A review of East Asian reports of aurorae and comets circa AD 775

Given that a strong ¹⁴C variation in AD 775 has recently been suggested to be due to the largest solar flare ever recorded in history, it is relevant to investigate whether celestial events observed around that time may have been aurorae, possibly even very strong aurorae, or otherwise related to the ¹⁴C variation (e.g. a suggested comet impact with Earth's atmosphere). We critically review several celestial observations from AD 757 to the end of the 770s, most of which were previously considered to be true, and in some cases, strong aurorae; we discuss in detail the East Asian records and their wording. We conclude that probably none among the events after AD 770 was actually an aurora, including the event in AD 776 Jan, which was misdated for AD 774 or 775; the observed white qi phenomenon that happened above the moon in the south‐east was most probably a halo effect near the full Moon – too late in any case to be related to the ¹⁴C variation in AD 774/5. There is another report of a similar (or identical) white qi phenomenon above the moon, reported just before a comet observation and dated to AD 776 Jan; the reported comet observed by the Chinese was misdated to AD 776, but actually sighted in AD 767. Our critical review of East Asian reports of aurorae circa AD 775 shows some very likely true Chinese auroral displays observed and reported for AD 762; there were also several events prior to AD 771 that may have been aurorae but are questionable. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

New orbits for comets C/1843 J1 (Mauvais) and C/1853 W1 (van Arsdale)

New orbits for comet C/1843 J1 (Mauvais) and comet C/1853 W1 (van Arsdale) are calculated. Both orbits are hyperbolic, with e = 1.001145 and semi‐major axis a = –1412.18 AU for Mauvais and e = 1.000700 and a = –2919.24 AU for van Arsdale. Integrating the orbits backwards indicate that both comets were born in the far Oort cloud. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

硅质海绵骨针矿化机制及仿生应用研究进展

硅质海绵动物是地球上最简单、最古老的多细胞动物,它经几百万年的自然进化成就了适应自然和接近完美的技术蓝图,为人类利用纳米生物技术仿生合成生物无机矿物材料提供了一种崭新的节能和"环境友好"技术,在光纤、微电子和生物医学材料等领域具有广阔的仿生应用前景.生长在深海1000 m以下水深的单根海绵动物的根须骨针长达3 m,是世...     

In situ LA-MC-ICP-MS and ID-TIMS U–Pb geochronology of cassiterite in the giant Furong tin deposit, Hunan Province, South China: New constraints on the timing of tin–polymetallic mineralization

The Furong deposit, located in southern Hunan Province, China, is a newly-discovered giant tin deposit spatially associated with the A-type Qitianling granite. The petrogenetic link between the giant Furong tin deposit and the Qitianling granite batholith remains controversial because of the lack of precise dating for the tin–polymetallic mineralization. Here we report for the first time in-situ U–Pb data on cassiterite obtained by LA-MC-ICP-MS and the results are compared to ID-TIMS data. The in-situ LA-MC-ICP-MS analyses of the cassiterites provide a reliable age constraint for tin–polymetallic mineralization in the Furong deposit, yielding an isochron age of 159.9 ± 1.9 Ma (at 95% confidence level, MSWD = 18), which is indistinguishable from the ID-TIMS ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U weighted mean age of 158.2 ± 0.4 Ma. The in situ U–Pb ages corroborate the Ar–Ar dates published for the Furong tin deposit, which indicate that the mineralization is coeval with the emplacement of the Qitianling granite batholith. These results provide further evidence of a close temporal link between the pluton's emplacement and tin mineralization in the Furong area. The data obtained clearly demonstrate that in-situ LA-MC-ICP-MS U–Pb dating of cassiterite is a robust geochronometer for direct dating of tin–polymetallic mineralization.     

First record of three giant marine Bathynomids (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cirolanidae) from India

Three species,Bathynomus decemspinosus,B.doederleini and B.kensleyi (Crustacea,Isopoda,Cirolanidae),are reported for the first time from the Parangipettai coastal waters,Southeast coast of India.Several Trilasmis (Temnaspis) tridens (Cirripedia Thoracica,Lepadomorpha) were attached to the pleopods of some individuals.So,five bathynomid species are currently reported from India.     

广州夏季硫酸盐巨粒子的分布特征

作者分析了１９８７年８－９月广州观的硫酸盐巨粒子资料，主要结果是：（１）干直径大于２μｍ的硫酸盐巨粒了平均浓度１．２个．Ｌ＾－１，平均含盐量３．０μｇ．ｍ＾－３，其中干直径大于４μｍ的特大粒子平均为０．６个．Ｌ＾－１，均低于南海西沙永兴岛的结果。（２）浓度谱是典型的准单调下降型幂函数递减谱，其谱型参数与永贪的结果甚为接近；质量谱在单对数坐标中为较为平直的分布，表明各谱段粒子对含盐量均有贡献。（２）     

巨型和超巨型金属矿床储量规模的国际参考标准

大量金属太产的储量的资料说明，不同金属成矿元素的富集程各不相同，因此，ＰＬａｚｎｉｃｋａ对巨型和超巨型金属矿床的定义，不适用于所有金属矿床。     

Urban hailstorms: a view from Alberta

Urban hailstorms are rarely studied in detail. This work documents five urban storms in Alberta where damage has, on three occasions, set the record for Canada's most costly natural disaster. Information from newspapers, insurance companies, and disaster assistance programs was utilized to supplement meteorological records and information obtained from public surveys.The record-breaking hail swath which accompanied the 1987 Edmonton tornado was mapped using over 800 responses to an unprecedented newspaper survey. Tennis ball sized hail struck 125 km² of the city. Record-sized hailstones for Alberta were collected. Citizens' measurements of giant hailstones were compared to laboratory measurements. The rural storms were tracked using lightning detector information and damage was mapped using crop insurance and disaster assistance claims. The tornado-bearing storm was found to have a unique track.A late-season hailstorm which struck Calgary in 1991 was mapped using homeowner insurance claims organized by postal areas. Nine out of thirty areas had claims rates exceeding 50%, mainly for shingle replacement. Experiences of claims adjustors and an informal public survey were also utilized. Rural storms were mapped using weather radar and crop losses. The radar beam was strongly attenuated when it passed through hail-bearing storms and, thus, its ability to detect large hail was compromised.Weather conditions, urban and rural damaged areas, and insurance payments were compared for all five local hailstorms. These storms were discussed within the context of the long history of Alberta hail research and current trends in technology implementation. Forecasting of these hailstorms using conventional severe weather indicators was difficult in Calgary because of that city's proximity to the mountains. Hailstorms that struck Munich, Denver, and Toowoomba (Australia) were also discussed, and the hailstones collected from the great Munich storm were compared to those collected from the Edmonton storms.     

The Breakup of C/1999 S4 (Linear), Days 0–10

The evolution of the morphology of C/1999 S4 (LINEAR) is examined from aseries of images taken from shortly before the disruption of the nucleus until10 days afterwards. This is combined with light curve data to provide a uniquedocumentation of the early evolution of the disruption event. Neither imagesfrom the 1-m Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope nor the 2.5-m Isaac Newton Telescopeat the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain)show no evidence of bright sub-nuclei, although the presence of a well-definedstable lance-point structure in the head of the comet indicates that a dust and gasproducing source remained active in this region. The centre of brightness of thecoma moved in the anti-solar direction at a few tens of metres per second afterdisruption indicating that it was a mainly dust structure. The contrast in thefragmentation history of comets such as C/1999 S4, C/2001 A2 and 141P/Machholz2 suggests that there is a wide variation in nucleus properties from highly unstableand loosely bound rubble piles to relatively consolidated conglomerates.     

Computing secular motion under slowly rotating quadratic perturbation

We consider secular perturbations of nearly Keplerian two-body motion under a perturbing potential that can be approximated to sufficient accuracy by expanding it to second order in the coordinates. After averaging over time to obtain the secular Hamiltonian, we use angular momentum and eccentricity vectors as elements. The method of variation of constants then leads to a set of equations of motion that are simple and regular, thus allowing efficient numerical integration. Some possible applications are briefly described.