Slow-mode shock candidate in the Jovian magnetosheath

We discuss some interesting plasma observations in the Jovian magnetosheath by the onboard plasma instruments of the Cassini spacecraft during the 2000-2001 Jupiter flyby. We propose that the observations are consistent with a slow-mode shock transition. In the terrestrial magnetosheath, a number of observations have been made that are consistent with slow-mode waves or shocks. In addition, a number of observations have established that, at least occasionally, slow-mode structures form at the plasma sheet-lobe boundary in the terrestrial magnetotail, related to X lines associated with reconnection. There has been only one previously reported observation of a slow-mode shock-like transition in the Jovian plasma environment. This observation was made in the dayside magnetosheath. The observation we report here was made well downstream of the magnetosphere in Jupiter’s magnetosheath, at local time ∼19:10. For our analysis we have used the data from the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) the Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument (MIMI) and the Magnetometer (MAG). The bow shock crossings observed by Cassini ranged downstream to −600 R_J from the planet     

辉钼矿Re-Os同位素定年方法的改进与应用

公认的Re-Os同位素定年代表物辉钼矿,目前已在金属硫化物矿床年代学研究领域获得了广泛的应用。本研究采用浓HNO₃分解辉钼矿样品,大大地简化了Re和Os的化学制备过程,并根据辉钼矿中正常Os含量水平相对放射成因¹⁸⁷Os可以忽略的特点,以正常Os标准为稀释剂,实现了仪器测量过程中Os同位素质量分馏的在线校正,改善了分析数据的质量。该方法经辉钼矿国家标准物质进行验证,获得了满意的Re、Os含量及Re-Os年龄数据,并且在南岭地区与连阳复式岩体相关的姓坪夕卡岩型钼矿床成矿年龄研究中获得了成功应用。在实际应用中,为了获得有意义的能反映真实地质事件的年龄数据,辉钼矿样品不仅要有足够的取样量,而且还要保证粒度细、混合均匀。     

河北承德黑山铁矿床热液成矿特征及流体包裹体研究

黑山大型钒钛磁铁矿矿床产于大庙斜长岩杂岩体中,是承德地区最重要的"大庙式"岩浆型铁矿床。笔者在矿区野外地质观察过程中发现,穿插于斜长岩中的铁磷矿脉、磁铁矿硫化物矿脉有热液成矿作用的显示,表明黑山铁矿床成因除传统认为的岩浆期结晶、熔离、矿浆贯入成矿作用外,还有热液期的成矿作用发生。本文对热液成矿期铁磷矿石中磷灰石和矿化蚀变石英中的流体包裹体进行了显微测温和激光拉曼光谱分析。结果表明,磷灰石中原生包裹体可以分为气液两相包裹体、含子矿物包裹体、含液态CO2三相包裹体、单液相、单气相包裹体5类,均一温度主要集中于180～420℃,盐度主要集中于6.2%～38.9%NaCleq,流体包裹体气相成分主要为CO2、N2和CH4,液相成分主要为H2O,固相成分主要为方解石、石盐、白云石及铁氧化物子矿物。石英中流体包裹体类型和成分与磷灰石中的类似,但固相成分未发现石盐和不透明金属子矿物,均一温度变化于149～422℃,盐度变化于5.7%～22.9%NaCleq。成矿流体为CaCl2-NaCl-H2O-CO2体系,均一温度和盐度呈现正相关连续渐变的特征。铁磷矿石的磷灰石中原生包裹体为流体包裹体,盐度高,子矿物种类复杂,组成中富含CO2和CH4等,这些特征显示成矿流体以岩浆热液为主;成矿机理可能与大气降水对岩浆热液的稀释有关。     

Analysis of a giant lightning storm on Saturn

On January 23, 2006, the Cassini/RPWS (Radio and Plasma Wave Science) instrument detected a massive outbreak of SEDs (Saturn Electrostatic Discharges). The following SED storm lasted for about one month and consisted of 71 consecutive episodes. It exceeded all other previous SED observations by Cassini as well as by the Voyagers with regard to number and rate of detected events. At the same time astronomers at the Earth as well as Cassini/ISS (Imaging Science Subsystem) detected a distinctive bright atmospheric cloud feature at a latitude of 35° South, strongly confirming the current interpretation of SEDs being the radio signatures of lightning flashes in Saturn's atmosphere. In this paper we will analyze the main physical properties of this SED storm and of a single small SED storm from 2005. The giant SED storm of 2006 had maximum burst rates of 1 SED every 2 s, its episodes lasted for 5.5 h on average, and the episode's periodicity of about 10.66 h exactly matched the period of the ISS observed cloud feature. Using the low frequency cutoff of SED episodes we determined an ionospheric electron density around ¹⁰⁴ cm⁻³ for the dawn side of Saturn.     

Direction finding measurements of type III bursts in both elevation and azimuth

Direction finding measurements with the plasma wave experiments on the HAWKEYE 1 and IMP-8 satellites are used to find the source locations of type III solar radio bursts in elevation (geocentric solar ecliptic latitude) and azimuth (geocentric solar ecliptic longitude) in a frequency range from 31.1 kHz to 500 kHz. IMP-8 has its spin axis perpendicular to the ecliptic plane, hence by analyzing the spin modulation of the signals the location of the type III burst projected into the ecliptic can be found. HAWKEYE 1 has its spin axis nearly parallel to the ecliptic plane, hence the elevation of the source may also be determined. The trajectory of the electrons generating the burst, projected onto the ecliptic plane, follows an Archimedean spiral. Out of the ecliptic plane the trajectory is at a nearly constant heliographic latitude. The electrons originate from a region near a solar flare. With direction measurements of elevation and azimuth along with the modulation factor it is possible to determine the source size. Typical half angle source sizes range from 60° at 500 kHz to 40° at 56.2 kHz as viewed from the sun.     

Characteristics of the dust-plasma interaction near Enceladus’ South Pole

We present RPWS Langmuir probe data from the third Enceladus flyby (E3) showing the presence of dusty plasma near Enceladus’ South Pole. There is a sharp rise in both the electron and ion number densities when the spacecraft traverses through Enceladus plume. The ion density near Enceladus is found to increase abruptly from about 10² cm⁻³ before the closest approach to 10⁵ cm⁻³ just 30 s after the closest approach, an amount two orders of magnitude higher than the electron density. Assuming that the inconsistency between the electron and ion number densities is due to the presence of dust particles that are collecting the missing electron charges, we present dusty plasma characteristics down to sub-micron particle sizes. By assuming a differential dust number density for a range in dust sizes and by making use of Langmuir probe data, the dust densities for certain lower limits in dust size distribution were estimated. In order to achieve the dust densities of micrometer and larger sized grains comparable to the ones reported in the literature, we show that the power law size distribution must hold down to at least 0.03 μm such that the total differential number density is dominated by the smallest sub-micron sized grains. The total dust number density in Enceladus’ plume is of the order of 10² cm⁻³ reducing to 1 cm⁻³ in the E-ring. The dust density for micrometer and larger sized grains is estimated to be about 10⁻⁴ cm⁻³ in the plume while it is about 10⁻⁶-10⁻⁷ cm⁻³ in the E-ring. Dust charge for micron sized grains is estimated to be about eight thousand electron charges reducing to below one hundred electron charges for 0.03 μm sized grains. The effective dusty plasma Debye length is estimated and compared with inter-grain distance as well as the electron Debye length. The maximum dust charging time of 1.4 h is found for 0.03 μm sized grains just 1 min before the closest approach. The charging time decreases substantially in the plume where it is only a fraction of a second for 1 μm sized grains, 1 s for 0.1 μm sized grains and about 10 s for 0.03 μm sized grains.     

The electromagnetic pickup of submicron-sized dust above Enceladus’s northern hemisphere

As the saturnian magnetoplasma sweeps past Enceladus, it experiences both a decrease in electron content and sharp slowdown in the northern hemisphere region within ～5 Enceladus Radii (R_e). This slowdown is observed by Cassini in regions not obviously associated with the southern directed plume-originating ions. We suggest herein that the decrease in northern hemisphere electron content and plasma slowdown could both be related to the presence of fine dust grains that are being accelerated by the Lorentz force created within the saturnian magnetic field system.     

Direction-finding measurements of type III radio bursts out of the ecliptic plane

Direction-finding measurements with the plasma wave experiments on the HAWKEYE 1 and IMP 8 satellites are used to find the source locations of type III solar radio bursts in heliocentric latitude and longitude in a frequency range from 31.1 kHz to 500 kHz. IMP 8 has its spin axis perpendicular to the ecliptic plane; hence, by analyzing the spin modulation of the received signals the location of the type III burst projected into the ecliptic plane can be found. HAWKEYE 1 has its spin axis nearly parallel to the ecliptic plane; hence, the location of the source out of the ecliptic plane may also be determined. Using an empirical model for the emission frequency as a function of radial distance from the sun the three-dimensional trajectory of the type III radio source can be determined from direction-finding measurements at different frequencies. Since the electrons which produce these radio emissions follow the magnetic field lines from the Sun these measurements provide information on the three-dimensional structure of the magnetic field in the solar wind. The source locations projected into the ecliptic plane follow an Archimedean spiral. Perpendicular to the ecliptic plane the source locations usually follow a constant heliocentric latitude. When the best fit magnetic field line through the source locations is extrapolated back to the Sun this field line usually originates within a few degrees from the solar flare which produced the radio burst. With direction-finding measurements of this type it is also possible to determine the source size from the modulation factor of the received signals. For a type III event on June 8, 1974, the half angle source size was measured to be 60° at 500 kHz and 40° at 56.2 kHz as viewed from the Sun.Presented at Workshop on Mechanisms for Solar Type III Radio Bursts, Berkeley, California, May 8–9, 1975; see Solar Phys. 46, 433.     

Thirty years of river restoration in Switzerland: implemented measures and lessons learned

In the age of climate change and ecosystem degradation, governments realise more and more that it is crucial to protect ecosystem health, to preserve water resources and to maintain flood protection. Therefore, several countries, among those Switzerland, have implemented laws to make the restoration of riverine ecosystems a legal obligation. In Switzerland, restoration projects were implemented as early as 1979, prior to these laws coming into force. For this article, 848 Swiss restoration projects, implemented between 1979 and 2012, were investigated, spanning a total of 307 river kilometres. No correlation was found between the geographical distribution of total restored lengths in a way that larger cantons performed more restorations. Neither was there a correlation between the total restored length and the canton’s population density or financial status. Restoration activities increased steadily after 1992, with most restorations being reported for the years 2004, 2005 and 2009. The average restoration rate was 9.8 km per year, ranging between 0.5 km in 1979 and 23.9 km in 2004. Restoration measures were very diverse, ranging from measures that directly affected the wildlife, e.g. by providing habitats, to measures which indirectly enhanced conditions for the ecosystem, such as water quality ameliorations. Data regarding success evaluation was only available for 232 of the 848 projects, making it difficult to state whether the implemented restoration projects reached the intended objectives. Over the next 80 years, a further 4,000 km of Swiss rivers will be restored, requiring a restoration rate of 50 km per year, which, according to the data, is an achievable goal.     

Energetic electron observations of Rhea’s magnetospheric interaction

Saturn’s moon Rhea is thought to be a simple plasma absorber, however, energetic particle observations in its vicinity show a variety of unexpected and complex interaction features that do not conform with our current understanding about plasma absorbing interactions. Energetic electron data are especially interesting, as they contain a series of broad and narrow flux depletions on either side of the moon’s wake. The association of these dropouts with absorption by dust and boulders orbiting within Rhea’s Hill sphere was suggested but subsequently not confirmed, so in this study we review data from all four Cassini flybys of Rhea to date seeking evidence for alternative processes operating within the moon’s interaction region. We focus on energetic electron observations, which we put in context with magnetometer, cold plasma density and energetic ion data. All flybys have unique features, but here we only focus on several structures that are consistently observed. The most interesting common feature is that of narrow dropouts in energetic electron fluxes, visible near the wake flanks. These are typically seen together with narrow flux enhancements inside the wake. A phase-space-density analysis for these structures from the first Rhea flyby (R1) shows that Liouville’s theorem holds, suggesting that they may be forming due to rapid transport of energetic electrons from the magnetosphere to the wake, through narrow channels. A series of possibilities are considered to explain this transport process. We examined whether complex energetic electron drifts in the interaction region of a plasma absorbing moon (modeled through a hybrid simulation code) may allow such a transport. With the exception of several features (e.g. broadening of the central wake with increasing electron energy), most of the commonly observed interaction signatures in energetic electrons (including the narrow structures) were not reproduced. Additional dynamical processes, not simulated by the hybrid code, should be considered in order to explain the data. For the small scale features, the possibility that a flute (interchange) instability acts on the electrons is discussed. This instability is probably driven by strong gradients in the plasma pressure and the magnetic field magnitude: magnetometer observations show clearly signatures consistent with the (expected) plasma pressure loss due to ion absorption at Rhea. Another potential driver of the instability could have been gradients in the cold plasma density, which are, however, surprisingly absent from most crossings of Rhea’s plasma wake. The lack of a density depletion in Rhea’s wake suggests the presence of a local cold plasma source region. Hybrid plasma simulations show that this source cannot be the ionized component of Rhea’s weak exosphere. It is probably related to accelerated photoelectrons from the moon’s negatively charged surface, indicating that surface charging may play a very important role in shaping Rhea’s magnetospheric interaction region.