Pore-water distribution and quantification of diffusive benthic fluxes of nutrients in the Huanghai and East China Seas sediments

1 Indroduction The coastal zone and continental shelf area is an important region in the global biogeochemical cycle of nutrients in the ocean. This portion of the global ocean interacts closely with the continents, atmosphere and the open ocean in a comp…     

I Zwicky 1: Decomposition and dynamics of the nearby QSO host

We address current theories of research on morphology, environment and evolution of active galaxies in the form of a detailed case study of the nearby QSO host I Zw 1. This study is based on sub-kpc resolution ¹²CO(1-0) observations with the BIMA mm-interferometer and on near-infrared imaging with ISAAC at the VLT. The ¹²CO(1-0) maps reveal a circumnuclear molecular gas ring with a radius of 0.9 kpc. The imaging data in the J-band are analyzed with respect to a disk-bulge decomposition. Together with a model of the gas rotation curve, the radial profile of the dynamical J-band mass-to-light ratio (M/L) is discussed. The J-band images give new evidence for an interaction between I Zw 1 and its nearby companion. First results from a sequence of N-body simulations for an extensive test of the parameter space of the interaction are presented. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Damped Oscillations of Coronal Loops

A mechanism of damped oscillations of a coronal loop is investigated. The loop is treated as a thin toroidal flux rope with two stationary photospheric footpoints, carrying both toroidal and poloidal currents. The forces and the flux-rope dynamics are described within the framework of ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). The main features of the theory are the following: i) Oscillatory motions are determined by the Lorentz force that acts on curved current-carrying plasma structures and ii) damping is caused by drag that provides the momentum coupling between the flux rope and the ambient coronal plasma. The oscillation is restricted to the vertical plane of the flux rope. The initial equilibrium flux rope is set into oscillation by a pulse of upflow of the ambient plasma. The theory is applied to two events of oscillating loops observed by the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE). It is shown that the Lorentz force and drag with a reasonable value of the coupling coefficient (c _d ) and without anomalous dissipation are able to accurately account for the observed damped oscillations. The analysis shows that the variations in the observed intensity can be explained by the minor radial expansion and contraction. For the two events, the values of the drag coefficient consistent with the observed damping times are in the range c _d ≈2 – 5, with specific values being dependent on parameters such as the loop density, ambient magnetic field, and the loop geometry. This range is consistent with a previous MHD simulation study and with values used to reproduce the observed trajectories of coronal mass ejections (CMEs).     

The sensitivity of the next generation of lunar Cherenkov observations to UHE neutrinos and cosmic rays

We present simulation results for the detection of ultra-high energy (UHE) cosmic ray (CR) and neutrino interactions in the Moon by radio-telescopes. We simulate the expected radio signal at Earth from such interactions, expanding on previous work to include interactions in the sub-regolith layer for single dish and multiple telescope systems. For previous experiments at Parkes, Goldstone (GLUE), and Kalyazin we recalculate the sensitivity to an isotropic flux of UHE neutrinos. We find the published sensitivity for the GLUE experiment to be too high (too optimistic) by an order of magnitude, and consequently the GLUE limit to be too low by an order of magnitude. Our predicted sensitivity for future experiments using the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) and the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) indicate these instruments will be able to detect the more optimistic UHE neutrino flux predictions, while the square kilometre array (SKA) will also be sensitive to all bar one prediction of a diffuse ‘cosmogenic’, or ‘GZK’, neutrino flux.Outstanding theoretical uncertainties at both high-frequency and low-frequency limits currently prevent a reliable estimate of the sensitivity of the lunar Cherenkov technique for UHE cosmic ray (CR) astronomy. Here, we place limits on the effects of large-scale surface roughness on UHE CR detection, and find that when near-surface ‘formation-zone’ effects are ignored, the proposed SKA low-frequency aperture array could detect CR events above 56 EeV at a rate between 15 and 40 times that of the current Pierre Auger Observatory. Should further work indicate that formation-zone effects have little impact on UHE CR sensitivity, observations of the Moon with the SKA would allow directional analysis of UHE cosmic rays, and investigation of correlations with putative cosmic ray source populations, to be conducted with very high statistics.     

On the possibility of investigation of the magnetic field structure in subphotospheric layers of the Sun according to observations of sunspot torsional oscillations

A method of investigation of the magnetic field structure in subphotospheric layers of the Sun has been developed. The method is based on observations of the torisonal oscillations of single sunspots. Characteristics of the torsional oscillations have been obtained from observations of the longitudinal magnetic field and radial velocities of seven single sunspots in the photospheric line Fe I λ5253 Å. The parameters of the torsional oscillations and magnetic tubes in the deep layers have been determined. The radius of the cross section of a magnetic flux tube forming a sunspot is greatest near the Sun’s surface and is approximately equal to the radius of a sunspot umbra. Down to the deeper layers, it decreases quite quickly. The longitudinal electric current appearing in the magnetic tube changes direction. The typical time of the current changes is determined by the period of the torsional oscillations. The intensity of the longitudinal magnetic field in the tube increases with depth. The Alfven wave velocity averaged over the length of a magnetic tube is tens or hundreds of times less than this velocity in a sunspot umbra. It decreases with an increase in the period of oscillations. A decrease in the Alfven wave velocity leads to an increase in the twisting angle of magnetic field lines.     

海洋大数据序列时-空变化主成分分析方法

介绍海洋要素时－空变化大数据量主成分分析方法,讨论并澄清主成分分析在海洋大数据序列应用中的一些问题和易混淆的概念。根据美国国家海洋与大气局（NOAA）卫星观测的海表面温度红外资料,对加拿大温哥华岛西部大陆架区8个夏季海表面温度的空间变化进行主成分分析,以促进主成分方法在海洋大数据序列分析中的应用。     

Net Zooplankton and the biological pump off Sanriku, Japan

Taxonomic composition, size composition, standing stock, and chemical composition of mesozooplankton were determined to examine the contribution of their fecal pellets to the vertical flux of organic carbon at the outside, the edge, and the center of the warm core ring. The warm core ring significantly affects not only their taxonomic composition and size composition but also their standing stock and chemical composition. The zooplankton at the center of the warm core ring was characterized by the absence of carnivores at the top of the size-trophic relation and filter feeding planktonic tunicates at the bottom. Zooplankton carbon biomass at the outside of the ring was one-third less than that at the center of the ring. The vertical flux of fecal pellets obtained from the pellet volume (12.3 mgC m⁻²d⁻¹) contributed 19 to 96% of the flux (13 to 64 mgC m⁻² d⁻¹) estimated from the body carbon and the fecal pellet production rate. The estimated flux of fecal pellets was 6 to 27% of vertical carbon flux (236 mgC m⁻²d⁻¹) determined by the sediment traps. Microscopic determination of fecal pellets and plankton in the sediment trap samples indicated high grazing activity during the sinking process. Those observations might suggest that particles other than fecal pellets contributed significantly to the vertical carbon flux and fecal pellets were settled directly without loss or being recycled within the surface mixed layer.     

真光层的颗粒动力学──Ⅵ.南海东北部海域上层水体颗粒动力学的示踪研究

利用234Th－238U不平衡研究南海东北部海域3个站位上层水体中的颗粒动力学性质，测定了水往中溶解态及颗粒态234Th的比活度，具体讨论各相中234Th／238U）AR（放射性活度比）比值的垂直分布情况及其与水化学要素间的关系。运用稿态箱式模型计算出各站位不同水层中溶解态234Th相对于清除至颗粒物的平均停留时间和颗粒态234Th相对于迁出作用的停留时间。由模型得出的参数表明3个站位的真光层具有两种不同的层化图像，这一情形与我们在南沙群岛海域得到的结果相一致。结合POC／PTh比值，估算出3个站位从真光层输出的颗粒有机碳（POC）通量分别为4.025.0和5．4mmolC·m－3－d-1。文中进一步讨论了234Th与POC两者停留时间的关系。     

Seasonal and Monthly Variation of Vertical Structure of Temperature,Salinity and Heat Flux of the Bay of Bengal

Seasonal and monthly variations of heat flux have been investigated in this study using the Modular Ocean Model of version 3 (MOM 3) simulations and 52 years Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) products. These variations of the heat flux in different boxes of the Bay of Bengal (BOB) in different depths show the different behavior of the boxes. It is seen that the model and SODA results are comparable. The basin shows north-south variation in the surface from winter to spring whereas there is east-west variation in the mixed layer throughout the year except winter. The remote effect caused by warm water penetration from Pacific Ocean through the Strait of Malacca and coastal Kelvin waves keeps the basin warm most of the year. This article addresses the mechanisms of the seasonal variation of the vertical structure of the temperature and heat flux components.     

中国东部夏季降水年际变化与同期东海潜热通量的关系

利用1985~2008年OAflux3、NCEP＼NCAR再分析资料与中国大陆东部108个站点的降水资料,应用回归和合成方法,分析了中国东部夏季降水的年际变化与同期东海及邻近海域潜热通量变异的关系。结果表明:东海及邻近海域(以下称东海)夏季潜热通量年际变化显著的区域位于东海区域,为与同期中国东部降水密切相关的关键区域。当东海的潜热通量偏高(低)时,中国东部长江以南地区上空盛行偏东北(西南)风异常,这将不(有)利于水汽由南向北的输送,从而可能使到达长江中下游流域及以北地区的水汽偏少(多);并且,长江中、下游流域为下沉(上升)气流和低层水汽辐散(辐合)正异常,对应降水偏少(偏多);华南地区为上升(下沉)气流和低层水汽辐合(辐散)正异常,对应降水偏多(偏少)。分析结果还表明,东海的潜热通量可通过影响东亚大气环流而成为引起中国东部夏季汛期降水年际异常的重要原因之一。