Changes of cloud microphysical properties during the transition from supercooled to mixed-phase conditions during CIME

A ground-based seeding experiment using carbon dioxide and propane sprayed from pressurized bottles was carried out under supercooled cloud conditions on a small spatial and short time scale. Water vapor deposition on the artificially generated dry ice and propane ice germs as the main ice formation process (nucleation and growth) is consistent with the experimental results. After nucleation, diffusional growth of the ice particles, partly at the expense of evaporating small droplets, was identified during the mixing of the seeding line with the ambient supercooled cloud. Within the seeding plume, ice water contents up to 80% of the total condensed water are observed, although the size of the formed ice particles did not exceed 25 μm. From the changes of the ice and supercooled liquid phase with time under mixed-phase conditions, liquid water content (LWC) evaporation, ice water content (IWC) formation, and ice crystal growth rates are estimated, which are not affected by the artificial nucleation process. Thus, these rates are assessed to be applicable for a growing ice phase of small ice particles in a young mixed-phase cloud, where other growth mechanisms, like riming or aggregation, are negligible.     

Geometry and kinematics of extension in Alpine Corsica

The geometry of the most recent deformation in Alpine Corsica is discussed in terms of reactivation of thrusts as normal faults and crustal extension, following crustal thickening in late Cretaceous and Eocene time. A cross section interpreted in terms of obduction in previous works is shown here to be a result of ductile and brittle extension in late Oligocene and Early Miocene time. This new interpretation is based on field observations of the brittle and ductile structures and their relations to the metamorphic history in the Tenda-col de Teghime and Centuri regions, as well as additional observations in other parts of Alpine Corsica. The following geological features are observed: (1) The recent deformation was partly achieved during a top-to-the-east ductile shear close to the brittle-ductile transition and was later superimposed by brittle shear indicating a transition in time from ductile to brittle regime. (2) Extensional brittle structures in the Early Miocene Saint Florent limestone and sense of tilt are compatible with the eastward sense of shear observed in the ductile rocks. (3) The movement along major “thrust” contacts is associated with retrograde metamorphism which overprinted the early high-P-low-T paragenesis at less severe P-T conditions. They also bring tectonic units with contrasted metamorphic evolutions into close contacts. (4) There is a regional correlation between retromorphosis and recent deformation since the high-P-low-T paragenesis are better preserved in southern of Alpine Corsica where the recent deformation is less pervasive. (5) Highly non-coaxial deformation is localized along east-dipping shear zones close to brittle normal faults which bounds tilted Miocene basins; in between the geometry is more symmetric and the finite strain therefore more coaxial. (6) Late extensional brittle structures are observed at many sites in the metamorphic rocks. In the present paper we discussed these first-order observations and describe the geometry of crustal extension in Alpine Corsica. We analyze the progressive formation of a crustal-scale tilted block in Cap Corse and propose that the normal faults are localized by asymmetric boudinage of the crust. The asymmetry of this crustal-scale boudinage is controlled by the position of early thrust planes.     

Effects of scattered solar radiation and absorption by SO2 on the photodissociation processes in the stratosphere of Venus

In the stratosphere of Venus, the available luminous flux which locally produces the photodissociation processes at a given altitude may be divided into three parts: direct incoming downward flux, flux resulting from the reflection on the surface of the clouds, and flux due to molecular scattering. A relatively simple computation method has been used to evaluate the relative importance of these three parts at altitudes between 65 and 100 km. It is shown that the extra contribution of the reflected and scattered fluxes to photodissociation processes cannot be neglected in the uv and visible regions. In the case of SO₂, for instance, which presents an absorption band in the uv, the photodissociation coefficient is increased 30% due to these effects. Calculations of the photodissociation coefficients of CO₂, O₃, H₂S, and SO₂ are presented. As a result of the increase by 60% in the ozone photolysis rate, the calculated O₂ infrared band at 1.27 μm is larger by a factor of nearly 2 than is expected from a calculation without taking albedo or scattering into account.     

The Gambia River estuary: A reference point for estuarine fish assemblages studies in West Africa

The Gambia River is one of the last aquatic ecosystems in West Africa that has not yet been affected by strong environmental changes and human disturbances. In contrast to the neighbouring Casamance and Sine Saloum estuaries, the Gambia estuary is free of major climatic perturbation and remains a “normal” estuary, with a salinity range from freshwater to 39. The present paper aims to study the spatial and seasonal variability of fish assemblages in this estuary in terms of bio-ecological categories and of their relation with some environmental variables. Four surveys were conducted, from June 2001 to April 2002, in order to cover the major hydroclimatic events, at 44 sampling sites along the lower, intermediate and upper zones of the Gambia estuary (up to 220 km). Fish assemblages were sampled using a purse seine net, fish were identified to species level and environmental variables such as water depth, transparency, salinity, temperature and percentage oxygen saturation were measured. The main spatial structure of the fish assemblages and its seasonal changes were first studied using the STATIS-CoA multitable method. The combination of fish assemblages and environmental variables was then analysed using the STATICO method, designed for the simultaneous analysis of paired ecological tables. A total of 67 species were observed, belonging to all bio-ecological categories characterizing West African estuaries. The marine component of the community was largely dominant throughout the estuary, while the freshwater component was permanently observed only in the upstream zone. The main spatial structure was a longitudinal gradient contrasting marine and freshwater affinity assemblages, with strong seasonal variations. The most complete gradient was observed in December, at the beginning of the dry and cool season, while in June, at the end of the dry and warm season, there was the least structured gradient. The role of salinity, always correlated with temperature, was emphasized, while turbidity appeared to be another important factor. Oxygen and depth did not play a major role at the estuary scale. The relative importance of the bio-ecological categories varied according to the season and the distance to sea. Stable fish assemblages were observed in the lower zone at the end of the dry season, in the upper zone during the flood and in the middle zone throughout the year. In some situations, a relative inadequacy between fish assemblages and their environment was noticed. The present study contributes to the definition of the functioning of a “normal” West African estuary, the Gambia estuary, with balanced effects of marine and freshwater influences and the presence of all bio-ecological categories. The Gambia estuary can therefore be considered to be a reference ecosystem for further comparisons with other tropical estuarine ecosystems, subjected to natural or artificial perturbations.     

First manned submersible dives on the East Pacific Rise at 21°N (project RITA): General results

A submersible study has been conducted in February–March 1978 at the axis of the East Pacific Rise near 21°N. The expedition CYAMEX, the first submersible program to be conducted on the East Pacific Rise, is part of the French-American-Mexican project RITA (Rivera-Tamayo), a 3-year study devoted to detailed geological and geophysical investigations of the East Pacific Rise Crest. On the basis of the 15 dives made by CYANA in the axial area of the Rise, a morphological and tectonic zonation can be established for this moderately-fast spreading center. A narrow, 0.6 to 1.2 km wide zone of extrusion (zone 1), dominated by young lava flows, is flanked by a highly fissured and faulted zone of extension (zone 2) with a width of 1 to 2 km. Further out, zone 3 is dominated by outward tilted blocks bounded by inward-facing fault scarps. Active or recent faults extend up to 12 km from the axis of extrusion of the East Pacific Rise. This represents the first determination from direct field evidence of the width of active tectonism associated with an accreting plate boundary. Massive sulfide deposits, made principally of zinc, copper and iron, were found close to the axis of the Rise. Other signs of the intense hydrothermal activity included the discovery of benthic fauna of gian size similar to that found at the axis of the Galapagos Rift. We emphasize the cyclic character of the volcanicity. The main characteristics of the geology of this segment of the East Pacific Rise can be explained by the thermal structure at depth below this moderately-fast spreading center. The geological observations are compatible with the existence of a shallow magma reservoir centered at the axis of the Rise with a half-width of the order of 10 km.     

Adaptation of the optimal fingerprint method for climate change detection using a well-conditioned covariance matrix estimate

The “optimal fingerprint” method, usually used for detection and attribution studies, requires to know, or, in practice, to estimate the covariance matrix of the internal climate variability. In this work, a new adaptation of the “optimal fingerprints” method is presented. The main goal is to allow the use of a covariance matrix estimate based on an observation dataset in which the number of years used for covariance estimation is close to the number of observed time series. Our adaptation is based on the use of a regularized estimate of the covariance matrix, that is well-conditioned, and asymptotically more precise, in the sense of the mean square error. This method is shown to be more powerful than the basic “guess pattern fingerprint”, and than the classical use of a pseudo-inverted truncation of the empirical covariance matrix. The construction of the detection test is achieved by using a bootstrap technique particularly well-suited to estimate the internal climate variability in real world observations. In order to validate the efficiency of the detection algorithm with climate data, the methodology presented here is first applied with pseudo-observations derived from transient regional climate change scenarios covering the 1960–2099 period. It is then used to perform a formal detection study of climate change over France, analyzing homogenized observed temperature series from 1900 to 2006. In this case, the estimation of the covariance matrix is only based on a part of the observation dataset. This new approach allows the confirmation and extension of previous results regarding the detection of an anthropogenic climate change signal over the country.     

Analyse isotopique de l'air piégé dans la glace pour quantifier les variations de température

Isotopic measurements in polar ice core have shown a succession of rapid warming periods during the last glacial period over Greenland. However, this method underestimates the surface temperature variations. A new method based on gas thermal diffusion in the firn manages to quantify surface temperature variations through associated isotopic fractionations. We developed a method to extract air from the ice and to perform isotopic measurements to reduce analytical uncertainties to 0.006 and 0.020$\text{‰}$ for δ¹⁵N and δ⁴⁰Ar. It led to a 16±1.5 °C surface temperature variation during a rapid warming ($\text{?70}\text{000}$ yr). To cite this article: A. Landais et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).     

Longues séries d'insolation homogénéisées en France

Prior to have long-term sunshine-duration series, data rescue effort has to be engaged. Eighteen series have been homogenized over the period 1931–2000. These series complete the set of diagnoses on climate change at a regional scale, confirm part of the diagnosis established for the temperatures, and offer new tracks for the mechanisms of climate change. To cite this article: J.-M. Moisselin, C. Canellas, C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Geochemistry and water dynamics: II. Trace metals and Pb–Sr isotopes as tracers of water movements and erosion processes

A dynamic scheme for water movements over a flood in a small watershed was proposed in a previous paper [Ben Othman, D., Luck, J.M., Tournoud, M.G., 1997. Geochemistry and water dynamics: application to short-time scale flood phenomena in a small Mediterranean catchment: I. Alkalis, alkali-earths and Sr isotopes. Chem. Geol. [140] 9–28] based on major, alkali–alkali earth trace elements and Sr isotopes. In the present paper, metal contents and Pb isotope data are reported for the same samples, and compared to natural and anthropogenic local sources analysed for this purpose. Water treatment plants have stable but show relatively large variations, presumably related to yet unidentified (industrial?) Pb sources. Some Cu–Zn-rich chemicals used extensively on vineyards have unradiogenic around 17.7. Local rains sampled over two years show roughly similar low values. Pb from rocks is variable and more radiogenic ( ≈18.8–22.8). Except for the first hours, trace element concentrations in the dissolved load are similar to or slightly higher than those observed over the year, and similar to other moderately anthropogenic areas [Shiller, A.M., Boyle, E.A., 1987. Variability of dissolved trace metals in the Mississippi river. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta [51] 3273–3277] for [Pb] (0.05–0.45 nM), [Zn] (10–75 nM) and [Cd] (0.03–0.18 nM). Dissolved [U] and [Co] show simple variations correlated to carbonate, related to local natural sources. Most trace elements in the particulate load are strongly correlated. Lead isotopes in the dissolved and particulate loads show ranges over the flood, again similar to those observed over the year ( ≈17.9–18.3), implying the same sources. The very good alignments observed in and vs. diagrams, especially for the particulate, are interpreted as mixing phenomena. Generally Pb isotopic signature of the dissolved load is less radiogenic than the particulate, indicating differences in sources or proportions and absence of isotopic equilibration with respect to the time of transfer. Pb isotopes shift regularly with time away from the road runoff endmember towards more radiogenic values. The strong negative correlation between Pb isotopes in the particulate load and Sr isotopes in the dissolved load, observed for the first time in a small watershed, probably reflects the local coupling between mechanical and chemical erosion, respectively.