Modelling the impact of a hypothetical sub-Plinian eruption at La Soufrière of Guadeloupe (Lesser Antilles)

This paper describes the development and application of an impact model for a future hypothetical sub-Plinian eruption of La Soufrière of Guadeloupe. The model was designed to assess the impact from either a single or multiple eruption scenarios, each defined in terms of a map of the intensity of three volcanic hazards; volcanogenic earthquake, tephra fallout and pyroclastic density currents. The impact from the three hazards can be assessed independently or alternatively the joint impact of the three hazards can be assessed. The outputs that are produced from the model are; the number of buildings with collapsed roofs, and the number of fatal and non-fatal casualties.     

Rapid evolution of the Eocene accretionary complex (Hyuga Group) of the Shimanto terrane in southeastern Kyushu, southwestern Japan

Abstract   Detailed geologic examination of the Eocene accretionary complex (Hyuga Group) of the Shimanto terrane in southeastern Kyushu revealed that the oceanic plate was composed of Paleocene to Lower Eocene mudstone and siliceous mudstone, lower Middle Eocene red mudstone, and mid-Middle Eocene trench-fill turbidite with siltstone breccia, successively overlying the pre-Eocene oceanic plate. This oceanic plate sequence was overlain by Upper Eocene siltstone. Deposition of the lower Middle Eocene red mudstone was accompanied by basalt flows and it is interbedded with continental felsic tuff, which indicates that the basalt and red mudstone were deposited near the trench just before accretion. The Hyuga Group has very similar geological structure to that of the chert–clastic complexes found in the Jurassic accretionary complexes in Japan: that is, a decollement fault formed in the middle of an oceanic plate sequence, and an imbricate structure formed only in the upper part of the sequence. Thus, it appears that the Hyuga Group was formed by the same accretionary process as the Jurassic accretionary complexes. No accretion occurred before the Middle Eocene, and the rapid accretion of the Hyuga Group was commenced by the supply of coarse terrigenous sediments in the mid-Middle Eocene, when the direction of movement of the Pacific Plate changed. The pre-Eocene oceanic basement and lower Middle Eocene volcanic activity suggest that the oceanic plate partly preserved in the Hyuga Group was very similar to the northern part of the present West Philippine Sea Plate.     

长江口沉积物210Pb分布及沉积环境解释

在长江河口潮滩、分流河道和水下三角洲共获得18个柱样,进行沉积学分析和210Pb测定,并对其中6根柱样进行137Cs测定。经研究发现,长江口外在水深25～30m,122°30′N,31°00′E附近存在一个泥质沉积中心,沉积速率达2.0～6.3cm/yr。另外,在潮滩和涨潮槽也获得较高沉积速率,其中南汇和横沙岛潮滩沉积速率(1.03～1.94cm/yr)高于崇明东滩(0.51～0.76cm/yr),涨潮槽沉积速率也达0.86cm/yr。此外,在石洞口、南汇、九段沙潮滩和三角洲前缘有部分柱样未获沉积速率,推测为沉积环境不稳定或沉积速率过快所致。     

A polarimetric study of Asteroid 25143 Itokawa

The near-Earth Asteroid 25143 Itokawa, the target of the Japanese space mission Hayabusa, was observed in June, 2004 with the Torino photopolarimeter attached at the 2.15 m telescope of the El Leoncito Observatory (Argentina). The degree of linear polarization in five colors was measured over a wide range of phase angles, between 40° and 80°. The data obtained are sufficient to derive an estimate of the asteroid's albedo of 0.24±0.01, which is in good agreement with the S-type taxonomic classification of this object. The phase-polarization curve has been sampled in UBVRI colors, covering a wide range of phase angles that cannot be reached by Earth-based observations of Main Belt asteroids.     

Interstellar cyanomethane

We have made an observational study of the newly identified cyanomethane radical CH2CN and the possibly related species CH3CN with the goals of (1) elucidating the possible role of reactions of the type CnHm(+) + N in astrochemistry, and (2) providing a possible test of Bates's models of dissociative electron recombination. We find a remarkably different abundance ratio CH2CN/CH3CN in TMC-1 and Sgr B2, which we deduce is a result of the large difference in temperature of these objects. Studies of CH2CN and CH3CN in other sources, including two new detections of CH2CN, support this conclusion and are consistent with a monotonic increase in the CH2CN/CH3CN ratio with decreasing temperature over the range 10-120 K. This behavior may be explained by the destruction of CH2CN by reaction with O. If this reaction does not proceed, then CH2CN and CH3CN are concluded to form via different chemical pathways. Thus, they do not provide a test of Bates's conjectures (they do not both form from CH3CNH+). CH2CN is then likely to form via C2H4(+) + N --> CH2CNH+, thus demonstrating the viability of this important reaction in astrochemistry. The T dependence of the CH2CN/CH3CN ratio would then reflect the increasing rate of the C2H4(+) + N reaction with decreasing temperature.     

Laboratory detection of a new interstellar free radical CH2CN(2B1)

An asymmetric-top free radical CH2CN, which as a 2B1 ground state, was detected for the first time by laboratory microwave spectroscopy. The radical was produced in a free-space absorption cell by a DC glow discharge in pure CH3CN gas. About 60 fine-structure components were observed for the N = 11-10 to 14-13 a-type rotational transitions in the frequency region of 220-260 GHz, and many hyperfine resolved components for the N = 4-3 and 5-4 transitions in the 80 and 100 GHz regions, respectively. The molecular constants, including the rotational constants, centrifugal distortion constants, and spin-rotation coupling constants with centrifugal distortion correction terms were determined from the fine-structure resolved transitions, and the hyperfine coupling constants due to the hydrogen and nitrogen nuclei were obtained from the low-N transitions. As a result we assigned U100602 and U80484 from Sgr B2, and U40240 and U20120 from TMC-1, to the N = 5-4, 4-3, 2-1, and 1-0 transitions with K-1 = 0 of the CH2CN radical.     

Geochemical and Grain-Sized Implications for Provenance Variations of the Central Yellow Sea Muddy Area Since the Middle Holocene

Based on high-resolution analysis to a 280-cm long sediment core obtained from the muddy area in the central Yellow Sea, we examined the provenance of muddy sediments and discussed the changing marine sedimentary environment since the middle Holocene. The results indicated that fine-grained sediments in the muddy area were mainly derived from the Huanghe(Yellow River) and Changjiang(Yangtze River) with considerable stepwise variations during the past 6.6 kyr. The Yellow Sea Warm Current was initiated at 6 kyr when the sea level was high together with the enhanced East Asian Winter Monsoon. These in combination established the framework of shelf circulation in the Yellow Sea that began to trap the river-derived fine-grained sediments. From 4.9 kyr to 2.8 kyr, both the Kushiro Current and East Asian Monsoon were significantly weakened, reducing the delivery of Changjiang sediments to the muddy area. As a result, the sediments were mainly originated from the Huanghe. From 2.8 kyr to 1.5 kyr the continuously weakened East Asian Winter Monsoon and enhanced Yellow Sea Warm Current entrapped more fine-grain sediments. Whereas the enhanced East Asian Winter Monsoon and the human caused increase in sediment load of the Huanghe since 1.5 kyr, and direct delivery of Huanghe sediments to the Yellow Sea during 1128–1855 AD might dominated the sedimentation in the study area. The stepwise variations of the sediment provenance and composition of the Central Yellow Sea muddy sediments are of importance to understanding the formation of muddy deposit in the central Yellow Sea and the associated variations of marine environment since the middle Holocene.     

Sedimentation rates and heavy metals in a macrotidal salt marsh: Bay of Fundy,Canada

Macrotidal salt marshes play an important role in sedimentary processes in estuaries and can act as a sink for fine sediments and contaminants. This study examines sedimentation rates and the history of heavy metal accumulation in the Allen Creek salt marsh in the Bay of Fundy, Canada. Pb-210 and Cs-137 measurements and accelerated mass spectrometer (AMS) dating indicate a sedimentation rate of about 1.1 cm/year, which is consistent with independent observations. Elevated normalized concentrations of As in the upper section of the deposit may reflect an increase in organic matter content while a consistent decrease in Mn toward the surface of the section may be due to a decrease in natural supply. A peak in metal concentrations in the early to mid twentieth century is attributed to inputs from local foundries.     

Ionospheric delay gradient model for GBAS in the Asia-Pacific region

GPS Solutions - We investigated characteristics of anomalous spatial gradients in ionospheric delay on GNSS signals in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) low-magnetic latitude region in the context of the...