Age-metallicity relation for F-stars

We derived the age-metallicity relation for the solar neighbourhood from theuvby, H photometry of F-stars using the evolutionary models of Hejlesen (1980). It is shown that disk formation is divided into two phases according to the fast and slow collapse which accompany the initial rapid enrichment and slow increase of the metallicity of the galactic disk, respectively.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.     

East Asian monsoon variation and climate changes in Jeju Island, Korea, during the latest Pleistocene to early Holocene

A 4.96-m-long sediment core from the Hanon paleo-maar in Jeju Island, Korea was studied to investigate the paleoclimatic change and East Asian monsoon variations during the latest Pleistocene to early Holocene (23,000-9000 cal yr BP). High-resolution TOC content, magnetic susceptibility, and major element composition data indicate that Jeju Island experienced the coldest climate around 18,000 cal yr BP, which corresponds to the last glacial maximum (LGM). Further, these multi-proxy data show an abrupt shift in climatic regime from cold and arid to warm and humid conditions at around 14,000 cal yr BP, which represents the commencement of the last major deglaciation. After the last major deglaciation, the TOC content decreased from 13,300 to 12,000 cal yr BP and from 11,500 to 9800 cal yr BP, thereby reflecting the weakening of the summer monsoon. The LGM in Jeju Island occurred later in comparison with the Chinese Loess Plateau. Such a disparity in climatic change events between central China and Jeju Island appears to be caused by the asynchrony between the coldest temperature event and the minimum precipitation event in central China and by the buffering effect of the Pacific Ocean.     

Preliminary results for a semi-automated quantification of site effects using geomorphometry and ASTER satellite data for Mozambique,Pakistan and Turkey

Estimation of the degree of local seismic wave amplification (site effects) requires precise information about the local site conditions. In many regions of the world, local geologic information is either sparse or is not readily available. Because of this, seismic hazard maps for countries such as Mozambique, Pakistan and Turkey are developed without consideration of site factors and, therefore, do not provide a complete assessment of future hazards. Where local geologic information is available, details on the traditional maps often lack the precision (better than 1:10,000 scale) or the level of information required for modern seismic microzonation requirements. We use high-resolution (1:50,000) satellite imagery and newly developed image analysis methods to begin addressing this problem. Our imagery, consisting of optical data and digital elevation models (DEMs), is recorded from the ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) sensor system. We apply a semi-automated, object-oriented, multi-resolution feature segmentation method to identify and extract local terrain features. Then we classify the terrain types into mountain, piedmont and basin units using geomorphometry (topographic slope) as our parameter. Next, on the basis of the site classification schemes from the Wills and Silva (1998) study and the Wills et al (2000) and Wills and Clahan (2006) maps of California, we assign the local terrain units with V _s 30 (the average seismic shear-wave velocity through the upper 30m of the subsurface) ranges for selected regions in Mozambique, Pakistan and Turkey. We find that the applicability of our site class assignments in each region is a good first-approximation for quantifying local site conditions and that additional work, such as the verification of the terrain’s compositional rigidity, is needed.     

Comments on ‘A comparative study of ANN and neuro-fuzzy for the prediction of dynamic constant of rockmass’

Singh et al (2005) examined the potential of the ANN and neuro-fuzzy systems application for the prediction of dynamic constant of rockmass. However, the model proposed by them has some drawbacks according to fuzzy logic principles. This discussion will focus on the main fuzzy logic principles which authors and potential readers should take into consideration.     

流体包裹体成分测定的低温相变和显微拉曼光谱分析技术研究进展

论述了包裹体低温分析技术的原理以及进展。传统的流体包裹体低温分析技术是以显微冷冻测温测定无机盐体系为主,目前已发展到应用低温原位拉曼光谱技术对包裹体中的阳离子和阴离子进行定量-半定量分析。油气包裹体原位低温分析技术也取得了较大的突破,对不同成分油气包裹体低温下的相变过程取得了一定的认识,据此对油气包裹体进行分类,推测其主要成分,为油气包裹体计算提供基础参数。     

Glacier change and glacier runoff variation in the Tuotuo River basin,the source region of Yangtze River in western China

Glaciers in the Tuotuo River basin, western China, have been monitored in recent decades by applying topographical maps and high-resolution satellite images. Results indicate that most of glaciers in the Tuotuo River basin have retreated in the period from 1968/1971 to 2001/2002, and their shrinkage area is 3.2% of the total area in the late 1960s. To assess the influence of glacier runoff on river runoff, a modified degree–day model including potential clear-sky direct solar radiation has been applied to the glaciated regions of the river basin over the period 1961–2004. It was found that glacier runoff has increased in the last 44 years, especially in the 1990s when a two-thirds increase in river runoff was derived from the increase in glacier runoff caused by loss of ice mass in the entire Tuotuo River basin.     

Heat capacity and phase equilibria of wadeite-type K2Si4O9

The low-temperature heat capacity (C _p) of Si-wadeite (K₂Si₄O₉) synthesized with a piston cylinder device was measured over the range of 5–303 K using the heat capacity option of a physical properties measurement system. The entropy of Si-wadeite at standard temperature and pressure calculated from the measured heat capacity data is 253.8 ± 0.6 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹, which is considerably larger than some of the previous estimated values. The calculated phase transition boundaries in the system K₂O–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ are generally consistent with previous experimental results. Together with our calculated phase boundaries, seven multi-anvil experiments at 1,400 K and 6.0–7.7 GPa suggest that no equilibrium stability field of kalsilite + coesite intervenes between the stability field of sanidine and that of coesite + kyanite + Si-wadeite, in contrast to previous predictions. First-order approximations were undertaken to calculate the phase diagram in the system K₂Si₄O₉ at lower pressure and temperature. Large discrepancies were shown between the calculated diagram compared with previously published versions, suggesting that further experimental or/and calorimetric work is needed to better constrain the low-pressure phase relations of the K₂Si₄O₉ polymorphs. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Isotopic studies of leaf water. Part 1: A physically based two-dimensional model for pine needles

Understanding of isotopic variations in leaf water is important for reconstruction of paleoclimate and assessment of global biochemical processes. We report here a study of isotopic distributions within a single needle of two pine species, Pinus resinosa Ait and Pinus strobes L., with the objective of understanding how isotopic compositions of leaf water are controlled by environmental and physiological variables. A 2D model was developed to simulate along-leaf isotopic variations and bulk leaf water isotopic compositions. In addition to variables common to all leaf water isotopic models, this 2D model also takes into account the specific geometry and dimensions of pine needles and the isotopic transport in xylem and mesophyll. The model can successfully simulate oxygen isotopic variations along a single needle and averaged over a leaf (bulk leaf water). The simulations suggest that isotopic composition of the bulk leaf water does not always depend only upon the average transpiration rate, which in turn raises questions about using leaf water isotopic values to estimate transpiration rates. An unsuccessful attempt to simulate along-needle hydrogen isotopic variations suggests that certain unknown biological process(es) may not have been incorporated into our 2D model, and if so, it calls for a reevaluation of all other models for hydrogen isotopic simulations of leaf water since they too lack these processes.Existing leaf water isotopic models are reviewed in this work. In particular, we evaluate the most frequently used model, the stomatal boundary layer model (also referred to as the Craig-Gordon model). We point out that discrepancy between the boundary layer model and the measured bulk leaf water seems to depend upon relative humidity. Using our 2D model, we show that this humidity dependency is a result of an interplay between environmental and physiological conditions: if the transpiration rate of plant leaves decreases with increasing relative humidity, our 2D model can reproduce the pattern of isotopic discrepancy between boundary layer model predictions and observations, enabling us to understand better the reason behind this discrepancy.