Volcanic ash clouds affecting Northern Europe: the long view     

Graeme T. Swindles  Ivan P. Savov  Charles B. Connor  Jonathan Carrivick  Elizabeth Watson  Ian T. Lawson 《Geology Today》2013,29(6):214-217

The volcanic ash or ‘tephra’ cloud resulting from the relatively small (volume and VEI) eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 caused major air travel disruption, at substantial global economic cost. On several occasions in the past few centuries, Icelandic eruptions have created ash and/or sulphur dioxide clouds which were detected over Europe (e.g. Hekla in 1947, Askja in 1875, and Laki in 1783). However, these historical observations do not represent a complete record of events serious enough to disrupt aviation in Europe. The only feasible evidence for this is within the geological tephra record. Ash layers are preserved in bogs and lakes where tephra deposited from the atmosphere is incorporated in the peat/mud. In this article we: 1, introduce the analysis of the Northern European sedimentary tephra record; 2, discuss our findings and modelling results; 3, highlight how these were misinterpreted by the popular media; and 4, use this experience to outline several existing problems with current tephra studies and suggest agendas for future research.  相似文献   

Geochemistry of the Early Miocene volcanic succession of Northland,New Zealand,and implications for the evolution of subduction in the Southwest Pacific     

Mathijs A. Booden  Ian E.M. Smith  Philippa M. Black  Jeffrey L. Mauk 《Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research》2011,199(1-2):25-37

Latest Oligocene and Early Miocene volcanic rocks occur on the Northland Peninsula, New Zealand, and record the inception of Cenozoic subduction-related volcanism in the North Island that eventually evolved to its present manifestation in the Taupo Volcanic Zone. This NW-striking Northland Arc is continuous with the Reinga Ridge and comprises two parallel belts of volcanic centres ca. 60 km apart. A plethora of tectonic models have been proposed for its origins. We acquired new trace element and Sr–Nd isotope data to better constrain such models. All Northland Arc rocks carry an arc-type trace element signature, however distinct differences exist between rocks of the eastern and western belt. Eastern belt rocks are typically andesites and dacites and have relatively evolved isotope ratios indicating assimilated crustal material, and commonly contain hornblende. Additionally some eastern belt rocks with highly evolved isotope compositions show fractionated REE compositions consistent with residual garnet, and some contain garnetiferous inclusions in addition to schistose crustal fragments. In contrast, western belt rocks are mostly basalts or basaltic andesites with relatively primitive Sr–Nd isotope compositions, do not contain hornblende and show no rare earth element evidence for cryptic amphibole fractionation. Eastern and western belt rocks contain comparable slab-derived fractions of fluid-mobile trace elements and invariably possess an arc signature. Therefore the difference between the belts may be best explained as due to variation in crustal thickness across the Northland Peninsula, where western belt centres erupted onto a thinner crustal section than eastern belt rocks.The consistent arc signature throughout the Northland arc favours an origin in response to an actual, if short-lived subduction event, rather than slab detachment as proposed in some models. No Northland Arc rocks possess a convincing adakite-like composition that might reflect the subduction of very young oceanic lithosphere such as that of the Oligocene South Fiji Basin. Therefore we favour a model in which subduction of old (Cretaceous) lithosphere drove subduction.  相似文献   

Stormflow dynamics and loads of Escherichia coli in a large mixed land use catchment     

Lucy A. McKergow  Robert J. Davies‐Colley 《水文研究》2010,24(3):276-289

Storm events are major transporters of faecal microbial contaminants, but few studies have reported storm loads or concentration dynamics in relation to discharge or other pollutants, notably fine sediment. Episodically, high loads of faecal contamination during storm flows impact downstream uses of water bodies, particularly contact recreation and shellfish harvesting. We examined the storm dynamics of Escherichia coli, turbidity and discharge in the mixed land use Motueka catchment (2047 km²; 60% forest and 19% pasture) to gain insights into E. coli sources and transport. We also explored different approaches for calculating E. coli loads. Discharge and field turbidity were recorded continuously, and E. coli concentrations were sampled during events, over a 13‐month period near the mouth of the Motueka River. E. coli loads were estimated by interpolation, averaging estimators and by using linear regression with smearing correction of the log‐transformed variables: discharge, turbidity, and both turbidity and discharge. The annual E. coli load was dominated (～98%) by export during events. Comparison of monthly monitoring with the intensive storm monitoring campaign suggests that simple stratification of the sampling into storm and baseflow would greatly improve export estimates. E. coli peak concentrations always preceded discharge and turbidity peaks (which had similar timing). Turbidity can be a useful surrogate for faecal microbes in smaller catchments, but in the Motueka turbidity was no better for predicting E. coli concentration than discharge. Runoff from grazed pasture and direct deposition from livestock are probably the ultimate E. coli sources in the Motueka catchment. However, in‐channel stores seem to dominate E. coli dynamics during events and account for the typical feature of bacterial concentrations peaking ahead of discharge and turbidity. This study demonstrates the importance of storm events to faecal microbial loads and shows that E. coli concentration dynamics may contrast with those of turbidity. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Multi-segment earthquakes and tsunami potential of the Aleutian megathrust     

Ian Shennan  Ronald Bruhn  George Plafker 《Quaternary Science Reviews》2009,28(1-2):7-13

Large to great earthquakes and related tsunamis generated on the Aleutian megathrust produce major hazards for both the area of rupture and heavily populated coastlines around much of the Pacific Ocean. Here we use paleoseismic records preserved in coastal sediments to investigate whether segment boundaries control the largest ruptures or whether in some seismic cycles segments combine to produce earthquakes greater than any observed since instrumented records began. Virtually the entire megathrust has ruptured since AD1900, with four different segments generating earthquakes >M8.0. The largest was the M9.2 great Alaska earthquake of March 1964 that ruptured ～800 km of the eastern segment of the megathrust. The tsunami generated caused fatalities in Alaska and along the coast as far south as California. East of the 1964 zone of deformation, the Yakutat microplate experienced two >M8.0 earthquakes, separated by a week, in September 1899. For the first time, we present evidence that earthquakes ～900 and ～1500 years ago simultaneously ruptured adjacent segments of the Aleutian megathrust and the Yakutat microplate, with a combined area ～15% greater than 1964, giving an earthquake of greater magnitude and increased tsunamigenic potential.  相似文献   

Catastrophic landslides,glacier behaviour and moraine formation – A view from an active plate margin     

James Shulmeister  Tim R. Davies  David J.A. Evans  Olivia M. Hyatt  Daniel S. Tovar 《Quaternary Science Reviews》2009,28(11-12):1085-1096

The influence of large bedrock landslides (“rock avalanches”) on the behaviour of glaciers is incompletely recognised. Here we present an example from an active tectonic margin in South Island, New Zealand where large earthquakes leave a significant imprint on glacial records. We demonstrate that terminal moraines on the western side of the Southern Alps record both ‘ordinary’ (i.e. climate-driven) and landslide-initiated glacial advances. Following consideration of the processes involved in rock avalanche-initiated moraine construction we suggest ways of determining the nature of the advance that built the terminal moraine. The implications of these observations are important in breaking the conventional linkage of individual terminal moraines with climate forcing.  相似文献   

Late Quaternary sea-level changes and palaeoseismology of the Bering Glacier region,Alaska     

Ian Shennan 《Quaternary Science Reviews》2009,28(17-18):1762-1773

Glacial isostatic adjustment and multiple earthquake deformation cycles produce temporal and spatial variability in the records of relative sea-level change across south-central Alaska. Bering Glacier had retreated inland of the present coast by 16 ka BP and north of its present terminus by ～14 ka BP. Reconnaissance investigations in remote terrain provide new but limited insights of post-glacial relative sea-level change and the palaeoseismology of the region. Relative sea-level was above present ～9.2 ka BP to at least 5 ka BP before falling to below present. It was above present by the early 20th century, before land uplift in the 1964 M 9.2 earthquake. The pattern of relative sea-level change differs what may be expected in comparison with model predictions for other seismic and non-seismic locations. Buried mud–peat couplets show a great earthquake ～900 cal BP, including evidence of a tsunami. Correlation with other sites suggest simultaneous rupture of adjacent segments of the Aleutian megathrust and the Yakutat microplate.  相似文献   

Computing near coastal tidal dynamics from observations and a numerical model     

A.M. Davies  J. Sauvel  J. Evans 《Continental Shelf Research》1985,4(3):341-366

A two-dimensional vertically integrated model of the North Sea is used to compute the distribution of M₂ and M₄ tidal elevations and currents over the region. Comparison of computed and observed elevations and currents in the area shows that the model can accurately reproduce the M₂ tide in the North Sea, although there are difficulties with the M₄ tide particularly in the northern North Sea.Comparison between model and a large number of observations collected in a shallow water region off the east coast of England, revealed that the model can accurately reproduce the tides even in near coastal regions, where model resolution problems can occur. Comparisons of computed and observed M₂ tidal energy fluxes in this region, show that model and observations agree to within the order of 10% (the error associated with the necessary interpolation of the observations in order to compute the energy flux).The problem of computing energy dissipation in the area by subtracting the energy fluxes into and out of the region is shown to be ill-conditioned in that the energy dissipation in the area is comparable to the error in the energy flux. Consequently for the sea region considered here it is not meaningful to compare this energy budget with energy dissipation due to bottom friction.Energy dissipation for the whole of the North Sea is computed using the numerical model and the geographical distribution of dissipation due to bottom friction is given for the M₂ tide.  相似文献   

Separation of the visible and dark matter in the Einstein ring LBG J213512.73−010143     

Simon Dye  Ian Smail  A. M. Swinbank  H. Ebeling  A. C. Edge 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2007,379(1):308-316

We model the mass distribution in the recently discovered Einstein ring LBG J213512.73−010143 (the 'Cosmic Eye') using archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging. We reconstruct the mass density profile of the z = 0.73 lens and the surface brightness distribution of the z = 3.07 source and find that the observed ring is best fitted with a dual-component lens model consisting of a baryonic Sersic component nested within a dark matter halo. The dark matter halo has an inner slope of 1.42^+0.24_−0.22, consistent with cold dark matter simulations after allowing for baryon contraction. The baryonic component has a mass-to-light ratio of  1.71^+0.28_−0.38 M_⊙/L _{B ⊙}  which when evolved to the present day is in agreement with local ellipticals. Within the Einstein radius of 0.77 arcsec (5.6 kpc), the baryons account for 46 ± 11 per cent of the projected lens mass. External shear from a nearby foreground cluster is accurately predicted by the model. The reconstructed surface brightness distribution in the source plane clearly shows two peaks. Through a generalization of our lens inversion method, we conclude that the redshifts of both peaks are consistent with each other, suggesting that we are seeing structure within a single galaxy.  相似文献   

Resolved spectroscopy of a gravitationally lensed L* Lyman-break galaxy at z∼ 5     

A. M. Swinbank  R. G. Bower  Graham P. Smith  R. J. Wilman  Ian Smail  R. S. Ellis  S. L. Morris  J.-P. Kneib 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2007,376(2):479-491

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Star formation and figure rotation in the early-type galaxy NGC 2974     

Hyunjin Jeong  Martin Bureau  Sukyoung K. Yi  Davor Krajnovi&#;  Roger L. Davies 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2007,376(3):1021-1032

We present Galaxy Evolution Explorer ( GALEX ) far-ultraviolet (FUV) and near-ultraviolet (NUV) imaging of the nearby early-type galaxy NGC 2974, along with complementary ground-based optical imaging. In the ultraviolet, the galaxy reveals a central spheroid-like component and a newly discovered complete outer ring of radius 6.2 kpc, with suggestions of another partial ring at an even larger radius. Blue FUV–NUV and UV-optical colours are observed in the centre of the galaxy and from the outer ring outwards, suggesting young stellar populations (≲1 Gyr) and recent star formation in both locations. This is supported by a simple stellar population model which assumes two bursts of star formation, allowing us to constrain the age, mass fraction and surface mass density of the young component pixel by pixel. Overall, the mass fraction of the young component appears to be just under 1 per cent (lower limit, uncorrected for dust extinction). The additional presence of a nuclear and an inner ring (radii 1.4 and 2.9 kpc, respectively), as traced by [O  iii ] emission, suggests ring formation through resonances. All three rings are consistent with a single pattern speed of  78 ± 6  km s⁻¹ kpc⁻¹, typical of S0 galaxies and only marginally slower than expected for a fast bar if traced by a small observed surface brightness plateau. This thus suggests that star formation and morphological evolution in NGC 2974 at the present epoch are primarily driven by a rotating asymmetry (probably a large-scale bar), despite the standard classification of NGC 2974 as an E4 elliptical.  相似文献