Antimatter-fueled rocket could approach light speed

23 hrs.

A rocket ship, powered by smashing lumps of matter and antimatter together, could zip through space at about 70 percent the speed of light, according to a new study.

When traveling in such an antimatter-powered rocket ship, a trip from Earth to its closest stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri, would take about 6 years, as it is located 4.2 light years away.

But before astronauts pack their bags for the voyage, one problem needs to be overcome: antimatter is in limited supply.?

By one estimate, it would take the Large Hadron Collider a thousand years to make a single microgram of the stuff, MIT Technology Review?s arXiv blog notes.?

Ronan Keane, a high school senior at Western Reserve Academy, and Wei-Ming Zhang, a senior research fellow at?Kent State University,?cast aside these supply concerns and performed a new set of calculations to determine how good an antimatter rocket could be.

One reason to do so, they note in the?paper posted on Physics arXiv, is the potential of the fuel source:

The nominal energy released per kilogram of annihilating antimatter and matter is 9 x 1016 ?Joules ? about two billion times larger than the thermal energy from burning a kilogram of hydrocarbon, or over a thousand times larger than liberated from a kilogram of fuel in a nuclear fission reactor.

The pair?s calculations were made with the help of software developed to better understand how particles behave at the LHC, which smashes together beams of protons and antiprotons.

The software, they note, allows for more sophisticated engine designs than previously possible.?

The result is one that can propel a rocket ship at about 70 percent the speed of light, which is an improvement over the 33 percent speed of light reported by previous teams.

Such engines work by ?using a magnetic field to deflect charged particles created in the annihilation ... So an important factor is how efficiently the magnetic field can channel these particles out of the nozzle,? the arXiv bog explains.

Now that such an engine appears possible, it?s time to start looking for the fuel. One place, the team suggests, is in outer space, where studies have shown large amounts are trapped in Earth's magnetic field.

For more information on the promises and limitation of the technology, check out the paper and blog.

For those still?thinking about the trip to Proxima Centauri, consider this: as you approach the speed of light, time doesn't move as fast, a phenomenon known as the?relativistic?effect. That means even though the trip by Earth clock time would take about 6 years, it would only seem like 4.3 years.

--Via Technology Review

John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website and follow him on Twitter. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

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AGU journal highlights May 15, 2012

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 15-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Mary Catherine Adams
mcadams@agu.org
202-777-7530
American Geophysical Union

The following highlights summarize research papers that have been recently published in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), Journal of Geophysical Research-Space Physics (JGR-A), Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth (JGR-B), Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans (JGR-C), and Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.

In this release:

  1. Mercury's magnetic field measured by MESSENGER orbiter
  2. Oxygen isotopes improve weather predictability in Niger
  3. Annual Arctic sea ice less reflective than old ice
  4. Properties of solitary waves in Lake Constance
  5. How earthquake properties vary with depth
  6. Tracking a Jurassic reversal of the Earth's magnetic field

Anyone may read the scientific abstract for any already-published paper by clicking on the link provided at the end of each Highlight. You can also read the abstract by going to http://www.agu.org/pubs/search_options.shtml and inserting into the search engine the full doi (digital object identifier), e.g. 10.1029/2011JA017268. The doi is found at the end of each Highlight below.

Journalists and public information officers (PIOs) at educational or scientific institutions who are registered with AGU also may download papers cited in this release by clicking on the links below. Instructions for members of the news media, PIOs, and the public for downloading or ordering the full text of any research paper summarized below are available at http://www.agu.org/news/press/papers.shtml.


1. Mercury's magnetic field measured by MESSENGER orbiter

Researchers working with NASA's Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft report the frequent detections of Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) waves at the edge of the innermost planet's magnetosphere. In six different sets of magnetic field measurements made by the orbiter as it passed through Mercury's magnetopause, the boundary that separates the planet's magnetosphere from the solar wind plasma in the magnetosheath, Sundberg et al. detect the magnetic field oscillations characteristic of fully developed KH waves. Kelvin-Helmholtz waves form when fluids of different speeds travel alongside each other-in this case, the magnetosphere and magnetosheath plasmas-and promote mixing of the plasmas on larger spatial scales, and shorter time scales, than diffusive transport. The observations, which span the first 88 days of MESSENGER's time in orbit, bring Mercury alongside Earth, Saturn, and Venus as planets for which such Kelvin-Helmholtz waves are of importance.

The waves seen at Mercury's magnetopause, however, differ markedly from those at Earth's. The authors' KH wave observations were all made in the postnoon and duskside region of Mercury's magnetosphere, whereas at Earth, KH waves are seen farther toward the nightside on both flanks. Moreover, the measured waves had periods averaging 10-20 seconds, whereas the periods of their terrestrial counterparts are several minutes. Also, the amplitudes of the measured magnetic field oscillations were 2-3 times larger than those seen at Earth. Wave growth at the magnetopause is known to be an important mechanism for transporting material across the largely impermeable boundary, and the authors propose that these newly identified Kelvin-Helmholtz waves could be the source of plasma for Mercury's dayside boundary layer, discovered previously by the MESSENGER mission.

Source: Journal of Geophysical Research-Space Physics, doi:10.1029/2011JA017268, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011JA017268

Title: MESSENGER orbital observations of large-amplitude Kelvin-Helmholtz waves at Mercury's magnetopause

Authors: Torbjorn Sundberg: Heliophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland, USA;

Scott A. Boardsen: Heliophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland, USA and Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center, University of Maryland, Maryland, USA;

James A. Slavin, Thomas H. Zurbuchen, and Jim M. Raines: Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Michigan, USA;

Brian J. Anderson and Haje Korth: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Maryland, USA;

Sean C. Solomon: Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, District of Columbia, USA.


2. Oxygen isotopes improve weather predictability in Niger

For the African nation of Niger, the effect of seasonal atmospheric variability on the weather is poorly understood. Because most residents rely on local agriculture, improving the predictability of seasonal weather and precipitation availability is crucial. In the summer of 2006, researchers measured the oxygen isotope ratio of rainwater collected in the nation's capital, Niamey, to determine the connection between intraseasonal atmospheric variability and precipitation. Water containing the heavier oxygen-18 isotope rains preferentially over the lighter oxygen-16 version, lighter water evaporates preferentially over the heavier molecule, and the oxygen isotope ratio decreases from the equator to the poles. Thus, the oxygen isotope ratio found in a water sample can indicate the water's history. Previous research found that precipitation oxygen isotope ratios could be used to understand convective processes, but to develop a more nuanced and continuous interpretation researchers need to understand the seasonal shifts in the background atmospheric water vapor ratio.

From July 2010 to May 2011, Tremoy et al. measured the atmospheric water vapor and precipitation oxygen isotope ratios in Niamey. They find that the water vapor ratio varied regularly throughout the year, with minima during both the summer monsoon and the winter dry season and maxima in between. The authors suggest that the summer decline is driven by convection associated with the monsoon and that the dry season decrease is due to both atmospheric subsidence and air arrivals from midlatitudes. The fall maxima are caused by weakening convection, and the spring peak is associated with oxygen-18 enriched air moving in from the south. The authors also detect a number of shorter-period shifts in water vapor isotopic composition, which they suggest are driven by convective processes, like evaporation and subsidence, and daily atmospheric mixing, potentially opening the door for oxygen isotope measurements to be used to study atmospheric variability and dynamics and thus the origin of Niger's moisture.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2012GL051298, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2012GL051298

Title: A 1-year long delta-O-18 record of water vapor in Niamey (Niger) reveals insightful atmospheric processes at different timescales

Authors: Guillaume Tremoy and Olivier Cattani: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, UMR 8212, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Gif-sur-Yvette, France;

Francoise Vimeux: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, UMR 8212, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Gif-sur-Yvette, France and Laboratoire HydroSciences Montpellier, UMR 5569, Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement, CNRS-IRD-UM1-UM2, Montpellier, France;

Salla Mayaki and Ide Souley: Institut des RadioIsotopes, Universite Abdou Moumouni de Niamey, Niamey, Niger;

Camille Risi: Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, UPMC-CNRS, Paris, France;

Guillaume Favreau and Monique Oi: Laboratoire HydroSciences Montpellier, UMR 5569, Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement, CNRS-IRD-UM1- UM2, Montpellier, France.


3. Annual Arctic sea ice less reflective than old ice

In the Arctic Ocean, the blanket of permanent sea ice is being progressively replaced by a transient winter cover. In recent years the extent of the northern ocean's ice cover has declined. The summer melt season is starting earlier, the winter freeze is happening later, the areal extent of the ice has decreased, and more ice is failing to last through the summer. A key uncertainty in this ongoing climate transformation is how seasonal sea ice affects and responds to climate dynamics as compared to the traditional multiyear sea ice. Tackling an important branch of this issue, Perovich and Polashenski analyze how the albedo of seasonal sea ice changes throughout the summer melt season. The ice's albedo affects how much sunlight enters the system and hence influences biological productivity, ice extent, and future rates of warming.

For four years, the authors measured the albedo every 2.5 meters (8 feet) along a 200-m (656-ft) stretch of seasonal ice off the northern coast of Alaska. They find that though the albedo of snow-covered winter seasonal ice is the same as that of multiyear ice, the equivalence fades rapidly with the summer thaw. They find that seasonal sea ice albedos experience seven distinct phases: cold snow, melting snow, pond formation, pond drainage, pond evolution, open water, and refreezing. Though the albedos of seasonal and multiyear ice experience similar transitions, the rate and extent for the two types of ice vary drastically with the potential for a large effect on the Arctic Ocean energy budget. The authors find that over the course of one melt season nearly 40 percent more energy would enter an ocean system with seasonal sea ice cover than one with multiyear ice.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2012GL051432, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2012GL051432

Title: Albedo evolution of seasonal Arctic sea ice

Authors: Donald K. Perovich: CRREL, ERDC, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA and Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA;

Christopher Polashenski: CRREL, ERDC, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.


4. Properties of solitary waves in Lake Constance

Solitary waves-large individual waves that can travel long distances holding their shape, when normal waves would tend to flatten out-occur in oceans and in lakes, both on the surface and as internal waves below the surface. In lakes, these waves can affect circulation and mixing, and influence aquatic ecosystems, but many studies of the properties and effects of internal solitary waves in lakes are based on limited observations. From observations recorded over six years in Lake Constance, in Germany, Preusse et al. studied seasonal changes in the properties of internal solitary waves. Their study, which included 219 wave trains with a range of numbers of waves per train, amplitude, propagation depth, and other properties, shows that internal solitary waves are a regular occurrence. They find that a substantial number of the solitary waves are strongly nonlinear and that solitary wave properties vary with the stratification of the lake, which changes with season.

Source: Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans, doi:10.1029/2011JC007403, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011JC007403

Title: Seasonal variation of solitary wave properties in Lake Constance

Authors: M. Preusse: Limnological Institute, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany;

H. Freistuhler: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany;

F. Peeters: Limnological Institute, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.


5. How earthquake properties vary with depth

A new study shows systematically how seismic properties vary with depth. Lay et al. analyzed recent large and great earthquakes, including the 2004 Sumatra- Andaman (magnitude 9.2), 2010 Chile (magnitude 8.8), and 2011 Tohoku (magnitude 9.0) earthquakes. They define four domains of seismogenic behavior along megathrust faults according to depth. In domain A, the shallowest, reaching to about 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) below sea level, large tsunami-generating earthquakes can occur. In domain B, extending from about 15- to 35-km (9- to 22- mi) depth, great earthquake events with large slip but diffuse short-period energy occur. In domain C, from 35- to 55-km (22- to 34-mi) depth, smaller isolated megathrust patches rupture, producing bursts of coherent short-period energy in both great ruptures and in moderate-sized events. In domain D, which extends from about 30- to 45-km (19- to 28-mi) depth in subduction zones where relatively young ocean lithosphere is being underthrust with shallow plate dip, low-frequency earthquakes, seismic tremor, and slow slip events occur. Below this zone, stabile sliding or ductile flow takes place.

Source: Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth, doi:10.1029/2011JB009133, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011JB009133

Title: Depth-varying rupture properties of subduction zone megathrust faults

Authors: Thorne Lay: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA;

Hiroo Kanamori: Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA;

Charles J. Ammon: Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA;

Keith D. Koper: Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA;

Alexander R. Hutko: Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology Data Management Center, Seattle, Washington, USA;

Lingling Ye, Han Yue, and Teresa M. Rushing: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA.


6. Tracking a Jurassic reversal of the Earth's magnetic field

Roughly 180 million years ago, during the height of the Jurassic period, the Earth's magnetic field flipped, bringing the magnetic north pole once again into the Northern Hemisphere. This so-called van Zijl reversal, named for the researcher who first described it, is the second-oldest well-documented geomagnetic reversal. Such perturbations of the Earth's magnetic field, which tend to take place over about 10,000 years, and possibly much less, have been identified as occurring up to several billion, and as recently as 780,000, years ago. An open question exists about the effect of such reversals on the properties of the Earth's magnetic field, including the structure it takes, and the consequent effects on its shape, size, and strength. Drawing on newly identified records of the van Zijl reversal, Moulin et al. describe the serpentine travels of the transitional magnetic pole and the variable strength of the paleomagnetic field.

Analyzing the orientations of magnetic minerals found encased within rock samples drawn from an ancient lava field in Lesotho, a small country encompassed within South Africa, and from another field in South Africa itself, the authors tracked the shifting geographic location of the ancient magnetic pole. They find that over a short period, possibly only a few centuries, the pole leapt from a location oriented around 45 degrees south to one near 45 degrees north. The paleomagnetic pole then drifted through around 20 degrees latitude as it moved to the southeast. Finally, the pole moved to a stable location centered near the geographic north pole. The authors find that leading up to the magnetic reversal, the strength of the magnetic field weakened to roughly 10 - 20 percent of its normal value, a depression that only decayed once the pole's location stabilized.

Source: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, doi:10.1029/2011GC003910, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011GC003910

Title: The "van Zijl" Jurassic geomagnetic reversal revisited

Authors: Maud Moulin: Departement de Geologie, Universite Jean Monnet, Saint Etienne, France;

Vincent Courtillot, Frederic Fluteau, and Jean-Pierre Valet: Equipe de Paleomagnetisme, Institut de Physique du Globe, Paris, France and Sciences de la Terre, de l'Environnement et des Planetes, Universite Paris Diderot, Paris, France.

###


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[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 15-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Mary Catherine Adams
mcadams@agu.org
202-777-7530
American Geophysical Union

The following highlights summarize research papers that have been recently published in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), Journal of Geophysical Research-Space Physics (JGR-A), Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth (JGR-B), Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans (JGR-C), and Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.

In this release:

  1. Mercury's magnetic field measured by MESSENGER orbiter
  2. Oxygen isotopes improve weather predictability in Niger
  3. Annual Arctic sea ice less reflective than old ice
  4. Properties of solitary waves in Lake Constance
  5. How earthquake properties vary with depth
  6. Tracking a Jurassic reversal of the Earth's magnetic field

Anyone may read the scientific abstract for any already-published paper by clicking on the link provided at the end of each Highlight. You can also read the abstract by going to http://www.agu.org/pubs/search_options.shtml and inserting into the search engine the full doi (digital object identifier), e.g. 10.1029/2011JA017268. The doi is found at the end of each Highlight below.

Journalists and public information officers (PIOs) at educational or scientific institutions who are registered with AGU also may download papers cited in this release by clicking on the links below. Instructions for members of the news media, PIOs, and the public for downloading or ordering the full text of any research paper summarized below are available at http://www.agu.org/news/press/papers.shtml.


1. Mercury's magnetic field measured by MESSENGER orbiter

Researchers working with NASA's Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft report the frequent detections of Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) waves at the edge of the innermost planet's magnetosphere. In six different sets of magnetic field measurements made by the orbiter as it passed through Mercury's magnetopause, the boundary that separates the planet's magnetosphere from the solar wind plasma in the magnetosheath, Sundberg et al. detect the magnetic field oscillations characteristic of fully developed KH waves. Kelvin-Helmholtz waves form when fluids of different speeds travel alongside each other-in this case, the magnetosphere and magnetosheath plasmas-and promote mixing of the plasmas on larger spatial scales, and shorter time scales, than diffusive transport. The observations, which span the first 88 days of MESSENGER's time in orbit, bring Mercury alongside Earth, Saturn, and Venus as planets for which such Kelvin-Helmholtz waves are of importance.

The waves seen at Mercury's magnetopause, however, differ markedly from those at Earth's. The authors' KH wave observations were all made in the postnoon and duskside region of Mercury's magnetosphere, whereas at Earth, KH waves are seen farther toward the nightside on both flanks. Moreover, the measured waves had periods averaging 10-20 seconds, whereas the periods of their terrestrial counterparts are several minutes. Also, the amplitudes of the measured magnetic field oscillations were 2-3 times larger than those seen at Earth. Wave growth at the magnetopause is known to be an important mechanism for transporting material across the largely impermeable boundary, and the authors propose that these newly identified Kelvin-Helmholtz waves could be the source of plasma for Mercury's dayside boundary layer, discovered previously by the MESSENGER mission.

Source: Journal of Geophysical Research-Space Physics, doi:10.1029/2011JA017268, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011JA017268

Title: MESSENGER orbital observations of large-amplitude Kelvin-Helmholtz waves at Mercury's magnetopause

Authors: Torbjorn Sundberg: Heliophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland, USA;

Scott A. Boardsen: Heliophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland, USA and Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center, University of Maryland, Maryland, USA;

James A. Slavin, Thomas H. Zurbuchen, and Jim M. Raines: Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Michigan, USA;

Brian J. Anderson and Haje Korth: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Maryland, USA;

Sean C. Solomon: Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, District of Columbia, USA.


2. Oxygen isotopes improve weather predictability in Niger

For the African nation of Niger, the effect of seasonal atmospheric variability on the weather is poorly understood. Because most residents rely on local agriculture, improving the predictability of seasonal weather and precipitation availability is crucial. In the summer of 2006, researchers measured the oxygen isotope ratio of rainwater collected in the nation's capital, Niamey, to determine the connection between intraseasonal atmospheric variability and precipitation. Water containing the heavier oxygen-18 isotope rains preferentially over the lighter oxygen-16 version, lighter water evaporates preferentially over the heavier molecule, and the oxygen isotope ratio decreases from the equator to the poles. Thus, the oxygen isotope ratio found in a water sample can indicate the water's history. Previous research found that precipitation oxygen isotope ratios could be used to understand convective processes, but to develop a more nuanced and continuous interpretation researchers need to understand the seasonal shifts in the background atmospheric water vapor ratio.

From July 2010 to May 2011, Tremoy et al. measured the atmospheric water vapor and precipitation oxygen isotope ratios in Niamey. They find that the water vapor ratio varied regularly throughout the year, with minima during both the summer monsoon and the winter dry season and maxima in between. The authors suggest that the summer decline is driven by convection associated with the monsoon and that the dry season decrease is due to both atmospheric subsidence and air arrivals from midlatitudes. The fall maxima are caused by weakening convection, and the spring peak is associated with oxygen-18 enriched air moving in from the south. The authors also detect a number of shorter-period shifts in water vapor isotopic composition, which they suggest are driven by convective processes, like evaporation and subsidence, and daily atmospheric mixing, potentially opening the door for oxygen isotope measurements to be used to study atmospheric variability and dynamics and thus the origin of Niger's moisture.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2012GL051298, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2012GL051298

Title: A 1-year long delta-O-18 record of water vapor in Niamey (Niger) reveals insightful atmospheric processes at different timescales

Authors: Guillaume Tremoy and Olivier Cattani: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, UMR 8212, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Gif-sur-Yvette, France;

Francoise Vimeux: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, UMR 8212, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Gif-sur-Yvette, France and Laboratoire HydroSciences Montpellier, UMR 5569, Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement, CNRS-IRD-UM1-UM2, Montpellier, France;

Salla Mayaki and Ide Souley: Institut des RadioIsotopes, Universite Abdou Moumouni de Niamey, Niamey, Niger;

Camille Risi: Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, UPMC-CNRS, Paris, France;

Guillaume Favreau and Monique Oi: Laboratoire HydroSciences Montpellier, UMR 5569, Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement, CNRS-IRD-UM1- UM2, Montpellier, France.


3. Annual Arctic sea ice less reflective than old ice

In the Arctic Ocean, the blanket of permanent sea ice is being progressively replaced by a transient winter cover. In recent years the extent of the northern ocean's ice cover has declined. The summer melt season is starting earlier, the winter freeze is happening later, the areal extent of the ice has decreased, and more ice is failing to last through the summer. A key uncertainty in this ongoing climate transformation is how seasonal sea ice affects and responds to climate dynamics as compared to the traditional multiyear sea ice. Tackling an important branch of this issue, Perovich and Polashenski analyze how the albedo of seasonal sea ice changes throughout the summer melt season. The ice's albedo affects how much sunlight enters the system and hence influences biological productivity, ice extent, and future rates of warming.

For four years, the authors measured the albedo every 2.5 meters (8 feet) along a 200-m (656-ft) stretch of seasonal ice off the northern coast of Alaska. They find that though the albedo of snow-covered winter seasonal ice is the same as that of multiyear ice, the equivalence fades rapidly with the summer thaw. They find that seasonal sea ice albedos experience seven distinct phases: cold snow, melting snow, pond formation, pond drainage, pond evolution, open water, and refreezing. Though the albedos of seasonal and multiyear ice experience similar transitions, the rate and extent for the two types of ice vary drastically with the potential for a large effect on the Arctic Ocean energy budget. The authors find that over the course of one melt season nearly 40 percent more energy would enter an ocean system with seasonal sea ice cover than one with multiyear ice.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2012GL051432, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2012GL051432

Title: Albedo evolution of seasonal Arctic sea ice

Authors: Donald K. Perovich: CRREL, ERDC, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA and Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA;

Christopher Polashenski: CRREL, ERDC, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.


4. Properties of solitary waves in Lake Constance

Solitary waves-large individual waves that can travel long distances holding their shape, when normal waves would tend to flatten out-occur in oceans and in lakes, both on the surface and as internal waves below the surface. In lakes, these waves can affect circulation and mixing, and influence aquatic ecosystems, but many studies of the properties and effects of internal solitary waves in lakes are based on limited observations. From observations recorded over six years in Lake Constance, in Germany, Preusse et al. studied seasonal changes in the properties of internal solitary waves. Their study, which included 219 wave trains with a range of numbers of waves per train, amplitude, propagation depth, and other properties, shows that internal solitary waves are a regular occurrence. They find that a substantial number of the solitary waves are strongly nonlinear and that solitary wave properties vary with the stratification of the lake, which changes with season.

Source: Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans, doi:10.1029/2011JC007403, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011JC007403

Title: Seasonal variation of solitary wave properties in Lake Constance

Authors: M. Preusse: Limnological Institute, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany;

H. Freistuhler: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany;

F. Peeters: Limnological Institute, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.


5. How earthquake properties vary with depth

A new study shows systematically how seismic properties vary with depth. Lay et al. analyzed recent large and great earthquakes, including the 2004 Sumatra- Andaman (magnitude 9.2), 2010 Chile (magnitude 8.8), and 2011 Tohoku (magnitude 9.0) earthquakes. They define four domains of seismogenic behavior along megathrust faults according to depth. In domain A, the shallowest, reaching to about 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) below sea level, large tsunami-generating earthquakes can occur. In domain B, extending from about 15- to 35-km (9- to 22- mi) depth, great earthquake events with large slip but diffuse short-period energy occur. In domain C, from 35- to 55-km (22- to 34-mi) depth, smaller isolated megathrust patches rupture, producing bursts of coherent short-period energy in both great ruptures and in moderate-sized events. In domain D, which extends from about 30- to 45-km (19- to 28-mi) depth in subduction zones where relatively young ocean lithosphere is being underthrust with shallow plate dip, low-frequency earthquakes, seismic tremor, and slow slip events occur. Below this zone, stabile sliding or ductile flow takes place.

Source: Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth, doi:10.1029/2011JB009133, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011JB009133

Title: Depth-varying rupture properties of subduction zone megathrust faults

Authors: Thorne Lay: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA;

Hiroo Kanamori: Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA;

Charles J. Ammon: Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA;

Keith D. Koper: Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA;

Alexander R. Hutko: Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology Data Management Center, Seattle, Washington, USA;

Lingling Ye, Han Yue, and Teresa M. Rushing: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA.


6. Tracking a Jurassic reversal of the Earth's magnetic field

Roughly 180 million years ago, during the height of the Jurassic period, the Earth's magnetic field flipped, bringing the magnetic north pole once again into the Northern Hemisphere. This so-called van Zijl reversal, named for the researcher who first described it, is the second-oldest well-documented geomagnetic reversal. Such perturbations of the Earth's magnetic field, which tend to take place over about 10,000 years, and possibly much less, have been identified as occurring up to several billion, and as recently as 780,000, years ago. An open question exists about the effect of such reversals on the properties of the Earth's magnetic field, including the structure it takes, and the consequent effects on its shape, size, and strength. Drawing on newly identified records of the van Zijl reversal, Moulin et al. describe the serpentine travels of the transitional magnetic pole and the variable strength of the paleomagnetic field.

Analyzing the orientations of magnetic minerals found encased within rock samples drawn from an ancient lava field in Lesotho, a small country encompassed within South Africa, and from another field in South Africa itself, the authors tracked the shifting geographic location of the ancient magnetic pole. They find that over a short period, possibly only a few centuries, the pole leapt from a location oriented around 45 degrees south to one near 45 degrees north. The paleomagnetic pole then drifted through around 20 degrees latitude as it moved to the southeast. Finally, the pole moved to a stable location centered near the geographic north pole. The authors find that leading up to the magnetic reversal, the strength of the magnetic field weakened to roughly 10 - 20 percent of its normal value, a depression that only decayed once the pole's location stabilized.

Source: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, doi:10.1029/2011GC003910, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011GC003910

Title: The "van Zijl" Jurassic geomagnetic reversal revisited

Authors: Maud Moulin: Departement de Geologie, Universite Jean Monnet, Saint Etienne, France;

Vincent Courtillot, Frederic Fluteau, and Jean-Pierre Valet: Equipe de Paleomagnetisme, Institut de Physique du Globe, Paris, France and Sciences de la Terre, de l'Environnement et des Planetes, Universite Paris Diderot, Paris, France.

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Romney: Obama?s reckless spending fans a ?prairie fire of debt?

Speaking in Des Moines, Iowa this afternoon, Romney took President Obama to task for his incessant spending and borrowing:

?Today America faces a financial crisis of debt and spending that threatens what it means to be an American. Here in the heartland you know in your hearts that it?s wrong.? We can?t spend another four years talking about solving a problem that we only make worse every day. When the men and women who settled the Iowa prairie saw a fire in the distance, they didn?t look around for someone else to save them or go back to sleep hoping the wind might blow another direction. They knew their fate was in their hands and so it is today.? A prairie fire of debt is sweeping across Iowa and our nation and every day we fail to act we feed that fire with our own lack of resolve.?

Romney went on to hit Obama for the so-called stimulus, the ever unpopular ObamaCare and the more than five trillion dollars the Obama deficits have added to the national debt:

?President Obama started his days in office with the trillion-dollar stimulus package ? the biggest, most careless one-time expenditure by the federal government in history.? And remember this: the stimulus wasn?t just wasted ? it was borrowed and wasted.? We still owe the money, we?re still paying interest on it, and it?ll be that way long after this presidency ends in January.

Then there was Obamacare.? Even now nobody knows the exact cost of that new program.? And that uncertainty has done great harm to our economy.? Employers aren?t hiring, entrepreneurs are worried, all because of a massive, European-style entitlement that Americans didn?t want and can?t afford.

Through his own decisions, this President has added more than five trillion dollars to the national debt, which now stands at 15.7 trillion dollars.?

Then Romney promised to lead us out of this debt and spending crisis:

?As president, I will approach debt and spending differently.? My time spent building businesses and leading state government taught me that we need to hold every department and agency to a simple test: If something can be done better and more efficiently outside the federal government, then that?s where it belongs.? Wherever we have the option of returning functions back to the states, to local governments, or, better still, to the private sector, that?s what we will do.? We will make the federal government simpler, smaller, smarter ? and, by the way, more in keeping with the vision of the Framers of our Constitution.?

The excerpts are from Mitt Romney?s speech as prepared for delivery.? The excerpts are from Mitt Romney?s speech as prepared for delivery. The entire transcript is available here.

Last month the Romney campaign released a video highlighting President Obama?s broken promises on spending, deficits and the national debt. You can watch the ?Broken Promises: Spending? video here.

Today the national debt is 15,674,182,767,474.36 or $15.7 trillion, it was when President Obama took office it was $10,626,877,048,913.08 or $10.6 trillion.

In 2004, when the deficit was $413 billion and the national debt was $7,419,244,676,835.15 or $7.4 trillion, Obama said the ?monstrous federal deficit? was an ?enormous problem.? On July 3, 2008, presidential candidate Obama said that adding $4 trillion in debt was ?irresponsible? and ?unpatriotic.? Nevertheless, President Obama added more than $5 trillion to the national debt in three years.

President Obama has promised to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first time at least five times:

  1. February 23, 2009: Obama Pledges to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office.
  2. February 24, 2009: Obama pledges to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office.
  3. May 26, 2009: Obama pledges to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office
  4. December 8, 2009: Obama pledges to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office.
  5. February 14, 2011: Obama pledges to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office.

Despite those promises Obama has racked up the largest deficits in U.S. history:

  • FY2009: The federal budget deficit was $1.413 trillion, the highest in U.S. history. (?Monthly Budget Review: November 2011,? Congressional Budget Office, 11/7/11)
  • FY2011: The federal budget deficit was $1.299 trillion, the second highest in U.S. history. (?Monthly Budget Review: November 2011,? Congressional Budget Office, 11/7/11)
  • FY2010: The federal budget deficit was $1.294 trillion, the third highest in U.S. history. (?Monthly Budget Review: November 2011,? Congressional Budget Office, 11/7/11)
  • The CBO projects the deficit at the end of Obama?s first term will be $1.253 trillion, Obama?s fourth straight trillion deficit. (?An Anlysis Of The President?s 2013 Budget,? Congressional Budget Office, 3/16/12)

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You shouldn?t be shocked by Obama?s failure to reduce the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office. He did warn us there would be ?trillion-dollar deficits for years to come.?

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The Tomb Is Open for Business

Production is officially underway in New Orleans on the action-thriller The Tomb. Sylvester Stallone stars as Ray Breslin, the world?s foremost authority on structural security. Breslin is framed and incarcerated in a prison of his own master design, and must now figure out how to break out.? Stallone is joined by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who plays a fellow inmate (and likely accomplice in said jail break), as well as Curtis ?50 Cent? Jackson, Jim Caviezel, Amy Ryan, Vincent D?Onofrio, Vinnie Jones, and new addition Sam Neill.

In an interesting turn, Caviezel will be playing the warden of the prison, with Jones set as his head of security.? Mikael Hafstrom (The Rite) is onboard to direct, and I?m really looking forward to watching a Stallone and Schwarzenegger prison break pic.? Hit the jump to read the full press release, which has details regarding the other characters in the film.

PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY UNDERWAY ON

THE TOMB

Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Curtis ?50 Cent? Jackson,

Jim Caviezel, Amy Ryan, Vincent D?Onofrio, Vinnie Jones, Sam Neil Lead Cast

Mikael H?fstr?m directs the action-thriller now shooting on location in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS, LA MAY 10 ? Production is underway on Summit Entertainment?s The Tomb. ?Directed by Mikael H?fstr?m, the action-thriller is an Emmett-Furla Films/Mark Canton production.? The producers are Atmosphere Entertainment?s chairman Mark Canton, Randall Emmett, George Furla, Robbie Brenner and Kevin King-Templeton. Co-financed by Emmett-Furla Films and Summit Entertainment, The Tomb is being filmed on location in the New Orleans area.? Summit Entertainment, a LIONSGATE company, holds worldwide distribution rights and will release the motion picture in North America.

Written by Miles Chapman for the screen, with a rewrite by Jason Keller, The Tomb follows Ray Breslin (Stallone), the world?s foremost authority on structural security.?He?s analyzed nearly every high security prison. After being framed by persons unknown, all of Breslin?s ingenuity and expertise are about to be put to work in the most challenging test he?s ever faced: escaping from a high-tech prison facility that?s design is based on his own protocols.

Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Emil Rottmayer,a complex inmate with multiple shades of gray. He?s the guy who fights to keep the prisoners from losing their humanity in their darkest hour as they struggle together to stay alive.

Jim Caviezel plays Hobbes, the warden of the Tomb. This is the type of prison facility that deals with inmates that no government wants on its books.? The lead guard of the maximum-security facility, Drake, is played by English actor and retired footballer Vinnie Jones.

Curtis ?50 Cent? Jackson plays Hush, Ray Breslin?s right-hand man and high-technology expert.? Buttoned-down with street lurking just below the surface, Hush is aptly named because when he speaks, it is just above a whisper?but it?s a whisper with attitude and edge that can turn from soft to drop dead serious in the blink of an eye. Vincent D?Onofrio plays Lester Clark, Breslin?s business partner and CEO of B&C Security, their independent security company hired by the Federal Bureau of Prisons to test the integrity of their maximum-security facilities nationwide.? Amy Ryan plays Abigail Ross, jack-of-all trades and one of Beslin?s closest confidants at B&C Security.? Sam Neil is cast as Dr. Emil Kaikev, the prison doctor embedded within the Tomb, who is sympathetic to Breslin?s plight.

H?fstr?m?s previous writing/directing credits in his native Sweden include: the gripping coming of age drama Evil, which was nominated for an Academy Award? in 2004 for Best Foreign Language film; the thriller Drowning Ghost; and the drama Days Like This, which won Sweden?s Guldbagge Award for Best Screenplay.? His films have been invited to festivals around the world and, at home, H?fstr?m has received multiple Guldbagge nominations, with Evil winning the Award for Best Direction and Best Screenplay.

The behind-the scenes filmmaking team of The Tombincludes director of photography Brendan Galvin (Immortals, Behind Enemy Lines, Flight of the Phoenix), production designer Barry Chusid (Source Code, 2012, Aliens in the Attic, The Day After Tomorrow) and costume designer Lizz Wolf (The Expendables and The Expendables 2, Rambo, Dreamgirls, Suspect Zero, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl, Armageddon, Traffic).

Special effects are supervised by Michael Lantieri (Alice in Wonderland, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, The Hulk, Minority Report, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man?s Chest) and visual effects are supervised by Chris Wells (300, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Live Free or Die Hard).? Elliot Greenberg (Chronicle) is editing. The sound mixer is Richard Schexnayder (Red, The Expendables, Jonah Hex) and stunts are coordinated by Noon Orsatti (The Expendables 2, American History X, Conan The Barbarian).

The executive producers of The Tomb are Nicolas Stern, Bill Chase, Stefan Partirosyan.

Schwarzenegger and Stallone will next be seen on screen together in The Expendables 2, which is currently in post-production and will be released this summer by Lionsgate. Schwarzenegger recently wrapped filming The Last Stand, also for Lionsgate, produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and directed by Jee-woon Kim.

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Restaurants owners without a mobile website are losing business by ...

Smartphones and tablet devices have radically transformed how the world does business, thanks to the always-on Internet connection that allows mobile users to instantly explore the web in just a few simple clicks. The restaurant industry has been particularly impacted by this development, with many dining establishments discovering new clientele thanks to a presence online. This phenomenon can be best observed in the realm of mobile websites for restaurants, which are often the source of the largest portion of foot traffic coming from the Internet.

It likely comes as no surprise that effective advertising and a commanding mobile website can have a wide-reaching impact for restaurant owners. Unfortunately, while some restaurant owners and management teams have attempted to capitalize on the potential online by establishing beautiful sites that are rich in flash media and video content, these pages are unable to be displayed on the vast majority of mobile users? screens. In turn, these companies are unable to deliver information about their menus, hours, and other essentials to customers who are ready to pull out their wallets immediately.

Recent studies show a whopping 95% of all restaurants do not presently have a site geared toward mobile users. This is concerning when the following statistics regarding mobile Internet usage are taken into consideration:

  • Mobile users are expected to top nearly 114 million individuals by the end of 2012, which represents an increase of more than 17.1% over the course of the past year.
  • A whopping 94% of smartphone owners use their devices to connect to the Internet.
  • 10 billion mobile Internet connections are projected to be active by 2016, far outnumbering traditional desktop connections to the web.

Taking the information available about mobile Internet usage and growth into consideration helps demonstrate the imperative need for mobile websites for restaurants. For those dining establishments that neglect to develop a forum that mobile users can use to learn about their business, there is little question that the patrons in question will simply choose another restaurant that can provide them with the information they need to know. Rather than let the competition eat a piece of the mobile traffic, proactive restaurants need to make this a prime focus in their efforts to draw in new customers.

According to Emily Jakobson, an office worker who was asked for her opinion in downtown Chicago, ?If a restaurant doesn?t have a mobile site to help aide my restaurant search, I will likely never walk through the door. I rely upon my phone to tell me what is available nearby and fits my taste, on a daily basis.? Furthermore, this trend is not limited to younger workers. Jakobson?s supervisor Janelle Handler chimed in with her own two cents. ?While I may not use my phone quite as frequently, on a night out with friends we almost always check our phones to find an affordable and recommended restaurant in the vicinity.?

When the statistics of mobile Internet usage are taken into consideration, combined with the real experiences and feedback of everyday restaurants, it?s impossible to think that mobile websites for restaurants don?t make an impact on a restaurant?s bottom line. By establishing an attractive website that can easily be accessed on a mobile device, restaurant owners can expect current foot traffic to become a stampede. Not only does this help the restaurant to become more successful in the immediate, but it can have far-reaching implications for the establishment?s long term success.

Web-Diner.com helps restaurant owners reach their mobile?audience. Hands off process makes it easy to sign-up and get your new restaurant mobile website online! Keeping mobile users happy and restaurant seats full!

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Sources:

http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/27/study-95-of-independent-restaurant-dont-have...

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/30495/25-Eye-Popping-Internet-Mar...

http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/14/cisco-mobile-data-forecast-2012/

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Pay Per Click Advertising Success - Strategies That Really Work ...

Remember that what works well for one business situation with developing more cupcake wrappers may not work successfully with your business. One of the most basic prerequisites for successful conversions is based on knowledge of those to whom you are selling. Understanding your market is perhaps one of the most important responsibilities you have toward your business. If you do this and execute well, then your conversions and effectiveness will increase substantially. There really are no two ways about this; you must take your cues from what is known and use it skillfully. That common understanding is the basis for your content being accepted by them and trusted. Many people that are into online advertising use pay per click advertising, or PPC for short. People that have researched this form of advertising have heard a number of horror stories. Everyone that does this type of advertising has to be careful - you can lose your money quite quickly! Anytime you want to succeed at anything, you need the knowledge to do so - PPC is no different. So if you have never read anything on the subject at all, it is probably a bad idea to do this. It should be very easy for anyone to do if they take the time to learn the mechanics of the system. Now let's take a look at some proven techniques (three of them in fact) on how to do pay per click advertising successfully. Always test out your marketing and advertising because this is the best way to get more profits out of them. This becomes even more urgent and critical when you want to run a PPC ad campaign. All of the best PPC platforms give you the ability to rotate your ads so that you can run the A/B split test on them. So that's already set up, you just have to use it. It is important to make sure that your headline is optimized before you run even one ad. Keep testing until you cannot produce better results. The second most important part of the ad is the body copy so run tests on these next. Newbies like to check their campaigns throughout the day, especially ones that they have just launched. It is possible to look at many aspects of the ad, but it usually comes down to the number of clicks. People like to see how much their ads are costing them as well. That is fine but really should only be confined to the first several days after a new campaign is launched. Being obsessive with your campaigns is not necessary. It is important that you gain experience, moving forward as you become more confident at this. Making unnecessary changes is one of the things you should avoid, and to do this, you should not obsess over your campaigns. Your campaign performance can be greatly diminished and adversely affected by doing so. We are confident many would like to take advantage of the full power of image consultant gold coast in their internet business; but you have to be careful and avoid proceeding with limited knowledge in your campaigns. If you have only heard about the above, then you definitely have to dig deeper if you want to use this and know how to use it with competence. If you have had your business for just a few months, you may not know all you need to know especially if your time is very limited. Our articles are designed to be an introduction, and of course we cannot go into great detail when presenting multiple methods or ideas in a single article. If you really take a very close look at all we talk about, you can spend a lot of time testing and exploring additional possibilities. You probably already know about the different strategies involved in writing headlines. For instance, you can create headlines that are a question. You can also write headlines that have been designed to hit nerves. There are also other kinds that make people extremely curious. You will start to see a huge difference in your click through rates once you start using different strategies in your PPC ad headlines. You can be quite creative with these and it should go without saying that you shouldn't forget to test your headlines. It might take you some time to get good at writing in different formats but it isn't difficult and it can help you raise your profits. When it comes to doing business online, PPC advertising is a tough place to be. Anyone with campaign experience understands how to make them profitable. But that is no reason to avoid it, and you can get around these things pretty easily, anyway. There are many teachers on the Internet that can show you how to do this the right way, but usually they're selling something. We understand very well that make up schools sydney is nothing new within the world of internet marketing and business. One of the most powerful behaviors you can have is maintaining an open mind as it pertains to marketing and advertising. Perhaps only one thing you just learned could be used in your marketing, and if that is the case then you should embrace it. This does not have to be a complicated process, and it just involves making a decision to test one of these methods out. If you do not have the funds to buy courses and ebooks, then one solution is to join marketing and online business forums and do some background reading. What you need to do is have a solid grasp on any method enough so you can at the very least test it in your business. Only you know what is best for your business, so just be sure you integrate it as smoothly as possible.

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Estranged husband challenges wife for NY Assembly seat

Michelle Schimel, assemblywoman for the 16th Assembly District in the New York State Assembly.

By Elizabeth Chuck, msnbc.com

Politics make strange bedfellows, especially in Long Island, N.Y., where an estranged?husband and wife are running for the same seat.

Michelle Schimel,?D-Great Neck,?is serving her third term in the New York State Assembly. Her opponent is?Mark Schimel, the man she separated from last year after 32 years of marriage, who is planning to run as a Republican.

"This is a very painful and personal family matter. The Republican Party is . . . using it as an opportunity to drag my personal life into the public," Michelle Schimel, 54, said in a statement, according to Newsday. "I will run this campaign as I have every campaign: on the issues, on my record, and on my values."

Mark Schimel, 57,?was nominated last Thursday by Nassau County and still needs to file nominating petitions, according to Newsday. He is a vice president at Infosys International, an IT company.

His decision to run shocked his own mother.

?You?re joking,? Irma Schimel told The New York Daily News when she learned of his political aspirations. ?This is a really startling thing. It?s a shock. Why would he do this??

His estranged wife has been in office since 2007, according to her website. She served as town clerk in North Hempstead, N.Y., before being elected to the Assembly.

A local GOP leader told Newsday Mark Schimel is serious about running.

"We talked about it a couple of times, and he is serious. We've told him that we want a dignified and issue-oriented campaign,"??said Frank Moroney,?North Hempstead?Town?GOP?leader.

The couple has two kids and still hasn't legally divorced, reported The New York Daily News. Irma Schimel told the paper she still considers Michelle her daughter in-law, even receiving a Mother's Day card from her this year.

?I love her very much,? Irma Schimel said. ?I can?t believe he?d do a thing like this. I?m going to talk to him.?

She predicted her son would lose against Michelle.

Scott Levenson, general consultant for Michelle Schimel,??told Politico.com that Mark's bid was a political stunt, and vowed her campaign would be about "civility and decency," not candidates' personal lives.

?We?re going to keep the personal life of the assembly member private,? Levenson said. ?The fact is the Republican party is clearly manipulating this situation, sadly, for their own political game. Assembly member Schimel is committed to keeping civility and decency in both the way she runs her government office and the way she runs her political campaign.?

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

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AGU journal highlights May 15, 2012

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 15-May-2012
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Contact: Mary Catherine Adams
mcadams@agu.org
202-777-7530
American Geophysical Union

The following highlights summarize research papers that have been recently published in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), Journal of Geophysical Research-Space Physics (JGR-A), Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth (JGR-B), Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans (JGR-C), and Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.

In this release:

  1. Mercury's magnetic field measured by MESSENGER orbiter
  2. Oxygen isotopes improve weather predictability in Niger
  3. Annual Arctic sea ice less reflective than old ice
  4. Properties of solitary waves in Lake Constance
  5. How earthquake properties vary with depth
  6. Tracking a Jurassic reversal of the Earth's magnetic field

Anyone may read the scientific abstract for any already-published paper by clicking on the link provided at the end of each Highlight. You can also read the abstract by going to http://www.agu.org/pubs/search_options.shtml and inserting into the search engine the full doi (digital object identifier), e.g. 10.1029/2011JA017268. The doi is found at the end of each Highlight below.

Journalists and public information officers (PIOs) at educational or scientific institutions who are registered with AGU also may download papers cited in this release by clicking on the links below. Instructions for members of the news media, PIOs, and the public for downloading or ordering the full text of any research paper summarized below are available at http://www.agu.org/news/press/papers.shtml.


1. Mercury's magnetic field measured by MESSENGER orbiter

Researchers working with NASA's Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft report the frequent detections of Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) waves at the edge of the innermost planet's magnetosphere. In six different sets of magnetic field measurements made by the orbiter as it passed through Mercury's magnetopause, the boundary that separates the planet's magnetosphere from the solar wind plasma in the magnetosheath, Sundberg et al. detect the magnetic field oscillations characteristic of fully developed KH waves. Kelvin-Helmholtz waves form when fluids of different speeds travel alongside each other-in this case, the magnetosphere and magnetosheath plasmas-and promote mixing of the plasmas on larger spatial scales, and shorter time scales, than diffusive transport. The observations, which span the first 88 days of MESSENGER's time in orbit, bring Mercury alongside Earth, Saturn, and Venus as planets for which such Kelvin-Helmholtz waves are of importance.

The waves seen at Mercury's magnetopause, however, differ markedly from those at Earth's. The authors' KH wave observations were all made in the postnoon and duskside region of Mercury's magnetosphere, whereas at Earth, KH waves are seen farther toward the nightside on both flanks. Moreover, the measured waves had periods averaging 10-20 seconds, whereas the periods of their terrestrial counterparts are several minutes. Also, the amplitudes of the measured magnetic field oscillations were 2-3 times larger than those seen at Earth. Wave growth at the magnetopause is known to be an important mechanism for transporting material across the largely impermeable boundary, and the authors propose that these newly identified Kelvin-Helmholtz waves could be the source of plasma for Mercury's dayside boundary layer, discovered previously by the MESSENGER mission.

Source: Journal of Geophysical Research-Space Physics, doi:10.1029/2011JA017268, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011JA017268

Title: MESSENGER orbital observations of large-amplitude Kelvin-Helmholtz waves at Mercury's magnetopause

Authors: Torbjorn Sundberg: Heliophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland, USA;

Scott A. Boardsen: Heliophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland, USA and Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center, University of Maryland, Maryland, USA;

James A. Slavin, Thomas H. Zurbuchen, and Jim M. Raines: Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Michigan, USA;

Brian J. Anderson and Haje Korth: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Maryland, USA;

Sean C. Solomon: Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, District of Columbia, USA.


2. Oxygen isotopes improve weather predictability in Niger

For the African nation of Niger, the effect of seasonal atmospheric variability on the weather is poorly understood. Because most residents rely on local agriculture, improving the predictability of seasonal weather and precipitation availability is crucial. In the summer of 2006, researchers measured the oxygen isotope ratio of rainwater collected in the nation's capital, Niamey, to determine the connection between intraseasonal atmospheric variability and precipitation. Water containing the heavier oxygen-18 isotope rains preferentially over the lighter oxygen-16 version, lighter water evaporates preferentially over the heavier molecule, and the oxygen isotope ratio decreases from the equator to the poles. Thus, the oxygen isotope ratio found in a water sample can indicate the water's history. Previous research found that precipitation oxygen isotope ratios could be used to understand convective processes, but to develop a more nuanced and continuous interpretation researchers need to understand the seasonal shifts in the background atmospheric water vapor ratio.

From July 2010 to May 2011, Tremoy et al. measured the atmospheric water vapor and precipitation oxygen isotope ratios in Niamey. They find that the water vapor ratio varied regularly throughout the year, with minima during both the summer monsoon and the winter dry season and maxima in between. The authors suggest that the summer decline is driven by convection associated with the monsoon and that the dry season decrease is due to both atmospheric subsidence and air arrivals from midlatitudes. The fall maxima are caused by weakening convection, and the spring peak is associated with oxygen-18 enriched air moving in from the south. The authors also detect a number of shorter-period shifts in water vapor isotopic composition, which they suggest are driven by convective processes, like evaporation and subsidence, and daily atmospheric mixing, potentially opening the door for oxygen isotope measurements to be used to study atmospheric variability and dynamics and thus the origin of Niger's moisture.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2012GL051298, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2012GL051298

Title: A 1-year long delta-O-18 record of water vapor in Niamey (Niger) reveals insightful atmospheric processes at different timescales

Authors: Guillaume Tremoy and Olivier Cattani: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, UMR 8212, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Gif-sur-Yvette, France;

Francoise Vimeux: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, UMR 8212, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Gif-sur-Yvette, France and Laboratoire HydroSciences Montpellier, UMR 5569, Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement, CNRS-IRD-UM1-UM2, Montpellier, France;

Salla Mayaki and Ide Souley: Institut des RadioIsotopes, Universite Abdou Moumouni de Niamey, Niamey, Niger;

Camille Risi: Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, UPMC-CNRS, Paris, France;

Guillaume Favreau and Monique Oi: Laboratoire HydroSciences Montpellier, UMR 5569, Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement, CNRS-IRD-UM1- UM2, Montpellier, France.


3. Annual Arctic sea ice less reflective than old ice

In the Arctic Ocean, the blanket of permanent sea ice is being progressively replaced by a transient winter cover. In recent years the extent of the northern ocean's ice cover has declined. The summer melt season is starting earlier, the winter freeze is happening later, the areal extent of the ice has decreased, and more ice is failing to last through the summer. A key uncertainty in this ongoing climate transformation is how seasonal sea ice affects and responds to climate dynamics as compared to the traditional multiyear sea ice. Tackling an important branch of this issue, Perovich and Polashenski analyze how the albedo of seasonal sea ice changes throughout the summer melt season. The ice's albedo affects how much sunlight enters the system and hence influences biological productivity, ice extent, and future rates of warming.

For four years, the authors measured the albedo every 2.5 meters (8 feet) along a 200-m (656-ft) stretch of seasonal ice off the northern coast of Alaska. They find that though the albedo of snow-covered winter seasonal ice is the same as that of multiyear ice, the equivalence fades rapidly with the summer thaw. They find that seasonal sea ice albedos experience seven distinct phases: cold snow, melting snow, pond formation, pond drainage, pond evolution, open water, and refreezing. Though the albedos of seasonal and multiyear ice experience similar transitions, the rate and extent for the two types of ice vary drastically with the potential for a large effect on the Arctic Ocean energy budget. The authors find that over the course of one melt season nearly 40 percent more energy would enter an ocean system with seasonal sea ice cover than one with multiyear ice.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2012GL051432, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2012GL051432

Title: Albedo evolution of seasonal Arctic sea ice

Authors: Donald K. Perovich: CRREL, ERDC, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA and Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA;

Christopher Polashenski: CRREL, ERDC, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.


4. Properties of solitary waves in Lake Constance

Solitary waves-large individual waves that can travel long distances holding their shape, when normal waves would tend to flatten out-occur in oceans and in lakes, both on the surface and as internal waves below the surface. In lakes, these waves can affect circulation and mixing, and influence aquatic ecosystems, but many studies of the properties and effects of internal solitary waves in lakes are based on limited observations. From observations recorded over six years in Lake Constance, in Germany, Preusse et al. studied seasonal changes in the properties of internal solitary waves. Their study, which included 219 wave trains with a range of numbers of waves per train, amplitude, propagation depth, and other properties, shows that internal solitary waves are a regular occurrence. They find that a substantial number of the solitary waves are strongly nonlinear and that solitary wave properties vary with the stratification of the lake, which changes with season.

Source: Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans, doi:10.1029/2011JC007403, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011JC007403

Title: Seasonal variation of solitary wave properties in Lake Constance

Authors: M. Preusse: Limnological Institute, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany;

H. Freistuhler: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany;

F. Peeters: Limnological Institute, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.


5. How earthquake properties vary with depth

A new study shows systematically how seismic properties vary with depth. Lay et al. analyzed recent large and great earthquakes, including the 2004 Sumatra- Andaman (magnitude 9.2), 2010 Chile (magnitude 8.8), and 2011 Tohoku (magnitude 9.0) earthquakes. They define four domains of seismogenic behavior along megathrust faults according to depth. In domain A, the shallowest, reaching to about 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) below sea level, large tsunami-generating earthquakes can occur. In domain B, extending from about 15- to 35-km (9- to 22- mi) depth, great earthquake events with large slip but diffuse short-period energy occur. In domain C, from 35- to 55-km (22- to 34-mi) depth, smaller isolated megathrust patches rupture, producing bursts of coherent short-period energy in both great ruptures and in moderate-sized events. In domain D, which extends from about 30- to 45-km (19- to 28-mi) depth in subduction zones where relatively young ocean lithosphere is being underthrust with shallow plate dip, low-frequency earthquakes, seismic tremor, and slow slip events occur. Below this zone, stabile sliding or ductile flow takes place.

Source: Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth, doi:10.1029/2011JB009133, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011JB009133

Title: Depth-varying rupture properties of subduction zone megathrust faults

Authors: Thorne Lay: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA;

Hiroo Kanamori: Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA;

Charles J. Ammon: Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA;

Keith D. Koper: Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA;

Alexander R. Hutko: Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology Data Management Center, Seattle, Washington, USA;

Lingling Ye, Han Yue, and Teresa M. Rushing: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA.


6. Tracking a Jurassic reversal of the Earth's magnetic field

Roughly 180 million years ago, during the height of the Jurassic period, the Earth's magnetic field flipped, bringing the magnetic north pole once again into the Northern Hemisphere. This so-called van Zijl reversal, named for the researcher who first described it, is the second-oldest well-documented geomagnetic reversal. Such perturbations of the Earth's magnetic field, which tend to take place over about 10,000 years, and possibly much less, have been identified as occurring up to several billion, and as recently as 780,000, years ago. An open question exists about the effect of such reversals on the properties of the Earth's magnetic field, including the structure it takes, and the consequent effects on its shape, size, and strength. Drawing on newly identified records of the van Zijl reversal, Moulin et al. describe the serpentine travels of the transitional magnetic pole and the variable strength of the paleomagnetic field.

Analyzing the orientations of magnetic minerals found encased within rock samples drawn from an ancient lava field in Lesotho, a small country encompassed within South Africa, and from another field in South Africa itself, the authors tracked the shifting geographic location of the ancient magnetic pole. They find that over a short period, possibly only a few centuries, the pole leapt from a location oriented around 45 degrees south to one near 45 degrees north. The paleomagnetic pole then drifted through around 20 degrees latitude as it moved to the southeast. Finally, the pole moved to a stable location centered near the geographic north pole. The authors find that leading up to the magnetic reversal, the strength of the magnetic field weakened to roughly 10 - 20 percent of its normal value, a depression that only decayed once the pole's location stabilized.

Source: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, doi:10.1029/2011GC003910, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011GC003910

Title: The "van Zijl" Jurassic geomagnetic reversal revisited

Authors: Maud Moulin: Departement de Geologie, Universite Jean Monnet, Saint Etienne, France;

Vincent Courtillot, Frederic Fluteau, and Jean-Pierre Valet: Equipe de Paleomagnetisme, Institut de Physique du Globe, Paris, France and Sciences de la Terre, de l'Environnement et des Planetes, Universite Paris Diderot, Paris, France.

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[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 15-May-2012
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Contact: Mary Catherine Adams
mcadams@agu.org
202-777-7530
American Geophysical Union

The following highlights summarize research papers that have been recently published in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), Journal of Geophysical Research-Space Physics (JGR-A), Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth (JGR-B), Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans (JGR-C), and Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.

In this release:

  1. Mercury's magnetic field measured by MESSENGER orbiter
  2. Oxygen isotopes improve weather predictability in Niger
  3. Annual Arctic sea ice less reflective than old ice
  4. Properties of solitary waves in Lake Constance
  5. How earthquake properties vary with depth
  6. Tracking a Jurassic reversal of the Earth's magnetic field

Anyone may read the scientific abstract for any already-published paper by clicking on the link provided at the end of each Highlight. You can also read the abstract by going to http://www.agu.org/pubs/search_options.shtml and inserting into the search engine the full doi (digital object identifier), e.g. 10.1029/2011JA017268. The doi is found at the end of each Highlight below.

Journalists and public information officers (PIOs) at educational or scientific institutions who are registered with AGU also may download papers cited in this release by clicking on the links below. Instructions for members of the news media, PIOs, and the public for downloading or ordering the full text of any research paper summarized below are available at http://www.agu.org/news/press/papers.shtml.


1. Mercury's magnetic field measured by MESSENGER orbiter

Researchers working with NASA's Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft report the frequent detections of Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) waves at the edge of the innermost planet's magnetosphere. In six different sets of magnetic field measurements made by the orbiter as it passed through Mercury's magnetopause, the boundary that separates the planet's magnetosphere from the solar wind plasma in the magnetosheath, Sundberg et al. detect the magnetic field oscillations characteristic of fully developed KH waves. Kelvin-Helmholtz waves form when fluids of different speeds travel alongside each other-in this case, the magnetosphere and magnetosheath plasmas-and promote mixing of the plasmas on larger spatial scales, and shorter time scales, than diffusive transport. The observations, which span the first 88 days of MESSENGER's time in orbit, bring Mercury alongside Earth, Saturn, and Venus as planets for which such Kelvin-Helmholtz waves are of importance.

The waves seen at Mercury's magnetopause, however, differ markedly from those at Earth's. The authors' KH wave observations were all made in the postnoon and duskside region of Mercury's magnetosphere, whereas at Earth, KH waves are seen farther toward the nightside on both flanks. Moreover, the measured waves had periods averaging 10-20 seconds, whereas the periods of their terrestrial counterparts are several minutes. Also, the amplitudes of the measured magnetic field oscillations were 2-3 times larger than those seen at Earth. Wave growth at the magnetopause is known to be an important mechanism for transporting material across the largely impermeable boundary, and the authors propose that these newly identified Kelvin-Helmholtz waves could be the source of plasma for Mercury's dayside boundary layer, discovered previously by the MESSENGER mission.

Source: Journal of Geophysical Research-Space Physics, doi:10.1029/2011JA017268, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011JA017268

Title: MESSENGER orbital observations of large-amplitude Kelvin-Helmholtz waves at Mercury's magnetopause

Authors: Torbjorn Sundberg: Heliophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland, USA;

Scott A. Boardsen: Heliophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland, USA and Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center, University of Maryland, Maryland, USA;

James A. Slavin, Thomas H. Zurbuchen, and Jim M. Raines: Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Michigan, USA;

Brian J. Anderson and Haje Korth: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Maryland, USA;

Sean C. Solomon: Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, District of Columbia, USA.


2. Oxygen isotopes improve weather predictability in Niger

For the African nation of Niger, the effect of seasonal atmospheric variability on the weather is poorly understood. Because most residents rely on local agriculture, improving the predictability of seasonal weather and precipitation availability is crucial. In the summer of 2006, researchers measured the oxygen isotope ratio of rainwater collected in the nation's capital, Niamey, to determine the connection between intraseasonal atmospheric variability and precipitation. Water containing the heavier oxygen-18 isotope rains preferentially over the lighter oxygen-16 version, lighter water evaporates preferentially over the heavier molecule, and the oxygen isotope ratio decreases from the equator to the poles. Thus, the oxygen isotope ratio found in a water sample can indicate the water's history. Previous research found that precipitation oxygen isotope ratios could be used to understand convective processes, but to develop a more nuanced and continuous interpretation researchers need to understand the seasonal shifts in the background atmospheric water vapor ratio.

From July 2010 to May 2011, Tremoy et al. measured the atmospheric water vapor and precipitation oxygen isotope ratios in Niamey. They find that the water vapor ratio varied regularly throughout the year, with minima during both the summer monsoon and the winter dry season and maxima in between. The authors suggest that the summer decline is driven by convection associated with the monsoon and that the dry season decrease is due to both atmospheric subsidence and air arrivals from midlatitudes. The fall maxima are caused by weakening convection, and the spring peak is associated with oxygen-18 enriched air moving in from the south. The authors also detect a number of shorter-period shifts in water vapor isotopic composition, which they suggest are driven by convective processes, like evaporation and subsidence, and daily atmospheric mixing, potentially opening the door for oxygen isotope measurements to be used to study atmospheric variability and dynamics and thus the origin of Niger's moisture.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2012GL051298, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2012GL051298

Title: A 1-year long delta-O-18 record of water vapor in Niamey (Niger) reveals insightful atmospheric processes at different timescales

Authors: Guillaume Tremoy and Olivier Cattani: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, UMR 8212, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Gif-sur-Yvette, France;

Francoise Vimeux: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, UMR 8212, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Gif-sur-Yvette, France and Laboratoire HydroSciences Montpellier, UMR 5569, Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement, CNRS-IRD-UM1-UM2, Montpellier, France;

Salla Mayaki and Ide Souley: Institut des RadioIsotopes, Universite Abdou Moumouni de Niamey, Niamey, Niger;

Camille Risi: Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, UPMC-CNRS, Paris, France;

Guillaume Favreau and Monique Oi: Laboratoire HydroSciences Montpellier, UMR 5569, Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement, CNRS-IRD-UM1- UM2, Montpellier, France.


3. Annual Arctic sea ice less reflective than old ice

In the Arctic Ocean, the blanket of permanent sea ice is being progressively replaced by a transient winter cover. In recent years the extent of the northern ocean's ice cover has declined. The summer melt season is starting earlier, the winter freeze is happening later, the areal extent of the ice has decreased, and more ice is failing to last through the summer. A key uncertainty in this ongoing climate transformation is how seasonal sea ice affects and responds to climate dynamics as compared to the traditional multiyear sea ice. Tackling an important branch of this issue, Perovich and Polashenski analyze how the albedo of seasonal sea ice changes throughout the summer melt season. The ice's albedo affects how much sunlight enters the system and hence influences biological productivity, ice extent, and future rates of warming.

For four years, the authors measured the albedo every 2.5 meters (8 feet) along a 200-m (656-ft) stretch of seasonal ice off the northern coast of Alaska. They find that though the albedo of snow-covered winter seasonal ice is the same as that of multiyear ice, the equivalence fades rapidly with the summer thaw. They find that seasonal sea ice albedos experience seven distinct phases: cold snow, melting snow, pond formation, pond drainage, pond evolution, open water, and refreezing. Though the albedos of seasonal and multiyear ice experience similar transitions, the rate and extent for the two types of ice vary drastically with the potential for a large effect on the Arctic Ocean energy budget. The authors find that over the course of one melt season nearly 40 percent more energy would enter an ocean system with seasonal sea ice cover than one with multiyear ice.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2012GL051432, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2012GL051432

Title: Albedo evolution of seasonal Arctic sea ice

Authors: Donald K. Perovich: CRREL, ERDC, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA and Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA;

Christopher Polashenski: CRREL, ERDC, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.


4. Properties of solitary waves in Lake Constance

Solitary waves-large individual waves that can travel long distances holding their shape, when normal waves would tend to flatten out-occur in oceans and in lakes, both on the surface and as internal waves below the surface. In lakes, these waves can affect circulation and mixing, and influence aquatic ecosystems, but many studies of the properties and effects of internal solitary waves in lakes are based on limited observations. From observations recorded over six years in Lake Constance, in Germany, Preusse et al. studied seasonal changes in the properties of internal solitary waves. Their study, which included 219 wave trains with a range of numbers of waves per train, amplitude, propagation depth, and other properties, shows that internal solitary waves are a regular occurrence. They find that a substantial number of the solitary waves are strongly nonlinear and that solitary wave properties vary with the stratification of the lake, which changes with season.

Source: Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans, doi:10.1029/2011JC007403, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011JC007403

Title: Seasonal variation of solitary wave properties in Lake Constance

Authors: M. Preusse: Limnological Institute, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany;

H. Freistuhler: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany;

F. Peeters: Limnological Institute, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.


5. How earthquake properties vary with depth

A new study shows systematically how seismic properties vary with depth. Lay et al. analyzed recent large and great earthquakes, including the 2004 Sumatra- Andaman (magnitude 9.2), 2010 Chile (magnitude 8.8), and 2011 Tohoku (magnitude 9.0) earthquakes. They define four domains of seismogenic behavior along megathrust faults according to depth. In domain A, the shallowest, reaching to about 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) below sea level, large tsunami-generating earthquakes can occur. In domain B, extending from about 15- to 35-km (9- to 22- mi) depth, great earthquake events with large slip but diffuse short-period energy occur. In domain C, from 35- to 55-km (22- to 34-mi) depth, smaller isolated megathrust patches rupture, producing bursts of coherent short-period energy in both great ruptures and in moderate-sized events. In domain D, which extends from about 30- to 45-km (19- to 28-mi) depth in subduction zones where relatively young ocean lithosphere is being underthrust with shallow plate dip, low-frequency earthquakes, seismic tremor, and slow slip events occur. Below this zone, stabile sliding or ductile flow takes place.

Source: Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth, doi:10.1029/2011JB009133, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011JB009133

Title: Depth-varying rupture properties of subduction zone megathrust faults

Authors: Thorne Lay: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA;

Hiroo Kanamori: Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA;

Charles J. Ammon: Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA;

Keith D. Koper: Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA;

Alexander R. Hutko: Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology Data Management Center, Seattle, Washington, USA;

Lingling Ye, Han Yue, and Teresa M. Rushing: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA.


6. Tracking a Jurassic reversal of the Earth's magnetic field

Roughly 180 million years ago, during the height of the Jurassic period, the Earth's magnetic field flipped, bringing the magnetic north pole once again into the Northern Hemisphere. This so-called van Zijl reversal, named for the researcher who first described it, is the second-oldest well-documented geomagnetic reversal. Such perturbations of the Earth's magnetic field, which tend to take place over about 10,000 years, and possibly much less, have been identified as occurring up to several billion, and as recently as 780,000, years ago. An open question exists about the effect of such reversals on the properties of the Earth's magnetic field, including the structure it takes, and the consequent effects on its shape, size, and strength. Drawing on newly identified records of the van Zijl reversal, Moulin et al. describe the serpentine travels of the transitional magnetic pole and the variable strength of the paleomagnetic field.

Analyzing the orientations of magnetic minerals found encased within rock samples drawn from an ancient lava field in Lesotho, a small country encompassed within South Africa, and from another field in South Africa itself, the authors tracked the shifting geographic location of the ancient magnetic pole. They find that over a short period, possibly only a few centuries, the pole leapt from a location oriented around 45 degrees south to one near 45 degrees north. The paleomagnetic pole then drifted through around 20 degrees latitude as it moved to the southeast. Finally, the pole moved to a stable location centered near the geographic north pole. The authors find that leading up to the magnetic reversal, the strength of the magnetic field weakened to roughly 10 - 20 percent of its normal value, a depression that only decayed once the pole's location stabilized.

Source: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, doi:10.1029/2011GC003910, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011GC003910

Title: The "van Zijl" Jurassic geomagnetic reversal revisited

Authors: Maud Moulin: Departement de Geologie, Universite Jean Monnet, Saint Etienne, France;

Vincent Courtillot, Frederic Fluteau, and Jean-Pierre Valet: Equipe de Paleomagnetisme, Institut de Physique du Globe, Paris, France and Sciences de la Terre, de l'Environnement et des Planetes, Universite Paris Diderot, Paris, France.

###


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?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


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