We present a measure of the hard (2-8 keV) X-ray luminosity function (XLF) of AGNs up to image. At high redshifts, the wide area coverage of the Chandra Multiwavength Project is crucial to detect ...rare and luminous AGNs. The inclusion of samples from deeper published surveys, such as the Chandra Deep Fields, allows us to span the lower L sub(X) range of the XLF. Our sample is selected from both the hard and soft energy band detections. Within our optical magnitude limits, we achieve an adequate level of completeness (>50%) regarding X-ray source identification (i.e., redshift). We find that the luminosity function is similar to that found in previous X- ray surveys up to image with an evolution dependent on both luminosity and redshift. At image, there is a significant decline in the numbers of AGNs with an evolution rate similar to that found by studies of optically selected QSOs. Based on our XLF, we assess the resolved fraction of the cosmic X-ray background, the cumulative mass density of SMBHs, and the comparison of the mean accretion rate onto SMBHs and the star formation history of galaxies as a function of redshift. A coevolution scenario up to image is plausible, although at higher redshifts the accretion rate onto SMBHs drops more rapidly. Finally, we highlight the need for better statistics of high- redshift AGNs at image, which is achievable with the upcoming Chandra surveys.
In this study, we present the results of nitrogen deposition on land from a set of 29 simulations from six different tropospheric chemistry models pertaining to present‐day and 2100 conditions. ...Nitrogen deposition refers here to the deposition (wet and dry) of all nitrogen‐containing gas phase chemical species resulting from NOx (NO + NO2) emissions. We show that under the assumed IPCC SRES A2 scenario the global annual average nitrogen deposition over land is expected to increase by a factor of ∼2.5, mostly because of the increase in nitrogen emissions. This will significantly expand the areas with annual average deposition exceeding 1 gN/m2/year. Using the results from all models, we have documented the strong linear relationship between models on the fraction of the nitrogen emissions that is deposited, regardless of the emissions (present day or 2100). On average, approximately 70% of the emitted nitrogen is deposited over the landmasses. For present‐day conditions the results from this study suggest that the deposition over land ranges between 25 and 40 Tg(N)/year. By 2100, under the A2 scenario, the deposition over the continents is expected to range between 60 and 100 Tg(N)/year. Over forests the deposition is expected to increase from 10 Tg(N)/year to 20 Tg(N)/year. In 2100 the nitrogen deposition changes from changes in the climate account for much less than the changes from increased nitrogen emissions.
The temporal variability of the human microbiome may be an important factor in determining its relationship with health and disease. In this study, the saliva of 40 participants was collected every 2 ...months over a one-year period to determine the temporal variability of the human salivary microbiome. Salivary pH and 16S rRNA gene copy number were measured for all participants, with the microbiome of 10 participants assessed through 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. In February 2013, 16S rRNA gene copy number was significantly (P < 0.001) higher, with individual changes between time points significant (P = 0.003). Salivary pH levels were significantly (P < 0.001) higher in December 2012 than in October 2012 and February 2013, with significant (P < 0.001) individual variations seen throughout. Bacterial α-diversity showed significant differences between participants (P < 0.001), but not sampling periods (P = 0.801), and a significant positive correlation with salivary pH (R2 = 7.8%; P = 0.019). At the phylum level, significant differences were evident between participants in the Actinobacteria (P < 0.001), Bacteroidetes (P < 0.001), Firmicutes (P = 0.008), Fusobacteria (P < 0.001), Proteobacteria (P < 0.001), Synergistetes (P < 0.001) and Spirochaetes (P = 0.003) phyla. This study charted the temporal variability of the salivary microbiome, suggesting that bacterial diversity is stable, but that 16S rRNA gene copy number may be subject to seasonal flux.
This is the first study to chart the temporal variability of the salivary microbiome and suggested that this was stable in terms of its diversity but not load over a one-year period.
The Energy Exascale Earth System Model Atmosphere Model version 1, the atmospheric component of the Department of Energy's Energy Exascale Earth System Model is described. The model began as a fork ...of the well‐known Community Atmosphere Model, but it has evolved in new ways, and coding, performance, resolution, physical processes (primarily cloud and aerosols formulations), testing and development procedures now differ significantly. Vertical resolution was increased (from 30 to 72 layers), and the model top extended to 60 km (~0.1 hPa). A simple ozone photochemistry predicts stratospheric ozone, and the model now supports increased and more realistic variability in the upper troposphere and stratosphere. An optional improved treatment of light‐absorbing particle deposition to snowpack and ice is available, and stronger connections with Earth system biogeochemistry can be used for some science problems. Satellite and ground‐based cloud and aerosol simulators were implemented to facilitate evaluation of clouds, aerosols, and aerosol‐cloud interactions. Higher horizontal and vertical resolution, increased complexity, and more predicted and transported variables have increased the model computational cost and changed the simulations considerably. These changes required development of alternate strategies for tuning and evaluation as it was not feasible to “brute force” tune the high‐resolution configurations, so short‐term hindcasts, perturbed parameter ensemble simulations, and regionally refined simulations provided guidance on tuning and parameterization sensitivity to higher resolution. A brief overview of the model and model climate is provided. Model fidelity has generally improved compared to its predecessors and the CMIP5 generation of climate models.
Plain Language Summary
This study provides an overview of a new computer model of the Earth's atmosphere that is used as one component of the Department of Energy's latest Earth system model. The model can be used to help understand past, present, and future changes in Earth's behavior as the system responds to changes in atmospheric composition (like pollution and greenhouse gases), land, and water use and to explore how the atmosphere interacts with other components of the Earth system (ocean, land, biology, etc.). Physical, chemical, and biogeochemical processes treated within the atmospheric model are described, and pointers to previous and recent work are listed to provide additional information. The model is compared to present‐day observations and evaluated for some important tests that provide information about what could happen to clouds and the environment as changes occur. Strengths and weaknesses of the model are listed, as well as opportunities for future work.
Key Points
A brief description and evaluation is provided for the atmospheric component of the Department of Energy's Energy Exascale Earth System Model
Model fidelity has generally improved compared to predecessors and models participating in past international model evaluations
Strengths and weaknesses of the model, as well as opportunities for future work, are described
Carbonyl sulfide (OCS) provides a proxy for measuring photosynthesis and is the primary background source of stratospheric aerosols. OCS emissions due to biomass burning are a variable and ...substantial (over 10%) part of the current OCS budget. OCS emission ratios from open burning fires, coupled with 1997–2016 data from the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED4), yield OCS biomass burning emissions with a global average annual flux of 60 ± 37 Gg(S) year−1. A global box model suggests these emissions are more consistent with observations from global atmospheric composition monitoring networks than fluxes derived from previous synthesis papers. Even after considering the uncertainty in emission factor observations for each category of emissions and the interannual variation in total burned dry matter, the total OCS emissions from open burning are insufficient to account for the large imbalance between current estimates of global OCS sources and sinks.
Plain Language Summary
Carbonyl sulfide is a naturally occurring gas that can help us understand how much carbon dioxide plants take out of the atmosphere for photosynthesis. In this study we want to understand how much carbonyl sulfide comes from forest fires and other burning, as opposed to other sources. We estimate carbonyl sulfide emissions from fires around the world based on where fires occurred and what was burned then use a computer model to see whether our estimates line up with real‐world measurements of carbonyl sulfide in the atmosphere. We find that fires are a smaller source of carbonyl sulfide than previously reported.
Key Points
Bottom‐up estimate of carbonyl sulfide (OCS) emissions from biomass burning is insufficient to close the existing OCS budget gap
Long‐term observational records indicate that some previously reported OCS emission factors from peat are not globally representative
Biome‐specific emission factors imply a spatial redistribution of emissions relative to previous studies using fixed emission factors
The SAR11 Alphaproteobacteria are the most abundant heterotrophs in the oceans and are believed to play a major role in mineralizing marine dissolved organic carbon. Their genomes are among the ...smallest known for free-living heterotrophic cells, raising questions about how they successfully utilize complex organic matter with a limited metabolic repertoire. Here we show that conserved genes in SAR11 subgroup Ia (Candidatus Pelagibacter ubique) genomes encode pathways for the oxidation of a variety of one-carbon compounds and methyl functional groups from methylated compounds. These pathways were predicted to produce energy by tetrahydrofolate (THF)-mediated oxidation, but not to support the net assimilation of biomass from C1 compounds. Measurements of cellular ATP content and the oxidation of (14)C-labeled compounds to (14)CO(2) indicated that methanol, formaldehyde, methylamine, and methyl groups from glycine betaine (GBT), trimethylamine (TMA), trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) were oxidized by axenic cultures of the SAR11 strain Ca. P. ubique HTCC1062. Analyses of metagenomic data showed that genes for C1 metabolism occur at a high frequency in natural SAR11 populations. In short term incubations, natural communities of Sargasso Sea microbial plankton expressed a potential for the oxidation of (14)C-labeled formate, formaldehyde, methanol and TMAO that was similar to cultured SAR11 cells and, like cultured SAR11 cells, incorporated a much larger percentage of pyruvate and glucose (27-35%) than of C1 compounds (2-6%) into biomass. Collectively, these genomic, cellular and environmental data show a surprising capacity for demethylation and C1 oxidation in SAR11 cultures and in natural microbial communities dominated by SAR11, and support the conclusion that C1 oxidation might be a significant conduit by which dissolved organic carbon is recycled to CO(2) in the upper ocean.
Ozone changes and associated climate impacts in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) simulations are analyzed over the historical (1960–2005) and future (2006–2100) period under ...four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP). In contrast to CMIP3, where half of the models prescribed constant stratospheric ozone, CMIP5 models all consider past ozone depletion and future ozone recovery. Multimodel mean climatologies and long‐term changes in total and tropospheric column ozone calculated from CMIP5 models with either interactive or prescribed ozone are in reasonable agreement with observations. However, some large deviations from observations exist for individual models with interactive chemistry, and these models are excluded in the projections. Stratospheric ozone projections forced with a single halogen, but four greenhouse gas (GHG) scenarios show largest differences in the northern midlatitudes and in the Arctic in spring (~20 and 40 Dobson units (DU) by 2100, respectively). By 2050, these differences are much smaller and negligible over Antarctica in austral spring. Differences in future tropospheric column ozone are mainly caused by differences in methane concentrations and stratospheric input, leading to ~10 DU increases compared to 2000 in RCP 8.5. Large variations in stratospheric ozone particularly in CMIP5 models with interactive chemistry drive correspondingly large variations in lower stratospheric temperature trends. The results also illustrate that future Southern Hemisphere summertime circulation changes are controlled by both the ozone recovery rate and the rate of GHG increases, emphasizing the importance of simulating and taking into account ozone forcings when examining future climate projections.
Key Points
CMIP5 models all consider past ozone depletion and future ozone recovery
Multimodel ozone agrees well with observations but individual models deviate
Future climate is sensitive to rates of both ozone recovery and GHG increases
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