Constraints on Neutron Star Crusts From Oscillations in Giant Flares

We show that the fundamental seismic shear mode, observed as a quasi-periodic oscillation in giant flares emitted by highly-magnetized neutron stars, is particularly sensitive to the nuclear physics of the crust. The identification of an oscillation at ~ 30 Hz as the fundamental crustal shear mode requires a nuclear symmetry energy that depends very weakly on density near saturation. If the nuclear symmetry energy varies more strongly with density, then lower frequency oscillations, previously identified as torsional Alfven modes of the fluid core, could instead be associated with the crust. If this is the case, then future observations of giant flares should detect oscillations at around 18 Hz. An accurate measurement of the neutron skin thickness of lead will also constrain the frequencies predicted by the model.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; Version to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

London’s foundations protecting the geodiversity of the capital

This report describes a geodiversity audit of London commissioned by a partnership led by the Greater London Authority (GLA), which includes the British Geological Survey (BGS), Natural England, Government Office for London, London Biodiversity Partnership, London Borough of Lambeth, Harrow and Hillingdon Geological Society, South London London RIGS Groups, Hanson UK and Queen Mary College, University of London. The project was funded by an Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund grant from Natural England plus additional support from the GLA, BGS and Natural England London Region. The audit began with a review of the available geodiversity documentation for London including: BGS field maps, databases and publications; Regional Important Geological Sites (RIGS) Group information; Natural England Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Geological Conservation Review (GCR) documentation; and documentation and data from the GLA and London Boroughs. An initial list of around 470 sites with potential for geodiversity value was compiled from this information. This list was then narrowed down to 100 for further assessment by exporting site locations to a GIS and cross-checking against digital aerial photography backed up by BGS staff local geological expertise. Using the procedure set out in this report field auditing was carried out by BGS staff and the South London RIGS Group between November 2007 and April 2008. From the list of 100 sites, 35 sites were found to be suitable for detailed auditing. Harrow and Hillingdon Geological Society audited a further site in November 2008, bringing the total to 36 sites. Using the criteria set out in this report 14 of the 36 sites are recommended for designation as Regionally Important Geological/geomorphological Sites (RIGS) in borough Local Development Documents. Of the 33 London boroughs, RIGS are recommended in eight, with five in Bromley, three in Croydon and one each in Lewisham, Ealing, Greenwich, Harrow, Hillingdon and Bexley. Using the criteria set out in this report 15 of the 36 sites have the potential to be designated as Locally Important Geological Sites (LIGS). These sites are located in nine boroughs, three in Waltham Forest, two in Bromley, two in Islington and one each in Barnet, Lewisham, Redbridge, Wandsworth, Southwark and Sutton. Planning proposals should have regard to geodiversity in order to implement strategic and local policies. Sites should be protected, managed and enhanced and, where ppropriate, new development should provide improvements to the geodiversity value of a site. This can include measures that promote public access, study, interpretation and appreciation of geodiversity. In addition to individual sites of geodiversity interest, Greater London has distinctive natural landscapes shaped by geological processes, such as undulating chalk downlands with dry valleys in south London, and river terraces forming long flat areas separated by steeper areas of terrace front slopes. This natural topographic geodiversity underlying London should be understood, respected and only altered in that knowledge with full knowledge of it origin and form. Planners are encouraged to use authentic contouring in restoration work and new landscaping schemes, maintain the contributions of natural topography, rock outcrops, landscape features, and to maintain soil quality, quantity and function

Alien Registration- Thompson, Mercy Anna (Auburn, Androscoggin County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/30540/thumbnail.jp

Return to the City of Joseph: Modern Mormonism\u27s Contest for the Soul of Nauvoo

Review of: Return to the City of Joseph: Modern Mormonism’s Contest for the Soul of Nauvoo, by Scott C. Espli

Language, responsibility, and agency: How UK's immigrant‐background young adults navigate linguistic heritage

This study explores the intersection of agency and responsibility in navigating linguistic heritage among immigrant‐background young adults (18–29 years old) in the UK. Drawing on Judith Butler's theorisation, it provides a nuanced understanding of how individuals engage with and respond to the burdening aspects of heritage language maintenance within the complex context of globalised power structures and privileged dynamics. The research employs a qualitative approach, integrating journal entries, interview transcripts, and co‐analysis to elucidate participants' experiences. Through grounded theory development, the study identifies key themes such as: negotiating responsibility across temporalities; the sense of guilt, shame and indebtedness embedded in the process of language maintenance; and finding agency through renarration. The paper contributes to geographical thought on migration and language by going beyond discussions of family language policy and proficiencies and drawing attention to the multifaceted implications of navigating linguistic heritage within immigrant families and monolingual Britain across the instabilities of social and temporal relations and power‐laden positionings. It also highlights the repertoires of narrative and interrelational approaches to reframing heritage that immigrant‐background young adults may access as they formulate their identities with and against language expectations, norms, proficiencies and hegemonies

Going to the Dogs: Greyhound Racing, Animal Activism, and American Popular Culture

Review of: "Going to the Dogs: Greyhound Racing, Animal Activism, and American Popular Culture" by Anna Thompson Hajdik

“You Really Ought to Give Iowa a Try:” Tourism, Community Identity, and the Impact of Popular Culture in Iowa

This paper examines how representations of Iowa in popular culture have led to tourism development in three small communities – Eldon, Mason City and Dyersville. It squarely situates Iowa within the framework of America’s mythic heartland and then analyzes three enduring artifacts of American popular culture – the painting American Gothic, the musical The Music Man, and the film The Field of Dreams. While these popular images of Iowa have significantly helped the economies of these small communities, I contend that Iowa’s wider state identity has ultimately been hindered by these representations because of their strong resonance in the American imagination

An experimental study of debris-bed friction during glacier sliding

Modeling the speeds of sliding glaciers reveals major uncertainty to estimates of sea-level rise and landscape evolution. In sliding models, friction between ice-entrained debris and the bed is often overlooked. For the common case of sparse debris in basal ice, theories developed in the 1970s by G.S. Boulton and B. Hallet included contradictory treatments of the forces that push particles against the bed. Boulton assumed that these forces scale with effective pressure—the difference between ice pressure and water pressure in cavities beneath particles—whereas Hallet assumed these forces depend on the rate of ice convergence toward the bed from melting and bed-parallel stretching of ice on stoss surfaces. The resultant bed-normal drag on particles depends on movement of ice past them by regelation and enhanced creep of ice. To test these contrasting hypotheses, a large ring-shear device was used to slide temperate ice with sparse debris over a smooth rock bed. Isolated gravel-sized till particles in contact with the bed were built into an ice ring (outer diameter = 0.9 m, width = 0.20 m, thickness = 0.24 m) that rotated at a steady speed. A fluid, with its temperature controlled to the nearest 0.01ºC, surrounded the ice chamber to keep the ice at its pressure-melting temperature. Meltwater drained to atmospheric pressure from the edges of the bed. During experiments, either the ice convergence rate or total bed-normal stress was incremented, and shear stress was measured until a steady value was attained. In separate rate-controlled tests without ice, the dynamic friction coefficient between the particles and the rock bed was measured. Results indicate that friction between particles and the bed depends on convergence rate. In contrast, total normal stress has no effect on bed shear stress, in agreement with Hallet\u27s model. However, water-filled cavities formed beneath particles rather than the regelation ice expected from Hallet\u27s model. These observations can be explained by an adjusted model that appeals to mass conservation in melt films that exist everywhere at ice-rock boundaries. While ice converges with the bed, melting at the tops of particles creates pressure gradients and flow within melt films that push particles against the bed. Higher convergence rates generate more melt that steepens pressure gradients. Film thicknesses are sufficient to neglect intermolecular interactions associated with premelting. Finally, by incorporating observed particle rotation, the adjusted model is made consistent with the experimental data and observations