THE EUROPEAN MACROSEISMIC SCALE (MSK-92)

A new updated version of the MSK macroseismic intensity scale has been prepared by a Working Group of the European Seismological Commission and has been published in April 1993 (European Macroseismic Scale 1992: updated MSK scale, 1993, ed. by G. Grünthal, Cahiers du Centre Européen de Geodynamique et de Séismologie, no. 7).     

Numerical simulations of high-speed solar wind streams within 1 AU and their signatures at 1 AU

A parametric study of the evolution within, and signatures at, 1 AU of high-speed streams is performed with the use of a MHD, 21/2-D, time-dependent model. This study is an extension of an earlier one by Smith and Dryer (1990) who examined the ecliptic plane consequences of relatively short-duration, energetic solar disturbances. The present study examines both the erupting and corotating parts of long-duration, high-speed streams characteristic of coronal hole flows. By examining the variation of the simulated plasma velocity, density, temperature, and magnetic field at 1 AU, as well as the location of the solar coronal hole sources relative to the observer at 1 AU, we are able to provide some insight into the identification of the solar sources of interplanetary disturbances. We present and discuss two definitions for angle locating the solar source of interplanetary disturbances at 1 AU.We apply our results to the suggestion by Hewish (1988) that low-latitude coronal holes are suitably positioned to be the sources of major geomagnetic storms when the holes are in the eastern half of the solar hemisphere at the time of the commencement of the storm. Our results indicate that, for these cases, the streams emanating from within the hole must be very fast, greater than 1000 km s^–1, or very wide, greater than 60°, at the inner boundary of 18 solar radii in our simulation.     

A Critical review of theoretical models of negatively polarized light scattered by atmosphereless solar system bodies

About a dozen physical mechanisms and models aspire to explain the negative polarization of light scattered by atmosphereless celestial bodies. This is too large a number for the reliable interpretation of observational data. Through a comparative analysis of the models, our main goal is to answer the question: Does any one model have an advantage over the others? Our analysis is based on new laboratory polarimetric and photometric data as well as on theoretical results. We show that the widely used models due to Hopfield and Wolff cannot realistically explain the phase-angle dependence of the degree of polarization observed at small phase angles. The so-called interference or coherent backscattering mechanism is the most promising model. Models based on that mechanism use well-defined physical parameters to explain both negative polarization and the opposition effect. They are supported by laboratory experiments, particularly those showing enhancement of negative polarization with decreasing particle size down to the wavelength of light. According to the interference mechanism, pronounced negative branches of polarization, like those of C-class asteroids, may indicate a high degree of optical inhomogeneity of light-scattering surfaces at small scales. The mechanism also seems appropriate for treating the negative polarization and opposition effects of cometary dust comae, planetary rings, and the zodiacal light.     

The middle pleistocene deposits of Waverley Wood Pit,Warwickshire, England

A complex of channels underlying the Baginton-Lillington Gravel (Baginton Formation) at Waverley Wood Quarry, Warwickshire is described. Fossil pollen and plant macrofossils, Coleoptera, Ostracoda, Mollusca and Mammalia are described from the channel-fill deposits. Consideration of all the evidence allows the identification of four separate stages of channel fill which largely occurred under a cool temperate climate. At the top of Channel 2 evidence for a cold, continental climatic episode can be recognised, suggesting that the whole complex was deposited under a fluctuating climate at the end of a temperate stage. At two levels in the channels human artefacts were recovered confirming the presence of Palaeolithic people in Warwickshire during the deposition of the sediments. Amino-acid geochronology suggests an age within the ‘Cromerian Complex’ Stage for the channels. The small vertebrate and molluscan faunas indicate that the deposits are no older than the latter part of the ‘Cromerian Complex’ Stage of East Anglia. The regional stratigraphic significance of the Waverley Wood succession is outlined.     

Fluid infiltration during contact metamorphism of interbedded marble and calc-silicate hornfels, Twin Lakes area, central Sierra Nevada, California

Abstract In the Twin Lakes area, central Sierra Nevada, California, most contact metamorphosed marbles contain calcite + dolomite + forsterite ± diopside ± phlogopite ± tremolite, and most calc-silicate hornfelses contain calcite + diopside + wollastonite + quartz ± anorthite ± K-feldspar ± grossular ± titanite. Mineral-fluid equilibria involving calcite + dolomite + tremolite + diopside + forsterite in two marble samples and wollastonite + anorthite + quartz + grossular in three hornfels samples record P± 3 kbar and T± 630° C. Various isobaric univariant assemblages record CO₂-H₂O fluid compositions of χCO₂= 0.61–0.74 in the marbles and χCO₂= 0.11 in the hornfelses. Assuming a siliceous dolomitic limestone protolith consisting of dolomite + quartz ° Calcite ± K-feldspar ± muscovite ± rutile, all plausible prograde reaction pathways were deduced for marble and hornfels on isobaric T-XCO₂ diagrams in the model system K₂O-CaO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O-CO₂. Progress of the prograde reactions was estimated from measured modes and mass-balance calculations. Time-integrated fluxes of reactive fluid which infiltrated samples were computed for a temperature gradient of 150 °C/km along the fluid flow path, calculated fluid compositions, and estimated reaction progress using the mass-continuity equation. Marbles and hornfelses record values in the range 0.1–3.6 × 10⁴ cm³/cm² and 4.8–12.9 × 10⁴ cm³/cm², respectively. For an estimated duration of metamorphism of 10⁵ years, average in situ metamorphic rock permeabilities, calculated from Darcy's Law, are 0.1–8 × 10^?6 D in the marbles and 10–27 × 10^?6 D in the hornfelses. Reactive metamorphic fluids flowed up-temperature, and were preferentially channellized in hornfelses relative to the marbles. These results appear to give a general characterization of hydrothermal activity during contact metamorphism of small pendants and screens (dimensions ± 1 km or less) associated with emplacement of the Sierra Nevada batholith.     

Prognosis of pool phase state and hydrocarbon fluid composition for the Pre-Caspian OGP

The results of detailed studies and interpretations are presented for composition variations, structural properties and the phase state of hydrocarbon fluids from subsalt pools of the Pre-Caspian depression. These data serve as a basis for substantiating the existence of several types of condensate, and identifying the locations of the main centres of fluid generation. The basic geological-geochemical conditions controlling the composition of condensate and free gases have been determined as well as their present phase state. A set of basic criteria is proposed as well as prognostic maps for the condensate and free gas composition, and the pool phase states.     

A high‐resolution pollen and geochemical analysis of late Holocene human impact and vegetation history in southern Cumbria,England

The historic era, which in Cumbria begins with the Roman invasion of AD 71, is a frequently neglected period in palaeoecological research, but its study can bring benefits in improving knowledge of landscape history and in understanding the significance and limitations of palaeoecological records. Pollen and geochemical data are presented for late Holocene records from Deer Dyke and Hulleter Mosses in southern Cumbria. The records show initially low levels of anthropogenic impact, followed by a phase of forest clearance and mixed agriculture from the 7th to 11th centuries AD. The timing of these clearances suggests that they were initially Anglo‐Saxon in origin, rather than Norse. Further clearances in the 16th century AD are interpreted as a response to monastic dissolution and late Tudor population pressures; the landscapes reached their contemporary form following extensive clearances in the 17th century AD. Silicon and titanium concentrations at Deer Dyke Moss were used to reconstruct past levels of atmospheric dust loading, which is broadly related to soil erosion. Geochemical influx was found to peak during periods of landscape transition rather than from established land use. This relationship with pollen data is thought to reflect the predominantly low levels of anthropogenic impact in the region, which changes as substantial woodland clearances during the 16th century AD and continuous land use pressure since then have greatly increased the supply of airborne dust. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Postglacial vegetation and climate dynamics in the Seymour‐Belize Inlet Complex,central coastal British Columbia,Canada: palynological evidence from Tiny Lake

A pollen‐based study from Tiny Lake in the Seymour‐Belize Inlet Complex of central coastal British Columbia, Canada, permits an evaluation of the dynamic response of coastal temperate rainforests to postglacial climate change. Open Pinus parklands grew at the site during the early Lateglacial when the climate was cool and dry, but more humid conditions in the later phases of the Lateglacial permitted mesophytic conifers to colonise the region. Early Holocene conditions were warmer than present and a successional mosaic of Tsuga heterophylla and Alnus occurred at Tiny Lake. Climate cooling and moistening at 8740 ± 70 ¹⁴C a BP initiated the development of closed, late successional T. heterophylla–Cupressaceae forests, which achieved modern character after 6860 ± 50 ¹⁴C a BP, when a temperate and very wet climate became established. The onset of early Holocene climate cooling and moistening at Tiny Lake may have preceded change at more southern locations, including within the Seymour‐Belize Inlet Complex, on a meso‐ to synoptic scale. This would suggest that an early Holocene intensification of the Aleutian Low pressure system was an important influence on forest dynamics in the Seymour‐Belize Inlet Complex and that the study region was located near the southern extent of immediate influence of this semi‐permanent air mass. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Quaternary landscapes in Central Australia: sedimentary history and palaeoecology of Puritjarra rock shelter

Puritjarra rock shelter provides a long record of late Quaternary vegetation in the Australian arid zone. Analysis of the sedimentary history of this rock shelter is combined with reanalysis of charcoal and phytolith records to provide a first‐order picture of changing landscapes in western Central Australia. These show a landscape responding to increasing aridity from 45 ka with deflation of clay‐rich red palaeosols (<45 ka) and sharp declines in grassland and other vegetation at 40–36 ka, and at the beginning of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (24 ka). Vegetation in the catchment of the rock shelter recovered after 15 ka with expansion of both acacia woodland and spinifex grasslands, registering stronger summer rainfall in the interior of the continent. By 8.3 ka re‐vegetation of local palaeosols and dunes had choked off sediment supply to the rock shelter and the character of the sediments changed abruptly. Poaceae values peaked at 5.8 ka, suggesting the early–mid Holocene climatic optimum in Central Australia is bracketed between 8.3 and 5.8 ka. Local vegetation was disrupted in the late Holocene with a sharp decline in Poaceae at 3.8 ka, coinciding with an abrupt intensification of ENSO. Local grasslands recovered over the next two millennia and by 1.5 ka the modern vegetation appears to have become established. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.