The mean curvature of the external equipotential surface and the vertical gravity gradient as functions of stokes's constants

Summary The mean curvature of the equipotential surface and the vertical gradient of gravity are expressed in terms of a development into a series of spherical harmonics [1, 2, 4], neglecting terms of the order of 10^–8. The curvature anomalies have been computed using the satellite data [3]. The symbols used are the same as in [5].Dedicated to 90th Birthday of Professor Frantiek Fiala     

Recent movements of the earth's crust

Summary It has been shown that it is necessary to combine several methods to be able to describe and explain recent movements of the Earth's crust.Presented at the XV^th General Assembly of the IUGG, Moscow 1971.     

Vlf experiment with the interkosmos-5 satellite

Summary The Interkosmos5 VLF experiment consisted of a spectrum analyser with twelve narrow-band channels and broadband measurements between0.07 and20 kHz using an analogue telemetry with a tape recorder on board. The apparatus used in the experiment is shortly described, some examples ofVLF phenomena observed are given and a review of all analogue data recorded is shown in a graphical calendar.     

Peralkaline acid tendencies in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands)

The study of a volcanic series from the island of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands) in which alkaline and peralkaline, saturated and undersaturated rocks coexist, is reported here. Materials with high volatile content (ignimbritic trachytes) were first emitted and the series ended with the eruption of phonolitic lavas. The average peralkalinity index in these rocks is typically about 1.0 and, therefore, peralkaline rocks coexist with non-peralkaline ones. However, a maximum in peralkalinity is found in the ignimbritic rocks of the lower part of the series. In spite of the evident acid peralkaline tendencies of these rocks, it does not seem appropriate to classify them as pantellerites or comendites. Nor are they consistent with the genetic processes proposed for rocks of similar composition and oceanic environment.The crystallization of the feldspars controls the variation trends among the different magmas but the fractionation alone does not sufficiently explain the genesis of successive fluids. Various factors seem to point to the important role which a gas-transfer process causing a geochemical stratification inside the magmatic chamber may have played.The occurrence of peralkaline silicics at Gran Canaria, which is located for away from the active Mid-Atlantic ridge, is not related to transitional basalts. These rocks are a deviation from the main undersaturated alkalic trend which characterizes the volcanism of the Canary Islands, their genesis being related to the realization of favourable local volcanic conditions.     

Rhyolitic pumice in the basaltic pyroclasts from the 1971 eruption of Teneguía volcano,Canary Islands

Fragments of acid pumice have been found among the basic pyroclastics thrown out by the Teneguía volcano during its explosive phases. The presence of these pumice fragments brings up the problem of their origin and their relationships to the mechanism of the eruption.The composition of the analysed samples coincides exactly with the low temperature trough in petrogeny's residua system, albits-orthoclase-silica. The samples can be classified as rhyolites and trachytes.The authors propose that the pumice was produced by the fusion of the acid phase in a subvolcanic complex located beneath the island of La Palma.     

Comment on the effect of a vorticity centre on a frontal boundary

Zusammenfassung Es wird der Einfluss des sogenannten Vorticity-Zentrums auf die Grenzfläche zweier Luftmassen der mittleren geographischen Breiten studiert. Zwecks Aufklärung der Rolle des Bewegungs- und Druckfeldes in diesem Prozesse wurde ein einfaches Modell konstruiert und numerisch gelöst. Die sich entwickelnde frontale Welle kann beziehungsweise als ein Anfangswert beim Lösen der mit der Stabilität der Wellen verbundenen Probleme mittels der Gleichungen, linearisiert durch die Methode der kleinen Störungen, dienen. Bei der Konstruktion des Modells wird ausser anderem von der Geometrie der Bewölkung ausgegangen, wie sie auf den Aufnahmen der meteorologischen Satelliten erfasst ist.     

Weighting of vertical angles

Summary According to the results of the adjustments of eight trigonometric and three-dimensional networks, the a priori variance m²() of the measured vertical angle is expressed by the formula: m²() = m²(a) + [C 1/2 m(k)]², where m(a) represents accidental observation errors; the constant C is estimated in the interval 0.5–1.5 according to the number of repreated observations and the variation of their changes with time; is the angle between the normals to the ellipsoid at the initial and final point of the line of sight, and m(k) is the mean square error of the coefficient of refraction which can be estimated for a given network from Tab. 1.Dedicated to 90th Birthday of Professor Frantiek Fiala