AN INTERFACE MODEL TO DESCRIBE VISCOPLASTIC BEHAVIOR

A constitutive model to describe viscoplastic or time-dependent behaviour of interface materials is presented. Viscoplastic characteristics of the interface material are modeled based on Perzyna's theory of viscoplasticity and the Hierarchical Single Surface (HiSS) series of constitutive models. Experiments performed using a new interface test device to characterize the behaviour of cohesive soil–rock interfaces are described. Procedures to derive model parameters are presented together with validation of the model. Finite element implementation of the interface element is described along with verification of the model with respect to field behaviour of a creeping natural slope.     

Interstellar extinction and polarization by spheroidal dust grains

Using the recently available exact computations of the scattering efficiencies of spheroidal particles numerical calculations of the extinction and polarization curves have been made for a distribution of particle sizes, shapes and orientations. The results are presented and compared with the observed interstellar extinction and polarization. Possible models for interstellar dust with nonspherical grains have been discussed.     

A quasi-explicit modification of the two time level family of schemes for non-linear transient analysis

A quasi-explicit modification of well-known two time level implicit schemes for first-order, non-linear initial value problems is presented. Stable and accurate quadratic families for the quasi-explicit generalized trapezoidal method (GTM) and the generalized midpoint method (GMM) are derived. Accuracy, stability and oscillatory behaviour of the proposed algorithms are studied. Much higher stability and oscillatory levels are obtained for quasi-explicit modification of the generalized trapezoidal method than those of the generalized midpoint method.     

Temperature distribution in the corona from λ 5303 Å line-width observations: Eclipse of 1980 February 16 – Tentative evidence for a temperature maximum

Fabry-Perot interferometfic observations in the green coronal line during the total eclipse of 1980 February 16, have yielded line-width temperatures up to 1.5R? over a wide range of position angles. Least square analysis of the data indicates a tentative temperature maximum near 1.2R? from the centre of the Sun. The ratio of peak line intensity to square of the continuum intensity E_line/E² _cont appears to be inversely correlated to the temperature. Turbulent velocities calculated using this ratio and the observed line-width temperatures show a peak at ~ 10 km s^-1.     

Interstellar extinction by spheroidal absorbing dust grains

On the basis of exact computations of the extinction efficiencies of spheroidal absorbing particles, numerical calculations of the extinction curves have been made for a distribution of particle sizes. The results are presented and compared with the observed interstellar extinction. For the sake of comparison, results for the nonabsorbing particles are also given.     

A digital filter for optimal enhancement of Fabry-Pérot interferograms

We describe the concept and the performance of a high-pass digital filter to enhance the faint Fabry-Pérot interferograms. The filter was used to analyse the comet Halley-H interferogram. The results are briefly discussed.     

The Jason-1 Mission

On December 7, 2001, the Jason-1 satellite was successfully launched by a Boeing Delta II rocket from the Vandenberg site in California, USA. Its main mission was to maintain the high accuracy altimeter measurements, provided since 1992 by TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P), ensuring continuity in observing and monitoring the ocean for intraseasonal to interannual changes, mean sea level, tides, and so forth. Despite four times less mass and power, the Jason-1 system has been designed to have the same performances as T/P, measuring sea surface topography at the centimeter level. This new Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales/National Aeronautics and Space Administration (CNES/NASA) mission also provides near real-time data for sea state and ocean forecast. The first 10 months of the Jason mission were dedicated to the verification of the system performance and cross-calibration with T/P measurements. A complete CALVAL plan was conducted by the Science and Project Teams of the mission based on in situ and regional experiments, global statistical approaches, and multisatellite comparisons, taking advantage of the T/P-Jason overlap during the first months of the mission. CALVAL and first science results showed that the Jason-1 performances were compliant with prelaunch specifications. This was a needed preamble before starting the routine phase of the mission in July 2003 with generation and distribution of validated geophysical data records to the whole user community.     

Jason-1 Geophysical Performance Evaluation

The Jason-1 satellite was launched on 7 December 2001 with the primary objective of continuing the high accuracy time series of altimeter measurements that began with the TOPEX/Poseidon mission in 1992. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to validate the performance of the Jason-1 measurement system, and to verify that its error budget is at least at the same level as that of the TOPEX/Poseidon mission. The article reviews the main components of the Jason-1 altimetric error budget from instrument characterization to the geophysical use of the data. Using the Interim Geophysical Data Records (16DR) that were distributed to the Jason-1 Science Working Team during the verification phase of the mission, it is shown that the Jason-1 mission is performing well enough to continue studies of the large-scale features of the ocean, and especially to continue time series of mean sea-level variations with an accuracy comparable to TOPEX/Poseidon.     

One-Centimeter Orbit Determination for Jason-1: New GPS-Based Strategies

The U.S./French Jason-1 satellite is carrying a state-of-the-art GPS receiver to support precise orbit determination (POD) requirements. The performance of the Jason-1 “BlackJack” GPS receiver was strongly reflected in early POD results from the mission, enabling radial accuracies of 1-2 cm soon after the satellite's 2001 launch. We have made further advances in the GPS-based POD for Jason-1, most notably in describing the phase center variations of the on-board GPS antenna. We have also adopted new geopotential models from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE). The new strategies have enabled us to better exploit the unique contributions of the BlackJack GPS tracking data in the POD process. Results of both internal and external (e.g., laser ranging) comparisons indicate that orbit accuracies of 1 cm (radial RMS) are being achieved for Jason-1 using GPS data alone.     

Assessment of the Jason Microwave Radiometer's Measurement of Wet Tropospheric Path Delay Using Comparisons to SSM/I and TMI

The Jason microwave radiometer (JMR) provides a crucial correction due to water vapor in the troposphere, and a much smaller correction due to liquid water, to the travel time of the Jason-1 altimeter radar pulse. An error of any size in the radiometer's measurement of wet path delay translates as an error of equal size in the measurement of sea surface height, the ultimate quantity that the altimetric system should yield. The estimate of globally-averaged sea surface height change associated with climate change, requires that uncertainties in the trends in such a global average be accurate to much better than the signal of 1-2 mm/yr. We first compare the JMR observations to those from the TOPEX/Poseidon radiometer (TMR) over approximately six months, since the intent of Jason is to continue the 10-year time series of precision ocean surface topography initiated by T/P. We then assess the stability of the JMR measurement by comparing its wet path delay to those of other orbiting radiometers over 22 months, specifically the Special Sensor Microwave Imager aboard the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP-SSM/I) series of satellites, and the Tropical Rainfall Mapping Mission's Microwave Imager (TMI), as well as the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting's (ECMWF) atmospheric numerical model estimate of water vapor. From the combined set, we obtain a robust assessment of the stability of JMR measurements. We find, that JMR is in remarkable agreement with TMR, only 2.5 mm longer, and 6-7 mm standard deviation on their difference in 0.5 degree averages; that JMR has experienced a globally-averaged step-function change, yielding an apparent shortening in wet path delay estimates of 4-5 mm around October 2002 (Jason cycles 28-32); that this step-function is visible only in the 23.8 GHz channel; and that the 34 GHz channel appears to drift at a rate of -0.4K/year. In addition, we find that, while in 2002 there was no evidence of sensitivity to the Jason satellite's attitude (a correlation of the wet path delay with yaw state), in 2003 there are strong (2-3 mm, up to 7 mm globally averaged) changes associated with such yaw state. These JMR issues were all found in the first 22 months of Jason's geophysical data records (GDR) data, and thus they apply to any investigations that use such data without further corrections.