Palaeoflood discharge estimation using dendrogeomorphic methods,rainfall-runoff and hydraulic modelling—a case study from southern Crete

Natural Hazards - This study represents the first palaeoflood discharge estimation using dendrogeomorphic evidence from two ungauged catchments in southern Crete. Dendrogeomorphological methods,...     

Boron isotopic variations in tourmaline from metacarbonates and associated calc-silicate rocks from the Bohemian Massif: Constraints on boron recycling in the Variscan orogen

Various metacarbonate and associated calc-silicate rocks form minor but genetically significant components of the lithological units in the Bohemian Massif of the Variscan orogen in Central Europe.These rocks vary in terms of their lithostratigraphy,chemical composition and mineral assemblage(dolomite/calcite ratio,silicate abundance).Tourmaline is present in five paragenetic settings within the metacarbonate and calc-silicate units.TypeⅠcomprises individual,euhedral,prismatic grains and grain aggregates in a carbonate-dominant(calcite±dolomite)matrix poor in silicates.TypeⅡis characterized by euhedral to subhedral grains and coarse-to fine-grained aggregates in silicate-rich layers/nests within metacarbonate bodies whereas typeⅢoccurs as prismatic grains and aggregates at the contact zones between carbonate and associated silicate host rocks.TypeⅣis in veins crosscutting metacarbonate bodies,and typeⅣtourmaline occurs at the exocontacts of elbaite-subtype granitic pegmatite.Tourmaline from the different settings shows distinctive compositional features.Typical for typeⅠare Mg-rich compositions,with fluor-uvite>dravite>>magnesio-lucchesiite.Tourmalines from typeⅡsilicate-rich layers/nests are highly variable,corresponding to oxy-schorl,magnesio-foitite,Al-rich dravite and fluor-uvite.Typical for typeⅢtourmalines are Ca,Ti-bearing oxy-dravite compositions.The typeⅣveins feature dravite and fluor-uvite tourmaline compositions whereas typeⅤtourmaline is Li,F-rich dravite.Tourmaline is the only Bbearing phase in paragenetic typesⅠ-Ⅳ,where it is characterised by two principal ranges of B-isotope composition(δ^11B=-13‰to-9‰and-18‰to-14‰).These ranges correspond to regionally different units of the Moldanubian Zone.Thus,the Svratka Unit(Moldanubian Zone s.l.)contains only isotopically lighter tourmaline(δ^11B=-18‰to-14‰),whereas metacarbonates in the Poli?ka unit(Teplá-Barrandian Zone)and Olesnice unit(Moravicum of the Moravo-Silesian Zone)has exclusively isotopically heavier tourmaline(δ^11B=-9‰to-13‰).Tourmalines from metacarbonates in the Variegated Unit cover both ranges of isotope composition.The isotopically light end of the B isotope range may indicate the presence of continental evaporites within individual investigated areas.On the other hand,variations in the range of~8δ-units is consistent with the reported shift in B isotopic composition of metasedimentary rocks of the Bohemian Massif due to the prograde metamorphism from very-low grade to eclogite facies.In contrast to the metacarbonate-hosted settings,tourmaline of paragenetic type V from the exocontact of granitic pegmatites displays a significantly heavier range ofδ^11B(as low as-7.7‰to-0.6‰),which is attributed to partitioning of 10 B to cogenetic axinite and/or different B-signature of the source pegmatite containing tourmaline with heavyδ^11B signature.     

Exoplanet Transit Database. Reduction and processing of the photometric data of exoplanet transits

We demonstrate the newly developed resource for exoplanet researchers – The Exoplanet Transit Database. This database is designed to be a web application and it is open for any exoplanet observer. It came on-line in September 2008. The ETD consists of three individual sections. One serves for predictions of the transits, the second one for processing and uploading new data from the observers. We use a simple analytical model of the transit to calculate the central time of transit, its duration and the depth of the transit. These values are then plotted into the observed–computed diagrams (O–C), that represent the last part of the application.     

Scintillations and Interstellar Lévy Flights

We present the new model for interstellar scintillations, which assumes that the electron density fluctuations causing the scintillations obey Lévy statistics rather than Gaussian statistics, as was thought previously. Our model explains the observed anomalous scaling of the signal time-width with respect to the pulsar distance, which remained a puzzle for more than 30 years.     

Geochemistry and petrology of howardite Miller Range 11100: A lithologically diverse piece of the Vestan regolith

The howardite‐eucrite‐diogenite (HED) clan of meteorites, which most likely originate from the asteroid Vesta, provide an opportunity to combine in‐depth sample analysis with the comprehensive remote‐sensing data set from NASA's recent Dawn mission. Miller Range (MIL) 11100, an Antarctic howardite, contains diverse rock and mineral fragments from common HED lithologies (diogenites, cumulate eucrites, and basaltic eucrites). It also contains a rare pyroxferroite‐bearing lithology—not recognized in HED until recently—and rare Mg‐rich (Fo_86‐91) olivine crystals that possibly represent material excavated from the Vestan mantle. Clast components underwent different histories of thermal and impact metamorphism before being incorporated into this sample, reflecting the diversity in geological histories experienced by different parts of Vesta. The bulk chemical composition and petrography of MIL 11100 suggest that it is akin to the fragmental howardite meteorites. The strong lithological heterogeneity across this sample suggests that at least some parts of the Vestan regolith show heterogeneity on the mm‐scale. We combine the outcomes of this study with data from NASA's Dawn mission and hypothesize on possible source regions for this meteorite on the surface of Vesta.     

Variability of emission lines in the optical spectra of the Herbig Be binary system HD 200775

In our previous papers we have improved the value of the orbital period of the binary Herbig Be star HD 200775 and showed that the [O I] and Si II 6347 and 6371 ?A emission lines displayed variations which correlate with the orbital period. In this paper we provide evidences that other broad emission lines of metals in the spectra of HD 200775 also exhibit variability, which is probably related to the orbital cycle of the binary. Analysis was performed based on the high-resolution spectral data collected over a time span of 6 years at the Kourovka Astronomical Observatory of the Ural Federal University(Russia) and the Three College Observatory of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro(USA) as well as archival spectral data compiled since 1994. We report new data points in the radial velocity curve of the He I 5876 ?A line near the extremal values of the radial velocity.