Automated Prediction of CMEs Using Machine Learning of CME – Flare Associations

Machine-learning algorithms are applied to explore the relation between significant flares and their associated CMEs. The NGDC flares catalogue and the SOHO/LASCO CME catalogue are processed to associate X and M-class flares with CMEs based on timing information. Automated systems are created to process and associate years of flare and CME data, which are later arranged in numerical-training vectors and fed to machine-learning algorithms to extract the embedded knowledge and provide learning rules that can be used for the automated prediction of CMEs. Properties representing the intensity, flare duration, and duration of decline and duration of growth are extracted from all the associated (A) and not-associated (NA) flares and converted to a numerical format that is suitable for machine-learning use. The machine-learning algorithms Cascade Correlation Neural Networks (CCNN) and Support Vector Machines (SVM) are used and compared in our work. The machine-learning systems predict, from the input of a flare’s properties, if the flare is likely to initiate a CME. Intensive experiments using Jack-knife techniques are carried out and the relationships between flare properties and CMEs are investigated using the results. The predictive performance of SVM and CCNN is analysed and recommendations for enhancing the performance are provided.     

Dependence of the Characteristics of Solar Wind Discontinuities and Shocks with Heliolatitude and Radial Distance

The distribution of the shocks in the heliosphere and their characteristic variations are investigated using Ulysses observations. The jumps in solar wind velocity, IMF magnitude, and proton density across the shocks and discontinuities are evaluated and used to characterize them. The distribution of these discontinuities with respect to heliolatitude ± 80° and with radial distance 1 to 5 AU are analyzed during solar minimum and solar maximum to understand their global behavior. It is noticed that the jumps in solar wind parameters associated with shocks and discontinuities are more prominent during the second orbit of Ulysses, which coincided with the maximum phase of solar activity.     

The Responses of the Deformable Earth to Different Driving Forces

The spatial and temporal variations of the Earth deformation and the gravitational field are important both in the theoretical research and in the construction of geospatial database. The Earth deforms due to various mechanisms and the deformation further induces changes in the gravitational potential of the Earth, i.e. the deformation-induced additional potential or the Euler gravitational increment. Based on the theory of vector spherical harmonics, we discuss in this paper the Earth deformation and gravitational increment resulting from the tidal force, loading force and the stress of the Earth's surface. We write out the expression for the Euler gravitational potential increment and the relations between different Love numbers. These are all important points in the research on Earth deformation.     

Detection of high-energy solar neutrons and protons by ground level detectors on April 15, 2001

In association with the large solar flare of April 15, 2001, the Chacaltaya neutron monitor observed a 3.6σ enhancement of the counting rate between 13:51 and 14:15 UT. Since the enhancement was observed beginning 11 min before the GLE, solar neutrons must be involved in this enhancement. The integral energy spectrum of solar neutrons can be expressed by a simple power law in energy with the index γ=-3.0±1.0. On the other hand, an integral energy spectrum of solar protons has been obtained in the energy range between 650 MeV and 12 GeV. The spectrum can also be expressed by a power law with the power index γ=-2.75±0.15. The flux of solar protons observed at Chacaltaya (at 12 GeV) was already one order less than the flux of the galactic cosmic rays. It may be the first simultaneous observation of the energy spectra of both high-energy protons and neutrons. Comparing the Yohkoh soft X-ray telescope images with the observed particle time profiles, an interesting picture of the particle acceleration mechanism has been deduced.     

Rebuttal to “Comment on the paper “Comparison of the composition of the Tempel 1 ejecta to the dust in Comet C/Hale-Bopp 1995 O1 and YSO HD 100546” by C.M. Lisse, K.E. Kraemer, J.A. Nuth III, A. Li, and D. Joswiak"

This response is to address the comments made by Drs. J. Crovisier and D. Bockelee-Morvan concerning the spectral analysis of Lisse et al. [Lisse, C.M., Kraemer, K.E., Nuth, J.A., Li, A., Joswiak, D., 2007. Icarus 187, 69-86] of the mid-IR ISO SWS spectrum of Comet Hale-Bopp 1995 O1 taken on October 6, 1996, and to support the conclusions made in Lisse et al. concerning the positive detection of PAHs in this comet. We also present some additional information determined from the Deep Impact and STARDUST missions, demonstrating the presence of PAHs in other comets, to support the plausibility of the Hale-Bopp PAH detection.     

The formation of the Oort cloud in open cluster environments

We study the influence of an open cluster environment on the formation and current structure of the Oort cloud. To do this, we have run 19 different simulations of the formation of the Oort cloud for 4.5 Gyrs. In each simulation, the Solar System spends its first 100 Myrs in a different open cluster environment before transitioning to its current field environment. We find that, compared to forming in the field environment, the inner Oort cloud is preferentially loaded with comets while the Sun resides in the open cluster and that most of this material remains locked in the interior of the cloud for the next 4.4 Gyrs. In addition, the outer Oort cloud trapping efficiencies we observe in our simulations are lower than previous formation models by about a factor of 2, possibly implying an even more massive early planetesimal disk. Furthermore, some of our simulations reproduce the orbits of observed extended scattered disk objects, which may serve as an observational constraint on the Sun's early environment. Depending on the particular open cluster environment, the properties of the inner Oort cloud and extended scattered disk can vary widely. On the other hand, the outer portions of the Oort cloud in each of our simulations are all similar.     

Crystallization of cosmic dust from highly supersaturated silicate vapor in a rapidly cooled environment

Growth conditions and the resultant morphology of cosmic forsterite and enstatite particles condensed from the vapor were investigated experimentally as a function of growth temperature and supersaturation using flash-heating by CO₂ laser irradiation. Forsterite particles grew dominantly, followed by a few pyroxenes. No silica minerals were observed. The forsterite morphology changed systematically depending on the temperature (T) and the vapor supersaturation (σ). As the temperature decreased and the vapor supersaturation increased, the forsterite morphology changed from a bulky type (T=1000-1450 °C, σ<97) to a platy type (T=700-1000 °C, σ=97-161), then to a columnar needle shape (T=500-820 °C, σ=131-230), and finally to a droplet type (T<500 °C, σ>230). Very thin polygonal growth steps, which suggest vapor-solid (VS) growth, were detected on the surface of the faceted bulky and platy forsterite particles. Transmission electron microscopic (TEM) observation showed that the tip of the columnar and needle-shaped forsterite was covered with an amorphous layer. This amorphous coverage illustrates that a liquid phase can be condensed from the vapor, even under the stable conditions where crystalline forsterite is stable. This amorphous layer plays a role in the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism of the forsterite particles. The difference in the growth mechanism as a function of vapor supersaturation and temperature can be explained by metastable liquid condensation. The experimentally synthesized coexisting patterns of VS-grown and VLS-grown olivine particles resemble the pattern of matrix olivine or chondrule rims in primitive meteorites. Forsterite can crystallize more easily than either pyroxene or silica minerals, which is consistent with the dominance of forsterite in cometary dust particles, as suggested by its infrared spectrum.     

Effect of NOAA satellite orbital drift on AVHRR-derived phenological metrics

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center routinely produces and distributes a remote sensing phenology (RSP) dataset derived from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) 1-km data compiled from a series of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites (NOAA-11, −14, −16, −17, −18, and −19). Each NOAA satellite experienced orbital drift during its duty period, which influenced the AVHRR reflectance measurements. To understand the effect of the orbital drift on the AVHRR-derived RSP dataset, we analyzed the impact of solar zenith angle (SZA) on the RSP metrics in the conterminous United States (CONUS). The AVHRR weekly composites were used to calculate the growing-season median SZA at the pixel level for each year from 1989 to 2014. The results showed that the SZA increased towards the end of each NOAA satellite mission with the highest increasing rate occurring during NOAA-11 (1989–1994) and NOAA-14 (1995–2000) missions. The growing-season median SZA values (44°–60°) in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1999, and 2000 were substantially higher than those in other years (28°–40°). The high SZA in those years caused negative trends in the SZA time series, that were statistically significant (at α = 0.05 level) in 76.9% of the CONUS area. A pixel-based temporal correlation analysis showed that the phenological metrics and SZA were significantly correlated (at α = 0.05 level) in 4.1–20.4% of the CONUS area. After excluding the 5 years with high SZA (>40°) from the analysis, the temporal SZA trend was largely reduced, significantly affecting less than 2% of the study area. Additionally, significant correlation between the phenological metrics and SZA was observed in less than 7% of the study area. Our study concluded that the NOAA satellite orbital drift increased SZA, and in turn, influenced the phenological metrics. Elimination of the years with high median SZA reduced the influence of orbital drift on the RSP time series.     

1616-1911年河南省异常洪涝灾害的时空特征及其成因

通过分类和整理1616-1911年河南省洪涝灾害记录,建立了洪涝灾害等级序列。采用Morlet小波变换、DBSCAN空间聚类等方法研究了河南异常洪涝灾害时空分异规律。探讨了洪涝发生对东亚夏季风和太阳活动变化的响应。结果表明：河南省洪涝灾害的发生存在80 a、30 a、20 a、9 a 4个主周期。在不同冷暖时期,北部地区洪涝灾害强度大于南部地区,且气候冷期洪涝强度和发生区域明显大于气候暖期,这除了与降水分布有关外,可能还与水域分布有关。河南南、北部洪涝强度对东亚夏季风强度的响应存在较大的差异,在东亚夏季风强年,季风系统位置偏北,易引起北部地区多洪涝;在东亚夏季风弱年,季风系统位置偏南,易引起南部地区多洪涝。不同时间尺度上二者相关性有显著差异,在100 a及以下时间尺度上,东亚夏季风对河南南部的洪涝影响显著;在200 a时间尺度上,东亚夏季风对河南北部的洪涝影响更显著。洪涝灾害易出现在太阳黑子数极值年及其附近,出现在极大值M年的频率高于极小值m年。河南北部的洪涝在各种不同时间尺度上对太阳黑子周期长度（SCL）的变化均有显著响应,河南南部的洪涝只在100 a尺度上对SCL的变化有显著响应,即当SCL变长（太阳活动减弱）时,有利于河南北部洪涝的少发;反之有利于洪涝的多发。河南省洪涝的变化可能是太阳活动与东亚夏季风共同作用的结果。进一步揭示历史洪涝发生规律及其成因对于正确预估未来旱涝趋势具有重要意义。     

太阳变化驱动气候变化研究进展

从5个方面综述了近20年来太阳变化驱动气候变化研究的进展,重点在机制方面,即对全球变暖原因看法的分歧、太阳总辐射量的卫星测量结果、树轮14C记录与太阳变化代用指标、太阳变化影响的模拟研究,以及太阳—宇宙射线—云量的关系。强调这是一个有重大经济和科学意义的前沿课题。