Fujiwhara on five centuries of freezing dates of Lake Suwa in the Central Japan

Summary As phenological indicators, the freezing dates of Lake Suwa in the Central Japan are tabulated in chronological order over more than five centuries since the winter 1443/44 up to the present. The years in the last 2 1/2 centuries have been characterized by warmer winter (i. e. later freezing), even though there is a definite sequence of fluctuation between cold and warm. Tree-rings analysis is also given for references.

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Zusammenfassung Die Gefriertermine des Suwa-Sees in Mitteljapan werden als phänologische Indikatoren in chronologischer Reihe über mehr als fünf Jahrhunderte, vom Winter 1443/44 bis heute, mitgeteilt. Die letzten 2 1/2 Jahrhunderte sind durch späteres Zufrieren, also wärmere Winter charakterisiert, wenn sich auch deutliche Fluktuationen zwischen kalt und warm erkennen lassen. Außerdem wird auf Jahresringen der Bäume beruhendes Beweismaterial diskutiert.

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Résumé L'auteur dispose en tableau chronologique les dates de gel du lac Suwa (Japon central) pour plus de 500 ans, soit depuis l'hiver 1443–44 jusqu'à aujourd'huit et qui peuvent servir d'indicateurs phénologiques. Les années des dernières 2 1/2 siècles sont caractérisées par des hivers plus chauds (gels plus tardifs), malgré des fluctuations définies de périodes chaudes et froides. Pour appuyer ces constations, l'auteur examine aussi les résultats obtenus par l'analyse des cernes des arbres.

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With 3 Figures.     

Twelve centuries of blooming dates of the cherry blossoms at the city of Kyoto and its own vicinity

Summary Blooming dates of the cherry blossoms at the city of Kyoto (old capital of Japan) and its own vicinity are given in chronological order extending over twelve centuries. Examination of this documentary evidence in Japan shows a long period from 11th century until 14th century colder than the average, while the years since have been characterized by earlier blooming even though there is a definite sequence of fluctuation between late and early.     

The role of sticky interstellar organic material in the formation of asteroids

Abstract— Collision experiments and measurements of viscoelastic properties were performed involving an interstellar organic material analogue to investigate the growth of organic grains in the protosolar nebula. The organic material was found to be stickiest at a radius of between 2.3 and 3.0 AU, with a maximum sticking velocity of 5 m s^?1 for millimeter‐size organic grains. This stickiness is considered to have resulted in the very rapid coagulation of organic grain aggregates and subsequent formation of planetesimals in the early stage of the turbulent accretion disk. The planetesimals formed in this region appear to be represent achondrite parent bodies. In contrast, the formation of planetesimals at <2.1 and >3.0 AU begins with the establishment of a passive disk because silicate and ice grains are not as sticky as organic grains.     

Spin rates of fast-rotating asteroids and fragments in impact disruption

We present a new experimental result of fragment spin-rate in impact disruption, using a thin glass plate. A cylindrical projectile impacts on a side (edge) of the plate. Dispersed fragments are observed using a high-speed camera and the spin rates of fragments are measured. We find that the measured fragment spin-rate decreases with increasing size. Assuming that the rotational energy of fragments is supplied from the residual stress, the spin rate ω decreases with increasing fragment size r as ω∼r−1, which explains the above experimental results. This size-dependence is similar to that of the observed spin rates of small fast-rotating asteroids. Our results suggest that spin rates of fragments of small asteroids immediately after disruption may have a similar size-dependence, and can provide constraints on the subsequent spin-state evolution of small asteroids due to thermal torques.     

Low-velocity collisions between centimeter-sized snowballs: Porosity dependence of coefficient of restitution for ice aggregates analogues in the Solar System

Understanding the collisional behavior of ice dust aggregates at low velocity is a key to determining the formation process of small icy bodies such as icy planetesimals, comets and icy satellites, and this collisional behavior is also closely related to the energy dissipation mechanism in Saturn’s rings. We performed head-on collision experiments in air by means of free-falling centimeter-sized sintered snowballs with porosities from 44% to 80% at impact velocities from 0.44 m s^?1 to 4.12 m s^?1 at ?10 °C. In cases of porosity larger than 70%, impact sticking was the dominant collision outcome, while bouncing was dominant at lower porosity. Coefficients of restitution of snow in this velocity range were found to depend strongly on the porosity rather than the impact velocity and to decrease with the increase of the porosity. We successfully measured the compaction volume of snowballs after the impact, and it enabled us to estimate the dynamic compressive strength of snow with the assumption of the energy conservation between kinetic energy and work for deformation, which was found to be consistent with the upper limit of static compressive strength. The velocity dependence of coefficients of restitution of snow was analyzed using a Johnson’s model, and a diagram for collision outcomes among equal-sized sintered snowballs was successfully drawn as a function of porosity and impact velocity.     

The criterion of dynamic stability of zonal motion including the vertical shear

Summary Many writers treated on the problem of dynamic instability of westerly flow due to the excessive horizontal shear, and the present author discusses the corresponding dynamic instability due to the vertical shear. The critical vertical shear in indifferent stratification is given by the condition — the meridional component of absolute vorticity vanishes, — and is an approximate negative valueof 10^–4 sec ^–1 in middle latitude. However the critical vertical shear in normal stable stratification is a fairly large negative value of 2 sec^–1. It might be emphasized that the problem of this study differs fromRichardson's criterion of turbulence, for the present author discusses the condition under which the zonal flow is dynamically stable, whileRichardson expressed the condition under which the turbulence will decrease.     

悬沙水体不同波段反射比的分布特征及悬沙量估算实验研究

我国沿岸、河口附近水域具有高悬沙量的特点.悬沙的分布、扩散、沉降过程影响港口、航道水深的维持,影响生态环境.利用卫星遥感资料开展悬沙遥感及定量算法研究,在我国已取得诸多成果,挥才兴等[1]提出了几种悬沙定量的经验和半经验模式.“七五”攻关分别对黄河口和长江口提出了对数模式、线性分析模式和双峰比模式,Ma等[2]将模式识别方法应用于悬沙遥感.90年代后期,国际上陆续发射多颗海色卫星,我国也计划发射海色卫星,为有效地利用海色卫星资料,进一步开展悬沙定量算法及传感器谱段选择研究具有重要意义.     

Geoarchaeological investigation of lithic resources in the central Mesa Verde region,Colorado, USA

An important question in Southwestern archaeological research is how social and economic ties between prehistoric groups changed through time. The chemical and mineralogical matching of stone tools and ceramics to source areas is one approach to addressing this question. Here we challenge the assumption that igneous rocks used for manufacturing stone tools and ceramics in the Mesa Verde region of Colorado were originally derived from the Chuska Mountains of New Mexico. Recent geological surveys suggest that small igneous features present in and around Mesa Verde National Park and Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park contain similar lithologies and may represent a local source. We systematically visited seven of these igneous exposures and nine downstream gravel deposits, looking for geological sources and quarry sites matching the lithology of analyzed debitage from this region. Our results suggest that the ancestral Puebloans could have procured such igneous rocks as aphanitic minette and trachybasalt pottery temper from local areas. Because the trachybasalt is usually thought to have been imported from the Chuska Mountains, this discovery may require a revision of interpreted trade networks based on pottery temper and lithic raw material distinctions. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Amino acids derived from Titan tholins

An organic heteropolymer (Titan tholin) was produced by continuous dc discharge through a 0.9 N2/0.1 CH4 gas mixture at 0.2 mbar pressure, roughly simulating the cloudtop atmosphere of Titan. Treatment of this tholin with 6N HCl yielded 16 amino acids by gas chromatography after derivatization of N-trifluroacetyl isopropyl esters on two different capillary columns. Identifications were confirmed by GC/MS. Glycine, aspartic acid, and alpha- and beta-alanine were produced in greatest abundance; the total yield of amino acids was approximately 10(-2), approximately equal to the yield of urea. The presence of "nonbiological" amino acids, the absence of serine, and the fact that the amino acids are racemic within experimental error together indicate that these molecules are not due to microbial or other contamination, but are derived from the tholin. In addition to the HCN, HC2CN, and (CN)2 found by Voyager, nitriles and aminonitriles should be sought in the Titanian atmosphere and, eventually, amino acids on the surface. These results suggest that episodes of liquid water in the past or future of Titan might lead to major further steps in prebiological organic chemistry on that body.