内蒙古宝音图岩群变质基性火山岩锆石U-Pb年龄及意义

内蒙古达茂旗宝音图岩群是在达茂旗、查干呼绍地区 1:5万区调和白云鄂博幅 1:2 5万区调过程中从过去的巴特敖包群和白云鄂博群未分岩组解体出来的中级变质岩系。通过对宝音图岩群中阳起钠长片岩、二云片岩 (原岩均为基性火山岩 )进行单颗粒锆石U -Pb法年龄测定 ,获得了两条不一致线上交点年龄 (2 486± 42 )Ma、(2 496± 2 6 )Ma ,代表了宝音图岩群基性火山岩及宝音图岩群的形成时代 ;在不一致线之外不同成因的锆石的2 0 7Pb/ 2 0 6Pb表面年龄 (2 2 2 7± 15 )Ma ,寓示着 2 2 0 0Ma左右发生了一次区域性变质热事件 ;下交点年龄 (319±486 )Ma和 (40 6± 46 )Ma ,代表了 2 5 0～ 480Ma时期该区大面积岩浆侵位及宝音图岩群后期变形变质改造的时期 ,两个年龄样的获得为研究古元古代古陆的裂解及白云鄂博海槽的形成提供了直接依据。     

薄钢板剪力墙抗震性能试验研究

通过4个薄钢板剪力墙和1个钢筋混凝土框架的试验，研究了薄钢板剪力墙在低周往复荷载作用下的刚度、承载力、延性和耗能性能。试验表明，利用薄钢板剪力墙在低周往复荷载作用下的刚度、承载力、延性和耗能性能。试验表明，利用薄钢板剪力墙作为抗侧力构件是可行的。在钢筋混凝土框架中设置薄钢板可有效地增加刚度，承载力和耗能性能。     

连续小波变换在新疆地震活动周期分析中的应用

利用连续小波变换分析和研究了 1 970年 1月— 2 0 0 1年 1 2月新疆地区 30年来的地震活动情况。结果表明 ,新疆地震活动存在比较稳定的 1 0年左右活动周期 ,并存在 5年和 1 7年左右的不稳定的准活动周期 ,也就是说新疆地区地震活动既存在比较稳定的优势周期 ,也存在一定的时变性。根据 MS≥ 4.7地震时间序列的连续小波变换结果可推测 ,2 0 0 2— 2 0 0 5年新疆地区地震活动相对偏弱 ,中、强地震的发生次数偏少 ,有可能发生 5级或 6级地震 ,而到 2 0 0 6— 2 0 0 7年新疆有可能再次发生 7级左右的大地震。     

A 1500-year record of climatic and environmental change in ElkLake, Minnesota I: Varve thickness and gray-scale density

The deepest part (29.5 m) of Elk Lake, ClearwaterCounty, northwestern Minnesota, contains a complete Holocene section that iscontinuously varved. The varve components are predominantly autochthonous(CaCO₃, organic matter, biogenic silica, and several iron andmanganese minerals), but the varves do contain a minor detrital-clastic(aluminosilicate) component that is predominantly wind-borne (eolian) andprovides an important record of atmospheric conditions. Singular spectrumanalysis (SSA) and wavelet analysis of varve thickness recognized significantperiodicities in the multicentennial and multidecadal bands that varied inpower (i.e., variable significance) and position (i.e., variable period) withinthe periodic bands. Persistent periodicities of about 10, 22, 40, and 90 years,and, in particular, multicentennial periodicities in varve thickness and otherproxy variables are similar to those in spectra of radiocarbon production, aproxy for past solar activity. This suggests that there may be a solar control,perhaps through geomagnetic effects on atmospheric circulation. Multicentennialand multidecadal periodicities also occur in wavelet spectra of relativegray-scale density. However, gray-scale density does not appear to correlatewith any of the measured proxy variables, and at this point we do not know whatcontrolled gray scale.     

The interpretation of reaction textures in Fe‐rich metapelitic granulites of the Musgrave Block,central Australia: constraints from mineral equilibria calculations in the system K2O–FeO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2–H2O–TiO2–Fe2O3

Fe‐rich metapelitic granulites of the Musgrave Block, central Australia, contain several symplectic and coronal reaction textures that post‐date a peak S2 metamorphic assemblage involving garnet, sillimanite, spinel, ilmenite, K‐feldspar and quartz. The earliest reaction textures involve spinel‐ and quartz‐bearing symplectites that enclose garnet and to a lesser extent sillimanite. The symplectic spinel and quartz are in places separated by later garnet and/or sillimanite coronas. The metamorphic effects of a later, D3, event are restricted to zones of moderate to high strain where a metamorphic assemblage of garnet, sillimanite, K‐feldspar, magnetite, ilmenite, quartz and biotite is preserved. Quantitative mineral equilibria calculations in the system K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O–TiO₂–Fe₂O₃ (KFMASHTO) using Thermocalc 3.0 and the accompanying internally consistent dataset provide important constraints on the influence of TiO₂ and Fe₂O₃ on biotite‐bearing and spinel‐bearing equilibria, respectively. Biotite‐bearing equilibria are shifted to higher temperatures and spinel‐bearing equilibria to higher pressures and lower temperatures in comparison to the equivalent equilibria in K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O (KFMASH). The sequence of reaction textures involving spinel is consistent with a D2 P–T path that involved a small amount of decompression followed predominantly by cooling within a single mineral assemblage stability field. Thus, the reaction textures reflect changes in modal proportions within an equilibrium assemblage rather than the crossing of a univariant reaction. The D3 metamorphic assemblage is consistent with lower temperatures than those inferred for D2.     

Alpine medicinal plant trade and Himalayan mountain livelihood strategies

Commercial alpine medicinal plants are collected from the wild by local rural households throughout the Himalaya and sold in order to increase household incomes. Recent studies indicate that this annual trade amounts to thousands of tonnes of roots, rhizomes, tubers, leaves, etc., worth millions of US dollars. The main market is in India. Based on a national survey, including the most commonly traded species, and a village study this paper investigates the importance of the alpine medicinal plant trade at national and local levels in Nepal. The national survey included standardized open-ended interviews with 232 harvesters, 64 local traders, 66 central wholesalers, 47 regional wholesalers, and 16 production companies. The village survey is based on the daily records of household activities in 15 households in a one-year period. The annual Nepalese alpine and sub-alpine medicinal plant trade is conservatively estimated to vary from 480 to 2500 t with a total harvester value of US$0.8–3.3 million; the average harvester value is estimated at US$66.0 ± 99.0. The trade in 1997/98 amounted to 1600 t with a harvester value of US$2.3 million and an export value equivalent to 2.5% of total export from Nepal. Medicinal plant harvesting was found to constitute an integrated part of local livelihood strategies, contributing from 3 to 44% (average of 12%) of the annual household income. Importance at household level depended on land and animal holdings, and the availability of adult male labour. The validity and reliability of methods and analyses is evaluated, and issues of conservation and management of alpine medicinal plant species under the community forestry scheme are discussed.     

Aspects of the loss-on-ignition (LOI) technique in the context of clay-rich, glaciolacustrine sediments

The loss‐on‐ignition (LOI) technique for organic matter determination is evaluated with reference to clay‐rich, glaciolacustrine sediments. Examples of the use of LOI in glaciolacustrine literature are inconsistent in their methodology, and standardisation is called for. Problems with application of the technique to glaciolacustrine sediments stem mainly from the effects of additional weight loss due to release of structurally bound water and exposure time to ignition temperatures. Exposure time should be increased from 1 hour to 2.5 hours in the light of significant additional weight loss occurring between 2 and 2.5 hours in clay‐rich samples. The reason for this sudden increase in LOI after 2 hours (up to 86% of total LOI in some cases) appears to be the build‐up of a distinct surface crust during heating that insulates the core of the sample from ignition temperatures. Some time between 2 and 2.5 hours, the crust breaks down and exposes the sample core to ignition temperatures, increasing weight loss significantly. Overestimation of LOI due to loss of structural water is thought to be insignificant. Replicates of LOI at 550 and 1000°C in non‐calcareous, clay‐rich (>40%) sediments, show differences of <0.25%, which, for the purpose of inferring broad changes in glacier extent in lake catchments, is an acceptable error.     

(Re)surveying the uses of Geographical Information Systems in Health Authorities 1991–2001

This paper provides a comparative analysis of two separate national surveys of the uptake and use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) by Health Authorities (HAs) in England and Wales. The surveys were undertaken at two different time points (1991 and 2001), and the intervening period has been characterized by major (and continuing) health sector restructuring. The substantial number of HA mergers between 1991 and 2001 provide a methodological challenge in attempting to make comparisons. A pragmatic approach is adopted and the presentation of results has to be restricted solely to English and Welsh HA data. Our findings show that there has been a considerable increase in the use of GIS since the early 1990s, and there is some evidence of more sophisticated uses for a wider range of policy-related and application tasks. However, we conclude that there is still considerable scope for the wider uptake and use of GIS within the NHS. In addition, our findings provide a baseline with which to monitor the impacts of future organizational restructuring on the uses of GIS within the NHS. We suggest that this is important given the replacement of 95 English HAs with 28 new Strategic HAs (StHAs) from April 2002, and the repercussions of the anticipated shift in GIS responsibility to Primary Care Trusts.