First Results on it p Modes from GOLF Experiment

The GOLF experiment on the SOHO mission aims to study the internal structure of the Sun by measuring the spectrum of global oscillations in the frequency range 10^-7 to 10^-2 Hz. Here we present the results of the analysis of the first 8 months of data. Special emphasis is put into the frequency determination of the p modes, as well as the splitting in the multiplets due to rotation. For both, we show that the improvement in S/N level with respect to the ground-based networks and other experiments is essential in achieving a very low-degree frequency table with small errors ∼ 2 parts in 10^-5). On the other hand, the splitting found seems to favour a solar core which does not rotate slower than its surface. The line widths do agree with theoretical expectations and other observations.     

Convective energy transport in stellar atmospheres

We discuss a theoretical method of computing the temperature structure of hot and cool streams in convective stellar atmospheres. The method is based on the model that the streams are due to organized cells whose diameters are greater than the thickness of the photosphere. The excess thermal energy of matter rising from the deeper layers, where the entropy is higher than in the photosphere, is converted to radiation in a steady front. This model, applied to the solar case, exhibits a peak-to-peak contrast of 30–40% between granules and lanes. This contrast agrees with the Stratoscope data reduced by Namba and Diemel (1969). As a necessary part of the theory, we obtain an expression for the perturbation in radiative heat exchange which may be used in a medium with a strongly preferred direction such as a stellar atmosphere.Supported in part by the National Science Foundation [GP-15911 (formerly GP-9433), GP-9114] and the Office of Naval Research [Nonr-220(47)].     

Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy of Ca-rich clinopyroxenes and prospects for remote spectral characterization of planetary surfaces

We present results of laboratory near-infrared reflectance studies of a set of calcic pyroxenes with comparable calcium contents (Wo_45-50) but variable iron content and oxidation states. This new dataset complements earlier published data (Cloutis and Gaffey, 1991, J. Geophys. Res. 96, 22809-28826, and references therein). In particular, our new spectra extend the scarce available spectral data on chemically analyzed Fe-rich high-Ca clinopyroxenes. We attempted to interpret the spectral behavior of our samples in terms of chemistry and coordination site occupancies. Tentatively, we conclude that Fe-rich calcic pyroxenes have very low contents of Fe²⁺ in the M2 sites and belong to the spectral type A lacking the 2-μm band. This may be due to high Ca and Mn contents in these pyroxenes. Fe-poor high-Ca pyroxenes are more spectrally variable. In general, they tend to belong to the spectral type B with two major bands near 1 and 2 μm, unless the samples have high Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ ratios or are rich in Mn and Ca. Some of them (including unusual meteorite Angra dos Reis) are of type B despite very high Ca contents. We applied the Modified Gaussian Model (MGM) to characterize three major Fe²⁺ absorption bands in the 1-μm region of the spectra of Ca-rich pyroxenes. Only the band due to Fe²⁺ in the M1 coordination site near 1.15 μm may be potentially useful to estimate the Fe content in calcic pyroxenes on remotely-sensed surfaces of Solar System bodies. The spectral variability of basaltic meteorites (angrites) that are rich in calcic pyroxenes is also discussed. The presence of spectral type A calcic pyroxenes in these meteorites complicates unambiguous identification of olivine in asteroid spectra.     

Quaternary glacial history of the Central Karakoram

The Quaternary glacial history of the world's highest mountains, the Central Karakoram, is examined for the first time using geomorphic mapping of landforms and sediments, and ¹⁰Be terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure dating of boulders on the moraines and glacially eroded surfaces. Four glacial stages are defined: the Bunthang glacial stage (>0.7 Ma); the Skardu glacial stage (marine Oxygen Isotope Stage [MIS] 6 or older); the Mungo glacial stage (MIS 2); and the Askole glacial stage (Holocene). Glaciers advanced several times during each glacial stage. These advances are not well defined for the oldest glacial stages, but during the Mungo and Askole glacial stages glacial advances likely occurred at 16, 11–13, 5 and 0.8 ka. The extent of glaciation in this region became increasingly more restricted over time. In the Braldu and Shigar valleys, glaciers advanced >150 km during the Bunthang and Skardu glacial stages, while glaciers advanced >80 km beyond their present positions during the Mungo glacial stage. In contrast, glaciers advanced a few kilometers from present ice margins during the Askole glacial stage. Glacier in this region likely respond in a complex fashion to the same forcing that causes changes in Northern Hemisphere oceans and ice sheets, teleconnected via the mid-latitude westerlies, and also to changes in monsoonal intensity.     

Analysis of development and depth of backward erosion pipes in the presence of a coarse sand barrier

Backward erosion piping (BEP) is a failure mechanism that can affect the safety of water-retaining structures. It can occur when a local anomaly on the downstream side of an embankment causes a concentration of seepage flow at that location. Shallow pipes may then form, progressing in the upstream direction and leading to a collapse of the water-retaining structure. A novel and economically appealing measure against BEP is the coarse sand barrier (CSB), which is now being developed in a multiscale experimental programme in the Netherlands. The method involves placing a trench filled with coarse sand below the blanket layer on the downstream side of the embankment. The CSB prevents the upstream progression of the pipe and significantly enhances resistance to BEP. This paper presents medium-scale laboratory tests involving a range of sands, barrier depths and relative densities. The piping process and the observations of pipe progression in the presence of a CSB are presented, followed by a conceptual model. The presence of a CSB changed the erosion pattern. It resulted in pipe formation perpendicular to the flow direction over the entire width of the barrier before the barrier was damaged. The findings also demonstrate the effect of material properties on pipe initiation, progression and pipe depth. Measurements of the pipe depth are presented and analysed, revealing the significance of pipe depth for understanding the piping process. This analysis shows considerable erosion in the downstream background sand and demonstrates that erosion profiles and measured pipe depths are significantly larger than in BEP tests without a CSB.

     

Jesenice—A new meteorite fall from Slovenia

Abstract– On April 9, 2009, at 3:00 CEST, a very bright fireball appeared over Carinthia and the Karavanke Mountains. The meteoroid entered the atmosphere at a very steep angle and disintegrated into a large number of objects. Two main objects were seen as separate fireballs up to an altitude of approximately 5 km, and witnesses reported loud explosions. Three stones were found with a total weight of approximately 3.611 kg. The measured activity of short‐lived cosmogenic radionuclides clearly indicates that two specimens result from a very recent meteorite fall. All cosmogenic radionuclide concentrations suggest a rather small preatmospheric radius of <20 cm; a nominal cosmic‐ray exposure age based on ²¹Ne is approximately 4 Ma, but the noble gas and radionuclide results in combination indicate a complex irradiation. Jesenice is a highly recrystallized rock with only a few relic chondrules visible in hand specimen and thin section. The texture, the large grain size of plagioclase, and the homogeneous compositions of olivines and pyroxenes clearly indicate that Jesenice is a L6 chondrite. The bulk composition of Jesenice is very close to the published average element concentration for L ordinary chondrites. The chondrite is weakly shocked (S3) as indicated by the undulatory extinction in olivine and plagioclase and the presence of planar fractures in olivine. Being weakly shocked and with gas retention ages of >1.7 Ga (⁴He) and approximately 4.3 Ga (⁴⁰Ar), Jesenice seems not to have been strongly affected by the catastrophic disruption of the L‐chondrite parent body approximately 500 Ma ago.     

Fractal analysis of experimentally generated pyroclasts: A tool for volcanic hazard assessment

Rapid decompression experiments on natural volcanic rocks mimick explosive eruptions. Fragment size distributions (FSD) of such experimentally generated pyroclasts are investigated using fractal geometry. The fractal dimension of fragmentation, D, of FSD is measured for samples from Unzen (Japan) and Popocatépetl (Mexico) volcanoes.Results show that: (i) FSD are fractal and can be quantified by measuring D values; (ii) D increases linearly with potential energy for fragmentation (PEF) and, thus, with increasing applied pressure; (iii) the rate of increase of D with PEF depends on open porosity: the higher the open porosity, the lower the increase of D with PEF; (iv) at comparable open porosity, samples display a similar behavior for any rock composition.The method proposed here has the potential to become a standard routine to estimate eruptive energy of past and recent eruptions using values of D and open porosity, providing an important step towards volcanic hazard assessment.     

Late glacial environment and climate development in northeastern China derived from geochemical and isotopic investigations of the varved sediment record from Lake Sihailongwan (Jilin Province)

Total organic carbon (TOC) content, total nitrogen (TN) content, stable nitrogen isotope (δ¹⁵N) and stable organic carbon isotope (δ¹³C_org) ratios were continuously analysed on a high resolution sediment profile from Lake Sihailongwan (SHL), covering the time span between 16,500 and 9,500 years BP. Strong variations of the investigated proxy parameters are attributed to great climatic fluctuations during the investigated time period. Variations in organic carbon isotope ratios and the ratio of TOC/TN (C/N ratio) are discussed with respect to changing proportions of different organic matter (OM) sources to bulk sedimentary OM. Phases of high TOC content, high TN content, depleted δ¹³C_org values and high δ¹⁵N values are interpreted as times with increased productivity of lacustrine algae in relation to input of terrigenous organic matter. Two distinct phases of enriched nitrogen isotope ratios from 14,200 to 13,700 and 11,550 to 11,050 years BP point towards a reduced phytoplankton discrimination against ¹⁵N due to a diminished dissolved inorganic nitrogen pool. The combination of geochemical (TOC, TN, C/N ratio) and isotopic (δ¹³C_org, δ¹⁵N) proxy parameters points to a division of climate development into four stages. A cold and dry stage before 14,200 years BP, a warm optimum stage with high phytoplankton productivity from 14,200 to 12,450 BP, a colder and drier stage from 12,450 to 11,600 BP and a stage of climatic amelioration with high variability in TOC and TN contents after 11,600 BP. These results are discussed in relation to monsoon variability and Northern Hemisphere climate development of the late glacial.