What motivates single women to migrate from northern Ghana to Accra?

In recent decades there has been a large migration stream of single women from the north to Accra in Ghana. Existing studies have focused on young migrant women’s livelihood strategies in their place of destination. However, once-married women – divorced and widowed women and neglected wives – also migrate, and their motivations for migration are less known. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative methods, the authors investigate the effects of gender norms, age, marital status, socio-economic status, and position in households on women’s decisions to migrate. The results revealed that migrant women from resource-poor households, regardless of age, marital status and position in households, commonly cited a gain in autonomy as an important motivation for their migration. From a differentiated perspective, young unmarried women aspired to prepare themselves for often expensive religious marriage ceremonies, whereas once-married women invest in their children’s education and build their own housing. By paying attention to the effects of gender norms, age, marital status, socio-economic status, and position in households on women’s decisions to migrate, the study illuminates the contradictory ways in which their migration practices are both shaped by and shape gender ideologies in parts of contemporary northern Ghana.     

Mixed layer depth climatology of the North Pacific based on Argo observations

A monthly mean climatology of the mixed layer depth (MLD) in the North Pacific has been produced by using Argo observations. The optimum method and parameter for evaluating the MLD from the Argo data are statistically determined. The MLD and its properties from each density profile were calculated with the method and parameter. The monthly mean climatology of the MLD is computed on a 2° × 2° grid with more than 30 profiles for each grid. Two bands of deep mixed layer with more than 200 m depth are found to the north and south of the Kuroshio Extension in the winter climatology, which cannot be reproduced in some previous climatologies. Early shoaling of the winter mixed layer between 20–30°N, which has been pointed out by previous studies, is also well recognized. A notable feature suggested by our climatology is that the deepest mixed layer tends to occur about one month before the mixed layer density peaks in the middle latitudes, especially in the western region, while they tend to coincide with each other in higher latitudes.     

Compositional relations of coexisting orthopyroxene,pigeonite and augite in a tholeiitic andesite from Hakone Volcano

The compositions of five different coexisting pyroxenes hypersthene, pigeonite and augite in groundmass and bronzite and augite of phenocryst in a tholeiitic andesite from Hakone Volcano, Japan have been determined by the electron probe microanalyser. It is shown that there is a compositional gap of about 25 mole per cent CaSiO₃ between groundmass pigeonite and augite, compared with 35 per cent CaSiO₃ between phenocrystic augite and bronzite. Subcalcic augite or pigeonitic augite was not found. The groundmass augite, which occurs only as thin rims of pigeonite and hypersthene, is less calcic and more iron-rich than the phenocryst augite. It is also shown that the groundmass pigeonite is 3–4 mole per cent more CaSiO₃-rich than the coexisting groundmass hypersthene. The Fe/(Mg + Fe) ratios of these coexisting hypersthene and pigeonite are about 0.31 and 0.33, respectively. It is suggested from these results that a continuous solid solution does not exist between augite and pigeonite of the Fe/(Mg + Fe) ratio at least near 0.3 under the conditions of crystallization of groundmass of the tholeiitic andesite. It is suggested from the Mg-Fe partition and the textural relation that the groundmass augite crystallized from a liquid more iron-rich than that from which groundmass hypersthene and pigeonite crystallized.     

GPS-measured land subsidence in Ojiya City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan

Land subsidence caused by compression of clay layers in Ojiya City, Japan was measured by global positioning system (GPS) between 1 April 1996 and 31 December 1998.

Three baselines were selected in and around the city, and height difference on a WGS-84 ellipsoid was measured by GPS on each baseline. The ground at the GPS station in the city subsides and rebounds 7 cm every winter and spring, respectively. Measurement accuracy was 9.5 mm standard deviation. Ground water level was observed at a well near the GPS station. Regression analysis between total strain, calculated as ratio of the height difference displacement to the total thickness of the clay layers, and the layers' effective stress change with ground water level change gave good correlation. The slope of regression line 7.0×10⁻¹¹ m²/N was obtained as an average apparent coefficient of volume compressibility of the layers.     

ASCA observations of the Galactic superluminal sources GRO J1655–40 and GRS 1915+105

We summarize the ASCA observations of the two Galactic superluminal sources GRO J1655–40 and GRS 1915+105, focusing on theabsorption line features.The high spectroscopic capability of ASCA enabled us to detectiron-K absorption line features from both objects. This is direct evidence for the presence of highly ionized plasma in a non-spherical configuration around a black hole, and is considered to be a unique signature of superluminal jet systems. The candidate of the line-absorber would be a part of an accretion disk at a distance of 10^9-11 cm from the central X-ray source.     

Geology and geochronology of the Betara region in south-southeastern Brazil: Evidence for possible Statherian (1.80–1.75 Ga) and Calymmian (1.50–1.45 Ga) extension events

The results of geological mapping, chemical analysis and radiometric dating of metabasic rocks of Betara Formation, and mapping and dating of those present in the Betara basement nucleus together with mylonitic granodiorite and syenogranite are reported here. U–Pb analysis of bulk zircon fractions from the metabasic rocks of the basement nucleus yielded a Statherian age of 1790 ± 22 Ma, while the metabasic rocks from the upper part of the Betara Formation yielded a Calymmian age between 1500 and 1450 Ma. This age is a minimum for the deposition of the Betara Formation. The older metabasic rocks are associated with post-tectonic, possibly anorogenic syenogranite, while the younger ones are gabbro or very porphyritic ankaramite whose REE patterns are consistent with crystallization from an N-MORB parent magma. The observations and data point to the probable events associated with extensional processes of the end of Paleoproterozoic and early Mesoproterozoic. Similar registers of Statherian (1.80–1.75 Ga) and Calymmian (1.50–1.45 Ga) extensional events are recorded in other parts of the South American and African continents. The Neoproterozoic witnessed the formation and junction of the tectonic slices which formed the Apiaí domain during the assemblage of western Gondwana.     

新疆阿尔泰山南部富蕴右旋走滑断裂带晚第四纪错断水系的遥感分析研究

富蕴断裂带位于阿尔泰山南侧,横切阿尔泰山褶皱带南缘及额尔齐斯深断裂,是一条呈北北西向展布的右旋走滑断裂带。沿断裂带发育一系列错断水系、错断冲积扇、挤压脊、走滑拉分盆地等反映右旋走滑活动的典型构造地貌标志。本研究在高分辨率遥感图像和数字高程模型分析的基础上,结合野外实地构造地貌测量,对沿富蕴断裂带发育的系统错断水系特征进行了详细分析研究。研究结果表明,沿富蕴断裂带发育不同级别的错断水系,大致可划分为6级:1931年地震形成的冲沟;90m左右断距的错断水系;150m左右断距的错断水系;500m左右断距的错断水系;1500m左右断距的错断水系;2000m以上断距的错断水系。同时,结合研究区及邻区的第四纪冰川资料讨论了不同级别水系可能形成时间:恰尔沟三级支流可能形成时间为末次冰期Ⅲ阶段末期,约20ka;恰尔沟二级支流可能形成时间为末次冰期Ⅰ阶段末期,约120ka;恰尔沟一级支流可能形成于该地区冰川广泛消融的倒数第2次冰期的Ⅱ阶段末期,约为250ka;恰尔沟、水磨沟、白杨沟、乌铁布拉克河、卡布尔特河等可能形成于倒数第3次冰期Ⅱ阶段末期,约为360ka。最后,我们估算出富蕴断裂带晚第四纪以来的平均右旋走滑速率为1.46～4.99mm/a。     

Fast Oxidation Reaction of Nitrite by Dissolved Oxygen in the Freezing Process in the Tropospheric Aqueous Phase

Nitrite oxidation in the tropospheric aqueous phase by freezing was evaluated by freezing a field sample. Nitrite oxidation by dissolved oxygen in the freezing process is much faster than by other oxidation processes, such as reactions with ozone, hydrogen peroxide or dissolved oxygen in an aqueous solution at pHs 3 to –6. At pH 4.5 and 25°C, the lifetime of nitrite in the aqueous phase is ca. 1 hr in oxidation by ozone (6×10^-10 mol dm^-3), ca. 10 hr in oxidation by H₂O₂ (2×10^-4 mol dm^-3), and 7.5 hr (Fischer and Warneck, 1996) in photodissociation at midday in summer. Under the same conditions at a temperature below 0°C, the lifetime of nitrite in the freezing process is estimated as ca. 2 sec when the droplets are frozen within a second. The reaction by freezing is affected by the presence of salts, such as NaCl or KCl, or orgnaic compounds, such as methanol or acetone. The results of freezing a field rain or fog sample showed that nitrite oxidation proceeds below pH 6, and the conversion ratio of nitrate from nitrite increases with decreasing pH. The oxidation of nitrite by freezing was also observed in freezing fog particles generated by an ultrasonic humidifier. The ratios of the concentrations of ions in the winter sample to those in the summer sample (or those in the fog sample) were almost the same values. However, the concentration of nitrite in the winter sample was lower than that estimated by the ratios of other ions. From the present study, it seems that the freezing process plays an important role in the nitrite sink process in the tropospheric aqueous phase.     

Rockfall hazard in the Daisekkei Valley, the northern Japanese Alps, on 11 August 2005

This paper describes a rockfall event in the Daisekkei Valley of Mount Shirouma-dake (2,932 m), the northern Japanese Alps. The rockfall occurred on a steep cliff comprising well-jointed felsites and produced debris of ≥8,000 m³. Most debris was deposited on an elongated snowpatch located immediately beneath the cliff, and it caused casualties among people who were trekking along a trail on the snowpatch. Additionally, a large rock block slipped 1 km on the snowpatch. The rockfall could have been due to the differential retreat of the rockwall, which contains areas of high- and low-density joints. Seasonal and diurnal freeze–thaw activities and snow avalanches and wash appear to be important factors responsible for the retreat. Although some rock blocks that can collapse further remain on the rockwall, the position of the mountain trail in the Daisekkei Valley is fixed. Fundamental reform of tourism systems for climbers, including education on natural hazards, is required.     

Anomalous hydrogen emissions from the San Andreas fault observed at the Cienega Winery,central California

We began continuous monitoring of H₂ concentration in soil along the San Andreas and Calaveras faults in central California in December 1980, using small H₂/O₂ fuel-cell sensors. Ten monitoring stations deployed to date have shown that anomalous H₂ emissions take place occasionally in addition to diurnal changes. Among the ten sites, the Cienega Winery site has produced data that are characterized by very small diurnal changes, a stable baseline, and remarkably distinct spike-like H₂ anomalies since its installation in July 1982. A major peak appeared on 1–10 November 1982, and another on 3 April 1983, and a medium peak on 1 November 1983. The occurrences of these peaks coincided with periods of very low seismicity within a radius of 50 km from the site. In order to methodically assess how these peaks are related to earthquakes, three H₂ degassing models were examined. A plausible correlational pattern was obtained by using a model that (1) adopts a hemicircular spreading pattern of H₂ along an incipient fracture plane from the hypocenter of an earthquake, (2) relies on the FeO–H₂O reaction for H₂ generation, and (3) relates the accumulated amount of H₂ to the mass of serpentinization of underlying ophiolitic rocks; the mass was tentatively assumed to be proportional to the seismic energy of the earthquake.