Nonlinear wave propagation on a sphere: Interaction between Rossby waves and gravity waves; stability of the Rossby waves

Abstract

An analytical spectral model of the barotropic divergent equations on a sphere is developed using the potential-stream function formulation and the normal modes as basic functions. Explicit expressions of the coefficients of nonlinear interaction are obtained in the asymptotic case of a slowly rotating sphere, i.e. when the normal modes can be expressed as single spherical harmonics.     

Bioaccumulation of heavy metals and radionuclides from seawater by encased embryos of the spotted dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula

Encased embryos of spotted dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula absorbed six radio-isotopes (241Am, 109Cd, 57Co, 134Cs, 54Mn and 65Zn) directly from seawater during short-term experimental exposure, demonstrating the permeability of the egg-case to these contaminants. Embryo to water concentration factors (CFs) ranged from 0.14 for 134Cs to 7.4 for 65Zn. The 65Zn and 57Co CFs increased exponentially with embryo length, whereas the CF for 109Cd declined with length. Among different components of the encased embryo the egg case was the major repository (69-99%) of all six radio-isotopes that were distributed throughout its wall. Egg-case CFs were as high as 10(3) for 57Co and 65Zn, making it the major source of gamma radiation exposure to the embryo and potentially of radio-isotopes for continued absorption by the embryo, following the uptake phase of the experiment. The patterns of uptake by the egg-case approximated linearity for most isotopes and loss rates were isotope-specific; egg-case biokinetics were not greatly affected by the viability of the contained embryo. Within the embryo initial data on radio isotopic distribution show that the skin is their major site of uptake, as previously demonstrated for juveniles.     

Spatial Variation of Sea-Spray Fluxes over a Mediterranean Coastal Zone Using a Sea-State Model

We first deal with sea-spray flux estimates for short fetch conditions in coastal Mediterranean areas. To this end, a sea-state dependent model for the whitecap fraction was included in three different formulations for the sea-spray source function. A comparison with the sea-spray fluxes, calculated on the basis of aerosol size distributions measured at the island of Porquerolles located south off the French Riviera, evaluates the predictions of different whitecap dependant flux formulations. Then we deal with the spatial distribution of the whitecap fraction and the sea-spray fluxes in the study area. To achieve this, a whitecap dependant flux formulation was forced by a wave numerical model that was implemented in the study area. Experimental results on wave conditions have been used to adjust the model in the Mediterranean coastal area. Numerical simulations of wave and whitecap coverage have been carried out during typical regional wind events, and they show a nonhomogeneous distribution of the sea-surface production over the northern Mediterranean as a consequence of the spatial variation of the sea state. In particular, we note the occurrence of a narrow band of high sea-surface production following the northern coast and along the east part of the Gulf of Lions.     

Assessing 4D-VAR for dynamical mapping of coastal high-frequency radar in San Diego

The problem of dynamically mapping high-frequency (HF) radar radial velocity observations is investigated using a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model of the San Diego coastal region and an adjoint-based assimilation method. The HF radar provides near-real-time radial velocities from three sites covering the region offshore of San Diego Bay. The hydrodynamical model is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MITgcm) with 1 km horizontal resolution and 40 vertical layers. The domain is centered on Point Loma, extending 117 km offshore and 120 km alongshore. The reference run (before adjustment) is initialized from a single profile of T and S and is forced with wind data from a single shore station and with zero heat and fresh water fluxes. The adjoint of the model is used to adjust initial temperature, salinity, and velocity, hourly temperature, salinity and horizontal velocities at the open boundaries, and hourly surface fluxes of momentum, heat and freshwater so that the model reproduces hourly HF radar radial velocity observations. Results from a small number of experiments suggest that the adjoint method can be successfully used over 10-day windows at coastal model resolution. It produces a dynamically consistent model run that fits HF radar data with errors near the specified uncertainties. In a test of the forecasting capability of the San Diego model after adjustment, the forecast skill was shown to exceed persistence for up to 20 h.     

星系金属丰度的研究进展(Ⅱ):光度-金属丰度关系

金属丰度与星系光度是星系的重要特征参量,研究它们之间的关系有助于理解星系中恒星质量与金属成分的累积过程。评述了星系的光度-金属丰度关系的最新研究进展,包括对近邻星系、中等红移星系(0．42)的研究结果．由于观测样本跨越较宽的宇宙学时标,可以由此来探讨这一关系的演化过程,从而帮助理解星系演化的整体图景。     

Experimental constraints on the storage conditions of phonolites from the Kerguelen Archipelago

Phase relations of a phonolite (K1) and a tephri-phonolite (K2) from the Upper Miocene lavas in the Southeast Province of the Kerguelen Archipelago have been investigated in the P/T range 100–500 MPa and 700–900 °C at two fO₂ conditions (~ NNO and ~ NNO+2.3) to clarify the differentiation and pre-eruptive conditions of these magmas. Crystallization experiments were performed in cold seal pressure vessels (CSPV) and internally heated pressure vessels (IHPV) at various X_H2O, under reducing (log fO₂ ~ NNO) and oxidizing conditions (log fO₂ ~ NNO+2.3). Under reducing conditions, the resulting phase assemblage for K1 was: titanomagnetite, nepheline, alkali feldspar, clinopyroxene and biotite; under oxidizing conditions, the assemblage was: magnetite, plagioclase, alkali feldspar, nepheline, titanite (minerals given in the order of appearance with decreasing T at 200 MPa for 4 wt% water in the melt). It is emphasized that an effect of fO₂ on the phase stability of feldspars and feldspathoides was observed. Comparison of the natural and experimental phase assemblages shows that the pre-eruptive conditions for K1 must have been in the log fO₂ range NNO+1–NNO+2, at pressures above 200–250 MPa. Assuming a temperature of 800 °C, the water content of the melt is constrained to be between 4 and 6 wt% H₂O. The pre-eruptive fO₂ conditions for the less evolved sample K2 are more oxidizing with log fO₂ close to NNO+2.3. The experimental results show that the enrichment of alkalis in residual melts during differentiation of tephri-phonolites is enhanced at high fO₂.Editorial responsibility: J. Hoefs