The effect of seasonal and long-period geopotential variations on the GPS orbits

We examine the impact of using seasonal and long-period time-variable gravity field (TVG) models on GPS orbit determination, through simulations from 1994 to 2012. The models of time-variable gravity that we test include the GRGS release RL02 GRACE-derived 10-day gravity field models up to degree and order 20 (grgs20x20), a 4 × 4 series of weekly coefficients using GGM03S as a base derived from SLR and DORIS tracking to 11 satellites (tvg4x4), and a harmonic fit to the above 4 × 4 SLR–DORIS time series (goco2s_fit2). These detailed models are compared to GPS orbit simulations using a reference model (stdtvg) based on the International Earth Rotation Service (IERS) and International GNSS Service (IGS) repro1 standards. We find that the new TVG modeling produces significant along, cross-track orbit differences as well as annual, semi-annual, draconitic and long-period effects in the Helmert translation parameters (Tx, Ty, Tz) of the GPS orbits with magnitudes of several mm. We show that the simplistic TVG modeling approach used by all of the IGS Analysis Centers, which is based on the models provided by the IERS standards, becomes progressively less adequate following 2006 when compared to the seasonal and long-period TVG models.     

A strategy for producing refined currents in the Equatorial Atlantic in the context of the search of the AF447 wreckage

On the night of 1st June 2009, a Rio-Paris Air France flight (AF447) disappeared in a highly variable and poorly observed part of the western tropical Atlantic Ocean. The first debris was located 5 days after the accident. Several reverse drift computations were conducted in order to define the likely position of the wreckage. Unfortunately, the performance of the operational ocean analyses available in the region of interest ranges from 80 to 100 km of positioning error after 5 days of inverse drift computation. In preparation of the third phase of research of the wreckage at sea, a series of numerical experiments was performed at Météo-France and Mercator Océan in an attempt to better compute the surface currents in the region and for the period of the accident of the AF447 (May and June 2009). Tailored high-resolution atmosphere and ocean reanalyses were first produced respectively at Météo-France and Mercator Océan. Several nested experiments were then performed with a small and flexible ocean model limited to the region of interest. The date of the initial conditions and the type of atmospheric forcing fields were varied in order to produce a small ensemble from which information on the sensitivity to these changes could be derived. Probabilistic and statistical combinations between model and observations were tested and a solution was finally selected by means of a comparison of drift computations with independent surface drift observations.     

Review: From multi-scale conceptualization to a classification system for inland groundwater-dependent ecosystems

Aquifers provide water, nutrients and energy with various patterns for many aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are increasingly recognized for their ecological and socio-economic values. The current knowledge of the processes governing the ecohydrological functioning of inland GDEs is reviewed, in order to assess the key drivers constraining their viability. These processes occur both at the watershed and emergence scale. Recharge patterns, geomorphology, internal geometry and geochemistry of aquifers control water availability and nutritive status of groundwater. The interface structure between the groundwater system and the biocenoses may modify the groundwater features by physicochemical or biological processes, for which biocenoses need to adapt. Four major types of aquifer-GDE interface have been described: springs, surface waters, peatlands and terrestrial ecosystems. The ecological roles of groundwater are conditioned by morphological characteristics for spring GDEs, by the hyporheic zone structure for surface waters, by the organic soil structure and volume for peatland GDEs, and by water-table fluctuation and surface floods in terrestrial GDEs. Based on these considerations, an ecohydrological classification system for GDEs is proposed and applied to Central and Western-Central Europe, as a basis for modeling approaches for GDEs and as a tool for groundwater and landscape management.     

First assessment of the Caulerpa racemosa (Caulerpales, Chlorophyta) invasion along the French Mediterranean coast

The introduced green alga Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea has been rapidly spreading in the Mediterranean Sea since 1990. It was first observed in France in 1997 (Marseilles). In early 2004, the stretch of the French Mediterranean coastline and the surface area affected by the invasion were estimated at about 83 km and 4014 ha, respectively. The depth range of colonized areas was usually 10-35 m depth. Shallow (0-10 m) and deep (down to 40 m) dense meadows were rarely observed. In contrast to the dead matte of Posidonia oceanica, which constituted the most widely colonized substratum, dense P. oceanica meadows and fine sand with large ripple-marks were not invaded. Few rocky areas were colonized and coarse sand bottoms were usually colonized below 20 m depth. All the colonized areas were exposed to human activities and more than 40% were fishing areas. Mild climate, suitable substrata, presence of vectors of dispersal and absence of efficient biological control make the French Mediterranean coast particularly vulnerable to the further spread of the alga.     

Micrometeorological Measurements in a Street Canyon during the Joint ATREUS-PICADA Experiment

In order to investigate the microclimatic conditions in a street canyon, a physical model was used to conduct the Joint ATREUS-PICADA Experiment (JAPEX) in situ experimental campaign. Four lines of buildings simulated by steel containers were installed to form three parallel street canyons at 1:5 scale, with width/height aspect ratio approximately 0.40. The reference wind and atmospheric conditions were measured, as well as the flow velocity and direction in the street. Preliminary results concern street canyon ventilation and thermal effects on in-canyon airflow, and show that vortical motions appear for reference wind directions perpendicular to the street axis. The presence of adjacent rows of buildings did not appear to significantly influence the flow character within the canyon for the case of a low aspect ratio corresponding to a skimming flow regime. The flow structure was not significantly affected by the thermal effects although some slight interference occurred in the lower part of the canyon. An analysis of horizontal temperature gradients indicated that a thin boundary layer develops near the heated facade. These facts imply that the thermal effects are considerable only very close to the wall.     

Ice mass change in Greenland and Antarctica between 1993 and 2013 from satellite gravity measurements

We construct long-term time series of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet mass change from satellite gravity measurements. A statistical reconstruction approach is developed based on a principal component analysis (PCA) to combine high-resolution spatial modes from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission with the gravity information from conventional satellite tracking data. Uncertainties of this reconstruction are rigorously assessed; they include temporal limitations for short GRACE measurements, spatial limitations for the low-resolution conventional tracking data measurements, and limitations of the estimated statistical relationships between low- and high-degree potential coefficients reflected in the PCA modes. Trends of mass variations in Greenland and Antarctica are assessed against a number of previous studies. The resulting time series for Greenland show a higher rate of mass loss than other methods before 2000, while the Antarctic ice sheet appears heavily influenced by interannual variations.     

On the computation of the barotropic mode of a free-surface world ocean model

The free-surface formulation of the equations of our world ocean model is briefly described. The barotropic mode equations are solved according to the split-explicit method, using different time steps for the external and internal modes. Because the numerical algorithm is implemented on the B-grid, a spurious, free-surface, two-grid interval mode may develop. This mode must be filtered out. The properties of two filters are theoretically investigated and their actual performance is tested in a series of numerical experiments. It is seen that one of these filters may severely perturb the local mass conservation, rendering it impossible to enforce the impermeability of the surface or the bottom of the ocean. The dynamics of the external mode is also examined, by studying the depth-integrated momentum equations. The depth-integral of the pressure force due to the slope of the ocean surface is approximately balanced by the depth-integral of the force ensuing from the horizontal variations of the density. The depth-integral of the Coriolis force is an order of magnitude smaller, except in the Southern Ocean. Two variational principles are resorted to for computing the fictitious ocean surface elevation corresponding to the approximate equilibrium between the dominant forces of the barotropic momentum equations.     

Microstructural criteria for reliable thermometry in low-temperature eclogites

Two Alpine eclogite bodies, sampled in metaophiolitic complexes of the Piemonte Zone, have been studied for geothermometry. It is demonstrated that temperature estimates, by both exchange thermometry and sizes of antiphase domains in omphacites, give rise to erratic results when the defect structures of the minerals are not taken into account. Microstructural criteria, by means of both optical and TEM microscopy, for reliable thermometry in low-temperature eclogites are disscussed. The dynamically recrystallized grains are the more suitable sites for the application of exchange thermometry, while only low-strained omphacites can be used for thermometry based on APD's.     

Phases tectoniques superposées dans les métasédiments Précambriens du domaine côtier occidental de la Cote d'Ivoire

Microstructural analysis of the coastal high-grade metasediments of the South Western Ivory Coast show at least four folding phases. The oldest phase does not seem to affect the lower Birrimian mesometamorphic series and it is concluded that this phase affected a pre-Eburnean crystalline and granitic basement. The name Liberian has been applied in the Ivory Coast to this basement. The Birrimian mesometamorphic rocks record the three youngest folding phases: two of them may correspond to two major north north east to south south west synmetamorphic phases of the Eburnean orogeny. The last phase is clearly post-Eburnean and may be synchronous with the north west south east trending chevron-folds (with crenulated schistosity) and the main north north east strike slip faults of the West African shield in the Ivory Coast.