Geoarchaeological investigation of lithic resources in the central Mesa Verde region,Colorado, USA

An important question in Southwestern archaeological research is how social and economic ties between prehistoric groups changed through time. The chemical and mineralogical matching of stone tools and ceramics to source areas is one approach to addressing this question. Here we challenge the assumption that igneous rocks used for manufacturing stone tools and ceramics in the Mesa Verde region of Colorado were originally derived from the Chuska Mountains of New Mexico. Recent geological surveys suggest that small igneous features present in and around Mesa Verde National Park and Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park contain similar lithologies and may represent a local source. We systematically visited seven of these igneous exposures and nine downstream gravel deposits, looking for geological sources and quarry sites matching the lithology of analyzed debitage from this region. Our results suggest that the ancestral Puebloans could have procured such igneous rocks as aphanitic minette and trachybasalt pottery temper from local areas. Because the trachybasalt is usually thought to have been imported from the Chuska Mountains, this discovery may require a revision of interpreted trade networks based on pottery temper and lithic raw material distinctions. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Geomorphic controls on mercury accumulation in soils from a historically mined watershed, Central California Coast Range, USA

Historic Hg mining in the Cache Creek watershed in the Central California Coast Range has contributed to the downstream transport of Hg to the San Francisco Bay-Delta. Different aspects of Hg mobilization in soils, including pedogenesis, fluvial redistribution of sediment, volatilization and eolian transport were considered. The greatest soil concentrations (>30 mg Hg kg⁻¹) in Cache Creek are associated with mineralized serpentinite, the host rock for Hg deposits. Upland soils with non-mineralized serpentine and sedimentary parent material also had elevated concentrations (0.9–3.7 mg Hg kg⁻¹) relative to the average concentration in the region and throughout the conterminous United States (0.06 mg kg⁻¹). Erosion of soil and destabilized rock and mobilization of tailings and calcines into surrounding streams have contributed to Hg-rich alluvial soil forming in wetlands and floodplains. The concentration of Hg in floodplain sediment shows sediment dispersion from low-order catchments (5.6–9.6 mg Hg kg⁻¹ in Sulphur Creek; 0.5–61 mg Hg kg⁻¹ in Davis Creek) to Cache Creek (0.1–0.4 mg Hg kg⁻¹). These sediments, deposited onto the floodplain during high-flow storm events, yield elevated Hg concentrations (0.2–55 mg Hg kg⁻¹) in alluvial soils in upland watersheds. Alluvial soils within the Cache Creek watershed accumulate Hg from upstream mining areas, with concentrations between 0.06 and 0.22 mg Hg kg⁻¹ measured in soils 90 km downstream from Hg mining areas. Alluvial soils have accumulated Hg released through historic mining activities, remobilizing this Hg to streams as the soils erode.     

Relaxation of protostellar accretion shocks using the smoothed particle hydrodynamics

It is believed that protostellar accretion disks are formed from nearly ballistic infall of molecular matter in rotating core collapse. Collisions of this infalling matter leads to formation of strong supersonic shocks, which if they cool rapidly, result in accumulation of that material in a thin structure in the equatorial plane. Here, we investigate the relaxation time of the protostellar accretion post‐shock gas using the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). For this purpose, a one‐dimensional head‐on collision of two molecular sheets is considered, and the time evolution of the temperature and density of the post‐shock region simulated. The results show that in strong supersonic shocks, the temperature of the post‐shock gas quickly increases proportional to square of the Mach number, and then gradually decreases according to the cooling processes. Using a suitable cooling function shows that in appropriate time‐scale, the center of the collision, which is at the equatorial plane of the core, is converted to a thin dense molecular disk, together with atomic and ionized gases around it. This structure for accretion disks may justify the suitable conditions for grain growth and formation of proto‐planetary entities (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Rest‐frame UV to optical X‐shooter spectrum of the gravitationally lensed galaxy “the 8 o'clock arc”: Dissection of its physical properties

We present the rest‐frame UV to optical spectrum of the gravitationally lensed galaxy, the “8 o'clock arc” at z = 2.735, obtained with the X‐shooter spectrograph. This is one of the rare comprehensive study of a high‐redshift star‐forming galaxy, usually not feasible due to the faintness of these objects. The spectrum of the 8 o'clock arc is rich in stellar and interstellar absorption features and in nebular emission features. Their analysis allowed us to derive most of the physical properties characterizing the galaxy. From HST images, we reconstruct the morphology of the arc in the source plane and confirm that we resolve a clump in rotation around the main core of galaxy in our X‐shooter spectrum (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Sino‐Kharosthi and Sino‐Brahmi coins from the silk road of western China identified with stylistic and mineralogical evidence

Three coins of the Khotan horse, or Sino‐Kharosthi, style from Xinjiang province of China were recently obtained from a coin dealer. Because the archaeological context of these coins remains unknown, we conducted chemical and stylistic analyses to help determine their authenticity. Energy dispersive X‐ray (EDX) and wavelength dispersive X‐ray (WDX or microprobe) measurements indicate that they are red (pure) copper and bronze coins, with one coin containing 4.2% Ag. Metal content and the presence of secondary minerals formed through weathering indicate that these are authentic ancient coins that were buried in a dry environment. All three coins bear Chinese characters; one shows Kharosthi, and two display Brahmi, a popular language in Khotan from A.D. 260 to 282. This indicates that the Sino‐Brahmi coins were made slightly later than the Sino‐Kharosthi coins, which were made before A.D. 260. These specimens represent the first Sino‐Brahmi coin and 20‐zhu coin ever reported in the literature. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Effect of reproductive state and sex on movement and food consumption of western rock lobster (Panulirus cygnus) in a tank environment

The catchability of western rock lobsters (Panulirus cygnus) during the spawning season (October and November) may be affected by their reproductive state. In this study, movement and food consumption of males and females of different reproductive states held in laboratory tanks were measured as proxies for catchability. Density of lobsters was found to influence both movement and food consumption. Solitary animals and, to a lesser extent, two lobsters per tank, were more sedentary and consumed significantly less food than animals at a density of three or four specimens per tank. Tests using three animals per tank confirmed that mature, unmated, and ovigerous females carrying early stage eggs moved more frequently away from their shelters than males or females carrying late stage eggs (P < 0.0001, d.f. = 3). Further, unmated females and females with early stage eggs recorded significantly higher food consumption (P < 0.0061, d.f. = 3) compared with males or females carrying late stage eggs. The greater time spent away from shelter and also food consumption make unmated females and females with early stage eggs likely to be more catchable than males or females with late stage eggs. As catchability is commonly used to obtain population estimates from survey data, these results have implications for surveys which use catch rates of breeding animals as indicators of egg production.     

Behavior of soil plugs in open‐ended model piles driven into sands

Calibration chamber tests were conducted on open‐ended model piles driven into dried siliceous sands with different soil conditions in order to clarify the effect of soil conditions on load transfer mechanism in the soil plug. The model pile used in the test series was devised so that the bearing capacity of an open‐ended pile could be measured as three components: outside shaft resistance, plug resistance, and tip resistance. Under the assumption that the unit shaft resistance due to pile‐soil plug interaction varies linearly near the pile tip, the plug resistance was estimated. The plug capacity, which was defined as the plug resistance at ultimate condition, is mainly dependent on the ambient lateral pressure and relative density. The length of wedged plug that transfers the load decreases with the decrease of relative density, but it is independent of the ambient pressure and penetration depth. Under several assumptions, the value of earth pressure coefficient in the soil plug can be calculated. It gradually reduces with increase in the longitudinal distance from the pile tip. At the bottom of the soil plug, it tends to decrease with increase in the penetration depth and relative density, and to increase with the increase of ambient pressure. This may be attributed to (1) the decrease of friction angle as a result of increase in the effective vertical stress, (2) the difference in the dilation degree of the soil plug during driving with ambient pressures, and (3) the difference in compaction degree of soil plug during driving with relative densities. Based on the test results, an empirical equation was suggested to compute the earth pressure coefficient to be used in the calculation of plug capacity using one‐dimensional analysis, and it produces proper plug capacities for all soil conditions.     

Geotechnical characterization of slump scars,eroded slopes,and correlated deposits on continental margins: Gulf of Lions,Western Mediterranean sea

Abstract

Vertical variations of geotechnical properties in the uppermost sediment layers characterize the main sedimentary processes acting on the construction and destruction of progressive‐type continental slopes. In the Gulf of Lions, the original thicknesses and distribution of the uppermost sedimentary layers of the continental slope and rise, which consist of Holocene muds overlying Pleistocene muds, have been greatly modified by erosion and several kinds of slope failure processes. Each process is typified through sets of geotechnical properties measured in the eroded or slumped sections and in the associated sediment accumulations.

In slump scars, the water‐rich Holocene muds lie on fine, overconsolidated, Pleistocene muds with high plasticity and low shear strength. In bottom current‐eroded slopes, where modern sedimentation is extremely reduced, the Pleistocene muds frequently outcrop and may sometimes be overlain by a very thin layer of Holocene muds. The Pleistocene muds of eroded slopes are overconsolidated and more silty and less plastic than the Pleistocene muds from slopes affected by slope failure, their shear strength being 10 times greater.

Deposits at the toe of slumps are very often formed by several superposed three‐layer units (triplets of interstratified Holocene, transitional, and Pleistocene layers) issued from retrogressive slumping occurring in the slump scars above their head area. The main body of each layer is then relatively undisturbed, showing the usual burial geotechnical gradients due to overburden pressure (i.e., decrease of water content and increase of unit weight and shear strength). At the toe of bottom current‐eroded slopes, a thick and homogeneous layer of Holocene muds overlies the Pleistocene muds; this Holocene layer has unappreciable burial depth gradient of its geotechnical parameters because of a high rate of modem and continuous deposition.