Variable complexity of the US Continental Divide trace

Abstract

Map-view complexity of 65 contiguous segments of the conterminous US Continental Divide trace was evaluated by the divider method, with each segment’s geometry approximated by a fractal dimension (D) value, or two D values applying to fine and coarse scales of inspection. Results support a generalization that D values in the range 1.05–1.12 are typical for drainage divides viewed at regional to national scales. However about 20% of cases reviewed in this study are smoother (D = 1.01–1.04) or more complex (D = 1.13–1.18) traces. Complexities of these watershed boundary segments show no significant correlation with physiographic province or local relief. The primary influence of bedrock lithology and surface process is seen in zones of Quaternary volcanism, where uncommonly smooth and highly complex divide trace segments are more the rule than exception. Uncommonly smooth divide traces are also found descending mountain pediments in areas of parallel drainage, and some of the most tortuous traces are associated with drainage patterns disrupted by non-fluvial processes. Divide trace segments crossing terrain with uniform lithology show decreased complexity, but traces with the broadest range of complexity, including highest D values, occur in areas with moderate, not extreme, degrees of bedrock diversity.     

Evidence for the depletion of ammonia in the Uranus atmosphere

The theoretical disk brightness temperature spectra for Uranus are computed and compared with the observed microwave spectrum. It is shown that the emission observed at short centimeter wavelengths originates deep below the region where ammonia would ordinarily begin to condense. We demonstrate that this result is inconsistent with a wide range of atmospheric models in which the partial pressure of NH₃ is given by the vapor-pressure equation in the upper atmosphere. It is estimated that the ammonia mixing ratio must be less than 10^?6 in the 150 to 200°K temperature range. This is two orders of magnitude less than the expected mixing ratio based on solar abundances. The evidence for this depletion and a possible explanation are discussed.     

Variations in exospheric density at heights near 1100km, derived from satellite orbits

In an earlier paper, values of exospheric density were obtained from the orbit of Echo 2 for the years 1964–1965. The results indicated a semi-annual variation in density by a factor of between 2 and 3, considerably larger than predicted by existing atmospheric models.

These studies have now been extended to the beginning of 1967, using both Echo 2 and Calsphere 1, to show how the density is responding to increasing solar activity. Variations in density during 1964 have been analysed in more detail. The long-term variation associated with the solar cycle and the short-term variations associated with magnetic and solar disturbances agree with the variations expected on the basis of current models. The semi-annual variation is persisting to higher levels of solar activity, and although its amplitude is diminishing the factor of variation was still 1.6 in 1966.     

Evidence and Implications of Pressure Fluctuations in the ISM

A recent survey of the fine-structure excitation of neutral carbonreveals that the interstellar medium in the Galactic plane exhibits athermal pressure, nT/k, that ranges from about 10³to 10⁴cm^-3K from one location to the next, with occasional excursions in excess of about 10⁵ cm^-3K. The large excitations for small amounts of gas indicate that some regions are either subjected to shocks or must be pressurized within time scales much shorter than the time needed to reach thermal equilibrium. These rapidfluctuations probably arise from the cascade of macroscopic mechanical energyto small scales through a turbulent cascade. One consequence of thiseffect is that changes in gas temperature can arise from near adiabaticcompressions and expansions, and this may explain why investigations of21-cm emission and absorption reveal the presence of hydrogen attemperatures well below the expected values derived from the balance ofvarious known heating and cooling processes.     

欠发达区地理环境对专业村发展的影响研究

基于经济学和地理学中的“理性小农”、“劳动分工与专业化”和“距离衰减与邻里效应”理论,并考虑资源环境条件,建立了解释专业村形成机理和形成类型的理论框架。用数理方法推理了村产业结构的发展变化和专业村的形成。在理论分析的基础上,运用2010 年河南省的专业村数据,选择地形、区位、土地和劳动力等环境变量和16 类专业村的虚拟变量,使用最小二乘法进行回归,结果表明村环境资源条件对专业化率有显著影响:① 村劳动力资源越多,专业化率越低;② 村土地越多越利于专业化生产;③ 村离县级市距离越近,越有利于形成农产品加工专业村;④ 具有批发市场可以提高所有专业村的专业化率,对养殖业和加工业专业村更是如此;⑤如果其他环境相同,丘陵地区的专业化率比其他地区低;这主要与丘陵地区交通条件不畅、人均耕地较少等有关。采用定性模型分析表明:环境影响在不同类别的专业村有所不同。土地丰裕程度对茶叶、林业和水果种植等类专业村形成有正面影响,劳动力资源对花卉等专业村的形成产生影响;地域通达性对水果、蔬菜和花卉等时鲜产品专业村的形成产生正面影响。该研究结果的实践引申,在不同环境条件的地区,可以制定相应的适宜专业化发展的引导政策。     

Fluvial process and the establishment of bottomland trees

The effects of river regulation on bottomland tree communities in western North America have generated substantial concern because of the important habitat and aesthetic values of these communities. Consideration of such effects in water management decisions has been hampered by the apparent variability of responses of bottomland tree communities to flow alteration. When the relation between streamflow and tree establishment is placed in a geomorphic context, however, much of that variability is explained, and prediction of changes in the tree community is improved.The relation between streamflow and establishment of bottomland trees is conditioned by the dominant fluvial process or processes acting along a stream. For successful establishment, cottonwoods, poplars, and willows require bare, moist surfaces protected from disturbance. Channel narrowing, channel meandering, and flood deposition promote different spatial and temporal patterns of establishment. During channel narrowing, the site requirements are met on portions of the bed abandoned by the stream, and establishment is associated with a period of low flow lasting one to several years. During channel meandering, the requirements are met on point bars following moderate or higher peak flows. Following flood deposition, the requirements are met on flood deposits ;high above the channel bed. Flood deposition can occur along most streams, but where a channel is constrained by a narrow valley, this process may be the only mechanism that can produce a bare, moist surface high enough to be safe from future disturbance. Because of differences in local bedrock, tributary influence, or geologic history, two nearby reaches of the same stream may be dominated by different fluvial processes and have different spatial and temporal patterns of trees. We illustrate this phenomenon with examples from forests of plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides ssp. monilifera) along meandering and constrained reaches of the Missouri River in Montana.     

Insights into syndepositional fault movement in a foreland basin; trends in seismites of the Upper Cretaceous,Wahweap Formation,Kaiparowits Basin,Utah, USA

The Upper Cretaceous Wahweap Formation accumulated in the active Cordilleran foreland basin of Utah. Soft‐sediment deformation structures are abundant in the capping sandstone member of the Wahweap Formation. By comparing with well‐established criteria, a seismogenic origin was determined for the majority of structures, which places these soft‐sediment deformation features in a class of sedimentary features referred to as seismites. A systematic study of the seismite trends included their vertical and horizontal distribution and a semi‐quantitative intensity analysis using a scale from 1 to 5 that is based on magnitude, sedimentary structure type, and the predominance of inferred process of hydroplastic deformation, liquefaction or fluidization. In addition, orientations of soft‐sediment fold axes were recorded. Construction of a northwest‐to‐southeast stratigraphic and seismite intensity cross‐section demonstrates: (1) reduction in stratigraphic thickness and percentage of conglomerates to the southeast, (2) the presence of lower seismite, middle nonseismite, and upper seismite zones within the capping sandstone (permitting subdivision of the capping sandstone member), and (3) elimination of the nonseismite zone and amalgamation of the lower and upper seismite zones to the southeast. Regional isoseismal contour maps generated from the semi‐quantitative analysis indicate a decrease in overall intensity from northwest to southeast in the upper and lower seismic zones and in sandstone within 5 m stratigraphically of the contact between the upper and capping sandstone members. In addition, cumulative seismite fold orientations support a west–northwest direction towards regional epicentres. Isoseismal maps are used to distinguish the effects of intrabasinal normal faulting from those of regional orogenic thrusting. Thus, this study demonstrates the utility of mapping seismites to separate the importance of regional vs. local tectonic activity influencing foreland basin sedimentation by identifying patterns that delineate palaeoepicentres associated with specific local intrabasinal normal faults vs. regional trends in soft‐sediment deformation related to Sevier belt earthquakes.