Analysis of one-dimensional models for exchange flows under strong stratification

Ocean Dynamics - One-dimensional models of exchange flows driven by horizontal density gradients are well known for performing poorly in situations with weak turbulent mixing. The main issue with...     

Origin of granite at Cabo de Santo Agostinho,Northeast Brazil

A 4 km² exposure of shallowly-emplaced leucogranite on the Atlantic coast at Cabo de Santo Agostinho, 30 km south of Recife, Brazil has been extensively studied chemically and isotopically. Twenty-three major-element analyses indicate that the Cabo granite ranges from peralkaline to peraluminous; Na₂O+K₂O is very high (7.4 to 10.4 wt.%), with CaO low (0.3%) and MgO vanishing (<0.06%). Microprobe analyses confirm the presence of arfvedsonite (biotite absent), and nearly total absence of plagioclase. The rocks are moderately to highly enriched in LREE (La 45 to 350 times chondritic), with extremely pronounced negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu^*=0.02 to 0.07). Whole-rock ¹⁸O is consistent at +8.5±0.3%._oSMOW A Rb-Sr isochron age of isotopically slightly disturbed samples is 104.8±1.8 Ma, with initial⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.7084±0.0011. Sr is depleted (2–20 ppm) but Ba is 200–750 ppm.Crystallization path calculations and petrographic observations suggest that magma formed at a pressure close to 6 kbar but rose to a crustal level equivalent to roughly 1 kbar. Quartz, the liquidus phase at moderate H₂O concentrations and pressures above 2 kbar, was resorbed during decompression as the magma moved upwards. Ultimately, quartz and alkali feldspar coprecipitated. Feldspar was not retained in the source rock nor removed early from the fractionating magma. Therefore the strong negative Eu anomaly and low Sr abundance are characteristics inherited from the source. A high H₂O concentration necessary for a large degree of melting was lacking, hence the Cabo magma composition must reflect a small degree of partial melting of a rather quartz-rich rock such as a feldspathic arenite.In a pre-drift reconstruction of Gondwanaland, the Cabo granite fits on the southernmost and youngest end of the trend of the Niger-Nigerian igneous centers with which it has close affinity. The Cabo granite occupies the western end of the trace of the ancestral Ascension mantle plume which presumably served as the heat source.     

Loess studies in central United States: evolution of concepts

Few words in the realm of earth science have caused more debate than “loess”. It is a common term that was first used as a name of a silt deposit before it was defined in a scientific sense. Because this “loose” deposit is easily distinguished from other more coherent deposits, it was recognized as a matter of practical concern and later became the object of much scientific scrutiny. Loess was first recognized along the Rhine Valley in Germany in the 1830s and was first noted in the United States in 1846 along the lower Mississippi River where it later became the center of attention. The use of the name eventually spread around the world, but its use has not been consistently applied. Over the years some interpretations and stratigraphy correlations have been validated, but others have been hotly contested on conceptual grounds and semantic issues.

The concept of loess evolved into a complex issue as loess and loess-like deposits were discovered in different parts of the US. The evolution of concepts in the central US developed in four indefinite stages: the eras of (1) discovery and development of hypotheses, (2) conditional acceptance of the eolian origin of loess, (3) “bandwagon” popularity of loess research, and (4) analytical inquiry on the nature of loess. Toward the end of the first era around 1900, the popular opinion on the meaning of the term loess shifted from a lithological sense of loose silt to a lithogenetic sense of eolian silt. However, the dual use of the term fostered a lingering skepticism during the second era that ended in 1944 with an explosion of interest that lasted for more than a decade. In 1944, R.J. Russell proposed and H.N. Fisk defended a new non-eolian, property-based, concept of loess. The eolian advocates reacted with surprise and enthusiasm. Each side used constrained arguments to show their view of the problem, but did not examine the fundamental problem, which was not in the proofs of their hypothesis, but in the definition of the term.

Between 1944 and about 1950, the debates about loess reached a maximum level of complexity. The main semantic problem was submersed in peripheral arguments about physical properties and genetic interpretations. The scholarly treatment of the subject by Fisk and Russell stimulated quality responses from a diversity of earth scientists interested in academic and applied studies, particularly geo-history, pedology, soil mechanics and stratigraphy. The long-lasting popularity of loess studies during the bandwagon era lasted to about 1970. By that time, the analytical and technical interests had attracted the mainstream into the fourth era with a focus beyond the old arguments. Although Fisk and Russell found themselves defending an unpopular theory, they stimulated a scientific interest in the late Quaternary history of the Mississippi Valley that may never be exceeded.     

On the great and abrupt falls of air temperature in Athens

Summary This note deals with the great and abrupt falls of air temperature in Athens which occur especially during the cold season of the year. The frequency of these falls, the greatest falls noted per month and the weather situations associated with these falls are examined separately. It was found that the weather situations which cause the great falls of air temperature in Greece can be classified in four categories:A, B, C andD. In theA belong the anticyclones of N and NW Europe both moving and not. TheB comprises the extensions of the anticyclone of the Azorez over Europe. In theC belong the extension of the Russian anticyclones and theD comprises the cold fronts of depressions moving from W to E.     

Real-time multi-model decadal climate predictions

We present the first climate prediction of the coming decade made with multiple models, initialized with prior observations. This prediction accrues from an international activity to exchange decadal predictions in near real-time, in order to assess differences and similarities, provide a consensus view to prevent over-confidence in forecasts from any single model, and establish current collective capability. We stress that the forecast is experimental, since the skill of the multi-model system is as yet unknown. Nevertheless, the forecast systems used here are based on models that have undergone rigorous evaluation and individually have been evaluated for forecast skill. Moreover, it is important to publish forecasts to enable open evaluation, and to provide a focus on climate change in the coming decade. Initialized forecasts of the year 2011 agree well with observations, with a pattern correlation of 0.62 compared to 0.31 for uninitialized projections. In particular, the forecast correctly predicted La Niña in the Pacific, and warm conditions in the north Atlantic and USA. A similar pattern is predicted for 2012 but with a weaker La Niña. Indices of Atlantic multi-decadal variability and Pacific decadal variability show no signal beyond climatology after 2015, while temperature in the Niño3 region is predicted to warm slightly by about 0.5 °C over the coming decade. However, uncertainties are large for individual years and initialization has little impact beyond the first 4 years in most regions. Relative to uninitialized forecasts, initialized forecasts are significantly warmer in the north Atlantic sub-polar gyre and cooler in the north Pacific throughout the decade. They are also significantly cooler in the global average and over most land and ocean regions out to several years ahead. However, in the absence of volcanic eruptions, global temperature is predicted to continue to rise, with each year from 2013 onwards having a 50 % chance of exceeding the current observed record. Verification of these forecasts will provide an important opportunity to test the performance of models and our understanding and knowledge of the drivers of climate change.     

Implications of simultaneously mitigating and adapting to climate change: initial experiments using GCAM

Most research on future climate change discusses mitigation and impacts/adaptation separately. However, mitigation will have implications for impacts and adaptation. Similarly, impacts and adaptation will affect mitigation. This paper begins to explore these two veins of research simultaneously using an integrated assessment model. We begin by discussing the types of interactions one might expect by impact sector. Then, we develop a numerical experiment in the agriculture sector to illustrate the importance of considering mitigation, impacts, and adaptation at the same time. In our experiment, we find that climate change can reduce crop yields, resulting in an expansion of cropland to feed a growing population and a reduction in bioenergy production. These two effects, in combination, result in an increase in the cost of mitigation.     

A refined seismic analysis and design of buried pipeline for fault movement

Some lifelines, such as gas and oil transmission lines and water and sewer pipelines, have been damaged in recent earthquakes. The damages of these lifelines may cause major, catastrophic disruption of essential services for human needs. Large abrupt differential ground movements that result from an active fault present one of the most severe effects of an earthquake on a buried pipeline system. Although simplified analysis procedures for buried pipelines across strike-slip fault zones that cause tensile failure of the pipeline have been proposed, the results are not accurate enough because of several assumptions involved, such as the omission of flexural rigidity of the pipe, simplification of soil resistant characteristics, etc. Note that the omission of flexural rigidity cannot satisfy equilibrium conditions for pipelines across a ‘reverse’ strike-slip fault that causes compressions in the pipeline. This paper presents a refined analysis procedure for buried pipelines that is applicable to both strike-slip and reverse strikeslip faults after modifying some of the assumptions used previously. Based on the analytical results, this paper also discusses the design criteria for buried pipelines which are subjected to various fault movements. Parametric responses of buried pipeline for various fault movements, angles of crossing, buried depths and pipe diameters are presented.     

The behavior of magneto-acoustic-gravity waves near the cusp resonance in a lossless,compressible, isothermal,stratified, electrically conducting and uniformly magnetized atmosphere. II: The valve effect

Abstract

In the present paper the behavior of (internal) magneto-acoustic-gravity waves near the cusp resonance in a lossless, compressible, isothermal, stratified, electrically conducting atmosphere that is permeated by a uniform, nearly horizontal magnetic field is re-addressed (Kamp, 1989). The previously analyzed linear conversion of long acoustic-gravity waves into short magneto-acoustic waves that carry off the energy from the resonance region along the magnetic field, is re-analyzed with boundary layer techniques that are based on the smallness of the vertical component of the magnetic field. More specifically the existence of the so-called valve effect for the generated magneto-acoustic mode near the critical level is explicitly demonstrated and shown to be governed by two rivalling effects.     

The solar activity and the summer rainfall in the mediterranean

Summary This study deals with the influence of sunspots on the summer rainfall of 30 selected Stations of the Mediterranean, having records covering at least 4 cycles of sunspots. — It was found that the minimum of summer rainfall occurs near the maximum of sunspots and the maximum of rainfall in the beginning or at the end of sunspots cycle. — The variation of summer rainfall during the sunspots cycle presents four typesA: simple oscillation,B andC: double oscillation andD: triple oscillation.

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Résumé Cette étude s'occupe de l'influence des taches solaires sur la pluie estivale des 30 Stations de la Mediterranée, choisies parmi celles qui couvrent au moins 4 cycles des taches solaires. — On a trouvé que le minimum des pluies estivales a lieu près du maximum des taches solaires et que le maximum des pluies aussi a lieu au commencement ou à la fin du cycle de l'activité solaire. — La variation de la pluie durant le cercle des taches solaires presente 4 typesA: une oscillation simple,B etC une oscillation double etD une oscillation triple.

     

Geological and thermochronological studies of the Dashui gold deposit, West Qinling Orogen, Central China

The Dashui gold deposit is a structurally controlled, Carlin-type gold deposit hosted by recrystallised limestone in the West Qinling Orogen of Central China. The major, structurally late east-trending Dashui Fault forms the hanging wall to the gold mineralisation at the Dashui mine and defines the contact between Middle Triassic limestone and a steeply dipping overlying succession of Middle Triassic argillaceous limestone, dolomite, and sandstone. Multiple carbonate veins and large-scale supergene enrichment, represented by hematite, goethite, limonite and jarosite, characterise the deposit. Detailed geochronological investigation using zircon SHRIMP U-Pb dating reveals that volcanic rocks closely associated with the Dashui gold deposit were synchronous with the Ge’erkuohe Granite and pre-date mineralisation. The igneous dyke sample from the hanging wall has the same U-Pb zircon age as the footwall, ca. 213 Ma. (U-Th)/He thermochronology on dykes in the hanging wall and footwall of the Dashui Fault yields identical (U-Th)/He zircon ages of ca. 210 Ma but distinct (U-Th)/He apatite ages of ca. 136 and 211 Ma, respectively. Therefore, the hanging wall and footwall are interpreted as having distinct post-mineralisation exhumation histories. Reverse fault movement exhumed the hanging wall ~2 to 4 km since the Late Triassic with the main component of faulting taking place between the Late Triassic and Early Cretaceous. These relationships suggest a Late Triassic to Early Cretaceous age for the primary gold mineralisation at the Dashui gold deposit, with the corollary that any ‘missing portion’ of the deposit, previously hypothesised to exist in the hanging wall of the Dashui Fault, has been eroded away. The mineralisation in the footwall may have been supergene enriched soon after the primary mineralisation was emplaced, because it has been located at shallow depth since the Late Triassic. Semi-quantitative results obtained in this study also constrain the maximum depth of formation of the Dashui gold at no more than 2 km.