114 research outputs found
Compressed Data Structures for Dynamic Sequences
We consider the problem of storing a dynamic string over an alphabet
in compressed form. Our representation
supports insertions and deletions of symbols and answers three fundamental
queries: returns the -th symbol in ,
counts how many times a symbol occurs among the
first positions in , and finds the position
where a symbol occurs for the -th time. We present the first
fully-dynamic data structure for arbitrarily large alphabets that achieves
optimal query times for all three operations and supports updates with
worst-case time guarantees. Ours is also the first fully-dynamic data structure
that needs only bits, where is the -th order
entropy and is the string length. Moreover our representation supports
extraction of a substring in optimal time
The North Atlantic subpolar gyre regulates the spawning distribution of blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou Risso)
The spawning stock of blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou), an economically important pelagic gadoid in the North Atlantic Ocean, increased threefold after 1995. The reproductive success of the stock is largely determined during the very early stages of life, but little is known about the spawning dynamics of this species. Here we show that the spawning distribution of blue whiting is variable, regulated by the hydrography west of the British Isles. When the North Atlantic subpolar gyre is strong and spreads its cold, fresh water masses east over Rockall Plateau, the spawning is constrained along the European continental slope and in a southerly position near Porcupine Bank. When the gyre is weak and conditions are relatively saline and warm, the spawning distribution moves northwards along the slope and especially westwards covering Rockall Plateau. The apparent link between the spawning distribution and the subpolar gyre is the first step towards understanding the reproduction variability, which currently is the main challenge for appropriate management of the blue whiting stock
Islands of change vs. islands of disaster: Managing pigs and birds in the Anthropocene of the North Atlantic
The offshore islands of the North Atlantic were among some of the last settled places on earth, with humans reaching the Faroes and Iceland in the late Iron Age and Viking period. While older accounts emphasizing deforestation and soil erosion have presented this story of island colonization as yet another social–ecological disaster, recent archaeological and paleoenvironmental research combined with environmental history, environmental humanities, and bioscience is providing a more complex understanding of long-term human ecodynamics in these northern islands. An ongoing interdisciplinary investigation of the management of domestic pigs and wild bird populations in Faroes and Iceland is presented as an example of sustained resource management using local and traditional knowledge to create structures for successful wild fowl management on the millennial scale
From Predicting Solar Activity to Forecasting Space Weather: Practical Examples of Research-to-Operations and Operations-to-Research
The successful transition of research to operations (R2O) and operations to
research (O2R) requires, above all, interaction between the two communities. We
explore the role that close interaction and ongoing communication played in the
successful fielding of three separate developments: an observation platform, a
numerical model, and a visualization and specification tool. Additionally, we
will examine how these three pieces came together to revolutionize
interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) arrival forecasts. A discussion of
the importance of education and training in ensuring a positive outcome from
R2O activity follows. We describe efforts by the meteorological community to
make research results more accessible to forecasters and the applicability of
these efforts to the transfer of space-weather research.We end with a
forecaster "wish list" for R2O transitions. Ongoing, two-way communication
between the research and operations communities is the thread connecting it
all.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, Solar Physics in pres
Parameters of the Magnetic Flux inside Coronal Holes
Parameters of magnetic flux distribution inside low-latitude coronal holes
(CHs) were analyzed. A statistical study of 44 CHs based on Solar and
Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)/MDI full disk magnetograms and SOHO/EIT 284\AA
images showed that the density of the net magnetic flux, , does
not correlate with the associated solar wind speeds, . Both the area and
net flux of CHs correlate with the solar wind speed and the corresponding
spatial Pearson correlation coefficients are 0.75 and 0.71, respectively. A
possible explanation for the low correlation between and
is proposed. The observed non-correlation might be rooted in the structural
complexity of the magnetic field. As a measure of complexity of the magnetic
field, the filling factor, , was calculated as a function of spatial
scales. In CHs, was found to be nearly constant at scales above 2 Mm,
which indicates a monofractal structural organization and smooth temporal
evolution. The magnitude of the filling factor is 0.04 from the Hinode SOT/SP
data and 0.07 from the MDI/HR data. The Hinode data show that at scales smaller
than 2 Mm, the filling factor decreases rapidly, which means a mutlifractal
structure and highly intermittent, burst-like energy release regime. The
absence of necessary complexity in CH magnetic fields at scales above 2 Mm
seems to be the most plausible reason why the net magnetic flux density does
not seem to be related to the solar wind speed: the energy release dynamics,
needed for solar wind acceleration, appears to occur at small scales below 1
Mm.Comment: 6 figures, approximately 23 pages. Accepted in Solar Physic
Modelling and Interpreting The Effects of Spatial Resolution on Solar Magnetic Field Maps
Different methods for simulating the effects of spatial resolution on
magnetic field maps are compared, including those commonly used for
inter-instrument comparisons. The investigation first uses synthetic data, and
the results are confirmed with {\it Hinode}/SpectroPolarimeter data. Four
methods are examined, one which manipulates the Stokes spectra to simulate
spatial-resolution degradation, and three "post-facto" methods where the
magnetic field maps are manipulated directly. Throughout, statistical
comparisons of the degraded maps with the originals serve to quantify the
outcomes. Overall, we find that areas with inferred magnetic fill fractions
close to unity may be insensitive to optical spatial resolution; areas of
sub-unity fill fractions are very sensitive. Trends with worsening spatial
resolution can include increased average field strength, lower total flux, and
a field vector oriented closer to the line of sight. Further-derived quantities
such as vertical current density show variations even in areas of high average
magnetic fill-fraction. In short, unresolved maps fail to represent the
distribution of the underlying unresolved fields, and the "post-facto" methods
generally do not reproduce the effects of a smaller telescope aperture. It is
argued that selecting a method in order to reconcile disparate spatial
resolution effects should depend on the goal, as one method may better preserve
the field distribution, while another can reproduce spatial resolution
degradation. The results presented should help direct future inter-instrument
comparisons.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physics. The final publication
(including full-resolution figures) will be available at
http://www.springerlink.co
Signatures of the slow solar wind streams from active regions in the inner corona
Some of local sources of the slow solar wind can be associated with
spectroscopically detected plasma outflows at edges of active regions
accompanied with specific signatures in the inner corona. The EUV telescopes
(e.g. SPIRIT/CORONAS-F, TESIS/CORONAS-Photon and SWAP/PROBA2) sometimes
observed extended ray-like structures seen at the limb above active regions in
1MK iron emission lines and described as "coronal rays". To verify the
relationship between coronal rays and plasma outflows, we analyze an isolated
active region (AR) adjacent to small coronal hole (CH) observed by different
EUV instruments in the end of July - beginning of August 2009. On August 1 EIS
revealed in the AR two compact outflows with the Doppler velocities V =10-30
km/s accompanied with fan loops diverging from their regions. At the limb the
ARCH interface region produced coronal rays observed by EUVI/STEREO-A on July
31 as well as by TESIS on August 7. The rays were co-aligned with open magnetic
field lines expanded to the streamer stalks. Using the DEM analysis, it was
found that the fan loops diverged from the outflow regions had the dominant
temperature of ~1 MK, which is similar to that of the outgoing plasma streams.
Parameters of the solar wind measured by STEREO-B, ACE, WIND, STEREO-A were
conformed with identification of the ARCH as a source region at the
Wang-Sheeley-Arge map of derived coronal holes for CR 2086. The results of the
study support the suggestion that coronal rays can represent signatures of
outflows from ARs propagating in the inner corona along open field lines into
the heliosphere.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physics; 31 Pages; 13 Figure
Propagation of an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection in three dimensions
Solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are the most significant drivers of
adverse space weather at Earth, but the physics governing their propagation
through the heliosphere is not well understood. While stereoscopic imaging of
CMEs with the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) has provided
some insight into their three-dimensional (3D) propagation, the mechanisms
governing their evolution remain unclear due to difficulties in reconstructing
their true 3D structure. Here we use a new elliptical tie-pointing technique to
reconstruct a full CME front in 3D, enabling us to quantify its deflected
trajectory from high latitudes along the ecliptic, and measure its increasing
angular width and propagation from 2-46 solar radii (approximately 0.2 AU).
Beyond 7 solar radii, we show that its motion is determined by an aerodynamic
drag in the solar wind and, using our reconstruction as input for a 3D
magnetohydrodynamic simulation, we determine an accurate arrival time at the
Lagrangian L1 point near Earth.Comment: 5 figures, 2 supplementary movie
Seismic Monitoring of the Sun's Far Hemisphere: A Crucial Component in Future Space Weather Forecasting (A White Paper Submitted to the Decadal Survey for Solar and Space Physics (Heliophysics) -- SSPH 2024-2033)
The purpose of this white paper is to put together a coherent vision for the
role of helioseismic monitoring of magnetic activity in the Sun's far
hemisphere that will contribute to improving space weather forecasting as well
as fundamental research in the coming decade. Our goal fits into the broader
context of helioseismology in solar research for any number of endeavors when
helioseismic monitors may be the sole synoptic view of the Sun's far
hemisphere. It is intended to foster a growing understanding of solar activity,
as realistically monitored in both hemispheres, and its relationship to all
known aspects of the near-Earth and terrestrial environment. Some of the
questions and goals that can be fruitfully pursued through seismic monitoring
of farside solar activity in the coming decade include: What is the
relationship between helioseismic signatures and their associated magnetic
configurations, and how is this relationship connected to the solar EUV
irradiance over the period of a solar rotation?; How can helioseismic
monitoring contribute to data-driven global magnetic-field models for precise
space weather forecasting?; What can helioseismic monitors tell us about
prospects of a flare, CME or high-speed stream that impacts the terrestrial
environment over the period of a solar rotation?; How does the inclusion of
farside information contribute to forecasts of interplanetary space weather and
the environments to be encountered by human crews in interplanetary space?
Thus, it is crucial for the development of farside monitoring of the Sun be
continued into the next decade either through ground-based or space-borne
observations
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