Computable extensions of generalized fractional kinetic equations in astrophysics

Fractional calculus and special functions have contributed a lot to mathematical physics and its various branches.The great use of mathematical physics in distinguished astrophysical problems has attracted astronomers and physicists to pay more attention to available mathematical tools that can be widely used in solving several problems of astrophysics/physics.In view of the great importance and usefulness of kinetic equations in certain astrophysical problems,the authors derive a generalized fractional kin...     

Forward kinematic modelling of a regional transect in the Northern Emirates using geological and apatite fission track age constraints on paleo-burial history

This paper aims to simulate the kinematic evolution of a regional transect crossing the Northern Emirates in the northernmost part of the Semail Ophiolite and the Dibba zone, just south of the Musandam Platform exposures. The studied section comprises, from top to bottom and from inner to outer zones, (1) the erosional remnants of the Semail Ophiolite, mainly made up of serpentinized ultramafics in the west and gabbros in the east, (2) high-grade metamorphic rocks which are currently exposed in the core of a nappe anticline near Masafi, (3) far-travelled Hawasina basinal units and Sumeini paleo-slope units of the Dibba Zone, (4) parautochthonous platform carbonates, which are currently well exposed in the Musandam area, and (5) a flexural basin filled with uppermost Cretaceous to Neogene sediments. Two main compressional episodes are generally identified, resulting first in the obduction of the Semail Ophiolite and then in the stacking of underlying platform carbonate units of the former Arabian passive margin, thus accounting for the present architecture of this transect: (1) first, deformation at the plate boundary initiated in the Late Cretaceous, resulting in the obduction of the Semail Ophiolite and the progressive accretion of the Hawasina and Sumeini tectonic wedge on top of the Arabian foreland, leading to a progressive bending of its lithosphere and development of a wide flexural basin; (2) compression resumed during the Neogene, leading to the tectonic stacking of the parautochthonous platform duplexes of Musandam and Margham trends, the development of out-of-sequence thrusts and triangle zones, refolding of the sole thrust of the former Late Cretaceous accretionary wedge and coeval normal (?) high-angle faulting along the contact between the Musandam and Dibba zones. However, seismic profiles and paleo-thermometers also help in identifying another erosional event at the boundary between the Paleogene Pabdeh and the Neogene Fars series. Evidenced by the local erosional truncation of the Pabdeh series in the vicinity of the frontal triangle zone (i.e. the inner part of the former Late Cretaceous foredeep), this Paleogene uplift/unroofing episode is tentatively interpreted here as an evidence for a continuum of compressional deformation lasting from the Late Cretaceous to the Middle Miocene although one may alternatively speculate that it was related to the detachment of the subducted slab. Although carbonate facies are usually not suitable for apatite fission track (AFT) studies, we were able to extract detrital apatites from quartz-bearing Triassic dolomites in the Musandam area. However, the yield and the quality were both poor and too few fission track lengths could be measured, making it difficult to interpret the meaning of the FT ages. The FT dates obtained in this study are therefore compared with those existing in the literature. Fortunately enough, for each sample, at least ten apatite crystals could be used for fission track dating, except for site 6 with only five datable apatite grains. The obtained apatite fission track dates between 28 and 13 Ma, much younger than the Triassic age of the series, are taken to represent reset fission track ages, implying erosion of an up-to-3-km-thick pile of Jurassic–Cretaceous carbonates and Hawasina allochthon during the Neogene. Apatite fission track dates from the ~95 M-old plagiogranites of the Semail complex (Searle and Cox, Geol Mag 139(3):241–255, 2002) obtained in this study and compared with those recently published provide evidences for more than one cooling event. An early unroofing of the ophiolite during the Late Cretaceous is revealed in fission track dates of 72–76 Ma at the top of the ophiolite in the east, which are coeval and also consistent with the occurrence of paleo-soils, rudists and paleo-reefs on top of serpentinized ultramafics in the west. High-pressure rocks at As Sifah in the southeast near Muscat revealed apatite fission track data ranging from ~46 to 63 Ma (Gray et al. 2006). The leucocratic part of the ophiolite (sample UAE 180) yielded comparable young apatite (40.6?±?3.9 Ma) and zircon (46.6?±?4.3 Ma) FT dates. A Cenozoic (~20–21 Ma) exhumation has been determined for the Bani Hamid metamorphic sole in northern Oman, applying low temperature geochronology and combining apatite FT and apatite (U–Th)/He analyses (Gray et al. 2006). In this study, young apatite fission track dates of 20 Ma have also been found but at the base of the ophiolite near Masafi, in the core of the nappe anticline, thus indicating a Neogene age for the refolding of the allochthon and stacking of underlying parautochthonous platform carbonate units. During the subsequent 2D forward Thrustpack kinematic modelling of the regional transect, these AFT data-set has been used, together with available subsurface information, to reconstruct the past architecture of the structural sections through time, accounting for incremental deformation along the various decollement levels, synorogenic sedimentation and erosion, as well as for successive bending and unbending episodes of the Arabian lithosphere.     

Multi-criteria spatialization of soil organic carbon sequestration potential from agricultural intensification in Senegal

On the eve of the 15th climate negotiations conference in Copenhagen, the pressure to assess all climate mitigation options is mounting. In this study, a bio-physic model and a socio-economic model were designed and coupled to assess the carbon sequestration potential of agricultural intensification in Senegal. The biophysical model is a multiple linear regression, calibrated and tested on a dataset of long-term agricultural trials established in West Africa. The socio-economic model integrates both financial and environmental costs related to considered practice changes. Both models are spatially explicit and the resulting spatial patterns were computed and displayed over Senegal with a geographic information system. The national potential from large-scale intensification was assessed at 0.65–0.83 MtC. With regards to local-scaled intensification as local projects, the most profitable areas were identified in agricultural expansion regions (especially Casamance), while the areas that meet the current financial additionality criteria of the Clean Development Mechanism were located in the northern part of the Peanut Basin. Using the current relevant mode of carbon valuation (Certified Emission Reductions), environmental benefits are small compared to financial benefits. This picture is radically changed if “avoided deforestation”, a likely consequence of agricultural intensification, is accounted for as the greenhouse gases sink capacity of projects increases by an average of a hundred-fold over Senegal.     

Neue Wege in die Ökotoxikologie: Quantitative Verhaltensmessungen an Fischen als Toxizitätsendpunkt

New Ways to Ecotoxicology: Quantitative Recording of Behaviour of Fish as Toxicity Endpoint The BehavioQuant system will be introduced which uses the integrative whole-organism response by automatized recording and quantifying the spontaneous behaviour of fish and other test organisms. While moving unrestricted within the test chamber, the movements of each single fish are recorded by video imaging, and their traces are digitized numerically by x-/y-coordinates. From the object traces several test parameters are calculated which give information about behavioural changes of the observed fishes. These various parameters are: the average swimming velocity (motility), the average swimming depth below surface, the inconstancy of motility, the frequency of turns, the standard frequency distributions of vertical and horizontal positions (can be used for quantification of a preference for dark or light habitats), and the distance behaviour. A continuously monitoring of up to 16 aquaria is possible. The statistic comparison between treated groups and control groups is done for each test parameter separately. The automatical evaluation of the continuous observation of surface waters results from a comparison of the actual behaviour data to the data of a reference period. Some examples for the applications of the BehavioQuant system will be demonstrated (effects of atrazine), and their results will be discussed. Behavioural changes of a single species can finally cause changes in biocenotic structures and functions. Therefore, it is necessary to include the results of quantitative behaviour measurements in ecotoxicological hazard assessment.     

Étude géochronologique du gisement polymétallique de Kowary (Pologne)

Résumé Le gisement polymétallique de Kowary (Pologne) est formé de deux types de minéralisations: 1. des lentilles de magnétites formées pendant l'orogenèse calédonienne, 2. des minéralisations polymétalliques plus jeunes avec uranium. L'étude géochronologique des pechblendes par la méthode Uranium — Plomb montre que le gisement uranifère a été formé à l'époque permienne de l'orogenèse hercynienne, il y a environ 265 M. A., qu'il a été remanié au cours de l'époque laramienne, il y a 70 M. A. L'âge de formation du gisement de Kowary correspond très exactement à l'âge des gisements français (Limousin et Vendée).

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The poly-metallic deposit of Kowary (Poland) is formed by two types of mineralizations: 1. lenses of magnetite formed during the Caledonian orogeny, 2. more recent polymetallic mineralizations with Uranium. The geochronological study of the pitchblende by Uranium — Lead method shows that the Uranium deposit was formed at the Permian epoch of the Hercynian orogeny about 265 M. Y. ago and it has been modified during the Laramide epoch, about 70 M. Y. ago. The formation age of the Kowary deposits corresponds exactly to that of the French deposits (Limousin and Vendée).

     

Non-linear optimization for seismic traveltime tomography

This paper presents a non-linear algorithmic approach for seismic traveltime. It is based on large-scale optimization using non-linear least-squares and trust-region methods. These methods provide a natural way to stabilize algorithms based on Newton's iteration for non-linear minimization. They also correspond to an alternative (and often more efficient) view of the Levenberg-Marquardt method. Numerical experience on synthetic data and on real borehole-to-borehole problems are presented. In particular, results produced by the new algorithm are compared with those of Ivansson (1985) for the Kråkemåla experiment.     

Enhancement techniques for landuse analysis

In image interpretation, to make maximum use of the available information, some sort of enhancement is usually needed. In image enhancement, the aim is to manipulate the image to improve its quality. Image enhancement techniques emphasize upon the viewing of the image for extraction of information that may not have been so readily apparent in the original. Hera the software package for various enhancement techniques that has been developed at National bemote Sensing Agency (NRSA) is described. In order to illustrate the utility of the techniques, the enhanced imagery have been analysed for land use categories and linear features, and the corresponding thematic maps have also been shown in the results.