Comparison Between Theoretical Predictions and LEGRI Background Noise Experimental Measurements

Trapped protons are responsible for the main component of LEGRIbackground. Detailed theoretical model has demonstrated that theproton-induced counting rate is two orders of magnitude larger thanthe counting rate of the diffuse gamma-ray flux. The continuous passesof LEGRI through the SAA (7 times everyday) makes very difficult thebackground modelling. Long and short lived isotopes contribute in verydifferent time scales to the proton-induced background component.The goal of this paper is to present a comparison between the long-livedbackground noise theoretical predictions and the experimental data. Theresults show an unexpected good agreement between the predicted and theobserved counting rates.     

FORGING ASIA'S GLOBAL TRANSPARK IN THE PEARL RIVER DELTA AT ZHUHAI

The main purpose of the paper is to introduce the concept of the Global TransPark (GTP). It is a critical time to develop air logistics infrastructure in the New Economy. The paper also presents a brief review of the air cargo industry in the Asian-Pacific region and China, in particular China's development in the industry as its economy has grown rapidly and globalized in the past two decades. The paper argues that China needs to develop a GTP to support its future growth, and explains why the Pearl River Delta-Hong Kong-Macao city-region or Extended Metropolitan Region (EMR) is the best location. Finally, it proposes that Zhuhai Airport, one of the five airports in the EMR, is the best site for the GTP. New policies from Chinese government as well as close cooperation between local governments of Guangdong and the two Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao will be needed to make the establishment of the GTP possible.     

FORGING ASIA′S GLOBAL TRANSPARK IN THE PEARL RIVER DELTA AT ZHUHAI

1 NEEDFORNEWCOMPETITIVENESSINTHEPEARLRIVERDELTAIn1978ChinaadoptedanewapproachofOpen andReforminitsdevelopment.Priortothis,HongKongwasaBritish-runenclaveoffreetrade,andwaslittlerelatedeconomicallywithitsnextdoorneighborandnaturalhinterland—thePearl(Zhujiang)RiverDelta(PRD)(SIT,1991).Sincethen,localinitiativesofGuangdongProvinceanditsconstituentmunicipalitieshaveprovidedanattractivemilieuforHongKongin-vestment.IthassoongrownintoHongKong'snewmanufacturingbasewhileHong…     

Classes of Families of Generalized Periodic Solutions to the Beletsky Equation

For the equation describing plane oscillations and rotations of a satellite, we consider families of symmetric generalized periodic solutions with integral rotation number p. We give new confirmations of the hypothesis: there are only four classes of these families with topologically different structures, namely, the classes of families of periodic solutions with p≥ 1, p= 0, p=−1, and p≤−2. Besides, we demonstrate that the vertices of cusps of these families are placed on some analytical curves, and the same is true for the multiple intersections of these families with other families.     

Ancient wet aeolian environments on Earth: clues to presence of fossil/live microorganisms on Mars

Ancient wet aeolian (wet-sabkha) environments on Earth, represented in the Entrada and Navajo sandstones of Utah, contain pipe structures considered to be the product of gas/water release under pressure. The sediments originally had considerable porosity allowing the ingress of living plant structures, microorganisms, clay minerals, and fine-grained primary minerals of silt and sand size from the surface downward in the sedimentary column. Host rock material is of a similar size and porosity and presumably the downward migration of fine-grained material would have been possible prior to lithogenesis and final cementation. Recent field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and EDS (energy-dispersive spectrometry) examination of sands from fluidized pipes in the Early Jurassic Navajo Sandstone reveal the presence of fossil forms resembling fungal filaments, some bearing hyphopodium-like structures similar to those produced by modern tropical leaf parasites. The tropical origin of the fungi is consistent with the paleogeography of the sandstone, which was deposited in a tropical arid environment. These fossil fungi are silicized, with minor amounts of CaCO₃ and Fe, and in some cases a Si/Al ratio similar to smectite. They exist as pseudomorphs, totally depleted in nitrogen, adhering to the surfaces of fine-grained sands, principally quartz and orthoclase. Similar wet aeolian paleoenvironments are suspected for Mars, especially following catastrophic sediment-charged floods of enormous magnitudes that are believed to have contributed to rapid formation of large water bodies in the northern plains, ranging from lakes to oceans. These events are suspected to have contributed to a high frequency of constructional landforms (also known as pseudocraters) related to trapped volatiles and water-enriched sediment underneath a thick blanket of materials that were subsequently released to the martian surface, forming piping structures at the near surface and constructional landforms at the surface. This constructional process on Mars may help unravel the complex history of some of the piping structures observed on Earth; on Earth, evidence for the constructional landforms has been all but erased and the near-surface piping structures exposed through millions of years of differential erosion and topographic inversion now occur as high-standing promontories. If the features on both Earth and Mars formed by similar processes, especially involving water and other volatiles, and since the piping structures of Earth provided suitable environments for life to thrive in, the martian features in the northern plains should be considered as prime targets for physico/mineral/chemical/microbiological analyses once the astrobiological exploration of the red planet begins in earnest.     

The automatic determination of iodate- and total-iodine in seawater

The development of procedures for the determination of iodate- and total-iodine content of seawater, which use a Technicon Auto-Analyser, is described. In both procedures the appropriate iodine species is first converted to iodate-iodine. Then, this is reacted with acid and excess iodide to give the iodonium ion, I₃^?, which is detected spectrophotometrically. In the total-iodine procedure the pre-oxidation is accomplished using bromine water. In the iodate procedure a pre-oxidation step using iodine-water can be included. It is anticipated that this will be used to test for the presence of naturally occurring reducing agents in seawaters, which by their action on iodonium ions could lead to an underestimate in iodate concentration. Seawaters, particularly coastal and surface oceanic ones, are known to contain iodine-reducing substances. Therefore, the validity of results obtained through the iodometric method for iodate must remain in some doubt until these tests have been made. The use of this method on anoxic waters which contain sulphides appears to be a prime example of where caution should be observed. The iodate procedure, both with and without pre-oxidation, has been tested on approximately 50 samples of waters from the Eastern Pacific Ocean; these waters did not appear to contain significant amounts of reducing agents. In a similar study, it was found that there was no significant difference between the results obtained by the new total-iodine procedure and an earlier automatic catalytic one.     

An explicit method for solving the geomagnetic induction problem

Summary. The problem of inferring the Earth conductivity as a function of depth from surface measurements of the magnetic field is considered. Two versions of a method analogous to that of Bailey are presented. The main feature of the method consists in the fact that the conductivity is given explicitly in terms to two auxiliary sequences of functions which are found by integrating a set of first-order non-linear differential equations.     

Comparison of absolute photoelectron fluxes measured on AE-C and AE-E with theoretical fluxes and predicted and measured N2 2PG 3371Å volume emission rates

As part of the continuing effort to improve the accuracy of the absolute measurements of the ambient photoelectron flux in the thermosphere from the Atmosphere Explorer Satellite Photoelectron Spectrometer experiments (PES), we present a detailed comparison of experimental photoelectron fluxes from AE-C and AE-E together with theoretical calculations of the ambient flux for the same geophysical conditions. As an additional check, the various experimental and theoretical fluxes are used to calculate the expected N₂ 2PG (0, 0) volume emission rate expected at 3371Å and these results are compared to AE-C Visible Airglow Experimental (VAE) experimental results. The comparisons clearly show that because of spacecraft shielding of the sensor on AE-C, the agreement with AE-E spectra for similar geophysical conditions ranges from good when shielding is minimal to poor for severe shielding cases. The calculated fluxes are lower by approx. a factor of 1.5–2.0 in absolute magnitude than the AE-E or unshielded AE-C fluxes. The N₂ 2PG volume emission rates calculated from the measured ambient electron fluxes overestimate the measured VAE volume emission rates by 20–30% while those calculated from the theoretical fluxes underestimate the measured emission rate by typically 30%. These data suggest therefore that the measured AE-E fluxes are 20–30% high.     

The true potential of the oxidation state diagram in marine studies

Recently, the oxidation state diagram has been presented as having significant potential in marine thermodynamic studies because it could predict meta-stable species. This view is refuted and is shown to be dependent upon an inappropriate use of the concept of stability. The relationship between the oxidation state diagram and the activity ratio-pE diagram is described in detail.     

DESTRUCTIVE EARTHQUAKES AND TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM

The Portuguese coast has been affected several times in the past by strong earthquakes that generated tsunamis severely damaging the city of Lisbon.
The most significant event known was the Lisbon earthquake of 1 November 1755. It is generally assumed that the location of this event was the Gorringe Bank region in the North Atlantic. This ridge, located 200 km south-west of the Portuguese shore, was also the location of the 28 February 1969 magnitude M_s= 7.9 earthquake (Fukao, 1973), that generated a tsunami of small amplitude clearly recorded at the tidal stations of the Portuguese south and south-west coasts.
The need to reduce the social and economic impact of an event of this type, greatly amplified by the urban concentration of coastal areas, led to the research project 'Destructive Earthquakes and Tsunami Warning System in SW Portugal'. This project, sponsored by the European Economic Community and the public Portuguese research funding agencies, has been conducted by the Geophysical Centre of the University of Lisbon, since April 1988.
The main targets of the project are:•the installation of a pilot warning system against tsunamis, based on two ocean bottom stations, comprising a 3 component seismometer and a bottom mounted pressure sensor, linked by cable to a surface buoy. This buoy is equipped with a data acquisition and data transmission system. Seismic and water level data will be collected on an almost real-time basis and will be transmitted to Lisbon via satellite;
•the refinement of existing geological models, in order to clarify the genesis of the bank and the seismic activity in this area;
•the installation of an adequate network of seismic monitoring stations in order to better locate off shore earthquakes (Fig. 1);
•the evaluation of seismic and tsunami risk around the Iberian Peninsula.