A SEQUENCE OF BIOHORIZONS FOR THE SUBBOREAL PROVINCE LOWER TOARCIAN IN NORTHERN BRITAIN AND THEIR CORRELATION WITH A SUBMEDITERRANEAN STANDARD

A sequence of sub-subzonal correlative units at the level of biohorizon is described for the Subboreal Province, Lower Toarcian of North Yorkshire, north west England. Nineteen such units are recognised, as follows: Tenuicostatum Chronozone, Paltum Subchronozone (paltum), Clevelandicum Subchronozone (crosbeyi, clevelandicum), Tenuicostatum Subchronozone (tenuicostatum), Semicelatum Subchronozone (semicelatum, antiquum), Serpentinum Chronozone, Exaratum Subchronozone (elegantulum, exaratum, elegans), Falciferum Subchronozone (pseudoserpentinum, falciferum), Bifrons Chronozone, Commune Subchronozone (ovatum, commune, athleticum), Fibulatum Subchronozone (turriculum, braunianus, vortex), Crassum Subchronozone (crassum-bifrons, crassum-semipolitum). The presence of shared taxa permits detailed correlations to be established with submediterranean zonal schemes in more southerly areas of Europe and an equilibration of zonal boundaries across the region is therefore proposed, providing a uniformity of interpretation for the European Lower Toarcian

THE CALLOVIAN-OXFORDIAN BOUNDARY IN BRITAIN: A REVIEW OF KEY SECTIONS AND THEIR CORRELATION WITH THE PROPOSED GLOBAL STRATOTYPE SECTION AND POINT FOR THE OXFORDIAN IN HAUTE PROVENCE, FRANCE

The historical type area of the Oxfordian Stage and its lowest subchronozone (Scarburgense Subchronozone of the Mariae Chronozone) are in Great Britain, in southern central (Oxford) and north eastern England (Scarborough), respectively. In neither district, however, are sequences sufficient complete to satisfy ICS requirements for a GSSP. Subsequent work in Haute Provence, south east France, however, has revealed considerably expanded sequences in Terre Noire facies which satisfy most ICS criteria and a GSSP for the Oxfordian Stage has now been formally proposed in this region. One British section, however, on the Dorset coast near Weymouth (Ham Cliff/ Redcliff Point), is relatively expanded and has the potential to complement the French candidate GSSP by yielding additional information on microfossil assemblages (e.g. ostrocods, foraminifera, coccoliths and holothurians). The sequence of ammonite faunas across the stage boundary at this and other key UK localities is reviewed, synthesised and correlated with the candidate GSSP in Haute Provence. This correlation can provide a framework within which additional information derived from UK sites, for instance from microfossil or geochemical studies, can be integrated to assist global correlation of the base of the Oxfordian Stage

THE PROTECTION OF JURASSIC SITES AND FOSSILS: CHALLENGES FOR GLOBAL JURASSIC SCIENCE (INCLUDING A PROPOSED STATEMENT ON THE CONSERVATION OF PALAEONTOLOGICAL HERITAGE AND STRATOTYPES)

Effective geoconservation systems are crucial to the activities of subcommissions of the International Subcommission on Stratigraphy, such as the Jurassic Subcommission (ISJS). Fundamentally, the core activity of any Subcommission, the establishment of Global Stratotype Sections and Points (GSSPs) is a conservation activity in itself, involving the selection of key sites, to be maintained as references for subsequent consultation. Without adequate national site protection and management systems this fundamental function is liable to fail as the selected site remains vulnerable to loss and damage. In addition, strict conservation systems applied without adequate understanding of the needs of research and education can also prevent or significantly inhibit geological science and the use of sites such as GSSPs. To address these extreme scenarios and assist the development of a more scientific approach to conservation of geological sites of stratigraphical and palaeontological importance during dialogues with administrative authorities, a Statement defining categories of palaeontological heritage requiring protection and the basic requirements needed to achieve the conservation of stratotype localities is here proposed. The context of the protection of Jurassic sites within other international projects is also reviewed, in particular the IUGS Geosites project, within which all GSSPs will be listed

Validation of Aircraft Noise Models at Lower Levels of Exposure

Noise levels around airports and airbases in the United States arc computed via the FAA's Integrated Noise Model (INM) or the Air Force's NOISEMAP (NMAP) program. These models were originally developed for use in the vicinity of airports, at distances which encompass a day night average sound level in decibels (Ldn) of 65 dB or higher. There is increasing interest in aircraft noise at larger distances from the airport. including en-route noise. To evaluate the applicability of INM and NMAP at larger distances, a measurement program was conducted at a major air carrier airport with monitoring sites located in areas exposed to an Ldn of 55 dB and higher. Automated Radar Terminal System (ARTS) radar tracking data were obtained to provide actual flight parameters and positive identification of aircraft. Flight operations were grouped according to aircraft type. stage length, straight versus curved flight tracks, and arrival versus departure. Sound exposure levels (SEL) were computed at monitoring locations, using the INM, and compared with measured values. While individual overflight SEL data was characterized by a high variance, analysis performed on an energy-averaging basis indicates that INM and similar models can be applied to regions exposed to an Ldn of 55 dB with no loss of reliability

THE STRATIGRAPHY OF THE UPPER BATHONIAN TO MIDDLE OXFORDIAN SUCESSION OF THE ARAGONESE BRANCH OF THE CORDILLERA IBÉRICA (SPAIN) AND ITS EUROPEAN CONTEXT

The Upper Bathonian-Middle Oxfordian succession of the Aragonese branch of the Cordillera Ibérica is one of the most completely developed in Europe and includes localities of international importance for Jurassic bio- and chronostratigraphy. Of particular importance are a potential stratotype for the Upper Bathonian of North West Europe and reference sections for a number of Submediterranean Province Middle Oxfordian biostratigraphic units. The intervening Callovian sequence, albeit locally strongly condensed, also includes faunas of key stratigraphical importance. The sequence of stratigraphically important ammonite faunas for this interval is here reviewed and placed in its European context

Stratigraphy, palaeoenvironments and geochemistry across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary transition at Carnduff, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

The latest Triassic to earliest Jurassic transition has been widely studied due the occurrence of a major global extinction associated with a global hyperthermal event in this interval. Furthermore, a number of distinct geochemical events in the global carbon cycle can be recognised in the stable-isotope record across this boundary interval at many localities. Two fully-cored boreholes from East Antrim in Northern Ireland (Carnduff-1 and Carnduff-2) have penetrated sediments of latest Triassic to Early Jurassic age (Rhaetian to Early Sinemurian). Ammonites, foraminifera, ostracods and palynomorphs provide a robust chronology as well as insights to palaeoenvironmental conditions during this period. The sedimentary and palynological evidence support a largely marginal-marine setting for the sediments of the Triassic Penarth Group while a range of palaeontological evidence shows that the Early Jurassic Waterloo Mudstone Formation represents shallow-marine, shelf conditions that represent generally well-oxygenated bottom waters, with little evidence for dysoxia. Detailed ammonite biostratigraphy (ammonites first occur about 7.5 m up from the base of the Lias Group) indicates that the cores represent largely continuous sedimentation through the Hettangian and earliest Sinemurian (to Turneri Chronozone, Birchi Subchronozone). Stable-isotope analysis of both carbonate and organic carbon show a distinct carbon isotope excursion (CIE) in both fractions through the Cotham and Langport members (Lilstock Formation, Penarth Group, latest Triassic) which are considered to correlate with the distinctive ‘Initial’ CIE witnessed in SW England and probably the GSSP and other sites across the world

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Cross Correlation with Planck maps

We present the temperature power spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background obtained by cross-correlating maps from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) at 148 and 218 GHz with maps from the Planck satellite at 143 and 217 GHz, in two overlapping regions covering 592 square degrees. We find excellent agreement between the two datasets at both frequencies, quantified using the variance of the residuals between the ACT power spectra and the ACTxPlanck cross-spectra. We use these cross-correlations to calibrate the ACT data at 148 and 218 GHz, to 0.7% and 2% precision respectively. We find no evidence for anisotropy in the calibration parameter. We compare the Planck 353 GHz power spectrum with the measured amplitudes of dust and cosmic infrared background (CIB) of ACT data at 148 and 218 GHz. We also compare planet and point source measurements from the two experiments.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Mechanical design and development of TES bolometer detector arrays for the Advanced ACTPol experiment

The next generation Advanced ACTPol (AdvACT) experiment is currently underway and will consist of four Transition Edge Sensor (TES) bolometer arrays, with three operating together, totaling ~5800 detectors on the sky. Building on experience gained with the ACTPol detector arrays, AdvACT will utilize various new technologies, including 150mm detector wafers equipped with multichroic pixels, allowing for a more densely packed focal plane. Each set of detectors includes a feedhorn array of stacked silicon wafers which form a spline profile leading to each pixel. This is then followed by a waveguide interface plate, detector wafer, back short cavity plate, and backshort cap. Each array is housed in a custom designed structure manufactured from high purity copper and then gold plated. In addition to the detector array assembly, the array package also encloses cryogenic readout electronics. We present the full mechanical design of the AdvACT high frequency (HF) detector array package along with a detailed look at the detector array stack assemblies. This experiment will also make use of extensive hardware and software previously developed for ACT, which will be modified to incorporate the new AdvACT instruments. Therefore, we discuss the integration of all AdvACT arrays with pre-existing ACTPol infrastructure.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation conference proceeding

Detection of the pairwise kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect with BOSS DR11 and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope

We present a new measurement of the kinematic Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect using data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). Using 600 square degrees of overlapping sky area, we evaluate the mean pairwise baryon momentum associated with the positions of 50,000 bright galaxies in the BOSS DR11 Large Scale Structure catalog. A non-zero signal arises from the large-scale motions of halos containing the sample galaxies. The data fits an analytical signal model well, with the optical depth to microwave photon scattering as a free parameter determining the overall signal amplitude. We estimate the covariance matrix of the mean pairwise momentum as a function of galaxy separation, using microwave sky simulations, jackknife evaluation, and bootstrap estimates. The most conservative simulation-based errors give signal-to-noise estimates between 3.6 and 4.1 for varying galaxy luminosity cuts. We discuss how the other error determinations can lead to higher signal-to-noise values, and consider the impact of several possible systematic errors. Estimates of the optical depth from the average thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich signal at the sample galaxy positions are broadly consistent with those obtained from the mean pairwise momentum signal.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, 2 table

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: A Measurement of the Thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Using the Skewness of the CMB Temperature Distribution

We present a detection of the unnormalized skewness induced by the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (tSZ) effect in filtered Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) 148 GHz cosmic microwave background temperature maps. Contamination due to infrared and radio sources is minimized by template subtraction of resolved sources and by constructing a mask using outlying values in the 218 GHz (tSZ-null) ACT maps. We measure = -31 +- 6 \mu K^3 (measurement error only) or +- 14 \mu K^3 (including cosmic variance error) in the filtered ACT data, a 5-sigma detection. We show that the skewness is a sensitive probe of sigma_8, and use analytic calculations and tSZ simulations to obtain cosmological constraints from this measurement. From this signal alone we infer a value of sigma_8= 0.79 +0.03 -0.03 (68 % C.L.) +0.06 -0.06 (95 % C.L.). Our results demonstrate that measurements of non-Gaussianity can be a useful method for characterizing the tSZ effect and extracting the underlying cosmological information.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. Replaced with version accepted by Phys. Rev. D, with improvements to the likelihood function and the IR source treatment; only minor changes in the result