Mirror instability upstream of the termination shock (TS) and in the heliosheath

We experimentally identify mirror mode (MM) structures in the Voyager 1 heliosheath data for the first time. This is done using the magnetic field data alone. The heliosheath MM structures are found to have the following characteristics: (1) quasiperiodic spacings with a typical scale size of ～57 ρ_p, (2) little or no angular changes across the structures (～3° longitude and ～3° latitude), and (3) a lack of sharp boundaries at the magnetic dip edges. It is demonstrated that the pickup of interstellar neutrals in the upstream region of the termination shock (TS) and quasiperpendicular TS plasma compression are the causes of MM instability during intervals when the IMF is nearly orthogonal to the solar wind flow direction. Concomitant additional injection of pickup ions (PUIs) throughout the heliosheath will lead to further MM amplification. MM structures in planetary magnetosheaths and interplanetary sheaths are discussed for comparative purposes. Multiple sources of free energy are often involved.     

Petrogenesis of Na-rich paralava formed by methane flares associated with mud volcanism, Altyn-Emel National Park, Kazakhstan

High-Na slag-like rocks (paralava) with 4.5–11 % Na₂O from the Altyn-Emel mud volcanic field, Kazakhstan, are the products of melting of sediment + salt mixtures by methane flares associated with mud extrusion. The main minerals of the paralavas are diopside and wollastonite which have quench morphologies. Other high-temperature phases (crystallizing from melt and vapour phase) are tridymite, cristobalite, chlorapatite, alkali feldspar, pyrrhotite, native iron and silicon, iron phosphides, titanite, rutile, and carbon. The paralavas lack the Na–Ca silicates devitrite and combeite, but have high-Na and Na–K glasses that have not been homogenized despite low viscosities of <10^?3.5 Pa s. The large number of ignition foci in the Altyn-Emel mud volcano field indicates gas venting from small, shallow reservoirs. The methane flares are inferred to have been small and the fire events short-lived. Fires were extinguished once overpressure released during eruption, methane venting stopped and melted rocks rapidly quenched. The periodicity of eruptions and methane flaring most likely depends on the recurrence of earthquakes (M < 5) which are frequent in this tectonically active area.     

Evolution and deep structure of the Zeya-Bureya and Songliao sedimentary basins (East Asia)

The evolution and deep structure of the Songliao and Zeya-Bureya basins can be divided into the rift, platform (subsidence), and neotectonic phases. The rift phase (Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous) climaxed at the formation of a basin-wide near N-S-oriented rift system, which was followed (Late Cretaceous) by the deposition of the deep-water organic-rich lacustrine source facies with the maximum thickness identified in the Songliao basin (up to 1100 m). The neotectonic phase was marked by the pronounced differences in the basin’s development caused by the formation of a series of E-W-trending transverse structures, which eventually separated the basins, changed the drainage pattern, and blocked the rivers draining southwards from the Zeya-Bureya to the Songliao basin. The differences in the deep structure of the basins are also strongly pronounced. High heat flow values of more than 70 mW/m² are typical of the Songliao basin, and its mantle heat flow component is higher than the crustal one, as compared to the Zeya-Bureya basin (below 50 mW/m²). The crustal thickness of the Zeya-Bureya basin is higher than that of the Songliao basin (38–42 km and 29–34 km) with a lithospheric thickness of 110–140 km and 50–75 km, respectively. The only exception is the southern Zeya-Bureya basin, which has an electrical structure similar to that of the Songliao basin. These differences have important implications for the evaluation of the hydrocarbon potential of the rift basins. It was suggested that the evaluation of the hydrocarbon potential of the sedimentary basins or parts of these basins should account for two factors: (1) the influence of the lithospheric motions and the related collisional processes and (2) the anomalies in the deep lithospheric structures (the high heat flow and the reduced crustal and lithospheric thickness). The results of this study indicate that the southern part of the Zeya-Bureya basin (in particular, the Lermontovka, Dmitrievka, Mikhailovka, Ekaterinoslavka, and Arkhara troughs) is interpreted to have a fairly high hydrocarbon potential.     

Initial Fe/O Enhancements in Large, Gradual, Solar Energetic Particle Events: Observations from Wind and Ulysses

Shocks driven by fast coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are the dominant particle accelerators in large, “gradual” solar energetic particle (SEP) events. In these events, the event-integrated value of the iron-to-oxygen ratio (Fe/O) is typically ～?0.1, at least at energies of a few MeV/nucleon. However, at the start of some gradual events, when intensities are low and growing, initially Fe/O is ～?1. This value is also characteristic of small, “impulsive” SEP events, in which particle acceleration is due to magnetic reconnection. These observations suggested that SEPs in gradual events also include a direct contribution from the flare that accompanied the CME launch. If correct, this interpretation is of critical importance: it indicates a clear path to interplanetary space for particles from the reconnection region beneath the CME. A key issue for the flare origin is “magnetic connectedness”, i.e., proximity of the flare site to the solar footpoint of the observer’s magnetic field line. We present two large gradual events observed in 2001 by Wind at L1 and by Ulysses, when it was located at >?60^° heliolatitude and beyond 1.6 AU. In these events, transient Fe/O enhancements at 5?–?10 MeV/nucleon were seen at both spacecraft, even though one or both is not “well-connected” to the flare. These observations demonstrate that an initial Fe/O enhancement cannot be cited as evidence for a direct flare component. Instead, initial Fe/O enhancements are better understood as a transport effect, driven by the different mass-to-charge ratios of Fe and O. We further demonstrate that the time-constant of the roughly exponential decay of the Fe/O ratio scales as R ², where R is the observer’s radial distance from the Sun. This behavior is consistent with radial diffusion. These observations thus also provide a potential constraint on models in which SEPs reach high heliolatitudes by cross-field diffusion.     

Magnetic Flux Changes and Cancellation Associated with X-Class and M-Class Flares

We perform a statistical study of permanent changes in longitudinal fields associated with solar flares by tracking magnetic features. The YAFTA feature tracking algorithm is applied to GONG++ 1-minute magnetograms for 77 X-class and M-class flares to analyze the evolution and interaction of the magnetic features and to estimate the amount of canceled magnetic flux. We find that significantly more magnetic flux decreases than increases occurred during the flares, consistent with a model of collapsing loop structure for flares. Correlations between both total (unsigned) and net (signed) flux changes and the GOES peak X-ray flux are dominated by X-class flares at limb locations. The flux changes were accompanied in most cases by significant cancellation, most of which occurred during the flares. We find that the field strength and complexity near the polarity inversion line are approximately equally important in the flux cancellation processes that accompany the flares. We do not find a correlation between the flux cancellation events and the stepwise changes in the magnetic flux in the region.     

Identifying factors of influence in the spatial distribution of domestic fires

Domestic fires at the city level, being causes for casualties and causing significant material damages, are stored as a point pattern in a GIS. In this paper we apply a statistical point pattern analysis to derive major causes from related layers of information. We fit a G-function to analyse neighbourhood relations and a Strauss process for inferring causal relations. Using open-source software we find significant differences in patterns and explaining factors between the different parts of the day, in particular for different building types and income groups. We conclude that a quantitative spatial model can be fitted and that this provides a useful opportunity for fire brigades to improve planning their efforts.     

Fluctuations of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet recorded in the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility of periglacial loess from Ukraine

The azimuth of imbrication of minimum magnetic susceptibility axes in the youngest loess from Ukraine defines prevailing wind directions during aeolian sedimentation. It changes along the studied sections. These changes can be directly correlated with the fluctuations of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet. The northern and northeastern winds noted in the loess succession separated by a period when southwestern to southeastern winds were predominant may be correlated with two main phases of ice‐sheet advance during the Last Glacial Maximum. The ice‐sheet advances towards the areas of loess deposition generated katabatic winds that influenced aeolian sedimentation in the periglacial zone. A period of relatively stable wind directions during a younger phase of the Last Glacial Maximum was interrupted by periods with more chaotic wind regime most probably caused by fluctuations of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet during its retreat from the peri‐Baltic part of Europe. These intervals occur where initial soils developed. The distribution of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility axes defined along the periglacial loess sections from central and eastern Europe can serve to constrain fluctuations of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet.     

Sea Surface Salinity Observations from Space with the SMOS Satellite: A New Means to Monitor the Marine Branch of the Water Cycle

While it is well known that the ocean is one of the most important component of the climate system, with a heat capacity 1,100 times greater than the atmosphere, the ocean is also the primary reservoir for freshwater transport to the atmosphere and largest component of the global water cycle. Two new satellite sensors, the ESA Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) and the NASA Aquarius SAC-D missions, are now providing the first space-borne measurements of the sea surface salinity (SSS). In this paper, we present examples demonstrating how SMOS-derived SSS data are being used to better characterize key land–ocean and atmosphere–ocean interaction processes that occur within the marine hydrological cycle. In particular, SMOS with its ocean mapping capability provides observations across the world’s largest tropical ocean fresh pool regions, and we discuss from intraseasonal to interannual precipitation impacts as well as large-scale river runoff from the Amazon–Orinoco and Congo rivers and its offshore advection. Synergistic multi-satellite analyses of these new surface salinity data sets combined with sea surface temperature, dynamical height and currents from altimetry, surface wind, ocean color, rainfall estimates, and in situ observations are shown to yield new freshwater budget insight. Finally, SSS observations from the SMOS and Aquarius/SAC-D sensors are combined to examine the response of the upper ocean to tropical cyclone passage including the potential role that a freshwater-induced upper ocean barrier layer may play in modulating surface cooling and enthalpy flux in tropical cyclone track regions.     

Assessment of climate information needs in the Argentinean Agro-business sector

The present investigation aims at identifying the needs of the Argentinean agro-business sector for climate research and information. Our approach is focused on any type of climate information from past observations to seasonal prediction and climate change projections. We tried, in particular, to evaluate the possible existence of specific research themes that would be of major interest for these agriculture end-users. We interviewed representatives of seventeen companies from three major agrobusiness sectors: (1) regional/national entities such as agricultural associations, cooperatives and commercial trade boards; (2) insurance companies in the Argentinean agro-insurance market; and (3) large national and international companies representing cereal producers, agro-chemistry and agro-seeds. While all the interviewees recognized the strong influence of climate on their activities, they all pointed out that, at the time of making decision, they considered the political and economic risks rather than the climate one. In many aspects, climate is often considered as a fatality against which it is difficult to be protected. An interesting result is the confidence of the private sectors in the climate information provided by public sources (INTA, SMN, Universities) although they contract private consultants for frequent reports and tendencies. Finally, we explain how such sectors could make a better use of climate information (seasonal prediction, climate change scenarios) that could be integrated in their business projections. In particular, the development of new financial contracts (climate derivatives) open in countries with a relatively poor insurance history new ways to protect the different agricultural sectors, from the producer to large companies.