Abrasion-derived sediments under intensified winds at the latest Pleistocene leading edge of the advancing Sinai-Negev erg

Quaternary desert loess and sandstone-loessite relationships in the geological record raise questions regarding causes and mechanisms of silt formation and accretion. In the northern Sinai-Negev desert carbonate terrain, only sand abrasion in active erg could have produced the large quantities of quartzo-feldspathic silts constituting the late Quaternary northwestern Negev loess. In the continuum of source (medium to fine sand of dunes) to sink (silts in loess) the very fine sand is unaccounted for in the record. This weakens the sand abrasion model of silt formation as a global process. Here, we demonstrate that, as predicted by experiments, abrasion by advancing dunes generated large quantities of very fine sand (60-110 μm) deposited within the dune field and in close proximity downwind. This very fine sand was generated 13-11 ka, possibly synchronous with the Younger Dryas under gusty sand/dust storms in the southeastern Mediterranean and specifically in the northern Sinai-Negev erg. These very fine sands were washed down slope and filled small basins blocked by the advancing dunes; outside these sampling basins it is difficult to identify these sands as a distinct product. We conclude that ergs are mega-grinders of sand into very fine sand and silt under windy Quaternary and ancient aeolian desert environments.     

内蒙古中西部地区不同土壤类型下土壤水分的研究

以2002—2003年连续两年自行观测的内蒙古中西部地区二连浩特、乌拉特中旗和乌海的土壤水分为基础，重点分析了沙尘暴发生季节反映下垫面特征的土壤水分的时间变化以及大气影响对不同土壤类型(棕钙土，灰漠土，栗钙土)水分的作用。土壤水分的变化被分为3个阶段进行分析，分别是解冻期至沙尘暴开始的春季、雨期的秋季和冰雪覆盖的冬季。土壤水分受气象条件和土壤类型的影响较大。在气象条件的影响下，土壤水分含量在土壤融化期最低，在雨季达到最大值，其中以栗钙土受的影响最明显。沙尘暴发生依赖于土壤融化时间、土壤融化期的土壤条件和上年冬季的冻土深度。     

有关粉尘释放模型的应力分配模式存在问题的讨论

准确模拟粉尘释放通量对评价粉尘气溶胶的气候效应、沙漠化和沙尘暴防治具有重要意义。敏感性试验、室内和野外风洞实验表明被广泛使用的DPM（Dust Production Model）粉尘释放模型的2个应力分配模式——Marticorena模式和 Alfaro模式存在明显问题：由于目前空气动力学粗糙度模式还不能考虑粗糙元间隙率和粗糙元分布状况空气动力学粗糙度的影响,以空气动力学粗糙度为主要参数的Marticorena模式和 Alfaro模式还不能考虑粗糙元间隙率和粗糙元分布状况对应力分配的影响,而相关实验表明这些因素对应力分配存在显著影响;Marticorena模式和 Alfaro模式预测的应力分配系数和起动摩阻风速存在显著差异,目前实验结果还不能判断二者正确与否;Marticorena模式和 Alfaro模式预测的能够有效控制风蚀的应空气动力学粗糙度与实际观测相矛盾。针对上述问题提出了通过风洞实验改进当前应力分配模式的主要途径。     

Direct Monte Carlo and multifluid modeling of the circumnuclear dust coma: Spherical grain dynamics revisited

This paper describes the first computations of dust distributions in the vicinity of an active cometary nucleus, using a multidimensional Direct Simulation Monte Carlo Method (DSMC). The physical model is simplistic: spherical grains of a broad range of sizes are liberated by H₂O sublimation from a selection of nonrotating sunlit spherical nuclei, and submitted to the nucleus gravity, the gas drag, and the solar radiation pressure. The results are compared to those obtained by the previously described Dust Multi-Fluid Method (DMF) and demonstrate an excellent agreement in the regions where the DMF is usable. Most importantly, the DSMC allows the discovery of hitherto unsuspected dust coma properties in those cases which cannot be treated by the DMF. This leads to a thorough reconsideration of the properties of the near-nucleus dust dynamics. In particular, the results show that (1) none of the three forces considered here can be neglected a priori, in particular not the radiation pressure; (2) hitherto unsuspected new families of grain trajectories exist, for instance trajectories leading from the nightside surface to the dayside coma; (3) a wealth of balistic-like trajectories leading from one point of the surface to another point exist; on the dayside, such trajectories lead to the formation of “mini-volcanoes.” The present model and results are discussed carefully. It is shown that (1) the neglected forces (inertia associated with a nucleus rotation, solar tidal force) are, in general, not negligible everywhere, and (2) when allowing for these additional forces, a time-dependent model will, in general, have to be used. The future steps of development of the model are outlined.     

The influence of the brightness of the asteroidal dust bands on the gegenschein

The position and shape of the Gegenschein’s maximum brightness provide information on the structure of the interplanetary dust cloud. We show that the asteroidal dust bands, extended near the anti-solar point, play an important role in determining both the position of the maximum brightness and the shape of the Gegenschein. After removing the asteroidal dust bands from an observation of the Gegenschein on November 2, 1997, it was found that the maximum brightness point shifted −0.4° in ecliptic latitude, i.e., to the south of the ecliptic plane, at an ecliptic longitude of 180°, in contrast to a latitude value of +0.1° when the dust bands were included. Furthermore, the part of the Gegenschein to the south of the ecliptic plane was brighter than the northern part at the time of observation. Referring to the cloud model of T. Kelsall et al. (1998, Astrophy. J. 508, 44-73), it can be estimated that the ascending node of the symmetry plane of the dust cloud is 57°^−3°_+7° when its inclination is 2.03° ? 0.50°.     

A dust cloud around Pluto and Charon

We suggest that Pluto and Charon are immersed in a tenuous dust cloud. The cloud consists of ejecta from Pluto and—especially—Charon, released from their surfaces by impacts of micrometeoroids originating from Edgeworth-Kuiper belt objects. The motion of the ejected grains is dominated by the gravity of Pluto and Charon, which determines a pear-shape of the densest part of the cloud. While the production rates of escaping particles from both sides are comparable, the lifetimes of the Charon particles inside the Hill sphere of Pluto-Charon with respect to the Sun are much longer than of the Pluto ejecta, so that the cloud is composed predominantly of Charon grains. The dust cloud is dense enough to be detected with an in situ dust detector onboard a future space mission to Pluto. The cloud's maximum optical depth of τ≈3×10⁻¹¹ is, however, too low to allow remote sensing observations.     

Low velocity impacts into dust: results from the COLLIDE-2 microgravity experiment

We present the results of the second flight of the Collisions Into Dust Experiment (COLLIDE-2), a space shuttle payload that performs six impact experiments into simulated planetary regolith at speeds between 1 and 100 cm/s. COLLIDE-2 flew on the STS-108 mission in December 2001 following an initial flight in April 1998. The experiment was modified since the first flight to provide higher quality data, and the impact parameters were varied. Spherical quartz projectiles of 1-cm radius were launched into quartz sand and JSC-1 lunar regolith simulant targets 2-cm deep. At impact speeds below ∼20 cm/s the projectile embedded itself in the target material and did not rebound. Some ejecta were produced at ∼10 cm/s. At speeds >25 cm/s the projectile rebounded and significant ejecta was produced. We present coefficients of restitution, ejecta velocities, and limits on ejecta masses. Ejecta velocities are typically less than 10% of the impact velocity, and the fraction of impact kinetic energy partitioned into ejecta kinetic energy is also less than 10%. Taken together with a proposed aerodynamic planetesimal growth mechanism, these results support planetesimal growth at impact speeds above the nominal observed threshold of about 20 cm/s.     

Magnetic aggregation: II. Laboratory and microgravity experiments

In a previous publication (Dominik and Nübold, 2002, Icarus 157, 173-186), we presented analytical expressions and theoretical considerations concerning preplanetary dust aggregation with magnetized grains in the solar nebula. The present work is dedicated to the experimental study of magnetic aggregation in a ground-based laboratory as well as under microgravity conditions on parabolic flights. We conducted aggregation experiments with dust analogues in order to study the temporal evolution and the structural outcome of grain growth processes dominated by or comprising exclusively magnetic grains. Within aggregation times ranging from a couple of seconds to a few minutes only, formation of huge chain-like and/or web-like dust aggregates was observed. After aggregate retrieval we were able to study the sizes and structures of the aggregates in great detail. We established the fractal dimension of the aggregates as D_fs=1.20±0.05 for single chains and D_fc=1.50±0.21 for inter-connected web-like structures. This is considerably lower than for non-magnetic grain growth. The dynamic exponent z for the mass increase with time according to t^z was found to be z=2.7 from in-situ video images of the microgravity aggregation runs. The results are compared with the theoretical considerations presented earlier as well as with previous experimental work on the same and on related topics, respectively.     

Two Different Dust Storms in Northeast China:the Sources and Influences in East Asia

Dust storms in Northeast China become more se-rious in recent years due to the global warming and local land use and cover change (LUCC) around the sand lands in western and northwestern Jilin Province. Field investigations and urban testing re-vealed that the amount of dusts brought by dust storm reaches a higher level in the past two years. According to an experiment on the “mud-snow”in April, 2000 and an observation in March, 2002, the dusts coming from the western Jilin and fall…