The lineage structure of quartz crystals

Etching and optical methods have been applied to study the lineage structure of quartz crystals from the Swiss Alps. It is shown that lineage boundaries form during growth in crystals of high dislocation density by a rearrangement of dislocations in low angle boundaries. The boundaries usually consist of parallel lines and are supposed to be nearly pure tilt boundaries.     

Calculation of ionic activities in natural waters

The Garrels and Thompson model for calculating the distribution of ionic activities in sea-water was programmed for computer treatment, and extended to include 33 dissolved species. Ionic activities predicted by the model compare well with those expected on the basis of independent evidence (concerning equilibria involving gypsum, calcite, dissolved ferrous and ferric iron and a basic aluminium sulphate) for waters with pH values between 1.8 and 8.2, and ionic strengths up to 1.0.     

Seeing Conditions at Sutherland. Results of the 1992/93 seeing campaign

In order to decide whether the seeing conditions at SAAO/Sutherland justify the erection of a 3.5 m telescope and also to compare Sutherland with the Gamsberg/Namibia site, a seeing campaign covering 15 months has been carried out. For direct comparison with the results of the seeing campaign at Gamsberg twenty years before the same QUESTAR telescope was employed. The seeing is determined by the scattering of the star-trail exposed on a film in the focal plane of the telescope. The campaign commenced in February 1992. Up to May 1993, data for 204 nights, that is 47.3% of the total number of nights, were collected. Due to wind speeds above 30 km h^-1, 25 out of the 204 nights were not considered in the final reduction. The useful 179 nights are evenly distributed over the campaign period. The median seeing value for the whole period is = 0.52. There are differences during the year: the best season gives = 0.42, the worst = 0.67. Each night was divided into three intervals, although data for each of the three intervals were not always available. Generally, there is an improvement in the seeing during the course of a night. The results are compared to the seeing values of Gamsberg/Namibia and ESO/La Silla.     

Reporting negative results to stimulate experimental hydrology: discussion of “The role of experimental work in hydrological sciences – insights from a community survey”*

ABSTRACT

Experimental work in hydrology is in decline. Based on a community survey, Blume et al. showed that the hydrological community associates experimental work with greater risks. One of the main issues with experimental work is the higher chance of negative results (defined here as when the expected or wanted result was not observed despite careful experimental design, planning and execution), resulting in a longer and more difficult publishing process. Reporting on negative results would avoid putting time and resources into repeating experiments that lead to negative results, and give experimental hydrologists the scientific recognition they deserve. With this commentary, we propose four potential solutions to encourage reporting on negative results, which might contribute to a stimulation of experimental hydrology.     

Incentives for field hydrology and data sharing: collaboration and compensation: reply to “A need for incentivizing field hydrology,especially in an era of open data”*

ABSTRACT

We thank Allen and Berghuijs for continuing the discussion on field hydrology and data sharing and discuss two incentives to promote data collection and sharing in hydrological sciences: a collaborative attitude and additional funding to make data publicly available.     

Palaeomagnetism of the Ordovician dolerites of the Crozon Peninsula (France)

Summary. In order to obtain a Lower Palaeozoic pole for the Armorican Massif and to test the origin of the Ibero-Armorican arc, the Ordovician dolerites of the Crozon peninsula have been palaeomagnetically studied. The samples show a multicomponent magnetization which has been revealed by AF and thermal demagnetization and thoroughly investigated with rock magnetic experiments, polished section examinations and K/Ar dating. Four groups of directions have been recognized, often superimposed on each other in an individual sample. One component (D) has always the lowest blocking temperatures and coercivities and is considered to be of viscous origin, acquired recently in situ or in the laboratory during storage. Two components (A and B) are interpreted to be of secondary origin and to correspond to the observed K/Ar age distribution between 300 and 190 Myr. These ages represent the time interval between two regional thermo-tectonic events, associated with the Hercynian orogeny and the intrusion of dykes related to the early opening of the Central Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of Biscay. A fourth component (C) could be of Ordovician or younger Palaeozoic age; it is not clear whether the age of the magnetization is pre- or post-folding, but a pre-folding age would yield a direction of magnetization similar to Ordovician results from the Iberian peninsula. The latter interpretation suggests a fairly high palaeolatitude, which is in agreement with a glacio-marine postulated for sediments overlying the dolerite sills.     

Impact of Climate Change on Agricultural Production in the Sahel – Part 1. Methodological Approach and Case Study for Millet in Niger

In the last 30 years the climate of the West African Sahel has shown various changes, especially in terms of rainfall, of which inter-annual variabilityis very high. This has significant consequences for the poor-resource farmers, whose incomes depend mainly on rainfed agriculture. The West African Sahel is already known as an area characterized by important interaction between climate variability and key socio-economic sectors such as agriculture and water resources. More than 80% of the 55 million population of West African Sahel is rural, involved in agriculture and stock-farming, the two sectors contributing almost 35% of the countries' GDPs. It is thereforeobvious that climate change seriously affects the economies of these countries. Adding to this situation the high rate of population increase(3%), leading to progressive pressure upon ecosystems, and poorsanitary facilities, one comes to the conclusion that Sahelian countries, Niger amongst them, will be highly vulnerable to climate change.This paper investigates the impact of current climate variability and future climate change on millet production for three major millet-producing regions in Niger. Statistical models have been used to predict the effects of climate change on future production on the basis of thirteen available predictors. Based on the analysis of the past 30-years of rainfall and production data, the most significant predictors of the model are (i) seasurface temperature anomalies, (ii) the amount of rainfall in July, August and September, (iii) the number of rainy days and (iv) the wind erosion factor. In 2025, production of millet is estimated to be about 13% lower as a consequence of climate change, translated into a reduction of the total amount of rainfall for July, August and September, combined with an increase in temperature while maintaining other significant predictors at a constant level. Subsequently,various potential strategies to compensate this loss are evaluated, including those to increase water use efficiency and to cultivate varieties that are adapted to such circumstances.     

Chemical Mechanism Development: Laboratory Studies and Model Applications

Within the German Tropospheric Research Programme (TFS) numerous kinetic and mechanistic studies on the tropospheric reaction/degradation of the following reactants were carried out: oxygenated VOC, aromatic VOC, biogenic VOC, short-lived intermediates, such as alkoxy and alkylperoxy radicals.At the conception of the projects these selected groups were classes of VOC or intermediates for which the atmospheric oxidation mechanisms were either poorly characterised or totally unknown. The motivation for these studies was the attainment of significant improvements in our understanding of the atmospheric chemical oxidation processes of these compounds, particularly with respect to their involvement in photooxidant formation in the troposphere. In the present paper the types of experimental investigations performed and the results obtained within the various projects are briefly summarised. The major achievements are highlighted and discussed in terms of their contribution to improving our understanding of the chemical processes controlling photosmog formation in the troposphere.     

ASCA Observation of the Quiescent X-Ray Counterpart to SGR 1627-41

We present a 2-10 keV ASCA observation of the field around the soft gamma repeater SGR 1627-41. A quiescent X-ray source, whose position is consistent both with that of a recently discovered BeppoSAX X-ray source and with the Interplanetary Network localization for this soft gamma repeater, was detected in this observation. In 2-10 keV X-rays, the spectrum of the X-ray source may be fit equally well by a power-law, blackbody, or bremsstrahlung function, with unabsorbed flux approximately 5x10-12 ergs cm-2 s-1. We do not confirm a continuation of a fading trend in the flux, and we find no evidence for periodicity, both of which were noted in the earlier BeppoSAX observations.