Detection of large color variation in the potentially hazardousasteroid （297274） 1996 SK

Low-inclination near-earth asteroid(NEA)(297274) 1996 SK,which is also classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid,has a highly eccentric orbit.It was studied by multi-wavelength photometry within the framework of an NEA color survey at Lulin Observatory.Here,we report the finding of large color variation across the surface of(297274) 1996 SK within one asteroidal rotation period of4.656 ± 0.122 hours and classify it as an S-type asteroid according to its average colors of B- V = 0.767 ± 0.033,V- R = 0.482 ± 0.021,V- I = 0.801 ± 0.025and the corresponding relative reflectance spectrum.These results might be indicative of differential space weathering or compositional inhomogeneity in the surface materials.     

Disappearance of a coronal hole induced by a filament activation

We present a rare observation of direct magnetic interaction between an activating filament and a coronal hole(CH). The filament was a quiescent one located at the northwest of the CH. It underwent a nonradial activation, during which filament material constantly fell and intruded into the CH. As a result, the CH was clearly destroyed by the intrusion. Brightenings appeared at the boundaries and in the interior of the CH, meanwhile, its west boundaries began to retreat and the area gradually shrank. It is noted that the CH went on shrinking after the end of the intrusion and finally disappeared entirely. Following the filament activation, three coronal dimmings(D1–D3) were formed, among which D1 and D2 persisted throughout the complete disappearance of the CH. The derived coronal magnetic configuration shows that the filament was located below an extended loop system, which obviously linked D1 to D2. By extrapolating this result, our observations imply that the interaction between the filament and the CH involved direct intrusion of the filament material to the CH and the disappearance of the CH might be due to interchange reconnection between the expanding loop system and the CH's open field.     

NanoSIMS analysis of organic carbon from the Tissint Martian meteorite: Evidence for the past existence of subsurface organic‐bearing fluids on Mars

Two petrographic settings of carbonaceous components, mainly filling open fractures and occasionally enclosed in shock‐melt veins, were found in the recently fallen Tissint Martian meteorite. The presence in shock‐melt veins and the deuterium enrichments (δD up to +1183‰) of these components clearly indicate a pristine Martian origin. The carbonaceous components are kerogen‐like, based on micro‐Raman spectra and multielemental ratios, and were probably deposited from fluids in shock‐induced fractures in the parent rock of Tissint. After precipitation of the organic matter, the rock experienced another severe shock event, producing the melt veins that encapsulated a part of the organic matter. The C isotopic compositions of the organic matter (δ¹³C = ?12.8 to ?33.1‰) are significantly lighter than Martian atmospheric CO₂ and carbonate, providing a tantalizing hint for a possible biotic process. Alternatively, the organic matter could be derived from carbonaceous chondrites, as insoluble organic matter from the latter has similar chemical and isotopic compositions. The presence of organic‐rich fluids that infiltrated rocks near the surface of Mars has significant implications for the study of Martian paleoenvironment and perhaps to search for possible ancient biological activities on Mars.     

Presolar grains in the CM2 chondrite Sutter's Mill

The Sutter's Mill (SM) carbonaceous chondrite is a regolith breccia, composed predominantly of CM2 clasts with varying degrees of aqueous alteration and thermal metamorphism. An investigation of presolar grains in four Sutter's Mill sections, SM43, SM51, SM2‐4, and SM18, was carried out using NanoSIMS ion mapping technique. A total of 37 C‐anomalous grains and one O‐anomalous grain have been identified, indicating an abundance of 63 ppm for presolar C‐anomalous grains and 2 ppm for presolar oxides. Thirty‐one silicon carbide (SiC), five carbonaceous grains, and one Al‐oxide (Al₂O₃) were confirmed based on their elemental compositions determined by C‐N‐Si and O‐Si‐Mg‐Al isotopic measurements. The overall abundance of SiC grains in Sutter's Mill (55 ppm) is consistent with those in other CM chondrites. The absence of presolar silicates in Sutter's Mill suggests that they were destroyed by aqueous alteration on the parent asteroid. Furthermore, SM2‐4 shows heterogeneous distributions of presolar SiC grains (12–54 ppm) in different matrix areas, indicating that the fine‐grained matrix clasts come from different sources, with various thermal histories, in the solar nebula.     

Hard X-ray Microflares down to 3 keV

The excellent sensitivity, spectral and spatial resolution, and energy coverage down to 3 keV provided by the Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager mission (RHESSI) allows for the first time the detailed study of the locations and the spectra of solar microflares down to 3 keV. During a one-hour quiet interval (GOES soft X-ray level around B6) on 2 May, 1:40–2:40 UT, at least 7 microflares occurred with the largest peaking at A6 GOES level. The microflares are found to come from 4 different active regions including one behind the west limb. At 7′′ resolution, some events show elongated sources, while others are unresolved point sources. In the impulsive phase of the microflares, the spectra can generally be fitted better with a thermal model plus power law above ∼ 6–7 keV than with a thermal only. The decay phase sometimes can be fitted with a thermal only, but in some events, power-law emission is detected late in the event indicating particle acceleration after the thermal peak of the event. The behind-the-limb microflare shows thermal emissions only, suggesting that the non-thermal power law emission originates lower, in footpoints that are occulted. The power-law fits extend to below 7 keV with exponents between −5 and −8, and imply a total non-thermal electron energy content between 10²⁶–10²⁷ erg. Except for the fact that the power-law indices are steeper than what is generally found in regular flares, the investigated microflares show characteristics similar to large flares. Since the total energy in non-thermal electrons is very sensitive to the value of the power law and the energy cutoff, these observations will give us better estimates of the total energy input into the corona. (Note that color versions of figures are on the accompanying CD-ROM.) Supplementary material to this paper is available in electronic form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1022404512780     

Disk Galaxies with Finite Thickness

The effect of finite thickness on the properties of disk galaxies is calculated on the basis of a rigorous mathematical treatment in terms of Green function and Bessel Fourier transformation. In our approach, the mass of the galactic halo is determined by fitting the observed rotation curve with a five-component model. We not only choose a bulge, a thin disk and a halobut also include a nuclear bulge (i.e. the Galactic Nucleus) and a thick disk. The effect of finite thickness of the disk on both the radial and vertical self-gravity is considered in detail. The vertical dynamics of this three-dimensional system is also investigated.     

Genetic study of Kelp “901” strain

Based on DNA extraction and optimization of random amplified reaction (RAPD) to the gametophytes and sporophytes of Kelp “901” strain, genetic study on variation was conducted to its parents and offsprings of F6, F7,Fs, and F9 generation. RAPD results have shown that among 30 selected primers for gametophytes, 297 loci ranging from 200 to 3 000 bp were obtained in the average of 9,9 loci for each primer, This indicated a high polymorphic rate with RAPD detection. UPGMA (unweighted pair-group method arithmetic average) analysis showed that each male and female gametophyte of a generation could be clustered into one pair separately. The genetic distances of the Kelp 901 generation were 0.321 2-0.476 7, and the maximum was between F7 and Fs (0.476 7). Identity analysis showed that F6 generation was more close to the female parent (0.659 3), and F7 generation was more close to the male parent (0.5788). To the sporophytes study in 24 selected primers for RAPD amplification, 191 loci ranging from 230-2 800 bp were obtained, in the average to each primer of 8.0 loci. The heterozygosity to six populations were male parent (0.223 9),female parent (0.107 2), F6 (0.216 4), F7 (0.228 6), F8 (0.229 6) and F9 (0.317 2). The nearest genetic distance was 0.083 5 (Fs, F9). Total heterozygosity (HT) ofF6, F7, F8 and F9 generations was 0.318 6, the average heterozygosity (Hs) for F6,F7, F8 and F9 generations was 0.248 0, and deduced coefficient of population differentiation (Gst) was 22.2%. Six sequence characterized amplified regions (SCAR) were preliminary screened through RAPD analysis. It needed to be verified in detail as they are significant for molecular marker assistance in breeding and selecting Laminaria.     

印度洋dipole事件的年际变化与ENSO事件的联系

通过对nino3指数和DMI序列的分析，发现两种物理现象都有4a左右的主要周期，而且印度洋偶极子事件还存在有2a左右的振荡周期，而厄尔尼诺事件在2a时间尺度上周期性不明显；对nino3指数和DMI进行年际时间尺度滤波，结果表明，在年际时间尺度上，两者的相关性比未滤波时有了一定的提高；对年际滤波之后的偶极子事件和ELNINO事件的相关分析可以发现，ELNINO对于印度洋偶极子事件的影响要大于IOD对于太平洋ENSO事件，显示了两者物理现象的影响不对称。     

An investigation of sand–dust storm events and land surface characteristics in China using NOAA NDVI data

Observations from 560 weather stations in China show that sand–dust storms occur most frequently in April in north China. The region consists of Sub-dry Mid Temperate, Dry Mid Temperate, Sub-dry South Temperate and Dry South Temperate Zones and much of the land surface is desert or semi-desert: it is relatively dry with minimal rainfall and a high annual mean temperature. In most regions of China, the annual mean frequency of sand–dust events decreased sharply between 1980 and 1997 and then increased from 1997 to 2000. Statistical analyses demonstrate that the frequency of sand–dust storms correlates highly with wind speed, which in turn is strongly related to land surface features; on the other hand, a significant correlation between storm events and other atmospheric quantities such as precipitation and temperature was not observed. Accordingly, land surface cover characteristics (vegetation, snowfall and soil texture) may play a significant role in determining the occurrence of sand–dust storms in China. Analysis of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index derived from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Empirical Orthogonal Function show that since 1995 surface vegetation cover in large areas of Northern China has significantly deteriorated. Moreover, a high correlation is shown to exist among the annual occurrence of sand–dust storms, surface vegetation cover and snowfall. This suggests that the deterioration of surface vegetation cover may strongly influence the occurrence of sand–dust storms in China. Soils with coarse and medium textures are found to be more associated with sand–dust storms than other soils.     

Structural Control of Sand Bodies and Deep Exploration for Oil and Gas

The structural styles can be used to analyses and predict developments and distributions of sand bodies in a rift basin. The dynamic process of faulting and sedimentation can be expressed as follow: the basin topography controlled by fault activity can control water dynamics; which in turn affect the transport and sedimentation of sediments. The corresponding analysis between structural styles and sand depositional types includes the following aspects: (1) in section, the corresponding between development of fault terraces and sand depositional types; (2) in plane, the relationship between faults' association and distributions of sand bodies. There are four types of terrace styles to be identified. They are Steep Slope Single Fault Terrace (SSSFT), Steep Slope Multiple Fault Terrace (SSMFT), Gentle Slope (GS) and Gentle Slope Multiple Fault Terrace (GSMFT), which also can be divided into six subtypes by the timing of the faults activities and the directions of their activity migrations (basinward and landward or marginward). They correspond to the following sand depositions such as alluvial fan, fan delta and turbidite fan etc.. The analysis of structure-sedimentation is a discussion on the rank Ⅲ sequence evolution under the condition of pulsing or episodic fault activities. It has been recognized four plane fault associations such as the comb, the broom, the fork and the fault-fold association as well as the corresponding sand distributions. Structural-sedimentary models above mentioned are significant for the deep oil and gas exploration when lacking of the drill data. It may reduce multiple resolutions in the interpretation of seismic-sedimentary facies and promote sand predictions through the constraints of the structural styles of the basin units. The structural-sedimentary pattern can be used as a geological model in oil and gas exploration in the rift basins.