Present warming within the context of cooling–warming cycles observed since 1854 in the Bay of Biscay

The warming trend observed during the last decades in the Bay of Biscay is put within the context of sea surface temperature (SST) changes observed in the area since 1854. Macroscopically, two consecutive warming–cooling cycles were detected during this period of time: cooling from 1867 to 1910; warming from 1910 to 1945; cooling from 1945 to 1974; and warming from 1974 to nowadays. Warming rates of 0.17 and 0.22 °C per decade were measured during the warming sub-periods and cooling rates of ?0.14 and ?0.10 °C per decade were measured during the cooling sub-periods. The present warming period is on the same order of magnitude although slightly more intense than the one observed from 1910 to 1945, which is consistent with previous analysis carried for the North Atlantic. Finally, the thermal amplitude defined as the difference between the maximum and minimum annual values has increased since 1974 at a rate of 0.06 °C per decade due to the different increasing rates of the maximum (0.26 °C per decade) and minimum (0.20 °C per decade) SSTs.     

Enthalpy flux cooling of the solar corona

Models of the solar corona which include the effects of hot downflowing material are considered. Temperature-height profiles of the quiet and flaring corona are derived, under the assumptions of hydrostatic equilibrium and that the dominant cause of transition region heating is due to the enthalpy of the downflowing matter. In addition, scaling laws for the lengths of coronal loops are derived. It is found that inclusion of the downward enthalpy flux leads to a loop scaling law for quiet Sun loops which does not differ appreciably from that of Rosner et al. (1978). However, inclusion of the effects of enthalpy flux lead to a scaling law for compact flare loops of L = (3.6 × 10⁹)T _infc ^sup0.55 cm, which predicts much smaller loop sizes than expected from the quiet Sun loop law; these predicted lengths, however, are in agreement with the observed small sizes of compact flare loops.     

CCD Photometry and Long-Term Optical Variability of 3C 345

This paper presents evidence for long-term optical variability and colour behaviour of the blazar 3C 345 (1641+399, z=0.595). Our results show that the amplitude of the optical variations of 3C 345 has been only about 3 magnitudes from its photometric history; existent significant correlation between brightness and colours is found for 3C 345. Our recent CCD photometry of 3C 345 in May 1996 and May 1997 showed that they are in good agreement with our prediction of the optical variability period of about 10 years (see Zhang et al., 1998; Webb et al., 1988). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Nonstationary pearl pulsations as a signature of magnetospheric disturbances

We analyse long-lasting (several hours) Pc1 pearl pulsations with decreasing, increasing or constant central frequencies. We show that nonstationary pearl events (those with either decreasing or increasing central frequency) are observed simultaneously with increasing auroral magnetic activity at the nightside magnetosphere while the stationary events (constant central frequency) correspond to quiet magnetic conditions. Events with decreasing central frequency are observed mostly in the late morning and daytime whereas events with increasing central frequency appear either early in the morning or in the afternoon. We explain the diurnal distribution of the nonstationary pearl pulsations in terms of proton drifts depending on magnetic activity, and evaluate the magnetospheric electric field based on the variation of the central frequency of pearl pulsations.     

Die Bedeutung der Süddeutschen Großscholle in der Geodynamik Westeuropas

The crustal plate of Southern Germany models, in a highly instructive way, the real behaviour of continental crustal plates in the immediate foreland of an active orogenic mountain belt. The frontier line between alpidic and outer-alpine strain pattern crossed this first order tectonic unit. During Upper Tertiary times, the crustal plate of Southern Germany shows an anticlockwise rotation of the direction of maximal principal stress (from NNE/SSW through NNW/SSE to NW/SE), nearly contemporaneous to the transition from alpine Flysch-to Molasse-to postorogenic sedimentation. From prae-Upper Cretaceous to Oligocene, NNE-SSW-plate movement follows a direction more or less parallel — not perpendicular — to the North Atlantic midocean ridge. Since the Pliocene, the axis of tectonic transport (a in rock fabrics nomenclature) turns to a more northwesterly-southeasterly position, so nearly becoming to the well known sea-floor spreading concept. But, at that time, alpine orogenesis comes to an end. Today, neither in the Alps nor in their foreland, any adequate subduction zone to counterbalance the opening of the North Atlantic (as supposed by means of paleomagnetic data) still exists. Since early Pliocene time, the Southern Germany crustal plate shows, in spite of the overburden by thick Molasse sediments, neither any subsidence nor underthrusting the Alps, but, on the contrary, uplifting in a magnitude up to more than fivehundred meters, while the opening of the North Atlantic seems to continue. So we find some serious inconsistencies between the so called new global tectonics and the tectonic evolution of the Southern Germany crustal plate.     

Non-point source pollution in Indian agriculture: Estimation of nitrogen losses from rice crop using remote sensing and GIS

The paper presents a detailed understanding of nitrogenous fertilizer use in Indian agriculture and estimation of seasonal nitrogen loosses from rice crop in Indo-Gangetic plain region, the ‘food bowl’ of the Indian sub-continent. An integrated methodology was developed for quantification of different forms of nitrogen losses from rice crop using remote sensing derived inputs, field data of fertilizer application, collateral data of soil and rainfall and nitrogen loss coefficients derived from published nitrogen dynamics studies. The spatial patterns of nitrogen losses in autumn or ‘kharif’ and spring or ‘rabi’ season rice at 1 × 1 km grid were generated using image processing and GIS. The nitrogen losses through leaching in form of urea-N, ammonium-N (NH₄-N) and nitrate-N (NO₃-N) are dominant over ammonia volatilization loss. The study results indicate that nitrogen loss through leaching in kharif and rabi rice is of the order of 34.9% and 39.8% of the applied nitrogenous fertilizer in the Indo-Gangetic plain region. This study provides a significant insight to the role of nitrogenous fertilizer as a major non-point source pollutant from agriculture.     

Karst groundwater protection in the Kupa River catchment area and sustainable development

One of the most significant water resources in the Republic of Croatia is the catchment area of the Kupa River, located in the region bordering the Republic of Slovenia. About 88% of the total amount of water in this catchment originates in Croatia and just 12% from Slovenia; therefore, the largest part of the catchment area (about 1000 km²) is on the Croatian side of the border. It is a typical karst area of the Dinarides with aquifers characterized by a relatively rapid water exchange, high groundwater flow velocities and aquifers open to human impact from the surface. Consequently, the aquifers are highly vulnerable and at risk. Due to the availability of large quantities of high-quality spring water (about 6 m³/s), the entire area has a strategic importance within the context of any future development strategy pertaining to the western part of Croatia. The catchment area on the Croatian side was investigated using a wide range of research methods that included a classical hydrogeological approach, the detailed hydrologic calculation of water balance to the hydrogeochemical analyses and modelling. The objective was to determine protection zones and protection measures for the whole area. The difficulties are increased due to the fact that the karst catchment area is crossed by major traffic corridors, oil pipelines and a railway and that many settlements and a highly developed wood industry are present. The combination of protecting water resources with adequate prevention measures and necessary remedial activities that should satisfy the very strict requirements necessary for the protection of the karst aquifers while still allowing for present and future human activities is difficult – but not impossible – to achieve. One good example is the present highway with a closed dewatering system and waste water treatment before the water passes into the karst underground system.     

Detection and extraction of signals from the epoch of reionization using higher-order one-point statistics

Detecting redshifted 21-cm emission from neutral hydrogen in the early Universe promises to give direct constraints on the epoch of reionization (EoR). It will, though, be very challenging to extract the cosmological signal (CS) from foregrounds and noise which are orders of magnitude larger. Fortunately, the signal has some characteristics which differentiate it from the foregrounds and noise, and we suggest that using the correct statistics may tease out signatures of reionization. We generate mock data cubes simulating the output of the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) EoR experiment. These cubes combine realistic models for Galactic and extragalactic foregrounds and the noise with three different simulations of the CS. We fit out the foregrounds, which are smooth in the frequency direction, to produce residual images in each frequency band. We denoise these images and study the skewness of the one-point distribution in the images as a function of frequency. We find that, under sufficiently optimistic assumptions, we can recover the main features of the redshift evolution of the skewness in the 21-cm signal. We argue that some of these features – such as a dip at the onset of reionization, followed by a rise towards its later stages – may be generic, and give us a promising route to a statistical detection of reionization.     

Corundum- and kyanite-bearing anatexites from the Precambrian of tanzania

In the Precambrian near Morogoro (East Tanzania) there are anatectic gneisses which are composed of two different domains: (1) Medium grained gneiss with the assemblage (+ rutile + baddeleyite): albite (ab₉₅an₀₃or₀₂) + muscovite + phlogopite_ss + corundum, and albite (ab₈₈an₀₉or₀₃ + kyanite or sillimanite + phlogopite_ss. (2) Coarse grained nests of corundum and antiperthite with minor albite, muscovite, phlogopite, rutile, baddeleyite, and tourmaline. The bulk composition of the antiperthite id ab₇₅an₀₂or₂₃, the composition of the Na-phase ab₉₅an₀₃or₀₂, that of the K-phase ab₁₃an₀₀or₈₇. Phase relationship of the rock can be modelled in the Na-rich, Si-undersaturated part of the KNASH system. P-T conditions are close to the intersection of the melting curve muscovite_ss + H₂O = corundum + liquid with the kyanite-sillimanite transition, i.e. 7.7 kb/695°C assuming a_H2O = 1.