Mass and interior of Enceladus from Cassini data analysis

Gravity results are available from radio Doppler data acquired by the Deep Space Network during the encounter of the Cassini spacecraft with Enceladus in February 2005. We report the mass of Enceladus to be (1.0798±0.0016)×¹⁰²⁰ kg, which implies a density of . For a core made of hydrated silicates with a density of 2500 kg m⁻³ the core radius is ∼190 km and the quadrupole moment C₂₂∼1.4×¹⁰⁻³. If Enceladus is in hydrostatic equilibrium, the larger than previously anticipated density implies that the recently proposed secondary spin-orbit resonance cannot be present. Therefore, the source of endogenic activity of Enceladus remains unexplained.     

Integrated colors in the solar neighborhood

The bivariate spectral type-luminosity class distribution combined with thez-distribution and broad-band photometric data have been used in order to derive integrated colors in Johnson's UBVRIJKL system for the solar neighborhood.The frequency distribution of white dwarfs is also taken into account for theU-B, B-V colors.     

The Campanian Ignimbrite (southern Italy) geochemical zoning: insight on the generation of a super-eruption from catastrophic differentiation and fast withdrawal

More than ca 100 km³ of nearly homogeneous crystal-poor phonolite and ca 100 km³ of slightly zoned trachyte were erupted 39 ka during the Campanian Ignimbrite super eruption, the most powerful in the Neapolitan area. Partition coefficient calculations, equilibrium mineral assemblages, glass compositions and texture were used to reconstruct compositional, thermal and pressure gradients in the pre-eruptive reservoir as well as timing and mechanisms of evolution towards magma chamber overpressure and eruption. Our petrologic data indicate that a wide sill-like trachytic magma chamber was active under the Campanian Plain at 2.5 kbar before CI eruption. Thermal exchange between high liquidus (1199°C) trachytic sill and cool country rocks caused intense undercooling, driving a catastrophic and fast (10² years) in situ fractional crystallization and crustal assimilation that produced a water oversaturated phonolitic cap and an overpressure in the chamber that triggered the super eruption. This process culminated in an abrupt reservoir opening and in a fast single-step high decompression. Sanidine phenocrysts crystal size distributions reveal high differentiation rate, thus suggesting that such a sill-like magmatic system is capable of evolving in a very short time and erupting suddenly with only short-term warning.     

Magma ascent and eruptive processes from textural and compositional features of Monte Nuovo pyroclastic products, Campi Flegrei, Italy

Geochemical and textural studies were carried out on alkaline products of the AD 1538 Monte Nuovo eruption. Due to the integration of the volcanological study with eyewitness reports, the dynamics and timing of each phase of the eruption and the volume of emitted magmas are known in detail. On this basis, unique in Campi Flegrei, the relations between magma chamber mechanisms, eruptive styles, magma ascent dynamics and volatile exsolution processes have been explored. Glass and phenocryst compositions indicate that the erupted magma has a homogeneous phono-trachytic composition. Textures and compositions of phenocrysts indicate that they crystallised at equilibrium with the melt in the magma chamber, likely as a mushy boundary layer along the chamber wall, where the temperature was below the liquidus temperature of the crystal free-chamber core. The estimated crystallisation temperature is 850±40°C. The magma phase relations in Petrogenys Residua System suggest that phenocryst crystallisation occurred at between 100 and 200 MPa, corresponding to depths ranging from 3 to 8 km. The microlite composition and their close genetic relations with vesicles indicate that groundmass crystallisation occurred during the eruption as a consequence of magma degassing and vesiculation induced by decompression during its ascent toward the surface. Crystal size distributions reveal that microlites grew in two stages of undercooling that we define as: (1) magma migration onset upward from the chamber and (2) magma rising through the conduit to the surface, possibly lasting tens of days and few days, respectively. These results provide information on the physical conditions that characterise pre- and syn-eruptive processes, which may be useful in order to define eruptive scenarios and to evaluate short-term precursors. Furthermore, the collected data provide for the first time information on degassing-induced crystallisation during the eruption of a highly evolved alkaline magma.Editorial responsibility: M. Carroll     

Typhoon-induced precipitation impact on nutrient and suspended matter dynamics of a tropical estuary affected by human activities in Hainan,China

Typhoons regularly hit the coasts along the northern South China Sea during summer monsoon. However, little is known on the effects of typhoon-related heavy precipitation on estuarine dynamics and coastal ecosystems. We analyzed physico-chemical characteristics, and concentrations and composition of dissolved and suspended matter in the Wenchang/Wenjiao Estuary (WWE) on the tropical island of Hainan, China, prior to and after typhoon Kammuri in August 2008. Before the typhoon, the estuary displayed vertical and horizontal gradients. High nutrient inputs from agriculture and widespread aquaculture were to a large extent converted into biomass inside the estuarine lagoon resulting in low export of nutrients to coastal waters and a mainly autochthonous origin of total suspended matter (TSM). Heavy typhoon-associated precipitation increased river runoff, which moved the location of the estuarine salinity gradient seaward. It resulted in an export of dissolved and particulate matter to coastal waters one day after the typhoon. Dissolved nutrients increased by up to an order of magnitude and TSM increased approximately twofold compared to pre-typhoon values. Lower δ¹³C_org and δ¹⁵N and elevated C/N ratios of TSM together with lower chlorophyll a (chl a) concentrations indicated an increased contribution of terrestrial material originating from typhoon-induced soil erosion. Local uptake of excess nutrients inside the lagoon was inhibited because of reduced water transparency and the lack of phytoplankton, which had been washed out by the initial freshwater pulse. Two weeks after the typhoon, TSM concentration and composition had almost returned to pre-typhoon conditions. However, physico-chemical properties and nutrients were still different from pre-typhoon conditions indicating that the estuarine system had not fully recovered. Unusually high chl a concentrations in the coastal zone indicated a phytoplankton bloom resulting from the typhoon-induced nutrient export. The typhoon-induced flushing of the WWE resulted in hyposalinity, reduced water transparency, siltation, as well as temporary eutrophication of coastal waters. These are physiological stressors, which are known to impair the performance of adjacent seagrass meadows and coral reefs. The predicted increase in typhoon frequency and intensity will lead to a frequently recurring exposure of coastal ecosystems to these threats, particularly in the South China Sea region where aquaculture is widespread and tropical cyclone frequency is at a maximum.     

The use of predictive modeling techniques for optimal exploitation of spatial databases: a case study in landslide hazard mapping with expert system-like methods

. A case study is presented in which different probabilistic prediction models (Bayesian probability, fuzzy logic "and", "or", "sum", "product", "gamma" operations, and certainty factors) are used to produce landslide hazard maps for a hilly and mountainous region in the northern Apennines, Italy. Seven data layers are exploited to detect most vulnerable areas: lithology, distance from the geological lineaments, annual rainfall amount, land cover type, topographic slope and aspect, and the distance from hydrographic network segments. The results of the different predictions are compared using the prediction rate index and critically discussed, to evaluate the possibility of using readily available databases for land planning.     

Evolution of a section of the Africa-Europe plate boundary: Paleomagnetic and volcanological evidence from Sicily

New paleomagnetic data relative to Upper Cretaceous, Neogene and Quaternary volcanic rocks from eastern Sicily definitively indicate that Sicily is a part of the African plate, which collided with the European continental plate in Middle Miocene times. These data and the tectonic evolution of Sicily as inferred from the nature, age and distribution of volcanic products, are broadly consistent with the motions of Africa relative to Europe since the Upper Trias. During the Mesozoic, eastern Sicily was affected by extensional tectonics with associated alkali basaltic volcanism, and oceanic crust was produced in the meantime between the diverging African and European plates. Near the end of Mesozoic times the two plates started to converge with consequent consumption of oceanic crust. Different times of oceanic plate consumption along the Sicily-Calabria section of the plate boundary are suggested by the occurence of andesitic volcanism of different ages. The tectonic significance of late Tertiary to present basaltic activity in eastern Sicily is also discussed.     

Primary Production and Growth Dynamics in Posidonia oceanica

Abstract. Studies on leaf growth and production were performed in two stands, at depths of 5 m and 22m, in the Posidonia oceanica (L.) D elile bed off Lacco Ameno, Ischia (Gulf of Naples). Experiments were carried out in situ from May 1988 to August 1989 at monthly intervals.
Leaf growth and production profiles differed in the two stands investigated. Growth rates were higher at 5 m, with a peak in autumn (5.8 mg · shoot^-1· d^-1) and another in March (3.8 mg · shoot^-1· d^-1). At 22 m the maximum rate occurred in May (3.9 mg · shoot^-1· d^-1). These differential growth rates resulted in a delayed maximum leaf surface and biomass at the deep stand, where lower irradiance values and different temperature patterns were also found. The biomass of epiphytic algae showed trends similar to those of leaves; however, there were remarkable differences in the values between the two stations and for the two investigated years.
The production data of the present study are compared with those of other reports, and it is shown that growth processes are greatly influenced by physical factors.