Cosmic ray ionization of the Jovian atmosphere

An approximate form of the Boltzmann equation has been used to obtain local ionization rates due to the absorption of galactic cosmic rays in the Jovian atmosphere. It is shown that the muon flux component of the cosmic ray-induced cascade may be especially importannt in ionizing the atmosphere at levels where the total number density exceeds 10¹⁹ cm^?3 (well below the ionospheric layers produced by solar euv). A model containing both positive and negative ion reactions has been employed to compute equilibrium electron and ion number densities. Peak electron number densities on the order of 10³ cm^?3 may be expected even at relatively low magnetic latitudes. The dominant positive ions are NH₄⁺ and C_nH_m⁺ cluster ions, with n ? 2; it is suggested that the absorption of galactic cosmic ray energy at such relatively high pressures in the Jovian atmosphere $\text{(M ? 10}{}^{18}\text{to}\text{10}{}^{20}\text{cm}{}^{\mathrm{?3}}\text{)}$ and the subsequent chemical reactions may be instrumental in the local formation of complex hydrocarbons.     

Reservoirs of atmospheric chlorine: Prospects for HOCl revisted

We have re-examined the prospects of HOCl as an inert reservoir for atmospheric chlorine in the light of new theoretical calculations and available experimental measurements of its photodissociation cross-sections. The theoretical calculations and most recent laboratory studies imply that the broad maxima 3200 Å observed in two other experimental spectra may not belong to HOCl. On the basis of this implication HOCl could have a long lifetime against photodissociation in the stratosphere, and could, thereby, become a reservoir for atmospheric chlorine comparable to ClONO₂ or even HCl. In this capacity HOCl could reduce the predicted ozone destruction due to any given level of total chlorine burden. We have also examined the difficulties in laboratory measurements of the HOCl absorption spectrum with particular emphasis on identifying the impurities which may be present in the experimental system. It appears that specialized new experiments are needed to clearly establish the nature and strength of HOCl absorption in the neighbourhood of 3200 Å. Some refinements in the theoretical calculations also seem desirable. In view of the difficulties involved in the laboratory determination of HOCl photodissociation cross-sections, it is suggested that a search for possible stratospheric HOCl by atmospheric spectroscopists would be worthwhile.     

Modelling for forest growing stock assessment using satellite data — A case study

The satellite digital vegetation index data has been correlated with the forest growing stock by fitting linear regression models. The goodness of fit was tested. The analysis showed that the vegetation index which is the ratio of reflectance of vegetation in near infrared band to red wave band of electromagnetic spectrum is highly correlated to forest growing stock and the same can be used to predict the volume in remote forest areas for quick assessment purpose. Implications for future forest inventory are discussed.     

The stratospheric sulfate aerosol layer: Processes,models, observations,and simulations

After briefly reviewing the observational data on the stratospheric sulfate aerosol layer, the chemical and physical processes that are likely to fix the properties of the layer are discussed. We present appropriate continuity equations for aerosol particles, and show how to solve the equations on a digital computer. Simulations of the unperturbed aerosol layer by various published models are discussed and the sensitivity of layer characteristics to variations in several aerosol model parameters is studied. We discuss model applications to anthropogenic pollution problems and demonstrate that moderate levels of aerospace activity (supersonic transport and space shuttle operations) will probably have only a negligible effect on global climate. Finally, we evaluate the possible climatic effect of a ten-fold increase in the atmospheric abundance of carbonyl sulfide.     

海拉尔盆地基底晚古生代adakite的发现及其地质意义

海拉尔盆地的前中生代基底隶属中亚造山带东段的兴蒙造山带。 在盆地基底地层中发现了具有adakite成分特征的粗面安山岩、英安岩和闪长玢岩。 这些火成岩与晚古生代沉积地层交互或伴生, 共同构成晚中生代裂陷盆地的基底。 地球化学研究表明, 这些火成岩基本上属于高钾钙碱性和准铝质岩石系列, 具有高SiO₂和Al₂O₃含量, 高Sr、Sr/Y和La/Yb值, 富集轻稀土(LREE), 亏损重稀土(HREE)、Y和高场强元素(HFSE),Eu表现弱的负异常或轻微的正异常, 相容元素Mg、Cr和Ni含量低, 这些特征与增厚下地壳部分熔融成因的adakite非常相似, 而明显不同于典型的由俯冲洋壳熔融形成的adakite。 样品的(⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_i值基本一致,为0.7041, (¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd)_i值为0.51243~0.51247, ε_Nd (t)为正值(+3.7~+4.5), 显示其岩浆源区可能源于弱亏损地幔, 或亏损地幔受到地壳物质混染。 本文认为海拉尔地区晚古生代adakite型岩浆很可能是由当时新底侵的玄武质下地壳在角闪岩相向榴辉岩相过度或榴辉岩相条件下部分熔融形成。 这些adakite岩石的出现反映了兴蒙造山带晚古生代受到了古亚洲洋的俯冲消减引起的强烈的地幔玄武质岩浆底侵作用, 并由此导致地壳垂向上显著的增生加厚过程。