and elongation activities of Bnr1 without displacing the formin from filament ends. These effects depend on the Src homology 3 domain of Hof1, the formin homology 1 (FH1) domain of Bnr1, and Hof1 dimerization, suggesting a mechanism by which Hof1 “restrains” the otherwise flexible FH1-FH2 apparatus. In vivo, loss of inhibition does not alter actin levels in cables but, instead, cable shape and functionality. Thus Hof1 tunes formins to sculpt the actin cable network. PMID:24719456

Saturn's North Polar Vortex Revealed by Cassini/VIMS: Zonal Wind Structure and Constraints on Cloud Distributions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baines, Kevin H.; Momary, T. W.; Fletcher, L. N.; Buratti, B. J.; Roos-Serote, M.; Showman, A. P.; Brown, R. H.; Clark, R. N.; Nicholson, P. D.

2008-09-01

We present the first high-spatial resolution, near-nadir imagery and movies of Saturn's north polar region that reveal the wind structure of a north polar vortex. Obtained by Cassini/VIMS on June 15, 2008 from high over Saturn's polar region (sub-spacecraft latitude of 65 degrees N. lat) at an altitude of 0.42 million km during the long polar night, these 210-per-pixel images of the polar region north of 73 degrees N. latitude show several concentric cloud rings and hundreds of individual cloud features in silhouette against the 5-micron background thermal glow of Saturn's deep atmosphere. In contrast to the clear eye of the south polar vortex, the north polar vortex sports a central cloud feature about 650-km in diameter. Zonal winds reach a maximum of 150 m/s near 88 degrees N. latitude (planetocentric) - comparable to the south polar vortex maximum of 190 m/s near 88 degrees S. latitude - and fall off nearly monotonically to 10 m/s near 80 degrees N. latitude. At slightly greater distance from the pole, inside the north polar hexagon in the 75-77 degree N. latitude region, zonal winds increase dramatically to 130 m/s, as silhouetted clouds are seen speeding aroud the "race track” of the hexagonal feature. VIMS 5-micron thermal observations over a 1.6-year period from October 29, 2006 to June 15, 2008 are consistent with the polar hexagon structure itself remaining fixed in the Voyager-era radio rotation rate (Desch and Kaiser, Geophys. Res. Lett, 8, 253-256, 1981) to within an accuracy of 3 seconds per rotational period. This agrees with the stationary nature of the wave in this rotation system found by Godfrey (Icarus 76, 335-356, 1988), but is inconsistent with rotation rates found during the current Cassini era.

Phosphatidylserine is polarized and required for proper Cdc42 localization and for development of cell polarity.

PubMed

Fairn, Gregory D; Hermansson, Martin; Somerharju, Pentti; Grinstein, Sergio

2011-10-02

Polarity is key to the function of eukaryotic cells. On the establishment of a polarity axis, cells can vectorially target secretion, generating an asymmetric distribution of plasma membrane proteins. From Saccharomyces cerevisiae to mammals, the small GTPase Cdc42 is a pivotal regulator of polarity. We used a fluorescent probe to visualize the distribution of phosphatidylserine in live S. cerevisiae. Remarkably, phosphatidylserine was polarized in the plasma membrane, accumulating in bud necks, the bud cortex and the tips of mating projections. Polarization required vectorial delivery of phosphatidylserine-containing secretory vesicles, and phosphatidylserine was largely excluded from endocytic vesicles, contributing to its polarized retention. Mutants lacking phosphatidylserine synthase had impaired polarization of the Cdc42 complex, leading to a delay in bud emergence, and defective mating. The addition of lysophosphatidylserine resulted in resynthesis and polarization of phosphatidylserine, as well as repolarization of Cdc42. The results indicate that phosphatidylserine--and presumably its polarization--are required for optimal Cdc42 targeting and activation during cell division and mating.

Reciprocal and dynamic polarization of planar cell polarity core components and myosin

PubMed Central

Newman-Smith, Erin; Kourakis, Matthew J; Reeves, Wendy; Veeman, Michael; Smith, William C

2015-01-01

The Ciona notochord displays planar cell polarity (PCP), with anterior localization of Prickle (Pk) and Strabismus (Stbm). We report that a myosin is polarized anteriorly in these cells and strongly colocalizes with Stbm. Disruption of the actin/myosin machinery with cytochalasin or blebbistatin disrupts polarization of Pk and Stbm, but not of myosin complexes, suggesting a PCP-independent aspect of myosin localization. Wash out of cytochalasin restored Pk polarization, but not if done in the presence of blebbistatin, suggesting an active role for myosin in core PCP protein localization. On the other hand, in the pk mutant line, aimless, myosin polarization is disrupted in approximately one third of the cells, indicating a reciprocal action of core PCP signaling on myosin localization. Our results indicate a complex relationship between the actomyosin cytoskeleton and core PCP components in which myosin is not simply a downstream target of PCP signaling, but also required for PCP protein localization. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05361.001 PMID:25866928

[Study on scavenging activity to DPPH free radical of different polarity components in Guizhou Miao medicine "bod zangd dak"].

PubMed

Du, Hong-zhi; Nong, Heng; Dong, Li-sha; Li, Jia-li; Liu, Ming; He, Xi-cheng; Zhang, Jing

2015-06-01

The paper is aimed to search more natural plant antioxidants and further research and develop new medicinal plant resources in Guizhou. The Guizhou special miao medicine "bod zangd dak" was extracted with 60% ethanol. The antioxidant activity of the different polarity components separated from the extract was tested by DPPH method with ascorbic acid as positive control. The results showed that the IC50 of the different polarity components was as following: ascorbic acid (0.033 4 g x L(-1)) < ethyl acetate components (0.052 3 g x L(-1)) < total tannins components (0.054 9 g x L(-1)) < 60% ethanol extraction components (0.076 7 g x L(-1)) < butanol extraction components (0.110 g x L(-1)) < water-soluble polysaccharides components (0.168 g x L(-1)) < water extraction components (0.174 g x L(-1)) < water components after extraction (0.226 g x L(-1)) < total polysaccharides components (0.645 g x L(-1)). It is concluded that the different polarity components have different free radical scavenging activity and that provides a scientific basis for further search of the active ingredients and the activive mechanism.

FABP4 inhibition suppresses PPARγ activity and VLDL-induced foam cell formation in IL-4-polarized human macrophages.

PubMed

Boss, Marcel; Kemmerer, Marina; Brüne, Bernhard; Namgaladze, Dmitry

2015-06-01

Macrophages, converted to lipid-loaded foam cells, accumulate in atherosclerotic lesions. Macrophage lipid metabolism is transcriptionally regulated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), and its target gene fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) accelerates the progression of atherosclerosis in mouse models. Since expression of PPARγ and FABP4 is increased upon interleukin-4 (IL-4)-induced macrophage polarization, we aimed to investigate the role of FABP4 in human IL-4-polarized macrophages. We investigated the impact of FABP4 on PPARγ-dependent gene expression in primary human monocytes differentiated to macrophages in the presence of IL-4. IL-4 increased PPARγ and its target genes lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and FABP4 compared to non-polarized or LPS/interferon γ-stimulated macrophages. LPL expression correlated with increased very low density lipoprotein (VLDL)-induced triglyceride accumulation in IL-4-polarized macrophages, which was sensitive to inhibition of lipolysis or PPARγ antagonism. Inhibition of FABP4 during differentiation using chemical inhibitors BMS309403 and HTS01037 or FABP4 siRNA decreased the expression of FABP4 and LPL, and reduced lipid accumulation in macrophages treated with VLDL. FABP4 or LPL inhibition also reduced the expression of inflammatory mediators chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) and IL-1β in response to VLDL in IL-4-polarized macrophages. PPARγ luciferase reporter assays confirmed that FABP4 supports fatty acid-induced PPARγ activation. Our findings suggest that IL-4 induces a lipid-accumulating macrophage phenotype by activating PPARγ and subsequent LPL expression. Inhibition of FABP4 decreases VLDL-induced foam cell formation, indicating that anti-atherosclerotic effects achieved by FABP4 inhibition in mouse models may be feasible in the human system as well. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A case-study of the evolution of polar-cap currents and auroral electrojets during polar geomagnetic disturbances with IMS magnetometer data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Iijima, T.; Kim, J. S.; Sugiura, M.

1984-01-01

The development of the polar cap current and the relationship of that development to the evolution of auroral electrojets during individual polar geomagnetic disturbances is studied using 1 min average data from US-Canada IMS network stations and standard magnetograms from sites on the polar cap and in the auroral zone. It is found that even when the auroral electrojet activity is weak, polar cap currents producing fields of magnitude approximately 100-200 nT almost always exist. A normal convection current system exists quasi-persistently in the polar cap during extended quiet or weakly disturbed periods of auroral electrojet activity. After one such period, some drastic changes occur in the polar cap currents, which are followed by phases of growth, expansion, and recovery. Polar cap currents cannot all be completely ascribed to a single source mechanism.

VIIRS/J1 polarization narrative

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waluschka, Eugene; McCorkel, Joel; McIntire, Jeff; Moyer, David; McAndrew, Brendan; Brown, Steven W.; Lykke, Keith R.; Young, James B.; Fest, Eric; Butler, James; Wang, Tung R.; Monroy, Eslim O.; Turpie, Kevin; Meister, Gerhard; Thome, Kurtis J.

2015-09-01

The polarization sensitivity of the Visible/NearIR (VISNIR) bands in the Joint Polar Satellite Sensor 1 (J1) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument was measured using a broadband source. While polarization sensitivity for bands M5-M7, I1, and I2 was less than 2.5 %, the maximum polarization sensitivity for bands M1, M2, M3, and M4 was measured to be 6.4 %, 4.4 %, 3.1 %, and 4.3 %, respectively with a polarization characterization uncertainty of less than 0.38%. A detailed polarization model indicated that the large polarization sensitivity observed in the M1 to M4 bands is mainly due to the large polarization sensitivity introduced at the leading and trailing edges of the newly manufactured VISNIR bandpass focal plane filters installed in front of the VISNIR detectors. This was confirmed by polarization measurements of bands M1 and M4 bands using monochromatic light. Discussed are the activities leading up to and including the two polarization tests, some discussion of the polarization model and the model results, the role of the focal plane filters, the polarization testing of the Aft-Optics-Assembly, the testing of the polarizers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Goddard center and at the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) facility and the use of NIST's Traveling Spectral Irradiance and Radiance responsivity Calibrations using Uniform Sources (T-SIRCUS) for polarization testing and associated analyses and results.

For the depolarization of linearly polarized light by smoke particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Wenbo; Liu, Zhaoyan; Videen, Gorden; Fu, Qiang; Muinonen, Karri; Winker, David M.; Lukashin, Constantine; Jin, Zhonghai; Lin, Bing; Huang, Jianping

2013-06-01

The CALIPSO satellite mission consistently measures volume (including molecule and particulate) light depolarization ratio of ∼2% for smoke, compared to ∼1% for marine aerosols and ∼15% for dust. The observed ∼2% smoke depolarization ratio comes primarily from the nonspherical habits of particles in the smoke at certain particle sizes. In this study, the depolarization of linearly polarized light by small sphere aggregates and irregular Gaussian-shaped particles is studied, to reveal the physics between the depolarization of linearly polarized light and smoke aerosol shape and size. It is found that the depolarization ratio curves of Gaussian-deformed spheres are very similar to sphere aggregates in terms of scattering-angle dependence and particle size parameters when particle size parameter is smaller than 1.0π. This demonstrates that small randomly oriented nonspherical particles have some common depolarization properties as functions of scattering angle and size parameter. This may be very useful information for characterization and active remote sensing of smoke particles using polarized light. We also show that the depolarization ratio from the CALIPSO measurements could be used to derive smoke aerosol particle size. From the calculation results for light depolarization ratio by Gaussian-shaped smoke particles and the CALIPSO-measured light depolarization ratio of ∼2% for smoke, the mean particle size of South-African smoke is estimated to be about half of the 532nm wavelength of the CALIPSO lidar.

Radio emission of energetic cosmic ray air showers: Polarization measurements with LOPES

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopes Collaboration; Isar, P. G.; Apel, W. D.; Arteaga, J. C.; Asch, T.; Auffenberg, J.; Badea, F.; Bähren, L.; Bekk, K.; Bertaina, M.; Biermann, P. L.; Blümer, J.; Bozdog, H.; Brancus, I. M.; Brüggemann, M.; Buchholz, P.; Buitink, S.; Cantoni, E.; Chiavassa, A.; Cossavella, F.; Daumiller, K.; de Souza, V.; di Pierro, F.; Doll, P.; Engel, R.; Falcke, H.; Finger, M.; Fuhrmann, D.; Gemmeke, H.; Ghia, P. L.; Glasstetter, R.; Grupen, C.; Haungs, A.; Heck, D.; Hörandel, J. R.; Horneffer, A.; Huang, X.; Huege, T.; Kampert, K.-H.; Kang, D.; Kickelbick, D.; Kolotaev, Y.; Krömer, O.; Kuijpers, J.; Lafebre, S.; Łuczak, P.; Mathes, H. J.; Mayer, H. J.; Milke, J.; Mitrica, B.; Morello, C.; Navarra, G.; Nehls, S.; Nigl, A.; Oehlschläger, J.; Over, S.; Petcu, M.; Pierog, T.; Rautenberg, J.; Rebel, H.; Roth, M.; Saftoiu, A.; Schieler, H.; Schmidt, A.; Schröder, F.; Sima, O.; Singh, K.; Stümpert, M.; Toma, G.; Trinchero, G. C.; Ulrich, H.; Walkowiak, W.; Weindl, A.; Wochele, J.; Wommer, M.; Zabierowski, J.; Zensus, J. A.; LOPES Collaboration

2009-06-01

LOPES is a radio antenna array co-located with the Karlsruhe Shower Core and Array DEtector, KASCADE-Grande in Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Germany, which provides well-calibrated trigger information and air shower parameters for primary energies up to 10eV. By the end of 2006, the radio antennas were re-configured to perform polarization measurements of the radio signal of cosmic ray air showers, recording in the same time both, the East-West and North-South polarization directions of the radio emission. The main goal of these measurements is to reconstruct the polarization characteristics of the emitted signal. This will allow a detailed comparison with theoretical predictions. The current status of these measurements is reported here.

Space Solar Power Technology Demonstration for Lunar Polar Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henley, M. W.; Fikes, J. C.; Howell, J.; Mankins, J. C.; Howell, J.

2002-01-01

A solar power generation station on a mountaintop near the moon's North or South pole can receive sunlight 708 hours per lunar day, for continuous power generation. Power can be beamed from this station over long distances using a laser-based wireless power transmission system and a photo-voltaic receiver. This beamed energy can provide warmth, electricity, and illumination for a robotic rover to perform scientific experiments in cold, dark craters where no other power source is practical. Radio-frequency power transmission may also be demonstrated in lunar polar applications to locate and recover sub-surface deposits of volatile material, such as water ice. High circular polarization ratios observed in data from Clementine spacecraft and Arecibo radar reflections from the moon's South pole suggest that water ice is indeed present in certain lunar polar craters. Data from the Lunar Prospector spacecraft's epi-thermal neutron spectrometer also indicate that hydrogen is present at the moon's poles. Space Solar Power technology enables investigation of these craters, which may contain a billion-year-old stratigraphic record of tremendous scientific value. Layers of ice, preserved at the moon's poles, could help us determine the sequence and composition of comet impacts on the moon. Such ice deposits may even include distinct strata deposited by secondary ejecta following significant Earth (ocean) impacts, linked to major extinctions of life on Earth. Ice resources at the moon's poles could provide water and air for human exploration and development of space as well as rocket propellant for future space transportation. Technologies demonstrated and matured via lunar polar applications can also be used in other NASA science missions (Valles Marineris. Phobos, Deimos, Mercury's poles, asteroids, etc.) and in future large-scale SSP systems to beam energy from space to Earth. Ground-based technology demonstrations are proceeding to mature the technology for such a near

Structural evidence for the role of polar core residue Arg175 in arrestin activation

PubMed Central

Granzin, Joachim; Stadler, Andreas; Cousin, Anneliese; Schlesinger, Ramona; Batra-Safferling, Renu

2015-01-01

Binding mechanism of arrestin requires photoactivation and phosphorylation of the receptor protein rhodopsin, where the receptor bound phosphate groups cause displacement of the long C-tail ‘activating’ arrestin. Mutation of arginine 175 to glutamic acid (R175E), a central residue in the polar core and previously predicted as the ‘phosphosensor’ leads to a pre-active arrestin that is able to terminate phototransduction by binding to non-phosphorylated, light-activated rhodopsin. Here, we report the first crystal structure of a R175E mutant arrestin at 2.7 Å resolution that reveals significant differences compared to the basal state reported in full-length arrestin structures. These differences comprise disruption of hydrogen bond network in the polar core, and three-element interaction including disordering of several residues in the receptor-binding finger loop and the C-terminus (residues 361–404). Additionally, R175E structure shows a 7.5° rotation of the amino and carboxy-terminal domains relative to each other. Consistent to the biochemical data, our structure suggests an important role of R29 in the initial activation step of C-tail release. Comparison of the crystal structures of basal arrestin and R175E mutant provide insights into the mechanism of arrestin activation, where binding of the receptor likely induces structural changes mimicked as in R175E. PMID:26510463

Polar Winds

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-05

This VIS image shows 'streamers' of clouds created by katabatic winds at the north polar cap. Katabatic winds are created by cold air sinking at the pole and then speeding along the ice surface towards the edge of the polar cap. When the winds enter troughs the wind regime changes from laminar flow to choatic and clouds of ice particles and/or dust are visible. This wind activity peaks at the start of northern hemisphere summer. Orbit Number: 53942 Latitude: 86.8433 Longitude: 99.3149 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-02-10 10:50 https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22362

Promoting physical activity among South Asian women with coronary heart disease and diabetes: what might help?

PubMed

Sriskantharajah, Janani; Kai, Joe

2007-02-01

People of South Asian origin have higher mortality and morbidity from coronary heart disease (CHD) and diabetes than those of European origin. However, physical activity, of established value in primary and secondary prevention, appears lower among South Asians. To explore influences on, and attitudes towards, physical activity among South Asian women with CHD and diabetes to inform secondary prevention strategies. Exploratory qualitative study with women aged 26-70 years of varying South Asian ethnicity, religion and socio-economic background with CHD and/or non-insulin-dependent diabetes were recruited from primary care practices in the UK. The beneficial use of physical activity to improve and limit progression of their disease was largely unrecognized by the women interviewed. They were uncertain what type and level of physical activity was appropriate and safe for them. They operated their own threshold for physical activity in relation to their condition, which they were afraid to exceed. Specific guidance from health professionals was lacking. Respondents emphasized the cultural importance of being active day to day, rather than the 'Western' concepts of organized exercise. However, women's principal motivations and attitudes towards physical activity, to loose weight, socialize and maintain independence, were culturally similar to 'majority' populations. Better health professional guidance on appropriate physical activity, its health benefits and its safety is needed for this highly at-risk group. Promoting informal moderate-intensity physical activity may help. Strategies should avoid any tendency to overemphasize cultural barriers noting greater similarities than differences between cultural groups.

Evidence for Surface Water Ice in the Lunar Polar Regions Using Reflectance Measurements from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter and Temperature Measurements from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fisher, Elizabeth A.; Lucey, Paul G.; Lemelin, Myriam; Greenhagen, Benjamin T.; Siegler, Matthew A.; Mazarico, Erwan; Aharonson, Oded; Williams, Jean-Pierre; Hayne, Paul O.; Neumann, Gregory A.;

Evidence for surface water ice in the lunar polar regions using reflectance measurements from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter and temperature measurements from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fisher, Elizabeth A.; Lucey, Paul G.; Lemelin, Myriam; Greenhagen, Benjamin T.; Siegler, Matthew A.; Mazarico, Erwan; Aharonson, Oded; Williams, Jean-Pierre; Hayne, Paul O.; Neumann, Gregory A.; Paige, David A.; Smith, David E.; Zuber, Maria T.

2017-08-01

We find that the reflectance of the lunar surface within 5° of latitude of the South Pole increases rapidly with decreasing temperature, near ∼110 K, behavior consistent with the presence of surface water ice. The North polar region does not show this behavior, nor do South polar surfaces at latitudes more than 5° from the pole. This South pole reflectance anomaly persists when analysis is limited to surfaces with slopes less than 10° to eliminate false detection due to the brightening effect of mass wasting, and also when the very bright south polar crater Shackleton is excluded from the analysis. We also find that south polar regions of permanent shadow that have been reported to be generally brighter at 1064 nm do not show anomalous reflectance when their annual maximum surface temperatures are too high to preserve water ice. This distinction is not observed at the North Pole. The reflectance excursion on surfaces with maximum temperatures below 110 K is superimposed on a general trend of increasing reflectance with decreasing maximum temperature that is present throughout the polar regions in the north and south; we attribute this trend to a temperature or illumination-dependent space weathering effect (e.g. Hemingway et al., 2015). We also find a sudden increase in reflectance with decreasing temperature superimposed on the general trend at 200 K and possibly at 300 K. This may indicate the presence of other volatiles such as sulfur or organics. We identified and mapped surfaces with reflectances so high as to be unlikely to be part of an ice-free population. In this south we find a similar distribution found by Hayne et al. (2015) based on UV properties. In the north a cluster of pixels near that pole may represent a limited frost exposure.

Role of asymmetric meridional circulation in producing north-south asymmetry in a solar cycle dynamo model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Belucz, Bernadett; Dikpati, Mausumi

2013-12-10

Solar cycles in the north and south hemispheres differ in cycle length, amplitude, profile, polar fields, and coronal structure. To show what role differences in meridional flow could play in producing these differences, we present the results of three sets of numerical simulations from a flux transport dynamo in which one property of meridional circulation has been changed in the south only. The changes are in amplitude and the presence of a second cell in latitude or in depth. An ascending phase speedup causes weakening of polar and toroidal fields; a speed decrease in a late descending phase does notmore » change amplitudes. A long-duration speed increase leads to lower toroidal field peaks but unchanged polar field peaks. A second high-latitude circulation cell in an ascending phase weakens the next polar and toroidal field peaks, and the ascending phase is lengthened. A second cell in a late descending phase speeds up the cycle. A long-duration second cell leads to a poleward branch of the butterfly diagram and weaker polar fields. A second cell in depth reverses the tilt of the butterfly wing, decreasing polar fields when added during an ascending phase and increasing them during a late descending phase. A long-duration presence of a second cell in radius evolves the butterfly diagram far away from the observed one, with different dynamo periods in low and high latitudes. Thus, a second cell in depth is unlikely to persist more than a few years if the solar dynamo is advection-dominated. Our results show the importance of time variation and north-south asymmetry in meridional circulation in producing differing cycles in the north and south.« less

Autonomous Rovers for Polar Science Campaigns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lever, J. H.; Ray, L. E.; Williams, R. M.; Morlock, A. M.; Burzynski, A. M.

2012-12-01

We have developed and deployed two over-snow autonomous rovers able to conduct remote science campaigns on Polar ice sheets. Yeti is an 80-kg, four-wheel-drive (4WD) battery-powered robot with 3 - 4 hr endurance, and Cool Robot is a 60-kg 4WD solar-powered robot with unlimited endurance during Polar summers. Both robots navigate using GPS waypoint-following to execute pre-planned courses autonomously, and they can each carry or tow 20 - 160 kg instrument payloads over typically firm Polar snowfields. In 2008 - 12, we deployed Yeti to conduct autonomous ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys to detect hidden crevasses to help establish safe routes for overland resupply of research stations at South Pole, Antarctica, and Summit, Greenland. We also deployed Yeti with GPR at South Pole in 2011 to identify the locations of potentially hazardous buried buildings from the original 1950's-era station. Autonomous surveys remove personnel from safety risks posed during manual GPR surveys by undetected crevasses or buried buildings. Furthermore, autonomous surveys can yield higher quality and more comprehensive data than manual ones: Yeti's low ground pressure (20 kPa) allows it to cross thinly bridged crevasses or other voids without interrupting a survey, and well-defined survey grids allow repeated detection of buried voids to improve detection reliability and map their extent. To improve survey efficiency, we have automated the mapping of detected hazards, currently identified via post-survey manual review of the GPR data. Additionally, we are developing machine-learning algorithms to detect crevasses autonomously in real time, with reliability potentially higher than manual real-time detection. These algorithms will enable the rover to relay crevasse locations to a base station for near real-time mapping and decision-making. We deployed Cool Robot at Summit Station in 2005 to verify its mobility and power budget over Polar snowfields. Using solar power, this zero

Space Solar Power Technology for Lunar Polar Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henley, Mark W.; Howell, Joe T.

2004-01-01

The technology for Laser-Photo-Voltaic Wireless Power Transistor (Laser-PV WPT) is being developed for lunar polar applications by Boeing and NASA Marshall Space Center. A lunar polar mission could demonstrate and validate Laser-PV WPT and other SSP technologies, while enabling access to cold, permanently shadowed craters that are believed to contain ice. Crater may hold frozen water and other volatiles deposited over billion of years, recording prior impact event on the moon (and Earth). A photo-voltaic-powered rover could use sunlight, when available, and laser light, when required, to explore a wide range of lunar terrain. The National Research Council recently found that a mission to the moon's south pole-Aitkir basin has priority for space science

Passive bookshelf faulting driven by gravitational spreading as the cause of the tiger-stripe-fracture formation and development in the South Polar Terrain of Enceladus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, A.; Pappalardo, R. T.

2013-12-01

Detailed photogeologic mapping of the tiger-stripe fractures in the South Polar Terrain (SPT) of Enceladus indicates that these structures are left-slip faults and terminate at hook-shaped fold-thrust zones and/or Y-shaped horsetail splay-fault zones. The semi-square-shaped tectonic domain that hosts the tiger-stripe faults is bounded by right-slip and left-slip faults on the north and south edges and fold-thrust and extensional zones on the western and eastern edges. We explain the above observations by a passive bookshelf-faulting model in which individual tiger-stripe faults are bounded by deformable wall rocks accommodating distributed deformation. Based on topographic data, we suggest that gravitational spreading had caused the SPT to spread unevenly from west to east. This process was accommodated by right-slip and left-slip faulting on the north and south sides and thrusting and extension along the eastern and southern margins of the tiger-stripe tectonic domain. The uneven spreading, expressed by a gradual northward increase in the number of extensional faults and thrusts/folds along the western and eastern margins, was accommodated by distributed right-slip simple shear across the whole tiger-stripe tectonic domain. This mode of deformation in turn resulted in the development of a passive bookshelf-fault system characterized by left-slip faulting on individual tiger-stripe fractures.

Diverse deep-sea fungi from the South China Sea and their antimicrobial activity.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiao-Yong; Zhang, Yun; Xu, Xin-Ya; Qi, Shu-Hua

2013-11-01

We investigated the diversity of fungal communities in nine different deep-sea sediment samples of the South China Sea by culture-dependent methods followed by analysis of fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences. Although 14 out of 27 identified species were reported in a previous study, 13 species were isolated from sediments of deep-sea environments for the first report. Moreover, these ITS sequences of six isolates shared 84-92 % similarity with their closest matches in GenBank, which suggested that they might be novel phylotypes of genera Ajellomyces, Podosordaria, Torula, and Xylaria. The antimicrobial activities of these fungal isolates were explored using a double-layer technique. A relatively high proportion (56 %) of fungal isolates exhibited antimicrobial activity against at least one pathogenic bacterium or fungus among four marine pathogenic microbes (Micrococcus luteus, Pseudoaltermonas piscida, Aspergerillus versicolor, and A. sydowii). Out of these antimicrobial fungi, the genera Arthrinium, Aspergillus, and Penicillium exhibited antibacterial and antifungal activities, while genus Aureobasidium displayed only antibacterial activity, and genera Acremonium, Cladosporium, Geomyces, and Phaeosphaeriopsis displayed only antifungal activity. To our knowledge, this is the first report to investigate the diversity and antimicrobial activity of culturable deep-sea-derived fungi in the South China Sea. These results suggest that diverse deep-sea fungi from the South China Sea are a potential source for antibiotics' discovery and further increase the pool of fungi available for natural bioactive product screening.

Testing Orbital Parameters as a Hypothesis for the Presence of CO2 Deposits on Mars's South Pole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bain, Z. M.; Bierson, C. J.

2017-12-01

Observational data of Mars's polar caps shows large deposits of buried CO2 ice in the south polar cap and only seasonal CO2 ice in the north [1]. The lower elevation of Mars's north pole leads to higher surface pressures and therefore more favorable conditions for CO2 ice deposition. There are a few plausible reasons why the CO2 deposits are observed at the southern cap. The first is that during a past epochs of atmospheric collapse, CO2was deposited at both poles and only preserved in the south. Another is that the deposits represent a period where ice was preferentially deposited at the south polar cap. The latter could occur if the orbital parameters were such that the southern cap experienced colder summers (less insolation) than the north. The model of Bierson et. al. 2016 [2] used the observed difference in albedo between the north and the south polar caps and found several periods in the last one million years where deposition was favored at the south polar cap. Here we test if deposition is still favored in the south using the same albedo for both caps. For this work we are using the seasonally resolved KRC model [3]. We varied obliquity, longitude of perihelion, and eccentricity to match their expected values over the last one million years [4]. We modeled the annual CO2 deposition rate in 1,000 year increments. We tested both constant and insolation dependent albedo that was the same at both poles. While we did find periods of deposition on the south pole, this was always in conjunction with deposition in the north in much greater amounts. This finding favors the hypothesis that the deposits are only observed in the southern cap due to the deep pre-existing troughs that allowed the CO2 to be preserved to the modern day. These results also highlight the importance of understanding the observed difference in albedo between the polar caps. [1] Phillips et al. (2011) AAAS, Vol.332 Is.6031 pp.838-841 [2] Bierson et al. (2016) GRL, Vol.43 Is.9 pp.4172-4179 [3

Multiscale polar theory of microtubule and motor-protein assemblies

DOE PAGES

Gao, Tong; Blackwell, Robert; Glaser, Matthew A.; ...

2015-01-27

Microtubules and motor proteins are building blocks of self-organized subcellular biological structures such as the mitotic spindle and the centrosomal microtubule array. These same ingredients can form new “bioactive” liquid-crystalline fluids that are intrinsically out of equilibrium and which display complex flows and defect dynamics. It is not yet well understood how microscopic activity, which involves polarity-dependent interactions between motor proteins and microtubules, yields such larger-scale dynamical structures. In our multiscale theory, Brownian dynamics simulations of polar microtubule ensembles driven by cross-linking motors allow us to study microscopic organization and stresses. Polarity sorting and cross-link relaxation emerge as two polar-specificmore » sources of active destabilizing stress. On larger length scales, our continuum Doi-Onsager theory captures the hydrodynamic flows generated by polarity-dependent active stresses. Finally, the results connect local polar structure to flow structures and defect dynamics.« less

Solar Polar Field Observed by SOHO/MDI and Hinode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y.

2009-12-01

Using 1-minute cadence time-series full disk magnetograms taken by SOHO/MDI in 2007 March, and the corresponding Hinode/SOT vector magnetograms, I have studied evolutionary characteristics of magnetic elements in Sun's south polar region in solar minimum. It is found that the lifetime of magnetic elements is 17.0 hours on average with an average lifetime of 21.8 hours for elements with positive field, the dominant polarity in the south pole, and 1.6 hours for elements with negative field. The elements with positive field are dominant in the south pole with a percentage of 76% in element number and 90.5% in magnetic flux. The lifetime and magnetic flux of the elements is found to be highly related. This agrees with some previous studies for the elements in low latitude quiet regions. Using an image cross correlation method, I also measure solar rotation rate at high latitude, up to 85° in latitude, which is ω = 2.914-0.342 × sin2φ-0.482×sin4φ μrad/s sidereal. It agrees with previous studies using spectroscopic and image cross correlation methods, and also agrees with the results from some work using the element tracking method in which the sample of tracked elements is large. The consistency of those results from different data and methods strongly suggests that this rate at high latitude is reliable.

Stability of Water Ice Beneath Porous Dust Layers of the Martian South Polar Terrain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keller, H. U.; Skorov, Yu. V.; Markiewicz, W. J.; Basilevsky, A. T.

2000-08-01

The analysis of the Viking Infrared Thermal Mapper (IRTM) data show that the surface layers of the Mars south polar layered deposits have very low thermal inertia between 75 and 125 J/(sq m)(s-1/2)(K-1). This is consistent with the assumption that the surface is covered by a porous layer of fine dust. Paige and Keegan determined a slightly higher value based on a thermal model similar to that of Kieffer et al. In this model the heat transfer equation is used to estimate the thickness of the layer that protects the ground ice from seasonal and diurnal temperature variations. The physical properties of the layer are unimportant as long as it has a low thermal inertia and conductivity and keeps the temperature at the ice boundary low enough to prevent sublimation. A thickness between 20 and 4 cm was estimated. This result can be considered to be an upper limit. We assume the surface to be covered by a porous dust layer and consider the gas diffusion through it, from the ground ice and from the atmosphere. Then the depth of the layer is determined by the mass flux balance of subliming and condensing water and not by the temperature condition. The dust particles in the atmosphere are of the order 1 gm. On the surface we can expect larger grains (up to sand size). Therefore assuming an average pore size of 10 gm, a volume porosity of 0.5, a heat capacity of 1300 J/(kg-1)(K-1) leads to a thermal inertia of approx. 80 J/(sq m)(s-1/2)(K-1). With these parameters a dust layer of only 5 mm thickness is found to establish the flux balance at the ice-dust interface during spring season in the southern hemisphere at high latitudes (where Mars Polar Lander arrived). The diurnal temperature variation at the ice-dust surface is shown. The maximum of 205 K well exceeds the sublimation temperature of water ice at 198 K under the atmospheric conditions. The corresponding vapour flux during the last day is shown together with the flux condensing from the atmosphere. The calculations

Polarization-dependent optics using gauge-field metamaterials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Fu; Xiao, Shiyi; Li, Jensen, E-mail: j.li@bham.ac.uk

2015-12-14

We show that effective gauge field for photons with polarization-split dispersion surfaces, being realized using uniaxial metamaterials, can be used for polarization control with unique opportunities. The metamaterials with the proposed gauge field correspond to a special choice of eigenpolarizations on the Poincaré sphere as pseudo-spins, in contrary to those from either conventional birefringent crystals or optical active media. It gives rise to all-angle polarization control and a generic route to manipulate photon trajectories or polarizations in the pseudo-spin domain. As demonstrations, we show beam splitting (birefringent polarizer), all-angle polarization control, unidirectional polarization filter, and interferometer as various polarization controlmore » devices in the pseudo-spin domain. We expect that more polarization-dependent devices can be designed under the same framework.« less

Relative influences of climate change and human activity on the onshore distribution of polar bears

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilson, Ryan R.; Regehr, Eric V.; St. Martin, Michelle; Atwood, Todd C.; Peacock, Elizabeth; Miller, Susanne; Divoky, George J.

2017-01-01

Climate change is altering habitat for many species, leading to shifts in distributions that can increase levels of human-wildlife conflict. To develop effective strategies for minimizing human-wildlife conflict, we must understand the relative influences that climate change and other factors have on wildlife distributions. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are increasingly using land during summer and autumn due to sea ice loss, leading to higher incidents of conflict and concerns for human safety. We sought to understand the relative influence of sea ice conditions, onshore habitat characteristics, and human-provisioned food attractants on the distribution and abundance of polar bears while on shore. We also wanted to determine how mitigation measures might reduce human-polar bear conflict associated with an anthropogenic food source. We built a Bayesian hierarchical model based on 14 years of aerial survey data to estimate the weekly number and distribution of polar bears on the coast of northern Alaska in autumn. We then used the model to predict how effective two management options for handling subsistence-harvested whale remains in the community of Kaktovik, Alaska might be. The distribution of bears on shore was most strongly influenced by the presence of whale carcasses and to a lesser extent sea ice and onshore habitat conditions. The numbers of bears on shore were related to sea ice conditions. The two management strategies for handling the whale carcasses reduced the estimated number of bears near Kaktovik by > 75%. By considering multiple factors associated with the onshore distribution and abundance of polar bears we discerned what role human activities played in where bears occur and how successful efforts to manage the whale carcasses might be for reducing human-polar bear conflict.

Web-based Tools for Educators: Outreach Activities of the Polar Radar for Ice Sheet Measurements (PRISM) Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braaten, D. A.; Holvoet, J. F.; Gogineni, S.

2003-12-01

The Radar Systems and Remote Sensing Laboratory at the University of Kansas (KU) has implemented extensive outreach activities focusing on Polar Regions as part of the Polar Radar for Ice Sheet Measurements (PRISM) project. The PRISM project is developing advanced intelligent remote sensing technology that involves radar systems, an autonomous rover, and communications systems to measure detailed ice sheet characteristics, and to determine bed conditions (frozen or wet) below active ice sheets in both Greenland and Antarctica. These measurements will provide a better understanding of the response of polar ice sheets to global climate change and the resulting impact the ice sheets will have on sea level rise. Many of the research and technological development aspects of the PRISM project, such as robotics, radar systems, climate change and exploration of harsh environments, can kindle an excitement and interest in students about science and technology. These topics form the core of our K-12 education and training outreach initiatives, which are designed to capture the imagination of young students, and prompt them to consider an educational path that will lead them to scientific or engineering careers. The K-12 PRISM outreach initiatives are being developed and implemented in a collaboration with the Advanced Learning Technology Program (ALTec) of the High Plains Regional Technology in Education Consortium (HPR*TEC). ALTec is associated with the KU School of Education, and is a well-established educational research center that develops and hosts web tools to enable teachers nationwide to network, collaborate, and share resources with other teachers. An example of an innovative and successful web interface developed by ALTec is called TrackStar. Teachers can use TrackStar over the Web to develop interactive, resource-based lessons (called tracks) on-line for their students. Once developed, tracks are added to the TrackStar database and can be accessed and modified

The International Polar Year in Portugal: A New National Polar Programme and a Major Education and Outreach project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mendes-Victor, L.; Vieira, G.; Xavier, J.; Canario, A.

2008-12-01

Before the International Polar Year, in Portugal polar research was conducted by a very small group of scientists integrated in foreign projects or research institutions. Portugal was not member of the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR), the European Polar Board (EPB), neither a subscriber of the Antarctic Treaty. In 2004 Portuguese Polar researchers considered the IPY as an opportunity to change this situation and organized the national Committee for the IPY. The objectives were ambitious: to answer the aforementioned issues in defining and proposing a National Polar Programme. In late 2008, close to the end of the IPY, the objectives were attained, except the Antarctic Treaty signature that is, however, in an advanced stage, having been approved by consensus at the National Parliament in early 2007. Portugal joined SCAR in July 2006, the EPB in 2007 and a set of 5 Antarctic research projects forming the roots of the National Polar Programme (ProPolar) have been approved by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT-MCTES). Scientifically, the IPY can already be considered a major success in Portugal with an improvement in polar scientific research, in the number of scientists performing field work in the Antarctic, organizing polar science meetings and producing an expected increase in the number of polar science peer- reviewed papers. The Portuguese IPY scientific activities were accompanied by a major education and outreach project funded by the Agencia Ciência Viva (MCTES): LATITUDE60! Education for the Planet in the IPY. This project lead by the universities of Algarve, Lisbon and by the Portuguese Association of Geography Teachers is heavily interdisciplinary, programmed for all ages, from kindergarten to adults, and hoped to bring together scientists and society. LATITUDE60! was a major success and focussed on showing the importance of the polar regions for Earth's environment, emphasising on the implications of polar change for

Polarized lactate transporter activity and expression in the syncytiotrophoblast of the term human placenta.

PubMed

Settle, P; Mynett, K; Speake, P; Champion, E; Doughty, I M; Sibley, C P; D'Souza, S W; Glazier, J

2004-07-01

We investigated the polarization of l-lactate transport in human syncytiotrophoblast by measuring uptake of [(14)C] l-lactate by both microvillous (maternal-facing; MVM) and basal (fetal-facing; BM) plasma membranes. [(14)C] l-lactate uptake by MVM and BM was stimulated in the presence of an inwardly directed H(+)gradient, with a significantly higher uptake in MVM than in BM at initial rate (15.4+/-2.3 vs 5.6+/-0.6 pmol/mg protein/20 sec). Stereospecific inhibition was observed in MVM, with a higher affinity for l-lactate compared with d-lactate. In BM, there was no difference in the inhibition by these two stereoisomers. Inhibition of lactate uptake in both MVM and BM by 4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (DIDS), an inhibitor of monocarboxylate transporter (MCT) activity, indicated MCT-mediated mechanisms across both membranes. Kinetic modelling supported a two-transporter model as the best fit for both MVM and BM, the K(m)of the major component being 6.21 mm and 25.01 mm in MVM and BM respectively. Western blotting and immunolocalization examining the distribution of MCT1 and MCT4, showed that MCT expression was polarized, MCT1 being predominantly localized to BM and MCT4 showing greater abundance on MVM. CD147, a chaperone protein for MCT1 and MCT4, was equally expressed by both membranes. These studies demonstrate that the opposing plasma membranes of human syncytiotrophoblast are polarized with respect to both MCT activity and expression.

Research Activity and Infrastructure of Korea Polar Research Institute: Current and Future Perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, D.; Kim, S.; Lee, H.

2011-12-01

The Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) opened the Antarctic King Sejong research station in 1988 at the King George Island off the Antarctic Peninsula and started the polar research mainly in the fields of biology and geology with some atmosphere observations. To extend the view of polar research, the KOPRI opened the Arctic Dasan research station at Ny-Alesund, Spitsbergen Island in 2002 and has studied the rapid climate change diagnostics and some microbiological observation. The KOPRI is now expanding the Arctic research into Alaska and Canada under the international collaboration, and planning to outreach to Russia to monitor the change in permafrost and to understand its impact on global warming. To deepen the views of polar research including the ice covered oceans in both poles, the ice-breaking vessel, the ARAON of about 7000 ton, was launched recently and successfully finished the Arctic and Antarctic cruises for research activity on all perspectives of ocean sciences and support for the King Sejong station. The KOPRI is now building another Antarctic research station, called Jangbogo, at the Terra Nova Bay off the Ross Sea and plan to open the station at the March of 2014. By building the second Antarctic station together with the ARAON, the KOPRI will focus its research on understanding the rapid climate change in west Antarctica such as to monitor the calving of the Larsen Ice shelf, rapid melting of Pine Island Glacier, and upper atmosphere, to study the sea ice and ecosystem change in the Amundsen Sea and the role of the southern annular mode in the west Antarctic warming, upper atmosphere and climate change, to reconstruct paleoclimate records from ice and sediment cores.

Jupiter's Swirling South Pole

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-01-18

This image of Jupiter's swirling south polar region was captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft as it neared completion of its tenth close flyby of the gas giant planet. The "empty" space above and below Jupiter in this color-enhanced image can trick the mind, causing the viewer to perceive our solar system's largest planet as less colossal than it is. In reality, Jupiter is wide enough to fit 11 Earths across its clouded disk. The spacecraft captured this image on Dec. 16, 2017, at 11:07 PST (2:07 p.m. EST) when the spacecraft was about 64,899 miles (104,446 kilometers) from the tops of the clouds of the planet at a latitude of 83.9 degrees south -- almost directly over Jupiter's south pole. The spatial scale in this image is 43.6 miles/pixel (70.2 kilometers/pixel). Citizen scientist Gerald Eichstädt processed this image using data from the JunoCam imager. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21975

Movements and distribution of polar bears in the Beaufort sea

USGS Publications Warehouse

Amstrup, Steven C.; Durner, George M.; Stirling, I.; Lunn, N.J.; Messier, F.

2000-01-01

We fitted 173 satellite radio collars (platform transmitter terminals) to 121 adult female polar bears in the Beaufort Sea and relocated the bears 44 736 times between 1985 and 1995. We regularly resighted many instrumented bears so that we could ascertain whether changes in movements or distribution were related to reproductive status. Mean short-term movement rates were less than 2 km/h for all classes of bears. Maximum movement rates occurred in winter and early summer. In the southern Beaufort Sea (SBS), net geographic movements from the beginning to the end of each month were smaller for females with cubs of the year than for solitary females, and larger in November than in April, May, or July. In May, June, July, and August, radio-collared bears in the SBS moved north. They moved south in October. In the northern Beaufort Sea (NBS), bears moved north in June and south in March and September. Total annual movements ranged from 1406 to 6203 km. Mean total distances moved each month ranged from 79 to 420 km. Total monthly movements by SBS bears were largest in early winter and smallest in early spring. In the NBS, movements were largest in summer and smallest in winter. In the SBS, females with cubs moved less each month than other females. Annual activity areas ranged from 7264 to 596 800 km2. Monthly activity areas ranged from 88 to 9760 km2. Seasonal fidelity to activity areas of bears captured in all parts of the Beaufort Sea was strongest in summer and weakest in spring.

Mapping South African allied health primary care clinical guideline activity: establishing a stakeholder reference sample.

PubMed

Dizon, Janine Margarita; Grimmer, Karen; Machingaidze, Shingai; McLaren, Pam; Louw, Quinette

2016-10-10

Little is known about allied health (AH) clinical practice guideline (CPG) activity in South Africa, and particularly in relation to primary health care (PHC). This paper reports on a scoping study undertaken to establish a reference framework, from which a comprehensive maximum variation sample could be selected. This was required to underpin robust sampling for a qualitative study aimed at understanding South African primary care AH therapy CPG activities. This paper builds on findings from the South African Guidelines Evaluation (Project SAGE) Flagship grant. South African government websites were searched for structures of departments and portfolios, and available CPGs. Professional AH association websites were searched for CPGs, purposively-identified key informants were interviewed, and CPGs previously identified for priority South African primary care conditions were critiqued for AH therapy involvement. Key informants described potentially complex relationships between players who may be engaged in South African AH CPGs, in both public and private sectors. There were disability/rehabilitation portfolios at national and provincial governments, but no uniformity in provincial government organisation of, or support for, PHC AH services. There were no AH primary care therapy CPGs on government websites, although there was 'clinical guidance' in various forms on professional association websites. Only two CPGs of priority South African PHC conditions included mention of any AH therapy (physiotherapy for adult asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). A comprehensive and wide-reaching stakeholder reference framework would be required in order to capture the heterogeneity of AH primary care CPG activity in South Africa. This should involve the voices of national and purposively-selected provincial governments, academic institutions, consultants, public sector managers and clinicians, private practitioners, professional associations, and private sector

Bringing Society to a Changing Polar Ocean: Polar Interdisciplinary Coordinated Education (ICE)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schofield, O.

2015-12-01

Environmental changes in the Arctic and Antarctic appear to be accelerating and scientists are trying to understand both the patterns and the impacts of change. These changes will have profound impact on humanity and create a need for public education about these critical habitats. We have focused on a two-pronged strategy to increase public awareness as well as enable educators to discuss comfortably the implications of climate change. Our first focus is on entraining public support through the development of science documentaries about the science and people who conduct it. Antarctic Edge is a feature length award-winning documentary about climate change that has been released in May 2015 and has garnered interest in movie theatres and on social media stores (NetFlix, ITunes). This broad outreach is coupled with our group's interest assisting educators formally. The majority of current polar education is focused on direct educator engagement through personal research experiences that have impact on the participating educators' classrooms. Polar Interdisciplinary Coordinated Education (ICE) proposes to improve educator and student engagement in polar sciences through exposure to scientists and polar data. Through professional development and the creation of data tools, Polar ICE will reduce the logistical costs of bringing polar science to students in grades 6-16. We will provide opportunities to: 1) build capacity of polar scientists in communicating and engaging with diverse audiences; 2) create scalable, in-person and virtual opportunities for educators and students to engage with polar scientists and their research through data visualizations, data activities, educator workshops, webinars, and student research symposia; and 3) evaluate the outcomes of Polar ICE and contribute to our understanding of science education practices. We will use a blended learning approach to promote partnerships and cross-disciplinary sharing. This combined multi-pronged approach

Polarization-induced hole doping in N-polar III-nitride LED grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Long; Zhang, Yuantao; Han, Xu; Deng, Gaoqiang; Li, Pengchong; Yu, Ye; Chen, Liang; Li, Xiaohang; Song, Junfeng

2018-04-01

Polarization-induced doping has been shown to be effective for wide-bandgap III-nitrides. In this work, we demonstrated a significantly enhanced hole concentration via linearly grading an N-polar AlxGa1-xN (x = 0-0.3) layer grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. The hole concentration increased by ˜17 times compared to that of N-polar p-GaN at 300 K. The fitting results of temperature-dependent hole concentration indicated that the holes in the graded p-AlGaN layer comprised both polarization-induced and thermally activated ones. By optimizing the growth conditions, the hole concentration was further increased to 9.0 × 1017 cm-3 in the graded AlGaN layer. The N-polar blue-violet light-emitting device with the graded p-AlGaN shows stronger electroluminescence than the one with the conventional p-GaN. The study indicates the potential of the polarization doping technique in high-performance N-polar light-emitting devices.

Self-induced polar order of active Brownian particles in a harmonic trap.

PubMed

Hennes, Marc; Wolff, Katrin; Stark, Holger

2014-06-13

Hydrodynamically interacting active particles in an external harmonic potential form a self-assembled fluid pump at large enough Péclet numbers. Here, we give a quantitative criterion for the formation of the pump and show that particle orientations align in the self-induced flow field in surprising analogy to ferromagnetic order where the active Péclet number plays the role of inverse temperature. The particle orientations follow a Boltzmann distribution Φ(p) ∼ exp(Ap(z)) where the ordering mean field A scales with the active Péclet number and polar order parameter. The mean flow field in which the particles' swimming directions align corresponds to a regularized Stokeslet with strength proportional to swimming speed. Analytic mean-field results are compared with results from Brownian dynamics simulations with hydrodynamic interactions included and are found to capture the self-induced alignment very well.

Modeling optical and UV polarization of AGNs. IV. Polarization timing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rojas Lobos, P. A.; Goosmann, R. W.; Marin, F.; Savić, D.

2018-03-01

Context. Optical observations cannot resolve the structure of active galactic nuclei (AGN), and a unified model for AGN was inferred mostly from indirect methods, such as spectroscopy and variability studies. Optical reverberation mapping allowed us to constrain the spatial dimension of the broad emission line region and thereby to measure the mass of supermassive black holes. Recently, reverberation was also applied to the polarized signal emerging from different AGN components. In principle, this should allow us to measure the spatial dimensions of the sub-parsec reprocessing media. Aim. We conduct numerical modeling of polarization reverberation and provide theoretical predictions for the polarization time lag induced by different AGN components. The model parameters are adjusted to the observational appearance of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151. Methods: We modeled scattering-induced polarization and tested different geometries for the circumnuclear dust component. Our tests included the effects of clumpiness and different dust prescriptions. To further extend the model, we also explored the effects of additional ionized winds stretched along the polar direction, and of an equatorial scattering ring that is responsible for the polarization angle observed in pole-on AGN. The simulations were run using a time-dependent version of the STOKES code. Results: Our modeling confirms the previously found polarization characteristics as a function of the observer`s viewing angle. When the dust adopts a flared-disk geometry, the lags reveal a clear difference between type 1 and type 2 AGN. This distinction is less clear for a torus geometry where the time lag is more sensitive to the geometry and optical depth of the inner surface layers of the funnel. The presence of a scattering equatorial ring and ionized outflows increased the recorded polarization time lags, and the polar outflows smooths out dependence on viewing angle, especially for the higher optical depth of the

Towards Onboard Orbital Tracking of Seasonal Polar Volatiles on Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wagstaff, Kiri L.; Castano, Rebecca; Chien, Steve; Ivanov, anton B.; Titus, Timothy N.

2005-01-01

Current conditions on Mars support both a residual polar cap, composed mainly of water ice, and a seasonal cap, composed of CO2, which appears and disappears each winter. Kieffer and Titus characterized the recession of the seasonal south polar cap using an arctangent curve fit based on data from the Thermal Emission Spectrometer on Mars Global Surveyor [1]. They also found significant interannual deviations, at the regional scale, in the recession rate [2]. Further observations will enable the refinement of our models of polar cap evolution in both hemispheres. We have developed the Bimodal Image Temperature (BIT) Histogram Analysis method for the automated detection and tracking of the seasonal polar ice caps on Mars. It is specifically tailored for possible use onboard a spacecraft. We have evaluated BIT on uncalibrated data collected by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) instrument [3] on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft. In this paper, we focus on the northern seasonal cap, but our approach is directly applicable to the future analysis of the southern seasonal ice cap as well.

Weathering and erosion of the polar layered deposits on Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herkenhoff, K. E.

1990-01-01

The Martial polar layered deposits are widely believed to be composed of water ice and silicates, but the relative amount of each component is unknown. The conventional wisdom among Mars researchers is that the deposits were formed by periodic variations in the deposition of dust and ice caused by climate changes over the last 10 to 100 million years. It is assumed here that water ice is an important constituent of the layered deposits, that the deposits were formed by eolian processes, and that the origin and evolution of the north and south polar deposits were similar. Weathering of the layered deposits by sublimation of water ice can account for the geologic relationships in the polar regions. The nonvolatile components of the layered deposits appears to consist mainly of bright red dust, with small amounts of dark dust or sand. Dark dust, perhaps similar to the magnetic material found at the Viking Lander sites, may perferentially form filamentary residue particles upon weathering of the deposits. Once eroded, these particles may saltate to form the dark dunes found in both polar regions.

Observing the Impact of Calbuco Volcanic Aerosols on South Polar Ozone Depletion in 2015

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stone, Kane A.; Solomon, Susan; Kinnison, Doug E.; Pitts, Michael C.; Poole, Lamont R.; Mills, Michael J.; Schmidt, Anja; Neely, Ryan R.; Ivy, Diane; Schwartz, Michael J.; Vernier, Jean-Paul; Johnson, Bryan J.; Tully, Matthew B.; Klekociuk, Andrew R.; König-Langlo, Gert; Hagiya, Satoshi

2017-11-01

The Southern Hemisphere Antarctic stratosphere experienced two noteworthy events in 2015: a significant injection of sulfur from the Calbuco volcanic eruption in Chile in April and a record-large Antarctic ozone hole in October and November. Here we quantify Calbuco's influence on stratospheric ozone depletion in austral spring 2015 using observations and an Earth system model. We analyze ozonesondes, as well as data from the Microwave Limb Sounder. We employ the Community Earth System Model, version 1, with the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM) in a specified dynamics setup, which includes calculations of volcanic effects. The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization data indicate enhanced volcanic liquid sulfate 532 nm backscatter values as far poleward as 68°S during October and November (in broad agreement with WACCM). Comparison of the location of the enhanced aerosols to ozone data supports the view that aerosols played a major role in increasing the ozone hole size, especially at pressure levels between 150 and 100 hPa. Ozonesonde vertical ozone profiles from the sites of Syowa, South Pole, and Neumayer display the lowest individual October or November measurements at 150 hPa since the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption period, with Davis showing similarly low values, but no available 1990 data. The analysis suggests that under the cold conditions ideal for ozone depletion, stratospheric volcanic aerosol particles from the moderate-magnitude eruption of Calbuco in 2015 greatly enhanced austral ozone depletion, particularly at 55-68°S, where liquid binary sulfate aerosols have a large influence on ozone concentrations.

The South Polar Residual Cap and Secular Climate Change on Mars: What Can We Learn From Observations and Models?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haberle, R. M.; Kahre, M.; Hollingsworth, J.; Barnes, J.; Forget, F.

2009-12-01

The prospect for multi-decadal secular climate change on Mars is a new concept that stems from observations of an apparently eroding South Polar Residual Cap (SPRC). Several years ago MOC images of the growth of circular depressions in the SPRC were interpreted to imply a net annual loss of approximately 2-10 x 10**9 m**3 of CO2 between 1999 and 2001 [1]. More recent studies using CTX images suggest a smaller loss, but one that is still potentially significant [2]. Taken together these data imply that if the all the CO2 sublimating from the SRPC goes into the atmosphere, as seems likely [3], an upper limit for the equivalent rate of increase in globally averaged surface pressure should be ~ 4 Pa per Mars Decade. About one and a half Mars decades have elapsed since the beginning of the Viking mission and the end of the Phoenix mission. If the net erosion of the SPRC has been steady during this period at the rate listed above, it would have produced about a 6 Pa increase in the global and annual mean surface pressure. Could such an increase be detected in the Viking and Phoenix pressure data? Clearly, this is a challenging question to answer, but one we feel needs careful examination. We report here the analysis of these data sets and the use of models to interpret them. Models are needed because surface pressure measurements at a few sites do not directly yield global mass budgets because dynamical processes and scale height changes influence surface pressure as well as seasonal exchange with the polar caps [4]. To reduce model uncertainties, we employ an ensemble of independently developed models including the NASA/Ames and LMD General Circulation Models, and the OSU MMM5 Mesoscale Model. References: [1] Malin, M.C. et al. (2001), Science, 294, 2146-2148. [2] Thomas, P. et al. (2009), Icarus, submitted. [3] Haberle, R.M. et al. (2009), 3rd International Workshop on Mars Polar Energy Balance and the CO2 Cycle (/http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/mpeb2009). [4] Hourdin

Active Tectonics of the Iran Plateau and South Caspian Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Priestely, K.; Jackson, J.; Maggi, A.; Talebian, M.; Walker, R.

2002-12-01

We use observations of surface faulting, well-constrained earthquake focal mechanisms and centroid depths, and velocity structure to investigate the present-day deformation and kinematics of the region. Current deformation is primarily concentrated in three seismically active belts: the Zagros Mountains of southwest Iran,the Talesh-Alborz-Kopeh Dag Mountains of northern Iran, and the Apsheron-Balkhan Sill in the central Caspian Sea. These belts are separated by seismically inactive regions that act as semi-rigid blocks. The extent to which the active shortening is divided between the three belts is still uncertain. Earthquake locations in the region, particularly their focal depths which are determined from teleseismic arrival times, are poor, and reported subcrustal earthquakes have been cited as evidence for present-day subduction beneath the Zagros. A detailed analysis of earthquake focal depths in the Zagros and elsewhere in the region confirms that no substantial subcrustal earthquakes occur in this part of the Middle East except beneath the Makran subduction zone in the south and the Apsheron-Balkhan Sill in the north. The present-day N-S deformation across the Zagros is partitioned with right-lateral, strike-slip motion on the NW-SE striking Main Recent Fault, and NE-SW shortening across the Zagros. Shortening in the Zagros is accommodated by folding in the sediments (0-10 km depth), moderate earthquakes on high-angle reverse faults striking parallel to the surface folds (~10-20 km depth), and aseismic thickening of the lower crust (~20-45 km depth). The south Caspian basin is essentially free of earthquakes and acts as a rigid block which strongly influences the nature of the deformation in the surrounding active belts. No significant subcrustal earthquakes occur in the Talesh, Alborz, or Kopeh Dag Mountains which bound the northeast, south and west sides of the south Caspian basin, but substantial subcrustal seismicity occurs beneath the Apsheron

High-Performance Plastic Sled Design for Polar Traversing

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-01

snow resupply traverses in Antarctica and Greenland tow high- efficiency fuel sleds that consist of flexible fuel bladders strapped to flexi- ble sheets...Foundation, Division of Polar Programs (NSF-PLR), operates over-snow traverses in Antarctica and Greenland to resupply their science stations. The 1030...mile (one way) South Pole Traverse (SPoT) begins at McMurdo Station on Ross Island, travels across the Ross Ice Shelf, up the Leverett Glacier, and

Lunar Polar Cold Traps: Spatial Distribution and Temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paige, David A.; Siegler, M.; Lawrence, D. J.

2006-09-01

We have developed a ray-tracing and radiosity model that can accurately calculate lunar surface and subsurface temperatures for arbitrary topography. Using available digital elevation models for the lunar north and south polar regions derived from Clementine laser altimeter and image data, as well as ground-based radar data, we have calculated lunar surface and subsurface temperatures at 2 km resolution that include full effects of indirect solar and infrared radiation due to topography. We compare our thermal model results with maps of epithermal neutron flux measured by Lunar Prospector. When we use the ray tracing and thermal model to account for the effects of temperature and topography on the neutron measurements, our results show that the majority of the moon's polar cold traps are not filled with water ice.

Mars: Stratigraphy of Western Highlands and Polar Regions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tanaka, K. L.; Scott, D. H.; Tuesink, M. F.

1985-01-01

Geologic mapping and stratigraphic studies of Mars based on Viking images improved knowledge of the relative age and occurrence of geologic units on a global scale. Densities of geologic units or features during the Noarchian, Hesperian, and Amazonian periods are indicated for the North and South polar regions as well as the equatorial region of Mars. Cumulative counts of crater size frequencies for craters larger than 2 km in diameter on plateau units mapped in the western region of Mars counts indicate that the plateau terrain as a whole was thinly resurfaced during the Hesperian Period, and a large proportion of pre-existing craters less than 10 to 15 km in diameter was buried. The formation of northern plains, subpolar highlands, and both polar regions is also described.

Antitubercular activity of the semi-polar extractives of Uvaria rufa.

PubMed

Macabeo, Allan Patrick G; Tudla, Florie A; Krohn, Karsten; Franzblau, Scott G

2012-10-01

To investigate the inhibitory activity of the chloroform extract, petroleum ether and chloroform sub-extracts, lead-acetate treated chloroform extract, fractions and secondary metabolites of Uvaria rufa (U. rufa) against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) H(37)Rv. The antituberculosis susceptibility assay was carried out using the colorimetric Microplate Alamar blue assay (MABA). In addition, the cytotoxicity of the most active fraction was evaluated using the VERO cell toxicity assay. The in vitro inhibitory activity against M. tuberculosis H(37)Rv increased as purification progressed to fractionation (MIC up to 23 μg/mL). The chloroform extract and its sub-extracts showed moderate toxicity while the most active fraction from chloroform sub-extract exhibited no cytotoxicity against VERO cells. Meanwhile, the lead acetate-treated crude chloroform extract and its fractions showed complete inhibitions (100%) with MIC values up to 8 μg/mL. Phytochemical screening of the most active fraction showed, in general, the presence of terpenoids, steroids and phenolic compounds. Evaluation of the antimycobacterial activity of known secondary metabolites isolated showed no promising inhibitory activity against the test organism. The present results demonstrate the potential of U. rufa as a phytomedicinal source of compounds that may exhibit promising antituberculosis activity. In addition, elimination of polar pigments revealed enhanced inhibition against M. tuberculosis H(37)Rv. While several compounds known for this plant did not show antimycobacterial activity, the obtained results are considered sufficient reason for further study to isolate the metabolites from U. rufa responsible for the antitubercular activity. Copyright © 2012 Hainan Medical College. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

What Juno will see at Jupiter South Pole Simulation

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-03

This simulated view of the south pole of Jupiter illustrates the unique perspective of NASA Juno mission. Juno polar orbit will allow its camera, called JunoCam, to image Jupiter clouds from a vantage point never accessed by other spacecraft.

Polar Layers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2006-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Context image for PIA02153 Polar Layers

This image of the south polar region shows layered material. It is not known if the layers are formed yearly or if they form over the period of 10s to 100s of years or more.

Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -80.3N, Longitude 296.2E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.

Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.