The lunar barometric tide in New Zealand

The lunar barometric tide has been determined with reasonable accuracy, on an annual and seasonal basis, at five stations on the mainland of New Zealand and at three of the outlying islands. The determinations show that in the New Zealand region the lunar tide has a larger amplitude and smaller phase than might have been expected from previously available southern-hemisphere results. In general, the seasonal variation of phase in the New Zealand region conforms to the currently recognised global pattern, with the J-season phase greater than that of the D-season. Similarly, the amplitude variation tends to support the suggestion that, south of latitude 30°S, the D-season amplitude is greater than that of the J-season. Approximate tests are introduced and used to assess the statistical significance of some of the apparent differences in amplitude and phase made evident by the analysis. These assessments indicate that although many of the apparent differences may be attributed to sampling fluctuations, the main regional anomalies in amplitude and phase are likely to be real. It is suggested that these anomalies may indicate a significant regional input of tidal energy to the atmosphere (at the lower boundary) from the Pacific oceanic tide.     

Planetary waves in coupling the lower and upper atmosphere

The purpose of the paper is to answer the question if planetary waves (PW) are capable of propagating into the thermosphere. First the simplest vertical structure equation of the classic tidal theory accounting for a realistic vertical temperature profile is considered. Analysis and simulation show that the well-known normal atmospheric modes (NM), which are trapped in the lower and middle atmosphere, exhibit a wave-like vertical structure with a large vertical wavelength in the thermosphere. Moreover, the reflection of these modes from the vertical temperature gradient in the lower thermosphere causes appearance of the wave-energy upward flux in the middle atmosphere, and in a linearized formulation this flux is constant above the source region. To investigate a possibility of the NM forcing by stratospheric vacillations and to consider the propagation of different PW up to the heights of the upper thermosphere, a set of runs with a mechanistic Middle and Upper Atmosphere Model has been performed. The results of the simulation show that quasi-stationary and longer-period PW are not able to penetrate into the thermosphere. The shorter-period NM and ultra-fast Kelvin wave propagate up to the heights of the lower thermosphere. However, above about 150 km they are strongly suppressed by dissipative processes. The role of the secondary waves (nonmigrating tides) arising from nonlinear interaction between the primary migrating tides and quasi-stationary PW is discussed. We conclude that PW are not capable of propagating directly up to the heights of the ionospheric F2 region. It is suggested that other physical processes (for instance, the electrostatic field perturbations) have to be taken into account to explain the observed PW-like structures in ionospheric parameters.     

Location and height of intertidal bars on macrotidal ridge and runnel beaches

Previous studies devoted to the morphology and hydrodynamics of ridge and runnel beaches highlight characteristics that deviate from those initially postulated by King and Williams (Geographical Journal, 1949, vol. 113, 70–85) and King (Beaches and Coasts, 1972, Edward Arnold). Disagreements on the morphodynamics of these macrotidal beaches include the position of the ridges relative to the mean neap and spring tide levels, the variation in the height of the ridges across the intertidal profile and, most importantly, whether the ridges are formed by swash or surf zone processes. The morphological characteristics of ridge and runnel beaches from three locations with varying wave, tidal and geomorphic settings were investigated to address these disagreements. Beach profiles from each site were analysed together with water‐level data collected from neighbouring ports. It was found that the ridges occur over the entire intertidal zone. On one site (north Lincolnshire, east England), the ridges are uniformly distributed over the intertidal beach, whereas on the two other sites (Blackpool beach, northwest England, and Leffrinckoucke beach, north France) there is some indication that the ridges appear to occur at preferential locations. Most significantly, the locations of the ridge crests were found to be unrelated to the positions on the intertidal profile where the water level is stationary for the longest time. It was further found that the highest ridges generally occur just above mid‐tide level where tidal non‐stationarity is greatest. These findings argue against the hypothesis that the ridges are formed by swash processes acting at stationary tide levels. It is tentatively suggested that the ridges are the result of a combination of swash and surf zone processes acting across the intertidal zone. Elucidation of the morphodynamic roles of these two types of processes, and other processes such as strong current flows in the runnels, requires further comprehensive field measurements complemented by numerical modelling. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

自转微椭、非均匀地球的潮汐变形

鉴于当前国际上关于自转微椭、非均匀地球（ＳＲＥＨＩ）的固体潮汐响应的结果之间存在明显分歧，特别是Ｌｏｖｅ数ｋ及重力潮汐因子δ对纬度的依赖情况截然不同，本文借助于摄动法与张量正则分量的广义球谐展开建立起来的侧向非均匀、自转微椭、粘弹地球的潮汐模拟理论，计算了ＳＲＥＨＩ地球的潮汐形变及相应的引力位变化．结果表明，描述径向位移的Ｌｏｖｅ数的纬度依赖部分系数ｈ＿＋与球对称部分ｈ＿０＋δｈ＿０之比不大于１．０‰；对Ｏ＿１波为０．２７‰；对Ｍ＿２波为０．１９‰；对Ｍ＿３波为０．４９‰；对Ｍ＿４波为０．８８‰．描述地球引力位变化的Ｌｏｖｅ数的纬度依赖部分系数ｋ＿＋与球对称部分ｋ＿０＋δｋ＿０之比小于３．０‰；对Ｏ＿１波为２．６７‰；对Ｍ＿２波为１．８９‰；对Ｍ＿３波为２．２４‰；对Ｍ＿４波为２．７０‰．     

试论地幔潮汐作用与地壳构造运动的关系

太阳系（携带地球）围绕银河系银心依椭圆形轨道公转．旋行１周，地球与银心之间有两次处于近距离，两次处于远距离．在靠近时两者之间引力增大，导致地仅柔流物质发生涨潮，远离时引力减小，地幔潮落．地幔的潮汐作用势必引起其上的固体地壳发生破裂、变形、运移和碰撞，即地壳构造运动．由于太阳公转具有２００Ｍａ年的周期性，故而地壳运动同样也具有与此相一致的周期性和等时性．因而说地幔的潮汐是导致地壳发生构造运动的主要原因．