Particle-mesh simulations of the Lyα forest

We have analysed short-exposure high-resolution images obtained on the William Herschel Telescope (WHT), Big Telescope Azimuthal (BTA) and CanadaFranceHawaii Telescope (CFHT) in order to investigate mechanical vibrations that are capable of reducing the high angular resolution allowed by speckle-interferometric methods. After filtering the photon noise we have computed power spectra of the image centres of gravity. In these spectra we have found vibration features that differ from one telescope to another and that vary in particular with the zenith angle. In the case of the WHT we discuss these results in terms of possible causes and in terms of degradation of the transfer function. We present some means to improve the data.     

A Rhaetian 40Ar/39Ar age for the Rochechouart impact structure (France) and implications for the latest Triassic sedimentary record

Abstract– ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of potassium feldspar (primary spherulitic‐blocky and secondary idiomorphic K‐feldspar) separated from impact‐metamorphosed gneiss found near Videix in the western central part of the Rochechouart impact structure (NW Massif Central, France) yielded a Rhaetian combined age of 201 ± 2 Ma (2σ), indistinguishable within uncertainty from the age of the Triassic/Jurassic boundary. Ballen quartz intergrown with the primary K‐feldspar indicates post‐shock temperatures exceeding approximately 1000 °C that affected the precursor gneiss. Geochemically, both feldspar types represent essentially pure potassium end‐members. Apart from the approximately 15 km diameter impact deposit area, the youngest crystallization age known for basement rocks in this part of the Massif Central is approximately 300 Ma. No endogenic magmatic‐thermal events are known to have occurred later in this region. The K‐feldspar recrystallized from local feldspar melts and superimposed post‐shock hydrothermal crystallization, probably within some thousands of years after the impact. It is, therefore, suggested that the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age for the Videix gneiss (as a potassic “impact metasomatite”) dates the Rochechouart impact, in consistence with evidence for K‐metasomatism in the Rochechouart impactites. The new age value is distinctly younger than the previously obtained Karnian–Norian age for Rochechouart and, thus, contradicts the Late Triassic multiple impact theory postulated some years ago. In agreement with the paleogeographic conditions in the western Tethys domain around the Triassic/Jurassic boundary, the near‐coastal to shallow marine Rochechouart impact is compatible with the formation of seismites and tsunami deposits in the latest Triassic of the British Isles and possible related deposits in other parts of Europe.     

Meteoroid rotation and fireball flickering: a case study of the Innisfree fireball

Some 5 per cent of bright meteors show rapid, quasi-periodic brightness variations. It is argued that this effect, observationally known as flickering, is a manifestation of the rotational modulation of surface mass loss through ablation of a non-spherical meteoroid. We develop a set of time-dependent, single-body ablation equations that include the effect of cross-section area modulation. We present a discussion of the effects that the rotation of a non-spherical meteoroid has on the resultant meteor light curve, and we look in depth at the data related to the fireball associated with the fall of the Innisfree meteorite. We find that the parent object to the Innisfree meteorite was spinning at a rotation frequency of 2.5 Hz when it encountered the Earth's upper atmosphere. We also find that the Innisfree parent body had an initial mass of about 20 kg and that the ratio of its semiminor and semimajor axes was about 0.5.     

Development and magnetic properties of loess-derived forest soils along a precipitation gradient in northern Iran

In order to investigate the development of forest soils formed on loess, six representative modern soil pedons were selected along a precipitation gradient extending from eastern Golestan(mean annual precipitation, MAP = 500 mm)to eastern Mazandaran Provinces(MAP = 800 mm).Physiochemical, micromorphological and magnetic properties, as well as clay mineralogy of soils were studied using standard methods. Soils are mainly classified as Alfisols and Mollisols. Downward decalcification and the subsequent clay illuviation were the main criteria of soil development in all study areas. Pedogenic magnetic susceptibility of pedons studied varied systematically across the precipitation gradient in Northern Iran, increasing from 14.66 ×10~(-8) m~3 kg~(-1) at the eastern part to 83.75 × 10~(-8) m~3 kg~(-1) at the western margin of this transect. The frequencydependent magnetic susceptibility showed an increasing trend with rainfall as well. The micromorphological study of soils indicated that there is a positive relationship between climate gradient (increasing rainfall) and the micromorphological index of soil development(MISECA). The area and thickness of clay coatings showed an increasing trend with rainfall. Grain size analysis indicates that pedogenic processes are responsible for changing original grain size distribution of loess in our soils.The correlation achieved among modern soil properties and precipitation could be applied to the buried paleosols in the whole study area to refer degree of paleosol development and to reconstruct the paleoclimate.     

Late Pleistocene–Holocene rise and collapse of Lake Suguta,northern Kenya Rift

The Late Pleistocene to Middle Holocene African Humid Period (AHP) was characterized by dramatic hydrologic fluctuations in the tropics. A better knowledge of the timing, spatial extent, and magnitude of these hydrological fluctuations is essential to decipher the climate-forcing mechanisms that controlled them. The Suguta Valley (2°N, northern Kenya Rift) has recorded extreme environmental changes during the AHP. Extensive outcrops of lacustrine sediments, ubiquitous wave-cut notches, shorelines, and broad terrace treads along the valley margins are the vestiges of Lake Suguta, which once filled an 80 km long and 20 km wide volcano–tectonic depression. Lake Suguta was deep between 16.5 and 8.5 cal ka BP. During its maximum highstand, it attained a water depth of ca 300 m, a surface area of ca 2150 km², and a volume of ca 390 km³. The spatial distribution of lake sediments, the elevation of palaeo-shorelines, and other geomorphic evidences suggest that palaeo-Lake Suguta had an overflow towards the Turkana basin to the north. After 8.5 cal ka BP, Lake Suguta abruptly disappeared. A comparison of the Lake Suguta water-level curve with other reconstructed water levels from the northern part of the East African Rift System shows that local insolation, which is dominated by precessional cycles, may have controlled the timing of lake highstands in this region. Our data show that changes of lake levels close to the Equator seem to be driven by fluctuations of spring insolation, while fluctuations north of the Equator are apparently related to variations in summer insolation. However, since these inferred timings of lake-level changes are mostly based on the radiocarbon dating of carbonate shells, which may have been affected by a local age reservoir, alternative dating methods are needed to support this regional synthesis. Between 12.7 and 11.8 cal ka BP, approximately during the Northern Hemisphere high-latitude Younger Dryas, the water level of Lake Suguta fell by ca 50 m, suggesting that remote influences also affected local hydrology.     

Temperature lapse rate and methane in Titan's troposphere

We have reanalyzed the Voyager radio occultation data for Titan, examining two alternative approaches to methane condensation. In one approach, methane condensation is facilitated by the presence of nitrogen because nitrogen lowers the condensation level of a methane/nitrogen mixture. The resulting enhancement in methane condensation lowers the upper limit on surface relative humidity of methane obtained from the Voyager occultation data from 0.7 to 0.6. We conclude that in this case the surface relative humidity of methane lies between 0.08 and 0.6, with values close to 0.6 indicated. In the other approach, methane is allowed to become supersaturated and reaches 1.4 times saturation in the troposphere. In this case, surface humidities up to 100% are allowed by the Voyager occultation data, and thus the upper limit must be set by other considerations. We conclude that if supersaturation is included, then the surface relative humidity of methane can be any value greater than 0.08--unless a deep ocean is present, in which case the surface relative humidity is limited to less than 0.85. Again, values close to 0.6 are indicated. Overall, the tropospheric lapse rate on Titan appears to be determined by radiative equilibrium. The lapse rate is everywhere stable against dry convection, but is unstable to moist convection. This finding is consistent with a supersaturated atmosphere in which condensation-and hence moist convection-is inhibited.     

Modeling the onset of photosynthesis after the Chicxulub asteroid impact

We do a preliminary modelling of the photosynthetic rates of phytoplankton at the very beginning of the Paleogene, just after the impact of the Chicxulub asteroid, which decisively contributed to the last known mass extinction of the Phanerozoic eon. We assume the worst possible scenario from the photobiological point of view: an already clear atmosphere with no ozone, as the timescale for soot and dust settling (years) is smaller than that of the full ozone regeneration (decades). Even in these conditions we show that most phytoplankton species would have had reasonable potential for photosynthesis in all the three main optical ocean water types. This modelling could help explain why the recovery of phytoplankton was relatively rapid after the huge environmental stress of that asteroid impact. In a more general scope, it also reminds us of the great resilience of the unicellular biosphere against huge environmental perturbations.     

Spectrophotometry of Saturn and its rings from 60 to 180 microns

We observed Saturn at far-infrared and submillimeter wavelengths during the Earth's March 1980 passage through the plane of Saturn's rings. Comparison with earlier spectroscopic observations by D. B. Ward [Icarus32, 437–442 (1977)], obtained at a time when the tilt angle of the rings was 21.8°, permits separation of the disk and ring contributions to the flux observed in this wavelength range. We present two main results: (1) The observed emission of the disk between 60 and 180 μm corresponds to a brightness temperature of 104 ± 2°K; (2) the brightness temperature of the rings drops approximately 20°K between 60 and 80 μm. Our data, in conjunction with the data obtained by other observers between 1 μm and 1 mm, permit us to derive an improved estimate for the total Saturnian surface brightness of (4.84 ± 0.32) × 10^?4W cm^?2 corresponding to an effective temperature of 96.1 ± 1.6°K. The ratio of radiated to incident power, P_R/P_I, is (1.46 ± 0.08)/(1 - A), where A is the Bond albedo. For A = 0.337 ± 0.029, P_R/P_I = 2.20 ± 0.15 and Saturn's intrinsic luminosity is L_S = (2.9 ± 0.5) × 10^?10L_⊙.     

Mapping of Io's thermal radiation by the Galileo photopolarimeter-radiometer (PPR) instrument

Between 1999 and 2002, the Galileo spacecraft made 6 close flybys of Io during which many observations of Io's thermal radiation were made with the photopolarimeter-radiometer (PPR). While the NIMS instrument could measure thermal emission from hot spots with T>200 K, PPR was the only Galileo instrument capable of mapping the lower temperatures of older, cooling lava flows, and the passive background. We tabulate all data taken by PPR of Io during these flybys and describe some scientific highlights revealed by the data. The data include almost complete coverage of Io at better than 250 km resolution, with extensive regional coverage at higher resolutions. We found a modest poleward drop in nighttime background temperatures and evidence of thermal inertia variations across the surface. Comparison of high spatial resolution temperature measurements with observed daytime SO₂ gas pressures on Io provides evidence for local cold trapping of SO₂ frost on scales smaller than the 60 km resolution of the PPR data. We also calculated the power output from several hot spots and estimated total global heat flow to be about 2.0-2.6 W m⁻². The low-latitude diurnal temperature variations for the regions between obvious hot spots are well matched by a laterally-inhomogeneous thermal model with less than 1 W m⁻² endogenic heat flow.