One-dimensional checkerboards and blending heights

We analyze the checkerboard problem of many alternating surfaces with different properties, on scales up to (say) 3,000 m. Power-law representations of the vertical profiles of mean wind speed and eddy diffusivity lead to solutions in terms of Kelvin and trigonometric functions.These solutions are used to determine blending heights (_*), where deviations from the mean of concentration, or of vertical flux density, fall to some small fraction, , of their value at the surface. Values of _*are important for regional and larger-scale meteorological models. In smaller scale micrometeorological studies, they may serve also as the top levels of surface boundary layers.An important result for both theoretical and experimental contexts is that deviations of flux persist with elevation much more strongly than those of concentration, so that, in general, _* should be based on flux rather than concentration. Representative values of _*, for = 0.05, are of order 5 and 30 m for surface pattern wavelengths of 10² and 10³ m, respectively. Values of _* are robust to changes in adopted power-law indices, and are independent of wind speed. Surface roughness has a mild but calculable effect.     

Geomorphic evolution of a part of Middle Ganga Plain,Bihar: A case study using remote sensing data

An insight into the geomorphic evolution of any area can be obtained by detailed landform mapping. In the present study, an area in the Middle Ganga Plain has been selected for the study using mainly remote sensing data. Various fluvial landforms have been mapped and the changes in planform of rivers over approximately 50 years have been evaluated. Both fluvial processes and tectonic activities are considered to have collectively influenced the migration of the rivers in this region. Digital enhancements of Landsat MSS and TM data are found to be quite useful in identification and mapping of subtle fluvial palaeofeatures. The present study demonstrates the utility of remote sensing in examining the geomorphic evolution of the area.     

Large-scale rheomorphic shear deformation in Miocene peralkaline ignimbrite E,Gran Canaria

the single ignimbrite cooling unit E (average thickness, 28 m; volume, ca. 30 km₃) forms the uppermost member of the Miocene Upper Mogán Formation on Gran Canaria. It is strongly chemically zoned from basal, first-erupted comendite (peralkaline rhyolite) to late-erupted trachyte, and, apart from an upper trachytic zone, it is densely welded. E was emplaced onto a surface inclined ca. 2–5° from the source caldera. Detailed mapping of key sections, up to 300 m long, exposed in barranco walls, ca. 10 km from the caldera margin, reveals structures that are interpreted to have been produced by rheomorphic deformation of the ignimbrite along shear zones. The shear zones formed within the lower-viscosity comenditic tuff. Extensional structures include mega-boudinage and decapitated sequences and compression resulted in sequence repitition by overthrusting. Mechanisms traditionally thought to be important during rheomorphic deformation of welded tuffs (compaction, lateral creep, folding, vertical density-driven diapirism) cannot account for these features, which reflect lateral (post-compactional) rheomorphic movement locally in excess of 800 m. We suggest the following sequence of events: emplacement of the several flow units; compaction, with little lateral movement; rheomorphic deformation. During and after compaction, layers of secondary porosity developed within the comenditic tuff, possibly where upward escape of gas was prevented by overlying, relatively impermeable layers of densely compacted ignimbrite. These structurally weak layers of high porosity subsequently acted as shear zones.     

Diagenesis of vascular plant organic matter components during burial in lake sediments

Diagenetic changes are difficult to distinguish from variations in sources of organic matter to sediments. Organic geochemical comparisons of samples of wood, bark, and needles from a white spruce (Picea glauca) living today and one buried for 10,000 years in lake sediments have been used to identify the effects of diagenesis on vascular plant matter. Important biogeochemical changes are evident in the aged spruce components, even though the cellular structures of the samples are well preserved. Concentrations of total fatty acids dramatically diminish; unsaturated and shorter chainlength components are preferentially lost from the molecular distributions. Concentrations of total alcohols are similar in the modern and 10,000-year-old wood and bark but markedly lowered in the aged needles. Hydrocarbon concentrations and distributions show little diagenetic change in the 10,000-year-old plant materials. Cellulose components in the wood decrease relative to lignin components, although both types of materials remain in high concentration in comparison to other organic components. Aromatization of abietic acid proceeds more rapidly in buried spruce wood than in bark; retene is the dominant polyaromatic hydrocarbon in the aged wood. In contrast to the variety of changes evident in molecular compositions, neither ¹³C values nor C/N ratios differ significantly in the bulk organic matter of modern and aged spruce components.     

Turbulent viscosity and Jupiter's tidal Q

A recent estimate of tidal dissipation by turbulent viscosity in Jupiter's convective interior predicts that the current value of the planet's tidal Q ～ 5 × 10⁶. We point out a fundamental error in this calculation, and show that turbulent dissipation alone implies that at present Q ～ 5 × 10¹³. Our reduced estimat for the rate of tidal dissipation shows conclusively that tidal torques have produced only negligible modifications of the orbits of the Galilean satellites over the age of the solar system.     

The strength of the Sun's polar fields

The magnetic field strength within the polar caps of the Sun is an important parameter for both the solar activity cycle and for our understanding of the interplanetary magnetic field. Measurements of the line-of-sight component of the magnetic field generally yield 0.1 to 0.2 mT near times of sunspot minimum. In this paper we report measurements of the polar fields made at the Stanford Solar Observatory using the Fe i line 525.02 nm. We find that the average flux density poleward of 55° latitude is about 0.6 mT peaking to more than 1 mT at the pole and decreasing to 0.2 mT at the polar cap boundary. The total open flux through either polar cap thus becomes about 3 × 10¹⁴ Wb. We also show that observed magnetic field strengths vary as the line-of-sight component of nearly radial fields.     

Present day serpentinization in New Caledonia,Oman and Yugoslavia

Geochemical evidence for modern low-temperature serpentinization has been found in three new localities. Apparently the low-temperature reactions are a common mode of formation of the lizardite-chrysotile and brucite assemblage. Possibly the ¹⁸O content of serpentine formed at low temperatures is in part inherited from the pyroxene and olivine.     

Asymmetric vegetation responses to mid-Holocene aridity at the prairie-forest ecotone in south-central Minnesota

The mid-Holocene (ca. 8000-4000 cal yr BP) was a time of marked aridity throughout much of Minnesota, and the changes due to mid-Holocene aridity are seen as an analog for future responses to global warming. In this study, we compare the transition into (ca. 9000-7000 yr ago) and out of (ca. 5000-2500 yr ago) the mid-Holocene (MH) period at Kimble Pond and Sharkey Lake, located along the prairie forest ecotone in south-central Minnesota, using high resolution (∼ 5-36 yr) sampling of pollen, charcoal, sediment magnetic and loss-on-ignition properties. Changes in vegetation were asymmetrical with increasing aridity being marked by a pronounced shift from woodland/forest-dominated landscape to a more open mix of grassland and woodland/savanna. In contrast, at the end of the MH, grassland remained an important component of the landscape despite increasing effective moisture, and high charcoal influxes (median 2.7-4.0 vs. 0.6-1.7 mm² cm^− 2 yr^− 1 at start of MH) suggest the role of fire in limiting woodland expansion. Asymmetric vegetation responses, variation among and within proxies, and the near-absence of fire today suggest caution in using changes associated with mid-Holocene aridity at the prairie forest boundary as an analog for future responses to global warming.     

A comparison of mud- and sand-dominated meanders in a downstream coarsening reach of the mixed bedrock-alluvial Klip River, eastern Free State, South Africa

Along a 28 km reach of the Klip River, eastern Free State, South Africa, mud- and sand-dominated meanders have developed in close proximity within a floodplain wetland up to 1.5 km wide, providing an unusual opportunity to compare their characteristics under similar hydrological conditions. Throughout the reach, the channel bed is grounded on sandstone/shale bedrock although the banks are alluvial, and most river activity occurs during summer high flows. The reach can be divided into three geomorphological zones: Zone 1 (0–11 km), a muddy proximal part with a single meandering channel (w/d < 10) and near-permanent standing water in oxbows and backswamps; Zone 2 (11–17.5 km), a transitional mud-to-sand part with one main channel (w/d  20–30), a number of sinuous palaeochannels and oxbows, and only limited standing water; and Zone 3 (17.5–28 km), a sandy distal part with a single meandering channel (w/d  15–30), scroll bars and oxbows, and little standing water. Each zone also has a distinctive sedimentology: Zone 1 is characterised by an  3–4 m thick succession of basal sand and minor granules overlain by dominantly muddy sediment deposited primarily by oblique accretion in meander bends; Zone 2 is characterised by < 4 m of interbedded sand and mud deposited primarily by lateral point-bar accretion, although a history of avulsions also attests to the importance of abandoned-channel accretion; and Zone 3 is characterised by < 3 m of dominantly sand deposited primarily by lateral point-bar accretion. This unusual downstream sediment coarsening trend, and the associated changes in channel and floodplain character, are independent of sediment inputs from tributaries, and result from a downstream increase in bankfull unit stream power from < 3.5 W m^− 2 (Zone 1) to  4–10 W m^− 2 (Zone 3). Mud is deposited primarily in low-energy Zone 1 but is conveyed in suspension more effectively through higher energy Zones 2 and 3, only forming drapes over sandy lateral accretion deposits during waning flood stages. The downstream increase in unit stream power is controlled in part by a slight downstream increase in floodplain gradient that may be related to a subtle variation in the erosional resistance of the bedrock underlying the channel bed. These findings add to previous work on meandering rivers by demonstrating that mud-dominated meanders can occur in long-term erosional settings where the channel bed is grounded on bedrock, and that downstream fining trends may be reversed locally.