Editorial

The Rattlesnake Tuff of eastern Oregon comprises >99% ofhigh-silica rhyolite glass shards and pumices representing 280km³ of magma. Glassy, crystal-poor, high-silica rhyolite pumicesand glass shards cluster in five chemical groups that rangein color from white to dark gray with increasing Fe concentration.Compositional clusters are defined by Fe, Ti, LREE, Ba, Eu,Rb, Zr, Hf, Ta, and Th. Progressive changes with increasingdegree of evolution of the magma occur in modal mineralogy,mineral composition, and partition coefficients. Partition coefficientsare reported for alkali feldspar, clinopyroxene, and titanomagnetite.Models of modal crystal fractionation, assimilation, successivepartial melting, and mixing of end members cannot account forthe chemical variations among rhyolite compositions. On theother hand, 50% fractionation of observed phenocryst compositionsin non-modal proportions agrees with chemical variations amongrhyolite compositions. Such non-modal fractionation might occuralong the roof and margins of a magma chamber and would yieldcompositions of removed solids ranging from syenitic to granitic.A differentiation sequence is proposed by which each more evolvedcomposition is derived from the previous, less evolved liquidby fractionation and accumulation, occurring mainly along theroof of a slab-like magma chamber. As a layer of derivativemagma reaches a critical thickness, a new layer is formed, generatinga compositionally and density stratified magma chamber. KEY WORDS: high-silica rhyolite; partition coefficients; differentiation; zoned ash-flow tuff; layered convection     

Stratigraphy of the upper Gondwana formations around Sohagpur,western part of the Satpura Gondwana Basin,Central India

The present work provides a detailed lithological map of the western part of the Satpura basin around Sohagpur and reports the presence of new archosauromorph fossil bones from that region. The study area is dominated by the Bagra Formation along with a narrow patch of the underlying upper part of the Denwa Formation. The lower Denwa and the underlying Pachmarhi formations are absent here. The presence of the Pachmarhi Formation, as a tongue shaped area, as mapped by Crookshank (1936) is discarded in this study on the basis of lithology and petrographic analyses, instead the presence of the Bagra Formation is suggested in this area. A comparison of the lithologies and the vertebrate faunas of the upper Gondwana formations between eastern and western part of the basin has been carried out for the first time. The comparison indicates that the Denwa Formation present in the western sector represents only the topmost part of the formation while the complete succession of Denwa is preserved in the eastern sector. The Bagra Formation in the western sector documents the presence of sheet-like sandstone bodies unlike the eastern part. The vertebrate fauna of the eastern part is dominated by temnospondyl amphibians while that of the western part is dominated by archosauromorph. The vertebrate fossils of upper part of Denwa Formation, found from similar lithologies in west and east though, have differences in the amount of transportation before their burial.     

Spectral analyses of offshore magnetic data for computing depths to the basement rocks

This paper deals with the computation of the depth to the magnetic interface from the total magnetic field intensity values obtained along profiles in the offshore area between Vengurla and Rajapur bay off the West Coast of India, by the application of one dimensional spectral analysis method.From the response characteristics of the total field magnetic values it is surmised that the magnetic interface may be identified with the Deccan trap series of rocks which are likely to form the magnetic basement rocks in this area.The plot of depths to the basement rocks as obtained from spectral analysis indicates that the basement is sloping towards outer edge of the Continental Shelf though not uniformly.     

Public climate-change skepticism,energy preferences and political participation

Many studies have shown a general decline of public concern about climate change or vice versa a rise in public climate-change skepticism, in particular in the U.S. and other Anglo-Saxon countries. There is a vivid debate on whether this is a global phenomenon, on which factors explain the decline, and on the broader societal implications of these trends in the context of the transformation toward a low-carbon society. We add to this literature by presenting the results of a recent general population survey in Germany in which we looked for systematic linkages between public climate-change skepticism on one hand, and energy preferences and political participation on the other. Germany is an interesting testbed as it is currently involved in a large-scale restructuring of its system of energy supply toward renewable energy sources (the “Energiewende”). Our results indicate that climate-change skepticism has not diffused widely in Germany, but that it correlates with less support of renewable energy sources. However, skepticism correlates negatively with political participation, and there is no strong political outlet for public climate-change skepticism in Germany. Alternative potential barriers for the successful implementation of the “Energiewende” are also discussed.     

Climate change and hydrology at the prairie margin: Historic and prospective future flows of Canada's Red Deer and other Rocky Mountain rivers

The South Saskatchewan River Basin of southern Alberta drains the transboundary central Rocky Mountains region and provides the focus for irrigation agriculture in Canada. Following extensive development, two tributaries, the Oldman and Bow rivers, were closed for further water allocations, whereas the Red Deer River (RDR) remains open. The RDR basin is at the northern limit of the North American Great Plains and may be suitable for agricultural expansion with a warming climate. To consider irrigation development and ecological impacts, it is important to understand the regional hydrologic consequences of climate change. To analyse historic trends that could extend into the future, we developed century‐long discharge records for the RDR, by coordinating data across hydrometric gauges, estimating annual flows from seasonal records, and undertaking flow naturalization to compensate for river regulation. Analyses indicated some coordination with the Pacific decadal oscillation and slight decline in summer and annual flows from 1912 to 2016 (?0.13%/year, Sen's slope). Another forecasting approach involved regional downscaling from the global circulation models, CGCMI‐A, ECHAM4, HadCM3, and NCAR‐CCM3. These projected slight flow decreases from the mountain headwaters versus increases from the foothills and boreal regions, resulting in a slight increase in overall river flows (+0.1%/year). Prior projections from these and other global circulation models ranged from slight decrease to slight increase, and the average projection of ?0.05%/year approached the empirical trend. Assessments of other rivers draining the central and northern Rocky Mountains revealed a geographic transition in flow patterns over the past century. Flows from the rivers in Southern Alberta declined (around ?0.15%/year), in contrast to increasing flows in north‐eastern British Columbia and the Yukon. The RDR watershed approaches this transition, and this study thus revealed regional differentiation in the hydrological consequences from climate change.     

Analyzing Animal Movement Characteristics From Location Data

When individuals of a species utilize an environment, they generate movement patterns at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. Field observations coupled with location technologies (e.g. GPS tags) enable the capture of detailed spatio‐temporal data regarding these movement patterns. These patterns contain information about species‐specific preferences regarding individual decision‐making, locational choices and the characteristics of the habitat in which the animal resides. Spatial Data Mining approaches can be used to extract repeated spatio‐temporal patterns and additional habitat preferences hidden within large spatially explicit movement datasets. We describe a method to determine the periodicity and directionality in movement exhibited by a migratory bird species. Results using a High Arctic‐nesting Svalbard Barnacle Goose movement data yielded undetected patterns that were secondarily corroborated with expert field knowledge. Individual revisits by the geese to specific locations in the breeding and wintering grounds of Svalbard, Norway and Solway, Scotland, occurred with a periodicity of 334 days . Further, the orientation of this movement was detected to be mostly north‐south. During long‐range migration the geese use the north‐south oriented Norwegian islands as “stepping stones”, Short‐range movement between mudbank roosts to feeding fields in Solway also retained a north‐south orientation.     

Design of sediment detention basins: Scaled model experiments and application

Sediment detention basins are implemented on mountain rivers to trap solid material that may aggravate the flooding of downstream settlements.However,retention structures built in the past may unnecessarily retain sediment during non-hazardous flood events,resulting in high maintenance costs and sediment deficit downstream.In addition,the so-called spontaneous self-flushing of previously retained sediment during floods has occasionally been observed.Recent research suggests to design sediment detention basins for controlling sediment passage with a guiding channel across the deposition area upstream of a hybrid barrier.Such barriers consist of a check dam with a slot orifice and an upstream bar screen with a bottom clearance in order to benefit from a combined mechanical-hydraulic retention control.The present paper enhances this pioneering research with the help of new experimental data,including a wide range of sediment mixtures and large wood,as well as variable barrier heights.Improved design criteria are provided regarding the bar screen and the basin storage capacity.The functionality of the enhanced concept for sediment detention is illustrated by a case study on a physical model:the protection of the Villard-Bonnot village(France)against torrential hazards.     

H i content and star formation in the interacting galaxy Arp86

We present the results of Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) observations of the interacting system Arp86 in both neutral atomic hydrogen, H  i , and in radio continuum at 240 606 and 1394 MHz. In addition to H  i emission from the two dominant galaxies, NGC 7752 and NGC 7753, these observations show a complex distribution of H  i tails and bridges due to tidal interactions. The regions of highest column density appear related to the recent sites of intense star formation. H  i column densities  ∼1–1.5 × 10²¹ cm⁻²  have been detected in the tidal bridge which is bright in Spitzer image as well. We also detect H  i emission from the galaxy 2MASX J23470758+2926531, which is shown to be a part of this system. We discuss the possibility that this could be a tidal dwarf galaxy. The radio continuum observations show evidence of a non-thermal bridge between NGC 7752 and NGC 7753, and a radio source in the nuclear region of NGC 7753 consistent with it having a low-ionization nuclear emission region nucleus.