Magneto-gravitational instability of a rotating and finitely-conducting fluid

The gravitational instability of an infinite homogeneous finitely conducting viscid fluid through porous medium is studied in the presence of a uniform vertical magnetic field and finite ion Larmor radius (FLR) effects. The medium is considered uniformly rotating along and perpendicular to the direction of the prevalent magnetic field. A general dispersion relation is obtained from the relevant linearized perturbation equations of the problem. Furthermore, the wave propagation along and perpendicular to the direction of existing magnetic field has been discussed for each direction of the rotation. It is found that the simultaneous presence of viscosity finite conductivity, rotation, medium porosity, and FLR corrections does not essentially change the Jeans's instability condition. The stabilizing influence of FLR in the case of transverse propagation is reasserted for a non-rotating and inviscid porous medium. It is shown that the finite conductivity has destabilizing influence on the transverse wave propagation whereas for longitudinal propagation finite conductivity does not affect the Jean's criterion.     

Noctilucent cloud formation and the effects of water vapor variability on temperatures in the middle atmosphere

To investigate the occurrence of low temperatures and the formation of noctilucent clouds in the summer mésosphere a one-dimensional time-dependent photochemical-thermal numerical model of the atmosphere between 50 and 120 km has been constructed. The model includes the important chemistry of the hydrogen and oxygen species and transport by eddy and molecular processes. The thermal balance incorporates: heating by solar ultraviolet radiation; transport of chemical potential energy; eddy diffusion and dissipation; molecular conduction; airglow emissions; and infrared cooling by carbon dioxide. A non- LTE parameterization is used to calculate 15 μm band cooling by carbon dioxide. The model self-consistently solves the coupled photochemical and thermal equations as perturbation equations from a reference state assumed to be in equilibrium and is used to consider the effect of variability in water vapor in the lower mesosphere on the temperature in the region of noctilucent cloud formation. It is found that change in water vapor from an equilibrium value of 5 ppm at 50 km to a value of 10 ppm, a variation consistent with observations, can produce a ~ 15 K drop in temperature at 82 km. It is suggested that this process may produce long periods (weeks) of cold temperatures and influence noctilucent cloud formation.     

Alkali elemental and potassium isotopic compositions of Semarkona chondrules

Abstract— We report measurements of K isotope ratios in 28 Semarkona chondrules with a wide range of petrologic types and bulk compositions as well as the compositions of CPX‐mesostasis pairs in 17 type I Semarkona chondrules, including two chondrules with radial alkali zonation and 19 type II chondrules. Despite the wide range in K/Al ratios, no systematic variations in K isotopic compositions were found. Semarkona chondrules do not record a simple history of Rayleigh‐type loss of K. Experimentally determined evaporation rates suggest that considerable alkali evaporation would have occurred during chondrule formation. Nevertheless, based on Na CPX‐mesostasis distribution coefficients, the alkali contents of the cores of most chondrules in Semarkona were probably established at the time of final crystallization. However, Na CPX‐mesostasis distribution coefficients also show that alkali zonation in type I Semarkona chondrules was produced by entry of alkalis after solidification, probably during parent body alteration. This alkali metasomatism may have gone to completion in some chondrules. Our preferred explanation for the lack of systematic isotopic enrichments, even in alkali depleted type I chondrule cores, is that they exchanged with the ambient gas as they cooled.     

Report of the International Astronomical Union Division I Working Group on Precession and the Ecliptic

The IAU Working Group on Precession and the Equinox looked at several solutions for replacing the precession part of the IAU 2000A precession–nutation model, which is not consistent with dynamical theory. These comparisons show that the (Capitaine et al., Astron. Astrophys., 412, 2003a) precession theory, P03, is both consistent with dynamical theory and the solution most compatible with the IAU 2000A nutation model. Thus, the working group recommends the adoption of the P03 precession theory for use with the IAU 2000A nutation. The two greatest sources of uncertainty in the precession theory are the rate of change of the Earth’s dynamical flattening, ΔJ₂, and the precession rates (i.e. the constants of integration used in deriving the precession). The combined uncertainties limit the accuracy in the precession theory to approximately 2 mas cent⁻². Given that there are difficulties with the traditional angles used to parameterize the precession, z_A, ζ_A, and θ_A, the working group has decided that the choice of parameters should be left to the user. We provide a consistent set of parameters that may be used with either the traditional rotation matrix, or those rotation matrices described in (Capitaine et al., Astron. Astrophys., 412, 2003a) and (Fukushima Astron. J., 126, 2003). We recommend that the ecliptic pole be explicitly defined by the mean orbital angular momentum vector of the Earth–Moon barycenter in the Barycentric Celestial Reference System (BCRS), and explicitly state that this definition is being used to avoid confusion with previous definitions of the ecliptic. Finally, we recommend that the terms precession of the equator and precession of the ecliptic replace the terms lunisolar precession and planetary precession, respectively.     

Four-element CODAR beam forming

An HF radar called the Coastal Ocean Dynamics Applications Radar (CODAR) is presently being used in several forms to measure ocean surface parameters. The original version was developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and utilizes a four-element receive array. The array consists of four equally spaced elements arranged on a circle with a radius of 0.2151 wavelengths (at 25.4 MHz). It was designed to measure ocean currents using a direction-finding technique based on an extension to a simple two-element interferometer. The problem of determining the bearing of a radiating source can be readily shown to be equivalent to that incurred in spectral estimation. In an attempt to improve upon the processing of existing data, modern nonlinear spectral estimation techniques are applied in a beam-forming bearing estimation procedure and compared against several direction-finding algorithms. Enhancement of bearing estimators via analysis of the eigenstructure of a spatial correlation matrix is included. Antenna response patterns are calculated and used to investigate properties of direction-finding algorithms. Simulated data are used for a comparison of direction finding and beam forming. The asymmetrical bias of each method is investigated to determine its effect on the error in estimating the angle of arrival of a radar target.     

A geometrical depolarization of pulsar radiation

It is assumed that pulsar radiation originates in a polar cap region and that the emission mechanism is curvature radiation. It is further assumed the radiation reaching an observer at any one time may represent contributions from several particle bunches moving relativistically along different magnetic field lines and radiating mutually incoherently. These assumptions are used to explanation of the minimum of linear polarization appearing near the profile centre of some pulsars.The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is operated by the Associated Universities Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

Diurnal variation of the dayside, ionospheric, mid-latitude trough in the southern hemisphere at 800 km: Model and measurement comparison

Our high latitude ionospheric model predicts the existence of a pronounced “dayside” trough in plasma concentration equatorward of the auroral oval in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres for solar maximum, winter, and low geomagnetic activity conditions. The trough in the Southern Hemisphere is much deeper than that in the Northern Hemisphere, with the minimum trough density at 800 km being 2 × 10³ cm⁻³ in the Southern Hemisphere and 10⁴ cm⁻³ in the Northern Hemisphere. The dayside trough has a strong longitudinal (diurnal) dependence and appears between 11:00 and 19:00 U.T. in the Southern Hemisphere and between 02:00 and 08:00 U.T. in the Northern Hemisphere. This dayside trough is a result of the auroral oval moving to larger solar zenith angles at those universal times when the magnetic pole is on the antisunward side of the geographic pole. As the auroral ionization source moves to higher geographic latitudes, it leaves a region of declining photoionization on the dayside. For low convection speeds, the ionosphere decays and a dayside trough forms. The trough is deeper in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere because of the greater offset between the geomagnetic and geographic poles. Satellite data taken in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres confirm the gross features of the dayside trough, including its strong longitudinal dependence, its depth, and the asymmetry between the Northern and Southern Hemisphere troughs.     

A note on turbulent perturbations of salinity in a partially mixed estuary

Measurements of salinity perturbations in a partially mixed estuary have been used to evaluate the usefulness of an inductive salinometer and to determine some of the characteristics of the salinity perturbations. The salinometer performed satisfactorily under most conditions. Although internal wave like effects were present, the turbulence fluctuations were dominant. The salinity fluctuations and the turbulent fluxes $\text{sw}$ and $\text{su}$ were found to behave in a manner similar to the density fluctuations in a thermally stratified atmospheric boundary layer and a laboratory open channel flow. A quadrant analysis suggested that the contribution of each quadrant to the turbulent flux changed with Ri. The turbulence parameters ν and c_γ were found to decrease and increase respectively as Ri increases.