The origin of Lake Cheko and the 1908 Tunguska Event recorded by forest trees

Several lines of evidence indicate that Cheko, a small lake close to the epicentre of the 1908 Tunguska Event (TE), fills a crater left behind by a fragment of the Tunguska Cosmic Body that impacted the ground downrange of the main explosion. It is thought that over 80 million trees were flattened or burnt as a consequence of the TE. However, a small number of trees in the devastated area survived the explosion and recorded in their growth‐ring patterns the environmental changes that followed this event. Some of those trees were found around Lake Cheko, ~10 km NW of the inferred TE epicentre. We analysed new data from the floor of Lake Cheko, including seismic‐reflection profiles, side‐scan sonar and video images, as well as dendrochronological evidence in tree samples collected along the shores, to test the hypothesis of a 1908 formation of the lake.     

Polarization of the sodium D lines in prominences

The expected polarization of the sodium D lines from solar prominences is computed as a function of the local magnetic field vector. To this aim, the formulation of the Hanle effect in terms of the statistical tensors developed by Landi Degl'Innocenti (1982) is employed, with minor changes connected to hyperfine structure. The sodium atoms are described in the incomplete Paschen-Back regime so that the validity of the results is not limited to weak magnetic fields. The polarization diagrams obtained are discussed and compared with the corresponding diagrams for the helium D₃ line.     

Bedform-induced hyporheic exchange with unsteady flows

The interaction between surface and subsurface water has a crucial influence on the biochemistry of stream environments. Even though the river discharge and the flow conditions can seldom be considered to be steady, the influence of this unsteadiness on the hyporheic exchange has often been neglected. In this work, a model for the study of hyporheic exchange during unsteady conditions has been developed. The model provides a sound analytical framework for the analysis of the effects of a varying stream discharge on the exchange between a stream and the hyporheic zone. The effects of the unsteadiness on the water exchange flux, the residence time of the solutes in the bed, and the stored mass are quantified. A synthetic example shows the substantial influence of a flood on the hyporheic exchange, and that the application of a steady model can lead to an underestimation of the exchanged mass, even after the flood has ended.     

The Zeeman pattern of magnetic lines and their statistical properties in the Fei solar spectrum

The Zeeman patterns of magnetic lines are characterized by their first, second, and third order moments and a minimal equivalent representation is suggested for each line. The statistical properties of the Zeeman patterns of the Fe i lines in the solar optical spectrum are analyzed in detail and the various patterns are classified in three different types according to the relative position of the -components having larger strength.     

Inland aeolian deposits of south‐west France: facies,stratigraphy and chronology

Archaeological investigations undertaken along a proposed highway together with the compilation of available geological and pedological data made it possible to give a first overview of the distribution of Pleistocene aeolian deposits in south‐west France. A chronological framework for deposition has been obtained using both radiocarbon (n = 24) and luminescence (n = 26) dating. It shows that aeolian transport was very active during the Late Pleniglacial, between 15 and ～23 ka, leading to sand emplacement over a 13 000‐m² area at the centre of the basin. The Pleniglacial coversands are typified by extensive fields of small transverse to barchanoid ridges giving way to sandsheets to the east. Subsequent aeolian phases, at ca. 12 ka (Younger Dryas) and 0.8–0.2 ka (Little Ice Age), correspond to the formation of more localized and higher, mainly parabolic dunes. At the southern and eastern margins of the coversand area, aeolian dust accumulated to form loess deposits, the thickness of which reaches ～3 m on the plateaus. Luminescence dates together with interglacial‐ranking palaeoluvisols between the loess units clearly indicate that these accumulations built up during the last two glacial–interglacial cycles. The chronology of sand and loess deposition thus appears to be consistent with that already documented for northern Europe. This suggests that it was driven by global climate changes in the northern hemisphere. The relatively thin aeolian deposits (and particularly loess) in south‐west France is thought to reflect both a supply‐limited system and a moister climate than in more northern and continental regions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A novel insight into vertical ground motion modelling in earthquake engineering

Recent observations of failure and damage of buildings and structures under seismic action has led to an increasing interest for an in-depth analysis of the vertical component of site ground motion. In particular, when dealing with saturated soils, the current engineering practice does not usually go beyond the simplified $u$–$p$ formulation of the Biot's equations describing the coupled hydro-mechanical behaviour, thus neglecting some terms of fluid inertial forces, despite the presence of more refined formulations, for example, the $u$–$U$ formulation. Therefore, a theoretical and numerical validation of the $u$–$p$ formulation as compared with the $u$–$U$ formulation is proposed in this work, where the numerical simulations are compared with the analytical solution for the $u$–$p$ formulation, which is also derived and illustrated in this text. The comparison between the two formulations and the analytical solution is provided for different levels of permeability and dynamic actions, which are representative of a wide scenario of site ground properties and seismic hazard in the vertical direction. In particular, the soil response is analysed in terms of acceleration and pore pressure time history, frequency content, acceleration response spectrum, and amplification ratio of acceleration. This study extends the discussion of the limits of applicability of the $u$–$p$ formulation with respect to the rigorous solution of Biot's equations (obtained here with $u$–$U$ formulation) to the context of a complex dynamic regime provided by the vertical components of real earthquake records, and paves the way for further investigations.     

2020年南昌市大气污染特征与潜在源区

基于南昌市大气环境监测、地面气象观料和GDAS等资料,主要采用后向轨迹聚类分析、潜在源贡献因子和浓度权重轨迹分析方法,分析了2020年南昌市大气污染特征和污染物潜在源区。结果表明:1)南昌市春、夏、秋季以O_(3)污染为主,冬季以PM_(2.5)污染为主。2)大气污染物质量浓度日变化具有明显的季节性特征,PM_(2.5)和PM_(10)在春、秋、冬季呈双峰形分布,NO_(2)在秋、冬季呈弱双峰形分布,春、夏季呈单峰分布,O_(3)呈单峰形分布。南昌市东部大气污染较西部更严重。3)南昌市气流输送季节差异明显,春、秋、冬季主要受偏北气流影响,夏季主要受偏南气流影响。本地源是南昌市大气污染的主要潜在源,安徽省南部、湖北省东部、上饶市西部和九江市的区域输送也有一定贡献。