Neophrynichthys heterospilos,a new species of fathead sculpin (Scorpaeniformes: Psych rol utidae) from New Zealand

A second species of Neophrynichthys is described from 20 specimens collected from the Campbell Plateau, south of South Island, New Zealand. It differs from its sole congener, N. latus, in having 25–26 pectoral rays (versus 22–24), cirri on head more than twice as large, half as few (c. 50 versus >100), and generally absent from the mid‐region behind the eyes (versus being relatively dense), and in spotted colour pattern covering much less than 50% of the dorsal surface of the head (versus >50%). This new species is the sixth psychrolutid known from New Zealand. The genus Neophrynichthys is formally diagnosed by two synapomorphic characters unique among psychrolutids: having light spots on a dark ground colour and having an open fourth and fifth infraorbital, fifth and sixth cranial arch, medial extrascapular, and posterior tabular of the pterotic.     

Estimates of carbon stored in harvested wood products from the United States forest service northern region, 1906-2010

Background  

Global forests capture and store significant amounts of CO₂ through photosynthesis. When carbon is removed from forests through harvest, a portion of the harvested carbon is stored in wood products, often for many decades. The United States Forest Service (USFS) and other agencies are interested in accurately accounting for carbon flux associated with harvested wood products (HWP) to meet greenhouse gas monitoring commitments and climate change adaptation and mitigation objectives. This paper uses the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) production accounting approach and the California Forest Project Protocol (CFPP) to estimate HWP carbon storage from 1906 to 2010 for the USFS Northern Region, which includes forests in northern Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, and eastern Washington.     

Analysis of large thermal maturity datasets: Examples from the Canadian Arctic Islands

This paper describes an approach for verifying thermal maturity data in a large historical dataset from the Canadian Arctic Islands. A compilation of more than 6000 maturity measurements (vitrinite reflectance and Rock-Eval Tmax) collected over the span of three decades involved a rigorous assessment of data quality. Some common anomalies in interpreting thermal maturity dataset include: (i) elevated thermal maturity due to Cretaceous igneous intrusion in the region, (ii) reworking of refractory material from older rocks into younger strata during the Triassic period, (iii) suppression of vitrinite reflectance and Tmax in hydrogen-rich samples, (iv) low maturity values due to cross-contamination by the younger sediments during drilling process (caving), and (v) offset maturity values obtained from different maturity measurements. The study discusses various independent checks to verify the obtained maturity parameters. The comparison between thermal maturity data with the sonic velocity of shale resulted in a satisfactory correlation. While such a correlation may vary in different sedimentary basins, it produces a useful independent assessment of thermal maturity. The results indicate that increased heat flow during the Jurassic–Early Cretaceous rifting of the Canada Basin may have caused the elevated maturity beyond the expected burial level as suggested by the discrepancy between thermal maturity and sonic velocity data. Given the fact that vitrinite reflectance records only the maximum temperature to which the enclosing rocks were exposed, deviation of the collected reflectance values from the current depth of burial serves as an indicator for the amount of geological uplift.     

Extreme sea levels,coastal flooding and climate change with a focus on Atlantic Canada

Estimation of the probability distribution of extreme sea levels, for the present time and the next century, is discussed. Two approaches are described and their strengths and weaknesses are compared. The first approach is based on dynamics and uses a storm surge model forced by tides, winds and air pressure fields. The second approach is based on the statistical analysis of observed hourly sea level records using a new first-order Markov process that can capture non-Gaussian characteristics (such as skewness) in the non-tidal component of the observed sea level record. It is shown that both approaches can provide good estimates of present day flooding probabilities for regions with relatively strong tides. The limitations of both approaches in terms of assessing the effect of global sea level rise, glacial-isostatic adjustment of the land, and changes in the frequency and severity of storms and hurricanes, are illustrated using recent results for the Northwest Atlantic. Some sensitivity studies are carried out to transform uncertainty in climate change projections into uncertainties in the probability of coastal flooding.     

Granitoid events in space and time: Constraints from igneous and detrital zircon age spectra

The goal of this study is to evaluate the global age distribution of granitoid magmatism and juvenile continental crust production with U/Pb isotopic ages from igneous and detrital zircons, and with Nd isotopic data. Granitoid age peaks, which are largely defined by TIMS data, are narrow and precise in contrast to detrital peaks that are often broad and hump-shaped due to the larger uncertainties of SHRIMP and LAM-ICPMS data. Granitic age peaks do not always have detrital counterparts and vice versa. Possible contributing factors to this mismatch are removal of crustal sources by erosion, inadequate sampling of granitoids because of cover by younger rocks, or small age peaks hidden by large age peaks in detrital spectra.Seven igneous peaks are found on five or more cratons or continents (3300, 2700, 2680, 2500, 2100, 1900 and 1100 Ma) and seven detrital peaks occur on three or more continents (2785, 2700, 2600, 2500, 1900, 1650 and 1200 Ma). Nd isotope distributions suggest important additions of juvenile continental crust at 2700, 2500, 2120, 1900, 1700, 1650, 800, 570 and 450 Ma. Tight clusters of craton ages occur for Superior–Karelia, Sao Francisco–Nain, and Kaapvaal–Siberia in the early Archean and for Wyoming–Kaapvaal–Slave, Superior–Nain, and West Africa–Amazonia in the late Archean. The global 2700-Ma peak is not a simple spike, but involves several peaks between 2760 and 2650 Ma. Events older than 3700 Ma are limited to the Yilgarn, Slave, Nain and North China cratons, and events between 2600 and 2500 Ma are widespread only in East Asia, Central and East Africa, and India.Single, short-lived mantle plume events at 2700 and 1900 Ga (or any other time) cannot easily account for prolonged episodes of granitoid magmatism during the Precambrian. The causes of geographically widespread and geographically restricted events are probably not the same.     

Tidal disruptions: II. A continuum theory for solid bodies with strength, with applications to the Solar System

We present a comprehensive theory for the breakup conditions for ellipsoidal homogeneous secondary bodies subjected to the tidal forces from a nearby larger primary: for materials ranging from purely fluid ones, to granular rubble-pile gravel-like ones, and to those with either cohesive or granular strength including cohesive rocks and metals. The theory includes but greatly extends the classical analyses given by Roche in 1847, which dealt only with fluids, and also our previous analysis [Holsapple, K.A., Michel, P., 2006. Icarus 183, 331-348], which dealt only with solid but non-cohesive bodies. The results here give the distance inside of which breakup must occur, for both a steadily orbiting satellite and for a passing or impacting object. For the fluid bodies there is a single specific shape (a “Roche Ellipsoid”) that can be in equilibrium at any given distance from a primary, and especially only one shape that can exist at the overall minimum distance (d/R)(ρ/ρp)^1/3=2.455, the classical well-known “Roche limit.” In contrast, solid bodies can exist at a given distance from a primary with a range of shapes. Here we give multiple plots of the minimum distances for various important combinations of body shape, spin, mass density, and the strength parameters characterized by an angle of friction and cohesive strength. Such results can be used in different ways. They can be used to estimate limits on strengths and mass densities for orbiting bodies at a known distance and shape. They can be used to determine breakup distances for passing bodies with an assumed strength and shape. They can be used to constraint physical properties such as bulk density of bodies with a known shape that were known to breakup at a given distance. A collection of approximately 40 satellites of the Solar System is used for comparison to the theory. About half of those bodies are closer than the Roche fluid limit and must have some cohesion and/or friction angle to exist at their present orbital distance. The required solid strength for those states is determined. Finally, we apply the theory to the break up of the SL9 comet at close approach with Jupiter. Our results make clear that the literature estimates of its bulk density depend markedly on unknown parameters such as shape, orientation and spin, and most importantly, material strength characterization.     

Evidence for two populations of classical transneptunian objects: The strong inclination dependence of classical binaries

We have searched 101 Classical transneptunian objects for companions with the Hubble Space Telescope. Of these, at least 21 are binary. The heliocentric inclinations of the objects we observed range from 0.6°-34°. We find a very strong anticorrelation of binaries with inclination. Of the 58 targets that have inclinations of less than 5.5°, 17 are binary, a binary fraction of . All 17 are similar-brightness systems. On the contrary, only 4 of the 42 objects with inclinations greater than 5.5° have satellites and only 1 of these is a similar-brightness binary. This striking dichotomy appears to agree with other indications that the low eccentricity, non-resonant Classical transneptunian objects include two overlapping populations with significantly different physical properties and dynamical histories.     

Regional mid-ocean stress and a proposed focal mechanism of 'stress-discordant' earthquakes

Summary. Rock stress measurements in Iceland show maximum horizontal compression perpendicular to the trend of Reykjanes Ridge crest and of its extension, the active volcanic zone of Iceland. Fault-plane solutions of dormant stage earthquakes are consistent with the measured stress orientations, but strike—slip earthquakes associated with volcanic surges and some earthquake swarms in active geothermal areas exhibit apparent reversals of mechanism and are here defined as 'stress-discordant' in the sense that they yield deduced stress orientations 90° from the regional stress field as determined by hydrofracturing and strain relief methods. It is proposed, supported by comparison with the pore-pressure induced Denver earthquakes, that the 'stress-discordant' volcanic earthquakes are triggered by increased pore pressure and probably involve stick-slip motion similar to that reported for some laboratory tests of the pore pressure effect, characterized by gradual onset and sudden stopping of each slip episode. The question is raised as to whether stress-discordant earthquakes are dominated by a stopping phase or terminal shock with consequent reversal of the deduced shear couple. A possible stopping mechanism is suggested: the dilatant stiffening of fault gouge during shear.
It is proposed that direct measurements of stress orientation be made by hydrofracturing tests at other places along the mid-ocean ridge crest and on the margins of the Red Sea and East African rifts. The Icelandic stress data indicate the need for sceptical re-examination of some fundamentals of plate tectonics theory.     

THE ELIMINATION OF RACIALLY IDENTIFIABLE SCHOOLS *

Recent federal court decisions have emphasized the need to eliminate schools whose racial composition varies from that of the whole district by more than a fixed percent. A linear programming model is presented to assist school administrators in developing desegregation plans that comply with these guidelines. An efficient solutional technique that exploits the special structure of this model increases problem-size capabilities. A study of the Columbus City School District examines the tradeoffs involved at different levels of desegregation.