The brecciated texture of polymict eucrites: Petrographic investigations of unequilibrated meteorites from the Antarctic Yamato collection

We report on the petrography and mineralogy of five Yamato polymict eucrites to better constrain the formation and alteration of crustal material on differentiated asteroids. Each sample consists of different lithic clasts that altogether form four dominant textures and therefore appear to originate from closely related petrological areas within Vesta′s crust. The textures range from subophitic to brecciated, porphyritic, and quench‐textured, that differ from section to section. Comparison with literature data for these samples is therefore difficult, which stresses that polymict eucrites are extremely complex in their petrography and investigation of only one thick section may not be representative for the host rock. We also show that sample Y‐793548 consists of more than one lithic unit and must therefore be classified as polymict instead of monomict. The variety and nature of lithic textures in the investigated Yamato meteorites indicate shock events, intense post‐magmatic thermal annealing, and secondary alteration. These postmagmatic features occur in different intensities, varying from clast to clast or among coexisting mineral fragments on a small, local scale. Several clasts within the eucrites studied have been modified by late‐stage alteration processes that caused deposition of Fe‐rich olivine and Fe enrichment along cracks crosscutting pyroxene crystals. However, formation of these secondary phases seems to be independent of the degree of thermal metamorphism observed within every type of clast, which would support a late‐stage metasomatism model for their formation.     

Extracting invariant characteristics of sketch maps: Towards place query‐by‐sketch

In geography, invariant aspects of sketches are essential to study because they reflect the human perception of real‐world places. A person's perception of a place can be expressed in sketches. In this article, we quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed the characteristics of single objects and characteristics among objects in sketches and the real world to find reliable invariants that can be used to establish references/correspondences between sketch and world in a matching process. These characteristics include category, shape, name, and relative size of each object. Moreover, quantity and spatial relationships—such as topological, ordering, and location relationships—among all objects are also analyzed to assess consistency between sketched and actual places. The approach presented in this study extracts the reliable invariants for query‐by‐sketch and prioritizes their relevance for a sketch‐map matching process.     

hedgehog基因在笠贝(Lottia goshimai)早期发育中的表达模式研究

Hedgehog信号通路参与动物神经系统发育、分节等诸多发育过程,研究该信号通路对理解动物的发育与演化机制有重要意义。对软体动物而言,目前Hedgehog信号通路的研究较少。本文克隆了腹足纲软体动物笠贝的hedgehog基因,利用整装原位杂交技术研究了其在胚胎发育过程中的时空表达规律;并与重要发育基因brachyury及soxb的表达模式进行了比较。结果表明,笠贝hedgehog基因与神经外胚层及中/内胚层相关,可能调控了幼虫神经、肌肉及消化道的分化。通过比较原肠胚及担轮幼虫不同阶段的基因表达模式,研究了hedgehog基因相关的组织和细胞随个体发育进程的动态变化。这些结果为理解软体动物形态发生和重要器官的分化机制提供了基础。     

Asteroid impact effects on Snowball Earth

Several Snowball Earth periods, in which the Earth has been (almost) totally glaciated, are known from Earth history. Neither the trigger for the initiation, nor the reason for the ending of such phases, are well understood. Here we discuss some mechanical effects of the impact of asteroids 5–10 km in diameter on the Snowball Earth environment. An impact of this scale is the largest impact that is statistically predictable for 10–60 Myr time periods. The impact cratering itself (shock waves, impact crater formation) is not powerful enough to change the natural climate evolution path on Earth. However, the products of impact (mainly—water vapor) can be quickly distributed over a substantial part of the globe, influencing the global circulation (e.g., facilitating cloud formation). It is a question for future studies to confirm if such an event (which is possible statistically during this interval) may or may not have influenced the global climate of the Snowball Earth, and/or contributed to deglaciation.     

笠贝soxb、mox基因的鉴定及在足原基发育中的表达模式

足是软体动物最重要的器官之一,目前对其发育机制尚不了解。软体动物的足由神经和肌肉两部分构成,研究足部神经和肌肉系统在发育早期的的动态变化,对于了解足的形态建成机制具有重要意义。本文利用电镜研究了笠贝(Lottiagoshimai)足的早期发育过程。克隆了lgo-soxb和lgo-mox基因,整装原位杂交表明这两个基因分别表达在早期笠贝幼虫的神经外胚层和中胚层,可作为足发育过程的分子标记。不同发育阶段幼虫的原位杂交结果表明,神经外胚层和中胚层细胞在足发育的起始阶段尚未重叠,而在后续发育阶段,二者相向运动并重叠在一起。结果提示组成贝类足部的神经和肌肉细胞起源于早期胚胎不同的部位,在发育过程中逐渐互相接近并重叠,至担轮幼虫晚期共同作用形成足原基。本研究展示了足原基的早期形成过程,为深入研究软体动物足的发育机制提供了基础信息。     

南沙海区中生界岩相分布及构造特征

为了了解南中国海南部南沙群岛陆架-陆坡区中生代地层发育情况,作者通过综合分析该海区钻井、拖网及1987年以来采集的20000多公里的多道反射地震勘探等资料,得到了对该区中生界基本特征的如下新认识:空间分布上,南沙的中生界具有从北部的郑和-礼乐隆起南缘向南增厚的趋势;沉积岩相方面,东部三叠纪时为深海相,侏罗纪为浅海与三角洲相,白垩纪为浅海-内浅海相,而往西南部中生代的海水深度有变深的趋势;中-新生代变形上,在南沙西部的曾母盆地,中生界褶皱为复式的、非协调性的,南沙中部多为舒缓褶皱,东部仅在近巴拉望海槽地带出现小幅度的褶皱。结合围区中生界及特提斯构造域的发育特征,作者提出南沙地块上的海相中生界在大地构造上归属于残留在中特提斯洋北部减薄陆缘地壳上的中特提斯期海相沉积地层,是该海域油气资源勘探不可忽视的对象。     

Preprocessing of gravity gradients at the GOCE high-level processing facility

One of the products derived from the gravity field and steady-state ocean circulation explorer (GOCE) observations are the gravity gradients. These gravity gradients are provided in the gradiometer reference frame (GRF) and are calibrated in-flight using satellite shaking and star sensor data. To use these gravity gradients for application in Earth scienes and gravity field analysis, additional preprocessing needs to be done, including corrections for temporal gravity field signals to isolate the static gravity field part, screening for outliers, calibration by comparison with existing external gravity field information and error assessment. The temporal gravity gradient corrections consist of tidal and nontidal corrections. These are all generally below the gravity gradient error level, which is predicted to show a 1/f behaviour for low frequencies. In the outlier detection, the 1/f error is compensated for by subtracting a local median from the data, while the data error is assessed using the median absolute deviation. The local median acts as a high-pass filter and it is robust as is the median absolute deviation. Three different methods have been implemented for the calibration of the gravity gradients. All three methods use a high-pass filter to compensate for the 1/f gravity gradient error. The baseline method uses state-of-the-art global gravity field models and the most accurate results are obtained if star sensor misalignments are estimated along with the calibration parameters. A second calibration method uses GOCE GPS data to estimate a low-degree gravity field model as well as gravity gradient scale factors. Both methods allow to estimate gravity gradient scale factors down to the 10⁻³ level. The third calibration method uses high accurate terrestrial gravity data in selected regions to validate the gravity gradient scale factors, focussing on the measurement band. Gravity gradient scale factors may be estimated down to the 10⁻² level with this method.     

Preindustrial, historical, and fertilization simulations using a global ocean carbon model with new parameterizations of iron limitation, calcification, and N2 fixation

The Canadian Model of Ocean Carbon (CMOC) has been developed as part of a global coupled climate carbon model. In a stand-alone integration to preindustrial equilibrium, the model ecosystem and global ocean carbon cycle are in general agreement with estimates based on observations. CMOC reproduces global mean estimates and spatial distributions of various indicators of the strength of the biological pump; the spatial distribution of the air-sea exchange of CO₂ is consistent with present-day estimates. Agreement with the observed distribution of alkalinity is good, consistent with recent estimates of the mean rain ratio that are lower than historic estimates, and with calcification occurring primarily in the lower latitudes. With anthropogenic emissions and climate forcing from a 1850-2000 climate model simulation, anthropogenic CO₂ accumulates at a similar rate and with a similar spatial distribution as estimated from observations. A hypothetical scenario for complete elimination of iron limitation generates maximal rates of uptake of atmospheric CO₂ of less than 1 PgC y⁻¹, or about 11% of 2004 industrial emissions. Even a ‘perfect’ future of sustained fertilization would have a minor impact on atmospheric CO₂ growth. In the long term, the onset of fertilization causes the ocean to take up an additional 77 PgC after several thousand years, compared with about 84 PgC thought to have occurred during the transition into the last glacial maximum due to iron fertilization associated with increased dust deposition.     

Development and validation of a finite element morphological model for shallow water basins

Recognising the importance of understanding sediment dynamics to evaluate the status of a coastal lagoon environment, this work has been focused on the investigation of the hydrodynamic and sediment transport processes occurring in such basins. In order to describe the lagoon system, a modelling approach combining hydrodynamics, waves and sediment dynamics has been developed. The framework of the numerical model consists of a finite element hydrodynamic model, a third generation finite element spectral wave model and a sediment transport and morphodynamic model for both cohesive and non-cohesive sediments. The model adopts the finite element technique for spatial integration, which has the advantage to describe more accurately complicated bathymetry and irregular boundaries for shallow water areas. The developed model has been applied to test cases and to a very shallow tidal lagoon, the Venice Lagoon, Italy. Numerical results show good agreement with water level, waves and turbidity measurements collected in several monitoring stations inside the Lagoon of Venice. Such a model represents an indispensable tool in analysing coastal problems and assessing morphological impacts of human interference.