Holocene rockfalls in the southern Negev Desert,Israel and their relation to Dead Sea fault earthquakes

Rockfall ages in tectonically active regions provide information regarding frequency and magnitude of earthquakes. In the hyper-arid environment of the Dead Sea fault (DSF), southern Israel, rockfalls are most probably triggered by earthquakes. We dated rockfalls along the western margin of the DSF using terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides (TCN). At each rockfall site, samples were collected from simultaneously exposed conjugate boulders and cliff surfaces. Such conjugate samples initially had identical pre-fall (“inherited”) TCN concentrations. After boulder detachment, these surfaces were dosed by different production rates due to differences in post-fall shielding and geometry. However, in our study area, pre-rockfall inheritance and post-rockfall production rates of TCN cannot be evaluated. Therefore, we developed a numerical approach and demonstrated a way to overcome the above-mentioned problems. This approach can be applied in other settings where rockfalls cannot be dated by simple exposure dating. Results suggest rockfall ages between 3.6 ± 0.8 and 4.7 ± 0.7 ka. OSL ages of sediment accumulated behind the boulders range between 0.6 ± 0.1 and 3.4 ± 1.4 ka and support the TCN results. Our ages agree with dated earthquakes determined in paleoseismic studies along the entire length of the DSF and support the observation of intensive earthquake activity around 4–5 ka.     

Mass spectrometric measurements of fractional ion abundances in the stratosphere—Negative ions

Fractional abundances of stratospheric negative ions are for the first time explicitly reported. The measurements made by balloon-borne ion mass spectrometers also rely on recent studies of electric field induced collisional dissociation of negative cluster ions conducted at our laboratory. These indicate that the negative ion composition measurements around 36 km conducted by our group do not suffer from any significant dissociation. The new composition data support ion identifications NO₃^?(HNO₃)_b and HSO₄^?(H₂SO₄)_c(HNO₃)_d and the underlying ion reactions propo previously. Moreover, it is found that HSO₄^?(H₂SO₄)_g-ions appear to be particularly stable and that H₂SO₄-association is very fast. Implications of the ion composition data for ion processes are discussed.     

The response of nematodes to deep-sea CO2 sequestration: A quantile regression approach

One proposed approach to ameliorate the effects of global warming is sequestration of the greenhouse gas CO₂ in the deep sea. To evaluate the environmental impact of this approach, we exposed the sediment-dwelling fauna at the mouth of the Monterey Submarine Canyon (3262 m) and a site on the nearby continental rise (3607 m) to CO₂-rich water. We measured meiobenthic nematode population and community metrics after ～30-day exposures along a distance gradient from the CO₂ source and with sediment depth to infer the patterns of mortality. We also compared the nematode response with that of harpacticoid copepods. Nematode abundance, average sediment depth, tail-group composition, and length: width ratio did not vary with distance from the CO₂ source. However, quantile regression showed that nematode length and diameter increased in close proximity to the CO₂ source in both experiments. Further, the effects of CO₂ exposure and sediment depth (nematodes became more slender at one site, but larger at the other, with increasing depth in the sediment) varied with body size. For example, the response of the longest nematodes differed from those of average length. We propose that nematode body length and diameter increases were induced by lethal exposure to CO₂-rich water and that nematodes experienced a high rate of mortality in both experiments. In contrast, copepods experienced high mortality rates in only one experiment suggesting that CO₂ sequestration effects are taxon specific.     

Auld Reekie MIST

The magnetosphere, ionosphere and solar–terrestrial physics community gathered at the University of Edinburgh from 29 March – 1 April 2004, for a meeting including a day of joint sessions with UKSP. The four day programme reflected the breadth and depth of the science covered. Neil Arnold and Alan Thomson report; the UKSP meeting is covered in the following pages.     

Thermoluminescence dating of the Kamil impact crater (Egypt)

Thermoluminescence (TL) dating has been used to determine the age of the meteorite impact crater at Gebel Kamil (Egyptian Sahara). Previous studies suggested that the 45 m diameter structure was produced by a fall in recent times (less than 5000 years ago) of an iron meteorite impactor into quartz‐arenites and siltstones belonging to the Lower Cretaceous Gilf Kebir Formation. The impact caused the complete fragmentation of the impactor, and the formation of a variety of impactites (e.g., partially vitrified dark and light materials) present as ejecta within the crater and in the surrounding area. After a series of tests to evaluate the TL properties of different materials including shocked intra‐crater target rocks and different types of ejecta, we selected a suite of light‐colored ejecta that showed evidence of strong thermal shock effects (e.g., partial vitrification and the presence of high‐temperature and ‐pressure silica phases). The abundance of quartz in the target rocks, including the vitrified impactites, allowed TL dating to be undertaken. The variability of radioactivity of the intracrateric target rocks and the lack of direct in situ dosimetric evaluations prevented precise dating; it was, however, possible to constrain the impact in the 2000 BC–500 AD range. If, as we believe, the radioactivity measured in the fallback deposits is a reliable estimate of the mean radioactivity of the site, the narrower range 1600–400 BC (at the 2σ confidence level) can be realistically proposed.     

Derivation of Structure Parameters of Temperature and Humidity in the Convective Boundary Layer from Large-Eddy Simulations and Implications for the Interpretation of Scintillometer Observations

We derive the turbulent structure parameters of temperature $C_{T}^2$ and humidity $C_q^2$ from high-resolution large-eddy simulations (LES) of a homogeneously-heated convective boundary layer. Boundary conditions and model forcing were derived from measurements at Cabauw in The Netherlands. Three different methods to obtain the structure-parameters from LES are investigated. The shape of the vertical structure-parameter profiles from all three methods compare well with former experimental and LES results. Depending on the method, deviations in the magnitude up to a factor of two are found and traced back to the effects of discretization and numerical dissipation of the advection scheme. Furthermore, we validate the LES data with airborne and large-aperture scintillometer (LAS) measurements at Cabauw. Virtual path measurements are used to study the variability of $C_{T}^2$ in the mixed layer and surface layer and its implications for airborne and LAS measurements. A high variability of $C_{T}^2$ along a given horizontal path in the LES data is associated with plumes (high values) and downdrafts (low values). The path average of $C_{T}^2$ varies rapidly in time due to the limited path length. The LES results suggest that measured path averages require sufficient temporal averaging and an adequate ratio of path length to height above the ground for the LAS in order to approach the domain average of $C_{T}^2$ .     

First composition measurements of positive ions in the upper troposphere

First mass-spectrometric composition measurements of atmospheric ions between 3250 and 11700 m altitude are reported. They reveal the presence of very massive cluster ions, the majority of which cannot be attributed to a single hydrated ion family like, for example H⁺(H₂O)_n. The observed fraction of very massive ions increases with decreasing altitude. Masses as large as about 540 amu were observed at 8200 m altitude. Implications of the observations for ion and nucleation processes are discussed.     

Silicon negative ion chemistry in the atmosphere-in situ and laboratory measurements

The results of a rocket-borne mass spectrometer measurement indicate that large concentrations of negative ions exist above the bottom of the atmospheric atomic oxygen layer. A large majority of these ions have a mass greater than 100 amu. In addition, an ion at mass 76 was observed with concentrations too large to be CO₄^?. In order to explain these features, a number of reactions involving silicon oxide negative ions have been measured in a flowing afterglow system. The ion SiO₃^? is produced by reaction of O₃^?, and CO₃^?, with SiO. The SiO₃^? ion is extremely stable and does not react measurably with NO, NO₂, CO, CO₂, O₃ or O. Since meteoroid ablation produces a large silicon input into the atmosphere, it appears possible that the ions observed at mass 76 may be SiO₃^?. Possible production mechanisms for this ion as well as the heavy ions are discussed.