一种以能量平衡为基础的干旱指数

本文以能量平衡公式为基础,根据实际蒸发与潜在蒸发的关系依赖于土壤水分含量的事实,导出一种表达干湿状况的指标——土壤水分干旱指数。     

南极瑞穗高原1987—1988年度表面物质平衡及其变化

根据1987/1988年度表面物质积累资料,对Mizuho(瑞穗)高原该年度物质平衡的分布规律及其变化进行了讨论,同时还对年内短期天气过程及地形变化对物质平衡的影响进行了分析。研究发现1987/1988年度物质平衡的空间分布与多年平均状况存在较大区别:海拔550m以下的沿海地带表现为负物质平衡状态。从S_16点向内陆80km范围内为高值物质平衡区。年平均净物质平衡量达0.84m雪层深;80km到瑞穗高原内陆的瑞穗站之间为低值物质平衡区,年平均物质平衡量仅0.14m雪层深。在瑞穗高原,表面物质平衡水平表现为低积累,低支出的特征。此外,年内短期气候和地形变化对物质平衡的影响均大于多年平均状态,在高值物质平衡区,气候变化对物质平衡的影响大于地形变化的影响;而在低值物质平衡区,地形变化对物质平衡的影响则大于气候变化对物质平衡的影响。     

一种高频雷达回波谱反演海浪的新算法

在高频地波雷达海浪谱反演问题中,广泛采用的Barrick后向散射公式属于第一类非线性Fredholm积分方程。此类积分方程的解在本质上是不适定的,加之高频雷达二阶回波信号信噪比较低,使得反演海浪谱存在解不稳定的问题。本文提出一种稳定且低复杂度的反演算法,此算法首先根据高频雷达一阶回波谱测量海浪方向,并将其引入积分方程求解过程,减少求解变量的个数,降低反演算法的复杂度。为解决反演结果不稳定的问题,使用Tikhonov正则化方法并利用广义交叉验证法(GCV)确定其正则化系数。通过在不同测试条件下对反演算法的仿真测试分析,表明此方法具有运算量小、稳定性好的特点。     

近30年中国地面风速分区及气候特征

通过中国近地面风速区划可以深入了解风速分布规律,有助于研究风速的变化机制。利用1980-2009年中国608个测站的日平均风速资料,经过旋转经验正交函数分解法(REOF)得到10个分区,各分区范围和地形有一定的关系。风速频率曲线变化表明,中国北部地区(第3、4区)风速偏大,中部地区(第2、10区)风速普遍较小;对比分析了区域有效风速日数频率和风能分布。根据谐波方法得到各分区风速的年变化特征,大部分区域呈单峰单谷型或双峰双谷型,高值区主要出现在春季,并分析了形成上述特点的可能天气学成因。风速线性倾向估计结果表明,中国大部分地区风速呈减小趋势,第1、4、5区平均风速递减率在-0.028~-0.023 m·s-1·a-1之间,但是,中部地区(第2区、第6区西部、第10区)年平均风速出现递增。通过Mann-Kendan法和小波分析方法检测表明,第2、3、5区突变点出现在2000年附近,第1、4、6区突变点出现在20世纪90年代初。环流特征量指数和风速同期相关性分析,揭示了北极涡和副热带高压对风速的影响。     

A new composition-sensitive parameter for ultra-high energy cosmic rays

A new family of parameters intended for composition studies in cosmic ray surface array detectors is proposed. The application of this technique to different array layout designs has been analyzed. The parameters make exclusive use of surface data combining the information from the total signal at each triggered detector and the array geometry. They are sensitive to the combined effects of the different muon and electromagnetic components on the lateral distribution function of proton and iron initiated showers at any given primary energy. Analytical and numerical studies have been performed in order to assess the reliability, stability and optimization of these parameters. Experimental uncertainties, the underestimation of the muon component in the shower simulation codes, intrinsic fluctuations and reconstruction errors are considered and discussed in a quantitative way. The potential discrimination power of these parameters, under realistic experimental conditions, is compared on a simplified, albeit quantitative way, with that expected from other surface and fluorescence estimators.     

The Lateral Trigger Probability function for the Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray showers detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory

In this paper we introduce the concept of Lateral Trigger Probability (LTP) function, i.e., the probability for an Extensive Air Shower (EAS) to trigger an individual detector of a ground based array as a function of distance to the shower axis, taking into account energy, mass and direction of the primary cosmic ray. We apply this concept to the surface array of the Pierre Auger Observatory consisting of a 1.5 km spaced grid of about 1600 water Cherenkov stations. Using Monte Carlo simulations of ultra-high energy showers the LTP functions are derived for energies in the range between 10¹⁷ and 10¹⁹ eV and zenith angles up to 65°. A parametrization combining a step function with an exponential is found to reproduce them very well in the considered range of energies and zenith angles. The LTP functions can also be obtained from data using events simultaneously observed by the fluorescence and the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory (hybrid events). We validate the Monte Carlo results showing how LTP functions from data are in good agreement with simulations.     

Sulfates and iron oxides in Ophir Chasma, Mars, based on OMEGA and CRISM observations

We investigate the sulfate and iron oxide deposits in Ophir Chasma, Mars, based on short-wave infrared data from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars - CRISM and from the Observatoire pour la Minéralogie, l’Eau, les Glaces et l’Activité - OMEGA. Sulfates are detected mainly in two locations. In the valley between Ophir Mensa and the southern wall of Ophir Chasma, kieserite is found both within the slope of Ophir Mensa, and superposed on the basaltic wall of the chasm. Here, kieserite is unconformably overlain by polyhydrated sulfate deposits and iron oxides. Locally, jarosite and unidentified phases with absorptions at 2.21 μm or 2.23 μm are detected, which could be mixtures of jarosite and amorphous silica or other poorly crystalline phases.The second large sulfate-rich outcrop is found on the floor of the central valley. Although the same minerals are found here, polyhydrated sulfates, kieserite, iron oxides, and locally a possibly jarosite-bearing phase, this deposit is very distinct. It is not layered, almost horizontal, and located at a much lower elevation of below −4250 m. Kieserite superposes polyhydrated sulfate-rich deposits, and iron oxides form lags.The facies of sulfate formation remains unclear, and could be different for the two locations. A formation in a lake, playa or under a glacier is consistent with the mineralogy of the central valley and its flat, low-lying topography. This is not conceivable for the kieserite deposits observed south of Ophir Mensa. These deposits are observed over several thousands of meters of elevation, which would require a standing body of water several thousands of meters deep. This would have lead to much more pervasive sulfate deposits than observed. These deposits are therefore more consistent with evaporation of groundwater infiltrating into previously sulfate-free light-toned deposits. The overlying polyhydrated sulfates and other mineral phases are observed in outcrops on ridges along the slopes of the southern chasm wall, which are too exposed to be reached by groundwater. Here, a water supply from the atmosphere by rain, snow, fog or frost is more conceivable.     

Thermal contraction crack polygons on Mars: A synthesis from HiRISE, Phoenix, and terrestrial analog studies

Thermal contraction crack polygons are complex landforms that have begun to be deciphered on Earth and Mars by the combined investigative efforts of geomorphology, environmental monitoring, physical models, paleoclimate reconstruction, and geochemistry. Thermal contraction crack polygons are excellent indicators of the current or past presence of ground ice, ranging in ice content from weakly cemented soils to debris-covered massive ice. Relative to larger topographic features, polygons may form rapidly, and reflect climate conditions at the time of formation—preserving climate information as relict landforms in the geological record. Polygon morphology and internal textural characteristics can be used to distinguish surfaces modified by the seasonal presence of a wet active layer or dry active layer, and to delimit subsurface ice conditions. Analysis of martian polygon morphology and distribution indicates that geologically-recent thermal contraction crack polygons on Mars form predominantly in an ice-rich latitude-dependent mantle, more likely composed of massive ice deposited by precipitation than by cyclical vapor diffusion into regolith. Regional and local heterogeneities in polygon morphology can be used to distinguish variations in ice content, deposition and modification history, and to assess microclimate variation on timescales of ka to Ma. Analyses of martian polygon morphology, guided by investigations of terrestrial analog thermal contraction crack polygons, strongly suggest the importance of excess ice in the formation and development of many martian thermal contraction crack polygons—implying the presence of an ice-rich substrate that was fractured during and subsequent to obliquity-driven depositional periods and continually modified by ongoing vapor equilibration processes.     

Possible liquid water origin for Atacama Desert mudflow and recent gully deposits on Mars

Evidence of recent gully activity on Mars has been reported based on the formation of new light toned deposits within the past decade, the origin of which remains controversial. Analogous recent light toned gully features have formed by liquid water activity in the Atacama Desert on Earth. These terrestrial deposits leave no mineralogical trace of water activity but rather show an albedo difference due to particle size sorting within a fine-grained mudflow. Therefore, spectral differences indicating varying mineralogy between a recent gully deposit and the surrounding terrain may not be the most relevant criteria for detecting water flow in arid environments. Instead, variation in particle size between the deposit and surrounding terrain is a possible discriminator to identify a water-based flow. We show that the Atacama deposit is similar to the observed Mars gully deposits, and both are consistent with liquid water activity. The light-toned Mars gully deposits could have formed from dry debris flows, but a liquid water origin cannot be ruled out because not all liquid water flows leave hydrated minerals behind on the surface. Therefore, the Mars deposits could be remnant mudflows that formed on Mars within the last decade.     

Mercury surface composition: Integrating petrologic modeling and remote sensing data to place constraints on FeO abundance

A significant opaque component in Mercury’s crust is inferred based on albedo and spectral observations. Previous workers have favored iron-titanium bearing oxide minerals as the spectrally neutral opaque. A consequence of this hypothesis is that Mercury’s surface would have a high FeO content. An array of remote sensing techniques have not provided definitive constraints on the FeO content of Mercury’s surface. However, spectral observations have not detected a diagnostic 1 μm absorption band and have thus limited the FeO in coexisting silicates to <2 wt.% FeO. In this paper, we assess equilibrium among oxide and silicate minerals to constrain the distribution of iron between opaque oxides and silicates under a variety of environmental conditions. Equilibrium modeling is favored here because the geologic process that produced Mercury’s low-albedo intermediate terrain must have occurred globally, which favors a common widespread igneous process. Based on our modeling, we find that iron-rich ilmenite cannot occur with silicates that do not display a 1 μm absorption feature unless plagioclase abundances are high. However, such high plagioclase abundances are precluded by Mercury’s low albedo. Incorporating equilibrium crystallization modeling with spectral and albedo constraints we find the iron abundance of Mercury’s intermediate terrain is ?10 wt.% FeO. This intermediate iron composition matches constraints provided by visible albedo and total neutron absorption observed by MESSENGER. In fact, the total neutron absorption of mixtures of oxide, plagioclase, olivine and pyroxene for the oxide abundances estimated for Mercury, favor Mg-rich members of the ilmenite-geikielite solid-solution series. This work offers compositional constraints for Fe, Ti, and Mg that will be testable by various MESSENGER instrument data sets after it begins its orbital mission.