小型激光天文动力学空间计划概念

小型激光天文动力学空间计划是 :使用在太阳轨道上无拖曳航天器和地面站以激光干涉和脉冲测距的方法 ,精确地探讨天文动力学 ,检测相对论与时空基本定律 ,改进探测引力波的灵敏度以及更准确地测定太阳、行星和小行星的参数。 1 969年开始的月球激光 (反射 )测距 ,对地球物理、参考坐标的选定、相对论的检验均有重要的贡献。 3 0年来 ,激光技术的长足进步 ,使现在正是适合于开始进行研究空间有源 (主动 )测距和光波空间通讯的时候。激光天文动力学的兴起是必然的趋势 ,其精确度将比现在提高 3到 6个数量级 ,将是天文动力学革命性的发展。小型激光天文动力学空间计划可以起到带头作用。它的关键技术有三 ,即 :弱光锁相、极精确无拖曳航天和高衰减日冕仪。弱光锁相已有长足的进步。对高衰减日冕仪的研究 ,也有了初步的方案。LISA空间计划将于 2 0 0 6年 8月发射SMART -2 ,研究测试极精确无拖曳航天。小型激光天文动力学空间计划的关键技术已日趋成熟。在第一届国际激光天文动力学研讨会 ( 2 0 0 1 ,9.1 3 -2 3 )中介绍了各相关学科背景及前沿研究 ,讨论了激光天文动力学空间计划科学目标及相关技术 ,并召开了两次小型激光天文动力学空间计划预研究筹备会 ,建立了和欧洲的合作关系。会后着手进行此项对基础     

Palynology of Triassic–Jurassic boundary sections in northern Switzerland

A first palynostratigraphic scheme of Upper Triassic deposits in northern Switzerland was established based on spore-pollen associations and dinoflagellate cyst records from the upper part of the Upper Triassic Klettgau Formation and the lower part of the Lower Jurassic Staffelegg Formation. Drill cores from the Adlerberg region (Basel Tabular Jura) and from Weiach (northern part of Canton Zurich) as well as from an outcrop at the Chilchzimmersattel (Basel Folded Jura) were studied and five informal palynological associations are distinguished. These palynological associations correlate with palynological association of the Central European Epicontinental Basin and the Tethyan realm and provide a stratigraphic framework for the uppermost Triassic sediments in northern Switzerland. Throughout the uppermost Triassic to Jurassic palynological succession a remarkable prominence of Classopollis spp. is observed. Besides Classopollis spp. the three Rhaetian palynological associations A to C from the Upper Triassic Belchen Member include typical Rhaetian spore-pollen and dinoflagellate taxa (e.g., Rhaetipollis germanicus, Geopollis zwolinskae, Rhaetogonyaulax rhaetica, and Dapcodinium priscum). Association B differs from association A in a higher relative abundance of the sporomorph taxa Perinopollenites spp. and the consistent occurrence of Granuloperculatipollis rudis and Ricciisporites tuberculatus. Spore diversity is highest in the late Rhaetian palynological association C and includes Polypodiisporites polymicroforatus. A Rhaetian age for the Belchen Member is confirmed by palynological associations A–C, but there is no record of the latest Rhaetian and the earliest Jurassic. In contrast to the Rhaetian palynological associations the Early Jurassic associations W and D include Pinuspollenites spp., Trachysporites fuscus (in association W), and Ischyosporites variegatus. In the view of the end-Triassic mass extinction and contemporaneous environmental changes the described palynofloral succession represents the pre-extinction phase (associations A and B) including a distinct transgression, the extinction phase (association C) associated with a regression, and the post-extinction phase (association W).     

High-resolution sea ice in long-term global ocean GCM integrations

The resolution of the sea-ice component of a coarse-resolution global ocean general circulation model (GCM) has been enhanced to about 22 km in the Southern Ocean. The ocean GCM is designed for long-term integrations suitable for investigations of the deep-ocean equilibrium response to changes in southern hemisphere high-latitude processes. The space and time scales of the high-resolution sea-ice component are commensurate with those of the resolution of satellite passive-microwave sea-ice data. This provides the opportunity for a rigorous evaluation of simulated sea-ice characteristics. It is found that the satellite-derived continuous high ice concentration of the interior winter ice pack can only be captured when vertical oceanic mixing is modified in a way that less local, intermittent convection occurs. Furthermore, the width and the variability of the coastal polynyas around the Antarctic continent and its ice shelves are best captured when some form of ice-shelf melting is accounted for. The width of the wintertime ice edge is reasonably reproduced, while its variability remains underestimated, closely following the coarse-grid pattern of the ocean model due to its high dependence on ocean temperature. Additional variability besides daily winds, e.g. in form of idealized tidal currents, improves the temporal and spatial ice-edge variability, while leads in the interior ice pack become more abundant, more in line with the fine-scale satellite-derived texture. The coast- or ice-shelf line is described on the fine grid based on satellite passive-microwave data. This method requires parts of a coarse coastal ocean grid cell to be covered by an inert layer of “fast ice” or “ice shelf”. Reasonable long-term global deep-ocean properties can only be achieved when these areas are not inert, i.e. are exposed to heat flux and ice growth, or when the vertical mixing parameterization allows for excessive open-ocean convection. The model area exposed to cold high-latitude atmospheric conditions thus being most decisive for a realistic representation of the long-term deep-ocean properties, suggests that high-latitude coastlines are definitely in need of being represented at high resolution, including ice sheets and their effects on the heat and freshwater flux for the ocean.     

Limitation of fluid flow at the Nankai Trough megasplay fault zone

Along the Nankai Trough megasplay fault off SE Japan, the effect of fluid migration on subduction-related seismogenesis and tsunamigenesis remains unresolved. To investigate the existence and role of fluid flow, a SmartPlug borehole observatory was installed at Site C0010 of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program NanTroSEIZE Kumano transect, where a shallow branch of the fault was intersected and in situ fluid pressure monitored from August 2009 to November 2010. The tidal signal in the formation showed no phase shift relative to seafloor loading. The attenuation of 0.73 reflects the loading efficiency accurately, and enabled calculation of a formation compressibility of 1.0×10^–9 Pa^–1 and a hydraulic diffusivity (HD) of 1.5×10^–5 m² s^–1. A similar HD is predicted by a tidal response model based on SmartPlug pressure data. By contrast, permeability measurements on intact samples from Site C0004 SE along-strike the splay fault and from Site C0006 in the frontal thrust zone were found to be similar and one magnitude smaller respectively, despite having a higher porosity. This is explained by the presence of fractures, which are covered by the larger scale of in situ measurements at Site C0010. Consequently, HD can be set to be at least 10^–5 m² s^–1 for the splay fault and 10^–6 m² s^–1 for the frontal thrust fault zone. Considering recent publications makes fluid flow at the splay fault unlikely, despite the presence of fractures. If the influence of fractures is limited, then processes leading to fault weakening may be enhanced.     

Chemical denudation in arctic-alpine Latnjavagge (Swedish Lapland) in relation to regolith as assessed by radio magnetotelluric-geophysical profiles

In Latnjavagge, a 9-km² drainage basin with homogeneous lithology in periglacial northern Swedish Lapland, water balance, water chemistry and radio magnetotelluric geophysical investigations along selected profiles were integrated with assessment of regolith thickness as well as of ground frost conditions within the basin. In combination with direct field observations, the geophysical profiles demonstrated presence of relatively thin regolith in most of the investigated area, yet in some parts, the bedrock was located deeper and locally was not detected at 40-m depth. TDS values of the water were generally very low. The areas that contributed with the lowest ion concentrations were cold and had a thin regolith, whereas there were higher concentrations in water that drained radiation exposed slopes with earlier thaw and thicker regolith. The low resistivities found along the profiles in the geophysical investigations in combination with the relatively higher TDS values found in related runoff and subsurface water samples showed that larger volumes of ice-rich frozen ground were not found along the investigated profiles in late August.     

Preliminary reconstruction of sediment-source linkages for the past 6000 yr at the Petit Lac d'Annecy, France, based on mineral magnetic data

An 8 m core from the central plain of the Petit Lac d'Annecy, France, two floodplain cores, river bedload sediments and several hundred soil samples from the catchment have been studied using magnetic techniques. The soils, mainly developed on limestones and local glacial tills, show widespread magnetic enhancement with higher ferrimagnetic concentrations and contents of SP grains than found in the lake sediments. Some soils show significant concentrations of canted antiferromagnetic minerals (mainly haematite). Using magnetic quotient parameters the surface soils are classified into four mineralogical types. The lake and floodplain sediment properties over the past 6000 yrs can largely be explained by the erosion and deposition of these sources, with a smaller superimposed biogenic (magnetosomes) signal. Derived sediment-source linkages allow the construction of several hypotheses about geomorphological changes in the catchment system: (i) the long-term erosion of high altitude unweathered substrates has gradually increased towards the present day; (ii) the erosion of high altitude soils has increased within the last 1000 yrs, possibly during the period of the 'Little Ice Age'; (iii) shifts towards an increased erosion of surface lowland soil occurred ~2000 and 1000 yrs ago and may be linked to an accelerated accretion of floodplain overbank deposits; (iv) there has been a significant storage of surface soil within floodplains, which leads to an underestimation of the importance of soil erosion in the lake sediment records; (v) the sediment transported by high magnitude, low frequency flood events has shifted in source from high altitude soils before ~1000 cal. yr BP to lowland and mid-altitude free draining soils after ~1000 cal. yr BP.     

The time dependent magnetization of fine-grained iron in lunar breccias

Lunar breccias of low metamorphic grade offer a unique opportunity to investigate the magnetic properties of dispersed fine grained iron. These rocks exhibit a pronounced time dependent magnetization whose acquisition and decay are well explained by Ne´el's single domain theory. The effect is due to iron grains in the range of 120A?to 150A?in diameter which covers the transition from superparamagnetic to stable single domain behavior.     

Application of micro-computed X-ray tomography for improving the hole erosion test analysis on high plastic clay

Acta Geotechnica - The hole erosion test (HET) was developed to simulate piping erosion and to study the erosion parameters of cohesive soils. The erosion rate in the HET is evaluated by the...     

Stabilitätsbeziehungen zwischen Chlorit,Cordierit und Almandin bei der Metamorphose

The stability relations between cordierite and almandite in rocks, having a composition of CaO poor argillaceous rocks, were experimentally investigated. The starting material consisted of a mixture of chlorite, muscovite, and quartz. Systems with widely varying Fe²⁺/Fe²⁺+Mg ratios were investigated by using two different chlorites, thuringite or ripidolite, in the starting mixture. Cordierite is formed according to the following reaction: $${\text{Chlorite + muscovite + quartz}} \rightleftharpoons {\text{cordierite + biotite + Al}}_{\text{2}} {\text{SiO}}_{\text{5}} + {\text{H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}$$ . At low pressures this reaction characterizes the facies boundary between the albite-epidotehornfels facies and the hornblende-hornfels facies, at medium pressures the beginning of the cordierite-amphibolite facies. Experiments were carried out reversibly and gave the following equilibrium data: 505±10°C at 500 bars H₂O pressure, 513±10°C at 1000 bars H₂O pressure, 527±10°C at 2000 bars H₂O pressure, and 557±10°C at 4000 bars H₂O pressure. These equilibrium data are valid for the Fe-rich starting material, using thuringite as the chlorite, as well as for the Mg-rich starting mixture with ripidolite. At 6000 bars the equilibrium temperature for the Mg-rich mixture is 587±10°C. In the Fe-rich mixture almandite was formed instead of cordierite at 6000 bars. The following reaction was observed: $${\text{Thuringite + muscovite + quartz}} \rightleftharpoons {\text{almandite + biotite + Al}}_{\text{2}} {\text{SiO}}_{\text{5}} {\text{ + H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}$$ . Experiments with the Fe-rich mixture, containing Fe²⁺/Fe²⁺+Mg in the ratio 8∶10, yielded three stability fields in a P,T-diagram (Fig.1):

1. Above 600°C/5.25 kb and 700°C/6.5 kb almandite+biotite+Al₂SiO₅ coexist stably, cordierite being unstable.
2. The field, in which almandite, biotite and Al₂SiO₅ are stable together with cordierite, is restricted by two curves, passing through the following points:
   1. 625°C/5.5 kb and 700°C/6.5 kb,
   2. 625°C/5.5 kb and 700°C/4.0 kb.
3. At conditions below curves 1 and 2b, cordierite, biotite, and Al₂SiO₅ are formed, but no garnet.

An appreciable MnO-content in the system lowers the pressures needed for the formation of almandite garnet, but the quantitative influence of the spessartite-component on the formation of almandite could not yet be determined. the Mg-rich system with Fe²⁺/Fe²⁺+Mg=0.4 garnet did not form at pressures up to 7 kb in the temperature range investigated. Experiments at unspecified higher pressures (in a simple squeezer-type apparatus) yielded the reaction: $${\text{Ripidolite + muscovite + quartz}} \rightleftharpoons {\text{almandite + biotite + Al}}_{\text{2}} {\text{SiO}}_{\text{5}} {\text{ + H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}$$ . Further experiments are needed to determine the equilibrium data. The occurence of garnet in metamorphic rocks is discussed in the light of the experimental results.