Time variations of hard X-rays from Sco X-1

Simultaneous hard X-ray and optical observations of Sco X-1 were carried out on 1971 May 1 at Hyderabad, India, when Sco X-1 was optically bright. The X-ray intensity observed by balloon-borne counter telescopes increased in coincidence with optical enhancements, while the plasma temperature derived by fitting the X-ray spectrum in the energy range 20–40 keV to the thermal bremsstrahlung spectrum did not appreciably change over the whole period of observation.     

Al zoning in orthopyroxene in a sapphirine quartzite: evidence for >1120 °C UHT metamorphism in the Napier Complex, Antarctica, and implications for the entropy of sapphirine

A unique sapphirine + orthopyroxene + quartz granulite from Mt. Riiser-Larsen in the Tula Mountains of Enderby Land, East Antarctica, preserves two generations of coarse and texturally equilibrated orthopyroxene and sapphirine coexisting with quartz. Initial subhedral orthopyroxene porphyroblasts retain core compositions enriched in Al₂O₃ (12.2 ± 0.5 wt%) compared with their rims and finer orthopyroxene (9.6 ± 0.5 wt% Al₂O₃) that forms granoblastic textures with sapphirine. Sapphirine and quartz also form symplectites on and along cleavage planes within orthopyroxene. These compositional and textural features are consistent with the reaction [2MgAl₂SiO₆=Mg₂Al₄ SiO₁₀ + SiO₂] leading to the formation of sapphirine + quartz at the expense of aluminous orthopyroxene. Calculations in the MAS and FMAS systems and theoretical considerations involving the phases enstatite, sapphirine, sillimanite, quartz and cordierite indicate that the reaction above progresses from left to right with decreasing temperature in the orthopyroxene + sapphirine + quartz field, at pressures of ca. 8–10 kbar. The temperature difference required to account for the ca. 2.5–3 wt% decrease in Al₂O₃ in orthopyroxene is at least 60–80 °C, and implies peak temperatures for the initial assemblage of at least 1120 °C if the second granoblastic assemblage equilibrated at 1040 °C, the P–T conditions required by the sapphirine + quartz association and other P–T-sensitive assemblage indicators in the Napier Complex. It is not possible to distinguish whether the two assemblages are simply related by cooling and re-equilibration or reflect a polyphase evolution involving the superposition of a second UHT event on an earlier, even higher temperature, UHT metamorphism. Preliminary thermodynamic modelling of the reaction above incorporating the observed range in orthopyroxene Al₂O₃ zoning indicates that present estimates for the entropy of high-temperature sapphirine are potentially too high by 15–18% compared with sapphirine entropy estimates that are consistent with MAS system experiments. The Mt. Riiser-Larsen sapphirine–quartz rocks preserve the first definitive record of regional metamorphic temperatures in excess of 1120 °C in the Napier Complex, or indeed any UHT granulite terrain worldwide. Similarly high peak temperatures may be retrieved from detailed studies of sapphirine–quartz granulites from other regions, further expanding the thermal realm of crustal metamorphism, but progress will critically depend on the experimental acquisition of new entropy data for sapphirine. Received: 3 September 1998 / Accepted: 8 November 1999     

Observation of cosmic soft X-rays

Cosmic soft X-rays in the energy range between 0.14 and 7 keV were observed with thin polypropylene window proportional counters on board a sounding rocket. The field of view crossed the galactic plane in the Cygnus-Cassiopeia region at a large angle and reached the galactic latitudes of –55° and +30°. Referring also to the result with Be window counters, we obtained the energy spectrum of Cyg XR-2, the flux from the Cas A region and the distribution of the intensity of diffuse X-rays over the scanned region. The turn-over of the Cyg XR-2 spectrum at about 1 keV indicates that the distance of the Cyg XR-2 source lies between 600 and 800 pc, if the turn-over is due entirely to interstellar absorption. The flux from the Cas A region is obtained as 0.23±0.05 photons cm^–2 sec^–1 in the energy range between 1.1 and 4.1 keV. The intensity of diffuse soft X-rays depends on the galactic latitude more weakly than expected from the interstellar absorption of extragalactic X-rays and shows asymmetry with respect to the galactic equator, thus suggesting a contribution of galactic X-rays. The spectrum of extragalactic X-rays is approximately represented by a power lawE ^–1.8.     

Stress Sharing Behavior and Its Mechanism during Consolidation Process in Composite Ground Improved by Sand Compaction Piles with Low Replacement Area Ratio

In order to accurately design a sand compaction pile (SCP) with low replacement area ratio, it is important to understand the mechanical interaction between the sand pile and clay ground and its mechanism during consolidation process in composite ground. In this article, therefore, a series of numerical analyses on composite ground improved by SCP with low replacement area ratio were carried out. The applicability of numerical analyses, in which an elasto-viscoplastic consolidation finite element method was applied, were confirmed by comparing the results obtained from a series of laboratory model tests with the composite ground improved by SCP. Through the results of the numerical analyses, mechanical behavior of the sand pile and clay in composite ground during consolidation is elucidated, together with a stress sharing mechanism between sand pile and clay.     

Groundwater contamination with arsenic in Sherajdikhan,Bangladesh: geochemical and hydrological implications

An integrated study has been carried out to elucidate the distribution and occurrence of arsenic in selected groundwater samples in the area of Sherajdikhan, Bangladesh. Arsenic and other parameters (T, pH, EC, Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Cl⁻, NO₃ ⁻, SO₄ ²⁻, HCO₃ ⁻, PO₄ ³⁻, Fe, Mn and DOC) have been measured in groundwater samples collected from shallow/deep tube wells at different depths. Hydrogeochemical data suggest that the groundwaters are generally Ca–Mg–HCO₃ and Mg–Ca–HCO₃ types with bicarbonate (HCO₃ ⁻) as the dominant anion, though the other type of water has also been observed. Dissolved arsenic in groundwater ranged from 0.006 to 0.461 mg/l, with 69% groundwater samples exceeded the Bangladesh limit for safe drinking water (0.05 mg/l). Correlation and principal component analysis have been performed to find out possible relationships among the examined parameters in groundwater. Low concentrations of NO₃ ⁻ and SO₄ ²⁻, and high concentrations of DOC, HCO₃ ⁻ and PO₄ ³⁻ indicate the reducing condition of subsurface aquifer where sediments are deposited with abundant organic matter. Distinct relationship of As with Fe and Mn, and strong correlation with DOC suggests that the biodegradation of organic matter along with reductive dissolution of Fe–Mn oxyhydroxides has being considered the dominant process to release As in the aquifers studied herein.     

Circulation patterns in the lower Arctic Ocean derived from geochemical data

Climatological water-mass structures were identified in the Arctic Ocean using the geochemical dataset in the Hydrochemical Atlas of the Arctic Ocean (HAAC) as well as data on a geochemically conserved parameter, PO₄*, based on phosphate and dissolved oxygen. In the upper ocean above a depth of 500 m, the HAAC was found to reliably depict the boundary between Pacific-Origin Water (P-Water) and Atlantic-Origin Water (A-Water), which is aligned 135°E–45°W near the surface but rotates counterclockwise with depth. Thus, the Arctic and Atlantic oceans exchange high-silicate P-Water and low-silicate A-Water. The PO₄* field in the lower ocean below a depth of 1500 m was analyzed statistically, and the results indicated that the Eurasian Basin receives low-PO₄* Nordic Seas Deep Water, which flows along the bottom from the Greenland Sea. The routes from the upper ocean to the lower ocean were determined. Only the southern portion of the Canada Basin, which receives water from the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, has high PO₄* levels; the rest of the Amerasian Basin receives low-PO₄* water from the Laptev Sea and/or the Barents Sea. The Eurasian Basin receives moderate levels of PO₄* from the Fram Strait and from the intermediate layer. The intermediate-layer water gradually travels up from the lower ocean and returns to the Atlantic, entraining the subsurface portion. It is likely that high-PO₄* water occasionally flows down from the upper ocean along Greenland, making the Eurasian Basin heterogeneous.     

西北太平洋黑潮主轴区浮游有孔虫的垂直分布及其古海洋学意义

我们对位于西北太平洋黑潮主轴区ＭＴＤ－０２站的１１个不同深度进行水平浮游拖网,并将采集到的活体浮游有孔虫(＞１２５μｍ)进行定量分析。结果表明,绝大多数活体浮游有孔虫生存于１００～２００ｍ以上的水体中,并集中分布于７５ｍ以上的水体。本站位８月份的最主要属种为：Ｇｌｏｂｉｇｅｒｉｎｏｉｄｅｓｒｕｂｅｒ,Ｇ．ｓａｃｃｕｌｉｆｅｒ,Ｎｅｏｇｌｏｂｏｑｕａｄｒｔｎａｄｕｔｅｒｔｒｅｉ和Ｇｌｏｂｉｇｅｒｉｎｉｔａｇｌｕｔｉｎａｔａ。次主要属种为Ｇｌｏｂｉｇｅｒｉｎｅｌｌａ　ａｅｑｕｉｌａｔｅｒａｌｉｓ,　ｇｌｏｂｉｇｅｒｉｎａｂｕｌｌｏｉｄｅｓ,Ｐｕｌｌｅｎｉａｔｉｎａｏｂｌｉｑｕｉｌｏｃｕｌａｔａ,Ｇｌｏｂｏｒｏｔａｌｉａｔｒｕｎｃａｔｕｌｉｎｏｉｄｅｓ,Ｏｒｂｕｌｉｎａｕｎｉｖｅｒｓａ和Ｇ．ｃｏｎｇｌｏｂａｔｕａ。这些种在不同的深度其产出量大不相同,但绝大多数均在叶绿素最为丰富的２５ｍ处显示出最大值。这表明食物来源是控制浮游有孔虫在ＭＴＤ－０２站垂直分布的最主要因素。另外,Ｇｌｏｂｉｇｅｒｉｎｅｌｌａａｅｑｕｉｌａｔｅｒａｌｉｓ和Ｐｕｌｌｅｎｉａｔｉｎａｏｂｌｉｑｕｉｌｏｃｕｌａｔａ两个种在温跃层的底部５０ｍ处显     

Holocene palaeomagnetic secular variation at Lake Biwa, central Japan

We have conducted a palaeomagnetic study on three sediment cores obtained from a single site in Lake Biwa, central Japan. A total of 1430 discrete samples from three cores show strong and stable remanence, which is carried by pseudo-single-domain magnetite. Palaeomagnetic records from individual cores show little scatter of directions, and there is excellent correlation among the records from the site. A composite palaeomagnetic secular variation (PSV) record for the Holocene was constructed after fine-scale adjustment and stacking of the three records. The age model is based on two wide-spread tephra layers: Kawagodaira (3150 yr BP, calendar years) and Kikai-Akahoya (7250 yr BP). Our results show that the declinations and inclinations are strikingly similar to archaeomagnetic data from southwest Japan for the last 2000 years. The PSV record from Lake Biwa shows good correlation in directions with that of Beppu Bay, located about 500 km west of Lake Biwa, although the Beppu Bay record shows relatively smaller amplitudes of both inclination and declination, probably due to heavy smoothing of the initial results. When the Lake Biwa record is compared with the proposed type curve for southwest Japan, there is considerable disagreement throughout the Holocene. A re-analysis of the data sets and other information used to construct the type curve revealed that the discrepancy in the results was due to inadequate age determination for the cores used in previous studies. We conclude that the stacked PSV record from Lake Biwa meets the criteria required for a reliable curve. Moreover, our results resolve the complications found in the correlation of PSV records in southwest Japan and thereby contribute to a better understanding of Holocene PSV.     

Three-dimensional modeling of tidal circulation and mixing over the Java Sea

A combination of a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model and in-situ measurements provides the structures of barotropic tides, tidal circulation and their relationship with turbulent mixing in the Java Sea, which allow us to understand the impact of the tides on material distribution. The model retains high horizontal and vertical resolutions and is forced by the boundary conditions taken from a global model. The measurements are composed of the sea level at coastal stations and currents at moorings embedded in Seawatch buoys, in addition to hydrographic data. The simulated tidal elevations are in good agreement with the data for the K₁ and M₂ constituents. The K₁ tide clearly shows the lowest mode resonance in the Java Sea with intensification around the nodal point in the central region. The M₂ tide is secondary and propagates westward from the eastern open boundary, along with a counterclockwise amphidromic point in the western part. The K₁ tide produces a major component of tidal energy, which flows westward and dissipates through the node region near the Karimata Strait. Meanwhile, the M₂ tide dissipates in the entire Java Sea. However, the residual currents are mainly induced by the M₂ tide, which flows westward following the M₂ tidal wave propagation. The tidal mixing is mainly caused by K₁ tide which peaks at the central region and is consistent with the uniform temperature and salinity along the vertical dimension. This mixing is expected to play an important role in the vertical exchange of nutrients and control of biological productivity.