A procedural framework for robust environmental management of deep-sea mining projects using a conceptual model

Robust environmental management of deep-sea mining projects must be integrated into the planning and execution of mining operations, and developed concurrently. It should follow a framework indicating the environmental management-related activities necessary at each project phase, and their interrelationships. An environmental management framework with this purpose is presented in this paper; it facilitates the development of environmental information and decision-making throughout the phases of a mining project. It is based environmental management frameworks used in allied industries, but adjusted for unique characteristics of deep-sea mining. It defines the gathering and synthesis of information and its use in decision-making, and employs a conceptual model as a growing repository of claim-specific information. The environmental management activities at each phase have been designed to enable the implementation of the precautionary approach in decision making, while facilitating review of adaptive management measures to improve environmental management as the quantity and quality of data increases and technologies are honed. This framework will ensure fairness and uniformity in the application of environmental standards, assist the regulator in its requirements to protect the environment, and benefit contractors and financiers by reducing uncertainty in the process.     

First disk-resolved spectroscopy of (4) Vesta

Vesta, the second largest Main-Belt Asteroid, will be the first to be explored in 2011 by NASA’s Dawn mission. It is a dry, likely differentiated body with spectrum suggesting that is has been resurfaced by basaltic lava flows, not too different from the lunar maria.Here we present the first disk-resolved spectroscopic observations of an asteroid from the ground. We observed (4) Vesta with the ESO-VLT adaptive optics equipped integral-field near-infrared spectrograph SINFONI, as part of its science verification campaign. The highest spatial resolution of ∼90 km on Vesta’s surface was obtained during excellent seeing conditions (0.5^″) in October 2004.We observe spectral variations across Vesta’ surface that can be interpreted as variations of either the pyroxene composition, or the effect of surface aging. We compare Vesta’s 2 μm absorption band to that of howardite-eucrite-diogenite (HED) meteorites that are thought to originate from Vesta, and establish particular links between specific regions and HED subclasses. The overall composition is found to be mostly compatible with howardite meteorites, although a small area around 180°E longitude could be attributed to a diogenite-rich spot. We finally focus our spectral analysis on the characteristics of Vesta’s bright and dark regions as seen from Hubble Space Telescope’s visible and Keck-II’s near-infrared images.     

Single-crystal polarized FTIR spectroscopy and neutron diffraction refinement of cancrinite

We relate a single-crystal FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) and neutron diffraction study of two natural cancrinites. The structural refinements show that the oxygen site of the H₂O molecule lies off the triad axis. The water molecule is almost symmetric and slightly tilted from the (0001) plane. It is involved in bifurcated hydrogen bridges, with Ow···O donor–acceptor distances >2.7 Å. The FTIR spectra show two main absorptions. The first at 3,602 cm^?1 is polarized for E ⊥ c and is assigned to the ν₃ mode. The second, at 3,531 cm^?1, is also polarized for E ⊥ c and is assigned to ν₁ mode. A weak component at 4,108 cm^?1 could possibly indicate the presence of additional OH groups in the structure of cancrinite. Several overlapping bands in the 1,300–1,500 cm^?1 range are strongly polarized for E ⊥ c, and are assigned to the vibrations of the CO₃ group.     

Size does matter: City scale and the asymmetries of climate change adaptation in three coastal towns

Globally, it is smaller urban settlements that are growing most rapidly, are most constrained in terms of adaptive capacity but increasingly looked to for delivering local urban resilience. Data from three smaller coastal cities and their wider regional governance systems in Florida, US; West Sussex, UK and São Paulo, Brazil are used to compare the influence of scale and sector on city adaptive capacity. These tensions are described through the lens of the Adaptive Capacity Index (ACI) approach. The ACI is built from structuration theory and presents an alternative to social-ecological systems framing of analysis on adaptation. Structuration articulates the interaction of agency and structure and the intervening role played by institutions on information flow, in shaping adaptive capacity and outcomes. The ACI approach reveals inequalities in adaptive capacity to be greater across scale than across government, private and civil society sector capacity in each study area. This has implications for adaptation research both by reinforcing the importance of scale and demonstrating the utility of structuration theory as a framework for understanding the social dynamics underpinning adaptive capacity; and policy relevance, in particular considering the redistribution of decision-making power across scale and/or compensatory mechanisms, especially for lower scale actors, who increasingly carry the costs for enacting resilience planning in cities.     

Main belt binary asteroidal systems with circular mutual orbits

In 2003, we initiated a long-term Adaptive Optics campaign to study the orbit of various main-belt asteroidal systems. Here we present a consistent solution for the mutual orbits of four binary systems: 22 Kalliope, 45 Eugenia, 107 Camilla and 762 Pulcova. With the exception of 45 Eugenia, we did not detect any additional satellites around these systems although we have the capability of detecting a loosely-bound fragment (located at 1/4×RHill) that is ∼40 times smaller in diameter than the primary. The common characteristic of these mutual orbits is that they are roughly circular. Three of these binary systems belong to a C-“group” taxonomic class. Our estimates of their bulk densities are consistently lower (∼1 g/cm³) than their associated meteorite analogs, suggesting an interior porosity of 30-50% (taking CI-CO meteorites as analogs). 22 Kalliope, a W-type asteroid, has a significantly higher bulk density of ∼3 g/cm³, derived based on IRAS radiometric size measurement. We compare the characteristics of these orbits in the light of tidal-effect evolution.     

Triaxial ellipsoid dimensions and rotational poles of seven asteroids from Lick Observatory adaptive optics images, and of Ceres

Seven main belt asteroids, 2 Pallas, 3 Juno, 4 Vesta, 16 Psyche, 87 Sylvia, 324 Bamberga, and 707 Interamnia, were imaged with the adaptive optics system on the 3 m Shane telescope at Lick Observatory in the near infrared, and their triaxial ellipsoid dimensions and rotational poles have been determined with parametric blind deconvolution. In addition, the dimensions and pole for 1 Ceres are derived from resolved images at multiple epochs, even though it is an oblate spheroid.     

引入自适应窗口的立体图像匹配算法

基于灰度的数字图像立体匹配算法的中心问题是选择一个适当尺寸的窗口。窗口尺寸既要尽可能地大，以便为可靠匹配包容足够的灰度变化；又要尽可能地小，以避开投影畸变的影响。本文介绍一种通过测算局部灰度和视差变化来选取适当窗口的方法。该方法引入一个窗口范围内的视差分布统计模型（随机模型）。利用该模型可确定，在窗口内的视差变化及灰度变化引起的窗口中心点视差估值的统计误差。以此为基础，文中提出一种窗口搜索方法，以对整幅图像上每一像素求出一个统计误差为最小的视差估值。这种算法不仅能自适应地调节窗口的尺寸，而且亦能同时调整窗口的形状（矩形）。     

自适应抗差最小二乘估计

抗差估计与最小二乘估计在相应条件下各具优点。特定的抗差估计极值函数只在特定的污染分布条件下显示其抗差性和优效性。本文研究最小二乘估计，抗差估计以及抗差估计类之间的自适应估计问题。重点讨论了适于测量平差计算的误差分布检验量以及自适应抗差极值函数和权函数的构造与选择，最后人出了自适应抗差最小二科解算积式。     

湖南湘谭锰矿次生氧化带中天然锰钾矿晶胞参数的修正

应用Rietveld -DBW 941 1和Pirum程序对湘潭锰矿次生氧化带中天然锰钾矿的X射线粉晶衍射数据进行了晶胞参数的修正 ,首次给出其晶胞参数 :a0 =0 .9974nm ,b0 =0 .2 86 3nm ,c0 =0 .9693nm ,β =91 .467° ,V =2 76 .66× 1 0 - 3nm3,同时指出天然锰钾矿晶体结构精细化的难点在于其呈隐晶质集合体的特征导致衍射峰宽化、背底高和不对称     

甘肃河西走廊实际水资源及其对林木适生程度的影响

根据河西走廊近年来水资源研究中比较一致的结果,计算了各县市绿洲年、日平均气温≥10℃期间的实际水资源。采用张宝堃和H.L.彭曼的气候学方法,对各县市林木生长期的蒸散耗水量进行了估算,与实测和调查资料对照表明,两种估算值大致可分别反映林木基本正常生长和良好生长对水分的需求。提出了“实际干燥度”和“实际湿润度”的概念,并根据后者确定了各县市绿洲不同气候植被区林木的适生程度,以及应当选择的乔、灌木树种。