Post-glacial time series of explosive eruptions and associated changes in the magma plumbing system of Lonquimay volcano,south central Chile

The Lonquimay volcanic complex (LVC) in the high Southern Andes comprises a stratocone and NE-trending flank-cone alignments. Numerous effusive and explosive volcanic eruptions characterize its post-glacial magmatic activity. Our tephrostratigraphic record, pre-dating the four historically documented eruptions, comprises 22 dated pyroclastic deposits that are used to constrain repose time distribution and eruption probability of the LVC magmatic system. Statistical examination of the stratigraphy-based eruption time series yields probabilities of 20–50 % for at least one explosive (VEI ≥ 3) eruption within the next 100 years as of 2011. The tephra deposits are subdivided into three petrographic groups: a felsic group (Lonquimay colored-pumice tephra, LCPT), an intermediate population (Lonquimay gray pumice tephra, LGPT), and a mafic member (Lonquimay dark scoria tephra, LDST). The distribution of these petrographic groups through the LVC tephrostratigraphy is linked to the observed changes in repose times. LDST-deposits as well as deposits compositionally zoned from LCPT to LGPT dominate the lower part of the stratigraphy for which recurrence times are short (RT_mean = 417 ± 169a). Deposits younger than 6,000 b2k (years before 2000 AD) have dominantly LCPT and minor LDST compositions, no longer contain LGPT, and repose times are significantly longer (RT_mean = 1,350 ± 310a). We interpret the change in eruption regime to result from a rearrangement in the magma storage and plumbing system. Thermobarometric calculations based on cpx–liquid equilibria and amphibole compositions reveal three distinct magma storage levels: the mafic LDST derive from mid crustal storage (P _mean = 476 ± 95 MPa, T _mean = 1,073 ± 24 °C), felsic LCPT mainly erupted from upper-crustal level (P _mean = 86 ± 49 MPa, T _mean = 936 ± 24 °C), whereas LGPT samples yield intermediate storage depths (P _mean = 239 ± 100 MPa, T _mean = 1,013 ± 17 °C). Magma contributions from this intermediate reservoir are restricted to >6,000 b2k when the Lonquimay plumbing system was in a regime of short repose times; disappearance of the intermediate reservoir coincides with the change to longer repose times between eruptions.     

Renewed Geoarchaeological Investigations of Mwanganda's Village (Elephant Butchery Site), Karonga,Malawi

The site of Mwanganda's Village, located along a paleochannel in northern Malawi, is one of only a few sites that have characterized the Middle Stone Age (MSA) of Malawi for decades (Clark & Haynes, 1970 ; Clark et al., 1970 ; Kaufulu, 1990 ). The Malawi Earlier‐Middle Stone Age Project has re‐examined the site using new mapping and chronometric tools in order to reinterpret the site's significance within the context of current debates surrounding human origins and the potential role the environment played in shaping human behavior. The new data do not support the previous hypothesis that the site was an elephant butchery location (contra Clark & Haynes, 1970 ; Clark et al., 1970 ; Kaufulu, 1990 ). Instead, the evidence shows successive colonization of riparian corridors by MSA hunter‐gatherers focused on exploiting localized resources during periods of generally humid climates while other lakes desiccated across Africa. We challenge the hypothesis that stable and intermediately high lake levels within the African Rift Valley System (sensu Trauth et al., 2010 ) catalyzed the evolution of regional interaction networks between 42 and 22 ka. Instead, we interpret the evidence to suggest that regional variants of technology persist into the late MSA as foragers focused on exploiting resources from local catchments.     

Nutrient Loading and Transformations in the Columbia River Estuary Determined by High-Resolution In Situ Sensors

The Columbia River estuary is characterized by relatively large tidal currents and water residence times of a few days or less. These and other environmental conditions tend to suppress water column productivity and favor the export of riverborne nutrients to the coastal ocean. However, hotspots of biological activity may allow for significant nutrient transformation and removal within the estuary, but these processes have previously been difficult to quantify due to the challenges of obtaining measurements at appropriate frequency and duration. In this study, nutrient biogeochemical dynamics within the salt-influenced region of the estuary were quantified using high-resolution in situ observations of nutrients and physical water properties. During 2010, three autonomous nutrient sensors (Satlantic SUNA, SubChem Systems Inc. APNA, WET Labs Cycle-PO4) that together measured nitrate?+?nitrite, orthophosphate, ammonium, silicic acid, and nitrite were deployed on fixed observatory platforms. Hourly measurements captured tidal fluctuations and permitted an analysis of river and ocean end-member mixing. The results suggested that during summer, the lower estuary released high concentrations of ammonium and phosphate despite low concentrations in the river and coastal ocean. This was likely a result of organic matter accumulation and remineralization in the estuarine turbidity maximum and the lateral bays adjacent to the main channel.     

Solar Orbiter

The heliosphere represents a uniquely accessible domain of space, where fundamental physical processes common to solar, astrophysical and laboratory plasmas can be studied under conditions impossible to reproduce on Earth and unfeasible to observe from astronomical distances. Solar Orbiter, the first mission of ESA’s Cosmic Vision 2015?–?2025 programme, will address the central question of heliophysics: How does the Sun create and control the heliosphere? In this paper, we present the scientific goals of the mission and provide an overview of the mission implementation.     

Advected fields in maps: II. Dynamo action in the stretch–fold–shear map

The growth of magnetic field is considered in the stretch–fold–shear map in the limit of weak diffusion. Numerical results are given for insulating, perfectly conducting and periodic boundary conditions. The resulting eigenvalue branches and magnetic fields are related to eigenvalue branches for perfect dynamo action, obtained for zero diffusion using a complex variable formulation.

The effect of diffusion on these perfect dynamo modes depends on their structure, growth rate and the diffusive boundary conditions employed. In some cases, the effect of diffusion is a small perturbation, giving a correction going to zero in the limit of weak diffusion, with a scaling exponent given analytically. In other cases weak diffusion can entirely destroy a perfect dynamo branch. Diffusive boundary layers can also generate entirely new branches.

These different cases are elucidated, and within the framework of the asymptotic approximations used (which do not constitute a rigorous proof), it is seen that for all three boundary conditions employed, the stretch–fold–shear map is a fast dynamo.     

Magnetic Helicity in fast dynamos

The behaviour of magnetic helicity in kinematic dynamos at large magnetic Reynolds number is considered. Hughes, et al . [ Phys. Lett. A 223 , 167-172 (1996)] observe that the relative helicity tends to zero in the limit of large magnetic Reynolds number. This paper gives upper bounds on the helicity, by relating the helicity spectrum to the energy spectrum. These bounds are confirmed by numerical simulation and the distribution of helicity over scales is considered. Although it is found that the total helicity becomes small in the limit of high conductivity, there can remain significant, but cancelling, helicity at large and small scales of the field. This is illustrated by considering the evolution of helicity in the stretch-twist-fold dynamo picture.     

Anthropogenic "Litter" and macrophyte detritus in the deep Northern Gulf of Mexico

A deep-sea trawl survey of the Northern Gulf of Mexico has documented the abundance and diversity of human-generated litter and natural detrital plant material, from the outer margin of the continental shelf out to the Sigsbee abyssal plain. Plastics were the most frequently encountered type of material. Litter and debris were encountered more frequently in the eastern than in the western GoM. Land-derived plant material was located primarily within the head of the Mississippi Canyon, whereas ocean-derived plant material was spread evenly throughout the NE GoM. Human discards were principally from ships offshore. Some of the material was contained in metal cans that sank to the sea floor, probably in order to conform to international agreements that prohibit disposal of toxic material and plastics. The Mississippi Canyon was a focal point for litter, perhaps due to topography, currents or proximity to shipping lanes.     

Analysis of Radionuclide Releases from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident Part II

The present part of the publication (Part II) deals with long range dispersion of radionuclides emitted into the atmosphere during the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident that occurred after the March 11, 2011 tsunami. The first part (Part I) is dedicated to the accident features relying on radionuclide detections performed by monitoring stations of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization network. In this study, the emissions of the three fission products Cs-137, I-131 and Xe-133 are investigated. Regarding Xe-133, the total release is estimated to be of the order of 6 × 10¹⁸ Bq emitted during the explosions of units 1, 2 and 3. The total source term estimated gives a fraction of core inventory of about 8 × 10¹⁸ Bq at the time of reactors shutdown. This result suggests that at least 80 % of the core inventory has been released into the atmosphere and indicates a broad meltdown of reactor cores. Total atmospheric releases of Cs-137 and I-131 aerosols are estimated to be 10¹⁶ and 10¹⁷ Bq, respectively. By neglecting gas/particulate conversion phenomena, the total release of I-131 (gas + aerosol) could be estimated to be 4 × 10¹⁷ Bq. Atmospheric transport simulations suggest that the main air emissions have occurred during the events of March 14, 2011 (UTC) and that no major release occurred after March 23. The radioactivity emitted into the atmosphere could represent 10 % of the Chernobyl accident releases for I-131 and Cs-137.