The changes of sensitivity and drift rate of a worden gravimeter with time and temperature

Summary The analysis of the readings taken with aWorden gravimeter during fieldwork over a period of four years when compared with tests in a laboratory shows that its behaviour is not dependent on vibration and that the drift can be separated into two distinct parts; an isothermal drift and a thermal drift. The former is remarkably constant over short and long periods of time and is of the order of 0.01 mgal/hour. The latter is complicated and is dependent on the rate of change of the ambient temperature being different in size and sign, for quick and slow changes of temperature. The sensitivity changes slowly with time, 0.1% per year, and is only slightly affected by temperature. Tares or jumps in the readings are very rare. Modifications to the meter are suggested, consisting of the inclusion of a rheostat in the lighting circuit and the attachment of a thermometer to the outside of the instrument. In order to keep the correction for drift to a small size and to increase the accuracy, returns to a base station should be made according to changes in the ambient temperature rather than at fixed time intervals.

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Zusammenfassung Die Analyse der Lesungen einesWorden Gravimeters während einer vierjährigen Periode von Feldmessungen und deren Vergleichung mit den Resultaten einer Prüfung im Laboratorium zeigt, dass sein Verhalten nicht von Erschütterungen abhängt und dass sein Drift in zwei deutlich verschiedene Anteile gespalten werden kann, nämlich einen isothermalen und thermalen Drift. Der erstere Anteil ist bemerkenswert konstant über kurze und längere Perioden und seine Grössenordnung ist 0.01 mgal per Stunde. Der letztere ist kompliziert und hängt von der Schnelligkeit der Änderung der Temperatur der Umgebung ab und ist der Grösse und dem Vorzeichen nach verschieden für rasche und langsame Temperaturänderungen. Die Empfindlichkeit ändert sich langsam mit der Zeit, 0.1% per Jahr, und wird nur wenig durch die Temperatur beeinflusst. Sprünge in den Ablesungen sind sehr selten.Es werden zwei Modifikationen des Gravimeters vorgeschlagen, nämlich die Einschaltung eines Widerstandes im Beleuchtungskreis und die Anbringung eines Thermometers am Instrumentengehäuse. Um die Korrektion wegen Drift klein zu halten und die Genauigkeit zu erhöhen, wird empfohlen, dass das Wiederaufsuchen der Basisstation entsprechend der Änderung der Umgebungstemperatur und nicht in bestimmten, festgelegten Zeitintervallen erfolgen soll.

     

Orbital change experiments with a Mars general circulation model

We use a Mars general circulation model to examine the effect of orbital changes on the planet’s general circulation and climate system. Experiments are performed for obliquities ranging from 0° to 60° for two different longitudes of perihelion. Each experiment simulates a full Mars year assuming a fixed atmospheric dust distribution and fixed amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere/cap system. We find that global mean surface temperatures and pressures decline with increasing obliquity due to the increasing extent of the winter polar caps. The seasonal CO₂ cycle and intensity of the solstice circulation amplify considerably with increasing obliquity such that global dust storms are likely at both solstices. The most significant feature of the high obliquity solstice circulations is the development of an intense low-level jet associated with the return branch of the Hadley circulation.Model surface stresses are used to map regions of preferred dust lifting, which are defined in terms of an annual deflation potential. For the present obliquity, the model-predicted regions of high deflation potential are in good agreement with Cantor et al.’s (2001, J. Geophys. Res.106, 23653-23688) observations, which gives us some confidence in the model’s ability to predict where lifting might occur when Mars’ orbit parameters are different than they are today. In general we find that the dust lifting potential increases sharply with obliquity and is greatest at times of high obliquity when perihelion coincides with northern summer solstice. Over an obliquity cycle, the model global annual deflation potential ranges from several tenths of a millimeter at 0° obliquity to almost 15 mm at 60° obliquity. Much higher values are possible when the atmosphere is very dusty.We find a strong correlation between the deflation potential and surface thermal inertia: regions of high deflation potential correspond to regions of high thermal inertia (high rock abundance), and regions of low deflation potential correspond to regions of low thermal inertia (high dust/sand abundance). Furthermore, while the regions of preferred lifting (high deflation potential) expand somewhat with increasing obliquity and dust loading, the central parts of Tharsis, Arabia, and Elysium show no tendency for significant lifting at any obliquity or longitude of perihelion. These regions may therefore be very old and represent net long-term sinks for atmospheric dust. It is the topography of the planet, through its influence on surface pressure and wind systems, which ultimately determines where dust accumulates.Finally, as was found by Fenton and Richardson (2001, J. Geophys. Res.106, 32885-32909), we find no tendency for the development of east-southeasterly winds at the Pathfinder site for any of our orbital change experiments. This suggests that the ancient wind regime discussed by Greeley et al. (2000, J. Geophys. Res.105, 1829-1840) was produced by other factors, such as polar wander.     

To the market and back: Housing policy and state housing in New Zealand

Housing policy in New Zealand has traditionally been characterised by significant market intervention in support of home ownership and a residual state housing rental sector. Within the context of dramatic social welfare reforms in the 1990s, a set of radical housing reforms was introduced that profoundly transformed the role of the state in the housing system. Key elements of the reforms included the creation of a profit-oriented company to manage state rentals, a move to market rents in the state sector and the introduction of an accommodation supplement. This paper examines the underlying rationale and impacts of the reforms focusing on issues of privatisation, tenant turnover, affordability and tenant protest. Having examined the ongoing problems engendered by these reforms the paper reviews more recent political and legislative reforms that were sought to reassert the state's traditional position within the New Zealand housing market. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Centrifuge modeling of load-deformation behavior of rocking shallow foundations

Shallow foundations supporting building structures might be loaded well into their nonlinear range during intense earthquake loading. The nonlinearity of the soil may act as an energy dissipation mechanism, potentially reducing shaking demands exerted on the building. This nonlinearity, however, may result in permanent deformations that also cause damage to the building. Five series of tests on a large centrifuge, including 40 models of shear wall footings, were performed to study the nonlinear load-deformation characteristics during cyclic and earthquake loading. Footing dimensions, depth of embedment, wall weight, initial static vertical factor of safety, soil density, and soil type (dry sand and saturated clay) were systematically varied. The moment capacity was not observed to degrade with cycling, but due to the deformed shape of the footing–soil interface and uplift associated with large rotations, stiffness degradation was observed. Permanent deformations beneath the footing continue to accumulate with the number of cycles of loading, though the rate of accumulation of settlement decreases as the footing embeds itself.     

Simulations of the Indian summer monsoon using a nested regional climate model: domain size experiments

Seasonal simulations of the Indian summer monsoon using a 50-km regional climate model (RCM) are described. Results from three versions of the RCM distinguished by different domain sizes are compared against those of the driving global general circulation model (AGCM). Precipitation over land is 20% larger in the RCMs due to stronger vertical motions arising from finer horizontal resolution. The resulting increase in condensational heating helps to intensify the monsoon trough relative to the AGCM. The RCM precipitation distributions show a strong orographically forced mesoscale component (similar in each version). This component is not present in the AGCM. The RCMs produce two qualitatively realistic intraseasonal oscillations (ISOs) associated respectively with monsoon depressions which propagate northwestward from the Bay of Bengal and repeated northward migrations of the regional tropical convergence zone. The RCM simulations are relatively insensitive to domain size in several respects: (1) the mean bias relative to the AGCM is similar for all three domains; (2) the variability simulated by the RCM is strongly correlated with that of the driving AGCM on both daily and seasonal time scales, even for the largest domain; (3) the mesoscale features and ISOs are not damped by the relative proximity of the lateral boundaries in the version with the smallest domain. Results (1) and (2) contrast strongly with a previous study for Europe carried out with the same model, probably due to inherent differences between mid-latitude and tropical dynamics.     

Continental crust under the southern Porcupine Seabight west of Ireland

Two new seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection profiles demonstrate that the crust beneath the southern Porcupine Seabight, out to water depths in excess of 4000 m, is of continental type. They also reveal the rifted margin of the Porcupine basin on its eastern side. Crustal thickness under the Seabight, inclusive of sediments which are up to 6 km thick, decreases from 23 km in the east to about 10 km at a sharp continent-ocean transition in the west.     

Dry deposition of particles to a pine plantation

There has been some controversy concerning the rate of deposition of particles having diameters near 1.0 m to vegetated surfaces. In this size range, the processes of Brownian diffusion and inertial impaction are not effective and deposition to smooth surfaces reaches a minimum. However, most measurements of deposition of micrometer diameter particles to vegetated surfaces indicate a greater deposition than extrapolation of the results from less rough surfaces would suggest. In this study, the aerodynamic profile method was used to estimate deposition to a pine plantation. The deposition velocities were found to be sensitive to the displacement height and the form of the profile stability correction used in the calculations. An analysis of a limited set of Bowen ratio data, collected over the same forest, suggests that the data are reasonably described by using a displacement height of 7.9 m and the stability correction proposed by Raupach (1979).The average deposition velocities, measured over a 9-month period were 0.0043, 0.0078, and 0.0092 m/s for the three diameter classes 0.5\2-1.0, 1.0\2-2.0 and 2.0\2-5.0 \gmm. These deposition velocities are lower than the corresponding aerodynamic conductance for the same periods, indicating that the deposition rate is limited by surface phenomena. Average surface conductances calculated for the three size classes of particles were 0.0060, 0.0141, and 0.0276 m/s, respectively. A multiple regression analysis showed high correlation between deposition velocity and wind speed. No other measured environmental factor or linear combination of factors was significantly correlated with deposition velocity.This paper was prepared in connection with work done under Contract No. DE-AC09-76R00001 with the U.S. Department of Energy. By acceptance of this paper, the publisher and/or recipient acknowledges the U.S. Government's right to retain a nonexclusive, royalty-free license in and to any copyright covering this paper, along with the right to produce and to authorize others to reproduce all or part of the copyrighted paper.