The Preboreal climate reversal and a subsequent solar‐forced climate shift

Accurate chronologies are essential for linking palaeoclimate archives. Carbon‐14 wiggle‐match dating was used to produce an accurate chronology for part of an early Holocene peat sequence from the Borchert (The Netherlands). Following the Younger Dryas–Preboreal transition, two climatic shifts could be inferred. Around 11 400 cal. yr BP the expansion of birch (Betula) forest was interrupted by a dry continental phase with dominantly open grassland vegetation, coeval with the PBO (Preboreal Oscillation), as observed in the GRIP ice core. At 11 250 cal. yr BP a sudden shift to a humid climate occurred. This second change appears to be contemporaneous with: (i) a sharp increase of atmospheric ¹⁴C; (ii) a temporary decline of atmospheric CO₂; and (iii) an increase in the GRIP ¹⁰Be flux. The close correspondence with excursions of cosmogenic nuclides points to a decline in solar activity, which may have forced the changes in climate and vegetation at around 11 250 cal. yr BP. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geochronological evidence for late‐Grenvillian magmatic and metamorphic events in central Taimyr,northern Siberia*

U–Th–Pb analyses of zircons from six granites and one metasediment collected in the accretionary Central belt of Taimyr, Arctic Siberia, demonstrate that Neoproterozoic (c. 900 Ma) granites intrude late Mesoproterozoic/early Neoproterozoic amphibolite facies metamorphic rocks. This is the first time in the Mamont–Shrenk region that Neoproterozoic ages have been recognized for these lithologies, previously thought to be Archaean/Palaeoproterozoic in age. The Mamont–Shrenk Terrane (MST) represents a Grenvillian age (micro?) continent intercalated with younger Neoproterozoic ophiolites during thrusting and accreted to the northern margin of the Siberian craton sometime before the late Vendian. Basement to the MST may have been derived from the Grenvillian belt of east Greenland. Viable tectonic reconstructions must allow for an active margin along northern Siberia (modern day coordinates) in the middle Neoproterozoic.     

A model for the constant-head pumping test conducted in vertically fractured media

An analytical model for the constant-head pumping test is developed for a partially penetrating well that has a finite thickness skin, and intersects a single vertical fracture. In the model, the fracture is fully confined and flow occurs only in the fracture. The model is developed using Laplace transform and finite Fourier transform methods. The model is to be used for analysing well test data from vertically fractured media and for verifying numerical models. Dimensionless curves are used to study the effects of a finite thickness skin and a partially penetrating wellbore. In the presence of a finite thickness skin, or a partially penetrating wellbore, a typical flow response for the constant-head pumping test has three distinct periods of flow corresponding to small-, intermediate- and large-time. Small- and large-time approximations are presented for the model. For tests where the wellbore is fully penetrating, or the partial penetration ratio is known, these approximations can be used to analyse field data.     

Spectroscopy of CN Orionis

Two outbursts and a minimum phase of the dwarf nova CN Orionis have been observed spectroscopically. One outburst was covered almost completely. The outburst spectra show periodic variations of the absorption lines which are interpreted with the formation of an elliptic disc during outburst stage. During decline from outburst a narrow emission line appears in the core of the broad H absorption line. The balmer decrement in the outburst phase is much steeper than in the minimum phase. This implies that during the outburst the emission line region is located more outward in the disk. The semi amplitude of the radial velocity curve was determined to K1=152 km/s±10 km/s. Using the photometric orbital period and an assumption about the inclination angle the approximate system parameters could be derived.Based on observations colleted at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile and at Mount Stromlo Observatory, Canberra, Australia.Paper presented at the IAU Colloquium No. 93 on Cataclysmic Variables. Recent Multi-Frequency Observations and Theoretical Developments, held at Dr. Remeis-Sternwarte Bamberg, F.R.G., 16–19 June, 1986.     

Indians in England: why did they emigrate?

The period of highest migration from India to England was 1955-1975. In 1981, the Bradford metropolitan district had about 13,000 Indians. 46% were Punjabis and 43.3% were from Gujarat. Using a 10% sample of Indian households in the Bradford district in 1984 and secondary information, this study examines the impact of the following reasons on decision to migrate: 1) push factors in the area of origin, 2) the 1947 partition of India, 3) strong economic attraction of the destination, and 4) "cultural ethos" and "status competition" among the migrant communities in the areas of emigration. Findings show that 1) Punjab and Gujarat do not have high poverty levels nor very high population densities; 2) the partition of India did not influence migration decisions; 3) the economic well-being of returning migrants and the high conversion rate of English currency did attract migrants to England (39% of surveyed migrants emigrated to England for purely economic reasons); and 4) 60% of the Punjabis and over 50% of the Gujaratis state that local status competition had a significant influence on their decisions to migrate. Thus, the economic attraction of England and the status competition among local families and the community were the dominant factors in migration decision making.     

Astrometric investigation with the Tautenburg Schmidt telescope

The observations and the plate reduction technique for the determination of positions and absolute proper motions which is used in Potsdam are described. Recent results have shown that an accuracy of about 0 _. 1 for positions and 0 _. ⁷ cent _. ^–1 for proper motions can be achieved both for bright (8^m–12^m) and faint (16^m–18^m) stars. Three astrometric programmes using the Tautenburg plates are presented.     

A new approach to the librational solution in the Ideal Resonance Problem

The librational motion of the Ideal Resonance Problem (Garfinkel, 1966, Jupp, 1969) is treated through an initialnon-canonical transformation which, however, leaves the equations of motion in a quasi-canonical form, with Hamiltonian expressed in standard trigonometric functions amenable to traditional averaging techniques. The perturbed solutions, similarly expressed intrigonometric near-identity transformations, and their frequencies can be found to arbitrary order, with the elliptic integrals expected of the system introduced only in a final explicit quadrature for a Kepler-type equation in the angular variable. The specific transformations and resulting equations of motion are introduced, and explicit solutions for the original variables are found to second order, with mean motion accurate to fifth. Limitation of the present solution to the librational region, the extension of that solution to higher order, and observations on the form of the associated Hamiltonian are also discussed.