The Mees CCD imaging spectrograph

The Mees CCD (MCCD) instrument is an imaging spectroscopy device which uses the 25 cm coronagraph telescope and the 3.0 m Coudé spectrograph at Mees Solar Observatory (MSO) on Haleakala, Maui. The instrument works with resolving power up to R 200 000 with significant throughput from 3934 Å (Caii K) to 10 000 Å. A fast guiding active mirror stabilizes the image during observations. A rapidly writing magnetic tape storage system allows observations to be recorded at 256 kbytes s^–1. Currently, the MCCD is used for imaging spectroscopy of solar flares at 6563 Å (H), and velocity measurements of umbral oscillations; future plans include emission line studies of active region coronae, and photospheric studies of solar oscillations.     

Resistive ballooning line-tied boundary conditions

Ideal and resistive ballooning modes are investigated for different ratios of a two-layer stratified density region representing a model for the photospheric/coronal boundary. Construction of the ballooning equations using a WKB approach is justified by comparison between the values of the growth rate obtained using Hain-Lüst and ballooning equations together with a WKB integral relation. Different values of the density ratio, radius, and resistivity are considered. Sausage-type and kink-type instabilities are found. One of these, depending on the value of r remained unstable for large density ratios. The other instability tended to marginal stability as the density ratio was increased, and allowed parallel and perpendicular flows across the boundary. This is contrary to the predictions of both the rigid-wall and flow-through conditions.     

Water vapor adsorption by sodium montmorillonite at −5°C

A large amount of interest has recently been expressed pertaining to the quantity of physically adsorbed water by the Martian regolith. Thermodynamic calculations based on experimentally determined adsorption and desorption isotherms and extrapolated to subzero temperatures indicate that physical adsorption of more than one or two monomolecular layers is highly unlikely under Martian conditions. Any additional water would find ice to be the state of lowest energy and therefore the most stable form. To test the validity of the thermodynamic calculations we have measured adsorption and desorption isotherms of sodium montmorillonite at ?5°C. To a first approximation it was found to be valid.     

The formation of saturn's satellites and rings,as influenced by saturn's contraction history

We have used Pollack et al.'s 1976 calculations of the quasi-equilibrium contraction of Saturn to study the influence of the planet's early high luminosity on the formation of its satellites and rings. Assuming that the condensation of ices ceased at the same time within Jupiter's and Saturn's primordial nebulae, and using limits for the time of cessation derived for Jupiter's system by Pollack and Reynolds (1974) and Cameron and Pollack (1975), we arrive at the following tentative conclusions. Titan is the innermost satellite at whose position a methane-containing ice could condense, a result consistent with the presence of methane in this satellite's atmosphere. Water ice may have been able to condense at the position of all the satellites, a result consistent with the occurrence of low-density satellites close to Saturn. The systematic decrease in the mass of Saturn's regular satellites with decreasing distance from Saturn may have been caused partially by the larger time intervals for the closer satellites between the start of contraction and the first condensation of ices at their positions and between the start of contraction and the time at which Saturn's radius became less than a satellite's orbital radius. Ammonia ices, principally NH₄SH, were able to condense at the positions of all but the innermost satellites.Water ice may bave been able to condense in the region of the rings close to the end of the condensation period. We speculate that the rings are unique to Saturn because on the one hand, temperatures within Jupiter's Roche limit never became cool enough for ice particles to form before the end of the condensation period and on the other hand, ice particles formed only very early within Uranus' and Neptune's Roche limits, and were eliminated by gas drag effects that caused them to spiral into the planet before the gas of these planets' nebula was eliminated. Gas drag would also have eliminated any rocky particles initially present inside the Roche limit.We also derive an independent estimate of several million years for the time between the start of the quasi-equilibrium contraction of Saturn and the cessation of condensation. This estimate is based on the density and mass characteristics of Saturn's satellites. Using this value rather than the one found for Jupiter's satellites, we find that the above conclusions about the rings and the condensation of methane-and ammonia-containing ices remain valid.     

First record of a Cretaceous cheilostome bryozoan from Hokkaido, Japan

A small collection of recrystallised, encrusting colonies of a single species from the Mikasa Formation (lower Middle Cenomanian), represents the first record of cheilostome (malacostegan or anascan) bryozoans from Hokkaido, Japan.     

Historical Auckland on foot

Abstract:  This paper discusses three walking tour guides prepared for the 12th International Conference of Historical Geographers. It argues that the guides are innovative in terms of format, content and ironic sensibility. It construes them as devices for re-imagining Auckland's urban heritage.     

The Earthquake Readiness Scale: The Development of a Valid and Reliable Unifactorial Measure

Preparedness is a key dependent variable in many studies examining people’s response to disasters such as earthquakes. A feature of many studies on this issue, however, is the lack of attention given to psychometric issues when constructing measures of preparedness. With regard to earthquake preparation, for example, many studies could be greatly improved by the use of a valid and reliable measure of preparedness. This research developed such a measure that assessed both low-level preparedness, such as having an emergency kit, and high-level preparedness, such as altering home structures to mitigate damage. Studies of Wellington (New Zealand) residents using two samples totalling n=652 showed that 23 items measuring these different aspects of earthquake preparation could be combined into a reliable, valid, unifactorial scale. This brief scale should have utility in multivariate studies of earthquake preparation, either as a dependent variable, where preparation is the outcome variable of primary interest, or as one of several independent variables, where preparation and other measures predict another outcome variable.     

Stable isotope values of Costa Rican surface waters

Stable isotope data of surface waters from the humid tropics in general, and Costa Rica in particular, are scarce. To improve our understanding of the spatial distribution of stable isotopes in surface waters, we measured δ¹⁸O and δD in river and lake (n=63) and precipitation (n=3) samples from Costa Rica. We also present data from the IAEA/WMO isotopes in precipitation network as context for our study. Surface water isotope values do not strongly correlate with elevation, stream head elevation, stream length, distance from Caribbean Sea, or estimated mean annual precipitation for the country as a whole. However, the data show distinct regional trends. The δ¹⁸O and δD values downwind of mountain ranges are inversely related to the altitude of the ranges the air masses traverse. In the lee of the high Talamanca Range, δ¹⁸O values are 6–8‰ lower, while in the lee of the lower Tilarán Range δ¹⁸O values are 2–3‰ lower than upwind sites along the Caribbean Slope. An altitude effect of −1.4‰ δ¹⁸O/km is present on the Pacific slope of southern Costa Rica, equivalent to a temperature effect of −0.3‰/°C. The Nicoya and Osa Peninsulas have higher values than upwind sites, suggesting input of Pacific-sourced moisture, evaporative enrichment, or decreased condensation temperatures. Elevated and increasing d-excess values inland along the Nicaragua Trough suggest a recycled component may be an important contributor to the water budget. These data provide preliminary stable isotope information for Costa Rica, and will benefit paleoclimatic research in the region. More detailed studies would be beneficial to our understanding of the controls on stable isotope composition of tropical waters.     

Cautions and Suggestions for Geochemical Sampling in Fractured Rock

Collecting water samples for geochemical analyses in open bedrock boreholes or in discrete intervals of boreholes intersected by multiple fractures is likely to yield ambiguous results for ground water chemistry because of the variability in the transmissivity, storativity, and hydraulic head of fractures intersecting the borehole. Interpreting chemical analyses of water samples collected in bedrock boreholes requires an understanding of the hydraulic conditions in the borehole under the ambient flow regime in the aquifer as well as during sampling. Pumping in open boreholes, regardless of the pumping rate and the location of the pump intake, first draws water from the borehole and then from fractures intersecting the borehole. The time at which the volumetric rate of water entering the borehole from fractures is approximately equal to the pumping rate can be identified by monitoring the logarithm of drawdown in the borehole as a function of the logarithm of time. Mixing of water entering the borehole from fractures with water in the borehole must be considered in estimating the time at which the pump discharge is representative of aquifer water. In boreholes intersected by multiple fractures, after the contribution from the borehole volume has diminished, the contribution of fractures to the pump discharge will be weighted according to their transmissivity, regardless of the location of the pump intake. This results in a flux-averaged concentration in the pump discharge that is biased by the chemical signature of those fractures with the highest transmissivity. Under conditions where the hydraulic head of fractures varies over the length of the borehole, open boreholes will be subject to ambient flow in the water column in the borehole. In some instances, the magnitude of the ambient flow may be similar to the designated pumping rate for collecting water samples for geochemical analyses. Under such conditions, the contributions to the pump discharge from individual fractures will be a function not only of the transmissivity of the fractures, but also of the distribution of hydraulic head in fractures intersecting the borehole. To reduce or eliminate the deleterious effects of conducting geochemical sampling in open boreholes, a straddle-packer apparatus that isolates a single fracture or a series of closely spaced fractures is recommended. It is also recommended that open boreholes be permanently outfitted with borehole packers or borehole liners in instances where maintaining the hydraulic and chemical stratification in the aquifer is of importance. In a field example, a comparison of results from sampling in an open borehole and in discrete intervals of the same borehole showed dramatic differences in the concentrations of chemical constituents in the water samples, even though chemical field parameters stabilized prior to both open borehole and discrete interval sampling.