A Speculation: Avian Migration and the K-T Extinction

One caveat to the dinosaur’s extinction is the conclusion that avian dinosaurs survived and became ancestors of birds. Their mobility enabled them to migrate great distances and find the nutrients needed to survive. Given this scenario, could the current observable migration of birds (the “dinosaurian offspring”) now be related? Migration is the regular seasonal movement undertaken by many species of birds, with the most common pattern, flying north in the Northern spring to breed in the temperate or Arctic summer and returning in the Northern autumn to wintering grounds in warmer regions of the south. The primary motivation for migration appears to be food. None of the major North-South migratory pathways fly over the Caribbean but three main fly ways, past to the west of the theorized K-T impact centre. Due to their ability to fly, the “avian Dinosaurs” adapted and survived very quickly in response to the disaster that marked the K-T boundary. It is an interesting speculation that the avian migration that we witness today is rooted in an event that occurred 66 million years ago! But it does explain why the migratory birds mostly fly from Polar summer to polar summer when they could just be as easily fly from Polar zone to the warmer equatorial region and back. In the recent article in Nature by Melanie During about identifying the late spring timing of the “Astro disaster”, it can be cited as consistent with my speculation. A late April early May Impact as suggested by During would have seen these migrations completely. The western migratory routes would have been found to be “luxurious” in vegetation in that first northern autumn after the “Astro-impact” while all eastern routes would have still been barren.

An Improved Pair Method to Probe the Dust Extinction Law

Dust extinction law is crucial to recover the intrinsic energy distribution of celestial objects and infer the characteristics of interstellar dust.Based on the traditional pair method,an improved pair method is proposed to model the dust extinguished spectral energy distribution(SED)of an individual star.Instead of the mathematically parameterizing extinction curves,the extinction curves in this work are directly from the silicate-graphite dust model,so that the dust extinction law can be obtained and the dust properties can be analyzed simultaneously.The ATLAS9 stellar model atmosphere is adopted for the intrinsic SEDs in this work,while the silicate-graphite dust model with a dust size distribution of dn da~a^(-a)exp(-a a_(c)),0.005<a<5μmfor each component is adopted for the model extinction curves.One typical extinction tracer in the dense region(V410 Anon9)and one in the diffuse region(Cyg OB2#12)of the Milky Way are chosen to test the reliability and the practicability of the improved pair method in different stellar environments.The results are consistent with their interstellar environments and are in agreement with the previous observations and studies,which prove that the improved pair method is effective and applicable in different stellar environments.In addition to the reliable extinction results,the derived parameters in the dust model can be used to analyze the dust properties,which cannot be achieved by other methods with the mathematical extinction models.With the improved pair method,the stellar parameters can also be inferred and the extinction law beyond the wavelengths of observed data can be predicted based on the dust model as well.

Determination of aerosol extinction coefficient and mass extinction efficiency by DOAS with a flashlight source

With the method of differential optical absorption spectroscopy （DOAS）, average concentrations of aerosol particles along light path were measured with a flashlight source in Chiba area during the period of one month. The optical thickness at 550 nm is compared with the concentration of ground-measured suspended particulate matter （SPM）. Good correlations are found between the DOAS and SPM data, leading to the determination of the aerosol mass extinction efficiency （MEE） to be possible in the lower troposphere. The average MEE value is about 7.6m^2.g^-1 , and the parameter exhibits a good correlation with the particle size as determined from the wavelength dependence of the DOAS signal intensity.

Analysis of influence of atmosphere extinction to Raman lidar monitoring CO2 concentration profile

Lidar （Light detection and ranging） system monitoring of the atmosphere is a novel and powerful technique tool. The Raman lidar is well established today as a leading research tool in the study of numerous important areas in the atmospheric sciences. In this paper, the principle of Raman lidar technique measurement CO2 concentration profile is presented and the errors caused by molecular and aerosol extinction for CO2 concentration profile measurement with Raman lidar are also presented. The standard atmosphere extinction profile and ＇real-time＇ Hefei area extinction profile are used to conduct correction and the corresponding results are yielded. Simulation results with standard atmosphere mode correction indicate that the errors caused by molecule and aerosol extinction should be counted for the reason that they could reach about 8 ppm and 5 ppm respectively. The relative error caused by Hefei area extinction correction could reach about 6%. The errors caused by the two components extinction influence could produce significant changes for CO2 concentration profile and need to be counted in data processing which could improve the measurement accuracies.

Reconstructed Light Extinction Coefficients Using Chemical Compositions of PM_(2.5) in Winter in Urban Guangzhou, China

The objective of this study was to reconstruct light extinction coefficients （b ext ） according to chemical composition components of particulate matter up to 2.5 μm in size （PM 2.5 ）. PM 2.5 samples were collected at the monitoring station of the South China of Institute of Environmental Science （SCIES, Guangzhou, China） during January 2010, and the online absorbing and scattering coefficients were obtained using an aethalometer and a nephelometer. The measured values of light absorption coefficient by particle （b ap ） and light scattering coefficient by particle （b sp ） significantly correlated （R 2 0.95） with values of b ap and b sp that were reconstructed using the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments （IMPROVE） formula when RH was 70%. The measured b ext had a good correlation （R 2 0.83） with the calculated b ext under ambient RH conditions. The result of source apportionment of b ext showed that ammonium sulfate [（NH 4 ） 2 SO 4 ] was the largest contributor （35.0%） to b ext , followed by ammonium nitrate （NH 4 NO 3 , 22.9%）, organic matter （16.1%）, elemental carbon （11.8%）, sea salt （4.7%）, and nitrogen dioxide （NO 2 , 9.6%）. To improve visibility in Guangzhou, the effective control of secondary particles like sulfates, nitrates, and ammonia should be given more attention in urban environmental management.

Volcanism at the Permian-Triassic Boundary in South China and Its Effects on Mass Extinction

This paper discusses the clayrocks widespread at the Permian-Triassic boundary, which are mostly of volcanic origin. Volcanogenetic textures, structures and minerals such as high-temperature quartz are found in clayrocks at the Permian-Triassic boundary in many places. Thousands of microspherules have been collected from the Boundary clayrocks, many of which exhibit the typical features of the process from melting to cooling and solidification. indicating that they were formed by volcanic eruption or extraterrestrial impact. Volcanic effects on the Permian-Triassic mass extinction may be reflected in conodonts, algae and ammonoids. The Boundary clayrocks are found in many Permian-Triassic sections along the coast of Tethys. Their orighin remains to be studied.

Vertical profile of aerosol extinction based on the measurement of O4 of multi-elevation angles with MAX-DOAS

A method for aerosol extinction profile retrieval using ground-based multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy(MAX-DOAS)is studied,which is based on a look-up table algorithm.The algorithm uses parametric method to represent aerosol extinction profiles and simulate different atmospheric aerosol states through atmospheric radiation transfer model.Based on the method,aerosol extinction profile was obtained during six cloud-free days.The O4 differential air mass factor(dAMF)measured by MAX-DOAS is compared with the corresponding model results under different atmospheric conditions(R^2=0.78).The aerosol optical thickness,aerosol weight factor in boundary layer,and the height of the boundary layer are obtained after the process of minimization and look-up table method.The retrieved aerosol extinction in boundary layer is compared with PM2.5 data measured by ground point instrument.The diurnal variation trends of the two methods are in good agreement.The correlation coefficients of the two methods are 0.71 when the aerosol optical thickness is smaller than 0.5.The results show that the look-up table method can obtain the aerosol state of the troposphere and provide validation for other instrument data.

Stratigraphical Time——Correlation and Mass Extinction Event Near Permian——Triassic Boundary in South China

Shaw's method used to correlate 40 sections across the Permo-Triassic boundary in South China is applied in the paper. Two steps are adopted to get an Integral Composite Section (ICS) by synthesizing these data : First , South China is divided into five areas and composite section developed for each area . Then the second step . the Changxing composite section is regarded as a composite standard (CSRS) while the ICS is produced by matching the CSRS with composite sections of the other areas. Three biozones in the Changxingian and two biozones in the Griesbachian can be discerned on the basis of computing Z values in the ICS. These biozones are marked by the Z values which quantitatively represent their time ranges ; therefore , they may increase accuracy of stratigraphic time correlation . The mass extinction at the end of the Permian is an abrupt event that is supported by the relative rate of extinction near the P/T boundary . About 90% of invertebrate species died out by the end of the Permian . The duration of the mass extinction is rather short ,approximately 0.018Ma .

Climate change challenge, extinction risk, and successful conservation experiences for a threatened primate species in China: Golden snub-nosed monkey(Rhinopithecus roxellana)

DEAR EDITOR, Despite the vulnerability of primates to the negative impacts of human activities and climate change, there is still room for optimism. Notably, years of conservation efforts may have paid off for the golden snub-nosed monkey(Rhinopithecus roxellana). Our field surveys confirmed the existence of 188 to 220 wild multilevel societies(MLS) of R. roxellana, with an estimated 22 710 to 26 130 individuals in 2019。

Combination Features,Paleobiogeographic Affinity and Mass Extinction of the Latest Ordovician(Hirnantian) Rugosan Fauna from Northern Guizhou,China

The rugosan fauna from the Guanyinqiao Bed （latest Ordovician, Hirnantian） of northern Guizhou, China is known to belong to the cold or cool-water type corals. The components of the fauna are solitary corals only, and corallite septa are generally strongly dilated, especially the streptelasmatid corals are dominant comprising 98% of the whole fauna. The Guanyinqiao Bed is rich in rugosans of 18 genera, which are streptelasnmtid Streptelasma （=Helicelasma）, Brachyelasma, Amplexobrachyelasma, Salvadorea, Grewingkia, Borelasma, CrassUasma, Leolasma, KenophyUum, UUernelasma, Paramplexoides, Siphonolasma, Pycnactoides, Dalmanophyllum, Bodophyllum, Axiphoria, Lambeophyllum and cystiphyllid Sinkiangolasma. Although this fauna was fairly abundant in a confined area （northern-northeastern Guizhou, southern Sichuan） during the Hirnantian age, the rugosan mass extinction （generic extinction rate 81%） happened at the end of the Hirnantian Stage. It is conduded that the mass extinction is related to the ending of maximum glaciation and ice cap melting in Gondwana in the southern hemisphere in the latest Hirnantian, resulting in rapid global sea-level rise in the earliest Silurian. In the Upper Yangtze Basin, the sea bottom environments were replaced by anoxic and warmer water during that time, so that the cool-water type rugosan became extinct. The present paper attempts to revise some already described rugose coral genera and species （He, 1978, 1985） and to supplement a few new forms from the Guanyinqiao Bed. Fourteen species of 12 genera are re-described and illustrated, of which one species- Grewingkia latifossulata is new. As a whole, the rugosan fauna of the Guanyinqiao Bed may be correlated with those contemporaneous of North Europe, Estonia and North America, indicating a dose biogeographic affinity to North Europe.

A New View of the Mass Extinctions and the Worldwide Floods

In this study, the reasons for mass extinction in Jurassic were investigated. It was shown that galactic compression led to the activation of terrestrial nuclear reactors, which in turn led to the changes in tectonic activity, volcano eruptions, LIPs, MORBs, paleoclimate change, drift of continents, narrowing of the Earth, worldwide floods, tsunami, changes in mantle and core structures, in magnetic fields and in sedimentary isotopes. It was shown that the mass extinctions occurred during worldwide floods, caused by the narrowing of the Earth at the time of galactic gravitational compression. It was shown that the average statistical altitude distribution of dinosaurs has a bimodal distribution and corresponds to permanent migrations between the plains and the hills. It has been suggested that the skeletons of dinosaurs are well preserved as a result of covering the bodies of dinosaurs with mud flows of coastal sediments and the soil layers at worldwide tsunami. It was formulated the requirement to paleontology, consisting in the obligatory registration of altitudes of the actual place of the fossils found. The simple explanation of the presence of boundaries in the structure of the Earth is given: the 40K nuclear layer corresponds to the boundary between upper and lower mantle;the 137Cs layer located on the boundary between the lower mantle and the outer core;the Th-U nuclear layer is a border between outer and inner core. The previously abstract theories of subduction and continents drift have a clear and obvious physical sense. It was shown that the standard geological table is a registration book of galactic events during Paleozoic. It is proposed to restore the structure of the galactic arms by the geological deposits on the Earth. It was suggested to create the stations on elevated hills for rescue and regeneration of biological forms in the future.

ON THE EXTINCTION OF POPULATION-SIZE-DEPENDENT BISEXUAL GALTON-WATSON PROCESSES

In this article, the population-size-dependent bisexual Galton-Watson processes are considered. Under some suitable conditions on the mating functions and the offspring distribution, existence of the limit of mean growth rate per mating unit is proved. And based on the limit, a criterion to identify whether the process admits ultimate extinct with probability one is obtained.

Simultaneous low extinction and high local field enhancement in Ag nanocubes

We theoretically investigate surface plasmon resonance properties in Au and Ag cubic nanoparticles and find a novel plasmonic mode that exhibits simultaneous low extinction and high local field enhancement properties. We analyse this mode from different aspects by looking at the distribution patterns of local field intensity, energy flux, absorption and charge density. We find that in the mode the polarized charge is highly densified in a very limited volume around the corner of the nanocube and results in very strong local field enhancement. Perturbations of the incident energy flux and light absorption are also strongly localized in this small volume of the corner region, leading to both low absorption and low scattering cross section. As a result, the extinction is low for the mode. Metal nanoparticles involving such peculiar modes may be useful for constructing nonlinear compound materials with low linear absorption and high nonlinearity.

New Evidence from Alashan Area of West Nei Monggol to Reveal Enigma of Dinosaur Extinction

Dinosaur extinction of the late Cretaceous is an enigma. A scorched earth layer was discovered at the end of the Cretaceous system from drilling cores in west of Nei Monggol in China. And there was a creature interruption for 6-8 million years after that period through fossil analysis of the area and the adjacent area. Just in the same system of scorched earth layer, the Polish scientists found the abnormal geo chemical phenomena and high dense universal substances generally contained in meteorite. The authors think, at the end of Cretaceous, many celestial bodies ran into the earth. The collision caused fires all over the world and slowed down the speed of the earth rotation suddenly. The oxygen density decreased sharply. And because of the sudden increase of day length, the biological clock of dinosaur was in the state of chaos. That’s the reason why dinosaurs got extinct. It took a very long time both for the oxygen to return normal for most creatures to live and for the new species fit for new rotation speed of the earth to come into being. That’s why there was the creature interruption after the extinction of the dinosaur.

Real-time retrieval of submicron aerosol size distributions from multi-wavelength spectral extinction measurements

The real-time retrieval of submicron aerosol size distributions is of major interest for applications. Based on the Mie theory,the spectral extinction method offers a simple measurement principle and a convenient optical arrangement. In contrast to the relative simplicity of the experimental measurement the retrieval of the particles size distribution and particle concentration from the spectral extinction method is difficult. Mie scattering Equation is a Fredholm Integral Equation of the First Kind. This paper develops a hybrid iterative model-dependent algorithm for on-line particle sizing from extinction spectra which is both computationally efficient and accurate. Applying the refined Mie diagnostic iterative procedures within some candidate solutions can identify the unique result accurately and rapidly enough for real time measurement. With the addition of added Gaussian noise,an average tolerance up to 5% of noise level is kept for particle size from submicron to micrometer under moderate polydispersity.

Terrestrial End-Triassic Mass Extinction and the Triassic/Jurassic Boundary of the Junggar Basin,NW China:A Brief Review

1 Introduction The end-Triassic mass extinction event is one of the five global mass extinctions,and destroyed both the marine and terrestrial biological worlds.Though years the marine endTriassic mass extinction(ETE)event has been widely studied and discussed,and the standard marine Triassic/Jurassic boundary(TJB)(base-Jurassic)has also been determined.However.

Deep-water Ostracod Extinction in the Latest Permian:Evidence from Guangxi Province,South China

Previous studies on the Late Permian shallow-water ostracod faunas in South China have greatly increased our knowledge on the Late Permian ostracods.But the absence of data on contemporary deep-water ostracods makes it difficult to comprehensively understand the Late Permian ostracods during the largest extinction among the"Big Five"in the Phanerozoic. During the past years,our work has been focused

Role of the hippocampus in contextual modulation of fear extinction

Fear extinction is an important form of emotional learning, and affects neural plasticity. Cue fear extinction is a classical form of inhibitory learning that can be used as an exposure-based treatment for phobia, because the long-term extinction memory produced during cue fear extinction can limit the over-expression of fear. The expression of this inhibitory memory partly depends on the context in which the extinction learning occurs. Studies such as transient inhibition, electrophysiology and brain imaging have proved that the hippocampus - an important structure in the limbic system - facilitates memory retrieval by contextual cues. Mediation of the hippocampus-medial prefrontal lobe circuit may be the neurobiological basis of this process. This article has reviewed the role of the hippocampus in the learning and retrieval of fear extinction. Contextual modulation of fear extinction may rely on a neural network consisting of the hippocampus, the medial prefrontal cortex and the amygdala.

A Spatial-Temporal Model of Rhinoceros Extinction in China

in this paper we determined the northern boundaries of rhinoceros distribution in different historic stages base on our previous study results of rhinoceros extinction process in China. With Logistic equation, the environmental carrying capacity was explored and a spatial4emporal model for rhinoceros extinction was established.

Attenuation characteristics of a light attenuator combined by polarizers with different extinction ratios

This paper deals with a systematical analysis and an algorithm of attenuation characteristics of a light attenuator combined by n pieces of polarizers （n-LACP） whose extinction ratios are different from each other. The attenuation ratio expression of a two-LACP is deduced. We find that the monotonic attenuation interval depends on the first polarizer and that the attenuation range depends on the second one. For the three-LACP, a method for obtaining a monotonic attenuation interval is proposed. Moreover, the attenuation ratio expression is demonstrated. Analysis and experiment show that when the initial status of the three-LACP is at the maximum output, if the second or third polarizer rotates alone, the minimum attenuation ratios can reach K2^-1 and K3^-1, respectively, and if the first polarizer rotates, a minimum attenuation ratio of K2^-1K3^-1 can be obtained （K1, K2 and K3 represent the extinction ratios of the three polarizers in turn）. Furthermore, the attenuation ratio expression of n-LACP and the relevant attenuation characteristics are proposed. The minimum attenuation ratio of an n-LACP is （K2K3 ... Kn）-1.