Gaseous and Particulate Oxidized and Reduced Nitrogen Species in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer in Scandinavia in Spring

Observations of the concentration of several nitrogen containing compounds at five rural Scandinavian sites during March–June 1993 are reported. Total nitrate (NO ₃ ^- + HNO₃) and total ammonium (NH ₄ ⁺ + NH₃) were measured by denuder and filter pack. In general the methods agree well. At all sites the particulate fraction dominated, with the largest fraction of NO ₃ ^- and the lowest of NH ₄ ⁺ at the sites which were closest to the emission sources. The fraction of NO ₃ ^- of total nitrate increased with increasing NO₂ concentrations, indicating that the nighttime conversion of NO₂ to NO ₃ ^- is an important route of formation for NO ₃ ^- . A positive correlation was found between HNO₃ and O₃ in June at all sites, while no correlation was found early in the spring. Model calculations were made with a lagrangian boundary layer photooxidant model for the whole period, and compared to the measured concentrations. The calculated ratio between mean observed and modelled daily maximum concentrations of ozone over the measurement period were within +/–10% at all sites. The models ability to describe the daily ozone maximum concentration was satisfactory with an average deviation of 19–22% from the observed concentrations. HNO₃ was underestimated by over 50% at all sites except the one closest to the emission sources. The correlation between modelled and observed concentrations was generally best for the sites with shortest transport distance from the sources of emission.     

Secularization in the Netherlands in its historical and geographical dimensions

The Netherlands is one of the most secularized countries in the western world. The aim of this paper is to put the secularization process in both historical and geographical perspective. As a mass process secularization started in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and accelerated from the sixties of this century onwards. The first concentrations of non-denominationalism could be found in the (Protestant) countryside of Friesland and Groningen as a consequence of profound social cleavages. Then, the big cities in the west took part in the process and more recently even the Catholic areas were affected due to the cultural revolution of the sixties and early seventies. Two counterforces were analysed: a religious revival within the Protestant community and the increasing proportion of Muslims and Hindus as a consequence of immigration and high fertility levels. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

On the formation of massive stars

We present a model for the formation of massive ( M ≳10 M⊙) stars through accretion-induced collisions in the cores of embedded dense stellar clusters. This model circumvents the problem of accreting on to a star whose luminosity is sufficient to reverse the infall of gas. Instead, the central core of the cluster accretes from the surrounding gas, thereby decreasing its radius until collisions between individual components become sufficient. These components are, in general, intermediate-mass stars that have formed through accretion on to low-mass protostars. Once a sufficiently massive star has formed to expel the remaining gas, the cluster expands in accordance with this loss of mass, halting further collisions. This process implies a critical stellar density for the formation of massive stars, and a high rate of binaries formed by tidal capture.     

Extended source effects in astrometric gravitational microlensing

Extended source size effects have been detected in photometric monitoring of gravitational microlensing events. We study similar effects in the centroid motion of an extended source lensed by a point mass. We show that the centroid motion of a source with uniform surface brightness can be obtained analytically. For a source with a circularly symmetric limb-darkening profile, the centroid motion can be expressed as a one-dimensional integral, which can be evaluated numerically. We find that when the impact parameter is comparable to the source radius, the centroid motion is significantly modified by the finite source size. In particular, when the impact parameter is smaller than the source radius, the trajectories become clover-leaf like. Such astrometric motions can be detected using space interferometers such as the Space Interferometry Mission . Such measurements offer exciting possibilities for determining stellar parameters, such as stellar radius, to excellent accuracy.     

Hydrodynamics and stability of galactic cooling flows

Using numerical techniques we study the global stability of cooling flows in X-ray luminous giant elliptical galaxies. As an unperturbed equilibrium state we choose the hydrostatic gas recycling model. Non-equilibrium radiative cooling, stellar mass loss, heating by type Ia supernovae, distributed mass deposition and thermal conductivity are included. Although the recycling model reproduces the basic X-ray observables, it appears to be unstable with respect to the development of inflow or outflow. In spherical symmetry the inflows are subject to a central cooling catastrophe, while the outflows saturate in a form of a subsonic galactic wind. Two-dimensional axisymmetric random velocity perturbations of the equilibrium model trigger the onset of a cooling catastrophe, which develops in an essentially non-spherical way. The simulations show a patchy pattern of mass deposition and the formation of hollow gas jets, which penetrate through the outflow down to the galaxy core. The X-ray observables of such a hybrid gas flow mimic those of the equilibrium recycling model, but the gas temperature exhibits a central depression. The mass deposition rate M ˙ consists of two contributions of similar size: (i) a hydrostatic one resembling that of the equilibrium model, and (ii) a dynamical one which is related to the jets and is more concentrated towards the centre. For a model galaxy, like NGC 4472, our 2D simulations predict M ˙ ≈ 2 M⊙ yr⁻¹ within the cooling radius for the advanced non-linear stage of the instability. We discuss the implications of these results to Hα nebulae and star formation in cooling flow galaxies and emphasize the need for high-resolution 3D simulations.     

Modelling Spatial Patterns of Overbank Sedimentation on Embanked Floodplains

This paper presents a GIS-based mathematical model for the simulation of floodplain sedimentation. The model comprises two components: (1) the existing hydrodynamic WAQUA model that calculates two-dimensional water flow patterns; and (2) the SEDIFLUX model that calculates deposition of sediment based on a simple mass balance concept with a limited number of model parameters. The models were applied to simulate floodplain sediment deposition over river reaches of several kilometres in length. The SEDIFLUX model has been calibrated and validated using interpolated raster maps of sediment deposition observed after the large magnitude December 1993 flood on the embanked floodplain of the lower river Rhine in the Netherlands. The model appeared to be an adequate tool to predict patterns of sediment deposition as the product of the complex interaction among river discharge and sediment concentration, floodplain topography, and the resulting water flow patterns during various discharge levels. In the investigated areas, the resulting annual average sedimentation rates varied between 0.5 mm/year and 4.0 mm/year. The role of the most important mechanisms governing the spatial patterns of overbank deposition, i.e. inundation frequency, sediment load, floodplain topography and its influence on the flow patterns over the floodplain, are discussed.     

K－Ar测年法在确定沉积岩成岩时代中的应用——以鄂尔多斯盆地为例

根据伊利石Ｋ－Ａｒ测年法研究，确定鄂尔多斯盆地存在两期与构造运动有关的成岩作用事件：即与早期燕山运动有关的侏罗纪（１７０—１６０Ｍａ）和与晚期加里东运动有关的志留－泥盆纪（４２０－３７０Ｍａ）成岩作用时代。为了揭示碎屑物质对Ｋ－Ａｒ年龄的影响和伊利石成岩作用的机制，本文提出了一个通过观察Ｋ－Ａｒ年龄随深度变化的趋势来进行判断的模式。在Ｋ－Ａｒ年龄小于地层时代的条件下，Ｋ－Ａｒ年龄与深度呈正相关，或者很相近的Ｋ－Ａｒ年龄与深度变化无关均标志着没有或很少有碎屑物质的影响；同时，前者指示逐渐埋藏条件下的成岩作用，而后者则反映短暂的热事件引起的成岩作用事件。     

Paleoceanographic changes at the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary in the Western Tethys, northeastern Mexico

Mexico is usually considered to have formed the western end of the Tethys during Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous times. The circumstances of the opening of the Gulf of Mexico Basin towards the Tethys and the exact stratigraphic timing, however, are not clear. Four sections covering this time interval, located in northeastern Mexico, have been measured and sampled in detail, in order to clarify their stratigraphic position during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous time interval and the paleogeographic and oceanographic changes that accompanied this opening. Our studies include microfacies, micro- and macropaleontology, whole rock and clay-mineral x-ray diffraction and stable isotopes analyses. Our data indicate that the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary, as defined by the Lyon-Neuchâtel Colloquium of 1973, cannot be determined precisely in northeastern Mexico due to the near-absence of calpionellids and endemism of ammonite taxa. In the lower and upper Berriasian sediments, we detected Mediterranean ammonite taxa so far unknown from Mexico, corresponding to the appearance of typical calpionellid-rich facies. These faunas allow direct biostratigraphic correlation with European ammonite and calpionellid zones.We propose that a major oceanographic change occurred in the upper part of calpionellid Zone B of the Early Berriasian. At this time, sediments in northeastern Mexico present increasingly pelagic facies, a dramatic appearance of Tethyan microfossils (calpionellids) and ammonites, changes in stable isotopic values, whole rock and clay-mineral mineralogy. We suggest that these changes are due to a global sea-level rise that connected directly northeastern Mexico to the European Tethys and ended the endemic, semi-restricted and anoxic environment of the Late Jurassic La Casita and equivalent La Caja and La Pimienta Formations.     

Crystal field and charge transfer spectrum of (Mg, Fe)SiO3 majorite

Majorite of bulk composition Mg_0.86Fe_0.15SiO₃ was synthesized at 19 GPa and 1900 °C at an oxygen fugacity close to the Re/ReO₂ buffer. Optical absorption spectra of polycrystalline samples were measured from 4000 to 25000cm^?1. The following features were observed: (1) Three bands at 4554, 6005 and 8093 cm^?1 due to the ⁵E_g → ⁵T_2g transition of Fe²⁺ in a distorted dodecahedral site. (2) A band at 9340 cm^?1 due to the transition ⁵T_2g → ⁵E_g of octahedral Fe²⁺. (3) A band at 22784 cm^?1 resulting from Fe³⁺, probably in an octahedral site (⁶A_1g → ⁴A_1g, ⁴E_g). (4) A very intense system of Fe²⁺ → Fe³⁺ intervalence charge transfer bands which can be modelled by two Gaussian components centered at 16542 and 20128 cm^?1. The existence of two components in the charge transfer spectrum could be related to the fact that the tetragonal majorite structure may contain Fe³⁺ in two different octahedral sites. The crystal field splitting Δ of Fe²⁺ in dodecahedral coordination is 5717 cm^?1. If a splitting of the ground state in the order of 1000 cm^?1 is assumed, this yields a crystal field stabilization energy (CFSE) of 3930 cm^?1, comparable to the CFSE of Fe²⁺ in pyrope-rich garnet. However, the splitting of ⁵T_2g is significantly higher than in pyrope. This would be consistent with Fe²⁺ preferentially occupying the more distorted one of the two dodecahedral sites in the majorite structure. For octahedral Fe²⁺, Δ= 9340 cm^?1 and CFSE=3736 cm^?1, assuming negligible splitting of the ground state.