Earth Surface Exchanges (ESEX) Commentary on ‘Plants as river system engineers’ by A. Gurnell. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 39: 4–25, 2014. DOI 10.1002/esp.3397

In a review of the role of plants in river systems, Gurnell (2014) explains how living riparian vegetation can moderate and manipulate river environments by trapping sediment and promoting longer‐term stability. Although the review concentrates on perennial plants in the humid temperate zone, this commentary acts as a reminder that some plants in other kinds of fluvial environment do not act in this way. This is done by describing how Impatiens glandulifera (Himalayan Balsam), a highly invasive annual plant that is now found in many countries on three separate continents, may significantly increase soil erosion along riverbanks and the riparian zone of inland watercourses. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surface Energy Exchanges during Pre-monsoon Thunderstorm Activity over a Tropical Station Kharagpur

In the present study an attempt has been made to understand the variation of surface energy fluxes such as net radiation, sensible, latent and soil heat during different epochs of thunderstorm activity at Kharagpur. The study also focuses in delineating the difference in the surface energy budget from the days of thunderstorm activity to fair weather days in the pre-monsoon months (April and May) which is locally known as thunderstorm season. For this purpose, experimental data obtained from the Severe Thunderstorms- Observations and Regional Modeling (STORM) programme during pre-monsoon months of 2007, 2009 and 2010 at Kharagpur (22°30′N, 87°20′E), West Bengal, India are used. The present study reveals quick response, in the order of a few days, in the variations of transport of energy fluxes at soil-atmosphere interface to the upper atmosphere vis-à-vis to the occurrence of thunderstorm activity. Rise of surface sensible heat flux to the level of surface latent heat flux a day or two before the occurrence of a thunderstorm has been identified as a precursor signal for the thunderstorm occurrence over Kharagpur. Distinguishable differences are found in the partitioning of the surface energy fluxes to that of net radiation between thunderstorm and non-thunderstorm days. The present study reveals more Bowen’s ratio during thunderstorm days to that of nonthunderstorm days. These results are useful in validating mesoscale model simulations of thunderstorm activity.     

Free Wobble of the Triaxial Earth: Theory and Comparisons with International Earth Rotation Service (IERS) Data

Earth’s free wobble is often referred to as the Euler wobble (for the rigid case) or the Chandler wobble for the real case. In this study, we investigate the theory of the free wobble of the triaxial Earth and demonstrate that: (1) the Euler period should actually be expressed by the complete elliptic integral of first kind, and (2) the trace of the free polar motion is elliptic, with the orientations of its semi-minor and major axes being approximately parallel to the Earth’s principal axes A and B, respectively. Numerical calculations show that, due to the triaxiality of the Earth, the spin rate ω ₃ fluctuates with the semi-Euler/Chandler period, although its amplitude (about 10⁻¹⁹ rad/s) is rather small and beyond the present measurement accuracy; the tilt of the instantaneous spin axis (or the amplitude of the free wobble), θ, has a fluctuation whose amplitude is around 0.34 milli-arcsecond (mas), which could be detected by present observations. Thus, we conclude that the Earth’s triaxial nature has little impact on ω ₃, but has an influence on the polar motion which should not be ignored. On the other hand, our study shows that there is a mechanism of frequency–amplitude modulation in the Chandler wobble which might be a candidate to explain the correlation between the amplitude and period of the Chandler wobble. We compare the theoretical polar parameters (m ₁, m ₂) with the observed values for the Chandler components obtained from the data EOP (IERS) C 04, and find that they coincide with each other quite well, especially for recent years. In addition, a polar wander towards 76.7°W, which is in agreement with previous results given by other scientists, is also obtained.     

The Earth’s plasmasphere: State of studies (a Review)

The main results of the experimental and theoretical studies of the Earth’s plasmasphere physics obtained until the present are reviewed. The review is aimed at attracting attention of scientists to studying this region of the Earth’s magnetosphere since many problems of the plasmasphere physics, first of all, the problems of plasmapause formation and plasmasphere filling and erosion, which are of importance in understanding the relation of the processes proceeding in the Sun and solar wind to the processes observed in the Earth’s ionosphere and atmosphere, remain unclear.     

Earth System Mass Transport Mission (e.motion): A Concept for Future Earth Gravity Field Measurements from Space

In the last decade, satellite gravimetry has been revealed as a pioneering technique for mapping mass redistributions within the Earth system. This fact has allowed us to have an improved understanding of the dynamic processes that take place within and between the Earth’s various constituents. Results from the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission have revolutionized Earth system research and have established the necessity for future satellite gravity missions. In 2010, a comprehensive team of European and Canadian scientists and industrial partners proposed the e.motion (Earth system mass transport mission) concept to the European Space Agency. The proposal is based on two tandem satellites in a pendulum orbit configuration at an altitude of about 370 km, carrying a laser interferometer inter-satellite ranging instrument and improved accelerometers. In this paper, we review and discuss a wide range of mass signals related to the global water cycle and to solid Earth deformations that were outlined in the e.motion proposal. The technological and mission challenges that need to be addressed in order to detect these signals are emphasized within the context of the scientific return. This analysis presents a broad perspective on the value and need for future satellite gravimetry missions.     

地球热动力系统(之二)

3　地幔和地核的流体动力学3 .1　确定地球动力学模型的普遍原理和我们的热地球演化模型一致 ,处于“气”态的内核物质变松弛 ,并同时转到液体凝固 (熔化 )状态 ,这个过程在外核界面上伴随有结晶熔化 ,因此形成地幔。在我们的模型中 ,相变过渡峰面 (凝固和结晶 )首先是向地球的中心移动 ,其次是向地表推进 ,其移动和推进的速度分别为 v1 和 v2 ,两个峰面与质量 m1 和m2 的转移有关。我们认为地球是一个独立的系统 ,应该满足 (很明显 ,的确满足 )脉冲 (移动的数量 )守恒定律 ,即 m1 v1 =m2 v2 (以前在估算Δρ时我们利用过这个定律 )。注意到…     

地球热动力系统(之一)

0　前言尽管多年来对地球内部的稳定性问题进行了很多研究 ,但问题仍没有解决。我们对地球的质量、大小、平均密度、热流的大小、磁场的强度已经悉知 ,对火山和地震活动以及地球的旋转速度也进行过详细的研究 ,且已探明地震波速度沿地球半径的分布情况。但是 ,至今还遇到一些不可回避的困难 ,例如 S波在地球内核如何传播的问题。众所周知 ,除了朱利安等人所做的工作外 ,再没有 S波在内核中传播的任何实验证据。地震学家找到的 PKJKP波被特罗姆普称之为地震学的格拉尔。又如 ,在讨论 P波在 F层中是怎样传播的问题时也遇到一些困难。至今 …     

SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences SUBJECT INDEX TO VOLUME 57(2014)

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SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences SUBJECT INDEX TO VOLUME 58(2015)

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SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences SUBJECT INDEX TO VOLUME 59(2016)

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地面电磁探测系统(SEP)研究

近年来,大地电磁法作为深部找矿与地球电性探测的感应类电法有了迅猛的发展,国内电磁法仪器基本上都是美、加、德三国地球物理公司所生产,中国已进口了几百套这些设备.随着中国国力的增强,地面电磁探测系统的自主研制被提到议事日程.从2010年开始,中国科学院地质与地球物理研究所牵头,联合中科院院内及高校等单位在国土资源部探测技术与实验研究专项(SinoProbe)中承担了《地面电磁探测(SEP)系统研制》项目的研究,目前已取得阶段性成果.本文详尽地论述了大地电磁法仪器发展现状、系统研究目标和总体设计,SEP发射系统、感应式磁传感器、分布式电磁数据采集系统、3D EM数据正反演成像软件和可视化数据管理软件、SEP系统集成和野外测试结果,最后对地面电磁探测系统研究进行了讨论、总结和展望.     

Toward a High-Resolution Monitoring of Continental Surface Water Extent and Dynamics,at Global Scale: from GIEMS (Global Inundation Extent from Multi-Satellites) to SWOT (Surface Water Ocean Topography)

Up to now, high-resolution mapping of surface water extent from satellites has only been available for a few regions, over limited time periods. The extension of the temporal and spatial coverage was difficult, due to the limitation of the remote sensing technique [e.g., the interaction of the radiation with vegetation or cloud for visible observations or the temporal sampling with the synthetic aperture radar (SAR)]. The advantages and the limitations of the various satellite techniques are reviewed. The need to have a global and consistent estimate of the water surfaces over long time periods triggered the development of a multi-satellite methodology to obtain consistent surface water all over the globe, regardless of the environments. The Global Inundation Extent from Multi-satellites (GIEMS) combines the complementary strengths of satellite observations from the visible to the microwave, to produce a low-resolution monthly dataset (\(0.25^\circ \,\times \,0.25^\circ\)) of surface water extent and dynamics. Downscaling algorithms are now developed and applied to GIEMS, using high-spatial-resolution information from visible, near-infrared, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite images, or from digital elevation models. Preliminary products are available down to 500-m spatial resolution. This work bridges the gaps and prepares for the future NASA/CNES Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission to be launched in 2020. SWOT will delineate surface water extent estimates and their water storage with an unprecedented spatial resolution and accuracy, thanks to a SAR in an interferometry mode. When available, the SWOT data will be adopted to downscale GIEMS, to produce a long time series of water surfaces at global scale, consistent with the SWOT observations.