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This paper outlines specifications and gives preliminary results of aircraft observations made during the Intensive Observation Period in 2000 (IOP2000) over the Yakutsk area of eastern Siberia. The observations were part of the GAME-Siberia project. Spatial and seasonal variation in the fluxes of sensible heat, latent heat, and carbon dioxide were determined using a Russian aircraft equipped with turbulence sensors. Two flight paths covered 12 × 32 km2 grids over heterogeneous forest and grass surfaces on the left- and right-hand banks of the Lena River. The spatial flux distributions were consistent with the underlying vegetation cover. A video camera recorded aerial images of the land, while a spectrometer observed the spectral reflectance of the land surface. These data helped describe the relationship between the atmosphere and the land surface. The vertical structure of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) was also observed on long flight paths between the left and right banks of the Lena River. Thermally induced internal boundary layers (TIBLs) developed in the ABL under different thermal and dynamic conditions near the Lena River. The horizontal and vertical distributions of sensible and latent heats in the ABL were consistent with the generation of cumulus, which appeared over the forested area, but not over the Lena River lowland. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present high signal-to-noise ratio, precise YJH photometry and Y band (0.957–1.120 μm) spectroscopy of HD 1160 B, a young substellar companion discovered from the Gemini NICI Planet Finding Campaign using the Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics instrument and the Gemini Planet Imager. HD 1160 B has typical mid-M dwarf-like infrared colors and a spectral type of M5.5, where the blue edge of our Y band spectrum rules out earlier spectral types. Atmospheric modeling suggests HD 1160 B has an effective temperature of 3000–3100 K, a surface gravity of log g = 4–4.5, a radius of 1.55 ± 0.10 RJ, and a luminosity of log L/L⊙ = −2.76 ± 0.05. Neither the primary’s Hertzspring–Russell diagram position nor atmospheric modeling of HD 1160 B show evidence for a subsolar metallicity. Interpretation of the HD 1160 B spectroscopy depends on which stellar system components are used to estimate the age. Considering HD 1160 A, B and C jointly, we derive an age of 80–125 Myr, implying that HD 1160 B straddles the hydrogen-burning limit (70–90 MJ). If we consider HD 1160 A alone, younger ages (20–125 Myr) and a brown dwarf-like mass (35–90 MJ) are possible. Interferometric measurements of the primary, a precise Gaia parallax, and moderate-resolution spectroscopy can better constrain the system’s age and how HD 1160 B fits within the context of (sub)stellar evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]