Limits on the X-ray and optical luminosity of the progenitor of the Type Ia supernova 2007sr

We present Hubble Space Telescope ( HST )/Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2), Galaxy Evolution Explorer ( GALEX ) and Chandra observations of the position of the Type Ia supernova 2007sr in the Antennae galaxy, taken before the explosion. No source is found in any of the observations, allowing us to put interesting constraints on the progenitor luminosity. In total there is about 450 ks of Chandra data, spread over seven different observations. Limiting magnitudes of far-ultraviolet (FUV) (23.7 AB mag), near-ultraviolet (NUV) (23.8 AB mag), F555W (26.5 Vega mag) and F814W (24.5–25 Vega mag) are derived. The distance to the Antennae galaxy is surprisingly poorly known, with almost a factor of 2 difference between the latest distance based on the tip of the red giant branch (13.3 Mpc) and the distance derived from the 2007sr light curve (25 Mpc). Using these distances we derive limits on absolute optical and UV magnitudes of any progenitor but these are still above the brightest (symbiotic) proposed progenitors. From the Chandra data a 3σ upper limit to the X-ray luminosity of  0.5–8.0 × 10³⁷ erg s⁻¹  in the 0.3–1 keV range is found. This is below the X-ray luminosity of the potential progenitor of the Type Ia supernova 2007on that we recently discovered and for which we report a corrected X-ray luminosity. If that progenitor is confirmed it suggests the two supernovae have different progenitors. The X-ray limit is comparable to the brightest supersoft X-ray sources in the Galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and significantly below the luminosities of the brightest supersoft and quasi-soft X-ray sources found in nearby galaxies, ruling out such sources as progenitors of this Type Ia supernova.     

Tracing dissolved organic matter in aquatic environments using a new approach to fluorescence spectroscopy

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a complex and poorly understood mixture of organic polymers that plays an influential role in aquatic ecosystems. In this study we have successfully characterised the fluorescent fraction of DOM in the catchment of a Danish estuary using fluorescence excitation–emission spectroscopy and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). PARAFAC aids the characterisation of fluorescent DOM by decomposing the fluorescence matrices into different independent fluorescent components. The results reveal that at least five different fluorescent DOM fractions present (in significant amounts) in the catchment and that the relative composition is dependent on the source (e.g. agricultural runoff, forest soil, aquatic production). Four different allochthonous fluorescent groups and one autochthonous fluorescent group were identified. The ability to trace the different fractions of the DOM pool using this relatively cheap and fast technique represents a significant advance within the fields of aquatic ecology and chemistry, and will prove to be useful for catchment management.     

Glacier Mass Balance in Southern Norway Modelled by Circulation Indices and Spring-Summer Temperatures ad 1781–2000

By stepwise regression analysis the accumulation, ablation, and equilibrium line altitude (ELA) were modelled by circulation indices and spring‐summer temperature on six Norwegian glaciers (Ålfotbreen, Nigardsbreen, Rembesdalsskåka, Storbreen, Hellstugubreen and Gråsubreen). The circulation indices were derived from a gridded monthly mean sea level pressure (MSLP) data set, whereas temperature series were derived from instrumental and proxy data. Analyses showed that accumulation on the western glaciers was strongly related to western airflow perpendicular to the main mountain range releasing precipitation on the glaciers. No other airflow variable significantly improved the regression. For the continental glaciers, circulating air in connection with low pressure systems was also found to be important. This may explain the lack of synchronicity in the glaciers' development in southern Norway during the Holocene. Accumulation was better modelled using the MSLP data set than by using the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index as predictor. The decadal variations of accumulation, ablation, and ELA were analysed by a Gaussian low pass filter. The well‐known abundant accumulation on Norwegian glaciers during the early 1990s turned out to be unprecedented during the entire series (since 1781), whereas the accumulation of the 1960s has not been lower since the early 19th century according to model results. Ablation increased significantly from the mid‐19th century to the 1930s. The ablation maximum during the 1930s has not yet been exceeded. Also the 1930s show extremely high ELA values.     

Geochemistry at the sulfate reduction-methanogenesis transition zone in an anoxic aquifer—A partial equilibrium interpretation using 2D reactive transport modeling

The study addresses a 10 m deep phreatic postglacial sandy aquifer of vertically varying lithology and horizontally varying infiltration water chemistry, displaying calcite dissolution, ion-exchange, and anaerobic redox processes. The simple variations in lithology and infiltration combine into a complex groundwater chemistry, showing ongoing Fe-oxide reduction, sulfate reduction and methanogenesis. Rates of sulfate reduction, methanogenesis and methane oxidation were measured directly using radiotracers. Maximum rates were 1.5 mM/yr for sulfate reduction, 0.3 mM/yr for methanogenesis, and only 4.5 μM/yr for methane oxidation. The overlap of sulfate reduction and methanogenesis was very small. The important intermediates formed during the degradation of the organic matter in the sediment, formate and acetate, had concentrations around 2 μM in the sulfate reducing zone, increasing to 10 and 25 μM in the methanogenic part. The concentration of H₂ was around 0.25 nM in the Fe-reducing zone, 0.4 nM in the sulfate reducing zone, and increased to 6 nM in the methanogenic zone. Using in situ concentrations of products and reactants the available energies for a range of different reactions could be calculated. The results of the calculations are in accordance with the observed distribution of the ongoing redox processes, implying that the system is well described using a partial equilibrium approach. A 2D numerical PHAST model of the system based on the partial equilibrium approach, extended by implementing specific energy yields for the microbial redox processes, could explain most of the observed groundwater geochemistry as an expression of a closely coupled system of mineral equilibria and redox processes occurring at partial equilibrium.     

Release of arsenic associated with the reduction and transformation of iron oxides

The behaviour of trace amounts of arsenate coprecipitated with ferrihydrite, lepidocrocite and goethite was studied during reductive dissolution and phase transformation of the iron oxides using [⁵⁵Fe]- and [⁷³As]-labelled iron oxides. The As/Fe molar ratio ranged from 0 to 0.005 for ferrihydrite and lepidocrocite and from 0 to 0.001 for goethite. For ferrihydrite and lepidocrocite, all the arsenate remained associated with the surface, whereas for goethite only 30% of the arsenate was desorbable. The rate of reductive dissolution in 10 mM ascorbic acid was unaffected by the presence of arsenate for any of the iron oxides and the arsenate was not reduced to arsenite by ascorbic acid. During reductive dissolution of the iron oxides, arsenate was released incongruently with Fe²⁺ for all the iron oxides. For ferrihydrite and goethite, the arsenate remained adsorbed to the surface and was not released until the surface area became too small to adsorb all the arsenate. In contrast, arsenate preferentially desorbs from the surface of lepidocrocite. During Fe²⁺ catalysed transformation of ferrihydrite and lepidocrocite, arsenate became bound more strongly to the product phases. X-ray diffractograms showed that ferrihydrite was transformed into lepidocrocite, goethite and magnetite whereas lepidocrocite either remained untransformed or was transformed into magnetite. The rate of recrystallization of ferrihydrite was not affected by the presence of arsenate. The results presented here imply that during reductive dissolution of iron oxides in natural sediments there will be no simple correlation between the release of arsenate and Fe²⁺. Recrystallization of the more reactive iron oxides into more crystalline phases, induced by the appearance of Fe²⁺ in anoxic aquifers, may be an important trapping mechanism for arsenic.     

Variable Tl,Pb, and Cd concentrations and isotope compositions of enstatite and ordinary chondrites—Evidence for volatile element mobilization and decay of extinct 205Pb

New Tl, Pb, and Cd concentration and Tl, Pb isotope data are presented for enstatite as well as L- and LL-type ordinary chondrites, with additional Cd stable isotope results for the former. All three chondrite suites have Tl and Cd contents that vary by more than 1–2 orders of magnitude but Pb concentrations are more uniform, as a result of terrestrial Pb contamination. Model calculations based on Pb isotope compositions indicate that for more than half of the samples, more than 50% of the measured Pb contents are due to addition of modern terrestrial Pb. In part, this is responsible for the relatively young and imprecise Pb-Pb ages determined for EH, L, and LL chondrites, which are hence only of limited chronological utility. In contrast, four particularly pristine EL chondrites define a precise Pb-Pb cooling age of 4559 ± 6 Ma. The enstatite chondrites (ECs) have highly variable ε^114/110Cd of between about +3 and +70 due to stable isotope fractionation from thermal and shock metamorphism. Furthermore, nearly all enstatite meteorites display ε²⁰⁵Tl values from −3.3 to +0.8, while a single anomalous sample is highly fractionated in both Tl and Cd isotopes. The majority of the ECs thereby define a correlation of ε²⁰⁵Tl with ε^114/110Cd, which suggests that at least some of the Tl isotope variability reflects stable isotope fractionation rather than radiogenic ingrowth of ²⁰⁵Tl from ²⁰⁵Pb decay. Considering L chondrites, most ε²⁰⁵Tl values range between −4 and +1, while two outliers with ε²⁰⁵Tl ≤ −10 are indicative of stable isotope fractionation. Considering only those L chondrites which are least likely to feature Pb contamination or stable Tl isotope effects, the results are in accord with the former presence of live ²⁰⁵Pb on the parent body, with an initial ²⁰⁵Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = (1.5 ± 1.4) × 10⁻⁴, which suggests late equilibration of the Pb-Tl system 26–113 Ma after carbonaceous chondrites (CCs). The LL chondrites display highly variable ε²⁰⁵Tl values from −12.5 to +14.9, also indicative of stable isotope effects. However, the data for three pristine LL3/LL4 chondrites display an excellent correlation between ε²⁰⁵Tl and ²⁰⁴Pb/²⁰³Tl. This defines an initial ²⁰⁵Pb/²⁰⁴Pb of (1.4 ± 0.3) × 10⁻⁴, equivalent to a ²⁰⁵Pb-²⁰⁵Tl cooling age of 55 + 12/−24 Ma (31–67 Ma) after CCs.