Vortex shedding behind tapered obstacles in neutral & stratified flow

Results of laboratory and numerical experiments on both homogeneous and density-stratified flow over single, bluff obstacles of various shapes are presented. The obstacle height is in most cases of the same order as the base diameter and the major controlling (flow) parameter is the Froude number, defined here as F_h=U/Nh, where U is the (uniform) upstream velocity, h the obstacle height and N is the buoyancy frequency. Attention is concentrated, firstly, on the case of homogeneous flows over rather weakly tapered obstacles and, secondly, for bodies whose height is similar to their base width, on the case F_h=0.1, representing stratification sufficiently strong that lee-wave motions do not play a significant role in the flow dynamics. For right-circular cones it is shown that the sectional contributions to the total fluctuating side force (lift) show significant phase variations up the height of the obstacle, which are not always reflected in the developed vortex street further downstream. For some obstacle shapes, the vortex lines linking the von Karman eddies at different heights can be significantly tilted, particularly in the upper part of the wake. Vortex convection speeds do not appear generally to vary greatly with height and, as found in previous work, the shedding frequency remains constant with height, despite the strong variation of cross-stream obstacle width. By comparison with the homogeneous results, it is suggested that the stratification enhances the shedding instability, which would otherwise be very weak for squat obstacles, but does not annihilate the ability of the flow at one level to influence that at another.     

沉积有机质激光热裂解色谱质谱探针分析技术的尝试及其前景探讨

激光热裂解－色谱－质谱分析方法具有从技术层面上融合分子地球化学方法和有机岩石学方法的潜能。通过抚顺煤镜质组分和树脂体的研究实例，介绍了激光热裂解－色谱－质谱探针分析的基本原理及测试方法。抚顺煤显微组分的微区热裂解产物特征中，镜质组和树脂体热解产物的正烷烃、烷基萘和四氢化萘的总体面貌相似，但树脂体中正烷烃含量较低，而烷基四氢化萘明显较高，这可能反映显微组分形成过程中发生过低分子烃类在各显微组分之间的混合作用。除此之外，还把激光热裂解－色谱－质谱探针技术与传统的分子地球化学方法、有机岩石学方法进行比较。探讨了激光热裂解－色谱－质谱探针技术的应用前景以及尚待解决的技术问题。落射到样品表面的激光束能量（温度）和控制和激光辐射时间的，激光束斑大小、热解产物量、色谱－质谱检验灵敏度极限三者关系等，都是限制新技术应用的技术问题。     

Predicting channel patterns

The proposed distinction between meandering and braided river channel patterns, on the basis of bankfull specific stream power and bed material size, is analysed and rejected. Only by using regime-based estimates of channel widths (rather than actual widths) has discrimination been achieved, and it is argued that this procedure is unacceptable.An alternative is to explore the patterning processes underlying the marked pattern scatter on bankfull stream power/bed material size plots. Of the five sets of patterning processes, large-scale bedform development and stability is seen as especially important for meandering and braiding. For gravel-bed rivers, bedforms developed at around or above bankfull stage appear important for pattern generation, with braiding relating to higher excess shear stress and Froude number. There seems to be an upper threshold to both meandering and braiding which is achieved at extreme discharges and steep gradients, as on steep alluvial fans, rather than for the rivers with available flow data here considered. For sand-bed rivers with greater excess shear stress, the equivalent upper plane bed threshold may occur below bankfull, with bed material mobility and bedform modification occurring over a wider range of sub-bankfull discharges. Sand-bed channel margin outlines appear to be less perturbed by bedform effects than gravel bed planforms, and they may have naturally straight or sinuous planforms. Bedform relief may nevertheless lead to some being designated as braided when viewed at low flows.It is concluded that the use of a single-stage stream power measure and bed material size alone is unlikely to achieve meandering/braiding discrimination.     

Effects of fire, grazing, and the presence of shrubs on Chihuahuan desert grasslands

Responses of herbaceous and suffrutescent species to fire, grazing, and presence of Prosopis glandulosa were examined in a Chihuahuan desert grassland in south-central New Mexico. Treatments were assigned randomly to eight 12×8 m plots within each of two blocks. Following fires in June 1995, unfenced plots were exposed to livestock grazing over 4 years. Plots were established that either included or excluded P. glandulosa. Perennial grass cover, primarilyBouteloua eriopoda , decreased by 13% in burned plots but increased 5% in unburned areas. Conversely, perennial forb cover was 4% greater after fire. Perennial grass frequency decreased 30% more and perennial forb frequency increased 10% more following burning. Further, increases in evenness after fire resulted in a 225% increase in species diversity. Grazing also resulted in a decrease in perennial grass cover while frequency decreased 22% more in grazed than ungrazed plots. Only frequency and not cover of perennial forbs and annual grasses increased more following grazing. Presence of P. glandulosa had no differential effect on responses of non-shrub species. Fires were conducted during near drought conditions while grazing occurred during years of precipitation equivalent to the long-term average. Precipitation immediately following fire may be critical for recovery of B. eriopoda -dominated desert grasslands; relationships between fire and post-fire precipitation patterns require future investigation.     

Problem of the Relationship between Phosphorites and Evaporites (Critical Comments to the Work by A.S. Sokolov “Paragenetic Interrelations between Phosphoritic and Saliferous Basins,” Lithology and Mineral Resources, 1999, no. 2)

Lithology and Mineral Resources -     

Geochemistry and Metallogeny of Phosphorus in the Russian Platform during the Jurassic–Cretaceous

The composition and metallogeny of igneous rocks and relevant weathering crusts of Jurassic–Cretaceous provenances of the Russian Platform are considered. It is shown that the association of metals that accumulated in the process of weathering and erosion of ancient substratum includes P, Fe, Ti, V, and Cr. This process is reflected in the formation of nodular phosphorites, Ti and Zr placers, and iron ore deposits in the Jurassic–Cretaceous seas of the platform.