Reference Samples of Rocks - The Search for "Best Values"

Because of the disparate data, reported in collaborative analyses of reference samples of rooks, various methods have been proposed for deriving "best values". This work compares those methods and several additional ones. Included are two simplified estimates of "mode" which yield values close to those of the Dominant Cluster and Gamma Transformation methods. An example is also cited of the hazards that may result from too superficial reading of raw data.     

On the transport of small river run off by an alongshore baroclinic sea current

A numerical simulation has been undertaken to study the process of the transport of small river runoff by alongshore baroclinic sea currents. The study is based on the implementation of the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) under the conditions of a circular stratified basin whose surface is exposed to a transient tangential wind stress to form an alongshore baroclinic current. A baroclinic current of the downwelling type (in the Northern Hemisphere directed to the left to a sea-viewing observer) was shown to provide the carrying out of the river discharge from estuary’s vicinity more effectively than that of the upwelling type (in the Northern Hemisphere directed to the right to a sea-viewing observer).     

大地测量在近代发展的内部地球物理学中的作用

我们的目的是说明大地测量学的近代发展如何为解决地球动力学的基本问题提供新的工具。例如:1.全球规模的重力场的知识将给出关于地幔中过渡带位置的信息,或关于地核-地幔交界面的地形的资料;2.在地球表面上的高精度定位将允许测量构造板块的位移,同时将对地震预报作出贡献;3.用新技术所确定的极移的分析,将能阐明其阻尼问题,维持这一运动的能源问题以及地核-地幔耦合等问题。     

Tectonic inferences from the statistical treatment of the remote sensing lineament fabric data associated with the Great Boundary Fault of Rajasthan,India

A systematic statistical analysis of the lineament fabric data associated with the Great Boundary Fault of Rajasthan provides 26 axes of high density girdles. Further statistical treatment of these isolated axes following the methods of analysis of directional data indicates that the lineament can be classified into genetic categories. The result indicates that the Great Boundary Fault and the Chambal Fault are genetically related and that the majority of the lineaments are the result of the reactivation of the Great Boundary Fault under a southward directed dominant stress field.     

The multiple chronological techniques applied to the Lake Suigetsu SG06 sediment core,central Japan

The varved sediment of Lake Suigetsu (central Japan) provides a valuable opportunity to obtain high‐resolution, multi‐proxy palaeoenvironmental data across the last glacial/interglacial cycle. In order to maximize the potential of this archive, a well‐constrained chronology is required. This paper outlines the multiple geochronological techniques being applied – namely varve counting, radiocarbon dating, tephrochronology (including argon–argon dating) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) – and the approaches by which these techniques are being integrated to form a single, coherent, robust chronology. Importantly, we also describe here the linkage of the floating Lake Suigetsu (SG06) varve chronology and the absolute (IntCal09 tree‐ring) time scale, as derived using radiocarbon data from the uppermost (non‐varved) portion of the core. This tie‐point, defined as a distinct (flood) marker horizon in SG06 (event layer B‐07–08 at 1397.4 cm composite depth), is thus derived to be 11 255 to 11 222 IntCal09 cal. years BP (68.2% probability range).     

Neotectonics of the Kharaulakh sector of the Laptev Shelf

Seismotectonic deformation and crustal stress pattern have been studied comprehensively in major seismogenic structures of the Kharaulakh sector of the Verkhoyansk fold system and adjacent parts of the Chersky seismotectonic zone. The study focuses on neotectonic structures, deep structure, and systems of active faults, as well as tectonic stress fields inferred by tectonophysical analysis of Late Cenozoic faults and folds. The results, along with geological and geophysical data, reveal main strain directions and structural patterns of crustal stress and strain in the Arctic segment of the Eurasia-North America plate boundary. The area is a junction of mid-ocean and continental structures evolving in a mixed setting of extension, compression, and their various combinations. The rotation pole of the two plates is presumably located near Buor-Khaya Bay. In this case, extension is expected to act currently upon the neotectonic structures north of the bay and compression to control those in the south and southeast. This inference is consistent with the identified zoning of stress and strain in the Kharaulakh sector.     

Pollution characteristics of alluvial groundwater from springs and bore wells in semi-urban informal settlements of Douala,Cameroon, Western Africa

Alluvial groundwater from springs and bore wells, used as the major source of water for drinking and other domestic purposes in the semi-urban informal settlements of Douala, Cameroon, has been studied. Six representative springs, four bore wells and two hand dug wells, situated in the Phanerozoic basin were selected, from which a total of 72 water samples were analyzed for chemical characteristics and indicators of bacterial contamination. The results showed anthropogenic pollution, evident from high concentrations of organic (up to 94.3 mg NO₃/l nitrate) fecal coliform and fecal streptococcus detected in the springs and bore wells (with values of 2,311 and 1,500 cfu/100 ml, respectively). The pH ranged from 3.4–6.5, which is lower than the guidelines for drinking water. Groundwater samples from background upstream inland natural areas W1 and W2 had low electrical conductivity (54.2 and 74.8 μs/cm, respectively) and major ions, which increased downstream in the valleys, peaking in the more densely settled areas. An acceptable concentration of solutes was observed for the bore wells except for a single sample from B4. The bore-well sample B4 registered the highest microbial content (2,130 cfu/100 ml) and nitrate level(26 mg/l), which could be due to the bottom of this well lying just at or close to the zone of mixing between sewage and groundwater. The absence of a direct correlation between nitrate and fecal matter suggests multiple sources of contamination. The shallow alluvial aquifer consists of unconsolidated deposits of gravel, sand, silt and clay. The springs, therefore, receive direct recharge from the ground surface with limited contaminant attenuation, which leads to water quality deterioration, especially during the rainy season. This shows the urgent need to put basic service infrastructures in place. The local population should be sensitized to the importance of chlorinating and boiling drinking water to prevent health hazards.     

World Cities in the Pacific Rim: A New Global Test of Regional Coherence

A new evaluation of the Pacific Rim concept is presented. The originality of this test for regional coherence is to be found in the basic units being analysed: cities instead of states. Based on a theoretical framework that identifies world city and world city network formation in terms of the office networks of advanced producer service firms, we use a principal components analysis to analyse a data set of 28 Pacific Rim cities and 46 global service firms. This identifies five main groupings of cities in terms of similar mixes of corporate service firms: a western Rim group; a group of ‘old Commonwealth’ cities; a market communist group of cities; Tokyo as a global city; and US cities as a specific separate group. These results confirm numerous earlier studies that were sceptical of the existence of a coherent Pacific Rim region. However, the particular approach adopted here allows us to identify the Pacific Rim generically as a particularly pernicious construct. We conclude that the Pacific Rim is a geographical chaotic conception.     

Some limitations to measurements of turbulence micro-structure with hot and cold wires

Some of the problems associated with measurements of the small-scale characteristics of dynamic and thermal fully developed turbulence are considered in the context of a study of the tendency-towards-isotropy assumption, Taylor's hypothesis, and internal intermittency, taking advantage of the possibilities offered by the I.M.S.T. Air-Sea Interaction Simulation Tunnel. The paper reviews and discusses the choices of probes and operating parameters for hot-wire anemometers and cold-wire thermometers. A detailed study of the most important characteristic, the spectral signal-to-noise ratio, is presented. Problems specific to measurements with several wires are studied, especially the true resolution of one-point multi-wire probes and the errors due to calibration uncertainties for two-point measurements. Serious doubts are raised on the validity of gradient-probe data.