The relation between rigorous and Helmert’s definitions of orthometric heights

Following our earlier definition of the rigorous orthometric height [J Geod 79(1-3):82–92 (2005)] we present the derivation and calculation of the differences between this and the Helmert orthometric height, which is embedded in the vertical datums used in numerous countries. By way of comparison, we also consider Mader and Niethammer’s refinements to the Helmert orthometric height. For a profile across the Canadian Rocky Mountains (maximum height of ~2,800 m), the rigorous correction to Helmert’s height reaches ~13 cm, whereas the Mader and Niethammer corrections only reach ~3 cm. The discrepancy is due mostly to the rigorous correction’s consideration of the geoid-generated gravity disturbance. We also point out that several of the terms derived here are the same as those used in regional gravimetric geoid models, thus simplifying their implementation. This will enable those who currently use Helmert orthometric heights to upgrade them to a more rigorous height system based on the Earth’s gravity field and one that is more compatible with a regional geoid model.     

ARGO upper salinity measurements: perspectives for L-band radiometers calibration and retrieved sea surface salinity validation

With the view of preparing the strategy for the calibration/validation of future L-band satellite radiometers, we examine the salinity variability recorded by Array for Real-Time Geostrophic Oceanography (ARGO) floats in the upper 10-m layer of the surface ocean. Using one year of ARGO measurements,we show that the surface salinity variability at ten days and 200-km scales is above /spl plusmn/0.1 psu for 30% of the drifters and that this variability is larger than 0.2 psu in tropical regions affected by strong river discharges and by precipitations, and in frontal areas characterized by strong mesoscale activity. Vertical gradient observed between 5-10-m depth is much lower than the horizontal variability but leads to systematic biases in the tropics. The South Pacific Ocean appears to be the less variable both vertically and horizontally.     

Seismic quantification of the explosions that destroyed the dome of Volcán de Colima, Mexico, in July–August 2003

In July–August 2003, the andesitic lava dome at Volcán de Colima, México, was destroyed by a sequence of explosions that replaced the 2×10⁶ m³ dome with a crater 200 m across and 30 m deep. The two strongest explosions occurred on July 17 and August 28. The initial low-frequency impulses that they produced, which were recorded on broadband seismic records, allowed an estimation of the counter forces of the initiating process as being equal to 0.3×10¹¹ N and 1×10¹¹ N for the July and August events, respectively. The seismic characteristics follow the Nishimura-Hamaguchi scaling law for volcanic explosions, reflecting self-similarity in the processes initiating explosive events. The results also show that counter forces can discriminate between the sizes of explosive eruptions that are assigned the same magnitude by conventional methods of classification such as the Volcanic Explosivity Index. The increasing use of broadband seismometers may therefore provide the basis for using counter forces to determine the magnitude of explosive eruptions.     

A comparative study of geothermal and meteorological records of climate change in Kamchatka

To reconstruct the recent climate history in Kamchatka, a series of repeated precise temperature logs were performed in a number of boreholes located in a broad east-west strip (between 52 and 54°N) in the central part of Kamchatka west of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski. Within three years more than 30 temperature logs were performed in 10 holes (one up to six logs per hole) to the depth of up to 400 metres. Measured temperature gradients varied in a broad interval 0 to 60 mK/m and in some holes a sizeable variation in the subsurface temperatures due to advective heat transport by underground water was observed. Measured data were compared with older temperature profiles obtained in the early eighties by Sugrobov and Yanovsky (1993). Even when older data are of poorer precision (accuracy of about 0.1 K), they presented valuable information of the subsurface temperature conditions existing 20–25 years ago. Borehole observations and the inverted ground surface temperature histories (GSTHs) used for the paleoclimate reconstruction were complemented with a detailed survey of meteorological data. Namely, the long-term surface air temperature (SAT) and precipitation records from Petropavlovsk station (in operation since 1890) were used together with similar data from a number of local subsidiary meteo-stations operating in Central Kamchatka since 1950. Regardless of extreme complexity of the local meteorological/climate conditions, diversity of borehole sites and calibration of measuring devices used during the whole campaign, the results of the climate reconstruction supported a general warming of about 1 K characteristic for the 20th century, which followed an inexpressive cooler period typical for the most of the 19th century. In the last three to four decades the warming rate has been locally increasing up to 0.02 K/year. It was also shown that the snow cover played a dominant role in the penetration of the climate “signal” to depth and could considerably smooth down the subsurface response to the changes occurred on the surface.     

Diffuse Emission of CO2 from Showa-Shinzan, Hokkaido, Japan: A Sign of Volcanic Dome Degassing

Two soil CO₂ efflux surveys were carried out in September 1999 and June 2002 to study the spatial distribution of diffuse CO₂ degassing and estimate the total CO₂ output from Showa-Shinzan volcanic dome, Japan. Seventy-six and 81 measurements of CO₂ efflux were performed in 1999 and 2002, respectively, covering most of Showa-Shinzan volcano. Soil CO₂ efflux data showed a wide range of values up to 552 g m^-2 d^-1. Carbon isotope signatures of the soil CO₂ ranged from -0.9‰ to -30.9‰, suggesting a mixing between different carbon reservoirs. Most of the study area showed CO₂ efflux background values during the 1999 and 2002 surveys (B = 8.2 and 4.4 g m^-2 d^-1, respectively). The spatial distribution of CO₂ efflux anomalies for both surveys showed a good correlation with the soil temperature, indicating a similar origin for the extensive soil degassing generated by condensation processes and fluids discharged by the fumarolic system of Showa-Shinzan. The total diffuse CO₂ output of Showa-Shinzan was estimated to be about 14.0–15.6 t d^-1 of CO₂ for an area of 0.53 km².     

Explicit formula for the geoid-quasigeoid separation

The explicit formula for the geoid-to-quasigeoid correction is derived in this paper. On comparing the geoidal height and height anomaly, this correction is found to be a function of the mean value of gravity disturbance along the plumbline within the topography. To evaluate the mean gravity disturbance, the gravity field of the Earth is decomposed into components generated by masses within the geoid, topography and atmosphere. Newton’s integration is then used for the computation of topography-and atmosphere-generated components of the mean gravity, while the combined solution for the downward continuation of gravity anomalies and Stokes’ boundary-value problem is utilized in computing the component of mean gravity disturbance generated by mass irregularities within the geoid. On application of this explicit formulism a theoretical accuracy of a few millimetres can be achieved in evaluation of the geoid-to-quasigeoid correction. However, the real accuracy could be lower due to deficiencies within the numerical methods and to errors within the input data (digital terrain and density models and gravity observations).     

Doppler radar observation, CG lightning activity and aerial survey of a multiple downburst in southern Germany on 23 March 2001

Two downburst events from one thunderstorm are investigated, which occurred on 23 March 2001, in Germany's climatologic annual minimum of downburst activity. Observations by two Doppler radars are combined with hail reports, ground lightning detection and an aerial survey conducted after the event. The downburst-producing storm had formed at a synoptic convergence line within the warm sector of a cyclone. It had a remarkably high propagation speed of up to 31 m s^− 1 corresponding to the mid-tropospheric flow. Thus, by superposition with the storm motion, even two weak downbursts were sufficient to cause the observed damage of F1 and F2 intensity, respectively. While in its late stages, the storm was dynamically characterized by lower- and mid-tropospheric divergence; at about the time of the first downburst, a mesocyclonic vortex signature was verified. Aside from mid-tropospheric dry air entrainment, a thermodynamic explanation for the triggering of the two downbursts by melting of small hail according to recent findings by Atlas et al. [Atlas, D., Ulbrich, C.W., Williams, C.R., 2004. Physical origin of a wet microburst: observations and theory. J. Atmos. Sci. 61, 1186–1196] appears probable. Despite the lack of warnings to the public, the storm's potential for hail and strong straight-line winds was detected by the German weather service radar software CONRAD more than a half hour before the downbursts occurred.     

α-Emitting mineral inclusions in apatite, their effect on (U-Th)/He ages, and how to reduce it

U-Th rich mineral inclusions in apatite are often held responsible for erroneously old (U-Th)/He ages, because they produce “parentless” He. Three aspects associated with this problem are discussed here. First, simple dimensional considerations indicate that for small mineral inclusions, the parentless helium problem might not be as serious as generally thought. For example, a mineral inclusion that is 10% the length, width and height of its host apatite needs to be a thousand times more concentrated in U and Th to produce an equal amount of He. Therefore, single isolated inclusions smaller than a few μm are unlikely to contribute significant helium. For larger or more abundant inclusions, the parentless helium problem can be solved by dissolution of the apatite and its inclusions in hot HF. Second, besides creating parentless helium, inclusions also complicate α-ejection corrections. Mathematical exploration of this latter problem for spherical geometries reveals that for randomly distributed inclusions, the probability distribution of single-grain ages is predicted to have a sharp mode at the mean age, with tails towards younger and older ages. Multiple-grain measurements will yield accurate and precise age estimates if 10 or more randomly distributed α-emitting mineral inclusions are present in a sample. Third, thermal modeling indicates that mineral inclusions have a non-trivial but minor (<5 °C) effect on the closure temperature. These predictions were tested on apatites from rapidly cooled migmatites of Naxos (Greece) which contain abundant U-rich zircon inclusions. Thirty-seven samples were subjected to two kinds of treatment. The “pooled” age (i.e., the synthetic multi-grain age computed from a number of single-grain analyses) of four inclusion-free samples (13 apatites), prepared in HNO₃ is 10.9 Ma, close to apatite and zircon fission-track ages from the same rock. (U-Th)/He ages of 14 inclusion-bearing samples dissolved in HNO₃ range between 9 and 45 Ma, with a pooled age of 22.6 Ma. The ages of 19 HF-treated samples range between 5 and 16 Ma, with 10 of 14 single-grain samples between 9 and 13 Ma and a pooled age of 10.9 Ma. These observations agree with the theoretical predictions and support the addition of HF-treated apatite (U-Th)/He dating to the thermochronological toolbox.     

Changes in size distribution of fresh water nanoscale colloidal matter and associated elements on mixing with seawater

Changes in size distribution and elemental composition of 0.5-50 nm fresh water colloids during estuarine mixing have been studied by in-laboratory mixing of natural creek water and synthetic seawater, followed by size fractionation with Asymmetrical Flow Field-Flow Fractionation, and online elemental quantification by High-Resolution ICPMS. At least two types of colloids were present in the studied size region; 0.5-3 nm fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM), and >3 nm colloids that were rich in Fe and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM). Most trace elements were associated in different proportions to these two populations of colloids. Following mixing with synthetic seawater, the >3 nm Fe-rich colloids and CDOM were extensively removed from the studied size region by salt induced aggregation. The degree of removal with increasing salinity was greatest below 2.5‰ salinity, continued to a lesser degree between 2.5‰ and 15‰ salinity, above which only very small additional removal could be distinguished. At 25‰ salinity, the Fe concentration in the 0.5-50 size region had been reduced down to 15% of its original value in freshwater, while the amount of CDOM had been reduced to 55%. On the contrary, the concentration of the 0.5-3 nm FDOM was unchanged by the increased concentration of sea salt. Therefore, colloidally associated Al, P, Co, Cu, Zn, Ce, Lu and Pb were removed from the 0.5-50 nm size region according to their relative distributions between the FDOM and the Fe-rich colloids. Consequently, at 25‰ salinity, the 0.5-50 nm concentrations of Al, Mn, P and Pb, (mainly associated with the Fe-rich colloids) had been reduced down to 13-26 % of their values in freshwater, while the concentrations of Co and Cu (with higher preferences for FDOM) were less reduced, down to 46% and 57%, respectively. Changes in the elemental composition of the remaining colloidal matter were observed, the most pronounced were increased contents of P, Al and Pb in Fe-rich colloidal matter of medium size (∼3-15 nm) and increased Pb content in Fe-rich colloidal matter of larger size (∼5-50 nm).