A study of the background corona near solar minimum

The white light coronagraph data from Skylab is used to investigate the equatorial and polarK andF coronal components during the declining phase of the solar cycle near solar minimum. Measurements of coronal brightness and polarization brightness product between 2.5 and 5.5R during the period of observation (May 1973 to February 1974) lead to the conclusions that: (1) the equatorial corona is dominated by either streamers or coronal holes seen in projections on the limb approximately 50% and 30% of the time, respectively; (2) despite the domination by streamers and holes, two periods of time were found which were free from the influences of streamers or holes (neither streamers nor holes were within 30° in longitude of the limb); (3) the derived equatorial background density model is less than 15% below the minimum equatorial models of Newkirk (1967) and Saito (1970); (4) a spherically symmetric density model for equatorial coronal holes yields densities one half those of the background density model; and (5) the inferred brightness of theF-corona is constant to within ±10% and ±5% for the equatorial and polar values, respectively, over the observation period. While theF-corona is symmetric at 2R it begins to show increasing asymmetry beyond this radius such that at 5R the equatorialF-coronal brightness is 25% greater than the polar brightness.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Teaching about relict, no-analog landscapes

Only a few very young landforms are the result of currently operating geomorphic processes. Because the time scale for landscape evolution is much longer than the time scale for late Cenozoic climate changes, almost all landscapes are palimpsests, written over repeatedly by various combinations of climate-determined processes. Relict glacial and periglacial landforms are widely identified in mid-latitude regions that have been traditionally described as having been shaped by the “normal” processes of fluvial erosion. Less confidently, deeply weathered regolith and associated relict landforms in the middle and high latitudes are attributed to early Tertiary warmth. However, assemblages of geomorphic processes specific to certain climatic regions, like faunal and floral assemblages, cannot be translated across latitude, so in spite of the many books about the geomorphology of specific modern climate regions, there are few sources that discuss former warm high-latitude, or cold low-latitude, low-altitude geomorphic processes that have no modern analogs. Students and teachers alike who attempt to interpret landforms by extrapolating modern climatic conditions to other latitudinal zones will find their outlook broadened, and they become better prepared to consider the geomorphic impacts of global climate change.     

Shear-wave anisotropy: spatial and temporal variations in time delays at Parkfield, Central California

Shear-wave splitting is analysed on data recorded by the High Resolution Seismic Network (HRSN) at Parkfield on the San Andreas fault, Central California, during the three-year period 1988-1990. Shear-wave polarizations either side of the fault are generally aligned in directions consistent with the regional horizontal maximum compressive stress, at some 70° to the fault strike, whereas at station MM in the immediate fault zone, shear-wave polarizations are aligned approximately parallel to the fault. Normalized time delays at this station are found to be about twice as large as those in the rock mass either side. This suggests that fluid-filled cracks and fractures within the fault zone are elastically or seismically different from those in the surrounding rocks, and that the alignment of fault-parallel shear-wave polarizations are associated with some fault-specific phenomenon.
Temporal variations in time delays between the two split shear-waves before and after a M_L = 4 earthquake can be identified at two stations with sufficient data: MM within the fault zone and VC outside the immediate fault zone. Time delays between faster and slower split shear waves increase before the M_L = 4 earthquake and decrease near the time of the event. The temporal variations are statistically significant at 68 per cent confidence levels. Earthquake doublets and multiplets also show similar temporal variations, consistent with those predicted by anisotropic poroelasticity theory for stress modifications to the microcrack geometry pervading the rock mass. This study is broadly consistent with the behaviour observed before three other earthquakes, suggesting that the build-up of stress before earthquakes may be monitored and interpreted by the analysis of shear-wave splitting.     

Paleoclimatological and paleoenvironmental records since 4 000 a B. P. in sediments of alpine lakes in Taiwan

The 3 310-m-high Chia-min Lake records the climatic history since 4 ka B. P. in Taiwan. The warm/wet period before 2.2 ka B.P. seemed to correspond to the later part of the Holocene Megathermal, and the cold/dry period during 0–2.2 ka B. P. corresponded to the Katathermal. Before the termination of the Megathermal, an especially warm and humid segment (2.2–2.4 ka B. P.) emerged. The paleoclimatic records from Yuen-yang and Chi-tsai Lakes support the notion that the Megathermal in Taiwan terminated during 2—2.3 ka B. P. A warm segment (820–1 320 AD) in the Katathermal could be considered the Medieval Warm Period. The climate turned cold and dry after 1 320 AD and this indicated the onset of the Little Ice Age. These paleoclimatic variations are also in good agreement with those recorded in Great Ghost Lake.     

Acidification and Trace Metals of Lakes in Taiwan

One hundred and eighty lakes, ponds and reservoirs in Taiwan, and the offshore islands have been investigated since 1985. Effects such as warming/cooling, mixing, photosynthesis and respiration on pH have been identified. These effects were found to be less profound than those resulting from the geology. Since there is little rain or lake water pH data available prior to 1970, it was necessary to use proxy data in order to ascertain the history of lake acidification. In this study, we present data based on diatoms in a sediment core collected from a lake in the remote subalpine region of southern Taiwan. The acidity of this lake water was found to have increased since 1900. We measured the concentrations of 55 chemical species in lake water samples. In addition, concentrations of 26 chemical species were obtained from sediments. Conductivity, alkalinity (HCO₃ ^?), most other major and minor chemical species, as well as the non sea-salt SO₄/Na ratio in lake water clearly decrease with elevation. Distribution of pH is similar, although the trend is less clear. Distribution of trace metals, however, shows a different trend as anthropogenic pollution, diagenetic reduction and lake acidification are at play.