Phanerozoic tectonothermal history of the Arabian–Nubian shield in the Eastern Desert of Egypt: evidence from fission track and paleostress data

To constrain the post-Pan-African evolution of the Arabian–Nubian Shield, macro-scale tectonic studies, paleostress and fission track data were performed in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. The results provide insights into the processes driving late stage vertical motion and the timing of exhumation of a large shield area. Results of apatite, zircon and sphene fission track analyses from the Neoproterozoic basement indicate two major episodes of exhumation. Sphene and zircon fission track data range from 339 to 410 Ma and from 315 to 366 Ma, respectively. The data are interpreted to represent an intraplate thermotectonic episode during the Late Devonian–Early Carboniferous. At that time, the intraplate stresses responsible for deformation, uplift and erosion, were induced by the collision of Gondwana with Laurussia which started in Late Devonian times. Apatite fission track data indicate that the second cooling phase started in Oligocene and was related to extension, flank uplift and erosion along the actual margin of the Red Sea. Structural data collected from Neoproterozoic basement, Late Cretaceous and Tertiary sedimentary cover suggest two stages of rift formation. (1) Cretaceous strike-slip tectonics with sub-horizontal σ1 (ENE/WSW) and σ3 (NNW/SSE), and sub-vertical σ2 resulted in formation of small pull-apart basins. Basin axes are parallel to the trend of Pan-African structural elements which acted as stress guides. (2) During Oligocene to Miocene the stress field changed towards horizontal NE–SW extension (σ3), and sub-vertical σ1. Relations between structures, depositional ages of sediments and apatite fission track data indicate that the initiation of rift flank uplift, erosion and plate deformation occurred nearly simultaneously.     

The composition of liquids coexisting with dense hydrous magnesium silicates at 11-13.5 GPa and the endpoints of the solidi in the MgO-SiO2-H2O system

High-pressure liquids in the MgO-SiO₂-H₂O (MSH) system have been investigated at 11 and 13.5 GPa and between 1000 and 1350 °C. A bulk composition more magnesian than the tie-line forsterite-H₂O was employed for the study. Rocking multi-anvil experiments were combined with a diamond trap set-up. After termination of the experiments, the liquid trapped in the diamond layer was analysed by laser ablation ICP-MS using the ‘freezing’ technique. At 11 GPa, liquids coexist with one or two of phase A, clinohumite, chondrodite, and forsterite. A marked discontinuity in the evolution of liquid compositions near 1100 °C is observed at 11 GPa. A step of ∼13 wt% H₂O and 13 wt% MgO is interpreted to result from overstepping the fluid-saturated solidus reaction mass balanced to 1.00(18) phase A + 1.07(4) fluid = 0.63(15) chondrodite + 1.44(2) melt. At 13.5 GPa liquids coexist with one or two of hydrous wadsleyite, clinohumite, superhydrous B, phase B, and forsterite. The discontinuity in liquid composition is no longer present, indicating that the second critical endpoint of the solidus has been overstepped. Thus, hydrous melts in the Mg-rich part of the MSH system (molar bulk Mg/Si > 2) are chemically distinct from aqueous fluids at pressure up to 11 GPa. Convergence of fluid and melt compositions along the solidus resulting in a supercritical liquid occurs between 11 and 13.5 GPa, at which pressure the entire MSH system becomes supercritical.     

Supervised classification of electric power transmission line nominal voltage from high-resolution aerial imagery

For many researchers, government agencies, and emergency responders, access to the geospatial data of US electric power infrastructure is invaluable for analysis, planning, and disaster recovery. Historically, however, access to high quality geospatial energy data has been limited to few agencies because of commercial licenses restrictions, and those resources which are widely accessible have been of poor quality, particularly with respect to reliability. Recent efforts to develop a highly reliable and publicly accessible alternative to the existing datasets were met with numerous challenges – not the least of which was filling the gaps in power transmission line voltage ratings. To address the line voltage rating problem, we developed and tested a basic methodology that fuses knowledge and techniques from power systems, geography, and machine learning domains. Specifically, we identified predictors of nominal voltage that could be extracted from aerial imagery and developed a tree-based classifier to classify nominal line voltage ratings. Overall, we found that line support height, support span, and conductor spacing are the best predictors of voltage ratings, and that the classifier built with these predictors had a reliable predictive accuracy (that is, within one voltage class for four out of the five classes sampled). We applied our approach to a study area in Minnesota.     

Vertical profiles of wind speed,snow concentration,and humidity in blowing snow

To estimate the sublimation rate of snow during relocation by wind, sizes and concentration of ice crystal fragments were measured at 6 levels in the lowest 1 m, during ten 10-min runs, in a nocturnal blizzard. Power-law functions of height described the decrease in mean particle diameter and concentration. The vertical gradient of water vapor, measured with a thermocouple psychrometer, was approximately linear from 0.2 to 1.0m above the surface. Evaporation of blowing snow over 3 km of transport distance was estimated to be 39% of transport rate, under conditions of the experiment.     

Possible influences of solar radiation variations on the atmospheric circulation in the northern hemisphere of the earth

The strength of the circumpolar zonal circulation of the atmosphere in the northern hemisphere, expressed by an index calculated from the air pressure gradient between 35° N and 65°N, shows a remarkable secular change in this century in the years 1935 to 1938, and probably again in the years after 1970. A contemporary change and parallel course with a high positive correlation can be found in a solar radiation index calculated by means of sunspot numbers and solar faculae areas. A good correlation was also found between this solar radiation index and a series of UV measurements on Mt. Wilson. The possible mechanism of action in the atmosphere will be discussed, and it is shown that this solar radiation index is also correlated with circulation parameters in the troposphere and stratosphere over Europe. There are indications of a decrease of the action from the upper to the lower atmosphere. The consequences of this secular change of circulation for the climatic history in the 20th century in Europe are presented and from that a hypothetical retrospective view of the European climatic history before the 20th century, based on the total series of sunspot numbers, is briefly discussed. In a general view with smoothed data it can be concluded that the sun seems to determine the basic structure of the north hemispheric circulation in middle latitudes, if a strong influence of sunspots and solar faculae on the solar radiation is assumed.     

The influence of negative emission technologies and technology policies on the optimal climate mitigation portfolio

Combining policies to remove carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere with policies to reduce emissions could decrease CO₂ concentrations faster than possible via natural processes. We model the optimal selection of a dynamic portfolio of abatement, research and development (R&D), and negative emission policies under an exogenous CO₂ constraint and with stochastic technological change. We find that near-term abatement is not sensitive to the availability of R&D policies, but the anticipated availability of negative emission strategies can reduce the near-term abatement optimally undertaken to meet 2°C temperature limits. Further, planning to deploy negative emission technologies shifts optimal R&D funding from ??carbon-free?? technologies into ??emission intensity?? technologies. Making negative emission strategies available enables an 80% reduction in the cost of keeping year 2100 CO₂ concentrations near their current level. However, negative emission strategies are less important if the possibility of tipping points rules out using late-century net negative emissions to temporarily overshoot the CO₂ constraint earlier in the century.     

Trace gas measurements during aircraft flights in the tropopause region over Europe and North Africa

During aircraft flights in May 1981 from Munich (40°N) to north of the Spitsbergen Islands (82°N) and to Monrovia, Liberia (6°N), air samples were obtained in the altitude range of 8 to 11 km and during the ascents and descents near the airports. These samples have been analyzed for the trace gas mixing ratios of CH₄, CO and N₂O. The results of these analyses are presented and discussed.The results provide new evidence of tropospheric-stratospheric exchange events in the vicinity of the subpolar and subtropical tropopause foldings and possibly show a case of transport of CO-enriched air in the upper troposphere above the North Atlantic Ocean.     

A Critical Analysis of the Wind Climatology of the Adriatic Sea from Different Sources

Summary  We consider the wind climatology of the Adriatic Sea derived from three different sources: an operational meteorological model, a simplified wind model, and traditional ship reports. The simplified wind model is found to provide reliable results in storm conditions, but it partly smoothes the fields when the meteorological pattern is not well defined and fairly uniform at the basin scale. The ship reports show a strong evident bias towards low values. This is partly interpreted as a tendency for ships to avoid rough weather and not to report in these types of conditions. A second reason is a bias present in the transfer from the Beaufort to the metric scale. The best results are provided by the operational meteorological model, after its results have been corrected for a bias in wind speed, associated with the resolution of the model with respect to the dimensions of the basin under study. Received October 23, 1997 Revised August 10, 1998     

High-frequency climate oscillations drive ice-off variability for Northern Hemisphere lakes and rivers

Climatic Change - This study examines the climatic drivers of ice-off dates for lakes and rivers across the Northern Hemisphere. Most lakes and rivers have trended toward earlier ice-off dates over...     

Is the meander growth in the Brazil Current system off Southeast Brazil due to baroclinic instability?

Temporally-growing frontal meandering and occasional eddy-shedding is observed in the Brazil Current (BC) as it flows adjacent to the Brazilian Coast. No study of the dynamics of this phenomenon has been conducted to date in the region between 22° S and 25°S. Within this latitude range, the flow over the intermediate continental slope is marked by a current inversion at a depth that is associated with the Intermediate Western Boundary Current (IWBC). A time series analysis of 10-current-meter mooring data was used to describe a mean vertical profile for the BC-IWBC jet and a typical meander vertical structure. The latter was obtained by an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis that showed a single mode explaining 82% of the total variance. This mode structure decayed sharply with depth, revealing that the meandering is much more vigorous within the BC domain than it is in the IWBC region. As the spectral analysis of the mode amplitude time series revealed no significant periods, we searched for dominant wavelengths. This search was done via a spatial EOF analysis on 51 thermal front patterns derived from digitized AVHRR images. Four modes were statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. Modes 3 and 4, which together explained 18% of the total variance, are associated with 266 and 338-km vorticity waves, respectively. With this new information derived from the data, the [Johns, W.E., 1988. One-dimensional baroclinically unstable waves on the Gulf Stream potential vorticity gradient near Cape Hatteras. Dyn. Atmos. Oceans 11, 323–350] one-dimensional quasi-geostrophic model was applied to the interpolated mean BC-IWBC jet. The results indicated that the BC system is indeed baroclinically unstable and that the wavelengths depicted in the thermal front analysis are associated with the most unstable waves produced by the model. Growth rates were about 0.06 (0.05) days⁻¹for the 266-km (338-km) wave. Moreover, phase speeds for these waves were low compared to the surface BC velocity and may account for remarks in the literature about growing standing or stationary meanders off southeast Brazil. The theoretical vertical structure modes associated with these waves resembled very closely to the one obtained for the current-meter mooring EOF analysis. We interpret this agreement as a confirmation that baroclinic instability is an important mechanism in meander growth in the BC system.