Some Homogeneous Bianchi type IX Viscous Fluid Cosmological Models with a Varying Λ

Some Bianchi type IX viscous fluid cosmological models are investigated. To get a solution, a supplementary condition between metric potentials is used. The viscosity coefficient of bulk viscous fluid is assumed to be a power function of mass density, whereas the coefficient of shear viscosity is considered as proportional to scale of expansion in the model. The cosmological constant Λ is found to be positive and is a decreasing function of time, which is supported by results from recent supernovae observations. Some physical and geometric properties of the models are also discussed.     

Ramifications of high in-situ temperatures for laboratory testing and inferred stress states of unlithified sediments – A case study from the Nankai margin

The recovery of drill cores involves changes in pressure and temperature conditions, which inevitably alter the mechanical properties of unlithified sediments. While expansion from unloading after core recovery is well studied, the effects from cooling on standard geotechnical tests are commonly neglected. Along the central portion of the Nankai margin sediments were recovered from high in-situ temperatures of up to 110 °C during IODP Leg 190. So far, the interpretation of the consolidation state of the Lower Shikoku Basin facies (LSB) entering the accretionary Nankai margin is ambiguous. Results from laboratory consolidation tests at room temperature show high pre-consolidation stresses. These were interpreted as hardening caused by cementation, while the field-based porosity vs. depth trend points towards normal consolidation. As an explanation for this discrepancy, the change of the mechanical properties by cooling from in-situ to laboratory conditions is proposed. In this paper, the results of a thermo-mechanical model are compared to published field data. This comparison suggests that the observed hardening is at least partially an artefact from cooling during core recovery, and that the strata may be considered normally consolidated to slightly overconsolidated. The latter can be explained by minor cementation or the influence of secondary consolidation. The results suggest that cooling from high in-situ temperatures may be important for the interpretation of the consolidation state of other sedimentary successions elsewhere.     

U–Pb and Hf-isotope analysis of zircons in mafic xenoliths from Fuxian kimberlites: evolution of the lower crust beneath the North China craton

Mafic xenoliths from the Paleozoic Fuxian kimberlites in the North China craton include garnet granulite, and minor pyroxene amphibolite, metagabbro, anorthosite and pyroxenite. The formation conditions of the amphibolites are estimated at 745–820 °C and 7.6–8.8 Kb (25–30 km); the granulites probably are derived from greater depths in the lower crust. LAM-ICPMS U–Pb dating of zircons from four granulites reveals multiple age populations, recording episodes of magmatic intrusion and metamorphic recrystallisation. Concordant ages and upper intercept ages, interpreted as minimum estimates for the time of magmatic crystallisation, range from 2,620 to 2,430 Ma in three granulites, two amphibolites and two metagabbros. Lower intercept ages, represented by near-concordant zircons, are interpreted as reflecting metamorphic recrystallisation, and range from 1,927 to 1,852 Ma. One granulite contains two metamorphic zircon populations, dated at 1,927±55 Ma and 600–700 Ma. Separated minerals from one granulite and one amphibolite yield Sm–Nd isochron ages of 1,619±48 Ma (¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd)i=0.51078), and 1,716±120 Ma (¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd)i=0.51006), respectively. These ages are interpreted as recording cooling following metamorphic resetting; model ages for both samples are in the range 2.40–2.66 Ga. LAM-MC-ICPMS analyses of zircon show a range in ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf from 0.28116 to 0.28214, corresponding to a range of _Hf from –34 to +12. The relationships between ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age and _Hf show that: (1) the granulites, amphibolites and metagabbro were derived from a depleted mantle source at 2.6–2.75 Ga; (2) zircons in most samples underwent recrystallisation and Pb loss for 100–200 Ma after magmatic crystallisation, consistent with a residence in the lower crust; (3) metamorphic zircons in several samples represent new zircon growth, incorporating Hf liberated from breakdown of silicates with high Lu/Hf; (4) in other samples metamorphic and magmatic zircons have identical ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf, and the younger ages reflect complete resetting of U–Pb systems in older zircons. The Fuxian mafic xenoliths are interpreted as the products of basaltic underplating, derived from a depleted mantle source in Neoarchean time, an important period of continental growth in the North China craton. Paleoproterozoic metamorphic ages indicate an important tectonic thermal event in the lower crust at 1.8–1.9 Ga, corresponding to the timing of collision between the Eastern and Western Blocks that led to the final assembly of the North China craton. The growth of metamorphic zircon at 600–700 Ma may record an asthenospheric upwelling in Neoproterozoic time, related to uplift and a regional disconformity in the North China craton.     

A komatiite component in Apollo 16 highland breccias: implications for the nickel-cobalt systematics and bulk composition of the moon

The lunar crust at the Apollo 16 landing site contains substantial amounts of a “primitive component” in which the ferromagnesian group of elements is concentrated. The composition of this component can be retrieved via an analysis of mixing relationships displayed by lunar breccias. It is found to be a komatiite which is compositionally similar to terrestrial komatiites both in major and minor elements. The komatiite component of the lunar crust is believed to have formed by extensive degrees of melting of the lunar interior at depths greater than were involved in the formation of the lunar magma ocean which was parental to the crust. After formation of the anorthositic crust, it was invaded by extensive flows and intrusions of komatiite magma from these deeper source regions. The komatiites became intimately mixed with the anorthosite by intensive meteoroid impacts about 4.5 b.y. ago, thereby accounting for the observed mixing relationships displayed by the crust. The compositional similarity between lunar and terrestrial komatiites strongly implies a corresponding similarity between the compositions of their source regions in the lunar interior and the Earth's upper mantle. The composition of the lunar interior can be modelled more specifically by combining the komatiite composition with its liquidus olivine composition (as determined experimentally) in proportions chosen so as to produce a cosmochemically acceptable range of Mg/Si ratios for the bulk Moon. Except for higher FeO and lower Na₂O, the range of compositions thereby obtained for the bulk moon is very similar to the composition of the Earth's upper mantle.The effects of meteoritic contamination on the abundances of cobalt and nickel in lunar highland breccias were subtracted on the assumption that the contaminating projectiles were chondritic. The cobalt and nickel residuals thereby obtained were found to correlate strongly with the (Mg + Fe) content of the breccias, demonstrating that the Co and Ni are associated with the ferromagnesian component of the breccias and are genuinely indigenous to the Moon. The lunar highland Co and Ni residuals also display striking Ni/Co versus Ni correlations which follow a similar trend to those displayed by terrestrial basalts, picrites and komatiites. The lunar trends provide further decisive evidence of the indigenous nature of the Co and Ni residuals and suggest the operation of extensive fractionation controlled by olivine-liquid equilibria in producing the primitive component of the lunar breccias. Indigenous nickel abundances at the Apollo 14, 15 and 17 sites are much lower than at the Apollo 16 site, although rocks from all sites follow the same Ni/Co versus Ni trends. It is suggested that the primitive component at the Apollo 14, 15 and 17 sites was generally of basaltic composition, in contrast to the komatiitic nature of the Apollo 16 primitive component.     

Wind tunnel simulation experiment and investigation on the electrification of sandstorms

~~Wind tunnel simulation experiment and investigation on the electrification of sandstorms~~     

Intercomparison of multiple statistical downscaling methods: multi-criteria model selection for South Korea

A number of statistical downscaling methodologies have been introduced to bridge the gap in scale between outputs of climate models and climate information needed to assess potential impacts at local and regional scales. Four statistical downscaling methods [bias-correction/spatial disaggregation (BCSD), bias-correction/constructed analogue (BCCA), multivariate adaptive constructed analogs (MACA), and bias-correction/climate imprint (BCCI)] are applied to downscale the latest climate forecast system reanalysis (CFSR) data to stations for precipitation, maximum temperature, and minimum temperature over South Korea. All methods are calibrated with observational station data for 19 years from 1973 to 1991 and validated for the more recent 19-year period from 1992 to 2010. We construct a comprehensive suite of performance metrics to inter-compare methods, which is comprised of five criteria related to time-series, distribution, multi-day persistence, extremes, and spatial structure. Based on the performance metrics, we employ technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and apply 10,000 different weighting combinations to the criteria of performance metrics to identify a robust statistical downscaling method and important criteria. The results show that MACA and BCSD have comparable skill in the time-series related criterion and BCSD outperforms other methods in distribution and extremes related criteria. In addition, MACA and BCCA, which incorporate spatial patterns, show higher skill in the multi-day persistence criterion for temperature, while BCSD shows the highest skill for precipitation. For the spatial structure related criterion, BCCA and MACA outperformed BCSD and BCCI. From the TOPSIS analysis, we found that MACA is the most robust method for all variables in South Korea, and BCCA and BCSD are the second for temperature and precipitation, respectively. We also found that the contribution of the multi-day persistence and spatial structure related criteria are crucial to ranking the skill of statistical downscaling methods.     

Experimental petrology constraints on the recycling of mafic cumulate: a focus on Cr-spinel from the Rum Eastern Layered Intrusion,Scotland

The ¹⁷⁶Lu–¹⁷⁶Hf and ¹⁴⁷Sm–¹⁴³Nd decay systems are routinely used to determine garnet (Grt)–whole-rock (WR) ages; however, the ¹⁷⁶Lu–¹⁷⁶Hf age of garnet is typically older than the ¹⁴⁷Sm–¹⁴³Nd age determined from the same aliquots. Here we present experimental data for Lu³⁺ and Hf⁴⁺ diffusion in garnet as functions of temperature, pressure and oxygen fugacity and show that the diffusivity of Hf⁴⁺ in almandine/spessartine garnet is significantly slower than that of Lu³⁺. The diffusive closure temperature (T _C) of Hf⁴⁺ is significantly higher than that of Nd³⁺, and although this property is partly responsible for the observed ¹⁷⁶Lu–¹⁷⁶Hf and ¹⁴⁷Sm–¹⁴³Nd Grt–WR age discrepancies, the difference between the T _C-s of Lu³⁺ and Hf⁴⁺ could lead to apparent Grt–WR ¹⁷⁶Lu–¹⁷⁶Hf ages that are skewed from the age of Hf⁴⁺ closure in garnet. In addition, the slow diffusivity of Hf⁴⁺ indicates that the bulk of metamorphic garnets retain a substantial fraction of prograde radiogenic ¹⁷⁶Hf throughout peak metamorphic conditions, a phenomenon that further complicates the interpretation of ¹⁷⁶Lu–¹⁷⁶Hf garnet ages and invalidates the use of analytical T _C expressions. We argue that the diffusion of trivalent rare earth elements in garnet becomes much faster when their concentration level falls below a few hundred ppm, as in the experiments of Tirone et al. (Geochim Cosmochim Acta 69: 2385–2398, 2005), and further argue that this low-concentration mechanism is appropriate for modeling the susceptibility of ¹⁴⁷Sm–¹⁴³Nd garnet ages to diffusive resetting.     

Intrinsic groundwater vulnerability determination at the aquifer scale: a methodology coupling travel time estimation and rating methods

Groundwater vulnerability has been subject of much research due to the valuable information it provides concerning groundwater protection and exploitation potential. Up to now, most groundwater vulnerability studies adopt subjective systems of rating the various factors and subsequently, their results are often ambiguous and contradicting. Within the present study a methodology for the estimation of intrinsic groundwater vulnerability at the aquifer scale is presented. The methodology is based on travel time estimation from specified sources of pollution to the aquifer. Besides the deterministic calculation of travel times, the methodology provides a rating system for each pollution source, based on its relative severity and the estimated threat that it poses to the aquifer. Therefore, it can be regarded as a hybrid method that couples the advantages provided by the physically based methods with those of the subjective rating systems. The methodology is applied to the Neon Sidirochorion aquifer, Northeastern Greece, an overexploited aquifer where river waters, sea waters and lake waters interact, causing groundwater quality deterioration to the aquifer. The results indicated that the proposed groundwater vulnerability assessment methodology is well capturing pollution related to saltwater intrusion and agricultural activities, while it is concluded that the conceptual model is significantly affecting the vulnerability assessment results and therefore has to be previously developed.     

断裂带中的流体活动及其作用

大量证据表明活动断裂带中存在大量流体,不仅可以造成断裂带强度的变化,而且可以导致有效正应力减小,进而诱发地震。在野外观察与模拟的基础上,许多模式被用来解释这一现象。本文简要介绍了有关断裂带特征和分类、流体的来源和运动,以及流体对断裂带的影响和对地震的触发作用等方面的研究进展。     

Evaluation of global climate model on performances of precipitation simulation and prediction in the Huaihe River basin

Using climate models with high performance to predict the future climate changes can increase the reliability of results. In this paper, six kinds of global climate models that selected from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) under Representative Concentration Path (RCP) 4.5 scenarios were compared to the measured data during baseline period (1960–2000) and evaluate the simulation performance on precipitation. Since the results of single climate models are often biased and highly uncertain, we examine the back propagation (BP) neural network and arithmetic mean method in assembling the precipitation of multi models. The delta method was used to calibrate the result of single model and multimodel ensembles by arithmetic mean method (MME-AM) during the validation period (2001–2010) and the predicting period (2011–2100). We then use the single models and multimodel ensembles to predict the future precipitation process and spatial distribution. The result shows that BNU-ESM model has the highest simulation effect among all the single models. The multimodel assembled by BP neural network (MME-BP) has a good simulation performance on the annual average precipitation process and the deterministic coefficient during the validation period is 0.814. The simulation capability on spatial distribution of precipitation is: calibrated MME-AM > MME-BP > calibrated BNU-ESM. The future precipitation predicted by all models tends to increase as the time period increases. The order of average increase amplitude of each season is: winter > spring > summer > autumn. These findings can provide useful information for decision makers to make climate-related disaster mitigation plans.