Numerical calculations in the orbital determination of an artificial satellite for a long arc

Numerical methods are usually used for the computation of ephemerides with perturbations for the precise orbital determination of an artificial satellite. But their numerical stability will be encountered in a long arc. In this case the use the improved Encke special perturbation methods has been suggested. The results of this paper show that Encke's method does indeed have a certain effectiveness, but cannot yet completely resolve the numerical stability, and the more efficient method is to use the energy integral or its variational relation to control the growth of the along-track error in general numerical calculations so that the aim of stabilization can be achieved.     

太阳活动区磁场观测的一种新方法

在太阳活动区的物理研究中,特别是在二维动力学光谱分析中,迫切需要相应活动区的磁图资料。本文介绍了在太阳光谱仪的入射狭缝后安装一种新型偏振器进行活动区二维磁场观测的新方法。这种方法不仅能获得日面上任一点的磁场强度,且可快速获得活动区的纵向场磁图。除此之外,还可利用多条谱线的同时观测,获得有关磁力线管结构等方面的资料。     

Weathering process at the natural fission reactor of Bangombé

 The uranium deposits in the basin of Franceville (Gabon) host the only natural fission reactors known in the world. Unique geological conditions favoured a natural fission reaction 2 Ga ago. This was detected by anomalous isotopic compositions of uranium and rare earth elements (REE), which are produced by the fission reaction. In total, 16 reactor zones were found. Most of them are mined out. The reactor zone of Bangombé, is only 10–11 m below the surface. This site has been influenced by surface weathering processes. Six drill cores have been sampled at the site of the reactor zone of Bangombé during the course of the study and only one drill core (BAX 08) hit the core of the reactor. From these data and previous drilling campaigns, the reactor size is estimated to be 10 cm thick, 2–3 m wide and 4–6 m long. The migration of fission products can be traced by the anomalous isotope ratios of REE because of the fission process. The ¹⁴⁹Sm/¹⁴⁷Sm ratio close to the reactor zone is only 0.28 (normal: 0.92) because of the intense neutron capture of ¹⁴⁹Sm and subsequent transmutation, whereas ¹⁴⁷Sm is enriched by the fission reaction. Similar changes in isotopic patterns are detectable on other REE. The isotope ratios of Sm and Nd of whole rock and fracture samples surrounding the reactor indicate that fission-genic REE migrated only a few decimetres above and mainly below the reactor zone. Organic matter (bitumen) seems to act as a trap for fission-genic REE. Additional REE-patterns show less intense weathering with increasing depth in the log profile and support a simple weathering model. Received: 26 November 1999 · Accepted: 2 May 2000     

A stepwise method for determining the number of component distributions in a mixture

This paper considers the problem of estimatingm, the number of components in a finite mixture of distributions from a parametric family. A step-up procedure using the bootstrap method is proposed. Some properties of the procedure are illustrated with simulation studies. An example of the method, applied to orientation of beach clasts, is given.     

Effect of element size on the static finite element analysis of steep slopes

The accuracy of the computed stress distribution near the free surface of vertical slopes was evaluated in this study as a function of the element size, including aspect ratio. To accomplish this objective, a parametric study was carried out comparing stresses computed using the finite element method (FEM) to those obtained from a physical model composed of photoelastic material. The results of the study indicate a reasonable agreement between a gelatin model and the FEM model for shear stresses, and an overall good agreement between the two models for the principal stresses. For stresses along the top of the slope, the height of the element tends to be more important than width or aspect ratio, at least for aspect ratios up to 4. In all cases, the greatest difference between the two models occurs in the vicinity of the slope. Specifically, if H is defined as the slope height, an element height of H/10 appears to be adequate for the study of stresses deep within the slope, such as for typical embankment analyses. However, for cases where tensile stresses in the vicinity of the slope face which are critical, such as for the stability analysis of steep slopes, element heights as small as H/32, or higher‐order elements, are necessary. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

简单分段法在地层划分中的应用

本文简介海南省1:5万坝王岭、猴狝岭幅区域地质调查的地球化学简单分段法在地层划分中的应用。根据对下古生界变质岩与白垩系红层两条地层实测剖面的地球化学资料整理,用简单分段法进行划分、其效果较好。它的地球化学组分基本能反映原始沉积物的特点和其沉积环境,且与岩石地层的划分相互印证。     

Minor planet short periodic perturbations: The indirect part of the disturbing function

Leverrier's development of the indirect part of the disturbing function has been extended to include terms up to degree 4 in eccentricity and inclination; the resulting series has been expressed with respect to a fixed plane, and in a computer readable form (a list of integers). Tests have been performed for the relative significance of the terms of degrees 2, 3 and 4, and estimates have been obtained for the accuracy of the short periodic perturbations of a minor planet, and of the corresponding mean orbital elements. It was found that: (i) even in extreme cases, the indirect part of the disturbing function gives rise to very small short periodic perturbations; (ii) bodies of very high eccentricity/inclination and those close to mean motion resonances are most significantly affected; (iii) indirect perturbations for minor planets can be computed up to the degree 2 terms only, without any significant loss of accuracy; and (iv) higher degree indirect perturbations appear to be important only for their contribution to the long periodic effects of higher order (with respect to the perturbing mass).     

天文(重力)水准的新手段及其计算方法

介绍当今确定天文大地垂偏差的新仪器－CCD自动天体测量仪和确定两点间高程异常差的新方法，该方法用单极坐标代替繁琐的双极坐标进行计算，讨论了天文重力水准的误差及垂线偏差非线性影响等问题，估计在不久的将来，用这一手段施测山区似大地水准面的精度可望达到厘米级。