Inverted echo sounder measurement of dynamic height through an ENSOcycle in the central equatorial Pacific

A four-year record from an inverted echo sounder deployed near Palmyra Island at 6°N in the central Pacific Ocean is compared with a simultaneous record of subsurface pressure from this island lagoon. A factor m, converting round-trip acoustic travel time to surface dynamic height relative to a deep pressure level, was estimated from the ratio of the spectra of the two records in the energetic synoptic oscillation band. Year-to-year variation in m was not statistically significant. For the overall record, m was found to be -70±8 dynamic m/s, where the error bounds represent a 90% confidence interval. This is consistent with first-baroclinic-mode excitation     

Magma homogenization during anatexis,ascent and/or emplacement? Constraints from the Variscan Weinsberg Granites

Recent studies have shown that melts and residues may not equilibrate during anatexis, and uncertainty exists about the scale on which magmas can be homogenized. This study of elemental and isotopic homogeneity of the South Bohemian Weinsberg granites (˜ 5000 km²) identifies three voluminous, relatively homogeneous magma batches. Each batch has different ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_init (0.7080, 0.7093 and 0.7106), but all equilibrated at ˜ 327–329 Ma, very similar to the time of monazite crystallization. The data cannot entirely prove melt/residue equilibration during anatexis. However, elemental and isotopic compositions imply magma generation by partial melting of heterogeneous South Bohemian crust and chemical differentiation subsequent to Sr-isotope equilibration. Assuming relatively rapid ascent and solidification rates, magma homogenization must have occurred mostly just after partial melting, during melt segregation and accumulation in the deeper crust with slow prograde heating. Models of rapid crustal heating and instantaneous melt extraction are incompatible with the data.     

A comparison of type II shock speeds

Type II radio bursts are produced by material moving outwards in the solar atmosphere. Their drift in frequency allows the calculation of the radial speed with which the shock is moving- very basic information in assessing the likelihood that the shock will reach the Earth and its time of arrival. This paper compares the shock speeds derived from radio bursts observed by the Swept Frequency Interferometric Radiometer (SFIR) equipment at the US Air Force Radio Solar Telescope Network (RSTN) of observatories with those measured with the Culgoora radiospectrograph operated by IPS Radio and Space Services. The SFIR shock speeds are found to be 1.5–3.0 times larger than the Culgoora values which are consistent with earlier results. This difference appears to originate from the incorrect interpretation of events as a result of the smaller frequency range of the SFIR equipment.     

Wooden Panel Deterioration by Tropical Marine Wood Borers

Wood destruction in test panels ofShorea leprosulawas related to the percentage of fouling, types of wood borers and the number of wood borers. The natural durability ofShorea leprosulapanels was estimated to be 4–5 months in Malaysian marine waters. A higher fouling cover resulted in lower rates of wooden panel deterioration. Larger numbers of wood borers brought about greater panel deterioration. Primary wood destruction was caused by bivalve wood borers, mainlyMartesia striata, Lyrodus pedicellatus, Bankia campanellata, Teredo furciferaandTeredo bartschi. Martesia striatawas the important wood destroying agent in the intertidal zone and, together with the shipworms, was also responsible for panel destruction in the subtidal zone.     

Some Problems with Slow Rotation of CP Stars

Some difficulties in explaining the slow rotation of CP stars are discussed. The most likely hypotheses are (1) a loss of angular momentum involving a magnetic field during “pre-main sequence” evolution and (2) the slow rotation existed from the very start of the creation of these stars. The braking hypothesis is supported by only one property of CP stars— the lower the mass of the star is, the greater the difference between its average rotation velocity vsini and that of normal stars. On the other hand, there is another property— the lower the rotation speeds of CP stars are, the greater their fraction among normal stars. The latter property supports the hypothesis that the lower the initial rotation speed of a star is when it is created, the greater the probability will become chemically peculiar. This property is inherent in chemically peculiar stars both with and without a magnetic field. It is proposed that the cause of the slow rotation of CP stars must be sought in the very earliest phases of their formation, as should the cause of the separation into chemically peculiar magnetic, chemically peculiar nonmagnetic, and normal stars.__________Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 229–245 (May 2005).     

Effect of element size on the static finite element analysis of steep slopes

The accuracy of the computed stress distribution near the free surface of vertical slopes was evaluated in this study as a function of the element size, including aspect ratio. To accomplish this objective, a parametric study was carried out comparing stresses computed using the finite element method (FEM) to those obtained from a physical model composed of photoelastic material. The results of the study indicate a reasonable agreement between a gelatin model and the FEM model for shear stresses, and an overall good agreement between the two models for the principal stresses. For stresses along the top of the slope, the height of the element tends to be more important than width or aspect ratio, at least for aspect ratios up to 4. In all cases, the greatest difference between the two models occurs in the vicinity of the slope. Specifically, if H is defined as the slope height, an element height of H/10 appears to be adequate for the study of stresses deep within the slope, such as for typical embankment analyses. However, for cases where tensile stresses in the vicinity of the slope face which are critical, such as for the stability analysis of steep slopes, element heights as small as H/32, or higher‐order elements, are necessary. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A time series analysis of sound propagation in a strongly multipathshallow water environment with an adiabatic normal mode approach

Measured time series were generated by small omnidirectional explosive sources in a shallow water area. A bottom-mounted hydrophone recorded sound signals that propagated over a sloping bottom. The time series in the 250-500 Hz band were analyzed with a broad-band adiabatic normal mode approach. The measured waveforms contain numerous bottom interacting multipaths that are complicated by the subbottom structure that contains high-velocity layers near the water-sediment interface. Several of the details of the geoacoustic structure and the depth of the water column at the receiver are inferred from comparisons of the measured data to simulated time series. The sensitivity of broad-band matched-field ambiguity surfaces in the range-depth plane for a single receiver to selected waveguide parameters is examined. A consistent analysis is made where the simulated time series are compared to the measured time series along with the single-receiver matched-field localization solutions for ranges out to 5 km. In this range interval, it was found that the peak cross-correlation between the measured and simulated time series varied between 0.84 and 0.69. The difference between the GPS range and the range obtained from the matched-field solution varied from 0 to 63 m. The geoacoustic structure obtained in the analysis consists of an 8-m low-velocity sediment layer over an 8-m high-velocity layer followed by a higher velocity, infinite half-space     

Circumstellar Silicate Mineralogy

This paper reviews spectra obtained with the SWS on board of ISO of dust shells around O-rich objects. These spectra reveal the presence of many new emission features between 10 and 45 μm. These bands are generally much narrower than the well-known 10 and 20 μm silicates features. The strength of these features relative to the underlying broad continuum varies from source to source (≅ 5-50%). The 10 μm region shows evidence for the presence of Al2O3 grains. At longer wavelength, the spectra are dominated by features due to crystalline olivine and pyroxene. The exact peak position of these features shows that the emitting grains consist of the Mg-rich end-members of these minerals with an Fe-content of < 10%. The underlying continuum is attributed to amorphous silicate grains. These observations of aluminum-rich and magnesium-rich compounds compare well with the thermodynamic condensation sequence of minerals expected for O-rich outflows. The observations also imply that freeze out (ie., kinetics) of this condensation sequence at different temperatures is an important characteristic of dust formation in these objects. It is suggested that the absence of Fe-rich silicates is a natural consequence of the low temperature at which gaseous Fe reacts with Mg-rich silicates in these outflows, resulting in amorphous grains with little characterizing spectral detail. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Semi-Classical Cosmological Models with Scalar, Dirac and Electromagnetic Fields

Exact solutions of the semi-classical Einstein equations for conformally invariant free quantum fields in an homogeneous and isotropic space-time, with cosmological constant and containing a classical scalar field, dust matter, an unquantised Dirac field and electromagnetic radiation are found. The initial behaviour of the semiclassical models is investigated. Some of the solutions found avoid the singularity and do not have particle horizons. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.