A DEVICE FOR MEASURING GULLY HEADWALL MORPHOLOGY

This paper describes a low-cost device for measuring the three-dimensional morphology of a gully headwall. The device was designed to operate in a gully system with the following characteristics: overhanging banks caused by a thick, dense root mat; retreat of the underlying unconsolidated sediments through small slab failures, leading to a considerable variation in retreat rate at each point on the headwall; and changes in the orientation of the headwall owing to changes in sediment properties and the topographical and hydrological controls of gully growth. The device is used to measure a series of closely spaced vertical profiles of the headwall, and the collected data are combined to draw a contour map showing the distance from the plane of the instrument to the headwall. Comparing maps for sequential times enables retreat rates for the diffferent proportions of the headwall to be quantified.     

Lead contamination of small cetaceans in European waters--the use of stable isotopes for identifying the sources of lead exposure

Lead concentrations and isotopic composition have been measured in bone and teeth of small cetaceans belonging to three species (Delphinus delphis, Phocoena phocoena and Stenella coeruleoalba), to evaluate the toxicological risk and to determine sources of lead in the European waters. Lead concentrations, far lower than threshold value inducing toxic effects in human, were higher in teeth than in bones, but highly correlated between the two tissues (r=0.92, p<0.001). Large variations of 206Pb/207Pb values in bone tissue showed that cetaceans must be submitted to various atmospheric influences. No geographical differences appeared which is consistent with studies on their distribution indicating seasonal movements between Brittany waters and the Bay of Biscay. The negative correlation between 206Pb/207Pb ratios and age of the individuals reflected the decrease in the production of alkyl lead in Europe, i.e., the increasing use of unleaded gasoline.     

香港西贡滨珊瑚REE的地球化学特征及其与海平面变化的关系

用ICP-MS技术测定了位于珠江口西岸香港西贡滨珊瑚在1991～2002年(分辨率达到0.5a)的稀土元素(REE)含量。实验结果显示香港滨珊瑚REE具有Ce负异常、重稀土富集这种典型的海水相分布模式。香港滨珊瑚中REE含量处于目前已见报道中的高值范围,与巴布亚新几内亚珊瑚的REE含量相当。通过与不同地区的比较,香港珊瑚高REE含量很可能就是毗邻的珠江水体高REE的直接反映,而且同南海北缘半封闭边缘海的性质有关。香港珊瑚REE的来源主要为珠江口及其相邻的陆缘沉积物。此外,1991～2002年香港珊瑚REE含量年际下降趋势十分明显,Ce负异常和重稀土富集的程度也呈加剧的趋势,分布模式向海水相转化。REE含量与海平面的年际变化之间有显著的负相关关系(r=-0.7～-0.9),而且重稀土与海平面的相关系数优于轻稀土。上述结果揭示了热带滨珊瑚对近期全球变暖、极冰融化和海水膨胀所引起的海平面快速上升的响应。     

TERMO-LR Experiment on the Luna-27 Lander: Study of Thermophysical,Physicomechanical, and Electromagnetic Properties of the Lunar Soil

Solar System Research - The device is being developed for the TERMO-LR experiment on the Luna-27 lunar lander; it is intended for contact geophysical measurements of various properties of the lunar...     

Changes in the Period of Negative Superhumps of Type SU UMa Dwarf Novae. II. NY Her (2017 and 2020)

Astrophysics - Photometric studies of the type SU UMa dwarf nova NY Her were made during 2017 and 2020 at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory and at the Sanglokh Observatory over a total of 77...     

Constructing a Stäckel Model of the Galaxy: Solving the Problem of Whether the Vertical Density Distribution Is Realistic

Astronomy Letters - Techniques for solving the problem of constructing a Stäckel model by generalizing the potential from the equatorial plane to the entire space are considered. The initial...     

Determination of H II Region Metallicity in the Context of Estimating the Primordial Helium Abundance

Astronomy Letters - The primordial $${}^{4}$$ He abundance (Y $${}_{p}$$ ) is one of the key characteristics of Primordial Nucleosynthesis processes that occurred in the first minutes after the Big...     

Determination of the Thermophysical Characteristics of the Lunar Soil Using Solar Heat

Solar System Research - The possibility of determining the thermophysical characteristics of the lunar soil by a penetrating probe when using solar heat as a heater is considered. The effectiveness...     

Optical Spectroscopy of SRG/eROSITA Objects with 2.5-m Telescope at the Caucasus Mountain Observatory of the SAI MSU

Astronomy Letters - Based on observations with the new transient double-beam spectrograph (TDS) at the 2.5-m telescope of the Caucasus Mountain Observatory of SAI MSU, we have determined the types...     

Study of the Galactic Rotation Based on Masers and Radio Stars with VLBI Measurements of Their Parallaxes

Astronomy Letters - Based on published data, we have produced a sample of 256 radio sources whose trigonometric parallaxes and proper motions were measured by VLBI. This sample contains Galactic...