Global and temporal variations in hydrocarbons and nitriles in Titan's stratosphere for northern winter observed by Cassini/CIRS

Mid-infrared spectra measured by Cassini's Composite InfraRed Spectrometer (CIRS) between July 2004 and January 2007 (Ls=293°-328°) have been used to determine stratospheric temperature and abundances of C₂H₂, C₃H₄, C₄H₂, HCN, and HC₃N. Over 65,000 nadir spectra with spectral resolutions of 0.5 and 2.5 cm⁻¹ were used to probe spatial and temporal composition variations in Titan's stratosphere. Cassini's 180° orbital transfer in mid-2006 allowed low emission angle observations of the north polar region for the first time in the mission and allowed us to probe the full latitude range. We present the first measurements of composition variations within the polar vortex, which display increasing abundances right up to 90° N. The lack of a homogeneous abundance-latitude variation within the vortex indicates limited horizontal mixing and suggests that subsidence is greatest at the vortex core. Contrary to numerical model predictions and tropospheric cloud observations, we do not see any evidence for a secondary circulation cell near the south pole, which suggests a single Hadley-type circulation in the stratosphere at this epoch. This difference can be reconciled if the secondary cell is restricted to altitudes below 100 km, where there is no sensitivity in our data. Temporal variations in composition were observed in the south, with volatile species becoming less abundant as the season progressed. The observed variations are compared to numerical model predictions and observations from Voyager.     

Structural controls of lode-gold mineralization by mafic dykes in late-Paleozoic granitoids of the Kochkar district, southern Urals, Russia

The Kochkar gold district in the East Uralian Zone of the southern Urals is located in late-Paleozoic granite gneisses of the Plast massif. Gold mineralization is associated with tabular quartz lodes that are preferentially developed along the margins of easterly trending mafic dykes. Fabric development indicates that dykes had a profound influence on the development of shear zones in granitoids. ENE- and SE-trending dykes have been reactivated as dextral and sinistral oblique strike-slip shear zones, respectively, forming a set of approximately conjugate shear zones related to the Permian, regional-scale E-W directed shortening. Dyke-shear zone relationships in the Plast massif are the result of strain refraction due to the presence of biotite-rich, incompetent dykes in more competent granite-gneisses. Deformation and the formation of associated gold-quartz lodes occurred close to peak-metamorphic, upper-greenschist to lower-amphibolite facies conditions. Strain refraction has resulted in partitioning of the bulk strain into a component of non-coaxial mainly ductile shear in mafic dykes, and a component of layer-normal pure shear in surrounding granitoids where deformation was brittle-ductile. Brittle fracturing in granitoids has resulted in the formation of fracture permeabilities adjacent to sheared dykes, that together with the layer-normal dilational component, promoted the access of mineralizing fluids. Both ore-controlling dykes and gold-quartz lodes were subsequently overprinted by lower greenschist-facies, mainly brittle fault zones and associated hydrothermal alteration that post-date gold mineralization. Received: 15 October 1998 / Accepted: 18 August 1999     

Finite-element modelling of Tertiary paleostress fields in the eastern part of the Tajo Basin (central Spain)

Three subsequent Tertiary paleostress fields that are deduced from fault-slip data for the eastern part of the Tajo Basin are analyzed by finite-element studies. The modelling results show that maximum horizontal stresses (S_Hmax) are mainly controlled by the geometry of the model limits and the boundary conditions applied. The models are used to test two hypotheses on the origin of the Altomira Range. A local stress field responsible for its formation (‘Altomira') can be modelled successfully by superposition in time and place of two major paleostress fields (‘Iberian' and ‘Guadarrama'). Stress trajectories have been modelled with respect to a homogeneous cover and heterogeneous basement to investigate the role of rheological contrasts between different basement blocks on the orientation of the stress field. Results of this kind of modelling suggest a mechanical decoupling between the cover and the basement, especially for the ‘Altomira' paleostress field.     

Improvement of cadmium ion electrochemical removal from dilute aqueous solutions by application of multi-stage electrolysis

Improvement of cadmium ion electrochemical removal from dilute aqueous solutions in a spouted bed reactor was investigated. Enlargement of cathode surface area from 1,000 to 1,500 cm² resulted in a decrease of nearly 30 % in both of the process time and the specific energy consumption. Application of a three-stage electrolysis process for a solution containing initial concentration of 270 ppm cadmium ion, resulted in the removal of 99.9 % cadmium ion in 135 min with the specific energy consumption of 2.29 kWh/kg, 23 % less than the value of a single-stage process. For a solution with cadmium ion initial concentration of 180 ppm, 99.9 % of cadmium ion was removed in 135.5 min by application of a two-stage electrolysis process, while the specific energy consumption was 2.82 kWh/kg, 30 % less than that of a single-stage process. For a solution with cadmium ion initial concentration of 90 ppm, 99.5 % of cadmium ion was removed in 100.2 min with the specific energy consumption of 3.78 kWh/kg in a single-stage electrolysis process.     

Numerical viscoelastic modelling by the spectral Laguerre method

Seismic wave propagation in a viscoelastic media can be described by a system of integro-differential equations. The solution of such equations requires special methods when using finite-difference techniques in the time domain. In the frequency domain, the integral terms are represented by complex elastic parameters. This paper presents an efficient algorithm for viscoelastic modelling based on the integral Laguerre transform for the approximation of temporal derivatives and for the calculation of convolution integrals. For the calculation of spatial derivatives, it is possible to use various methods: finite-difference and finite-element techniques, spectral and pseudo-spectral methods. We then obtain a system of algebraic equations with a matrix independent of the parameter m , i.e. the degree of the Laguerre polynomials. In this case, only the right-hand side of the system has recurrent dependence on the parameter m , which is an analogue of the temporal frequency in the frequency domain. The obtained system with a large number of right-hand sides can be solved using fast methods, where the matrix is transformed only once, as opposed to the frequency-domain approach, when the matrix is transformed for each temporal frequency.     

STEREO SECCHI and S/WAVES Observations of Spacecraft Debris Caused by Micron-Size Interplanetary Dust Impacts

Early in the STEREO mission observers noted that the white-light instruments of the SECCHI suite were detecting significantly more spacecraft-related “debris” than any previously flown coronagraphic instruments. Comparison of SECCHI “debris storms” with S/WAVES indicates that almost all are coincident with the most intense transient emissions observed by the radio and plasma waves instrument. We believe the debris is endogenous (i.e., from the spacecraft thermal blanketing), and the storms appear to be caused by impacts of large interplanetary dust grains that are detected by S/WAVES. Here we report the observations, compare them to interplanetary dust distributions, and document a reminder for future spacebased coronagraphic instrument builders.