Exploring the disc/jet interaction in the radio-loud quasar 4C+74.26 with Suzaku

We report on a 90 ks Suzaku observation of the radio-loud quasar 4C+74.26. The source was observed in its highest flux state to date, and we find that it brightened by about 20 per cent during the observation. We see evidence of spectral hardening as the count rate increases and also find that the rms variability increases with energy up to about 4 keV. We clearly detect a broadened Fe line but conclude that it does not require any emission from inside about 50 r _g, although a much smaller inner radius cannot be ruled out. The large inner radius of our best fit implies that the inner disc is either missing or not strongly illuminated. We suggest that the latter scenario may occur if the power-law source is located high above the disc, or if the emission is beamed away from the disc.     

A systematic look at the very high and low/hard state of GX 339−4: constraining the black hole spin with a new reflection model

We present a systematic study of GX 339−4 in both its very high and low hard states from simultaneous observations made with XMM–Newton and RXTE in 2002 and 2004. The X-ray spectra of both these extreme states exhibit strong reflection signatures, with a broad, skewed Fe Kα line clearly visible above the continuum. Using a newly developed, self-consistent reflection model which implicitly includes the blackbody radiation of the disc as well as the effect of Comptonization, blurred with a relativistic line function, we were able to infer the spin parameter of GX 339−4 to be  0.935 ± 0.01  (statistical) ±0.01 (systematic) at 90 per cent confidence. We find that both states are consistent with an ionized thin accretion disc extending to the innermost stable circular orbit around the rapidly spinning black hole.     

淡水和海水环境下沉积物搬运过程碳释放通量的模拟研究

基于室内物理模拟实验, 对长江沉积物进行淡水和海水环境下沉积物搬运过程碳释放通量实验模拟。结果表明, 模拟实验初期, 淡水和海水均为大气CO₂的源, 但淡水CO₂释放通量略高于海水;淡水、海水两种环境下, CH₄释放通量均较小, 为弱释放-弱吸收过程。对两种环境下碳通量对比研究发现,Eh 值可能是造成淡水和海水环境下CO₂通量差别的主要原因, 而pH 值可能对CO₂通量差别的影响较小。两种环境下温室气体通量差别的具体原因仍需进一步研究。通过模拟对比试验, 旨在为系统地认识长江流域水库的温室效应与减排提供科学依据, 为我国清洁水电能源发展提供理论参考。     

RICE PRODUCER‐PROCESSOR NETWORKS IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE*

ABSTRACT. Pressured by structural adjustment loan conditions, Côte d'Ivoire reduced state support for rice production and processing during the 1990s. In this article we examine how various actors in the rice commodity chain adapted to the macroeconomic reforms. Following a brief history of the rice sector, we present the results of fieldwork based on interviews conducted in 2002 of farmers, millers, traders, and workers in the state extension service and nongovernmental organizations. We found that, in the absence of state supports for farmers, private millers became the focal point of regional producer‐processor rice networks. The four networks identified became the sole source of domestic commercial rice when the state removed subsidies for fertilizer and modern seeds, privatized extension, and liberalized prices and imports. To increase their role in the national rice supply, the rice networks may need support through microlending and a focus on niche markets.     

Hydropower – A Green Energy? Tropical Reservoirs and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Reservoirs are man‐made lakes that severely impact on river ecosystems, and in addition, the new lake ecosystem can be damaged by several processes. Thus, the benefits of a reservoir, including energy production and flood control, must be measured against their impact on nature. New investigations point out that shallow and tropical reservoirs have high emission rates of the greenhouse gases CO₂ and CH₄. The methane emissions contribute strongly to climate change because CH₄ has a 25 times higher global warming potential than CO₂. The pathways for its production include ebullition, diffuse emission via the water‐air interface, and degassing in turbines and downstream of the reservoir in the spillway and the initial river stretch. Greenhouse gas emissions are promoted by a eutrophic state of the reservoir, and, with higher trophic levels, anaerobic conditions occur with the emission of CH₄. This means that a qualitative and quantitative jump in greenhouse gas emissions takes place. Available data from Petit Saut, French Guinea, provides a first quantification of these pathways. A simple evaluation of the global warming potential of a reservoir can be undertaken using the energy density, the ratio of the reservoir surface and the hydropower capacity; this parameter is mainly determined by the reservoir's morphometry but not by the hydropower capacity. Energy densities of some reservoirs are given and it is clearly seen that some reservoirs have a global warming potential higher than that of coal use for energy production.     

四分量钻孔应变观测资料的换算和使用

水平四分量钻孔应变仪观测的是地表附近一点的水平应变变化. 但是其直接记录并非应变变化,应根据互检条件先进行实地相对标定(计算元件校正系数),然后用理论固体潮进行实地绝对标定(计算探头校正系数),才能进行应变换算,给出可作为应变变化使用的数据. 因为钻孔应变仪观测的是应变变化,所以实地标定和应变换算都需要用增量. 对于精确的研究,这些校正系数都可能随时间变化,因而需要根据具体问题按特定时间段对校正系数进行计算. 该文比较系统地说明了四分量钻孔应变观测资料换算和使用的基本步骤和具体方法,并以姑咱台的观测资料为例,给出了具体分析结果.     

Physical constraints on c13 and δ for transversely isotropic hydrocarbon source rocks

Based on the theory of anisotropic elasticity and observation of static mechanic measurement of transversely isotropic hydrocarbon source rocks or rock‐like materials, we reasoned that one of the three principal Poisson's ratios of transversely isotropic hydrocarbon source rocks should always be greater than the other two and they should be generally positive. From these relations, we derived tight physical constraints on c₁₃, Thomsen parameter δ, and anellipticity parameter η. Some of the published data from laboratory velocity anisotropy measurement are lying outside of the constraints. We analysed that they are primarily caused by substantial uncertainty associated with the oblique velocity measurement. These physical constraints will be useful for our understanding of Thomsen parameter δ, data quality checking, and predicting δ from measurements perpendicular and parallel to the symmetrical axis of transversely isotropic medium. The physical constraints should also have potential application in anisotropic seismic data processing.     

Modal identification of a centrifuge soil model using subspace state space method

In this paper, modal parameters of a layered soil system comprising of a soft clay layer overlying a dense sand layer are identified from accelerometer recordings in a centrifuge test. For the first time, the subspace state space system identification (4SID) method was employed to identify the natural frequencies, damping ratios, and complex valued mode shapes while considering the non-proportional damping in a soil system. A brief review of system identification concepts needed for application of the 4SID techniques to structural modal identification is provided in the paper. The identified natural frequencies were validated against those estimated by transfer function spectra. The computed normal mode shapes were compared with closed-form solutions obtained from the one-dimensional shear wave propagation equation. The identified modal parameters were then employed to synthesize state space prediction models which were subsequently used to simulate the soil response to three successive base motions. The identified models captured acceleration time-histories and corresponding Fourier spectra reasonably well in the small and moderate shaking events. In the stronger third shaking event, the model performed well at greater soil depths, but was less accurate near the surface where nonlinearities dominated.     

2012年5月3日甘肃省金塔县MS 5.4地震

2012年5月3日,甘肃省金塔县、内蒙古额济纳旗交界发生MS5.4地震,这是继2002年12月14日甘肃玉门5.9级地震10年后,在河西走廊西部发生的又一次破坏性地震。极震区烈度约为Ⅶ度,地震没有造成人员伤亡、震害较轻,但有一定的房屋破坏及经济损失。文章对该地震的基本参数、地震序列、地震背景及地震构造等作了初步分析。