Secular tidal changes in lunar orbit and Earth rotation

Small tidal forces in the Earth–Moon system cause detectable changes in the orbit. Tidal energy dissipation causes secular rates in the lunar mean motion n, semimajor axis a, and eccentricity e. Terrestrial dissipation causes most of the tidal change in n and a, but lunar dissipation decreases eccentricity rate. Terrestrial tidal dissipation also slows the rotation of the Earth and increases obliquity. A tidal acceleration model is used for integration of the lunar orbit. Analysis of lunar laser ranging (LLR) data provides two or three terrestrial and two lunar dissipation parameters. Additional parameters come from geophysical knowledge of terrestrial tides. When those parameters are converted to secular rates for orbit elements, one obtains dn/dt = \(-25.97\pm 0.05 ''/\)cent\(^{2}\), da/dt = 38.30 ± 0.08 mm/year, and di/dt = ?0.5 ± 0.1 \(\upmu \)as/year. Solving for two terrestrial time delays and an extra de/dt from unspecified causes gives \(\sim \) \(3\times 10^{-12}\)/year for the latter; solving for three LLR tidal time delays without the extra de/dt gives a larger phase lag of the N2 tide so that total de/dt = \((1.50 \pm 0.10)\times 10^{-11}\)/year. For total dn/dt, there is \(\le \)1 % difference between geophysical models of average tidal dissipation in oceans and solid Earth and LLR results, and most of that difference comes from diurnal tides. The geophysical model predicts that tidal deceleration of Earth rotation is \(-1316 ''\)/cent\(^{2}\) or 87.5 s/cent\(^{2}\) for UT1-AT, a 2.395 ms/cent increase in the length of day, and an obliquity rate of 9 \(\upmu \)as/year. For evolution during past times of slow recession, the eccentricity rate can be negative.     

Hypervelocity capture of meteoritic particles in nonsilica aerogels

Abstract– The Stardust mission captured particles from the comet 81P/Wild 2 in gradient density silica aerogel and returned the collected samples to earth in 2006. The analyses of these particles have revealed several new insights into the formation of our solar system. However, since the aerogel used as the capture material was silica, the elemental analyses of the silica‐rich particles were made more complicated in certain ways due to the mixing of the silicon of the particles and that of the aerogel. By using a nonsilica aerogel, future elemental analyses of silica–rich particles captured in aerogel could be made more straightforward. Resorcinol/formaldehyde (RF), alumina, and zirconia aerogels were impact tested with meteoritic fragments and the captured fragments were mapped with synchrotron‐based X‐ray microprobe (XRM) and the particles were analyzed with X‐ray fluorescence (XRF). The resorcinol/formaldehyde aerogel proved to be the best capture material, in that it could be keystoned and XRF could be used to locate and analyze particles that were less than 10 μm.     

Bounce Rock—A shergottite‐like basalt encountered at Meridiani Planum,Mars

Abstract– The Opportunity rover of the Mars Exploration Rover mission encountered an isolated rock fragment with textural, mineralogical, and chemical properties similar to basaltic shergottites. This finding was confirmed by all rover instruments, and a comprehensive study of these results is reported here. Spectra from the miniature thermal emission spectrometer and the Panoramic Camera reveal a pyroxene‐rich mineralogy, which is also evident in Mössbauer spectra and in normative mineralogy derived from bulk chemistry measured by the alpha particle X‐ray spectrometer. The correspondence of Bounce Rock’s chemical composition with the composition of certain basaltic shergottites, especially Elephant Moraine (EET) 79001 lithology B and Queen Alexandra Range (QUE) 94201, is very close, with only Cl, Fe, and Ti exhibiting deviations. Chemical analyses further demonstrate characteristics typical of Mars such as the Fe/Mn ratio and P concentrations. Possible shock features support the idea that Bounce Rock was ejected from an impact crater, most likely in the Meridiani Planum region. Bopolu crater, 19.3 km in diameter, located 75 km to the southwest could be the source crater. To date, no other rocks of this composition have been encountered by any of the rovers on Mars. The finding of Bounce Rock by the Opportunity rover provides further direct evidence for an origin of basaltic shergottite meteorites from Mars.     

Identification of the Ca-sulfate bassanite in Mawrth Vallis, Mars

The region surrounding the Mawrth Vallis outflow channel on Mars hosts thick layered deposits containing diverse phyllosilicate minerals. Here we report detection of the Ca-sulfate bassanite on the outflow channel floor, requiring a more complex aqueous chemistry than previously inferred for this region. The sulfate-bearing materials underlie phyllosilicate-bearing strata, and provide an opportunity for testing proposed models of martian geochemical evolution with a future landed mission.     

Observed winds,turbulence, and dispersion in built-up downtown areas of Oklahoma City and Manhattan

Wind and tracer data from the Oklahoma City Joint Urban 2003 (JU2003) and the Manhattan Madison Square Garden 2005 (MSG05) urban field experiments are being analyzed to aid in understanding air flow and dispersion near street-level in built-up downtown areas. The mean winds are separately calculated for groups of anemometers having similar exposures such as “near street level” and “on building top”. Several general results are found, such as the scalar wind speed at street level is about 1/3 of that at building top. Turbulent standard deviations of wind speed components and temperature, and vertical fluxes of momentum and sensible heat, are calculated from sonic anemometers near street level at 20 locations in JU2003 and five locations in MSG05, and from two rooftop locations in MSG05. The turbulence observations are consistent with observations in the literature at other cities, although the JU2003 and MSG05 data are unique in that many data are available near street level. For example, it is found that the local (i.e., at the measuring height) averages about 1.5 and the local averages about 0.25 in the two cities, where is the standard deviation of vertical velocity fluctuations, is the friction velocity, and u is the wind speed. The ratio of temperature fluctuations to temperature scale, , averages about −3 in both cities, consistent with similarity theory for slightly unstable conditions, where is the standard deviation of temperature fluctuations, and is the temperature scale. The calculated Obukhov length, L, is also consistent with slightly unstable conditions near street level, even at night during JU2003. The SF₆ tracer concentration observations from JU2003 are analyzed. Values of for the continuous releases are calculated for each release and arc distance, where is the 30-min average arc maximum concentration, Q is the continuous source emission rate, and u is the spatial-averaged wind speed in the downtown area. The basic characteristics of the JU2003 plot of averaged agree reasonably well with similar plots for other urban experiments in Salt Lake City and London (i.e., at . A is found to be about 3 during the day and about 10 during the night.     

Response of a climate model to tidal mixing parameterization under present day and last glacial maximum conditions

Experiments with a climate model were conducted under present day and last glacial maximum conditions in order to examine the model’s response to a vertical mixing scheme based on internal tide energy dissipation. The increase in internal tide energy flux caused by a 120 m reduction in sea level had the expected effect on diffusivity values, which were higher under lower sea level conditions. The impact of this vertical diffusivity change on the Atlantic meridional overturning is not straightforward and no clear relationship between diffusivity and overturning is found. There exists a weak positive correlation between overturning and changes to the power consumed by vertical mixing. Most of the climatic response generated by sea level change was not related to alterations in the internal tide energy flux but rather to the direct change in sea level itself.     

Arecibo radar observations of Phobos and Deimos

In November 2005, we observed the moons of Mars using the Arecibo 2380-MHz (13-cm) radar, obtaining a result for the OC radar albedo of Phobos (0.056±0.014) consistent with its previously reported radar albedo and implying an upper bound on its near-surface bulk density of . We detected Deimos by radar for the first time, finding its OC radar albedo to be 0.021±0.006, implying an upper bound on its near-surface density of , consistent with a high-porosity regolith. We briefly discuss reasons for these low radar albedos, Deimos' being possibly the lowest of any Solar System body yet observed by radar.     

Thioploca spp. sheaths as niches for bacterial and protistan assemblages

Sulfide oxidizing bacterial mats are common in regions of the continental shelves characterized by high primary production and the resultant oxygen minimum zone. These mats are made up of several species of Beggiatoa and/or Thioploca, which oxidize sulfide that is generated in the sediment. Thioploca spp. inhabit a large polysaccharide sheath that encompasses bundles of 1–20 filaments (trichomes), each ranging from 3 to 60 μm in diameter. This sheath has been shown to be a critical component of the autecology of Thioploca. Analysis of Thioploca from cold seeps in Monterey Bay using light and transmission electron microscopy identified new and diverse microbial assemblages associated with interstitial spaces between trichomes, inside the sheath. Small diameter, non‐vacuolate, filamentous prokaryotes were numerous. Amoebae, euglenozoa, ciliates and other protists of unknown affiliation were observed in sheaths. Most of the protists possessed food vacuoles and some protists showed ultrastructural evidence of endosymbionts. These observations suggest that Thioploca sheaths may serve as oases on the sea floor, providing nutritional and detoxification services to previously unrecognized microbial partners.