The effects of the atmosphere and oceans on the Earth's wobble — I. Theory

Summary The theory of wobble excitation for a non-rigid earth is extended to include the effects of the earth's fluid core and of the rotationally induced pole tide in the ocean. The response of the solid earth and oceans to atmospheric loading is also considered. The oceans are shown to be affected by changes in the gravitational potential which accompany atmospheric pressure disturbances and by the load-induced deformation of the solid earth. These various improvements affect the excitation equations by about 10 per cent. Atmospheric and oceanic excitation can be computed using either an angular momentum or a torque approach. We use the dynamical equations for a thin fluid to relate these two methods and to develop a more general, combined approach. Finally, geostrophic winds and currents are shown to be potentially important sources of wobble excitation, in contrast to what is generally believed.     

Magnetic and viscous coupling at the core–mantle boundary: inferences from observations of the Earth's nutations

Dissipative core–mantle coupling is evident in observations of the Earth's nutations, although the source of this coupling is uncertain. Magnetic coupling occurs when conducting materials on either side of the boundary move through a magnetic field. In order to explain the nutation observations with magnetic coupling, we must assume a high (metallic) conductivity on the mantle side of the boundary and a rms radial field of 0.69 mT. Much of this field occurs at short wavelengths, which cannot be observed directly at the surface. High levels of short-wavelength field impose demands on the power needed to regenerate the field through dynamo action in the core. We use a numerical dynamo model from the study of Christensen & Aubert (2006) to assess whether the required short-wavelength field is physically plausible. By scaling the numerical solution to a model with sufficient short-wavelength field, we obtain a total ohmic dissipation of 0.7–1 TW, which is within current uncertainties. Viscous coupling is another possible explanation for the nutation observations, although the effective viscosity required for this is 0.03 m² s⁻¹ or higher. Such high viscosities are commonly interpreted as an eddy viscosity. However, physical considerations and laboratory experiments limit the eddy viscosity to 10⁻⁴ m² s⁻¹, which suggests that viscous coupling can only explain a few percent of the dissipative torque between the core and the mantle.     

Meridional zonation of the Barents Sea ecosystem inferred from satellite remote sensing and in situ bio-optical observations

The Barents Sea is a productive, shallow, high-latitude marine ecosystem with complex hydrographic conditions. Zonal hydrographic bands defined by a coastal current. North Atlantic Water, the Polar Front, and the seasonally variable marginal ice edge zone create a meridional zonation of the ecosystem during the spring-summer transition. The features reveal themselves in satellite imagery and by high-resolution (vertical and horizontal) physical-optical-biological sampling.
Surprisingly, the long-term (7-year) mean of Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) imagery reveals the Barents Sea as an anomalous "blue-water" regime at high latitudes that are otherwise dominated by satellite-observed surface blooms. A combination of satellite imagery and in situ bio-optical analyses indicate that this pattern is caused by strong stratification in summer with surface nutrient depletion. The onset of stratification of the entire region is linked to the extent of the winter ice edge: cold years with extensive sea ice apparently stratify early due to ice melt; warm years stratify later, perhaps due to weaker thermal stratification of the Atlantic waters (e.g. Skjoldal et al. 1987). The apparent "low chlorophyll" indicated by the CZCS 7-year mean is partly due to sampling error whereby the mean is dominated by images taken later in the summer. In fact, massive blooms of subsurface phytoplankton embedded in the pycnocline persist throughout the summer and maintain substantial rates of primary production. Further, these subsurface blooms that are not observed by satellite are responsible for dramatic gradients in the beam (c₁) and spectral diffuse (k) attenuation coefficients. The Barents Sea exemplifies the need to couple satellite observations with spatially and temporally resolved biogeographic ecosystem models in order to estimate the integrated water column primary production, mass flux or spectral light attenuation coefficients.     

基于影像间潮滩地形修正的海岸线监测研究——以黄河三角洲为例

针对潮滩环境中潮汐和坡度变化对海岸线变化监测的影响,提出一种通过两景影像计算潮滩坡降进而准确获得海岸线的方法,并利用坡降值估算潮滩体积。以岸线变化较剧烈的黄河三角洲南部的甜水沟口至小清河口的粉砂淤泥质潮滩为例进行应用研究。结合遥感影像、实测固定断面数据和水深测量数据分析表明,影像间的潮差对坡降估算值虽有较大影响,但选择合适潮位估算潮滩坡降是可行的,估算坡降的最小相对误差可达0.2%,均方根误差小于实测坡降一个数量级。1973-2009 年甜水沟口至小清河口14 个年份的岸线变化分析显示,黄河改道对本区的直接淤积影响在甜水沟向南3 km范围内,最大淤积区位于甜水沟口附近,年均淤积率31 m/a,而后在1989-2002 年海区南部出现较大幅度淤积,主要为黄河入海水沙直接或间接淤积造成的;研究时段内岸滩总体演化趋势为蚀退,最大年均蚀退速率51 m/a,黄河改道造成的海洋动力变化是影响本区海岸冲刷的主要因素。验证表明,本文方法计算的潮滩体积用于指示海滩冲淤变迁是合理可行的。     

中国枢纽机场时间延误成本估算与航线影响分析及中美比较

论文借鉴欧洲控制研究中心以机型为基本单元的延误成本估算模型(简称EC估算模型)及其相关算法,以EC估算模型为基础,补充机型配置比和引入航班执行阶段作为影响参数,估算了24 h中国枢纽机场单位时长延误成本和时间延误总成本,进行了时间延误成本的航线影响分析及中美比较,得到如下结论：① 区域枢纽机场时间延误成本普遍低于复合枢纽机场,但前者中机型单位时长延误成本和登机口成本均高于后者,从中可透视出其分别与中国航线网络中心集聚、航空地理市场(机型配置)需求和航线网络模式应用的密切相关;枢纽机场空中维持成本在时间延误总成本中占比最大,说明中国空中廊道设置存在缺陷。② 枢纽机场间(航线)以及枢纽机场与非枢纽机场之间(航线)时间延误总成本的差异深受航线属性所影响,其根本又在于航空地理市场(机型配置)需求以及空中廊道参与机场位置。③ 中美枢纽机场和枢纽机场间(航线)时间延误成本均有较大差异,主要表现为中国空中维持成本远高于美国,这是由空中廊道特征路径宽度和航迹交叉点数量2个因素造成的。