Morphotectonics and incision of the Kaoping submarine canyon, SW Taiwan orogenic wedge

The Kaoping submarine canyon developed on the frontal orogenic wedge off SW Taiwan and is the largest one among others. The canyon begins at the mouth of the Kaoping River, crosses the narrow shelf and broad slope region, and finally merges into the northern Manila Trench for a distance of about 260 km. Using reflection seismic sections and bathymetric mapping this paper reveals the geomorphic characteristics of the Kaoping Canyon strongly related to structural and sedimentary processes. The combined morphometry statistics analysis, seismic interpretations of structures and examinations of detailed bathymetric charts indicate that regional canyon morphology is strongly linked to intrusions of mud diapirs in the upper reach of the canyon and thrust faulting in the middle and lower reaches which produce two prominent morphological breaks of the course of the Kaoping Canyon with two sharp bends. Although excavation of floor and enlargement of the Kaoping Canyon are mainly attributed to downslope erosion of seabed, incision of this canyon is also strongly complicated by mud diapiric intrusions (upper reach), westward thrust faults (middle reach), and regional base level tilting (lower reach). The resultant cross-sectional morphology along the Kaoping Canyon changes considerably, ranging from U-shaped, broad V-shaped, to irregular troughs. The Kaoping Canyon may be served as a variant of canyon model of active margins with a distinct morphology of two sharp bends along the canyon course associated with structure deformation.     

Climatic characteristics of summer high temperature and assessment methods in the large cities of North China

Based on the high temperature data of June to August in 1961-2000 in North China, the high temperature weather processes are investigated, and a more complete data set for severe high temperature processes is created. The climatic characteristics of adverse high temperature weather in Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Jinan and Taiyuan are analyzed respectively. The major features of the East-Asia Subtropical High and Transformed Continental High are discussed. The outcomes indicate that the influence of both East Asia Subtropical High and Transformed Continental High on these weather events varies, by a larger margin, from one city to another over North China and they are also closely related to the relative humidity. It is found that the behaviours of East-Asia Subtropical High and Transformed Continental High are the major important systems that give rise to the summer high temperature weather over the region. Based on these findings, the 5-day, 10-day and monthly assessment models for such high impact events have been developed. The assessment outcomes prove to be useful in assessing severe high-temperature events in major cities of North China.     

Climate change in Mt. Qomolangma region since 1971

Using monthly average, maximum, minimum air temperature and monthly precipitation data from 5 weather stations in Mt. Qomolangma region in China from 1971 to 2004, climatic linear trend, moving average, low-pass filter and accumulated variance analysis methods, the spatial and temporal patterns of the climatic change in this region were analyzed. The main findings can be summarized as follows: (1) There is obvious ascending tendency for the interannual change of air temperature in Mt. Qomolangma region and the ascending tendency of Tingri, the highest station, is the most significant. The rate of increasing air temperature is 0.234 oC/decade in Mt. Qomolangma region, 0.302 oC/decade in Tingri. The air temperature increases more strongly in non-growing season. (2) Compared with China and the global average, the warming of Mt. Qomolangma region occurred early. The linear rates of temperature increase in Mt. Qomolangma region exceed those for China and the global average in the same period. This is attributed to the sensitivity of mountainous regions to climate change. (3) The southern and northern parts of Mt. Qomolangma region are quite different in precipitation changes. Stations in the northern part show increasing trends but are not statistically significant. Nyalam in the southern part shows a decreasing trend and the sudden decreasing of precipitation occurred in the early 1990s. (4) Compared with the previous studies, we find that the warming of Mt. Qomolangma high-elevation region is most significant in China in the same period. The highest automatic meteorological comprehensive observation station in the world set up at the base camp of Mt. Qomolangma with a height of 5032 m a.s.l will play an important role in monitoring the global climate change.     

Spontaneous Structural Reform in Australian Local Government: the case of the Gilgandra Co-operative Model in New South Wales

Dire financial constraints and the threats of forced structural reform have had the unforeseen effect of forcing municipal councils across Australia to reconsider their operational activities and organisational arrangements. With considerable ingenuity, numerous municipalities have proposed and sometimes adopted new structural formations that embody various forms of co-operative service provision. This remarkable development has unfortunately been largely ignored in the scholarly literature on Australian local government. In a modest effort aimed at remedying this neglect, the present paper seeks to outline the small, rural New South Wales Gilgandra Shire Council's (2004) ‘Co-operative/Local Government Service Company’ model, place it in the broader context of alternative models of local governance suitable for Australian conditions, and evaluate its characteristics.     

Optical variability of the NLS1 galaxy Ark 564 in 1987–2004

We present the results of our U BV R _c I _c photoelectric and CCD photometry of the NLS1 galaxy Ark 564 in 1987–2004. Between late 1997 and 2002, a slight increase in brightness was observed followed by a small but systematic decline until 2004. Ark 564 has a low variability amplitude, within 0.2^m in the U BV R _c I _c bands. The galaxy’s spectral energy distribution at 3600–9000 Å is unlike those for Seyfert 1 (Syl) galaxies. A delay of the Ic flux relative to the B flux of about three days was found, which is in agreement with the standard disk model. This delay probably reflects the geometric size of the region that emits the observed continuum.     

Ge-bearing coals of the Luzanovka Graben, Pavlovka brown coal deposit, southern Primorye

Results of the study of a new Ge-bearing area of the Pavlovka brown coal deposit are presented. Ge is accumulated in bed III₂ lying at the bottom of the Late Paleogene-Early Neogene coal-bearing sequence adjacent to the Middle Paleozoic granite basement. The Ge content in coals and coal-bearing rocks varies in different sections from 10 to 200–250 ppm, reaching up to 500–600 ppm in the highest-grade lower part of the bed. The metalliferous area reveals a geochemical zoning: complex Ge-Mo-W anomalies subsequently grades along the depth and strike into Mo-W and W anomalies. Orebodies, like those at many Ge-bearing coal deposits, are concentric in plan and dome-shaped in cross-section. Coals in their central parts, in addition to Ge, W, and Mo, are enriched in U, As, Be, Ag, and Au. Distribution of Ge and other trace elements in the metalliferous sequence and products of gravity separation of Ge-bearing coals is studied. These data indicate that most elements (W, Mo, U, As, Be) concentrated like Ge in the Ge-bearing bed relative to background values are restricted to the organic matter of coals. The electron microscopic study shows that Ge-bearing coals contain native metals and intermetallic compounds in association with carbonates, sulfides, and halogenides. Coal inclusions in the metalliferous and barren areas of the molasse section strongly differ in contents of Ge and associated trace elements. Ge was accumulated in the coals in the course of the interaction of ascending metalliferous solutions with organic matter of the buried peat bogs in Late Miocene. The solutions were presumably represented by N₂-bearing thermal waters (contaminated by volcanogenic CO₂) that are typical of granite terranes.     

The Kyrgyz-Ata Synform in the South Tien Shan: Structural and kinematic aspects of its evolution

The complexes of metamorphic rocks that take part in the tectonic structure of the South Tien Shan are mostly confined to the cores of large synforms and occupy high structural position therein. Problems of their age, origin, metamorphic conditions, and relationships with the adjacent unmetamorphosed Paleozoic sequences have remained debatable throughout the history of geological investigations. The results of detailed studies of the Kyrgyz-Ata Synform, a typical structure of the Turkestan-Alay Zone in the South Tien Shan, are reported in this paper. The metamorphic rocks of the Kan Group participate in the structure of this synform. On the basis of the study of structural assemblages and the kinematic analysis, it is concluded that the multistage evolution of this tectonic unit proceeded under transpressive conditions of volcanic trough “crushing.” The detailed study of rock alteration in the contact zone between the Kan Group and the Middle Devonian basic volcanic rocks allowed us to suggest that the metamorphic Kan Group is not a self-dependent stratigraphic unit but represents an infrastructure (a metamorphosed analogue of the volcanic sequence and underlying rocks) displaced tectonically over its own suprastructure.     

On two types of metalliferous carbonaceous rocks

Two types of metalliferous carbonaceous rocks that differ in associated metals are considered. One of them is characterized by gold occurring in finely dispersed arsenopyrite and arsenic-bearing pyrite, and the other, by finely impregnated native metals in carbonaceous matter. Rocks of the first type also contain elements of the platinum group, while those of the second type bear rhenium, silver, iron, molybdenum, and other metals. Graphitic mineralization is usually localized in the shear zone associated with alkaline basalts.