Observations of asymmetry in contrasting wave‐ and tidally‐dominated environments within a mesotidal basin: implications for estuarine morphological evolution

Tides are often considered to be the dominant hydrodynamic process within mesotidal estuaries although waves can also have a large influence on intertidal erosion rates. Here, we use a combination of hydrodynamic measurements and sediment deposition records to determine the conditions under which observed waves are ‘morphologically significant’, in which case they influence tidal and suspended sediment flux asymmetry and subsequently infilling over geomorphological timescales. Morphological significant conditions were evaluated using data from contrasting arms in a dendritic mesotidal estuary, in which the orientation of the arms relative to the prevailing wind results in a marked difference in wave conditions, deposition rates and morphology. By defining the morphological significance of waves as a product of the magnitude of bed shear stress and frequency of occurrence, even small (but frequently occurring) winds are shown to be capable of generating waves that are morphologically significant given sufficient fetch. In the arm in which fetch length is restricted, only stronger but rare storm events can influence sediment flux and therefore tides are more morphologically significant over longer timescales. Water depth within this mesotidal estuary is shown to be a critical parameter in controlling morphological significance; the rapid attenuation of short period waves with depth results in contrasting patterns of erosion occurring during neaps and accretion during springs. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reionization and the Cosmic Dawn with the Square Kilometre Array

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will have a low frequency component (SKA-low) which has as one of its main science goals the study of the redshifted 21 cm line from the earliest phases of star and galaxy formation in the Universe. This 21 cm signal provides a new and unique window both on the time of the formation of the first stars and accreting black holes and the subsequent period of substantial ionization of the intergalactic medium. The signal will teach us fundamental new things about the earliest phases of structure formation, cosmology and even has the potential to lead to the discovery of new physical phenomena. Here we present a white paper with an overview of the science questions that SKA-low can address, how we plan to tackle these questions and what this implies for the basic design of the telescope.     

Geographies of the Firm and Transnational Agro-food Corporations in East Asia

Agro-food transnational corporations (TNCs) are pivotal players in the emergent regulatory structures of the East Asian agro-food system, but there has been little explicit concern to account theoretically or empirically for their prevailing socio-spatial practices and strategies. This paper uses the case of Nestlé in South East Asia to make three claims. First, transnational corporate strategy is best understood as comprising an interaction of restructuring processes within the arenas of production, realisation (sales), and reproduction (corporate finance and investment). Second, the analysis of agro-food transnationals in Asia requires elevated attention to the local regulation of food systems. Third, in Nestlé's case at least, the articulation of global strategies with local arenas of production and markets encourages corporate finance to play a key role in the generation of profit. This is evidenced through the extensive use of intra-firm trade and royalty payments (or, related party transactions) by Nestlé in Thailand.     

High energy coastal sedimentary deposits; an evaluation of depositional processes in Southwest England

Sediments left by coastal flooding have been observed worldwide and have been variously ascribed to the action of storm surges and tsunami waves. To date, no study has attempted to unequivocally establish on stratigraphical, sedimentological, and palaeoecological grounds the means by which these two different processes might be distinguished in coastal sedimentary sequences. This paper examines the evidence for historical storm surges and tsunamis and shows that both high magnitude events have been documented over the past 250 years in southwest England. Sand layers of varying thickness are present within Holocene lagoonal and peat sequences of several shallow lakes of the Scilly Isles. Detailed analysis of Big Pool, St Agnes, indicates that the basal peats date from around 1000 BP. Within the basal peats are numerous thin sand layers. Above the basal peat is an extensive sand layer 15 to 40 cm thick. The base of this latter layer probably dates from the early to mid 18th century. Particle size, grain surface morphology, diatom, and mineral magnetic studies are used to try and determine the most likely mode of deposition. The results of all analyses are inconclusive, but the weight of evidence suggests that the increasing frequency of thin sand layers in the upper part of the basal peat may be related to the increasing frequency and intensity of Atlantic storms during the Little Ice Age superimposed upon a rising sea level. The thick sand layer may have been deposited by the tsunami wave generated by the Lisbon earthquake of November 1,1755. Due to the difficulties in distinguishing depositional processes in coastal environments known to have been affected by storm surges and tsunami waves, it is suggested that generally accepted sedimentological techniques are inadequate for discriminating depositional processes in coastal environments.     

CCD photometry of variable stars in the Magellanic Clouds — V. The eclipsing binaries HV 1620 and HV 2241

Using improved techniques, high-quality CCD uvbyVI _C photometry has been obtained for the 14th magnitude eclipsing binaries HV 1620 in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and HV 2241 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). IUE ultraviolet spectrophotometry was also obtained. These data have been analysed using the Wilson & Devinney synthetic light-curve code and Kurucz model atmospheres. Both systems are semi-detached and appear to have undergone mass exchange. In HV 1620 the mass ratio and the effective temperatures of the primary and secondary are q  =  M ₂/ M ₁ = 0.68 ± 0.03, T _eff,1 = 33 000 ± 4500 K and T _eff,2 = 24 000 ± 3500 K. The corresponding values for HV 2241 are 0.53 ± 0.01, 27 000 ± 3000 K and 20 200 ± 1500 K. Using the radial-velocity curves obtained by Niemela & Bassino with a 1-m telescope, we find that both systems are massive, as expected. Reddening considerations suggest both systems may lie towards the rear of their respective Clouds.     

21-cm fluctuations from inhomogeneous X-ray heating before reionization

Many models of early structure formation predict a period of heating immediately preceding reionization, when X-rays raise the gas temperature above that of the cosmic microwave background. These X-rays are often assumed to heat the intergalactic medium (IGM) uniformly, but in reality will heat the gas more strongly closer to the sources. We develop a framework for calculating fluctuations in the 21-cm brightness temperature that originate from this spatial variation in the heating rate. High-redshift sources are highly clustered, leading to significant gas temperature fluctuations (with fractional variations ∼40 per cent, peaking on   k ∼ 0.1 Mpc⁻¹  scales). This induces a distinctive peak-trough structure in the angle-averaged 21-cm power spectrum, which may be accessible to the proposed Square Kilometre Array. This signal reaches the ∼10 mK level, and is stronger than that induced by Lyα flux fluctuations. As well as probing the thermal evolution of the IGM before reionization, this 21-cm signal contains information about the spectra of the first X-ray sources. Finally, we consider disentangling temperature, density and Lyα flux fluctuations as functions of redshift.