Tracking a Ulysses High-latitude ICME Event Back to Its Solar Origins

High-latitude interplanetary mass ejections (ICMEs) observed beyond 1 AU are not studied very often. They are useful for improving our understanding of the 3D heliosphere. As there are only few such events registered by the Ulysses spacecraft, the task of detecting their solar counterparts is a challenge, especially during high solar activity periods, because there are dozens coronal mass ejections (CMEs) registered by SOHO that might be chosen as candidates. We analyzed a high-latitude ICME registered by the Ulysses spacecraft on 18 January 2002. Our investigation focused on the correlation between various plasma parameters that allow the identification to be made of the ICME and its components such as the forward shock, the magnetic cloud and the reverse shock.     

Rapid processes in solar prominences: A parallel between cycles no. 20 and 21

Some statistical aspects of three types of rapid processes (surges, activations, and eruptions) in solar prominences during cycle No. 20 are presented and compared with those of cycle No. 21: the distribution of the events over the cycles, the active longitude intervals each year within a solar cycle and the north-south asymmetry.     

Solar Wind Electron Strahls Associated with a High-Latitude CME: Ulysses Observations

Counterstreaming beams of electrons are ubiquitous in coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – although their existence is not unanimously accepted as a necessary and/or sufficient signature of these events. We continue the investigation of a high-latitude CME registered by the Ulysses spacecraft on 18?–?19 January 2002 (Dumitrache, Popescu, and Oncica, Solar Phys. 272, 137, 2011), by surveying the solar-wind electron distributions associated with this event. The temporal evolution of the pitch-angle distributions reveals populations of electrons that are distinguishable through their anisotropy, with clear signatures of i) electron strahls, ii) counter-streaming in the magnetic clouds and their precursors, and iii) unidirectionality in the fast wind preceding the CME. The analysis of the counter-streams inside the CME allows us to elucidate the complexity of the magnetic-cloud structures embedded in the CME and to refine the borders of the event. Identifying such strahls in CMEs, which preserve properties of the low β [<1] coronal plasma, gives more support to the hypothesis that these populations are remnants of the hot coronal electrons that escape from the electrostatic potential of the Sun into the heliosphere.     

Plastic litter in sediments from the Croatian marine protected area of the natural park of Telaščica bay (Adriatic Sea)

This paper reports baseline levels of litter (macro, meso and microplastics) in sediments collected from different areas of the Croatian MPA of the Natural Park of Tela??ica bay (Adriatic Sea, GSA n. 17). The distribution of total abundance according to size, for all analysed locations evidences that microplastics are the dominant fraction concerning item's numbers. In all analysed samples no macroplastics were found, while microplastics are 88.71% and mesoplastics are 11.29% of the total.     

A Complex Filament Evolution

A complex filament composed by a main body a polar filament and a tail—a small filament situated between active regions, was observed between 6 and 14 January 2001. A decaying active region plays the role of attractor for this filament. We have studied the dynamics of the filament which disappeared in a spectacular CME, produced after a helical up-awarded movement of plasma in the filaments loops.     

Numerical simulation of mud-flows impacting structures

The study of the interaction of mud-flows with obstacles is important to define inundation zones in urban areas and to design the possible structural countermeasures. The paper numerically investigates the impact of a mud-flow on rigid obstacles to evaluate the force acting on them using two different depth-integrated theoretical models, Single-Phase Model(SPM) and Two-Phase Model(TPM), to compare their performance and limits. In the first one the water-sediment mixture is represented as a homogeneous continuum described by a shearthinning power-law rheology. Alternatively, the twophase model proposed by Di Cristo et al in 2016 is used, which separately accounts for the liquid and solid phases. The considered test cases are represented by a 1D landslide flowing on a steep slope impacting on a rigid wall and a 2D mud dam-break flowing on a horizontal bottom in presence of single and multiple rigid obstacles. In the 1D test case, characterized by a very steep slope, the Two-Phase Model predicts the separation between the two phases with a significant longitudinal variation of the solid concentration. In this case the results indicate appreciable differences between the two models in the estimation of both the wave celerity and the magnitude of the impact, with an overestimation of the peak force when using the Single-Phase Model. In the 2D test-cases, where the liquid and solid phases remain mixed, even if the flow fields predicted by the two models present some differences, the essential features of the interaction with the obstacles, along with the maximum impact force, are comparable.     

Site classification using equivalent soil profiles for building-liquefaction interaction

The seismic behaviour of a building on a liquefiable deposit is a complex interaction which involves quantifying both shaking induced damage and permanent ground deformation-related damage. In this paper the key parameters that influence both surface shaking and foundation settlements have been identified as the depth, thickness and liquefaction resistance of an equivalent liquefiable layer. These parameters can be used to develop an ‘equivalent soil profile’ that is analogous to the equivalent single degree-of-freedom that reduces the complexity of the dynamic response of a building into comparable and easily understood quantities. The equivalent soil profile is quantified independent of the seismic hazard, making it compatible with performance based design and assessment frameworks such that the building and soil profile can be directly assessed at different levels of seismic hazard. Several numerical studies are presented that demonstrate the influence of these key parameters on the ground surface shaking and foundation settlement. A set of criteria are proposed for classifying soil profiles into 22 different soil classes for regional loss assessment. An algorithm was developed for automatically fitting the equivalent soil profile to a cone penetration test trace and issues with the fitting are discussed. Field reconnaissance was undertaken to collect additional data to support existing datasets on the performance of buildings in Adapazari, during the 1999 Kocaeli, Turkey, earthquake (Mw = 7.4). The field case history data was used to investigate the correlation between the depth, thickness and liquefaction resistance of an equivalent liquefiable layer, on the extent of foundation permanent deformation. The case history data showed that in general a shallow, thick and weak liquefiable layer near the surface results in significant settlement but a lack of data for buildings on non-liquefiable deposits and the additional complexities involved with real buildings and soil deposits, meant that the trends observed in the idealised numerical models could not identified in the field case history data set.

     

Green’s function of the linearized Saint-Venant equations in laminar and turbulent flows

In the present paper, an analytical expression of the Green’s function of linearized Saint-Venant equations (LSVEs) for shallow water waves is provided and applied to analyse the propagation of a perturbation superposed to a uniform flow. Independently of the kinematic character of the base flow, i.e., subcritical or supercritical uniform flow, the effects of a non-uniform vertical velocity profile and a non-constant resistance coefficient are accounted for. The use of the Darcy-Weisbach friction law allows a unified treatment of both laminar and turbulent conditions. The influence on the wave evolution of the wall roughness and the fluid viscosity are finally discussed, showing that in turbulent regime the assumption of constant friction coefficient may lead to an underestimation of both amplification and damping factors on the wave fronts, especially at low Reynolds numbers. This conclusion has to be accounted for, particularly in describing hyper-concentrated suspensions or other kinds of Newtonian mixtures, for which the high values of the kinematic viscosity may lead to relatively low Reynolds numbers.