Review of Mercury's dynamic magnetosphere:Post-MESSENGER era and comparative magnetospheres

This review paper summarizes the research of Mercury’s magnetosphere in the Post-MESSENGER era and compares its dynamics to those in other planetary magnetospheres,especially to those in Earth’s magnetosphere.This review starts by introducing the planet Mercury,including its interplanetary environment,magnetosphere,exosphere,and conducting core.The frequent and intense magnetic reconnection on the dayside magnetopause,which is represented by the flux transfer event"shower",is reviewed on how they depend on magnetosheath plasma β and magnetic shear angle across the magnetopause,followed by how it contributes to the flux circulation and magnetosphere-surface-exosphere coupling.In the next,Mercury’s magnetosphere under extreme solar events,including the core induction and the reconnection erosion on the dayside magnetosphere,as well as the responses of the nightside magnetosphere,are reviewed.Then,the dawn-dusk properties of the plasma sheet,including the features of the ions,the structure of the current sheet,and the dynamics of magnetic reconnection,are summarized.The last topic is devoted to the particle energization in Mercury’s magnetosphere,which includes the energization of the Kelvin-Helmholtz waves on the magnetopause boundaries,reconnection-generated magnetic structures,and the cross-tail electric field.In each chapter,the last section discusses the open questions related to each topic,which can be considered by the simulations and the future spacecraft mission.We end this paper by summarizing the future Bepi Colombo opportunities,which is a joint mission of ESA and JAXA and is en route to Mercury.     

Existence,morphology and structure of the Yellow Sea Warm Current Branch approaching waters offshore Qingdao,China

In this study, we focused on full-region cruise survey data, near-bottom continuous mooring observations and sea surface wind products from the western South Yellow Sea in winter; after ensuring the data reliability and accuracy, we processed and analyzed the data. Image resolution experiments were carried out to determine the lowest recognition resolutions for all image types, which represent the resolution characteristics of the data. The existence of a warm water tongue originating from the Yellow Sea Warm Current(YSWC) that approached waters offshore Qingdao was confirmed. For the first time, a high salinity water tongue, corresponding to the warm water tongue, was described and found to be more representative of the YSWC branch path. This warm tongue is a sign of the branch originating from the YSWC, which we defined as the Yellow Sea Warm Current Branch approaching waters offshore Qingdao(YSWC-QDB). The pattern of the warm and salty water tongues showed remarkable rear, branching middle, shrinking neck and expanding top regions. These patterns showed a temporal feature of the tongues, and were the result of multi-temporal branches in front of the YSWC main section as well as the YSWC-QDB crossing the southwestward path of the extension of the North Shandong Coastal Current flowing along the southeast coast of the Shandong Peninsula(NSCC-SESE). Analysis using mooring data at a sensitive and representative station also showed the existence of the YSWC-QDB. It is a probabilistic event that manifests as a northwestward flow that decreases gradually from the bottom to the surface in the early cold air transit stage and consistent in the whole water column profile in the later stage. It varies quasi-periodically with weather processes. It also transports some of the YSWC water stored in the entrance area of the Bohai and Yellow seas under winter wind conditions to the western South Yellow Sea as a compensatory current. This current, caused by northerly winds, especially northwest winds and obstruction of the NSCC-SESE, was present, and strong water reduction and compensation caused significant residual sea level oscillations. The compensatory current, if caused by strong northwest wind,began to appear when its direction was opposite to the wind direction. In addition, confirmation of the YSWC-QDB provides an oceanographic basis for the short cooling time and rapid warming in the Qingdao area in winter. This research provides a basis for further studies of the YSWC-QDB at high spatial and temporal resolutions using large sea surface datasets. For monsoon basin dynamics, this study can also be extended to the whole Bohai and Yellow seas and closed or semi-closed basins on the continental margin.     

Recent progress of seismic research on tall buildings in China Mainland

To study the seismic behavior of high strength concrete fi lled double-tube(CFDT) columns,each consisting of an external square steel tube and an internal circular steel tube,quasi-static tests on eight CFDT column specimens were conducted.The test variables included the width-to-thickness ratio(β1) and the area ratio(β2) of the square steel tube,the wall thickness of the circular steel tube,and the axial force(or the axial force ratio) applied to the CFDT columns.The test results indicate that for CFDT columns with a square steel tube with β1 of 50.1 and 24.5,local buckling of the specimen was found at a drift ratio of 1/150 and 1/50,respectively.The lateral force-displacement hysteretic loops of all specimens were plump and stable.Reducing the width-to-thickness ratio of the square steel tube,increasing its area ratio,or increasing the wall thickness of the internal circular steel tube,led to an increased fl exural strength and deformation capacity of the specimens.Increasing the design value of the axial force ratio from 0.8 to 1.0 may increase the fl exural strength of the specimens,while it may also decrease the ultimate deformation capacity of the specimen with β1 of 50.1.     

Geological and surfacial processes and major disaster effects in the Yellow River Basin

The Yellow River Basin(YRB) is characterized by active geological and tectonic processes, rapid geomorphological evolution, and distinct climatic diversity. Correspondingly, major disasters in the YRB are characterized by varied types,extensive distributions, and sudden occurrences. In addition, major disasters in the YRB usually evolve into disaster chains that cause severe consequences. Therefore, major disasters in the YRB destroy ecologies and environments and influence geological and ecological safety in the basin. This paper systematically reviews research on geological and surface processes, major disaster effects, and risk mitigation in the YRB, discusses the trends and challenges of relevant research, analyzes the key scientific problems that need to be solved, and suggests prospects for future research based on the earth system science concept. Themes of research that should be focused on include geological, surface and climatic processes in the YRB and their interlinking disaster gestation mechanisms;formation mechanisms and disaster chain evolutions of giant landslides in the upper reach of the YRB;mechanisms and disaster chain effects of loess water-soil disasters in the middle reach of the YRB;occurrence patterns and amplifying effects of giant flood chains in the lower reach of the YRB;and risk mitigations of major disasters in the YRB. Key scientific problems that need to be solved are as follows: how to reveal the geological, surface and climatic processes that are coupled and interlinked with gestation mechanisms of major disasters;how to clarify the mutual feedback effects between major disasters and ecology;and how to develop a human-environmental harmony-based integrated risk mitigation system for major disasters. Prospects for future studies that follow the earth system science concept include the following: highlighting interdisciplinary research to reveal the interlinked disaster gestation mechanisms of the geology, surface and climate in the YRB in the past, present, and future;forming theories to clarify the regional patterns, dynamic mechanisms, and mutual-feedback effects between disaster chains and ecology in the YRB on land and in rivers in the region;solving technological bottlenecks to develop assessment models and mitigation theories for integrated risks in the YRB by following the human-environment harmony concept;and finally, establishing a demonstratable application pattern characterized by "whole-basin coverage" and "zonal controls", thereby guaranteeing ecological and geological safety in the basin and providing scientific support for ecological conservation and high-quality development of the YRB.     

The intrinsic nonlinear multiscale interactions among the mean flow,low frequency variability and mesoscale eddies in the Kuroshio region

Using a new functional analysis tool, multiscale window transform(MWT), and the MWT-based localized multiscale energetics analysis and canonical transfer theory, this study reconstructs the Kuroshio system on three scale windows, namely,the mean flow window, the interannual-scale(low-frequency) window, and the transient eddy window, and investigates the climatological characteristics of the intricate nonlinear interactions among these windows. Significant upscale energy transfer is observed east of Taiwan, where the mean Kuroshio current extracts kinetic energy from both the interannual and eddy windows.It is found that the canonical transfer from the interannual variability is an intrinsic source that drives the eddy activities in this region. The multiscale variabilities of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea(ECS) are mainly controlled by the interaction between the mean flow and the eddies.The mean flow undergoes mixed instabilities(i.e., both barotropic and baroclinic instabilities) in the southern ECS, while it is barotropically stable but baroclinically unstable to the north. The multiscale interactions are found to be most intense south of Japan, where strong mixed instabilities occur; both the canonical transfers from the mean flow and the interannual scale are important mechanisms to fuel the eddies. It is also found that the interannual-scale energy mainly comes from the barotropically unstable jet, rather than the upscale energy transfer from the high frequency eddies.     

Evaluation of vertical impact factor coefficients for continuous and integral railway bridges under high-speed moving loads

In the railway bridge analysis and design method,dynamic train loads are regarded as static loads enhanced by an impact factor(IF).The IF coefficients for various railway bridges have been reported as a function of span length or frequency of the bridges in Eurocode(2003).However,these IF coefficient values neglect the effects of very high speeds(>200 km/h)and soil-structure interaction(SSI).In this work,a comprehensive study to assess the impact factor coefficients of mid-span vertical displacements for continuous and integral railway bridges subjected to high-speed moving loads is reported.Three different configurations,each for the three-dimensional(3D)continuous and integral bridge,are considered.Also,single-track(1-T)and two-track(2-T)“real train”loading cases for both these bridge types are considered.Subsequently,finite element analysis of the full-scale 3D bridge models,to identify their IF values,considering the effects of SSI for three different soil conditions,is conducted.The IF values obtained from the study for both bridge types are comparable and are greater than the values recommended by Eurocode(2003).The results reveal that with a loss of soil stiffness,the IF value reduces;thus,it confirms the importance of SSI analysis.     

Distribution and structural characteristics of the Xi'an Section of the Weihe Fault

The results of seismic deep reflection,high resolution refraction and shallow artificial seismic exploration indicate that the fault on the northern bank of the Weihe river is composed of two faults,one is the Yaodian-Zhangjiawan fault and the other is the Chuanzhang-Zuitou fault.The 22 km long Yaodian-Zhangjiawan fault of EW-striking starts from Chenjiagou via Yaodian town,Qianpai village,Bili village,Wujia town and Zhangjiawan to Jiajiatan.The 15 km long Chuanzhang-Zuitou fault striking near EW starts from Chuanzhang via Mabei to Zuitou.The Weihe fault offset the basement and upper crust,the reflecting layers of TQ,TN,TE and Tg are ruptured at depth of about 15 km.In the deep part,the Weihe fault and the secondary fault form a Y-shaped structure or a synthetic low angle intersection.The Weihe fault is a listric normal fault.The fault has obvious structural characteristics of a reversed-drag normal fault and a normal drag normal fault with the depth of 1 000 m,and also has the characteris-tics of syngenetic sediment.The Weihe fault is one of the faults which control the basin sediment,and it is the boundary fault of Xi’an depression and Xianyang salient.The depth of the fault decreases from the west to east gradually,the deep part intersects with the Lintong-Chang’an fault at the intersection part of Weihe River,Jinghe River and Bahe River and the shallow part connects with the Weinan-Jingyang fault.The seismic exploration re-sults indicate that no fault exists on southern bank of the Weihe River.     

Prestack reverse-time depth migration of arbitrarily wide-angle wave equations

Based on arbitrarily wide-angle wave equations,a reverse-time propagation scheme is developed by substituting the partial derivatives of depth and time with central differences. The partial derivative of horizontal direction is replaced with high order difference. The imaging condition is computed by solving the eikonal equations. On the basis of above techniques,a prestack reverse-time depth migration algorithm is developed. The processing exam-ples of synthetic data show that the method can remove unwanted internal reflections and decrease the migration noise. The method also has the advantage of fidelity and is applicable of dip angle reflector imaging.     

Local scour around two side-by-side cylindrical bridge piers under ice-covered conditions

In the current study, 108 flume experiments with non-uniform, cohesionless sediments have been done to investigate the local scour process around four pairs of side-by-side bridge piers under both open channel and ice-covered flow conditions. Similar to local scour around bridge piers under open channel conditions and a single bridge pier, it was observed in the experiments that the maximum scour depth always occurred at the upstream face of the pier under ice-covered conditions. Further, the smaller the pier size and the greater the spacing distance between the bridge piers, the weaker the horseshoe vortices around the bridge piers, and, thus, the shallower the scour holes around them. Finally, empirical equations were developed to estimate the maximum scour depth around two side-by-side bridge piers under both open channel and ice-covered flow conditions.     

Evaluation of the fishbone model in simulating the seismic response of multistory reinforced concrete moment-resisting frames

The fishbone model is a simplified numerical model for moment-resisting frames that is capable of modelling the effects of column-beam strength and stiffness ratios. The applicability of the fishbone model in simulating the seismic responses of reinforced concrete moment-resisting frames of different sets of column-beam strength and stiffness ratios are evaluated through nonlinear static, dynamic and incremental dynamic analysis on six prototype buildings of 4-, 8-and 12-stories. The results show that the fishbone model is practically accurate enough for reinforced concrete frames, although the assumption of equal joint rotation does not hold in all cases. In addition to the ground motion characteristics and the number of stories in the structures, the accuracy of the model also varies with the column-beam stiffness and strength ratios. The model performs better for strong column-weak beam frames, in which the lateral drift patterns are better controlled by the continuous stiffness provided by the strong columns. When the inelastic deformation is large, the accuracy of the model may be subjected to large record-to-record variability. This is especially the case for frames of weak columns.     

Contribution to the knowledge of the magmatic evolution by the study of the variation of the coefficient of viscosity

The determination of the coefficient of viscosity of eruptive products gives useful elements to the knowledge of possible variations of composition and physical conditions of the magmas.     

Pictorial Series of the Manifestations of the Dynamics of the Earth

Studia Geophysica et Geodaetica -     

Magnetic stratigraphy of the Ordovician in the lower reach of the Kotuy River: the age of the Bysy-Yuryakh stratum and the rate of geomagnetic reversals on the eve of the superchron

Until recently, the existing data prevented the geophysicists from accurately dating the Bysy-Yuryakh stratum, which outcrops in the middle reach of the Kotuy River, constraining the time of its formation to a wide interval from the end of the Late Cambrian to the beginning of the Silurian. The obtained paleomagnetic data unambiguously correlate the Bysy-Yuryakh stratum to the Nyaian regional stage and constrain its formation, at least a considerable part of it, by the Tremadocian. This result perfectly agrees with the data on the Bysy-Yuryakh conodonts studied in this work and yields a spectacular example of the successful application of paleomagnetic studies in solving important tasks of stratigraphy and, correspondingly, petroleum geology. Within the Bysy-Yuryakh stratum, we revealed a large normal-polarity interval corresponding to the long (>1 Ma) period when the geomagnetic reversals were absent. This result, in combination with the data for the Tremadocian and Middle–Upper Cambrian sequences of the other regions, indicates that (1) the rate of occurrence of the geomagnetic reversals on the eve of the Ordovician Moyero superchron of reversed polarity was at most one reversal per Ma; (2) the superchron does not switch on instantaneously but is preceded by a certain gradual change in the operation conditions of the dynamo mechanism which, inter alia, manifests itself by the reduction of the frequency of geomagnetic reversals with the approach of the superchron. This finding supports the views according to which a process preparing the establishment of the superchrons takes place at the core–mantle boundary.     

Evolution of the Source of the Active Region of the Sun

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - The magnetic evolution of the active region of the Sun at the level of the photosphere has been studied. Magnetic synoptic maps of the 2007 Kitt Peak Observatory were...     

On the solution of the reverse problem of geodesics with the help of the chord

Резюме Дается вывод формул для вычислений длины хорды, длины и азимутов нормаляных сечений и длины геодезической линии эллипсоида. Применяются тригонометрические функции данных величин и постоянные принятого ргфгргнц-эллипсоида, что является целесообразным при использовании вычислителQjных машин, особенно автоматов. Рабочие формулы рекомендуются в форме (8–11).

---

---

Dedicated to Professor František Fiala on His 85th Birthday

---

Address: Veveři 95, Brno.     

On the gravimetric undulations of the geoid and the deflections of the vertical

Summary The author mentions the aims of the World-wide gravity project he established in the Ohio State University in Columbus, in 1950. He outlines the practical procedure of the gravimetric computations of the undulationsN and the vertical deflection components and and emphasizes that only by the global international cooperation and additional gravity observations at sea carried out during the last decade it has been possible to gather to Columbus the needed gravity material. Since there exist still large gravimetrically unsurveyed areas it is of vital significance to study what gravity anomalies are best to be used for these regions. The given figures concerning the accuracy of theN, and , estimated theoretically and obtained in practice, indicate that in the gravimetrically well surveyed parts of the world like in Europe and the United States we can get gravimetrically on basis of existing gravity material theN-values with accuracy of about 5–10 meters, and and with the accuracy of about 1. The geoid undulationsN are already computed in Columbus for more than 6000 points of the northern hemisphere. The sample maps show the interesting geoid of Europe and vicinity between the latitudes 60° and 30° and longitude 5° W and 30° E, drafted on basis of more than 1000N-values computed at the corners of 1°×1° squares. It is interesting to realize that the geoid undulations in all this area are positive, the extreme values being between 40 and 50 meters. The geophysical significance of the geoid maps of this kind is pointed out.     

The effect of the pollution of the ground layer of the atmosphere on the albedo

Summary A simple model is proposed suitable for studying the effect of the ground layer of the atmosphere, polluted by aerosol, on the albedo. This model is founded on solving the equation of transfer of radiative energy. The numerical results are discussed, particular attention being paid to the analysis of errors due to neglecting the multiple reflection of solar radiation on the aerosol particles. A method which would also include the multiple reflection is proposed, and the conditions under which the presence of the aerosol is responsible for an increase or decrease of the solar radiation balance on the Earth's surface, are analysed.     

On the maintenance of the axisymmetric part of the flow in the atmosphere

Summary The maintenance of the axisymmetric component of the flow in the atmosphere is investigated by means of a steady-state, quasi-geostrophic formulation of the meteorological equations. It is shown that the meridional variations in the time-averaged axisymmetric variables can be expressed as the sum of three contributions, one being due to the eddy heat transport, another to the eddy momentum transport, and a third to the convective-radiative equilibrium temperature which enters the problem through the specification of a Newtonian form of diabatic heating. The contributions by the large scale eddies are evaluated through the use of observed values for the eddy heat and momentum transports.The contributions from each of the three forcing mechanisms to the temperature and zonal wind fields are invstigated individually and found to be of about equal importance. The sum of the three contributions are also presented for the temperature, the zonal wind, the stream function associated with the mean meridional circulation and the corresponding vertical motion. Although the results fail to reproduce the main observed features of the lower stratosphere, they are found to be in good agreement with observations in the middle latitude troposphere. At any pressure level, for example, the computed mean zonal wind has a jet-like profile and the axis of the jet is found to slope to the south with height, as observed in the atmosphere.Based in part on a thesis submitted by the first author as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree at the University of Michigan. — Publication No. 194 from the Department of Meteorology and Oceanography, The University of Michigan.     

On the determination of the non-linearity of the gravimeter scale

Summary The results of two different methods of the determination of the non-linearity of the gravimeter scale are compared; the economy is discussed as well.