The Mesoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic passive margin Lajeado Group and Apiaí Gabbro,Southeastern Brazil

The Lajeado Group in the Ribeira Belt,southeastern Brazil,corresponds to an open-sea carbonate platform,comprised of seven overlapping siliciclastic and carbonatic formations,intruded in its upper portion by the Apiai Gabbro.These rocks have a Neoproterozoic tectonometamorphic overprint related to arc magmatism and the Brasiliano collisional orogeny.Geochronological constraints are given by new UPb SHRIMP and LA-ICP-MS data for Lajeado Group detrital zircons and for magmatic zircons from the Apiai Gabbro.The youngest detrital zircons in the Lajeado Group are 1400-1200 Ma,and constrain its maximum age of deposition to be 1200 Ma,whereas the 877 ± 8 Ma age for magmatic zircons in the Apiai Gabbro give the minimum age.Detritus source areas are mainly Paleoproterozoic(2200-1800 Ma)with some Archean and Mesoproterozoic contribution(1500-1200 Ma),with distal or tectonic stable cratonic character.The Lajeado Group should be a Stenian-Tonian carbonate platform passive margin of a continent at this time,namely the Columbia/Nuna or the Rodinia.The Apiai Gabbro displays similar age to other intrusive basic rocks in the Lajeado and Itaiacoca groups and represents tholeiitic MORB-like magmatism that we relate to the initial break-up of a Mesoproterozoic continent and the formation of the Brasiliano oceans.     

New observations and transit solutions of the inflated exoplanets HAT-P-40b and HAT-P-51b

We present high-precision photometric observations of the transiting exoplanets HAT-P-40 b and HAT-P-51 b by the Rozhen 2-m telescope.The newly-observed transit of HAT-P-40 b is the first one with a complete curve.The orbital periods of the two targets were improved.We modeled the observed transits and found bigger stellar radii than those derived from the stellar models.The planet radii of HATP-40 b and HAT-P-51 b obtained from our transit solutions are bigger than the values calculated by the empirical relations for Jupiter-mass and Saturn-mass planets respectively.Their values reveal the highlyinflated nature of the two targets,especially that of HAT-P-51 b.We established that the best transit solutions correspond to a quadratic limb-darkening law.The fitted limb-darkening coefficients of HAT-P-40 are close to the theoretical ones while those of HAT-P-51 are a little different.The precise astrometric Gaia distances of the two targets are smaller by 6%–7%than the calculated values from the stellar models.We propose the Gaia distances to be used for improvement of the stellar models as well as for more reliable calculation of the parameters of the known exoplanets.     

Habitat continuity effects on gradients of fish biomass across marine protected area boundaries

Marine protected areas (MPAs) could be useful as fisheries management tools for the exportation of pelagic eggs, larvae and adult fish. A decreasing gradient of fish biomass across MPAs boundary may indicate export. We determine whether gradients of decreasing biomass of fish assemblage occurred in Tabarca Marine Reserve over two habitats with different continuity across the boundaries, to test if the patchy nature of the marine environment might act as a barrier for the fish export. In general, significant decreasing gradients in total fish biomass and biomass of some species were observed on P. oceanica and rocky substrates, independently of their different continuity through the reserve boundaries. Changes in the multivariate structure of the fish assemblage were correlated with the distance from integral reserve. All of these results support the hypothesis that the exportation of adult fish from Tabarca Marine Reserve occurs, and this process may influence the surrounding fished areas.     

Fresh snow chemistry from high mountain regions in central himalayas

Investigations of atmospheric composition in the Himalayas has been limited in both temporal and spatial scales, mainly due to difficult logistics. Ideal sites for monitoring atmospheric composition and its evolution should be free from local pollution and representative of the remote troposphere (HUEBERT et al., 1980). As the Himalayas are far removed from highly industrialized regions they provide suitable locations to monitor the chemistry of the remote troposphere and to study the evolu…     

The difference of economic function and the trends of industrial development in central cities along the Xijiang River

TheXijiangRiveristhemainwaterwayacrosseastandwestinSouthernChina.ItsmaincoursebacksontothewestofGuangdongandthesouthwestofChina,withitsexitthroughHongKong,MacaoandSoutheasternAsia.Ithasawidehinterlandandconvenientwatertransportation.AlongtheXijiangRiver,thecentralcitiesarethecities,whichspreadalongtheXijiangRiver'smaincourse,theZhujiangRiver'sdeltaandoutlet,andBosehasbeenselectedasarepresentativecityintheupperreachesoftheXijiangRiver.Theytotal12cities,includingGuangzhou,Shenzhen,Zhuh…     

A New Emission Mode of PSR B1859+07

Previous studies have identified two emission modes in PSR B1859+07: a normal mode that has three prominent components in the average profile, with the trailing one being the brightest, and an anomalous mode(i.e., the A mode) where emissions seem to be shifted to an earlier phase. Within the normal mode, further analysis has revealed the presence of two submodes, i.e., the cW mode and c B mode, where the central component can appear either weak or bright. As for the anomalous mode, a new bright ...     

Effect of Matching Algorithm and Profile Shape on Pulsar Pulse Time of Arrival Uncertainties

For high-precision pulsar timing analysis and low-frequency gravitational wave detection, it is essential to accurately determine pulsar pulse times of arrival(ToAs) and associated uncertainties. To measure the ToAs and their uncertainties, various cross-correlation-based techniques can be employed. We develop methodologies to investigate the impact of the template-matching method, profile shape, signal-to-noise ratio of both template and observation on ToA uncertainties. These methodologies are...     

Lead contamination of small cetaceans in European waters--the use of stable isotopes for identifying the sources of lead exposure

Lead concentrations and isotopic composition have been measured in bone and teeth of small cetaceans belonging to three species (Delphinus delphis, Phocoena phocoena and Stenella coeruleoalba), to evaluate the toxicological risk and to determine sources of lead in the European waters. Lead concentrations, far lower than threshold value inducing toxic effects in human, were higher in teeth than in bones, but highly correlated between the two tissues (r=0.92, p<0.001). Large variations of 206Pb/207Pb values in bone tissue showed that cetaceans must be submitted to various atmospheric influences. No geographical differences appeared which is consistent with studies on their distribution indicating seasonal movements between Brittany waters and the Bay of Biscay. The negative correlation between 206Pb/207Pb ratios and age of the individuals reflected the decrease in the production of alkyl lead in Europe, i.e., the increasing use of unleaded gasoline.