HUMBOLDT AND THE HABITABILITY OF CANADA'S GREAT NORTHWEST*

ABSTRACT. Alexander von Humboldt's influence in British North America during the nineteenth century was filtered mainly through British imperial applications of “Humboldtian” sciences, including geomagnetism and biogeography. The best‐known examples include Edward Sabine and John Henry Lefroy, Royal Artillery officers who, during the 1830s and 1840s, transformed British North American outposts and territories, including Rupert's Land, into Humboldtian sites and regions in Great Britain's imperial “magnetic crusade.” Important groundwork had already been laid by John Richardson, who applied data accrued during John Franklin's overland Arctic expeditions during the 1820s to systematize Humboldtian inquiries into the habitability of Canada's Great Northwest. Despite both the relative decline of Humboldtian sciences by midcentury and Humboldt's own reservations about the political ramifications of his science, his “cosmic” outlook circulated in Canada to refine territorial expansionists' scientistic arguments justifying annexation of Rupert's Land after the monopoly of the Hudson's Bay Company expired in 1869.     

Palaeovariations in the East-Asian Monsoon Regime Geochemically Recorded in Varved Sediments of Lake Sihailongwan (Northeast China, Jilin Province). Part 2: a 200-Year Record of Atmospheric Lead-210 Flux Variations and its Palaeoclimatic Implications

Palaeovariations of the atmospheric ²¹⁰Pb flux in Northeast China (Long Gang area, Jilin province), quantified by high resolution ²¹⁰Pb measurements on seasonally laminated sediments of Lake Sihailongwan are presented on decadal scale. The mean flux of unsupported ²¹⁰Pb between 1790 and 1970 for the centre of the lake basin is 517 Bq m⁻² yr⁻¹ with maximum deviations between −23% and +27% of this value. Flux rates above this average were found between 1783 and 1813, around 1836, and between 1860 and 1901. The mean ²¹⁰Pb^exc flux rates derived were clearly lower around 1821, 1908, 1930, and 1953. The ²¹⁰Pb^exc flux reached its minimum of 344 Bq m⁻² yr⁻¹ during the period 1977–1982. The atmospheric flux of unsupported ²¹⁰Pb is correlated with the precipitation frequency during the summer monsoon and shows coinciding variability with geochemical proxies that document the groundwater inflow into the lake. Al₂O₃-rich dust of remote provenance scavenged by wet-deposition in the rainy season is the major carrier of the atmospheric ²¹⁰Pb^exc flux.     

Palaeovariations in the East-Asian Monsoon Regime Geochemically Recorded in Varved Sediments of Lake Sihailongwan (Northeast China, Jilin Province). Part 1: Hydrological Conditions and Dust Flux

The varved sediments of the dimictic Lake Sihailongwan (Long Gang mountain area, Jilin Province, Northeast China) represent a palaeoclimatic archive which documents the local precipitation frequency during the summer monsoon, and variations in the aeolian flux of dust with their remote sources in the arid and semi-arid regions of inner Asia. Based on a detailed discussion of sediment genesis in Lake SHL, dust flux rates and palaeohydrological conditions were reconstructed on a decadal scale over the past 220 years. The aeolian influx by dry and wet deposition was quantified and characterised in its chemical composition. Photosynthetic production in the lake is positively correlated with the inflow of nutrient-rich groundwater. The groundwater discharge largely reflects the strength of the summer monsoon. Net accumulation rates for biogenic silica were determined for annually laminated sediments from the centre of the U-shaped lake basin based on sediment data. In a Si-balance model of the modern lake, the depositional flux of biogenic silica could be independently quantified on the base of hydrochemical monitoring data. Comparison of the both estimates allowed to asses the focussing of the particle flux in the lake. Though water retention in Lake SHL is rather high (ca. 30 years), changes in the hydrological conditions are sensitively recorded in the sediments because (i) nutrient-rich groundwater discharges into the productive zone of the lake, (ii) a substantial proportion of the total dissolved Si-inventory of the mixed lake (ca. 30%) is annually consumed by diatom growth, and (3) sediment accumulation is substantially focussed towards the flat bottom of the lake basin. The bulk siliciclastic sediment fraction (ca. 75 wt.%) largely originates from influx of dust of remote provenance. In sediment thin-sections, the dry-deposited dust fraction is microscopically identifiable as seasonal silt layer. Aeolian input by wet-deposition shows a distinctly higher variability than the influx of dust by dry-deposition. As diatom production, wet-deposition of dust is positively correlated with the rainfall during the summer monsoon. The inferred positive correlation between rainfall and dust flux during the summer monsoon implies that dust deposition is determined by the out-wash efficiency of mineral particles for a permanent high atmospheric dust concentration over Northeast China in the last 220 years.     

Computation of Large Anisotropic Seismic Heterogeneities (CLASH)

A general tomographic technique is designed in order (i) to operate in anisotropic media; (ii) to account for the uneven seismic sampling and (iii) to handle massive data sets in a reasonable computing time. One modus operandi to compute a 3-D body wave velocity model relies on surface wave phase velocity measurements. An intermediate step, shared by other approaches, consists in translating, for each period of a given mode branch, the phase velocities integrated along ray paths into local velocity perturbations. To this end, we develop a method, which accounts for the azimuthal anisotropy in its comprehensive form. The weakly non-linear forward problem allows to use a conjugate gradient optimization. The Earth's surface is regularly discretized and the partial derivatives are assigned to the individual grid points. Possible lack of lateral resolution, due to the inescapable uneven ray path coverage, is taken into account through the a priori covariances on parameters with laterally variable correlation lengths. This method allows to efficiently separate the 2ψ and the 4ψ anisotropic effects from the isotropic perturbations. Fundamental mode and overtone phase velocity maps, derived with real Rayleigh wave data sets, are presented and compared with previous maps. The isotropic models concur well with the results of Trampert & Woodhouse. Large 4ψ heterogeneities are located in the tectonically active regions and over the continental lithospheres such as North America, Antarctica or Australia. At various periods, a significant 4ψ signature is correlated with the Hawaii hotspot track. Finally, concurring with the conclusions of Trampert & Woodhouse, our phase velocity maps show that Rayleigh wave data sets do need both 2ψ and 4ψ anisotropic terms.     

On global forces of nature driving the Earth’s climate. Are humans involved?

The authors identify and describe the following global forces of nature driving the Earth’s climate: (1) solar radiation as a dominant external energy supplier to the Earth, (2) outgassing as a major supplier of gases to the World Ocean and the atmosphere, and, possibly, (3) microbial activities generating and consuming atmospheric gases at the interface of lithosphere and atmosphere. The writers provide quantitative estimates of the scope and extent of their corresponding effects on the Earth’s climate. Quantitative comparison of the scope and extent of the forces of nature and anthropogenic influences on the Earth’s climate is especially important at the time of broad-scale public debates on current global warming. The writers show that the human-induced climatic changes are negligible.     

Reliability Based Assessment of Shallow Foundations Using Mathcad

A reliability based method was used to design and analyse shallow foundations using first-order Taylor series approximation. The computer program Mathcad was used to facilitate all mathematical and computional efforts. This method is an effective tool to assist the foundation designers and analyists to investigate how reliable their designs or analyses are in relation to the ultimate bearing capacity of the foundations. The approach presented in this paper provides a reliable alternative for design and analysis of shallow foundations, rather than the conventional design methods, which employs the assumptions of a specified saftey factor. Several examples were presented for design and analysis of strip footings embedded in sandy soil, and rectangular and square footings analysis embedded in clayey soils. The program input and output of each example are also presented and discussed.     

Application of membrane technology for water treatment： Ultrasound-associated cleaning of fouled microfiltration membranes

The use of membranes is a widely employed, versatile, and effective separation process. One of the limiting aspects in applying microfiltration （MF） for wastewater treatment is that of problems with membrane fouling and consequent flux reduction. Membrane fouling occurs by the irreversible deposition of retained particles, colloids, macromolecules, salts, etc. at the membrane surface and/or inside the membrane. The predominant fouling mechanisms observed with MF membranes are classified as three categories： the build-up of a cake layer on the membrane surface, blocking of membrane pores, and adsorption of fouling material on the membrane surface or in the pore walls. Although many techniques have been developed to overcome fouling, studies on membrane cleaning still seem to be insufficient for practical membrane filtration systems. Current membrane cleaning technologies include hydraulic, chemical, and mechanical methods. Ultrasound （US） has been widely used as a method of cleaning materials because of the cavitation phenomenon. In this study, US cleaning technique was applied to removing the fouling of polyvinglidenefluoride （PVDF） MF membrane, which was used to treat yeast cell and isolated soybean protein （ISP） solution, respectively. The US employed 40 kHz frequency and the output power of 1.43-2.85 W/cm^2. The evolution of the cleaning effect is followed by the measurements of the flux recovery rate （FRstat） and the cleaning time cycle. Results showed that the membrane property, which was fouled by yeast cell solution, could be recovered by water cleaning with US irradiation. And the cleaning time with the same FRstat decreased with the increase of US intensity.     

迎接寒武系全球年代地层的新划分——2004年版“国际地层表”述评

评述了国际地层委员会最新公布的2 0 0 4年版“国际地层表”的寒武系部分,包括它的底界全球层型和点位的确定和存在的问题、寒武系当前的再划分情况、芙蓉统和排碧阶及其底界全球层型剖面和点位、寒武系的时代跨度。介绍了全球寒武系年代地层的研究方向和正在表决中的全球寒武系最新划分方案。讨论了与我国寒武系年代地层的划分和建立地方性、区域性年代地层系统的相关问题     

滇黔桂盆地及其邻区石炭纪至二叠纪层序地层格架及三级海平面变化的全球对比

属于被动大陆边缘裂谷盆地的滇黔桂盆地，自加里东运动之后，泥盆纪开始拉开，整个晚古生代延续发展。受同生断裂的控制，在深水盆地中发育大小不等的孤立碳酸盐台地，因而在滇黔桂盆地及其邻区形成特殊的“台-盆-丘-槽”的古地理格局。对不同古地理背景下的典型剖面进行三级层序划分并对其进行空间追索和对比，在滇黔桂盆地及其邻区的石炭纪和二叠纪地层中可以识别出12个三级层序，相当于晚古生代25个三级沉积层序(2-5Ma；SQ1至SQ25)中的SQ24至SQ25；以地层记录中的的两种相变面和两种穿时性为基本要素，可以建立研究区石炭系和二叠系的层序地层格架；层序地层格架反映了三级层序的基本特征：空间上相序的有序性和时间上环境变化的同步性。研究区的石炭系和二叠系，主要为一套碳酸盐岩地层，其中在连陆台地上发育3套煤系地层，它们分别组成石炭纪三级层序SQ15跨系的三级层序SQ19的HST以及二叠纪吴家坪期的三级层序SQ24；而且在连陆台地边缘和孤立台地上，于阳新世的茅口亚世以及乐平世的长兴期发育海绵生物礁，海绵生物礁分别构成了以下二叠系三级层序即阳新世的SQ22和SQ23以及长兴期的SQ25。3套煤系地层和两套海绵生物礁的发育，使研究区的石炭系和二叠系形成了一个与欧美地区完全不同的层序地层序列。在研究区石炭系和二叠系所识别出的12个三级层序中，石炭纪一二叠纪船山世地层可以划分出6个三级层序。这种划分与Busch等对北美相同层位的划分相似，也就是说该6个三级层序的形成时限大于10Ma；较长的形成时限可能反映了形成在联合古陆汇聚时期即全球构造相对稳定时期三级海平面变化的一个特性。因此，研究区的石炭系和二叠系所识别和划分出的12个三级层序，其数量比Ross和Ross(1985)对欧美地区石炭系和二叠系所划分出的50多个三级层序要少得多。     

基于线性四叉树的全球离散格网索引

将四元三角剖分的三角形格网组织成四叉树剖分的菱形块格网,以菱形块单元来进行数据的组织索引,通过线性四叉树成熟的Morton编码作为关键字来标识查找菱形块,并在此基础上经过改进来索引三角形格网、进行邻域搜索。