Functional equations in emitting atmospheres

Astrophysics and Space Science - Starting with the equation of transfer in a plane-parallel inhomogeneous atmosphere which emits and scatters radiation anisotropically, we obtain a set of...     

Computational model of the structural and elastic properties of the ilmenite and perovskite phases of MgSiO3

The structural and elastic properties of the ilmenite and perovskite phases of MgSiO₃ are investigated with a computational model based on energy minimization. The potential energies of these two crystals are approximated by the sum of Coulomb, van der Waals, and repulsion terms between atoms. Required energy parameters are derived by fitting the parameters to the observed crystal structures of these two phases as well as to the measured elastic constants of the ilmenite phase. The resulting potential model is applied to predicting the elastic constants of the perovskite phase. The calculated bulk modulus of the perovskite phase compares favorably with the data obtained from volume-compression experiments as well as the values estimated from empirical elasticity systematics of perovskite type compounds. The predicted shear modulus of the perovskite phase is also in reasonable agreement with the values proposed from similar empirical elasticity systematics. Subsequently, the model is used to simulate the high pressure behaviors of the crystal structures and elastic constants of these two phases.     

Surface Heat Balance and Spatially Distributed Ablation Modelling at Koryto Glacier, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia

To investigate the characteristics of ablation at Koryto Glacier, a mountain glacier under maritime climate in Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, we made field observations from August to early September 2000. At a site near the equilibrium line, the 31‐day average net radiation, sensible heat flux, and latent heat flux were 43, 59 and 31 W^?2, respectively. We developed a new distributed ablation model, which only needs measurements of air temperature and global radiation at one site. Hourly ablation rates at this site obtained by the energy balance method are related to measured air temperature and global radiation by linear multiple regression. A different set of multiple regression coefficients is fitted for snow and ice surfaces. Better estimates of ablation rate can be obtained by this approach than by other temperature index models. These equations are then applied to each grid cell of a digital elevation model to estimate spatially distributed hourly melt. Air temperature is extrapolated using a constant temperature lapse rate and global radiation is distributed considering topographic effects. The model enables us to calculate the hourly spatial distribution of ablation rates within the glacier area and could well provide a realistic simulation of ablation over the whole glacier.     

A psychological effect of having a potentially viable sequestration strategy

Purposeful carbon sequestration by direct injection into the deep ocean can store carbon for centuries. Even after injected carbon begins to leak back out to the atmosphere, much of the injected carbon will remain sequestered because of the acid neutralizing capacity of seawater. The slow leakage that occurs centuries into the future can give a false sense of security that the carbon and climate problem is under control. If this were to cause policy makers to become less vigilant about reducing the total emissions of anthropogenic carbon, our descendants would be penalized with having much higher carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere when leakage begins. This "carelessness feedback" would apply to other forms of sequestration that are not permanent. To avoid falling into this trap requires generations of policy makers to be aware of the feedback and committed to intergenerational equity.     

Lake sediment records on climate change and human activities since the Holocene in Erhai catchment,Yunnan Province,China

Climate of Yunnan Plateau is mainly controlledby the system of southwest Asian monsoon, and alsoaffected by westerlies and local climate of the Qing-hai-Tibet Plateau. Since the Cenozoic, a large numberof structural lake basins have formed with the uplift ofthe Qinghai-Tibet Plateau[1]. As the information aboutthe climate and environment change was faithfullydocumented in lake sediments, which have the char-acteristics of continuity, high resolution, abundant in-formation, lake sediments p…     

Coupled Ce-Nd isotope systematics and rare earth elements differentiation of the moon

¹³⁸Ce/¹⁴²Ce and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd isotope ratios of lunar samples are determined to constrain the petrogenetic differentiation and evolution of the moon. High-precision Ce-Nd isotope data, well-defined Rb-Sr isochrons, and rare earth elements (REE) abundances of lunar samples show that unexpectedly low La/Ce ratios of evolved lunar highland samples are preserved from at least 3.9 Ga. Precise analysis of REE abundances indicates that the low La/Ce ratio results from a depletion of La relative to other REE. This depletion can be seen in pristine KREEP basalts and Mg-suite rocks from 3.85 to 4.46 Ga. As REE abundances of all these samples are controlled by the presence of a KREEP component, the depletion was probably inherited from a late crystallization sequence of the lunar magma ocean related to the production of the original KREEP component.     

Highly alkaline,high-temperature hydrothermal fluids in the early Archean ocean

Based on the petrology of hydrothermally altered Archean basaltic greenstones, thermodynamic calculations of phase equilibria were conducted to estimate the composition of a high-temperature (∼350 °C) hydrothermal fluid in an Archean subseafloor basalt-hosted hydrothermal system. The results indicate that the hydrothermal fluid was highly alkaline attributed to the presence of calcite in the alteration minerals under a high-CO₂ condition, and predict a generation of SiO₂-rich, Fe-poor hydrothermal fluids in the Archean subseafloor hydrothermal system. The chemically reactive mixing zones between alkaline hydrothermal fluids and slightly acidic-neutral seawater are characterized by inverse pH and chemical polarity to modern hydrothermal systems, leading to extensive precipitation of silica and iron oxyhydroxides on/under the seafloor. Such processes can be responsible for the abiotic formation of voluminous chert and subseafloor silica dike, the mechanism of silicification, and the pH-controlled generation of banded iron formation that has been arising mainly from the redox chemistry in the Archean ocean. Such high-temperature alkaline fluids could have had a significant role not only in the early ocean geochemical processes but also in the early evolution of life.     

The effect of ENSO on rainfall characteristics in the tropical peatland areas of Central Kalimantan,Indonesia

Abstract

The effect of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on rainfall characteristics in the tropical peatland areas of Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, is demonstrated. This research used rainfall data collected between 1978 and 2008. The results suggest a relationship between ENSO events and the trend in rainfall observed in the study area. Further analyses show that El Niño events have a stronger effect on the rainfall compared to La Niña events. El Niño events were also correlated to the increase in the number of days with less than 1 mm of rainfall in the dry season. The analysis reveals that the impact of El Niño events on rainfall in dry seasons is intensifying annually. Furthermore, ENSO events are not the only factors affecting rainfall trends in the observed area. Other factors, such as deforestation, may also affect the trend.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz

Citation Susilo, G.E., Yamamoto, K., Imai, T., Ishii, Y., Fukami, H., and Sekine, M., 2013. The effect of ENSO on rainfall characteristics in the tropical peatland areas of Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (3), 539–548.