Flows in clumpy planetary nebulae

The dynamics of clumps observed in planetary nebulae are considered. The possibility that SiO maser spots in evolved stars and the planetary nebula clumps are formed by the Parker instability behind shocks in pulsating stars' atmospheres is raised. Molecular observations of the clumps are suggested. The effects of the ablation of clumps on the global flow structure of a more tenuous plasma in which they are embedded are reviewed.     

A MESO-β SCALE SIMULATION OF THE EFFECTS OF BOREAL FOREST ECOSYSTEM ON THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE

Based on the Intensive Field Campaign(IFC-1)data of Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study(BOREAS).a three-dimensional meso-β scale model is used to simulate the effect of boreal forests onthe lower atmosphere.A fine horizontal resolution of 2 km×2 km is used in order to distinguish thevegetative heterogeneity in the boreal region.A total of 20×25 grid points cover the entire sub-modeling area in BOREAS' South Study Area(SSA).The ecosystem types and their coverage ineach grid square are extracted from the North American Land Cover Characteristics Data Base(NALCCD)generated by the U.S.Geographical Survey(USGS)and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln(UNL).The topography of the study area is taken from the Digital Elevation Map(DEM)of USGS.The model outputs include the components of the energy balance budget within the canopyand at the ground.the turbulence parameters in the atmospheric boundary layer and the wind.temperature and humidity profiles extending up to a height of 1500 m.In addition to the fine timeand spatial step,the unique feature of the present model is the incorporation of both dynamic andbiological effects of the Boreal forest into the model parameterization scheme.The model resultscompare favorably with BOREAS' IFC-1 data in 1994 when the forest was in the luxuriant growingperiod.     

Risk assessment strategies for the reactivation of earth flows in the Northern Apennines (Italy)

The aim of this paper is to analyze the reactivation mechanism of ancient earth flows, with a view to gleaning information that can subsequently be utilized to formulate a risk-reduction strategy. All considerations made herein are the result of direct experience and observation of actual events which have occurred over the past few decades in the Northern Apennines. Particular attention has been paid to the analysis of the evolution of landslides during actual reactivation, acknowledging a typical, recurring succession of events that precede the failure of the slope. The hazard assessment of these large landslide bodies, which are of slope scale, constitutes a thorny problem, especially in view of the inapplicability of traditional deterministic models such as limit equilibrium stability analysis. Nevertheless, a site-specific assessment of probability of reactivation of these large and ancient earth flows is fundamental to effective land-use planning.     

Study on the characteristics of the marine boundary layer in the Equatorial Pacific

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Application of back-propagation networks in debris flow prediction

Debris flows have caused serious loss of human lives and a lot of damage to properties in Taiwan over the past decades. Moreover, debris flows have brought massive mud causing water pollution in reservoirs and resulted in water shortage for daily life locally and affected agricultural irrigation and industrial usages seriously. A number of methods for prediction of debris flows have been studied. However, the successful prediction ratio of debris flows cannot always maintain a stable and reliable level. The objective of this study is to present a stable and reliable analytical model for occurrence predictions of debris flows. This study proposes an Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) model that was constructed by seven significant factors using back-propagation (BP) algorithm. These seven factors include (1) length of creek, (2) average slope, (3) effective watershed area, (4) shape coefficient, (5) median size of soil grain, (6) effective cumulative rainfall, and (7) effective rainfall intensity. A total of 178 potential cases of debris flows collected in eastern Taiwan were fed into the ANN model for training and testing. The average ratio of successful prediction reaching 93.82% demonstrates that the presented ANN model with seven significant factors can provide a stable and reliable result for the prediction of debris flows in hazard mitigation and guarding systems.     

Observations Of Nocturnal Drainage Flow In A Shallow Gully

The formation of cold air drainage flows in a shallow gully is studied during CASES-99 (Cooperative Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Study). Fast and slow response wind and temperature measurements were obtained on an instrumented 10-m tower located in the gully and from a network of thermistors and two-dimensional sonic anemometers, situated across the gully. Gully flow formed on clear nights even with significant synoptic flow. Large variations in surface temperature developed within an hour after sunset and in situ cooling was the dominant factor in wind sheltered locations. The depth of the drainage flow and the height of the down-gully wind speed maximum were found to be largest when the external wind speed above the gully flow is less than 2 m s^-1. The shallow drainage current is restricted to a depth of a few metres, and is deepest when the stratification is stronger and the external flow is weaker. During the night the drainage flow breaks down, sometimes on several occasions, due to intermittent turbulence and downward fluxes of heat and momentum. The near surface temperature may increase by 6 ° C in less than 30 min due to the vertical convergence of downward heat flux. The mixing events are related to acceleration of the flow above the gully flow and decreased Richardson number. These warming events also lead to warming of the near surface soil and reduction of the upward soil heat flux. To examine the relative importance of different physical mechanisms that could contribute to the rapid warming, and to characterize the turbulence generated during the intermittent turbulent periods, the sensible heat budget is analyzed and the behaviour of different turbulent parameters is discussed.     

Reconciling pyroclastic flow and surge: the multiphase physics of pyroclastic density currents

Two end-member types of pyroclastic density current are commonly recognized: pyroclastic surges are dilute currents in which particles are carried in turbulent suspension and pyroclastic flows are highly concentrated flows. We provide scaling relations that unify these end-members and derive a segregation mechanism into basal concentrated flow and overriding dilute cloud based on the Stokes number (S_T), the stability factor (Σ_T) and the dense-dilute condition (D_D). We recognize five types of particle behaviors within a fluid eddy as a function of S_T and Σ_T: (1) particles sediment from the eddy, (2) particles are preferentially settled out during the downward motion of the eddy, but can be carried during its upward motion, (3) particles concentrate on the periphery of the eddy, (4) particles settling can be delayed or ‘fast-tracked’ as a function of the eddy spatial distribution, and (5) particles remain homogeneously distributed within the eddy. We extend these concepts to a fully turbulent flow by using a prototype of kinetic energy distribution within a full eddy spectrum and demonstrate that the presence of different particle sizes leads to the density stratification of the current. This stratification may favor particle interactions in the basal part of the flow and D_D determines whether the flow is dense or dilute. Using only intrinsic characteristics of the current, our model explains the discontinuous features between pyroclastic flows and surges while conserving the concept of a continuous spectrum of density currents.     

人类活动对黄河中游高含沙水流的影响

以黄河中游干流和渭河、无定河的资料研究了人类活动对黄土高原河流高含沙水流的发生频率的影响。人类破坏森林植被，大量拦截黄河上游清水来源区的清水基流，使得高含沙水流发生频率增大，大规模水土保持措施的实施则使高含沙水流发生频率迅速减小。近50年来黄河干流和一些支流的高含沙水流随时间的变化可以用一个三阶段模式来概括，即20世纪50-60年代，由于人类破坏植被，使高含水流频率增大；20世纪60年代末至80年代中期，大规模水土保持措施的实施使高含沙水流发生的频率减小；20世纪80年代末期以来，人类大量拦截利用清水资源，使高含沙水流的发生频率又复增大。     

Simulation of marine boundary layer characteristics using a 1-D PBL model over the Bay of Bengal during BOBMEX-99

The characteristic features of the marine boundary layer (MBL) over the Bay of Bengal during the southwest monsoon and the factors influencing it are investigated. The Bay of Bengal and Monsoon Experiment (BOBMEX) carried out during July–August 1999 is the first observational experiment under the Indian Climate Research Programme (ICRP). A very high-resolution data in the vertical was obtained during this experiment, which was used to study the MBL characteristics off the east coast of India in the north and south Bay of Bengal. Spells of active and suppressed convection over the Bay were observed, of which, three representative convective episodes were considered for the study. For this purpose a one-dimensional multi-level PBL model with a TKE-ε closure scheme was used. The soundings, viz., the vertical profiles of temperature, humidity, zonal and meridional component of wind, obtained onboard ORV Sagar Kanya and from coastal stations along the east coast are used for the study. The temporal evolution of turbulent kinetic energy, marine boundary layer height (MBLH), sensible and latent heat fluxes and drag coefficient of momentum are simulated for different epochs of monsoon and monsoon depressions during BOBMEX-99.The model also generates the vertical profiles of potential temperature, specific humidity, zonal and meridional wind. These simulated values compared reasonably well with the observations available from BOBMEX.