Impact of loading displacements on SLR-derived parameters and on the consistency between GNSS and SLR results

Displacements of the Earth’s surface caused by tidal and non-tidal loading forces are relevant in high-precision space geodesy. Some of the corrections are recommended by the international scientific community to be applied at the observation level, e.g., ocean tidal loading (OTL) and atmospheric tidal loading (ATL). Non-tidal displacement corrections are in general recommended not to be applied in the products of the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service, in particular atmospheric non-tidal loading (ANTL), oceanic and hydrological non-tidal corrections. We assess and compare the impact of OTL, ATL and ANTL on SLR-derived parameters by reprocessing 12 years of SLR data considering and ignoring individual corrections. We show that loading displacements have an influence not only on station long-term stability, but also on geocenter coordinates, Earth Rotation Parameters, and satellite orbits. Applying the loading corrections reduces the amplitudes of annual signals in the time series of geocenter and station coordinates. The general improvement of the SLR station 3D coordinate repeatability when applying OTL, ATL and ANTL corrections are 19.5 %, 0.2 % and 3.3 % respectively, w.r.t. the solutions without loading corrections. ANTL corrections play a crucial role in the combination of optical (SLR) and microwave (GNSS, VLBI, DORIS) space geodetic observation techniques, because of the so-called Blue-Sky effect: SLR measurements can be carried out only under cloudless sky conditions—typically during high air pressure conditions, when the Earth’s crust is deformed, whereas microwave observations are weather-independent. Thus, applying the loading corrections at the observation level improves SLR-derived products as well as the consistency with microwave-based results. We assess the Blue-Sky effect on SLR stations and the consistency improvement between GNSS and SLR solutions when ANTL corrections are included. The omission of ANTL corrections may lead to inconsistencies between SLR and GNSS solutions of up to 2.5 mm for inland stations. As a result, the estimated GNSS–SLR coordinate differences correspond better to the local ties at the co-located stations when applying ANTL corrections.     

2060 Chiron back to a minimum of brightness

The results of photometric observations of comet/asteroid 2060 Chiron at the Observatório do Pico dos Dias (Brazil-OPD) and the Observatoire de Haute-Provence (France-OHP) during 1994 and 1995 are presented. The analysis of the data shows a decrease of 2060 Chiron brightness from its peak values of 1988–1991. The absolute magnitude, H_v, varies from a maximum of 6.6 in February 1994 up to a minimum of 6.8 in June 1995. Therefore 2060 Chiron is back to a minimum of activity close to that of 1983–1985. The slope parameter G is found to be G = 0.71 ± 0.15. It is suggested that the H-G magnitude system, generally adopted to present 2060 Chiron brightness, is not the most appropriate due to the cometary activity of this object.     

Influence of mid-latitude circulation on upper Indus basin precipitation: the explicit role of irrigation

Since much of the flow of the Indus River originates in the Himalayas, Karakoram and Hindu Kush Mountains, an understanding of weather characteristics leading to precipitation over the region is essential for water resources management. This study examines the influence of upper level mid-latitude circulation on the summer precipitation over upper Indus basin (UIB). Using reanalysis data, a geopotential height index (GH) is defined at 200 hPa over central Asia, which has a significant correlation with the precipitation over UIB. GH has also shown significant correlation with the heat low (over Iran and Afghanistan and adjoining Pakistan), easterly shear of zonal winds (associated with central Asian high) and evapotranspiration (over UIB). It is argued that the geopotential height index has the potential to serve as a precursor for the precipitation over UIB. In order to assess the influence of irrigation on precipitation over UIB, a simplified irrigation scheme has been developed and applied to the regional climate model REMO. It has been shown that both versions of REMO (with and without irrigation) show significant correlations of GH with easterly wind shear and heat low. However contrary to reanalysis and the REMO version with irrigation, the REMO version without irrigation does not show any correlation between GH index and evapotranspiration as well as between geopotential height and precipitation over UIB, which is further confirmed by the quantitative analysis of extreme precipitation events over UIB. It is concluded that although atmospheric moisture over coastal Arabian sea region, triggered by wind shear and advected northward due to heat low, also contribute to the UIB precipitation. However for the availability of necessary moisture for precipitation over UIB, the major role is played by the evapotranspiration of water from irrigation. From the results it may also be inferred that the representation of irrigated water in climate models is unavoidable for studying the impact of global warming over the region.     

Zircon formation during fluid circulation in eclogites (Monviso, Western Alps): implications for Zr and Hf budget in subduction zones

The zircons from an eclogite and an enclosed eclogite-facies vein from the Monviso ophiolite (Western Alps) display contrasting chemical and morphologic features and document different stages of the evolution of the ophiolite. The zircons from the eclogite show a typical magmatic zoning and are enriched in heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) over middle rare earth elements (MREEs) and have an accentuated negative Eu anomaly, which indicates that the grains co-crystallised with plagioclase. These magmatic zircons document the formation of oceanic crust at 163 ± 2 Ma. In contrast, zircons from the vein contain inclusions of garnet, omphacite, and rutile, which indicate that they crystallised under eclogite-facies conditions. The vein zircons have Th/U ratios < 0.09, lack Eu anomalies, and are only weakly enriched in HREE with respect to MREE. These features are consistent with a garnet-bearing, plagioclase-free, i.e., eclogite-facies paragenesis. Vein zircons yield an age of 45 ± 1 Ma, which is evidence for Eocene subduction-zone metamorphism of the Monviso ophiolite.In the vein, the apparent coexistence of zircon, omphacite, and garnet permits the determination of a set of trace element distribution coefficients among these minerals at high pressure. This set of partitioning can demonstrate chemical equilibrium among these phases in rocks that show less clear evidence of textural equilibrium. In addition, zircon age can now be linked to sensors of metamorphic pressure-temperature conditions. The presence of zircon and rutile in the vein is another example of high field strength element (HFSE) mobility over short distances in aqueous fluids at eclogite-facies conditions. However, the concentrations of Zr and Hf in the aqueous fluid are estimated to be at least a factor of 10 less than primitive mantle values.Mass balance calculations demonstrate that zircon hosts > 95% of the bulk Zr, 90% of Hf, and ∼25% of U in the vein. Zircon is a residual phase in subducted basalts and sediments up to temperatures of at least 800 to 900 °C. Therefore, residual zircon in subducted crust, together with rutile, control the HFSE in liberated subduction zone fluids/melts and might be partly responsible for negative Zr and Hf anomalies in subduction zone magmas.     

Bayesian Spatial Modelling of Gamma Ray Count Data

Gamma ray logging is a method routinely employed by geophysicists and environmental engineers in site geology evaluations. Modelling of gamma ray data from individual boreholes assists in the local identification of major lithological changes; modelling these data from a network of boreholes assists with lithological mapping and spatial stratigraphic correlation. In this paper we employ Bayesian spatial partition models to analyse gamma ray data spatially. In particular, a spatial partition is defined via a Voronoi tessellation and the mean intensity is assumed constant in each cell of the partition. The number of vertices generating the tessellation as well as the locations of vertices are assumed unknown, and uncertainty about these quantities is described via a hierarchical prior distribution. We describe the advantages of the spatial partition modelling approach in the context of smoothing gamma ray count data and describe an implementation that may be extended to the fitting of a more general model than a constant mean within each cell of the partition. As an illustration of the methodology we consider a data set collected from a network of eight boreholes, which is part of a geophysical study to assist in mapping the lithology of a site. Gamma ray logs are linked with geological information from cores and the spatial analysis of log data assists with predicting the lithology at unsampled locations.     

Dynamics and Variability of Terra Nova Bay Polynya

Abstract. We present a process study on the dynamics and variability of the Terra Nova Bay polynya in the western sector of the Ross Sea. The air-sea heat exchange is known to be particularly large in polynya during the winter, when differences between air and sea temperatures are large. We apply a 1-D model (Pease, 1987; Van Woert, 1999a, 1999b), which is modified in the latent heat parameterisation in order to account for time-dependent relative humidity and cloud coverage. Furthermore, the Ice Collection Depth is correlated linearly with a variable wind speed. The model is forced with two different meteorological data sets: the operational analysis of the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts atmospheric data set and the meteorological parameters measured by an Automatic Weather Station located on the coast of Terra Nova Bay. The results are compared in terms of polynya extension, ice, and High Salinity Shelf Water production. According to the two different wind velocities, the results obtained from the different data sets clearly differ. Qualitatively, however, the results are in good agreement.     

Relict sand dredging for beach nourishment in the central Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy): effects on benthic assemblages

The aim of this study is to analyse the effects in space and time of relict sand-dredging activities on macrobenthic assemblages, in an area situated offshore Montalto di Castro (central Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy), and to analyse the recolonisation processes of macrobenthos in the dredged areas. The area in question is characterised by relict sand deposits (Holocenic paleo-beaches), used for beach nourishment along the Latium coast. The effects of sand extraction on benthic assemblages were investigated before, during and after three dredging operations. The sites analysed are located within the dredged areas (inside stations) and in neighbouring, not dredged, areas (outside stations). The results showed that the impact of sand extraction was confined to the dredged stations and to the areas in proximity to the dredged areas. During dredging activities, the structure of benthic assemblages within the impacted stations was characterised by low species richness and diversity. Both the direct removal of sediment and the re-suspension and consequent deposition of fine sediment affected benthic assemblages of the impacted stations. A few months after the dredgings, a recolonisation process was still observed at all the impacted stations. A gradual recolonisation process was observed at those stations affected by only one dredging, whereas a different recolonisation was observed at those stations affected by two dredgings over time. This study suggests that differences of re-colonisation processes of benthic assemblages are related to the intensity of dredging operations in terms of dredging frequency.     

Heat budget for a shallow,sinuous salt marsh estuary

An experimental study of temperature cycles and the heat budget in the Duplin River, a tidal creek bordered by extensive intertidal salt marshes, was carried out in late summer of 2003 and spring of 2004 near Sapelo Island on the central Georgia coast in the southeastern US. Three water masses are identified with differing temperature and salinity regimes, the characteristics of which are dictated by channel morphology, tidal communication with the neighboring sound, ground water hydrology, the extent of local intertidal salt marshes and side channels and the spring–neap tidal cycle (which controls both energetic mixing and, presumably, ground water input). For the first experiment, heat budgets are constructed for the upper (warmer) and lower (cooler) areas of the Duplin River showing the diminishing importance of tidal advection away from the mouth of the creek along with the concomitant increase in the importance of both direct atmospheric fluxes and of interactions with the marsh and side creeks. The second experiment, in the spring of 2004, reexamines the heat budget on seasonal and daily averaged scales revealing the decreased importance of advective fluxes relative to direct atmospheric fluxes on this scale but the constant importance of marsh/creek interactions regardless of time scale or season. Short period temperature fluctuations which affect larval development are examined and analogies are drawn to use heat to understand the marsh as a source of sediment, carbon and other nutrients.