Coral recruitment onto an experimental pulverised fuel ash-concrete artificial reef

An experimental artificial reef was deployed in December 1993 at Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park, Hong Kong. This is the first study documenting natural scleractinian coral recruitment onto a stabilised pulverised fuel ash (PFA)-concrete artificial reef. Visible recruits were first recorded 9-10 months after the placement of reef blocks, i.e., in the autumn of 1994. Two scleractinians, Oulastrea crispata and Culicia japonica, were recruited. The recruit density of the former was much greater than the latter. The spatial recruitment pattern of the corals was observed to be affected by the orientation of the attaching surface. O. crispata settled predominantly on the undersides of the reef blocks. There was an edge effect on O. crispata recruitment. C. japonica, however, had a preference for exposed surfaces. O. crispata did not show a preference for block composition whereas C. japonica favoured blocks with high (75% by volume) PFA levels. This shows that PFA-concrete is a potential substratum for artificial reef construction, especially when such reefs aim at rehabilitating corals.     

ON BROADENING MECHANISMS OF THE Ca XIX RESONANCE LINE IN SOLAR FLARES

There are two explanations for the broadening mechanisms of the Caxix resonance line in the rising phase of a solar flare. One is due to the velocity dispersion of the chromospheric evaporation along the loop; the other is due to the non-thermal turbulence resulting from the flare energy release. In this paper we distinguish between these two possibilities by studying the influence of the loop orientation on the broadening of the Caxix resonance line, based on the data observed with SXT and BCS on Yohkoh. The results seem to support that the broadening of the Caxix resonance line is caused by non-thermal turbulence, rather than by the velocity dispersion.     

Holocene evolution of the Canet-St Nazaire lagoon (Golfe du Lion, France) as determined from a study of sediment properties

The sedimentation in the lagoons of the Golfe du Lion coast (Mediterranean Sea, France) records their post-Holocene evolution. The Canet-St Nazaire lagoon provides an example of such an evolution. Eight cores (ranging from 13.5 to 19.7 m in length) from a transect of the lagoon provide a cross-section of the late Quaternary stratigraphy. The sedimentary sequence comprises mud and sand layers. The two sand formations are identified as parts of two distinct shelf-sedimentary prisms. Stratigraphic analysis defines three stages in the recent, muddy infilling, corresponding to the last divisions of the Holocene. Sedimentation rates of the muds, related to climatic and palaeogeomorphological events, largely determine their geotechnical and geochemical properties. It appears, indeed, to be the most important factor in determining the compressibility index, the saturated bulk density and the organic and water contents of the deposits. Subboreal muds, poorly consolidated and rich in organic matter, correspond to a high rate of deposition. In the Subatlantic muds, in contrast, the sedimentation rate is lower whilst there is a decrease in the organic matter and an increase in the degree of cohesion.     

A new type of chondritic meteorite found in lunar soil

A fragment found in soil from the Apollo 12 site (12037, from the rim of Bench Crater) appears to be a unique type of chondrite, petrologically and chemically distinct from other chondrites and lunar rocks. Inclusions consisting of shocked pyroxene rimmed by euhedral troilite crystals are set in a black aphanitic matrix. Abundant magnetite in the matrix exhibits microscopic morphologies (framboids and plaquets) characteristic of C1 chondrites. The bulk composition of this sample has high Mg/Si and low Fe/Si relative to other chondrites, and P and S are strongly enriched. Most compositional differences between this meteorite and other chondrites may be explained by fractionation of Fe phases, such as magnetite and troilite. Low refractory element contents preclude mixing with lunar materials. This sample may be a surviving fragment of the meteoritic component present in the lunar regolith. Its characteristics suggest that ancient meteoritic debris sampled by the moon may be significantly different from that captured by the present-day earth.     

Long-term evolution of the aerosol debris cloud produced by the 2009 impact on Jupiter

We present a study of the long-term evolution of the cloud of aerosols produced in the atmosphere of Jupiter by the impact of an object on 19 July 2009 (Sánchez-Lavega, A. et al. [2010]. Astrophys. J. 715, L155-L159). The work is based on images obtained during 5 months from the impact to 31 December 2009 taken in visible continuum wavelengths and from 20 July 2009 to 28 May 2010 taken in near-infrared deep hydrogen-methane absorption bands at 2.1-2.3 μm. The impact cloud expanded zonally from ∼5000 km (July 19) to 225,000 km (29 October, about 180° in longitude), remaining meridionally localized within a latitude band from 53.5°S to 61.5°S planetographic latitude. During the first two months after its formation the site showed heterogeneous structure with 500-1000 km sized embedded spots. Later the reflectivity of the debris field became more homogeneous due to clump mergers. The cloud was mainly dispersed in longitude by the dominant zonal winds and their meridional shear, during the initial stages, localized motions may have been induced by thermal perturbation caused by the impact’s energy deposition. The tracking of individual spots within the impact cloud shows that the westward jet at 56.5°S latitude increases its eastward velocity with altitude above the tropopause by 5-10 m s⁻¹. The corresponding vertical wind shear is low, about 1 m s⁻¹ per scale height in agreement with previous thermal wind estimations. We found evidence for discrete localized meridional motions with speeds of 1-2 m s⁻¹. Two numerical models are used to simulate the observed cloud dispersion. One is a pure advection of the aerosols by the winds and their shears. The other uses the EPIC code, a nonlinear calculation of the evolution of the potential vorticity field generated by a heat pulse that simulates the impact. Both models reproduce the observed global structure of the cloud and the dominant zonal dispersion of the aerosols, but not the details of the cloud morphology. The reflectivity of the impact cloud decreased exponentially with a characteristic timescale of 15 days; we can explain this behavior with a radiative transfer model of the cloud optical depth coupled to an advection model of the cloud dispersion by the wind shears. The expected sedimentation time in the stratosphere (altitude levels 5-100 mbar) for the small aerosol particles forming the cloud is 45-200 days, thus aerosols were removed vertically over the long term following their zonal dispersion. No evidence of the cloud was detected 10 months after the impact.     

Some factors influencing variations in the rate of natural increase of population in western Maharashtra

This paper analyzes the impact of various factors on variations in the rate of natural increase of population in Western Maharashtra, India. By using district level data, coefficients of correlation have been calculated between the rate of natural increase, the birth rate and the death rate on the 1 hand and different factors affecting them on the other. The analysis shows that in Western Maharashtra the birth rate is high in response to the high death rate and the high infant mortality rate. It is also revealed that the rate of natural increase of the population declines with an increase in the proportion of working females as well as the proportion of educated males. All this signifies that the region under study is in the 2nd stage of the "demographic transition."