Solar Sources of Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections During the Solar Cycle 23/24 Minimum

We examine solar sources for 20 interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) observed in 2009 in the near-Earth solar wind. We performed a detailed analysis of coronagraph and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) observations from the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) and Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). Our study shows that the coronagraph observations from viewpoints away from the Sun–Earth line are paramount to locate the solar sources of Earth-bound ICMEs during solar minimum. SOHO/LASCO detected only six CMEs in our sample, and only one of these CMEs was wider than 120^°. This demonstrates that observing a full or partial halo CME is not necessary to observe the ICME arrival. Although the two STEREO spacecraft had the best possible configuration for observing Earth-bound CMEs in 2009, we failed to find the associated CME for four ICMEs, and identifying the correct CME was not straightforward even for some clear ICMEs. Ten out of 16 (63 %) of the associated CMEs in our study were “stealth” CMEs, i.e. no obvious EUV on-disk activity was associated with them. Most of our stealth CMEs also lacked on-limb EUV signatures. We found that stealth CMEs generally lack the leading bright front in coronagraph images. This is in accordance with previous studies that argued that stealth CMEs form more slowly and at higher coronal altitudes than non-stealth CMEs. We suggest that at solar minimum the slow-rising CMEs do not draw enough coronal plasma around them. These CMEs are hence difficult to discern in the coronagraphic data, even when viewed close to the plane of the sky. The weak ICMEs in our study were related to both intrinsically narrow CMEs and the non-central encounters of larger CMEs. We also demonstrate that narrow CMEs (angular widths ≤?20^°) can arrive at Earth and that an unstructured CME may result in a flux rope-type ICME.     

The response of playa and sabkha hydraulics and mineralogy to climate forcing

Dry playa lakes and sabkhat often represent the terminus of large ground water flow systems and act as integrators of both upgradient (recharge) and downgradient discharge (evaporation). Ground water levels beneath playa/sabkha systems show a variety of surprising responses driven by large evaporation demands and chemical processes not typically encountered in more humid regions. When the water table is very close to the land surface, almost instantaneous rises can be observed with little observed change in either upgradient ground water recharge or potential evaporation. Conversely, when water tables are several meters below the playa surface, water table responses to interannual variability of recharge can be damped and lag significantly behind such changes. This review of the dynamics of shallow water tables in playa lakes and sabkhat discusses the pertinent hydraulic and solute processes and extracts a simple but comprehensive model based on soil physics for predicting the water table response to either upstream recharge changes or changes in potential evaporation at the playa/sabkha. Solutes and associated authigenic minerals are also shown to be important in discriminating both the causes and effects of water level fluctuations.     

Dissociation constants and speciation in aqueous Li2SO4 and K2SO4 from measurements of electrical conductance to 673 K and 29 MPa

The electrical conductivities of aqueous solutions of Li₂SO₄ and K₂SO₄ have been measured at 523-673 K at 20-29 MPa in dilute solutions for molalities up to 2 × 10⁻² mol kg⁻¹. These conductivities have been fitted to the conductance equation of Turq, Blum, Bernard, and Kunz with a consensus mixing rule and mean spherical approximation activity coefficients. In the temperature interval 523-653 K, where the dielectric constant, ε, is greater than 14, the electrical conductance data can be fitted by a solution model which includes ion association to form , , and , where M is Li or K. The adjustable parameters of this model are the first and second dissociation constants of the M₂SO₄. For the 673 K and 300 kg m⁻³ state point where the Coulomb interactions are the strongest (dielectric constant, ε = 5), models with more extensive association give good fits to the data. In the case of the Li₂SO₄ model, including the multi-ion associate, , gave an extremely good fit to the conductance data.     

Influence of road network and population demand assumptions in evacuation modeling for distant tsunamis

Tsunami evacuation planning in coastal communities is typically focused on local events where at-risk individuals must move on foot in a matter of minutes to safety. Less attention has been placed on distant tsunamis, where evacuations unfold over several hours, are often dominated by vehicle use and are managed by public safety officials. Traditional traffic simulation models focus on estimating clearance times but often overlook the influence of varying population demand, alternative modes, background traffic, shadow evacuation, and traffic management alternatives. These factors are especially important for island communities with limited egress options to safety. We use the coastal community of Balboa Island, California (USA), as a case study to explore the range of potential clearance times prior to wave arrival for a distant tsunami scenario. We use a first-in–first-out queuing simulation environment to estimate variations in clearance times, given varying assumptions of the evacuating population (demand) and the road network over which they evacuate (supply). Results suggest clearance times are less than wave arrival times for a distant tsunami, except when we assume maximum vehicle usage for residents, employees, and tourists for a weekend scenario. A two-lane bridge to the mainland was the primary traffic bottleneck, thereby minimizing the effect of departure times, shadow evacuations, background traffic, boat-based evacuations, and traffic light timing on overall community clearance time. Reducing vehicular demand generally reduced clearance time, whereas improvements to road capacity had mixed results. Finally, failure to recognize non-residential employee and tourist populations in the vehicle demand substantially underestimated clearance time.     

鲁西沂南金场夕卡岩型金铜矿床矿化时代与成矿流体研究

沂南金场金铜矿床是鲁西地区夕卡岩型矿床的典型代表,矿床产于燕山期中酸性杂岩体与新太古界-寒武系地层的内外接触带附近,受岩浆岩、地层岩性以及构造的复合控制。由石榴子石和透辉石构成了早夕卡岩阶段矿物组合,而绿帘石+磁铁矿+镜铁矿±透闪石±阳起石±石英构成了晚夕卡岩-磁铁矿阶段矿物组合。利用早夕卡岩期黑云母以及晚夕卡岩期与碳酸盐伴生的黑云母样品进行单颗粒云母超低本底Rb-Sr等时线测试,分别获得了133±6Ma和128±2Ma年龄数据,它们与金场岩体的形成时间十分一致,说明该矿床与侵入体有密切的成因联系。流体包裹体研究表明,沂南金场金铜矿床各成矿阶段矿石中的流体包裹体主要有四种类型:含子矿物三相包裹体、富气包裹体、H2O-CO2包裹体和气液两相包裹体。从早夕卡岩阶段石榴石捕获的含子矿物包裹体中获得了很高的均一温度(530～570℃)和盐度(39.9%～60.4%)值,而晚夕卡岩阶段透辉石中含子矿物包裹体也显示较高的均一温度(451～580℃)和盐度(39.3%～60.7%)值。石英-硫化物阶段石英中包裹体均一温度分为两个区间,分别为320～450℃和108～291℃。石榴石内含子矿物包裹体,其子矿物可能为赤铁矿或磁铁矿,结合该矿床的矿石矿物组成特征,沂南金场为岩浆热液流体形成的氧化型夕卡岩金铜矿床。