Frequency distributions and correlations of solar X-ray flare parameters

We have determined frequency distributions of flare parameters from over 12000 solar flares recorded with the Hard X-Ray Burst Spectrometer (HXRBS) on the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) satellite. These parameters include the flare duration, the peak counting rate, the peak hard X-ray flux, the total energy in electrons, and the peak energy flux in electrons (the latter two computed assuming a thick-target flare model). The energies were computed above a threshold energy between 25 and 50 keV. All of the distributions can be represented by power laws above the HXRBS sensitivity threshold. Correlations among these parameters are determined from linear regression fits as well as from the slopes of the frequency distributions. Variations of the frequency distributions were investigated with respect to the solar activity cycle.Theoretical models for the frequency distribution of flare parameters depend on the probability of flaring and the temporal evolution of the flare energy build-up. Our results are consistent with stochastic flaring and exponential energy build-up, with an average build-up time constant that is 0.5 times the mean time between flares. The measured distributions of flares are also consistent with predicted distributions of flares from computer simulations of avalanche models that are governed by the principle of self-organized criticality.     

A method for studying iron silicate liquids under reducing conditions with negligible iron loss

In studies of iron silicate liquids under reducing conditions at 1 atm pressure, iron losses from the melt can be minimized by suspending the liquid as a drop from a short segment of fine Pt wire. For a basaltic composition at 1275°C and oxygen fugacities appropriate to terrestrial magmas, iron losses from the melt are less than 0.5 wt.% of the amount present for run times less than about 20 hr.     

Radiation exposure and Mission Strategies for Interplanetary Manned Missions (REMSIM)

Cosmic radiation is an important problem for human interplanetary missions. The “Radiation Exposure and Mission Strategies for Interplanetary Manned Missions–REMSIM” study is summarised here. They are related to current strategies and countermeasures to ensure the protection of astronauts from radiation during interplanetary missions, with specific reference to: radiation environment and its variability; radiation effects on the crew; transfer trajectories and associated fluences; vehicle and surface habitat concepts; passive and active shielding concepts; space weather monitoring and warning systems.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Spartina alterniflora</Emphasis> Biomass Allocation and Temperature: Implications for Salt Marsh Persistence with Sea-Level Rise

To predict the impacts of climate change, a better understanding is needed of the foundation species that build and maintain biogenic ecosystems. Spartina alterniflora Loisel (smooth cordgrass) is the dominant salt marsh-building plant along the US Atlantic coast. It maintains salt marsh elevation relative to sea level by the accumulation of aboveground biomass, which promotes sediment deposition and belowground biomass, which accretes as peat. Peat accumulation is particularly important in elevation maintenance at high latitudes where sediment supply tends to be limited. Latitudinal variation in S. alterniflora growth was quantified in eight salt marshes from Massachusetts to South Carolina. The hypothesis that allocation to aboveground and belowground biomass is phenotypically plastic was tested with transplant experiments among a subset of salt marshes along this gradient. Reciprocal transplants revealed that northern S. alterniflora decreased allocation to belowground biomass when grown in the south. Some northern plants also died when moved south, suggesting that northern S. alterniflora may be stressed by future warming. Southern plants that were moved north showed phenotypic plasticity in biomass allocation, but no mortality. Belowground biomass also decomposed more quickly in southern marshes. Our results suggest that warming will lead northern S. alterniflora to decrease belowground allocation and that belowground biomass will decompose more quickly, thus decreasing peat accumulation. Gradual temperature increases may allow for adaptation and acclimation, but our results suggest that warming will lower the ability of salt marshes to withstand sea-level rise.     

A lithogeochemical approach to Stratigraphical problems at the Millstream potash deposit, New Brunswick, Canada

A lithogeochemical study was undertaken of the Millstream potash deposit, New Brunswick, Canada, a marine evaporite deposit with a complex depositional and tectonic history. The objective of the study was to determine if potash intersections in boreholes represent different geological horizons, or the same stratum repeated by folding or faulting. The deposit is found at a depth of 800–1000 m.Water-soluble and -insoluble fractions of drill core from five ore zones in four holes were analyzed using multielement ICP instrumentation following sequential hot water and aqua regia leaches. Meaningful variations in the data for the different ore zones were evident for eight elements in the water-soluble portion, and for seventeen elements in the water-insoluble residue. These results characterize a lowermost sylvinite unit which is relatively depleted in most elements, with the exception of Mg and Al in the residue. Regression analysis indicates a weak correlation between Fe and the common base metals, in contrast to the immediately overlying sylvinite unit which is relatively enriched in most elements, including Fe, but where Fe apparently exerts no control over the base metals. Cluster analysis confirms these two units are easily distinguished from each other. The upper two ore horizons are distinguishable from the lower units on the basis of different abundances of some elements, such as water-soluble B, and on the strong scavenging abilities of Fe on the common base metals.No single element is able to uniquely fingerprint a particular sylvinite horizon, but suites of elements are able to classify each horizon as geochemically distinctive. The results appear to confirm the validity of the geological correlations.     

Spatial organization of decadal and bidecadal rainfall fluctuations in southern North America and southern South America

The spatial organization of decadal and bidecadal components (fluctuations) of annual rainfall is identified in this research for two regions: (1) southern South America, and (2) southern North America (conterminous USA, southeastern Canada and northern and central Mexico). Findings indicate that these decadal and bidecadal components have highly coherent wave-like spatial organization. Two types of organization of decadal and bidecadal components of annual rainfall were identified: a train of propagating fluctuations and quasi-standing fluctuations. For decadal components, such patterns alternate in time. A widespread change in the spatial organization of decadal component of annual rainfall took place simultaneously in both continents in 1932. The bidecadal component is organized as standing fluctuations in southern North America and as travelling fluctuations in southern South America, The spatial pattern of decadal fluctuations of annual rainfall has 12- and 13-year cycles, and the spatial pattern of bidecadal fluctuations has predominantly 21- and 22-year cycles.     

Seismogenic destruction of the Kamenka medieval fortress, northern Issyk-Kul region, Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan)

A paleoseismological study of the medieval Kamenka fortress in the northern part of the Issyk-Kul Lake depression, northern Tien Shan in Kyrgyzstan, revealed an oblique slip thrust fault scarp offsetting the fortification walls. This 700 m long scarp is not related to the 1911 Kebin Earthquake (Ms 8.2) fault scarps which are widespread in the region. As analysis of stratigraphy in a paleoseismic trench and archaeological evidence reveal, it can be assigned to a major twelfth century a.d. earthquake which produced up to 4 m of oblique slip thrusting antithetic to that of the nearby dominant faults. The inferred surface rupturing earthquake apparently caused the fortress destruction and was likely the primary reason for its abandonment, not the Mongolian–Tatar invasions as previously thought.     

Epigenetic gorges in fluvial landscapes

Epigenetic gorges form when channels that have been laterally displaced during episodes of river blockage or aggradation incise down into bedrock spurs or side‐walls of the former valley rather than excavating unconsolidated fills and reinhabiting the buried paleovalley. Valley‐filling events that promote epigenetic gorges can be localized, such as a landslide dam or an alluvial/debris flow fan deposit at a tributary junction, or widespread, such as fluvial aggradation in response to climate change or fluctuating base‐level. The formation of epigenetic gorges depends upon the competition between the resistance to transport, strength and roughness of valley‐filling sediments and a river's ability to sculpt and incise bedrock. The former affects the location and lateral mobility of a channel incising into valley‐filling deposits; the latter determines rates of bedrock incision should the path of the incising channel intersect with bedrock that is not the paleovalley bottom. Epigenetic gorge incision, by definition, post‐dates the incision that originally cut the valley. Strath terraces and sculpted bedrock walls that form in relation to epigenetic gorges should not be used to directly infer river incision induced by tectonic activity or climate variability. Rather, they are indicative of the variability of short‐term bedrock river incision and autogenic dynamics of actively incising fluvial landscapes. The rate of bedrock incision associated with an epigenetic gorge can be very high (>1 cm/yr), typically orders of magnitude higher than both short‐ and long‐term landscape denudation rates. In the context of bedrock river incision and landscape evolution, epigenetic gorges force rivers to incise more bedrock, slowing long‐term incision and delaying the adjustment of rivers to regional tectonic and climatic forcing. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Elevation‐dependent responses of streamflow to climate warming

Warming will affect snowline elevation, potentially altering the timing and magnitude of streamflow from mountain landscapes. Presently, the assessment of potential elevation‐dependent responses is difficult because many gauged watersheds integrate drainage areas that are both snow and rain dominated. To predict the impact of snowline rise on streamflow, we mapped the current snowline (1980 m) for the Salmon River watershed (Idaho, USA) and projected its elevation after 3 °C warming (2440 m). This increase results in a 40% reduction in snow‐covered area during winter months. We expand this analysis by collecting streamflow records from a new, elevation‐stratified gauging network of watersheds contained within high (2250–3800 m), mid (1500–2250 m) and low (300–1500 m) elevations that isolate snow, mixed and rain‐dominated precipitation regimes. Results indicate that lags between percentiles of precipitation and streamflow are much shorter in low elevations than in mid‐ and high‐elevation watersheds. Low elevation annual percentiles (Q₂₅ and Q₇₅) of streamflow occur 30–50 days earlier than in higher elevation watersheds. Extreme events in low elevations are dominated by low‐ and no‐flow events whereas mid‐ and high‐elevation extreme events are primarily large magnitude floods. Only mid‐ and high‐elevation watersheds are strongly cross correlated with catchment‐wide flow of the Salmon River, suggesting that changes in contributions from low‐elevation catchments may be poorly represented using mainstem gauges. As snowline rises, mid‐elevation watersheds will likely exhibit behaviours currently observed only at lower elevations. Streamflow monitoring networks designed for operational decision making or change detection may require modification to capture elevation‐dependent responses of streamflow to warming. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.