Controls on spatial and temporal distribution of Precambrian eolianites     

Kenneth A. Eriksson  Edward L. Simpson 《Sedimentary Geology》1998,120(1-4):275-294

Inversely graded stratification, generated by the migration of wind ripples, and adhesion structures permit unequivocal identification of Precambrian eolianites. These criteria, in combination with scale of cross-beds, angle of inclination of foresets, geometry of depositional units, and associated non-eolian facies, are used to discriminate between Precambrian dune/draa, dune-plinth, sand-sheet, and interdune deposits that formed in inland and coastal settings. Based on an analysis of published literature, fundamental conclusions can be drawn on the spatial and temporal distribution of Precambrian eolianites. The oldest reported eolianites are from the ca. 2.1 Ga Deweras Group in Zimbabwe and Hurwitz Group in Canada and numerous examples of eolianites are reported from the 1.8 Ga and younger rock record. Lack of Archean and early Paleoproterozoic eolianites and their widespread development after 1.8 Ga are examined with respect to: absence of vegetation, crustal growth and tectonic setting, relative sea-level fluctuations, unfavorable atmospheric and/or climatic change, and non-recognition. The lack of pre-2.2 Ga eolianites may be related to reworking by braided rivers combing across non-vegetated floodplains, reworking of coastal eolianites during transgression or their non-recognition in the Early Precambrian record. The temporal concentration of eolianites at 1.8 Ga may best be related to the early stages of breakup and the assembly phases of supercontinents.  相似文献   

Stellar forensics — II. Millisecond pulsar binaries     

Brad M. S. Hansen  & Sterl Phinney 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》1998,294(4):569-581

We use the grid of models described in Paper I to analyse those millisecond pulsar binaries whose secondaries have been studied optically. In particular, we find cooling ages for these binary systems that range from < 1 to ∼ 15 Gyr. Comparison of cooling ages and characteristic spin-down ages allows us to constrain the initial spin periods and spin-up histories for individual systems, showing that at least some millisecond pulsars had sub-Eddington accretion rates and long magnetic field decay times.  相似文献   

A new look at the isotropy of narrow-line emission in extragalactic radio sources     

Chris Simpson 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》1998,297(2):L39-L43

We undertake a quantitative investigation, using Monte Carlo simulations, of the amount by which quasars are expected to exceed radio galaxies in optical luminosity in the context of the 'receding torus' model. We compare these simulations with the known behaviour of the [O  III ] λ5007 and [O  II ] λ3727 emission lines and conclude that [O  III ] is the better indicator of the strength of the underlying non-stellar continuum.  相似文献   

Mesozoic magnetic lineations in the Mozambique Basin     

E.S.W. Simpson  J.G. Sclater  B. Parsons  I. Norton  L. Meinke 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》1979,43(2):260-264

East-west-trending Mesozoic magnetic anomalies M2 through M22 have been identified in the northern Mozambique Basin. These anomalies are best matched by sea floor created at 50°S trending N120°E and spreading at a rate of around 1.5 cm/yr. The northward increase in age inferred from the identifications of these anomalies are compatible with observed decrease in the “reliable” heat flow values from 1.4 to 1.1 μcal/cm² s to the north in the basin. The anomalies terminate in the southern part of the Mozambique Channel against a magnetic quiet zone to the north. Both the Mozambique Basin anomalies and those recently observed off Antarctica are strong evidence in favour of a Gondwanaland reconstruction that places Dronning Maud Land against southern Mozambique, and a late Jurassic or older separation between Africa and Antarctica.  相似文献   

Plutonium,radiocesium and radiocobalt in sediments of the Hudson River estuary     

C.R. Olsen  H.J. Simpson  R.M. Trier 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》1981,55(3):377-392

Anthropogenic radionuclides have reached the Hudson estuary as global fallout from nuclear weapons testing and through local releases from commercial nuclear reactors. Significant activities of²³⁸Pu and^239,240Pu (fallout-derived),¹³⁴Cs and⁶⁰Co (reactor-released), and¹³⁷Cs (derived from both sources), have accumulated in the sediments throughout the estuary, with the primary zone of accumulation near the downstream end of the system in New York harbor. The estuary appears to have trapped nearly all of the^239,240Pu delivered as fallout, and consequently, ocean dumping of dredged harbor sediment is currently the primary means for the net transport of these nuclides to coastal waters. In contrast, only 10–30% of the¹³⁷Cs,¹³⁴Cs and⁶⁰Co delivered to the estuary have been retained on the fine particles which accumulate at a rapid rate in the harbor.The primary factors which have governed the distribution of anthropogenic radionuclides in Hudson sediments are: (1) spread of fine particles labeled with both fallout and reactor nuclides throughout the axis of the estuary, (2) differences in timing of the peak fallout years (1962–1964) and years of maximum reactor releases (1971–1972), (3) large variations in sediment accumulation rates, ranging from a few millimeters per year or less to many tens of centimeters per year, (4) appreciable desorption of¹³⁷Cs and¹³⁴Cs from particles at higher salinities, and (5) possible enhanced desorption of⁶⁰Co at higher salinities (relative to¹³⁴Cs and¹³⁷Cs) which may be associated with the release of reduced manganese from the harbor sediments.  相似文献   

Establishing Quaternary as a formal internationa Period/System     

James G. Ogg Brad Pillans 《《幕》》2008,31(2):230-233

Despite being the most widely used unit infield mapping and having the greatest number of active researchers, the interval known as Quaternary is unique among the chronostratigraphic subdivisions of the Geological Time Scale （GTS） in having the most controversial definition and rank. After more than 100 years of debate, the base of the Quaternary is now widely recognized at -2.6 Ma, marking a dramatic and so-far irreversible shift to the ice-age-dominated world of oscillating glacial advances over the northern continents.  相似文献   

Slope-control on the aspect ratio of river basins     

Sébastien Castelltort  Guy Simpson  Alexandre Darrioulat 《地学学报》2009,21(4):265-270

Although it is traditionally thought that drainage basins are geometrically similar, we present new results which indicate that the aspect ratio of weakly dissected river basins at large scales (10–10³ km²) depends on the surface slope: steeper surfaces develop narrower and lengthier basins whereas more gently dipping surfaces develop more equant and wider basins. This relationship is interpreted to be related to the nature of water flow over rough surfaces, with steeper slopes causing less flow convergence and lengthier and narrower basins. We derive an empirical relationship that can be used to infer the slope of a surface on which a river basin acquired its geometry based solely on a measure of its basin form. This relation provides a unique means of inferring the relative chronology of river basin development with respect to surface tilting and therefore provides a direct link between river basin morphology and tectonics.  相似文献   

Calibrating a glaciological model of the Greenland ice sheet from the Last Glacial Maximum to present-day using field observations of relative sea level and ice extent     

Matthew J.R. Simpson  Glenn A. Milne  Philippe Huybrechts  Antony J. Long 《Quaternary Science Reviews》2009,28(17-18):1631-1657

We constrain a three-dimensional thermomechanical model of Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) evolution from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 ka BP) to the present-day using, primarily, observations of relative sea level (RSL) as well as field data on past ice extent. Our new model (Huy2) fits a majority of the observations and is characterised by a number of key features: (i) the ice sheet had an excess volume (relative to present) of 4.1 m ice-equivalent sea level at the LGM, which increased to reach a maximum value of 4.6 m at 16.5 ka BP; (ii) retreat from the continental shelf was not continuous around the entire margin, as there was a Younger Dryas readvance in some areas. The final episode of marine retreat was rapid and relatively late (c. 12 ka BP), leaving the ice sheet land based by 10 ka BP; (iii) in response to the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) the ice margin retreated behind its present-day position by up to 80 km in the southwest, 20 km in the south and 80 km in a small area of the northeast. As a result of this retreat the modelled ice sheet reaches a minimum extent between 5 and 4 ka BP, which corresponds to a deficit volume (relative to present) of 0.17 m ice-equivalent sea level. Our results suggest that remaining discrepancies between the model and the observations are likely associated with non-Greenland ice load, differences between modelled and observed present-day ice elevation around the margin, lateral variations in Earth structure and/or the pattern of ice margin retreat.  相似文献   

Cross-sectoral interactions of adaptation and mitigation measures     

Pam M. Berry  Sally Brown  Minpeng Chen  Areti Kontogianni  Olwen Rowlands  Gillian Simpson  Michalis Skourtos 《Climatic change》2015,128(3-4):381-393

  相似文献   

Carbon dioxide on the satellites of Saturn: Results from the Cassini VIMS investigation and revisions to the VIMS wavelength scale     

Dale P. Cruikshank  Allan W. Meyer  Roger N. Clark  Katrin Stephan  Scott A. Sandford  Gianrico Filacchione  Philip D. Nicholson  Thomas B. McCord  J. Brad Dalton  Dennis L. Matson 《Icarus》2010,206(2):561-572

Several of the icy satellites of Saturn show the spectroscopic signature of the asymmetric stretching mode of C-O in carbon dioxide (CO₂) at or near the nominal solid-phase laboratory wavelength of 4.2675 μm (2343.3 cm⁻¹), discovered with the Visible-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) on the Cassini spacecraft. We report here on an analysis of the variation in wavelength and width of the CO₂ absorption band in the spectra of Phoebe, Iapetus, Hyperion, and Dione. Comparisons are made to laboratory spectra of pure CO₂, CO₂ clathrates, ternary mixtures of CO₂ with other volatiles, implanted and adsorbed CO₂ in non-volatile materials, and ab initio theoretical calculations of CO₂ * nH₂O. At the wavelength resolution of VIMS, the CO₂ on Phoebe is indistinguishable from pure CO₂ ice (each molecule’s nearby neighbors are also CO₂) or type II clathrate of CO₂ in H₂O. In contrast, the CO₂ band on Iapetus, Hyperion, and Dione is shifted to shorter wavelengths (typically ∼4.255 μm (∼2350.2 cm⁻¹)) and broadened. These wavelengths are characteristic of complexes of CO₂ with different near-neighbor molecules that are encountered in other volatile mixtures such as with H₂O and CH₃OH, and non-volatile host materials like silicates, some clays, and zeolites. We suggest that Phoebe’s CO₂ is native to the body as part of the initial inventory of condensates and now exposed on the surface, while CO₂ on the other three satellites results at least in part from particle or UV irradiation of native H₂O plus a source of C, implantation or accretion from external sources, or redistribution of native CO₂ from the interior.The analysis presented here depends on an accurate VIMS wavelength scale. In preparation for this work, the baseline wavelength calibration for the Cassini VIMS was found to be distorted around 4.3 μm, apparently as a consequence of telluric CO₂ gas absorption in the pre-launch calibration. The effect can be reproduced by convolving a sequence of model detector response profiles with a deep atmospheric CO₂ absorption profile, producing distorted detector profile shapes and shifted central positions. In a laboratory blackbody spectrum used for radiance calibration, close examination of the CO₂ absorption profile shows a similar deviation from that expected from a model. These modeled effects appear to be sufficient to explain the distortion in the existing wavelength calibration now in use. A modification to the wavelength calibration for 13 adjacent bands is provided. The affected channels span about 0.2 μm centered on 4.28 μm. The maximum wavelength change is about 10 nm toward longer wavelength. This adjustment has implications for interpretation of some of the spectral features observed in the affected wavelength interval, such as from CO₂, as discussed in this paper.  相似文献