Multiwavelength study of Cygnus A – III. Evidence for relic lobe plasma

We study the particle energy distribution in the cocoon surrounding Cygnus A, using radio images between 151 MHz and 15 GHz and a 200 ks Chandra Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer-Imaging (ACIS-I) image. We show that the excess low-frequency emission in the lobe further from the Earth cannot be explained by absorption or excess adiabatic expansion of the lobe or a combination of both. We show that this excess emission is consistent with emission from a relic counterlobe and a relic counterjet that are being re-energized by compression from the current lobe. We detect hints of a relic hotspot at the end of the relic X-ray jet in the more distant lobe. We do not detect relic emission in the lobe nearer to the Earth as expected from light traveltime effects assuming intrinsic symmetry. We determine that the duration of the previous jet activity phase was slightly less than that of the current jet-active phase. Further, we explain some features observed at 5 and 15 GHz as due to the presence of a relic jet.     

An investigation of the presence and nature of phyllosilicates on the surfaces of C asteroids by an analysis of the continuum slopes in their near‐infrared spectra

Abstract– To understand the nature of C asteroid surfaces, which are often related to phyllosilicates and C chondrites, we report near‐infrared spectra for a suite of phyllosilicates, heated to 100–1100 °C in 100 °C intervals, and compare the results for telescope IRTF spectra for 11 C asteroids. As C asteroids have relatively featureless spectra, we focus on “continuum plots” (1.0–1.75 μm slope against 1.8–2.5 μm slope). We compare the continuum plots of the 11 C asteroids and our heated phyllosilicates with literature data for C chondrites. The CI, CR, CK, and CV chondrite meteorites plot in the C asteroid field, whereas CM chondrites plot in a close but discrete field. All are well separated from the large phyllosilicate field. Heating kaolinite and montmorillonite to ≥700 °C moves their continua slopes into the C asteroid field, whereas chlorite and serpentine slopes move into the CM chondrite field. Water losses during heating are generally 10–15 wt% and were associated with a 20–70% albedo drop. Our data are consistent with surfaces of the C asteroids consisting of the dehydration products of montmorillonite whereas the CM chondrites are the dehydration products of serpentine and chlorite. The presence of opaque minerals and evaporites does not provide quantitative explanations for the difference in continua slopes of the phyllosilicates and C asteroids. The CM chondrites can also be linked to the C asteroids by heating. We suggest that the CM chondrites are interior samples, and the presence of a 3 μm feature in C asteroid spectra also indicates the excavation of material.     

Integrating taphonomy into the practice of zooarchaeology in China

With the study of faunal remains (zooarchaeology) emerging as an increasingly prominent component of archaeological studies in China, the importance of studying processes of assemblage formation and preservation (taphonomy) is becoming evident. Remains of animals recovered from an archaeological site are a biased sample of the assemblage that was originally deposited because certain animal parts preserve better than others. Important characteristics of faunal assemblages, such as skeletal element representation and age profiles, can be affected by differential preservation caused by taphonomic agents, both cultural or natural. One primary goal of taphonomic studies is to provide an understanding of differential preservation of bone elements, allowing archaeologists to make more accurate assessments concerning the exploitation of different animal species by past peoples. Recent studies of the faunal assemblages from the Early Paleolithic site of Xujiayao and the Neolithic site of Taosi, both in Shanxi Province, provide examples of the effects that differential preservation can have on archaeological interpretations of skeletal element representation and age profiles, respectively. These examples illustrate how an understanding of taphonomy is critical to the future practice of zooarchaeology in China.     

Marine ecosystem approaches to management: challenges and lessons in the United States

This study examined how the United States’ largest marine resource management agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has begun to change its management strategy away from traditional marine resource management approaches towards an Ecosystem Approach to Management (EAM). Surveys were conducted with 57 NOAA scientists and resource managers in nine NOAA programs in 8 different geographic regions across the United States in 2005. A qualitative analysis examined the attitudes and experiences of participants with respect to implementing EAM and identified four major challenges to enhancing cooperation and understanding of EAM. We conclude with recommendations for concrete initiatives that future efforts in EAM that any management agency can undertake to facilitate further ecosystem management opportunities.     

Diagenetic and sedimentary controls on porosity in Lower Carboniferous fine-grained lithologies,Krechba field,Algeria: A petrological study of a caprock to a carbon capture site

Fine-grained siliciclastic lithologies commonly act as sealing caprocks to both petroleum fields and host reservoirs for carbon capture (CO₂ sequestration) projects. Fine-grained lithologies are thus of great importance in controlling fluid flow and storage in the subsurface. However, fine-grained rocks are rarely characterised in terms of primary sedimentary characteristics, diagenesis and how these relate to their flow properties (i.e. sealing or caprock quality). Seventeen samples from Lower Carboniferous estuarine caprock to a gas field (also to be used as a carbon capture site), have been analysed using a range of petrological and petrophysical techniques. The rock unit that represents the caprock to this gas field was found to be predominantly silt grade with porosity values as low as 1.8%. In these rocks, caprock quality (porosity) is controlled by intrinsic and extrinsic factors linked to primary mineralogy and diagenetic processes. Depositional mineralogy was dominated by quartz, detrital mica, detrital clay (likely Fe-rich 7Å clay and illite–smectite) with minor feldspar and oxide phases. Diagenetic processes included compaction, minor feldspar dissolution and kaolinite growth and the more important processes of chlorite, siderite and quartz cementation, as well as the likely transformation of smectite into illite. Caprock quality is controlled by the primary quantity of illite-muscovite in the sediment and also by the localised extent of chlorite and quartz cementation. Deposition in an estuarine environment led to highly heterogeneous distribution of primary and diagenetic minerals, and thus caprock quality, between and within the samples.     

Quaternary tephra marker beds and their potential for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction on Chatham Island,east of New Zealand,southwest Pacific Ocean

Tephras provide one of the most reliable methods of time control and synchronisation within Quaternary sequences. We report on the identification of two widespread rhyolitic tephras – the Kawakawa and Rangitawa tephras – preserved in extensive peat deposits on Chatham Island ～900 km east of New Zealand. The tephras, both products of supereruptions from the Taupo Volcanic Zone, occur as pale, fine‐ash dominated layers typically 10–150 mm thick. Mineralogically they are dominated by rhyolitic glass, together with subordinate amounts of quartz, feldspar, hypersthene, hornblende, Fe–Ti oxides and zircon. Phlogopite/biotite was identified additionally in Rangitawa Tephra. Ages for each tephra were obtained via mineralogical and major element glass composition‐based correlation with well‐dated equivalent deposits on mainland New Zealand, and we also obtained a new zircon fission‐track age for Rangitawa Tephra (350 ± 50 ka) on Chatham Island. Both tephras were erupted at critical times for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions in the New Zealand region: the Kawakawa at ca. 27 cal. ka, near the beginning of the ‘extended’ LGM early in marine isotope stage (MIS) 2; and the Rangitawa at ca. 350 ka near the end of MIS 10. The time constraints provided by the tephras demonstrate that Chatham Island peats contain long‐distance pollen derived from mainland New Zealand, which provides a reliable proxy for identifying glacial–interglacial climate conditions, in this case during the MIS 11–10 and MIS 2–1 cycles. The two tephras thus provide important chronostratigraphic tie‐points that facilitate correlation and synchronisation not only across the Quaternary deposits of the Chatham Islands group but also with climatically significant terrestrial and marine records in the wider New Zealand region. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adapting capitalism: Household plots, forest resources, and moonlighting in post-Soviet Siberia1

Economic reform in post-Soviet Russia has proceeded unevenly, resulting in broad variation between rural and urban areas. In the case study presented here, I examine how Communism's `economy of favors' has been transformed into a localized quasi-capitalist economy, which predominantly operates outside the national market economy. Using data from two villages in Tunkinskij Raion of the Buriat Republic in Russia, I look at how people at a micro-sociological level have adapted to current economic conditions. In particular I examine the relationships between informal networks and the ability to intensify agricultural production on household plots, to gain access to a variety of forest resources, and to find seasonal, part-time, or one-time work outside the household and the formal labor market. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Salinity management and water resources development

The interrelationship of salinity management and water management is a factor which is sometimes easily overlooked in the water resources planning, even though it can place a limit on the degree of water resource development within a basin. Costs and control measures of salinity management are considered on a case study of the Colorado River basin where salinity damages are found to be higher than previously estimated. After review of the costs of salinity management, the possible control measures, and research on adaptions in agricultural use of more saline water, it can be concluded that, at very least, the management of water quantity and water quality, especially in arid regions, are closely intertwined.     

Phytoplankton community composition and size distribution in the Langat River estuary,Malaysia

Phytoplankton patchiness, as expressed by community composition and size distribution, during the rainy season in the Langat River estuary (Malaysia) is described. Four sites in the estuary were sampled on two different occasions. The sampling area covered a stretch of the river from upstream to downstream of aquaculture activities (shrimp farms). Water samples from a shrimp farm outlet were also analyzed for nutrient and phytoplankton content. Differences in community structure between stations were found by means of multivariate procedures. Genera composition and total biomass were related to environmental factors, revealing salinity, light, and nutrients as important explaining factors. Elevated phytoplankton biomass and total phosphorus concentration, as well as lower inorganic nitrogen: phosphorus ratios, were found downstream of the shrimp farming activities. The size distribution spectrum of the phytoplankton population downstream of the shrimp farms was significantly different from that at the other stations but not different than that found in the sampled effluent from the shrimp farms, where phytoplankton biomass was also high. Twenty-two of the 24 recorded genera from the shrimp farm outlet were also found downstream of the farming activities. A number of different environmental factors potentially alter conditions for phytoplankton in the lower reaches of the estuary as compared to the upper regions. A cause and effect relationship explaining the differences noted between the upper and lower reaches of the estuary cannot be established. This study suggests that nutrient enrichment from the shrimp farming activities is of a magnitude that may contribute to the phytoplankton community changes observed in the lower reaches of the estuary.     

Complex changes in eruption dynamics during the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius

The 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius included 8 eruption units (EU1–8) and several complex transitions in eruptive style. This study focuses on two important transitions: (1) the abrupt change from white to gray pumice during the Plinian phase of the eruption (EU2 to EU3) and (2) the shift from sustained Plinian activity to the onset of caldera collapse (EU3 to EU4). Quantification of the textural features within individual pumice clasts reveals important changes in both the vesicles and groundmass crystals across each transition boundary. Clasts from the white Plinian fall deposit (EU2) present a simple story of decompression-driven crystallization followed by continuous bubble nucleation, growth and coalescence in the eruptive conduit. In contrast, pumices from the overlying gray Plinian fall deposit (EU3) are heterogeneous and show a wide range in both bubble and crystal textures. Extensive bubble growth, coalescence, and the onset of bubble collapse in pumices at the base of EU3 suggest that the early EU3 magma experienced protracted vesiculation that began during eruption of the EU2 phase and was modified by the physical effects of syn-eruptive mingling-mixing. Pumice clasts from higher in EU3 show higher bubble and crystal number densities and less evidence of bubble collapse, textural features that are interpreted to reflect more thorough mixing of two magmas by this stage of the eruption, with consequent increases in both vesiculation and crystallization. Pumice clasts from a short-lived, high column at the onset of caldera collapse (EU4) continue the trend of increasing crystallization (enhanced by mixing) but, unexpectedly, the melt in these clasts is more vesicular than in EU3 and, in the extreme, can be classified as reticulite. We suggest that the high melt vesicularity of EU4 reflects strong decompression following the partial collapse of the magma chamber.Editorial responsibility: D.B. Dingwell