Petrology of pumices of April 1993 eruption of Lascar (Atacama, Chile)

Lascar Volcano (Atacama, Chile) erupted on 18–20 April 1993. Several sub-Plinian explosions occurred, and some were mushroom-shaped. The highest column rose up to 23 km. Ash clouds crossed South America eastwards. Dacite pumice falls made of blocks and ashes were deposited on the flanks of the volcano as a result of collapsed columns. The pumice contains phenocrysts of plagioclase, enstatite, augite, biotite, magnetite and ilmenite and small crystals of apatite. The 1992 previous andesite dome inside the crater was destroyed. Banded blocks resulting from mingling of the dacitic pumice and andesite from the dome are found in the pumice flow. Both the lava dome and the pumice are representative of the Lascar high-K magma unit. Dacitic pumice is a product of crystal fractionation of the andesitic magma.     

Spatial Aspects of Restrictions on Registered Sex Offenders

Restrictions in the USA on registered sex offenders (RSOs) are examined from the spatial aspects. The long history of various restrictions imposed by government, particularly local ones, is covered in the introduction. Spatial aspects, such as delineation of zones from which certain activities or certain people are excluded is the focus. Then the nature of restrictions on RSOs is considered at the state, county and municipal level. Typical of restrictions are that RSOs are prohibited from moving into residence within a prescribed distance of certain features in a community. The distances are typically 1,000 feet but are quite variable. Typical proscribed venues are schools, parks and day care centers, but there can be many others such as bus stops. Spatial aspects of these restrictions, such as how offender locations are geocoded and represented and how proscribed venues are delineated is analyzed. Specific details and theoretical concerns related to the many problematic issues with RSO restrictions is presented. In particular questions of their constitutionality and efficacy are raised. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of RSO restrictions for the discipline of geography in general and for the evolution of increasingly precise methods of spatial analysis in particular.     

Effects of Unstable Thermal Stratification on Vertical Fluxes of Heat and Momentum in Urban Areas

A Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes microscale model is used for the simulation of the effect of unstable thermal stratification on the flow within an aligned configuration of building-like cubes as used in Santiago et al. (Urban Clim 9:115–133, 2014). The spatially-averaged results show increased dispersive fluxes, turbulent length scales and sectional drag coefficient. An extension of K-theory is presented to parametrize the sum of the turbulent and dispersive fluxes, and the length scale and drag coefficient increases are parametrized as functions of the ratio of buoyant and inertial forces. This approach improves the results of urban canopy parametrization simulations inside and above the urban canyon and represents the first attempt to account for the dispersive fluxes and the effect of solar radiation on the flow.     

U–Pb SHRIMP zircon dating of Grenvillian metamorphism in Western Sierras Pampeanas (Argentina): Correlation with the Arequipa-Antofalla craton and constraints on the extent of the Precordillera Terrane

Metamorphism of Grenvillian age (ca. 1.2 Ga; U–Pb zircon dating) is recognized for the first time in the Western Sierras Pampeanas (Sierra de Maz). Conditions reached granulite facies (ca. 780 °C and ca. 780 MPa). Comparing geochronological and petrological characteristics with other outcrops of Mesoproterozoic basement, particularly in the northern and central Arequipa-Antofalla craton, we suggest that these regions were part of a single continental crustal block from Mesoproterozoic times, and thus autochthonous or parautochthonous to Gondwana.     

Sediment mobility and bed armoring in the St Clair River: insights from hydrodynamic modeling

The lake levels in Lake Michigan‐Huron have recently fallen to near historical lows, as has the elevation difference between Lake Michigan‐Huron compared to Lake Erie. This decline in lake levels has the potential to cause detrimental impacts on the lake ecosystems, together with social and economic impacts on communities in the entire Great Lakes region. Results from past work suggest that morphological changes in the St Clair River, which is the only natural outlet for Lake Michigan‐Huron, could be an appreciable factor in the recent trends of lake level decline. A key research question is whether bed erosion within the river has caused an increase in water conveyance, therefore, contributed to the falling lake level. In this paper, a numerical modeling approach with field data is used to investigate the possibility of sediment movement in the St Clair River and assess the likelihood of morphological change under the current flow regime. A two‐dimensional numerical model was used to study flow structure, bed shear stress, and sediment mobility/armoring over a range of flow discharges. Boundary conditions for the numerical model were provided by detailed field measurements that included high‐resolution bathymetry and three‐dimensional flow velocities. The results indicate that, without considering other effects, under the current range of flow conditions, the shear stresses produced by the river flow are too low to transport most of the coarse bed sediment within the reach and are too low to cause substantial bed erosion or bed scour. However, the detailed maps of the bed show mobile bedforms in the upper St Clair River that are indicative of sediment transport. Relatively high shear stresses near a constriction at the upstream end of the river and at channel bends could cause local scour and deposition. Ship‐induced propeller wake erosion also is a likely cause of sediment movement in the entire reach. Other factors that may promote sediment movement, such as ice cover and dredging in the lower river, require further investigation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Photoelectrons in the upper atmosphere: A formulation incorporating effects of transport

An efficient scheme is described for computation of photoelectron energy spectra. The method, similar to one used in radiative transfer theory, incorporates effects due to spatial and angular redistribution of electrons. These effects play a dominant role at heights above 400 km.     

A cephalopod fishery GIS for the Northeast Atlantic: development and application

Cephalopod stocks are of increasing economic importance. Cephalopod fisheries show marked inter-annual fluctuations unrelated to fishery landings and effort. Their population dynamics, particularly recruitment, are thought to be strongly susceptible to changes in environmental conditions. This arises in part from the short life cycle, resulting in poor buffering of the population against changing conditions. These characteristics make traditional approaches to stock assessment and fishery management inappropriate. GIS offers a tool to improve understanding of spatio-temporal trends in abundance and facilitate rational management. A cephalopod fishery geographical information system for Northeast Atlantic waters (CFGIS-NEA) was developed. The system covers the area from 28.0° W to 11.0° E, and 34.5° N to 65.5° N. It was designed for investigating cephalopod resource dynamics in relation to environmental variation. It is based on Unix Arc/Info, and PC ArcView, combined with the statistical software package S-PLUS and supported by a database in Microsoft Access. Environmental data (e.g. sea surface temperature and salinity, sea bottom temperature and salinity, and bathymetric data), cephalopod fishery, survey and biological data, from a variety of sources, were integrated in the GIS as coverages, grids, shapefiles, and tables. Special functions were developed for data integration, data conversion, query, visualisation, analysis and management. User-friendly interfaces were developed allowing relatively inexperienced users to operate the system. The spatial and temporal distribution patterns of cephalopod abundance by species, the spatial and temporal relationships between cephalopod abundance and environmental factors, and the spatial and temporal patterns of cephalopod fishing activity were analysed using a combination of visual (qualitative) and quantitative methods. Predictive empirical models, such as GAMs (generalized additive models), were developed for modelling cephalopod abundance using environmental variables.