Acceleration of anomalous cosmic rays at the heliospheric termination shock

Astronomy Letters - The acceleration of anomalous cosmic rays (ACRs) at the heliospheric termination shock and their influence on the shock structure and location are analyzed in terms of a...     

Magma homogenization during anatexis,ascent and/or emplacement? Constraints from the Variscan Weinsberg Granites

Recent studies have shown that melts and residues may not equilibrate during anatexis, and uncertainty exists about the scale on which magmas can be homogenized. This study of elemental and isotopic homogeneity of the South Bohemian Weinsberg granites (˜ 5000 km²) identifies three voluminous, relatively homogeneous magma batches. Each batch has different ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_init (0.7080, 0.7093 and 0.7106), but all equilibrated at ˜ 327–329 Ma, very similar to the time of monazite crystallization. The data cannot entirely prove melt/residue equilibration during anatexis. However, elemental and isotopic compositions imply magma generation by partial melting of heterogeneous South Bohemian crust and chemical differentiation subsequent to Sr-isotope equilibration. Assuming relatively rapid ascent and solidification rates, magma homogenization must have occurred mostly just after partial melting, during melt segregation and accumulation in the deeper crust with slow prograde heating. Models of rapid crustal heating and instantaneous melt extraction are incompatible with the data.     

A comparison of type II shock speeds

Type II radio bursts are produced by material moving outwards in the solar atmosphere. Their drift in frequency allows the calculation of the radial speed with which the shock is moving- very basic information in assessing the likelihood that the shock will reach the Earth and its time of arrival. This paper compares the shock speeds derived from radio bursts observed by the Swept Frequency Interferometric Radiometer (SFIR) equipment at the US Air Force Radio Solar Telescope Network (RSTN) of observatories with those measured with the Culgoora radiospectrograph operated by IPS Radio and Space Services. The SFIR shock speeds are found to be 1.5–3.0 times larger than the Culgoora values which are consistent with earlier results. This difference appears to originate from the incorrect interpretation of events as a result of the smaller frequency range of the SFIR equipment.     

Structures in the phase space of a four dimensional symplectic map

We numerically investigate the projections of non periodic orbits in a 4-dimensional (4-D) symplectic map composed of two coupled 2-dimensional (2-D) maps. We describe in detail the structures that are produced in different planes of projection and we find how the morphology of the 4-D orbits is influenced by the features of the 2-D maps as the coupling parameter increases. We give an empirical law that describes this influence.     

The “Shiva Hypothesis”: Impacts, mass extinctions, and the galaxy

The “Shiva Hypothesis”, in which recurrent, cyclical mass extinctions of life on Earth result from impacts of comets or asteroids, provides a possible unification of important processes in astrophysics, planetary geology, and the history of life. Collisions with Earth-crossing asteroids and comets ≥ a few km in diameter are calculated to produce widespread environmental disasters (dust clouds, wildfires), and occur with the proper frequency to account for the record of five major mass extinctions (from ≥ 10⁸ Mt TNT impacts) and ~ 20 minor mass extinctions (from 10⁷–10⁸ Mt impacts) recorded in the past 540 million years. Recent studies of a number of extinctions show evidence of severe environmental disturbances and mass mortality consistent with the expected after-effects (dust clouds, wildfires) of catastrophic impacts. At least six cases of features generally considered diagnostic of large impacts (e.g., large impact craters, layers with high platinum-group elements, shock-related minerals, and/or microtektites) are known at or close to extinction-event boundaries. Six additional cases of elevated iridium levels at or near extinction boundaries are of the amplitude that might be expected from collision of relatively low-Ir objects such as comets. The records of cratering and mass extinction show a correlation, and might be explained by a combination of periodic and stochastic impactors. The mass extinction record shows evidence for a periodic component of about 26 to 30 Myr, and an ~ 30 Myr periodic component has been detected in impact craters by some workers, with recent pulses of impacts in the last 2–3 million years, and at ~ 35, 65, and 95 million years ago. A cyclical astronomical pacemaker for such pulses of impacts may involve the motions of the Earth through the Milky Way Galaxy. As the Solar System revolves around the galactic center, it also oscillates up and down through the plane of the disk-shaped galaxy with a half-cycle ~ 30±3 Myr. This cycle should lead to quasi-periodic encounters with interstellar clouds, and periodic variations in the galactic tidal force with maxima at times of plane crossing. This “galactic carrousel” effect may provide a viable perturber of the Oort Cloud comets, producing periodic showers of comets in the inner Solar System. These impact pulses, along with stochastic impactors, may represent the major punctuations in earth history.     

On the aging of comets

This study is based primarily on the calculations of comet orbits over ~ 10⁶ years for 160 short-period comets by Harold F. Levison and Martin J. Duncan from which there are calculated “ablation AGES”. There are positive statistical correlations (having many deviations) with radial nongravitational forces, comet activity measures, and dust-to-gas ratios in the spectra, in the sense that comets of greater “AGES” tend to be less active and to show less dust in their spectra than comets of lesser “AGES”.     

Wooden Panel Deterioration by Tropical Marine Wood Borers

Wood destruction in test panels ofShorea leprosulawas related to the percentage of fouling, types of wood borers and the number of wood borers. The natural durability ofShorea leprosulapanels was estimated to be 4–5 months in Malaysian marine waters. A higher fouling cover resulted in lower rates of wooden panel deterioration. Larger numbers of wood borers brought about greater panel deterioration. Primary wood destruction was caused by bivalve wood borers, mainlyMartesia striata, Lyrodus pedicellatus, Bankia campanellata, Teredo furciferaandTeredo bartschi. Martesia striatawas the important wood destroying agent in the intertidal zone and, together with the shipworms, was also responsible for panel destruction in the subtidal zone.