Numerical modelling of permafrost in bedrock in northern Fennoscandia during the Holocene

The occurrence of permafrost in bedrock in northern Fennoscandia and its dependence on past and presently ongoing climatic variations was investigated with one- (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) numerical models by solving the transient heat conduction equation with latent heat effects included. The study area is characterized by discontinuous permafrost occurrences such as palsa mires and local mountain permafrost. The ground temperature changes during the Holocene were constructed using climatic proxy data. This variation was used as a forcing function at the ground surface in the calculations. Several versions of the present ground temperature were applied, resulting in different subsurface freezing–thawing conditions in the past depending on the assumed porosity and geothermal conditions.Our results suggest that in high altitude areas with a cold climate (present mean annual ground temperature between 0°C and −3°C), there may have been considerable variations in permafrost thickness (ranging from 0 to 150 m), as well as periods of no permafrost at all. The higher is the porosity of bedrock filled with ice, the stronger is the retarding effect of permafrost against climatic variations.Two-dimensional models including topographic effects with altitude-dependent ground temperatures and slope orientation and inclination dependent solar radiation were applied to a case of mountain permafrost in Ylläs, western Finnish Lapland, where bedrock permafrost is known to occur in boreholes to a depth of about 60 m. Modelling suggests complicated changes in permafrost thickness with time as well as contrasting situations on southern and northern slopes of the mountain.Extrapolating the climatic warming of the last 200 years to the end of the next century when the anticipated increase in the annual average air temperature is expected to be about 2 K indicates that the permafrost occurrences in bedrock in northern Fennoscandia would be thawing rapidly in low-porosity formations. However, already a porosity of 5% filled with ice would retard the thawing considerably.     

The effects of gravitational radiation on circular binary systems with spins

In any theory of gravitation that predicts the existence of gravitational waves, it is shown that, in the absence of mass exchange and mass loss and subjected to a condition, a circular binary system with spherically-symmetrical components cannot evolve in such a way that the spin angular velocity is always a linear function of the orbital velocity. Probably this relation between the angular velocities cannot be realized in any time interval. In particular, the system cannot remain in a synchronized state. Of eight special cases of evolution of this binary system, three cases, where the separation increases, are shown to be kinematically impossible while a restriction on the variation of a parameter governing the evaluation of the system can be made in another. In one of the kinematically allowed special cases the separation increases.     

Spectrophotometric Variability of Mira

Data from the Pulkovo spectrophotometric data base on the absolute quasimonochromatic fluxes from oCet in the 320–1080 nm range are used to determine the physical parameters of this star in different phases of its light curve. The continuum emission layer is found to expand between the phases of the cycle corresponding to the rising and falling branches of the light curve. The average expansion velocity is 32 km/s. By the time the star’s brightness has fallen by roughly three magnitudes, its radius has increased by almost a factor of three. Over this same time the temperature of the layer has fallen from 3000 K to 2200 K. For this expansion velocity, the calculated mass rate loss is ⊙ M /year.__________Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 175–189 (May 2005).     

Early warning research on salt-alkalization desertification in western Songnen Plain

Desertification is an environmental issue in the world. The salt-alkalization desertification land area formed by both primary and secondary salt-alkalization has extended in a large scale, which has become a significant eco-environmental problem. Based on the characteristics of eco-environment and the situation of desertification in western Songnen plain, this paper reports the analyzes of its formation in background and cause. An early warning system on the salt-alkalization desertification is established and the GIS technology is used to abstract the information of desertification evaluation index. Supported by the integrated technology of the GIS and ANN, the orientation and quantitative result of desertification are gained, which is helpful to the eco-environment protection and resource development in western Songnen Plain.     

Characterization of zonal winds in the stratosphere of Titan with UVES

Titan has been observed with UVES, the UV-Visual Echelle Spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope, with the aim of characterizing the zonal wind flow. We use a retrieval scheme originally developed for absolute stellar accelerometry [Connes, P., 1985. Astrophys. Space Sci., 110, 211-255] to extract the velocity signal by simultaneously taking into account all the lines present in the spectrum. The method allows to measure the Doppler shift induced at a given point by the zonal wind flow, with high precision. The short-wavelength channel (4200-5200 Å) probes one scale height higher than the long-wavelength one (5200-6200 Å), and we observe statistically significant evidence for stronger winds at higher altitudes. The results show a high dispersion. Globally, we detect prograde zonal winds, with lower limits of 62 and 50 m s⁻¹ at the regions centered at 200 and 170 km altitude, but approximately a quarter of the measurements indicates null or retrograde winds.     

Report of the International Astronomical Union Division I Working Group on Precession and the Ecliptic

The IAU Working Group on Precession and the Equinox looked at several solutions for replacing the precession part of the IAU 2000A precession–nutation model, which is not consistent with dynamical theory. These comparisons show that the (Capitaine et al., Astron. Astrophys., 412, 2003a) precession theory, P03, is both consistent with dynamical theory and the solution most compatible with the IAU 2000A nutation model. Thus, the working group recommends the adoption of the P03 precession theory for use with the IAU 2000A nutation. The two greatest sources of uncertainty in the precession theory are the rate of change of the Earth’s dynamical flattening, ΔJ₂, and the precession rates (i.e. the constants of integration used in deriving the precession). The combined uncertainties limit the accuracy in the precession theory to approximately 2 mas cent⁻². Given that there are difficulties with the traditional angles used to parameterize the precession, z_A, ζ_A, and θ_A, the working group has decided that the choice of parameters should be left to the user. We provide a consistent set of parameters that may be used with either the traditional rotation matrix, or those rotation matrices described in (Capitaine et al., Astron. Astrophys., 412, 2003a) and (Fukushima Astron. J., 126, 2003). We recommend that the ecliptic pole be explicitly defined by the mean orbital angular momentum vector of the Earth–Moon barycenter in the Barycentric Celestial Reference System (BCRS), and explicitly state that this definition is being used to avoid confusion with previous definitions of the ecliptic. Finally, we recommend that the terms precession of the equator and precession of the ecliptic replace the terms lunisolar precession and planetary precession, respectively.     

凤太矿田层控铅锌(铜)矿床的成矿物质来源探讨

秦岭凤太矿田层控铅锌(铜)矿床的金属物质、硫和成矿溶液主要来自深部基底的岩石,属海底喷流—沉积成因矿床。从这一理论认识出发可进一步分析控矿地质条件及今后在该区有效地寻找同类矿床。     

Results from the Whole Earth Telescope — Indian contributions

The Indian team at ISRO has been part of the Whole Earth Telescope (WET) team since 1988 when we first participated in the campaign on V471 Tau. We have been part of many other observing campaigns over the last decade. This presentation traces the circumstances leading to our joining the WET team and how useful the coverage from the Indian longitude has been. The results of several pulsators from the WET runs during which we participated are also described. These include PG1159-035 the prototype of the GW Vir type of stars, RE J 0751+14 a cataclysmic variable, PG 1336-018 a binary with an sdB pulsator and finally HR 1217 a roAp star. The paper concludes with what the limitations are in our observations and how we can overcome them in the future.