The geography of tourism in France: definition,scope and themes

Conclusions The substantial body of literature produced in the last two decades bears witness to the marked development of the geography of tourism in France over this period. This research has been strongly influenced by traditional geographic thought and is notable for the logic which underlies it. At the same time much remains to be done, with various avenues for future research being suggested in this paper. French geographers might also look increasingly outwards and to the work of others. By considering new and different methodologies, theories and fields of interest, the conceptual base of the subject might be enlarged and a more systematic approach developed. This need is keenly felt and this opening up is starting to occur, particularly through the exchange of ideas with foreign geographers at meetings of the national or international (IGU) commissions on the geography of tourism.     

The volcanic stratigraphy and petrogenesis of the Oman ophiolite complex

The volcanic stratigraphy and trace element geochemistry of the Oman ophiolite complex indicate a multistage magmatic origin comprising: (1) magmatism due to sea-floor spreading in a marginal basin; (2) magmatism associated with discrete submarine volcanic centres or seamounts; (3) magmatism associated with crustal uplift and rifting; and (4) magmatism associated with continent-arc collision.Trace element petrogenetic modelling is used to investigate the nature of the mantle source region and the partial melting and fractional crystallization history for each magmatic event. The petrogenetic pathway for the sea-floor spreading lavas requires a high degree of melting of a mantle that was depleted in incompatible elements prior to subduction but subsequently selectively enriched in certain elements (mostly LIL elements and H₂O) from an underlying subduction zone; it also requires magma mixing in an open system magma chamber prior to eruption. The seamount lavas were probably derived by a similar degree of partial melting of a similar source, but fractional crystallization was restricted to smaller high-level magma chambers. The rifting lavas were derived from a mantle source that was more depleted than the seamount lavas prior to subduction but which was later modified by a larger subduction zone component. The syn-collision lavas were however derived from an enriched mantle source, which probably underlay the passive continental margin rather than the marginal basin complex. Results such as these may provide considerable insight into the petrogenetic changes accompanying the transitions from spreading to arc volcanism in a supra-subduction zone setting.     

Tectonic setting of basic volcanic rocks determined using trace element analyses

Analyses for Ti, Zr, Y, Nb and Sr in over 200 basaltic rocks from different tectonic settings have been used to construct diagrams in which these settings can usually be identified. Basalts erupted within plates (ocean island and continental basalts) can be identified using a Ti-Zr-Y diagram, ocean-floor basalts, and low-potassium tholeiites and calc-alkali basalts from island arcs can be identified using a Ti-Zr diagram (for altered samples) and a Ti-Zr-Sr diagram (for fresh samples). Y/Nb is suggested as a parameter for indicating whether a basalt is of tholeiitic or alkalic nature. Analyses of dykes and pillow lavas from the Troodos Massif of Cyprus are plotted on these diagrams and appear to the tholeiitic ocean-floor rocks.     

Infrared emission from interstellar grains heated by supernovae

The infrared emission from interstellar grains heated by a supernova in eruption is investigated. The dependence of the emission on various physical parameters, such as the depth of the supernova into the dust plane of the parent galaxy, the inclination of the galaxy to the line-of-sight, are investigated. The possibility of detecting this emission is discussed. The prospects are hopeful as far as cryogenically-cooled instruments in Earth orbit are concerned.     

The relationship between major element chemistry and tectonic environment of basic and intermediate volcanic rocks

This work reports the preliminary results of a study of the relationship between tectonic environment and major element chemistry of volcanic rocks. Using a file of 8400 analyses of rocks of varying ages and geographic distribution it has been found that a simple ternary plot of MgOFeO(total)Al₂O₃ may be used to distinguish five tectonic environments: ocean ridge and floor, ocean island, continental, orogenic, and spreading center island. Subalkaline “basaltic-andesites” (51–56% SiO₂ calculated anhydrous) are used in this study. Alkaline rocks do not generally show the simple patterns of tholeiitic or subalkaline rocks. The ocean island suite is bimodal with one mode tholeiitic and the other alkaline. A bimodal age/chemistry relationship in the continental suite is tentatively related to different conditions during and after active breaking up of continents (rifting and drifting stages).Most of the Archean rocks in our file generally do not fall in the orogenic field. It is unlikely that modern island arc models can be generally applied to Archean greenstone belts. Locally, however, there may be Archean rocks analogous in some respect to modern calc-alkali rocks.     

An investigation of the Eigenvalue Calibration Method (ECM) using GASP for non-imaging and imaging detectors

Polarised light from astronomical targets can yield a wealth of information about their source radiation mechanisms, and about the geometry of the scattered light regions. Optical observations, of both the linear and circular polarisation components, have been impeded due to non-optimised instrumentation. The need for suitable observing conditions and the availability of luminous targets are also limiting factors. The science motivation of any instrument adds constraints to its operation such as high signal-to-noise (SNR) and detector readout speeds. These factors in particular lead to a wide range of sources that have yet to be observed. The Galway Astronomical Stokes Polarimeter (GASP) has been specifically designed to make observations of these sources. GASP uses division of amplitude polarimeter (DOAP) (Compain and Drevillon Appl. Opt. 37, 5938–5944, 1998) to measure the four components of the Stokes vector (I, Q, U and V) simultaneously, which eliminates the constraints placed upon the need for moving parts during observation, and offers a real-time complete measurement of polarisation. Results from the GASP calibration are presented in this work for both a 1D detector system, and a pixel-by-pixel analysis on a 2D detector system. Following Compain et al. (Appl. Opt. 38, 3490–3502 1999) we use the Eigenvalue Calibration Method (ECM) to measure the polarimetric limitations of the instrument for each of the two systems. Consequently, the ECM is able to compensate for systematic errors introduced by the calibration optics, and it also accounts for all optical elements of the polarimeter in the output. Initial laboratory results of the ECM are presented, using APD detectors, where errors of 0.2 % and 0.1° were measured for the degree of linear polarisation (DOLP) and polarisation angle (PA) respectively. Channel-to-channel image registration is an important aspect of 2-D polarimetry. We present our calibration results of the measured Mueller matrix of each sample, used by the ECM, when 2 Andor iXon Ultra 897 detectors were loaned to the project. A set of Zenith flat-field images were recorded during an observing campaign at the Palomar 200 inch telescope in November 2012. From these we show the polarimetric errors from the spatial polarimetry indicating both the stability and absolute accuracy of GASP.     

The design and flight performance of the PoGOLite Pathfinder balloon-borne hard X-ray polarimeter

In the 50 years since the advent of X-ray astronomy there have been many scientific advances due to the development of new experimental techniques for detecting and characterising X-rays. Observations of X-ray polarisation have, however, not undergone a similar development. This is a shortcoming since a plethora of open questions related to the nature of X-ray sources could be resolved through measurements of the linear polarisation of emitted X-rays. The PoGOLite Pathfinder is a balloon-borne hard X-ray polarimeter operating in the 25-240 keV energy band from a stabilised observation platform. Polarisation is determined using coincident energy deposits in a segmented array of plastic scintillators surrounded by a BGO anticoincidence system and a polyethylene neutron shield. The PoGOLite Pathfinder was launched from the SSC Esrange Space Centre in July 2013. A near-circumpolar flight was achieved with a duration of approximately two weeks. The flight performance of the Pathfinder design is discussed for the three Crab observations conducted. The signal-to-background ratio for the observations is shown to be 0.25 ±0.03 and the Minimum Detectable Polarisation (99 % C.L.) is (28.4 ±2.2) %. A strategy for the continuation of the PoGOLite programme is outlined based on experience gained during the 2013 maiden flight.