DISECA – A Matlab code for dispersive waveform calculations

The propagation velocity of certain elastic waves (so-called surface waves) in vertically inhomogeneous materials is dispersive. The dispersion determination is however frequently ambiguous. To verify the signal analysis reliability and to estimate the dispersive character of the waves an algorithm for dispersive waveform calculation was designed. It is based on the summation of frequency components, with shifts corresponding to the velocity dispersion and distance. The knowledge of physical parameters of the medium is not required. The resulting waveform only contains an individual dispersive wave of the selected mode, thus being particularly suitable for testing of methodologies for dispersive wave analysis.     

Simulation of air storage aquifer by finite element model

A finite element model is developed to simulate the behaviour of an aquifer used as storage space for a compressed air energy storage (CAES) system. The governing equations describing a two-phase flow of air and water are coupled non-linear partial differential equations and are solved by the Galerkin approach. The resulting computer model is applied to a gas percolation problem. Upon verification of the numerical results, the model is employed to simulate the air-water displacement in a storage reservoir during daily air cycling. The corresponding saturation variations and the effects of reservoir permeability on the system are presented. The results obtained are essential in establishing storage design and stability criteria for long-term operation of compressed air energy storage systems.     

Processes controlling very low sedimentation rates on the continental slope of the Gonone-Orosei canyon system,NE Sardinia—terrestrial and oceanic significance

The narrow shelf and upper slope immediately above the Gonone canyon head off NE Sardinia represent areas of very low sedimentation rates. Along the sides of the canyon head (1,600 m water depth), the sediment deposits are homogeneous but show alternating light-grey intervals rich in carbonate and dark-grey ones rich in organic matter, possibly related to distal turbidite processes. Deposits older than 50,000 years are already encountered at core depths of 2.50 m, the sedimentation rates varying from 6–21 cm/10³ years in the lower parts of two cores and from 1.5–3 cm/10³ years in the upper parts. At about 35,000 years BP, both cores show a simultaneous drop in sedimentation rate by a factor of 3, probably in response to local mechanisms of channel avulsion. Lithological, mineralogical and geochemical properties reveal the environmental factors which are responsible for the extremely slow sediment accumulation. The southernmost sector of the coast, and partly also of the shelf, consists of Jurassic limestones which supply only small amounts of fine-grained material transported in suspension. During the last sea-level highstand, the accumulation of the Cedrino River pro-delta remained restricted to the coast, the low siliciclastic sediment yields resulting in poor shelf sediment trapping. The present morphology of the canyon head prevented the occurrence of gravity processes in the deeper part of the canyon system, including the coring sites. Accordingly, deposition was mainly fed by hemipelagic material of planktonic origin, together with only moderate terrigenous inputs. On a wider late Pleistocene timescale, seismic data indicate the occurrence of a coarse-grained, layered turbidite facies, implying a very different architecture of the canyon drainage system probably prior to 60,000 years BP.     

Chikyû Bankoku Sankai Yochi Zenzu Setsu: The First Japanese World Map with Latitudes and Longitudes and with an Extensive Japanese Explanatory Note

In the early 1780s, Nagakubo Sekisui, the first Japanese scientific geographer, published a world map containing latitudes and longitudes, based on Matteo Ricci's map of 1602. The map and its extensive explanatory text had a considerable impact on the educated classes of the late Edo Period (1603–1868) toward their new vision of the world. We are providing here an analysis of the map and the first complete English translation of Nagakubo Sekisui's most interesting, long explanatory text.     

SMOS reveals the signature of Indian Ocean Dipole events

The tropical Indian Ocean experiences an interannual mode of climatic variability, known as the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). The signature of this variability in ocean salinity is hypothesized based on modeling and assimilation studies, on account of scanty observations. Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite has been designed to take up the challenge of sea surface salinity remote sensing. We show that SMOS data can be used to infer the pattern of salinity variability linked with the IOD events. The core of maximum variability is located in the central tropical basin, south of the equator. This region is anomalously salty during the 2010 negative IOD event, and anomalously fresh during the 2011 positive IOD event. The peak-to-peak anomaly exceeds one salinity unit, between late 2010 and late 2011. In conjunction with other observational datasets, SMOS data allow us to draw the salt budget of the area. It turns out that the horizontal advection is the main driver of salinity anomalies. This finding is confirmed by the analysis of the outputs of a numerical model. This study shows that the advent of SMOS makes it feasible the quantitative assessment of the mechanisms of ocean surface salinity variability in the tropical basins, at interannual timescales.     

Tidally-induced melting events as the origin of south-pole activity on Enceladus

The intense activity at the south pole of Enceladus hints at an internal water reservoir. However, there is no direct evidence of liquid water at present and its long-term stability in the interior remains problematic. By modeling heat production and transfer in the ice shell in a spherical geometry, we show that tidal heating naturally leads to a concentration of convective hot upwellings in the south polar region, favoring the preservation of liquid water at depth. We show that large volumes of water are produced within the ice shell at the south pole during periods of elevated orbital eccentricity (3–5 times the present-day value). Strong lateral variations in the melt production and crystallization rates result in stress concentration in the south polar region, thus providing an explanation for the tectonic activity observed today. We predict that an internal ocean may be sustained over the long term as the consequence of repeated periods with elevated orbital eccentricity, leading to episodic melting and resurfacing events.     

Study on daily surface evapotranspiration with SEBS in Tibet Autonomous Region简

The estimation of surface evapotranspiration （ET） with satellite dataset is one of the main subjects in the understanding of climate change, disaster monitoring and the circulation of water vapor and energy in Tibet Autonomous Region （TAR）. This research selects satellite images on January 11, April 6, July 31 and October 19 in 2010 as the representative of winter, spring, summer and autumn respectively, estimates the distribution of daily surface ET based on the surface energy balance system （SEBS） along with potential evapotranspiration （PET） and ET derived from Penman-Monteith （P-M） method. The results are obtained as follows. （1） The seasonal distribution of ET and PET basically decreases from the southeast part to the northwest part of TAR. Although ET and PET have similar spatial distributions, there are still some differences to estimate the extreme values especially the maximum value in the middle and southeastern parts of TAR. No matter what kind of methods we adopted, the maximum value of ET and PET always appears in summer, followed by autumn or spring while that in winter is the smallest. （2） In order to better understand the accuracy of SEBS model in the estimation of ET, we compared the ET from SEBS and the ET obtained from P-M method. Results show that the ET from SEBS could estimates the variation trend of actual ET, but it slightly underestimates or overestimates the value of ET as a whole, especially for those areas with thick forest. （3） The spatial distribution of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index （NDVI） exhibits a decreasing trend from the southeast part to the northwest part of TAR which displays remarkable consistency of distributions between ET and vegetation index. ET is well positively related to NDVI, minimum, mean, maximum air temperature and sunshine duration in different seasons while negatively related to precipitation, relative humidity and wind speed in summer.     

Evolution of the Archean crust in Finland

An Archean age for Finnish rocks in the range 2500–3000 Ma has been determined north of the NW-striking Ladoga—Raahe shear belt. The Archean may be divided into two main units: the granitoid association and the greenstone-belt association. The complex is characterized by stockwork tectonics. The granitoid association forms the basement infrastructure and the greenston-belt association forms the suprastructure which is present in synforms between granitoid diapirs. The infrastructure has been subjected to ultrametamorphism, and the second and third generation palingenetic magmas so formed have intruded the suprastructure. The granitoid association contains widespread migmatized relicts of the greenstone-belt association, indicating that the latter originally covered much larger areas, but the granitoids are also thought to be partly transformed primitive ensialic crust on which rocks of the greenstone-belt association were deposited. The Archean rocks have been deformed in at least four subsequent phases, of which part developed in Proterozoic time. The youngest deformation is the overthrust of the granulite belt of Lapland towards SSW. NWSE striking transcurrent faults played a major role in Proterozoic time and affected cratonized Archean crust. On the whole the greenstone belts in eastern and northern Finland form a NNW-trending zone 750 km long. On a geochemical basis the volcanic rocks of the greenstone belts can be divided into two groups: tholeiites with a low potassium content and extremely low aluminium content and a calc-alkalic group with some alkalic affinities.     

青藏高原边界层高度特征对大气环流动力学效应的数值试验

利用NCAR的全球气候模式 (CCM3) 及第二次青藏高原边界层观测试验的研究结果, 对青藏高原上大气边界层高度的作用进行了研究, 分析了夏季青藏高原地区与长江流域上空的环流状况。研究表明:青藏高原的边界层高度特征对高原东南部地区以及长江流域出现强烈的垂直上升运动及其低层辐合、高层辐散存在着显著的动力效应, 深厚的高原边界层特征将使长江流域夏季区域性的云量及降水明显增加, 河套地区与黄河流域的夏季云量及降水有所减少。