Coronal-Temperature-Diagnostic Capability of?the?Hinode/X-Ray Telescope Based on Self-Consistent Calibration

The X-Ray Telescope (XRT) onboard the Hinode satellite is an X-ray imager that observes the solar corona with unprecedentedly high angular resolution (consistent with its 1?? pixel size). XRT has nine X-ray analysis filters with different temperature responses. One of the most significant scientific features of this telescope is its capability of diagnosing coronal temperatures from less than 1 MK to more than 10 MK, which has never been accomplished before. To make full use of this capability, accurate calibration of the coronal temperature response of XRT is indispensable and is presented in this article. The effect of on-orbit contamination is also taken into account in the calibration. On the basis of our calibration results, we review the coronal-temperature-diagnostic capability of XRT.     

Metamorphic and cooling history of the Shimanto accretionary complex,Kyushu, Southwest Japan: Implications for the timing of out‐of‐sequence thrusting

Illite crystallinity, K–Ar dating of illite, and fission‐track dating of zircon are analyzed in the hanging wall (Sampodake unit) and footwall (Mikado unit) of a seismogenic out‐of‐sequence thrust (Nobeoka thrust) within the Shimanto accretionary complex of central Kyushu, southwest Japan. The obtained metamorphic temperatures, and timing of metamorphism and cooling, reveal the tectono‐metamorphic evolution of the complex, and related development of the Nobeoka thrust. Illite crystallinity data indicate that the Late Cretaceous Sampodake unit was metamorphosed at temperatures of around 300 to 310°C, while the Middle Eocene Mikado unit was metamorphosed at 260 to 300°C. Illite K–Ar ages and zircon fission‐track ages constrain the timing of metamorphism of the Sampodake unit to the early Middle Eocene (46 to 50 Ma, mean = 48 Ma). Metamorphism of the Mikado unit occurred no earlier than 40 Ma, which is the youngest depositional age of the unit. The Nobeoka thrust is inferred to have been active during about 40 to 48 Ma, as the Sampodake unit started its post metamorphic cooling after 48 Ma and was thrust over the Mikado unit at about 40 Ma along the Nobeoka thrust. These results indicate that the Nobeoka thrust was active for more than 10 million years.     

Landfill development in the urban fringe of Metro Manila

In low-lying areas of urban and suburban regions in Asia, the use of landfill has allowed urban land use to encroach onto watery landforms, such as back marshes, which were formerly used as rice fields. To improve understanding of the associations between land-use patterns and landfill development, we carried out a case study in the urban fringe of Metro Manila in the Philippines. We examined landfill volume derived from land-use change using GIS, and field surveyed qualitative aspects of the landfill used. We calculated the rate of application of landfill in low-lying housing development areas to be 5.0 × 10³ m³ km^?2 year^?1, most of which consisted of offsite disposal of construction waste or crushed rock produced by urban development and renewal on the adjoining uplands. The flow of fill material from offsite sources to onsite landfill development areas was on the basis of individual agreements between suppliers and developers.     

Trends in the seasonal length and opening dates of a winter road in the western James Bay region,Ontario, Canada

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - In northern Canada, winter roads are essential for communities. The duration of the winter road season depends on particular meteorological conditions. In this...     

Climate change at the monsoon/Westerly boundary in Northern Mexico

Northern Mexico lies close to the present day boundary between mid-latitude (Westerly) and tropical (monsoonal) sources of moisture. Studies from the adjacent southwest USA have shown major changes in lake levels and vegetation distributions over the late Quaternary which have been interpreted in terms of significant variations in the relative strengths and positions of these climate systems. Palaeoclimatic data from this area have, however, left a number of unresolved questions which can only be answered by extending work into northern Mexico, closer to the major source of summer (monsoonal) rain, the Gulf of Mexico. Studies of palaeolake sediments from a series of hydrologically closed lake basins across a range of altitudes (1280 to 2200 m a.s.l.) in northern Chihuahua are in progress using geochemical, mineral magnetic, diatom and plant microfossil analyses. Preliminary results are presented from the Alta Babícora and Encinillas basins. The sites provide records of lacustrine deposition between >11000 and about 2500 yr BP. The diatom record from Babíora provides clear evidence for a deep water lake in this basin in the late glacial which persisted into the early Holocene. A dry episode coinciding with the timing of the Younger Dryas is recorded in Alta Babícora. Conditions wetter than present are indicated up to at least 7000 yr BP.     

Testing of a towed CTD

The results of laboratory and field experiments on a CTD measuring unit attached to a controllable towed body is described. It was verified that the three-dimensional distribution of salinity and temperature could be observed with sufficient accuracy (to 0.03 in salinity and to 0.01°C in temperature if proper correction is adopted) while cruising at up to 4 knots. A double integrated A/D converter is used to compensate for effects of extraneous environmental changes.     

Response of the Solar Atmosphere to the Emergence of ‘Serpentine’ Magnetic Field

Active region magnetic flux that emerges to the photosphere from below will show complexity in the structure, with many small-scale fragmented features appearing in between the main bipole and then disappearing. Some fragments seen will be absorbed into the main polarities and others seem to cancel with opposite magnetic field. In this paper we investigate the response of the corona to the behaviour of these small fragments and whether energy through reconnection will be transported into the corona. In order to investigate this we analyse data from the Hinode space mission during flux emergence on 1?–?2 December 2006. At the initial stages of flux emergence several small-scale enhancements (of only a few pixels size) are seen in the coronal line widths and diffuse coronal emission exists. The magnetic flux emerges as a fragmented structure, and coronal loops appear above these structures or close to them. These loops are large-scale structures – most small-scale features predominantly stay within the chromosphere or at the edges of the flux emergence. The most distinctive feature in the Doppler velocity is a strong ring of coronal outflows around the edge of the emerging flux region on the eastern side which is either due to reconnection or compression of the structure. This feature lasts for many hours and is seen in many wavelengths. We discuss the implications of this feature in terms of the onset of persistent outflows from an active region that could contribute to the slow solar wind.