A numerical study of the pre-ejection, magnetically-sheared corona as a free boundary problem

A class of magnetostatic equilibria with axial symmetry outside a unit sphere in the presence of plasma pressure and an r ^–2 gravitational field is constructed. The structure contains a localized current-carrying region confined by a background bipolar potential field, and the shape of the region changes subject to the variation of the electric current. The continuity requirement for the magnetic field and plasma pressures at the outer boundary of the cavity defines a free boundary problem, which is solved numerically using a spectral boundary scheme. The model is then used to study the expansion of the current-carrying region, caused by the buildup of magnetic shear, against the background confining field. The magnetic shear in our model is induced by the loading of an azimuthal field, accompanied by a depletion of plasma density.We show that due to the additional effect of confinement by the dense surrounding plasma, the energy of the magnetic field can exceed the energy of its associated open field, presumably a necessary condition for the onset of coronal mass ejections. (However, the plasma beta of the confining fluid is higher than that in the outer boundary of a realistic helmet-streamer structure.) Furthermore, under the assumption that coronal mass ejections are driven by magnetic buoyancy, the result from our model study lends further support to the notion of a suspended magnetic flux rope in the low-density cavity of a helmet-streamer as a promising pre-ejection configuration.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Composition and quality of coals in the Huaibei Coalfield, Anhui, China

The Huaibei Coalfield, Anhui Province, China, is one of the largest coalfields in China. The coals of Permian age are used mainly for power generation. Coal compositions and 47 trace elements of the No. 10 Coal of the Shanxi Formation, the No. 7, 5, and 4 Coals of the Lower Shihezi Formation, and the No. 3 Coal of the Upper Shihezi Formation from the Huaibei Coalfield were studied. The results indicate that the Huaibei coals have low ash, moisture, and sulfur contents, but high volatile matter and calorific value. The ash yield increases stratigraphically upwards, but the volatile matter and total sulfur contents show a slight decrease from the lower to upper seams. Magmatic intrusion into the No. 5 Coal resulted in high ash, volatile matter, and calorific value, but low moisture value in the coal. Among the studied 47 trace elements, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Th, U, V, and Zn are of environmental concerns. Four elements Hg, Mo, Zn, and Sb are clearly enriched in the coals as compared with the upper continental crust.     

Growth of Five Species of Gorgonians (Sub-Class Octocorallia) in the Sedimented Waters of Singapore

Abstract. Annual growth rates of gorgonians in the Indo-Pacific region are reported ror the first tinie. A method of measuring gorgonian growth using periodic photographic monitoring that is sensitive to horizontal growth and changes in growth foci but that does not require tedious underwater measurements is applied. Growth parameters of five species of gorgonians from three Families ( Plexauridae. Melithaeidae . and Subergorgiidae ) were monitored over a period of 18 months using this method. Growth rates ranged from 2.30 cm a^-1 to 7.88 cm. a ^-1 in the highly sedimented waters of Singapore. The maximum number of branches added per year ranged from 1.7 to 14.5.     

A comparison of airborne eddy correlation and bulk aerodynamic methods for ocean-air turbulent fluxes during cold-air outbreaks

Four bulk schemes (LKB, FG, D and DB), with the flux-profile relationships of Liuet al. (1979), Francey and Garratt (1981), Dyer (1974), and Dyer and Bradley (1982), are derived from the viscous interfacial-sublayer model of Liuet al. These schemes, with stability-dependent transfer coefficients, are then tested against the eddy-correlation fluxes measured at the 50 m flight level above the western Atlantic Ocean during cold-air outbreaks. The bulk fluxes of momentum (), sensible heat (H), and latent heat (E) are found to increase with various von Kármán constants (k _M for k _H forH, andk _E forE). Except that the LKB scheme overestimates by 28% (46Wm^–2), on the average, the fluxes estimated by the four bulk schemes appear to be in fairly good agreement with those of the eddy correlation method (magnitudes of biases within 10% for , 17% forH, and 13% forE). The results suggest that the overall fluxes and surface-layer scaling parameters are best estimated by FG and thatk _H <k _E . On the average, the FG scheme underestimates by 10% (0.032N m^–2) andE by 4% (12Wm^–2), and overestimatesH by 0.3% (0.5W m^–2). The equivalent neutral transfer coefficients at 10 m height of the FG scheme compare well with some schemes of those tested by Blanc (1985).The relative importance of various von Kármán constants, dimensionless gradients and roughness lengths to the oceanic transfer coefficients is assessed. The dependence of transfer coefficients on wind speeds and roughness lengths is discussed. The transfer coefficients for andE agree excellently between LKB and FG. However, the ratio of the coefficient forH of LKB to that of FG, increasing with decreasing stability, is very sensitive to stability at low winds, but approaches the neutral value of 1.25 at high winds.     

A procedure for evaluating seismic energy demand of framed structures

Energy serves as an alternative index to response quantities like force or displacement to include the duration‐related seismic damage effect. A procedure to evaluate the absorbed energy in a multistorey frame from energy spectra was developed. For low‐ to medium‐rise frames, it required a static pushover analysis of the structure to determine the modal yield force and ductility factor of an equivalent single‐degree‐of‐freedom system for the first two modes. The energy spectra were then used to determine the energy contribution of each mode. A procedure was also developed to distribute the energy along the frame height based on energy shapes. This study showed that the second‐mode response in some cases needs to be considered to reflect the energy (or damage) concentration in the upper floors. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

FURTHER STUDY ON THE PROPERTIES OF OPERATORS OF ATMOSPHERIC EQUATIONS AND THE EXISTENCE OF ATTRACTOR

The equivalent operator equation is derived from the full primitive nonlinear equations of theatmospheric motion and the properties and physical senses of the operators are studied.In theinfinite dimensional Hilbert space,the global asymptotic behavior of the atmosphere system withthe non-stationary external forcing is studied under the assumption of the bounded externalforcing.The existence theorems of the global absorbing set and the global attractor are obtained.Thus,the conclusions deduced from the large-scale atmosphere(Li and Chou 1996 a;1996 b)areextended to the general atmosphere.     

THE EFFECTS OF EXTERNAL FORCING,DISSIPATION AND NONLINEARITY ON THE SOLUTIONS OF ATMOSPHERIC EQUATIONS*

Based on the primitive equations of the atmosphere,we study the effects of external forcing.dissipation and nonlinearity on the solutions of stationary motion and non-stationary motion.The results show that the asymptotic behavior of solutions of the forced dissipative nonlinear system is essentially different from that of the adiabatic non-dissipative system,the adiabatic dissipative system,the diabatic non-dissipative system and the diabatic dissipative linear system,and that the joint action of external forcing,dissipation and nonlinearity is the source of multiple equilibria.From this we can conclude that the important actions of diabatic heating and dissipation must be considered in the models of the long-term weather and the climate.     

Mineralogy and geochemistry of a Late Permian coal in the Dafang Coalfield, Guizhou, China: influence from siliceous and iron-rich calcic hydrothermal fluids

This paper describes the influence of siliceous and iron-rich calcic low-temperature hydrothermal fluids (LTHF) on the mineralogy and geochemistry of the Late Permian No. 11 Coal (anthracitic, R_r=2.85%) in the Dafang Coalfield in northwestern Guizhou Province, China. The No. 11 Coal has high contents of vein ankerite (10.2 vol.%) and vein quartz (11.4 vol.%), with formation temperatures of 85 and 180 °C, respectively, indicating that vein ankerite and vein quartz were derived from low-temperature calcic and siliceous hydrothermal fluids in two epigenetic episodes. The vein quartz appears to have formed earlier than vein ankerite did, and at least three distinct stages of ankerite formation with different Ca/Sr and Fe/Mn ratios were observed.The two types of mineral veins are sources of different suites of major and trace metals. Scanning electron microscope and sequential extraction studies show that, in addition to Fe, Mg, and Ca, vein ankerite is the dominant source of Mn, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the coal, and the contents of these five elements are as high as 0.09% and 74.0, 33.6, 185, and 289 μg/g, respectively. In contrast, vein quartz is the main carrier mineral for platinum-group elements (PGEs) Pd, Pt, and Ir in the coal, and the contents of Pd, Pt, and Ir are 1.57, 0.15, and 0.007 μg/g, respectively. Sequential extraction showed a high PGE content in the silicate fraction, up to 10.4 μg/g Pd, 1.23 μg/g Pt, and 0.05 μg/g Ir, respectively. It is concluded that the formation of ankerite and quartz and the anomalous enrichment of trace elements in the No. 11 Coal in the Dafang Coalfield, Guizhou, result from the influx of calcic and siliceous low-temperature hydrothermal fluids.     

On the estimation of surface radiation using satellite data

Summary Model calculations are used to investigate the uncertainties in the surface radiative flux empirically derived from satellite radiation measurements and theoretically calculated from radiation models using satellite-inferred cloud parameters. The empirical approach depends upon how well the satellite-measured radiances (represented here by the top-of-the-atmosphere flux) correlate with the net flux at the surface. The model calculations show that while the TOA flux and the net surface flux are correlated with respect to changes in optical thickness, they are not correlated with respect to changes in cloud height and negatively correlated with respect to changes in water vapor content. It is also found that the solar zenith angle has a strong effect on these relationships. It is, therefore, important to correct for the effects of atmospheric water vapor content and the solar zenith angle in the empirical estimation of surface radiative flux.The theoretical approach depends upon the net effect of the uncertainty in satellite-inferred cloud parameters. In the solar spectral region, the effects of the uncertainty in satellite retrieval of could cover and optical thickness on the net downward surface flux are systematically in opposite directions, so that the combined effects is typically small (< 7 Wm^–2). In the thermal infrared region, an error of 7 Wm^–2 could be induced by an uncertainty of 100 mb in the cloud-base height or an uncertainty of 0.1 in the fractional cloud cover. As opposed to what is commonly perceived, the error in the surface flux is likely to be larger in the IR region than in the solar spectral region.

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Zusammenfassung In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden mit Hilfe von Modellberechnungen die Unsicherheiten in den durch Satellitenmessungen empirisch gewonnenen Strahlungsflüssen an der Oberfläche und jene, die bei der Benützung von Strahlungsmodellen, die auf mit Satelliten abgeleiteten Wolkenparametern beruhen, verglichen. Die Gültigkeit des empirischen Näherungsverfahren ist davon abhängig, wie sehr die vom Satelliten gemessene Strahlung (im weiteren als top-of-the-atmosphere flux — TOA — bezeichnet) mit dem Nettostrahlungsfluß an der Oberfläche korreliert. Die Modellberechnungen zeigen, daß TOA-Fluß und Nettostrahlungsfluß an der Oberfläche zwar in bezug auf Änderungen der optischen Dicke, nicht aber in bezug auf Änderungen der Wolkenhöhe korreliert sind, während sie in bezug auf Veränderungen des Wasserdampfgehalts negativ korreliert sind. Es zeigt sich weiters, daß der Zenithwinkel der Sonne einen wesentlichen Einfluß auf diese Zusammenhänge hat. Daher ist es wichtig, die Auswirkungen des atmosphärischen Wasserdampfgehalts und des Sonnenzenithwinkels in den empirischen Berechnungen des Strahlungsflusses an der Oberfläche zu korrigieren.Der theroretische Ansatz ist abhängig vom Einfluß der Unsicherheiten der satellitenermittelten Wolkenparameter. Im solaren Spektralbereich wird der zur Oberfläche gerichtete Nettofluß durch die Unsicherheiten in der satellitenermittelten Wolkendecke und der optischen Dicke systematisch in entgegengesetzter Richtung beeinflußt, so daß der gemeinsame Effekt im allgemeinen gering bleibt (< 7 Wm^–2). Im thermischen Infrarotbereich kann ein Fehler von 7 Wm^–2 durch eine Unsicherheit von 100 mb in der Wolkenbasishöhe oder von 0.1 in der Bedeckung hervorgerufen werden. Im Gegensatz zur weitverbreiteten Ansicht ist also der Fehler bei Berechnungen des Flusses an der Oberfläche im thermischen Infrarotbereich aller Wahrscheinlichkeit nach größer als im solaren Spektrum.

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With 11 Figures     

福建省上杭县罗卜岭斑岩型铜（钼）矿床地质特征

罗卜岭异常区处于成矿有利部位，本文通过对该区的热液蚀变分带、岩石化学特征、包裹体特征等的初步研究以及对化探异常进行深部验证，认为罗卜岭异常区存在着斑岩型铜（钼）矿床，是寻找斑岩型铜（钼）矿床的有利靶区。