David Emerson Harker

Repeated polyploidization of Gossypium genomes and the evolution of spinnable cotton fibres

Polyploidy often confers emergent properties, such as the higher fibre productivity and quality of tetraploid cottons than diploid cottons bred for the same environments. Here we show that an abrupt five- to sixfold ploidy increase approximately 60 million years (Myr) ago, and allopolyploidy reuniting divergent Gossypium genomes approximately 1–2 Myr ago, conferred about 30–36-fold duplication of ancestral angiosperm (flowering plant) genes in elite cottons (Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium barbadense), genetic complexity equalled only by Brassica among sequenced angiosperms. Nascent fibre evolution, before allopolyploidy, is elucidated by comparison of spinnable-fibred Gossypium herbaceum A and non-spinnable Gossypium longicalyx F genomes to one another and the outgroup D genome of non-spinnable Gossypium raimondii. The sequence of a G. hirsutum AtDt (in which ‘t’ indicates tetraploid) cultivar reveals many non-reciprocal DNA exchanges between subgenomes that may have contributed to phenotypic innovation and/or other emergent properties such as ecological adaptation by polyploids. Most DNA-level novelty in G. hirsutum recombines alleles from the D-genome progenitor native to its New World habitat and the Old World A-genome progenitor in which spinnable fibre evolved. Coordinated expression changes in proximal groups of functionally distinct genes, including a nuclear mitochondrial DNA block, may account for clusters of cotton-fibre quantitative trait loci affecting diverse traits. Opportunities abound for dissecting emergent properties of other polyploids, particularly angiosperms, by comparison to diploid progenitors and outgroups.

Annealing of Silicate Dust by Nebular Shocks at 10 AU

Silicate dust grains in the interstellar medium are known to be mostly amorphous, yet crystalline silicate grains have been observed in many long-period comets and in protoplanetary disks. Annealing of amorphous silicate grains into crystalline grains requires temperatures of 1000 K, but exposure of dust grains in comets to such high temperatures is incompatible with the generally low temperatures experienced by comets. This has led to the proposal of models in which dust grains were thermally processed near the proto-Sun, then underwent considerable radial transport until they reached the gas giant planet region where the long-period comets originated. We hypothesize instead that silicate dust grains were annealed in situ by shock waves triggered by gravitational instabilities. We assume a shock speed of 5 km s-1, a plausible value for shocks driven by gravitational instabilities. We calculate the peak temperatures of micron and submicron amorphous pyroxene grains of chondritic composition under conditions typical in protoplanetary disks at 5-10 AU. Our results also apply to chondritic amorphous olivine grains. We show that in situ thermal annealing of submicron- and micron-sized silicate dust grains can occur, obviating the need for large-scale radial transport.

EXPLORATIONS BEYOND THE SNOW LINE: SPITZER/IRS SPECTRA OF DEBRIS DISKS AROUND SOLAR-TYPE STARS

We have observed 152 nearby solar-type stars with the Infrared Spectrometer (IRS) on the Spitzer Space Telescope. Including stars that met our criteria but were observed in other surveys, we get an overall success rate for finding excesses in the long wavelength IRS band (30-34 micron) of 11.8% +/- 2.4%. The success rate for excesses in the short wavelength band (8.5-12 micron) is ~1% including sources from other surveys. For stars with no excess at 8.5-12 microns, the IRS data set 3 sigma limits of around 1,000 times the level of zodiacal emission present in our solar system, while at 30-34 microns set limits of around 100 times the level of our solar system. Two stars (HD 40136 and HD 10647) show weak evidence for spectral features; the excess emission in the other systems is featureless. If the emitting material consists of large (10 micron) grains as implied by the lack of spectral features, we find that these grains are typically located at or beyond the snow line, ~1-35 AU from the host stars, with an average distance of 14 +/- 6 AU; however smaller grains could be located at significantly greater distances from the host stars. These distances correspond to dust temperatures in the range ~50-450 K. Several of the disks are well modeled by a single dust temperature, possibly indicative of a ring-like structure. However, a single dust temperature does not match the data for other disks in the sample, implying a distribution of temperatures within these disks. For most stars with excesses, we detect an excess at both IRS and MIPS wavelengths. Only three stars in this sample show a MIPS 70 micron excess with no IRS excess, implying that very cold dust is rare around solar-type stars.

Discovery of Crystalline Silicates in Comet C/2001 Q4 (NEAT)

We present the 10 μm silicate feature of the dynamically new Oort Cloud comet C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) 5 days prior to perihelion (rh = 0.97 AU, Δ = 0.35 AU, 2004 May 11.25 and 11.30 UT) observed with the NASA Ames HIFOGS spectrophotometer. The silicate feature of comet Q4 contains strong crystalline peaks at 10.0 and 11.2 μm, along with weaker peaks at 9.3, 10.5, and 11.8 μm, which are characteristic of crystalline olivine and crystalline orthopyroxene. The relative heights of the resonant peaks as well as the shape of the silicate feature in comet Q4 is the same as in comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) preperihelion (rh = 1.21 AU). Thermal emission modeling shows Q4 and Hale-Bopp have similar relative abundances of the silicate minerals and high silicate crystalline-to-amorphous ratios. The silicate-to-amorphous carbon ratio derived for comet Q4, however, is lower than in Hale-Bopp and varies by a factor of ~2 in 2 hr, potentially sampling material from different jets in the coma. Owing to the similarity in the silicate mineralogy between Q4 and Hale-Bopp, either these two icy planetesimals formed in the same regime or crystalline silicates were widely distributed within the comet-forming zone.

Thermal Emission From The Dust Coma Of Comet Hale-Bopp And The Composition Of The Silicate Grains

Abstract The dust coma of comet Hale-Bopp was observed in the thermal infrared over a wide range in solar heating (R = 4.9–0.9 AU) and over the full wavelength range from 3 μm to 160 μm. Unusual early activity produced an extensive coma containing small warm refractory grains; already at 4.9 AU, the 10 μm silicate emission feature was strong and the color temperature was 30% above the equilibrium blackbody temperature. Near perihelion the high color temperature, strong silicate feature, and high albedo indicated a smaller mean grain size than in other comets. The 8–13 μm spectra revealed a silicate emission feature similar in shape to that seen in P/Halley and several new and long period comets. Detailed spectral structure in the feature was consistent over time and with different instruments; the main peaks occur at 9.3, 10.0 and 11.2 μm. These peaks can be identified with olivine and pyroxene minerals, linking the comet dust to the anhydrous chondritic aggregate interplanetary dust particles. Spectra at 16–40 μm taken with the ISO SWS displayed pronounced emission peaks due to Mg-rich crystalline olivine, consistent with the 11.2 μm peak.

A Spitzer Study of Comets 2P/Encke, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and C/2001 HT50 (LINEAR-NEAT)

We present infrared images and spectra of comets 2P/Encke, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and C/2001 HT50 (LINEAR-NEAT) as part of a larger program to observe comets inside of 5 AU from the Sun with the Spitzer Space Telescope. The nucleus of comet 2P/Encke was observed at two vastly different phase angles (20° and 63°). Model fits to the spectral energy distributions of the nucleus suggest that comet Enckes infrared beaming parameter derived from the near-Earth asteroid thermal model may have a phase angle dependence. The observed emission from comet Enckes dust coma is best modeled using predominately amorphous carbon grains with a grain size distribution that peaks near 0.4 μm, and the silicate contribution by mass to the submicron dust coma is constrained to <31%. Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was observed with distinct coma emission in excess of a model nucleus at a heliocentric distance of 5.0 AU. The coma detection suggests that sublimation processes are still active or grains from recent activity remain near the nucleus. Comet C/2001 HT50 (LINEAR-NEAT) showed evidence for crystalline silicates in the spectrum obtained at 3.2 AU, and we derive a silicate-to-carbon dust ratio of 0.6. The ratio is an order of magnitude lower than that derived for comets 9P/Tempel 1 during the Deep Impact encounter and C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp).

Spitzer Observations of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at 5.5-4.3 AU from the Sun

We report Spitzer Space Telescope observations of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at 5.5 and 4.3 AU from the Sun, post-aphelion. Comet 67P is the primary target of the European Space Agencys Rosetta mission. The Rosetta spacecraft will rendezvous with the nucleus at heliocentric distances similar to our observations. Rotationally resolved observations at 8 and 24 μm (at a heliocentric distance, rh , of 4.8 AU) that sample the size and color-temperature of the nucleus are combined with aphelion R-band light curves observed at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and yield a mean effective radius of 2.04 ± 0.11 km, and an R-band geometric albedo of 0.054 ± 0.006. The amplitudes of the R-band and mid-infrared light curves agree, which suggests that the variability is dominated by the shape of the nucleus. We also detect the dust trail of the comet at 4.8 and 5.5 AU, constrain the grain sizes to be 6 mm, and estimate the impact hazard to Rosetta. We find no evidence for recently ejected dust in our images. If the activity of 67P is consistent from orbit to orbit, then we may expect the Rosetta spacecraft will return images of an inactive or weakly active nucleus as it rendezvous with the comet at rh = 4 AU in 2014.

The 10 Micron Silicate Feature of Comet C/1996 Q1 (Tabur)

We present 7.6–13.2 μm infrared spectrophotometry (R 120) of the inner coma of comet C/1996 Q1 (Tabur), obtained 1996 October 8–10 UT. At this epoch, the comet was at a heliocentric distance of rh = 0.96 AU. The local 10 μm continuum is fitted with a 300 ± 10 K blackbody, revealing a weak silicate feature. Our analysis suggests that comet Tabur most likely contains large grains of radii a ≈ 1–3 μm. Synthetic spectra derived from laboratory measurements of amorphous pyroxene and amorphous and crystalline olivine of grain sizes (radii) between 1 and 5 μm are fitted to Taburs silicate emission feature. A mixture of crystalline olivine (1 μm radii) and amorphous pyroxene (3 μm radii) grains provides the best model fit to the observed 10 μm spectrum. We also compare the spectra of Tabur with the mid-IR spectra of C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) and other comets with and without silicate features. In particular, we discuss the mid-IR spectrum of comet C/1998 K5 (LINEAR) obtained on 1998 June 28–30 UT with the same instrument and spectral resolution. In contrast to comet Tabur, the spectrum of comet K5 LINEAR does not exhibit 10 μm silicate emission in excess of a featureless continuum characterized by a 310 ± 10 K blackbody.

Mid-infrared spectrophotometric observations of fragments B and C of comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3

We present mid-infrared spectra and images from the Gemini-N (+ Michelle) observations of fragments SW3-[B] and SW3-[C] of the ecliptic (Jupiter family) comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 pre-perihelion. We observed fragment B soon after an outburst event (between 2006 April 16-26 UT) and detected crystalline silicates. The mineralogy of both fragments was dominated by amorphous carbon and amorphous pyroxene. The grain size distribution (assuming a Hanner-modified power law) for fragment SW3-[B] has a peak grain radius of ap ~ 0.5 μm, and for fragment SW3-[C], ap ~ 0.3 μm; both values are larger than the peak grain radius of the size distribution for the dust ejected from ecliptic comet 9P/Tempel 1 during the Deep Impact event (ap = 0.2 μm). The silicate-to-carbon ratio and the silicate crystalline mass fraction for the submicron to micron-sized portion of the grain size distribution on the nucleus of fragment SW3-[B] were 1.341+0.250 –0.253 and 0.335+0.089 –0.112, respectively, while on the nucleus of fragment SW3-[C] they were 0.671+0.076 –0.076 and 0.257+0.039 –0.043, respectively. The similarity in mineralogy and grain properties between the two fragments implies that 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 is homogeneous in composition. The slight differences in grain size distribution and silicate-to-carbon ratio between the two fragments likely arise because SW3-[B] was actively fragmenting throughout its passage while the activity in SW3-[C] was primarily driven by jets. The lack of diverse mineralogy in the fragments SW3-[B] and SW3-[C] of 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 along with the relatively larger peak in the coma grain size distribution suggests that the parent body of this comet may have formed in a region of the solar nebula with different environmental properties than the natal sites where comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) and 9P/Tempel 1 nuclei aggregated.

The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover Mastcam instruments: Preflight and in-flight calibration, validation, and data archiving

The NASA Curiosity rover Mast Camera (Mastcam) system is a pair of fixed-focal length, multispectral, color CCD imagers mounted ~2 m above the surface on the rover’s remote sensing mast, along with associated electronics and an onboard calibration target. The left Mastcam (M-34) has a 34 mm focal length, an instantaneous field of view (IFOV) of 0.22 mrad, and a FOV of 20° × 15° over the full 1648 × 1200 pixel span of its Kodak KAI-2020 CCD. The right Mastcam (M-100) has a 100 mm focal length, an IFOV of 0.074 mrad, and a FOV of 6.8° × 5.1° using the same detector. The cameras are separated by 24.2 cm on the mast, allowing stereo images to be obtained at the resolution of the M-34 camera. Each camera has an eight-position filter wheel, enabling it to take Bayer pattern red, green, and blue (RGB) “true color” images, multispectral images in nine additional bands spanning ~400–1100 nm, and images of the Sun in two colors through neutral density-coated filters. An associated Digital Electronics Assembly provides command and data interfaces to the rover, 8 Gb of image storage per camera, 11 bit to 8 bit companding, JPEG compression, and acquisition of high-definition video. Here we describe the preflight and in-flight calibration of Mastcam images, the ways that they are being archived in the NASA Planetary Data System, and the ways that calibration refinements are being developed as the investigation progresses on Mars. We also provide some examples of data sets and analyses that help to validate the accuracy and precision of the calibration. Plain Language Summary We describe the calibration and archiving of the images being obtained from the Mastcam multispectral, stereoscopic imaging system on board the NASA Curiosity Mars rover. Calibration is critical to detailed scientific analysis of instrumental data, and in this paper we not only describe the details of the calibration process and the steps in our resulting data calibration pipeline but also present some examples of the kinds of scientific analyses and discoveries that this calibration has enabled.