Integral Equations for Kinematic Dynamo Models

A new technique for the treatment of the kinematic dynamo problem is presented. The method is applicable when the dynamo is surrounded by a medium of finite conductivity and is based on a reformulation of the induction equation and boundary conditions at infinity into an integral equation. We show that the integral operator involved here is compact in the case of homogeneous conductivity, which is important for both mathematical and numerical treatment. A lower bound for the norm of then yields a necessary condition for the generation of magnetic fields by kinematic dynamos. Numerical results are presented for some simple ²-dynamo models. The far-field asymptotics for stationary and time-dependent field modes are discussed.     

Development of a chemistry module for GCMs: first results of a multiannual integration

The comprehensive chemistry module CHEM has been developed for application in general circulation models (GCMs) describing tropospheric and stratospheric chemistry, including photochemical reactions and heterogeneous reactions on sulphate aerosols and polar stratospheric clouds. It has been coupled to the spectral atmospheric GCM ECHAM3. The model configuration used in the current study has been run in an –off-line mode, i.e. the calculated chemical species do not affect the radiative forcing of the dynamic fields. First results of a 15-year model integration indicate that the model ECHAM3/CHEM runs are numerically efficient and stable, i.e. that no model drift can be detected in dynamic and chemical parameters. The model reproduces the main features regarding ozone, in particular intra- and interannual variability. The ozone columns are somewhat higher than observed (approximately 10%), while the amplitude of the annual cycle is in agreement with observations. A comparison with HALOE data reveals, however, a serious model deficiency regarding lower-stratosphere dynamics at high latitudes. Contrary to what is concluded by observations, the lower stratosphere is characterized by slight upward motions in the polar regions, so that some of the mentioned good agreements must be considered as fortuitous. Nevertheless, ECHAM3/CHEM well describes the chemical processes leading to ozone reduction. It has been shown that the mean fraction of the northern hemisphere, which is covered by polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) as well as the temporal appearance of PSCs in the model, is in fair agreement with observations. The model results show an activation of chlorine inside the polar vortex which is stronger in the southern than in the northern winter hemisphere, yielding an ozone hole over the Antarctic; this hole, however, is also caused to a substantial degree by the dynamics. Interhemispheric differences concerning reformation of chlorine reservoir species HCl and ClONO₂ in spring have also been well reproduced by the model.     

Beach Comfort Index – a new approach to evaluate the thermal conditions of beach holiday resorts using a South African example

The climatic conditions of seven beach holiday resorts in South Africa (Alexander Bay, Cape Town, George, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban and Richard's Bay) have been examined with regard to the thermal perception of beach holiday makers. The evaluation of the thermal conditions is based on the human energy balance calculations which have been adapted to the requirements of beach goers. A model has been developed to calculate the missing radiation input data and parameters such as ‘beach day’ and ‘beach hour’ are introduced and defined. The average monthly number of beach days is calculated for every location showing the highest amounts in Durban and Richard's Bay and the highest annual variations in Cape Town. The Beach Comfort Index Map of South Africa shows the maximum, minimum and average number of beach days per month and the probability of beach days and thus providing understandable and interpretable information on the thermal conditions of the sites from the point of view of beach holiday makers. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Exosolar Planets Program of the COROT satellite

Earth, Moon, and Planets -     

A Fully Depleted pn-Junction CCD for Infrared-, UV- and X- ray detection

This paper describes the performance of the Fully Depleted pn-junction CCD (pn-CCD) system, developed for ESA's XMM-satellite mission for soft x-ray imaging and spectroscopy in the single photon counting mode in the 100 eV to 10 keV photon range. The 58 mm x 60 mm large pn-CCD array, designed and fabricated at the Semiconductor Lab (Halbleiterlabor) of the Max-Planck-Institut, uses pn-junctions for registers and as backside structure. This concept naturally enables full depletion of the detector volume independent of the silicon wafer's resistivity and thickness, and as such make it an efficient detector for the x-ray region and the infrared. For high detection efficiency in the soft x-ray region and UV, an ultrathin pn-CCD backside deadlayer has been realized. Each pn-CCD-channel is equipped with its own on-chip JFET amplifier which, in combination with the CAMEX-amplifier and multiplexing chip, facilitates parallel readout and fast data rate: the cooled pn-CCD system can be read out at a data rate up to 3 MHz with an electronic noise floor of ENC < 5 e-.     

Meltwater pulses in the northern North Atlantic: retrodiction and forecast by numerical modelling

Changes in sea surface salinity, especially by sudden meltwater pulses, are the most effective process to modify the circulation in the Greenland–Iceland–Norwegian (GIN) seas. With “Sensitivity and Circulation of the Northern North Atlantic” (SCINNA), a three-dimensional ocean general circulation model, several experiments addressing the possible effects of meltwater inputs of different intensities were carried out. The experiments used (a) the last glacial maximum (LGM) reconstruction based on oxygen isotopes data from sediment cores and (b) the modern conditions of the GIN seas for their initial states. Meltwater inputs from Europe as recorded during the last deglaciation succeeding the LGM change the circulation pattern drastically. These pulses can push the high-salinity inflow from the northeast Atlantic away from Europe over to the southern coast of Iceland, thus allowing the low-salinity meltwater to spread all over the GIN seas. As a result, the deepwater formation in this region can be turned off and the circulation system shifts from the normal cyclonal-antiestuarine into an anticyclonal-estuarine mode. On the contrary, meltwater pulses originating from Greenland due to global warming mainly intensify the East Greenland Current without altering the overall circulation and temperature/salinity patterns significantly because they chiefly enhance the salinity minimum off the Greenland coast.     

Age, geodynamic setting, and mantle enrichment processes of a K-rich intrusion from the Meissen massif (northern Bohemian massif) and implications for related occurrences from the mid-European Hercynian

The plutonic complex of the Meissen massif (northern margin of the Bohemian massif) comprises dioritic to mainly monzonitic and granitic rocks. The diorite to monzonite intrusions show major and trace element patterns typical for shoshonitic series. The chemical signatures of less crustally contaminated diorites are similar to arc-related shoshonitic rocks derived from continental lithospheric mantle (CLM) sources previously enriched by subduction of altered oceanic crust. Laser step heating ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar analyses on actinolitic to edenitic amphiboles from geographically different occurrences of the monzonitic intrusion yielded concordant plateau ages as well as total gas ages ranging from 329.1±1.4 to 330.4±1.4?Ma and from 330.4±2.1 to 330.6±1.8?Ma, respectively. These cooling ages are indistinguishable from sensitive highresolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) ²³⁸U/²⁰⁶Pb intrusion ages measured on magmatic zircon rims from the monzonite (Nasdala et al., submitted). This shows that the monzonite intrusion is probably not related temporally to active subduction because it postdates eclogites of the adjacent Saxonian Erzgebirge by approximately 20?Ma. The shoshonitic magmas intruded during strike-slip tectonism along the Elbe valley zone. The enrichment of their mantle sources may be of Upper Devonian/Lower Carboniferous age or older. Intrusions of shoshonitic to ultra-potassic (K-rich) rocks during the Upper Visean/Namurian are widespread in the Moldanubian zone. Based on similar ages and structural relationships a similar post-collisional setting to the Meissen shoshonitic rocks can be demonstrated. Most of these occurrences cut high-grade nappe units which were subducted during the Upper Devonian/Lower Carboniferous. In contrast to the Meissen massif, at least the ultra-potassic members of the Central and the South Bohemian batholiths were derived from CLM sources enriched by fluids or melts released from subducted oceanic crust and by greater portions of crustal material. Despite the similar post-collisional geodynamic setting of the K-rich intrusions, different enrichment processes generated mid-European Hercynian CLM sources with heterogeneous major and trace element and isotopic signatures.     

Nutrients limiting the algal growth potential (AGP) in the Po River plume and an adjacent area, Northwest Adriatic Sea: Enrichment bioassays with the test algaeNitzschia closterium andThalassiosira pseudonana

From April 1993 to March 1994, 135 samples were collected at two sites in the coastal Adriatic Sea, both near (14.5 km) and far (63 km) from the Po River delta. The nutrient(s) limiting algal growth potential (AGP) were estimated by bioassay usingNitzshia closterium (local isolate) andThalassiosira pseudonama (strain 3-H). Estimates were also made by comparing the nutrient molar ratios, ΣN:P and ΣN:Si (whereΣN=NO₃ ^?+NO₂ ^?+NH₄ ⁺+urea), to the Redfield Ratio (16∶1, 1∶1). According to the bioassay results, phosphorus was the sole nutrient limiting AGP in 2% of the samples and was the most limiting nutrient in 69% of the samples; nitrogen was sole limiting nutrient in 18% of the samples. In 11% of samples, nitrogen and phosphorus were equally co-limiting. Omission of phosphorus from spike enrichments allowed, on average, only a 1.6-fold increase in biomass over that in the unenriched controls. Similar omission of nitrogen allowed a 4-fold increase, while silicon, iron, and micronutrients resulted in 14-fold, 18-fold, and >20-fold increases, respectively. In most of the samples, ΣN:P was much greater than 16, indicating a marked phosphorus deficiency, while ΣN:Si values suggested that silicon was the third most limiting nutrient in 35% of samples. In water collected for from the Po delta, the yield ofN. closterium was not limited by any nutrients other than the three major ones: P, N and Si. In these same waters,T. pseudonana was also potentially limited by iron and, to a lesser extent, by vitamins. The role of iron varied. In samples collected near the Po delta, iron acted as the third most limiting nutrient forN. closterium in June and September; it appeared 29 times out of 78 on the list of potentially limiting nutrients forT. pseudonana, including 5 times as the most limiting. Altogether, comparison with published results suggests that the roles of iron and silicon in AGP limitation have increased during the past three decades, and could become even more important if eutrophication in the Adriatic Sea continues to increase.     

Effect of sediment load on the microbenthic community of a shallow-water sandy sediment

Anthropogenic activities, such as construction work, dredging, and different kinds of recreation activities, can alter sediment loading in shallow coastal areas. The effect of increased load of fine sediment on the microbenthos (benthic microalgae, bacteria, and meiofauna) was studied in two experiments using undisturbed cores of a sandy sediment from a microtidal bay on the Swedish west coast. In each experiment, a total of 24 cores were incubated in an outdoor flow-through set-up. Twelve cores were treated with a 2.5-mm thick layer of autoclaved fine-grained, (silt) carbon-rich surface sediment. In the first experiment, estimates of the impact were based on measurements of chlorophylla, biomass of microalgae, bacteria, and meiofauna, and bacterial production. The main purpose of the second experiment was to study the effect on sediment oxygen profiles using microsensors. Within a week, after being covered by fine sediment, benthic microalgae (particularly diatoms) had migrated upward and the oxygen profiles were restored at the sediment surface by photosynthesis. However, the oxygen-producing layer became thinner and the algal composition changed. Bacterial biomass was restored to the same level as in the sandy sediment. Meiofauna also appeared to move upward and the meiofaunal composition was re-established. The results suggest that the microbenthic community of sandy sediment has an inherent capacity to recover after a moderate deposition of fine-particle sediment. Active upward migration of benthic diatoms appears to be a key mechanism for restoring the oxygenation of the sediment surface. The altered sediment type also implies changed species composition, and hence altered benthic trophic interactions, which may affect, for example, flatfish recruitment.