Infrared photometry of AGB stars

The goal of this article is to show that, if one avoids star forming regions, mass-losing AGB stars can generally be selected from the data that will be provided by the near-infrared surveys which are presently considered. Also, if IRAS data are available, the separation between carbon-rich and oxygen-rich stars can be operated by their positions in infrared colour diagrams. In extragalactic systems, red supergiants can be discriminated from AGB stars by their luminosities.based on observations obtained with the ESO 1-m telescope     

Observations of the Ushant tidal front in September 2007

The Ushant tidal front is the dominant feature of the summer season hydrological structure of the Iroise Sea. It separates tidally mixed coastal waters from thermally stratified open Celtic Sea waters. This article reports on observations made in September 2007 during two short cruises that took place aboard R/V “Côtes de la Manche”, and gives a general account of the physical structure of the front along one cross-frontal transect. The data set comprises data from a 4 month ADCP mooring, short CTD/fluorescence/nutrients transects, Lagrangian drifter trajectories, and HF radar surface current measurements. One finding is that the surface and bottom fronts, being affected by different dynamical influences, are not necessarily coincident in the vertical. This entails that the opposite density gradients located above and below the thermocline depth do not necessarily compensate, and can each be associated with a significant surface geostrophic expression. A second finding is that mixing effects bear a very strong influence on the thermal structure of the warm-water intrusions associated with frontal cyclonic eddies of the kind described by Pingree [1978. Cyclonic eddies and cross-frontal mixing. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 58 (4), 955–963].     

Lang Trang Cave (Northern Vietnam): Pleistocene Mammalian Locality with Gigantopithecus Finds

Doklady Earth Sciences - Speleological, geological and paleontological characteristics of the Lang Trang cave in northern Vietnam are presented. Primates Gigantopithecus blacki von Koenigswald,...     

徐州地区新元古界下部具臼齿构造碳酸盐岩事件成因探讨

徐州地区新元古界贾园组-赵圩组发育陆棚-缓坡-台地边缘的碳酸盐沉积,记录有广泛的风暴事件,并在其中发现 大量具“臼齿构造”碳酸盐岩。依据野外剖面系统观察与室内综合分析,将臼齿碳酸盐岩划分为原地型：条带状M1（平直 条带状M1-a、分叉条带状M1-b）、蠕虫状M2（短小蠕虫状M2-a及长条蠕虫状M2-b）、丝状M3、悬针状M4;异地型：碎屑 状M5等五种形态类型,主要发育于缓斜坡下部到潮坪环境。以水体深度及水动力条件下的七种代表性风暴序列为背景,将 臼齿碳酸盐岩的形态及分布与瞬时高能事件沉积做关联分析。研究发现,臼齿构造与风暴事件有密切联系,表征晴好天气 下的块状层中以M3为主,风暴期动荡水体序列层段以M1,M2为主,而在表征风暴高潮期序列层段以异地型的M4, M5为 主。风暴的强弱及水深变化控制了风暴序列的分布,进一步控制了臼齿构造的形态与规模。由此推断,臼齿构造形成是在 中-新元古代特殊的古大气古海洋背景下,在风暴周期的不同阶段,经历具有裂缝形成与微亮晶充填的紧密联系的过程。 风暴前期和风暴高潮期,风暴浪对臼齿构造的形成主要体现在造缝阶段,而风暴后期则主要为微亮晶的填充阶段。最终形 成广泛分布的具臼齿构造碳酸盐岩这一地质历史内特殊的事件型碳酸盐岩类型。     

Projection and possible causes of summer precipitation in eastern China using self-organizing map

Self-organizing map (SOM) is used to simulate summer daily precipitation over the Yangtze–Huaihe river basin in Eastern China, including future projections. SOM shows good behaviors in terms of probability distribution of daily rainfall and spatial distribution of rainfall indices, as well as consistency of multi-model simulations. Under RCP4.5 Scenario, daily rainfall at most sites (63%) is projected to shift towards larger values. For the early 21st century (2016–2035), precipitation in the central basin increases, yet decreases occur over the middle reaches of the Yangtze River as well as a part of its southeast area. For the late 21st century (2081–2100), the mean precipitation and extreme indices experience an overall increase except for a few southeast stations. The total precipitation in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and in its south area is projected to increase from 7% at 1.5 °C global warming to 11% at 2 °C, while the intensity enhancement is more significant in southern and western sites of the domain. A clustering allows to regroup all SOM nodes into four distinct regimes. Such regional synoptic regimes show remarkable stability for future climate. The overall intensification of precipitation in future climate is linked to the occurrence-frequency rise of a wet regime which brings longitudinally closer the South Asia High (eastward extended) and the Western Pacific Subtropical High (westward extended), as well as the reduction of a dry pattern which makes the two atmospheric centers of action move away from each other.     

Kuramoto Model of Nonlinear Coupled Oscillators as a Way for Understanding Phase Synchronization: Application to Solar and Geomagnetic Indices

We apply a Kuramoto model of nonlinear coupled oscillators to the simulation of slow variations of the phase difference between sunspot number [R _I ] and geomagnetic indices [aa and ζ]. The Kuramoto model is described for the particular case of two oscillators connected by symmetric coupling with quasi-stationary behavior, and its properties are investigated. By solving an inverse problem, we reconstruct the evolution of the couplings between pairs of indices [R _I and aa, R _I and ζ, aa and ζ], and interpret these in terms of the physics of the solar dynamo. The de-correlation between R _I and geomagnetic indices found in Solar Cycle 20 by Le Mouël et al. (J. Geophys. Res. 117, A09103, 2012) is successfully reproduced by the Kuramoto model and corresponds to the alternation of the leading oscillator. Application of the Kuramoto model to the cross-correlations [C(R _I ,ζ) and C(aa,ζ)] for ζ-indices computed in eight geomagnetic stations shows the latitudinal dependence of the mean phase difference. We discuss these results in terms of the solar-wind contribution to local geomagnetic indices [ζ].     

Solar cycle distribution of strong solar proton events and the related solar-terrestrial phenomena

We investigated the solar cycle distribution of strong solar proton events (SPEs, peak flux ≥1000 pfu) and the solar-terrestrial phenomena associated with the strong SPEs during solar cycles 21–23. The results show that 37 strong SPEs were registered over this period of time, where 20 strong SPEs were originated from the super active regions (SARs) and 28 strong SPEs were accompanied by the X-class flares. Most strong SPEs were not associated with the ground level enhancement (GLE) event. Most strong SPEs occurred in the descending phases of the solar cycles. The weaker the solar cycle, the higher the proportion of strong SPES occurred in the descending phase of the cycle. The number of the strong SPEs that occurred within a solar cycle is poorly associated with the solar cycle size. The intensity of the SPEs is highly dependent of the location of their source regions, with the super SPEs (≥20000 pfu) distributed around solar disk center. A super SPE was always accompanied by a fast shock driven by the associated coronal mass ejection and a great geomagnetic storm. The source location of strongest GLE event is distributed in the well-connected region. The SPEs associated with super GLE events (peak increase rate ≥100%) which have their peak flux much lower than 10000 pfu were not accompanied by an intense geomagnetic storm.     

Detection and rapid recovery of the Sutter's Mill meteorite fall as a model for future recoveries worldwide

The Sutter's Mill C‐type meteorite fall occurred on 22 April 2012 in and around the town of Coloma, California. The exact location of the meteorite fall was determined within hours of the event using a combination of eyewitness reports, weather radar imagery, and seismometry data. Recovery of the first meteorites occurred within 2 days and continued for months afterward. The recovery effort included local citizens, scientists, and meteorite hunters, and featured coordination efforts by local scientific institutions. Scientific analysis of the collected meteorites revealed characteristics that were available for study only because the rapid collection of samples had minimized terrestrial contamination/alteration. This combination of factors—rapid and accurate location of the event, participation in the meteorite search by the public, and coordinated scientific investigation of recovered samples—is a model that was widely beneficial and should be emulated in future meteorite falls. The tools necessary to recreate the Sutter's Mill recovery are available, but are currently underutilized in much of the world. Weather radar networks, scientific institutions with interest in meteoritics, and the interested public are available globally. Therefore, it is possible to repeat the Sutter's Mill recovery model for future meteorite falls around the world, each for relatively little cost with a dedicated researcher. Doing so will significantly increase the number of fresh meteorite falls available for study, provide meteorite material that can serve as the nuclei of new meteorite collections, and will improve the public visibility of meteoritics research.