Fast neutral particles as probes of the extent of Io's exosphere

The spatial extent of ion cyclotron waves at Io has been interpreted as requiring a multistep acceleration and transport process: exospheric ions are accelerated outward (relative to Jupiter) due to the corotation electric field, neutralized due to charge exchange in the surrounding exosphere, and then reionized after traveling far across magnetic field lines, at which point they generate the waves. The trajectories of the particles away from Io are sensitive to the location of their initial ionization. This paper examines the spatial distributions of fast neutrals produced under varying conditions in order to provide constraints on the possible structure and nature of the Io exosphere. While a rapid onset of cyclotron waves at a specific location around Io can be modeled with a single, point-source region of ions, such as might occur over a volcano, the regional extent of the waves suggests multiple or distributed sources.     

我国地质找矿取心（样）钻探设备现状及提高效能的分析研究

概述了我国地质找矿钻探市场现状及前景，分析研究了地质取样钻探传统的立轴钻机及全液压动力头钻机的优缺点及综合效能，针对国家提出加强地质工作的形势及中国的实际状况，提出了完善和改进我国现有钻探设备、提高我国地质找矿取样钻探效率、降低能耗及成本的观点及建议。     

Planetons: An example of large amplitude solitary waves

Abstract

The term ‘‘solitary wave'’ is usually used to denote a steadily propagating permanent form solution of a nonlinear wave equation, with the permanency arising from a balance between steepening and dispersive tendencies. It is known that large-scale thermal anomalies in the ocean are subject to a steepening mechanism driven by the beta effect, while at the smaller deformation scale, such phenomena are highly dispersive. It is shown here that the evolution of a physical system subject to both effects is governed by the ‘‘frontal semi-geostrophic equation'’ (FSGE), which is valid for large amplitude thermocline disturbances. Solitary wave solutions of the FSGE (here named planetons) are calculated and their properties are described with a view towards examining the behavior of finite amplitude solitary waves. In contrast, most known solitary wave solutions belong to weakly nonlinear wave equations (e.g., the Korteweg—deVries (KdV) equation).

The FSGE is shown to reduce to the KdV equation at small amplitudes. Classical sech² solitons thus represent a limiting class of solutions to the FSGE. The primary new effect on planetons at finite amplitudes is nonlinear dispersion. It is argued that due to this effect the propagation rates of finite amplitude planetons differ significantly from the ‘‘weak planeton'', or KdV, dispersion relation. Planeton structure is found to be simple and reminiscent of KdV solitons. Numerical evidence is presented which suggests that collisions between finite amplitude solitary waves are weakly inelastic, indicating the loss of true soliton behavior of the FSGE at moderate amplitudes. Lastly, the sensitivity of solitary waves to the existence of a nontrivial far field is demonstrated and the role of this analysis in the interpretation of lab experiments and the evolution of the thermocline is discussed.     

Multi-offset phase analysis of surface wave data (MOPA)

Inaccuracy in the shear wave velocity profile inverted from surface wave data manifests from both modelling error and data uncertainty. An alternative method for dispersion curve evaluation by weighted linear regression of phase-offset data can be applied to both equispaced and non-equispaced data for objective identification of these often overlooked error sources.From field data, near-field effects are noted to at most half a wavelength and lateral discontinuities identified by marked changes in wavenumber with offset. Transition frequencies to dominant higher modes appear lower than when identified from standard plane-wave transform methods. Effects can be discriminated by their frequency, position or offset dependence.When a non-corrupt dispersion curve is extracted, the errors are up to 5% at low frequency. Through theoretical Gaussian error propagation analysis, the resulting shear wave velocity profile shows up to 18% uncertainty at depth.     

Long waves due to a symmetrical wind stress on the surface of a rotating ocean

Abstract

The problem of unsteady long waves generated by any horizontal and symmetrically distributed, time-periodic surface wind on a rotating ocean is analysed for large times and distances. Uniform asymptotic estimates of the surface displacement in the unsteady state are obtained. The steady-state wave and velocity fields at any distance are also determined. Some characteristics of the unsteady and steady motions are described. Also noted are the features that distinguish the motion from its one-dimensional analogue for which a non-uniform analysis in the unsteady state along with a large-distance form of the surface elevation are already known.     

Internal waves in a rotating stratified spherical shell: asymptotic solutions

Summary. Small amplitude oscillations of a rotating, density-stratified fluid bounded by a spherical shell are examined. No restrictions are placed on the thickness of the shell. The internal mode spectrum is examined in the complete rotation-stratification parameter range including the regime that is appropriate for a plausible stratification distribution in the Earth's fluid core. A mathematical model is derived in terms of an eigenvalue PDE of mixed type. The existence of oscillatory solutions is exhibited in the limits of no rotation and no stratification. The frequency spectrum is extended asymptotically away from these limiting cases. A reduction in the complexity of the PDE for modes oscillating at the inertial frequency is exploited. A variational formulation is constructed in which the stratification parameter is treated as an eigenvalue of the system for fixed wave frequency. The spectral information is again extended asymptotically away from these 'accessible' points. Although the PDE reduces to Laplace's tidal equations (LTE) only under stringent parameter restrictions, it is observed that aspects of the behaviour of low frequency LTE modes are reproduced in the general model.