Accuracy of tretyakov precipitation gauge: Result of wmo intercomparison

The Tretyakov non-recording precipitation gauge has been used historically as the official precipitation measurement instrument in the Russian (formerly the USSR) climatic and hydrological station network and in a number of other European countries. From 1986 to 1993, the accuracy and performance of this gauge were evaluated during the WMO Solid Precipitation Measurement Intercomparison at 11 stations in Canada, the USA, Russia, Germany, Finland, Romania and Croatia. The double fence intercomparison reference (DFIR) was the reference standard used at all the Intercomparison stations in the Intercomparison. The Intercomparison data collected at the different sites are compatible with respect to the catch ratio (measured/DFIR) for the same gauge, when compared using mean wind speed at the height of the gauge orifice during the observation period. The Intercomparison data for the Tretyakov gauge were compiled from measurements made at these WMO intercomparison sites. These data represent a variety of climates, terrains and exposures. The effects of environmental factors, such as wind speed, wind direction, type of precipitation and temperature, on gauge catch ratios were investigated. Wind speed was found to be the most important factor determining the gauge catch and air temperature had a secondary effect when precipitation was classified into snow, mixed and rain. The results of the analysis of gauge catch ratio versus wind speed and temperature on a daily time step are presented for various types of precipitation. Independent checks of the correction equations against the DFIR have been conducted at those Intercomparison stations and a good agreement (difference less than 10%) has been obtained. The use of such adjustment procedures should significantly improve the accuracy and homogeneity of gauge-measured precipitation data over large regions of the former USSR and central Europe.     

Measurement of Mass-Independent Perturbations of Cadmium in Nuclear Debris Samples

The isotopic composition of cadmium in nuclear debris was measured by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS). Mass-independent perturbations due to fission product decay on the isotopes of Cd were observed. Relative fission yields for masses 111, 112, 114 and 116 were determined in each sample of nuclear debris and compared with reported values found in irradiated plutonium and uranium fuels. Mass spectrometry measurements of the valley fission product endpoints are extremely challenging due to the low cumulative fission yields and small amounts of each isotope that are produced. To overcome these challenges, a new purification method for Cd was developed and validated by examination of a number of geological reference materials.     

The response of summer monsoon onset/retreat in Sumatra-Java and tropical Australia region to global warming in CMIP3 models

In this study, we assess the potential changes in the onset, retreat and duration of austral summer monsoon covering the domain from south Sumatra and Java region in the tropics to the northern Australian continent. We simply call it the Australian summer monsoon. Daily precipitable water and 850 hPa wind from 13 CMIP3 models are used in the diagnoses. A majority of the models can capture the northwest–southeast evolution of the summer monsoon, which starts from the south Sumatra and Java region around later November and then progressively approaches the Australian continent in late December. Nevertheless, significant biases exist in the modeled onset/retreat dates and the extent of the monsoon inland penetration. Under global warming, the agreement among the model projections varies across the domain. In between the Sumatra-Java archipelago and the top end of the Australian continent, over 80 % of the models simulate delayed monsoon onset and shortened duration by ~10 days, but less model agreement is seen over interior continent where the model ensembles show an approximate 7-day delay of both the onset and retreat with relatively little change in duration. Both El Nino-Southern Oscillation and Indian Ocean SST patterns appear to play important roles in determining the variations of the modeled monsoon onset. Nevertheless, the extent of their influence varies significantly across the models. Under global warming, a large proportion of models show relatively less warming in the eastern Indian Ocean and with a consequent increase in the modeled Indian Ocean Dipole index. Both a weakened and/or eastward shift of the upward branch of Walker circulation and the Indian Ocean contribute to the simulated delayed onset and shortened duration in the tropics under global warming.     

Enzymatic determination of glucose in marine environments: Improvement and note of caution

Microheterotrophic glucose uptake kinetics (V_{max and [K + Sn] value)} and uptake velocities (v) based on natural glucose concentrations (S_n) suggested that glucose concentrations in the Sapelo Island estuary were overestimated by published enzymatic techniques. Glucose oxidase treatment of water samples before glucose measurement yielded results as much as 50% lower than when this step was omitted. Thin layer chromatography shows that glucose must be separated from other carbohydrates (e.g., fructose) which interfere with the glucose assay.     

Characterizing the U–Pb systematics of baddeleyite through chemical abrasion: application of multi-step digestion methods to baddeleyite geochronology

U–Pb baddeleyite geochronology has become a major tool for dating mafic rocks, especially dikes associated with Large Igneous Provinces. However, in many cases, post-crystallization Pb-loss and intergrowth of baddeleyite and zircon limit the precision and/or accuracy of crystallization ages. We present results from multi-step digestion experiments designed to understand and reduce these effects. Experiments were carried out on Neoproterozoic baddeleyites with zircon inter- and over-growths from the Gannakouriep dike swarm, Namibia, and on fragments of a large Paleoproterozoic baddeleyite from the Phalaborwa carbonatite, South Africa. Multi-step digestion experiments on annealed Phalaborwa baddeleyite were designed to test whether the recently developed chemical abrasion technique for U–Pb zircon geochronology can be applied to baddeleyite. The experiments generated complex results—individual digestion steps were both normally and reversely discordant suggesting that U and Pb were decoupled in the multi-step digestions—and indicate that the current form of multi-step chemical abrasion is not an effective method for reducing the impact of Pb-loss in baddeleyite. A separate set of experiments on the Gannakouriep baddeleyite focused on isolating the zircon and baddeleyite components in composite grains. Conventional single-step digestion experiments for this sample resulted in a discordant suite of analyses with significant scatter attributed to inter- and over-grown zircon and highlight the difficulty of obtaining precise and accurate ages from composite grains. To isolate the baddeleyite and zircon in these grains, a two-step HCl–HF chemical abrasion procedure for annealed grains was developed. This technique was successful at selectively dissolving the baddeleyite and zircon components. Secondary zircon inter- and over-growths of baddeleyite can occur in samples affected by low-temperature alteration to granulite facies metamorphism, and the new HCl–HF chemical abrasion procedure provides a method for resolving both the igneous and metamorphic history of these composite grains.     

Processes of magma/wet sediment interaction in a large-scale Jurassic andesitic peperite complex, northern Sierra Nevada, California

 The Middle Jurassic Tuttle Lake Formation in the northern Sierra Nevada, California, comprises a thick volcaniclastic sequence deposited in a submarine island-arc setting and penetrated by numerous related hypabyssal intrusions. A composite andesite-diorite intrusive complex ≥4.5 km long and ≥1.5 km thick was emplaced while the host Tuttle Lake sediments were still wet and unconsolidated. Large parts of the intrusive complex consist of peperite formed where andesitic magma intruded and intermixed with tuff, lapilli-tuff and tuff-breccia. The southern half of the complex consists of augite-phyric andesite containing peperite in numerous small, isolated pockets and in more extensive, laterally continuous zones. The peperites comprise three main types recognized previously in other peperite studies. Fluidal peperite consists of small (≤30 cm), closely spaced, at least partly interconnected, globular to amoeboid andesite bodies enclosed by tuff. This peperite type developed during intrusion of magma into fine-grained wet sediment along unstable interfaces, and fluidization of the sediment facilitated development of complex intrusive geometries. Blocky peperite and mixed blocky and fluidal peperite formed where magma intruded coarser sediment and underwent variable degrees of brittle fragmentation by quenching and dynamic stressing of rigid margins, possibly aided by small steam explosions. The northern half of the intrusive complex consists predominantly of a different type of peperite, in which decimetre-scale plagioclase-phyric andesite clasts with ellipsoidal, elongate, or angular, polyhedral shapes are closely packed to widely dispersed within disrupted host sediment. Textural features suggest the andesite clasts were derived from conduits through which magma was flowing, and preserved remnants of the conduits are represented by elongate, sinuous bodies up to 30 m or more in length. Disruption and dispersal of the andesite clasts are inferred to have occurred at least partly by steam explosions that ripped apart a network of interconnected feeder conduits penetrating the host sediments. Closely packed peperite is present adjacent to mappable intrusions of coherent andesite, and along the margin of a large mass of coarse-grained diorite. These coherent intrusions are considered to be major feeders for this part of the complex. Examples of magma/wet sediment interaction similar in scale to the extensive peperites described here occur elsewhere in ancient island-arc strata in the northern Sierra Nevada. Based on these and other published examples, large-scale peperites probably are more common than generally realized and are likely to be important in settings where thick sediment sequences accumulate during active volcanism. Careful mapping in well-exposed terrains may be required to recognize large-scale peperite complexes of this type. Received: 8 June 1998 / Accepted: 4 December 1998     

ON NOT EXCLUDING HALF OF THE HUMAN IN HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

Much research in human geography has been, often inadvertently, sexist. We first propose some reasons for this and then review the feminist contributions in other disciplines. The bulk of the paper examines some examples of sexist bias in the content, methods, and purposes of geographic research, suggests the nature of the damage that such bias inflicts on geographic knowledge, and identifies ways in which nonsexist geography might emerge.     

扬子板块北缘碧口群火山岩的地球化学特征及其构造环境

碧口群火山岩系中部的基性熔岩以拉斑系列为主 ,基性火山岩的Sr同位素初始比值和Nd同位素初始比值较低 ,分别为 0 .70 12 4 8～ 0 .70 4 4 13和 0 .5 110 80～ 0 .5 12 341,大部分样品的εNd(t) >0 ,表明母岩浆主要来自地幔源区。岩石显示明显的富2 0 7Pb及2 0 8Pb特征。在以部分熔融作用为主的演化过程中岩浆发生了一定程度的分异 ,LREE、大离子亲石元素等表现了从亏损到富集的变化特点。基性熔岩的稀土与微量元素表现出与俯冲碰撞型的弧区玄武岩相同的特点。分析表明 :碧口群火山岩系形成于岛弧环境 ,它与横丹群浊积岩系在扬子板块西北缘构筑了一个弧盆系统 ,其时代为新元古代。