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.     

On the Seddon speed formula

Abstract

The Seddon speed formula expressed mathematically as c = dQ/dA (or alternatively, as c = (1 + m)u_o; where Q is the discharge, A is the area of cross-section, c is the wave speed, u_o is the normal flow velocity, and m is a dimensionless parameter) is revisited in the context of elasticity and thermodynamics. Its link with the linearized solution of St Venant's equations for wave celerity, which does not appear to have been reported in the hydrological literature, is established. The rating exponent m is shown to be equivalent to the dimensionless relative celerity and is found to be the ratio of two specific heats, viz. c_p and c_v which are the specific heats at constant pressure and volume, respectively. The use of the parameter m as a complex variable helps describe shallow wave characteristics, the damping capacity of a wave, and the mechanism of occurrence of the hysteretic phenomenon. The damping capacity is found to describe the magnitude of wave subsidence, whereas the hysteresis also describes the speed of subsidence.     

A model of secondary upwelling over the shelf break

Motivated by our puzzling high-resolution radar observations of surface vortices in the nearly rectangular Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba, northern Red Sea, we propose and explore the driven cavity approach to this geophysical phenomenon. While the lid-driven cavity has long been considered a benchmark problem in computational fluid dynamics, its oceanographic context has not been considered. Despite the additional effects of rotation and stratification, our modeling demonstrates that when the fluid within a cavity geometrically similar to the Gulf of Eilat is driven by the external current, an interior vortex can develop as in our observations. Furthermore, the Eilat vortices appear only under relatively calm conditions, adding evidence to the intriguing possibility of their simple shear-driven origin.     

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.     

Study on the processing method of nighttime CO_2 eddy covariance flux data in ChinaFLUX

At present, using Eddy Covariance (EC) method to estimate the "true value" of carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystem arrests more attention. However, one issue is how to solve the uncertainty of observations (especially the nighttime CO2 flux data) appearing in post-processing CO2 flux data. The ratio of effective and reliable nighttime EC CO2 flux data to all nighttime data is relatively low (commonly, less than 50%) for all the long-term and continuous observation stations in the world. Thus, the processing method of nighttime CO2 flux data and its effect analysis on estimating CO2 flux annual sums are very important. In this paper, the authors analyze and discuss the reasons for underestimating nighttime CO2 flux using EC method, and introduce the general theory and method for processing nighttime CO2 flux data. By analyzing the relationship between nighttime CO2 flux and air fraction velocity u., we present an alternate method, Average Values Test (AVT), to determine the thresholds of fraction velocity (u.c) for screening the effective nighttime CO2 flux data. Meanwhile, taking the data observed in Yucheng and Changbai Mountains stations for an example, we analyze and discuss the effects of different methods or parameters on nighttime CO2 flux estimations. Finally, based on the data of part ChinaFLUX stations and related literatures, empirical models of nighttime respiration at different sites in ChinaFLUX are summarized.     

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.     

The generation of phytoplankton patchiness by mesoscale current patterns

 Elken et al. (1994) suggested that phytoplankton patchiness can be generated by mesoscale eddies in light-limited, nutrient-replete environments. This hypothesis is explored using two ecological models of different physical complexity. The model results support the idea that the coupling of mesoscale eddy circulation and phytoplankton growth leads to differential growth rates and thus generates variability in phytoplankton distributions. The specific circulation of a cyclonic eddy isolates a phytoplankton population in its core. Due to the reduced vertical mixing, a higher growth rate is supported in the core, and phytoplankton concentrations increase compared to the surrounding environment. A one-dimensional model is used to explore the hypothesis in general and to perform sensitivity studies. A more realistic simulation uses a coupled three- dimensional model for the western Baltic Sea. Starting from vertically and horizontally homogeneous distributions for nutrients and plankton, the models generate patchiness due to the proposed mechanism. The described mechanism may apply for other mesoscale variable environments during light-limited growth periods as well, e.g., the frontal region of the Southern Ocean. Received: 31 March 2001 / Accepted: 31 August 2001     

Garnet-biotite diffusion mechanisms in complex high-grade orogenic belts: Understanding and constraining petrological cooling rates in granulites from Ribeira Fold Belt (SE Brazil)

Cooling rates based on the retrograde diffusion of Fe²⁺ and Mg between garnet and biotite inclusions commonly show two contrasting scenarios: a) narrow closure temperature range with apparent absence of retrograde diffusion; or b) high result dispersion due to compositional variations in garnet and biotite. Cooling rates from migmatites, felsic and mafic granulites from Ribeira Fold Belt (SE Brazil) also show these two scenarios. Although the former can be explained by very fast cooling, the latter is often the result of open-system behaviour caused by deformation. Retrogressive cooling during the exhumation of granulite-facies rocks is often processed by thrusting and shearing which may cause plastic deformation, fractures and cracks in the garnet megablasts, allowing chemical diffusion outside the garnet megablast – biotite inclusion system.However, a careful use of garnets and biotites with large Fe/Mg variation and software that reduces result dispersion provides a good correlation between closure temperatures and the size of biotite inclusions which are mostly due to diffusion and compositional readjustment to thermal evolution during retrogression.Results show that felsic and mafic granulites have low cooling rates (1–2 °C/Ma) at higher temperatures and high cooling rates (∼100 °C/Ma) at lower temperatures, suggesting a two-step cooling/exhumation process, whereas migmatites show a small decrease in cooling rates during cooling (from 2.0 to 0.5 °C/Ma). These results agree with previously obtained thermochronological data, which indicates that this method is a valid tool to obtain meaningful petrological cooling rates in complex high-grade orogenic belts, such as the Ribeira Fold Belt.     

Three‐parameter discontinuous distributions for hydrological samples with zero values

A consistent approach to the frequency analysis of hydrologic data in arid and semiarid regions, i.e. the data series containing several zero values (e.g. monthly precipitation in dry seasons, annual peak flow discharges, etc.), requires using discontinuous probability distribution functions. Such an approach has received relatively limited attention. Along the lines of physically based models, the extensions of the Muskingum‐based models to three parameter forms are considered. Using 44 peak flow series from the USGS data bank, the fitting ability of four three‐parameter models was investigated: (1) the Dirac delta combined with Gamma distribution; (2) the Dirac delta combined with two‐parameter generalized Pareto distribution; (3) the Dirac delta combined with two‐parameter Weibull (DWe) distribution; (4) the kinematic diffusion with one additional parameter that controls the probability of the zero event (KD3). The goodness of fit of the models was assessed and compared both by evaluation of discrepancies between the results of both estimation methods (i.e. the method of moments (MOM) and the maximum likelihood method (MLM)) and using the log of likelihood function as a criterion. In most cases, the DWe distribution with MLM‐estimated parameters showed the best fit of all the three‐parameter models. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Migmatite formation at subsolidus conditions–an alternative to anatexis

Abstract This contribution discusses the formation of stromatic high-grade migmatites. Volume considerations require that most of the leucosome material is not added from outside the system. A segregation mechanism is necessary except in those cases where the protolith of the migmatite already had a banded structure. Although partial melting is most often advocated to provide the segregation mechanism, several arguments can be raised against high degrees of melting: mineral compositions and even zoning patterns are similar in both mesosomes and leucosomes; sufficient degrees of melting at reasonable temperatures require more than the available amounts of water; the leucosomes do not always approximate to a minimum melt composition; high degrees of melting cannot occur without an appreciable volume increase; etc. Diffusion works as a segregation mechanism at low temperatures. As diffusion rates increase exponentially with temperature diffusion must become still more important as a segregation mechanism at high temperatures. A model is suggested based on the diffusion of components in response to the gradient δσ/δx, where σ= 1/3∑³_i=1 σ_i is the mean pressure. In homogeneously strained rocks, σ₃ is larger in rock parts rich in incompetent phases than in rock parts depleted in incompetent phases. Accordingly, mechanically competent but chemically incompetent high-volume phases like quartz and feldspars stressed in micadominated parts of a rock (high σσ) migrate to parts of the rock that are depleted in mica (low σ¯). It is suggested that hornblende occurring in many leucosomes may be premigmatitic or early syn-migmatitic and due to its mechanical competency it initiates the segregation. Diffusion occurs along grain boundaries and is enhanced by small amounts of ‘intergranular fluid’;. At the best, semiquantitative estimates of diffusion rates and distances indicate that the process should work over geological times.