THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SNOW COVER AND CYCLONES IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES

Snow cover extent is correlated with the latitude, pressure, and frequency of cyclones at every five degrees of longitude from 70° to 100° West, for the winter seasons 1971 to 1980. Each cyclone parameter is also lag correlated with snow cover extent to test relationships between snow cover extent of one week and cyclone variables of successive weeks. More extensive snow cover is related to cyclones traveling farther south, having higher central pressure, and becoming less frequent.     

大地震与全球地震台网

引言 地震学家经常开玩笑说,＂阻止地震的最好办法就是布设地震台站。＂为了记录地震信号或开展有针对性的有关地球结构的研究就需要布设地震仪,而地震的发生往往是变幻莫测的,在时间和空间上都绝对是非均匀的,所以安装地震仪的辛苦有时会徒劳无功。     

SPH simulations of negative (nodal) superhumps: a parametric study

Negative superhumps in cataclysmic variable systems result when the accretion disc is tilted with respect to the orbital plane. The line of nodes of the tilted disc precesses slowly in the retrograde direction, resulting in a photometric signal with a period slightly less than the orbital period. We use the method of smoothed particle hydrodynamics to simulate a series of models of differing mass ratio and effective viscosity to determine the retrograde precession period and superhump period deficit  ɛ₋  as a function of system mass ratio q . We tabulate our results and present fits to both  ɛ₋  and  ɛ₊  versus q , as well as compare the numerical results with those compiled from the literature of negative superhump observations. One surprising result is that while we find negative superhumps most clearly in simulations with an accretion stream present, we also find evidence for negative superhumps in simulations in which we shut off the mass transfer stream completely, indicating that the origin of the photometric signal is more complicated than previously believed.     

WASP-14b: 7.3 MJ transiting planet in an eccentric orbit

We report the discovery of a 7.3 M _J exoplanet WASP-14b, one of the most massive transiting exoplanets observed to date. The planet orbits the 10th-magnitude F5V star USNO-B1 11118−0262485 with a period of 2.243 752 d and orbital eccentricity   e = 0.09  . A simultaneous fit of the transit light curve and radial velocity measurements yields a planetary mass of 7.3 ± 0.5 M _J and a radius of 1.28 ± 0.08 R _J. This leads to a mean density of about 4.6 g cm⁻³ making it the densest transiting exoplanets yet found at an orbital period less than 3 d. We estimate this system to be at a distance of  160 ± 20  pc. Spectral analysis of the host star reveals a temperature of  6475 ± 100 K, log  g = 4.07  cm s⁻² and   v sin  i = 4.9 ± 1.0  km s⁻¹, and also a high lithium abundance,  log  N (Li) = 2.84 ± 0.05  . The stellar density, effective temperature and rotation rate suggest an age for the system of about 0.5–1.0 Gyr.     

Bacteriohopanepolyol signatures of bacterial populations in Western Canadian soils

Bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs) are naturally occurring compounds derived from bacteria. Their quantity and diversity in five Western Canadian soils, which vary mostly in vegetative cover, were examined using high performance liquid chromatography – atmospheric pressure chemical ionization – mass spectrometry (HPLC–APCI–MS). Eighteen BHP compounds including tetra-, penta- and hexa-functionalised components, as well as composite components, were identified. Concentrations were highest in the forest-grassland transition soil [515 μg/g organic carbon (OC)], followed by the forest soil (431 μg/g OC) and the grassland soils (333–306 μg/g OC). The distribution trends measured using HPLC–ACPI–MS agree with hopanoid measurements using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) but intact BHPs were detected at a concentration that was an order of magnitude higher using HPLC–APCI–MS. Adenosylhopane was the most abundant BHP in all the samples and comprised on average 27% of total BHPs, supporting earlier work indicating that adenosylhopane is an excellent soil-specific biomarker. The soil samples vary in vegetative cover and this is likely one of the main reasons for observing variation in BHP composition, suggesting that BHP biomarkers may be a valuable tool for assessing bacterial community structure in soil when used in cooperation with other molecular microbial ecology methods (such as DNA genotyping).     

Anthrosols in Iron Age Shetland: Implications for arable and economic activity

The soils surrounding three Iron Age settlements on South Mainland, Shetland, were sampled and compared for indicators of soil amendment. Two of the sites (Old Scatness and Jarlshof) were on lower‐lying, better‐drained, sheltered land; the third (Clevigarth) was in an acid, exposed environment at a higher elevation. The hypothesis, based on previous regional assessments, soil thicknesses, and excavations at Old Scatness, was that the lowland sites would have heavily fertilized soils and that the thin upland soil would show little if any amendment. Our findings indicate that the Middle Iron Age soils at Old Scatness had extremely high phosphorus levels, while the soil at Jarlshof had lower levels of enhancement. At Clevigarth, where charcoal from the buried soil was 14C dated to the Neolithic and Bronze Age, there was no evidence of arable activity or soil amendment associated with the Iron Age phases of settlement. These observations indicate that not all sites put the same amount of effort into creating rich arable soils. The three sites had very different agricultural capacities, which suggests the emergence of local trade in agricultural commodities in Iron Age Shetland. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Grain growth by radiation pressure induced coagulation

A theoretical treatment is given of the growth of grains as a consequence of their mutual coagulation brought about by relative motions induced by radiation pressure. Analytical and numerical techniques are employed to tackle the relevant coagulation equation. The results are of particular astrophysical significance in the context of forming very small grains following a nucleation process, in the production of grains large enough to allow condensation of volatiles onto their surface, and in any situation where the supply of volatiles has been exhausted. It was found that in interstellar clouds, grains composed of iron, graphite and glassy carbon, being typical examples of three basic types of material, could grow to a size where condensation of the volatiles was possible. On the other hand, olivine, a typical silicate, could not. If a source of radiation existed at the centre of the cloud, then growth could occur if the cloud was turbulent or if the density was high enough; otherwise the grains were driven out of the regions of interest at high velocity. In the latter case, with a high cloud density, re-radiation has to be taken into account.     

Mixing and phytoplankton growth around an island in a stratified sea

An island in a stratified region of the shelf seas creates a local increase in tidal mixing. The influences of the enhanced mixing on both the physical structure and phytoplankton biomass distribution have been assessed in a detailed survey of the Scilly Isles region of the Celtic Sea. Marked asymmetries in the observed pattern of stratification and sea surface temperature are in accord with the h/u³ distribution which predicts low stability regions occurring on the sides of the island. Displacement of the low stability regions relative to the h/u³ minima is consistent with a northward mean flow.Levels of biomass and primary productivity were found to be increased by a factor ～5 over a large region (～20 ×island area) surrounding the islands with particularly intense concentrations of phytoplankton in the pycnocline where chlorophyll levels up to 30 mg m^?3 were observed. The location of these maxima at some distance from the islands is suggestive of an intrusive flow of mixed water into the pycnocline. Estimates of nitrate flux, associated with the production of mixed water by stirring, are of the right order to sustain the observed levels of production.     

THE Mg-Cr RELATIONSHIP IN ACHONDRITES AND IN THE SILICATE FRACTION OF MESOSIDERITES,AND ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS ON EUCRITES

New data are used to confirm the positive correlation between Mg and Cr in howardites and eucrites, and the identity of the Mg/Cr ratio in the two meteorite groups is established, provided Chaves is treated as an anomalous howardite. Macibini, usually classed as a eucrite, has higher contents of Mg and Cr than all but the cumulate eucrites; the suggestion is made, on the basis of its polymict character, the wide compositional range of its constituent clasts, and its bulk chemistry, that it should be re-classified as a howardite. The Mg-Cr relationship in diogenites is one of almost constant Mg but extremely variable Cr. The “average diogenite” plots fairly close to the trend established for the howardites and eucrites, indicative of the genetic link between these three meteorite classes. The silicate fractions of nine mesosiderites studied do not show a close coherence of Mg and Cr. With the exception of Patwar, they contain more Cr than howardites and eucrites, and exhibit greater variation of Cr relative to Mg. The general lack of clear inter-element trends in these silicate fractions suggests that they had a more complex origin and evolution than the silicates of the achondrites. Preliminary results of quantitative computer modeling of major and trace elements in the eucrites indicate that about 32 percent fractional crystallization of a eucritic liquid of the composition of Sioux County yields a residual liquid similar to Nuevo Laredo; the cumulate produced has the approximate composition of the cumulate eucrite Moama. These results are in agreement with the model developed by Consolmagno and Drake (1977), using the rare earth elements, for a corresponding stage in the solidification of an initial eucritic liquid produced by equilibrium partial melting of the source region of the parent body (Stolper, 1977). Plotting of the Ti concentrations of the meteorites studied against their Fe/Fe+Mg ratios supports Stolper's idea that the eucrites and the Mg-rich achondrites do not lie on the same liquid line of descent, and shows that the mesosiderite silicates do not conform to either trend.     

Laboratory and numerical investigation of flow and transport near a seepage-face boundary

Laboratory and numerical modeling investigations were completed to study the unconfined ground water flow and transport processes near a seepage-face boundary. The laboratory observations were made in a radial sand tank and included measurements of the height of the seepage face, flow velocity near the seepage face, travel time distribution of multiple tracer slugs, and streamlines. All the observations were reliably reproduced with a three-dimensional, axi-symmetric, variably saturated ground water flow model. Physical data presented in this work demonstrate and quantify the importance of three-dimensional transport patterns within a seepage-face zone. The results imply that vertically averaged flow models that employ Dupuit approximations might introduce error in the analysis of localized solute transport near a seepage-face boundary. The experimental dataset reported in this work will also be of interest for those who are attempting to validate a numerical algorithm for solving ground water and contaminant discharge patterns near a surface-water boundary.