A comparison of reversing psychrometric Bowen ratio measurement systems: Research note

Abstract

Bowen ratio measurement systems that use a rotating apparatus for periodically reversing the psychrometers to remove systematic errors are compared in the laboratory and above a Douglas‐fir stand. The effect of some non‐cancelling errors on the measurement of the Bowen ratio and forest evapotranspiration is illustrated, and an improved apparatus and psychrometer are described.     

Noble gases in planetary atmospheres: Implications for the origin and evolution of atmospheres

The radiogenic and primordial noble gas content of the atmospheres of Venus, Earth, and Mars are compared with one another and with the noble gas content of other extraterrestial samples, especially meteorites. The fourfold depletion of ⁴⁰Ar for Venus relative to the Earth is attributed to the outgassing rates and associated tectonics and volcanic styles for the two planets diverging significantly within the first billion or so years of their history, with the outgassing rate for Venus becoming much less than that for the Earth at subsequent times. This early divergence in the tectonic style of the two planets may be due to a corresponding early onset of the runaway greenhouse on Venus. The 16-fold depletion of ⁴⁰Ar for Mars relative to the Earth may be due to a combination of a mild K depletion for Mars, a smaller fraction of its interior being outgassed, and to an early reduction in its outgassing rate. Venus has lost virtually all of its primordial He and some of its radiogenic He. The escape flux of He may have been quite substantial in Venus' early history, but much diminished at later times, with this time variation being perhaps strongly influenced by massive losses of H₂ resulting from efficient H₂O loss processes.Key trends in the primordial noble gas content of terrestial planetary atmospheres include (1) a several orders of magnitude decrease in ²⁰Ne and ³⁶Ar from Venus to Earth to Mars; (2) a nearly constant ²⁰Ne/³⁶Ar ratio which is comparable to that found in the more primitive carbonaceous chondrites and which is two orders of magnitude smaller than the solar ratio; (3) a sizable fractionation of Ar, Kr, and Xe from their solar ratios, although the degree of fractionation, especially for ³⁶Ar/¹³²Xe, seems to decrease systematically from carbonaceous chondrites to Mars to Earth to Venus; and (4) large differences in Ne and Xe isotopic ratios among Earth, meteorites, and the Sun. Explaining trends (2), (2) and (4), and (1) pose the biggest problems for the solar-wind implantation, primitive atmosphere, and late veneer hypotheses, respectively. It is suggested that the grain-accretion hypothesis can explain all four trends, although the assumptions needed to achieve this agreement are far from proven. In particular, trends (1), (2), (3), and (4) are attributed to large pressure but small temperature differences in various regions of the inner solar system at the times of noble gas incorporation by host phases; similar proportions of the host phases that incorporated most of the He and Ne on the one hand (X) and Ar, Kr, and Xe on the other hand (Q); a decrease in the degree of fractionation with increasing noble-gas partial pressure; and the presence of interstellar carriers containing isotopically anomalous noble gases.Our analysis also suggests that primordial noble gases were incorporated throughout the interior of the outer terrestial planets, i.e., homogeneous accretion is favored over inhomogeneous accretion. In accord with meteorite data, we propose that carbonaceous materials were key hosts for the primordial noble gases incorporated into planets and that they provided a major source of the planets' CO₂ and N₂.     

A high-sensitivity search for extraterrestrial intelligence at γ18 cm

We have conducted a targeted high-sensitivity search for narrow-band signals near γ18 cm using the 91-m radiotelescope of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The search included 201 nearby solar-type stars and achieved a frequency resolution of 5.5 Hz over a 1.4-MHz bandwidth. This high spectral Mark I VLBI recording terminal in conjunction with the CDC 7600 computational facility at the NASA-Ames Research Center. This is the first high-resolution search for narrow-band signals in this wavelength regime. To date it is the most sensitive search per unit observing time of any search strategy which does not postulate a unique magic frequency. Our data show no evidence for narrow-band signals due to extraterrestrial intelligence at a 12-σ upper limit on signal strength of 1.1 × 10^?23 W m^?2.     

Ground-based radar observations of Titan: 2000-2008

We have observed Titan with the Arecibo Observatory’s 12.6 cm wavelength radar system during the last eight oppositions of the Saturn system with sufficient sensitivity to characterize its scattering properties as a function of sub-Earth longitude. In a few sessions the Green Bank Telescope was used as the receiving instrument in a bistatic configuration to boost sub-radar track length and integration time. Radar echo spectra have been obtained for a total of 92 viewing geometries with sub-Earth locations scattered through all longitudes and at latitudes between 7.6°S and 26.3°S, close to the maximum southern excursion of the sub-Earth track. We find Titan to have globally average radar albedos at this wavelength of 0.161 in the opposite circular polarization sense as that transmitted (OC) and 0.074 in the same sense (SC), giving a polarization ratio SC/OC of 0.46. These values are intermediate between lower reflectivity rocky surfaces and higher reflectivity clean icy surfaces. The variations with longitude in general mirror the surface brightness variations seen through the infrared atmospheric windows. Xanadu Regio’s radar reflectivity and polarization ratio are higher than the global averages, and suggest that its composition is relatively cleaner water ice or, possibly, some other material with low propagation loss at radio wavelengths. For all echo spectra most of the power is in a broad diffuse component but with a specular component whose strength and narrowness is highly variable as a function of surface location. For all data we fit a sum of the standard Hagfors scattering law describing the specular component and an empirical diffuse radar scattering model to extract bulk parameters of the surface. Many areas exhibit very narrow specular reflections implying terrain that are quite flat on centimeter to meter scales over spans of tens to perhaps hundreds of kilometers. The proportion of spectra showing these narrow specular echoes has fallen significantly over the observational time span, indicating either a latitudinal effect related to terrain differences or changing surface conditions over the past several years. A few radar tracks, especially those from the 2008 session, overlap some high resolution Cassini RADAR imagery swaths to allow a direct comparison with terrain.     

Behavior of Weak Soils Reinforced with End-Bearing Soil-Cement Columns Formed by the Deep Mixing Method

This article reports on a series of small-scale, plane strain, 1 g physical model tests designed to investigate the bearing capacity and failure mechanics of end-bearing soil-cement columns formed via Deep Mixing (DM). Pre-formed soil-cement columns, 24 mm in diameter and 200 mm in length, were installed in a soft clay bed using a replacement method; the columns represented improvement area ratios, a_p, of 17%, 26%, and 35% beneath a rigid foundation of width 100 mm. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was implemented in conjunction with close-range photogrammetry in order to track soil displacement during loading, from which the failure mechanisms were derived. Bearing capacity performance was verified using Ultimate Limit State numerical analysis, with the results comparing favorably to the analytical static and kinematic solutions proposed by previous researchers. A new equation for bearing capacity was derived from this numerical analysis based on the improvement area ratio and cohesion ratio of the soil column and ground model.     

Reassessment of flood frequency using historical information for the River Ouse at York,UK (1200–2000)

Abstract

The reassessment of flood risk at York, UK, is pertinent in light of major flooding in November 2000, and heightened concerns of a perceived increase in flooding nationally. Systematic flood level readings from 1877 and a wealth of documentary records dating back as far as 1263 AD give the City of York a long and rich history of flood records. This extended flood record provides an opportunity to reassess estimates of flood frequency over a time scale not normally possible within flood frequency analysis. This paper re-evaluates flood frequency at York, considering the strengths and weaknesses in estimates resulting from four contrasting methods of analysis and their corresponding data: (a) single-site analysis of gauged annual maxima; (b) pooled analysis of multi-site gauged annual maxima; (c) combined analysis of systematic annual maxima augmented with historical peaks, and (d) analysis of only the very largest peaks using a Generalized Pareto Distribution. Use of the historical information was found to yield risk estimates which were lower and considered to be more credible than those achieved using gauged records alone.

Citation Macdonald, N. & Black, A. R. (2010) Reassessment of flood frequency using historical information for the River Ouse at York, UK (1200–2000). Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(7), 1152–1162.     

The Harry Creek Deformed Zone,a retrograde schist zone of the Arunta Block,central Australia

The Harry Creek Deformed Zone, a retrograde schist zone of epidote amphibolite facies grade, which separates the granulite facies Utralanama Block from the amphibolite facies Ankala Block in the southeastern Strangways Range, N.T., is typical of the retrograde schist zones transecting the Arunta Block. Associated with the deformed zone is a small deformed granitic pluton and its various offshoots—the Gumtree Granite Suite—which provides structural and geochrono‐logical evidence that the Harry Creek Deformed Zone has had a polyphase deforma‐tional history. Early movements within the deformed zone pre‐dated intrusion of the Gumtree Granite Suite and resulted in the movement of the Utralanama and Ankala Blocks into their present juxtaposition. Reactivation of much of the zone during the Alice Springs Orogeny brought about the schistose character of the zone and the deformation of the granitic rocks. Further minor reactivation of the zone, subsequent to the main phase of the Alice Springs Orogeny, resulted in limited development of pseudotachylytes.

The age of the granite (990 ± 13 m.y.) gives a minimum age for initiation of the zone, and evidence for the nature of the structures associated with the early movements is presented. It is suggested that the Harry Creek Deformed Zone represents a post‐orogenic wrench fault which has been reactivated. Early movements, which were of a brittle transcurrent nature, brought about major uplift (up to 10 km) to the north, and lateral movements may have been of the order of 60 km in a sinistral sense. Comparison with the Redbank Zone indicates many similarities, suggestive of a similar history.     

Metamorphic zircon formation by solid-state recrystallization of protolith igneous zircon

Protolith zircon in high‐grade metagranitoids from Queensland, Australia, partially recrystallized during granulite‐grade metamorphism. We describe the zircon in detail using integrated cathodoluminescence, U–Pb isotope, trace element and electron backscatter diffraction pattern (EBSP) analyses. Primary igneous oscillatory zoning is partially modified or obliterated in areas within single crystals, but is well preserved in other areas. A variety of secondary internal structures are observed, with large areas of transgressive recrystallized zircon usually dominant. Associated with these areas are recrystallization margins, interpreted to be recrystallization fronts, that have conformable boundaries with transgressive recrystallized areas, but contrasting cathodoluminescence and trace element chemistry. Trace element analyses of primary and secondary structures provide compelling evidence for closed‐system solid‐state recrystallization. By this process, trace elements in the protolith zircon are purged during recrystallization and partitioned between the enriched recrystallization front and depleted recrystallized areas. However, recrystallization is not always efficient, often leaving a ‘memory’ of the protolith trace element and isotopic composition. This results in the measurement of ‘mixed’ U–Pb isotope ages. Nonetheless, the age of metamorphism has been determined. A correlation between apparent age and Th/U ratio is indicative of incomplete re‐setting by partial recrystallization. Recrystallization is shown to probably not significantly affect Lu–Hf ages. Recrystallization has been determined by textural and trace element analysis and EBSP data not to have proceeded by sub‐grain rotation or local dissolution/re‐precipitation, but probably by grain‐boundary migration and defect diffusion. The formation of metamorphic zircon by solid‐state recrystallization is probably common to high‐grade terranes worldwide. The recognition of this process of formation is essential for correct interpretation of zircon‐derived U–Pb ages and subsequent tectonic models.