An approach to modeling climate based on feedback relationships     

Peter B. Wright 《Climatic change》1980,2(3):283-298

Feedback occurs between many components of the climate system, and makes the study of climate very difficult. A modeling approach is presented in which feedbacks are represented specifically. Analysis of very simple models shows how feedback between two components affects their behavior; positive feedback increases persistence, and can produce climatic changes even without changes in external forcing. In any quantitative study, the magnitudes of all relevant feedbacks must be known accurately. As an example, it is shown how the effect of CO₂ on global temperature must depend greatly on the feedback between global temperature and ice extent.  相似文献   

An analogue model study of electromagnetic induction in the eastern coastal region of North America     

H.W. Dosso  W. Nienaber  J.A. Wright  J.P. Greenhouse  R.C. Bailey 《Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors》1980,23(1):13-30

The behavior of electric and magnetic field variations over the eastern coastal region of North America is studied using a scaled laboratory electromagnetic analogue model. The model source frequency used simulates a period of 1 h in the geophysical scale. The results indicate that deflection and conductive channelling of induced electric current is important for both the E-polarization (northeast-southwest direction of the electric field of the source) and the H-polarization (northwest-southeast) of the source field. In the model, conductive channelling occurs through the Strait of Belle Isle, Cabot Strait, and in the St. Lawrence River. Current deflection is particularly prevalent around the southeast coast of Newfoundland for both E- and H-polarization, and around the northeast coastline of Nova Scotia for E-polarization. The model results also show current deflection by cape and bay coastal features, as well as by ocean depth contours.A comparison of model measurements for the cases of a uniform source field and a line current source indicate that the nature of the source field has a measurable but surprisingly small effect on the vertical to horizontal magnetic field ratio for both E- and H-polarizations, and negligible effect on the magnetotelluric ratio for coastal regions.The model fields in coastal regions were found to be strongly influenced by induced currents, deflected and channelled by the coastline and ocean bathymetry, and were dependent on the nature and particularly the polarization of the source field. Thus, along the complex coastline of eastern North America, a wide range of electric and magnetic field values should be expected. In some regions the coast effect, measured by the vertical to horizontal magnetic field ratio at the coast, could be expected to be extremely small or absent, while in other regions the ratio could approach a value as large as unity for variations of 1 h period.  相似文献   

A method of searching for radial velocity anomalies in the lower mantle using interfering signals     

C. Wright  J. A. Lyons 《Pure and Applied Geophysics》1980,119(1):118-136

Radial velocity anomalies in the lower mantle that give rise to triplications in the travel-time curve for short-periodP waves will produce arrivals havingdT/d values that differe by roughly 0.2–0.5 s/deg. The first two arrivals associated with such triplications will be separated by less than one second over a distance range of 4°–10° they may not, therefore, be separable visually on single seismograms, so that their presence can only be inferred from some measurable property that depends on their mutual interference. If there are lateral variations in the regions of anomalous velocity gradients, the interfering signals will also have different azimuths of arrival. Using two synthetic wavelets we have investigated the effect of interference on bothdT/d and azimuth measurements at the Yellowknife Array. We found that if the interfering pulses have a dominant frequencyv, there is a range of time separations (0.30/v0.55/v) over which the measureddT/d and azimuth values may fluctuate by much more than the differences indT/d and azimuth between the interfering signals. We have evaluated the following empirically defined functions for three different primary signals, and for three different relative amplitudes of the interfering signals:f (t), the drift function, which expresses how the measured slownesses,p, and azimuths, , differ from the slownesses and azimuths of the primary wavelets; f(), the range function, which describes the behaviour of the upper and lower bounds ofp and as a function of the difference in arrival times of the signals, andf , studied the properties of these functions, and have outlined how these properties provide criteria based on the numerical and statistical characteristics of the arrival vectors, and on the waveform of the signal that will enable small radial velocity anomalies to be more clearly delineated.Contribution No. 863 from the Earth Physics Branch.  相似文献   

Sedimentation in Lake Biel,an eutrophic,hard-water lake in northwestern Switzerland   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Dr. Richard F. Wright  Prof. Albert Matter  Marc Schweingruber  Ulrich Siegenthaler 《Aquatic Sciences - Research Across Boundaries》1980,42(2):101-126

A 2-year study of sedimentation in Lake Biel reveals that three major factors can account for the spatial and temporal patterns of tripton sedimentation. Allochthonous inputs of particulate matter mostly derived from the Aare river during spring snowmelt and other high-water periods, provide about 50% of the carbonate and 50% of the siliceous matter collected in sediment traps. Phytoplankton activity in this eutrophic, hard-water lake accounts for the rest of the carbonate and siliceous matter, the latter being mostly diatom frustules. Sedimentation rates are thus highest during periods of maximum river flooding, maximum phytoplankton activity and following the breakdown of the thermocline, at which time trapped particles settle out. Resuspension of sediment is important in at least one basin. Resolution of carbonate appears to be minor.  相似文献   

Deformation measurements on Kilauea volcano,Hawaii     

R. W. Decker  D. P. Hill  T. L. Wright 《Bulletin of Volcanology》1966,29(1):721-731

Repeated electronic distance measurements across Kilauea Caldera with Tellurometers and Geodimeter show definite horizontal expansion related to the vertical uplift and outward tilting of the summit prior to an eruption, and contraction during and after a flank eruption. Measurements started in October 1964, along a 3098 meter line between Uwekahuna and Keanakakoi, indicate a relatively uniform lengthening of 12 centimeters during the interval October 22, 1964 to March 1, 1965. Rapid shortening of the line by 28 centimeters was measured 4 days after the beginning of a flank eruption which involved emission of approximately 29 million cubic meters of lava during the period March 5 to March 15, 1965. During the expansion, the standard deviation of 10 Tellurometer measurements from a least-squares srtaight line solution is ± 2.0 centimeters (6.5 ppm) whereas 9 Geodimeter measurements have a standard deviation of ± 1.1 (3.6 ppm) centimeters. Absolute distance readings between the two instruments differ by 4 centimeters (13 ppm), but relative changes in distance were the same on both instruments. Changes in distance across Kilauea Caldera can, therefore, be easily measured to accuracies of 4 to 7 parts per million with standard electronic distance measuring systems. On active volcanoes where ground surface deformation exceeds 10–100 parts per million with changes in subsurface magma pressure or volume, repeated horizontal distance measurements can be a most useful technique.  相似文献   

Generalisation of a Nonlinear Dynamo Model     

Tanner  Sarah E. M.  Hughes  D. W. 《Studia Geophysica et Geodaetica》1998,42(3):343-349

In order to gain a better understanding of the physical processes underlying fast dynamo action it is instructive to investigate the structure of both the magnetic field and the velocity field after the dynamo saturates. Previously, computational results have been presented (Cattaneo, Hughes and Kim, 1996) that indicate, in particular, that Lagrangian chaos is suppressed in the dynamical regime of the dynamo. Here we extend their model by removing the assumption of neglecting the inertial term. This allows for an investigation into the effect of this term on the evolution of the dynamo via a comparison of the two models. Our results indicate that this term plays a crucial role in the physics of the dynamo.  相似文献   

Detection of ocean waves by microwave radar; The modulation of short gravity-capillary waves     

J. W. Wright 《Boundary-Layer Meteorology》1978,13(1-4):87-105

Short gravity-capillary waves, the predominant radar scatterers under many oceanic and radar-viewing conditions, are modulated in amplitude, velocity and orientation by the larger-scale motions of the ocean surface. These modulations render the larger scales observable to microwave radar. The high data rate and advanced technology of modern radar systems make it possible to measure these modulations and, in some cases, to display them as images of the ocean surface. While the modulation of orientation and velocity are straightforward to understand, the amplitude modulation is a dynamic response of the equilibrium short gravity-capillary waves to larger scale driving forces including straining by orbital velocities of large waves. Microwave studies of the growth and equilibrium of short wind-generated waves are reviewed. It is shown that the response of these waves to straining can produce modulations in radar cross-section greater than those due to tilting but which are wind-speed dependent. The net modulation depends strongly on the direction as well as the magnitude of the wind speed. Quantitative determination of ocean wave-height spectra from measured modulations will therefore be a complicated procedure. Measurements of ocean waves with CW Doppler and Synthetic Aperture radars are discussed in the light of these findings.  相似文献   

Chlorinated cooling waters in the marine environment: Development of effluent guidelines     

Judith M. Capuzzo  Joel C. Goldman  John A. Davidson  Sarah A. Lawrence 《Marine pollution bulletin》1977,8(7):161-163

The effects of free chlorine and chloramine on stage I lobster larvae and juvenile killifish were investigated in continuous flow bioassay units. In comparing mortality and changes in standard respiration rates during and after exposure to either chlorine form, significant respiratory stress was observed with exposure to sublethal levels. Sublethal responses to free and combined chlorine should be considered when establishing regulations for chlorine residuals in cooling waters.  相似文献   

A deep seismic profile of 800 km length recorded in southern Queensland, Australia     

K.D. Wake-Dyster  M.J. Sexton  D.W. Johnstone  C. Wright  D.M. Finlayson 《Geophysical Journal International》1987,89(1):423-430

Summary. In 1984, the Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources and the Geological Survey of Queensland recorded a regional seismic reflection profile of over 800 km length from the eastern part of the Eromanga Basin to the Beenleigh Block east of the Clarence Moreton Basin. A relatively transparent upper crustal basement with an underlying, more reflective lower crust is characteristic of much of the region. Prominent westerly dipping reflectors occur well below the sediments of the eastern margin of the Clarence Moreton Basin and the adjacent Beenleigh Block, and provide some of the most interesting features of the entire survey. A wide angle reflection/refraction survey of 192 km length and an expanding reflection spread of 25 km length were recorded across the Nebine Ridge. The only clear deep reflectors are interpreted as P-to-SV or SV-to-P converted reflections from a mid-crustal boundary at a depth of about 17 km. The combined Nebine Ridge data provide well-constrained P and S wave velocity models of the upper crust, and suggest a crustal structure quite different from that beneath the adjacent Mesozoic basins.  相似文献   

Concentration–discharge relationships reflect chemostatic characteristics of US catchments     

Sarah E. Godsey  James W. Kirchner  David W. Clow 《水文研究》2009,23(13):1844-1864

Concentration–discharge relationships have been widely used as clues to the hydrochemical processes that control runoff chemistry. Here we examine concentration–discharge relationships for solutes produced primarily by mineral weathering in 59 geochemically diverse US catchments. We show that these catchments exhibit nearly chemostatic behaviour; their stream concentrations of weathering products such as Ca, Mg, Na, and Si typically vary by factors of only 3 to 20 while discharge varies by several orders of magnitude. Similar patterns are observed at the inter‐annual time scale. This behaviour implies that solute concentrations in stream water are not determined by simple dilution of a fixed solute flux by a variable flux of water, and that rates of solute production and/or mobilization must be nearly proportional to water fluxes, both on storm and inter‐annual timescales. We compared these catchments' concentration–discharge relationships to the predictions of several simple hydrological and geochemical models. Most of these models can be forced to approximately fit the observed concentration–discharge relationships, but often only by assuming unrealistic or internally inconsistent parameter values. We propose a new model that also fits the data and may be more robust. We suggest possible tests of the new model for future studies. The relative stability of concentration under widely varying discharge may help make aquatic environments habitable. It also implies that fluxes of weathering solutes in streams, and thus fluxes of alkalinity to the oceans, are determined primarily by water fluxes. Thus, hydrology may be a major driver of the ocean‐alkalinity feedback regulating climate change. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献