Evolution of Bishop Tuff Rhyolitic Magma Based on Melt and Magnetite Inclusions and Zoned Phenocrysts

The evolution of large bodies of silicic magma is an importantaspect of planetary differentiation. Melt and mineral inclusionsin phenocrysts and zoned phenocrysts can help reveal the processesof differentiation such as magma mixing and crystal settling,because they record a history of changing environmental conditions.Similar major element compositions and unusually low concentrationsof compatible elements (e.g. 0·45–4·6 ppmBa) in early-erupted melt inclusions, matrix glasses and bulkpumice from the Bishop Tuff, California, USA, suggest eutectoidfractional crystallization. On the other hand, late-eruptedsanidine phenocrysts have rims rich in Ba, and late-eruptedquartz phenocrysts have CO₂-rich melt inclusions closest tocrystal rims. Both features are the reverse of in situ crystallizationdifferentiation, and they might be explained by magma mixingor crystal sinking. Log(Ba/Rb) correlates linearly with log(Sr/Rb)in melt inclusions, and this is inconsistent with magma mixing.Melt inclusion gas-saturation pressure increases with CO₂ fromphenocryst core to rim and suggests crystal sinking. Some inclusionsof magnetite in late-erupted quartz are similar to early-eruptedmagnetite phenocrysts, and this too is consistent with crystalsinking. We argue that some large phenocrysts of late-eruptedquartz and sanidine continued to crystallize as they sank severalkilometers through progressively less differentiated melts.Probable diffusive modification of Sr in sanidine phenocrystsand the duration of crystal sinking are consistent with an evolutionaryinterval of some 100 ky or more. Crystal sinking enhanced thedegree of differentiation of the early-erupted magma and pointsto the importance of H₂O (to diminish viscosity and enhancethe rate of crystal sinking) in the evolution of silicic magmas. KEY WORDS: crystal settling; differentiation; melt inclusions; rhyolite; trace elements     

CONVERSION POINTS AND TRAVELTIMES OF CONVERTED WAVES IN PARALLEL DIPPING LAYERS1

For converted waves, stacking as well as AVO analysis requires a true common reflection point gather which, in this case, is also a common conversion point (CCP) gather. The coordinates of the conversion points for PS or SP waves, in a single homogeneous layer can be calculated exactly as a function of the offset, the reflector depth and the ratio v_p/v_s. An approximation of the conversion point on a dipping interface as well as for a stack of parallel dipping layers is given. Numerical tests show that the approximation can be used for offsets smaller than the depth of the reflector under consideration. The traveltime of converted waves in horizontal layers can be expanded into a power series. For small offsets a two-term truncation of the series yields a good approximation. This approximation can also be used in the case of dipping reflectors if a correction is applied to the traveltimes. This correction can be calculated from the approximated conversion point coordinates.     

Late Pleistocene–early Holocene polychaete borings in NE Spitsbergen and their palaeoecological and climatic implications: an example from the Basissletta area

Hanken, N.‐M., Uchman, A. & Jakobsen, S. L. 2012 (January): Late Pleistocene–early Holocene polychaete borings in NE Spitsbergen and their palaeoecological and climatic implications: an example from the Basissletta area. Boreas, Vol. 41, pp. 42–55. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2011.00223.x. ISSN 0300‐9483 Limestone and dolomite bedrock surfaces, together with blocks derived from these underlying bedrocks, at Basissletta, NE Spitsbergen, contain Late Pleistocene–early Holocene, shallow‐marine, spionid polychaete borings Caulostrepsis taeniola Clarke, Caulostrepsis contorta Bromley & D'Alessandro, and Maeandropolydora isp. The borings occur about 9–78 m above present sea level, and this is the northernmost known occurrence of these trace fossils. ¹⁴C dating of wood, whalebone and bivalves in the vicinity and in neighbouring areas indicates that the borings have a radiocarbon age spanning from about 7 to 11 ka. Recent borings of these ichnotaxa have not been found in the sea around Spitsbergen. The presence of the fossil borings indicates that invasion of boring polychaetes to the northern part of the Barents Sea region was limited to a Late Pleistocene–early Holocene temperature optimum. The presence of Caulostrepsis and Maeandropolydora on subaerially exposed shallow‐water Pleistocene–Holocene bedrock surfaces in arctic areas can be a valuable tool with which to evaluate both postglacial emergence and climatic oscillations because they indicate a summer surface water temperature of at least 8 °C.     

Regional Saharan dust modelling during the SAMUM 2006 campaign

The regional dust model system LM-MUSCAT-DES was developed in the framework of the SAMUM project. Using the unique comprehensive data set of near-source dust properties during the 2006 SAMUM field campaign, the performance of the model system is evaluated for two time periods in May and June 2006. Dust optical thicknesses, number size distributions and the position of the maximum dust extinction in the vertical profiles agree well with the observations. However, the spatio-temporal evolution of the dust plumes is not always reproduced due to inaccuracies in the dust source placement by the model. While simulated winds and dust distributions are well matched for dust events caused by dry synoptic-scale dynamics, they are often misrepresented when dust emissions are caused by moist convection or influenced by small-scale topography that is not resolved by the model. In contrast to long-range dust transport, in the vicinity of source regions the model performance strongly depends on the correct prediction of the exact location of sources. Insufficiently resolved vertical grid spacing causes the absence of inversions in the model vertical profiles and likely explains the absence of the observed sharply defined dust layers.     

ON THE STRUCTURE OF COAXIAL GRAPHICAL RAINFALL-RUNOFF RELATIONS

ABSTRACT

From an analysis of extreme conditions and events-moisture-oversaturated river basin, threshold concept, instantaneous rainfall and storm rainfall of extreme amount—the author succeeds in supplying valuable knowledge on the structure of coaxial graphical rainfall-runoff relations and obtains information on the physical laws primarily controlling the shape of curves in the individual quadrants of coaxial relations. Apart from establishing a number of rules to assist the development of coaxial relations, the chief result of this study is that the gap between theory and the hitherto empirical character of the coaxial relations-which was due to the conventional construction principles-has been bridged to a certain extent.     

Cloud condensation nuclei spectra derived from size distributions and hygroscopic properties of the aerosol in coastal south-west Portugal during ACE-2

In this work we propose and test a method to calculate cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) spectra based on aerosol number size distributions and hygroscopic growth factors. Sensitivity studies show that this method can be used in a wide variety of conditions except when the aerosol consist mainly of organic compounds. One crucial step in the calculations, estimating soluble ions in an aerosol particle based on hygroscopic growth factors, is tested in an internal hygroscopic consistency study. The results show that during the second Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-2) the number concentration of inorganic ions analyzed in impactor samples could be reproduced from measured growth factors within the measurement uncertainties at the measurement site in Sagres, Portugal.
CCN spectra were calculated based on data from the ACE-2 field experiment at the Sagres site. The calculations overestimate measured CCN spectra on average by approximately 30%, which is comparable to the uncertainties in measurements and calculations at supersaturations below 0.5%. The calculated CCN spectra were averaged over time periods when Sagres received clean air masses and air masses influenced by aged and recent pollution. Pollution outbreaks enhance the CCN concentrations at supersaturations near 0.2% by a factor of 3 (aged pollution) to 5 (recent pollution) compared to the clean marine background concentrations. In polluted air masses, the shape of the CCN spectra changes. The clean spectra can be approximated by a power function, whereas the polluted spectra are better approximated by an error function.     

NUMERICAL SOLUTION OF THE ACOUSTIC AND ELASTIC WAVE EQUATIONS BY A NEW RAPID EXPANSION METHOD1

We present a new rapid expansion method (REM) for the time integration of the acoustic wave equation and the equations of dynamic elasticity in two spatial dimensions. The method is applicable to spatial grid methods such as finite differences, finite elements or the Fourier method. It is based on a Chebyshev expansion of the formal solution to the appropriate wave equation written in operator form. The method yields machine accuracy yet it is faster than methods based on temporal differencing. Its disadvantages are that it does not apply to all types of material rheology, and it can also require much storage when many snapshots and time sections are desired. Comparisons between numerical and analytical solutions for simple acoustic and elastic problems demonstrate the high accuracy of the REM.     

Late Weichselian and Holocene shoreline displacement in the Trondheimsfjord area, central Norway

Shoreline displacement data from the Trondheimsfjord area have been collected and a synthesis of the Late Weichselian and Holocene relative uplift is presented. The isobase direction is N 30–35°E during the whole period. The gradients of the shorelines are 1.7? m/km at 11,800 years B.P., 1.3 m/km at 10,000 years B.P., gradually decreasing towards the present with a value of 0.2 m/km at 5,000 years B.P. Some irregularities in the shoreline gradient curve in the Late Weichselian and Preboreal chronozones may be ascribed to crustal readjustments by faults. An interpolation of the 9,500 years B.P. shoreline to the Ångermanland and Baltic area shows a relative uplift at 11,800 years B.P. of 400–450 m in the central area of glaciation. The island of Hitra was probably deglaciated at about 12,000 years B.P. and Ørlandet/Bjugn somewhat later. The Younger Dryas ice marginal deposits at Tautra have been deposited early in this chronozone, and deposits proximal to this at Hoklingen and Levanger were probably deposited in the late part of the same chronozone.