On the analysis of sloshing of water in rectangular containers: Numerical study and experimental validation

In this work the analysis of sloshing of water in rectangular open tanks has been extensively carried out. Two mathematical models are employed, respectively the Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes Equations (RANSE) and the Shallow Water Equations (SWE). The RANSE are solved using a modified form of the well established MAC method (SIMAC) able to treat both the free surface motion and the viscous stresses over the rigid walls accurately. The Shallow Water Equations are solved by means of a simple and powerful algorithm (CE-SE) able to deal with large impacting waves over the tank walls.Successively, in order to validate the mentioned algorithms and for a better understanding of the sloshing phenomenon, experimental tests have been carried out using a 0.5 m breadth rectangular tank in periodic roll motion.It has been shown that RANSE provide more accurate solutions than SWE for small or moderate amplitudes of excitation. In particular in this paper it is proved that the shallow water approximation can be efficiently adopted within liquid depth to tank breadth RATIO = 0.15, when examining the sloshing problem. By increasing the water level inside the tank, results by SWE show large qualitative and quantitative disagreement with experiments. Nevertheless, in the case of large amplitude excitation, when sprays and large breaking waves are expected, SWE provide a fairly good estimate of the sloshing induced waves.Finally a simple baffle configuration inside the tank has been considered. By the analysis of numerical results, it has been observed that the presence of a vertical baffle at the middle of the tank dramatically changes the sloshing response compared to the unbaffled configuration. It produces a jump-like effect, resulting in a weak magnification of the dynamic loads on the vertical walls out of resonance, and a strong reduction of the dynamic loads in the resonance condition.     

Petrology of Karoo volcanic rocks in the southern Lebombo monocline, Mozambique

The Karoo volcanic sequence in the southern Lebombo monocline in Mozambique contains different silicic units in the form of pyroclastic rocks, and two different basalt types. The silicic units in the lower part of the Lebombo sequence are formed by a lower unit of dacites and rhyolites (67–80 wt.% SiO₂) with high Ba (990–2500 ppm), Zr (800–1100 ppm) and Y (130–240 ppm), which are part of the Jozini–Mbuluzi Formation, followed by a second unit, interlayered with the Movene basalts, of high-SiO₂ rhyolites (76–78 wt.%; the Sica Beds Formation), with low Sr (19–54 ppm), Zr (340–480 ppm) and Ba (330–850 ppm) plus rare quartz-trachytes (64–66 wt.% SiO₂), with high Nb and Rb contents (240–250 and 370–381 ppm, respectively), and relatively low Zr (450–460 ppm). The mafic rocks found at the top of the sequence are basalts and ferrobasalts belonging to the Movene Formation. The basalts have roughly flat mantle-normalized incompatible element patterns, with abundances of the most incompatible elements not higher than 25 times primitive mantle. The ferrobasalt has TiO₂  4.7 wt.%, Fe₂O_3t = 16 wt.%, and high Y (100 ppm), Zr (420 ppm) and Ba (1000 ppm). The Movene basalts have initial (at 180 Ma) ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.7052–0.7054 and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd = 0.51232, and the Movene ferrobasalt has even lower ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.70377) and higher ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd (0.51259). The silicic rocks show a modest range of initial Sr-(⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70470–0.70648) and Nd-(¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd = 0.51223–0.51243) isotope ratios. The less evolved dacites could have been formed after crystal fractionation of oxide-rich gabbroic cumulates from mafic parental magmas, whereas the most silica-rich rhyolites could have been formed after fractional crystallization of feldspars, pyroxenes, oxides, zircon and apatite from a parental dacite magma. The composition of the Movene basalts imply different feeding systems from those of the underlying Sabie River basalts.     

Short-run Economic Benefits from Water Quality Improvements: an Application to the American Lobster (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Homarus Americanus</Emphasis>) Fishery of Long Island Sound

This article proposes a quantitative investigation of the claim that improving water quality does not yield rents in commercial fisheries that are inefficiently managed. Specifically, a combined model of the resource dynamics and fishing effort is used to investigate the effects of policy scenarios on water quality improvements on the American lobster fishery in Long Island Sound. Results indicate that short-run positive rents can be extracted from the lobster fishery even when inefficiently managed, but they dissipate in the long-run as suggested by the economic literature.     

Evolution of an early Eocene pull‐apart basin in the Central Pontides (Northern Turkey): New insights into the origin of the North Anatolian Shear Zone

Although the North Anatolian Shear Zone is one of the main lithospheric‐scale strike‐slip deformation zone in the world, playing a prominent role in the complex geodynamic interaction among the Eurasian, Anatolian and Arabian plates, the onset time of its activity remains highly controversial. Here, we tackle this issue by utilizing nannofossil biostratigraphy on deposits from the Ta?cilar basin, a pull‐apart basin that we have identified inside the North Anatolian Shear Zone overprinting the Intra‐Pontide suture zone. The syn‐tectonic sedimentary succession of the Ta?cilar basin developed completely during the early Eocene (Ypresian; CNE4–CNE5 Zones). The strike‐slip faulting related to the initial onset of the North Anatolian Shear Zone can likely be constrained within the Ypresian, suggesting that the westward escape of the Anatolian plate along the North Anatolian Shear Zone started in the early Eocene.     

Holocene palaeoceanographic changes in Barrow Strait,Canadian Arctic: foraminiferal evidence

Holocene changes in the benthic and planktic foraminiferal fauna (>63 µm) from a marine sediment core (ARC‐3 Canadian Arctic Archipelago, 74° 16.050′ N, 91° 06.380′ W, water depth 347 m) show that significant environmental and palaeoceanographic variations occurred during the last 10 ka. Foraminiferal assemblages are restricted to the ca. 4.5–10 ka interval as younger samples are mostly barren of foraminifera due to intense carbonate dissolution after ca. 4.5 ka. Foraminiferal assemblages in the ca. 4.5–10 ka interval are dominated by the benthic species Islandiella helenae and Cassidulina reniforme (57% of total), with Elphidium clavatum, Cibicides lobatulus and Buccella frigida also being common in this interval. The dominance of these species indicates a seasonal sea ice regime which is consistent with the occurrence of the sea ice diatom‐derived organic geochemical biomarker IP₂₅ throughout the core. The abundances of C. reniforme and E. clavatum decline upcore; consistent with more frequent mixing of the Barrow Strait water column during the early Holocene. It is likely that the influence of CO₂‐rich Arctic surface water masses have caused an increase in bottom water corrosivity after ca. 8.5 ka, and dissolution has been further enhanced by sea ice‐related processes after ca. 6 ka, concomitant with increased IP₂₅ fluxes. Dissolution is strongest when IP₂₅ fluxes are highest, suggesting a link between the sea ice and benthic systems. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sea ice variations in the central Canadian Arctic Archipelago during the Holocene

A sea ice record for Barrow Strait in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) is presented for the interval 10.0–0.4 cal. kyr BP. This Holocene record is based primarily on the occurrence of a sea ice biomarker chemical, IP₂₅, isolated from a marine sediment core obtained from Barrow Strait in 2005. A core chronology is based on ¹⁴C AMS dating of mollusc shells obtained from ten horizons within the core. The primary IP₂₅ data are compared with complementary proxy data obtained from analysis of other organic biomarkers, stable isotope composition of bulk organic matter, benthic foraminifera, particle size distributions and ratios of inorganic elements. The combined proxy data show that the palaeo-sea ice record can be grouped according to four intervals, and these can be contextualised further with respect to the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM). Spring sea ice occurrence was lowest during the early–mid Holocene (10.0–6.0 cal. kyr BP) and this was followed by a second phase (6.0–4.0 cal. kyr BP) where spring sea ice occurrence showed a small increase. Between 4.0 and 3.0 cal. kyr BP, spring sea ice occurrence increased abruptly to above the median and we associate this interval with the termination of the HTM. Elevated spring sea ice occurrences continued from 3.0 to 0.4 cal. kyr BP, although they were more variable on shorter timescales. Within this fourth interval, we also provide evidence for slightly lower and subsequently higher spring sea ice occurrence during the Mediaeval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age respectively. Comparisons are made between our proxy data with those obtained from other palaeo-climate and sea ice studies for the CAA.     

High-<Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis> behaviour of gedrite: thermoelasticity,cation ordering and dehydrogenation

The thermoelastic behaviour of a natural gedrite having the crystal-chemical formula ^ANa_0.47 ^B(Na_0.03 Mg_1.05 Fe_0.86²⁺ Mn_0.02 Ca_0.04) ^C(Mg_3.44 Fe_0.36²⁺ Al_1.15 Ti_0.05⁴⁺) ^T(Si_6.31 Al_1.69)O₂₂ ^W(OH)₂ has been studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction to 973 K (Stage 1). After data collection at 973 K, the crystal was heated to 1,173 K to induce dehydrogenation, which was registered by significant changes in unit-cell parameters, M1–O3 and M3–O3 bond lengths and refined site-scattering values of M1 and M4 sites. These changes and the crystal-chemical formula calculated from structure refinement show that all Fe²⁺ originally at M4 migrates into the ribbon of octahedrally coordinated sites, where most of it oxidises to Fe³⁺, and there is a corresponding exchange of Mg from the ribbon into M4. The resulting composition is that of an oxo-gedrite with an inferred crystal-chemical formula ^ANa_0.47 ^B(Na_0.03 Mg_1.93 Ca_0.04) ^C(Mg_2.56 Mn_0.02²⁺ Fe_0.10²⁺ Fe_1.22³⁺ Al_1.15 Ti_0.05⁴⁺) ^T(Si_6.31 Al_1.69) O₂₂ ^W[O_1.12²⁻ (OH)_0.88]. This marked redistribution of Mg and Fe is interpreted as being driven by rapid dehydrogenation at the H3A and H3B sites, such that all available Fe in the structure orders at M1 and M3 sites and is oxidised to Fe³⁺. Thermoelastic data are reported for gedrite and oxo-gedrite; the latter was measured during cooling from 1,173 to 298 K (Stage 2) and checked after further heating to 1,273 K (Stage 3). The thermoelastic properties of gedrite and oxo-gedrite are compared with each other and those of anthophyllite.     

Holocene palaeohydrological changes in the northern Mediterranean borderlands as reflected by the lake-level record of Lake Ledro,northeastern Italy

A lake-level record of Lake Ledro (northern Italy) spans the entire Holocene with a chronology derived from 51 radiocarbon dates. It is based on a specific sedimentological approach that combines data from five sediment profiles sampled in distinct locations in the littoral zone. On a millennial scale, the lake-level record shows two successive periods from 11,700 to 4500 cal yr BP and from 4500 cal yr BP to the present, characterized by lower and higher average lake levels, respectively. In addition to key seasonal and inter-hemispherical changes in insolation, the major hydrological change around 4500 cal yr BP may be related to a non-linear response of the climate system to orbitally-driven gradual decrease in insolation. The Ledro record questions the notion of an accentuated summer rain regime in the northern Mediterranean borderlands during the boreal insolation maximum. Moreover, the Ledro record highlights that the Holocene was punctuated by successive centennial-scale highstands. Correlations with the Preboreal oscillation and the 8.2 ka event, and comparison with the atmospheric ¹⁴C residual record, suggest that short-lived lake-level fluctuations developed at Ledro in response to (1) final steps of the deglaciation in the North Atlantic area and (2) variations in solar activity.