Astronomy for all!     

Dr  Nick Lister 《Astronomy& Geophysics》2007,48(4):4.29-4.29

Nick Lister describes the origins and achievements of a hands-on astronomy teaching centre, the Lawrence House Astronomy and Space Science Centre in Lancashire.  相似文献   

Can we spot a neighborhood from the air? Defining neighborhood structure in Accra, Ghana     

John R. Weeks  Allan Hill  Douglas Stow  Arthur Getis  Debbie Fugate 《GeoJournal》2007,69(1-2):9-22

Slums are home to a large fraction of urban residents in cities of developing nations, but little attempt has been made to go beyond a simple slum/non-slum dichotomy, nor to identify slums more quantitatively than through local reputation. We use census data from Accra, Ghana, to create an index that applies the UN-Habitat criteria for a place to be a slum. We use this index to identify neighborhoods on a continuum of slum characteristics and on that basis are able to locate the worst slums in Accra. These do include the areas with a local reputation for being slums, lending qualitative validation to the index. We show that slums also have footprints that can be identified from data classified from satellite imagery. However, variability among slums in Accra is also associated with some variability in the land cover characteristics of slums.  相似文献   

A note on circulation in differentially heated rotating stratified fluid and other elliptic problems     

Robert J. Whittaker  John R. Lister 《Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans》2005,40(4):283-294

This note relates to the paper Circulation and boundary layers in differentially heated rotating stratified fluid by Whitehead and Pedlosky [Whitehead, J.A., Pedlosky, J., 2000. Circulation and boundary layers in differentially heated rotating stratified fluid. Dyn. Atmos. Ocean. 31, 1–21]. Here, we describe an alternative method of solution for the theoretical model developed therein, and provide a comparison with the original method used in the paper.  相似文献   

Analytical modelling of viscous diapirism through a strongly non-Newtonian overburden subject to horizontal forces     

Alik T. Ismail-Zadeh  Herbert E. Huppert  John R. Lister 《Journal of Geodynamics》2001,31(5)

We study the early stages of diapirism and analyse the gravitational and buckling instabilities of a buoyant viscous layer overlain by a layer of strongly non-Newtonian power-law rheology (when a power-law exponent tends to infinity). This situation models rocksalt under a layer of a perfectly plastic overburden. The growth rate of small perturbations on the interface between the two layers and the wavelength of the most unstable perturbations are found and compared with those of structures consisting of two Newtonian or two strongly non-Newtonian viscous layers. Effects due to the effective viscosity and thickness ratios between the two layers are assessed. Considering the effective viscosity of the overburden to be much greater than the viscosity of the buoyant salt layer, we obtain the following results. In the case of simple gravitational instability and no-slip boundary conditions, the instability pattern is similar to that in a strongly non-Newtonian power-law material. An increase in the thickness of the overburden decreases the dominant wavelength of the most unstable mode, while the dominant wavelength is lengthened in the case of Newtonian viscous layers. When the system of layers is subjected to either horizontal extension or shortening, and the upper boundary of the system is stress-free, the buckling instability overwhelms the gravitational instability, and the dynamic growth rate of the instability depends linearly on the effective viscosity ratio. We conclude that the introduction of strongly non-Newtonian power-law rheology into diapir overburdens greatly affects instability parameters such as growth rate and dominant wavelength of perturbations and hence, alters interdiapir spacings.  相似文献   

The Daily Temperature Record for St. Petersburg (1743–1996)     

P. D. Jones  D. H. Lister 《Climatic change》2002,53(1-3):253-267

The derivation of the long daily temperature record from St. Petersburg is described. Some alterations in observation times, procedural changes and possible site moves are adjusted for, but correction for a probable urbanization influence of up to 1.0 ° C over the 20th century is not attempted. The daily temperature series is then analysed for long-term changes in the numbers of daily extreme values. Although the 20th century shows a clear trend to lower numbers of extremely cold days, warm day counts indicate a much smaller change. The 1990s have been exceptionally warm but only just exceed some earlier decades such as the 1930s.  相似文献   

Trace-metal pollution of soils in northern England   总被引：4，自引：0，他引：4  

B. Rawlins  T. Lister  A. Mackenzie 《Environmental Geology》2002,42(6):612-620

Data from a regional geochemical survey of topsoils (n=818) in rural and peri-urban areas over a single parent material (Coal Measures) are used to identify two types of trace-metal pollution - severe local contamination at 20 sites and widespread, diffuse pollution in more densely populated areas. Median concentrations of several trace metals in topsoils were significantly higher in areas of high, compared to low, population density (percentage increases in parenthesis): As (31), Cu (39), Fe (7), Mo (26-36), Ni (29), Pb (20), Sn (40), and Zn (11). Four potential pathways of diffuse trace-metal pollution are postulated: coal-ash dispersal, atmospheric aerosols derived from coal combustion, the historical spreading of sewage waste, and those related to road vehicles. The statistical analysis of geochemical data classified by local, human population density can be an effective means of identifying the magnitude and extent of diffuse pollution, and could help to establish natural background levels.  相似文献   

H i and dark matter in the windy starburst dwarf galaxy NGC 1705     

Gerhardt R. Meurer  Lister Staveley-Smith  & N. E. B. Killeen 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》1998,300(3):705-717

We present 21-cm H  i line observations of the blue compact dwarf galaxy NGC 1705. Previous optical observations show a strong outflow powered by an ongoing starburst dominating the H  ii morphology and kinematics. In contrast, most of the H  i lies in a rotating disc. An extraplanar H  i spur accounts for ∼8 per cent of the total H  i mass, and is possibly associated with the H  ii outflow. The inferred mass loss rate out of the core of the galaxy is significant, ∼0.2 − 2 M_⊙ yr⁻¹, but does not dominate the H  i dynamics. Mass model fits to the rotation curve show that the dark matter (DM) halo is dominant at nearly all radii and has a central density ρ₀ ≈ 0.1 M_⊙ pc⁻³: ten times higher than typically found in dwarf irregular galaxies, but similar to the only other mass-modelled blue compact dwarf, NGC 2915. This large difference strongly indicates that there is little evolution between dwarf irregular and blue compact dwarf types. Instead, dominant DM haloes may regulate the morphology of dwarf galaxies by setting the critical surface density for disc star formation. Neither our data nor catalogue searches reveal any likely external trigger to the starburst in NGC 1705.  相似文献   

A direct recording ocean bottom seismometer     

Rex V. Johnson II  Clive R. B. Lister  Brian T. R. Lewis 《Marine Geophysical Researches》1977,3(1):65-85

We have designed a simple, cheap and reliable ocean-bottom seismometer. Signals from three-component geophones are recorded directly on magnetic tape running continuously at a speed of 1 mm s¹. Time reference is derived from a temperature-compensated quartz crystal oscillator and encoded on a fourth channel as an amplitude modulation of a 20 Hz carrier. A bipolar square-root signal-compression scheme doubles the tape dynamic range to 80 db, and the available bandwidth is 2 to 100 Hz. Tape and batteries are capable of 500-hr operation, and the unique magnetic release comes close to being a fail-safe system. A heavy, high-drag concrete anchor shaped like a flower-pot provides easy launching, fast stable descent and good coupling to the ocean floor. We have had numerous successful field emplacements which have yielded good earthquake and shot-refraction data.  相似文献   

Fabric asymmetry and shear sense in movement zones     

J. L. Bouchez  G. S. Lister  A. Nicolas 《International Journal of Earth Sciences》1983,72(2):401-419

Asymmetry between lattice preferred orientation and shape fabrics is commonly observed in microstructural studies of many deformed mineral aggregates (e. g. ice, carbonate rocks, peridotites and quartzites). Theoretical predictions are limited by the nature of the models available and more can be gained by discussion of the mechanisms which give rise to such asymmetry in specific natural and experimental situations. Asymmetry is often related to the sense of shear but there are other factors to be considered as well. It is concluded that fabric asymmetry can be a useful tool for the analysis of flow regimes in naturally deformed rocks, as long as the conditions prerequisite to successful application of this technique can be shown to have existed, and cognizance is taken of the limitations of the technique.  相似文献   

Structural evolution of a nappe complex,southern Vanoise massif,French Penninic Alps     

J.P. Platt  G.S. Lister 《Journal of Structural Geology》1985,7(2):145-160

The Arpont-Parrachée region in the southern Vanoise massif comprises a stack of minor fold- and thrust-nappes that were emplaced during subduction and closure of the Piémont ocean basin in Late Cretaceous to Eocene time. The stack includes the Arpont nappe, composed mainly of pre-Permian schist metamorphosed to blueschist facies early in the Alpine history, and several sheets of Permian to Eocene metasedimentary rocks. Nappe formation, recumbent folding, and associated ductile deformation postdated the high-pressure metamorphic peak, and probably involved translation to the northwest. The rocks were then refolded by large- and small-scale folds trending roughly E-W. These deformational events were accompanied by a decrease in metamorphic pressure, indicating uplift. They were followed by regional greenschist-facies metamorphism, which caused breakdown of high-pressure parageneses, annealing of microstructures, and widespread growth of albite porphyroblasts. The entire nappe pile was then refolded by large- and small-scale folds overturned towards the southeast. Reorientation of small-scale structures with increasing strain by this event indicates a large component of ESE-directed shear, which culminated in the formation of anastomosing ductile shear-zones.  相似文献