On the magnetic field diffusion in mhd modeling of the inner coma of comet halley

Abstract

Some approaches of one-dimensional time-dependent magneto-hydrodynamic modeling of the structure of the inner coma of comet Halley are considered. The influence of the magnetic field diffusion on this structure is studied. The solution of Cravens (1989) approach containing classic magnetic diffusion is compared with an approach containing a specific diffusion, caused by non-instantaneous mass-loading of new ions. A case with no magnetic field is also considered. Common features of all the solutions are obtained. Special attention is paid to the sharp velocity jump, synchronized with a local density pick. Some differences between two types of magnetic field diffusion are discussed. A possible connection is supposed between this consideration and the large-scale shock fitting modeling of the solar plasma-comet interaction.     

Diffusive mass exchange of non‐reactive substances in dual‐porosity porous systems – column experiments under saturated conditions

Diffusive mass exchange into immobile water regions within heterogeneous porous aquifers influences the fate of solutes. The percentage of immobile water is often unidentified in natural aquifers though. Hence, the mathematical prediction of solute transport in such heterogeneous aquifers remains challenging. The objective of this study was to find a simple analytical model approach that allows quantifying properties of mobile and immobile water regions and the portion of immobile water in a porous system. Therefore, the Single Fissure Dispersion Model (SFDM), which takes into account diffusive mass exchange between mobile and immobile water zones, was applied to model transport in well‐defined saturated dual‐porosity column experiments. Direct and indirect model validation was performed by running experiments at different flow velocities and using conservative tracer with different molecular diffusion coefficients. In another column setup, immobile water regions were randomly distributed to test the model applicability and to determine the portion of immobile water. In all setups, the tracer concentration curves showed differences in normalized maximum peak concentration, tailing and mass recovery according to their diffusion coefficients. These findings were more pronounced at lower flow rates (larger flow times) indicating the dependency of diffusive mass exchange into immobile water regions on tracers' molecular diffusion coefficients. The SFDM simulated all data with high model efficiency. Successful model validation supported the physical meaning of fitted model parameters. This study showed that the SFDM, developed for fissured aquifers, is applicable in porous media and can be used to determine porosity and volume of regions with immobile water. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Kinetics,Mechanistic and Thermodynamics of Zn(II) Ion Sorption: A Modeling Approach

Biosorption potential of Cedrus deodara sawdust (CDS) in terms of sorption of Zn(II) ion across liquid phase has been evaluated in the present investigation. The surface of the CDS biomass before the sorption of Zn(II) ions seemed to be more porous, non‐crystalline and heterogeneous. The maximum uptake capacity of CDS was 97.39 mg g^?1. Sorption of Zn(II) ion on the surface of CDS sawdust was maximum at pH 5, temperature 45°C, initial concentration of Zn(II) ion 100 mg L^?1, biomass dose 1 g L^?1, contact time 150 min, and agitation rate 160 rpm. Pseudo second‐order kinetics with the highest linear regression coefficient (R² = 0.99), and lowest values of error functions, i.e., chi (χ²) and sum of square errors (SSE) against pseudo first‐order rate kinetics showed that the sorption of Zn(II) ion on the surface of CDS was mediated by chemosoprtive forces of attraction rather than physical adsorption. Mechanistically, relatively higher proportion of sorption of Zn(II) ion in early phase of contact time was profoundly explained by Bangham's equation and film diffusivity (D^f). Intraparticle or pore diffusion (D_p) of Zn(II) ion inside the pores of CDS was rate limiting step at the later stage of contact time. Furthermore, the thermodynamic study on sorption of metal ion delineated the fact that the Zn(II) sorption on the surface of CDS was spontaneous, endothermic together with increased entropy at solid liquid interface.     

中小震近场地震动估计中地震动衰减关系的适用性分析

核工程场地设计基准地震动确定中涉及弥散地震的地震动估计，这导致中小震近场地震动估计成为被关注的研究课题。本文基于一些中小震近场地震动记录资料，分析和探讨了国内外多种地震动衰减关系对中小震近场地震动估计的适用性问题，并结合我国几个核工程地震问题研究工作的实践对中小震近场地震动衰减关系确定的思路和原则提出了建议。     

Flux and dispersion of gases from the “Drachenschlund” hydrothermal vent at 8°18' S, 13°30' W on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Hydrothermal emission of mantle helium appears to be directly related to magma production rate, but other processes can generate methane and hydrogen on mid-ocean ridges. In an on-going effort to characterize these processes in the South Atlantic, the flux and distribution of these gases were investigated in the vicinity of a powerful black smoker recently discovered at 8°17.9' S, 13°30.4' W. The vent lies on the shoulder of an oblique offset in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and discharges high concentrations of methane and hydrogen. Measurements during expeditions in 2004 and 2006 show that the ratio of CH₄ to ³He in the neutrally buoyant plume is quite high, 4 × 10⁸. The CTD stations were accompanied by velocity measurements with lowered acoustic Doppler current profilers (LADCP), and from these data we estimate the methane transport to have been 0.5 mol s^− 1 in a WSW-trending plume that seems to develop during the ebb tidal phase. This transport is an order of magnitude greater than the source of CH₄ calculated from its concentration in the vent fluid and the rise height of the plume. From this range of methane fluxes, the source of ³He is estimated to be between 0.14 and 1.2 nmol s^− 1. In either case, the ³He source is significantly lower than expected from the spreading rate of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. From the inventory of methane in the rift valley adjacent to the vent, it appears that the average specific rate of oxidation is 2.6 to 23 yr^− 1, corresponding to a turnover time between 140 and 16 days. Vertical profiles of methane in the surrounding region often exhibited Gaussian-like distributions, and the variances appear to increase with distance from the vent. Using a Gaussian plume model, we obtained a range of vertical eddy diffusivities between 0.009 and 0.08 m²m² s^− 1. These high values may be due to tidally driven internal waves across the promontory on which the vent is located.     

Water and nutrient fluxes off Northwest Africa

A historical data set is used to describe the coastal transition zone off Northwest Africa during spring 1973 and fall 1975, from 17° to 26°N, with special emphasis on the interaction between subtropical (North Atlantic Central Waters) and tropical (South Atlantic Central Waters) gyres. The near-surface geostrophic circulation, relative to 300 m, is quite complex. Major features are a large cyclonic pattern north of Cape Blanc (21°N) and offshore flow at the Cape Verde front. The large cyclone occurs in the region of most intense winds, and resembles a large meander of the baroclinic southward upwelling jet. The Cape Verde frontal system displays substantial interleaving that may partly originate as mesoscale features at the coastal upwelling front. Property–property diagrams show that the front is an effective barrier to all properties except temperature. The analysis of the Turner angle suggests that the frontal system is characterized by large heat horizontal diffusion as a result of intense double diffusion, which results in the smoothing of the temperature horizontal gradients. Nine cross-shore sections are used to calculate along-shore geostrophic water-mass and nutrient transports and to infer exchanges between the coastal transition zone and the deep ocean (import: deep ocean to transition zone; export: transition zone to deep ocean). These exchanges compare well with mean wind-induced transports and actual geostrophic cross-shore transport estimates. The region is divided into three areas: southern (18–21°N), central (21–23.5°N), and northern (23.5–26°N). In the northern area geostrophic import is roughly compensated with wind-induced export during both seasons. In the central area geostrophic import is greater than wind-induced export during spring, resulting in net import of both water (0.8 Sv) and nitrate (14 kmol s⁻¹), but during fall both factors again roughly cancel. In the southern area geostrophy and wind join to export water and nutrients during both seasons, they increase from 0.6 Sv and 3 kmol s⁻¹ during fall to 2.9 Sv and 53 kmol s⁻¹ during spring.     

Diffusive dehydration and bubble resorption during open-system degassing of rhyolitic melts

Degassing through open paths such as bubble and/or fracture networks is considered to be the principal mode of degassing in silicic magmas. However, its detailed mechanisms remain unclear. To investigate the behavior of bubbles in a hypothetical open-system condition, we performed a series of vesiculation experiments on natural rhyolitic obsidian using a newly designed semipermeable cell, which artificially maintains a pressure difference between its inside and outside. The thick-wall cell maintains a constant volume within the sample chamber, while allowing water vapor to escape the cell during the experimental runs. The cells containing obsidian cores with ca. 0.66 wt.% initial water content were externally heated to 1000 °C for a period of 1–288 h. The run charges generally showed a zonal structure composed of two contrasting regions: a central region within which the bubbles were concentrated (bubble-rich core, BC) and a bubble-free melt region surrounding the BC (bubble-free margin, BFM). With increased heating duration, the thickness of the BFM increased via dissolution of the outermost bubbles in the BC. The water content was nearly uniform throughout the BC, whereas an outward-decreasing gradient was observed in the BFM. We found that diffusive dehydration occurred from the sample surface, and the bubbles were resorbed into the melt. Thus, the BFM–BC boundary moved inwards. These processes were modelled numerically, and the calculation results were in good agreement with the experimental data. If a “lifetime” of open paths is approximated as the relaxation time of a melt in a shallow volcanic environment, then the paths have to be pinched off quickly (1.2 h at maximum pressure difference between the open path and the melt) and thus the thickness of the bubble-free layer reaches at most ~ 0.1 mm. For the formation of bubble-free obsidian layers with a width of a few millimeters, which are often observed in natural obsidian flows, open paths should be maintained for at least a few hundred hours.     

A helium stratified and ingassed lower mantle: resolving the helium paradoxes

It is generally believed a variation of 3He/4He isotopic ratios in the mantle is due to only the decay of U and Th,which produces4 He as well as heat.Here we show that not only3He/4He isotopic ratios but also helium contents can be fractionated by thermal diffusion in the lower mantle.The driving force for that fractionation is the adiabatic or convective temperature gradient,which always produces elemental and isotopic fractionation along temperature gradient by thermal diffusion with higher light/heavy isotopic ratio in the hot end.Our theoretical model and calculations indicate that the lower mantle is helium stratified,caused by thermal diffusion due to*400℃temperature contrast across the lower mantle.The highest3He/4He isotopic ratios and lowest He contents are in the lowermost mantle,which is a consequence of thermaldiffusion fractionation rather than the lower mantle is a primordial and undegassed reservoir.Therefore,oceanicisland basalts derived from the deepest lower mantle with high3He/4He isotopic ratios and less He contents—the long-standing helium paradox,is solved by our model.Because vigorous convection in the upper mantle had resulted in disordered or disorganized thermal-diffusion effects in He,Mid-ocean ridge basalts unaffected by mantle plume have a relatively homogenous and lower!3He/4He isotopic compositions.Our model also predicts that 3He/4He isotopic ratios in the deepest lower mantle of early Earth could be even higher than that of Jupiter,the initial He isotopic ratio in our solar system,because the temperature contrast across the lower mantle in the early Earth is the largest and less4 He had been produced by the decay of U and Th.Moreover,the early helium-stratified lower mantle owned the lowest He contents due to over-degassing caused by the largest temperature contrast.Consequently,succeeding evolution of the lower mantle is a He ingassed process due to secular cooling of the deepest mantle.This explains why significant amount of He produced by the decay of U and Th in the lower mantle were not released,another long-standing heat–helium paradox.     

Accuracy of numerical simulations of contaminant transport in heterogeneous aquifers: A comparative study

This work deals with a comparison of different numerical schemes for the simulation of contaminant transport in heterogeneous porous media. The numerical methods under consideration are Galerkin finite element (GFE), finite volume (FV), and mixed hybrid finite element (MHFE). Concerning the GFE we use linear and quadratic finite elements with and without upwind stabilization. Besides the classical MHFE a new and an upwind scheme are tested. We consider higher order finite volume schemes as well as two time discretization methods: backward Euler (BE) and the second order backward differentiation formula BDF (2). It is well known that numerical (or artificial) diffusion may cause large errors. Moreover, when the Péclet number is large, a numerical code without some stabilising techniques produces oscillating solutions. Upwind schemes increase the stability but show more numerical diffusion. In this paper we quantify the numerical diffusion for the different discretization schemes and its dependency on the Péclet number. We consider an academic example and a realistic simulation of solute transport in heterogeneous aquifer. In the latter case, the stochastic estimates used as reference were obtained with global random walk (GRW) simulations, free of numerical diffusion. The results presented can be used by researchers to test their numerical schemes and stabilization techniques for simulation of contaminant transport in groundwater.     

Evaluation and application of dialysis porewater samplers for microbiological studies at sediment-water interfaces

The equilibrium diffusion technique has become a valuable tool for ecological and biogeochemical studies in aquatic environments. In sediment ecosystems, changes in concentration of microbial metabolites with increasing depth can be determined dependably and reproducibly with this technique. Since the permeation characteristics of the membranes employed are crucial, selecting the proper membrane requires knowledge about its behavior under conditions which prevail in the natural environment. Thirteen polymer sheets were evaluated comparing permeation terms for biogeochemically relevant solutes, biodegradability, and mechanical strength. Cellulose-based dialysis membranes are most satisfactory when employed in low temperature anoxic environments. For this membrane, correction terms were calculated to account for diffusion losses during retrieval and sampling. Optimal incubation times can now be predicted from experimentally determined permeation coefficients for several porewater solutes. Dialysis porewater samplers (DPS) have been successfully applied during more than 100 independent experiments for the collection of interstitial water from surface sediments. DPS were used for water depths as deep as 290 meters.