The flux ejection dynamo effect

Abstract

The mean-field effects of cyclonic convection become increasingly complex when the cyclonic rotation exceeds ½-π. Net helicity is not required, with negative turbulent diffusion, for instance, appearing in mirror symmetric turbulence. This paper points out a new dynamo effect arising in convective cells with strong asymmetry in the rotation of updrafts as against downdrafts. The creation of new magnetic flux arises from the ejection of reserve flux through the open boundary of the dynamo region. It is unlike the familiar α-effect in that individual components of the field may be amplified independently. Several formal examples are provided to illustrate the effect. Occurrence in nature depends upon the existence of fluid rotations of the order of π in the convective updrafts. The flux ejection dynamo may possibly contribute to the generation of field in the convective core of Earth and in the convective zone of the sun and other stars.     

Residual fields from extinct dynamos

Abstract

The paper explores some of the many facets of the problem of the generation of magnetic fields in convective zones of declining vigor and/or thickness. The ultimate goal of such work is the explanation of the magnetic fields observed in A-stars. The present inquiry is restricted to kinematical dynamos, to show some of the many possibilities, depending on the assumed conditions of decline of the convection. The examples serve to illustrate in what quantitative detail it will be necessary to describe the convection in order to extract any firm conclusions concerning specific stars.

The first illustrative example treats the basic problem of diffusion from a layer of declining thickness. The second adds a buoyant rise to the field in the layer. The third treats plane dynamo waves in a region with declining eddy diffusivity, dynamo coefficient, and large-scale shear. The dynamo number may increase or decrease with declining convection, with an increase expected if the large-scale shear does not decline as rapidly as the eddy diffusivity. It is shown that one of the components of the field may increase without bound even in the case that the dynamo number declines to zero.     

THE ROLE OF VEGETATION DYNAMICS IN CHOCTAWHATCHEE SAND PINE INVASION OF LONGLEAF PINE FORESTS

The expansion of Choctawhatchee sand pine (Pinus clausa) into longleaf pine forests (Pinus palustris) has been widespread on the Florida Panhandle since the early 1900s. This study examines the population-level processes of this sand pine invasion. Expansion of sand pine started by 1920, but rapidly increased in the 1940s. Population establishment and growth in invasive stands has been rapid, with establishment of many sand pine pioneer individuals followed by rapid infilling as these individuals reached reproductive maturity. Both noninvasive and invasive stands had numerous sand pine seedlings and saplings. Sand pine will likely persist in these communities in the near future. Analyses of hemispherical canopy photographs and regeneration patterns illustrate the ability of sand pine to establish under a variety of light conditions. Radial growth analysis of incremental tree cores highlights the importance of episodic wind disturbances in maintaining these sand pine populations. [Key words: sand pine, longleaf pine, Pinus clausa, Florida, pine invasion, Pinus palustris.]     

Late Holocene Neoglacial conditions from the Lesotho highlands, southern Africa: phytolith and stable carbon isotope evidence from the archaeological site of Likoaeng

The late Holocene environmental history of the Lesotho highlands, southern Africa, is poorly understood with few detailed studies to date. At Likoaeng, Senqu Valley, Lesotho, a 3 m stratified sedimentary sequence from an open-air archaeological site records vegetation development for the period 3400-1070 cal. BP. Phytolith analyses and bulk sediment organic matter δ¹³C indicate that C₄ grassland dominated the lower part of the sequence until approximately 2960 cal. BP when there was a switch to C₃ Pooid grassland (2960-2160 cal. BP). Also noted was a change from hunting mainly bovids to a dominance of fishing at the site. The change in grassland type and archaeological subsistence strategies corresponds with an episode of neoglacial cooling and the expansion of Alpine sourgrasses into lower altitudes. From 2160 to 1600 cal. BP grassland became a mix of C₃ and C₄ types and by 1600-1070 cal. BP there was a return to C₄ dominated grassland. During this latter phase there was a reversal from fishing to hunting again (and eventually some keeping of domestic livestock) at the site. These data outline the vegetation response to latitudinal shifts of frontal systems, and relatively strong atmospheric circulation variability, perhaps underpinned by variations of polar water into the Benguela Current during the late Holocene.     

Comparison of alternative upscaled model formulations for simulating DNAPL source dissolution and biodecay

This paper compares the performance of analytical and numerical approaches for modeling DNAPL dissolution with biodecay. A solution derived from a 1-D advective transport formulation (“Parker” model) is shown to agree very closely with high resolution numerical solutions. A simple lumped source mass balance solution in which with decay is assumed proportional to DNAPL mass (“Falta1” model) over- or underpredicts aqueous phase biodecay depending on the magnitude of the exponential factor governing the relationship between dissolution rate and DNAPL mass. A modification of the Falta model that assumes decay proportional to the source exit concentration is capable of accurately simulating source behavior with strong aqueous phase biodecay if model parameters are appropriately selected or calibrated (“Falta2” model). However, parameters in the lumped models exhibit complex interdependencies that cannot be quantified without consideration of transport processes within the source zone. Combining the Falta2 solution with relationships derived from the Parker model was found to resolve these limitations and track the numerical model results. A method is presented to generalize the analytical solutions to enable simulation of partial mass removal with changes in source parameters over time due to various remedial actions. The algorithm is verified by comparison with numerical simulation results. An example application is presented that demonstrates the interactions of partial mass removal, enhanced biodecay, enhanced mass transfer and source zone flow reduction applied at various time periods on contaminant flux reduction. Increasing errors that arise in numerical solutions with coarse discretization and high decay rates are shown to be controlled by using an adjusted decay coefficient derived from the Parker analytical solution.     

Geophysical Finite-Element Simulation Tool (GeoFEST): Algorithms and Validation for Quasistatic Regional Faulted Crust Problems

GeoFEST (Geophysical Finite Element Simulation Tool) is a two- and three-dimensional finite element software package for the modeling of solid stress and strain in geophysical and other continuum domain applications. It is one of the featured high-performance applications of the NASA QuakeSim project. The program is targeted to be compiled and run on UNIX systems, and is running on diverse systems including sequential and message-passing parallel systems. Solution to the elliptical partial differential equations is obtained by finite element basis sampling, resulting in a sparse linear system primarily solved by conjugate gradient iteration to a tolerance level; on sequential systems a Crout factorization for the direct inversion of the linear system is also supported. The physics models supported include isotropic linear elasticity and both Newtonian and power-law viscoelasticity, via implicit quasi-static time stepping. In addition to triangular, quadrilateral, tetrahedral and hexahedral continuum elements, GeoFEST supports split-node faulting, body forces, and surface tractions. This software and related mesh refinement strategies have been validated on a variety of test cases with rigorous comparison to analytical solutions. These include a box-shaped domain with imposed motion on one surface, a pair of strike slip faults in stepover arrangement, and two community-agreed benchmark cases: a strike slip fault in an enclosing box, and a quarter-domain circular fault problem. Scientific applications of the code include the modeling of static and transient co- and post-seismic earth deformation, Earth response to glacial, atmospheric and hydrological loading, and other scenarios involving the bulk deformation of geologic media.     

Large-scale silicic alkalic magmatism associated with the Buckhorn Caldera, Trans-Pecos Texas, USA: comparison with Pantelleria, Italy

Three major rhyolite systems in the northeastern Davis and adjacent Barrilla Mountains include lava units that bracketed a large pantelleritic ignimbrite (Gomez Tuff) in rapid eruptions spanning 300,000 years. Extensive silicic lavas formed the shields of the Star Mountain Formation (37.2 Ma-K/Ar; 36.84 Ma ³⁹Ar/⁴⁰Ar), and the Adobe Canyon Formation (37.1 Ma-K/Ar; 36.51-³⁹Ar/⁴⁰Ar). The Gomez Tuff (36.6 Ma-K/Ar; 36.74-³⁹Ar/⁴⁰Ar) blanketed a large region around the 18×24 km diameter Buckhorn caldera, within which it ponded, forming sections up to 500 m thick. Gomez eruption was preceded by pantelleritic rhyolite domes (36.87, 36.91 Ma-³⁹Ar/⁴⁰Ar), some of which blocked movement of Star Mountain lava flows. Following collapse, the Buckhorn caldera was filled by trachyte lava. Adobe Canyon rhyolite lavas then covered much of the region. Star Mountain Formation (~220 km³) is composed of multiple flows ranging from quartz trachyte to mildly peralkalic rhyolite; three major types form a total of at least six major flows in the northeastern Davis Mountains. Adobe Canyon Formation (~125 km³) contains fewer flows, some up to 180 m thick, of chemically homogenous, mildly peralkalic comendite, extending up to 40 km. Gomez Tuff (~220 km³) may represent the largest known pantellerite. It is typically less than 100 m thick in extra-caldera sections, where it shows a pyroclastic base and top, although interiors are commonly rheomorphic, containing flow banding and ramp structures. Most sections contain one cooling unit; two sections contain a smaller, upper cooling unit. Chemically, the tuff is fairly homogeneous, but is more evolved than early pantelleritic domes. Overall, although Davis Mountains silicic units were generated through open system processes, the pantellerites appear to have evolved by processes dominated by extensive fractional crystallization from parental trachytes similar to that erupted in pre- and post-caldera lavas. Comparison with the Pantelleria volcano suggests that the most likely parental magma for the Buckhorn series is transitional basalt, similar to that erupted in minor, younger Basin and Range volcanism after about 24 Ma. Roughly contemporaneous mafic lavas associated with the Buckhorn caldera appear to have assimilated or mixed with crustal melts, and, generally, may not be regarded as mafic precursors of the Buckhorn silicic rocks, They thus form a false Daly Gap as opposed to the true basalt/trachyte Daly gap of Pantelleria. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. This paper constitutes part of a special issue dedicated to Bill Bonnichsen on the petrogenesis and volcanology of anorogenic rhyolites.