Space weather in the thermospheric–ionospheric domain over the Brazilian region: Climatology of ionospheric plasma bubbles in the subequatorial and low-latitude region

The climatology of ionospheric plasma bubbles is studied here by means of a comparison of the frequency of occurrence of the spread-F/plasma bubble events over the South American region using the images from two OI 630 nm imager systems located at the subequatorial station São João do Cariri—CA (7.4 S, 36.5 W, 20 S dip) and the low-latitude station Cachoeira Paulista—CP (22.5 S, 45 W, 33 S dip) in Brazil during the years of 2004 and 2005. The results are discussed in the light of current theory and geomagnetic parameters of the two observation stations.     

Estimation of groundwater residence time using the 36Cl bomb pulse

We propose a methodology for estimating the residence time of groundwater based on bomb-produced (36)Cl. Water samples were collected from 28 springs and 2 flowing wells located around Mt. Fuji, Central Japan. (36)Cl/Cl ratios in the water samples, determined by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), were between 43 × 10(-15) and 412 × 10(-15). A reference time series of the above-background (i.e., bomb-derived) (36)Cl concentration was constructed by linearly scaling the background-corrected Dye-3 data according to the estimated total bomb-produced (36)Cl fallout in the Mt. Fuji area. Assuming piston flow transport, estimates of residence time were obtained by comparing the measured bomb-derived (36)Cl concentrations in spring water with the reference curve. The distribution of (36)Cl-based residence times is basically consistent with that of tritium-based estimates calculated from data presented in previous studies, although the estimated residence times differ between the two tracers. This discrepancy may reflect chlorine recycling via vegetation or the relatively small change in fallout rate, approximately since 1975, which would give rise to large uncertainties in (36)Cl-based estimates of recharge for the period, approximately since 1975. Given the estimated ages for groundwater from flowing wells, dating based on a (36)Cl bomb pulse may be more reliable and sensitive for groundwater recharged before 1975, back as far as the mid-1950s.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987112001028

A study on the effect of the solar ultra-violet radiation on the human skin fibroblast cells revealed that the production of matrix metalloproteinase-2 was inhibited by the radiation.A CO2 incubator connected by optical fibers to a reflector telescope for collecting the solar light was built at Syowa station by the 49th Japanese Antarctica Research Expedition.The direction of the telescope was continuously controlled by a sun-tracker to follow the movement of the Sun automatically.The intensity of the collected light was monitored by a portable spectrophotometer housed inside.The human skin fibroblast cells were incubated in the CO2 chamber to investigate the effect of the solar radiation at Syowa station and were compared with those reference experiments at a laboratory in Japan.The results showed cell damage by strong UV radiation.The production of matrix metalloproteinase-2 was prompted by the moderate UV-B,but was inhibited by the strong UV-B radiation,as studied under laboratory conditions in Japan.The effect of strong solar radiation at Syowa station involving the radiation of UV-B region was estimated to be of the same extent of the radiation caused by an artificial UV-B light with the intensity more than 50 mJ/cm2.     

Sequentially sampled gas hydrate water,coupled with pore water and bottom water isotopic and ionic signatures at the Kukuy mud volcano,Lake Baikal: ambiguous deep-rooted source of hydrate-forming water

The isotopic and ionic composition of pure gas hydrate (GH) water was examined for GHs recovered in three gravity cores (165–193 cm length) from the Kukuy K-9 mud volcano (MV) in Lake Baikal. A massive GH sample from core St6GC4 (143–165 cm core depth interval) was dissociated progressively over 6 h in a closed glass chamber, and 11 sequentially collected fractions of dissociated GH water analyzed. Their hydrogen and oxygen isotopic compositions, and the concentrations of Cl^– and HCO₃ ^– remained essentially constant over time, except that the fraction collected during the first 50 minutes deviated partly from this pattern. Fraction #1 had a substantially higher Cl^– concentration, similar to that of pore water sampled immediately above (135–142 cm core depth) the main GH-bearing interval in that core. Like the subsequent fractions, however, the HCO₃ ^– concentration was markedly lower than that of pore water. For the GH water fractions #2 to #11, an essentially constant HCO₃ ^–/Cl^– ratio of 305 differed markedly from downcore pore water HCO₃ ^–/Cl^– ratios of 63–99. Evidently, contamination of the extracted GH water by ambient pore water probably adhered to the massive GH sample was satisfactorily restricted to the initial phase of GH dissociation. The hydrogen and oxygen isotopic composition of hydrate-forming water was estimated using the measured isotopic composition of extracted GH water combined with known isotopic fractionation factors between GH and GH-forming water. Estimated δD of ?126 to ?133‰ and δ¹⁸O of ?15.7 to ?16.7‰ differed partly from the corresponding signatures of ambient pore water (δD of ?123‰, δ¹⁸O of ?15.6‰) and of lake bottom water (δD of ?121‰, δ¹⁸O of ?15.8‰) at the St6GC4 coring site, suggesting that the GH was not formed from those waters. Observations of breccias in that core point to a possible deep-rooted water source, consistent with published thermal measurements for the neighboring Kukuy K-2 MV. By contrast, the pore waters of core St6GC4 and also of the neighboring cores GC2 and GC3 from the Kukuy K-9 MV show neither isotopic nor ionic evidence of such a source (e.g., elevated sulfate concentration). These findings constrain GH formation to earlier times, but a deep-rooted source of hydrate-forming water remains ambiguous. A possible long-term dampening of key deep-water source signatures deserves further attention, notably in terms of diffusion and/or advection, as well as anaerobic oxidation of methane.     

Naturally occurring radionuclides and rare earth elements in weathered Japanese soil samples

The activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra and ²²⁸Ac in weathered Japanese soils from two selected prefectures have been measured using a γ-ray spectroscopy system with high purity germanium detector. The uranium, thorium, and rare earth elements (REEs) concentrations were determined from the same soil samples using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). For example, granitic rocks contain higher amounts of U, Th, and light REEs compared to other igneous rocks such as basalt and andesites. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the interaction between REEs and nature of soils since soils are complex heterogeneous mixture of organic and inorganic solids, water, and gases. In this paper, we will discuss about distribution pattern of ²³⁸U and ²³²Th along with REEs in soil samples of weathered acid rock (granite) collected from two prefectures of Japan: Hiroshima and Miyagi.     

Modeling Marine Stratocumulus with a Detailed Microphysical Scheme

A one-dimensional 3rd-order turbulence closure model with size-resolved microphysics and radiative transfer has been developed for investigating aerosol and cloud interactions of the stratocumulus-topped marine boundary layer. A new method is presented for coupling between the dynamical model and the mierophysical model. This scheme allows the liquid water related correlations to be directly calculated rather than parameterized. On 21 April 2001, a marine stratocumulus was observed by the Caesar aircraft over the west Pacific Rim south of Japan during the 2001 APEX/ACE-Asia field measurements. This cloud is simulated by the model we present here. The model results show that the general features of the stratocumulus-topped marine boundary layer predicted by the model are in agreement with the measurements. A new onboard cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) counter provides not only total CCN number concentration (as the traditional CCN counters do at a certain supersaturation) but also the CCN size distribution information. Using these CCN data, model responses to different CCN initial concentrations are examined. The model results are consistent with both observations and expectations.The numerical results show that the cloud microphysieal properties are changed fundamentally by different initial CCN concentrations but the cloud liquid water content does not differ significantly. Different initial CCN loadings have large impacts on the evolution of cloud microstructure and radiation transfer while they have a modest effect on thermodynamics. Increased CCN concentration leads to significant decrease of cloud effective radius.     

Relativistic expansion of magnetic loops at the self-similar stage

We obtained self-similar solutions of relativistically expanding magnetic loops taking into account the azimuthal magnetic fields. We neglect stellar rotation and assume axisymmetry and a purely radial flow. As the magnetic loops expand, the initial dipole magnetic field is stretched into the radial direction. When the expansion speed approaches the light speed, the displacement current reduces the toroidal current and modifies the distribution of the plasma lifted up from the central star. Since these self-similar solutions describe the free expansion of the magnetic loops, i.e.  d v /d t = 0  , the equations of motion are similar to those of the static relativistic magnetohydrodynamics. This allows us to estimate the total energy stored in the magnetic loops by applying the virial theorem. This energy is comparable to that of the giant flares observed in magnetars.     

Limits on isocurvature perturbations from non-Gaussianity in WMAP temperature anisotropy

We study the effect of primordial isocurvature perturbations on non-Gaussian properties of cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature anisotropies. We consider generic forms of the non-linearity of isocurvature perturbations which can be applied to a wide range of theoretical models. We derive analytical expressions for the bispectrum and the Minkowski Functionals for CMB temperature fluctuations to describe the non-Gaussianity from isocurvature perturbations. We find that the isocurvature non-Gaussianity in the quadratic isocurvature model, where the isocurvature perturbation S is written as a quadratic function of the Gaussian variable  σ,  S =σ²−〈σ²〉  , can give the same signal-to-noise ratio as   f _NL= 30  even if we impose the current observational limit on the fraction of isocurvature perturbations contained in the primordial power spectrum α. We give constraints on isocurvature non-Gaussianity from Minkowski Functionals using the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe ( WMAP ) 5-year data. We do not find a significant signal of isocurvature non-Gaussianity. For the quadratic isocurvature model, we obtain a stringent upper limit on the isocurvature fraction  α < 0.070  (95 per cent CL) for a scale-invariant spectrum which is comparable to the limit obtained from the power spectrum.     

Baroclinic circulation and its high frequency variability in Otsuchi Bay on the Sanriku ria coast,Japan

Hydrographic observations were made in Otsuchi Bay on the Sanriku ria coast, Japan, to provide clear images of the baroclinic circulation extending over the bay together with the associated intrusion of lower-layer water (bottom water) from outside the bay. In summer, a prominent baroclinic circulation with flow speeds \({>} 0.1\ \text{ m }\ \text{ s }^{-1} \) extends over the greater part of the bay. A main pycnocline (thermocline), which separates the upper and lower layers, is located at a depth of 15–40 m in and around the bay. The direction of the lower-layer flow (inflow into and outflow from the bay) is opposite to that of the upper-layer flow, which are baroclinically coupled to each other. Moreover, with regard to the lower-layer flow, the inflow tends to occur mainly through the northwestern part of the bay mouth, whereas the outflow tends to occur mainly through the southeastern part. The inflow and outflow alternate on time scales of several to a few tens of hours, and the flow directions are sometimes related to the tidal ones, although the relationship is not applied persistently. In winter, the baroclinic circulation is considerably weaker than in summer, because the stratification breaks down.