Remote Sensing And Surface Observations Of The Response Of The Atmospheric Boundary Layer To A Solar Eclipse

On 11 August 1999, a near-total solar eclipse (80%) was observed in Campistrous, France. The influence of this particular event on the atmospheric boundary layer was observed with a UHF-RASS radar, a sodar and an instrumented mast. The changes in turbulence intensity, radar reflectivity, and temperature on the radiative budget are described in relation to collocated ground meteorological data. The impact of the eclipse induces a clear response of the atmosphere, with a time lag of 15 to 30 min, perceptible in several mean and turbulent meteorological variables up to the top of the atmospheric boundary layer.     

Monitoring gravel augmentation in a large regulated river and implications for process‐based restoration

The artificial gravel augmentation of river channels is increasingly being used to mitigate the adverse effects of river regulation and sediment starvation. A systematic framework for designing and assessing such gravel augmentations is still lacking, notably on large rivers. Monitoring is required to quantify the movement of augmented gravel, measure bedform changes, assess potential habitat enhancement, and reduce the uncertainty in sediment management. Here we present the results of an experiment conducted in the Rhine River (French and German border). In 2010, 23 000 m³ of sediments (approximately the mean annual bedload transport capacity) were supplied in a by‐passed reach downstream of the Kembs dam to test the feasibility of enhancing sediment transport and bedform changes. A 620‐m‐long and 12‐m‐wide gravel deposit was created 8 km downstream from the dam. Monitoring included topo‐bathymetric surveys, radio‐frequency particle tracking using passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags, bed grain size measurement, and airborne imagery. Six surveys performed since 2009 have been described (before and after gravel augmentation, and after Q₂ and Q₁₅ floods). The key findings are that (i) the augmented gravel was partially dispersed by the first flood event of December 2010 (Q₁); (ii) PIT tags were found up to 3200 m downstream of the gravel augmentation site after four years, but the effects of gravel augmentation could not be clearly distinguished from the effects of floods and internal remobilization on more than 3500 m downstream; (iii) linear and log‐linear relationships linking bedload transport, particle mobility, and grain size were established; and (iv) combined bathymetry and PIT tag surveys were useful for evaluating potential environmental risks and the first morpho‐ecological responses. This confirmed the complementary nature of such techniques in the monitoring of gravel augmentation in large rivers. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Insights into the origin of primitive silica-undersaturated arc magmas of Aoba volcano (Vanuatu arc)

Aoba picrites in Vanuatu arc (Southwestern Pacific) offer the opportunity to address the question of the origin of Si-undersaturated arc magmas, through the geochemical study of their olivine-hosted melt inclusions. These latter delineate a differentiation trend of calc-alkaline silica-undersaturated basalts, with typical trace-element patterns of arc magmas. The most primitive melt inclusions, preserved in olivines with Fo ≥ 89, have normative nepheline compositions with CaO/Al₂O₃ > 0.8, but belong to three distinct populations differing in their enrichment or depletion in LILE, Cl, and alkalis (Rb, K). The dominant population is characterized by medium-LILE concentrations (La/Yb ~ 7–8) and represents the parental magma of the Aoba lavas. The two others (La/Yb ~ 20 and 2) are either significantly enriched or extremely depleted in LILE, Cl, and alkalis. This compositional variability of primitive magma batches requires the multi-stage mixing between melts generated by partial melting of both peridotite and clinopyroxene-rich lithologies. Medium-LILE magma derives from the mixing between peridotite- and clinopyroxenite-derived melts, whereas the high- and low-LILE melts involve amphibole-bearing and amphibole-free clinopyroxenite sources, respectively.     

Radiative effects of simulated cirrus clouds on top of a deep convective storm in METEOSAT second generation SEVIRI channels

Summary ?Cirrus clouds often form above intense convective storms due to several different mechanisms and affect the radiation field at the top of the atmosphere. Radiative transfer computations are performed to characterize these effects within the spectral bands of METEOSAT Second Generation’s (MSG) Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI). Computations refer to five visible, near infrared and infrared MSG SEVIRI channels centered at 0.8, 1.6, 3.9, 10.8, and 12.0 μm. Reflectances and brightness temperatures are computed using the 1-D radiative transfer model STREAMER adopting simple parameterizations of the cloud layers and associated microphysical properties for the determination of the necessary optical properties. A sensitivity study is carried out by varying the cirrus ice crystal size and optical depth. The 1.6 and 3.9 μm channels reveal instrumental for the simultaneous detection of optical depth and crystal size of the cirrus layer. In particular, the results of the 3.9 μm channel show that the smaller the crystal size the higher the reflectance values. The computations provide interpretation clues on the phenomenon of ice crystal plumes on top of deep convective clouds, which are known to produce enhanced reflectivity signatures in the 3.7 μm channel of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). The sensitivity of the IR channels to cirrus cloud optical depth and ice crystal size is examined and the brightness temperature differences evaluated. Satellite observations and radiative transfer computations are at present the only way of studying such cloud features due to the unavailability of in situ aircraft measurements. Also Visiting Scientist at EUMETSAT, Darmstadt, Germany. Received March 13, 2002     

Tektonische Phasen in den Prä-Mississippi-Formationen der Mid-Continent-Region

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Using the potassium-argon laser experiment (KArLE) to date ancient,low-K chondritic meteorites

Several laboratories have been investigating the feasibility of in situ K-Ar dating for use in future landing planetary missions. One drawback of these laboratory demonstrations is the insufficient analogy of the analyzed analog samples with expected future targets. We present the results obtained using the K-Ar laser experiment (KArLE) on two old and K-poor chondritic samples, Pułtusk and Hvittis, as better lunar analogs. The KArLE instrument uses laser ablation to vaporize rock samples and quantifies K content by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), Ar by quadrupole mass spectrometry (QMS), and ablated mass by laser profilometry. We performed 64 laser ablations on the chondrites to measure spots with a range of K₂O and Ar content and used the data to construct isochrons to determine the chondrite formation age. The KArLE isochron ages on Pułtusk and Hvittis are 5059 ± 892 Ma and 4721 ± 793 Ma, respectively, which is within the uncertainty of published reference ages, and interpreted as the age of their formation. The uncertainty (2σ) on the KArLE ages obtained in this study is better than 20% (18% for Pułtusk and 17% for Hvittis). The precision, which compares our obtained ages to the reference ages, is also better than 20% (11% for Pułtusk and 4% for Hvittis). These results are encouraging for understanding the limits of this technique to measure ancient planetary samples and for guiding future improvements to the instrument.     

Eddy properties in the Southern California Current System

The California Current System (CCS) is an eastern boundary upwelling system characterized by strong eddies that are often generated at the coast. These eddies contribute to intense, long-distance cross-shelf transport of upwelled water with enhanced biological activity. However, the mechanisms of formation of such coastal eddies, and more importantly their capacity to trap and transport tracers, are poorly understood. Their unpredictability and strong dynamics leave us with an incomplete picture of the physical and biological processes at work, their effects on coastal export, lateral water exchange among eddies and their surrounding waters, and how long and how far these eddies remain coherent structures. Focusing our analysis on the southern part of the CCS, we find a predominance of cyclonic eddies, with a 25-km radius and a SSH amplitude of 6 cm. They are formed near shore and travel slightly northwest offshore for ~?190 days at ~?2 km day^?1. We then study one particular, representative cyclonic eddy using a combined Lagrangian and Eulerian numerical approach to characterize its kinematics. Formed near shore, this eddy trapped a core made up of ~?67% California Current waters and ~?33% California Undercurrent waters. This core was surrounded by other waters while the eddy detached from the coast, leaving the oldest waters at the eddy’s core and the younger waters toward the edge. The eddy traveled several months as a coherent structure, with only limited lateral exchange within the eddy.     

Gondwana breakup: Messages from the North Natal Valley

The Natal Valley, offshore Mozambique, is a key area for understanding the evolution of East Gondwana. Within the scope of the integrated multidisciplinary PAMELA project, we present new wide‐angle seismic data and interpretations, which considerably alter Geoscience paradigms. These data reveal the presence of a 30‐km‐thick crust that we argue to be of continental nature. This falsifies all the most recent palaeo‐reconstructions of the Gondwana. This 30‐km‐thick continental crust 1,000 m below sea level implies a complex history with probable intrusions of mantle‐derived melts in the lower crust, connected to several occurrences of magmatism, which seems to evidence the crucial role of the lower continental crust in passive margin genesis.