Shareable Instruments and Observatories for the Joint Research Center on Space Weather of the Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Sciences

Presented are the ideas and proposals in regards to the pooling of by RAS, SB, ISTP, and CSSAR,CAS toward coordinated usage of existing ground-based and orbiting helio-geophysical observatories, single large installations as well as creating, forecasting services and new observing facilities, in the interests of achieving a profitable activity of the China-Russia Joint Research Center on Space Weather (JRCSW).      

2004年12月13日IMF北向期间极区亚暴电离层电动力学特征

利用KRM地磁反演方法, 结合北半球中高纬度地磁台站数据, 研究了2004年12月13日行星际磁场北向期间发生的亚暴事件, 极区电离层电动力学参量(电流矢量、等效电流函数以及电势)的分布特征. 结果表明, 在该亚暴膨胀相起始后, 午夜之前西向电集流急剧增强, 且等效电流体系表现为夜侧双涡, 同时伴随夜侧增强的南向电场. 由于极弱的直接驱动过程, 卸载过程引起的电离层效应得到清楚显示. 卸载过程在膨胀相期间起绝对主导性作用. 同时, 夜侧电导率的增强是电集流区域电流急剧增强的主要原因.      

激光合成金属间化合物基复合材料研究进展

对激光合成颗粒增强金属间化合物基复合材料进行了研究,包括Ni3Al/WC、NiAl/TiC、Ti3Al/TiC和MoSi2/SiC,用扫描电镜、能谱仪和X射线衍射仪对材料成分和组织特征进行了分析,提出并讨论了影响激光合成金属间化合物基复合材料的关键问题.激光合成具有多种强韧化方法协同、提高金属间化合物强度和塑性的特点,有利于金属间化合物性能的综合改善.     

中层大气钠层的流星蒸发模式

本文计算了地球中层大气的钠层模式。在此模式中,流星蒸发是形成钠层的源而尘埃的吸附足汇。本文考虑和比较了有关钠层形成机制的已往工作中所出现过的所有光化学反应,选出了四十个合理而重要的化学反应作为本模式的化学基础。模式也考虑进了高度变化的涡流扩散和带电粒子受地磁场作用的向下飘移等机制。本文对各化学反应和模式中各个因素的重要性作了比较和评价。本文计算结果表明,在各高度上中层大气中的钠及其化合物的相对浓度主要取决于化学反应过程本身,与源、汇及各层间扩散机制等关系不大。虽然在钠层模式计算中必须考虑到十种钠成分,但105公里以上主要成分足钠离子(Na+)。80公里以下主要成分是氢氧化钠(NaOH)。80公里到105公里间主要成分是中性钠原子(Na)。所有成分的总浓度主要地取决于源和汇随高度的分布。大气背景及电离常数的变化可以引起钠层相当显著的季变化和周日变化。理论计算结果与历年来的观测结果作比较后可以看到两者大体上符合得相当好。      

FeS/S/FeS(2) redox system and its oxidoreductase-like chemistry in the iron-sulfur world

The iron-sulfur world (ISW) theory is an intriguing prediction regarding the origin of life on early Earth. It hypothesizes that life arose as a geochemical process from inorganic starting materials on the surface of sulfide minerals in the vicinity of deep-sea hot springs. During the last two decades, many experimental studies have been carried out on this topic, and some interesting results have been achieved. Among them, however, the processes of carbon/nitrogen fixation and biomolecular assembly on the mineral surface have received an inordinate amount of attention. To the present, an abiotic model for the oxidation-reduction of intermediates participating in metabolic pathways has been ignored. We examined the oxidation-reduction effect of a prebiotic FeS/S/FeS(2) redox system on the interconversion between several pairs of α-hydroxy acids and α-keto acids (i.e., lactate/pyruvate, malate/oxaloacetate, and glycolate/glyoxylate). We found that, in the absence of FeS, elemental sulfur (S) oxidized α-hydroxy acids to form corresponding keto acids only at a temperature higher than its melting point (113°C); in the presence of FeS, such reactions occurred more efficiently through a coupled reaction mechanism, even at a temperature below the phase transition point of S. On the other hand, FeS was shown to have the capacity to reversibly reduce the keto acids. Such an oxidoreductase-like chemistry of the FeS/S/FeS(2) redox system suggests that it can determine the redox homeostasis of metabolic intermediates in the early evolutionary phase of life. The results provide a possible pathway for the development of primordial redox biochemistry in the iron-sulfur world. Key Words: Iron-sulfur world-FeS/S/FeS(2) redox system-Oxidoreductase-like chemistry. Astrobiology 11, 471-476.     

Mineral-enhanced hydrothermal oligopeptide formation at the second time scale

Accumulation of biopolymers should have been an essential step for the emergence of life on primitive Earth. However, experimental simulations for submarine hydrothermal vent systems in which high-temperature water spouts through minerals within a short time scale have not been attempted. Here, we show that enhancement of hydrothermal oligopeptide elongation by naturally occurring minerals was successfully verified for the first time by using a mineral-mediated hydrothermal flow reactor system (MMHF). MMHF consists of a narrow tubular reactor packed with mineral particles, and the enhancement or inhibitory activities of 10 types of naturally occurring minerals were successfully evaluated for an elongation reaction from (Ala)(4) to (Ala)(5) and higher oligopeptides in the absence of condensation reagents. It was unexpected that calcite and dolomite facilitated the elongation from (Ala)(4) to (Ala)(5) and higher oligopeptides with 28% yield at pH 7, while tourmaline, galena, apatite, mica, sphalerite, quartz, chalcopyrite, and pyrite did not show enhancement activities. These facts suggest the importance of carbonate minerals for the accumulation of peptide in primitive Earth environments.     

A microbial oasis in the hypersaline Atacama subsurface discovered by a life detector chip: implications for the search for life on Mars

The Atacama Desert has long been considered a good Mars analogue for testing instrumentation for planetary exploration, but very few data (if any) have been reported about the geomicrobiology of its salt-rich subsurface. We performed a Mars analogue drilling campaign next to the Salar Grande (Atacama, Chile) in July 2009, and several cores and powder samples from up to 5?m deep were analyzed in situ with LDChip300 (a Life Detector Chip containing 300 antibodies). Here, we show the discovery of a hypersaline subsurface microbial habitat associated with halite-, nitrate-, and perchlorate-containing salts at 2?m deep. LDChip300 detected bacteria, archaea, and other biological material (DNA, exopolysaccharides, some peptides) from the analysis of less than 0.5?g of ground core sample. The results were supported by oligonucleotide microarray hybridization in the field and finally confirmed by molecular phylogenetic analysis and direct visualization of microbial cells bound to halite crystals in the laboratory. Geochemical analyses revealed a habitat with abundant hygroscopic salts like halite (up to 260?g kg(-1)) and perchlorate (41.13?μg g(-1) maximum), which allow deliquescence events at low relative humidity. Thin liquid water films would permit microbes to proliferate by using detected organic acids like acetate (19.14?μg g(-1)) or formate (76.06?μg g(-1)) as electron donors, and sulfate (15875?μg g(-1)), nitrate (13490?μg g(-1)), or perchlorate as acceptors. Our results correlate with the discovery of similar hygroscopic salts and possible deliquescence processes on Mars, and open new search strategies for subsurface martian biota. The performance demonstrated by our LDChip300 validates this technology for planetary exploration, particularly for the search for life on Mars.     

An Investigation of Near-Equatorial Geomagnetic Pi2 Pulsations

There is understanding to date that Pi2 pulsations have two sources. One source is a high-latitude one and is due to fluctuations of electrojet parameters. The other source is a mid-latitude one and is driven by a global mode excited in the Earths plasmasphere. There is experimental evidence that in the near-equatorial regions the character of Pi2 excitation is different from high and mid-latitudes. In this connection, we investigated the amplitude-spectral-polarization characteristics of Pi2 pulsations using the date from near-equatorial Chinese stations. The detected regularities in the excitation of near-equatorial Pi2 pulsations are used in the discussion of the possible physical mechanism that is responsible for the generation of these pulsations.