Observations of PC5 pulsations near field-aligned current regions

Examples of long period Pc5 magnetic field pulsations near field-aligned current (FAC) regions in the high-latitude magnetosphere, observed by INTERBALL-Auroral satellite during January 11, April 11 and June 28, 1997 are shown. Identification of corresponding magnetosphere regions and subregions is provided by electrons and protons in the energy-range of 0.01–100 keV measured simultaneously onboard the spacecraft. The examined Pc5 pulsations reveal a compressional character. A fairly good correlation is demonstrated between these ULF Pc5 waves and the consecutive injection of magnetosheath low energy protons. The ULF Pc5 wave occurrence is observed in both upward and downward FACs.     

气候态调整对华北冬、夏季气候监测的影响研究

本研究对比分析了不同气候态下,华北冬、夏季降水及气温的差异,分析了气候平均值的改变对历史极端事件监测的可能影响。研究结果发现,1991～2020年（简称气候Ⅱ态）的冬季和夏季的平均降水量均略多于1981～2010年（简称气候Ⅰ态）,但接近或略少于1961～2020年的平均降水量,平均降水量逐年变化幅度冬季Ⅱ态小于Ⅰ态,夏季反之。气候Ⅱ态冬季降水空间分布不均,夏季较Ⅰ态呈“中部减少,东西增加”的分布型。冬季和夏季极端降水阈值Ⅱ态（0.86 mm和22.0 mm）较Ⅰ态（0.83 mm和21.6 mm）均略有提高,造成近60年华北大部基于Ⅱ态阈值的冬、夏季极端降水日数较Ⅰ态略减少。此外,气候Ⅱ态的华北冬、夏季平均气温均明显高于Ⅰ态,也高于1961～2020年平均值。Ⅱ态气温较Ⅰ态基本呈全区增加特征,但空间分布不均匀。冬季极端低温和夏季极端高温阈值Ⅱ态（-9.8°C和27.9°C）较Ⅰ态（-10.2°C和27.5°C）均有所有所提高,造成华北大部分地区基于Ⅱ态阈值的近60年冬季极端低温日数较Ⅰ态有所增加,夏季极端高温日数较Ⅰ态存在不同程度的减少。因此,新气候态下华北气温和降水均值,华北大部极...     

Fundamental parameters and new variables of the galactic open cluster NGC 7128

CCD photometry in Johnson UBV and Strömgren uvby systems and medium-resolution spectroscopy of the galactic open cluster NGC 7128 are presented. Spectral types of the brightest 12 stars in the cluster field were determined based on equivalent widths of the H α and the He  i 6678-Å line. The spectroscopic observations also revealed two obvious and one probable Be-type stars showing H α emission. The analysis of the photometric diagrams gave a colour excess of E ( B − V )=1.03±0.06 mag, a distance modulus DM =13.0±0.2 mag and an age above 10 Myr. Time-resolved photometric observations obtained on one night resulted in the detection of short time-scale light variations of seven new and three already known variable stars in the cluster field.     

Observations of active galactic nuclei with the GT-48 CrAO gamma-ray telescope in 2004

Observations of several active galactic nuclei were performed with the GT-48 gamma-ray telescope at CrAO in 2004: 3C 66A, Mk 421, Mk 501, 1H 1426, 1ES 1959, and BL Lac. Very-high-energy (E ≥ 10¹² eV) gamma-ray fluxes were recorded from 3C 66A, Mk 421, Mk 501, and 1H 1426 at a confidence level of more than 4σ. Upper limits for the flux of very-high-energy gamma rays are presented for 1ES 1959 and BL Lac. The 2004 observational data for 3C 66A (z = 0.44) confirm the results obtained previously at CrAO.     

Variation in tree mortality and regeneration affect forest carbon recovery following fuel treatments and wildfire in the Lake Tahoe Basin, California, USA

Background

Forest fuel treatments have been proposed as tools to stabilize carbon stocks in fire-prone forests in the Western U.S.A. Although fuel treatments such as thinning and burning are known to immediately reduce forest carbon stocks, there are suggestions that these losses may be paid back over the long-term if treatments sufficiently reduce future wildfire severity, or prevent deforestation. Although fire severity and post-fire tree regeneration have been indicated as important influences on long-term carbon dynamics, it remains unclear how natural variability in these processes might affect the ability of fuel treatments to protect forest carbon resources. We surveyed a wildfire where fuel treatments were put in place before fire and estimated the short-term impact of treatment and wildfire on aboveground carbon stocks at our study site. We then used a common vegetation growth simulator in conjunction with sensitivity analysis techniques to assess how predicted timescales of carbon recovery after fire are sensitive to variation in rates of fire-related tree mortality, and post-fire tree regeneration.

Results

We found that fuel reduction treatments were successful at ameliorating fire severity at our study site by removing an estimated 36% of aboveground biomass. Treated and untreated stands stored similar amounts of carbon three years after wildfire, but differences in fire severity were such that untreated stands maintained only 7% of aboveground carbon as live trees, versus 51% in treated stands. Over the long-term, our simulations suggest that treated stands in our study area will recover baseline carbon storage 10?C35?years more quickly than untreated stands. Our sensitivity analysis found that rates of fire-related tree mortality strongly influence estimates of post-fire carbon recovery. Rates of regeneration were less influential on recovery timing, except when fire severity was high.

Conclusions

Our ability to predict the response of forest carbon resources to anthropogenic and natural disturbances requires models that incorporate uncertainty in processes important to long-term forest carbon dynamics. To the extent that fuel treatments are able to ameliorate tree mortality rates or prevent deforestation resulting from wildfire, our results suggest that treatments may be a viable strategy to stabilize existing forest carbon stocks.     

Studying large-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances according to the data of oblique-incidence sounding

The morphological features of wave-like ionospheric disturbances with periods of 1–2 h and the spatial extent exceeding 1000 km are studied. Oblique-incidence sounding data of the ionosphere, obtained in eastern Siberia during several continuous monthly experiments on three radio paths from 2006 to 2010, have been used. Large-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances generated during magnetic storms and large-scale wave-like ionospheric disturbances registered during geomagnetically quiet periods are considered. Small-scale ionospheric structures were also observed against a background of large-scale traveling iono-spheric disturbances considered in this study.     

Cosmic‐ray rejection for single spectroscopic CCD images by means of template matching

This article describes a novel algorithm for cosmic‐ray rejection in single spectroscopic CCD images. This algorithm is based on a variation of template matching. It focuses on identifying those pixels belong to spectra, while other conventional algorithms tried to locate the cosmic‐ray hits directly. The main principle is applying template matching to find suspicious blocks, which is followed by surface patching to locate the legitimate pixels accurately. Therefore, the rest pixels are the ones corrupted by cosmic‐ray hits. Meanwhile, almost all the parameters are automatically extracted from the images. Examples of its performance are given for both simulated and observed images. It shows an advantage of significantly low false alarm rate with relatively high detection rate (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Active phase of a substorm as a chain of two types of reconnection: In the closed plasma sheet and in the open tail lobes

The maps of the field-aligned current (FAC) density distribution in the ionosphere obtained by the TIM-2 magnetogram inversion technique are used to investigate the August 27, 2001 substorm. The open magnetic flux Ψ and intensity J of the substorm current wedge (SCW) have been determined with a step of 1–5 min. The substorm onsets are divided into two types, PSR (plasma sheet reconnection) and TLR (tail lobe reconnection). The fast expansion tailward of the PSR region is described as the transition from PSR to PSR+TLR. Assuming that the SCW FACs flow down into the ionosphere from the edges of the disruption region of the cross-tail dawn-dusk current, several parameters of the disruption region have been estimated. The disrupted magnetic field has been found to be ∼5% of the undisrupted one for PSR and ∼95% for PSR+TLR. The disturbance power Q for PSR is an order of magnitude lower than that for PSR+TLR. The abrupt growth of Q during the transition from PSR to PSR+TLR is observed over the entire SCW area from its near-Earth part to the midtail and distant tail.     

Analysis of energetic electron drop-outs in the upper atmosphere of Titan during flybys in the dayside magnetosphere of Saturn

We discuss the high energy electron absorption signatures at Titan during the Cassini dayside magnetospheric encounters. We use the electron measurements of the Low Energy Measurement System of the Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument. We also examine the mass loading boundary based on the ion data of the Ion Mass Spectrometer sensor of the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer. The dynamic motion of the Kronian magnetopause and the periodic charged particle flux and magnetic field variations – associated with the magnetodisk of Saturn – of the subcorotating magnetospheric plasma creates a unique and complex environment at Titan. Most of the analysed flybys (like T25–T33 and T35–T51) cluster at similar Saturn Local Time positions. However the instantaneous direction of the incoming magnetospheric particles may change significantly from flyby to flyby due to the very different magnetospheric field conditions which are found upstream of Titan within the sets of encounters.The energetic magnetospheric electrons gyrate along the magnetic field lines of Saturn, and at the same time bounce between the mirror points of the magnetosphere. This motion is combined with the drift of the magnetic field lines. When these flux tubes interact with the upper atmosphere of Titan, their content is depleted over approximately an electron bounce period. These depletion signatures are observed as sudden drop-outs of the electron fluxes. We examined the altitude distribution of these drop-outs and concluded that these mostly detected in the exo-ionosphere of Titan and sometimes within the ionosphere.However there is a relatively significant scatter in the orbit to orbit data, which can be attributed to the which can be attributed to the variability of the plasma environment and as a consequence, the induced magnetosphere of Titan. A weak trend between the incoming electron fluxes and the measured drop-out altitudes has also been observed.