Geomorphological characteristics of small debris flows on Junior's Kop,Marion Island,maritime sub ‐ Antarctic

The geomorphological characteristics of small debris flows in a maritime sub‐Antarctic environment are described. The morphological and sedimentological characteristics of the debris flows are comparable to debris flows documented for other parts of the world; their initiation appears closely linked to the unusual environment in which they are found. Sediment supply is generated by diurnal frost heave of loamy sediment associated with Azorella selago. The debris flows are triggered by sediment mobilization upon saturation of the frost‐heaved surface gravel and overland flow over the low‐permeability and frost‐susceptible slope materials. Morphological effects of the flows are short‐lived due to obliteration by subsequent frost heave activity. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental sandstone weathering using different wetting and drying moisture amplitudes

Wetting and drying is an acknowledged yet still poorly understood rock weathering process. Previous experiments documented in the literature measure physical changes or mass loss in relation to moisture oscillations but only one study directly compares different moisture amplitudes by using different modes of moisture application. In this experimental study, four sets of sandstone tablets are subjected to 48 h wetting and drying cycles at set moisture content fluctuations of 29, 42, 56 and 63% respectively. A common moisture application, full immersion, is used for all four sets. Mass loss after 52 cycles averaged 0·27%, some three times more than that of the control samples. Average porosity of the samples increased, while water absorption capacities and the saturation coefficients of the samples decreased. No discernable difference in mass loss or change in physical properties was found between the different sample sets. When compared with previous studies, results suggest that the effect of moisture application type may be more of a controlling factor on the weathering effect than actual moisture content achieved. A need to move towards a more standardized approach in wetting and drying experimental studies is emphasized. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rock weathering on the eastern mountains of southern Africa: Review and insights from case studies

The mountains in the eastern region of southern Africa are of significant regional importance, providing for a diverse range of land use including conservation, tourism and subsistence agriculture. The higher regions are comprised of flood basalts and are immediately underlain by predominantly aeolian-origin sandstones. Our understanding of the weathering of these basalts and sandstones is reviewed here, with particular focus on the insights gained from the Lesotho Highlands Water Project and an ongoing study into the deterioration of rock art. While the chemical weathering attributes of the basalts have been substantially investigated, it is evident that the environmental surface conditions of rock moisture and temperature, as affecting weathering processes, remain largely unknown. Within the sandstones, studies pertaining to rock art deterioration present insights into the potential surface weathering processes and highlight the need for detailed field monitoring. Outside of these site-specific studies, however, little is understood of how weathering impacts on landscape development; notably absent, are detail on weathering rates, and potential effects of biological weathering. Some palaeoenvironmental inferences have also been made from weathering products, both within the basalts and the sandstones, but aspects of these remain controversial and further detailed research can still be undertaken.     

Is the Arctic Surface Layer a Source and Sink of NOx in Winter/Spring?

Measurements of NO_x (NO +NO₂) and the sum of reactive nitrogenconstituents, NO_y, were made near the surface atAlert (82.5°N), Canada during March and April1998. In early March when solar insolation was absentor very low, NO_x mixing ratios were frequentlynear zero. After polar sunrise when the sun was abovethe horizon for much or all of the day a diurnalvariation in NO_x and NO_y was observed withamplitudes as large as 30–40 pptv. The source ofactive nitrogen is attributed to release from the snowsurface by a process that is apparently sensitized bysunlight. If the source from the snowpack is a largescale feature of the Arctic then the diurnal trendsalso require a competing process for removal to thesurface. From the diurnal change in the NO/NO₂ratio, mid-April mixing ratios for the sum of peroxyand halogen oxide radicals of 10 pptv werederived for periods when ozone mixing ratios were inthe normal range of 30–50 ppbv. Mid-day ozoneproduction and loss rates with the active nitrogensource were estimated to be 1–2 ppbv/day and in nearbalance. NO_y mixing ratios which averaged only295±66 pptv do not support a large accumulation inthe high Arctic surface layer in the winter and springof 1998. The small abundance of NO_y relative tothe elevated mixing ratios of other long-livedanthropogenic constituents requires that reactivenitrogen be removed to the surface during transport toor during residence within the high Arctic.     

Atmospheric circulation and daily precipitation in Wales

Summary Daily precipitation affinity areas are established for Wales by means of S-mode Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Cluster Analysis, using data for the autumn-winter (September-January) period, 1982–87, subset according to surface wind direction. Relatively strong PCA simple structures were found for five wind directions clockwise from south to north, using the OBLIMIN rotation for the first four (south to northwest) and the VARIMAX rotation for the last (north). Whilst interpretation of many of the most significant Prinicipal Components (PCs) was difficult in strictly meteorological or climatological terms, the precipitation areas produced by clustering based on the most important PCs, yielded a continuum of change in areal organisation with progressively changing wind direction. Only the far southwest and northwest of the country appear in every area map, although superficially, northeastern, English border and southeastern areas were present on most. The derived areas bear only small overall resemblance to currently used forecasting areas.With 9 Figures     

Waves in an elastic plate with an irregular boundary

Summary Green's function corresponding to the displacements for anSH-line source inside a wedge shaped medium finite or infinite in which the density and the elastic parameter are not constant throughout but some class of function ofr, the radial distance (i.e. and satisfy some differential equation) has been obtained. The paths of propagation of the cylindrical waves, their reflections on different boundaries and their continuous refractions within the medium has been clearly established. The scattered field from the different parts of the body have been pointed out with prescribed distribution of and in this inhomogeneous wedge. It is shown that for some distribution of and the rays are curved and the reflections at the two plane boundaries occur in such a way that no ray will go to infinity by reflection, rather they are coming back towards the apex after suitable number of reflections with variable intensity. Also there are some distributions of and in the same class as mentioned earlier, such that the behaviour of the waves is similar to that in a homogeneous wedge, i.e. these waves will go to infinity by a suitable number of reflections and ultimately die out. The first case is quite unlike the usual homogeneous medium with non parallel boundaries and so care must be taken in computing the field within the nonhomogeneous medium within the non-parallel boundaries.     

The European Large Area ISO Survey – III. 90-μm extragalactic source counts

We present results and source counts at 90 μm extracted from the preliminary analysis of the European Large Area ISO Survey (ELAIS). The survey covered about 12 deg² of the sky in four main areas and was carried out with the ISOPHOT instrument onboard the Infrared Space Observatory ( ISO ). The survey is at least an order of magnitude deeper than the IRAS 100-μm survey and is expected to provide constraints on the formation and evolution of galaxies. The majority of the detected sources are associated with galaxies on optical images. In some cases the optical associations are interacting pairs or small groups of galaxies, suggesting that the sample may include a significant fraction of luminous infrared galaxies. The source counts extracted from a reliable subset of the detected sources are in agreement with strongly evolving models of the starburst galaxy population.     

Elemental abundances for Nova LMC 1990#1

We present our analysis of the UV spectra of the fast ONeMg Nova LMC 1990#1. Observations with the IUE began on 1990 January 18 and continued through to 1990 March 15. We have analysed these spectra, and determined line fluxes and physical parameters as a function of time. Using both He  ii lines and the Balmer decrement, we find the reddening for the nova to be E ( B − V )≃0.22. Using the photoionization code cloudy 90.03b and the minimization routine minuit , we derive elemental abundances for the ejecta. We find the following abundances, relative to solar material: He=1, C=8, N=109, O=20, Ne=62, Mg=16, Al=257 and Si=41. These results are based on independent fits to different data sets acquired three weeks apart. These abundances are extremely similar to those found for V693 Corona Austrinae 1981. Given the position of V693 CrA in the Galaxy and the range of distances found for it, the similar abundances imply that the V693 CrA outburst took place on an older population white dwarf. The high N/O ratio implies an outburst on a massive white dwarf.     

Intra-event characteristics of extreme erosive rainfall on Mauritius

Mauritius is a volcanic island with a raised interior where extreme rainfall events dominate rainfall erosivity. Intra-event characteristics of the 120 highest erosive events at six selected locations between 2004 and 2008 were analyzed to provide the first detailed intra-storm data for a tropical island environment. On Mauritius, spatial variation is evident in the characteristics of extreme erosive rainfall recorded at the stations, with a noticeable increase in rainfall depth, duration, kinetic energy, and erosivity of extreme events with altitude. Extreme events in the raised interior (central plateau) show high variability of peak intensity over time as well as a higher percentage of events in which the greatest intensity occurs in the latter part of the event. Intra-event distribution of rainfall in the interior of the island shows that rainfall there has a higher potential to exceed infiltration rates as well as the ability to generate high peak runoff rates and cause substantial soil loss. The study suggests that even though within-event rainfall characteristics are complex, they have implications for soil erosion risk, and that, in tropical island environments, the within-storm distribution of rainfall should be incorporated in soil-loss modeling.     

A review of the classical nova outburst

We review the recent observational and theoretical studies of the nova outburst. The observational studies have not only identified a new class of novae but theoretical simulations of this class have been found to be in excellent agreement with the observations. This new class consists of outbursts occurring on ONeMg white dwarfs in close binary systems in contrast to the other outbursts which are occurring on CO white dwarfs. We also review the effects of the ⁺ nuclei and show how their presence has a major effect on the evolution.Paper presented at the IAU Colloquium No. 93 on Cataclysmic Variables. Recent Multi-Frequency Observations and Theoretical Developments, held at Dr. Remeis-Sternwarte Bamberg, F. R. G., 16–19 June, 1986.