Estimation of Methods of Calculation of Values of Total Solar Radiation for Different Time Intervals

The article presents the results of evaluation of a number of methods for calculating total, scattered and direct radiation. The methods were tested on actinometric data of eight stations of the former USSR, located in different climatic and latitudinal zones, in order to clarify the spatial boundaries of their application and the time interval for which it is possible to carry out calculations with an error of not more than 10 %. It is established that the accuracy of calculations is influenced by the location of the station in relation to the seas and lakes. In addition, a number of methods do not take into account the tier and shape of the cloud, so at the same amount of cloud observed different amounts of total radiation, which in turn leads to errors in the calculation of the amounts of radiation. For stations with high atmospheric transparency and low air humidity, the calculation methods provide understated data compared to full-scale ones. For stations with high dust content of the surface layer of the atmosphere, the calculated data are overstated. For marine and lake stations, overestimation of the calculated data is caused by increased humidity throughout the year and as a result, even with a small cloud cover, incoming solar radiation is significantly weakened by water vapor. The considered calculation methods can be used to calculate monthly amounts of total radiation with an accuracy of 10-12 %. Calculation for shorter time intervals leads to an increase in calculation errors. Using the method of calculating the total radiation components gives an error in the calculation of monthly amounts from 10 to 30 %, depending on the latitude. Performing calculations using this method for time intervals less than a month leads to a sharp increase in the size of errors.

UV dust attenuation as a function of stellar mass and its evolution with redshift

ABSTRACT Studying the ultraviolet dust attenuation, as well as its relation to other galaxy parameters such as the stellar mass, plays an important role in multiwavelength research. This work relates the dust attenuation to the stellar mass of star-forming galaxies, and its evolution with redshift. A sample of galaxies with an estimate of the dust attenuation computed from the infrared excess was used. The dust attenuation versus stellar mass data, separated in redshift bins, was modelled by a single parameter linear function, assuming a non-zero constant apparent dust attenuation for low-mass galaxies. But the origin of this effect is still to be determined and several possibilities are explored (actual high dust content, variation of the dust-to-metal ratio, variation of the stars–dust geometry). The best-fitting parameter of this model is then used to study the redshift evolution of the cosmic dust attenuation and is found to be in agreement with results from the literature. This work also gives evidence to a redshift evolution of the dust attenuation–stellar mass relationship, as is suggested by recent works in the highest redshift range.

Ground-based infrared mapping of H2O2 on Mars near opposition

We pursued our ground-based seasonal monitoring of hydrogen peroxide on Mars using thermal imaging spectroscopy, with two observations of the planet near opposition, in May 2016 (solar longitude Ls = 148.5°, diameter = 17 arcsec) and July 2018 (Ls = 209°, diameter = 23 arcsec). Data were recorded in the 1232–1242 cm−1 range (8.1 μm) with the Texas Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph (TEXES) mounted at the 3 m Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) at the Mauna Kea Observatories. As in the case of our previous analyses, maps of H2O2 were obtained using line depth ratios of weak transitions of H2O2 divided by a weak CO2 line. The H2O2 map of April 2016 shows a strong dichotomy between the northern and southern hemispheres, with a mean volume mixing ratio of 45 ppbv on the north side and less than 10 ppbv on the south side; this dichotomy was expected by the photochemical models developed in the LMD Mars Global Climate Model (LMD-MGCM) and with the recently developed Global Environmental Multiscale (GEM) model. The second measurement (July 2018) was taken in the middle of the MY 34 global dust storm. H2O2 was not detected with a disk-integrated 2σ upper limit of 10 ppbv, while both the LMD-MGCM and the LEM models predicted a value above 20 ppbv (also observed by TEXES in 2003) in the absence of dust storm. This depletion is probably the result of the high dust content in the atmosphere at the time of our observations, which led to a decrease in the water vapor column density, as observed by the PFS during the global dust storm. GCM simulations using the GEM model show that the H2O depletion leads to a drop in H2O2, due to the lack of HO2 radicals. Our result brings a new constraint on the photochemistry of H2O2 in the presence of a high dust content. In parallel, we reprocessed the whole TEXES dataset of H2O2 measurements using the latest version of the GEISA database (GEISA 2015). We recently found that there is a significant difference in the H2O2 line strengths between the 2003 and 2015 versions of GEISA. Therefore, all H2O2 volume mixing ratios up to 2014 from TEXES measurements must be reduced by a factor of 1.75. As a consequence, in four cases (Ls around 80°, 100°, 150°, and 209°) the H2O2 abundances show contradictory values between different Martian years. At Ls = 209° the cause seems to be the increased dust content associated with the global dust storm. The inter-annual variability in the three other cases remains unexplained at this time.

AGB stars and the cosmic dust cycle

Theoretical and observational studies of dust condensed in outflows of AGB stars have substantially advanced the understanding of dust mixture from individual stars. This detailed information incorporated in models of the lifecycle of interstellar grains provides a flexible tool to study the contribution of AGB stars to the galactic dust budget. The role of these stars in dust production depends on the morphological type and age of galaxy. While AGB stars are sub-dominant dust sources in evolved systems as the Milky Way, the observed relation between the dust-to-gas ratio and metallicity suggests that the dust input in young dwarf galaxies with 7≲12+log(O/H)≲8 can be dominated by the AGB stars. In application to post-starburst and early-type galaxies, the models for stardust evolution in combination with modern infrared observations give insights in the origin of their high dust content and its implications for their evolutionary scenarios.

Formation of a complex of management decisions on the reduction of environmental pollution during the development of coal mines

The problems of environmental pollution in the conditions of high dust content in the air during the development of coal mines in the territory of the Czech Republic are considered. A mechanism for making managerial decisions was developed using an integrated approach using the new technological process Nastup Tušimice (DNT) aimed at eliminating pollutant emissions and managing workers in dusty conditions in mining operations. The recommendations of active and passive measures aimed at reducing dustiness in the process of coal mining have also been developed.

Intake and apparent digestibility of hay, haylage, big bale and clamp silage by ponies

Grass hay is the traditional conserved fodder fed to horses in the UK, yet good quality hay is often scarce and expensive. Working or breeding equines often require a higher plane of nutrition than that provided by hay, yet feeding high levels of concentrates can lead to a number of metabolic disorders such as colic and laminitis. Furthermore, the high dust content of hay can elicit the onset of the debilitating disorder, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Thus, there is increasing interest in feeding horses forage-based diets which are both low in dust and have enhanced nutritive values. The aim of this experiment was to determine the intakes and digestibility of four types of conserved forage by ponies.

Preliminary evidence of a biomass-burning event from a 60 year-old firn core from Antarctica by ion chromatographic determination of carboxylic acids

An ion chromatographic method for the determination of fluoride and some organic anions (lactate, acetate, glycolate, propionate, formate, methane sulphonate and pyruvate) at sub-μgl−1 concentration levels is applied to a 22 m (63 years) firn core drilled at Hercules Névé, northern Victoria Land, Antarctica. The first effective distribution data of acetate, propionate and formate for this region are reponed here. Mean values of 9.9,7.7 and 2.4 μgl−1 were calculated for acetate, Formate and propionate, respectively, in the absence of particular events (background values). The temporal (1928-82) concentration/depth profiles of these components showed a probable long-term biomass-burning event in the 1930s that can be related back to processes in the Southern Hemisphere. Such burning events may be demonstrated from the simultaneous concentration increase of carboxylic acid, potassium, ammonium and fluoride and from a very high dust content. Similar increasing trends in the same time period are not shown by other snow components usually considered as source indicators (methane sulphonic acid: biogenic marker; nssSO4 2- : biogenic and volcanic indicator; Na+ and Cl−: sea-spray contribution; Ca2+ : crustal input), so it was possible to exclude such alternative explanations.