High-level warmings and total ozone over a tropical region

The rocketsonde data obtained from the launchings made at Thumba (8°3215N, 76°5148E) during the winter period 1970–71, as already reported, have indicated that warmings of noticeable magnitude occurred at high levels (upper stratosphere and mesosphere) over this tropical station during the period mentioned. The mean monthly radiosonde temperatures of 50, 100 and 300 mb levels at Thumba (Trivandrum) and Delhi (28°35N, 77°12E) during the same period have also pointed out certain anomalies consistent with the warmings referred to above at Thumba. The radiosonde temperatures of the two stations, Thumba (Trivandrum) and Delhi, have now been examined, along with the values of total ozone, for the ten winter periods commencing from 1961–1962. The analysis has pointed out the possibility of high-level warmings also having occurred in the past over the Indian region during the winters of 1963–1964 and 1967–1968, which are also the periods when prominent warmings are definitely known to have occurred at higher latitudes. The behaviour of total ozone has been found to be different in the different years of the warmings. The features noticed have been presented and discussed.     

Studies on precipitable water over tropical stations in relation to monsoon flow

Summary The mean monthly precipitable water at four tropical stations Madras (13°00N, 80°11E), Waltair (17°42N, 83°18E), Bombay (18°54N, 72°49E) and Nagpur (21°06N, 79°03E) are evaluated for the layer surface to 500 mb (0–5.4 km) of the atmosphere using radiosonde data available for seven years period (1959–1965). The mean monthly precipitable water for the above four stations is also estimated from dew point temperature.The precipitable water in the air column at any station is examined in relation to monsoon flow. The higher values of precipitable water are found to occur over the regions when there is good supply of moisture by the monsoon flow as well as low level convergence. These studies are believed to provide useful information in forecasting the monsoon circulation over the country.     

Surface ozone variation associated with rainfall

Using an electrochemical surface ozone recorder, continuous monitoring of surface ozone is being carried out at Trivandrum (8°29N, 76°57E). A study of those surface ozone data together with rainfall and temperature reveals certain variations in ozone associated with rainfall, apart from other established variations reported so far. While daytime rainfall brings a decrease in surface ozone, nighttime rainfall produces an increase. The change in the surface ozone persists for a longer duration than the rainfall.     

The derivatives of the lunar disturbing potential harmonics with respect to euler's angles

Summary The derivatives of the harmonicsP _n ^(k) (sin _O)cos kT_O andP _n ^(k) (sin _O)sin kT_O, occurring in the development of the lunar disturbing potential, are derived upto n=4 and for k== 0, 1, ..., n. The equatorial co-ordinates _OT_O are referred to the Moon's mass centre; the procedure for the solar disturbing potential is formally identical.     

Estimation of long wave radiation by an empirical method

Summary Utilising two years data collected at two tropical coastal stations, Madras (13°04N, 80°15E) and Waltair (17°42N, 83°18E) and for one tropical continental station, Nagpur (21°09N, 79°07E), the authors have re-evaluated the constants ofBrunt's regression equation. Analyses of the observations for Waltair and Nagpur show good correlation coefficients (r) between the values of the effective emissivity of the atmosphere (the effective emissivity is the ratio of incoming long-wave sky radiation at the surfaceR _s , to black body radiation T ⁴) and the square root values of surface vapour pressuree (mb). The value ofr for Waltair from radiometer observations is 0.98. It is also determined for Waltair and Nagpur from Ångström compensation pyrgeometer observations as 0.83 and 0.91 respectively. A low correlation co-efficient 0.56 is obtained for Madras. It might be due to higher surface vapour pressure values at Madras than at Waltair and Nagpur. The applicability of the reduced regression equations are examined for different years for the different stations. The agreement between the computed values with the new regression equations and the observed long-wave sky radiation at the surface seems to be quite good.     

Analysis of aeromagnetic anomalies over the central part of the Narmada-Son lineament

The Narmada-Son lineament (NSL) forms a major tectonic feature on the Indian subcontinent. The importance of this lineament lies in its evolution as well as its tectonic history. The lineament seems to have been active since Precambrian times. In order to understand the history of its evolution, it is necessary to know what igenous activity has been taking place along this lineament, and how the Deccan trap volcanics, which cover large areas along this lineament, have erupted.For the study of this problem an analysis of the aeromagnetic anomaly map lying between 76°15 to 77°30E and 21°45 to 22°50N has been carried out. Four different profiles (B ₁ B ₁,B ₂ B ₂,B ₃ B ₃ andB ₄ B ₄) have been drawn in N-S direction over this area and interpreted in terms of the intrusive bodies present within or below the surface of Deccan trap exposures. Inversion and forward modelling techniques have been adopted for interpretation purposes. An analysis of frequency spectra along the profiles has also been carried out to estimate the average depth of the different magnetic bodies. These results have been correlated with the available geological information. It has been found that most of the small wavelength anomalies are caused by dyke-like bodies within or below the Deccan trap at a depth of less than 0.5 km.     

Remote sensing of the global distribution of total ozone and the inferred upper-tropospheric circulation from Nimbus IRIS experiments

The global distribution of total ozone is derived for the period April, May, June and July of 1969 from Nimbus-3 Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer (IRIS) experiment. Preliminary estimates of ozone amounts from Nimbus-4 IRIS for the same period of 1970 show similar results. The standard error of estimation of total ozone from both IRIS experiments is 6% with respect to Dobson Spectrophotometer measurements. A systematic variation in the ozone distribution from April to July in the tropical, middle and polar latitudes is observed indicating the changes in the lower stratospheric circulation.The total ozone measurements show a strong correlation with the upper tropospheric geopotential height in the extratropical latitudes. From this relationship total ozone is used as a quasi-stream function to deduce geostrophic winds at the 200 mb level over extratropical regions of the northern and southern hemispheres. These winds reveal the subtropical and polar jet streams over the globe.Allied research associates.     

Großkreisdifferenzgleichen

Summary Echo soundings of the U.S. Cruiser Milwaukee in the Puerto Rico Trough in 1939 are briefly discussed, and two depths of 30246 feet or 9219 m, found at 19° 36 N, 68° 20.5 W and at 19° 35N, 68° 8.75W, are stated to be the greatest depths which are known so far in the Atlantic Ocean.     

Upper air mean dry-bulb and dew-point temperature profiles over Gauhati airport

Summary The best fit curves for upper air mean dry-bulb and dew-point temperatures over Gauhati airport (26°05N, 91°43E, 49 metres a.m.s.l.), for the month of April, have been calculated with the equation,x=A+By+Cy ²,y being the log value in mb of the isobaric level under consideration andx, the mean dry-bulb or dew-point temperature as the case may be, at the isobaric level under consideration. The values of constantsA, B andC for morning dry-bulb and dew-point curves come to be –29.54559, –93.65766 and +37.35048 and –118.84791, –31.15503 and +25.63585 respectively and values of these constants for evening curves come to be –35.86214, –94.15694 and +38.61870 and –127.55970, –29.97192 and +26.36538 respectively. These best fit curves help in finding out mean desired temperatures at any isobaric level in forecasting of thunderstorms and hailstorms, at a station, by dry-bulb and dew-point temperature anomaly technique propsed earlier by the authors.     

Annual and semiannual oscillations of stratospheric ozone

The global structures of annual oscillation (AO) and semiannual oscillation (SAO) of stratospheric ozone are examined by applying spherical harmonic analysis to the ozone data obtained from the Nimbus-7 solar backscattered UV-radiation (SBUV) measurements for the period November 1978 to October 1980. Significant features of the results are: (1) while the stratospheric ozone AO is prevalent only in the polar regions, the ozone SAO prevails both in the equatorial and polar stratospheres; (2) the vertical distribution of the equatorial ozone SAO has a broad maximum of the order of 0.5 (mixing ratio in g/g) and the maximum appears earlier at high altitude (shifting from May [and November] at 0.3 mb [60 km] to November [and May] at 40 mb); (3) above the 40 km level, the maximum of the polar ozone SAO shifts upward towards later phase with altitude with a rate of approximately 10 km/month in both hemispheres; (4) vertical distributions of the polar ozone AOs and SAOs show two peaks in amplitude with a minimum (nodal layer) in between and a rapid phase change with altitude takes place in the respective nodal layers; and (5) the heights of the ozone AO- and SAO-peaks decrease with latitude. The main part of AOs and SAOs of stratospheric ozone including hemispheric asymmetries is ascribable to: (i) temperature dependent ozone photochemistry in the upper stratosphere and mesosphere, (ii) variations of radiation field in the lower stratosphere affected by the annual cycle of solar illumination and temperature in the upper stratosphere and (iii) meridional ozone transport by dynamical processes in the lower stratosphere.     

Influence of the vertical motion field on ozone concentration in the stratosphere

Computations of the mean meridional motion field in the stratosphere are applied to ozone distributions to evaluate the associated ozone concentration changes. These changes are compared with those produced by photochemical and quasi-horizontal eddy processes. For the period January–April 1964 there is a cooperative action between the mean and eddy motions with mean subsidence in middle latitudes supplying ozone to be carried polawards and equatorwards by quasi-horizontal eddy processes. At low latitudes mean horizontal motions offset the eddy transport while at high latitudes mean rising motion is the offsetting term. The mean ozone flux through 50 mb, 3.5×10²⁹ molecules sec^–1, is comparable with the fluxes evaluated by other techniques.The spring maximum is thought to be due to a modulation of the energy supply to the stratospheric eddies which, in turn, force the mean motions. Longer-term changes are to be expected; for example during Ice Ages when increased tropospheric eddy activity is anticipated there should be higher total ozone.     

Surface ozone in the aretic atmosphere

Near-surface atmospheric ozone measurements were carried out at Barrow, Alaska (71°, 19N, 156°W), from January 1965 to September 1967. Ozone was continuously monitored by microcoulombmetric analysis at a level 2 m above the ground. Daily ozone concentrations near the ground varied from 7 to less than 1 pphm by volume. Highest concentrations occurred in the spring and showed sharp increases lasting from several hours to a few days. These sudden rises in ozone concentration correlated with storm front passages. The concentration of surface ozone from late spring through the sumer and fall showed less variability from day to day than in the spring. The lowest ozone concentrations occurred from late May to early June.     

Ozone distribution over Mediterranean,central and southeast Europe during the International Quiet Sun Year (1964–1965)

Summary Ozone observations made during 1964 and 1965 at nine Mediterranean, central and southeast European stations (latitudes 38–52°N, longitudes 9–23°E) reveal patterns of seasonal and shorter time-variations in total ozone as well as in vertical ozone distribution. During the winter-spring season, a significant increase (20%) of ozone occurs essentially simultaneously with the spring stratospheric warming, and is noticed at all stations.—Autocorrelation coefficients show that the total ozone on any day is strongly related to the total ozone of the preceding four days in summer or one or two days in winter-spring or autumn. Changes of total ozone in southeast Europe correlate closely with those in Mediterranean Europe, and less closely with those from north central Europe.—Power spectrum analysis detects the dependence of ozone changes on processes with periods longer than 6–8 days, and indicates a significant oscillation with a period of 14–15 days, perhaps a result of the direct influence of lower stratospheric circumhemispheric circulation. — Reliable vertical ozone soundings were not available from all stations. The mean vertical profiles at Arosa, Switzerland (47°N) and Belsk, Poland (51°) are very similar. More than 60% of the variability of the total ozone is contributed by changes in ozone concentration between 10 and 24 km; less than 10% is due to variations above 33 km. Changes in ozone partial pressure at different altitudes, and relationships of those changes to total ozone, indicates that a mean vertical ozone distribution may be described adequately by considering the ozone changes in four layers: a) the troposphere, b) the lower stratosphere up to 24 km, c) a transition layer from 24 km to a variable upper border at 33–37 km, and d) the layer above 33–37 km.Part of this paper was presented at the Ozone Seminar in Potsdam, Germany, 27 September 1966.     

The relations between the linear and bilinear atmospheric tidal fields in geometric height and in log-pressure coordinates

The relationships between the linearized meteorological variables as expressed in geometric height and in log-pressure coordinates are derived from the assumptions of classical atmospheric tidal theory. While the horizontal velocity components are the same to first-order in the two coordinate systems, a linearized vertical velocity differencew-H ₀ occurs because of the periodic vertical displacement of the constant pressure surfaces due to time-dependent, hydrostatic density perturbations; a linearized temperature differenceT- also results when these displacements occur in the presence of a zero-order vertical gradient of temperature. Both of these differences can be expressed in terms of the tidal geopotential field. For a given tidal mode, both differences are generally proportional to the square root of the ratio of the tidal mode's equivalent depth and the atmospheric scale height; the temperature difference is also proportional to the background temperature lapse rate. It is further shown that the two classical tidal vertical structure equations commonly derived in their respective geometric height and log-pressure coordinate systems are in fact identical to first-orderas long as the same thermotidal forcing function is used. Expressions for the zonal-mean components of the tidal bilinear fluxes, formed by zonally averaging the product of two longitudinally varying, linearized tidal fields, are also derived for the two coordinate systems. For the bilinear fields the largest relative differences (a few tens of percent) are for the tidal zonal-mean forcing per unit mass of the zonal wind. For Earth and Mars, differences between the tidal vertical velocity fields are generally less than 25% but may be significantly larger in the Martian atmosphere during one of its episodic planetary-scale dust storms. Tidal temperature differences are generally smaller.     

Temperature and ozone variations in the stratosphere

Examined are temperature and ozone variations in the Northern Hemisphere stratosphere during the period 1958–77, as estimated from radiosondes rocketsondes, ozonesondes, and Umkehr measurements. The temperature variation in the low tropical stratosphere is a combination of the variation associated with the quasi-biennial oscillation, and a variation nearly out of phase with the pronounced 3-yearly temperature oscillation (Southern Oscillation) present in the tropical troposphere since 1963. Based on radiosonde and rocketsonde data, the quasibiennial temperature oscillation can be traced as high as the stratopause, the phase varying with both height and latitude. However, the rocketsonde-derived temperature decrease of several degrees Celsius in the 25–55 km layer of the Western Hemisphere between 1969 (sunspot maximum) and 1976 (sunspot minimum) is not apparent in high-level radiosonde data, so that caution is advised with respect to a possible solar-terrestrial relation.There has been a strong quasi-biennial oscillation in ozone in the 8–16 km layer of the north polar region, with ozone minimum near the time of quasi-biennial west wind maximum at a height of 20 km in the tropics. A quasi-biennial oscillation in ozone (of similar phase) is also apparent from both ozonesonde data and Umkehr measurements in 8–16 and 16–24 km layers of north temperate latitudes, but not higher up. Both measurement techniques also suggest a slight overall ozone decrease in the same layers between 1969 and 1976, but no overall ozone change in the 24–32 km layer. Umkehr measurements indicate a significant 6–8% increase in ozone amount in all stratospheric layers between 1964 and 1970, and in 1977 the ozone amount in the 32–46 km layer was still 4% above average despite the predicted depletion due to fluorocarbon emissions. The decrease in ozone in the 32–46 km, layer of mid latitudes following the volcanic eruptions of Agung and Fuego is believed to be mostly fictitious and due to the bias introduced into the Umkehr technique by stratospheric aerosols of volcanic origin. Above-average water vapor amounts in the low stratosphere at Washington, DC, appear closely related to warm tropospheric temperatures in the tropics, presumably reflecting variations in strength of the Hadley circulation.     

Variability in the determination of total atmospheric ozone using remote sensing spectroscopic techniques

A spectroscopic method for optical remote sensing of total ozone (O₃) is described. It involves detailed spectral matching of near ultraviolet solar observations with synthetic profiles containing various amounts of ozone absorption. Application of this technique is made to airborne solar measurements in the 3100 to 3600 Å wavelength region. In the 3100 to 3200 Å region, measurements made above the tropopause (around geographic latitude 36.7°N, longitude 121.7°W at 0045 UT on 1/23/74) generally fit synthetic profiles constructed with 0.3 atm cm of O₃ absorption andBroadfoot's (1972) extra-terrestrial solar irradiance values. However, there are several sections of the solar spectra where the observed intensity is either significantly higher or lower than the calculated value. In addition, several maxima and minima in the observed spectra do not coincide in wavelength with corresponding features in the synthetic profile. Such problems also appear when comparison is made with synthetic profiles based onArvesen et al.'s (1969) extra-terrestrial solar irradiance measurements. These discrepancies may arise from a combination of sources, including errors in laboratory measured O₃ absorption coefficients, the extra-terrestrial solar irradiance values and the presence of other UV absorbing species in the stratosphere.     

The summer maximum in total ozone over northwest Europe

Station records of ozone observations have been critically reviewed to investigate the reality of the reported maximum in total ozone over northwest Europe in July. The existence of a longitudinal excess of ozone over the British Isles is confirmed but strong horizontal gradients can be verified only over central Europe and there is no evidence for east-west gradients over the Atlantic. Ozone sounding data as well as total ozone daily variability make it most plausible that the ozone excess over northwest Europe is confined to the lower stratosphere. The isopleths in the region of strong ozone gradients are parallel to the mean flow at 100 mb as required by the calculated constraint on the magnitude of the mean flow advection. It is proposed that analyses of the ozone distribution over oceanic areas could be improved by extending ozone isopleths parallel to the mean lower stratospheric flow from land areas where the pattern is better defined.     

Transient analysis of seismic core phases

Summary Speeded-up magnetic tape recordings of earthquake signals can be analyzed by means of an electronic sound spectrograph. The time-dependent spectrum of body waves obtained through transient analysis provides some insight into the physical properties of the earth's interior. In the short-period arrivals traveling through the outer core and inner core dispersion has been observed. A group velocity maximum has been found forP at periods between 1 and 2 seconds. The direct rayPand the surface reflected phasePP convey more energy than the arrivalsP ₂ andPcPP which, firstly, enter the outer core at incidence far from vertical, and secondly spend more time in the outer part of the fluid core.

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Zusammenfassung Magnetbandaufzeichnungen von Erdbebensignalen können, mit vervielfachter Geschwindigkeit wiedergegeben, mittels eines elektronischen Schallspektrographen analysiert werden. Das zeitabhängige Raumwellenspektrum, das man aus einer solchen Analyse nichtstationärer Vorgänge erhält, gibt einen gewissen Einblick in die physikalischen Eigenschaften des Erdinnern. So wurde im kurzperiodischen Anteil der Raumwellen, die durch den äusseren und inneren Erdkern gelaufen sind, Dispersion beobachtet. BeiP wurde im Periodenbereich zwischen 1 und 2 Sekunden ein Gruppengeschwindigkeitsmaximum gefunden. Der direkte StrahlP und die einmal an der Erdoberfläche reflektiertePP-Welle transportieren mehr Energie als die WellenphasenP ₂ undPcPP, die erstens in den äusseren Erdkern unter einem sehr grossen Inzidenzwinkel eindringen und zweitens eine längere Zeit benötigen, um den äusseren Teil des flüssigkeitsähnlichen Kerns zu durchlaufen.

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Lamont Geological Observatory Contribution No. 558.     

Cyclic variations of the initial height of the sporadicE-layer at middle geographical latitudes

Summary The variations of the initialh E _s height are investigated in the solar cycle 1957–1968, deriving the regressive dependency:h E _s =121.4–6·10^–2 R referring to the median monthly values at a solar zenith angle =75°. The similar variations ofh E _s (R) during the day and night are interpreted as a domination of the sporadic layer formation from a redistribution of the day-time ionization and secondary participation of nightly ionizing sources. The analogous cyclich E _s andh E variations confirm this conclusion while the seasonal variations in the state of the sporadic layer show outlined dynamical effects. The comparatively not big cyclic variation in the spatial state of theE-region are considered to confirm the predominating ionizing action of the ultraviolet range (933–1038 Å) in the lower part of theE-region, while the soft X-radiation influences mainly the near maximum part of this region.