A detailed palaeointensity and inclination record from drill core SOH1 on Hawaii

A new record of absolute palaeointensity was obtained from drill core Scientific Observation Hole 1 (SOH1) on Kilauea volcano, Hawaii. Kilauea’s high eruption rate resulted in a relatively continuous record and stratigraphic constraints preserved the chronological order. Three hundred and sixty samples were studied with the Thellier-Thellier technique, which gave 195 successful palaeointensity and 271 successful inclination determinations. Three geomagnetic excursions were observed, which exhibited intensity reductions of about 50%. Initial age control from K-Ar and Ar/Ar dating only constrained the total age between 20 and 120 ka. The final age model was obtained by stretching the SOH1 record relative to other Hawaiian palaeomagnetic data. This gave an age range of 0-45 ka for the flows and identified the excursions as the Hilina Pali, Mono Lake and Laschamp events. The SOH1 record of the Hilina Pali event is the most detailed ever, incorporating data from around 40 flows. This age model suggests that Kilauea had a burst of activity at the SOH1 site around 20 ka. All available data was combined to form a composite record of palaeointensity and inclination on Hawaii for 0-45 ka.     

Constraints on the ionizing flux emitted by T Tauri stars

We present the results of an analysis of ultraviolet observations of T Tauri stars (TTs). By analysing emission measures taken from the literature, we derive rates of ionizing photons from the chromospheres of five classical TTs in the range  ∼10⁴¹–10⁴⁴  photon s⁻¹, although these values are subject to large uncertainties. We propose that the He  ii /C  iv line ratio can be used as a reddening-independent indicator of the hardness of the ultraviolet spectrum emitted by TTs. By studying this line ratio in a much larger sample of objects, we find evidence for an ionizing flux which does not decrease, and may even increase, as TTs evolve. This implies that a significant fraction of the ionizing flux from TTs is not powered by the accretion of disc material on to the central object, and we discuss the significance of this result and its implications for models of disc evolution. The presence of a significant ionizing flux in the later stages of circumstellar disc evolution provides an important new constraint on disc photoevaporation models.     

Turbulence avoidance and the wind-driven transport of plankton in the surface Ekman layer

Observations of turbulence avoidance in zooplankton are compared to estimates of the wind-driven turbulence in the upper ocean. Plankton that avoid wind-driven turbulence by moving deeper are no longer transported by the wind-driven Ekman currents near the surface because they are no longer near the surface. Here, a threshold level of turbulence that triggers an avoidance response is estimated, and is used to infer the wind speed and water column stratification conditions that would lead to zooplankton leaving the Ekman layer. Turbulence avoidance is argued to lead to near-shore retention in wind-driven upwelling systems, and to a reduction of the delivery of zooplankton to Georges Bank from the deeper waters of the Gulf of Maine.     

Episodic accretion in magnetically layered protoplanetary discs

We study protoplanetary disc evolution assuming that angular momentum transport is driven by gravitational instability at large radii, and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in the hot inner regions. At radii of the order of 1 au such discs develop a magnetically layered structure, with accretion occurring in an ionized surface layer overlying quiescent gas that is too cool to sustain MHD turbulence. We show that layered discs are subject to a limit cycle instability, in which accretion on to the protostar occurs in ∼10⁴-yr bursts with ̇ ∼10⁻⁵ M_⊙ yr⁻¹, separated by quiescent intervals lasting ∼10⁵ yr where ̇ ≈10⁻⁸ M_⊙ yr⁻¹. Such bursts could lead to repeated episodes of strong mass outflow in young stellar objects. The transition to this episodic mode of accretion occurs at an early epoch ( t ≪1 Myr), and the model therefore predicts that many young pre-main-sequence stars should have low rates of accretion through the inner disc. At ages of a few Myr, the discs are up to an order of magnitude more massive than the minimum-mass solar nebula, with most of the mass locked up in the quiescent layer of the disc at r ∼1 au. The predicted rate of low-mass planetary migration is reduced at the outer edge of the layered disc, which could lead to an enhanced probability of giant planet formation at radii of 1–3 au.     

The response of a turbulent accretion disc to an imposed epicyclic shearing motion

We excite an epicyclic motion, the amplitude of which depends on the vertical position, z , in a simulation of a turbulent accretion disc. An epicyclic motion of this kind may be caused by a warping of the disc. By studying how the epicyclic motion decays, we can obtain information about the interaction between the warp and the disc turbulence. A high-amplitude epicyclic motion decays first by exciting inertial waves through a parametric instability, but its subsequent exponential damping may be reproduced by a turbulent viscosity. We estimate the effective viscosity parameter, α _v, pertaining to such a vertical shear. We also gain new information on the properties of the disc turbulence in general, and measure the usual viscosity parameter, α _h, pertaining to a horizontal (Keplerian) shear. We find that, as is often assumed in theoretical studies, α _v is approximately equal to α _h and both are much less than unity, for the field strengths achieved in our local box calculations of turbulence. In view of the smallness (∼0.01) of α _v and α _h we conclude that for β p _gas p _mag∼10 the time-scale for diffusion or damping of a warp is much shorter than the usual viscous time-scale. Finally, we review the astrophysical implications.     

The Carboniferous Southern Pennine Basin,UK

Many of the Carboniferous outcrops located in the Derbyshire region of the Peak District National Park, UK, have provided sites for both significant and pioneering research relating to the clastic sedimentology of marine palaeoenvironments, particularly so during the 1960s and 1970s when early models describing the sedimentary architecture of fluvio‐deltaic, submarine‐slope and deep‐marine submarine‐fan sedimentation were first developed. The area was subject to hydrocarbon exploration from the 1920s to 1950s, which although unsuccessful in economic terms left a legacy of sub‐surface data. Despite a long‐history of sedimentological research, the deposits exposed at several classic localities in the Pennine Basin continue to broaden and challenge our current understanding of sedimentary processes to this day.     

Magnetohydrodynamical non-radiative accretion flows in two dimensions

We present the results of axisymmetric, time-dependent magnetohydrodynamic simulations of accretion flows around black holes. The calculations begin from a rotationally supported thick torus which contains a weak poloidal field. Accretion is produced by growth and saturation of the magnetorotational instability (MRI) provided that the wavelength of the fastest growing mode is less than the thickness of the torus. Using a computational grid that spans more than two decades in radius, we compare the time-averaged properties of the flow with previous hydrodynamical simulations. The net mass accretion rate is small compared with the mass inflow and outflow rates at large radii associated with turbulent eddies. Turbulence is driven by the MRI rather than convection. The two-dimensional structure of the time-averaged flow is significantly different compared with the hydrodynamical case. We discuss the limitations imposed on our results by the assumption of axisymmetry and the relatively small radial domain.     

Active galactic nuclei and the minor merger hypothesis

We have investigated the dynamics of the merging process in the minor merger hypothesis for active galactic nuclei. We find that for a satellite galaxy to be able to merge directly with the nucleus of the host galaxy (for example, to give rise to the compact dust discs which are seen in early-type active galaxies), the initial orbit of the satellite is required to be well aimed. For the case of the host galaxy being a disc galaxy, if the initial orbits of the satellites are randomly oriented with respect to the host galaxy, then the orbits of those which reach the host nuclear regions in a reasonable time are also fairly randomly oriented once they reach the nucleus. We note that this result might be able to provide an explanation of why the jet directions in the nuclei of Seyfert galaxies are apparently unrelated to the plane of the galaxy discs.