Polarimetry Of Comet Hale-Bopp: Linear And Circular Polarization, Stellar Occultation

Comet Hale-Bopp was observed with the 2.6-m and 1.25-m telescopes of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory on March 9 and 11, 1997. We determined the linear and circular polarization in the coma. For the dust coma, the linear polarization varied from 7.8% to 12.4%. The degree of circular polarization was always negative and did not exceed 0.3% with an accuracy of ±0.04% on average. The passage of a bright star through the cometary coma was monitored with polarimetry and photometry. The wavelength dependence and spatial variations of optical thickness of dust are obtained from the stellar occultation. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

用Monte Carlo方法模拟砂土的自然堆积过程

用MonteCarlo随机模拟方法模拟砂土颗粒在重力作用下,在圆柱与长方体容器中的自然堆积过程。首先用参考网格法生成一个砂土颗粒的松散结构,松散结构中粒子与粒子、粒子与边界间不存在任何接触;然后启动MonteCarlo随机模拟算法,即给处于松散结构中的每个粒子施加随机位移,得到新构形,如果新构形中粒子间或粒子与边界间发生重叠,则放弃这个构形;如果没有重叠存在,则判别粒子体系的势能变化,运用Metropolis准则来判别这个构形是否被接受,重复这个过程可以得到砂土的密集堆积结构。采用Schinner建议的接触发现算法判别粒子间是否存在重叠,同时详细介绍了粒子与边界间的接触发现算法。模拟结果表明,用MonteCarlo方法模拟砂土的自然堆积结构是非常有效的,可以为砂土的流动、压实等的数值模拟工作提供初始构形。     

Chemical textures on quartz grains: An experimental approach using salts

Two groups of fresh crushed Brazilian quartz grains (0.4–0.6 mm) were placed in 10 ml of various saturated salt solutions (sodium sulphate, sodium chloride, magnesium sulphate, sodium carbonate, and sodium carbonate and soil). One group was placed in an environmental cabinet programmed to simulate summer diurnal temperature and relative humidity values recorded in Wheeler Valley, a dry valley in southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. The other group was allowed to remain at normal laboratory conditions. Quartz grains from both groups were removed at pre-selected intervals for examination using the scanning electron microscope. After 50 hours chemical surface textures were formed on the quartz grains in all but the sodium sulphate solution. At the 140 hour interval all the salt solutions used were producing chemical surface textures on the quartz grains. This paper demonstrates that chemical surface textures can be produced on quartz grain surfaces by saturated salt solutions in a short period of time and may prove to be representative of chemical surface textures produced in a saturated saline environment.     

Variable190Os/184Os ratio in acid residues of iron meteorites

In residual materials obtained on dissolution of iron meteorites in 2M H₂SO₄, the ratio of¹⁹⁰Os/¹⁸⁴Os has been measured by radiochemical neutron activation analysis. Most residues have a normal isotopic ratio (to within ±2%). However, in some residues both positive and negative deviations in the isotopic ratio are seen. The most spectacular deviations are in the insoluble fragments (nuggets) from Sikhote Alin iron meteorite where the¹⁹⁰Os/¹⁸⁴Os ratio is about 50% of the normal value. The new results confirm our earlier observations that iron meteorites contain pre-solar grains.     

Simulation on sand grain/bed collision mechanism: Cascade collision and ejection (1)

Ejection of sand grains from a sand surface is assumed to result from cascade collision caused by the impact of a saltating particle. Allowing for only two-body cascade collision and introducing new quantities such as the cross-section for sand grain–grain collisions and sand surface binding energy, the theoretical model for the cascade collision of ion particles is applied to simulate sand grain/bed collision processes. The results of simulations indicate that the collision cascade events caused by impacting particles can eventually lead to the ejection of grains taking place from the sand surface. The number of ejected grains at any surface point is found to be proportional to the fractional energy deposited at that point and inversely proportional to the sand surface binding energy. This cascade collision model also confirms that the peak in the spatial distribution of ejected grains does not appear at the impact point but is located downwind, and that the speed distribution of ejected grains at a fixed angle exhibits a peak having a value directly related to the ratio of surface binding energy to the mass of the ejected grain. The angular distribution at a certain ejection speed also exhibits a maximum at an ejection angle near 90°. The model also offers a new interpretation for the observed variability in the number of ejected grains under constant impact velocity; this variability is directly related to the wide distribution of the energy deposition in the surface layer of the sand bed.     

ESR dating of sedimentary quartz: Possibilities and limitations of the single-grain approach

Usually, multiple-grain aliquots are used for electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of sediments. However, this approach excludes the ability of detecting insufficient bleaching, as would be the case when measuring several single aliquots or single grains. In this paper, we present preliminary results of single-grain ESR dating experiments on three different sedimentary deposits (fluvial, fluvio-aeolian and desert aeolian), ranging in age between 100 ka and 2 Ma. Titanium-related impurity centres (Ti–Li and Ti–H) were measured in a Q-band ESR spectrometer for estimating equivalent doses (D_e) of individual quartz grains (0.5–1 mm). Both additive and regenerative dose methods were used. The resulting D_e plots show a large scatter in D_e—from 100 Gy to more than 600 Gy—for the fluvial sample, probably reflecting different bleaching histories of the grains. On the contrary, a clear plateau can be observed in D_e for sands with a strong aeolian component. Preliminary single-grain ESR ages are in relatively good agreement with independent estimates, the best results being obtained for the desert aeolian sample (200 ka). It is concluded that ESR has a promising potential for estimating large naturally accumulated doses of well-bleached sediments. Nevertheless, the method is challenged by several experimental difficulties, such as long measurement times, excessive errors, and presumably a complex interrelationship between Ti–Li and Ti–H components.     

Testing the applicability of standardised growth curves (SGCs) for OSL signals of quartz grains from the Yangtze Delta,China

The standardised growth curve (SGC) technique has the potential to save instrument time for equivalent dose (D_e) determination when applying single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol during optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) measurements. In this study, we test the applicability of two commonly used SGC procedures for OSL signals of quartz grains from aqueous deposits of the Yangtze Delta in China, which have been reported for weak luminescence signals and suffering from partial bleaching. Multiple silt-sized and sand-sized fractions of quartz samples from eight cores are used to construct SGCs by test dose standardisation (TD-SGC) and least-squares normalisation (LS-SGC), respectively. Three strategies, i.e. region-specific (SGC_R), region with core-specific (SGC_R + C) and core-specific (SGC_C), are adopted to categorise these normalised data into different SGC datasets. The large variability of dose response signals is substantially reduced by the SGC procedures for most of these datasets. Hence, common SGCs for a variety of samples from the Yangtze Delta can be established, irrespective of their distinctive particle sizes and luminescence characteristics. The D_e values are then estimated using both TD-SGC and LS-SGC procedures for samples from a specific core. Comparing to the full SAR protocol, the TD-SGC procedure roughly gives reproducible D_e estimates lower than ∼100 Gy while the LS-SGC procedure derives generally consistent D_e estimates of up to ∼230 Gy. Although LS-SGC_C and LS-SGC_R + C procedures replicate the most consistent D_e values, the LS-SGC_R procedure performs better in efficiency with a slightly less accuracy. In addition to careful comparison of LS-SGC and full SAR procedures, we suggest that a synchronous ratio derived by the chosen regenerative dose and its response signal for re-normalisation can be used to predict the LS-SGC D_e reliability on samples from similar sedimentary environments.     

热力剥离破碎岩石试验

在莫斯科国立地质勘探大学实验室对热力剥离碎岩方法进行的试验研究表明,不同类型岩石(岩浆岩、沉积岩、变质岩)的抗拉强度均随加热温度的升高而降低,且降低幅度较大,因此钻进速度明显提高.岩石破碎的形式与温度有关,当温度为500～600 K时破碎是在组成岩石的矿物颗粒(晶粒)内部进行的;当温度超过600 K时,破碎是在矿物颗粒间进行的.技术比较先进并有发展前景的加热升温方法是火焰喷射法、电子束法、等离子法和激光法.影响热力钻进发展的主要问题是没有合适的加热升温装置和碎岩工具,建议对此进行研究和开发.     

A Bayesian hierarchical age model for optical dating of single grains of quartz

In optical dating, the last time that a sample of sediment was exposed to sunlight is determined by dividing its equivalent dose (D_e) by the dose rate. For single-grain dating, the sample D_e is based on the statistical analysis of the distribution of D_e values estimated for individual grains, whereas the dose rate is usually determined from measurements of the environmental radioactivity of the bulk sample, together with allowances for radiation sources internal to the grains and cosmic rays. Conventionally, the D_e and dose rate are measured and analysed separately to produce an estimate of the depositional age of a sample, but this approach may result in loss of information because distributions of single-grain D_e values are influenced by several factors. Existing statistical models do not incorporate all the key information contributing to age estimation, such as the pattern and scale of dispersion of single-grain D_e values and dose rates, the associated measurement uncertainties, the effect of natural variability among grains, and the outlier probabilities of D_e and dose rate estimates. Here we propose an empirical Bayesian hierarchical age model (BHAM) for optical dating of quartz samples that incorporates the above information to estimate their depositional ages. The BHAM is based on the implementation of standardised growth curve and L_nT_n methods to integrate information on the full distribution of single-grain D_e values, sources of measurement uncertainty, beta-dose heterogeneity (observed or modelled), and detection of outliers. We present the results of validation tests using data sets of optically stimulated luminescence measurements and dose rates obtained for quartz samples dated previously from Denisova Cave (Russia) and for simulated samples. We conclude that the BHAM represents a robust and flexible approach to dealing with data for single grains of quartz within a Bayesian hierarchical framework and is suitable for application to sediments deposited in a variety of depositional settings.     

青藏高原可可西里库赛湖年纹层石英颗粒表面形态特征研究

湖泊是风成沉积的理想载体,利用扫描电镜分析石英砂的表面微结构特征,可以用于判断石英颗粒被风或水流搬运的相对距离和湖泊的水动力条件,从而判断其沉积环境与演化历史.库赛湖位于青藏高原北部可可西里地区,是青海省沙尘天气频发的地区之一,为进一步证实库赛湖年纹层粗颗粒层的风成成因,以库赛湖沉积年纹层为研究对象,结合青藏高原北部典型沙丘沉积、库赛湖冰面风成沉积、典型河流沉积和库赛湖湖滨相水成粗颗粒沉积样品,利用扫描电镜对上述沉积物石英颗粒表面特征进行观察研究,并统计35种特征的出现频率.结果表明:库赛湖地区典型风成物石英颗粒表面具有圆形轮廓、中低浮雕、翻板、新月型撞击坑、球根状边缘、直形阶梯、弓形阶梯、碟形坑等微形貌特征;典型水成物石英颗粒表面具有V型撞击坑、小型和中型贝壳状断口、少量溶蚀坑等微形貌特征;库赛湖年纹层粗颗粒层石英颗粒表面具有圆形轮廓、低浮雕、翻板、新月形撞击坑、球根状边缘、碟形坑等明显风成特征,与研究区风成物的石英颗粒表面特征相似,而与研究区典型水成物的石英颗粒表面特征差别很大.因此,库赛湖年纹层中的粗颗粒层是由风成作用形成的.