Causes of the Regional Variability in Observed Sea Level,Sea Surface Temperature and Ocean Colour Over the Period 1993–2011

We analyse the regional variability in observed sea surface height (SSH), sea surface temperature (SST) and ocean colour (OC) from the ESA Climate Change Initiative datasets over the period 1993–2011. The analysis focuses on the signature of the ocean large-scale climate fluctuations driven by the atmospheric forcing and do not address the mesoscale variability. We use the ECCO version 4 ocean reanalysis to unravel the role of ocean transport and surface buoyancy fluxes in the observed SSH, SST and OC variability. We show that the SSH regional variability is dominated by the steric effect (except at high latitude) and is mainly shaped by ocean heat transport divergences with some contributions from the surface heat fluxes forcing that can be significant regionally (confirming earlier results). This is in contrast with the SST regional variability, which is the result of the compensation of surface heat fluxes by ocean heat transport in the mixed layer and arises from small departures around this background balance. Bringing together the results of SSH and SST analyses, we show that SSH and SST bear some common variability. This is because both SSH and SST variability show significant contributions from the surface heat fluxes forcing. It is evidenced by the high correlation between SST and buoyancy-forced SSH almost everywhere in the ocean except at high latitude. OC, which is determined by phytoplankton biomass, is governed by the availability of light and nutrients that essentially depend on climate fluctuations. For this reason, OC shows significant correlation with SST and SSH. We show that the correlation with SST displays the same pattern as the correlation with SSH with a negative correlation in the tropics and subtropics and a positive correlation at high latitude. We discuss the reasons for this pattern.     

Soil water dynamics under different forest vegetation cover: Implications for hillslope stability

Though it is well known that vegetation affects the water balance of soils through canopy interception and evapotranspiration, its hydrological contribution to soil hydrology and stability is yet to be fully quantified. To improve understanding of this hydrological process, soil water dynamics have been monitored at three adjacent hillslopes with different vegetation covers (deciduous tree cover, coniferous tree cover, and grass cover), for nine months from December 2014 to September 2015. The monitored soil moisture values were translated into soil matric suction (SMS) values to facilitate the analysis of hillslope stability. Our observations showed significant seasonal variations in SMS for each vegetation cover condition. However, a significant difference between different vegetation covers was only evident during the winter season where the mean SMS under coniferous tree cover (83.6 kPa) was significantly greater than that under grass cover (41 kPa). The hydrological reinforcing contribution due to matric suction was highest for the hillslope with coniferous tree cover, while the hillslope with deciduous tree cover was second and the hillslope with grass cover was third. The greatest contributions for all cover types were during the summer season. During the winter season, the wettest period of the monitoring study, the additional hydrological reinforcing contributions provided by the deciduous tree cover (1.5 to 6.5 kPa) or the grass cover (0.9 to 5.4 kPa) were insufficient to avoid potential slope failure conditions. However, the additional hydrological reinforcing contribution from the coniferous tree cover (5.8 to 10.4 kPa) was sufficient to provide potentially stable hillslope conditions during the winter season. Our study clearly suggests that during the winter season the hydrological effects from both deciduous tree and grass covers are insufficient to promote slope stability, while the hydrological reinforcing effects from the coniferous tree cover are sufficient even during the winter season. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Low dispersive modeling of Rayleigh waves on partly staggered grids

In elastic media, finite-difference (FD) implementations of free-surface (FS) boundary conditions on partly staggered grid (PSG) use the highly dispersive vacuum formulation (VPSG). The FS boundary is embedded into a “vacuum” grid layer (null Lame’s constants and negligible density values) where the discretized equations of motion allow computing surface displacements. We place a new set of compound (stress-displacement) nodes along a planar FS and use unilateral mimetic FD discretization of the zero-traction conditions for displacement computation (MPSG). At interior nodes, MPSG reduces to standard VPSG methods and applies fourth-order centered FD along cell diagonals for staggered differentiation combined with nodal second-order FD in time. We perform a dispersion analysis of these methods on a Lamb’s problem and estimate dispersion curves from the phase difference of windowed numerical Rayleigh pulses at two FS receivers. For a given grid sampling criterion (e.g., six or ten nodes per reference S wavelength λ ^S), MPSG dispersion errors are only a quarter of the VPSG method. We also quantify root-mean-square (RMS) misfits of numerical time series relative to analytical waveforms. MPSG RMS misfits barely exceed 10 % when nine nodes sample the minimum S wavelength $\lambda _{\text {MIN}}^{\mathrm {S}}$ in transit (along distances $\sim $ 145 $\lambda _{\text {MIN}}^{\mathrm {S}}$ ). In same tests, VPSG RMS misfits exceed 70 %. We additionally compare MPSG to a consistently fourth-order mimetic method designed on a standard staggered grid. The latter equates the former’s dispersion errors on grids twice denser and shows higher RMS precision only on grids with six or less nodes per $\lambda _{\text {MIN}}^{\mathrm {S}}$ .     

Geochemical characteristics and LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb age of the Lanhualing granite in Ningguo,Anhui ProvinceEI北大核心CSCD

The Lanhualing tungsten-molybdenum deposit is a skarn-type deposit located in Ningguo county, Anhui province. This deposit is mainly hosted in the Yinzhubu Formation and the Yanwashan Formation of Ordovician, and genetically related to the Lanhualing granite. The Lanhualing granite belongs to high-K calc-alkaline series with high alkali (Na2O+K2O=4.00%-7.03%), SiO2 (67.87%-74.92%) and MgO (0.62%-1.23%) contents. The granitic rocks show right-dipping chondrite normalized REE patterns with weak δEu anomalies. The granitic rocks are relatively enriched in large ion lithophile elements (LILE) and depleted in high field strength elements (HFSE). The ore-bearing granite was dated at 148.17±0.94 Ma by LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb method. The late Yanshanian is the main tungsten mineralization epoch in the South Anhui-north Jiangxi area; and indeed, the Dongyuan, Zhuxi, Yangchuling, Dahutang and other large and super-large tungsten deposits were formed in this period. Geochemical Characteristics of the Lanhualing granite indicate a crustal source but with mantle input under tectonic regime of compression thickening. ©, 2015, Science Press. All right reserved.     

The Quaternary Lancaster Sound trough‐mouth fan,NW Baffin Bay

The development of the Lancaster Sound Trough Mouth Fan (TMF) and glacial history in Arctic Canada were studied using a high‐resolution seismic profile across the entire fan and two piston cores. Stacked tills separated by erosion surfaces on the shelf pass seaward through till deltas into thick transparent glacigenic debris flow (GDF) deposits on the slope, separated by thin, well‐stratified glaciomarine layers. An age model was built by ties to the Ocean Drilling Program Site 645. The deepest GDF on the seismic profile was indicative of the onset of shelf‐crossing glaciation in the Early Pleistocene. The transition of the growth of Lancaster Sound TMF from an aggradational sequence (unit M) to an aggradational–progradational sequence (unit F) occurred at the Middle Pleistocene transition in glacial cyclicity. In the most recent glacial cycle, GDF sheets were deposited during Heinrich events 4 and 2 according to the correlation of the main detrital carbonate beds in two piston cores. The outmost till wedge reflects the maximum advance of the grounding glacier, far seaward of previously proposed Last Glacial Maximum ice extent. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nd and Sr isotope study of hydrothermal scheelite and host rocks at Omai, Guiana Shield: implications for ore fluid source and flow path during the formation of orogenic gold deposits

Omai is a high tonnage, low-grade, world-class gold deposit located in the Paleoproterozoic Guiana Shield. It is the second most important gold deposit in the Guiana Shield (after Las Cristinas, Venezuela), and one of the largest in South America (4.0 million oz.). Sm-Nd and Sr isotope data are presented for host rocks and for scheelite from auriferous quartz-carbonate-scheelite-sulfide-telluride veins from the Omai deposit. Gold-bearing veins are hosted by the Paleoproterozoic Barama-Mazaruni Supergroup, a greenstone belt sequence consisting of mafic volcanic rocks interbedded with sedimentary rocks that are intruded by quartz-feldspar porphyry and rhyolite dikes. This lithologic sequence was folded and metamorphosed to lower greenschist facies during the Paleoproterozoic Trans-Amazonian orogeny. The volcano-sedimentary unit was intruded by a post-tectonic quartz monzodiorite-diorite-hornblendite stock. Initial Nd isotope ratios for the Omai volcanic rocks range from ɛ_Nd=+2.1 to +4.2. These values suggest that this part of the Guiana Shield was a site of new crust formation during the Paleoproterozoic and was not contaminated by older (Archean), reworked continental crust. Initial Nd isotope ratios for the Omai stock range between +0.5 and +2.3, which suggest limited contamination with previously formed continental crust. Although the Nd isotopic ratios of gold-related scheelites overlap with those of the host rocks, particularly the tholeiitic basalts at the interpreted time of vein emplacement, the lack of both isotopic mixing and significant Nd movement during the hydrothermal process suggest that the Nd isotope composition can be used to determine the isotopic characteristics of the ore fluid source area. At Omai, the ore fluid is largely derived from a radiogenic Nd source, represented by mantle or lower crustal reservoirs. Strontium isotope ratios for the scheelites cluster tightly between 0.7019 and 0.7021. The Sr isotope data suggest that unlike Nd, Sr was significantly mobile during the hydrothermal process. The fluids responsible for the Omai deposit may have picked up Sr along the flow path. The constant low Sr isotope values of scheelites probably reflect the key role that the local tholeiitic basalts played as the main source of Sr in the fluids. Whereas Nd isotopes identify the fluid source area, the Sr isotopes map the fluid flow paths. Received: 11 February 1999 / Accepted: 1 November 1999     

Quick Detection System for Planck satellite

Q uick D etection S ystem or qds is a software package that has been developed for detecting point sources in the Planck satellite data as soon as the data become available, a few days after transmission to the Earth. Point sources are detected by filtering the data with a filter defined by the Mexican hat wavelet. An alert is generated on those detections that are found to be interesting, such as prominent flaring, according to the criteria specified to the software. The goal is to detect spectral or flux variability in active galactic nuclei so that instant multifrequency follow-up observations with other instruments could be arranged to study the interesting behaviour.     

Collisional modification of the acapulcoite/lodranite parent body revealed by the iodine‐xenon system in lodranites

Abstract— The I‐Xe system of three lodranites has been investigated. Samples of Gibson yielded no isochrons, and late model ages are attributed to late addition of iodine. Two metal and one silicate separate from the transitional lodranite Graves Nunataks (GRA) 95209 gave ages that are consistent with each other and with the literature I‐Xe age of Acapulco feldspar. These yield a mean closure age 4.19 ± 0.53 Ma after the Shallowater enstatite reference age (4562.3 ± 0.4 Ma). Such identical I‐Xe ages from distinct phases imply that the parent material underwent a period of rapid cooling, the absolute age of this event being 4558.1 ± 0.7 Ma. Such rapid cooling indicates an increase in the rate at which heat could be conducted away, requiring a significant modification of the parent body. We suggest the parent body was modified by an impact at or close to the time recorded by the I‐Xe system. An age of 10.4 ± 2.3 Ma after Shallowater has been determined for one whole‐rock sample of Lewis Cliff (LEW) 88280. Since the release pattern is similar to that of GRA 95209 this hints that the larger grain size of this sample may reflect slower cooling due to deeper post impact burial.     

About Superrotation in Venus

In this work we study in a general view slow rotating planets as Venus or Titan which present superrotating winds in their atmospheres. We are interested in understanding what mechanisms are candidates to be sources of net angular momentum to generate this kind of dynamics. In particular, in the case of Venus, in its atmosphere around an altitude of 100 km relative to the surface, there exists winds that perform a full rotation around the planet in four terrestrial days, whereas the venusian day is equivalent to 243 terrestrial ones. This phenomenon called superrotation is known since many decades. However, its origin and behaviour is not completely understood. In this article we analise and ponderate the importance of different effects to generate this dynamics.     

AGNs,X-ray background and the possible candidates for great attractor

In the five last years, different structures (density excess 1) have been proposed as the direct cause of our infall toward the direction of Hydra—Centaurus with a velocity of 500 km s^–1. The direct effect of the mentioned matter accumulations on the X-ray background (XRB) can be estimated as a function of the geometry of the structures and of the cosmological evolution of the sources emitting in the X-ray band (2–10 keV) for different universes (₀1). If the XRB comes mostly from AGNs with low luminosity (L _X <10⁴³ erg s^–1 and, therefore, they will have a weak cosmological evolution) and we consider the difference between the intensities coming from both hemispheres (that oriented toward the direction of our motion and the opposite one) obtained by means of different satellites, we can conclude that some candidates are highly unlikely.Paper presented at the 11th European Regional Astronomical Meetings of the IAU on New Windows to the Universe, held 3–8 July, 1989, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain