Pembrokeshire,South Wales

Unravelling the geology of Pembrokeshire (southwest Wales) has been a rite of passage for British undergraduate students for generations. A favourite destination for an Easter fieldtrip, this complex region contains diverse geology of late Precambrian to Carboniferous age. In the course of a five‐day excursion, a student can uncover evidence for two plate tectonic cycles: the birth of the early Palaeozoic Iapetus Ocean and its death in the Caledonian Orogen, and the reworking of the late Palaeozoic Rheic back‐arc basins on the northern margins of the Variscides. In doing so, there is an opportunity to examine highly variable palaeoenvironments including the deposits of alluvial fans, flood plains, deltas, estuaries, carbonate shelves and deeper marine settings, as well as developing fundamental field skills in geological mapping, structural analysis and sedimentary logging. In this article, I introduce the fascinating story of the geological evolution of Pembrokeshire and describe some of the classic localities useful for basic geological training.     

The study of s-process nucleosynthesis based on barium stars, CEMP-s and CEMP-r/s stars

In order to get a broader view of the s-process nucleosynthesis we study the abundance distribution of heavy elements of 35 barium stars and 24 CEMP-stars, including nine CEMP-s stars and 15 CEMP-r/s stars. The similar distribution of [Pb/hs] between CEMP-s and CEMP-r/s stars indicate that the s-process material of both CEMP-s and CEMP-r/s stars should have a uniform origin, i.e. mass transfer from their predominant AGB companions. For the CEMP-r/s stars, we found that the r-process should provide similar proportional contributes to the second s-peak and the third s-peak elements, and also be responsible for the higher overabundance of heavy elements than those in CEMP-s stars. Which hints that the r-process origin of CEMP-r/s stars should be closely linked to the main r-process. The fact that some small r values exist for both barium and CEMP-s stars, implies that the single exposure event of the s-process nucleosynthesis should be general in a wide metallicity range of our Galaxy. Based on the relation between C _r and C _s, we suggest that the origin of r-elements for CEMP-r/s stars have more sources. A common scenario is that the formation of the binary system was triggered by only one or a few supernova. In addition, accretion-induced collapse(AIC) or SN 1.5 should be the supplementary scenario, especially for these whose pre-AGB companion with higher mass and smaller orbit radius, which support the higher values of both C _r and C _s.     

714C天气雷达收发机的维护

天气雷达是探测天气变化的重要工具,尤其是机场短时天气预报的重要手段,是保证航班安全正常的可靠保障。针对呼和浩特机场714C天气雷达收发机维护过程中的一些问题方法进行总结,从中总结可行性经验。     

Flare stars and solar bursts: High resolution in time and frequency

Coronal loops on the Sun and nearby stars are investigated using observations at 20 cm wavelength with high resolution in time and frequency. Observations of the dwarf M star AD Leonis with high time resolution using the Arecibo Observatory have resulted in the discovery of a quasi-periodic train of circularly polarized spikes with a mean periodicity of 32 ± 5 ms and a total duration of 150 ms. The individual spikes had rise times of 5 ms, leading to an upper limit to the linear size L 1.5 × 10⁸ cm for the spike emitter. This size is only 0.005 of the estimated radius of AD Leonis. Provided that the emitter is symmetric, it has a brightness temperature of T _B 10¹⁶ K, suggesting a coherent burst mechanism such as an electron-cyclotron maser. Coronal oscillations might modulate the maser output, producing the quasi-periodic spikes. Observations at closely spaced wavelengths, or high frequency resolution, using the Very Large Array have revealed narrow-band structure (v/v 0.01) in solar bursts and in the slowly-varying radiation of the dwarf M star YZ Canis Minoris. The narrow-band emission cannot be explained by continuum emission processes, but it might be attributed to electron-cyclotron maser radiation. Maser action at the second or first harmonic of the gyrofrequency implies magnetic field strengths of 250 and 500 G, respectively. Thus, observations with high resolution in time and frequency suggest coherent processes in the coronae of the Sun and dwarf M stars. The scientific potential of these discoveries may be best fulfilled by the construction of a solar-stellar synthesis radiotelescope.Proceedings of the Workshop on Radio Continua during Solar flares, held at Duino (Trieste), Italy, 27–31 May, 1985.     

‘PALEOVAN’, International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP): site survey results and perspectives

Lake Van is the fourth largest terminal lake in the world (volume 607 km³, area 3570 km², maximum depth 460 m), extending for 130 km WSW–ENE on the Eastern Anatolian High Plateau, Turkey. The sedimentary record of Lake Van, partly laminated, has the potential to obtain a long and continuous continental sequence that covers several glacial–interglacial cycles (ca 500 kyr). Therefore, Lake Van is a key site within the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) for the investigation of the Quaternary climate evolution in the Near East (‘PALEOVAN’). As preparation for an ICDP drilling campaign, a site survey was carried out during the past years. We collected 50 seismic profiles with a total length of ～850 km to identify continuous undisturbed sedimentary sequences for potential ICDP locations. Based on the seismic results, we cored 10 different locations to water depths of up to 420 m. Multidisciplinary scientific work at positions of a proposed ICDP drill site included measurements of magnetic susceptibility, physical properties, stable isotopes, XRF scans, and pollen and spores. This core extends back to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), a more extended record than all the other Lake Van cores obtained to date. Both coring and seismic data do not show any indication that the deepest part of the lake (Tatvan Basin, Ahlat Ridge) was dry or almost dry during past times. These results show potential for obtaining a continuous undisturbed, long continental palaeoclimate record. In addition, this paper discusses the potential of ‘PALEOVAN’ to establish new results on the dynamics of lake level fluctuations, noble gas concentration in pore water of the lake sediment, history of volcanism and volcanic activities based on tephrostratigraphy, and paleoseismic and earthquake activities.     

Beardsley vs. Faith: physical diversity among H5 chondrites

The microstructure and some physico-mechanical properties of Beardsley and Faith, both H5 chondrites, were compared. Although the bulk sample porosities are respectively 9.1% and 14.5%, suggesting lower consolidation of Faith, the effective porosities are 5.63% and 1.79%—much higher for Beardsley. The material of Faith, characterized by vugs, vesicles and closed channels—abundant but all sized below 0.01 μm—is of higher strength than that of Beardsley, where joints, fissures, open channels and microcracks are sized from 0.1 to 10 μm. The higher elastic properties of Faith are shown by the velocity of the compressional wave of 6.66 km s⁻¹ against that of 5.12 km s⁻¹ for Beardsley. An example of physical diversity among chondrites to the same chemical-petrologic type is therefore demonstrated.     

Monitoring of the nano-structure response of natural clay under mechanical perturbation using small angle X-ray scattering and digital image correlation

Acta Geotechnica - This paper introduces a new experimental method to monitor the evolving intra-particle, nanometre-scale response during hydro-mechanical tests on undisturbed wet clay samples...     

A New Conceptual Base for Food and Agricultural Policy: The Emerging Model of Links between Agriculture, Food, Health, Environment and Society

Everywhere in the world, food and agricultural policy is under scrutiny. Questions are being asked about both past and present public policy and strategy. The motives for reassessment are various, including trade wars, health impact, ecological concerns, population, citizens rights. After decades in which policy was centrally concerned with raising productivity and production, using a fairly simple Input-Output Model, the need for a more complex model for food and farming is becoming clear. The success of the dominant Input-Output Model of farming is that it can claim to have kept up with rising population trends and unleashed astonishing efficiencies. Critics point out, however, that these efficiencies have insufficiently accounted for costs to the environment, health and social well-being. A debate about these considerations grew in intensity during the 1990s, but had earlier roots. As a result, a new model of food and agriculture's contribution to health is emerging.