The northern Patagonia Somuncura plateau basalts: a product of slab‐induced,shallow asthenospheric upwelling?

The Meseta de Somuncura forms the largest basaltic plateau (20 000 km²) of southern Argentina (extra-Andean domain). Most of these tholeiitic to alkaline rocks were extruded at ˜ 25 Ma (late Oligocene). The absence of rifting–thinning processes, plume activity, or slab-window phenomena leaves only one major possibility for the generation of Somuncura: asthenospheric ('OIB-like') corner flow leading to a transient thermal anomaly above the subducting plate. It is suggested herein that the intake of hot asthenosphere was forced into a favourable topography (concave-up) of the subducting plate, when a major plate reorganization event (Farallon to Nazca) was taking place in late Oligocene to early Miocene time. The fast and vigorous intake of asthenosphere would have been induced by slab roll-back, leading to decoupling of the subducting plate. The Somuncura volcanic episode can be regarded as a marker of the passage from the extremely oblique subduction of Farallon, to the birth of the Nazca plate and roughly perpendicular convergence between South America and Nazca.     

Lunar motion: Theory and observations

Results of several fits of the lunar theory ELP 2000-82B and of Moons' theory of libration are presented. The theories are fitted both to JPL numerical integrations and to LLR observations     

Relict mountain slope deposits of northern Portugal: facies,sedimentogenesis and environmental implications

This paper deals with the formation processes and the palaeoenvironmental significance of relict slope deposits located on the uppermost part of the north Portugal mountains. For this purpose, seven key sites representative of the different lithofacies have been selected and analysed in detail. The data show that three main dynamic processes are responsible for the emplacement of regional fossil slope deposits: runoff, debris flows and dry grain flows. The ubiquity of these processes and the lack of frost‐related features or landforms do not support the existence of severe Pleistocene climates in this part of the lberian Peninsula as postulated by previous work. Pedological data gathered at one of the study sites show that a subalpine environment was probably present at 700–800 m altitude between 29 and 14 kyr. Using data from the Pyrenees Mountains, a 6.5 to 12°C depression in mean annual temperature has been tentatively postulated for this Pleniglacial period. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reliability assessment of granular filters in embankment dams

Empirical criteria have been used successfully to design filters of most embankment large dam projects throughout the world. However, these empirical rules are only applicable to a particular range of soils tested in laboratory and do not take into account the variability of the base material and filter particle sizes. In addition, it is widely accepted that the safety of fill dams is mainly dependent on the reliability of their filter performance. The work herein presented consists in a new general method for assessing the probability of fulfilling any empirical filter design criteria accounting for base and filter heterogeneity by means of first‐order reliability methods (FORM), so that reliability indexes and probabilities of fulfilling any particular criteria are obtained. This method will allow engineers to estimate the safety of existing filters in terms of probability of fulfilling their design criteria and might also be used as a decision tool on sampling needs and material size tolerances during construction. In addition, sensitivity analysis makes possible to analyse how reliabilities are influenced by different sources of input data. Finally, in case of a portfolio risk assessment, this method will allow engineers to compare the safety of several existing dams in order to prioritize safety investments and it is expected to be a very useful tool to evaluate probabilities of failure due to internal erosion. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Large-scale structure in the NIR-selected MUNICS survey

The Munich Near-IR Cluster Survey (MUNICS) is a wide-area, medium-deep, photometric survey selected in the K' band. The project's main scientific aims are the identification of galaxy clusters up to redshifts of unity and the selection of a large sample of field early-type galaxies up to z < 1.5 for evolutionary studies. We created a Large Scale Structure catalog, using a new structure finding technique specialized for photometric datasets, that we developed on the basis of a friends-of-friends algorithm. We tested the plausibility of the resulting galaxy group and cluster catalog with the help of Color-Magnitude Diagrams (CMD), as well as a likelihood- and Voronoi-approach. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Dynamical implications of Jupiter's tropospheric ammonia abundance

Groundbased radio observations indicate that Jupiter's ammonia is globally depleted from 0.6 bars to at least 4-6 bars relative to the deep abundance of ∼3 times solar, a fact that has so far defied explanation. The observations also indicate that (i) the depletion is greater in belts than zones, and (ii) the greatest depletion occurs within Jupiter's local 5-μm hot spots, which have recently been detected at radio wavelengths. Here, we first show that both the global depletion and its belt-zone variation can be explained by a simple model for the interaction of moist convection with Jupiter's cloud-layer circulation. If the global depletion is dynamical in origin, then important endmember models for the belt-zone circulation can be ruled out. Next, we show that the radio observations of Jupiter's 5-μm hot spots imply that the equatorial wave inferred to cause hot spots induces vertical parcel oscillation of a factor of ∼2 in pressure near the 2-bar level, which places important constraints on hot-spot dynamics. Finally, using spatially resolved radio maps, we demonstrate that low-latitude features exceeding ∼4000 km diameter, such as the equatorial plumes and large vortices, are also depleted in ammonia from 0.6 bars to at least 2 bars relative to the deep abundance of 3 times solar. If any low-latitude features exist that contain 3-times-solar ammonia up to the 0.6-bar ammonia condensation level, they must have diameters less than ∼4000 km.     

Monitoring the Microarcsecond Quasar J1819+3845

We present the results of a year-long monitoring campaign on J1819+3845.We interpret the results of this WSRT campaign to infer critical source parameters such as source lifetime and structure on tens of microarcseconds. The long lifetime of the source at such high brightness temperatures requires continuous energy injection or exotic emission processes. We have previously interpreted the extreme scintillation ofJ1819+3845 as due to a relatively nearby (∼ 20 pc) scattering screen. We show this screen has a velocity w.r.t. the LSR of ∼ 25 kms^-1, as measured by the changing scintillation properties throughout the year: the `velocity parallax'. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Low‐energy helium ion irradiation‐induced amorphization and chemical changes in olivine: Insights for silicate dust evolution in the interstellar medium

Abstract— We present the results of irradiation experiments aimed at understanding the structural and chemical evolution of silicate grains in the interstellar medium. A series of He+ irradiation experiments have been performed on ultra‐thin olivine, (Mg,Fe)₂SiO₄, samples having a high surface/volume (S/V) ratio, comparable to the expected S/V ratio of interstellar dust. The energies and fluences of the helium ions used in this study have been chosen to simulate the irradiation of interstellar dust grains in supernovae shock waves. The samples were mainly studied using analytical transmission electron microscopy. Our results show that olivine is amorphized by low‐energy ion irradiation. Changes in composition are also observed. In particular, irradiation leads to a decrease of the atomic ratios O/Si and Mg/Si as determined by x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and by x‐ray energy dispersive spectroscopy. This chemical evolution is due to the differential sputtering of atoms near the surfaces. We also observe a reduction process resulting in the formation of metallic iron. The use of very thin samples emphasizes the role of surface/volume ratio and thus the importance of the particle size in the irradiation‐induced effects. These results allow us to account qualitatively for the observed properties of interstellar grains in different environments, that is, at different stages of their evolution: chemical and structural evolution in the interstellar medium, from olivine to pyroxene‐type and from crystalline to amorphous silicates, porosity of cometary grains as well as the formation of metallic inclusions in silicates.     

Upwelling and river runoff as sources of dissolved nitrous oxide to the Alsea estuary,Oregon

Surface waters of Alsea Bay, an unpolluted estuary on the Oregon coast, were analysed for nitrous oxide, nitrate and nitrite on a weekly or biweekly basis during the summer of 1979. The estuary was found to be a variable source of N₂O to the atmosphere. Large and rapid increases in the concentrations of N₂O, NO₃^?, and NO₂^? occurred at the beginning of the sampling period and are attributed to the influx of nutrient-rich upwelling water into the estuary with the tide. The subsequent decline in concentrations of nitrate, nitrite and nitrous oxide over the remainder of the summer is attributed to a decrease in upwelling intensity, a decline in nitrification rates and to assimilatory nitrate reduction. Measurements of nitrous oxide at six stations along the Alsea River were also made in September and October before and after the onset of the rainy season. Samples taken after flood conditions were established were systematically 50% higher than pre-flood samples. The data suggest that soil runoff results in elevated concentrations of N₂O in rivers.