RESUMO
Supermassive black holes in the nuclei of active galaxies expel large amounts of matter through powerful winds of ionized gas. The archetypal active galaxy NGC 5548 has been studied for decades, and high-resolution x-ray and ultraviolet (UV) observations have previously shown a persistent ionized outflow. An observing campaign in 2013 with six space observatories shows the nucleus to be obscured by a long-lasting, clumpy stream of ionized gas not seen before. It blocks 90% of the soft x-ray emission and causes simultaneous deep, broad UV absorption troughs. The outflow velocities of this gas are up to five times faster than those in the persistent outflow, and, at a distance of only a few light days from the nucleus, it may likely originate from the accretion disk.
RESUMO
Automobile catalytic converters are dispersing platinum-group elements (PGEs) Rh, Pt, and Pd into the environment (1-3). This paper represents the first detailed study to assess the PGE content of soils and grasses from U.S. roadsides. These soils were analyzed using cation exchange pretreatment and ultrasonic nebulizer-ICP-MS (4). Highway and several urban sites showed Pt abundances of 64-73 ng/g immediately adjacent to the roadside, with corresponding Pd and Rh abundances of 18-31 ng/g and 3-7 ng/g, respectively. All Pt and most Pd and Rh abundances are statistically above local background soil values. Platinum, Rd, and Rh show positive correlations with traffic-related elements (Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb) but no correlations with nontraffic-related elements (Y, Ga). Iridium and Ru show no correlations with any of these trace elements. These PGE abundances are comparable to European studies (5-7) and are approaching concentrations that would be economically viable to recover. This study also demonstrates transport of Pt statistically above background more than 50 m from the roadside. Further study is necessary to see how mobile the PGEs are in roadside environments, but these initial data indicate only Pt is taken up by plants.