Suchergebnisse

The warming trends in the Arctic may shove the Arctic system into a seasonally ice-free state not seen for more than one million years. The melting is accelerating, and researchers were unable to identify natural processes that might slow the deicing of the Arctic

Despite decades of policy that strives to reduce nutrient and sediment export from agricultural fields, surface water quality in intensively managed agricultural landscapes remains highly degraded. Recent analyses show that current conservation efforts are not sufficient to reverse widespread water degradation in Midwestern agricultural systems. Intensifying row crop agriculture and increasing climate pressure require a more integrated approach to water quality management that addresses diverse sources of nutrients and sediment and off-field mitigation actions. We used multiobjective optimization analysis and integrated three biophysical models to evaluate the costeffectiveness of alternative portfolios of watershed management practices at achieving nitrate and suspended sediment reduction goals in an agricultural basin of the Upper Midwestern United States. Integrating watershed-scale models enabled the inclusion of nearchannel management alongside more typical field management and thus directly the comparison of cost-effectiveness across portfolios. The optimization analysis revealed that fluvial wetlands (i.e., wide, slow-flowing, vegetated water bodies within the riverine corridor) are the single-most cost-effective management action to reduce both nitrate and sediment loads and will be essential for meeting moderate to aggressive water quality targets. Although highly cost-effective, wetland construction was costly compared to other practices, and it was not selected in portfolios at low investment levels. Wetland performance was sensitive to placement, emphasizing the importance of watershed scale planning to realize potential benefits of wetland restorations. We conclude that extensive interagency cooperation and coordination at a watershed scale is required to achieve substantial, economically viable improvements in water quality under intensive row crop agricultural production. ; NSF under the Water Sustainability and Climate Program (WSC) through an Observatory grant [EAR1209402]; WSC Science, Engineering and Education [EAR-1415206]; US Department of Agriculture-Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (USDA AFRI) National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant; USDA National Resource Conservation Service grant [CPT0011193] ; Published version ; This research was funded by the NSF under the Water Sustainability and Climate Program (WSC) through an Observatory grant (EAR1209402) : REACH (Resilience under Accelerated Change) , a WSC Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability Fellows grant (EAR-1415206) to A.T.H., US Department of Agriculture-Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (USDA AFRI) National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant to S.R., and a USDA National Resource Conservation Service grant to P.B. (CPT0011193) . Special thanks to Iowa State's Center for Agriculture and Rural Development for model integration and executing the optimization algorithm. ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee

Context. The Centaur (10199) Chariklo has the first ring system discovered around a small object. It was first observed using stellar occultation in 2013. Stellar occultations allow sizes and shapes to be determined with kilometre accuracy, and provide the characteristics of the occulting object and its vicinity. Aims. Using stellar occultations observed between 2017 and 2020, our aim is to constrain the physical parameters of Chariklo and its rings. We also determine the structure of the rings, and obtain precise astrometrical positions of Chariklo. Methods. We predicted and organised several observational campaigns of stellar occultations by Chariklo. Occultation light curves were measured from the datasets, from which ingress and egress times, and the ring widths and opacity values were obtained. These measurements, combined with results from previous works, allow us to obtain significant constraints on Chariklo's shape and ring structure. Results. We characterise Chariklo's ring system (C1R and C2R), and obtain radii and pole orientations that are consistent with, but more accurate than, results from previous occultations. We confirm the detection of W-shaped structures within C1R and an evident variation in radial width. The observed width ranges between 4.8 and 9.1 km with a mean value of 6.5 km. One dual observation (visible and red) does not reveal any differences in the C1R opacity profiles, indicating a ring particle size larger than a few microns. The C1R ring eccentricity is found to be smaller than 0.022 (3 sigma), and its width variations may indicate an eccentricity higher than similar to 0.005. We fit a tri-axial shape to Chariklo's detections over 11 occultations, and determine that Chariklo is consistent with an ellipsoid with semi-axes of 143.8(-1.5)(+1.4), 135.2(-2.8)(+1.4), and 99.1(-2.7)(+5.4) km. Ultimately, we provided seven astrometric positions at a milliarcsecond accuracy level, based on Gaia EDR3, and use it to improve Chariklo's ephemeris. ; European Research Council under the European Community's H2020 669416 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPQ) Fundacao de Apoio a Pesquisa do Distrito Federal (FAPDF) 465376/2014-2 European Union H2020-MSCA-ITN-2019 860470 Novo Nordisk Foundation Interdisciplinary Synergy Programme NNF19OC0057374 Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique - FNRS PDR T.0120.21 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPQ) BEM 150612/2020-6 FB-R 314772/2020-0 RV-M 304544/2017-f5 401903/2016-8 JIBC 308150/2016-3 305917/20196 MA 427700/2018-3 ; Versión aceptada para publicar - Postprint