Open University

About: Open University is a education organization based out in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Context (language use) & Population. The organization has 11702 authors who have published 35020 publications receiving 1110835 citations. The organization is also known as: Open University, The & Open University.

MnM: Ontology Driven Semi-automatic and Automatic Support for Semantic Markup

Abstract: An important precondition for realizing the goal of a semantic web is the ability to annotate web resources with semantic information. In order to carry out this task, users need appropriate representation languages, ontologies, and support tools. In this paper we present MnM, an annotation tool which provides both automated and semi-automated support for annotating web pages with semantic contents. MnM integrates a web browser with an ontology editor and provides open APIs to link to ontology servers and for integrating information extraction tools. MnM can be seen as an early example of the next generation of ontology editors, being web-based, oriented to semantic markup and providing mechanisms for large-scale automatic markup of web pages.

Dehydration melting and the generation of continental flood basalts

Abstract: CONTINENTAL flood basalt provinces represent important magmatic events, which may contribute significantly to the generation of new crust. In a typical flood basalt province, large volumes of magma are erupted in a short time: for example, at least 106 km3 in 2–3 Myr in the Parana–Etendeka province of southeast Brazil and northern Namibia. In many areas flood basalts are associated with mantle plumes, but details of their origin, such as the site of major-element melting, remain unresolved. Recent authors1–3 have assumed that partial melting took place at the anhydrous peridotite solidus, and thus concluded that during continental extension, more than 95% of the erupted magmas are generated in the sublithospheric upper mantle. In this situation, the distinctive isotope and trace element geochemistry of the basalts is attributed not to this process, but to the addition of low-degree partial melts scavenged from the overlying lithosphere4. Here we present an alternative model in which, in the presence of small amounts of water (∼0.4%), the observed quantities of melt may be generated entirely within the mantle lithosphere. As rifting proceeds, however, the basalts acquire an increasingly 'asthenospheric' chemistry, as melts from the asthenosphere come to dominate those from the lithosphere.

Importance of gravitational spreading in the tectonic and volcanic evolution of Mount Etna

Abstract: THE interaction between gravity and thermal effects largely determines the structural and magmatic evolution of volcanic constructs at scales spanning several orders of magnitude, from small cones to the oceanic crust1–3. Although gravitational spreading is a direct consequence of this interaction and a fundamental process in volcano growth, it is rarely recognized as such. Here we describe a striking example of this process, at Etna volcano, in Italy. The volcano and its clay-rich substratum are slowly spreading towards the east and south, driven by gravity. Spreading produces extensional structures in the summit region and contpressional structures at the base of the volcano. Eastward movement of the volcanic edifice over a stationary magma supply may be the cause of an apparent westward migration of volcanic activity. As gravitational spreading seems to control the location and magnitude of shallow seismicity and flank eruptions, an appreciation of its effects could become an essential element of future volcanic hazard evaluation. Our model proposed here for Etna may also be relevant to a reinterpretation of the geological history of a number of other volcanoes.