Jet Propulsion Laboratory

About: Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a facility organization based out in La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Mars Exploration Program & Telescope. The organization has 8801 authors who have published 14333 publications receiving 548163 citations. The organization is also known as: JPL & NASA JPL.

Comparison of algorithms for estimating ocean primary production from surface chlorophyll, temperature, and irradiance

Abstract: [1] Results of a single-blind round-robin comparison of satellite primary productivity algorithms are presented. The goal of the round-robin exercise was to determine the accuracy of the algorithms in predicting depth-integrated primary production from information amenable to remote sensing. Twelve algorithms, developed by 10 teams, were evaluated by comparing their ability to estimate depth-integrated daily production (IP, mg C m−2) at 89 stations in geographically diverse provinces. Algorithms were furnished information about the surface chlorophyll concentration, temperature, photosynthetic available radiation, latitude, longitude, and day of the year. Algorithm results were then compared with IP estimates derived from 14C uptake measurements at the same stations. Estimates from the best-performing algorithms were generally within a factor of 2 of the 14C-derived estimates. Many algorithms had systematic biases that can possibly be eliminated by reparameterizing underlying relationships. The performance of the algorithms and degree of correlation with each other were independent of the algorithms’ complexity.

Bacteria and Archaea Physically Associated with Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrates

Abstract: Although there is significant interest in the potential interactions of microbes with gas hydrate, no direct physical association between them has been demonstrated. We examined several intact samples of naturally occurring gas hydrate from the Gulf of Mexico for evidence of microbes. All samples were collected from anaerobic hemipelagic mud within the gas hydrate stability zone, at water depths in the ca. 540- to 2,000-m range. The delta 13C of hydrate-bound methane varied from -45.1per thousand Peedee belemnite (PDB) to -74.7per thousand PDB, reflecting different gas origins. Stable isotope composition data indicated microbial consumption of methane or propane in some of the samples. Evidence of the presence of microbes was initially determined by 4,6-diamidino 2-phenylindole dihydrochloride (DAPI) total direct counts of hydrate-associated sediments (mean = 1.5 × 109 cells g-1) and gas hydrate (mean = 1.0 × 106 cells ml-1). Small-subunit rRNA phylogenetic characterization was performed to assess the composition of the microbial community in one gas hydrate sample (AT425) that had no detectable associated sediment and showed evidence of microbial methane consumption. Bacteria were moderately diverse within AT425 and were dominated by gene sequences related to several groups of Proteobacteria, as well as Actinobacteria and low-G + C Firmicutes. In contrast, there was low diversity of Archaea, nearly all of which were related to methanogenic Archaea, with the majority specifically related to Methanosaeta spp. The results of this study suggest that there is a direct association between microbes and gas hydrate, a finding that may have significance for hydrocarbon flux into the Gulf of Mexico and for life in extreme environments.

The Spitzer c2d survey of weak-line T Tauri stars. II. New constraints on the timescale for planet building

Abstract: One of the central goals of the Spitzer Legacy Project ``From Cores to Disks'' (c2d) is to determine the frequency of circumstellar disks around weak-line T Tauri stars (WTTSs) and to study the properties and evolutionary status of these disks. Here we present a census of disks for a sample of over 230 WTTSs located in the c2d IRAC and MIPS maps of the Ophiuchus, Lupus, and Perseus Molecular Clouds. We find that ~20% of the WTTSs in a magnitude-limited subsample have IR excesses at IRAC wavelengths. These disks frequencies are ~3-6 times larger than that recently found for a sample of relatively isolated WTTSs located outside the highest extinction regions covered by the c2d maps. The disk fractions we find are more consistent with those obtained in recent Spitzer studies of WTTSs in young clusters such as IC 348 and Tr 37. According to their location in the H-R diagram, the WTTSs with excesses in our sample are among the younger part of the age distribution. Still, up to ~50% of the apparently youngest stars in the sample show no evidence of IR excess, suggesting that the circumstellar disks of a sizable fraction of pre-main-sequence stars dissipate in a timescale of ~1 Myr. We also find that none of the stars in our sample apparently older than ~10 Myr have detectable circumstellar disks at wavelengths <24 μm. The WTTS disks in our sample exhibit a wide range of properties (SED morphology, inner radius, Ldisk/L*, etc.) that bridge the gaps observed between the CTTSs and the debris disk regimes.

Herschel unveils a puzzling uniformity of distant dusty galaxies

Abstract: The Herschel Space Observatory enables us to accurately measure the bolometric output of starburst galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGN) by directly sampling the peak of their far-infrared (IR) emission. Here we examine whether the spectral energy distribution (SED) and dust temperature of galaxies have strongly evolved over the last 80% of the age of the Universe. We discuss possible consequences for the determination of star-formation rates (SFR) and any evidence for a major change in their star-formation properties. We use Herschel deep extragalactic surveys from 100 to 500 μm to compute total IR luminosities in galaxies down to the faintest levels, using PACS and SPIRE in the GOODS-North field (PEP and HerMES key programs). An extension to fainter luminosities is done by stacking images on 24 μm prior positions. We show that measurements in the SPIRE bands can be used below the statistical confusion limit if information at higher spatial resolution is used, e.g. at 24 μm, to identify “isolated” galaxies whose flux is not boosted by bright neighbors. Below z ~ 1.5, mid-IR extrapolations are correct for star-forming galaxies with a dispersion of only 40% (0.15 dex), therefore similar to z ~ 0 galaxies, over three decades in luminosity below the regime of ultra-luminous IR galaxies (ULIRGs, LIR ≥ 1012 ). This narrow distribution is puzzling when considering the range of physical processes that could have affected the SED of these galaxies. Extrapolations from only one of the 160 μm, 250 μm or 350 μm bands alone tend to overestimate the total IR luminosity. This may be explained by the lack of far-IR constraints around and above ~150 μm (rest-frame) before Herschel on those templates. We also note that the dust temperature of luminous IR galaxies (LIRGs, LIR ≥ 1011 ) around z ~ 1 is mildly colder by 10–15% than their local analogs and up to 20% for ULIRGs at z ~ 1.6 (using a single modified blackbody-fit to the peak far-IR emission with an emissivity index of β = 1.5). Above z = 1.5, distant galaxies are found to exhibit a substantially larger mid- over far-IR ratio, which could either result from stronger broad emission lines or warm dust continuum heated by a hidden AGN. Two thirds of the AGNs identified in the field with a measured redshift exhibit the same behavior as purely star-forming galaxies. Hence a large fraction of AGNs harbor coeval star formation at very high SFR and in conditions similar to purely star-forming galaxies.

In-flight calibration of the Herschel-SPIRE instrument

Abstract: SPIRE, the Spectral and Photometric Imaging REceiver, is the Herschel Space Observatory's submillimetre camera and spectrometer. It contains a three-band imaging photometer operating at 250, 350 and 500 μm, and an imaging Fourier-transform spectrometer (FTS) covering 194–671 μm (447-1550 GHz). In this paper we describe the initial approach taken to the absolute calibration of the SPIRE instrument using a combination of the emission from the Herschel telescope itself and the modelled continuum emission from solar system objects and other astronomical targets. We present the photometric, spectroscopic and spatial accuracy that is obtainable in data processed through the “standard” pipelines. The overall photometric accuracy at this stage of the mission is estimated as 15% for the photometer and between 15 and 50% for the spectrometer. However, there remain issues with the photometric accuracy of the spectra of low flux sources in the longest wavelength part of the SPIRE spectrometer band. The spectrometer wavelength accuracy is determined to be better than 1/10th of the line FWHM. The astrometric accuracy in SPIRE maps is found to be 2 arcsec when the latest calibration data are used. The photometric calibration of the SPIRE instrument is currently determined by a combination of uncertainties in the model spectra of the astronomical standards and the data processing methods employed for map and spectrum calibration. Improvements in processing techniques and a better understanding of the instrument performance will lead to the final calibration accuracy of SPIRE being determined only by uncertainties in the models of astronomical standards.