Amplification of primordial magnetic fields by anisotropic gravitational collapse

If a magnetic field is frozen into a plasma that undergoes spherical compression, then the magnetic field B varies with the plasma density ρ according to   B ∝ρ^2/3  . In the gravitational collapse of cosmological density perturbations, however, quasi-spherical evolution is very unlikely. In anisotropic collapses the magnetic field can be a much steeper function of gas density than in the isotropic case. We investigate the distribution of amplifications in realistic gravitational collapses from Gaussian initial fluctuations using the Zel'dovich approximation. Representing our results using a relation of the form   B ∝ρ^α  , we show that the median value of α can be much larger than the value  α= 2/3  resulting from spherical collapse, even if there is no initial correlation between magnetic field and principal collapse directions. These analytic arguments go some way towards understanding the results of numerical simulations.     

An Intercomparison of Large-Eddy Simulations of the Stable Boundary Layer

Results are presented from the first intercomparison of large-eddy simulation (LES) models for the stable boundary layer (SBL), as part of the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment Atmospheric Boundary Layer Study initiative. A moderately stable case is used, based on Arctic observations. All models produce successful simulations, in as much as they generate resolved turbulence and reflect many of the results from local scaling theory and observations. Simulations performed at 1-m and 2-m resolution show only small changes in the mean profiles compared to coarser resolutions. Also, sensitivity to subgrid models for individual models highlights their importance in SBL simulation at moderate resolution (6.25 m). Stability functions are derived from the LES using typical mixing lengths used in numerical weather prediction (NWP) and climate models. The functions have smaller values than those used in NWP. There is also support for the use of K-profile similarity in parametrizations. Thus, the results provide improved understanding and motivate future developments of the parametrization of the SBL.     

Monitoring and Modeling of Syringodium filiforme (Manatee Grass) in Southern Indian River Lagoon

Decreased salinity and submarine light associated with hurricanes of 2004?C2005 impacted seagrass habitats in the Florida coastal zone. A combination of salinities ??20 and light attenuation ??1.5?m^?1 resulting from the freshwater discharge in 2005 were among the drivers for a widespread decrease in the coverage and biomass of Syringodium filiforme (manatee grass) in 2006. These observations provided an opportunity to develop and apply a modeling framework to simulate responses of S. filiforme to variable water quality. The framework connects water column variables to field monitoring of seagrass abundance and salinity growth response experiments. The base model was calibrated with macrophyte abundance observed in southern Indian River Lagoon (IRL) from 2002 to 2007 and tested against shoot data from a different time (1997?C2002) and nearby location in the IRL. Model shoot biomass (gC?m^?2) was similar to field observations (r ²?=?0.70) while responding to monthly seasonal fluctuations in salinity and light throughout the 6-year simulations. Field and model results indicated that S. filiforme growth and survival were sensitive to, and increased with, rising salinity throughout 2007. This modeling study emphasizes that discharge, salinity, and submarine light are inter-dependent variables affecting South Florida seagrass habitats on seasonal to inter-annual time scales.     

Prediction of site factors by a non‐parametric approach

The problem addressed in this paper is the estimation of the (de)amplification of ground motion at soil sites (compared to rock sites) as a function of the intensity of the ground motion. A non‐parametric empirical approach, called the Conditional Average Estimator (CAE) method, has been used, which is different from all existing approaches. Site factors (SFs) for sites characterized with V_s30 between 180 and 360 m/s were predicted for the peak ground acceleration (PGA) and the spectral accelerations by using a combined database of recorded ground motions. Based on the results of the study, site factors for PGA and selected spectral accelerations are proposed, separately for weaker and stronger ground motions. Comparisons are made with the SFs used in two standards (Eurocode 8 and ASCE 7‐10) and with SFs proposed in the literature, including four Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) ground‐motion prediction equations. The study reveals that (i) SFs depend strongly on the ground‐motion intensity. In the case of stronger ground motions, they decrease with increasing acceleration. (ii) The SFs predicted in this study agree reasonably well with the existing SFs in the case of weak ground motion. For higher intensities of ground motion, they are generally smaller than the existing ones. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic evaluation of an existing complex RC building

The seismic evaluation of existing buildings is a more difficult task than the seismic design of new buildings. Non-linear methods are needed if realistic results are to be obtained. However, the application to real complex structures of various evaluation procedures, which have usually been tested on highly idealized structural models, is by no means straightforward. In the paper, a practice-oriented procedure for the seismic evaluation of building structures, based on the N2 method, is presented, together with the application of this method to an existing multi-storey reinforced concrete building. This building, which is asymmetric in plan and irregular in elevation, consists of structural walls and frames. It was designed in 1962 for gravity loads and a minimum horizontal loading (2% of the total weight). The main results presented in terms of the global and local seismic demands are compared with the results of non-linear dynamic response-history analyses. As expected, the structure would fail if subjected to the design seismic action according to Eurocode 8. The shear capacity of the structural walls is the most critical. If the shear capacity of these elements was adequate, the structure would be able to survive the design ground motion according to Eurocode 8, in spite of the very low level of design horizontal forces. The applied approach proved to be a feasible tool for the seismic evaluation of complex structures. However, due to the large randomness and uncertainty which are involved in the determination of both the seismic demand and the seismic capacity, only rough estimates of the seismic behaviour of such structures can be obtained.     

Inertial oscillations near the coast of Nova Scotia during CASP

Abstract

Analysis of current, temperature and salinity records in the nearshore region of the Scotian Shelf during the Canadian Atlantic Storms Program (CASP), reveals that the inertial wave field is highly intermittent, with comparable amplitudes in the surface and deep layers. Clockwise current energy in the surface layer is concentrated at a frequency slightly below inertial, consistent with Doppler shifting by the strong mean current and/or straining by the mean flow shear, whereas the spectral peak in deep water is at the local inertial frequency. Clockwise coherence is high (γ² ≥ 0.8) horizontally over the scale of the array (60 km × 120 km) and in the vertical, with upward phase propagation rates of 0.15–0.50 × 10^?12 ms^?1, inversely proportional to the local value of the Brunt Väisälä frequency. Clockwise current energy decreases in the onshore direction and appears to be completely inhibited on the 60‐m isobath.

A case study of the response to the CASP IOP 14 storm indicates that the inertial waves may be generated by a strong wind shift propagating onshore at a speed of 10 ms^?1. On the eastern side of the array (Liscomb line), clockwise current oscillations propagate onshore in the surface layer at a rate (8.1 ± 0.9 m s^?1) comparable with the speed of the atmospheric front, while waves in the pycnocline move offshore at a lower (internal wave) speed (1.8 m s^?1). Furthermore the temperature and salinity fluctuations are in (out) of phase with longshore current in the deep (surface) layer. However, on the western side of the array (Halifax line), the inertial waves are more complex. A sharp steepening of phase lines at the coast indicates that the phase speed of clockwise current oscillations is considerably reduced and the evidence for offshore propagation of internal waves is less clear. The discrepancies between observations on the two lines suggest that the internal wave field is three‐dimensional.

Results of simple mixed‐layer models indicate that the inertial response near the surface is sensitive to the accurate definition of the local wind field, but not to certain model physics, such as the form of the decay term. The observations also show some qualitative similarities with models for two‐dimensional response to a moving front (e.g. Kundu, 1986), but the actual forcing terms are more complicated, based on IOP 14 wind measurements.     

African Refugee Communities in Southeast Queensland: forces of concentration and dispersion

Black African refugee communities are a relatively recent addition to the Australia landscape. Between 2001 and 2007, over 5000 refugees from various African nations resettled in Queensland. There are very few data about African refugee settlement geography in Australia and no previous study delineating African refugee settlement within the State of Queensland. This research addresses the knowledge gap by examining the geographic distribution and secondary migration patterns of eight African refugee communities in Southeast Queensland. The research adopted a multi-method approach, mapping quantitative data from an existing secondary database and comparing these to qualitative primary data to determine geographical distribution. Additional qualitative data were used to establish secondary migration patterns of the case study communities. Results show noticeable discrepancies between existing secondary datasets and primary data collected from the communities. These inconsistencies are significant because settlement service providers who use the secondary data to budget, plan and deliver essential settlement services might be underestimating the size of the African communities and missing some settlement locations altogether. The results also reveal a tension between the main socio-cultural forces of concentration and housing forces of dispersion that are driving secondary migration in the communities. A policy recommendation to mitigate the potentially negative effects of residential dispersion on settlement outcomes includes the strategic location of service hubs in key suburbs, such as Moorooka, to which the communities are already drawn.     

The influence of bedrock orientation on the landscape evolution,surface morphology and denudation (10Be) at the Niesen,Switzerland

Landscape evolution and surface morphology in mountainous settings are a function of the relative importance between sediment transport processes acting on hillslopes and in channels, modulated by climate variables. The Niesen nappe in the Swiss Penninic Prealps presents a unique setting in which opposite facing flanks host basins underlain by identical lithologies, but contrasting litho‐tectonic architectures where lithologies either dip parallel to the topographic slope or in the opposite direction (i.e. dip slope and non‐dip slope). The north‐western facing Diemtigen flank represents such a dip slope situation and is characterized by a gentle topography, low hillslope gradients, poorly dissected channels, and it hosts large landslides. In contrast, the south‐eastern facing Frutigen side can be described as non‐dip slope flank with deeply incised bedrock channels, high mean hillslope gradients and high relief topography. Results from morphometric analysis reveal that noticeable differences in morphometric parameters can be related to the contrasts in the relative importance of the internal hillslope‐channel system between both valley flanks. While the contrasting dip‐orientations of the underlying flysch bedrock has promoted hillslope and channelized processes to contrasting extents and particularly the occurrence of large landslides on the dip slope flank, the flank averaged beryllium‐10 (¹⁰Be)‐derived denudation rates are very similar and range between 0.20 and 0.26 mm yr^?1. In addition, our denudation rates offer no direct relationship to basin's slope, area, steepness or concavity index, but reveal a positive correlation to mean basin elevation that we interpret as having been controlled by climatically driven factors such as frost‐induced processes and orographic precipitation. Our findings illustrate that while the landscape properties in this part of the northern Alpine border can mainly be related to the tectonic architecture of the underlying bedrock, the denudation rates have a strong orographic control through elevation dependent mean annual temperature and precipitation. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Possible impact melt and debris flows at Tooting Crater, Mars

Candidate examples of impact melt flows and debris flows have been identified at Tooting crater, an extremely young (<2 Myr), 29 km diameter impact crater in Amazonis Planitia, Mars. Using HiRISE and CTX images, and stereo-derived digital elevation models derived from these images, we have studied the rim and interior wall of Tooting crater to document the morphology and topography of several flow features in order to constrain the potential flow formation mechanisms. Four flow types have been identified; including possible impact melt sheets and three types of debris flows. The flow features are all located within 2 km of the rim crest on the southern rim or lie on the southern interior wall of the crater ∼1500 m below the rim crest. Extensive structural failure has modified the northern half of the crater inner wall and we interpret this to have resulted in the destruction of any impact melt emplaced, as well as volatile-rich wall rock. The impact melt flows are fractured on the meter to decameter scale, have ridged, leveed lobes and flow fronts, and cover an area >6 km × 5 km on the southern rim. The debris flows are found on both the inner wall and rim of the crater, are ∼1-2 km in length, and vary from a few tens of meters to >300 m in width. These flows exhibit varying morphologies, from a channelized, leveed flow with arcuate ridges in the channel, to a rubbly flow with a central channel but no obvious levees. The flows indicate that water existed within the target rocks at the time of crater formation, and that both melt and fluidized sediment was generated during this event.     

Morphological relationships in the chromospheric Hα fine structure

A continuous relationship is proposed between the basic elements of the dark fine structure of the quiet and active chromosphere. A progression from chromospheric bushes to fibrils, then to chromospheric threads and active region filaments, and finally to diffuse quiescent filaments, is described. It is shown that the horizontal component of the field on opposite sides of an active region quiescent filament can be in the same direction and closely parallel to the filament axis. Consequently, it is unnecessary to postulate twisted or otherwise complex field configurations to reconcile the support mechanism of filaments with the observed motion along their axis.