The evolution of a quasar population based on a simple source model

The cosmological evolution of a population of quasars and AGNs is considered. The applied source model provides that the star collisions in the central stellar system should be the principal mechanism of supply of the gas falling on to the black hole. The continuity equation for the assumed population is solved for the zero birth function as well as for its special type. The solutions obtained depend on the distribution of two parameters characterizing a single source: the radius of stellar core and the number of stars in the system. All these solutions allow to describe practically whole evolutionary track of the considered source population, and to relate the evolution to some features of a single source.     

Modeling of PCB concentrations in water and biota (Mytilus edulis) in New Bedford Harbor, Massachusetts

The water column concentration and bioaccumulation of the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congener CB052 was modeled in New Bedford Harbor, Massachusetts, using site-specific hydrodynamics and loading information. Equilibrium partitioning theory was used to estimate interstitial water CB052 concentrations from sediment concentrations in New Bedford Harbor and Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. The rate of CB052 vertical flux from the interstitial water to the overlying water column was calculated by multiplying the vertical concentration gradient at the sedimentwater interface by a flux coefficient. The vertical flux coefficient and the flux rate from model-generated water-column concentrations were calculated using an interative procedure. Movement of CB052 within New Bedford Harbor was simulated using calibrated two-dimensional, vertically-integrated, finite element hydrodynamic and transport models. Quasi-steady-state water column concentrations and a field-derived bioconcentration factor were used to predict the expected concentration of CB052 in blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) at two stations in New Bedford Harbor. The model was used to predict the effects of two remedial scenarios (i.e., reducing average sediment total PCB concentrations to 50 ppm or 10 ppm) on concentrations of CB052 in water and blue mussel tissue. Based on the model results, the CB052 concentration in blue mussels would be reduced by 33–53% for the 50 ppm option and by 67–84% for the 10 ppm option.     

Biogeochemistry of iron in an acidic lake

In this paper, the fate of iron in Lake Cristallina, an acidic lake in the Alps of Switzerland, is discussed. A simple conceptual model is developed in order to explain the observed diel variation in dissolved iron(II) concentration. Biotite weathering provides reduced iron that is oxidized and subsequently precipitated in the lake. The amorphous Fe(III)hydroxide (FeOOH xH₂O), found in the sediments of Lake Cristallina, is an Fe(II) oxidation product. This oxygenation reaction is most probably catalyzed by bacteria surfaces, as indicated by the relatively high estimated oxidation rate compared to the oxidation rate of the homogeneous oxidation of inorganic Fe(II) species at the ambient pH of Lake Cristallina (pH 5.4 at 4 °C) and by the scanning electron micrograph pictures. Under the influence of light, these amorphous iron(III)hydroxide phases are reductively dissolved. The net concentration of Fe(II) reflects the balance of the reductive dissolution and the oxidation/precipitation reactions and tends to parallel the light intensity, leading to a diurnal variation in the Fe(II) concentration. The rate of the photochemical reductive dissolution of Lake Cristallina iron(III)hydroxides is greatly enhanced in situ and in the laboratory by addition of oxalate to the lake water.     

Moonquake predetermination and tides

A pattern in moonquakes, which correlates with the monthly tidal cycle, also correlates with a phase shifted pattern of a 7-month tidal cycle. The lead of approximately 2 months in moonquake occurrence can be explained if local tidal forces are combined with a moonquake-driving force. This force, assumed to result from the 6-yr physical libration in latitude, would cause N-S sliding of an outer layer across a solid layer within a decoupled core in a lunar model. During 1969–1971, the sliding would be southward with a progression of monthly maxima in the combined forces. Where these forces control moonquakes, the reversal in direction of the 6-year cyclic force in early 1972 should cause a minimum in moonquake activity. Decreases toward such a minimum did occur simultaneously in the similar progressions of monthly moonquakes and maxima in the combined forces at the most active hypocenter. Repetition of the 1966–1971 force pattern in 1975–1977 should produce a corresponding repetition of the moonquake pattern. In 1973, the yet to be determined pattern in moonquakes could correspond to the pattern of either an entirely cyclic force, or a combination of the cyclic force and an additional secular force. The physical libration in latitude controls moonquakes in both cases. If moonquakes are driven by an entirely cyclic force, the use of a simple lunar model could lead to a better understanding of moonquake causes and of possible analogs in earthquake control.     

The effect of the earth's bow shock and magnetosheath on the interaction of a discontinuity in the solar wind with the magnetosphere

A theoretical model is proposed for the interaction of a plane discontinuity in the solar wind with the magnetosphere. The presence of the bow shock and magnetosheath are taken into account, the calculation being based on the Spreiter et al. (1966) gas-dynamic model for a solar wind Mach Number M = 5. The model proposed predicts the manner in which the shape of the interplanetary discontinuity is distorted in its passage through the magnetosheath; it is found that the point of first impact with the magnetopause makes an angle of 56° with the Sun-Earth line for relatively quiet solar wind conditions.     

Determining the cooling history of in situ lower oceanic crust—Atlantis Bank, SW Indian Ridge

The cooling history and therefore thermal structure of oceanic lithosphere in slow-spreading environments is, to date, poorly constrained. Application of thermochronometric techniques to rocks from the very slow spreading SW Indian Ridge provide for the first time a direct measure of the age and thermal history of in situ lower oceanic crust. Crystallization of felsic veins (∼850°C) drilled in Hole 735B is estimated at 11.93±0.14 Ma, based on U-Pb analyses of zircon by ion probe. This crystallization age is older than the ‘crustal age’ from remanence inferred from both sea surface and near-bottom magnetic anomaly data gathered over Hole 735B which indicate magnetization between major normal polarity chrons C5n.2n and C5An.1n (10.949-11.935 Ma). ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar analyses of biotite give plateau ages between 11 and 12 Ma (mean 11.42±0.21 Ma), implying cooling rates of >800°C/m.y. over the first 500,00 years to temperatures below ∼330-400°C. Fission-track ages on zircon (mean 9.35±1.2 Ma) and apatite reveal less rapid cooling to <110°C by ∼7 Ma, some 4-5 m.y. off axis.Comprehensive thermochronometric data from the structurally intact block of gabbro between ∼700 and 1100 m below sea floor suggest that crust traversed by ODP Hole 735B mimics conductive cooling over the temperature range ∼900-330°C, characteristic of a 2-D plate-cooling model for oceanic lithosphere. In contrast, lower temperature chronometers (fission track on zircon, titanite, and apatite; T≤280°C) are not consistent with these predictions and record anomalously high temperatures for crust >700 m below sea floor at 8-10 Ma (i.e. 2-4 m.y. off axis). We offer two hypotheses for this thermal anomaly:

(i)

Off-axis (or asymmetric) magmatism that caused anomalous reheating of the crust preserved in Hole 735B. This postulated magmatic event might be a consequence of the transtension, which affected the Atlantis II transform from ∼19.5 to 7.5 Ma.

(ii)

Late detachment faulting, which led to significant crustal denudation (2.5-3 km removed), further from the ridge axis than conventionally thought.

     

Geology of the Atlantis Massif (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 30° N): Implications for the evolution of an ultramafic oceanic core complex

Marine Geophysical Research - The oceanic core complex comprising Atlantis Massif was formed within the past 1.5–2 Myr at the intersection of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 30° N, and the...     

The California current system—hypotheses and facts

The primary purpose of this paper is to describe the seasonal variation of the various currents which comprise the California Current System—the California Current, the California Undercurrent, the Davidson Current and the Southern California Countercurrent—and to investigate qualitatively the dynamical relationships among these currents. Although the majority of information was derived from existing literature, previously unpublished data are introduced to provide direct evidence for the existence of a jet-like Undercurrent over the continental slope off Washington, to illustrate ‘event’-scale fluctuations in the Undercurrent and to investigate the existence of the Undercurrent during the winter season.The existing literature is thoroughly reviewed and synthesized. In addition, and more important, geostrophic velocities are computed along several sections from the Columbia River to Cape San Lazaro from dynamic heights given by (1966), and (1964), and and (1976). From these data and from long-term monthly wind stress data and vertical component of wind stress curl data (denoted curl τ) given by (1977), interesting new conclusions are made. 1. The flow that has been denoted the California Current generally has both an offshore and a nearshore maximum in its alongshore coponent. 2. The seasonal variation of the nearshore region of strong flow appears to be related to the seasonal variation of the alongshore component of wind stress at the coast, τ_y^N, at all latitudes. Curl τ near the coast may also contribute to the seasonal signal, accounting for the lead of maximum current over maximum wind stress from about 40°N northward. Large-scale flow separation and fall countercurrents that of headlands may account for the sudden occurrence of late summer and fall countercurrents that appear as large anomalies from the wind-driven coastal flow south of 40°N. 3. From Cape Mendocino southward a northward mean is imposed on the nearshore current distribution. The mean is largest where curl τ is locally strongest, in particular, off and south of San Francisco and in the California Bight. It may be responsible for the portion of the Davidson Current that occurs off California, for the San Francisco Eddy and for the Southern California Eddy or Countercurrent. When southward wind stress weakens in these regions, the northward mean dominates the flow. Flow separation in the vicinity of headlands may also be responsible for these northward flows. There is some evidence that during periods of northward flow a mean monthly τ_y^N-driven southward current occurs inshore of the mean northward flow. At all latitudes, wind-driven ‘event’-scale fluctuations are expected to be superimposed on the seasonal nearshore flow. 4. The spatial distribution and seasonal variation oftthe offshore region of southward flow appear to be related to the spatial distribution and seasonal variation of curl τ. The seasonal variation of curl τ in these areas, curl τ^l, is roughly in phase with the seasonal variation of τ_y near the coast and roughly 180° out of phase with the seasonal variation of curl τ near the coast. Southward flow lags negative curl τ by from two to four months. The offshore region of southward flow is strongest during the summer and early fall. The mean annual location of the maximum flow is at about 250–350 km from shore off Washington and Oregon, and at 430 km off Cape Mendocino, 270 km off Point Conception and 240 km off northern Baja. The offshore branch of the flow bends shoreward near 30°N, which is consistent with the shoreward extension of the region of negative curl τ, so that by Cape San Lazaro (25°N), a single region of strong flow is observed within 200 km of the coast. 5. A third region of strong southward flow occurs at distances exceeding 500 km from the coast. The spatial distribution of this flow appears to be related to the spatial distribution of curl τ. 6. The mean northward flow known as the Davidson Current consists of two regions in which the forcing may be dynamically different—seaward of the continental slope off Washington and Oregon and between Cape Mendocino and Point Conception, the mean monthly northward currents appear to be related to the occurrence of positive curl τ; along the coast of Oregon and Washington the northward currents are not related to the occurrence of positive curl τ but are consistent with forcing by the mean monthly northward wind stress at the coast. 7. A region of southward flow that is continuous with the California Current to the south is generally maintained off Oregon and parts of Washington during the winter. This southward flow appears to separate the northward-flowing Davidson and Alaskan Currents in some time-dependent region south of Vancouver Island. The banded current structure is consistent with the distribution of curl τ, if southward flow is related to negative curl τ. 8. The seasonal progression of the California Undercurrent may be related both to the seasonal variation of the offshore region of strong flow (hence to curl τ^l) and to the alongshore component of wind stress at the coast. South of Cape Mendocino a northward mean also seems to be superimposed on the flow. This mean may be related to the occurrence of strong positive curl τ near the coast. Velocities at Undercurrent depths have two maxima, one in late summer and one in winter. The slope Undercurrent is indistinguishable, except by location, from the undercurrent that is observed on the Oregon-Washington continental shelf.