Height structure of thermal hard x-ray sources on the sun

The height distribution of hard X-ray bremsstrahlung is predicted for dissipative thermal models, involving rapid heating of many small (tearing mode) islands near the top of a magnetic arch. Emission at low energies () originates mainly at high altitudes in the heated kernels themselves while high energy emission comes from the Maxwellian tail electrons escaping to the chromosphere.For a power-law distribution of kernel production temperatures, the ratio of high to low altitude emissions should vary as ^–2. Recent stereo occultation results (Kane et al., 1979) are consistent with this prediction for a typical size of primary dissipation kernel 10 km/(n/10¹¹) for kernel density n(cm^–3). The prediction should also prove a useful diagnostic for SMM data.However the small kernel size required to explain the weakness of the coronal emission demands the heating of 8 × 10³⁶ electrons per second to above 5 keV temperatures. This is comparable to the acceleration rate above 5 keV needed in a thick target model, so that the thermal model has little energetic advantage in this event.     

Reconstructing high-magnitude/low-frequency landslide events based on soil redistribution modelling and a Late-Holocene sediment record from New Zealand

A sediment record is used, in combination with shallow landslide soil redistribution and sediment-yield modelling, to reconstruct the incidence of high-magnitude/low-frequency landslide events in the upper part of a catchment and the history of a wetland in the lower part. Eleven sediment cores were obtained from a dune-impounded wetland at Te Henga, west Auckland, northern New Zealand. Sediment stratigraphy and chronology were interpreted by radiocarbon dating, foraminiferal analysis, and provisional tephrochronology. Gradual impoundment of the wetland began c. 6000 cal yr BP, coinciding with the start of a gentle sea-level fall, but complete damming and initial sedimentation did not begin until c. 1000 cal yr BP. After damming, four well-defined sediment pulses occurred and these are preserved in the form of distinct clay layers in most of the sediment cores. For interpreting the sediment pulses, a physically based landslide model was used to determine spatially distributed relative landslide hazard, applicable at the catchment scale. An empirical landslide-soil redistribution component was added and proved able to determine the volumes and spatial pattern of eroded and deposited soil material, sediment delivery ratio and the impact on total catchment sediment yield. Sediment volumes were calculated from the wetland cores and corresponding landslide scenarios are defined through back-analysis of modelled sediment yield output. In general, at least four major high-magnitude landslide events, both natural and intensified by forest clearance activities, occurred in the catchment upstream of Te Henga Wetland during the last c. 1000 years. The spatial distribution of modelled critical rainfall values for the catchment can be interpreted as an expression of shallow landslide hazard. The magnitude of the sediment pulses represented in the wetland can be back-calculated to critical rainfall thresholds representing a shallow landslide model scenario.     

Lagoon subsidence and tsunami on the West Coast of New Zealand

Sediment core and trench data from a coastal lagoon on the West Coast of the South Island, New Zealand are used to investigate evidence for co-seismic subsidence and associated tsunami inundation. Physical data are used to document a salt marsh soil buried  80 cm below the modern sediment surface that is locally covered by a gravelly sand bed. The sediment record also contains geochemical and biological (diatom and foram) evidence for abrupt changes in salinity of lagoon waters that link to subsidence, tsunami flooding and to the open versus closed state of the lagoon tidal entrance. At the local scale, these relationships allow for separation of tsunami evidence from other agents of environmental change in the lagoon. We also propose a conceptual connection between these local changes and regional drivers of landscape development, most notably major earthquakes and resultant pulses in sediment supply to the coast.     

Relations for local magnitude at seismic station Berggiesshübel

Summary New calibrating functions for the local magnitude M_L based on the maximum ratio of amplitude and period of the S_g - wave, the short-period surface wave and the duration of the whole seismogram and its part starting with the arrival of the S_g -wave recorded by the short-period vertical seismograph at Berggiesshübel (BRG) have been derived. The consistency of these magnitudes was tested for weak earthquakes and industrial blasts in the magnitude range of 1.7–3.5 and epicentral distances up to 80 km. Their differences were 0.2 of a magnitude unit at most, with the exception of the surface wave magnitudes which were systematic by about 0.9 of a magnitude unit greater. The calibrating function for the S_g - wave was compared with the functions for M_L(POT) and M_L(TRI) which were derived by other authors for several Central European seismic stations, including BRG.     

Calculating downward longwave radiation under clear and cloudy conditions over a tropical lowland forest site: an evaluation of model schemes for hourly data

Field measurements of radiation fluxes—notably downwelling longwave radiation flux (LW flux)—are as yet rare or nonexistent outside a very select number of sites in the tropics. Data gaps can only be filled through the use of estimation schemes based on measurements of other meteorological variables, and there is a need for recommendations on best practice in this area. We selected 18 contrasting semi-empirical estimation schemes for downward longwave radiation, based on air emissivities, combined with six different sky cover estimation schemes and compared the expected longwave flux with hourly observations from a flux tower at Caxiuan? in Brazil. Of all schemes tested, the Dilley–Kimball emissivity scheme combined with Kasten and Czeplak’s sky cover scheme during the day and Dilley and O’Brien’s model B scheme at night proved to be the most reliable, yielding estimates of LW flux generally within 20?W/m² of measurements across all time points.     

Internal structure and significance of ice‐marginal moraine in the Kebnekaise Mountains,northern Sweden

Despite a long history of glaciological research, the palaeo‐environmental significance of moraine systems in the Kebnekaise Mountains, Sweden, has remained uncertain. These landforms offer the potential to elucidate glacier response prior to the period of direct monitoring and provide an insight into the ice‐marginal processes operating at polythermal valley glaciers. This study set out to test existing interpretations of Scandinavian ice‐marginal moraines, which invoke ice stagnation, pushing, stacking/dumping and push‐deformation as important moraine forming processes. Moraines at Isfallsglaciären were investigated using ground‐penetrating radar to document the internal structural characteristics of the landform assemblage. Radar surveys revealed a range of substrate composition and reflectors, indicating a debris‐ice interface and bounding surfaces within the moraine. The moraine is demonstrated to contain both ice‐rich and debris‐rich zones, reflecting a complex depositional history and a polygenetic origin. As a consequence of glacier overriding, the morphology of these landforms provides a misleading indicator of glacial history. Traditional geochronological methods are unlikely to be effective on this type of landform as the fresh surface may post‐date the formation of the landform following reoccupation of the moraine rampart by the glacier. This research highlights that the interpretation of geochronological data sets from similar moraine systems should be undertaken with caution.