Hydrogen-poor planetary nebulae

Five planetary nebulae are known to show hydrogen-poor material nearthe central star. In the case of A58, this gas was ejected following alate thermal pulse similar to Sakurai's Object. In this paper I will reviewthese five objects. One of them, IRAS 18333 –2357, may not be a truePN. I will show that there is a strong case for a relation to the [WC]stars and their relatives, the weak emission-line stars. The surfaceabundances of the [WC] stars are explained via diffuse overshoot intothe helium layer. The hydrogen-poor PNe do not support this: theirabundances indicate a change of abundance with depth in the heliumlayer. A short-lived phase of very high mass loss, the r-AGB, isindicated. Sakurai's Object may be at the start of such a phase, and mayevolve to very low stellar temperatures.     

Estimations of orbital parameters of exoplanets from transit photometry by using dynamical constraints

The probability of the detection of Earth-like exoplanets may increase in the near future after the launch of the space missions using the transit photometry as observation method. By using this technique only the semi-major axis of the detected planet can be determined, and there will be no information on the upper limit of its orbital eccentricity. However, the orbital eccentricity is a very important parameter, not only from a dynamical point of view, since it gives also information on the climate and the habitability of the Earth-like planets. In this paper a possible procedure is suggested for confining the eccentricity of an exoplanet discovered by transit photometry if an already known giant planet orbits also in the system.     

Using large radio telescopes at decametre wavelengths

With the aim of evaluating the actual possibilities of doing, from the ground, sensitive radio astronomy at decametre wavelengths (particularly below ), an extensive program of radio observations was carried out, in 1999–2002, by using digital spectral and waveform analysers (DSP) of new generation, connected to several of the largest, decametre radio telescopes in the world (i.e., the UTR-2 and URANs arrays in Ukraine, and the Nançay Decametre Array in France).

We report and briefly discuss some new findings, dealing with decametre radiation from Jupiter and the Solar Corona: namely the discovery of new kinds of hyper fine structures in spectrograms of the active Sun, and a new characterisation of Jupiter's “millisecond” radiation, whose waveform samples, with time resolution down to 40 ns, and correlated measurements, by using far distant antennas (3000 km), have been obtained. In addition, scattering effects, caused by the terrestrial ionosphere and the interplanetary medium, could be disentangled through high time resolution and wide-band analyses of solar, planetary and strong galactic radio sources. Consequences for decametre wavelength imaging at high spatial resolution (VLBI) are outlined. Furthermore, in spite of the very unfavourable electromagnetic environment in this frequency range, a substantial increase in the quality of the observations was shown to be provided by using new generation spectrometers, based on sophisticated digital techniques. Indeed, the available, high dynamic range of such devices greatly decreases the effects of artificial and natural radio interference. We give several examples of successful signal detection in the case of much weaker radio sources than Solar System ones, down to the intensity level.

In summary, we conclude that searching for sensitivity improvement at the decametre wavelength is scientifically quite justified, and is now technically feasible, in particular by building giant, phased antenna arrays of much larger collecting area (as in the LOFAR project). In this task, one must be careful of some specifics of this wavelength range—somewhat unusual in “classical” radio astronomy—i.e., very high level and density of radio interference (telecommunications) and the variable terrestrial ionosphere.     

Spin rates of small moonlets embedded in planetary rings: I. Three-body calculations

We investigate the spin rates of moonlets embedded in planetary rings, subject to collisions with surrounding small particles, using three-body integrations including friction and spins. All successive impacts of the particle with the moonlet are followed, including a possible sliding phase after the initial inelastic rebounds. Two methods for treating impacts, (1) as instantaneous velocity changes and (2) using an impact force model, are applied after Salo (1995, Icarus 117, 287). Conducting a series of integrations with various initial summed spin velocity of the moonlet and the particle, we determine the equilibrium spin rate for which the averaged torque vanishes. This equilibrium spin rate corresponds to the final spin rate of the moonlet if the moonlet is much larger than the surrounding particles; it also corresponds to the mean spin rate for a ring composed of identical particles. We find that the equilibrium spin rate is enhanced by sliding orbits as compared with the spin rate determined by considering only the first impacts of the particles with the moonlet. If the random velocities of incident particles are small enough, the resulting equilibrium spin rate of the moonlet can be larger than the synchronous rotation rate, for r_p∼1, where r_p denotes the sum of radii of the colliding pair normalized by their mutual Hill radius. In this special case aggregates without internal strength may become rotationally unstable. However, the equilibrium spin rate decreases with increasing random velocity, and aggregates are always rotationally stable in the more likely case where the relative velocities are comparable to the mutual escape velocity. We also compare our results with the mean spin rates found in previous N-body simulations, and find a good agreement for optically thin rings; however the spin rates for optically thick rings are significantly larger than those predicted by our three-body calculations.     

如何把握《普通地质学》教学中的广度与深度

《普通地质学》作为地球科学类学生本科教育入门的专业启蒙和引导课程,不仅担负着专业知识体系引导而且还要培养学生正确的人生观和价值观的重任。因此,广度和深度就成为《普通地质学》课程教学改革的两个重要方面,课前准备需要把握知识点的广度,课堂教学需要把握知识点的深度,而广度与深度的相互交融是引导学生兴趣的关键,进而依托“趣味—科学—普适—经典”的教学方式,承担起大类人才培养模式下的素质教育职责。课程的改革任重道远,需要从多方面的努力和思考,方可达到预期的课程目标。     

地质工程专业普通地质认识实习教学的思考

文章针对地质工程专业中基础地质学的重要性和普地实习野外教学实际,提出在普地实习中融入地质工程专业知识教学内容。从岩石基本地质特征、力学问题和具体工程地质问题3个方面将基础地质学与地质工程专业知识进行融合、交叉。从而拓展学生视野,实现实习模式创新、内容改革,促进学生学习意识和自主学习的发展,提升专业思维。岩石成分与岩石力学性质、风化特征和水软化性关系密切,节理面的粗糙、起伏和充填物成分影响节理面抗剪、透水等特性,具体工程中的“滑坡”问题是典型的岩体剪切破坏问题,其形成的力学机制与剪节理相同。将上述问题两者联系起来的讲解丰富了普地实习的内容。文章认为普地实习中观察到的现象与地质工程专业课程中很多知识点紧密联系,在基础地质实习教学中融入上述地质工程的专业知识是完全可行性的,采取增加与地质工程专业结合的实践教学环节的办法,既扩大了学生知识面,初步提高学生专业素养,也为实现毕业后成为专业领域合格工程师和科研人员的培养目标迈出重要的第一步。     

培养德识双馨的国家栋梁之才：《普通地质学》课程教学有感

《普通地质学》是引领新生进入地学殿堂、了解地球科学知识的一门专业启蒙课,也是新形势下地学通识教育中的一门基础理论课。其内容涉及地质学全部基础知识中的最必要部分,具有衔接和统领地学各门专业基础知识的特点。根据多年教学体会,笔者认为在精英教育与通才教育并举的新形势下,必须心系学生,与时俱进,转变教育理念,优化集课堂、实验、野外教学为一体的教学体系,推进教学内容的改革与建设,摈弃不适应时代发展与国家需求的教育模式,采用现代化的教学方法和教育技术;对学生开展基础理论传授、专业基础技能训练、创新科研培育的系统教育,拓宽学生的专业知识面,激发学生专业兴趣和创造性思维。在传授科学知识的同时,目标明确地开展思政教育,引导学生认清学问与道德的关系,建立德识双馨的价值取向,提高基础地质课程教学质量和学生的综合素质,促进教学改革,为国家培养五育兼备的优秀人才。     

《北京西山地质志》中、英文本比较研究

依据文本对勘的方法,从图片和文字两个方面对《北京西山地质志》中、英文本进行比较研究。图片方面,英文本作了大量的增补和解说,内容更为详实准确。文字方面,中、英文本目录存在明显差异。英文本序言和注释有其独到的价值和意义。中文本正文的细节增补,应是吸收了当时的最新研究成果。中、英文本比较研究为认识《北京西山地质志》的价值与地位提供了准确可靠的学术依据。     

Assessment of Constraint Factors of Resources and Environment of Sustainable Development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebeiregion: Based on the Framework of Landscape Sustainability Science

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region is an important engine for China’s socioeconomic development. Timely and effectively assessing constraint factors of resources and environment is of great significance for the sustainability assessment and the sustainable development of this region. However, comprehensive assessment research considering key resource and environmental constraints are still lacking. In this study, therefore, the limiting factors of resources and the environment in the BTH region were assessed based on the framework of landscape sustainability science. First, we chose five limiting factors, including topographic condition, geological environment, water resource, land resource, and atmospheric environment, to assess the constraints of resources and the environment using the single-factor evaluation method and the multi-factor comprehensive evaluation method. Based on the results, we divided the whole region into five subregions, i.e., the ecological conservation subregion, the geological disaster subregion, the water resource scarcity subregion, the atmospheric pollution subregion, and the cropland protection subregion. The results revealed that the northern BTH region was highly constrained by topographic conditions, the central BTH region was strongly constrained by geological environment and water resources, whereas the southern BTH region was constrained mainly by land resources and atmospheric environment. In addition, water resource was the main limiting factor for regional population growth and economic development. In 2010, the water resource scarcity subregion had a total population of 39.59 million, an urban population of 76.90%, and a gross domestic product of 2 455.57 billion yuan. We argue that the sustainable development of the BTH region should explicitly consider the resource and environmental limiting factors, implement land use optimization according to local conditions, maintain multiple land use types and diverse management strategies, based on the perspective of “strong sustainability”, so as to promote the regional sustainable development.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987114000905

Although there has been significant progress in the seismic imaging of mantle heterogeneity,the outstanding issue that remains to be resolved is the unknown distribution of mantle temperature anomalies in the distant geological past that give rise to the present-day anomalies inferred by global tomography models.To address this question,we present 3-D convection models in compressible and self-gravitating mantle initialised by different hypothetical temperature patterns.A notable feature of our forward convection modelling is the use of self-consistent coupling of the motion of surface tectonic plates to the underlying mantle flow,without imposing prescribed surface velocities(i.e.,plate-like boundary condition).As an approximation for the surface mechanical conditions before plate tectonics began to operate we employ the no-slip(rigid) boundary condition.A rigid boundary condition demonstrates that the initial thermally-dominated structure is preserved,and its geographical location is fixed during the evolution of mantle flow.Considering the impact of different assumed surface boundary conditions(rigid and plate-like) on the evolution of thermal heterogeneity in the mantle we suggest that the intrinsic buoyancy of seven superplumes is most-likely resolved in the tomographic images of present-day mantle thermal structure.Our convection simulations with a plate-like boundary condition reveal that the evolution of an initial cold anomaly beneath the Java-Indonesian trench system yields a long-term,stable pattern of thermal heterogeneity in the lowermost mantle that resembles the presentday Large Low Shear Velocity Provinces(LLSVPs),especially below the Pacific.The evolution of subduction zones may be,however,influenced by the mantle-wide flow driven by deeply-rooted and longlived superplumes since Archean times.These convection models also detect the intrinsic buoyancy of the Perm Anomaly that has been identified as a unique slow feature distinct from the two principal LLSVPs.We find there is no need for dense chemical ’piles’ in the lower mantle to generate a stable distribution of temperature anomalies that are correlated to the LLSVPs and the Perm Anomaly.Our tomography-based convection simulations also demonstrate that intraplate volcanism in the south-east Pacific may be interpreted in terms of shallow small-scale convection triggered by a superplume beneath the East Pacific Rise.