Geoeffectiveness of interplanetary shocks during solar minimum (1995–1996) and solar maximum (2000)

Plasma and magnetic field parameter variations across fast forward interplanetary shocks are analyzed during the last solar cycle minimum (1995–1996, 15 shocks), and maximum year 2000 (50 shocks). It was observed that the solar wind velocity and magnetic field strength variation across the shocks were the parameters better correlated with Dst. Superposed epoch analysis centered on the shock showed that, during solar minimum, B _z profiles had a southward, long-duration variation superposed with fluctuations, whereas in solar maximum the B _z profile presented 2 peaks. The first peak occurred 4 hr after the shock, and seems to be associated with the magnetic field disturbed by the shock in the sheath region. The second peak occurred 19 hr after the shock, and seems to be associated with the ejecta fields. The difference in shape and peak in solar maximum (Dst peak =−50 nT, moderate activity) and minimum (Dst peak =−30 nT, weak activity) in average Dst profiles after shocks are, probably, a consequence of the energy injection in the magnetosphere being driven by different interplanetary southward magnetic structures. A statistical distribution of geomagnetic activity levels following interplanetary shocks was also obtained. It was observed that during solar maximum, 36% of interplanetary shocks were followed by intense (Dst≤−100 nT) and 28% by moderate (−50≤Dst <−100 nT) geomagnetic activity. During solar minimum, 13% and 33% of the shocks were followed by intense and moderate geomagnetic activity, respectively. Thus, during solar maximum a higher relative number of interplanetary shocks might be followed by intense geomagnetic activity than during solar minimum. One can extrapolate, for forecasting goals, that during a whole solar cycle a shock has a probability of around 50–60% to be followed by intense/moderate geomagnetic activity.     

用于中阿合作的卫星激光测距(SLR)系统的现状和未来

简要介绍了用于中国科学院国家天文台与阿根廷San Juan大学合作观测与研究的一个高精度卫星激光测距(SLR)系统.该望远镜口径为60cm的SLR系统由中国研制,于2005年秋被运往阿根廷,安装在阿根廷国立San Juan大学天文台,San Juan大学建立了观测室.准备了工作条件.该系统于2006年2月底完成调试并开始运行.在过去的两年阃,该系统保持了良好的工作状态,由于San Juan具有良好的天气条件,该系统取得了丰富的高精度观测资料.国际激光测距服务认为该仪器的工作对国际激光测距系统是重要的,希望对其增加白天测距的功能.文章也简单介绍了该SLR站未来升级改造和发展的计划.     

Relationships between the AE, ap and Dst indices near solar minimum (1974) and at solar maximum (1979)

Three-hourly average values of the Dst, AE and ap geomagnetic activity indices have been studied for 1 years duration near the solar minimum (1974) and also at the solar maximum (1979). In 1979 seven intense geomagnetic storms (Dst < –100 nT) occurred, whereas in 1974 only three were reported. This study reveals: (1) the yearly average of AE is greater in 1974 than in 1979, whereas the inverse seems to be true for the yearly average of Dst, when a higher number of intense storms is present. These averages indicate the kind of activity occurring on the sun as shown in earlier work. (2) The seasonal variation of Dst is higher than that of ap and is almost negligible in AE. (3) The correlation coefficient of ap × AE is in general the highest, as the magnetometers that monitor both indices are close, and is surpassed only by the ap × Dst correlation during geomagnetic storms, when the influence of the ring current is dominant. The correlation of ap × Dst also shows a seasonal variability. (4) For the first time a study of correlation between ap and a linear combination of AE and Dst has also been made. We found higher correlation coefficients in this case as compared to those between ap × Dst and ap ×xs AE.     

Integrating Stalagmite, Vertebrate, and Pollen Sequences to Investigate Holocene Vegetation and Climate Change in the Southern Midwestern United States

Speleothem carbon and oxygen isotopic records from Onondaga Cave, south-central Missouri, and Beckham Creek Cave, north-central Arkansas, are compared with the Cupola Pond and Oldfield Swamp pollen series from southeastern Missouri and the Rodgers Shelter and Modoc Shelter vertebrate biostratigraphic sequences from central Missouri and southwestern Illinois. Similar, and roughly contemporaneous, shifts between deciduous forest and steppe indicators throughout the Holocene are revealed in each database. These independent proxies record steppe conditions between approximately 9000 and 1500 cal yr B.P. A shift toward lighter speleothem carbon may reflect a change from warm and dry to cool and dry conditions between 4500 and 3000 yr B.P. The sensitive response of speleothem δ¹³C to changes in vegetation emphasizes their importance as paleoclimate records in an area containing few other millenial-scale climate proxies.     

Stable isotope paleohydrology and chemostratigraphy of the Albian Wayan Formation from the wedge-top depozone,North American Western Interior Basin

Understanding of the role of atmospheric moisture and heat transport in the climate system of the Cretaceous greenhouse world represents a major challenge in Earth system science.Stable isotopic paleohydrologic data from mid-Cretaceous paleosols in North America,from paleoequatorial to paleoArctic latitudes,have been used to constrain the oxygen isotope mass balance of the Albian hydrologic cycle.Over the range from 40°-50°N paleolatitude,sideritic paleosols predominate,indicating paleoenvironments with positive precipitation-evaporation(P-E)balances.Local exceptions occur on leeward side of the Sevier Orogen,where calcic paleosols in the wedge-top depozone record paleoenvironments with negative P-E balances in the orographic rain shadow.Stratigraphic sections in the Wayan Formation of Idaho(WF)were sampled from the wedge-top depozone.The units consist of stacked m-scale mudstone paleosols separated by m-scale sandstone-siltstone beds.Sections were sampled for organic carbon isotope profiles,and B-horizons from 6 well-developed paleosols were sampled for detrital zircons to determine maximum depositional ages.The first of these from the WF has produced a U-Pb concordia age of 101.0±1.1 Ma.This same WF section has produced a stratigraphic trend of upwardly decreasingδ~(13)C values ranging from-24‰upwards to-27‰VPDB,suggesting correlation to the late Albian C15 C-isotope segment.Pedogenic carbonates from the WF principally consist of micritic calcite,with carbon-oxygen isotope values that array along meteoric calcite lines(MCLs)withδ~(18)O values that range from-9.47‰up to-8.39‰VPDB.At approximately 42°N paleolatitude,these MCL values produce calculated paleoprecipitation values of-8.12‰to-7.04‰VSMOW,a range that is consistent with the estimates produced from other proxies at the same paleolatitudes across North America.These results indicate that despite the orographic rain shadow effect,the processes of meridional atmospheric moisture transport in this locale were similar to those in more humid mid-latitude paleoenvironments elsewhere in the continent.     

Early Jurassic palaeoenvironments in the Surat Basin,Australia – marine incursion into eastern Gondwana

Interpretations of palaeodepositional environments are important for reconstructing Earth history. Only a few maps showing the Jurassic depositional environments in eastern Australia currently exist. Consequently, a detailed understanding of the setting of Australia in Gondwana is lacking. Core, wireline logs, two-dimensional and three-dimensional seismic from the Precipice Sandstone and Evergreen Formation in the Surat Basin have been used to construct maps showing the evolution of depositional environments through the Early Jurassic. The results indicate the succession consists of three third-order sequences (Sequence 1 to Sequence 3) that were controlled by eustatic sea level. The lowstand systems tract in Sequence 1 comprises braidplain deposits, confined to a fairway that parallels the basin centre. The strata were initially deposited in two sub-basins, with rivers flowing in different orientations in each sub-basin. The transgressive systems tract of Sequence 1 to lowstand systems tract of Sequence 3 is dominated by fluvio–deltaic systems infilling a single merged basin centre. Finally, the transgressive and highstand systems tracts of Sequence 3 show nearshore environments depositing sediment into a shallow marine basin. In the youngest part of this interval, ironstone shoals are the most conspicuous facies, the thickness and number of which increase towards the north and east. This study interprets a corridor to the open ocean through the Clarence–Moreton Basin, or the Carpentaria and Papuan basins, evidence of which has been eroded. These results challenge a commonly held view that eastern Australia was not influenced by eustasy, and propose a more dynamic palaeogeographic setting comprising a mixture of fluvial, deltaic and shallow marine sedimentary environments. This work can be used to unravel the stratigraphic relationships between Mesozoic eastern Australian basins, or in other basins globally as an analogue for understanding the complex interplay of paralic depositional systems in data poor areas.     

Effect of selection and sequencing of representative wave conditions on process-based predictions of equilibrium embayed beach morphology

In order to decrease the simulation time of morphodynamic models, often-complex wave climates are reduced to a few representative wave conditions (RWC). When applied to embayed beaches, a test of whether a reduced wave climate is representative or not is to see whether it can recreate the observed equilibrium (long-term averaged) bathymetry of the bay. In this study, the wave climate experienced at Milagro Beach, Tarragona, Spain was discretized into ‘average’ and ‘extreme’ RWCs. Process-based morphodynamic simulations were sequenced and merged based on ‘persistent’ and ‘transient’ forcing conditions, the results of which were used to estimate the equilibrium bathymetry of the bay. Results show that the effect of extreme wave events appeared to have less influence on the equilibrium of the bay compared to average conditions of longer overall duration. Additionally, the persistent seasonal variation of the wave climate produces pronounced beach rotation and tends to accumulate sediment at the extremities of the beach, rather than in the central sections. It is, therefore, important to account for directional variability and persistence in the selection and sequencing of representative wave conditions as is it essential for accurately balancing the effects beach rotation events.