Construction of Wide Field Cryogenic Telescope

We constructed a wide field cryogenic telescope (WFCT) containing a whole Ritchey-Chrétien system and a focal plane array in a cryostat for near infrared observations to cover the field of view of 0.4°. The telescope has a primary mirror of 220 mm and an engineering grade 256 × 256 InSb array. The optical components such as two mirrors, filters, spiders, and radiation shield tube are cooled down to 180 K as well as the InSb array to 35 K by a mechanical refrigerator. We show the results of the background surface brightnesses and the limiting magnitudes at 3.3 and 3.67 μm measured at Sutherland, South Africa. We describe the on-going upgrade of this instrument, equipped with a 1024 × 1024 ALADDIN InSb science grade array. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Rheological contrast between garnet and clinopyroxene in the mantle wedge: An example from Higashi-akaishi peridotite mass,SW Japan

Garnet clinopyroxenites occur within foliated dunite in the Higashi-akaishi peridotite mass, located within the subduction-type high-pressure/low-temperature Sanbagawa metamorphic belt. The garnet clinopyroxenites contain 3–80% garnet, and garnet and clinopyroxene are homogeneously distributed. Garnet crystals contain extensive, regular dislocation arrays and dislocation networks, suggesting that dislocation creep was the dominant deformation mechanism. Analyses of crystallographic orientation maps indicate similar grain sizes and aspect ratios for garnet and clinopyroxene, regardless of modal composition, indicating that these minerals deformed with similar degree of plasticity. Moreover, indexes of crystallographic fabric intensity (i.e., J-index and M-index) for both garnet and clinopyroxene tend to increase with increasing modal composition of garnet. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis revealed that water content in garnet is ～60 ppm, whereas that in clinopyroxene is ～70 ppm. Olivine crystal-preferred orientations in the Higashi-akaishi peridotite mass, characterized by [0 0 1] (0 1 0), are thought to have developed during deformation under wet conditions. Consequently, we argue that the presence of water could act to enhance garnet plasticity during deformation. The results reveal contrasting influences of water on the deformation of garnet and diopside: under wet conditions compared with dry, the strain rate increases by two orders of magnitude for garnet but by an order of magnitude for diopside. Given the influence of water on the creep strength of garnet, garnet within the Higashi-akaishi mass may have become significantly as weak as clinopyroxene during deformation.     

应用Terra/MODIS卫星数据估算洞庭湖蓄水量的变化

以洞庭湖为例,利用2002年的美国Terra/MODIS卫星数据,以16天为周期将全年划分为23个时段,分别对湖区水位和蓄水量分布特征和变化规律进行动态监测和综合分析。具体测算方法包括以下4个步骤: (1) 根据湖区特性,将整个洞庭湖分为3个部分：自西向东依此是西洞庭湖 (WDL), 南洞庭湖 (SDL) 和东洞庭湖 (EDL)。这3个部分的蓄水量之和就是整个洞庭湖的总蓄水量。(2) 以水体和陆地的光谱差异为基础,使用Terra/MODIS卫星的NDVI 数据识别并量测湖区水面积。(3) 将湖区水面影像同湖区数字高程模型DEM相叠加,以被监测的湖区水面的平均高度值作为水面高度。水面高度与湖底高度的差即为相应点的水深。(4) 按50 m×50 m网格大小和相应位置的水深的乘积来计算每个水柱体积。最后,将整个湖内的所有水柱的体积值累加便得到洞庭湖的总蓄水量。用上述方法测算的水位和蓄水量与实测资料进行了比较表明,两者具有很好的一致性。     

The role of the grain boundary at chemical and isotopic fronts in marble during contact metamorphism

Carbon and oxygen isotopic profiles around a low pressure metasomatic wollastonite reaction front in a marble of the Hida metamorphic terrain, central Japan, display typical metamorphic fluid-enhanced isotopic zonations. Isotopic profiles obtained from detailed microscale analyses perpendicular to the chemical reaction front in calcite marble show that diffusion-enhanced isotopic exchange may control these profiles. Carbon and oxygen isotopic behaviour in grain boundaries is remarkably different. Oxygen isotopic troughs (¹⁸O depleted rims) around the calcite-grain boundaries are widely observed in this contact aureole, demonstrating that diffusion of oxygen in calcite grain boundary dominates over lattice diffusion in calcite. In contrast, no difference is observed in carbon isotopic profiles obtained from grain cores and rims. There is thus no specific role of the grain boundary for diffusion of carbonic species in the metamorphic fluid during transportation. Carbon chemical species such as CO₂ and CO₃ ions in metamorphic fluid migrate mainly through lattice diffusion. The carbon and oxygen isotope profiles may be modelled by diffusion into a semi-infinite medium. Empirically lattice diffusion of oxygen isotopes is almost six times faster than that of carbon isotopes, and oxygen grain-boundary diffusion is ten times faster than oxygen lattice diffusion. Oxygen isotopic results around the wollastonite vein indicate that migration of the metamorphic fluid into calcite marble was small and was parallel to the aquifer. From the stability of wollastonite and the attainment of oxygen isotopic equilibrium, we suggest that diffusion of oxygen occurred through an aqueous fluid phase. The timescale of formation of the oxygen isotopic profile around the wollastonite vein is calculated to be about 0.76 × 10⁶ years using the experimentally determined diffusion constant. Received: 14 January 1997 / Accepted: 23 April 1998     

Depositional ages and characteristics of Middle–Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous lacustrine deposits in southeastern Mongolia

Lower Cretaceous lacustrine oil shales are widely distributed in southeastern Mongolia. Due to the high organic carbon content of oil shale, many geochemical studies and petroleum exploration have been conducted. Although most of the oil shales are considered to be Early Cretaceous in age, a recent study reveals that some were deposited in the Middle Jurassic. The present study aims at establishing depositional ages and characteristics of the Jurassic and Cretaceous lacustrine deposits in Mongolia. The Lower Cretaceous Shinekhudag Formation is about 250 m thick and composed of alternating beds of shale and dolomite. The Middle Jurassic Eedemt Formation is about 150 m thick and composed of alternating beds of shale, dolomitic marl, and siltstone. The alternations of shale and dolomite in both formations were formed by lake level changes, reflecting precipitation changes. Shales were deposited in the center of a deep lake during highstand, while dolomites were formed by primary precipitation during lowstand. Based on the radiometric age dating, the Shinekhudag Formation was deposited between 123.8 ±2.0 Ma and 118.5 ±0.9 Ma of the early Aptian. The Eedemt Formation was deposited at around 165–158 Ma of Callovian–Oxfordian. The calculated sedimentation rate of the Shinekhudag Formation is between 4.7 ±2.6 cm/ky and 10.0 ±7.6 cm/ky. Shales in the Shinekhudag Formation show micrometer‐scale lamination, consisting of algal organic matter and detrital clay mineral couplets. Given the average thickness of micro‐laminae and calculated sedimentation rate, the micro‐lamination is most likely of varve origin. Both Middle–Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous lacustrine oil shales were deposited in intracontinental basins in the paleo‐Asian continent. Tectonic processes and basin evolution basically controlled the deposition of these oil shales. In addition, enhanced precipitation under humid climate during the early Aptian and the Callovian–Oxfordian was another key factor inducing the widespread oil shale deposition in Mongolia.     

Anomalous current recorded at lower low water off the Changjiang River mouth,China

A hydrographic-sedimentological investigation was conducted in May 2001, aimed at assessing dynamic sedimentation patterns near and off the Changjiang River mouth, East China Sea. Current speed/direction, suspended sediment concentration (SSC), and turbidity were measured at eight nearshore and offshore sites, spanning a distance of ca. 150 km. The results identified a high-speed current ranging from 0.9 to 1.6 m/s at lower low water in the front of the turbidity maximum zone. This anomalous current, lasting about 4 h, was the fastest recorded over two semi-diurnal tidal cycles. Simultaneous measurements showed a high SSC (0.5 g/l) and high turbidity (>230 ppm) near the seafloor. This phenomenon would help explain periodic enhancement of sediment resuspension in the area, and an associated southward transport route from the Changjiang River mouth.     

Toward institutions for community-based management of inshore marine resources in the Western Indian Ocean

This paper examines the frameworks being developed to co-manage coral reefs in Kenya and Madagascar. The historical and social context, flexibility of rule-making, monitoring and enforcement, and how community-based organizations are nested within other organizations is described. A comparison of the degree to which these two frameworks contain 10 key design principles thought to be important for successful commons institutions is presented. Finally, recommendations are made for improving co-management in these countries. A principal finding is that both co-management frameworks were developed for other systems (terrestrial and lakes), which creates misfits for how marine systems can be managed.     

Delineation of an exhumed intermediate-depth crustal fault in a collisional setting: An example from the Himalaya

The regionally prominent main boundary thrust (MBT) of the Himalayan fold-thrust belt in northwest India is typically defined by the presence of Proterozoic rocks in the hanging wall and Cenozoic rocks in the footwall. The present study focuses on identifying the MBT contact across Gambar River section in Himachal Pradesh, India, using alternative methodologies, such as the meter-scale litho-structural mapping, followed by detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology to precisely identify the thrust contact and provide insights on the deformation history of the MBT zone. We have identified a sharp change in the age (from ~600 to ~61 Ma) of the sedimentary units along a narrow zone in the study area by detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology using LA-ICP-MS. The sharp change in the detrital zircon U–Pb age data thus delineate the MBT occurring in the area along a < ~1 m thickness. The lithological assemblage and the age data indicate the unified maximum depositional age from ~700 to ~600 Ma for the hanging wall rocks, which have been equated with the Krol Group of the Lesser Himalayan Sequence (LHS). In comparison, the footwall rocks exhibit the maximum depositional age of ~61 Ma and have been equated with the Cenozoic Subathu Formation of the Sub-Himalayan Sequence (SHS).     

Chemical environment for red tides due toChattonella antiqua in the seto inland sea,Japan

Severe red tides due toChattonella antiqua occur sporadically during summer in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, and cause significant damage to the fishing industry. In order to assess the chemical environment with respect to the outbreak ofC. antiqua, environmental factors that affect the growth ofC. antiqua were monitored around the Ie-shima Islands, the Seto Inland Sea, in the summer of 1986. In addition, a growth bioassay of the seawater usingC. antiqua was conducted under a semicontinuous culture system. Although temperature, salinity and light intensity were optimum for the growth ofC. antiqua, red tides by this species did not occur. Concentrations of NH ₄ ⁺ , NO ₃ ^? and PO ₄ ^3? were low (<0.4, <0.2, <0.06 µM, respectively) above the thermocline (8–12 m) and high below it (0.6–2, 4–8, 0.4–0.8 µM, respectively). Vitamin B₁₂ concentrations did not change significantly between the surface (0 m) and below the thermocline (25 m) in the level of 2–4 ng·l^?1. The growth bioassay revealed that in the surface waters, concentrations of N- as well as P- nutrients were too low to support a rapid growth ofC. antiqua. At the depth of 25 m, neither N, P nor B₁₂ limited the growth rate. In order to obtain more quantitative information on the growth rate as a function of the concentrations of N- and P- nutrients,C. antiqua was grown in a semicontinuous culture system by changing nutrient concentrations systematically. The observed growth rate (μ) can be approximated as follows: $$\mu = \mu _{\max } .\frac{{S_N }}{{K_g ^N + S_N }}.\frac{{S_{PO4} }}{{K_g ^P + S_{PO4} }},$$ whereS _N is the concentration of NO ₃ ^? plus NH ₄ ⁺ (0–6 µM),S _PO, the concentration of PO ₄ ^3? (0–0.6 µM), μ_max (0.97 d^?1) the maximal growth rate,K ₀ ^N (1.0 µM) andK ₀ ^P (0.11 µM) the half saturation constants for NO ₃ ^? and PO ₄ ^3? , respectively. Using the above equation with nutrient concentrations measured, the rate at which seawater supports the growth ofC. antiqua can be estimated and this can be used for the assessment of chemical environments with respect to the outbreak ofC. antiqua.     

Hydraulic tomography for detecting fracture zone connectivity

Fracture zones and their connectivity in geologic media are of great importance to ground water resources management as well as ground water contamination prevention and remediation. In this paper, we applied a recently developed hydraulic tomography (HT) technique and an analysis algorithm (sequential successive linear estimator) to synthetic fractured media. The application aims to explore the potential utility of the technique and the algorithm for characterizing fracture zone distribution and their connectivity. Results of this investigation showed that using HT with a limited number of wells, the fracture zone distribution and its connectivity (general pattern) can be mapped satisfactorily although estimated hydraulic property fields are smooth. As the number of wells and monitoring ports increases, the fracture zone distribution and connectivity become vivid and the estimated hydraulic properties approach true values. We hope that the success of this application may promote the development and application of the new generations of technology (i.e., hydraulic, tracer, pneumatic tomographic surveys) for mapping fractures and other features in geologic media.