Comparison of tropical cyclogenesis indices on seasonal to interannual timescales

This paper evaluates the performances of four cyclogenesis indices against observed tropical cyclone genesis on a global scale over the period 1979–2001. These indices are: the Genesis Potential Index; the Yearly Genesis Parameter; the Modified Yearly Convective Genesis Potential Index; and the Tippett et al. Index (J Clim, 2011), hereafter referred to as TCS. Choosing ERA40, NCEP2, NCEP or JRA25 reanalysis to calculate these indices can yield regional differences but overall does not change the main conclusions arising from this study. By contrast, differences between indices are large and vary depending on the regions and on the timescales considered. All indices except the TCS show an equatorward bias in mean cyclogenesis, especially in the northern hemisphere where this bias can reach 5°. Mean simulated genesis numbers for all indices exhibit large regional discrepancies, which can commonly reach up to ±50%. For the seasonal timescales on which the indices are historically fitted, performances also vary widely in terms of amplitude although in general they all reproduce the cyclogenesis seasonality adequately. At the seasonal scale, the TCS seems to be the best fitted index overall. The most striking feature at interannual scales is the inability of all indices to reproduce the observed cyclogenesis amplitude. The indices also lack the ability to reproduce the general interannual phase variability, but they do, however, acceptably reproduce the phase variability linked to El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation (ENSO)—a major driver of tropical cyclones interannual variations. In terms of cyclogenesis mechanisms that can be inferred from the analysis of the index terms, there are wide variations from one index to another at seasonal and interannual timescales and caution is advised when using these terms from one index only. They do, however, show a very good coherence at ENSO scale thus inspiring confidence in the mechanism interpretations that can be obtained by the use of any index. Finally, part of the gap between the observed and simulated cyclogenesis amplitudes may be attributable to stochastic processes, which cannot be inferred from environmental indices that only represent a potential for cyclogenesis.     

Pre-orogenic upper crustal softening by lower greenschist facies metamorphic reactions in granites of the central Pyrenees

Pre-kinematic greenschist facies metamorphism is often observed in granites and basement units of mountain belts, but rarely dated and accounted for in orogenic cycle reconstructions. Studying pre-kinematic alteration is challenging because of its usual obliteration by subsequent syn-kinematic metamorphism often occurring at conditions typical of the brittle–ductile transition. It is, however, to be expected that pre-kinematic alteration has major implications for the rheology of the upper crust. In the 305 Ma-old Variscan basement of the Bielsa massif (located in the Axial Zone of the Pyrenees), successive fluid–rock interaction events are recorded in granites below 350°C. Combined microstructural and petrographic analysis, low-T thermobarometry and in situ U–Th/Pb dating of anatase, titanite and monazite show extensive pre-orogenic (pre-Alpine) and pre-kinematic alteration related to feldspar sericitization and chloritization of biotite and amphibole at temperatures of 270–350°C at 230–300 Ma. This event is followed by a second fluid–rock interaction stage marked by new crystallization of phyllosilicates at 200–280°C and is associated with the formation of mylonitic shear zones and fractures parallel to the shear planes. U–Pb anatase and monazite ages as well as the microtextural relationships of accessory minerals suggest an age for this event at 40–70 Ma, consistent with independent regional geology constraints. The Variscan basement was therefore softened at late to post-Variscan time, at least 150–200 Ma before the main Alpine shortening while Alpine-age compression (c. 35–50 Ma) leads to the formation of a dense net of mylonites. The associated deformation, both distributed at the scale of the Bielsa massif and localized at decametric scale in mylonitic corridors, precedes the strain localization along the major thrusts of the Axial Zone. The Bielsa massif is a good example where inherited, pre-orogenic upper crustal softening controls the deformation patterns in granitic basement units through low-grade metamorphic reactions.     

Optimal Port Design Minimizing Standing Waves with A Posteriori Long Term Shoreline Sustainability Analysis

China Ocean Engineering - Optimization theory is applied to a coastal engineering problem that is the design of a port. This approach was applied to the redesign of La Turballe Port in order to...     

Multi-Beam Echo Sounders–INS Automatic Latency Calibration

Abstract

This paper presents an automatic, rigorous, and robust method to determine a Multi-Beam Echo Sounder (MBES) and Inertial Measurement Unit/Inertial Navigation System (IMU/INS) latency calibration. The latency may be due to the IMU/INS itself, but also to the time-tagging configuration, which is generally left to the survey systems user. One survey strip over a flat seafloor is the required configuration of line for using this approach, called Multibeam IMU/INS Latency Automatic Calibration (MILAC), standing for MBES to IMU/INS Latency Automatic Calibration. The algorithm considers only data with maximum latency effects and integrates an automatic data selection for this purpose. The latency estimation procedure is based on an iterative Least Square adjustment method followed by a statistical analysis. Our process can deal with beam acoustic refraction caused by the speed of sound in sea water. The accuracy of MILAC is about 2?ms (millisecond) and its average precision of 0.15?ms. MILAC is able to determine the latency with an average resolution of 5?ms. However, the morphology of the survey line is restricted to smooth and regular seafloor and the survey platform should have a relatively high attitude rate.     

Synthesis of a spinifex‐textured basalt as an analog to Gusev crater basalts,Mars

Abstract– Analyses by the Mars Exploration Rover (MER), Spirit, of Martian basalts from Gusev crater show that they are chemically very different from terrestrial basalts, being characterized in particular by high Mg‐ and Fe‐contents. To provide suitable analog basalts for the International Space Analogue Rockstore (ISAR), a collection of analog rocks and minerals for preparing in situ space missions, especially, the upcoming Mars mission MSL‐2011 and the future international Mars‐2018 mission, it is necessary to synthesize Martian basalts. The aim of this study was therefore to synthesize Martian basalt analogs to the Gusev crater basalts, based on the geochemical data from the MER rover Spirit. We present the results of two experiments, one producing a quench‐cooled basalt (<1 h) and one producing a more slowly cooled basalt (1 day). Pyroxene and olivine textures produced in the more slowly cooled basalt were surprisingly similar to spinifex textures in komatiites, a volcanic rock type very common on the early Earth. These kinds of ultramafic rocks and their associated alteration products may have important astrobiological implications when associated with aqueous environments. Such rocks could provide habitats for chemolithotrophic microorganisms, while the glass and phyllosilicate derivatives can fix organic compounds.     

A New Single Vacuum Furnace Design for Cosmogenic 3He Dating

Helium‐3 is a stable cosmogenic isotope that can be used to determine the time interval during which a rock sample has been at or close to the Earth’s surface. As a result of the high production rate of ‘cosmogenic’³He (≈ 130 at g^?1 year^?1) and the low detection limit of modern mass spectrometers, it is possible to date exceptionally young surfaces (≈ 1000 years). The precision and accuracy of cosmogenic ³He measurements depend critically on the passive helium blank (produced by the metalwork of the extraction furnace) which can be significant relative to the sample signals. We have developed and constructed, at the CRPG (Nancy, France), a new high temperature furnace (< 1500 °C) to extract helium in minerals such as apatite, pyroxene and olivine at 1050, 1350 and 1450 °C, respectively. The furnace demonstrated an excellent helium extraction yield (> 99% for olivine and pyroxene for heating times of 20–30 min and temperatures in the range 1050–1450 °C) and low residual helium contributions (the blank, obtained under the same analytical conditions as for sample extraction: 1 × 10^?15 mole ⁴He and < 4 × 10^?21 mole ³He). This is approximately an order of magnitude lower than those reported by other laboratories using conventional furnaces.     

δ98/95Mo values and Molybdenum Concentration Data for NIST SRM 610, 612 and 3134: Towards a Common Protocol for Reporting Mo Data

Molybdenum concentration and δ^98/95Mo values for NIST SRM 610 and 612 (solid glass), NIST SRM 3134 (lot 891307; liquid) and IAPSO seawater reference material are presented based on comparative measurements by MC‐ICP‐MS performed in laboratories at the Universities of Bern and Oxford. NIST SRM 3134 and NIST SRM 610 and 612 were found to have identical and homogeneous ⁹⁸Mo/⁹⁵Mo ratios at a test portion mass of 0.02 g. We suggest, therefore, that NIST SRM 3134 should be used as reference for the δ–Mo notation and to employ NIST SRM 610 or 612 as solid silicate secondary measurement standards, in the absence of an isotopically homogeneous solid geological reference material for Mo. The δ^98/95Mo_{JMC Bern} composition (Johnson Matthey ICP standard solution, lot 602332B as reference) of NIST SRM 3134 was 0.25 ± 0.09‰ (2s). Based on five new values, we determined more precisely the mean open ocean δ^98/95Mo_{SRM 3134} value of 2.09 ± 0.07‰, which equals the value of δ^98/95Mo_{JMC Bern} of 2.34 ± 0.07‰. We also refined the Mo concentration data for NIST SRM 610 to 412 ± 9 μg g^?1 (2s) and NIST SRM 612 to 6.4 ± 0.7 μg g^?1 by isotope dilution. We propose these concentration data as new working values, which allow for more accurate in situ Mo determination using laser ablation ICP‐MS or SIMS.     

Combination of multi-scale and multi-edge X-ray spectroscopy for investigating the products obtained from the interaction between kaolinite and metallic iron in anoxic conditions at 90 °C

In the context of radioactive waste repository in geological formation, kaolinite-metallic iron interaction in chlorine solution was conducted in batch experiments, under anoxic conditions at 90 °C during 9 months. After a mineralogical characterization at a global scale, products were analyzed at the micrometer and nanometer scales by X-ray absorption spectroscopic techniques (XAS and STXM). Absorption at Al, Si and Fe edges was investigated to have a complete overview of the distribution and status of constituting elements. Whereas Si K-edge results do not evidence significant evolution of silicon status, investigations at Al K-edge and Fe L-edges demonstrate variations at aggregate and particle scales of ^IVAl:^VIAl and Fe²⁺:Fe³⁺ ratios. Spectroscopic data evidence the systematic crystallization of Fe-serpentines onto the remaining particles of kaolinite and the absence of pure species (kaolinite or Fe-serpentines). Combination of spatially resolved spectroscopic analyses and TEM-EDXS elemental distribution aims to calculate unit cell formulae of Fe-serpentines layers and abundance of each species in mixed particles. For most of the investigated particles, results reveal that the variations of particles composition are directly linked to the relative contributions of kaolinite and Fe-berthierine in mixed particles. However, for some particles, microscale investigations evidence crystallization of two other Fe-serpentines species, devoid of aluminum, cronstedtite and greenalite.