Comments on the low-wavenumber power of granulation brightness fluctuations

A comment is made on the Edmonds' study of the low-wavenumber power of solar granulation. It is concluded that its one-dimensional power spectrum is biased, and that the corresponding two-dimensional power spectrum shows negative parts.     

Stacking for the frequencies and Qs of 0S0 and 1S0

Summary. Using nine IDA records for the Indonesian earthquake of 1977 August 19, we have formed an optimal linear combination of the records and have measured the frequency and Q of ₀ S ₀ and ₁ S ₀. The frequency was measured using the moment ratio method. The attenuation was measured by the minimum width method and by the time-lapse method. The frequency and attenuation were measured simultaneously by varying them to obtain a best fit to the data. A 2000-hr stack, the sum of nine individual records, for ₀ S ₀ gave a frequency of 0.814664 mHz±4 ppm. The values for the Q of ₀ S ₀ for the three different methods of measurement were 5600,5833 and 5700, respectively. The error in the estimates of Q ^-1 is about 5 per cent for the minimum power method. For ₁ S ₀ a 300-hr stack yielded a frequency of 1.63151 mHz±30 ppm. The values of Q for this mode were 1960, 1800 and 1850, respectively, with an error in Q ^-1 of about 12 per cent for the minimum power method.     

Improved resolution of complex eigenfrequencies in analytically continued seismic spectra

Summary. The response of the Earth to an earthquake is a transient that is effectively zero several days after the event. A recording of the event, of finite duration in time, has a Fourier spectrum that is an entire, or integral, analytic function of frequency. We present a very simple procedure for computing the Fourier spectrum as a function of complex frequency; the analytically continued spectrum. By investigating the properties of the analytically continued spectrum we show how to extract high- Q modes, how to estimate Q either from the amplitude or from the width of a resonance function, and how to improve the resolution of splitting to the theoretical maximum. Examples of these procedures, using observed data, are presented.     

Subbottom acoustic and sedimentary records of past surface water–groundwater exchange through sinkhole lakes in south Georgia,U.S.A

Lake Balboa is a deep sinkhole lake in south Georgia. Subbottom acoustic profiling and long sediment cores reveal four stratigraphic units within >20 m of lacustrine fill above acoustically stratified and faulted Miocene/Pliocene overburden and basement Eocene limestone which hosts the Floridan Aquifer system (FAS). Fill consists of thin, rhythmically bedded, peaty sediments (Unit I), indicative of slow sedimentation in a shallow swamp until 13,110–12,680 cal BP, a mix of desiccated and over-consolidated clay and silty sand (Unit II) implying periodic subaerial exposure of the lake bed until 9470–9025 cal BP, and gyttja associated with a rapid 8 m rise in water level by 9120–9020 cal BP (Unit III), as well as an additional rise of 10 m to modern lake levels (Unit IV). Accumulation of nearly 4.5 m of low permeability gyttja, and higher lake levels have fundamentally changed exchange between surface water and groundwater, reducing by 40% or more the rate of vertical leakage to the FAS and increasing shallow aquifer discharge to the lake.     

Processes affecting deposition of sediment in a small, morphologically complex lake

Devil Lake is morphologically complex as a result of Pleistocene glacial erosion of the Frontenac Axis of the Canadian Shield. In order to assess the processes causing highly variable sedimentation in the lake, we monitored currents, suspended sediment and temperature in the lake before and during autumn overturn in 2002. Strong summer thermal stratification (stability number to 0.11 s^–1 declining with the approach of overturn) was insufficient to prevent a dynamic response in the hypolimnion to wind forcing. Superimposed on a gradual increase in suspended sediment concentration in the last weeks of stratification from less than 2 g/l to about 30 g/l were shorter-term rises lasting up to several days. Associated with these events was an increase in particle size of the sediment from a mode of 40–50 to 150–200 m ascribed to flocculation from primary particles. These events culminated in rapid (<1 h) clearing of the water associated with strong, sustained winds over the lake, especially from the southwest. After overturn, the events were more frequent, and flocculation was unable to develop as well in the more vigorous circulation. However, currents in the hypolimnion occurred throughout the period before, during and after overturn with speed related to wind speed, but direction largely independent of wind direction. The results represent an approach to understanding the nature of sedimentary processes and thus to strengthening the use of sedimentary records as proxy in environmental and paleoenvironmental assessment.     

Derivation of density and temperature from the Cassini–Huygens CAPS electron spectrometer

In this paper we present two methods to derive electron fluid parameters from the CAPS–ELS spectrometer on board the Cassini spacecraft currently in orbit around Saturn. In the first part of the paper we give a basic overview of the instrument and describe the challenges inherent in the derivation of density and temperature values using these techniques. We then describe a method to calculate electron moments by integrating the particle distribution function. We also describe a second technique in which we fit the electron energy spectrum with a Gaussian curve and use the peak energy of this curve to derive density and temperature values. We then compare the two methods with particular emphasis on their application to Cassini SOI observations in the saturnian environment and point out the limitations of the two techniques. We will show that results from the two very different methods are in agreement when the physical properties of the environment and of the observed electron populations have been inferred from inspection of the raw data. Finally we will suggest future developments that will remove these limitations.     

The information system of the French Peatland Observation Service: Service National d'Observation Tourbières – A valuable tool to assess the impact of global changes on the hydrology and biogeochemistry of temperate peatlands through long term monitoring

Mitigating and adapting to global changes requires a better understanding of the response of the Biosphere to these environmental variations. Human disturbances and their effects act in the long term (decades to centuries) and consequently, a similar time frame is needed to fully understand the hydrological and biogeochemical functioning of a natural system. To this end, the ‘Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique’ (CNRS) promotes and certifies long-term monitoring tools called national observation services or ‘Service National d'Observation’ (SNO) in a large range of hydrological and biogeochemical systems (e.g., cryosphere, catchments, aquifers). The SNO investigating peatlands, the SNO ‘Tourbières’, was certified in 2011 ( https://www.sno-tourbieres.cnrs.fr/ ). Peatlands are mostly found in the high latitudes of the northern hemisphere and French peatlands are located in the southern part of this area. Thus, they are located in environmental conditions that will occur in northern peatlands in coming decades or centuries and can be considered as sentinels. The SNO Tourbières is composed of four peatlands: La Guette (lowland central France), Landemarais (lowland oceanic western France), Frasne (upland continental eastern France) and Bernadouze (upland southern France). Thirty target variables are monitored to study the hydrological and biogeochemical functioning of the sites. They are grouped into four datasets: hydrology, fluvial export of organic matter, greenhouse gas fluxes and meteorology/soil physics. The data from all sites follow a common processing chain from the sensors to the public repository. The raw data are stored on an FTP server. After operator or automatic processing, data are stored in a database, from which a web application extracts the data to make them available ( https://data-snot.cnrs.fr/data-access/ ). Each year at least, an archive of each dataset is stored in Zenodo, with a digital object identifier (DOI) attribution ( https://zenodo.org/communities/sno_tourbieres_data/ ).