Climate change and snow-cover duration in the Australian Alps

This study uses a model of snow-cover duration, an observed climate data set for the Australian alpine area, and a set of regional climate-change scenarios to assess quantitatively how changes in climate may affect snow cover in the Australian Alps. To begin, a regional interannual climate data set of high spatial resolution is prepared for input to the snow model and the resulting simulated interannual and spatial variations in snow-cover duration are assessed and compared with observations. The model provides a reasonable simulation of the sensitivities of snow-cover duration to changes in temperature and precipitation in the Australian Alps, although its performance is poorer at sites highly marginal for snow cover. (In a separate comparison, the model also performs well for sites in the European Alps.) The input climate data are then modified in line with scenarios of regional climate change based on the results of five global climate models run in enhanced greenhouse experiments. The scenarios are for the years 2030 and 2070 and allow for uncertainty associated with projecting future emissions of greenhouse gases and with estimating the sensitivity of the global climate system to enhanced greenhouse forcing. Attention focuses on the climate changes most favourable (best-case scenario) and least favourable (worst-case scenario) for snow cover amongst the range of climate changes in the scenarios. Under the best case scenario for 2030, simulated average snow-cover duration and the frequency of years of more than 60 days cover decline at all sites considered. However, at the higher sites (e.g., more than 1700 m) the effect is not very marked. For the worst case scenario, a much more dramatic decline in snow conditions is simulated. At higher sites, simulated average snow cover duration roughly halves by 2030 and approaches zero by 2070. At lower sites (around 1400 m), near zero average values are simulated by 2030 (compared to durations of around 60 days for current climate).These simulated changes, ranging between the best and worst case, are likely to be indicative of how climate change will affect natural snow-cover duration in the Australian Alps. However, note that the model does not allow directly for changes in the frequency and intensity of snow-bearing circulation systems, nor do the climate-change scenarios allow possible changes in interannual variability (particularly that due to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation) and local topographical effects not resolved by global climate models. The simulated changes in snow cover are worthy of further consideration in terms of their implications for the ski industry and tourism, water resources and hydroelectric power, and land-use management and planning.68 Barada Crescent, Aranda ACT 2614, Australia.     

Orientation of the galactic magnetic field in the vicinity of the solar system

It is found from analysis of the position angles of the plane of polarization of about 3000 stars (¦b¦ 5° andP 0.5%) that the angle between the magnetic field and the equatorial plane of the galaxy is approximately 0–5°. The distance within which the local magnetic fields of the galaxy have a greater effect on the position angles of the plane of polarization than the galactic magnetic field is estimated to be about 500 pc. The effect of the galactic magnetic field becomes dominant for distancesr 1000 pc.Translated fromAstrofizika, Vol. 39, No. 4, pp. 553–559, November, 1996.     

The Taconite Inlet Lakes Project: a systems approach to paleoclimatic reconstruction

A comprehensive study of meteorological, hydrological, limnological and sedimentological conditions in the watersheds of density-stratified (meromictic) lakes around Taconite Inlet, Northern Ellesmere Island, N.W.T., Canada was carried out from 1990–1992. Lakes C1 and C2 contain seawater trapped by isostatic uplift as the former embayments became isolated from the sea. These lakes, and Lake C3, contain varved sediments which provide an annually resolvable paleoclimatic record. By studing the major systems influencing sedimentation in one of these lakes (Lake C2) a better understanding of the climatic controls on varve formation, and hence on the paleoclimatic signal in the varved sediment record, was obtained. The varves of Lake C2 provide a proxy record of summer temperature for the region.This is the first in a series of papers published in this issue on the Taconite Inlet Lakes Project. These papers were collected by Dr R. S. Bradley.     

Commentary and critique of “accounting for mineral resources: Issues and BEA's initial estimates”

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce, in keeping with broad international efforts to green national gross domestic product (GDP) accounts, has attempted to create satellite accounts for mineral depletion. The present paper criticizes the BEA's unit rent measure of resource depletion, which is based upon Hotelling's pure theory of exhaustion. Following a thorough criticism of Hotelling's theory as a real-world model of mineral prices, practical issues related to the treatment of recycling, exploration, definition of reserves/resources, and their valuation/exploitation are introduced. For crude oil and natural gas and the nonfuel minerals, specific application problems of joint products and residuals complicate BEA's assumptions and efforts.     

Singular points of the polarization tensor

The problem to compute the magnetic field above the chromosphere using data of the vector = B _t/Bt that gives the projected field direction can be solved with different approximations. The field of direction vectors is, however, not the only field accessible to observations. The Stokes parameters, which are components of the radiation tensor, can be measured at each point of the image plane. The directions of the eigenvectors of the radiation tensor define two mutually orthogonal systems of integral curves in the image plane. These families of curves have singular points, which are generally of different type than those of the vector field. When the morphology of H chromospheric fibrils are used to infer the topology of the magnetic field, a similar problem is met, suggesting that singular points should also be present there.     

Mixed-layer characteristics as related to the monsoon climate of New Delhi,India

Annual variations of mixed-layer characteristics at New Delhi, India have been studied for a weak monsoon (1987) and a strong monsoon (1988) year. In the weak monsoon year (1987), the maximum mixing depthh _max was found to have a value of around 3000 m during the pre-monsoon, less than 2000 m during the summer monsoon, around 2000 m during the post-monsoon, and less than 1000 m in the winter season. For the strong monsoon year (1988),h _max values were less than 1987 values for comparable periods throughout the year. The seasonal and yearly differences ofh _max were explained by the surface energy balance and potential temperature gradient at a time close to sunrise. According to the spatial patterns of obtained by an objective analysis of the 850 to 700 hPa layers. mixed-layer characteristics obtained at New Delhi are representative of the north and central regions of India.     

Gold mineralization in As-rich mesothermal gold ores of the Bogosu-Prestea mining district of the Ashanti Gold Belt,Ghana: remobilization of “invisible” gold

The Bogosu-Prestea mining district of southwestern Ghana is a 33 km section of the Early Proterozoic Ashanti Gold Belt. Greenschist facies carbonaceous and carbonate-bearing turbidites and greywackes, and mafic dikes host numerous economic mesothermal gold deposits. Structurally higher ores in the Bogosu concession have brittle deformation and consist of disseminated-sulphide lodes in tectonically-disrupted sedimentary rocks and carbonate-altered mafic dikes. Most gold occurs as micrometre-size particles in arsenian pyrite, and as invisible gold in arsenian pyrite and arsenopyrite. The structurally deeper ores of the adjoining Prestea concession are associated with brittle-ductile deformation and consist of extensive crack-seal quartz-veins and graphitic shear zones. Only minor amounts of invisible gold were detected; in these deeper lodes, gold occurs dominantly as abundant microscopic and larger particles in sulphide/arsenide minerals and in gangue. The gold distribution patterns revealed by SIMS microprobe analysis and ion maps, EMP and colour staining suggest that most of the primary gold in the Bogosu-Prestea system precipitated in solid-solution with sulphide/arsenide minerals. However, post-depositional concentration and redistribution occurred, in increasing degree with: 1) increase in metamorphic/hydrothermal gradients in the gold system (depth), 2) decrease in the refractory properties of the host mineral, and 3) increase in the amount of post-depositional, host-mineral recrystallization and deformation. Gold evolved from primary solid-solution within sulphide/arsenide minerals, to colloidal and micrometre-size particles concentrated in voids, fractures and internal grain boundaries, and finally to microscopic and larger particles at sulphide/arsenide grain margins and in the gangue assemblage. The general conclusions presented here are applicable to As-rich gold deposits of all ages, worldwide. The presence of gold in late fractures is insufficient evidence for late-stage introduction of gold in mesothermal gold systems.     

Optical absorption investigation of Cr3+ ion-bearing minerals in the temperature range 77–797 K

The effect of raising temperature on spin-allowed dd-transitions of octahedral Cr³⁺ was studied for various point symmetries of the Cr³⁺-bearing structural sites, i.e. 3 m and 3 with inversion center in spinel and garnets, respectively, or 32, 3, 2 and 1, lacking the inversion centre, in beryl, corundum, diopside and topaz, respectively. For this purpose, crystals of Cr³⁺-bearing spinel, pyrope, andradite, grossular, uvarovite, emerald, ruby, diopside and topaz were analyzed by microprobe, oriented, and measured in polarized radiation (except for the cubic minerals) in the spectral range 30 000 to 11 100 cm^-1 and at temperatures between 77 and 797 K. The evaluation of the intensities, half widths, and energy positions of bands due to Cr³⁺-transitions derived from ⁴ A _2g ⁴ T _2g (F) and ⁴ T _1g (F) as well as of Dq- and B-values derived, had the following results:In all cases, red shift of the above bands and, hence, independent on the site symmetry of Cr³⁺, decreases in the Dq-values were obtained. The dependcies of Dq on T are nearly linear above room temperature and amount between -1.6% in topaz and -5.1% in pyrope in the temperature range studied. From this, values for the local thermal expansion of the Cr³⁺-centered octahedra, _loc, were derived on the basis of the R _M-0 ^-5 -proportionality of 10Dq. Such values are consistently higher than those obtained from X-ray refinements, a method averaging r_m-o for all the respective octahedral positions.     

Pb−Sr−Nd−O isotopic constraints on the origin of rhyolites from the Taupo Volcanic Zone of New Zealand: evidence for assimilation followed by fractionation from basalt

A comprehensive Sr–Nd–Pb–O isotopic study is reported for rhyolites from the Maroa Volcanic Centre in the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) of New Zealand. The Sr–Nd isotopic compositions of the rhyolites (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.705236 to 0.705660 and _Nd = 2.0 to 0.2) are intermediate between those of primitive basalts (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.70387 and _Nd = 5.3) and the Torlesse basement (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.709 and _Nd = -4.5). The relatively low mantle-like oxygen isotopic compositions of ¹⁸ O = 7 ± 0.5 are consistent with the Nd-Sr isotopic constraints in that they can be accounted for by 15% to 25% crustal contamination of a basaltic parent by relatively ¹⁸ O-rich Torlesse metasediment. High precision Pb isotopic analyses of plagioclase separates from the Maroa rhyolites show that they have essentially the same compositions as the Torlesse metasedimentary terrane which is itself distinctive from the Western or Waipapa metasediments. Due to the high concentration of Pb in the Torlesse metasediments (>20 ppm) compared to the basalts (<2 ppm), the Pb isotopic composition of the volcanics may be controlled by relatively small amounts (>10%) of crustal contamination. All these results are shown to be consistent with derivation of the rhyolites by 15% to 25% contamination of relatively primitive basaltic magmas with Torlesse metasedimentary crust, followed by extensive, essentially closed system fractionation of the basalt to a magma of rhyolite composition. It is argued that the processes of assimilation and fractionation are separated in both space and time. The voluminous high silica rhyolites, which make up >97% of the exposed volcanism in the continental margin back-are basin environment of the TVZ, therefore appear to be a product of predominantly new additions to the crust with assimilation-recycling of pre-existing crust being of secondary importance.     

Aqueous alteration of the Bali CV3 chondrite: evidence from mineralogy, mineral chemistry, and oxygen isotopic compositions

A petrographic, geochemical, and oxygen isotopic study of the Bali CV3 carbonaceous chondrite revealed that the meteorite has undergone extensive deformation and aqueous alteration on its parent body. Deformation textures are common and include flattened chondrules, a well-developed foliation, and the presence of distinctive (100) planar defects in olivine. The occurrence of alteration products associated with the planar defects indicates that the deformation features formed prior to the episode of aqueous alteration. The secondary minerals produced during the alteration event include well-crystallized Mg-rich saponite, framboidal magnetite, and Ca-phosphates. The alteration products are not homogeneously distributed throughout the meteorite, but occur in regions adjacent to relatively unaltered material, such as veins of altered material following the foliation. The alteration assemblage formed under oxidizing conditions at relatively low temperatures (<100 degrees C). Altered regions in Bali have higher Na, Ca, and P contents than unaltered regions which suggests that the fluid phase carried significant dissolved solids. Oxygen isotopic compositions for unaltered regions in Bali fall within the field for other CV3 whole-rocks, however, the oxygen isotopic compositions of the heavily altered material lie in the region for the CM and CR chondrites. The heavy-isotope enrichment of the altered regions in Bali suggest alteration conditions similar to those for the petrographic type-2 carbonaceous chondrites.