Isotopic composition of rare gases in lunar samples

Data from total melt and step-by-step heating experiments on the Apollo 11 lunar samples suggest a close affinity between lunar and meteoritic rare gases. Trapped neon-20/neon-22 ratios range from 11.5 to approximately 15, resembling those for the gas-rich meteorites. Trapped krypton and xenon in the lunar fines and in the carbonaceous chondrites are similar except for an interesting underabundance of the heavy isotopes in both lunar gases which suggests that the fission component found in carbonaceous chondrites is depleted in lunar material. Spallation gases are in most cases quite close to meteoritic spallation gases in isotopic composition.     

Isotopic analysis of rare gases from stepwise heating of lunar fines and rocks

Highlights of a first effort in sorting out rare gases in lunar material are solar wind rare gases in abundance; variable (20)Ne/(22)Ne but constant (21)Ne/ (22)Ne ratios in fractions of the trapped neon; cosmogenic rare gases similar to those found in meteorites, except for copious (131)Xe in one rock but not in another; at Tranquillity Base a rock 4.1 x 10(9) years old which reached the surface 35 to 65 million years ago, amid soil whose particles have typically been within a meter of the surface for 10(9) years or more.     

Rare gases in lunar samples: study of distribution and variafions by a microprobe technique

The rare gas distribution in lunar soil, breccias, and rocks was studied with a micro-helium-probe. Gases are concentrated in grain surfaces and originate from solar wind. Helium-4 concentrations of different mineral components vary by more than a factor of 10 apart from individual fluctuations for each type. Also grains with no detectable helium-4 exist. Titanium-rich components have the highest, calcium-rich minerals the lowest concentrations. The solar wind was redistributed by diffusion. Mean gas layer thicknesses are 10, 6, and 5 microm for helium, neon, and argon respectively. Lithic fragments in breccias contain no solar gases. Glass pitted surfaces of crystalline rocks contain about 10(-2) cubic centimeter of helium-4 per square centimeter. Etched dust grains clearly show spallogenic and radiogenic components. The apparent mean exposure age of dust is approximately 500 x 10(6) years, its potassium-argon age is approximately 3.5 x 10(9) yerars. Cavities of crystalline rocks contain helium-4, radiogenic argon, H(2), and N(2).     

Primordial rare gases in unequilibrated ordinary chondrites

The primordial gases of eight unequilibrated ordinary chondrites are strongly fractionated with respect to" cosmic" proportions. The absolute amounts are roughly proportional to the degree of disequilibration. Apparently, ordinary chondrites originally contained considerably larger amounts of primordial rare gases.     

Electron microprobe analysis of lunar samples

Plagioclase feldspar, clinopyroxene, and ilmenite in a polished thin section of a type A crystalline rock were analyzed. The clinopyroxene grains are compositionally variable, and both high Ca and low Ca phases are present. The plagioclase is compositionally homogeneous. The ilmenite is chemically homogeneous except for occasional, small areas of high local chromium concentration. Accessory minerals are: apatite (containing Cl, F, Y, and Ce), troilite, and metallic iron. Glassy spherules from the lunar soil are for the most part similar in composition to the crystalline rocks; however, some appear to have been monomineralic. The crystalline rock has apparently formed by relatively rapid cooling of a silicate melt under conditions of low oxygen partial pressure. Many components of the soil appear to have formed by meteoritic impact.     

Air pollution: remote detection of several pollutant gases with a laser heterodyne radiometer

An infrared heterodyne radiometer with a spectral resolution of 0.04 reciprocal centimeters has been used to remotely detect samples of ozone, sulfur dioxide, ammonia, and ethylene at room temperature, and samples of nitric oxide at 390K. Each gas was observed in a background of nitrogen or oxygen at atmospheric pressure. Sensitivities to some of these gases are adequate for detection of ambient concentrations as low as a few parts per billion.     

The proton microprobe: a powerful tool for nondestructive trace element analysis

A proton microprobe capable of focusing proton beams with energies up to 6 million electron volts to a spot size of 2 x 2 square micrometers has been used for chemical analysis of small grains of minerals in lunar samples by proton-induced x-ray emission. The proton microprobe is preferable to the electron microprobe for analyzing trace elements whose concentrations are below the detection limit of the latter and for analyzing objects with numerous major and trace elements with a wide range of atomic numbers. Application of the proton microprobe to biological samples is feasible.     

Silicate spherules from tunguska impact area: electron microprobe analysis

The major oxide composition of four silicate spherules from the area of forest devastated by the explosion of the Tunguska meteorite has been determined by electron microprobe analysis. In general, the spherules have compositions similar to that of igneous glass except for the low iron and the high calcium oxide content of the three spherules that have a low content of silicon dioxide. None of the spherules seem to have compositions similar to the silicate portiof any major meteorite group.     

Silica in developing epidermal cells of Avena internodes: electron microprobe analysis

Silica is present in significant amount in mature guard and subsidiary cells of stomata, in trichomes and silica cells, and in the walls of long eidermal cells of Avena. No silica was detectable in cork cells of cork-silica cell pairs. Silica must be accumulated in these specialized epidermal cells quite rapidly.     

Reactions of organ crystals with gases

Although reactions of molecular crystals are much more widespread than has been generally appreciated (53), the great sensitivity of their rates to seemingly trivial changes in molecular structure clearly provides a major stumbling block to the general utilization of such processes. A key to understanding the effects of structural changes has been provided by the demonstration of anisotropy of such reactions discussed in this article. It is recognized, however, that many factors in addition to those aspects of the crystal structure utilized in the discussion above may play a part in determining reactivity of crystalline solids with gases. The recent ready availability of crystal structure data for molecular crystals should lead to a more rapid development of the principles governing the packing of such crystals and their reactivity. The resulting control of such reactions should not only provide the means of causing them when they are desired, as, for example, for synthesis, but also the means of preventing them when they are to be avoided, as in the stabilization of pharmaceuticals. Finally, it appears that we have only just begun to exploit the potential reaction specificity and the exciting possibilities resulting from the unique symmetry properties of the crystalline state.     

湖南省深秋一次罕见持续性暴雨过程诊断分析

利用常规气象观测资料和NCEP 1°×1°再分析资料,对2014年10月27日至11月1日发生在湖南省中北部的一次罕见持续性暴雨天气过程进行了综合分析。结果表明,副高强度及其位置、孟加拉湾低槽活动情况及东高西低形势是引起此次暴雨天气过程的大尺度环流背景;高层辐散、低层辐合及强烈的上升运动为暴雨的发生提供了有力的动力抬升条件;低空西南急流的建立和维持为暴雨的产生提供了充沛的水汽条件。整个强降水过程冷空气活动较弱,暴雨主要发生在西南急流左侧的水汽辐合区。此次深秋暴雨集中发生在2个阶段,第一个阶段发生在东路冷空气影响下的大气层结稳定状态下,持续时间长;第二个阶段则是西路冷空气入侵,是在对流不稳定状态下产生的持续时间短。     

Heating of basalts with a carbon dioxide laser

Basalts heated strongly with focused infrared laser radiation vaporized and splattered. Electron microprobe analyses of condensate, ejecta, and residue show strong vapor fractionation trends which, for some elements, are different from what would be expected theoretically and from previously reported data on more siliceous materials. It appears that solution effects can account for these differences. Heating of materials by a powerful focused laser beam for the purpose of study of vapor fractionation is a convenient technique that is more versatile than previous methods such as heating in solar or arc image furnaces.     

Electron microprobe and optical absorption study of colored kyanites

The characteristic blue color of the mineral kyanite is shown to be caused by traces of Ti(+++) in the range of a few parts per million. Evidence from the intensity and position of optical absorption bands indicates that the unusually intense color probably arises from electron delocalization into narrow d-bands.     

北京地区珍稀鸟类生态分布的GIS分析

为研究生物多样性恢复态势及其分布特点,借助ArcGIS 9.3地理信息系统软件建立了基于GIS的北京地区9目66种国家重点保护鸟类的生态分布数据库,并对不同时期的分布范围进行了分析。结果显示,珍稀鸟类的总体分布呈现相对集中的态势,在山区多见于植被良好的原生林区、水库与河流附近,在平原区主要见于人为干扰较少的城市公园和绿地,在农耕区则出现大片空白。通过对比国家Ⅰ级重点保护鸟类在20世纪90年代前后的生态分布发现,动物活动位点较分散,但随着时间的推移,新出现3个目珍稀鸟类(雁形目中华秋沙鸭、鸡形目褐马鸡、鴴形目遗鸥),原有3个目的分布位点也出现扩展。国家Ⅱ级重点保护鸟类的分布位点呈现较为明显的扩张,新出现花尾榛鸡和蓑羽鹤,但黑浮鸥和黑脸琵鹭未见分布。这些结果表明,随着北京市森林和湿地生态系统的修复与重建,珍稀鸟类的总体生态分布呈现良性恢复,但也存在珍稀物种消失的现象,因此,加强野生动物栖息地保护依然是一个长期的生态环境建设过程。GIS数据库为今后建设北京地区珍稀野生动物生态分布管理平台奠定了基础,对于从景观层次提出野生动物种群及栖息地保护对策有着重要的应用价值。      

Phylum ectoprocta, order cheilostomata: microprobe analysis of calcium, magnesium, strontium, and phosphorus in skeletons

Calcium, magnesium, and strontium occur in approximately constant ratios in traverses through skeletal walls of a single mineralogy (either calcite or aragonite). Skeletal walls of more than one mineralogy have the magnesium-rich layer (calcite) surrounding the living chamber and the strontium-rich layer (aragonite) on the outside. In contrast, phosphorus may be present in greater or lesser amounts in different parts of the same calcite skeletal wall. Aragonitic crystallites appear oriented roughly perpendicular to skeletal walls, whereas calcitic crystallites are parallel to skeletal walls.     

Isotopic fractionation of stratospheric nitrous oxide

We propose an isotopic fractionation mechanism, based on photolytic destruction, to explain the 15N/14N and 18O/16O fractionation of stratospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) and reconcile laboratory experiments with atmospheric observations. The theory predicts that (i) the isotopomers 15N14N16O and 14N15N16O have very different isotopic fractionations in the stratosphere, and (ii) laboratory photolysis experiments conducted at 205 nanometers should better simulate the observed isotopic fractionation of stratospheric N2O. Modeling results indicate that there is no compelling reason to invoke a significant chemical source of N2O in the middle atmosphere and that individual N2O isotopomers might be useful tracers of stratospheric air parcel motion.     

Isotopic Fractionation of Uranium in Sandstone

Relatively unoxidized black uranium ores from sandstone deposits in the western United States show deviations in the uranium-235 to uranium-234 ratio throughout a range from 40 percent excess uranium-234 to 40 percent deficient uranium-234 with respect to a reference uranium-235 to uranium-234 ratio. The deficient uranium-234 is leached preferentially to uranium-238 and the excess uranium-234 is believed to result from deposition of uranium-234 enriched in solutions from leached deposits.