Secular variation of the poloidal magnetic field at the core–mantle boundary

A region of enhanced conductivity at the base of the mantle is modelled by an infinitesimally thin sheet of uniform effective conductance adjacent to the core–mantle boundary. Currents induced in this sheet by the temporally varying magnetic field produced by the geodynamo give rise to a discontinuity in the horizontal components of the poloidal magnetic field on crossing the sheet, while the radial component is continuous across the sheet. Treating the rest of the mantle as an insulator, the horizontal components of the poloidal magnetic field and their secular variation at the top of the core are determined from geomagnetic field, secular variation and secular acceleration models. It is seen that for an assumed effective conductance of the sheet of 10⁸  S, which may be not unrealistic, the changes produced in the horizontal components of the poloidal field at the top of the core are usually ≤10 per cent, but corrections to the secular variation in these components at the top of the core are typically 40 per cent, which is greater than the differences that exist between different secular variation models for the same epoch. Given the assumption that all the conductivity of the mantle is concentrated into a thin shell, the present method is not restricted to a weakly conducting mantle. Results obtained are compared with perturbation solutions.     

A model for energy dissipation at the mantle—core boundary

Summary. An existing experimentally verified model for energy dissipation in a processing spherical cavity filled with liquid assumed to be in a semirigidized state except for a viscous Ekman boundary layer is applied to the Earth's liquid core to assess energy dissipation magnitudes. Application of the model to the best available Earth data occurs at the derived energy dissipation maximum for the model. Other existing research showing that the Earth's atmosphere appears to adjust to a state of maximum dissipation led to generic models for systems of maximum dissipation. The maximum dissipation mantle—core model with core motion driven by Earth precession alone, coupled to the mantle only by viscous shear stresses, and with a spherical mantle—core boundary leads to energy dissipation rates on the order of 10⁴ times those necessary for an Earth dynamo. The maximum dissipation model also leads to excessive magnetic field drift rates and to excessive retardation of the Earth's rotation rate. Effects of the mantle—core ellipticity and of magnetic field coupling are briefly discussed and are used to help develop a less than maximum dissipation model also driven by precession alone but using the additional coupling to yield a model more consistent with observed phenomena.     

Oceanic crustal structure—Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 45° N

Summary. We present a velocity—depth model for the crust beneath the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 45° N which is derived from a comparison of waveforms corresponding to observed and synthetic seismograms. The model which best fits the observations includes a high-velocity layer at the base of the crust (layer 3B) and a velocity gradient in the upper mantle. These results are in agreement with other recent seismic studies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and indicate that the velocity structure is more complex than that obtained from travel-time analysis. There is no evidence for a low-velocity zone at the base of the crust.     

Advancing Human Geography at the Commencement du Siècle*

Human geography today exhibits unprecedented vitality and diversity. This survey first charts some major lines of research in the field in light of the ascendancy of critical theory, political economy, and poststructuralist thought, including feminism, the cultural turn, consumption, urban geography, and globalization. Next, it focuses on several “cutting‐edge” issues, such as race, postcolonialism, the social construction of nature, representations of space, and cyberspace. Finally, the article turns an eye toward the future, offering comments on the discipline's likely trajectories with regard to the blurring of traditional dualisms, methodological integration, and the lacunae of public policy and geographic education.     

Crustal structure of the Mid-Atlantic ridge crest at 37° N

Summary. A structural model of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 37° N is proposed on the basis of travel-time data and synthetic seismograms. At the ridge axis the crust is only 3 km thick and overlies material with an anomalously low'upper mantle'velocity of 7.2 km s⁻¹. Crustal thickening and the formation of layer 3 and a layer with velocity 7.2–7.3 km s⁻¹ takes place within a few kilometres of the axis, producing a 6–7 km thick crust by less than 10 km from the axis. A normal upper mantle velocity of 8.1 km s⁻¹ exists within 10 km of the axis. Shear waves propagate across the axis, thus precluding the existence of any sizeable magma chamber at shallow depth.     

The Glaciolacustrine Landform–Sediment Assemblage at Heinabergsjökull, Iceland

Landform–sediment assemblages associated with two ice-dammed lakes, one active and one fossil, at Heinabergsjökull in southeast Iceland are described. The current ice-dammed lake (Vatnsdalur) is dominated by a large aggradational terrace, as well as an excellent suite of shorelines. The second fossil ice-dammed lake dates from the Neoglacial maximum of Heinabergsjökull ( c . 1887) and drained during the late 1920s. This lake is associated with a suite of shorelines and ice-marginal glaciolacustrine fans. The sedimentology of one of these fans is described. Between 50 and 70% of the sediment succession is dominated by ice-rafted sediment, although rhythmites, matrix-rich gravels, sands and graded sand–silt couplets are also present. A range of intra-formational, soft-sediment deformation structures are present, consistent with liquefaction and deformation associated with loading, current shear, and iceberg calving. The landform–sediment assemblages described from Heinabergsjökull provide important data for the interpretation of Pleistocene ice-dammed lakes.     

Observations of the phase SP at distances less than 40°

Summary. A detailed analysis of short-period shear waves using an array of three component seismometers near Tennant Creek in the centre of northern Australia has found only isolated samples of the phase Sp which, for a mode conversion at the crust/mantle boundary precedes the S arrival by about 6 s. Two strong phases commonly observed in the S wavetrain in the distance range 30–40° with a time separation of between 6 and 8 s have been determined to be the phases S and SP respectively. Contrary to the Jeffreys-Bullen seismological tables, SP is first generated at a minimum distance not of 40°, but rather in the vicinity of 20°.     

The reflection seismic survey of project TIPTEQ—the inventory of the Chilean subduction zone at 38.2° S

We describe results of an active-source seismology experiment across the Chilean subduction zone at 38.2°S. The seismic sections clearly show the subducted Nazca plate with varying reflectivity. Below the coast the plate interface occurs at 25 km depth as the sharp lower boundary of a 2–5 km thick, highly reflective region, which we interpret as the subduction channel, that is, a zone of subducted material with a velocity gradient with respect to the upper and lower plate. Further downdip along the seismogenic coupling zone the reflectivity decreases in the area of the presumed 1960 Valdivia hypocentre. The plate interface itself can be traced further down to depths of 50–60 km below the Central Valley. We observe strong reflectivity at the plate interface as well as in the continental mantle wedge. The sections also show a segmented forearc crust in the overriding South American plate. Major features in the accretionary wedge, such as the Lanalhue fault zone, can be identified. At the eastern end of the profile a bright west-dipping reflector lies perpendicular to the plate interface and may be linked to the volcanic arc.     

Cities on edge: Smuggling and neoliberal policies at the Iguazú triangle

The vision of a borderless world, of people, ideas and products freely circulating within a self‐regulating market, is one that clashes with the emerging legal regime based on the punitive force of the state. After a period of liberalization, seen in the opening of national economies and the promotion of regional trade projects and free‐trade zones, the ambivalence of neoliberalism is manifest in a borderless capitalism that ambiguously depends on the securitization of national borders. Such a changing regime of state intervention is clearly seen at the Iguazú triangle – the tri‐border urban conglomerate that straddles Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina – where the illegality of informal cross‐border trading has been tolerated for decades. Recently stepped up police raids and controls hinder the passage of people and goods, while a new fiscal regime introduced in 2009 in Brazil attempts to regularize cross‐border trafficking by turning petty smugglers into micro entrepreneurs. Petty smugglers – dubbed sacoleiros– can hardly be defined as entrepreneurs and do not constitute an identifiable category of entrepreneurship but, as typical in the informal sector, act on opportunity and need. Drawing on ethnographic research, this paper contextualizes the programmes for border controls and regularizing smuggling inspired by neoliberal ideology in South America.     

Some ocean-bottom seismograph observations on the Reykjanes Ridge at 59° N

Summary. Epicentres of microearthquakes detected by two ocean-bottom seismographs deployed on the Reykjanes Ridge at latitude 59° N can be interpreted as trending between 010° and 020° E of N, parallel to detailed morphological features seen in the area, rather than the overall trend of the ridge (036° E of N). Travel times from an airgun source to the seismographs indicate much slower P wave velocities for the top 4 km at the ridge crest compared with that 5–10 km off axis.     

The crustal structure of the Reykjanes Ridge at 59° 30'N

Summary. In order to examine the development of the oceanic crust in the neighbourhood of a slowly spreading ridge, a seismic refraction experiment was carried out at 59° 30'N on the Reykjanes Ridge. Three 120 km long overlapped split profiles were shot parallel to the trend of the ridge, on the eastern flank, and recorded on up to five recording sonobuoys. The profiles were at distances of 0, 30 and 90km from the ridge axis, corresponding to approximate crustal ages of 0, 3 and 9 Myr. Data from the main profiles were supplemented by using a large chamber air gun during recovery of the buoys.
The analysis of the data combined standard travel-time interpretation, the 'tau' method of systematic travel-time inversion and detailed amplitude modelling using the Reflectivity Method to calculate synthetic seismograms. Detailed velocity-depth models were constructed for each of the profiles.
There is no indication of a significant magma chamber at the ridge crest, although a slight velocity inversion in layer 3 suggests a zone of elevated temperature. Away from the crest there was a slight positive velocity gradient in layer 3. Layer 2 was most effectively modelled by a region of varying velocity gradients, which thinned with age and the transition to layer 3 is marked by a sharp change in velocity gradient. The transition to mantle velocities is also best modelled by a high velocity gradient rather than an interface.
Although some lateral variation in properties is apparent along the profiles, the lateral velocity gradients were sufficiently weak to allow an effective analysis in terms of laterally uniform models.