The influence of thermochemical convection on the fixity of mantle plumes

A general feature of both isochemical and thermochemical studies of mantle convection is that horizontal plume velocities tend to be smaller than typical convective velocities, however, it is not clear which system leads to a greater fixity of mantle plumes. We perform two- and three-dimensional numerical calculations and compare both thermochemical and isochemical cases with similar convective vigor to determine whether presence of a dense component in the mantle can lead to smaller ratios of horizontal plume velocity to surface velocity. We investigate different viscosity and density contrasts between chemical components in the thermochemical calculations, and we perform isochemical calculations with both free-slip and no-slip bottom boundary conditions. We then compare both visually and quantitatively the results of the thermochemical and isochemical calculations to determine which leads to greater plume fixity. We find that horizontal plume velocities for thermochemical calculations are similar to those from isochemical calculations with no-slip bottom boundary conditions. In addition, we find that plumes tend to be more fixed for isochemical cases with free-slip bottom boundary conditions for two-dimensional calculations, however, in three dimensions, we find that plume fixity is similar to that observed in thermochemical calculations.     

郑州强对流天气成因分析

对2004年郑州出现的7次强对流天气过程的天气形势、影响系统及稳定度的分析结果表明：华北低涡和NW气流形势下存在着低层升温、高层降温机制,使大气层结趋于不稳定,当测站高低空温差或温度平流差达到一定量值,且近地层存在辐合系统时,易出现强对流; SW气流或高压控制时,大气高温高湿,具有较强不稳定能量,若850 hPa或地面出现辐合系统时,易产生强对流;地面湿度连续数天加大或保持在某一值域,其上空温湿24 h变化呈上趋冷下趋暖或上趋干下趋湿并达到一定量值,预示强对流的发生;700～500 hPa湿度明显减小,24 h温度露点差加大4 ℃以上,或近地层θse≥350K,中低层Δθse≥26 K,θse小值位于700 hPa或500 hPa,其厚度≥2000 m,易出现强雷雨大风; 700 hPa以下t-td≤4.3 ℃,或连续4天850 hPa t-td≤7 ℃、700 hPa t-td≤5 ℃、500 hPa t-td≤9 ℃,PW≥12,可预示短时暴雨的出现.     

Nonlinear free thermal convection in a spherical shell:A variable viscosity model

Introduction The velocity field of surface plate motion can be split into a poloidal and a toroidal parts.At the Earth′s surface,the toroidal component is manifested by the existence of transform faults,and the poloidal component by the presence of convergence and divergence,i.e.spreading and subduc-tion zones.They have coupled each other and completely depicted the characteristics of plate tec-tonic motions.The mechanism of poloidal field has been studied fairly clearly which is related to …     

Numerical model of convection in sills

The numerical model of convection in magma sills is developed. The model is based on a full system of equations of fluid dynamics and includes heat transfer, buoyancy effects and diffusion of some minor component (marker). Solidification is treated as a phase transition. The results indicate that there are some qualitative differences between very thin sills with Rayleigh number Ra = 10⁵ and thin sills with Ra = 10⁶. For a basaltic magma the first case corresponds to the thickness of the sills of approximately 30 cm and the second case corresponds to the thickness of 60 cm. In the first case mixing is inefficient and conduction is the dominant form of heat transfer. In the second case mixing is efficient and convection is the dominant form of heat transfer. Some of the results can be scaled for the more viscous magmas in thicker sills.     

Deep Mechanical Background for the Cenozoic Volcanism in the Tibetan Plateau

INTRODUCTION Volcanoesaremostlyobservedinoceanicridges,hotspotsandcontinentalriftzones(Hongetal.,2003),andarerarelyobservedincontinentalinteri ors.However,sincethevolcanoeswithintheconti nentinteriorscannotbeattributedtotheplate/block marginprocess,theydr…     

The June 2013 Alberta catastrophic flooding event – part 2: fine‐scale precipitation and associated features

Data obtained from a variety of sources including the Canadian Lightning Detection Network, weather radars, weather stations and operational numerical weather model analyses were used to address the evolution of precipitation during the June 2013 southern Alberta flood. The event was linked to a mid‐level closed low pressure system to the west of the region and a surface low pressure region initially to its south. This configuration brought warm, moist unstable air into the region that led to dramatic, organized convection with an abundance of lightning and some hail. Such conditions occurred in the southern parts of the region whereas the northern parts were devoid of lightning. Initially, precipitation rates were high (extreme 15‐min rainfall rates up to 102 mm h^?1 were measured) but decreased to lower values as the precipitation shifted to long‐lived stratiform conditions. Both the convective and stratiform precipitation components were affected by the topography. Similar flooding events, such as June 2002, have occurred over this region although the 2002 event was colder and precipitation was not associated with substantial convection over southwest Alberta. Copyright © 2016 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada. Hydrological Processes. © John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.