Rotational enhancement of Doppler measurements of solar and stellar hexadecapole oscillations

Rotational enhancement of the sensitivity of whole-disk Doppler observations of solar oscillations may permit the measurement of five-minute modes with l = 4. We estimate from superposed power spectra of artificial solar data that there might be identifiable power lying above the noise in the data acquired by Pallé et al. (1986), which could provide confirmation of the rotational splitting measured by Duvall and Harvey (1984).     

From smallholders to transnationals: The impact of changing consumer preferences in the EU on Ghana’s pineapple sector

This paper explores the impact that a new type of pineapple, and subsequent changing consumer preferences in the Global North, has had on the livelihoods of pineapple growers in Ghana. The paper starts by tracing how research and development in Costa Rica by the world’s largest producers of pineapple, Del Monte and Dole, have resulted in a new variety MD2. This new pineapple type has been marketed in the EU through campaigns carried out by plantation companies via supermarkets. Consumer preferences have subsequently switched to MD2 away from the varieties which previously dominated the market, including the Ghanaian grown Smooth Cayenne. Ghanaian smallholders have experienced a dramatic drop in the demand for Smooth Cayenne and are unable to switch to growing MD2. The Ghanaian pineapple sector is consequently being restructured with large-scale pineapple farms, principally run by transnational companies, growing large quantities of MD2 for export. Through a detailed empirical study of the changing livelihoods of pineapple growers in two settlements in Ghana, we show how smallholders have been affected in differing ways as transnational companies have increasingly entered the market. Recent attempts to incorporate smallholders as producers of niche pineapple products are discussed. The paper illustrates the mutual benefits of linking global value chain analysis with livelihood analysis.     

On the Principal Asteroseismic Diagnostic Signatures

Many stellar model calibrations against seismic data will utilize justthe so-called large and small frequency separations. In this report Iexplain in physical terms, based on resonance conditions forconstructive interference between simple waves,why those frequency separations depend on the variation of sound speedthrough the star in the manner in which they do. By so doing I hope toincrease appreciation of the nature of the stellar calibrations,and thereby provide a means for assessing the credibility of the results.     

On the excitation mechanism in roAp stars

We investigate a model for the excitation of high-order oscillations in roAp stars. In this model we assume that the strong concentration of magnetic field about the magnetic poles is enough to suppress convection. Thus the model considered is composed of two polar regions, in which convection is presumed to be suppressed totally, and an equatorial region, where the convection is unaffected. This model is generated by building pairs of locally spherically symmetrical equilibria to represent the polar and equatorial regions of the star, which are patched together below the base of the convection zone. Gravitational settling of heavy elements is taken into account by choosing appropriate chemical composition profiles for both the polar and equatorial regions. Our results indicate that the composite model is unstable against axisymmetric non-radial high-order modes of pulsation that are aligned with the magnetic poles. The oscillations are excited by the κ mechanism acting principally in the hydrogen ionization zones of the polar regions. The effect of the lateral inhomogeneity on the second frequency differences is also investigated; we find that the perturbation to them by the inhomogeneity is of the same order as the second differences themselves, thereby hindering potential attempts to use such differences to identify the degrees of the modes in a straightforward way.     

An asteroseismic signature of helium ionization

We investigate the influence of the ionization of helium on the low-degree acoustic oscillation frequencies in model solar-type stars. The signature in the oscillation frequencies characterizing the ionization-induced depression of the first adiabatic exponent γ is a superposition of two decaying periodic functions of frequency ν, with 'frequencies' that are approximately twice the acoustic depths of the centres of the He  i and He  ii ionization regions. That variation is probably best exhibited in the second frequency difference  Δ₂ν _{n ,  l} ≡ν _{n −1,  l} − 2ν _{n ,  l} +ν _{n +1,  l}   . We show how an analytic approximation to the variation of γ leads to a simple representation of this oscillatory contribution to Δ₂ν which can be used to characterize the γ variation, our intention being to use it as a seismic diagnostic of the helium abundance of the star. We emphasize that the objective is to characterize γ, not merely to find a formula for Δ₂ν that reproduces the data.     

Isopycnal mixing and convective adjustment in an ocean general circulation model

Abstract

Convective adjustment is examined in an ocean general circulation model which uses an isopycnal mixing parametrization. It is found that the use of an explicit convective adjustment scheme is not needed in a variety of equilibria and climate change scenario simulations. A numerical mechanism is proposed to explain this as well as the localized appearance of ‘negative’ diffusion.     

Trend analysis of long-term temperature time series in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)

As the majority of the world’s population is living in urban environments, there is growing interest in studying local urban climates. In this paper, for the first time, the long-term trends (31–162 years) of temperature change have been analyzed for the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Annual and seasonal time series for a number of urban, suburban, and rural weather stations are considered. Non-parametric statistical techniques such as Mann–Kendall test and Theil-Sen slope estimation are used primarily for the assessing of the significance and detection of trends, and the sequential Mann test is used to detect any abrupt climate change. Statistically significant trends for annual mean and minimum temperatures are detected for almost all stations in the GTA. Winter is found to be the most coherent season contributing substantially to the increase in annual minimum temperature. The analyses of the abrupt changes in temperature suggest that the beginning of the increasing trend in Toronto started after the 1920s and then continued to increase to the 1960s. For all stations, there is a significant increase of annual and seasonal (particularly winter) temperatures after the 1980s. In terms of the linkage between urbanization and spatiotemporal thermal patterns, significant linear trends in annual mean and minimum temperature are detected for the period of 1878–1978 for the urban station, Toronto, while for the rural counterparts, the trends are not significant. Also, for all stations in the GTA that are situated in all directions except south of Toronto, substantial temperature change is detected for the periods of 1970–2000 and 1989–2000. It is concluded that the urbanization in the GTA has significantly contributed to the increase of the annual mean temperatures during the past three decades. In addition to urbanization, the influence of local climate, topography, and larger scale warming are incorporated in the analysis of the trends.     

A new method for estimating high-frequency radar error using data from Central San Francisco Bay

This study offers a new method for estimating High-Frequency (HF) radar surface current velocity error in data comparisons with other types of instrumentation. A new method is needed in order to remove the zero-mean random spatial and temporal fluctuations present in surface-current measurements from all sensors. Conventional methods for calculating radar error when comparing with another instrument have included their root mean square differences and scatter plots that provide correlation coefficient and slope/intercept of the regression line. It seems that a meaningful estimate of radar error should attempt to remove both sensors’ zero mean random fluctuations, inasmuch as possible. We offer and compare a method that does this. The method was tested on data collected in the Central San Francisco Bay, where GPS surface-drifter deployments were conducted within the coverage of four 42 MHz radars over six days in October of 2008. Drifters were continuously deployed in these areas over the sampling days, providing 525 usable drifter measurements. Drifter and radar measurements were averaged into thirty-minute time bins. The three-day long-term averages from the sampling areas were then subtracted from the thirtyminute averages to remove biases associated with comparisons done with short, disjoint time-sample periods. These were then used to develop methods that give radar error or bias after the random fluctuations have been removed. Results for error estimates in this study are commensurate with others where random fluctuations have been filtered, suggesting they are valid. The estimated error for the radars in the SF Bay is low, ranging from ?7.57 cm/s to 0.59 cm/s.     

Examining past temperature variability in Moosonee, Thunder Bay, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada through a day-to-day variability framework

Temperature variability in Moosonee, Thunder Bay, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada is examined through a day-to-day variability framework. Statistical measures used in this study include standard deviation (SD), day-to-day temperature variability (DTD), DTD/SD ratio (G), change in day-to-day variability (ΔDTD), and threshold measures of 5°C and 10°C. ΔDTD is the difference between day-to-day change in temperature maximum (DTDtmax) and day-to-day change in temperature minimum (DTDtmin). A distinct seasonal trend is reflected in DTD in Moosonee, Thunder Bay, and Toronto, where ΔDTD is greatest during spring. Monthly ΔDTD averages in Toronto, Thunder Bay, and Moosonee are affected by seasonal variation, the lake effect, and the freeze-up of nearby waterbodies. Yearly averages of ΔDTD have significantly increased over the past recent years in Moosonee and Thunder Bay; a continual increase in climate variability may be detrimental to the subsistence lifestyle of those living in these areas.