Gravimetric studies of Taal Volcano,philippines

Taal Volcano is peculiar in its violent explosivity in spite of its low altitude. The surrounding topographies suggest that the origin of Taal Volcano is either a caldera or a graben structure. To confirm the caldera origin one must search for a vast quantity of caldera ejecta balancing with the depression. As a first step, a gravity survey was carried out on and around Taal Volcano, and high gravity anomalies were lound on Volcano Island. The distribution of the gravities may suggest a graben structure overlying a denser layer of igneous material.     

Seismological significance of the 1977–1978 eruptions and the magma intrusion process of usu volcano, Hokkaido

An earthquake swarm, and the major pumice eruptions in August 1977 which followed, marked the start of the dacitic doming activity of Usu volcano in southwestern Hokkaido, Japan. The sequence of magma intrusion processes was investigated in detail by means of seismological and other geophysical data. The distribution of the abundant hypocenters shows clearly an earthquake-free zone beneath the summit crater. The hypocenters migrated in a manner consistent with the development of the observed asymmetrical surface deformations, considered due to magma intrusion into this earthquake-free zone. The earthquake mechanism solutions are mostly of dip-slip type and are interpreted in terms of the doming deformations. The existence of earthquake families (earthquakes with similar waveforms) is the main cause of the peculiar occurrence of earthquakes in space, time and magnitude. The concept of scattered barriers of different sizes and strengths can explain well the distinct characteristics of the occurrence of the swarm, and the observed episodic deformations.     

Production of radionuclides by cosmic rays at mountain altitudes

Production rates of²²Na (T_1/2 = 2.6years) from aluminium by the action of cosmic rays are measured at the Mont Blanc (altitude 4600 m), the Aiguille du Midi (3840 m), and the Col du Lautaret (2070 m). They are2.3 ± 0.5,1.8 ± 0.3,and0.77 ± 0.18 atoms min^?1 kg^?1, respectively, in good agreement with the calculated production rates, 2.4, 1.7 and 0.6 atoms min^?1 kg^?1, respectively, at the three stations.Production rates of²⁴Na (T_1/2 = 15hours) from aluminium and magnesium are also measured at the Aiguille du Midi; the observed rates of3.4 ± 0.4and6.0 ± 1.7 atoms min^?1 kg^?1, respectively, agree well with the theoretically expected rates of 3.7 and 5.6 atoms min^?1 kg^?1.The production rates of³H,⁷Be,¹⁰Be,¹⁴C,²²Na,²⁶Al,³⁶Cl,³⁷Ar,³⁹Ar,⁵³Mn,⁵⁴Mn, and⁵⁵Fe in terrestrial rocks by the action of cosmic rays are calculated in order to show the possibility of applying the measurements of these cosmogenic radionuclides to the earth science.     

Trans-Equatorial Loop System Arising from Coronal Hole Boundaries through Interactions between Active Regions and Coronal Holes

It is not clear how trans-equatorial loop systems (TLSs) are formed, although they have been observed often with Yohkoh/SXT. We focus here on a TLS that appeared on 27 May 1998. Yokoyama and Masuda (Solar Phys. 254, 285, 2009) proposed a new scenario for the formation mechanism of the TLS. In this scenario, they pointed out the importance of magnetic interaction between an active region and a coronal hole to make “strong-seed magnetic fields” before a transient (bright and short-lived) trans-equatorial loop was created. The main aims of this study are to verify the scenario and to make the TLS formation mechanism clear, based on observational data. Yohkoh/SXT images, SOHO/MDI magnetograph data, and Kitt Peak coronal-hole maps were mainly used for our analyses. We investigated the TLS in detail from the time that there were no signatures of the TLS to its clear appearance. The following results are obtained: i) an active region emerged in the vicinity of a coronal-hole boundary, ii) the coronal-hole boundary retreated during the period when the active region was developing, iii) temporal variations of soft X-ray intensities were roughly synchronized between the coronal-hole boundary and a trans-equatorial region, and iv) new closed loops were observed in soft X-rays clearly at the coronal-hole boundary. Since i), ii), iii), and iv) are just what we expect in the scenario of YM2009, the scenario found support. We conclude that the TLS was originating with large-scale magnetic fields of the coronal-hole boundary through magnetic reconnection between the active region and a coronal hole.     

Dynamics of two satellites in the 2/1 Mean–Motion resonance: application to the case of Enceladus and Dione

The dynamics of a pair of satellites similar to Enceladus–Dione is investigated with a two-degrees-of-freedom model written in the domain of the planar general three-body problem. Using surfaces of section and spectral analysis methods, we study the phase space of the system in terms of several parameters, including the most recent data. A detailed study of the main possible regimes of motion is presented, and in particular we show that, besides the two separated resonances, the phase space is replete of secondary resonances.     

Holocene migration of oceanic front systems over the Conrad Rise in the Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean

There has been limited previous research about Holocene climate variability in the Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean. Here we examine centennial‐scale changes in diatom assemblages and stable isotopic ratios since 10 000 cal a BP in a high‐accumulation‐rate sediment core from the Conrad Rise. Although abundances of dominant diatom taxa (Fragilariopsis kerguelensis and Thalassiothrix antarctica) are comparatively constant, relative abundances of secondary taxa fluctuate. Before c. 9900 cal a BP, winter sea‐ice and cold water covered the Conrad Rise. Following deglaciation the sea‐ice retreated from the Conrad Rise, lagging that of the Atlantic and eastern Indian Sectors by about 1500 a. The Polar Front moved southward during the early Holocene optimum and north Antarctic Zone waters covered the Conrad Rise for about 650 a. After 9300 cal a BP, solar insolation strongly influenced sea surface temperature and primary productivity in the Southern Ocean. In the high‐latitude Indian Sector, productivity increased 1500 a after the onset of late Holocene neoglaciation. Periodic δ¹⁸O and cold‐water diatom taxa spikes (at intervals of 200 and 300–500 a, respectively) occurred after 9300 cal a BP, probably associated with solar activity. Fluctuations in short‐term sea surface temperature and cold‐water taxa are synchronous with changes in δD observed in an east Antarctic ice core. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of the Residual Mass Fractionation in High-Precision Cr Isotopic Analysis with TIMS

The Cr isotope ratios of terrestrial and extra-terrestrial materials are emerging as one of the most important tracers in geosciences. Previous studies on Cr isotopic measurements using TIMS have found that there is residual Cr isotopic fractionation between the mass-fractionation-corrected ⁵³Cr/⁵²Cr and ⁵⁴Cr/⁵²Cr ratios, which may cause an offset of obtained ratios from the reference values. The residual fractionation was thought to be caused by the evaporation of Cr-oxide species during thermal ionisation, but the mechanism by which this residual fractionation could be reduced remained unclear. Here we revisit the issue of residual fractionation and propose that this problem can be alleviated by utilising W filaments instead of conventionally used Re filaments for Cr ionisation. Using W filaments, the formation of CrO⁺ was suppressed during heating as the filament temperature was ~ 100 °C lower than when Re filaments were used. In repeated measurement of a carbonaceous chondrite, the intermediate precisions of ⁵³Cr/⁵²Cr and ⁵⁴Cr/⁵²Cr ratios in the W filament runs were two to three times better than those of the Re filament runs. Therefore, the new finding of this study will be of key importance for future studies of Cr isotopes for terrestrial and extra-terrestrial materials.     

The July 14, 2003 Qianjiangping landslide,Three Gorges Reservoir,China

The Qianjiangping landslide occurred after the first impoundment of the Three Gorges Reservoir in July 2003. Field investigation revealed that failure occurred when the reservoir reached 135 m, but the stability of the affected slope was already reduced by pre-existing bedding-plane shears, quarrying of mudstone from the landslide toe, and previous heavy rain. A possible explanation of the rapid and long runout mechanism of the landslide is that movement on a bedding-plane shear ruptured the calcite cement and rapidly reduced the sandstone strength to residual shear strength.     

Meltwater discharge during the Holocene from the Wilkes subglacial basin revealed by beryllium isotope analysis of marine sediments

Understanding Antarctic Ice Sheet dynamics related to global climate change is of scientific and societal interest as the future behaviour of the ice sheet under the currently changing climate is unknown. We present beryllium‐10 (¹⁰Be) analysis of a high‐resolution marine sediment core from the Adélie Basin near the eastern Wilkes Land margin, which is susceptible to marine ice sheet instability due to the low‐lying nature and down‐sloping trough of the Wilkes Subglacial Basin. Combined with a newly constructed age model using compound specific radiocarbon dates, the data reveal three events associated with high meteoric ¹⁰Be at ca. ~10 ka, ca. ~6.5 ka and from ca. ~4 ka. We interpret these high meteoric ¹⁰Be events to be derived from the deposition of ¹⁰Be released from the ice sheet during meltwater discharge. In particular, the shift to higher meteoric ¹⁰Be concentration at~4 ka may correspond to changes in climate patterns at this time. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Radionuclides produits par le rayonnement cosmique dans la météorite Saint-Séverin

]The activities of 18 radionuclides in 4 samples from the Saint-Séverin meteorite have been measured after chemical separation. The results show that the DI sample from the D piece has been less irradiated than the samples B₂, B₃ and B₄ from the B piece. This is based on activities of isotopes produced both by spallation as ²⁶Al, ⁵³Mn, ⁵⁴Mn, ⁵⁵Fe, ⁵⁷Co and by thermal neutron capture as ⁵⁹Ni and ⁶⁰Co.Comparison of experimental values to calculated production rates suggests that the D piece was connected to the main body of the meteorite by a small surface, and that the DI sample in this piece was opposite to the main body of the meteorite.