Discovery of six high-redshift quasars with the Lijiang 2.4 m telescope and the Multiple Mirror Telescope

Quasars with redshifts greater than 4 are rare, and can be used to probe the structure and evolution of the early universe. Here we report the discovery of six new quasars with i-band magnitudes brighter than 19.5 and redshifts between 2.4 and 4.6 from spectroscopy with the Yunnan Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera (YFOSC) at the Lijiang 2.4 m telescope in February, 2012. These quasars are in the list of z > 3.6 quasar candidates selected by using our proposed J K/i Y criterion and the photometric redshift estimations from the SDSS optical and UKIDSS near-IR photometric data. Nine candidates were observed by YFOSC, and five among six new quasars were identified as z > 3.6 quasars. One of the other three objects was identified as a star and the other two were unidentified due to the lower signal-to-noise ratio of their spectra. This is the first time that z > 4 quasars have been discovered using a telescope in China. Thanks to the Chinese Telescope Access Program (TAP), the redshift of 4.6 for one of these quasars was confirmed by the Multiple Mirror Telescope (MMT) Red Channel spectroscopy. The continuum and emission line properties of these six quasars, as well as their central black hole masses and Eddington ratios, were obtained.     

Mitigating Risks From Fracking-Related Earthquakes: Assessing State Regulatory Decisions

Public concern about earthquakes linked to wastewater injection from fracking operations is rising. However, few have examined how “induced seismicity” is acted upon by state officials. For some, an incremental response to smaller quakes can be viewed as an acceptable risk policy orientation because of the sizeable economic benefits that accompany drilling activities while others prefer risk mitigation policies (such as the use of “threshold policies”) as a better way to address quake-related problems. To account for state response to induced seismicity impacts, we examine three factors: the emergence of quakes as focusing events, the economic importance of oil and gas to state jobs and revenue, and selected characteristics of earthquakes as a policy issue, i.e., complexity and categorical precedence. Using information drawn from documentary sources, we consider which factors are most helpful in accounting for agency decisions aimed at reducing seismic risks linked to nearby injection wells.     

MDD模式与快速冷却事件

ＭＤＤ 模式（Ｍｕｌｔｉｐｌｅ Ｄｉｆｆｕｓｉｏｎ Ｄｏｍａｉｎ ｍｏｄｅｌ） 是Ｄｏｄｓｏｎ 模式的扩展,它可以从一个钾长石样品分析中,得到温度在≤３５０ ～１５０ ℃之间的一条连续的冷却曲线,因此,ＭＤＤ 模式的一个突出贡献是对快速冷却事件的定量制约。冈底斯岩带与哀牢山－ 红河剪切带中新世的快速冷却事件与构造含义是利用这一模式进行研究的成功实例,它不仅定量厘定了快速冷却事件的时间,证实了其存在的普遍性,而且明确指出了中新世印度和欧亚板块碰撞后岩石圈质量转移过程的时间序列,定量地指出了冈底斯岩带逆冲抬升导致的地壳增厚与沿哀牢山－ 红河剪切带地壳块体的侧向挤出在时间上的同步性和差异性     

Spheroidal weathering of granite porphyry with well‐developed columnar joints by oxidation,iron precipitation,and rindlet exfoliation

Spheroidal weathering, one of the important rock weathering styles, has been attributed to chemical weathering by the water from joint surfaces, and mechanical aspects of the weathering have not been well addressed. We made an investigation on spheroidal weathering of Miocene granite porphyry with well‐developed columnar joints and found that this spheroidal weathering proceeds through chemical processes and accompanying mechanical processes. The investigation of the textures, physical properties, mineralogy, and chemistry of the porphyry revealed the presence of a brown band on the surface margins of corestones, representing the oxidation of pyrite and chlorite, and the precipitation of iron hydroxides, and the consequent generation of micro‐cracks within the band. During weathering, oxidation progresses inwards from joints that surround the rindlets, including both high‐angle columnar and low‐angle planar joints, and causes rounding of the unweathered interior portion of the rock. Microscopic observations of the brown band embedded with fluorescent resin show that pores are first filled with iron hydroxides, and that micro‐cracks then form parallel to the oxidation front in the outer portion of the brown band. Iron hydroxide precipitation increases the P‐wave velocity in the brown band, while micro‐crack formation decreases the tensile strength of the rock. Where the brown band has thickened to ~6 cm, the micro‐cracks are connected to one another to create continuous cracks, which separate the rindlets from the corestone. Micro‐crack formation parallel to the corestone surface may be attributed to compressive stresses generated by small amounts of volumetric expansion due to the precipitation of iron hydroxides in the brown band. Earth surface is under oxidizing environments so that precipitation of iron hydroxides commonly occurs; the spheroidal weathering in this paper is a typical example of the combination of chemical and mechanical processes under such environments. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

河南新郑—太康断裂东段土壤气体地球化学特征

土壤气浓度测量能够揭示断裂位置和活动特征。 由于河南新郑—太康断裂北西向隐伏断裂带空间定位精度有待提高, 以及2016年5月该区出现地下逸出气异常的宏观现象, 在太康县西近垂直于断裂走向布设了一条长约13 km的NE—NNE走向的地球化学观测剖面, 用于分析隐伏断层浅层位置及其与地下逸出气宏观异常的关系。 观测结果表明: 该剖面的异常段与该区浅层地震勘探显示的断裂带地表出露位置相吻合, 其中Rn体积活度和H₂、 CO₂浓度异常揭示出南段有4条断层, 北段有2条断层, 且均具有高角度特征, 南段的CO₂浓度异常区与地下逸出气宏观异常位置相符, 但代表构造特征的Rn体积活度和H₂浓度没有出现异常, 认为与构造关系不密切。