Alignment between luminous red galaxies and surrounding structures at z∼ 0.5

We analyse a high-redshift sample (0.4 < z < 0.5) of luminous red galaxies (LRGs) extracted from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data release 4 and their surrounding structures to explore the presence of alignment effects of these bright galaxies with neighbour objects. In order to avoid projection effects, we compute photometric redshifts for galaxies within 3  h ⁻¹ Mpc in projection of LRGs and calculate the relative angle between the LRG major axis and the direction to neighbours within 1000 km s⁻¹. We find a clear signal of alignment between LRG orientations and the distribution of galaxies within 1.5  h ⁻¹ Mpc. The alignment effects are present only for the red population of tracers; LRG orientation is uncorrelated to the blue population of neighbour galaxies. These results add evidence to the alignment effects between primaries and satellites detected at low redshifts. We conclude that such alignments were already present at z ∼ 0.5.     

Model of geomagnetic paleosecular variations for the Northern Hemisphere

Summary A model of radial drifting and oscillating dipoles to represent geomagnetic palaeosecular variations, which showed to be appropriate for the Southern Hemisphere, is evaluated for the Northern Hemisphere. After a new fitting of some involved parameters, its theoretical results are compared with the palaeomagnetic data of Lake de Bouchet (France) and the Black Sea. A time lag between the declination and inclination profiles is observed in both cases. A good cross-correlation coefficient is obtained for the declination and inclination data.Presented at 2nd conference on New Trends in Geomagnetism, Castle of Bechyn, Czechoslovakia, September 24–29, 1990.     

An Example of Island-Arc Petrogenesis: Geochemistry and Petrology of the Southern Luzon Arc, Philippines

Volcanism throughout the Luzon arc is associated with eastwardsubduction of the South China Sea floor along the Manila Trench.The southern section of the arc, the focus of this study, extendsfrom the Lingayen-Dingalan fault to the small islands just southof Luzon. Two segments appear to exist along this section ofthe arc the northern Bataan and southern Mindoro segments whichare separated by the Macolod Corridor. The volcanic rocks have typical arc phenocryst mineralogies:olivine, clinopyroxene, plagioclase, and titanomagnetite inthe most mafic rocks and clinopyroxene, plagioclase, orthopyroxene,titanomagnetite, ? amphibole in the more felsic samples. Complexzoning, sieve textures, and decoupling of incompatible traceelements suggest that processes such as assimilation have takenplace. The rocks from the study area range from basalts to rhyolitesand show typical calc-alkaline features. The rocks of the MacolodCorridor and Mindoro segment are particularly enriched in largeion lithophile elements (LILE), light rare earth elements (LREE),and radiogenic Sr compared with the Bataan segment. The datafall within the mantle array on Sr-Nd isotopic diagrams andgrade toward higher Sr and lower Nd isotopic values from northto south. A likely source for the volcanics of this study is either amid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-type mantle that undergoes higherdegrees of partial melting than regions involved in MORB generationor a previously depleted source. We suggest that the high fieldstrength element (HFSE) anomalies have been derived throughdifferential element partitioning during fluid transport fromthe subducted lithosphere to the mantle wedge. Continental crustal material seems to play a significant roleparticularly in the Macolod Corridor and the Mindoro segment,based on the high LILE, La/Sm ratios, radiogenic Sr isotopes,and ¹⁸O values. The Macolod Corridor and the Mindoro segmenthave undergone source contamination by crustal material fromthe North Palawan-Mindoro crustal block either during the collisionof this block with the Manila Trench or by subduction of sedimentsrich in this crustal material. A similar component has alsobeen detected in the Bataan segment but in minor amounts. Thetrace element and isotopic differences between the northernand southern sections of the arc are interpreted in terms ofvariable composition (i. e., variable amounts of a crustal componentintroduced from the Palawan-Mindoro crustal terrain) of themetasomatic fluids released into the source.     

Modeling of water–rock interactions in an aquitard of sandy clay in the coastal area near Beihai,China

Unconsolidated sand, gravel and clay deposits near Beihai and in the Leizhou Peninsula in southern China form an unconfined aquifer, aquitard and a confined aquifer. Water and soil samples were collected from the two aquifers in the coastal Beihai area for the determination of chemical compositions, minerals and soluble ions. Hydrogeochemical modeling of three flow paths through the aquitard are carried out using PHREEQC to determine water–rock interactions along the flow paths. The results indicate that the dissolution of anorthite, fluorite, halite, rhodochrosite and CO₂, and precipitation of potash feldspar and kaolinite may be occurring when groundwater leaks through the aquitard from the unconfined aquifer to the confined aquifer. Cation exchanges between Na and Ca can also happen along the flow paths.     

Impact of lightning on organic matter-rich soils: influence of soil grain size and organic matter content on underground fires

A detailed study was carried out on a piece of land that had been struck by lightning during the violent rainstorm that raged over the Island of S?o Miguel (Azores Archipelago) in late October 2006. Temperature and gas measurements (CO₂, CO, H₂S and CH₄) were performed in four study trenches, dug in an area of ∼3 m², where an underground fire had been initiated by the impact with a lightning stroke, followed by the emission of a column of gases and smoke. The soil under study was originally a well-pedogenized about 80 cm thick bed, made of volcanic clayey to silty tephra fallouts and contained 5.5–9.7% of organic matter. The underground fire was monitored for one week and revealed a peak release of 404 ppm CO and 3.4% CO₂ originating from a horizon located about 45 cm under the soil surface. Measurements of temperature, performed one week after the impact, indicated a maximum value of 326°C inside the soil, while 516.5°C were measured on the surface of a lava block interred about 20 cm under the surface. Subsequently, a stratigraphic and sedimentologic study proved the role of the grain-size of the soil and of the organic matter content of the different horizons of the impact area, in determining the ratio between anoxic/oxidised combustion conditions and in the progress of the process itself. It was also noticed that combustion was not total all over in the soil bed and that the process had slightly migrated toward SW during the observation period. The combustion process went on for about ten days, in spite of several other violent rainstorms, until it was artificially extinguished through the excavations made to obtain study trenches. This particular circumstance evidenced the potential natural hazard represented by this kind of atmospheric event, especially in a land where the volcanic nature of the soil may easily mislead inexperienced observers and, consequently, delay proper action.     

Methodology for preliminary assessment of Natech risk in urban areas

Concern for natural hazard-triggered technological disasters (Natech disasters) in densely populated and industrialized areas is growing. Residents living in urban areas subject to high natural hazard risk are often unaware of the potential for secondary disasters such as hazardous materials releases from neighboring industrial facilities, chemical storage warehouses or other establishments housing hazardous materials. Lessons from previous disasters, such as the Natech disaster during the Kocaeli earthquake in Turkey in 1999 call for the need to manage low frequency/high consequence events, particularly in today’s densely populated areas. However, there is little guidance available on how local governments and communities can assess Natech risk. To add to the problem, local governments often do not have the human or economic resources or expertise to carry out detailed risk assessments. In this article, we propose a methodology for preliminary assessment of Natech risk in urban areas. The proposed methodology is intended for use by local government officials in consultation with the public. The methodology considers possible interactions between the various systems in the urban environment: the physical infrastructure (e.g., industrial plants, lifeline systems, critical facilities), the community (e.g., population exposed), the natural environment (e.g., delicate ecosystems, river basins), and the risk and emergency management systems (e.g., structural and nonstructural measures). Factors related to vulnerability and hazard are analyzed and qualitative measures are recommended. Data from hazardous materials releases during the Kocaeli, Turkey earthquake of August 17, 1999 are used as a case study to demonstrate the applicability of the methodology. Limitations of the proposed methodology are discussed as well as future research needs.

Diel Patterns in Chlorophyll <Emphasis Type="Italic">a</Emphasis> Specific Absorption Coefficient and Absorption Efficiency Factor of Picoplankton

Diel patterns in the chlorophyll a specific absorption coefficient of surface picoplankton, a*_pico (γ) (m²·[mg chlorophyll a]⁻¹), were studied at 7 stations under daily cycle of in situ light condition in the western subarctic Pacific and Japan Sea. All the data were normalized by dividing the anomaly with daily averaged a*_pico (γ). Opposite diel patterns were observed for the normalized a*_pico (443) and a*_pico (675) with maximum toward dawn or dusk and minimum toward midday at 4 stations under low-irradiance (LI) conditions and vice versa at 3 stations under high-irradiance (HI) conditions. The absorption efficiency factors at red absorption peak, Q _a (675), were determined by reconstruction with intracellular chlorophyll a concentration and cell diameter. The normalized Q _a (675) also showed diel pattern with maximum toward midday and minimum toward dawn or dusk under LI. The diel pattern in a*_pico (675) and Q _a (675) were primarily caused by changes in intracellular chlorophyll a concentration due to photoadaptation under LI. The diel pattern in a*_pico (443) was influenced by pigmentation, as recognized by blue to red ratio [a*_pico (443)/a*_pico (675)] under HI. This study proposed that the opposite diel pattern in a*_pico (γ) might occur for a wide range of algal species. The results presented here have important consequences for the interpretation of diel variations in optical properties observed in the open ocean.     

CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Flux Measurements over the Sea Surface by Eddy Correlation and Aerodynamic Techniques

The measurements of the vertical transport of CO₂ were carried out over the Sea of Japan using the specially designed pier of Kyoto University on September 20 to 22, 2000. CO₂ fluxes were measured by the eddy correlation and aerodynamic techniques. Both techniques showed comparable CO₂ fluxes during sea breeze conditions: −0.001 to −0.08 mg m⁻²s⁻¹ with the mean of −0.05 mg m⁻²s⁻¹. This means that the measuring site satisfies the fetch requirement for meteorological observations under sea breeze conditions. Moreover, the eddy diffusivity coefficient used in the aerodynamic technique is found to be consistent with the coefficient used in the eddy correlation technique. The present result leads us to conclude that the aerodynamic technique may be applicable to underway CO₂ flux measurements over the ocean and may be used in place of the bulk technique. The important point is the need to maintain a measuring accuracy of CO₂ concentration difference of the order of 0.1 ppmv on the research vessels or the buoys.