Unified Approach to Photon-Counting Microlaser Rangers, Transponders, and Altimeters

Unlike current manned systems, NASA's next generation SLR2000 Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) station is fully autonomous, eye-safe, relatively compact and inexpensive, and, during daytime tracking, operates at signal-to-noise ratios several orders of magnitude below unity. Tiny, passivelyQ-switched microlasers generate ultra-short pulses with output energies on the order of 100 J at few kHz rates to achieve mm-levelranging precision to satellite altitudesof 20,000 km. Special ranging receivers, combined with Poisson statistical analysis of the received photon distribution, enable the system to rapidly and reliably identify and extract the single photon laser echoes from the solar background. The enhanced rate of return, combined with a uniform signal strength, can actually drive down both systematic and random range errors. The new SLR2000 technology has already spawned exciting new applications. Compact microlaser altimeters, capable of mapping the surface of a planet or other celestial body at multikilohertz rates, is one such application, and a high altitude, airborne version is currently being developed under NASA's Instrument Incubator Program. Interplanetary microlaser transponders would be capable of performing decimeter ranging or subnanosecond time transfer to spacecraft throughout the inner Solar System, resulting in improved knowledge of planetary motions and librations and enhanced General Relativity experiments.     

Reducing the non-axisymmetry of a planetary dynamo and an application to saturn

Abstract

If a conducting fluid shell is undergoing spin-axisymmetric differential rotation and overlies the dynamo generating region of a planet then it is capable of greatly reducing the non-spin-axisymmetric components of the generated field, provided the appropriate magnetic Reynolds number is large. The model, closely related to the electromagnetic skin effect, is quantified and applied to Saturn. The observed small dipole tilt (～ 1°) of Saturn's magnetic field can be explained because of the presence of a stably stratified conducting layer overlying the dynamo region. This layer is a predicted consequence of the thermal evolution, arises because of the limited solubility of helium in metallic hydrogen (Stevenson, 1980), and appears to be required by the Voyager infrared observations indicating depletion of helium from Saturn's atmosphere. The much larger dipole tilt angles of Jupiter and the Earth indicate the absence of any such stable, differentially rotating layer with a large magnetic Reynolds number.     

冲绳海槽宫古段中央地堑的形态与分布

采用中国科学院海洋研究所“科学1号”调查船及国家海洋局“向阳红9号”调查船最近几年在冲绳海槽宫古段进行海底地形及反射地震调查所取得的数据,首次详细展示了冲绳海槽宫古段南北长约200km区域内中央地堑的形态及空间展布特征。本文给出的成果大大加深了关于冲绳海槽中央地堑各种变化的认识。指出,按照形态,中央地堑分为U型、V型和半地堑三种。其中大部分中央地堑为U型地堑。地堑的深度40～250m,宽度6～14km,长度17～33km。冲绳海槽宫古段的最大水深为2244.4m,位于中央地堑城阳段北端底部靠东的一侧(125°19.3′E,25°49.8′N)。本研究区的中央地堑可分为断续的9段,从东北向西南大致呈右旋雁行排列。但黄岛段相对于崂山段,城阳段相对于莱西段,李仓段相对于城阳段又稍微向西偏出,呈现为左旋雁行排列。地堑的走向一般为N60°E左右,相对于冲绳海槽的走向更偏向于东西方向,偏角在15°左右。各段中央地堑是被NW向断裂错开的。这些断裂在海底表现为明显的海底断崖地貌和陡沟地貌,在地震剖面上表现为明显的地层错位,其错位的幅度往往老地层比新地层要大。根据地震剖面分析,这些NW向的断裂应该是走滑性质的。本文展示的中央地堑在形态上和空间展布形式上都和扩张洋脊类似。莱西段和城阳段中央地堑之间重叠地堑,在形式上也类似于扩张洋脊的重叠扩张中心。从地堑深度较浅并发育重叠地堑来分析,冲绳海槽的扩张速率应当介于慢速扩张和中速扩张之间。本研究区莱西段、即墨段和平度段海底地形相对较高,中央地堑深度变浅,并发育重叠中央地堑,应该相当于快速扩张大洋中脊的轴高,可能是正在孕育岩浆活动的位置。目前我们所观测到的中央地堑的错断和有规律的排列说明海槽的主体演化过程已经在拉张盆地和断陷盆地的基础上上升到一个更高的阶段。本文根据中央地堑的展布形式、重叠中央地堑,及其两侧中央地堑中的海底山推测此区域海底扩张可能正在进行。     

Reef-island topography and the vulnerability of atolls to sea-level rise

Low-lying reef islands on the rim of atolls are perceived as particularly vulnerable to the impacts of sea-level rise. Three effects are inferred: erosion of the shoreline, inundation of low-lying areas, and saline intrusion into the freshwater lens. Regional reconstruction of sea-level trends, supplementing the short observational instrumental record, indicates that monthly mean sea level is rising in the eastern Indian and western Pacific Oceans. This paper reviews the morphology and substrate characteristics of reef islands on Indo-Pacific atolls, and summarises their topography. On most atolls across this region, there is an oceanward ridge built by waves to a height of around 3 m above MSL; in a few cases these are topped by wind-blown dunes. The prominence of these ridges, together with radiocarbon dating and multi-temporal studies of shoreline position, indicate net accretion rather than long-term erosion on most of these oceanward shores. Less prominent lagoonward ridges occur, but their morphology and continuity are atoll-specific, being a function of the processes operating in each lagoon. Low-lying central areas are a feature of many islands, often locally excavated for production of taro. These lower-lying areas are already subject to inundation, which seems certain to increase as the sea rises. Tropical storms play an important role in the geomorphology of reef islands in those regions where they are experienced. Topographical differences, as well as features such as emergence of the reef flat and the stability of the substrate, mean that islands differ in terms of their susceptibility to sea-level rise. Further assessment of variations in shoreline vulnerability based on topography and substrate could form the basis for enhancing the natural resilience of these islands.     

典型斜坡地形地震动特征分析

以云南鲁甸6.5级地震中房屋建筑破坏严重的龙头山集镇斜坡地形为例,通过地脉动测试分析得出斜坡及坡顶测点相对于坡脚参考点谱比峰值均＞1,顺坡向谱比峰值大于垂直坡向谱比峰值,且谱比峰值从斜坡坡脚到坡顶逐渐增大,坡顶处约为3;顺坡向谱比峰值对应的频率为4.57～5.39 Hz,垂直坡向谱比峰值对应的频率稍高,为5.42～5.96 Hz。通过结合黏弹性边界的时域动力有限元方法分析斜坡地形在垂直入射地震动作用下的响应,数值模拟结果表明,斜坡坡顶处的位移放大作用显著,坡脚处放大作用较小;介质剪切波速对斜坡地震动的影响较明显,尤其是坡顶点处不同介质剪切波速模型位移峰值差异较大。由于斜坡地形复杂的散射效应,在斜坡及附近测点均出现明显的转换面波,坡顶点处波形转换最显著。数值模拟结果进一步验证了龙头山集镇依坡而建的房屋建筑破坏严重是由局部地形地震动放大效应与地震动差动共同作用引起的。     

Bottom topography,recent sedimentation and water volume of the Cerro Prieto Dam,NE Mexico

The Cerro Prieto dam, a relatively small water reservoir in NE Mexico, is one of the main resources of potable water for Monterrey, a city with a population of about four million inhabitants. A high resolution seismic study using non-linear parametric sub-bottom echo-sounder SES-2000 was carried out in this water reservoir. High resolution acoustic data interpretation shows that the thickness of recent sediments due to siltation of the reservoir reaches 3.5-4.0 m. It shows a high recent sedimentation rate (1-2 up to 14 cm/ year). Based on the echo-sounder data, the first bathymetric map and a digital model of recent sediment thickness were designed. A significant (5-12%) difference between the volume capacity value used by National Commission of Water (CNA) and acoustic survey results was revealed. Differences between the CNA and acoustic data indicate storage losses from 12-17 up to 30 million cubic meters. The results obtained through study such as this one, could be useful to improve a water resources management.     

Simulation of Tsaoling landslide, Taiwan, based on Saint Venant equations over general topography

The 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake triggered the catastrophic Tsaoling landslide in Taiwan. The geomorphological change measured from the data of the 1989 and 2000 aerial photos reveals that the scar and deposit volumes are about 0.126 km³ and 0.15 km³ respectively. The debris material ran over a distance of 1.6 km with 500 m descent in elevation. In this paper, we use the continuum model of hydraulic flow, SHALTOP^2D, based on the equations of Bouchut and Westdickenberg to simulate numerically the landslide dynamics. When the mass is moving, the flow is assumed hydrostatic with a basal Coulomb friction. The best fit is obtained using the basal friction angle equal to 6°, the only parameter of the simulation, uniformly applied in the calculation domain. The landslide front reaches the Chinshui river valley, the foothill of the slope, within only about 25 s after initiation and the motion settles in about 113 s. The maximum speed is estimated 75 m/s. The spreading of the deposit agrees well with the field measurement.     

The Effect of Stage on Flow and Components of the Local Force Balance

Flow fields and water and bed surface topography were measured at two different stages as flow shoals over a submerged mid-channel bar in a straight reach downstream of a bend in Solfatara Creek, Wyoming. The data allow calculation and comparison of the magnitude of the component terms in the downstream and cross-stream force balance at the different stages. At the lower stage, corresponding to a discharge that is 30 per cent of the bankfull discharge, the convective acceleration terms in the equations describing the force balance are important, particularly the terms associated with the cross-stream transport of momentum. These terms are large because of the large accelerations and cross-stream flow forced by the shallow flow over the bar. At the higher stage, corresponding to a discharge that is 45 per cent of the bankfull discharge, flow is more directly downstream and cross-stream velocity is generally less in most of the channel. Downstream flow velocities at the higher stage are larger, but the acceleration is more gradual. Consequently, the convective accelerations at the higher stage tend to be less important than at the lower stage. Results from the two different stages suggest that some of the difference in conclusions reached by various workers on the significance of the various terms in the governing equations may be associated with the relative depth of flow. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Contrasts between the Interannual Variations of Extreme Rainfall over Western and Eastern Sichuan in Mid-summer

Rainfall amount in mid-summer(July and August)is much greater over eastern than western Sichuan,which are characterized by basin and plateau,respectively.It is shown that the interannual variations of extreme rainfall over these two regions are roughly independent,and they correspond to distinct anomalies of both large-scale circulation and sea surface temperature(SST).The enhanced extreme rainfall over western Sichuan is associated with a southward shift of the Asian westerly jet,while the enhanced extreme rainfall over eastern Sichuan is associated with an anticyclonic anomaly in the upper troposphere over China.At low levels,on the other hand,the enhanced extreme rainfall over western Sichuan is related to two components of wind anomalies,namely southwesterly over southwestern Sichuan and northeasterly over northeastern Sichuan,which favor more rainfall under the effects of the topography.Relatively speaking,the enhanced extreme rainfall over eastern Sichuan corresponds to the low-level southerly anomalies to the east of Sichuan,which curve into northeasterly anomalies over the basin when they encounter the mountains to the north of the basin.Therefore,it can be concluded that the topography in and around Sichuan plays a crucial role in inducing extreme rainfall both over western and eastern Sichuan.Finally,the enhanced extreme rainfall in western and eastern Sichuan is related to warmer SSTs in the Maritime Continent and cooler SSTs in the equatorial central Pacific,respectively.