Dunes on Titan observed by Cassini Radar

Thousands of longitudinal dunes have recently been discovered by the Titan Radar Mapper on the surface of Titan. These are found mainly within ±30° of the equator in optically-, near-infrared-, and radar-dark regions, indicating a strong proportion of organics, and cover well over 5% of Titan's surface. Their longitudinal duneform, interactions with topography, and correlation with other aeolian forms indicate a single, dominant wind direction aligned with the dune axis plus lesser, off-axis or seasonally alternating winds. Global compilations of dune orientations reveal the mean wind direction is dominantly eastwards, with regional and local variations where winds are diverted around topographically high features, such as mountain blocks or broad landforms. Global winds may carry sediments from high latitude regions to equatorial regions, where relatively drier conditions prevail, and the particles are reworked into dunes, perhaps on timescales of thousands to tens of thousands of years. On Titan, adequate sediment supply, sufficient wind, and the absence of sediment carriage and trapping by fluids are the dominant factors in the presence of dunes.     

Paleohydrology and paleoclimate records in a saline prairie lake core: mineral,isotope and organic indicators

This pilot study examines the potential of obtaining a sedimentary record of paleoenvironmental/climatic/hydrologic conditions for saline Redberry Lake in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. The tools are mineralogy, stable isotopes and pigments. The upper meter of an offshore sediment core contains 10 to 20% by weight aragonite (CaCO₃), which apparently precipitated in the water column. The ¹⁸O and ¹³C of the bulk aragonite (corrected for content of detrital calcite) vary by 4 to 5. Enrichment in ¹⁸O in aragonite is significantly correlated with pigment concentrations (chlorophyll a, phaeophytin). The ¹⁸O and pigment data provide evidence for relatively dry and/or warm conditions and high limnetic productivity for the period 2500 to 1500 yrs B.P. After 1500 B.P., the climate was apparently similar to the present, with two episodes of relatively enhanced productivity, dryness and/or warmth, at around 1000 to 900 and 500 to 200 B.P. During the past century, Redberry Lake has decreased approximately 8 m in depth and its salinity has doubled. No clear sedimentary signal was observed in response to these recent hydrologic trends. These changes have not been associated with a significant climate trend in the region, but may have been induced by land use changes in the catchment.This publication is the third of a series of papers presented at the Conference on Sedimentary and Paleolimnological Records of Saline Lakes. This Conference was held August 13–16, 1991 at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada. Dr. Evans is serving as Guest Editor for this series.     

Extensive-Dilatancy Anisotropy (Eda) Inferred From Observations of Crustal Shear Waves Generated By A Refraction Experiment In Northern Scandinavia

Summary. Particle-motion plots of shear waves have been studied for the section FG of the FENNOLORA seismic experiment. Shear-wave splitting is observed on some records and the polarization of the first arriving shear waves show two peaks at about N35°W and N65°E. These results can be interpreted as being due to crack-induced anisotropy with the crack direction dominated by a (dominant) horizontal stress around N35°W. This is consistent with in situ stress measurements and focal mechanism studies in Scandinavia. the results show that seismic refraction experiments may be useful in providing evidence of crack-induced anisotropy in the stable continental crust.     

Palaeolimnological records of shallow lake biodiversity change: exploring the merits of single versus multi-proxy approaches

Shallow lakes are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world and many contemporary studies have demonstrated declines in biodiversity due to anthropogenic forcing. Mostly, however, these studies have not covered the full period of human-induced diversity change in lakes which is typically over decades-centuries. Here we provide two examples of palaeoecological studies focussed on reconstructing biodiversity changes in contrasting shallow lake environments that demonstrate the efficacy of the approach—a shallow UK lake and a suite of floodplain lakes (called billabongs) in the Murray-Darling basin, Australia. In the Murray-Darling billabongs, complex sedimentary processes operate, sediment chronologies are less certain and replication of sites is needed to confirm patterns. The combination of sediment records from 10 billabongs showed that diatom diversity changes pre- and post-European (>1850) disturbance were inconsistent; however, reductions in diversity were more common and appear to reflect reductions in macrophyte abundance. At Felbrigg Lake, a multi-proxy study with strong chronological control demonstrated divergent responses of macrophyte, diatom, cladoceran and chironomid richness and diversity to a century of eutrophication. Eutrophication of the site was qualitatively inferred from changes in the macrophyte community in turn reconstructed from plant macrofossils. Benthic cladocerans showed a consistent decline in richness through the record, reflecting the gradual reduction in their macrophyte associated habitat over the past century. Diatom richness and diversity responses were complex, with increases in diversity and richness linked to both increases and decreases in macrophyte species richness and abundance. Chironomid richness and diversity patterns were less consistently linked to eutrophication. The loss of the dominant zooplanktivore (perch) in the 1970s was reflected in the richness and diversity profiles for all groups. Our study reveals clear potential for using sediment cores to infer biodiversity change in shallow lakes and shallow lake regions. However, given the contrasting patterns of diversity change for the different biological groups both in Felbrigg Lake and between Felbrigg and the billabongs, caution is required when interpreting whole-ecosystem biodiversity changes (or the absence of change) based on single as opposed to multi-proxy studies.     

Contributions from oceanic and ionospheric dynamos to the lunar daily variation at Alibag

Summary. The contributions from the oceanic and ionospheric dynamos, L_o and L_I respectively, to the geomagnetic lunar daily variation, L , at Alibag, a coastal station in the Indian equatorial region, are calculated from the L harmonics derived from a 41–yr long series of observations. The analysis in the calendar months shows a steady and significant ocean dynamo contribution in the vertical component, Z, in all the months except April. Examination, by an analysis of the data year by year, of the association of L_o and L_I with varying solar and magnetic activities reveals, surprisingly, a stable correlation between the magnetic activity index A _P and the oceanic part in the horizontal and vertical components but not in declination, which probably indicates the influence of induced currents, along the latitudes, on L _o.     

Lymanα forests and the evolution of the universe

The Lyα forest absorption lines in the spectra of quasars are interpreted as caused by the crossings of the light beam with the walls of a bubble structure (expanding with the Hubble flow only). Then, the typical separation between the absorption lines is proportional to the mean size of the bubbles. The variable factor is the expansion rate H[z]. The Friedmann regression analysis of the observed line separations determines the density parameter ω₀ and the normalized cosmological term λ₀ = λc²/3H²₀ of the appropriate cosmological model: ω₀ = 0.014 ± 0.002, λ₀ = 1.080 ± 0.006. Depending on the Hubble parameter this method reveals the values of the present mean matter density pm,0 = 2.6 h² · 10⁻²⁸ kg m⁻³ and of the cosmological constant Λ = 3.77 h² · 10⁻⁵² m⁻² (with h = H₀/(100 km/s·Mpc)). According to our analysis all models with Λ = 0 must be excluded. The curvature of space is positive. The curvature radius R₀ is 3.3 times the Hubble radius (c/H₀). The age t₀ is 2.8 times the Hubble age (H₀⁻¹).     

Validation of an annual cycle simulation with a T42-L20 GCM

An annual cycle of an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) is presented. The winter and summer zonal averages of the atmospheric fields are compared with an observed climatology. The main features of the observed seasonal means are well reproduced by the model. One of the main discrepancies is that the simulated atmosphere is too cold, particularly in its upper part. Some other discrepancies might be explained by the interannual variability. The AGCM surface fluxes are directly compared to climatological estimates. On the other hand, the calculation of meridional heat transport by the ocean, inferred from the simulated energy budget, can be compared to transport induced from climatologies. The main result of this double comparison is that AGCM fluxes generally are within the range of climatological estimates. The main deficiency of the model is poor partitioning between solar and non-solar heat fluxes in the tropical belt. The meridional heat transport also reveals a significant energy-loss by the Northern Hemisphere ocean north of 45° N. The possible implications of model surface flux deficiencies on coupling with an oceanic model are discussed.This paper was presented at the International Conference on Modelling of Global Climate Change and Variability, held in Hamburg 11–15 September 1989 under the auspices of the Meteorological Institute of the University of Hamburg and the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology. Guest Editor for these papers is Dr. L. Dümenil     

Impact of Gas Adsorption Induced Coal Matrix Damage on the Evolution of Coal Permeability

It has been widely reported that coal permeability can change from reduction to enhancement due to gas adsorption even under the constant effective stress condition, which is apparently inconsistent with the classic theoretical solutions. This study addresses this inconsistency through explicit simulations of the dynamic interactions between coal matrix swelling/shrinking induced damage and fracture aperture alteration, and translations of these interactions to permeability evolution under the constant effective stress condition. We develop a coupled coal–gas interaction model that incorporates the material heterogeneity and damage evolution of coal, which allows us to couple the progressive development of damage zone with gas adsorption processes within the coal matrix. For the case of constant effective stress, coal permeability changes from reduction to enhancement while the damage zone within the coal matrix develops from the fracture wall to further inside the matrix. As the peak Langmuir strain is approached, the decrease of permeability halts and permeability increases with pressure. The transition of permeability reduction to permeability enhancement during gas adsorption, which may be closely related to the damage zone development in coal matrix, is controlled by coal heterogeneity, external boundary condition, and adsorption-induced swelling.