A constraint to the Wisconsinan glacial history,Canadian Arctic Archipelago

Thick ice-bearing permafrost is not observed today beneath the deeper channels of the central Queen Elizabeth Islands, Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Analysis of a precision temperature log recently obtained at an offshore well near Ellef Ringnes Island indicates that the thermal regime beneath the seabed is in equilibrium with today's marine environment. If thick permafrost similar to that observed on land today had existed in the Pleistocene in areas that are presently offshore, then such permafrost must have started melting no later than 25000 years ago in order to allow the present thermal regime to evolve. This suggests that the inter-island channels must have been water-filled at least by that date.     

Long-term evolution of a high-latitude active region

We describe the decay phase of one of the largest active regions of solar cycle 22 that developed by the end of June 1987. The center of both polarities of the magnetic fields of the region systematically shifted north and poleward throughout the decay phase. In addition, a substantial fraction of the trailing magnetic fields migrated equatorward and south of the leading, negative fields. The result of this migration was the apparent rotation of the magnetic axis of the region such that a majority of the leading polarity advanced poleward at a faster rate than the trailing polarity. As a consequence, this region could not contribute to the anticipated reversal of the polar field.The relative motions of the sunspots in this active region were also noteworthy. The largest, leading, negative polarity sunspot at N24 exhibited a slightly slower-than-average solar rotation rate equivalent to the mean differential rotation rate at N25. In contrast, the westernmost, leading, negative polarity sunspot at N21 consistently advanced further westward at a mean rate of 0.13 km s^–1 with respect to the mean differential rotation rate at its latitude. These sunspot motions and the pattern of evolution of the magnetic fields of the whole region constitute evidence of the existence of a large-scale velocity field within the active region.Solar Cycle Workshop Paper.     

Rr CrB and Algol – The First and Last Star in Zdeněk Kopal’s Life with Binaries

Several important turning points appeared in the personal life and scientific career of Zdeněk Kopal, every time, when he entered a new field of research. Four particular periods of his life will be commented in the present paper: the studies in Prague and early observations in the variable star programme of the Czech Astronomical Society; the first lectures on close binaries at Harvard; the intermezzo of lunar research; and the last period after 1989, when Zdeněk Kopal returned several times to Prague University.     

Timing and mechanisms of Central Himalayan exhumation: discriminating between tectonic and erosion processes

The ability to deduce exhumation mechanisms from thermochronological data is hampered by the fact that assumptions on the thermal state of the lithosphere have to be made. Additional argumentation is generally required to discriminate between erosion-controlled and tectonically induced exhumation. This problem can be overcome by studying the spatial distribution of zircon and apatite (U-Th)/He and fission track data. In this work the variation of four different low temperature isotopic systems generating age trends along a sampling line is used to infer mechanisms of Quaternary exhumation in the Central High Himalayan Metamorphic Belt. Observed zircon age trends with southwards increasing cooling ages (from 0.5 to 1.7 Ma) are attributed to tectonically induced exhumation. The uniform apatite cooling ages clustered c. 0.5 Ma are attributed to erosion.