Cosmological Parameters from Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies: Status and Prospects

A survey is made of the present constraints on cosmological parameters from Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Main sequence for rotating stars of intermediate mass

We have investigated the evolutionary behaviour of intermediate mass (2, 3, 4, 5, and 7M ) Population I stars, assuming two different rates of rotation at the threshold of stability.In the first part of the study, stars are assumed to start with a critical rotation (fast rotation model) and to progress to the point of rotational instability. The stars evolve by losing mass and become rotationally unstable before they reach the zero-age Main Sequence. It is argued that multiple star systems might be formed through the evolution of rapidly rotating stars. An expression for the rotational mass loss rate is derived as a function of the physical parameters of stars.In the second part of the study, stars are assumed to rotate at a rate below the critical value (slow rotation model). The evolution of slowly rotating stars is followed as far as zero-age Main Sequence on the theoretical Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and compared with that of normal stars. The evolutionary paths are found to be more or less similar to those of normal stars; but their positions on the Main Sequence are characterized by effective temperatures and luminosities lower than those of normal stars. The zero-age Main-Sequence times of these stars are longer than those of normal stars. The rotational rates obtained for the zero-age Main Sequence are in good agreement with observed values.     

A geological and geotechnical investigation of the settlement area of Zümrüt Building (Konya, Turkey) which caused 92 fatalities due to its collapse

This study examines the local geological conditions and soil structure as possible causes of the collapse of the Zümrüt Building 2 February 2004. This catastrophe resulted in 92 fatalities and 35 injuries. This study also examines other views which claim weak soil structure, elastic and consolidation settlement of soil and excessive groundwater extraction as well as subsidence resulting from the underground silt erosion as possible factors. Zümrüt Building was constructed on normally consolidated, low plasticity clay. The underground water table was 30 m in depth. The internal friction angle of soil was 8°–30°, its cohesion was between 34 and 127 kN/m² and standard penetration test numbers varied between 11 and 50. The underground water level beneath Zümrüt Building had risen 4.5 m since its construction. Therefore the claim that subsidence resulting from the decrease of underground water level contributed to the collapse is incorrect. Secondly the settlement, resulting from the filling up of the pores created by the silt receding with the underground water, was 4.4 mm in total, and attributing this as the primary cause of the collapse is also incorrect. Soil properties, in situ and laboratory test results showed that the existing and/or expected settlement and the differential ground settlement in the Zümrüt building vicinity had the potential to cause structural damage. The tensile stresses caused by differential settlements recorded here are thought to be an indicator, but not the main cause contributing to the collapse of the building. The Zümrüt Building collapse was due to several compounding mistakes during the construction phase. These were geotechnical and other project faults and the use of low quality construction materials. The resulting catastrophe caused 92 fatalities, 35 injuries and a material loss of approximately US$7 million.     

Can cod farming affect cod fishing? A system evaluation of sustainability

The cod resources in the Barents Sea constitute the most important fisheries in Norway. In order to reduce resource allocation conflicts among different gear and vessel groups and to ensure profit for all participants throughout the value chain, the sector is thoroughly organized. The institutions established to ensure long-term sustainability, have been developed within the framework of a joint Norwegian–Russian fisheries management regime. However, due to a very high fishing mortality, the cod stock is now under severe pressure. In addition, a major part of the cod fisheries is highly seasonal and unable to be a stable supplier to neither the land-based industry nor demanding international markets. In parallel, cod farming is expected to become a new emerging industry, with potential to copy the success of farmed Atlantic salmon. Many actors within the cod fisheries fear the future competition from the growing cod farming sector. With reference to important attributes that characterize the cod fisheries and cod farming, this paper discusses how a future farming industry may affect the traditional cod fisheries. Moreover, we discuss how the fisheries may be forced to organize in the future to encounter the expected competition from cod farming.     

Detection of DNA damage in mussels and sea urchins exposed to crude oil using comet assay

The single-cell microgel electrophoresis assay or the comet assay was used to evaluate DNA damage of dispersed crude oil on sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) and mussels (Mytilus edulis L.). Sea urchins were exposed to 0.06 and 0.25 mg/L dispersed crude oil in a continuous flow system, while the mussels were exposed to 0.015, 0.06 and 0.25 mg/L dispersed crude oil. Sea urchin coelomocytes and mussel haemocytes were sampled after 4 and 5 weeks exposure, respectively. In the sea urchin coelomocytes, there was a significant concentration-related increase in the percentage of DNA in comet tail. In mussel haemocytes, there was a significantly higher percentage of DNA in comet tail for all treatments compared to the control. The responses were concentration-related up to 0.06 mg/L oil. The two highest exposure concentrations of mussels were not significantly different from each other. These results indicate that the comet assay can be used for biomonitoring of DNA damage in marine invertebrates following oil contamination.     

On the longitudinal distribution of the solar surges

After re-examination of data presented by Verma (1984), some misuse of solar parameteres published in Solar Geophysical Data is presented. Consequently some conclusions made by Verma (1984, 1986) on about the longitudinal distribution of cool solar surges based on these misuses are discussed.     

Retrograde fluid infiltration in the high-grade Modum Complex South Norway: evidence for age,source and REE mobility

The high-grade metamorphic basement of the Modum Complex, South Norway,exhibits retrogradation and alteration due to late stage fluid infiltration.Extensive alteration zones of albite-and calcite-rich veining occur especiallywithin and around numerous metagabbros. The gabbros, intruded at 1224±15Ma, are now partly altered to amphibolites due to the subsequent high-grade metamorphism.Two generations of albite-rich rocks have been recognized: (1) a fine-grained, foliated type;(2) a coarse-grained, crosscutting type. Both types show a typical greenschist facies mineralassemblage; albite ± actinolite ± chlorite ± talc. The calcite veins/dykesrepresent a younger generation of veins than both albite-rich types. U–Pb data for spheneof type (1) yielded an age of 1080±3 Ma, determining a point on the retrogradeP-T-t path of the Modum Complex. Increasing albitisation of themetagabbros leads to a decrease in(¹⁴³ND/¹⁴⁴Nd)_oand an increase in (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶)_o.Albite- and calcite-rich samples show negative _Nd and positive _Sr, suggesting that fluids which interacted with the metagabbros originated from a crustal reservoir. The Nd and Sr isotopic data show disequilibrium at the microscale as well as at the macroscale. Negative Sm–Nd model ages of the albite-rich rocks demonstrate that rare-earth elements (REEs) were mobile and fractionated during albitisation.     

Geophysical and geochemical evidence of Proterozoic collision in the western marginal zone of the Baltic Shield

New continental crust was formed in the Svecofennian domain of the Baltic Shield c. 1.9 Ga ago. Approximately 0.1–0.15 Ga later, new crust accreted to the SW part of the Shield. In this paper an attempt is made, on the basis of gravity measurements and lithogeochemistry, to describe the tectonic processes responsible for the continental growth c. 1.75–1.8 Ga ago. The Transscandinavian Granite Porphyry Belt (TGPB) separates the Svecofennian domain from the polymetamorphic terrain of the SW Swedish gneiss region. Red orthogneisses occurring immediately west of the TGPB are the deformed equivalents of the TGPB type granitoids, while grey orthogneisses, displaying a tonalitic-granodioritic trend and situated further west, were generated in a »volcanic arc« environment. The TGPB granitoids and the red SW Swedish gneisses represent a transition from this volcanic arc type rock to contemporaneous »within-plate« type granites intruded in the Svecofennian crust. The volcanic arc was forced against the Svecofennian crust in which large tensional fracture zones ensued with strike directions normal to the collision front. In such tensional environments the »withinplate« type granites were generated. In the collision zone the crust was down-warped, and huge amounts of granitic melts were generated at the base of the crust. This TGPB Magma rose upwards utilizing the fracture zone between the arc rocks, generated slightly earlier, and the Svecofennian crust. A relatively thin upper part of the TGPB that spread laterally westwards became strongly deformed during the collision (i.e. the red SW Swedish gneisses), while the major deep-reaching TGPB root zone that was not completely solidified yet, acted as a buffer against the foliation front.

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Zusammenfassung Vor 1,9 Milliarden Jahren kam es zur Neubildung von kontinentaler Kruste im svecofennischen Bereich des Baltischen Schildes. Ungefähr 100–150 Millionen Jahre später wurde im Südwesten des Schildes neue Kruste hinzugefügt. In diesem Artikel wird auf der Basis von Gravimetriemessungen und Lithogeochemie der Versuch unternommen die tektomschen Vorgänge, die zu diesem 1,75–1,8 Milliarden Jahre alten Krustenzuwachs führten, zu beschreiben.Der Transskandinavische-Granit-Porphyr-Gürtel (Transscandinavian-Granite-Porphyry-Belt/TGPB) trennt das Svecofennium von der polymetamorphen, im Südwesten Schwedens gelegenen Gneis-Region. Ein direkt westlich des TGPB gelegenes Vorkommen roter Orthogneise entspricht den deformierten TGPB Granitoiden. Graue Orthogneise, die weiter im Westen aufgeschlossen sind, zeigen eine mehr tonalitische bis granodioritische Zusammensetzung und werden auf einen vulkanischen Inselbogen zurückgeführt. Die TGPB Granitoide und die roten südwest-schwedischen Gneise stellen einen Übergang von den Inselbogen-Vulkaniten zu den zeitgleichen »Intra-Platten-Graniten« der svecofennischen Kruste dar. Der Inselbogen kollidierte mit der svecofennischen Kruste, es entstanden großräumige Bruchzonen mit Streichrichtungen senkrecht zur Kollisionsebene. Während des Zustands der hohen Druckspannung des Gebietes intrudierten die »Intra-Platten-Granite«. Innerhalb des Kollisionsbereiches wurde die Kruste nach unten gebogen, und so entstanden an der Basis der Kruste große Mengen granitischen Magmas. Dieses TGPB Magma stieg entlang der Störungszone innerhalb der Inselbogengesteine, die nur wenig älter sind, und der svecofennischen Kruste, auf. Nur ein, von relativ geringer Mächtigkeit, weiter westlich gelegener Teil des TGPB, die roten südwest-schwedischen Gneise, wurde während der Kollision intensiv deformiert. Dagegen war der Hauptanteil der tiefreichenden TGPB Wurzelzone noch nicht vollständig erstarrt und wirkte deshalb wie eine Pufferzone gegen die Schieferungsfront.

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Résumé De la croûte continentale nouvelle s'est formée il y a 1,9 Ga dans le domaine des Svecofennides (Bouclier baltique). Environ 100 à 150 Ma plus tard, de la croûte nouvelle s'est accrétionnée à la bordure sud-ouest du bouclier. Cette note basée sur des mesures de gravité et la lithogéochimie, présente un essai d'analyse des processus tectoniques responsables de cette croissance continentale d'âge 1,75 à 1,8 Ga. Le «Transcandinavian Granite Porphygry Belt» (TGPB) sépare le domaine svécofennien des gneiss polymétamorphiques du sud-ouest de la Suède. Immédiatement à l'ouest de TGPB affleurent des orthogneiss rouges qui représentent l'équivalent déformé de granitoïdes du TGPB, tandis que des orthogneiss gris de tendance tonalitique-granodioritique, situés plus à l'ouest, ont été engendrées dans un environnement d'arc volcanique. Les granitoïdes du TGPB et les gneiss rouges du sud-ouest de la Suède représentent une transition entre ces produits d'arc volcanique et les granites intra-plaque de même âge intrudés dans la croûte svécofennienne. L'arc volcanique a été accrétionné à la croûte svécofennienne avec production dans celleci de grandes fractures d'extension perpendiculaires au front de collision. C'est dans ce domaine en extension que les granites intra-plaque se sont mis en place. Dans la zone de collision, la croûte s'est incurvée vers le bas et de grandes quantités de liquides granitiques ont été engendrées à la base de la croûte. Ces magmas TGPB sont montés à la faveur de la zone fracturée entre les roches de l'arc engendrée un peu plus tôt, et la croûte svécofennienne. Seule une fraction supérieure relativement mince du TGPB, développée vers l'ouest, a subi une déformation importante au cours de la collision, pour former les gneiss rouges du sud-ouest de la Suède; par contre, la partie principale de la racine profonde du TGPB, qui n'était pas encore entièrement solidifiée, a joné le role tampon en avant du front de foliation.

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, 1,9 100–150 - . - (Transscandinavian Granite-Porphyry-Belt - TGPB) , - . TGPB , , , - , . TGPB - . , , . («within plate» type granites) , . . TGPB , , . TGPB, , - , . TGPB, , .

     

Interpretation of single-well tracer tests using fractional-flow dimensions. Part 1: Theory and mathematical models

Generalized equations using fractional-flow dimensions were derived to estimate the Darcy and seepage velocities obtained from the point-dilution and the single-well injection-withdrawal field tests conducted in fractured-rock aquifers. Seepage velocities can only be estimated from single-well tests if the hydraulic conductivity and the hydraulic gradient are known a priori. However, if a radial-convergent test is also performed between two boreholes, the kinematic porosity can be estimated and be used to estimate the seepage velocity from the single-well test results. To apply the generalized equations, the flow dimension and the extent of the flow region must be known. Therefore, the generalized radial flow (GRF) model of Barker (1988; a generalized radial flow model for hydraulic tests in fractured rock. Water Resour Res 24(10):1796–1804) is used to estimate the flow dimension because of its wide range of applications. A pumping test performed on the boreholes will yield an estimate of the fractional-flow dimension by applying the GRF model. Electronic Publication