EVOLUTION OF A DELTA GROUP IN THE PHOTOSPHERE AND CORONA

We present a study of the evolution of NOAA AR 7205 in the photosphere and corona, including an analysis of sunspot motions, and show the evolutionary aspects of flare activity using full-disc white-light observations from Debrecen, vector magnetograms from Mees Observatory, Hawaii, and Yohkoh soft X-ray observations. NOAA AR 7205 was born on the disc on 18 June, 1992. During the first 3 days it consisted of intermittent minor spots. A vigorous evolution started on 21 June when, through the emergence and merging (v 100–150 m s^-1) of several bipoles, a major bipolar sunspot group was formed. Transverse magnetic fields and currents indicated the presence of shear (clockwise twist) already on 21 June (with 0.015 Mm^-1). On 23 June, new flux emerged in the trailing part of the region with the new negative polarity spot situated very close to the big positive polarity trailing spot of the main bipole. The secondary bipole seemed to emerge with high non-potentality (currents). From that time the AR became the site of recurrent flare activity. We find that all 14 flares observed with the Yohkoh satellite occurred between the highly sheared new bipole and the double-headed principal bipole. Currents observed in the active region became stronger and more extended with time. We propose that the currents have been (i) induced by sunspot motions and (ii) increased by non-potential flux emergence leading to the occurrence of energetic flares (X1.8 and X3.9). This observation underlines the importance of flare analysis in the context of active region evolution.     

Comparison of low-energy lunar transfer trajectories to invariant manifolds

In this study, transfer trajectories from the Earth to the Moon that encounter the Moon at various flight path angles are examined, and lunar approach trajectories are compared to the invariant manifolds of selected unstable orbits in the circular restricted three-body problem. Previous work focused on lunar impact and landing trajectories encountering the Moon normal to the surface, and this research extends the problem with different flight path angles in three dimensions. The lunar landing geometry for a range of Jacobi constants is computed, and approaches to the Moon via invariant manifolds from unstable orbits are analyzed for different energy levels.     

Making Decisions About Forestland Succession: Perspectives from Pennsylvania's Private Forest Landowners

Decision-making processes that private forest landowners (PFLs) engage when planning for their forestland’s future are not well understood. The forest ecosystem and the people who depend on its services face several critical challenges, including how to sustainably manage an increasingly parcelized forest. The Theory of Planned Behavior has been used to illuminate connections among constructs informing PFL behavior, but fails to adequately capture the complexities of forest owners’ lived experiences and how those inform behaviors. In-depth interviews provide a deeper understanding of how Pennsylvania PFLs make decisions concerning ownership succession. We approached those who recently subdivided, sold/donated conservation easements, or had not committed to any plan and asked them to tell us about their planning experiences. Relationships among family members and the quality of their communication about the land and succession emerged as important factors in the planning process. Implications for theory, forest planning, education and outreach, and further study are advanced.     

Asymmetrical river valleys in response to tectonic tilting and strike‐slip faulting,northeast margin of Tibetan Plateau

The northeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau, a particularly important area to understand the mechanism of plateau formation, is characterized by large transpressional arcuate faults. There is debate on the amount of Quaternary sinistral displacement on the major Haiyuan Fault. Previously unrecognized systemic asymmetrical valleys have developed between the Haiyuan and Xiangshan faults. Southeast tilting and sinistral displacement on the northeast side of the Haiyuan Fault resulted in southeast migration of large rivers and asymmetrical widening of their valleys, leaving a systematic distribution of tilted strath terraces along their northwest sides. Where asymmetrical widening created by tilting kept pace with sinistral displacement, rivers have not been deflected, and the increase in valley width downstream from the fault should equate to total lateral displacement since river formation (e.g. Yuan River, a 7 km asymmetrical valley with a c. 2.2 Ma paleomagnetic age). Where river deflection and asymmetrical valley growth are coeval, valley width is less than total horizontal displacement (e.g. Hebao River, a c. 2.1 km asymmetrical valley with c. 2 km deflection). All rivers north of the Haiyuan Fault converge to cut across the Xiangshan Mountains as a gorge. Northeast thrusting of the upthrown side of the Xiangshan Fault has resulted in degradation and related strath terrace formation as the valleys asymmetrically widened. A probable earthquake‐induced landslide caused by movement on the Xiangshan Fault in latest Pleistocene blocked the gorge causing aggradation along all rivers and their tributaries. Deposition terraces were formed after the landslide dam was breached. Together with previous research on the Xiangshan Fault, it is concluded that there has been c. 7 km of Quaternary sinistral displacement on the Haiyuan and Xiangshan faults along the northeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau since the formation of rivers that intersect them. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Alpha-decay damage in minerals of the pyrochlore group

X-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy have been used to study the effects of alpha-decay damage in pyrochlore group minerals, characterized by the general formula A _1?m B ₂O₆(O,OH,F)_1?n ·pH₂O. As defined by the XRD intensity ratio I/I ₀ , both the saturation dose (for which I/I ₀ =0.1?0.0) and the dose which signifies the initial loss of crystallinity (for which I/I ₀ =1.0?0.8) increase as a function of geologic age. The increase is attributed to annealing of isolated alpha-recoil tracks back to the original crystalline structure. The tracks have calculated mean lives, τ_a, on the order of 10⁸ years. In contrast, minerals which remain crystalline (e.g., uraninite, UO₂) despite doses of up to 10¹⁸ alpha-events/mg have mean alpha-recoil track lives ≈10⁴ years (Eyal and Fleischer 1985). After correcting the calculated dose for annealing of alpha-recoil damage, I/I ₀ is observed to decrease exponentially to zero over the dose range 0.02–1.0 × 10¹⁶ alpha-events/mg. The relationship between I/I ₀ and “corrected” dose was used to calculate an average alpha-recoil track diameter of 4.6 nm, in which < 2600 atoms are displaced. XRD line broadening due to strain dominates the first half of the crystalline-to-metamict transition, reaching a maximum of 0.003, then decreasing to < 0.001. Line broadening due to decreasing crystallite size dominates the latter half of the transition. Estimated crystallite dimensions decrease from 450 nm to < 15 nm prior to reaching the fully metamict state. With increasing dose HRTEM images of microlites from the Harding pegmatite sequentially exhibit: 1) mottled diffraction contrast, 2) isolated 1–5 nm aperiodic areas, 3) coexisting aperiodic and crystalline areas, 4) relict “islands” of crystalline material in an aperiodic matrix, and 5) complete loss of lattice fringe periodicity. With no consideration given to alpha-recoil track fading, the transition covers a dose range of 0.04–1.7 × 10¹⁷ alpha-events/mg. Using a value of τ_a=10⁸ years, this dose range is corrected down to 0.02–1.2 × 10¹⁶ alpha-events/mg. The metamict state is characterized by a range of M-M and M-O distances which give rise to bands of diffuse scattering centered at 0.30 nm and 0.18 nm, respectively, in x-ray and electron diffraction patterns. Random image contrast shown by HRTEM is consistent with a random network type structure, an interpretation supported by EXAFS/XANES studies (Greegor et al. 1985a, b, 1987). The structure of metamict pyrochlore consists of an aperiodic framework of corner-sharing B-O polyhedra. Compared to the crystalline precursor, the metamict state displays a reduced M-O coordination number and mean bond length, increased distortion of the B-site, and a slight increase in the average M-M distance.     

Low-temperature anisotropic diffusion of helium in zircon: Implications for zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronometry

In the last decade the zircon (U-Th)/He (ZHe) thermochronometer has been applied to a variety of geologic problems. Although bulk diffusion coefficients for He in zircon are available from laboratory step-heating experiments, little is known about the diffusion mechanism(s) and their dependence on the crystallographic structure of zircon. Here, we investigate the diffusion of He in perfectly crystalline zircon using atomistic simulation methods that provide insights into the structural pathways of He migration in zircon. Empirical force fields and quantum-mechanical calculations reveal that the energy barriers for He diffusion are strongly dependent on structure. The most favorable pathway for He diffusion is the [0 0 1] direction through the open channels parallel to the c-axis (, activation energy for tracer diffusion of a He atom along [0 0 1]). In contrast, energy barriers are higher in other directions where narrower channels for He diffusion are identified, such as [1 0 0], [1 0 1], and [1 1 0] (ΔE^∗ of 44.8, 101.7, and 421.3 kJ mol⁻¹, respectively). Molecular dynamics simulations are in agreement with these results and provide additional insight in the diffusion mechanisms along different crystallographic directions, as well as the temperature dependence. Below the closure temperature of He in zircon [T_c ∼ 180 °C, Reiners P. W., Spell T. L., Nicolescu S., and Zanetti K. A. (2004) Zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronometry: He diffusion and comparisons with Ar-40/Ar-39 dating. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta68, 1857-1887], diffusion is anisotropic as He moves preferentially along the [0 0 1] direction, and calculated tracer diffusivities along the two most favorable directions differ by approximately five orders of magnitude (D_[001]/D_[100] ∼ 10⁵, at T = 25 °C). Above this temperature, He atoms start to hop between adjacent [0 0 1] channels, along [1 0 0] and [0 1 0] directions (perpendicular to the c-axis). The diffusion along [1 0 0] and [0 1 0] is thermally activated, such that at higher temperatures, He diffusion in zircon becomes nearly isotropic (D_[001]/D_[100] ∼ 10, at T = 580 °C). These results suggest that the anisotropic nature of He diffusion at temperatures near the closure temperature should be considered in future diffusivity experiments. Furthermore, care should be taken when making geologic interpretations (e.g., exhumation rates, timing of cooling, etc.) from this thermochronometer until the effects of anisotropic diffusion on bulk ages and closure temperature estimates are better quantified.     

Automated cleaning and uncertainty attribution of archival bathymetry based on a priori knowledge

Hydrographic offices hold large valuable historic bathymetric data sets, many of which were collected using older generation survey systems that contain little or no metadata and/or uncertainty estimates. These bathymetric data sets generally contain large outlier (errant) data points to clean, yet standard practice does not include rigorous automated procedures for systematic cleaning of these historical data sets and their subsequent conversion into reusable data formats. In this paper, we propose an automated method for this task. We utilize statistically diverse threshold tests, including a robust least trimmed squared method, to clean the data. We use LOESS weighted regression residuals together with a Student-t distribution to attribute uncertainty for each retained sounding; the resulting uncertainty values compare favorably with native estimates of uncertainty from co-located data sets which we use to estimate a point-wise goodness-of-fit measure. Storing a cleansed validated data set augmented with uncertainty in a re-usable format provides the details of this analysis for subsequent users. Our test results indicate that the method significantly improves the quality of the data set while concurrently providing confidence interval estimates and point-wise goodness-of-fit estimates as referenced to current hydrographic practices.     

Submarine mass-wasting deposits as an indicator of the onset of foreland thrust loading—Late Permian Bowen Basin, Queensland, Australia

In the eastern part of the Permo-Triassic Bowen Basin of Queensland, Australia, a transition from passive, thermal subsidence to flexural (foreland basin) subsidence is recorded within the Upper Permian stratigraphy. Two coarse-grained intervals containing deposits of mass-wasting processes occur within an otherwise siltstone-dominated succession over 1500 m thick (the Moah Creek Beds and equivalents). These intervals can be traced over at least 350 km north–south, along the structural eastern margin of the basin. The lower of the coarse-grained intervals is spectacularly exposed in the banks of the Fitzroy River, west of Rockhampton. Here, interbedded sandstones and siltstones of marine shelf origin are abruptly truncated by a mudrock succession containing evidence of slumping and contemporaneous magmatic activity. This unit passes up-section into packages of mass-flow conglomerates and diamictites, interpreted to have formed on an unstable submarine slope. The character of the mass-flow deposits, their stratigraphic position and lateral extent are interpreted in terms of destabilization of a sloping marine surface by pulsed, subsurface thrust propagation.