The Darfur Dome,western Sudan: the product of a subcontinental mantle plume

Field investigations, K-Ar age determinations and chemical data were used to describe the development of an intraplate volcanic province, the Darfur Dome, Sudan. Magmatism started 36 Ma ago at a small subvolcanic complex (Jebel Kussa) in the center of the dome and was active in the same area between 26 and 23 Ma. Two major volcanic fields (Marra Mountains and Tagabo Hills) developed between 16 and 10 Ma. Volcanism started again at 6.8 Ma with a third volcanic field (Meidob Hills) and at 4.3 Ma in the Marra Mountains and with the reactivation of the center. Activity then continued until the late Quaternary. Having started in the center of the Darfur Dome, volcanism moved in 36 Ma 200 km towards the NNE and 100 km SSW No essential difference in the alkaline magma types (basanitic to phonolitic-trachytic, with different amounts of assimilation of crustal material) in the different fields, was observed. Magmatism is thought to have been produced by a rising mantle plume and volcanism was triggered by stress resolution along the Central African Fault Zone.     

Block removal and step backwearing as erosion processes on rock shore platforms: a preliminary case study of the chalk shore platforms of south‐east England

Shore platforms frequently exhibit steps or risers facing seaward, landwards or obliquely across‐shore. A combination of soft copy photogrammetry, ortho‐rectification, geo referencing and field measurement of step height are linked in a GIS environment to measure step retreat on chalk shore platforms at sample sites in the south of England over two periods, 1973–2001, 2001–2007. The methods used allow for the identification, delineation and measurement of historic change at high spatial resolution. The results suggest that while erosion of chalk shore platforms by step backwearing is highly variable, it appears to be of similar magnitude to surface downwearing of the same platforms measured by micro‐erosion meters (MEMs) and laser scanning, in a range equivalent to 0·0006 – 0·0050 m y^?1 of surface downwearing. This equates to annual chalk volume loss from the platforms, by the two erosion processes combined, of between 0·0012 m³ m^?2 and 0·0100 m³ m^?2. Results from the more recent years' data suggests that step retreat has variability in both space and time which does not relate solely to climatic variability. The results must be viewed with caution until much larger numbers of measurements have been made of both downwearing and step erosion at higher spatial and temporal resolution. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation of Orissa Super Cyclone (1999) using PSU/NCAR Mesoscale Model

In this study a non-hydrostatic version of Penn State University (PSU) -- NationalCenter for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) mesoscale model is used to simulate thesuper cyclonic storm that crossed Orissa coast on 29 October 1999. The model isintegrated up to 123 h for producing 5-day forecast of the storm. Several importantfields including sea level pressure, horizontal wind and rainfall are compared with theverification analysis/observation to examine the performance of the model. The modelsimulated track of the cyclone is compared with the best-fit track obtained from IndiaMeteorological Department (IMD) and the track obtained from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis. The model is found to perform reasonably well in simulating the track and in particular, the intensity of the storm.     

Geo-Characterization at selected accelerometric stations in Crete (Greece) and comparison of earthquake data recordings with EC8 elastic spectra

To estimate the seismic response according to Eurocode (EC8) and almost all other national codes, site conditions have to be properly characterized so that soil amplification and the corresponding peak ground motion can be calculated. In this work, different geophysical and geotechnical methods are combined in order to define the detailed ground conditions in selected sites of the Hellenic Accelerometric Network (HAN) in Crete. For this purpose, the geological information of the sites and shear wave velocity, calculated from surface wave measurements, is used. Additionally, ground acceleration data recorded through HAN have been utilized from intermediate depth earthquakes in the broader area of South Aegean Sea. Using the recorded ground motion data and the procedure defined in EC8, the corresponding elastic response spectrum is calculated for the selected sites. The resulting information is compared to the values defined in the corresponding EC8 spectrum for the seismic zone that includes the island of Crete. The comparison shows that accurate definition of ground type through geological, geotechnical and geophysical investigations is important. However, our current comparison focuses on the distribution of values rather than the absolute values of EC8-prescribed spectra, and the results should be considered in this context.     

Sensitivity of GPS and GLONASS orbits with respect to resonant geopotential parameters

The Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE) has been involved in the processing of combined GPS/GLONASS data during the International GLONASS Experiment (IGEX). The resulting precise orbits were analyzed using the program SORBDT. Introducing one satellites positions as pseudo-observations, the program is capable of fitting orbital arcs through these positions using an orbit improvement procedure based on the numerical integration of the satellites orbit and its partial derivative with respect to the orbit parameters. For this study, the program was enhanced to estimate selected parameters of the Earths gravity field. The orbital periods of the GPS satellites are —in contrast to those of the GLONASS satellites – 2:1 commensurable (P _Sid:P _GPS) with the rotation period of the Earth. Therefore, resonance effects of the satellite motion with terms of the geopotential occur and they influence the estimation of these parameters. A sensitivity study of the GPS and GLONASS orbits with respect to the geopotential coefficients reveals that the correlations between different geopotential coefficients and the correlations of geopotential coefficients with other orbit parameters, in particular with solar radiation pressure parameters, are the crucial issues in this context. The estimation of the resonant geopotential terms is, in the case of GPS, hindered by correlations with the simultaneously estimated radiation pressure parameters. In the GLONASS case, arc lengths of several days allow the decorrelation of the two parameter types. The formal errors of the estimates based on the GLONASS orbits are a factor of 5 to 10 smaller for all resonant terms. AcknowledgmentsThe authors would like to thank all the organizations involved in the IGS and the IGEX campaign, in particular those operating an IGS or IGEX observation site and providing the indispensable data for precise orbit determination.     

Geochemical processes controlling the spatial distribution of selenium in soil and water,west central South Dakota,USA

Selenium (Se) is essential in the human diet, but has a low threshold for toxic concentration. It is recommended that nutrients such as Se should be consumed through foods as part of a normal diet. Se concentrations in crops and meat depend on the amount of labile Se in the soil where crops and forage are grown. Therefore, managing agriculture for optimal Se in grain crops and forage requires an understanding of the distribution and mobility of Se. Elevated concentrations of Se occur in waters, soils, and forage 120 km west of Pierre in west central South Dakota, USA. The research site lies in an elevated, dissected plain where soils developed on gently dipping Pierre Shale. Soils were sampled along catena transects and waters collected from soil, ponds, and shallow borings in areas of known elevated forage and crop Se. Soil extracts from saturated-paste extraction and acid (aqua regia and hydrofluoric acid) extraction were analyzed. Selenate was the dominant Se species in both acid and saturated-paste extracts; selenite and organic Se were below detection (<0.2 ppb) in the same soil extracts. On average, 98% of soil Se was not water-soluble. The distribution of total Se shows much less spatial variation than water-soluble Se in the areas sampled. Se shows correlation with organic carbon in soils and waters, suggesting its association with organic carbon. Ca shows some correlation to Se in acid extracts, but not in saturated-paste extracts or in waters. Total Se shows no significant correlation to Na, Mg, and total S in the soils. Se in saturated-paste extracts and water samples shows good correlations with Na, Mg, and SO₄, suggesting that evaporitic Na–Mg–sulfate minerals may temporarily concentrate water-soluble Se in shallow soils. The dissolution and precipitation of these Na–Mg–sulfate salts together with pH and oxidation–reduction conditions apparently control water-soluble Se distribution and mobilization in shallow subsurface environments.     

MARS:A TUTORIAL

This tutorial paper presents a simplified view of one of the more recently published multivariatecalibration methods particularly suited to dealing with non-linear data sets.The method is referred toas MARS and stands for multivariate adaptive regression splines.Simple examples are provided toexplain the workings of the method.