Diagnostics of solar wind streams and their sources in the solar corona

The studies are based on the experimental mass sounding of the interplanetary plasma near the Sun at radial distances of R = 4−70 R _S, performed at Pushchino RAO, Russian Academy of Sciences, and on the calculated magnetic fields in the solar corona based on the magnetic field strength and structure measured on the Sun’s surface at J. Wilcox Solar Observatory, United States. The experimental data make it possible to localize the position of the boundary closest to the Sun of the transition transonic region of the solar wind in the near-solar space (R ≈ 10−20 R _S) and to perform an interrelated study of the solar wind structure and its sources, namely, the magnetic field components in the solar corona based on these data. An analysis of the evolution of the flow types in 2000–2007 makes it possible to formulate the physically justified criterion responsible for the time boundaries of different epochs in the solar activity cycle.     

Cosmogenic and radiogenic noble gases in the Dhajala chondrite

Whole rock and chondrules of the Dhajala chondrite were analyzed for Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe by total melting as well as by stepwise heating techniques. The cosmic ray exposure ages for the whole rock and the chondrules are6.2 ± 0.8 and6.3 ± 1.0m.y. as determined by the²¹Ne method and4.8 ± 1.5 and4.2 ± 2.0m.y. by the³⁸Ar method, respectively. The K-Ar age of the whole rock is4.2 ± 0.4b.y. The elemental composition of the trapped gas in this chondrite is of “planetary” type. The radiogenic¹²⁹Xe contents in the whole rock and chondrules are similar and this component is very retentively sited in the chondrules.     

Cosmogenic neon produced from sodium in meteoritic minerals

Cosmogenic neon in sodium-rich oligoclase feldspar from the ordinary chondrites St. Severin and Guaren?a is characterized by an unusually high²²Ne/²¹Ne = 1.50 ± 0.02. This high ratio is due to the cosmogenic²²Ne/²¹Ne production ratio in sodium which is 2.9 ± 0.3, two to three times the production ratio in any other target element. The relative production rate of²¹Ne per gram sodium is one quarter the production rate per gram magnesium. The striking enrichment of²²Ne relative to²¹Ne in sodium arises from enhanced indirect production from²³Na via²²Na.The unusual composition of cosmogenic neon in sodium and sodium-rich minerals explains the high²²Ne/²¹Ne ratios observed in inclusions of the Allende carbonaceous chondrite, and observed during low-temperature extraction of neon from ordinary chondrites. The isotopic composition of cosmogenic neon released during the stepwise heating of a trapped gas-rich meteorite containing sodium-rich phases can be expected to vary, and use of a constant cosmogenic neon composition to derive the composition of the trapped gas may not be justified. Preferential loss of this²²Ne-enriched cosmogenic neon from meteoritic feldspar can result in a 2–3% drop in the measured cosmogenic²²Ne/²¹Ne ratio in a bulk meteorite sample. This apparent change in composition can lead to overestimation of the minimum pre-atmospheric mass of the meteorite by a factor of two.     

The oceanic cycles of the transition metals and their isotopes

The stable isotope systems of the transition metals potentially provide constraints on the current and past operation of the biological pump,and on the state of ocean redox in Earth history.Here we focus on two exemplar metals,nickel(Ni)and zinc(Zn).The oceanic dissolved pool of both elements is isotopically heavier than the known inputs,implying an output with light isotope compositions.The modern oceanic cycle of both these elements is dominated by biological uptake into photosynthesised organic matter and output to sediment.It is increasingly clear,however,that such uptake is associated with only very minor isotope fractionation.We suggest that the isotopic balance is instead closed by the sequestration of light isotopes to sulphide in anoxic and organic-rich sediments,so that it is ocean chemistry that controls these isotope systems,and suggesting a different but equally interesting array of questions in Earth history that can be addressed with these systems.     

Topography-adjusted solar radiation indices and their importance in hydrology

Abstract

Solar radiation, direct and diffuse, is affected by surface characteristics, such as slope, aspect, altitude and shading. The paper examines the effects of topography on radiation, at multiple spatiotemporal scales, using suitable geometric methods for the direct and diffuse components. Two indices are introduced for comparing the direct radiation received by areas at the same and different latitudes. To investigate the profile of direct radiation across the whole of Greece, these are evaluated from an hourly to annual basis, via GIS techniques. Moreover, different approaches are examined for estimating the actual global radiation at operational spatial scales (sub-basin and terrain), according to the available meteorological data. The study indicates that the errors of typical hydrometeorological modelling formulas, which ignore the topographic effects and the seasonal allocation of direct and diffuse radiation, depend on the spatial scale and are non-uniformly distributed in time. In all cases, the estimations are improved by applying the proposed adjustment approaches. In particular, the adjustment of the measured global radiation ensures up to 10% increase of efficiency, while the modified Angström formula achieves slight (i.e. 2–4%) increase of efficiency and notable reduction of bias.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz

Citation Mamassis, N., Efstratiadis, A. and Apostolidou, I.-G., 2012. Topography-adjusted solar radiation indices and their importance in hydrology. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (4), 756–775.     

Incoming solar radiation measurements in Iraq and their presentation

Summary Measurements of the total incoming solar radiation on a horizontal surface have been recorded since 1967 at a network of actinometric stations in Iraq. The instrument used at each of these stations is a bimetallic actinograph of the Robitzsch type. The stations at Mosul, Baghdad and Nasiriya have been selected, to represent respectively the northern, central and southern climatic zones of Iraq.This paper examines from the available records at these stations, until August 1973, the differnt aspects of radiation climatology which are important in solar energy utilizations. The mean annual, monthly and daily radiation; the number of days in which the radiation has exceeded certain given limits and the periods of successive days having radiation less than 100 and 250 cal cm^–2 day^–1 have been studied and presented in tabular and graphical forms suitable for direct application.To architects and engineers interested in the availability of solar radiation on vertical and inclined surfaces, the hourly radiation values for Baghdad have been studied for the different months of the year and the corresponding isopleths on the horizontal have been drawn.     

The role of volcanic ash in formation of soil and vegetative cover in the present-day explosive volcanism area

By the example of an area near the active Karymskii Volcano (on the eastern coast of Kamchatka) it is shown that under conditions of regular supply of pyroclastic material on the diurnal surface, organic soil matter transforms very slowly and mobile trace elements of newly fallen volcanic ashes are the major plant nutrition source. Geochemical specialization of the studied area is characterized by lower concentrations of most trace elements relative to their clarkes for soils and by an excess of trace element contents over the clarkes for living matter in plants. Newly fallen ashes are enriched in mobile trace elements, which in dissolved form pass into adjacent media due to hypergene geochemical processes.     

Compressive fluctuations in the solar wind and their polytropic index

Magnetohydrodynamic compressive fluctuations of the interplanetary plasma in the region from 0.3 to 1 AU have been characterized in terms of their polytropic index. Following Chandrasekhar’s approach to polytropic fluids, this index has been determined through a fit of the observed variations of density and temperature. At least three different classes of fluctuations have been identified: (1) variations at constant thermal pressure, in low-speed solar wind and without a significant dependence on distance, (2) adiabatic variations, mainly close to 1 AU and without a relevant dependence on wind speed, and (3) variations at nearly constant density, in fast wind close to 0.3 AU. Variations at constant thermal pressure are probably a subset of the ensemble of total-pressure balanced structures, corresponding to cases in which the magnetic field magnitude does not vary appreciably throughout the structure. In this case the pressure equilibrium has to be assured by its thermal component only. The variations may be related to small flow-tubes with approximately the same magnetic-field intensity, convected by the wind in conditions of pressure equilibrium. This feature is mainly observed in low-velocity solar wind, in agreement with the magnetic topology (small open flow-tubes emerging through an ensemble of closed structures) expected for the source region of slow wind. Variations of adiabatic type may be related to magnetosonic waves excited by pressure imbalances between contiguous flow-tubes. Such imbalances are probably built up by interactions between wind flows with different speeds in the spiral geometry induced by the solar rotation. This may account for the fact that they are mainly found at a large distance from the sun. Temperature variations at almost constant density are mostly found in fast flows close to the sun. These are the solar wind regions with the best examples of incompressible behaviour. They are characterized by very stable values for particle density and magnetic intensity, and by fluctuations of Alfvénic type. It is likely that temperature fluctuations in these regions are a remnant of thermal features in the low solar atmosphere. In conclusion, the polytropic index appears to be a useful tool to understand the nature of the compressive turbulence in the interplanetary plasma, as far as the frozen-in magnetic field does not play a crucial role.     

Cosmogenic chlorine-36 production rates in terrestrial rocks

Chlorine-36 is produced in rocks exposed to cosmic rays at the earth surface through thermal neutron activation of ³⁵Cl, spallation of ³⁹K and ⁴⁰Ca, and slow negative moun capture by ⁴⁰Ca. We have measured the ³⁶Cl content of ¹⁴C-dated glacial boulders from the White Mountains in eastern California and in a ¹⁴C-dated basalt flow from Utah. Effective, time-intergrated production parameters were calculated by simultaneous solution of the ³⁶Cl production equations. The production rates due to spallation are 4160 ± 310 and 3050 ± 210 atoms ³⁶Cl yr⁻¹ mol⁻¹³⁹K and ⁴⁰Ca, respectively. The thermal neutron capture rate was calculated to be (3.07 ± 0.24) × 10⁵ neutrons (kg of rock)⁻¹ yr⁻¹. The reported values are normalized to sea level and high geomagnetic latitudes. Production of ³⁶Cl at different altitudes and latitudes can be estimated by appropriate scaling of the sea level rates. Chlorine-36 dating was performed on carbonate ejecta from Meteor Crater, Arizona, and late Pleistocene morainal boulders from the Sierra Nevada, California. Calculated ³⁶Cl ages are in good agreement with previously reported ages obtained using independent methods.     

Post-glacial rebound and present-day three-dimensional deformations

The WEGENER^† activities related to the study of post-glacial rebound are presented together with a review of the present state-of-the-art in this study field. Post-glacial rebound research is an unique tool for studying the viscoelastic behaviour of the Earth's mantle on time scales of thousands of years. The viscosity structure of the Earth's mantle determined from an inversion of observations of glacially induced deformations is a basic requirement for modelling long-term phenomena such as the convection in the Earth's mantle, and for better understanding unsolved questions such as the nature of the mantle discontinuities or the vertical scale of convection.First, an introduction to the scientific background is given, and the three principal ingredients for post-glacial rebound studies, namely the ice model, the Earth model, and the observations are briefly considered. For the ice model, the uncertainties due to a trade-off between ice model and Earth rheology are outlined. The different approaches used to model the Earth and its deformations in post-glacial rebound studies are discussed emphasising the preliminary nature of the derived rheologies and depth dependencies. The observations, in particular the relative sea-level changes and three-dimensional surface deformations, are described with special emphasis on observational gaps. Based on the discussion of the ingredients, an outline of the future developments in post-glacial rebound research is attempted with particular emphasis on the Earth model and the theory of deformations.For several decades extreme efforts have been made to precisely monitor the land uplift in Scandinavia. However, for the height component the existing data still are associated with large uncertainties while reliable data on the horizontal component are practically nil. The ongoing long-term (longer than ten years) spacegeodetic measurements are likely to provide the three-dimensional deformations with the spatial resolution and accuracy required in order to substantially contribute to post-glacial rebound studies. Thus, present-day three-dimensional deformations of the Earth's surface beneath and around the former ice sheets as a constraint for the mantle rheology and viscosity structure will increasingly become important as they become known from space-geodetic measurements with high spatial resolution and an accuracy approaching the mm/a-level.     

Long-term variations of geomagnetic activity and their solar sources

Geomagnetic activity in each phase of the solar cycle consists of 3 parts: (1) a “floor” below which the geomagnetic activity cannot fall even in the absence of sunspots, related to moderate graduate commencement storms; (2) sunspot-related activity due to sudden commencement storms caused by coronal mass ejections; (3) graduate commencement storms due to high speed solar wind from solar coronal holes. We find that the changes in the “floor” depend on the global magnetic moment of the Sun, and on the other side, from the height of the “floor” we can judge about the amplitude of the sunspot cycle.     

Experimental studies on solar stills and their performance characteristics

Summary Demineralization of saline water, using different designs of solar stills, has been considered. The productivity and efficiency of these stills, were determined daily and for a whole year.To investigate the basic principles of the solar distillation process, meteorological measurements concerning the solar intensity the wind speed and the ambient air temperature were undertaken simultaneously together with the temperature measurements of the brine and the glass cover of one of the stills during its operation. The results obtained gave valuable information concerning the construction and design of solar stills.     

Cosmogenic 3He and 21Ne dating of biotite and hornblende

Stable cosmogenic isotopes such as ³He and ²¹Ne are useful for dating of diverse lithologies, quantifying erosion rates and ages of ancient surfaces and sediments, and for assessing complex burial histories. Although many minerals are potentially suitable targets for ³He and ²¹Ne dating, complex production systematics require calibration of each mineral–isotope pair. We present new results from a drill core in a high-elevation ignimbrite surface, which demonstrates that cosmogenic ³He and ²¹Ne can be readily measured in biotite and hornblende. ²¹Ne production rates in hornblende and biotite are similar, and are higher than that in quartz due to production from light elements such as Mg and Al. We measure ²¹Ne_hbl/²¹Ne_qtz = 1.35 ± 0.03 and ²¹Ne_bio/²¹Ne_qtz = 1.3 ± 0.02, which yield production rates of 25.6 ± 3.0 and 24.7 ± 2.9 at g^? 1 yr^? 1 relative to a ²¹Ne_qtz production rate of 19.0 ± 1.8 at g^? 1 yr^? 1. We show that nucleogenic ²¹Ne concentrations produced via the reaction ¹⁸O(α,n)²¹Ne are manageably small in this setting, and we present a new approach to deconvolve nucleogenic ²¹Ne by comparison to nucleogenic ²²Ne produced from the reaction ¹⁹F(α,n)²²Ne in F-rich phases such as biotite. Our results show that hornblende is a suitable target phase for cosmogenic ³He dating, but that ³He is lost from biotite at Earth surface temperatures. Comparison of ³He concentrations in hornblende with previously measured mineral phases such as apatite and zircon provides unambiguous evidence for ³He production via the reaction ⁶Li(n,α)³H → ³He. Due to the atypically high Li content in the hornblende (~ 160 ppm) we estimate that Li-produced ³He represents ~ 40% of total ³He production in our samples, and must be considered on a sample-specific basis if ³He dating in hornblende is to be widely implemented.     

Cosmogenic neon in ultramafic nodules from Asia and in quartzite from Antarctica

We have performed systematic analyses of both cosmogenic ³He (³He_c) and cosmogenic ²¹Ne (²¹Ne_c) in ultramafic xenoliths from Central Asia and in a quartz sample from Antarctica. Five xenoliths, which show no or insignificant ²¹Ne_c excesses, were used to estimate the initial ⁴He/³He ratio of 90,470 in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle under the Baikal extension zone. Seven xenoliths show large ²¹Ne/²²Ne anomalies ranging up to 0.204 and ⁴He/³He down to 31,000, due to the presence of cosmogenic ²¹Ne and ³He. The (³He/²¹Ne)_c ratio is 1.41 ± 0.22 in the xenoliths and 2.76 in the quartzite. This difference is due to the dependence of the ²¹Ne_c production rate on the elemental composition of the target material. We estimated the ³He_c and ²¹Ne_c production rates at different locations worldwide and calculated the ³He_c and ²¹Ne_c exposure ages. These ages range between 7100 and 28,000 years for the xenoliths, and we determined their relative positions within the volcanic tuff layer. The mean ³He_c and ²¹Ne_c exposure ages of the quartz sample are 1.35 ± 0.07 and 2.21 ± 0.12 Ma, respectively. This difference is most probably related to ³He_c diffusive losses from the quartz mineral grains, even at low temperatures, due to the relatively high diffusion coefficient for cosmogenic ³He.     

High-latitude methane sulphonic acid variability and solar activity: the role of the total solar irradiance

The direct impact of solar activity on climate has been widely studied through Total Solar Irradiance (TSI). Biological processes also impact climate and are deeply affected by TSI. Marine phytoplankton emissions into the atmosphere have been proposed to change cloud albedo through cloud formation. In this work, we use wavelet analysis to investigate the decadal relation between high-latitude concentrations of methane sulphonic acid, a product of seawater algae, and TSI. We found that some of the methane sulphonic acid main periodicities coincide with periods of solar activity periods.     

Cosmogenic 7Be in air: A complex mixture of production and transport

The long-time series of ⁷Be activity in surface air have been studied with the wavelet analysis technique in order to find coherence between ⁷Be activity, theoretical production in the troposphere and climatic indices. The ⁷Be activity were obtained from five different locations, Angra in the tropics in Brazil, Skåne in mid-latitudes in Southern Sweden, Kiruna in Polar region in Northern Sweden, Loviisa in Southern Finland and Rovaniemi in polar region in Northern Finland. The ⁷Be data from the Northern hemisphere sites where tested for coherence with theoretical production of the isotope in troposphere and with the North Atlantic Oscillation index. In the Southern hemisphere separate theoretical production was calculated in order to describe local production and Southern Annular Mode was used as the climatic index. Consistent and significant coherence were found with theoretical production at Skåne, Kiruna and Loviisa at time-scales of four years or longer. At Angra and Rovaniemi sites, no coherence was detected between ⁷Be theoretical tropospheric production and measured activity at ground level. The coherence between ⁷Be data from Skåne and Angra and climatic indices is insignificant while data from Northern and Eastern Scandinavia show clear coherence with climatic indices at time-scales of four years or longer. Additionally, significant coherence was found between the cosmic ray induced production and NAO at the time band of 8–12 years whereas the coherence between cosmic ray induced production and SAM was insignificant. This feature implies that the ground level ⁷Be activity contain mixed information on both production and transport. This conclusion means that further evaluation through models which enable accurate realistic models that will be investigated in future studies.     

内蒙古达里诺尔湖流域地表水和地下水环境同位素特征及补给关系

为了探明达里诺尔湖流域地表水与地下水的氢(H)、氧(O)同位素的变化特征及相互补给关系,于2013年对达里诺尔湖及其周围的河水、井水、泉水中H、O同位素进行了取样分析,并结合总溶解性固体悬浮物(TDS)和区域水文地质对达里诺尔湖流域的补给关系进行讨论分析.结果表明:1)河水、泉水、井水中H、O同位素的值基本落在全球雨水线上,湖水H、O同位素落在全球雨水线的右下方,说明河水、井水、泉水没有发生蒸发分馏,而湖水则发生较大程度的蒸发分馏;对达里诺尔湖流域地表水与地下水的H、O同位素进行回归模拟,得出该区域的蒸发趋势线方程:δD=4.8753δ18O-20.139(n=32,R2=0.9968).蒸发线表明,这些水样具有相同水源的特征.2)从实地考察发现,泉水补给河水,泉水和河水补给湖水,同时井水、泉水和河水有相似的δD、δ18O和TDS值,且不随季节变化而变化,推断达里诺尔湖附近地下水补给湖水;区域水文地质条件亦证明达里诺尔湖周边地下水补给湖水.     

西藏南部地区现今构造变形分析

近十多年来藏南地区GPS网的多期观测结果为研究其构造变形提供了精确数据。本文将该区划分为冈底斯、西喜马拉雅、中喜马拉雅、拉萨4个块体,建立了各块体的弹性运动模型。以藏北高原的旋转框架为参考基准,得到藏南地区的水平形变场和应变场,分析形变场和应变场的空间变化,发现藏南地区存在强烈的S-N向挤压缩短变形,同时也有明显的E-W向伸展变形。南北边界之间的平均缩短速率16.9±2.5mm/a,大约吸收了印度与欧亚汇聚速率的42.4%。在雅鲁藏布江缝合线与班公错—嘉黎断裂之间,从80°E到90°E,地壳E—W向的伸展速率16.3±2.4mm/a。因此,藏南地区现今构造变形是以挤压缩短为主,S-N向挤压缩短与E—W伸展共存的复合变形模式。印度板块向欧亚板块的俯冲推挤是该区域变形的主要驱动力,重力作用对其变形也有重要贡献。     

Cosmogenic nuclide burial age of the Sanying Formation and its implications

The Pliocene fluvial/lacustrine sediments of the Sanying Formation lie along the Red River fault and its northwest extension;their majority outcrops appear around Eryuan.The Sanying Formation is characterized by multiple intercalated coal layers and its unconformities contact with the underlying Triassic limestone and the overlying Quaternary coarse sediments.Cosmogenic nuclide burial dating confirms the Pliocene age of the Sanying Formation.The burial ages of the overlying Quaternary sediments provide the lower age limit of the Sanying Formation:2 Ma.Detrital zircon U-Pb age distribution suggests provenance of the Sanying Formation traced to the Songpan-Ganzi flysch belt.From the spatial distribution as well as sedimentary and fault ages,we found a strong connection of the Sanying Formation with the Red River and the Jianchuan faults.We therefore propose that activation of the Red River and the Jianchuan faults during the Late Miocene resulted in subsidence of basins in the extensional areas around Eryuan and in the middle to south segments of the Red River fault.The basins were filled with water carried by the Jinsha River and overflow-lakes formed within the basins where the Sanying Formation was deposited.Most of the lakes were dried and sedimentation of the Sanying Formation ceased due to the uplift of the Yunling Mountains,which forced rerouting of the Jinsha River at the beginning of Quaternary.