Forced obliquity and moments of inertia of Titan

The obliquity of Titan is small, but certainly non-zero, and may be used to place constraints on Titan's internal structure. The measured gravity coefficients of Titan imply that it is non-hydrostatic and thus the normal Darwin-Radau approach to determining internal structure cannot be applied. However, if the obliquity is assumed to be tidally damped (that is, in a Cassini state) then combining the obliquity with the measured gravity coefficients allows Titan's moment of inertia to be determined without invoking hydrostatic equilibrium. For polar moment values in the range (0.3<C/MR²<0.4), tidally-damped obliquity values of (0.115°<|ε|<0.177°) result. If the inferred moment value exceeds 0.4, this strongly suggests the presence of a near-surface ice shell decoupled from the interior, probably by a subsurface ocean.     

Dynamical objectives of observation of mutual events

Recently the motion of the main satellites of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus have been modelled in order to get accurate ephemerides. These models have been fitted over a large amount of observations. Among these ones, the positions issued from the observations of mutual events are the most accurate. We can then expect to obtain a new kind of dynamical informations directly linked to planetological questions. We have to determine what information is used in these observations to get the still unknown dynamical parameters. We look after these questions especially in the Jovian and Saturnian systems.     

The 18.6 yr nodal modulation in the tides of Southern European coasts

The nodal modulation of the diurnal (K₁ and O₁) and semi-diurnal (M₂ and K₂) tidal constituents at the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic is estimated and its spatial variability mapped. Fourteen hourly tide gauge records each spanning more than 18 years are considered in this analysis. Ten tide gauges are located in the Mediterranean Sea and four in the Bay of Biscay. The nodal modulation of the most energetic tidal constituent (M₂) reaches up to 5 cm at the eastern Atlantic coasts, while within the Mediterranean Sea its modulation is in general less than 1.1 cm. The largest K₂ nodal modulation found is 3.7 cm in the eastern Atlantic coasts. In the Mediterranean Sea, smaller modulation amplitudes, ranging between 0.4 and 1.4 cm are found. The K₁ tide constituent has the largest amplitude nodal modulation within the Mediterranean Sea of 1.9 cm in the north Adriatic Sea, which is also larger than the modulation of this constituent at the eastern Atlantic coasts. The O₁ tide constituent has the highest amplitude nodal modulation (1.4 cm) at the eastern Atlantic coasts. In the Mediterranean Sea the maximum value is 1 cm in the north Adriatic Sea.     

2008 年与2009 年黄海绿潮漂移路径分析

利用卫星资料分析了2008年和2009年黄海绿潮的漂移路径的差异,基于QSCAT(Quick Scatterometer)卫星风场及海洋模式表层环流模拟结果,分析了绿潮漂移路径差异的动力机制。结果表明:2008(2009)年绿潮发生期间黄海海域以南东(偏南)风为主,江苏至山东半岛南岸海域表层平均流为偏北(东北)向,青岛附近海域低频余流为偏西(东)向流,致使绿潮的漂移方向为西北(东北)向,在青岛(烟台-威海)近岸海域发生聚集。2008年和2009年绿潮漂移路径差异,主要由海面风与表层环流的共同作用引起。通过对黄海海域海面风场和表层流场的早期预报,可以提前预判绿潮的影响区域和程度,为政府相关部门防灾减灾工作提供决策支持。