A laboratory model of splash‐form tektites

Abstract— Splash‐form tektites are generally acknowledged to have the form of bodies of revolution. However, no detailed fluid dynamical investigation of their form and stability has yet been undertaken. Here, we review the dynamics and stability of spinning, translating fluid drops with a view to making inferences concerning the dynamic history of tektites. We conclude that, unless the differential speed between the molten tektite and ambient is substantially less than the terminal velocity, molten tektites can exist as equilibrium bodies of revolution only up to sizes of 3 mm. Larger tektites are necessarily non‐equilibrium forms and so indicate the importance of cooling and solidification during flight. An examination of the shapes of rotating, translating drops indicates that rotating silicate drops in air will assume the shapes of bodies of rotation if their rotational speed is 1% or more of their translational speed. This requirement of only a very small rotational component explains why most splash‐form tektites correspond to bodies of revolution. A laboratory model that consists of rolling or tumbling molten metallic drops reproduces all of the known forms of splashform tektites, including spheres, oblate ellipsoids, dumbbells, teardrops, and tori. The laboratory also highlights important differences between rolling drops and tumbling drops in flight. For example, toroidal drops are much more stable in the former than in the latter situation.     

Bottle‐green microtektites from the South Tasman Rise: Deep‐sea evidence for an impact event near the Miocene/Pliocene boundary

Abstract— Forty‐eight bottle‐green microtektites (BGMTs) were found in a core sample recovered from Ocean Drilling Program Site 1169, located along the western flank of the South Tasman Rise in the southeastern Indian Ocean. Biostratigraphic evidence loosely constrains the age of the Site 1169 BGMTs to an interval spanning the late‐middle Miocene to earliest Pliocene (12.1–4.6 Ma); incomplete core recovery and a major stratigraphic hiatus prevented a more precise age determination. This broad range of biostratigraphic ages indicates that these microtektites predate the Australasian strewn layer by at least 3.83 Ma, and perhaps by as much as 11.33 Ma. Furthermore, the REE signatures of the Site 1169 BGMTs are incongruent with those of typical Australasian ejecta, indicating that the Site 1169 BGMTs are not part of the larger Australasian strewn field. Among the various australite subgroups, the Site 1169 BGMTs are most similar in age to the HNa/K australites. However, numerous compositional discrepancies indicate that these two ejecta populations are also unrelated; the great distances separating Site 1169 from HNa/K australite‐bearing localities also makes a shared provenance unlikely. Therefore, we conclude that the Site 1169 BGMTs were formed by a late Miocene impact that is distinctly separate from the Australasian and HNa/K australite events, though the location of this impact is unknown.     

Age constraints on Pleistocene megafauna at Tight Entrance Cave in southwestern Australia

A well-stratified succession of fossiliferous sediments occurs in Tight Entrance Cave, southwestern Australia. These infill deposits contain the remains of megafauna and have accumulated intermittently since the Middle Pleistocene: >137, 137–119 and 50–29 ka, according to the results of ¹⁴C, U–Th, ESR and OSL dating techniques. Megafaunal species richness was highest in the latest part of the penultimate glacial maximum and during the subsequent last interglacial (137–119 ka), but remains are less abundant following an apparent 70 ka depositional hiatus in the sequence. Most megafaunal specimens from the upper (<44 ka) units are fragmentary, and reworking from older strata cannot yet be ruled out. However, one specimen of Simosthenurus occidentalis (a large extinct kangaroo), a pair of articulated dentaries showing no signs of secondary transportation, was found within a sedimentary layer deposited between 48 and 50 ka. This represents one of the youngest demonstrably in situ occurrences of an Australian megafaunal taxon.     

High-resolution cyclostratigraphic analysis from magnetic susceptibility in a Lower Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic) marl–limestone succession (La Méouge,Vocontian Basin,France)

High-resolution magnetic susceptibility (MS) analysis was carried out on a Lower Kimmeridgian alternating marl–limestone succession of pelagic origin that crops out at La Méouge (Vocontian Basin, southeastern France). The aim of the study was to characterize the strong, dm-scale sedimentary cyclicity of the succession at a very high resolution, and to analyze the cycles for evidence of astronomical forcing. From marl to limestone, MS varies progressively and closely tracks the highest frequency cyclicity corresponding to the basic marl–limestone couplets. Long-term wavelength cycling modulates the high-frequency cyclicity (couplets), and appears to be controlled by clay content. Spectral analysis of the MS record reveals the presence of the complete suite of orbital frequencies in the precession, obliquity, and eccentricity (95–128 ka and 405 ka) bands with very high amplitude of the precession index cycles originating from dm-scale couplets. 405 ka-eccentricity cycles are very pronounced in the MS maxima of the marl members of the couplets, suggesting eccentricity-driven detrital input to the basin. 405 ka-orbital tuning of the MS maxima further sharpens all of the orbital frequencies present in the succession. These results are similar to those of previous studies at La Méouge that used carbonate content observed in field. Our results are also in accordance with cyclostratigraphic studies in Spain and Canada that report dominant precession index forcing. By contrast, in the Kimmeridge Clay (Dorset, UK), obliquity forcing dominates cyclic sedimentation, with weaker influence from the precession index. Ammonite zone duration estimates are made by counting the interpreted precession cycles, and provide an ultra-high resolution assessment of geologic time. In sum, this study demonstrates the power of the MS as a proxy in characterizing the high-resolution cyclostratigraphy of Mesozoic sections, particularly in alternating marl–limestone successions, and for high-resolution correlation and astronomical calibration of the geologic time scale.     

引资发展环境指标与地理信息系统的结合——中国两大外向型经济区域引资发展环境统计指标图示

招商、引资、发展是过去20年来巾国长江三角洲城市与珠江三角洲城市经济增长的一个主要策略,尤其是长、珠三角地区的经济发展上是一个主要的动力.以地理信息系统(GIS)的平台,呈现经过经济与管理实证的"引资环境"指标,就是一个相当有效的方法.文章报告<中国两大外向型经济区域引资发展环境统计指标图示集>的内容及如何进一步利用地理信息系统的想法.     

A Comparison of Awareness,Attitudes, and Usage of Water Quality Conservation Practices Between Amish and Non-Amish Farmers

This study provides a unique examination of Amish farmers’ awareness of water quality issues and their attitudes toward and use of agricultural conservation practices compared with small non-Amish farmers in Northeastern Indiana. There is minimal research about the conservation beliefs and behaviors of this growing and highly diverse ethnoreligious minority, who have faith-based technological restrictions and are often hesitant to work with community outsiders, especially the government. We find that, compared with non-Amish farmers, Amish farmers have limited awareness of the linkages between common agricultural practices and broader water quality problems and lower levels of adoption of conservation practices, with the exception of cover crops. This information is essential for conservation practitioners who need to work with a diverse range of agricultural producers to increase the uptake of conservation practices that address critical water quality concerns.     

On feminism and feminist allies in knowledge production in urban geography

In this response to Ananya Roy’s paper, I ask: who are the allies of feminist knowledge production about the urban? To explore this question, I specifically ask what feminist scholars may find of use in two books, namely Arrival Cities by Doug Saunders and Implosions/Explosions edited by Neil Brenner, that are representative of two major discourses on the urban, respectively, the “Urban Age” and planetary urbanization, currently favored by policy bodies and (some) academics. Their limited engagement with politics leads me to conclude with a call for a feminist mode of situated knowledge production to engage with (the limits of) urban theory and the urban as a site of praxis.     

Estimating carbon sequestration in the piedmont ecoregion of the United States from 1971 to 2010

Human activities have diverse and profound impacts on ecosystem carbon cycles. The Piedmont ecoregion in the eastern United States has undergone significant land use and land cover change in the past few decades. The purpose of this study was to use newly available land use and land cover change data to quantify carbon changes within the ecoregion. Land use and land cover change data (60-m spatial resolution) derived from sequential remotely sensed Landsat imagery were used to generate 960-m resolution land cover change maps for the Piedmont ecoregion. These maps were used in the Integrated Biosphere Simulator (IBIS) to simulate ecosystem carbon stock and flux changes from 1971 to 2010. Results show that land use change, especially urbanization and forest harvest had significant impacts on carbon sources and sinks. From 1971 to 2010, forest ecosystems sequestered 0.25 Mg C ha?1 yr?1, while agricultural ecosystems sequestered 0.03 Mg C ha?1 yr?1. The total ecosystem C stock increased from 2271 Tg C in 1971 to 2402 Tg C in 2010, with an annual average increase of 3.3 Tg C yr?1. Terrestrial lands in the Piedmont ecoregion were estimated to be weak net carbon sink during the study period. The major factors contributing to the carbon sink were forest growth and afforestation; the major factors contributing to terrestrial emissions were human induced land cover change, especially urbanization and forest harvest. An additional amount of carbon continues to be stored in harvested wood products. If this pool were included the carbon sink would be stronger.