Impact of plasma sheath on rocket-based E-region ion measurements

We model the particle velocity distribution functions around the entrance window of the Suprathermal Ion Imager (SII). The SII sensor was mounted on a 1 m boom carried by the scientific payload of NASA rocket 36.234 as part of Joule II mission to investigate Joule heating in the E-region ionosphere. The rocket flew above Northern Alaska on 19 January 2007. The payload was spin-stabilized with a period of 1.6 s, giving an apparent rotation of the ion flow velocity in the frame of reference of the payload. The SII sensor is an electrostatic analyzer that measures two dimensional slices of the distribution of the kinetic energies and arrival-angles of low energy ions. The study is concerned with the interpretation of data obtained from the SII sensor. For this purpose, we numerically investigate ram velocity effects on ions velocity distributions in the vicinity of the SII sensor aperture at an altitudes of approximately 150 km. The electrostatic sheath profiles surrounding the SII sensor, boom and payload are calculated numerically with the PIC code PTetra. It is observed that the direction of the ion flow velocity modifies the plasma sheath potential profile. This in turn impacts the velocity distributions of NO⁺ and \(\mathrm{O}_{2}^{+}\) ions at the aperture of the particle sensor. The velocity distribution functions at the sensor aperture are calculated by using test-particle modeling. These particle distribution functions are then used to inject particles in the sensor, and calculate the fluxes on the sensor microchannel plate (MCP), from which comparisons with the measurements can be made.     

Glutamic Acid Modified Fenton System for Degradation of BTEX Contamination

The present study employed a modified Fenton system that aims to extend the optimum pH range towards neutral conditions for studying the oxidation of benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylenes (BTEX) using glutamic acid (Glu) as an iron chelator. Addition of 20 mM Glu greatly enhanced the oxidation rate of BTEX in modified Fenton system at pH 5–7. A rapid mass destruction (>97% after 1 h) of BTEX as a water contaminant carried out in the presence of 500 mM H₂O₂, 10 mM Fe²⁺, and 20 mM Glu at pH 5 could be shown. The efficiency of this modified Fenton's system for mass destruction of BTEX in contaminated water was measured to estimate the impact of the major process variables that include initial concentrations of soluble Fe, H₂O₂, Glu (as metal chelating agent), and reaction time.     

Non-Poisson probabilistic seismic hazard assessment

The development of the new seismic hazard map of metropolitan Tehran is based on probabilistic seismic hazard computation using the non-Poisson recurrence time model. For this model, two maps have been prepared to indicate the earthquake hazard of the region in the form of iso-acceleration contour lines. They display the non-Poisson probabilistic estimates of peak ground accelerations over bedrock for 10 and 63 % probability of exceedance in 50 years. To carry out the non-Poisson seismic hazard analysis, appropriate distributions of interoccurrence times of earthquakes were used for the seismotectonic provinces which the study region is located and then the renewal process was applied. In order to calculate the seismic hazard for different return periods in the probabilistic procedure, the study area encompassed by the 49.5–54.5°E longitudes and 34–37°N latitudes was divided into 0.1° intervals generating 1,350 grid points. PGA values for this region are estimated to be 0.30–0.32 and 0.16–0.17 g for 10 and 63 % probability of exceedance, respectively, in 50 years for bedrock condition.     

Variations in the parameters of VLF signals on the DEMETER satellite during the periods of seismic activity

Two methods for diagnosing ionospheric disturbances using VLF signals received on the DEMETER satellite are considered in connection with two cases of high seismic activity: the method for analyzing a signal reception zone in order to find large-scale spatial variations and the residual signal method used to reveal time variations. Based on an analysis of the VLF signal reception zone, performed in connection with the catastrophic earthquake near Sumatra, it has been found out that the signal amplitude decreased during a month before the earthquake. As a result, it has been concluded that the zone of ionospheric disturbances extends for several thousand kilometers. It has been indicated that the residual signal method showed good agreement between the ground and satellite data when high seismic activity near Japan was analyzed.     

Palaeolimnological evidence for recent climatic change in lakes from the northern Urals, arctic Russia

The recent sediments from two deep arctic lakes, Mitrofanovskoe and Vanuk-ty, situated in the permafrost belt within the Bolshezemelskaya Tundra in the northern Ural region, were studied for diatoms, chironomids, spheroidal carbonaceous particles and stable lead isotopes. The magnitudes and rates-of-change in diatom and chironomid assemblages were numerically estimated. Instrumental climate records were used to assess statistically the amount of variance in diatom and chironomid data explained by temperature. August and September air temperatures have a statistically significant effect on diatom composition at both lakes. At Mitrofanovskoe Lake, major compositional changes in diatom and chironomid assemblages occurred at the turn of the 20th century and might be related to the regional increase in temperature. Chironomid-inferred air temperature also increased by approximately 1 °C since the early 1900s. At both lakes diatom compositional changes, coincident with the increase in June and September temperatures, also occurred in the late 1960s. These compositional changes are correlated with the increase in diatom production, sediment organic content and diatom species richness, and are likely to be a diatom response to the lengthening of the growing season. These changes are also correlated with the circum-Arctic temperature increase from the 1960s. A chironomid response to the late 1960s temperature increase was less pronounced at both lakes. Pollution levels are relatively low and pollution history is unrelated to ecological changes. Both lead isotopes and spheroidal carbonaceous particles show a clear atmospheric pollution signal, peaking in the 1980s.     

Imprints of wave climate and mean sea level variations in the dynamics of a coastal spit over the last 250 years: Cap Ferret,SW France

In coastal areas, sea level rise (SLR) and changing wave climates are expected to be the main oceanic drivers of shoreline adjustments. These drivers have been shown to vary on a wide spectrum of spatial and temporal scales. Nonetheless, a general rule about how this variability impacts global shorelines remains to be articulated. Here, we discuss the impacts of wave climate changes and SLR on the evolution of a barrier spit–inlet system over the last 250 years. The distal end of the Cap Ferret barrier spit, SW France, has undergone large-scale oscillations that were well correlated with variations of the decadal average of the winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index. The local wave climate hindcast supports that increased alongshore wave energy fluxes associated with the positive phase of the NAO were responsible for the updrift retreat of the spit. By opposition, the spit has elongated downdrift when waves were less energetic and more shore normal, as during the negative phase of the NAO. In addition, lower rates of SLR appeared to be necessary for the spit to develop, as higher rates of SLR very likely forced the adjacent inlet to enlarge, at the expense of the spit. These results should help to predict and detect coastal adjustments driven by climate change and by climate variability. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of Holocene tree-line advance and retreat on an arctic lake ecosystem: a multi-proxy study from Kharinei Lake,North Eastern European Russia

A consequence of predicted climate warming will be tree-line advance over large areas of the Russian tundra. Palaeolimnological techniques can be used to provide analogues of how such changes in tree-line advance and subsequent retreat affected lake ecosystems in the past. A Holocene sediment core taken from Kharinei Lake (Russia) was dated radiometrically and used for multi-proxy analyses with the aim of determining how climate and tree-line dynamics affected the productivity, community structure, carbon cycling and light regime in the lake. Pollen and macrofossil analyses were used to determine the dates of the arrival and retreat of birch and spruce forest. C:N ratios and percent loss-on-ignition were used to infer past changes in sediment organic matter. Visible-near-infrared spectroscopy and diatom analysis were used to infer past changes in lake-water carbon. Algal pigments and aquatic macrophytes were used to determine changes in lake productivity and light. Chironomids together with remains of the aquatic flora and fauna were used to provide information on past July temperature and continentality. Lake sedimentation was initiated shortly before 11,000 cal. years BP, when both chironomid- and pollen-inferred temperature reconstructions suggest higher summer temperatures than present, between 1 and 2°C warmer, and lake productivity was relatively high. A few trees were already present at this time. The spruce forest expanded at 8,000 cal. year BP remaining in the vicinity of the lake until 3,500 cal. year BP. This period coincided with a high concentration of organic material in the water column, and relatively high benthic productivity, as indicated by a high benthic: planktonic diatom ratio. After tree-line retreat, the optical transparency of the lake increased, and it became more open and exposed, and was thus subject to greater water-column mixing resulting in a higher abundance of diatom phytoplankton, especially heavily silicified Aulocoseira species. The colder climate resulted in a shorter ice-free period, the lake was less productive and there was a loss of aquatic macrophytes. Increased wind-induced mixing following forest retreat had a greater influence on the lake ecosystem than the effects of decreasing organic matter concentration and increased light penetration.     

Hindcast of oil-spill pollution during the Lebanon crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean, July-August 2006

MOON (Mediterranean Operational Oceanography Network http://www.moon-oceanforecasting.eu) provides near-real-time information on oil-spill detection (ocean color and SAR) and predictions [ocean forecasts (MFS and CYCOFOS) and oil-spill predictions (MEDSLIK)]. We employ this system to study the Lebanese oil-pollution crisis in summer 2006 and thus to assist regional and local decision makers in Europe, regionally and locally. The MEDSLIK oil-spill predictions obtained using CYCOFOS high-resolution ocean fields are compared with those obtained using lower-resolution MFS hydrodynamics, and both are validated against satellite observations. The predicted beached oil distributions along the Lebanese and Syrian coasts are compared with in situ observations.The oil-spill predictions are able to simulate the northward movement of the oil spill, with the CYCOFOS predictions being in better agreement with satellite observations. Among the free MEDSLIK parameters tested in the sensitivity experiments, the drift factor appears to be the most relevant to improve the quality of the results.     

Argon, krypton, and xenon in the bulk solar wind as collected by the Genesis mission

We present bulk solar wind isotopic and elemental ratios for Ar, Kr, and Xe averaged from up to 14 individual analyses on silicon targets exposed to the solar wind for ∼2.3 years during NASA’s Genesis mission. All averages are given with 1σ standard errors of the means and include the uncertainties of our absolute calibrations. The isotopic ratios ⁸⁶Kr/⁸⁴Kr and ¹²⁹Xe/¹³²Xe are 0.303 ± 0.001 and 1.06 ± 0.01, respectively. The elemental ratios ³⁶Ar/⁸⁴Kr and ⁸⁴Kr/¹³²Xe are 2390 ± 120 and 9.9 ± 0.3, respectively. Average fluxes of ⁸⁴Kr and ¹³²Xe in the bulk solar wind in atoms/(cm² s) are 0.166 ± 0.009 and 0.017 ± 0.001, respectively. The flux uncertainties also include a 2% uncertainty for the determination of the extracted areas. The bulk solar wind ³⁶Ar/³⁸Ar ratio of 5.50 ± 0.01 and the ³⁶Ar flux of 397 ± 11 atoms/(cm² s) determined from silicon targets agree well with the ³⁶Ar/³⁸Ar ratio and the ³⁶Ar flux determined earlier on a different type of target by Heber et al. (2009). A comparison of the solar wind noble gas/oxygen abundance ratios with those in the solar photosphere revealed a slight enrichment of Xe and, within uncertainties a roughly uniform depletion of Kr-He in the solar wind, possibly related to the first ionization potentials of the studied elements. Thus, the solar wind elemental abundances He-Kr display within uncertainties roughly photospheric compositions relative to each other. A comparison of the Genesis data with solar wind heavy noble gas data deduced from lunar regolith samples irradiated with solar wind at different times in the past reveals uniform ³⁶Ar/⁸⁴Kr ratios over the last 1-2 Ga but an increase of the ⁸⁴Kr/¹³²Xe ratio of about a factor of 2 during the same time span. The reason for this change in the solar wind composition remains unknown.     

Smart Cartographic Background Symbolization for Map Mashups in Geoportals: A Proof of Concept by Example of Landuse Representation

Geospatial data are now widely available to the general public thanks to geoportals and online mapping platforms. However, creating a map involves more than just combining data layers. Thus we develop cartographic functions for geoportals to support better visual hierarchy in user map mashups. This includes a couple of preparatory steps followed by a smart cartographic background symbolization derived from the original layer style. We evaluate different approaches to background symbolization: greyscale, desaturation, and smart background. The different background symbolization methods are analysed with two concrete map examples and evaluated with a survey. The smart background symbolization developed in this work improves the visual hierarchy of the map mashup by reducing the visual importance of the background layers.