Estimating Travel Times of Coronal Mass Ejections to 1 AU Using Multi-spacecraft Coronagraph Data

We study the relationship between the speeds of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) obtained close to the Sun and in the interplanetary medium during the low solar-activity period from 2008 to 2010. We use a multi-spacecraft forward-modeling technique to fit a flux-rope-like model to white-light coronagraph images from the STEREO and SOHO spacecraft to estimate the geometrical configuration, propagation in three-dimensions (3D), and the radial speeds of the observed CMEs. The 3D speeds obtained in this way are used in existing CME travel-time prediction models. The results are compared to the actual CME transit times from the Sun to STEREO, ACE, and Wind spacecraft as well as to the transit times calculated using projected CME speeds. CME 3D speeds give slightly better predictions than projected CME speeds, but a large scatter is observed between the predicted and observed travel times, even when 3D speeds are used. We estimate the possible sources of errors and find a weak tendency for large interplanetary CMEs (ICMEs) with high magnetic fields to arrive faster than predicted and small, low-magnetic-field ICMEs to arrive later than predicted. The observed CME transit times from the Sun to 1?AU show a particularly good correlation with the upstream solar-wind speed. Similar trends have not been observed in previous studies using data sets near solar maximum. We suggest that near solar minimum a relatively narrow range of CME initial speeds, sizes, and magnetic-field magnitudes led to a situation where aerodynamic drag between CMEs and ambient solar wind was the primary cause of variations in CME arrival times from the Sun to 1?AU.     

哈萨克斯坦东部斋桑盆地恐龙蛋壳化石与白垩系-古近系界线

在晚白垩世期间,哈萨克斯坦东部的斋桑盆地形成了一个湖盆,一直延续到现在。古斋桑湖中最老的沉积是Tayzhuzgen组,由厚达136m的泥岩、粉砂岩、页岩、石英砂岩、砾岩和淡水石灰岩红层组成。按照当地的地层名称,Tayzhuzgen组包括Manrak、Tayzhuzgen、Aulisbulak、Aktobe、Dysum bay和Kiin Kerish层。在斋桑湖以南的Tayzhuzgen河附近一个地点的Tayzhuzgen组下部,发现了恐龙蛋壳碎片,蛋壳至少包括有两个主要类型:圆形蛋类和长形蛋类。恐龙蛋壳指示了Tayzhuzgen组下部的时代为晚白垩世(可能是马斯特里赫特期)。在本组的较高层位,发现了晚?古新世的植物化石,因此斋桑盆地的白垩系-古近系界线在Tayzhuzgen组内部。在Tayzhuzgen组中,白垩纪与古新世化石层之间的地层间隔只有约50m,由此推测在Tayzhuzgen组内部可能存在一个或多个不整合,或是本组的中部为凝缩沉积,即在白垩系-古近系界线处的沉积速率非常缓慢。Tayzhuzgen组顶部有一个显著的不整合,那里中或晚始新世(Arshantan,Irdinmanhan或Egilian陆生哺乳动物"期")的地层存在于含哺乳动物化石剖面的底部。斋桑盆地的白垩系-古近系界线位于古斋桑湖沉积剖面的下部。这不是一个完整的界线剖面,可能是一个包含有一个或多个不整合和/或一个由慢速沉积造成的凝缩剖面。     

Arsenic release from chlorine-promoted alteration of a sulfide cement horizon: Evidence from batch studies on the St. Peter Sandstone,Wisconsin, USA

Elevated As concentrations have been measured in wells in the St. Peter Sandstone aquifer of eastern Wisconsin, USA. The primary source is As-bearing sulfide minerals (pyrite and marcasite) within the aquifer. There is concern that well disinfection by chlorination may facilitate As release to groundwater by increasing the rate and extent of sulfide oxidation. The objective of this study was to examine the abiotic processes that mobilize As from the aquifer solids during controlled exposure to chlorinated solutions. Thin sections made from sulfidic aquifer material were characterized by quantitative electron probe micro-analysis before and after 24 h exposure to solutions of different Cl₂ concentrations. Batch experiments using crushed aquifer solids were also conducted to examine changes in solution chemistry over 24 h. Results of the combined experiments indicate that Cl₂ addition affects As release and uptake in two ways. First, Cl₂ increases oxidation of sulfide minerals, releasing more As from the mineral structure. Chlorine addition also increases the rate of Fe(II) oxidation and subsequent hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) precipitation, allowing for increased uptake of As onto the mineral surface. Although HFOs can act as sinks for As, they can release As if biogeochemical conditions (e.g. redox, pH) change. These results have implications not only for disinfection of drinking water wells in the study area, but also suggest that introduction of oxidants may adversely affect water quality during aquifer storage and recovery programs in aquifers containing As-bearing minerals.     

Comets

Summary The status of cometary astronomy and astrophysics as of mid-1992 is reviewed, i.e. at a time when the first in situ observations of comets in 1985–86 have been thoroughly discussed, interpreted and compared with ground-based investigations. Many earlier ideas about comets were vindicated and a plethora of new discoveries resulted which have now led to reformulation of certain observational strategies and, in particular, to greatly improved possibilities for the detailed physical/chemical modelling of many cometary phenomena.A main purpose of this paper is to assess the current situation and to provide a reasonably complete, yet concise and critical evaluation of the most important questions and promising lines of research in this field. After a short introduction which defines the overall subject and the framework of the present review (Sect. 1), we take a look at some of the major past developments of our concepts about comets, in particular the crucial new insights which were gained during the past four decades (Sect. 2). The rapid advances in observational technology have greatly extended the realm of accessible problems and we next discuss the present possibilities and restrictions of the various techniques employed (Sect. 3).Part II of this paper discusses the modelling of cometary comae and tails (Sect. 4), the cometary nucleus (Sect. 5), the evolution (Sect. 6) and origin (Sect. 7) of comets and ends with an overview of the main questions now being asked by cometary studies (Sect. 8).     

Sea-ice characterization measurements needed for testing ofmicrowave remote sensing models

The nature and accuracy of ice-characterization measurements needed to test two microwave backscattering models are clarified by examining the sensitivities of these models to variations in the geophysical parameters they require as input. First, the Bragg, or small perturbation, model for rough surface scattering, which appears appropriate for backscattering from new ice types at L-band, is considered. The sensitivities of this model to variations in the dielectric constant of the ice and to the power spectrum of surface roughness are examined. The dense-medium radiation-transfer model at X-band is considered for backscattering from air bubbles embedded in multilayer ice. The sensitivities of this model to air-bubble size, air-volume fraction, and dielectric loss in the ice are examined. Based on these sensitivities, quantitative characterization guidelines for model testing are discussed     

Observations of the longitudinal magnetic field in the transition region and photosphere of a sunspot

The Ultraviolet Spectrometer and Polarimeter on the Solar Maximum Mission spacecraft has observed for the first time the longitudinal component of the magnetic field by means of the Zeeman effect in the transition region above a sunspot. The data presented here were obtained on three days in one sunspot, have spatial resolutions of 10 arc sec and 3 arc sec, and yield maximum field strengths greater than 1000 G above the umbrae in the spot. The method of analysis, including a line-width calibration feature used during some of the observations, is described in some detail in an appendix; the line width is required for the determination of the longitudinal magnetic field from the observed circular polarization.The transition region data for one day are compared with photospheric magnetograms from the Marshall Space Flight Center. Vertical gradients of the magnetic field are computed from the two sets of data; the maximum gradients of 0.41 to 0.62 G km^–1 occur above the umbra and agree with or are smaller than values observed previously in the photosphere and low chromosphere.     

卡尔曼滤波在低轨卫星精密定轨中的应用

星上计算机的处理能力不断提高,地基控制系统资源日益紧张,这些都对卫星自主定轨提出了迫切的要求,利用卡尔曼滤波进行卫星自主定轨将具有十分广阔的应用前景。但由于低轨卫星受摄动力较大,使得其动力学方程十分复杂,本文对如何建立适当的模型进行了分析。标准卡尔曼滤波只有在满足一定约束条件时,才能得到最优解。但利用星载GPS进行卫星定轨时,这些约束条件并不能得到完全的满足,针对这些问题本文讨论了相关噪声和滤波发散,观测值粗差等问题。     

Considering the influence of sequestration duration and carbon saturation on estimates of soil carbon capacity

Rates of soil C sequestration have previously been estimated for a number of different land management activities, and these estimates continue to improve as more data become available. The time over which active sequestration occurs may be referred to as the sequestration duration. Integrating soil C sequestration rates with durations provides estimates of potential change in soil C capacity and more accurate estimates of the potential to sequester C. In agronomic systems, changing from conventional plow tillage to no-till can increase soil C by an estimated 16±3%, whereas increasing rotation intensity can increase soil C by an estimated 6±3%. The increase in soil C following a change in rotation intensity, however, may occur over a slightly longer period (26 yr) than that for tillage cessation (21 yr). Sequestration strategies for grasslands have, on average, longer sequestration durations (33 yr) than for croplands. Estimates for sequestration rates and durations are mean values and can differ greatly between individual sites and management practices. As the annual sequestration rate declines over the sequestration duration period, soil C approaches a new steady state. Sequestration duration is synonymous with the time to which soil C steady state is reached. However, soils could potentially sequester additional C following additional changes in management until the maximum soil C capacity, or soil C saturation, is achieved. Carbon saturation of the soil mineral fraction is not well understood, nor is it readily evident. We provide evidence of soil C saturation and we discuss how the steady state C level and the level of soil C saturation together influence the rate and duration of C sequestration associated with changes in land management.     

大别山北部榴辉岩的Pb同位素特征

大别山北部榴辉岩的全岩 Pb同位素研究结果表明 ,Pb同位素比值 N(2 0 6 Pb) /N (2 0 4 Pb) =16 .773～ 18.339,N (2 0 7Pb) /N (2 0 4 Pb) =15 .346～ 15 .5 16 ,N (2 0 8Pb) /N (2 0 4 Pb) =37.133～ 38.346 ,平均值分别为 17.6 5 ,15 .4 5和 37.81)明显接近于下地壳成分 N(2 0 6 Pb) /N(2 0 4 Pb) ,N(2 0 7Pb) /N(2 0 4 Pb) ,N(2 0 8Pb) /N(2 0 4 Pb)值分别为 17.6 2 ,15 .35和 38.75 ) ,同时 ,北部榴辉岩的 U /Pb比 (0 .0 0 2～ 0 .0 0 9)及 U质量分数 (0 .0 4× 10 - 6 ～ 0 .2 3× 10 - 6 )稍低于下地壳平均值 ,而 Pb质量分数 (6 .72× 10 - 6～ 2 6 .6 4× 10 - 6 )则接近于或略高于地壳平均值 ,但是 ,U/Pb比则明显偏离上地壳平均值、也不同于大别山南部榴辉岩及有关岩石 (较低的 Pb质量分数和较高的 U/Pb比 )。此外 ,考虑到研究区榴辉岩的岩石地球化学及 Sr,Nd同位素年代学方面研究已证明它们大多数为印支期扬子陆壳俯冲变质成因。由此进一步表明 ,大别山北部榴辉岩的原岩大多数应来自于扬子大陆下地壳。这对正确认识大别山碰撞造山带的构造格局和演化具有重要意义。     

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE COHERENT STRUCTURE OF THE TURBULENT BOUNDARY LAYER IN OPEN-CHANNEL FLOW

1 INTRODUCTION The coherent structure of turbulence is the most important discovery of turbulence studies in the last several decades. The coherent structure is a joint spatial state (Liang, 1999). In this space, there exist all kinds of motions that are organized and related. Namely, strip structures, large vortical structures, and other organizing flows are present. In 1932, researchers found that turbulence wasn抰 a fully random phenomenon and came to realize that the repeated emergen…