Structure of the Assynt window, Moine Thrust Zone and relationship of thrusts to alkaline igneous complexes, Caledonian orogeny, NW Scotland

The Moine Thrust Zone forms the Caledonian orogenic thrust front where the Moine Supergroup metamorphic rocks have been thrust westward across the Laurentia plate stable foreland, comprising Archean-Proterozoic granulite and amphibolite facies rocks (Lewisian gneisses), with unconformably overlying Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic Torridonian clastic sediments and Cambrian-Ordovician passive margin sedimentary rocks. Four major thrusts beneath the Moine thrust in the Assynt window include the (i) Ben More Thrust, which places the Loch Ailsh syenite intruded into Lewisian basement and Cambrian-Ordovician sedimentary rocks over the Sole thrust sheet, (ii) Glencoul thrust, which places Lewisian basement and folded cover rocks over Cambrian-Ordovician sedimentary rocks, (iii) Borralan thrust, which carries a large alkaline syenite intrusion beneath the Ben More roof thrust and (iv) the Sole thrust sheet, which carries imbricated Cambrian-Ordovician sedimentary rocks and lamprophyre sills over the stable foreland. Three further thrust sheets within the Lewisian basement gneisses are now recognised through restoration of balanced cross-sections, which were responsible for doming of the Assynt window. Although the Moine thrust is mapped as a single line on the map it encompasses, (a) deep ductile shear zone formed of mylonites derived from hangingwall Moine schists, footwall Cambrian quartzites and Ordovician limestones, and basement Lewisian gneisses, (b) roof thrust of the Glencoul and Ben More Thrust sheets and (c) brittle out-of-sequence motion where the Moine schists have been thrust over mylonites, which directly overlie the stable foreland (Knockan Crag)

Network sensitivity to geographical configuration

Gravitational wave astronomy will require the coordinated analysis of data from the global network of gravitational wave observatories. Questions of how to optimally configure the global network arise in this context. We have elsewhere proposed a formalism which is employed here to compare different configurations of the network, using both the coincident network analysis method and the coherent network analysis method. We have constructed a network model to compute a figure-of-merit based on the detection rate for a population of standard-candle binary inspirals. We find that this measure of network quality is very sensitive to the geographic location of component detectors under a coincident network analysis, but comparatively insensitive under a coherent network analysis.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, accepted for proceedings of the 4th Edoardo Amaldi conference, incorporated referees' suggestions and corrected diagra

Targeted search for continuous gravitational waves: Bayesian versus maximum-likelihood statistics

We investigate the Bayesian framework for detection of continuous gravitational waves (GWs) in the context of targeted searches, where the phase evolution of the GW signal is assumed to be known, while the four amplitude parameters are unknown. We show that the orthodox maximum-likelihood statistic (known as F-statistic) can be rediscovered as a Bayes factor with an unphysical prior in amplitude parameter space. We introduce an alternative detection statistic ("B-statistic") using the Bayes factor with a more natural amplitude prior, namely an isotropic probability distribution for the orientation of GW sources. Monte-Carlo simulations of targeted searches show that the resulting Bayesian B-statistic is more powerful in the Neyman-Pearson sense (i.e. has a higher expected detection probability at equal false-alarm probability) than the frequentist F-statistic.Comment: 12 pages, presented at GWDAW13, to appear in CQ

Zircon U–Pb–Hf constraints from Gongga Shan granites on young crustal melting in eastern Tibet

The Gongga Shan batholith is a complex granitoid batholith on the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau with a long history of magmatism spanning from the Triassic to the Pliocene. Late Miocene–Pliocene units are the youngest exposed crustal melts within the entire Asian plate of the Tibetan Plateau. Here, we present in-situ zircon Hf isotope constraints on their magmatic source, to aid the understanding of how these young melts were formed and how they were exhumed to the surface. Hf isotope signatures of Eocene to Pliocene zircon rims (ɛHf(t) = –4 to +4), interpreted to have grown during localised crustal melting, are indicative of melting of a Neoproterozoic source region, equivalent to the nearby exposed Kangding Complex. Therefore, we suggest that Neoproterozoic crust underlies this region of the Songpan–Ganze terrane, and sourced the intrusive granites that form the Gongga Shan batholith. Localised young melting of Neoproterozoic lower or middle crust requires localised melt-fertile lithologies. We suggest that such melts may be equivalent to seismic and magnetotelluric low-velocity and high-conductivity zones or “bright spots” imaged across much of the Tibetan Plateau. The lack of widespread exposed melts this age is due either to the lack of melt-fertile rocks in the middle crust, the very low erosion level of the Tibetan plateau, or to a lack of mechanism for exhuming such melts. For Gongga Shan, where some melting is younger than nearby thermochronological ages of low temperature cooling, the exact process and timing of exhumation remains enigmatic, but their location away from the Xianshuihe fault precludes the fault acting as a conduit for the young melts. We suggest that underthrusting of dry granulites of the lower Indian crust (Archean shield) this far northeast is a plausible mechanism to explain the uplift and exhumation of the eastern Tibetan Plateau

Urban Structure and Energy -- A Review

The nature and form of the urban environment is a critical determinant of the sustainability of our society, as it is responsible directly for a large proportion of consumed energy, and influences indirectly the patterns and modes of energy consumed in everyday activities. We examine the current state of research into the energy and greenhouse gas emissions attributable directly or indirectly to urban form. Specifically, we look at the embodied (construction) and operational energy attributable to the construction, maintenance and use of residential dwellings, and we review the literature on the relationship between urban structure and private travel behaviour. While there is clear evidence from both intra- and inter-city comparisons that higher density, transit-oriented cities have lower per-capita transport energy use, the effect of housing density on residential (in-house) energy use is less clear. More detailed research is needed to examine the relationships between urban form and overall energy use

Understanding the truth about subjectivity

Results of two experiments show children’s understanding of diversity in personal preference is incomplete. Despite acknowledging diversity, in Experiment 1(N=108), 6- and 8-year-old children were less likely than adults to see preference as a legitimate basis for personal tastes and more likely to say a single truth could be found about a matter of taste. In Experiment 2 (N=96), 7- and 9-year-olds were less likely than 11- and 13-yearolds to say a dispute about a matter of preference might not be resolved. These data suggest that acceptance of the possibility of diversity does not indicate an adult-like understanding of subjectivity. An understanding of the relative emphasis placed on objective and subjective factors in different contexts continues to develop into adolescence

Μέτρα ασφαλείας κατά τη διαδικασία προσέγγισης,φορτοεκφότωσης και αναχώρησης πλοίων μεταφοράς καυσίμων υδρογονανθράκων

Le Lagadec, MD ORCiD: 0000-0003-0114-8552'Abnormal vertical growth' (AVG) was recognised in Australia as a dysfunction of macadamia (Macadamia spp.) in the mid-1990s. Affected trees displayed unusually erect branching, and poor flowering and yield. Since 2002, the commercial significance of AVG, its cause, and strategies to alleviate its affects, has been studied. The cause is still unknown, and AVG remains a serious threat to orchard viability. AVG affects both commercial and urban macadamia. It occurs predominantly in the warmer-drier production regions of Queensland and New South Wales. An estimated 100,000 orchard trees are affected, equating to an annual loss of $ 10.5 M. In orchards, AVG occurs as aggregations of affected trees, affected tree number can increase by 4.5% per year, and yield reduction can exceed 30%. The more upright cultivars 'HAES 344' and '741' are highly susceptible, while the more spreading cultivars 'A4', 'A16' and 'A268' show tolerance. Incidence is higher (p<0.05) in soils of high permeability and good drainage. No soil chemical anomaly has been found. Fine root dry weight of AVG trees (0-15 cm depth) was found lower (p<0.05) than non-AVG. Next generation sequencing has led to the discovery of a new Bacillus sp. and a bipartite Geminivirus, which may have a role in the disease. Trunk cinctures will increase (p<0.05) yield of moderately affected trees. Further research is needed to clarify whether a pathogen is the cause, the role of soil moisture in AVG, and develop a varietal solution