The magnetotelluric inverse problem

The magnetotelluric inverse problem is reviewed, addressing the following mathematical questions: (a)Existence of solutions: A satisfactory theory is now available to determine whether or not a given finite collection of response data is consistent with any one-dimensional conductivity profile. (b)Uniqueness: With practical data, consisting of a finite set of imprecise observations, infinitely many solutions exist if one does. (c)Construction: Several numerically stable procedures have been given which it can be proved will construct a conductivity profile in accord with incomplete data, whenever a solution exists. (d)Inference: No sound mathematical theory has yet been developed enabling us to draw firm, geophysically useful conclusions about the complete class of satisfactory models. Examples illustrating these ideas are given, based in the main on the COPROD data series.     

DEFORMATIONAL AND METAMORPHIC HISTORY OF THE CENTRAL LONGMEN MOUNTAINS, SICHUAN CHINA

DEFORMATIONAL AND METAMORPHIC HISTORY OF THE CENTRAL LONGMEN MOUNTAINS, SICHUAN CHINA1　ArneDC ,WorleyBA ,WilsonCJL ,etal.Differentialexhumationinresponsetoepisodicthrustingalongtheeasternmar ginoftheTibetanPlateau[J] .Tectonophysics,1997,2 80 :2 39～ 2 56 . 2　ChenSF ,WilsonCJL ,WorleyBA .TectonictransitionfromtheSongpan GarzeFoldBelttotheSichuanBasin,south westernChina[J] .BasinResearch ,1995,7:2 35～ 2 53. 3　ChenSF ,WilsonCJL .Emplaceme…     

Geometric modelling and object-oriented software concepts applied to a heterogeneous fractured network from the Grimsel rock laboratory

Discrete fracture network simulations are computationally intensive and usually time-consuming to construct and configure. This paper presents a case study with techniques for building a 3D finite element model of an inhomogeneous fracture network for modelling flow and tracer transport, combining deterministic and stochastic information on fracture aperture distributions. The complex intersected fractures represent a challenge for geometrical model design, mesh quality requirements and property allocations. For the integrated and holistic modelling approach, including the application of numerical and analytical simulation techniques, new object-oriented concepts in software engineering are implemented to ensure a resourceful and practicable software environment.     

Does the El Niño-Southern Oscillation control the interhemispheric radiocarbon offset?

Since the 1970s it has been recognised that Southern Hemisphere samples have a lower radiocarbon content than contemporaneous material in the Northern Hemisphere. This interhemispheric radiocarbon offset has traditionally been considered to be the result of a greater surface area in the southern ocean and high-latitude deepwater formation. This is despite the fact that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is known to play a significant role in controlling the interannual variability of atmospheric carbon dioxide by changing the flux of ‘old’ CO₂ from the tropical Pacific. Here we demonstrate that over the past millennium, the Southern Hemisphere radiocarbon offset is characterised by a pervasive 80-yr cycle with a step shift in mean values coinciding with the transition from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age. The observed changes suggest an ENSO-like role in influencing the interhemispheric radiocarbon difference, most probably modulated by the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation, and supports a tropical role in forcing centennial-scale global climate change.     

Local boundary-layer development over burnt and unburnt tropical savanna: an observational study

Fire scars have the ability to radically alter the surface energy budget within a tropical savanna by reducing surface albedo, increasing available energy for partitioning into sensible and latent heat fluxes and increasing substrate heat flux. These changes have the potential to alter boundary-layer conditions and ultimately feedback to local and regional climate. We measured radiative and energy fluxes over burnt and unburnt tropical savanna near Howard Springs, Darwin, Australia. At the burnt site a low to moderate intensity fire, ranging between 1,000 and 3,500 kW m⁻¹, initially affected the land surface by removing all understorey vegetation, charring and blackening the ground surface, scorching the overstorey canopy and reducing the albedo. A reduction in latent heat fluxes to almost zero was seen immediately after the fire when the canopy was scorched. This was then followed by an increase in the sensible heat flux and a large increase in the ground heat flux over the burnt surface. Tethered balloon measurements showed that, despite the presence of pre-monsoonal rain events occurring during the measurement period, the lower boundary layer over the burnt site was up to 2^°C warmer than that over the unburnt site. This increase in boundary-layer heating when applied to fire scars at the landscape scale can have the ability to form or alter local mesoscale circulations and ultimately create a feedback to regional heating and precipitation patterns that may affect larger-scale processes such as the Australian monsoon.     

Persistent Differences in Horizontal Gradients in Phytoplankton Concentration Maintained by Surf Zone Hydrodynamics

Surf zones, regions of breaking waves, are at the interface between the shore and coastal ocean. Surf zone hydrodynamics may affect delivery of phytoplankton subsidies to the intertidal zone. Over a month of daily sampling at an intermediate surf zone with bathymetric rip currents and a reflective surf zone, we measured surf zone hydrodynamics and compared concentrations of coastal phytoplankton taxa in the surf zones to concentrations offshore. At the intermediate surf zone, ~80% of the variability in the concentration of coastal phytoplankton taxa within the surf zone was explained by their variation offshore; however, concentrations were much higher and lower than those offshore in samples from a bathymetric rip current and over the adjacent shoal, respectively. Hydrodynamics at this intermediate surf zone did not hinder the delivery of coastal phytoplankton to the surf zone, but the bathymetric rip current system appeared to redistribute phytoplankton concentrating them within eddies. At the reflective shore, we sampled surf zones at a beach and two adjacent rocky intertidal sites. Concentrations of typical coastal phytoplankton taxa were usually an order of magnitude or more lower than those offshore, even when offshore samples were collected just 20 m beyond the breakers. The phytoplankton assemblages inside and outside the surf zone often appeared to be disconnected. Surf zone hydrodynamics at the steep, reflective shore coupled with low phytoplankton concentrations in near-surface water appeared to limit delivery of phytoplankton subsidies to the surf zone. Surf zone hydrodynamics may be a key factor in the alongshore variation in phytoplankton subsidies to coastal communities.     

Seagrass Organic Carbon Stocks Show Minimal Variation Over Short Time Scales in a Heterogeneous Subtropical Seascape

Blue carbon initiatives require accurate monitoring of carbon stocks. We examined sources of variability in seagrass organic carbon (C_org) stocks, contrasting spatial with short temporal scales. Seagrass morphology and sediment C_org stocks were measured from biomass and shallow sediment cores collected in Moreton Bay, Australia. Samples were collected between 2012 and 2013, from a total of 77 sites that spanned a gradient of water turbidity. Environmental measures of water quality between 2000 and 2013 revealed strong seasonal fluctuations from summer to winter, yet seagrass biomass exhibited no temporal variation. There was no temporal variability in C_org stocks, other than below ground biomass stocks were slightly higher in June 2013. Seagrass locations were grouped into riverine, coastal, and seagrass loss locations and short temporal variability of C_org stocks was analysed within these categories to provide clearer insights into temporal patterns. Above ground C_org stocks were similar between coastal and riverine meadows. Below ground C_org stocks were highest in coastal meadows, followed by riverine meadows. Sediment C_org stocks within riverine meadows were much higher than at coastal meadows and areas of seagrass loss, with no difference in sediment C_org stocks between these last two categories. Riverine seagrass meadows, of higher turbidity, had greater total C_org stocks than meadows in offshore areas irrespective of time. We suggest that C_org stock assessment should prioritise sampling over spatial gradients, but repeated monitoring over short time scales is less likely to be warranted if environmental conditions remain stable.     

SWIFT-DASH: Spatial Heterodyne Spectroscopy Approach to Stratospheric Wind and Ozone Measurement

Abstract

Passive wind measurements using Doppler shifts from atmospheric emissions were well demonstrated by the Wind Imaging Interferometer (WINDII) and the High Resolution Doppler Imager (HRDI) instruments on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, operated from 1991 to 2005. For WINDII these emissions were from visible region upper atmospheric airglow in the altitude range from 80 to 300?km. Application of the same technique in the stratosphere requires using thermal emission from a minor constituent, and an ozone line near 1133?cm^?1 (about 8.8?μm) has been identified as a suitable target line. The WINDII method employed a Doppler Michelson Interferometer, in which the wind is measured from phase shifts of a single spectral line. Isolating a single ozone spectral line is a major challenge but using Spatial Heterodyne Spectroscopy (SHS) offers a way to resolve a number of interferogram spectral components (fringes) within a narrow spectral range. The instrument is a Michelson interferometer similar to WINDII but one in which the two mirrors are replaced by diffraction gratings. A developmental instrument capable of measuring the phase shifts from several ozone lines within a spectral range of 4?cm^?1 has been designed, built, and operated in the laboratory. Simulated retrievals using the measurement parameters of this instrument demonstrate the capability of wind measurement with an accuracy better than 3?m?s^?1 over an altitude range of 24 to 60?km. The retrieval employs four spectral lines for wind and three fringe frequencies for ozone concentration (of about 30 possible), each of which provides an optimal measurement for a particular altitude range. Ozone concentrations are also provided with an accuracy better than 10% from 20 to 50?km. Further detailed tests of this instrument are planned for the future. This work is supported by the Canadian Space Agency.