Is the world's economic centre of gravity already in Asia?

This paper proposes a novel and simple measure of the world's economic centre of gravity. Over the recent decades, this centre has shifted towards Asia, but is still located in Europe.     

长白山天池火山千年大喷发岩浆含水量研究——熔融包裹体含水量的红外光谱测试

长白山天池火山在公元一千年左右曾发生过大规模喷发,其产物为大面积分布的灰白色碱流质浮岩和碎屑流,在其斑晶矿物橄榄石、钙铁辉石和碱性长石中均可见到熔融包裹体。在最主要的斑晶矿物——碱性长石中含有数量众多且个体也较大的熔融包裹体,多数含有一个以上的气泡,其中部分含有子晶,根据形貌特征的不同可分为截然不同的两组包裹体。这些熔融包裹体带有大量喷发前地下岩浆的信息,成为研究地下深部的岩浆在复杂的溢流-爆炸喷发中所发生变化的最好媒介。也是本文的研究对象,通过其中挥发份尤其是水的含量,可以推知天池火山发生大喷发的原因。经Nicolet Magna-IR 550红外光谱仪测定,这些熔融包裹体的含水量较高,达1．6％-3．6％,为当时天池火山发生了巨大规模爆炸喷发的原因提供了强有力的证据。但目前红外光谱仪的应用范围还比较有限,有待今后拓宽其应用领域。     

A New Natural Secondary Reference Material for Garnet U-Pb Dating by TIMS and LA-ICP-MS

Gem quality andradite-rich garnet (IUC-1), obtained from the Miocene trachyte dome near Ankara city (Turkey), has been identified as a potential natural secondary reference material for U-Pb dating. In this study, U-Pb dating was performed in five different laboratories using isotope dilution TIMS and laser ablation ICP-MS to determine the homogeneity of euhedral garnet crystals. The U-Pb ID-TIMS data for IUC-1 yielded ²⁰⁷Pb/²³⁵U and ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of 20.9 ± 0.4 and 20.6 ± 0.8 Ma respectively, and these values are consistent with U-Pb LA-ICP-MS analyses, in which different garnet crystals yielded ages of 20.8 ± 0.1, 20.7 ± 0.1, 20.7 ± 0.2 and 20.2 ± 0.1 Ma. An andradite (IUC-2) from the Serçeören wollastonite skarn (Turkey) can be used as a secondary reference material provided detailed imaging of the crystals is undertaken. ID-TIMS data yielded ²⁰⁷Pb/²³⁵U and ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of 20.4 ± 0.4 and 20.9 ± 1.0 Ma respectively, and yielded U-Pb ages on different grains of 20.5 ± 0.1, 20.7 ± 1.0, 20.8 ± 1.7 and 20.9 ± 1.6 Ma. The assigned weighted mean age of IUC-1 (20.4 ± 0.5 Ma, 2s) is proposed as a 2023 reference value. IUC-1 garnet is expected to contribute significantly to rapidly developing garnet geochronology in the near future.     

What do biphasic flow experiments reveal on the variability of exposure on alluvial fans and which implications for risk assessment result from this?

Sudden avulsions, unexpected channel migrations and backfilling phenomena are autogenic phenomena that can considerably change the propagation patterns of sediment-laden flows on alluvial fans. Once the initial and boundary conditions of the hazard scenario with a given return period are determined, the assessment of the associated exposed areas is based on one numerical, essentially deterministic, process simulation which may not adequately capture the underlying process variability. We generated sediment-laden flows on an experimental alluvial fan by following a “similarity-of-process concept”. Specifically, we considered a convexly shaped alluvial fan model layout featuring a curved guiding channel. As loading conditions, we defined a reference, an increased and a reduced level for the released water volume and the predisposed solid fraction, respectively. Further, we imposed two different stream power regimes and accomplished, for each factor combination, eight experimental runs. The associated exposure areas were recorded by video and mapped in a GIS. We then analysed exposure data and determined exposure probability maps superposing the footprints of the eight repetitions associated with each experimental loading condition. The patterns of exposure referred to the specific loading conditions showed a noticeable variability related to the main effects of the total event volume, the solid fraction, the interactions between them, and the imposed stream power in the feeding channel. Our research suggests that adopting a probabilistic notion of exposure in risk assessment and mitigation is advisable. Further, a major challenge consists in adapting numerical codes to better reflect the stochastics of process propagation for more reliable flood hazard assessments.

     

Microbiological processes in banded iron formation deposition

Banded iron formations have been studied for decades, particularly regarding their potential as archives of the Precambrian environment. In spite of this effort, the mechanism of their deposition and, specifically, the role that microbes played in the precipitation of banded iron formation minerals, remains unresolved. Evidence of an anoxic Earth with only localized oxic areas until the Great Oxidation Event ca 2·45 to 2·32 Ga makes the investigation of O₂‐independent mechanisms for banded iron formation deposition relevant. Recent studies have explored the long‐standing proposition that Archean banded iron formations may have been formed, and diagenetically modified, by anaerobic microbial metabolisms. These efforts encompass a wide array of approaches including isotope, ecophysiological and phylogeny studies, molecular and mineral marker analysis, and sedimentological reconstructions. Herein, the current theories of microbial processes in banded iron formation mineral deposition with particular regard to the mechanisms of chemical sedimentation and post‐depositional alteration are described. The main findings of recent years are summarized and compared here, and suggestions are made regarding cross‐disciplinary information still required to constrain the role of the biosphere in banded iron formation deposition.     

Insights into the origin of primitive silica-undersaturated arc magmas of Aoba volcano (Vanuatu arc)

Aoba picrites in Vanuatu arc (Southwestern Pacific) offer the opportunity to address the question of the origin of Si-undersaturated arc magmas, through the geochemical study of their olivine-hosted melt inclusions. These latter delineate a differentiation trend of calc-alkaline silica-undersaturated basalts, with typical trace-element patterns of arc magmas. The most primitive melt inclusions, preserved in olivines with Fo ≥ 89, have normative nepheline compositions with CaO/Al₂O₃ > 0.8, but belong to three distinct populations differing in their enrichment or depletion in LILE, Cl, and alkalis (Rb, K). The dominant population is characterized by medium-LILE concentrations (La/Yb ~ 7–8) and represents the parental magma of the Aoba lavas. The two others (La/Yb ~ 20 and 2) are either significantly enriched or extremely depleted in LILE, Cl, and alkalis. This compositional variability of primitive magma batches requires the multi-stage mixing between melts generated by partial melting of both peridotite and clinopyroxene-rich lithologies. Medium-LILE magma derives from the mixing between peridotite- and clinopyroxenite-derived melts, whereas the high- and low-LILE melts involve amphibole-bearing and amphibole-free clinopyroxenite sources, respectively.     

Quasi-thermal Noise Spectra Measured by a Dipole Antenna in the Upper Hybrid frequency band

Quasi-thermal noise (QTN) spectroscopy is one of the most effective tools for in situ diagnostics in space plasmas (Meyer-Vernet et al., 1998; Meyer-Vernet and Perche, 1989; Chugunov and Trakhtengerts, 1978). This method produces routine measurements of the bulk electron density and temperature; recently it has been extended to measure the ion bulk speed. Among the advantages of the method its immunity to spacecraft potential and photoelectron perturbations should be noted. Quasi-thermal noise spectroscopy is used particularly on Ulysses and Wind. However for the interpretation of QTN data the calculation of the noise voltage induced on antennas under different conditions is necessary. This question is especially complicated and so far insufficiently studied in magnetized plasmas. In the present paper we calculate the spectrum of the noise voltage induced on a dipole antenna in the upper hybrid frequency range. The computations are adapted to the interpretation of data acquired on the Ulysses and Wind spacecraft. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Geochemical evidence of the renewal of volcanic activity inferred from CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> soil and SO<Subscript>2</Subscript> plume fluxes: the 2007 Stromboli eruption (Italy)

On 27 February 2007, a new eruption occurred on Stromboli which lasted until 2 April. It was characterized by effusive activity on the Sciara del Fuoco and by a paroxysmal event (15 March). This crisis represented an opportunity for us to refine the model that had been developed previously (2002–2003 eruption) and to improve our understanding of the relationship between the magmatic dynamics of the volcano and the geochemical variations in the fluids. In particular, the evaluation of the dynamic equilibrium between the volatiles (CO₂ and SO₂) released from the magma and the corresponding fluids discharged from the summit area allowed us to evaluate the level of criticality of the volcanic activity. One of the major accomplishments of this study is a 4-year database of summit soil CO₂ flux on the basis of which we define the thresholds (low–medium–high) for this parameter that are empirically based on the natural volcanological evolution of Stromboli. The SO₂ fluxes of the degassing plume and the CO₂ fluxes emitted from the soil at Pizzo Sopra la Fossa are also presented. It is noteworthy that geochemical signals of volcanic unrest have been clearly identified before, during and after the effusive activity. These signals were found almost simultaneously in the degassing plume (SO₂ flux) and in soil degassing (CO₂ flux) at the summit, although the two degassing processes are shown to be clearly different. The interpretation of the results will be useful for future volcanic surveillance at Stromboli.     

It's good to talk: performing and recording the telephone interview

This paper explores the transition of talk to text in the process of performing and recording semi-structured interviews over the telephone. In particular, it considers the ways respondents and the materials enjoined in the process of interviewing exceed their role in the research process. Drawing on my experience of conducting telephone interviews in the UK, I position the interview as an uncertain encounter: one framed by earlier narrations as much as the aims and objectives of the research project; and an orientation towards 'talk' as much as the reduction of performance to text. Far from losing track of these uncertainties I argue that tape-recorders are well equipped to document these in/audible realms.