Sunspot geometry and pressure balance     

Ronald G. Giovanelli 《Solar physics》1982,80(1):21-31

Measurements on magnetic canopies extending from sunspots show that, at the outer penumbral edge, heights of the bases are independent of sunspot diameter and average 180 km. This places a lower limit on the outer penumbral base; with an assumed thickness of 250 km, the top is 430 km above z = 0 ( _c = 1) in the photosphere.Chistyakov's (1962) observations require the penumbral surface to be convex in radial section. The Wilson depression, able thus to be found only from limb-side penumbras, is 1360 km from his selected measurements. Averaged over all regular sunspots without special selection, this drops to 1040 km. Thus ^* = 1 in umbras lies around z = -610 km.Magnetic field-strength measurements relate probably to ^* 0.02, some 160 km higher, where z -450 km. The magnetic pressure of the typical 3250 G sunspot field would support the external-axial gas-pressure difference at z = -330 km, the difference of 120 km lying well within the uncertainties. Tension forces, commonly invoked to achieve pressure balance, do not exceed the uncertainties of measurement.Beyond the sunspot, the base of the sunspot field rises only slowly over at least 16 000 km horizontally, whereas Beckers (1963) found the inclination of H superpenumbral fibrils to be some 13°. These results are nicely compatible since the field angle is typically of this magnitude at the minimum heights where H fibrils will be observed, say 1400 km.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.  相似文献   

The empirical determination of damping constants in the solar photosphere     

E. A. Gurtovenko  G. L. Fedorchenko  N. N. Kondrashova 《Solar physics》1982,77(1-2):291-297

We determine empirical damping constants for 73 selected Fe i lines following the method of Gurtovenko and Kondrashova (1980), employing high-quality observations and the accurate list of Fe i oscillator strengths by Gurtovenko and Kostik (1980).The results show: (i) No increase of the enhancement factor to van der Waals broadening with excitation potential, as predicted by Edmunds (1975), and with the frequency of the transition (Figure 1); (ii) a substantial part of the commonly-used enhancement factor for weaker lines is not due to collisional damping (Figure 2), but to a misrepresentation of the inhomogeneous structure of the deep photosphere. This false damping effect is not seen in the stronger lines which yield an average damping constant : 1.3₆ 1.5 ₆.  相似文献   

Unusual coronal activity following the flare of 6 November 1980     

Z. Švestka  B. R. Dennis  M. Pick  A. Raoult  C. G. Rapley  R. T. Stewart  B. E. Woodgate 《Solar physics》1982,80(1):143-159

For almost 30 hr after the major (gamma-ray) two-ribbon flare on 6 November 1980, 03:30 UT, the Hard X-Ray Imaging Spectrometer (HXIS) aboard the SMM satellite imaged in > 3.5 keV X-rays a gigantic arch extending above the active region over the limb. Like a similar configuration on 22 May 1980, this arch formed the lowest part of a stationary post-flare radio noise storm recorded at metric wavelengths at Nançay and Culgoora. 6.5 hr after the flare a coronal region below the arch started quasi-periodic pulsations in X-ray brightness, observed by several SMM instruments. These brightness variations had no response in the chromosphere (H), very little in the transition layer (O v), but they clearly correlated with similar variations in brightness at 169 MHz. There were 13 pulses of this kind, with apparent periodicity of about 20 min, until another flare occurred in the active region at 15:00 UT. All the brightenings appeared within a localized area of about 30000 km² in the northern part of the active region, but they definitely did not occur all at the same place.The top of the X-ray arch, at an altitude of 155 000 km, was continuously and smoothly decaying, taking no part in the striking variations below it. Therefore, the area variable in brightness does not seem to be the footpoint of the arch, as we supposed for similar variations on 22 May. More likely, it is a separate region connected directly with the source of the radio storm; particles accelerated in the storm may be dumped into the low corona and cause the X-ray enhancements. The X-ray arch was enhanced by two orders of magnitude in 3.5–5.5 keV X-ray counts and the temperature increased from 7.3 × 10⁶ to 9 × 10⁶ K when the new two-ribbon flare occurred at 15:00 UT. Thus, it is possible that energy is brought into the arch via the upper parts of the reconnecting flare loops - a process that can continue for hours.  相似文献   

On geological processes on venus: Analysis of the relationship between altitude and degree of surface roughness     

A. T. Bazilevski  N. N. Bobina  V. P. Shashkina  Yu. G. Shkuratov  Yu. V. Kornienko  A. Ya. Usikov  D. G. Stankevich 《Earth, Moon, and Planets》1982,27(1):63-89

Aiming to study the relationship between Venus surface heights and surface roughness, the Pioneer Venus surface altitude map and map of r.m.s. slope in m-dkm scale have been analy sed for the Beta and Ishtar regions using a system of digital image processing. To integrate the data obtained, the results of geomorphological analysis of Venera 9 and 10 TV panoramas as well as gamma-spectrometric and photometric measurements were used. The analysis gives proof that Venera 9 and 10 landing sites represent geologic-morphologic situations typical of Venus, thus enabling the results of observations made at landing sites to be extended to large provinces. Apparently this conclusion is also applicable to the Venera 8 landing site. No strong relationship exists between the roughness of the surface and its altitude or the amount of a regional slope; neither for the Beta nor for the Ishtar region. A weak direct correlation observable for roughness-altitude pairs for the Beta region and roughness-altitude, roughness-slope pairs for the Ishtar region are quite obviously a consequence of regional roughness control, i.e. of an overall character of geological structure. On Venus the factors contributing to higher surface roughness on the m-dkm scale are, obviously, mostly volcanic and tectonic in their nature whilst those responsible for smoothing-out of the surface are chiefly exogenic. The rate of exogenic transformation of the Cytherean surface may be fairly high. On Venus, similarly as on the Earth, active tectono-magmatic processes have possibly taken place in recent geological epochs. One of the places where they are manifest is an extensive zone running from north to south across the Beta, Phoebe and Themis highlands. Within its limits occur both the process of basaltic shield-type volcanism and areal basalt effusions at low hypsometric levels accounting for the formation of lowland plains at the expense of ancient rolling plains. The basalts of the shield volcano Beta show some differences in composition compared to those of areal effusions at low hypsometric levels. The overall character of Cytherean tectonics in the recent geologic epoch is apparently block-type with a predominance of vertical movements. Against the background of the sinking of some of the blocks the other ones are rising and, possibly, such compensation upheavals have been responsible for the formation of the Ishtar region.  相似文献   

Drop size dependent sulfate distribution in a growing cloud     

G. J. H. Roelofs 《Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry》1992,14(1-4):109-118

A simple entraining air parcel model including cloud microphysical and chemical processes is used to calculate the distribution of sulfate over the drop sizes under continental background conditions. Under these conditions the aerosol sulfate is predicted to contribute the largest amount of aqueous sulfate in cloud drops. The sulfate produced by oxidation is found to contribute significantly in drops larger than 10 m radius.  相似文献   

Measurements of peroxyacetylnitrate in the marine boundary layer over the Atlantic     

K. P. Müller  J. Rudolph 《Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry》1992,15(3-4):361-367

The atmospheric concentration of peroxyacetylnitrate (PAN) was measured during a cruise of the R.S. Polarstern from Bremerhaven (Germany) to Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) in September/ October 1988. The measurements were made in-situ by a combination of electron capture gaschromatography with a cryogenic preconcentration step. The theoretical lower limit of detection (3) was 0.4 ppt. The mixing ratios of PAN varied by more than three orders of magnitude from 2000 ppt in the English Channel to less than 0.4 ppt south of the Azores (38° N). South of 35° N, PAN levels were below the detection limit, except at 30–31° S off the eastern coast of South America. Here, PAN mixing ratios of 10 to 100 ppt were detected in continentally influenced air masses. Detectable levels of PAN were mostly observed in air masses of continental or high northern origin. Changes in the wind directions were usually associated with substantial changes in the PAN mixing ratios.  相似文献   

Theory of the local scale parameter method for EDM     

F. K. Brunner  J. M. Rüeger 《Journal of Geodesy》1992,66(4):355-364

The determination of a representative refractive index for the wave path is the main limitation of the attainable accuracy in electronic distance measurement. To overcome this limitation the length ratio method was initially proposed and later developed into the local scale parameter (LSP) method. In this paper, the mathematical model of the LSP method is derived for electro-optical distance measurement from first principles based on the physics of the atmospheric boundary layer. The model does not rely on standard atmospheres. It is shown that atmospheric temperatures and pressures must be observed at instrument stations but not at reflector stations. Appropriate LSP field procedures and the results of some field experiments are summarized. The method consistently produces accuracies of better than ±1 ppm. Use of the method is recommended for high precision (trilateration) networks, which need to be measured repeatedly and where absolute scale is not relevant.  相似文献   

Diploptene: an indicator of terrigenous organic carbon in Washington coastal sediments   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Prahl FG  Hayes JM  Xie T-M 《Limnology and oceanography》1992,37(6):1290-1300

The pentacyclic triterpene 17 beta(H),21 beta(H)-hop-22(29)-ene (diploptene) occurs in sediments throughout the Columbia River drainage basin and off the southern coast of Washington state in concentrations comparable to long-chain plantwax n-alkanes. The same relationship is evident for diploptene and long-chain n-alkanes in soils from the Willamette Valley. Microorganisms indigenous to soils and soil erosion are indicated as the biological source and physical process, respectively, for diploptene in coastal sediments. Similarity between the stable carbon isotopic composition (delta 13CPDB) of diploptene isolated from soil in the Willamette Valley (-31.2 +/- 0.3%) and from sediments deposited throughout the Washington coastal environment (-31.2 +/- 0.5%) supports this argument. Values of delta for diploptene in river sediments are variable and 8-17% lighter, indicating that an additional biological source such as methane-oxidizing bacteria makes a significant contribution to the diploptene record in river sediments. Selective biodegradation resulting from a difference in the physicochemical association within eroded particles can explain the absence of the more-13C-depleted form of diploptene in Washington coastal sediments, but this mechanism remains unproven.  相似文献   

Atmospheric water vapor flux,bifurcation of the thermohaline circulation,and climate change     

Huaxiao Wang  G Edward Birchfield 《Climate Dynamics》1992,8(1):49-53

Latitudinal heat transport in the ocean and atmosphere represents a fundamental process of the Earth's climate system. The ocean component of heat transport is effected by the thermohaline circulation. Changes in this circulation, and hence latitudinal heat transport, would have a significant effect on global climate. Paleoclimate evidence from the Greenland ice cores and deep sea sediment cores suggests that during much of glacial time the climate system oscillated between two different states. Bimodal equilibrium states of the thermohaline circulation have been demonstrated in climate models. We address the question of the role of the atmospheric hydrological cycle on the global thermohaline circulation and the feedback to the climate system through changes in the ocean's latitudinal heat transport, with a simple coupled ocean-atmosphere energy-salt balance model. Two components of the atmospheric hydrological cycle, i.e., latitudinal water vapor transport and the net flux of water vapor from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean appear to play separate roles. If the inter-basin transport is sufficiently large, small changes in water vapor transport over the North Atlantic can effect bifurcation or a rapid transition between two different equilibria in the global thermohaline circulation; maximum difference between the modes occurs in the North Atlantic. If the inter-basin transport is from the Pacific to the Atlantic and sufficiently large, latitudinal vapor transport in the North Pacific controls the bifurcations, with maximum changes occurring in the North Pacific. For intermediate values of inter-basin transport, no rapid transitions occur in either basin. In the regime with vapor flux from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the on mode has strong production of deep water in the North Atlantic and a large flux of heat to the atmosphere from the high latitude North Atlantic. The off mode has strong deep water production in the Southern Ocean and weak production in the North Pacific. Heat transport into the high latitude North Atlantic by the ocean is reduced to about 20% of the on mode value. For estimated values of water vapor transport for the present climate the model asserts that while water vapor transport from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean is sufficiently large to make the North Atlantic the dominant region for deep water production, latitudinal water vapor transport is sufficiently low that the thermohaline circulation appears stable, i.e., far from a bifurcation point. This conclusion is supported to some extent by the fact that the high latitude temperature of the atmosphere as recorded in the Greenland ice cores has changed little over the last 9000 years.  相似文献   

Petrology of ultramafic and mafic xenoliths in picrite of Kahoolawe Island,Hawaii     

E A Rudek  R V Fodor  G R Bauer 《Bulletin of Volcanology》1992,55(1-2):74-84

A picrite lava (22 wt% MgO; 35 vol.% ol) along the western shore of the1.3–1.4 Ma Kahoolawe tholeiitic shield, Hawaii, contains small xenoliths of harzburgite, lherzolite, norite, and wehrlite. The various rock types have textures where either orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, or plagioclase is in a poikilitic relationship with olivine. The Mg#s of the olivine, orthopyroxene, and clinopyroxene in this xenolith suite range between 86 and 82; spinel Mg#s range from 60 to 49, and plagioclase is An_75–80. A ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio for one ol-norite xenolith is 0.70444. In comparison, the host picrite has olivine phenocrysts with an average Mg# of 86.2 (range 87.5–84.5), and a whole-rock ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of 0.70426. Textural and isotopic information together with mineral compositions indicate that the xenoliths are related to Kahoolawe tholeiitic magmatism, but are not crystallization products of the magma represented by their host picrite. Rather, the xenoliths are crystalline products of earlier primitive liquids (FeO/MgO ranging 1 to 1.3) at 5–9 kbar in the cumulate environment of a magma reservoir or conduit system. The presence of ultramafic xenoliths in picrite but not in typical Kahoolawe tholeiitic lava (6–9 wt% MgO) is consistent with replenishment of reservoirs by dense Mg-rich magma emplaced beneath resident, less dense tholeiitic magma. Mg-rich magmas have proximity to reservoir cumulate zones and are therefore more likely than fractionated residual liquids to entrain fragments of cumulate rock.  相似文献