Multiple wavelength observations of a solar active region

The Solar Maximum Mission Satellite, the Sacramento Peak Vacuum Tower Telescope, the Very Large Array and the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope have been used to observe active region AR 2490 on two consecutive days at soft X-ray, ultraviolet, optical and radio wavelengths (2, 6, and 20 cm), with comparable angular resolution (2 to 15) and field of view (4 × 4). The radio emissions at = 6 cm and 20 cm show a double structure in which one component is associated with bright H plage, C iv and soft X-ray emission, and the other component is associated only with sunspots. No radiation at = 2 cm is detected in this latter component. Coronal temperature and emission measure derived from X-ray lines indicate that the dominant radiation mechanism of the plage-associated component is due to thermal bremsstrahlung while the gyroresonance absorption coefficient must be invoked to account for the high brightness temperature (T _b 2×10⁶K) observed in the sunspot associated component. The high magnetic field strength needed (600 G at a level where T2×10⁶K) is explained assuming a thin transition zone, in order to reach a high electron temperature close to the sunspot, where the magnetic fields are stronger. A higher temperature gradient above sunspots is also consistent with the absence of detectable C iv emission.Cooperative study of the SMY-FBS Project.On leave from the University of Napoli.On leave from the University of Torino.On sabbatical leave 1980–81 at the Arcetri Observatory.On leave from Toyokawa Observatory, Japan.     

The yellow hypergiants

We list the main stellar data of known hypergiants and similarly luminous stars, and then concentrate on a review of the yellow hypergiants. These stars are post-red supergiants evolving along blueward loops in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Their properties, their location in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and their occasional mass ejections are related to a region of atmospheric instability in the H-R diagram, the Yellow Void. The ‘bouncing against the border of the Void’ of three objects: Cas, HR8752 and IRC+10420, is described. The apparent atmospheric instability of yellow hypergiants is related to the atmospheric pulsations. There are indications that the approach to the Void is associated with an increased amplitude of the pulsation and with enhanced mass loss. The observed small-scale motion field is only apparently strongly supersonic; the observed large stochastic velocities are the quasi-stochastically varying thermal motions in the many hot sheets that occur in the wakes of many small shocks, while the real hydrodynamic velocity component is small and subsonic. This shock-wave field is also responsible for the observed rate of mass loss and for emission in the wings of H. Most yellow hypergiants have envelopes containing gas and dust, but a thick extended envelope, presumably dissipating and showing bipolar outflow, is only known around IRC+10420. At the interface of the bipolar wind and the interstellar medium one or more stationary shocks may develop as is observed in the case of IRC+10420 and suspected with Cas. Received 1 July 1997     

Some geochemical controls on lead and barium concentrations in ferromanganese deposits

The Pb content of natural deep-sea ferromanganese deposits decreases with depth. This is commonly explained by assuming oxidation of Pb²⁺ and uptake as (Mn, Pb)O₂ in normally oxygenated shallow water, a process that is less likely to occur in deep water which is somewhat depleted in oxygen. This concept is discussed and rejected, both on theoretical grounds and based on experimental results of Pb²⁺ sorption by Mn oxides. Comparative sorption experiments on Mn oxides were carried out with Pb and Ba. It is shown that Pb is preferentially adsorbed by birnessite at $\text{pH}\text{? 4}$. The uptake ratio is, however, much lower than the relative enrichment factor in natural nodule material. Suggested explanations for this discrepancy are: influence of hydrostatic pressure and extent of hydrolysis of the cations at the pH of ocean water.     

Trace elements in suspended matter from the anoxic hypersaline Tyro and Bannock Basins (eastern Mediterranean)

In the anoxic hypersaline Tyro and Bannock Basins of the eastern Mediterranean, extremely high concentrations of Co (0.015%), Cu (1.35%) and Zn (0.28%) were found in suspended matter collected at the sharp interface between seawater and the anoxic brine. The high particulate Co, Cu and Zn concentrations can be explained by the sharp increase in dissolved sulphide at these interfaces, and the resultant precipitation of metal sulphides. The particulate As, Sb and Mo concentrations also showed a sharp maximum at or close to the interface. However, the contributions of As, Sb and Mo contents in suspended matter to the total concentrations in the water column are small. Scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDAX) of suspended particulate matter from the Tyro Basin revealed spherical particles strongly enriched in Fe, Cu and Zn at the seawater-brine interface.     

Experiments on the uptake of zinc and cadmium by manganese oxides

Experiments on the uptake of Zn and Cd by synthetic hydrous Mn oxides were carried out in an ionic medium at pH 3.5 and at pH 4. A slight preference for uptake of Cd²⁺ over Zn²⁺ was observed with both birnessite and nsutite, the Cd/Zn ratio being different for each mineral. Subsequently, the desorption of Zn and Cd from the obtained products in artificial seawater was studied. In this medium Cd is desorbed from the Mn oxides to a much higher extent than is Zn. The latter observations can be satisfactorily explained by the large difference of complex formation for the two metals in seawater, slightly counteracted by the preferential uptake of Cd²⁺ over Zn²⁺. The order of magnitude of the Zn/Cd ratio in natural manganese nodules is compatible with the ratio calculated on the basis of experimental results, taking fair estimates of the actual inorganic Zn/Cd ratio in seawater and of the pH of deep ocean water.     

The use of SfM-photogrammetry to quantify and understand gully degradation at the temporal scale of rainfall events: an example from the Ethiopian drylands

Abstract

With the recent technological advances offered by SfM-photogrammetry, we now have the possibility to study gully erosion at very high spatial and temporal scales from multi-temporal DEMs, and thus to enhance our understanding of both gully erosion processes and controls. Here, we examine gully degradation and aggradation at a gully headcut and at four re-incisions along a gully reach in Northern Ethiopia. Environmental controls recorded are topography rainfall, runoff, land use and cover, land management, and soil characteristics. The overall vulnerability of the catchment to erosion is low as calculated from the RUSLE (average 11.83 t ha^?1 y^?1). This reflects the successful land management of the past years. The runoff coefficient was on average 7.3% (maximum 18.2%). Runoff events caused most geomorphic change in the gully, but slumping of the gully bank also occurred on dry days. Most geomorphic change was caused by one major rainfall event of 54.8 mm d^?1, and smaller runoff events caused both degradation and aggradation, often asynchronous between studied sites. Although most research focuses on gully heads alone, re-incisions at lower locations can still cause important gully degradation, which ultimately will reach the gully head and cause instability.     

Determination of efficiency of Vaseline slide and Wilson and Cooke sediment traps by wind tunnel experiments

The trap efficiency of a catcher in wind erosion measurements plays a significant role, and in many cases suspension trap efficiencies at high wind velocities are still unknown. The sediment trap efficiency generally changes with particles size and with wind speed. In this study, the efficiency of Vaseline Slide (VS) and Modified Wilson and Cooke (MWAC) catchers were determined with different sand particle sizes (<50, <75, 50–75, 200–400, and 400–500 μm) at a fixed wind speed (13.3 ms⁻¹) and with different soil textures at different wind velocities (10.3, 12.3, and 14.3 ms⁻¹) in the wind tunnel of the International Center for Eremology (ICE), Ghent University, Belgium. The traps were placed at different heights (4, 6.5, 13, 20, 120, and 192 cm for VS and 1.5, 3, 5, 8, 11, and 30 cm for MWAC) to catch saltating and suspended sediments in a 12-m long, 1.2-m wide and 3.2-m high working section of the wind tunnel. In the sand particle experiments, the efficiency of the VS catcher was 92% for particles smaller than 50 μm and decreased with increasing particles size, falling to 2.2% for 400–500 μm particle size at 13.4 ms⁻¹. However, the MWAC’s efficiency was 0% for particles smaller than 50 μm and increased with increasing particle size to 69.5% at 400–500 μm. In the experiments with different soil textures, the efficiency of each catcher significantly changed with soil and with wind speed. It also considerably varied with the catchers: for instance, for sand (S), the MWAC efficiency was very high (67.4, 113.4, and 90.5% at 10.3, 12.3, and 14.4 ms⁻¹, respectively) while the efficiency of VS was relatively very low (5.2, 4.4, and 1.9% at 10.3, 12.3, and 14.4 ms⁻¹, respectively). Results indicated that the efficiency depends critically on the particle size, type of catcher, and wind speed, and these could be helpful to increase the robustness of wind erosion measurements.     

Spatial development of X-ray emission during the impulsive phase of a solar flare

The flare of 11 November, 1980, 1725 UT occurred in a magnetically complex region. It was preceded by some ten minutes by a gradual flare originating over the magnetic inversion line, close to a small sunspot. This seems to have triggered the main flare (at 70 000 km distance) which originated between a large sunspot and the inversion line. The main flare started at 172320 UT with a slight enhancement of hard X-rays (E > 30 keV) accompanied by the formation of a dark loop between two H bright ribbons. In 3–8 keV X-rays a southward expansion started at the same time, with - 500 km s ^–1. At the same time a surge-like expansion started. It was observable slightly later in H, with southward velocities of 200 km s^–1. The dark H loop dissolved at 1724 UT at which time several impulsive phenomena started such as a complex of hard X-ray bursts localized in a small area. At the end of the impulsive phase at 172540 UT, a coronal explosion occurred directed southward with an initial expansion velocity of 1800 km s^–1, decreasing in 40 s to 500 km s^–1.Now at Fokker Aircraft Industries, Schiphol, The Netherlands.     

Tracing mechanisms controlling the release of dissolved silicon in forest soil solutions using Si isotopes and Ge/Si ratios

The terrestrial biogenic Si (BSi) pool in the soil-plant system is ubiquitous and substantial, likely impacting the land-ocean transfer of dissolved Si (DSi). Here, we consider the mechanisms controlling DSi in forest soil in a temperate granitic ecosystem that would differ from previous works mostly focused on tropical environments. This study aims at tracing the source of DSi in forest floor leachates and in soil solutions under various tree species at homogeneous soil and climate conditions, using stable Si isotopes and Ge/Si ratios. Relative to granitic bedrock, clays minerals were enriched in ²⁸Si and had high Ge/Si ratios, while BSi from phytoliths was also enriched in ²⁸Si, but had a low Ge/Si ratio. Such a contrast is useful to infer the relative contribution of silicate weathering and BSi dissolution in the shallow soil on the release of DSi in forest floor leachate solutions. The δ³⁰Si values in forest floor leachates (−1.38‰ to −2.05‰) are the lightest ever found in natural waters, and Ge/Si ratios are higher in forest floor leachates relative to soil solution. These results suggest dissolution of ²⁸Si and Ge-enriched secondary clay minerals incorporated by bioturbation in organic-rich horizons in combination with an isotopic fractionation releasing preferentially light Si isotopes during this dissolution process. Ge/Si ratios in soil solutions are governed by incongruent weathering of primary minerals and neoformation of secondary clays minerals. Tree species influence Si-isotopic compositions and Ge/Si ratios in forest floor leachates through differing incorporation of minerals in organic horizons by bioturbation and, to a lesser extent, through differing Si recycling.     

Instability regions in the upper HR diagram

The following instability regions for blueward evolving-supergiants are outlined and compared. (1) Areas in the Hertzsprung–Russell (HR) diagram where stars are dynamically unstable. (2) Areas where the effective acceleration in the upper part of the photospheres is negative, hence directed outward. (3) Areas where the sonic points of the stellar winds (where     are situated inside the photospheres, at a level deeper than     . We compare the results with the positions of actual stars in the HR diagram and we find evidence that the recent strong contraction of the yellow hypergiant HR 8752 was initiated in a period during which     , whereupon the star became dynamically unstable. The instability and extreme shells around IRC+10420 are suggested to be related to three factors:     the sonic point is situated inside the photosphere; and the star is dynamically unstable.