Reversals of the geomagnetic field,magnetostratigraphy, and relative magnitude of paleosecular variation in the phanerozoic

The percentage of normal and reversed magnetization in land-based paleomagnetic studies of Phanerozoic rocks (0 to ? 570 m.y.) have been compiled in order to determine the long-term variation in polarity bias of the geomagnetic field. Where possible the results are compared with the record from marine magnetic anomalies. Only rarely is there an even balance between normal and reversed polarity. During the past 350 m.y. two quiet intervals can be recognized when few reversals occurred, the Cretaceous (KN about ? 81 to ? 110 m.y.) and Permo-Carboniferous (PCR about ? 227 to ? 313 m.y.). Less firmly established are two other quiet intervals, one in the Jurassic (JN about ? 145 to ? 165 m.y.), and one in the Triassic (TRN about ? 205 to ? 220 m.y.). Between these quiet intervals there are disturbed intervals when reversals were comparatively frequent. From ? 680 to ? 350 m.y. the paleomagnetic record is inadequate to delineate a succession of quiet and disturbed intervals although one is probably present. Maximum entropy spectral analysis reveals three periodicities, a dominant one at about 300 m.y. and others, less well-defined, at 113 and 57 m.y. The variations in polarity bias are compared with the paleosecular variation, and it is shown that the magnitude of the paleosecular variation is greater in disturbed than in quiet intervals. This indicates that the magnitude of paleosecular variation and polarity bias are governed by variations in the balance between non-dipole and dipole components of the field, and that these variations probably had their origin in processes near the core—mantle interface. The correspondence between the dominant periods of 300 m.y. and plate tectonics is noted and a causal relationship suggested.     

Thermal structure of the Martian atmosphere during the dissipation of the dust storm of 1971

The secular variation of the thermal structure of the Martian atmosphere during the dissipation phase of the 1971 dust storm is examined, using temperatures obtained by the infrared spectroscopy investigation on Mariner 9. For the latitude range ?20° to ?30°, the mean temperature at the 2mbar level is found to decrease from approximately 220 K in mid-December 1971 to about 190 K by June 1972 while for the 0.3mbar level a decrease from 203 K to 160 K is observed. Over the same period, the amplitude of the diurnal temperature wave also decreased. Assuming a simplified radiative heating model, the dust optical depth is found to decrease approximately exponentially with an e-folding time of about 60 days at both the 0.3 and 2mbar levels. Stokes-Cunningham settling alone cannot account for this behavior. Sedimentation models which include both gravitational settling and vertical mixing are developed in an effort to explain the time evolution of the dust. Within the framework of a model which assumes an effective vertical diffusivity K independent of height, a mean dust particle diameter of ～2 μm is inferred. To provide the necessary vertical mixing, K ? 10⁷ cm²sec^?1 is required in the lower atmosphere.     

The Cone-in-Cone Structure and Its Origin

Morphostructural investigation of carbonate cone-in-cone formations allows to conclude that they belong to self-organizing (dissipative, according to I. Prigogine's terminology) systems of the geological past formed in a thermogradient field at the expense of energy of heat and mass transfer (Prigogine and Stengers, 1984). First, the fluid-convective metasomatic hypothesis unites and reconciles the most well-known hypotheses that previously seemed to be incompatible and transforms them to rather consistent particular cases of a more intricate multistage geological phenomenon. Second, it helps to identify the morphologically and genetically analogous noncarbonate structures that mimic biogenic ones. The probable indicative role of cone-in-cone structure in the mapping of fluid-conducting systems is a consequence of the proposed hypothesis.