109 research outputs found
Relationship between well-being and recycling rates: evidence from life satisfaction approach in Britain
This study explores the relationship between self-reported well-being and recycling rates. The estimates are based on Britain using data from the British Household Panel Survey. The effects of recycling rates on individuals' happiness are estimated. Two approaches are followed. The first approach refers to panel probit-ordinary least squares (OLS). The second approach is the latent class generalised ordered probit. The results support that a significant positive relationship between self-reported well-being and recycling is presented
On the electrostatic field created at ground level by a halo
We investigate the effect of halo activity on the electrostatic field measured at ground level. We use electrostatic arguments as well as self-consistent simulations to show that, due to the screening charge in the ionosphere, the distant electrostatic field created by the uncompensated charge in a thundercloud decays exponentially rather than as the third power of the distance. Furthermore, significative ionization around the lower edge of the ionosphere slightly reduces the electrostatic field at ground level. We conclude that halos do not extend the range of detectability of lightning-induced electrostatic fields.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, MINECO under projects ESP2013-48032-C5-5-R, FIS2014-61774-EXP, and ESP2015-69909-C5-2-R and by the EU through the FEDER program. F.J.P.I. acknowledges a MINECO predoctoral contract, code BES-2014-069567. A.L. acknowledges support by a Ramon y Cajal contract, code RYC-2011-07801Peer reviewe
Investigation of initiation of gigantic jets connecting thunderclouds to the ionosphere
The initiation of giant electrical discharges called as "gigantic jets"
connecting thunderclouds to the ionosphere is investigated by numerical
simulation method in this paper. Using similarity relations, the triggering
conditions of streamer formation in laboratory situations are extended to form
a criterion of initiation of gigantic jets. The energy source causing a
gigantic jet is considered due to the quasi-electrostatic field generated by
thunderclouds. The electron dynamics from ionization threshold to streamer
initiation are simulated by the Monte Carlo technique. It is found that
gigantic jets are initiated at a height of ~18-24 km. This is in agreement with
the observations. The method presented in this paper could be also applied to
the analysis of the initiation of other discharges such as blue jets and red
sprites.Comment: 12th International Congress on Plasma Physics, 25-29 October 2004,
Nice (France
Characteristics and conditions of production of transient luminous events observed over a maritime storm
International audienceOn the night of 15/16 November 2007, cameras in southern France detected 30 transient luminous events (TLEs) over a storm located in the Corsican region (France). Among these TLEs, 19 were sprites, 6 were halos, and 5 were elves. For 26 of them, a positive âparentâ cloudâtoâground lightning (P+CG) flash was identified. The peak current of the P+CG flashes for the sprites had an average value of 63 kA and had a maximum value of 125 kA. The flashes for the halos and the elves had average values of 272 and 351 kA, respectively, and they had maximum values of 312 and 384 kA, respectively. No TLEs were detected after negative CG flashes with very large peak currents. Among the 26 P+CG flashes, 23 were located in a stratiform region with reflectivity values lower than 45 dBZ. The CG flashes in this region were classified into two groups according to the time interval separating them from the following flash: one group with values less than 2 s and one with values greater than 2 s. About 79% of all CGs were produced in a sequence of at least two flashes less than 2 s apart. For 65.5% of the sequences, the first flash was positive with an average peak current of 73 kA, while the later +CG flashes in a sequence had much lower peak currents. Several triangulated sprites were found to be shifted from their P+CG flashes by about 10 to 50 km and preferentially downstream. The observations suggest that the P+CG flashes can initiate both sprites and other CG flashes in a storm
Observations of Prolific Transient Luminous Event Production Above a Mesoscale Convective System in Argentina During the Sprite2006 Campaign in Brazil
On the night of 22â23 February 2006, 444 transient luminous events (TLEs), 86% sprites, were observed above a prolific mesoscale convective system (MCS) over Argentina, as part of the third sprite campaign in Brazil. GOES infrared (IR) cloud top temperatures (Tc) and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) radar (PR) and microwave (TMI) data were used to investigate the MCS convective characteristics and their relationship with World Wide Location Network (WWLLN) detected cloudâtoâground (CG) lightning and TLE activity. The MCS had a minimum lifetime of 20 hours, 8.5 as a MCS, a maximum extent of âŒ430,000 km2, and gusty winds of âŒ39â50 km/h. It had several distinctive characteristics: exceptionally high TLE rate, multicellular structure with 19 distinguishable convective regions, and cloud tops temperatures (Tc) âŒ10â20 °C higher than regular TLEproducing MCSs over the central USA and South America. Most TLEs occurred above âindividual stratiform regionsâ, where Tc varied from â45 °C to â53 °C from the beginning to the end of the night, surrounding the areas of strong convections, with convective cores at Tc â59 °C to â74 °C, which did not extend up to or overshoot the tropopause, estimated at â75 °C (âŒ17.1 km) as normally observed for TLEâproducing MCS in these regions. The moderated convection is contrary to the expectation that large charge production is accompanied by vigorous updrafts within deep convection that give rise to cold cloud overshooting tops, thus prompting a detailed study of this prolific TLEâproducing thunderstorm. On the basis of a charge moment change threshold of 350 Ckm and estimated 5 km charge removal altitude, a lower threshold of âŒ4,300 C/h was estimated for the hourly charge transfer rate necessary for the observed sprite production (383 events), which is twice the rate for an average TLEâproducingMCS (70 events), also estimated.TMI/TRMM data for the storm at early development showed a low brightness temperature of 84 K, indicative of significant ice content, which is important for cloud electrification processes. We suggest that the unusually high incidence of TLEs in this moderately convective MCS may be related to other local geophysical phenomena such as a large tropospheric aerosol concentration due to smoke from forest fires. Satellite fire count data showed that there were âŒ200 fires between 20 and 22 February immediately north of the MCS initiation region and a transport simulation with the Coupled AerosolâTracer Transport model from the Brazilian developments on Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (CATT/BRAMS) model showed a large PM2.5 aerosol concentration, 10,000 mg/m2 (column integrated), at the region where the MCS developed. The aerosols present in the smoke may have been a source of ice nuclei affecting the production of ice particles that get positively charged, accounting for the charge transfer rate necessary to originate the observed TLE production
Understanding the (non-)Use of Societal Wellbeing Indicators in National Policy Development : What Can We Learn from Civil Servants? A UK Case Study
Gross Domestic Product is often used as a proxy for societal well-being in the context of policy development. Its shortcomings in this context are, however, well documented, and numerous alternative indicator sets have been developed. Despite this, there is limited evidence of widespread use of these alternative indicator sets by people working in policy areas relevant to societal wellbeing. Civil servants are an important group of indicator end-users. Better understanding their views concerning measuring societal wellbeing can support wider discussions about what factors determine indicator use and influence in policy decision-making. Taking the UK as a case study, we ask what views exist among civil servants in the UK about measuring societal well-being? To answer this question, we used a bootstrapped Q methodology, interviewing 20 civil servants to elicit their views about measuring societal well-being. Three distinct discourses emerged from our analysis: one that was concerned about the consequences of ignoring natural, social and human capital in decision making; one that emphasised opportunity and autonomy as key determinants of well-being; and one that focused on the technical aspects of measuring societal well-being. Each of these discourses has direct implications for the way that we integrate societal wellbeing into policy making and highlights the potential benefits of including end-users in indicator development and strategy
SYNCHROTRON RADIATION AS A SOURCE FOR STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS IN BIOLOGY
Dans le domaine de l'analyse des structures biologiques Ă l'aide de la diffraction X, l'intensitĂ© de la source est souvent un paramĂštre limitatif. Il en est ainsi en particulier pour les Ă©chantillons de petite taille, ayant de grandes mailles et pour les Ă©chantillons Ă durĂ©es de vie faibles. II est par exemple capital, si l'on veut dĂ©crire le "fonctionnement macromolĂ©culaire", de rĂ©duire la durĂ©e de la mesure au maximum. Si possible des temps de l'ordre de la milliseconde doivent ĂȘtre atteints, ce qui correspond Ă un gain d'intensitĂ© d'un facteur 103 Ă 104. Le dĂ©veloppement technique des tubes Ă rayon X Ă anode tournante atteint maintenant sa limite physique, imposĂ©e par la vitesse de rotation maximum. Les sources synchrotron permettent tout d'abord un Ă©norme gain en intensitĂ© ; elles ont aussi des propriĂ©tĂ©s optiques peu courantes mais trĂšs utiles. Cinq machines sont en fonctionnement ou en construction en Europe dans le domaine spectral des 1.5 Ă
; elles seront comparĂ©es. On examinera les avantages des sources synchrotron fortement collimatĂ©es dans les diffĂ©rentes expĂ©riences de diffraction biologiques ; les applications Ă la microscopie seront envisagĂ©es. Enfin, les caractĂ©ristiques d'une source optimisĂ©e de rayonnement synchrotron seront passĂ©es en revue.In the field of analysis of biological structures using X-ray diffraction, the intensity of the X-ray source is a major limiting parameter. This is especially so for small specimens with large repeat units and where specimens, native or modified, have limited lifetimes. Most importantly, in attempting to describe "macromolecular operations" e. g. tlie contraction cycle in muscle, structurally, the permissible time window is narrowed even further. If possible sampling times of the order of 1 ms or less are needed. This implies a required improvement in intensity of a factor l03-104. However technical development of rotating anode X-ray tubes is now reaching a physical limit. The brightest of such sources is calculated by Rosenbaum (1) to be within a factor 2-3 of this limit, imposed by the maximum permissible surface velocity of the rotating anode target. Synchrotron sources provide firstly an enormous gain in intensity, and also have unfamiliar but highly useful optical properties. Five machines (operating or under construction) in Europe are bright in the 1.5 Ă
spectral region and will be compared on a meaningful basis. The suitability of the strongly collimated synchrotron source for various biological diffraction arrangements and the application to microscopy will be examined. Finally the design of an optimised synchrotron radiation source will be reviewed
A report on the application of synchrotron radiation to low-angle scattering
The use of synchrotron radiation as an intense X-ray source for biological diffraction has only very recently been promoted into a long-term experimental programme. Here we report on some general and some detailed aspects of this development. In the case of small-angle studies on weakly scattering specimens at high time resolution, e.g. stroboscopic diffraction studies on muscle, the lack of X-ray sources of considerably higher brightness than from conventional X-ray generators has become limiting. As it has become technically impossible to pursue the development of rotating-anode tubes much further, the use of an electron synchrotron or storage ring with 100 to 1000 times higher brightness opens up the possibility not only of collecting much improved data but also of whole new ranges of experiments. A brief description is presented of the low-angle diffraction equipment currently in use at the synchrotron in Hamburg
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