Lymanα forests and the evolution of the universe

The Lyα forest absorption lines in the spectra of quasars are interpreted as caused by the crossings of the light beam with the walls of a bubble structure (expanding with the Hubble flow only). Then, the typical separation between the absorption lines is proportional to the mean size of the bubbles. The variable factor is the expansion rate H[z]. The Friedmann regression analysis of the observed line separations determines the density parameter ω₀ and the normalized cosmological term λ₀ = λc²/3H²₀ of the appropriate cosmological model: ω₀ = 0.014 ± 0.002, λ₀ = 1.080 ± 0.006. Depending on the Hubble parameter this method reveals the values of the present mean matter density pm,0 = 2.6 h² · 10⁻²⁸ kg m⁻³ and of the cosmological constant Λ = 3.77 h² · 10⁻⁵² m⁻² (with h = H₀/(100 km/s·Mpc)). According to our analysis all models with Λ = 0 must be excluded. The curvature of space is positive. The curvature radius R₀ is 3.3 times the Hubble radius (c/H₀). The age t₀ is 2.8 times the Hubble age (H₀⁻¹).     

High-resolution ion-microprobe measurement of lead isotopes: Variations within single zircons from Lac Seul,northwestern Ontario

Selected-area measurements of lead-isotope ratios in zircons have been made at high mass resolution using a modified A.E.I. IM20 ion-microprobe. At a working resolution of 3200 it is shown that the important interfering molecular peaks generated from the zircon matrix may be separated from atomic lead peaks. Corrections for overlapping peaks, which are necessary in measurements of lead isotopes at low mass resolution, are then only required for ²⁰⁸Pb.Measurements on N.B.S. standards show no isotope discrimination within counting statistics. Determination of ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb on 29 single zircon grains from a tonalite gneiss and a granite from Lac Seul, northwestern Ontario, give very variable ratios with mean values close to those of bulk separates. Peaks in the distribution of 207/206 ratios obtained from the tonalite gneiss may be interpreted as evidence for two stages of lead loss. High 207/206 ratios are shown to be significant for at least two zircons and probably record a minimum age of formation of 3.3 ± 0.1 b.y. for the gneiss.     

Impact of Gas Adsorption Induced Coal Matrix Damage on the Evolution of Coal Permeability

It has been widely reported that coal permeability can change from reduction to enhancement due to gas adsorption even under the constant effective stress condition, which is apparently inconsistent with the classic theoretical solutions. This study addresses this inconsistency through explicit simulations of the dynamic interactions between coal matrix swelling/shrinking induced damage and fracture aperture alteration, and translations of these interactions to permeability evolution under the constant effective stress condition. We develop a coupled coal–gas interaction model that incorporates the material heterogeneity and damage evolution of coal, which allows us to couple the progressive development of damage zone with gas adsorption processes within the coal matrix. For the case of constant effective stress, coal permeability changes from reduction to enhancement while the damage zone within the coal matrix develops from the fracture wall to further inside the matrix. As the peak Langmuir strain is approached, the decrease of permeability halts and permeability increases with pressure. The transition of permeability reduction to permeability enhancement during gas adsorption, which may be closely related to the damage zone development in coal matrix, is controlled by coal heterogeneity, external boundary condition, and adsorption-induced swelling.     

The contribution of sulphur dioxide from ablating micrometeorites to the atmospheres of Earth and Mars

Atmospheric composition is a key control on climate and the habitability of planetary surfaces. Ablation of infalling micrometeorites has been recognised as one way in which atmospheric chemistry can be changed, especially at times in solar system history when the infall rates of exogenous material were high. Despite its potential to influence climate and habitability, extraterrestrial sulphur dioxide is currently an unquantified contribution to the atmospheres of the terrestrial planets. We have used flash pyrolysis to simulate the atmospheric entry of micrometeorites and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to identify and quantify the sulphur dioxide produced from the carbonaceous meteorites Orgueil (CI1), ALH 88045 (CM1), Cold Bokkeveld (CM2), Murchison (CM2) and Mokoia (CV3). We have used this approach to understand the introduction of sulphur dioxide to the atmospheres of Earth and Mars from infalling micrometeorites. Sulphates, present in carbonaceous chondrites at a few wt.%, are resistant to thermal decomposition, limiting the yields of sulphur dioxide from unmelted micrometeorites. Infalling micrometeorites are a minor source of present-day sulphur dioxide on Earth and Mars, calculated to be up to around 2400 tonnes and about 350 tonnes, respectively. During the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB), the much greater infall rates of micrometeoritic dust are calculated to be associated with average production rates of sulphur dioxide of around 20 Mt yr⁻¹ for the early Earth and 0.5 Mt yr⁻¹ for early Mars, for a LHB of 100 Myr. These rates of delivery of sulphur dioxide at high altitudes would have reduced the solar energy reaching the surfaces of these planets, via scattering of sunlight by stratospheric sulphate aerosols, and may have had detrimental effects on developing biospheres by promoting cooler climates and reducing the probability of liquid water on planetary surfaces.     

Record of Late Pleistocene Glaciation and Deglaciation in the Southern Cascade Range. I. Petrological Evidence from Lacustrine Sediment in Upper Klamath Lake, Southern Oregon

Petrological and textural properties of lacustrine sediments from Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, reflect changing input volumes of glacial flour and thus reveal a detailed glacial history for the southern Cascade Range between about 37 and 15 ka. Magnetic properties vary as a result of mixing different amounts of the highly magnetic, glacially generated detritus with less magnetic, more weathered detritus derived from unglaciated parts of the large catchment. Evidence that the magnetic properties record glacial flour input is based mainly on the strong correlation between bulk sediment particle size and parameters that measure the magnetite content and magnetic mineral freshness. High magnetization corresponds to relatively fine particle size and lower magnetization to coarser particle size. This relation is not found in the Buck Lake core in a nearby, unglaciated catchment. Angular silt-sized volcanic rock fragments containing unaltered magnetite dominate the magnetic fraction in the late Pleistocene sediments but are absent in younger, low magnetization sediments. The finer grained, highly magnetic sediments contain high proportions of planktic diatoms indicative of cold, oligotrophic limnic conditions. Sediment with lower magnetite content contains populations of diatoms indicative of warmer, eutrophic limnic conditions. During the latter part of oxygen isotope stage 3 (about 37–25 ka), the magnetic properties record millennial-scale variations in glacial-flour content. The input of glacial flour was uniformly high during the Last Glacial Maximum, between about 21 and 16 ka. At about 16 ka, magnetite input, both absolute and relative to hematite, decreased abruptly, reflecting a rapid decline in glacially derived detritus. The decrease in magnetite transport into the lake preceded declines in pollen from both grass and sagebrush. A more gradual decrease in heavy mineral content over this interval records sediment starvation with the growth of marshes at the margins of the lake and dilution of detrital material by biogenic silica and other organic matter.     

The measurement and extraction of the <nu>6 atmospheric emission band of CFC-12 from interfering emission features

Ground-based thermal emission measurements of the zenith sky have been made at Peterborough, Ontario since January 1993. In this paper, the measurement of the ₆ band of atmospheric CFC-12, an important greenhouse gas, is presented for a cold, clear day in January 1994. A spectrum of the non-CFC-12 emission features has been simulated using the FASCD3P radiation code and measured radiosonde profiles of temperature, pressure and humidity. This has enabled a satisfactory subtraction of the interfering emission features from the CFC-12 emission spectrum. A comparison of the observed and simulated ₆-bands of CFC-12 shows good agreement at all frequencies of emission. From these spectra the total downward greenhouse radiative flux from the CFC-12 ₆ emission based for a very cold day has been estimated to be 0.27 W m⁻²±10%.     

Modelling detrital cooling-age populations: insights from two Himalayan catchments

The distribution of detrital mineral cooling ages in river sediment provides a proxy record for the erosional history of mountain ranges. We have developed a numerical model that predicts detrital mineral age distributions for individual catchments in which particle paths move vertically toward the surface. Despite a restrictive set of assumptions, the model permits theoretical exploration of the effects of thermal structure, erosion rate, and topography on cooling ages. Hypsometry of the source‐area catchment is shown to exert a fundamental control on the frequency distribution of bedrock and detrital ages. We illustrate this approach by generating synthetic ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar muscovite age distributions for two catchments with contrasting erosion rates in central Nepal and then by comparing actual measured cooling‐age distributions with the synthetic ones. Monte Carlo sampling is used to assess the mismatch between observed and synthetic age distributions and to explore the dependence of that mismatch on the complexity of the synthetic age signal and on the number of grains analysed. Observed detrital cooling ages are well matched by predicted ages for a more slowly eroding Himalayan catchment. A poorer match for a rapidly eroding catchment may result from some combination of large analytical uncertainties in the detrital ages and inhomogeneous erosion rates within the basin. Such mismatches emphasize the need for more accurate thermal and kinematic models and for sampling strategies that are adapted to catchment‐specific geologic and geomorphic conditions.     

Predictions of Energy and Helicity in Four Major Eruptive Solar Flares

In order to better understand the solar genesis of interplanetary magnetic clouds (MCs), we model the magnetic and topological properties of four large eruptive solar flares and relate them to observations. We use the three-dimensional Minimum Current Corona model (Longcope, 1996, Solar Phys. 169, 91) and observations of pre-flare photospheric magnetic field and flare ribbons to derive values of reconnected magnetic flux, flare energy, flux rope helicity, and orientation of the flux-rope poloidal field. We compare model predictions of those quantities to flare and MC observations, and within the estimated uncertainties of the methods used find the following: The predicted model reconnection fluxes are equal to or lower than the reconnection fluxes inferred from the observed ribbon motions. Both observed and model reconnection fluxes match the MC poloidal fluxes. The predicted flux-rope helicities match the MC helicities. The predicted free energies lie between the observed energies and the estimated total flare luminosities. The direction of the leading edge of the MC’s poloidal field is aligned with the poloidal field of the flux rope in the AR rather than the global dipole field. These findings compel us to believe that magnetic clouds associated with these four solar flares are formed by low-corona magnetic reconnection during the eruption, rather than eruption of pre-existing structures in the corona or formation in the upper corona with participation of the global magnetic field. We also note that since all four flares occurred in active regions without significant pre-flare flux emergence and cancelation, the energy and helicity that we find are stored by shearing and rotating motions, which are sufficient to account for the observed radiative flare energy and MC helicity.