A dark matter disc in three cosmological simulations of Milky Way mass galaxies

Making robust predictions for the phase-space distribution of dark matter at the solar neighbourhood is vital for dark matter direct-detection experiments. To date, almost all such predictions have been based on simulations that model the dark matter alone. Here, we use three cosmological hydrodynamic simulations of bright, disc-dominated galaxies to include the effects of baryonic matter self-consistently for the first time. We find that the addition of baryonic physics drastically alters the dark matter profile in the vicinity of the solar neighbourhood. A stellar/gas disc, already in place at high redshift, causes merging satellites to be dragged preferentially towards the disc plane where they are torn apart by tides. This results in an accreted dark matter disc that contributes ∼0.25–1.5 times the non-rotating halo density at the solar position. The dark disc, unlike dark matter streams, is an equilibrium structure that must exist in disc galaxies that form in a hierarchical cosmology. Its low rotation lag with respect to the Earth significantly boosts Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) capture in the Earth and Sun, boosts the annual modulation signal and leads to distinct variations in the flux as a function of recoil energy that allow the WIMP mass to be determined.     

Large-scale galactic turbulence: can self-gravity drive the observed H i velocity dispersions?

Observations of turbulent velocity dispersions in the H  i component of galactic discs show a characteristic floor in galaxies with low star formation rates and within individual galaxies the dispersion profiles decline with radius. We carry out several high-resolution adaptive mesh simulations of gaseous discs embedded within dark matter haloes to explore the roles of cooling, star formation, feedback, shearing motions and baryon fraction in driving turbulent motions. In all simulations the disc slowly cools until gravitational and thermal instabilities give rise to a multiphase medium in which a large population of dense self-gravitating cold clouds are embedded within a warm gaseous phase that forms through shock heating. The diffuse gas is highly turbulent and is an outcome of large-scale driving of global non-axisymmetric modes as well as cloud–cloud tidal interactions and merging. At low star formation rates these processes alone can explain the observed H  i velocity dispersion profiles and the characteristic value of  ∼10 km s⁻¹  observed within a wide range of disc galaxies. Supernovae feedback creates a significant hot gaseous phase and is an important driver of turbulence in galaxies with a star formation rate per unit area  ≳10⁻³ M_⊙ yr⁻¹ kpc⁻²  .     

Postscript: planning urban geographies and the contested rationalities of city-making

Urban space is produced through material enactments performed by situated actors whose practices follow a determinative logic – a rationality – that links specific means to specific ends. The three papers in this special issue explore the divergent, contested, contingent, and relational character of rationalities through which urban geographies are produced on the ground.     

城市住宅小区容积率时空分异研究——以大连市内四区为例

以大连市内四区为例,将城镇地籍调查数据与互联网房产数据相结合作为基础数据,通过ArcGIS软件生成住宅小区点数据的空间分布图,对大连市住宅小区容积率的时间演变和空间分布进行研究,并利用锡尔指数计算住宅小区容积率的空间差异量化测度指数,最后阐述住宅小区容积率空间差异的机制。结果表明：① 1992~2016年大连市住宅小区的数量在持续发展时期最多,平均容积率展现出波动上涨的趋势。② 区：大尺度包括冷炳荣住宅小区容积率整体上呈现出不均匀性和破碎性,局部又呈现出混乱性和复杂性,东部地区小区容积率分异比西部大。③ 中山区空间差异量化测度指数最高为0.831,甘井子区最低为0.125,西岗区与四区整体格局最为相近。极低等级容积率空间分异指数最高,容积率分异指数由两极向中间递减。大连市住宅小区容积率空间差异主要体现在区域内,其对研究区容积率空间分异影响较大。④ 住宅小区容积率空间差异的主要原因为下垫面性质对住宅小区建设的限制、区位的优良性对住宅类型的指向、城市规划对土地利用的导向、极差地租与容积率的相关性、小区建设成本对容积率的影响。     

Agents of landscape change in southern New Zealand, 1896–1920

The records of two large stock and station agents, Loan & Mercantile Agency in Dunedin and Wright Stephenson in Invercargill, allowed us to track the timing, nature, magnitude and rate of landscape change in southern New Zealand between 1896 and 1920. This period extends from the final years of subdivision of large estates, and includes closer settlement, the shift from pastoral farming to intensive agriculture, growth of dairying, and increasing mechanisation of agriculture. These changes are reflected in clients’ annual expenditures on capital items such as fencing and building materials, tools and implements, materials for drains.     

Climate variability recorded by n-alkanes of paleolake sediment in Qaidam Basin on the northeast Tibetan Plateau in late MIS3

Here we combine n-alkanes preserved in a shell bar section from Qarhan paleolake, Qaidam Basin with the other sedimentary proxies to elucidate the lake evolution process during the period 39.7 to 17.5 14C ka BP (calibrated age ranges from 43.5 to 22.4 cal. ka BP). In different stages, the n-alkane homologues exhibited different distribution modes indicative of variations in the surrounding vegetation and the hydrologic condition of the lake. The n-alkanes proxies (CPIh, ACLh, Paq) have the same trends as th...     

Integrated Interpretation of Interwell Connectivity Using Injection and Production Fluctuations

A method to characterize reservoirs, based on matching temporal fluctuations in injection and production rates, has recently been developed. The method produces two coefficients for each injector–producer pair; one parameter, λ, quantifies the connectivity and the other, τ, quantifies the fluid storage in the vicinity of the pair. Previous analyses used λ and τ separately to infer the presence of transmissibility barriers and conduits in the reservoir, but several common conditions could not be easily distinguished. This paper describes how λ and τ can be jointly interpreted to enhance inference about preferential transmissibility trends and barriers. Two different combinations are useful: one is a plot of log (λ) versus log (τ) for a producer and nearby injectors, and the second is a Lorenz-style flow capacity (F) versus storativity (C) plot. These techniques were tested against the results of a numerical simulator and applied to data from the North Buck Draw field. Using the simulated data, we find that the F–C plots and the λ–τ plots are capable of identifying whether the connectivity of an injector–producer well pair is through fractures, a high-permeability layer, multiple-layers or through partially completed wells. Analysis of data from the North Buck Draw field shows a reasonable correspondence between τ and the tracer breakthrough times. Of two possible geological models for Buck Draw, the F–C and λ–τ plots support the model that has less connectivity in the field. The wells in fluvial deposits show better communication than those wells in more estuarine-dominated regions.     

中缅毗邻区金腊Pb-Zn-Ag多金属矿田花岗岩锆石U-Pb定年与地球化学特征

位于中缅毗邻区的金腊铅锌银多金属矿田大地构造上处于保山—掸泰地块东缘,勐统—耿马—西盟元古宙—古生代被动大陆边缘活动带南段。与矿化有关的花岗岩(简称金腊花岗岩)包括老厂似斑状角闪二长花岗岩、勐林山似斑状黑云二长花岗岩和南腊碱长花岗斑岩。文中系统研究了上述岩石的主量元素、稀土元素、微量元素、成矿元素和锆石U-Pb同位素年龄等特征,从构造岩浆演化的角度,探讨上述岩体之间内在联系、成因演化以及与成矿的关系:(1)在金腊花岗岩三种岩石类型中,老厂似斑状角闪二长花岗岩和勐林山似斑状黑云二长花岗岩的锆石同位素U-Pb年龄皆为(45±1)Ma,形成于岩浆结晶分异早期阶段的深成环境,而南腊碱长花岗斑岩的锆石同位素U-Pb年龄为(43.41±0.78)Ma,形成于岩浆结晶分异晚期阶段的浅成环境。(2)主量元素和微量元素(稀土元素和某些微量元素(Zr/Hf、Nb/Ta、Rb/Sr、Rb/Ba、K/Rb、(Rb/Yb)N、Sr*、K*和Zr*)),结合U-Pb同位素定年研究表明,本区花岗岩形成于喜马拉雅同碰撞造山成矿作用末期局部拉张构造环境,并分别代表了构造岩浆演化过程中不同演化阶段岩浆分异结晶的产物。(3)上述三类花岗岩样品皆位于S型花岗岩区,但从老厂似斑状角闪二长花岗岩,勐林山似斑状黑云二长花岗岩,到南腊碱长花岗斑岩,样品分布逐渐远离"I"型花岗岩和"S"型花岗岩的分界线,这表明自老厂似斑状角闪二长花岗岩至勐林山似斑状黑云二长花岗岩,到南腊碱长花岗斑岩幔源组分逐渐减少。(4)相对中国花岗岩,南腊碱长花岗斑岩不仅更富集W、Cu、Bi、Sb、Mo、Sn、Ag、Pb和Au等成矿元素,而且还强烈富集F、B和As等矿化剂元素,因此,碱长花岗斑岩是最有成矿远景的岩体。     

Using GIS and large-scale digital data to implement hedonic pricing studies

This paper describes how a standard GIS package can be used to convert large-scale vector digital data (point, line and annotation features) into polygons using standardised and replicable methods. Building area, garden and land use polygons are all derived from such data (Ordnance Survey LandLine.Plus). These entities are then combined with further sources of digital data to derive more refined information such as property types. Finally, complex DEMs are developed for use in visibility studies. The variables calculated are subsequently employed in a property valuation study where many are found to be significant determinants of property price. The main exception is variables relating to viewsheds, although it is argued that this does not invalidate the techniques used in their deviation but highlights the difficulties involved in modelling a large number of variables in a property price analysis.