Probing the Earth’s Interior with the LENA Detector     

Kathrin A. Hochmuth  Franz V. Feilitzsch  Teresa Marrodán Undagoitia  Lothar Oberauer  Walter Potzel  Michael Wurm  Brian D. Fields 《Earth, Moon, and Planets》2006,99(1-4):253-264

A future large-volume liquid scintillator detector such as the proposed 50 kton LENA (Low Energy Neutrino Astronomy) detector would provide a high-statistics measurement of terrestrial antineutrinos originating from β-decays of the uranium and thorium chains. Additionally, the neutron is scattered in the forward direction in the detection reaction . Henceforth, we investigate to what extent LENA can distinguish between certain geophysical models on the basis of the angular dependence of the geoneutrino flux. Our analysis is based on a Monte-Carlo simulation with different levels of light yield, considering an unloaded PXE scintillator. We find that LENA is able to detect deviations from isotropy of the geoneutrino flux with high significance. However, if only the directional information is used, the time required to distinguish between different geophysical models is of the order of severals decades. Nonetheless, a high-statistics measurement of the total geoneutrino flux and its spectrum still provides an extremely useful glance at the Earth’s interior.  相似文献   

European temperature records of the past five centuries based on documentary/instrumental information compared to climate simulations     

Eduardo Zorita  Anders Moberg  Lotta Leijonhufvud  Rob Wilson  Rudolf Brázdil  Petr Dobrovolný  Jürg Luterbacher  Reinhard Böhm  Christian Pfister  Dirk Riemann  Rüdiger Glaser  Johan Söderberg  Fidel González-Rouco 《Climatic change》2010,101(1-2):143-168

Two European temperature reconstructions for the past half-millennium, January-to-April air temperature for Stockholm (Sweden) and seasonal temperature for a Central European region, both derived from the analysis of documentary sources and long instrumental records, are compared with the output of climate simulations with the model ECHO-G. The analysis is complemented by comparisons with the long (early)-instrumental record of Central England Temperature (CET). Both approaches to study past climates (simulations and reconstructions) are burdened with uncertainties. The main objective of this comparative analysis is to identify robust features and weaknesses in each method which may help to improve models and reconstruction methods. The results indicate a general agreement between simulations obtained with temporally changing external forcings and the reconstructed Stockholm and CET records for the multi-centennial temperature trend over the recent centuries, which is not reproduced in a control simulation. This trend is likely due to the long-term change in external forcing. Additionally, the Stockholm reconstruction and the CET record also show a clear multi-decadal warm episode peaking around AD 1730, which is absent in the simulations. Neither the reconstruction uncertainties nor the model internal climate variability can easily explain this difference. Regarding the interannual variability, the Stockholm series displays, in some periods, higher amplitudes than the simulations but these differences are within the statistical uncertainty and further decrease if output from a regional model driven by the global model is used. The long-term trend of the CET series agrees less well with the simulations. The reconstructed temperature displays, for all seasons, a smaller difference between the present climate and past centuries than is seen in the simulations. Possible reasons for these differences may be related to a limitation of the traditional ‘indexing’ technique for converting documentary evidence to temperature values to capture long-term climate changes, because the documents often reflect temperatures relative to the contemporary authors’ own perception of what constituted ‘normal’ conditions. By contrast, the amplitude of the simulated and reconstructed inter-annual variability agrees rather well.  相似文献   

Influence of antecedent soil moisture on hydraulic conductivity in a series of texture‐contrast soils     

Marcus A. Hardie  Richard B. Doyle  William E. Cotching  Kathrin Mattern  Shaun Lisson 《水文研究》2012,26(20):3079-3091

Antecedent soil moisture significantly influenced the hydraulic conductivity of the A1, A2e and B21 horizons in a series of strong texture‐contrast soils. Tension infiltration at six supply potentials demonstrated that in the A1 horizon, hydraulic conductivity was significantly lower in the ‘wet’ treatment than in the ‘dry’ treatment. However in the A2e horizon, micropore and mesopore hydraulic conductivity was lower in the ‘dry’ treatment than the ‘wet’ treatment, which was attributed to the precipitation of soluble amorphous silica. In the B21 horizon, desiccation of vertic clays resulted in the formation of shrinkage cracks which significantly increased near‐saturated hydraulic conductivity and prevented the development of subsurface lateral flow in the ‘dry’ treatment. In the ‘wet’ treatment, the difference between the hydraulic conductivity of the A1 and B21 horizons was reduced; however, lateral flow still occurred in the A1 horizon due to difficulty displacing existing soil water further down the soil profile. Results demonstrate the need to account for temporal variation in soil porosity and hydraulic conductivity in soil‐water model conceptualisation and parameterisation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Particle sedimentation patterns in the eastern Fram Strait during 2000–2005: Results from the Arctic long-term observatory HAUSGARTEN     

Eduard Bauerfeind  Eva-Maria Nöthig  Agnieszka Beszczynska  Kirsten Fahl  Lars Kaleschke  Kathrin Kreker  Michael Klages  Thomas Soltwedel  Christiane Lorenzen  Jan Wegner 《Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers》2009,56(9):1471-1487

Since 2000 long-term measurements of vertical particle flux have been performed with moored sediment traps at the long-term observatory HAUSGARTEN in the eastern Fram Strait (79°N/4°E). The study area, which is seasonally covered with ice, is located in the confluence zone of the northward flowing warm saline Atlantic water with cold, low salinity water masses of Arctic origin. Current projections suggest that this area is particularly vulnerable to global warming. Total matter fluxes and components thereof (carbonate, particulate organic carbon and nitrogen, biogenic silica, biomarkers) revealed a bimodal seasonal pattern showing elevated sedimentation rates during May/June and August/September. Annual total matter flux (dry weight, DW) at ～300 m depth varied between 13 and 32 g m^?2 a^?1 during 2000 and 2005. Of this total flux 6–13% was due to CaCO₃, 4–21% to refractory particulate organic carbon (POC), and 3–8% to biogenic particulate silica (bPSi). The annual flux of all biogenic components together was almost constant during the period studied (8.5–8.8 g m^?2 a^?1), although this varied from 27% to 67% of the total annual flux. The fraction was lowest in a year characterized by the longest duration of ice coverage (91 and 70 days for the calendar year and summer season, May–September, respectively). Biomarker analyses revealed that organic matter originating from marine sources was present in excess of terrigenious material in the sedimented matter throughout most of the study period. Fluxes of recognizable phyto- and protozooplankton cells amounted up to 60×10⁶ m^?2 d^?1. Diatoms and coccolithophorids were the most abundant organisms. Diatoms, mainly pennate species, dominated during the first years of the investigation. A shift in the composition occurred during the last year when numbers of diatoms declined considerably, leading to a dominance of coccolithoporids. This was also reflected in a decrease in the sedimentation of bPSi. The sedimentation of biogenic matter, however, did not differ from the amount observed during the previous years. Among the larger organisms, pteropods at times contributed significantly to both the total matter and CaCO₃, fluxes.  相似文献   

Defining the subject of speech - Constructions of authorship in post-unification German media discourse     

Kathrin Hörschelmann 《Geoforum》2007,38(3):456-468

This paper analyses how the authority of west German media workers to produce ‘truthful’ representations about unification and eastern Germany after 1989 was discursively constructed. Rather than simply assuming the superiority of western knowledge, I show that the right of western media producers to speak for and about east Germany had to be constructed and defended discursively on a number of registers. Western journalists, in particular, had to demonstrate their credibility towards west and east German audiences, evidence their ability to report objectively and authoritatively, and prove themselves superior in the production of knowledge. Their truth claims had to be negotiated in the midst of a range of competing discourses. The complicated constitution of audiences meant that western journalists had to cast themselves in various different roles to justify their position as ‘knowing subjects’: as explorers, surveyors, observers, commentators, mediators and/or educators. The paper explores, how the divergence between these different positions was reconciled through a number of discursive strategies. I highlight the ambivalences and internal contradictions produced within journalistic discourses as well as through the existence of differentiated audiences.  相似文献   

Climatological aspects of convective parameters from the NCAR/NCEP reanalysis   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Harold E. Brooks  Aaron R. Anderson  Kathrin Riemann  Irina Ebbers  Heather Flachs 《Atmospheric Research》2007,83(2-4):294-305

Annual cycles of convectively important atmospheric parameters have been computed for a variety of from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)/National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) global reanalysis, using 7 years of reanalysis data. Regions in the central United States show stronger seasonality in combinations of thermodynamic parameters than found elsewhere in North America or Europe. As a result, there is a period of time in spring and early summer when climatological mean conditions are supportive of severe thunderstorms.The annual cycles help in understanding the large-scale processes that lead to the combination of atmospheric ingredients necessary for strong convection. This, in turn, lays groundwork for possible changes in distribution of the environments associated with possible global climate change.  相似文献   

Experimental partitioning of halogens and other trace elements between olivine, pyroxenes, amphibole and aqueous fluid at 2 GPa and 900–1,300 °C     

Alessandro Fabbrizio  Roland Stalder  Kathrin Hametner  Detlef Günther  Katharina Marquardt 《Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology》2013,166(2):639-653

We present new partition coefficients for various trace elements including Cl between olivine, pyroxenes, amphibole and coexisting chlorine-bearing aqueous fluid in a series of high-pressure experiments at 2 GPa between 900 and 1,300 °C in natural and synthetic systems. Diamond aggregates were added to the experimental capsule set-up in order to separate the fluid from the solid residue and enable in situ analysis of the quenched solute by LA–ICP–MS. The chlorine and fluorine contents in mantle minerals were measured by electron microprobe, and the nature of OH defects was investigated by infrared spectroscopy. Furthermore, a fluorine-rich olivine from one selected sample was investigated by TEM. Results reveal average Cl concentrations in olivine and pyroxenes around 20 ppm and up to 900 ppm F in olivine, making olivine an important repository of halogens in the mantle. Chlorine is always incompatible with Cl partition coefficients D _Cl ^{olivine/fluid} varying between 10^?5 and 10^?3, whereas D _Cl ^{orthopyroxene/fluid} and D _Cl ^{clinopyroxene/fluid} are ~10^?4 and D _Cl ^{amphibole/fluid} is ~5 × 10^?3. Furthermore, partitioning results for incompatible trace element show that compatibilities of trace elements are generally ordered as D ^amph/fluid ≈ D ^cpx/fluid > D ^opx/fluid > D ^ol/fluid but that D ^{mineral/fluid} for Li and P is very similar for all observed silicate phases. Infrared spectra of olivine synthesized in a F-free Ti-bearing system show absorption bands at 3,525 and ~3,570 cm^?1. In F ± TiO₂-bearing systems, additional absorption bands appear at ~3,535, ~3,595, 3,640 and 3,670 cm^?1. Absorption bands at ~3,530 and ~3,570 cm^?1, previously assigned to humite-like point defects, profit from low synthesis temperatures and the presence of F. The presence of planar defects could not be proved by TEM investigations, but dislocations in the olivine lattice were observed and are suggested to be an important site for halogen incorporation in olivine.  相似文献   

The influence of methane, acetylene and carbon dioxide on the crystallization of supercooled ethane droplets in Titan's clouds     

E. Kathrin Lang 《Planetary and Space Science》2011,59(8):722-732

Spectroscopic studies of the homogeneous and heterogeneous crystallization of supercooled ethane aerosol droplets performed under conditions representative of those in Titan's lower atmosphere are presented. Pure ethane aerosols and both internally- and externally-mixed ensembles of ethane/acetylene and ethane/carbon dioxide aerosols were generated in a bath gas cooling cell and their freezing dynamics monitored using infrared absorption spectroscopy. A detailed overview of the spectroscopic signatures of pure ethane and mixed ethane/acetylene and ethane/carbon dioxide aerosols and their phase-dependence is provided. The ice-nucleating efficiencies of acetylene and carbon dioxide aerosols were compared, as were the efficiencies of freezing via an immersion or contact freezing mechanism. The spectral data provided will be of significant use for remote sensing applications, while the nucleation studies have important consequences for models of Titan's ethane clouds.  相似文献   

Digital elevation model with the ground-based SAR IBIS-L as basis for volcanic deformation monitoring     

Sabine Rödelsperger  Matthias Becker  Carl Gerstenecker  Gwendolyn Läufer  Kathrin Schilling  Dieter Steineck 《Journal of Geodynamics》2010,49(3-4):241-246

Within the project Exupéry, a hybrid deformation observation system is developed, which is part of a Volcano Fast Response System (VFRS). The VFRS shall be a mobile, robust, real-time, easy to use early warning system, which, in case of a volcanic crisis, will support the locale authorities in their decisions about hazard mitigation provisions, especially about the evacuation of people.The hybrid deformation observation system combines a ground-based Synthetic Aperture Radar named IBIS-L with a network of GPS receivers and will allow the continuous, weather independent determination of areal 3D displacements.In this paper we present the results of first tests with IBIS-L in an active quarry near Dieburg, Germany. A Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was determined with IBIS-L and compared with a DEM derived by terrestrial laser scanning and photogrammetry. The ability to determine accurate DEMs with IBIS-L is the basis for the combination of different observation techniques, as without a DEM the displacements observed with IBIS-L cannot be georeferenced.The standard deviation of the differences between the DEM by IBIS-L and the DEM by laser scanning and photogrammetry depends on the surface characteristics. We found a standard deviation of 0.8 m at a slope of rocks and debris, 2.0 m at mining terraces with low vegetation and 3.0 m in a vegetation covered area.  相似文献   

Visualizing the temporal development of thermo-radiative features on ground-based thermographs     

Kathrin Häb  Nils H. Feige  Lars S. Huettenberger  Ariane Middel  Hans Hagen 《Environmental Earth Sciences》2014,72(10):3781-3793

In urban microclimate research, ground-based thermography is used to gain insight into the spatial distribution of surface temperatures of various materials. Taking snapshots over a certain time span helps experts to observe the temporal thermo-radiative behavior of the monitored surface elements and therefore supports decisions on possible optimizations, e.g., improving the thermal comfort in a neighborhood. Appropriate visualization techniques facilitate decision-making and are thus crucial in the optimization process. In this study, we present a tool that eases the extraction of thermo-radiative features from multi-temporal thermographs taken from a monitored scene. Assisted by our tool, users can identify, choose, and register thermo-radiative features for each time step according to their individual research needs. The features’ temporal development is then visualized using a directed graph that encodes topological events as well as each feature’s size and summarizing statistics. To enhance this summary, a comprehensive animated sequence emphasizes the spatiotemporal behavior of the most significant thermo-radiative features. Salient developments are visually embedded and highlighted in the original infrared images, which are blended in an animation from time step to time step. Since we enable the user to interact with the data in a flexible way, noisy and low resolution image data sets can also be processed.  相似文献