Experiments and Numerical Simulations on the Mid-Term Evolution of Hypersonic Jets

The experiment described here is focussed to the observation of underexpanded, hypersonic turbulent jets. The experiment is relevant to a few aspects concerning the dynamics of astrophysical phenomena such as the Herbig-Haro jets and to the interaction between the large-scale vortices and the system of shocks that determine the spreading and entrainment properties of highly compressible free-flows. A number of orifice jets with a ratio between the stagnation pressure and the ambient pressure of the order 10³-10⁴ have been studied by changing the stagnation/ambient density ratio. This has been realized using dissimilar gases in the jet and in the ambient medium: by using He, Ar and air the stagnation/ambient density ratio can be changed by one order of magnitude while keeping fixed the pressure ratio. It has been possible to visualize the near and mid-term evolution of the jets and measure the axial and transversal density distributions. A comparison relevant to the shock waves configuration in between the nozzle exit and the first Mach's disk is shown for an air in air laboratory jet and its numerical simulation.     

Water-table and discharge changes associated with the 2016–2017 seismic sequence in central Italy: hydrogeological data and a conceptual model for fractured carbonate aquifers

A seismic sequence in central Italy from August 2016 to January 2017 affected groundwater dynamics in fractured carbonate aquifers. Changes in spring discharge, water-table position, and streamflow were recorded for several months following nine Mw 5.0–6.5 seismic events. Data from 22 measurement sites, located within 100 km of the epicentral zones, were analyzed. The intensity of the induced changes were correlated with seismic magnitude and distance to epicenters. The additional post-seismic discharge from rivers and springs was found to be higher than 9 m³/s, totaling more than 0.1 km³ of groundwater release over 6 months. This huge and unexpected contribution increased streamflow in narrow mountainous valleys to previously unmeasured peak values. Analogously to the L’Aquila 2009 post-earthquake phenomenon, these hydrogeological changes might reflect an increase of bulk hydraulic conductivity at the aquifer scale, which would increase hydraulic heads in the discharge zones and lower them in some recharge areas. The observed changes may also be partly due to other mechanisms, such as shaking and/or squeezing effects related to intense subsidence in the core of the affected area, where effects had maximum extent, or breaching of hydraulic barriers.

     

Style Transfer applied to CT image downscaling: a study case from Brazilian Coquinas

Computational Geosciences - The identification of micropore systems in carbonate rocks is an important task of image processing because of the high impact these systems cause on fluid flow....     

Application of biotic indices and relationship with structural and functional features of macrobenthic community in the lagoon of Venice: an example over a long time series of data

In the context of the application of WFD, a scientific debate is growing about the applicability of biotic indices in coastal and transitional waters. In the present work, the question about the discriminating power of different biotic indices and the relationships with the structure and functioning of the macrobenthic community in a transitional environment is discussed. A time series of samples collected during the last 70 years in the lagoon of Venice, reflecting different environmental conditions (a sort of 'pristine state' in 1935, the distrophic crisis in 1988 and subsequent modifications in 1990, the invasion by an alien species and the developing of high impacting fishery in 1999) has been used. The comparison of results obtained by applying different biotic indices, such as AMBI, Bentix and BOPA, shows differences in the discriminating power of indices and a general overestimation of environmental conditions. Discrepancies between environmental status as indicated by biotic indices and the structure and functioning of the benthic community have been highlighted.     

Heavy ion reflection and heating by collisionless shocks in polar solar corona

We propose a new model for explaining the observations of preferential heating of heavy ions in the polar solar corona. We consider that a large number of small scale shock waves can be present in the solar corona, as suggested by recent observations of polar coronal jets by the Hinode and STEREO spacecraft. The heavy ion energization mechanism is, essentially, the ion reflection off supercritical quasi-perpendicular collisionless shocks in the corona and the subsequent acceleration by the motional electric field E=−(1/c)V ×B. The acceleration due to E is perpendicular to the magnetic field, giving rise to large temperature anisotropy with T_⊥?T_∥, which can excite ion cyclotron waves. Also, heating is more than mass proportional with respect to protons, because the heavy ion orbit is mostly upstream of the quasi-perpendicular shock foot. The observed temperature ratios between O⁵⁺ ions and protons in the polar corona, and between α particles and protons in the solar wind are easily recovered. We also discuss the mechanism of heavy ion reflection, which is based on ion gyration in the magnetic overshoot of the shock.     

Paleolakes, paleofloods, and depressions in Aurorae and Ophir Plana, Mars: Connectivity of surface and subsurface hydrological systems

The plains of Aurorae and Ophir in the equatorial region of Mars display geomorphic evidence indicative of extensive but generally short-lived paleohydrological processes. Elaver Vallis in Aurorae Planum south of Ganges Chasma is an outflow channel system >180 km long, and here inferred to have formed by cataclysmic spillover flooding from a paleolake(s) contained in the Morella crater basin. Ganges Cavus is an enormous 5-km-deep depression of probable collapse origin located in the Morella basin. The fluid responsible for the infilling of the Morella basin likely emerged at least partially through Ganges Cavus or its incipient depression, and it may have been supplied also from small-scale springs in the basin. Similar paleohydrological processes are inferred also in Ophir Planum. It is reasonable to assume that water, sometimes sediment-laden and/or mixed with gases, was the responsible fluid for these phenomena although some of the observed features could be explained by non-aqueous processes such as volcanism. Water emergence may have occurred as consequences of ground ice melting or breaching of cryosphere to release water from the underlying hydrosphere. Dike intrusion is considered to be an important cause of formation for the cavi and smaller depressions in Aurorae and Ophir Plana, explaining also melting of ground ice or breaching of cryosphere. Alternatively, the depressions and crater basins may have been filled by regional groundwater table rising during the period(s) when cryosphere was absent or considerably thin. The large quantities of water necessary for explaining the paleohydrological processes in Aurorae and Ophir Plana could have been derived through crustal migration from the crust of higher plains in western Ophir Planum where water existed in confined aquifers or was produced by melting of ground ice due to magmatic heating or climatic shift, or from a paleolake in Candor Chasma further west.     

Solar and stellar activity: The theoretical approach

The unified sight of solar and stellar activity has revealed a worthwhile concept under several aspects, gaming in the last decade the increasing favour of observers and theorists, and the term solar-stellar connection has recently been introduced to point out the complementarity of solar and stellar observations in the background of the basic role played by the magnetic field.The great development of stellar activity observations suggests a much wider scenario than it were possible to imagine even a few years ago and stimulates theoretical work, most of which is in the framework of the - dynamo theory.Although dynamo theory seems to be plausible and successful in capturing the fundamental mechanism of solar and stellar activity, several uncertainties and intrinsic limits do still exist and are discussed together with alternative or complementary suggestions.Further, it is stressed the relevance of nonlinear problems in dynamo theory — as magnetoconvection, growth and stability of flux tubes against magnetic buoyancy, hydromagnetic global dynamos — to improve our understanding of both small and large scale interaction of rotation, turbulent convection and magnetic field, and of the transition from linear to nonlinear regime. Finally, recent dynamo models of stellar activity are critically reviewed, as to the dependence of activity indexes and cycles on rotation rate and spectral type.Open problems to be solved by future work are outlined, pointing out the role of ever increasing stellar data in widening out our comprehension of the dynamo operation modes, which seem to depend on stellar structure, rotation and age.     

Ground motion duration effects on nonlinear seismic response

The study presented in this paper addresses the question of which nonlinear demand measures are sensitive to ground motion duration by statistical analyses of several case studies. A number of single degree of freedom (SDOF) structures were selected considering: (1) four oscillation periods; (2) three evolutionary and non‐evolutionary hysteretic behaviours; (3) two target ductility levels. Effects of duration are investigated, by nonlinear dynamic analysis, with respect to six different demand indices ranging from displacement ductility ratio to equivalent number of cycles. Input is made of six real accelerogram sets representing three specific duration scenarios (small, moderate and large duration). For all considered demand quantities time‐history results are formally compared by statistical hypothesis test to asses the difference, if any, in the demand concerning different scenarios. Incremental dynamic analysis curves are used to evaluate duration effect as function of ground motion intensity (e.g. spectral acceleration corresponding to the SDOF's oscillation period). Duration impact on structural failure probability is evaluated by fragility curves. The results lead to the conclusion that duration content of ground motion is statistically insignificant to displacement ductility and cyclic ductility demand. The conclusions hold regardless of SDOF's period and hysteretic relationship investigated. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.