Monitoring the three-dimensional ionospheric electron density distribution using GPS observations over China

In this paper, an IRI model assisted GPS-based Computerized Ionospheric Tomography (CIT) technique is developed to inverse the ionospheric electron density (IED) distribution over China. Essentially, an improved algebraic reconstruction technique (IART) is first proposed to reconstruct the ionospheric images with high resolution and high efficiency. A numerical experiment is used to validate the reliability of the method and its advantages to the classical algebraic reconstruction technique (ART). This is then used to reconstruct the IED images using the GPS data in China. The variations of the IED during magnetically quiet and disturbed days are reported and analyzed here. Reconstructed results during magnetically quiet days show some prominent ionospheric features such as the development of equatorial anomaly and the tilt of ionization crest. Meanwhile, ionospheric storm phase effects and disturbed features can also be revealed from the reconstructed IED image under storm conditions. Research shows that the positive storm phase effects usually happen in southern China, and the negative storm phase effects mainly occur in northern China. The equatorial anomaly crest moved to the north in the main phase of the storm. Ionosonde data recorded at Wuhan station provides the verification for the reliability of GPS-based CIT technique.     

High-frequency radar observations of the June 2013 US East Coast meteotsunami

We report here on the observation and offline detection of the meteotsunami off the New Jersey coast on June 13, 2013, using coastal radar systems and tide gauges. This work extends the previous observations of tsunamis originating in Japan and Indonesia. The radars observed the meteotsunami 23 km offshore, 47 min before it arrived at the coast. Subsequent observations showed it moving onshore. The neighboring tide gauge height reading provides confirmation of the radar observations near the shore.     

Comparative study of scintillations at the magnetic equator and at the crest region of the equatorial anomaly in Indian zone

Using simultaneous long-term observations of ionospheric scintillation at equator and anomaly crest region in the same longitude (Indian) zone comparative features of scintillation occurrence are brought out. The salient features are: (a) predominantly pre-midnight occurrence of scintillation at equator during winter and equinox seasons, (b) increase of pre-midnight scintillation occurrence with solar activity (c) shifting of occurrence peak during summer from post-midnight in low to pre-midnight in high solar activity periods (d) similarity of scintillation behaviour at these locations during winter and equinoxes but dissimilarity during summer. The solar activity response and magnetic effects indicate that the scintillations at the anomaly crest region in winter and equinox, particularly during high solar activity periods, are of equatorial origin while the summer events may be of local or mid-latitude origin.     

Calibration of imperfect models to biased observations

The problem of assimilating biased and inaccurate observations into inadequate models of the physical systems from which the observations were taken is common in the petroleum and groundwater fields. When large amounts of data are assimilated without accounting for model error and observation bias, predictions tend to be both overconfident and incorrect. In this paper, we propose a workflow for calibration of imperfect models to biased observations that involves model construction, model calibration, model criticism and model improvement. Model criticism is based on computation of model diagnostics which provide an indication of the validity of assumptions. During the model improvement step, we advocate identification of additional physically motivated parameters based on examination of data mismatch after calibration and addition of bias correction terms. If model diagnostics indicates the presence of residual model error after parameters have been added, then we advocate estimation of a “total” observation error covariance matrix, whose purpose is to reduce weighting of observations that cannot be matched because of deficiency of the model. Although the target applications of this methodology are in the subsurface, we illustrate the approach with two simplified examples involving prediction of the future velocity of fall of a sphere from models calibrated to a short-time series of biased measurements with independent additive random noise. The models into which the data are assimilated contain model errors due to neglect of physical processes and neglect of uncertainty in parameters. In every case, the estimated total error covariance is larger than the true observation covariance implying that the observations need not be matched to the accuracy of the measuring instrument. Predictions are much improved when all model improvement steps were taken.     

Temporal variations in the position of the heliospheric equator

It is shown that the centroid of the heliospheric equator undergoes quasi-periodic oscillations. During the minimum of the 11-year cycle, the centroid shifts southwards (the so-called bashful-ballerina effect). The direction of the shift reverses during the solar maximum. The solar quadrupole is responsible for this effect. The shift is compared with the tilt of the heliospheric current sheet.     

Low paleosecular variation at the equator: a paleomagnetic pilgrimage from Galapagos to Esterel with Allan Cox and Hans Zijderveld

McFadden and Merrill (1995) suggested that the paleosecular variation (PSV) measured by the angular scatter of the virtual geomagnetic pole is minimal at the equator and should be smaller during a superchron than during the last 5 Myr. We revisited a key site of the 0–5 Ma database, the Galapagos archipelago, studied by Allan Cox in the early sixties. We obtained 79 sites with reliable mean directions on four islands (San Cristobal, Floreana, Santa Cruz and Pinzon), showing a larger proportion of transitional data than Cox (16 instead of 6%), because the sampling was concentrated on the Brunhes-Matuyama transition as delimited by Cox. This dataset allowed us to test the statistical method of Vandamme (1994) to separate PSV from transitional data. We obtained an angular scatter value of 11.2° (9.9–12.9°), instead of 16.8° for an a-priori rejection angle of 40°, compared with the 12.7° predicted from the global compilation (McFadden et al. 1991). Studies of sequences of lava flows are quite scarce in the Permian Kiaman Superchron, and the Esterel volcanics with their subequatorial paleolatitude are a good candidate to test the above prediction. We confirm the quality of the original data of Zijderveld (1975) and we improved the mean direction from one site. We also used new geological and geochronological data: Ar/Ar ages point to the period 264–278 Ma for a totally reversed volcanic sequence, in agreement with an ending of the Kiaman Superchron at 262–268 Ma. The extremely low angular scatter obtained (4 to 8°, depending on data selection) confirms the prediction, but an alternative interpretation invoking a post-volcanic Permian remagnetization is discussed.     

Escape models of the Alpine-Carpathian-Pannonian region in the light of palaeomagnetic observations

Recent tectonic models of the Alpine-Carpatho-Pannonian region (ALCAPA) assume a large eastward shift of the Transdanubian Range domain, in the Cenozoic. Since palaeomagnetism is one of the most powerful tools in solving geodynamic processes, the authors present an approach to the escape problem by using all available and relevant palaeomagnetic data. This data set demonstrates consistency with models put forward by geologists for Jurassic and older ages. From the mid-Jurassic on the Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA) did not share the rotations of the Transdanubian Range domain and of the Southern Alps. After individual movements from Neocomian to Miocene, the Transdanubian Range domain must have drifted northward in the mid-Miocene up to the Southern margin of the Northern Calcareous Alps, before starting the escape in the geologists' definition.     

Residual electron density at theM2 site inC2/c clinopyroxenes: Relationships with bulk chemistry and sub-solidus evolution

The systematic study of both natural and synthetic clinopyroxenes often indicates the presence in the difference Fourier map of a maximum of residual density of up to 0.8 electrons, here labelledM2′, close to theM2 site along the diad axis, defining a square pyramid co-ordination polyhedron. To investigate the nature and the crystalchemical implications of this feature, a limited but representative set of clinopyroxenes of volcanic, metamorphic and synthetic origin has been investigated by X-ray structure refinement (at 0.7 and 0.4 Å resolution), by microprobe analysis and by transmission electron microscopy. The most important results are: a) at increasing resolution, the height of theM2′ peak increases while its co-ordinates move towardM2; b) as (Ca + Na) content approaches 1.0 atom per formula unit,M2′ vanishes; c)M2′ has been found in clinopyroxenes which show differing incipient exsolution microstructures, from spinodal decomposition to non-periodic fluctuations, as well as in homogeneous specimens. The presence ofM2′ is interpreted in terms of the simultaneous coexistence in the crystals of two different structural models, approximately diopside and clinoenstatite. An accurate evaluation of the totalM2 + M2′ site occupancy is strongly suggested in XREF work, particularly when thermodynamic and kinetic considerations have to be obtained with accurate determinations of site occupancy factors as a starting point.     

Temperature trends in the permafrost of the Northern Hemisphere: Comparison of model calculations with observations

We present the results of analysis of numerical calculations of the thermal state of permafrost grounds at different depths using a model of heat and moisture transport in the ground developed at the Oboukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences (IAP RAS). For high-latitude regions of Russia, the model-estimated temperature trends in grounds (around 0.3°C/10 years at a depth of 3 m) are quite consistent with empirical estimates for the past few decades.     

赤道东经90°海岭3.5Ma以来远洋记录反映的重大环境事件

通过对东经90°海岭ODP758钻孔岩心3.5Ma以来的浮游有孔虫远洋记录的研究,结合岩性地层、稳定同位素地层、碳酸盐地层等资料,探讨了喜马拉雅山加速隆升、"中更新世气候转型"、"中布容溶解"事件等重大构造、环境事件在研究区的表现及相关机制。通过对各项指标的分析和对比,根据ODP758岩心的有孔虫组合面貌、古温度、古盐度和古温跃层的变化情况,推断研究区在1.4～0.7Ma期间的气候变化可能是在"中更新世气候转型"条件下发生的。碳酸钙、碳酸钙沉积通量和非碳酸钙沉积通量曲线在1.7Ma时快速增长,与现有资料显示的青藏高原的隆升历史相符,分别与青藏高原隆升过程中的青藏运动A幕、B幕、C幕(1.7Ma)和昆仑-黄河运动(1.2～0.6Ma)相当。碳酸钙含量、大于150μm的粗组分含量、浮游有孔虫沉积通量和浮游有孔虫生物地层揭示出在0.5～0.4Ma期间研究区深海碳酸盐遭受了强烈溶解。此事件与大西洋、太平洋、印度洋及南沙海区沉积记录中的"中布容溶解"事件一致。     

The electron density in clouds of turbulent interstellar plasma

The dependence of the emission measure on the dispersion measure due to the Galactic background has been derived for 120 directions in the Galaxy. This analysis has yielded the mean electron density, effective thickness of the electron layer, and the volume filling factor of the clouds of ionized gas along the line of sight. The pulsar J1745?2900, which lies in a direction close to the direction toward the center of the Galaxy, is located at least 100 pc closer to the observer than the source Sgr A* along the line of sight. The scatter-broadened angular size of J1745?2900 is determined by the turbulent medium in the Sagittarius Arm.     

Analysis of density fluctuations in models of open clusters

The frequencies for homologous and non-homologous density flucutations in unisolated, ellipsoidal models of open clusters are determined. These fluctuations are stable. In the cases considered, the frequencies of non-homologous fluctuations are higher than those for homologous fluctuations of the ellipsoidal models. The instability of the proper fluctuations of the phase density at the center of a homogeneous ellipsoid whose central characteristics correspond to the core parameters of a dynamical, numericalmodel cluster is demonstrated. The development of instability of the phase-density flucutations at the center of such an ellipsoid leads to the domination of fluctuations with the frequency γ ₁, corresponding to the growth increment γ ₂ for this instability. Estimates of γ ₁ and γ ₂ agree with estimates obtained for the core of the corresponding dynamical, numerical model cluster. Astrophysical applications of the results are discussed.     

Atomic and ionic radii: a comparison with radii derived from electron density distributions

 The bonded radii of anions obtained in topological analyses of theoretical and experimental electron density distributions differ from atomic, ionic and crystal radii in that oxide-, fluoride-, nitride- and sulfide-anion radii are not constant for a given coordination number. They vary in a regular way with bond length and the electronegativity of the cation to which they are bonded, exhibiting radii close to atomic radii when bonded to a highly electronegative cation and radii close to ionic radii when bonded to a highly electropositive cation. The electron density distributions show that anions are not spherical but exhibit several different radii in different bonded directions. The bonded radii of cations correlate with ionic and atomic radii. But unlike ionic radii, the bonded radius of a cation shows a relatively small increase in value with an increase in coordination number. In contrast to atomic and ionic radii, the bonded radius of an ion in a crystal or molecule can be used as a reliable and well-defined estimate of its radius in the direction of its bonds. Received April 16, 1996 / Revised, accepted August 6, 1996     

Limb darkening of the Call K line wings. Comparison with the average quiet Sun models

The detailed measurements of Call K line profiles along a diameter of the solar disk are presented. The obtained limb-darkening curves are used to test three semi-empirical models for the quiet Sun assuming moderate resolution. The calculations were carried out using the non-LTE code MULTI, taking into account a partial frequency redistribution. A comparative analysis of the measured and computed curves shows that the behavior of the Call K profiles from the center to the limb is sensitive to the temperature distributions of the semi-empirical models. The SRPM 305 model published by Fontenla et al. (2007) best reproduces the observed limb darkening in the region from the photosphere to the lower chromosphere; however, the agreement of this model with the observations at the line center is worse than for the other models, since this model was not assigned to describe hot chromospheric layers.     

Mapping vertical profile of discontinuous permafrost with ground penetrating radar at Nalaikh depression,Mongolia

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has become an important geophysical tool which can provide a wealth of interpretive information about the vertical profile of discontinuous permafrost. A GPR investigation was conducted in October 2006 at the Nalaikh site at the southern boundary of the Siberian discontinuous permafrost region in Mongolia. GPR data were collected along four 100-m-long profiles to identify the location of the permafrost body, which included an in situ drilling borehole and analysis of temperature observations and soil water content measurements from boreholes. The GPR interpretation results indicated that the thickness of discontinuous permafrost at the study site was only 1.9–3.0 m and the permafrost is vulnerable to climate change. The soil temperature and soil water content data demonstrate the precision of GPR image interpretation. This case demonstrated that GPR is well suited for mapping the internal structure of discontinuous permafrost with relatively low soil water content.     

四种湍流模型对空化流动模拟的比较

采用四种湍流模型对NACA66水翼空化流动进行模拟,分析了不同湍流模型和壁面函数对空化流动模拟结果的影响.分析结果表明:ASM模型和RNG k-ε模型对空化数不敏感,且计算精度较高;Realizable k-ε模型对空化数的变化很敏感,对不同的空化数计算精度相差很大;标准k-ε模型对空化数不敏感,但精度不高.增强壁面函数法对空化数不敏感,计算精度较高;标准壁面函数法和非平衡壁面函数法对空化数有一定的敏感性,但计算结果差异不大.     

New observations of anomalous X-ray pulsars at low frequencies

We report the results of new observations of three anomalous X-ray pulsars: 1E 2259+586, 4U 0142+61, and XTE J1810-197. The observations were carried out on high-sensitivity radio telescopes of the Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory: the Large Phased Array at 111MHz and the DKR-1000 at 62 MHz. New, digital, multi-channel receivers designed for pulsar observations were used. Pulse profiles and dynamical spectra for the three pulsars are presented. The mean flux density for XTE J1810-197 is estimated to be ∼160 mJy at 62 MHz. An estimated spectral index for this pulsar is also presented.