Long‐term investigations of the snow cover in a subalpine semi‐forested catchment

To improve spring runoff forecasts from subalpine catchments, detailed spatial simulations of the snow cover in this landscape is obligatory. For more than 30 years, the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL has been conducting extensive snow cover observations in the subalpine watershed Alptal (central Switzerland). This paper summarizes the conclusions from past snow studies in the Alptal valley and presents an analysis of 14 snow courses located at different exposures and altitudes, partly in open areas and partly in forest. The long‐term performance of a physically based numerical snow–vegetation–atmosphere model (COUP) was tested with these snow‐course measurements. One single parameter set with meteorological input variables corrected to the prevailing local conditions resulted in a convincing snow water equivalent (SWE) simulation at most sites and for various winters with a wide range of snow conditions. The snow interception approach used in this study was able to explain the forest effect on the SWE as observed on paired snow courses. Finally, we demonstrated for a meadow and a forest site that a successful simulation of the snowpack yields appropriate melt rates. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

鄂东南某铀矿勘查区地气与X荧光异常特征及找矿意义

采用地气与土壤X荧光（地球化学） 测量法,对鄂东南某铀矿勘查区开展隐伏铀矿找矿工作,结果表明铀矿赋存在 工作区主断裂和次级断裂中,在含矿断裂上方及断裂延伸方向的相邻区域形成含U的地气与土壤地球化学异常区。异常区 内Pb,Zn,Cu,Au的地气异常明显且具有一定的差异,同时伴有幅度较低的W,Bi,Y,Mo,Mn,As等元素组合异常。 根据勘查区获得的地气与土壤X荧光资料综合分析,在测区西北的次级断裂F7北部捕获的地气与土壤异常具有已知矿异常 的全部特征。依据地气异常位置与断裂的关系,推断铀矿可能埋深在200~350 m左右,矿体在走向上可能有220 m的延续。目 前,在该异常区布设的钻孔已在200 m深度见到铀矿体,进一步的探矿工程还在进行中。     

Spectral characteristics of the nearshore waves off Paradip,India during monsoon and extreme events

Spectral and statistical wave parameters obtained from the measured time series wave data off Paradip, east coast of India during May 1996–January 1997 were analysed along with MIKE 21 spectral wave model (SW) results. Statistical wave parameters and directional wave energy spectra distinctly separate out the wave conditions that prevailed off Paradip in the monsoon, fair weather and extreme weather events during the above period. Frequency-energy spectra during extreme events are single peaked, and the maximum energy distribution is in a narrow frequency band with an average directional spreading of 20°. Spectra for other seasons are multi-peaked, and energy is distributed over a wide range of frequencies and directions. The NCEP re-analysis winds were used in the model, and the results clearly bring out the wave features during depressions. The simulated wave parameters reasonably show good match with the measurements. For example, the correlation coefficient between the measured and modelled significant wave height is 0.87 and the bias −0.25.     

A Raman spectroscopic study of Fe–Mg olivines

End-member synthetic fayalite and forsterite and a natural solid-solution crystal of composition (Mg_1.80,Fe_0.20)SiO₄ were investigated using Raman spectroscopy. Polarized single-crystal spectra were measured as a function of temperature. In addition, polycrystalline forsterite and fayalite, isotopically enriched in ²⁶Mg and ⁵⁷Fe, respectively, were synthesized and their powder spectra measured. The high-wavenumber modes in olivine consist of internal SiO₄ vibrations that show little variation upon isotopic substitution. This confirms conclusions from previous spectroscopic studies that showed that the internal SiO₄ vibrations have minimal coupling with the lower-wavenumber lattice modes. The lowest wavenumber modes in both forsterite and fayalite shift in energy following isotopic substitution, but with energies less than that which would be associated with pure Mg and Fe translations. The low-wavenumber Raman modes in olivine are best described as lattice modes consisting to a large degree of mixed vibrations of M(2) cation translations and external vibrations of the SiO₄ tetrahedra. The single-crystal spectra of forsterite and Fo₉₀Fa₁₀ were recorded at a number of temperatures from room temperature to about 1200 °C. From these data the microscopic Grüneisen parameters for three different A_g modes for both compositions were calculated, and also the structural state of the solid solution crystal was investigated. Small discontinuities observed in the wavenumber behavior of a low-energy mixed Mg/T(SiO₄) mode between 700 and 1000 °C may be related to minor variations in the Fe–Mg intracrystalline partitioning state in the Fo₉₀Fa₁₀ crystal, but further spectroscopic work is needed to clarify and quantify this issue. The mode wavenumber and intensity behavior of internal SiO₄ vibrations as a function of temperature are discussed in terms of crystal field and dynamic splitting and also ₁ and ₃ coupling. Crystal-field splitting increases only very slightly with temperature, whereas dynamical-field splitting is temperature dependent. The degree of ₁–₃ coupling decreases with increasing temperature.     

映秀 北川断裂带中垂直断裂带走向的NW SE向构造和汶川地震

通过汶川科学钻探钻孔地质实体(岩芯)的构造研究、非弹性应变恢复法(ASR法)地应力测试,结合区域构造和汶川地震NW向余震带的综合分析,提出沿映秀-北川断裂走向的狭窄范围内存在一组NW-SE向构造,其总体产状为:走向N48°W,倾角中等,与映秀-北川断裂带的总体走向和ASR地应力测试获得的一组最大主应力方位(侧伏方向224°)和最大水平应力方位(44°)接近垂直。NW-SE向构造,除少数发育为宏观的断裂构造外,多数表现为密集的裂隙系(或隐断裂)和隐伏断裂,以逆冲性质为主,局部略具左行走滑特征。映秀-北川断裂两侧相向倾斜的NW-SE向裂隙系表明其两侧存在有方向相反的运动,映秀-北川断裂属两侧具有不同形成机制和相向位移的双侧走滑型断裂。映秀-北川断裂的同震垂向位移受NE-SW向构造和NW-SE向构造双重因素制约,在汶川地震的主震带与NW向余震带叠置部位具最大的垂向位移量。从时间尺度分析,在汶川地震的全过程中,仅开始时刻表现为自NW→SE方向的强烈逆冲作用,随后的主要时间段内均表现为沿断裂带方向的运动和自SW→NE方向的逆冲。NW-SE向构造的形成是龙门山深部应力和能量长期积聚的结果,强震发生时,初始时刻的自NW向SE方向的强烈挤压,瞬即转换成自SW向NE方向的运动和强烈挤压。NE-SW向挤压构造应力场,是由NW-SE向挤压作用长期积累和诱导,并叠置在区域NW-SE向主导的挤压构造应力场之上的局部构造应力场,但在发震后,它主导了地震能量自震源区沿断裂走向向NE方向的快速传递和扩展及NW向强余震的发生,地震能量在NE-SW向强烈挤压过程中得到最终释放。因此,映秀-北川断裂在地震的不同阶段,其性质存在差异,在地震宁静期或弱震期(应力积累和闭锁期)以自NW往SE方向的逆冲性质为主,兼有右行走滑特征,但在强震期(应力释放和解锁期),除发震时表现为强烈的继承性逆冲作用,随后即转化为以平行断裂带走向自SW向NE方向的快速运动和扩展及自SW往NE方向的逆冲作用为主。     

Correcting Distortions in Measurements of Atmospheric Pressure Fluctuations

Although recognized as important, measurements of turbulent atmospheric pressure are considered difficult and are conducted infrequently. Here we discuss the essential elements in the design of an instrument for measuring turbulent fluctuations of atmospheric pressure. Our analysis of the instrument’s dynamics is focused on the signal distortions resulting from a pneumatic filter, a necessary element in the instrument’s design. Such distortions substantially affect the observed spectral scaling of the pressure field as well as other quantities of physical interest, such as pressure-velocity 〈p, v〉 and pressure-wave 〈p, η〉 covariances. We propose a computationally efficient discrete-time signal processing method for complete compensation of pneumatic filter distortions and review the criteria for selecting the instrument parameters (sampling frequency and time constant), so that digital filter distortions, precision degradation, clipping, and over-damping, are simultaneously avoided. This correction method must be an inherent part of the instrument’s design.     

Creating Surface Flux Maps from Airborne Measurements: Application to the Mackenzie Area GEWEX Study MAGS 1999

The objective of this study is to produce two-dimensional maps of the sensible and the latent heat fluxes from airborne measurements, based on the analysis of a flight pattern, called grid flights. A footprint model with along-wind and cross-wind components was used to project the measured fluxes onto the surface map. The method was applied to measurements over Arctic tundra during the Mackenzie Area GEWEX (Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment) Study (MAGS) 1999. The resulting flux estimates were computed by integration of a wavelet transform, and corrected for long wavelength losses using information from 100 km long regional runs that were conducted close to the grid flights. The random flux error was estimated based on the flight length that is represented in each map element, and a map resolution of 3 × 3 km was chosen in order to keep the average random error of the latent heat flux below 25%. The random error of the sensible heat flux was smaller by a factor of 1.4 on average. An analysis of airborne flux measurements at different altitudes showed no significant increase of flux estimates for measurement heights below 90 m. Thus, the fluxes measured at heights between 48 and 64 m were not corrected for vertical flux divergence. The resulting flux maps provide quantitative two-dimensional estimates of the energy exchange between the surface and the atmosphere during the snow melt period in an Arctic environment, which are well-suited for calibration and validation of numerical models.     

Measurements of CO,HCN, and C2H6 Total Columns in Smoke Plumes Transported from the 2010 Russian Boreal Forest Fires to the Canadian High Arctic

In August 2010, simultaneous enhancements of aerosol optical depth and total columns of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), and ethane (C₂H₆) were observed at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL, 80.05°N, ?86.42°W, 0.61 km above sea level, Eureka, Nunavut, Canada). Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) hot spots, Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aerosol index maps, and Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) back-trajectories were used to attribute these enhancements to an intense boreal fire event occurring in Russia. A ground-based Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectrometer at PEARL provided vertically integrated measurements of trace gases transported in smoke plumes. We derived HCN and C₂H₆ equivalent emission ratios with respect to CO of 0.0054?±?0.0022 and 0.0108?±?0.0036, respectively, and converted them into equivalent emission factors of 0.66?±?0.27 g kg^?1 and 1.47?±?0.50 g kg^?1 (in grams of gas per kilogram of dry biomass burnt, with one-sigma uncertainties). These emission factors add new observations to the relatively sparse datasets available and can be used to improve the simulation of biomass burning fire emissions in chemical transport models. These emission factors for the boreal forest are in agreement with the mean values recently reported in a compilation study.     

Comparison of Kansas Data with High-resolution Large-eddy Simulation Fields

The surface layer of an atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is most accessible to field measurements and hence its ensemble-mean structure has been well established. The Kansas field measurements were the first detailed study of this layer, providing numerous benchmark statistical profiles for a wide range of stability states. Large-eddy simulation (LES), in contrast, is most suitable for studying the mixed layer of the ABL where the energy-containing range of the vertical velocity field is well resolved. In the surface layer, typical large-eddy simulations barely resolve the energy-containing vertical-velocity fields and hence do not provide sufficient data for a detailed analysis.We carried out a nested-mesh simulation of a moderately convective ABL (-z_i/L = 8) in which the lower 6% of the boundary layer had an effective grid resolution of 512³. We analyze the LES fields above the 6th vertical grid level (z = 23 m) where the vertical velocity field has a well formed inertial subrange, for a detailed comparison with the Kansas results. Various terms in the budgets of turbulent kinetic energy, temperature variance, Reynolds stress, temperature flux, and some higher order moments are compared. The agreement is generally quite good; however, we do observe certain discrepancies, particularly in the terms involving pressure fluctuations.