Observations of Antarctic precipitable water vapor and its response to the solar activity based on GPS sensing

Predicting global climate change is a great challenge and must be based on a thorough understanding of how the climate system components behave. Precipitable water vapor (PWV) is one of the key components in determining and predicting the global climate system. It is well known that the local surface temperature and pressure have a direct influence on the production of PWV. However, the influence of solar activity on atmospheric dynamics and their physical mechanisms is still an open debate, where past studies are focused at mid-latitude regions. A new method of determining and quantifying the solar influence on PWV based on GPS observations to correlate the GPS PWV and total electron content (TEC) variations is proposed. Observed data from Scott Base (SBA) and McMurdo (MCM) stations from 2003 to 2005 have been used to study the response of PWV to solar activity. In the analysis, the effects of local conditions (wind speed and relative humidity) on the distribution of PWV are investigated. Results show significant correlation between PWV and solar activity for four geomagnetic storms, with correlation coefficients of 0.74, 0.77, 0.64 and 0.69, which are all significant at the 95% confidence level. There was no significant correlation between TEC and PWV changes during the absence of storms. On a monthly analysis, a strong relationship exists between PWV and TEC during storm-affected days, with correlation coefficients of 0.83 and 0.89 (99% confidence level) for SBA and MCM respectively. These indicate a statistically significant seasonal signal in the Antarctic region, which is very active (higher) during the summer and inactive (lower) for the winter periods.     

Zeolitization of intracaldera sediments and rhyolitic rocks in the 1.25 Ma lake of Valles caldera,New Mexico,USA

Quantitative X-ray diffraction analysis of about 80 rhyolite and associated lacustrine rocks has characterized previously unrecognized zeolitic alteration throughout the Valles caldera resurgent dome. The alteration assemblage consists primarily of smectite–clinoptilolite–mordenite–silica, which replaces groundmass and fills voids, especially in the tuffs and lacustrine rocks. Original rock textures are routinely preserved. Mineralization typically extends to depths of only a few tens of meters and resembles shallow “caldera-type zeolitization” as defined by Utada et al. [Utada, M., Shimizu, M., Ito, T., Inoue, A., 1999. Alteration of caldera-forming rocks related to the Sanzugawa volcanotectonic depression, northeast Honshu, Japan — with special reference to “caldera-type zeolitization.” Resource Geol. Spec. Issue No. 20, 129–140]. Geology and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates limit the period of extensive zeolite growth to roughly the first 30 kyr after the current caldera formed (ca. 1.25 to 1.22 Ma). Zeolitic alteration was promoted by saturation of shallow rocks with alkaline lake water (a mixture of meteoric waters and degassed hydrothermal fluids) and by high thermal gradients caused by cooling of the underlying magma body and earliest post-caldera rhyolite eruptions. Zeolitic alteration of this type is not found in the later volcanic and lacustrine rocks of the caldera moat (≤ 0.8 Ma) suggesting that later lake waters were cooler and less alkaline. The shallow zeolitic alteration does not have characteristics resembling classic, alkaline lake zeolite deposits (no analcime, erionite, or chabazite) nor does it contain zeolites common in high-temperature hydrothermal systems (laumontite or wairakite). Although aerially extensive, the early zeolitic alteration does not form laterally continuous beds and are consequently, not of economic significance.     

A Hierarchical Surface Measurement Strategy Using Non-Repeating Patterns

Hierarchical approaches for automated photogrammetric surface measurement invariably employ image pyramids and image matching at multiple resolutions. Such an approach is also applicable in industrial photogrammetry where projected light patterns are used to provide texture on an otherwise texture-free surface. This paper describes a novel strategy for hierarchical surface measurement in which projected non-repeating target patterns are employed, rather than the lower-resolution levels of an image pyramid. Thus, although the final derived digital surface model is obtained by image matching, preliminary surface models which support the matching are obtained using the non-repeating patterns. These projected patterns allow a simplification of the triangulation phase since they offer the potential of a fast and unambiguous solution to the image point correspondence problem. Following an introduction to the non-repeating pattern strategy, integration of the approach into a multi-camera vision metrology system is described and some experimental measurements are summarized     

Use of fine-scale stratigraphy and chemostratigraphy to evaluate conditions of deposition and preservation of a Triassic Lagerst?tte, south-central Virginia

The rich, fossiliferous Triassic sediments exposed in the Virginia Solite Quarry include a 34-mm-thick “insect layer” that is notable for detailed preservation of soft-bodied invertebrate and vertebrate remains. We describe this unique Konservat-Lagerst?tte and use sedimentologic and geochemical analyses to interpret the environmental conditions necessary to preserve such delicate fossils. This work is among the first attempts to apply detailed geochemical/stratigraphic analysis to the study of Lagerst?tten and we report on a 332-mm-thick section that includes the insect layer and the rocks immediately below and above it. Our analysis successfully constrains various aspects of the depositional and diagenetic history of the Lagerst?tte and permits a detailed analysis of changing conditions prior to, during, and after deposition. Geochemical and sedimentologic analyses of the insect layer and surrounding lithologies reveal a change from siliciclastic-dominated layers (Unit 1) to dolomite-siliciclastic laminites above (Unit 2 and the insect layer), separated by a boundary dolostone layer that is traceable for over 200 m. We interpret this sedimentary shift as the initial stages in the transgression of a shallow, saline, alkaline rift-basin lake over lake margin deposits. The absence of bioturbation by plants and benthic organisms, as well as a lack of predation on the insects, is not explained by significant water depth, but is instead more reasonably considered a result of the chemistry of the water at the lake margin, affected by groundwater seeps, which provided F-, Mg-, and Ca-rich fluids. Although the initial conditions of preservation are remarkable, it is equally impressive that the fossils survived extensive diagenesis, e.g. dissolution of quartz and coarsening of dolomite.     

A protocol standard for heterogeneous telescope networks

The scientific need for a standard protocol permitting the exchange of generic observing services is rapidly escalating as more observatories adopt service observing as a standard operating mode and as more remote or robotic telescopes are brought on‐line. To respond to this need, we present the results of the first interoperability workshop for Heterogeneous Telescope Networks (HTN) held in Exeter. We present a draft protocol, designed to be independent of the specific instrumentation and software that controls the remote and/or robotic telescopes, allowing these telescopes to appear to the user with a unified interface despite any underlying architectural differences. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Sedimentology of a wreck: the Rainbow Warrior revisited

The wreck of the Rainbow Warrior, a 40-m ship sunk on 12 December 1987 in Matauri Bay (34° 59′ S, 173° 56′ E), Cavalli Islands, northeastern New Zealand, offers an opportunity to investigate the impact of artificial substrate on temperate carbonate sedimentation. Surface sediment samples showed no significant textural or compositional difference between sediments near the wreck and those far from it. The large and diverse carbonate-producing community resident on the wreck (dominated by bryozoans, corals and sponges) has not had a measurable influence on adjacent bottom sediments (dominated by bivalves and barnacles), even after 21 years. It is likely that carbonate production on the Rainbow Warrior is insufficient to leave any sedimentary record over the potential lifetime of the wreck on the seafloor, which informs our understanding of the long-term impacts of shipwrecks (and other artificial substrata) on the local benthic environment in shallow temperate ecosystems.