Rapid growth of an Archean continent by arc magmatism

The voluminous Meso- to Neoarchean rocks exposed in the Beartooth Mountains of the northern Wyoming Province of western North America comprise the Long Lake Magmatic Complex (LLMC), a variably metamorphosed and deformed association of igneous and meta-igneous plutonic rocks with SiO₂ ranging from at least 52 to 78 wt%. Within this compositional range, rock types include lineated amphibolites to hornblende-bearing gneisses of intermediate composition and multiple generations of foliated to unfoliated granitoids. Emplacement ages range between approximately 2.79 and 2.83 Ga, based on U–Pb zircon geochronology (SHRIMP). Field relations, elemental compositions, and geochronology indicate that these rocks do not represent a single fractional crystallization sequence, but rather, the LLMC was constructed by injection of numerous, discrete magmas as sill-like bodies over an ∼40 Ma period. Although there is a continuum of compositions in the LLMC, trace element abundances can be used to distinguish distinct sources and petrogenetic processes that can be broadly extrapolated to at least 3 compositional groupings: (1) trondhjemitic to granitic intrusive rocks with SiO₂ >70 wt%, (2) variably metamorphosed granodioritic orthogneisses with SiO₂ between 63 and 70 wt%, and (3) amphibole-bearing mafic to intermediate gneisses with SiO₂ between 52 and 63 wt%. Despite the range of SiO₂ contents, maximum LREE abundances are similar across the compositional range and, consequently, exhibit a wide range of (La/Yb)_n ratios (∼20–130). All LLMC rocks share a relative depletion in HFSE abundances similar to modern convergent margin magmas. Initial Sr and Nd isotopic compositions across the compositional range are consistently offset from typical bulk silicate earth (BSE) values and preclude unaltered derivation from primitive or depleted mantle. Common Pb isotopic data define a single array that lies above model crustal growth curves and, along with the Nd and Sr data, suggest relatively uniform interaction with, or derivation from, older lithosphere. The combined isotopic and elemental data suggest the LLMC resulted from simultaneous, rapid, and voluminous production of diverse magmas that represent melting of isotopically similar, but compositionally distinct, crustal and mantle sources. Dynamically, Meso- to Neo-archean crustal growth in the northern Wyoming Province appears to require an environment similar to a modern ocean–continent convergent margin with a comparable rate of crustal production and diversity of magma series. The resultant crust and associated mantle lithosphere (keel) appear to have suffered little-to-no modification prior to Laramide (Cretaceous) uplift and exposure.     

Scientific uncertainty and climate change: Part II. Uncertainty and mitigation

In public debate surrounding climate change, scientific uncertainty is often cited in connection with arguments against mitigative action. This article examines the role of uncertainty about future climate change in determining the likely success or failure of mitigative action. We show by Monte Carlo simulation that greater uncertainty translates into a greater likelihood that mitigation efforts will fail to limit global warming to a target (e.g., 2 °C). The effect of uncertainty can be reduced by limiting greenhouse gas emissions. Taken together with the fact that greater uncertainty also increases the potential damages arising from unabated emissions (Lewandowsky et al. 2014), any appeal to uncertainty implies a stronger, rather than weaker, need to cut greenhouse gas emissions than in the absence of uncertainty.     

A study of hybrid and chaotic long-range propagation in a doublesound channel environment

This paper presents the results of the analysis of long range propagation (~200 km) in a range-dependent environment. The propagation medium is characterized by two deep sound channels. The range dependence enables energy transfer between the channels and leads to a mismatch between real data and ray predictions. To explain this mismatch, an analysis of hybrid ray propagation is presented. This analysis is completed by an interpretation in terms of chaos. This chaos is quantified in the particular case of the Bay of Biscay environment. This paper puts forward that mesoscale perturbations, such as the Mediterranean outflow in the North Atlantic, can affect long-range propagation. However, it shows that the ray theory remains reliable for a propagation range of several hundred kilometers     

Spin Axis Direction of Comet 19p/Borrelly Based on Observations from 2000 and 2001

We calculate the direction of the rotational angular momentum vector,M, of comet 19P/Borrelly based on rotational lightcurve data from 2000, groundbased imaging of the coma during the Deep Space 1encounter, and the basic near-nucleus coma morphology as revealed by the Deep Space 1 spacecraft. For the most likely direction, we derivea family of solutions (with center at RA = 221°, Dec = -7°) if the direction of M is towards the sunward hemisphere during the Deep Space 1 encounter, whereas if the rotation is of opposite sense, the diametrically opposite family of solutions (with center at RA = 41°, Dec = 7°) would result. We argue that the coma morphology in September 2001 is consistent with the nucleus being a principal axis rotator or one observationally indistinguishable from it. Therefore, for all practical purposes, the direction of the rotational angular momentum vector coincides with the spin axis. We also discuss why the determination of the spin axis direction based on observations from the last apparition is in disagreement with the current result.     

Response of precipitation over Greenland and the adjacent ocean to North Pacific warm spells during Dansgaard–Oeschger stadials

ABSTRACT Palaeoceanographic reconstructions from the North Atlantic indicate massive ice breakouts from East Greenland near the onset of cold Dansgaard–Oeschger (D–O) stadials. In contrast to these coolings in the North Atlantic area, a new sea-surface temperature record reveals concomitant warm spells in the northern North Pacific. A sensitivity experiment with an atmospheric general circulation model is used to test the potential impact of sea-surface warmings by 3.5 °C in the North Pacific, on top of otherwise cold stadial climate conditions, on the precipitation regime over the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. The model predicts a maximum response over East Greenland and the Greenland Sea, where a 40% increase in net annual snow accumulation occurs. This remote effect of North Pacific warm spells on the East Greenland snow-accumulation rate may play an important role in generating D–O cycles by rebuilding the ice lost during ice breakouts. In addition, the increased precipitation over the Greenland Sea may help to sustain the D–O stadial climate state.     

Getting Lost in Cities: Spatial Patterns of Phonetically Confusing Street Names

A large street network is likely to contain duplicated or similar sounding street names. These conflicts can cause confusion in communication between people or in machine‐human interaction. Municipal authorities have begun to see the importance of uncovering these existing street name conflicts and mitigating future ones, for improved record keeping, emergency response, etc. However the commonly used Soundex phonetic algorithm is generally considered to produce poor similarity results in terms of uncovering street name conflicts. This study reports on a new fusion algorithm that combines phonetic methods and approximate string matching for street names, weighted by street type suffix (Avenue, Boulevard, Court, etc.), to quantitatively measure the collision/confusion potential presented by a pair of streets. This algorithm is then applied to the entire street network in Greater Melbourne, Australia, and the pattern of collisions at various spatial scales, and within municipalities, is mapped. The goal of this work is to produce better tools that can aid policy makers, administrators and industries dealing with location‐based services to make better decisions when assigning and disambiguating street names.     

Urban green commons: Insights on urban common property systems

The aim of this paper is to shed new light on urban common property systems. We deal with urban commons in relation to urban green-space management, referring to them as urban green commons. Applying a property-rights analytic perspective, we synthesize information on urban green commons from three case-study regions in Sweden, Germany, and South Africa, and elaborate on their role for biodiversity conservation in urban settings, with a focus on business sites. Cases cover both formally established types of urban green commons and bottom-up emerged community-managed habitats. As our review demonstrates, the right to actively manage urban green space is a key characteristic of urban green commons whether ownership to land is in the private, public, the club realm domain, or constitutes a hybrid of these. We discuss the important linkages among urban common property systems, social–ecological learning, and management of ecosystem services and biodiversity. Several benefits can be associated with urban green commons, such as a reduction of costs for ecosystem management and as designs for reconnecting city-inhabitants to the biosphere. The emergence of urban green commons appears closely linked to dealing with societal crises and for reorganizing cities; hence, they play a key role in transforming cities toward more socially and ecologically benign environments. While a range of political questions circumscribe the feasibility of urban green commons, we discuss their usefulness in management of different types of urban habitats, their political justification and limitation, their potential for improved biodiversity conservation, and conditions for their emergence. We conclude by postulating some general policy advice.