Palomar and Table Mountain observations of 9P/Tempel 1 during the Deep Impact encounter: First results

We present the first results of the Palomar Adaptive Optics observations taken during the Deep Impact encounter with 9P/Tempel 1 in July 2005. We have combined the Palomar near-IR imaging data with our visual wavelength images obtained simultaneously at JPL's Table Mountain Observatory to cover the total wavelength range from 0.4 to 2.3 μm in the B, V, R, I, J, H, and K filter bands, spanning the dates from 2005 July 03-07. We also include in our overall analysis images taken on the pre-encounter dates of June 1 and June 15, 2005. The broad wavelength range of our observations, along with high temporal resolution, near-IR sensitivity, and spatial resolution of our imaging, have enabled us to place constraints on the temperature of the impact flash and incandescent plume of >700 K, and to provide mean dust velocities of order approximately 1.25 h after impact derived from our 1.64 μm observations. Our ejected dust mass estimates, as derived from our near-IR observations, are an order of magnitude less than those previously reported for visual wavelength observations.     

A geochemical model for evaluating theories on the genesis of Florida''s sedimentary phosphate deposits

Present ionic concentrations of Ca ⁺⁺,HCO ₃ ^- ,and HPO ₄ ⁼ in surface and groundwater runoff in Florida indicate that phosphorus is being concentrated in rock through dissolution and reprecipitation, with calcium phosphate increasing at the expense of calcium carbonate. Analog computer simulation of a systems model of this process suggests that significant enrichment can occur in 20 million years. The degree of enrichment depends on the supply of new phosphorus to Florida through rain and oceanic exchange processes. If the calcium phosphate content of original rock is 0.5 to 1.0 percent (0.52 to 1.05 percent P ₂ O ₅),a formation with 10 to 20 percent calcium phosphate (CaPO ₄ or 10.5 to 21.0 percent P ₂ O ₅)as in the Hawthorn Formation (Miocene)may result. Nutrient upwelling along the continental slope coupled with transport to the estuaries by lateral eddy diffusion can supply an additional 400 mg P|m ² |yr which, if deposited, would result in a sediment with a 4.3 percent CaPO ₄ (4.5 percent P ₂ O ₅)content. If this is enriched later by resolution, 40 percent CaPO ₄ (42 percent P ₂ O ₅)results. Through geologic time, the ocean may be considered as a source of phosphorus to the land through rain or estuarine sediment.     

The applied geographer and the steady state society: the case of the new towns

A paper delivered to the IGU Applied Geography Commission meeting in Warsaw (House 1970) referred to the achievement and opportunity for geographers working on the New Towns of Britain. Much has changed, often for the worse, since that somewhat optimistic assessment of prospects. Widespread and severe economic depression has led to a steady state trend in planning, and to diminished expectations as the result of falling rates of population growth in many western countries. The role of the New Town itself as a planning tool has most recently come under increasingly ciritical review (Ward 1973,Eversley 1975,Hudson andJohnson 1976,McDonald 1976,Lock 1977). For the lack of an overall strategy for the British urban network New Towns have often been developed piecemeal, initially as alternatives to peripheral expansion of particular large cities. Through transfer of overspill populations the New Towns were to help to relieve congestion and deprivation, most notably in the inner city and its surrounding twilight zone. During the 1960s the potential of the New Town as an employment growth point in slow-growth or declining sub-regions received greater planning emphasis. Throughout, the New Town has been regarded as offering a total new living environment, as economically efficient as it was socially desirable. Whilst not denying the considerable achievements of the New Towns it is claimed by many, though opposed by some, that the achievements have been made at the expense of renewal and job provision in the inner city, the older industrial tracts, existing local authorities and deprived social groups in the urban community. British urban policies are currently being reshaped as result, and in this reformulation lie new opportunities for all social scientists, not least for the applied geographer. Such a challenge is indeed all the greater since the contributions by geographers to New Towns research have remained disappointingly limited, alike in theoretical and practical terms. The potential for contribution relates to: the objectives of New Towns; the stages in their designation, planning creation and management; the problems which emerge; and, finally, the wider questions of priority among urban policies.     

Cataclasites along the Saltville thrust,U.S.A. and their implications for thrust-sheet emplacement

Cataclasis and frictional wear are the primary bulk deformation mechanisms along steeply dipping portions of the Saltville thrust in the southern Appalachian foreland zone, U.S.A. Fault character ranges from a single discrete sliding surface with negligible gouge, to a zone of several discrete sliding surfaces or a zone (up to 0.3 m thick) of pervasive cataclasite. Marked fracturing occurs up to 20 m above the fault, whereas minimal deformation is found in the footwall rocks. Hanging wall dolomites range from crush breccias (less than 5% matrix) to ultracataclasites (with 90% matrix), although cataclasites (50–70% matrix) are predominant. Foliated cataclasites occur where dolomite is thrust over shale. Progressive development of cataclastic fabrics is due to comminution by fracturing and grinding along intersecting fractures. Continued frictional grinding results in complete disruption of the original fabric to produce cataclasite and minor ultracataclasite. Grain alignment occurs by rigid body rotation with subsequent local enhancement by pressure-solution. Microstructural relations of the fault gouge suggest periodic fluctuations in fluid pressure, where λ_v (ratio of fluid to overburden pressure) probably ranged between 0.45 and 1. The Saltville thrust-sheet emplacement must have occurred in a caterpillar-like fashion involving aseismic and seismic shear. Shear stresses accompanying fault motion as determined from dolomite twin lamellae are in the order of 65 mPa.     

Central Configurations of the Symmetric Restricted 4-Body Problem

We consider the symmetric planar (3 + 1)-body problem with finite masses m ₁ = m ₂ = 1, m ₃ = µ and one small mass m ₄ = . We count the number of central configurations of the restricted case = 0, where the finite masses remain in an equilateral triangle configuration, by means of the bifurcation diagram with as the parameter. The diagram shows a folding bifurcation at a value consistent with that found numerically by Meyer [9] and it is shown that for small > 0 the bifurcation diagram persists, thus leading to an exact count of central configurations and a folding bifurcation for small m ₄ > 0.     

The cultural context of forest degradation in adjacent Purépechan communities, Michoacán, Mexico

Recent changes in the cultural and forest landscapes of the Meseta Purépecha in Michoacán, Mexico as a result of forest degradation underscore the complexity of forest change processes in the tropical highlands of Latin America. Differences in community perception and forest structure and composition between the furniture-making and lumber-producing towns of Pichátaro and Sevina, Purépechan indigenous communities located amidst pine forests on Michoacán's volcanic plateau illustrate the dynamics of this process. We base our comparisons on interviews and field measures of forest structure. Our results show dramatic changes in the forests and cultural landscapes of both communities during the past decade. Following high regional timber exports during the early 1990s, Sevina shifted from a self-sufficient to a timber importation community. By comparison, communal forests and individual parcels in Pichátaro continue to provide wood for approximately 300 wood shops. Field data and forest stand maps confirm the perception of forest degradation in both communities. While Pichátaro has maintained a larger and more diverse forest base to date, stand structure data indicate selective harvesting has led to a shift in dominance toward the less economically desirable pine species and oak. Deforestation and degradation of Sevina and Pichátaro's community forests are symptomatic of both the Meseta Purépecha and Mexico in general. Current forest conditions in both communities justify local, regional, and national concerns regarding declining biodiversity and sustainable economies.     

Marine geochemistry—2: scavenging redux

Inorganic surfaces sorb dissolved and particulate phases from seawater onto organic films from a variety of sources. Heavy metals such as Au, Pt, Mn and Cd come to the coatings primarily from particulate phases. This observation confirms a previous finding of this laboratory for the uptake of U, Pu and Po. With depth in the open ocean there are greater contributions from the dissolved phases. Microbial and photochemical processes can enrich surfaces in some metals through reduction reactions. Copper and Mn enrichments in the films are attributed to the photo-reductions of Cu(II) to Cu(I) and manganese oxides to Mn(II), respectively, while the uptake of Mo is a consequence of the reduction, mediated by organisms, of molybdate to Mo(V) or Mo(IV). Cadmium, on the other hand, appears to be bioaccumulated in the films.     

Salt marsh cliff stability in the oosterschelde

Salt marsh cliff erosion in the Oosterschelde, due to basal scour and small-scale failure, was monitored during a two-year period using reference stakes. The composite marsh cliffs have a cantilever profile. Their stability is evaluated from beam failure analysis. A model is proposed, in which the cantilever weight is taken as the motive force; the major resistive force is the tensile strength. By substituting height, undermining width and soil mechanical properties of the cliff in the model, one can identify the cliffs that are likely to fail. Salt marsh cliffs, which combine a large tensile strength due to roots at the top of the profile with a large compressive stress at the cliff base due to the sandy texture of the subsoil, display the highest resistance to beam failure. The critical cliff dimensions, observed in the field, correspond with the values calculated from the proposed model of beam failure.