Re-Evaluation of the Flare–Type II–CME Association

We have re-evaluated the association of type II solar radio bursts with flares and/or coronal mass ejections (CMEs) using the year 2000 solar maximum data. For this, we consider 52 type II events whose associations with flares or CMEs were absent or not clearly identified and reported. These events are classified as follows; group I: 11 type IIs for which there are no reports of GOES X-ray flares and CMEs; group II: 12 type IIs for which there are no reports of GOES X-ray flares; and group III: 29 type IIs for which the flare locations are not reported. By carefully re-examining their association from GOES X-ray and H, Yohkoh SXT and EIT-EUV data, we attempt to answer the following questions: (i) if there really were no X-ray flares associated with the above 23 type IIs of groups I and II; (ii) whether they can be regarded as backside events whose X-ray emission might have been occulted. From this analysis, we have found that two factors, flare background intensity and flare location, play important roles in the complete reports about flare–type II–CME associations. In the above 23 cases, for more than 50% of the cases in total, the X-ray flares were not noticed and reported, because the background intensity of X-ray flux was high. In the remaining cases, the X-ray intensity might be greatly reduced due to occultation. From the H flare data, Yohkoh SXT data and EIT-EUV data, we found that ten cases out of 23 might be frontside events, and the remaining are backside events. While the flare–type II association is found to be nearly 90%, the type II–CME association is roughly around 75%. This analysis might be useful to reduce some ambiguities regarding the association among type IIs, flares and CMEs.     

Improvement of overtopping risk evaluations using probabilistic concepts for existing dams

Hydrologic risk analysis for dam safety relies on a series of probabilistic analyses of rainfall-runoff and flow routing models, and their associated inputs. This is a complex problem in that the probability distributions of multiple independent and derived random variables need to be estimated in order to evaluate the probability of dam overtopping. Typically, parametric density estimation methods have been applied in this setting, and the exhaustive Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) of models is used to derive some of the distributions. Often, the distributions used to model some of the random variables are inappropriate relative to the expected behaviour of these variables, and as a result, simulations of the system can lead to unrealistic values of extreme rainfall or water surface levels and hence of the probability of dam overtopping. In this paper, three major innovations are introduced to address this situation. The first is the use of nonparametric probability density estimation methods for selected variables, the second is the use of Latin Hypercube sampling to improve the efficiency of MCS driven by the multiple random variables, and the third is the use of Bootstrap resampling to determine initial water surface level. An application to the Soyang Dam in South Korea illustrates how the traditional parametric approach can lead to potentially unrealistic estimates of dam safety, while the proposed approach provides rather reasonable estimates and an assessment of their sensitivity to key parameters.     

Estimating extreme flood magnitude in bedrock-influenced channels using representative reach-based channel resistance data

Extreme flood events are considered by many researchers to be very important in controlling the development of semi‐arid bedrock‐influenced river systems. Accurate gauging of such events is often impossible, however, as gauges are drowned and often damaged during the event. A methodology for estimating flood discharge for bedrock‐influenced channels is presented that reconstructs hydrometric characteristics of the peak flow and relates these to the roughness character of the river channel in question. The method is evaluated using peak water‐surface slope data relating to the extreme floods of February 2000 along the Sabie and Letaba rivers, located respectively in the Mpumalanga and Northern Provinces, South Africa. The data, in the form of strandline measurements, were taken at hydraulically relevant points along the long profile of both rivers. The resultant data are utilised together with published high flow channel resistance figures, based on the channel morphology of the Sabie and Letaba rivers, to generate peak flow estimates for a number of locations along both rivers. Comparisons are made between the frictional discharge peak flow estimates, velocity‐area and hydrologic estimates of peak flow. These comparisons indicate that the method can produce discharge estimates with an accuracy of ±10% and ± 35% respectively.     

Cathodoluminescence microanalysis of natural hydrated amorphous SiO2; opal

 Natural amorphous hydrated silicon dioxide (opal) has been investigated for the first time using Cathodoluminescence microanalysis in a Scanning Electron Microscope. Defect centers have been identified and imaged with high sensitivity and high spatial resolution. Intrinsic defects identified include the non bridging oxygen hole center (NBOHC) and the oxygen deficient centers (ODC). Impurities are strongly correlated with the grain structure of the precious opal and a higher than average concentration of impurity defects are observed at grain boundaries and cracks. Impurity associated defect centers include the NBOHC with −OH precursor, and the charge compensated substitutional Al, Ti, and Fe centers. Cathodoluminescence microanalysis provides important information about the defect structure and long term stability of precious opal. Received September 4, 1995 / Revised, accepted May 30, 1996     

Weathering Processes in the Min Jiang: Major Elements, {}^{87}{\text{Sr/}}{}^{86}{\text{Sr}},\;\delta {}^{34}{\text{S}}_{{\text{SO}}_{\text{4}} } ,\;{\text{and}}\;\delta {}^{18}{\text{O}}_{{\text{SO}}_{\text{4}} }

We investigated the dissolved major elements, $ {}^{87}{\text{Sr/}}{}^{86}{\text{Sr}},\;\delta {}^{34}{\text{S}}_{{\text{SO}}_{\text{4}} } ,\;{\text{and}}\;\delta {}^{18}{\text{O}}_{{\text{SO}}_{\text{4}} } $ composition of the Min Jiang, a headwater tributary of the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River). A forward calculation method was applied to quantify the relative contribution to the dissolved load from rain, evaporite, carbonate, and silicate reservoirs. Input from carbonate weathering dominated the major element composition (58–93%) and that from silicate weathering ranged from 2 to 18% in unperturbed Min Jiang watersheds. Most samples were supersaturated with respect to calcite, and the CO₂ partial pressures were similar to or up to ～5 times higher than atmospheric levels. The Sr concentrations in our samples were low (1.3–2.5 μM) with isotopic composition ranging from 0.7108 to 0.7127, suggesting some contribution from felsic silicates. The Si/(Na^* + K) ratios ranged from 0.5 to 2.5, which indicate low to moderate silicate weathering intensity. The $ \delta {}^{34}{\text{S}}_{{\text{SO}}_{\text{4}} } \;{\text{and}}\;\delta {}^{18}{\text{O}}_{{\text{SO}}_{\text{4}} } $ for five select samples showed that the source of dissolved sulfate was combustion of locally consumed coal. The silicate weathering rates were 23–181 × 10³ mol/km²/year, and the CO₂ consumption rates were 31–246 × 10³ mol/km²/year, which are moderate on a global basis. Upon testing various climatic and geomorphic factors for correlation with the CO₂ consumption rate, the best correlation coefficients found were with water temperature (r ² = 0.284, p = 0.009), water discharge (r ² = 0.253, p = 0.014), and relief (r ² = 0.230, p = 0.019).     

Spectral types fromuvbyβ photometry

New diagrams are presented for the assimilation of MK spectral types withuvby photometry, based upon reddening-free parameters calculated using revised reddening ratios and recently published values of meanuvby colours and indices for a selection of MK spectral types.     

The genesis of emeralds and their host rocks from Swat,northwestern Pakistan: a stable-isotope investigation

Emerald deposits in Swat, northwestern Pakistan, occurring in talc-magnesite and quartz-magnesite assemblages, have been investigated through stable isotope studies. Isotopic analyses were performed on a total of seven emeralds, associated quartz (seven samples), fuchsite (three samples) and tourmaline (two samples) from the Mingora emerald mines. The oxygen isotopic composition ( ¹⁸O SMOW) of emeralds shows a strong enrichment in¹⁸O and is remarkably uniform at + 15.6 ± 0.4 (1,n = 7). Each of the two components of water in emerald (channel and inclusion) has a different range of hydrogen isotopic composition: the channel waters being distinctly isotopically heavier (D = –51 to –32 SMOW) than the other inclusion waters (D = –96 to –70 SMOW). Similarly the oxygen isotopic compositions of tourmaline and fuchsite are relatively constant ( ¹⁸O = + 13 to + 14 SMOW) and show enrichment in¹⁸O. The ¹⁸O values of quartz, ranging from + 15.1 to + 19.1 SMOW, are also high (+ 16.9 ± 1.4 1, n = 7). The meanD of channel waters measured from emerald (–42 ± 6.6 SMOW) and that of fluid calculated from hydrous mineralsD_calculated (–47 ± 7.1 SMOW) are consistent with both metamorphic and magmatic origin. However, the close similarity between the measuredD values of the hydroxyl hydrogen in fuchsite (–74 to –6 SMOW) and tourmaline (–84 and –69 SMOW) with pegmatitic muscovite and tourmaline suggests that the mineralization was probably caused by modified (¹⁸O-enriched) hydrothermal solutions derived from an S-type granitic magma. The variation in the carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of magnesite, locally associated with emerald mineralization, is also very restricted ( ¹³ –3.2 ± 0.7%, PDB; ¹⁸O + 17.9 ± 1.27 SMOW). On the basis of the isotopic composition of fluid ( ¹³C –1.8 ± 0.7 PDB; ¹⁸O + 13.6 ± 1.2 SMOW calculated for the 250-550 °C temperature), it is proposed that the Swat magnesites formed due to the carbonation of previously serpentinized ultramafic rocks by a CO₂-bearing fluid of metamorphic origin.     

Titania precipitation in sapphire containing iron and titanium

Titania, TiO₂, precipitation in natural blue sapphire (Fe, Ti: -Al₂O₃) has been investigated using high resolution and analytical transmission electron microscopy. The structure and habit of the TiO₂ precipitate depends on both the Ti⁴⁺ concentration and the temperature at which the precipitate formed. Tetragonal TiO₂ (Rutile) grows at 1350° C but at 1150° C an orthorhombic non-equilibrium TiO₂ polymorph precipitates. Both TiO₂ polymorphs nucleate in the (0001)s plane as lens shaped discs twinned along their diameter. The crystallographic alignment of each type of TiO₂ precipitate with respect to the -Al₂O₃ host matrix provides a high degree of structural coherency with minimal lattice mismatch. Electron diffraction analysis established the following precipitate/host orientation relationships: tetragonal TiO₂: {011}r {11 07B;100}r(0001)s and 01 r10 0s twinned along the (011)r planeand orthorhombic TiO₂: {021}{11 0}s, {100}(0001)s and 0 2 10 0s twinned along the (021) plane.     

Experimental and numerical studies on the development of a new wave absorber

This paper proposes a new wave absorber made of flexible net structures. To test the efficiency of the proposed water absorber, experiments were done on wave absorbers of various lengths of and the thicknesses of the wave absorber. To perform a numerical modeling of the proposed wave absorber, damping terms were introduced in linearized free-surface boundary conditions. The length and the thickness of the wave absorber were modeled by the length and the coefficient of the damping zones. The boundary element method was adopted to solve the system. Series of experiments were performed to obtain the data for the coefficients of the damping term needed in numerical calculations. The predicted wave heights agreed very closely with those of experiments when the lengths of the incoming waves were within the order of the length of the wave absorber.