Attenuation differences in layer 2A in intermediate- and slow-spreading oceanic crust

In situ seismic attenuationQ⁻¹logs are derived from borehole velocity profiles and reveal sharp boundaries between morphologies of the extrusive volcanic layers in intermediate- and slow-spreading oceanic crust.Q⁻¹logs are calculated from the scattering attenuation associated with vertical velocity heterogeneity in Ocean Drilling Program Holes 504B and 896A and in Hole 395A, located in 5.9–7.3 Ma crust on the Pacific and Atlantic plates, respectively. Our results strongly tie crustal properties to seismic measurables and observed geological structures: we find that the scattering attenuation can be used to identify the extrusive volcanic sequence because it is closely related to changes in the degree of vertical heterogeneity. We interpret a distinct decrease in the Q⁻¹log at the transition below the extrusive volcanic layer to correspond with the seismic layer 2A/2B boundary. The boundary is located at 465 m depth below the sea floor in both Hole 395A and 504B, although this is likely to be a coincidence of the sediment thickness at these sites. Layer 2A is estimated to be approximately 150 m thick in Hole 504B and > 300 m thick in Hole 395A. Cyclic sequences of high-porosity pillows and low-porosity massive units in the uppermost 100 m of volcanics in Hole 395A result in large velocity heterogeneities which cause > 5 times more attenuation in this layer than in Hole 504B. In Hole 896A, by contrast, fewer pillows, more massive flows, and a greater volume of carbonate veins decrease the velocity heterogeneity and attenuation significantly over only 1 km distance from Hole 504B. We conclude that the attenuation in the extrusive volcanics of the ocean crust is largely controlled by variation in local heterogeneity and morphology as well as by subsequent hydrothermal alteration. The observed differences inQ⁻¹profiles and layer 2A thickness at these sites may be attributed to variations in the volume and duration of volcanic activity at mid-ocean spreading centers for these Pacific and Atlantic ridge segments.     

Estimation of groundwater evaporation and salt flux from Owens Lake, California, USA

Groundwater evaporation and subsequent precipitation of soluble salts at Owens Lake in eastern California have created one of the single largest sources of airborne dust in the USA, yet the evaporation and salt flux have not been fully quantified. In this study, we compare eddy correlation, microlysimeters and solute profiling methods to determine their validity and sensitivity in playa environments. These techniques are often used to estimate evaporative losses, yet have not been critically compared at one field site to judge their relative effectiveness and accuracy. Results suggest that eddy correlation methods are the most widely applicable for the variety of conditions found on large playa lakes. Chloride profiling is shown to be highly sensitive to thermal and density-driven fluxes in the near surface and, as a result, appears to underestimate yearly groundwater evaporation. Yearly mean groundwater evaporation from the playa surface estimated from the three study areas was found to range from 88 to 104 mm year⁻¹, whereas mean evaporation from the brine-covered areas was 872 mm year⁻¹. Uncertainties on these mean rates were estimated to be ±25%, based on comparisons between eddy correlation and lysimeter estimates. On a yearly basis, evaporation accounts for approximately 47 × 10⁶ m³ of water loss from the playa surface and open-water areas of the lake. Over the playa area, as much as 7.5 × 10⁸ kg (7.5 × 10⁵ t) of salt are annually concentrated by evaporation at or near the playa surface, much of which appears to be lost during dust storms in area.     

The identifiability of parameters in a water quality model of the Biebrza River, Poland

The identifiability of model parameters of a steady state water quality model of the Biebrza River and the resulting variation in model results was examined by applying the Monte Carlo method which combines calibration, identifiability analysis, uncertainty analysis, and sensitivity analysis. The water quality model simulates the steady state concentration profiles of chloride, phosphate, ammonium, and nitrate as a function of distance along a river. The water quality model with the best combination of parameter values simulates the observed concentrations very well. However, the range of possible modelled concentrations obtained for other more or less equally eligible combinations of parameter values is rather wide. This range in model outcomes reflects possible errors in the model parameters. Discrepancies between the range in model outcomes and the validation data set are only caused by errors in model structure, or (measurement) errors in boundary conditions or input variables. In this sense the validation procedure is a test of model capability, where the effects of calibration errors are filtered out. It is concluded that, despite some slight deviations between model outcome and observations, the model is successful in simulating the spatial pattern of nutrient concentrations in the Biebrza River.     

The separation of the influence of nutrients and climate on the varve time-series of baldeggersee, Switzerland

The varve data-set from a freeze-core taken in the deepest part of Baldeggersee was subjected to different multivariate statistical analyses in order to estimate the amount of variance in the varve thickness measures explicable by past climate and by the trophic state of the lake. A comparison of two different time-periods (1902 to1992 versus 1920 to 1980) revealed that the lake restoration programme since 1982 has had a significant impact on the formation of the seasonal layers. Results of the partitioning of the variance in the varve thickness measures showed that about two thirds of the variance are unexplained by a climate and trophic state model and that trophic state explains 6%, whereas climate accounts for about 28% of the variance before the effect of lake restoration had a strong impact on the varves. Among the climate parameters the amount of annual precipitation is a strong predictor for explaining the thickness of both dark layer and total couplet thickness, whereas summer precipitation is important for the thickness of the light layer.     

Comparison of Cu and Zn cycling in eutrophic lakes with oxic and anoxic hypolimnion

Data on the cycling of Cu and Zn in two eutrophic lakes are presented: Lake Greifen that becomes seasonally anoxic in its hypolimnion and Lake Sempach that is aerated during winter and oxygenated during summer. They suggest that hypolimnetic oxygenation 1) enhances the release of copper from the sediment but 2) also accelerates the entrapment and deposition of Cu and Zn by freshly formed Mn- and Fe-oxides.     

Global modelling study (GSM TIP) of the ionospheric effects of excited N2, convection and heat fluxes by comparison with EISCAT and satellite data for 31 July 1990

Near-earth plasma parameters were calculated using a global numerical self-consistent and time-dependent model of the thermosphere, ionosphere and protonosphere (GSM TIP). The model results are compared with experimental data of different origin, mainly EISCAT measurements and simultaneous satellite data (N_e and ion composition). Model runs with varying inputs of auroral FAC distributions, temperature of vibrationally excited nitrogen and photoelectron energy escape fluxes are used to make adjustments to the observations. The satellite data are obtained onboard Active and its subsatellite Magion –2 when they passed nearby the EISCAT station around 0325 and 1540 UT on 31 July 1990 at a height of about 2000 and 2200 km, respectively. A strong geomagnetic disturbance was observed two days before the period under study. Numerical calculations were performed with consideration of vibrationally excited nitrogen molecules for high solar-activity conditions. The results show good agreement between the incoherent-scatter radar measurements (N_e, T_e, T_i) and model calculations, taking into account the excited molecular nitrogen reaction rates. The comparison of model results of the thermospheric neutral wind shows finally a good agreement with the HWM93 empirical wind model.     

ASPI experiment: measurements of fields and waves on board the INTERBALL-1 spacecraft

The plasma-wave experiment ASPI (analysis of spectra of plasma waves and instabilities) on board the INTERBALL spacecraft is a combined wave diagnostics experiment. It performs measurements of the DC and AC magnetic field vector by flux-gate and searchcoil sensors, the DC and AC electric field vector by Langmuir double probes and the plasma current by Langmuir split probe. Preliminary data analysis shows the low noise levels of the sensors and the compatibility of new data with the results of previous missions. During several months of in-orbit operation a rich collection of data was acquired, examples of which at the magnetopause and plasma sheet are presented in second part of the paper.     

The auroral O+ non-Maxwellian velocity distribution function revisited

New characteristics of O⁺ ion velocity distribution functions in a background of atomic oxygen neutrals subjected to intense external electromagnetic forces are presented. The one dimensional (1-D) distribution function along the magnetic field displays a core-halo shape which can be accurately fitted by a two Maxwellian model. The Maxwellian shape of the 1-D distribution function around a polar angle of 21 ± 1° from the magnetic field direction is confirmed, taking into account the accuracy of the Monte Carlo simulations. For the first time, the transition of the O⁺ 1-D distribution function from a core halo shape along the magnetic field direction to the well-known toroidal shape at large polar angles, through the Maxwellian shape at polar angle of 21 ± 1° is properly explained from a generic functional of the velocity moments at order 2 and 4.