Observation of the solar eclipse 1966 May 20 in the region between 3.2 cm to 2.7 m wavelength

The solar eclipse 1966 May 20 was observed at 3.2, 10, 15, 20, 54, 59 cm, 1.05, 1.34 and 2.7 m wavelength by the observatories of the Heinrich-Hertz-Institut. The meter-wavelength observations were superposed by a noise storm. The result shows a region of enhanced radiation from the plages near the central meridian at the short wavelengths. Consulting additionally the observations made at Kiel, NERA, and Ondejov in the region of about 1.2 m wavelength it is possible to localize the source of the noise storm.     

The role of prior model calibration on predictions with ensemble Kalman filter

This paper, based on a real world case study (Limmat aquifer, Switzerland), compares inverse groundwater flow models calibrated with specified numbers of monitoring head locations. These models are updated in real time with the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) and the prediction improvement is assessed in relation to the amount of monitoring locations used for calibration and updating. The prediction errors of the models calibrated in transient state are smaller if the amount of monitoring locations used for the calibration is larger. For highly dynamic groundwater flow systems a transient calibration is recommended as a model calibrated in steady state can lead to worse results than a noncalibrated model with a well-chosen uniform conductivity. The model predictions can be improved further with the assimilation of new measurement data from on-line sensors with the EnKF. Within all the studied models the reduction of 1-day hydraulic head prediction error (in terms of mean absolute error [MAE]) with EnKF lies between 31% (assimilation of head data from 5 locations) and 72% (assimilation of head data from 85 locations). The largest prediction improvements are expected for models that were calibrated with only a limited amount of historical information. It is worthwhile to update the model even with few monitoring locations as it seems that the error reduction with EnKF decreases exponentially with the amount of monitoring locations used. These results prove the feasibility of data assimilation with EnKF also for a real world case and show that improved predictions of groundwater levels can be obtained.     

Rock salt mass in the Paleoproterozoic sequence of the Onega trough in Karelia (from the Onega parametric well data)

A thick (200 m) rock salt mass covering Late Archean granitoids was exposed for the first time in the Early Proterozoic volcanogenic-sedimentary formations in the Onega trough of the east Baltic Shield by the Onega parametric well. The mineral composition of salts, their geochemical features, and the isotopic composition of carbonate carbon and oxygen have been studied. After fluid inclusions present in salts, their metamorphism temperature and isotopic composition of helium and argon were determined. The obtained results give evidence of the fact that rock salts and magnesites associated with them were formed in an evaporate basin with participation of deep crustal processes. The age of the underlying granitoids (2.716 ± 9 Ma) is determined using the Pb—Pb method.     

Observation of Precipitating Systems over Complex Orography with Meteorological Doppler Radars: A Feasibility Study

Summary  This paper concerns the use of airborne or ground-based Doppler radars to observe precipitating systems over complex orography. As nearly all of the previous experiments involving Doppler radars were conducted over flat surfaces over the continents or the oceans, new techniques are needed firstly to separate ground clutter from meteorological signal and, in the case of airborne Doppler observations, to deduce navigational errors. Secondly, it is necessary to take the atmospheric circulation induced by orography into account in the three-dimensional wind field analysis. Variational techniques are presented to solve these problems. The proposed methods are tested with simulated ground-based and airborne Doppler radar observations for analytic flows over analytic terrains and for numerically simulated wind and reflectivity fields for the Brig event (22 September 1993) of heavy precipitation over the southern flank of the Alps (Cosma and Richard, 1998), and with actual airborne Doppler data relative to weak snow showers over the Rocky Mountains on 12 March 1995. Received March 22, 1999/Revised June 1, 1999     

Toroidal versus poloidal magnetic fields in Sun-like stars: a rotation threshold

From a set of stellar spectropolarimetric observations, we report the detection of surface magnetic fields in a sample of four solar-type stars, namely HD 73350, HD 76151, HD 146233 (18 Sco) and HD 190771. Assuming that the observed variability of polarimetric signal is controlled by stellar rotation, we establish the rotation periods of our targets, with values ranging from 8.8 d (for HD 190771) to 22.7 d (for HD 146233). Apart from rotation, fundamental parameters of the selected objects are very close to the Sun's, making this sample a practical basis to investigate the specific impact of rotation on magnetic properties of Sun-like stars.
We reconstruct the large-scale magnetic geometry of the targets as a low-order  (ℓ < 10)  spherical harmonic expansion of the surface magnetic field. From the set of magnetic maps, we draw two main conclusions. (i) The magnetic energy of the large-scale field increases with rotation rate. The increase in chromospheric emission with the mean magnetic field is flatter than observed in the Sun. Since the chromospheric flux is also sensitive to magnetic elements smaller than those contributing to the polarimetric signal, this observation suggests that a larger fraction of the surface magnetic energy is stored in large scales as rotation increases. (ii) Whereas the magnetic field is mostly poloidal for low rotation rates, more rapid rotators host a large-scale toroidal component in their surface field. From our observations, we infer that a rotation period lower than ≈12 d is necessary for the toroidal magnetic energy to dominate over the poloidal component.     

Photoelectric device for monitoring the movement of a torsion balance beam

Manufactured and tested in his work is a photoelectric device that makes it possible to automatically determine the relative angular position of the beam of a miniature torsion balance, angular readings being discretized with various time step values and stored in a computer. Measurements were taken with this device that captured the occurrence of the partial solar eclipse on September 11, 2007, and confirmed the fact, established previously through visual observation, that the position of torsion balance beams changed at the instant an eclipse took place.     

Experiments on numerical modeling of intense convection

Results of numerical simulations using the WRF-ARW nonhydrostatic model are presented for eight episodes of intense convection over European Russia in the summer of 2007. The calculations were performed on four nested grids with horizontal grid meshes of 27, 9, 3, and 1 km. Convection was parametrized on the first two grids and explicitly resolved on the other two. It has been found that simulations on finer grids with explicit calculation of convective flows make it possible to reproduce heavy rainfalls and strong-wind zones in the areas of intense convection. A preliminary verification of the short-range predictions of convective systems shows that the maximum 12-h precipitation totals and the maximum winds at 10 m are close, in the order of magnitude, to the observed values. Prediction of convection centers is the weakest point. Difficulties in the model verification associated with the absence of data with high space-time resolution are discussed.     

Spectroscopic binaries near the North Galactic Pole paper 6: BD 33° 2206

Photoelectric radial-velocity measurements have confirmed O. C. Wilson’s finding that BD 33° 2206, the secondary star in the wide visual binary ADS 8470, is a spectroscopic binary. It has an eccentric orbit with a period of 100 days. Its γ-velocity is close to the constant radial velocity of the visual primary, confirming the physical association of the stars.     

Understanding the surface hydrology of the Lake Eyre Basin: Part 1—Rainfall

This is the first of two papers that describe the surface hydrology of the Lake Eyre Basin (LEB) (1,140,000 km²) in central Australia and compares some key characteristics with those observed from arid regions globally. This paper concentrates on annual rainfall, whereas the second paper is devoted to streamflow. The first part describes the LEB's climate (arid to semi-arid), which is dominated by a subtropical high pressure ridge stretching latitudinally across central Australia. Then follow major analyses that include the characteristics of rainfall, wet and dry spell lengths and cumulative surpluses and deficiencies, rainfall trends and intra- and inter-decadal fluctuations, and the relationship between rainfall and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The paper concludes with six conclusions, the key ones being: the variability of the annual rainfall (based on the coefficient of variation) in the LEB is approximately 60% greater than that found for stations located in arid regions in the rest of the world; there is a bias towards longer lengths of dry years than observed in the rest of Australia; and, there is a significant lag correlation between rainfall and ENSO, particularly in the east and in the latter part of a year.