Life in sandy deserts: the scorpion model

The biology, ecology, biogeography, phylogeny, and evolution of sand-dwelling scorpions are reviewed. We present general features of sand that form the ecological theatre on which psammophiles have evolved. Sand scorpions, compared to those that live off sand, are not very diverse in any one local habitat, although they are often relatively abundant. Worldwide, they are represented by 29 genera, 11 of which exist exclusively in sand. Endemic genera belong to non-related families, suggesting that psammophilic adaptations evolvedin situin different sand deserts of the world.     

Optimized and robust experimental design: a non-linear application to EM sounding

Pragmatic experimental design requires objective consideration of several classes of information including the survey goals, the range of expected Earth responses, acquisition costs, instrumental capabilities, experimental conditions and logistics. In this study we consider the ramifications of maximizing model parameter resolution through non-linear experimental design. Global optimization theory is employed to examine and rank different EM sounding survey designs in terms of model resolution as defined by linearized inverse theory. By studying both theoretically optimal and heuristic experimental survey configurations for various quantities of data, it is shown that design optimization is critical for minimizing model variance estimates, and is particularly important when the inverse problem becomes nearly underdetermined. We introduce the concept of robustness so that survey designs are relatively immune to the presence of potential bias errors in important data. Bias may arise during practical measurement, or from designing a survey using an appropriate model.     

Petrology and geochronology of basalt breccia from the 1996 earthquake swarm of Loihi seamount, Hawaii: magmatic history of its 1996 eruption

 Samples of basalt were collected during the Rapid Response cruise to Loihi seamount from a breccia that was probably created by the July to August 1996 Loihi earthquake swarm, the largest swarm ever recorded from a Hawaiian volcano. ²¹⁰Po–²¹⁰Pb dating of two fresh lava blocks from this breccia indicates that they were erupted during the first half of 1996, making this the first documented historical eruption of Loihi. Sonobuoys deployed during the August 1996 cruise recorded popping noises north of the breccia site, indicating that the eruption may have been continuing during the swarm. All of the breccia lava fragments are tholeiitic, like the vast majority of Loihi's most recent lavas. Reverse zoning at the rim of clinopyroxene phenocrysts, and the presence of two chemically distinct olivine phenocryst populations, indicate that the magma for the lavas was mixed just prior to eruption. The trace element geochemistry of these lavas indicates there has been a reversal in Loihi's temporal geochemical trend. Although the new Loihi lavas are similar isotopically and geochemically to recent Kilauea lavas and the mantle conduits for these two volcanoes appear to converge at depth, distinct trace element ratios for their recent lavas preclude common parental magmas for these two active volcanoes. The mineralogy of Loihi's recent tholeiitic lavas signify that they crystallized at moderate depths (∼8–9 km) within the volcano, which is approximately 1 km below the hypocenters for earthquakes from the 1996 swarm. Taken together, the petrological and seismic evidence indicates that Loihi's current magma chamber is considerably deeper than the shallow magma chamber (∼3–4 km) in the adjoining active shield volcanoes. Received: 21 August 1997 / Accepted: 15 February 1998     

Modelling the dynamics and thermodynamics of volcanic degassing

 The rates of passive degassing from volcanoes are investigated by modelling the convective overturn of dense degassed and less dense gas-rich magmas in a vertical conduit linking a shallow degassing zone with a deep magma chamber. Laboratory experiments are used to constrain our theoretical model of the overturn rate and to elaborate on the model of this process presented by Kazahaya et al. (1994). We also introduce the effects of a CO₂–saturated deep chamber and adiabatic cooling of ascending magma. We find that overturn occurs by concentric flow of the magmas along the conduit, although the details of the flow depend on the magmas' viscosity ratio. Where convective overturn limits the supply of gas-rich magma, then the gas emission rate is proportional to the flow rate of the overturning magmas (proportional to the density difference driving convection, the conduit radius to the fourth power, and inversely proportional to the degassed magma viscosity) and the mass fraction of water that is degassed. Efficient degassing enhances the density difference but increases the magma viscosity, and this dampens convection. Two degassing volcanoes were modelled. At Stromboli, assuming a 2 km deep, 30% crystalline basaltic chamber, containing 0.5 wt.% dissolved water, the ∼700 kg s^–1 magmatic water flux can be modelled with a 4–10 m radius conduit, degassing 20–100% of the available water and all of the 1 to 4 vol.% CO₂ chamber gas. At Mount St. Helens in June 1980, assuming a 7 km deep, 39% crystalline dacitic chamber, containing 4.6 wt.% dissolved water, the ∼500 kg s^–1 magmatic water flux can be modelled with a 22–60 m radius conduit, degassing ∼2–90% of the available water and all of the 0.1 to 3 vol.% CO₂ chamber gas. The range of these results is consistent with previous models and observations. Convection driven by degassing provides a plausible mechanism for transferring volatiles from deep magma chambers to the atmosphere, and it can explain the gas fluxes measured at many persistently active volcanoes. Received: 26 September 1997 / Accepted: 11 July 1998     

An Exceptionally Thick Middle Pleistocene Tephra Layer from Epirus, Greece

A newly recognized 2-m-thick trachytic volcanic ash deposit from northwestern Greece is dated at 374,000 ± 7000 yr and correlated with the Middle Pleistocene volcanic activity of central Italy. The deposit represents ash fallout from one of the largest volcanic eruptions in Europe of the past 400,000 yr and should provide an important stratigraphic marker within the poorly dated Middle Pleistocene deposits of Italy and Greece.     

A Method for Installing Piezometers in Large Cobble Bed Rivers

An impact drive point method is described for emplacing piezometers in a cobble river bottom where this has previously been difficult without the use of drilling rigs. To force the drive point piezometers through coble, the vibrational impact of an air-powered hammer was carried directly to the drive point by the use of an internal drive rod. After insertion to depth, the drive rod was removed from the lower portion of the piezometer and a standpipe was added to extend the piezometer above the river level. Piezometers installed in this way have permitted water quality analysis and dynamic measurement of vertical potentials in cobble sediments ranging in size from 2.5 to >30 cm and the method has been successfully used in the Columbia River, USA, and Töss River, Switzerland. This innovative method provides information on the hydrodynamics of pore water in highly permeable, cobble deposits that are common in high-energy river and lake bottoms. Piezometers installed using the internal drive rod method facilitate the assessment of the temporal and spatial dynamics of recharge and discharge at the ground water/surface water interface and analyses of the ecological connectivity between the hyporheic zone and surface water of rivers and streams. This information will lead to improved management decisions related to our nation's ground water and surface water supplies.     

A rural development strategy for the Apuseni Mountains, Romania

The Apuseni Mountains, part of the Western Carpathians, are distinctive in cultural terms because of the highly dispersed settlement patterns that have developed on the high erosion surfaces where the Moti people cleared the forests to allow for an expansion of family farming in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These small ‘crang’ settlements remain, but the population is declining in the face of limited employment opportunities and poor services. The question arises as to the most appropriate rural development strategy for the region, following the communist period which encouraged centralisation through the provision of housing and industry in key villages and new towns. The emphasis on private farming and the expansion of tourism could protect the inherited cultural landscape but money must be found to improve rural services. There is also a strong conservation movement which supports the establishment of a national park, but this could constrain development through controls on grazing and woodcutting. Hence the dialogue continues to find the best compromise and the concept of a ‘natural park’ is being discussed with such a reconciliation in mind. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Depth of the base of the Jackson aquifer, based on geophysical exploration, southern Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA

 A geophysical survey was conducted to determine the depth of the base of the water-table aquifer in the southern part of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA. Audio-magnetotellurics (AMT) measurements at 77 sites in the study area yielded electrical-resistivity logs of the subsurface, and these were used to infer lithologic changes with depth. A 100–600 ohm-m geoelectric layer, designated the Jackson aquifer, was used to represent surficial saturated, unconsolidated deposits of Quaternary age. The median depth of the base of the Jackson aquifer is estimated to be 200 ft (61 m), based on 62 sites that had sufficient resistivity data. AMT-measured values were kriged to predict the depth to the base of the aquifer throughout the southern part of Jackson Hole. Contour maps of the kriging predictions indicate that the depth of the base of the Jackson aquifer is shallow in the central part of the study area near the East and West Gros Ventre Buttes, deeper in the west near the Teton fault system, and shallow at the southern edge of Jackson Hole. Predicted, contoured depths range from 100 ft (30 m) in the south, near the confluences of Spring Creek and Flat Creek with the Snake River, to 700 ft (210 m) in the west, near the town of Wilson, Wyoming. Received, May 1997 · Revised, February 1998 · Accepted, April 1998     

The radio properties of radio-quiet quasars

Although radio-quiet quasars (RQQs) constitute ≳ 90 per cent of optically identified quasar samples, their radio properties are only poorly understood. In this paper we present the results of a multi-frequency VLA study of 27 low-redshift RQQs. We detect radio emission from 20 objects, half of which are unresolved (≤ 0.24 arcsec). In cases where significant structure can be resolved, double, triple and linear radio sources on scales of a few kpc are found. The radio emission (typically) has a steep spectrum (α ∼ 0.7, where S  ∝ ν^−α), and high brightness temperatures ( T _B ≥ 10⁵ K) are measured in some of the radio components. The RQQs form a natural extension to the radio luminosity–absolute magnitude distribution of nearby Seyfert 1s. We conclude that a significant fraction of the radio emission in RQQs originates in a compact nuclear source directly associated with the quasar. There are no significant differences between the radio properties of RQQs with elliptical hosts and those in disc galaxies within the current sample.