374 research outputs found
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Determination of eddy-diffusivity in the lowermost stratosphere
We present a 2D-advection-diffusion model that simulates the main transport pathways influencing tracer distributions in the lowermost stratosphere (LMS). The model describes slow diabatic descent of aged stratospheric air, vertical (cross-isentropic) and horizontal (along isentropes) diffusion within the LMS and across the tropopause using equivalent latitude and potential temperature coordinates. Eddy diffusion coefficients parameterize the integral effect of dynamical processes leading to small scale turbulence and mixing. They were specified by matching model simulations to observed CO distributions. Interestingly, the model suggests mixing across isentropes to be more important than horizontal mixing across surfaces of constant equivalent latitude, shining new light on the interplay between various transport mechanisms in the LMS. The model achieves a good description of the small scale tracer features at the tropopause with squared correlation coefficients R2 = 0.72âŠ0.94
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Stratospheric variability and tropospheric annularâmode timescales
Climate models tend to exhibit much too persistent Southern Annular Mode (SAM) circulation anomalies in summer, compared to observations. Theoretical arguments suggest this bias may lead to an overly strong model response to anthropogenic forcing during this season, which is of interest since the largest observed changes in Southern Hemisphere highâlatitude climate over the last few decades have occurred in summer, and are congruent with the SAM. The origin of this model bias is examined here in the case of the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model, using a novel technique to quantify the influence of stratospheric variability on tropospheric annularâmode timescales. Part of the model bias is shown to be attributable to the tooâlate breakdown of the stratospheric polar vortex, which allows the tropospheric influence of stratospheric variability to extend into early summer. However, the analysis also reveals an enhanced summertime persistence of the modelâs SAM that is unrelated to either stratospheric variability or the bias in model stratospheric climatology, and is thus of tropospheric origin. No such feature is evident in the Northern Hemisphere. The effect of stratospheric variability in lengthening tropospheric annularâmode timescales is evident in both hemispheres. While in the Southern Hemisphere the effect is restricted to lateâspring/early summer, in the Northern Hemisphere it can occur throughout the winterâspring season, with the seasonality of peak timescales exhibiting considerable variability between different 50 year sections of the same simulation
Hot and Diffuse Clouds near the Galactic Center Probed by Metastable H3+
Using an absorption line from the metastable (J, K) = (3, 3) level of H3+
together with other lines of H3+ and CO observed along several sightlines, we
have discovered a vast amount of high temperature (T ~ 250 K) and low density
(n ~ 100 cm-3) gas with a large velocity dispersion in the Central Molecular
Zone (CMZ) of the Galaxy, i.e., within 200 pc of the center. Approximately
three fourths of the H3+ along the line of sight to the brightest source we
observed, the Quintuplet object GCS 3-2, is inferred to be in the CMZ, with the
remaining H3+ located in intervening spiral arms. About half of H3+ in the CMZ
has velocities near ~ - 100 km s-1 indicating that it is associated with the
180 pc radius Expanding Molecular Ring which approximately forms outer boundary
of the CMZ. The other half, with velocities of ~ - 50 km s-1 and ~ 0 km s-1, is
probably closer to the center. CO is not very abundant in those clouds. Hot and
diffuse gas in which the (3, 3) level is populated was not detected toward
several dense clouds and diffuse clouds in the Galactic disk where large column
densities of colder H3+ have been reported previously. Thus the newly
discovered environment appears to be unique to the CMZ. The large observed H3+
column densities in the CMZ suggests an ionization rate much higher than in the
diffuse interstellar medium in the Galactic disk. Our finding that the H3+ in
the CMZ is almost entirely in diffuse clouds indicates that the reported volume
filling factor (f ≥ 0.1) for n ≥ 104 cm-3 clouds in the CMZ is an
overestimate by at least an order of magnitude.Comment: 33 pages, 5 figures, 3 table
Hydrocarbon Dust Absorption in Seyfert Galaxies and ULIRGs
We present new spectroscopic observations of the 3.4 micron absorption
feature in the Seyfert galaxies, NGC1068 and NGC7674, and the ultraluminous
infrared galaxy, IRAS08572+3915. A signature of C-H bonds in aliphatic
hydrocarbons, the 3.4 micron feature indicates the presence of organic material
in Galactic and extragalactic dust. Here we compare the 3.4 micron feature in
all the galaxies in which it has been detected. In several cases, the
signal-to-noise ratio and spectral resolution permit a detailed examination of
the feature profile, something which has rarely been attempted in extragalactic
lines of sight. The 3.4 micron band in these galaxies closely resembles that
seen in the Galactic diffuse ISM and in newly-formed dust in a protoplanetary
nebula. The similarity implies a common carrier for the carbonaceous component
of dust, and one which is resistant to processing in the interstellar and/or
circumnuclear medium. We also examine the mid-IR spectrum of NGC1068, because
absorption bands in the 5-8 micron region further constrain the chemistry of
the 3.4 micron band carrier. While weak features like those present in the
mid-IR spectrum of diffuse dust towards the Galactic center would be
undetectable in NGC1068, the strong bands found in the spectra of many proposed
dust analog materials are clearly absent, eliminating certain candidates and
production mechanisms for the carrier. The absence of strong absorption
features at 5-8 microns is also consistent with the interpretation that the
similarity in the 3.4 micron feature in NGC1068 to that in Galactic lines of
sight reflects real chemical similarity in the carbonaceous dust.Comment: 30 pages, 8 figures (preprint style), ApJ accepte
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100 years of progress in understanding the stratosphere and mesosphere
The stratosphere contains ~17% of Earthâs atmospheric mass, but its existence was unknown until 1902. In the following decades our knowledge grew gradually as more observations of the stratosphere were made. In 1913 the ozone layer, which protects life from harmful ultraviolet radiation, was discovered. From ozone and water vapor observations, a first basic idea of a stratospheric general circulation was put forward. Since the 1950s our knowledge of the stratosphere and mesosphere has expanded rapidly, and the importance of this region in the climate system has become clear. With more observations, several new stratospheric phenomena have been discovered: the quasi-biennial oscillation, sudden stratospheric warmings, the Southern Hemisphere ozone hole, and surface weather impacts of stratospheric variability. None of these phenomena were anticipated by theory. Advances in theory have more often than not been prompted by unexplained phenomena seen in new stratospheric observations. From the 1960s onward, the importance of dynamical processes and the coupled stratosphereâtroposphere circulation was realized. Since approximately 2000, better representations of the stratosphereâand even the mesosphereâhave been included in climate and weather forecasting models. We now know that in order to produce accurate seasonal weather forecasts, and to predict long-term changes in climate and the future evolution of the ozone layer, models with a well-resolved stratosphere with realistic dynamics and chemistry are necessary
Multimodel climate and variability of the stratosphere
The stratospheric climate and variability from simulations of sixteen chemistryâclimate models is evaluated. On average the polar night jet is well reproduced though its variability is less well reproduced with a large spread between models. Polar temperature biases are less than 5 K except in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) lower stratosphere in spring. The accumulated area of low temperatures responsible for polar stratospheric cloud formation is accurately reproduced for the Antarctic but underestimated for the Arctic. The shape and position of the polar vortex is well simulated, as is the tropical upwelling in the lower stratosphere. There is a wide model spread in the frequency of major sudden stratospheric warnings (SSWs), late biases in the breakup of the SH vortex, and a weak annual cycle in the zonal wind in the tropical upper stratosphere. Quantitatively, âmetricsâ indicate a wide spread in model performance for most diagnostics with systematic biases in many, and poorer performance in the SH than in the Northern Hemisphere (NH). Correlations were found in the SH between errors in the final warming, polar temperatures, the leading mode of variability, and jet strength, and in the NH between errors in polar temperatures, frequency of major SSWs, and jet strength. Models with a stronger QBO have stronger tropical upwelling and a colder NH vortex. Both the qualitative and quantitative analysis indicate a number of common and longâstanding model problems, particularly related to the simulation of the SH and stratospheric variability
Protecting Important Sites for Biodiversity Contributes to Meeting Global Conservation Targets
Abstract Protected areas (PAs) are a cornerstone of conservation efforts and now cover nearly 13% of the world's land surface, with the world's governments committed to expand this to 17%. However, as biodiversity continues to decline, the effectiveness of PAs in reducing the extinction risk of species remains largely untested. We analyzed PA coverage and trends in species' extinction risk at globally significant sites for conserving birds (10,993 Important Bird Areas, IBAs) and highly threatened vertebrates and conifers (588 Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, AZEs) (referred to collectively hereafter as 'important sites'). Species occurring in important sites with greater PA coverage experienced smaller increases in extinction risk over recent decades: the increase was half as large for bird species with.50% of the IBAs at which they occur completely covered by PAs, and a third lower for birds, mammals and amphibians restricted to protected AZEs (compared with unprotected or partially protected sites). Globally, half of the important sites for biodiversity conservation remain unprotected (49% of IBAs, 51% of AZEs). While PA coverage of important sites has increased over time, the proportion of PA area covering important sites, as opposed to less important land, has declined (by 0.45-1.14% annually since 1950 for IBAs and 0.79-1.49% annually for AZEs). Thus, while appropriately located PAs may slow the rate at which species are driven towards extinction, recent PA network expansion has under-represented important sites. We conclude that better targeted expansion of PA networks would help to improve biodiversity trends
Protecting Important Sites for Biodiversity Contributes to Meeting Global Conservation Targets
Abstract Protected areas (PAs) are a cornerstone of conservation efforts and now cover nearly 13% of the world's land surface, with the world's governments committed to expand this to 17%. However, as biodiversity continues to decline, the effectiveness of PAs in reducing the extinction risk of species remains largely untested. We analyzed PA coverage and trends in species' extinction risk at globally significant sites for conserving birds (10,993 Important Bird Areas, IBAs) and highly threatened vertebrates and conifers (588 Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, AZEs) (referred to collectively hereafter as 'important sites'). Species occurring in important sites with greater PA coverage experienced smaller increases in extinction risk over recent decades: the increase was half as large for bird species with.50% of the IBAs at which they occur completely covered by PAs, and a third lower for birds, mammals and amphibians restricted to protected AZEs (compared with unprotected or partially protected sites). Globally, half of the important sites for biodiversity conservation remain unprotected (49% of IBAs, 51% of AZEs). While PA coverage of important sites has increased over time, the proportion of PA area covering important sites, as opposed to less important land, has declined (by 0.45-1.14% annually since 1950 for IBAs and 0.79-1.49% annually for AZEs). Thus, while appropriately located PAs may slow the rate at which species are driven towards extinction, recent PA network expansion has under-represented important sites. We conclude that better targeted expansion of PA networks would help to improve biodiversity trends
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