The measurement of long-period oscillations at Sacramento Peak Observatory and South Pole

A program to measure long-period brightness oscillations at the solar limb has been pursued at Sacramento Peak Observatory for several years. Past improvements in observing technique and data analysis are reviewed. The encouraging results aid in the verification of the reality and the origin of oscillatory signals. However, the main stumbling block to this and other observational programs is the length of observing sequences imposed by the day/night cycle. The South Pole has received considerable attention as a site where extended observations might be possible. Currently, the Sacramento Peak program is developing a South Pole telescope designed for the observing technique and data analysis proven in Sunspot. A review of pertinent South Pole site parameters is given here for other workers who may be considering South Pole observations. Observing sequences longer than 150 hr are possible, though rare. Data sets of this duration are very attractive for solar oscillation studies.Proceedings of the 66th IAU Colloquium: Problems in Solar and Stellar Oscillations, held at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, U.S.S.R., 1–5 September, 1981.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract AST 78-17292 with the National Science Foundation.Summer Research Assistant at Sacramento Peak Observatory.     

Evidence of early Flandrian tidal surges in Lower Strathearn,Scotland

Detailed stratigraphic, palaeobotanical (diatom and pollen) and radiometric evidence from a sequence of buried estuarine deposits, buried peat and overlying estuarine ‘carse’ deposits at Wester Rhynd, in Lower Strathearn, suggests the occurrence of two brief marine incursions between the abandonment by the sea of a buried estuarine flat, probably the Low Buried Beach, at about 8765 ± 75 BP, and c. 8500 BP. The first incursion, shortly after 8565 ± 85 BP, caused bottom-living marine diatoms to be thrown without clastic material onto the rapidly accumulating terrestrial peat. The second, bracketed by dates of 8485 ± 80 and 8510 ± 85 BP, deposited an extremely thin (1 mm) layer of fine sand that interrupts an otherwise unbroken buried peat succession covering the period 8765 ± 75 to 7710 ± 70 BP. The marine diatom, lithostratigraphic and ¹⁴C evidence together are consistent with a storm, storm-surge or tsunami origin for these events, which are recognised principally from the diatom evidence, having left no mark in the pollen record.     

Bifurcations of plane with three-dimensional periodic orbits in the elliptic restricted problem

We show that the procedure employed in the circular restricted problem, of tracing families of three-dimensional periodic orbits from vertical self-resonant orbits belonging to plane families, can also be applied in the elliptic problem. A method of determining series of vertical bifurcation orbits in the planar elliptic restricted problem is described, and one such series consisting of vertical-critical orbits (a _v=+1) is given for the entire range (0,1/2) of the mass parameter . The initial segments of the families of three-dimensional orbits which bifurcate from two of the orbits belonging to this series are also given.     

2021: A Year of Unprecedented Climate Extremes in Eastern Asia,North America,and Europe

The year 2021 was recorded as the 6th warmest since 1880. In addition to large-scale warming, 2021 will be remembered for its unprecedented climate extremes. Here, a review of selected high-impact climate extremes in 2021, with a focus on China, along with an extension to extreme events in North America and Europe is presented. Nine extreme events that occurred in 2021 in China are highlighted, including a rapid transition from cold to warm extremes and sandstorms in spring, consecutive drought in South China and severe thunderstorms in eastern China in the first half of the year, extremely heavy rainfall over Henan Province and Hubei Province during summer, as well as heatwaves, persistent heavy rainfall, and a cold surge during fall. Potential links of extremes in China to four global-scale climate extremes and the underlying physical mechanisms are discussed here, providing insights to understand climate extremes from a global perspective. This serves as a reference for climate event attribution, process understanding, and high-resolution modeling of extreme events.     

The Anomalous Mei-yu Rainfall of Summer 2020 from a Circulation Clustering Perspective: Current and Possible Future Prevalence※

Highly unusual amounts of rainfall were seen in the 2020 summer in many parts of China, Japan, and South Korea. At the intercontinental scale, case studies have attributed this exceptional event to a displacement of the climatological western North Pacific subtropical anticyclone, potentially associated Indian Ocean sea surface temperature patterns and a mid-latitude wave train emanating from the North Atlantic. Using clusters of spatial patterns of sea level pressure, we show that an unprecedented 80％ of the 2020 summer days in East Asia were dominated by clusters of surface pressure greater than normal over the South China Sea. By examining the rainfall and water vapor fluxes in other years when these clusters were also prevalent, we find that the frequency of these types of clusters was likely to have been largely responsible for the unusual rainfall of 2020. From two ensembles of future climate projections, we show that summers like 2020 in East Asia may become more frequent and considerably wetter in a warmer world with an enhanced moisture supply.     

Characterizing aquatic sediment-oil aggregates using in situ instruments

The effects of emulsified crude oil and salinity (15, 30 per thousand ) on the steady state aggregate volume distributions and fractal dimensions were determined for a range of mean velocity gradients, (G(m) =5-50 s(-1)). Aggregation was performed in a 40-L cylindrical tank with a 4-blade paddle mixer. Three-dimensional fractal dimensions (D3) and volume distributions were determined using a procedure integrating data from an electrozone and an in situ light scattering instrument. Two-dimensional fractal dimensions (D2) and derived volume distributions were determined using a recently developed submersible flow cytometer equipped with a digital camera and image analysis software. For latex beads or emulsified crude oil systems, the above listed instruments yielded consistent size distributions and fractal dimensions (D2=1.92 +/- 0.16, D3=2.94 +/- 0.12). Mean volume aggregate diameters determined using the FlowCAM were consistently larger that those determined using the LISST-100 or Coulter Multisizer due to aggregate orientations during measurements. With increasing G(m) values, all colloidal aggregates showed increasing D3 values due to reduced aggregate length. Because of the compactness of all the aggregates (D3 >2), D2 values remained constant at 2. Neither salinity nor sediment type significantly affected D2 values calculated for sediment-crude oil aggregates. However, clay-oil aggregates showed higher D3 values than clay aggregates. This suggests that colloidal oil and mixing shear are the more dominant factors influencing aggregate morphology in nearshore waters. Overall, the data suggests that the analysis methods provide consistent size distribution results. However, because of the shear and salinity of coastal waters, resulting aggregates are too compact to estimate their D3 values using image analysis alone.     

The genus Neomonoceratina(Crustacea: Ostracoda) from the Cainozoic of the West Pacific margins

Fourteen species of Neomonoceratina from the West Pacific margins are considered in the present paper, of which two species and one subspecies are described as new. Lectotypes have been designated for three of Brady's 1868 species (N. bataviana, N. iniqua and N. rhomboidea) and also for two of Kingma's 1948 species (N. macropora and N. microreticulata).The taxonomic confusion within the genus, particularly with respect to N. crispata, N. delicata, N. dongtaiensis, N. iniqua and N. microreticulata, is clarified and the zoogeographical implication of the distribution of the genus is discussed.     

Capacity building in the marine sector in the Pacific Islands: the role of the University of the South Pacific's Marine Studies Programme

Capacity building in the marine sector is a priority for Pacific Island nations, which face major challenges in the sustainable management of their marine resources under UNCLOS III and the various Conventions and Agreements stemming from UNCED. The University of the South Pacific (USP), with its 12 Pacific Island members (Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu) has taken up this challenge through the establishment of its Marine Studies Programme (MSP) in 1993. The MSP is one of the four focal areas identified in USP's 1998 Strategic Plan. The breadth of MSP's activities is substantial, ranging from awareness raising at the village level to sophisticated post-graduate research in marine science. The substantial regional and international cooperation, research and training involved in these endeavours require USP to respond to education, training and research needs at many levels. As USP services more than 23 million square kilometres of ocean space and less than 1.7 million people, only a small percentage of this population have access to face-to-face teaching. USP's success to date is a measure of staff dedication, innovation and the confidence of the university, its members, and its donor partners. Capacity building in the marine sector will remain a high priority for many years to come, and MSP must continue to play a leading role.