Magnetic properties of Pleistocene sediments from the Mediterranean sea: a correlation with the palaeoclimatic record

The magnetic properties of the late Quaternary hemipelagic sediment from piston core BS77-15 taken in the Tyrrhenian Sea were investigated and the results compared with palaeoclimatic records. The magnetic mineralogy of the sediment was studied and the magnetic carriers were identified by their spectra of coercivity and unblocking temperature. Investigations of rock magnetic parameters such as the Natural Remanent Magnetization (NRM), the low-field magnetic susceptibility χ, the frequency-dependent susceptibility χ fd , the acquisition of Anhysteretic Magnetization (ARM) and Isothermal Magnetization (IRM) and the Median Destructive Field (MDF) have established the downcore variations in terms of magnetic mineralogy, grain size and coercivity in the sediments. The rock magnetic parameters were compared with an alternative climatic record from the same core based on the faunal association of planktonic foraminifera. A significant correlation was found between faunal climatic record and χ fd . Together with the magnetic properties of the sediment this suggests that a palaeoclimatic signal is recorded by a fine-grained low-coercivity fraction of the magnetic minerals.     

Fluid venting from a mud volcano in the Mediterranean Ridge Diapiric Belt

Direct observation of active emission of fluids and mud from a submarine mud volcano were made for the first time in an extensive field of mud diapirs and mud volcanoes on the Mediterranean Ridge using a video camera towed 2 m above the seafloor in 1800 m of water. This recent research using both long range and deep-towed sidescan sonar systems indicates also that diapirism and eruption of mud along the crest of the ridge is more common than previously thought. The southwards increase in age of rock fragments carried within the erupted mud supports the hypothesis that the fluid mud becomes overpressured within a southward-dipping backthrust from the Inner Deformation Front of this accretionary prism.     

Identification and analysis of structures in the corona from X-ray photography

This paper summarizes the results of a program of rocket observations of the solar corona with grazing incidence X-ray telescopes. A series of five flights of a Kanigen-surfaced telescope with a few arc seconds resolution, together with the first flight of a newer telescope have resulted in the identification of six classes of coronal structures observable in the X-ray photographs. These are: active regions, active region interconnections, large loop structures associated with unipolar magnetic regions, coronal holes, coronal bright points, and the structures surrounding filament cavities. Two solar flares have been observed. The methods involved in deriving coronal temperature and density information from X-ray photographs are described and the analysis of a bright active region (McMath plage 11035) observed at the west limb on November 24, 1970 is presented as an example of these techniques.This paper originated in an invited talk presented by one of us (G.V.) at the COSPAR Symposium on High Resolution Astronomical Observations from Space, Seattle, Washington, June 29, 1971. In addition, it includes material presented at the three NASA OSO workshops, as well as more recent work.     

Visco-plastic behaviour during the excavation phase of a salt cavity

The stress field and flow characteristics are studied for a cavity with the shape of a prolate spheroid in dome salt with emphasis given to the excavation phase. A semi-empirical creep law is derived from thermodynamic principles and experimental results. In this paper, an elementary non-linear form is used in the kinetic relation. A finite element solution procedure is discussed which incorporates the creep law, excavation sequence, and arbitrary non-homogeneous initial stress field.     

Auroral precipitation and atmospheric vorticity at the 500 mb level

On the assumption that, in the long term, auroral and associated particle precipitation is uniform in magnetic time it can be shown that, due to the differing geometries in the northern and southern hemisphere, there exist two regions of maximum particle precipitation in different time zones in U.T. These are the midnight location of the auroral oval between about 1500–1800 h U.T. in the northern hemisphere and between 0000–0600 h U.T. in the southern hemisphere. These times correspond with the maxima of the indices am and am¹ for the respective winter periods.The northern hemisphere auroral zone precipitation maximum lies above the Siberian winter low pressure region at 500 mb heights which is displaced from the geographic pole. It is suggested that this relative location is basic to the Wilcox boundary crossing-absolute vorticity correlation.The southern hemisphere auroral zone precipitation maximum lies above the Antarctic low pressure region and is near the geographic pole. This results in the lack of a similar correlation as found by Burns.     

Foraminiferal associations of the Mid-Tertiary Edegem Sands at Terhagen, Belgium

A factor-analytic approach (varimax rotated factors) was used in studying the benthonic foraminiferal associations of the Mid-Tertiary Edegem Sands at Terhagen (near Antwerpen) Belgium. The fauna can be described by two groups. The lower and upper part of the stratigraphic section are characterized by one group and the middle transitional part by a second group. The results can be correlated with the number of the planktonic forms and with the fossil richness of the sediment.