Initial phase of chromospheric evaporation in a solar flare

In this paper we discuss the initial phase of chromospheric evaporation during a solar flare observed with instruments on the Solar Maximum Mission on May 21, 1980 at 20:53 UT. Images of the flaring region taken with the Hard X-Ray Imaging Spectrometer in the energy bands from 3.5 to 8 keV and from 16 to 30 keV show that early in the event both the soft and hard X-ray emissions are localized near the footpoints, while they are weaker from the rest of the flaring loop system. This implies that there is no evidence for heating taking place at the top of the loops, but energy is deposited mainly at their base. The spectral analysis of the soft X-ray emission detected with the Bent Crystal Spectrometer evidences an initial phase of the flare, before the impulsive increase in hard X-ray emission, during which most of the thermal plasma at 10⁷ K was moving toward the observer with a mean velocity of about 80 km s^-1. At this time the plasma was highly turbulent. In a second phase, in coincidence with the impulsive rise in hard X-ray emission during the major burst, high-velocity (370 km s^-1) upward motions were observed. At this time, soft X-rays were still predominantly emitted near the loop footpoints. The energy deposition in the chromosphere by electrons accelerated in the flare region to energies above 25 keV, at the onset of the high-velocity upflows, was of the order of 4 × 10¹⁰ erg s^-1 cm^-2. These observations provide further support for interpreting the plasma upflows as the mechanism responsible for the formation of the soft X-ray flare, identified with chromospheric evaporation. Early in the flare soft X-rays are mainly from evaporating material close to the footpoints, while the magnetically confined coronal region is at lower density. The site where upflows originate is identified with the base of the loop system. Moreover, we can conclude that evaporation occurred in two regimes: an initial slow evaporation, observed as a motion of most of the thermal plasma, followed by a high-speed evaporation lasting as long as the soft X-ray emission of the flare was increasing, that is as long as plasma accumulation was observed in corona.     

铊矿床成矿规律

对全球主要铊矿床的成矿地质背景、成矿时代、控矿构造、赋矿围岩和成矿物理化学条件进行了综合对比分析,得出了全球铊矿床的分布特征与成矿规律:铊矿床主要产出于沉积岩发育的中-低温成矿域中,且成矿时代较新;铊矿床的赋矿围岩通常为铊背景值高的沉积岩;大多数铊矿床具有典型的低温成矿特征.     

Integrated resource management

Food, energy and mineral resources appeared to be available in limitless quantities. The accelerated growth in global population during recent centuries brought about a new situation. We reached the resource limits of Spaceship Earth. This, along with the dawning awareness of the extent of environmental damage to date, have made it necessary to turn to new attitudes as to the use of renewable and non-renewable resources.IRM (Integrated Resource Management) is proposed as a way to rationally balance the use and conservation of natural resources. A databank based on the Geographic Information System (GIS) concept, bringing together all relevant resources of a nation, is the centerpiece of IRM and will make it possible to establish strategies to optimize the long term use of resources, including all relevant environmental factors.     

Post-Last Glacial Maximum evolution of a “fjord-type” lake based on high-resolution seismic data: the Lago Roca/Acigami (southern Tierra del Fuego,Argentina/Chile)

Lago Roca/Acigami is a “fjord-type” lake located in the southernmost part of South America, in the proximity of the Beagle Channel. A high-resolution seismic survey was carried out to analyse the seismic stratigraphy of the lake and to shed some light on the post-Last Glacial Maximum history of the area. Six seismic units were recognised, and their nature and depositional context were interpreted using seismic stratigraphy and acoustic facies analysis. A buried large ridge was identified within the glacial unit (SU1), interpreted as a frontal moraine that indicates a stabilisation phase. After retreat of the glacier from the basin, the trough was flooded by meltwater and a lake developed (SU2). The seismic facies, from bottom to top, depict a transition from ice-contact (SU2; SU3) to ice-distal proglacial conditions (SU4). A thick draping unit (SU5) marks a marine transgressive event and the instauration of a fjord environment in the basin. The marine transgression was a rapid event preceded by a fall in the lake level that caused an erosional unconformity. During the fjord phase the sedimentation remained controlled by meltwater discharge. Sea level fall, and subsequent disconnection from the Beagle Channel was accompanied by a progradation of the glaciofluvial deltaic sediments and the occurrence of several mass-wasting deposits (SU6). © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Environmental problems and geological implications derived from evaporite dissolution in the Barbastro salt anticline (NE Spain)

The halite-bearing Barbastro Formation crops out in the core of the Barbastro Anticline (Ebro Tertiary Basin). This anticline is traversed perpendicularly by some of the most important Pyrenean drainages such as the Cinca and Noguera-Ribagorzana Rivers. The terrace sequences of these fluvial systems have been used as markers to identify and assess dissolution-induced subsidence and salt tectonics. In the limbs of the anticline, terrace deposits underlain by detrital bedrock do not show any evidence of deformation and have a consistent thickness of less than 10 m. The deposits of certain terrace levels of the Noguera-Ribagorzana River and its tributary, the Lo Reguer Creek, are locally thickened filling basins generated by dissolution-induced synsedimentary subsidence up to several kilometers long and more than 100 m deep. Conversely, terraces of the Cinca River do not show anomalously high thicknesses, but local uplifts related to differential upward flow of the halite-bearing bedrock. Locally, a minimum uplift rate of 0.3 mm/year has been estimated from a 64-ka terrace tilted away from the valley. The subsidence hazards occur chiefly in areas where the ground receives artificial water recharge. Serviceability of some canals has been notoriously affected by evaporite karstification. The problem has been mitigated to acceptable levels by grouting. Numerous buildings of Ivars de Noguera are severely damaged by dissolution subsidence, and possibly, by hydrocompaction of gypsiferous silts. The pipe network has been replaced to ameliorate the subsidence risk. In the Cinca River valley, cavities with a total volume of about 180,500 m³ have been created by solution mining at depths greater than 500 m. No investigation methods are applied in the brine field to monitor the distribution and evolution of artificial voids. Substantial increase in salinity of the Cinca River is another evidence of subjacent evaporite dissolution.     

Natural and human-induced dissolution and subsidence processes in the salt outcrop of the Cardona Diapir (NE Spain)

The Cardona Diapir in NE Spain, with a salt outcrop about 0.9 km² in area, has a well-developed endokarstic system that used to discharge into the Cardener River. Underground mining for potassium salt carried out from 1930 to 1990 caused significant changes in the topography and hydrology of the diapir. The accumulation of two halite slag heaps, totalling around 10 million tons, locally dammed the surface drainage, creating closed depressions and preferential zones of water recharge. The waters that infiltrated in one of these depressions, largely derived from uncontrolled sewage disposal, led to the generation of a 335-m-long human-induced cave excavated in one of the slag heaps. Moreover, the inflow of freshwater from the surrounding sandstone aquifer, caused by the excavation of a ventilation gallery, resulted in the generation of a 280-m-long cave. In March 1998, the interception of a phreatic conduit by a halite mine gallery 50 m deep caused dramatic changes in the hydrology and geomorphology of the diapir, including: (a) a sudden decline in the piezometric level of the karstic aquifer; (b) the inflow of freshwater and debris from the Cardener River into the endokarstic system and the mine galleries. A tunnel had to be constructed to divert the river flow from the salt outcrop; (c) massive dissolution of salt, creating new cavities and enlarging the pre-existing ones, including both mine galleries or cave passages. The 4,300-m-long Salt Meanders Cave was largely generated by the inrush of water from the Cardener River into the mine galleries; and (d) the generation of a large number of sinkholes in the vicinity of the Cardener River. An inventory of 178 sinkholes has allowed us to estimate minimum probability values of 4.7 and 8 sinkholes/km²·year for time intervals previous and subsequent to the 1998 mine flood event, respectively.     

Resuspension of urban soils as a persistent source of lead poisoning in children: A review and new directions

Urban soils act as the repository for a number of environmental burdens, including Pb. Significant attention has been devoted to reducing Pb burdens to children with outstanding success, but the fact that blood Pb levels above 10  μg/dL are disproportionately found in children living in many USA cities (15–20% in some cities compared to a national average of less than 2%) indicates that not all of the sources have been eliminated. Although the health risk of fine particulates has begun to raise concerns in cities, little attention has been paid to Pb associated with these particulates and the potential role of this pathway for continued Pb burdens of urban youth. This review summarizes recent work on particulate resuspension and the role of resuspension of Pb-enriched urban soils as a continued source of bio-available Pb both outside and inside homes, then presents recent efforts to model Pb burdens to children based on the atmospheric parameters that drive particulate resuspension. A strong seasonal relationship is found between atmospheric particulate loading and blood Pb levels in children, and new particulate loading models are presented for a range of US cities involved in the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) program. These seasonal particulate loading models have implications for a number of respiratory health impacts, but can also be used to calculate seasonal patterns in bio-available Pb redistribution onto contact surfaces (the primary pathway for ingestion-related uptake in toddlers) and assist clinicians in interpreting time-specific blood Pb tests.     

Estimation of surface heat and momentum fluxes using the flux-variance method above uniform and non-uniform terrain

Eddy-correlation measurements above an uneven-aged forest, a uniform-irrigated bare soil field, and within a grass-covered forest clearing were used to investigate the usefulness of the fluxvariance method above uniform and non-uniform terrain. For this purpose, the Monin and Obukhov (1954) variance similarity functions were compared with direct measurements. Such comparisons were in close agreement for momentum and heat but not for water vapor. Deviations between measured and predicted similarity functions for water vapor were attributed to three factors: 1) the active role of temperature in surface-layer turbulence, 2) dissimilarity between sources and sinks of heat and water vapor at the ground surface, and 3) the non-uniformity in water vapor sources and sinks. It was demonstrated that the latter non-uniformity contributed to horizontal gradients that do not scale with the vertical flux. These three factors resulted in a turbulence regime that appeared more efficient in transporting heat than water vapor for the dynamic convective sublayer but not for the dynamic sublayer. The agreement between eddy-correlation measured and flux-variance predicted sensible heat flux was better than that for latent heat flux at all three sites. The flux-variance method systematically overestimated the latent heat flux when compared to eddy-correlation measurements. It was demonstrated that the non-uniformity in water vapor sources reduced the surface flux when compared to an equivalent uniform terrain subjected to identical shear stress, sensible heat flux, and atmospheric water vapor variance. Finally, the correlation between the temperature and water vapor fluctuations was related to the relative efficiency of surface-layer turbulence in removing heat and water vapor. These relations were used to assess critical assumptions in the derivation of the flux-variance formulation.