Chemical characteristics of the crater lakes of Popocatetetl, El Chichon, and Nevado de Toluca volcanoes, Mexico

Three crater lakes from Mexican volcanoes were sampled and analyzed at various dates to determine their chemical characteristics. Strong differences were observed in the chemistry among the three lakes: Nevado de Toluca, considered as dormant, El Chichón at a post-eruptive stage, and Popocatépetl at a pre-eruptive stage. Not surprisingly, no influence of volcanic activity was found at the Nevado de Toluca volcano, while the other volcanoes showed a correlation between the changing level of activity and the evolution of chemical trends. Low pHs (<3.0) were measured in the water from the active volcanoes, while a pH of 5.6 was measured at the Nevado de Toluca Sun lake. Changes with time were observed at Popocatépetl and El Chichón. Concentrations of volcanic-gas derived species like Cl⁻, SO₄²⁻ and F⁻ decreased irregularly at El Chichón from 1983 until 1997. Major cations concentrations also diminished at El Chichón. A 100% increase in the SO₄²⁻ content was measured at Popocatépetl between 1985 and 1994. An increase in the Mg/Cl ratio between 1992 (Mg/Cl=0.085) and 1994 (Mg/Cl=0.177) was observed at Popocatépetl, before the disappearance of the crater lake in 1994. It is concluded that chemical analysis of crater lakes may provide a useful additional tool for active-volcano monitoring.     

Seismic quantification of the explosions that destroyed the dome of Volcán de Colima, Mexico, in July–August 2003

In July–August 2003, the andesitic lava dome at Volcán de Colima, México, was destroyed by a sequence of explosions that replaced the 2×10⁶ m³ dome with a crater 200 m across and 30 m deep. The two strongest explosions occurred on July 17 and August 28. The initial low-frequency impulses that they produced, which were recorded on broadband seismic records, allowed an estimation of the counter forces of the initiating process as being equal to 0.3×10¹¹ N and 1×10¹¹ N for the July and August events, respectively. The seismic characteristics follow the Nishimura-Hamaguchi scaling law for volcanic explosions, reflecting self-similarity in the processes initiating explosive events. The results also show that counter forces can discriminate between the sizes of explosive eruptions that are assigned the same magnitude by conventional methods of classification such as the Volcanic Explosivity Index. The increasing use of broadband seismometers may therefore provide the basis for using counter forces to determine the magnitude of explosive eruptions.     

应用爆破检验KM-n程序定位精度的研究

采用云南区域数据地震遥测台网近震定位程序“KM—n”,分别测定了2005年1月11～27日进行的“04昆深工程”中18个点位的人工地震参数,以此检验台网近震定位程序“KM—n”的可靠性及台网的地震监测能力。洲定结果表明,对于记录波形初动清晰的人工地震,如果台站位置分布较好,参与定位的台站选择适当,用“KM—n”定位,结果相当准确可靠,误差在2km范围内。     

Quasi-harmonic faraday-rotation fluctuations of radio waves when sounding the outer solar corona

A statistical analysis of the Faraday-rotation fluctuations (FRFs) of linearly polarized radio signals from the Helios 1 and Helios 2 spacecraft shows that the FRF time power spectra can be of three types. Spectra of the first type are well fitted by a single power law in the range of fluctuation frequencies 1–10 mHz. Spectra of the second type are a superposition of a power law and two quasi-harmonic components with fluctuation frequencies of about v₁=4 mHz (fundamental frequency) and v₂=8 mHz (second harmonic). Spectra of the third type exhibit only one of the two quasi-harmonic components against the background of a power law. The spectral density of the quasi-harmonic components can be represented by a resonance curve with a fairly broad [Δυ ≈ (0.5–1.3)υ_1,2] distribution relative to the v=v_{1, 2} peak. The intensity of the quasi-harmonic FRF has a radial dependence that roughly matches the radial dependence for the background FRF, while their period at the fundamental frequency is approximately equal to the period of the wellknown 5-min oscillations observed in the lower solar atmosphere. The fluctuations with 5-min periods in FRF records can be explained by the presence in the outer corona of isolated trains of Alfvén waves generated at the base of the chromosphere-corona transition layer and by acoustic waves coming from deeper layers.     

Petrology of two contrasting Mexican volcanoes,the Chiapanecan (El Chichón) and Central American (Tacaná) volcanic belts: the result of rift- versus subduction-related volcanism

The alkaline El Chichón and calc-alkaline Tacaná volcanoes, located in southern Mexico, form parts of the Chiapanecan Volcanic Belt and Central American Volcanic Arc, respectively. El Chichón has emitted potassium-, sulphur-, and phosphorus-rich trachyandesites and trachybasalts (as mafic enclaves), whereas Tacaná has erupted basalts to dacites with moderate potassium contents, and minor high-Ti magmas (1.5–1.8 wt.% TiO₂). The magmatic evolution in the two volcanoes has involved similar fractionating assemblages: Fe-Ti oxides, olivine, plagioclase, pyroxenes, amphibole, and apatite. K₂O/P₂O₅ ratios and isotopic signatures indicate that magmas from both El Chichón and Tacaná have undergone significant crustal contamination. The volcanism at both Tacaná and El Chichón was previously related to northeastward subduction of the Cocos Plate, representing the main arc and the backarc, respectively. Although such an origin is in accord with Tacaná occurring 100 km above the Cocos Benioff Zone, it is inconsistent with: (a) the absence of a calc-alkaline belt between El Chichón and the Middle America Trench; and (b) truncation of the subducted Cocos Plate by the southwesterly dipping Yucatan slab near the Middle America Trench (i.e. the Cocos Plate does not presently underlie El Chichón). On the other hand, El Chichón and the Chiapanecan Volcanic Belt are located on the sinistral Veracruz fault zone that forms the northern boundary of the Southern Mexico block, which has been migrating relatively to the east since ca. 5 Ma. In this context, the anomalous high potassium, sulphur, and phosphorus levels in the El Chichón magmas are explicable in terms of rifting in a pull-apart system with the weak subduction fingerprint inherited from the Yucatan slab.     

Modelling flow resistance in vegetated streams: review and development of new theory

Aquatic macrophytes are often the dominant factor influencing flow conditions within the channels they occupy. Existing knowledge of how stream plants affect the flow is outlined, and the different scales at which vegetation resistance operates are proposed. Resistance is shown to be a function of the size of the plants, their structural properties, location in the channel, and the local flow conditions. Current models to calculate this composite resistance effect are assessed in the light of theoretical considerations of the nature of vegetation resistance. New theory is also presented, which demonstrates the non‐linear relationship between channel resistance and the proportion of the channel occupied by vegetation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

p-mode Oscillations of α Cen A

Models of Cen A & B have been computed using the masses determinedby Pourbaix et al. (2002) and the data derived from the spectroscopicanalysis of Neuforge and Magain (1997). The seismological dataobtained by Bouchy and Carrier (2001, 2002) do help improveour knowledge of the evolutionary status of the system. All the constraintsare satisfied with a model which gives an age of about 6 Gyr for the binary.     

小区域地震预测的新方法

本文应用动态系统时间连续模型建立的新方法（ＤＭ（ｎ，ｈ）模型），通过对唐山老震区ＭＬ＞４．７级地震的建模，讨论ＤＭ（ｎ，ｈ）模型对唐山老震区晚期强余震预测的可行性。并比较了ＤＭ（ｎ，ｈ）模型与ＧＭ（ｎ，ｈ）模型，发现ＤＭ（ｎ，ｈ）模型优于ＧＭ（ｎ，ｈ）模型，同时，给出了唐山老震区晚期强余震的预报结果。     

Diagenesis of vascular plant organic matter components during burial in lake sediments

Diagenetic changes are difficult to distinguish from variations in sources of organic matter to sediments. Organic geochemical comparisons of samples of wood, bark, and needles from a white spruce (Picea glauca) living today and one buried for 10,000 years in lake sediments have been used to identify the effects of diagenesis on vascular plant matter. Important biogeochemical changes are evident in the aged spruce components, even though the cellular structures of the samples are well preserved. Concentrations of total fatty acids dramatically diminish; unsaturated and shorter chainlength components are preferentially lost from the molecular distributions. Concentrations of total alcohols are similar in the modern and 10,000-year-old wood and bark but markedly lowered in the aged needles. Hydrocarbon concentrations and distributions show little diagenetic change in the 10,000-year-old plant materials. Cellulose components in the wood decrease relative to lignin components, although both types of materials remain in high concentration in comparison to other organic components. Aromatization of abietic acid proceeds more rapidly in buried spruce wood than in bark; retene is the dominant polyaromatic hydrocarbon in the aged wood. In contrast to the variety of changes evident in molecular compositions, neither ¹³C values nor C/N ratios differ significantly in the bulk organic matter of modern and aged spruce components.     

Hydro-climatic variability and forest fires in Mexico’s northern temperate forests

Global warming is likely modifying the hydrological cycle of forested watersheds. This report set as objectives to: a) assess the hydrological variables interception loss, I, potential and actual evapo-transpiration, E, Et, runoff, Q, and soil moisture content, θ; b) evaluate whether these variables are presenting consistent trends or oscillations that can be associated to global warming or climate variability; and c) relate θ to the number of wildfires and the burned area in Durango, Mexico. A mass balance approach estimated daily variables of the water cycle using sub-models for I and Et to calculate Q and θ for a time series from 1945 to 2007. Regression and auto-regressive and moving averaging (ARIMA) techniques evaluated the statistical significance of trends. The cumulative standardized z value magnified and ARIMA models projected statistically similar monthly and annual time series data of all variables of the water cycle. Regression analysis and ARIMA models showed monthly and annual P, I, E, and Et, Q, and θ do not follow consistent up or downward linear tendencies over time with statistical significance; they rather follow oscillations that could be adequately predicted by ARIMA models (r² ≥ 0.70). There was a consistent statistical association (p ≤ 0.05) of θ with the number of wildfires and the area burned regardless of the different spatial scales used in evaluating these variables. The analysis shows seasonal variability is increasing over time as magnifying pulses of dryness and wetness, which may be the response of the hydrological cycle to climate change. Further research must center on using longer time series data, testing seasonal variability with additional statistical analysis, and incorporating new variables in the analysis.