Observations of polar patches generated by solar wind Alfvén wave coupling to the dayside magnetosphere

A long series of polar patches was observed by ionosondes and an all-sky imager during a disturbed period (K_p = 7- and IMF B_z <0). The ionosondes measured electron densities of up to 9 × 10¹¹ m⁻³ in the patch center, an increase above the density minimum between patches by a factor of ≈4.5. Bands of F-region irregularities generated at the equatorward edge of the patches were tracked by HF radars. The backscatter bands were swept northward and eastward across the polar cap in a fan-like formation as the afternoon convection cell expanded due to the IMF B_y > 0. Near the north magnetic pole, an all-sky imager observed the 630-nm emission patches of a distinctly band-like shape drifting northeastward to eastward. The 630-nm emission patches were associated with the density patches and backscatter bands. The patches originated in, or near, the cusp footprint where they were formed by convection bursts (flow channel events, FCEs) structuring the solar EUV-produced photoionization and the particle-produced auroral/cusp ionization by segmenting it into elongated patches. Just equatorward of the cusp footprint Pc5 field line resonances (FLRs) were observed by magnetometers, riometers and VHF/HF radars. The AC electric field associated with the FLRs resulted in a poleward-progressing zonal flow pattern and backscatter bands. The VHF radar Doppler spectra indicated the presence of steep electron density gradients which, through the gradient drift instability, can lead to the generation of the ionospheric irregularities found in patches. The FLRs and FCEs were associated with poleward-progressing DPY currents (Hall currents modulated by the IMF B_y) and riometer absorption enhancements. The temporal and spatial characteristics of the VHF backscatter and associated riometer absorptions closely resembled those of poleward moving auroral forms (PMAFs). In the solar wind, IMP 8 observed large amplitude Alfvén waves that were correlated with Pc5 pulsations observed by the ground magnetometers, riometers and radars. It is concluded that the FLRs and FCEs that produced patches were driven by solar wind Alfvén waves coupling to the dayside magnetosphere. During a period of southward IMF the dawn-dusk electric field associated with the Alfvén waves modulated the subsolar magnetic reconnection into pulses that resulted in convection flow bursts mapping to the ionospheric footprint of the cusp.     

Relative quantification of wind erosion in argan woodlands in the Souss Basin,Morocco

The endemic argan woodlands cover large parts of South Morocco and create a characteristic landscape with areas of sparsely vegetated and bare soil surfaces between single trees. This unique ecosystem has been under extensive agrosilvopastoral management for centuries and is now at risk of degradation caused by overgrazing and increasing scarcity and variability of rainfall. To investigate susceptibility to wind erosion, we conducted an experimental–empirical study including wind tunnel tests and a drone-generated digital elevation model and quantified wind-erodible material on five different associated surface types by means of sediment catchers. The highest emission flux was measured on freshly ploughed surfaces (1875 g m^–2 h^–1), while older ploughed areas with a re-established crust produced a much lower emission flux (795 g m^–2 h^–1). Extensive tillage may have been a sustainable practice for generations, but increasing drought and uncertainty of rainfall now lead to an acute risk of severe soil erosion and dust production. The typical crusted surfaces characterized by residual rock fragment accumulation and wash processes produced the second highest emission flux (1,354 g m^–2 h^–1). Material collected from tree-shaded areas (933 g m^–2 h^–1) was revealed to be a considerable source of organic material, possibly affecting substrate conditions positively on a larger regional scale. The lowest flux was measured on rock fragment-covered surfaces (301 g m^–2 h^–1). The data show that open argan woodland may be a considerable source for wind erosion and dust production, depending on surface characteristics strongly related to management. An adapted management must include the conservation of argan trees to offer a promising approach to prevent severe wind erosion and dust production and mitigate possible impacts of land-use change and climate change related shifts in wind and rainfall patterns. © 2020 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

Conventional Oil—The Forgotten Part of the Water-Energy Nexus

The impacts of unconventional oil and gas production via high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) on water resources, such as water use, groundwater and surface water contamination, and disposal of produced waters, have received a great deal of attention over the past decade. Conventional oil and gas production (e.g., enhanced oil recovery [EOR]), which has been occurring for more than a century in some areas of North America, shares the same environmental concerns, but has received comparatively little attention. Here, we compare the amount of produced water versus saltwater disposal (SWD) and injection for EOR in several prolific hydrocarbon producing regions in the United States and Canada. The total volume of saline and fresh to brackish water injected into depleted oil fields and nonproductive formations is greater than the total volume of produced waters in most regions. The addition of fresh to brackish “makeup” water for EOR may account for the net gain of subsurface water. The total amount of water injected and produced for conventional oil and gas production is greater than that associated with HVHF and unconventional oil and gas production by well over a factor of 10. Reservoir pressure increases from EOR and SWD wells are low compared to injection of fluids for HVHF, however, the longer duration of injections could allow for greater solute transport distances and potential for contamination. Attention should be refocused from the subsurface environmental impacts of HVHF to the oil and gas industry as a whole.     

Population structure of the sicklefin lemon shark Negaprion acutidens within the Curieuse Marine National Park,Seychelles

This study produced the first data on population parameters for sicklefin lemon shark Negaprion acutidens at the granitic Seychelles Islands, adding to a limited catalogue of species information. Juveniles at a site in the Curieuse Marine National Park were tagged over two periods, in 2014–2015 and 2015–2016, with measurements of length (precaudal, fork and total) and weight, sex, and state of the umbilical opening recorded. Recapture data were used to calculate growth rates and population size. Mean annual growth rate was 5.40 cm y^–1. A mean size at birth of 62.5 cm TL is in line with previous assessments of the species. Population-size estimates were similar for the two sampling periods (comprising 311 and 255 individuals) and higher than anticipated. Movements to outside the lagoon were recorded for early ages, and this, combined with weight loss and a reduction in condition factor as displayed in several individuals, suggests that the study area alone could not support the large number of sharks pupped yearly.     

Jurassic stratigraphy of the Belluno Basin and Friuli Platform: a perspective on far-field compression in the Adria passive margin

Anomalous patterns of the sedimentary architecture have been recognized in passive margins, and only recently they have been associated with plate reorganization or compressional deformations propagating from distant margins. With the aim of discussing the sedimentary architecture and the potential tectonic perturbations to the passive margin pattern, we present the revision of the stratigraphy of a fossil passive margin, involved in the retrobelt of the Alpine orogeny. The main events at the transition from rifted to passive margin have been controlled by palaeoceanography, i.e. the trophic state of surface waters that hampered the carbonate photozoan productivity for a long period between Toarcian and Callovian. Toward the latest Bajocian–earliest Bathonian, the platform productivity increased, dominated by ooids. A regressional trend up to the Middle Bathonian allowed the rapid infilling of the previous rift basin. The successive aggradation in the platform was still dominated by non-skeletal grains until the Early Oxfordian. The Middle Oxfordian to Early Kimmeridgian was a time of recovery of the palaeoceanographic conditions allowing the establishment of a hydrozoan/coral rich platform. The sedimentation rates in the platform increased at the margin of the productive Friuli–Adriatic Platform. From Late Kimmeridgian on, the sedimentation rates at the platform margin returned to the pre-Oxfordian values. At the scale of the whole Adriatic Platform, the Middle Oxfordian to Early Kimmeridgian interval is variable in thickness from 0 to 800 m, and it depicts a couple of folds of around 80–100 km of wavelength. The subsidence analysis of wells and composite logs from literature suggests this interval as a perturbation to the passive margin trend of around 3 Myr of duration. We interpret this folding event, superimposed to the passive margin subsidence, as the far field expression of the transition from intraoceanic to continental obduction, occurred at the eastern Adria active margin.     

Improved performance‐based seismic assessment of buildings by utilizing Bayesian statistics

This paper addresses two important issues of concern to practicing engineers and researchers alike in application of performance‐based seismic assessment (PBSA) methodology on buildings: (i) the number of ground motion records required to exercise PBSA—current practice (FEMA P‐58‐1) requires eleven or more pairs of motions for this purpose, and (ii) the time and effort associated with performing the number of nonlinear response history analyses required to exercise PBSA. We present a method for exercising of PBSA that employs classical linear modal analysis to develop a first estimate (i.e., a priori) of probability distribution of loss, followed by utilizing Bayesian statistics to update this estimate using estimates of loss obtained by utilizing a small number of nonlinear response history analyses of a detailed model of the building (i.e., posterior). The proposed technique is used to assess the distribution of monetary loss of two case studies, a 4‐story reinforced concrete moment‐resisting frame building and a 20‐story steel moment‐resisting frame building, both located in Los Angeles, for a ground motion hazard with 10% probability of exceedance in 50 years. The efficiency of the proposed PBSA method is demonstrated by showing the similarity between the distribution of monetary loss at each story of case study buildings obtained from the traditional/sophisticated PBSA methodology and the proposed PBSA method in this study. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using meteorological observer data to compare wind erosion during two great droughts in eastern Australia; the World War II Drought (1937–1946) and the Millennium Drought (2001–2010)

Australian meteorological observers started using the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) weather coding system in the 1950s. This system is still in use around the world today. However, observing and recording the weather in an organized and systematic manner had been ongoing for over 100 years prior to the adoption of this coding system, and much like Australia, most countries will have historical meteorological records. In this paper we compare the wind erosion of two of the greatest droughts in Australian recorded history; the World War II (WWII) Drought (1937–1945) and the Millennium Drought (2001–2009). To do this we analysed previously unavailable meteorological observer records from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (ABM). Wind erosion records, mostly in long‐hand written form, were translated to the modern WMO coding system for the WWII Drought and compared with the wind erosion of Australia's recently‐ended Millennium Drought, one of the longest and harshest on record. We quantify wind erosion using Dust Event Days (DED) and a modified version of a published Dust Storm Index (DSI) to show that wind erosion during the WWII Drought was up to 4.6 times higher than during the Millennium Drought. This study has international significance because it demonstrates a methodology for tracking changes in wind erosion over the past 75 years based on observer records available in every country with a history of organized weather observation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Drivers of Australian dust: a case study of frontal winds and dust dynamics in the lower lake Eyre basin

The roles of pre‐frontal, frontal and post‐frontal winds as the primary wind systems for dust entrainment and transport in Australia are well established. While the relevance of each system has been observed across different wind erosion events in central Australia, the entrainment of dust by all three winds during the passage of an individual front has not been demonstrated until now. Synoptic information, satellite aerosol and imagery, meteorological and dust concentration data are presented for a single case study erosion event in the lower Lake Eyre Basin. This event demonstrates variable dust transport in three different directions from one of the southern Hemisphere's most significant source regions, and the changing nature of the active dust pathways during the passage of a frontal system. While only a single dust event is considered, the findings show the complexity of mineral aerosol emission and transport patterns even within an individual dust outbreak. For the lower Lake Eyre Basin, this appreciation of pathway behaviour is significant for better understanding the role of aeolian inputs from the dominant Australian source to surrounding marine systems. In a wider context, the findings exhibit the detailed insights into major dust source dynamics that can be obtained from high resolution spatial and particularly temporal data, as used in combination. This work highlights the importance of adequately resolved data for the accurate determination of dust entrainment and transport patterns of major dust sources. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.