The work of the diode array: He 10 830 observations of spicules and subflares

At a spatial resolution of 1″ and with spectral passbands of 0.25–0.47 Å, the chromospheric fine structure was studied with an array of 512 silicon photodiodes. The high quantum efficiency of the diodes in the near infrared allowed low noise spectroheliograms to be constructed from observations in the lines of H i, Ca ii, and He i. Magnetograms of the underlying photosphere were obtained simultaneously. Tachograms in the He 10830 Å line revealed 1″ points and elongated features that are interpreted as spicules seen against the disk. Active regions and filaments at 10830 are compared with Hα and Ca ii (8542 Å) features. Filament contrast increases with the proximity of bright plage. Twelve subflares were studied and in eight cases, 3–5″ kernels of He I emission appeared over small, growing pores or over 5″ patches of magnetic field emerging through the photosphere. All the subflares showed 10830 emission, contrary to established belief that the 10830 line goes into emission only in the largest flares. All the subflares included at least one emission kernel over regions where the photospheric magnetic field, as seen with a resolution of 1–2″, broke down into a mosaic of both polarities with 3–5″ diam. elements.     

Anatomy of a granophyre intrusion

Various structural and textural features of a drusy granophyric ring-dyke intrusion can be explained in terms of the behaviour of magmatic water. Initial crystallization of water-rich magma close to ternary eutectic composition resulted in textures grading from granophyric to microgranitic. Eventual entrapment of water-rich pockets resulted in crystallization from a silicate liquid and a hydrothermal liquid simultaneously, probably at magmatic overpressure, to form isolated bodies of pegmatite containing giant euhedral quartz crystals. Later aplite, rhyolite breccia, and tuffisite veins reflect the escape of magma and magmatic gas through the congealed parts of the intrusion, at first permissively, but later with increasingly explosive effects.     

Mariner 9 ultraviolet spectrometeer experiment: 1971 Mars' dust storm

The Mariner 9 ultraviolet spectrometer observed the brightness of a region on the south polar cap centered at approximately ?87°S, 10°W. Measurements taken at various incidence and emission angles (i and ?) show that the brightness increased with decreasing air mass, ≈(sec i + sec ?). The observed intensity consists primarily of a component reflected from the cap and twice-attenuated by the atmosphere and a component diffusely reflected from the atmosphere. The diffusely reflected component was determined from nearby observations of non-polar regions at the same incidence and emission angles and was substrated from the total intensity. Inversion of the intensity difference using a formula analogous to the Bouger-Langley law yielded the optical thickness of the atmosphere. The dust cloud over the polar cap was moderately thick between November 26 and December 2, 1971. At this time the optical thickness was near unity, and it decreased approximately linearly with time, reaching a value close to that of a Rayleigh atmosphere by mid-February. The optical thickness showed little dependence on the wavelength during the early orbital observations. As the dust storm cleared, the atmospheric optical thickness exhibited increasingly strong inverse wavelength dependence. Particles large compared with the wavelength dominated the Martian dust storm. These particles are estimated to have a mean radius of about 2 μm.     

High-resolution plate reconstruction of the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge

We use recently acquired magnetic and SeaBeam bathymetric data to examine the spreading rates and plate boundary geometry of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge 30°–36° S. Using a statistically rigorous estimation of rotation poles we develop a precise spreading history of the African—South American plate boundary. The total opening rate for 1–4.23 Myr (Plio-Pleistocene) is nearly constant at 32.3 ± 1 km Myr^–1. The spreading rate apparently is faster in the Late Miocene (7.3-5.3 Myr), though this may reflect inaccuracies in the geomagnetic time scale. The rotation poles enable a plate boundary reconstruction with an accuracy of 2–3 km. The reconstructions also show that the plate boundary geometry underwent several changes since the late Miocene including the growth of one ridge segment from 40 to 105 km in length, and the reorientation of another ridge segment which has spread obliquely from 7 to 1 Myr. Pole calculations using both right- and left-stepping fracture zones show an offset of 1–2 km between the deepest, most linear part of a fracture zone trough and the former plate boundary location. The high-resolution plate kinematics suggests that the plate boundary, as a whole, evolves 2-dimensionally as prescribed by rigid plates. On a local scale, asymmetric accretion, asymmetric extension, small lateral ridge jumps (< 3 km), and intra-segment propagation result in minor plate boundary adjustments and deformation to the rigid plates.     

Life histories of large,grazing copepods in a subarctic ocean gyre: Neocalanus plumchrus,Neocalanus cristatus, and Eucalanus bungii in the Northeast Pacific

Life histories for the dominant, larger copepods of the subartic Pacific have been constructed by sampling from weatherships patrolling Ocean Station P (50°N, 145°W) during 1980 and 1981. Neocalanus plumchrus reproduced at depths below 250 m from July through February. Copepodite stages were present in surface layers from October through August with a large peak in numbers and biomass in spring. Fifth copepodites prepared for diapuse in 38 days during spring and descended to depths below 250 m. They commenced immediately to mature, and the females reproduced without renewed feeding. This schedule contrasts with that of the population in the Strait of Georgia, which remains in diapause from July to January and matures exclusively in January and February. There appears to be a difference between the coastal and oceanic habitats in preparing the diapausing individuals for maturation.Maturation of the diapausing stock of N. plumchrus maintained constant adult populations, averaging 714 males m^?2 from June through October and 1,434 females m^?2 from August through January. This constancy, together with the exponential pattern of decline in the diapause stock from September through February, suggests that density of adults may regulate maturation of fifth copepodites. Offspring of individuals delaying maturation and, thus, reproduction would benefit from the resulting moderation of intraspecific competition, probably that among copepodites.Reproduction of Neocalanus cristatus also occurred below 250 m, and, while spawning was continuous through the year, there was a substantial peak in November. That resulted in a peak of abundance for early copepodite stages in mid-winter, and a peak for the fifth copepodite stage in June. Stocking of the population of fifth copepodites in diapause below 250 m occurred from July through October. Some fifth copepodites were present in surface layers through the entire summer, and some younger copepodites persisted through the summer in progressively declining abundance just below the mixed layer. In autumn 1980 resurgence of early copepodite populations was rapid, occurring during the course of a prolonged October storm. The storm may have improved the habitat either by cooling the mixed layer or by resupplying nutrients to the euphotic zone.Eucalanus bungii reproduced in the mixed layer in early May and in early July. The first event was a spawning by females that had previously spawned in 1979 and then had returned to diapause. The second, heavier spawning (more females, more eggs per female) was by newly matured females from stocks that had overwintered as fifth copepodites. Nauplii peaked sharply in abundance on 19 July, one week after the peak in spawning. First and second copepodites peaked on 1 August, and all had advanced to the third copepodite stage by September. The diapause stock was established by September, principally between 250 and 500 m, and consisted of copepodite stages from third to sixth. Duration of the E. bungii life cycle appears to be typically two years. New nauplii develop as far as the third or fourth copepodite stage during their first summer, then enter diapause. The second summer they advance to the fifth copepodite stage and reenter diapause. Fifth copepodites mature in their third summer at two years of age. The males remain at depth and mate without subsequent feeding. Females migrate at night to the mixed layer where spawning occurs. About 20% of females that had already spawned in 1980 reentered diapause. They would reproduce again in their fourth summer at three years of age. All aspects of the life cycle suggest low mortality rates for copepodite stages, particularly at depth in the habitat occupied during diapuse. There can be no premium on rapid reproduction for E. bungii in the subartic Pacific, and there must even be benefit from spreading reproduction between years. This iteroparity may amount to a “bet-hedging” tactic, the young from a given mother having more than one chance to find sustaining conditions. It also produces gene flow between the year classes of the biennial life cycle.     

Morphology of largeHalimeda bioherms,eastern Java sea (Indonesia): A side-scan sonar study

The most extensive and thickestHalimeda bioherms reported from modern seas occur along both open and protected margins of Kalukalukuang Bank, eastern Java Sea (Indonesia). Seismic profiles suggest these features average 20 to 30 m thick (maximum 50 m) and developed over large areas by coalescence of individual mounds. Bioherm morphologies range from numerous small mounds ( 10–20 m diameter) through hay-stack features ( 100 m diameter) to broad swells. Some modern bank bioherms display surface forms that appear related to onbank flow from Makassar Strait. Upwelling of cold, nutritive water is likely responsible for unusualHalimeda productivity and large bioherm development.     

Estimation of the responses of axisymmetric bodies in spread irregular waves

A method is presented of estimating the responses of axisymmetric bodies floating in spread irregular seas, using a Laplace transfer-function formulation of a floating body time-domain model. A general-case spread-wave model is formulated, using separate wave excitation transfer functions, and a simplification of this approach is proposed, reducing both model complexity and computation time. Responses are computed using both approaches and a comparison made to assess the circumstances in which the simplified approach may be used effectively. The results are also interpreted to highlight the implications of using an equivalent unidirectional wave as an approximation to a spread wave.