Atmospheric turbidity at athens observatory

Summary In this study, values of the Ångström turbidity coefficient () determined from Solar radiation observations at the National Observatory of Athens over the period 1955–1972 are analysed. Mean daily turbidity lies between 0.020–0.100. Turbidity is higher in summer than in winter. The main factor determining the turbidity is the air mass type. The scavenging by rainfall probably has a considerable effect in determining this distribution. There is some evidence of a trend of increasing turbidity during the period.     

A combined central- and fissure-type phonolitic volcano in western Kenya

The Nyamaji volcano is a small eruptive complex of late Miocene age associated with the nearby Usaki ijolite and Sokolo carbonatite intrusion of Homa Bay in the Kavirondo Rift valley of Kenya. It is probably a satellite volcano to the major volcanic structure of Kisingiri - Rangwa which lies 25 km to the west. The Nyamaji volcanic complex is composed of agglomerates, breccias and tuffs erupted from a central vent, whilst at much the same time lavas were extruded from fissures which are now occupied by dykes. These two contemporaneous events gave rise to an interdigitated sequence of pyroclastic deposits and effusive lavas. The pyroclastic rocks of Vulcanian origin cover an area at least 30 km² in extent, are poorly bedded, and usually are about 25 m (80ft.) thick though they often thin to zero over topographic highs in the pre-existing landscape. At Nyamaji itself, the Strombolian style pyroclastic pile exceeds 330 m (1100 ft.) in thickness over an area of 1 km², and this marks the position of the original central vent. The fragmental material in the pyroclastic rocks includes ijolite, phonolite, nephelinite, trachyte, carbonatite, granite, and feldspathic and aegirine-bearing fenites; the matrix is sometimes calcareous, sometimes feldspathic. Nephelinitic lavas occur amongst the lowest lavas, but the lavas above are nearly all phonolitic. The oldest dykes are nephelinitic and are rare; the youngest dykes are phonolitic and are abundantly exposed. Both lavas and dykes contain xenoliths similar to those in the pyroclastic rocks. A series of volcanic plugs pierce the lavas. These plugs, mostly non-conduit type, average 200–500 m diameter, are mainly composed of glassy to very fine-grained phonolites, and show good flow structures. The plugs, especially those near the Ruri hills, tend to lie along N - S and E - W lines. The majority of the dykes also lie along these directions. The dominant structural directions within the nearby Usaki ijolite complex and the Wasaki carbonatite are also N - S and E - W, respectively. These directions are quite different from the axis of the Kavirondo rift valley which here is NE - SW, and from the strike of the Precambrian basement. The Nyamaji volcanic structure differs from nearly all the other East African volcanoes by its dominant phonolitic petrochemistry.     

Effects of the use of the surface spectrum of a specific region on seismic performances of R/C structures

Category 5 tropical cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu in March 2015, affecting thousands of people. Three months after the event, this study compared the responses from both external aid agencies and the disaster-affected communities to identify convergences, duplications and gaps. The research relies on 13 interviews with aid agencies and eight focus group discussions with participatory activities at local community level. While aid agencies actively responded during and after Pam, local people too responded to the event with strategies based on livelihoods diversification, food security techniques, traditional knowledge and cooperation intra- and inter-communities. The study emphasizes the need for an integrative approach where disaster responses from the top-down integrate that from the bottom-up. Aid agencies should build on the livelihood mechanisms developed at local level so responses and recovery can be more effective, socioculturally acceptable and may lead to sustainable outcomes of disaster risk reduction including climate change adaptation.     

Crystallographic preferred orientation development by dissolution–precipitation creep

Crystallographic preferred orientations (CPOs) in deformed rocks are commonly interpreted as resulting from crystal plastic deformation mechanisms, where deformation is achieved by the movement of dislocations. In this paper we investigate the possibility of CPO-development by dissolution–precipitation creep or pressure solution. A numerical model is presented, which simulates the development of a grain aggregate that deforms by reaction-controlled dissolution–precipitation creep. Grains are simulated as rectangular boxes that change their shape by growth, or dissolution of their surfaces, depending on the normal stresses acting on the individual surfaces. Grains can also rotate due to an applied vorticity (for non-coaxial deformation) and if they have a non-equidimensional shape. For each strain increment, stress that is applied to the grains is the same for all grains, while individual grains deform and rotate by different amounts. A variety of CPOs develop at moderate strains, depending on the reaction rates of the different crystal-surfaces and type of deformation (uni-axial shortening, plane strain pure shear and simple shear). The modelling results confirm that dissolution–precipitation creep may play a role in CPO-development in rocks.     

Biogeomorphology in the marine landscape: Modelling the feedbacks between patches of the polychaete worm Lanice conchilega and tidal sand waves

Tidal sand waves are dynamic bedforms found in coastal shelf seas. Moreover, these areas are inhabited by numerous benthic species, of which the spatial distribution is linked to the morphological structure of sand waves. In particular, the tube-building worm Lanice conchilegais of interest as this organism forms small mounds on the seabed, which provide shelter to other organisms. We investigate how the interactions between small-scale mounds (height ∼dm) and large-scale sand waves (height ∼m) shape the bed of the marine environment. To this end, we present a two-way coupled process-based model of sand waves and tube-building worm patches in Delft3D. The population density evolves according to a general law of logistic growth, with the bed shear stress controlling the carrying capacity. Worm patches are randomly seeded and the tubes are mimicked by small cylinders that influence flow and turbulence, thereby altering sediment dynamics. Model results relate the patches with the highest worm densities to the sand wave troughs, which qualitatively agrees with field observations. Furthermore, the L. conchilegatubes trigger the formation of sandy mounds on the seabed. Because of the population density distribution, the mounds in the troughs can be several centimetres higher than on the crests. Regarding sand wave morphology, the combination of patches and mounds are found to shorten the time-to-equilibrium. Also, if the initial bed comprised small sinusoidal sand waves, the equilibrium wave height decreased with a few decimetres compared to the situation without worm patches. As the timescale of mound formation (years) is shorter than that of sand wave evolution (decades), the mounds induce (and accelerate) sand wave growth on a similar spatial scale to the mounds. Initially, this leads to shorter sand waves than they would be in an abiotic environment. However, near equilibrium the wavelengths tend towards their abiotic counterparts again. © 2020 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

Larval dispersion of the estuarine crab Neohelice granulata in coastal marine waters of the Southwest Atlantic

The estuarine brachyuran crab Neohelice granulata export their larvae from the parental intertidal population of the Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon, and probably other populations, to marine waters. The degree of larval dispersion or self-recruitment of populations is unknown. We evaluated the presence of all larval stages of N. granulata in coastal waters of Argentina between 37.9° and 35.8° S, at two different spatial scales: a broad scale of tens to hundreds of kilometers from the Río de la Plata estuary in the north, to Mar Chiquita lagoon in the south, and a small scale of hundreds of meters to some kilometers around the mouth of Mar Chiquita, during spring and summer. Additionally, we registered the larval composition and density at San Clemente creek population, in Samborombon Bay (Río de la Plata estuary), every 3 h along a 30-hour period. Evidence indicates that larval release of N. granulata is temporally synchronized with nocturnal ebb tides and all development from Zoea I to Zoea IV occur in areas close to the parental population, even with very different oceanographic characteristics. A possible mechanism based on salinity selection and wind-driven transport is proposed for such behavior, and some considerations related to the connectivity of present populations are made.     

The organic carbon pump in the Atlantic

The growth, sinking and remineralisation of phytoplankton constitute the soft-tissue carbon pump. Here we derive the expression for the strength of this carbon pump in terms of the nutrient utilisation and the carbon:nutrient ratio of plankton. Furthermore, we aim to determine how the physical environment affects this carbon pump. Thereto, we have used a plankton physiological model with a novel representation of the effect of temperature and light on plankton stoichiometry; it predicts that the effect of temperature on the carbon:nutrient ratio depends on the light conditions. Using this model combined with a mechanistic model for the mixed layer, we have studied the biological carbon pump at the BATS site and at various locations along a meridional transect through the Atlantic Ocean. Our results suggest that the soft-tissue carbon pump is stronger at mid-latitudes than in the (sub-)tropics and near the poles as a consequence of latitudinal variations in algal stoichiometry.     

Control of the repeatability of high frequency multibeam echosounder backscatter by using natural reference areas

The increased use of backscatter measurements in time series for environmental monitoring necessitates the comparability of individual results. With the current lack of pre-calibrated multibeam echosounder systems for absolute backscatter measurement, a pragmatic solution is the use of natural reference areas for ensuring regular assessment of the backscatter measurement repeatability. This method mainly relies on the assumption of a sufficiently stable reference area regarding its backscatter signature. The aptitude of a natural area to provide a stable and uniform backscatter response must be carefully considered and demonstrated by a sufficiently long time-series of measurements. Furthermore, this approach requires a strict control of the acquisition and processing parameters. If all these conditions are met, stability check and relative calibration of a system are possible by comparison with the averaged backscatter values for the area. Based on a common multibeam echosounder and sampling campaign completed by available bathymetric and backscatter time series, the suitability as a backscatter reference area of three different candidates was evaluated. Two among them, Carré Renard and Kwinte, prove to be excellent choices, while the third one, Western Solent, lacks sufficient data over time, but remains a valuable candidate. The case studies and the available backscatter data on these areas prove the applicability of this method. The expansion of the number of commonly used reference areas and the growth of the number of multibeam echosounder controlled thereon could greatly contribute to the further development of quantitative applications based on multibeam echosounder backscatter measurements.     

The construction of the Total Alkali-Silica chemical classification of volcanic rocks

Summary This paper describes the reasoning that lies behind the construction of the field boundaries in the Total Alkali-Silica diagram (TAS) for the chemical classification of volcanic rocks. It shows that by utilizing nomenclature in common use by petrologists in combination with a large computer database of geochemical analytical information derived from the published literature, it was possible to construct a Total Alkali-Silica diagram for volcanic rocks of only 15 fields, which has straight-line boundaries and necessitates the definition of only 11 points to construct the diagram. One of the principal constraints on the positioning of the boundaries between the various named fields was to minimize the degree of overlap between adjacent fields.

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Die chemische Einteilung vulkanischer Gesteine auf der Basis von Gesamtalkali und SiO₂

Zusammenfassung Diese Arbeit beschreibt die Überlegungen die zur Konstruktion des Total Alkali-SilicaDiagramms (TAS) zur chemischen Klassifikation der Vulkanite führten. Es wird gezeigt, daß durch die Kombination der geläufigen petrographischen Nomenklatur mit der geochemischen Information einer grossen computerisierten Datensammlung publizierter Gesteinsanalysen ein Alkali-Kieselsäurediagramm mit nur 15 Namensfeldern für vulkanische Gesteine konstruiert werden konnte. Die Felder haben gerade Begrenzungslinien und benötigen nur 11 definierte Punkte zur Einteilung. Eine der

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formerly: University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia

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As approved by the IUGS Subcommission on the Systematics of Igneous Rocks.     

Carbonatite dykes at bayan Obo,inner Mongolia,China

Summary Calcite-rich dykes occur in the thrust fold belt near the Bayan Obo rare earth element (REE) deposit. They cut a thrust inlier of granitic migmatite within folded Bayan Obo Group sediments of Proterozoic age. Cathodoluminescence, X-ray fluorescence and microprobe studies show that the rock is a calcite carbonatite with Sr-Mn-bearing calcite, magnesio-riebeckite, apatite, pyrochlore, K-feldspar and biotite. One dyke was chosen for detailed analysis. Its margin is strongly REE-mineralized with much monazite developed adjacent to zoned apatite. Secondary alteration is marked by the introduction of Fe and Mn. The adjacent migmatite is fenitized to a magnesio-riebeckite-albite rock. The sedimentary dolomite of the Bayan Obo Group is composed mainly of Mn-Sr-RE-hearing ferroan dolomite and contains bands of opaque grains, apatite, monazite, fluorite and taeniolite. Many trace element and isotope similarities between the carbonatite dyke and the sedimentary dolomite are revealed, and the evidence supports the possibility that the dolomite is a dolomitized carbonatite tuff. The Bayan Obo REE mineralization also shows geochemical similarities with the mineralization seen in the carbonatites, and a possible genetic connection is presented.

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Die Karbonatit-Gänge von Bayan Obo, Innere Mongolei, China

Zusammenfassung Kalzit-reiche Gänge kommen im Faltengürtel in der Nähe der Seltenen-Erd-Lagerstätte Bayan Obo vor. Es handelt sich um hellbräunliche, 1–2 m mächtige Gänge, die migmatitische Orthogneise von granitischer Zusammensetzung innerhalb der gefalteten Sedimente der Bayan Obo Gruppe durchsetzen. Chemische Daten, die auf Kathoden-Lumineszenz, Röntgen-Fluoreszenz und Mikrosondenuntersuchungen beruhen, zeigen, daß es sich hier um einen Kalzit-KazhooudimdSr-Mo-führeodem Kalzit, Magnesio-Riebeckit Apatit, Pyrochlor Alkalifelds und Biotit handelt. Einer dieser Gänge wurde für eine eingehende Untersuchung ausgewählt. Seine randlichen Partien sind stark mit SEE mineralisiert, und viel Monazit kommt in der Nähe von zonar gebautem Apatit vor. Sekundäre Umwandlung wird durch die Zufuhr von Fe und Mn markiert. Der benachbarte Migmatit ist fenitisiert und dadurch in ein Magnesio-Riebeckit-Gestein umgewandelt. Der sedimentäre Dolomit der Bayan-Obo-Gruppe besteht hauptsächlich aus Mn-Sr-SE-führenden eisenhaltigen Dolomit und enthält Lagen von opaken Mineralen, Apatit, Monazit, Fluorit und Taeniolit. Karbonatitgänge und der sedimentäre Dolomit zeigen Ähnlichkeiten, was den Spurenelementgehalt und die isotopische Zusammensetzung betrifft. Diese Daten weisen auf die Möglichkeit hin, daß der Dolomit ein dolomitisiert Karbonatit-Tuff ist. Die SEE-Vererzung von Bayan Obo zeigt auch geochemische Ähnlichkeiten mit der Vererzung der Karbonatite, und ein möglicher genetischer Zusammenhang wird diskutiert.

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With 16 Figures