Influence of freeze-thaw events on carbon dioxide emission from soils at different moisture and land use

Background  

The repeated freeze-thaw events during cold season, freezing of soils in autumn and thawing in spring are typical for the tundra, boreal, and temperate soils. The thawing of soils during winter-summer transitions induces the release of decomposable organic carbon and acceleration of soil respiration. The winter-spring fluxes of CO₂ from permanently and seasonally frozen soils are essential part of annual carbon budget varying from 5 to 50%. The mechanisms of the freeze-thaw activation are not absolutely clear and need clarifying. We investigated the effect of repeated freezing-thawing events on CO₂ emission from intact arable and forest soils (Luvisols, loamy silt; Central Germany) at different moisture (65% and 100% of WHC).     

Petrology and geochronology of basalt breccia from the 1996 earthquake swarm of Loihi seamount, Hawaii: magmatic history of its 1996 eruption

 Samples of basalt were collected during the Rapid Response cruise to Loihi seamount from a breccia that was probably created by the July to August 1996 Loihi earthquake swarm, the largest swarm ever recorded from a Hawaiian volcano. ²¹⁰Po–²¹⁰Pb dating of two fresh lava blocks from this breccia indicates that they were erupted during the first half of 1996, making this the first documented historical eruption of Loihi. Sonobuoys deployed during the August 1996 cruise recorded popping noises north of the breccia site, indicating that the eruption may have been continuing during the swarm. All of the breccia lava fragments are tholeiitic, like the vast majority of Loihi's most recent lavas. Reverse zoning at the rim of clinopyroxene phenocrysts, and the presence of two chemically distinct olivine phenocryst populations, indicate that the magma for the lavas was mixed just prior to eruption. The trace element geochemistry of these lavas indicates there has been a reversal in Loihi's temporal geochemical trend. Although the new Loihi lavas are similar isotopically and geochemically to recent Kilauea lavas and the mantle conduits for these two volcanoes appear to converge at depth, distinct trace element ratios for their recent lavas preclude common parental magmas for these two active volcanoes. The mineralogy of Loihi's recent tholeiitic lavas signify that they crystallized at moderate depths (∼8–9 km) within the volcano, which is approximately 1 km below the hypocenters for earthquakes from the 1996 swarm. Taken together, the petrological and seismic evidence indicates that Loihi's current magma chamber is considerably deeper than the shallow magma chamber (∼3–4 km) in the adjoining active shield volcanoes. Received: 21 August 1997 / Accepted: 15 February 1998     

On the properties of strange modes

Properties of the so-called strange modes occurring in linear stability calculations of stellar models are discussed. The behaviour of these modes is compared for two different sets of stellar models, for very massive zero-age main-sequence stars and for luminous hydrogen-deficient stars, both with high luminosity-to-mass ratios. We have found that the peculiar behaviour of the frequencies of the strange modes with the change of a control parameter is caused by the pulsation amplitude of a particular eigenmode being strongly confined to the outer part of the envelope, around the density inversion zone. The frequency of a strange mode changes because the depth of the confinement zone changes with the control parameter. Weakly non-adiabatic strange modes tend to be overstable because the amplitude confinement quenches the effect of radiative damping. On the other hand, extremely non-adiabatic strange modes become overstable because the perturbation of radiation force (gradient of radiation pressure) provides a restoring force that can be out of phase with the density perturbation. We discuss this mechanism by using a plane-parallel two-zone model.     

Dynamic response of tipping core buildings

When subjected to major earthquakes, core-stiffened buildings may begin to tip. That is, the overturning moment on the core's footing becomes so large that the footing breaks contact with the ground and begins to rock. A method is described for including the effects of tipping in the analysis of multistorey core-braced structures. Curves are presented which summarize the maximum response to both pulse and earthquake excitations; these data are elucidated via a typical design example. By comparison to fixed-base behaviour, tipping greatly reduces the base shear and moment. This makes possible a more economical design. However, attention must be devoted to avoiding potential soil-mechanics problems associated with the wobbling behaviour of the tipping core.     

Detection of subsidence conditions by photogeology

A variety of air-photo interpretation criteria need to be used for detecting areas of potential subsidence. An initial step is to search for past failures showing on air photographs, to establish the cause and to interpret the boundaries of the environment that might be affected. Causes detectable include karstic terrain, areas liable to piping, or containing concealed peat, old shafts, and stratiform or vein workings. Airborne imaging conditions can be selected to improve the possibility of detection in some situations.

The technique can indicate situations where risks are high, but cannot be used to map with certainty voids liable to collapse.     

Numerical study of the nocturnal urban boundary layer

A two-dimensional time-dependent Earth-atmosphere model is developed which can be applied to the study of a class of atmospheric boundary-layer flows which owe their origin to horizontal inhomogeneities with respect to surface roughness and temperature. Our main application of the model is to explore the governing physical mechanisms of nocturnal urban atmospheric boundarylayer flow.A case study is presented in which a stable temperature stratification is assumed to exist in the rural upwind area. It is shown through integration of the numerical model that as this air passes over a city, the heat is redistributed due to increased surface friction (and hence increased turbulent mixing). This redistribution of heat results in the formation of an urban heat island.Additional numerical integrations of the model are conducted to examine the dependence of induced perturbations on: (1) the upwind temperature inversion; (2) the geostrophic wind speed; and (3) urbanization. The results show a linear relationship between heat-island intensity and the rural temperature inversion with the heat island increasing in intensity as the upwind inversion becomes stronger; that the heat-island intensity close to the surface is inversely proportional to the geostrophic wind; and that the effects of anthropogenic heat cause an increase in the perturbation temperature with the perturbation extending to higher altitudes. From this study, we conclude that with an upwind temperature inversion, a city of any size should generate a heat island as a result of increased surface roughness. The heat-island intensity should increase with city size because of two factors: larger cities are usually aerodynamically rougher; and larger cities have a larger anthropogenic heat output.Research supported in part by NSF Grant GA-16822.     

The Bataan orogene: Eastward subduction, tectonic rotations, and volcanism in the western Pacific (Philippines)

The Philippine mobile belt represents a crustal fragment, wedged between two subduction systems exhibiting opposite polarity. The eastern (Philippine—Quezon) system probably originated in the Eocene during northwest—southeast spreading of the west Philippine basin. Westward subduction is continued, probably as a result of northward motion of the Philippine basin crust. The western (Manila—Bataan) system originated in the Oligocene by spreading and formation of the South China Sea basin. Eastward subduction dominates the tectonics in the northern part of the archipelago and resulted in the formation of the Bataan orogene, a sequence of three parallel volcanic arcs emplaced in obducted oceanic crust. Geochemical and radiometric data indicate that the arcs migrated eastward with time (Miocene to Present) while changing composition from tholeiitic via calc-alkaline to shoshonitic. Centers of the latter two types are presently active. Depocenters behind the arcs also migrated eastward with time, suggesting correction of the isostatic disequilibrium caused by geanticlinal uplift of the orogene. Paleomagnetic evidence suggests that central Luzon is rotating counterclockwise probably due to differential spreading in the South China Sea basin. The west Philippine basin rotates clockwise. This results in significant “Einengung” in the southern part of the archipelago.     

The isotopic composition of strontium and oxygen in lavas from St. Helena,South Atlantic

Strontium and oxygen isotope measurements on the alkali basalt-trachyte-phonolite suite of St. Helena show that some of the late-fractionated rocks are enriched in ⁸⁷Sr and depleted in ¹⁸O relative to the older basalts. The data rule out both the formation of the late-fractionated rocks by the partial melting of hydrothermally altered oceanic crust and the contamination of the volcanic rocks by oceanic sediment. It also appears to be incompatible with models based either on the melting of previously fractionated and crystallized liquids in the volcanic pile, or the long-term fractionation of lavas over several millions of years in a sub-volcanic magma chamber.It is concluded that hydrothermal interaction with meteoric water is the most important cause of the ¹⁸O depletion. If the interaction occurred at widely differing temperatures, and involved meteoric and seawaters, it might conceivably have caused both the oxygen and strontium isotope heterogeneities.     

Dynamic behaviour of building-foundation systems

A discussion of the effects of soil-structure interaction on the dynamic response of linear structures which respond as single-degree-of-freedom systems in their fixed-base condition is presented. The structures are presumed to be supported at the surface of a homogeneous, elastic halfspace and to be excited at the base. The free-field ground motions investigated include a harmonic motion, a relatively simple pulse-type excitation and an actual earthquake record. Comprehensive response spectra are presented for a range of the parameters defining the problem, and the results are used to assess the accuracy of a simple, approximate method of analysis in which the system is represented by a viscously damped, simple oscillator. Special attention is given to defining the conditions under which the interaction effect is of sufficient importance to warrant consideration in design. The method of analysis used to obtain the numerical data reported herein is reviewed only briefly, the emphasis of the paper being on the interpretation of the results.