Wave propagation in the photosphere

Using a 32 minutes sequence of observation, brightness and velocity fluctuations in the wings of the Mgi line at 5172.7 Å and Fe ii line at 5197.578 Å are analysed. The analysis of phase shifts and amplitude ratios leads to the following conclusions:

The amino acid and hydrocarbon contents of the Paris meteorite: Insights into the most primitive CM chondrite

The Paris meteorite is one of the most primitive carbonaceous chondrites. It is reported to be the least aqueously altered CM chondrite, and to have experienced only weak thermal metamorphism. We have analyzed for the first time the amino acid and hydrocarbon contents of this pristine meteorite by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). When plotting the relative amino acids abundances of several CM chondrites according to the increasing hydrothermal scale (petrologic subtypes), from the CM2.7/2.8 Paris to the CM2.0 MET 01070, Paris has the lowest relative abundance of β‐alanine/glycine (0.15), which fits with the relative abundances of β‐alanine/glycine increasing with increasing aqueous alteration for CM chondrites. These results confirm the influence of aqueous alteration on the amino acid abundances and distribution. The amino acid analysis shows that the isovaline detected in this meteorite is racemic (d /l  = 0.99 ± 0.08; l ‐enantiomer excess = 0.35 ± 0.5%; corrected d /l  = 1.03; corrected l ‐enantiomer excess = ?1.4 ± 2.6%). The identified hydrocarbons show that Paris has n‐alkanes ranging from C₁₆ to C₂₅ and 3‐ to 5‐ring nonalkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The lack of alkylated PAHs in Paris seems to be also related to this low degree of aqueous alteration on its parent body. The extraterrestrial hydrocarbon content, suggested by the absence of any biomarker, may well have a presolar origin. The chemistry of the Paris meteorite may thus be closely related to the early stages of the solar nebula with a contribution from interstellar (molecular cloud) precursors.     

Determinants of International Return Migration Intentions*

This paper analyzes the determinants of international return migration intentions using survey data on guestworkers in Germany, 1970–1989. It is hypothesized that return migration intentions are influenced by personal attributes, residential and job satisfaction, and three time-dependent variables: a temporal trend, a duration effect, and years prior to retirement. The hypotheses are tested using logit models of the intention to return. The results indicate that return intention probabilities are strongly affected by satisfaction and time-dependent variables while the influence of personal attributes is of little importance.     

Loess and palaeoenvironment: Some results of a European joint programme of research

In 1985, a programme of research on the sedimentology and diagenesis of the loess and loessic silts of western Europe was initiated jointly by laboratories in Leicester, Meudon, Caen, Milan, Cardiff and Southampton, involving a limited amount of comparative work on the loess from types sites in the Loess Plateau of central China. Preliminary results include the following: (1) Experimental procedures in particle size analysis, clay sample preparation and microscopy have been standardised in all cooperating groups; distinctive fabrics indicative of depositional mechanisms have been recognised. (2) Comparison of aeolian, colluvial and alluvial silt by laser-scanning and bulk magnetic susceptibility anisotropy methods appears to differentiate aeolian silt from loessic silts re-deposited by slope processes and flowing water. (3) The variability in the anisotropy of the limon à doublet facies has been assessed by image analysis of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy. Strong anisotropy has also been measured in thin section imagery of loess from Normandy and Poland as the product of freezing and thawing. This is confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and by experimental freezing of some silts. (4) The clay fabric and mineralogy in western European loess differ from those in Chinese loess, especially in the case of semi-arid deposits. (5) Distribution of CaCO₃, using thin sections and SEM analysis, has been determined for loess from Normandy and the Rhǒne valley in France and for some Chinese loess, At Saint Vallier, zones of CaCO₃ concentration occur masking much of the original (loess) sedimentary skeleton which is a locally reworked loessic silt with some laminations. Despite considerable scatter, the palaeomagnetic results indicate a reversed polarity throughout, placing the whole Saint Vallier sequence in the Matuyama chron. These preliminary results suggest the existence of two different palaeoenvironments: one typified by central China, with arid glacials and humid interglacials; and the other represented by western Europe, with generally high humidities. There was stronger weathering and soil development and fewer freezing effects on the lossic succession in northern Italy than in western littoral Europe.