Emission cores in H and K lines

Calculations are made for the center-limb variations of the K₂ and K₃ components of the solar Ca ii K line using an optically thick model of the chromosphere. The center-limb variations are shown to require an increase of Doppler width with height in the chromosphere and to depend critically upon the location of the point where _D has increased by a factor e. Good agreement with observations is found when, and only when, the increase in _D occurs nearly simultaneously with the increase in chromospheric temperature.     

Stress transfer in earthquakes, hazard estimation and ensemble forecasting: Inferences from numerical simulations

Observations indicate that earthquake faults occur in topologically complex, multi-scale networks driven by plate tectonic forces. We present realistic numerical simulations, involving data-mining, pattern recognition, theoretical analyses and ensemble forecasting techniques, to understand how the observable space–time earthquake patterns are related to the fundamentally inaccessible and unobservable dynamics. Numerical simulations can also help us to understand how the different scales involved in earthquake physics interact and influence the resulting dynamics. Our simulations indicate that elastic interactions (stress transfer) combined with the nonlinearity in the frictional failure threshold law lead to the self-organization of the statistical dynamics, producing 1) statistical distributions for magnitudes and frequencies of earthquakes that have characteristics similar to those possessed by the Gutenberg–Richter magnitude–frequency distributions observed in nature; and 2) clear examples of stress transfer among fault activity described by stress shadows, in which an earthquake on one group of faults reduces the Coulomb failure stress on other faults, thereby delaying activity on those faults. In this paper, we describe the current state of modeling and simulation efforts for Virtual California, a model for all the major active strike slip faults in California. Noting that the Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities (WGCEP) uses statistical distributions to produce earthquake forecast probabilities, we demonstrate that Virtual California provides a powerful tool for testing the applicability and reliability of the WGCEP statistical methods. Furthermore, we show how the simulations can be used to develop statistical earthquake forecasting techniques that are complementary to the methods used by the WGCEP, but improve upon those methods in a number of important ways. In doing so, we distinguish between the “official” forecasts of the WGCEP, and the “research-quality” forecasts that we discuss here. Finally, we provide a brief discussion of future problems and issues related to the development of ensemble earthquake hazard estimation and forecasting techniques.     

The geochemistry of vanadiferous magnetite in the bushveld complex: Implications for crystallization mechanisms in layered complexes

Detailed trace-element analyses of pure magnetite from four continuous borehole intersections through the main magnetitite layer from the upper zone of the Rustenburg Layered Suite of the Bushveld Complex are presented. One section has been analysed at one centimetre intervals. Rapid depletion of Cr occurs over short, vertical sequences near the base of the layer, which is due to bottom-crystallization and the resulting chemical depletion of a thin layer of liquid. Sudden increases in Cr content of magnetite are attributed to convection cells which bring undepleted magma into the zone or crystallization. We suggest that these cells individually have lateral extents no greater than hundreds of metres, but collectively may be traced at a specific stratigraphic horizon for several tens of km. This lateral traceability of the effect of convection cells at approximately uniform stratigraphic height demonstrates the long-held implicit assumption that time-planes are in general parallel to the layering, and does not support the hypothesis that layers in the Bushveld Complex grew laterally. The activity of these cells is highly variable, with long periods of quiescence interspersed with periods of rapid, small-scale overturn. Most convection cells do not impinge upon the floor, and the abruptness of the resulting chemical reversal is largely a function of the thickness of the layer of depleted liquid trapped between the cumulates and the sole of the convection cell. Occasionally, these cells do touch the cumulate pile and may even cause erosion. This material may be redeposited elsewhere in the magnetitite layer either as mineralogically distinct fragments if erosion penetrated below the layer or, in the present instance, as a chemically chaotic pile of magnetite. The abruptness of the chemical reversals severely restricts the extent to which post-cumulus redistribution of elements or re-equilibration with percolating trapped liquid (infiltration metasomatism) may have occurred. The appearance of disseminated plagioclase in magnetite layers in variable proportions and in a non-systematic manner in the four profiles is attributed to fluctuations in pressure.     

Potassium-argon ages and strontium isotope ratio measurements from volcanic rocks in northeastern Nigeria

The Cenozoic volcanic activity in northeastern Nigeria began with the intrusion into the Benue trough of a trachyte-phonolite suite of plugs 22-11 m.y. ago. Later activity, which was more widespread and dominantly basaltic in character, began some 7 m.y. ago and has continued until very recent times. It resulted in basaltic plugs and lava plateaux within the Benue trough, and cinder cones and lavas on the Jos Plateau.The initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of nine of the fifteen analyzed basic and alkalic rocks lie in the range 0.7025–0.7032, and the highest ratio measured is 0.7129.The main group of trachytes and phonolites are considered to be fractional melts derived from the upper mantle, modified in small part by potassium feldspar crystal fractionation. Two Sr-rich phonolite plugs may have a separate origin from the main group of trachytes and phonolites.The Cenozoic volcanic activity in northeastern Nigeria is probably related to the nearby Cameroun volcanic line. The concentration of plugs within the Benue trough may reflect internal adjustments along old lines of weakness within the African lithosphere plate, in response to synchronous changes affecting the plate's external dimensions and internal structure, such as the growth of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and the volcanism of the east African rift valley.     

On the lack of a unique relation between CO2 partial pressure and temperature in geothermal system. Comment on “Geothermal mineral equilibria” by W. F. Giggenbach

Giggenbach (1981) has proposed a relation of van't Hoff form, log₁₀P_CO2 = A ? B/(t + 273), between temperature and CO₂ partial pressure in deep liquid in geothermal systems. The proposed values for the coefficients are A = 15.26, B = 7850.The proposal is not supported by pressure-temperature data used by Giggenbach, and a survey of different fields indicates that the proposal is not valid.     

On the use of the nephelometer in estuarine waters

A study of the problems encountered in nephelometric determinations of suspended sediment loads in the Chesapeake Bay estuary has led to development of a technique which uses nephelometer readings as a guide for sampling at vertical profiles in an estuary. This permits optimum sampling for concentration profiles and allows one to use nephelometer/load ratios to characterize particles.     

A strontium isotope and trace element profile through the Partridge River Troctolite,Duluth complex,Minnesota

Initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios down a 2,315 foot-long core (DDH-295) through the Partridge River Troctolite are lower in the depth range 710–1,410 feet (0.70443±22) than in the underlying and overlying rocks (0.70500±18). These initial ratio variations define three zones (I, II, and III) thought to be three intrusive units within the troctolite. The best estimate of the Rb-Sr age of the troctolite is 1,050±105 m.y. The olivine compositions and the abundances of the incompatible trace elements Zr, Y, and Rb show identical variations down the core, with downward repetitions of olivine iron-enrichment and incompatible trace element enrichments. Discontinuities in the olivine compositions and incompatible trace element abundances match the initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio discontinuities in the core. The strontium isotope data imply that involatile components of the Proterozoic Virginia Formation and other Archaean rocks were not significantly assimilated by the troctolites, for only three out of the twenty-three initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios depart from normal magmatic values. These three anomalous ratios are not systematically related to the Cu-Ni sulphide mineralization and may be the result of secondary calcite in the troctolite. The strontium isotope systematics of the Virginia Formation xenoliths and underlying hornfelses are highly disturbed as a result of Rb loss. The apparently inverted fractionation sequences in the troctolites are interpreted in terms of downward increases in intercumulus liquid in repeated magma batches and controlled by plagioclase flotation. The amount of intercumulus liquid is estimated to range from 7 to 61 weight per cent. The Cu-Ni sulphides are concentrated in the lower 250 feet of zone I (immediately above the Virginia Formation) and through 400 feet of core across the contact between zones I and II, more than 750 feet above the base. Because the sulphide-bearing troctolites are not systematically related to disturbances in the magmatic initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, the mineralization probably involved the volatile transfer of sulphur derived from dehydration reactions in the underlying Virginia Formation.     

The Impact of Herder Sedentarization on Natural Resource Access in Northeastern Ghana

The Fulani of West Africa have increasingly migrated to humid West Africa since the Sahelian droughts of the 1970s, drawing opposition from indigenous groups that are concerned about the deprivation of their livelihood and monopolization of resources for herders’ livestock. This research, which involved farmers, shepherds, and Fulani herders, addressed three issues: the nature of indigenous grazing and watering regimes, shepherd–herder relations, and herders’ impact on resource access for indigenes’ livestock. The research indicates that in-community and off-community platforms for resource access exist. The former has not been impacted by the herders; the latter has experienced changes insufficient to constitute an overhaul of resource access at the expense of indigenes’ livestock. Instead, a “shepherd–herder” category of resource access has emerged that is characterized by negotiation for resource space, opening avenues for addressing broader resource access issues, and typically tense indigene–herder relationships.     

The geomorphic character and hydrological function of an upland swamp,Budderoo plateau,southern highlands,NSW, Australia

Upland swamps are a form of topogenous mire that occur on the plateau areas of eastern Australia. These systems are well recognized for their ecological value, but little is known about their internal hydrological function and how this relates to their geomorphic structure and evolution. In this study, the geomorphic, sedimentological, and hydrological properties of an intact upland swamp on the Budderoo Plateau NSW are investigated. The geomorphic structure of the swamp is simple, and the sedimentology comprises basal layers of coarse sands, overlain by several layers of organic accumulation up to 3.3?m in thickness. Each of these sedimentary units has different hydrological behaviors (rates of water throughflow and discharge) that drive the overall function of the swamp in response to rainfall of various magnitudes and duration. Four hydrological response types have been identified in the functioning of this swamp. These response types (RT) are characterized by different peaks and recession responses to rainfall. The form of the hydrograph produced is controlled by antecedent water table position and the amount, timing and duration of rainfall. Depending on antecedent moisture conditions, the swamp can operate either as a store for water or as a rapid conduit for water throughflow and overland flow.