Rotating garnets

The origin of snowball and sigmoidal inclusion patterns in porphyroblasts is discussed. Snowball garnets are peculiar to shear zones whereas sigmoidal patterns occur in porphyroblasts both in shear zones and on the limbs of folds. There are currently two models for the development of snowball garnets and these have been discussed extensively in the literature. We show that although the typical two-dimensional snowball pattern can be produced by either model, the three-dimensional inclusion patterns are model-specific thus providing a distinguishing criterion. We have applied this criterion to all the available data and find that the classical model, which is dependent on the rotation of garnet relative to a single foliation, is applicable in all cases. Syn-kinematic porphyroblasts on the limbs of horizontal normal folds generally show little rotation relative to geographical coordinates. What rotation they do show generally has the same sense as that of the host limb, but is less in magnitude. This has been used as evidence that the porphyroblasts have remained irrotational while the rocks deformed around them; the implication being that they were unaffected by vorticity associated with folding. This has been explained by claiming that the porphyroblasts are restricted in distribution to small domains of coaxial deformation path. We show that for reasonable deformation models of horizontal normal folds, porphyroblasts affected by vorticity will rotate little with respect to geographical coordinates and our results predict the commonly observed natural patterns. We conclude therefore that lack of rotation relative to geographical coordinates cannot be used to demonstrate that porphyroblasts have grown only in coaxially deforming domains; much less restrictive and more reasonable interpretations are possible. Consequently, the lack of rotation relative to geographical coordinates is more significant for fold modelling than it is for the garnet controversy.     

太平洋海温场的变化与地球自转速度的关系

本文通过交叉谱分析揭示了地球自转存在１５２个月,１２个月和６个月的显著周期。赤道东太平洋ＳＳＴＡ存在３８个月,２１４个月,５１个月和３个月的显著周期,并且二者在３８个月和１５２个月的周期上关系密切。落后时间长度谱显示,对于３８个月和１５２个月的周期,海温的变化能影响地球自转的速率;而对于２１４个月的周期,地球自转的变化能影响海温场的变化,但此为次要因素。     

Cosmic Roulette: Comets In The Main Belt Asteroid Region

We have produced top ten ranked lists of impact velocity, mainbelt asteroid region dwell times and impact probabilities for a selection of short period comets. The comet with the combined highest ranking with respect to impact probability and impact velocity is Comet C/1766 G1 Helfenzrieder. Since it is not clear that this comet still exists, the highest ranked, presently active, comet with respect to the likelihood of suffering impacts from meter-sized objects while in the main belt asteroid region is Comet 28P/Neujmin 1. We find no evidence to support the existence of a distinctive sub-set of the short period comets liable to show repeated outburst or splitting behavioursdue to small body, meter-sized, asteroid impacts. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Helioseismic solar cycle changes and splitting coefficients

Using the GONG data for a period over four years, we have studied the variation of frequencies and splitting coefficients with solar cycle. Frequencies and even-order coefficients are found to change significantly with rising phase of the solar cycle. We also find temporal variations in the rotation rate near the solar surface.     

Perspectives on the interior of the Sun

The interior of the Sun is not directly accessible to observations. Nonetheless, it is possible to infer the physical conditions inside the Sun with the help of structure equations governing its equilibrium and with the powerful observational tools provided by the neutrino fluxes and oscillation frequencies. The helioseismic data show that the internal constitution of the Sun can be adequately represented by a standard solar model. It turns out that a cooler solar core is not a viable solution for the measured deficit of neutrino fluxes, and the resolution of the solar neutrino puzzle should be sought in the realm of particle physics.     

Effect of the viscoelastic lithosphere on polar wander speed caused by the Late Pleistocene glacial cycles

Previous studies of the wander of the rotation pole associated with the Late Pleistocene glacial cycles indicate that the predicted polar wander speed is sensitive to the density jump at the 670 km discontinuity, the thickness of the elastic lithosphere, and the lower mantle viscosity. In particular, the M1 mode related to the density jump at 670 km depth has been shown to contribute a dominant portion of predicted polar wander speed for sufficiently small lower mantle viscosities. In this study, we examine the sensitivity of polar wander to variations in the viscosity of the viscoelastic lithosphere using simplified compressible Maxwell viscoelastic earth models. Model calculations for earth models with a viscoelastic lithosphere of finite viscosity indicate that the contribution of the M1 mode is similar to those associated with the density discontinuity at the core–mantle boundary (C0 mode) and the lithosphere (L0 mode). We speculate that this is due to the interaction between the M1 mode and the transient mode associated with the viscoelastic lithosphere, which reduces the magnitude of polar wander rates. Therefore, the M1 mode does not contribute a dominant portion of the predicted polar wander speed for earth models with a viscoelastic lithosphere of finite viscosity. In this case, predictions of polar wander speed as a function of lower mantle viscosity exhibit the qualitative form of an 'inverted parabola', as predicted for the J ˙₂ curve. We caution, however, that these results are obtained for simplified earth models, and the results for seismological earth models such as PREM may be complicated by the interaction between the M1 mode and the large set of transient modes.     

Contrasting morphological trends of islands in Central Philippines: Speculation on their origin

Abstract The Palawan microcontinental block collided with the Philippine Mobile Belt in the Central Philippine region resulting in the counterclockwise rotation of Mindoro– Marinduque and clockwise rotation of Panay. The collision also brought about the clockwise rotation of north-east Negros, Cebu, north-west Masbate and Bohol (collectively called the Western Visayan block), resulting into their present-day northeast–southwest trend. This suggests a far more dramatic role of the collision than was previously recognized. Furthermore, the south-east Sulu Sea sub-basin is inferred to have also undergone collision-related clockwise rotation which can account for the observed east-west trending magnetic lineations in the basin. Aside from explaining the contrasting morphological trends of the different islands in Central Philippines, the rotation can also explain, albeit in a different way, how the belts of sedimentary basins, ophiolites and arcs in Panay and Negros can extend to Northern Luzon. Published paleomagnetic data suggest that the collision-related rotation commenced during the early to middle Miocene and had ceased by the late Miocene.     

Contribution of the atmosphere to the seasonal changes in earth's rotation

Using new data of atmospheric angular momentum for the period 1975–1995, the contributions of the atmosphere to the changes in LCD and polar motion on the seasonal time scale are investigated. The results show that, when the effects of wind and atmospheric pressure are considered, the atmosphere's contribution on the annual and semi-annual time scales may reach, respectively, 95% and 88%. We also give some quantitative results of the atmosphere's excitation of polar motion. On the annual time scale, the contribution to the X-component of polar motion is 16% and that to the Y-component is 43%. On the semi-annual time scale, the contributions to the X- and Y-components are, respectively, 9% and 30%. From the above results, it is clear that the contribution of the ocean should also be included in a more complete solution of the problem of excitation of the earth's rotation.     

Stellar surface imaging: mapping brightness and magnetic fields

Rapidly rotating late‐type stars typically display signs of magnetic activity that exceed those seen on the Sun by over two orders of magnitude. The techniques of Doppler imaging and Zeeman Doppler imaging have been instrumental in unveiling magnetic activity patterns at the photospheres of these active stars. Essentially, these techniques work by inverting time‐series of high resolution spectra to produce temperature, brightness and/or magnetic field maps at the surfaces of stars. I will describe how these techniques work and review what they have taught us about the nature of magnetic activity in rapid rotators over the last 20 years. Finally, I will conclude by outlining the capabilities of these techniques in light of new instrumentation that is now becoming available. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)