Equatorial Indian Ocean evaporation estimates from operational meteorological satellites and some inferences in the context of monsoon onset and activity

The estimation of evaporation from the sea surface is not yet achieved adequately by remote sensing techniques, in general. However, for approximate averaged estimates over moderate space and time scales over a specific tropical region, e.g., weekly values over the Indian Ocean as needed in monsoon moisture diagnosis, it may be possible to extrapolate satellite wind and humidity data to the ocean surface and then use bulk aerodynamic parameterization for estimating evaporation. In the present investigation, GOES low-level cloud winds and TIROS-N moisture profiles over the Indian Ocean are extrapolated to the ocean surface. The planetary boundary layer (PBL) wind shear is obtained over different sub-regions and periods during the monsoon season, by reference to objectively analysed fields. These shear values are applied to GOES satellite winds to obtain sea-surface winds. The humidity extrapolation was based on (i) an exponential fit for water vapour density and (ii) a vertical distribution of relative humidity approximately proportional to atmospheric pressure. The exchange coefficient is varied slightly depending on wind speed and boundary-layer stability inferred approximately from TIROS-N sea surface temperatures and temperature profiles. The evaporation estimate as based on these satellite parameters is assessed by comparison with ships' surface observations. Sensible heat exchange is also estimated and assessed. Some inferences based on these estimates are also presented, in relation to monsoon onset and activity.     

Climate Whispers: Media Communication About Climate Change

The product of ten months of careful collection, review, analysis and international consensus building was, on completion, communicated through the news media in April 1997. The story, which concerned the potential for changes in tropical cyclone intensity in a greenhouse-warmed world, gained media interest in Australia because in the previous month Tropical Cyclone Justin had occupied public attention. The two days of media coverage essentially rewrote the committee findings. The process closely resembled the children's party game of Chinese whispers in which a simple statement is modified, sometimes beyond recognition, by repetition without understanding or correction. This paper reports and analyzes the processes involved in this miscommunication of science to and through the media and draws some salutory lessons.     

The Lilloise Intrusion, East Greenland: Fractionation of a Hydrous Alkali Picritic Magma

The Lilloise is an 8 km4 km layered mafic intrusion which cutsthe plateau basalts of the East Greenland Tertiary province.Lilloise was intruded at 50 Ma, 4–5 Ma after cessationof the voluminous tholeiitic magmatism which accompanied riftingof the East Greenland continental margin. Lilloise is unusualamong layered intrusions in the province because it had a hydrousalkali picrite parent magma and generated a late-stage effluxof magmatic water from the intrusion into the aureole rocks.The three major subdivisions of the layered rocks are: olivine-clinopyroxene,olivine-clinopyroxene-plagioclase and plagioclase-amphibolecumulates. Massive subsidence of the intrusion before completesolidification resulted in deformation of the internal layeringand downturn of the bedding in the surrounding basalts. A strikingfeature of the intrusion is the injection of the layered rocksby a plexus of magmatic sheets which formed at the time of subsidence.The composition of these sheets is representative of the fractionationtrend of the intrusion and ranges from hawaiite to mildly saturatedquartz trachyte. The fractionation trend is successfully explainedby extraction of cumulus minerals of the layered rocks froma parent magma represented by alkali picrite dykes of a contemporaneousregional dyke swarm. Saturated to mildly over-saturated syenitesare a major component of the East Greenland province and theLilloise intrusion is illustrative of an important magmatictrend towards such compositions at this stage in the openingof the North Atlantic. KEY WORDS: Lilloise intrusion; East Greenland; alkali picrite magma; layered intrusion; magmatic differentiation ^*Corraponding author     

Fabric development in shear zones: theoretical controls and observed phenomena

It is suggested that the kinematic framework controls the orientation of crystallographic fabrics developed in plastically deformed quartzites. Important directions in this framework are those of the instantaneous stretching axes, and the flow plane and flow direction if these can be uniquely defined. Rotation of the crystal axes takes place at any instant of time dependent on the orientation of the grain relative to the stretching axes. Because of this dependence the skeletal outline^* of a pattern of preferred orientation is sensitive to the closing stages of deformation. Thus fabrics measured in major movement zones cannot be related to early thrust or shear displacements without considering the effects of the geological history subsequent to those events.Nevertheless, asymmetric fabrics in movement zones may allow determination of the shear direction and sense of shear. Asymmetry in the intensity distribution is less susceptible to modification than asymmetry in the fabric skeleton, and may remain as a persistent measure of the sense of shear in mylonites subjected to coaxial deformation after non-coaxial events. However, fabric asymmetry need not always be related to the deformation history, and effects related to the population of initial grain-orientations must be considered, as well as the influence of recrystallization and grain growth.A problem of scale is involved in extrapolating the movement picture inferred from the behaviour of a few hundred crystal grains to larger dimensions. This question is also encountered when trying to specify deformation paths in mesoscopic shear zones. It is difficult to obtain simple shear experimentally because of the role discontinuities play in deformation. In certain cases in natural shear zones the quartz grains may be subjected to a coaxial deformation path while the bulk deformation is progressive simple shear. Caution must therefore be exercised when attempting to use quartz fabrics to infer characteristics of the bulk kinematics or movement picture applicable during deformation.     

Paleoclimatic implications of glacial and postglacial refugia for Pinus pumila in western Beringia

Palynological results from Julietta Lake currently provide the most direct evidence to support the existence of a glacial refugium for Pinus pumila in mountains of southwestern Beringia. Both percentages and accumulation rates indicate the evergreen shrub survived until at least ∼ 19,000 ¹⁴C yr BP in the Upper Kolyma region. Percentage data suggest numbers dwindled into the late glaciation, whereas pollen accumulation rates point towards a more rapid demise shortly after ∼ 19,000 ¹⁴C yr BP. Pinus pumila did not re-establish in any great numbers until ∼ 8100 ¹⁴C yr BP, despite the local presence ∼ 9800 ¹⁴C yr BP of Larixdahurica, which shares similar summer temperature requirements. The postglacial thermal maximum (in Beringia ∼ 11,000-9000 ¹⁴C yr BP) provided Pinus pumila shrubs with equally harsh albeit different conditions for survival than those present during the LGM. Regional records indicate that in this time of maximum warmth Pinus pumila likely sheltered in a second, lower-elevation refugium. Paleoclimatic models and modern ecology suggest that shifts in the nature of seasonal transitions and not only seasonal extremes have played important roles in the history of Pinus pumila over the last ∼ 21,000 ¹⁴C yr BP.     

A case study: travel time inversion for P-wave velocity using OBS data of South China Sea

It is very important for converting the seismic data from the time domain to the depth domain. Here we discuss the approaches of inverse modeling of travel times for determination of the P-wave velocity (Vp). The migration section of the single channel seismic data is used to define the model horizons and help to control their geometry. Wide angle hydrophone data of OBS are used to determine P-wave travel times. The picked travel times from various shots are inverted for P-wave interval velocities using RayInvr, which calculated theoretical travel times via ray tracing. Damped least squares optimization is performed to fine tune the fits between observed and calculated travel times. In the end, the Vp curve is achieved and the results are compared with that derived from the conventional hyperbolic curve velocity analysis method, the shape of the two curves are similar, and the velocity increases in the layer where gas hydrates are present.     

NOISE,TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT,AND LONG TIME STABILITY OF ELECTRODES FOR TELLURIC OBSERVATIONS*

Numerous electrodes, already used in geophysics or just perfected by us, have been compared by measuring the three main characteristics which interest the user: noise spectrum, temperature coefficient and polarization with its stability versus time. Among the most used unpolarizable electrodes, silver-silver chloride (Ag-AgCl) are the best ones. But a systematic research of all different possible metal-salt couples, have led us to use lead-lead chloride (Pb-PbCl₂) for the following reasons: noise as low as the one of Ag-AgCl at 1 Hz and even lower for the low frequencies (0.4 μV at 1 Hz and 1.2 μV at 0.01 Hz for peak to peak value and ΔF=F), temperature coefficient about ten times weaker (?40 μV/°C instead of ?450 μV/°C) and also better long time stability of the polarization (1 mV/month instead of 2 at 10 mV/month). We have been using these electrodes since 1977 as “tube” electrodes which are very easy to use. They allow us to record correctly the fast variations thanks to their low noise, the very slow variations, their low temperature coefficient and their stability, and this with telluric lines only about 100 m long.     

Seagrass importance for a small-scale fishery in the tropics: The need for seascape management

Small-scale fisheries (SSF) in tropical seascapes (mosaics of interconnected mangroves, seagrasses and corals) are crucial for food and income. However, management is directed mostly to corals and mangroves. This research analyzes the importance of seagrasses compared to adjacent ecosystems in Chwaka Bay, Zanzibar, Tanzania. Using fish landings; the study investigated: location of fishing effort, fish production (biomass and species), and monetary benefits (aggregated value and per capita income). Seagrasses were the most visited grounds providing highest community benefits. Per capita benefits were equivalent to those from corals and mangroves. All three habitats provided income just above extreme poverty levels; however catches from seagrass appeared more stable. Seagrass are key ecosystems supporting SSF and protection and management are urgently needed. Adoption of a seascape approach considering all ecosystems underpinning SSF and the social aspects of fishing and a shift in emphasis from pure conservation to sustainable resource management would be desirable.