Volcanic style in the Strand Fiord Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago

The Strand Fiord Formation is a volcanic unit of early Late Cretaceous age which outcrops on west-central and northwestern Axel Heiberg Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The formation is part of the thick Sverdrup Basin succession and immediately precedes the final basin foundering event. The Strand Fiord volcanics are encased in marine strata and thin southward from a maximum thickness of 789+ m on northwestern Axel Heiberg to a zero edge near the southern shore of the island. Tholeiitic icelandite flows are the main constituent of the formation with volcaniclastic conglomerates, sandstones, mudrocks and rare coal seams also being present. The lava flows range in thickness from 6 to 60 m and subaerial flows predominate. Both pahoehoe and aa lava types are common and the volcanic pile accumulated mostly by the quiet effusion of lavas. The volcaniclastic lithologies become more common near the southern and eastern edges of the formation and represent lahars and beach to shallow marine reworked deposits. The Strand Fiord volcanics are interpreted to represent the cratonward extension of the Alpha Ridge, a volcanic ridge that was active during the formation of the Amerasian Basin.     

The global joule heat production rate and the AE index

The accuracy of the AE index as a measure of the joule heat production rate is examined for a typical substorm event on 18 March 1978 by estimating the global joule heat production rate, as a function of time, using data obtained from the IMS six meridian chains. In spite of the fact that the AE index had had an initial slow growth which was followed by a rapid growth, the joule heat production rate attained a high level during the slow growth and thus their variations were considerably different from those of the AE index. Therefore, although the AE index is statistically linearly related to the global joule heat production rate, one should be cautious in assuming that details of time variations of the AE index during individual events represent those of the joule heat production rate.     

Stable isotope geochemistry and structural elements of the Sabina region (Central Apennines, Italy)

Various tectonic features are present in the Meso-Cenozoic basin units of the Sabina region (Central Apennines, Italy): Mio-Pliocene northeasterly verging thrusts are followed by Plio-Pleistocene, N-S oriented right-lateral strike-slip faults. Stable isotope geochemistry and examination of meso- and microstructures show that strain conditions differed through the course of tectonic history. Carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of the calate-filled extensional fractures, the sigmoidal veins present between stylolitic cleavage surfaces, and fault plane surfaces with differing motion, demonstrate those different geneses.
The "C/'" C of the older calcite-filling fractures (present both in the thrust and the strike-slip systems) suggests a deposition from shallow, fresh water circulation. Furthermore, the calcite fill of en echelon systems, that occur in the southernmost Plio-Pleistocene units, is clearly the result of a more recent, right-lateral strike-slip movement, connected with shallow water circulation within Mesozoic limestones.
The sigmoidal vein fills are derived from solid-state pressure solution processes which were the result of strike-slip movement. The deformation pattern related to the older thrust system is similar, but less intense; this also demonstrates general recrystallization processes in a closed system.
This suggests that the total shortening of the deformed sections is lower than that obtained on the basis of solution on stylolitic planes, because a sigruficant volume of dissolved carbonates remained in the system.
Stable isotope analysis also confirms that the deformational history of strongly cleaved rocks in the Sabina region took place in two phases and that extensional fractures formed before stylolithic planes, as suggested by structural and field observations.     

右江复合盆地的沉积特征及其构造演化

位于华南褶皱带南缘的右江盆地,其发展可分为两个不同的阶段。它的轮廓和结构,与NW向及NE向同沉积断裂关系密切。盆地内的沉积物,分别由特征不同的非补偿性和补偿性沉积相组成两个双层结构。盆地内火山活动发育,也明显的分为两个阶段。海西期,古特提斯洋的发展使哀牢山洋盆开裂,导致了右江地区在拉张应力条件下出现若干NW向裂陷带,这时的盆地具有大陆边缘裂谷特点。东吴运动后开始的印支期,区域应力条件发生变化。滨大平洋构造的发生,使盆地轮廓和结构发生明显变化,与此同时开始的哀牢山洋盆向NE方向的俯冲消减作用,使盆地在新的挤压条件下再次发生张裂和拗陷。进入了弧后盆地发展阶段。印支期末,盆地封闭。     

Physical parameters of the atmosphere of Venus from Venera 15 and 16 missions

The following physical parameters have been computed for the atmosphere of Venus between 65 and 90 km, by intervals of 1 km. (1) Pressure, (2) Density, (3) Speed of sound, (4) Number density, (5) Density scale, (6) Pressure scale, (7) Collisional frequency, (8) Mean particle velocity (9) Mean free path, (10) Columnar mass, (11) Viscosity. For these calculations we have used the temperature altitude measurements of Venera 15 and 16 at 52 °N and 72 °N latitudes, the night and 70 °N and 72 °N latitudes the day.     

Frequency distributions and correlations of solar X-ray flare parameters

We have determined frequency distributions of flare parameters from over 12000 solar flares recorded with the Hard X-Ray Burst Spectrometer (HXRBS) on the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) satellite. These parameters include the flare duration, the peak counting rate, the peak hard X-ray flux, the total energy in electrons, and the peak energy flux in electrons (the latter two computed assuming a thick-target flare model). The energies were computed above a threshold energy between 25 and 50 keV. All of the distributions can be represented by power laws above the HXRBS sensitivity threshold. Correlations among these parameters are determined from linear regression fits as well as from the slopes of the frequency distributions. Variations of the frequency distributions were investigated with respect to the solar activity cycle.Theoretical models for the frequency distribution of flare parameters depend on the probability of flaring and the temporal evolution of the flare energy build-up. Our results are consistent with stochastic flaring and exponential energy build-up, with an average build-up time constant that is 0.5 times the mean time between flares. The measured distributions of flares are also consistent with predicted distributions of flares from computer simulations of avalanche models that are governed by the principle of self-organized criticality.     

A 20 cm2 CCD mosaic camera for a dark matter search part I : Mechanics,optics and cryogeny

A 20cm ² CCD mosaic camera has been especially built to search for dark galactic halo objects by the gravitational microlensing effect. The sensitive area is made of 16 edge-buttable CCDs developped by Thomson-CTS, with 23×23 µm ² pixels. The 35 kg camera housing and mechanical equipment is presented. The associated electronics and data acquisition system are described in a separate paper. The camera resides at the focal plane of a 40 cm, f/10, Ferson reflector. The instrument has been in operation since December 1991 at the La Silla Observatory (ESO).