Web-Based interrogation of large-scale geophysical data sets from handheld devices

This paper describes the issues related to using handheld devices to interrogate wirelessly large-scale geophysical data over the Web using a client–server configuration. A modification of our current Web-based data interrogation program addresses specifically the limitations of current handheld devices with wireless access, such as processor speed, screen size and resolution, memory, and network speeds. The system uses a combination of Java, Python, and C in order to run remotely from the handheld device, while incorporating the power and memory capacity of a large workstation server.     

Responses of interrill runoff and erosion rates to vegetation change in southern Arizona

Vegetation change, fi-om grassland to shrubland, has occurred over much of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts during the past century. The effect of this vegetation change on interrill runoff and erosion was examined by conducting rainfall-simulation experiments on large runoff plots on contemporary grassland and shrubland hillslopes. These experiments show that, compared to the grassland, the interrill portions of shrubland hillslopes (1) have higher runoff rates, (2) experience equilibrium runoff conditions much more frequently, (3) exhibit higher overland flow velocities, and (4) are subject to greater rates of erosion. The environmental change that has led to the vegetation change has been relatively minor, but its geomorphic impact has been substantial.     

Leucoxene fish as a micro-kinematic indicator

Asymmetric aggregates of fine-grained leucoxene and quartz are reported from siliceous L-S tectonites deformed by progressive simple shear. The leucoxene fish, morphologically similar to mica fish, consistently yield shear senses in agreement with other kinematic criteria. We interpret the leucoxene as a pre- or early syntectonic alteration product of detrital heavy-minerals in a siliciclastic protolith. The leucoxene fish behave as passive markers, and they record kinematics by modification of pre-existing aggregates rather than syndeformational mineral growth. For siliceous metasedimentary rocks otherwise lacking in micro-kinematic indicators, leucoxene fish may provide an alternative to quartz c-axis analysis.     

Automated AF-demagnetization on the 2G-Enterprises through-bore,cryogenic magnetometer

Since the early sixties, alternating field demagnetization (AFD) has been a standard laboratory technique for demagnetizing rocks to expose the multicomponent structure of their natural remanent magnetization (NRM). In the majority of AFD implementations, however, the procedure remains as labour-intensive as ever. The implementation that we have developed at the Australian Geological Survey Organisation, automates the procedure for AFD based on the static method, and results in significant productivity and efficiency gains without compromising data quality. A properly formulated procedure for static AFD may be the only method of retrieving higher-coercivity components of natural remanence in samples prone to developing gyroremanence at higher alternating fields (AFs). Our AFD environment comprises: a 2G-Enterprises through-bore, cryogenic magnetometer; 2G AF-coils and control equipment; and personal computer software, developed by us, to control all procedural aspects for a complete AFD of a sample including, importantly, a counteracting procedure to neutralize the effects of gyroremanence build-up at higher AFs. With our system, AFD of 8 samples/day, each of 20+ steps, requires only 20 min of user attention compared with a full day for conventional systems.     

Magnetostratigraphy and palaeoclimate of Red Clay sequences from Chinese Loess Plateau

Two Red Clay profiles near Xi’an and Xifeng were investigated in an attempt to determine magnetostratigraphic and palaeoclimatic records. The results show that aeolian dust accumulation and the related East Asia palaeomonsoon system had begun by 6.5 Ma, and it is deduced that the Tibetan Plateau had reached a significant elevation at that time. The late Tertiary palaeoclimatic history of the Red Clay as reflected by magnetic susceptibility is reconstructed during the period of 6.5–2.5 Ma. Stepwise increase in susceptibility of aeolian dust accumulation appears to have a close correlation to the uplift processes of the Tibetan Plateau. The remarkable increase of aeolian dust accumulation at 3.2 Ma appears to be due to the influence of global ice volume on the East Asia monsoon. Palaeomonsoon variation during the late Tertiary as recorded in the Red Clay sequences from the Chinese Loess Plateau can be regarded as the product of a number of interacting factors, such as uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, solar radiation, global ice volume, etc. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Foundation of Xi’an Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.     

A modern vision: Eric Lindsay at Armagh

Eric Mervyn Lindsay masterminded the development of Armagh Observatory in the middle of the 20th century, building it into the centre for research and education that it is today. John McFarland recounts Lindsay's story, of how one man's drive and ambition forged international collaborations that presaged today's world of shared research facilities     

Isotopic order, biogeochemical processes, and earth history: Goldschmidt lecture, Davos, Switzerland, August 2002

The impetus to interpret carbon isotopic signals comes from an understanding of isotopic fractionations imposed by living organisms. That understanding rests in turn on studies of enzymatic isotope effects, on fruitful concepts of isotopic order, and on studies of the distribution of ¹³C both between and within biosynthetic products. In sum, these studies have shown that the isotopic compositions of biological products are governed by reaction kinetics and by pathways of carbon flow.Isotopic compositions of individual compounds can indicate specific processes or environments. Examples include biomarkers which record the isotopic compositions of primary products in aquatic communities, which indicate that certain bacteria have used methane as a carbon source, and which show that some portions of marine photic zones have been anaerobic. In such studies, the combination of structural and isotopic lines of evidence reveals relationships between compounds and leads to process-related thinking. These are large steps. Reconstruction of the sources and histories of molecular fossils redeems much of the early promise of organic geochemistry by resolving and clarifying paleoenviron-mental signals. In turn, contemplation of this new information is driving geochemists to study microbial ecology and evolution, oceanography, and sedimentology.