Observations of polar patches generated by solar wind Alfvén wave coupling to the dayside magnetosphere

A long series of polar patches was observed by ionosondes and an all-sky imager during a disturbed period (K_p = 7- and IMF B_z <0). The ionosondes measured electron densities of up to 9 × 10¹¹ m⁻³ in the patch center, an increase above the density minimum between patches by a factor of ≈4.5. Bands of F-region irregularities generated at the equatorward edge of the patches were tracked by HF radars. The backscatter bands were swept northward and eastward across the polar cap in a fan-like formation as the afternoon convection cell expanded due to the IMF B_y > 0. Near the north magnetic pole, an all-sky imager observed the 630-nm emission patches of a distinctly band-like shape drifting northeastward to eastward. The 630-nm emission patches were associated with the density patches and backscatter bands. The patches originated in, or near, the cusp footprint where they were formed by convection bursts (flow channel events, FCEs) structuring the solar EUV-produced photoionization and the particle-produced auroral/cusp ionization by segmenting it into elongated patches. Just equatorward of the cusp footprint Pc5 field line resonances (FLRs) were observed by magnetometers, riometers and VHF/HF radars. The AC electric field associated with the FLRs resulted in a poleward-progressing zonal flow pattern and backscatter bands. The VHF radar Doppler spectra indicated the presence of steep electron density gradients which, through the gradient drift instability, can lead to the generation of the ionospheric irregularities found in patches. The FLRs and FCEs were associated with poleward-progressing DPY currents (Hall currents modulated by the IMF B_y) and riometer absorption enhancements. The temporal and spatial characteristics of the VHF backscatter and associated riometer absorptions closely resembled those of poleward moving auroral forms (PMAFs). In the solar wind, IMP 8 observed large amplitude Alfvén waves that were correlated with Pc5 pulsations observed by the ground magnetometers, riometers and radars. It is concluded that the FLRs and FCEs that produced patches were driven by solar wind Alfvén waves coupling to the dayside magnetosphere. During a period of southward IMF the dawn-dusk electric field associated with the Alfvén waves modulated the subsolar magnetic reconnection into pulses that resulted in convection flow bursts mapping to the ionospheric footprint of the cusp.     

A Lagrangian model for wind- and wave-induced near-surface currents

A theory is outlined for time-dependent currents induced near the sea surface in deep water, away from coastal boundaries, by a variable wind stress and deep-water wave field. It is based on the theory of Weber (1983) which uses a second-order perturbation expansion of the Navier-Stokes equations in Lagrangian coordinates and includes the Coriolis effect. It uses an eddy viscosity formulation for both wave dissipation and momentum transfer within the current field: the eddy viscosity ν may be allowed to vary with depth. The wind stress may be time-varying and the wave field may vary in both space and time.For the case of a constant ν, the results agree with those of Ursell (1950), Hasselmann (1970) and Pollard (1970) in the limit ν→0, and the steady-state results agree with those of Weber. For a particular case of depth-varying ν, results (obtained from numerical simulations) are in better general agreement with observations of wind-induced surface drift than when a constant ν is used.An outline is given of the application of the theory to the case of a random sea state. There are good prospects for using output data from numerical wave prediction models to drive the equations of this near-surface current model.     

Recruitment patterns of Serpula vermicularis L. (Polychaeta, Serpulidae) in Loch Creran, Scotland

This study aimed to contribute to conservation management of reefs of Serpula vermicularis by increasing understanding of the factors influencing larval settlement. The study was carried out in Loch Creran, which supports the most extensive known development of S. vermicularis reefs in the world. Settlement plates were deployed to examine the influence of season, depth, reef density, substrate type and orientation. Monthly deployment of plates revealed settlement of S. vermicularis to occur predominantly from mid-June to mid-October, peaking in late August to early September. Settlement of Pomatoceros spp. peaked much earlier, in late May to early June. Deployment of plates at different depths revealed a marked reduction in S. vermicularis settlement intensity between 6 and 12 m. As this corresponds with the deeper limit of the peripheral fringe of serpulid reefs in the loch, it is suggested that this limit is imposed by a depth-correlated settlement response, rather than reduction in available substrata. Comparisons of various substrata showed a preference by S. vermicularis larvae for a slate over a scallop substrate and no evidence of enhanced recruitment to occupied or unoccupied tubes of S. vermicularis, suggesting that gregarious attraction is unlikely to be a factor causing reef formation. Settlement onto the upper side of a horizontal scallop substrate was found to be insignificant in comparison with the underside or a vertically orientated scallop. Evidence for the role of light in controlling the depth and substrate-orientation preferences of S. vermicularis larvae is discussed. Based on the results of this study, recommendations are made regarding remediation of areas suffering reef damage.     

Modern swathe sounding and sub-bottom profiling technology for research applications: The Atlas Hydrosweep and Parasound Systems

This chapter describes two separate but complementary research echosounder systems originally developed by Krupp Atlas Elektronik GmbH for the new German oceanographic research vessel Meteor.The Hydrosweep is a Hydrographic wide-swathe sweep survey echosounder for both shallow and deep water applications providing accurate bathymetric surveys and terrain-following navigation capabilities.The Parasound system is a hull-mounted dual channel parametric narrow-beam deep sea survey and sub-bottom profiling echosounder enabling particularly high vertical and horizontal resolution of seabed features.     

Modification of an acoustic pinger to transmit temperature data

An acoustic pinger can be modified to transmit two pings per second with the delay time between pings controlled by the temperature of an external thermistor. The precision of the temperature measurements is on the order of 0.1°C. This modification does not interfere with the normal depth indicating function of the pinger and is an inexpensive means of obtaining water temperature data.     

The Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front: physical and biological coupling at South Georgia

The coupling of physics and biology was examined along a 160 km long transect running out from the north coast of South Georgia Island and crossing the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front (SACCF) during late December 2000. Surface and near surface potential TS properties indicated the presence of three water types: a near-shore group of stations characterised by water which became progressively warmer and fresher closer to South Georgia, an offshore grouping in which sea surface temperatures and those at the winter water level were relatively warm (1.8°C and 0.5°C, respectively), and a third in which surface and winter water temperatures were cooler and reflected the presence of the SACCF. The transect bisected the SACCF twice, revealing that it was flowing in opposite directions, north-westward closest to South Georgia and south-eastwards at its furthest point from the island. The innermost limb was a narrow intense feature located just off the shelf break in 2000–3500 m of water and in which rapid surface baroclinic velocities (up to 35 cm s⁻¹) were encountered. Offshore in the outermost limb, shown subsequently to be a mesoscale eddy that had meandered south from the retroflected limb of the SACCF, flow was broader and slower with peak velocities around 20 cm s⁻¹. Chlorophyll a biomass was generally low (<1 mg m⁻³) over much of the transect but increased dramatically in the region of the innermost limb of the SACCF, where a deepening of the surface mixed layer was coincident with a subsurface chlorophyll maximum (7.4 mg m⁻³) and elevated concentrations down to 100 m. The bloom was coincident with depleted nutrient concentrations, particularly silicate, nitrate and phosphate, and although ammonium concentrations were locally depleted the bloom lay within an elevated band (up to 1.5 mmol m⁻³) associated with the frontal jet. Increased zooplankton abundance, higher copepod body carbon mass and egg production rates all showed a strong spatial integrity with the front. The population structure of the copepods Calanoides acutus and Rhincalanus gigas at stations within the front suggested that rather than simply resulting from entrainment and concentration within the jet, increased copepod abundance was the result of development in situ. Estimates of bloom duration, based on silicate and carbon budget calculations, set the likely duration between 82 and 122 d, a figure supported by the development schedule of the two copepod species. Given this timescale, model outputs from FRAM and OCCAM indicated that particles that occurred on the north side of South Georgia in December would have been in the central-southern Scotia Sea 2–3 months earlier, probably in sea ice affected regions.     

The NASA Astrophysics Data System: Free Access to the Astronomical Literature On-line and through Email

The Astrophysics Data System (ADS) provides access to the astronomical literature through the World Wide Web. It is a NASA funded project and access to all the ADS services is free to everybody world-wide. The ADS Abstract Service allows the searching of four databases with abstracts in Astronomy, Instrumentation, Physics/Geophysics, and the LANL Preprints with a total of over 2.2 million references. The system also provides access to reference and citation information, links to on-line data, electronic journal articles, and other on-line information. The ADS Article Service contains the full articles for most of the astronomical literature back to volume 1. It contains the scanned pages of all the major journals (Astrophysical Journal, Astronomical Journal, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, and Solar Physics), as well as most smaller journals back to volume 1.The ADS can be accessed through any web browser without signup or login. Alternatively an email interface is available that allows our users to execute queries via email and to retrieve scanned articles via email. This might be interesting for users on slow or unreliable links, since the email system will retry sending information automatically until the transfer is complete. There are now 9 mirror sites of the ADS available in different parts of the world to improve access. The ADS is available at: http://ads.harvard.edu This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Evidence for Neotethys rooted within the Vardar suture zone from the Voras Massif, northernmost Greece

Three conflicting models are currently proposed for the location and tectonic setting of the Eurasian continental margin and adjacent Tethys ocean in the Balkan region during Mesozoic–Early Tertiary time. Model 1 places the Eurasian margin within the Rhodope zone relatively close to the Moesian platform. A Tethyan oceanic basin was located to the south bordering a large “Serbo-Pelagonian” microcontinent. Model 2 correlates an integral “Serbo-Pelagonian” continental unit with the Eurasian margin and locates the Tethys further southwest. Model 3 envisages the Pelagonian zone and the Serbo-Macedonian zone as conjugate continental units separated by a Tethyan ocean that was sutured in Early Tertiary time to create the Vardar zone of northern Greece and former Yugoslavia. These published alternatives are tested in this paper based on a study of the tectono-stratigraphy of a completely exposed transect located in the Voras Mountains of northernmost Greece. The outcrop extends across the Vardar zone, from the Pelagonian zone in the west to the Serbo-Macedonian zone in the east.Within the Voras Massif, six east-dipping imbricate thrust sheets are recognised. Of these, Units 1–4 correlate with the regional Pelagonian zone in the west (and related Almopias sub-zone). By contrast, Units 5–6 show a contrasting tectono-stratigraphy and correlate with the Paikon Massif and the Serbo-Macedonian zone to the east. These units form a stack of thrust sheets, with Unit 1 at the base and Unit 6 at the top. Unstacking these thrust sheets places ophiolitic units between the Pelagonian zone and the Serbo-Macedonian zone, as in Model 3. Additional implications are, first, that the Paikon Massif cannot be seen as a window of Pelagonian basement, as in Model 1, and, secondly, Jurassic andesitic volcanics of the Paikon Massif locally preserve a gneissose continental basement, ruling out a recently suggested origin as an intra-oceanic arc.We envisage that the Almopias (Vardar) ocean rifted in Triassic time, followed by seafloor spreading. The Almopias ocean was consumed beneath the Serbo-Macedonian margin in Jurassic time, generating subduction-related arc volcanism in the Paikon Massif and related units. Ophiolites were emplaced onto the Pelagonian margin in the west and covered by Late Jurassic (pre-Kimmeridgian) conglomerates. Other ophiolitic rocks formed within the Vardar zone (Ano Garefi ophiolite, Unit 4) in latest Jurassic–Early Cretaceous time and were not deformed until Early Tertiary time. The Vardar zone finally sutured in the Early Tertiary creating the present imbricate thrust structure of the Voras Mountains.     

The seismic detection of a magma chamber beneath Mount Etna,sicily

Macroseismic studies, linear refraction profiles, and a two-dimensional seismic array study on Mount Etna, have all detected anomalous low velocity zones beneath the volcano. Seismic travel time delays together with high frequency attenuation observations confirm the presence of a large volume of partial melt beneath the volcano. A simplified three-dimensional model of the main storage system of Mount Etna is presented.Paper presented at the Symposium Volcanoes of the Earth and Planets, held at the University of Lancaster, March 17, 1981.