8,737 research outputs found
Partial melting in an upwelling mantle column
Decompression melting of hot upwelling rock in the mantle creates a region of partial melt comprising a porous solid matrix through which magma rises buoyantly. Magma transport and the compensating matrix deformation are commonly described by two-phase compaction models, but melt production is less often incorporated. Melting is driven by the necessity to maintain thermodynamic equilibrium between mineral grains in the partial melt; the position and amount of partial melting that occur are thus thermodynamically determined. We present a consistent model for the ascent of a one-dimensional column of rock and provide solutions that reveal where and how much partial melting occurs, the positions of the boundaries of the partial melt being determined by conserving energy across them. Thermodynamic equilibrium of the boundary between partial melt and the solid lithosphere requires a boundary condition on the effective pressure (solid pressure minus melt pressure), which suggests that large effective stresses, and hence fracture, are likely to occur near the base of the lithosphere. Matrix compaction, melt separation and temperature in the partially molten region are all dependent on the effective pressure, a fact that can lead to interesting oscillatory boundary-layer structures. © 2008 The Royal Society
Asymptotic dynamics of the exceptional Bianchi cosmologies
In this paper we give, for the first time, a qualitative description of the
asymptotic dynamics of a class of non-tilted spatially homogeneous (SH)
cosmologies, the so-called exceptional Bianchi cosmologies, which are of
Bianchi type VI. This class is of interest for two reasons. Firstly,
it is generic within the class of non-tilted SH cosmologies, being of the same
generality as the models of Bianchi types VIII and IX. Secondly, it is the SH
limit of a generic class of spatially inhomogeneous cosmologies.
Using the orthonormal frame formalism and Hubble-normalized variables, we
show that the exceptional Bianchi cosmologies differ from the non-exceptional
Bianchi cosmologies of type VI in two significant ways. Firstly, the
models exhibit an oscillatory approach to the initial singularity and hence are
not asymptotically self-similar. Secondly, at late times, although the models
are asymptotically self-similar, the future attractor for the vacuum-dominated
models is the so-called Robinson-Trautman SH model instead of the vacuum SH
plane wave models.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Class. Quantum Gra
Magmatic intrusions control Io's crustal thickness
Io, the most volcanically active body in the solar system, loses heat through
eruptions of hot lava. Heat is supplied by tidal heating and is thought to be
transferred through the mantle by magmatic segregation, a mode of transport
that sets it apart from convecting terrestrial planets. We present a model that
couples magmatic transport of tidal heat to the volcanic system in the crust,
in order to determine the controls on crustal thickness, magmatic intrusions,
and eruption rates. We demonstrate that magmatic intrusions are a key component
of Io's crustal heat balance; around 80% of the magma delivered to the base of
the crust must be emplaced and frozen as plutons to match rough estimates of
crustal thickness. As magma ascends from a partially molten mantle into the
crust, a decompacting boundary layer forms, which can explain inferred
observations of a high-melt-fraction region.Comment: Accepted to JGR:Planets. 24 pages inc appendices and references. 7
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Integrability and explicit solutions in some Bianchi cosmological dynamical systems
The Einstein field equations for several cosmological models reduce to
polynomial systems of ordinary differential equations. In this paper we shall
concentrate our attention to the spatially homogeneous diagonal G_2
cosmologies. By using Darboux's theory in order to study ordinary differential
equations in the complex projective plane CP^2 we solve the Bianchi V models
totally. Moreover, we carry out a study of Bianchi VI models and first
integrals are given in particular cases
Hydrological Investigations at Biafo Glacier, Karakoram Range, Himalaya; an Important Source of Water For the Indus River
Over 80% of the flow of the Upper Indus River is derived from less than 20% of its area: essentially from zones of heavy snowfall and glacierized basins above 3500 m elevation. The trans-Himalaya n contribution comes largely from an area of some 20000 km2 of glacierized basins, mostly along the axis of the Greater Karakoram range and especially from 20-30 of the largest glacier basins. Very few glaciological investigations have so far been undertaken in this the major glacierized region of Central Asia. Biafo Glacier, one of the largest of the Karakoram glaciers, drains south-eastwards from the central Karakoram crest. Its basin covers a total area of 853 km2 , 628 km2 of which are permanent snow and ice, with 68% of the glacier area forming the accumulation zone. This paper describes investigations of snow accumulation, ablation , glacier movement, and glacier depth undertaken in the period 1985-87 , set against a background of investigations carried out over the last 130 yea rs. Biafo Glacier differs from most of the other Karakoram glaciers in being nourished mainly by direct snowfall rather than by avalanching; this has the advantage of allowing extensive investigation of accumulation over a broad range of altitude. Snow-accumulation studies in the Biafo Glacier basin have indicated that annual accumulation varies from 0.9 to 1.9 m of water equivalent between 4650 and 5450 m a .. s.l. This suggests an annual moisture input above the equilibrium line of approximately 0.6 km3. Monopulse radar measurements indicate the presence of ice thickness as great as 1400 m at the equilibrium line, although these results may not be completely reliable . Mean surface velocity during the summer of 0.8 m d -I has been measured near to the equilibrium line. Calculations of annual ice flux through the vertical cross-profile at the equilibrium line indicate a throughput of 0.7 km3 a-I Estimates from stake ablation measurements also suggest that ice loss on Biafo Glacier is about 0.7 km3 a-I. The close agreement between these three sets of measurements is reassuring, indicating that the ablation zone of Biafo Glacier, whose area covers 0.09% of the whole Upper Indus basin, produces approximately 0.9% of the total run-off. However. it should be mentioned that this estimate does not include water originating from seasonal snow melt, e either above or below the equilibrium line, or from rainfall. Net annual ice losses due to wastage of the glacier since 1910 are probably of the order of 0.4-{).5 m a-I; this would represent between 12 and 15% of annual water yield from melting ice
LANDSAT application of remote sensing to shoreline-form analysis
The author has identified the following significant results. LANDSAT imagery of the southern end of Assateague Island, Virginia, was enlarged to 1:80,000 and compared with high altitude (1:130,000) and low altitude (1:24,000) aerial photography in an attempt to quantify change in land area over a nine month period. Change in area and configuration was found with LANDSAT and low altitude photography. Change in configuration, but no change in area was found with high altitude photography. Due to tidal differences at time of image obtention and lack of baseline data, the accuracy of the LANDSAT measurements could not be determined. They were consistent with the measurements from the low altitude photography
Entanglement without nonlocality
We consider the characterization of entanglement from the perspective of a
Heisenberg formalism. We derive an original two-party generalized separability
criteria, and from this describe a novel physical understanding of
entanglement. We find that entanglement may be considered as fundamentally a
local effect, and therefore as a separable computational resource from
nonlocality. We show how entanglement differs from correlation physically, and
explore the implications of this new conception of entanglement for the notion
of classicality. We find that this understanding of entanglement extends
naturally to multipartite cases.Comment: 9 pages. Expanded introduction and sections on physical entanglement
and localit
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