Strength of the lithosphere of the Galilean satellites

Several approaches have been used to estimate the ice shell thickness on Callisto, Ganymede, and Europa. Here we develop a method for placing a strict lower bound on the thickness of the strong part of the shell (lithosphere) using measurements of topography. The minimal assumptions are that the strength of faults in the brittle lithosphere is controlled by lithostatic pressure according to Byerlee's law and the shell has relatively uniform density and thickness. Under these conditions, the topography of the ice provides a direct measure of the bending moment in the lithosphere. This topographic bending moment must be less than the saturation bending moment of the yield strength envelope derived from Byerlee's law. The model predicts that the topographic amplitude spectrum decreases as the square of the topographic wavelength. This explains why Europa is rugged at shorter wavelengths (∼10 km) but extremely smooth, and perhaps conforming to an equipotential surface, at longer wavelengths (>100 km). Previously compiled data on impact crater depth and diameter [Schenk, P.M., 2002. Nature 417, 419-421] on Europa show good agreement with the spectral decrease predicted by the model and require a lithosphere thicker than 2.5 km. A more realistic model, including a ductile lower lithosphere, requires a thickness greater than 3.5 km. Future measurements of topography in the 10-100 km wavelength band will provide tight constraints on lithospheric strength.     

A perturbation theory for Love waves in anelastic media

Summary. We give a systematic formulation and a rigorous justification of a perturbation technique for the computation of the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of Love waves (and toroidal oscillations by an appropriate change for variables) in an anelastic medium with a constitutive law modelling geophysical media of current interest such as the Kelvin—Voigt Solid, the Maxwell Solid, the Standard Linear Solid, and the Standard Linear Solid with a continuous spectrum of relaxation times. We develop expressions relating the eigenvalues of eigenfunctions for Love waves in a continuously varying vertically stratified anelastic half-space to the corresponding elastic eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. Analytically, our correspondence principle has the form of a regular perturbation expansion in terms of a parameter for both the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. The identification of ɛ is motivated by the dissipativity principle of viscoelasticity theory. Moreover, we show that our correspondence principle applies respectively only in the high and low frequency range for the Maxwell and Kelvin—Voigt Solids. Outside of the applicable range of frequencies, our correspondence principle yields no useful information. For the family of Standard Linear Solids it is uniformly applicable for all non-zero frequencies.
We also derive an explicit formula to estimate the radius of convergence of our perturbation expansions. This estimate of the radius of convergence for each eigenvalue and eigenfunction is functionally defined by the constitutive model for the anelastic medium. The estimate is frequency dependent and depends on the separation distance between the eigenvalue and the remainder of the spectrum of the corresponding elastic problem.     

The relationship between poverty and fertility in some less developed countries

The author investigates the extent to which both absolute and relative poverty affect population growth in developing countries. Aggregate data from U.N. sources for 26 countries at various stages of the fertility transition are used. The results indicate that the most significant steps in reducing fertility would be more effective provision of basic human needs and reforms in land tenure. The need to distinguish between absolute and relative poverty in formulating population policies is noted.     

Size scales over which ordinary chondrites and their parent asteroids are homogeneous in oxidation state and oxygen-isotopic composition

Literature data demonstrate that on a global, asteroid-wide scale (plausibly on the order of 100 km), ordinary chondrites (OC) have heterogeneous oxidation states and O-isotopic compositions (represented, respectively, by the mean olivine Fa and bulk Δ¹⁷O compositions of equilibrated samples). Samples analyzed here include: (a) two H5 chondrite Antarctic finds (ALHA79046 and TIL 82415) that have the same cosmic-ray exposure age (7.6 Ma) and were probably within ∼1 km of each other when they were excavated from the H-chondrite parent body, (b) different individual stones from the Holbrook L/LL6 fall that were probably within ∼1 m of each other when their parent meteoroid penetrated the Earth’s atmosphere, and (c) drill cores from a large slab of the Estacado H6 find located within a few tens of centimeters of each other. Our results indicate that OC are heterogeneous in their bulk oxidation state and O-isotopic composition on 100-km-size scales, but homogeneous on meter-, decimeter- and centimeter-size scales. (On kilometer size scales, oxidation state is heterogeneous, but O isotopes appear to be homogeneous.) The asteroid-wide heterogeneity in oxidation state and O-isotopic composition was inherited from the solar nebula. The homogeneity on small size scales was probably caused in part by fluid-assisted metamorphism and mainly by impact-gardening processes (which are most effective at mixing target materials on scales of ?1 m).     

Rare earth elements (REE) and yttrium in stream waters, stream sediments, and Fe-Mn oxyhydroxides: Fractionation, speciation, and controls over REE + Y patterns in the surface environment

We have collected ∼500 stream waters and associated bed-load sediments over an ∼400 km² region of Eastern Canada and analyzed these samples for Fe, Mn, and the rare earth elements (REE + Y). In addition to analyzing the stream sediments by total digestion (multi-acid dissolution with metaborate fusion), we also leached the sediments with 0.25 M hydroxylamine hydrochloride (in 0.05 M HCl), to determine the REE + Y associated with amorphous Fe- and Mn-oxyhydroxide phases. We are thus able to partition the REE into “dissolved” (<0.45 μm), labile (hydroxylamine) and detrital sediment fractions to investigate REE fractionation, and in particular, with respect to the development of Ce and Eu anomalies in oxygenated surface environments. Surface waters are typically LREE depleted ([La/Sm]_NASC ranges from 0.16 to 5.84, average = 0.604, n = 410; where the REE are normalized to the North America Shale Composite), have strongly negative Ce anomalies ([Ce/Ce^∗]_NASC ranges from 0.02 to 1.25, average = 0.277, n = 354), and commonly have positive Eu anomalies ([Eu/Eu^∗]_NASC ranges from 0.295 to 1.77, average = 0.764, n = 84). In contrast, the total sediment have flatter REE + Y patterns relative to NASC ([La/Sm]_NASC ranges from 0.352 to 1.12, average = 0.778, n = 451) and are slightly middle REE enriched ([Gd/Yb]_NASC ranges from 0.55 to 3.75, average = 1.42). Most total sediments have negative Ce and Eu anomalies ([Ce/Ce^∗]_NASC ranges from 0.097 to 2.12, average = 0.799 and [Eu/Eu^∗]_NASC ranges from 0.39 to 1.43, average = 0.802). The partial extraction sediments are commonly less LREE depleted than the total sediments ([La/Sm]_NASC ranges from 0.24 to 3.31, average = 0.901, n = 4537), more MREE enriched ([Gd/Yb]_NASC ranges from 0.765 to 6.28, average = 1.97) and Ce and Eu anomalies (negative and positive) are more pronounced.The partial extraction recovered, on average ∼20% of the Fe in the total sediment, ∼80% of the Mn, and 21-29% of the REEs (Ce = 19% and Y = 32%). Comparison between REEs in water, partial extraction and total sediment analyses indicates that REEs + Y in the stream sediments have two primary sources, the host lithologies (i.e., mechanical dispersion) and hydromorphically transported (the labile fraction). Furthermore, Eu appears to be more mobile than the other REE, whereas Ce is preferentially removed from solution and accumulates in the stream sediments in a less labile form than the other REEs + Y. Despite poor statistical correlations between the REEs + Y and Mn in either the total sediment or partial extractions, based on apparent distribution coefficients and the pH of the stream waters, we suggest that either sediment organic matter and/or possibly δ-MnO₂/FeOOH are likely the predominant sinks for Ce, and to a lesser extent the other REE, in the stream sediments.     

Church-based social capital, networks and geographical scale: Katrina evacuation, relocation, and recovery in a New Orleans Vietnamese American community

This research examines the role of social capital and networks to explain the evacuation, relocation, and recovery experiences of a Vietnamese American community in New Orleans, Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. As the single largest community institution, the parish church’s complex bonding and bridging social capital and networks proved particularly critical in part because of its historically based ontological security. The process of evacuation, but especially relocation and recovery, was dependent on deploying co-ethnic social capital and networks at a variety of geographical scales. Beyond the local or community scale, extra-local, regional, and national scales of social capital and networks reproduced a spatially redefined Vietnamese American community. Part of the recovery process included constructing discursive place-based collective-action frames to successfully contest a nearby landfill that in turn engendered social capital and networks crossing ethnic boundaries to include the extra-local African American community. Engaging social capital and networks beyond the local geographical scale cultivated a Vietnamese American community with an emergent post-Katrina cultural and political identity.     

Seasonal and inter-annual variation of mesozooplankton in the coastal upwelling zone off central-southern Chile

Zooplankton sampling at Station 18 off Concepción (36°30′S and 73°07′W), on an average frequency of 30 days (August 2002 to December 2005), allowed the assessment of seasonal and inter-annual variation in zooplankton biomass, its C and N content, and the community structure in relation to upwelling variability. Copepods contributed 79% of the total zooplankton community and were mostly represented by Paracalanus parvus, Oithona similis, Oithona nana, Calanus chilensis, and Rhincalanus nasutus. Other copepod species, euphausiids (mainly Euphausia mucronata), gelatinous zooplankton, and crustacean larvae comprised the rest of the community. Changes in the depth of the upper boundary of the oxygen minimum zone indicated the strongly seasonal upwelling pattern. The bulk of zooplankton biomass and total copepod abundance were both strongly and positively associated with a shallow (<20 m) oxygen minimum zone; these values increased in spring/summer, when upwelling prevailed. Gelatinous zooplankton showed positive abundance anomalies in the spring and winter, whereas euphausiids had no seasonal pattern and a positive anomaly in the fall. The C content and the C/N ratio of zooplankton biomass significantly increased during the spring when chlorophyll-a was high (>5 mg m⁻³). No major changes in zooplankton biomass and species were found from one year to the next. We concluded that upwelling is the key process modulating variability in zooplankton biomass and its community structure in this zone. The spring/summer increase in zooplankton may be largely the result of the aggregation of dominant copepods within the upwelling region; these may reproduce throughout the year, increasing their C content and C/N ratios given high diatom concentrations.     

A new efficient 3D non-hydrostatic free-surface flow model for simulating water wave motions

A new three-dimensional, non-hydrostatic free surface flow model is presented. For simulating water wave motions over uneven bottoms, the model employs an explicit project method on a Cartesian the staggered gird system to solve the complete three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations. A bi-conjugated gradient method with a pre-conditioning procedure is used to solve the resulting matrix system. The model is capable of resolving non-hydrostatic pressure by incorporating the integral method of the top-layer pressure treatment, and predicting wave propagation and interaction over irregular bottom by including a partial bottom-cell treatment. Four examples of surface wave propagation are used to demonstrate the capability of the model. Using a small of vertical layers (e.g. 2–3 layers), it is shown that the model could effectively and accurately resolve wave shoaling, non-linearity, dispersion, fission, refraction, and diffraction phenomena.     

渤海海水中悬浮体的研究

陆源悬浮体是边缘海海底沉积物的主要来源.所以,悬浮体(suspended matter)的调查研究是解决边缘海海底沉积作用的一个重要环节.当我们研究河口附近海域以及海底沉积物的通量平衡过程时,也必须对悬浮体的分布及其数量变化等进行调查.