Magnetic Fields of Neutron Stars

This article briefly reviews our current understanding of the evolution of magnetic fields in neutron stars, which basically defines the evolutionary pathways between different observational classes of neutron stars. The emphasis here is on the evolution in binary systems and the newly emergent classes of millisecond pulsars.     

辽宁省霾天气季节变化特征及其主导因子分析

利用辽宁省51个地面气象观测站的能见度、均一化相对湿度和天气现象资料,采用最优距离法和固定比例法对能见度资料进行一致性处理,重建了1961—2020年的辽宁省逐日霾资料,并利用该资料对辽宁省年和四季霾日时空变化特征和主导因子进行分析。结果表明,1961—2020年辽宁省平均年霾日呈显著增加趋势[2.1 d·(10 a)^-1],但2015年以来霾日显著减少;空间上,年和四季霾日呈现一致的分布特征,均存在1个高值中心(沈阳)和2个副高值中心(北票和锦州),年平均霾日分别为139、52、46 d,辽东和辽西山区为霾日低发区,年平均霾日在20 d以内。风向和风速是霾日形成的重要气象因子,西南偏南风增加带来的暖湿气流对春季、夏季和秋季霾日的形成贡献较大,北风的减少则对冬季霾日的形成贡献较大。霾发生时辽宁省春季、夏季和秋季发生西南偏南风的频率分别由11.4%、12.1%和8.0%增加至15.8%、19.8%和13.5%,冬季则表现为北风发生频率的减少和静风发生频率的增加;霾发生时四季风速均较平均状况偏小,说明小风有利于霾的形成。辽宁省霾长期演变受到污染物排放、风力因子和环境政...     

A 50-year record of NO<Subscript>x</Subscript> and SO<Subscript>2</Subscript> sources in precipitation in the Northern Rocky Mountains,USA

Ice-core samples from Upper Fremont Glacier (UFG), Wyoming, were used as proxy records for the chemical composition of atmospheric deposition. Results of analysis of the ice-core samples for stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ¹⁵N, ) and sulfur (δ³⁴S, ), as well as and deposition rates from the late-1940s thru the early-1990s, were used to enhance and extend existing National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network (NADP/NTN) data in western Wyoming. The most enriched δ³⁴S value in the UFG ice-core samples coincided with snow deposited during the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens, Washington. The remaining δ³⁴S values were similar to the isotopic composition of coal from southern Wyoming. The δ¹⁵N values in ice-core samples representing a similar period of snow deposition were negative, ranging from -5.9 to -3.2 ‰ and all fall within the δ¹⁵N values expected from vehicle emissions. Ice-core nitrate and sulfate deposition data reflect the sharply increasing U.S. emissions data from 1950 to the mid-1970s.     

Characteristics of pegmatoidal granite exposed near Bayalan,Ajmer district,Rajasthan

The study involves the characterization of pegmatoidal granite, southeast of Beawar, Ajmer district, Rajasthan. Earlier researchers had described this granite as part of the BGC, basement to the Bhim Group of the Delhi Super Group rocks. However, the present study indicates that it is younger than the rocks of Bhim Group of South Delhi Fold Belt, into which it is intrusive. The intrusion is structurally controlled and the outcrop pattern is phacolithic. The granite had intruded post-D₂ deformation of the Delhi orogeny along the axial planes of D₂ folds. The intrusion has also resulted in the formation of a contact aureole about the calc gneisses.     

Water source partitioning among trees growing on carbonate rock in a subtropical region of Guangxi, China

It is not clear how the water sources are used by trees in typical karst areas of Guangxi, China. Trees growing on rigid carbonate rock can primarily use spring water, precipitation-recharged soil water or a mixture of the two. In this study, the Nongla karst dynamic monitoring station in the southwest of Guangxi, China, was observed. To determine the water sources accessed by trees growing on rigid carbonate rock, seasonal change of isotope ratios (δ¹⁸O and δ D) in twig sap, soil water, rainfall and spring water were measured. Stem water samples plotted to the right of the meteoric water line indicates utilization of water sources subject to evaporative isotopic enrichment. Trees growing on rigid carbonate rock in the southwest of China used rainfall directly in the rainy season. Adult trees tended to use deeper water stored in the epikarst zone, while the young ones used soil water when precipitation decreased. In the dry season, all trees sampled depend mostly on water stored in the epikarst zone. Spring water was the major water source for all of the tree species investigated in the dry season. In conclusion, these data indicate that trees growing on rigid carbonate rock in southwest China depend mostly on water stored in the epikarst zone. Therefore, water storage in the epikarst zone is the essential water source for trees growing on carbonate rock in southwest China.     

Geophysical investigation using resistivity and GPR methods: a case study of a lubricant oil waste disposal area in the city of Ribeirão Preto,São Paulo,Brazil

Geophysics has been shown to be effective in identifying areas contaminated by waste disposal, contributing to the greater efficiency of soundings programs and the installation of monitoring wells. In the study area, four trenches were constructed with a total volume of about 25,000 m³. They were almost totally filled with re-refined lubricating oil waste for approximately 25 years. No protection liners were used in the bottoms and laterals of the disposal trenches. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the potential of the resistivity and ground penetrating radar (GPR) methods in characterizing the contamination of this lubricant oil waste disposal area in Ribeirão Preto, SP, situated on the geological domain of the basalt spills of the Serra Geral Formation and the sandstones of the Botucatu Formation. Geophysical results were shown in 2D profiles. The geophysical methods used enabled the identification of geophysical anomalies, which characterized the contamination produced by the trenches filled with lubricant oil waste. Conductive anomalies (smaller than 185 Ωm) immediately below the trenches suggest the action of bacteria in the hydrocarbons, as has been observed in several sites contaminated by hydrocarbons in previously reported cases in the literature. It was also possible to define the geometry of the trenches, as evidenced by the GPR method. Direct sampling (chemical analysis of the soil and the water in the monitoring well) confirmed the contamination. In the soil analysis, low concentrations of several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were found, mainly naphthalene and phenanthrene. In the water samples, an analysis verified contamination of the groundwater by lead (Pb). The geophysical methods used in the investigation provided an excellent tool for environmental characterization in this study of a lubricant oil waste disposal area, and could be applied in the study of similar areas.     

Decompression and H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O exsolution driven crystallization and fractionation: development of a new model for low-pressure fractional crystallization in calc-alkaline magmatic systems

Magma ascent, decompression-induced H₂O exsolution and crystallization is now recognized as an important process in hydrous subduction zone magmas. During the course of such a process calculations suggest that the ascent rate of a degassing and crystallizing mafic magma will be greater than crystal settling velocities. Thus, any crystals formed as a consequence of volatile exsolution will remain suspended in the magma. If the magma erupts before the percentage of suspended crystals reaches the critical crystallinity value for mafic magma (~55 vol.%) it will produce the commonly observed crystal rich island arc basalt lava. If the magma reaches its critical crystallinity before it erupts then it will stall within the crust. Extension of compaction experiments on a 55 vol.% sand-Karo syrup suspension at different temperatures (and liquid viscosities) to the likely viscosities of interstitial andesitic to dacitic liquid within such a stalled magma suggest that small amounts (up to ~10%) can be expelled on a time scale of 1–10 years. The expelled liquid can create a new intermediate to silicic body of magma that is related to the original mafic magma via fractional crystallization. The short time scale for liquid expulsion indicate that decompression-induced H₂O exsolution and crystallization can be an important mechanism for fractional crystallization. Based on this assumption a general model of decompression-induced crystallization and fractionation is proposed that explains many of the compositional, mineralogical and textural features of Aleutian (and other andesites).