ASCA observations of the Galactic superluminal sources GRO J1655–40 and GRS 1915+105

We summarize the ASCA observations of the two Galactic superluminal sources GRO J1655–40 and GRS 1915+105, focusing on theabsorption line features.The high spectroscopic capability of ASCA enabled us to detectiron-K absorption line features from both objects. This is direct evidence for the presence of highly ionized plasma in a non-spherical configuration around a black hole, and is considered to be a unique signature of superluminal jet systems. The candidate of the line-absorber would be a part of an accretion disk at a distance of 10^9-11 cm from the central X-ray source.     

A Shock-Wave Heating Model for Chondrule Formation: Effects of Evaporation and Gas Flows on Silicate Particles

A shock-wave heating model is one of the possible models for chondrule formation. We examine, within the framework of a shock-wave heating model, the effects of evaporation on the heating of chondrule precursor particles and the stability of their molten state in the postshock flow. We numerically simulate the heating process in the flow taking into account evaporation. We find that the melting criterion and the minimum radius criterion do not change significantly. However, if the latent heat cooling due to the evaporation dominates the radiative cooling from the precursor particle, the peak temperature of the precursor particle is suppressed by a few hundred Kelvins. We also find that the total gas pressure (ram plus static) acting on the precursor particle exceeds the vapor pressure of the molten precursor particle. Therefore, it is possible to form chondrules in the shock-wave heating model if the precursor temperature increases up to the melting point.     

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE RELATIONA OF BED MORPHOLOGY WITH SURFACE FLOW IN MEANDER CHANNELS

Alternate bars have the property that they migrate downstream whenever floods occur. However, in meander channels whose bend angles are larger than a critical value, the migration of bars can be suppressed, and the positions of bank erosion and flood attack also will be steady. In this study, the bed morphology in flume channels with bends of various lengths and angles is investigated at various flow discharges, and the relation of bed morphology to surface flow is investigated in detail using fluid measuring software. An effort is made to obtain guidelines for the plane shape design of meander channels. Based on the experimental results of bed topography and measurement of surface flow direction and velocity distribution, from the viewpoint of bank erosion and the concentration and dispersion of flood flow the most suitable plane shape for meandering channels is suggested through which the migration of alternate bars is suppressed.     

Geophysical Expression of Low Sulphidation Epithermal Au-Ag Deposits and Exploration Implications –Examples from the Hokusatsu Region of SW Kyushu, Japan–

Abstract: Low sulphidation epithermal Au-Ag deposits constitute a major exploration target for many mining companies worldwide. These deposits are commonly characterized by quartz vein systems which formed at temperatures often in the range 150–250°C giving rise to major alteration halos. Accompanying mineralization and associated alteration is the destruction and redistribution of magnetite in the host rocks and the formation of various K-bearing minerals such as adularia, illite and alunite. These alteration halos can often cover an area of at least several square kilometres and as such have the potential to be detected during reconnaissance geological surveys utilizing high resolution airborne aeromagnetic and radiometric sensors.
Analysis of airborne magnetic and radiometric data recently acquired over the Hokusatsu Region of SW Kyushu indicates that major low sulphidation epithermal Au-Ag deposits are characterized by several distinct geophysical features varying with the degree of post-mineralization cover and level of erosion. Several deposits coincide with extensive magnetic "flat" and high radiometric K–counts. In addition, several workers have shown that a very close association exists between Bouguer gravity highs and epithermal Au mineralization in the Hokusatsu Region. The combined use of areomagnetics, radiometrics and gravity data therefore provides an exceptionally effective approach to exploration for low sulphidation epithermal Au–Ag deposits in the Hokusatsu Region of Japan.     

Thermal alteration of hydrated minerals during hypervelocity capture to silica aerogel at the flyby speed of Stardust

Abstract— Outside the Earth's atmosphere, silica aerogel is one of the best materials to capture finegrained extraterrestrial particles in impacts at hypervelocities. Because silica aerogel is a superior insulator, captured grains are inevitably influenced by frictional heat. Therefore, we performed laboratory simulations of hypervelocity capture by using light‐gas guns to impact into aerogels finegrained powders of serpentine, cronstedtite, and Murchison CM2 meteorite. The samples were shot at >6 km s^?1 similar to the flyby speed at comet P/Wild‐2 in the Stardust mission. We investigated mineralogical changes of each captured particle by using synchrotron radiation X‐ray diffraction (SR‐XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE‐SEM). SR‐XRD of each grain showed that the majority of the bulk grains keep their original mineralogy. In particular, SR‐XRD and TEM investigations clearly exemplified the presence of tochilinite whose decomposition temperature is about 300 °C in the interior of the captured Murchison powder. However, TEM study of these grains also revealed that all the samples experienced melting and vesiculation on the surface. The cronstedtite and the Murchison meteorite powder show remarkable fracturing, disaggregation, melting, and vesiculation. Steep thermal gradients, about 2500 °C/μm were estimated near the surface of the grains (<2 μm thick) by TEM observation. Our data suggests that the interior of >4 μm across residual grains containing abundant materials that inhibit temperature rise would have not experienced >300 °C at the center.     

Factors controlling regional spatial distribution of 53 elements in coastal sea sediments in northern Japan: Comparison of geochemical data derived from stream and marine sediments

In all, 53 elements were analyzed in 1406 coastal sea sediment samples collected from an area off Hokkaido and the Tohoku region of Japan during a nationwide marine geochemical mapping project. The spatial distribution patterns of the elemental concentrations in coastal seas along with the existing geochemical maps in terrestrial areas were used to define natural geochemical background variation and mass transport processes. The terrestrial area is covered by mafic volcanic rocks and accretionary complexes associated with ophiolite, which has small amounts of felsic volcanic rocks and granite. The spatial distribution patterns of elements enriched in mafic lithologies such as Fe (Total Fe₂O₃) and Sc in marine environments are influenced by adjoining terrestrial materials. The spatial distribution patterns of Cr and Ni concentrations, which are highly abundant in ultramafic rocks on land, are used to evaluate the mass transport from land to the sea and the dispersive processes caused by oceanic currents. The scale of mass transport by oceanic currents occurs up to a distance of 100–200 km from the coast along the coastal areas. The regional differences of elements rich in felsic lithologies such as K (K₂O), Nb and La in marine sediments are determined mainly by the relative proportion of minerals and lithic fragments enriching felsic materials to those associated with mafic materials. The spatial distribution of elemental concentration is not always continuous between the land areas and coastal sea areas. That difference is interpreted as resulting from (1) transportation of marine sediments by oceanic currents and storm waves, (2) contribution of volcanic materials such as tephra, (3) occurrence of shell fragments and foraminifera tests and (4) distribution of relict sediments of the last glacial age and early transgression age. Contamination with Cu, Zn, Cd, As, Mo, Sn, Sb, Hg, Pb and Bi was not observed in marine environments because the study area has little anthropogenic activity. Terrestrial materials are the dominant source for these metals. The Mo, Cd, Sn, Sb, Hg, Pb and Bi are abundant in silty and clayey sediments locally because of early diagenetic processes, authigenic precipitation and organic substances associated with these elements. The spatial distribution of As concentration shows exceptions: it is concentrated in some coarse and fine sands on the shelf. The enrichment is explained by adsorption of As, sourced from a coal field, to Fe hydroxide.     

Atoll island vulnerability to flooding and inundation revealed by historical reconstruction: Fongafale Islet, Funafuti Atoll, Tuvalu

The reef islands formed on coral atolls are generally small, low, and flat, with elevations of only a few meters. These islands are thus highly vulnerable to elevated sea levels caused by extreme events and global warming. Such vulnerability was recently evidenced at Fongafale Islet, the capital of Tuvalu, when it flooded during accelerated spring high tides possibly related to sea level rise caused by global warming. Many factors, not only environmental but also economic and social, determine the vulnerability of an island to sea level rise. In this study, we used data spanning 108 yrs to reconstruct changes in topography, land use/cover, population, and the distribution of buildings at Fongafale Islet. The results indicate that the vulnerability of Fongafale Islet relates to its original landform characteristics: the central part of the island was formerly dominated by swampland that flooded at high tides. Fongafale Islet experienced greater population in-migration and centralization beginning in the 1970s following the independence of Tuvalu and Kiribati. Migrants were also responding to declines in overseas mining operations and limited options for paid employment. As the population increased, construction took place in vulnerable swampland areas. Our results clearly demonstrate that examinations of global environmental issues should focus on characteristics specific to the region of interest. These characteristics should be specified using historical reconstruction to understand and address the vulnerability of an area to global environmental changes.     

VIDEO AND PHOTOGRAPHIC SPECTROSCOPY OF 1998 AND 2001 LEONID PERSISTENT TRAINS FROM 300 TO 930 nm

Spectra of persistent meteor trains were observed at wavelength between 300 and 930 nm. Two obtained train spectra during the 1998 and 2001 Leonid meteor showers are reported here. During the 1998 Leonids, one train was detected by a photographic camera with a spectrograph covering 370–640 nm region. On the other hand, during the 2001 Leonids, video observations were carried out using image intensified cameras in ultraviolet (UV), visible and near infrared (near-IR) wavelengths. Temperatures in persistent trains have been measured by atmospheric O₂ A(0,1) band at the wavelength near 864.5 nm. From a video spectrum obtained just 7 s after parent fireball’s flare, a rotational temperature of 250 K at altitude of 88.0±0.5 km was estimated. We can say that the cooling time scale of train strongly depends on the initial mass of its fireball at least for Leonids. Based on cooling constant calculated from our results, we estimated a temperature of ∼ ∼130 K as a final exothermic temperature at early stage of persistent trains.     

A normal and superoutburst study of the eclipsing SU UMa star: DV Ursae Majoris

We report on time-resolved photometry carried out during the 1995 short outburst and the 1997 long outburst in the eclipsing dwarf nova DV UMa. The revised orbital period is 0.0858526172 (67) d. We detected gigantic superhumps with an amplitude of ∼0.6 mag in the mid-phase of the 1997 outburst, revealing the SU UMa nature of DV UMa. The superhump period is 0.0887 (4) d. The superhumps became less clear during the late phase of the superoutburst, and we found two possible periods of 0.0885 (15) and 0.0764 (15). During both outbursts, the eclipse was wide and shallow near the maximum, and then became narrower and deeper, which is qualitatively well explained by the current disc instability theory.     

Stem waves along vertical wall due to random wave incidence

This study investigates stem waves, propagating along a vertical wall, due to obliquely incident random waves through laboratory experiments and numerical simulations. Attention is paid to the difference or similarity between the stem waves due to periodic waves and random waves, the nonlinear and linear characteristics, and the effect of wave breaking on the evolution of stem waves. The following were found from this study: as the incident angle of waves become large or the nonlinearity of the incident waves become small, the significant stem wave height, normalized by the incident significant wave height, becomes large. This tendency is the same as that generated by the Stokes waves or cnoidal waves. However, regardless of the nonlinearity of incident waves, the width of stem waves is almost the same. This is a different point between the stem waves due to periodic and random waves. The wave breaking suppresses the growth of the stem waves.