Characteristics and origins of lee-side stratification sequences in late pleistocene drumlins,northern Ireland

Spindle- and parabolic-shaped drumlins examined at fifty-five localities in northern Ireland possess stratification sequences on their lee-side flanks. These forms lack the distinctive steep stoss- and tapering lee-ends of classical drumlins and tend to occur in linear zones transverse to late Pleistocene ice-flow. In most cases (90 per cent) the stratified deposits infill embayments excavated in the lee-side of barkhanoid forms and, in the remainder (10 per cent), they are superimposed on the lee-side of whaleback forms. The stratification sequences developed as a result of sedimentation in interconnected subglacial water-filled cavities and are unlike remanie proglacial sediments moulded by ice into drumlin form. Stratigraphic evidence indicates that the lee-side sequences developed during drumlin streamlining, which supports the view that subglacial hydraulic processes played an important role in drumlin formation.     

Comparative growth of juvenile white sturgeon and striped bass: Effects of temperature and hypoxia

The influences of temperature and environmental hypoxia on the growth rates of two California anadromous fishes, white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) and striped bass (Morone saxatilis) were examined. Fish (0.5–0.6 g initial weight) were fedad libitum rations ofArtemia in flow-through aquaria regulated for temperature (15, 20, and 25°C) and oxygen tension (130 and 90 torr P_{o 2}). Growth of sturgeon was significantly greater at 20 °C compared with 15 °C, but there was no difference between 20 and 25 °C. Striped bass growth increased with each 5° increment of temeprature elevation to 3.2% body weight per d at 25 °C, the fastest growth rate measured. The temperature of maximum growth reflected the temperature of the native estuarine rearing area. Environmental hypoxia (90 torr P_{o 2}) reduced growth of sturgeon within each temperature level, whereas striped bass growth was reduced by hypoxia only at the upper two temperatures. Sturgeon were much more active in the growth chambers than striped bass. Sturgeon activity increased with each 5 °C temperature increase under normoxia and hypoxia, except at 25 °C (hypoxia) where activity was insignificantly different from that at 20 °C (hypoxia).     

Zonal and meridional circulations in the equatorialzone as deduced from the divergence field of the surface wind

The zonal and meridional circulations and their variability are examined on the basis of the surface wind data for 1950-1979. The climatological mean zonal wind and its divergence are examined in reference to the Walker Circulation. The role played by the meridional circulation in contributing to convergence of the surface wind field within the equatorial zone is emphasized. Regression coefficients are used to infer seasonal mean anomalies of divergence of the surface wind in years when the sea level pressure is 1 hPa above normal at Darwin, a condition representative of El Nino events. It is shown that anomalies in the divergence associated with the meridional wind component are primarily responsible for the heavy precipitation in the Central Pacific, while the anomalous divergence associated with the zonal wind component may cause the drought in the Western Pacific near Indonesia. A similar pattern of divergence anomalies is evident during three consecutive seasons beginning in northern summer and ending in northern winter. The reinforcement of the Hadley Circulation during El Nino episodes is noted. It is shown that the circulations over the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean are relatively uncorrelated. The interrelation between the dipole anticyclones and the meridional cir-culation over the central Pacific is discussed.     

Simulated climate and CO2—Induced climate change over Western Europe

The use of a relatively high resolution general circulation model (the Meteorological Office 5-layer model) to determine climate changes for impact studies is evaluated. The simulation of present day climate over Western Europe is assessed by comparing not only different seasons with climatological data, but also the mean annual cycle and the frequency of extreme events. It is found that while the broad features of the simulation are satisfactory, the model produces too many cold episodes in spring, and an excessive number of wet days over northern Europe. When atmospheric CO₂ concentrations are quadrupled, and sea surface temperatures and sea ice extents changed appropriately, the number of cold episodes is reduced and precipitation is less frequent in summer and autumn over much of Europe, and throughout the year in the south. The relevance of both the model data and the statistical tests to climate impact studies is discussed.     

Sources of magnetic susceptibility in a slate

Magnetic susceptibility and its anisotropy in the Borrowdale Volcanic slates at Kentmere in the English Lake District are attributed largely to preferred orientation of a paramagnetic chlorite of diabantite-ripidolite composition. In units of 10⁻⁶ cgs/g, the principal susceptibilities for the slates are 9.61; 9.42; 8.69 and for the chlorite grains the minimum anisotropy is represented by principal susceptibilities of 11.57; 11.22 and 9.15. Because the magnetic susceptibility is carried by a tightly packed, matrix-forming mineral that has recrystallised during the deformation it is not possible to imagine simple grain rotation as being responsible for the anisotropy of susceptibility.     

Evidence for Enhanced Mineral Dissolution in Organic Acid-Rich Shallow Ground Water

Total concentrations of formate, acetate, and isobutyrate varied from less than 5 to greater than 9,000 μmol/l over distances of < 3 m in ground water from a shallow hydrocarbon contaminated aquifer. Laboratory incubations of aquifer material indicate that organic acid concentrations were dependent on the amount of hydrocarbon loading in the sediment and the relative rates of microbial organic acid production and consumption. In heavily contaminated sediments, production greatly exceeded consumption and organic acid concentrations increased. In lightly contaminated sediments rates were essentially equal and organic acid concentrations remained low. Concentrations of dissolved calcium, magnesium, and iron generally were one to two orders of magnitude higher in organic acid-rich ground water than in ground water having low organic acid concentrations. Carbonate and Fe(III)-oxyhydroxide minerals were the likely sources of these elements. Similarly, concentrations of dissolved silica, derived from quartz and k-feldspar, were higher in organic acid-rich ground water than in other waters. The positive relation (r = 0.60, p < .05, n = 16) between concentrations of silica and organic acids suggests that the microbially mediated buildup of organic acids in ground water enhanced quartz/k-feldspar dissolution in the aquifer, although it was not the only factor influencing their dissolution. A model that included organic acid microequivalents normalized by cation microequivalents significantly strengthened the correlation (r = 0.79, p < .001, n = 16) between dissolved silica and organic acid concentrations, indicating that competition between silica and cations for complexation sites on organic acids also influenced quartz/k-feldspar dissolution. Physical evidence for enhanced mineral dissolution in organic acid-rich waters included scanning electron microscopy images of highly corroded quartz and k-feldspar grains from portions of the aquifer containing organic acid-rich ground water. Microporosity generated in hydrocarbon contaminated sediments may adversely affect remediation efforts that depend on the efficient injection of electron acceptors into an aquifer or on the recovery of solutes from an aquifer.     

Archean inheritance in zircon from late Paleozoic granites from the Avalon zone of southeastern New England: an African connection

In southeastern New England the Narragansett Pier Granite locally intrudes Carboniferous metasedimentary rocks of the Narragansett basin, and yields a monazite UPb Permian emplacement age of 273 ± 2Ma. Zircon from the Narragansett Pier Granite contains a minor but detectable amount of an older, inherited component, and shows modern loss of lead. Zircon from the late-stage, aplitic Westerly Granite exhibits a more pronounced lead inheritance —permitting the inherited component to be identified as Late Archean. Such old relict zircon has not been previously recognized in Proterozoic to Paleozoic igneous rocks in New England, and may be restricted to late Paleozoic rocks of the Avalon zone. We suggest that the Archean crustal component reflects an African connection, in which old Archean crust was underplated to the Avalon zone microplate in the late Paleozoic during collision of Gondwanaland with Avalonia.     

WAVE HEIGHTS IN THE SURF ZONE

The advantages and disadvantages of measuring ocean wave heights in the surf zone by using terrestrial photogrammetry are outlined. Difficulties arising from a lack of control points can be overcome by using the apparent horizon to provide camera orientations about two axes, provided that the apparent horizon is the sea surface and that an unconventional orientation of the camera axis system is adopted. Following practical tests and error simulation studies, height differences were determined for 12 points in the breaking wave zone off a Newcastle (New South Wales) beach. It is hoped that the method can be developed as a convenient means of collecting wave data.