The composition,structure, and stability of guinier-preston zones in lunar and terrestrial orthopyroxene

Lunar and terrestrial orthopyroxenes (Mg,Fe,Ca)₂Si₂O₆ contain varying abundances of coherent, Ca-enriched Guinier-Preston (G.P.) zones. G.P. zones 5–6 unit cells thick have been found in one lunar sample whereas all other examples (lunar and terrestrial) are only one unit-cell-thick. Electron diffraction maxima from the larger lunar G.P. zones indicate that d ₁₀₀=18.52 Å whereas, d ₁₀₀=18.2 Å for the host. This increase in the a direction corresponds to an increase in calcium content in the G.P. zones over that of the host of ～25 mol% Ca₂Si₂O₆. Diffraction patterns of the hk0 net from an area containing G.P. zones show extra spots (h=2n+1) not observed in the host orthopyroxene (Pbca), that violate the a-glide of the host. The G.P. zones, therefore, have space group Pbc2₁ if it is assumed that the c-glide of pyroxene is retained and the space group of the G.P. zone is a subgroup of Pbca. The loss of the a-glide in the G.P. zones results in 4 distinct silica chains and 4 distinct cation sites M1A, M1B, M2A, M2B; by symmetry, equivalent M2A or M2B sites are clustered together in only one-half of the unit cell. As one-fourth of the divalent cations in the G.P. zones are calcium, ordering of Ca on M2A or M2B would produce a zone 9 Å thick extended parallel to (100) with the composition of Ca(Mg,Fe)Si₂O₆, but constrained by the host to the structure of orthopyroxene. This zone and the Ca-poor half-unit-cell then constitute an 18 Å thick G.P. zone. Heating experiments of varying duration indicate that the zones become unstable with respect to the host orthopyroxene at ～950°C for Wo_0.6 and ～1,050°C for Wo_2.5. The zones are interpreted in terms of the pyroxene subsolidus as a metastable phase having either a solvus relationship with orthopyroxene or originating as a distinct phase. The size, distribution, composition and structure of G.P. zones may be an important indicator of the low-temperature thermal history of orthopyroxene.     

A critical zone observatory dedicated to suspended sediment transport: The meso-scale Galabre catchment (southern French Alps)

The 20 km² Galabre catchment belongs to the French network of critical zone observatories (OZCAR; Gaillardet et al., Vadose Zone Journal, 2018, 17(1), 1–24). It is representative of the sedimentary lithology and meteorological forcing found in Mediterranean and mountainous areas. Due to the presence of highly erodible and sloping badlands on various lithologies, the site was instrumented in 2007 to understand the dynamics of suspended sediments (SS) in such areas. Two meteorological stations including measurements of air temperature, wind speed and direction, air moisture, rainfall intensity, raindrop size and velocity distribution were installed both in the upper and lower part of the catchment. At the catchment outlet, a gauging station records the water level, temperature and turbidity (10 min time-step). Stream water samples are collected automatically to estimate SS concentration-turbidity relationships, allowing quantification of SS fluxes with known uncertainty. The sediment samples are further characterized by measuring their particle size distributions and by applying a low-cost sediment fingerprinting approach using spectrocolorimetric tracers. Thus, the contributions of badlands located on different lithologies to total SS flux are quantified at a high temporal resolution, providing the opportunity to better analyse the links between meteorological forcing variability and watershed hydrosedimentary response. The set of measurements was extended to the dissolved phase in 2017. Both stream water electrical conductivity and major ion concentrations are measured each week and every 3 h during storm events. This extension of measurements to the dissolved phase will allow progress in understanding both the origin of the water during the events and the partitioning between particulate and dissolved fluxes of solutes in the critical zone. All data sets are available at https://doi.osug.fr/public/DRAIXBLEONE_GAL/index.html .     

Tracing sediment redistribution across a break in slope using rare earth elements

Experimentally determined spatial patterns of soil redistribution across a break in slope derived using 10 rare earth element (REE) oxides as sediment tracers are presented. An erosion experiment was conducted using simulated rainfall within a laboratory slope model measuring 2·5 m wide by 6 m long with a gradient of 15° declining to 2°. Soil was tagged with multiple REE and placed in different locations over the slope and at the end of the experiment REE concentrations were measured in samples collected spatially. A new method was developed to quantify the erosion and deposition depths spatially, the relative source contributions to deposited sediment and the sediment transport distances. Particle‐size selectivity over an area of net deposition was also investigated, by combining downslope changes in particle‐size distributions with changes in sediment REE composition within a flow pathway. During the experiment, the surface morphology evolved through upslope propagation of rill headcuts, which gradually incised the different REE‐tagged zones and led to sediment deposition at the break in slope and the development of a fan extending over the shallow slope segment. The spatial patterns in REE concentrations, the derived erosion and deposition depths, the relative source contributions to deposition zones and the sediment transport distances, corroborate the morphological observations and demonstrate the potential of using REE for quantifying sediment transport processes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of particle density and inflow concentration of suspended sediment on bedload transport in rill flow

Laboratory flume experiments were carried out to evaluate the effect of particle density on bedload transport of sand‐sized particles and the effect of a suspended load of clay particles (kaolinite) on bedload transport of sand‐sized particles in rill flow conditions. Three materials in the range 400–600 µm were selected to simulate bedload transport of primary particles and aggregates: sand (2650 kg/m³), crushed brick (2450 kg/m³) and anthracite (1300–1700 kg/m³). In the two first experiments, two different methods were applied to determine bedload transport capacity of coarse particles for various conditions of flow discharge (from 2 to 15 L/min) and slope (2.2, 3 and 4%). In the third experiment, clear water was replaced with kaolinite–water mixture and bedload transport capacity of crushed brick particles was determined for a 4% slope and different concentrations of kaolinite (0, 7, 41 and 84 g/L). The results showed that bedload transport increased significantly with the decrease in particle density but the effect of particle density on transport rates was much less important than flow discharge. Velocity measurements of clear flow, flow mixed with coarse particles and coarse particles confirmed the existence of a differentiation between suspended load and bedload. In these experimental conditions, suspended load of kaolinite did not affect bedload rates of crushed brick particles. Three transport capacity formulae were tested against observed bedload rates. A calibration of the Foster formula revealed that the shear stress exponent should be greater than 1.5. The Low and the Govers unit stream power (USP) equations were then evaluated. The Low equation was preferred for the prediction of bedload rates of primary particles but it was not recommended in the case of aggregates of low density because of the limited experimental conditions applied to derive this equation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sunglitter radiance modulation by internal waves

Summary Quantitative sunglitter radiance modulations at the ocean surface due to internal waves were calculated applying a simple first order theory. The results have been compared with the image data of internal wave signatures northeast of Nantucket Shoals off the coast of Massachusetts, U.S.A., taken by the Earth Terrain Camera (ETC) during the Skylab mission. The maximum magnitudes of sunglitter radiance modulations predicted by the theory are comparable to the satellite image data. The extreme values of calculated modulations depend only weakly on the wavelength of the internal wave signature. This is consistent with the analysed ETC data. On the other hand, the shapes of simulated and measured image intensity transects across an internal wave packet are different. This may possibly be explained by the assumed idealized sinusoidal type of thermocline used in the calculations. The theory predicts that sunglint signatures of internal waves are advected relative to positions of extreme slope regions of the thermocline due to currents.

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Strahldichtemodulation des Sonnenglitzerns durch interne Wellen

Zusammenfassung Quantitative Strahldichtemodulationen des Sonnenglitzerns an der Meeresoberfl?che durch interne Wellen werden unter Verwendung einer einfachen ersten Ordnungstheorie berechnet. Die Ergebnisse werden mit Bilddaten von internen Wellensignaturen nord?stlich von Nantucket Shoals vor der Küste von Massachusetts, U.S.A., verglichen, die w?hrend der Skylab-Mission von der Erdbeobachtungskamera (ETC) aufgenommen wurden. Die Werte der maximalen Strahldichtemodulation des Sonnenglitzerns, die von der Theorie vorhergesagt werden, sind mit den Satellitenbilddaten vergleichbar. Die Extremwerte der berechneten Modulationen h?ngen nur schwach von der Wellenl?nge der internen Wellensignaturen ab. Dieses stimmt mit den analysierten ETC Daten überein. Auf der anderen Seite sind die Kurvenverl?ufe zwischen den simulierten und gemessenen Bildintensit?tsprofilen entlang eines internen Wellenpaketes unterschiedlich. Dieses kann m?glicherweise durch den angenommenen idealisierten sinusf?rmigen Typ der Thermokline erkl?rt werden, der für die Berechnungen verwendet wurde. Die Theorie macht die Vorhersage, da? Signaturen des Sonnenglitzerns von internen Wellen durch Str?mungen advektiert werden relativ zu den Positionen der extremen Neigungsregionen der Thermokline.

     

The effect of soil type,meteorological forcing and slope gradient on the simulation of internal erosion processes at the local scale

Numerical simulation experiments of water erosion at the local scale (20 × 5 m) using a process‐based model [Plot Soil Erosion Model_2D (PSEM_2D)] were carried out to test the effects of various environmental factors (soil type, meteorological forcing and slope gradient) on the runoff and erosion response and to determine the dominant processes that control the sediment yield at various slope lengths. The selected environmental factors corresponded to conditions for which the model had been fully tested beforehand. The use of a Green and Ampt model for infiltration explained the dominant role played by rainfall intensity in the runoff response. Sediment yield at the outlet of the simulated area was correlated positively with rainfall intensity and slope gradient, but was less sensitive to soil type. The relationship between sediment yield (soil loss per unit area) and slope length was greatly influenced by all environmental factors, but there was a general tendency towards higher sediment yield when the slope was longer. Contribution of rainfall erosion to gross erosion was dominant for all surfaces with slope lengths ranging from 4 to 20 m. The highest sediment yields corresponded to cases where flow erosion was activated. An increase in slope gradient resulted in flow detachment starting upstream. Sediment exported at the outlet of the simulated area came predominantly from the zone located near the outlet. The microrelief helped in the development of a rill network that controlled both the ratio between rainfall and flow erosion and the relationship between sediment yield and slope length. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

APEX-SZ first light and instrument status

The apex-sz instrument is designed for the discovery and study of galaxy clusters at mm-wavelengths using the Sunyaev Zel’dovich effect. The receiver consists of 320 superconducting transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers cooled to 250 mK with the combination of a three stage He sorption fridge and mechanical pulse tube cooler. The detectors are instrumented with a frequency domain multiplexing readout system. The receiver is mounted on the 12 m apex telescope located at 5100 m on the Atacama plateau in Chile. For the first light engineering deployment of December 2005, the receiver was configured with a 55 element wedge of the bolometers and operating in the 150 GHz atmospheric window. During the engineering run we achieved significant milestones in our instrumentation development efforts, including celestial observations with a monolithically fabricated TES bolometer array cooled with a mechanical cooler and successful implementation of a SQUID-based MHz AC-biased readout. These technology demonstrations point the way toward future large TES bolometer array instruments. Here we describe the results of this deployment and future plans for the apex-sz instrument.     

Optical spectroscopy and photometry of SAX J1808.4−3658 in outburst

We present phase resolved optical spectroscopy and photometry of V4580 Sagittarii, the optical counterpart to the accretion powered millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4−3658, obtained during the 2008 September/October outburst. Doppler tomography of the N  iii λ4640.64 Bowen blend emission line reveals a focused spot of emission at a location consistent with the secondary star. The velocity of this emission occurs at  324 ± 15 km s⁻¹  ; applying a ' K -correction', we find the velocity of the secondary star projected on to the line of sight to be  370 ± 40 km s⁻¹  . Based on existing pulse timing measurements, this constrains the mass ratio of the system to be  0.044^+0.005_−0.004  , and the mass function for the pulsar to be  0.44^+0.16_−0.13 M_⊙  . Combining this mass function with various inclination estimates from other authors, we find no evidence to suggest that the neutron star in SAX J1808.4−3658 is more massive than the canonical value of  1.4 M_⊙  . Our optical light curves exhibit a possible superhump modulation, expected for a system with such a low mass ratio. The equivalent width of the Ca  ii H and K interstellar absorption lines suggest that the distance to the source is ∼2.5 kpc. This is consistent with previous distance estimates based on type-I X-ray bursts which assume cosmic abundances of hydrogen, but lower than more recent estimates which assume helium-rich bursts.     

Shelter effects of vegetation belts — Results of field measurements

The results of full-scale measurements of the wind reduction behind four different types of shelterbelts are reported. Two of the shelterbelts in question were of the single-row type. The remaining two consisted of at least two rows of deciduous trees and in both cases some conifers.Wind measurements were made under various weather conditions, both in winter and in summer. The minimum relative wind speed on the lee side varied from ca 0.1 behind the most dense shelterbelt to 0.4 behind the most porous one when the wind was blowing at right angles in summer. In the winter, the shelter effect was much less than in the summer but the two most dense shelterbelts did reduce the wind speed considerably also then.When the wind was blowing at an angle to the shelterbelt, the lee maximum occurred closer to the belt and the wind speed recovered faster than when it blew at right angles. The wind reduction just behind a shelterbelt always tended to be greater in oblique than in perpendicular wind. The wind reduction behind a leafy vegetation belt decreased as the reference wind speed increased. The approach wind speed affected wind reduction much more at a porous shelterbelt than at a dense one.The difference between reference and local wind directions could be great just behind a shelterbelt but this difference disappeared within a few h downstream of the belt. With further increasing distance (up to 4–11h), the wind continued to veer so that the direction became more parallel with the shelterbelt than in the case of the undisturbed wind. Then the wind slowly veered back to the direction of the approaching wind again.The present data give a good idea of the amount of wind reduction which can be expected in the lee of some common types of shelterbelts.