准噶尔海槽西准噶尔地段板块构造演化特征

准噶尔地块为前震旦纪地块。古生代,本区进一步演化成为一个由大陆裂谷发育起来的不成熟洋壳——准噶尔海槽。该海槽向西可与苏联巴尔喀什相通,并将哈萨克斯坦古板块肢解为南、北两大陆块。早石炭世末,本区结束了洋壳历史,重新成为大陆克拉通,托里北——达拉布特一线为缝合线位置。中石炭世以后,以碰撞后构造为主导,发生过三次明显的块断运动和A型俯冲。北东向的达拉布特断裂系就是在本区地壳缩短的背景下产生的走滑断层和推覆构造     

兰天武地区现今大地垂直形变场演化与地壳运动特征

用分段线性速率整体动态平差法处理了兰天武地区２０多年来的多期水准资料，分析了该区现今大地垂直形变场演化与地壳运动特征。研究结果表明：该区垂直形变七十年代曾表现出山间盆地大幅度上升的强烈逆继承性运动；八十年代华家岭等两北部山地上升、东南部盆地下沉的继承性运动增强；而目前基本恢复了正常的继承性运动状态。进一步分析认为：强烈逆继承性运动和继承性运动增强是区域应力场趋于强化的标志；正常继承性运动的恢复可能是应力场调整的结果。     

中国西部地区生态环境现状遥感调查

针对“中国西部地区生态环境现状遥感调查”的需要,综合运用景观生态学理论、生态系统服务功能理论、可持续发展理论、遥感和地理信息系统技术,研究中国西部地区生态环境现状遥感数据的处理与集成,开展中国西部地区土地覆被和生态要素结构变化分析、沙漠化和水土流失强度评价、生态脆弱特征及时空分布规律分析、基于遥感调查的生态环境质量评价、基于多时相遥感数据对比的典型区生态环境遥感分析和生态环境变化成因对策分析等综合性的研究,并以量化和可视化的形式系统地反映西部地区生态环境现状及其变化的空间分布、空间统计和空间特征规律。     

Magnetic properties of tidal flat sediments of the Yangtze Estuary and its relationship with particle size

Since the 1970s, environmental magnetism has found extensive applications in diverse research areas of geoscience[1]. In China, a lot of environmental magnetic studies have been carried out on loess, lake and marine sediments for the purpose of paleoclima…     

A massive circumstellar envelope around the type-IIn supernova SN 1995G

We model the interaction of the supernova SN 1995G with a dense circumstellar (CS) gas in a thin-shell approximation. A model fit to the observed bolometric light curve combined with data on the supernova expansion velocity gives estimates for the density, mass (≈1 M_⊙), and age (≈8 yr) of the CS envelope. The determined CS-envelope density is shown to be virtually independent of the assumed mass of the supernova envelope because of the high CS-gas density at which the forward shock wave is essentially radiative. The derived CS-envelope density is consistent with the Hα luminosity and with the presence of distinct Thomson scattering in the red wing of this line. The mass of the CS envelope together with its expansion velocity and age indicate that the CS envelope was ejected by the presupernova eight years before the supernova explosion through violent energy release (～6×10⁴⁸ erg).     

Chemostratigraphy of Lago Albano sediments (Central Italy):geochemical evidence of palaeoenvironmental changes in lateQuaternary

The results of the geochemical investigation on bulk sediment fromthree cores collected in Albano crater lake (Central Italy) are reported, andthe main markers of the palaeoenvironmental changes in the last 26ka are discussed. The sediment of Lago Albano consists of greysilt and mud, and is made of volcanogenic, calcareous, siliceous and organicmaterial. Some tephra layers provide a chronological framework for thesequence. The chemical features of the sediments are strongly impacted by theAlban Hills volcanism (Roman volcanic area), but there are also strong changesof organic/inorganic matter ratios, owing to variations in biologicalproductivity and terrigeous supply from the catchment. Six chemostratigraphiczones record the main steps of the transition from the cold and dry climate ofGlacial Maximum to the warmer and more humid Holocene climate. The most usefulgeochemical indices are: biogenic silica, CO₂, Br and organiccontent (OM) for biological productivity; Al, Y, CIA (Chemical Index ofAlteration), Al/Rb, Ti/Zr and Y/Al ratios for terrigenous clasticmaterial; OM/Al ratio for organic/terrigenous ratio; S/Fe andMo/Fe ratios and Authigenic U for redox diagenetic conditions of the lakesediment. The geochemical records agree rather well with those of thelithological and paleomagnetic studies, and despite the information obtainedare less detailed than those acquired by the study of biological remains, thepalaeoenvironmental significance inferred is consistent. A comparison of thechemostratigraphic results of Lago Albano with those obtained on coevalsediments from Central and Southern Italy lakes supports the role of thegeochemical investigation as important complement to more sophisticatedtechniques in the palaeoenvironmental reconstructions.     

Giant Vibrations in Dip

This work reports the discovery of solar-type oscillations in thegiant star Hydrae.     

Evidence for chemical evolution in spectra of high redshift galaxies

Using a sample of 57 VLT FORS spectra in the redshift range 1.37< z < 3.40 and a comparison sample with 36 IUE spectra of local ( ) starburst galaxies we derive CIV equivalent width values and estimate metallicities of starburst galaxies as a function of redshift. Assuming that a calibration of the CIV equivalent widths in terms of the metallicity based on the local sample of starburst galaxies is applicable to high-z objects, we find a significant increase of the average metallicities from about 0.16 Z _⊙ at the cosmic epoch corresponding to z ≈ 3.2 to about 0.42 Z _⊙ at z ≈ 2.3. A significant further increase in metallicity during later epochs cannot be detected in our data. Compared to the local starburst galaxies our high-redshift objects tend to be overluminous for a given metallicity. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A paleoenvironmental reconstruction of Laguna Babícora, Chihuahua, Mexico based on ostracode paleoecology and trace element shell chemistry

Paleoecology of Laguna Babícora, Chihuahua, Mexico was reconstructed using ostracode faunal assemblages and shell chemistry. The paleolimnological record is used to show the magnitude of paleoclimatic changes in the area from 25,000 years to the present.Faunal assemblages consist of four species of the genus Limnocythere: L. sappaensis, L. ceriotuberosa, L. bradburyi and L. platyforma, all associated with Candona caudata, Candona patzcuaro and Cypridopsis vidua. A paleosalinity index developed from these assemblages indicates that the lake's salinity fluctuated frequently from oligo- to meso-haline conditions during the last 25,000 years. This pattern and low salinity range are in good agreement with modern TDS (here used as an indicator of salinity) values recorded from 26 wells and one spring from the area (258–975 mg l^–1). To estimate paleotemperature we examined the trace element content (Mg/Ca ratios) from individual valves of L. ceriotuberosa and L. platyforma, the two species most commonly recorded in Laguna Babícora.Shell Mg/Ca ratios of 204 specimens of these two species were used to estimate water temperature (Mg/Ca) by means of experimental standard coefficients. Our data show that paleowater temperature ranged from 5.6–21.3 °C (with 2 values ranging from 0.2–4.8 °C), which suggest a close correlation with atmospheric temperatures around the lake. These results are in good agreement with a modern mean winter temperature (3.5 °C) and mean summer temperature (20 °C) recorded in the area between 1970 and 1980.