The Sloan Digital Sky Survey monitor telescope pipeline

The photometric calibration of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is a multi‐step process which involves data from three different telescopes: the 1.0‐m telescope at the US Naval Observatory (USNO), Flagstaff Station, Arizona (which was used to establish the SDSS standard star network); the SDSS 0.5‐m Photometric Telescope (PT) at the Apache Point Observatory (APO), NewMexico (which calculates nightly extinctions and calibrates secondary patch transfer fields); and the SDSS 2.5‐m telescope at APO (which obtains the imaging data for the SDSS proper). In this paper, we describe the Monitor Telescope Pipeline, MTPIPE, the software pipeline used in processing the data from the single‐CCD telescopes used in the photometric calibration of the SDSS (i.e., the USNO 1.0‐m and the PT). We also describe transformation equations that convert photometry on the USNO‐1.0m u ′g ′r ′i ′z ′ system to photometry the SDSS 2.5m ugriz system and the results of various validation tests of the MTPIPE software. Further, we discuss the semi‐automated PT factory, which runs MTPIPE in the day‐to‐day standard SDSS operations at Fermilab. Finally, we discuss the use of MTPIPE in current SDSS‐related projects, including the Southern u ′g ′r ′i ′z ′ Standard Star project, the u ′g ′r ′i ′z ′ Open Star Clusters project, and the SDSS extension (SDSS‐II). (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A multistage simulation-based optimization model for water resources management in Tarim River Basin, China

In this study, a multistage simulation-based optimization model is developed for supporting water resources management under uncertainty. The system couples a lumped rainfall-runoff model with an inexact multistage stochastic program, where its random parameter is provided by the statistical analysis of simulation outcomes. Moreover, penalties are exercised with recourse against any infeasibility, which permits in-depth analyses of various policy scenarios that are associated with different levels of economic consequences when the promised water-allocation targets are violated. The developed model can also reflect dynamic features of the system conditions through transactions at discrete points in time over a multistage context. The developed model is applied to a real case of planning water resources management in Tarim River Basin, which is one of the most serious water-shortage regions of China. A variety of policies associated with different water-allocation targets are analyzed. The results are helpful for decision makers identifying optimal water-allocation plans for mitigating the conflict among ecological protection, economic development, and regional sustainability.     

Dynamic response of surface foundations on layered media

The steady-state dynamic responses of both flexible and rigid massless foundations with complex geometries on layered media are studied by the finite layer method. The discussion covers both the horizontal and vertical responses including the rocking mode of vibration. The effect of various parameters, namely, the size of the domain, the number of harmonic terms and the material damping of the soil media, on the convergence and accuracy of the results is investigated. Non-homogeneous soil profiles are treated as a matter of course. The results obtained are compared with solutions by other theoretical methods.     

The Variscan tectonic inheritance of the Upper Rhine Graben: evidence of reactivations in the Lias,Late Eocene–Oligocene up to the recent

Processing of gravity and magnetic maps shows that the basement of the Upper Rhine Graben area is characterized by a series of NE–SW trending discontinuities and elongated structures, identified in outcrops in the Vosges, Black Forest, and the Odenwald Mountains. They form a 40 km wide, N30–40° striking, sinistral wrench-zone that, in the Visean, shifted the Variscan and pre-Variscan structures by at least 43 km to the NE. Wrenching was associated with emplacement of several generations of plutonic bodies emplaced in the time range 340–325 Ma. The sub-vertical, NE–SW trending discontinuities in the basement acted as zones of weakness, susceptible to reactivation by subsequent tectonism. The first reactivation, marked by mineralizations and palaeomagnetic overprinting along NE–SW faults of the Vosges Mountains, results from the Liassic NW–SE extension contemporaneous with the break-up of Pangea. The major reactivation occurred during the Late Eocene N–S compression and the Early-Middle Oligocene E–W extension. The NE–SW striking basement discontinuities were successively reactivated as sinistral strike-slip faults, and as oblique normal faults. Elongated depocenters appear to form in association with reactivated Variscan wrench faults. Some of the recent earthquakes are located on NE–SW striking Variscan fault zones, and show sinistral strike-slip focal mechanisms with the same direction, suggesting also present reactivation.     

Geochemistry and Nd,Sr isotopes of the Pohrenk fluorites (Kırsehir-Turkey)

The Pohrenk fluorite mineralisation which makes up Central Anatolia’s most extensive fluorite region is Lutetian aged, and hosted in carbonate rocks that have undergone occasional karstification and silicification along a N–S fault trend. Fluid inclusion values and the position of fluorites in the Tb/La–Tb/Ca diagram show that mineralisation occurred in a hydrothermal environment with homogenisation temperatures ranging from 78.1–363°C. The presence of fluorite as a space filler in carbonate rocks and its association with silicification indicates that the solutions contained considerable amounts of Si alongside F (fluorine). The Pohrenk fluorite samples have ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd values of between 0.512349 and 0.512497, whilst ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values vary between 0.708161 and 0.708772. These values indicate a mantle origin where continental contamination could occur. When the Nd–Sr values are compared to magmatic and young volcanics, the Pohrenk fluorites are seen to be enriched and exhibit similar isotopic signatures to Upper Cretaceous aged magmatics, Early-Middle Miocene volcanics and Mio-Quaternary volcanics.     

Single-grain OSL dating of glaciofluvial quartz constrains Reid glaciation in NW Canada to MIS 6

Improved chronological control on the penultimate advance of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet in northwest Canada (the Reid glaciation) is required for a better understanding of late Quaternary palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental change in eastern Beringia. However, reliable dating of glaciation events beyond the last glacial maximum is commonly hindered by a lack of directly dateable material. In this study we (i) provide the first combined minimum and maximum age constraint on the Reid glaciation at Ash Bend, its reference locale in the Stewart River valley, northwestern Canadian Cordillera, using single-grain optically stimulated luminescence dating of quartz; and (ii) compare the timing of the Reid glaciation with other penultimate ice sheet advances in the region with the aim of establishing improved glacial reconstructions in eastern Beringia. We obtain ages of 158 ± 18 ka and 132 ± 18 ka for glaciofluvial sands overlying and underlying the Reid till, respectively. These ages indicate that the Reid advance, at its reference locale, occurred during MIS 6. This precludes an earlier MIS 8 age, and suggests that the Reid advance may have been synchronous with the Delta glaciation of central Alaska, and is likely correlative with the Mirror Creek glaciation in southern Yukon.     

Estimation of areas of sand and dust emission in the Hexi Corridor from a land cover database: an approach that combines remote sensing with GIS

The present study combined remote sensing with geographical information system (GIS) technology to interpret Landsat TM images from 1996 to 2000 and establish a land cover database for the Hexi Corridor of China’s Gansu Province. The areas of sand and dust emission and trends in their change were extracted by analyzing the database, with the following results: In 2000, the source area for sand and dust storms totaled nearly 170,000 km², accounting for 75.1% of the study region. The emission area decreases from as much as 70,000 km² in winter and spring to around 58,000 km² in summer and autumn, accounting for 41.1 and 34.1% of the source area, respectively. During the 4 years of the study period, the emission area decreased by nearly 57 km² in winter and spring (a 0.1% change); however, the vulnerability of the land surface to wind erosion increased in ca. 190 km² and decreased in ca. 102 km². Although the area of dust emission decreased from 1996 to 2000, the area vulnerable to wind erosion increased by ca. 87 km², and the increased number of sand and dust storm days in the region between 2000 and 2003 appears to be correlated with this increase.     

Equation of state of MgGeO3 perovskite to 65 GPa: comparison with the post-perovskite phase

The equation of state of MgGeO₃ perovskite was determined between 25 and 66 GPa using synchrotron X-ray diffraction with the laser-heated diamond anvil cell. The data were fit to a third-order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state and yielded a zero-pressure volume (V ₀) of 182.2 ± 0.3 Å³ and bulk modulus (K ₀) of 229 ± 3 GPa, with the pressure derivative (K′₀ = (?K ₀/?P) _T ) fixed at 3.7. Differential stresses were evaluated using lattice strain theory and found to be typically less than about 1.5 GPa. Theoretical calculations were also carried out using density functional theory from 0 to 205 GPa. The equation of state parameters from theory (V ₀ = 180.2 Å³, K ₀ = 221.3 GPa, and K′₀ = 3.90) are in agreement with experiment, although theoretically calculated volumes are systematically lower than experiment. The properties of the perovskite phase were compared to MgGeO₃ post-perovskite phase near the observed phase transition pressure (～65 GPa). Across the transition, the density increased by 2.0(0.7)%. This is in excellent agreement with the theoretically determined density change of 1.9%; however both values are larger than those for the (Mg,Fe)SiO₃ phase transition. The bulk sound velocity change across the transition is small and is likely to be negative [?0.5(1.6)% from experiment and ?1.2% from theory]. These results are similar to previous findings for the (Mg,Fe)SiO₃ system. A linearized Birch–Murnaghan equation of state fit to each axis yielded zero-pressure compressibilities of 0.0022, 0.0009, and 0.0016 GPa^?1 for the a, b, and c axis, respectively. Magnesium germanate appears to be a good analog system for studying the properties of the perovskite and post-perovskite phases in silicates.     

Hydrogeochemical characterization of major factors affecting the quality of shallow groundwater in the coastal area at Kimje in South Korea

This study has evaluated the main hydrogeochemical characteristics that affect the quality of shallow groundwater in the coastal area at Kimje in South Korea. In this area, the chemical composition of groundwater is mostly classified into Na⁺?Cl^? and Ca²⁺+Mg²⁺?NO₃^-+Cl^? types. These types are affected by three major factors: seawater intrusion, fertilizers and redox processes. The Na⁺?Cl^? type, which is generally localized in the coastal area, shows typical characteristics of groundwater affected not only by modern seawater but also by old seawater residing in the reclaimed land. In contrast, the Ca²⁺+Mg²⁺?NO₃^-+Cl^? type, which is usually found inland, is very contaminated by fertilizers. As groundwater flows from the inland area to the coast, the redox condition changes from an oxic condition to a suboxic/anoxic condition. In addition, the reclamation has caused a large amount of underlying organic matter. These effects provide optimum conditions for the occurrence of redox processes in the coastal area.