Seismic horizontal pullout capacity of shallow vertical anchors in sand

The concept of the equivalent free surface has been extended to determine the seismic horizontal pullout capacity of shallow vertical strip plate anchors buried in sand. The analysis has been done rigorously by using the method of stress characteristics. The results have been expressed in the form of non-dimensional charts. The pullout resistance has been found to reduce quite extensively with increase in the magnitude of horizontal earthquake acceleration. The results were compared with the previously published data, and it was seen that the computed pullout resistance with the proposed method was found to be lowest. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Isotope provinces, mechanisms of generation and sources of the continental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt: geological and isotopic evidence

The available geological, geochronological and isotopic data on the felsic magmatic and related rocks from South Siberia, Transbaikalia and Mongolia are summarized to improve our understanding of the mechanisms and processes of the Phanerozoic crustal growth in the Central Asian mobile belt (CAMB). The following isotope provinces have been recognised: ‘Precambrian’ (T_DM=3.3–2.9 and 2.5–0.9 Ga) at the microcontinental blocks, ‘Caledonian’ (T_DM=1.1–0.55 Ga), ‘Hercynian’ (T_DM=0.8–0.5 Ma) and ‘Indosinian’ (T_DM=0.3 Ga) that coincide with coeval tectonic zones and formed at 570–475, 420–320 and 310–220 Ma. Continental crust of the microcontinents is underlain by, or intermixed with, ‘juvenile’ crust as evidenced by its isotopic heterogeneity. The continental crust of the Caledonian, Hercynian and Indosinian provinces is isotopically homogeneous and was produced from respective juvenile sources with addition of old crustal material in the island arcs or active continental margin environments. The crustal growth in the CAMB had episodic character and important crust-forming events took place in the Phanerozoic. Formation of the CAMB was connected with break up of the Rodinia supercontinent in consequence of creation of the South-Pacific hot superplume. Intraplate magmatism preceding and accompanying permanently other magmatic activity in the CAMB was caused by influence of the long-term South-Pacific plume or the Asian plume damping since the Devonian.     

Calcium carbonate dissolution in deep sea sediments: reconciling microelectrode, pore water and benthic flux chamber results

We report the benthic fluxes of O₂, titration alkalinity (TA), Ca²⁺, NO₃⁻, PO₄³⁻, and Si(OH)₄ from in situ benthic flux chamber incubations on the Ceara Rise and Cape Verde Plateau and compare them to previously published results. We find within analytical uncertainty that the TA flux is twice the calcium flux, suggesting that dissolution/precipitation of CaCO₃ is the principal mechanism controlling benthic TA and Ca²⁺ fluxes. At sites where the sediments contain significant (>35%) CaCO₃ and the overlying waters are supersaturated with respect to CaCO₃, the ratios of the total dissolution rate to the remineralization rate are significantly less than at all other study sites. We propose that these observations can be explained by precipitation of fresh CaCO₃ at the supersaturated sediment surface followed by redissolution deeper in the sediments because of metabolically-produced CO₂. A numerical simulation is presented to demonstrate the feasibility of this explanation. In addition, surface exchange reactions in high-CaCO₃ sediments coupled with high rates of particle mixing may also impact rates of metabolic dissolution and depress chamber-derived estimates of carbonate alkalinity and calcium benthic fluxes. These results suggest that at supersaturated, high CaCO₃ locations, previous models of sediment diagenesis may have overestimated the impact of metabolic dissolution on the preservation of CaCO₃ deposited on the sea floor.     

Improved spatial resolution for U-series dating of opal at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA, using ion-microprobe and microdigestion methods

Two novel methods of in situ isotope analysis, ion microprobe and microdigestion, were used for ²³⁰Th/U and ²³⁴U/²³⁸U dating of finely laminated opal hemispheres formed in unsaturated felsic tuff at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, proposed site for a high-level radioactive waste repository. Both methods allow analysis of layers as many as several orders of magnitude thinner than standard methods using total hemisphere digestion that were reported previously. Average growth rates calculated from data at this improved spatial resolution verified that opal grew at extremely slow rates over the last million years. Growth rates of 0.58 and 0.69 mm/m.y. were obtained for the outer 305 and 740 μm of two opal hemispheres analyzed by ion microprobe, and 0.68 mm/m.y. for the outer 22 μm of one of these same hemispheres analyzed by sequential microdigestion. These Pleistocene growth rates are 2 to 10 times slower than those calculated for older secondary calcite and silica mineral coatings deposited over the last 5 to 10 m.y. dated by the U-Pb method and may reflect differences between Miocene and Pleistocene seepage flux. The microdigestion data also imply that opal growth rates may have varied over the last 40 k.y. These data are the first indication that growth rates and associated seepage in the proposed repository horizon may correlate with changes in late Pleistocene climate, involving faster growth during wetter, cooler climates (glacial maximum), slower growth during transition climates, and no growth during the most arid climate (modern). Data collected at this refined spatial scale may lead to a better understanding of the hydrologic variability expected within the thick unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain over the time scale of interest for radioactive waste isolation.     

Assessing scleractinian corals as recorders for paleo-pH: Empirical calibration and vital effects

Laboratory experiments on the branching, symbiont-bearing coral genus Porites and Acropora have been carried out to determine the dependence of the skeletal boron isotopic composition (δ¹¹B) on the pH of seawater. The results show a clear relationship similar to previously established empirical calibrations for planktonic foraminifera and inorganic calcite. A −0.6‰ offset exists between P. cylindrica and A. nobilis which is systematic over the pH range of 7.7-8.2. To test whether the δ¹¹B of coral skeletons changes with physiological processes such as photosynthesis and respiration, corals were grown along a depth transect in their natural environment and under controlled conditions in the laboratory at varying light intensities and food supply. Although we also observe an isotopic offset between P. compressa and Montipora verrucosa, neither experimental treatment systematically changed the δ¹¹B of the two species. These findings are encouraging for using the boron isotope paleo-pH proxy in corals, because it appears that seawater pH is the dominant control on the boron isotopic composition in corals.     

A preferred method for the determination of bulk compositions of coarse-grained refractory inclusions and some implications of the results

Analyses of coarse-grained refractory inclusions typically do not have the solar CaO/Al₂O₃ ratio, probably reflecting nonrepresentative sampling of them in the laboratory. Many previous studies, especially those done by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), were based on very small amounts of material removed from those restricted portions of inclusions that happened to be exposed on surfaces of bulk meteorite samples. Here, we address the sampling problem by studying thin sections of large inclusions, and by analyzing much larger aliquots of powders of these inclusions by INAA than has typically been done in the past. These results do show convergence toward the solar CaO/Al₂O₃ ratio of 0.792. The bulk compositions of 15 coarse-grained inclusions determined by INAA of samples >2 mg have an average CaO/Al₂O₃ ratio of 0.80 ± 0.18. When bulk compositions are obtained by modal recombination based on analysis of thin sections with cross-sections of entire, large, unbroken inclusions, the average of 11 samples (0.79 ± 0.15) also matches the solar value. Among those analyzed by INAA and by modal recombination, there were no inclusions for which both techniques agreed on a CaO/Al₂O₃ ratio deviating by >∼15% from the solar value. These results suggest that: individual inclusions may have the solar CaO/Al₂O₃ ratio; departures from this value are due to sample heterogeneity and nonrepresentative sampling in the laboratory; and it is therefore valid to correct compositions to this value. We present a method for doing so by mathematical addition or subtraction of melilite, spinel, or pyroxene. This yields a set of multiple, usually slightly different, corrected compositions for each inclusion. The best estimate of the bulk composition of an inclusion is the average of these corrected compositions, which simultaneously accounts for errors in sampling of all major phases. Results show that Type B2 inclusions tend to be more SiO₂-rich and have higher normative Anorthite/Gehlenite component ratios than Type B1s. The inclusion bulk compositions lie in a field that can result from evaporation at 1700-2000K of CMAS liquids with solar CaO/Al₂O₃, but with a wide range of initial MgO (30-60 wt%) and SiO₂ (15-50 wt%) contents.     

Quasi-simultaneous VLBI and RATAN-600 observations of active galactic nuclei

VLBI observations of several quasars and BL Lacertae objects were carried out at 1.66 GHz in November–December 1999 using six antennas (Medvezh'i Ozera, Svetloe, Pushchino, Noto, HartRAO, and Shanghai). Maps of six sources (0420+022, 0420-014, 1308+326, 1345+125, 1803+784, and DA 193) obtained with milliarcsecond resolution are presented and discussed, together with their broad-band (1–22 GHz) spectra obtained on the RATAN-600 radio telescope at epochs close to those of the VLBI observations. Comparison of the VLBI maps with maps of these sources obtained on standard VLBI networks and with the RATAN-600 quasisimultaneous total-flux measurements indicates the reliability of the results obtained on this Low Frequency VLBI Network and the good efficiency of this network.     

Soil moisture potential and water content in the unsaturated zone within the arid Ejina Oasis in Northwest China

Three soil profiles were selected in the Ejina Oasis, northwest China, to determine water content profiles and evolution of soil moisture potentials in the unsaturated zone within the arid area. The total soil moisture potentials have been monitored for about 3 months in 2001 at different depths in the soil profiles. The occurrence and movement of water in the unsaturated zone was analyzed using the zero flux plane (ZFP) method. It is shown that convergent ZFPs and divergent ZFPs may occur at depths between 0.5 and 3.0 m, and that the depth of the ZFPs was controlled by the root zone of plants growing on the land surface. Profiles of the total soil moisture potentials were observed to be coincident with those of the water contents at the three experimental sites. The total soil moisture potential showed a slight increasing trend and the ZFPs tend to vanish from summer to winter as the water extraction by roots decreased. Evapotranspiration through vegetation has an important bearing on the water content and the total potential in the unsaturated zone.     

Velocity field in the spiral-wave pattern observed in rotating shallow-water experiments

The paper presents the first quantitative results of a laboratory study of the velocity field in a two-arm spiral-wave pattern generated in a steady-state fashion by a hydrodynamical instability in a differentially rotating, thin layer of liquid. The liquid layer has a free surface, and the rotational profile includes an interval where the velocity drops abruptly, as in the gaseous disks of spiral galaxies. The properties of anticyclonic vortices observed between the arms of this pattern at the corotation radius are considered.     

The magnetic-field geometry in polar ray structures of the solar corona

Variations in the positions of the intersection points of tangents to ray structures in the polar corona of the Sun during the solar cycle are considered. At first glance, the decrease in the distance q between the tangent intersection point and the center of the solar disk during activity maximum contradicts harmonic analyses that indicate that the relative weight of higher harmonics in the global field increases during this period. Indeed, the higher the harmonic number in an axisymmetric field, the closer the intersection point of the field-line tangents (the magnetic focus) to the solar surface. It is shown that q for a field composed of two harmonics with opposite polarities at the poles can be smaller than q for either of them taken alone. A simple model representing the global field using the third and seventh harmonics is analyzed; this model can reproduce quite satisfactorily the observed dynamics of magnetic foci of the polar field.