Laboratory simulation of geogas microbubble flow

Preliminary laboratory tests provided first data on the behavior of gas microbubbles through porous media in the framework of the geogas theory. Under experimented conditions with laboratory equipment arranged for pressure controlled gas-tracer injection and sampling, gas microbubbles moved up to ten times faster than singlephase flow in dry media under the same injection pressure. Microbubbles were determined to be very sensitive to changes in injection pressure and their terminal velocity seems to be described with good approximation by the Stokes formula. The capability of microbubbles to pick up and transport upward for short distances solid ultra-small particles (metallic and radionuclide compounds) has been proved. Results are consistent with a time-dependent process linked to the transport properties of microbubbles (e.g., flotation), such as that reported by some authors.     

Integrated chronostratigraphy of Proterozoic-Cambrian boundary beds in the western Anabar region, northern Siberia

Carbonate-rich sedimentary rocks of the western Anabar region, northern Siberia, preserve an exceptional record of evolutionary and biogeochemical events near the Proterozoic/Cambrian boundary. Sedimentologically, the boundary succession can be divided into three sequences representing successive episodes of late transgressive to early highstand deposition; four parasequences are recognized in the sequence corresponding lithostratigraphically to the Manykal Formation. Small shelly fossils are abundant and include many taxa that also occur in standard sections of southeastern Siberia. Despite this coincidence of faunal elements, biostratigraphic correlations between the two regions have been controversial because numerous species that first appear at or immediately above the basal Tommotian boundary in southeastern sections have first appearances scattered through more than thirty metres of section in the western Anabar. Carbon- and Sr-isotopic data on petrographically and geochemically screened samples collected at one- to two-metre intervals in a section along the Kotuikan River, favour correlation of the Staraya Reckha Formation and most of the overlying Manykai Formation with sub-Tommotian carbonates in southeastern Siberia. In contrast, isotopic data suggest that the uppermost Manykai Formation and the basal 26 m of the unconformably overlying Medvezhya Formation may have no equivalent in the southeast; they appear to provide a sedimentary and palaeontological record of an evolutionarily significant time interval represented in southeastern Siberia only by the sub-Tommotian unconformity. Correlations with radiometrically dated horizons in the Olenek and Kharaulakh regions of northern Siberia suggest that this interval lasted approximately three to six million years, during which essentially all 'basal Tommotian' small shelly fossils evolved.     

Fluid--Rock Interaction during Low-Pressure Polymetamorphism of the Reynolds Range Group, Central Australia

Marbles and metapelites from the Reynolds Range Group (centralAustralia) were regionally metamorphosed at low pressure duringM₂ at 1.6 Ga, M₂ ranged in grade from greenschist to granulitefacies along the length of the Reynolds Range, and overprinted1.78 Ga granites and their contact aureoles in the ReynoldsRange Group metasediments. At all M₂ grades the marbles andmetapelites have highly variable oxygen isotope ratios [marbles:¹⁸O(carb) 14–20%; metapelites: ¹⁸O 6–14%). Similarly, 1.78 Ga granites have highly variable oxygen isotope ratios(¹⁸O 5–13%), with the lowest values occurring at thegranite margins. In all rock types, the lowest oxygen isotopevalues are consistent with the infiltration of channelled magmaticand/or meteoric fluids. The variable lowering of oxygen isotopevalues resulted from pre-M₂ contact metamorphism and fluid—rockinteraction around the 1.78 Ga granites. In contrast, mineralassemblages in the marbles define a trend of increasing X_CO2with increasing grade from <0.05 (greenschist facies) to0.7–1.0 (granulite facies). This, together with the lackof regionally systematic resetting of oxygen isotope ratios,implies that there was little fluid—rock interaction duringprograde regional metamorphism. KEY WORDS: low pressure; polymetamorphism; fluids; stable isotopes; petrology ^*Corresponding author Fax: 61–3–94791272. e-mail: geoisb{at}lure.latrobe.edu.au     

Non-ideal Mg-Fe binary mixing in cordierite: Constraints from experimental data on Mg-Fe partitioning in garnet and cordierite and a reformulation of garnet-cordierite geothermometer

The non-ideal regular Mg-Fe binary in cordierite has been derived through multivariate linear regression of the expressionRT InK_D +(P- 1)ΔVK ₁ ⁰ , 298 along with updated subfegular mixing parameter of almandine-pyrope solution (Hackler and Wood 1989; Berman 1990). The data base used for multivariate analyses consists of published experimental data (n = 177) on Mg-Fe partitioning between garnet and cordierite in theP-T range 650–1050°C and 4–12 K bar. The non-ideality can be approximated by temperature-dependent Margules parameters. The retrieved values of ΔH_<T> ^o and ΔH_<T> ^o of exchange reaction between garnet and cordierite and enthalpy and entropy of mixing of Mg-Fe cordierite were combined with recent quaternary (Fe-Mg-Ca-Mn) mixing data in garnet to obtain the geothermometric expressions to determine temperature (T Kelvin): $$\begin{gathered} T(WH) = 6832 + 0.031(P - 1) - \{ 166(X_{Mg}^{Gt} )^2 - 506(X_{Fe}^{Gt} )^2 + 680X_{Fe}^{Gt} X_{Mg}^{Gt} + 336(X_{Ca} + X_{Mn} ) \hfill \\ (X_{Mg} - X_{Fe} )^{Gt} - 3300X_{Ca}^{Gt} - 358X_{Mn}^{Gt} \} + 954(X_{Fe} - X_{Mg} )^{Crd} /1.987\ln K_D + 3.41 + 1.5X_{Ca}^{Gt} \hfill \\ + 1.23(X_{Fe} - X_{Mg} )^{Crd} \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ $$\begin{gathered} T(Br) = 6920 + 0.031(p - 1) - \{ 18(X_{Mg}^{Gt} )^2 - 296(X_{Fe}^{Gt} )^2 + 556X_{Fe}^{Gt} X_{Mg}^{Gt} - 6339X_{Ca}^{Gt} X_{Mg}^{Gt} \hfill \\ - 99(X_{Ca}^{Gt} )^2 + 4687X_{Ca}^{Gt} (X_{Mg} - X_{Fe}^{Gt} ) - 4269X_{Ca}^{Gt} X_{Fe}^{Gt} - 358X_{Mn}^{Gt} \} + 640(X_{Fe} - X_{Mg} )^{Crd} \hfill \\ + 1.90X_{Ca}^{Gt} (X_{Mg} - X_{Ca} )^{Gt} . \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$      

Photometric investigation of the evolved contact binary system DN Aur

We present here the photometric light curve analyses of the eclipsing binary star DN Aur. The CCD photometry, performed at the Behlen observatory using the 0.76 m automated telescope gave 646 individual data points inV andR bandpass filters. From this data we have determined a new epoch and an orbital period of 0.6168891 days. The published spectral classification is F3.The Wilson-Devinney model was used to derive the photometric solutions. DN Aur is a W UMa type contact binary system. The mass ratio, (q=m ₂/m ₁0.210, where star 2 is eclipsed at the primary minimum) suggests that the system has A-type configuration. The computed light curve has a third light of about 22 percent and a total eclipse in the secondary minimum. A solution with a cool spot on the secondary component is also found. We recommend spectroscopic study of DN Aur even though the light curve analysis show it to be a single line spectroscopic system. Generally contact systems of spectral type F3 have periods ranging from 0.25 to 0.5 days. The longer period of DN Aur suggests that it is an evolved contact system with case A mass transfer.     

Motion of test particles in parabolic density distributions

A detailed study of the motion of test-particles [either having a nonzero rest-mass or zero rest-mass] has been carried out for Tolman's type VII solution with vanishing surface density, which is one of the few physically relevant exact solutions of Einstein's field equations for static and spherically symmetric mass distributions.The trapping angles, 0, at which the test-particles escape these configurations are calculated and the trajectories of test-particles are studied in detail. The types of trajectories found for this spacetime geometry are: (1) arc-like trajectories, (2) spiral-like trajectories ending into a circle of constant radius, (3) trajectories with a cusp at the minimum distance, (4) double-bounded trajectories, and (5) double-bounded trajectories with a cusp at the minimum distance. The test-particles following the trajectories of type (1) and type (3) escape the configuration while others are trapped within the structure. Besides the advancement of periastron of the orbits the retrogradation of periastrons are also observed.The stability of the structures is considered by using the variational method (Chandrasekhar, 1964a,b), and its is seen that the structures remain stable at least for a central redshift,z0, as large as 5.09.These studies may distinguish relativistic cluster from a Newtonian one and may find application to the local models of quasi-stellar objects (QSOs).     

The GEM project: An international collaboration to survey galactic radiation emission

The GEM (Galactic Emission Mapping) project is an international collaboration established with the aim of surveying the full sky at long wavelengths with a multi-frequency radio telescope. A total of 745 hours of observation at 408 MHz were completed from an Equatorial site in Colombia. The observations cover the celestial band 0 ^h <<24 ^h , and –24° 22<<+35° 37. Preliminary results of this partial survey will be discussed. A review of the instrumental setup and a 10° resolution sky map at 408 MHz is presented.Presented by S. Torres at the UN/ESA Workshop on Basic Space Sciences: From Small Telescopes to Space Missions, Colombo, Sri Lanka 11–14 January 1996     

Joint radio and soft x-ray imaging of an ‘anemone’ active region

The Very Large Array and the Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) aboard the Yohkoh satellite jointly observed the rapid growth and decay of a so-called anemone active region on 3–6 April, 1992 (AR 7124). The VLA obtained maps of the AR 7124 at 1.5, 4.7, and 8.4 GHz. In general, discrete coronal loop systems are rarely resolved at 1.5 GHz wavelengths because of limited brightness contrast due to optical depth effects and wave scattering. Due to its unusual anemone-like morphology, however, several discrete loops or loop systems are resolved by both the VLA at 1.5 GHz and the SXT in AR 7124.Using extrapolations of the photospheric field and the radio observations at 4.7 and 8.4 GHz, we find that the microwave emission is the result of gyroresonance emission from a hot, rarefied plasma, at the second and/or third harmonic. The decimetric source is complex -1.5 GHz emission from the leading part of AR 7124 is due to free-free emission, while that in the trailing part of the active region is dominated by gyroresonance emission. We also examine an interesting case of a discrete radio loop with no soft X-ray (SXR) emission adjacent to a hot SXR loop. This observation clearly shows the multithermal nature of the solar corona.     

Propagation of MHD body and surface waves in magnetically structured regions of the solar atmosphere

The fact that magnetically structured regions exist in the solar atmosphere has been known for a number of years. It has been suggested that different kinds of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves can be efficiently damped in these regions and that the dissipated wave energy may be responsible for the observed enhancement in radiative losses. From a theoretical point of view, an important task would be to investigate the propagation and dissipation of MHD waves in these highly structured regions of the solar atmosphere. In this paper, we study the behavior of MHD body and surface waves in a medium with either a single or double (slab) magnetic interface by use of a nonlinear, two-dimensional, time-dependent, ideal MHD numerical model constructed on the basis of a Lagrangean grid and semi-implicit scheme. The processes of wave confinement and wave energy leakage are discussed in detail. It is shown that the obtained results depend strongly on the type of perturbations imposed on the interface or slab and on the plasma parameter, . The relevance of the obtained results to the heating problem of the upper parts of the solar atmosphere is also discussed.