A 2000-YEAR CONTEXT FOR MODERN CLIMATE CHANGE

ABSTRACT. Although considerable attention has been paid to the record of temperature change over the last few centuries, the range and rate of change of atmospheric circulation and hydrology remain elusive. Here, eight latitudinally well-distributed (pole-equator-pole), highly resolved (annual to decadal) climate proxy records are presented that demonstrate major changes in these variables over the last 2000 years. A comparison between atmospheric ¹⁴C and these changes in climate demonstrates a first-order relationship between a variable Sun and climate. The relationship is seen on a global scale.     

Spatial and temporal variations of solar coronal loops

Skylab EUV observations of an active region near the solar limb were analyzed. Both cool (T < 10⁶ K) and hot (T > 10⁶ K) loops were observed in this region. For the hot loops the observed intensity variations were small, typically a few percent over a period of 30 min. The cool loops exhibited stronger variations, sometimes appearing and disappearing in 5 to 10 min. Most of the cool material observed in the loops appeared to be caused by the downward flow of coronal rain and by the upward ejection of chromospheric material in surges. The frequent EUV brightenings observed near the loop footpoints appear to have been produced by both in situ transient energy releases (e.g. subflares) and the infall/impact of coronal rain. The physical conditions in the loops (temperatures, densities, radiative and conducting cooling rates, cooling times) were determined. The mean energy required to balance the radiative and conductive cooling of the hot loops is approximately 3 × 10^–3 erg cm^–3 s^–1. One coronal heating mechanism that can account for the observed behavior of the EUV emission from McMath region 12634 is heating by the dissipation of fast mode MHD waves.     

Magnetic stratigraphy observed in ferromanganese crust

Summary. A sample of ferromanganese crust deposit (SCHW-1D) was cut into two sets of 1 mm slices for palaeomagnetic study. Alternating field and thermal demagnetization, and isothermal remanent magnetization analyses were performed on each thin slice. The results reveal the presence of a stable magnetism and both normal and reversed polarity intervals in the specimens. The observed polarity intervals cannot be confidently correlated with the geomagnetic polarity time-scale of the last 10 Myr due to the polarity overlap inherent in the sampling technique. But the results confirm the slow accretion rate of ferromanganese deposit determined by ¹⁰Be method and suggest potential use of ferromanganese deposits in palaeomagnetic and tectonic studies.     

Gravitational and magnetic fields of some simple solids of revolution

Summary. Exact spherical harmonic expansions are given for calculating the gravitational and magnetic fields associated with certain uniform solids of revolution. The figures are those made by rotating a conic section about one of its principal axes. The coefficients in the expansions can be computed accurately and efficiently and this approach leads to a very satisfactory method for calculating the fields of geological bodies with approximate circular symmetry about a vertical axis. A complete theory of convergence is given for the expansions. Somewhat unexpectedly, the sphere of convergence is determined by the location of a number of equivalent point or line sources that lie within the body or on its edges.     

Characterization of zonal winds in the stratosphere of Titan with UVES

Titan has been observed with UVES, the UV-Visual Echelle Spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope, with the aim of characterizing the zonal wind flow. We use a retrieval scheme originally developed for absolute stellar accelerometry [Connes, P., 1985. Astrophys. Space Sci., 110, 211-255] to extract the velocity signal by simultaneously taking into account all the lines present in the spectrum. The method allows to measure the Doppler shift induced at a given point by the zonal wind flow, with high precision. The short-wavelength channel (4200-5200 Å) probes one scale height higher than the long-wavelength one (5200-6200 Å), and we observe statistically significant evidence for stronger winds at higher altitudes. The results show a high dispersion. Globally, we detect prograde zonal winds, with lower limits of 62 and 50 m s⁻¹ at the regions centered at 200 and 170 km altitude, but approximately a quarter of the measurements indicates null or retrograde winds.     

Noctilucent cloud formation and the effects of water vapor variability on temperatures in the middle atmosphere

To investigate the occurrence of low temperatures and the formation of noctilucent clouds in the summer mésosphere a one-dimensional time-dependent photochemical-thermal numerical model of the atmosphere between 50 and 120 km has been constructed. The model includes the important chemistry of the hydrogen and oxygen species and transport by eddy and molecular processes. The thermal balance incorporates: heating by solar ultraviolet radiation; transport of chemical potential energy; eddy diffusion and dissipation; molecular conduction; airglow emissions; and infrared cooling by carbon dioxide. A non- LTE parameterization is used to calculate 15 μm band cooling by carbon dioxide. The model self-consistently solves the coupled photochemical and thermal equations as perturbation equations from a reference state assumed to be in equilibrium and is used to consider the effect of variability in water vapor in the lower mesosphere on the temperature in the region of noctilucent cloud formation. It is found that change in water vapor from an equilibrium value of 5 ppm at 50 km to a value of 10 ppm, a variation consistent with observations, can produce a ~ 15 K drop in temperature at 82 km. It is suggested that this process may produce long periods (weeks) of cold temperatures and influence noctilucent cloud formation.