Solar flare activity: Evidence for large-scale changes in the past

An analysis of radar and photographic meteor data and of spacecraft meteoroid penetration data indicates that there probably has not been a large increase in meteoroid impact rates in the last 10⁴ yr. The solar flare tracks observed in the glass linings of meteoroid impact pits on lunar rock 15205 are therefore reanalyzed assuming a meteoroid flux that is constant in time. Based on this assumption, the data suggest that the production rate of Fe-group solar flare tracks may have varied by as much as a factor of 50 on a time scale of about 10⁴ yr. No independently obtained data are known to require conflict with this interpretation. Confidence in this conclusion is somewhat qualified by the experimental and analytical uncertainties involved, but the conclusion nevertheless remains the present “best” explanation for the observed data trends.     

Meteoritic material at five large impact craters

Sixteen crater samples were analyzed by radiochemical neutron activation analysis for Ge, Ir, Ni, Os, Pd and Re. Two impact melt rock samples from Clearwater East (22 km) showed strong, uniform enrichments in all elements except Ge, corresponding to 7.4% C1 chondrite material. Interelement ratios suggest that the meteorite was a C1 (or C2) chondrite, not an iron, stony iron, or chondrite of another type. An Ivory Coast tektite (related to the 10 km Bosumtwi crater) was enriched in Ir + Os and Ni to about 0.04 and 1.6% of C1 chondrite levels, but in the absence of data on country rocks, the meteorite cannot yet be characterized.Impact melt rock samples from Clearwater West (32km), Manicouagan (70km), and Mistastin (28 km) showed no detectable meteoritic component. Upper limits, as Cl chondrite equivalent, were Os ≤ 2 × 10^?3% (~0.01 ppb), Ni ≤ 2 × 10^?1% (~20ppm). Possible causes are high impact velocity and/or a chemically inconspicuous meteorite (achondrite, Ir,Os-poor iron or stony iron). However, a more likely reason is that some fraction of the impact melt remains meteorite-free, especially at craters with central peaks.Clearwater East is the first terrestrial impact crater found to be associated with a stony meteorite. Apparently the consistent absence of stony projectiles at small craters (< 1 km diameter) reflects their destruction in the atmosphere, as proposed by Öpik.     

A Review to Develop new Correlations for Geotechnical Properties of Organic Soils

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - Organic soils are considered one of the most problematic soils due to their high compressibility and low shear strength at small strains. Characterizing...     

Incessant excitation of the Earth's free oscillations: global comparison of superconducting gravimeter records

Records of superconducting gravimeters (SGs) at Canberra (Australia), Esashi (Japan), Metsähovi (Finland) and Syowa Stations (Antarctica) were analyzed to search for further evidence of background free oscillations of the Earth. Spectrograms for 1-year period and averaged power spectra for seismically quiet periods were obtained for each of the stations. Anomalous features of the oscillations observed at Syowa Station, such as an apparent seasonal variation and a high intensity at frequencies between 3 and 4 mHz, were absent at the other SG stations. Among the SG stations used in this study, the background free oscillations were detected most consistently and distinctly at Canberra, where the noise level was comparable to that at the IDA quietest station, while that at Syowa Station was close to the critical limit for detecting the oscillations. The background free oscillations provide a good reference to evaluate the noise level in the milliHertz band.     

Modeling climate change and biophysical impacts of crop production in the Austrian Marchfeld Region

Climate change affects major biophysical processes in agricultural crop production (e.g. evaporation of plants and soils, nutrient cycles, and growth of plants). This analysis aims to assess some of these effects by simulating regional climate projections that are integrated in the biophysical process model EPIC (Environmental Policy Integrated Climate). Statistical climate models have been developed for six weather parameters based on daily weather records of a weather station in the Austrian Marchfeld region from 1975 to 2006. These models have been used to estimate daily weather parameters for the period 2007–2038. The resulting projections have been compared to climate scenarios provided from the TYNDALL Centre for Climate Change Research, which are based on General Circulation Models (GCMs). The comparison indicates some differences, namely a smaller temperature increase and a higher precipitation amount in the TYNDALL data. Both climate datasets have been used to simulate impacts of climate change on crop yields, topsoil organic carbon content, and nitrate leaching with EPIC and thus to perform a sensitivity analysis of EPIC. Yield impacts have been assessed for four simulated crops, i.e. 6.2?t/ha for winter wheat for statistical climate projections compared to 5.7?t/ha for TYNDALL scenarios, 10.6?t/ha for corn compared to 10.5?t/ha, 3.9?t/ha for sunflower compared to 3.7?t/ha, and 4.5?t/ha for spring barley compared to 4.3?t/ha—all values as an average over the period 2007–2038. Smaller differences have been simulated for topsoil organic carbon content i.e. 55.1?t/ha for the statistical climate projections compared to 55.3?t/ha for the TYNDALL scenarios and nitrate leaching i.e. 7.1?kg/ha compared to 11.1?kg/ha. All crop yields as well as topsoil organic carbon content and nitrate leaching show highest sensitivity to temperature and solar radiation.     

The analysis of oil trapped during secondary migration

During secondary migration, there is an opportunity for oil to be trapped as fluid inclusions (FIs) within framework grains such as quartz and within diagenetic cements that have a crystalline structure. Oil saturation on migration pathways remains relatively low, so typically fewer oil inclusions get trapped compared with samples from an oil column. Geochemical analysis of the much smaller amounts of inclusion oil present in samples from interpreted oil migration pathways has been attempted for two samples from the Champagny-1 and Delamere-1 wells in the Vulcan Sub-Basin, northern offshore Australia. A combination of petrographic analysis, bulk geochemical inclusion analysis and log evaluation confirmed that both samples were from oil migration pathways. Despite the small number of oil inclusions, reliable geochemical data were acquired from both samples that were significantly above the levels detected for the system and outside-rinse blanks. The FI oil trapped on the interpreted oil migration pathway in Champagny-1 was generated from clay-rich marine source rock with little terrigenous organic matter input. It was generated at peak oil window maturity and correlates best with oils derived from the Late Jurassic Lower Vulcan Formation. In contrast, the Delamere-1 FI oil contains evidence of greater input of terrigenous organic matter and was generated at early oil window maturity. This FI oil also contains a signature of a biodegraded component, which could have been generated either from the Middle Jurassic Plover Formation, or from an older source rock. These data indicate that it is feasible to geochemically map migration pathways across prospects or basins, and to analyse palaeo-oil compositions in oil zones where the few inclusions get trapped. This also suggests that the few oil inclusions that sometimes occur in Proterozoic or Archaean rocks may be analysable in the future, which would provide relatively pristine and robust data on the composition and diversity of Earth’s early biosphere.