A study of the subarctic boundary region in the Western North Pacific

During autumn 1968 an oceanographic investigation was conducted in the region of the Subarctic boundary between 155°E and 180°. The geostrophic flow of the upper 500 m was remarkably similar in direction; hence the salinity-minimum, Intermediate water must have the same path of flow as water at the surface. A water mass analysis revealed a decrease in the percentage of Subarctic water to the south and east, plus an increase in the homogeneity of water to the east, which supports Reid's conclusions that the salinity minimum results mainly from lateral mixing in the pycnocline in this region. Salinity at the minimum increases toward the south and east, and the density at this level also increases slightly from the western to the central Pacific, perhaps as a result of unequal vertical mixing above and below the minimum.     

Diatom-inferred depth models in 8 Canadian boreal lakes: inferred changes in the benthic:planktonic depth boundary and implications for assessment of past droughts

Assessment of past drought in boreal regions, a region predicted to be strongly affected by climate warming, can provide insights into future availability of water. However, limited instrumental data and paleoclimatic data are available for this assessment. To address this lack of data in the boreal region of northwest Ontario, a regional study of lakes in the Winnipeg River Drainage Basin was initiated. Diatom-inferred (D-I) depth models were developed based on surface samples collected along a depth gradient within 8 small boreal lakes. Weighted-averaging and modern analog approaches provided robust within-lake depth models for each of the study lakes, with bootstrapped r² values ranging from 0.90 to 0.98, and root-mean-squared-errors of prediction (RMSEP) between 1.1 and 2.5 m. Large differences in the estimated depth optima for three representative, but common diatom species across our 8 study lakes suggested that within-lake calibration datasets are more appropriate for inferring past drought based in depth models than a regional multi-lake calibration dataset, and that light and related variables are controlling factors governing the maximum depth of benthic taxa. A down-core application of the D-I depth models on a near-shore core from Meekin Lake, retrieved near the present-day ecotone between the benthic and planktonic diatom assemblages indicated highly similar trends in inferred depth (r = 0.96). The models have significant correlations with other metrics of changes in depth including diatom species richness (r = 0.74–0.78) and evenness (r = 0.76–0.8), thereby allowing a check on the strength and direction of the depth inferences down-core. Near-shore cores located near the benthic:planktonic transition is a sensitive region that can provide estimates of past droughts in lakes where such inferences have been difficult to estimate.     

Rays and foci in a magneto-ionic medium with linearly varying magnetic field

An analytical study is carried out of rays from a source in a magneto-ionic medium in which the magnetic field is linear in the position coordinates. A general solution is given, and special cases, including that in which the magnetic field vector is confined to a plane, are examined.In the latter case, the specific sub-case of null current density, in which the field lines are rectangular hyperbolas, has been the subject of detailed numerical calculations. It is shown that focusing of rays can occur, though perhaps less readily than in the case of parabolic field lines considered by previous workers. We relate our parametrisation quantitatively to the terrestrial magnetic field.     

Debris flow deposits of early miocene age,deadman stream,Marlborough, New Zealand

Detailed analysis is presented of a conformable succession of Early Miocene conglomerates and sandstones lying between massive marine mudstones. The coarse sediments reflect deposition by a spectrum of subaqueous debris-flow mechanisms during an early pulse of tectonism that ultimately resulted in Plio-Pleistocene eversion of the Kaikoura Mountains.Sparse pebbly mudstones and rare sandy conglomerates show disoriented clasts and reflect high-viscosity flows and slurry-creep flow mechanisms. Other deposits have little mud matrix, hence appear to reflect low-viscosity flow processes. The largest clasts in these have a preferred planar orientation, probably reflecting dispersive grain pressure, and a preferred long-axis orientation parallel to flow direction. Common sorted sandstones and some conglomeratic sandstones show diffuse parallel lamination; with rare exceptions neither grading nor traction structures are present. Other conglomeratic sandstones show trough cross-bedding which we attribute to entrained bedload movement during intersurge episodes of debris flow.Microfossil data from the mudstones indicate sedimentation in an environment of outer neritic to upper bathyal aspect. Most detritus is abraded, suggesting derivation from terrestrial or inner neritic sources, but angular calcilutitic clasts and irregular sandstone and mudstone clasts and rafts were probably derived from submarine erosion between the emergent source area and the site of accumulation. Deposits generally appear to infill broad shallow channels. Paleocurrent and fabric analysis indicate a markedly uniform flow direction throughout succession, and suggest that the locus of channeling remained relatively fixed in space throughout accumulation of hundreds of metres of superimposed, commonly amalgamated debris-flow deposits. Although lateral control away from the measured sequence is limited, we infer that the locus of deposition lay shoreward of any submarine canyon or fan.     

Excitation of Sr ii lines in Eta Carinae

We study the nature of the peculiar [Sr  ii ] and Sr  ii emission filament found in the ejecta of Eta Carinae. To this purpose we carry out ab initio calculations of radiative transition probabilities and electron impact excitation rate coefficients for Sr  ii . Then we build a multilevel model for the system which is used to investigate the physical condition of the filament and the nature of the observed allowed and forbidden Sr  ii optical emission. It is found that the observed spectrum is consistent with the lines being pumped by the continuum radiation field in a mostly neutral region with electron density near 10⁷ cm⁻³. Under these conditions, the observed emission can be explained without the need for a large Sr overabundance.     

On the interpretation of the “inverse phase effect” for CO2 equivalent widths on Venus

Computations of the equivalent widths of absorption lines as a function of planetary phase angle are made for a homogeneous cloud with particles having the properties (shape, refractive index, and size distribution) deduced from polarimetry of Venus. The computed equivalent widths show an “inverse phase effect” comparable to that which is observed for CO₂ lines on Venus. This result verifies a recent suggestion of Regas et al. that the existence of an inverse phase effect does not by itself imply the presence of multiple layers of scattering particles in the atmosphere of Venus.     

Modeling coastal tsunami hazard from submarine mass failures: effect of slide rheology,experimental validation,and case studies off the US East Coast

Natural Hazards - We perform numerical simulations to assess how coastal tsunami hazard from submarine mass failures (SMFs) is affected by slide kinematics and rheology. Two types of two-layer SMF...