PGE distribution in deformed lherzolites of the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe (Yakutia)

The results of the first study of the PGE distribution in deformed lherzolites of the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe (Yakutia) are presented here. The complex character of evolution of the PGE composition in the Deformed lherzolites is assumed to be the result of silicate metasomatism. At the first stage, growth in the amount of clinopyroxene and garnet in the rock is accompanied by a decrease in the concentration of the compatible PGE (Os, Ir). During the final stage, the rock is enriched with incompatible PGE (Pt, Pd) and Re possible due to precipitation of submicron-sized particles of sulfides in the interstitial space of these mantle rocks.     

Seismic response of light internal equipment in base-isolated structures

The seismic response of light secondary systems in a building is dependent on the response of the primary structural system to the seismic ground motion with the result that very high accelerations can be induced in such secondary systems. This response can be reduced through the use of aseismic base isolation which is a design strategy whereby the entire building can be decoupled from the damaging horizontal components of seismic ground motion by the use of some form of isolation system. The paper presents a theoretical analysis of the response of light equipment in isolated structures and a parallel experimental programme both of which show that the use of base isolation can not only attenuate the response of the primary structural system but also reduce the response of secondary systems. Thus, the design of equipment and piping in a base-isolated building is very much simpler than that for a conventionally founded structure: inelastic response and equipment-structure interaction need not be considered and multiple support response analysis is rendered unnecessary. Although an isolation system with linear elastic bearings can reduce the acceleration of the structure, it may be accompanied by large relative displacements between the structure and the ground. A system using lead-rubber hysteretic bearings, having a force-displacement relation which is approximately a bilinear loop, can reduce these displacements. A parallel experimental programme was carried out to investigate the response of light equipment in structures isolated using lead-rubber bearings. The experimental results show that these bearings can dissipate energy and limit the displacement and acceleration of the structure but are less effective in reducing the accelerations in the internal equipment. The results of both the analysis and the tests show that base isolation is a very effective method for the seismic protection of light equipment items in buildings.     

Landslide triggering scenarios in homogeneous geological contexts: The area surrounding Acri (Calabria, Italy)

The paper describes a methodology to detect landslide triggering scenarios in geological homogeneous areas and for some specific landslide categories. In these scenarios, the rainfall–landslide relationship as well as the pluviometric load conditions influencing slope instability have to be investigated.The methodology is applied to an area located in northern Calabria (Italy) and affected by widespread and different slope instability phenomena. Outcropped, fractured, and deeply weathered crystalline rock masses, determining geologic homogeneous conditions, are present. In the same area, suitable and homogeneous climatic features have also been found.According to the methodology adopted, the hydrologic analysis of rainfall time-series is initially carried out notwithstanding historical data concerning landslide mobilization, but using simple models to determine critical pluviometric scenarios for the three landslide categories: shallow, medium-deep, and deep. Landslide-triggering scenarios individualized according to this procedure are less significant as compared to the landslide mobilization detected in the study area by means of historical research and ascribed to the three landslide categories according to geomorphologic analysis.Subsequently, the possible landslide triggering scenarios are outlined by carefully investigating the hydrologic analysis limited to the periods identified according to the historical data.In the study area and approximately for all the areas characterized by the outcrop of fractured and deeply weathered crystalline rocks, significant triggering scenarios can be outlined. In particular, shallow landslide triggers could be activated by rainfall events with intensities exceeding 90 mm/day and/or with amounts exceeding 160 mm. As for medium-deep and deep landslides, triggering mechanisms are more complicated; and effective rainfall contribution must be taken into account compared to groundwater storage. Moreover, a more complex link between deep landslides and precipitation is confirmed.The results obtained to date highlight the potential of this methodology, which enables us to define and progressively improve the knowledge framework by means of a work sequence integrating different disciplinary tools and results.     

The solubility of quartz in aqueous sodium chloride solution at 350°C and 180 to 500 bars

The solubility of quartz in 2, 3, and 4 molal NaCl was measured at 350°C and pressures ranging from 180 to 500 bars. The molal solubility in each of the salt solutions is greater than that in pure water throughout the measured pressure range, with the ratio of solubility in NaCl solution to solubility in pure water decreasing as pressure is increased. The measured solubilities are significantly higher than solubilities calculated using a simple model in which the water activity in NaCl solutions decreases either in proportion to decreasing vapor pressure of the solution as salinity is increased or in proportion to decreasing mole fraction of water in the solvent.     

Evolutionary state of W UMa-type systems

The evolutionary status of a sample of 31 W UMa-type systems (20 of W, 9 of A, and 2 of A/W sub-class) is examined and discussed on the basis of their positions in the H-R, mass-radius and mass-luminosity diagrams. The absolute elements of these systems have been evaluated by use of their spectroscopic and photometric data as they were found in the literature. Since different analysis methods have been used by the various investigators this gives the opportunity to make different H-R, mass-radius and mass-luminosity diagrams, according to the method used, and compare the results.Moreover, from the spectral type-period diagram of those systems that have spectral types from O to G2 it was found that all of them lie in the evolved region. Finally, the log (L _l/L _s) log (M _l/M _s) diagrams are presented and discussed.     

Stereoscopic Analysis of the 31 August 2007 Prominence Eruption and Coronal Mass Ejection

The spectacular prominence eruption and CME of 31 August 2007 are analyzed stereoscopically using data from NASA??s twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft. The technique of tie pointing and triangulation (T&T) is used to reconstruct the prominence (or filament when seen on the disk) before and during the eruption. For the first time, a filament barb is reconstructed in three-dimensions, confirming that the barb connects the filament spine to the solar surface. The chirality of the filament system is determined from the barb and magnetogram and confirmed by the skew of the loops of the post-eruptive arcade relative to the polarity reversal boundary below. The T&T analysis shows that the filament rotates as it erupts in the direction expected for a filament system of the given chirality. While the prominence begins to rotate in the slow-rise phase, most of the rotation occurs during the fast-rise phase, after formation of the CME begins. The stereoscopic analysis also allows us to analyze the spatial relationships among various features of the eruption including the pre-eruptive filament, the flare ribbons, the erupting prominence, and the cavity of the coronal mass ejection (CME). We find that erupting prominence strands and the CME have different (non-radial) trajectories; we relate the trajectories to the structure of the coronal magnetic fields. The possible cause of the eruption is also discussed.