The behaviour of outer radiation belt electrons (> 1·5 MeV) during a geomagnetically disturbed time on 8 March 1970 and its relationship to magnetospheric processes

Omnidirectional intensities of electrons with energies E_e > 1·5 MeV detected by a low orbiting polar satellite (GRS-A/AZUR) in the outer radiation belt are examined during disturbed times including the main phase of a very strong geomagnetic storm on 8 March 1970. The particle intensity features are discussed in relationship with proposed magnetospheric processes. It is found that a superposition of the two following effects can explain the particle behavior in the trapping region:(A) Radial diffusion. After the southward turning of the interplanetary field an inward motion of both the energetic electron belt and the plasmapause took place. This effect was observed at L > 3 R_E and we attribute it to enhanced magnetospheric electric field fluctuations. Later, a strong interplanetary shock impinged upon the magnetosphere which was related to the triggering of intense magnetospheric substorms; a further inward diffusion occurred at L ? 3 R_E, accompanied by an inward movement of the electron slot. A rough estimation of the diffusion coefficient leads to a power spectrum of the electric field fluctuations which seems to be consistent with experimentally determined power spectra (Mozer, 1971).(B) Adiabatic response to ring current changes. Large energetic electron intensity decreases within the outer radiation belt are shown to be adiabatic changes due to ring current variations. The influence of the inflation of the magnetosphere due to the developing ring current is simultaneously observed by the decrease of the solar proton outoff (1·7-2·5 MeV).     

Structure and evolution of circumstellar shells formed by massive star winds

We follow the interaction of massive stars with their circumstellar gas over their entire life-times by combining hydrodynamic stellar evolution calculations for 35 and 60M stars and one- and two-dimensional gas dynamical calculations for the circumstellar medium.     

Sedimentary geochemistry of core PG1351 from Lake El’gygytgyn—a sensitive record of climate variability in the East Siberian Arctic during the past three glacial–interglacial cycles

The ca. 13 m long sediment core PG1351, recovered in 1998 from the central part of Lake El’gygytgyn, NE Siberia, was investigated for lithostratigraphy, water content, dry bulk density (DBD), total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), total sulphur (TS) and biogenic silica (opal) contents, and for TOC stable isotope ratios (δ¹³C_TOC). The event stratigraphy recorded in major differences in sediment composition match variations in regional summer insolation, thus confirming a new age model for this core, which suggests that it spans the last 250 ka BP. Four depositional units of contrasting lithological and biogeochemical composition have been distinguished, reflecting past environmental conditions associated with relatively warm, peak warm, cold and dry, and cold but more moist climate modes. A relatively warm climate, resulting in complete summer melt of the lake ice cover and seasonal mixing of the water column, prevailed during the Holocene and Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 3, 5.1, 5.3, 6.1, 6.3, 6.5, 7.1–7.3, 7.5, 8.1 and 8.3. MIS 5.5 (Eemian) was characterized by significantly enhanced aquatic primary production and organic matter supply from the catchment, indicating peak warm conditions. During MIS 2, 5.2, 5.4, 6.2 and 6.4 the climate was cold and dry, leading to perennial lake ice cover, little regional snowfall, and a stagnant water body. A cold but more moist climate during MIS 4, 6.6, 7.4, 8.2 and 8.4 is thought to have produced more snow cover on␣the perennial ice, strongly reducing light penetration and biogenic primary production in␣the lake. While the cold–warm pattern during␣the past three glacial–interglacial cycles is probably controlled by changes in regional summer insolation, differences in the intensity of the warm phases and in the degree of aridity (changing snowfall) during cold phases likely were due to changes in atmospheric circulation patterns. This is the seventh in a series of eleven papers published in this special issue dedicated to initial studies of El'gygytgyn Crater Lake and its catchment in NE Russia. JulieBrigham-Grette, Martin Melles, Pavel Minyuk were guest editors of this special issue.     

Luminescence geochronology for sediments from Lake El’gygytgyn,northeast Siberia,Russia: constraining the timing of paleoenvironmental events for the past 200 ka

This study focused on the luminescence dating of sediments from Lake El’gygytgyn, a meteorite impact crater 100 km north of the Arctic Circle in northeast Siberia, formed 3.58 Ma ago. The sediment is principally eolian deposited in to a lake with nearly permanently ice. The fine-grained polymineral and quartz extracts taken from nine distinct levels from the upper 12.3 m of sediment core PG1351 were dated by infrared stimulated (IRSL) and green stimulated luminescence (GSL) using multiple aliquot additive dose procedures. The veracity of these ages is evaluated by comparing to an age model for the core derived from magnetic excursions and from correlation of variations of the magnetic susceptibility record to similar magnitude variations in δ ¹⁸O in the Greenland Ice core record. The IRSL ages from the upper 9 m of core correspond well with the independent age control for the past ca. 200 ka. However, sediments deeper in the core at 12.3 m with an inferred age of ca. 250 ka age yield a saturated IRSL response and therefore a non-finite OSL age. The youngest sediment dated from 0.70 m depth yielded the IRSL age of ca. 11.5 ka, older than the corresponding age of 9.3–8.8 ka, indicating a discrepancy in dating the youngest sediments in the upper 1 m of core. This study confirms the utility of IRSL by the multiple aliquot additive dose method to date sediments <200 ka old from eastern Siberia. This is the sixth in a series of eleven papers published in this special issue dedicated to initial studies of El’gygytgyn Crater Lake and its catchment in NE Russia. Julie Brigham-Grette, Martin Melles, Pavel Minyuk were guest editors of this special issue.     

On the variation of pulsar periods in close binary systems

X-ray pulsars, which form together with a main sequence star or a giant a close binary system, show strong variations in their pulse period. Epochs of spin-up and spin-down interchange on timescales of some tens up to some thousand days.

We study this phenomenon in the framework of the disk-fed model by Ghosh and Lamb, which we generalize by allowing for an inclination angle χ between the magnetic dipole moment μ and the rotation axis. Moreover, we take into account the relatively small magnetic field induced by currents in the magnetosphere flowing along the dipole field lines. This component, which we calculate numerically, leads to a torque perpendicular to the rotation axis and induces a precession of it. Due to this additional degree of freedom, the calculated pulse period history is much smoother than in the classical Ghosh and Lamb model. Within this extended model we compute, as an example, the pulse period history of Cen X-3 using the observed X-ray flux as a measure for the mass accretion rate. Qualitative accordance with the measured pulse period data (see e.g. Nelson et al., 1997 [ApJ, 488, L117]) is found to be good.     

Imaging distribution patterns of magnetic minerals by a novel high-Tc-SQUID-based field distribution measuring system: application to Permian sediments

A newly developed field distribution measuring system based on a high- T _c SQUID has been employed in the study of magnetic mineral distribution in several Permian sedimentary rocks. The instrument consists of a small, 1.4×1.4 mm sized YBaCu-oxide SQUID magnetic field sensor that is operated in a thin-walled dewar, so that the sample's surface, at room temperature, can be scanned at a distance of only ∼1.5 mm. The samples were subjected to a saturation remanence perpendicular to the surface and the scanning measurements in zero field reveal that the magnetization might be carried by only a small part of a sample, in one case associated with secondary oxide phases. High-resolution magnetic scans can aid in the interpretation of the magnetic remanence acquisition process.     

Tektonische Standardnetze und Beanspruchungspläne für Erde und Mars

Zusammenfassung Bei einer Untersuchung der azimutalen Verteilung der Mars-Lineationen wurden markante Maxima bei 0°, 50°, 90° und 140° aufgefunden. Da die gleichen Richtungen auch bei Auswertungen tektonischer Messungen auf der Erde, besonders bei photogeologischen Untersuchungen häufiger zu beobachten sind, wird die Frage nach der Existenz eines tektonischen Standardnetzes aufgeworfen. Die photogeologischen und tektonischen Konsequenzen und die möglichen Ursachen eines Standardnetzes werden angesprochen und der für ein solches Netz wahrscheinliche globale Beanspruchungsplan diskutiert.

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The azimuth distribution of Mars lineaments shows peaks at 0°, 50°, 90° and 140°. As the same master shear directions can be observed on the Earth, especially when using aerial photography or satellite imagery for tectonic analyses, the question of the existence of a tectonic standard net is raised.The consequences concerning photogeology and structural geology are discussed as well as the probable causes and the global stress/strain distribution leading to this form of a standard net.

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Résumé Sur Mars, les directions principales des failles montrent des maxima de 0°, 50°, 90° et 140°. Comme on trouve les mêmes directions dominantes sur la Terre — surtout lors d'analyses photogéologiques — la question d'un «réseau standard» est soulevée.Les conséquences regardant la photointerprétation et la tectonique sont discutées ainsi que les causes probables et le plan global de la distribution des efforts tectoniques conduisant à un tel réseau.

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0°, 50°, 90° 140°. .. , , , . .

     

The role of the mussel (Mytilus edulis L.) and mussel culture in the Dutch Wadden Sea

Mussel populations (Mytilus edulis) in the Dutch Wadden Sea (intertidal mussel beds, subtidal beds and culture plots), the culture methods, the extent of mussel culture, and the ecology of the mussel are described. Mussels filter suspended matter from the water column and deposit it as feces and pseudofeces. Mussel beds consume large amounts of phytoplankton and speed up the cycle of production and breakdown of organic matter. There are indications that the consumption of phytoplankton can lead to food shortage for several animal groups. Mussels serve as an important food source for a wide range of organisms (e.g., starfish, eider ducks, and oystercatchers). Because mussel culture increased the mussel biomass in the Dutch Wadden Sea, the impact also increased. The most obvious impact of the culture is the dredging of seed mussels. Overexploitation of intertidal mussel and cockle beds and bad spatfall of both mussels and cockles since 1988 had a negative impact on bird populations. The extent of positive and negative aspects of mussel culture depends on natural and human influences. The negative aspects may (partly) be overcome by appropriate measures. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A01BY069 00007     

The process of glauconitization: chemical and isotopic evidence

Sequential leaching experiments were made on Recent glauconies and clay fractions of the associated mud from off-shore Africa near the estuary of the Congo River. Analyses of major/rare earth elements (REE) and Nd isotopic compositions on the resulting leachate and residue pairs allow identification of at least three important and isotopically distinct components which contributed to the glauconitization process: (1) a detrital component with relatively high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and relatively low ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd isotopic ratios; (2) a phosphate phase rich in REE and Sr with sea water Sr and Nd isotopic characteristics; (3) a component rich in organic matter and Ca with a sea water Sr isotopic signature, a relatively low Nd isotopic composition and elevated Sm/Nd ratios. This latter component probably represents the suspended organic and carbonate-rich river load. The detrital and the river components were mixed up in the muddy off-shore sediment, ingested by worms, and integrated into faecal pellets. The resulting material has Sr and Nd isotopic signatures intermediate between those of the detrital and river components, and represents the precursor of the glaucony minerals. During the subsequent dissolution-crystallization process, the glauconitic pellets remain isotopically closed to any external supply, but expulsion of Sr and Nd with increasing degree of maturation is observed without any effect on the Sr and Nd isotopic compositions. At a higher maturation stage (K₂O>4.5%), the Sr and Nd isotopic compositions tend to decrease and increase, respectively, approximating the isotopic composition values of the phosphate-rich phase. Because the Sr and Nd concentrations decrease, the evolution of the glauconies toward lower Sr and higher Nd isotopic compositions can only be explained by expulsion of Sr and Nd of the detrital component with high Sr and low Nd isotopic signatures. Dissolution of the chemically unstable, wormdigested clay material from mud may be responsible for the liberation of these elements. Consequently, the phosphate-rich phase with sea water Sr and Nd isotopic signatures becomes increasingly important for the isotopic characteristics of the maturing glauconite grains, and sea water isotopic signatures can be reached during the stage of mature glauconite (K₂O>6.5%), without chemical exchange with the depositional environment.