Integral transformations of gradiometric data onto a GRACE type of observable

Integral transformations of gravitational gradients onto a Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) type of observable are derived in this article. The gravitational gradients represent components of the gravitational tensor in the local north-oriented frame. The GRACE type of observable corresponds to a difference between two gravitational vectors as projected onto the line of sight between the two GRACE satellites. In total, three integral transformations relating vertical–vertical, vertical–horizontal and horizontal–horizontal gravitational gradients with the GRACE type of observable are provided. Spectral and closed forms of corresponding isotropic kernels are derived for each transformation. Special cases show that the integral transformations are general and relate gravitational gradients to many other quantities of the gravitational field, such as the gravitational vector, and its radial and tangential components. Correctness of the mathematical derivations is validated in a closed-loop simulation using synthetic data.     

Direct detection of the secondary spectrum of the interacting eclipsing binary TX UMa

Eclipsing binary TX UMa was observed with the D.A.O. high-dispersion spectrographs in 1969–1970, with emphasis on the detailed coverage of the primary minimum. One spectrum was taken exclusively within totality, thus exhibiting an uncontaminated spectrum of the secondary component. This leads to spectral reclassification of the secondary (F6 IV). The narrowing of the line profile of the H-line in totality is interpreted in terms of synchronous rotation of the secondary (v sini80 km s^–1) while the primary rotates faster (v sini130 km s^–1) than synchronously (v sini50 km s^–1). Although the secondary does not fill in its Roche lobe fully, the system exhibits pronounced indications of rather strong physical interaction. This is now supported also by the profound changes of the line profiles of the H-line with phase.     

Assess hydrological responses to a warming climate at the Lysina Critical Zone Observatory in Central Europe

Climate warming is having profound effects on the hydrological cycle by increasing atmospheric demand, changing water availability, and snow seasonality. Europe suffered three distinct heat waves in 2019, and 11 of the 12 hottest years ever recorded took place in the past two decades, which will potentially change seasonal streamflow patterns and long-term trends. Central Europe exhibited six dry years in a row since 2014. This study uses data from a well-documented headwater catchment in Central Europe (Lysina) to explore hydrological responses to a warming climate. We applied a lumped parameter hydrologic model Brook90 and a distributed model Penn State Integrated Hydrologic Model (PIHM) to simulate long-term hydrological change under future climate scenarios. Both models performed well on historic streamflow and in agreement with each other according to the catchment water budget. In addition, PIHM was able to simulate lateral groundwater redistribution within the catchment validated by the groundwater table dynamics. The long-term trends in runoff and low flow were captured by PIHM only. We applied different EURO-CORDEX models with two emission scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways RCP 4.5, 8.5) and found significant impacts on runoff and evapotranspiration (ET) for the period of 2071–2100. Results from both models suggested reduced runoff and increased ET, while the monthly distribution of runoff was different. We used this catchment study to understand the importance of subsurface processes in projection of hydrologic response to a warming climate.     

Some Aspects of Meteoric Head Echo Velocity Determination

Velocity determination of 131 head echoes recorded during Perseid meteor shower observations by the Canadian 2 MW radar, has been performed under the assumption of either their constant velocity or of its linear change with time. Even though the constant velocities concentrated at 60 km s-1 generally accepted for the Perseids, a substantial number of echoes had velocities either lower than 60 km s-1 or greater than this value. The inclusion of variable velocity into considerations led to surprising result that a great portion of the head echoes accelerated (3 possibly decelerating echoes in comparison with 33 accelerating cases on the level of relative standard deviations of output parameters not exceeding 10%). It seems that the allocation of the ionization responsible for the head echo is not entirely identical with the instantaneous meteoroid position. As a consequence, the velocity derived from the measured head echo coordinates can differ from the velocity of parent body. We are not able to explain this finding at present. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Present climate and climate change over North America as simulated by the fifth-generation Canadian regional climate model

The fifth-generation Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM5) was used to dynamically downscale two Coupled Global Climate Model (CGCM) simulations of the transient climate change for the period 1950–2100, over North America, following the CORDEX protocol. The CRCM5 was driven by data from the CanESM2 and MPI-ESM-LR CGCM simulations, based on the historical (1850–2005) and future (2006–2100) RCP4.5 radiative forcing scenario. The results show that the CRCM5 simulations reproduce relatively well the current-climate North American regional climatic features, such as the temperature and precipitation multiannual means, annual cycles and temporal variability at daily scale. A cold bias was noted during the winter season over western and southern portions of the continent. CRCM5-simulated precipitation accumulations at daily temporal scale are much more realistic when compared with its driving CGCM simulations, especially in summer when small-scale driven convective precipitation has a large contribution over land. The CRCM5 climate projections imply a general warming over the continent in the 21st century, especially over the northern regions in winter. The winter warming is mostly contributed by the lower percentiles of daily temperatures, implying a reduction in the frequency and intensity of cold waves. A precipitation decrease is projected over Central America and an increase over the rest of the continent. For the average precipitation change in summer however there is little consensus between the simulations. Some of these differences can be attributed to the uncertainties in CGCM-projected changes in the position and strength of the Pacific Ocean subtropical high pressure.