Field measurements of horizontal forward motion velocities of terrestrial dust devils: Towards a proxy for ambient winds on Mars and Earth

Dust devils – convective vortices made visible by the dust and debris they entrain – are common in arid environments and have been observed on Earth and Mars. Martian dust devils have been identified both in images taken at the surface and in remote sensing observations from orbiting spacecraft. Observations from landing craft and orbiting instruments have allowed the dust devil translational forward motion (ground velocity) to be calculated, but it is unclear how these velocities relate to the local ambient wind conditions, for (i) only model wind speeds are generally available for Mars, and (ii) on Earth only anecdotal evidence exists that compares dust devil ground velocity with ambient wind velocity. If dust devil ground velocity can be reliably correlated to the ambient wind regime, observations of dust devils could provide a proxy for wind speed and direction measurements on Mars. Hence, dust devil ground velocities could be used to probe the circulation of the martian boundary layer and help constrain climate models or assess the safety of future landing sites.We present results from a field study of terrestrial dust devils performed in the southwest USA in which we measured dust devil horizontal velocity as a function of ambient wind velocity. We acquired stereo images of more than a 100 active dust devils and recorded multiple size and position measurements for each dust devil. We used these data to calculate dust devil translational velocity. The dust devils were within a study area bounded by 10 m high meteorology towers such that dust devil speed and direction could be correlated with the local ambient wind speed and direction measurements.Daily (10:00–16:00 local time) and 2-h averaged dust devil ground speeds correlate well with ambient wind speeds averaged over the same period. Unsurprisingly, individual measurements of dust devil ground speed match instantaneous measurements of ambient wind speed more poorly; a 20-min smoothing window applied to the ambient wind speed data improves the correlation. In general, dust devils travel 10–20% faster than ambient wind speed measured at 10 m height, suggesting that their ground speeds are representative of the boundary layer winds a few tens of meters above ground level. Dust devil ground motion direction closely matches the measured ambient wind direction.The link between ambient winds and dust devil ground velocity demonstrated here suggests that a similar one should apply on Mars. Determining the details of the martian relationship between dust devil ground velocity and ambient wind velocity might require new in situ or modelling studies but, if completed successfully, would provide a quantitative means of measuring wind velocities on Mars that would otherwise be impossible to obtain.     

The GREGOR polarimetric calibration unit

The new Solar telescope GREGOR is designed to observe small‐scale dynamic magnetic structures below a size of 70 km on the Sun with high spectral resolution and polarimetric accuracy. For this purpose, the polarimetric concept of GREGOR is based on a combination of post‐focus polarimeters with pre‐focus equipment for high precision calibration. The Leibniz‐Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam developed the GREGOR calibration unit which is an integral part of the telescope. We give an overview of the function and design of the calibration unit and present the results of extensive testing series done in the Solar Observatory “Einsteinturm” and at GREGOR (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Small-scale auroral arc distortions

Small-scale spatially periodic distortions of auroral forms have been studied utilizing low-light level television observations made at various locations in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The most commonly observed features were folds and vortex-like curl formations. The curls, identified here with the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability due to fluid shear, invariably had a counterclockwise rotational shape and motion when viewed in a direction anti-parallel to the Earth's magnetic field. The typical measured wavelength (5 km) and measured growth rate (4.2 sec⁻¹) were used to evaluate the Kelvin-Helmholtz dispersion relation for the apparent shear ω_s = ∂ ν_x/ ∂y (28 sec⁻¹). The apparent horizontal velocities of both folds (0–5 km/sec) and curls (0–22 km/sec) were invariably observed to be counterclockwise with respect to the multiple arc centre when viewed antiparallel to B. Consistent agreement between rotational shape and rotational motion suggests that the apparent growth rate and the apparent horizontal velocities closely approximate the actual values. If the shear results from E×B drifts in a space charge field, the calculated value for ω_s, implies an unneutralized electron density 0–1 cm⁻³ and a ΔE across the arc element 500mV/m. The velocity measurements indicate that the ΔE values for individual elements can combine to produce transient electric fields at the edges of multiple arcs as high as 1000 mV/m.     

Seismic Hazard for Selected Sites in Greece: A Bayesian Estimate of Seismic Peak Ground Acceleration

A procedure for estimating maximum values of seismic peak ground accelerationat the examined site and quantiles of its probabilistic distribution in a future timeinterval of a given length is considered. The input information for the method areseismic catalog and regression relation between peak seismic acceleration at a givenpoint and magnitude and distance from the site to epicenter (seismic attenuation law).The method is based on Bayesian approach, which simply accounts for influenceof uncertainties of seismic acceleration values. The main assumptions for the method are Poissonian character of seismic events flow and distribution law of Gutenberg-Richter's type. The method is applied to seismic hazard estimation in six selected sitesin Greece.     

Geological and thermochronological studies of the Dashui gold deposit, West Qinling Orogen, Central China

The Dashui gold deposit is a structurally controlled, Carlin-type gold deposit hosted by recrystallised limestone in the West Qinling Orogen of Central China. The major, structurally late east-trending Dashui Fault forms the hanging wall to the gold mineralisation at the Dashui mine and defines the contact between Middle Triassic limestone and a steeply dipping overlying succession of Middle Triassic argillaceous limestone, dolomite, and sandstone. Multiple carbonate veins and large-scale supergene enrichment, represented by hematite, goethite, limonite and jarosite, characterise the deposit. Detailed geochronological investigation using zircon SHRIMP U-Pb dating reveals that volcanic rocks closely associated with the Dashui gold deposit were synchronous with the Ge’erkuohe Granite and pre-date mineralisation. The igneous dyke sample from the hanging wall has the same U-Pb zircon age as the footwall, ca. 213 Ma. (U-Th)/He thermochronology on dykes in the hanging wall and footwall of the Dashui Fault yields identical (U-Th)/He zircon ages of ca. 210 Ma but distinct (U-Th)/He apatite ages of ca. 136 and 211 Ma, respectively. Therefore, the hanging wall and footwall are interpreted as having distinct post-mineralisation exhumation histories. Reverse fault movement exhumed the hanging wall ~2 to 4 km since the Late Triassic with the main component of faulting taking place between the Late Triassic and Early Cretaceous. These relationships suggest a Late Triassic to Early Cretaceous age for the primary gold mineralisation at the Dashui gold deposit, with the corollary that any ‘missing portion’ of the deposit, previously hypothesised to exist in the hanging wall of the Dashui Fault, has been eroded away. The mineralisation in the footwall may have been supergene enriched soon after the primary mineralisation was emplaced, because it has been located at shallow depth since the Late Triassic. Semi-quantitative results obtained in this study also constrain the maximum depth of formation of the Dashui gold at no more than 2 km.     

Magnetospheric plasma discontinuity by the geostationary version of the differential phase method during storms

It is shown that the dynamics of the plasmapause, the plasmasphere plasma tails, the plasma sheet and the magnetosheath boundaries of the geomagnetosphere may be investigated by means of the geostationary version of the differential phase method, by which a signal transmitted from a sounding station (a geostationary satellite) and received by a response station on the Earth may be transformed, allowing the sign of the frequency shift and of the phase lag to be changed. Information on the location, the motion of the magnetospheric plasma discontinuities and the concentration drop at their boundaries may be obtained from measurements carried out on board the geostationary satellite of the phase difference of the sounding and response signals ΔΦ, the time of its increase Δt and the phase difference change rate (fast beating frequency Δƒ = ΔΦ/2π Δt). The establishment of communication between appropriately spaced ground stations and a satellite with a quasi-polar orbit allows the midlatitude plasmapause dynamics, and those of the ionosphere trough, polar cusp boundaries and of polar cap inhomogeneities to be studied. Equipment with a stability of 10⁻¹¹–10⁻¹² is needed for the most dynamical events (for ΔΦ= 10⁻⁴ tens of rad. and for Δƒ= 10⁻⁵ tens of Hz) occurring in the radio path during storms.     

Pregalactic nucleosynthesis

We discuss the behavior of density fluctuations in an expanding universe and show that these should lead to the early formation of pregalactic hydrogen-helium stars of several hundred to several thousand solar masses. These stars flood the universe with radiation having a color temperature ≳10⁵ K; this terminates star formation but permits galaxy formation to continue. About 10⁻² of the mass of the galaxies is converted into heavy elements by pregalactic nucleosynthesis, with an error factor of a few.     

Observations of the birth of a small coronal hole

Using soft X-ray data from the S-054 X-ray spectrographic telescope aboard Skylab, we observed temporal changes in the emission structure of the X-ray corona associated with the birth of a small coronal hole. Designated as CH6, this coronal hole was born near the equator in a time interval less than 9 1/2 hr. By constructing a light curve for a point near the center of CH6, we observed a sudden 40% decrease in X-ray emission associated with the birth of this coronal hole. On a time scale of hours, the growth of CH6 in area proceeded faster than the average rate predicted by the diffusion of solar fields. The short term decay of CH6 followed the diffusive rate to within experimental uncertainty, On a time scale of one rotation, the subsequent development of CH6 was not consistent with steady growth at the average rate predicted by diffusion.Skylab Solar Workshop Post-Doctoral Appointee, 1975–1977. The Skylab Solar Workshops are sponsored by NASA and NSF and managed by the High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research.