Lunar meteorites from Oman

Abstract– Sixty named lunar meteorite stones representing about 24 falls have been found in Oman. In an area of 10.7 × 10³ km² in southern Oman, lunar meteorite areal densities average 1 g km^?2. All lunar meteorites from Oman are breccias, although two are dominated by large igneous clasts (a mare basalt and a crystalline impact‐melt breccia). Among the meteorites, the range of compositions is large: 9–32% Al₂O₃, 2.5–21.1% FeO, 0.3–38 μg g^?1 Sm, and <1 to 22.5 ng g^?1 Ir. The proportion of nonmare lunar meteorites is higher among those from Oman than those from Antarctica or Africa. Omani lunar meteorites extend the compositional range of lunar rocks as known from the Apollo collection and from lunar meteorites from other continents. Some of the feldspathic meteorites are highly magnesian (high MgO/[MgO + FeO]) compared with most similarly feldspathic Apollo rocks. Two have greater concentrations of incompatible trace elements than all but a few Apollo samples. A few have moderately high abundances of siderophile elements from impacts of iron meteorites on the Moon. All lunar meteorites from Oman are contaminated, to various degrees, with terrestrial Na, K, P, Zn, As, Se, Br, Sr, Sb, Ba, U, carbonates, or sulfates. The contamination is not so great, however, that it seriously compromises the scientific usefulness of the meteorites as samples from randomly distributed locations on the Moon.     

海地地震使邻近断层应力增大

2010年1月12日,在距离海地首都太子港15km处发生了M7．0地震,这次地震使Enriquillo断层上一个长40km的区段破裂。根据2010年5月3日在奥地利维也纳召开的欧洲地学联盟（EGU）大会上提交的研究成果,此次地震增加了该断层上与破裂区段相邻的东段断层上的破裂应力,从而增大了该区段的破裂风险。     

Large-scale dispersant leaching and effectiveness experiments with oils on calm water

The use of dispersants to treat oil spills in calm seas is discouraged because there is insufficient ‘mixing energy’ to cause immediate dispersion of the oil. However, dispersants might be applied while the seas are calm, in the expectation that they would work later when sea states increase. The present study examined the persistence of dispersants in treated oil slicks on calm water in a large outdoor wave tank. Test slicks, pre-mixed with dispersant, were allowed to stand on static and flowing water for up to six days, after which their dispersibility was tested by exposing them to breaking waves. Results showed that thicker slicks exposed to calm water for up to six days dispersed completely with the addition of breaking waves. Thinner slicks and slicks exposed to water movement became less dispersible within two days. The loss of dispersibility was caused by dispersant loss rather than by oil weathering.     

Sulfur biogeochemistry and isotopic fractionation in shallow groundwater and sediments of Owens Dry Lake, California

Groundwater and sediment samples (∼ 1 m depth) at sites representative of different groundwater pathways were collected to determine the aqueous speciation of sulfur and the fractionation of sulfur isotopes in aqueous and solid phases. In addition, selected sediment samples at 5 depths (from oxic to anoxic layers) were collected to investigate the processes controlling sulfur biogeochemistry in sedimentary layers. Pyrite was the dominant sulfur-bearing phase in the capillary fringe and groundwater zones where anoxic conditions are found. Low concentrations of pyrite (< 5.9 g kg^− 1) coupled with high concentrations of dissolved sulfide (4.81 to 134.7 mg L^− 1) and low concentrations of dissolved Fe (generally < 1 mg L^− 1) and reducible solid-phase Fe indicate that availability of reactive Fe limits pyrite formation. The relative uniformity of down-core isotopic trends for sulfur-bearing mineral phases in the sedimentary layers suggests that sulfate reduction does not result in significant sulfate depletion in the sediment. Sulfate availability in the deeper sediments may be enhanced by convective vertical mixing between upper and lower sedimentary layers due to evaporative concentration. The large isotope fractionation between dissolved sulfate and sedimentary sulfides at Owens Lake provides evidence for initial fractionation from bacterial sulfate reduction and additional fractionation generated by sulfide oxidation followed by disproportionation of intermediate oxidation state sulfur compounds. The high salinity in the Owens Lake brines may be a factor controlling sulfate reduction and disproportionation in hypersaline conditions and results in relatively constant values for isotope fractionation between dissolved sulfate and total reduced sulfur.     

Optima系列电感耦合等离子体-发射光谱法测定啤酒中多元素

对于啤酒样品,准确和精密的分析要求给检测工作带来了挑战。使用Optima系列电感耦合等离子体发射光谱,采用双向观测光路设计和优化的进样系统,对样品和标准溶液进行仔细的前处理,在所选择的元素谱线上没有发现光谱干扰,同时内标元素的采用使分析结果准确性高,精密度好。该方法对于啤酒样品的分析,具有较强的实用性。     

华北克拉通北缘(怀来—苏尼特右旗)地壳结构

2009年,中国地质科学院地质研究所与美国俄克拉荷马大学合作实施了一条长453 km的深地震反射、宽角反射与折射、三分量反射地震联合探测剖面. 剖面南起怀来盆地,向北依次穿过燕山造山带西缘、内蒙地轴、白乃庙弧带、温都尔庙杂岩带,到达索伦缝合带. 其中,宽角反射与折射剖面采用8个0.5~1.5 t炸药震源激发,使用300套Texan单分量数字检波器接收,获得了高质量的地震资料. 通过资料分析和处理,识别出沉积层及结晶基底的折射波（Pg）、来自上地壳底界面的反射波（Pcp）,中地壳底界面的反射波（Plp）,莫霍界面的反射波（Pmp）及上地幔顶部的折射波（Pn）等5个震相. 分别采用Hole有限差分层析成像和Rayinvr算法对华北克拉通北缘及中亚造山带南部进行了上地壳P波速度结构成像和全地壳二维射线追踪反演成像. 结果显示：（1）中亚造山带地壳厚度~40 km,变化平缓,低于全球平均造山带地壳平均厚度,可能为造山后区域伸展的结果. 阴山—燕山带附近莫霍明显加深,推测其为燕山期造山过程形成的山根,但该山根很可能在后期被改造. （2）测线中部地壳上部速度较高,对应地表大面积花岗岩出露,而下地壳速度较低,速度梯度低,呈通道状,推测其可能曾为古亚洲洋向南俯冲消亡的主动陆缘,并在碰撞后演变为伸展环境下岩浆侵入的通道. （3）华北克拉通北缘与中亚造山带显示出不同速度变化特征,前者变化相对缓而后者则变化剧烈,二者的分界出现在赤峰—白云鄂博断裂附近.     

Observations of the 4000 Å break strength in the spectra of elliptical and S0 galaxies

Spectrophotometric observations of the 4000 Å break strength in a large sample of nearby E and S0 galaxies are described. A tight relationship between luminosity and break strength is found, though it is too shallow at the bright end to serve as a useful distance indicator. Correlations are found between the break strength and various metal lines, Balmer lines, and the Greenwich gradient, which demonstrate the sensitivity of the break to both metallicity and composite temperature effects.     

The Project for Intercomparison of Land-surface Parameterization Schemes (PILPS) phase 2(c) Red-Arkansas River basin experiment:: 2. Spatial and temporal analysis of energy fluxes

The energy components of sixteen Soil-Vegetation Atmospheric Transfer (SVAT) schemes were analyzed and intercompared using 10 years of surface meteorological and radiative forcing data from the Red-Arkansas River basin in the Southern Great Plains of the United States. Comparisons of simulated surface energy fluxes among models showed that the net radiation and surface temperature generally had the best agreement among the schemes. On an average (annual and monthly) basis, the estimated latent heat fluxes agreed (to within approximate estimation errors) with the latent heat fluxes derived from a radiosonde-based atmospheric budget method for slightly more than half of the schemes. The sensible heat fluxes had larger differences among the schemes than did the latent heat fluxes, and the model-simulated ground heat fluxes had large variations among the schemes. The spatial patterns of the model-computed net radiation and surface temperature were generally similar among the schemes, and appear reasonable and consistent with observations of related variables, such as surface air temperature. The spatial mean patterns of latent and sensible heat fluxes were less similar than for net radiation, and the spatial patterns of the ground heat flux vary greatly among the 16 schemes. Generally, there is less similarity among the models in the temporal (interannual) variability of surface fluxes and temperature than there is in the mean fields, even for schemes with similar mean fields.     

Cross-Cultural Environmental Perception of Wilderness

This paper investigates the environmental perceptions of three disparate culture groups: Vermonters, non-Native Quebecers, and Native Cree of northern Quebec. All three groups were affiliated with the James Bay hydroelectric project. The hydroelectric project, per se, was not the focus of this research endeavor. Instead, this study merely took advantage of the environmental awareness promulgated by the project. The concept of “wilderness” was qualitatively employed to probe environmental perceptions cross-culturally. Pressing each group to define, locate, and assess the value of wilderness provided insight into each culture's framework regarding land use and exposed the mental scaffolding that undergirds their environmental conceptualizations.