Laboratory kinetics of C2H radical reactions with ethane, propane, and n-butane at T = 96-296 K: implications for Titan

The kinetics of the reactions of C₂H radical with ethane (k₁), propane (k₂), and n-butane (k₃) are studied over the temperature range of T = 96-296 K with a pulsed Laval nozzle apparatus that utilizes a pulsed laser photolysis-chemiluminescence technique. The C₂H decay profiles in the presence of both the alkane reactant and O₂ are monitored by the CH(A²Δ) chemiluminescence tracer method. The results, together with available literature data, yield the following Arrhenius expressions: k₁(T) = (0.51 ± 0.06) × 10⁻¹⁰ exp[(−76 ± 30)K/T] cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ (T = 96-800 K), k₂(T) = (0.98 ± 0.32) × 10⁻¹⁰exp[(−71 ± 60)K/T] cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ (T = 96-361 K), and k₃(T) = (1.23 ± 0.26) × 10⁻¹⁰ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ (T = 96-297 K). At T = 296 K, k₁ is measured as a function of total pressure and has little or no pressure dependence. The results from this work support a direct hydrogen abstraction mechanism for the title reactions. Implications to the atmospheric chemistry of Titan are discussed.     

Digital photographic photometry of NGC 5253 and NGC 2915

The surface digital photometry for NGC 5253 and NGC 2915 is given. The luminosity profiles and colour gradients are discussed and compared. It is concluded that NGC 2915 differs from NGC 5253, both in the extension and intensity of the star burst event because of the kinematical behaviour of the captured gas.CONICET, Buenos Aires, Visiting Astronomer, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, La Serena, Chile, operated by NSF     

Isolation of resonance in acoustic backscatter from elastic targetsusing adaptive estimation schemes

It has been shown that at certain frequencies the acoustic backscatter from elastic targets exhibits certain resonance behavior which closely relates to the physical properties of the target such as dimension, thickness, and composition. The purpose of this paper is to develop an automated approach for identifying the presence of resonance in the acoustic backscatter from an unknown underwater target by isolating the resonance part from the specular contribution. An adaptive transversal filter structure is used to estimate the specular part of the backscatter and consequently the error signal would provide an estimate of the resonance part. An important aspect of this scheme lies in the fact that it does not require an underlying model for the elastic return. The adaptation rule is based upon fast recursive least squares (RLS) learning. The approach taken in this paper is general in the sense that it can be applied to targets of unknown geometry and thickness and, further, does not require any a priori information about the target and/or the environment. Test results on acoustic data are presented which indicate the effectiveness of the proposed approach     

On the relationship between the Apollo 16 ancient regolith breccias and feldspathic fragmental breccias,and the composition of the prebasin crust in the Central Highlands of the Moon

Abstract Two types of texturally and compositionally similar breccias that consist largely of fragmental debris from meteorite impacts occur at the Apollo 16 lunar site: Feldspathic fragmental breccias (FFBs) and ancient regolith breccias (ARBs). Both types of breccia are composed of a suite of mostly feldspathic components derived from the early crust of the Moon and mafic impact-melt breccias produced during the time of basin formation. The ARBs also contain components, such as agglutinates and glass spherules, indicating that the material of which they are composed occurred at the surface of the Moon as fine-grained regolith prior to lithification of the breccias. These components are absent from the FFBs, suggesting that the FFBs might be the protolith of the ARBs. However, several compositional differences exist between the two types of breccia, making any simple genetic relationship implausible. First, clasts of mafic impact-melt breccia occurring in the FFBs are of a different composition than those in the ARBs. Also the feldspathic “prebasin” components of the FFBs have a lower average Mg/Fe ratio than the corresponding components of the ARBs; the average composition of the plagioclase in the FFBs is more sodic than that of the ARBs; and there are differences in relative abundances of rare earth elements. The two breccia types also have different provenances: the FFBs occur primarily in ejecta from North Ray crater and presumably derive from the Descartes Formation, while the ARBs are restricted to the Cayley plains. Together these observations suggest that although some type of fragmental breccia may have been a precursor to the ARBs, the FFBs of North Ray crater are not a significant component of the ARBs and, by inference, the Cayley plains. The average compositions of the prebasin components of the two types of fragmental breccia are generally similar to the composition of the feldspathic lunar meteorites. With 30–31% Al₂O₃, however, they are slightly richer in plagioclase than the most feldspathic lunar meteorites (～29% Al₂O₃), implying that the crust of the early central nearside of the Moon contained a higher abundance of highly feldspathic anorthosite than typical lunar highlands, as inferred from the lunar meteorites. The ancient regolith breccias, as well as the current surface regolith of the Cayley plains, are more mafic than (1) prebasin regoliths in the Central Highlands and (2) regions of highlands presently distant from nearside basins because they contain a high abundance (～30%) of mafic impact-melt breccias produced during the time of basin formation that is absent from other regoliths.     

AN ILLUSTRATIVE STUDY ON LOCAL LANDSCAPEAND ITS LONG-TERM CHANGES BASED ON IKONOS AND HISTORICAL AERIAL PHOTO

Nowadays, the research works on landscape at fine scales using high-resolution images are uncommon.This research is based on the analysis of the combination of remote sensing data (1KONOS imagery acquired in 2002 and historical aerial photo taken in 1942). In the paper, the ecotopes in Qiujiadou and Xishao villages in Yixing City of Jiangsu Province in 1942 and 2002 were compared and landscape changes as well as the causes of the considerable changes were analyzed. It was found that the ecotope changes were at greater level in some aspects such as water surface and perennial vegetation coverage etc. This study at fine scale is globally significant for the rural areas, especially for the subsistence agricultural land, which occupies larger percentage in the earth. And it analyzes the structure of landscape based on a new landscape classification system--stratifications method.     

Palaeointensity In the Pelagic Realm: Marine Sediment Data Compared With Archaeomagnetic and Lake Sediment Records

Summary. Four box cores collected from the Ontong—Java plateau during the Eurydice expedition have been used to make relative geomagnetic palaeo-intensity measurements. Rock magnetic measurements on the sediments show that they are characterized by a uniform magnetic mineralogy, and that they are suitable for relative intensity estimates. These are obtained by normalizing the NRM by an ARM imparted in a low DC bias field. the palaeoceanographic event known as the preservation spike is used to establish a crude time-scale for the record so that it may be compared with other data from the same region, and also with global palaeointensity estimates. the marine sediment data are quite similar to Australian intensity data from lake sediments and archaeomagnetic sources, but as might be expected exhibit some obvious differences from the global record.     

Pulsar Wind Nebulae in Egret Error Boxes

A remarkable number of pulsar wind nebulae (PWN) are coincident with EGRET γ-ray sources. X-ray and radio imaging studies of unidentified EGRET sources have resulted in the discovery of at least six new pulsar wind nebulae (PWN). Stationary PWN (SPWN) appear to be associated with steady EGRET sources with hard spectra, typical for γ-ray pulsars. Their toroidal morphologies can help determine the geometry of the pulsar which is useful for constraining models of pulsed γ-ray emission. Rapidly moving PWN (RPWN) with more cometary morphologies seem to be associated with variable EGRET sources in regions where the ambient medium is dense compared to what is typical for the ISM.