Uranium (U) concentration and its genetic significance in the phosphorites of the Paleoproterozoic Bijawar Group of the Lalitpur district,Uttar Pradesh,India

The paper presents the uranium (U) concentration and distribution pattern in the Paleoproterozoic phosphorites of Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh. The study of thin sections, SEM and XRD reveal that apatite is the essential phosphate mineral while quartz and feldspars are the dominant gangue in the phosphorites of the investigated area. The collophane is observed to be mostly oolitic in form and microspherulitic in texture. The major element geochemistry indicated that the phosphorite samples are rich in P₂O₅, CaO, SiO₂ and Fe₂O₃ whereas depletion of MgO, MnO, K₂O and Al₂O₃ was observed. The CaO/P₂O₅ ratio ranges from 1.13 to 1.46 which is slightly lower than that of cations and anions substituted francolite (1.621) and close to that of carbonate-fluorapatite (1.318). The trace element geochemistry indicates that the phosphorites of Lalitpur have the significant range of U concentration (1.67 to 129.67 μg/g) which is more than that of Th (0.69 to 0.09 μg/g) among the analysed trace elements in the phosphorite samples of the area. The positive correlation of U with P₂O₅, CaO and U/P₂O₅ indicates a close association of U with phosphate minerals like collophane (apatite), whereas negative correlation of U with SiO₂ and Fe₂O₃ may be due to mutual replacement. The antipathetic relationship of U with Ni may be an indication of high oxidizing conditions, whereas sympathetic relationship of U with K₂O points towards higher alkaline conditions of the basin of deposition during phosphatization. The variable concentration of U and its relationship with significant major and trace elements in most of the phosphorite samples lead one to believe that the deposition of these phosphorites might have taken place in highly alkaline medium during fairly oxidizing to weakly reducing environmental conditions of geosynclinal basin.     

The reduction of aliasing in gravity anomalies and geoid heights using digital terrain data

Observations of gravity can be aliased by virtue of the logistics involved in collecting these data in the field. For instance, gravity measurements are often made in more accessible lowland areas where there are roads and tracks, thus omitting areas of higher relief in between. The gravimetric determination of the geoid requires mean terrain-corrected free-air anomalies; however, anomalies based only on the observations in lowland regions are not necessarily representative of the true mean value over the topography. A five-stage approach is taken that uses a digital elevation model, which provides a more accurate representation of the topography than the gravity observation elevations, to reduce the unrepresentative sampling in the gravity observations. When using this approach with the Australian digital elevation model, the terrain-corrected free-air anomalies generated from the Australian gravity data base change by between 77.075 and −84.335 mgal (−0.193 mgal mean and 2.687 mgal standard deviation). Subsequent gravimetric geoid computations are used to illustrate the effect of aliasing in the Australian gravity data upon the geoid. The difference between 'aliased' and 'non-aliased' gravimetric geoid solutions varies by between 0.732 and −1.816 m (−0.058 m mean and 0.122 m standard deviation). Based on these conceptual arguments and numerical results, it is recommended that supplementary digital elevation information be included during the estimation of mean gravity anomalies prior to the computation of a gravimetric geoid model.     

Contrast in life histories of exploited fishes and ecosystem structures in coastal waters off west Canada and east Korea

By reviewing the history of fishery exploitation in the coastal waters of west Canada and east Korea, related with contrasting life history strategies of the dominant species, the fishery management challenges that each country would face in the upcoming decades were outlined. In the ecosystem of the Canadian western coastal waters, the dominant oceanographic feature is the coastal upwelling domain off the west coast of Vancouver Island, the northernmost extent of the California Current System in the eastern North Pacific. In the marine ecosystem of the eastern coasts of Korea (the Japan/East Sea), a major oceanographic feature is the Tsushima Warm Current, a branch of the Kuroshio Current in the western North Pacific. Fishes in the Canadian ecosystem are dominated by demersal, long-lived species such as flatfish, rockfish, sablefish, and halibut. During summer, migratory pelagic species such as Pacific hake, Pacific salmon, and recently Pacific sardine, move into this area to feed. In the late 1970s, Canada declared jurisdiction for 200 miles from their coastline, and major fisheries species in Canadian waters have been managed with a quota system. The overall fishing intensity off the west coast of Vancouver Island has been relatively moderate compared to Korean waters. Fishes in the ecosystem of the eastern Korean waters are dominated by short-lived pelagic and demersal fish. Historically, Korea has shared marine resources in this area with neighbouring countries, but stock assessments and quotas have only recently (since the late-1990s) been implemented for some major species. In the Korean ecosystem, fisheries can be described as intensive, and many stocks have been rated as overfished. The two ecosystems responded differently to climate impacts such as regime shifts under different exploitation histories. In the future, both countries will face the challenge of global warming and subsequent impacts on ecosystems, necessitating developing adaptive fisheries management plans. The challenges will be contrasting for the two countries: Canada will need to conserve fish populations, while Korea will need to focus on rebuilding depleted fish populations.     

Middle Miocene aquatic and wetland vegetation of the paleosinkhole at Tarnów Opolski,SW Poland

I analyzed spores, pollen and organic-walled algal remains in Middle Miocene deposits that filled a paleosinkhole at Tarnów Opolski, in the Upper Silesian Upland, Poland. Middle Triassic limestone bedrock in the study area underwent intense karstification under relatively warm and humid climate, resulting in development of numerous sinkholes. As the corrosion reached non-karstified marls, flowing water in the vadose zone was plugged and meteoric waters thus accumulated, leading to pond development. This palaeobotanical study was undertaken to “reconstruct” the fossil freshwater algae community and vegetation in and around the water body. Chlorophyta such as Botryococcus, filamentous algae from the family Zygnemataceae, mainly Mougeotia, Spirogyra and Zygnema, and desmids were important components of the algal assemblage. Most of the identified algae prefer mesotrophic to eutrophic conditions, and are characteristic of stagnant or slow-flowing shallow water. Among the free-floating and rooted plants were Salviniaceae/Azollaceae (probably Salvinia), Nuphar, Potamogeton, and carnivorous taxa such as Utricularia and probably Aldrovanda. The water body was surrounded by swamp vegetation composed of herbs such as Typha, Sparganium, Alismataceae and others, and riparian forests. The upper portion of the sediment section contains abundant pollen of swamp forest taxa such as Taxodium/Glyptostrobus, Nyssa and Alnus. The paleobotanical remains from the sinkhole at Tarnów Opolski suggest it was a shallow water body that was probably prone to rapid warming. Presence of resting cells, e.g. zygospores of Zygnemataceae and desmids, suggests that the pond may have dried periodically. Presence of Nuphar, Utricularia and Aldrovanda pollen, however, indicates long periods with standing water.     

Segmentation algorithm for long time series analysis

Time series analysis is an important issue in the earth science-related engineering applications such as hydrology, meteorology and environmetrics. Inconsistency and nonhomogeneity that might arise in a time series yield segments with different statistical characteristics. In this study, an algorithm based on the first order statistical moment (average) of a time series is developed and applied on five time series with length ranging from 84 items to nearly 1,300. Comparison to the existing segmentation algorithms proves the applicability and usefulness of the proposed algorithm in long hydrometeorological and geophysical time series analysis.     

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热带西太平洋海温距平与Rossby波传播对1993和1994年东亚夏季风异常影响的差异

利用NCEP/NCAR再分析资料、Hadley中心海温资料与降水资料,分析了1993和1994年东亚夏季风异常的天气气候特征以及大气环流的差异.分析结果表明: 1993年东亚夏季风弱,副热带西风急流和副热带高压位置偏南,来自于孟加拉湾和南海的水汽仅输送到35°N以南地区.东亚地区出现低温凉夏天气.1994年东亚夏季风强,副热带西风急流和副热带高压位置偏北,7～8月副高持续偏强并控制日本,水汽可以输送到45°N以北的较高纬度,东亚发生破纪录的热浪干旱.对1993和1994年东亚夏季风异常物理过程差异的研究发现,副热带西风急流中静止Rossby波的传播和热带西太平洋暖池海温距平激发出来的PJ型遥相关波列作用的叠加引起1994和1993年东亚夏季风异常差异.     

A geologic study of the Juan del Grijalva landslide,the most important mass movement during the last century in Mexico

On November 4th 2007, along the Grijalva River in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, has occurred one of the largest landslides ever known. This landslide, known as Juan del Grijalva, destroyed the town of the same name, killing 20 people, and moved 55 million cubic meters of rock and debris down slope to completely block the Grijalva River. In order to understand the characteristics and factors that triggered the Juan del Grijalva landslide, geologic studies were conducted at the site. The results indicate that the landslide was composed of a lithologic sequence of thin-bedded shales and thin to medium-thick-bedded sandstones. This was faulted into several blocks dipping in the same sense as the mass movement. The main triggering factor was the increment of the pore pressure into the lithologic unit due to water saturation after 5 days of heavy rain before the incident. According to records from the last century, the Juan del Grijalva mass movement represents one of the largest mass movements recorded all over the world. The risk conditions of the area after the landslide lead to the rapid construction of an artificial channel to drain the accumulating mass of water upstream and therefore prevent a future catastrophic inundation down stream.     

Colloidal Stability and Toxicity of Gold Nanoparticles and Gold Chloride on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chlamydomonas reinhardtii</Emphasis>

Here we have examined interactions of gold nanoparticles differing in primary particle size and coating with the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as function of the colloidal stability of the particles in the experimental media used for toxicity studies. Interactions of dissolved Au³⁺ ions with algae were also examined. Included endpoints were photosynthetic yield and algal growth. Morphological and structural effects were examined microscopically and by flow cytometry. The results indicate no significant toxicity of gold nanoparticles to C. reinhardtii. Analysis of published data suggests toxicity of gold nanoparticles on algal growth to relate rather to particular coatings than to the gold core.