Formation and Evolution of Early Precambrian Continental Crust in Alxa Block

By the analysis of the published zircon U-Pb ages and Hf isotope data, this paper firstly presents a comprehensive review about the staggered growth and reworking of early Precambrian continental crust in Alxa Block. The results show that the ancient crustal remnants of Alxa Block was formed in Meso-Paleo Archean, which was recorded by 3.0~3.6 Ga detrital zircons and Hf model ages. The early crustal growth of Alxa Block could be traced back to early Paleo-archean. Currently, the oldest zircon U-Pb age is about 3.6 Ga. Analogous to the other places of North China Craton, the Alxa Block underwent two-stage crustal growth at 2.7~2.9 Ga and 2.5~2.6 Ga respectively, and the former might be wider. The ~2.5 Ga (TTG) tectono-magmatic event, which represents the North China continent’s cratonization, also existed in Alxa Block. The corresponding zircon Hf isotope data indicate that the TTGs were mainly derived by melting of 2.7~2.9 Ga juvenile crust, possibly by mixing with a certain ancient crust, and a small portion was produced by instant reworking of 2.5~2.6 Ga juvenile crust. Proceeding to Paleo-proterozoic, the Alxa Block underwent multi-stage tectono-magmatic events, approximately peaked at 2.30~2.35 Ga, 2.15~2.17 Ga, 2.00~2.10 Ga, 1.95~1.98 Ga and ~1.90 Ga. The continental crust was mainly formed by reworking of 2.7~2.9 Ga and 2.5~2.6 Ga juvenile crust, simultaneously by a fraction of ~2.1 Ga juvenile crust. In Paleo-proterozoic, not only the Archean crustal reworking but also the juvenile crustal growth existed in Alxa Block.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711300162X

Seismic observations have shown structural variation near the base of the mantle transition zone(MTZ)where subducted cold slabs,as visualized with high seismic speed anomalies(HSSAs),flatten to form stagnant slabs or sink further into the lower mantle.The different slab behaviors were also accompanied by variation of the "660 km" discontinuity depths and low viscosity layers(LVLs) beneath the MTZ that are suggested by geoid inversion studies.We address that deep water transport by subducted slabs and dehydration from hydrous slabs could affect the physical properties of mantle minerals and govern slab dynamics.A systematic series of three-dimensional numerical simulation has been conducted to examine the effects of viscosity reduction or contrast between slab materials on slab behaviors near the base of the MTZ.We found that the viscosity reduction of subducted crustal material leads to a separation of crustal material from the slab main body and its transient stagnation in the MTZ.The once trapped crustal materials in the MTZ eventually sink into the lower mantle within 20-30 My from the start of the plate subduction.The results suggest crustal material recycle in the whole mantle that is consistent with evidence from mantle geochemistry as opposed to a two-layer mantle convection model.Because of the smaller capacity of water content in lower mantle minerals than in MTZ minerals,dehydration should occur at the phase transformation depth,~660 km.The variation of the discontinuity depths and highly localized low seismic speed anomaly(LSSA) zones observed from seismic P waveforms in a relatively high frequency band(~1 Hz) support the hypothesis of dehydration from hydrous slabs at the phase boundary.The LSSAs which correspond to dehydration induced fluids are likely to be very local,given very small hydrogen(H~+) diffusivity associated with subducted slabs.The image of such local LSSA zones embedded in HSSAs may not be necessarily captured in tomography studies.The high electrical conductivity in the MTZ beneath the northwestern Pacific subduction zone does not necessarily require a broad range of high water content homogeneously.     

3维场景植被冠层多波段模拟研究进展

植被冠层辐射散射信号中蕴含了丰富的植被信息,通过构建植被冠层辐射散射模型,可以实现植被结构等生物物理参数的遥感定量反演。迄今为止,可见光/近红外、热红外、微波波段均已发展了大量的模型,这些模型在参数反演方面各具优势,但不同波段的模型又有其自身的局限性。跨波段的联合模拟可以实现模型间的优势互补,进而提高地表参数的反演精度,近年来已有学者专注于可见光/近红外与热红外模型,热红外与微波模型,主被动微波模型,以及可见光/近红外与微波模型的联合模拟和协同反演,但多是两两联合,且主要是基于经验模型或解析模型。基于3维场景的植被冠层辐射散射特性模拟模型可以细致刻画不同组分的结构和空间分布特征,对于由植被结构引起的多次散射和组分比例变化的考虑具有优势。本文主要介绍了3维模拟模型在可见光/近红外、热红外和微波波段,以及跨波段联合模拟方面的研究进展,从模型机理、场景统一、以及组分理化参数的统一的角度,探讨了构建多波段3维模拟系统的可行性,展望了多波段3维模拟模型的发展趋势。     

Cosmic ray scattering in compressible turbulence

We study the scattering of low-energy cosmic rays (CRs) in a turbulent, compressive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) fluid. We show that compressible MHD modes – fast or slow waves with wavelengths smaller than CR mean free paths induce cyclotron instability in CRs. The instability feeds the new small-scale Alfvénic wave component with wavevectors mostly along magnetic field, which is not a part of the MHD turbulence cascade. This new component gives feedback on the instability through decreasing the CR mean free path. We show that the ambient turbulence fully suppresses the instability at large scales, while wave steepening constrains the amplitude of the waves at small scales. We provide the energy spectrum of the plane-parallel Alfvénic component and calculate mean free paths of CRs as a function of their energy. We find that for the typical parameters of turbulence in the interstellar medium and in the intercluster medium the new Alfvénic component provides the scattering of the low-energy CRs that exceeds the direct resonance scattering by MHD modes. This solves the problem of insufficient scattering of low-energy CRs in the turbulent interstellar or intracluster medium that was reported in the literature.     

Collisional hardening of compact binaries in globular clusters

We consider essential mechanisms for orbit shrinkage or 'hardening' of compact binaries in globular clusters (GCs) to the point of Roche lobe contact and X-ray emission phase, focusing on the process of collisional hardening due to encounters between binaries and single stars in the cluster core. The interplay between this kind of hardening and that due to emission of gravitational radiation produces a characteristic scaling of the orbit-shrinkage time with the single-star binary encounter rate γ in the cluster which we introduce, clarify and explore. We investigate possible effects of this scaling on populations of X-ray binaries in GCs within the framework of a simple 'toy' scheme for describing the evolution of pre-X-ray binaries in GCs. We find the expected qualitative trends sufficiently supported by data on X-ray binaries in Galactic GCs to encourage us towards a more quantitative study.     

Transport of ionizing radiation in terrestrial-like exoplanet atmospheres

The propagation of ionizing radiation through model atmospheres of terrestrial-like exoplanets is studied for a large range of column densities and incident photon energies using a Monte Carlo code we have developed to treat Compton scattering and photoabsorption. Incident spectra from parent star flares, supernovae, and gamma-ray bursts are modeled and compared to energetic particles in importance. Large irradiation events with fluences of 10⁶-10⁹ erg cm⁻² at the conventional habitable zone can occur at a rate from many per day (flares from young low-mass parent stars) to ∼100 per Gyr (supernovae and gamma-ray bursts). We find that terrestrial-like exoplanets with atmospheres thinner than about 100 g cm⁻² block nearly all X-rays, but transmit and reprocess a significant fraction of incident γ-rays, producing a characteristic, flat surficial spectrum. Thick atmospheres (?100 g cm⁻²) efficiently block even γ-rays, but nearly all the incident energy is redistributed into diffuse UV and visible aurora-like emission, increasing the effective atmospheric transmission by many orders of magnitude. Depending on the presence of molecular UV absorbers and atmospheric thickness, up to 10% of the incident energy can reach the surface as UV reemission. For the Earth, between 2×10⁻³ and 4×10⁻² of the incident flux reaches the ground in the biologically effective 200-320 nm range, depending on O₂/O₃ shielding. For atmospheres thicker than ∼50 g cm⁻² in the case of pure Rayleigh scattering and ∼100 g cm⁻² in the case of O₂/O₃ absorption, the UV reemission exceeds the surficial transmitted ionizing radiation. We also discuss the effects of angle of incidence and derive a modified two-stream approximation solution for the UV transfer. Finally, we suggest that transient atmospheric ionization layers can be frequently created at altitudes lower than the equilibrium layers that result from steady irradiation and winds from the parent star. We suggest that these events can produce frequent fluctuations in atmospheric ionization levels and surficial UV fluxes on terrestrial-like planets.     

Axisymmetry in protoplanetary nebulae – II. A near-infrared imaging polarimetric survey

In an imaging polarimetry survey of candidate post-AGB stars, scattering envelopes are detected around 20 objects. These envelopes represent the final mass-loss phases at the end of the AGB. In all cases, evidence for axisymmetry in the dust density is seen, suggesting that the presence of an axisymmetric outflow may be a ubiquitous phenomenon of the AGB to post-AGB transition. We use the polarized flux images to classify the objects into detached shell, bipolar and unresolved targets. Modelling based on a simple axisymmetric shell geometry supports the contention that post-AGB objects fall into one of two classes that differ in the amount of dust in the circumstellar environment: the detached shells correspond to stars with an optically thin expanding circumstellar envelope (CSE) whereas the bipolar and unresolved targets have optically thick dust structures, probably in the form of discs, which remain bound to the star, rather than partaking in the expansion of the AGB CSE. It is suggested that this bifurcation in morphology is rooted in the presence or absence of a binary companion, which determines whether or not a disc forms. Because the detached shell objects also appear axisymmetric, an additional mechanism for generating the axisymmetry, such as a magnetically shaped outflow, is needed if they do indeed have single star progenitors.