Impact-generated atmospheres over Titan, Ganymede, and Callisto

The competition between impact erosion and impact supply of volatiles to planetary atmospheres can determine whether a planet or satellite accumulates an atmosphere. In the absence of other processes (e.g., outgassing), we find either that a planetary atmosphere should be thick, or that there should be no atmosphere at all. The boundary between the two extreme cases is set by the mass and velocity distributions and intrinsic volatile content of the impactors. We apply our model specifically to Titan, Callisto, and Ganymede. The impacting population is identified with comets, either in the form of stray Uranus-Neptune planetesimals or as dislodged Kuiper belt comets. Systematically lower impact velocities on Titan allow it to retain a thick atmosphere, while Callisto and Ganymede get nothing. Titan's atmosphere may therefore be an expression of a late-accreting, volatile-rich veneer. An impact origin for Titan's atmosphere naturally accounts for the high D/H ratio it shares with Earth, the carbonaceous meteorites, and Halley. It also accounts for the general similarity of Titan's atmosphere to those of Triton and Pluto, which is otherwise puzzling in view of the radically different histories and bulk compositions of these objects.     

Will the Russians return from the near abroad?

The author "examines a range of issues surrounding the involuntary migration of Russian populations from the non-Russian republics of the former USSR. Among the questions addressed are possible magnitudes of in-migration into Russia (with special attention paid to conditions in one of the major source regions, Central Asia), attitudes in Russia regarding appropriate policy with respect to treatment of co-nationals in the near abroad and whether their return to Russia would have a positive or negative impact, and conditions in areas of Russia that presently are absorbing the greatest numbers of migrants. The assertion that Russian policy should seek aggressively to prevent the out-migration of Russian populations [from] the near abroad is assessed critically."     

Coupled atmosphere-ocean models of Titan's past

We have developed a coupled atmosphere and ocean model of Titan's surface. The atmospheric model is a 1-D spectrally-resolved radiative-convective model. The ocean thermodynamics are based upon solution theory. The ocean, initially composed of CH4, becomes progressively enriched in ethane over time. The partial pressures of N2 and CH4 in the atmosphere are dependent on the ocean temperature and composition. We find that the resulting system is stable against a runaway greenhouse. Accounting for the decreased solar luminosity, we find that Titan's surface temperature was about 20 K colder 4 Gyr ago. Without an ocean, but only small CH4 lakes, the temperature change is 12 K. In both cases we find that the surface of Titan may have been ice covered about 3 Gyr ago. In the lakes case condensation of N2 provides the ice, whereas in the ocean case the ocean freezes. The dominant factor influencing the evolution of Titan's surface temperature is the change in the solar constant--amplified, if an ocean is present, by the temperature dependence of the solubility of N2. Accretional heating can dramatically alter the surface temperature; a surface thermal flux of 500 erg cm-2 sec-1, representative of small levels of accretional heating, results in a approximately 20 K change in surface temperatures.     

内蒙古新地沟金矿床黄铁矿热电性特征及深部找矿意义

内蒙古新地沟金矿是中型绿岩型金矿床,但已属于严重资源危机的矿山,急待寻找接替资源,因此对新地沟金矿床进行深部远景预测具有十分重要的意义。本文根据找矿矿物学和成因矿物学理论,利用显微镜、电子探针及热电仪系统分析新地沟金矿床不同标高和矿段中黄铁矿的热电型标型特征,研究结果表明:新地沟金矿床中黄铁矿的晶型以立方体、五角十二面体及聚形为主;热电系数变化主要集中在-331.10~340.20μV·°C~(-1)范围内,导电型多以N型为主,约占总含量的80%;成矿温度主要集中于250~340℃,属于中温矿床。黄铁矿热电性参数XNP变化范围较大,估算矿体剥蚀率为67.96%~74.31%。通过对黄铁矿导型的空间分布规律和矿体剥蚀分析表明:油篓沟矿段位于矿体中底部,向深部可能有小规模延伸,小西沟矿段钻孔ZK106在深部有较大规模的延伸,其矿化前景最好;小西沟矿段钻孔ZK102深部矿化前景次之;大汗青矿段钻孔ZK_2802其深部矿化前景较差。综合分析认为,该矿床深部具有较好的找矿潜力。     

MATLAB CFTool在图解沉积物粒度参数计算中的应用

沉积物粒度参数是用来表征粒度分布特征的数值,包括平均粒径、分选系数、偏态和峰态等。计算沉积物粒度参数的方法主要有矩算法和图解法2种,其中图解法必须通过手工作图求累积曲线,对批量样品粒度参数计算是一项相当繁琐的工作。文中提出的方法将图解求沉积物样品的累积曲线百分位数的过程转化为对概率累计曲线的模拟和插值问题,为了保证数据的单调性和形状,利用MATLAB CFTool中Shape-preserving插值方法快速准确求解批量样品概率累计曲线上第5、16、25、50、75、84、95百分数所对应的值粒径,进而由Folk-Ward图解法公式求得粒度参数,并与传统手工作图方法计算的粒度参数进行比较。结果表明,该方法拟合效果理想,计算结果可靠,明显提高图解粒度参数计算效率。     

墨西哥ZacatecasFresnillo地区SantoNino脉的银硫盐

黑西哥ＦｒｅｓｎｉｌｌｏＡｇ－Ｐｂ－Ｚｎ地区的ＳａｎｔｏＮｉｎｏ脉中，银含在螺状硫银矿及三个含银矿盐固溶体系列的矿物中，这些硫盐矿物是：浓红银矿、淡红银矿、硫锑铜银矿、硒硫铜银矿、黝铜矿及脆银矿。     

Preliminary evidence for human fecal contamination in corals of the Florida Keys,USA

Corals and reef environments are under increased stress from anthropogenic activities, particularly those in the vicinity of heavily populated areas such as the Florida Keys. The potential adverse impacts of wastewater can affect both the environment and human health; however, because of the high decay rate of bacterial indicators in coral reef waters it has been difficult to document the presence of microbial contaminants and to assign risks in these environments. Here we show initial evidence that microorganisms associated with human feces are concentrated along the surface of coral heads relative to the overlying water column in the Florida Keys. Bacterial indicators (fecal coliform bacteria, enterococci or Clostridium perfringens) were detected in 66.7% of the coral surface microlayer (CSM) samples at levels between five and 1000 CFU/100 ml, but were found infrequently and at low numbers in the overlying water column ( < or = 2.5 CFU/100 ml). Similarly, enterovirus nucleic acid sequences, an indicator of human-specific waste, were detected in 93.3% of the CSM samples and only once in the water column by cell culture. Results show that coral mucus may accumulate enteric microorganisms in reef environments, and may indicate a risk to public and environmental health despite low indicator levels in the surrounding water.