Geomagnetic induction in a heterogeneous sphere: fully three-dimensional test computations and the response of a realistic distribution of oceans and continents

Long-period geomagnetic data can resolve large-scale 3-D mantle electrical conductivity heterogeneities which are indicators of physiochemical variations found in the Earth's dynamic mantle. A prerequisite for mapping such heterogeneity is the ability to model accurately electromagnetic induction in a heterogeneous sphere. A previously developed finite element method solution to the geomagnetic induction problem is validated against an analytic solution for a fully 3-D geometry: an off-axis spherical inclusion embedded in a uniform sphere. Geomagnetic induction is then modelled in a uniform spherical mantle overlain by a realistic distribution of oceanic and continental conductances. Our results indicate that the contrast in electrical conductivity between oceans and continents is not primarily responsible for the observed geographic variability of long-period geomagnetic data. In the absence of persistent high-wavenumber magnetospheric disturbances, this argues strongly for the existence of large-scale, high-contrast electrical conductivity heterogeneities in the mid-mantle. Lastly, for several periods the geomagnetic anomaly associated with a mid-mantle spherical inclusion is calculated. A high-contrast inclusion can be readily detected beneath the outer shell of oceans and continents. A comparison between observed and computed c responses suggests that the mid-mantle contains more than one order of magnitude of lateral variability in electrical conductivity, while the upper mantle contains at least two orders of magnitude of lateral variability in electrical conductivity.     

On the anomalous features of the geomagnetic quiet-day field variations at Nagpur, India

The quiet-day geomagnetic field variation data from the recently commissioned Nagpur geomagnetic observatory, which has augmented the currently active latitudinal chain of Indian magnetic observatories, are analysed for the year 1993- The variations for diurnal frequencies (Sq) recorded at Nagpur do not follow the expected trend with latitude. This is most conspicuous in the northward horizontal ( X ) component. The anomalous behaviour at Nagpur is also seen in the diurnal harmonic amplitudes when compared with those of the neighbouring stations Alibag (south of Nagpur) and Ujjain (north of Nagpur). This behaviour is attributed to the presence of electrically conducting anomalous sources in the vicinity of Nagpur. The anomalous internal source is inferred to be located at relatively shallower depths and is highly localized.     

B-polarization induction in two thin half-sheets coupled to the mantle by a conducting crust—II. Solution by the mode-matching method, the fields above the conductors, and example results

The mode-matching method is used to obtain an exact analytical solution to the problem of B -polarization induction in two adjacent thin half-sheets, lying on a conducting layer that is terminated by a perfect conductor at finite depth. These components of the model represent, respectively, the Earth's conducting surface layers, crust, and mantle. In dimensionless variables, the model has three independent parameters, these being the two thin-sheet conductances and the layer thickness. The mode-matching solution obtained in this paper is shown to be identical lo that derived via the Wiener-Hopf method in a companion paper (Dawson 1996), and so provides additional verification of that solution. As was shown in the companion paper, the solution for the present model contains, as special limiting cases, those for three models considered earlier by various authors. The second part of the present paper addresses the solutions for the electric fields in the non-conducting half-space above the conductors, which represents the atmosphere. In the final part, sample numerical calculations are presented to illustrate the solution.     

2016-2060年欧美中印CO2排放变化模拟及其与INDCs的比较

研究各国在未来政策实施下温室气体排放量变化,对比其与国家自主贡献预案（INDCs）承诺目标的差别,对促进各国继续提高温室气体减排力度、加强国际合作,实现全球应对气候变化的长期目标有重要意义。基于最新的各国经济和能源数据,构建了化石能源CO₂排放的动态模型,通过设置“延续”和“规划”两类情景,模拟了欧盟、美国、中国、印度2016-2060年的CO₂排放量变化,并与各自的INDCs进行了对比。结果显示：① 中国在全部实现既有政策规划的前提下,将于2030年达到CO₂排放峰值,约11277±643 Mt CO₂,比延续过往发展趋势的情景提前10年达峰,峰值降低接近3000 Mt CO₂;2030年单位GDP碳强度比2005年下降约63.6%,一次能源消耗中非化石能源占比约24.7%,能够实现中国提出的INDC目标。② 在全部实现既有政策规划的前提下,欧盟和美国CO₂排放量有明显下降,印度CO₂排放增速将明显放缓,欧盟和印度基本可以实现INDCs的最低要求,但美国与其最低承诺目标尚有差距。③ 各国INDCs目标均有力度,其中以中国和美国最为突出。但要在INDCs目标基础上,更进一步减缓全球增暖,确保21世纪末气温上升幅度低于2 ℃甚至1.5 ℃,发达国家需进一步推进减排举措、技术、资金等的落实,包括带头推进碳捕获与封存技术,以尽早实现CO₂排放负增长,并对发展中国家提供资金和技术支持。     

苏北盐城海岸带景观格局时空变化及驱动力分析

利用RS、GIS手段研究分析了盐城海岸带景观格局的时空变化及其驱动力因子。结果表明：在1983～2000年间,景观斑块数量倍增,平均斑块面积大幅度减小,景观基质构成由比重势均的人工、自然景观变成了以耕地、水域为主的人工景观;海岸带景观异质性整体上有减弱的趋势,主要表现为多样性指数降低、破碎化指数增大、分维数减小,而在空间和类型上又有异于整体的表现;自然地理条件、人口增长、经济收益差异、政府政策是导致盐城海岸带景观格局变化及其区域差异的主要驱动力;随着滩涂围垦利用等人类干扰的不断增加,海岸带景观生态环境保护与经济开发之间的矛盾将愈发突出。     

Decadal-scale variation in dune erosion and accretion rates: An investigation of the significance of changing storm tide frequency and magnitude on the Sefton coast, UK

Monitoring of frontal dune erosion and accretion on the Sefton coast in northwest England over the past 50 years has revealed significant spatial and temporal variations. Previous work has shown that the spatial variations primarily reflect longshore differences in beach and nearshore morphology, energy regime and sediment budget, but the causes of temporal variations have not previously been studied in detail. This paper presents the results of work carried out to test the hypothesis that a major cause of temporal variation is changes in the frequency and magnitude of storms, surges and resulting high tides. Dune toe erosion/accretion records dating from 1958 have been compared with tide gauge records at Liverpool and Heysham. Relatively high dune erosion rates at Formby Point 1958–1968 were associated with a relatively large number of storm tides. Slower erosion at Formby, and relatively rapid accretion in areas to the north and south, occurred during the 1970's and 1980's when there were relatively few major storm tides. After 1990 rates of dune erosion at Formby increased again, and dunes to the north and south experienced slower accretion. During this period high storm tides have been more frequent, and the annual number of hours with water levels above the critical level for dune erosion has increased significantly. An increase in the rate of mean sea-level rise at both Liverpool and Heysham is evident since 1990, but we conclude that this factor is of less importance than the occurrence of extreme high tides and wave action associated with storms. The incidence of extreme high tides shows an identifiable relationship with the lunar nodal tidal cycle, but the evidence indicates that meteorological forcing has also had a significant effect. Storms and surges in the eastern Irish Sea are associated with Atlantic depressions whose direction and rate of movement have a strong influence on wind speeds, wave energy and the height of surge tides. However, preliminary analysis has indicated only a modest relationship between dune erosion/accretion rates and the North Atlantic Oscillation index.     

边界效应的测定方法及其在长江三角洲的应用

采用Barro回归方程结合重力模型,构建了区域经济一体化进程中对行政区边界效应的度量方法,并以长江三角洲地区为例,对20世纪90年代江苏与浙江、上海与江苏、上海与浙江的边界效应进行了实证分析。通过邹检验发现,长江三角洲各城市间的经济水平存在结构性的差异,进一步的回归检验结果表明,长江三角洲各城市间存在一体化的趋势,但存在着边界效应;从变动态势上看,上海与江苏的边界效应越来越小,上海与浙江的边界效应存在增加的趋势,同时,江苏与浙江的边界在区域一体化的影响减少。最后,从自然条件、历史发展、行政区经济、发展模式和制度安排等方面分析了边界效应及演变的原因。     

Short-term beach–dune sand budgets on the north sea coast of France: Sand supply from shoreface to dunes, and the role of wind and fetch

Three experimental plots, covering the transition from the upper beach to the dune, on the North Sea coast of France were monitored at various intervals over a period of 18–24 months via high resolution terrain surveys in order to determine inter-site sand budget variability, as well as patterns and processes involved in sand exchanges between the upper beach and dune. The wind regime consists of a fairly balanced mix of moderate (80% of winds are below 8 m/s) onshore, offshore and shore-parallel winds. Sustained dune accretion over several years depends on the periodic local onshore welding of shoreface tidal banks that have developed in the storm- and tide-dominated setting of the southern North Sea. The only site where this has occurred in the recent past is Calais, where bank welding has created a wide accreting upper beach sand flat. At this site, significant sand supply from the subtidal sand bank reservoir to the upper beach flat occurred only once over the 18-month survey following a major storm. The bulk of the sand deposited over this large flat is not directly integrated into the adjacent embryo dunes by onshore winds but is progressively reworked in situ into developing dunes or transported alongshore by the balanced wind regime, thus resulting in alongshore stretching of the embryo dune system. The Leffrinckoucke site near Belgium shows moderate beach–dune mobility and accretion, while the Wissant site exhibits significant upper beach bedform mobility controlled by strong longshore currents that result in large beach budget fluctuations with little net budget change, to the detriment of the adjacent dunes. Accretion at these two sites, which are representative of the rest of the North Sea coast of France, is presently constrained by the absence of a shore-attached sand bank supply reservoir, while upper beach–dune sand exchanges are further limited by the narrow wave-affected upper beach, the intertidal morphology of bars and troughs which segments the aeolian fetch, and the moderate wind energy conditions. The balanced wind regime limits net sand mobilisation in favour of either the beach or the dune, and may explain the relatively narrow longshore morphology of the dune ridges bounding this coast.     

Place attachment and community activism at the coast: The case of Ngunguru,Northland

The politics of place precipitated by a development proposal for a privately owned sandspit in Ngunguru, Northland, is examined in this article. It centres on residents' place attachment and the ways in which this helped to inform community resistance to development. A framing analysis of 23 stakeholder interviews conducted in 2008–2009 was carried out by the authors. Place attachment was centred on holistic appreciation of the sandspit's special values. A widespread view that exercise of private property rights over the site was deeply problematic was informed by this appreciation. Community ties were enhanced by shared perceptions of a threat to the sandspit.