Solar magnetism eXplorer (SolmeX)     

Hardi Peter  L. Abbo  V. Andretta  F. Auchère  A. Bemporad  F. Berrilli  V. Bommier  A. Braukhane  R. Casini  W. Curdt  J. Davila  H. Dittus  S. Fineschi  A. Fludra  A. Gandorfer  D. Griffin  B. Inhester  A. Lagg  E. Landi Degl’Innocenti  V. Maiwald  R. Manso Sainz  V. Martínez Pillet  S. Matthews  D. Moses  S. Parenti  A. Pietarila  D. Quantius  N. -E. Raouafi  J. Raymond  P. Rochus  O. Romberg  M. Schlotterer  U. Schühle  S. Solanki  D. Spadaro  L. Teriaca  S. Tomczyk  J. Trujillo Bueno  J. -C. Vial 《Experimental Astronomy》2012,33(2-3):271-303

The magnetic field plays a pivotal role in many fields of Astrophysics. This is especially true for the physics of the solar atmosphere. Measuring the magnetic field in the upper solar atmosphere is crucial to understand the nature of the underlying physical processes that drive the violent dynamics of the solar corona—that can also affect life on Earth. SolmeX, a fully equipped solar space observatory for remote-sensing observations, will provide the first comprehensive measurements of the strength and direction of the magnetic field in the upper solar atmosphere. The mission consists of two spacecraft, one carrying the instruments, and another one in formation flight at a distance of about 200 m carrying the occulter to provide an artificial total solar eclipse. This will ensure high-quality coronagraphic observations above the solar limb. SolmeX integrates two spectro-polarimetric coronagraphs for off-limb observations, one in the EUV and one in the IR, and three instruments for observations on the disk. The latter comprises one imaging polarimeter in the EUV for coronal studies, a spectro-polarimeter in the EUV to investigate the low corona, and an imaging spectro-polarimeter in the UV for chromospheric studies. SOHO and other existing missions have investigated the emission of the upper atmosphere in detail (not considering polarization), and as this will be the case also for missions planned for the near future. Therefore it is timely that SolmeX provides the final piece of the observational quest by measuring the magnetic field in the upper atmosphere through polarimetric observations.  相似文献   

Reconstructing the eruption magnitude and energy budgets for the pre-historic eruption of the monogenetic ∼5 ka Mt. Gambier Volcanic Complex, south-eastern Australia     

Jozua van Otterloo  Raymond A. F. Cas 《Bulletin of Volcanology》2013,75(12):1-18

Understanding explosive volcanic eruptions, especially phreatomagmatic eruptions, their intensities and energy budgets is of major importance when it comes to risk and hazard studies. With only a few historic occurrences of phreatomagmatic activity, a large amount of our understanding comes from the study of pre-historic volcanic centres, which causes issues when it comes to preservation and vegetation. In this research, we show that using 3D geometrical modelling it is possible to obtain volume estimates for different deposits of a pre-historic, complex, monogenetic centre, the Mt. Gambier Volcanic Complex, south-eastern Australia. Using these volumes, we further explore the energy budgets and the magnitude of this eruption (VEI 4), including dispersal patterns (eruption columns varying between 5 and 10 km, dispersed towards north-east to south), to further our understanding of intraplate, monogenetic eruptions involving phreatomagmatic activity. We also compare which thermodynamic model fits best in the creation of the maar crater of Mt. Gambier: the major-explosion-dominated model or the incremental growth model. In this case, the formation of most of the craters can best be explained by the latter model.  相似文献   

The typology of Irish hard-rock aquifers based on an integrated hydrogeological and geophysical approach     

Jean-Christophe Comte  Rachel Cassidy  Janka Nitsche  Ulrich Ofterdinger  Katarina Pilatova  Raymond Flynn 《Hydrogeology Journal》2012,20(8):1569-1588

Groundwater flow in hard-rock aquifers is strongly controlled by the characteristics and distribution of structural heterogeneity. A methodology for catchment-scale characterisation is presented, based on the integration of complementary, multi-scale hydrogeological, geophysical and geological approaches. This was applied to three contrasting catchments underlain by metamorphic rocks in the northern parts of Ireland (Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, UK). Cross-validated surface and borehole geophysical investigations confirm the discontinuous overburden, lithological compartmentalisation of the bedrock and important spatial variations of the weathered bedrock profiles at macro-scale. Fracture analysis suggests that the recent (Alpine) tectonic fabric exerts strong control on the internal aquifer structure at meso-scale, which is likely to impact on the anisotropy of aquifer properties. The combination of the interpretation of depth-specific hydraulic-test data with the structural information provided by geophysical tests allows characterisation of the hydrodynamic properties of the identified aquifer units. Regionally, the distribution of hydraulic conductivities can be described by inverse power laws specific to the aquifer litho-type. Observed groundwater flow directions reflect this multi-scale structure. The proposed integrated approach applies widely available investigative tools to identify key dominant structures controlling groundwater flow, characterising the aquifer type for each catchment and resolving the spatial distribution of relevant aquifer units and associated hydrodynamic parameters.  相似文献   

Effects of Geomorphology on the Distribution of Metal Abundance in Salt Marsh Sediment     

Si Chen  Raymond Torres 《Estuaries and Coasts》2012,35(4):1018-1027

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of salt marsh geomorphology on the distribution of surface metal content. Surface sediment samples (46) were taken along two transects across an intertidal salt marsh island. Abundance of Ca, Al, Fe, Ni, Cr, Cu, Zn, Rb, Sr, As, and Zr vary up to 300?% with statistically significant differences along transects and between transects. Along transect, metal abundances are strongly influenced by elevation and distance from the subtidal channel. Between transects, salt marsh morphodynamics, relative marsh age, and water sources seem to affect metal distribution. These observations lead us to hypothesize that at least three scales of variability can be expected for assessing salt marsh sediment metal distributions. Larger-scale variations associated with salt marsh sediment sources and age, and another related to local salt marsh geomorphic structure. Therefore, studies that characterize salt marsh metal loading should explicitly consider the variability imposed over a range of spatial scales.  相似文献   

Preliminary report on a dinosaur tracksite from Lower Cretaceous strata in Mount Lebanon     

Raymond Gèze  Isabelle Veltz  Jean-Claude Paicheler  Bruno Granier  Roland Habchi  Dany Azar  Sibelle Maksoud 《Arabian Journal of Geosciences》2016,9(19):730

A dinosaur tracksite was discovered in Batha on the side of the road from Harissa to Ghosta (Keserwan, Lebanon). About ten trackways are exposed at the top of two beds of Lower Cretaceous limestones over an area of approximately 1000 m². These footprints were probably made by at least two dinosaur species, Sauropoda and either Theropoda or Ornithopoda. The site, which is the first record from Lebanon, should be protected to allow further scientific investigations.  相似文献   

Optimizing the design of a geothermal district heating and cooling system located at a flooded mine in Canada     

J. Raymond  R. Therrien 《Hydrogeology Journal》2014,22(1):217-231

Flooded underground mines are attractive for groundwater heat pump systems, as the voids created during mining operations enhance the subsurface permeability and storage capacity, which allows the extraction of significant volumes of groundwater without requiring extensive drilling. Heat exchange at a flooded mine is, however, difficult to predict because of the complex geometry of the underground network of tunnels. A case study is presented here to demonstrate that numerical simulations of groundwater flow and heat transfer can help assess production temperatures required to optimize the design of a heat pump system that uses mine water. A 3D numerical model was developed for the Gaspé Mines located in Murdochville, Canada, where a district heating and cooling system is being studied. The underground mining tunnels and shafts are represented in the model with 1D elements whose flow and heat transfer contributions are superimposed to those of the 3D porous medium. The numerical model is calibrated to simultaneously reproduce the groundwater rebound that occurred when the mine closed and the drawdown measured during a pumping test conducted in a former mining shaft. Predictive simulations over a period of 50 years are subsequently performed to minimize pumping rate and determine maximum heat extraction rate.  相似文献   

Biokinetics of paralytic shellfish toxins in the green-lipped mussel, Perna viridis     

Yu KN  Kwong RW  Wang WX  Lam PK 《Marine pollution bulletin》2007,54(7):1068-1071

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The extreme physical properties of the CoRoT-7b super-Earth     

A. Léger  O. Grasset  F. Codron  P. Barge  P. Cance  F. Catalano  O. Demangeon  S. Ferraz-Mello  J.-M. Grießmeier  G. Libourel  S.N. Raymond  D. Rouan  L. Schaefer  P.A. Schuller  F. Selsis  C. Sotin 《Icarus》2011,213(1):1-11

The search for rocky exoplanets plays an important role in our quest for extra-terrestrial life. Here, we discuss the extreme physical properties possible for the first characterised rocky super-Earth, CoRoT-7b (R_pl = 1.58 ± 0.10 R_Earth, M_pl = 6.9 ± 1.2 M_Earth). It is extremely close to its star (a = 0.0171 AU = 4.48 R_st), with its spin and orbital rotation likely synchronised. The comparison of its location in the (M_pl, R_pl) plane with the predictions of planetary models for different compositions points to an Earth-like composition, even if the error bars of the measured quantities and the partial degeneracy of the models prevent a definitive conclusion. The proximity to its star provides an additional constraint on the model. It implies a high extreme-UV flux and particle wind, and the corresponding efficient erosion of the planetary atmosphere especially for volatile species including water. Consequently, we make the working hypothesis that the planet is rocky with no volatiles in its atmosphere, and derive the physical properties that result. As a consequence, the atmosphere is made of rocky vapours with a very low pressure (P ? 1.5 Pa), no cloud can be sustained, and no thermalisation of the planet is expected. The dayside is very hot (2474 ± 71 K at the sub-stellar point) while the nightside is very cold (50-75 K). The sub-stellar point is as hot as the tungsten filament of an incandescent bulb, resulting in the melting and distillation of silicate rocks and the formation of a lava ocean. These possible features of CoRoT-7b could be common to many small and hot planets, including the recently discovered Kepler-10b. They define a new class of objects that we propose to name “Lava-ocean planets”.  相似文献   

Designing science web sites     

Kica Worrilow  Todd King  Raymond Walker  Mark E. Rose  William Moore  Steven Joy 《Earth Science Informatics》2010,3(1-2):51-57

From a scientist’s viewpoint a web site is one tool used to conduct research. From an artist’s viewpoint web sites are a form of visual composition. From a developer’s point of view a web site is a type of application. While web sites are a relatively new medium with a particular set of constraints, they do adhere to the same basic design principles that apply to other art forms. These design principles are the basic assumptions that affect the arrangement of elements within a composition. A successful design uses the principles and elements to achieve a visual goal in the composition. A web site designed for scientists has unique properties which are not shared by many other types of web sites. These properties influence the overall visual design of the web sites. Recently at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at UCLA undertook a re-design of a number of its websites. In the effort, the use of visual design principles combined with the properties of a science web site were put to the test. In all, six different web sites were designed each with a difference science focus. We describe the process used to design the web sites which involve forming teams of designers, scientists and developers. We present example pages from each design and conclude with a discussion of what was learned during the process.  相似文献