Education as a determinant of fertility: a case study of Kullu Town

Using a sample of 885 females (1/2 of all married women of reproductive age), this study examines the role of education as a determinant of fertility among couples in Kullu town of Himachol Pradesh, India. Of the 885 respondents, only 149 were illiterate. The average family size was 2.88. Findings reveal that 1) the average family size was largest for illiterate respondents (3.57) and for illiterate males (3.76); 2) average family size declined consistently after the middle level of education to 1.29 for post graduate respondents and 2.33 for post graduate males; 3) a negative correlation exists between fertility and education of both husband and wife, with the wife's education having a stronger negative correlation with fertility; and 4) couples with an educational level of matriculation and above have a distinctly smaller family size than those less educated.     

The problem of rock assimilation by Somma-Vesuvius magma

Mineralogical and chemical compositions of ejected carbonate inclusions of Vesuvian gaseous phase are compared with those of carbonate sediments of the Somma-Vesuvius area. The basement of Vesuvius mainly consists of Mesozoic limestones. Most of these are characterized by extremely low insoluble residues. In this area thick dolomite beds occur in the Triassic system only. A calcareous layer of approximately 100 to 150 meters thickness characterized by high Sr contents (0.19% Sr in the average) is to be found within the Triassic dolostones. Several carbonate ejecta also show high Sr contents (0.1% Sr) but chemical composition of some of these ejecta differs somewhat from that of the Triassic layer high in Sr. Contact with the volcanic volatile phase and melt has produced some alterations in the composition of many ejecta. Magnesian calcites are abundant and periclase, brucite, tremolite, phlogopite and magnesite were found in the ejecta examined. Silicon, manganese, iron, zinc and, to a smaller extent, potassium and copper have been most probably transported from the volcanic gas phase into ejected carbonate inclusions. Owing to metasomatic actions of the volcanic volatile components, rearrangement and alteration of Ca and Mg contents occurred in the carbonate minerals of several ejecta. Under the influence of volcanic pressure and temperature, magnesium content originally in dolomite might be transformed into the calcite structure. \(\frac{{{\text{MgO}}}}{{{\text{CaO + MgO}}}}\) molar ratios of several carbonate ejecta do not correspond with those found in sedimentary limestones and dolostones. It cannot be proved whether the Mg of the mixed calcite-dolomite ejecta has been partially introduced from the volatiles or lost from the carbonate phases.     

Post‐orogenic evolution of the southern Pyrenees: constraints from inverse thermo‐kinematic modelling of low‐temperature thermochronology data

The late‐stage evolution of the southern central Pyrenees has been well documented but controversies remain concerning potential Neogene acceleration of exhumation rates and the influence of tectonic and/or climatic processes. A popular model suggests that the Pyrenees and their southern foreland were buried below a thick succession of conglomerates during the Oligocene, when the basin was endorheic. However, both the amount of post‐orogenic fill and the timing of re‐excavation remain controversial. We address this question by revisiting extensive thermochronological datasets of the Axial Zone. We use an inverse approach that couples the thermo‐kinematic model Pecube and the Neighbourhood inversion algorithm to constrain the history of exhumation and topographic changes since 40 Ma. By comparison with independent geological data, we identified a most probable scenario involving rapid exhumation (>2.5 km Myr^?1) between 37 and 30 Ma followed by a strong decrease to very slow rates (0.02 km Myr^?1) that remain constant until the present. Therefore, the inversion does not require a previously inferred Pliocene acceleration in regional exhumation rates. A clear topographic signal emerges, however: the topography has to be infilled by conglomerates to an elevation of 2.6 km between 40 and 29 Ma and then to remain stable until ca. 9 Ma. We interpret the last stage of the topographic history as recording major incision of the southern Pyrenean wedge, due to the Ebro basin connection to the Mediterranean, well before previously suggested Messinian ages. These results thus demonstrate temporally varying controls of different processes on exhumation: rapid rock uplift in an active orogen during late Eocene, whereas base‐level changes in the foreland basin control the post‐orogenic evolution of topography and exhumation in the central Pyrenees. In contrast, climate changes appear to play a lesser role in the post‐orogenic topographic and erosional evolution of this mountain belt.     

Mineral waters of the projected specially protected natural territory “Istoki Amura”

We examine the various types of mineral waters occurring on the projected specially protected transboundary natural territory “Istoki Amura”, on the Hentei-Dauria neotectonic high. We suggest the pattern of rational utilization of the mineral springs according to the nature conservation status of the terrain (nature reserves, national parks, and public access areas).     

Prediction of Resource Volumes at Untested Locations Using Simple Local Prediction Models

This paper shows how local spatial nonparametric prediction models can be applied to estimate volumes of recoverable gas resources at individual undrilled sites, at multiple sites on a regional scale, and to compute confidence bounds for regional volumes based on the distribution of those estimates. An approach that combines cross-validation, the jackknife, and bootstrap procedures is used to accomplish this task. Simulation experiments show that cross-validation can be applied beneficially to select an appropriate prediction model. The cross-validation procedure worked well for a wide range of different states of nature and levels of information. Jackknife procedures are used to compute individual prediction estimation errors at undrilled locations. The jackknife replicates also are used with a bootstrap resampling procedure to compute confidence bounds for the total volume. The method was applied to data (partitioned into a training set and target set) from the Devonian Antrim Shale continuous-type gas play in the Michigan Basin in Otsego County, Michigan. The analysis showed that the model estimate of total recoverable volumes at prediction sites is within 4 percent of the total observed volume. The model predictions also provide frequency distributions of the cell volumes at the production unit scale. Such distributions are the basis for subsequent economic analyses.

The Relationship between Global Volcanic Activity and Variations in the Velocity of Earth’s Rotation

Doklady Earth Sciences - Analysis of observations of the Earth’s rotational velocity and volcanic activity of the planet from 1720 until 2015 suggests that higher volcanic activity temporally...     

Predictions of Energy and Helicity in Four Major Eruptive Solar Flares

In order to better understand the solar genesis of interplanetary magnetic clouds (MCs), we model the magnetic and topological properties of four large eruptive solar flares and relate them to observations. We use the three-dimensional Minimum Current Corona model (Longcope, 1996, Solar Phys. 169, 91) and observations of pre-flare photospheric magnetic field and flare ribbons to derive values of reconnected magnetic flux, flare energy, flux rope helicity, and orientation of the flux-rope poloidal field. We compare model predictions of those quantities to flare and MC observations, and within the estimated uncertainties of the methods used find the following: The predicted model reconnection fluxes are equal to or lower than the reconnection fluxes inferred from the observed ribbon motions. Both observed and model reconnection fluxes match the MC poloidal fluxes. The predicted flux-rope helicities match the MC helicities. The predicted free energies lie between the observed energies and the estimated total flare luminosities. The direction of the leading edge of the MC’s poloidal field is aligned with the poloidal field of the flux rope in the AR rather than the global dipole field. These findings compel us to believe that magnetic clouds associated with these four solar flares are formed by low-corona magnetic reconnection during the eruption, rather than eruption of pre-existing structures in the corona or formation in the upper corona with participation of the global magnetic field. We also note that since all four flares occurred in active regions without significant pre-flare flux emergence and cancelation, the energy and helicity that we find are stored by shearing and rotating motions, which are sufficient to account for the observed radiative flare energy and MC helicity.     

青藏高原东北部降尘通量及粒度特征分析

青藏高原东北缘是柴达木沙尘暴东移的必经之道和沉降区,对青藏高原东北部降尘时空分异特征进行分析,有助于认识青藏高原区域粉尘输送的现代过程和机制。2013年12月至2015年5月分别在青海湖小泊湖(XBH)、西宁多巴(DB)、西宁青海师大科技楼顶(KJLD)设置降尘缸,进行湿法收集。对其降尘通量和粒度特征进行了时空分异特征分析,结果显示,1)西宁地区2014年降尘通量为442~542 g/m~2·a,青海湖XBH采集点指示的2014年降尘通量为415 g/m~2·a,降尘通量年际变化较大,各站点降尘通量季节变化趋势一致,降尘主要集中在冬春季,夏季降尘通量最低;2)各站点降尘粒度组成特征非常相似,以粉砂为主(4~63μm),西宁地区尘暴与非尘暴降尘粒度频率曲线呈近似正态分布,尘暴期间降尘粒径较非尘暴时段大;3)XBH、DB和KJLD 3点所有样品平均粒径分别为37μm、34μm和31μm,中值粒径分别为31μm、27μm和26μm;对比低海拔兰州尘暴粒径特征,发现降尘粒径存在一定的海拔依赖性,即粒度随海拔增高逐渐变粗。