Application of discriminant function analysis to the felsic rocks of the Bushveld Complex,South Africa

The technique of multivariate analysis was used to investigate the geochemical relationships between the felsic rocks of the Bushveld Complex. The Bushveld granite and Rooiberg felsite form two distinct geochemical groups based on their major element compositions, possibly indicating that they originated from separate and genetically unrelated magmas. A discriminant function based on six major oxides was found to be 90 percent effective in distinguishing between the two groups. These conclusions have important implications for the petrogenesis of the Bushveld Complex.     

Compositional fractionation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons in the karst soils, South China

This study aims to explore the condensation and fractionation trends of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the karst soils. The tiankeng is a karst surface expression that can act as a focal point for introduction of contaminants to a karst aquifer, which may serve both as condenser for vapor phase POPs and as barrier/sink for particulate associated less volatile POPs. The fractionation of POPs in soils from the upper rim and floor of tiankeng is of interest in understanding the role of tiankeng in the long-distance transport of POPs. In the present study, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the surface soils from the upper rim and floor of Dashiwei tiankeng in Southern China were analyzed. The total PAH concentrations in soils were 23.40–190 ng g⁻¹, with phenanthrene being the most abundant. The distribution patterns of PAH compounds in the soil samples matched well with their properties. It indicated the heavy PAHs were susceptible to retention by the floor soils of tiankeng than light PAHs. A plot of Cfloor/Crim against PAH molecular weight gave a good positive relationship in the molecular weight range of 152–276. It is suggested that the floor soils can be focal points of more concentrated PAH and deserve attention. The concentrations of total PAHs in the floor soils (43.40–190 ng g⁻¹, mean 87.76 ng g⁻¹) were higher than those in the upper rim (23.40–88.94 ng g⁻¹, mean 57.74 ng g⁻¹). In addition, there was a shift in compound pattern with an increase in the proportion of light PAHs (2–3 rings), a decrease in heavy PAHs (5–6 rings) and a relatively stable content of 4-ring PAHs. A combination of particulate scavenging and cold condensation is proposed as the major mechanism for the compositional fractionation of PAHs in the soils from the upper rim and floor of tiankeng.     

Land classification of part of Thrace (East Rhodope) by visual interpretation of MSS images of first and second generation landsat images

The aim of this investigation was the classification of East Rhodope mountain ridge area and the surrounding hills and plains into mapping units by visual interpretation of 1:500,000 paper print enlargements of MSS false colour composites (bands 1, 2 and 4) of LANDSAT-4 and MSS (band 7) of LANDSAT-1, supported by limited field observation and background information available from earlier surveys and maps. The basic mapping units used in the present study was the land systems (developed by CSIRO in Australia) because they are easily recognizable on LANDSAT images by their destinctive combination of physiography, soils and vegetation.The twenty various land systems occurring in the study area, such as high/low mountains with smooth/sharp summits, nearly flat/undulated plains, slightly/strongly dissected hilles etc., were defined and mapped on small scale of 1:500,000. They are of considerable interest because they provide the framework for production of the same scale geological and geo-morphological maps, erosion studies, soil, vegetation and other thematic mapping for natural resources surveys, because LANDSAT images reveal details of terrain and microrelief that can never be reproduced on a topographic map. Also this land system map may modify or add to earlier small scale thematic maps (geology, soils and vegetation/forestry maps) produced in the past by other techniques.     

Contrasting stable isotope behavior between calcite and dolomite marbles,Lone Mountain,Nevada

 Late Proterozoic to Cambrian carbonate rocks from Lone Mountain, west central Nevada, record multiple post-depositional events including: (1) diagenesis, (2) Mesozoic regional metamorphism, (3) Late Cretaceous contact metamorphism, related to the emplacement of the Lone Mountain granitic pluton and (4) Tertiary hydrothermal alteration associated with extension, uplift and intrusion of silicic porphyry and lamprophyre dikes. Essentially pure calcite and dolomite marbles have stable isotopic compositions that can be divided into two groups, one with positive δ¹³C values from+3.1 to +1.4 ‰ (PDB) and high δ¹⁸O values from +21.5 to +15.8 ‰ (SMOW), and the other with negative δ¹³C values from –3.3 to –3.6‰ and low δ¹⁸O values from +16.9 to +11.1‰. Marbles also contain minor amounts of quartz, muscovite and phlogopite. Brown and blue luminescent, clear, smooth textured quartz grains from orange luminescent calcite marbles have high δ¹⁸O values from +23.9 to +18.1‰, while brown luminescent, opaque, rough textured quartz grains from red luminescent dolomite marbles typically have low δ¹⁸O values from +2.0 to +9.3‰. The δ¹⁸O values of muscovite and phlogopite from marbles are typical of micas in metamorphic rocks, with values between +10.4 and +14.4‰, whereas mica δD values are very depleted, varying from −102 to −156‰. No significant lowering of the δ¹⁸O values of Lone Mountain carbonates is inferred to have occurred during metamorphism as a result of devolatilization reactions because of the essentially pure nature of the marbles. Bright luminescence along the edges of fractures, quartz cements and quartz overgrowths in dolomite marbles, low δD values of micas, negative δ¹³C values and low δ¹⁸O values of calcite and dolomite, and depleted δ¹⁸O values of quartz from dolomite marbles all indicate that meteoric fluids interacted with Lone Mountain marbles during the Tertiary. Partial oxygen isotopic exchange between calcite and low ¹⁸O meteoric fluids lowered the δ¹⁸O values of calcite, resulting in uniform quartz-calcite fractionations that define an apparent pseudoisotherm. These quartz-calcite fractionations significantly underestimate both the temperature of metamorphism and the temperature of post-metamorphic alteration. Partial oxygen isotopic exchange between quartz and meteoric fluids also resulted in ¹⁸O depletion of quartz from dolomite marbles. This partial exchange was facilitated by an increase in the surface area of the quartz as a result of its dissolution by meteoric fluids. The negative δ¹³C values in carbonates result from the oxidation of organic material by meteoric fluids following metamorphism. Stable isotopic data from Lone Mountain marbles are consistent with the extensive circulation of meteoric hydrothermal fluids throughout western Nevada in Tertiary time. Received: 1 February 1994/Accepted: 12 September 1995     

Data selection using support vector regression

Geophysical data sets are growing at an ever-increasing rate, requiring computationally efficient data selection(thinning)methods to preserve essential information. Satellites, such as Wind Sat, provide large data sets for assessing the accuracy and computational efficiency of data selection techniques. A new data thinning technique, based on support vector regression(SVR), is developed and tested. To manage large on-line satellite data streams, observations from Wind Sat are formed into subsets by Voronoi tessellation and then each is thinned by SVR(TSVR). Three experiments are performed. The first confirms the viability of TSVR for a relatively small sample, comparing it to several commonly used data thinning methods(random selection, averaging and Barnes filtering), producing a 10% thinning rate(90% data reduction), low mean absolute errors(MAE) and large correlations with the original data. A second experiment, using a larger dataset, shows TSVR retrievals with MAE < 1 m s-1and correlations 0.98. TSVR was an order of magnitude faster than the commonly used thinning methods. A third experiment applies a two-stage pipeline to TSVR, to accommodate online data. The pipeline subsets reconstruct the wind field with the same accuracy as the second experiment, is an order of magnitude faster than the nonpipeline TSVR. Therefore, pipeline TSVR is two orders of magnitude faster than commonly used thinning methods that ingest the entire data set. This study demonstrates that TSVR pipeline thinning is an accurate and computationally efficient alternative to commonly used data selection techniques.     

High-Altitude CUSP: The Extremely Dynamic Region in Geospace

The high-altitude dayside cusps (both northern and southern) are extremely dynamic regions in geospace. Large diamagnetic cavities with significant fluctuations of the local magnetic field strength have been observed there. These cusp diamagnetic cavities are always there day after day and are as large as 6 R_E Associated with these cavities are charged particles with energies from 20 keV up to 10 MeV. The intensities of the cusp energetic ions have been observed to increase by as much as four orders of the magnitude when compared with regions adjacent to the cusp which includes the magnetosheath. Their seed populations are a mixture of ionospheric and solar wind particles. The measured energetic ion fluxes in the high-altitude cusp are higher than that in both the regions upstream and downstream from the bow shock. Turbulent electric fields with an amplitude of about 10 mV/m are also present in the cusp, and a cusp resonant acceleration mechanism is suggested. The observations indicate that the dayside high-altitude cusp is a key region for transferring the solar wind mass, momentum, and energy into the Earth’s magnetosphere.     

Stellar chromospheres,coronae, and winds (invited review)

Within the last few years there have been important advances in our understanding of the chromospheres, coronae, and winds of late-type stars. This progress has been the result of ultraviolet and X-ray observations obtained from space with theInternational Ultraviolet Explorer andEinstein satellites. In addition, ground-based astronomy has contributed much to synoptic studies of stellar activity. In this review I summarize some of the major recent developments in this field.Presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.     

Hyporheic exchange flow around constructed in‐channel structures and implications for restoration design

In‐channel rock vane structures are widely used in stream restoration as a way to reduce stream channel erosion and create pool or riffle features. When these structures change hydraulic gradients they may affect ecological stream functions, such as hyporheic exchange flow (HEF) patterns. A study of constructed in‐channel structure controls on HEF was conducted in the third‐order Batavia Kill, New York using stream and hyporheic temperature amplitude analysis and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) hydraulic simulations. Temperature monitors were installed in the water column and channel bed at six locations around each of seven in‐channel restoration structures (three cross‐vanes and four J‐hooks) at baseflow in 2007. Elevation surveys of the structures were then used to simulate HEF using CFD. The results indicate a pattern of pronounced upwelling in the run section just below the structure, upwelling transitioning to downwelling within the pool, and pronounced downwelling in the glide out of the pool. This pattern is consistent with natural riffle pool sequences. The direction of HEF inferred from the temperature amplitude analysis agreed with the direction of flow simulated with CFD at 80% of the locations, and the few disagreements were expected due to model limitations. CFD simulation demonstrated that increasing stream flows result in changes in HEF spatial patterns and magnitude at each structure. This work illustrates how CFD simulations can guide design of in‐channel restoration structures for HEF function. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.