Effects of energy and pitch angle mixed diffusion on radiation belt electrons

Understanding the dynamics of the Earth’s radiation belts is important for modeling and forecasting the intensities of energetic electrons in space. Wave diffusion processes are known to be responsible for loss and acceleration of electrons in the radiation belts. Several recent studies indicate pitch angle and energy mixed-diffusion are also important when considering the total diffusive effects. In this study, a two-dimensional Fokker Planck equation is solved numerically using the Alternating Direction Implicit method. Mixed diffusion due to whistler-mode chorus waves tends to slow down the total diffusion in the energy-pitch angle space, particularly at smaller equatorial pitch angles. We then incorporate the electron energy and pitch angle mixed diffusions due to whistler-model chorus waves into the 4-dimensional Radiation Belt Environment (RBE) model and study the effect of mixed diffusion during a storm in October 2002. The 4-D simulation results show that energy and pitch angle mixed diffusion decrease the electron fluxes in the outer belt while electron fluxes in the slot region are enhanced (up to a factor of 2) during storm time.     

Sand dunes as potential sources of dust in northern China

While saltation bombardment of sand grains on a fine substrate can produce considerable dust, the well-sorted nature of sand dunes tends to preclude them from consideration as major dust sources. Recent research, however, has revealed that sand dunes can, in some cases, be large sources of dust. We used the PI-SWERL(Portable In-Situ Wind Erosion Laboratory) to measure in the field the potential of sand dunes and other desert landforms to emit particulate matter 10 μm(PM-10) dust in the Tengger, Ulan Buh, and Mu Us deserts of northern China. Combined with high resolution particle size measurements of the dune sand, an assessment of sand dunes as a dust source can be made. Large active transverse dunes tend to contain little to no stored PM-10, yet they produce a low dust flux. Coppice dunes stabilized by vegetation contain appreciable PM-10 and have very high dust emission potential. There is a positive correlation between the amount of PM-10 stored in a dune and its potential dust flux. Saltation liberates loose fines stored in dunes, making them very efficient dust emitters compared to landforms such as dry lake beds and washes where dust particles are unavailable for aeolian transport due to protective crusts or sediment cohesion. In cases where large dunes do not store PM-10 yet emit dust when active, two hypotheses can be considered:(1) iron-oxide grain coatings are removed during saltation, creating dust, and(2) sand grains collide during saltation, abrading grains to create dust. Observations reveal that iron oxide coatings are present on some dune sands. PI-SWERL data suggests that low dust fluxes from dunes containing no stored dust may represent an estimate for the amount of PM-10 dust produced by removal of iron oxide coatings. These results are similar to results from dunes in the United States. In addition, PI-SWERL results suggest that dust-bearing coppice dunes, which cover vast areas of China's sandy deserts, may become major sources of dust in the future if overgrazing, depletion of groundwater, or drought destabilizes the vegetation that now partially covers these dunes.     

Sectional response of T-shaped RC walls

Deformation quantities such as strain, curvature and displacement are of paramount importance in seismic design within a performance-based procedure that aims to control the structural response at predefined levels of inelastic action. Given the importance of curvature expressions independent of strength for the design process, and for the particular case of T-shaped walls, the curvature trends at yield, serviceability and ultimate limit state are determined in graphical and analytical form. The comprehensive set of equations proposed in this work are strength independent and allow the reliable computation of limit-state curvatures, essential in a displacement-based design approach, and thus the realistic estimation of appropriate ductility factors in the design of T-shaped walls. Furthermore, results regarding the section properties of T-shaped walls, such as the elastic stiffness and the moment capacity for opposite directions of loading, offer additional information on T-shaped walls.     

Possible ice-rafted erratics in late Early to early Middle Pleistocene shallow marine and coastal deposits in northeast Norfolk, UK

Erratic clasts with a mass of up to 15 kg are described from preglacial shallow marine and coastal deposits (Wroxham Crag Formation) in northeast Norfolk. Detailed examination of their petrology has enabled them to be provenanced to northern Britain and southern Norway. Their clustered occurrence in coastal sediments in Norfolk is believed to be the product of ice-rafting from glacier incursions into the North Sea from eastern Scotland and southern Norway, and their subsequent grounding and melting within coastal areas of what is now north Norfolk. The precise timing of these restricted glaciations is difficult to determine. However, the relationship of the erratics to the biostratigraphic record and the first major expansion of ice into the North Sea suggest these events occurred during at least one glaciation between the late Early Pleistocene and early Middle Pleistocene (c. 1.1–0.6 Ma). In contrast to the late Middle (Anglian) and Late Pleistocene (Last Glacial Maximum) glaciations, where the North Sea was largely devoid of extensive marine conditions, the presence of far-travelled ice-rafted materials implies that earlier cold stage sea-levels were considerably higher.     

Antecedent aeolian dune topographic control on carbonate and evaporite facies: Middle Jurassic Todilto Member,Wanakah Formation,Ghost Ranch,New Mexico,USA

The Middle Jurassic Todilto Member of the Wanakah Formation is a carbonate and gypsum unit inset into the underlying aeolian Entrada Sandstone in the San Juan Basin. Field and thin section study of the uppermost Entrada and Todilto at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, identified Todilto facies and their relationship to remnant Entrada dune topography. Results support the previous interpretation that the Entrada dunes, housed in a basin below sea level, were rapidly flooded by marine waters. Mass wasting of the dunes gave rise to sediment‐gravity flows that largely buried remnant dune topography, leaving ca 12 m of relief that defined the antecedent condition for Todilto deposition. Previously interpreted as seasonal varves deposited in a stratified water body, the Todilto is reinterpreted as a microbial biolaminite. Most diagnostic are organic‐rich laminae with structures characteristic of filamentous microbes and containing trapped aeolian silt, and clotted‐texture laminae with a fabric associated with calcification of extracellular polymeric substances. The spatial arrangement of Todilto facies is controlled by the dune palaeotopography. A continuous basal laminated mudstone thickens over the dune crest, reflecting the optimum conditions for microbial mat development, and is interpreted to have been deposited when marine waters submerged the topography. Subsequent drying caused emergence of the crestal area, and formation of tepee structures and a dissolution breccia. Gypsiferous mudflats and periodic ponds occupied the dune flanks and interdune area, with gypsum concentrated within the interdune area. Entrada sands remained unstable during Todilto deposition with common injection structures into the Todilto, and a remnant slope caused the downslope movement and folding of Todilto strata on the upper lee face. Although some expansion of the gypsum occurred in the subsurface, facies architecture fostered development of a dissolution front adjacent to the interdune gypsum body with section collapse of gypsiferous limestone on the dune flanks.     

Falling-stage features of a precambrian braided stream: Criteria for sub-aerial exposure

In a Precambrian braided stream deposit in north Norway a series of small terraces are exposed in a plan view over an area of 1500 sq. metres. These features compare closely with features formed during falling stages on exposed bars in modern rivers. Using the evidence of terracing a detailed history of deposition and erosion during fluctuating discharge has been unravelled. Since these structures provide direct evidence of both sub-aerial exposure and fluctuating water level they are of considerable palaeoenvironmental importance.     

Lead in the Bolsa wetland of southern California, USA: Effect of flood control channelization

The distribution of lead in sediments of an estuary receiving flood control discharge has been examined. Relatively high concentrations of lead with a mean value of 64 ppm were found within the outer portion of Bolsa Bay which receives flood control runoff. Significantly lower concentrations of lead with a mean value of 9 ppm were found within the impounded inner portion of the bay which does not receive flood control discharge. On the basis of our findings we recommend that flood control runoff no longer be discharged directly into estuaries but that discharge be either rerouted to ocean outfalls or reclaimed and used for agricultural and industrial purposes.     

Short communication: Recognising the perils of landslide-generated tsunamis in the Asia–Pacific region

The objective of the paper was to characterise the temporal and spatial variability of winter warm spells in Central Europe in the years 1966/1967–2015/2016 and to determine the circulation conditions of their occurrence. The applied data were obtained from the Polish Institute of Meteorology and Water Management, Deutscher Wetterdienst and the National Centre for Environmental Prediction/National Centre for Atmospheric Research. A warm spell was defined as a sequence of at least three warm days, i.e. when the maximum air temperature is higher than the 95th percentile of the probability density function designated from observation. The research has proven that over the study period the air temperature increased in the winter season in Central Europe and this translated into an increase in the number of warm days. An average of 3–5 warm spells was recorded per 10 years. The most numerous warm spells occurred during three winter seasons, i.e. 1989/1990, 2006/2007 and 2015/2016. The occurrence of warm spells was related to positive anomalies of geopotential heights over the study area in the cross section of the entire troposphere. Maximum anomalies appeared at 250 hPa geopotential height, and they developed on average 9 days before the commencement of warm spells over the study area.

     

Occurrence,thermal evolution and primary migration processes derived from studies of organic matter in the Lucaogou source rock at the southern margin of the Junggar Basin,NW China

The Lucaogou Formation carbonate-rich oil shale source rock is exposed at the southern margin of the Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, NW China. We have sampled it in detail and conducted microstructural, mineralogical and geochemical studies, including thin section petrography, UV fluorescence petrography, X-ray diffraction, vitrinite reflectance, bitumen reflectance, fluid inclusion analysis and Raman spectroscopy. Organic matter is disseminated through the carbonate-bearing siltstone source rocks and concentrated in numerous bedding parallel stylolites and in two sets of carbonate veins, one along bedding parallel fractures and the other cross-cutting stylolites and bedding. The research about maturity of organic matter finds vitrinite reflectance values increase from the dispersed kerogen (0.64%) to the stylolites (the one of oriented vitrinite is 0.72% and the one of migrated bitumen is 2.38%); Homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions in veins containing hydrocarbon fluid inclusions show an increase from 178.5°C in the bedding parallel veins to 222°C in the cross-cutting veins, confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. These results support a model of progressive heating accompanied by fluid loss during later stages of thermal maturation of source rock and the onset of primary migration. Obviously, the occurrence of organic matter is the trace of hydrocarbon primary migration, and the bedding lamination surfaces and cross-cutting fissures are the principal pathways of hydrocarbon-bearing fluids migration. Bedding lamination surfaces evolved into stylolites along the earliest primary migration pathways, followed by bedding parallel and cross-cutting fissures.     

High-levels of microplastic pollution in a large,remote, mountain lake

Despite the large and growing literature on microplastics in the ocean, little information exists on microplastics in freshwater systems. This study is the first to evaluate the abundance, distribution, and composition of pelagic microplastic pollution in a large, remote, mountain lake. We quantified pelagic microplastics and shoreline anthropogenic debris in Lake Hovsgol, Mongolia. With an average microplastic density of 20,264 particles km⁻², Lake Hovsgol is more heavily polluted with microplastics than the more developed Lakes Huron and Superior in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Fragments and films were the most abundant microplastic types; no plastic microbeads and few pellets were observed. Household plastics dominated the shoreline debris and were comprised largely of plastic bottles, fishing gear, and bags. Microplastic density decreased with distance from the southwestern shore, the most populated and accessible section of the park, and was distributed by the prevailing winds. These results demonstrate that without proper waste management, low-density populations can heavily pollute freshwater systems with consumer plastics.