Recent observations of meteotsunamis on the Finnish coast

We present four case studies of exceptional wave events of meteorological origin, observed on the Finnish coast in the summers of 2010 and 2011. Eyewitnesses report unusually rapid and strong sea-level variations (up to 1 m in 5–15 min) and strong oscillating currents during these events. High-resolution sea-level measurements confirm the eyewitness observations, but the oscillations recorded by tide gauges mostly have a considerably smaller amplitude. The oscillations coincide with sudden jumps in surface air pressure at coastal observation stations, related to the passage of squall lines or gust fronts. These fronts propagate above the sea at a resonant speed, allowing efficient energy transfer between the atmospheric disturbance and the sea wave that it generates. Thus, we interpret the observed sea-level oscillations as small meteotsunamis, long tsunami-like waves generated by meteorological processes and resonance effects.     

Interaction of the Large Magellanic Cloud with the halo population and the companions of the Galaxy

Numerical simulations have been performed in order to study the gravitational interaction between the outlying population of the Galaxy and the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The following effects have been noted: (1) halo objects are partially removed from the orbital distance of the LMC such that a local minimum is created in the radial density profile; (2) a large number of halo objects go into escape orbits. This possibility makes the determination of the mass of the Galaxy by virial theorem arguments unreliable; (3) the orbit of the LMC decays faster than what one would expect on the basis of the classical dynamical friction calculation. The excess friction derives from three-body effects, which are not accounted for in the classical dynamical friction. Finally, the fates of globular clusters and dwarf galaxies near the Galaxy and the LMC are discussed.     

Symplectic Tangent map for Planetary Motions

Equations are presented for the computation of tangent maps for use in nearly Keplerian motion, approximated by use of a symplectic leapfrog map. The resulting algorithms constitute more accurate and efficient methods to obtain the Liapunov exponents and the state transition matrix, and can be used to study chaos in planetary motions, as well as in orbit determination procedures from observations. Applications include planetary systems, satellite motions and hierarchical, nearly Keplerian systems in general. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Faults in crystalline rock and the estimation of their mechanical properties at the Olkiluoto site,western Finland

Brittle deformation zones at the Olkiluoto nuclear repository site in western Finland play critical roles in the strength and hydrology of the host rock mass. We present a procedure implemented there for incorporating information on deformation zones obtained through boreholes into quantitative engineering design. First, ductile and brittle deformation zones are classified based on their characteristics in drillhole cores as brittle joint clusters, brittle fault zones, or semi-brittle fault zones, with an awareness of the geologic processes that caused the zones to develop as they did. Next, it is shown that the mechanical properties of the brittle deformation zones can be calculated by one of several methods, each of which has advantages and disadvantages. The site geology must be kept in mind at all stages to arrive at meaningful estimates of the mechanical properties of the deformation zones.     

Geometric test field calibration of digital photogrammetric sensors

Test field system calibration will be a fundamental part of the future photogrammetric production line. Accurate calibration and performance evaluations are necessary for fully assessing the stability and accuracy of digital sensing techniques. In this paper, a method of comprehensive geometric calibration in a test field has been developed and empirically tested using eight image blocks collected with three UltraCamD digital large format photogrammetric cameras. Permanent photogrammetric test fields form the basis of the method. Important components of the method are determination of system parameters, evaluation of systematic errors, and assessment of geometric accuracy. The results showed that UltraCamD images contained systematic deformations that could not be modeled with single lens additional parameter models. Good point determination accuracy was obtained despite the systematic errors; the typical accuracy was 2–3 μm in image space in the horizontal coordinates and 0.05–0.09‰ of the object distance in height. One of the cameras had significantly poorer performance. In the worst cases, the horizontal accuracy was 5 μm in image space and the height accuracy was 0.18‰ of the object distance. The analog cameras gave better results than the UltraCamD, but the development of appropriate mathematical models for UltraCamD as well as improvements in digital sensors may change the situation in the near future.     

On the stability of high inclination Trojans

Numerical integrations have been performed for orbits of Venus', Earth's and Mars' Trojan-asteroid test particles in a self consistent model of the solar system to study the stability of inclined Trojan orbits. In the case of Mars low inclination orbits tend to be unstable while the contrary seems to apply to Venus and Earth, although the stability of some very high inclination orbits may not be excluded on the basis of these computations.     

Constraints on majoron models, neutrino masses and baryogenesis

We derive strong constraints on the Yukawa couplings and the vacuum expectation value in the singlet majoron model. The presence of a small gravitationally induced mass for the majoron can be used to set a constraint on its vacuum expectation value. If the singlet symmetry breaking scale is larger than the electroweak symmetry breaking scale, lepton number violating interactions in equilibrium with electroweak sphaleron interactions would destroy any prior baryon asymmetry. If the baryon asymmetry is not generated at the electroweak scale or later, strong bounds on the Yukawa couplings h 10⁻⁷ and VEVs v_s < v_EW are derived. We also carefully rederive baryogenesis bounds on neutrino masses, finding that in general they apply not to the masses themselves, but only to related parameters, and they are numerically somewhat less stringent than has previously been claimed.