A simple method to retrieve the complex eigenfrequency of the Earth's nearly diurnal-free wobble; application to the Strasbourg superconducting gravimeter data

International audienceWe have analysed more than four years of data from the Strasbourg superconducting gravimeter to retrieve the period and damping of the nearly diurnal-free wobble (NDFW). The removal of noise spikes is found to be crucial for an accurate determination of tidal-wave amplitudes and phases. A new simple algorithm is derived which allows an analytical solution for the NDFW pertod and damping using the complex gravimetric factors of three resonant diurnal waves. The results show a huge reduction of the confidence intervals when compared with a previous investigation from a Lacoste Romberg spring meter operated at the same station. Our results are in close agreement with values obtained from two other European superconducting gravimeters. The results are also compared with respect to values inferred from very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) measurements

Measurements of atmospheric electricity aloft

Measurements of the electrical characteristics of the atmosphere above the surface have been made for over 200 years, from a variety of different platforms, including kites, balloons, rockets and aircraft. From these measurements, a great deal of information about the electrical characteristics of the atmosphere has been gained, assisting our understanding of the global atmospheric electric circuit, thunderstorm electrification and lightning generation mechanisms, discovery of transient luminous events above thunderstorms, and many other electrical phenomena. This paper surveys the history of atmospheric electrical measurements aloft, from the earliest manned balloon ascents to current day observations with free balloons and aircraft. Measurements of atmospheric electrical parameters in a range of meteorological conditions are described, including clear air conditions, polluted conditions, non-thunderstorm clouds, and thunderstorm clouds, spanning a range of atmospheric conditions, from fair weather, to the most electrically active

Influence of liquid core dynamics on rotational modes

We investigate the influence of the structure and dynamics of the liquid outer core on the Earth's rotational modes through the squared Brunt-Vaisala frequency N-2. The frequencies of the rotational modes are embedded into the continuous spectrum of inertia-gravity modes, which is governed in the complex domain by N2 and the Earth's rotation speed. By solving the equations for the normal modes of a rotating ellipsoidal elastic earth model and varying the N-2 parameter, we show interactions between pseudo-modes of the liquid core and three rotational modes: the Chandler Wobble (CW), Free Inner Core Nutation (FICN) and Free Core Nutation (FCN). The interaction between pseudo-modes of the outer core and the CW gives rise to avoided crossings, which result in two modes sharing similar displacements, that is, an almost rigid wobble of the mantle and oscillations in the outer core having roughly the same amplitude. The corresponding eigenperiods in a corotating frame of reference are separated by a few days. Avoided crossings are also the only kind of interaction that occurs between core pseudo-modes and the FICN. The coupling is stronger than for the CW, the eigenperiods being a few hundred days apart in an inertial frame of reference. The eigenfunctions are mixed in such a way that the amplitude of the nutation of the inner core is an order of magnitude bigger than the oscillations in the outer core. The FCN shows weaker interactions with the pseudo-modes of the core. However, the shift of its nutation period can reach up to 15 d. Consequently, our results show that the angular momentum approach through Liouville's equations is not sufficient to describe fully the nutational modes