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.     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Numerical analysis of multiphase flow in porous material

Recent developments in the application of x-ray micro-tomography in laboratory geomechanics have allowed all the individual grains of sand in a test sample to be seen and identified uniquely in 3D. Combining such imaging capabilities with experiments carried out “in situ” within an imaging set-up has led to the possibility of directly observing the mechanisms of deformation as they happen. The challenge has thus become extracting pertinent, quantified information from these rich time-lapse 3D images to elucidate the mechanics at play. This paper presents a new approach (ID-Track) for the quantification of individual grain kinematics (displacements and rotations) of large quantities of sand grains (tens of thousands) in a test sample undergoing loading. With ID-Track, grains are tracked between images based on some geometrical feature(s) that allow their unique identification and matching between images. This differs from Digital Image Correlation (DIC), which makes measurements by recognising patterns between images. Since ID-Track does not use the image of a grain for tracking, it is significantly faster than DIC. The technique is detailed in the paper, and is shown to be fast and simple, giving good measurements of displacements, but suffering in the measurement of rotations when compared with Discrete DIC. Subsequently, results are presented from successful applications of ID-track to triaxial tests on two quite different sands: the angular Hostun sand and the rounded Caicos Ooids. This reveals details on the performance of the technique for different grain shapes and insight into the differences in the grain-scale mechanisms occurring in these two sands as they exhibit strain localisation under triaxial loading.     

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.     

Mid-Holocene palaeoclimatic and palaeohydrological conditions in northeastern European Russia: a multi-proxy study of Lake Vankavad

Mid-Holocene changes in vegetation, palaeohydrology and climate were investigated from the sediments of Lake Vankavad in the northern taiga of the Usa Basin, NE European Russia, through the analysis of pollen, plant macrofossils, Cladocera and diatoms. Lake Vankavad was probably formed at ca. 5000 BP (ca. 5600 cal. BP) and initially it was shallow with a littoral cladoceran fauna. Macrofossil and pollen results suggest that dense Betula-Picea forests grew in the vicinity and the shore was close to the sampling point. At ca. 4600 BP (ca. 5400 cal. BP) the water level rose coincident with the decrease in the density and area of forests, probably caused by cooling climate and accelerated spread of mires. There was also a further rise in the water level at ca. 3500 BP (ca. 3800 cal. BP). The initiation of the lake, followed by two periods of rising water-level, as well as the increase in mire formation, was a consequence of a rise in groundwater level. This probably reflects lower evapotranspiration in a cooling mid-Holocene climate and/or higher precipitation in the lowland area. Also the decreased forest density and area may have contributed to the lower evapotranspiration. It is also possible that permafrost aggradation or changes in peat ecosystems might have affected the hydrological conditions in the area.     

Comparison of marine insolation estimating methods in the adriatic sea

We compare insolation results calculated from two well-known empirical formulas (Seckel and Beaudry’s SB73 formula and the original Smithsonian (SMS) formula) and a radiative transfer model using input data predicted from meteorological weather-forecast models, and review the accuracy of each method. Comparison of annual mean daily irradiance values for clear-sky conditions between the two formulas shows that, relative to the SMS, the SB73 underestimates spring values by 9 W m^-2 in the northern Adriatic Sea, although overall there is a good agreement between the annual results calculated with the two formulas. We also elucidate the effect on SMS of changing the ‘Sun-Earth distance factor (f)’, a parameter which is commonly assumed to be constant in the oceanographic context. Results show that the mean daily solar radiation for clear-sky conditions in the northern Adriatic Sea can be reduced as much as 12 W m^-2 during summer due to a decrease in thef value. Lastly, surface irradiance values calculated from a simple radiative transfer model (GM02) for clear-sky conditions are compared to those from SB73 and SMS. Comparison within situ data in the northern Adriatic Sea shows that the GM02 estimate gives more realistic surface irradiance values than SMS, particularly during summer. Additionally, irradiance values calculated by GM02 using the buoy meteorological fields and ECMWF (The European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts) meteorological data show the suitability of the ECMWF data usage. Through tests of GM02 sensitivity to key regional meteorological factors, we explore the main factors contributing significantly to a reduction in summertime solar irradiance in the Adriatic Sea.     

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.     

Multi-nest high-resolution model of submesoscale circulation features in the Gulf of Taranto

Recent oceanographic field measurements and high-resolution numerical modelling studies have revealed intense, transient, submesoscale motions characterised by a horizontal length scale of 100–10,000 m. This submesoscale activity increases in the fall and winter when the mixed layer (ML) depth is at its maximum. In this study, the submesoscale motions associated with a large-scale anticyclonic gyre in the central Gulf of Taranto were examined using realistic submesoscale-permitting simulations. We used realistic flow field initial conditions and multiple nesting techniques to perform realistic simulations, with very-high horizontal resolutions (> 200 m) in areas with submesoscale variability. Multiple downscaling was used to increase resolution in areas where instability was active enough to develop multi-scale interactions and produce 5-km-diameter eddies. To generate a submesoscale eddy, a 200-m resolution was required. The submesoscale eddy was formed through small-scale baroclinic instability in the rim of a large-scale anticyclonic gyre leading to large vertical velocities and rapid restratification of the ML in a time-scale of days. The submesoscale eddy was confirmed by observational data from the area and we can say that for the first time we have a proof that the model reproduces a realistic submesoscale vortex, similar in shape and location to the observed one.