Observations of cosmic gamma-ray bursts

The occasional occurrence of brief but intense bursts of cosmic gamma-rays was disclosed through a systematic search of data acquired from the Vela satellites. Confirmation of the nature of the events and additional detail of their characteristics has subsequently been provided by 15 other groups of experimenters with instruments on 13 spacecraft. Thirty-nine such events have been identified from data spanning a period of four and a half years. The record of intensity as a function of time varies considerably for different events, with total durations ranging from 0.1 to 60s. Time-integrated flux density ranges from 10^–6 to 10^–3 erg cm^–2. Spectral measurements have been accomplished by several groups of experimenters, showing a broad maximum in the energy distribution at about 150 keV. The distribution of source directions implies either near galactic or extragalactic locations. The existing data are not sufficient to distinguish between the various models proposed to explain the phenomenon; no model is completely consistent with all observed characteristics.Work performed under the auspices of the United States Energy Research and Development Administration.Paper presented at the COSPAR Symposium on Fast Transients in X-and Gamma-Rays, held at Varna, Bulgaria, 29–31 May, 1975.     

The electrical structure of the Slave craton

The Slave craton in northwestern Canada, a relatively small Archean craton (600×400 km), is ideal as a natural laboratory for investigating the formation and evolution of Mesoarchean and Neoarchean sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). Excellent outcrop and the discovery of economic diamondiferous kimberlite pipes in the centre of the craton during the early 1990s have led to an unparalleled amount of geoscientific information becoming available.

Over the last 5 years deep-probing electromagnetic surveys were conducted on the Slave, using the natural-source magnetotelluric (MT) technique, as part of a variety of programs to study the craton and determine its regional-scale electrical structure. Two of the four types of surveys involved novel MT data acquisition; one through frozen lakes along ice roads during winter, and the second using ocean-bottom MT instrumentation deployed from float planes.

The primary initial objective of the MT surveys was to determine the geometry of the topography of the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB) across the Slave craton. However, the MT responses revealed, completely serendipitously, a remarkable anomaly in electrical conductivity in the SCLM of the central Slave craton. This Central Slave Mantle Conductor (CSMC) anomaly is modelled as a localized region of low resistivity (10–15 Ω m) beginning at depths of 80–120 km and striking NE–SW. Where precisely located, it is spatially coincident with the Eocene-aged kimberlite field in the central part of the craton (the so-called “Corridor of Hope”), and also with a geochemically defined ultra-depleted harzburgitic layer interpreted as oceanic or arc-related lithosphere emplaced during early tectonism. The CSMC lies wholly within the NE–SW striking central zone defined by Grütter et al. [Grütter, H.S., Apter, D.B., Kong, J., 1999. Crust–mantle coupling; evidence from mantle-derived xenocrystic garnets. Contributed paper at: The 7th International Kimberlite Conference Proceeding, J.B. Dawson Volume, 1, 307–313] on the basis of garnet geochemistry (G10 vs. G9) populations.

Deep-probing MT data from the lake bottom instruments infer that the conductor has a total depth-integrated conductivity (conductance) of the order of 2000 Siemens, which, given an internal resistivity of 10–15 Ω m, implies a thickness of 20–30 km. Below the CSMC the electrical resistivity of the lithosphere increases by a factor of 3–5 to values of around 50 Ω m. This change occurs at depths consistent with the graphite–diamond transition, which is taken as consistent with a carbon interpretation for the CSMC.

Preliminary three-dimensional MT modelling supports the NE–SW striking geometry for the conductor, and also suggests a NW dip. This geometry is taken as implying that the tectonic processes that emplaced this geophysical–geochemical body are likely related to the subduction of a craton of unknown provenance from the SE (present-day coordinates) during 2630–2620 Ma. It suggests that the lithospheric stacking model of Helmstaedt and Schulze [Helmstaedt, H.H., Schulze, D.J., 1989. Southern African kimberlites and their mantle sample: implications for Archean tectonics and lithosphere evolution. In Ross, J. (Ed.), Kimberlites and Related Rocks, Vol. 1: Their Composition, Occurrence, Origin, and Emplacement. Geological Society of Australia Special Publication, vol. 14, 358–368] is likely correct for the formation of the Slave's current SCLM.     

Frequency dependence of elastic wave speeds at high temperature: a direct experimental demonstration

At sufficiently high temperatures and/or long periods, the elastic behaviour of crystalline material gives way progressively to viscoelastic behaviour associated with the stress-induced migration of crystal defects. This transition is marked by the onset of appreciable strain energy dissipation accompanied by frequency dependence (dispersion) of the shear modulus and elastic wave speeds. Ultrasonic interferometry and torsional forced-oscillation techniques can be used to probe the low-amplitude stress-strain behaviour of fine-grained polycrystalline material in two very different frequency ranges, respectively 10-100 MHz and 1 mHz-1 Hz. Here we demonstrate and apply these two complementary methods in a study of the high-temperature mechanical behaviour of a fine-grained synthetic olivine polycrystal. At the high frequencies of ultrasonic interferometry, the shear wave speed varies linearly with temperature between room temperature and the highest experimentally accessible temperature (1300 °C) in close accord with expectations based on similarly high-frequency studies of the elastic behaviour of single-crystal olivine. However, at teleseismic frequencies (<1 Hz) and temperatures >900 °C, the shear wave speed becomes much more strongly temperature-sensitive reflecting markedly viscoelastic behaviour. Newly emerging laboratory-derived constraints on this viscoelastic enhancement of the temperature sensitivity of seismic wave speeds and its grain-size dependence will provide a more robust interpretation of seismological models for the variation of wave speeds and attenuation within the Earth's interior.     

An Anatomy of Adaptation to Climate Change and Variability

Adaptation to climate variability and change is important both for impact assessment (to estimate adaptations which are likely to occur) and for policy development (to advise on or prescribe adaptations). This paper proposes an "anatomy of adaptation" to systematically specify and differentiate adaptations, based upon three questions: (i) adapt to what? (ii) who or what adapts? and (iii) how does adaptation occur? Climatic stimuli include changes in long-term mean conditions and variability about means, both current and future, and including extremes. Adaptation depends fundamentally on the characteristics of the system of interest, including its sensitivities and vulnerabilities. The nature of adaptation processes and forms can be distinguished by numerous attributes including timing, purposefulness, and effect. The paper notes the contribution of conceptual and numerical models and empirical studies to the understanding of adaptation, and outlines approaches to the normative evaluation of adaptation measures and strategies.     

Atmospheric effects from post-nuclear fires

During a large nuclear war, the atmosphere would be loaded with huge quantities of pollutants, which are produced by fires in urban and industrial centers, cultivated lands, forests and grasslands. Especially detrimental are the effects of light absorbing airborne particles. An analysis of the amounts of the various types of fuels which could burn in a nuclear war indicates that more than 10¹⁴ g of black smoke could be produced by fires started by the nuclear explosions. Due to this, the penetration of sunlight to the earth's surface would be reduced greatly over extended areas of the northern hemisphere, maybe even globally. This could temporarily cause extreme darkness in large areas in midlatitudes and reduce crop growth and biospheric productivity.This situation would last for several weeks and cause very anomalous meteorological conditions. Much solar radiation would be absorbed in the atmosphere instead of at the earth's surface. The land areas and lower atmosphere would, therefore, cool and the overlying atmosphere warm, creating strong vertical thermal stability in a highly polluted atmosphere. For extended periods and in large parts of the world, weather conditions would be abnormal. The resulting cold, probably freezing, temperatures at the ground would interfere severely with crop production during the growing season and cause extreme conditions for large sections of the biosphere. The combination of lack of sunlight, frost and other adverse meteorological conditions would add enormously to the already huge problems of the survivors.