Extremely Metal-Poor Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars

Little is known about the first stars, but hints on this stellar population can be derived from the peculiar chemical composition of the most metal-poor objects in the Milky Way and in resolved stellar populations of nearby galaxies. In this paper, we review the evolution and nucleosynthesis of metal-poor and extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars with low and intermediate masses. In particular, new models of 6 M⊙ with three different levels of metallicity, namely Z=10−4, 10−6 and 10−10, are presented. In addition, we illustrate the results obtained for a 2 M⊙, Z=10−5 model. All these models have been computed by means of the latest version of the FuNS code. We adopted a fully coupled scheme of solutions for the complete set of differential equations describing the evolution of the physical structure and the chemical abundances, as modified by nuclear processes and convective mixing. The scarcity of CNO in the material from which these stars formed significantly affects their evolution, their final fate and their contribution to the chemical pollution of the ISM in primordial galaxies. We show the potential of these models for the interpretation of the composition of EMP stars, with particular emphasis on CEMP stars.

Water–propylene glycol sessile droplet shapes and migration: Marangoni mixing and separation of scales

New light is shed on morphological features of water–propylene glycol sessile droplets evaporating into ambient air at not too high relative humidity. Such droplets adopt a Marangoni-contracted shape even on perfectly wetting substrates, an effect well known since Cira et al. (Nature, 519, 2015). We here highlight a strong separation of scales normally occurring for such droplets. Namely, there is a narrow high-curvature zone localized at the foot of the droplet, where the apparent contact angle is formed, while the core of the droplet merely adheres to the classical (capillary–gravity) static shape. Experimentally, we rely upon interferometry to discern such fine key details. We detect a maximum of the droplet slope profile in the foot region, which amounts to the apparent contact angle. Theoretically, a local description of the foot region is devised. We indicate a crucial role of convective mixing by the solutal Marangoni flow, here accounted for by the Taylor dispersion, which proves to underlie the separation of scales and ensure self-consistency of the local model. Migration of such droplets in a humidity gradient is also approached within the same experimental and theoretical framework. It is considered that the resulting back–front asymmetry of the apparent contact angles drives the motion similarly to a wettability gradient, although the drag (‘Cox–Voinov’) factor is here found to be different. The predictions, comparing well with the measurements (our own and from the literature), are based on rigorous models, isothermal and as reduced as possible, without any fitting parameters or microphysics effects.

Winter Convective Mixing in the northern Arabian Sea during Contrasting Monsoons

Along-track Argo observations in the northern Arabian Sea during 2017 – 19 showed by far the most contrasting winter convective mixing; 2017 – 18 was characterized by less intense convective mixing resulting in a mixed layer depth of 110 m, while 2018 – 19 experienced strong and prolonged convective mixing with the mixed layer deepening to 150 m. The response of the mixed layer to contrasting atmospheric forcing and the associated formation of Arabian Sea High Salinity Water (ASHSW) in the northeastern Arabian Sea are studied using a combination of Argo float observations, gridded observations, a data assimilative general circulation model and a series of 1-D model simulations. The 1-D model experiments show that the response of winter mixed layer to atmospheric forcing is not only influenced by winter surface buoyancy loss, but also by a preconditioned response to freshwater fluxes and associated buoyancy gain by the ocean during the summer that is preceding the following winter. A shallower and short-lived winter mixed layer occurred during 2017 – 18 following the exceptionally high precipitation over evaporation during the summer monsoon in 2017. The precipitation induced salinity stratification (a salinity anomaly of -0.7 psu) during summer inhibited convective mixing in the following winter resulting in a shallow winter mixed layer (103 m). Combined with weak buoyancy loss due to weaker surface heat loss in the northeastern Arabian Sea, this caused an early termination of the convective mixing (February 26, 2018). In contrast, the winter convective mixing during 2018 – 19 was deeper (143 m) and long-lived. The 2018 summer, by comparison, was characterized by normal or below normal precipitation which generated a weakly stratified ocean pre-conditioned to winter mixing. This combined with colder and drier air from the land mass to the north with low specific humidity lead to strong buoyancy loss, and resulted in prolonged winter convective mixing through March 25, 2019.

Variable dynamic styles of primordial heterogeneity preservation in the Earth’s lower mantle

The evolution of the system Earth is critically influenced by the long-term dynamics, composition and structure of the mantle. While cosmochemical and geochemical constraints indicate that the lower mantle hosts an ancient primordial reservoir that may be enriched in SiO2 with respect to the upper mantle, geophysical observations and models point to efficient mass transfer and convective mixing across the entire mantle. Recent hypotheses of primordial-material preservation in a convecting mantle involve delayed mixing of intrinsically dense and/or intrinsically strong heterogeneity. Yet, the effects of composition-dependent rheology and density upon heterogeneity preservation and the dynamics of mantle mixing remain poorly understood. Here, we present two-dimensional numerical models in spherical geometry, investigating the preservation styles of primordial material as a function of its physical properties (i.e., viscosity and density contrasts). We establish multiple regimes of primordial-material preservation that can occur in terrestrial planets. These include (1) efficient mixing, (2) double-layered convection with or without topography, and (3) variable styles of partial heterogeneity preservation (e.g., as diffuse domains, piles or viscous blobs in the lower mantle). Some of these regimes are here characterised for the first time, and all regimes are put into context with each other as a function of model parameters. The viscous-blobs and diffuse-domains regimes can reconcile the preservation of primordial domains in a convecting mantle, potentially resolving the discrepancy between geochemical and geophysical constraints for planet Earth. Several, if not all, regimes characterised here may be relevant to understand the long-term evolution of terrestrial planets in general.

Reduced volatility of aerosols from surface emissions to the top of the planetary boundary layer

Aerosols from surface emission can be transported upwards through convective mixing in the planetary boundary layer (PBL), which subsequently interact with clouds, serving as important sources to nucleate droplets or ice particles. However, the evolution of aerosol composition during this vertical transport has yet to be explicitly understood. In this study, simultaneous measurements of detailed aerosol compositions were conducted at two sites, namely urban Beijing (50 m above sea level – a.s.l.) and Haituo mountain (1344 m a.s.l.) during wintertime, representing the anthropogenically polluted surface environment and the top of the PBL, respectively. The pollutants from surface emissions were observed to reach the mountain site on daily basis through daytime PBL convective mixing. From the surface to the top of PBL, we found efficient transport or formation of lower-volatility species (black carbon, sulfate, and low-volatile organic aerosol, OA); however, a notable reduction in semivolatile substances, such as the fractions of nitrate and semivolatile OA reduced by 74 % and 76 %, respectively, during the upward transport. This implies that the mass loss of these semivolatile species was driven by the evaporation process, which repartitioned the condensed semivolatile substances to the gas phase when aerosols were transported and exposed to a cleaner environment. In combination with the oxidation processes, these led to an enhanced oxidation state of OA at the top of the PBL compared to surface environment, with an increase of oxygen to carbon atomic ratio by 0.2. Such a reduction in aerosol volatility during vertical transport may be important in modifying its viscosity, nucleation activity, and atmospheric lifetime.

Diazotrophic Cyanobacteria are Associated With a Low Nitrate Resupply to Surface Waters in Lake Tanganyika

In Lake Tanganyika, blooms of nitrogen-fixing (diazotrophic) cyanobacteria emerge, when the upper water column re-stratifies after a period of upwelling and convective mixing. During this seasonal transition, diazotrophic cyanobacteria exploit the abundant phosphate and fix nitrogen after other phytoplankton taxa have consumed the available nitrate. However, it remains less clear, which mechanisms favour diazotrophic cyanobacteria under more heavily stratified conditions with lower levels of excess phosphate and persistent nitrate-depletion. Here, we collected profiles of physicochemical parameters, nutrients and photo-pigments, as well as the medium- to large-sized phytoplankton community during two lake-wide cruises to elucidate to what extent the abundance of diazotrophic cyanobacteria in Lake Tanganyika may be controlled by the nitrate resupply through the thermocline into the euphotic zone. At stations where nitrate was depleted, but phosphate remained available near the surface, high densities of diazotrophic cyanobacteria were associated with a low nitrate supply to surface waters. Our data provide first support for two conceptual scenarios, where the relative position of the thermocline and the euphotic depth may create a functional niche for diazotrophic cyanobacteria: when the upward transport of nitrate into the euphotic zone is reduced by a subjacent thermocline, diazotrophic cyanobacteria, comprising Dolichospermum and Anabaenopsis, are key players in the medium-to large-sized phytoplankton community. By contrast, a thermocline located within the euphotic zone allows for a rapid vertical transport of nitrate for a thriving nitrate-assimilating phytoplankton community that evidently outcompetes diazotrophic cyanobacteria. This study highlights that, under nitrogen-depleted conditions, diazotrophic cyanobacteria can also grow in response to a reduced nutrient resupply to the productive surface waters.

Reduced volatility of aerosols from surface emission to the top of planetary boundary layer

Aerosols from surface emission can be transported upwards through convective mixing in the planetary boundary layer (PBL), subsequently interacting with clouds, serving important sources to nucleate droplets or ice particles. However, the evolution of aerosol composition during this vertical transport has yet to be explicitly understood. In this study, simultaneous measurements of detailed aerosol compositions were conducted at both sites of urban Beijing (50 m a.s.l.) and HaiTuo mountain (1344 m a.s.l.) during wintertime, representing the anthropogenically polluted surface environment and the top of PBL respectively. The pollutants from surface emissions were observed to reach the mountain site on daily basis through daytime PBL connective mixing. From surface to the top of PBL, we found efficient transport or formation for lower-volatile species (black carbon, sulphate and low-volatile organic aerosol, OA); however notable reduction of semi-volatile substances, such as the fractions of nitrate and semi-volatile OA reduced by 74 % and 76 % respectively, during the upward transport. This implied the evaporation process may have occurred, in repartitioning the condensed semi-volatile substances to gas-phase, when aerosols were transported and exposed to a cleaner environment. Combining with the oxidation processes, these led to enhanced oxidation state of OA at the top of the PBL compared to surface environment, with an increase of oxygen to carbon atomic ratio by 0.2. Such reduction of aerosol volatility during vertical transport may be important in modifying its viscosity, nucleation activity and atmospheric lifetime.