Effective Rigidity of a Polar Neutron Monitor for Recording Ground-Level Enhancements

The “effective” rigidity of a neutron monitor for a ground-level enhancement (GLE) event is defined so that the event-integrated fluence of solar energetic protons with rigidity above it is directly proportional to the integral intensity of the GLE as recorded by a polar neutron monitor, within a wide range of solar energetic-proton spectra. This provides a direct way to assess the integral fluence of a GLE event based solely on neutron-monitor data. The effective rigidity/energy was found to be 1.13?–?1.42 GV (550?–?800 MeV). A small model-dependent, systematic uncertainty in the value of the effective rigidity is caused by uncertainties in the low-energy range of the neutron-monitor yield function, which requires more detailed computations of the latter.     

Maximally-efficient-generation approach in the dynamo theory

Abstract

We propose a method of derivation of global asymptotic solutions of the hydromagnetic dynamo problem at large magnetic Reynolds number. The procedure reduces to matching the local asymptotic forms for the magnetic field generated near individual extrema of generation strength. The basis of the proposed method, named here the Maximally-Efficient-Generation Approach (MEGA), is the assertion that properties of global asymptotic solutions of the kinematic dynamo are determined by the distribution of the generation strength near its leading extrema and by the number and distribution of the extrema.

The general method is illustrated by the global asymptotic solution of the α²-dynamo problem in a slab. The nature of oscillatory solutions revealed earlier in numerical simulations and the reasons for the dominance of even magnetic modes in slab geometry are clarified.

Applicability of the asymptotic solutions at moderate values of the asymptotic parameter is also discussed. We confirm this applicability using comparisons with complementary asymptotic expansions and numerical simulations. In particular, this justifies application of the MEGA solutions to estimation of the generation threshold.     

Holes in the spinous processes of woolly mammoth vertebrae: spatial and temporal distribution,and the causes of pathology formation

The latest data on holes in the spinous processes of the vertebrae of woolly mammoths, a rare pathology, are presented. This was identified at 19 sites of northern Eurasia. Such destructive changes are recorded ca. 34–12k ¹⁴C a bp , and only two sites dated to >50k and >41k ¹⁴C a bp. The main hypotheses about hole formation are: vertebral abnormalities; bone infections; genetic traits; and unfavourable geochemical environment. The pathology occurred in mammoths of all age groups, and could have arisen at the embryonic stage. There are two types: classic holes associated with osteolytic changes; and very rarely tumour-like lesions. The most likely cause of the lesions is alimentary osteodystrophy caused by chronic mineral starvation. The aetiology of this disease is usually associated with a deficiency or excess of macro- and microelements in the geochemical landscape, and through forage and water this leads to a severe metabolic disorder. Analysis of palaeopathological data shows two waves of geochemical stress in animals, ca. 26–18k and ca. 16–12k ¹⁴C a bp. Therefore, the woolly mammoth extinction can be viewed as a non-linear function, with two peaks of high mortality corresponding to the Last Glacial Maximum and the Lateglacial.     

Automated placement of supplementary contour lines

Supplementary contour lines are placed between regular contour lines to visualize small but important forms that regular contour lines are unable to show. On topographic maps, typical forms are hillcrests, depressions, saddles, terraces, banks, and levees. No automated method for the selection of supplementary contour lines has been described so far. We document cartographic design principles for the selection of supplementary contour lines for topographic maps, and present an automated method for their placement. Results of the automated method are similar to manually placed supplementary contour lines. Our method helps map authors to create contour line maps that more effectively illustrate relevant small details in maps showing terrain elevation or other scalar fields.     

37 ka以来日本海沉积物有机质碳和氮稳定同位素变化及其古海洋学意义

海洋沉积物有机质碳氮稳定同位素(δ¹³C、δ¹⁵N)广泛用于有机质来源示踪、古生产力和古海洋环境重建。日本海沉积物δ¹³C和δ¹⁵N值一个显著特征是在末次冰盛期(LGM)同步负偏,但是对这一现象产生的原因以及他们的演化过程的认识仍然存在明显不足。在本研究中,我们详细调查了37 ka以来日本海中部LV53-23-1岩心沉积物δ¹³C和δ¹⁵N演化历史。结果显示,沉积物δ¹³C和δ¹⁵N分别介于-26.3‰至-22.5‰和1.6‰至6.1‰,低值出现在LGM(26.5~17 ka)暗色层状泥发育时期,指示较强的陆源输入贡献。在Heinrich冰阶1时期(17~14.5 ka),δ¹³C和δ¹⁵N快速正偏,表明日本海海洋环境发生了明显的转换,对应于对马海峡淹没及对马暖流入侵。14.5 ka之后,沉积物δ¹⁵N值恢复到5‰,与开阔大洋海水硝酸盐的δ¹⁵N值近似。我们采用二端员混合模型粗略地估算了有机质来源的相对贡献。LGM时期陆源有机质贡献介于65%至80%,14.5 ka以后海源有机质贡献介于60%至80%。除了增加的陆源有机质贡献以外,LGM时期沉积物δ¹⁵N亏损还涉及如下过程:(1)较高的含Fe沙尘供给提高日本海表层海洋生物固氮效率;(2)缺氧环境盛行减弱成岩作用对沉积物δ¹⁵N影响。37 ka以来,日本海沉积物δ¹³C和δ¹⁵N变化与有机质来源、营养盐的供给、表层生产力和沉积物氧化还原条件相关,实际受海平面和全球气候制约。     

Segmental closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean: Insight from detrital geochronology in the East Transbaikalia Basin

The Late Paleozoic–Early Mesozoic Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean extended between the Siberian and Amur–North China continents.The timing and modalities of the oceanic closure are widely discussed.It is largely accepted that the ocean closed in a scissor-like manner from southwest to northeast(in modern coordinates),though the timing of this process remains uncertain.Recent studies have shown that both western(West Transbaikalia)and eastern(Dzhagda)parts of the ocean closed almost simultaneously at the Early–Middle Jurassic boundary.However,little information on the key central part of the oceanic suture zone is available.We performed U-Pb(LA-ICP-MS)dating of detrital zircon from wellcharacterized stratigraphic sections of the central part of the Mongol-Okhotsk suture zone.These include the initial marine and final continental sequences of the East Transbaikalia Basin,deposited on the northern Argun-Idemeg terrane basement.We provide new stratigraphic ages for the marine and continental deposits.This revised chronostratigraphy allows assigning an age of~165–155 Ma,to the collisionrelated flexure of the northern Argun-Idemeg terrane and the development of a peripheral foreland basin.This collisional process took place 5 to10 million years later than in the western and eastern parts of the ocean.We demonstrate that the northern Argun-Idemeg terrane was the last block to collide with the Siberian continent,challenging the widely supported scissor-like model of closure of the MongolOkhotsk Ocean.Different segments of the ocean closed independently,depending on the initial shape of the paleo continental margins.     

Effect of pH and organic ligands on the kinetics of smectite dissolution at 25 °C

Forward dissolution rates of Na-Montmorillonite (Wyoming) SWy-2 smectite (Ca_0.06Na_0.56)[Al_3.08Fe(III)_0.38Mg_0.54] [Si_7.93 Al_0.07]O₂₀(OH)₄ were measured at 25 °C in a mixed-flow reactor equipped with interior dialysis compartment (6-8 kDa membrane) as a function of pH (1-12), dissolved carbonate (0.5-10 mM), phosphate (10⁻⁵ to 0.03 M), and nine organic ligands (acetate, oxalate, citrate, EDTA, alginate, glucuronic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, gluconate, and glucosamine) in the concentration range from 10⁻⁵ to 0.03 M. In organic-free solutions, the Si-based rates decrease with increasing pH at 1 ? pH ? 8 with a slope close to −0.2. At 9 ? pH ? 12, the Si-based rates increase with a slope of ∼0.3. In contrast, non-stoichiometric Mg release weakly depends on pH at 1 ? pH ? 12 and decreases with increasing pH. The empirical expression describing Si-release rates [R, mol/cm²/s] obtained in the present study at 25 °C, I = 0.01 M is given by

     

A comprehensive numerical simulation of Io’s sublimation-driven atmosphere

Io’s sublimation-driven atmosphere is modeled using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. These rarefied gas dynamics simulations improve upon earlier models by using a three-dimensional domain encompassing the entire planet computed in parallel. The effects of plasma heating, planetary rotation, inhomogeneous surface frost, molecular residence time of SO₂ on the exposed (non-volatile) rocky surface, and surface temperature distribution are investigated. Circumplanetary flow is predicted to develop from the warm dayside toward the cooler nightside. Io’s rotation leads to a highly asymmetric frost surface temperature distribution (due to the frost’s high thermal inertia) which results in circumplanetary flow that is not axi-symmetric about the subsolar point. The non-equilibrium thermal structure of the atmosphere, specifically vibrational and rotational temperatures, is also examined. Plasma heating is found to significantly inflate the atmosphere on both the dayside and nightside. The plasma energy flux causes high temperatures at high altitudes but plasma energy depletion through the dense gas column above the warmest frost permits gas temperatures cooler than the surface at low altitudes. A frost map (Douté, S., Schmitt, B., Lopes-Gautier, R., Carlson, R., Soderblom, L., Shirley, J., and the Galileo NIMS Team [2001]. Icarus 149, 107-132) is used to control the sublimated flux of SO₂ which can result in inhomogeneous column densities that vary by nearly a factor of four for the same surface temperature. A short residence time for SO₂ molecules on the “rock” component is found to smooth lateral atmospheric inhomogeneities caused by variations in the surface frost distribution, creating an atmosphere that looks nearly identical to one with uniform frost coverage. A longer residence time is found to agree better with mid-infrared observations (Spencer, J.R., Lellouch, E., Richter, M.J., López-Valverde, M.A., Jessup, K.L, Greathouse, T.K., Flaud, J. [2005]. Icarus 176, 283-304) and reproduce the observed anti-jovian/sub-jovian column density asymmetry. The computed peak dayside column density for Io assuming a surface frost temperature of 115 K agrees with those suggested by Lyman-α observations (Feaga, L.M., McGrath, M., Feldman, P.D. [2009]. Icarus 201, 570-584). On the other hand, the peak dayside column density at 120 K is a factor of five larger and is higher than the upper range of observations (Jessup, K.L., Spencer, J.R., Ballester, G.E., Howell, R.R., Roesler, F., Vigel, M., Yelle, R. [2004]. Icarus 169, 197-215; Spencer et al., 2005).