Petrology of a portion of the Mare Fecunditatis regolith

1300 microprobe analyses of glasses, pyroxenes, feldspars, oxides, olivines, troilite and metal in two 0.025 g samples of the Luna 16 return were made in order to characterize the Mare Fecunditatis regolith.     

Global Warming and the Greenland Ice Sheet

The Greenland coastal temperatures have followed the early 20th century global warming trend. Since 1940, however, the Greenland coastal stations data have undergone predominantly a cooling trend. At the summit of the Greenland ice sheet the summer average temperature has decreased at the rate of 2.2 °C per decade since the beginning of the measurements in 1987. This suggests that the Greenland ice sheet and coastal regions are not following the current global warming trend. A considerable and rapid warming over all of coastal Greenland occurred in the 1920s when the average annual surface air temperature rose between 2 and 4 °C in less than ten years (at some stations the increase in winter temperature was as high as 6 °C). This rapid warming, at a time when the change in anthropogenic production of greenhouse gases was well below the current level, suggests a high natural variability in the regional climate. High anticorrelations (r = ?0.84 to?0.93) between the NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) index and Greenland temperature time series suggest a physical connection between these processes. Therefore, the future changes in the NAO and Northern Annular Mode may be of critical consequence to the future temperature forcing of the Greenland ice sheet melt rates.     

The orthometric height and the holonomity problem

When height networks are being adjusted, many geodesists advocate the approach where the adjustment should be done by using geopotential numbers rather than the orthometric or normal heights used in practice. This is based on a conviction that neither orthometric nor normal heights can be used for the adjustment because these height systems are not holonomic, meaning–among other things–that height increments (orthometric or normal) when summed around a closed loop do not sum up to zero. If this was the case, then the two height systems could not be used in the adjustment; the non-zero loop closure would violate the basic, usually unspoken, assumption behind the adjustment, namely that the model claiming that height differences are observable is correct. In this paper, we prove in several different ways that orthometric and normal heights are theoretically just as holonomic as the geopotential numbers are, when they are obtained from levelled height differences using actual gravity values. This disposes of the argument that geopotential numbers should be used in the adjustment. Both orthometric and normal heights are equally qualified to be used in the adjustment directly.     

Foreign Direct Investment in the Czech Republic

This paper evaluates foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Czech Republic and its regional development consequences after the collapse of state socialism. Two types of FDIs are identified: cross border export-oriented investments and market capture investments. The cross border export-oriented investments exploit low cost labor in the service of external markets and are typically concentrated in peripheral areas, mostly along the former West German border. This type of FDI is not likely to contribute to durable regional economies. The market capture investments involve both servicing the Czech market and integrating activities within a larger, multinational corporate network. This type of investment may create more durable sources of regional economic activity. A case study of the Volkswagen/Skoda joint venture is used to examine market capture investments and their consequences for regional development. This paper is based on interviews with plant managers and trade union leaders in companies with foreign investment, governmental officials at the various ministries and state agencies dealing with FDI, and information and data from the secondary sources.     

西藏北部双湖地区海相侏罗纪磁性地层研究

西藏北部双湖地区海相侏罗纪磁性地层采样剖面包括菊花山下侏罗统剖面和那底岗日中、上侏罗统剖面,采集样品共1231件。磁性地层采样工作是在实测地层(岩石地层和生物地层)剖面后进行的。采样使用国产手提式气压钻机,钻取的岩心直径为25 mm,长度为20～50 mm,用磁罗盘定向器定向取心。采样间距一般为0.5～5 m,但重要界面附近间距达到 5 cm。分析表明双湖地区海相侏罗系碳酸盐岩的天然剩磁普遍较高,一般达到6.7×10~(-3)～3.8×10~(-2)A/m。大多数样品在热退磁到500～600℃区间时,剩磁衰减了100％,表明岩石中所含磁性载体力磁铁矿。系统研究表明双湖地区晚三叠世与早侏罗世之间缺失一个NAUNESKI反向极性带,界面的时间缺失量约为2 Ma,野外表现为不整合接触关系。中、下侏罗统之间为假整合接触关系,沉积间断时间约为320 ka。     

An Outburst Detected in the Spectrum of Hd 6226

HD 6226 is a bright binary Be star at visual magnitude 6.81 (Hipparcos database). The emission and absorption phases occur in cycles, which are probably not periodic. The suspected period of about 630 days (derived from photometric measurements) is not confirmed by our spectroscopic survey. The latest emission phase developed in the beginning of 2003, then the emission strength systematically decreased and disappeared between July 21, 2003 and August 4, 2003. The last (absorption) spectrum was exposed on August 25, 2003. Unexpected very strong emission appeared in a spectrum exposed on October 28, 2003. A short-term photometric brightening followed this “outburst”. Long-term spectroscopic RV studies revealed a 2.615 d period modulated by a 29.7 d period (in the He I 6678 line), which perhaps may be interpreted as orbital period of a binary. Nevertheless, the physical nature of the dominant short 2.615 d period is not yet clear. The last detected emission episode has changed considerably our view of the interesting object HD 6226. We hope this study will reveal more details of the physical properties of the Be phenomenon.     

New Techniques and Limitations of Light Curve Analysis

The solution of light curves of eclipsing binaries provides the simplest way of measuring the basic physical parameters of stars. The development of computers and numerical methods enables us to perform an analysis of large amount of photometric data by comparing it to more and more sophisticated physical models which are also suitable for stellar systems with different peculiarities. Nevertheless, some parameters of stellar systems are poorly determined by light curves alone, and simultaneous fitting together with other data is preferable. The progress of instrumentation not only improves the precision and resolution of data, but also overcomes the classical gaps between stellar systems observable as visual, photometric and spectroscopic binaries. This opens new problems in the development of techniques of data analysis, which can be treated as a generalization of light curve modeling. Some of these directions are outlined here. In particular, the disentangling of spectra with line-profile variability due to proximity effects is discussed.     

Evaluation of snow models in terrestrial biosphere models using ground observation and satellite data: impact on terrestrial ecosystem processes

Snow is important for water management, and an important component of the terrestrial biosphere and climate system. In this study, the snow models included in the Biome‐BGC and Terrestrial Observation and Prediction System (TOPS) terrestrial biosphere models are compared against ground and satellite observations over the Columbia River Basin in the US and Canada and the impacts of differences in snow models on simulated terrestrial ecosystem processes are analysed. First, a point‐based comparison of ground observations against model and satellite estimates of snow dynamics are conducted. Next, model and satellite snow estimates for the entire Columbia River Basin are compared. Then, using two different TOPS simulations, the default TOPS model (TOPS with TOPS snow model) and the TOPS model with the Biome‐BGC snow model, the impacts of snow model selection on runoff and gross primary production (GPP) are investigated. TOPS snow model predictions were consistent with ground and satellite estimates of seasonal and interannual variations in snow cover, snow water equivalent, and snow season length; however, in the Biome‐BGC snow model, the snow pack melted too early, leading to extensive underpredictions of snow season length and snow covered area. These biases led to earlier simulated peak runoff and reductions in summer GPP, underscoring the need for accurate snow models within terrestrial ecosystem models. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.