Low-frequency oscillations in climatic and hydrological variables in southern South America’s tropical-subtropical regions

Summary The existence of low-frequency variability in climatic-hydrological-oceanic variables may be useful for long-term forecasting and climate modelling. By using long time series this paper attempts to identify large-scale quasi-cycles in the precipitation regimes of Northern Argentina, moisture advection from the Atlantic Ocean and the streamflow of the Paraná River. This work also shows the presence of coherent waves with long periodicity between the three series. As the three variables are estimated over different time intervals, the presence of waves in each variable is studied separately, to show they respond to the same process. The three variables show significant interdecadal variability at low frequency (22–26 years), which might be related to the ENSO cycle modulation and to the intensification or weakening of the South American Low Level Jet (SALLJ) and South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ).     

Townsend's Hypothesis, Coherent Structures And Monin–Obukhov Similarity

Townsend's hypothesis states that turbulence near a wall can be divided into an activepart that transports momentum, and an inactive part that does not, and that these twokinds of turbulence do not interact. Active turbulence is generated by wind shear and has properties that scale on local parameters of the flow, while inactive turbulence isthe product of energetic processes remote from the surface and scales on outer-layerparameters. Both kinds of motion can be observed in the atmospheric surface layer, soMonin–Obukhov similarity theory, which is framed in terms of local parameters only,can apply only to active motions. If Townsend's hypothesis were wrong, so that activeand inactive motions do interact in some significant way, then transport processes nearthe ground would be sensitive to outer-layer parameters such as boundary-layer depth,and Monin–Obukhov theory would fail.Experimental results have shown that heat transport near the ground does depend onprocesses in the outer layer. We propose a mechanism for this whereby inactive motionsinitiate active, coherent ejection/sweep structures that carry much of the momentum andheat. We give evidence that the inactive motions take the form of streak patterns of fasterand slower air, and argue that these are induced by the pressure effects of large eddiespassing overhead. The streak pattern includes regions where faster streams of air overtakeand engulf slower-moving streaks. Transverse vortices form across the spines of the streaksat these places and some of them develop into horseshoe vortices. These horseshoe vorticesgrow rapidly and are rotated forward in the sheared flow so they soon contact the ground,squirting the air confined between the legs of the horseshoe vortex outwards as a forcefulejection. This model is consistent with a wide range of results from the field and laboratoryexperiments. Heat transport is significantly affected, so undermining the dimensionalassumptions of Monin–Obukhov similarity theory.     

On Extending The Flux-Profile Similarity Theory To Include Quasi-Homogeneous Conditions In The Marine Atmospheric Surface Layer

In order to apply Monin–Obukhov similarity theory to estimatethe profiles of mean quantities and surface fluxes from bulk meteorological parameters, the assumptions of homogeneityand stationarity must be valid. Unfortunately, in coastal zones as well as many other regions of interest, theseassumptions are often violated. In this paper, an extension to the theory is presented that considers systematically varyingstate variables. Along-wind variations of windspeed, atmospheric stratification, and roughness are examined with respectto their relative importance to momentum flux divergence, and the drag coefficient is shown to be systematicallylower in coastal zones. For profiles of scalars, an analysis of the set of quasi-homogeneous terms is only speculated,and the relative importance for the terms will strongly depend on which scalar is of interest.     

The operational weather radar of Fossalon di Grado (Gorizia, Italy): accuracy of reflectivity and differential reflectivity measurements

Summary The error structure of radar measurements should be accurately known in order to provide reliable estimates for a number of quantitative meteorological applications, from rainfall rate estimation to cloud microphysics. The aim of this paper is to give a detailed characterization of Z _H and Z _DR measurements obtained by the weather radar of Fossalon di Grado (Gorizia, Italy). Vertical-looking observations are used to determine the system bias on differential reflectivity and to estimate the measurement error on both Z _H and Z _DR in the rain medium. It is estimated that no bias is affecting Z _DR and the accuracy of Z _H and Z _DR is 0.8 and 0.1 dB, respectively. A similar evaluation is done in the rain medium at larger ranges with the antenna pointing at low elevation angles. The long time stability of the absolute reflectivity calibration is also established by radar-rain gage inter-comparison over almost 200 hours of precipitation data collected during nearly two years. Received June 21, 2001 Revised November 13, 2001     

Particle size dependent response of aerosol counters

During an international workshop at the Institute for Experimental Physics of the University of Vienna, Austria, which was coordinated within the Committee on Nucleation and Atmospheric Aerosols (IAMAS-IUGG), 10 instruments for aerosol number concentration measurement were studied, covering a wide range of methods based on various different measuring principles. In order to investigate the detection limits of the instruments considered with respect to particle size, simultaneous number concentration measurements were performed for monodispersed aerosols with particle sizes ranging from 1.5 to 50 nm diameter and various compositions.The instruments considered show quite different response characteristics, apparently related to the different vapors used in the various counters to enlarge the particles to an optically detectable size. A strong dependence of the 50% cutoff diameter on the particle composition in correlation with the type of vapor used in the specific instrument was found. An enhanced detection efficiency for ultrafine hygroscopic sodium chloride aerosols was observed with water operated systems, an analogous trend was found for n-butanol operated systems with nonhygroscopic silver and tungsten oxide particles.     

An integrated hydrological model for rain‐induced landslide prediction

This paper describes an extension to the Combined Hydrology And Stability Model (CHASM) to fully include the effects of vegetation and slope plan topography on slope stability. The resultant physically based numerical model is designed to be applied to site‐specific slopes in which a detailed assessment of unsaturated and saturated hydrology is required in relation to vegetation, topography and slope stability. Applications are made to the Hawke's Bay region in New Zealand where shallow‐seated instability is strongly associated with spatial and temporal trends in vegetation cover types, and the Mid‐Levels region in Hong Kong, an area subject to a variety of landslide mechanisms, some of which may be subject to strong topographic control. An improved understanding of process mechanism, afforded by the model, is critical for reliable and appropriate design of slope stabilization and remedial measures. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

纤维素接枝丙烯酰胺/高岭土高吸水性复合材料研究

在高岭土的存在下，以N，N－亚甲基双丙烯酰胺作交联剂，以硝酸铈铵为引发剂微晶纤维素与丙烯酰胺进行接枝共聚反应，合成接枝纤维素／高岭土高吸水性复合材料。研究了纤维素与单体的配比、高岭土添加量、交联剂用量、引发剂用量及反应温度对吸水率的影响。用红外光谱表征复合材料的结构，用电子显微镜观察复合材料的表面与界面。结果表明，高岭土在接枝聚合物中能较好分散，复合材料吸水率达1166，对生理盐水溶液的吸水率达86。     

Chemical composition of stars in the galactic halo

The chemical compositions of the atmospheres of six metal-poor stars are analyzed. Spectra with signal-to-noise ratios of no less than 100 and a resolution of R≈17 000 were obtained using the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The abundances of Li, O, α-process elements (Mg, Si, Ca, Ti), Na, K, Sc, iron-peak elements (Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn), and s-process elements (Y, Ba) are derived. The star G251-54 ([Fe/H]=?1.55, T _eff=5541 K, logg=3.58) is deficient in some elements compared to both stars with similar metallicities and the Sun. The atmosphere of G251-54 has the following elemental abundances relative to iron: [O/Fe]=+0.47, [α/Fe]≈?0.3, [Na/Fe]=?0.60, [Sc/Fe]=?0.57, [Cr, Ni, Fe]≈0, [Zn/Fe]=+0.16, [Cu/Fe]=?0.66, [Y/Fe]=?0.70, and [Ba/Fe]=?1.35. The remaining five stars have metallicities in the range ?1.6<[Fe/H]相似文献   

Specific Compositional Features of Sediments from the Haakon Mosby Mud Volcano,Southwestern Barents Sea

The submarine Haakon Mosby mud volcano was studied in detail during several cruises, resulting in the collection of an abundant and diverse lithological material. Comprehensive field and laboratory studies made it possible to identify different types of sediments with specific granulometric and pelite fraction (<0.005 mm) compositions, as well as the regularity of their spatial distribution relative to various morphostructural zones of the mud volcano.