A solar eclipse seen from the High Arctic during the period of midnight sun: effects on the local meteorology

The solar eclipse on 1 August 2008 was studied on Svalbard (93% totality), an archipelago in the High Arctic, where midnight sun had been present for several months. Simultaneous observations over land and over a large fjord showed that the eclipse triggered downslope winds in the valleys surrounding the fjord, thereby creating low-level clouds over the water. These clouds were later advected in over land and created a fog that lasted for 3 days, grounding all air traffic to and from Svalbard. The atmospheric response was otherwise much slower and weaker over water than over land. Over land, the wind speed decreased, the atmospheric stability changed from unstable to stable and the air temperature sank by 0.3–1.5°C, while over the fjord no clear minima in these parameters could be found.     

Reactive monazite and robust zircon growth in diatexites and leucogranites from a hot,slowly cooled orogen: implications for the Palaeoproterozoic tectonic evolution of the central Fennoscandian Shield,Sweden

Monazite in melt-producing, poly-metamorphic terranes can grow, dissolve or reprecipitate at different stages during orogenic evolution particularly in hot, slowly cooling orogens such as the Svecofennian. Owing to the high heat flow in such orogens, small variations in pressure, temperature or deformation intensity may promote a mineral reaction. Monazite in diatexites and leucogranites from two Svecofennian domains yields older, coeval and younger U–Pb SIMS and EMP ages than zircon from the same rock. As zircon precipitated during the melt-bearing stage, its U–Pb ages reflect the timing of peak metamorphism, which is associated with partial melting and leucogranite formation. In one of the domains, the Granite and Diatexite Belt, zircon ages range between 1.87 and 1.86 Ga, whereas monazite yields two distinct double peaks at 1.87–1.86 and 1.82–1.80 Ga. The younger double peak is related to monazite growth or reprecipitation during subsolidus conditions associated with deformation along late-orogenic shear zones. Magmatic monazite in leucogranite records systematic variations in composition and age during growth that can be directly linked to Th/U ratios and preferential growth sites of zircon, reflecting the transition from melt to melt crystallisation of the magma. In the adjacent Ljusdal Domain, peak metamorphism in amphibolite facies occurred at 1.83–1.82 Ga as given by both zircon and monazite chronology. Pre-partial melting, 1.85 Ga contact metamorphic monazite is preserved, in spite of the high-grade overprint. By combining structural analysis, petrography and monazite and zircon geochronology, a metamorphic terrane boundary has been identified. It is concluded that the boundary formed by crustal shortening accommodated by major thrusting.     

A fundamental equation for calcite dissolution kinetics

A fundamental rate equation for the dissolution of calcite in a pure 0.7 M KC1 solution has been determined. Between pH 8.0 and 10.1 the kinetics of the dissolution reaction can be expressed by the equation

$\text{d[Ca}{}^{\mathrm{2+}}\text{]/dt = kA(C-[Ca}{}^{\mathrm{2+}}\text{]}\text{1}\text{2}\text{[CO}{}_3{}^{\mathrm{2?}}\text{]}\text{1}\text{2}\text{)}$

, where d[Ca²⁺]/dt is the rate in mole cm^?3s^?1, k is the apparent rate constant in s^?1 cm^?2, A is the calcite surface area and C is the square root of the calcite solubility constant. The apparent rate constant at 20°C is 9.5 × 10^?6s^?1cm^?2. The apparent activation energy for the reaction between 5 and 50°C is 8.4 kcal mole^?1.The reaction rate is pH independent above pH = 7.5. At pH values less than 8, [CO₃^2?] becomes negligible, and the rate becomes fast and should be dependent on the calcite surface area alone, if there is no change in mechanism.The stirring coefficient between 2.8 and 11.1 rev s^?1 is 0.33. This, together with the relatively high activation energy, indicates that the reaction is mainly chemically controlled.Interpolation of the experimental results into seawater systems gives a computed rate several magnitudes greater than the observed rate, but considerably less than that calculated for a diffusion-controlled reaction.     

The dynamics of Nordic urban systems during the 1980s

The paper will focus on the classification of urban systems over time as an aid in uncovering factors impacting urban growth or decline. Methodologically the point of departure is the Noyelle & Stanback (1983) classification of North American cities, modified by recent advances and the specific Nordic situation. The method will be applied to the Nordic city-system and its restructuration during the 1980s with emphasis on relations between city size, type and growth. The main finding of the empirical case is the nearly ubiquitous growth of the larger diversified cities as a result of the preponderance of the most dynamic services in their production systems. Conversely, typical industrial production centres have generally suffered a decline in relative and partly absolute terms as a consequence of technological restructuring and fewer opportunities for replacing lost manufacturing employment by new service activities.     

Detection of organic biomarkers in crude oils using ToF-SIMS

In this study, we show that time of flight-secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) can be used to detect organic biomarkers, such as hopanes and steranes, in non-fractionated crude oils, without extraction and chemical preparation. Hopanes and steranes may provide valuable information on the history of life on early Earth, particularly if they are present in fluid inclusions in ancient rocks. Due to the presence of different generations of inclusions in even very small rock samples, it would be advantageous to find a method capable of detecting biomarkers in single oil rich fluid inclusions. The capability of ToF-SIMS for detailed chemical analysis of very small sample amounts makes it a potential technique for such analysis, and in this work this possibility is explored. The presence of hopanes and steranes in four different crude oils of different ages and stages of biodegradation was investigated using ToF-SIMS and GC–MS. By combining analyses of biomarker standards, crude oils and chromatographic oil fractions, specific peaks for the different biomarkers were identified in the ToF-SIMS spectra. The presence of these peaks in the spectra from the crude oil samples could be attributed to the biomarkers based on exact mass determination and by comparison with the spectra from the biomarker containing and biomarker lacking fractions, respectively. In addition, the results show that a significant biomarker signal may be obtained from a 10 μm² oil sample, demonstrating the potential of ToF-SIMS for analysis of single oil bearing fluid inclusions, which in turn may contribute to a better understanding of the early history of life on Earth.     

Convergence and optimal truncation of binomial expansions used in isostatic compensations and terrain corrections

 A binomial expansion is a powerful tool in geodetic research. It is often used in terrain correction and isostatic compensation. The behaviour, convergence and truncation of the binomial expansion are investigated. The relation of the topographic height H (or the compensation depth), spherical harmonic degree n and the binomial series term m is discussed using theoretical and numerical results. According to the relation, a truncation number M is determined for obtaining an accuracy of 1%, i.e. it can be found how many terms (or power numbers of the topography) should be used in practical calculations. Received: 24 February 1999 / Accepted: 28 June 2000     

Integral formulas for geopotential coefficient determination from gravity anomalies versus gravity disturbances

Integral formulas are derived for the determination of geopotential coefficients from gravity anomalies and gravity disturbances over the surface of the Earth. First order topographic corrections to spherical formulas are presented. In addition new integral formulas are derived for the determination of the external gravity field from surface gravity. Taking advantage of modern satellite positioning techniques, it is suggested that, in general, the external gravity field as well as individual coefficients are better determined from gravity disturbances than from gravity anomalies.     

On the existence of solutions for the method of Bjerhammar in the continuous case

The method of Bjerhammar is studied in the continuous case for a sphere. By varying the kernel function, different types of unknowns (u^*) are obtained at the internal sphere (the Bjerhammar sphere). It is shown that a necessary condition for the existence of u^* is that the degree variances (σ _n ² ) of the observations are of an order less than n⁻². According to Kaula’s rule this condition is not satisfied for the earth’s gravity anomaly field (σ _n ² =n⁻¹) but well for the geopotential (σ _n ² =n⁻³).     

The effect on the geoid of lateral topographic density variations

Gravimetric geoid determination by Stokes formula requires that the effects of topographic masses be removed prior to Stokes integration. This step includes the direct topographic and the downward continuation (DWC) effects on gravity anomaly, and the computations yield the co-geoid height. By adding the effect of restoration of the topography, the indirect effect on the geoid, the geoid height is obtained. Unfortunately, the computations of all these topographic effects are hampered by the uncertainty of the density distribution of the topography. Usually the computations are limited to a constant topographic density, but recently the effects of lateral density variations have been studied for their direct and indirect effects on the geoid. It is emphasised that the DWC effect might also be significantly affected by a lateral density variation. However, instead of computing separate effects of lateral density variation for direct, DWC and indirect effects, it is shown in two independent ways that the total geoid effect due to the lateral density anomaly can be represented as a simple correction proportional to the lateral density anomaly and the elevation squared of the computation point. This simple formula stems from the fact that the significant long-wavelength contributions to the various topographic effects cancel in their sum. Assuming that the lateral density anomaly is within 20% of the standard topographic density, the derived formula implies that the total effect on the geoid is significant at the centimetre level for topographic elevations above 0.66 km. For elevations of 1000, 2000 and 5000 m the effect is within ± 2.2, ± 8.8 and ± 56.8 cm, respectively. For the elevation of Mt. Everest the effect is within ± 1.78 m.