Astronomical frequencies for pre-Quaternary palaeoclimate studies

The sensitivity of the Earth's orbital frequencies, involved in the astronomical theory of palaeoclimates, to the Earth-Moon distance and consequently to the length of the day and to the dynamical ellipticity of the Earth has been investigated for the last billion years. The shortening of the Earth-Moon distance and of the length of the day back in time induces a shortening of the fundamental astronomical periods for the obliquity and the precession, a shortening which is larger for the longer periods. These periods of precession and obliquity influenced by the changing Earth-Moon distance, length of the day and dynamical ellipticity of the Earth, have been recomputed for the last 440 million years.     

Seasonal and interannual variation of the phytoplankton and copepod dynamics in Liverpool Bay

The seasonal and interannual variability in the phytoplankton community in Liverpool Bay between 2003 and 2009 has been examined using results from high frequency, in situ measurements combined with discrete samples collected at one location in the bay. The spring phytoplankton bloom (up to 29.4 mg chlorophyll m⁻³) is an annual feature at the study site and its timing may vary by up to 50 days between years. The variability in the underwater light climate and turbulent mixing are identified as key factors controlling the timing of phytoplankton blooms. Modelled average annual gross and net production are estimated to be 223 and 56 g C m⁻² year⁻¹, respectively. Light microscope counts showed that the phytoplankton community is dominated by diatoms, with dinoflagellates appearing annually for short periods of time between July and October. The zooplankton community at the study site is dominated by copepods and use of a fine mesh (80 μm) resulted in higher abundances of copepods determined (up to 2.5 × 10⁶ ind. m⁻²) than has previously reported for this location. There is a strong seasonal cycle in copepod biomass and copepods greater than 270 μm contribute less than 10% of the total biomass. Seasonal trends in copepod biomass lag those in the phytoplankton community with a delay of 3 to 4 months between the maximum phytoplankton biomass and the maximum copepod biomass. Grazing by copepods exceeds net primary production at the site and indicates that an additional advective supply of carbon is required to support the copepod community.     

Numerical study of tides in Ontario Lacus,a hydrocarbon lake on the surface of the Saturnian moon Titan

In the context of the emergence of extra-terrestrial oceanography, we adapted an existing oceanographic model, SLIM (www.climate.be/slim), to the conditions of Titan, a moon of Saturn. The tidal response of the largest southern lake at Titan’s surface, namely Ontario Lacus, is simulated. SLIM solves the 2D, depth-averaged shallow water equations on an unstructured mesh using the discontinuous Galerkin finite element method, which allows for high spatial resolution wherever needed. The impact of the wind forcing, the bathymetry, and the bottom friction is also discussed. The predicted maximum tidal range is about 0.56 m in the southern part of the lake, which is more than twice as large as the previous estimates (see Tokano, Ocean Dyn 60:(4) 803–817 10.1007/s10236-010-0285-3 (Tokano 2010)). The patterns and magnitude of the current are also markedly different from those of previous studies: the tidal motion is not aligned with the major axis of the lake and the speed is larger nearshore. Indeed, the main tidal component rotates clockwise in an exact period of one Titan day and the tidal currents can reach 0.046 ms ^?1 close to the shores depending on the geometry and the bathymetry. Except for these specific nearshore regions, the current speed is less than 0.02 ms ^?1. Circular patterns can be observed offshore, their rotational direction and size varying along the day.     

Photochemical processes on Titan: Irradiation of mixtures of gases that simulate Titan's atmosphere

Photochemical reaction pathways in Titan's atmosphere were investigated by irradiation of the individual components and the mixture containing nitrogen, methane, hydrogen, acetylene, ethylene, and cyanoacetylene. The quantum yields for the loss of the reactants and the formation of products were determined. Photolysis of ethylene yields mainly saturated compounds (ethane, propane, and butane) while photolysis of acetylene yields the same saturated compounds as well as ethylene and diacetylene. Irradiation of cyanoacetylene yields mainly hydrogen cyanide and small amounts of acetonitrile. When an amount of methane corresponding to its mixing ratio on Titan was added to these mixtures the quantum yields for the loss of reactants decreased and the quantum yields for hydrocarbon formation increased indicative of a hydrogen atom abstraction from methane by the photochemically generated radicals. GC/MS analysis of the products formed by irradiation of mixtures of all these gases generated over 120 compounds which were mainly aliphatic hydrocarbons containing double and triple bonds along with much smaller amounts of aromatic compounds like benzene, toluene and phenylacetylene. The reaction pathways were investigated by the use of ¹³C acetylene in these gas mixtures. No polycyclic aromatic compounds were detected. Vapor pressures of these compounds under conditions present in Titan's atmosphere were calculated. The low molecular weight compounds likely to be present in the atmosphere and aerosols of Titan as a result of photochemical processes are proposed.     

Geophysical excitation of the Earth orientation parameters EOP and its contribution to GGOS

We discuss how the geophysical fluids affect the Earth orientation parameters (EOP) and in particular polar motion and nutation. We show that the Earth orientation modeling is a perfect example of the integrated approach recommended by GGOS. GGOS considers the Earth system as a whole, including the solid Earth as well as the fluid components; geodesy observes and models the dynamics inside this system through the static and time-varying gravity field, the station displacements, and the Earth orientation parameters and the associated length-of-day variation, nutation and polar motion. Global-scale transfer in the Earth system and its geodetic consequences is proposed to be the central theme of GGOS. We show that the Earth orientation parameters perfectly fit this theme.