Geometric Aspects and Testing of the Galactic Center Distance Determination from Spiral Arm Segments

We consider the problem of determining the geometric parameters of a Galactic spiral arm from its segment by including the distance to the spiral pole, i.e., the distance to the Galactic center (R₀). The question about the number of points belonging to one turn of a logarithmic spiral and defining this spiral as a geometric figure has been investigated numerically and analytically by assuming the direction to the spiral pole (to the Galactic center) to be known. Based on the results obtained, in an effort to test the new approach, we have constructed a simplified method of solving the problem that consists in finding the median of the values for each parameter from all possible triplets of objects in the spiral arm segment satisfying the condition for the angular distance between objects. Applying the method to the data on the spatial distribution of masers in the Perseus and Scutum arms (the catalogue by Reid et al. (2014)) has led to an estimate of R₀ = 8.8 ± 0.5 kpc. The parameters of five spiral arm segments have been determined from masers of the same catalogue. We have confirmed the difference between the spiral arms in pitch angle. The pitch angles of the arms revealed by masers are shown to generally correlate with R₀ in the sense that an increase in R₀ leads to a growth in the absolute values of the pitch angles.     

Method of density moment sums for photometric calibration of photographic plates

A new method — the method of moment density sums — is suggested for determining the characteristic curve of a plate as well as the magnitude zero point, using PDS microdensitometer measurements of stars of known brightness. It may be used for surface photometry of plates without sensitometer spots.     

Radiation hydrodynamic simulation of a photoionised plasma experiment at the Z facility

New, high spectral resolution X-ray observations from astrophysical photoionised plasmas have been recorded in recent years by the Chandra and XMM-Newton orbiting telescopes. These observations provide a wealth of detailed information and have motivated new efforts at developing a detailed understanding of the atomic kinetics and radiation physics of photoionised plasmas. The Z facility at Sandia National Laboratories is a powerful source of X-rays that enables us to produce and study photoionised plasmas in the laboratory under well characterised conditions. We discuss a series of radiation-hydrodynamic simulations to help understand the X-ray environment, plasma hydrodynamics and atomic kinetics in experiments where a collapsing wire array at Z is used as an ionising source of radiation to create a photoionised plasma. The numerical simulations are used to investigate the role that the key experimental parameters have on the photoionised plasma characteristics.     

Remotely sensed estimation of forest canopy density: A comparison of the performance of four methods

In recent years, a number of alternative methods have been proposed to predict forest canopy density from remotely sensed data. To date, however, it remains difficult to decide which method to use, since their relative performance has never been evaluated. In this study the performance of: (1) an artificial neural network, (2) a multiple linear regression, (3) the forest canopy density mapper and (4) a maximum likelihood classification method was compared for prediction of forest canopy density using a Landsat ETM+ image. Comparison of confusion matrices revealed that the regression model performed significantly worse than the three other methods. These results were based on a z-test for comparison of weighted kappa statistics, which is an appropriate statistic for analysis of ranked categories. About 89% of the variance of the observed canopy density was explained by the artificial neural networks, which outperformed the other three methods in this respect. Moreover, the artificial neural networks gave an unbiased prediction, while other methods systematically under or over predicted forest canopy density. The choice of biased method could have a high impact on canopy density inventories.     

Cenozoic stratigraphy and subsidence history of the South China Sea margin in the Taiwan region

Seismic reflection profiles and well data are used to determine the Cenozoic stratigraphic and tectonic development of the northern margin of the South China Sea. In the Taiwan region, this margin evolved from a Palaeogene rift to a latest Miocene–Recent foreland basin. This evolution is related to the opening of the South China Sea and its subsequent partial closure by the Taiwan orogeny. Seismic data, together with the subsidence analysis of deep wells, show that during rifting (～58–37 Ma), lithospheric extension occurred simultaneously in discrete rift belts. These belts form a >200 km wide rift zone and are associated with a stretching factor, β, in the range ～1.4–1.6. By ～37 Ma, the focus of rifting shifted to the present‐day continent–ocean boundary off southern Taiwan, which led to continental rupture and initial seafloor spreading of the South China Sea at ～30 Ma. Intense rifting during the rift–drift transition (～37–30 Ma) may have induced a transient, small‐scale mantle convection beneath the rift. The coeval crustal uplift (Oligocene uplift) of the previously rifted margin, which led to erosion and development of the breakup unconformity, was most likely caused by the induced convection. Oligocene uplift was followed by rapid, early post‐breakup subsidence (～30–18 Ma) possibly as the inferred induced convection abated following initial seafloor spreading. Rapid subsidence of the inner margin is interpreted as thermally controlled subsidence, whereas rapid subsidence in the outer shelf of the outer margin was accompanied by fault activity during the interval ～30–21 Ma. This extension in the outer margin (β～1.5) is manifested in the Tainan Basin, which formed on top of the deeply eroded Mesozoic basement. During the interval ～21–12.5 Ma, the entire margin experienced broad thermal subsidence. It was not until ～12.5 Ma that rifting resumed, being especially active in the Tainan Basin (β～1.1). Rifting ceased at ～6.5 Ma due to the orogeny caused by the overthrusting of the Luzon volcanic arc. The Taiwan orogeny created a foreland basin by loading and flexing the underlying rifted margin. The foreland flexure inherited the mechanical and thermal properties of the underlying rifted margin, thereby dividing the basin into north and south segments. The north segment developed on a lithosphere where the major rift/thermal event occurred ～58–30 Ma, and this segment shows minor normal faulting related to lithospheric flexure. In contrast, the south segment developed on a lithosphere, which experienced two more recent rift/thermal events during ～30–21 and ～12.5–6.5 Ma. The basal foreland surface of the south segment is highly faulted, especially along the previous northern rifted flank, thereby creating a deeper foreland flexure that trends obliquely to the strike of the orogen.     

Rainfall uncertainty in the Mediterranean: definitions of the daily rainfall threshold (DRT) and the rainy season length (RSL)

One of the major dilemmas in rainfall-regime research is regarding the representativity of rainfall amounts. The annual total (TOTAL) represents the summation of the contributions of all rainfall events. However, this parameter is obtained mainly by contributions of some major events, whereas, many others may contribute minute quantities of a negligible impact. A selected daily rainfall threshold (DRT) is used to filter these small events and to retain only the effective ones (for a wide range of activities), and enable focusing on them in order to better detect any important temporal changes in the rainfall regime. Two different procedures are applied to the data in order to filter out slight and/or sporadic rains: (a) definition of a DRT for each station which filters out the slight rains all year around regardless of their timing, and (b) definitions of the rainy season beginning date (RSBD) and the rainy season ending date (RSED), which filter out sporadic rain events at the beginning or the end of the rainy season, regardless of their amount. The current study presents the appropriate DRT and effective rainy season length (RSL) in 41 Mediterranean stations, and analyzes their influence on some other parameters. The main conclusions are: (1) the filtering process reduced considerably the number of rain-spells (NRS) and therefore the average intensities increased; (2) the filtering process reduced the average time that elapsed between the beginning of two consecutive rain-spells, and (3) the RSL within the study area has a clear spatial distribution, longer in the northern parts and shorter in the southern parts.     

UML‐Based Approach to Developing a CityGML Application Domain Extension

Recently a national 3D standard was established in the Netherlands as a CityGML Application Domain Extension (called IMGeo). In line with the Dutch practice of modeling geo‐information, the ADE is developed using a model driven approach. The classes are designed in UML and automatically mapped to GML schema. The current OGC CityGML specification does not provide rules or guidance on correctly modeling an ADE in UML. This article fills this gap by studying how CityGML can be extended for specific applications starting from the UML diagrams. Six alternatives for modeling ADEs in UML are introduced and compared. The optimal alternative is selected and applied to obtain the national 3D standard. The approach was extensively discussed with international experts, who were members of both SIG3D and other working groups. As a consequence the approach was adopted by the SIG3D, the Special Interest Group 3D which, among other things, work on the 3D standard CityGML in cooperation with OGC. Therefore the approach contains many issues that can be generalized and reused by future domain extensions of CityGML. To further support this, the article formulates a model‐driven framework to model CityGML ADEs. Open issues are described in the conclusions.     

湿雪的密实化与颗粒粗化过程研究

研究了处于自然状态下的湿雪的密实化和颗粒粗化过程.在野外观测的基础上,通过应用粘滞流体模型,发现与干雪相反,当湿雪的含水率达到一定程度(重量含水率约5%)后,粘滞度随密度增加而降低.通过粒径量测与颗粒大小分布统计发现,与含水饱和的雪相同,在湿雪演变过程中,不同时刻的雪粒粒径积累频率分布曲线形状基本相同,且与含水饱和雪的基本一致,说明含水不饱和的雪与含水饱和的雪在颗粒粗化过程中具有相同的粒径分布及其演进特征.分析还显示,含水不饱和雪的颗粒粗化速率比含水饱和雪的小得多.     

The Composition and Reservoir Properties of the Deposits of the Bazhenov Formation in the Central Part of the Tundrin Depression

The section structure was characterized according to the lithological and petrophysical studies of the core from the Bazhenov Formation that has been uncovered in the central part of the Tundrin Depression. The productive oil intervals where the reservoirs of the pore and fissure-pore types occur were identified.