Transient,seasonal and interannual variability of the Taiwan Strait current

We have constructed a fine-resolution model with realistic bathymetry to study the spatial and temporal variations of circulation in the Taiwan Strait (TS). The TS model with a resolution of 3～10 km derives its open boundary conditions from a larger-scale model. The QSCAT/NCEP winds and AVHRR SST provide forcing at the sea surface. Because of the high resolution in model grids and forcing, the model achieves a previously unavailable level of agreement with most observations. On biweekly time scales surface-trapped current reversals often lead to Strait transport reversals if the northeasterly wind bursts in winter are sufficiently strong. On seasonal time scales the northward current is the strongest in summer since both summer monsoon and pressure gradient force are northward. The summer northward current appears to be relatively unimpeded by the Changyun Rise (CYR) and bifurcates slightly near the surface. With the arrival of the northeast monsoon in fall, downwind movement of China Coastal Water (CCW) is blocked by the northward current near 25.5°N and 120°E. In winter, the northward current weakens even more as the northeasterly monsoon strengthens. The CCW moves downwind along the western boundary; the CYR blocks part of the CCW and forces a U-shaped flow pattern in the northern Strait. Past studies have failed to reveal an anticyclonic eddy that develops on the northern flank of CYR in winter. On interannual time scales a weakened northeast monsoon during El Niño reduces advection of the cold CCW from the north and enhances intrusion of warm water from the south, resulting in warming in the TS.     

Transient dynamic response of submerged sphere shell with an opening subjected to underwater explosion

This investigation applies the time domain FEM/DAA coupling procedure to predict the transient dynamic response of submerged sphere shell with an opening subjected to underwater explosions. The elastic–plastic material behavior of the transient fluid–structure interaction relate to structural response equation also presented herein. This analysis also examines the transient responses of structures to different charge distances. The effects of standoff distance on pressure time history of the shell to underwater explosion (3001b TNT) are presented. Additionally, the transient dynamic responses to underwater explosion shockwaves in the sea and the air are compared.     

古代中西方成矿理论之比较

古代中国和西方对矿物成因之解释都很早。西方早在公元前4世纪,有希腊的亚里斯多德(Aristotle)认为地下矿物是干气和湿气所造成的。中国早在先秦时代,也有《周礼·考工记》认为是“地气”使然。本文详细说明中国和西方16世纪以前的成矿理论,比较其差异,并详细说明两者的优点和缺点,探讨它们之间是否发生相互影响,最后以现代矿床学思想和理论批判中国和西方古代之成矿理论。     

Regional variability in dust‐on‐snow processes and impacts in the Upper Colorado River Basin

Dust deposition onto mountain snow cover in the Upper Colorado River Basin frequently occurs in the spring when wind speeds and dust emission peaks on the nearby Colorado Plateau. Dust loading has increased since the intensive settlement in the western USA in the mid 1880s. The effects of dust‐on‐snow have been well studied at Senator Beck Basin Study Area (SBBSA) in the San Juan Mountains, CO, the first high‐altitude area of contact for predominantly southwesterly winds transporting dust from the southern Colorado Plateau. To capture variability in dust transport from the broader Colorado Plateau and dust deposition across a larger area of the Colorado River water sources, an additional study plot was established in 2009 on Grand Mesa, 150 km to the north of SBBSA in west central, CO. Here, we compare the 4‐year (2010–2013) dust source, deposition, and radiative forcing records at Grand Mesa Study Plot (GMSP) and Swamp Angel Study Plot (SASP), SBBSA's subalpine study plot. The study plots have similar site elevations/environments and differ mainly in the amount of dust deposited and ensuing impacts. At SASP, end of year dust concentrations ranged from 0.83 mg g^?1 to 4.80 mg g^?1, and daily mean spring dust radiative forcing ranged from 50–65 W m^?2, advancing melt by 24–49 days. At GMSP, which received 1.0 mg g^?1 less dust per season on average, spring radiative forcings of 32–50 W m^?2 advanced melt by 15–30 days. Remote sensing imagery showed that observed dust events were frequently associated with dust emission from the southern Colorado Plateau. Dust from these sources generally passed south of GMSP, and back trajectory footprints modelled for observed dust events were commonly more westerly and northerly for GMSP relative to SASP. These factors suggest that although the southern Colorado Plateau contains important dust sources, dust contributions from other dust sources contribute to dust loading in this region, and likely account for the majority of dust loading at GMSP. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The June 2013 Alberta Catastrophic Flooding Event: Part 1—Climatological aspects and hydrometeorological features

In June 2013, excessive rainfall associated with an intense weather system triggered severe flooding in southern Alberta, which became the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history. This article provides an overview of the climatological aspects and large‐scale hydrometeorological features associated with the flooding event based upon information from a variety of sources, including satellite data, upper air soundings, surface observations and operational model analyses. The results show that multiple factors combined to create this unusually severe event. The event was characterized by a slow‐moving upper level low pressure system west of Alberta, blocked by an upper level ridge, while an associated well‐organized surface low pressure system kept southern Alberta, especially the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, in continuous precipitation for up to two days. Results from air parcel trajectory analysis show that a significant amount of the moisture originated from the central Great Plains, transported into Alberta by a southeasterly low level jet. The event was first dominated by significant thunderstorm activity, and then evolved into continuous precipitation supported by the synoptic‐scale low pressure system. Both the thunderstorm activity and upslope winds associated with the low pressure system produced large rainfall amounts. A comparison with previous similar events occurring in the same region suggests that the synoptic‐scale features associated with the 2013 rainfall event were not particularly intense; however, its storm environment was the most convectively unstable. The system also exhibited a relatively high freezing level, which resulted in rain, rather than snow, mainly falling over the still snow‐covered mountainous areas. Melting associated with this rain‐on‐snow scenario likely contributed to downstream flooding. Furthermore, above‐normal snowfall in the preceding spring helped to maintain snow in the high‐elevation areas, which facilitated the rain‐on‐snow event. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transitions to chaotic thermal convection in a rapidly rotating spherical fluid shell

Abstract

Numerical simulations of thermal convection in a rapidly rotating spherical fluid shell heated from below and within have been carried out with a nonlinear, three-dimensional, time-dependent pseudospectral code. The investigated phenomena include the sequence of transitions to chaos and the differential mean zonal rotation. At the fixed Taylor number T _a =10⁶ and Prandtl number Pr=1 and with increasing Rayleigh number R, convection undergoes a series of bifurcations from onset of steadily propagating motions SP at R=R _c = 13050, to a periodic state P, and thence to a quasi-periodic state QP and a non-periodic or chaotic state NP. Examples of SP, P, QP, and NP solutions are obtained at R = 1.3R _c , R = 1.7 R _c , R = 2R _c , and R = 5 R _c , respectively. In the SP state, convection rolls propagate at a constant longitudinal phase velocity that is slower than that obtained from the linear calculation at the onset of instability. The P state, characterized by a single frequency and its harmonics, has a two-layer cellular structure in radius. Convection rolls near the upper and lower surfaces of the spherical shell both propagate in a prograde sense with respect to the rotation of the reference frame. The outer convection rolls propagate faster than those near the inner shell. The physical mechanism responsible for the time-periodic oscillations is the differential shear of the convection cells due to the mean zonal flow. Meridional transport of zonal momentum by the convection cells in turn supports the mean zonal differential rotation. In the QP state, the longitudinal wave number m of the convection pattern oscillates among m = 3,4,5, and 6; the convection pattern near the outer shell has larger m than that near the inner shell. Radial motions are very weak in the polar regions. The convection pattern also shifts in m for the NP state at R = 5R _c , whose power spectrum is characterized by broadened peaks and broadband background noise. The convection pattern near the outer shell propagates prograde, while the pattern near the inner shell propagates retrograde with respect to the basic rotation. Convection cells exist in polar regions. There is a large variation in the vigor of individual convection cells. An example of a more vigorously convecting chaotic state is obtained at R = 50R _c . At this Rayleigh number some of the convection rolls have axes perpendicular to the axis of the basic rotation, indicating a partial relaxation of the rotational constraint. There are strong convective motions in the polar regions. The longitudinally averaged mean zonal flow has an equatorial superrotation and a high latitude subrotation for all cases except R = 50R _c , at this highest Rayleigh number, the mean zonal flow pattern is completely reversed, opposite to the solar differential rotation pattern.     

X-ray reflection in accreting stellar-mass black hole systems

The X-ray spectra of accreting stellar-mass black hole systems exhibit spectral features due to reflection, especially broad iron Kα emission lines. We investigate the reflection by the accretion disc that can be expected in the high/soft state of such a system. First, we perform a self-consistent calculation of the reflection that results from illumination of a hot, inner portion of the disc with its atmosphere in hydrostatic equilibrium. Then, we present reflection spectra for a range of illumination strengths and disc temperatures under the assumption of a constant-density atmosphere. Reflection by a hot accretion disc differs in important ways from that of a much cooler disc, such as that expected in an active galactic nucleus.     

Post-Newtonian N-body simulations

We report on the first fully consistent conventional cluster simulation which includes terms up to the third-order post-Newtonian approximation. Numerical problems for treating extremely energetic binaries orbiting a single massive object are circumvented by employing the special 'wheel-spoke' regularization method of Zare which has not been used in large- N simulations before. Idealized models containing   N = 1 × 10⁵  particles of mass  1 M_⊙  with a central black hole (BH) of  300 M_⊙  have been studied on GRAPE-type computers. An initial half-mass radius of   r _h≃ 0.1  pc is sufficiently small to yield examples of relativistic coalescence. This is achieved by significant binary shrinkage within a density cusp environment, followed by the generation of extremely high eccentricities which are induced by Kozai cycles and/or resonant relaxation. More realistic models with white dwarfs and 10 times larger half-mass radii also show evidence of general relativity effects before disruption. An experimentation with the post-Newtonian terms suggests that reducing the time-scales for activating the different orders progressively may be justified for obtaining qualitatively correct solutions without aiming for precise predictions of the final gravitational radiation wave form. The results obtained suggest that the standard loss-cone arguments underestimate the swallowing rate in globular clusters containing a central BH.