Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

About: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is a government organization based out in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Coupling constant & Catalysis. The organization has 17989 authors who have published 36276 publications receiving 642820 citations. The organization is also known as: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences，簡稱：BAS & Balgarska Akademiya na Naukite.

Mapping and modelling ecosystem services for science, policy and practice

Abstract: Ecosystem services are a significant research and policy topic and there are many modelling and mapping approaches aimed at understanding the stocks, demands and flows of ecosystem services on different spatial and temporal scales. The integration of geo-biophysical processes and structure assessments provides insights into actual ecosystem service supply and the ecological and biodiversity base (ecosystem functions). Information and data potential on ecosystem service beneficiaries (demand), their actual rates of use and consumption and how these components are interconnected (flows and trade-offs) can be analysed, integrated and represented by available tools such as thematic mapping, GIS, remote sensing, multi-criteria analysis, and dynamic geo-biophysical and decision process models. This Special Issue of Ecosystem Services is mainly an outcome of the Quantifying, Mapping, Modelling and Indicators of Ecosystem Services Workshop that was organized by the Special Issue guest editors at the 4th Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) Conference1 entitled Ecosystem Services: Integrating Science and Policy in October 2011 in Wageningen, the Netherlands. The Special Issue's thematic orientation and several articles present research and development activities related to the ESP Thematic Working Groups Modelling Ecosystem Services2 and Mapping Ecosystem Services3. The Groups are collaborating to develop tools, guidelines and standards for improving dynamic and spatial analyses of ecosystem services and their representation in ecosystem service modelling and mapping tools.

The 2010 very high energy gamma-ray flare and 10 years of multi-wavelength observations of M 87

Abstract: The giant radio galaxy M 87 with its proximity (16 Mpc), famous jet, and very massive black hole ((3-6) x 10(9) M-circle dot) provides a unique opportunity to investigate the origin of very high energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray emission generated in relativistic outflows and the surroundings of supermassive black holes. M 87 has been established as a VHE gamma-ray emitter since 2006. The VHE gamma-ray emission displays strong variability on timescales as short as a day. In this paper, results from a joint VHE monitoring campaign on M 87 by the MAGIC and VERITAS instruments in 2010 are reported. During the campaign, a flare at VHE was detected triggering further observations at VHE (H.E.S.S.), X-rays (Chandra), and radio (43 GHz Very Long Baseline Array, VLBA). The excellent sampling of the VHE gamma-ray light curve enables one to derive a precise temporal characterization of the flare: the single, isolated flare is well described by a two-sided exponential function with significantly different flux rise and decay times of tau(rise)(d) = (1.69 +/- 0.30) days and tau(decay)(d) = (0.611 +/- 0.080) days, respectively. While the overall variability pattern of the 2010 flare appears somewhat different from that of previous VHE flares in 2005 and 2008, they share very similar timescales (similar to day), peak fluxes (Phi(>0.35 TeV) similar or equal to (1-3) x 10(-11) photons cm(-2) s(-1)), and VHE spectra. VLBA radio observations of 43 GHz of the inner jet regions indicate no enhanced flux in 2010 in contrast to observations in 2008, where an increase of the radio flux of the innermost core regions coincided with a VHE flare. On the other hand, Chandra X-ray observations taken similar to 3 days after the peak of the VHE gamma-ray emission reveal an enhanced flux from the core (flux increased by factor similar to 2; variability timescale <2 days). The long-term (2001-2010) multi-wavelength (MWL) light curve of M 87, spanning from radio to VHE and including data from Hubble Space Telescope, Liverpool Telescope, Very Large Array, and European VLBI Network, is used to further investigate the origin of the VHE gamma-ray emission. No unique, common MWL signature of the three VHE flares has been identified. In the outer kiloparsec jet region, in particular in HST-1, no enhanced MWL activity was detected in 2008 and 2010, disfavoring it as the origin of the VHE flares during these years. Shortly after two of the three flares (2008 and 2010), the X-ray core was observed to be at a higher flux level than its characteristic range (determined from more than 60 monitoring observations: 2002-2009). In 2005, the strong flux dominance of HST-1 could have suppressed the detection of such a feature. Published models for VHE gamma-ray emission from M 87 are reviewed in the light of the new data.