XMM-Newton observations of the isolated neutron star 1RXS J214303.7+065419/RBS1774

We report XMM-Newton observations of the isolated neutron star RBS1774 and confirm its membership as an XDINS. The X-ray spectrum is best fit with an absorbed blackbody with temperature kT=101 eV and absorption edge at 0.7 keV. No power law component is required. An absorption feature in the RGS data at 0.4 keV is not evident in the EPIC data, but it is not possible to resolve this inconsistency. The star is not seen in the UV OM data to m _AB ∼21. There is a sinusoidal variation in the X-ray flux at a period of 9.437 s with an amplitude of 4%. The age as determined from cooling and magnetic field decay arguments is 10⁵–10⁶ yr for a neutron star mass of 1.35–1.5 M_⊙.      

Climate change and agriculture in computable general equilibrium models: alternative modeling strategies and data needs

Agricultural sectors play a key role in the economics of climate change. Land as an input to agricultural production is one of the most important links between economy and the biosphere, representing a direct projection of human action on the natural environment. Agricultural management practices and cropping patterns exert an enormous effect on biogeochemical cycles, freshwater availability and soil quality. Agriculture also plays an important role in emitting and storing greenhouse gases. To consistently investigate climate policy and future pathways for the economic and natural environment, a realistic representation of agricultural land use is essential. Top—down Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models have increasingly been used for this purpose. CGE models simulate the simultaneous equilibrium in a set of interdependent markets, and are especially suited to analyze agricultural markets from a global perspective. However, modeling agricultural sectors in CGE models is not a trivial task, mainly because of differences in temporal and geographic aggregation scales. This study surveys some proposed modeling strategies and highlights different tradeoffs involved in the various approaches. Coupling of top-down and bottom-up models is found to be the most applicable for comprehensive analysis of agriculture in prism of climate change. However, linking interdisciplinary data, methods and outputs is still the major obstacle to be solved for wide-scale implementation.     

Microbial signatures in sabkha evaporite deposits of Chott el Gharsa (Tunisia) and their astrobiological implications

This study investigates the geomicrobiological potential of Upper Pleistocene evaporite deposits of the Chott el Gharsa, a wide continental sabkha in southern Tunisia. Organic and inorganic-derived biosignatures are mostly contained in microcrystalline, laminated gypsum lithofacies consisting of light/dark alternations of concordant laminae, which have precipitated from high salt concentrated waters. These biosignatures include mineralized microbial-interpreted morphologies, such as mucilage, rods, and microfibers, and dumbbell morphologies in the hollow cores of dolomite crystals that are associated with sulfates. Mineral products that are induced by microbial activity and their organic compounds lead to the formation of lenticular-shaped gypsum crystals, with a high length/width ratio, dolomite precipitation and formation of pyrite framboids. Morphological and structural aspects of these biosignatures, and their composition, in laminated, dolomite-rich sulfate deposits could be detected through microscopic investigations and micro-analyses performed by the instrumentation that is planned for ongoing Mars sample return missions.     

Seismically induced landslide displacements: a predictive model

Newmark's model for predicting earthquake-induced landslide displacements provides a simple way to predict the coseismic displacements affecting a sliding mass subject to earthquake loading. In this model, seismic slope stability is measured in terms of critical acceleration, which depends on the mechanical soil properties, pore-pressure distribution, and slope geometry. The triggering seismic forces are investigated in terms of energy radiation from the source, propagation, and site effects, based on 190 accelerometric recordings from 17 Italian earthquakes with magnitudes between 4.5 and 6.8. The method is based on the calibration of relations having the general form of an attenuation law that relates the energy of the seismic forces to the dynamic shear resistances of the sliding mass to propagate the expected landslide displacements as an inverse function of the distance from the fault rupture; the amount of displacement computed through these relations provides a criterion to predict the occurrence of slope failures. Finally, maps showing, in a deterministic and a probabilistic way, the potential of seismically induced landslide displacements are displayed as a tool to provide seismic landslide scenarios and earthquake-induced landslide hazard maps, respectively.     

Alpine tectonics in the Calabrian–Peloritan belt (southern Italy): New 40Ar/39Ar data in the Aspromonte Massif area

This study provides new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronological constraints on the age of the Alpine tectonics in the Aspromonte Massif (southern part of the Calabrian–Peloritan belt). This massif exposes the upper units of the Calabride Complex which originated from the European continental margin. The Calabride Complex was incorporated in the Alpine orogenic wedge and then integrated into the Apennines and Maghrebides fold-and-thrust belts. Throughout the Calabride Complex there is evidence for a two stage tectonic history, which remains however rather poorly dated: Alpine nappe stacking is followed by extensional reworking along the former thrust contacts or along new detachment surfaces. Our new ages suggest that exhumation of the uppermost units, which accompanied nappe stacking, probably started at 45 Ma and that the deepest units were almost completely exhumed at 33 Ma. This kinematics probably corresponds to syn-orogenic extension while the end of exhumation is clearly related to the extensional tectonics dated at 28.6 Ma along detachment structures.Our geochronological data reveal a very short lag time between accretional and extensional processes in this part of the Mediterranean Alpine orogenic belt. The direction of extension, when the units are restored to their initial position (i.e. before the opening of the Western Mediterranean basins and the bending of the arc) is NNE–SSW. Such a direction does not fit with the eastward slab-retreat model generally put forward to explain extension in the Western Mediterranean. In contrast, we provide evidence for roughly N–S middle Oligocene extension in the accretionary prism, not previously described in this part of the Mediterranean domain.     

Association of phosphate with rhyolite glass in marine Neogene tuffs from Patagonia,Argentina

The precipitation/replacement of Ca‐phosphate is a complex process that commonly takes place during the early diagenesis in marine sediments. The unusual occurrence of shallow marine, early diagenetic phosphatic deposits associated with glassy tuffs in the Neogene Gaiman Formation, in the Chubut Province, Patagonia, Argentina, constitutes a good case example for the study of replacement and precipitation of Ca‐phosphate on an unstable substrate. Isocon diagrams illustrate that chemical changes during glass diagenesis include gains in loss on ignition and Ca, and losses of K. These changes are the result of glass hydration during sea water–glass interaction, together with adsorption and diffusion of ions into the bulk shard; combined, these represent an incipient process of volcanic glass replacement by Ca‐phosphate. Subsequent early diagenetic P enrichment in the pore solutions led to phosphate precipitation, associated with pitting on the glass shards and pumice. The associated development of a reactive surface promoted the incorporation of P and Ca into their margins. Lastly, precipitation of calcium phosphate filled the vesicles and other open cavities, inhibiting further glass dissolution. The high porosity and reactivity of the volcanic glass provided an appropriate substrate for phosphate precipitation, leading to the development of authigenic apatite concretions in the volcanic‐glass bearing strata of the Gaiman Formation. This research is of significance for those concerned with marine phosphatic deposits and sheds light on the processes of early diagenetic phosphate precipitation by replacement of an atypical, unstable substrate like hydrated volcanic glass.