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<p>The study of ongoing mergers is vital to understanding how intense star bursts are triggered, and how luminous infrared galaxies and ultra luminous infrared galaxies are formed. The Antennae (NGC 4038/39), at a distance of only 24.9 Mpc, represents the nearest example of a major merger between two gas rich spirals and provides us with a unique laboratory for studying molecular gas and star formation. I have obtained two fully sampled observations of the Antennae using the Herschel SPIRE Fourier Transform Spectrometer which I have supplemented with JCMT CO J = 3 − 2 observations. I detect CO, CI and NII emission throughout both the overlap region and the nucleus of NGC 4038. I measured the integrated intensity of the CO J = 4−3 to 8−7 and find that the overlap region is brighter for all but the J = 4 − 3 line. I find that, in the nucleus of NGC 4038, the CO spectral line energy distribution peaks at the 4−3 transition, while in the overlap region it peaks at the 3−2 transition. I modelled the CO emission using the non-local thermal equilibrium radiative transfer code RADEX coupled with a Bayesian likelihood code. I find a warm (Tkin > 600K) lower density (nH2 ∼ 200cm−3) component of molecular gas in the nucleus of NGC 4038, and similarly in the overlap region (Tkin > 600 K, nH2 ∼ 300cm−3) and find widespread evidence for multiple components of molecular gas throughout the system. These warm components in both regions correspond to ~ 1% of the total molecular gas. I find no evidence of x-ray dominated regions, cosmic rays or turbulent heating being the primary source of heating throughout the galaxy, while photodissociation regions or supernova and stellar winds may be the primary source of heating throughout the galaxy.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)

Dye tracer and time-lapse ground-penetrating radar (GPR) were used to image preferential flow paths in the shallow, unsaturated zone on hillslopes in two adjacent watersheds within the Susquehanna-Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory (CZO). At each site we injected about 50 L of water mixed with brilliant blue dye (4 g/L) into a trench cut perpendicular to the slope (~1.0 m long by ~0.20 m wide by ~0.20 m deep) to create a line of infiltration. GPR (800 MHz antennae with constant offset) was used to monitor the movement of the dye tracer downslope on a 1.0 m x 2.0 m grid with a 0.05 m line spacing. The site was then excavated and the stained pathways photographed to document the dye movement. We saw a considerable difference in the pattern of shallow preferential flow between the two sites despite similar soil characteristics and slope position. Both sites showed dye penetrating down to saprolite (~0.40 m); however, lateral flow migration between the two sites was different. At the Missed Grouse field site, the lateral migration was ~0.55 m as an evenly dispersed plume, but at distance of 0.70 m a finger of dye was observed. At the Shale Hills field site, the total lateral flow was ~0.40 m, dye was barely visible until the excavation reached ~0.10 m, and there was more evidence of distinct fingering in the vertical direction. Based on laboratory and field experiments as well as processing of the radargrams, the following conclusions were drawn: 1) time-lapse GPR successfully delineated the extent of lateral flow, but the GPR resolution was insufficient to detect small fingers of dye; 2) there was not a distinct GPR reflection at the regolith-saprock boundary, but this interface could be estimated from the extent of signal attenuation; 3) the preliminary soil moisture conditions may explain differences in the extent of infiltration at the two sites; 4) rapid infiltration into the underlying saprock limited the extent of shallow lateral flow at both sites and can be seen using the mass balance calculation and the lateral extent of dye within the radargrams; and 5) variations in flow patterns were observed between sites with similar settings at Susquehanna-Shale Hills CZO. / Geology

Seafloor sedimentary depositional and erosional processes create a record of near and far-field climatic and tectonic signals adjacent to continental margins and within oceanic basins worldwide. In this dissertation I study both modern and paleo-seafloor surface processes at three separate and distinct study sites; Cascadia offshore Oregon, U.S.A., the Eastern North American Margin from south Georgia in the south to Massachusetts in the north, and the Deep Galicia Margin offshore Spain. I have the advantage of using modern geophysical methods and high power computing resources, however the study of seafloor processes at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) stretches back over ~80 yrs. Specifically I use data collected during a variety of geophysical research cruises spanning the past ~50 yrs.-the majority of which can be directly attributed to seagoing programs managed by LDEO. The modern seafloor is the integrated result of all previous near and far field processes. As such, I look below the seafloor using multi-channel seismic reflection data, which is the result of innumerable soundings stacked together to create an image of the sub-seafloor (paleo) horizons. I map, analyze and interpret the sub-seafloor sedimentary horizons using a variety of both novel and established methods. In turn, I use multi-beam sonar data, which is also the result of innumerable soundings to map, analyze, and interpret the modern seafloor topography (bathymetry). Additionally, I look to the results from academic ocean drilling programs, which can provide information on both the composition and physical properties of sediments. The sediment composition alone can provide important information about both near and far-field processes, however when supplemented with physical properties (e.g., density/porosity) the results become invaluable. In my second chapter, I use a compilation of multi-beam sonar bathymetry data to identify and evaluate 86 seafloor morphological features interpreted to represent large-scale erosional scours not previously recognized on the Astoria Fan offshore Oregon, U.S.A. The Astoria Fan is primarily composed of sediments transported from the margin to the deep ocean during Late Pleistocene interglacial periods. A significant portion of the sediments have been found to be associated with Late Pleistocene outburst flood events attributed to glacial lakes Bonneville and Missoula. The erosional scours provide a record of the flow path of the scouring event(s), which if well understood can provide important information for the study of past earthquakes as the sedimentary record remains intact outside of the erosional force created by the massive flood events. I design and implement a Monte Carlo inversion to calculate the event(s) flow path at each individual scour location, which results in a comprehensive map of Late Pleistocene erosion on the Astoria Fan. The results indicate that at least 4 outburst flood events are recorded by the scour marks. In my third chapter, I build a stratigraphic framework of the Eastern North American margin using a compilation of multi-channel seismic data. Horizon Au is a primary horizon within the stratigraphic framework and is thought to represent a significant margin wide bottom-water erosional event associated with subsidence of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge and opening of Fram Strait in the late Eocene/early Oligocene. A recent study found that the bottom-water was enriched in fossil carbon, leading us to hypothesize that the bottom-water erosion recorded by horizon Au may have been facilitated by chemical weathering of the carbonate sediments. I use sediment isopach(s) to build a margin-wide model of the late Eocene/early Oligocene continental margin in order to estimate the volume of sediments eroded/dissolved during the event marked by horizon Au. The results indicate that ~170,000 km3 of sediments were removed with a carbonate fraction of 42,500 km³, resulting in 1.15e18 mol CaCO₃ going into solution. An influx of this magnitude likely played a role in significant climatic changes identified at the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT). In my fourth chapter, I use a combination of 3D multi-channel seismic and multi-beam sonar bathymetry data collected during the Galicia 3D Seismic Experiment in 2013. The Galicia Bank is the largest of many crustal blocks and is located 120 km west of the coast on the Iberian Margin. The crustal blocks have been attributed to the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean in the Late Triassic/Middle Jurassic. The Galicia Bank is the source for the majority of sediments delivered to the Deep Galicia Margin, the focus of this study. I map the seafloor and 5 paleo-seafloor surfaces in order to study controls on sediment delivery provided by the crustal blocks. The results show that the crustal blocks begin as a barrier to and remain a primary control on sediment delivery pathways to the Deep Galicia basin. Additionally, the paleo-seafloor surfaces record morphological structures that can inform us on both near and far field past climatic and tectonic events e.g., the Alpine Orogeny and Pleistocene inter-glacial periods.

Soil organic matter (SOM) is the largest terrestrial pool of organic carbon (C), and potential carbon-climate feedbacks involving SOM decomposition could exacerbate anthropogenic climate change. Despite the importance of SOM in the global C cycle, our understanding of the controls on SOM stabilization and decomposition is still developing, and as such, SOM dynamics are a source of major uncertainty in current Earth system models (ESMs), which reduces the effectiveness of these models in predicting the efficacy of climate change mitigation strategies. To improve our understanding of controls on SOM decomposition at scales relevant to such modeling efforts, A and upper B horizon soil samples from 22 National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) sites spanning the conterminous U.S. were incubated for 52 weeks under conditions representing site-specific mean summer temperature and horizon-specific field capacity (-33 kPa) water potential. Cumulative CO2 respired was periodically measured and normalized by soil organic C content to obtain cumulative specific respiration (CSR). A two-pool decomposition model was fitted to the CSR data to calculate decomposition rates of fast- (kfast) and slow-cycling pools (kslow). Post-LASSO best subsets multiple linear regression was used to construct horizon-specific models of significant predictors for CSR, kfast, and kslow. Significant predictors for all three response variables consisted mostly of proximal factors related to clay-sized fraction mineralogy and SOM composition. Non-crystalline minerals and lower SOM lability negatively affected CSR for both A and B horizons. Significant predictors for decomposition rates varied by horizon and pool. B horizon decomposition rates were positively influenced by nitrogen (N) availability, while an index of pyrogenic C had a negative effect on kfast in both horizons. These results reinforce the recognized need to explicitly represent SOM stabilization via interactions with non-crystalline minerals in ESMs, and they also suggest that increased N inputs could enhance SOM decomposition in the subsoil, highlighting another mechanism beyond shifts in temperature and precipitation regimes that could alter SOM decomposition rates. / Master of Science / Soils contain a large amount of carbon (C) in the form of soil organic matter (SOM), and there is the potential for the increased decomposition of SOM due to warmer temperatures to cause climate change to become worse through the release of additional CO₂ into the atmosphere. However, we still do not know exactly what is most important for predicting how vulnerable SOM is to decomposition at continental scales, and this results in a substantial amount of uncertainty in Earth system models used to predict climate change. To address this question, the proportion of organic C decomposed in soil samples from the topsoil and subsoil from 22 sites across the conterminous U.S. was monitored over the course of a year under optimal moisture conditions and at site-specific summer temperature. Additionally, a mathematical model was fitted to the proportion of organic C decomposed over time to estimate decomposition rates of a quickly decomposing pool of SOM and a slowly decomposing pool of SOM. The proportion of organic C decomposed and decomposition rates were related to soil and site properties using multiple linear regression to find which soil and site properties were most important for predicting these response variables. The type of clay-sized mineral and SOM chemical composition were found to be important predictors of the proportion of organic C decomposed for both topsoil and subsoil samples. The important predictors for decomposition rates varied by pool and by topsoil vs. subsoil. For subsoil decomposition rates, it was found that a greater availability of nitrogen (N) increased decomposition rates, and in the quickly decomposing pool, it was found that fire-derived organic matter slowed decomposition rates. The results of this study showed the general importance of local factors for controlling SOM decomposition. Specifically, it showed that the type of clay-sized mineral present at a site needs to be considered as well as the fact that N might increase SOM decomposition in the subsoil.

The Radio Neutrino Observatory in Greenland (RNO-G) is a multidisciplinary, multinational collaboration which uses antennas to detect neutrino interactions with arctic ice sheets. Neutrinos are formed from nuclear reactions; predominant sources include nuclear reactors, stars, supernovae, and the big bang. They rarely interact with normal matter and thus travel from origin to destination relatively unimpeded, with applications including tracking nuclear weapons tests and supernovae. Measurements of galactic neutrino flux can provide information about how the universe developed and its current evolution. Neutrino interactions produce signals from 100 to 1000MHz. Current RNO-G antennas operate over only a portion of this band; 200MHz for horizontally polarized (Hpol) and 400MHz for vertically polarized (Vpol). In this thesis, multiple lengths of Hpol antennas are combined, and exponentially tapered geometry is added to the Vpol antenna to improve performance. Both polarizations are combined into one structure to improve observatory performance. This thesis details the design, fabrication, and testing of a new RNO-G antenna iteration. Each design is compared to frequency, gain, matching, and size requirements. Two variations of the final design are fabricated and tested, with performance compared to simulation.

The Virginia Tech Spectral-Line Survey (VTSS) is a high sensitivity, high resolution survey of Hydrogen-$\alpha$ and Sulfur-II emission in the full northern hemisphere. The instrument used for the survey is the Spectral Line Imaging Camera (SLIC). SLIC uses a fast(f/1.2) lens attached to a cryogenically cooled, TK 512x512 CCD with 27 micron pixels. The focal length of the lens is 58mm which gives a pixel size of 1.6 arcminutes. The diameter of each field is 10degrees. A filter wheel ahead of the lens allows for imaging at different wavelengths. Automating the imaging system is desirable and advantageous due to the large scope of the survey. A variety of devices have been developed in order to implement automation of the SLIC observatory. They include an automated focusing mechanism, filter wheel, liquid nitrogen auto fill system, motorized roll-off roof, cloud monitor, and an equatorial mount. A PERL script, called SLICAR (Spectral Line Imaging Camera Automation Routine), was written to control and communicate with the various hardware and software components. The program also implements a user prepared Observing File, and makes decisions based on observing conditions. / Master of Science

Nous retraçons la vie et le parcours professionnel de Jean Dufay, et ce fil directeur permet d'étudier en même temps le développement des observations et des recherches astrophysiques dans les Observatoires de Lyon et de Haute-Provence. Jean Dufay nait à Blois en 1896. Après son engagement militaire pendant la première guerre mondiale, il entre à l'ENS et obtient l'agrégation de physique en 1921. Il enseigne pendant sept ans dans des lycées, tout en préparant une thèse de doctorat, qu'il soutient en 1928 : Recherches sur la lumière du ciel nocturne.Il choisit alors une nouvelle carrière et entre en 1929 à l'Observatoire de Lyon, comme aide-astronome. Il devient directeur de l'établissement en 1933 et oriente son équipe vers des recherches d'astrophysique stellaire. D'autre part, Jean Dufay fait partie dès 1932 de la commission ministérielle qui étudie la création d'un observatoire d'astrophysique. Il est nommé en 1937 directeur de ce futur établissement, qui deviendra l'Observatoire de Haute-Provence (OHP). Tout en gardant la direction de l'Observatoire de Lyon, il coordonne la construction et l'équipement de l'OHP, qui devient en 1959 l'un des plus modernes d'Europe avec un télescope de 193 cm associé à un grand spectrographe.Jean Dufay dirige les deux observatoires jusqu'à sa retraite en 1966, tout en enseignant à la Faculté des Sciences et en continuant ses recherches astrophysiques. Il publie de nombreux articles et plusieurs livres. Il préside une commission de l'UAI. Il acquiert une notoriété certaine dans la communauté scientifique internationale de son époque.Jean Dufay est l'un des acteurs du renouveau de l'astronomie en France, dans le deuxième tiers du XXe siècle. À son arrivée à Lyon, l'observatoire travaille surtout pour l'astronomie de position, avec des méthodes qui n'ont pas changé depuis 1880. En moins de dix ans, ce type de recherche est abandonné, et remplacé par la photométrie de précision et la spectrophotométrie. Après la seconde guerre mondiale, les pratiques de l'astrophysique sont définitivement intégrées à l'Observatoire de Lyon, qui travaille alors en synergie avec l'OHP / We trace the life and career of Jean Dufay, and at the same time, this allows us to study the development of observations and astrophysical research in the Lyon and Haute-Provence Observatories.Jean Dufay was born in Blois in 1896. After his military involvement in the First World War, he joined the ENS and passed the agrégation in physics in 1921. He taught for seven years in high schools, while preparing a PhD thesis, presented in 1928 : Research on Light in the Night Sky.He then chose a new career and entered the Lyon Observatory in 1929, as an assistant astronomer. He became director of the institution in 1933 and directed his team’s work towards research in stellar astrophysics. Besides, in 1932, Jean Dufay joined the ministerial commission studying the creation of an astrophysics observatory. In 1937 he was appointed director of this future institution, which would later become the Haute-Provence Observatory (OHP). While keeping his post of manager of the Lyon Observatory, he coordinated the construction and equipment of the OHP, which in 1959 became one of the most modern ones in Europe, with a 193 cm telescope associated with a large spectrograph.Jean Dufay was at the helm of the two observatories until his retirement in 1966, while teaching at the Faculty of Sciences and keeping up his astrophysical research. He published numerous articles and several books. He chaired a commission of the IAU, and gained genuine recognition in the international scientific community of his time.Jean Dufay was one of the actors of the renewal of astronomy in France, in the second third of the twentieth century. When he arrived in Lyon, the observatory mainly worked for positional astronomy, with methods that had been unchanged since 1880. In less than ten years, this kind of research fell into disuse and was replaced by precision photometry and spectrophotometry. After the Second World War, astrophysical practices were integrated for good into Lyon Observatory, which then works in synergy with OHP

Depuis plus d’un siècle, les rayons cosmiques d’ultra-haute énergie (RCUHE), ayant une énergie supérieure à 1018 eV, continuent d’entretenir le mystère : Quelle est leur composition ? D’où viennent-ils ? Comment atteignent-ils de telles énergies ? Ces particules chargées, suffisamment énergétiques pour atteindre la Terre, forment des gerbes de particules secondaires via leurs interactions avec l’atmosphère dont le développement est caractéristique de la nature de la particule primaire. L’observatoire Pierre Auger, avec sa structure hybride et son gigantesque réseau de détecteurs peuvent apporter des réponses. L’étude de la composition des RCUHEs a été étudiée avec le réseau de surface de l’observatoire Pierre Auger. Cette dernière est cruciale à la fois pour comprendre les interactions hadroniques, qui constituent le développement des gerbes, et pour identifier leurs sources. Cela peut également aider à comprendre l’origine de la coupure spectrale aux plus hautes énergies : s’agit-il de la coupure GZK ou à l’extinction des sources. Toutes ces raisons motivent la première partie de la thèse, à savoir la mise en place d’une méthode permettant d’extraire la composante muonique des gerbes atmosphériques et d’en déduire la composition. Les résultats de cette méthode montrent une dépendance de la composition avec la distance à l’axe de la gerbe, qui pourrait aider à améliorer les modèles hadroniques. Dans les conditions actuelles du réseau de surface, l’identification de la composante muonique présente des limites.La seconde partie est consacrée au nouvel observatoire en Chine, LHAASO. Ce projet s’intéresse à l’étude des gammas supérieurs à 30 TeV, qui signeraient l’accélération de proton dans la galaxie, donnant ainsi des informations indirectes sur les rayons cosmiques. D’autre part, l’observatoire vise à étudier les rayons cosmiques entre 10 TeV et 1 EeV, région où le spectre en énergie présente une rupture. Cette région nécessite de pouvoir discriminer les gammas des rayons cosmiques. A ce titre, l’un des détecteurs de LHAASO, le KM2A, a été simulé et son pouvoir de discrimination gamma/hadron évalué. / During the past century, ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECR), those with an energy larger than 1018 eV, remain as a mystery: What are cosmic rays? Where do they come from? How do they attain their huge energy? When these charged particles strike the earth's atmosphere, they dissipate their energy by generating a shower of secondary particles whose development is significantly different depending on the nature of the primaries. The Pierre Auger observatory, with its hybrid structure and huge size network of ground detectors, can shed some light into these questions.The study of the composition of UHECR was performed with the Pierre Auger apparatus. This is crucial both to understand the hadronic interactions, which govern the evolution of showers, and to identify their sources. It can help to understand the origin of the energy spectrum cut-off: is it the GZK cut-off or the exhaustion of sources? These reasons motivate the first part of this thesis: the development of a method to extract the muonic component of air showers and deduce the implications on the composition of UHECR at the Pierre Auger observatory. The results of this method show a dependence of the composition with the distance to the axis of the shower, which could help to improve the hadronic models. The determination of the muon component is limited by the surface detector setup.The second part is devoted to the new observatory in China, LHAASO. This project focuses on the study of gamma rays with an energy higher than 30 TeV, which probe the acceleration of protons in the galaxy, providing indirect information on cosmic rays. Moreover, the observatory studies cosmic rays between 10 TeV and 1 EeV, one of the regions where the energy spectrum presents a break. This region requires the ability to discriminate gamma rays and cosmic rays. For this reason, one of the detectors of LHAASO, the KM2A, was simulated and its power of discrimination gamma/hadron evaluated.