The effect of deformation on the TitaniQ geothermobarometer: an experimental study

We performed high strain (up to 47 %) axial compression experiments on natural quartz single crystals with added rutile powder (TiO₂) and ~0.2 wt% H₂O to investigate the effects of deformation on the titanium-in-quartz (TitaniQ) geothermobarometer. One of the objectives was to study the relationships between different deformation mechanisms and incorporation of Ti into recrystallized quartz grains. Experiments were performed in a Griggs-type solid-medium deformation apparatus at confining pressures of 1.0–1.5 GPa and temperatures of 800–1,000 °C, at constant strain rates of 1 × 10^?6 or 1 × 10^?7 s^?1. Mobility of Ti in the fluid phase and saturation of rutile at grain boundaries during the deformation experiments are indicated by precipitation of secondary rutile in cracks and along the grain boundaries of newly recrystallized quartz grains. Microstructural analysis by light and scanning electron microscopy (the latter including electron backscatter diffraction mapping of grain misorientations) shows that the strongly deformed quartz single crystals contain a wide variety of deformation microstructures and shows evidence for subgrain rotation (SGR) and grain boundary migration recrystallization (GBMR). In addition, substantial grain growth occurred in annealing experiments after deformation. The GBMR and grain growth are evidence of moving grain boundaries, a microstructure favored by high temperatures. Electron microprobe analysis shows no significant increase in Ti content in recrystallized quartz grains formed by SGR or by GBMR, nor in grains grown by annealing. This result indicates that neither SGR nor moving grain boundaries during GBMR and grain growth are adequate processes to facilitate re-equilibration of the Ti content in experimentally deformed quartz crystals at the investigated conditions. More generally, our results suggest that exchange of Ti in quartz at low H₂O contents (which may be realistic for natural deformation conditions) is still not fully understood. Thus, the application of the TitaniQ geothermobarometer to deformed metamorphic rocks at low fluid contents may not be as straightforward as previously thought and requires further research.     

The appropriation of the climate change problem among road managers: fighting in the trenches of the real world

This paper investigates how transportation sector managers perceive and utilize climate science, and subsequently, how they appropriate the climate change problem. The analysis focuses on which devices they qualify as useful for translating between knowledge, policy and practice concluding with a discussion of what this suggests in the development of efficient climate adaptation strategies. The paper demonstrates that although transportation sector managers accept the findings of climate science knowledge presented to them, their understanding of the climate change problem and the range of qualifying anchoring devices used in the development of climate adaption strategies are differentiated according to where they are located in the institutional context. For transportation sector managers on the regional and district level, the climate problem is largely perceived through the occurrence of extreme weather rather than through climate science. However, this knowledge basis is not considered sufficient to support ‘knowing how to act’ and has resulted in waiting for the authorities to make standards and regulations that would translate climate change knowledge into methods of practice. We argue that the development of standards and regulations might be underestimated in relation to user demands in climate adaptation work that involves reconciling scientific information.     

基于E-FAST的流溪河模型参数敏感性分析

基于E-FAST全局定量敏感性分析方法的思想,提出一个针对分布式物理水文模型——流溪河模型的参数敏感性分析方法,包括参数简化及取值范围确定、参数采样及采样次数的确定、敏感性评价指标的选取、参数敏感度计算4个部分.针对我国4个不同规模的流域(黄龙带水库流域、流溪河水库流域、长湖水库流域和新安江水库流域)开展了分布式物理水文模型参数敏感性分析,并采用4种不同的评价函数进行了对比计算.结果表明,流溪河模型饱和含水率和田间持水率是高度敏感参数,饱和水力传导率、土壤层厚度、土壤特性系数、边坡和河道糙率为敏感参数,其他参数为不敏感参数.     

On the solution space of differentially rotating neutron stars in general relativity

A highly accurate, multidomain spectral code is used in order to construct sequences of general relativistic, differentially rotating neutron stars in axisymmetry and stationarity. For bodies with a spheroidal topology and a homogeneous or an   N = 1  polytropic equation of state, we investigate the solution space corresponding to broad ranges of degree of differential rotation and stellar densities. In particular, starting from static and spherical configurations, we analyse the changes of the corresponding surface shapes as the rate of rotation is increased. For a sufficiently weak degree of differential rotation, the sequences terminate at a mass-shedding limit, while for moderate and strong rates of differential rotation they exhibit a continuous parametric transition to a regime of toroidal fluid bodies. In this article, we concentrate on the appearance of this transition, analyse in detail its occurrence and show its relevance for the calculation of astrophysical sequences. Moreover, we find that the solution space contains various types of spheroidal configurations, which were not considered in previous work, mainly due to numerical limitations.     

“Galileo Galilei” (GG) a small satellite to test the equivalence principle of Galileo, Newton and Einstein

“Galileo Galilei” (GG) is a small satellite designed to fly in low Earth orbit with the goal of testing the Equivalence Principle—which is at the basis of the General Theory of Relativity—to 1 part in 10¹⁷. If successful, it would improve current laboratory results by 4 orders of magnitude. A confirmation would strongly constrain theories; proof of violation is believed to lead to a scientific revolution. The experiment design allows it to be carried out at ambient temperature inside a small 1-axis stabilized satellite (250 kg total mass). GG is under investigation at Phase A-2 level by ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana) at Thales Alenia Space in Torino, while a laboratory prototype (known as GGG) is operational at INFN laboratories in Pisa, supported by INFN (Istituto Nazionale di fisica Nucleare) and ASI. A final study report will be published in 2009.     

Petrology of the Tekirova (Antalya) ophiolite (Southern Turkey): evidence for diverse magma generations and their tectonic implications during Neotethyan-subduction

The SW Antalya Complex is an assemblage of Mesozoic carbonate platform, margin and ophiolitic rocks which record the formation and tectonic emplacement of a small Mesozoic ocean basin. The late Cretaceous ophiolitic rocks are located at two localities, namely the relatively intact Tekirova ophiolite to the east of Kemer zone and the dismembered Gödene ophiolite to the west of Kemer zone. The Tekirova (Antalya) ophiolite comprises harzburgitic tectonites, ultramafic to mafic cumulates, isotropic gabbros and sheeted dikes. Numerous isolated dikes, ranging in thickness from 5 cm to 10 m, intruded the crustal rocks at different structural levels. The isotropic gabbros are represented by gabbro, diorite and quartz diorite rocks with granular to ophitic–subophitic textures. The isolated dikes are characterized by dolerite, diabase and microdiorite with ophitic, intersertal and microgranular textures. These rocks exhibit tholeiitic to alkaline compositions. New geochemical data presented in this paper from the isolated dikes and isotropic gabbros suggest that there are three main types of parental basic magmas that form the oceanic crustal rocks of the Tekirova (Antalya) ophiolite. These are (1) IAT series which can be referred to the Group I isolated dikes and isotropic gabbros; (2) low-Ti boninitic series characterized by the Group II isolated dike and isotropic gabbros; and (3) OIB-type including the Group III isotropic gabbros. The geochemical evidence suggests that the crustal rocks of the Tekirova (Antalya) ophiolite were generated from a progressive source depletion from island arc tholeiites (IAT) to boninites. Therefore, a fore-arc tectonic setting seems likely for the generation of the crustal rocks from the Tekirova (Antalya) ophiolite in the southern branch of Neotethys during the Late Cretaceous. The OIB-type alkaline isotropic gabbros are thought to have resulted from either (1) a late-stage magmatic activity fed by melts that originated within an asthenospheric window due to slab break-off or (2) subduction of a ridge system which generated OIB source across the asthenospheric window that has been no influence of fluids from the subducted slab into the overlying mantle wedge, shortly before the emplacement of the Tekirova (Antalya) ophiolite onto the Tauride platform.     

Neogene desertification of Africa

Throughout the Neogene, the faunas and floras in Africa recorded global climatic changes. We present an overview of Neogene desertification in Africa by tracing stable isotopes in eggshells and mammalian enamel, by faunal (changes in hypsodonty, etc.) and floral changes in sequences at the latitudinal extremities of the continent and the equator. This work reveals that desertification started in the southwest ca 17–16 Ma, much earlier than the region of the present-day Sahara (ca 8–7 Ma) and long before the deserts in East Africa (Plio-Pleistocene). A consequence of this history is that animals and plants inhabiting the South of the continent had a long period of time in which to adapt to arid, unstable climatic conditions. When parts of East Africa became arid during the Late Miocene and Plio-Pleistocene, several of these lineages expanded northwards and occupied developing arid niches before local lineages could adapt. Several of the latter became extinct, while others withdrew westwards as the tropical forest diminished in extent. It is proposed that the history of desertification in Africa was related to that of the polar ice caps (Antarctic, Arctic).     

The United States national volcanic ash operations plan for aviation

Volcanic-ash clouds are a known hazard to aviation, requiring that aircraft be warned away from ash-contaminated airspace. The exposure of aviation to potential hazards from volcanoes in the United States is significant. In support of existing interagency operations to detect and track volcanic-ash clouds, the United States has prepared a National Volcanic Ash Operations Plan for Aviation to strengthen the warning process in its airspace. The US National Plan documents the responsibilities, communication protocols, and prescribed hazard messages of the Federal Aviation Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Geological Survey, and Air Force Weather Agency. The plan introduces a new message format, a Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation, to provide clear, concise information about volcanic activity, including precursory unrest, to air-traffic controllers (for use in Notices to Airmen) and other aviation users. The plan is online at http://www.ofcm.gov/p35-nvaopa/pdf/FCM-P35-2007-NVAOPA.pdf. While the plan provides general operational practices, it remains the responsibility of the federal agencies involved to implement the described procedures through orders, directives, etc. Since the plan mirrors global guidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organization, it also provides an example that could be adapted by other countries.     

Reclassification of rainfall regions of Turkey by K-means methodology and their temporal variability in relation to North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)

Rainfall over Turkey portrays highly variable character both spatially and temporally. The aim of this study is to redefine main rainfall clusters of Turkey by using k-means methodology and investigate spatial shifts in the redefined rainfall clusters in subsequent periods with respect to North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) patterns. Initially, monthly rainfall totals are subjected to k-means clustering by taking into consideration 148 stations covering the 1977?C2006 period. Considering the maximum silhouette value and lowest negative silhouette number, six rainfall clusters are determined as optimum classifications for this climate period. The results indicate that Aegean?CMarmara and Eastern Anatolia?CCentral Anatolia geographic regions are characterized as single rainfall cluster contrary to the conventional geographical regions. The Mediterranean region is characterized with two separate sub-regions indicating highly variable rainfall distribution characters over the region. The study further adapts a similar classification for 10-year sub-periods to determine spatial shifts of the redefined rainfall clusters for the last 30?years. From one decade to another, temporally drier and wetter clusters are observed with underlying shifting causes in relation to NAO patterns. Parallel to other studies in the literature, NAO is found to be partially useful in explaining the temporally dry trends while less useful in justifying wet periods. On the other hand, coefficient of variation (COV) is introduced in order to explain the temporal shifts in the clusters. Strong relations are obtained between the regions with the higher COV numbers and highest cluster shifts, while smaller COV numbers are associated with the most stable clusters.     

Core-mantle coupling and viscoelastic deformations

Writing the angular momentum theorem for the Earth and for its fluid core, we show that there are couplings between the core and the mantle induced by viscomagnetic torque, by external active torque, by topographic torque acting at the core-mantle boundary (CMB) but also by viscoelastic deformations of the CMB which may perturb the axial rotations of the Earth and of the core. We compute these deformations at the CMB induced by the Pleistocenic deglaciation. The time-dependence of inertia tensor perturbations, i.e. the rheology of the mantle, is very important in the calculation of the coupling. Taking into account the passive viscomagnetic torque of tangential traction acting at the CMB, we investigate, for different values and various temporal evolutions of the topographic torque, the perturbations in the rotations of the Earth and of the core induced by the deglaciation, by the constant torque of tidal friction and by the 18.6 year tidal potential. We show that, for these excitation sources, the existence of a constant topographic torque involves the core oscillating with respect to the mantle and thus forbids any large drift of the core with respect to the mantle. However, it seems theoretically possible to have an excitation source with enough energy which involves a shift of the core with respect to the mantle. If the pressure within the fluid core varies with time, the motion of the core with respect to the mantle could be drastically different.