Saturn eddy momentum fluxes and convection: First estimates from Cassini images     

Anthony D. Del Genio  John M. Barbara  Andrew P. Ingersoll  Ashwin R. Vasavada  Carolyn C. Porco 《Icarus》2007,189(2):479-492

We apply an automated cloud feature tracking algorithm to estimate eddy momentum fluxes in Saturn's southern hemisphere from Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem near-infrared continuum image sequences. Voyager Saturn manually tracked images had suggested no conversion of eddy to mean flow kinetic energy, but this was based on a small sample of <1000 wind vectors. The automated procedure we use for the Cassini data produces an order of magnitude more usable wind vectors with relatively unbiased sampling. Automated tracking is successful in and around the westward jet latitudes on Saturn but not in the vicinity of most eastward jets, where the linearity and non-discrete nature of cloud features produces ambiguous results. For the regions we are able to track, we find peak eddy fluxes and a clear positive correlation between eddy momentum fluxes and meridional shear of the mean zonal wind, implying that eddies supply momentum to eastward jets and remove momentum from westward jets at a rate . The behavior we observe is similar to that seen on Jupiter, though with smaller eddy-mean kinetic energy conversion rates per unit mass of atmosphere (). We also use the appearance and rapid evolution of small bright features at continuum wavelengths, in combination with evidence from weak methane band images where possible, to diagnose the occurrence of moist convective storms on Saturn. Areal expansion rates imply updraft speeds of over the convective anvil cloud area. As on Jupiter, convection preferentially occurs in cyclonic shear regions on Saturn, but unlike Jupiter, convection is also observed in eastward jet regions. With one possible exception, the large eddy fluxes seen in the cyclonic shear latitudes do not seem to be associated with convective events.  相似文献   

Localization and characterization of an active fault in an urbanized area in central Guatemala by means of geoelectrical imaging     

Barbara Suski  Gilles Brocard  Christine Authemayou  Beatriz Consenza Muralles  Christian Teyssier  Klaus Holliger 《Tectonophysics》2010,480(1-4):88-98

The Polochic and Motagua faults define the active plate boundary between the North American and Caribbean plates in central Guatemala. A splay of the Polochic Fault traverses the rapidly growing city of San Miguel Uspantán that is periodically affected by destructive earthquakes. This fault splay was located using a 2D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) survey that also characterized the fault damage zone and evaluated the thickness and nature of recent deposits upon which most of the city is built. ERT images show the fault as a ~50 m wide, near-vertical low-resistivity anomaly, bounded within a few meters by high resistivity anomalies. Forward modeling reproduces the key aspects of the observed electrical resistivity data with remarkable fidelity thus defining the overall location, geometry, and internal structure of the fault zone as well as the affected lithologies. Our results indicate that the city is constructed on a ~20 m thick surficial layer consisting of poorly consolidated, highly porous, water-logged pumice. This soft layer is likely to amplify seismic waves and to liquefy upon moderate to strong ground shaking. The electrical conductivity as well as the major element chemistry of the groundwater provides evidence to suggest that the local aquifer might, at least in part, be fed by water rising along the fault. Therefore, the potential threat posed by this fault splay may not be limited to its seismic activity per se, but could be compounded its potential propensity to enhance seismic site effects by injecting water into the soft surficial sediments. The results of this study provide the basis for a rigorous analysis of seismic hazard and sustainable development of San Miguel Uspantán and illustrate the potential of ERT surveying for paleoseismic studies.  相似文献   

Mesh size effects on mesozooplankton community structure in a semi‐enclosed coastal area and surrounding sea (South Adriatic Sea)     

Marijana Miloslavić  Davor Lučić  Barbara Gangai  Ivona Onofri 《Marine Ecology》2014,35(4):445-455

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Natural hazards in the Asia‐Pacific region: recent advances and emerging concepts,edited by J. P. Terry and J. Goff. Geological Society Special Publication, 361, London, 2012. No. of pages: 225 pp. Price: UK£80.00. ISBN 978‐1‐86239‐339‐4 (hardback).     

Barbara E. Carby 《Geological Journal》2014,49(2):215-216

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Analysis of coprolites from the extinct mountain goat Myotragus balearicus     

Frido Welker  Elza Duijm  Kristiaan J. van der Gaag  Bas van Geel  Peter de Knijff  Jacqueline van Leeuwen  Dick Mol  Johannes van der Plicht  Niels Raes  Jelle Reumer  Barbara Gravendeel 《Quaternary Research》2014

Humans colonized the Balearic Islands 5–4 ka ago. They arrived in a uniquely adapted ecosystem with the Balearic mountain goat Myotragus balearicus (Bovidae, Antilopinae, Caprini) as the only large mammal. This mammal went extinct rapidly after human arrival. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the extinction of M. balearicus. For the present study ancient DNA analysis (Sanger sequencing, Roche-454, Ion Torrent), and pollen and macrofossil analyses were performed on preserved coprolites from M. balearicus, providing information on its diet and paleo-environment. The information retrieved shows that M. balearicus was heavily dependent on the Balearic box species Buxus balearica during at least part of the year, and that it was most probably a browser. Hindcast ecological niche modelling of B. balearica shows that local distribution of this plant species was affected by climate changes. This suggests that the extinction of M. balearicus can be related to the decline and regional extinction of a plant species that formed a major component of its diet. The vegetation change is thought to be caused by increased aridity occurring throughout the Mediterranean. Previous hypotheses relating the extinction of M. balearicus directly to the arrival of humans on the islands must therefore be adjusted.  相似文献   

Impact of rangeland enclosure and seasonal grazing on protected and unprotected rangelands in Chakwal region,Pakistan     

ISLAM Muhammad  RAZZAQ Abdul  ZUBAIR Muhammad  HASSAN Sawsan  AHMAD Sarfraz  GUL Shamim  RISCHKOWSKY Barbara  LOUHAICHI Mounir 《山地科学学报》2022,(1):46-57

Scrub rangelands support livestock grazing and provide ecosystem services to their inhabitants.The present study was conducted in Chakwal,an important tract of ...  相似文献   

Mycological evidence of coprophagy from the feces of an Alaskan Late Glacial mammoth     

Bas van Geel  R. Dale Guthrie  Jens G. Altmann  Peter Broekens  Ian D. Bull  Fiona L. Gill  Boris Jansen  Aline M. Nieman  Barbara Gravendeel 《Quaternary Science Reviews》2011,30(17-18):2289-2303

Dung from a mammoth was preserved under frozen conditions in Alaska. The mammoth lived during the early part of the Late Glacial interstadial (ca 12,300 BP). Microfossils, macroremains and ancient DNA from the dung were studied and the chemical composition was determined to reconstruct both the paleoenvironment and paleobiology of this mammoth. Pollen spectra are dominated by Poaceae, Artemisia and other light-demanding taxa, indicating an open, treeless landscape (‘mammoth steppe’). Fruits and seeds support this conclusion. The dung consists mainly of cyperaceous stems and leaves, with a minor component of vegetative remains of Poaceae. Analyses of fragments of the plastid rbcL gene and trnL intron and nrITS1 region, amplified from DNA extracted from the dung, supplemented the microscopic identifications. Many fruit bodies with ascospores of the coprophilous fungus Podospora conica were found inside the dung ball, indicating that the mammoth had eaten dung. The absence of bile acids points to mammoth dung. This is the second time that evidence for coprophagy of mammoths has been derived from the presence of fruit bodies of coprophilous fungi in frozen dung. Coprophagy might well have been a common habit of mammoths. Therefore, we strongly recommend that particular attention should be given to fungal remains in future fossil dung studies.  相似文献   

Assessment of coastal flooding hazard along the Emilia Romagna littoral,IT     

Luca Martinelli  Barbara Zanuttigh  Corinne Corbau 《Coastal Engineering》2010,57(11-12):1042-1058

Aim of this paper is to develop simple tools for mapping — at regional and local scale — coastal areas exposed at flooding risk. A two-step simplified procedure for coastal management purposes is presented and is applied to Emilia Romagna (Italy), whose low and sandy coast faces the relatively mild Northern Adriatic Sea. The procedure is composed by a 1D conceptual model to determine flooding probability along wide coastal stretches and by a more detailed 2D Level II reliability method, that provides local quantitative statistical maps of inland flooding propagation. Qualitative maps obtained by literature approaches and quantitative results of flooding probability along the littoral show a good agreement. A coastal flood state indicator is proposed to rapidly assess coastal hazard.  相似文献   

Using SHRIMP zircon dating to unravel tectonothermal events in arc environments. The early Palaeozoic arc of NW Iberia revisited     

Jacobo Abati  Pedro Castieiras  Ricardo Arenas  Javier Fernndez‐Surez  Juan Gmez Barreiro  Joseph L. Wooden 《地学学报》2007,19(6):432-439

Abstract Dating of zircon cores and rims from granulites developed in a shear zone provides insights into the complex relationship between magmatism and metamorphism in the deep roots of arc environments. The granulites belong to the uppermost allochthonous terrane of the NW Iberian Massif, which forms part of a Cambro‐Ordovician magmatic arc developed in the peri‐Gondwanan realm. The obtained zircon ages confirm that voluminous calc‐alkaline magmatism peaked around 500 Ma and was shortly followed by granulite facies metamorphism accompanied by deformation at c. 480 Ma, giving a time framework for crustal heating, regional metamorphism, deformation and partial melting, the main processes that control the tectonothermal evolution of arc systems. Traces of this arc can be discontinuously followed in different massifs throughout the European Variscan Belt, and we propose that the uppermost allochthonous units of the NW Iberian Massif, together with the related terranes in Europe, constitute an independent and coherent terrane that drifted away from northern Gondwana prior to the Variscan collisional orogenesis.  相似文献   

Disc scalelengths of non-active and active spiral galaxies     

Barbara Cunow 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2001,323(1):130-146

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