Geothermal gradients and heat flow in the Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin,Arctic Canada

Thermal gradients have been calculated and heat flow estimates made for 34 petroleum exploration wells along four regional profiles crossing the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin of northern Canada. The geothermal gradients vary from 22 mKm^–1 to 44 mKm^–1. Four sets of possible thermal conductivity values were used to calculate a range of heat flow values for each well. Generally low heat flow is observed in wells within the deeper portions of the basin and higher heat flow values occur in wells along the Aklavik Arch Complex which forms the southeastern margin of the basin.The contribution to heat flow by heat generation below the Mesozoic-Cenozoic basin fill sediments has been considered. The heat flow contribution from sub-Mesozoic sedimentary strata and underlying basement is highest along the basin-bounding Aklavik Arch Complex. The decrease in heat flow from below the basin fill sediments toward the basin depocenter may be related to basinward crustal thinning and corresponding reductions in intra-crustal radiogenic heat production.     

A new approach to simulating disorder in crystals

The technique of calculating lattice dissociation energies using static, minimum lattice energy, ionic models has been extended to allow for multiple occupancy of the ionic sites. A particular lattice site can have a fraction x of an ionic species A and a fraction y of an ionic species B, where the position of each can be relaxed separately along with the unit cell dimensions until an equilibrium is reached. Various degrees of long and short range order can be modelled. This technique has been applied to the mineral sillimanite, Al₂SiO₅, to calculate the effect on the lattice energy of (Al, Si) ordering over the tetrahedral sites. It is found using this method that (Al, Si) ordering with space group Pbmn stabilizes the material by 29.25 kcal/mol (Al^iv-O-Al^iv), with respect to the completely disordered material.     

Immigrants,Germans and national identity in the new Germany: some policy issues

"This paper considers how the role and status of Germany's diverse immigrant population has been affected by its new geopolitical situation, in particular unification, since 1989.... The paper shows how the integration prospects for Germany's older immigrant populations have been dented by the combination of economic restructuring and a huge upsurge in new types of immigration. Prominent among the latter are ethnic German resettlers (or Aussiedler), and the paper examines how these immigrants find themselves in a weak position.... The paper concludes that, although there would appear to be no major labour shortages within the economy, Germany has to develop a more extensive range of migration policies to cater for the huge demand for economically motivated migration. The alternative will inevitably be a further growth in illegal migration, which would not be helpful to the position of established immigrant populations."     

The UV cameras on the High Energy Transient Experiment (HETE)

The High Energy Transient Experiment (HETE), scheduled for launch this year, is a small satellite dedicated to multiwavelength observations of -ray and X-ray bursts. The HETE spacecraft will be equipped with gamma-ray detectors, X-ray detectors with a coded mask, and ultraviolet-sensitive CCD cameras. The UV cameras on HETE are wide-field imagers which will a) provide UV images of the regions in which -ray or X-ray bursts are detected, before, duringand after the burst, b) detect UV transients, whether associated with a high-energy transient or not, c) monitor the brightnesses of field stars for variability over a wide range of timescales, and d) serve as star trackers for HETE. In this poster, we describe the HETE UV instrumentation, control software, and data products.     

The DC field components of horizontal and vertical electric dipole sources immersed in three-layered stratified media

Formulas for computing the Cartesian components of the static (DC) fields of horizontal electric dipoles (HEDs) and vertical electric dipoles (VEDs) located in the central zone of a three-layer horizontally stratified medium are derived and presented in a summary form suitable for immediate computation. Formulas are given for the electric and magnetic field components in the upper and central regions. In the general case the computation involves the summation of a convergent infinite series. For the particular case of an infinitely thick central region (corresponding to the twolayer problem), the analysis produces relatively simple closed-form equations for the field components which are suitable for a hand calculation. Specimen calculations for dipoles in seawaters are included and the derived results are compared with computations made using an ac model.     

Constraints on the nucleus and dust properties from mid-infrared imaging of comet Hyakutake

We use Mie scattering theory to determine the expected thermal emission from dust grains in cometary comae and apply these results to mid-infrared images of comet Hyakutake (C/1996 B2) obtained preperihelion in 1996 March. Calculations were performed for dust grains in the size range from 0.1 to 10 micrometers for two different compositions: amorphous olivine (a silicate glass) and an organic residue mixture. The resulting emission efficiencies are complicated functions of wavelength and particle size and are significantly different for the two materials in question. The Hyakutake data set consists of three nights of high-resolution imaging (100-150 km pixel-1 at the comet) of the inner coma at 8.7, 11.7, 12.5, and 19.7 micrometers. Attempts to fit the observed colors (ratios of fluxes at different wavelengths) using a single grain composition failed. However, fits to the data were achieved for all three nights using a mixture of approximately 1 micrometer olivine grains and approximately 7 micrometers organic grains. The resulting olivine mass fraction was between 8% and 16% of the total dust mass-loss rate. We also estimate the radius of the nucleus to be r = 2.1 +/- 0.4 km.     

Information infrastructure for Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System

Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS, imos.org.au) is research infrastructure to establish an enduring observing program for Australian oceanic waters and shelf seas. The observations cover physical, biological, and chemical variables to address themes of multi-decadal ocean change, climate variability and weather extremes, boundary currents and inter-basin flows, continental shelf processes and ecosystem responses.IMOS observations are collected by national facilities based on various platform types and operated by partner institutions around the country. In this paper we describe the infrastructure and workflows developed to manage and distribute the data to the public. We highlight the existing standards and open-source software we have adopted, and the contributions we have made. To demonstrate the value of this infrastructure we provide some illustrations of use and uptake.All IMOS data are freely and openly available to the public via the Ocean Portal (https://imos.aodn.org.au). All IMOS-developed software is open-source and accessible at https://github.com/aodn.