Relationship between the variation of water quality in rivers and the characteristics of watershed at Miyun,Beijing, China

Based on the characteristics of land use and drainage network of the upper watershed of the Miyun Res-ervoir, Beijing, 26 monitoring and sampling sites were selected in different sub-catchments. Temporal and spatial variations in nutrient loss were dealt with in this paper in terms of the monitoring data on the water quality of the main tributaries flowing into the Miyun Reservoir. In combination with the monitoring data on water quality, the impacts of watershed characteristics including land-use type, landscape pattern, and drainage density were assessed, The concentrations of nutrients in the rainy season are higher than those in other seasons, and the concentrations of NO3--N are linearly related to those of total N which is the main form of nitrogen present in the fiver water. The concentrations of nitrogen become higher toward the reservoir along the main rivers. The seasonal variation of ni-trogen in the watershed affected by intensive human activities is very obvious; in the watershed with steady or low water flow, the seasonal variation of nitrogen is less obvious. Forest land and grassland can trap and filter nitrogen effectively. Land-use pattern also has important impacts on the loss of nitrogen. The concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in the water bodies show great temporal and spatial variations. On a temporal scale, the concentrations of TN and TP in the rainy reason are higher than those in other seasons. On a spatial scale, the concentrations of TN and NO3--N in the Qingshui River and Chaohe River are highest all the time. The spatial variation of TP is distinct, being obvious at sampling sites near villages. The form of nitrogen and phosphorus loss varies in different hydrological seasons. Dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus are the main forms in streams in non-rainy seasons, the dissolved nitro-gen and total nitrogen decrease in percentage in the rainy season. Particulate nitrogen and phosphorus are the main forms in some rivers. The concentrations of TN and NO3--N from orchards and villages are high whereas those from forest land are lowest. Land-use pattern has impacts on TN and NO3--N losses, at the sampling sites near the source landscape, the concentrations are higher than those at the sampling sites near the sink landscape. Water quality of the rivers which flow into the Miyuan Reservior is influenced by the composition of adjacent soils.     

Effects of copper pollution on the activity of soil invertase and urease in loquat orchards

Dealt with in this paper is the relationship between Cu contents of soil and activity parameters for soil invertase and urease from the Changtai loquat orchards in Fujian Province. The soil invertase activity and maximum reaction velocity (enzyme kinetic parameters: Vmax and Vmax/Km) have no remarkable negative correlation with Cu concentrations, but Cu concentrations have an obvious positive effect on invertase Kin, indicating a reversible com-petitive restraint on the reaction between Cu and invertase. The soil urease activity and maximum reaction velocity (Vmax,Vmax/Km) have a remarkable negative correlation with Cu concentrations, and in this aspect, they can be used as ecological indices of the soil polluted by Cu. A slightly variable Km indicates the non-reversible competitive restraint level.     

Pan-African high-grade metamorphism of southern Sinai,Egypt, fluid inclusion evidence

Fluid inclusions in the leucosomes of Wadi Feiran migmatites showed that CO ₂ , H₂O and (H₂O-CO₂) fluids were likely to have been present when partial melting began in these rocks. Low salinity, aqueous fluid, to a lesser extent, CO₂-rich fluids are the most abundant fluids. The present study suggests that high-density CO₂ inclusions were formed at the earliest stage, while H₂O inclusions were formed at the late stage. In an intermediate stage, low-density CO₂ and H₂O, CO₂ inclusions were formed. At the early stage of uplift and during melt crystallization, the CO₂-bearing vapour was trapped at grain boundaries. At the late stage of uplift, H₂O released at the time of crystallization of the melt was trapped as inclusions.     

Radio-Optical Imaging of ATLBS Survey

We present the radio-optical imaging of ATLBS, a sensitive radio survey (Subrahmanyan et al. 2010). The primary aim of the ATLBS survey is to image low-power radio sources which form the bulk of the radio source population to moderately high red-shifts (z ∼ 1.0). The accompanying multiband optical and near infra-red observations provide information about the hosts and environments of the radio sources. We give here details of the imaging of the radio data and optical data for the ATLBS survey.     

The First Polarization Maps from the GMRT

We present the first set of polarimetric images made with the GMRT. We find that the instrumental polarization leakage at the GMRT varies with frequency. It is possible to calibrate these terms to better than 1% accuracy, making it feasible to study sources that are polarized at the few per cent level. We present 610 MHz polarization images of two extended FR-II radio galaxies, viz. 3C 79 and 3C 265. We present high resolution polarization images of these two sources and also find that the polarization fractions of the two sources as seen at the GMRT are consistent with those reported by Conway & Strom (1984).     

Exact solution of anisotropic compact stars via mass function

Studying relativistic compact objects is important in modern astrophysics to understand several astrophysical issues. It is therefore natural to ask for an internal structure and physical properties of specific classes of compact stars from astrophysical observations. We obtain a class of new relativistic solutions with anisotropic distribution of matter for compact stars. More specifically, stellar models, described by an anisotropic fluid, establishing a relation between metric potentials and generating a specific form of mass function, are explicitly constructed within the framework of General Relativity. New solutions can be used to model compact objects, which adequately describe compact strange star candidates like SMC X-1, Her X-1 and 4U 1538-52, with observational data taken from Gangopadhyay et al. (Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 431:3216, 2013). As a possible astrophysical application the obtained solutions could explain the physics of selfgravitating objects, and might be useful for strong-field regimes where data are currently inadequate.     

Chromospheric activity in $\epsilon$ Eridani: results from theoretical wave studies

This work discusses theoretical models of chromospheric heating for \(\epsilon\) Eridani by shock waves. Self-consistent, nonlinear and time-dependent ab-initio numerical computations for the excitation of the atmosphere (i.e., arrays of flux tubes) are pursued based on waves generated in stellar convective zones. Based on previous studies the magnetic filling factor is estimated according to the stellar rotational period, although general models are described as well. The Ca II H+K fluxes are computed assuming partial redistribution (PRD). Time-dependent ionization notably affects the resulting Ca II fluxes, as expected. The emergent Ca II H+K fluxes are based on two-component models, consisting of a dominant magnetic component (as given by longitudinal tube waves) and a subordinate acoustic component. The Ca II fluxes as obtained are smaller by about a factor of 2 than those given by observations. Possible reasons for this discrepancy include (1) inherent limitations of our theoretical approach as it is based on 1-D rather than 3-D modelling and/or (2) the existence of additional heating processes in \(\epsilon\) Eridani (a young star) not included here.     

Comets,Enceladus and panspermia

A growing body of evidence suggests the operation of life and life processes in comets as well in larger icy bodies in the solar system including Enceladus. Attempts to interpret such data without invoking active biology are beginning to look weak and flawed. The emerging new paradigm is that life is a cosmic phenomenon as proposed by Hoyle and Wickramasinghe (Lifecloud: the Origin of Life in the Galaxy, 1978) and first supported by astronomical spectroscopy (Wickramasinghe and Allen, Nature 287:518, 1980; Allen and Wickramasinghe, Nature 294:239, 1981; Wickramasinghe and Allen, Nature 323:44, 1986). Comets are the transporters and amplifiers of microbial life throughout the Universe and are also, according to this point of view, the carriers of viruses that contribute to the continued evolution of life. Comets brought life to Earth 4.2 billion years ago and they continue to do so. Space extrapolations of comets, Enceladus and possibly Pluto supports this point of view. Impacts of asteroids and comets on the Earth as well as on other planetary bodies leads to the ejection of life-bearing dust and rocks and a mixing of microbiota on a planetary scale and on an even wider galactic scale. It appears inevitable that the entire galaxy will be a single connected biosphere.     

The Sun–Earth saddle point: characterization and opportunities to test general relativity

The saddle points are locations where the net gravitational accelerations balance. These regions are gathering more attention within the astrophysics community. Regions about the saddle points present clean, close-to-zero background acceleration environments where possible deviations from General Relativity can be tested and quantified. Their location suggests that flying through a saddle point can be accomplished by leveraging highly nonlinear orbits. In this paper, the geometrical and dynamical properties of the Sun–Earth saddle point are characterized. A systematic approach is devised to find ballistic orbits that experience one or multiple passages through this point. A parametric analysis is performed to consider spacecraft initially on \(L_{1,2}\) Lagrange point orbits. Sun–Earth saddle point ballistic fly-through trajectories are evaluated and classified for potential use. Results indicate an abundance of short-duration, regular solutions with a variety of characteristics.