p-mode Oscillations of α Cen A

Models of Cen A & B have been computed using the masses determinedby Pourbaix et al. (2002) and the data derived from the spectroscopicanalysis of Neuforge and Magain (1997). The seismological dataobtained by Bouchy and Carrier (2001, 2002) do help improveour knowledge of the evolutionary status of the system. All the constraintsare satisfied with a model which gives an age of about 6 Gyr for the binary.     

胶东半岛乳山地区低角度韧性剪切带几何学、运动学特征:对中国东部岩石圈减薄作用的启示

大规模伸展构造是华北克拉通东部岩石圈减薄的重要表现形式。部分低角度韧性剪切带是地壳伸展变形后所展现的构造形式。本文研究了王格庄韧性剪切带的岩石学、几何学、运动学等特征显示:韧性剪切带走向近南北向,剪切带断层面倾向多变(倾向西、西南、西北方向)。大部分区域面理低角度倾向西,矿物拉伸线理近东西向,不对称旋转碎斑及S-C组构指示顶端指向西的剪切特征。结合研究区西侧与伸展构造相匹配的半地堑伸展盆地证据:本研究认为伸展构造的形成可能与西太平洋板块的后撤相关,即大规模伸展构造作用引发了华北克拉通东部的地壳减薄作用。     

Alternative climate policy pathways in the US

Although it is likely that the political–economic coalition required for implementing a federal cap-and-trade programme for GHGs in the US is now sufficiently strong, the structural impediments that have prevented its legislative passage remain impressively durable and can be expected to continue to lay waste to congressional proposals for the foreseeable future. Indeed, given the complex history of environmental policy gridlock in Washington since the early 1980s, any expectations that a cap-and-trade programme could have been realistically achieved through the traditional legislative passage in Congress are fundamentally misplaced. Building on previous research, it is argued that – as with most other forms of environmental policy in the US over the past three decades – a national carbon market is more plausible given alternative policy pathways, which if taken are capable of circumventing the Federal Congress altogether. In particular, the interaction between litigation against the federal government and the ‘rulemaking’ authority possessed by the Executive Branch provides the potential space for the current administration to unilaterally establish a model rule for a national carbon-trading programme.

Policy relevance

This article aims to contribute to American climate policy debates by re-thinking the policy mechanisms most capable of establishing a national carbon market in the US. By taking into account the array of structural factors that have prevented the legislative passage of such a programme in federal Congress, a range of alternative policy ‘pathways’ is considered that have historically allowed progressive environmental policies to endure in Washington (despite increased Congressional gridlock over the past few decades). Two specific alternative strategies and the relationship between them are assessed: the use of litigation to impose legal obligations on federal agencies to regulate effluents, and the use of executive authority to define the nature and scope of environmental regulation. The administration's current potential to unilaterally develop a model-rule for a cap-and-trade programme under the Clean Air Act is emphasized, and the political implications of such a strategy are considered.     

Volcanic and Scientific Activity at Kick ’em Jenny Submarine Volcano 2001–2002: Implications for Volcanic Hazard in the Southern Grenadines,Lesser Antilles

Kick em Jenny submarine volcano, ~8 km north of Grenada, has erupted at least 12 times since it was first discovered in 1939, making it the most frequently active volcano in the Lesser Antilles arc. The volcano lies in shallow water close to significant population centres and directly beneath a major shipping route, and as a consequence an understanding of the eruptive behaviour and potential hazards at the volcano is critical. The most recent eruption at Kick em Jenny occurred on December 4 2001, and differed significantly from past eruptions in that it was preceded by an intensive volcanic earthquake swarm. In March 2002 a multi-beam bathymetric survey of the volcano and its surroundings was carried out by the NOAA ship Ronald H Brown. This survey provided detailed three-dimensional images of the volcano, revealing the detailed morphology of the summit area. The volcano is capped by a summit crater which is breached to the northeast and which varies in diameter from 300 to 370 m. The depth to the summit (highest point on the crater rim) is 185 m and the depth to the lowest point inside the crater is 264 m. No dome is present within the crater. The crater and summit region of Kick em Jenny are located at the top of an asymmetrical cone which is about 1300 m from top to bottom on its western side. It lies within what appear to be the remnants of a much larger arcuate collapse structure. An evaluation of the morphology, bathymetry and eruptive history of the volcano indicates that the threat of eruption-generated tsunamis is considerably lower than previously thought, mainly because the volcano is no longer thought to be growing towards the surface. Of more major and immediate concern are the direct hazards associated with the volcano, such as ballistic ejecta, water disturbances and lowered water density due to degassing.     

Theory of Basin Scale Dynamics of a Stratified Rotating Fluid

The dynamics of a stratified fluid contained in a rotating rectangular box is described in terms of the evolution of the lowest moments of its density and momentum fields. The first moment of the density field also gives the position of the fluids centre-of-mass. The resulting low-order model allows for fast assessment both of adopted parameterisations, as well as of particular values of parameters. In the ideal fluid limit (neglect of viscous and diffusive effects), in the absence of wind, the equations have a Hamiltonian structure that is integrable (non-integrable) in the absence (presence) of differential heating. In a non-rotating convective regime, dynamically rich behaviour and strong dependence on the single (lumped) parameter are established. For small values of this parameter, in a self-similar regime, further reduction to an explicit map is discussed in an Appendix. Introducing rotation in a nearly geostrophic regime leads through a Hopf bifurcation to a limit cycle, and under the influence of wind and salt to multiple equilibria and chaos, respectively.     

A technique for modeling the Earth’s gravity field on the basis of satellite accelerations

A technique is proposed for Earths gravity field modeling on the basis of satellite accelerations that are derived from precise orbit data. The functional model rests on Newtons second law. The computational procedure is based on the pre-conditioned conjugate-gradient (PCCG) method. The data are treated as weighted average accelerations rather than as point-wise ones. As a result, a simple three-point numerical differentiation scheme can be used to derive them. Noise in the orbit-derived accelerations is strongly dependent on frequency. Therefore, the key element of the proposed technique is frequency-dependent data weighting. Fast convergence of the PCCG procedure is ensured by a block-diagonal pre-conditioner (approximation of the normal matrix), which is derived under the so-called Colombo assumptions. Both uninterrupted data sets and data with gaps can be handled. The developed technique is compared with other approaches: (1) the energy balance approach (based on the energy conservation law) and (2) the traditional approach (based on the integration of variational equations). Theoretical considerations, supported by a numerical study, show that the proposed technique is more accurate than the energy balance approach and leads to approximately the same results as the traditional one. The former finding is explained by the fact that the energy balance approach is only sensitive to the along-track force component. Information about the cross-track and the radial component of the gravitational potential gradient is lost because the corresponding force components do no work and do not contribute to the energy balance. Furthermore, it is shown that the proposed technique is much (possibly, orders of magnitude) faster than the traditional one because it does not require the computation of the normal matrix. Hints are given on how the proposed technique can be adapted to the explicit assembling of the normal matrix if the latter is needed for the computation of the model covariance matrix.Acknowledgments. Professor R. Klees is thanked for support of the project and for numerous fruitful discussions. The authors are also thankful to Dr. J. Kusche for useful remarks and to Dr. E. Schrama, his solid background in satellite geodesy proved to be very helpful. A large number of valuable comments were made by Dr. S.-C. Han, Dr. P. Schwintzer, and an anonymous reviewer; their contribution is greatly acknowledged. The satellite orbits used in the numerical study were kindly provided by Dr. P. Visser (Aerospace Department, Delft University of Technology). Access to the SGI Origin 3800 computer was provided by Stichting Nationale Computerfaciliteiten (NCF), grant SG-027.     

Unstable kinetic Alfvén wave in partially ionized plasma

The stability of kinetic Alfven waves is discussed for a partially ionized plasma with a flux of ionizing electrons which balance the plasma particle losses. Accidental electromagnetic perturbations are shown to be unstable due to the energy change of ionizing electrons.     

全国矿产资源规划信息数据库及管理系统的构建

随着矿产规划管理信息的逐渐增多和矿政管理部门的需求不断提高,本文根据规划管理的业务需求以及第二轮的矿产资源规划标准,建立了全国矿产资源规划信息数据库管理系统。通过Oracle 10g建立矿产资源规划信息数据库,并通过ArcGIS Engine构建管理系统,实现了全国矿产资源规划信息的整合与共享,为矿产规划管理的科学化、精细化提供了依据。     

甘肃时段暴雨主要统计参数的水平分布规律研究

甘肃是一个干旱同时又是暴雨多发的省份。通过介绍与暴雨关系密切的甘肃自然地理概况,选用甘肃境内及其周边700个雨量站的观测资料,在统计计算10min、60min、6h、24h、3d这5个时段在每个时段的多年平均时段最大暴雨量和变差系数的基础上,研究了5个时段的两个主要统计参数在甘肃省境内的水平分布规律。对甘肃及其周边干旱地区的公路铁路建设、暴雨洪水集蓄利用、水土保持和防洪减灾等具有重要意义。     

福州市区地热井施工提高钻井速度的途径与方法

通过多年来在福州市区施工地热井的实际经验,阐述了在各种复杂的地层钻进工艺技术,以及在地热井施工过程中的护壁、清渣、防斜孔等问题作分析,提出了提高钻井速度的有效途径和方法。