An improved CESE method and its application to steady-state coronal structure simulation

This paper presents an improved space-time conservation element and solution element(CESE)method by applying a non-staggered space-time mesh system and simply improving the calculation of flow variables and applies it to magnetohydrodynamics(MHD)equations.The improved CESE method can improve the solution quality even with a large disparity in the Courant number(CFL)when using a fixed global marching time.Moreover,for a small CFL(say<0.1),the method can significantly reduce the numerical dissipation and retain the solution quality,which are verified by two benchmark problems.And meanwhile,comparison with the original CESE scheme shows better resolution of the improved scheme results.Finally,we demonstrate its validation through the application of this method in three-dimensional coronal dynamical structure with dipole magnetic fields and measured solar surface magnetic fields as the initial input.     

An improved method for evaluating the seasonal variability of total suspended sediment flux field in the Yellow and East China Seas

The suspended sediment flux field in the Yellow and East China Seas(YECS) displays its seasonal variability.A new method is introduced in this paper to obtain the flux field via retrieval of ocean color remote sensing data,statistical analysis of historical suspended sediment concentration data,and numerical simulation of three-dimensional(3D) flow velocity.The components of the sediment flux field include(i) surface suspended sediment concentration inverted from ocean color remote sensing data;(ii) vertical distribution of suspended sediment concentration obtained by statistical analysis of historical observation data;and(iii) 3D flow field modeled by a numerical simulation.With the improved method,the 3D suspended sediment flux field in the YECS has been illustrated.By comparison with the suspended sediment flux field solely based on the numerical simulation of a suspended sediment transport model,the suspended sediment flux field obtained by the improved method is found to be more reliable.The 3D suspended sediment flux field from ocean colour remote sensing and in situ observation are more closer to the reality.Furthermore,by quantitatively analyzing the newly obtained suspended sediment flux field,the quantity of sediment erosion and deposition within the different regions can be evaluated.The sediment exchange between the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea can be evident.The mechanism of suspended sediment transport in the YECS can be better understood.In particular,it is suggested that the long-term transport of suspended sediment is controlled mainly by the circulation pattern,especially the current in winter.     

Three-dimensional MHD simulation of the lunar wake

We study the interaction between the Moon and the solar wind through a three-dimensional MHD simulation.Three cases have been discussed in which the interplanetary magnetic field lies at 90,180,and 135 to the solar wind flow,respectively.A wake with low density and low pressure can always be formed behind the Moon.The plasma temperature and magnetic field are enhanced in the central wake,but the field strength is reduced in the surrounding region.A Mach cone is formed by rarefaction waves emanating from the limb.These rarefaction waves propagate via the fast magnetosonic mode with different velocities in different directions relative to the magnetic field.When the interplanetary magnetic field is not parallel to the solar wind flow,the wake shows some asymmetries,with an acceleration region turning up at the center.Finally,the results are compared with the observations by WIND spacecraft.Our calculations agree reasonably well with the observed values.     

Improved ENSO simulation in regional coupled GCM using regressive correction method

A regressive correction method is presented with the primary goal of improving ENSO simulation in regional coupled GCM. It focuses on the correction of ocean-atmosphere exchanged fluxes. On the basis of numerical experiments and analysis, the method can be described as follows: first, driving the ocean model with heat and momentum flux computed from a long-term observation data set; the pro-duced SST is then applied to force the AGCM as its boundary condition; after that the AGCM’s simula-tion and the corresponding observation can be correlated by a linear regressive formula. Thus the re-gressive correction coefficients for the simulation with spatial and temporal variation could be obtained by linear fitting. Finally the coefficients are applied to redressing the variables used for the calculation of the exchanged air-sea flux in the coupled model when it starts integration. This method together with the anomaly coupling method is tested in a regional coupled model, which is composed of a global grid-point atmospheric general circulation model and a high-resolution tropical Pacific Ocean model. The comparison of the results shows that it is superior to the anomaly coupling both in reducing the coupled model ‘climate drift’ and in improving the ENSO simulation in the tropical Pacific Ocean.     

GNSS在断层形变研究中的应用

Great earthquakes often occur along or near active fault belts. Thus, monitoring and research on fault deformation are quite important. Methods such as short-leveling, short- baseline and integrated monitoring profile across fault belts have been used to monitor fault activities for many years. GNSS observations are mainly used to obtain the horizontal velocity field in large areas and to study the activities and deformation of major blocks. GNSS technology has been used to monitor and study the deformation of faults from a different aspects, In this paper, some applications and new explorations of GNSS are discussed. They are： （1） Research and monitoring of strike-slip activities of faults with GNSS. （2） Research and monitoring of vertical activities of faults with GNSS. （3） Investigating the laws of deformation of blocks on the sides of fault zone and setting up strain models to deduce the activities and deformation of faults with respective models and compare the deduced results with the actual measurements across fault. It is concluded that a larger discrepancy between the deduced and the observed deformation indicates a stronger interaction between the blocks, which can be important for predicting the location of a strong earthquake and assessing seismic hazard, as well as the seismicity trend.     

Multifractal modelling and spectrum analysis: Methods and applications to gamma ray spectrometer data from southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada

Multifractal theory was developed for handling scale invariant fields instead of geometry only[1―4]. From a multifractal point of view, some fractal models, ordinary physical processes and relevant probability distribution types can be considered as special cases of multifractal models which provides new insight into the interrelationships between systems and subjects. For example, the low order moment exponents τ (0), τ (1), τ (2) or τ ″(1) obtained by means of the moment method determi…     

Three-dimensional decomposition method of global atmospheric circulation

By adopting the idea of three-dimensional Walker, Hadley and Rossby stream functions, the global atmospheric circulation can be considered as the sum of three stream functions from a global per- spective. Therefore, a mathematical model of three-dimensional decomposition of global atmospheric circulation is proposed and the existence and uniqueness of the model are proved. Besides, the model includes a numerical method leading to no truncation error in the discrete three-dimensional grid points. Results also show that the three-dimensional stream functions exist and are unique for a given velocity field. The mathematical model shows the generalized form of three-dimensional stream func- tions equal to the velocity field in representing the features of atmospheric motion. Besides, the vertical velocity calculated through the model can represent the main characteristics of the vertical motion. In sum, the three-dimensional decomposition of atmospheric circulation is convenient for the further in- vestigation of the features of global atmospheric motions.     

High-precision modeling of tide-induced 3-D magnetic field and analysis of geomagnetic satellite orbit requirements

Ground-based magnetic observatories and geomagnetic satellites can observe the induced magnetic field generated by the motion of seawater containing sodium and chlorine ions.Calculating the three-dimensional (3-D) spatial distribution of tide-induced magnetic fields (TIMF) is crucial for inverting the electrical conductivity structure of the oceanic lithosphere.It also serves as an essential basis for designing optimal geomagnetic observatories and satellite orbits.However,existing methods for s...     

A temperature prediction-correction method for estimating surface soil heat flux from soil temperature and moisture data

Surface soil heat flux is a component of surface energy budget and its estimation is needed in land-atmosphere interaction studies. This paper develops a new simple method to estimate soil heat flux from soil temperature and moisture observations. It gives soil temperature profile with the thermal diffusion equation and, then, adjusts the temperature profile with differences between observed and computed soil temperatures. The soil flux is obtained through integrating the soil temperature profile. Compared with previous methods, the new method does not require accurate thermal conductivity. Case studies based on observations, synthetic data, and sensitivity analyses show that the new method is preferable and the results obtained with it are not sensitive to the availability of temperature data in the topsoil. In addition, we pointed out that the soil heat flux measured with a heat-plate can be quite erroneous in magnitude though its phase is accurate.     

Origin and structures of solar eruptions Ⅰ: Magnetic flux rope

Coronal mass ejections(CMEs) and solar flares are the large-scale and most energetic eruptive phenomena in our solar system and able to release a large quantity of plasma and magnetic flux from the solar atmosphere into the solar wind. When these high-speed magnetized plasmas along with the energetic particles arrive at the Earth, they may interact with the magnetosphere and ionosphere, and seriously affect the safety of human high-tech activities in outer space. The travel time of a CME to 1 AU is about 1–3 days, while energetic particles from the eruptions arrive even earlier. An efficient forecast of these phenomena therefore requires a clear detection of CMEs/flares at the stage as early as possible. To estimate the possibility of an eruption leading to a CME/flare, we need to elucidate some fundamental but elusive processes including in particular the origin and structures of CMEs/flares. Understanding these processes can not only improve the prediction of the occurrence of CMEs/flares and their effects on geospace and the heliosphere but also help understand the mass ejections and flares on other solar-type stars. The main purpose of this review is to address the origin and early structures of CMEs/flares, from multi-wavelength observational perspective. First of all, we start with the ongoing debate of whether the pre-eruptive configuration, i.e., a helical magnetic flux rope(MFR), of CMEs/flares exists before the eruption and then emphatically introduce observational manifestations of the MFR. Secondly, we elaborate on the possible formation mechanisms of the MFR through distinct ways. Thirdly, we discuss the initiation of the MFR and associated dynamics during its evolution toward the CME/flare. Finally, we come to some conclusions and put forward some prospects in the future.     

Results on 3-D solar magnetic field,observations and models

This review presents some of the new developments in the understanding of coronal magnetic fields in flares and coronal mass ejections. The modelling of the coronal magnetic field based on observed photospheric field permits to understand the location of energy release. Various flare observations are consistent with a model where magnetic reconnection occurs between two magnetic fields of different connectivity. Because magnetic helicity is almost conserved, the stored energy cannot be fully released in confined flares. The corona gets rid of the helicity injected by the convection zone only by ejecting part of the magnetic field. A severe physical constraint (open-field limit) on these ejections has been firmly established for force-free fields. It is, however, possible to open partially the field or to eject a twisted flux-tube keeping the energy of the field behind the open-field limit. New results show that in simply connected fields this happen after a finite time without loss of equilibrium, while in more complex topology a loss of equilibrium can still be present.     

Tracing magnetic helicity from the solar corona to the interplanetary space

On October 14, 1995, a C1.6 long duration event (LDE) started in active region (AR) NOAA 7912 at approximately 5:00 UT and lasted for about 15 h. On October 18, 1995, the Solar Wind Experiment and the Magnetic Field Instrument (MFI) on board the Wind spacecraft registered a magnetic cloud (MC) at 1 AU, which was followed by a strong geomagnetic storm. We identify the solar source of this phenomenon as AR 7912. We use magnetograms obtained by the Imaging Vector Magnetograph at Mees Solar Observatory, as boundary conditions to the linear force-free model of the coronal field, and, we determine the model in which the field lines best fit the loops observed by the Soft X-ray Telescope on board Yohkoh. The computations are done before and after the ejection accompanying the LDE. We deduce the loss of magnetic helicity from AR 7912. We also estimate the magnetic helicity of the MC from in situ observations and force-free models. We find the same sign of magnetic helicity in the MC and in its solar source. Furthermore, the helicity values turn out to be quite similar considering the large errors that could be present. Our results are a first step towards a quantitative confirmation of the link between solar and interplanetary phenomena through the study of magnetic helicity.     

Topological invariants of field lines rooted to planes

Abstract

Two open curves with fixed endpoints on a boundary surface can be topologically linked. However, the Gauss linkage integral applies only to closed curves and cannot measure their linkage. Here we employ the concept of relative helicity in order to define a linkage for open curves. For a magnetic field consisting of closed field lines, the magnetic helicity integral can be expressed as the sum of Gauss linkage integrals over pairs of lines. Relative helicity extends the helicity integral to volumes where field lines may cross the boundary surface. By analogy, linkages can be defined for open lines by requiring that their sum equal the relative helicity.

With this definition, the linkage of two lines which extend between two parallel planes simply equals the number of turns the lines take about each other. We obtain this result by first defining a gauge-invariant, one-dimensional helicity density, i.e. the relative helicity of an infinitesimally thin plane slab. This quantity has a physical interpretation in terms of the rate at which field lines lines wind about each other in the direction normal to the plane. A different method is employed for lines with both endpoints on one plane; this method expresses linkages in terms of a certain Gauss linkage integral plus a correction term. In general, the linkage number of two curves can be put in the form L=r + n, |r|≦1J2, where r depends only on the positions of the endpoints, and n is an integer which reflects the order of braiding of the curves.

Given fixed endpoints, the linkage numbers of a magnetic field are ideal magneto-hydrodynamic invariants. These numbers may be useful in the analysis of magnetic structures not bounded by magnetic surfaces, for example solar coronal fields rooted in the photosphere. Unfortunately, the set of linkage numbers for a field does not uniquely determine the field line topology. We briefly discuss the problem of providing a complete and economical classification of field topologies, using concepts from the theory of braid equivalence classes.     

Analytical configurations of a force-free magnetic cylinder in the solar wind

The problem of a smooth field configuration, which should be an initial configuration in modeling (using the method of coarse particles) the problem of a stationary solar wind flow around a magnetic cloud in the case of a spatially two-dimensional statement (when a magnetic cloud is considered as a force-free magnetic cylinder with a finite radius) is considered. It has been indicated that such a statement is possible only when the magnetic field in the solar wind is parallel to the cylinder axis. The method for finding the magnetic field of a force-free cylinder with a finite radius, when some field component is specified and another component is determined based on this one (which makes it possible to construct fields with preassigned properties), has been proposed. The variant for constructing the initial field configuration in the transition region around a cylinder has been proposed. This variant makes it possible to gradually pass from homogeneous crossed fields in the solar wind to a force-free magnetic and zero electric fields within a cylinder, an electric field being potential and orthogonal to a magnetic field (in the reference system related to a magnetic cloud).     

孤立磁拱的约束平衡位形

本文讨论分层大气中孤立约束磁通量拱的二维静平衡位形．通量拱中的磁场初步假定为无力场，通过利用有限元计算方法，得到这个非线性自由边界问题的数值解．结果清楚地表明磁拱的内外场的耦合关系，并讨论了大气压力分布，尤其是大气标高对通量拱位形的影响．     

On the coalescence of twisted flux tubes

Abstract

We study the problem of the coalescence of twisted flux tubes by assuming that the azimuthal field lines reconnect at a current sheet during the coalescence process and everywhere else the magnetic field is frozen in the fluid. We derive relations connecting the topology of the coalesced flux tube with the topologies of the initial flux tubes, and then obtain a structure equation for calculating the field configuration of the coalesced flux tube from the given topology. Some solutions for the two extreme cases of low-β plasma and high-β plasma are discussed. The coalesced flux tube has less twist than the initial flux tube. Magnetic helicity is found to be exactly conserved during the coalescence, but the assumptions in the model put a constraint on the energy dissipation so that we do not get a relaxation to the minimum-energy Taylor state in the low-β case. It is pointed out that the structure equation connecting the topology and the equilibrium configuration is quite general and can be of use in many two-dimensional flux tube problems.     

The emergence of braided magnetic fields

We study the emergence of braided magnetic fields from the top of the solar interior through to the corona. It is widely believed that emerging regions smaller than active regions are formed in the upper convection zone near the photosphere. Here, bundles of braided, rather than twisted, magnetic field can be formed, which then rise upward to emerge into the atmosphere. To test this theory, we investigate the behaviour of braided magnetic fields as they emerge into the solar atmosphere. We compare and contrast our models to previous studies of twisted flux tube emergence and discuss results that can be tested observationally. Although this is just an initial study, our results suggest that the underlying magnetic field structure of small emerging regions need not be twisted and that braided field, formed in the convection zone, could suffice.     

The structure and origin of magnetic clouds in the solar wind

Plasma and magnetic field data from the Helios 1/2 spacecraft have been used to investigate the structure of magnetic clouds (MCs) in the inner heliosphere. 46 MCs were identified in the Helios data for the period 1974–1981 between 0.3 and 1 AU. 85% of the MCs were associated with fast-forward interplanetary shock waves, supporting the close association between MCs and SMEs (solar mass ejections). Seven MCs were identified as direct consequences of Helios-directed SMEs, and the passage of MCs agreed with that of interplanetary plasma clouds (IPCs) identified as white-light brightness enhancements in the Helios photometer data. The total (plasma and magnetic field) pressure in MCs was higher and the plasma- lower than in the surrounding solar wind. Minimum variance analysis (MVA) showed that MCs can best be described as large-scale quasi-cylindrical magnetic flux tubes. The axes of the flux tubes usually had a small inclination to the ecliptic plane, with their azimuthal direction close to the east-west direction. The large-scale flux tube model for MCs was validated by the analysis of multi-spacecraft observations. MCs were observed over a range of up to 60° in solar longitude in the ecliptic having the same magnetic configuration. The Helios observations further showed that over-expansion is a common feature of MCs. From a combined study of Helios, Voyager and IMP data we found that the radial diameter of MCs increases between 0.3 and 4.2 AU proportional to the distance, R, from the Sun as R^0.8 (R in AU). The density decrease inside MCs was found to be proportional to R^–2.4, thus being stronger compared to the average solar wind. Four different magnetic configurations, as expected from the flux-tube concept, for MCs have been observed in situ by the Helios probes. MCs with left-and right-handed magnetic helicity occurred with about equal frequencies during 1974–1981, but surprisingly, the majority (74%) of the MCs had a south to north (SN) rotation of the magnetic field vector relative to the ecliptic. In contrast, an investigation of solar wind data obtained near Earths orbit during 1984–1991 showed a preference for NS-clouds. A direct correlation was found between MCs and large quiescent filament disappearances (disparition brusques, DBs). The magnetic configurations of the filaments, as inferred from the orientation of the prominence axis, the polarity of the overlying field lines and the hemispheric helicity pattern observed for filaments, agreed well with the in situ observed magnetic structure of the associated MCs. The results support the model of MCs as large-scale expanding quasi-cylindrical magnetic flux tubes in the solar wind, most likely caused by SMEs associated with eruptions of large quiescent filaments. We suggest that the hemispheric dependence of the magnetic helicity structure observed for solar filaments can explain the preferred orientation of MCs in interplanetary space as well as their solar cycle behavior. However, the white-light features of SMEs and the measured volumes of their interplanetary counterparts suggest that MCs may not simply be just H-prominences, but that SMEs likely convect large-scale coronal loops overlying the prominence axis out of the solar atmosphere.     

The vorticity of Solar photospheric flows on the scale of granulation

We employ time sequences of images observed with a G-band filter (λ4305Å) by the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) on board of Hinode spacecraft at different latitude along solar central meridian to study vorticity of granular flows in quiet Sun areas during deep minimum of solar activity. Using a feature correlation tracking (FCT) technique, we calculate the vorticity of granular-scale flows. Assuming the known pattern of vertical flows (upward in granules and downward in intergranular lanes), we infer the sign of kinetic helicity of these flows. We show that the kinetic helicity of granular flows and intergranular vortices exhibits a weak hemispheric preference, which is in agreement with the action of the Coriolis force. This slight hemispheric sign asymmetry, however, is not statistically significant given large scatter in the average vorticity. The sign of the current helicity density of network magnetic fields computed using full disk vector magnetograms from the Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS) does not show any hemispheric preference. The combination of these two findings suggests that the photospheric dynamo operating on the scale of granular flows is non-helical in nature.