Mechanical shaking and soil water affect the growth of Psammochloa villosa in the Mu Us Sandland

The Mu Us Sandland is basically characterized by water shortage and high wind. Thus, wind-induced mechanical perturbation (MP) and soil water availability are likely to interact to affect plant growth. Since high water availability and MP can induce responses that are in the opposite direction, we hypothesized that MP effects on perennial grasses might be mitigated by increased soil water availability in the Mu Us Sandland. We counducted an experiment in which seedlings of Psammochloa villosa were subjected to two levels of MP (non-MP vs. MP 1 min d⁻¹) and two levels of water availability (200 ml d⁻¹vs. 400 ml d⁻¹) and measured three plant traits. MP significantly decreased plant height, total biomass, and root/shoot ratio. There were significant interactions between MP and soil water availability on plant height and root/shoot ratio. These findings imply that MP alone is a stressful factor for P. villosa and MP effects on its growth can be partially mitigated by increased soil water availability, and also suggest that P. villosa may respond to MP in a way that allows plants to survive in the windy semiarid environments.     

Coordinated Study on Solar Wind Turbulence During the Venus-Express, ACE and Ulysses Alignment of August 2007

At the end of August 2007, Venus, Earth and Ulysses were aligned within a few degrees. This unusual event gives the opportunity to attempt a coordinated study on the radial evolution of solar wind turbulence and coronal transients like CMEs between 0.7 and 1.4 AU. Interplanetary magnetic field data and moments of proton velocity distribution function such as density, speed and temperature are required for this programme and will be provided by ACE at Earth, Venus Express at Venus and Ulysses at 1.4 AU. This project has been recently proposed as a Coordinated Investigation Programme (CIP35) for the International Heliophysical Year.     

Chromite growth,dissolution and deformation from a morphological view point: SEM investigations

The SEM investigations on some chromite crystals show significant morphological differences between cumulate chromites (from stratiform complexes and from ophiolites) and chromites from podiform deposits (ophiolites). The later exhibit a rounded habit and abundant pits which are both the result of dissolution processes. Accordingly, the interpretation of the silicate inclusions within these chromites and the interpretration of the trace-elements distribution need great care. The nodules, a typical structure of the podiform chromites, are explained by a magmatic growth followed by a progressive recrystallization. The accessory chromites which define the mineral lineation in the tectonite peridotites from ophiolites have been deformed by processes of intracrystalline gliding, stretching and dissolution. In the harzburgites, the orthopyroxene has progressively exsolved at sub-solidus (symplektites) vermicular to massive chromite displaying euhedral forms. In the dunitic lenses, the idiomorphic chromites which are aligned parallel to the lineation may have also recrystallized in a solid state.     

Dating of mine waste in lacustrine sediments using cesium-137

For over a century Medicine Lake in northern Idaho has received heavy-metal-laden tailings from the Coeur d'Alene mining district. Establishing the depositional chronology of the lake bottom sediments provides information on the source and rate of deposition of the tailings. Cesium-137, an isotope produced in the atmosphere by nuclear bomb tests, was virtually absent in the environment prior to 1951, but reached its apex in 1964. Our analysis of cesium-137 in the sediments of Medicine Lake revealed that 14 cm of fine-grained tailings were deposited in the lake from 1951 to 1964 and tailing deposition downstream was greatly reduced by the installation of tailings dams in the district in 1968. Cesium-137 analysis is accomplished by a fairly simple gamma-ray counting technique and should be a valuable tool for analyzing sedimentation in any lacustrine environment that was active during the 1950s and 1960s.     

Thermal modelling of magmatic intrusions in the Gjallar Ridge, Norwegian Sea: implications for vitrinite reflectance and hydrocarbon maturation

Extensive magmatic activity took place in the Vøring Basin, offshore Norway, related to the Early Cenozoic rifting. The break‐up of the North‐Atlantic at the Palaeocene–Eocene transition induced strong volcanism. There are numerous magmatic sills below 3 km depth in the area. They are predominantly layer parallel and thin compared with their lateral extent. Igneous intrusions, sills and dykes affected the temperature history, and thus need to be taken into account in petroleum prospect analysis. We have calculated the temperature and maturity effects in the sedimentary layers in the Gjallar area associated with the emplacement of single sill and sill complexes. A 120‐m‐thick sill produces a theoretical vitrinite reflectance (%R₀) 0.8% higher than normal at a distance of 100 m from the sill. Vitrinite reflectance changes caused by a swarm of seven sills varying from 8 to 80 m in thickness were calculated. It is shown that the calculated thermal profile can account for the observed shift in vitrinite reflectance in the well. A two‐dimensional section crossing the Gjallar Ridge, consisting of numerous magmatic intrusions, is also modelled. The modelled geological development and temperature history over the profile show that there are significant maturation effects in the interval under investigation. Based on this work, the sill swarm observed in the area could more than double the fraction of the kerogen that has been transformed to petroleum at the (present) depth of 4 km.     

Towards error‐free hybrid simulation using mixed variables

Two procedures are developed and implemented in a hybrid simulation system (HSS) with the aim of enhancing the accuracy and reliability of the online, i.e. pseudo‐dynamic, test results. The first procedure aims at correcting the experimental systematic error in executing the displacement command signal. The error is calculated as the difference between command and feedback signals and correlated to the actuator velocity using the least‐squares method. A feed‐forward error compensation scheme is devised leading to a more accurate execution of the test. The second procedure employs mixed variables with mode switching between displacement and force controls. The newly derived force control algorithm is evaluated using a parametric study to assess its stability and accuracy. The implementation of the mixed variables procedure is designed to adopt force control for high stiffness states of the structural response and displacement control otherwise, where the resolution of the involved instruments may favour this type of mixed control. A simple pseudo‐dynamic experiment of steel cantilever members is used to validate the HSS. Moreover, two experiments as application examples for the two developed procedures are presented. The two experiments focus on the seismic response of (a) timber shear walls and (b) reinforced concrete frames with and without unreinforced masonry infill wall. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ozone content over the Russian Federation in the first quarter of 2017

The review is based on the results of the operation of the total ozone (TO) monitoring system in the CIS countries. The system is functioning in the operational regime at the Central Aerological Observatory (CAO) and uses the data from the national network equipped with M-124 filter ozonometers being under the methodological supervision of the Main Geophysical Observatory. The quality of the entire system functioning is under operational control based on the observations obtained from neighboring countries and the OMI satellite equipment (NASA, USA). Basic TO observation data are generalized for each month of the first quarter of 2017 and for the first quarter. Data on surface ozone values in the Moscow region and Crimea are also provided.     

A new procedure for separating and measuring radiogenic isotopes (U, Th, Pa, Ra, Sr, Nd, Hf) in ice cores

A new method for the radiogenic isotope (U–Th–Pa–Ra, Sr, Nd, Hf) analysis of the soluble and insoluble components found within ice cores is presented. Melting experiments with rock standards in the presence of EDTA indicate that carbonates, as well as silicates, can be buffered sufficiently to preclude dissolution. The use of EDTA allows adsorbing species, such as Th and Hf, to remain in solution during melting thus fully separating the dust (insoluble) and sea salt (soluble) components of the ice after filtration. A new elemental separation scheme for low sample masses, less than 5 mg solid material, utilizes 4 primary ion exchange columns and two “clean-up” columns to fully isolate U, Th, Pa, Ra, Sr, Nd, and Hf while maintaining high yields. Elution schemes measured for USGS rock standards and a Chinese loess are presented to provide a comparison for variable matrix compositions. Mass spectrometer techniques were modified to measure small aliquots of the standards, equivalent to the amounts found in ice core samples, 10 ng and less. A MC-ICPMS was employed for the measurement of U, Th, Pa, Ra, and Hf; results of the experiments show that with ion yields up to 1%, rock standards have errors for ²³⁴U/²³⁸U of 1%, ²³⁰Th/²³²Th of 1.5%, [²²⁸Ra] of 9%, and ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf of 100 ppm. MC-TIMS measurements of Sr and Nd show similar errors for small sample sizes: ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr of 50 ppm and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd of 80 ppm. This new analytical method increases the number of possible tracers measured from a single sample, reducing separation times and sample consumption, as well as providing the addition of a radiometric clock, U-series, to the traditional suite of isotopic tracers, Sr, Nd, and Hf.