Experimental solidification of anhydrous latitic and trachytic melts at different cooling rates: The role of nucleation kinetics

Two sets of cooling experiments were run at atmospheric conditions for two anhydrous starting latitic and trachytic melts: 1) five cooling rates (25, 12.5, 3, 0.5, and 0.125 °C/min) between 1300° and 800 °C, and 2) a 0.5 °C/min cooling rate from 1300 °C with quench temperatures at 1200°, 1100°, 1000° and 900 °C. Trachytic run-products are invariably glassy. Nucleation is also suppressed in the latitic run-products at the three highest cooling rates. Conversely, in the 0.5 and 0.125 °C/min runs, latites have a crystal content of  90 vol.%. The phases are: plagioclase, clinopyroxene, glass and iron-bearing oxide (in order of abundance). The variable quench temperatures, investigated by coupling experiments with Pt wire and Pt capsule sample containers in set 2, again did not produce crystallization of trachyte, whereas latitic samples are characterized by  10 vol.% of oxides, pyroxenes and plagioclase (in order of appearance), at temperature < 1000 °C. Effects of (preferential) heterogeneous nucleation on sample holders, of superheating degree, and chemical species loss during cooling are absent for both melt compositions. The difference of solidification paths between these two silicate melts can be ascribed only to their small chemical differences. In comparison with calculated equilibrium conditions all the experimental latitic and trachytic run-products revealed strong kinetic effects, interpretable in the light of the nucleation theory. The glass-forming ability (GFA) of trachyte is higher, whereas their critical cooling rate (Rc) is lower (< 0.125 °C/min), in comparison to latitic melts (Rc > 0.5 °C/min). The experimental results carried out in this study can be applied to lava flows and domes; trachytic lavas are able to flow for longer period with respect to latitic ones in a metastable condition. Glass-rich terrestrial lavas, i.e. obsidians, can be the result of sluggish nucleation kinetics due to the relative high polymerisation of evolved silicate melts.     

Dynamic analysis of a vertical plate exposed to breaking wave impact

From the experimental studies in recent years, it has become known that when a wave breaks directly on a vertical faced coastal structure, high magnitude impact pressures are produced. The theoretical and experimental studies show that the dynamic response of such structures under wave impact loading is closely dependent on the magnitude and duration of the load history. The dynamic analysis and design of a coastal structure can be succeeded provided the design load history for the wave impact is available. Since these types of data are very scarce, it is much more convenient to follow a method which is based on static analysis for the dynamic design procedure. Therefore, to facilitate the dynamic design of a vertical plate that is exposed to breaking wave impact, a multiplication factor called “dynamic magnification factor” is herein presented which is defined as the ratio of the maximum value of the dynamic response to that found by static analysis. The computational results of the present study show that the dynamic magnification factor is a useful ratio to transfer the results of static analysis to the dynamic design of a coastal plate for the maximum impact pressure conditions of p_max/γH₀≤18.     

Assessment of spatial variation in carbon utilization by benthic and pelagic invertebrates in a temperate South African estuary using stable isotope signatures

Stable isotope analyses (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) were used to evaluate the spatial variations in carbon flow from primary producers to consumers at two sites in the temperate and permanently open Kariega Estuary on the southeastern coast of South Africa during October 2005 and February 2006. One site was located opposite a salt marsh while the second was upstream of the marsh. Except for significantly enriched δ¹³C values of Zostera capensis and surface sediments near the salt marsh, the δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N signatures of the producers were similar between sites. The invertebrates were clustered into groups roughly corresponding to the predominant feeding modes. The suspension feeders showed δ¹³C values closest to the seston, whereas the deposit feeders, detritivores and scavengers/predators had more enriched δ¹³C values reflecting primary carbon sources that were likely a combination of seston, Spartina maritima and Z. capensis at the upstream site, with an increased influence of benthic algae and Z. capensis at the salt marsh site. The δ¹⁵N signatures of the consumers showed a stepwise continuum rather than distinct levels of fractionation, indicating highly complex trophic linkages and significant dietary overlap among the species. Consumers exhibited significantly enriched δ¹³C values at the salt marsh site, an effect that was attributed to enriched Z. capensis detritus in this region in addition to increased phytoplankton biomass in their diets compared with invertebrates living upstream. The data reinforce the concept that between-site variations in the stable isotope ratios of consumers can result not only from dietary shifts, but also from alterations in the isotope ratios of primary producers.     

Spatio-temporal variability of small copepods (especially Oithona plumifera) in shallow nearshore waters off the south coast of South Africa

Although small copepods are one of the main dietary sources for many commercially important fish, their role in the pelagic trophic dynamics has traditionally been underestimated due to the methodology commonly used in plankton sampling. Temporal variation in abundance of adults and nauplii of small copepods (particularly Oithona plumifera) in nearshore waters on the south coast of South Africa was investigated fortnightly over 14 months at site (km) and location (100 m) scales. Sampling was within <500 m of the shore, where depth was ca. 10 m, using vertical hauls of an 80-μm mesh plankton net from 1 m above the seabed to the surface. Twenty-seven adult copepod taxa were recorded, but Oithona spp. was consistently the most abundant. Taxon richness was 7–19 on each sampling occasion. There was strong temporal variation (Oithona varied between 0 and 2300 m⁻³), but much of this was short-term variability (e.g. between consecutive sampling sessions), with no seasonality or other long-term discernable patterns. There were periods of consistently low numbers, but very high numbers often followed samples with low abundances. Nor was there spatial structure at the location scale, though numbers differed between sites. Despite considerable variability at the location scale within sites, Kenton consistently showed higher densities than High Rocks. Separate analyses, with Bonferroni adjustment, showed that this difference was significant on eight out of 21 occasions for Oithona, six for other pelagic copepods and three for nauplii. This suggests that hydrodynamics favour aggregation of plankton at Kenton. A high degree of short-term variability, with a tendency for aggregation of small zooplankton at certain sites has implications for both pelagic processes and food-web links between the benthic and pelagic environments.     

On dynamic coupling effects between a spar and its mooring lines

The responses of a spar constrained by slack mooring lines to steep ocean waves and tensions in the mooring lines are simulated using two different numerical schemes: a quasi-static approach (SMACOS) and a coupled dynamic approach (COUPLE). The two approaches are the same in computing wave loads on the structure. Their difference is in modeling dynamic forces of mooring lines; that is the dynamic forces are included in the computation of COUPLE but neglected in SMACOS. The numerical simulation is examined against the laboratory measurements of the JIP Spar in a water depth of 318 m. The dynamic coupling effects between the JIP Spar and its mooring lines in different water depths (318, 618 and 1018 m) are investigated by the comparison of numerical simulations obtained using the quasi-static and coupled dynamic approaches. It is found that the damping of mooring lines reduces the slow-drift surge and pitch of the Spar, especially in deep water. The reduction in the amplitude of slow-drift surge can reach about 10% in a water depth of 1018 m. The tension in mooring lines may greatly increase in the wave frequency range when dynamic forces in mooring lines are considered. The mooring-line tension in the wave frequency range predicted by the coupled dynamic approach can be eight times as great as the corresponding prediction by the quasi-static approach in a water depth of 1018 m. This finding may have important implications for the estimation of the fatigue strength and life span of the mooring lines deployed in deep water oceans.     

Inverse reconstructions of ecosystem flows in investigating regime shifts: impact of the choice of objective function

Inverse analysis is increasingly used in ecosystem modelling to objectively reconstruct a large number of unknown flows or interactions from a small number of observations. This type of analysis may be useful in relating observed regime shifts in ecosystem structure to underlying processes. Inversions of ecosystem flow networks currently use a constrained least-squares solution which at the same time minimizes the squared norm (the sum of squares) of the reconstructed flows. This minimum norm (MN) inversion is thought to be a parsimonious solution to the ecosystem flow inverse problem, but it may well not reflect how ecosystems are organised. It has been proposed instead that ecosystems evolve to maximize energy/mass flows or that they maximize the information content of the network weighted by ecosystem flows (ascendancy). We used simulated inverse experiments, where inverse analyses are applied to simulations of flow networks, to explore objective functions different than the MN generally used. We could not compute inverse solutions that maximize ascendancy because the objective function is unbounded. We could calculate inversions that maximize flows; however, these generally overestimated the simulated flows, even though the simulations were designed to maximize flows. It appears that the ecosystem flow inverse problem is too under-determined (too few data relative to the number of unknowns) to allow the use of these maximizing goal functions. We introduce a new minimization that simultaneously minimizes the squared flows and the squared differences between flows. This smoothing minimization makes the inverse flows as even as possible and it helps with some technical issues with MN inversions. The simulated inverse experiments indicated that this smoothed norm (SM) is the most robust in comparative analyses of contrasting ecosystem states, such as those that can be associated with regime shifts. Like the MN inversion, the SM inversion has no ecological basis. However, it is a conservative norm that is less likely to produce false differences between the dynamics of regimes.     

定位卫星轨道监视系统研究

与卫星测控中心的卫星轨道参数相比,地球同步卫星定位系统中轨道计算子系统所计算出的卫星星历数据具有实时性强、精度高的特点,如何有效利用该星历数据来分析卫星轨道运行情况是该领域的一个热门研究课题。在介绍卫星轨道测定法的基础上,提出了以卫星速度变化率和卫星星下点为主要监视内容的卫星轨道监视系统,通过系统的试运行结果可以看出,该系统能够有效地监视卫星的瞬时和长期运行情况,为卫星的在轨运行管理提供了一种直观、形象的监视方法。     

城市空间信息基础设施建设结构模型研究

首先对WebGIS的发展状况进行了分析,然后介绍了Web Services的工作原理,给出了面向Geo-Services的城市空间信息基础设施建设的结构模型,并依据该模型对北京市基础地理信息数据库集成项目进行了典型研究.     

Ductile deformation of garnet in mylonitic gneisses from the Münchberg Massif (Germany)

Mylonitic gneisses from the Münchberg Massif contain single grains (type I) and polycrystalline aggregates (type II) of garnet displaying a distinct elongation parallel to a macroscopic lineation which is interpreted as the result of ductile deformation. Lattice-preferred orientations of quartz (textures) symmetrical to the macroscopic foliation and lineation and the lack of rotational microfabrics indicate that the bulk deformation was pure shear at least during the latest strain increments. Garnet textures measured by EBSD together with microprobe analyses demonstrate that these two structural types of garnet can be related to two different processes of ductile deformation: (1) For the single grains stretching can be attributed to diffusion creep along grain boundary zones (Coble creep). The related mass transfer is indicated by the fact that primary growth zones are cut off at the long faces of the grains while the related strain shadow domains do not show comparable chemical zoning. Pressure solution and precipitation suitable to produce similar structures can be largely ruled out because retrogressive reactions pointing to the presence of free hydrous fluids are missing. (2) For the polycrystalline garnet aggregates consisting of cores grading into fine-grained mantles, dislocation creep and associated rotation recrystallization can be assumed. Continuous lattice rotation from the core to the outer polycrystalline rim allow a determination of the related dominant slip systems which are {100}<010> and equivalent systems according to the cubic lattice symmetry. The same holds for garnets which appear to be completely recrystallized. For this type of fine-grained aggregates an alternative nucleation model is discussed. Due to penetrative dislocation glide in connection with short range diffusion and the resulting lattice rotation, primary growth zones are strongly disturbed.Since for the considered rock unit of the Münchberg Massif peak metamorphic temperatures between 630 and 670 °C can be assumed, this study clearly demonstrates that the inferred processes of ductile garnet deformation can occur not only in HT regimes as often suggested in the literature even if embedded within a matrix of “low-strength” minerals like quartz, feldspars and micas.     

Continuous air rate measurement in flotation cells: Some fundamental considerations

A robust and reliable sensor to measure gas (air) superficial velocity (J_g) continuously in flotation systems is introduced. It is based on the sampling of bubbles by buoyancy with the accumulating air allowed to exit through an orifice. At steady state, pressure drop is measured and related to the J_g by prior calibration. The continuous device is readily automated and extended to a multi-unit set-up. The sensor and data collections are described. The governing gas flow equation and models of the dynamic response to air flow rate set point change and fluctuations in froth depth are derived. Model predictions are confirmed against plant data. By taking a moving average, the J_g remains valid in the face of typical plant disturbances.