The role of the border city Hunchun on Tumen River, China

Since the Tumen River Area Development Project(TRADP) was launched in 1991, Hunchun city located between North Korea and Russia along the river corridor, has become an important and unique border city. Hunchun, formerly a strategic military city, is emerging as an international trade linkage center through Satouz and Quanhe on the North Korea side and through Changlinzi on the Russian side. Furthermore, the establishment and operation of the Hunchun Border Economic Cooperation Zone (HBECZ) in the city is becoming the main source of the growth, providing a new role for the border city. Its underlying economic momentum comes from the combination of the Chinese-Korean labor force and foreign investment and technology transferred from Korea, Japan, and others. The most important expected new role for Hunchun is as a new 21st century entrepot connection between the Pacific rim and Eurasia by rail and trunk lines, and as a new regional center of the border region based on both a newly generated urban subsystem and the increasing informal sector of cross border business. However, there are many obstacles to overcome in the near future, such as the possible military tensions among the three border nations, the guarantee of free entries and sailing on the Tumen river, and agreements concerning environmental conservation. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Massive sedimentation of fine sediment with organic matter and enhanced benthic-pelagic coupling by an artificial dyke in semi-enclosed Chonsu Bay, Korea

To assess the impact of an artificial dyke in Chonsu Bay (CBD) on the organic carbon (C(org)) cycle, we measured excess (210)Pb activities, C(org) and nitrogen content in sediment cores. The C(org) oxidation rates (C(ox)) on the surface sediment and benthic nutrient fluxes were also quantified with an in situ benthic chamber. The higher excess (210)Pb inventory, C(org) and nitrogen in cores near the CBD indicated lateral transport and local, massive deposition of particulate matter due to tidal circulation altered by artificial dyke construction. The C(ox) in sediment near the CBD was about twice as high as that out of the bay, suggesting the importance of benthic remineralization of organic matter. The benthic fluxes of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphate were four to six times higher than those outside the bay, corresponding to 141% and 131% respectively, of the requirements for primary production.     

The roughness of the dark side of Iapetus from the 2004 to 2005 flyby

The roughness of a planetary surface offers clues to its past geologic history. We apply a surface roughness model developed by Buratti and Veverka (Buratti, B.J., Veverka, J. [1985]. Icarus 64, 320-328) to Cassini ISS data from the January 1st, 2005 flyby of Iapetus. This model uses the observed scattering behavior to provide a depth to radius factor q quantifying the size of idealized craters on the surface. Our findings indicate that the surface on the dark side is significantly smoother than the surfaces of other icy low-albedo saturnian satellites. We have found that the average depth to radius on the leading (dark) side is 0.084, corresponding to a Hapke mean slope angle of 6°. As compared to the 13-33° Hapke mean slope angle of other icy satellites (Buratti, B.J., and 10 colleagues [2008]. Icarus 193, 309-322), our results present a clearly different picture for the leading surface of Iapetus, suggesting that the dark deposit contributes to the decrease in macroscopic surface roughness of the leading side. Attempts were made to obtain an average depth to radius value for the trailing (bright) side; however the scans of the bright side from this flyby exhibited large variations in albedo, resulting in results that were physically unrealistic.     

Spheroidal pyroxenite aggregates in the Bushveld Complex — a special case of silicate liquid immiscibility

Spherical aggregates of orthopyroxene are reported from some parts of the Bushveld Complex in a variety of host rocks.Detailed mapping has shown that these spherical aggregates, comprising pyroxenite spheroids in a quartz-norite matrix, are contact phenomena and not stratigraphic markers. Orthopyroxene, biotite and amphibole are enriched in spheroids relative to matrix; their mineral chemistry showing a fairly constant orthopyroxene and plagioclase composition through the spheroids and into the matrix, indicating in-situ formation.Bulk chemistry shows spheroid to matrix tie-lines orthogonal to those generally accepted for silicate liquid immiscibility, but other chemical information is consistent with the occurrence of immiscibility.The formation of the aggregates may be related to the industrial process of spherical agglomeration, by which spheroids are formed by the introduction of an immiscible “bridging liquid” to the melt — probably derived from the floor rocks in this case. The mechanism accounts for the field relationships, petrography and chemistry of the aggregate-matrix system. The petrology of the process equates with a special case of silicate liquid immiscibility induced by local contamination and ageing of the original magma.A similar “bridging liquid” mechanism could also account for the formation of the so-called “boulder bed” beneath the Merensky Reef.     

The 1786 earthquake-triggered landslide dam and subsequent dam-break flood on the Dadu River, southwestern China — Reply

A short reply to discussion by Chanson.