大陆破裂分离和海洋地壳的诞生：IODP所关注的科学问题

大陆破裂分离和新洋壳的诞生是板块构造最希望了解的基本科学问题,也是IODP下阶段工作的重要目标。2006年9月,来自6个国家的51位科学家在瑞士Pontresina开会,讨论目前关于大陆破裂与分离、沉积盆地形成的认识现状,     

Visibility and rate of coronal mass ejections

Two thirds of the H flares associated in time and position with coronal mass ejections (CME) observed by the Coronagraph/Polarimeter (C/P) or by the coronagraph on Skylab lie within 30° of the solar limb. Among type II flares (those with type II radio spectral bursts) with C/P observations, 10 are within 10° of the limb and 8 of these are associated with CME. The high rate of CME association at the limb is interpreted here to imply: (1) Most type II flares (at least 80%) are physically associated with mass motion in the corona (although about half of CME flares lack type II bursts). (2) The longitude window, centered on the plane of the sky, within which C/P and Skylab coronagraphs detect CME has halfwidth of 20° to 30°. (3) CME observed at polar position angles are unlikely to be flare associated. (4) The total number of mass ejections must be considerably greater than the number detected. The ratio of total number to observed number is estimated to be between 2 and 3, and the total occurrence frequency of coronal mass ejections at solar-cycle maximum to be comparable to that of flares of importance 1. The clear dependence of CME detection on flare position implies that the location of the mass ejection must be well described by the location of the associated flare, and that the ejected mass must have limited longitudinal extent in the corona, comparable to the width of the detection window and to the directly observed latitudinal extent of 35° +- 15° for CME observed by C/P and the Skylab coronagraph.Much of the work reported here was done at the High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80307, U.S.A. The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

An externally forced barotropic circulation model for the New York Bight

The sea level and the barotropic, frictional circulation response for the New York Bight are used to demonstrate the effects of external sea-level forcing, bathymetry, and variable friction. The governing equation is the steady, integrated vorticity equation and is computed by finite differencing over a curvilinear grid conforming to the 10- and 100-m isobaths and extending for 250 km alongshore. The boundary conditions are based on the hypothesis that the dynamics of the shelf are driven by the external sea-level gradient and the coastal no-flux condition; and consequently the conditions at the lateral boundaries are dependent thereon. Therefore, the external sea-level slope must be independently specified, and the lateral boundary conditions must be dependently generated. The diabathic component of the external sea slope forces the calm wind circulation by its effect on the transport through the upstream boundary; and the parabathic component has also an important modifying effect by forcing a shelf convergent transport. The parabathic sea slope at the coast is independent of its offshore value, being instead a direct product of the coastal boundary condition.The bottom friction is expressed as related to the sea level through a bottom length parameter and a veer angle, both of which are taken to increase shoreward. An additional bottom stress component, related to the surface stress, is determined for bottom depths less than the Ekman depth. Such bottom stress variability produces significant alterations in the nearshore flow field, over the constant bottom stress formulation, by reducing it and causing it to veer downgradient and downwind in the nearshore.The model is forced by different wind directions and the results are discussed. The circulations generally conform to the observed mean flow patterns, but with several smaller-scale features. The strong bathymetric feature of the Hudson Shelf Valley causes a polarized up- and downvalley flow for winds with an eastward or westward component, respectively. Under mean westerly winds, there is a divergence in the shelf valley flow at about the 60-m isobath. The Apex gyre existing off the western tip of Long Island becomes more extensive for winds changing from northeast to southwest. Mean flow reversals (to the northeast) occur off both Long Island and New Jersey for wind directions changing counterclockwise from northwest to southeast and from west to east, respectively. Southeastward transport over the outer New Jersey shelf tends to be enhanced by wind and external sea-level conditions; and the transport over the New Jersey midshelf, particularly in the lee of the shelf valley, tends to be weak and variable also under these mean conditions.     

Two ‘negative bursts’ with moving filaments, 19 May 1969

The event of 1969 May 19, 1430 UT included a flare, radio burst, and an active dark flocculus (ADF) or moving filament described by Vorpahl (1973) and a microwave negative burst superposed on a gradual rise and fall, described by Covington (1973). He found the interpretation of a second decrease at 2010 UT to be ambiguous in the absence of complete information. The second decrease is found here to be part of a series of events that parallels that of the earlier negative burst. Each decrease is superposed on a long-enduring burst that begins simultaneously with the eruption of a prominence near the equator at east limb and each is preceded by an ADF seen in H in a nearby active region. The similarity of these sequences strengthens the interpretation of the second event as a negative burst. The prominence eruptions, while not directly related to the negative bursts, add to a number of other signs of rapid changes in the large-scale structure of magnetic fields in the complex of active regions where the events took place.