Old, Low-Mass, Metal-Rich (SMR) Stars

The authors of this paper try to disentangle the many problems arisen from a new enlarged sample of nearby low-mass,metal-rich-stars. These stars have reliable absolute magnitudes, deduced from Hipparcos parallaxes, precise bolometric corrections, effective temperatures and metal abundances from high resolution detailed spectroscopic analyses. Their ages have been derived from a grid of isochrones calculated with up to date physics. The main goal of this paper is to determine the ages of the slightly evolved SMR stars. Among those with well determinated ages about 80% of them have intermediate ages of (2 to 5 Gyr), but only 20% have ages of 8 Gyr or more. Nevertheless, the existence of very old metal-rich stars is confirmed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Selection of hazardous waste dumpsites based on parameters effecting soil adsorption capacity – a case study

A careful selection of waste dumpsites, particularly hazardous ones, is very important for sustainable water resources management. Several laboratory experiments were carried out on the field samples to study adsorption capacity using p-dichlorobenzene (a solvent used in various industrial processes) as the test contaminant. The effect of parameters such as organic matter, clay, and iron and aluminium oxides, which are known to influence the soil adsorption capacity, are studied in the present work. Several soil samples from the Patancheru Industrial Area (Hyderabad, India) were collected and characterized. Only three soils, which had a comparatively high percentage of organic matter, clay, iron and aluminium oxide contents were used for the adsorption studies. The results clearly indicated a decrease in the adsorption capacity of the soils by as much as 75% when organic matter was removed. The other parameters such as clay and iron and aluminium oxides also play an important role in adsorption (57 and 39.8% reduction respectively). It was observed that out of the selected factors organic matter in the soils has the maximum effect regarding the adsorption of p-dichlorobenzene. Since the selected soils contain comparatively more organic matter, clay and iron and aluminium oxides in the selected industrial area, these can be used as sites for dumping hazardous waste, which can be further treated by methods like bioremediation.     

A statistical analysis applied to the Rf/φ method

A statistical analysis for the R_f/φ method is developed in the paper. The technique provides estimates of R_s, R_i and θ according to R_f and φ. Moreover, we can restore the pattern of initial orientations of marker objects by means of their frequency histogram, provided the strain is homogeneous. It is unnecessary to postulate random initial orientations if the principal directions of strain ellipsoid are known.     

Distribution of suspended particulate matter in the northern Bohai Bay in summer and its relation with thermocline

Field observations of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the Bohai Bay, China have not been widely reported. The aim of this paper is to describe the horizontal and vertical distribution of mass and volume concentrations of SPM, respectively, based on observed data at 312 stations in the northern Bohai Bay during summer of 2006. A numerical model ECOMSED coupled with a sediment transport module was also established to further discuss the mechanism of the thermocline effect on the vertical distribution of SPM. The mass concentrations of SPM exhibited high inshore values and low offshore values in the horizontal distribution; while in the vertical direction, characteristics of the volume concentration of SPM can be divided into two types: one with a sharp peak at depth of 10–15 m and another without. The peak value at the depth of the thermocline was resulted from concentrated phytoplankton. A numerical experiment further displayed that the thermocline can also prevent particles from being resuspended upward.     

Multiple magnetic clouds in interplanetary space

An interplanetary magnetic cloud (MC) is usually considered the byproduct of a coronal mass ejection (CME). Due to the frequent occurrence of CMEs, multiple magnetic clouds (multi-MCs), in which one MC catches up with another, should be a relatively common phenomenon. A simple flux rope model is used to get the primary magnetic field features of multi-MCs. Results indicate that the magnetic field configuration of multi-MCs mainly depends on the magnetic field characteristics of each member of multi-MCs. It may be entirely different in another situation. Moreover, we fit the data from the Wind spacecraft by using this model. Comparing the model with the observations, we verify the existence of multi-MCs, and propose some suggestions for further work.     

Using a New Sky Brightness Monitor to Observe the Annular Solar Eclipse on 15 January 2010

For the future development of Chinese Giant Solar Telescope (CGST) in Western China, a new sky brightness monitor (SBM) has been produced for the site survey for CGST. To critically examine the performance and sensitivity of SBM, we used it in the observation of the annular solar eclipse in Dali City, Yunnan, on 15 January 2010. The observation met good weather conditions with an almost clear sky during the eclipse. The SBM measurement translates into the solar illuminance changes at a level of 2.4×10^?4 I?s^?1 during the eclipse. The time of the minimal sky brightness in the field of view (FOV) is found consistent with the time of maximum eclipse. Two local sky regions in the FOV are chosen to make a time series of the calibrated skylight profiles. The evolution of the sky brightness thus calibrated also shows good consistency with the eclipse, particularly between the second and the third contacts. The minimal sky brightness in each local sky region took place within half a minute from the corresponding predicted contact time. Such small time delays were mainly caused by occasional cirri. The minimal sky brightness measured during the eclipse is a few millionths of I _?? with standard deviation of 0.11 millionths of I _??. The observation supports that the single-scattering process (optically thin conditions) is the main contributor to the atmospheric scattering. We have demonstrated that many important aerosol optical parameters can be deduced from our data. We conclude that the new SBM is a sensitive sky photometer that can be used for our CGST and coronagraph site surveys.