Atmospheric predictability of the martian atmosphere: from low-dimensional dynamics to operational forecasting?

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Reduced-order models of the Martian atmospheric dynamics

In this paper we explore the possibility of deriving low-dimensional models of the dynamics of the Martian atmosphere. The analysis consists of a Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) of the atmospheric streamfunction after first decomposing the vertical structure with a set of eigenmodes. The vertical modes were obtained from the quasi-geostrophic vertical structure equation. The empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) were optimized to represent the atmospheric total energy. The total energy was used as the criterion to retain those modes with large energy content and discard the rest. The principal components (PCs) were analysed by means of Fourier analysis, so that the dominant frequencies could be identified. It was possible to observe the strong influence of the diurnal cycle and to identify the motion and vacillation of baroclinic waves

Nitrogen oxides and PAN in plumes from boreal fires during ARCTAS-B and their impact on ozone: an integrated analysis of aircraft and satellite observations

We determine enhancement ratios for NO_x, PAN, and other NO_y species from boreal biomass burning using aircraft data obtained during the ARCTAS-B campaign and examine the impact of these emissions on tropospheric ozone in the Arctic. We find an initial emission factor for NO_x of 1.06 g NO per kg dry matter (DM) burned, much lower than previous observations of boreal plumes, and also one third the value recommended for extratropical fires. Our analysis provides the first observational confirmation of rapid PAN formation in a boreal smoke plume, with 40% of the initial NO_x emissions being converted to PAN in the first few hours after emission. We find little clear evidence for ozone formation in the boreal smoke plumes during ARCTAS-B in either aircraft or satellite observations, or in model simulations. Only a third of the smoke plumes observed by the NASA DC8 showed a correlation between ozone and CO, and ozone was depleted in the plumes as often as it was enhanced. Special observations from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) also show little evidence for enhanced ozone in boreal smoke plumes between 15 June and 15 July 2008. Of the 22 plumes observed by TES, only 4 showed ozone increasing within the smoke plumes, and even in those cases it was unclear that the increase was caused by fire emissions. Using the GEOS-Chem atmospheric chemistry model, we show that boreal fires during ARCTAS-B had little impact on the median ozone profile measured over Canada, and had little impact on ozone within the smoke plumes observed by TES

Teleconnection in the martian atmosphere during the 2001 planet-encircling dust storm

Introduction: In July 2001 (Martian year 25), Mars was enshrouded by a thick veil of dust which lasted for several months and obscured the observation of its surface to spacecraft cameras and ground-based telescopes. The emergence and rapid evolution (within a few days) of multiple, isolated, regional dust storms which eventually attained planetary scale extent were observed by NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft using high resolution camera images and the thermal profiles and dust opacity measurements pro-vided by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) [1, 2]. We have applied a technique used in Terrestrial meteorology (sequential data assimilation, [3]) to ob-tain a complete, four-dimensional evolution of all the atmospheric variables during the period of this planet-encircling dust storm, even those which were not di-rectly observed by the MGS satellite, such as surface pressure and winds. We assimilated TES nadir-pointing thermal profiles and total dust opacities in a global circulation model of the Martian atmosphere, developed jointly by the University of Oxford and the Open University in the United Kingdom, with the col-laboration of the Laboratoire de Météorologie Dyna-mique in Paris (UK-MGCM) [4, 5, 6]

The Space Environment and Atmospheric Joule Heating of the Habitable Zone Exoplanet TOI700-d

We investigate the space environment conditions near the Earth-size planet TOI~700~d using a set of numerical models for the stellar corona and wind, the planetary magnetosphere, and the planetary ionosphere. We drive our simulations using a scaled-down stellar input and a scaled-up solar input in order to obtain two independent solutions. We find that for the particular parameters used in our study, the stellar wind conditions near the planet are not very extreme -- slightly stronger than that near the Earth in terms of the stellar wind ram pressure and the intensity of the interplanetary magnetic field. Thus, the space environment near TOI700-d may not be extremely harmful to the planetary atmosphere, assuming the planet resembles the Earth. Nevertheless, we stress that the stellar input parameters and the actual planetary parameters are unconstrained, and different parameters may result in a much greater effect on the atmosphere of TOI700-d. Finally, we compare our results to solar wind measurements in the solar system and stress that modest stellar wind conditions may not guarantee atmospheric retention of exoplanets.Comment: accepted to Ap

Basic properties and applications of graded fractal bundles related to Clifford structures: An introduction

Using the central extension of the Cuntz C∗-algebra, we study the periodicity for corresponding fractals.З допомогою центрального розширення C*-алгебри Кунца вивчається періодичність для відповідних фракталів

Synopsis of the genus Spigelia (Loganiaceae) in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean

Antecedentes y Objetivos: Spigelia es un género neotropical con cerca de 90 especies distribuidas desde los Estados Unidos de América hasta Argentina. La diversidad del género presenta una separación espacial entre un grupo en Norte-Centroamérica/Caribe (NA) y otro en Sudamérica (SA), cada uno con un importante centro de diversificación. Sin embargo, el conocimiento sistemático del grupo no ha sido actualizado en los últimos 10 años, por lo que el objetivo de este trabajo es generar una sinopsis sistemática para el género distribuido en la región NA. Métodos: El trabajo se realizó a través de la búsqueda de información bibliográfica para obtener la historia taxonómica, así como trabajo de campo y revisión de material herborizado, a partir del cual se realizaron descripciones diagnósticas y mapas de distribución. Resultados clave: Se encontraron 29 especies distribuidas en la región NA, lo que representa alrededor de 30% de la diversidad del género, en las zonas tropical y subtropical. En la región NA, Mesoamérica es una de las regiones en las que se concentra la diversidad vegetal, lo que la cataloga como hotspot. El trabajo incluye información novedosa sobre la morfología del grupo, como descripciones de los caracteres polínicos y carpológicos, claves de identificación por regiones en NA y mapas de distribución en el área de estudio. Conclusiones: Este estudio representa el primer tratamiento taxonómico para el género Spigelia que incluye todas las especies de la región central y norte del continente americano. La información recopilada en este trabajo puede ser útil para ser integrada en análisis filogenéticos que ayuden a resolver las relaciones intragenéricas del grupo. Asimismo, la aplicación de herramientas de modelado de distribución potencial que permitan ubicar áreas para futuras colectas, así como el desarrollo de análisis biogeográficos que ayuden a comprender la distribución de la diversidad de Spigelia a lo largo del continente.Background and Aims: Spigelia is a Neotropical genus with about 90 species distributed from the United States of America to Argentina. The diversity of the genus presents a spatial separation with a group in North-Central America/ the Caribbean (NA) and another in South America (SA), each with an important center of diversification. However, the systematic knowledge of the group has not been updated in the last 10 years, so the objective of this work is to generate a systematic synopsis for the genus distributed in the NA region. Methods: The work was carried out through the search for bibliographic information to obtain the taxonomic history, field work and review of herbarium material, based on which diagnostic descriptions and distribution maps were made. Key results: Twenty-nine species distributed in the NA region were found, which represents about 30% of the diversity of the genus, distributed in the tropical and subtropical zones. In the NA region, Mesoamerica is one of the regions in which plant diversity is concentrated, which classifies it as a hotspot. This work includes novel information on the morphology of the group, such as descriptions of the pollen and carpological characters, identification keys for regions in NA and distribution maps in the study area. Conclusions: This study represents the first taxonomic treatment for the genus Spigelia that includes all the species of the central and northern regions of the Americas. The information collected in this work may be useful to be integrated into phylogenetic analyzes that help resolve the infrageneric relationships of the group. Likewise, the application of potential distribution modeling tools that would allow locating areas for future collection, as well as the development of biogeographic analyzes that help us understand the distribution patterns of Spigelia diversity along the continent

Two new records of the fern genus Lindsaea Dryand. ex Sm. (Lindsaeaceae) from Panama

We present the first records of Lindsaea leprieurii Hook. and Lindsaea angustipinna A.Rojas & Tejero from Panama. Images, taxonomic comments, conservation assessments, and geographic notes are provided

Linking atmospheric rivers and warm conveyor belt airflows

Extreme precipitation associated with extratropical cyclones can lead to flooding if cyclones track over land. However, the dynamical mechanisms by which moist air is transported into cyclones is poorly understood. In this paper we analyse airflows within a climatology of cyclones in order to understand how cyclones redistribute moisture stored in the atmosphere. This analysis shows that within a cyclones' warm sector the cyclone-relative airflow is rearwards relative to the cyclone propagation direction. This low-level airflow (termed the feeder airstream) slows down when it reaches the cold front resulting in moisture flux convergence and the formation of a band of high moisture content. One branch of the feeder airstream turns towards the cyclone centre supplying moisture to the base of the warm conveyor belt where it ascends and precipitation forms. The other branch turns away from the cyclone centre exporting moisture from the cyclone. As the cyclone travels, this export results in a filament of high moisture content marking the track of the cyclone (often used to identify atmospheric rivers). We find that both cyclone precipitation and water vapour transport increase when moisture in the feeder airstream increases, thus explaining the link between atmospheric rivers and the precipitation associated with warm conveyor belt ascent. Atmospheric moisture budgets calculated as cyclones pass over fixed domains relative to the cyclone tracks, show that continuous evaporation of moisture in the pre cyclone environment moistens the feeder airstream. Evaporation behind the cold front acts to moisten the atmosphere in the wake of the cyclone passage, potentially preconditioning the environment for subsequent cyclone development