Resik: A Bent Crystal X-ray Spectrometer for Studies of Solar Coronal Plasma Composition

We describe the RESIK (REntgenovsky Spektrometr s Izognutymi Kristalami) instrument, consisting of two double-channel X-ray spectrometers, designed to observe solar active region and flare plasmas. RESIK is one of the instruments making up the scientific payload of the Russian CORONAS-F solar mission. The uncollimated spectrometer uses two silicon and two quartz bent crystals observing flare, active region and coronal spectra in four wavelength bands with a resolving power (/ ) of 1000. The wavelength coverage, 3.3–6.1 Å, includes emission lines of Si, S, Cl, Ar, and K and in the third diffraction order, the wavelength range includes He-like Fe lines (1.85 Å) and Ni lines (1.55 Å) with dielectronic satellites, emitted during intense, hot flares. The instrument is believed to be the best calibrated space-borne crystal spectrometer flown to date. The spectrometer dynamically adjusts the data gathering intervals from 1 s to 5 minutes, depending on the level of solar X-ray emission at the time of observation. The principal aims of RESIK are the measurements of relative and absolute element abundances in the emitting plasma and the temperature distribution of plasma (differential emission measure) over the temperature interval 3 and 50 MK. This paper summarizes the scientific objectives of RESIK and describes the design, characteristics, and performance of the instrument.     

A comet in the lab

What have Stardust samples told us about the early solar system? Phil A Bland, Anton T Kearsley, P J Wozniakiewicz, M J Burchell, M Gounelle, M E Zolensky and Matt J Genge have some of the answers – and a few more questions.     

Tidal decay and stable Roche-lobe overflow of short-period gaseous exoplanets

Many gaseous exoplanets in short-period orbits are on the verge or are in the process of Roche-lobe overflow (RLO). Moreover, orbital stability analysis shows tides can drive many hot Jupiters to spiral inevitably toward their host stars. Thus, the coupled processes of orbital evolution and RLO likely shape the observed distribution of close-in exoplanets and may even be responsible for producing some of the short-period rocky planets. However, the exact outcome for an overflowing planet depends on its internal response to mass loss, and the accompanying orbital evolution can act to enhance or inhibit RLO. In this study, we apply the fully-featured and robust Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics suite to model RLO of short-period gaseous planets. We show that, although the detailed evolution may depend on several properties of the planetary system, it is largely determined by the core mass of the overflowing gas giant. In particular, we find that the orbital expansion that accompanies RLO often stops and reverses at a specific maximum period that depends on the core mass. We suggest that RLO may often strand the remnant of a gas giant near this orbital period, which provides an observational prediction that can corroborate the hypothesis that short-period gas giants undergo RLO. We conduct a preliminary comparison of this prediction to the observed population of small, short-period planets and find some planets in orbits that may be consistent with this picture. To the extent that we can establish some short-period planets are indeed the remnants of gas giants, that population can elucidate the properties of gas giant cores, the properties of which remain largely unconstrained.     

Seasonal and tidal monthly patterns of particulate matter dynamics in the Columbia River estuary

We investigated seasonal and tidal-monthly, suspended particulate matter (SPM) dynamics in the Columbia River estuary from May to December 1997 using acoustic backscatter (ABS) and velocity data from four long-term Acoustic Doppler Profiler (ADP) moorings in or near the estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM). ABS profiles were calibrated and converted to total SPM profiles using pumped SPM samples and optical backscatter (OBS) data obtained during three seasonal cruises. Four characteristic settling velocity (W _s) classes were defined from Owen Tube samples collected during the cruises. An inverse analysis, in the form of a non-negative least squares minimization, was used to determine the contribution of the four,W _s-classes to each, total SPM profile. The outputs from the inverse analyses were 6–8 mo time-series ofW _s-specific SPM concentration and transport profiles at each mooring. The profiles extended from the free surface to 1.8–2.7 m from the bed, with 0.25–0.50 m resolution. These time series, along with Owen Tube results and disaggregated size data, were used to investigate SPM dynamics. Three non-dimensional parameters were defined to investigate how river flow and tidal forcing affect particle trapping: Rouse numberP (balance between vertical mixing and settling) trapping efficiencyE (ratio of maximum SPM concentration in the estuary to fluvial source concentration), and advection numberA (ratio of height of maximum SPM concentration to friction velocity). The most effective particle trapping (maximum values ofE) occurs on low-flow neap tides. The location of the ETM and the maximal trapping migrated seasonally in a manner consistent with the increase in salinity intrusion length after the spring freshet. Maximum advection (high values ofA) occurred during highly stratified neap tides.     

Recurrent transitions to Little Ice Age-like climatic regimes over the Holocene

Holocene climate variability is punctuated by episodic climatic events such as the Little Ice Age (LIA) predating the industrial-era warming. Their dating and forcing mechanisms have however remained controversial. Even more crucially, it is uncertain whether earlier events represent climatic regimes similar to the LIA. Here we produce and analyse a new 7500-year long palaeoclimate record tailored to detect LIA-like climatic regimes from northern European tree-ring data. In addition to the actual LIA, we identify LIA-like ca. 100–800 year periods with cold temperatures combined with clear sky conditions from 540 CE, 1670 BCE, 3240 BCE and 5450 BCE onwards, these LIA-like regimes covering 20% of the study period. Consistent with climate modelling, the LIA-like regimes originate from a coupled atmosphere–ocean–sea ice North Atlantic-Arctic system and were amplified by volcanic activity (multiple eruptions closely spaced in time), tree-ring evidence pointing to similarly enhanced LIA-like regimes starting after the eruptions recorded in 1627 BCE, 536/540 CE and 1809/1815 CE. Conversely, the ongoing decline in Arctic sea-ice extent is mirrored in our data which shows reversal of the LIA-like conditions since the late nineteenth century, our record also correlating highly with the instrumentally recorded Northern Hemisphere and global temperatures over the same period. Our results bridge the gaps between low- and high-resolution, precisely dated proxies and demonstrate the efficacy of slow and fast components of the climate system to generate LIA-like climate regimes.

     

Impact of small amounts of swelling clays on the physical properties of debris‐flow‐like granular materials. Implications for the study of alpine debris flow

The effect of the small fraction of clays on the rheological behaviour of alpine debris flow is poorly understood. This is partly due to the complexity of the debris flow mineralogy and the broad particle size distribution. This study has investigated this issue by simulating an alpine debris flow with a mixture of well characterized fractions and then varying the clay fraction composition. Four samples were tested, ranging from a clay fraction made up of only kaolinite (1:1 type clay) to samples where 80 per cent of the kaolinite is replaced by bedeillite (a 2:1 type clay similar to smectite). Changing the content of 2:1 type clay has a strong influence on the behaviour of the whole material, despite its low weight fraction of around 2 per cent. The tests carried out on these reconstituted materials were compared with the results obtained for natural debris flow materials and showed some common trends: in particular, the rheological parameters for materials with and without 2:1 clays with respect to yield stress as a function of solid content. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The ~AD1315 Tarawera and Waiotapu eruptions, New Zealand: contemporaneous rhyolite and hydrothermal eruptions driven by an arrested basalt dike system?

A series of large hydrothermal eruptions occurred across the Waiotapu geothermal field at about the same (prehistoric) time as the ~AD1315 Kaharoa rhyolite magmatic eruptions from Tarawera volcano vents, 10–20 km distant. Triggering of the Waiotapu hydrothermal eruptions was previously attributed to displacement of the adjacent Ngapouri Fault. The Kaharoa rhyolite eruptions are now recognised as primed and triggered by multiple basalt intrusions beneath the Tarawera volcano. A ~1000 t/day pulse of CO₂ gas is recorded by alteration mineralogy and fluid inclusions in drill core samples from Waiotapu geothermal wells. This CO₂ pulse is most readily sourced from basalt intruded at depth, and although not precisely dated, it appears to be associated with the Waiotapu hydrothermal eruptions. We infer that the hydrothermal eruptions at Waiotapu were primed by intrusion of the same arrested basalt dike system that drove the rhyolite eruptions at Tarawera. This dike system was likely similar at depth to the dike that generated basalt eruptions from a 17 km-long fissure that formed across the Tarawera region in AD1886. Fault ruptures that occurred in the Waiotapu area in association with both the AD1886 and ~AD1315 eruptions are considered to be a result, rather than a cause, of the dike intrusion processes.Editorial responsibility: J. Donnelly-Nolan