A multiwavelength study of an M-class flare and the origin of an associated eruption from NOAA AR 11045

In this paper, we study multiwavelength observations of an M6.4 flare in Active Region NOAA 11045 on 7 February 2010. The space- and ground-based observations from STEREO, SoHO/MDI, EIT, and Nobeyama Radioheliograph were used for the study. This active region rapidly appeared at the north-eastern limb with an unusual emergence of a magnetic field. We find a unique observational signature of the magnetic field configuration at the flare site. Our observations show a change from dipolar to quadrapolar topology. This change in the magnetic field configuration results in its complexity and a build-up of the flare energy. We did not find any signature of magnetic flux cancellation during this process. We interpret the change in the magnetic field configuration as a consequence of the flux emergence and photospheric flows that have opposite vortices around the pair of opposite polarity spots. The negative-polarity spot rotating counterclockwise breaks the positive-polarity spot into two parts. The STEREO-A 195 Å and STEREO-B 171 Å coronal images during the flare reveal that a twisted flux tube expands and erupts resulting in a coronal mass ejection (CME). The formation of co-spatial bipolar radio contours at the same location also reveals the ongoing reconnection process above the flare site and thus the acceleration of non-thermal particles. The reconnection may also be responsible for the detachment of a ring-shaped twisted flux tube that further causes a CME eruption with a maximum speed of 446 km/s in the outer corona.     

An ensemble forecast of the South China Sea monsoon

1.IntroductionThispaperexploresanensembleforecaststrategyforthelarge--scaletropicalpredictionproblem.Thisisgeneralizedfromarecentstudyontheuseofempiricalorthogonalfunction(EOF)--basedperturbationsforhurricanetrackensembleforecasts,(ZhangandKrishnamur...     

Impacts of Weather Conditions Modified by Urban Expansion on Surface Ozone： Comparison between the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta Regions

In this paper, the online weather research and forecasting and chemistry (WRF-Chem) model is used to explore the impacts of urban expansion on regional weather conditions and its implication on surface ozone concentrations over the Pearl River Delta(PRD) and Yangtze River Delta(YRD) regions. Two scenarios of urban maps are used in the WRF-Chem to represent the early 1990s (pre-urbanization) and the current urban distribution in the PRD and the YRD. Month-long simulation results using the above land-use scenarios for March 2001 show that urbanization increases both the day- and night-time 2-m temperatures by about 0.6^oC and 1.4^oC, respectively. Daytime reduction in the wind speed by about 3.0 m s^-1 is larger than that for the nighttime (0.5 to 2 m s^-1). The daytime increase in the PBL height (> 200 m) is also larger than the nighttime (50--100 m). The meteorological conditions modified by urbanization lead to detectable ozone-concentration changes in the PRD and the YRD. Urbanization increases the nighttime surface-ozone concentrations by about 4.7%--8.5% and by about 2.9%--4.2% for the daytime. In addition to modifying individual meteorological variables, urbanization also enhances the convergence zones, especially in the PRD. More importantly, urbanization has different effects on the surface ozone for the PRD and the YRD, presumably due to their urbanization characteristics and geographical locations. Even though the PRD has a smaller increase in the surface temperature than the YRD, it has (a) weaker surface wind speed, (b) smaller increase in PBL heights, and (c) stronger convergence zones. The latter three factors outweighed the temperature increase and resulted in a larger ozone enhancement in the PRD than the YRD.     

Strain variation in fold-and-thrust belts: Implications for construction of retrodeformable models

Deformation in fold-and-thrust belts such as the Himalayas can be represented by the displacement vector field. The strain component of the displacement vector field across the fold-and-thrust belt varies from near zero in external thrust sheets to a significant part of the field in internal thrust sheets. In addition, strain exhibits three-dimensional patterns in parts of internal sheets, near fault zones, and in the overturned limbs of fault-related folds due to superposition of penetrative-strain producing deformation events. This paper examines superposition of these strain producing deformation events in some detail and points out situations in fold-and-thrust belts wherein the finite strain becomes three-dimensional. This suggests that the plane-strain assumption used in the construction of retrodeformable models of fold-and-thrust belt evolution breaks down in these situations and the models lose their validity. Therefore, current techniques used for construction of retrodeformable models in fold-and-thrust belts need to be modified and three-dimensional models which include three-dimensional finite and incremental strain data need to be constructed for an accurate study of the evolution of geometry and kinematics in fold-and-thrust belts.     

Pre-seismic, co-seismic and post-seismic displacements associated with the Bhuj 2001 earthquake derived from recent and historic geodetic data

The 26th January 2001 Bhuj earthquake occurred in the Kachchh Rift Basin which has a long history of major earthquakes. Great Triangulation Survey points (GTS) were first installed in the area in 1856–60 and some of these were measured using Global Positioning System (GPS) in the months of February and July 2001. Despite uncertainties associated with repairs and possible reconstruction of points in the past century, the re-measurements reveal pre-seismic, co-seismic and post-seismic deformation related to Bhuj earthquake. More than 25 Μ-strain contraction north of the epicenter appears to have occurred in the past 140 years corresponding to a linear convergence rate of approximately 10 mm/yr across the Rann of Kachchh. Motion of a single point at Jamnagar 150 km south of the epicenter in the 4 years prior to the earthquake, and GTS-GPS displacements in Kathiawar suggests that pre-seismic strain south of the epicenter was small and differs insignificantly from that measured elsewhere in India. Of the 20 points measured within 150 km of the epicenter, 12 were made at existing GTS points which revealed epicentral displacements of up to 1 m, and strain changes exceeding 30 Μ-strain. Observed displacements are consistent with reverse co-seismic slip. Re-measurements in July 2001 of one GTS point (Hathria) and eight new points established in February reveal post-seismic deformation consistent with continued slip on the Bhuj rupture zone.     

Overtaking collision of two ion acoustic soliton in a plasma with a q-nonextensive electron and thermal positrons

Theoretically the propagation of two ion acoustic soliton interaction in a three component collisionless unmagnetized plasma which consists of electrons, positrons and cold ions, has been investigated here by employing reductive perturbation technique. In this study, q distributed electrons and Maxwell-Boltzmann distributed positrons are considered and Korteweged-de Vries (KdV) equation is derived. The KdV equation is solved to get two soliton solution by using Hirota bilinear method. The effects of the q distributed electrons on the profiles of two soliton structures and the corresponding phase shifts are investigated. It is observed that both the nonextensive parameter (q) and the ratio of positrons density and electron density (p=n _p0/n _e0), play a significant role in the formation and existence of two soliton and also in the nature of their phase shifts.     

Basalt-rhyolite volcanism by MORB-continental crust interaction: Nd,Sr-isotopic and geochemical evidence from southern San Joaquin Basin,California

The early miocene Tecuya volcanic center in the southern San Joaquin basin of California consists of flows and tuffs of basalt and rhyolite that erupted, closely spaced in time, in both submarine and subaerial conditions. The rhyolites are overlain by the basalts and constitute approximately 45% of a total of at least 180 km³ of the Tecuya volcanic rocks. The basalts have _Nd(t) values of +2 to +6 and (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_i values between 0.7035 and 0.7052. These rocks show LREE enrichment [(La/Yb)_N =2.4–5.5; La=28–150 times chondrite] and higher Th/U, Th/Ta, Rb/Ta, Ba/Ta, Cs/Rb but lower K/Rb ratios than MORB. Combined major- and trace-element, and Sr–Nd isotopic data suggest the involvement of subcontinental lithosphere, depleted upper mantle source (MORB), and local continental crust in the basalt petrogenesis. _Nd(t) values in rhyolites vary from +1.5 to +3.7 while (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_i ratios range from 0.7051 to 0.7064. The rhyolites display LREE enrichment [(La/Yb)_N=10; La=100 times chondrite] along with a distinct negative Eu anomaly (Eu/Eu^*=0.75) and depletion of Ti and P. Mixing relations in (⁸⁷/⁸⁶Sr)_i – _Nd(t) space among basalts, rhyolites, and local continental crust indicate that the Tecuya rhyolites were produced by assimilation of variable amounts of continental crust by MORB-related magmas and subcontinental lithosphere-derived melts. This conclusion is supported by the synchroneity of Tecuya volcanism at 22 Ma with interaction of a segment of the East Pacific Rise along the southern California margin. The Tecuya volcanic rocks thus provide an example for the generation of rhyolitic melts owing to crustal assimilation by basaltic melts during mid-oceanic ridge-induced magmatism along a continental margin.     

On heating of solar active regions by magnetic energy dissipation

The Tucker's proposal of heating of active regions by magnetic energy dissipation has been found to be unsatisfactory in its present form because it predicts unacceptably high values of the twisting velocity for the magnetic field.     

Head on collision of dust ion acoustic solitary waves in magnetized quantum dusty plasmas

The Head on collision of dust ion acoustic solitary waves (DIASWs) in a magnetized quantum dusty plasma is investigated. Two sides Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equations are obtained, the analytical phase shifts and the trajectories after the head-on collision of two DIASWs in a three species quantum dusty plasma are derive by using the extended version of Poincaré-Lighthill-Kuo (PLK) method. It is observed that the phase shifts are significantly affected by the quantum parameters like quantum diffraction, the ion cyclotron frequency and the ratio of the densities of electrons to ions.