Temperature independent thermal expansivities of calcium aluminosilicate melts between 1150 and 1973 K in the system anorthite-wollastonite-gehlenite (An-Wo-Geh): A density model

The thermal expansivities of 10 compositions from within the anorthite-wollastonite-gehlenite (An-Wo-Geh) compatibility triangle have been investigated using a combination of calorimetry and dilatometry on the glassy and liquid samples. The volumes at room temperature were derived from densities measured using the Archimedean buoyancy method. For each sample, density was measured at 298 K using glass that had a cooling-heating history of 10-10 K min⁻¹. The thermal expansion coefficient of the glass from 298 K to the glass transition interval was measured by a dilatometer and the heat capacity was measured using a differential scanning calorimeter from 298 to 1135 K. The thermal expansion coefficient and the heat flow were determined at a heating rate of 10 K min⁻¹ on glasses which were previously cooled at 10 K min⁻¹. Supercooled liquid density, molar volume and molar thermal expansivities were indirectly determined by combining differential scanning calorimetric and dilatometric measurements assuming that the kinetics of enthalpy and shear relaxation are equivalent. The data obtained on supercooled liquids were compared to high-temperature predictions from the models of (Lange, R.A., Carmichael, I.S.E., 1987. Densities of Na₂O-K₂O-CaO-MgO-FeO-Fe₂O₃-Al₂O₃-TiO₂-SiO₂ liquids: New measurements and derived partial molar properties. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta51, 2931-2946; Courtial, P., Dingwell, D.B., 1995. Nonlinear composition dependence of molar volume of melts in the CaO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ system. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta59 (18), 3685-3695; Lange, R.A., 1997. A revised model for the density and thermal expansivity of K₂O-Na₂O-CaO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ liquids from 700 to 1900 K: extension to crustal magmatic temperatures. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol.130, 1-11). The best linear fit combines the supercooled liquid data presented in this study and the high temperature data calculated using the Courtial and Dingwell (1995) model. This dilatometric/calorimetric method of determining supercooled liquid molar thermal expansivity greatly increases the temperature range accessible for thermal expansion. It represents a substantial increase in precision and understanding of the thermodynamics of calcium aluminosilicate melts. This enhanced precision demonstrates clearly the temperature independence of the melt expansions in the An-Wo-Geh system. This contrasts strongly with observations for neighboring system such as anorthite-diopside and raises the question of the compositional/structural origins of temperature dependence of thermal expansivity in multicomponent silicate melts.     

A multiphysics and multiscale software environment for modeling astrophysical systems

We present MUSE, a software framework for combining existing computational tools for different astrophysical domains into a single multiphysics, multiscale application. MUSE facilitates the coupling of existing codes written in different languages by providing inter-language tools and by specifying an interface between each module and the framework that represents a balance between generality and computational efficiency. This approach allows scientists to use combinations of codes to solve highly coupled problems without the need to write new codes for other domains or significantly alter their existing codes. MUSE currently incorporates the domains of stellar dynamics, stellar evolution and stellar hydrodynamics for studying generalized stellar systems. We have now reached a “Noah’s Ark” milestone, with (at least) two available numerical solvers for each domain. MUSE can treat multiscale and multiphysics systems in which the time- and size-scales are well separated, like simulating the evolution of planetary systems, small stellar associations, dense stellar clusters, galaxies and galactic nuclei. In this paper we describe three examples calculated using MUSE: the merger of two galaxies, the merger of two evolving stars, and a hybrid N-body simulation. In addition, we demonstrate an implementation of MUSE on a distributed computer which may also include special-purpose hardware, such as GRAPEs or GPUs, to accelerate computations. The current MUSE code base is publicly available as open source at http://muse.li.     

The High-Resolution Solar Reference Spectrum between 250 and 550 nm and its Application to Measurements with the Ozone Monitoring Instrument

We have constructed a new high resolution solar reference spectrum in the spectral range between 250 and 550 nm. The primary use of this spectrum is for the calibration of the Dutch – Finnish Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), but other applications are mentioned. The incentive for deriving a new high resolution solar reference spectrum is that available spectra do not meet our requirements on radiometric accuracy or spectral resolution. In this paper we explain the steps involved in constructing the new spectrum, based on available low and high resolution spectra and discuss the main sources of uncertainty. We compare the result with solar measurements obtained with the OMI as well as with other UV-VIS space-borne spectrometers with a similar spectral resolution. We obtain excellent agreement with the OMI measurements, which indicates that both the newly derived solar reference spectrum and our characterization of the OMI instrument are well understood. We also find good agreement with previously published low resolution spectra. The absolute intensity scale, wavelength calibration and representation of the strength of the Fraunhofer lines have been investigated and optimized to obtain the resulting high resolution solar reference spectrum.     

Responses of marine phytoplankton in iron enrichment experiments in the northern North Sea and northeast Atlantic Ocean

Short-term iron enrichment experiments were carried out with samples collected in areas with different phytoplankton activity in the northern North Sea and northeast Atlantic Ocean in the summer of 1993. The research area was dominated by high numbers of pico-phytoplankton, up to 70,000 ml⁻¹. Maximum chlorophyll a concentrations varied from about 1.0 μg l⁻¹ in a high-reflectance zone (caused by loose coccoliths, remnants from a bloom of Emiliania huxleyi) and about 3.5 μg l⁻¹ in a zone in which the phytoplankton were growing, to about 0.5 μg l⁻¹ in the northeast Atlantic Ocean. From the high-reflectance zone to the northeast Atlantic Ocean, nitrate concentrations increased from 0.5 μM to 6.0 μM. Concentrations of reactive iron in surface water showed an opposite trend and decreased from about 2.6 nM in the high-reflectance zone to <1.0 nM in the northeast Atlantic Ocean. In the research area, no signs of true iron deficiency were found, but iron enrichments in the high-reflectance zone, numerically dominated by Synechococcus sp., resulted in increased nitrate uptake. Ammonium uptake was hardly affected. Strong support for the effect of Fe on cell physiology is given by the increase in the f-ratio. Net growth rates of the phytoplankton (changes in cell numbers over 24 h) were almost unchanged. Phytoplankton collected from the northeast Atlantic Ocean, did not show changes in the nitrogen metabolism upon addition of iron. Net growth rates in these incubations were low or negative, with only slightly higher values with additional iron.     

A first Holocene leaf wax isotope-based paleoclimate record from the semi-humid to semi-arid south-eastern Caucasian lowlands

The Holocene paleoclimate of the Caucasus region is rather complex and not yet well understood: while existing studies are mainly based on pollen records from high-altitude and humid lowland regions, no records are available from the semi-humid to semi-arid south-eastern Caucasian lowlands. Therefore, this study investigated compound-specific δ²H and δ¹³C isotopes of leaf wax biomarkers from Holocene floodplain soils in eastern Georgia. Our results show that the leaf wax δ²H signal from the paleosols mostly reflects changes in the moisture source and its isotopic composition. Depleted δ²H values before ~8 cal ka bp change towards enriched values after ~5 cal ka bp and become again depleted after ~1.6 cal ka bp. This trend could be caused by Holocene changes of the isotopic compositions of the Black and eastern Mediterranean Sea, and/or by varying contribution of both moisture sources linked with the North Atlantic Oscillation. The leaf wax δ¹³C signal from the paleosols directly indicates varying local water availability and drought stress. Depleted δ¹³C values before ~8 and after ~5 cal ka bp indicate wetter local conditions with higher water availability, whereas more enriched values during the middle Holocene (~8 until at least 5 cal ka bp ) indicate drier conditions with increased drought stress.     

Generalized LSG models with spatially varying Coriolis parameter

In this paper, we derive and study approximate balance models for nearly geostrophic shallow water flow where the Coriolis parameter is permitted to vary across the domain as long as it remains nondegenerate. This situation includes, for example, the β-plane approximation to the shallow water equations at mid-latitudes. Our approach is based on changing configuration space coordinates in the underlying variational principle in such a way that consistent asymptotics in the transformed Lagrangian leads to a degenerate Lagrangian structure. In this paper, we restrict our attention to first-order models. We show that the resulting models can be formulated in terms of an advected potential vorticity with a nonlinear vorticity inversion relation. We study the associated solvability conditions and identify a subfamily of models for which these conditions are satisfied without additional restrictions on the data. Finally, we provide the link between our framework and the theory of constrained Hamiltonian systems.