Microtopographic properties of sparse moss vegetation in the Antarctic polar desert

The effect of topography on moss vegetation is examined to clarify the processes that affect the colonization of polar deserts on continental Antarctica. Data on the presence of the mosses Bryum pseudotriquetrum and Pottia heimii, and relative altitude were recorded. The altitude measurements were used to infer the underlying topographical attributes of the substrate in the study plots. Specifically, the local distribution of moss plants was clarified using the topographical attributes to construct generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs). The models suggested that steep slopes and convex microhabitats within areas of concave general relief (at the plot scale 4 × 4 m) promoted the establishment of moss. This correspondence to general relief was more apparent for B. pseudotriquetrum than for P. heimii. Among the study plots, general relief was found to be an important determinant of the precise spatial distribution of B. pseudotriquetrum. The standard surface estimated using the robust methods presented in this study is shown to be more accurate for describing moss distribution than the prevailing least-squares method.     

Carbon and oxygen isotope chemostratigraphies of the Yangtze platform,South China: Decoding temperature and environmental changes through the Ediacaran

Multicellular animals first appeared on the earth during the Ediacaran period. However, the relationship between the abrupt biological evolution and environmental changes is still ambiguous. In order to examine seawater temperature and the carbon cycle through the Ediacaran, we analyzed the carbon and oxygen isotope compositions of carbonate rocks from drill cores from the Three Gorges area, South China. Importantly, the core samples include the Nantuo tillite, corresponding to the Marinoan glaciation, through the Doushantuo to the lower Dengying Fms. in ascending order.The δ¹³C profile displays five positive and five negative anomalies (PI-1 to 5 and NI-1 to 5), and the oxygen isotopes display very high absolute values around 0‰ with the highest at + 1.83‰. The combined δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C chemostratigraphies display both positive and negative correlations between the δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values. The occurrence of the negative correlations supports the preservation of primary δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values.The sample NI-4 has a negative correlation of the δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C excursions. The correlation supports a primary signature for both δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C variations. The positive δ¹⁸O excursion, accompanied by evidence of a eustatic sea-level fall, provides direct evidence for global cooling in the mid-Ediacaran; the 580 Ma Gaskiers Glaciation is a potential candidate for this global cooling event. The negative δ¹³C excursion was possibly caused by an increase in remineralization of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) due to enhanced continental weathering during the glaciation.Sample NI-5 is characterized by very low δ¹³C values, down to ? 10‰, corresponding to the Shuram-Wonoka-Pertatataka Excursion. The cause of the δ¹³C negative excursion is still not clear. However, a ubiquitous occurrence in excursions worldwide, and the lower δ¹³C values in deeper sections favor the enhancement of remineralization and respiration rather than secondary alteration, a restricted sea environment and lithification in coastal areas.     

Prediction of ground motion in the Osaka sedimentary basin associated with the hypothetical Nankai earthquake

We studied the long-period ground motions in the Osaka sedimentary basin, Japan, which contains a 1- to 3-km thickness of sediments and is the site of many buildings or construction structures with long-natural period. We simulated the broadband ground motions likely to be produced by the hypothetical Nankai earthquake: the earthquake expected to give rise to the most severe long-period ground motion within the basin. For the simulation, we constructed multiscale heterogeneous source models based on the Central Disaster Management Council of Japan (CDMC) source model and adopted a hybrid computation method in which long-period motion and short-period motion are computed using a 3-D finite difference method and the stochastic Green’s function method, respectively. In computing long-period motions, we used a 3-D structure model of the crust and the Osaka sedimentary basin. The ground motions are estimated to have peak velocities of 50–90 cm/s, prolonged durations exceeding 300 s, and long predominant periods of 5–10 s in the area with great thickness of sediments. The predominant periods are in agreement with an approximate evaluation by 4 H/V _s where H and V _s are the thickness of the sediment and the average S wave velocity, respectively.     

Effect of bottom slope in northeastern North Pacific on deep-water upwelling and overturning circulation

Hydrographic data show that the meridional deep current at 47°N is weak and southward in northeastern North Pacific; the strong northward current expected for an upwelling in a flat-bottom ocean is absent. This may imply that the eastward-rising bottom slope in the Northeast Pacific Basin contributes to the overturning circulation. After analysis of observational data, we examine the bottom-slope effect using models in which deep water enters the lower deep layer, upwells to the upper deep layer, and exits laterally. The analytical model is based on geostrophic hydrostatic balance, Sverdrup relation, and vertical advection–diffusion balance of density, and incorporates a small bottom slope and an eastward-increasing upwelling. Due to the sloping bottom, current in the lower deep layer intensifies bottomward, and the intensification is weaker for larger vertical eddy diffusivity (K _V), weaker stratification, and smaller eastward increase in upwelling. Varying the value of K _V changes the vertical structure and direction of the current; the current is more barotropic and flows further eastward as K _V increases. The eastward current is reproduced with the numerical model that incorporates the realistic bottom-slope gradient and includes boundary currents. The interior current flows eastward primarily, runs up the bottom slope, and produces an upwelling. The eastward current has a realistic volume transport that is similar to the net inflow, unlike the large northward current for a flat bottom. The upwelling water in the upper deep layer flows southward and then westward in the southern region, although it may partly upwell further into the intermediate layer.     

Juxtaposition of India and Madagascar: A Perspective

Proterozoic terrains in South India and Madagascar provide important clues in understanding the Gondwanaland tectonics, especially the assembly of this mega-continent during the Pan-African period. The Archaean terrains in both Madagascar and India are characterized by N-S trending greenstone belts occurring within gneissose granitic rocks in the northern part. Extensive development of K-rich granitic rocks of ca. 2.5 Ga is also characteristic in both areas. Such a broad age zonation of younger Dharwar (ca 2.6–3.0 Ga) in the north and the older Sargur (ca 3.0–3.4 Ga) in the south as in South India remains to be identified in future studies from Madagascar. The occurrence of greenschist facies rocks in the northeastern part and higher grade rocks in most of other parts in the north-central terrain of Madagascar is comparable with the general tendency of increasing metamorphic grade from northwestern to southern areas ranging from greenschist to granulite facies in South India. The Proterozoic crystalline rocks in both continents show pronounced lithological similarity with the wide occurrence of graphite-bearing khondalite in association with charnockitic rocks. While the Archaean-Proterozoic boundary is well defined in southern India by the Palghat-Cauvery or the KKPT shear zones as recently identified, this boundary is ill-defined in Madagascar due to extensive Pan-African overprinting, as well as the development of the Proterozoic cover sequence, the Itremo Group. There is also a possible general correlation between the Mesoproterozoic cover sequences in Madagascar and India, such as between the Itremo Group of west-central Madagascar and the Kaladgi and Cuddapah sequences of South India. The Pan-African granulite facies metamorphism of ca. 0.5 Ga extensively developed in both India and Madagascar is generally comparable in intensity and extent. P-T conditions and P-T-t paths also appear comparable, with the general range of ca. 700–1000°C and 6–9 kb, and near-isothermal decompressional paths. A-type granite plutons and alkaline rocks including anorthosites and mafic plutonic rocks of ca. 500–800 Ma develop in both terrains, provide strong basis for the correlation of both terrains, and define a Pan-African igneous province within East Gondwanaland. Major shear zones in both continents are expected to play a critical role in the correlation, albeit are still poorly constrained. Detailed elucidation of the tectonic history of the shear zones, and the timing of various events along the shear zones would provide important constraints on the correlation of the two continental fragments.     

Clustering of galaxy clusters in cold dark matter universes

We use very large cosmological N -body simulations to obtain accurate predictions for the two-point correlations and power spectra of mass-limited samples of galaxy clusters. We consider two currently popular cold dark matter (CDM) cosmogonies, a critical density model ( τ CDM) and a flat low density model with a cosmological constant (ΛCDM). Our simulations each use 10⁹ particles to follow the mass distribution within cubes of side 2  h ⁻¹ Gpc ( τ CDM) and 3  h ⁻¹ Gpc (ΛCDM) with a force resolution better than 10⁻⁴ of the cube side. We investigate how the predicted cluster correlations increase for samples of increasing mass and decreasing abundance. Very similar behaviour is found in the two cases. The correlation length increases from     for samples with mean separation     to     for samples with     The lower value here corresponds to τ CDM and the upper to ΛCDM. The power spectra of these cluster samples are accurately parallel to those of the mass over more than a decade in scale. Both correlation lengths and power spectrum biases can be predicted to better than 10 per cent using the simple model of Sheth, Mo & Tormen. This prediction requires only the linear mass power spectrum and has no adjustable parameters. We compare our predictions with published results for the automated plate measurement (APM) cluster sample. The observed variation of correlation length with richness agrees well with the models, particularly for ΛCDM. The observed power spectrum (for a cluster sample of mean separation     ) lies significantly above the predictions of both models.