The structure of the interplanetary medium during the first stip interval (September–October 1975) and prerelease of energetic solar particles

An analysis of the interplanetary medium structure is made during STIP 1. (September–October, 1975). Using a simple extrapolation method a reconstruction of the stream lines is made which shows that the interplanetary space during this time period was very quiet. Such a behaviour is expected because this interval is close to the minimum of the solar cycle activity.The evolution of two fast solar wind streams, which dominated the interplanetary medium for very long time periods, is studied.A peculiar solar proton event, with onset time before the optical flare, is explained according to Elliot mechanism — i.e., that energetic particles are stored for a long time and released, sometimes, before the optical flare.These particles can be seen only when the interplanetary medium is very quiet, (without shock waves) and the flare very isolated.     

Solar flare neutron production and the angular dependence of the capture gamma-ray emission

The depth dependence of the production of neutrons and capture gamma-ray line emission are calculated by Monte Carlo simulation of the nuclear processes taking place when flare-accelerated ions interact with the solar atmosphere. The calculations also give the heliocentric-angular dependence of the 2.223 MeV neutron capture line emission as a function of accelerated-ion energy spectrum and angular distribution. These results are compared with observations to determine the energy spectrum shape and total ion number for various flares.     

Abundances of Jupiter's trace hydrocarbons from Voyager and Cassini

The flybys of Jupiter by the Voyager spacecraft in 1979, and over two decades later by Cassini in 2000, have provided us with unique datasets from two different epochs, allowing the investigation of seasonal change in the atmosphere. In this paper we model zonal averages of thermal infrared spectra from the two instruments, Voyager 1 IRIS and Cassini CIRS, to retrieve the vertical and meridional profiles of temperature, and the abundances of the two minor hydrocarbons, acetylene (C₂H₂) and ethane (C₂H₆). The spatial variation of these gases is controlled by both chemistry and dynamics, and therefore their observed distribution gives us an insight into both processes. We find that the two gases paint quite different pictures of seasonal change. Whilst the 2-D cross-section of C₂H₆ abundance is slightly increased and more symmetric in 2000 (northern summer solstice) compared to 1979 (northern fall equinox), the major trend of equator to pole increase remains. For C₂H₂ on the other hand, the Voyager epoch exhibits almost no latitudinal variation, whilst the Cassini era shows a marked decrease polewards in both hemispheres. At the present time, these experimental findings are in advance of interpretation, as there are no published models of 2-D Jovian seasonal chemical variation available for comparison.     

Clustering stochastic point process model for flood risk analysis

Since the introduction into flood risk analysis, the partial duration series method has gained increasing acceptance as an appealing alternative to the annual maximum series method. However, when the base flow is low, there is clustering in the flood peak or flow volume point process. In this case, the general stochastic point process model is not suitable to risk analysis. Therefore, two types of models for flood risk analysis are derived on the basis of clustering stochastic point process theory in this paper. The most remarkable characteristic of these models is that the flood risk is considered directly within the time domain. The acceptability of different models are also discussed with the combination of the flood peak counted process in twenty years at Yichang station on the Yangtze river. The result shows that the two kinds of models are suitable ones for flood risk analysis, which are more flexible compared with the traditional flood risk models derived on the basis of annual maximum series method or the general stochastic point process theory. Received: September 29, 1997     

Acceleration of black hole universe

Recently, Zhang slightly modified the standard big bang theory and developed a new cosmological model called black hole universe, which is consistent with Mach’s principle, governed by Einstein’s general theory of relativity, and able to explain all observations of the universe. Previous studies accounted for the origin, structure, evolution, expansion, and cosmic microwave background radiation of the black hole universe, which grew from a star-like black hole with several solar masses through a supermassive black hole with billions of solar masses to the present state with hundred billion-trillions of solar masses by accreting ambient matter and merging with other black holes. This paper investigates acceleration of the black hole universe and provides an alternative explanation for the redshift and luminosity distance measurements of type Ia supernovae. The results indicate that the black hole universe accelerates its expansion when it accretes the ambient matter in an increasing rate. In other words, i.e., when the second-order derivative of the mass of the black hole universe with respect to the time is positive $\ddot{M}(t) > 0$ . For a constant deceleration parameter $q = -M(t) \ddot{M}(t)/\dot{M}(t) \sim-0.6$ , we can perfectly explain the type Ia supernova measurements with the reduced chi-square to be very close to unity, χ _red～1.0012. The expansion and acceleration of black hole universe are driven by external energy.     

Numerical simulation of tropical cyclones by an axisymmetric nonhydrostatic model

Summary As an approach to study the mesoscale processes within a typhoon, an axisymmetric nonhydrostatic numerical model is developed without the use of convective parameterization. Many simulated characteristics are consistent with radar and aircraft observations, such as the maximum of vertical and tangential wind, the inflow concentrated near the surface, the outward slope of the eyewall updraft, etc. The model duplicates not only the outward propagation of mesoscale convective systems, but also the inward movement of convective rings, the rate of which coincides with the observation. Besides, the model gives good simulations of the life cycle of convective rings, and indicates that the convective rings far from the eyewall play important roles in the fluctuation of typhoon intensity. Numerical results also exhibit the existence of coupling between outer and inner core structure.Analyses of the simulations show that convective momentum transport generates local maximum absolute angular momentum in the middle and upper troposphere. The momentum anomaly results in symmetric instability, which provides the environment to form convective rings. While the momentum anomaly moves outward with the outflow in the middle and upper troposphere, it initiates a series of convective rings with aid of other direct factors, which explains the outward propagation of convective systems.The simulations exhibit the life cycle of a typical convective ring in terms of three stages, or the developing, mature and dissipating stage. Analysis shows that the symmetric instability and the convective instability promote each other, and their cooperation makes the life of convective rings longer.With 8 Figures     

土壤中Cd、Pb、Hg离子的地球化学行为模拟实验

研究了山西省3种不同质地的土壤对Cd2＋、Pb2＋、Hg2＋的吸附、解吸和3种离子在土壤中的运移特性。结果表明,Cd2＋、Pb2＋和Hg2＋在粘粒土壤中的吸附能力大于在砂粒土壤中的吸附能力,且3种土壤对Pb2＋都有很强的吸附能力,吸附的Pb2＋很难在土壤中解吸下来。3种土壤对3种金属离子的吸附能力为Pb2＋＞Cd2＋＞Hg2＋,解吸能力正好相反,这主要与土壤的不同性质和3种重金属离子的水合离子半径、离子的水合能密切相关。Cd2＋在3种土壤中的等温吸附符合Freundlich和Langmuir方程,Pb2＋在3种土壤中的吸附特征符合Henry方程,而Hg2＋在3种土壤中的吸附符合Langmuir方程。土柱淋滤实验表明,Hg2＋在土壤中的穿透性很强,Cd2＋次之,Pb2＋在土壤中的穿透性最慢,其在长达20天的淋滤过程中仍然没有穿透土柱。3种不同质地的土壤对Cd2＋、Pb2＋和Hg2＋的迁移能力都表现为：大同土壤＞临汾土壤＞太原土壤。     

A New Method of Significance Testing for Correlation-Coefficient Fields and Its Application

Correlation-coefficient fields are widely used in short-term climate prediction research. The most frequently used significance test method for the correlation-coefficient field was proposed by Livezey, in which the number of significantcorrelation lattice(station) points on the correlation coherence map is used as the statistic. However, the method is based on two assumptions:(1) the spatial distribution of the lattice(station) points is uniform;and(2) there is no correlation between the physical quantities in the correlation-coefficient field. However, in reality, the above two assumptions are not valid.Therefore, we designed a more reasonable method for significance testing of the correlation-coefficient field. Specifically, a new statistic, the significant-correlation area, is introduced to eliminate the inhomogeneity of the grid(station)-point distribution, and an empirical Monte Carlo method is employed to eliminate the spatial correlation of the matrix.Subsequently, the new significance test was used for simultaneous correlation-coefficient fields between intensities of the atmospheric activity center in the Northern Hemisphere and temperature/precipitation in China. The results show that the new method is more reasonable than the Livezey method.     

Epigenetic gorges in fluvial landscapes

Epigenetic gorges form when channels that have been laterally displaced during episodes of river blockage or aggradation incise down into bedrock spurs or side‐walls of the former valley rather than excavating unconsolidated fills and reinhabiting the buried paleovalley. Valley‐filling events that promote epigenetic gorges can be localized, such as a landslide dam or an alluvial/debris flow fan deposit at a tributary junction, or widespread, such as fluvial aggradation in response to climate change or fluctuating base‐level. The formation of epigenetic gorges depends upon the competition between the resistance to transport, strength and roughness of valley‐filling sediments and a river's ability to sculpt and incise bedrock. The former affects the location and lateral mobility of a channel incising into valley‐filling deposits; the latter determines rates of bedrock incision should the path of the incising channel intersect with bedrock that is not the paleovalley bottom. Epigenetic gorge incision, by definition, post‐dates the incision that originally cut the valley. Strath terraces and sculpted bedrock walls that form in relation to epigenetic gorges should not be used to directly infer river incision induced by tectonic activity or climate variability. Rather, they are indicative of the variability of short‐term bedrock river incision and autogenic dynamics of actively incising fluvial landscapes. The rate of bedrock incision associated with an epigenetic gorge can be very high (>1 cm/yr), typically orders of magnitude higher than both short‐ and long‐term landscape denudation rates. In the context of bedrock river incision and landscape evolution, epigenetic gorges force rivers to incise more bedrock, slowing long‐term incision and delaying the adjustment of rivers to regional tectonic and climatic forcing. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.