Accumulation of planetesimals in the solar nebula

Characteristic time scales relevant to the accumulation of planetesimals in a gaseous nebula are examined and the accumulation toward the planets is simulated by numerically solving a growth equation for a mass distribution function. The eccentricity and inclination of planetesimals are assumed to be determined by a balance between excitation due to mutual gravitational scattering and dissipation due to gas drag. Two kinds of mass motion in the radial direction, i.e., diffusion due to mutual scattering and inward flow due to gas drag, are both taken into account. The diffusion is shown to be effective in later stages with a result of accelerating the accumulation. As to the coalescent collision cross section, the usual formula for a binary encounter in a free space is used but the effect of tidal disruption which increases substantially the cross section is taken into account. Numerical results show that the gravitational enhancement factor (i.e., the so-called “Safronov number”), contained in the cross section formula, always takes a value of the order of unity but the accumulation proceeds relatively rapidly owing to the effects of radial diffusion and tidal disruption. That is, a proto-Earth, a proto-Jupiter, and a proto-Saturn with masses of 1×10²⁷ g are formed in 5×10⁶, 1×10⁷, and 1.6×10⁸ years, respectively. Also, a tentative numerical computation for the Neptune formation shows that a proto-Neptune with the same mass requires a long accumulation time, 4.6×10⁹ years. Finally, the other effects which are expected to reduce the above growth times further are discussed.     

Evolution of Dentary Diastema in Iguanodontian Dinosaurs

The dentary diastema of iguanodontians has been considered to be related to its unique jaw mechanism for herbivorous adaptation.The dentary and diastema lengths of iguanodontians were measured and compared to elucidate the evolution of iguanodontian diastema.A gap in ratios between most non-hadrosaurid iguanodontians and hadrosaurids was observed,suggesting that all non- hadrosaurid iguanodontians,expect for Ouranosaurus nigeriensis and Protohadros byrdi,lack a diastema or have a short diastema,although ...     

Food sources of the pearl oyster in coastal ecosystems of Japan: Evidence from diet and stable isotope analysis

We estimated the composition of two food sources for the cultured pearl oyster Pinctada fucata martensii using stable isotopes and stomach content analysis in the coastal areas of the Uwa Sea, Japan. The δ¹³C values of oysters (−17.5 to −16.8‰) were intermediate between that of particulate organic matter (POM, −20.2 to −19.1‰) and attached microalgae on pearl cages (−13.0‰). An isotope mixing model suggested that oysters were consuming 78% POM (mainly phytoplankton) and 22% attached microalgae. The attached microalgal composition of the stomach content showed a strong resemblance to the composition of that estimated through the isotope mixing model, suggesting preferential utilization of specific components is unlikely in this species. These results indicate that P. fucata martensii feed on a mixture of phytoplankton and attached microalgae, and that the attached microalgae on pearl cages can serve as an important additional food source.     

Oxygen isotopic composition of the solar nebula gas inferred from high‐precision isotope imaging of melilite crystals in an Allende CAI

Abstract– High‐precision isotope imaging analyses of reversely zoned melilite crystals in the gehlenitic mantle of Type A CAI ON01 of the Allende carbonaceous chondrite reveal that there are four types of oxygen isotopic distributions within melilite single crystals: (1) uniform depletion of ¹⁶O (δ¹⁸O ≈ ?10‰), (2) uniform enrichment of ¹⁶O (δ¹⁸O ≈ ?40‰), (3) variations in isotopic composition from ¹⁶O‐poor core to ¹⁶O‐rich rim (δ¹⁸O ≈ ?10‰ to ?30‰, ?20‰ to ?45‰, and ?10‰ to ?35‰) with decreasing åkermanite content, and (4) ¹⁶O‐poor composition (δ¹⁸O ≥ ?10‰) along the crystal rim. Hibonite, spinel, and perovskite grains are ¹⁶O‐rich (δ¹⁸O ≈ ?45‰), and adjoin ¹⁶O‐poor melilites. Gas‐solid or gas‐melt isotope exchange in the nebula is inconsistent with both the distinct oxygen isotopic compositions among the minerals and the reverse zoning of melilite. Fluid‐rock interaction on the parent body resulted in ¹⁶O‐poor compositions of limited areas near holes, cracks, or secondary phases, such as anorthite or grossular. We conclude that reversely zoned melilites mostly preserve the primary oxygen isotopic composition of either ¹⁶O‐enriched or ¹⁶O‐depleted gas from which they were condensed. The correlation between oxygen isotopic composition and åkermanite content may indicate that oxygen isotopes of the solar nebula gas changed from ¹⁶O‐poor to ¹⁶O‐rich during melilite crystal growth. We suggest that the radial excursions of the inner edge of the protoplanetary disk gas simultaneously resulted in both the reverse zoning and oxygen isotopic variation of melilite, due to mixing of ¹⁶O‐poor disk gas and ¹⁶O‐rich coronal gas. Gas condensates aggregated to form the gehlenite mantle of the Type A CAI ON01.     

Growth and sedimentation of dust grains in the primordial solar nebula

Of the formation processes in the solar system, the process of growth and sedimentation of dust grains in the primordial solar nebula is investigated for a region near the Earth's orbit. The growth equation for dust grains, which are sinking as well as being in thermal motion, is solved numerically in the wide mass range between 10^?12 and 10⁶ g. Any turbulent motions in the nebula are assumed to have already decayed when the sedimentation begins. The numerical simulation shows that the growth and sedimentation proceed faster than was found by Kusaka et al. (1970) but in accordance with the estimate of Safronov (1969) owing to a cooperative interaction of the growth and the sedimentation; that is, at about 3 × 10³ years after the beginning of the growth and sedimentation a dust layer, composed of centimeter-sized grains, is formed at the equator of the solar nebula. Furthermore, the mass density of dust grains floating in the outer layers of the nebula is found to be of the order of 10^?5 after 10⁵ years compared with that before the sedimentation. From these results, it can be estimated that at about 5 × 10³ years after the beginning of sedimentation the dust layer breaks up owing to the onset of gravitational instability.     

Giant planet formation

The accumulation of giant planets involves processes typical for terrestrial planet formation as well as gasdynamic processes that were previously known only in stars. The condensible element cores of the gas-giants grow by solid body accretion while envelope formation is governed by stellar-like equilibria and the dynamic departures thereof. Two hypotheses for forming Uranus/Neptune-type planets — at sufficiently large heliocentric distances while allowing accretion of massive gaseous envelopes, i.e. Jupiter-type planets at intermediate distances — have been worked out in detailed numerical calculations: (1) Hydrostatic gas-accretion models with time-dependent solid body accretion-rates show a slow-down of core-accretion at the appropriate masses of Uranus and Neptune. As a consequence, gas-accretion also stagnates and a window is opened for removing the solar nebula during a time of roughly constant envelope mass. (2) Gasdynamic calculations of envelope accretion for constant planetesimal accretion-rates show a dynamic transition to new envelope equilibria at the so called critical mass. For a wide range of solar nebula conditions the new envelopes have respective masses similar to those of Uranus and Neptune and are more tightly bound to the cores. The transitions occur under lower density conditions typical for the outer parts of the solar nebula, whereas for higher densities, i.e. closer to the Sun, gasdynamic envelope accretion sets in and is able to proceed to Jupiter-masses.     

基于历史文献资料的17世纪以来东北亚台风信息挖掘

西北太平洋地区,尤其是东北亚地区,台风灾害多发,这些地区的台风的运动轨迹变化会对社会经济发展带来深刻的影响。台风活动跨海而行,因此将东北亚几个国家的历史台风信息结合起来,才能看出其全貌。中日两国,最早通过仪器观测描述的台风路径分别为1879年和1878年,历史时期的东北亚地区台风事件只能靠历史文献来推测。以在台风路径的推测上具有问题（台风影响范围评估、详细记录时间的利用、2次相近台风的辨别等）的4次台风事件为例,讨论17世纪以来东北亚台风路径的推测方法。通过对台风个案的讨论,指出将致灾记录和感应记录相结合的可行性;利用仪器观测时期台风记录验证历史文献记载的有效性。相当一部分日记资料在古风暴研究中仍处于未被发掘状态。历史上流传至今的公用日记和各名家的家记,拥有较长的写作时间和较为均质的写作内容,可提高跨国界古风暴研究的时空分辨率。     

Evolution of Dentary Diastema in Iguanodontian Dinosaurs

The dentary diastema of iguanodontians has been considered to be related to its unique jaw mechanism for herbivorous adaptation. The dentary and diastema lengths of iguanodontians were measured and compared to elucidate the evolution of iguanodontian diastema. A gap in ratios between most non-hadrosaurid iguanodontians and hadrosaurids was observed, suggesting that all non-hadrosaurid iguanodontians, expect for Ouranosaurus nigeriensis and Protohadros byrdi, lack a diastema or have a short diastema, although some other taxa have been considered to have a long diastema in previous studies. In non-hadrosaurid iguanodontians, some large-sized forms, such as Iguanodon bernissartensis, Shuangmiaosaurus gilmorei, and possibly Eolambia caroljonesa, had a short diastema through ontogeny, whereas Ouranosaurus nigeriensis and Protohadros byrdi developed a long diastema convergently. The development of a long diastema of hadrosaurine hadrosaurids may be different from that of lambeosaurine hadrosaurids. Some hadrosaurines (Edmontosaurus annectens, Edmontosaurus regalis, and Saurolophus angustirostris) may have developed a long diastema in the subadult stage and showed little elongation of dentary diastema through ontogeny. Lambeosaurines (Corythosaurus casuarius and Lambeosaurus lambei) tend to have a short diastema in the embryonic and subadult stages, and an elongated diastema from the subadult to adult stages.     

Displacement properties of landslide masses at the initiation of failure in quick clay deposits and the effects of meteorological and hydrological factors

This study aimed to identify displacement properties of landslide masses at the initiation of failure and factors that affect the landslides activities in areas where quick clay is found. We set up a research site in a quick clay deposit area in Norway and monitored the displacements of landslide masses and meteorological and hydrological factors for a long period of time using an automatic monitoring system. The system collected data for two landslides that occurred at the site from the start of their movement until their ultimate collapse.

The two landslides that were monitored showed definite secondary and tertiary creep stages before they collapsed. One of the landslides moved from the secondary stage to the tertiary creep stage when another landslide occurred nearby. The tertiary stage of this landslide showed reconstruction of short primary, secondary, and tertiary creep stages. These phenomena suggested that (1) the stress at the end of the landslide mass was released during the nearby landslide, and (2) a new stress distribution was formed in the landslide mass. The critical strain differed for 14 times between the two landslide masses we monitored. The difference was likely attributable to the difference in the contents of quick clay, which shows small critical stress against slope failure, as well as topological factors.

Our analyses of the effects of hydrological and meteorological factors on landslides showed that the precipitation of 3 and 10 days before six slope failures as the final stages of the landslides that had occurred in the research area was no different from the mean precipitation of periods that showed no slope failure, suggesting that precipitation had no direct effects on the collapse of the landslide masses. On the other hand, the traveling velocities of the landslide masses during the secondary creep stage, which was prior to their collapse, were affected by the water content of the soil and precipitation (and the amount of snowmelt water), but was little correlated with the pore-water pressure of the quick clay layer. We also found that the presence of snow cover scarcely affected landslide movements.     

Statistical Approach for Classification of Dinosaur Eggs from the Heyuan Basin at the Northeast of Guangdong Province

The Zhutian and Dafeng formations (Upper Cretaceous) of the Heyuan Basin in northeastern Guangdong Province, China, have produced thousands of dinosaur eggs. Macromorphological features (egg diameter, egg shape, outer surface texture, and shell thickness) of 461 eggs were analyzed using non-destructive techniques and subjected to statistical analyses in order to assess their diversity and taxonomic affinities. Three types (1, 2 and 3) of eggs were discerned based on shape and outer surface morphology. Type 1 eggs are spherical to ellipsoidal in shape and have a rough surface. Three subtypes (Type 1-A-1, 1-A-2, and 1-B) are apparent from scatter plots and cluster analyses of egg diameters and shell thickness. Type 2 eggs are elongate with linear ornamentation on the surface, and are comparable to eggs that belong to the oofamily Elongatoolithidae. Type 3 eggs are elongate with a smooth surface, and are assigned to the oofamily Prismatoolithidae. Macromorphological features of the various egg types suggest that Type 1 could have been laid by ornithischian, sauropod or therizinosaur dinosaurs, Type 2 by oviraptorids, and Type 3 by troodontids. This study represents the first comprehensive statistical analysis of macrofeatures of dinosaur eggs, and reveals taxonomic diversity in the dinosaurs that were laying eggs in the Upper Cretaceous Heyuan area heretofore unrecognized in skeletal remains.