共查询到20条相似文献，搜索用时 15 毫秒
1.
We study the temporal variation of subsurface flows of 828 active regions and 977 quiet regions. The horizontal flows cover
a range of depths from the surface to about 16 Mm and are determined by analyzing Global Oscillation Network Group high-resolution Doppler data with ring-diagram analyses. The vertical velocity component is derived from the divergence of
the measured horizontal flows using mass conservation. For comparison, we analyze Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) Dynamics Run data covering 68 active regions common to both data sets. We determine the change in unsigned magnetic
flux during the disk passage of each active region using MDI magnetograms binned to the ring-diagram grid. We then sort the
data by their flux change from decaying to emerging flux and divide the data into five subsets of equal size. We find that
emerging flux has a faster rotation than the ambient fluid and pushes it up, as indicated by enhanced vertical velocity and
faster-than-average zonal flow. After active regions are formed, downflows are established within two days of emergence in
shallow layers between about 4 and 10 Mm. Emerging flux in existing active regions shows a similar scenario, where the upflows
at depths greater than about 10 Mm are enhanced and the already established downflows at shallower depths are weakened. When
active regions decay, the corresponding flow pattern disappears as well; the zonal flow slows down to values comparable to
that of quiet regions and the upflows become weaker at deeper layers. The residual meridional velocity is mainly poleward
and shows no obvious variation. The magnitude of the residual velocity, defined as the sum of the squares of the residual
velocity components, increases with increasing magnetic flux and decreases with decreasing flux. 相似文献
2.
We study the temporal variation of subsurface flows of 788 active regions and 978 quiet regions. The vertical-velocity component
used in this study is derived from the divergence of the measured horizontal flows using mass conservation. The horizontal
flows cover a range of depths from the surface to about 16 Mm and are determined by analyzing about five years of GONG high-resolution
Doppler data with ring-diagram analysis. We determine the change in unsigned magnetic flux during the disk passage of each
active region using MDI magnetograms binned to the ring-diagram grid. We then sort the data by their flux change from decaying
to emerging flux and divide the data into five subsets of equal size. The average vertical flows of the emerging-flux subset
are systematically shifted toward upflows compared to the grand average values of the complete data set, whereas the average
flows of the decaying-flux subset show comparably more pronounced downflows especially near 8 Mm. For flux emergence, upflows
become stronger with time with increasing flux at depths greater than about 10 Mm. At layers shallower than about 4 Mm, the
flows might start to change from downflows to upflows, when flux emerges, and then back to downflows after the active regions
are established. The flows in the layers between these two depth ranges show no response to the emerging flux. In the case
of decaying flux, the flows change from strong upflows to downflows at depths greater than about 10 Mm, whereas the flows
do not change systematically at other depths. A cross-correlation analysis shows that the flows in the near-surface and the
deeper layers might change about one day before flux emerges. The flows associated with the quiet regions fluctuate with time
but do not show any systematic variation. 相似文献
3.
We study the temporal variation of the vorticity of subsurface flows of 828 active regions and 977 quiet regions. The vorticity
of these flows is derived from measured subsurface velocities. The horizontal flows are determined by analyzing high-resolution
Global Oscillation Network Group Doppler data with ring-diagram analysis covering a range of depths from the surface to about 16 Mm. The vertical velocity
component is derived from the divergence of the measured horizontal flows using mass conservation. We determine the change
in unsigned magnetic flux density during the disk passage of each active region using Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) magnetograms binned to the ring-diagram grid with centers spaced by 7.5° ranging ± 52.5° in latitude and central meridian
distance with an effective diameter of 15° after apodization. We then sort the data by their flux change from decaying to
emerging flux and divide the data into five subsets of equal size. We find that the vorticity of subsurface flows increases
during flux emergence and decreases when active regions decay. For flux emergence, the absolute values of the zonal and meridional
vorticity components show the most coherent variation with activity, while for flux decrease the strongest signature is in
the absolute values of the meridional and vertical vorticity components. The temporal variation of the enstrophy (residual
vorticity squared) is thus a good indicator for either flux increase or decrease. There are some indications that the increase
in vorticity during flux emergence happens about a day later at depths below about 8 Mm compared to layers shallower than
about 4 Mm. This timing difference might imply that the vorticity signal analyzed here is caused by the interaction between
magnetic flux and turbulent flows near the solar surface. There are also hints that the vorticity decrease during flux decay
begins about a day earlier at layers deeper than about 8 Mm compared to shallower ones. However, the timing difference between
the change at different depths is comparable to the time step of the analysis. 相似文献
4.
V. A. Sheminova 《Solar physics》2009,254(1):29-50
The properties of solar magnetic fields on scales less than the spatial resolution of solar telescopes are studied. A synthetic
infrared spectropolarimetric diagnostic based on a 2D MHD simulation of magnetoconvection is used for this. Analyzed are two
time sequences of snapshots that likely represent two regions of the network fields with their immediate surroundings on the
solar surface with unsigned magnetic flux densities of 300 and 140 G. In the first region from the probability density functions
of the magnetic field strength it is found that the most probable field strength at log τ
5=0 is equal to 250 G. Weak fields (B<500 G) occupy about 70% of the surface, whereas stronger fields (B>1000 G) occupy only 9.7% of the surface. The magnetic flux is −28 G and its imbalance is −0.04. In the second region, these
parameters are correspondingly equal to 150 G, 93.3%, 0.3%, −40 G, and −0.10. The distribution of line-of-sight velocities
on the surface of log τ
5=−1 is estimated. The mean velocity is equal to 0.4 km s−1 in the first simulated region. The average velocity in the granules is −1.2 km s−1 and in the intergranules it is 2.5 km s−1. In the second region, the corresponding values of the mean velocities are equal to 0, −1.8, and 1.5 km s−1. In addition the asymmetry of synthetic Stokes V profiles of the Fe i 1564.8 nm line is analyzed. The mean values of the amplitude and area asymmetry do not exceed 1%. The spatially smoothed
amplitude asymmetry is increased to 10% whereas the area asymmetry is only slightly varied. 相似文献
5.
This study aims to quantify characteristic features of the bipolar flux appearance of solar intranetwork (IN) magnetic elements.
To attack this problem, we use the Narrowband Filter Imager (NFI) magnetograms from the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) on board Hinode; these data are from quiet and enhanced network areas. Cluster emergence of mixed polarities and IN ephemeral regions (ERs)
are the most conspicuous forms of bipolar flux appearance within the network. Each of the clusters is characterized by a few
well-developed ERs that are partially or fully coaligned in magnetic axis orientation. On average, the sampled IN ERs have
a total maximum unsigned flux of several 1017 Mx, a separation of 3 – 4 arcsec, and a lifetime of 10 – 15 minutes. The smallest IN ERs have a maximum unsigned flux of
several 1016 Mx, separations of less than 1 arcsec, and lifetimes as short as 5 minutes. Most IN ERs exhibit a rotation of their magnetic
axis of more than 10 degrees during flux emergence. Peculiar flux appearance, e.g., bipole shrinkage followed by growth or the reverse, is not unusual. A few examples show repeated shrinkage–growth or growth–shrinkage,
like magnetic floats in the dynamic photosphere. The observed bipolar behavior seems to carry rich information on magnetoconvection
in the subphotospheric layer. 相似文献
6.
Jiangtao Su Yu Liu Jihong Liu Xinjie Mao Hongqi Zhang Hui Li Xiaofan Wang Wenbin Xie 《Solar physics》2008,252(1):55-71
Zhao and Kosovichev (Astrophys. J.
591, 446, 2003) found two opposite sub-photospheric vortical flows in the depth range of 0 – 12 Mm around a fast rotating sunspot. So far
there is no theoretical model explaining such flow motions. In this paper, we try to explain this phenomenon from the point
of view of magnetic flux tubes interacting with large-scale vortical motions of plasma. In the deeper zone under the photosphere,
the magnetic force may be less than the nonmagnetic force of plasma. The vortical flow located there twists the flux tube
and magnetic free energy is built up in the tube. In the shallower zone under the photosphere, the magnetic force may be greater
than the nonmagnetic force. Thus, part of the stored magnetic free energy is released to drive the plasma to rotate in two
opposite directions, e.g., in the depth ranges of 0 – 3(5) and 9 – 12 Mm. In addition, we also define a vector of nonpotential magnetic stress τ, which can be related to flare occurrence. It is calculated for the active region NOAA 10930 on 11 December 2006. We find
that: i) the integral of its line-of-sight (LOS) stress successively increases around the magnetic neutral line (MNL) prior to and
during the flare and decreases to a minimum after the flare; ii) the integral of its transverse stress exceeds the integral of its LOS component by one order of magnitude over the whole
field of view; iii) the transverse stress first points toward the MNL, then along it, and finally it points away from it. We need other data
to verify whether or not the magnetic energy is transported in the horizontal direction to the neutral line, and then partly
changes into the energy in LOS direction before and during the flare. 相似文献
7.
We study the solar-cycle variation of subsurface flows from the surface to a depth of 16 Mm. We have analyzed Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) Dopplergrams with a ring-diagram analysis covering about 15 years and Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) Dopplergrams covering more than 6 years. After subtracting the average rotation rate and meridional flow, we have calculated the divergence of the horizontal residual flows from the maximum of Solar Cycle 23 through the declining phase of Cycle 24. The subsurface flows are mainly divergent at quiet regions and convergent at locations of high magnetic activity. The relationship is essentially linear between divergence and magnetic activity at all activity levels at depths shallower than about 10 Mm. At greater depths, the relationship changes sign at locations of high activity; the flows are increasingly divergent at locations with a magnetic activity index (MAI) greater than about 24 G. The flows are more convergent by about a factor of two during the rising phase of Cycle 24 than during the declining phase of Cycle 23 at locations of medium and high activity (about 10 to 40 G MAI) from the surface to at least 10 Mm. The subsurface divergence pattern of Solar Cycle 24 first appears during the declining phase of Cycle 23 and is present during the extended minimum. It appears several years before the magnetic pattern of the new cycle is noticeable in synoptic maps. Using linear regression, we estimate the amount of magnetic activity that would be required to generate the precursor pattern and find that it should be almost twice the amount of activity that is observed. 相似文献
8.
We study the North–South asymmetry of zonal and meridional components of horizontal, solar subsurface flows during the years
2001–2004, which cover the declining phase of solar cycle 23. We measure the horizontal flows from the near-surface layers
to 16 Mm depth by analyzing 44 consecutive Carrington rotations of Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) Doppler images
with a ring-diagram analysis technique. The meridional flow and the errors of both flow components show an annual variation
related to the B
0-angle variation, while the zonal flow is less affected by the B
0-angle variation. After correcting for this effect, the meridional flow is mainly poleward but it shows a counter cell close
to the surface at high latitudes in both hemispheres. During the declining phase of the solar cycle, the meridional flow mainly
increases with time at latitudes poleward of about 20˚, while it mainly decreases at more equatorward latitudes. The temporal variation of the zonal flow in both hemispheres is
significantly correlated at latitudes less than about 20˚. The zonal flow is larger in the southern hemisphere than the northern one, and this North–South asymmetry increases with
depth. Details of the North–South asymmetry of zonal and meridional flow reflect the North–South asymmetry of the magnetic
flux. The North–South asymmetries of the flows show hints of a variation with the solar cycle. 相似文献
9.
We consider the physical origin of the hemispheric pattern of filament chirality on the Sun. Our 3D simulations of the coronal
field evolution over a period of six months, based on photospheric magnetic measurements, were previously shown to be highly
successful at reproducing observed filament chiralities. In this paper we identify and describe the physical mechanisms responsible
for this success. The key mechanisms are found to be (1) differential rotation of north – south polarity inversion lines,
(2) the shape of bipolar active regions, and (3) evolution of skew over a period of many days. As on the real Sun, the hemispheric
pattern in our simulations holds in a statistical sense. Exceptions arise naturally for filaments in certain locations relative
to bipolar active regions or from interactions among a number of active regions. 相似文献
10.
We study the relationship between full-disk solar radiative flux at different wavelengths and average solar photospheric magnetic-flux
density, using daily measurements from the Kitt Peak magnetograph and other instruments extending over one or more solar cycles.
We use two different statistical methods to determine the underlying nature of these flux – flux relationships. First, we
use statistical correlation and regression analysis and show that the relationships are not monotonic for total solar irradiance
and for continuum radiation from the photosphere, but are approximately linear for chromospheric and coronal radiation. Second,
we use signal theory to examine the flux – flux relationships for a temporal component. We find that a well-defined temporal
component exists and accounts for some of the variance in the data. This temporal component arises because active regions
with high magnetic-field strength evolve, breaking up into small-scale magnetic elements with low field strength, and radiative
and magnetic fluxes are sensitive to different active-region components. We generate empirical models that relate radiative
flux to magnetic flux, allowing us to predict spectral-irradiance variations from observations of disk-averaged magnetic-flux
density. In most cases, the model reconstructions can account for 85 – 90% of the variability of the radiative flux from the
chromosphere and corona. Our results are important for understanding the relationship between magnetic and radiative measures
of solar and stellar variability. 相似文献
11.
We analyse data from Hinode spacecraft taken over two 54-minute periods during the emergence of AR 11024. We focus on small-scale portions within the
observed solar active region and discover the appearance of very distinctive small-scale and short-lived dark features in
Ca ii H chromospheric filtergrams and Stokes I images. The features appear in regions with close-to-zero longitudinal magnetic field, and are observed to increase in length
before they eventually disappear. Energy release in the low chromospheric line is detected while the dark features are fading.
Three complete series of these events are detected with remarkably similar properties, i.e. lifetime of ≈ 12 min, maximum length and area of 2 – 4 Mm and 1.6 – 4 Mm2, respectively, and all with associated brightenings. In time series of magnetograms a diverging bipolar configuration is
observed accompanying the appearance of the dark features and the brightenings. The observed phenomena are explained as evidencing
elementary flux emergence in the solar atmosphere, i.e. small-scale arch filament systems rising up from the photosphere to the lower chromosphere with a length scale of a few solar
granules. Brightenings are explained as being the signatures of chromospheric heating triggered by reconnection of the rising
loops (once they have reached chromospheric heights) with pre-existing magnetic fields, as well as being due to reconnection/cancellation
events in U-loop segments of emerging serpentine fields. The characteristic length scale, area and lifetime of these elementary
flux emergence events agree well with those of the serpentine field observed in emerging active regions. We study the temporal
evolution and dynamics of the events and compare them with the emergence of magnetic loops detected in quiet Sun regions and
serpentine flux emergence signatures in active regions. The physical processes of the emergence of granular-scale magnetic
loops seem to be the same in the quiet Sun and active regions. The difference is the reduced chromospheric emission in the
quiet Sun attributed to the fact that loops are emerging in a region of lower ambient magnetic field density, making interactions
and reconnection less likely to occur. Incorporating the novel features of granular-scale flux emergence presented in this
study, we advance the scenario for serpentine flux emergence. 相似文献
12.
We investigate the properties of acoustic events (AEs), defined as spatially concentrated and short duration energy flux,
in the quiet Sun, using observations of a 2D field of view (FOV) with high spatial and temporal resolution provided by the
Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) onboard Hinode. Line profiles of Fe i 557.6 nm were recorded by the Narrow-band Filter Imager (NFI) on a 82″×82″ FOV during 75 min with a time step of 28.75 s
and 0.08″ pixel size. Vertical velocities were computed at three atmospheric levels (80, 130, and 180 km) using the bisector
technique, allowing the determination of energy flux to be made in the range 3 – 10 mHz using two complementary methods (Hilbert
transform and Fourier power spectrum). Horizontal velocities were computed using local correlation tracking (LCT) of continuum
intensities providing divergences. We found that the net energy flux is upward. In the range 3 – 10 mHz, a full FOV space
and time averaged flux of 2700 W m−2 (lower layer 80 – 130 km) and 2000 W m−2 (upper layer 130 – 180 km) is concentrated in less than 1 % of the solar surface in the form of narrow (0.3″) AE. Their total
duration (including rise and decay) is of the order of 103 s. Inside each AE, the mean flux is 1.6×105 W m−2 (lower layer) and 1.2×105 W m−2 (upper). Each event carries an average energy (flux integrated over space and time) of 2.5×1019 J (lower layer) to 1.9×1019 J (upper). More than 106 events could exist permanently on the Sun, with a birth and decay rate of 3500 s−1. Most events occur in intergranular lanes, downward velocity regions, and areas of converging motions. 相似文献
13.
We outline a method to determine the direction of solar open flux transport that results from the opening of magnetic clouds
(MCs) by interchange reconnection at the Sun based solely on in-situ observations. This method uses established findings about i) the locations and magnetic polarities of emerging MC footpoints, ii) the hemispheric dependence of the helicity of MCs, and iii) the occurrence of interchange reconnection at the Sun being signaled by uni-directional suprathermal electrons inside MCs.
Combining those observational facts in a statistical analysis of MCs during solar cycle 23 (period 1995 – 2007), we show that
the time of disappearance of the northern polar coronal hole (1998 – 1999), permeated by an outward-pointing magnetic field,
is associated with a peak in the number of MCs originating from the northern hemisphere and connected to the Sun by outward-pointing
magnetic field lines. A similar peak is observed in the number of MCs originating from the southern hemisphere and connected
to the Sun by inward-pointing magnetic field lines. This pattern is interpreted as the result of interchange reconnection
occurring between MCs and the open field lines of nearby polar coronal holes. This reconnection process closes down polar
coronal hole open field lines and transports these open field lines equatorward, thus contributing to the global coronal magnetic
field reversal process. These results will be further constrainable with the rising phase of solar cycle 24. 相似文献
14.
Fast rotating giant planets such as Jupiter and Saturn possess alternate prograde and retrograde zonal winds which are stable over long periods of time. We consider a compressible model of convection in a spherical shell with rapid rotation, using the anelastic approximation, to explore the parameter range for which such zonal flows can be produced.We consider models with a large variation in density across the layer. Our models are based only on the molecular H/He region above the metallic hydrogen transition at about 2 Mbar, and we do not include the hydromagnetic effects which may be important if the electrical conductivity is significant. We find that the convective velocities are significantly higher in the low density regions of the shell, but the zonal flow is almost independent of the z-coordinate parallel to the rotation axis. We analyse how this behaviour is consistent with the Proudman-Taylor theorem.We find that deep prograde zonal flow near the equator is a very robust feature of our models. Prograde and retrograde jets alternating in latitude can occur inside the tangent cylinder in compressible as well as Boussinesq models, particularly at lower Prandtl numbers. However, the zonal jets inside the tangent cylinder are suppressed if a no-slip condition is imposed at the inner boundary. This suggests that deep high latitude jets may be suppressed if there is significant magnetic dissipation.Our compressible calculations include the viscous dissipation in the entropy equation, and we find this is comparable to, and in some cases exceeds, the total heat flux emerging from the surface. For numerical reasons, these simulations cannot reach the extremely low Ekman number found in giant planets, and they necessarily also have a much larger heat flux than planets. We therefore discuss how our results might scale down to give solutions with lower dissipation and lower heat flux. 相似文献
15.
It is known for over two decades now that the rotation of the photospheric magnetic fields determined by two different methods
of correlation analysis leads to two vastly differing rotation laws - one the differential and the other rigid rotation. Snodgrass
and Smith (2001) reexamining this puzzle show that the averaging of the correlation amplitudes can tilt the final profile
in favour of rigid rotation whenever the contribution of the rigidly rotating large-scale magnetic structures (the plumes)
to the correlation dominates over that of the differentially rotating small-scale and mesoscale features. We present arguments
to show that the large-scale unipolar structures in latitudes >40 deg, which also show rigid rotation (Stenflo, 1989), are
formed mainly from the intranetwork magnetic elements (abbreviated as IN elements). We then estimate the anchor depths of
the various surface magnetic elements as locations of the Sun's internal plasma layers that rotate at the same rate as the
flux elements, using the rotation rates of the internal plasma layers given by helioseismology. We infer that the anchor depths
of the flux broken off from the decay of sunspot active regions (the small-scale and mesoscale features that constitute the
plumes) are located in the shallow layers close to the solar surface. From a similar comparison with helioseismic rotation
rates we infer that the rigid rotation of the large-scale unipolar regions in high latitudes could only be coming from plasma
layers at a radial distance of about 0.66–0.68 R
⊙ from the Sun's centre. Using Stenflo's (1991) ‘balloon man’ analogy, we interpret these layers as the source of the magnetic
flux of the IN elements. If so, the IN flux elements seem to constitute a fundamental component of solar magnetism. 相似文献
16.
We applied special data-processing algorithms to the study of long-period oscillations of the magnetic-field strength and
the line-of-sight velocity in sunspots. The oscillations were investigated with two independent groups of data. First, we
used an eight-hour-long series of solar spectrograms, obtained with the solar telescope at the Pulkovo Observatory. We simultaneously
measured Doppler shifts of six spectral lines, formed at different heights in the atmosphere. Second, we had a long time series
of full-disk magnetograms (10 – 34 hour) from SOHO/MDI for the line-of-sight magnetic-field component. Both ground- and space-based
observations revealed long-period modes of oscillations (40 – 45, 60 – 80, and 160 – 180 minutes) in the power spectrum of
the sunspots and surrounding magnetic structures. With the SOHO/MDI data, one can study the longer periodicities. We obtained
two new significant periods (> 3σ) in the power spectra of sunspots: around 250 and 480 minutes. The power of the oscillations in the lower frequencies is
always higher than in the higher ones. The amplitude of the long-period magnetic-field modes shows magnitudes of about 200 – 250 G.
The amplitude of the line-of-sight velocity periodicities is about 60 – 110 m s−1. The absence of low-frequency oscillations in the telluric line proves their solar nature. Moreover, the absence of low-frequency
oscillations of the line-of-sight velocity in the quiet photosphere (free of magnetic elements) proves their direct connection
to magnetic structures. Long-period modes of oscillation observed in magnetic elements surrounding the sunspot are spread
over the meso-granulation scales (10″ – 12″), while the sunspot itself oscillates as a whole. The amplitude of the long-period
mode of the line-of-sight velocity in a sunspot decreases rapidly with height: these oscillations are clearly visible in the
spectral lines originating at heights of approximately 200 km and fade away in lines originating at 500 km. We found a new
interesting property: the low-frequency oscillations of a sunspot are strongly reduced when there is a steady temporal trend
(strengthening or weakening) of the sunspot’s magnetic field. Another important result is that the frequency of long-period
oscillations evidently depends on the sunspot’s magnetic-field strength. 相似文献
17.
We have derived the velocities of meridional flows by measuring the latitudinal motions (or drifts) of umbrae of spot groups
classified into three categories of area: 0 – 5 μ, 5 – 10 μ, and >10 μ (μ area in millionths of the solar hemisphere). The latitudinal drifts (or the meridional flows) in all three categories are
directed equatorward in both the northern and southern hemispheres. By sorting the spot groups into three area classes, we
are able to relate the respective latitudinal drifts with the three depths in the convection zone where the footpoints of
the flux loops of the spot groups of each area class are anchored. We obtain estimates of the anchor depths through a comparison
of the rotation rates of the spot groups of each area class with the rotation-rate profiles from helioseismic inversions.
The equatorward drifts obtained provide estimates of the meridional flows at the three depths in the convection zone and thereby
suggest the presence of return meridional flows as envisaged in the flux-transport dynamo models, which have remained undetected
so far. The data sources for this study are measurements of positions and areas of umbrae of sunspots from the photographic
white-light images of the Sun of the Kodaikanal Observatory archives for the period 1906 – 1987 and a very similar, but independent,
data set from the Mt. Wilson Observatory archives for the period 1917 – 1985. 相似文献
18.
Magnetic field structures of Hα flares associated with meter-wave type III bursts during periods of low solar activity in
1975 – 1977 and 1985 – 1987 were investigated. In a statistical analysis it was confirmed that the association rate depends
less on flare importance than on brightness. For subflares (95% of the sample), the location of the Hα flare in the bipolar
pattern turned out to be crucial for the association rate. It is almost one order of magnitude larger for flares occurring
at the border of the active regions, compared to flares located inside the general bipolar pattern. For selected typical examples
of flares, extrapolations of the measured magnetic fields were performed. By matching Hα filtergrams and calculated 3-D structures
it was found that the positions at the border where the flares associated with type III bursts occurred were close to open
field lines extending into the corona. In most investigated cases intrusions of parasitic polarity were found in the vicinity
of the flare locations. The extrapolations showed that subflares located inside the bipolar pattern but have not been associated
with type III bursts were covered by dense arcades of magnetic loops. 相似文献
19.
We present a numerical study of barotropic waves in Titan's stratosphere based on a shallow-water model. The forcing of the zonal flow by the mean meridional circulation is represented by a relaxation towards a barotropically unstable wind profile. The relaxation profile is consistent with observations and with previous results from a 3D general circulation model. The time constant of the forcing that best matches the northward eddy-transport of zonal momentum from the 3D model is τ∼5 Titan days. The eddy wind field is a zonal wavenumber-2 wave with a peak amplitude about 10% of the mean wind speed. The latitudinal transport of angular momentum by the wave tends to keep the flow close to marginal stability by carrying momentum upgradient, from the core of the jets into the low latitudes. Although the strongest eddy motions occur at the latitudes of the wind maxima, the strongest mixing takes place at the barotropically unstable regions, close to ±30° and spanning about 30° in latitude. An eddy-mixing time constant of the order of 1 Titan day is inferred within these regions, and of a few tens of days within regions of stable flow. Horizontal gradients in transient tracer fields are less than 10% of the latitudinal gradient of the meridional tracer profile. Cassini's detection of such waves could provide a direct observation of wind speeds at stratospheric levels. 相似文献
20.
We study the relationship between the brightness (I) and magnetic field (B) distributions of sunspots using 272 samples observed at the San Fernando Observatory and the National Solar Observatory,
Kitt Peak, whose characteristics varied widely. We find that the I – B relationship has a quadratic form for the spots with magnetic field less than about 2000 G. The slope of the linear part
of the I – B curve varies by about a factor of three for different types of spots. In general the slope increases as the spot approaches
disk center. The I – B slope does not have a clear dependency on the spot size but the lower limit appears to increase as a function of the ratio
of umbra and penumbra area. The I – B slope changes as a function of age of the sunspots. We discuss various sunspot models using these results. 相似文献