Formation of leading spiral arms in retrograde galaxy encounters

We study, theoretically and withN-body simulations, the formation of spiral structures in retrograde galaxy encounters. A one-armed leading spiral dominates in a disc if (i) the tidal perturbation from the retrograde companion is large enough, and (ii) the disc is surrounded by a massive halo. From the literature we find that very few spirals in a sample of galaxies with a large companion have leading spiral arms. A possible reason for this is that very few spiral galaxies have a halo with a larger mass than the disc mass.     

Galactic H i on the 50-au scale in the direction of three extragalactic sources observed with MERLIN

We present MERLIN observations of Galactic 21-cm H  i absorption at an angular resolution of  ∼0.1–0.2  arcsec and a velocity resolution of 0.5 km s⁻¹, in the direction of three moderately low latitude  (−8° < b < −12°)  extragalactic radio sources, 3C 111, 3C 123 and 3C 161, all of which are heavily reddened. H  i absorption is observed against resolved background emission sources up to ∼2 arcsec in extent and we distinguish details of the opacity distribution within 1–1.5 arcsec regions towards 3C 123 and 3C 161. This study is the second MERLIN investigation of small-scale structure in interstellar H  i (earlier work probed Galactic H  i in the directions of the compact sources 3C 138 and 3C 147). The 0.1-arcsec scale is intermediate between H  i absorption studies made with other fixed element interferometers with resolution of 1–10 arcsec and very long baseline interferometry studies with resolutions of 10–20 mas. At a scale of 1 arcsec (about 500 au), prominent changes in Galactic H  i opacity in excess of 1–1.5 are determined in the direction of 3C 161 with a signal-to-noise ratio of at least 10σ. Possible fluctuations in the H  i opacity at the level of about 1 are detected at the  2.5–3σ  level in the direction of 3C 123.     

Structure of hakone caldera as revealed by drilling

Hakone caldera, now 8 by 12 km in diameter, was formed by collapse of a center of a volcano probably 2700 m high. The collapse took place at two separate periods each of which was followed by periods of deep denudation. The central part of the caldera has been covered by a thick pile of lavas of post-caldera cones and domes. For the purpose of finding thermal spring, drilling to depths of a few hundred to one thousand meters was carried out at various points within the caldera except for its central region. The study of the drill cores revealed that the average amount of subsidence at points 2 and 3 km away from the base of the present caldera wall is 600 m and 1200 m respectively, and probably more than 1800 m in the middle of the caldera. Within the caldera, the pre-caldera lavas and pyroclastic rocks are either lacking or much thinner than would be expected. It is concluded therefore that the present topographic depression of the caldera owed its origin to both subsidence and denudation. It is inferred that the subsidence took place along a complicated system of concentric faults combined with tilting of individual fault blocks toward the middle of the caldera. The magma reservoir into which the fault blocks sank probably had a shape of a cupola with a diameter comparable to or a little smaller than the diameter of the caldera.     

Gabbro — quartz diorite inclusions from Izu-Hakone Region,Japan

Gabbro — quartz diorite inclusions, angular to rounded and up to 20 cm in size, have been found as accidental fragments in a mud flow of the Okata basalt group, O-shima Island and in a tuff breccia, Hakone. New analyses are represented for seventeen inclusions and three pyroxenes. It is reasonable to conclude from petrographic and chemical features that the olivine gabbro inclusions were produced by crystal settling from a quartztholeiite magma at the early stage of fractionation within a magma reservior. On the other hand, gabbro and quartz gabbro inclusions are fragments of a small intrusive body within the Tertiary volcanic formation and consist of various amounts of cumulus phases and liquid. Quartz diorite inclusions are also fragments of a plutonic equivalent, but represents a strongly-differentiated liquid phase of the quartz-tholeiite magma.     

Dike swarm in Hakone volcano

Subparallel dikes are exposed on a new road-cut along the foot of the southeastern caldera wall of Hakone Volcano. The dikes are concentrated within a zone 1,915 m wide. Altogether 96 dikes trending generally from NW to SE are seen within a total length of the actual outcrops of 855 m measured at right angles to the trend of the dikes. This implies that there are 215 dikes within the zone of the dike swarm. As the average thickness of the dikes is 2.85 m, the zone was stretched for about 650 m in NE-SW direction owing to the intrusion of the dikes. The dikes tend to converge to a small area near the center of the caldera, and also tend to dip steeply toward the central axis of the zone. It is concluded that the dikes intruded along originally vertical fissures radiating from the central vent of the pre-caldera cone, but the zone of the dike swarm was subjected to bulging with the maximum elevation along its central axis owing to successive intrusion of the dikes from below. Stretching and bulging of the flank of a volcanic cone owing to rise of magma along one of radial fissures were observed during the 1940 eruption of Miyake-zima, Izu Islands, Japan.     

3C 459: a highly asymmetric radio galaxy with a starburst

Multifrequency radio observations of the radio galaxy 3C 459 using MERLIN, VLA and the EVN and an optical Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) image using the F702W filter are presented. The galaxy has a very asymmetric radio structure, a high infrared luminosity and a young stellar population. The eastern component of the double-lobed structure is brighter, much closer to the nucleus and is significantly less polarized than the western one. This is consistent with the jet on the eastern side interacting with dense gas, which could be due to a merged companion or dense cloud of gas. The HST image of the galaxy presented here exhibits filamentary structures and is compared with the MERLIN 5-GHz radio map. EVN observations of the prominent central component, which has a steep radio spectrum, show a strongly curved structure suggesting a bent or helical radio jet. The radio structure of 3C 459 is compared with other highly asymmetric, Fanaroff–Riley II radio sources, which are also good candidates for studying jet–cloud interactions. Such sources are usually of small linear size and it is possible that the jets are interacting with clouds of infalling gas that fuel the radio source.     

Hillslope hydrology and wetland response of two small zero‐order boreal catchments on the Precambrian Shield

Two Precambrian Shield zero‐order catchments were monitored from January 2003 to July 2004 to characterize their hydrological and biogeochemical characteristics prior to a forest management experiment. Hydrometric observations were used to examine temporal trends in hillslope‐wetland connectivity and the hillslope runoff processes that control wetland event response. The hillslope groundwater flux from the longer transect (E1) was continuous throughout the study period. Groundwater fluxes from a shorter and steeper hillslope (E0) were intermittent during the study period. Large depression storage elements (termed micro‐basins) located on the upper hillslope of the E1 catchment appeared to be at least partly responsible for the observed rapid wetland runoff responses. These micro‐basins were hydrologically connected to a downslope wetland by a subsurface channel of glacial cobbles that functioned as a macropore channel during episodic runoff events. The runoff response from the hilltop micro‐basins is controlled by antecedent water table position and water is quickly piped to the wetland fringe through the cobble channel during high water table conditions. During periods of low water table position, seepage along the bedrock–soil interface from the hilltop micro‐basin and other hillslopes maintained hillslope–wetland connectivity. The micro‐basins create a dynamic variable source‐area runoff system where the contributing area expands downslope during episodic runoff events. The micro‐basins occupied 30% of the E1 catchment and are a common feature on the Precambrian Shield. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

3C 254: MERLIN observations of a highly asymmetric quasar

Multifrequency, high-resolution radio observations of the quasar 3C 254 using the Multi-Element Radio-linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) are presented. The quasar has a highly asymmetric radio structure, with the eastern component of the double-lobed structure being much closer to the nucleus and significantly less polarized than the western one. However, the two lobes are more symmetric in their total flux densities. The observations show the detailed structure of the hotspots which are very different on opposite sides of the radio core, reveal no radio jet and suggest that the oppositely directed jets may be intrinsically asymmetric.     

Lateral variation of basalt magma type across continental margins and Island Arcs

Quaternary basalt magmas in the Circum-Pacific belt and island arcs and also in Indonesia change continuously from less alkalic and more siliceous type (tholeiite) on the oceanic side to more alkalic and less siliceous type (alkali olivine basalt) on the continental side. In the northeastern part of the Japanese Islands and in Kamchatka, zones of tholeiite, high-alumina basalt, and alkali olivine basalt are arranged parallel to the Pacific coast in the order just named, whereas in the southwestern part of the Japanese Islands, the Aleutian Islands, northwestern United States, New Zealand, and Indonesia, zones of high-alumina basalt and alkali olivine basalt are arranged parallel to the coast. In the Izu-Mariana, Kurile, South Sandwich and Tonga Islands, where deep oceans are present on both sides of the island arcs, only a zone of tholeiite is represented. Thus the lateral variation of magma type is characteristic of the transitional zone between the oceanic and continental structures. Because the variation is continuous, the physico-chemical process attending basalt magma production should also change continuously from the oceanic to continental mantle. Suggested explanations for the lateral variation assuming a homogeneous mantle are: 1) Close correspondence between the variations of depth of earthquake foci in the mantle and of basalt magma type in the Japanese Islands indicates that different magmas are produced at different depths where the earthquakes are generated by stress release: tholeiite at depths around 100 km, high-alumina basalt at depths around 200 km, and alkali olivine basalt at depths greater than 250 km. 2) Primary olivine tholeiite magma is produced at a uniform level of the mantle (100–150 km), and on the oceanic side of the continental margin, it leaves the source region immediately after its production and forms magma reservoirs at shallow depths, perhaps in the crust, where it undergoes fractionation to produce SiO₂-oversaturated tholeiite magma, whereas on the continental side, the primary magma forms reservoirs near the source region and stays there long enough to be fractionated to produce alkali olivine basalt magma, and in the intermediate zone, the primary magma forms reservoirs at intermediate depths where it is fractionated to produce high-alumina basalt magma.