A transitional alkalic dolerite dike suite of Mesozoic age in Southeastern New England

Dike rocks from the New England platform of Rhode Island and adjacent Massachusetts consist of premetamorphic and post-metamorphic suites. The older group includes metamorphosed dolerite, minette, and schistose dioritic rocks. Post-metamorphic dikes consist of dolerite and sparse monchiquite. The post-metamorphic dolerites are of comparable age to the Eastern North American dolerite suite associated with the Mesozoic basins along the eastern seaboard of North America. However, the southeastern New England dolerites exhibit mineralogy and chemistry more typical of a transitional alkalic suite compared to the more subalkalic tholeiitic dolerites of the Eastern North American suite. Both suites are compatible with a rift tectonic setting, but the more alkalic dolerites may represent a deeper source of small volume melts compared to the Eastern North American dolerites. These more alkaline melts may have concentrated at local centers, or they may be typical of flank dolerites as opposed to the less alkalic varieties that occur within the central axial rift.     

Multichannel analysis of surface wave method with the autojuggie

The shear (S)-wave velocity of near-surface materials and its effect on seismic-wave propagation are of fundamental interest in many engineering, environmental, and groundwater studies. The multichannel analysis of surface wave (MASW) method provides a robust, efficient, and accurate tool to observe near-surface S-wave velocity. A recently developed device used to place large numbers of closely spaced geophones simultaneously and automatically (the ‘autojuggie’) is shown here to be applicable to the collection of MASW data. In order to demonstrate the use of the autojuggie in the MASW method, we compared high-frequency surface-wave data acquired from conventionally planted geophones (control line) to data collected in parallel with the automatically planted geophones attached to steel bars (test line). The results demonstrate that the autojuggie can be applied in the MASW method. Implementation of the autojuggie in very shallow MASW surveys could drastically reduce the time required and costs incurred in such surveys.     

Hg and As Minerals in Fluid Inclusions from the Williams Mine,Hemlo,and Their Genetic Implications

The Hemlo mineralization is enigmatic compared to general Archean lode gold deposits based on the fact that is characterized by an exotic mineralogy containing elements such as As,Hg,Sb,Ba,V and Mo.The genetic concepts range from syngenetc to epigenetic types of mineralization.This reconnaissance study was designed to examine the relationshp of Hg-As minerals with respect of fluid inclusions in the Williams mine(formerly known as the Page Williams mine)covering the A and C ore zones.     

Conflicting rights to the city in New York's community gardens

In the mid-1990s, New York City initiated what would prove to be a long, highly visible struggle involving rights claims related to property, housing, and public space in the form of community gardens. The competing discourses of rights were part of a struggle over the kind of city that New York was to become, and more specifically, whether it would be one in which difference is accepted and in which access to the city and the public realm would be guaranteed. Using interviews with participants in the conflict over community gardens, we evaluate how the resolution to the gardens crisis, which in part occurred through the privatization of what are often taken to be public or community rights to land, transform not only the legal status of the gardens but also, potentially, their role as places where different `publics' can both exercise their right to the city and solidify that right in the landscape.     

Permafrost science and secondary education: direct involvement of teachers and students in field research

Permafrost and periglacial geomorphology are absent from the science curriculum in most secondary schools in the United States. This is an unfortunate situation given the recent increases in development and environmental concerns in northern latitudes and high-mountain areas, and the interesting examples of basic scientific principles found in the history of research on periglacial geomorphology and permafrost. In 1997 and 1998, a University of Delaware research group studying permafrost and periglacial geomorphology in northern Alaska participated in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Teachers Experiencing the Antarctic and Arctic (TEA) Program. In each of these years, a high school teacher and a student traveled as part of the research team to the North Slope of Alaska. They learned about the landscape, collected active-layer thickness and temperature measurements, and assisted in data analysis. Results from studies of active-layer thickness variability and ground temperature contributed to a series of long-term observations and international research on the impacts of global climate change. Since their expeditions, the teachers have shared their experiences with their classrooms and communities in several ways, including public lectures and the Internet. Classroom activities are available to the public through the TEA web site (http://tea.rice.edu). This experience may heighten public awareness of permafrost and contribute to it becoming a useful part of the secondary curriculum.     

First record of male freshwater eels (Anguilla dieffenbachii) caught at sea

Two silver (migratory) male freshwater eels, Anguilla dieffenbachii, were caught in a commercial trawl net in the South Taranaki Bight in April 2014. The capture date and the relatively small eye size indicated that both eels had probably only recently entered the sea. This is the first record of male A. dieffenbachii caught at sea, en route to the presumed spawning area in the South Fiji Basin.     

北极Svalbard地区Austre Lovénbreen和Pedersenbreen冰川表面物质平衡和运动特征分析

对位于北极Svalbard群岛新奥尔松(Ny-lesund)的Austre Lovénbreen和Pedersenbreen冰川首个物质平衡年(2005/06年度)的冰川表面物质平衡及其运动特征进行研究,并阐述了Austre Lovénbreen冰川末端位置的变化状况。结果表明:(1)Austre Lovénbreen和Pedersenbreen冰川净物质平衡分别为-0.44和-0.20m w.e.,年消融量分别为0.99和0.94m w.e.,对应冰川零平衡线高度分别为478.10和494.87m。(2)两条冰川符合Svalbard地区跃动冰川运动的特征模式。运动速度矢量的水平分量表现为:向主流线辐合或平行于主流线。下游运动速度较慢,而在中上游运动相对较快。Austre Lovénbreen冰川表面各观测点的运动速度平均值为2.28m·a-1,运动速度最大值和最小值分别为3.91和0.81m·a-1;Pedersenbreen冰川表面观测点运动速度平均值为6.74m·a-1,运动速度最大值和最小值分别为8.13和5.49m·a-1。运动速度矢量的垂直分量表现为:消融区冰川消融量随海拔升高而减弱,Austr...     

Linking large-parallax Spitzer–CFHT–VLT astrometry of asteroids

We show that the new ephemeris-space multiple-address-comparison (eMAC) method solves asteroid linking problems despite large parallaxes by applying the method to astrometric asteroid observation sets obtained nearly simultaneously with the Spitzer space telescope, the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), and European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT). For main-belt asteroids, the parallax between Spitzer and the Earth-based telescopes is approximately one degree which is large as compared to a typical parallax for solely Earth-based telescopes in the arcseconds regime. In the eMAC method, we reduce the initially huge amount of possible linkages between observation sets by comparing samples of ephemerides that have been computed separately for all sets at, say, three common dates. If the non-zero ephemeris probability densities overlap at all common dates, we try to find an orbit solution for these so-called trial linkages. If there exists an orbit which reproduces all the astrometric observations assuming predefined observational errors, we call it a linkage. Known asteroids are independently identified among Spitzer, CFHT, and VLT astrometry, and comparing the identified observations to the linkages found shows that the method found all known correct linkages present in the data. In addition, we also found five previously unpublished linkages between Spitzer astrometry and Earth-based astrometry. Based on our simulations, we found virtually all Spitzer-related linkages between two single-night observation sets, and more than 99.4% of linkages between two single-night observation sets obtained by Earth-based observatories. Virtually all correct linkages consisting of at least three single-night sets were also detected. The results show that large-parallax discovery observations made from a spacecraft can be linked to Earth-based follow-up observations to ensure that the objects are not lost. Furthermore, we compute the heliocentric and Spitzer-centric distances as well as the corresponding solar phase angles at the dates of Spitzer observations. Based on comparisons to simulated geocentric observations, we also show that, for typical nearly-simultaneous observations, the parallax reduces the distance uncertainties by several orders of magnitude.     

Mapping Paleo‐Fire Boundaries from Binary Point Data: Comparing Interpolation Methods

Fire history studies have traditionally emphasized temporal rather than spatial properties of paleo‐fire regimes. In this study we compare four methods of mapping paleo‐fires in central Washington from binary point data: indicator kriging, inverse distance weighting, Thiessen polygons, and an expert approach. We evaluate the results of each mapping method using a test (validation) dataset and receiver operating characteristic plots. Interpolation methods perform well, but results vary with fire size and spatial pattern of points. Though all methods involve some subjectivity, automated interpolation methods perform well, are replicable, and can be applied across varying landscapes.