The MAR-Vema Fracture Zone intersection surveyed by deep submersible Nautile

One of the two objectives of the Vemanaute cruise of the French deep submersible Nautile, was the geological study of the eastern intersection area between the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) and the Vema Fracture Zone in the equatorial Atlantic. Fourteen dives were conducted that allowed detailed geological survey and sampling of the main morphostructural units of this area: the northern and southern walls of the fracture zone, the median ridge, the northern and southern troughs and the nodal basin. In situ observations of recent tectonic features such as furrows, ridges and circular depressions, concentrated within the southern trough, allowed us to establish the location and the size of the present-day displacement zone. Geological investigations have shown that the nodal basin is entirely floored by basalts thus contrasting with other equivalent areas such as the Kane and Oceanographer fracture zone-MAR eastern intersections. Finally, this study stresses the great opposition between the relatively old and tectonically inactive northern part of the fracture, and the southern part which shows active tectonics and recent volcanic activity.     

Preliminary Analysis of V and Hp Light Curves of 26 Carbon Miras

Light variations of a representative sample of 26 more or less periodically variable carbon stars were analyzed on the basis of 2220 individual observations made by the Hipparcos satellite and 33 544 visual observations listed in AFOEV and VSOLJ databases within the interval JD = 2 448 000 (1988) ±6 cycles. We found the osculating linear ephemerides of all stars and their mean light curves, as well. We found that the light curves of the carbon Miras in our set can be satisfactorily expressed as a linear combination of only two basic light curves. The analysis was done by an own method combining robust regression and principal component analysis.     

An inflationary cosmological model in Dunn's scalar-tensor theory of gravitation

The gravitational field equations in Dunn's scalar-tensor theory of gravitation are generalized by including a cosmological constant. The resulting equations are solved for a Robertson-Walker line-element with flat three-space. The solution represents a cosmological model that develops into an inflationary era.     

Description and ESR dating of the Holsteinian interglaciation

The classical region of the Holsteinian interglacial is in the vicinity of Hamburg and the Lower Elbe. It is defined on the basis of pollen and is clearly distinguishable from the Eemian interglacial (Hallik, 1960; Müller, 1974). The Holsteinian interglacial is represented by a sequence of sediments up to 100 m in thickness. These consist of limnic, fluvial, and marine beds and show a transgression up to the height of present sea-level.Twenty-seven molluscs from Holsteinian deposits were used for ESR dating. The ages show that the Holsteinian may be correlated with stage 7 of the deep sea record V28-238 (Shackleton and Opdyke, 1973).     

Measurements of PM<Subscript>10</Subscript> ions and trace gases with the online system MARGA at the research station Melpitz in Germany – A five-year study

An hourly quantification of inorganic water-soluble PM₁₀ ions and corresponding trace gases was performed using the Monitor for AeRosols and Gases in ambient Air (MARGA) at the TROPOS research site in Melpitz, Germany. The data availability amounts to over 80% for the five-year measurement period from 2010 to 2014. Comparisons were performed for the evaluation of the MARGA, resulting in coefficients of determinations (slopes) of 0.91 (0.90) for the measurements against the SO₂ gas monitor, 0.84 (0.88), 0.79 (1.39), 0.85 (1.20) for the ACSM NO₃ ^?, SO₄ ^2? and NH₄ ⁺ measurements, respectively, and 0.85 (0.65), 0.88 (0.68), 0.91 (0.83), 0.86 (0.82) for the filter measurements of Cl^?, NO₃ ^?, SO₄ ^2? and NH₄ ⁺, respectively. A HONO comparison with a batch denuder shows large scatter (R² = 0.41). The MARGA HNO₃ is underestimated compared to a batch and coated denuder with shorter inlets (slopes of 0.16 and 0.08, respectively). Less NH₃ was observed in coated denuders for high ambient concentrations. Long-time measurements show clear daily and seasonal variabilities. Potential Source Contribution Function (PSCF) analysis indicates the emission area of particulate ions Cl^?, NO₃ ^?, SO₄ ^2?, NH₄ ⁺, K⁺ and gaseous SO₂ to lie in eastern European countries, predominantly in wintertime. Coarse mode sea salt particles are transported from the North Sea to Melpitz. The particles at Melpitz are nearly neutralised with a mean molar ratio of 0.90 for the five-year study. A slight increase of the neutralization ratio over the last three years indicates a stronger decrease of the anthropogenically emitted NO₃ ^? and SO₄ ^2? compared to NH₄ ⁺.     

A New method for identifying possible causal relationships between CO2, total solar irradiance and global temperature change

The study compares two formulas for calculating the daily evapotranspiration ET₀ for a reference crop. The first formula was proposed by Allen et al. (AL), while the second one was proposed by Katerji and Perrier with the addition of the carbon dioxide (CO₂) effect on evapotranspiration (KP). The study analyses the impact of the calculation by the two formulas on the irrigation requirement (IR). Both formulas are based on the Penman-Monteith equation but adopt different approaches for parameterising the canopy resistance r _c . In the AL formula, r _c is assumed constant and not sensitive to climate change, whereas in the KP formula, r _c is first parameterised as a function of climatic variables, then ET₀ is corrected for the air CO₂ concentration. The two formulas were compared in two periods. The first period involves data from two sites in the Mediterranean region within a measured climate change period (1981–2006) when all the input climatic variables were measured. The second period (2070–2100) involves data from a future climate change period at one site when the input climatic variables were forecasted for two future climate scenarios (A2 and B2). The annual cumulated values of ET₀ calculated by the AL formula are systematically lower than those determined by the KP formula. The differences between the ET₀ estimation with the AL and KP formulas have a strong impact on the determination of the IR for the reference crop. In fact, for the two periods, the annual values of IR when ET₀ is calculated by the AL formula are systematically lower than those calculated by the KP formula. For the actual measured climate change period, this reduction varied from 26 to 28 %, while for the future climate change period, it varied based on the scenario from 16 % (A2) to 20 % (B2).     

Al-O--Al paramagnetic defects in kaolinite

Trapped holes located on Al-O-Al bonds in kaolinite were studied by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR) at 9.3 and 35 GHz applied to well-crystallized, X-ray irradiated and oriented samples. The Q-band EPR spectrum is characterized by three clearly separated groups of 11 quasi-equidistant superhyperfine lines centered at g_xx=2.040±0.0005, g_yy=2.020±0.0005 and g_zz=2.002±0.001. In each of these groups, the 11 superhyperfine lines exhibit intensities according to the ratios 12345654321. An angular dependence of the Q-band EPR spectrum with respect to the magnetic field is demonstrated by measurements on oriented films of kaolinite. An appropriate numerical treatment of the EPR spectra is described, which allowed extraction of the SuperHyperfine Structures (SHFS). X-and Q-band spectra have also been simulated. It is concluded from these experiments that only one type of center is present. This center, labelled the B-center in the literature, is very probably a hole trapped on oxygen (O^- center) atoms coupled to two octahedral aluminium.     

COMMENTS ON THE PAPER: RECALCULATION OF H-Lα SKY SURVEYS: NO NEED FOR ANISOTROPIC SOLAR WIND MASS OUTFLOWS?

In a recently published paper, Scherer and Fahr (1995) claimed that the departures of sky L emission measured by Prognoz 5 and 6 from an optically thin model can be attributed entirely to deficiencies of the optically thin approximation, and are not due to variations of solar wind ionization rate with latitude, as advocated since many years by our research group. They base their claim on the result of their new sophisticated model of L radiation transport.It is shown here that their new model, in the simple case of isotropic solar wind, predicts a distribution of intensity in a simple geometry which is completely contradicted by the observations: they find a minimum of intensity near the upwind direction, where a maximum has been observed consistently by all L instruments. Therefore, their conclusion based on an erroneous model must be rejected.     

Transformation of Irradiance Measurements into Spectral Actinic Flux for Photolysis Rates Determination

The actinic flux is the only radiometric quantity suitable for photolysisfrequency determination. It is derived from solar spectral irradiancemeasurements performed by a portable spectroradiometer in the 300–850nm wavelength range. The spectral irradiance is first divided into a directpart and a diffuse part, according to the atmospheric conditions, and thenconverted into the corresponding actinic flux quantity. As an intermediary,the ratio of diffuse actinic flux to diffuseirradiance is calculated by the spherical harmonics radiative code withrespect to wavelength, solar zenith angle, surface albedo, and aerosolproperties.The results of extensive sensitivity studies of asa function of the main atmospheric parameters are discussed and lead to theconclusion that aerosol optical depth is the major critical value for aprecise determination. The global algorithm totransform spectral irradiance into actinic flux is finally applied forphotodissociation rate calculations by convolution of the obtained actinicflux spectra with the absorption cross-sections and quantum yields of themolecule studied. Photolysis rates of different atmospheric photooxidants havebeen measured with this spectroradiometric method during the summers of 1993and 1994 in Brittany and in Portugal. The ozone and nitrogen dioxidephotodissociation rates obtained present a good agreement with thej(O₃) and j(NO₂) actinometerresults, for the same experimental conditions in Brittany.