A new relation between the central spectral solar H I Lyman α irradiance and the line irradiance measured by SUMER/SOHO during the cycle 23

The spectral irradiance at the center of the solar H I Lyman α (, referred to as Lyα in this paper) line profile is the main excitation source responsible for the atomic hydrogen resonant scattering of cool material in our Solar System. It has therefore to be known with the best possible accuracy in order to model the various Lyα emissions taking place in planetary, cometary, and interplanetary environments. Since the only permanently monitored solar irradiance is the total one (i.e. integrated over the whole Lyα line profile), Vidal-Madjar [1975. Evolution of the solar Lyman alpha flux during four consecutive years. Solar Phys. 40, 69-86] using Orbiting Solar Observatory 5 (OSO-5) satellite Lyα data, established a semi-empirical formula allowing him to deduce the central spectral Lyα irradiance from the total one. This relation has been extensively used for three decades. But, at the low altitude of the OSO-5 orbit, the central part of the solar line profile was deeply absorbed by a large column of exospheric atomic hydrogen. Consequently, the spectral irradiance at the center of the line was obtained by a complex procedure confronting the observations with simulations of both the geocoronal absorption and the self-reversed shape of the solar Lyα profile. The SUMER spectrometer onboard SOHO positioned well outside the hydrogen geocorona, provided full-Sun Lyα profiles, not affected by such an absorption [Lemaire et al., 1998. Solar H I Lyman α full disk profile obtained with the SUMER/SOHO spectrometer. Astron. Astrophys. 334, 1095-1098; 2002. Variation of the full Sun Hydrogen Lyman α and β profiles with the activity cycle. Proc. SOHO 11 Symposium, ESA SP-508, 219-222; 2004. Variation of the full Sun Hydrogen Lyman profiles through solar cycle 23. COSPAR 2004 Meeting], making it—for the first time—possible to measure the spectral and total Lyα solar irradiances directly and simultaneously. A new relation between these two quantities is derived in an expression that is formally similar to the previous one, but with significantly different parameters. After having discussed the potential causes for such differences, it is suggested that the new relation should replace the old one for any future modeling of the numerous Lyα absorptions and emissions observed in the Solar System.     

The effect of compression on noble gas solubility in silicate melts and consequences for degassing at mid-ocean ridges

The effect of compression on noble gas solubility in silicate melts is still badly understood due to a lack of theoretical guidance. In the experimental literature, noble gases dissolving in liquid silicates are found to concentrate almost linearly with increasing pressure up to several tens of kbar, suggesting that Henry’s law could be valid up to very high pressures, although this law stipulates that the gaseous phase in contact with the liquid must be ideal. Recently, new experiments dealing with the dissolution of argon in synthetic and natural silicate melts have pointed out that the evolution of concentration with pressure exhibits a departure from linearity in the 50-100 kbar range, leading either to a levelling off or to a sudden collapse of the argon concentration above 50 kbar. Here, we investigate by means of liquid state physics how volatile species dissolve into silicate melts under pressure. We use a hard sphere model (the reference fluid in liquid state physics) to describe silicate melts and gas at high pressures. One of our main results is that, when pressure increases, the concurrent compaction of gas and melt explains the almost-linear behaviour of the noble gas concentration up to several tens of kbars, before melt compaction dominates and concentration either levels off or decreases gradually in the 50-100 kbar range. In spite of the existence of a quasi-linear regime over a large pressure range, our work disqualifies the use of the Henry law when dealing with high pressures. The implication of these findings to provide an understanding of degassing at mid-ocean ridges is next investigated. Applying our model to the scenario where CO₂ vesicle generation occurs in the magma at mantle depths during its ascent from melting regions, we evaluate magma vesicularity as well as noble gas concentrations in the basalt melt and in vesicles as a function of pressure at depth. It is stressed that the variable and usually strong noble gas elemental fractionation observed in mid-ocean ridge basalts can be explained by assuming a sequence of several vesiculation stages interrupted by vesicle loss during magma ascent.     

From the green color of eskolaite to the red color of ruby: an X-ray absorption spectroscopy study

The best known cause for colors in insulating minerals is due to transition metal ions as impurities. As an example, Cr³⁺ is responsible for the red color of ruby (α-Al₂O₃:Cr³⁺) and the green color of eskolaite (α-Cr₂O₃). Using X-ray absorption measurements, we connect the colors of the Cr _x Al_2−x O₃ series with the structural and electronic local environment around Cr. UV–VIS electronic parameters, such as the crystal field and the Racah parameter B, are related to those deduced from the analysis of the isotropic and XMCD spectra at the Cr L_2,3-edges in Cr_0.07Al_1.93O₃ and eskolaite. The Cr–O bond lengths are extracted by EXAFS at the Cr K-edge in the whole Cr _x Al_2−x O₃ (0.07≤x< 2) solid solution series. The variation of the mean Cr–O distance between Cr_0.07Al_1.93O₃ and α-Cr₂O₃ is evaluated to be 0.01₅ Å (≈1%). The variation of the crystal field in the Cr _x Al_2−x O₃ series is discussed in relation with the variation of the averaged Cr–O distances.     

IMPACT AND IMPACT-LIKE STRUCTURES IN ALGERIA PART I FOUR BOWL-SHAPED DEPRESSIONS

From orbital, aviation and geologic documents, four circular depressions on the Sahara sedimentary platform were selected for field investigation because of their possible impact origin. Our results can be summarized as follows: Amguid Crater (26° 05′N; 004° 23.5′E; 450 m diameter, 30 m deep) is perfectly circular, with a steep wall, a raised rim and an ejecta blanket. The strata are uplifted, outward dipping, dislocated and locally overturned at the rim crest. Large blocks are scattered around the rim. There is petrological evidence of shock by planar elements in quartz. Amguid is a well preserved impact crater probably no older than 100,000 years. Talemzane (33° 19′N; 004° 02′E; 1.7 km diameter, 70 m deep) is also perfectly circular and displays a raised rim. The strata are uplifted, outward dipping, and locally highly fractured. Numerous breccia veins are clearly exposed in the crater wall. Consolidated ejected debris form a continuous blanket more than 500 m outward from the rim. Reworked mixed breccias are exposed at the base of the crater wall. Planar elements are observed in quartz clasts in the mixed breccia. Talemzane is an impact crater on the order of 0.5 to 3 million years old. El Mouilah (33° 51′N; 002° 03′E; 4.5 km diameter, 130 m deep) is almost perfectly circular, the walls are steep and there is a central dome. In spite of a promising morphology, there is no field evidence of impact. El Mouilah is possibly a recent collapse structure due to dissolution in the thick underlying limestone and gypsum formations or purely erosional in origin. Aflou (34° 00′N; 002° 03′E) is not circular (3 × 5 km) but was selected because it appears in the literature as a probable impact crater, the main argument being the existence of fused materials in the center (Marks et al., 1972). We found no evidence of impact, but several occurrences of igneous rocks along an E-W direction suggest a structurally controlled volcanic activity. A volcanic activity is also supported by the existence of a local magnetic anomaly centered on the depression. Aflou is neither an impact structure nor a crater. Located on a probable structural dome, at the intersection of several structural trends, the formation of the depression can be due to erosion and/or dissolution in the thick underlying limestone and gypsum formations.     

Approximate discharge for constant head test with recharging boundary

The calculation of the discharge to a constant drawdown well or tunnel in the presence of an infinite linear constant head boundary in an ideal confined aquifer usually relies on the numerical inversion of a Laplace transform solution. Such a solution is used to interpret constant head tests in wells or to roughly estimate ground water inflow into tunnels. In this paper, a simple approximate solution is proposed. Its maximum relative error is on the order of 2% as compared to the exact analytical solution. The approximation is a weighted mean between the early-time and late-time asymptotes.     

High order symplectic integrators for perturbed Hamiltonian systems

A family of symplectic integrators adapted for the integration of perturbed Hamiltonian systems of the form H=A+B was given in (McLachlan, 1995). We give here a constructive proof that for all integer p, such integrator exists, with only positive steps, and with a remainder of order O(^p + ²²), where is the stepsize of the integrator. Moreover, we compute the analytical expressions of the leading terms of the remainders at all orders. We show also that for a large class of systems, a corrector step can be performed such that the remainder becomes O(^p +⁴²). The performances of these integrators are compared for the simple pendulum and the planetary three-body problem of Sun–Jupiter–Saturn.     

Author Index, Vol. 34

Authors Index

Author Index, Vol. 34