Magnetic Reconnection, Turbulence, and Collisionless Shock

A short summary of recent progress in measuring and understanding turbulence during magnetic reconnection in laboratory plasmas is given. Magnetic reconnection is considered as a primary process to dissipate magnetic energy in laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. A central question concerns why the observed reconnection rates are much faster than predictions made by classical theories, such as the Sweet–Parker model based on MHD with classical Spitzer resistivity. Often, the local resistivity is conjectured to be enhanced by turbulence to accelerate reconnection rates either in the context of the Sweet–Parker model or by facilitating setup of the Pestchek model. Measurements at a dedicated laboratory experiment, called MRX or Magnetic Reconnection Experiment, have indicated existence of strong electromagnetic turbulence in current sheets undergoing fast reconnection. The origin of the turbulence has been identified as right-hand polarized whistler waves, propagating obliquely to the reconnecting field, with a phase velocity comparable to the relative drift velocity. These waves are consistent with an obliquely propagating electromagnetic lower-hybrid drift instability driven by drift speeds large compared to the Alfven speed in high-beta plasmas. Interestingly, this instability may explain electromagnetic turbulence also observed in collisionless shocks, which are common in energetic astrophysical phenomena.     

CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Flux Measurements over the Sea Surface by Eddy Correlation and Aerodynamic Techniques

The measurements of the vertical transport of CO₂ were carried out over the Sea of Japan using the specially designed pier of Kyoto University on September 20 to 22, 2000. CO₂ fluxes were measured by the eddy correlation and aerodynamic techniques. Both techniques showed comparable CO₂ fluxes during sea breeze conditions: −0.001 to −0.08 mg m⁻²s⁻¹ with the mean of −0.05 mg m⁻²s⁻¹. This means that the measuring site satisfies the fetch requirement for meteorological observations under sea breeze conditions. Moreover, the eddy diffusivity coefficient used in the aerodynamic technique is found to be consistent with the coefficient used in the eddy correlation technique. The present result leads us to conclude that the aerodynamic technique may be applicable to underway CO₂ flux measurements over the ocean and may be used in place of the bulk technique. The important point is the need to maintain a measuring accuracy of CO₂ concentration difference of the order of 0.1 ppmv on the research vessels or the buoys.     

Turbulent structure in water under laboratory wind waves

The structure of the turbulent boundary layer underneath laboratory wind waves was studied by using a combination of a high-sensitivity thermometer array with a two-component sonic flowmeter. The temperature fluctuations are used to detect movements of water parcels, with temperature as a passive quantity. The turbulence energy was dominant in the frequency range (0.01 0.1 Hz), which was much smaller than the wind-wave frequency (2 5 Hz), and in which the turbulence was anisotropic. There was a frequency range (0.2 2 Hz for velocity, 0.2 5 Hz for temperature fluctuation) where the turbulence was isotropic and had a –5/3 slope in the energy spectrum. These points are the same as those in previous works. However, by analyses of the time series by using a variable-interval time-averaging technique (VITA), it has been found that conspicuous events in this main turbulence energy band are the downward bursting from the vicinity of the water surface. Thus the structure of the water layer underneath the wind waves has characters which are similar to the familiar turbulent boundary layer over a rough solid wall, as already conceived. It has been found that, at the same time, the turbulence energy can be related to quantities of the wind waves (the root mean squared water level fluctuation and the wave peak frequency), for different wind and wave conditions. That is, the turbulence underneath the wind waves develops under a close coupling with the wind waves.     

Numerical investigation of motions of resonant asteroids in the three-dimensional space

Motions of asteroids in mean motion resonances with Jupiter are studied in three-dimensional space. Orbital changes of fictitious asteroids in the Kirkwood gaps are calculated by numerical integrations for 10⁵ – 10⁶ years. The main results are as follows: (1) There are various motions of resonant asteroids, and some of them are very complicated and chaotic and others are regular. (2) The eccentricity of some asteroids becomes very large, and the variation of the inclination is large while the eccentricity is large. (3) In the 3:1 resonance, there is a long periodic change in the variation of the inclination, when (7 : ) is a simple ratio (7: longitude of perihelion, : longitude of node). (4) In the 7:3 resonance, the variation of the inclination of some resonant asteroids is so large that prograde motion becomes retrograde. Some asteroids in the 7:3 resonance can collide with the Sun as well as with the inner planets.     

Stratigraphy and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of a Quaternary sequence along the Dong Nai River, southern Vietnam

The pre-Holocene Cenozoic sequence outcrops in the terrestrial part of the eastern margin of the Mekong Basin. However, the stratigraphy of the sequence is still unclear. Its detailed stratigraphy and chronology were therefore studied along the Dong Nai River, southern Vietnam, and the lithofacies and the relations among the formations were investigated from the outcrops. The ages of the deposits were determined by using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating.The Ba Mieu Formation was deposited about 176±52 ka during marine isotope stage (MIS) 7–6. The Thu Duc Formation was deposited about 97±27 ka during MIS 5. Both the Ba Mieu and Thu Duc formations are composed of fluvial and tidally influenced coastal deposits. The newly proposed Nhon Trach Formation was originally an eolian (blanket) deposit, but it has been partly reworked by fluvial processes. The Nhon Trach Formation was deposited about 10.9±4.7 ka, in the last part of the Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene. The OSL ages for the Ba Mieu, Thu Duc, and Nhon Trach formations are younger than the ages previously assigned to these formations.     

应用等效纬度-海拔模型进行地温及多年冻土制图

This research presents a method for permafrost mapping in discontinuous permafrost regions based on equivalent latitude/elevation concept in interior Alaska. In winter months, study site has a strong temperature inversion in air up to 700 m elevation. Air temperature data and the effects of slope, aspect and elevation were used to create an equivalent latitude/elevation model. This model was well correlated with mean annual surface temperature (0.79). In this watershed, the thawing index (It≈1 400 ℃*days) at the ground surface and snow depth do not vary greatly from south facing to north facing slopes. The primary controlled factor that determines the mean annual surface temperature was the winter surface temperature. The permafrost stability is effectively controlled by the freezing index. We determined 37.5% of Caribou-Poker Creeks Research Watershed has unstable or thawing permafrost. At least 2.1% of the permafrost in this watershed may have disappeared in the last 90 years due to climate warming. This method makes it possible to evaluate the permafrost stability in the present, past and future.     

Biogenic Silica Record in Lake Biwa of Central Japan over the Past 145,000 Years

The record of the biogenic silica flux (BSF, g cm⁻²(10³yr)⁻¹) in Lake Biwa reflects changes in diatom productivity in the lake and provides information regarding changes in paleoclimatic conditions. The BSF record of Lake Biwa demonstrates five periods over the past ca. 145,000 yr when the BSF values were significantly greater than 7.5 g cm⁻²(10³yr)⁻¹, and five intervals when they were lower. The data imply that paleoclimatic conditions were warmer and wetter from ca. 123,000 to 115,000, 103,000 to 95,000, 88,000 to 72,000, 57,000 to 32,000 yr B.P., and around ca. 6000 yr B.P. when the BSF values were greater, and relatively dry and cold from ca. 141,000 to 123,000 yr B.P. and during intervals between two of the five warm and wet episodes when the BSF values were lower. Time series of the BSF record can be correlated with the record of biogenic silica content in Lake Baikal and the marine oxygen isotope stages 1 through 6. Furthermore, the BSF values varied with much higher amplitude during the last interglaciation than during the last glaciation, probably implying that the diatom productivity in Lake Biwa was likewise more variable and had a larger range under interglacial conditions than under glacial conditions.     

Seasonal variations of the surface currents in the Tsushima Strait

Seasonal variations of the surface currents in the Tsushima Strait were investigated by analyzing the monthly mean surface currents measured with HF radar. Several new features of the surface currents have been found. One notable feature is the large, complicated seasonal variation in the current structure in the eastern channel of the strait. For example, in the southeastern and northwestern regions of the channel, southwestward countercurrents are found in summer while southeastward acrossshore currents are found in autumn and winter. The wind-driven flow (Ekman flow) as well as surface geostrophic currents are responsible for these complicated variations of the surface currents. To quantify each variation of the flow and current, the wind-driven flow was calculated from the monthly wind (more precisely, the friction velocity) using the monthly speed factor and deflection angle estimated in our previous study, and the surface geostrophic currents were then estimated by subtracting the wind-driven flow from the measured surface currents. It was found that the acrossshore currents are the wind-driven flow, and that the surface geostrophic currents flow almost in the along-shore direction, indicating the validity of the decomposition of the surface velocity into the wind-driven flow and the geostrophic currents using the speed factor and deflection angle. A real-vector empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of the surface geostrophic currents shows a pair of eddies in the lee of Tsushima and Iki Islands as the first mode, which indicates that the southwestward countercurrents in the eastern channel are formed primarily by the incoming Tsushima Warm Current.